new people, new environment, new emotions. its almost too much to try to describe and have you, sweet reader, understand how i feel or what I'm going through. but one thing I'm good at is trying.
I knew the best way to blog about all this new experience was to sort of jot down the overload on paper as the week progressed, and then i could compile it into some sort of comprehensive mish-mash for the rest of you to sort through and digest.
good luck.
thing is, i washed the paper i wrote it all on on accident. Lucky for me i folded it so many times and jammed it so deep in my pocket that it sort of survived.
remnants of WEEK ONE HI LITES:
walking up to that door my first day of class was as emotional as you would expect it to be for me, considering everyone and everything that was given up to get here.
vow to self: kick some serious a**.
Debit card in hand, my first experience with the cafe on campus revealed that not only are espresso shots only 95 cents, they also only take cash. Lucky for me that my new favorite barista (after Ms. M. Pants, of course), William, let me take the espresso on my word that i would pay the next day. oh and did i mention that i asked for a double, but he accidentally made me a quadruple for the price of a double? true story.
an honor system for live giving caffeine. bless you, my new friend.
I have two instructors, Jerry and Jack. Between the two of them they have roughly 50 years of experience in the industry. They're intelligent and enlightening and I'm feeling grateful to be learning from them.
In our classroom we have what is called a smart board. I don't know if any of you have ever seen one of these, but I'm going to try and explain how cool this thing is. for all practical purposes, it looks like a dry erase board. however, its hooked up to Jerry's computer and he's able to display his computer screen on the smart board through a projector on the ceiling. NOW, what makes it a smart board is that he can pick up a special pen, draw on the board and then move what he just drew around with his hand . for instance: we had a demo on sharpening and customizing our gravers and he popped up a screen that showed an unaltered graver. then he drew on that projection to show us where to cut the spine on it. and then he moved that illustration over with his hand and drew on it again to show us how NOT to cut it. coolest thing i've ever seen. Like that movie with Tom Cruise in it, but not that cool.
the smart board also is hooked up to a really sweet set of cameras that zoom in on the bench he's at and project the pieces he's demonstration techniques on. to give you an idea, his thumb projects on the screen about the same size as a human head. so the demos are pretty detailed and I'm glad that we don't all have to hover over his bench to see what he's doing.
My bench... well i chose a bench at an end of a row. i like my space. maybe Kristy is the only one that will find this funny, i also chose the bench closest to the fu**ing steamer, which, when used, is a very loud pressurized steam machine that I'm fairly certain will slowly rob me of hearing in my right ear over the next 6 months.
you think i cant hear and i mumble now? give it time.. give it time...
did i mention the class is carpeted with industrial carpeting? i find it beneficial only when i drop something and it doesn't go bouncing across the room or clangclangclang across the floor. but its weird and its inhibiting my ability to fly across the class in my wheeled chair.
So on top of bench assignments and falling in love with the smart board....
I was issued a metric ton of tools which i was elated to find out i get to keep at the end of the program. good to know i get some "free" stuff. They stay in class until the last day, when we can take them home. but the flex shaft stays. boo!!
The first week I started and finished three projects, modified gravers, tool steel, files, clamps, bench pins and other assorted metal rods to fit our needs. I also started a supplemental project (which is optional time permitting) that i can use to practice technique on. we have spent most of the week setting up benches, getting acclimated and some of us are dusting ourselves off while others weeding through the madness that we call jewelery.
i received two of my three projects back on Friday. We are graded based on level of completion and execution of what you've learned up until that point. no A's or F's. you get one of three grades here : I for incomplete, C for Complete or CS for Complete Satisfactory. CS is the highest, C is what you need to pass and if you get a I you have opportunities to fix whats wrong with the piece and turn it in again.
puffs peacock feathers: I got CS's on both! whoot! prior to getting any of them back, my instructor Jack called me over to his bench and showed me my ring. He shook my hand and said that my work was outstanding, and that it doesn't get any better than that.... After that long week, hearing something like that just made me feel so awesome and grateful. They're also going to be using my project as example on Monday lecture!
geek puts on glasses and flays out buck tooth smile
The class is exactly what i expected, plus more. Its challenging what i already know and pushing me in a direction where I'm learning more patience, good methods and better techniques. By the end of the 26 weeks, i will have completed 54 projects, 20 quizzes, 8 standard bench tests and a finals week consisting of three bench tests and one written exam.
WHEW!
25 more weeks to go!
