Good Evening All

Sheldon, once you get into a routine, the exams won't bother you so much. I went back to school, S.A.I.T., in 2002 after more years than I wish to reveal, haha. I was very nervous, couldn't even figure out how to "study" anymore, then things all fell in to place, and I did very well. I graduated with a certificate in Oil and Gas Field Operations, and have 3 months to go and I will have my 4th class power engineering ticket. You will do just fine, you seem to have a good head onyour shoulders!

 

Are you crazy!!! We had that happen up here 2 yrs ago, what a mess. Street clearing was all done, and then they had to do it all over again, parks remained closed till almost June, due to soft road conditions, couldn't quad as it was too muddy, and couldn't use a snowmobile as too warm!

 

Ok, ok....I`m sorry I said that!
Actually if we get just enough of snow for moisture but not too much then that would hit the spot....

 

How about just plain, good old rain? It will give you the moisture you want, clean up the streets, and help wash away any remaing snow!

 

Good for you Sheldon...best of luck in your endeavours at post secondary.

 

Good morning everyone . Nice, balmy day here today, and around + 6 to 8 Celcius for the rest of the week. Only 21 daystill spring!!!

 

Thats awesome of you Laurie! Im unfamiliar with how the levels of engineers work, is the 4th class like more "entry level" or more advanced? Like did you take power engineering before sometime? Is it pretty tough?
Im thinking I would like to strive for mechanical engineering, but there is still time to switch that around if my interests change. Thanks for the vote of confidence too!

Thanks alot man, I appreciate this, also looking forward to any more tips/advice/ stories about your university days!

Or were you that guy doing the keg stand in the corner? haha

 

Good Morning All......

Hope everyone had a great month, because it's 21 days till spring!

 

I cant wait for spring to start either! Although lately the temperatures through the day here, have been very close to spring like anyways.

Makes me wonder what march is gonna bring...

 

Sheldon, the program I took, has me certified as a 5th class power engineer, which is only recognized in BC I think. 4th Class is the entry level in the rest of the country. Living in Sask, you have probably seen lots of pumpjacks around, well most of those oil wells, and other gas wells in the same area, will flow to a "satellite station", like a mini gas plant, and that is called a "Battery". At a Battery you will find, compressors, amine sweeting units, a glycol system, 3 phase seperators, heater treaters, a flare stack for burning off the unwanted product, and eventually a sales pipeline. That is what I am qualified to operate.

Yes it was hard, especially after not being in school for 20 yrs, and being a city girl with no idea about mechanics, or of the oil and gas industry. the math wasway beyond anything I had ever taken in high school! I took the program as I was sick of being in the city, and I love to be working outside. Also, I was the only female in the program, and the first one to graduate in BC. I received no help from my other class mates, as they were all waiting for me to fall on face, about 3/4's of the way through, I started to get some respect from them, after I had grown some very thick skin, and had proved I was just as good, if not better than some of them.

Just goes to prove that you can do anything you set your mind to, and if you work hard enough at it, and want it bad enough!

 

SShhh Sheldon, don't wake up the sleeping Winter Weather Gods, lol

 

mornin' all,
its supposed to be 60*f here.

 

Thats a real kick *** story! I know there is some really god work once you get going in that too, soon you will be asking us questions on how to fix your ferarris and how to do stuff around your mansion!

Serious though that must have been tough to go through, especially in a program that is traditionally dominated by men, and we all know how those alberta oil patch guys can be!

I take alot of different types of math related classes right now too, and find I have no problem understanding it(even the fairly advanced stuff), its just finding time to practice it, and that damn test anxiety haha.

Last test i kinda bombed with a 75 percent, I was really hoping to keep all my marks in the 85-90 range. Ah well, just means i try a little harder on the next test to make up the difference!

 

It was a balance.... school, social life and work... but no keg stand.....lol ...had to keep sharp for school, social life and work...a lot of things crammed into life.

Tips / Advice :

Here's some tips and advice I found that helped me through my U. days.

Insofar as stories go...well I'm afraid ...given this is a family website...lol..

I sure had to learn how to organize myself...both short term (daily, weekly, monthly) and long term....yearly and year to year.

I kept an appointment calendar book with me...was a first, back then for me (used to pride myself on remembering everything)...that didn't work as life became very busy...so I wrote down all things I had to do, assignments, papers, etc...didn't want to forget.

Now...40 years later...even though I'm retired I still keep an appointment calendar...use my old (2006) Hewlett-Packard personal organizer , which I carry, that links up to my computer.

Time organization I find was/is the key ...for me anyways ...to making sure I get it all done, on time. I avoided the late hour sweats...getting something done at the last minute because I forgot.

I also learned to become more diplomatic in how I asked questions, how I presented ideas, how I approached people...both at classes and in life.

I wasn't a particularly 'Politically Correct' type before, but I realized using a bit of diplomacy and thinking through what it was that I wanted to achieve..first... and what was the best approach to pursue that goal.. ...seemed to make a significant difference in how things were accepted by others.

I found my old style of blurting my thoughts out with little forethought was ineffective.

I also learned to focus on issues and always look at issues, logically...avoiding focusing on personality.

Don't know if this helps, insofar as tips, advice, etc... Preppy...but these were some of the things that I found worked for me 40 years ago...still do.

Les

 

Good Morning All.......