Alrighty. So, as part of our course, we have to go out and find a place that'll take us in as job shadows/volunteer for 2 weeks or 60 hours, whichever comes first. We have to ask questions to 3 people (employer, journeyman, apprentice, whatever), submit them with an evaluation form from the supervisor, and a log of our hours worked.

I call this one place up, musting up some courage because I hate being made to call someone I don't know. So I leave a message (something I can't stand to do), and I try this other place, then give up because they have an answering machine taking calls.

About 20-30 minutes later, I get a call back from this gentleman, who I presumed was Italian just because of the things he said (stupid me, always assuming). He agrees to meet with me and discuss shit about the job shadow. That was yesterday.

So I plan to get all nice and prettied up--some nicer-looking clothes than what I wear to school, along with some pumps and some makeup. Look nice to impress like it was a job interview, might as well. So I pack everything, head over to school. Find out that class was out earlier than I thought, and getting there wasn't too hard or too far, and the meeting(I scheduled it at 4:30 so I'd have time to get there from school with time) should be rescheduled so we get stuff done earlier and everything. So I call him after I pretty myself up in the school bathroom, he says alright, so I head off.

I'm nervous as hell going, I'm carrying my work boots with me, wondering why I bothered bringing them in the first place, since all I thought we'd do is a quick tour of the place and get a form signed out to bring back to school. My feet are starting to kill me--when you've been on your feet for a few hours in hot workboots, your feet get bigger. My shoes are from 2 years ago for prom, so they are a bit tight, and are starting to bite into my toes. I walk from the bus stop, wondering why it's all residential. And if, by the time I get there, there is some workshops or warehouses where the guy was based out of.

I finally reach the address, and look at this small house with two white delivery trucks in the back. Oh lovely. I'm scared to go up there and knock, since it's on the opposite side of town, and I have NO clue where I am, basically. I don't know where the bus stops are, nothing.

I go up and knock. A short, old Latino man opens the door and sticks his hand out to shake mine. He introduces himself and invites me in, showing me to his kitchen table. I sit down, and he tells me to look through these two large binders of pictures of him doing welding and whatnot. He asks me what something was called (I still don't know, I still don't really care). So he tells me to put on my boots to show me his truck, which is a cornocopia (I DON'T CARE ABOUT SPELLING FUCK OFF) of welding shit. For a 70 year old man, it was pretty cool how he was swinging around and lifting stuff.

He got me to show him that I can cut metal using oxyacetylene. I had to do it a certain way, and show him how much 1/4" was. I was trying to figure it out with the WAY I WAS TAUGHT HOW TO READ FUCKING CALIPERS IN SCHOOL. He made a piggy snorting noise at me (no joke), and was telling me how to find out how to convert from x/16" to x/32" or whatever, and what each line on a ruler was. @_@ Yeah. I couldn't understand him. So I cut the metal as asked (with a welding jacket, no beanie to keep my hair away from the sparks so I wouldn't catch on fire, nothing to cover my trousers with (they could EASILY go up in flames no problem)).

So he tells me that if I saw people looking at me and doing this (this being a girly giggle and turning away) that I was doing something wrong. Might be something to do with the fact that I'm a woman, or that I fucked up somehow. Dunno. And that I remember his way for things, but to keep my mouth shut during school about how he does things. HM. I WONDER WHY.

Anyways, he shows me stuff inside his truck, and tells me I'd be his first gringa helper. As well as this, he said he'd pay me ALTHOUGH WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO.

Gah. Have to explain this to my teacher(s) tomorrow. They told us that if we felt unsafe at all, to call them, and they'd arrange a job shadow. You know, instead of doing that in the first place for shops that know what job shadows are and everything.

:/

Also forgot I was supposed to donate blood today. Whoops.