Goodbye Fayetteville, hello world!!

I walked on Saturday. Not just any walk, but one I have been practicing secretly for 4 years now. I graduated from the University of Arkansas. Not the University of Central Arkansas or Arkansas State University; THE University of Arkansas. It was pretty amazing. It's just so great to see all the hard work from the past five or six years finally pay off. I've got a great job with Lockheed down in Camden and I think it's going to be the most amazing work ever. V will be in Bryant, just right up the road so that is cool. Plus her apartment has free access to the local golf course!

Now it's on to packing the house up and cleaning the house up. I came back to Faytown on Wednesday and I spent all day with Aaron working on the car. I bought two new belts and neither one of them fit. The first belt was only available in Springdale so we ran up there and grabbed it. It went on easy after that. Then we realized the second belt was too short and ran to Autozone with about 3 minutes until close. When I say ran, I mean ran. Aaron nearly busted it coming out of his house running to the car. We got the belt and found out that the tensioner for the belt was not correct and at that point it was too late to do anything. So my car is running, thank goodness, but I don't have a belt for the AC. Who needs AC anywho? But later that evening, Aaron gave V and I some cool books (supercar) and a very nifty barware set. I can't wait to put it to use.

Today Aaron, V and I worked on packing up the house and cleaning. The bathroom is the most stubborn area of the house. The tub absolutely refuses to get clean. I threw the shower curtain in the washer and it came out looking nice, but the tile grout is just going to have to stay yellow. Oh well. I mopped and dusted and then called it a day by going to KOBE with V and Libby and Surya, her Indonesian friend. Fun times. I love sushi.

Now on to play with some oobleck and go to bed...without internet.

Finally

Houston, Magnolia, Tulsa, Irving, Little Rock, Camden and Nashville. What do these places have in common? Well I went to all of them for interviews. I must say that the Houston trip was the most fun, although Nashville wasn't half bad either. I did get rentals with the Houston and the Magnolia trips, so that was interesting. On Friday, I signed on with Lockheed in Camden. I will be working with the HIMARS group. It took some bargaining, but I made it through my four offers to finally get what I think I deserved. Although the salary isn't as high as hoped, the sign on bonus is big and the cost of living is small. I'm a little timid about Camden, but it's close enough to LR, that I think I will be okay. Plus the job will be sweet. I'm so glad I didn't sell out on the first big offer I got. Although I had lots of long nights and sweaty interviews, I finally got what I was working for.

Classes are coming to an end and I am excited for the summer. I'm going to Cancun for a week and Ukraine for three weeks. I'm pumped about both. I am a little worried about money, but hopefully it will come through for me. Back to classes, I think I did okay this semester. I will end up with a B in Russian History and probably a B in Flight, but oh well. I should get A's in everything else. I have worked my butt off in Russian Hist, but the teacher is super tough. Oh well, I learned a lot.

Iron man comes out on Friday and I will be at the midnight showing...and I am stoked!

Also, I have had the song "drama queen" by Family Force 5 in my head all day. You should check it out.

Free at last, free at last...well almost

The honor's paper is almost done! I am so glad I have toughed this one out and get to graduate with honors. I've really enjoyed the research and I am learning a lot of interesting stuff. Just need to input a few more sources. CP is done as well. Basically all I have left to do is study for finals. The only one I am super worried about is Russian history. That class is amazing, but the teacher is impossible.

Speaking of amazing, this weekend was great. I went on the spring retreat with the RFCs and had such a great time. I got to hang out with Laura Bealle, Fawna, Hannah and Chelsea. Those were the main ones, I also got to hang with the rest, but those were the main ones. Fawna is such a wonderful girl, as are the rest of those mentioned. Although the A-frame floor was rough, it was nice being able to feel like a part of God's wonderful creation. I could type about my weekend forever, but I will spare you and just tell you one exciting story.
About 930 on Saturday night we heard some music start up across the river. It was really loud and bumping. Jedi decided we should canoe over and check it out. So we go in all covert and slide onto the bank. Within about 3 minutes some guys are walking our way. We start running for the woods and they start yelling at us. "What are you guys doing here?" We don't know what to say. "We were just seeing what was going on." "This isn't your land you can't be here" "We are on the other side of the fence" "That's not your land either" "We can leave if you want." "You guys better get out of here." "Okay". Well the only problem is that the guys came past our canoe, so we can't get back to the other side of the 50 degree river without going near the people again. So Jed and I slowly and quietly sneak back to our canoe and get off the shore. Well Jed isn't done. He wants to see what's going on and why they stopped the party and such. We decide to go upstream a little and check out the cabin. To make a long story short, we ended up not docking on that side of the river again and the party died down. we think it was a bunch of underage kids drinking, bc right after we left we could hear them throwing bottles into the back of a truck and they went further inland. It was super fun, and super cold.

I need to get back to studying German. I haven't studied enough for my oral exam tomorrow and I need to do well on it. The grader is super tough. Have a great week!

It's a turtle...it's a turtle

This weekend was pretty well amazing. I watched two movies this week: enchanted and Shoot em up. I stayed on campus Friday until 5 or so and then I played Smash Brother Melee on Wii against some friends and then played Cranium until 1 or 2. To end it all, I had the word cocktail dress. I started with dress, which looked more like me dropping my pants and then went to cocktail. I tried to do a cocktail drink, but they couldn't figure that out so I heard Josh say "I'd just split it up." So I did and it was crazy the words I got from my team. Anywho, one of the freshmen I teach came and he was cool to hang with. Yesterday I was at the student center most of the day helping the freshmen around and eating crawfish. My family came up for a bit and then left before I could do my devotional. Oh well. Last night after devo we wanted to do something a bit different and so we rented a game from HAstings. Finding that sucker was an adventure. We ended up settling for some Resident Evil knockoff, that turned out to be decent, at best. Today I mostly studied for a test and worked on some papers. Tomorrow will be much of the same.

Job update: I have two offers. One of which is really appealing and the other is okay. I am expecting/hoping for two more. I am almost certain one of them will come and it's in Irving. The other is with Lockheed in Camden. I am hoping for that one. I have some potential with Honda in Ohio, but we've gotta get things moving on that one. Not sure about living in Ohio. We'll see. It's Honda, so that'll be cool.

I've got to hit it. The past couple of days haven't been grueling, but they've been used heavily to get some stuff done. I watched some formula one on Saturday for a German write up, so that's the kind of stuff I have been busy with. So is the life of a senior mechanical engineer with honors. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Nahville baby!!

This has been a fun trip. First, my cousins are crazy. One is really drab natured and the other acts a little younger. They both crack me up. Second, my uncle is losing his hearing and he's so funny about stuff. My cousin said we would get some Krystals to go and my uncle asked where we would take them. Crazy little things like that. My younger cousin and I just got done taking pictures in her Civil War Confederate gear. She's a huge history buff and loves the Confederate stuff. Cool beans. Confederate pride is everywhere and it is amazing. Finally some people who stand up for their heritage instead of worrying about being politically correct...or something.

Nashville isn't too bad a town. It's very southern, but modern too. There's a lot of automotive stuff here; we saw the Nissan North America building and one of my distant cousins works in the factory for them. I am going to Bridgestone to interview and quite a few people work there too.

But yeah my relatives have treated me like royalty. They took me to Fazoli's on Friday night, cooked me breakfast on Saturday, took me to an awesome Mexican place for dinner and then to Coldstone for a late snack. Today we had pizza and Krystal's for dinner. They like pop-tarts too! It's awesome. I asked for a drink while they were out and they bought me a case. Their house is super sweet too. I am staying in a room that some famous musicians slept in. The guy who lived here before was a record producer. I forget who they said had slept in here. It's like an apartment here in the basement. I have a full kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room. Too sweet. The house next to this one was up for sale for 4.5 million dollars. US dollars.

Anywho, tomorrow I interview at 1pm at who knows where and then fly out at 430. I go from here to Dallas (WOOHOO) to Tulsa (not so woohoo). Then I drive home after forking over 3 dollars for tolls. This has been a fun trip and I have met a lot of cool people who might just be able to get me the hook up someday. We'll see.

You might not get up, but you'll be awake

Quick update and then I'm out. Spring break was the most amazing thing ever! It was cheap, slow and full of lots of reading and having a great time other ways. Some highlights:
My ID is a fake?
I can't talk at all?
Dude, where's the car?
We're eating where?
Some interesting questions that came up this trip. Besides Joe's Garmin basically taking us into nowhereville, it was straightup awesome. The condo was massive, the clubs were kickin and the food was excellent. Plus I beat my budget by over forty dollars.

I have an interview with Raytheon on Thursday, Bridgestone-Firestone in Nashville, TN on Monday and an interview with Lockheed on Tuesday. I have an offer of employment from FlightSafety in Tulsa and hopefully an interview with Boeing in the near future. Life is going fast, so I'm am struggling to make good decisions and hold on for dear life. Not sure if the mission trip is going to happen, we'll see and pray.

PCB

So this place is amazing. We have two king beds, two bunk beds, two rooms and two full size bathroom. The kitchen is as big as my living room and kitchen added together. It rained some yesterday and was windy like crazy. The lifeguards were running around telling people to get out of the water. Today it's nice, but taking a little bit to warm up, plus we're waiting on Drew S and a few others to show up.
On Tuesday, Joe and I went into the surf and tried snorkeling. It was intense! We were getting battered by the waves and ended up about half a mile down the beach. I nearly lost my flippers, but I pulled an awesome dive move and grabbed it. Ryan and I dug out some nice wind blockers and it was pretty amazing sitting in the sun. Later that night we hit up a nice restaurant and then hit the club. The guy didn't think my ID was legit, so he questioned me for like 5 minutes. Finally the line piled up and he let us in, no cover. So my total bill for the night was $20, including drinks and food. I also found a 2G SD card. It had some nice pictures on it, but nothing too special.
Last night we just watched movies and chilled. Tonight we'll hit it hard and spend the leftover money on whatever we fill like. Club LaVela, here we come!!! All you can eat crab legs, here I come.

Go tell your momma

I am taking a deep breath and I know that this sensation will pass. I am not a crazy, anal person. I am not a neat-freak. I do not care if I have to clean up after you, because Jesus was a servant. What would Jesus do? He will not yell at you for smacking excessively. He will not hit you in the face with the pots you leave dirty. He loves everyone, even those people without any sort of sense of cleanliness. He wants me to be a servant and take joy in cleaning your hair off the toilet, out of the bathtub, off the sink and off the floor. He wants me to take out the trash even when it is possible for you to do so yourself. He wants me to continually unload the dishes that have been clean for hours now. Jesus wants me to serve you in the most humble fashion that I can. I will not yell at you for being irresponsible. I will not insult you, belittle you or talk behind your back. I will smile and ask you how your day was, I will laugh at your lame jokes and help you out if you need a hand. That is what Jesus wants me to do and I am thankful for the chance I get to be a servant. Thank you Jesus. Thank you God. I am your servant and I will remain that way. Thank you.

What do I do to make you serve me?

Why??

I have been working out hardcore since the start of the semester. I lift on MWF and swim on TR. I can't tell, honestly. Apparently not many people can. I feel a little better, but not really. I have been trying to eat healthier, not much has changed physically. I wonder if sometimes I am genetically stuck with this body. I finally 100% cut sodas on Sunday. I also cut some other things that have been driving my life, but I won't go into that here. I hope cutting soda will help. I had already really cut down on them, but I suppose I needed to get rid of them completely. We'll see.

I don't understand why my resume doesn't get more hits. I honestly think it's because I don't have the skills I need in the workplace. Most companies want some sort of programming or design program exposure and we just don't have those here. Maybe I am being too selective. I have already turned down one offer and multiple other invitations to some companies. I just don't want to feel like I settled. I have an information session with Lockheed next week that I'm hopeful for. I would like to work for them in Camden; it would be cheap and fun. Also it would be a good foot in the door. I sent the main recruiter from there an email, so maybe that will help. I'm a hard worker, I just wish I could present that more on my resume.

I am not excited about spring break. I don't know why, I just don't look forward to it. It might have something to with the fact the my bank account is slowly dwindling, but it's not really. Speaking of money, I talked to my mom today about going on another foreign mission trip to Ukraine. She asked if Scott still had my extra money from last time and said she didn't want me to ask the same people for money. I asked everyone I knew, so I don't think asking other people is an option. God came through for me last time, I know he'll do the same if I end up going. I am just not sure what God wants for me right now. I have a meeting tomorrow about grad school, but I don't think He wants that for me. We'll see.

As you can tell, I'm sorta in a mood right now. I suppose everytime I post on here I am in some sort of mood. On postsecret there was a card that I continually find myself thinking about. It's the one about losing their dream home and saving their marriage. I wonder how ofter we put our possessions, our dreams, our hopes before others. I talked to Steven today about choosing money over my girlfriend Allison and going to the U of A instead of Texas A&M. I think about all the differences in my life if I would've gone there. Would I have an awesome job waiting for me? Would I still love her like I did? There's no way to ever know. I do know that I have some amazing friends here, I have experienced some amazing moments, dated some amazing people and still date an amazing girl. What if, though? What if?

I love you. Whoever you are that reads my posts. I think it's great you care enough about me to check this from time to time. I have a few people I don't really talk to enough and some have blogs I read. Others don't. Goodnight you.

You're such a joke

I have been at the University of Arkansas for four years now and every year I experience the same thing: the joke that is the intramural officiating. I’ve experienced it in flag football, dodgeball, softball and basketball. The problem extends from the bottom level of the officials to the top tier of the people who make rules and guidelines.
I’ll focus on flag football, as it is the most visible and probably the most ridiculous in my experiences. In flag football, which is so far from football it is not even funny, I have seen officials on opposite sides of the field call any combination of downs. In some close games I have witnessed, the refs made the difference when they took their time placing the ball or made a judgment call that even opposing teams agreed was incorrect. Over hearing some officials talk afterwards, they both agreed they’d rather be out drinking. That’s officiating, so I suppose I must just always get the guys who don’t care.
Then there’s the actual system itself. For co-ed, there must always be more females or equal amounts of both, although this rule is often overlooked. To keep things “fair” females get more points for touchdowns and the plays must alternate with girls either making a pass or a run for positive yards. Girls aren’t quite equal with guys when it comes to sports, so I can understand these rules. Even IMRS management doesn’t know why they have the rule. Another complaint is the ranking system. A team can lose all their games and yet a team that forfeits all their games is ranked higher.
I’m not saying scrap all the sports, but at least let’s make them a more official and a little less “backyard”…or publicize them as such.

That's what I have been working on, when not watching a movie for Russian or studying German or scanning material for Flight. Seriously, I watched a basketball game tonight and it was ridiculous. I thought I was going to jump onto the court and have a little chat with one of the refs. oh well. That little spill above is going into the traveler once I get some reviews and such.

Well that's really all I've got. I'm pretty busy, but I am doing some amazing time management and taking care of things. I do have my first string of big tests coming up, and that'll be the determining factor of how much management I am doing. We'll see. I'm a senior, I will have fun at some point.

Speaking of fun, spring break is on the way. Once I got fed up with waiting on responses, I went ahead and got a condo. It was a little more than expected, due to waiting so long, but it is going to be AWESOME. There's even rumor of free lodging, so that makes me super happy. Betcha didn't know that. We'll have to see, though. Gonna have to pull some strings.

Need for Speed

So it was wonderful today. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm. I worked on my car for about 2 hours and got a lot of stuff taken care of. Two things I didn't take care of were my remote entry and my seat belt, both are crappy. I suppose I will work on those again later. The reason I had so much time was because my sociology class was canceled due to the flu; everyone has it. Instead we have to watch some hour and a half long video. Should be exciting.

This semester isn't too bad. I should not have said throughout my years that I would take an essay over a test, because now I have at least three big essays to write. I say essays, but one is 5 pages, one is 10 and one is somewhere between 20 and 30. I love honors. I also love German. That class was my easiest last semester and it's my hardest this semester. My how the tables have turned. While I'm on the whole class thing, I should mention that we have a spot in Dr Roe's lab now to build and test our rocket motor. It's a nice place and will keep us warm. My honors research is coming along slowly, and by slowly I mean not at all. I can't quit nail down my thesis, but I need to do that soon. Perhaps this weekend it will happen, perhaps.

My granddad

So my grandpa died. I'd make a big deal about it, but honestly, he was ready to go. I know he was ready because he ordered his doctor to quit giving him his heart and lung medications. He was on pain pills and breathing treatments. I got to see him, hug him and tell him I loved him before he went. Not many people get that opportunity. He even told me some about his service in WWII. My grandpa was a really great guy and I only feel it right to write a little about "that old, sweet man" here.


John Mack McCullough (Jan 2, 1922-Jan 23,2008)
He was born to a poor farming family. They barely had enough to get by, but they were never hungry. His wife died about two years ago after a battle with Alzheimer's disease; that was his main reason for living. He worked in the A/C business and did lots of jobs for little or nothing. He was a sound investor and found himself financially blessed way beyond his means, so he gave sum after sum to church and to the children's home. There's a story about how the church building fund was having a rough couple of months and my grandpa went up and gave his entire building commitment at once to set an example to others. He was always a servant and many people honestly think he finally decided to get off his meds because he could not serve anymore. The world lost a great man, but Heaven's army is that much stronger now.

On a lighter note, he was a charmer and the ladies loved him up until he died. He used to always want to go to therapy to flirt with the physical therapists there.

Wonder what he's thinking...

I just got back from the hospital and seeing my grandpa. He's dying. He told the nurses to quit giving his medication; now he's only taking pain meds. My mom and aunt have been up there for a few days now and my mom's wearing down. My grandpa's just sleeping peacefully. I've never seen him with facial hair, but it's all gray and white and looks good on him. His hair's all messed up in a faux hawk and like I said, he looks peaceful. He's having trouble breathing, but they've been giving him oxygen treatments to help him. The hardest part if seeing my aunt and mom dealing with it. Mom's really emotional and she's really struggling. I suppose I'm really here more for her than for my grandpa.

Mom told me that they gave my grandpa some pain killers that caused him to flip out; she and my aunt spent all night holding him down. When it finally broke, he slept again. Mom said at about 4am or so, he sat up and starting reaching for their hands. They grabbed his hands and he said "Let's pray. Dear God, please forgive me for I am a sinful man." He then laid back down. Shortly after, he sat up again, eyes closed still, and said "and thank you Lord." How's that for a Godly man? He's already set amounts for all his kids and grandkids and the rest goes to the church. One of my fondest memories of him was taking all his massive orange juice jars, full of change, up to the church and leaving it there for the orphanage. He had a key and he'd let himself in when no one was there and just leave the change. It had to be over a thousand dollars each time.

It'll be sad to see him go, but I know he's ready to get back with his wife in the form we all loved and remembered. It really makes me appreciate what I have and how God can take over a person's life. He is my inspiration and my greatest role model in Christ. I don't know what tomorrow may bring, but I know that I was there and I told him I loved him and couldn't wait to join him fishing in heaven. He had his eyes closed, but he moved his fingers and turned a little and I'm sure he heard me.

School's rolling

So the last first week of classes at the U of A went well. I'm taking some fun classes and I really look forward to most of them. It's funny that one of my easiest classes last semester is my hardest this semester. My Russia history class is amazing. I don't like all the reading, but my professor rocks. She loves to talk about gore and suffering and all sorts of dark Russian things. It's neat too to realize that some of the places I went while in Russia were actually of historical influence. Anywho, my one ME class is okay. It's intro to flight and right now it's just very, very simple review. I have been dazing off in that one. German language and sociology are both pretty fun, but Sociology is definitely the class I look to the most. It's really packed in the Science engineering auditorium, but the teacher is AWESOME. She's a real blast to listen to.

The only thing I'm worried about is my honors research. I don't officially have a topic yet, but I have some good ideas. I'm thinking of joining forces with Joe, but I'd really like to do some car research. Speaking of cars, Robert is going to work an internship with Honda R&D this semester. How cool is that? I'd say it's pretty freaking sweet. I'm going to try to get up there and have a tour.

Spring break is coming up. I need to get reservations and plans and such. I'm thinking Puerto Rico, but I'm not sure. I'll have to discuss it with some people who will carry their weight on planning and such.

On a final note, my grandpa is really bad off. We went to see him in the hospital around Christmas, but he's really bad now. They're saying he might make it through the weekend. I'm not worried about him; I know he's got somewhere better to be. I am worried about mom's family fighting over stuff and especially about mom being able to deal with both her parents being dead. It'd be tough for me and I'm not even emotional. We'll see.

Snowboarding here I come

Man I am so pumped about hitting the slopes only 2.5 days from now. I'm not great, by all means, but I am improving in leaps and bounds. On the last day of last year, I was having some serious fun. Tomorrow morning it'll be Joe, Vanessa, Miranda and myself embarking on the greatest journey of our lives. It's going to be kickin'. It won't be as awesome as last year, but it's not every year you hit a snowstorm in new year's eve.
Speaking of New Year's eve, this one was great. we went to church and had a party in the new multipurpose building. We played basketball, scrabble, boggle and trivial pursuit. Then we all watched a movie. Vanessa came in and Christin did too and so both the Shelton boys were happy. My cousin, Jaime, from Reno was there too and I got to see my five year old cousin that I've never met before. He was smart and a handful, but really fun to hang out with.

It's cold outside

So Christmas has been awesome! All but one of my gifts was EXACTLY what I wanted. That one black sheep will soon be sheared and all will be perfect. I have barely been home lately. After coming back from Houston I open presents with V and got some super sweet stuff. Then on Tuesday I came home and relaxed until Thursday, at which time we went to Little Rock for Christmas and then back home for a Halo III tourney. Cory and I owned some major tail and had a decent time. On Friday we drove to Dallas and relaxed there too. I got some really useful stuff: shampoo, soap, toothpaste and some tooth brushes too. I also got some money, which is always nice. I even got money to buy Vanessa some Christmas presents. Amazing! Speaking of Vanessa, I hit three different stores to get a CD for her and never lost my nerve. It was great; I felt like I really earned this one for her.

So we opened presents at my house last night and like I mentioned earlier, it was great. I got a super sweet DVD recorder, so now I can keep all my F1 races on DVD instead of those old boxes with that film stuff in them. I got good clothes and a bunch more useful stuff.

Now I'm in West Memphis. My grandpa is in the hospital with a lot of problems: collapsed lung, kidney failure, and his blood pressure is low. He's in good spirits, though, and that makes me happy. It's sad to see his body going since his mind is still so sharp. He's in a nice VA hospital in Memphis, so they're taking good care of him. Tomorrow evening we'll head home and I'll be there for a day and then we've got a hotel room for a few days in Hot Springs. I'll be swimming, working out and watching Chelsea dunk on some girls in Summitt Arena. Good times, as long as the 360 hooks up to the Embassy Suites' tv.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HP...here I come

well I'm sitting here in Houston watching "Bruce Almighty" and anticipating what questions I will be asked tomorrow. I'm actually kinda scared about it; a lady I know from HP said the guy is a tough interviewer and asks some tech questions. I know a lot but under pressure like an interview...I don't know. Houston's cool though. I drove around for about an hour today and found some cool little hang outs. I ate at Arby's and had some cotton candy ice cream from TCBY. Oh man, it's been forever since I had cotton candy ice cream. Soooooo good. This part of town is so nice. It's away from the main area and there are some amazing houses.

Hanging out at the house has been fun. Cory and I played some extreme Halo 3 and I've been playing Xbox and cooking tons and just relaxing. I cleaned the house a few times; I mopped and bleached the tub and sinks and organized some of the kitchen. It's been raining and snowing, so I'll probably mop again when I get back. Plus Michael's coming over to winterize the house, so I want it to be a little cleaner.

Christmas is soooo close. I don't really know what I'm getting. I have a long list of possibilities, but nothing I'm sure of. Well I know I'm getting some CDs and a sleeping bag and a jacket and...not sure what else. Speaking of things to come: I'm PUMPED about boarding. Joe and I are going to tear up the slopes. Hopefully those RFCs don't own me too much. I am excited about Vanessa learning to board too. I think I'll be able to help her some.

Well this movie's almost over and I think it's time to start winding down and maybe review some standard ME stuff. I am looking forward to flying again tomorrow. I love flying, especially since I know all about the engines propelling the plane and I love hanging out in airports. It's like Christmas eve, everytime.

Holey moley

I'm going to Houston! Hp finally called and I'm heading down there for an interview on the 17th. I suppose I will fly down to Houston on the 16th and then interview all day the 17th and fly home the 18th, I hope at least. I've been told by an inside source that one of my interviewers is tough and I need to brush up on my general engineering stuff. Woohoo.

Tomorrow is the A-prop final. I'm excited about getting it done. Once it's over, though, there is only TSAD left and that's not a test I'm looking forward to getting ready for or taking. I only need a B on it to get my grade, so here's to only missing 20 points or less.

Finals throw me off. I can't believe today is Friday. I'm less than a week away from my last semester here. I'm a bit apprehensive, honestly. I've got to make some big decisions about work and Vanessa. I love the girl bunches, so I'm sticking it out. I will fly up to see her every weekend if that's what it takes. She'll have breaks and such, so she can come see me some too. Come see me in my kickin apartment. It'll be small, but sparkling clean and filled with all sorts of cool stuff. I'm pumped. In case you can't tell, if they offer, I'm taking the HP job in Houston. Being back so close to my birthplace is reason enough, but factor in the job description and you get the perfect package.

Played basketball tonight. I was so out of it. I had in my contacts, which doesn't happen often and so my eyes were crazy sore. Jeff Fort played with us and I thought that was super cool. He's quite the baller. I played two full court games and man it was tough. I got better as I broke in, but I still couldn't hit jack and was too out of it to go 100%. It was cool seeing everyone, though.

Okay well I think this is all that's going down in my life. I'm out.

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Finals are upon us. It's nights like tonight where I am so proud to be an engineer. Not just any engineer (because some engineers aren't engineer at all) but a mechanical engineer. I left the ME party around 930 and went to the ME building until 1am. I hit some hardcore German and tomorrow, er...today, I'll study it some more and study some ICE and call it a day, probably at about the same time. It's so insane to know that you could study all semester and be totally on top of things and most ME classes will still kick your butt. Man oh man. Life is too good.

I...er...Vanessa got Seether's new album. It's really good. They've got some nice lyrics and awesome guitar playing. I love music. It makes my life so much better. That and having a wonderful girlfriend and a few friends I can always count on. Life is way too good.

It's funny, I don't care about the house stuff anymore. It could be that I've become a bit of a slob myself or it could be that I know what happens in the end. I do care that I haven't been paid rent yet, so I suppose I'll have to go break some legs tomorrow. Fun times.

I only need a 78 on my final in TSAD to get the grade I want. I think my GPA is going to be nice this semester, despite working 13 hours a week and spending 30minutes a day traveling back and forth to the house. Plus if you factor in job hunting, which BTW is going AWESOME, I think I've done well this semester. I've honestly dealt with more crap outside of class than in it, but it's all good. Karma.

Okay well I actually do need to get up and be productive, again, today so I suppose this is it. In case you were wondering, I have a job offer from Albemarle for much more than normal and an interview with HP in Houston coming up. Joe's bonus might have been better, but my salary slaps his in the face.

Gimme a break, gimme a break...

Man oh man...PT cruisers are so sweet! I rented one this weekend for my interview and it basically rocked my socks off. I mean the way it strains going up hills and how you have get a run at really large hills; it's just an amazing piece of machinery. Eh it was free, had satellite radio and was spacious. Fun times. Magnolia isn't half bad, it's really just about a third bad. The place is a bit downtrodden, but I didn't dislike it too much. If the company offers some good money, I might take the job, who knows. I have plenty of options out there, so I'm not worrying...yet.

Razorbacks blow. Last year almost turned me into a fan, but I've decided I really have just cheered against them all along. I hope Miss St embarrasses us in front of all those LR fans. Yeah D-mac is pretty darn good, but a great player doesn't get shut down like he does. Great players are versatile and make stuff happen.

I love apathy. It's really a nice feeling to quit caring about stuff. It's killing me in my classes, but it's still a nice thing to have for all sorts of other reasons. It can be too much, though, and you have to watch out for that. Before long you'll be running in front of cars and such. That'd be unfortunate.

Okay well it's time to cut this break short and go to bed. I don't think I have EVER worked on school stuff as much as I have this year. It's quite ridiculous really. I have friends that I haven't seen in ages, but then I suppose that's not all because I've been busy.