it's about time.

I've finally came home with oil in my nail beds, grease and grime on my shirt, and smelling like exhaust. The past two days have been awesome. We've lifted 2 ton automobiles 6 feet into the air with the touch of a finger and then walked underneath them (my new superhuman power), diagnosed lots of leaks, identified worn parts, and adjusted brakes.

Yes, folks. My automotive training has officially begun. And I'm loving it!

I'm glad we got a moment to learn a few things hands on. It's been amazingly boring covering safety info over and over and over.

Oh, and that reminds me. I've been so inundated with safety facts I almost forget to share my lesson of the importance of safety glasses. This is why they are important. We were granted the luxury of being scared shitless by watching a video displaying close to a hundred different ways you can mess your eyes up. After a butt-puckering 20 minutes I concluded that everyone should wear safety glasses AT ALL TIMES. In the shower, to bed, at the movies, walking the dog. What if that squirrel drops it's nut from the tree and it hits you in the eye? Or your pillow case rubs your eyelid the wrong way? And do we even need to talk about the effects of shower spray in the eye?

I have a secret. Not only did I get offered a job, but I interviewed at a BMW dealership! I got the phone call right after my last post and sat down with the service manager yesterday. I think the interview went well. Working for a BMW dealership's service department is a hard job to get and he's not in a big hurry to hire anyone, so I asked if I could come in on my own time and shadow a tech for awhile. I'm going to work for this job. Constantly be around and showing my enthusiasm. I need to make myself standout. I'm still taking the other job.

In fact today I had to go for a physical and drug test. No worries, I passed everything. I was shocked though at how strict the guy was about the piss test. The very second I checked in I realized I left my i.d. in my car. The guy at the desk wouldn't let me go to my car by myself. It wasn't like I had been searched or unloaded my pockets or anything yet. So I couldn't figure out why this man was being EXTREMELY hyper-vigilant about making sure I didn't pull a fake piss sample out of my car or something. Weird.

I made a trip to the auto parts store near my house tonight and made a note to never return to this location. I'm required by class to purchase a tire tread depth gauge. It's not a complicated instrument. It just gives the tread depth measurement in fractional inches and millimeters. A lot of times the gauge is included in the tire pressure gauge. Costs about $6-$10. A lot of people use a penny as an imprecise makeshift tread depth gauge. I went into the auto parts store and asked the sales person for it to save time hunting. He reacted like I was asking where they kept the toothpaste.

"Huh? You mean a tread gauge? [my thoughts: Did I stutter, yes, EXACTLY what I said] Nobody uses those. I don't think they even make them. [me: well if that's the case then where did the other 25 people in my class come up with one? I should have bought the one at Target I passed by last week, that would have saved me the headache of dealing with this jerk]. You can use a penny for that [me: and then what do you tell your customer who's tire you are checking? 'Sir, your tire tread looks ok. In technical terms, the depth is to the hairline of Lincoln's forehead.'] I've worked here for three years and never seen one [me: I wonder what else this place doesn't sell or take seriously]. This gauge (costing $38.99) will measure that."

I left the store. Empty handed and annoyed.

So, enough procrastinating. I've got my first midterm tomorrow. I need to study....