Well, it’s Saturday morning and I’ve slept as long as I can. It sure has been a long week. Yesterday really made me think, and I was truly able to experience all of my classes. First up was home management. We spent the first few minutes touring the kitchen and looking in all the drawers and cabinets. I can tell I’m going to love this class. The minute I opened the spice cabinet, I was hit with the most amazing aroma of multiple spices. As I read the labels on the containers, I was in heaven. Cumin, garlic, red pepper, everything I could have dreamed of. I’m already forming ideas in my head of what I’m going to cook. When Arleen, my instructor, went over the requirements for the course, I smiled. I’m going to be learning some of the most amazing skills: dough from scratch, pasta making, using a pressure cooker, and many others. I love to cook, and I just can’t wait to get started.
Shop class was next. I finished the measuring portion in less than an hour, earning me the right to move on to the next set of tools. JD, my instructor, told me to put a block he handed me in the vice. I looked at him and informed him that I had no clue what I was doing. He said, “I know that.” and proceeded to watch me solve this problem. That’s really what this class is about: problem solving. It’s not about learning the carpentry trade. You learn a lot of new skills, but you also learn how to solve problems that are thrown at you. During my measuring challenge, there were many tools going at once. People were talking, and, whenever JD was around, there was good-natured teasing going on. From this, we learn to work accurately and efficiently, despite distractions in the workplace. So, back to the vice. After some examining of the equipment in front of me, I figured out that there was a moving part that I could use to open the vice. I did so and triumphantly placed my block of wood in and closed the device firmly. I then learned to use my click ruler, in combination with a square and scratch all, to make lines on the block, beginning to form a grid. My first attempt was a bit clumsy, with crooked lines and several mistakes. However, I know that, with practice, I will do it right.
After lunch was Braille, where we took turns reading paragraphs from our respective books. It turned out to be quite amusing, intertwining paragraphs from completely different stories. Mine was Gone with the Wind, our instructor had a novel by Steinbeck, and someone else was reading Twilight. You can imagine how fun it got.
In computers, I did some of my typing evaluation. We are all required to start at the same place and prove that we know what we say we know before we can move on to the next step. Time flew by, and soon it was time for travel.
IT was ninety degrees outside, with an extreme amount of humidity. However, travel class was still happening and my job was to learn the route to the apartments. It’s not a hard route, but a few of the streets, Bonner, for example, are a little difficult. After the route, I was told that I was cleared to start walking into the center, as long as I walk with someone, rather than using the van. I was ecstatic. Finally, my dog will get some work.
Speaking of dogs, I must give an update on Dallas. He seems to be coping well with the separation, at least for now. He welcomes me with a wagging tail and many kisses on breaks, and he is always eager to go somewhere. He has been having some trouble when he is relieving, which seems to have cleared up over the last couple days. WARNING: If you don’t want to hear about poop, don’t read this. OK. So when Dallas would poop during the first couple of days, he would go in about four different places, making it really difficult for me to pick up after him. I was really concerned, but it seems to have straightened itself out.
Anyway, I’m starting to see some of the reasoning behind the dog policy here at LCB. First of all, the rooms are mostly very small and very crowded. The kitchen barely has room for two people in the same space. The shop is very loud, and there is some danger to the dog’s hearing. In other places, I have not yet figured out why we can’t have out dogs, but I’ll provide more perspective on that later.
Last night was spent very lazily. Several friends came over to eat a Mexican dish prepared by my roommate. Since it was too spicy for me, I ate some leftover spaghetti, but that was OK with me. I still enjoyed myself and socialized. Bedtime was early for most of us, as we were all exhausted.
I’m not sure what today holds, but I’m sure you’ll hear about it in the morning.
4 Paws At My Side 