graduation

About 2 weeks ago I completed my apprenticeship at my job, actually I completed all the testing, training and class work back in December but there is a 3 year term that has to pass before I receive my certificate. Usually on graduation day there is a small party with snack food a lousy cake and cheap ice cream. I asked that there be no cake and ice cream at my party because I'm trying to stay away from sweets much to the disappointment of my fellow co-workers. Graduation day is nothing special, they almost had to postpone mine due to a compressor shutting down an hour before the ceremony but luckily we were able to get it back up and running and online in time for cheap buffalo wings and veggies. A few years ago someone decided that all of the graduates needed to wear a cap and since we didn't have any on hand one was fashioned out of cardboard, an old hard hat and some black spray paint. Luckily for me black looks pretty good on me and they we're able to find the hat for me to wear as all of the dept heads looked on. A few pictures were snapped mostly for future jokes and ridicule but I made the most of it and herded everyone to the break room for snacks. Below is a pic of a few of the folks I work with.



from left to right: Tim aka "Hog", Dale aka "Killer" or "Mongo", me aka "Bon Jovi", "Newt", or "Rooster", John aka "John Boy", Tina aka "Sis", Josh aka "Buckethead" or "Juan".

Just about everyone I work with has a goofy nickname most are bestowed by Hog who has given me all three of mine. Bon Jovi came from a very late night air guitar incident, Newt came from the rather large Cane Creek lizard sticker I slapped on my hard hat, and Rooster is a new one because of the faux hawk haircut I've been wearing for the last couple of months. The nicknames don't really bother me, there are alot worse names in the dept.