Pics of School :-)

Here are two pics of Ironworking School.

Here we are in downtown Chicago! This was taken near the NBC studios. It was a nice day because we got away from boring classroom work and got to check downtown out! The first couple of weeks was very classroom oriented and BORING!!! Almost everyone struggled to stay awake for the eight hours we were in class! Doing "hands-on" stuff is WAY better than sitting on your keester for the whole day!

Here is part of my group, The Blue Hats, putting together stairs. For those of you unfamiliar with Ironworking it is a profession divided into specialty areas. Putting together stairs falls into Ornamental work. I'm not too crazy about the hard physical work (and getting all bacon face and sweaty!!!) but am growing to appreciate the benefits. Increased strength, agility, and stamina! So in other words it keeps one in shape!

I am going to post a link here for people who read this and am interested in the program. It's a great stepping stone for Native Americans like myself who are in desperate need of money and just can't afford higher education yet! This is the link Ironworking School for Native Americans The site has changed from the last time I looked at it. So if you have any questions please ask me. I have other info but am sorta in a rush right now. Have a great day guys!

Oh! I really would love to work on a blog about Natives in the Iron Working field this summer when I get the time so keep an eye out for that one!!!

Bye :-)

Staying in Shape for Werk :-P

So here I am back home and done with class. I'm really enjoying the freedom of not having to wake up at 5 in the morning and spend all day with "Snout!"

I'll elaborate on that one later :-)

I have my letter of completion and an order to report to the Union at which I am designated soon!!! I'm very happy that I'm finished and am going to start finally making some money! For those of you who do not know the conditions on the reservation it's like living on Mars with dial-up internet!

lol. No! It's not that bad but the job opportunities here are deplorable. Anyway I'm straying from my title- ever since I got worked over by steel at school I lost some weight where I needed to! I gained muscle instead and lost the "pouch." The "pouch" is that stubborn little area of fat that lay on my abdomen.

I really want to keep that off!!!

So in an attempt to stay in shape I've asked my relatives if they need any kind of help to ask me. Seriously I could barely cut through one length of wire with a wire cutter when I first started tying rebar. By the end of school I could cut through three with one hand!

Hell yeah :-)

So my dad has a ceremony going on this week and I was asked to help with patching up the ceremonial hogan (which was in bad bad shape) so he could have it there. Of course now that my relatives know that I finished school and am heading to Union they asked me! It's all good considering for it's my Dad and family. I did it, with some help, from my two brothers. I know absolutely nothing about Masonry but learned quickly! Believe me hauling containers of cement and sand is hard. I did hear something by a female Ironworker about how "it doesn't always have to be about muscle." She said "you have to be smart about your work!"

She was right. So my "gray matter" helped me beat a sprained back and much pain. Well I still was sore but it felt good but not in a twisted way lol. I don't play that stuff!

Now I have to hunt for money for "start up." "Start up" is the money I'll need to secure a place to stay, traveling expenses, and my Union dues. The school I was in will pay $175 towards the dues but I need at least 100 dollars more. This will secure my payments for the rest of the year. I basically have to hunt for resources now that, God willing, will help me get to where I need to go and begin work. I am secured a job but the thing is "starting up" funds as I am at twenty dollars right now!

So I'm going to log off now and enjoy some of the spare time I have. I have to make a phone call to the guy who helped get me into the school and see if he has any ideas. I may add some pictures of the work I did soon. I also took major pictures in Chicago but I have not taken the film out yet from ***-Mart! Sorry ***-Mart your name does not get mentioned here unless you help me out with "start up" funds :-P

Have an awesome day guys :-)

Finally Graduated :-)

I once caught a glimpse of a tough girl- she stood resplendent in her hardhat and a spudwrench in her hand. No fear in her at all she stared at me from the mirror as I got ready for the day. I wasn't the least bit shocked it just seemed like another day. It happened in a dream I had as the day drew near for my foray into Ironworking School. It was a far stretch from anything I've done and almost seemed like a death wish.

Go ahead and laugh :-P

I was always the kind of girl who was the epitome of a bookworm. She constantly read when she could get her dainty little hands on the latest Archie comic. All through school I got decent grades but nothing spectacular. I almost had a rebellion of types going through my formative years because I just wanted to fit in so! Being a nerd was nothing to feel so good about! Up until this point nothing seemed terribly exciting as far as a career went.

I know.

Some of you are saying she's a flakey little "Rez Girl." Yes ladies and gents. She's gone through all kinds of jobs- from McDonalds (triple ERK!) to doing her Nursing Assistant work. Those jobs were both good and bad. I truly did love the hospital work but nothing ever did come out of that. I could have went further in my Nursing but became disenchanted by politics and the constant pleas by Nurses who plead me not to become one. Too much politics they'd tell me! Somewhere between here and there my path led me to consider going to this school in Chicago for such "butch" work! OMG no fucking way! I thought to myself as I heard my brother tell me to apply. His thing was "Hey you're not doing anything anyway! Just go!" Thoughts of North Country and the toppling of Porta-Potties went through my head.

Really!

Queenie Tyrene would just not know what to do if that ever happened to her! Granted we didn't have Porta-Potties at my school but I was the only Transgirl there. Oh I almost forgot to mention that I couldn't even wear makeup to school.

Horrors!

What happened was that it would without fail melt off my face due to the stifling humidity and hard work.

Unh unh.

So much sacrifice for a shot at some sort of decent income. It's a little scary but I am almost a member of a union. I did finish that Ironworking school and got my letter of completion. All I have to do now is go to my assigned union, pay my union dues, and start working. I got some last minute things to do before I report for work, say a thousand prayers, and just do it! Right now I'm enjoying the free time I have at home and yet I'm anxious to get my own place and begin something- uh well anything! So that leaves me here with a need to find that tough girl I saw in that mirror and bring that bitch out again. What do you guys do to pump yourself up? I need a few pointers in this department. Are any of my trans readers in a "butch" job? How do you deal with it? I got a whole month to pump myself up and "woman" up for my job. I'll be a makin-a-sure I check my mail real soon!

Ciao :-)

Just a quick update!

Hey guys :-)

Hope everyone is doing great! I'm now in my sixth week and going on seven week of Ironworking School. We are now done with classroom work and are doing hands on stuff. It's been brutal but a good workout is how I'll describe it. We are learning how to Weld now. We're going to light a torch today and show our instructor how we are supposed to safety check out rig and dismantle it. Cool hunh. Anyway I get very limited internet time and it's almost time for class.

Grrr. lol

Chicago is a great city but the weather is SO "moody!" It was nice yesterday afternoon after class- well warm. Now it's been raining all morning and it's supposed to sleet this weekend. It's good but bad. Especially since I walk to school in the morning! Overall tho it's good.

Oh well. I'll post again very soon. Thanks guys!

Tyrene Banks

Hey! Fifth week in :-)

Well guys- I've been in the program for five weeks now. It's moving along at a steady pace. We're finally done with a lot of the textbook stuff and will be doing more hands-on-things now. Which is great! Our ultimate goal is to tear down a two story steel framework and erect it later. I'm excited and can't wait for graduation soon! I don't know about doing this for a life career but it's a step-up from minimum wage and doing Certified Nursing Assistant work :-)

Actually it's a big step up!

Not to sound so greedy but I need cash! I got some bills I got to pay and would like to buy new clothes. This Diva is in bag lady mode now. I do get paid for my training but it all goes to rent. Bah @ rent!

Were doing transit work now which is a surveying tool. It's cool. I always wondered how those guys who stood behind that binocular looking thing used it. Now I do :-)

So I got to log off now. I have class in a couple of minutes and someones hounding me for the comp. So take care everyone and I'll post again soon.

Ciao!

Hey people :-)

I was going to originally write out a blog but I'm running out of paper!

I'm now in Chicago and it's snowing and shit! What's up with that??!!!

I love it here and will miss it when I leave in May. Ironworking school is going along just fine :-)Everyone here is gracious and grand in their own way. It's a long stretch from dirty red dusty trails and poetry :-P

I have major headaches from cramming all the time and just had to read sixty pages of stuff last night. Oh! Not to mention I had to do math for class also. It's tough but she's hanging in there! I have to stress that if you do have a MySpace account add me because I spend more time there than here. Sorry for the delay.

So I got to get ready for that quiz and probably tie more knots and mess around with machinery today. It's different but I have a penchant for trying to figure things out. I get homework everyday and have tons of stuff to study for quizzes the next day so I'm always on my feet or trying to be a mathematics genius here :-P

So on that note I gotta study a little and get some liquids in me. Catch you all later and I will post some pictures of me in the Windy City soon.

That's the mode I gotta get into! Definitely :-)

Ciao!