LIFEGUARD

ITS official im now a lifeguard!!! This weekend I passed the final skills and written tests to become a lifeguard. The skills test was pretty intense and we basically took over lifeguard shifts and had many people go swim in the pools around us. We were equipped with a lifeguard rescue tube, whistle, and first aid pack to use at our discretion. We each had a few victims to save and had to be very alert to what was happening around and make sure to stay clam. In one case a victim dived and did not come up.... I responded by blowing the whistle, activating the EAP (emergency action plan), SLID into the water (because in this case they could have a potential spinal injury), and called for a backboard and AED. I then had to secure the victim and their spin and set them on a backboard which would be used to pull them out of the water... Once out an initial assessment was necessary and then I proceeded into rescue breaths then cpr. I feel very well trained now and am very glad to be done with all this and now have time to put more energy into school.
In metal shop we are now welding which is incredible and very difficult. We learned oxy-oxy acetylene welding which involves mixing pressurized gases to produce a very hot temperature that can melt through steel! We also learned about a few more machines such as sanders and machine cutters, however welding is by far the funnest. My science class is going well and we now have class on monday nights also which is nice. Tomorrow I hope to check out grays harbor and see some of the hundreds of thousands of birds stopping there for spring migration... The past weekend a festival happened in downtown Olympia which was fun and exciting plus it was sunny and warm for a change! Anyways it great to be done with all the job stuff for the summer now and am ready to really focus on biology and metal! Its already week 5 of school and I cant believe how soon summer will arrive...

Lifeguarding

Well this weekend has been very pleasant and its nice to have a day to rest and enjoy the sun! The past week literally flew by because I had no time to recollect on any of the moments. Anyways im well into lifeguarding now and have passed all the initial tests! The past few classes were basically all spent in the pool practicing escaping, pulling drowning victims who were submerged and on the surface, using a backboard, and other lifeguard techniques. Only one more week left of the course! My science class is going well and I have received all the books I ordered and have a lot to learn. Im hoping to start my empirical work once lifeguarding ends. My other teacher in this class has returned from Panama so we will be having more classes and time to meet soon. Metal working has been awesome!!! We have learned how to use a plasma air gun, sand blaster, and spot welder! The studio is a lot of fun and it is open just about every day to work which I have been utilizing! I finished my first project which was based around a box that I turned into a star... Anyways right now im sitting under a new porch that the roommates built and watching the sunset collide with rain. Life is well although moving all to fast despite have incredibly long days...

Spring!

Signs of spring are starting to arrive in the Northwest which is very exciting! Finally get to break out the shorts again.... Anyways the past two weeks of school have been extremely busy. Im currently still finishing my proposal for a project this quarter and am planning on attending a massive bird migration to learn about the group flock dynamics... I have had two metal working classes so far and it is very amazing. I am now proficient in many tools and machines to work with copper, steel, brass, and aluminium. We have been forming sheets with punches, rollers, rivets, along with a variety of hand tools. Additionally I can now braze and solder which involves heating up metal with torches to make it more flexible or fuse it together. I have designed some blueprints and have already started my first project which is a tiny geometric box... There is plenty of time to work in the studio and its nice to be working with my hands again.
The past weekend Remy came to visit for three days during which we went to explore Fairhaven in Bellingham. I had a great time and although it was short I was really impressed with the school and city. We even sat in on a class and it was very intriguing and enjoyable. The school was really exciting and had a lot of aspects that were really appealing. If I had more time left in school I would definitely consider trying Fairhaven. It was a very brief trip, but we managed to cover most of the campus including Western Washington University and also stopped in Seattle for a few hours.
Well I have a little break this weekend which is nice, plus we have had some sun and I can finally ride the rode bike around town! At the capital building large protests have been occurring with thousands of people attending. People have even been sleeping in the building at night to protest the budget cuts... I stopped by for a little and was pretty amazed how many people were out including news crews and politicians. My lifeguarding class starts on Monday so soon I will only be busier, however I am excited for this class and I have been doing a lot of swimming lately.