1992
Summer
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I started Taekwondo around this time, I remember I hated going to class because I would miss watching Star Trek The Next Generation live, I would have to watch it on VHS recording after. I feel very lucky that I was able tape these shows and watch them later and still go next door Chang's and learn Taekwondo. At the time as a child I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, and I wasn't a violent kid and I didn't want to hurt anybody anyway, so learning how to fight was not what I was interested in. I would have been much happier if he has held class on another night and I was able to watch my sci-fi shows in peace. lol
September
Putnam Vocational Technical High School- State St Springfield MA
At the start of 9th grade, we got to test out a bunch of different shops, before we were asked to pick a final shop to stick with.
Freshman year was a blast, one week we would have classes one week, the next we'd have shop.
World History
Mr. Auslander -World History teacher- For some reason, I liked the idea that my dad also had him as a teacher, when he was in high school, So I took that class a little more seriously. Mr. Auslander also worked at Sears at the same location as my Dad. I think he was a salesman in the furniture, My Dad worked the in the appliance repair department.
Wilfredo and Dan Lozada- were a couple of kids in my history class that actually challenged me to get a higher score than them, Having kids like them around made learning fun.
Appliance repair
Appliance repair was fun, but I don't remember being super excited about it, That's the first time I learned about the Camel cigarette brand logo looking a penis and testicles on the packaging, The teacher was all excited to show us, lol
Electrical
This class was fun but it was just a lot of sitting around We didn't get to do as much hands on work as I would have liked, Those spitting wire caps through most PVC pipes was a lot of fun, they would shoot out like rockets. lol
One time we locked a substitute in the office, he wasn't very happy about that. I'm pretty sure it was Mr. Wolf, He had Wolverine like sideburns, he's not in our yearbook, so I'm not sure if that's his name or if that's just what we called him. I remember being a nice guy, but we were annoying kids and bored. lol
Machine shop
This shop was a lot of fun. I'm not sure why I didn't stick with this shop, My dad worked in the machine shop when we were younger and I loved math, so this would have been an easy job for me, but it just wasn't calling to me.
I still have a little hammer and coin that I got to make using a lathe, drill press and another machine, but I can't recall the other machines name at the moment. lol
Talk about horrifying experiences- one time a girl wasn't paying attention while standing next to a lathe running at full speed, the next thing we know, bang, her hair got stuck in a lathe, it slammed her head to the machine.
Thank God the boy standing next to her had lightning fast reflexes, he hit the emergency stop fast enough to prevent her from being injured at all.
She's lucky that machine didn't rip that clump of hair out of her skull, I'll never forgot about that. She had a guardian angel looking out for her that day.
Automotive Repair
I remember being hyper and annoying in this class, the teacher was Mr. Baker, and he was in the mood to deal with a kid like me, I would flick the on and off switch to his hearing aids, he wouldn't even know that I did it, I was such pompous ass.
Class fight 1992-12-11
I got into a fight with one student Lionel, this was after someone told him that I said something about his mother. So he felt the need to defend her honor. He thought it was a great idea to walk up and slap me across the face, like a bitch, in front of the entire class, without saying a word.
I jumped out of my desk, punched him in the face a few times, picked him and slammed him on a tire changer. That thankfully ended things. We got suspended for a couple days. I remember his mother calling my father and complaining about her son being injured, but that was the end of that, I never heard about it ever again.
Electronic Service Technology
I had way too much energy when I was in this class. Learning about resistors and Transformers was not enough to keep me occupied. It sucks you'd think I'd be able to remember the resistor color codes and all the symbols for different parts likes diodes and transistors, but I'm so stressed out and caught up in other things that I can't focus on electronics at the moment or Anatomy and Physiology.
I'm such an ass ,one time I unplugged a power strip on top of a table, I curled the cord around the legs so you couldn't see it at all. Then I place the largest capacitor on the power strip and made it appear as though someone was trying to charge it. This sent the teachers into a panic, they had everyone evacuate the shop, teachers were worried it was going to explode. lol Looking back, I can see how someone might be concerned, that capacitor was the size of a football. lol it weighted like 5 pounds.
I got lucky, a classmate of mine, Andy told the teachers it wasn't me, because he thought I was doing something else at the time, even though it definitely was me, so I got away with it, no detention.
I also learned that if I sprayed Cologne jean jacket and then flick a lighter flame really quickly, it would burn really a really pretty blue color and then dissipate without leaving any scorch marks. I did that in school a few times, I even let other kids try it on my jacket, then somebody tried to rapt me out. I thought it was hilarious when the vice principal called me to the office and then try to check my clothes for burn marks and couldn't find any. I just acted like an idiot.
I remember our teacher Mr. Lunsford used to brag about our shop having these gigantic computers from NASA, but we never use them for anything. They just sat there, we didn't even try to solder anything or connect or disconnect any boards.
I got to play with an oscilloscope a couple times, but I don't understand what I can use it for or why I would need it. I wish there were other people around who were interested in electronic repair. I miss thee types of conversations. I think we used it to make a screwdriver magnetic, by wrapping a wire around it, but it's been so long, I don't remember if that's what we used or if we just use the power supply. lol
Principal Flint
Mr. Flint was really laid back, he didn't seem to take anything to serious- he bought a Mitsubishi 3000 and it was the talk of the school, it's such a cool looking sports car. Mr. Flint still has it. He lives over on North Branch Pkwy, I see him now and then, and I'll stop by and say hi when I see him outside.
(It’s 2025 as I wrote this. I talk to my nephew about all of this. I point out that car whenever we drive by. Dom even looked into buying one, but he said that they are noted for being a little hard to work on and they’re older, so it's be a little harder to find parts for one.)
Summer Vacation
We were going to Interskate 91 South every weekend. At some point I started working at Casa de Nana and I was devastated that I wasn't able go to Interskate 91 with all my friends, that was place the highlight of my week. Being a bus boy sucked, sure I got a;; the chips and salsa I wanted, but I didn't get to socialize at all, I worked by myself for the most part. Everyone else to do talk to customers, I got to clean up after everyone or hand the salsa if they ran out. lol
We would prank this Casa de Nana on the weekends when I wasn't working, another cousin of mine thought it was hilarious to order fajitas for whatever reason.
I can't remember why I stopped working there, but I remember I would get small checks, I mean like for $20 or less and then the checks would bounce. So I would have return to the restaurant and they would cash them for me, I don't know what the problem was at the time, but something was always up.
November
I started dating Michelle from Interskate, she lived at the end of Dorset St in East Longmeadow at that time.
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