The Life of an Electrical Contractor

["User"]

I have found an effective way to balance school and do other things that I enjoy over the weekend (ex. TF2) hence why I've been showing up to more game nights recently. Since my computer is still fried I'm transferring some of it's components to another computer for now instead of them just sitting there collecting dust.

Got some AC Motor Control projects due over three days but these will be done in the school's AC motor control class so all I can really do right now concerning those is just prepare to make them easier to wire up. Thursday is the test and then that two week module will have concluded.

I'm still not sure what type of electrician I want to end up being but I'm finding all the concepts very fun and enjoyable. By the end of the 22 weeks I'll have had a taste of everything so I should be in a much better position to make a decision by then.

["User"]

*Updated original post to reflect that I'm now older.*

Yesterday was my birthday so I went out and ordered a new motherboard and PSU (both are dead) as well as a cheaper i3 intel processor, 8 GB's of DDR3 ram, and a full tower case. These will have to do until I finish school and get an apprenticeship.

Thursday night we had a laser quest mixer tournament, which my team won. Friday was supposed to be heavy drinking night with the Euros and what not but I was too tired and decided to nerd it up on the TF2 server instead.

Today and tomorrow is the main tournament, so I'll be out tonight and tomorrow morning/afternoon.

[Peter]

Good luck at your LaserTag thingymabobber!

["User"]

Study study study! Last week and this week is the two week long electronics module for my course involving awesome stuff like diodes, transistors, thyristors, capacitors, and other small devices to play with while hooking them up to a protoboard. :3

Of course, a lot of theory as well involving schematics, wire diagrams, etc. Trying to read diagrams, selecting the appropriate components and then hooking it up all while testing everything with a multimeter is most of what this two week section is all about.

Have a test on Friday which will once again consist of a theory and practical portion but I'm looking forward to it. :)

[CrypticQuery]

I've always wanted to know more when it came to electronics, and that test, while sounding incredibly intensive, also sounds like a bit of fun. Who knows; maybe in the future, relatives and friends can make use of you for fixing their items in disrepair. I kid, I kid; good luck!

["User"]

I've always wanted to know more when it came to electronics, and that test, while sounding incredibly intensive, also sounds like a bit of fun. Who knows; maybe in the future, relatives and friends can make use of you for fixing their items in disrepair. I kid, I kid; good luck!

Side jobs like that for most types of electricians are a common theme and it's good extra money on the side as it's not taxed (cash jobs). Apparently my parents already have their friends asking for my services when I finish my pre-apprenticeship program and even though I'll be in an apprenticeship for the next 4-5 years building up contacts during that time will eventually be inevitable. The better your networking the better off you will be. The requirement to be a journeyman electrician is literally over 9000 hours (yes, I found that hilarious too when I first read it) of documented work experience and passing three sections of classes during that stretch (8, 10, and 8 weeks respectively).

["User"]

I've decided to book a vacation to Las Vegas which coincides with the North America Challenge (world's largest laser tag tournament, I go every year). I'll be gone the same weekend as last year only I'll be there for a week instead of the 72 hour crap I was forced to pull in 2011.

The hotel myself and the rest of Toronto's team is staying at is the Venetian, a high end luxury hotel. Originally it was the Tropicana but for reasons still unknown to me it was changed.

I'll be leaving on a Thursday or early Friday and returning the following Thursday.

["User"]

5 more weeks of trade school! This will be the longest 5 weeks of my life as it's crunch time. Good thing in trade school we don't get any homework with the exception of a couple of projects. Fast paced stuff so reviewing the material when we get home is kind of necessary otherwise you would fall way too far behind.

["User"]

Today I built my first electrical panel. Took the entire day mainly because of the blasted BX cable (which are the one's on the right) which was a pain in the ass to cut and to fit anti-shorts in.

["User"]

Right now I'm at school preparing for my final blueprints test for this particular course. I have been sleep deprived the past two weeks as during that stretch I've spend a total of about 70 hours or so working on this residential bid for electrical wiring. Basically you own your own business and you have to prepare an estimate for a customer. I need to submit about two dozen documents. D: D:

This has been by far the toughest project that I've ever had to do in school, period.

After I sleep the entire weekend I'll have two more weeks of practical shop days, I need to get as many practical assignments done as I can during the two weeks. The last friday (last day of trade school) I won't be there because I'll be leaving straight for Buffalo's airport for my week long trip to Vegas Thursday afternoon after class.

It's been a long 6 months, but I'm approaching the end. I will have enough preliminary knowledge/experience to pursue an apprenticeship where I'll have to acquire 9000 hours of experience (over 4-5 years)

[Thu'um]

Right now I'm at school preparing for my final blueprints test for this particular course. I have been sleep deprived the past two weeks as during that stretch I've spend a total of about 70 hours or so working on this residential bid for electrical wiring. Basically you own your own business and you have to prepare an estimate for a customer. I need to submit about two dozen documents. D: D:

This has been by far the toughest project that I've ever had to do in school, period.

After I sleep the entire weekend I'll have two more weeks of practical shop days, I need to get as many practical assignments done as I can during the two weeks. The last friday (last day of trade school) I won't be there because I'll be leaving straight for Buffalo's airport for my week long trip to Vegas Thursday afternoon after class.

It's been a long 6 months, but I'm approaching the end. I will have enough preliminary knowledge/experience to pursue an apprenticeship where I'll have to acquire 9000 hours of experience (over 4-5 years)

awesome, i remmeber when you first told me about this, i'm really glad to hear you have made some major headway

["User"]

Change of plans, I have cancelled my trip to Vegas for deeply personal reasons as a result of me losing some friends. I'm very much in pain right now and I'll probably be in a state of solitude for a while. I have never felt this upset since back in 2009 when I had my last real relationship.

What a way to start the weekend.... D: :(

[Hidi]

Sorry to hear that man hope you feel better.

["User"]

So due to the past couple of days and developments I have finally decided to call it quits playing laser tag. I've been playing for 15 years (the latter half of that was competitive) but now there is no purpose in me playing anymore not only due to the past couple of days, but the crossroads in my life where I am right now with school finishing up and how any day now I could be called in for an interview. I also need to find a mate eventually as well. To put it simply, need challenges - new direction.

I'm also considering dumping my facebook account and starting afresh with that as well.

Still trying to figure out a lot of things right now so forgive me if I'm in more of a solitude mindset for the next little while.

["User"]

Last day of trade school today! Well, it's actually a huge lunch/banquet for most of the day. I finished up my final projects yesterday.

Normally I leave around 7 am for classes but today I'll be leaving a couple of hours later since the lunch doesn't start right in the morning. As alluded to earlier I'll be missing the NAC in Vegas (haven't missed that tournament since I went to my first one in 2006) so it kind of sucks a bit but I reiterate it was the best decision I made.

What comes next? I need to find a job, a mate, and go on a trip!

["User"]

Today I had my first electrical assignment! My instructor invited me down to assist in fixing up a dwelling units wiring system so it will pass an inspection that will be on Wednesday. This house, even by his standards, was completely fucked up. Before is an excerpt of a conversation I had with Romulan Ninja about it.

(ZDMC) Romulan Ninja: Ah

(ZDMC) Romulan Ninja: What did you do?

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: I fixed wiring stuffs in junction boxes that were used to connect potlights

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: or recessed lights

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: Teh wiring in the house was a nightmare!

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: there were so many many code violations and stuff that was wired into things that we didn't think would happen

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: we had in one pot light the hot and the neutral BOTH having 120 volts

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: BOTH WIRES

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: we were like "how the fuck can this even happen?!"

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: the only way that can happen is if someone goes really far out of their way to do that, like....youcan't just make a mistake that like

(ZDMC) Romulan Ninja: i seee

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: You had neutral conductors open which meant that the light fixture would still electrocute you even if the switch was off..... >_>

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: But like I said, it was a nightmare, we had to call the homeowner because the home had alreadybeen sold

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: and the inspection is wed at noon

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: so from Saturday to Tuesday is when everything has to be fixed and we are only finding out more problems as time goes on

(ZDMC) Romulan Ninja: wow

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: working in confined spaces is a pain in the ass

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: I am in charge of pot lights

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: to fix up every single one, and the way the handyman did it was just....no....

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: I saw the ESA report after the government inspector came in, there were three full pages of fuck ups but the homeowner beforehand tried to get an "inspection" from someone who was not licenced by the Electrical Safety Authority to do so and to save on costs.

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: so the homeowner actually sold it in the past, BEFORE THE INSPECTION WAS APPROVED. a realtor who makes a stupid mistake like that doesn't deserve to be a realtor. So anyways, the new home owner is movin in on Thursday and the HOUSE IS NOT APPROVED TO LIVE IN.

[iO] (ZDMC) [TSA] "User"-=SF-O=-: So if this isn't fixed in 30 days then the power gets cut but since the homeowner by Thursday will be living in Florida.....we have to get it done before that.....

(ZDMC) Romulan Ninja: wow

I will be returning tomorrow at 8 am for hoping an 11-12 hour work day.

["User"]

Spent far more money then I would have liked on this trip but now that it's over the real work begins. I don't have my computer back yet so maybe I'll use this time to get some actual work done heh

["User"]

I've been making some more brony friends on Steam recently, mainly associated with TF2 because I have been playing almost exclusively on the Pony Fortress 2 and Ponyville servers. Bronyism continues to intrigue me, maybe I'll end up watching a couple of episodes.

["User"]

So as some of you know I now have a strange gunslinger. This completes my collection of strange weapons for my main three classes. (Scout, Demo, Engie)

I need to use up all these name and description tags (I have about 10+ of each) on my strange weapons. All of the main weapons I use for my main loadout for my main classes (i.e. scout, demo, and engie) have no name or description. The problem is though is that I need some unique creativity. I'm decided not to go with any perverted sounding names but I want them to be funny and maybe refer to an SF-O in some direct or indirect (but not insulting) manner.

If you have any ideas on what I should name or how I should describe my weapons let me know on Steam or in my journal. :-)

["User"]

I have made number of changers in my TF2 setup, most recently including adding a scout strafing script, removing view models, changing the targeting reticle to a different color, and adding a completely new competitive HUD. This was on top of my adding a registry fix to completely remove mouse acceleration. Apparently according to the stats it paid dividends the last two game nights.

That being said though I'm going to be gone until Friday as I need to devote myself to studying for this long overdue exemption test that I signed up for.

So then, until Friday!

["User"]

I just got back from my exemption test for the 1st period of electrical. If I achieve 70% or better I can skip the entire first period of schooling when I get an apprenticeship. I knew exemption tests in general were quite difficult, but this was overwhelming. I took the entire amount of allotted time (3 hours) to answer 100 multiple choice questions and even then I wish I had some more time. I am not sure if I got over 70% or not, there were a couple of sections that I was not aware were on the 1st period test (I thought they would be on more difficult tests down the line) and even a few questions which I didn't go over in trade school so I had to guess with the answers.

I get my results back probably next week as they are mailed to me. Needless to say it's going to be very close IMO.

["User"]

Last night I got rocked by two brony scouts on a Pony Fortress 2 server. This was the first time me getting beat pretty badly by scouts who were "clearly" better than I was. After checking their profiles it's clear that they pretty much entirely play comp style and this has got the competitive side of me flowing and has motivated me to improve. I play next to nothing in terms of competitive so I figured I would try to get more into that as without that elevated game I will no longer improve in my scout abilities.

First, I want to build my scout vs scout skills. MGE duels is probably the best way to accomplish this as I have a few steam friends who play competitive scout that I know who are easily better than I am and are willing to teach me.

I've watched a couple of videos from top scout players on how exactly to deal with a scout vs scout battle. They pointed out a couple of things that I didn't fully know such as initially trying to mirror the other scouts movement (they strafe to their right you strafe to your left, and vice versa) so you don't have to move your cross hairs nearly as much and thus rely more on strafing to shoot your target. An extension of this is strafing while "leaning into your opponent" (i.e. getting close) and letting loose with a meatshot.

There are much more scout vs scout things I've watched than to mention here but as far as TF2 this is going to be a priority for me. I've talked to Icy and he seems down for some practice as he wouldn't mind improving as well. I'm going to ask a few other scouts on my steam list if they would be down as well.

["User"]

Biked 20 miles in under 90 minutes yesterday. Feels good man. I need to get into a regular habit of lifting weights and exercise, it will do me a lot of good.

Edited some information in my Steam profile and tried mimicking some TF2 tactics from the scout videos I watched during a couple of hours of playing Foundry last night. It took some time to get used to the "less aim, more strafe aim" mentality but the results were 153 kills and 40 deaths over that stretch, I left because it turned into a steamroll. I also dominated some relatively good scouts much easier using these techniques - they seem to work the best against skilled scouts

I am satisfied with this new style of play, but I will have to keep at it so it becomes second nature.

[Gene Inari]

>mfw

>every time I see you dueling with another Scout

["User"]

I have been continuing my daily routine of exercise. It consists mainly of biking anywhere from 8-12 miles daily as well as various exercises to help with upper body muscle. Tradesmen, especially apprentices, are usually in pretty good physical shape (as they need to be) and since an electrician is constantly working on things over his/her head upper body/arm strength is important in this field. Holding your arms in the air while working on stuff for long periods of time can tire you out.

I haven't been playing as much TF2 recently and instead been focusing on exercise and electrical concepts. Stamina is of a high priority for me right now because the scoot also has a high degree of stamina and the scoot shares many traits with me: Unpredictability, randomness, talkative, quick moving (can't sit still for even a short period of time without getting edgy), and a similar physical build. He also shares similiar "get in and get out tactics" as I did when I played competitive laser tag. The only thing that me and the scoot have that I can think of that we are polar opposites in is attitude and how we treat other people. Lets face it...the scoot is mostly not a very nice person.