For a change....

A quiet evening, with a beckening bed to soon follow. Instead of my usual Sci Fi fare, I picked up my copy of James Herriot's book, All Things Wise and Wonderful.
A mug of Darjeeling tea to warm my body, and Herriot's stories to warm my soul.

A good night to read such words.... to delve into the tales of an English country veterinarian. Yes, sappy stuff, but human. It's a quiet night, with friends busy or under the weather, or both, and such a book as this feels right.

Ah well.... bed is calling... and another fun filled day begins tomorrow. Up at half past ohmygod and out the door at the crack of holycrapitsearly. Tomorrow my partner (having pulled the short straw) will be doing tour presentations while I take care of the class. Yes... I'd rather handle 40+ students in the shop by myself than do six repeats of the same boring presentation in one day.

Last week... I was brought up short by a number. So far we have lost 20% of the class we started with, and may lose a few more. Some decided it was too hard for them, and others had the decision made for them. In two cases students broke down under the pressure, and that's a new one for us. Never had that happen before. One of them was an adult student too.... he said it was just too hard.

Right now we are buried deep in steering and suspension systems. Vehicles hang in the air like victims of some tragic disaster, in various states of dishevelment and assembly. Better than a dozen cars and trucks, all shedding major components in a rain of iron and steel, amidst grease and teenagers.....

New task work is piled on daily, and today I announced a five page test next Tuesday. A simple one.... where I will display images of suspension systems and the students need to write down the name and function of each component. We can truly say they've been given all the answers already... if they took notes as they should have. We even used the same images in theory lessons.

I suspect they think I am an evil bastard.... and maybe they are right. On the other hand.... in the months to come it will all fall into place and most of them will take state certifications they never thought they could.

For now... on this quiet evening.... time to recline in lonely peace and read some of Mr. Herriot's stories, to lose myself in the farm biers of the dales for an hour or so. Norah Jones crooning in the background, while my cup cools.