Fiona's Letters TAFE Motor Mechanic Training Course for Girls Work Experience Hi Everyone, Well, it's certainly been an interesting week. I feel like I've been in one of those old Twilight Zone episodes where the main character has been stuck in some kind of alternate reality and real people have been replaced by androids or aliens. Either that or Village of the Damned. Talk about bring everything back a peg or twenty! After having been in a job where I knew exactly what was required and being run off my feet, it's a tough call to suddenly be the one wandering around looking for something to do - anything!! OK, so it has hardly been a case of nearly falling asleep - the boys have done their best to keep me occupied but the mental stimulation is definitely lacking. When the lunchtime focus has been to see what kind of shape you can make with Tazos from packets of chips, then you know you've pretty much hit a low here. And I was the one watching!!! There was one lunchtime, when the contents of commercially made meat pies was discussed, but that was prompted by a newspaper report.................need I say more? The staff room has no message board, no automotive magazines to keep everyone up to date on the latest - not even a calendar!! I thought perhaps that things had been removed prior to my arrival but there are no vacant thumbtacks or nails or marks on the walls to suggest this at all. It's really spooky to be in a workplace so devoid of any signs of individuality - some sort of stamp to indicate the characters of the employees. So, having said that - and I could really add more to this but it would start to get weirder - I have learnt a great deal in the few days I've been there. All the theory we've been learning is starting to kick in and I'm able to get more of a feel for what's involved. As my fading bruises and minor burns will confirm :) By week's end, I can now say that I can perform a minor service on a car - that is, change the oil and filter, top up all fluid levels (coolant, brakes, power steering, battery) and write up the service sticker for the windshield. I've learnt to plug up tyre punctures, do a wheel balance, make a replacement gasket for an intake manifold, check tyres and brakes for wear, and tension belts. And I'm an expert at checking tyre pressures - gosh! There has been some fun stuff like using the air tools and operating the hoists (even got to ride up on one a couple of times so I could keep the brake fluid topped up as the brake lines were being bled) but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. As a result, I know I have to find my way into the diagnostics side of things - my brain can't handle the lack of a challenge with just making sure things go back together correctly and there are no leftover parts. Either that or look at perhaps doing electrical instead - that side of things is hardly dealt with at all in this particular workshop. The closest they get is doing a light check and making sure there are no blown fuses. Anything harder than that and the vehicle is sent to the electrician up the road. The bike ride to and from work has been a new experience. In the mornings, it's mostly downhill - which is nice - however(!), going home is mostly uphill and it's a bit of a trial. There is only one spot I've had to walk a little way - it's a looooong hill on a bike - but I get through the rest of it with a bit of teeth-grinding and face-pulling here and there. Wednesday afternoon, the weather turned nasty and I was soaked through by the time I got home but nothing a hot shower couldn't fix. Janelle has already put my new skills to the test today by having me clean up her pushbike. A couple of new tubes and tyres plus washing all the built up gunk from the chain and gears - it sure do look purdy now. Before I go, I do have an apology and amendment to last week's news letter. The backpack is branded RakGear - not RakPack. Sorry, Brett!! Enjoy your week and I'll catch you soon. Cheers! Fi xx ;) Go to first page - Index - Next page

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