I thought that since I had good grades in HVAC class and graduated at the head of my class, I would breeze right through being an HVAC technician. I thought it would be easy to work as an HVAC technician, but it wasn’t. No one said being an HVAC technician would be easy, so I don’t know why I had that idea in mind. I still had a lot to learn after I got certified. I was now going from being book smart to real life learning. I had hands-on training, but it was in controlled areas. I was soon dealing with people, animals and kids and not just dealing with an HVAC system that was clean and had controlled breaks and problems. Once the problem was found, we had to fix it, but it was a new HVAC system. My first job as an apprentice was in an air conditioning unit. There were two kids in the yard, and they were playing with their cat. I never realized how distracting a kid or a cat could be. The air conditioning unit was in standing water, and it had weeds all over it. I didn’t want to work in the AC unit, but I had no choice. If I wanted to keep my apprenticeship, I had to do whatever job they gave me. Then I had to service a furnace. Did you know some people have open cesspools in their basement? I was told to beware of the hole in the corner, and I had thought they were kidding. I am still an HVAC technician, but my trainer has never let me forget about the basement with the cesspool and how he had to keep me from drowning in it.