Life In the Mitten

Denied

2009-08-06T18:15:00.002-04:00

There's this guy at work, an Asian fellow who seems nice. He works in another division. My work and his work have no connection, therefore we do not speak. I met him a few days ago when his division (he's a salesperson) quoted something to my division (I'm the engineer). Therefore, we were in a conference together.

Last night, I checked my e-mail and noticed I had a "Facebook friend" request from him. Right. Ignore, delete e-mail, forget it. Then today, my phone rings and it's him, Mr. Kim, and he said "I linked you on Facebook". I just gave a little laugh and said "oh heh, heh". Then, he said "You know, Facebook. I added you as a friend".

Then, someone today walks by my desk and says "So when are you getting married" and I just said "I don't know" and then another guy (if you talk to me, you know who this is) turns around and says "WHAT!? When did you propose!?".

My. Gosh. Mind your own business people. That's how rumors start. I don't know WHAT it is about where I work, but people are spies. Little itty bitty busy-body spies...ALL of them. Nosey is what they are, and private is what I am.

GARH!

Atleast I Updated the Pokemon of the Week

2009-08-03T16:46:00.001-04:00

Let me preface this post by saying first off, this isn’t an angry post, or an “attention-getter” post, or the result of some epiphany. This is just more of a statement on some of my observations over the past few months regarding communication and the way we as people interact each other. So, here we go.

Basically, as you can see, I haven’t updated this blog in a while, well, in a long time. How come? Well, the short and sweet of it is I haven’t had the need to. I’ve found myself actually out living life lately instead of writing about it. I get the feeling that at the end of the day, I’ve lived that day, and had thoughts during that day, and I’m happy with that. I don’t really feel the need or desire to transfer my thoughts and experiences from my memory to a blog for other people to see.

So, let’s start with these observations I’ve mentioned above. These are observations I’ve noticed about the way we interact with one another. The communication and the relationships between people have changed. So here are my thoughts and observations on tools.

I don’t want this post to start a debate with people asking “well David, why don’t you stop using a phone then”. Be real. I’m not bashing the tools I’m about to mention at all, and yes, you can argue that one is no different than the other, but this is just my opinion and I do have a “line”, but it’s pretty vague and drawn all wavy in the sand…but I can do that if I want to.

I would say the first tool that falls into my wavy category is AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM. Is this still around? I wonder if this is even popular with teens anymore. I would say this is where a lot of this “grey” communication started. I’m using the term grey communication because it’s in-between. Like grey-water is waste water, but not quite sewage. That’s how I think of these tools. AIM seemed to be an outlet for talking to people through a filter. You could say things you’d never dare say to someone’s face, because you weren’t seen or even heard – your words were just read. So, you could smart off to someone and you could hide from someone’s feeling being hurt, or someone being mad, or the consequence of what you said. Dangerous.

Then in college it seemed that AIM melted into Facebook. What in the world was Facebook? Does it even have a definition? Thank God I never got involved in MySpace because that is so horrible I won’t even mention it here. Facebook started out as a communication tool for college students. I liked how you could put up your class schedule and see who was in your class. You could even find out they were from Summerville, SC, had a 2 year old Pomeranian named Jasper, were a Democrat, drove a Toyota Corolla, hated broccoli, went to Egypt last summer, and enjoy mountain biking. But have you ever talked to that person? Have you ever introduced yourself? Do you even know their voice? That’s scary. That’s how I define “grey” communication. You know tons about a person without knowing them.

This becomes especially scary in the workplace. I made the cardinal mistake of “friending” people from work. While I didn’t have any consequence (that I know of) another co-worker did. I’ve learned that there is already a ton of speculation and rumor-starting in the working world (mine at least – is there one out there that doesn’t? I want to work there!) So, Facebook, in my opinion, is just a fuel to this fire of judgments, speculations, and conclusion making. That’s fine for your friends, or people you’re close to, but I personally don’t think it’s a good idea at all to let your professional life into Facebook. I had people at work as me “so you’re not my friend anymore?” after deleting them from my friend’s list. Yes, if you think we’re really not “friends” anymore because of an electronic tool, we’re probably not. I’m here talking to you now, right?

Toward the end of college Facebook blew-up and now anyone can join. I sort of liked the “class” it once had with requiring an .edu e-mail address ending to join. Now you can find your mother’s 56 year old friend on Facebook reporting back that you played beer pong, and she has pictures to prove it (didn’t happen to me, just a for-instance).

Blogs. Here’s one. I actually do enjoy some blogs if they’re done creatively. I think blogs are the most harmless of what I mention here, but they are border-line annoying. There are definitely creative blogs out there, and there are even people who make a living for their entire family by exposing children of their own who can’t even make coherent decisions to the entire world. Can you imagine being 22 years old trying to get a job as a professional accountant and the person interviewing you has seen pictures of you as a toddler and knows the story about how you were potty trained? See www.dooce.com for an example of this. A little bit off subject, but it must be awesome to just advertise from your blog and never work a real job, capitalizing off your children, pets, and your sense of “style” for the world to see. But, there are people out there that fall into it, so who’s smarter? That’s a paradox.

And then there’s this thing called Twitter. As far as I can tell, this is just a glorified away-message tool. I guess it’s important for people to link off other people’s Twitter and involve many in this e-conversation? I’m just not clear on what this is, maybe someone could educate me. I would think if you have a thought that’s important enough to announce, you would tell someone, to their face.

So, some closing notes:
• “Grey” communication can be dangerous – I fear the extreme would be a person secluded in privacy that never speaks to anyone, but knows all about another person from what they see or read.
• Grey communication can cause us to say things we’d not say to someone’s face. We can say over-the-top things, or bashful things, or downright hateful things we’d never dream of doing to someone in person. I think this is scary.
• Grey communication is a socialization killer. What ever happened to just picking up the phone, and giving someone a call and saying hi? If you’re a true friend to someone, I’d think you’d call that person to say “hey, I’m pregnant” or “we’re getting married”. It’s a shame that a tool like Facebook can take all the “awe” out of a moment by mass-announcing it to the world. I know someone who said “well we haven’t announced on Facebook yet we’re engaged – so don’t say anything”. Oh God. Give me a break.
• In the working world where e-mail and forms and rhetoric are rampant, I want to LIVE outside of work. I want to go have dinner with someone, I want to take a walk with them and hear about what they think. I don’t want to sit at the computer for an hour checking everyone’s status to see what’s new in their life.
• Mis-interpretation is hard enough in live communication – so what is it like with grey-communication? Someone’s statement or post can be taken personally and you don’t get the “tone” with these on-line tools. I personally think you find out more about a person by being with them, observing their stature, seeing their face, and listening to their voice, their pitch, their emotion. That’s 99% of the puzzle, the rest are just words to go with it.

I won’t even talk about Blackberrys or PDA’s – they don’t deserve my time.

That was really long, I know, but hopefully it’s clear now. Will I post again? Sure I will, when the moment strikes me. But, this blog is not an obligation of mine, I have enough of those already, and I’d never create another one for myself.

Interesting tidbit. I cleaned my Facebook friends list up. I had 250 friends. Do I have 250 friends? No. Do I know 250 people? Sure. How many friends do I really have? It turns out I took this friend list of 250 down to about 48. That’s more manageable. Do I really need to know a girl from high school who I said maybe 2 words to is having a baby shower next week? No. After cleaning up my friends list I got an e-mail promptly afterwards from a girl I went to high school with that said something like “Did you really de-friend me?” Let’s see, since 2002 I’ve never talked to you in person, or over the phone, or even seen you. So yes, I’d say I “de-friended” you if that’s what it’s called. That doesn’t mean I won’t strike up a conversation with you if I run into you in an airport somewhere though.

So that’s it! If you’re wondering what I’m up to or how I’m doing just give me a call, I’ll be glad to chat .

Sunday Smash

2009-05-24T11:38:00.002-04:00

Leslie and I ate some really great ($$$) food last night. Dan and Molly invited us to go to The Melting Pot with them. I had never been before and neither had Dan, but Leslie and Molly had been. We ordered the Fondue Feast, a 3 course meal you cook yourself for only $86 per couple. That expensive, but it was a real dining experience I suppose, not just a meal. The whole dinner took 3 hours, and the desert was amazing. Brownies, rice krispie treats, strawberries, bananas, oreo covered marshmellows, cheesecake, which you can dip in chocolate. Although it was pretty expensive it was very good.

Leslie and I both have Memorial Day off. I'm very excited about that. Since today is Sunday, it really is only like Saturday, when you think about it from that point of view. I took Walter over to Leslie's store yesterday and we went out to lunch. All the girls in her store were going crazy over Walter. For someone who gets so much attention, he's very apathetic towards people. He'd give his tail a quick wag, let them pat his head once, then he'd turn his head and be done with them. That's just how he is, not affectionate at all. He got really, really hot though from being outside and called it a day early. He slept the whole car ride back and the rest of the day yesterday too.

I've still been doing yardwork and cleaning up the house. I'm really happy with how things have turned out in one year. Next Saturday, I'm participating in "Motor City Makeover" with a church here. We go into Detroit, to houses that look abandoned, and fix them up for people. I wanted to do it to give a little something back, and it might be sort of fun. I'm going to be scraping the outside of a house and doing painting on it. It's in inner city Detroit, so that should be interesting.

Leslie's getting a new car this week. She's ending her lease early on her Jeep Liberty because she's over on her mileage and buying a new Ford Escape. The key word is BUYing. I'm so proud of her. Actually, she told me to pick it out and work out the deal, so I helped her with that. She was going to have to pay a huge amount of money in mileage, like, thousands, so this is cheaper. Plus Chrysler is bankrupt, and the Escape is very efficient for an SUV. So I'm happy for her.

Work, I don't really want to re-hash here. Let's just say I'm looking for another job, and I really want another job. I'm sort of "done" with this one, mentally and physically. I put in my time, and get out. The politics, negativity, and fakeness of that place is not for me anymore. I felt like I joined some sort of fraternity by working there, and it's completely unprofessional and not a good place to work as a first job, in my opinion (i.e. not a good place to develop professional work habbits). Anyway, I'm looking and I hope I can make a change soon.

That's about all for now I suppose. June is going to be a great month because Dad is coming up, and Paul, and Lindsey, so lots of good visitors!

Before and After

2009-05-10T15:40:00.007-04:00

I don't mean to boast, I really don't...but I'm PROUD of my yard and its progress in one short year. The original owners of my house were "naturalists" as the neighbors put it. That's a nice way to say they didn't believe in using chemicals or even pruning/clipping hedges. Everything was just free to grow. As a result, the yard and landscaping looked like this when I bought my house in July 2008.

I suppose I really should have written this post in July, to commemorate 1 year of owning my house, but that will be a different post. For now, since it's spring and things are blooming and green, I want to focus on changes that have taken place to the exterior of my house since I've bought it. Thanks to help from Mom and Dad (providing a Japanese Maple, and pulling out old hedges), Leslie (being a BIG help with labor, and planting a tree), a co-worker (for using his SUV to pull out a small tree), and Scotts turf builder this is what I have so far this year:

I can explain about the improvements. First of all, we have landscape edging, which I feel provides a nice divide between yard and bed. It's relatively inexpensive for the look it gives, and just takes time to put down. There is red lava rock as a bedding, and under the red lava rock is a weed barrier. Under the week barrier is a mixture of Preen pellet weed killer and liquid round up, mixed for a toxic solution to ward off weeds. Don't judge me. As far as foliage goes, the small items on the ground are a blue star juniper (soft to touch) and a yellow/green juniper srub. These don't spread too large if taken care of. Next, is my favorite. A red lace leaf Japanese maple. It survived the winter and looks amazing. This small tree is gorgeous. I have two large boulders on the ground for a backdrop, and solar lanterns that give off a nice dim light at night...it looks amazing. Then there's the gnome who protects this area, his name is Barnaby. Moving on down now there is some sort of small evergreen tree, this was already here when I bought the house, we just trimmed it. Then there is a small green leaf Japanese maple that my dad brought me from South Carolina. This one is still very young and is staked to be straight. Then there is another evergreen, and on the end of the house is a weeping cherry tree. All of these should not grow much larger, just more robust if trimmed and taken care of. The weeping cherry tree looks excellent in spring, and is a popular corner garnish for houses in my neighborhood.

So, this is what I've been busy spending my days working on this spring, and I still need to finish up (if you can see, more lava rock needs to be put down on the end). Take a look at the grass though. That's a big improvement in just one season. I'm very happy with it and I've had a great time working on it. This is a fun part of home ownership to me!

Also:
- Leslie and I are coming to South Carolina July 2 - 5
- Go see State of Play in theatres
- Happy Mothers Day mom, I love you!

Meet Barnaby S. Greenthumb

2009-05-04T22:40:00.002-04:00

Take a look at this great landscaping work Leslie and I did this weekend! It's about 70% finished now, but will still take more time until complete. I will take some complete pictures, but for now, this is what the front looks like. The lights are solar and give off a nice ice blue color, and reflect off the Japanese Maple and large rocks. It looks amazing at night and I have a wonderful girlfriend who helped me!

Tomorrow is our 5th month anniversary together. We're going to celebrate in Plymouth.

Orange Chicken and Water Chesnuts

2009-04-21T21:22:00.008-04:00

That's what I ate tonight and it was really good. Is it weird to just do lists instead of writing? I'd rather list things than write them down and worry about the "flow" of something. So I'll do it. I'll do it because I think it's logical and I like it, and I'm a little hamster following cheese all day at work with menial rules and tasks, so I'm going to rebel. Let's go, come with me!

- Leslie and I. Gosh, where do I begin? This is like a mad, true love. I didn't know you could fall more and more in love with someone each day. I thought you just fell in love, and that was it, you were in love with them. This is growing. The more I learn about her the more I love. I wouldn't change ONE thing about her...not ONE thing, and that's an honest fact. I love everything about her. I love how she takes care of her sister and brothers with things like Easter, how she helps them with school stuff, how she does an amazing job at work, how she's responsible, how she's caring, supportive, and builds confidence. It's just amazing and this is going somewhere awesome, beyond what I imagined.

- I went to Dan and Molly's wedding this past weekend (Leslie came too). It was nice, very low key and laid back, but tasteful and it looked good. Next weekend we have another wedding (Leslie's friend). So, this past weekend I was a groomsman and Leslie's was executive assistant to the groomsman. This coming weekend she will be a bride's maid and I'll be an executive assistant to the bride's maid. Isn't that neat how it works out that way? We can swap jobs on consecutive weekends.

- Possible 5 day Labor Day trip to South Carolina (Charleston)

- I've listed out home improvements I'd like to do, both interior and exterior. Does anyone have any foliage ideas? I want evergreen, small, and easy to maintain. I love Japanese Maple and already have two of them. I'm exciting about spring and planting and doing yardwork. I had my large 3 foot diameter maple tree trimmed this morning. It was "crowned" which is when the lower limbs are removed and the tree canopy is lifted so branches don't come close to the ground. It looks good, and I love that tree for it's shade and size.

Gosh, this post was all over the place. That's mostly what's been going on with me. I want to get Walter a little brother or sister, he seems so lonely but I want to hold out for a little while. That's it for now! I'm going to update the Pokemon of the week now. Have a cup of green tea and a few mango slices while looking at a few pictures from the weekend:

It's Me Again

2009-04-13T19:14:00.003-04:00

What I've been doing:

- Spent Easter with Leslie and her family
- Walter was lost for 2 hours Saturday night/Sunday morning. He is back safe
- Applied for 2 jobs
- Measuring and Pricing for home improvement projects
- Reading/Researching different trees/shrubs
- Mapping out landscaping for summer

That's about all! I have a wedding to attend this weekend in Illinois, and Leslie will be going with me. Can you believe this place in Illinois is a 9 hour drive away? That's why we're flying.

29 Days Later

2009-03-31T22:48:00.004-04:00

My, 29 days without a post. If this were March 30th I'd say "28 Days Later" like the cool zombie movie.

What's happened in 29 days?

- Leslie and I are continuting to date, and I fall more and more in love with her each day (yes, it may sound cheesy but it's true)
- I'm ready to have my house to myself again. While not horrible, having a roomate is just not worth the hassle. So, I'm ready for this to be done and living single again
- My job is still there, but I don't really like it any better
- Leslie and I visited South Carolina (this will be expanded upon)
- I found out I may be able to be certified as a secondary education teacher in the state of South Carolina (this is on-going)

Let me focus on the visit Leslie and I made to South Carolina. I was perfectly comfortable taking her back with me, and wasn't nervous for her or me at all. She said she was a little nervous, but I knew she'd be fine. She far exceeded my expectations. She didn't need me to hold her hand at all, instead she just jumped right in and struck up conversations, smiled, and made friends with everyone. She's my kind of girl. She loved mom and dad, and Dawn, and all the grandparents. I'm pretty sure everyone loved her too. She liked everyone, and she really liked Paul. They got along very well and his, uniqueness, didn't phase her at all. Even though we were only really there for 2 days, we made the best and most of it (this was a great visit time wise). Friday mom and dad and Leslie and I went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and toured the home, took lots of great pictures, then went to a winery. Then we ate at Fatz and went back home. Saturday was our day in Clemson, so Paul got to hang out with us and then we spent Saturday night in downtown Greenville. Sunday it was back on a plane to Michigan, but overall it was an excellent trip and it just confirms even more why I love her so much, and the fact that my whole family and friends (most of them) knows her just makes things even better. So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Due To The Economic Situation

2009-03-02T22:39:00.003-05:00

I've gone from peaceful feelings of doubt, to some anger, then to a little bit of apathy, to downright pissed off at my job. I'd say for the most part apathy plays a large portion, and call me jaded, but let's cut the crap and be realistic. You can have the most positive attitude in the world, and in the corporate world it may get you some verbal praise...but you'll get dumped on just like the rest.

I once read someone said "the moral of the story is aim low, don't disappoint yourself". That almost sounds depressing to read but it is actually somewhat true. I'm glad I have a college degree, and I'd like to think it will play a role when the economy gets better, but right now it doesn't really make all that much difference due to the job market.

Thursday I'll find out if I have a job, and if so, how much of my salary I'll have to give back. It's going to be awesome to jump back in time and make less money than I did coming out of school but WAIT! There's more, the workload DOESN'T GO DOWN! But be thankful they say, because you have a job in this economy. I love how that one word "economy" is thrown around as a catch all for anything. "Oh due to the economic situation" blah blah blah. So whenever you do something wrong, blame it on the economy because everyone else does.

I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

Here, You Babies

2009-02-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

A special blog posting from a unique location: Boston Logan International Airport! Don’t pee in your pants, it’s not that exciting. I thought maybe I would post while on my trip in Maine, but that didn’t happen. We’re on our way back to Detroit, and although we had a direct flight on the way to Bangor, we have to change planes in Boston this time. At least I can say I was in Massachusetts, for whatever that’s worth. Don’t you wish you were in Boston, in an airport, at 7:00 on a Friday night? That’s right, I’m here and you’re not.

I have noticed and seen a few interesting things though:
1) Boston’s airport is very un-ergonomic. I think I dislike this airport more than Atlanta. So far, Greenville/Spartanburg wins the best airport in the world award.
2) We walked past a gate with tons of red headed people speaking in Gaelic accents and I realized it was for an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin
3) I ate Chinese food twice today, lunch and dinner. Lunch was boneless ribs and dinner was General Tso’s chicken. My fortune at lunch said “out of hard times comes opportunity”. That was a good one, considering I may not have a job much longer. More on that later.
4) Traveling with my boss was pretty good. We played racquetball at Gold’s Gym last night and that was actually a lot of fun.
5) I got to see my favorite manufacturing engineer in the whole wide world at our plant in Maine. This lady is the BOMB. I told my boss she should be hired in Northville as a comedienne. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, and laughing so hard my cheeks hurt yesterday was a good feeling.
6) I’m reading Harry Potter, the 1st book. I think I would live in the Ravenclaw house, but Leslie said Griffendorf.
7) Right now I’m listening to Death Cab For Cutie: Where Soul Meets Body.
8) Paul (roommate Paul, not Hart or little Miska) called today and said he worked from home, and let Walter stay outside and the lady who lives behind me came over and said she didn’t think Walter should stay outside that long…she was concerned. It was in the high 40’s there today. He’s fine.
9) I miss Leslie

Gosh lists feel good to write. Just glance up for a minute. Go ahead do it. No, up, above this; those numbers 1-9. Those look organized don’t they? Yes, they do. What else…what else is there to say? Oh yeah, job stuff. It’s really so screwed up right now I’m not even worried. There are rumors of 10% salary cuts (which means after 2 years of experience I would essentially go back in pay to LESS than I did right out of college) so that’s awesome. Then there’s layoffs. I’m really not scared of losing my job to be honest. I have always had above average reviews, and I’m a degreed engineer. We have people in our group who are not degreed engineers, who have bad reviews, and contractors, so those would have to go first.

My Time Up North

2009-02-22T16:16:00.003-05:00

I just got back from a famous Michigan "up north" weekend. That's what people here say when they go to their weekend cabins 3 hours away. It's like southeast Michigan is the metropolis and people all leave on a Friday and go north and come back on Sunday. It's sort of like going to the Jersey Shore, but in Michigan. And funner and there's not garbage.

Leslie and I left Friday evening to drive to Frederic, MI which is close to Grayling, but in reality there's nothing there but trees and snow and native northern Michiganers, which are a little scary. It was an AMAZING weekend. Friday we left her house around 6:30 and got to her aunt and uncle's cabin around 9:30. There wasn't really any snow around here, but when we got north the snow was definately there. Saturday was snowmobiling. Leslie's aunt and uncle own 2 snowmobiles, and her uncle and I went out first for a 2 hour ride.

This is how snomobiling works. You ride on the road, and on trails, but never in the open woods. There could be barb wire which has decapitated people. Then, there's random bars in the middle of the woods packed with snowmobiliers. You go inside, and it's PACKED full of them. That's the thing, you snowmobile then go to a bar, then repeat.

Later, Leslie and her uncle and I left around 6:30 to go eat dinner. So we drove the snowmobiles to a restaurant in the middle of the woods, then we snowmobiled out in the woods until 11:30. That was amazing, and probably the most romantic thing Leslie and I have done. Being in the middle of NOWHERE at 11:30 on a snowmobile flying down a trail going 60 mph with snow covered trees is HOT. It was a really, really great time. We actually stopped, and turned the snowmobiles off and it was pitch black, and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Definately one of the funnest winter things I've ever done, and being with her was great.

To make it even better, Leslie's aunt and uncle told both of us (individually) that we made a really great couple and looked very natural with one another. We always get that comment from people...that we seem to be naturals together. I love her so much!

It was an amazing weekend. I have to go to Maine this Tuesday - Friday for work so I'm sure I will do lots of updating while there, because what else is there to do in Maine?

Success! A NEW Record!

2009-02-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

She loved it :)

See below.

Dear St. Valentine, Make This Day Great

2009-02-12T23:06:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day Weekend!

I'm so excited. Leslie and I have been teasing each other all week, keeping "top secrets" and not telling each other anything about what we're going to do for each other, but hinting at things. I'm making mine really hard to guess. I even told her I was working on it at 7:00 in the morning one day this week, which I was. She's so stumped. It's going to be awesome!

This is the first Valentine's Day of my life where I've had a REAL Valentine (other than a family member) and I'm really looking forward to it!

I am prepared with her favorite types of candy (which are random, I still could never find that pesky Nerds rope), a book, a picture of us, and a scavenger hunt/walk through the house with cards. I can't wait! Suprises kill me, I have a very hard time keeping a secret.

I'll post back with the results!

This Will Be Good

2009-02-05T17:43:00.004-05:00

I'm in love. I really, really am. I've always wondered how you know, like really know you're in love with someone. Some people say they knew from the moment they saw the other person, some say they grew to love the person. For me, this is sort of my story.

I can't say I was looking for love, but what I was looking for was a girl to date, someone to have a relationship with. The last two were sort of duds, and I wanted something a little more like real relationship. eHarmony really did work for me. I'm not sure how much stock I put into the actual "matching" of it, but we were two people compatible who found each other.

How do I know I'm in love? For me, it's waking up every morning and the first thought being about Leslie...everyday. It's thinking about her multiple times, throughout the day. It's wondering how her meeting with her manager is going, or wondering if her day is going well. It's my mind being on her, and not work. It's looking forward to seeing her for any reason, no matter what the activity is. It's looking forward to each weekend with her. It's thinking of ways I can make her smile, or make her happy. It's being thankful we get along so well, and laugh at the same stupid things. It's her family, and how well I get along with them. It's just her, I can't put it into words, because I've never felt this way. It's thinking about how I'll make her Valentine's Day special even though it's still not here.

I have a plan, a good one. I'm going to do a scavenger hunt, in my house. I'm going to write out small notes telling her what I love about her, and chronicle some of the experiences we've had. I'm going to scatter them through the house like clues and let her find each one. This will be good, I think she's going to love it.

I'm happy.

Moving Right Along

2009-02-03T19:29:00.003-05:00

Saturday Leslie and I finally used the "L" word. We love each other! It was pretty evident earlier, but the words were finally said Saturday and it was awesome. Things are going really, really well. After the hour long episode of the best show on TV (The Office) I found this clip of Phyllis and had to post it here.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-02-02T18:59:00.002-05:00

You were supposed to do this on Facebook, but I'll post it here instead. Here are 25 Random Things About Me you might like to know.

1) If I could go anywhere in the world I'd go to Isreal
2) I love thermodynamics, to the point I got excited about going to that class in college.
3) Moving to Michigan was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but rewarding in many ways
4) I love passenger airplanes, Boeing planes especially
5) Pikmin is my favorite video game
6) Other than family and friends the three things I miss most about South Carolina are Clemson, NewSpring, and sunshine
7) I prefer cold to hot
8) I struggled deciding between engineering and secondary education as a major in college and sometimes wonder if I chose ther right one
9) My dream, since a child, was to be able to look at a car on the road and say I designed something on that car
10) Arrogance is one quality (yes, I can get by the rest) that immediately turns me off to a person
11) California is my favorite state
12) I think Europe is overrated, and the Caribbean is underrated
13) I once drove 100 mph in Kentucky when it was dark and nobody was around
14) I love sweet tea, but I hate grits
15) Blue is my favorite color
16) People tell me I ask too many questions but that's how I learn
17) I can't help from laughing when people trip or fall
18) Lifehouse is my favorite band
19) I firmly believe the Saturn S series was the best car ever made
20) Soccer is my favorite sport
21) Household chores like cutting grass, raking leaves, or shoveling snow for some reason are an outlet for me to think
22) I think the muscle pain from exercising feels good
23) Mango is my favorite fruit
24) I think the "green" movement should not be attached to politics
25) Watching a movie, however simple that sounds, is a good source of enjoyment for me

A Sad Thing

2009-01-21T17:30:00.002-05:00

I had to experience one of the saddest things ever Tuesday. Monday our VP announced my company would close its very first plant ever opened in North America, due to market conditions. This plant is in Maine. I work with two of our plants for my programs, one is in Michigan and the other is Maine. The difference is night and day, and to be brief, I like Maine better. I've developed a close working relationship with an engineer, let's call her "Sue". She always, always helps me out with whatever I need. She goes the extra mile for me, and we work very well together. I do for her, and she does for me. I found out before hand this plant was closing, but they had no idea until Monday, when our VP went there in person and told them they were closing the plant. I called "Sue" on Tuesday morning to ask her a few questions, and she started bawling. It was such a hard thing to listen to. It wasn't like a normal cry, more of a wimper, a REAL pain in her voice you could tell, like the crying you see when someone dies or something really, really bad happens. I didn't even know what to say, which made it even more akward. What do you say? "I'm sorry" doesn't seem to cut it, it almost seems brash.

So I feel really, really bad for them. I feel bad that their plant pretty much established our presence in North America and now they're getting the boot and their products are going to the great land of slave labor known as Mexico, who can't make water with a hose. It's going to be awesome.

Today we had a information session with the VP, who tried to confidently and forcefully describe why this decision was made, and how we have to support it. Did I mention whenever he was asked a question the answer was "you know I'm going to leave that up to my team of experts...". That must be nice, to make over 100K a year (I'm speculating) and make decisions, and leave all the work up to other people. HOW do these people work in the real world? "Work" is a relative term. I'd use the term "shuffle" instead. I'm not sure ONE single person has the vision or insight a company needs to be successful, so why do they get the power?

So, since it's up to this "team of experts" I'm pretty much going to demand that I go to Maine in the next few weeks, and LEARN the product line. I design parts, and have NO idea how they're built, isn't that good? So, basically "team of experts" means I have no clue in hell what I'm doing, and we haven't made a plan, so we'll just figure it out as we stumble along. Nuh uh, that doesn't sit well with me. Since the travel budget was CUT for 2009, it's going to be interesting how all this is transfered from Maine to Mexico.

This make so much sense it's not even funny. (IRONY!)

Let Me Introduce To You...

2009-01-19T19:11:00.004-05:00

I'd like to post about Leslie, my girlfriend. I guess I've sort of kept this relationship a little quiet to people who aren't immediate family or close friends, but I can let the cat out of the bag.

After a brief thing with Gina, my dad actually told me I should put a profile on eHarmony just to see what would happen. I'm really skeptical of meeting someone online, not because of safety or security, but mainly because of how you explain to someone how you met. I hate saying "we met online". Saying "we met each other when she dropped eggs in front of me at the grocery store" or "her door hit my car in a parking lot" or something creative like that. But, Leslie is great, and I'm going to tell you about her so that's how we met, and I'm okay with that now.

I decided to try out eHarmony for a few reasons:
- I wanted to meet someone completely new. Not a friend who "becomes" a girlfriend out of convenience, or not someone a co-worker introduces you to, but someone fresh, and new, that I have no connection with
- The HARDEST work (i.e. wondering if the person WANTS a relationship) is already out of the way. You don't have to "guess" if your partner wants things to progress to relationship status. You're both there for the same reason
- It's effective. I talked to a few people on the site through guided communication, and met one other, but Leslie and I just hit it off. I think the long list of questions you answer really does pair you with someone compatible.

So, Leslie and I entered the "open communication" stage on eHarmony right before Thanksgiving. We e-mailed each other, with just small talk. When I got back from Florida, we met one day in Troy at Panera Bread. It was going to just be a 1 hour or so get together, but we were there 3 hours and things felt very comfortable and relaxed. We left that night saying we'd get together again, which we did a few days later. Our second "date" was dinner in Royal Oak. Finally, she came over to my house and we went out to dinner in Plymouth. She showed up with dog pastries for Walter and a birthday present for me. I left to go to South Carolina for 2 weeks at Christmas, and didn't think a whole lot about leaving her for 2 weeks, but while at home, we talked everyday, literally. I'm not sure if the distance made us miss each other, but I actually really did start to miss her and I looked forward to seeing her again. Sending her flowers at work, while I was away, in my opinion sort of sealed the deal. She said it was her first time ever getting "just because" flowers and girls at her work were jealous and she loved it. Making someone you care about feel special and cared for is a wonderful feeling.

When I came back, we spent a whole day together and it was great. Things just picked right back up where they had left off, and a little more. She's really special to me. I have never dated a girl who made me feel so relaxed, happy, and cared for. In Michigan where a ton of people are "woe is me" she's got a smile on her face and is joking, and doesn't work in automotive...a breath of fresh air for me! Her family is really great, she has funny and easy-going parents and siblings, and they seem very normal. Leslie took me to a bar to meet her friends last week and I never thought a great deal about it, but meeting "the friends" is a big step, because that tells you a LOT about a person; who they associate with. Her friends were really great, most of them were teachers, a dental hygenist, and a nurse. She said she got a ton of texts after we left and they all said they approved and liked me.

I think about her a lot. A LOT. And at work my mind sort of wonders off and I think about how she is, and what she's doing. I've never felt like this about a girl before, we just connect on a good level. I'm sure I'm pretty hard to find a match for, because I'm probably a little unique as far as humor and relaxing, but this is just no issue for her at all, she puts me right at ease. It's going really well.

I just wanted to "formally" introduce her, to you, how we met, how things happened, and where we are now. I'll keep this updated, because there are a ton of great things to say about her.

Well, That Didn't Take Long

2009-01-13T22:28:00.003-05:00

Today is Tuesday, 1 week and 2 days back into work and I hate it again. That happened a lot sooner than I thought. I figured I could make it until March or something before this set in. I've thought a lot about it and I feel one of the main reasons I feel the way I do is more ethical than anything. To sum it up shortly, I was asked point blank, to lie (not tell the whole truth) and now it's a rush covering up lies while finding a solution. I just don't want any part of it, and to be frank, I don't care. I don't have any motivation to find a solution because as far as I'm concerned this is messed up because of lies.

So, if you had a migraine headache, how would you like to spend 4 hours this afternoon:
1) Chewing glass
2) Splashing your eyes with battery acid
3) Sitting in a pile of fireants
4) Listening to some German with an agenda read a 36 page technical document full of stuff that DOESN'T MATTER

Which one did you choose? Well I had to endure scenario #4 this afternoon. I'm trying to be as patient as possible, to find my purpose here. It's not this job, I'm pretty sure of that much. Something has to change.

Also, I do have a hernia. I have an inguinal hernia, and it will require surgery to be corrected. The surgery is up to me, as far as when I would like to have it done, and I'm leaning more toward sooner than later.

X-Rated Picture, Beware

2009-01-11T11:42:00.003-05:00

We're all adults here, so don't get upset at the picture. That's the best description of my condition. Originally all the reading and research I had done told me I didn't have a hernia, because none of the symptoms matched. I then found out about the inguinal hernia, and suprise, that's matches my symptoms and the picture pretty much confirms it. I will know more tomorrow after I have a doctor examine me, but I'm pretty sure this is what my problem is. The bulge shown in the picture isn't always evident, but after physical activity, such as shoveling snow or bowling, for example, the protrusion becomes very evident followed by a pain that's not severe, just irritating.

There was a ton of snow that fell yesterday so now we have about a foot or so on the ground. That makes driving really fun, because the roads still aren't all the way clear.

Tomorrow after my doctor's visit I can update on my condition more thoroughly.

Little Tricks For You

2009-01-06T19:02:00.006-05:00

2 Things:

1) When you turn 25 years old, like I just did, and if you own a 2008 Honda Civic LX 4 door, your insurance premium will drop $136 every 6 months. Poof, just like that, here's $136 for turning 25.

2) I have a hernia, or a tumor, I'm convinced.

Vacation Over Means Blog Posting Is Back On

2009-01-04T23:12:00.004-05:00

The Christmas break is over, and it's time to get back to work. Alright, I hate that attitude. I just want to ease back into it all. It feels like being gone for summer and going back to school. I even got a whole new wardrobe for Christmas so it really feels like back to school. Two weeks is a long time, and at the same time it was short. So, I'd like to do a list blog post of sorts, hitting the highlights.

Events:
Roundtrip driving: MI to SC back to MI = ~ 1,300 miles
My 25th birthday
Christmas
New Year: 2009
Cosmo's death after 13 years
My car being fixed, finally

Movies:
7 Pounds
Singles
An American Crime
My Cousin Vinny
Roger and Me
Anti-Trust
The Day The Earth Stood Still

Books:
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
Crank
Atlas Shrugged (still working on this one)

Friends:
Paul
BJ / Laura
Scott
Maryann
Megan

Other Events:
Keeping a "talking" relationship going while away = successful return!
Flipping a Saturn in 2 weeks

I feel well rested and rejuvenated. Everything feels in order right now which is good. I feel like now, I have a little more going for me than just a career which is a relief, and something else to focus my effort on. Here's to starting a great 2009!

1/4 Century

2008-12-22T20:00:00.002-05:00

I made it back to South Carolina for Christmas. Today I slept until 11:30, which I haven't done in probably 2 years or so, but it felt amazing. I'm so happy I have 2 weeks of this. 2 weeks of no alarms, no work, no nothing but being lazy. It's awesome.

I'll be 25 in a few more days. 1 more day to be exact. It really feels like the past few years have just flown by. I wonder if it's natural to stop and think how old you are before you answer? Sometimes 23 comes to my mind really fast, but then I remember I'm 24, about to be 25. Weird.

Dusty Wood

2008-12-15T22:40:00.003-05:00

Time to dust off the blog, and write a new post. What's it been...too long?

Instead of making up an excuse for why I haven't posted I'll just get right into it.

I have a roomate now! Paul is my new roomate, and he is in my small group at church. Paul needed a roomate because the condo he was living in had too many people, according to the condo association, so he had to find a new place to live. Which works out well for me, because I wanted to get a roomate, but didn't quite know how to really search for one. I was sort of holding off until someone I knew needed a place to live, and it all worked out.

I'm also seeing a girl now. We're dating, but we've only been on 3 dates so until we go on more I wouldn't call her a girlfriend just yet. I do know we get along really well, and that I'm attracted to her, and I'm pretty sure she's attracted to me, so it's going well. The dates are fun and she is laid back, and has a good sense of humor which I enjoy.

Work is work, not much to update there. I'm thankful I have a job now with the economy, but I am still working on getting my resume all cleaned and polished and will keep an eye open for other opportunities that may arise. Until then, I'm trying my best to go to work, do my best, and leave out all the rest.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas break, really, I am. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, friends, and a break from frigid air.

Something else is that I've been having problems with my Honda. Some observations about Honda:
- They don't like to admit when their products exhibit a problem
- They don't have good customer service (not as good as Saturn)

I told the regional manager, when he called me to talk about my problems, that one of the reasons I bought a Honda was because of the repuputation for reliability and good service, but that hasn't been my case so far (4 times to the dealership in 12,000 miles). He said "Well, Mr. Smith, that's your opinion, not a fact and I work off of facts". Ooof. I forgot, you can tell someone their feelings are opinions and not valid, because that's the right thing to say as a customer service representative. Anyway, my Honda is at the dealership overnight tonight being fixed and I have a loaner car, which I am thankful for, although it's a Nissan.

I'm off to bed now, I need sleep to finish out 4 more days of work until freedom.

Snow Day

2008-12-06T11:26:00.001-05:00

It's 21 degrees outside and it's snowing. I'm on my couch, with the curtains open, under a blanket, warm. This is nice.

Thanky G

2008-12-01T22:51:00.002-05:00

This past Thanksgiving was one of the best I can remember, for multiple reasons (these are the things I'm thankful for):
- I suprised my family with a visit
- I went to Florida away from the snow for 4 days and saw the sun
- I didn't throw up this year from overeating like I did 2 years ago
- I watched Home Alone on TV
- I saw 2 great 80's movies - Mannequin and Karate Kid
- I finished my book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-time". It's REALLY good, especially if you like math and/or you're midly-severely autistic
- I slept on a comfortable couch
- Walter was happy to see me
- A 14 hour "welcome back" workday - I'm thankful I have a job and money since apparantly my house tax went up $1,200 for 2009. I think this is a mistake, so I need to get that figured out soon

Anyway, I'm back, and I feel refreshed, and 14 hours of work (see past posts for about 3 months of how much I hate it) can't bring me down today. Welcome home.

Saturday Sun

2008-11-23T09:32:00.003-05:00

I felt a little better yesterday. I spent a good portion of the day at Barnes and Noble in Troy. Troy is about 35 minutes away, but sunlight here in winter is precious and taking a 35 minute drive to be in the sun is worth it to me. I sat in the cafe for a good 4 hours or so working on my resume. When I put everything I've done, work related, on paper, it seems pretty impressive. My position sounds really great on paper. I'm proud of my resume, but it looks pretty wordy and packed full of stuff. It still needs some cleaning up which I'll be doing. After that I may post it here for some feedback. I also did my Bible study so yesterday was a very productive day for me.

If you're reading this, I'd like your home mailing address. You don't have to give it in a comment, you can just e-mail it to me.

The Pokemon of the week has been updated.

How To Write A Personal Mission Statement

2008-11-17T22:18:00.003-05:00

This is how

I like looking at the WikiHow of the day on iGoogle. Today's was a good one. I think it's nice to have a mission statement.

This past weekend in South Carolina, although a whirlwind, was JUST what I needed. I feel refreshed and motivated (more than before). Christmas will probably be even better. Coming back to 3 inches of snow didn't even bother me.

Things to do now:
- Update/Polish resume
- Enroll in a German class
- Tutor math
- Find a girlfriend

A Long Update

2008-11-10T21:24:00.003-05:00

A lot has happened since I wrote a good, well thought out post. So here we go.

I guess the first thing I can start with is work. Paul told me he has this rule, and it goes like this. You don't think about work outside of work - ever, for any reason, period. If you do, you put an end to those thoughts immediately. Maybe this post will count as thinking about work outside of work, but it's a good way to get thoughts down and you can be updated at the same time.

For the past 3-4 months work has just been getting worse for me. I can also say my attitude has gotten worse, to be fair, but I'm having some thoughts about my career and what I'm doing with my life. I've been told what I'm feeling is normal, it's called that 20 something crisis, where you get out of school, realize the real world isn't what you thought it would be, suck it up, sedate yourself to work, and just get through it. There has to be more to it than this though. If all work were like this, there's no motivation to better yourself. If engineering is like this, I'm not sure what would motivate someone to do this. I can honestly say the challenge in school is what pushed me. To prove to myself that I could do it was the best reward ever. To look back and know I made it, was an accomplishment that I think will be hard to surpass. But what now?

What if what you thought you always wanted to do, wasn't the case? For a long, long time I have always wanted to design car parts. I've always wanted to see a car driving, with a part I designed on it. I'll get that chance in a few months, so it's here. What happens when you achieve that goal you wanted to so badly, so early in your career? I suppose the logical answer would be that your goal wasn't high enough, or that you need a new goal to work towards. What if you don't know what that goal is though? I'm in this rut right now. I'm achieving the goal I wanted to badly, but I'm only 24 and don't know what else now. What else do I do? I don't want to keep doing this forever. More school seems like a choice, but I have no money right now, and I need money for school.

I admit, a big problem for me, is constantly looking forward. I'm not just content with what I'm doing for the moment. Maybe that's a positive thing, in a way, because you're pushing yourself, but maybe it's also a bad thing because you'll constantly be looking for that thing that makes you happy, and at the end, you'll realize you just wished your whole life away by not enjoying the moment. That's a big problem.

So that's one part of work. That's my attitude, and my outlook. The other concern is that I honestly do question some of our management and the decisions made. Some of these decisions are not what I would consider ethically just. It's hard to watch someone ignore an issue, or take the easy way out, when it's not the right way. I have a hard time stomaching this. Then there's the bullshit. The fakeness, the politics if you will. I will admit, this was a BIG part of me choosing engineering, because I thought, the "games" would be minimized. It literally makes me sick to watch them play out. To listen to someone say one thing, and really "mean" it with passion, then get in a meeting and do the EXACT opposite of what they say - is hard.

So here's what happened last Thursday at work. I had my weekly morning meeting with my manager. He started to pester me about things I had no control over (manufacturing, testing, etc.). I tried to do the normal "I'm taking care of it" stuff, but about half way through I thought to myself "no, David, there's a problem with this - tell him". So I told him how I felt. I told him my patience was running thin, that I had about as much as I could take. He lightened up a bit and instead of taking the authoritative attitude he had more of a helpful approach, which I appreciated. At the end of this meeting, my head started to hurt and it was only 10:00. At 10:30 we had our big engineering meeting, and the chief engineer was a special guest. This was like a bullshit-athon for people in our group. Everyone had to get their words in, everyone had to finish each others sentences to prove they knew more. By this point, I was as apathetic as a person could be, sitting with my eyes closed taking deep breaths. After about 1.5 hours, the meeting was over. I went to my desk, got my car keys, phone, and left. I decided I wasn't coming back for the rest of the day. I came home, and stayed home for the rest of the day. As a precaution, if I had gone back, I probably wouldn't have a job right now.

I know I let it get to me, I know I do. But I am disappointed at times with work, the attitude, the atmosphere, and the politics. I needed a break. So I raked leaves in the yard for the rest of the day, and that was nice.

I'm not sure at this point what I will do. I do know, for now, I'll keep doing the best I can and take that paycheck. The "magic" is gone for the most part, so that spark I had might not be apparant. I'll perform as well as I can. I was told at my midyear review I was a "benchmark" for our group, but I'm not sure I can keep that role up. I will do what I can though. In the meantime, I need to be working on what I want to do. I will be working on this. So, that's work in a nutshell, I can move onto something else.

Gina and I decided not to date anymore. To be honest, I'm fine with that. I didn't feel it going anywhere, and there really was no point to keep it up. It was mutual, and we decided just to stay in touch. Even though we were only 3 years apart, I felt we didn't have a lot in common at all, and I never really felt too comfortable around her. It felt a little fake to me. She's a very nice girl though and I do wish her the best. That's so much shorter than work, huh? I guess you can see where my mind has been.

I'm really looking forward to going to South Carolina this weekend. I mean REALLY looking forward to it. If it weren't planned, I think I would go anyway. I will get an entire 2 weeks there at Christmas and that will be great. I want 2 whole weeks with my family, away from here.

As a side note: Some of this may be seasonal. I'm looking into day lamps, and actually a tanning bed. Not to get tan, but get vitamin D. It literally is dark when I go to work, grey when I'm work, and dark when I get home. I am exposed to no sun. I need to work on that.

Until next time.

A Lot To Do

2008-11-09T23:50:00.001-05:00

I haven't forgotten, I promise. Very soon:

- Talk about last week - the horrors, the bad attitude, the "skipping" work
- Talk about this weekend - the rebound, the break up, the ephiphany
- Update Pokemon of the week

It's too late now, but I target tomorrow. Please come back then!

Half Way Through

2008-11-05T21:24:00.002-05:00

This week has been pretty good so far. Work has been fine for the most part. I'm trying to be more focused with things outside of work and keep myself busy with things in the evenings that don't involve work - or any aspect of it.

Sometimes when I get distraught, I become more productive and focused on progression. I'm not really sure what's happened, but the past month has been very weird for me. I've been apathetic and uncaring about work - to the point of downright hating it which is not typical for me. Me waking up in the morning and thinking about calling in sick because I don't want to go is not normal for me. I'm feeling better now though, but it's a little scary because I know it's not right. I'm not sure what's triggering it either other than the fact that this is my career - and if I don't like it I'm stuck for a while. I don't think at 24 you should hate your job, so that's what's sad. I also feel bad because I know I'm unappreciative of what I have - and that really is a shame because I have it a lot better of than most people. I suppose I need more goals, but I don't know what they are yet so that's driving me crazy.

I'm hosting the book club at my house this Friday. That means I'm making dinner for everyone. I'm making mini-buffalo chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, and there will be cheese and crackers and grapes.

Europe - A Summary and Recap

2008-11-03T20:05:00.003-05:00

A few quick notes about Europe before I begin:

1) It's overpriced
2) French people aren't as bad as people say
3) It's very dog friendly
4) Anything goes in Amsterdam - and I do mean anything

Overall going to Europe for a week was a good experience. It's strange, because while it was LOT of fun and educational, it's just not a place I'd really desire to go back to for a vacation. I guess part of my problem is that I'm not really into history very much. Well, I take that back. I enjoy it, I've just never had any formal education in it; so I'm a little unappreciative of the stuff. I guess this is me being American, but sometimes it's nice to see a new building or a giant shopping center.

Anyway Europe was really great to see. Out of all the places, France was definately my favorite. I was a little nervous about the French, but overall I didn't have any problems. I would make an effort to speak what French I remembered from 7th grade, and when I'd stumble they'd pick up in English.

Instead of saying much more, I'll let some of my favorite pictures speak for themselves:

Politics = Retarded

2008-10-20T20:48:00.003-04:00

November 4th cannot come fast enough. Will everyone shut their mouth by then? Probably not, but maybe it will slow down some.

I realize now whenever politics are discussed, why I vote Republican. That is, for the simple fact, that a large majority of Democrats make these outlandish connections and conclusions (i.e. blanket statements) about anything you can imagine, when in reality, the true Democrat agenda should, I think, eliminate bias and grouping everyone into one category. Isn't that taking things by a "case by case" example that Democrats tout so proudly?

What sparked this? A blog I read, and the blog was talking about abortion. The author was pro-choice, very much so, but she went as far as to say that if a person votes for McCain, they don't care about women's health, or women at all for that matter. Stupid. Just because I vote for one candidate does NOT hands down make me an insensitive person who doesn't care about women's health.

What have I learned in the past 24 years of my life about politics? Mostly to go Republican, for the simple fact that it pisses Democrats off and that's good enough for me. I think Paul used the term DemoBRATS and that is clearly becoming the truth.

If someone can logically tell me that having a pro-life attitude makes you uncaring toward women, then maybe I'll change my mind. The simple fact is you can't make that connection.

Sources:

I'm quickly starting to dislike this woman

A little pregnant

Saturday Night Post

2008-10-18T22:04:00.003-04:00

I haven't updated the Pokemon of the week in a very long time, so I fixed that tonight.

The leaves are starting to change here. For some reason, the tree in front of my neighbor's house turned a bright vibrant yellow, and all the leaves fell off this past week. The tree in front of my house is still green and hasn't even started to change yet.

Church was really amazing tonight. I feel like I'm growing a lot spiritually lately, or have been for the past few months. Doing the study through Matthew with Dan is really helping me a lot. I'm learning a lot about Jesus as a person, and really examining his life and his teaching style is helping me to learn about who he really was, and what his intentions were. It's pretty amazing, because you learn new things about him that you weren't always taught. One of the biggest suprises is that he had quite an attitude, and didn't put up with BS from anyone. Church tonight was amazing because at the end of the service, they played a choir version of Amazing Grace, and had actual people walk out on stage, one by one, with black posters. One one side was a problem, and the other side had what was happening now because of it. Some examples that stuck out to me were:

Side 1: "Our son was born deaf"
Side 2: "What a beautiful boy God blessed us with!"

Side 1: "Because of promiscuity I had two abortions"
Side 2: "God has forgiven and healed me - I now have twins"

Side 1: "I became a Christian at 59 years old"
Side 2: "Life is just beggining!"

Side 1: "We are barren"
Side 2: "We have adopted 5 amazing children"

Side 1: "My husband a three children were murdered on Christmas Eve"
Side 2: "I will see them again in Heaven!"

It was pretty powerful to see how God works in others. Those were just a few of the ones that stuck out to me.

I think this week at work will be pretty busy. I will be leaving for training in Germany October 25th, so I have a lot of things to do before I leave. This past week at work kicked my butt...to the point I was ready to just quit. Pretty much everything that could get messed up did, and the work kept piling on and on. E-mails flodding in with "I need" or "I'm requesting". I'm just going to take it one day at a time and keep doing the best I can. Wish me luck

Apathy and a Jacket

2008-10-14T22:29:00.002-04:00

Apathy isn't really that great, but it's creeping in me pretty quickly. I can pinpoint a few reasons...but, that's neither here nor there.

Instead I want to talk about a new jacket I'm getting. I have a really nice, L.L. Bean jacket I use in the winter. I also have a fleece zip up that's good to use when it's chilly. I wanted an "intermediate" jacket that is good for the October / November weather. Actually, since I'm hot natured I can use it a long time. In California I found a really nice Northface jacket I wanted. It was the windwall 2, and it was $129. No thank you.

I decided to wait until I got back to Michigan, and saw it here. $129. No thank you. Ebay, yes please. Ebay had the jacket I wanted (it was a Windwall 1, not a Windwall 2) for $56 brand new. So I bought it and it shipped yesterday. So in about 3 more days I should have my new jacket.

I'm reading a book of short stories called "Pieces" right now edited by Steven Chbosky. That reminds me, I need to check on internet/cable options. I only want the internet. I've decided I can do away with cable TV. I don't think I've watched TV...in...weeks really. I watch more movies.

We'll see when this apathy thing goes away...it's a weird feeling to me.

A Bad Day Post

2008-10-08T22:39:00.002-04:00

I used to care about politics. I used to think it mattered, and that it made a difference. This election year I am apathetic, and it's sad to say. I will vote, only so I can complain in 3 years if I feel like it, but not because I think it matters. I just don't care. I think things are screwed up right now, and I think any change will be a good one.

On that note, what makes me more apathetic is someone who sends political e-mails at work. These aren't the "joke" e-mails either, it's bashing one party or the other trying to push your own view. Work lately sucks enough as it is, and I don't really want political trash making it any worse.

On another note, please don't ask me to discuss politics with you, only to have you attack my view on certain issues, or give me the "you're ignorant" face if I don't share your point of view.

On one more not, today sucked if you can't tell already. It was just one of those days where you want to crawl under the covers and not come out until tomorrow.

On The Way To California...

2008-10-07T00:31:00.001-04:00

I’m sitting here right now on an airplane, so I decided it’s a good time to do a blog post. The only catch is the lady in front of me decided she needed her seat reclined, so my arms are in a very uncomfortable position right now, so we will see how long I last. Alright, airports to me are one of the best places to observe. You can observe people, trends, and my personal favorite thing is to pick up on things you don’t normally question. So, for you now, my list of observations about airports in general.
• A luggage store in an airport. First of all, WHY? Why would a person buy luggage in an airport? I’m not talking about handbags or carryons either, I’m talking about I’m going to China for a month type luggage. The hardshell kind with wheels and locks. Call me crazy, but shouldn’t you have that sort of stuff before you travel? I would think so. The only reason I could come up with to have a luggaage store in an airport is it’s a good way to advertise, and it’s the store’s chance to have a showroom of sorts. I would imagine the stores themselves don’t have very much sales, but probably have a lot of online and catalague sales. I guess this gives them a good opportunity to show off their luggage, and they probably can sell it easier by showing people what’s wrong with their current luggage, and why they need new luggage. As for me, I like to travel as light as possible. This usually means an Adidas duffle bag for a long weekend trip, which is not checked, so my shoulder is in severe pain while walking from gate A23 to C16. That was an observation I made early this morning.
• Is it necssary to have a used needle disposal bin in the bathroom? I have never seen this before, and it was a little disturbing. Is this for herion addicts or diabetics? I know certain people have to take insulin shots, I have just never in my life seen a used needle disposal bin in a public restroom, let alone an airport restroom. If you’re a diabetic, do you worry about stuff like this, like where to dispose of your used needles? Do you buy a new needle all the time to shoot up with, or do you keep one nice “velvet touch” needle you clean off and use repeatedly? I hope I never get to be a diabetic.
• People’s faces in airports sometimes…just irk me. It’s not like a face you’d see in Meijer, or at work, but there’s this face people give you in an airport that bothers me. That’s vague, so let me explain. Before the plane boards, you always have the brillaint person who decides they’ll get up and go stand at the counter so they can be the first one on the plane. They stand up there for a good 20 minutes before boarding even begins. They stand there with a look on their face that says “I’m first…and you’re not…I’m on top of things”. Well, they’re really not on top of things because that’s stupid, and I’ll tell you why that’s stupid. Those people, the ones you HAVE to be first on the plane 90% of the time have an aisle seat. So, congratulations, you get your seat first but you have to get up to let the middle person, and the window seat person in. That’s dumb. I enjoy being the window seat person so they have to get up again.
• Smells. This trip so far, has been full of smells, bad ones. The lady right next to me now smells horrid. It’s a smell that comes, and goes. I can’t tell if she’s farting, or if it’s a random smell the comes out every now and then, but it stinks and I don’t like it. My other plane smelled like old cologne.
My arms are starting to cramp now. Actually it’s my wrists. I will end this for now. I bet there will be more observations to make note of, but that’s all for now. I see mountains below, maybe we’re over Colorado?

I'm Out

2008-10-03T17:04:00.002-04:00

I'm leaving to go to California tomorrow for 4 days, so I will be on hiatus until Wednesday!

Good Start

2008-09-30T22:55:00.003-04:00

Today was a good day for a few key reasons:

1) I jumped a pay grade at work (a raise!)
2) I went to the dentist, and had no cavities
3) I got a free Starbucks coffee and coconut chocolate chip cookie at the dentist
4) I saw the Transformers movie

I was greeted by someone this morning having a panic attack about what happened to the stock market last night. That is probably THE dumbest thing to worry about, in my opinion. Worrying, while not a good way to fix anything, will certainly not fix Wall Street. So I don't let it bother me. I think I pissed someone off by saying "It's not affecting my day to day routine, so it doesn't concern me". That might sound immature and brash, but honestly...does it? If what happens on Wall Street doesn't stop you from getting a paycheck and buying groceries or paying for shelter...what's the difference? All I know is I live happier not concerning myself with it, so I'm good.

While at the dentist, I saw Sarah Palin on TV. I like her. She expressed her view on a key issue, and said she was "unapologetic" about it. That was a nice way of telling people too bad if they didn't like it. I also like her because people seem to be picking on her for the dumbest things...and that gives her more credit in my book.

PS...why don't I see any dirt on Barak Obama on the magazines in the stores? So far all I see is McCain and Palin bashed for *gasp* having a pregnant teenage daughter!

Picture Post

2008-09-27T22:18:00.004-04:00

Picture post! Ready, let's go.

This first set is of a Saturn I bought this past week. For $50. It runs, it drives, it looks ugly, it has 245,000 miles, and it's a piece of junk. It will have parts taken off that are worth money, and then sent to a car crusher. Yes, that is tape on the driver's seat.

Here's a picture of my chimney. It's damaged, and I want to fix it before winter. It looks simple enough actually. I climbed on the roof today and took a look, then made a trip to Home Depot and bought my supplies (after speaking with a worker about concrete patching). This should be do-able

I wore this shirt today, and it reminded me of this picture. This is Paul and I from 2005 doing Thermodynamics homework.

Yuck

2008-09-26T22:57:00.001-04:00

You know those times when you are just in a disgusted attitude, about something you can't really pinpoint? I'm in one of those right now, and it's not just one thing I can point to, but a lot of little things. I'm really tired too, this week took it out of me.

I'll have something better to post tomorrow, it's actually a suprise so stay tuned!

Babysitting

2008-09-22T20:46:00.004-04:00

You know what's really fun to wake up to at 5 AM on a Monday morning? A crate full of dog poop. First of all, this has nothing to do with Walter. Walter sleeps beside my bed in his tiny little bed, like a well behaved dog deserves to do. These dogs that were in crates, in my basement, are spawns of Satan. One really is, the other one is probably a deamon spawn. That's all I really want to say about them. I never knew I could despise an animal so much. Ok, I'll stop now.

I want to talk about movies. I was thinking today that there is not just ONE movie I like. I think I have a top 6 or 7, so I'm going to list them here. They're in no particular order, just movies that I would consider my favorite.

1) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
2) American Beauty
3) Elizabethtown
4) The Fountain
5) The Rules of Attraction
6) Maria Full of Grace
7) Requiem For A Dream

If you're reading this, even if you're some random person from Latvia, take a second to add a comment and list your top movies.

My small group/Bible study has been going really well. There's only about 5 us each week, even though there's technically 8 of us in the group, but we're all in the same age group give or take 2-3 years and have a lot in common.

I'm certain now I'll be back in South Carolina for the Clemson vs. Duke Homecoming game on November 5th. Myself and two other people from work will be driving down for a short weekend, but it should be a lot of fun.

I have to go before I rip this dog's vocal chords out.

I Love Naomi

2008-09-15T22:50:00.002-04:00

This is Naomi, and no matter how mad you get, you can't top her. I love it.

Grass

2008-09-15T19:47:00.005-04:00

I have grass growing now! This is a momentous time for me. Since I've owned my house I've dealt with looking at dirt and weeds and random grass sprouts. Raking the lawn cleaned up a lot of dead grass. The front yard is finally growing. There are teeny tiny little sprouts coming up. I'm excited.

I did the back yard tonight. I finished raking it, then seeded it and fertilized it. Hopefully the resutls in the back will go well. I think we only have a few more weeks left until leaves start to fall so I'd like to get some grass before then.

Tonight I'm going to do research on grad schools. It is something I am considering, an MBA. I feel like I want to further myself and keep moving. I do NOT want to become stagnant and common place. I know now, if I'm not challenged my mind will rot. I need something to stimulate it, pretty much at all times. I hate not being productive with my mind.

Speaking of being productive, I think laughter is a good thing. Especially when you're on the edge of using language you normally wouldn't because a program is being retarded. For example, this afternoon I had a headache, and I was dimensioning a drawing. At times, the dimensions did not want to cooperate and it was getting rather frustrating. This went on and on, and I would simply recite to myself (maybe my lips even moved, I'm not sure) "NOOO stupid, that's NOT what I meant". Stupid refers to the computer by the way. This went on and on for a while, then one of those friendly little warning boxes with a red "x" popped up, and said:

"At this time, it is impossible to dimension the selected element"

Right. At this time it's impossible. First of all, nothing is impossible. Second of all, how is it impossilbe at this time? Will it be possible 5 minutes from now? Maybe. Yes, it will be possible. I know it's possible because I did it. But not before I did a print screen and taped the warning sign to my computer so I can remember how a little warning box can sound so stupid, but make you laugh.

What I Did This Weekend

2008-09-14T21:58:00.003-04:00

- Ate deep dish pizza at Buddy's, one of the country's 10 best pizza places, according to Food Network
- Finished the 5th Harry Potter movie, now I anticipate #6 this November
- Helped Dan clean/organize his basement
- Helped Dan list a huge amount of stuff on eBay from his basement reorganization
- Went to church
- Went out with Gina to a Thai restaurant

I like that list format. It's easier to see what I actually DID do. It rained about 5 inches here this weekend, nonstop Saturday and Sunday so this was a perfect weekend for that work that makes you stay inside.

The Pokemon of the Week finally got updated! Suprise.

I Missed You

2008-09-10T23:14:00.003-04:00

I heard someone talking about a blog today, and I realized I haven't posted on mine in such a long time, and that I missed it. So here I am.

Some interesting things have happened, like I thatched my lawn. Thatching is a technical term (I guess) for raking up dead grass clippings on the ground. The idea is that by raking up that dead grass, you expose the soil allowing new grass seed to be planted. So I planted grass seed as well, and fertilizer. I have such a tiny yard but it took up a good portion of the weekend.

Another interesting thing. I met a nice girl. A guy I work with who in a contractor for us pulled me aside last Monday and basically asked me if I would be interested in meeting his younger daughter. He said he doesn't play matchmaker, but he thought we'd be really good together. I went out with her this past Sunday and had a very good time. Her name is Gina, and she's very Italian. Very Italian. Almost like Marissa Tomei Italian, but not quite. My favorite thing about her was that she was very open and active and lively. There was no stupid dead silence or shyness. That is my biggest turn off - is shyness. I know the guy is supposed to "lead" but nothing annoys me more to than to hear "well whatever you feel like is fine" or "whatever you want to do is fine with me". You have an opinion, use it please.

Something else I did not realize, is that I am a good singer in Rock Band. I actually scored 98% and 99% on two songs. I originally did that as a joke, because let's face it, I DO like to annoy people and a good way to do that is speak, or sing. Singing works really well, especially to "Crush Crush Crush" by Paramore. That's a good one. When I say I'm a "good" singer though, I mean I can hit the key right, but the voice is awful. I don't think that's whats important for rock band though.

Yesterday was Grandma Hazel's birthday. Happy Birthday (late) Nana. I got to call her from work, but I didn't sing. As much as the Chinese people who sit behind me annoy me, I didn't want to sing out loud.

That's a good point, let's talk about those Chinese people that sit behind me. They annoy me. BADLY. In China, for some reason, they must teach people to eat in the most non-ettiquette way possible. This means slurping all your food as loud as you can, almost like sucking in a spaghetti noodle, but with rice and beef. Then (yes it's worse) they can't drink like a normal person. They have to slurp and sip very loudly. I bet you're thinking I'm prejudice or rude. Well I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Watch one of them eat and then come tell me you're not disgusted. So, what annoys me is having to sit behind them. Because they drink tea constantly, and sip loudly constantly, followed by "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" cough cough! I can't STAND it. Even with headphones in, I can still hear it. I called Jamie, our admin over to listen today. She heard it too and agreed it is horrible. She went as far as to say they need to be corrected, because while that behavior may be acceptable in China it's not here, and they need to stop. I think I agree. I think I will say something soon.

Back to Gina now. We're going to be going out again this weekend. I'm not sure which day yet, but I will call her tomorrow.

I'm going to California October 4 - October 7. I decided I wanted a vacation so I'm taking one. I'm going to Mountain View, south of San Fransisco to visit Jay. Hopefully I'll get to see Kiki while there too (I think so). I haven't been to California since 2001 so it will be nice to go back. The airfare was super cheap too so that's a plus. AND I get to change planes in Minneapolis. I've never been to Minnesota before, so that's another good thing. Now all I have left is Wisconsin, North Dakota, Alaska, and Hawaii to complete.

I heard the book "The Catcher In The Rye" is supposed to change your life. It's a classic, and most people read it in High School or college, but I didn't so I felt cheated. Did I mention I have been doing a LOT of reading? I have. I really enjoy it a lot too. Catcher just didn't do much for me. It was about a kid named Holden who is being kicked out of a private prep school, and what he does in the 4 days between being kicked out and going back home to face his parents. He doesn't really do anything Earth shattering though, and it happens in the 1940's so it didn't do much for me. The book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" however did, and I recommend that book to anyone. It was amazing and I read it in 2 days because I couldn't put it down.

Walter is falling asleep and I'm ready to go to sleep now. Now that I'm all caught up I will be back more often, and not let the dirty habbit of not posting rear its ugly head again. Night!

1 Week and I'm Back

2008-09-04T20:54:00.005-04:00

I haven't updated this in forever. I guess the last time I posted, I was about to go to South Carolina.

South Carolina was a lot of fun. This time it was a little more relaxed than last time, but it was still busy. I think I could always use one more day. Overall it was a lot of fun visiting family, seeing my dad turn 50, and going to Clemson with friends.

When I was leaving work Tuesday I was heading out and a guy I work with stopped me, and was asking me about one of my projects. Then, when I was about to leave he asked me if he could talk to me, about something personal. He said he wanted to go into a conference room. I got a little nervous, because I didn't think there was anything personal we would need to discuss. When he shut the door he was stuttering a little and said he didn't really know how to ask this, but he wanted to know if I had a girlfriend. I said no, and he asked me if I might be interested in meeting his daughter. He had talked to me about her before, but basically just told me about her. He gave me her phone number and told me to give her a call. I talked to her last night and she actually seemed really nice and friendly over the phone. We decided to go out on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's good if someone's dad recommends you...it's like you get the hard part out of the way first. So we'll see how it goes.

Dan went back to South Carolina with me, and he took back 3 tires for his Saturn since his were in bad shape. When we took the rear tire off we found this:

In case you didn't know, that's a stabilizer link. That's what I design at work. It looks pretty simple, doesn't it? It's pretty complex actually. Do you notice anything wrong with it? I'll give you a hint, the ballstud isn't supposed to be pulled out of the housing. That's bad. It's not safety critical, but you could tell a difference when you turn. Your car would roll more. So, that needs to be replaced. And to think...I write 14 pages thinking of every possible failure for a part like this...

Vacation

2008-08-27T23:04:00.001-04:00

I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow until September 2nd. That means no posting during that time, unless I get bored while in South Carolina. I don't think that will happen though, because I never seem to have enough time there.

Bye!

Mail to ME Please

2008-08-24T22:55:00.002-04:00

I'm declaring this week "send David mail week". I've been getting an awful lot of store advertisements and decided instead of that and bills, I'd like REAL hand written addressed letters and/or postcards from people. With real, peel and stick stamps (the lickable ones are OK too). So, can you make it happen?

If you're a complete stranger from some random place that reads this blog, I will be happy to give you my address in exchange for mail.

Thank you.

Good Sunday

2008-08-24T19:12:00.003-04:00

I met a girl names Anna today, in the best way you can meet someone. More on that later.

I had a really nice weekend in general. Maybe the weekend was so good because last week at work was a bad start, but either way I'm very thankful for the past 2 days.

Yesterday I went to Lake St. Clair with some people from work. I haven't been on a boat in years. It was fun to go out into the lake and see what Michigan water was like. I got to swim, and I got some sun.

Today I slept a little later than planned. I was exhausted, so I missed church today. I went outside and did a little yardwork, and then went to the grocery store to get some things. After I got back and made something to eat, I laid down on the couch to read. I'm reading "The Catcher In The Rye" right now before we start the next bookclub book. I read for a little, then shut my eyes for about 15 minutes.

I decided I should take Walter to downtown Plymouth (about 1.5 miles from me). I walked there because it was nice out today and Walter needed to be worn out. I walked around the town square and got Walter some water from the Dairy King. I walked back to the square and thought this would be a perfect environment to meet someone in, just randomly in a park. Like a movie.

I sat on a bench and started to read my book. Walter laid down on the ground. I looked up and noticed a girl sitting on a blanket with a dog. She had a notebook and looked like she might have been sketching, or maybe writing. I glanced up every now and then, to see what she was doing. She looked like a beatnick, with bracelets and shorter hair. She had a nice smile. After watching her for a while, I decided she looked approachable so I walked over to her blanket and asked if it was ok for Walter to visit with her dog. She said sure, but her dog was old and sort of shy. So I just talked to her for a little bit, I think we started talking about dog stuff, like how old Walter was. She was nice, and could hold a conversation. Good. So, I decided I would go ahead and walk back. When I turned to leave she said "what book are you reading?". Interest! I turned back and told her, and then we started to talk about it, because she had read it. I sat down on the grass beside her blanket and we just started talking about everything. She had a Bible on her blanket, and somehow we started to talk about religion and she goes to the church I do sometimes. We talked for a long time, about all sorts of things. She was as inquisitive as I am, if not more. I love that. She's a vegetarian. She goes to U of M Dearborn. She's the youngest of 4 children. She grew up in Canton. She loves to travel. Her birthday is September 1st. She's going to Nebraska with family for her birthday. She has a dream to randomly take food from a stranger's plate, eat it, and run away. She's 3 years younger than me. I like her. She seems spontaneous and lively.

She perked up after a while and said she could really use some ice cream. I asked her if she wanted to walk and get some. We walked back to the Dairy King and got ice cream, and sat outside with our dogs talking more. I think our conversation mostly consisted of religion, about what we do in different situations. We walked more and more around downtown. She asked me what time it was and we realized we had been walking around for 3.5 hours. We decided to part ways. We exchanged e-mail addresses and said we'd go eat Indian food together sometime. It was really, really nice to meet someone like that. It's pretty easy to know right off the bat, or with a few sentences if you'll get along with someone.

So, I will e-mail her sometime this week and see if we can get together. But, just knowing there's someone out there like that is re-assuring. Being able to just talk to a stranger and hit it off like that is amazing.

It was a nice feeling.

Case of Mondays

2008-08-18T21:20:00.004-04:00

I lost my temper at work today. I'll be honest, the "newness" has worn off after a little over a year now. I still like the job a lot, but the politics are a little clearer now. I'd say ignorance is bliss is a true saying, because once you learn more...you start to form an opinion on certain things. I felt like a ping pong ball today, being bounced between our manufacturing plant and the design center. Over something superficial and downright petty.

When I had enough, I raised my voice and told a few people I was pretty sure there are 3rd graders out there with more maturity, and I'm done dealing with petty garbage. I'm just ready for a vacation - or get away for a while because I want a break from some of this.

Anyway, I'm done with that for now. The weekend was really nice having mom and dad visit. I think we got a lot of great work done. They were also nice enough to get me a grill, a patio table with chairs, an area rug, and some yard tools for the garage. They were all very much appreciated. We landscaped the front and side of the house, and mom painted the living room and dining room. Saturday dad and I went to the Woodward Cruise, which is an event with around 1 million people (seriously) driving classic cars up and down Woodward Avenue from Detroit to Birmingham. It was really interesting to see all the people and all the cars.

I go to Subaru in Indiana Wednesday and Thursday this week. I'm looking forward to it actually. Getting out of the office for 1.5 days is what I'm looking forward to and dealing with a good customer is nice.

Oh, and another thing I just remembered. Tomorrow night I start going to a small group through church. I'm looking forward to doing that. It's a group of 6 guys, ages 21-28 who meet once a week to do a Bible study and hang out. I'm really hoping it will be a good opportunity and praying that it's a good group for me to fit into. I suppose I'll have more on that later.

This video is a good rendition of what my day was like.

Me

2008-08-12T22:19:00.003-04:00

I was wondering how other people would describe me. You know when you hear someone talk about another person, and they describe them, or their personalities...what they like or dislike about them, etc. Tonight I went rock climbing with Paul from work and the phrase he used to describe me was "puppies and sunshine" and then his wife chimed in and said "and you fart rainbows". I thought that was interesting. I think people think I'm much more innocent than I really am.

Down By The Dunes

2008-08-10T10:51:00.004-04:00

"So how do you and your brother Mac like it down by the dunes?". That's what Will Ferrell asked Rae Murphy (Molly Shannon) in a Saturday Night Live skit once. The dunes are amazing!

The western part of Michigan along Lake Michigan has miles and miles of large sand dunes. It can take you up to 3 hours to walk to the water in some of the largest places. I went with 2 people from work yesterday to Silver Lake Dunes. We met another mutual friend at a campground since they were staying for the whole weekend. We all decided to rent Jeeps for 3 hours and drive all around the dunes. The experience was pretty interesting. The dunes were packed with all sorts of 4-wheelers, dirtbikes, big foots, and some people in random SUV's driving all around the dunes. Take a look at these pictures. I made sure to document the whole dune experience.

We did have a little mis-hap though. At the peak of the dunes, there is a steep drop off from where the wind blows the sand to the peak, and then it levels back out. If you're going really fast, you'll jump the peak and bottom out. That happened to us. Another Jeep also did this, but they did it so hard they went airborne. There was a representative from the rental company out watching all the rental Jeeps and he stopped us and told us we were not on a baja-trip, but a tour and to cool it. He said this was a warning and if he caught us again we'd loose the deposit. So that put a damper on things. After that we didn't really drive much more, so we walked along the beach on Lake Michigan and watched people climb up the really high dune.

This past week at work was very annoying and frustrating. I'm ready for a vacation...a long vacation.

Thank You, Chrysler

2008-08-04T23:08:00.003-04:00

Today was interesting. I met Paul at work at 6:00 AM to make the 4.5 hour drive to Shelbyville, IN to visit a supplier. Our rental car was dropped off Friday afternoon so it would be ready this morning. So there it was, a 2008 Chrysler Sebring with only 13,000 miles on it. I drove it for about 1.5 hours until we met up with another guy from work at a Park and Ride. We picked him up, and drove the rest of the way.

On the way back today, all was going well. I even took a nap in the car. Right before we entered back into Michigan the car suddenly lurched forward and the warning chime came on. The check engine light was on. The car went into some sort of "limp" mode because it wouldn't down-shift and had no acceleration at all. It started shuttering really bad and the check engine light started flashing and the chime kept binging. So I looked in the owner's manual and it said if the check engine light flashes, the car should not be driven because severe catalytic converter damage could occur. Oh well, it's not my car and Enterprise shouldn't buy junk. So we kept driving it. In our defense...would it be wiser to pull over on the side of the road and wait for help, or drive to a dealer? I think drive to a dealer. The car was under warranty anyway so it's not like the damage wouldn't be paid for by someone other than Chrysler.

When we got back to Michigan we pulled back into the Park and Ride lot and I suggested shutting the car off, and re-starting it to see if the error message cleared itself (I thought the car just mis-fired and got confused). So we shut it off, and when we went back to start it the car just cranked and cranked and cranked and I finally floored the gas and it started rough. Paul was nervous about driving the car anymore. So next to the lot, there was a Chrysler dealer. We drove the car over (it was around 7:00 PM now) and asked them to pull the code so we could find out if we should keep going back to Detroit in it or not. Well, the car never set a code. It just said "Fault". When they started the car, something was REALLY wrong. The car was knocking and shuttering and would almost stall, then rev really high, then shutter and act like it would die. The service manager said he would NOT advise us driving this car anymore and to call Enterprise. So we called Enterprise, but the office was closed so we couldn't get another car. So...a taxi ended up taking us the rest of the way back. I finally got home at 10:00 PM. A long day, and a junky car.

What I Did This Weekend

2008-08-03T22:14:00.003-04:00

I think I accomplished a lot this weekend. As I sit here relaxing now I have a sense of accomplishment. Saturday I helped my friend Bill from work fix his windshield wipers on his car, and then he came over and helped me finish the electrical outlets in my house. They have all been changed out now. We both got shocked, again. For some reason random outlets are not on the same circuits as the rest in the room, so you get a nice suprise when you touch the bare outlet. It doesn't hurt, but just suprises you. It takes around a second or two for your brain to register that the feeling you are experiencing is you being shocked, and you should let go. Bill got it pretty bad, I heard his yell quiver as the juice was going through him.

Today I completely pulled up all the ground cover in the front of the house to prepare for some landscaping that's going to happen when mom and dad come. I left the small trees, but pulled up all the garbage and weeds. It looks better. Then, I came inside and painted the small bedroom. The result is below. I'm very pleased, I think it came out amazing.

Where did I get that really cool black chair you ask? I'm glad you did. I bought that today for $20....$20!!! It was the last day of a yard sale and everything was half off. Baaaaargain.

I like my Honda a lot, but I swear, for a car that is bigger than my Saturn it sure doesn't hold odd things like my Saturn could. I think the Saturn had larger doors and a larger trunk opening, because I remember fitting some pretty large/odd things in that car. The Honda just can't really hold much. It has lots of interior space, but the openings are small. When I bought that chair and tried to load it in the car I got really scared because it wouldn't go in the trunk, and not in the back seat. Finally I pushed the passenger seat back as far as it would go and then laid it down, and shoved the chair in. So I got it home. It had cat hair all over it I had to vacuum up, but for $20 I'm happy. It's a great chair to read in and is very comfortable.

Bill brainstormed turning the living room into a theatre with a projector and movie screen. I like that idea...a LOT. Maybe with more money...

Maple Me Crazy

2008-07-31T21:58:00.004-04:00

I've been doing a lot of outside work on my house lately. It's a slow process. Very slow. There are so many weeds. Tiny, little weeds that take forever to pull up. You should see some of the root systems on these weeds too. I like laughing when I pull them up though because although the root system is large, it's really pretty weak and chinsy. They're fun to pull up.

I have a really nice plan for the front of my house. A Japanese theme. You wouldn't think that would fit Michigan, but it will. Another house in my neighborhood has a Japanese themed front and it looks really great. When I say Japanese themed I mean lots of rock, and small pruned trees. I got my inspiration from two small trees that are already in front of the house that look Japanese like. Then, I saw a gorgous red tree that looked like a marijuana plant outside of a house and found out it was a Japanese Maple. Look!

Today after work I needed to get some things at Home Depot and they didn't have any Japanese Maples. I went to a nursery close by and they had about 20 of them. The problem is Japanese Maples are really expensive. The cheapest they had was $99. Luckily my dad is able to get one for me from a lady he knows. So I can hopefully get a free one. I'm excited about that and the landscape work to come.

This weekend I'm hoping to paint the small bedroom and finish up changing out the electrical outlets. This blog is becoming like a home improvement blog, but I guess I can post about other things next time. Stay tuned.

No AC

2008-07-27T19:20:00.004-04:00

I saw this article on Google about what to do if you don't have AC in your car. I think these are just stupid. You should pay the money to get your AC fixed, or sell your car and buy one with AC - plain and simple. A block of ice on your floorboard? I don't think so.

What to do if you don't have AC in your car

Some Pictures

2008-07-27T15:08:00.007-04:00

I decided to post a few pictures of the rooms I've painted so far in my house. I've done the family room, dining room, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms. I still have the living room, hallway, bathroom, and one bedroom left to do. Hopefully you like it, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

I'm Back

2008-07-24T18:58:00.001-04:00

So many things have happened since I last posted! First off, I didn't get internet until this past Tuesday so that's why there was no posting.

I have internet now, so I can post. I guess since the last time I posted I have officially moved in my house and am now living here. This past weekend Paul and Lindsey came up to visit and made it one of the best weekends ever. I had my housewarming party this past Friday night and a huge number of people showed up. Some people I didn't even know. I'd say there were around 30 people here at any given time. It was a lot of fun though.

I'm going to have to start posting some before and after pictures of rooms in my house. I have painted 2 bedrooms, the family room, and the dining room. I still have to finish the kitchen, living room, hallway, and small bedroom.

I've also been doing some outside work with the yard and landscaping. I want to plant a small Japanese maple in the front of the house. They stay pretty tiny and I think they look really cool.

I'll post more later, but I am back.

Green is Go

2008-07-11T23:57:00.003-04:00

The green bedrooms are staying. I was going to paint them darker tonight, but realized do I really want to spend $60 and 10 hours or so going a shade darker? You're right: NO.

So they look good now. I think it will really become whole once my furniture is there. I move in tomorrow, by the way. The inside is starting to come together now. I have the family room painted in a warm grey with white trim. The fireplace looks awesome there with the grey brick around.

Tomorrow I will be taking pictures to show you the fruits of my labor.

I Though Being Green Was Good

2008-07-08T23:03:00.003-04:00

The green idea in the bedroom is a mixed one. Nobody will flat out say they don't like it, and I think I've only had ONE truly positive comment. What I get in person is them walking around, and then a "hmm, it's kinda limey" or "hmm...it looks really bright in this light" or something to that effect. The reactions I get in person are someone basically walking around, and thinking VERY carefully about their response. They have to think how to plan a response that sounds neutral. So now when someone walks in one of the green rooms I just watch their face to see what they think. Those response that AREN'T really responses are the worst. Examples:

"It's green alright"
"It's different"
"It's bright"
"Well, you could change it later" - that's the WORST

I honestly don't know how I feel about it. Looking back, I wish I wouldn't have taken Paul's wife's advice and gone a shade lighter than I originally wanted. Even though I may be colorblind I can still pick stuff out. I've been to their house and all their colors were pale. I like a little darker. I may go darker.

I'm honestly still convinced once I have my dark brown/black furniture in there it will all come together. Blank rooms always look scary, to me atleast. The family room is coming along in grey with white trim. It's not as daring, so I think I'll have a more positive response.

All I know is this house isn't going to have any white walls. I saw Terissa today and told her she needed to come take a look and she smirked and said "I'm nervous for you". I asked her why and she said "well, you're colorblind and picked out colors...that's scary David" and then she walked away. Ooof.

I Need Your Opinion Below, But Here Are More Pictures

2008-07-06T19:52:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the living room and one of the hallway looking down towards the bedrooms. This will all be painted "classic taupe". Behr lists this color as the most popular in all regions of the country. A nice deep beige looks really classy and clean to me. With white trim to make it pop ofcourse...

What's Your Opinion?

2008-07-06T19:43:00.004-04:00

I've spent a lot of time painting. I'm taking my time, because I want my house to look good...fabulous actually. I took a BIG gamble with 2 bedrooms. I wanted a green with white trim, if you remember. Paul's bedroom looked really good in green. I had originally picked out a darker, more deep olive green, but was told by a wife of a co-worker (she came over and looked at the lighting) to go a shade lighter, since my rooms are dark because of large trees that shade the windows. So, I went with "grass cloth". I spent 2 days doing 2 bedrooms. One of them is 12 x 10, and the other is 13 x 10. When I first applied the paint I flipped out because it looked neon green. It dried darker, and in the back bedroom is turned out really good (I think). The front bedroom is a little lighter, so the green looks lighter in there.

I'm mixed. Sometimes I walk in the bedrooms and think it looks really vibrant and good, and then other times I walk in and think it's a nursery or it's way too loud for a bedroom. Here are some pictures. Tell me what you think...honestly!

..."To Make it Pop"

2008-07-01T22:09:00.002-04:00

I'm a homeowner now. It feels more real and exciting as each day goes by. It feels so real because I got the first water bill in the mail today: $334. Apparantly the lady who lived here didn't think she needed to pay her water bills, and racked up $198 in late charges. The water bill comes every 3 months and includes water, sewer, trash pickup, yard waste pickup, and recycling, so $130 or so is pretty reasonable I think.

I have really nice neighbors on both sides of me (so far, I think). One set (Joe and Marge) are in their late 60's and have been living there for 30 years. I think that's a good neighbor to have (to keep an eye on the house). The other set is in their late 30's or so with 2 girls, around 11 and 13 if I had to guess. I can't remember their names though.

So far I've mowed the lawn and cleaned the gutters. The yard is bad, really bad. The landscaping and lawn needs major work. I also patched a hole in the wall tonight. It was the size of a broom handle, and it was in the dining room. I was really proud of myself. It took me an hour or so, but that's because every time I smoothed it out I thought I could do it a little better if I did it once more, and that became a cycle of insanity so I stopped after it was level and smooth. I also sanded down some other patches that were done previously.

I'm excited about painting. I have some paint colors picked out. I want to do the living room, kitchen, dining, and bathroom in a light brown/beige color. The family room I'd like to go with a light grey. For the bedrooms I'd like to do an olive green color (the one I picked is called Guacomole) for 2 of the bedrooms, and then a blue/grey color for the really small room. White trim throughout to make it "pop". I love the floors in this house too. The living room/hall/bedrooms are a light natural oak color with thinner planks.

If you have any paint ideas let me know! Don't let me know if it's yellow though, because I don't like that.

Are you wondering how the game convention was in Ohio. Let me just say that Ohio (yet again) is a collection of NUTS. Being in Ohio is bad, being a game convention just exacerbates the weirdness of those people. Seeing grown adults dressed up having sword fights and rolling around on the ground is sad...very sad.

Short and Sweet

2008-06-30T06:53:00.002-04:00

I got the Pokemon of the week updated (a good one too) but didn't have time to post worth anything last night. I'll be back later today for an update.

Tomorrow's the Big Day

2008-06-26T21:52:00.002-04:00

Gosh I haven't posted in a long time. The summer will do that to you. That and buying a house.

Tonight is my last night of not owning a home. Tomorrow, I officially become a home owner. That's a scary thought but it's exciting at the same time. I think this makes you grow up really fast, owning a home. The responsiblity seems to be overwhelming. I'm looking forward to the challenge though.

I'm taking a half day at work tomorrow. I'm going to do a final walkthrough of the house and the closing is at 12:00 PM. This weekend I'm going to the land of the weird (Ohio). Dan and Terissa and I are going to meet Alex in Columbus for a board game expo. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and there will be lots of fun games to play.

The first thing I have to do with my house is patch a few spaces in the walls and do some painting. I will be moving in very slowly. Housewarming gifts are always welcome...because I'll need lots!

Maybe you're wondering about what happened with that email at work? Nothing. My boss brought it up jokingly, but didn't make a big deal about it and nothing ever happened. That was scary though.

I'll post back after I have my new house!

Damage Control

2008-06-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

Something really bad happened at work Friday. Let me start off by saying that if something SHOULD go wrong, it will for me. If I take a chance on something, I usually get the blunt end of things. That's what I've noticed in my 24 years so far.

Friday a guy I work with was sending me e-mails joking around since I wouldn't go to lunch with them. I kept replying back, saying things like he better watch himself, he was going to get kicked, etc. Well I had an email window open from a co-worker in Japan. My manager, account manager, and a few others (all internal) were copied in this email. I accidentally replied back to the email to Japan instead of my co-worker. Basically it said to watch himself, that he was going to be drop-kicked and to wear a helmet if he wants to leave work alive. Yep, that's bad. It went to the entirely wrong audience. Someone sitting beside me was copied on the email and an hour later asked "what in the WORLD did you send to Japan"? Then the panic set in. Tools, options, recall message. The bad thing is recalling a message does nothing. So I wrote an apology email, called my manager and explained the situation, and panicked. I thought about what would happen if I lost my job. Mainly I'm upset because I have what I think is a good reputation at work and I don't want some stupid email to ruin that.

Another thing I've learned in 24 years is that people remember the good you do, but people REALLY remember the ONE wrong thing you do. So it's hard to make up for it. My co-workers all thought it was hilarious, mainly for the irony of the fact that I'm wound so tight and the one time I do joke around it backfires on me. Others said it was awesome and I'd get more respect when people see I mess around every once in a while. Either way I'm a little worried and I hope nothing serious happens. I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Today I also lost my debit card. I mean, I know where I left it (at the ATM) and it's gone. So I called and got that cancelled. It's wonderful how Chase tries to get you to apply for a credit card while you call their lost card hotline. That's another reminder for me to leave Chase - horrible.

So that's about it. Be thinking about me, and my job. I really don't want to get in trouble...and I hope it all just goes away and nobody makes a huge fuss over it.

Boring

2008-06-17T22:02:00.003-04:00

So there is really not much interesting to talk about. In fact, today was a very blah day. I got to work, had a phone conference, sat around for a while, went to lunch, came back, did some work, and that's how it went.

I'm not sure if I'm becoming more used to work, or what, but these past 2 weeks have honestly been very boring. I haven't felt challenged lately so the learning curve seems to by dying off some. It's funny because when I first started and was learning at such a fast pace I wanted it to slow down so I could catch my breath. Well now I'm rested and ready for it to pick back up. It's not that I don't HAVE work to do, it's that the design portion of the work is done, but the production doesn't start for another year so I have to be available for changes, back up, etc. In the meantime though I need something to work on for a quotation or something...

So after that blah day at work I came home and had more blah. I did go to the gym after work though. Then I went to Target, came back and read on the couch and actually just laid there for a minute becuase I thought I would fall asleep.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to go back to South Carolina for the 4th of July or go down to Indianapolis and hang out with Matt. I think I have decided on Indianapolis for a few reasons: 1) money 2) time. I'll be going back to South Carolina eventually to pick Walter up in August or so I assume, so buying a plane ticket to go there isn't really such a good idea, especially since I need money for the house.

Here's hoping tomorrow isn't so blah...

A Sunday Update

2008-06-15T10:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the home inspection for the house it seems like I'll be getting. Overall everything checked out OK. For some reason only 3 of the 4 burners on the furnace would ignite so the inspector suggested a heating and cooling specialist come take a look at it and give it a tune up. I didn't know you could tune furnaces up, but I guess you can.

There were a few other things also, like an exposed wire outside that needed to be taped up, and the driveway had settled some so it wasn't exactly level. That's expensive to replace and not very important to me.

I didn't have to pay for the inspection either which was nice, my agent covered that. So things are moving along and the closing of the house is scheduled for the end of this month.

I haven't really done much at all this weekend, it's been pretty boring/dull. I've done a lot of reading. Yesterday I played 2 games over at Alex's. I guess that's really about it. I miss Walter a LOT and wish he were here to take on walks and get me outside. I hope I can get him back very soon.

FOUND

2008-06-12T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today was a rollercoaster day. It started out good because I found my W2 this morning. Then at work someone starting mouthing off to me about buying a *Japanese* car. I don't deal well with ignorance in the morning so that made work get off to a bad start. The rest of the day at work was just boring and dull. Not a fun day.

But tonight was a special game night. Alex picked out "Wealth of Nations" which is a game of Economics. One must choose an area of a market to specialize in, try to obtain a monopoly in that market, and keep prices of things like food, power, etc. high. It's VERY strategic and involves no luck at all (not even a dice roll). So Paul, you probably wouldn't be good at it.

Overall he made us read the directions before we came tonight so we could get right to playing. The game lasted about 4.5 hours but it went by SO fast. I have NEVER felt such intense nervousness while playing a game in my life. My hand was visibly shaking at one point. Halfway through the game I mis-calculated a production phase and earned no money, and was barely keeping my head above water. I actually came out tied for 2nd which I was REALLY happy with. Alex only won by 4 points (He was at 111 and Dan and I tied at 107). I'm just happy I didn't hear any dumb comments about my strategy and scared them a little.

LOST

2008-06-10T23:20:00.002-04:00

I absolutely hate it when you can't find something you know you have. I'm looking for my 2007 W2 for the home loan application. I know where I put it, in this big manila envelope marked "taxes". I put that big tax envelope with other important things, in a box. I moved. I go down into the basement to find the big tax envelope and *poof* it disappeared. All the other important things where there, but no tax envelope.

That kind of stuff drives me up the wall, literally.

What You've Been Waiting For

2008-06-08T22:11:00.004-04:00

The Pokemon of The Week is a good one this week, if you ask me. While finding this Pokemon of The Week I learned that this particular PT Cruiser was given away in some sort of contest. What is important to know, is that someone from OHIO of all places won this car. If you've read this blog or know me at all, you know what I think of people from OHIO. They all have a few screws loose in one way or another, for good or bad. It's fitting, that this car goes to someone from OHIO though. It doesn't belong in any other state.

This weekend was LOT of fun, mainly because of Saturday. I spent the day with a few other people from work at Ford's Proving Grounds for an SAE conference. The morning was a panel discussion about Engineering for a Sustainable Future. Speakers were there from Ford, GM, Tesla, and Toyota. The afternoon is where the real fun happened. We spend about 4 hours on their test track doing anything imaginable in cars WE got to drive. There were 9 events, and they shuttled groups all around the proving grounds to different drive events. We started driving Ford Fusions on a wet track to test the car's stability under wet roads. Then we drove Ford Taurus's through a slalom course. I LOVED getting in the car and being told to get the car to 60 MPH as fast as I could, and take it around a hairpin turn, with the rear end sliding around. Next, we took Ford Edges/Lincoln MKX's through a slalom course. This time I was driving it much more agressively and this event was REALLY fun because of the high center of gravity. The rear end of the MKX I was driving started to slide around in one turn which was so much fun.

The next set of events had the best one of all. It was titled "Giddy Up Mustang". They had drivers for us, and 4 Bullet Mustangs - with V8's and manual transmissions. We had to wear helmets and the drivers asked "How comfortable do you feel being more aggressive?" I told him to be as aggressive as he could, that I wouldn't be scared. It was AMAZING. The car was powersliding around turns and we got air as we went over hills. So much fun. They also had Ford Escapes/Mercury Mariner/Mazda Tribute Hybrid SUV's for us to take around slalom courses. I actually got to drive one with just me and the instructor, and he said he didn't care what I did as long as I didn't hit cones so I drove that one very hard through the course.

The last set of events was made up of high speed driving on a banked track and rough road testing (potholes, cobblestones, etc.). I got to drive the new Ford Flex (the crossover my stabi-link will be on). The high speed driving was made up of a Ford F-150, Flex, Lincoln MKS, and 2 Ford Focuses. There were no instructors present in the cars for the high speed course, you just filled the car with kids and drove the track following a pace car. I got in one of the Ford Focuses with 3 other guys. I was in the backseat and noticed a loud roar from the tires. I learned why. The guy driving got on the backside of the track, and slowed the car way down to get space ahead of him. He was in a spot where the control tower couldn't see him. He punched the gas and got the car up to 90 MPH then yanked up on the emergency brake. The rear tires locked and the car started fishtailing down the course. That was a little scary and definately not allowed. I can imagine the tires on that Focus had a bunch of flat spots in them. Apparantly, those 3 guys had been taking turns driving and doing that to the car the whole time.

It was an AMAZING opportunity though to be at the proving grounds and see how cars are tested. The best part was it was free.

Today I did much of nothing, except for grocery shopping, car washing, and laundry. It was a nice "me" day.

The *maybe* house seems to be more "it will happen" now. The price has been agreed upon by the bank and I (although a little higher than I originally thought). The closing is supposedly supposed to be at the end of this month which is WAY sooner than I thought. I'm nervous, excited, and I guess some other things I'm not sure of yet. The emotions come and go. Sometimes I think it's scary and I shouldn't do it, but mostly that goes away when I know living in an apartment is an absolute waste of time and money (in my opinion). It will be an adventure, for sure.

One thing I do know is that I love one of Dan's cats: Harley. She is not like any other cat I've met. She comes when you call her, she's extremely affectionate, and she doesn't act ungrateful or hateful like most cats. She's gotten so close with me that I let her sleep up on my bed. This was her today, taking a nap. I'm going to miss her.

Looney Tunes

2008-06-04T21:56:00.001-04:00

I wanted to laugh when I got back from Subaru at 9:00 tonight, so I watched this to get a good laugh in. It always does it. "Hmmm mmmm!"

Until Tomorrow

2008-06-03T21:45:00.004-04:00

I had this long post typed out, then got an error message when I went to post it. On top of that my cell phone randomly decides when it wants to let me talk. So I'm done with technology tonight. Goodnight.

Haiti and Pikmin

2008-06-01T16:29:00.002-04:00

This is a Pikmin. A red Pikmin. Remember that, I'll come back to it.

At church today we talked about guarding your heart. The pastor talked about being in Haiti on a mission trip. I've never been to Haiti, but I've heard it's a disgusting and filthy with no order, and that they've destroyed all their natural resources. It's a Francophone country, if that gives you a clue...

Anyway the pastor was dicussing when in Haiti he felt overwhelmed because of the large number of non-Christians there. He told us he had NEVER in his life witnessed a "hard heart" when someone said "We should just leave these people alone - this is a lost cause". Ouch.

Ouch to me! This is where that little red Pikmin comes in. When he said that it reminded me of Pikmin. Basically in this game, you are a space captain who crash lands on a planet, and Pikmin are little creatures who help you collect pieces of your ship (or treasures). They are essentially migrant workers. I sometimes called them little Mexicans. Well for the MOST part they were well behaved and listened to my orders. There would however be that ONE ignorant one who would wander astray and try to attack a predator all by himself. By doing that, he would make other Pikmin join in. Why would something only a few millimeters tall try to attack something 20 times its size? Dumb that's why. So when that would happen, I'd walk off and let the 10 Pikmin or so who decided not to obey die for punishment. They should have listened to me. By the end of the game I had lost 1,098 Pikmin. I like to think of that 1,098 as the number of Pikmin who decided to be dumb and kill themselves.

So, is this the same as the Haiti/hard heart reference? Of course not, it's a video game. It just reminded me is all.

I got some news on my *maybe* house last Friday. The case has been assigned to someone at the seller's bank so the process is moving along. Juanita said this normally takes 30 days to do so I guess the process is moving along a little faster than originally planned.

Crysta my car is doing well. I LOVE this car so far. Driving it is a dream and I wish I had enough money to buy another one to keep pristine so in 10 years I can swap over to that one. I think this is the best Honda to date because of looks, gas mileage, and the way it drives. The size is just perfect. It's also denoted as a "ULEV" vehicle which stands for Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle. That's probably just a marketing gimmick because all new cars probably pollute the same but the sticker looks cool and makes me look good with the environmentalists.

Look at the Pokemon of the week. That is probably the MOST unique name I've ever seen for a Pokmeon.

I Like Ike, I Mean Work

2008-05-29T22:54:00.003-04:00

I like where I work. A lot. We have an activities comittee that plans events once a month. This month was the Pinewood Derby. Today was the Pinewood Derby Race. I worked on 2 cars. One car (the engineering car) I worked on didn't do so hot, despite the fact that we spent hours working on it. Sanding, painting, applying lube, putting on tungsten powder for weights, complex woodwork etc. The other car I worked on was with two people who aren't engineers. We just took the block of wood out of the box, painted it black, put wheels on, put teflon lube on the axles, added the maximum weight allowed, and sent it out to the heat. That car took 5th, believe it or not.

Work is fun though. I also found out today my design for Subaru passed it's final testing which is very good. I'll be making a trip to Indiana sometime soon to present my results.

I'm moved into the new place in Plymouth. I have to go to inspection tomorrow at my old apartment. I would like all of that security deposit back. I don't have too many plans for this weekend. Saturday I'm taking someone from our Japan office to the Henry Ford Museum.

I think I'm going to give Crysta a bath tomorrow.

iFoundIt

2008-05-27T23:50:00.003-04:00

I love how we put "i" in front of things. iPod, iPhone, iTunes, iHate It, and the best "i" ever that I discovered today? iGoogle. I bet you've already seen it, or heard of it but I haven't before today. iGoogle makes the perfect homepage. I modded mine out to have a really great skin, along with my local weather, calendar, movie schedules, GMail inbox, and Youtube videos. I don't know how long this has been around, and why I haven't heard of it until now, but I like it.

Speaking of things I like, I REALLY like my new car. I borrowed a Chevrolet Trailblazer this afternoon to move boxes into my new crib, and yuck. Not only was that thing a gas hog, but it felt really sloppy and worn out with only 43,000 miles on it. After I was finished and got back into Crysta I felt where I belonged, in the tight seat of a zippy little Atomic Blue Civic with a warm blue glow of LED's behind the instrument panel. She sips gas too, unlike that Trailblazer that ate $20.00 and only gained 1/4 tank.

Oh Hi, I'm Back

2008-05-26T22:44:00.003-04:00

I made it back to Michigan. A week off from posting was more than called for, if you're asking. I had such a good time with family and friends. On Thursday I got my first brand new car, a 2008 Atomic Blue Honda Civic LX. Her name is Crysta. Thursday night Paul paid for me to take a REALLY good nap during Indiana Jones. The movie was good (from what I rememeber) but what I remember most was being full from dinner, and warm, and I was out! It was a good nap though, and I don't take them often. On Friday I went with dad to do all the DMV/tax stuff that goes along with buying a new car. Friday night I spent the night with Paul and Kiki, along with Saturday night. Saturday I went to Highlands, NC with the family. It was nice spending the day with them. Sunday I went to NewSpring. Besides family and friends, that church is the 3rd biggest thing I miss about South Carolina.

My new car is fantastic. I have no complaints at all. The buying experience wasn't so great, but I got what I wanted it just took being rude and forceful which I don't like to do, but WILL do when people act stupid and don't do what they're supposed to. On the way back to Michigan I filled up with gas twice. The first time I filled up was in Kentucky (I only used 1/2 tank) and I got 41 MPG. I then filled up in Toledo, OH and got 42 MPG. That is amazing for the car. It's larger than my Saturn, more powerful, has more safety features and gets the same/slightly better gas mileage. I'm very happy with it so far. What's ironic is that my Saturn broke down 2 days after my parents got it. The starter went bad. I told them it was sold as-is...no warranty.

The next few days are going to be pretty busy with unpacking and moving boxes since I have moved out of my apartment and to Plymouth.

Random Musak

2008-05-20T21:22:00.005-04:00

There is something about driving in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. The radio is actually music, with no talking. I picture some DJ walking out at 1:00 AM and putting on a continuous track with the most random music possible, and then at 6:00 AM (maybe 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning) it goes back to normal when the morning crew comes in. There are a few instances where I remember random songs that stuck out:

1) Cake - Never There
2) Shawn Colvin - Sonny Came Home

I remember these from waking up in the middle of the night while riding in a car, probably to Florida. I had another instance this past Saturday while taking Alex and his brother to the airport. They had to be there at 8:30 so we left at 7:45 AM. That's not TOO early, but it is for Saturday which explains why this song came on:

It is a very catchy song to drive to on I-275 though!

Fair Warning

2008-05-18T21:14:00.006-04:00

My posting this week is more than likely going to be slim and sporadic for a few reasons: 1) I'm in the process of moving - I am standing up typing this at my kitchen counter because I have no chair 2) I'm going to South Carolina Wednesday 3) I'm buying my new car Thursday My party Friday went very well and I couldn't have asked for better. I had a really good turnout and everyone was good about bringing things so I didn't have to worry about taking care of everyone else. I'm uploading a video here that I took at the party of someone doing an impression of Rihanna and Ms. Swan. She's talented. My legs are tired now. Bye.

Magic Party

2008-05-15T17:32:00.001-04:00

I wish I could find these magic plates for my party tomorrow, since May is the month of magic. The party will surely be magical. I was a little skeptical at first getting mixed confirmations from people, but this week the party has just blossomed. People at work have been talking about it and today my head count was at 22 confirmed. I'm not sure how we're all going to fit in 800 square feet, so we might extend the party to the bedroom too.

I'm really looking forward to it!

Potential Good News (60 Days Age Time)

2008-05-14T22:02:00.003-04:00

I have some good news. It's good news so far, and in 60 days it could still be good or maybe not. The news is that my real estate agent showed me a really great house in Plymouth 2 Saturdays ago - the best house I've seen so far (I think I've looked at 15 or so). The house was priced well, and was a "short sale" which basically means the sellers are going to have to foreclose if they don't sell soon. The catch is they owe more on the house than what they can sell it for, so it goes something like this (in my own paraphrasing method).

Seller: OMG: I have to sell this house for (x) reason, and I can't sell it for what I owe on it...I might have to foreclose.

Bank: We can forgive the debt you owe if you can sell the house, because we don't want to foreclose - maybe - but you're going to have to prove it to us by filling out lots and lots of paperwork - but it's still better than us taking your house.

Seller: I will sell it for the best I can and tell you what I sold it for.

Bank: OK, then we will decide if we want you to sell it for that much and forgive (x) amount of debt.

So that's how it is. Basically Juanita (she's my realtor) threw out the idea of placing a REALLY lowball offer ($50,000 less than asking). She asked for 6% seller concessions too (another $10,000). She plays hardball, but she's justified while doing it - that's why I like her. So I talked to Mom and Dad, and decided to go ahead with the offer having the attitude of "I'll see what happens, I'm 90% sure they won't go for it". The day I signed the offer letter she presented it, and had an answer for me that night. The sellers countered, which I was sure they were going to do, but they countered NOWHERE near what I thought they would. I'll save the actual numbers for later (if it actually works) but feel free to ask me, because I don't care.

So I ran numbers, found out that a mortgage for this house (with taxes and insurance) would be about $350 more per month than my current apartment. I would have a garage, a yard, a piece of property, a nice house, 2 more bedrooms, a basement, and a Plymouth address. Worth it? For me it is. I'm tired of this renting garbage. I haven't had a "home" since I left for college and I'm ready for something more permanent.

At this point the seller accepted my acceptance of the counter offer and the paperwork is going to the bank. I've been told short sales take about 60 days to process (which puts me into July for an answer) then another 30 days to actually close and move in (which puts me into August). That fits in with my original plan and I would get the house for about $15,000 less than the average home price in Plymouth. Here's a picture of the house. It's cookie cutter yes, but the neighborhood is wonderful, the school district is probably one of the best in Metro Detroit, and Plymouth made the 37th best place to live in the U.S. this year.

So we shall see what happens. If it's meant to be it will happen. If not, then no. I'm not excited yet because a LOT can happen. I'm sure I'll give updates (but I have 2 months to wait - so that's not so exciting to post about).

About This Party

2008-05-12T22:24:00.001-04:00

I'm having a party this Friday for being in Michigan for one year. A lot of friends from work are coming and some others too. I went shopping tonight for that party. And it was expensive. Who knew it would be so much, but it's worth it to say thanks and have people over for fun.

If you're not going to make it, you're missing out. I already started preparing tonight. Jello shots.

Mama Day

2008-05-11T12:49:00.004-04:00

I realized when I woked up today that it was Mother's Day, and this song popped in my head for some reason:

It's a good song, even if it is by the Spice Girls. I also realized my mother is MIA. I know she's somewhere between Puerto Rico and the United States. Maybe going through customs, or on an airplane. Her exact location cannot be located at this time. There are 3 flights between San Juan and Charlotte today according to USAirways.com but I have no clue which one she's on. So I will have to tell her Happy Mother's Day when I find her, or she finds me by phone.

I also picked the Pokemon of the week based on a motherly instinct. Cleffa, to me looks very wholesome, like Kathy Bates: warm and welcoming. Paul, correct me, but I think Pokemon "evolve" or something like that so I'm guessing Cleffa is in relation to Clefairy, but I have no clue which came first (the chicken or the egg) so for now Cleffa is a mama.

Also! Paul told me a really interesting story about how he used to HATE the Honda Civic and how retarded it looked. Yesterday though Paul got lost in the mall parking lot (Paul, lost, nooooo) and 3, yes 3, ATOMIC BLUE Honda Civic's helped him find his car. It was magical. So I decided my Civic will be named Christa, Christa Smith since it's a magical name (from Fern Gully). I'm just glad Paul had his epiphany NOW rather than later (I knew he'd come to his senses sooner or later).

Walter if fine now by the way, but I did read a wonderful story last night from "Things I Learned About My Dad (in therapy)". This is a collection of short stories written by dad's about fatherhood, edited by Heather Armstrong.

It goes:
"When my son was four months old, he developed a bright red rash that started at the top of his head and began moving down his body like a flame on an oil-soaked rope. I rushed him to the doctor, who walked into the exam room and said "What's the problem?" I said, "My son has a rash!" He put on his glasses and said "Yep". Three hundred dollars".

That's how I feel. They never found out what was wrong with Walter, and wanted me to take him BACK to the vet Friday for a check up. Riiiiight. Pay more money for them to say they don't know what was wrong, but he seems fine now, and to take it easy. No thank you.

Happy Mother's Day!

Oh Wait, There's More

2008-05-08T23:57:00.002-04:00

Do you know what it's like to get a paycheck and have EVERY bit of it GONE...GONE...dedicated to bills? This sucks.

Gas ALONE was $300 this month - and I drive a fuel efficient car! ARGH.

Hmm mmmmm the Civic fund did NOT grow...I'm a little, uh, short to say the least.

It's just money though.

Poor Walt

2008-05-08T23:32:00.002-04:00

What a night...

I got home from work today to find poop splattered on the wall behind Walter's crate. That's odd because he was fine at lunch and has NEVER gone to the bathroom in this apartment. I let him out of his crate and he acted odd, so I took him outside. Sure enough he pretty much exploded all over the place. He just stayed crouched down for a good 2 minutes but there was nothing more to come out. I thought maybe it was a one time thing. I then came back inside to clean up the mess and he threw up 5 times inside. It wasn't normal throw up either, it was brown and smelled like bile.

Now I was getting a little worried. I put him in the bathroom until I could get the apartment cleaned up. The smell...my GOSH the smell was awful. Like a mixture of stomach acid and rotten eggs. I gave him a little water to clean his mouth out, and he threw that up too. This was not normal. This didn't even seem like a bug, but a pretty serious illness. I decided I had to take him to the animal hospital. If he died on my hands, atleast I knew I put forth the effort to save him and it gave me piece of mind.

We waited and waited (like you would in an ER). To sum it up they don't know what's wrong with him. They did know they wanted to do extensive medical work which summed up to be $1400. I said a big "No" to that. I decided it was important for him to get a) fluids and b) something to calm his stomach. They ended up giving him 3 shots for his stomach and 600 mL of a water/electrolyte solution which made a huge hump on his shoulder where they injected it. Dogs apparantly can absorb water through their skin. About an hour later the hump was gone, so he was obviously dehyrdrated. So I dropped $200 tonight. I also got my insurance bill the other day, and I have a credit card bill coming that's going to be very unfriendly as well (even though it's only used for gas and groceries). So the Civic fund is not growing like it's supposed to, and that's a shame.

I'm supposed to take Walter back to the vet tomorrow. He seems to be stable, but obviously sick and tired. I'll keep an eye on him and hope he feels better by tomorrow, because I don't want to go back to the vet.

I'll keep his status updated...

Groceries and Dumb

2008-05-06T21:57:00.005-04:00

I can't believe I missed Sunday. And Monday. Sunday I took a good 4 hours out of the day to finish my book for book club: Monsters of Templeton. It was an amazing book so it was well worth it, and the Pokemon of The Week being delayed was worth it too.

What kind of grocery shopper are you? More importantly, how do you bad your groceries? Now that I'm living on my own, I really think I'd fare well in a place like New York City. When it boils down to it, I'm pretty much a "get it done fast" with no frills kind of person. I run in the store, go directly for what I want, and get annoyed at the person strolling along leaning on their buggy for support. The lines are too long as well. I'm like this with any place really. I want to get in, and get out. I don't want to make a big event out of it. Unless it's something like car shopping, I can take my time then (for a little bit).

Back to bagging. I think how I bag my groceries goes along the lines of the "get it done" attitude. Tonight I bought my usual: apples, 2 1/2 gallons of OJ, 1 gallon of milk, 3 frozen dinners, 5 Lunchables, granola bars, 2 greeting cards (not so usual), and 2 bottles of green tea. Do you know how many bags I used? 3. Yes, just 3. Mind you I was limping from my car to my door, the bag handles became sharp from the weight and were digging into my hands, and by the time I got upstairs my arms were shaking. But you know what, I only had to make 1 trip, and that's wonderful.

A person at work got wind that I was going to buy a "foreign" *GASP* car! She lectured me (or tried to) on how I'm putting Americans out of work, how Japanese car companies pay their workers less so American car companies can't compete, and how what I'm going to do is unpatriotic. She also got another person to huddle in and hackle me more.

I don't even argue with these people anymore because they are downright ignorant and proof of why I don't feel bad buying a Honda (which is American by the way).

Case in point: 2008 Honda Civic vs. 2008 Ford Fusion

Honda Civic
Engine Origin: USA
Transmission Origin: Japan
Assembly: USA
The Civic's VIN# begins with "1" which means the car is produced in America
The Civic's part content is > 70% American

Ford Fusion
Engine Origin: Mexico
Transmission Origin: Japan
Assembly: Mexico
The Fusion's VIN# begins with "3" which means the car is produced in Mexico
The Fusion's part content is 35% American

And I don't even want to hear whining about "well American car companies have to go to 3rd world countries now because nobody supported them". Bull. I'm sure their executives are still making plenty. Maybe you say "well David, where does the money go back to"? Good question. For Honda, the profit will go back to Japan. For Ford it will go back to the US. You know what, profit doesn't stimulate the economy as much as the smaller people will. Who do you think stimulates the economy more, 1 executive who has country club memberships and shops at high end places, or 2,000 assembly line workers who are out everyday shopping and supporting their communities.

I'm so sick of the domestic vs. foreign argument. I'm going to be proud to drive my Honda Civic. The argument is dumb, for lack of a better term.

Bicentennial

2008-05-03T19:14:00.003-04:00

This is my 200th post! I didn't even PLAN for the 200th post to happen in the month of May, but it did. You know why? Because May is the month of magic!

This weekend is very relaxing. The weather outside is breezy and the sky is a dark charcoal grey which adds to the feeling. I love days that have a really dark, black sky with sunlight peering through. The effect looks amazing. It's even better after the ground is wet from rain.

I'm watching Dan's cats (again) this weekend because he went away for the weekend. I got really scared today when I went to feed them. Normally when I walk in, they come running down the stairs to greet me. Harley, the nice one, lets me pet her and Bobo, the little deamon, smacks me with his paw. Today just Harley came down, no Bobo. I thought he'd come out later so I fed them and changed their water, re-filled the humidifier, and started to leave. Still no Bobo. I walked down into the basement to see if he was down there - nope. I walked upstairs to see if he was in the bedrooms - nope. Did he slip out the door yesterday when I was there and I didn't see him? Did I mention Bobo is a Russian Blue, which is apparantly a really rare and expensive breed of a cat? I called Dan and asked if Bobo was actually there this weekend - and not staying with someone else. He asked me if it had rained. It did rain today, pretty hard. He said when it rains Bobo hides under the couch for the whole day, and will not come out. That's good for me. I'd be horrible to loose another person's pet while they're gone!

May: The Month of Magic

2008-05-01T17:34:00.003-04:00

I've determined May is going to be the month of magic (mayick). May is the month of magic because it's when I get my first brand new car. And it's spring, and the weather is nice. And people are happy. I have proof. This is who I'm greeted by when I walk into work. How could you NOT have a good day when you see a face like that?

Ello Gov'ner

2008-04-29T23:13:00.002-04:00

I took Nana to the airport tonight so she could go back to South Carolina. I very much enjoyed her visit and I think Walter liked having someone home with him during the day.

Last night I got a suprise phone call from Jay asking me about headlight bulbs. He said he wanted to change his burned out headlight bulb himself, but the owner's manual said in one simple step to "remove the radiator reserve tank" so he stopped right there. I thought that was funny.

I'll have to make a trip out to California sometime this fall to visit 2 people I know who live (and will live there): Jay, and Kiki.

I don't know what's going on here, but right now in Novi it's 37 degrees and I think that's way too cold for late April. Last week was a teaser. It was in the high 70's and really sunny. I have no idea what's going on. I do know I'm going to bed right now though, g'night!

What We Did This Weekend

2008-04-27T21:56:00.002-04:00

I'm going to let you in on a little secret...what Grandma Hazel and I did this weekend. She got here about 45 minutes late on Friday. After I picked her up we ate dinner in Canton at Panera. Then we drove through Plymouth, to Northville so I could show here where I work. Back at my apartment, Walter welcomed her with jumping and craziness.

I think we were both really tired because we went to bed pretty early and slept kind of late (8:30 ish) on Saturday. We got ready and went to Partridge Creek Mall in Shelby Township. It's an outdoor mall that is dog friendly, so we took Walter along. We walked around for a while and put Walter in the car and ate at P.F. Changs. I took the long way home, so we drove into Detroit just a little so she could see the burned out houses and some strip clubs, then we took 8 Mile all the way back from Detroit to Northville. After that I showed her some of the houses I looked at in Plymouth and then we went to Meijer to get cooking supplies for dinner. We made chicken and dumplings and cornbread.

Today we went to church, at lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ, and walked around Twelve Oaks Mall and went into stores with $200 pairs of jeans that we couldn't afford. I played tennis this afternoon with Alex and his brother, then went back to church for their information session with Dan, and now I'm typing you this sentence.

It was a good weekend.

I've decided I'm going to throw a party/get together on May 16th here at my apartment. It's already my 1 year anniversary of living in Michigan and I want to invite a lot of people from work over to kind of say "thank you" for a good first year. I'll plan out good food to have out and spirits too. I think I'll move all my living room stuff into the dining room so we can have plenty of room to play the Wii in the living room. I'll send the invite out tomorrow and begin the planning.

A Friday Update

2008-04-25T18:24:00.004-04:00

I'm about to go pick Grandma Hazel up at the airport. I'm so happy it's the weekend. The first thought that goes through my head every morning when I wake up is "I wish I could keep sleeping". It's funny how my first thought isn't that I'm hungry, or what will I wear, but that I want to go back to sleep.

It is absolute cruch time for my Civic. I'm watching every dollar...literally. I can't wait to get it. My first new car...only a few weeks away!

This Is Why

2008-04-23T21:21:00.002-04:00

Some people told me they were disappointed in me, or that they would stop reading my blog because of my lack of posting (2 days worth). So I wanted to let you all know there is a good reason I did not post for the past two days. Those are:

Monday: It was Monday, and good TV shows were on
Tuesday: It was Earth Day - so I rode my bike

So that's why. I'm not ashamed. I went to game night tonight. I'm not sure if I'm just tired or grouchy, but it seemed to be one of those environments tonight that when you go to make a move, everyone has to analyze and critique was you just did...out loud. So you'd hear things like "Pshh, that was dumb" or "I don't even understand why you just did that" or "you're not making any sense". I like to think when I play a game I use a strategy, and I admit, my strategies usually are different from other people. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. What definately doesn't help is having people comment on your every move. So that's lame, don't do it.

Watch Your Mouth

2008-04-20T14:58:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was going to meet Terissa at work. This coming Friday, there is a "bring your child to work" day and Terissa asked me if I would help her make a drawing for it. I decided since it was nice out I would ride my bike to work to meet her. Well, I think I will start taking a paintball gun with me so I can correct those who act like idiots.

I was riding through Northville. I came up to a parking lot exit, and see a man exiting the parking lot. He stops, makes eye contact, and I cross in front of him. While I'm crossing he lurches forward and blows his horn. I just kept riding and ignored him. Then he preceeds to pull up next to me on the road, slow down, roll his window down, stick his head out, glare at me, and say "you're lucky you don't get yourself killed, you fuckhead", and he stares me down while driving off.

I guess yesterday must have been a day for the F-bomb in general. I also went to the Honda dealership to drive a Civic with a manual transmission to see if I might like that better than an automatic. I like the automatic better. I was walking around the Civics when I see this short skinny car saleslady walk quickly through the parking lot with a dealer tag and keys in her hand. She has really tall high heeels and is wearing all black - she looks like she means business. She hurries up to a car, looks inside and shouts "F*CK! It's a f*cking stick!". I thought "well, there's the one I should test drive then"

I took Walter to Hines Park today. I took a towel so I could read and let him walk around me, even though he couldn't go very far. I only have 4 weeks until I get my new car - it's getting very exciting. Nana is coming this weekend too for a visit!

Open Mouth, Put Foot In and Conversations

2008-04-17T18:35:00.003-04:00

Open Mouth, Put Foot In:
I was at one of our plants yesterday and today because some of my parts were being assembled for a customer build. I went to watch and learn a little more about how they're assembled. I didn't really get to see much, because there were tooling problems that halted things. This morning I walked out to the floor to a machining cell, and a guy just looks at me and goes "who are you, another intern?" I said "no, actually I'm the design engineer for this program". Then said "you mean you're the designer then?". I said "No, I'm the engineer". (A designer is someone who just does CAD work, not an engineer, by the way). Engineers are expected to do both though. He just said "oh...sorry about that".

I think he felt really akward. It's nice to know I still look so young though.

Conversations:
At lunch we went to a "New York Style" Chinese Buffet. What's a "New York Style" buffet? I noticed there were 3 older women who came in, and walked up to the buffet. One of them was older than the other 2, but not old enough to be one of their mothers. Well, the older one, I'll call her Mildred (I don't know her name though) started to get her food. One of the other women was walking beside Mildred and saying "Oh look sweetheart, here's some chicken" and "Oh no honey, that's hot" and "Oh I know sweetie, those are breaded" and "Sweetheart, here's some of the beef you like" and "Look honey, here's the dumplings". All of this was said with a thick Michigan accent too. I wanted to say "she's OLDER than you, she's not your honey, or your sweetheart, or your sweetie". It's odd when people address those older than them as terms of endearment...except when I do it, then it's ok.

Saturn Story #3

2008-04-14T21:59:00.002-04:00

Tonight I decided to list all the states my Saturn has been to. It's been around to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, and Canada...whoo.

And...I got my oil changed tonight in my Saturn...for the last time. It's like when a movie comes to an end, you can tell it's about to end. That's like the ownership with my Saturn, some of the things are happening for the last time.

It's okay though, because my new Civic will take care of that. While I was getting the oil changed I test drove a new VUE. I'm just not impressed with the new Saturns at all. They feel so cheap. The service was really great though. My oil change was free because last time they messed up and used the wrong oil, so they gave me my last oil change free and this one free too which I thought was nice.

I also just got an email that made me do a double take. Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines are merging to create one large airline, which will be called Delta Airlines. So there will effectively be no more Northwest Airlines. The email said they will keep all existing hubs, but I wonder what's going to happen to the Detroit hub? Interesting news though.

Mona Pizza

2008-04-13T18:05:00.005-04:00

Mona Pizza is the name of a really great song I stole. I stole around 100 songs these past few days, thanks to Paul's help. "Stole" is relative, I don't think it's stealing so it's ok.

Yesterday was just nasty. It was cold and rainy. I expected it to be the same today, so when I woke up I peeked out the blinds in my bedroom and did a double take. It was snowing. Snowing. As in frozen precipitation. In April. It was actually snowing pretty hard, but the ground must not have been cold enough because it wasn't sticking. Friday was 70, and today was snow. That's crazy.

Not much exciting happened this weekend. I played Brawl online with Kiki and Paul for a while Saturday night. I think tonight I'm going to a movie with Terissa and Alex, if they call back.

Tomorrow it's back to work. I have a meeting at Ford tomorrow. I hope it will be painless. I'm going to go in with the best attitude I can. Hopefully this week I can do some more bike riding after work if the weather is nice. This week I'm also taking care of Dan's cats while he's in Japan. They're not staying here, but I'll feed them and check on them everyday. I really love the one cat, Harley. She stayed with me for a week once. She's an angel, and very affectionate. His other cat, Bobo, is nice too but he's got a little bit of an attitude problem (like smacking you when you walk by).

I drove around Saturday to some parts of Livonia and Canton to check out the neighborhoods and houses. They're nice, and priced much lower than Plymouth for the same houses. However, real estate is all about location, location, location (or so they say) and apparantly Plymouth is that location. The search will be on more seriously this summer I'm sure.

I hope this Pokemon of the week is better. I've been wanting to do this one for a long time, and this week is the week. Enjoy! David loves planes!

Cycling

2008-04-11T23:55:00.002-04:00

Today after work I really wanted to ride my bike, because it was around 70 degrees outside. So when I got home, I took Walter out for a walk and clouds started to move in and it rained really hard. It was a quick rain, and it stopped raining around 6:45 PM or so.

Earlier this week Dan rode to my apartment from Plymouth, and I drove him back home. So I decided to do the same. The distance to Plymouth is about 7.5 miles, but the ride is really nice. I got really lucky, because when I was riding the sun was starting to go down and was cascading really pretty colors on the darker clouds. Since the ground was wet it had a golden sheen to it. The bike ride was good exercise too, so that's always a good thing.

Just Like The Movies

2008-04-10T22:02:00.004-04:00

I had to watch two movies tonight that I didn't want to watch. I was obligated. One of the movies, "Rear Window" was loaned to me by Paul at work. He loaned me two movies. "North by Northwest" and "Rear Window" and said I had to watch both of them. The problem is, they were made before 1980-ish and movies like that (i.e. old) don't hold my attention at all. It's what I call "mid-evil crap". Anything old is classified as that to me, that's how I describe it.

Anyway I watched "North by Northwest" about 2 weeks ago, and it wasn't bad, but wasn't that great either. So I never got around to "Rear Window", and the other day Paul asked if I had watched it and when I said know, he kind of huffed and said "well am I ever going to get my movies back?" So I figured it'd be good if I went ahead and watched it. When I say I watched it, I mean I turned it on, and did stuff around my apartment like cook, eat, surf the internet, and then read the plot of the movie on Wikipedia incase he asked me, then turned it off about 45 minutes before it ended. I just couldn't take it.

So that was the first movie. The second movie I had to watch was "Monty Python and The Quest for the Holy Grail". Alex called and asked if I wanted to watch it, because it was supposed to be really funny. I always hear people quoting it and talking about it. Since it seemed so legendary I thought I should go ahead and watch it. Well, it wasn't good either. British humor is just stupid. Have you ever tried watching one of those British sit-coms with Judy Dench? Well it was like that, only this WAS set in Authurian mid-evil times so it was that much worse for me!

I guess sometimes you have to watch things you don't want to.

It's Tuesday

2008-04-08T22:38:00.002-04:00

We took a field trip today at work. It was a pretty interesting field trip. I also went rock climbing tonight, in my new climbing harness that I bought this past weekend.

Granmda Hazel (Nana) is coming to visit at the end of the this month. I'm really looking forward to seeing her and having her here with me for a few days.

I'm a little confused now, too.