[BLOG] A general introduction to the Columbia Basin Job Corps
I'm gonna be honest with you outright. I don't know whether or not it is illegal for me to voice my opinion on a government facility. Sadly, this mental dilemma is vastly outweighed by the inherent necessity of this act. So as for a summary of the first couple months here, I shall being posthaste.
Upon arrival to Job Corps and after four hours since the last bus stop, I am told to get into a van before I can smoke. This is only the first thing that JCorps does to make it hopelessly difficult to be a nicotine addict, the list seems to be neverending, but sparing you that, (I'll moan about it later when I'm having a nic-fit for sure), I shall continue. The van drives straight to the JCorps center, roughly eight miles from town.
"Oh Cool", I think, "I can smoke now." No. We get marched into this room where they go through our stuff, presumably to make sure I left my Kalishnikov at home. I swear the staff member searching my luggage spent twenty minutes checking each of my thirty-or-so condoms for contraband, and checking everything for hidden compartments, however not one person ever patted me down or checked my jacket. >_> The illusion of security is valuable I guess... "Well we searched all of his things and found nothing! We couldn't have known he smuggled in Assassin's Creed style hidden blades! We are not responsible for this Hindenberg of a situation!"
Finally I am allowed to smoke. I no longer have to subject myself to their whim, or so I think. Once I get out to smoke however, immediately someone flies out, "WHERE'S YOUR ID!? YOU BETTER NOT BE A MINOR!" Ugh, as of my arrival I am twenty-one and already not enthused that I am unable to drink for the duration of my stay here, but NOW YOU BOTHER ME ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I CAN SMOKE? I WILL EAT YOUR RETINAS!
Anyhow. Then they test you for every STD and disease under the sun, except for the one's they couldn't care less about. They test for HIV, but not Herpes? Really? They say, "Well we'd need to draw blood for that." YOU DREW BLOOD FOR THE HIV TEST YOU DUMB FUCK! Then they give youa UA, a BAC test if you look tankard, verify that you don't have lice, and make sure you aren't blind.
After all of this one goes through the entry process, a bunch of tests incuding the ASVAB to see how smart you are, and a basic MS Office course with bonus CPR training. Some people are cleared from Education right away, while some are in what is essentially Adult Basic Ed for the entirety of their time here.
You meet your fellow students during this time frame, and I'll have you know, some of these punks make Frat Brats look fucking docile. The staff are generally militaristic, mass punishment is common, even though they refuse to call it that, and a lack of motivation, depression, and malice, hang in the air so thick it's almost a fucking fog.
Regardless of all of these foibles, I decide to soldier on. In the end it seems like I may be able to complete the task I cam here to complete, which was get a CCNA (as I can't afford the testing outside of this place) so that I may work toward a CCIE in Security. Now I'm in 'full time trade' which essentially means I don't have to go to ABE every other week, and completing Pharmacy like Flash Gordon on Methamphetamine.
That gives you a generalized back story, so continue reading in your chosen genre for more info.
Upon arrival to Job Corps and after four hours since the last bus stop, I am told to get into a van before I can smoke. This is only the first thing that JCorps does to make it hopelessly difficult to be a nicotine addict, the list seems to be neverending, but sparing you that, (I'll moan about it later when I'm having a nic-fit for sure), I shall continue. The van drives straight to the JCorps center, roughly eight miles from town.
"Oh Cool", I think, "I can smoke now." No. We get marched into this room where they go through our stuff, presumably to make sure I left my Kalishnikov at home. I swear the staff member searching my luggage spent twenty minutes checking each of my thirty-or-so condoms for contraband, and checking everything for hidden compartments, however not one person ever patted me down or checked my jacket. >_> The illusion of security is valuable I guess... "Well we searched all of his things and found nothing! We couldn't have known he smuggled in Assassin's Creed style hidden blades! We are not responsible for this Hindenberg of a situation!"
Finally I am allowed to smoke. I no longer have to subject myself to their whim, or so I think. Once I get out to smoke however, immediately someone flies out, "WHERE'S YOUR ID!? YOU BETTER NOT BE A MINOR!" Ugh, as of my arrival I am twenty-one and already not enthused that I am unable to drink for the duration of my stay here, but NOW YOU BOTHER ME ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I CAN SMOKE? I WILL EAT YOUR RETINAS!
Anyhow. Then they test you for every STD and disease under the sun, except for the one's they couldn't care less about. They test for HIV, but not Herpes? Really? They say, "Well we'd need to draw blood for that." YOU DREW BLOOD FOR THE HIV TEST YOU DUMB FUCK! Then they give youa UA, a BAC test if you look tankard, verify that you don't have lice, and make sure you aren't blind.
After all of this one goes through the entry process, a bunch of tests incuding the ASVAB to see how smart you are, and a basic MS Office course with bonus CPR training. Some people are cleared from Education right away, while some are in what is essentially Adult Basic Ed for the entirety of their time here.
You meet your fellow students during this time frame, and I'll have you know, some of these punks make Frat Brats look fucking docile. The staff are generally militaristic, mass punishment is common, even though they refuse to call it that, and a lack of motivation, depression, and malice, hang in the air so thick it's almost a fucking fog.
Regardless of all of these foibles, I decide to soldier on. In the end it seems like I may be able to complete the task I cam here to complete, which was get a CCNA (as I can't afford the testing outside of this place) so that I may work toward a CCIE in Security. Now I'm in 'full time trade' which essentially means I don't have to go to ABE every other week, and completing Pharmacy like Flash Gordon on Methamphetamine.
That gives you a generalized back story, so continue reading in your chosen genre for more info.
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