Busy busy weekend! (Like always.)

So yesterday, as a part of my Photovoltaics 2 class, I was required to volunteer for the Solar Home Tour, sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society and its Nevada chapter, Solar NV. At class on Thursday, we got our assignments for Saturday; our jobs were to help on the tour, put up signs, direct traffic, answer questions about green homes and solar power, make sure no fights broke out, etc. I handed out wristbands, plus maps and tour magazines when Allison and Snow were answering more in-depth questions. I got to look really kickass-smart when onlookers asked questions about the bifacial solar arrays at the Springs Preserve and I was able to answer them.

I got pretty sunburnt but had a great time. There was some downtime at the end as the crowds dwindled, and Snow was able to really get into system sizing...not before the estimate, but more on a system used to offset. Very cool. It's incredible how simple it can be when its a grid-tied system. :)

And even though my 12-year with Tannah was technically the 5th, we were both busy (see above for mine; Tannah had to go to Indian Springs for work), so we put it off til today. It was pretty fun, we started off at the Springs Preserve. Firstly, I showed Tannah the bifacial solar array, and he was acceptably impressed. Then to the Wolfgang Puck cafe there...it was nice, a good amount of food for the price and not too pretentious. Then the Ori-Gen Experience, the Desert Living Center, several trails to see natural desert plants and trees...it was so relaxing to be surrounded in that. I used to hate the natural desert and after today, I came to the conclusion that I've been fooled into the view that a beautiful landscape has to be misty, emerald-green flora. I saw so much: agave, yucca, dalea, sage, beargrass, senna, mesquite, eucalyptus, palms and of course cacti...all enchanting, just in a different way. I'm happy to start planning our xeriscape soon!

And then after being (more) sunburnt, we ran some errands, took a one-hour nap, then dinner at Milo's Cellar, a wine bar in Boulder City. I heard about it a few weeks ago from a girl at church, so it thought it might be a good idea. Since wine gets me all kinds of drunk pretty quick, I had just one glass of Chianti and a sip of Tannah's Pinot Noir; with our wine, we had a cheese platter, which included fresh mozzarella, gouda, and Stilton...I loved the Stilton, I could have just eaten the entire wedge. The cheese came with olives (gross) and grapes (yummy) so I was happy. Plus we each had a sandwich, but I think we could have gone without it...it was all delicious but that was alot of food. I hope to go back again.

Okay, enough geeking out for today: all in all, the weekend was awesome, even with all the running around.

i...need...sleep . ..

Worked from 06h00 til 14h30 yesterday. Went to see hematologist at 15h30, then went straight to Springs Preserve for class at 17h00. Attended a mandatory meeting at 18h00, stayed til after 20h00 helping clean up. Got home at 21h00, fell asleep prolly around 22h00, woke up at 01h00 to be at work for a substation shutdown at 02h00. Worked til 14h30.

Several hours at the Springs Preserve again tomorrow, to volunteer for class. And I should get to sleep, but I've been trying to for hours, and although my body's exhausted, my mind is full of far too much.

I'll update later.

Stretched.

Being overwhelmed with everything seems to be a major theme in my life lately.

We had our class photo today, which was cool in a sense...some people thought it was lame and that's okay. I don't hate the haters. We took a test and Kenny said he'd actually check homework Wednesday. I haven't done any of the Code homework at all this year. It's too time-consuming. Now I have to somehow get it all done in a week...and yes, I could be doing it now, but I'm not.

In fact the only upshot is that I got a free Corona before class. No lime, but that's okay, it was free after all. I mean I got my normal post-test Guinness but...y'know. Variety and all.

We meet at the Springs Preserve tomorrow to find out our volunteer positions for the Solar Home Tour. Since we're taking PV2 it's incorporated into our class schedule. It's great, to volunteer and be a part of it, but at the same time it's this coming Saturday, which is my 12-year with Tannah, and the Solar Home Tour is required for class so I'll be gone all day. He understands, which is awesome, and we've tentatively planned to go to a wine bar Sunday to celebrate but still, timing sucks. (Still better than last year: the morning of our 11-year I had the stroke. Haha what a killjoy!)

So work + extra classes + study group + homework + necessary sleep = no time for me to be of decent use to anyone. My family never sees me, my husband sees me like twice a week...I mean we communicate by email and MySpace, how lame is that? I have a party to go to on the 12th, and it's important, it's a wedding party, but I have class that day so I'll be late plus I'm not sure I can even stay long. The majority of my friends wonder if I'm even alive, I'm sure.

I'm sincerely hoping it gets better in June. I'm aiming for it, it's a bright spot to focus on.

Blissful Sunday.

Today at church (which Drew thinks is really a bar) we had a guest speaker give a presentation on humanism. Paraphrasing Kurt Vonnegut Jr. it was explained as "behaving decently with no expectation of reward or punishment after death". It's more complex than that of course, but the entire idea is pretty simple: about being rational, being freethinkers, knowing that we are brothers and sisters who share a home, which is this earth...to again paraphrase. I know some humanists aren't against the idea of any Creator or Divine Spirit, and I think the idea is really interesting. I brought some literature home for a friend, and I'd like to hear his views on it.

After grocery shopping and a quick nap, I went back for a wine tasting. We had five Italian wines (including an incredible Zonin Brut Prosecco and Firriato Chiaramonte Nero D'avola...oh my God it was blissful) with some yummies to go with it. Not only bruschetta, which I kinda expected, but this amazing appetizer, prosciutto-wrapped melon. I loved it so much I'm going to make some this-coming weekend I think, if I have time after class. It was so nice though, not only the wine and such but talking about many various things, being so relaxed...it's good to be just me sometimes.

And now, it's time for Things That Scare the Fuck Out of Me:

~The King. Not Elvis, but that creepy life-size puppet guy for Burger King. I think if I saw him in public I'd scream.
~Zombies. Yeah, I know they don't really exist...OR DO THEY??
~That shopping cart that chased me that one time in Northtown.
~Little towns and villages. It's like...there's no way those places are that wholesome. I've read Stephen King.
~Fundamentalists of any religion, any denomination. Extremism doesn't win anyone over, it's just scary.
That's enough. I'm not going to let all my little secrets out.

Quick:

I spent all day in PV class, sucking down Monster Java drinks with my super-caffeinated Snickers bar, but I wanted to give Sanj and Tick a massive congratulations on their newly-married selves. You guys deserve each other, I'm happy for you!

Alot to think about.

I'm not sure how well this is going to flow. I'm tired (three 15 hour days in a row can do that), I'm big-dealing it too often at work, and school is becoming a bit overwhelming. I'll just write and if it's not grammatically correct or in proper MLA format (haha, I laugh at MLA format!) then whatever.

~Photovoltaics class tonight...Chris hates batteries so we skipped that section for now and went to system sizing. I can now size a grid-tied system! A stand-alone system is way more complicated...I'll learn that in time. But it was good, I learned quite a bit even though someone in the back row annoys the fuck out of me. But that's fine, I'll only have to deal with him for two more weeks. Besides, Cliff and J Lo are in class with me so it's fun. And another besides, it's solar so it automatically wins.

~Drew accidentally drilled a hole into Jay, it unzipped the skin next to his thumbnail and it was pretty gruesome. As Jay contemplated drooling, Drew told me (completely in jest) that Jay wouldn't heal because I don't love Jesus. (This goes back to a comment made by someone else beforehand...long story.) So in going back and forth, we decided that since Jay's inability to heal was my fault, so were the following: starving children, SARS, the Iraq War, abandoned puppies, global warming, the Right Wing Conspiracy, genocide, and drunk driving.

~I admitted something to someone--nothing bad--that I think I regret now. Just sometimes you get a thought in your head, and it sounds good in your head, and then you say it and uh-oh: you realise that perhaps it was best left unsaid, and now things might be weird or awkward because now that thing that should have been left unsaid is now, indeed, said, and it can't be taken back, and oh-my-God-what-the-fuck-did-I-go-and-ruin-things-that-way-for? Damn.

~It seems that as much as I've been despairing and panicking lately, I can't help but to feel guilty about it. I'm sure my unhappiness is, for the most part, valid...however I keep thinking how much worse it could be, and how much worse it's been, actually, like during the Dark Times or Before. I don't think that makes it so I'm not allowed to feel this way. I just think that maybe I'm not taking it seriously enough. Or maybe I'm taking it too seriously? I don't know. A person can only cry so often in a day, but then I remember that I'm a girl, and girls cry often at silly things. I need...something...to feel better. (Haha, yeah, that solves it.) I keep thinking that perhaps I need change; but how? I've changed so much over the past year that there's not much left.

I should meditate, dream, sleep. I need to remember Rule #1.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck....

So pissed. Overly stressed, completely overwhelmed, I've got too much of my time being eaten up by too much of everything in too many directions. Work is frustrating because I can't do one goddamn thing right, school is frustrating because all the certifications and exams I still need to get on, I've got meetings and training and and and....
PV2 class tonight. If it's as shitty as the rest of my day was, I might just have to make good on my threat with the measuring tape tomorrow. :( I don't even have the energy to punch ovaries or gouge eyeballs or bite anyone in the face.

Eventful weekend.

No time to rest whatsoever...I'm going to freak out Monday, I can feel it.

Saturday I did grocery shopping and then immediately went to the library to study for a few hours. It was supposed to be a study group, but I got non-committal answers from both Cliff and Sanj, and Ryan bailed on me. A hangover isn't an excuse to skip study group, Ryan!

Anyway, I got my flashcards done and worked on figuring out my formulas. It took a few hours and even though I've gone to the library before for study group, I've never gone during the late morning or early afternoon, so it was a little busier than I'm used to. No problems, though; I found a place to sit and spread out my materials a bit, so it went fine.

Immediately from there I went home, changed, helped Tannah with a few things around the house, and went to a potluck at the Unitarian-Universalist church. There were about 30 of us there, and it was a festival to celebrate the spring equinox. It was really nice, I enjoyed it immensely. It talked alot about springtime, and the balance in nature, the growth of new things...quite a bit of symbolism and such. Afterwards, we met in the social room to eat and discuss anything really. I hung out for quite awhile and found out more about the congregation as a whole and also about specific groups within. Unitarian-Universalists are extremely liberal in some respects, but I like it nonetheless.

Today was Easter. I slept in till about 11h00. We let the rest of the morning go by and took the Pepper to the park, where I crushed her by stepping on her. :( Hopefully she'll heal, she's limping a bit right now. My family did the church thing this morning and we met for a late lunch/early dinner that was kinda potluck-ish as well. The kids did an Easter egg hunt and even tiny baby Jack got a few, though he really didn't understand what it was all about. It was just good to see family.

I'm so not looking forward to tomorrow.

OMG SOLAR JOY!

I'm so excited and jubilant I can hardly stand it.

Okay...some background info...for months now, Jay has been kind of screwing with my head, talking about how I should remember him when I get into working photovoltaics for my contractor. It's been a joke for months. Anytime he was frustrated, I'd smile and say "No worries Jay, I got your back once I get into solar."

Then yesterday, the rumour spread that I was going to get to be a "real solar whore" (solar whore being my nickname at work) when the PV jobs start rolling in. I laughed it off; Snow's been wanting to get our contractor to start running green work for a long time now, with no results. And it was fun to play up on the rumour a little, but that's all it was, a rumour. Then I heard Gwynne tell Jay over the radio to tell me that the next day (today) I had to report to the substation at 08h00 with a 100' tape measure and tools. Then the rumours got extra crazy: I heard I was getting transferred, or I was getting laid off, or that I was going in the Hole.

Earlier in the week a pretty big Hole got chipped out in the substation. Big enough for me to crawl into. Icky, dark...and I started thinking that it would make sense if I had to do some work in the Hole, since the littlest people on the crew usually had to do such things. I'm pretty little, I was to bring a 100' tape measure, and the Hole was mocking me from afar. I worried excessively at first, I hate dark tiny crawlspaces, and I worked it out that the rumours of PV joy were a scheme to keep me from calling in, and I finally came to terms with the fact that me and the Hole were going to be best friends.

So when I showed up this morning with my tools, hardhat, backpack and peered into the Hole, Gwynne was like, "What are you doing?" I told him I understood my role in the grand scheme of things as far as the Hole went. He looked at me like I was a freak and that's when Snow walked in. Between the two, I was told that I was going with Snow to our contractor's main shop to help with a site analysis for the solar panels that were going to be installed.

I seriously couldn't believe it. After all this time, geeking out about photovoltaics on a daily basis, I was going to be allowed to actually do some work. It was...it was..."o" for awesome and awesomesauce at once. Like at the same time, even.

So we got down there and the objective was simple: go up to the roof and plot out the best places to mount solar panels. That actually took a good amount of time. It involved hand-drawing a set of prints of the entire roof that showed elevations of everything, from the walls to the skylights, vents, pipe, HVAC units...everything that deviated from the flat surface. Then we made measurements as to where all those deviations were situated, and noted them as well. It was important to get everything, even a 6" deviation, because we were checking for anything that could possibly cast a shadow or obstruct the panels themselves from being mounted. After rechecking our work, Snow guided me into how to take and record shots with the Solmetric SunEye...that's right, the little toy I got to play with just the other day. We made six shots and routed out possibilities of where the panels could be mounted, in case a first plan was rejected. Then Snow took digital photos of the entire area; just something to look back on in case we needed to reference it against the notes and measurements we took.

Sometime in the very near future, Snow is going to submit the hand-drawn prints we made so they can be converted to CAD drawings, and print out the reports generated from the Solmetric SunEye. Then he (but hopefully we) will map out how to run the power from the panels to one or more inverters, and from there to a disconnect and into gear and all kinds of other fun things...I'm just so excited...it was really alot of fun. And anyone who read through this and was like "WTF?" well, that's great, I know that was kickass and that's all there is to it.

Solmetric joy!

It was totally incredible: somehow Snow got ahold of a kickass new solar toy, the Solmetric SunEye, which is like a technologically advanced in-colour version of the Solar Pathfinder...but way cooler on many levels.

When I took my photovoltaic classes originally in 2006, we got to play with a Solar Pathfinder. Well, actually, the instructors did, and we got to watch. Anyway, it's a little tripod with a glass dome, and little circular black pieces of paper that fit under the dome. You set it up where you want to do a solar site analysis and take a white crayon to outline the troublesome shade issues. The paper is divided into hours of the day and months of the year, showing when a particular object's shadow will become an issue. Pretty sweet.

But the Solmetric! It's like a PDA, with a fish-eye lens, a 360-degree level and a compass. Orient the device south and level it, then snap a photo. The divisions for hours of the day and months of the year are still there, but the shading is done automatically. Since it's electronic, you can also go back to edit shading. (An example of this in a bit.) It's so cool though, it shows the percentage of efficiency per season and per month, the azimuth and all kinds of things. I can't imagine the time it saves.

Anyway, I went down to get some 6-32 screws in the substation, and I ran into both Gwynne and Snow down there. Basically, I was given permission to go up to the pool deck at the Palazzo to test it out and see how it works. Snow set it up and we picked one site with the potential for alot of sun and one that we knew would be mostly shaded all the time. After the site shots were taken, we walked back to the office two floors down and he loaded the session to his laptop.

It was amazing. Aside from all the site calculations being done, Snow showed me how to edit a shot. One of them had the construction crane visible, and that's only temporary, so he deleted that as an obstruction. The percentage didn't jump up much, but it was enough to see that such a move might, in some cases, really change the outcome of a particular session. Plus, it can be printed out, so you can average it all together between the sites or print a before and after...I was really impressed. I told Snow I was going to sneak and play with it when he's not looking and he kinda laughed. But seriously, I'd love to work with one, just to get the idea on how an analysis could work.