Trade school adventures and the dawn of the final quarter!

As I sip my Pepsi and listen to my fixation song of the week, I bring a great life update and a thought dump about it. That being said, I would like to announce...

I got an official date on the last day of my school program-- October 28th!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Essentially, that means I am now in the homestretch for my trade school journey...
Because this blog wasn't here to document those last 4 quarters as they happened, I will choose to summarize all of them in bullet points right here:

(please ignore most of the photos being sideways. I dunno how to fix that just yet :/)

1st quarter (dubbed by me as "Age of Machinery") 

• Dabbled into multiple machines you'd probably find in a shop; including lathes (my favorite), drill presses, a fly cutter, etc. Learned how to use them and how to maintain them.
• SO much hands on... (that's a good thing!)
• Got practice with kinds of hand tools and learned about threading
• An amount of plumbing practice, but only a few things
• Oh, and the pipe threading machine!! That was fun!
• Huge class, low materials
• Boys talking about whatever
• Pizza on the last day of the quarter instead of a final :D
• 4.0 GPA AND 100% ATTENDANCE!!

Milling practice!

Pipe threading machine!

2nd + 3rd quarter: (combined because they belong together- "Twins of Electricity")

• The quarters of all things electrical! Say WATT!?
• Learned a lot of electrical; from bread boards to ladder diagrams motor controls (frankly, though, wiring the actual things still confuses the HELL out of me x_x) 
• I enjoyed breadboards enough that I bought myself a small one! I use the set sometimes to play around with basic circuitry
• PLC programming, which is like coding but for industrial processes! I enjoyed it but also got frustrated multiple times. Lol
• More boys
• Also financial literacy :3
• Small amount of hydraulics and pneumatic trainers (not enough of 'em)
• Conduit bending and fake residential wiring scenarios
• Self control tested! Full honesty!
• Class is still huge, and we still don't have enough materials! This is a consistent issue in the local campus. They are reportedly working on this, though, don't get mad at them.
• Had donuts on finals week instead of a final (hell yeah dude!!)
• Attendance dropped a deminimis amount due to unforeseen circumstances-- got all Bs though :)

Solderless circuit!

Schematic diagram of the basic circuit!

First installation of a receptacle... whoa...

4th quarter (Quarter O' HVAC): (no photos obtained)

• MORE boys. The class got bigger. Help-
• This quarter was HARD...
• Learned about the inner workings of different HVAC systems and the four main parts they have
• A billion simulations about gas furnace troubleshooting and general HVAC ones used to challenge you
• Learned about the refrigeration cycle and the four main parts involved in it
• Not a lot to say, it was a lot of stuff related to heating and cooling...
• General ed related to job hunting/career skills and computers; I think I needed that...
• Did you know that cold is attracted to heat?
• Information about rigging and forklift trucks, too :)
• A LOT of focus on EPA 608; later got EPA certified universally! ("It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it." - Mr. Young)
• Summer break for 2 weeks-- had a cookout at school before we went. This period also presented my birthday! (June 18th)
• Where I learned "demininis" from
• Ushered in the finals week and got As on both of my finals, finished the entire quarter with all As. 

Now, after reading all of that, you probably have one main question in your mind (that I will finally get to);

"Diamond, that's a lot of stuff! But what about your 5th quarter?"

WELL..

... Like everything else trade school has let me touch upon, I have never done this kind of stuff before I entered the accelerated program I did. Electrical/Industrial Maintenance has served me well and taught me so many things I wouldn't have figured out otherwise... and the last thing it will help me learn is a skill that is quite interesting to me; WELDING. 

That's right, this AFAB person is going to be allowed to learn how to weld. This won't make me an expert on it (like the other classes haven't made me an expert), but I WILL be able to learn the foundations as well as get some sweet practice in. Honestly, I'm VERY nervous about this, but also excited. It's something that intrigues me as much as it scares me... and the number of people in the class might rise into the 20S!! That's a record in my entire time in this school. I started in September 2024. As nervous as I am, though, I think I will be okay. They will spend at least 2 days on safety so we know what not to do. They will also measure everyone so they can size us for our own personal welding jackets and gloves (that we get to keep after the fact!). Additionally, we will be able to borrow everything else we need, including other kinds of PPE and welding tools. I've been told soldering is tiny welding, and I got a hang of that quickly, so... maybe it won't be that bad? Also, I get to leave an hour earlier! This does come with strings attached, though: two online general eds, and no class time to do it (cause you'll just be in the welding shop all day). You also don't get a lunch period until you get home. What a load of BARNACLES, but everything has strings attached these days, annoyingly enough.

As I enter my last 10 weeks on this campus, this will likely end the program with a BANG!! Well, hopefully only the hypothetical kind. Have you seen those sparks? Eugh. Terrifying...

Thank you for reading this massive thing! :)

I leave you with this quote of mine in regards to learning (not even just in schools); 

"Unlearning the detrimental can co-exist with keeping your mind open to the new and beneficial."

 (Favorite song of the week: WARNING; FLASHING LIGHTS)