Ongoing Letter - Allan's Place
Allan's journal to the world. (Sounds important, doesn't it?)
All things architectural, civil, mechanical, geographical, structural … the whole engineering world.
Upon inspection, I see some pitting on one of the lengths of iron for this Freedom Utility Trailer.
See the difference in finishes? Is this poor machining? A result of welding of the end bracket? “What a heck?” I’m hoping this won’t be a concern later on, as in rust. This is not Galvanized or aluminium – it’s powder coated steel.
Actually, it used to be red.
What is that? Undercoating? Rustproofing? Proof of being a used trailer? My imagination?
My trailer arrived! Its label says, FREEDOM UTILITY TRAILER. It came in three boxes on top of the tiniest pallet I have ever seen. So now I’m getting busy with Revit with its Structural Template (as opposed to Construction, Architectural, or Mechanical) to piece together a more accurate trailer in my model. I am guessing it is very similar to the Harbor Freight ones sold in the States, but there may be some variance for the Canadian market. I stuffed it all into a corner of the garage. I’ll pull one piece out at a time to take measurements.
D.F. is my Mentor, set up by ASET. We emailed a few times and spoke today by phone. What an interesting conversation! He’s in the architectural world, and I’m his 4th mentee. The first 3 were all young people. I’m his first old guy.
We talked about marketing one’s self, the industry(s), expectations of employers, personal backgrounds … lots of things. I’ll sit and think about what he said for a while before embarking on any more comments.
He did give me homework though. Yes, homework again! Not easy homework, either. I am to create an “elevator speech” for our next conversation in a few weeks from now. … I had this ages ago in the ESL world, although I didn’t know it was a thing, per se.
I had my 2nd interview. It was more a psych evaluation type of interview. They are looking to see if I am a good fit for their company, how I think, what things drive me, what difficulties I would have. Some questions:
I have my 2nd interview today at BCBE. Think good thoughts. Pray to the Creator. Wish me luck. Etc. etc.
I put in the antenna in my teardrop trailer project.
Like my radio transceiver antenna mount? It took me about one hour to create it. Good or bad? Well, it’s pretty exact in specs. “Pretty exact”? Within reason I mean. It will go on the teardrop trailer and connect to the Stryker SR-955HP 10 Meter Amateur Mobile Transceiver. Eh? Here’s a Revit drawing of one and a photo of the other.
I did it! (Again.) I bought a utility trailer, this time from Muddy River.
Hopefully I won’t need to return this one.
Work on the teardrop begins when it arrives!
I shocked myself yesterday. I bought a 5×8 folding trailer. See campers.allansplace.ca. If you read this already, you’ll see I returned it this morning. Two reasons: They wouldn’t take delivery from their factories until the end of November; and it was too expensive, not only to purchase it but to purchase materials to build it. I will look for a 4×8 trailer.
I have decided to sign up for ASET’s Mentoring program to fine-tune my skills in my search for employment. I’ve applied for 41 positions and had 8 interviews. I’ve reworked my resume a few times and have drafter countless cover letters, some of which I have not sent (like to ISL Engineering, as they adamantly require APEGA membership). I have been close in a few. Still, in the six months since convocation, nothing solid. Getting a little concerned. So I’m hoping a little guidance from a Mentor will offer some insight.