New Toy

Just got a new digital camera (for free). Had to test it out. So here are a couple of pictures of my cats.

The Thing I Look Forward to Every Day

Is taking a nap. All day when I'm at work, all I want to do is go home and take a long nap. Then go to bed early to get enough sleep. I cannot wait till this summer job and my summer class is over so I can try to catch up on sleep. I should be able to considering I gave myself three weeks off between the summer employment and the fall semester starting up. I'll need it.

Of course, in the middle of that I'm going to be going to Kansas City, but I have plans of things I want to do there. I told Mom and Dad that I want to go to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art which they both seemed keen on doing, and that I also want to visit the Liberty Memorial museum as well. Dad seemed interested in that, Mom not so much. But that's cool. We also might go to Science City at Union Station. I've been there once and I liked it. I wonder how much different it is now than it was when I last went (2001?).

The Royals are playing a double header the Friday I am home and it seems that no one wants to go. My brother will be out of town, or I'm sure he'd go with me. Dad doesn't want to go, which is fine. I'll go by myself. It won't be the first time I've been to a ballgame by myself. I've been to one or two Royals games and one or two Pirates games on my own. Still enjoyable though I won't have anyone to talk to. Looks like I'll have a full week while I'm there. Plus there is that time I'll have to spend with my brother. And I'll have to visit both my sisters that live in the area.

Some other things I have planned while on "vacation", playing a couple rounds of golf, reading, sleeping, going to see the Pirates, working at the bar, sleeping, cleaning the apartment up a bit or as they say here in Pittsburgh (red it up or is it read it up? - I'm not very good at Pittsburghese. They all talk funny here.), and did I mention sleeping?

Okay, this made no sense and was probably just me rambling on. Amazingly, I only had one cup of coffee today and that was a couple of hours ago. I think I'm probably just tired.

Here's an Idea

I have a cool idea for a space station. A bicycle wheel space station. The space station would be a large circular tube with a radius of around 26,200 miles (centered on the Earth's center). For those who don't know, this is also the radius required for a geostationary orbit. The space station would be attached to the Earth via several space elevators (these would be the spokes). The base of the space elevators would be on the surface of the Earth, at locations on the equator. Some would have to be artificial islands while others could be located in Africa and South America. Ideal locations would be on mountains (the higher up you are, the less distance to travel). The actual distance between the base and the space station would be around 22,400 miles. See the image to the right.

Yeehaw

Depressing day. Today is my 32nd birthday. Being 32 is not a big deal, except that when I was younger, I thought I would be in a different place by now. You know, career, marriage, children. I guess the things I wanted by the time I was 30 will just have to wait. I know that I'll be done with school soon and I'll be working soon. It's just one of those things. I'll get over it.

Today is the 4th of July

So how come there is only one baseball game on TV today? The only game that is on is the Cubs/Astros game on WGN. No Pirates game on Fox Sports, no baseball games whatsoever on ESPN. I mean, c'mon, this is the United States of America. Baseball is our national pastime. There should be wall-to-wall coverage of baseball today. Sigh. I just wanted to complain.

Happy 4th of July!

Just Bored

Nothing much is happening here. Just a few more days till this month is over and July is here. Only six weeks left of my summer job, too. I like it, but I'm sick of doing the same thing over and over again. I like switching up and doing different things. One day, I don't mind doing concrete tests, then the next, doing a little fireproofing examinations. It is so monotonous measuring how thick the fireproofing is when you are doing it by yourself and have no one to talk to and no music to listen to.

Oh yeah, in other news, I already have someone calling me for a full-time job. They want a civil engineer and found my resume on Monster. They didn't mind that I was still in school. Unfortunately, my classes are mostly during the day, and so therefore, I can't work during the day. But they told me that if my schedule opens up in the spring or if I need a job after I graduate in April, to give them a call. So I figure, they are either desperate for a CE or my resume is that impressive. I like to think the second one is the better answer.

I got my wish

This week, I was able to do something different than I had been doing at work. At least, it gave me a switch from my usual routine which is what I love. I have to go back to the other stuff next week, but I'm just happy to have done something different.

In other news, I get to pick up my new laptop tonight. I'm so excited, and yes, I know I'm a nerd, but I don't care. This is my birthday present to myself and I'm going to love it.

Hot Day Today

Today was a scorcher. I loved it. High was in the 90s, humidity probably around 60 to 70 percent. My kind of weather. Too bad I was working outside and sweating in it. I would rather have been playing outside in it, like baseball or basketball. People just don't understand how I can like hot weather. I love hot weather. It means a lot of things to me. Summer is coming which was good when I was a kid (school was out). It means baseball season and baseball is my all time favorite sport. You can spend all day outside without freezing. I hate winter (I think I've mentioned that many times before). Oh yeah, my birthday is in the summer time, though I don't know if I'll celebrate it this year. I'm turning 32 and that age really doesn't mean much. It's a Sunday this year and I have to work the next day. And I'm working on my birthday, too. I haven't told anyone it's my birthday and I don't plan on telling anyone, either. But yeah, it's summer time and I love it. :-)

I hate mornings!

I hope I get used to waking up early in the morning sometime soon. Right now, I am getting up at 6 am to get to work at 7. I know, I know, it's not early to you all, but when you are used to waking at 8 or 8:30, that is early. I think by the time I get used to it, the summer will be over and I won't need to be up that early. At least I'll be used to it for my 8:30 am classes this fall.

In other news, my first crush contacted me this week. What a surprise! My lovely brother Tom ran into her parents and told them about me last year, and I guess, they have been updating her about me. Even then, I didn't think she'd take time out to e-mail me. I haven't seen her in 17 years. She e-mailed me and wants to chat, I guess about what's going on with our lives. I'm still in shock. I haven't yet gotten to talk to her, so it will be interesting to say the least. I'll guess I'll keep you updated. Hey, this may be the first exciting thing to happen me in a while. It might make an interesting story sometime.

The Love Affair has Ended

I knew it was bound to happen. I finally did something at my new job that I absolutely hated. I was on a job site measuring the thickness of fireproofing on I-bars. It is so tedious and boring. I really prefer the lab work, but since I am only a summer employee, I go where I am told to go. At least, I keep doing different things which will be really good on my resume. I hope I get to go back in the lab soon.

Ahhh...the Weekend!

I'm so glad the weekend is here. It means I can sleep in on Saturday (Yay!). Of course, now that means 8:30 or 9 AM, but that's an extra two hours or so of sleep for me. I'll take it.

Right now, I have two weeks under my belt at the summer employment, and so far, I'm still loving it. I'm working mostly in the lab doing lab work (which I love), and once in a while, I get to go out in the field, doing some field testing of concrete. The point of this job (besides money, which is always good as it pays the bills...literally), is for the experience. This will look so good on my resume. And it does help that I am having fun. I still feel like a slacker when I come home as I don't really have anything to do when I'm here, but that will end next week. I start my summer class on Tuesday evening, Steel Structures. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Hey, it is an important thing for me to learn. Heck, even though I'll have a degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on structures, I might not even end up working in that field. I really do like this geotechnical stuff I'm doing. I'm not switching because I do not want to take another year or so to finish. I'm getting older and I don't want to be in my mid-thirties by the time I'm finished. At this point, I'll be 32 next spring when I finish all the work for the BS, and I think that is too old to be going to school full time, especially when I'm ready to get married and have children. And no, this does not mean I've met someone that I am ready to marry, but you never know what will happen.

Hopefully, I have a date tonight, so I'm going to relax a bit and watch a little television. Have a good one, y'all.

First Day on the Job

Well, today was my first day on my summer job. It's blue collar work, for now, but stuff that will definitely come in handy when I actually have a career. Not only that, I even got a raise. On my first day. Only because I have experience, well, at least taking classes. Time for a nap. Just wanted to share.

Help!

I do not know how to relax! I had my last final yesterday, so I'm done for the semester, don't have a class again for two weeks, yet here I sit feeling anxious because I feel I should be doing something, anything. I have been in school way too long so that any downtime I have I feel I must be doing something. I could read, which I probably will, but even then, I feel like I am neglecting work that must be done. I wonder if my sister ever had this problem after her semesters were over. It will be very weird once I am done with school forever. I think because of that, I may take at least one college class every semester for the rest of my life. I can't stand not having anything to do. I'll be a fun guy when I retire.

One more to go...

Four finals down, and one to go. I should be studying for it, but for some reason, I'm not really worried about it. Actually, I just got out of one final. Easy exam. Right now, it's looking like I'll get 3 A's and 2 B's this semester. I can live with those grades. I need a nap, but I'm hungry and my next final is at two. My coffee is cold and I want to go home. I know, I should stop complaining and buckle down and study, but this is more fun. Four more hours till my last final, and I'm just so ready for it. Okay, I'll study for a little bit, get lunch in about an hour or so, then study some more. Yeehaw.

I got a job!

Well, a summer job, but it's a job where I can actually use my education (other than teaching). I'll be working in a construction firm doing some testing of materials, which I did in a class this past semester, and may get to go out in the field once in a while. It'll be great to have real world experience before I get my degree. It will look great on a resume and it means a lot once I search for my first real job after graduation. I'm excited and can't wait. I start Monday. Wish me luck.

New Blog

I started a new blog this weekend. It's on the Royals. Click here to view it. It's nothing special, just something I wanted to put up.

I must really like school....

Okay, first things first. I'm thinking about not getting a BS in Civil Engineering. I may just go ahead and get an MS instead. That will only happen if it won't take me longer. If I could get it by next spring, I'm definitely going to do that. I went down to the Pirates game today with one of my professors (he decided not to have class today - didn't really have to convince me), and he was asking about what I've done and why the heck I'm only getting a BS. The more I think about it, I'm wondering the same thing. If I can get some classes retroactively changed to grad level classes since they are the same classes, just the course numbers are different, I could be done with an MS by the spring. Won't that be nifty? So instead of having two BS's and one MS, I'll have one BS and two MS's....much more impressive, you think? Now, if it is going to take me longer, I am not going to do it. I so want to get out of school. I think I've been educated too much so far (if that is at all possible). I'm so tired of being in class and relearning stuff I learned years ago. I just want to get a job and get out of academia. We'll see and I'll keep you updated.

Happy Easter!

Just want to wish you and yours a Happy Easter!

Actually

I went to visit some married friends of mine yesterday. They just had their second son two weeks ago. The older one, Connor, is such a cute kid. He's a year and a half old and adorable. I hadn't seen him since August, so he's gotten a bit bigger than I last saw him, plus he's walking and talking. And he remembered who I was. I played with him for a little bit, juggled for him (which he loved and wanted me to continue doing), and just hung out with him and my friends. Spending time with them made me really want kids again. I think that if I'm around them when they are that young, I'll love it and get used to it by the time they are older. The more that I do think about it, the more I believe I am ready to start a family. Problem is, I still have to find that someone. I would love to be engaged by this time next year and getting ready to be married next summer. We'll see.