i have graduated from airplane mechanic's school. it is a rather underwhelming occasion. i suppose that is the way of these things. The school held a very nice, and quaint, graduation ceremony. there was a buffet dinner that was very tasty, there was speeches from school administrators, and then there was the interminable recital of names of people who graduated, or who will be graduating or who had recently graduated.

class size is fairly small at this school, and when i started a new bunch of students would begin classes every 30 days. so the school would hold a 'graduation ceremony' every three months, and the folks who were graduating near that date would be invited to attend. but thats not the end of the story. the date you are given for your graduation is only the date that you stop taking classes.

you are not considered to have completed you course of study until you have made up all the time that you have missed in the past nineteen months. some guys in my class had over 200 hours to make up. they have 'graduated,' but it is meaningless because they cannot take their licensing exams and get a job until the complete those 200 hours. of course, yours truly graduated owing no time whatsoever.

it was a very good feeling, also i got a lot of congratulations from secretaries and teachers who said it is all too rare for someone to graduate and not owe any time. now i need to find a job. actually, i already did. but more on that next time.