Learning curve

Week 2 of my "Intro to Energy Efficient Retro-fitting" courses at Laney has ended. Only 8 weeks to go. Things are going pretty well so far especially the academic side. Having a degree definitely helps me weed past to basics (math skills) and get right to meat of the issues. One of my classes on Energy Control focuses on Energy auditing, bringing a lot of basics of electricity. The class is taught by a Professional licensed engineer (PE) so he's definitely a favourite of mine.

Customer service is an entertaining class, I have it Monday mornings at 8am and it's a nice class to begin the school week. We work on our communication skills in that class, so it should prove useful.

"Sustainibility and the Enviroment" is one of my favourite classes, I'm learning about a lot of green technology used in construction. So far I've learned about grey water, solar water heaters, storm water management, sustainable lawns, just to name a few. It definitely gives me ideas about construction.

My carpentry class is so far my hardest class. The lecture part is fine, I understand everything. It's just when we get to the actual hammer and nails part. I've built everything from computers to jewellry to a coffee maker but heaven help me with building a frame for a house. Construction is new to me, I tend to deal with small things, or electrical systems. Also I tend to be on the planning/management side as a student or intern, it's different to be on the labour portion. I've always respected skilled labourers and technicians but I have newfound respect. We've started building our project house. It's a small 8'x12' house but it will have insulation and floors and a roof and all of that. Once when we finish we will do some testing like using a blower door. It's all going be really interesting and I will definitely keep you posted on all that I am learning.

Next update is on my birthday, February 7th!