Wow has it really been since July 5th that I got on here? Golly. What all has happened since then?
Well I finished up my masters degree in operations management. There was an exit exam that I had to take in front of three professors. It was very harrowing, but I passed. Woohoo. Matter of fact, I got my diploma in the mail just a few days ago.
I have had a few trips here and there. I visited V's family a few weeks ago to ride with them to a razorback game. The game was on Oct 30th, so lots of people dressed up. It was super cool seeing all the college kids in different outfits. My favorites were the sandtrooper in red and white and jack from jack in the box. Every time I visit Fayetteville, I get a little sad inside. I enjoy being up there but really miss the good times I had in that town. Just a week or two prior to that, V and I went to Fayetteville to see a good friend of mine get married. We had fun in town and hit up lots of good eateries (Red Robin, Penguin Ed's).
This weekend is fall break for V, so we are going to Mt Magazine. We're spending the night in Russellville and getting up early to go hiking. Cory, I hope, will be going with us. Should be a good time. Last time V and I went hiking, it was in the upper 90s and we almost died. I'm hoping that doesn't happen this time. It will for sure be cooler.
Work has been tough. We spent a couple weeks on a project that I thought was stupid. Well it turns out that an upper manager thought the same thing. We were ordered to cease and desist. Ugh. Even though I didn't agree with the project, I disagree even more with stopping before we finish. Whatever. I visited Fort Worth last weekend and got a tour of the plant there. It was really nice. I spoke with a quality engineer on the F35, and she really gave me some great insight. The kicker was this: I had Big Red ON TAP! That made my day. The plant has a killer cafeteria and they had Big Red on tap!
Speaking of Fort Worth, last time I went there, I spent $24k! Crazy huh? Well I did leave with a new set of wheels in the form of a nice fuel-efficient H3. I got tired of the all the dirt roads, pot holes and just poor traffic in the area and decided to go big. On my way back from my last trip (see above paragraph) I managed to stick it in a nice mud hole. God was watching out for this idiot, though, and provided me with a nice, old gentleman on a tractor to pull me out. It was a good time up until I realized I was not getting out. Anywho....
Good times. On a church front, I now attend Jackson St in Magnolia almost exclusively. I have never gotten a phone call or email or letter from College Avenue and I never really felt a part of that congregation, so I decided to start going to the college church in Magnolia. I really like the group there; we have had a few good times and I can relate to them much more than the people at College Avenue.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
Another great fourth!!!
Well I got to spend another great holiday with Vs family and I must say that I am very glad to get the opportunity. Where they live in NE Arkansas reminds me so much of Mountain View and Eureka springs, both towns I really enjoy. We shot fireworks, ate lots of meat and shot lots of lead at piles if rocks; it was a great weekend.
It's so odd to me how when we first meet up again V seems a bit uneasy or uncomfortable around me. I'm so excited to see her but she seems to be distant when I show up; I guess it's the time spent apart. We had lots of good talks about marriage and the future and such but didn't really get anywhere. I feel like she's the one for me because she is a constant challenge and because she makes me want to be a better person spiritually, physically and mentally. However, I'm not sure she shares my sentiments. I suppose that's okay because relationships are about experiences and such but I wish that we would get closer to a relationship status as we date and not further apart. Oh well, we'll see what's next.
I got really sad on the way home today. Twice actually. Once when I first left Vs house because I during the summer I never really know the next time I'm going to see her and because I felt like although we had good times and good talks, our relationship didn't really progress like I was hoping. But the second sadness is one I haven't felt in a while. It was the sadness of not being in college anymore. I miss the intelletual challenge and setting. I miss choosing between multiple fun social events with different circles of friends. I miss excitement of big football games, walking everywhere and planning parties in 30 minutes. I know we have to grow up and all, but why do things have to change so much? It makes me sad.
P.s. I hate this town today. I worked in the yard all evening and the whole time dogs were barking, guys were driving by with their music blaring and one idiot behind me decided to rev his motorcycle up and drive around at 930. I'm ready for a change.
It's so odd to me how when we first meet up again V seems a bit uneasy or uncomfortable around me. I'm so excited to see her but she seems to be distant when I show up; I guess it's the time spent apart. We had lots of good talks about marriage and the future and such but didn't really get anywhere. I feel like she's the one for me because she is a constant challenge and because she makes me want to be a better person spiritually, physically and mentally. However, I'm not sure she shares my sentiments. I suppose that's okay because relationships are about experiences and such but I wish that we would get closer to a relationship status as we date and not further apart. Oh well, we'll see what's next.
I got really sad on the way home today. Twice actually. Once when I first left Vs house because I during the summer I never really know the next time I'm going to see her and because I felt like although we had good times and good talks, our relationship didn't really progress like I was hoping. But the second sadness is one I haven't felt in a while. It was the sadness of not being in college anymore. I miss the intelletual challenge and setting. I miss choosing between multiple fun social events with different circles of friends. I miss excitement of big football games, walking everywhere and planning parties in 30 minutes. I know we have to grow up and all, but why do things have to change so much? It makes me sad.
P.s. I hate this town today. I worked in the yard all evening and the whole time dogs were barking, guys were driving by with their music blaring and one idiot behind me decided to rev his motorcycle up and drive around at 930. I'm ready for a change.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
What if?
I had a dream a few night ago and some one told me to wait for them. That dream has rattled me to my core and forced me to question all sorts of stuff.
Sitting in high school graduation is always a sombering experience. I can't help but ask myself if I am in life where I want to be. I've lived my whole life knowing good and evil and working on a relationship with Christ to see that almost all the things I can do involve being unethical at some point. Where to now? I was always told I could be whatever I wanted to be and do what I wanted to do. But now I ask if I even know what I want to do. I'm clueless anymore.
I'm trying my best to be the best boyfriend ever but constantly find shortcomings. I don't give it 100% like I should. I need a renewing passion in life, relationships and Christ. V finds those faults yet I can't see them. I have to be better at everything. I'm slipping...
I have so much but so little to say. I just can't find a way to say it.
Sitting in high school graduation is always a sombering experience. I can't help but ask myself if I am in life where I want to be. I've lived my whole life knowing good and evil and working on a relationship with Christ to see that almost all the things I can do involve being unethical at some point. Where to now? I was always told I could be whatever I wanted to be and do what I wanted to do. But now I ask if I even know what I want to do. I'm clueless anymore.
I'm trying my best to be the best boyfriend ever but constantly find shortcomings. I don't give it 100% like I should. I need a renewing passion in life, relationships and Christ. V finds those faults yet I can't see them. I have to be better at everything. I'm slipping...
I have so much but so little to say. I just can't find a way to say it.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Gradutated
So I walked across the stage again today at the University of Arkansas. I did the same thing two years ago, minus two days. I had a much larger sense of satisfaction last time, but this time was nice because I did it even though I didn't have to do so. I did get excited about being back in Fayetteville, as usual, and the campus was gorgeous today with the weather being perfect.
Dad and I drove to Faytown together and dropped off the Pearl on the way there. I am trying a new mechanic and hope he's as good as people say; his shop was a mess and I always hate leaving my car at places to be worked on. Oh well, I suppose he can't jack it up too bad. Speaking of cars, I foresee a change in the next couple of months. I just have to find the right one first...
I'm going to Nevada for training next week. I am really excited because the conference looks like a real winner. I hope it is as good as it looks, because it takes on some long hours. We'll see, I suppose.
Dad and I drove to Faytown together and dropped off the Pearl on the way there. I am trying a new mechanic and hope he's as good as people say; his shop was a mess and I always hate leaving my car at places to be worked on. Oh well, I suppose he can't jack it up too bad. Speaking of cars, I foresee a change in the next couple of months. I just have to find the right one first...
I'm going to Nevada for training next week. I am really excited because the conference looks like a real winner. I hope it is as good as it looks, because it takes on some long hours. We'll see, I suppose.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Downward spiral
Well I made up my mind; I am not going back to school in the fall unless I get some money from someone to go back. Currently I have no TA/GA positions and I am smart enough and work hard enough I should be getting paid to go back. Now that I've made my decision, time to spend a little money...or not.
I am going to drop a solid $1k on my car soon. New stereo, tune up, interior work, whatever i need to do. I love my car and want to hit the 200k mile mark.
I have been super swamped with stuff lately. I should have known better than to play xbox all weekend. I should have known. It was relaxing and fun and I was with the most awesome girl in the whole world, so it was worth it. Now I'm regretting it. Oh well. Grades come and go. I will finish my paper late tomorrow at work or something, if I get a break.
Work has me down. I am SICK of getting up at 4:30 to go to work. It's too early and I hate waking up that early. Nothing good happens before the sun comes up. Plus I'm exhausted at the end of the day from all the lack of thinking at work. I am a glorified mechanic. Today I politely asked some guys to clean up their toolboxes and they told me to shove it and if I wanted them to do something to tell their supervisor. I told him and he told me to talk to the group about it tomorrow. The lack of accountability runs rampant. Oh, we're behind schedule and today we shut the line down for three hours to watch a ceremony about another product line. Fun stuff. I hate that I busted my tail in college to be a mechanic and maintenance guy.
Enough of the negativity for today. I live in Camden, the armpit of the world, so I could go on forever.
I went to an Engineers in the Classroom thing this evening and had a blast! I helped some kids learn how to geocache. It was great. They had fun, but will probably not ever do it. Oh well, they know about it and I had fun. After that, I went and tutored Bubba's wife. I feel like such a hick calling him Bubba, but that's what he goes by. Did i mention he talked me into buying an AK74, which rocked my socks off? So much fun!!! His wife is so sweet and she's trying to get the math, but it's hard with little kids running around. She'll make it though.
One more class and I have a masters degree in management. Fun stuff.
I am going to drop a solid $1k on my car soon. New stereo, tune up, interior work, whatever i need to do. I love my car and want to hit the 200k mile mark.
I have been super swamped with stuff lately. I should have known better than to play xbox all weekend. I should have known. It was relaxing and fun and I was with the most awesome girl in the whole world, so it was worth it. Now I'm regretting it. Oh well. Grades come and go. I will finish my paper late tomorrow at work or something, if I get a break.
Work has me down. I am SICK of getting up at 4:30 to go to work. It's too early and I hate waking up that early. Nothing good happens before the sun comes up. Plus I'm exhausted at the end of the day from all the lack of thinking at work. I am a glorified mechanic. Today I politely asked some guys to clean up their toolboxes and they told me to shove it and if I wanted them to do something to tell their supervisor. I told him and he told me to talk to the group about it tomorrow. The lack of accountability runs rampant. Oh, we're behind schedule and today we shut the line down for three hours to watch a ceremony about another product line. Fun stuff. I hate that I busted my tail in college to be a mechanic and maintenance guy.
Enough of the negativity for today. I live in Camden, the armpit of the world, so I could go on forever.
I went to an Engineers in the Classroom thing this evening and had a blast! I helped some kids learn how to geocache. It was great. They had fun, but will probably not ever do it. Oh well, they know about it and I had fun. After that, I went and tutored Bubba's wife. I feel like such a hick calling him Bubba, but that's what he goes by. Did i mention he talked me into buying an AK74, which rocked my socks off? So much fun!!! His wife is so sweet and she's trying to get the math, but it's hard with little kids running around. She'll make it though.
One more class and I have a masters degree in management. Fun stuff.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The day the music died...
It was Monday morning. I hadn't heard anything about my TA application so I called them. Turns out that my shoe in chances weren't legit; I didn't get an offer. That puts a huge kink in things. I suppose I should not have banked on getting it until it was in my hand. I am going to keep my fingers crossed for the second round, but I dunno.
On a better note, Stephanie may take a job down here, so I could rent my place to her. That will help financially if I end up going to Faytown. Speaking of the F town, V is probably not moving there her fourth year. We had hoped her sis would go to the U of A but she's not and so V is probably going to move back in with her parents for her fourth year. That puts a damper on things, since I was pumped about being with her more often when we both lived in Fayetteville. Quite frankly, last week all my plans got complicated. I have the money to make it for one semester without hurting, but about half way through the second semester, I would really start to feel the pain. Of course, that is assuming my house doesn't sell. Right now there are probably 20 houses for sale in town, so I don't know my odds of selling this place. It's going to be pretty cheap, so that might help. If I could rent it for about a year or two and then sale it, I'd be golden. That's assuming I don't need the money upfront for school. We'll see. I'm just really confused about what I really want. Lockheed treats me well and the pay is decent, I just get so frustrated about my job and this place. I could probably tolerate my job if it were somewhere better or I could probably tolerate this place is my job was better. I just don't know if it's going to be better anywhere. Perhaps corporate America isn't my scene.
I'm lost. I'm confused.
On a lighter note, I shot some guns this weekend and it was AWESOME. This one gun was 25lbs and it nearly knocked me down when other people shot it. When I shot it, it was a rush. We cut trees down. Soooooo sweet.
On a better note, Stephanie may take a job down here, so I could rent my place to her. That will help financially if I end up going to Faytown. Speaking of the F town, V is probably not moving there her fourth year. We had hoped her sis would go to the U of A but she's not and so V is probably going to move back in with her parents for her fourth year. That puts a damper on things, since I was pumped about being with her more often when we both lived in Fayetteville. Quite frankly, last week all my plans got complicated. I have the money to make it for one semester without hurting, but about half way through the second semester, I would really start to feel the pain. Of course, that is assuming my house doesn't sell. Right now there are probably 20 houses for sale in town, so I don't know my odds of selling this place. It's going to be pretty cheap, so that might help. If I could rent it for about a year or two and then sale it, I'd be golden. That's assuming I don't need the money upfront for school. We'll see. I'm just really confused about what I really want. Lockheed treats me well and the pay is decent, I just get so frustrated about my job and this place. I could probably tolerate my job if it were somewhere better or I could probably tolerate this place is my job was better. I just don't know if it's going to be better anywhere. Perhaps corporate America isn't my scene.
I'm lost. I'm confused.
On a lighter note, I shot some guns this weekend and it was AWESOME. This one gun was 25lbs and it nearly knocked me down when other people shot it. When I shot it, it was a rush. We cut trees down. Soooooo sweet.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Vacation!!!
Well vacation was great. It started off poorly; Friday night I was bad sick with stomach issues. We got up early on Saturday and started off for Orlando. We stopped along the way for lunch (V ate) and then stopped at Krystal for dinner. It was GREAT!!! We pulled up to our hotel pretty late and it's a good thing, the hotel was shady. We got up early Sunday and drove to the hotel, where we were notified that there was only one shuttle to Universal. No fear, though, we found a city shuttle that got us close and we walked there. Universal was pretty good, but both of us didn't feel good, so we didn't enjoy it as much as hoped. I had the two park/ two day pass so after we rode everything at Universal, we went to Islands of Adventure. We rode one ride and then waited on the shuttle...it never came. Actually it came, but it had no markings and so it left without us. We walked to the city bus. Ugh...
Monday came and we rode the hotel shuttle to EPCOT and then to Animal Kingdom. AK was AWESOME!!! We got a fast pass for Expedition Everest and then went to some other rides. It was a great time and the fast pass saved us some real time. I was still feeling queasy at this point, so I didn't enjoy it as much as hoped. We spent a lot of time just admiring the tree of life. It is so cool because it has all these animals carved into the trunk and roots. While burning some time waiting on the Lion King, we got our pictures with Goofy and Pocahontas. After we finished there, we rode to Hollywood studios and watched the Indiana Jones stunt show, road Star Tours (which caused V to almost hurl), waited FOREVER for Rockit Rollercoaster and then jumped on Tower of Terror, just as the sun was setting. Riding that at night was sooooo sweet. We had this cute little British girl on our ride and she had so much fun. After the ride, we hustled to the shuttle so we could catch the last bus home to our hotel.
Tuesday we got up early and rode the city bus to Universal. We hit the main rides (including the Hulk, which we rode up front and it ROCKED!!!) It was a good thing we got there when we did, because after we got in line, the line tripled in length. We rode Jurassic Park and a few other little rides and then checked out Harry Potter world. It isn't open yet, but it looks really cool. V was salivating most of the time we were looking it over. We skipped out of Islands of Adventure in time to grab lunch at Bubba Gumps and then we headed to the hotel for an early night. Good times. We grabbed dinner with Jon at the Rainforest Cafe and then grabbed some ice cream at a Guiradelli's (sp?) chocolate place.
Wednesday we slept in and went to Magic Kingdom at noon. We rode a few things (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Philharmagic) and left on the first bus out at 6pm. We had dinner with Joe at Bahama Breeze that night. Dinner wasn't good, but the company made up for it. I miss Joe.
Thursday was a long day. We got up early, drove to Downtown Disney and caught a bus to a Disney resort. We started the day at EPCOT, rode the few rides there (Mission Space (which was EXTREME), Test Track) and then met up with Jon. After riding the rides but before meeting Jon, we had to go back to Downtown Disney to get the camera which we left in the car. I hated to burn the time, but the break was nice. We went to the global area of the park and had some drinks and way too much food. It was neat and I got bitten by the travel bug. We rode Spaceship Earth and Mission Space with Jon and then departed ways. V and I went to Magic Kingdom and waited on the parade. The parade came and it was really great. She seemed happy to see it. We then ran over to the princess tent and since the line was long, we resorted to seeing Mickey and Minnie. That really seemed to make V's day. She was beaming from ear to ear and I knew I made a good decision booking the trip. We stayed around for some of the fireworks while slowly working out way back out of the park.
Friday was our final day and our biggest. We went to Magic Kingdom all day. We got our fast pass for Space Mtn and went to the Runaway Mine Train (or whatever it was called). I cut in line and my ethical gf grabbed me and made me wait behind everyone. Those ethical gfs...I swear. =) That ride was kinda lame. We then went to get in line for the princesses. That was neat to see Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. V, of course, was VERY happy after this. I got about a million hugs after her pictures with them. We rode the Sleeping Beauty ride and then headed to the space area. We rode Stitch escapes and then used our fast passes for the Buzz Lightyear ride. That ride was actually pretty cool. Then we met up with Jon to ride Space Mtn. We saved the best for last. That ride was so much better than when I rode in 2004. We had fun and then parted ways with Jon. V and I did some shopping at Downtown Disney (I got legos from the lego store!!!) and headed out. We drove for about five hours and stayed at a neat little place in Marianna, FL. It was a microtel and I highly recommend.
We slept in late and headed out Saturday morning. On the way home, we stopped at the only Red Robin in all of Alabama. It was sooooo good. Then when we went through Memphis, we stopped at Krystal for one last hurrah. Of course, I was lucky enough that all along the way V let me hit some geocaches. In the parks, the caches were virtual (there was no real cache). So I had to find some real deals.
Anywho, that was the vacation. I am out some big chizzang, but it was worth it. We used my $500 gift card for most food and stuff, so that was nice. Today work was really slow and I found out I didn't get an offer for a TA position in Fayetteville. I am going to make some phone calls to figure out why, since I was told I was a shoe-in. Not getting that position really puts a kink in my plans. A big kink. Time to do some more praying...
Monday came and we rode the hotel shuttle to EPCOT and then to Animal Kingdom. AK was AWESOME!!! We got a fast pass for Expedition Everest and then went to some other rides. It was a great time and the fast pass saved us some real time. I was still feeling queasy at this point, so I didn't enjoy it as much as hoped. We spent a lot of time just admiring the tree of life. It is so cool because it has all these animals carved into the trunk and roots. While burning some time waiting on the Lion King, we got our pictures with Goofy and Pocahontas. After we finished there, we rode to Hollywood studios and watched the Indiana Jones stunt show, road Star Tours (which caused V to almost hurl), waited FOREVER for Rockit Rollercoaster and then jumped on Tower of Terror, just as the sun was setting. Riding that at night was sooooo sweet. We had this cute little British girl on our ride and she had so much fun. After the ride, we hustled to the shuttle so we could catch the last bus home to our hotel.
Tuesday we got up early and rode the city bus to Universal. We hit the main rides (including the Hulk, which we rode up front and it ROCKED!!!) It was a good thing we got there when we did, because after we got in line, the line tripled in length. We rode Jurassic Park and a few other little rides and then checked out Harry Potter world. It isn't open yet, but it looks really cool. V was salivating most of the time we were looking it over. We skipped out of Islands of Adventure in time to grab lunch at Bubba Gumps and then we headed to the hotel for an early night. Good times. We grabbed dinner with Jon at the Rainforest Cafe and then grabbed some ice cream at a Guiradelli's (sp?) chocolate place.
Wednesday we slept in and went to Magic Kingdom at noon. We rode a few things (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Philharmagic) and left on the first bus out at 6pm. We had dinner with Joe at Bahama Breeze that night. Dinner wasn't good, but the company made up for it. I miss Joe.
Thursday was a long day. We got up early, drove to Downtown Disney and caught a bus to a Disney resort. We started the day at EPCOT, rode the few rides there (Mission Space (which was EXTREME), Test Track) and then met up with Jon. After riding the rides but before meeting Jon, we had to go back to Downtown Disney to get the camera which we left in the car. I hated to burn the time, but the break was nice. We went to the global area of the park and had some drinks and way too much food. It was neat and I got bitten by the travel bug. We rode Spaceship Earth and Mission Space with Jon and then departed ways. V and I went to Magic Kingdom and waited on the parade. The parade came and it was really great. She seemed happy to see it. We then ran over to the princess tent and since the line was long, we resorted to seeing Mickey and Minnie. That really seemed to make V's day. She was beaming from ear to ear and I knew I made a good decision booking the trip. We stayed around for some of the fireworks while slowly working out way back out of the park.
Friday was our final day and our biggest. We went to Magic Kingdom all day. We got our fast pass for Space Mtn and went to the Runaway Mine Train (or whatever it was called). I cut in line and my ethical gf grabbed me and made me wait behind everyone. Those ethical gfs...I swear. =) That ride was kinda lame. We then went to get in line for the princesses. That was neat to see Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. V, of course, was VERY happy after this. I got about a million hugs after her pictures with them. We rode the Sleeping Beauty ride and then headed to the space area. We rode Stitch escapes and then used our fast passes for the Buzz Lightyear ride. That ride was actually pretty cool. Then we met up with Jon to ride Space Mtn. We saved the best for last. That ride was so much better than when I rode in 2004. We had fun and then parted ways with Jon. V and I did some shopping at Downtown Disney (I got legos from the lego store!!!) and headed out. We drove for about five hours and stayed at a neat little place in Marianna, FL. It was a microtel and I highly recommend.
We slept in late and headed out Saturday morning. On the way home, we stopped at the only Red Robin in all of Alabama. It was sooooo good. Then when we went through Memphis, we stopped at Krystal for one last hurrah. Of course, I was lucky enough that all along the way V let me hit some geocaches. In the parks, the caches were virtual (there was no real cache). So I had to find some real deals.
Anywho, that was the vacation. I am out some big chizzang, but it was worth it. We used my $500 gift card for most food and stuff, so that was nice. Today work was really slow and I found out I didn't get an offer for a TA position in Fayetteville. I am going to make some phone calls to figure out why, since I was told I was a shoe-in. Not getting that position really puts a kink in my plans. A big kink. Time to do some more praying...
Friday, February 12, 2010
Work...finally
I returned to work on Monday and boy did I have some work to catch up on. Really not much has changed since I left and things aren't in any better shape. I got quite a bit of stuff taken care of and managed to avoid a nice work stop a few times. Dodged a few bullets too. Overall work wasn't too bad. I did get bored a few times, but that was many because I didn't feel like finding something to do. My leg is making it okay, although it is rather sore most days. I went to the gym on Monday and Tuesday and felt much better afterwards, just always hacked because the gym sucks so much. Did I mention the doc took off my brace Friday? Yeah, that was real nice. Still have to stretch it daily (which i have been slacking on) and strength train. Both are tough to get motivation to do, but I must.
Supposed to work today, but Camden got doused with snow. Most people there didn't know what to think. I left work and headed to Little Rock; I'm sure Camden is still recovering from the inch of snow they got. =)
I am almost set on the Orlando trip with V. We're going to be there for 6 nights and have 5 days of theme parks to hit. Should be a fast paced, busy trip, but I am pumped. Probably finalize the hotel and tickets Monday. A week isn't much time to hit the parks like we would want, but I think it may be the last big trip (and the biggest) we have for some time.
Speaking of time, no word from Fayetteville yet. I sent in my TA application a few weeks ago and I am sure letters are still floating in. If things work out, I have 191 days until I start on my PhD. Three classes away from finishing my masters. Woohoo!
Zombieland anyone?
Supposed to work today, but Camden got doused with snow. Most people there didn't know what to think. I left work and headed to Little Rock; I'm sure Camden is still recovering from the inch of snow they got. =)
I am almost set on the Orlando trip with V. We're going to be there for 6 nights and have 5 days of theme parks to hit. Should be a fast paced, busy trip, but I am pumped. Probably finalize the hotel and tickets Monday. A week isn't much time to hit the parks like we would want, but I think it may be the last big trip (and the biggest) we have for some time.
Speaking of time, no word from Fayetteville yet. I sent in my TA application a few weeks ago and I am sure letters are still floating in. If things work out, I have 191 days until I start on my PhD. Three classes away from finishing my masters. Woohoo!
Zombieland anyone?
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Still no work...
Well the intentions were there, but the paperwork wasn't. I went back in yesterday morning and put in a few hours of time before I had to leave. My doctor didn't fax in an official return to work paper and so I couldn't work. I did manage to get all my emails caught up and looked around the place. Now I am chilling at the house all day until the forms come in, which I suspect won't happen until I see the doctor on Friday. Fun times!
I've been playing Xbox Live in the meantime. V got me Modern Warfare 2 for xmas and I have been putting in some major hours on that. It's quite addicting. I have been trying to do other things like clean house, rearrange my room, order cable for the house, work on the car and buy a new TV, but I always end up back in front of the TV.
Good times!
As soon as I got back, I got that feeling again. It's almost a depression type feeling I think. I am not sure what it is, but I just feel lonely here. Perhaps I am lonely, but I just don't know what it is. I didn't feel this way in college, or at least I don't remember feeling this way. I think in college I filled all my free time in with people and that is something that doesn't happen here. I guess that's why God invented marriage. It's weird, though, because I keep trying not to candycoat college and Fayetteville, but I always come back to Fayetteville being the best place on earth. Speaking of, I sent in my TA forms last week. Hopefully they come back with good news. I won't say I am in full on "leave" mode, but I can sense myself getting there. I am saving money as much as possible and only making big purchases that I will use/need there.
Back to that lonely feeling. I am trying to think of cool stuff to do with the locals but it always comes back to just chilling at someone'e house. I think I am going to get a big TV and start having movie/game/food nights here. I think it'll be good for my soul and a great way to let the co-ops at work experience the out of office stuff we do. I don't remember feeling lonely like this when I worked in Joplin, maybe that was because I went golfing every day. Who knows? Regardless, I don't feel that way AT ALL when I am with V or out with the guys. I guess I am just a social addict.
If it happens...201 days!
I've been playing Xbox Live in the meantime. V got me Modern Warfare 2 for xmas and I have been putting in some major hours on that. It's quite addicting. I have been trying to do other things like clean house, rearrange my room, order cable for the house, work on the car and buy a new TV, but I always end up back in front of the TV.
Good times!
As soon as I got back, I got that feeling again. It's almost a depression type feeling I think. I am not sure what it is, but I just feel lonely here. Perhaps I am lonely, but I just don't know what it is. I didn't feel this way in college, or at least I don't remember feeling this way. I think in college I filled all my free time in with people and that is something that doesn't happen here. I guess that's why God invented marriage. It's weird, though, because I keep trying not to candycoat college and Fayetteville, but I always come back to Fayetteville being the best place on earth. Speaking of, I sent in my TA forms last week. Hopefully they come back with good news. I won't say I am in full on "leave" mode, but I can sense myself getting there. I am saving money as much as possible and only making big purchases that I will use/need there.
Back to that lonely feeling. I am trying to think of cool stuff to do with the locals but it always comes back to just chilling at someone'e house. I think I am going to get a big TV and start having movie/game/food nights here. I think it'll be good for my soul and a great way to let the co-ops at work experience the out of office stuff we do. I don't remember feeling lonely like this when I worked in Joplin, maybe that was because I went golfing every day. Who knows? Regardless, I don't feel that way AT ALL when I am with V or out with the guys. I guess I am just a social addict.
If it happens...201 days!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
He cares for the birds of the field
It doesn't happen often, but I am kinda worried. I got a medical bill today for 35k. That was just the hospital bill and it was before the insurance picked it up, but I am still worried about how much I will have to pay. Plus my car is acting really funny lately and I am wanting to take V to Disney world for spring break and I am planning on going back to school this fall. God has provided in the past and I am sure he will take care of me now. I am sure I will come through all this okay. I have been saving my money as much as possible, so that cushion will keep me safe...let's hope.
My leg is doing better. I spent last week with V and did a lot of therapy on my own, so that helped. Yesterday I got to 88 degrees of movement and I suspect (fingers crossed) that I will get past 90 degrees tomorrow. I am soooo sore afterwards, but it is a good workout and I am paying for that. Good times. I can walk with the brace unlocked some but still can't bend it much when walking. It feels unstable when I put much weight on it while bent. I am sure it will get stronger.
Let me tell you about the biggest disappointment in life lately. I drove the car yesterday for the first time in a month. It started fine, drove to the therapist fine and then I went to sonic. At sonic it wouldn't start up again. No clicking, no trying, just dead. I tried and tried with no avail. Dad came by and jumped me off and that worked fine. On the drive home, every time I turned the headlights on, the car stalled out. I did it when I got home and the car went completely dead. Totally, completely, no lights, no buzzer, no nothing. I am worried it is my alternator, but hopefully it is just my battery. That's a quick, easy and relatively cheap fix. We'll see tomorrow. Needless to say, I am worried. I have the money for the alternator, but not the time or tools.
So yeah...I'm kinda freaking a little. It'll be alright though. I am loved. And on a positive note, one thing I am not worried about is my relationship with Vanessa. We had a good week of knockdown dragout arguments and some very in depth discussions and I think we are heading in the right direction. We prayed a lot and I feel much more confident than I did before I spent the week with her.
BTW, if you are considering the Pharaoh exhibit in Little Rock, don't waste your time. It was kinda neat, but only had three mummies and that's counting one kitten.
My leg is doing better. I spent last week with V and did a lot of therapy on my own, so that helped. Yesterday I got to 88 degrees of movement and I suspect (fingers crossed) that I will get past 90 degrees tomorrow. I am soooo sore afterwards, but it is a good workout and I am paying for that. Good times. I can walk with the brace unlocked some but still can't bend it much when walking. It feels unstable when I put much weight on it while bent. I am sure it will get stronger.
Let me tell you about the biggest disappointment in life lately. I drove the car yesterday for the first time in a month. It started fine, drove to the therapist fine and then I went to sonic. At sonic it wouldn't start up again. No clicking, no trying, just dead. I tried and tried with no avail. Dad came by and jumped me off and that worked fine. On the drive home, every time I turned the headlights on, the car stalled out. I did it when I got home and the car went completely dead. Totally, completely, no lights, no buzzer, no nothing. I am worried it is my alternator, but hopefully it is just my battery. That's a quick, easy and relatively cheap fix. We'll see tomorrow. Needless to say, I am worried. I have the money for the alternator, but not the time or tools.
So yeah...I'm kinda freaking a little. It'll be alright though. I am loved. And on a positive note, one thing I am not worried about is my relationship with Vanessa. We had a good week of knockdown dragout arguments and some very in depth discussions and I think we are heading in the right direction. We prayed a lot and I feel much more confident than I did before I spent the week with her.
BTW, if you are considering the Pharaoh exhibit in Little Rock, don't waste your time. It was kinda neat, but only had three mummies and that's counting one kitten.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas break
Well I can walk, with a brace, straightlegged. Woohoo. Tomorrow I might get to start walking with my leg bent. That's exciting. More exciting is that I am going to see V in just a few days. Great! I will have to skip therapy for a week, but I will be doing some home exercises, so it should be all good. I was supposed to start back work the 11th, but the doctor thinks February would be better. I feel bad for missing so much, but I guess if I can and it's coming down to my own personal health, I can do it. Whatever the doc says....
My sister and I have been hanging out a lot. She had some games this week and did really well. She had a double double yesterday and did well today too. Anywho, on to the reason I am posting. So my sister has a boyfriend (or friend as she says) that seems pretty worthless. I don't witness much of anything so I can't say with 100% certainty he is a jerk, but based on what I am hearing about him, she needs to lose him. He never comes to watch her play basketball, he's extremely possessive, etc. I talked to her about it today and told her I gave her a hard time about him because I wanted a good guy for her and she got mad and now won't talk to me. She needs to understand that people on the outside looking in can see many things that she is jaded to. Hopefully once she goes to college she'll find a better guy. If she goes to Tech, Cory will make sure of it. He doesn't like the guy either. We'll see; it is her life so I will let her make the mistakes.
Christmas went well. I got an iPod touch which is great to traveling and browsing the web. It's a good backup for my full size iPod; I think I will only put the music I really like on the touch, instead of using it as a mobile music library. I also got a bag for my xbox (I bought) and a game or two. Mom always makes these goodie boxes which are full of a smorgusborg of stuff ranging from shampoo to poptarts to razors. It's one of my favorite gifts. I also got a nice new George Foreman grill, which I really needed. Good times. I am really blessed beyond what I deserve. I will get V's gifts next week and hers are always great, so I am looking forward to that too. I could actually afford gifts for everyone this year and planned ahead to have all the stuff in before my surgery. Everyone seemed to like their stuff, which is good.
Okay, time to watch some more NCAA bowls and play xbox. Life is hard. =)
My sister and I have been hanging out a lot. She had some games this week and did really well. She had a double double yesterday and did well today too. Anywho, on to the reason I am posting. So my sister has a boyfriend (or friend as she says) that seems pretty worthless. I don't witness much of anything so I can't say with 100% certainty he is a jerk, but based on what I am hearing about him, she needs to lose him. He never comes to watch her play basketball, he's extremely possessive, etc. I talked to her about it today and told her I gave her a hard time about him because I wanted a good guy for her and she got mad and now won't talk to me. She needs to understand that people on the outside looking in can see many things that she is jaded to. Hopefully once she goes to college she'll find a better guy. If she goes to Tech, Cory will make sure of it. He doesn't like the guy either. We'll see; it is her life so I will let her make the mistakes.
Christmas went well. I got an iPod touch which is great to traveling and browsing the web. It's a good backup for my full size iPod; I think I will only put the music I really like on the touch, instead of using it as a mobile music library. I also got a bag for my xbox (I bought) and a game or two. Mom always makes these goodie boxes which are full of a smorgusborg of stuff ranging from shampoo to poptarts to razors. It's one of my favorite gifts. I also got a nice new George Foreman grill, which I really needed. Good times. I am really blessed beyond what I deserve. I will get V's gifts next week and hers are always great, so I am looking forward to that too. I could actually afford gifts for everyone this year and planned ahead to have all the stuff in before my surgery. Everyone seemed to like their stuff, which is good.
Okay, time to watch some more NCAA bowls and play xbox. Life is hard. =)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Day 11, time to start over
Well I didn't make it. I ended up going about three days without a soda (that I can remember) before I broke down and drank some more. I had surgery a week ago to repair my PCL and that was a trip. The surgery was supposed to last 1 hour but took closer to three or so. All I remember was waking up in pain and telling them to increase the meds. Then I hear a nurse saying "we can't use that anymore, he's maxed out. Let's try XXXX." I rode home, in and out of sleep and then woke up at home on the couch. V showed up shortly after and was a great comfort. She took care of me until she left on Tuesday. =( I am still sad. She slept in Cory's room and every morning I would crutch into the room and snuggle up next to her. She is so cute in the mornings.
So my leg is straight and in a brace that keeps it that way. I can "walk" on it about as much as a zombie "walks". It will hold weight without pain but generally hurts after I get off of it again. I take showers every two days and get to take the wrap off. My knee looks like it was crushed. It is black, blue, brown, purple and yellow. I have a few slits in it with sterile strips on them. I can't take those off, even though they itch and such. Overall, it's not too bad. I am really getting antsy (?) because I can't bend my knee.
Enough about the knee. I finished my class with an A. With seven of my ten classes finished, I have a...hold your breath....wait for it...4.0GPA!!! I am taking next semester off, but seriously thinking about finishing up before I go back to Faytown. If I save my butt off (even more than I already do) I could afford to pay for the classes. The question is, do I want to do them and pay for it when I could possibly take them for free when I go back? Hm...a dilemma indeed.
V and I are doing good. I bought the biggest Christmas present ever this year; I got her some 5/8ct diamond earrings. I think she liked them, but I am not 100% sure. She's hard to read, you know? I also got her the new Harry Potter movie and my mom, being the awesome gift giver she is, gave her some other goodies. She is going shopping for my presents this weekend, but really I would rather her put that money in her gas tank and come see me again. That would be GREAT!!! It's weird, when we're together we get along great. We argue very little and have a great time. When we're apart, we become different people or something. We both become insecure or something and pick each other apart.
Okay, well I am off to hook up the xbox to the surround sound and do some gaming. Since class ended, I am out of things I have to do. I need to start reading, but geez...I just don't like to read. A character flaw...indeed.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
So my leg is straight and in a brace that keeps it that way. I can "walk" on it about as much as a zombie "walks". It will hold weight without pain but generally hurts after I get off of it again. I take showers every two days and get to take the wrap off. My knee looks like it was crushed. It is black, blue, brown, purple and yellow. I have a few slits in it with sterile strips on them. I can't take those off, even though they itch and such. Overall, it's not too bad. I am really getting antsy (?) because I can't bend my knee.
Enough about the knee. I finished my class with an A. With seven of my ten classes finished, I have a...hold your breath....wait for it...4.0GPA!!! I am taking next semester off, but seriously thinking about finishing up before I go back to Faytown. If I save my butt off (even more than I already do) I could afford to pay for the classes. The question is, do I want to do them and pay for it when I could possibly take them for free when I go back? Hm...a dilemma indeed.
V and I are doing good. I bought the biggest Christmas present ever this year; I got her some 5/8ct diamond earrings. I think she liked them, but I am not 100% sure. She's hard to read, you know? I also got her the new Harry Potter movie and my mom, being the awesome gift giver she is, gave her some other goodies. She is going shopping for my presents this weekend, but really I would rather her put that money in her gas tank and come see me again. That would be GREAT!!! It's weird, when we're together we get along great. We argue very little and have a great time. When we're apart, we become different people or something. We both become insecure or something and pick each other apart.
Okay, well I am off to hook up the xbox to the surround sound and do some gaming. Since class ended, I am out of things I have to do. I need to start reading, but geez...I just don't like to read. A character flaw...indeed.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Monday, December 07, 2009
Day 1
Well today I decided something: I am going to cut down on my sodas and cut them out. I am giving myself today and tomorrow to make the soda bottle I have go as far as possible. What could motivate me, you ask? Well I have surgery this Friday and I would like to be able to go through with it without the risk of high blood pressure. Plus now when I drink sodas my throat gets all sore and stuff. I plan on continuing to drink my coffee but I will probably dwindle that down once my creamer runs out.
Oh yes, I didn't mention my surgery. I am getting my knee worked on again this Friday. This surgery is to repair the PCL and some other break. I am not sure on the details and have yet to reach my doctor...frustrating. I figure I will be down for about a week and probably recuperating for about three weeks. I will miss one and a half weeks of work, which is fine because I am exhausted from work. I worked all weekend, which was crazy. By Sunday I was beat and didn't get much accomplished. So is the working life...
The Christmas party was good this year. The food was nice, but the music was funk, which I am not a big dancer of. I hung out with a good IE friend of mine and a good LSS guy. I enjoyed their company, as well as their wives. I really enjoy hanging out with Gee, my IE friend. He's in his 30s and has two kids and he is a super nice guy. My table was really like the nice people table. Down at the end was this couple that invites me to hang with their young singles group all the time, then Gee and his wife and my LSS friend.
Did I mention I worked this past weekend? Everyday at 5am I was driving into the parking lot.
Classes are almost over. I will try to take my third test this Thursday and then my final next week. This semester has been tough with all the work I have been doing. I am putting in around 60hr average a week, so thank goodness I am only in one class. However, I am disciplined and I have been watching the class videos, which takes some serious time. oh well, I'm three classes away from a masters degree (which I may never get). =(
Now for the real meat: the love life. I am still mad crazy over V and she still is as feisty as ever. I surprised her two weeks ago and showed up on a Sunday night, only to run my mouth and ruin the whole moment. I didn't learn and I turned around and did it again last night. It's not an excuse but I had a long, hard weekend and I guess I just wanted to pick a fight. Now we're not talking until her finals are over, if she'll even talk to me then. The fight last night was because I wanted to spend more time with her over Christmas vacation. She already committed to a lot of time, but me being the selfish guy I am, I wanted more. Now I get a lot of time to myself. =( Oh well, I am going to try to take this time to reflect upon myself and my relationship with V. I love her, but sometimes I am selfish and I need to get over that and grow up. It's a hard lesson to learn, but hopefully I will get it before I lose her.
Time for class!!! Have a great evening and if I don't see you again, have a wonderful morning, noon and night tomorrow.
Oh yes, I didn't mention my surgery. I am getting my knee worked on again this Friday. This surgery is to repair the PCL and some other break. I am not sure on the details and have yet to reach my doctor...frustrating. I figure I will be down for about a week and probably recuperating for about three weeks. I will miss one and a half weeks of work, which is fine because I am exhausted from work. I worked all weekend, which was crazy. By Sunday I was beat and didn't get much accomplished. So is the working life...
The Christmas party was good this year. The food was nice, but the music was funk, which I am not a big dancer of. I hung out with a good IE friend of mine and a good LSS guy. I enjoyed their company, as well as their wives. I really enjoy hanging out with Gee, my IE friend. He's in his 30s and has two kids and he is a super nice guy. My table was really like the nice people table. Down at the end was this couple that invites me to hang with their young singles group all the time, then Gee and his wife and my LSS friend.
Did I mention I worked this past weekend? Everyday at 5am I was driving into the parking lot.
Classes are almost over. I will try to take my third test this Thursday and then my final next week. This semester has been tough with all the work I have been doing. I am putting in around 60hr average a week, so thank goodness I am only in one class. However, I am disciplined and I have been watching the class videos, which takes some serious time. oh well, I'm three classes away from a masters degree (which I may never get). =(
Now for the real meat: the love life. I am still mad crazy over V and she still is as feisty as ever. I surprised her two weeks ago and showed up on a Sunday night, only to run my mouth and ruin the whole moment. I didn't learn and I turned around and did it again last night. It's not an excuse but I had a long, hard weekend and I guess I just wanted to pick a fight. Now we're not talking until her finals are over, if she'll even talk to me then. The fight last night was because I wanted to spend more time with her over Christmas vacation. She already committed to a lot of time, but me being the selfish guy I am, I wanted more. Now I get a lot of time to myself. =( Oh well, I am going to try to take this time to reflect upon myself and my relationship with V. I love her, but sometimes I am selfish and I need to get over that and grow up. It's a hard lesson to learn, but hopefully I will get it before I lose her.
Time for class!!! Have a great evening and if I don't see you again, have a wonderful morning, noon and night tomorrow.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Woohoo
I'm not going to lie; I pretty much despise life right now. I am working a ton at a job I don't enjoy all that much in a town that now ranks in the top five worst towns I have ever been to. I'm sorry for all the negativity, but I am working my butt off at work and all I keep getting is more trouble. If it's not a rule violation, it is someone wanting me to do something that someone else jacked up. If it isn't something that someone else jacked up, it was something I did wrong because I didn't read the minds of everyone involved.
I gave a speech today for my team at work and had information given to me an hour before I got up there. Luckily I did improv speeches in high school and took a communications class at my Div 1, state-run University...with dorms, three cafeterias, a football team AND an actual town that supports it.
I have lived a pretty blessed life and I am still blessed daily with a job, a roof over my head and the money to do things. Right now, however, I just really need a hug.
I gave a speech today for my team at work and had information given to me an hour before I got up there. Luckily I did improv speeches in high school and took a communications class at my Div 1, state-run University...with dorms, three cafeterias, a football team AND an actual town that supports it.
I have lived a pretty blessed life and I am still blessed daily with a job, a roof over my head and the money to do things. Right now, however, I just really need a hug.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Sleepless nights
This week has been wild. I was told Monday that we would be going to 12 hour days and probably working all weekend. So far, it's been true. I worked 10 hours today and I am supposed to be up five hours to work 10 more hours. Fun times! I am super busy at work with a new project that I am sorta heading up. The work is a challenge at times, but mostly mundane.
Took my first test in my OMGT class tonight. Wasn't too bad really, only took me about an hour or so to finish up. On to the next one...
Well I just wanted to post to try to convince my mind to go to sleep. My body has been real weird this week; I feel like my stomach is always empty and stuff and my metabolism has been going high lately. Right now my mind is racing, but my eyes and body are tired. I need a good solid 10 hours of sleep right now...how nice.
Took my first test in my OMGT class tonight. Wasn't too bad really, only took me about an hour or so to finish up. On to the next one...
Well I just wanted to post to try to convince my mind to go to sleep. My body has been real weird this week; I feel like my stomach is always empty and stuff and my metabolism has been going high lately. Right now my mind is racing, but my eyes and body are tired. I need a good solid 10 hours of sleep right now...how nice.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
One man show
This week has been wild! I came in late on Monday at 9:15 and it was great! I drove in from Little Rock and it was a nice drive. The sun wasn't shining, but it was light outside and I felt pretty decent compared with Sunday (I was sick again). Since then I have been crazy busy. Work is 90 miles per hour with my new project up and running and a ton of stuff to do. I will probably stay late tomorrow and I am working Friday for the first time in a while. As soon as I get off work on Friday, I am driving to Bryant again to go with the girl to Cord, Arkansas.
I don't normally write in unless I haven't done so in a while or I have some thoughts that have been plaguing me. As you can guess, it's the latter today. Work went really well today. I have more stuff to do than I could get done in a month and I am pretty well in charge of some projects. They're pretty boring stuff on the whole, but a bit of a challenge. At one point today, I caught myself thinking "I kinda like this stuff". I am not sure where that thought came from, but I got me convinced that I want to put off school until next Spring (2011). Therein lies my problem. I can't decide what I want to do. Work is tough and most of it I dislike, but then there are days like today that I enjoy pretty well. Like I told someone the other day, I like my job, I just hate all the other stuff with it. And I still believe that to some extent. I make good money and some of the stuff I do, I enjoy. There are just a lot of things I don't care for.
So the question I pose to you and to myself is this: Should I start school this fall (2010) or wait until the Spring of 2011 or keep doing these online classes until I get a degree and then decide? Financially, it would benefit me to work as long as possible. The longer I work, the more money I can save up and the more classes work will pay for. I get more experience and I pay off more of my house. Emotionally, I think going somewhere else would be better. Driving to work at 5:40 every morning kills me and taking a two lane road into work everyday annoys the fire out of me. Camden is Camden (there's a reason I go out of town every weekend). I'm just afraid of never being happy. I pray about it and I think God put me here to know I need to appreciate what I have, but I wonder if that has to happen once I leave. I am happy to have a job, but feel there is more out there than this.
Ugh, as you can tell, I am very confused. If God has a plan for me, He's being very clever about how he presents it.
Time to drive 40 minutes to church to teach my class to two people.
I don't normally write in unless I haven't done so in a while or I have some thoughts that have been plaguing me. As you can guess, it's the latter today. Work went really well today. I have more stuff to do than I could get done in a month and I am pretty well in charge of some projects. They're pretty boring stuff on the whole, but a bit of a challenge. At one point today, I caught myself thinking "I kinda like this stuff". I am not sure where that thought came from, but I got me convinced that I want to put off school until next Spring (2011). Therein lies my problem. I can't decide what I want to do. Work is tough and most of it I dislike, but then there are days like today that I enjoy pretty well. Like I told someone the other day, I like my job, I just hate all the other stuff with it. And I still believe that to some extent. I make good money and some of the stuff I do, I enjoy. There are just a lot of things I don't care for.
So the question I pose to you and to myself is this: Should I start school this fall (2010) or wait until the Spring of 2011 or keep doing these online classes until I get a degree and then decide? Financially, it would benefit me to work as long as possible. The longer I work, the more money I can save up and the more classes work will pay for. I get more experience and I pay off more of my house. Emotionally, I think going somewhere else would be better. Driving to work at 5:40 every morning kills me and taking a two lane road into work everyday annoys the fire out of me. Camden is Camden (there's a reason I go out of town every weekend). I'm just afraid of never being happy. I pray about it and I think God put me here to know I need to appreciate what I have, but I wonder if that has to happen once I leave. I am happy to have a job, but feel there is more out there than this.
Ugh, as you can tell, I am very confused. If God has a plan for me, He's being very clever about how he presents it.
Time to drive 40 minutes to church to teach my class to two people.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Peace....
I finished my semester with two As. Moving on.
These past couple of days have been amazing. First, on the 21st, I left work early and headed to Dickson, Tennessee. I picked up Vanessa on the way and we headed off. We had some amazing Mexican food and some Dairy Queen that night. Thursday we got up early and headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky. We stopped to grab some lunch and low and behold, had a chance to eat at both White Castle AND Krystal. We picked up the number one at both places and had a taste test. I am proud to announce that Krystal is slightly better than White Castle, but if you have to choose between WC and some other joint, pick WC. The burgers are almost identical, the WC fries are crinkle fries and the drinks are the same.
We then headed to the Corvette museum. We watched the intro movie and started into the museum for about 10 minutes until we headed to the GM plant to see Corvettes being made. That tour was the most amazing thing ever. It was so cool to see a Corvette start as a frame and end up driving 75mph on a test rack. They track the car from the beginning to the end, since some models of the car have different frame materials. It was state of the art stuff and always moving. I couldn't believe the difference from what we see at work. They have park benches right next to the assembly line where they take their breaks, among some other things that I won't go into. I think V really enjoyed the tour and we both learned a lot. It was sooo cool. Just thinking about it right now makes me all giddy inside. We headed back to the museum and went through all the remaining cars. I was disappointed they didn't have an C6.Rs there, but we did see some super nice ZR1s. As we were walking out, some new owners drove their new car out of the museum. It was beautiful grey and had an exhaust note that sent chills down my spine.
We left there and headed downtown to eat at the Mellow Mushroom. Good pizza, but nothing special. We then headed to my Uncle Charlie's house in Brentwood, Tennessee. He gave us directions on the phone and told me to turn on Granite Light road. On the way there, we passed a road called Granny White and I told V I bet that was the Granite light he was talking about. Well it turns out he did say Granny White and we ended up driving for another four miles before we turned around and headed back.
The next morning we went on a trip with my Uncle and his friend Wayne. We headed to Hickman county to revisit my uncle's past (he's 80) and find a guy who made his own bread. We drove all over the place on dirt roads in Wayne's little Accord looking for this bread maker before we finally decided to stop and eat at the Tarkington Store (my relatives). The owner gave us directions and we drove right to it without ever hitting a dirt road. The guy was a real hippy dude and let us watch him make bread and cook it. He runs a one man operation and his bread was amazing. I bought two loaves and took one to Ryan's family.
We had dinner that night (Friday) at Ryan's house in NE Nashville. Her family was super nice and treated us like royalty. We went to the movies that night and saw Couples Retreat. It was really funny and I found a lot of the movie to relate to V and I. We all enjoyed it and headed home. We spent a few hours Saturday searching for a dress for Ryan and the rest of the day watching college football. I went geocaching for a few minutes and found four in Tennessee (I had found one outside of the Corvette Museum in Kentucky too).
We headed home this morning and I am sick again. I woke up a few times in a deep sweat and this morning with a killer headache. Every time I sneeze or cough my brain hurts. I have taken decongestants and allergy medicines with no luck. I'm going in late to work tomorrow to see if I can't sleep this away. I doubt it, but I am tired and don't want to drive to Camden yet.
These past couple of days have been amazing. First, on the 21st, I left work early and headed to Dickson, Tennessee. I picked up Vanessa on the way and we headed off. We had some amazing Mexican food and some Dairy Queen that night. Thursday we got up early and headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky. We stopped to grab some lunch and low and behold, had a chance to eat at both White Castle AND Krystal. We picked up the number one at both places and had a taste test. I am proud to announce that Krystal is slightly better than White Castle, but if you have to choose between WC and some other joint, pick WC. The burgers are almost identical, the WC fries are crinkle fries and the drinks are the same.
We then headed to the Corvette museum. We watched the intro movie and started into the museum for about 10 minutes until we headed to the GM plant to see Corvettes being made. That tour was the most amazing thing ever. It was so cool to see a Corvette start as a frame and end up driving 75mph on a test rack. They track the car from the beginning to the end, since some models of the car have different frame materials. It was state of the art stuff and always moving. I couldn't believe the difference from what we see at work. They have park benches right next to the assembly line where they take their breaks, among some other things that I won't go into. I think V really enjoyed the tour and we both learned a lot. It was sooo cool. Just thinking about it right now makes me all giddy inside. We headed back to the museum and went through all the remaining cars. I was disappointed they didn't have an C6.Rs there, but we did see some super nice ZR1s. As we were walking out, some new owners drove their new car out of the museum. It was beautiful grey and had an exhaust note that sent chills down my spine.
We left there and headed downtown to eat at the Mellow Mushroom. Good pizza, but nothing special. We then headed to my Uncle Charlie's house in Brentwood, Tennessee. He gave us directions on the phone and told me to turn on Granite Light road. On the way there, we passed a road called Granny White and I told V I bet that was the Granite light he was talking about. Well it turns out he did say Granny White and we ended up driving for another four miles before we turned around and headed back.
The next morning we went on a trip with my Uncle and his friend Wayne. We headed to Hickman county to revisit my uncle's past (he's 80) and find a guy who made his own bread. We drove all over the place on dirt roads in Wayne's little Accord looking for this bread maker before we finally decided to stop and eat at the Tarkington Store (my relatives). The owner gave us directions and we drove right to it without ever hitting a dirt road. The guy was a real hippy dude and let us watch him make bread and cook it. He runs a one man operation and his bread was amazing. I bought two loaves and took one to Ryan's family.
We had dinner that night (Friday) at Ryan's house in NE Nashville. Her family was super nice and treated us like royalty. We went to the movies that night and saw Couples Retreat. It was really funny and I found a lot of the movie to relate to V and I. We all enjoyed it and headed home. We spent a few hours Saturday searching for a dress for Ryan and the rest of the day watching college football. I went geocaching for a few minutes and found four in Tennessee (I had found one outside of the Corvette Museum in Kentucky too).
We headed home this morning and I am sick again. I woke up a few times in a deep sweat and this morning with a killer headache. Every time I sneeze or cough my brain hurts. I have taken decongestants and allergy medicines with no luck. I'm going in late to work tomorrow to see if I can't sleep this away. I doubt it, but I am tired and don't want to drive to Camden yet.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
My brain is oozing out of my ears
College is way different when you are working and doing it. It was actually pretty tough when I was there, but being there is soooo much better than where I am now. These online classes, as easy as they are, are killing me. I have a paper or a test every week and the papers are sooo hard to get motivated for since I care very little about management. I am writing a paper now that is supposed to be a proposal to a local service provider about how to increase profits. I'm typing it on a local "gym". I put that in quotes because the place is a joke. The gym here in the hotel is better than that one and we've only got four machines here.
Okay enough negativity. Houston is rocking my socks off. Obviously I am not truly experiencing the town since I don't commute in, but what I am experiencing is AWESOME. I've seen Z06s, M3s, Supras, and on and on. Plus the office is really nice and professional. Free snacks, drinks, etc for the class and the building is a nice six story glass officeplace. Love it! Traffic is annoying at times, but the chaos is predictable and I only drive about 2 miles to training. Oh yeah, I'm here for training. It's going really well. Our teacher seems real smart and she's young and trendy, which is a nice change. I sit next to this old guy names Craig and we have a lot of good laughs in class. He's way behind and so he always gives me a hard time about being so fast. It's funny.
Did I mention that I've eaten foreign food for almost every meal? I've had sushi twice, Thai food yesterday, Italian on Monday night and Fudruckers (which is foreign to S. Arkansas) on Monday for lunch. GREAT GREAT GREAT! Tomorrow I'll probably get some BBQ or maybe Mexican (on my hour lunch) and then some Bdubs for dinner!!!! WOOHOO!!! Did I mention I am loving being here? I guess I am glad I don't live here because I would be broke. I show up to work at 8:45 and leave a little after 5. It's wonderful!
Then the first person I get to see when I step foot in Arkansas is...Vanessa!!! All this positive thinking is making me giddy. Okay, time for a shower and then I'll get up at 7ish, eat, work out and drive into work. Good, good times.
Oh wait...my classes.
Okay enough negativity. Houston is rocking my socks off. Obviously I am not truly experiencing the town since I don't commute in, but what I am experiencing is AWESOME. I've seen Z06s, M3s, Supras, and on and on. Plus the office is really nice and professional. Free snacks, drinks, etc for the class and the building is a nice six story glass officeplace. Love it! Traffic is annoying at times, but the chaos is predictable and I only drive about 2 miles to training. Oh yeah, I'm here for training. It's going really well. Our teacher seems real smart and she's young and trendy, which is a nice change. I sit next to this old guy names Craig and we have a lot of good laughs in class. He's way behind and so he always gives me a hard time about being so fast. It's funny.
Did I mention that I've eaten foreign food for almost every meal? I've had sushi twice, Thai food yesterday, Italian on Monday night and Fudruckers (which is foreign to S. Arkansas) on Monday for lunch. GREAT GREAT GREAT! Tomorrow I'll probably get some BBQ or maybe Mexican (on my hour lunch) and then some Bdubs for dinner!!!! WOOHOO!!! Did I mention I am loving being here? I guess I am glad I don't live here because I would be broke. I show up to work at 8:45 and leave a little after 5. It's wonderful!
Then the first person I get to see when I step foot in Arkansas is...Vanessa!!! All this positive thinking is making me giddy. Okay, time for a shower and then I'll get up at 7ish, eat, work out and drive into work. Good, good times.
Oh wait...my classes.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Catching up on posts
The irony is that I am here typing this. I hate jealousy. I fight it and keep it away and then one little slip up and it rears its head again. I will fight it. If it means I will be taken advantage of, then so be it. I would rather play naïve than to ever fall into the cycle of guessing and asking questions and being worried. It’s just not worth it with her.
This week has been wild. A guy came in from Dallas and I stayed busy working with him. I’ve also started classes from 3:30-5:30 every Tuesday and Thursday and that is taking a small amount of time out of my week. I have a paper due Friday at 8pm, a test due by Saturday at 1pm and I am at V’s house, which doesn’t have ready access to the internet. I stayed at work Thursday until 7:45 and got home at 9ish. I stayed up late studying for my test and then took it Friday morning. It was a breeze. I then worked on my paper while on the road to V’s house and I submitted it at her dad’s office. It sucked. I worked on it all week and just could not get anything running.
I’ve got so much going right now it almost makes me sick. V has really been the light in the tunnel for me and even she sometimes worries me. I feel almost pathetic that I rely so much on her being around to make me happy. That and geocaching, which here lately has been rather lame. I can’t believe I even put her and geocaching in the same sentence. She hates it because she doesn’t understand that is what keeps me sane in Camden, when I have time to drift into being insane.
I am in Houston all week for training on a subject I actually enjoy: engineering design with pro-e. Fun times. I plan on catching up in my classes and doing a little bit of caching in a few of the nearby parks. Mostly just enjoying not being in Camden at work. 6am start day is starting to get real, real old.
I am super pumped about this weekend with V. We’re at her parents’ house and she’s always a lot more energetic and happy when she is here. It’s worth making a serious effort to stay in Arkansas to get chances to bring her home. We shall see. This place also has a bad vibe due to some other stuff, but I am repressing that; it’s not worth worrying/thinking about. I’m with her and I’m happy.
EDIT: September 27th.
I made it through the weekend and had a good time. I got my class stuff taken care of first thing and then enjoyed just hanging out with V and her family. They are so much fun. Her dad tells the best stories ever and it's funny seeing her dad and mom playfully jab each other. Makes me laugh just thinking about it. We all went to a wedding that was like 2 hours away and I was laughing (inside most of the time) almost the whole way there and back. The wedding was really sad. The whole ceremony only last five minutes and it was not set up real well. I felt sorry for the bride and groom, but maybe that is what they wanted. Who knows? I know they had some good food at the reception. Chocolate covered strawberries...yum.
Had some good catfish later too. Her parents take me out to eat almost every time I see them and I feel bad sometimes. I think I will send them a thank you card and some gift cards. Note to self: don't forget to do that. Spreaking of food, her mom cooked me something for almost every meal and man it was goooooood home cooking. They always eat well when I am there.
Being in the town that was so infamous to me was a challenge from time to time. Every place we went I wondered who... I repressed some thoughts going through my head and feel better for not bringing them up. If you're reading this, I am sorry for bringing up the stuff that I did and I am doing all I can to not ask questions. I know you're now dedicated...or committed... (That was a crazy joke.) I struggled with this same stuff with Megan and I feel stronger for surviving that. I am going to fight myself all the way to the end, whichever end that is.
Because of love.
This week has been wild. A guy came in from Dallas and I stayed busy working with him. I’ve also started classes from 3:30-5:30 every Tuesday and Thursday and that is taking a small amount of time out of my week. I have a paper due Friday at 8pm, a test due by Saturday at 1pm and I am at V’s house, which doesn’t have ready access to the internet. I stayed at work Thursday until 7:45 and got home at 9ish. I stayed up late studying for my test and then took it Friday morning. It was a breeze. I then worked on my paper while on the road to V’s house and I submitted it at her dad’s office. It sucked. I worked on it all week and just could not get anything running.
I’ve got so much going right now it almost makes me sick. V has really been the light in the tunnel for me and even she sometimes worries me. I feel almost pathetic that I rely so much on her being around to make me happy. That and geocaching, which here lately has been rather lame. I can’t believe I even put her and geocaching in the same sentence. She hates it because she doesn’t understand that is what keeps me sane in Camden, when I have time to drift into being insane.
I am in Houston all week for training on a subject I actually enjoy: engineering design with pro-e. Fun times. I plan on catching up in my classes and doing a little bit of caching in a few of the nearby parks. Mostly just enjoying not being in Camden at work. 6am start day is starting to get real, real old.
I am super pumped about this weekend with V. We’re at her parents’ house and she’s always a lot more energetic and happy when she is here. It’s worth making a serious effort to stay in Arkansas to get chances to bring her home. We shall see. This place also has a bad vibe due to some other stuff, but I am repressing that; it’s not worth worrying/thinking about. I’m with her and I’m happy.
EDIT: September 27th.
I made it through the weekend and had a good time. I got my class stuff taken care of first thing and then enjoyed just hanging out with V and her family. They are so much fun. Her dad tells the best stories ever and it's funny seeing her dad and mom playfully jab each other. Makes me laugh just thinking about it. We all went to a wedding that was like 2 hours away and I was laughing (inside most of the time) almost the whole way there and back. The wedding was really sad. The whole ceremony only last five minutes and it was not set up real well. I felt sorry for the bride and groom, but maybe that is what they wanted. Who knows? I know they had some good food at the reception. Chocolate covered strawberries...yum.
Had some good catfish later too. Her parents take me out to eat almost every time I see them and I feel bad sometimes. I think I will send them a thank you card and some gift cards. Note to self: don't forget to do that. Spreaking of food, her mom cooked me something for almost every meal and man it was goooooood home cooking. They always eat well when I am there.
Being in the town that was so infamous to me was a challenge from time to time. Every place we went I wondered who... I repressed some thoughts going through my head and feel better for not bringing them up. If you're reading this, I am sorry for bringing up the stuff that I did and I am doing all I can to not ask questions. I know you're now dedicated...or committed... (That was a crazy joke.) I struggled with this same stuff with Megan and I feel stronger for surviving that. I am going to fight myself all the way to the end, whichever end that is.
Because of love.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad...
Where were you when everything was falling apart?
Last Sunday, the 6th of September, at around 7pm. Enough said here. It was a hard time for me as the car I had picked out on the lot and saved all my money for was already sold when I got there.
Postsecrets still keep me thinking. We have so many secrets we can't even look at them all. So many, too many. Open up, we all have them. That is the beauty of the site; it makes us realize that we all have secrets and we are not alone with our thoughts. Many secrets we have that we don't even know are there. They slowly consume us.
I'm sorry if my post doesn't make much sense. I thought about just typing with a starting point and seeing where this blog goes. My life is crazy right now; I'm in Dallas at the end of the week. Huntsville, I hope, next week and Phoenix the next. In October I am driving to Nashville to see a concert and maybe a few Corvettes. I'll be 24; really an uneventful birthday to celebrate. That's about it. My whole room mate situation isn't too bad. He's relatively clean and the extra money each month helps a lot. This month I should finish up paying for my surgery and all that jazz. That will be a nice additional $300 a month or so. Good times. Classes are alright; I have about four weeks left in this semester and then I'll be down to four classes. Aced a paper last week that I found rather unimpressive; I hope I'm not lowering my standards to the point that engineering is going to kick my butt. We'll see I suppose.
Moving on...
Last Sunday, the 6th of September, at around 7pm. Enough said here. It was a hard time for me as the car I had picked out on the lot and saved all my money for was already sold when I got there.
Postsecrets still keep me thinking. We have so many secrets we can't even look at them all. So many, too many. Open up, we all have them. That is the beauty of the site; it makes us realize that we all have secrets and we are not alone with our thoughts. Many secrets we have that we don't even know are there. They slowly consume us.
I'm sorry if my post doesn't make much sense. I thought about just typing with a starting point and seeing where this blog goes. My life is crazy right now; I'm in Dallas at the end of the week. Huntsville, I hope, next week and Phoenix the next. In October I am driving to Nashville to see a concert and maybe a few Corvettes. I'll be 24; really an uneventful birthday to celebrate. That's about it. My whole room mate situation isn't too bad. He's relatively clean and the extra money each month helps a lot. This month I should finish up paying for my surgery and all that jazz. That will be a nice additional $300 a month or so. Good times. Classes are alright; I have about four weeks left in this semester and then I'll be down to four classes. Aced a paper last week that I found rather unimpressive; I hope I'm not lowering my standards to the point that engineering is going to kick my butt. We'll see I suppose.
Moving on...
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