Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 :: Electric ::
Yep, another fun packed Monday coming your way. Met lecture with yet!! yet another assignment, but still an okay lecture. Avionic lab wasnt bad today, I didnt realize how close I was to being done last time, though I didn find out my multimeter is somehow messed up when it reads AC, but can still read DC. Oh well, I finished the inverter lab and moved on to logic gates, easy stuff. I ran out for a bite to eat at lunch (taco bell) then back for avioncs lecture, and I'm sorry if you're going to turn off the lights for lecture- expect me to yawn. Then I hurried back home to get on some closed toe shoes for my MET lab where we are testing impact strength- but we can't call it strength, it's ductility. Whatever, so we swang a big pendulum arm at small metal specimens at -110, 32, 72, 212 degrees F- lala. Then I came home for a snack before welding lab. Which today I thought we were just going to be cutting steel pipes for our truss assembly but Sterk said, no change of plans we're TIG welding tonight. (big sigh) So I consoled myself sasying this is a different style lets give it a go. So Sterk took us into his office (away from all the drilling and riveting) so we could talk TIG. He gave us yet another book to read and then we went out for a demo. When it came time for us to step up at bat I was, maybe not timid, but slow to get going. I practiced getting the electrode 1/8 inch from the aluminum and moving it down the sheet. The teacher came by to see how I was starting out, and I had him stand behind me to get the right distance and amperage and then he let me go. I practiced just moving the puddle probably a dozen times. Then I saw Lorraine had moved on to the filler rod so I decided to give it a go. The first try I *so* burned a big hole in the metal but after that I flew across the aluminum. I think I totally surprised the teacher. Maybe he will still have a bit of hope for me now, lol. On another note, Lorraine and I might be getting a puppy =)
I have to go get to work on my 402 assignment now!
Stress level of the Day: 3/10
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 :: wet fun ::
Well, last night I went to go see Corpse Bride with a few friends- good movie I recommend it. When we got back to the apt at 2am, we turned on the tv and watched the end of a movie- which I can't remember wht it was. Then IRobot came on and we decided to watch that. I made it until about the time the new robots were being delivered to the town and I went to bed because I wes going to get up and go shopping today. I didn't wake up until 1030 today so I got up and got ready to go out quickly. It rained all day today and continues to rain even presently. I started my shopping at Kohl's and got a nice dress boot (and I stress DRESS, mom-- it's not clunky)- I couldnt find any "unders" that fit. Next I went to Lane Bryant to find a suit to wear for my interview Friday. I must have spent a good hour in that store trying this and that on. I hate shopping but this trip was important so I stuck it out. I ended up with a really nice black suit, two camisoles and two new bras that actually fit right. I ended up dropping about $250 today, but in the end it should hopefully pay off. When I got home, Lorraine and I headed out to the feast of the hunters moon which I think was set back during the french and indian war. We planned to sasmple everything that we could. When were got to the gate I got out my wallet to pay the $12 to get in and the guys at the gate said they weren't charging anymore- woohoo! First off we stopped for some hot apple cider and then headed toward the grilled corn on the cob (yummy). Then we found the buffalo burgers and buffalo chips (potato slices). Elk Kabobs were really good too. Then we wondered out to find the rootbeer brewers and Lorraine bought $15 worth of rootbeer. Me not a big fan of Rootbeer bought the $3 bottle so I could atleast try it and get a cool bottle out of it. Wandering around somemore we found the apple dumplings on sale 2 for $4 because of the rain. I had been keeping my eye out for any neat, simple jewelry I might find to wear with my new suit on Friday. I found a nice simple necklace with a celtic knot charm- it turned out to be a good luck knot- woot! So we got back around 430 and cleaned off the layers of mud that had accumulated on our legs from walking around and sat down to watch "The Reckoning" on SHO on demand. Yet another good movie I recomend. Now I'm busily trying to finish the homework I didnt do this weekend. Basically MET 141 and more studying for 403.
Music in the background: greenday-holidayStress level of the Day: 2/10
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 :: More Good News ::
On another issue with AIRBUS. I heard that Northwest wants to take Airbus to court because their planes aren't living up to the agreed contract Service Life. In other words, these planes were given a warrantee on the life of the plane. (Like the 10 years or 10,000 miles for cars.) I guess the composite structures of the plane are cracking and even disintigrating way before their time. (Making them unairworthy and unable to fly.)
Music in the background: PilfersStress level of the Day: 3/10
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005 :: football ::
Saturday afternoon, yes it's college game day and Purdue is at Minnesota. Currently, it's half time and Purdue is down by 3 (10-7). I'm studying for my next set of quizzes. Only 30 quizzes to do in 5 weeks, yeehaw. Five weeks and 1028 questions to know. At the moment the slurry of questions has been over wood structures, fabric covering and composites. Unless you're into restoration, you don't encounter wood/fabric covered aircraft. I will most like be reading up on these topics in the A&P Mechanics Airframe handbook and AC43.13. Game is back on so I'm back to studying/watching.
Music in the background: Minnesota Marching Band- we will rock you (i think)Stress level of the Day: 4/10
Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 :: Airbus (hack!) ::
So after the landing gear trouble with JetBlues A320, will passengers still trust Airbus? (This is the seventh incident considering the landgear operation.) I hope not, fly American people, hello! I was swimming through the internet and I ran across two pictures I thought were quite similar. You be the judge- this is the Airbus A 380, or is it?
Stress level of the Day: 2/10
Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 :: friday chills ::
It's cold, cold, cold outside. Okay, not that bad. It's in the 60's and rainy. The cool weather was nice for work today. Can you guess what I was doing at work? Ha, yea mulch you know me too well =) My 830 class this morning discussed interview attire, so I guess I should have dressed up more when I was interviewing for a mechanics position? I don't know, I was a college student looking for an intership- they shouldn't be expecting a suit and tie. But, I will go out to Kohl's over the weekend and pick up a nice outfit for my mock interview, so then come time for the Av Tech Career Fair Nov 3, I will have a good outfit to wear. 375 lecture was cancelled for the day so I can home after work and had chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. 402 we looked over our rough draft job cards, which turned out that they just wanted us to all out do the job cards. The lab is quite frustrating at the moment because we're not really accomplishing anything. Ah well, I have a slew of class assignments to do this weekend, and I have agreed to clean up after the HS football game tomorrow morning at 6am as long as the game isn't cancelled tonight. I kinda wish it would be but then again, it's another 3-4 hours of work. Purdue plays at Minnesota tomorrow at 11am, and it's on ESPN- woohoo! Big Ten opener, this will be a big decider on how the rest of the season will go. Alrighty, I'm off to plan the weekened.
Music in the background: phil vassar- just another day in paradiseStress level of the Day: 3/10
Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 :: A night at the Knickerbocker ::
Last night Lorraine and I met up with Kitty, Brian, Jon, and Sarah at the Knickerbocker (Indiana's oldest bar) to go to the comedy caravan. The main introducer guy started out with a few small jokes and picked on a girl right up in front. Then he started taking about the JetBlue "crash". To which I blurted out it wasn't a crash. (I had also worn my Purdue Aviation Technology tshirt to the show). He didn't really like that I had challenged him. So he went on, "For those of you who don't know, the landing gear got stuck in a position perpendicular to the plane." and he went on about how these "rich bitches" knew exactly what was going on, not from the pilot, but from the tvs in the headrests of the seats. He said he wished they would have gone up in a ball of flames, that he grabbed a six pack and was waiting for the airplane to catch on fire. Now, I'm sitting at a table of three pilots and two aircraft mechanics and we are not laughing. Especially because Brian has worked for JetBlue. I guess what the comedian doesn't know is that JetBlue is a low air fare carrier that chooses to have the amenity of tvs on all its planes. Thats what happen when you buy BRAND NEW PLANES because your a new business. The legacy carriers (delta, united, us air, etc) aren't off buying new airplanes, they are maintaining the ones they have. The other two guys were quite funny. One of them actually write for the Blue Collar Comedy show. The other singled out our loud table and asked the four girls if we were lesbians, lol. We all shake our heads and say no. And he replies, no- well you will be in my dreams tonight. haha. One made a point that girls can get away with doing a lot more in public. Dancing together, putting lotion on each other, playing with each others hair-- because your not going to see guys doing that together.
Last night before I left for the Knickerbocker I decided I wanted a new look for my diary, obvious now huh? So I went looking for navigation buttons, I chose these ones because they kinda look like the coloration of metal when you're welding it. The background, I like blue, it's a neat pattern, and it was called cool blue, ha. I haven't had time to change any of the other pages yet, they will still be the dark blue background and text links.
Music in the background: Big and Rich - Holy WaterStress level of the Day: 3/10
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005 :: Good day so far... ::
I woke up at 645 today and I didn't feel like wrestling sleep just for an extra 15 minutes, so I got up and got ready for my day. I left early to get to the 267 lab to set up, as usual. When Thom came down he started razzing me because I'm graduating in December and he wanted me to be here next semester to take over teaching his lab. Then Stanley came along and started talking with us. Thom jokingly asked if Stanley had me in any classes so that he could fail me to keep me here for another semester. Then Stanley mentioned that I could enter graduate school and take on a Graduate Teaching Assistant position. How likely I would actually be able to get that position is "not" because they've pulled some thin strings to keep Danny (really cool guy who's been out in the industry working for United and UPS) here by using the GTA funds. It is an interesting idea though, but it will still end up costing me more money that I do not have. After Thom walked off to answer a student's question, Stanley and I talked a little more. He said I would be of great value to keep for the deptartment and that Prof Thom has mentioned on quite a few occasions that he really thinks highly of me and something to that effect I can't remember the exact word, but it made me feel good! One of the lab groups was working to put the vertical stabilizer,elevators, and rudder back on to the Cessna 150 and because they didnt follow the directions given to them by the Prof, when they dropped a nut down inside the rudder, they had to remove the whole rudder to get it out. If they had followed the instructions, they would have assembled the top connect first so if the had dropped a nut it would have fallen out the bottom of the rudder. Thom started to heckle them about hour three of lab and said "you know I had a group of three girls who put this up in an hour and a half, but don't let that discourage you. And they were short" and to which they replied, "they have smaller hands." Which in all reality- that was my group, and smaller hands don't help you. When they get to rigging the ailerons- that will be a different story, haha. At the end of lab, Hagovsky was wandering around and I found out that he talked to Prof Thom and that Thom accepted to be my DME (yea). So now off to study for my turbines exam again.
Music in the background: Computer LabStress level of the Day: 5/10
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005 :: Is it Friday yet? ::
I found out my fate for the rest of the dall semester for work study. I will most likely be laying mulch all fall- aahh!! Well outside work is outside work I suppose. Maybe it will help strengthen my arms =) I thought I had planned ahead and got all of my homework done for the week so I could focus on the two tests this week, but Isuppose since one test is already past the fact that I was given a homework assignment due by Thursday at 10pm isn't too bad. It's a general summary of the work, supplies, and man hours to do parts of the B check on the 737. Though really good news- 375 lecture is cancelled for Friday- yeyeah! So I still need to tie a few end on the 400 assignment for Friday and review somemore for the 476 Turbines Exam tomorrow. I am meeting Allison an hour before class and we're going to do some last minute cramming as well. 402 dismissed early from class so we could go downstairs to the computer lab and start the assignment due tomorrow. I just printed out what I needed and left. I wanted to relax before I have to go to welding tonight. I realized today at work how nice it was to start my work week on Wednesday instead of Monday like I have the past two semesters. By the time I get to work, half the school week is already over. Last semester I had to be at work every Monday at 7am... Given I still have a 730 class on monday mornings... Class is only an hour compared to four hours of work.
**If you're curious, I posted a copy of my weekly schedule on this page. You can find the link in the left column underneath the Purdue Action P and plane icon.
Stress level of the Day: 5/10
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005 :: Silly commercials ::
I'm watching Law and Order as I do every Monday and Tuesday night. Usually I pay no attention to the commercials I see on TV, and I haven't watched any of them yet tonight because I have been studying for my 476 test. On one commercial I heard a familiar voice (not to myself but to the Purdue community). It was the voice of Drew Breez. He somehow managed to get a few commercials for PEFCU (Purdue Employee Federal Crdit Union). It's not the first time I've seen him in a commercial on TV. So when I glanced up and saw and heard Drew, it didn't shock me. What did catch my eye however was what was in the background. Drew was talking about traveling abroad and still using PEFCU. So he is standing in front of an airplane, not a big shocker. BUT how many times have you boarded a Boeing 737 via a metal staircase from the ground??? And then I recognized the paint scheme. He was standing in front of Purdue's 737. It was a close up so you couldn't really see much of the plane, but it was still a cool thing to see and catch.
Music in the background: Family GuyStress level of the Day: 2/10
