Current Mood: removed from the bubble
Another semester finished (around the first week of May) at Purdue, which means I am down to just 2 semesters. One more school year. My "senior" year, for real. One last summer break (during which I am happy to be busy with my internship!), one last set of holidays, one last winter break, one last spring break - the familiar school routine I've had since grade school. Only 2 more sets of finals!
I learned a ton of new stuff. I'm really glad I took my extra 490 classes - I gained some unique experience doing hangar maintenance, as well as some confidence doing hands-on work in my field. My fuels class really let me gain a rapport with one of my professors, and I learned some things about the industry that are outside the books, stuff they don't test you on but I feel like helps me understand the big picture. I even managed to get my best grade in electronics yet, which has always been a struggle for me.
My senior year will be somewhat front loaded, with something like 18 credit hours in the fall and probably about 13 in the spring - I wanted to try and take Air Traffic Control classes, but my schedule would not allow it. This includes senior design (both semesters), which I've heard horror stories of in terms of time commitment. I'd like to balance that out a little, but hopefully this way I can spend more time (especially in the spring) on job searching (and A&P prep)! That's right, honest to goodness, college graduate, real world, time to be an adult and look for gainful employment job searching. I can't wait!
After 8 years of Purdue (with one more to go), it's time for me to fly. I have to trust that just like retiring from the Ship of Fools, this is the right move. There's definitely part of me that's somewhat institutionalized - I love Purdue, and I love knowing exactly where everything is, where to go and who to talk to for anything I need or want, knowing where the best food is, the quickest routes, stuff like that. Feeling like a king around campus, because I have insider knowledge and my finger on the pulse of what's important. I have family and friends close by, we have an awesome apartment filled with all of my favorite things - why would I go anyplace else?
Of course, if I go someplace new, I'm sure I can recapture those feelings - it just takes time and effort. And let's be realistic, when I finally graduate, more than likely we will be moving. Most of the jobs in my field are in Washington, California, Texas (ugh), Florida, DC, places like that. As awful as it would be for J to leave her school that she loves and fought so hard to get, the reality is that she'll have an easier time finding a school near my job than vice versa. I'm not opposed to staying here - if I could find something, or somebody would pay for my grad school, sure, I'm just not sure how plausible that scenario is.
That all said, I'm feeling surprisingly optimistic about the job search (ask me again in a year, haha). I'm doing very well with my new major, especially grades wise. My cumulative grades (including that debacle half decade in engineering) have finally been pulled, kicking and screaming, to the floor of acceptable. My major GPA is rockin'. My professors like me and know me (one of my professors asked me in March if I had anything lined up for the summer, and when I told him my internship was pending, he told me if it didn't work out he'd "find something for me"). I see my professors in the hall and they say hi to me, and they know my name, which is a great feeling. Something I didn't even consider when I switched to this smaller program, but definitely something I like.
Some of my classmates have gotten internships at some places I'd love to work (Lockheed, Rolls Royce, Gulfstream, etc.). So it can definitely be done! I just have to buckle down, put my head down and power through. One more year of classes, books, and exams. One last year to do all the Purdue stuff I've put off (not that much), and then graduate. Oh, and take my A&P test *shudder*. Plus, I have got to stop paying for school and start paying down loans. That's...that's all I'm going to talk about that subject for now.
This May has been so weird. Seniors in my major are leaving, and I had just started to feel like I was getting to know them. Now I'm going to be those seniors. Another group of people (all majors, lots from the improv club and Ship of Fools, little siblings of people I started college with) graduating, some of which started schools years after I did, and now I've watched the grow up and now it's time to say goodbye. I'm extremely proud of them and happy for them, but there's a tiny bit that stings. Something about seeing them come and go, instead of being the one leaving. Seeing Facebook blow up with statuses and pictures of caps and gowns and sappy goodbyes. I have plenty of great stuff to take from my time at Purdue already, and I'm sure I will look back on my time here fondly, but right now I see a lot of frustration, wasted time and opportunity, and spinning wheels on my part. Never, never thought I'd be one of those old guy students who spent more than 4 (even 5) years to finish his undergrad degree.
UGH. Gotta push those stupid feelings away and get down to business.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
5.27.2012
1.18.2012
be careful what you wish for
Current Mood: still somewhat aghast
Yesterday afternoon I was at work. I had just completed a routine lay up (layers of composite materials put under vacuum) and was mixing the two part resin to inject into the part which would complete the process. My boss (Prof S) came up to me with what he called "bad news".
He's a pretty sarcastic, joking kind of guy so I didn't even stop what I was doing. Then he proceeded to tell me that the higher ups, the powers that be, have stopped our research project.
I laughed, and asked him what new project we'd be switching over to. That's when he told me that was it. Funding stopped, project canceled, done. Zip, zilch, bagel. Nothing to switch to, no warning, scale down, or trail off, just stop what you are doing and go home, because there's no more research to be done here. No hours to be worked or money to be made, because it's all gone.
When the job was first presented to me (about a year ago) I was told it was dependent on funding, but I thought once the semester started we'd be in the clear until probably summertime? Apparently, not. Felt like the rug was pulled out from beneath me.
I can look at this from a few different angles-
Projects in aerospace can be somewhat ephemeral. Especially small budget college research groups in a time of defense budget cuts. Even larger programs can and do get canceled, sometimes with little or no warning. Better get used to that, if this is supposed to be my field. I've never had a job vanish like that- I always quit on my terms, usually because I was moving or for school.
All that time and effort I spent re-arranging my schedule and rides to fit in 20 hours of lab work? SUDDENLY FREE TIME. My classes are getting harder, so I should have more free time to study and do group work. Still, do I fill that free time with sleep, video games, and flex time for school (I picked up extra classes this semester, so that's helpful...)
Or do I immediately look for another job? Not much at the airport now, and I don't really have transportation to get to a more normal job (cashier, waiter, etc.), even if I could find one and if they were flexible with my schedule. Last time I job searched, it was pretty bare bones (although, in a roundabout way, not having a job helped me have time to do well in school which led me to this job...)
Is it too late/do I want to try and find a class to TA? I don't particularly like teaching. I would have to TA a full semester for credit before I could get paid at some point in the future.
Those summer internships I applied/want to apply for? Here's hoping they pan out! Could/should/would I go back to summer conferences if not?
I wasn't making a TON of money, and I'm not in danger of becoming homeless or anything, but it sure was nice contributing to the finances and being able to go out to eat and buy gifts and such without worrying. So here comes the money worry (again). I just want to be done with school so I can get a job and make real money, full time.
I was getting a little burnt out at work from the work, and at the same time really starting to like my coworkers. Former problem solved, latter - well, at least I'll still see these guys around school.
In the past months, I usually had not worked the full 20 hrs/week possible, usually because I was too tired, had too many classes or studying or exams or improv or places to be to really hit that mark. And I was okay with that, again, a little bit of burnout. Now...now I'm done. Do I regret not working those hours? Would that little bit of money made a difference? Am I going to need it later? Would I have learned something in those hours? Could I have done more?
*headdesk*
Can't imagine what my life would be like right now if I was single, working a real job, and suddenly had no job for reasons beyond my control. I would be a basket case. Whole lot more respect for people out there who have to deal with this kind of crap.
Yesterday afternoon I was at work. I had just completed a routine lay up (layers of composite materials put under vacuum) and was mixing the two part resin to inject into the part which would complete the process. My boss (Prof S) came up to me with what he called "bad news".
He's a pretty sarcastic, joking kind of guy so I didn't even stop what I was doing. Then he proceeded to tell me that the higher ups, the powers that be, have stopped our research project.
I laughed, and asked him what new project we'd be switching over to. That's when he told me that was it. Funding stopped, project canceled, done. Zip, zilch, bagel. Nothing to switch to, no warning, scale down, or trail off, just stop what you are doing and go home, because there's no more research to be done here. No hours to be worked or money to be made, because it's all gone.
When the job was first presented to me (about a year ago) I was told it was dependent on funding, but I thought once the semester started we'd be in the clear until probably summertime? Apparently, not. Felt like the rug was pulled out from beneath me.
I can look at this from a few different angles-
Projects in aerospace can be somewhat ephemeral. Especially small budget college research groups in a time of defense budget cuts. Even larger programs can and do get canceled, sometimes with little or no warning. Better get used to that, if this is supposed to be my field. I've never had a job vanish like that- I always quit on my terms, usually because I was moving or for school.
All that time and effort I spent re-arranging my schedule and rides to fit in 20 hours of lab work? SUDDENLY FREE TIME. My classes are getting harder, so I should have more free time to study and do group work. Still, do I fill that free time with sleep, video games, and flex time for school (I picked up extra classes this semester, so that's helpful...)
Or do I immediately look for another job? Not much at the airport now, and I don't really have transportation to get to a more normal job (cashier, waiter, etc.), even if I could find one and if they were flexible with my schedule. Last time I job searched, it was pretty bare bones (although, in a roundabout way, not having a job helped me have time to do well in school which led me to this job...)
Is it too late/do I want to try and find a class to TA? I don't particularly like teaching. I would have to TA a full semester for credit before I could get paid at some point in the future.
Those summer internships I applied/want to apply for? Here's hoping they pan out! Could/should/would I go back to summer conferences if not?
I wasn't making a TON of money, and I'm not in danger of becoming homeless or anything, but it sure was nice contributing to the finances and being able to go out to eat and buy gifts and such without worrying. So here comes the money worry (again). I just want to be done with school so I can get a job and make real money, full time.
I was getting a little burnt out at work from the work, and at the same time really starting to like my coworkers. Former problem solved, latter - well, at least I'll still see these guys around school.
In the past months, I usually had not worked the full 20 hrs/week possible, usually because I was too tired, had too many classes or studying or exams or improv or places to be to really hit that mark. And I was okay with that, again, a little bit of burnout. Now...now I'm done. Do I regret not working those hours? Would that little bit of money made a difference? Am I going to need it later? Would I have learned something in those hours? Could I have done more?
*headdesk*
Can't imagine what my life would be like right now if I was single, working a real job, and suddenly had no job for reasons beyond my control. I would be a basket case. Whole lot more respect for people out there who have to deal with this kind of crap.
7.18.2010
work
Current Mood: kinda bored, actually
I think I read somewhere that the average adult has seven jobs in the course of their lifetime. If that's the case, then I think I'm stuck on number two.
Growing up I definitely did house work and yard work for family and neighbors to make a few bucks, mostly cutting grass. I also did stuff like edit reports and design word art brochures for my dad's home business, which netted a few bucks here and there.
It wasn't until high school that I had my first legit have-a-paycheck kind of Job. With a capital J. I had an interview, I learned my social security number, that sort of thing. That was when I worked in the kitchen at Mt. Washington Care Center, washing dishes and serving elderly folks. It was satisfying, in a way, for a few different reasons - it was physical and I got stronger, I ate well for free, helped me pay for my car, it was a good break from my tough AP courses, and I got a lot of satisfaction proving to everybody there that this 15 year old kid could do anything they could, and usually faster. Not to mention it was good to have some spending money, and I felt like it was the right thing to do in high school before college - I really bought into the whole Honor Society/Working Teen/Academic All Star kinda mentality hoping it would help me get into a good school. And I did, so I'm not complaining. It just seems odd to me now that I worried so much about certain things then, and now it's a totally different set of values and headaches.
That job was part time. I was mainly in school, so I worked a few weeknights and usually one weekend night. I usually ran the dinner shift, which was about 4pm to close (around 9pm). Still, I made pretty good money!
Probably the best motivation for MWCC was that that job let me afford flight lessons. I didn't finish - I got my solo and then had to stop - but boy I had a lot of fun with that. Can't wait to get back to doing that someday. Y'know, when I don't have gazillions of dollars in student loans to pay back.
My second Job was when I got to Purdue. Towards the end of my freshman year I started working at the front desk of one of the residence halls. It was pretty easy stuff - answering phones, sorting mail, alphabetizing files and putting stickers on packets. The kind of gruntwork that makes the machine that is college turn, y'know? I got some cool stuff out of it, like free magazines.
I didn't make a ton, in part because I got paid less and I was still working very much part time. It got hard to balance school and work- I could sometimes do homework while I was there, but especially when I moved out of the building the travel time got to be a pain in the butt. Most of my big expenses like books and tuition were from loans (I couldn't make that much even if I worked double full time), so my money was mostly fun money. I usually ended up working all weekend, which kinda sucked. I listened to a lot of Purdue football games on the radio.
Summer conferences could be considered my third Job, but it shares so much in common with Student Office Staff (Job 2) - same employer, mostly same locations, same bosses, that if anything it's like Job 2.5.
At any rate, I've been spending my summers working for University Residences since (...got to school fall 04, first summer home, then...) 2006. At first I was an Operations Assistant (OA) for several years, living in the buildings on my own floor mostly by myself. I went on rounds, worked the check ins and check outs like a hotel, helping the groups coming and going through our halls have a good stay. I got to know a lot of people like Purdue administrators but also some of my good friends. The pay is pretty great, plus I get food and housing on top of it all, which is probably the main reason I keep coming back. It's also pretty easy - it's considered a "part time" job, but most of the hours are just being on call, so I can hang out in my air conditioned room and play video games and get paid to do it.
Then last summer I got promoted midway through the summer to be Senior Assistant (SA) Staffing. My SA left to take a job elsewhere, and I got moved up to take her spot. I was in charge of schedules, mostly, since a lot of the work had already been done by Lisa. I was now The Guy who Took Care of Things when they Went Wrong. Still, I mostly cruised to the end of the summer and thought I'd do that again this year.
Instead, I got brought back, but as an SA Billing. This was a bit of a change of pace for me. For ones, it's definitely a full time 40 hour position. My boss is pretty good about letting me fix my hours as long as I get my work done, which is great, since I don't sleep well. I usually come in around lunchtime and stay to the end of the day, and then I have occasional weekends where I have to come in (like right now). Working for conferences for so long really gives me a step up as a Biller, since I know what's going on.
I have an office. I go there and sit at a computer and play with names and numbers. Before every conference I have to get the roster and contract details into special software (CP5). Once the group is in house I track the meals they eat from reports we get. Then the conference leaves and I get a report of all the nights they stayed, any damages or charges, and I put together a giant bill. It gets audited internally then by the conference, then I send it to some office on campus so the University gets paid (and I do mean get paid, these contracts are usually at least several thousand dollars).
I'm making a lot more now (which is SUPER nice). Enough that I can actually pay for some things like rent and loan payments. I'm One of The Guys that gets called when there is a Problem. I work (mostly) M-F 9-5, instead of 3 or 4 days a week from noon-2 then 7pm in the building until 7am with rounds at 9 and 11 or somesuch. I handle important data and get in trouble when it's not right. I don't get to manipulate my schedule to take a week and a half off like I did as an OA. It's very different.
Admittedly, it's nice not living and breathing conferences like I was as an OA, because that really got tiresome after a while. And if I'm really good and stay on top of things, I don't get in trouble or called in after hours. More money is very nice. I wish I had a car, but don't want to pay for gas, repairs, insurance, or even a car payment. For now I learn to use the bus and plan my schedule around Jenny's work, which is for now very fortunately close and conveniently located.
All of the Purdue stuff has taken me pretty much all across the residential half of campus. By the time I'm done here I probably will have worked in just about every building we have. I've been here so long that the guys I used to make fun of for being the old guys like Kyle and Scott are now asking me when I'm about to graduate, yay.
Blah blah blah old news. What about the future?
It feels like my whole life, but especially my entire school career has been aimed towards ending up in some sort of aerospace field. I was on track until like, my third year of college when everything kind of fell apart.
One summer I almost had Job 3. I got a position for a research fellowship in the Aerospace Engineering department working for a really cool professor on a UAV project. Unfortunately, I a lot of trouble with the whole balancing-work-and-school department (sensing a pattern?) and had to drop out.
That was probably the closest I've gotten to working in the field I want to be working in. Sure, I've got some kind of employment right now, which is more than some people have right now, so I'm trying not to complain. But the fact that I've switched majors and struggled a lot in school means I haven't even gotten close to getting a "career" off the ground (heh, NPI).
I didn't have a 4.0 my freshman year, so I don't have an internship or Co-Op position to get my foot in any doors. It is only recently, with my mom's new husband Scott that I even have a remote tie to the aerospace field. I just feel like a dumb college student on the outside, looking in. Somebody who hasn't graduated yet and is watching his more intelligent peers move onto grad school or get jobs doing super cool stuff. Or worse, watching somebody younger do those things (*through gritted teeth* congratulations, guys, I'm so happy for you).
It's my fault, I guess. I don't want to blame the world for the fact I'm working at Purdue this summer and probably will next summer, instead of being on some Tiger Team at NASA staying up late trying to build an air filter from socks and a flight manual to save some astronauts.
I guess I'm just feeling a little discouraged lately. I hope I can get my new major on track this fall and start steering it away from summer conferences, towards something - anything - related to airplanes and rockets. Something I can label Job 3 and be proud it's the start of my adult career, not just some thing that works because I'm still at/in school. Something that pays the bills and loans, something that starts putting together a plan for insurance, for retirement, for a car and wedding and a house and maybe even a family.
I think I read somewhere that the average adult has seven jobs in the course of their lifetime. If that's the case, then I think I'm stuck on number two.
Growing up I definitely did house work and yard work for family and neighbors to make a few bucks, mostly cutting grass. I also did stuff like edit reports and design word art brochures for my dad's home business, which netted a few bucks here and there.
It wasn't until high school that I had my first legit have-a-paycheck kind of Job. With a capital J. I had an interview, I learned my social security number, that sort of thing. That was when I worked in the kitchen at Mt. Washington Care Center, washing dishes and serving elderly folks. It was satisfying, in a way, for a few different reasons - it was physical and I got stronger, I ate well for free, helped me pay for my car, it was a good break from my tough AP courses, and I got a lot of satisfaction proving to everybody there that this 15 year old kid could do anything they could, and usually faster. Not to mention it was good to have some spending money, and I felt like it was the right thing to do in high school before college - I really bought into the whole Honor Society/Working Teen/Academic All Star kinda mentality hoping it would help me get into a good school. And I did, so I'm not complaining. It just seems odd to me now that I worried so much about certain things then, and now it's a totally different set of values and headaches.
That job was part time. I was mainly in school, so I worked a few weeknights and usually one weekend night. I usually ran the dinner shift, which was about 4pm to close (around 9pm). Still, I made pretty good money!
Probably the best motivation for MWCC was that that job let me afford flight lessons. I didn't finish - I got my solo and then had to stop - but boy I had a lot of fun with that. Can't wait to get back to doing that someday. Y'know, when I don't have gazillions of dollars in student loans to pay back.
My second Job was when I got to Purdue. Towards the end of my freshman year I started working at the front desk of one of the residence halls. It was pretty easy stuff - answering phones, sorting mail, alphabetizing files and putting stickers on packets. The kind of gruntwork that makes the machine that is college turn, y'know? I got some cool stuff out of it, like free magazines.
I didn't make a ton, in part because I got paid less and I was still working very much part time. It got hard to balance school and work- I could sometimes do homework while I was there, but especially when I moved out of the building the travel time got to be a pain in the butt. Most of my big expenses like books and tuition were from loans (I couldn't make that much even if I worked double full time), so my money was mostly fun money. I usually ended up working all weekend, which kinda sucked. I listened to a lot of Purdue football games on the radio.
Summer conferences could be considered my third Job, but it shares so much in common with Student Office Staff (Job 2) - same employer, mostly same locations, same bosses, that if anything it's like Job 2.5.
At any rate, I've been spending my summers working for University Residences since (...got to school fall 04, first summer home, then...) 2006. At first I was an Operations Assistant (OA) for several years, living in the buildings on my own floor mostly by myself. I went on rounds, worked the check ins and check outs like a hotel, helping the groups coming and going through our halls have a good stay. I got to know a lot of people like Purdue administrators but also some of my good friends. The pay is pretty great, plus I get food and housing on top of it all, which is probably the main reason I keep coming back. It's also pretty easy - it's considered a "part time" job, but most of the hours are just being on call, so I can hang out in my air conditioned room and play video games and get paid to do it.
Then last summer I got promoted midway through the summer to be Senior Assistant (SA) Staffing. My SA left to take a job elsewhere, and I got moved up to take her spot. I was in charge of schedules, mostly, since a lot of the work had already been done by Lisa. I was now The Guy who Took Care of Things when they Went Wrong. Still, I mostly cruised to the end of the summer and thought I'd do that again this year.
Instead, I got brought back, but as an SA Billing. This was a bit of a change of pace for me. For ones, it's definitely a full time 40 hour position. My boss is pretty good about letting me fix my hours as long as I get my work done, which is great, since I don't sleep well. I usually come in around lunchtime and stay to the end of the day, and then I have occasional weekends where I have to come in (like right now). Working for conferences for so long really gives me a step up as a Biller, since I know what's going on.
I have an office. I go there and sit at a computer and play with names and numbers. Before every conference I have to get the roster and contract details into special software (CP5). Once the group is in house I track the meals they eat from reports we get. Then the conference leaves and I get a report of all the nights they stayed, any damages or charges, and I put together a giant bill. It gets audited internally then by the conference, then I send it to some office on campus so the University gets paid (and I do mean get paid, these contracts are usually at least several thousand dollars).
I'm making a lot more now (which is SUPER nice). Enough that I can actually pay for some things like rent and loan payments. I'm One of The Guys that gets called when there is a Problem. I work (mostly) M-F 9-5, instead of 3 or 4 days a week from noon-2 then 7pm in the building until 7am with rounds at 9 and 11 or somesuch. I handle important data and get in trouble when it's not right. I don't get to manipulate my schedule to take a week and a half off like I did as an OA. It's very different.
Admittedly, it's nice not living and breathing conferences like I was as an OA, because that really got tiresome after a while. And if I'm really good and stay on top of things, I don't get in trouble or called in after hours. More money is very nice. I wish I had a car, but don't want to pay for gas, repairs, insurance, or even a car payment. For now I learn to use the bus and plan my schedule around Jenny's work, which is for now very fortunately close and conveniently located.
All of the Purdue stuff has taken me pretty much all across the residential half of campus. By the time I'm done here I probably will have worked in just about every building we have. I've been here so long that the guys I used to make fun of for being the old guys like Kyle and Scott are now asking me when I'm about to graduate, yay.
Blah blah blah old news. What about the future?
It feels like my whole life, but especially my entire school career has been aimed towards ending up in some sort of aerospace field. I was on track until like, my third year of college when everything kind of fell apart.
One summer I almost had Job 3. I got a position for a research fellowship in the Aerospace Engineering department working for a really cool professor on a UAV project. Unfortunately, I a lot of trouble with the whole balancing-work-and-school department (sensing a pattern?) and had to drop out.
That was probably the closest I've gotten to working in the field I want to be working in. Sure, I've got some kind of employment right now, which is more than some people have right now, so I'm trying not to complain. But the fact that I've switched majors and struggled a lot in school means I haven't even gotten close to getting a "career" off the ground (heh, NPI).
I didn't have a 4.0 my freshman year, so I don't have an internship or Co-Op position to get my foot in any doors. It is only recently, with my mom's new husband Scott that I even have a remote tie to the aerospace field. I just feel like a dumb college student on the outside, looking in. Somebody who hasn't graduated yet and is watching his more intelligent peers move onto grad school or get jobs doing super cool stuff. Or worse, watching somebody younger do those things (*through gritted teeth* congratulations, guys, I'm so happy for you).
It's my fault, I guess. I don't want to blame the world for the fact I'm working at Purdue this summer and probably will next summer, instead of being on some Tiger Team at NASA staying up late trying to build an air filter from socks and a flight manual to save some astronauts.
I guess I'm just feeling a little discouraged lately. I hope I can get my new major on track this fall and start steering it away from summer conferences, towards something - anything - related to airplanes and rockets. Something I can label Job 3 and be proud it's the start of my adult career, not just some thing that works because I'm still at/in school. Something that pays the bills and loans, something that starts putting together a plan for insurance, for retirement, for a car and wedding and a house and maybe even a family.
9.04.2008
accelerated
Current Mood: behind
MAN school caught up with me quick.
I'll spare you all the play-by-play of each day, but here's the summary:
MA 266 (differential equations) - again
AAE 301 (signals and systems analysis)
AAE 352 (structures II)
AAE 352 lab
CGT 226 (computer modeling - part modeling and advanced surface design)
13 credit hours.
Same old, same old, really. Difficult classes, I feel like I'm in over my head, the math involved blows my mind. I feel really...sluggish getting used to the routine, the workload, etc. Not crazy about trying to pass DE again, but what am I gonna do? Worried about student loans. Of course it wouldn't be a semester at Purdue for Ryan without problems with scheduling, registration, and student loan acceptance. a;sljdf;aljdf
On a scale of 1-1o, with 1 being Ferris Bueller's Day Off and 10 being Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, my schedule looks like:
Monday: 6
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 9 (5 classes spanning 7:30am to 5:30pm)
Thursday: 2
Friday: 7
A lot of my aero professors are downright crazy, but it's balanced by a generous amount of oh my god these guys are so smart. I also regret letting all my knowledge of CATIA atrophy over several years since CGT 163.
New apartment is nice, even though I kinda hate trekking up Chauncey Hill. Especially 3x a week at 7 in the morning. I am not used to early classes like this!
Improv is good. I've already seen a lot of familiar old faces, and it looks like we've got a good recruiting class, which couldn't come at a better time for us.
Several job fairs are coming up next week and I suppose it's high time for me to buckle down and try to seriously get myself out there and find some sort of internship for next year. If nothing else I do not want to work for university residences again (not that it is a bad job, I just don't think I can do it again). Side thought...the longest I've had any job so far was about 3 years and each time I started to get pretty stir crazy. I hope that if/when I get into my preferred "field"I will be more content and won't feel the need to jump around so much.
Lastly, Andy Ober gave Jenny and I some last minute freebies to go see another preseason game - Bengals @ Colts a week ago. So we got to see Lucas Oil Stadium up close and personal, and the Bengals won (something I am worried about not celebrating a lot in the coming months). That said, my new favorite Bengal is Corey Lynch - not just because he makes a great impact on our D, but he's also a rookie from Appalachian State. Which means he was part of the David team that brought down Michigan last year at the Big House, apparently starting a tradition.
:D Football season!
MAN school caught up with me quick.
I'll spare you all the play-by-play of each day, but here's the summary:
MA 266 (differential equations) - again
AAE 301 (signals and systems analysis)
AAE 352 (structures II)
AAE 352 lab
CGT 226 (computer modeling - part modeling and advanced surface design)
13 credit hours.
Same old, same old, really. Difficult classes, I feel like I'm in over my head, the math involved blows my mind. I feel really...sluggish getting used to the routine, the workload, etc. Not crazy about trying to pass DE again, but what am I gonna do? Worried about student loans. Of course it wouldn't be a semester at Purdue for Ryan without problems with scheduling, registration, and student loan acceptance. a;sljdf;aljdf
On a scale of 1-1o, with 1 being Ferris Bueller's Day Off and 10 being Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, my schedule looks like:
Monday: 6
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 9 (5 classes spanning 7:30am to 5:30pm)
Thursday: 2
Friday: 7
A lot of my aero professors are downright crazy, but it's balanced by a generous amount of oh my god these guys are so smart. I also regret letting all my knowledge of CATIA atrophy over several years since CGT 163.
New apartment is nice, even though I kinda hate trekking up Chauncey Hill. Especially 3x a week at 7 in the morning. I am not used to early classes like this!
Improv is good. I've already seen a lot of familiar old faces, and it looks like we've got a good recruiting class, which couldn't come at a better time for us.
Several job fairs are coming up next week and I suppose it's high time for me to buckle down and try to seriously get myself out there and find some sort of internship for next year. If nothing else I do not want to work for university residences again (not that it is a bad job, I just don't think I can do it again). Side thought...the longest I've had any job so far was about 3 years and each time I started to get pretty stir crazy. I hope that if/when I get into my preferred "field"I will be more content and won't feel the need to jump around so much.
Lastly, Andy Ober gave Jenny and I some last minute freebies to go see another preseason game - Bengals @ Colts a week ago. So we got to see Lucas Oil Stadium up close and personal, and the Bengals won (something I am worried about not celebrating a lot in the coming months). That said, my new favorite Bengal is Corey Lynch - not just because he makes a great impact on our D, but he's also a rookie from Appalachian State. Which means he was part of the David team that brought down Michigan last year at the Big House, apparently starting a tradition.
:D Football season!
8.16.2008
arguably the best summary ever
Current Mood: summer is slipping away...
I've been slackin' on my goal to post once a week here.
Part of that was the early part of the month - I helped Jenny move from Hillenbrand to her new place, and then I moved out of both my old apt. and Earhart into my new place. Many thanks to everybody that helped.
I'm glad that's over, because it felt like a solid week of moving, and the furniture especially sucked to move. I guess I'd underestimated how much stuff I really left back at the old place. That's even with a concerted effort not to keep a lot of things, and even still it was a lot!
I'm more or less all settled in my new place, and it's really nice - a lot of that is just more space, but also the pool, laundry room, more a/c. Greg and I are hangin' all the time (I even have gotten him hooked on RE4) and it looks like it will be a blast living together. I have a slight suspicion that there's a bug infestation in a nearby apartment, but hopefully that's just me being paranoid.
Still need to get my registration and loans goin'...
The other big part of August so far has been Jenny and I's trip to Green Bay. Jenny posted pictures and kinda chronicled everything here: 1 2 3
We left Sunday morning and forgot about the time change driving through Chicago. I'm technically from Cincy, but I really am not a downtown driver. So of course I was terrified to navigate my way to my friend [from improv long ago] Scott's house in the heart of the city. Still, it was a Sunday afternoon and despite a few slow moments and a few tolls, we made it okay. I'll go ahead and mention here the weather was gorgeous the entire time.
Side note: later I want to take a trip to Chicago and get a CityPass because pretty much all of the stuff I want to do and see there is a nerdy museum of some kind. Also, the pass is good for 9 days, so it'll be a big expensive trip.
Had a great time with Scott and his girlfriend Allison. We walked like, 2 miles, trying to find Giordano's Pizza - in part because it's Stu's favorite chain, in part because I'd never had authentic deep dish. This was also my first time to Chicago, despite living 2 hours away for 4 years. After stuffing myself, we rode the 'L' into downtown Chicago (the whole time I kept fantasizing about skipping a day of school to see the sights, making dozens of police cars chase me all over town, and then hunting down the one armed man - and if I was very lucky, seeing Janitor [bonus points to anybody who got that one]).
An eerily quiet Chicago downtown awaited us. We saw the Magnificent Mile (why is it magnificent? because of shopping, apparently, not because of grisly murders), Sears Tower (from the ground), and the street they filmed some of The Dark Knight on. Took pictures at the Bean (sigh). Later that night Scott made us pot roast and we watched a bit of vintage Ah-nold.
The next day we drove to Green Bay. The drive up was pretty uneventful, even if Milwaukee was 50x bigger than I thought it would be (I guess when the only idea of Wisconsin I have is from That 70's Show, I kinda imagined the whole state looked like Eric Forman's house).
Green Bay The City is awesome. The whole town is just like you think - everybody there has a cute almost Canadian accent (mostly it's the drawn out "o"s) and a Favre jersey, even with all the crazy shit that's been going on with him being traded to the Jets. I watched Jenny buy a ton of Packers stuff she's been wanting for a long time, 'cuz it's cheaper/only found there.
Every fan we met there was super nice. Granted, it's not like the Bengals and Packers are hard-core division rivals, but basically it was nothing but smiles and waves. I got to try more local food: butter burgers, cheese curds, and a real bratwurst. Fantastic. My first NFL game was at historic Lambeau, and it was really pretty amazing, like any old stadium should be.
Our sign ("We drove 8 hours to get here, and the loser pays gas!") made some people laugh, but it didn't get us on TV. Oh well. Turns out the family behind us drove 18 hours from Montana, anyway, so it didn't seem so impressive. Plus it was a lie...beforehand we decided that I'd buy tickets, Jenny would buy gas. Yes, that's right, I lied to try to get on the Jumbotron.
Speaking of tickets, our seats were on the 20 yard line-ish, and the view was about the same as Ross-Ade watching the Boilermakers, that is to say pretty decent. The preseason game doesn't count for anything, but it was awesome to see our teams actually playing, tackling, passing, and kicking against each other. Bengals won 20-17, and I was happy to see Aaron Rodgers take over the Packers offense without Favre and do a good job. The drunkest fans we saw were middle aged schoolteachers sitting in the row in front of us. Odd.
The next part of the trip started right after the game. We drove about an hour and a half West of GB to a little town called Waupaca to stay with Jenny's aunt and uncle. They were really nice and drove us around the area to show us some parks and lakes and take us out to eat. Uncle Dennis had an amazing vinyl collection that I went really crazy for. Like for all of Jenny's family, I turned up the charm hoping they would like me. Like all of Jenny's family, I think it worked :D
Unlike the 2-day trip up, we drove back all in one day on Wednesday. We covered close to 400 miles. The rest stop was in Pleasant Prairie (right near the southern WI border) to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. Seriously, we only stopped here to stretch our legs, but it was a fun stop. Bought some JB irregulars ("Belly Flops") and some caffeinated "sport beans". The next "stop" was rush-hour Chicago. Seriously...close to 3 hours to go like, 60 miles, and I think we spent 20 dollars in tolls. In retrospect, FUCK toll roads. We drove s'more and had a nice dinner with Benji and Corrie in Valpo (and found a sweet water park for next year).
Whew. Next up: Judas Priest concert on Tuesday.
I've been slackin' on my goal to post once a week here.
Part of that was the early part of the month - I helped Jenny move from Hillenbrand to her new place, and then I moved out of both my old apt. and Earhart into my new place. Many thanks to everybody that helped.
I'm glad that's over, because it felt like a solid week of moving, and the furniture especially sucked to move. I guess I'd underestimated how much stuff I really left back at the old place. That's even with a concerted effort not to keep a lot of things, and even still it was a lot!
I'm more or less all settled in my new place, and it's really nice - a lot of that is just more space, but also the pool, laundry room, more a/c. Greg and I are hangin' all the time (I even have gotten him hooked on RE4) and it looks like it will be a blast living together. I have a slight suspicion that there's a bug infestation in a nearby apartment, but hopefully that's just me being paranoid.
Still need to get my registration and loans goin'...
The other big part of August so far has been Jenny and I's trip to Green Bay. Jenny posted pictures and kinda chronicled everything here: 1 2 3
We left Sunday morning and forgot about the time change driving through Chicago. I'm technically from Cincy, but I really am not a downtown driver. So of course I was terrified to navigate my way to my friend [from improv long ago] Scott's house in the heart of the city. Still, it was a Sunday afternoon and despite a few slow moments and a few tolls, we made it okay. I'll go ahead and mention here the weather was gorgeous the entire time.
Side note: later I want to take a trip to Chicago and get a CityPass because pretty much all of the stuff I want to do and see there is a nerdy museum of some kind. Also, the pass is good for 9 days, so it'll be a big expensive trip.
Had a great time with Scott and his girlfriend Allison. We walked like, 2 miles, trying to find Giordano's Pizza - in part because it's Stu's favorite chain, in part because I'd never had authentic deep dish. This was also my first time to Chicago, despite living 2 hours away for 4 years. After stuffing myself, we rode the 'L' into downtown Chicago (the whole time I kept fantasizing about skipping a day of school to see the sights, making dozens of police cars chase me all over town, and then hunting down the one armed man - and if I was very lucky, seeing Janitor [bonus points to anybody who got that one]).
An eerily quiet Chicago downtown awaited us. We saw the Magnificent Mile (why is it magnificent? because of shopping, apparently, not because of grisly murders), Sears Tower (from the ground), and the street they filmed some of The Dark Knight on. Took pictures at the Bean (sigh). Later that night Scott made us pot roast and we watched a bit of vintage Ah-nold.
The next day we drove to Green Bay. The drive up was pretty uneventful, even if Milwaukee was 50x bigger than I thought it would be (I guess when the only idea of Wisconsin I have is from That 70's Show, I kinda imagined the whole state looked like Eric Forman's house).
Green Bay The City is awesome. The whole town is just like you think - everybody there has a cute almost Canadian accent (mostly it's the drawn out "o"s) and a Favre jersey, even with all the crazy shit that's been going on with him being traded to the Jets. I watched Jenny buy a ton of Packers stuff she's been wanting for a long time, 'cuz it's cheaper/only found there.
Every fan we met there was super nice. Granted, it's not like the Bengals and Packers are hard-core division rivals, but basically it was nothing but smiles and waves. I got to try more local food: butter burgers, cheese curds, and a real bratwurst. Fantastic. My first NFL game was at historic Lambeau, and it was really pretty amazing, like any old stadium should be.
Our sign ("We drove 8 hours to get here, and the loser pays gas!") made some people laugh, but it didn't get us on TV. Oh well. Turns out the family behind us drove 18 hours from Montana, anyway, so it didn't seem so impressive. Plus it was a lie...beforehand we decided that I'd buy tickets, Jenny would buy gas. Yes, that's right, I lied to try to get on the Jumbotron.
Speaking of tickets, our seats were on the 20 yard line-ish, and the view was about the same as Ross-Ade watching the Boilermakers, that is to say pretty decent. The preseason game doesn't count for anything, but it was awesome to see our teams actually playing, tackling, passing, and kicking against each other. Bengals won 20-17, and I was happy to see Aaron Rodgers take over the Packers offense without Favre and do a good job. The drunkest fans we saw were middle aged schoolteachers sitting in the row in front of us. Odd.
The next part of the trip started right after the game. We drove about an hour and a half West of GB to a little town called Waupaca to stay with Jenny's aunt and uncle. They were really nice and drove us around the area to show us some parks and lakes and take us out to eat. Uncle Dennis had an amazing vinyl collection that I went really crazy for. Like for all of Jenny's family, I turned up the charm hoping they would like me. Like all of Jenny's family, I think it worked :D
Unlike the 2-day trip up, we drove back all in one day on Wednesday. We covered close to 400 miles. The rest stop was in Pleasant Prairie (right near the southern WI border) to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. Seriously, we only stopped here to stretch our legs, but it was a fun stop. Bought some JB irregulars ("Belly Flops") and some caffeinated "sport beans". The next "stop" was rush-hour Chicago. Seriously...close to 3 hours to go like, 60 miles, and I think we spent 20 dollars in tolls. In retrospect, FUCK toll roads. We drove s'more and had a nice dinner with Benji and Corrie in Valpo (and found a sweet water park for next year).
Whew. Next up: Judas Priest concert on Tuesday.
7.19.2008
on the verge
Current Mood: pensive
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
7.01.2008
big payoff
Current Mood: productive
I thought the 4th of July was pretty much a holiday unto itself, but apparently it's actually more of a celebration + 3 day weekend, or something. Because of this, I have my favorite holiday (Friday) off, but am working close to 30 hours of the Saturday and Sunday afterward. I was assigned most of those hours on top of my normal ones because apparently nobody else around the hall wants to work.
This is doubly sucky because I have three separate friends coming in from out of town coming to see me (at least in part). I've also been warned three separate times not to attempt to get onto a roof of a Purdue building to watch the fireworks (the penalty is instant termination). I would feel somewhat insulted, but I've more or less made it my mission the past two summers to gain legitimate access to the roofs of University Residences as often as possible.
Attempts: many.
Successes: one.
That said, maybe I'm just paying my dues now. I say this because it looks like August is shaping up to be a pretty awesome month. I'm gonna have a new pool at my new apartment, so I'm looking forward to swimming.
I just ordered my *free* lawn ticket for the Metal Masters tour with Judas Priest. It came free with their newest 2 disc album, Nostradamus. I'll be going with Future Roommate Greg, and I'm really excited. I've only been to 2 concerts - Stxy/REO Speedwagon and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Also, it looks like my trip to Green Bay with Jenny for Bengals/Packers preseason is gonna happen, too. I'm probably more excited for that. I need to find some orange and black to wear, since it's going to be Monday Night Football and I sure would love to make it on the Jumbotron...
I thought the 4th of July was pretty much a holiday unto itself, but apparently it's actually more of a celebration + 3 day weekend, or something. Because of this, I have my favorite holiday (Friday) off, but am working close to 30 hours of the Saturday and Sunday afterward. I was assigned most of those hours on top of my normal ones because apparently nobody else around the hall wants to work.
This is doubly sucky because I have three separate friends coming in from out of town coming to see me (at least in part). I've also been warned three separate times not to attempt to get onto a roof of a Purdue building to watch the fireworks (the penalty is instant termination). I would feel somewhat insulted, but I've more or less made it my mission the past two summers to gain legitimate access to the roofs of University Residences as often as possible.
Attempts: many.
Successes: one.
That said, maybe I'm just paying my dues now. I say this because it looks like August is shaping up to be a pretty awesome month. I'm gonna have a new pool at my new apartment, so I'm looking forward to swimming.
I just ordered my *free* lawn ticket for the Metal Masters tour with Judas Priest. It came free with their newest 2 disc album, Nostradamus. I'll be going with Future Roommate Greg, and I'm really excited. I've only been to 2 concerts - Stxy/REO Speedwagon and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Also, it looks like my trip to Green Bay with Jenny for Bengals/Packers preseason is gonna happen, too. I'm probably more excited for that. I need to find some orange and black to wear, since it's going to be Monday Night Football and I sure would love to make it on the Jumbotron...
6.27.2008
forecast
Current Mood: pensive
I'm not a fan of laundry list posts, but this is more for me than anybody. Plus I just rolled out a survey post, which is pretty lame too. Deal :D
So it's about halfway through June, which means summer is approximately half over for me.
Finals ended Saturday, May 3rd. As soon as I was done with all my finals and a paper, I left Purdue. Jenny and I went to Cincinnati for about a week, went to Union Terminal to see Bodies (the Exhibition) and went to a Red's game. Then I came back and moved into Earhart, and had a week of straight training before jumping right into work. Since then I've beaten Metroid Prime: Corruption and read some books I've wanted to for a while (mostly stuff I put off during the school year). I went to Joey Steenbergen's wedding, and Benji & Corrie's wedding reception. My 22nd birthday came and went. I performed a special summer improv show for Earhart Hall summer school residents with most of the SoF. I've gone to see Iron Man and Indy 4. I've posed as a model for a Purdue brochure. I stopped biting my fingernails! I've kept up on my goal of posting here and on my other story site at least once a week (but not much more). I have also picked up a few extra hours helping with Day on Campus Tours, but for the most part I've been relaxing and hanging out with my friends that have been here (including a game of the new D&D 4.0 rules).
Pretty busy, I think. I am trying not to waste away my summer, but really relax and not overstress. I need some time to recharge my batteries. Thinking back to last summer, I should've either gotten more rigid deadlines from Dr. D for our research, or seriously considered limiting myself to just either a job, or my fellowship.
So where does that leave me for the rest of the summer? I've got from now until summer "ends" with the start of class- Monday August 25th. As of now:
I have about 25 hours of work every week for most of the rest of that time. I don't know when my last day will be, but the last day I could possibly work is August 8th.
That's also the last day for my current apartment lease, so sometime around there I'll need to move. That means up until then I need to continue whittling down the things I have here at Earhart. Peace has to move out, and I'll have to sort out everything there between me n' Alex. Then between Jenny, probably Greg, and hopefully mom coming to help, I'll move everything out of Earhart and Harrison over to my new apartment on the landing.
Mom wants me to try and go to an airshow July 19 and 20th, but I don't know if I'll be able to get off of work then. Similarly, my favorite holiday (4th of July) is coming up, and I'd like to hang out with everybody near Purdue and watch the fireworks, but I may have to work.
I'd like to go to Ft. Wayne and visit Andy and Jacque, and possibly someplace in Chicago - maybe see Scott? On top of that, Monday August 11th, Jenny and I are thinking about going to Green Bay WI to see the Bengals play the Packers @ Lambeau for the preseason. This may or may not count as our anniversary celebration. :D All of that takes a ton of money and gas is a lot more expensive than past summers, so we'll see. I will probably go home after apartment moving and before classes.
GenCon in mid-August, maybe? Also if I can get the right ticket, maybe a Judas Priest concert with future roommate Greg (how much would that rule?)
I will try and make it through the rest of my pile of books, Beard's comics, and finish at the very least Pokemon Diamond and Super Mario Galaxy. I've also got some computer maintenance to do (clean out bookmarks, clean up music files, etc.) but that's not high priority.
I'm going to make a point to keep posting to my blogs. By my best estimate, I have 14 chapters of my story left until I hit my goal [(50k - current 31,819) / 1300 word/chapter average) = 13.9]. I won't stop until I hit 50k, but I also won't quit until I've told my story. At one chapter/week average, I'll be done in 14 weeks, which means I won't finish before the summer ends. Fine, except my posting rate plummets as school picks up.
I should go give blood again, soon.
The last thing I'm writing about as a goal for the summer directly parallels my feeling about it. Something I've been putting off since the end of school. I need to talk to my counselor and get registered for the fall, and possibly take a summer class for July. Ugh.
Do. Not. Want.
I'm not a fan of laundry list posts, but this is more for me than anybody. Plus I just rolled out a survey post, which is pretty lame too. Deal :D
So it's about halfway through June, which means summer is approximately half over for me.
Finals ended Saturday, May 3rd. As soon as I was done with all my finals and a paper, I left Purdue. Jenny and I went to Cincinnati for about a week, went to Union Terminal to see Bodies (the Exhibition) and went to a Red's game. Then I came back and moved into Earhart, and had a week of straight training before jumping right into work. Since then I've beaten Metroid Prime: Corruption and read some books I've wanted to for a while (mostly stuff I put off during the school year). I went to Joey Steenbergen's wedding, and Benji & Corrie's wedding reception. My 22nd birthday came and went. I performed a special summer improv show for Earhart Hall summer school residents with most of the SoF. I've gone to see Iron Man and Indy 4. I've posed as a model for a Purdue brochure. I stopped biting my fingernails! I've kept up on my goal of posting here and on my other story site at least once a week (but not much more). I have also picked up a few extra hours helping with Day on Campus Tours, but for the most part I've been relaxing and hanging out with my friends that have been here (including a game of the new D&D 4.0 rules).
Pretty busy, I think. I am trying not to waste away my summer, but really relax and not overstress. I need some time to recharge my batteries. Thinking back to last summer, I should've either gotten more rigid deadlines from Dr. D for our research, or seriously considered limiting myself to just either a job, or my fellowship.
So where does that leave me for the rest of the summer? I've got from now until summer "ends" with the start of class- Monday August 25th. As of now:
I have about 25 hours of work every week for most of the rest of that time. I don't know when my last day will be, but the last day I could possibly work is August 8th.
That's also the last day for my current apartment lease, so sometime around there I'll need to move. That means up until then I need to continue whittling down the things I have here at Earhart. Peace has to move out, and I'll have to sort out everything there between me n' Alex. Then between Jenny, probably Greg, and hopefully mom coming to help, I'll move everything out of Earhart and Harrison over to my new apartment on the landing.
Mom wants me to try and go to an airshow July 19 and 20th, but I don't know if I'll be able to get off of work then. Similarly, my favorite holiday (4th of July) is coming up, and I'd like to hang out with everybody near Purdue and watch the fireworks, but I may have to work.
I'd like to go to Ft. Wayne and visit Andy and Jacque, and possibly someplace in Chicago - maybe see Scott? On top of that, Monday August 11th, Jenny and I are thinking about going to Green Bay WI to see the Bengals play the Packers @ Lambeau for the preseason. This may or may not count as our anniversary celebration. :D All of that takes a ton of money and gas is a lot more expensive than past summers, so we'll see. I will probably go home after apartment moving and before classes.
GenCon in mid-August, maybe? Also if I can get the right ticket, maybe a Judas Priest concert with future roommate Greg (how much would that rule?)
I will try and make it through the rest of my pile of books, Beard's comics, and finish at the very least Pokemon Diamond and Super Mario Galaxy. I've also got some computer maintenance to do (clean out bookmarks, clean up music files, etc.) but that's not high priority.
I'm going to make a point to keep posting to my blogs. By my best estimate, I have 14 chapters of my story left until I hit my goal [(50k - current 31,819) / 1300 word/chapter average) = 13.9]. I won't stop until I hit 50k, but I also won't quit until I've told my story. At one chapter/week average, I'll be done in 14 weeks, which means I won't finish before the summer ends. Fine, except my posting rate plummets as school picks up.
I should go give blood again, soon.
The last thing I'm writing about as a goal for the summer directly parallels my feeling about it. Something I've been putting off since the end of school. I need to talk to my counselor and get registered for the fall, and possibly take a summer class for July. Ugh.
Do. Not. Want.
5.18.2008
Retrospective
Current Mood: excited
Hey guys! I am less busy now that it is summer. I've moved back into University Residences (Earhart Hall) and will once again be a summer Operations Assistant for conferences. I am more or less a summer RA until August. I'll be on duty a few nights a week - required to stay in the building, doing rounds, check ins/outs, etc. I will probably try to take a summer class.
In August I move into my new apartment with Greg and Chad - I'm pretty excited about that. Woo! Pool! Washer and dryer! Bigger bedroom!
I'm going to try to write in here more, as well. If any of you still care to read, I'm also going to be updating my NaNoWriMo story from last year - starting tonight! I aim to update both blogs at least once a week. Speaking of blogs, I got an actual phone call from Allister today, and it was a fantastic surprise - thanks man!
Along with my class, books, video games, and work, I'm gonna try to stay busy.
It's a bit of a blast from the past to go back to the residence halls each summer, now that I've been in the apartment. I don't cook or clean, and I'm back to using my freshman shower caddy and my sandals have been pressed back into service as shower shoes. It's a bit odd. Fortunately, Jenny is working in the hall across the street and the rest of the staff is really nice. I have a very firm grasp of the job at hand.
This May marks the end of four official years at Purdue - and I'm at least one year (probably more) away from my degree. I'm trying really hard to accept that as okay and enjoy it, instead of worrying and beating myself up. It has been a very long road, with more to go, but I have overcome a lot to even be where I am.
Hey guys! I am less busy now that it is summer. I've moved back into University Residences (Earhart Hall) and will once again be a summer Operations Assistant for conferences. I am more or less a summer RA until August. I'll be on duty a few nights a week - required to stay in the building, doing rounds, check ins/outs, etc. I will probably try to take a summer class.
In August I move into my new apartment with Greg and Chad - I'm pretty excited about that. Woo! Pool! Washer and dryer! Bigger bedroom!
I'm going to try to write in here more, as well. If any of you still care to read, I'm also going to be updating my NaNoWriMo story from last year - starting tonight! I aim to update both blogs at least once a week. Speaking of blogs, I got an actual phone call from Allister today, and it was a fantastic surprise - thanks man!
Along with my class, books, video games, and work, I'm gonna try to stay busy.
It's a bit of a blast from the past to go back to the residence halls each summer, now that I've been in the apartment. I don't cook or clean, and I'm back to using my freshman shower caddy and my sandals have been pressed back into service as shower shoes. It's a bit odd. Fortunately, Jenny is working in the hall across the street and the rest of the staff is really nice. I have a very firm grasp of the job at hand.
This May marks the end of four official years at Purdue - and I'm at least one year (probably more) away from my degree. I'm trying really hard to accept that as okay and enjoy it, instead of worrying and beating myself up. It has been a very long road, with more to go, but I have overcome a lot to even be where I am.
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