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.

"He doesn't care what other people think about him. He's 100% who he wants to be."

It's too much. I can't handle it. I stayed in the ME building yesterday until 6, ate dinner and watched a movie until 11. I woke up at 6:30 to take a test that will make more of an impact in my life than the tests I take in my classes and yet was easier. It lasted 8 hours. The only good thing that came from it was realizing I chose the wrong major. I've been lying to myself about knowing anything about engineering. Yeah I like cars, yeah I can do econ and make smart decisions, but I honestly don't know jack. I have successfully crammed my way through college; I flush it at the end of every class. I got to the ME part of the test today and I skipped those, the econ ones were really the only ones I 100% got. ECON! A business class. Oh yeah, I also had a super fine proctor.

Decisions are fun. It's amazing how I spend all this time pondering what to do in some situations and then in the end, it's all for naught. Things happen or they don't. I have been hanging out a lot with Kelly Jackson lately. It's exciting to get to know new people and especially new girls. Not sure where this is going to go, but I'm along for the ride and trying my hardest not to hurt anyone in the process. I've got such an amazing girlfriend, but my inquisitive nature always keeps me looking. It doesn't mean she's doing anything wrong, far from it, it's just a part of me. I don't know if it's right, if it's wrong or if it's normal. I can't even really say I'm looking for someone else to be girlfriend. We'll see.

How's this for a friend, girlfriend, person: driving 30 minutes at 1am to get me a calculator and while she's at it, picking up some donuts and drinks for my test this morning? What would Jesus do?

Things could be worse...

30ft down, looking up through glass

The first day of open water diving went well. I scrambled a few times for my regulator and took some nice shots of water in my eyes, but overall it was quite fun. We passed a ton of Corvettes and some Ferraris on the way to the lake. When we showed up to the lake, there were a ton of 'vettes at the lake. After diving, we followed the Corvettes to Eureka Springs and took a ton of pictures. I hung out the window and sunroof a few times and took some cool pictures. It was absolutely amazing! I was smiling the whole time and saw some super sweet cars. On the way back home, V saw the Ferraris on an underpass and I quickly snapped some pictures. Of the three shots I got, only one had them in it. Then while I was reviewing those pictures, an Ariel Atom drove by. Ugh...I couldn't believe I missed both of them in such a short amount of time.

I feel bad when I don't do homework or study. I know during the week I will be soooo busy, but there's really no way to get ahead during the weekend. Once I'm caught up, there's not much else to do. I've been slowly working on a presentation for next Thursday, but I finished most everything else that's due this week (that I can do). I think therein lies the problem: I can't do the stuff for TSAD or Aprop. I know there will be a test in the latter sometime this week, but I don't have the slightest idea what to do to get ready for it.

I'm tired, as always and my ankle is gimped. I can walk on it fine, but my lateral motion is shot. Not sure if I'll be taking part in OMG's second victory.

October, October

It's finally that time of the year. Things are getting hectic and although I'm super busy, I love it. The weather's just right, Halloween is coming and football season is in full swing. I want to hit someone. Just line up and knock some people down. Oh the days of suiting up.

We won an intramural game on Sunday. I was super pumped, but a bit apprehensive about the next team. We've got a lot to work on, but a win is a great moral booster. I was a bit upset about some things going on with the team earlier, but I don't care as much now that we pulled off a win. As long as the said upset doesn't interfere with my playing, I don't care.

I feel like cussing. Things have put me into this foul mood almost continuously. There are only a few things left that really make me smile. I'll save those for a rainy day. I will mention one of those things and that is the Bible study. It's so great to hear people putting their ideas out there for everyone. We've got Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and other and it's so impressive to see us all getting along. Last week was a great improvement over the previous week and I hope this week is even better.

Bikes, Blues and BBQ is this weekend. Reminds me of old times. I am taking a MASSIVE group of freshmen down there this semester, so it should be fun times for all. We'll see you there...if we want to.

How many 4000 level classes?

I'm tired. I shouldn't be typing this right now, I should be doing propulsion homework or reading or maybe some TSAD studying since I'm clueless (I'm actually pretty clueless in most all my classes at this point) or maybe I could be reading for ICengines. All of these things I need to be doing, on top of getting ready for class on Thursday, reviewing resumes, finding a job and studying for the FE. I'm just too tired right now. I stayed on campus until 5, with not much time to do anything but study German (I've got a test in a week). That's one class I don't worry about much. I should take honors German. hm...I can't stay awake in my 8:30 on MWF. I don't know why, but I fight sleep the whole time. The rest of my classes are okay though. I tell ya, I like the subjects I'm taking, but geez I wish we'd get through all the crap.

This weekend was nice. I watched "Smokin' Aces" on Friday. On Saturday we had a...um...practice? I don't understand the ideology behind never showing up for practice and expecting to win. Then I went to an awesome British car show with Schoolcraft and his dad and V. It was awesome and Vanessa wandered off the entire time taking tons of awesome pictures. I just wish we could've taken more of the Atoms. Oh well. Then we went to Target and bought scuba bags and groceries and then made sweet-n-sour chicken and watched Texas win and then went to Drew's place to watch the Hogs suck. It was cool hanging with the crew again, but I remember now why I love living off campus so much.

As for hanging out with people, it's be crazy lately. People are coming and going every weekend and I never know who's around and who's not. It's been nice not really doing any big get-togethers lately, I've enjoyed the more intimate settings of just a few people. Did I mention the hogs lost? What a bummer.

Oh yeah one last thing. V and I tried this new church this weekend and I won't say which church it was, but man it was horribly boring. The preacher read right off the slides and presented some pretty basic material. The singing was decent, but the preacher blew it for that church. I really don't mind Old Wire, I just thought we'd try something new. I still can't find a church that competes with my boring, preacher isn't great, all old people, church this summer. I wanted to go to church just to see those people smile and talk to me. It was great! The first Wednesday I was there, I lead a prayer. I've went to North St and Old Wire for months and didn't lead a prayer.

Time to sleep. My eyes are burning and it's only 11:15. Sad...

One last thing, one awesome point to my day was some pretty interesting corn bread and some great Mexican chicken. Oh yeah, you know it. Oh yeah and Kimi Raikonnen won too! Go Ferrari!

Stupid Alonso

Gaw...why can't my team win? It's Ferrari!!! C'mon guys. My racewatch went pretty well. I bought some pizzas and about 7 freshmen showed up. I figured as many, so I was glad I decided to go to Joe's instead of renting a HPER room. Raikkonen still has a chance to win, but it's not much anymore.
Last week lasted forever, but this week's looking better. Most of my freshmen showed up for the 1-on-1 meetings and we had some good talks. They're starting to open up a little more and tell me what needs to change in the program.
I've been really tired lately. I wonder if I'm not eating right or something. I've been eating just about every food group, but I could probably use a few more fruits and veggies. I'm just physically exhausted. I could barely stay awake in my first class. Ugh... Anywho I am going to read for just a bit and then crash...and burn. Have a great week.

Friday

It's been a little bit since I posted but I thought I'd get a quick summary of how things have been lately. My parents came to the game on Saturday and brought a grill and tons of food. I invited 15 or so people and we just chilled out, ate and swapped ring tones. We then rode to the game in the back of Adam's truck and got dropped off just a mere 30 minutes before gate time. Got good seats and I sat next to Cory, Vanessa and this other guy named Adam I know. It was fun. We sucked and the game was super boring for the most part. We won, of course but Troy made us look like a high school team. Texas won too, although they struggled a bit with Arkansas State. I suppose it's the first week jitters.
FEP is going good. I enjoy meeting with my freshmen and most of them enjoy meeting with me. I did have one leave this week to go home and I really liked him. I'm sad to see him go, but I suppose everything happens for a reason. We met for coffee yesterday morning before he headed out. This weekend a few of the freshmen are coming over to Joe's to watch the Italian Grand Prix, that should be fun times. I hope there's enough room for everyone. We'll see.
Classes are good, but tough. I have lots of homework and reading, but I enjoy them all so it's good. I still have enough time to get in time for a Bible study with Vanessa once a week and that's been a real blessing. Other than that, I don't have a whole lot of free time. I do occasionally play some Xbox, but that's normally when I'm caught up or ahead, which isn't normal at all.
I plan on going camping this weekend with the guys. We're going up to Joe's neck of the woods, so that should be interesting. Thinking about taking my car and rolling a little rubber off of the tires. There's some amazing curves. That's it for me. Have a great weekend.

Whew...it's over

This week has been long. Long and very, very busy. The sad part is that I haven't really started work yet. That fun ride will start this week. My four hour break on Mondays is now gone, but I think I'll get most of my mentees visited in convenient fashion. I am really pumped about getting to know the freshmen. They seem like an interesting bunch. I spoke with many of them, at the Friday picnic, about cars for 45 minutes solid. It'll be fun times and a little extra pay to get by with.
My classes are interesting. They'll be rough because of all the work, but at least they're interesting. Propulsion is already uber hard, but ICengines and and German are going to be okay. I really enjoy German so far, but it could be tough come the first string of tests. Ethics is not too tough and is really enjoyable and I think Lab III will be good stuff too.
Hm...let's see what else is going on. Oh yes, the house. The house is quite nice. Although there are plenty of things left to do, I really like living all off campus. Getting to and from class is kinda a pain sometimes, but it's well worth it. I've found that reading on the bus isn't too hard, so I can make good use of the time spent riding it. I even met a former ME on there who was super interested in cars. He joined ME but felt he wouldn't get to work with cars like he wanted to so he went to communication. I don't understand his logic, but oh well.
That's it for tonight. I doubt I have much time during the week to post here, but I will try to update as I can. I know once work and classes and football season get into full swing, I'll be out of luck for time. I'm good at making it, though, and I hope that skill gets put into full use this semester.

Guess who lives across from the Hog House???

So I'm moved in and my parents rock!!! My mom was so awesome decorating my room. I still have lots of room on my walls, but now it's dark in there when it's light outside, the colors match and it's the most beautiful burnt orange EVER. I've got my burnt sienna room, my burnt orange sheets with the horns, and some nice black curtains. It's cool cause I can look out my window and see this house covered in hog gear. It's all over the yard and stuff. So when they're having some pity drinks, I'll be sipping my party mixes.
So I got the two couches in, the recliner, my bed, and my drawers. I'm really happy with how the house looks, but since it's not done yet I'm a bit worried about when it will be finished. Michael mentioned reimbursing us for the days we're not going to be in the house, I hope so.
I finally heard from Steven. That lil punk's been hiding out all summer and so I was glad to hear he was still alive. It's going to be an awesome time this year with Jordan and Steve. We're going to have some sweet parties, some sweet Saturday mornings in the garage and some gooooooood cooking.
Work's almost over. It's enjoyed it, but I should've managed my time a little better. I am about half-way done with this project and I feel horrible. I hope the guys can finish it off. It'd be a shame to see all my hard, quick work go to waste. Anywho, I'm going to go read and enjoy my last night here in the country clu...er...villa. Good riddance.
Oh one more thing. I spend 2 hours yesterday making this awesome slideshow, with music and all, for Vanessa. I really think she liked it and that made my day. Check out onetruemedia.com to make your own. ;)

He thinks he can dance...and don't tell him otherwise

This weekend was amazing! I left on Thursday, alone, and headed for my grandma's house. This weekend could've been better if V would've came with me, but oh well. It was awesome nonetheless. I drove and drove and drove and finally made it into McKinney. I spent the night and the next morning hit up some thrift stores. I had planned on bringing all my dirty clothes to wash at my grandma's but I forgot them. I luckily brought a few extra sets of clothes to wear. I didn't bring any undies or socks though. I hit up some thrift stores and finally got everything I needed. My front tires were a little bald, so I got some new tires too. I ate some Arby's with my grandma and then headed off to Plano.
I picked up Amy in Plano. I planned a nice route on some turnpikes through Dallas. Earlier, on thursday, I paid 3.50 in a check to Oklahoma for the turnpike. Well we made great time, but it cost us over $2 to get there. When I showed up it was crazy! Everyone was dancing, the music was loud and the vibe was great. I was nervous. I hadn't really been this energetic in a long time and honestly hadn't hung out with anyone of a different race for more than a few minutes since high school; this weekend was going to be an awakening. I mixed and mingled and met this crazy short girl named Domonique. I laughed with her and Tori and Carol until I cried and then we ran off to McD's. I won't go through the rest of the trip, but let's just say I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
Saturday morning came early. I grabbed breakfast, with one of my room mates and headed to registration. I only thought Friday was wild; Saturday morning was off the hook! We were yelling and dancing and I was not looking forward to the weekend. I shrugged it off and yelled along with them. That's when it started; I began to lose all inhibition. The rest of the day was a blur. I met a ton of amazing people, and thought about all I'd been missing out on in life. I spoke up when asked and followed with needed. We came up with chants "We represent" "HP, HP" "Nortel" "HP, HP" "Nortel". It was great. I learned about resumes and interviews and even more I learned about myself. I met a guy named Jonah, who was crazy loud and exciting. I met Charles, who was from Pine Bluff and a true leader through and through. I met PArker, who was nerd all the way and very proud of it. I met Gilberto, who really could relate to others. I met Alamzeb, who I never really got his name but made me laugh for his nutting speeches about dancing...er not dancing. I don't remember much of the day, but I do remember the Target party. It was WILD! Red lights everywhere and punch and food and crazy awesome dancing. At this point I had been wanting to bust my stuff, so I found a group of girls and jumped in the middle. It was awesome. Charles, I think, ran up to me and was "work it, Blair" or "there you go". I felt awesome at that point and danced until the lights came up. At one point some DLP guys drug me into a circle, mainly because I was stopped for a second to relax. That was cool. But yeah, Alamzeb wouldn't dance, but I did get Gabrielle to dance and even this cool guy from HP, Daniel. It was fun and I was so sweaty and hot afterwards.
Sunday I woke up with a killer sinus headache and a sadness inside. I knew it was the last day, of only two days, and I had just started meeting these awesome new people. We learned about diversity and did the coolest activity I've ever done. It involved beads and a clear box and the beads represented races. I found it sad that my box had 20 or so white beads and three other colors. THREE!!! I've been half way across the world and I had three off white beads. The questions were mostly out of my control, but still...I really felt sad. I learned that although most people tend to float toward one personality trait, I'm really right in the middle. Well we chanted and practiced more chants and then turned out to not get to use them. I danced some more and then....get this...I wont some money for being myself all weekend. I got $500 from HP and the HP people in our group picked me. It was me and Jonah and Charles and this other real outspoken girl, Randesha. I got up there, dancing and got Daniel to dance too. It was soooooo cool. I couldn't believe it. I was shaking and stuff. I listened to an awesome speech about getting my kindergarten confidence back and an even more amazing poem about living my life to the fullest from the coolest emcee, Trey. Then it was over. I packed up, hugged everyone and left. On the way out I ran into alam and Charles. We got a few more pictures together and left. Slightly before that, Alam told me he'd pick up one of those awesome Longhorn magnets to put on my car (he goes to UT). That made my afternoon. So yeah I'm pumped that I went, some for money, but mainly because of all the awesome people I met. I can't get over the leadership I witnessed this weekend. It was life changing in all ways and I can't wait to see where everyone else takes their lives.
I made it back to Gege's, after having a nice conversation with Amy and not hitting any tolls. The drive home was long and thoughtful. I jammed to every rap song I had on my iPod and danced and thought about all the good times I had.
Then it ended. On the way to work today my car overheated and stopped running. I had it towed into Joplin. It's going to cost most of the money I have left that I made this summer. All things end in time, I hope the same isn't true of my friendships with the people I met this weekend.

wow, that was fun

So I went to Joe's this weekend. It was cool; he's got a really nice place. We sat around, worked on our CP project and enjoyed just being lazy. It was nice. I played more pool and fooseball than I've played in the last year. I got pretty good at Joe's amazingly crappy pool table. I could just tap the ball and it would go in the hole, regardless of how far away. We got a great start on our CP project, despite Steven not being there. Then the weekend went downhill fast; I bought books. Not horrible this semester, I've saved a ton by buying online. Close to $90 or so I've saved and that's including a few other books that I got for myself.
This past week was fun. I was in Lean/5S meetings all week and got to meet the CEO/president of EP and also the chairman of the board. He wasn't too nice of a guy, but the CEO was a real cool guy. Probably in his 50's or late 40's, which seemed pretty cool. Dan, one of the other engineers, was gone all week so it was bonding time for me and the other intern. That was interesting. I got to avoid the nice hot snake building for most of the week and, of course, he didn't do much so it's still messy. I'll wrap that up this week, hoping it's not too hot.
I got my list of mentees for this semester. I looked up a few on facebook and even had one kid add me before I got the email. It's fun to think about how I felt when I was going to be a freshman; how excited I was and so eager to get started. The crazy thing is that I still feel that way towards the end of every summer. This summer didn't help much, though, as I saw just how much you don't have to know out in the real world. I'm glad I do know it, regardless, and this weekend really brought that out.
Well I'm heading out for a run, since this week's going to be a tough one. I'm trying to get off work on Friday and next Monday, so I have to really work hard and get my 40 in early this week. I'm thinking 10.5,10.5,10,9 or something like that. I do want to get in some more golf this week, it's almost time to put up the clubs for a little bit. ugh...

What a surprise...

This weekend was pretty nice. V and I went to this sweet little Japanese steak house and had the guy cook right in front of us. I ate some great sushi and some shrimp. Then we saw "license to wed". It was pretty funny, mainly because I could see myself reacting in a lot of the same ways as the main characters. Robin Williams was prett funny too. That was Saturday. Friday we watched "Shooter", which I was pleasantly surprised with. It had some sweet action scenes and awesome shooting. Saturday we watched "Premonition" cooked and then watched "Smokin Aces". Both were good. Smoking Aces was crazy; within 30 minutes 7 or 8 people had died, some of them who appeared to be main characters. Once again some great action scenes and shooting. Premonition was a "say what?!?" movie. V and I were discussing what was happening during the whole thing. It was neat to think about some of the stuff going on and wonder how it would turn out. Today we went to my church. It was so funny because I helped with the Lord's Supper and the preacher praised me for a few minutes, so I think I really impressed Vanessa with my involvement there. They're an amazing group of old people and so, so nice. There was a line waiting to meet Vanessa and to talk to me. She dressed perfectly for the conservative nature of the church, but at the same time looked amazing.
Vanessa and I talked alot about our spiritual growth. We're growing so close together and minus a few setbacks, we're doing great. We're talking more about our past and our future and especially our spiritual nature. I think that we're going to set up a Bible study for at least twice a week next semester. We pray before every meal and most every night. I fall so in love with her when I hear her pray. It's amazing the people God blesses us with, especially our exes, who we learn so much from. I can't believe how well God's plan always turns out.
So work's been rough this week. I'm working in a large, hot building filing away some old work orders and such and trying to keep from having everything I wear stick to me. It's not been too bad, but the other intern is rather lazy at times and I feel like I'm doing all the work. Oh well, I guess. I can do most of it better and quicker by myself. All in all, though, I'm learning a lot about the work life and seeing just how little from class you actually use. Yeah it's fun to throw out big words and talk about novel new ideas with the other engineers, but mostly you just have to know how to think your way through the problems. Simple enough.
That's it for me. I've got a busy summer for the remainder. Going to Joe's next weekend to work on CP stuff and then going to Dallas the next weekend to shop and go to a leadership conference at UTArlington. I'm going to buy one of those cool metal, magnetic longhorns for my car! Hook em baby!!!