Work was a lot of fun for me the past couple days. Yesterday I worked with my coworkers to tear apart an air conditioner compressor just to satiate our curiosity. Apparently the compressor was broken or defunct or something, so Bryan and I asked James-the-car-God if we could take it apart to see what it looked like inside of its bulky masculine metal casing. James said yes, and Bryan joked that it'd be our chance as the gay man and a little girl to successfully complete this "real man's" charade. Before we knew it we had Cooper, Bill, James, and Jessica all poking their heads and fingers into the project, acting just as curious as Bryan and I.
I tell you, there is a LOT that goes on behind some smooth monochrome metallic casing! Of course I've always figured this, but it was stimulating to take it apart and put it back together again - it was a series of wobbling discs all overlapping each other, kind of like one of those annoying Venn Diagrams you draw in school to compare two separate things and how they overlap. I got to try using hand tools and how to remove screws and bolts.
I also got my hands on some (prepare for long chain of adjectives here) pretty goopy straight-up NASTY awesome bright neon green lubricant goo! It was poured in and around each and every piston and wobbling plate to keep the mechanics oiled up for movement. Here's hoping my fingers don't grow tumors or weird discolored skin spots in the next week or two, ha! This was BRIGHT green, we're talking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ooze green......
(Great show, by the way - my favorite was always Raphael, even though he was the crabby one. I just liked him because of his RED colors. Go figure!)Doing this tear-apart project for two hours was probably the most valuable for me out of all of us, since I am the most mechanically-retarded. I wish now that when I was 6 years old, my mom and dad would have ripped the Barbie dolls out of my hands and commanded me to go play in the garage instead. I need that background of tearing things apart to know how they go back together again! I need the gear head skill set!! (Side note: I will not do this to my own children, to each is their own. Just because I would have wished for gears does not mean the next 6-year-old will.)
Now sitting at 22, almost 23, years old, I feel lightyears behind my coworkers. However, they are so very hospitable about this, and light up with the chance to teach me things from square one. I have never had my mechanical-retardation held against me by my coworkers, and they don't mind taking all day long just to teach me how a brake pad works. (I've got that down-pat now, by the way.) :)
After meeting with my supervisor for a 1-on-1 meeting after all of this green-goop project, it seems that I will have chances, almost daily, to work in the garage to build up my skills. My responsibilities are set to shift next week with placing me back in Lab II, my favorite department I've rotated through thus far. This will provide more experiences for me to 'get mechanical.' I'll be assisting our technologists and engineers with troubleshooting defective vehicles, learning about everything from RPMs to wheel balances to reprogramming our Quest minivan power sliding doors.
Monday can't come soon enough!!
No comments:
Post a Comment