A Whole Heck of a Lot....

So these past few weeks have been pretty busy. I started a job at home depot and I've been trying to get used to my new classes. Well let us just say I am trying to get used to one class.

So I recently got a job at Home Depot. Six weeks after I applied there. I know right, one heck of a wait. I got hired on as freight crew. Yep that's right I stock shelves. I spent 4 days straight doing orientation. Sitting there and watching videos and taking online quizzes for that long can be rather boring. But I learned how to use a "Home Depot Saftey Knife" which is like a utility knife, but for 3 year olds. Seriously doesn't cut through much of anything. I did go in on Tuesday and learn to drive a fork lift, OP machine, which i forget what the exact name for it is but it is used to get heavy objects up to the top shelves. If you're afraid of heights I don't recommend that machine. It gets awfully wobbly the higher you get. I worked on a few more machines and I became certified to drive 4 of them. It is fun tooling around on each machine but it can be nerve racking.

I am the youngest guy there by about 20 years so making work friends, not so much. I basically work by myself stocking shelves and I wish I could use my iPod, but oh well. My boss is pretty cool. I think he's part of the mafia. I mean he had his hair slicked back. OH! He also had a prison tattoo on his hand. So yeah, he's pretty hardcore. His favorite phrase to say is, "The numbers don't jive man." That means that the SKU product numbers don't match. It's a pain in the behind.

School is going well. We are week three into our second set of classes. One of them is basically a continuation of fire 101 but for school administrative purposes it has to be divided into two classes. The other class we are talking is Incident Command systems, that's cool. We are going through scenarios and learning how to do scene size ups and do tactical worksheets (see picture).

We learned to do pitched roof ventilation which consists of using a roof ladder, a chain saw and a big hole in the roof. We touched on punching ceiling and walls but we will do more of that tomorrow. I will have pictures of it then.

For our final we are going to participate in something called the Silver Nozzle Competition. Basically we are going to practice first floor search in front of the school. The paper and local news crews are going to be there. So that will be cool.

We started a Fire & Rescue club and I was voted treasurer. So I get to handle the money. Also we are getting a new faculty administrator that will hopefully push the program further. We were asked by the school administration to select one of the students to be on the hiring committee as a voice for the students. Some people told me to do it, so I will probably volunteer for that.

Other than that not much is going on. I'm impatiently waiting to go to Japan. It's coming in 47 days! I really can't wait. I'm going to see my sweetie and hang out with her and her family in Japan, I really can't wait. I am kind of nervous though. But I'm sure it will pass with time. Anyway, that is about it, stay tuned for the continuing saga of Smoke Before Fire!