It's That Time of Year...

September seems to have flown by, and now we are midway through October. Already. On the job and around the school, conversations with other apprentices remind me that certain other years are going through the process of "transferring" from one company to another. It's a mixed bag as to various feelings about the matter. Depending on which company you're currently with, the transfer time is either a blessing or a blessing in disguise. You never know what's on the other side of the fence. You may think you've got it good where you're at, and then realize in a month with your new contractor that you HAD NO CLUE what good really is! Or you might land yourself in a mud pit. In the middle of December. Mud in December? Is that possible? Yes ladies and gentlemen, it surely is. Not that there's anything wrong with that. My point is even if you find yourself in a mud pit in the middle of December, there is always something to be learned from the situation. You might come to understand that you really enjoy working outside. Or on that job, you *just might* bump into someone who could have a major influence in your future. At the very least, there's a good story that will come of it. (And you know how we electricians LOVE to recount stories!)

On the classroom front, I've been having a lot of fun with my current exploits. I'm in the Trade Teaching course, which is designed to teach apprentices and journeymen how to take the lead; on the job and in the classroom. We've thus far covered the concept of public speaking and presentational materials. My most recent class focused on Power Point Presentations and we even had some lab time with the computers. Our first task is to design a five minute presentation on whatever subject we like. I thought it would be simple, seeing as how it's only five minutes long. But therein lies the problem -- it's only five minutes long! Five minutes goes by in a blink of an eye. Surprisingly, I found that I still needed to prepare an outline before designing the final presentation. Quite a bit of time goes into these slideshows, and if you're a perfectionist about visual elements, then it's entirely too easy to fall down the bunny hole. Thursday we present. Fun fun!