I got this awesome t-shirt and some union swag.

So, the Oregon Tradeswomen career fair. It was awesome! Stephanie and I noticed the ad in the paper on Friday and decided that attendance was an absolute MUST. There were all sorts of employers there for every trade imaginable. And the best part, lots of women from all sorts of trades. There were different workshops on all sorts of things - welding, sheet metal fabrication, pipe bending, etc. We made a flower pot out of sheet metal and MIG welded one piece of metal to another piece of metal. Cool. I was so pumped up and excited when I got out of there. We discovered the Association of Women in Automotives group which meets monthly (funny, because the women's architecture group I started had the same acronym, AWA). I bought an amazing t-shirt with a woman carrying a giant wrench on it. And I got a free keychain that is a miniature hardhat with a headlamp that lights up. Oh, and a cardboard penny bank that folds up to the shape of a bus. Cool. Hehe.

One of the things that impressed me the most was the diversity of women at the fair. All ages, ethnic backgrounds, sexuality, femininity, etc. It made me think about how much I wish I'd been exposed to the trades when I was younger. A lot of the jobs are great union jobs with good pay, benefits, training, etc. In fact, I think I'm going to apply for a job with the local transportation authority. They pay for your school, your time while you're at school, benefits and time at work. Oh, and a free bus pass. Portland has one of the best public transportation systems and are running diesel hybrid buses. How cool is that.

School is going well overall. I got an 'A' in my intro class and Stephanie and I got the best grade in the class on our aluminum block project (we tapped out threaded holes and sawed off a corner on a piece of aluminum). Our old teacher came in and bragged on us to our new teacher. I'm a nerd, I know. We've been learning a lot of tricks from our female teacher about how she gets around some things she can't muscle through easily. Key word: leverage (think seesaw on the playground with a fat kid on one end). Big long tools get the job done easier.

Something that was pointed out to me a week or two ago: how many things in a car have names that are synonyms for male genitalia . Shaft. Rod. Nuts. You get the point. If they didn't have those synonyms would everything be called penis? Just like the idea that tall buildings are a representation of penis envy between male architects. Would women name the pieces and parts the same if they had been the primary designers for cars?

My class right now makes me daydream about rebuilding my motorcycle. It was inherited from my dad and I get really excited thinking about how what I'm learning in class can be directly transfered to taking apart and rebuilding the engine. How I dream about getting that thing running...You know, it might be kinda cool to be a motorcycle mechanic....So many opportunities.

On being a woman...I get asked every other day why I am in automotives. That, and the guys at work (really this only comes from the management) try to say things to discourage me. Like,"You know your going to be dirty all the time." Or "You know how much money you're going to have to spend on tools?" For once I want to hear, "This profession has been good to me. It can be good to you to." Something like that. I guess it has something to do with where I am working right now. This kid at work that is in training for management (note: he has never worked on a car but yet he is being primed to manage a shop. Does anyone else see a major problem with this?) tried to get me in trouble with the higher ups. He told them I refused to do something that he asked me to do, when in actuality I had jokingly said no, laughed and then did what he asked. It must also be noted that said it in context of a conversation where we were all joking around with each other. Management = assholes. I suppose that's why people end up owning their own business. Maybe one day....