After classes were over, Craig had a 30 minute window before he needed to be suited up for wrestling practice. As a senior he was given no special consideration for a spot on the varsity bench, so the practice before every meet he had to wrestle off against two of his teammates in the same weight class. Craig had won the spot for the last meet against St. Thomas, right before winter break. The Thomas squad was small, and had to forfeit three spots. It was a complete shut out. Craig pinned in the second, tossing his opponent over his hip and landing him in a head lock for the win. It had been a great way to leave for the holidays. …Read the rest »

Craig took a moment to rest, the Pelican riding a nice wind, gaining altitude a little bit. The air passing over the cockpit hood rubbed against the skin of the glider and that friction made a squeaking noise, like wet yellow dish gloves on a soapy plate. His view out the cockpit bubble: A wet road edged in salt crust rolling past. Snow in the trees. Ahead, the JV football field and the woods. Then the cross country course with its wild grasses more than waist high. Over there, a wind came rolling up a long, wide hill creating some interesting conditions. You could use that wind to do some pretty gnarly gliding. This time of year, there was the added bonus of all that snow on top; not that you’d want to take a nose dive, but it would soften a belly landing if you had to bail. In theory. …Read the rest »

Today I passed my EPA license exam, which means that I am legally employable as an HVAC tech. I have to tell you, I wasn’t expecting it to be like passing the bar or anything, but I am relieved to have it out of the way. It’s kind of a bull shit exam, kind of like a driving test, where if you don’t know the answer most of the time, you really have no business messing around with it. Questions like, “Is R-503 able to be mixed with R-22 in the same system?” No—you don’t mix refrigerants at all, because different things boil and condense at different temperatures. BUT, if I was taking this test at the beginning of the fall semester, I might very well have thought, “Yeah sure, hybrid refrigerant—go for it!” …Read the rest »