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Post by majorv on Apr 19, 2017 12:41:14 GMT -5
Hi, just an update on DD. She was accepted to both vet schools in the Caribbean. She applied to several US vet schools also, but was declined for various reasons. Anyway, as much as she liked SGU (St. George's University) in Grenada, she didn't want to wait until January to start. Ross in St. Kitt's offered her entry in September so she took that rather than take a chance of not moving up enough on the SGU waitlist for August. Moving to an island in the Caribbean for 3 years is going to be a big adjustment, but she's ready to get started becoming a vet. Just wanted to let everyone know!
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Post by michellea on Apr 19, 2017 12:46:29 GMT -5
Congratulations! This is wonderful news. And St. Kitts will be a great place to visit, if you can get away!! Thank you for the happy update.
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Post by healthy11 on Apr 19, 2017 14:33:58 GMT -5
 As I recall, your daughter already knew someone attending Ross, so that person must have been positive and reassuring! I'm sure you'll enjoy visiting her in St. Kitts, too! My nephew has one more year to go in vet school at U. of FL. I don't know if all programs are structured the same way, but he's been doing clinical stuff for much of this past year, and wasn't able to fly home for Christmas because he was "on call." I assume his third year will be more of the same, although his mom told us that he will have a couple of "rotations" including one in Chicago working at the local anti-cruelty society, and spending several weeks in Honduras. How is your son doing? My son, "just for fun," bought himself some welding equipment, and fabricated a bar for his rec room/media center, plus he's been doing repair work on his cars.
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Post by majorv on Apr 20, 2017 7:36:17 GMT -5
Oh yes, we plan to visit! I may have to go to Colombia for work, short term, so I had to get a passport anyway. My daughter's friend did influence her to select Ross...she enjoyed going there. Daughter will be there for 3 or so years and then will do her last year doing clinicals at a vet school in the U.S. Her friend is at LSU right now. Right now, I plan to go with her for new student orientation the end of August.
My son is still welding and still enjoys it. He'd like to get another welding job making more money, but I'm very proud of him because he's been at this one job for 2+ years! After he broke up with his girlfriend he moved back home...that was a year ago.  Since then, he has acquired a 14' kayak and a dirt bike. I guess he won't be going back to an apartment. He'd really like to find someone to rent a house with. I have to admit that he has been helpful around the house when we need him though. He takes care of feeding himself so I don't cook very much for him.
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Post by shawbridge on Apr 20, 2017 14:19:54 GMT -5
Congratulations.
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Post by michellea on Apr 21, 2017 13:55:49 GMT -5
majorv - my son was just talking about a friend that is a welder - he is in high demand and making in excess of $100,000. It is a trade with excellent employment opportunities. I am sure as your son gains more and more experience he will be able to write his ticket. Sorry to hear about his break-up, but glad he is a good house mate!! When my son comes home I love it - he is much more handy than my DH and more agreeable to helping out with projects. He is a slob, but I have learned to shut the door to his room.
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Post by jisp on Apr 24, 2017 7:09:43 GMT -5
WELDING!!! I LOVE WELDING MARJORY....I learned to weld two years ago. Not structural welding but welding for art and sculpture purposes and fell in love. I am insanely impressed and in awe of good welders and I probably look a little weird in bike stores as I bend over to admire the various welds. I have a particular love affair with the welds on Bromptons (the foldable bikes). Congrats to your son for being a welder. They are in high demand. I recently read an article about how many men are leaving the trades and industry is desperate for skilled workers who can do things like weld and wood work. You should be VERY PROUD.
I know this was not the topic of the original post but I could not resist. I am a confessed WELD WORSHIPPER.
And congrats to your daughter on getting accepted into Vet School. And enjoy your visits. One of my favorite things has been visiting my children in other locations where they are living and studying.
Jill
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Post by healthy11 on Apr 24, 2017 10:49:50 GMT -5
Jisp, I used to wonder if my son would prefer being an electrician instead of an electrical engineer, but now I'm beginning to think he'd like to become a welder. (It helped that he was first able to re-wire his garage by himself, to provide the necessary 240V. electric outlet for his welding equipment.)
I realize you're Jewish, so welding a "Christmas tree" wouldn't be a priority, but I had to smile when my son took the scrap metal pieces from his bar, and fashioned them into a 2 ft. tall, 25 lb. Christmas tree for me...it wasn't only a structural creation, he added artistic designs, like star and candy-cane shapes as ornaments!
Have you purchased welding equipment of your own, or do you go to a studio or shop to use theirs?
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Post by jisp on Apr 25, 2017 5:41:24 GMT -5
Healthy I was enrolled in art school and they had a fabulous metal shop there. I loved it. But I decided to not continue in art school as the tuition was too expensive and there was diminishing returns to my being there. I actually enrolled specifically to take a class where you learn Welding, Casting and Wood Working for those interested in sculpture or mixed media. I then joined a maker space. These are spaces that are opening all over....they are collectives. You pay a membership and then you can go use the equipment and the workspace. The problem was the ventilation in this particular maker space was not particularly good, and I eventually decided it was not worth my health to continue there. So sadly right now I have no where to go to do metal work. We live in an apartment so getting an Oxyacetylene set up is just not an option.
On the door to the metal shop at the art school was an article about how in demand welders are. The professor often joked that he often would loose his best students to a neighboring engineering school (Wentworth) because they would go over there and get certified to weld in order to build bikes. In our area we have a very high end bike manufacturer that hires welders (many of whom just happen to be female as for some reason women excel at welding). These are the types of bikes celebrities who are serious about cycling custom order. They also are bikes serious cyclist order. They are called "SEVENS"
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Post by healthy11 on Apr 25, 2017 6:50:09 GMT -5
Jisp, I'm not sure if community colleges in your area of MA are like the ones near me in IL, but that's where my son took his welding course; as part of the class, students could work on a project of their own design, after they learned the basics. Apparently there were people who signed up semester after semester, just to have access to the equipment at a reasonable cost, and all they welded were their own creations. (Given that my son's primary intentions were to do car repairs as well as construct a bar table, and both of those were too large to bring into a classroom, it made more sense for him to get his own equipment. I believe he rents the gas tank, but bought everything else.)
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Post by jisp on Apr 25, 2017 8:45:39 GMT -5
I could theoretically take a class at Mass Art (a public art school) and have access to their welding studio (but it would be with restrictions). Same is true with other schools in the area. Also in the Boston area those classes are not cheap!!! I am fine taking a break from Welding for now as I have other art projects I want to focus on. And maybe just maybe the maker space will upgrade their ventilation.....I am not the only one who has complained or quit because of it so it is definitely something on their agenda.
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Post by majorv on Apr 25, 2017 12:38:59 GMT -5
I agree that as my son gets more experience I think he'll be in more demand. At his job he mainly does aluminum TIG welding on 'big boy' toys. People bring in brand new Jeeps, Ford Raptors, ATV's and outfit them for hunting and any other hobby they will use the vehicles for. They've outfitted boats with racks for fishing, too. His boss cycled through a number of welders, firing them for various reasons, before settling on my son. I know that my son's ADHD gets in the way sometimes and they clash a bit, but I think his boss sees that my son is a talented welder. I just don't want him to "pidgeon-hole" himself, and to be open to doing other types of welding even though I know he likes TIG the best.
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Post by healthy11 on Apr 25, 2017 22:50:35 GMT -5
I believe my son does MIG welding, since he primarily works with steel. I'm not sure if he's done TIG, or if he's tried MIG on other metals, but I suppose he has a lifetime to learn, since it's a hobby and not his livelihood. (Majorv, I hope you don't mind that I edited the title of this discussion thread, since it's evolved to talk about both of your kids!  ) |
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Post by majorv on Apr 27, 2017 7:34:44 GMT -5
not a problem, healthy! Sorry I don't get on here much anymore but, honestly, this board helped a lot when my kids (especially dear son) was in school. I'm proud of both of them. My son is finally starting to mature and my daughter can now follow through with her dream!
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Since then, he has acquired a 14' kayak and a dirt bike. I guess he won't be going back to an apartment. He'd really like to find someone to rent a house with. I have to admit that he has been helpful around the house when we need him though. He takes care of feeding himself so I don't cook very much for him.
)