An Update

Today I decided to go back and visit NewSpring. I'm so glad I did. The 2 hour roundtrip drive was definately worth it. I can't believe how well the church is doing. Today's service was sort of a reflection time on the past year and how much God has blessed the church and the community with. Attendance now is hovering around 7,200 people every Sunday. When I started NewSpring back in 2003 I'm wanting to say it was around 2,500 or so? That growth is amazing in just 4 years. This past Christmas Eve they had over 12,500 people at 6 different services.

I love that church and it's one of the things I really miss from South Carolina. I miss my family most though.

I had a good time being back. I'll leave to go back to Michigan on the 1st. I guess I'm ready to go back. I like being with family, but I miss my routine. It feels weird just not having work, or no routine. It makes you feel sort of weird after a while.

Paul and Matt were able to come over and we played about 7 solid hours of Smash Brothers and Mario Kart which is always so much fun. If Melee provided this many hours of entertainment Brawl should be even better.

Walter is growing up so fast, but like a typical young thing (child, dog, whatever) he knows how to manipulate already. Not in a bad way but a bratty sort of way sometimes. He's cute when he does it though, unlike some kids who are just obnoxious and deserved to be spanked. Walter and Bear will be playing, and as soon as Bears gets Walter in a position where he can't move, or is not in control, he will yelp/scream very loudly, just to get a human to say "Beeear, stop!". He knows it. Now we just don't do anything and Walter keeps going back for more. Walter overall though is wonderful. He's crate trained, house trained, and knows how to sit on command and he's 12 weeks old now.

I guess that's about it. I haven't been posting because, well, it's vacation and I've been lazy. No routine, remember?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Walter got a nice Clemson sweater for Christmas. It's a little too large for him now, but he looks so cute in it. All Walter's Christmas presents are back in Michigan from me. He got a new crate, a new bed, and dishes.

I got Super Mario Galaxy for Christmas. Dawn and I also got Guitar Hero 3. I got some nice clothes and some gift cards also.

Matt Sr. and I went to see "I am Legend" the night before last. It was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It was a lot scarier than I thought it would be. I'm suprised it got a PG13 rating and not R. It was very good though.

Well, I'm going to get back to being lazy. Bye.

Taking it Easy

I'm back in South Carolina, taking it easy. It only took me 10.5 hours to drive back from Michigan. The ride was not bad at all. My Saturn achieved very good gas mileage, around 39 mpg. That's one thing I still love about the car. That and the fact that it has plastic door panels.

Tomorrow I turn 24, on the 24th. Weird.

Walter was so happy to see me. I was worried he might have forgotten me, but as soon as I stepped in the door he ran up to me, I grabbed him in my arms and he was wagging his tail and kissing me. He remembered me. We get along beautifully.

What About Taxes?

Tomorrow I head back to South Carolina for Christmas. I'm only working for half a day, then driving back. I'm looking forward to seeing family and Walter.

Work is very boring this week. It's basically dead. I think just my boss and I are left this week. There's not a lot to do, so today I just surfed on the internet and learned how to fill out a 1040 form so I can do my taxes myself this next year. So I got something out of work today.

Evaluation

Today I had my year end review at work. It went better than I expected. We were evaluated on each goal and performance area as "below, meets, or exceeds". As my boss was going through them he was covering up the one below it on the sheet as we went through, like a school teacher does on an overhead so they can keep your attention. Most of my scores were "exceeds" with a few "meets" scattered in there. The areas that were scored as "meets" were things like "fills out and turns in timesheet on time". You kind of either do that, or you don't, so I'm not sure how you'd get "exceed" unless you turned it in with a Reeses cup stabled to it, or something.

My overall ranking was "excellent". There is one higher called "oustanding" but my manager said he has never seen an "oustanding" before, so that must be hard to get. He said I'm doing better than he had envisioned I would in 6 months and said I'm taking on more responsibility than he had originally planned for me.

Overall it was a good review and it's a nice end to the year and my 6 months there on a positive note. I'm looking forward to taking a break for a while too. I can't wait to see Walter again (and family too).

Big Snow

We got pounded last night here, and I'm pretty sure even native Michiganers agree. It normally does not fall all at once like this, from what I've been told. It stopped snowing around 2:00 PM today after snowing since about 11:00 PM last night. All said and done there was over a foot on the ground this morning. I took a walk outside today to take some pictures. Have a look:

Snow and Walter

It's finally snowing hard here. There is supposed to be between 6 and 10 inches on the ground tomorrow. It looks great, I really love it when it snows.

Look at our 36 hour weather forcast:
Last night I paid a lot of bills, balanced my checkbook, and made this video of Walter.

Enjoy!

Show Me, Don't Tell Me

I have learned I am definately a visual learner. If I try to do something that I have never done before, by only reading it, I usually cannot do it. I have to see it done, and then I can follow along. I don't mean taking tests, or academics, because I can read instructions. Let me give you two specific examples:

1) How to tie a tie
2) Origami

Matt Jr. started a tradition of sorts by folding money into shapes for my graduation present. He folded a little dress shirt (with a collar!). So I knew I had to fold money for him, to continue. I looked up money origami online and saw a really cool Star of David shape, and I wanted to do that. Well that was too hard. Then I saw a butterfly, and that didn't look too bad. Well it was too hard too. So then I decided to watch someone do it, so I could do it. Hello Youtube.

This lovely lady named Lisa showed me how to make a neat animal for Matt's graduation present. She even had nice classical music on in the background, and parakeets churping, and a soothing voice that said "fold, fold, fold" and it was very calming. She was fast, but I could keep up I just listened, watched, and folded and kept saying "I can do this, I can do this". It turned out well, so Matt, when you get your graduation gift...effort was put into that. Just so you know. Now, for the tie. This is hard. I had to watch a video over and over, about 5 times to tie a tie. This is hard, especially when you're LOOKING at someone doing it, instead of being the person doing the tying. So, I need to see something, not read it. For origami and a tie, atleast.

Dr. Muhammad

I had to go back to the doctor today for my post physical review, and get written permission to use the gym at work. My appointment was at 4:15, so I had to leave work early. I get there, pay my co-pay from last time, and this time, and sit down. Then I go back, do the weight, blood pressure, and wait for the doctor.

He finally comes in, shuts the door, and gives me this downward look and says "What happened...you had an appointment at 4:15, didn't you"? I said "yes..." and he said "Do you know what time it is now"? I said "No" and he said "well you checked in at 4:34, that's late, I had to see someone else first". Then he asked "well what happened"? I was thinking "this is a joke right, a doctor complaining about someone being late? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? I just said "well, sorry". Then after he checked breathing, he went over to the computer and pulled up my profile. He pointed to the screen and said "see, it says you were supposed to be here at 4:15". Like I was contradicting him. And I had to pay money to hear him say everything was fine like I knew he would? That's a rip off, I'm not going back unless I'm sick. The yearly physical stuff is not for me.

Ballooning

I'm getting fat. I thought initially I might just be bloated in the morning, and feel fat. Because during the day I don't feel so fat. Well my pants are getting harder and harder to put on. This morning was really bad. I just took them off and said outloud "David you have to do something about that". I think I'm eating way too much Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Target brand for $1.87) because it's cheap, and it's good, and for some reason I eat a lot of it. I eat other things too that aren't so bad, like apples and drink a lot of orange juice. Another culprit is the weather. It's too cold to do stuff outside, so I'm going to use the gym at work. The main culprit though is me, being lazy. For example I played Nintendo for 2.5 hours tonight. That's a long time. I need to be more disciplined with my health.

The Subaru visit went well. Yesterday was the technical center tour and today was a plant tour in Lapeer, about 1.5 hrs north of here. They seemed impressed and all went well, so I was happy.

I have my performance review at work on the 18th, and that will be where my boss and I review my goals and find out if I met them, or didn't, and just go through my overall performance. Then, in early January, we have a merit increase (raise) meeting. That would ne nice.

That's about it I guess. This weather now is stupid, because it's hovering around 34 degrees and raining. So there's no snow, just cold wet rain. I like it much better when it's colder and we get snow. Snow is better than rain.

Oh So Chic

Subaru's visit went well today. My boss said I did a good job presenting so I was happy with that. The best part of them coming though: eating gelato at dinner!

It's Been A While

I realized I haven't posted since Wednesday, that's a while. I have been pretty busy.

Thursday I cleaned my apartment since I realized I was staying here (I decided not to clean for 2 weeks while I didn't know if I was moving). Friday I went to Fenton to visit Erica. She cut my hair then we ate some dinner. Last night I went to an "Ugly Sweater" Christmas party a guy from work was hosting. In order to go, you had to wear one of those tacky - teacher like Christmas sweaters with candy canes, snowmen, or reindeer on it. I found a red one at the Salvation army that said "Noel" and had Comet, the reindeer on it. It was ugly. Katey came with me and it was pretty fun. The guy who hosted it was in a fraternity, so it was a lot of his fraternity brothers in a group, then people we work with, so we stayed with the people we work with. He had Guitar Hero out so we were playing that. I would really like to get that for my Wii eventually but it's so hard to find.

Church was really good today. The message was about how to talk to people that aren't Believers...about being a believer. It was very beneficial and helpful. After church I went to IKEA to get a few things (like a shower caddy). Then I went to Meijer to get some OJ and apples. Now I'm back home taking it easy, because it's cold outside and it's fun to be inside where it's warm. I think I'm going to play Super Paper Mario soon.

Today on the way home from church I saw a Ford Flex on the interstate, with manufacturer plates on it. Behind it was a Ford truck, and in front of it was a Lincoln, both with manufacturer plates. The Ford Flex will be sold in 2008 as a 2009 model. It was interesting because I'm designing the stabilizer link that will be used on this car/van/Scion thing. Here's a picture:

I'm proud of myself, because I've been really tight with my spending (i.e. a cheapskate) because I want my Honda Civic by June 2008 and I'm saving every bit I can. Then, I want a house.

Tomorrow people from Subaru our touring our building so I have been busy coordinating that this past week. I have my presenation ready and I will present tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Weather Report

Weather.com right now says the temperature in Novi is 13F, but with windchill it feels like 5F. It doesn't really feel bad though. You wouldn't want to stay out in it, but I can handle it. Your hands get really cold, really fast so gloves are a must. I think it hasn't been above 32F since last Sunday.

Yo No Comprendo

From CNN.com

God on Money and in Pledge

I don't understand. Is it really that big of an issue? I think this country has more important issues the Supreme Court needs to spend their time on.

Muzik

Two posts in one day, oh my.

I hear this song a lot on the radio here. Now I just realized it's because she's Canadian and the 2 of the stations I listen to are in Canada. They give their bands credit. Except Nickelback, nobody wants to hear that excuse for a band. Alanis Morisette and Avril Lavigne are real Canadians.

This song makes me want to smash somthing. I heard them interview her on TV and she said "My music...is light, and just makes you feel sunny". Yuck. She and Sophie B. Hawkins need to have a sleep over and roll in each other's mushiness.

You Were Wrong, I Knew it all Along

It's amazing what happens when you skip the pee-ons and go to the management about your problems (oh, I mean, when you can speak to them, that is).

I got a phone call from the regional manager of my apartment complex this morning. He left me a voicemail at work saying he had a solution for me. I called him back and he said "How would you like to just stay in your current apartment, on your current lease, and I'll give you permission to keep your dog there". Excellent. I told him that would be perfect and he said he was sorry for my trouble and he hoped this would work.

They're writing an addendum to my lease that says I'm allowed to have Walter here, but if there are more than 3 complaints, then I'll have to switch buildings. If THAT happens, I still won't have to pay the $300 transfer fee either. So hopefully there isn't some creepy homebody that keeps tabs on everyone and reports people. This worked out well though.

I'm going to the leasing office tomorrow to sign my addendum and I feel like looking at the girl who gave me a hard time and saying "Gosh Kara, I bet you wish you would have just listened to me and gave me what I wanted in the first place so your manager didn't embarass you, huh?". I wouldn't say that, I'll be nice, but she needs to check herself before she starts making decisions.

I did my treadmill exercise test today so I can get permission to use the gym at work. That was annoying. It took me about 30 minutes but I got to leave work a little early to do it.

Ohhh I'm so glad Walter will be back here with me and I don't have to move. And I got what I wanted (deserved).

Lots of Material

It warmed up here to 40 so the precipitation is now rain instead of snow. I don't like that because it turned the snow to slush and the roads are all wet. I'm ready for more snow.

Today I watched Planes, Traines, and Automobiles with Katey and Erica after church. I love that movie so much. The humor is the best.

I talked to many people today. Kiki was first. Her knee is better. Then I talked to Gina. Then I talked to Heather. Then I talked to Linda. When I am in South Carolina for Christmas/New Year's I will see a lot of family (I found out today). Heather will be there, and Gina, and Robert, and Linda, and Gene, and Zahara.

Super Paper Mario is a REALLY good video game. It's my favorite so far in the "Paper Mario" series. I like them in this order: Super Paper Mario>Paper Mario>Paper Mario 2 The Thousand Year Door. I really hope they make a Pikin 3 for Wii. I want to get Super Mario Galaxy next, it looks really good.

There's a movie on the Sci Fi channel called "Tin Man" and it's some Wizard of Oz knockoff that I thought would be really good from the previews, but I'm 11 minutes into it and it doesn't hold my attention. It's got that "mid-evil crap" element to it like Lord of the Rings or Gladiator. Not my style.

Well I guess that's it, I go back to work tomorrow. There's an all employee meeting in the morning so that will be a good way to get through a Monday morning.

A Reward

The cold weather has finally paid off. A nice snow is falling outside and it looks really pretty. I like how the snow here sticks to the roads. It seemed in South Carolina it would never stick to the road. I actually really like the snow. If it's going to be cold, I would rather have it snow than be the dry, windy cold. I like it cold and snowing better.

It's fun too being "guaranteed" to get snow. It's just going to happen. In South Carolina it was a waiting/guessing game and usually disappointing. What Michigan considers a "light snow shower" on the news is what South Carolina calls "Winter Storm 2007". It's such a big contrast.

Today I went Christmas shopping, only to realize I don't know what to get...for anybody. So, I didn't buy anything.

I am really really ready for a new car. My Saturn is past that point where you care about it and try to correct the little things. Last night my "low coolant" light came on, but it was way too cold to try to look for any leaks. The reservoir was full, so oh well. Today the stupid "service engine soon" light came on and the car starting shaking and surging a little. I was thinking "keep it up, I'll dump you faster than you can imagine" and then it stopped. My suspension sounds like an old hotel bed. It squeeks and pops over all the bumps. June 2008 is my target date for my Atomic Blue Honda Civic LX. I can't wait.

I will be 24 in 23 more days.

Cold

Today's high was 30 degrees, with windchill it was 17.

It's cold when you try to unlock your door and the lock is frozen, and the door is frozen shut. It takes skill to get it open. It's not even December yet!

I'm ready for the whole thing with the apartment to be over. I assume I will move, but I'm still working on not having to pay transfer fees. Either way I will be in the new apartment before Christmas and Walter will be here with me after Christmas.

Oh I'm Mad

Maybe it's not so great to post how I REALLY feel about my apartment complex, because it would just be my luck that if I were in a legal case this might come back to haunt me. So let me summarize how I feel by the following:

1. My apartment complex makes up rules not stated to or agreed upon by the tenant (i.e. not in the lease)
2. My apartment complex thinks they have the right to not let a tenant speak to a manager.
3. My apartment complex thinks they have the right to brush me off - and that's not going to happen.

An unhappy person spreads word a LOT faster than a happy one, especially me.

Gosh I miss Walter so much.

Monday Wrap

It snowed here today, hard. After lunch it just came down, like the Donkey Kong level where you can't see it's snowing so hard. It stayed on the ground for a little while then turned to slush. It's so weird seeing this in November.

I talked to someone about the whole dog situation. She seemed receptive and said she'd have to talk to the manager tomorrow morning and the manager would give me a call. Hopefully we can end it tomorrow, I don't want to have to escalate it any further. She did say "gosh you're a good tenant, I would have just brought the dog back and not said anything". Well, I'm trying to do the right thing so don't punish me please.

What else, what else. Work was pretty dull today, not much going on. Many people are still out on vacation. There is only 4 more weeks until Christmas break. I need to go ahead and start Christmas shopping here so I don't have to do it right before Christmas. What do you want?

I tried to charge my camera battery and it would just "flash" in the charger, and never charge. I called Casio about it and she [Ms. Casio] said my camera came with what they consider to be a defective battery, and they are replacing them. Casio is going to mail me a new battery to replace this one. It's a good thing too, it was only a few months old!

Domingo

Katey and I rode to church together today. She had to substitute the K5 Sunday school class. She asked me to help her so after church we met another person, and started. They actually put all children K5 - 5th grade in a huge room and do an hour worth of skits, Bible verses, and songs and we basically "watch" the children, ask them to be quiet, help them find Bible verses, and escort them around. It was fun. I was in charge of signing kids in and out. We had 15 children, all around the age of 5 so it was a zoo. After being with Walter for a week (he's like a baby) and then all these kids, it makes me realize it will be a LONG time before I have my own children. Walter is my child.

After church Katey came back to my apartment and we had lunch before she went to work. I changed into warm pajamas and watched a movie, played a video game, and now I'm cooking dinner. It was relaxing. It's way to cold to do anything outside. The high today was 40 and there was snow and ice everywhere so I wanted to stay indoors.

Tomorrow I'm going to go talk with the apartment attendants about the whole pet thing. Hopefully they can help me out with the transfer fees and be understanding of the situation. I'll let you know after tomorrow how it turns out.

Back Home from Home

I got back earlier this evening from South Carolina. I came back to it being very cold (it's 30 degrees now) with ice and snow all over my car and my porch and steps. The roads were salted too. I had a nice flight back. I sat next to a lady who was a Six Sigma/Lean expert so it was fun talking to her. It made the flight go by really fast.

A lady I work with picked me up from the airport. She is really nice and has let me leave my car at her house before so her kindness is really appreciated.

I also read through my lease when I got back to check on the pet policy. I looked carefully, and I don't see any wording on "pet free" buildings anywhere. I was never told about it, and never signed anything that stated it. So, Monday I'm going to talk to the lady who I worked with with I signed my lease. I'm going to be very nice, and just ask if she can waive/help me out with the transfer fee, because I just don't think it's fair. I'm a good tenant and I think the least they can do is help me with this since I will have to extend my lease until November 2008 to do this. I'll be praying about it (it would be nice if you would too).

I went grocery shopping tonight. Nana made some really good cookies that I have already eaten. Not all of them, but a few. They're good. I had a good time at home and miss everyone (including Walter). I have an outstanding family.

Black Friday

I didn't take part in Black Friday, other than staying home and taking care of Walter. Walter is going to have to stay in South Carolina until Christmas because of some misunderstandings regarding the pet policy at my apartment. My building is reserved as "pet free" while the rest of the complex is not. Since I took the last 1 bedroom they had when I moved in last May, that's where I was put...in the pet free building. I did not know this, so I will have to switch buildings so I can have Walter in the building.

All the more reason renting is a waste of time and money. When it's all said and done, what do you have when you're done? Nothing. Ownership of a house is the way to go, and the way I want to go when I have enough for a decent down payment.

I'm sad I won't see 4 weeks of Walter's puppyhood. I am glad though that he will be able to be around 2 other dogs and different people in those 4 weeks though so he can become well socialized. Socialization with many different people and other dogs is very important for a Shar Pei, more than most other breeds. They are very loving but become attached easily to a close group of people and become protective. I want Walter to be protective of me, but open to other people also. So far he's doing a really great job at letting others hold him and he likes seeing other people.

Bear and Walter are already best friends...

Eat Your Oranges

Last night I went over to Paul's apartment in Greenville after he got home from work. We went to dinner with Scott, a guy he works with and a guy I know from school. Then we went over to another person's house to play Smash Bros on a giant 52" TV. It was really fun. The trash talk while we played was just as fun. It felt nice sleeping a solid night without having to let Walter go out. But I love Walter so I make sacrifices.

It's weird not having a car. I'm at the mercy of whoever will take me places.

Pictures of Walter

Walter had a big day today. I stayed outside with him keeping him active for a good part of the day. We went for a walk, and played in the yard. He wants to sleep a lot, and I try to keep him awake so he'll sleep more at night.

He went to the vet today and got his shots and a checkup and everything was fine, even his eyes. We went to Petsmart to get a collar, treats, and small tennis balls. Bear came with us and everyone stopped and wanted to hold Walter and they loved him. He's such a good boy. He still hasn't used the bathroom in the house at all and is good about going outside. Bear and him are becoming good friends too. Below are some pictures I have of him so far.

Welcome Home, Walter

Yesterday I got my own little Shar Pei: Walter Matthau Smith

He is so cute and when I saw him I knew he was the one. There were 2 litters available, and I had originally wanted to see a blue male she had in the 1st litter. I liked him, but I saw Walter looking at me and he was SO wrinkled his little butt cheeks were folded down. I thought he was just the best. I've already taken a lot of pictures, but I forgot to bring my battery charger home for my camera so I am taking pictures with my mom's camera and my dad'd camera, so I will have to wait to get the pictures uploaded.

He really likes to sleep, and he likes me to hold him and cuddle him. He likes Bear so far, Bear likes him even more. He also likes tennis balls so far, like Fuji did.

More information to come!

Harder Than Babies

First of all, my posts have been lacking because my internet/cable was down yesterday. Internet is so essential for me. I even woke up in the middle of the night last night, just thinking "gosh I don't even have internet right now" and it just bothered me for some reason. Like when you can't sleep because something just isn't right.

A technician came out today to fix my cable and said the problem was someone opened up the cable boxes on the side of my apartment building and cut my cable. He said it looked intentional, and that he thought Comcast might have done it because I just switched from Comcast to AT&T. I don't care, as long as it's working now.

Now..what's harder than babies is choosing a dog! Atleast when you have a child you just get one, and whatever it looks like you have to love it. Dogs are so hard to choose from. I'm sure I'd love them all. I have decided on a Shar Pei as a breed...that is set. I want a male, that is 90% set unless I see a female that just takes my breath away. I have been contacting breeders for about 2 weeks now asking around. I have 2 breeders narrowed down: one in Canton, OH and another one in Tennessee. I'm going to look at the puppies in TN when I come home for Thanksgiving. If I do like one, I will be taking it back on the airplane with me as a carry on pet. It's $80 to do that, but I might have to. The flight from GSP to Detroit is only 1.5 hrs and it's nonstop, so I think the puppy would be just fine. The ones in OH I could drive to, but it's about 3.5 hrs away. It's such a hard decision. The one I really like in TN is a "blue" Shar Pei. Blue Shar Pei's are a rarer color, but it's a really pretty blue/gray color. The ones in OH are fawn with black masks.

Names for males I like (for a Shar Pei): Walter or Henry. I think I have to pick and old man's name for one. If I did get a female (highly unlikely) I would name her Chikorita.

I'll be flying back on Saturday. Tomorrow is the last day of work before vacation!

Here is Some Info on Japan

I didn't talk too much about Japan in my last post. I was really tired and jetlagged. I'm still recovering from jetlag. It really is weird because you're technically up for 28 hours straight, but you haven't seen night time, so it's like a REALLY long day. Well, when you time travel too, like I did, that happens.

You should try to time travel some time, it's very interesting.

I've still been thinking a lot about a dog, and I think I will go for a Shar Pei instead of the Pug. I still like Pugs, but I think I like the Shar Pei a little better now that we've had two in our family. I have been looking online at breeders and have found some that brag theirs are $2000 and worth every bit of it. They're crazy. I have found some breeders too are are reasonable and actual people who realize they're selling an animal, not gold so they're a little more realistic with their prices (although still really expensive).

Today I woke up late. I woke up at 7:38 am so that left me 5 minutes to get ready and leave. I think I got to work around 8:05 am so that's not too late.

On Japan: FOOD:

Food was interesting (nasty). I don't eat seafood because of Captain D's abuse every week as a child after story hour at the library, so when I saw seafood, and in some cases raw seafood...I didn't like it. Sashimi was served a lot, and sashimi is raw pieces of fish...with nothing else. Sushi atleast has rice and seaweed to cover it up a little. So I didn't like that. I was also served an entire fish with the head and tail and scales still on it. This one was cooked, but gross. They also served small steak and chicken pieces. That sounded good, but the steak was raw and bloody. Soy sauce covered that up though. I had to get some food since I couldn't eat seafood. The nastiest of all was rice with eel on it. Linda I said you think you LIKE eel? You're weird. Eel is not meant to be eaten. It's two of the worst things in the world MIXED: seafood (yuck) and snake (evil). Terrible.

I come back to South Carolina on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. I really do need a break from work right about now. I feel like it's wearing on me a little, over the past 2 weeks or so. I'm ready for a break.

Back from Japan

I'm finally back from Japan. It was such a good experience. I really enjoyed the country and the people there are some of the most welcoming and respectful people I have ever met. Japan was extremely clean and safe as well. I also got to time travel today. I left Japan at 1:30 PM Sunday and returned to Michigan at 11:30 AM the same day.
I got to ride all kinds of trains (subway, bullet), fly on a Japan Airlines plane to Hiroshima, go to Tokyo, Ota, Hiroshima, and Osaka. Hiroshima was my favorite city though by far because of all the shopping and the A-bomb memorial.
I took over 100 pictures, but below are a few: our plane this morning in Osaka, a Wii display at a bookstore, Tokyo from my hotel, a dish of oconomi-yaki, and Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.





I had a great time in Japan and overall I think it's a great country.

Hiatus

Well I will not be taking my personal computer to Japan with me, because I don't need to take two computers and I'll have a work laptop. And I'm not going to post on my blog from a work laptop for safety reasons. So, Life in the Mitten will be on hiatus for a week while I'm in Japan.

Linda, I know this week at work is going to be dull, especially in the mornings for you and your friend. But hang in there, I'll be back, I promise.

Also I have been thinking a lot about getting a dog. I miss having a dog so much since I've always grown up (always) with atleast one dog. I know living in an apartment isn't the best place to have a dog, but waiting until I get a house or something else will be a while and I don't want to wait much longer. I also travel for work some, but my friend Katey said she'd be happy to housesit/dogsit while I'm gone and if worst came to worst I could always arrange a kennel stay. I'm usually only gone for a few days when I do travel. I just really want a dog so much, they have always brought such happiness because of their unconditional love. After Thanksgiving I am seriously going to begin the process. I will drive to South Carolina for Christmas, so if I got one before then I could take it with me. I used to want a pug but now I'm leaning more towards a Shar Pei. I just love them so much and they're a perfect size.

I'll be back next Sunday, with lots of pictures and a story or two.

Bills, Bills, Bills

Writing $700 worth of checks to pay my bills is always fun. Car insurance bills came the other day...

Happy Happy Birthday, From All of Us to You!

Did anyone know that "Goosebumps" still comes on Cartoon Network!? Gosh it brings back memories from 4th grade at Roebuck Elementary. I used to love Goosebumps. I would read all the books, then when I found out there would be a television series I loved that too. I've been watching it for the past few nights on TV. It's kind of like watching Full House where you think to yourself "Oh, I liked this stuff???". It's fun though. I like all the cheesy names for the books too, and the illustrations for the covers.

Today my grandpa turned 87 years old. That doesn't seem all that old when you think about it at once, but when you think about it in terms of what age you are, it seems so advanced. I'm 23 for example, and I remember probably 19 years or so pretty solidly and I feel like I've been alive for a long time. I can't imagine what memories I'll have after 87 years.

I have been working on this Powerpoint presentation at work that I'm going to present to Subaru in Japan. It is the longest powerpoint I have done, ever. It's 94 slides. It's not like any of those are "fluff" slides either, they all have information. I think the file size today when I checked was close to 38 Mb. My job feels like one giant ME 402 class, but instead of 1 semester it's 3 years per project. Looooooooooooong but fun. It's fun because today people brought left over Halloween candy in and I ate a lot of it. The good stuff too, Reeses, Hershey, and Nestle mmmm.

Aliens

Last night I was watching the Democratic Debate and the moderator asked Dennis Kucinich "Mr. Kucinich, it was written that you had an experience with a UFO, and were noted as saying you had a paranormal feeling when seeing it. Is this true, did you see a UFO?". He had a look on his face like "oh crap" and just started smirking and said "well, it was a UFO, I'm not sure if it was aliens or not". I thought that was so random and weird. Then they went back to asking normal political questions about education, healthcare etc.

Where in the world did that come from?

*continued* Alex did a good job hosting a halloween party/game night. We had lots of candy and good food like cut off fingers (cheese), Dracula soup, and eyeball jello. Oh and dirt cupcakes. It was a good time though.

Trading Spaces

My Saturns are going to have to trade spaces. My 1992 SL2 has been under the carport, but now it's getting cold enough so that the dew is freezing leaving frost on the windshield, and I don't like having to wait for my 1998 SL2 to get de-iced (de-dewed?) before I can drive it. I'll need to get a car cover for my 1992 SL2 soon though since I don't want salt to get on it.

Today after work I went to get my haircut. The hair dresser took my information, and then said "so where's your area code from" and I said "South Carolina". She said that was neat, and then after a minute or two said "so how is North Carolina". I started laughing and said "It's South Carolina...do you know that North and South Carolina are two seperate states?" She laughed and said "Ohhh Yaah, but I guess to Michiganers we think of it as one, but call it North Carolina". She's right because 5 people or so have done the same thing to me. I think my dad witnessed a few instances when he was here too, of people going "so what is North Carolina like". It's funny to hear...just North Carolina, no South Carolina.

Work has been busy, but good. Today I worked on my presentation I am giving at GM tomorrow, then I have to prepare a presentation for my trip to Nippon. When I get back from Nippon, I will be at work one week, then go to South Carolina. Time's a flying!

Monday - Week Start

Tonight I went to a small group Bible study from the church I've been going to. I thought it would be a small group, studying the Bible but it looks like it's going to be more of a financial Bible study which I really do not want to do. I guess I will go again and give it a try. It can't hurt, but I don't think I need any financial guidance since I don't have any debt or other things financed.

I have to give a technical presentation Wednesday at the GM Tech Center so I have been preparing my powerpoint for that. I have to do a practice run for one of my bosses tomorrow, so I'll have to finish up the presentation in the morning.

Not much else has been going on...just went to work, came home, went to the Bible study. I bought a new suitcase for Japan yesterday that is really good. It has a lot of expandable compartments which I really like. I'm really looking forward to going to Japan!

I'm going to go eat some chicken I made last night.

Saturday

How will you spend your Saturday...knitting, raking leaves, painting porch trim, or making a potato caserole?

I'll spend mine taking an 8 hour long engineering exam. It's ok though because it's "exam" weather, in the low 50's and rainy. There's no other place I'd rather be (for real, I'm actually looking forward to it to see what I remember).

Michigan Sunset

I saw this when I walked out of my apartment the other night. The picture turned out darker than it actually was, but it was a very pretty orange/pink color (well, from what I can tell, it might have been green for all I know since I can't really see colors that well).

I was asking Kiki when she was here about a car color. Honda has a color they call "Galaxy Grey" and to me, it looks beige, like a dark sand/light brown color. Kiki told me no, it was grey. But I don't like grey. So what if I bought that color car, knowing it was grey, but it LOOKED beige/brown to me, would that be alright? When someone asks me "what color car do you drive" I would say beige/brown because that's what it looks like to me. Confusing!!!

I think I will go with the blue since I can see that one ok.

Asia Bound

Today we booked our travel to Japan. I leave on November 5, a Monday and come back on November 11, a Sunday. I'm really looking forward to going. I have a meeting one of those days, and I will be following others around the rest of the time. We have one free day there also for sightseeing. I decided before I go I will buy a nice suitcase, because all I have right now is an Adidas duffle bag with a half broken shoulder strap. I want to get a suitcase with wheels.

I saw Dyson now makes a hand-dryer for a bathroom. Dyson makes the best vacuums available by the way. I know because they are the most expensive, and the more something costs means it's better. When my mom and I were in Sears one day I said "Oh look mom, a Dyson...those are REALLY good vaccuums" and she said "really expensive...what's so great about them" and I said "well...they are" and she said "yeah, but what makes it so great" and I knew it was good, or it had to be, so I just said "well, you know, it just sucks it right up". We laughed really hard after that. It's a good vacuum though, I just know it has to be. I want to dry the Dyson hand-dryer now. I think it's the creator's British accent that makes it so refined.

Gather 'Round and I'll Tell Ye a Story

I'm taking a break from studying to tell you this, so please enjoy it.

Beetlejuice was on TV yesterday and I watched about 45 minutes of it. I love that movie. There is a character in the movie, shown above, I want to tell you a little story about. If you've known me for a long time (family) you know I compare people to characters in movies, or make odd names for people, like Nana, or Bebop. Well Paul is the same way, except he sometimes is a little more out there with his character selections, or more creative I guess you could say.

One day, I think the first day, of Fluids class a girl walked in, and she had a TEENY TINY head on top of huge football player shoulders and a thick torso. I couldn't believe it. I immediately said to Paul "Look! She looks like the guy with the shrunken head from Beetlejuice!". We found out her last name was Bugg. Not Bug, Bug-g. You can't say "bug" like an insect, you have to go "Bug-g". Go on, practice: Bug-g-g-g-g. We decided though when you pronounce the name you can't just say Bug-g once, you have to stutter it like Bug-g-g-g-g-g like you're caught on the last G. But an extra G is in the name so it's important, you must enunciate it. Bug-g-g-g-g-g.

Then I had "Dr" Wood and we used her first name with Bug-g and came up with a fictional character called "Judy Bug-g". Matt Junior can do it really well, the way he stumbles his G. I can't really put a face on Judy Bug-g, but she's probably tiny, drives a VW Beetle or a Miata like a maniac, and is real flighty and hectic and talks fast. I think I have a video of Paul doing an impression of her. If you meet her, let me know.

Waaaaaaaaaaaarm!

I just looked and I haven't posted since Thursday. Unacceptable.

Friday was aggravating to say the least. I don't want to say much about it here, if you really want to know why work was stupid and I felt like leaving and pretending Friday didn't happen, just give me a call and I'll be glad to tell you.

Now that Friday is over, I was able to enjoy the weekend. I have my FE Exam next Saturday, so I tried, tried studying for the exam for as much as I could. In school, especially senior year, it was very hard to get motivated and I got very distracted. Now, it's nearly impossible to concentrate. I always have some excuse NOT to sit down, and concentrate. And that scares me. I used to be SO good at just sitting down and studying, and working. Now, not so good. And I don't know if it's because I'm REALLY getting ADD or if it's just lazy...or what. Anyway it's scary because it's not like me. I just don't have much motivation. I guess having a job and a paycheck will do that to you.

Saturday I went and did a blood test for my physical. It was painless and only took 5 minutes or so. I made a salad for dinner tonight, and since I started to like peppers I bought one at the grocery store to cut up and put in my salad. I don't know what kind it was, but it looked good, and it was green, and was long, so I bought it. I chopped it up and put it in there and took a bite and felt the rath of fire in my mouth. I ran to the trash, spit it out and started coughing. I poured a huge glass of milk and started chugging it down. I even started crying and my face was hot. It was the hottest thing I have ever put in my mouth. I'll just stick with the peppers in the Papa John's box from now on, I can't handle much more. I had to throw the salad away I made because it was contaminated with the acidic fire.

I hope this next week at work goes well, and I hope I get more motivation to study for my exam. Please send me an email, and tell me in a commanding tone to study so I remember.

Well....Do Something

I just got back from Indiana today. I had a meeting at Subaru this morning. It lasted about 4 hours but it went well.

Last night when I tried to check in my room I was told "I'm sorry sir, you're 5 minutes after 6:00 and cancellation is at 6:00 if you didn't reserve with a valid credit card, so we gave your room away and we don't have anymore". So I had no hotel room. There was some sort of problem with the reservation system my work uses, so the credit card they used for me was somehow denied. I was upset, but I think my attitude has changed. When I would get mad, especially in a situation like this I used to get mouthy. Now, I like to just be quiet and stare at the person, because I have found that by doing that, they get more nervous and will work harder to make it better...to make you go away so it's not so akward for them. My mom could tell you about a time in IKEA where I refused to leave until someone gave me an answer I thought was satisfactory and I wasn't taking "no" for an answer. I think we stood there for around 30 minutes and talked to 3 different people, each one higher up than the last. Did I get what I wanted? No. Did I waste their time like they wasted mine? Yes. That's what counts. So from now on I just like to stand there in silence like with a look on my face that says "I'm not leaving yet, fix it." I ended up staying on Purdue's campus, in a hotel run by the university. It was pretty nice and fun, but I was separated from the rest of my group. I didn't mind though.

Anyway tomorrow I will be back at work and I think it's going to be a busy day. I have to go to a presentation on health benefits for next year, I have a review meeting with my boss about my goals (it's the end of year review period). I think I met most of them, which I'm happy with. The only one I have not done is a technical presentation, but I think I can get one done before the end of the year.

And finally, the weekend will be here. That means sleeping late on Saturday.

99.9% Sure

I'm 99.9% sure this is going to happen, unless something unexpected pops up, but my news is...

That I'll be going to Japan for work! It will be the first week of November, but I'm not sure of the dates yet. I'll be going with others for work, and they've already told me this will be a "learning" trip for me, so it won't be as stressful as it would be if it were up to me to present, and know everything.

We had a meeting about it today, and it looks like it's a go.

ALSO!

I had a physical today and I had my first breast exam today. Yes, it was just as akward to have it done as it was for you to read that. I know men can get breast cancer, yes, but having another man feel your chest while talking to you is just weird. Not to mention all the other "examinations" I had to have, but I'm not going to mention those because they are just as akward, I mean more akward, than the breast exam. I am healthy though and had a good report, that's all that matters.

Suprise?

I think I have good news about work, but I'm not sure yet. I will find out for sure and then announce here.

Stay tuned.

Kiki's Visit

I had a good time with Kiki here. We went to an Oktoberfest celebration Northville was having and got to see some people I work with. Saturday I bought ingredients to make crepes, because I thought it would be fun and they'd taste good. I thought they were fun (and easy) to make but they didn't taste like anything, just bland thick crepes. So they didn't turn out so well, but I'll try again another time.

After crepes we went to Canada. We walked along the same sculpture path Becky and I did, and had a homeless man who liked to run, jump, and roll down hills follow us which was creepy. Then we went to a mall called Devonshire to see what it was like to go to a mall in Canada. It was about the same, but everything was more money. We came back to Michigan and walked around IKEA and then came back to my apartment where we got to play Smash Brothers.

Today we went to Ann Arbor. It really is true that it's 20 square miles surrounded by reality. I have pictures below to document this. I liked U of M's campus, but it felt a little like USC to me. I just love how Clemson's campus is isolated and you know when you're on, or off, the campus. It's defined and clear. It started to rain by the time we were about to leave, so we came back and went over to Alex's apartment to play some games.

Some of my favorites from Ann Arbor:
This looks like a nice place for Jewish students to live.
Hippies
Real Life Ninjas

I want a dog so bad!

Good Covers Bad

Bad: Smash Brothers has been delayed from December 3rd to February 10. Booooo!

Good: Kiki is coming to visit this weekend!

Good >>> Bad

Darn

Sonic is going to be in Smash Brothers Brawl. If they do something with Pikmin and keep Robert Game & Watch I'll be ok.

I Love Loopholes

I found this online, and I think I'm going to buy it so Illinois can't rip me off ever again:

Photoblocker

I found out today at work our president quit. I'm not sure what's going on but a lot of people have been quitting, and we are REALLY low on headcount. I think they're going to have to hire a lot of people very soon. An emergency meeting was held today with upper management, and tomorrow morning all the engineers are going to be updated on what's going on. Basically I think it's going to be them distributing everyone who left's work, but we'll see tomorrow.

This is nasty, but I have to repeat it because it was so hilarious. On the way to work, I was listening to one of the Canadian radio station's morning shows. The title of it was "In search of the Poopitrader". They said at their radio station, in the women's bathroom, someone had "an explosion of astronomical proportions" leaving it all over the walls, floor, and carpet going out of the bathroom. Apparantly there is some drug on the market that will make your excrement explode out of you, and on the warning label there is actually a warning that tells you to "keep a change of clothes in case of an emergency". So basically people were calling in and saying how they think poop could have exploded so far. One man said it could have been done the same way you'd hold your finger over a hose to block the flow, and then BOOM! Sort of like an icee bomb. I know that's vulgar but I was almost crying I was laughing so hard. They actually did an entire show about how someone they work with made a big mess in the lady's room. And I thought women were supposed to be dainty?

Updates from Travel

Well I just took Becky back to the airport. It was really nice having her visit me. We went to Chicago on Friday after I picked her up from the airport. We had a good time in Chicago. We went downtown Saturday and walked along Navy Pier. We met Lindsay and her friend Jessica and went to the Hancock building on the 96th floor and had cocktails. It was fun being up so high and seeing the city.

Saturday night we had Chicago deep dish pizza. Becky and I drove back to Michigan on Sunday and found out on the way back that the State of Illinois is stupid because they make you EXIT the interstate to pay tolls along the way, and the only people that don't have to get off to pay have toll-way passes. Well, I didn't know that and missed a few toll plazas. So apparantly pictures of my car were taken and I'll be mailed a violation(s) unless I pay within 7 days. The problem is I have NO idea how many I missed or where they are. You would think I could call and ask how many plazas were on my route, which I tried to do. I was told "think real hard about how many you missed and send a check in for that amount". I told her I had no idea how many it was, but I think 2 tolls and she said "well send a check in for 2 tolls, and add a little extra money just to make sure". This is a perfect example of why cameras should NOT be used to ticket people for violations. The way I see it, if the state or government wants to collect money from you, they should PAY a human being to ticket you for that violation instead of being little money whores and trying to randomly ticket you for what they "think" you did. I say "think" because when I called a state government office TWICE I was told by operators "I don't know how many you missed". Well, how are you going to take my money, process it, and maybe write me a ticket if you "don't know". Stupid.

Anyway today we went to Canada and found out it was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Most of the things were closed, but we walked along the river front and took pictures of sculptures in a sculpture park. There's not really much to do in Windsor, so we were only there for a few hours. We went to the Ren Center in Detroit and walked around the GM World display.

It was a nice long weekend though and we had a good time. I hope you enjoyed Michigan Becky.

Some pictures are below (from Chicago and Canada):

Back from Chi

We're back from Chicago. I have lots of pictures and fun things to tell you. I'll write more later, but here's a picture to hold you over.

Kick off the Sunday Shoes

Footloose is on TV. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

Becky is coming tomorrow, but a little late. Her flight was apparantly cancelled so instead of coming at 7:55 am she will be here at 10:50 am. Then we're off to Chicago to see Matt and Lindsay for the weekend.

I'll be back Sunday!

Excuse Me, I'm from Canada and I'm in a Hurry

After work today I went to the bank to deposit my "anime accomidation" money from the hotel we stayed in. I was at the counter where you fill out your deposit slips, gather your things...you know, that little table with triangular shaped pins on metal-ball strings and the date placard, and the deposit slips? Yeah, that one. Anyway I was signing the checks, filling out the deposit slip, and filling out a funds transfer from checking to savings. This guy came in, and started doing the same next to me. He was taking his time like I was at first. As soon as I started to put up my account cards, and organize my slips he all of a sudden scribbles down something, and rushes ahead of me to be first in line. Well, there were only 2 of us in the bank so I just thought that was foolish. He goes up to the counter, while I wait because there is only 1 teller. Well, he doesn't have a deposit or funds transfer like me, he doesn't have a withdrawl. He's trying to cash a CANADIAN TAX REFUND check in AMERICA...in American dollars instead of Canadian dollars (by the way, the Canadian dollar is worth slightly more than the US dollar right now). Well, the teller was confused. "Sharon...if this is from Canada, and he wants US dollars, can I cash this" he asks the customer service person. She has to come over and take a look.

So my point is why would someone who has a stupid request (yes, it's stupid. You don't just walk up to a teller and try to cash foreign currency, you go to the customer service person at the bank to get it transfered) rush to get ahead of me? Finally the teller just helped me while the Canadian guy had to wait.

At work I've been working over the past few days putting together a spreadsheet with testing results I can show to Chrysler to prove we can pass their testing requirements. I decided to go down to the archive room to look through old program binders and try to match test results with what I needed. It was fun, because it's downstairs and it's an inside room with no windows. I was imagining me opening the door and finding someone sleeping in there, or eatind junk food in the dark. I spent a while down there sitting on the floor looking through old engineer's notebooks trying to find the missing test data I needed. I was able to fill in most of my blanks.

I had so much energy when I got home today, I still do, which is why this is so long. I spent 30 minutes on the eliptical trainer at the gym and burned a lot more calories that normal.

Becky is coming Friday, and we're off to Chicago to see Matt and Lindsay. Only 2 more days!

Weekend End

Sunday nights are always so nice, just looking back on the weekend. I had a really good, relaxing, fun weekend. Friday Alex and I went to see the movie "Across the Universe". The one that's a Beatles musical type thing. We went to see it at a theater in Birmingham, which is a really trendy part of Detroit (Starbucks and Volvos everywhere). It was really neat to see Birmingham though, it's a nice area so I would like to go back there again sometime.

Saturday I got a phone call at 8:30 am from Erica, but then I went back to sleep until 11:30. I went to a game store with Alex, and then we went to one of his friend's houses and played games until midnight.

Today I went to church, then ate lunch, and did laundry. I took a bike ride today because it was very very nice outside. A perfect day. It was in the mid 70's, a slight wisper of a beeze, and a clear sky. It felt like a spring day actually. So the bikeride was nice. I came back and got some groceries at Target. I went there to just get cereal, but then I found a nice hat and scarf and since I don't have those, and will need them, I bought them.

Today I also got to talk to Becky, Paul, and Kiki so that was nice. Becky is coming this weekend and I can't wait to see her (you!). It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll be going to Chicago to visit with Matt Senior and Lindsay. We'll go to Canada one day too. I'm looking forward to having her visit. Kiki will be coming the weekend after Becky, and we'll see University of Michigan and Canada (as well). It will be fun having friends visit me.

Paul had really good news to tell me too, but I'll let him tell you himself because he should tell you. It's that big.

I'm well rested to take on the week. I think I'll make more movies this week from the Anime weekend so watch out.

Sh Sh Sh Sh Shhheeahh Moment Diagram

I hated Strengths and Materials in college. It was the worst subject for me. I think I got off on the wrong foot with it, with Yong, my Chinese professor. There was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way, like how he didn't speak coherent English. That actually didn't just rub me the wrong way, it infuriated me. As a side note, if you want to rip your ears off listen to a Chinese person stutter. It WILL drive you insane, I guarantee. So there was that, on top of the fact that he assigned massive amounts of homework due in unreasonable intervals. For example, I think we once had 3 assigments due on one day? I think I made like a 64 on the first test, studied extremely hard for the second test, and made a 62...or some grade like that which you know the teacher gives you just to mock you. Well, maybe not, but I think he did, he was that spiteful. I remember he didn't have time to help me one day after class because "Mr. Smithes I come back from trip and I be much too tired", followed by that tiny little smirk. Ugggh.

So when I made a D in his class I re-took it with "Doctor" Judy Wood. You should watch HERE. I strongly recommend it. It is worth the 35 minutes of your life, I promise. I can't really explain this one, just watch her and you'll know what I mean.

So Strengths and Materials and I just got off on the wrong foot. I even had Thermodynamics with John Saylor, who many Clemson student's think it Satan's brother, and I somehow loved, and still love that subject, so it took a lot for me to be sour about Strenghts and Materials.

To the moral of the story. Things are looking bright for me and Strengths of Materials. I calculated the bucking load of a stabilizer link at work the other day and found out I got a result very similar to what the computer would give. I'm re-introducing myself to it through work, small amounts at a time. I'm getting more comfortable with it.

There is just that little Chinese man that keeps stuttering his words in my head whenever I think of that subject that I'm trying to ebolish. "Helllloooo Boooooyes" and "Behhh Beehhh Beehhhh Behhhhh Beeending, Bending, Bending".

Technical Jargon

Tomorrow I will give my first technical presentation, on a stabilizer link I designed to Chrysler. I was nervous, but today I spent my entire day getting the presentation ready and I feel ok now. There's another engineer going, the salesperson, and a guy from the plant making if for some reason it goes south they'll be there to take over.

Media

I made 2 movies from this past weekend.

AWA 13

Requiem for an Anime

I went back to work today. It was ok though because I got a very important task I have been working on for 2 months completed. It felt nice.

I have a cold now though, or a sinus infection. My throat is all itchy and my nose runs sometimes. I have medicine though I'm taking to make it better.

Tell me what you think about the videos...

AWA XIII

AWA was a really great time. I'm tired now and I'm trying to finish laundry, but when I have the pictures together and the movies ready, I will be posting them. Stay tuned.

No Shame

I'm not sure what happens to people when they fly, but it's like the second they step foot in an airport they go into stupid mode. Let me explain.

People talk loud...extremely loud to make sure YOU hear what they're saying...just so you know I guess, because it must be important that they feel the need to shout it over 5 other people. "I'm going to Chicago this weekend...do you realize I haven't spent a weeekend at home in 2 months!?". No, I didn't know that, and I've never met you before...SHHHH.

Also being in an airport must allow you to talk very loud on your cell phone...about innapropriate subjects (i.e. sex) while sitting right next to someone. This wasn't a young person, but an obese lady in her 50's. Not what I want to hear, neither does anyone else. She got up to go up to the gate agent, and nice flight attendant sat down and I said "thank you so much for taking that seat, I can't listen to her on her phone anymore". She looked at the lady in line, and said "Ohhh...THAT one?" and I said "yeah...she's being a little loud and I don't want to hear her conversation". The flight attendant said "she does look annoying. Did you know they were talking about allowing cell phones to be used on the plane in flight". I said "Nooo...I hope they're not". She said "Yeah. I don't think they are but that would be horrible". And it would be horrible, this "airport" attitude would spill over into the airplane.

There is also something about clothing in an airport too. I think it's with guys more than girls. Guys try to dress like they're coming back from a fashion show, with white European shoes, jeans with holes, and some soccer jersey (for example). Just dress normal would you please, because I know you're not European you're probably from Iowa.

I guess I had too much time to people watch, but it's true. Just spend some time in an airport and you'll pick up on it. Hopefully you won't have to sit next to some lady talking about her sex life, complaining about her landlord, and crying because security was mean to her, among other things.

I'm back in Michigan now, but I leave tomorrow to go back to Atlanta to meet Kiki and Paul and others for the AWA Convention. This weekend will be a lot of fun. I'm not bringing my computer so I will post back on Monday...with pictures.

Georgee

I'm in Gainesville, Georgia for Six Sigma training until Thursday. I started it today, and it was good but intensive and I had homework to do for tomorrow. Overall it's not too bad though.

The flight here was really annoying. Every time I fly with Delta it's one thing or the other. I normally don't complain about airlines, because it's so cliche to complain about them, and you hear it all the time, but Delta is getting (or is) bad. Their planes are always breaking down, they're late, and the Atlanta hub is too busy to move planes in and out efficiently.

We took off from Detroit late, and landed in Atlanta 10 minutes early. The pilot came over the PA system saying "Well, we got you here 10 minutes early" like it was a big accomplishment. It would have been a big accomplishment if we didn't sit on the tarmac for 40 minutes "waiting for a gate to open up...". During those 40 minutes this little 2 year old heathen was screaming his lungs out non-stop so hard he was choking and caughing (signs of faking it). There was nothing wrong, he was being a brat is all and I was close to asking his parents if I could take him in the bathroom and shut him up. What really irritated me is that the parents were just sitting there, letting him whine and cry like "well, this is just how 2 year olds are...". No, that's how children who are not disciplined with corporal punishment are. If there were ever a child that deserved to be spanked, this kid was the one.

40 minutes of non-stop toddler screaming. It was so shrill that my ears cringed and my eyes narrowed. I asked the guy next to me if he could see if that kid was dying, because that's what it sounded like, someone was torturing him. Paul, I know exactly what you mean now about your time at a day-care. Bless you.

The nice thing about being in Georgia though is that I have gotten to eat at Chick-Fil-A and Sonic already, which we don't have in Michigan and I haven't had for, oh, 4 months now. They're tasty.

Friday is the day...the AWA convention. I can't wait!

Sunday Report

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because I've been really busy with work and Alex has had people over for games a lot so I've been going over there. We played games Friday and Saturday night until about 2 am, so by the time I get home it's already the next day.

I realized Saturday that I needed winter clothes, bad. The temperature here is already like South Carolina would be in late November. Some are saying it will snow in October. So I looked in my closet and saw one jacket, 2 sweaters, and that's it. So I bought 2 sweaters and I need to get gloves, a hat, a scarf, and earmuffs if I'm feeling adventurous.

Today I was going to go to church, but I kept sleeping until 11:00 so I didn't go. I went last night though so I made it to one. After I woke up I went to exercise and then got a shower and got ready. Bill and Mary Kay were going to take me around Lake St. Clair and then to Canada today.

We started in Troy, went by Saturn's old headquarters, and the GM EV1 old headquarters. Then we went to the GM Tech Center in Warren. This is where GM develops all it's cars. It's about 1 square mile, which feel enormous. The one thing I really did like about the campus though was that it was designed and built in the 1950's, so all the architecture looks really cool, almost what would be considered "modern" by today's terms. Lots of glass walls. Also they would paint the sides of the buildings would be a high gloss brick, painted a very vivid color like orange, blue, red, or yellow. It made it look colorful, which I bet is nice in the winter.

There are random cars all over in lots there. I actually spotted a few Saturns with colors that were never production colors. I guess they were test cars. I actually saw a 1991 white SC, the very first model Saturn, in a lot and it was all abandoned with no tag. It was in a lot with other wrecked and damaged GM cars. Bill told me that is where they hold cars that they were sued over. So maybe that Saturn was involved in a lawsuit?

After that we drove down the "Grosse Pointes" which is a series of 4 towns that have million dollar houses over looking Lake St. Clair. It's really pretty to drive through. Then we went to Belle Isle, which is an island between Canada and the US. It's basically a big park. They have picnic tables, playgrounds, piers...that kind of stuff.

We then went to Windsor, Canada. We took the tunnel over, and the bridge on the way back. From what I can tell, there's not much to do there. They have a really nice riverfront (better than Michigan's) that has lots of gardens and sidewalks, so it might be nice to walk around there. It's easy to get in and out of Canada, even though border patrol checks your documents.

So tomorrow night I fly to Atlanta for work, and come back Thursday night. I come back to work Friday, and then go back to Atlanta for the AWA Convention. It's going to be a busy week!

I have pictures for you:
An electric car charger sign at the old GM EV1 Development Center

GM Tech Center Pond

GM Tech Center - New Building

Downtown Detroit (right) and Windsor (left) from Belle Isle

Downtown Detroit viewed from Windsor

Hey Money Money, Make Money Money!

I opened up my paycheck today and found a $2500 mistake in my favor! Too bad I don't get to keep it.

Bye Bye Summer, Nice to Have Met You

Summer is over here now I suppose. Today's high was 60 degrees and it was windy (very windy) and overcast. I asked some other people "So are we in fall now, for good". The general response was "yes, it only gets colder from here on out".

The summer here was perfect though. If I ever were to live somewhere else, I'd like to be here for the summer because I never once got hot or sweaty (except while riding my bike outside). It was always comfortable.

I've been going over to Alex's apartment each night to play different games. I think we've played probably 12 or so by now, but he has "lost count" of how many he has. A conservative guess would be around 70 games.

AWA is coming up soon, I can't wait to see Paul and Kiki (Ed). This is going to be fun.

Hecho en Mexico

On the freeway today a Ford Focus passed me with a bumper sticker that said:

"Want to save your job? Buy American"

Obviously whoever drove that car thought they were in an American car, but they weren't. The Ford Focus is produced in Hermosillo, Mexico. Their bumper sticker was pretty much slapping themselves in the face. Just because you own a Ford, or a GM, does not mean you own an American car.

So what's "American"? A Ford made in Mexico or a Honda made in Ohio. I vote for the Honda.

PS: Happy Birthday Nana!

Big Events

I have so much to write about over the past few days. So Lindar, you're going to have an EXCELLENT Monday morning. Get ready, because I here I go:

The work week ended Friday, which was a good thing. I have really been enjoying my work because I feel like I know what I'm doing more, and didn't have to ask too many questions this week. I worked pretty much until 7:00 pm everyday trying to meet a date someone decided on for me, but that's ok because it's almost done.

Friday someone also went postal which was a lot of fun to listen to. It was like being on Jerry Springer, in the audience. I was doing some drafting on my computer and listening to music on my iPod when I heard someone scream vulgar words...really vulgar words that start with F and end with K. So, being conspicuous I turned my iPod off, but kept my earphones in so it looked like I was not listening but I really was. Basically a guy was screaming at a manager about how he's sick of them not listening to problems. A computer program we have to use (it's a database) has a flaw in it and he had lost 2 weeks of work. He had been complaining about it for a long time but nobody would listen. My favorite part was when he yelled "I'M JUST GOING HOME, BECAUSE IF I DON'T I'M EITHER GOING TO SMASH THIS COMPUTER OR PUNCH SOMEONE IN THE FACE". I heard a lot of people start snickering to themselves in their cubicles and I almost spit out the water I had in my mouth. It was good entertainment for a Friday. They took him in a conference room and calmed him down.

Friday I was also asked if I would volunteer to be a key user of a database that they use in Germany now and I trying to start here. I guess basically I would be one of the people in charge of it and be responsible for helping others get information from it. I thought maybe I would get to go to Germany for training but I think they're going to bring someone here to train me and others instead.

I was really ready to relax this weekend after so much work, so I consumated the weekend by going over to Alex's to play some games. I left there pretty late and came back and went to bed. I slept until 12:00 today...that was nice and refreshing. I went to Jimmy Johns with Erica for dinner then we went to chruch. Church was REALLY great tonight. They had good songs and the message was a good one. I also found out they take a trip to Isreal each year so I want to get information on that. I have always wanted to go to Isreal.

I also got to talk to Kiki about the anime convention. I realized getting from the airport to the convention center was going to be harder than I expected. I was thinking about MARTA, but there's something not appealing riding subways and buses around Atlanta at 10:00 pm at night. So I found a shuttle service that can take me to the convention center from the airport for $25, so that's worth the peace of mind of not being robbed to me.

...start your Monday morning, Ms. Fleming.

Mango

I'm glad tomorrow if Friday, and I'm even more glad the weekend is only 1 day away. Work has been extremely busy this week, but not bad. I don't mind being very busy. I have been staying until around 7:00 pm everyday though to get the work finished.

Today I was in Six Sigma training when my mind started to wander. I started thinking about how I would love to buy a 500 piece puzzle, and do it. I haven't done a puzzle in a long time. I guess when it gets cold and I have to stay indoors I will get one to do.

I'm eating this Mango ice cream I bought and it's disgusting. It tastes all creamy and the mango pieces are the dried mango. Mango is a special fruit and it's only good one way. Now I'm stuck with this ice cream. I'm sure I'll eat it anyway though.

Due Date

I can't believe tomorrow is already Wednesday. I think I might not get to go to Alex's apartment for game night. I stayed at work until a little before 7 tonight and tomorrow will probably be the same. I have massive amounts of work due Friday.

Almost, But Not Quite

Today when I was flying home I had to change planes in Charlotte. I got excited because I got to my connecting flight about 1.5 hrs early. As I sat down, I heard an announcement I was hoping I would hear. The gate agent said they had oversold the flight and were looking for 5 volunteers to give up their seats for a later flight in exchange for a free roundtrip ticket. I was the first one who volunteered and some others did too.

Then I see this lady, her old parents, and her two kids go up there. I see them look back at me, sit down, go back up to the counter, sit back down, go back up again. I can't confirm this, but I think she hogged all the free tickets for her family. So I had to take the flight I was originally supposed to. I was really looking forward to getting a free ticket, I would have waited!

So I didn't get a free ticket. I'm extremely tired right now so I think I'm going to bed so I will be fresh for work.

Back To Michigan

Tomorrow I go back to Michigan. I had a good time at home but it went by really fast. I got to eat dinner with Becky at Thai Taste on Friday night. Saturday I slept really late and then went shopping with my mom for birthday presents. Then we celebrated my dad and sister's birthday on Saturday night.

Today I went to Clemson to visit Kiki, Paul, Matt Sr., Matt Jr., Trey, and Betsy. That was a lot of fun seeing them all.

I'm looking forward to September 18th!

You Must Have Been Wondering...

How was my dentist appointment? Great! Three years ago I was told by some fruitloop that I had 9 cavities and my teeth were in really bad shape. I had a consultation with this new dentist before going to the hygenist, and told him all about my dental history (my trials and heartaches). He said it was no problem and they would take care of my mouth for me.

Well I sat down and told the dental hygenist to prepare for the worst. She opened up my mouth, poked around for a little bit, and said "You're insane...because your teeth are in excellent shape. I only see one tiny cavity, and it's very small. You must be a hypochondriac". So, it wasn't so bad. I had X-rays taken to detect cavities, ultrasonic water cleaning, and she cleaned my gums. While she cleaned my gums they started to bleed. She said that was absolutely normal and healthy, that it meant the blood was flushing bacteria out from under the gumline near the tooth. At the end the hygenist took some pictures of my teeth for me, and put them on the TV monitor up on the wall for me to see, so I would have a visual when the dentist came to look. It was a nice visit, and for once in my life going to the dentist wasn't such a nightmare.

I'm going back to South Cacalac tomorrow. I'm going to Clemson Sunday afternoon to visit Paul and Kiki and little Matt. Becky and I are having dinner Friday too.