Coming home from an unexciting regular day of school, to a neighbor I’ve never talked with asking me to give a hand carrying drywall into his basement. Thinking personally that sounds about as exciting as school did. But all it took was one “sure” and I was in. Every day for the next month we both come home and went straight down to a poured cement basement. I wasn’t coming from a handy background and He had every tool you would ever need, His garage is like a small home depot.
This friendly neighbor is Tim Konig, a Master Electrician and has done parts of every trade he’s like a realistic bob the builder . He asked for my help and was willing to teach me as much as he knew, Tim is easy to work with and He’s as laid back as a lazy boy recliner. His motto is “I don't care how long it takes you to do the job, as long as you only have to do it once” which made things easier knowing there's less pressure.
I used to be so unhandy, I couldn’t even use a drill. But with experience at all Tim still had me doing everything big or small. He would Start the night by saying “today we’re going to be doing… have you ever used one of these before”? I would laugh and say “was that a real question”? And with a quick demonstration he’d say “good luck” or “ hope you have insurance” joking around and give me the tool no matter what it was. Tim taught me everything he could and it was always hands on, from using a framing nailer to build walls, to a ceramic wet saw to cut tiles.
I picked up on so much, so fast, and loved doing it, I knew I found my calling. My favorite part was the electrical it seemed like the biggest part, I felt as if it tied everything together. The hard part was remembering all the codes of what's legal and what's not, where/how you can run wires and where/how you can't. But Tim he’s like a walking textbook of codes, he could even explain to me why. Which was a big part of helping me remember them.
Through out this whole building project I began to buy my own tools, and I would  ask him what he thought. I liked how he always gave an honest opinion if he thought it was stupid he’d tell me.  Now I have started my own tool room and I’ve started a few of my own projects, And Tim has asked me to work with his as his apprentice. We’ve done numerous jobs together from basements to wiring up garages, and even addictions on homes. Tims given me the opportunity to pick up these skills and knowledge and all I said was “sure” we even go to church together on sundays.
Thank you, Tim koenig for being my teacher and giving me the chance to pick up this trade because without you it wasn’t even an option or even a thought. You helped me find my calling and I enjoy working with you. Im proud to be your apprentice.