So I'm back after a pretty extended hiatus. I've been doing all sorts of OTHER things for a while now and I thought it would be a good idea to jump back into things.
First up: Sports. With the crumbling of my favorite sports franchise of all time, I quickly got my hands on the next best thing: a new favorite sports franchise. Out with the Sonics (and the despicable, corrupt NBA that rules them) and in with the Seattle Sounders FC! I've purchased my season tickets and Sarah and I are pumped and ready for the 2009 inaugural season. The team hasn't been fleshed out yet but the highlights are Kasey Keller will be coming and the star Frenchman from the current (USL) Sounders will be making the jump. One major addition that will smooth my transition from the court to the pitch: KEVIN CALABRO! Nice to see that there really are people in the sports industry with souls, Kevin was offered a huge contract by the OKC F%$*ers and basically flipped them the bird and signed to announce Sounders FC games. Ah how sweet it is!
Next: Politics. Not usually a section I incorporate, but its all in the news these days and I'll keep it sweet and simple: just like two men can have completely opposing views, women can as well. To vote for someone because of their gender, race or ethnicity without listening to what they plan to do with that power is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
And now: WoW. Not much to say here, I left the Marvel Family guild in hopes of seeing new content and meeting new people. The content was cool while it lasted and the people were not nearly as fun. Sounds like the current guild is falling apart anyway so I'm a bit of a free agent for a bit. Sure hope we get that expansion soon so I can start the levelling up process again with my friends!
On to: things you may have missed. I took the EIT exam and passed it! VERY long test and I am so happy to have gotten through it successfully. I had my birthday so now I'm older. Sarah and I looked at houses and we're in the midst of getting our things together to seriously pursue that sometime soon. Work is going well, I had a couple successful projects that I contributed or ran. My current task is getting slowed down by another group and there's not much I can do on my end, so its kind of sit and wait time.
Wrapping it up: Current state. Life is good, I've got a friend who's getting married in a couple of weekends and in about a month I think I will take a week-long vacation somewhere. I've got a project brewing that would benefit my new niece Piper, but I'm not ready to let the cat out of the bag just yet. I've stayed meatless for nearly eight full months and honestly it hasn't been very difficult. I'm in the process of getting a regular routine down to get in better shape. updates are a-coming. And now its back to the addictive game of Scrabble I have in Facebook (where I have been spending more and more useless hours, lol). I'll try to be more regular, but that's all for now.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
How I fared from my "firsts"
Flask of blinding light
Example
Well as I mentioned last time I met this project head on. And it floored me at first. Then I wrangled it and wrestled into sumbission and now I'm owning it. My on-the-spot thinking has so far gotten me a great start to designing the plumbing and support structure for an air system. Without going into too many details this job is definitely intended for a more experienced employee, but I have a good relationship with the shop guys (after only a week here) as well as the people in my group. This has really been a challenge and while I am nowhere near done, I am much closer than I was the first day I got here. So work is really keeping me nice and busy, I've gotten some quality challenges and kept my head above water. In another twist I have presented my progress in 3 meetings and was actually the leader of another one. I can feel my confidence growing in the workplace, although I hear myself say things that make me seem overly shy and/or lacking in confidence... so gonna keep working on that.
In LOST news shit is really cooking now! (spoilers ahead for those who are waiting for it all to come to DVD). My thoughts on an interesting time-continuum paradox seem to still be alive and well, the "not penny's ship" folk are as annoyingly mysterious as the others were (are?). I want to get an update from never-aging richard and his posee at "the temple." My currrent theory and answers follow: Michael/Walt is Ben's outside contact on the ship, the oceanic 6=Jake, Kate, Hurley, Sayiid, Claire and her baby, there is a time difference between the ship and the island, the island is working off a different time scale (or spacing) than the rest of the world, Dahrma discovered this interesting time-travelish thing and Ben (via Sayiid) is trying to protect it from bad people (competition) once they are off the island, oh and the freaky guy that is after Hurley is the leader of the anti-dahrma group. Thanks all I can think of for now, post any questions or thoughts u got on the LOST theories.
In WoW news, Sarah got a chance to raid last week with a PUG, I tagged along and got to help down one boss in kara (Curator). No luck on any new loot for me, but Sarah got like 4 (5?) pieces and looks completely epiced out. There was some drama surrounding the impromptu raiding, but the bottom line is that next week we will be going as an organized group to kara and really start on having our guild raid group taking those next awesome steps into end-game content. Still have to go thru the hassle of keying and gearing other people, but I'm gonna try to see this as more of a group endeavor than "what can I get gear-wise and how do I get what I want outta this?" My only hope is that the group has the same mentality.
Studying is going slow for the EIT exam, I tend to have spurts of chapters accomplished in my textbook and I think that there is another one on the way this weekend (and maybe a redmill veggiburger reward?)
V-day was nice, very chill. I got sarah a flower and made us a pizza and salad dinner. My pizza making skills are improving and I really enjoyed the time in the kitchen. Sarah and I got a chance to talk about everything and relax and watch some fun stuff on TV. She's worried about grad school actually becoming a reality and the bottom line is that I will gladly force her to go. She is doing great work at the crisis line right now, and her day job is fine and all, but she really can accomplish a great deal. That being said, there is no timer on success. the matter of 3 months (or even a year for that matter) at our age shouldn't feel like such a make or break decision. All things in good time and the wheels and motivation are definitely in motion for both me and Sarah. Here's to 80 more years on this earth with which to do what we want on it. I got your back, Sars. Alright well that should have every1 caught up, hope you all have a gerat week and for those of you that get that day off you can think of me in my cubicle coughing up a lung of recirculated air while I stare at a screen and spin objects around and around and around and around......
peace
Example
Well as I mentioned last time I met this project head on. And it floored me at first. Then I wrangled it and wrestled into sumbission and now I'm owning it. My on-the-spot thinking has so far gotten me a great start to designing the plumbing and support structure for an air system. Without going into too many details this job is definitely intended for a more experienced employee, but I have a good relationship with the shop guys (after only a week here) as well as the people in my group. This has really been a challenge and while I am nowhere near done, I am much closer than I was the first day I got here. So work is really keeping me nice and busy, I've gotten some quality challenges and kept my head above water. In another twist I have presented my progress in 3 meetings and was actually the leader of another one. I can feel my confidence growing in the workplace, although I hear myself say things that make me seem overly shy and/or lacking in confidence... so gonna keep working on that.
In LOST news shit is really cooking now! (spoilers ahead for those who are waiting for it all to come to DVD). My thoughts on an interesting time-continuum paradox seem to still be alive and well, the "not penny's ship" folk are as annoyingly mysterious as the others were (are?). I want to get an update from never-aging richard and his posee at "the temple." My currrent theory and answers follow: Michael/Walt is Ben's outside contact on the ship, the oceanic 6=Jake, Kate, Hurley, Sayiid, Claire and her baby, there is a time difference between the ship and the island, the island is working off a different time scale (or spacing) than the rest of the world, Dahrma discovered this interesting time-travelish thing and Ben (via Sayiid) is trying to protect it from bad people (competition) once they are off the island, oh and the freaky guy that is after Hurley is the leader of the anti-dahrma group. Thanks all I can think of for now, post any questions or thoughts u got on the LOST theories.
In WoW news, Sarah got a chance to raid last week with a PUG, I tagged along and got to help down one boss in kara (Curator). No luck on any new loot for me, but Sarah got like 4 (5?) pieces and looks completely epiced out. There was some drama surrounding the impromptu raiding, but the bottom line is that next week we will be going as an organized group to kara and really start on having our guild raid group taking those next awesome steps into end-game content. Still have to go thru the hassle of keying and gearing other people, but I'm gonna try to see this as more of a group endeavor than "what can I get gear-wise and how do I get what I want outta this?" My only hope is that the group has the same mentality.
Studying is going slow for the EIT exam, I tend to have spurts of chapters accomplished in my textbook and I think that there is another one on the way this weekend (and maybe a redmill veggiburger reward?)
V-day was nice, very chill. I got sarah a flower and made us a pizza and salad dinner. My pizza making skills are improving and I really enjoyed the time in the kitchen. Sarah and I got a chance to talk about everything and relax and watch some fun stuff on TV. She's worried about grad school actually becoming a reality and the bottom line is that I will gladly force her to go. She is doing great work at the crisis line right now, and her day job is fine and all, but she really can accomplish a great deal. That being said, there is no timer on success. the matter of 3 months (or even a year for that matter) at our age shouldn't feel like such a make or break decision. All things in good time and the wheels and motivation are definitely in motion for both me and Sarah. Here's to 80 more years on this earth with which to do what we want on it. I got your back, Sars. Alright well that should have every1 caught up, hope you all have a gerat week and for those of you that get that day off you can think of me in my cubicle coughing up a lung of recirculated air while I stare at a screen and spin objects around and around and around and around......
peace
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The next step
Well it sounds like this upcoming week will be full of firsts for me:
- I've gotten word of a temporary relocation so I'll be working in Seattle (Tukwila really) for about 2 weeks (throw on a factor of 2 for that, says my lead). It will be my first time working for a new group and first time I'm expected to have some sort of competency in my field.
- In turn this will be the first time I don't shy away from the unknown by saying things like "as long as I have help with this" or "I can try but I'm not familiar with it." Instead I will go head on and so far have been all go-gettim attitude, then when/if I hit a road block I will directly ask questions and get the clarification I need. No more pussyfooting around work assignments!
- Last weekend had my first gardenburger at Red Mill. This vegetarian this is soooooo easy, I'm happy I waited till the world became competent in making delicious alternatives.
- In WoW news last week I became keyed and sometime this week (maybe today) I will run my first 10-man raid. Sarah's geared, I'm geared and we are ready to take it to the next level!!!
-On Friday I will do my first post-watch of LOST this season, because I am dedicated to junto and will mis thursdays episode. Thanks you ABC for being part of the 2000's and putting recent episodes on your website. NO ONE TELL ME ANYTHING!!!
-I will go to Sarah's first 25th birthday on Saturday (I'm sure there are more to come), sounds like a great time and a nice mix of the sofisticated and the immature.
-Just found out also that I'm gonna have my first change in lead (direct higher-up at work), its going to be a peer bumped up to a leadership role. Gonna miss my current one, especially since I see zero leadership from my co-worker, but who knows... maybe it'll be a reason to stay in Tukwila.
-Also saw the first/worst lack of communication with the promoting of the lead. My manager kept putting off telling him till everyone here knew about it and there were even shop-guys congratulating him and then finally he is being told officially (as I type this). Kinda messy way of doing it, he seemed pretty annoyed (even though he unnofficially knew for a day or so) and its just not the way to do these things. Basically I'd just expect more from this company and don't think its so much to ask that there aren't rumors and gossip surrounding a guy that they wnat to accept the offer. call me old fashioned I guess.
-First time asking my readers how to I make it so when someone posts a new blog post I can get word of it via my email. anyone?
-First time making a list of firsts on the blog, its tougher than I thought. Later.
- I've gotten word of a temporary relocation so I'll be working in Seattle (Tukwila really) for about 2 weeks (throw on a factor of 2 for that, says my lead). It will be my first time working for a new group and first time I'm expected to have some sort of competency in my field.
- In turn this will be the first time I don't shy away from the unknown by saying things like "as long as I have help with this" or "I can try but I'm not familiar with it." Instead I will go head on and so far have been all go-gettim attitude, then when/if I hit a road block I will directly ask questions and get the clarification I need. No more pussyfooting around work assignments!
- Last weekend had my first gardenburger at Red Mill. This vegetarian this is soooooo easy, I'm happy I waited till the world became competent in making delicious alternatives.
- In WoW news last week I became keyed and sometime this week (maybe today) I will run my first 10-man raid. Sarah's geared, I'm geared and we are ready to take it to the next level!!!
-On Friday I will do my first post-watch of LOST this season, because I am dedicated to junto and will mis thursdays episode. Thanks you ABC for being part of the 2000's and putting recent episodes on your website. NO ONE TELL ME ANYTHING!!!
-I will go to Sarah's first 25th birthday on Saturday (I'm sure there are more to come), sounds like a great time and a nice mix of the sofisticated and the immature.
-Just found out also that I'm gonna have my first change in lead (direct higher-up at work), its going to be a peer bumped up to a leadership role. Gonna miss my current one, especially since I see zero leadership from my co-worker, but who knows... maybe it'll be a reason to stay in Tukwila.
-Also saw the first/worst lack of communication with the promoting of the lead. My manager kept putting off telling him till everyone here knew about it and there were even shop-guys congratulating him and then finally he is being told officially (as I type this). Kinda messy way of doing it, he seemed pretty annoyed (even though he unnofficially knew for a day or so) and its just not the way to do these things. Basically I'd just expect more from this company and don't think its so much to ask that there aren't rumors and gossip surrounding a guy that they wnat to accept the offer. call me old fashioned I guess.
-First time asking my readers how to I make it so when someone posts a new blog post I can get word of it via my email. anyone?
-First time making a list of firsts on the blog, its tougher than I thought. Later.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Snowy Monday
Had a whirlwind of a sick weekend. Took 2 days off from work and spent the time watching movies, playing Warcraft and just taking it easy with Sarah. she started a new blog today, here it is: http://sarahtypeshere.blogspot.com/.
Recently our no-meat-ness caught up with us and we both craved a burger, luckily the sunlight cafe (vegetarian and sugar free cafe) is up the street so we got our nutburgers and felt complete again.
The weather has turned white, the commute this morning was about 50 minutes with all the slow traffic and ice on the road. But I made it to work safe and just hoping I can get back home in the same state.
Sonic news is grim on the court, optomistic in the court of law. We lost the 14th consecutive game last night and things are looking really down for this deffensevily weak squad. The coaches is getting really awful and Durant is just taking too many shots and missing most of them. But theres hope for keeping the team here as the judge will be ruling on whether or not the lease will bind them here till 2010.
My extra home-time on the weekend with Sarah and her new iMac (twins with my current machine) resulted in getting 2 dungeon drops for Poder, who is officially now ready to enter the 10-man raiding scene.... if only we could organize 10 people we know! Tonight we'll be running the Arcatraz dungeon with a guildy we got acquainted with yesterday.
Time to make up for all that sick leave so back to the excel.
Recently our no-meat-ness caught up with us and we both craved a burger, luckily the sunlight cafe (vegetarian and sugar free cafe) is up the street so we got our nutburgers and felt complete again.
The weather has turned white, the commute this morning was about 50 minutes with all the slow traffic and ice on the road. But I made it to work safe and just hoping I can get back home in the same state.
Sonic news is grim on the court, optomistic in the court of law. We lost the 14th consecutive game last night and things are looking really down for this deffensevily weak squad. The coaches is getting really awful and Durant is just taking too many shots and missing most of them. But theres hope for keeping the team here as the judge will be ruling on whether or not the lease will bind them here till 2010.
My extra home-time on the weekend with Sarah and her new iMac (twins with my current machine) resulted in getting 2 dungeon drops for Poder, who is officially now ready to enter the 10-man raiding scene.... if only we could organize 10 people we know! Tonight we'll be running the Arcatraz dungeon with a guildy we got acquainted with yesterday.
Time to make up for all that sick leave so back to the excel.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Bring in the 8
2008 is here and I've been really bad about keeping th blog up so here's a quick list for of whats gone on and WILL be going on in the near future:
-took vacation time off work and had a great break during th Xmas and New Years holidays
-work is going well, testing is fun and although losing its lustre, I still enjoy the procedures and those "everything went perfect and we made great time" kinda days
-decided that I'm holding back on meat-eating, basically if we are in a world where we can manufacture and pick sustainable and renewable food then why do we still eat animals?!!? So no cow or chicken for THE YEAR!!! (fish is ok and the byproducts of animals like milk and eggs if fine too, lol)
-resolution this year is to be healthier, lose some weight, and just being more adult about stuff
-exam of being more adult: getting another computer for Sarah so we can both (WoW together all day) err study!
-I've got a test for the fundamentals of engineering coming up on the 12th of April.
-working on saving $$ and getting a better hold on how to handle finances for future blah blah blah
-this weekend we'll be doing an IKEA trip to get a chair/bed which is the younger cousin of a sofabed
-the study is getting a bit of an overhaul with the dual computers and new chairbed on the horizon, so hopefully that stays clean for a bit
-Durant is not getting much help out there for the supes, Rids can't stay in because of multiple injuries and Wilcox has been out for a while.... in short my solution: Trade watson/wilkins and petro for jason williams and some nachos.
-best Xmas gift i've gotten in a long while: green Durant jersey, frickin LOVE IT!!! (and Sarah for givin it to me)
-married life is all and good, we've had some stellar days this past week with walks and dinners together and talks and wrestling, so thats always something to look forward to!
-OH I HAVE A NEW LITTLE NIECE!!!! She's really cute and little and squirmy, I can't wait to babysit her and teach her stuff and play games with her (whether its IRL or not, lol) just an awesome little thing
-my dad had surgery in el sal during his trip and i'm really relieved and stoked to see him in good health now, i look forward to taking more times to have one-on-one time with him like we did for the trip to canadia
-poder has been golding it up since hitting 70 AGES ago, and now its getting to be close to the time where i really buckle down, finish off the $$ needed for my epic flying mount and explore the last 2 zones
-there is a potential raid group in WoW building now that the group knows sarah and I are splitting accounts shortly
-seattle will be getting an MLS team in a couple years, so if nothing else I will still have a team to follow rabidly
well that is a basic overview that should help get things up to date, now its Yabadabadoooo time at work (someone just pulled the tail of parrot and I gotta clock out on my stone tablet). Have a good one all and I'll try to get this blog goin more regularly I swear!
-took vacation time off work and had a great break during th Xmas and New Years holidays
-work is going well, testing is fun and although losing its lustre, I still enjoy the procedures and those "everything went perfect and we made great time" kinda days
-decided that I'm holding back on meat-eating, basically if we are in a world where we can manufacture and pick sustainable and renewable food then why do we still eat animals?!!? So no cow or chicken for THE YEAR!!! (fish is ok and the byproducts of animals like milk and eggs if fine too, lol)
-resolution this year is to be healthier, lose some weight, and just being more adult about stuff
-exam of being more adult: getting another computer for Sarah so we can both (WoW together all day) err study!
-I've got a test for the fundamentals of engineering coming up on the 12th of April.
-working on saving $$ and getting a better hold on how to handle finances for future blah blah blah
-this weekend we'll be doing an IKEA trip to get a chair/bed which is the younger cousin of a sofabed
-the study is getting a bit of an overhaul with the dual computers and new chairbed on the horizon, so hopefully that stays clean for a bit
-Durant is not getting much help out there for the supes, Rids can't stay in because of multiple injuries and Wilcox has been out for a while.... in short my solution: Trade watson/wilkins and petro for jason williams and some nachos.
-best Xmas gift i've gotten in a long while: green Durant jersey, frickin LOVE IT!!! (and Sarah for givin it to me)
-married life is all and good, we've had some stellar days this past week with walks and dinners together and talks and wrestling, so thats always something to look forward to!
-OH I HAVE A NEW LITTLE NIECE!!!! She's really cute and little and squirmy, I can't wait to babysit her and teach her stuff and play games with her (whether its IRL or not, lol) just an awesome little thing
-my dad had surgery in el sal during his trip and i'm really relieved and stoked to see him in good health now, i look forward to taking more times to have one-on-one time with him like we did for the trip to canadia
-poder has been golding it up since hitting 70 AGES ago, and now its getting to be close to the time where i really buckle down, finish off the $$ needed for my epic flying mount and explore the last 2 zones
-there is a potential raid group in WoW building now that the group knows sarah and I are splitting accounts shortly
-seattle will be getting an MLS team in a couple years, so if nothing else I will still have a team to follow rabidly
well that is a basic overview that should help get things up to date, now its Yabadabadoooo time at work (someone just pulled the tail of parrot and I gotta clock out on my stone tablet). Have a good one all and I'll try to get this blog goin more regularly I swear!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Married man!
Well I took the plunge and life is great. Our pet is happy. The wedding was everything we could have ever dreamed it to be. There was a lot of work and planning and help from everyone in our circles and it turned out to be the best wedding I've ever been to (of course I'd say that!!!). Sarah and I got a bit of downtime prior to the festivities and we just took a time out and talked an ate soup and laughed and relaxed. Then it was off in our crazy (no I mean actual lunatic, like drinking non-existent coffee kinda crazy) taxi ride which we were fortunate enough to survive and barely pay for. The bath house was beautifully set up and friends and family trickled in throughout the first hour. The meal was delicious (as Sarah and I found out later, since we could barely handle 3 bites BETWEEN US) and everyone was talkative and friendly with one another. The MC (Josh) and DJ (Aaron) got on the same page and organized the everyone outside while the rabbi, Sarah's dad, and I hung back. When everyone was out, the rabbi and I went to the Huppah outside (which was surprisingly warm for the 4:30 start time) and we waited. From here till the end of the ceremony I can't really describe in words, it is a blur of beauty and grace and dreamcometrue-ness. Sarah came out of the bathhouse and looked amazing, just stunning in every capacity of the word. Her dress was a brilliant white, she was all smiley and just jaw-dropping. I kinda lost track of the bridesmaids and just stared at her as she approached, trying not to lose it this early in the ceremony. Once she got close enough I extended my arm and walked her to the huppah. The rabbi said the kindest most heartfelt things throughout the ceremony, focusing on our love for one another and caring mentality. I just stared into her eyes and held Sarah's hands the whole time, relishing in this moment of complete perfection. There was nothing else in the world except her in that time and it was wonderful. The huppah holders all had at least a tear in their eye the whole time and I could feel the support from them all as I gazed at Sarah. My vows (which had me nerve-racked all day) came out nicely and Sarah's were so genuine and beautiful. Then we did the ring thing, no hiccups there and we topped it off with the breaking of the glass (easier than I thought), an nice kiss between us, and a quickly shared moment with each of our parents. then we scampered off into the woods and beach to just relax and take it all in (as well as get some kickass pictures, I will post them one day but they are literally works of art!). The party was fun and we had a nice and special first dance. Of course Hava nagila is always a fun time, Sarah really loved it and I think it'll make for some great pictures. I did my obligatory shmoozing and got a chance to talk to almost everyone there. The dancing later at night was an all-out fun-fest (combined with the joyous drinking of family and friends). Then it was off in my bro's borrowed comvertible to the downtown hotel spot we picked. The day will be my new standard for measuring good days for the rest of my life, besides a dangerous taxi ride and a busted cake topper, there is nothing that could have improved my wedding day. And now I get to be a married man :).
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
New Toys and New Fun
We are now down to under 50 days till the wedding and things are going great. We have all the important pieces in place (venue, guests, someone to marry us, food) and everything else we're on top of enough to not freak out about (ok, maybe freak out once in a while). Gamara is getting used to his home and we've noticed he is much more aware of his surroundings, he looks up (at us) more, lets us touch his head without freaking out and hiding in his shell, we knows when to sleep and he eats as soon as the food drops in his dish. We've been spoiling him a bit with rose petals, but he's still in very good health. We keep him clean and happy and give him exercise every other day. He's not so frightened of the ground now and makes his way around the apartment with ease. Sarah cut out part of a shoebox so that he would have a nice place to chill out of the rays of the heat lamp.
Last weekend Sarah and I got iPods. I have held out since they first came out and finally took the plunge: I got a 80gig iPod classic. Its partly because I've always wanted one but never could rationalize price (in my pre-job days) and partly because we have a playlist ready for the wedding and.... need a way to play the music there! In fact we've got numerous playlists which we are stoked on so it will be a really fun party! After getting it and throwing all my music on it, I could tell Sarah really liked it (actually she REALLY liked the black nano at the store) so the next day after work (my first Saturday I had to work, WEAK!) I surprised her with a nano of her own. Its rare that I can just make a spontaneous moment out of nowhere, so it was great times. Now we each have music and video at our fingertips (even though she has vowed to ignore the video option... for now). I put some video on my iPod and am using a certain program that does a certain something with a you know what so that I am able to watch thingamajigs on my iPod. Hope that wasn't too incriminating! If any of you iPod video owners need clarification just let me know I can help ya out. So its fun times at the house and especially on the road for me.
Work is really rough these days, helping others while trying to handle my own work. Its interesting to see what 15 years younger really means in the workplace: better computer skills, more flexibility and adjustability, and much faster execution. Experience means nothing if the tools are foreign to the user. I am definitely the guy with zero experience who can handle the tools and make a much bigger impact on a project than the experienced members. I like being here, but its frustrating, I can't wait for 15 years from now when I can go at a snails pace and let the newbie come in and do my job.... or take my job...hmmmm. It is simply nice to be appreciated, so all is well in the woooorkplaaaaaace.
Poder hit 66 over the weekend, my hope is to take 2 more weekends to hit 67. My sights are strictly set on getting to 70 and getting to run instances and heroics with the guild. Who knows exactly how things will pan out, but my hope is to get geared enough to run a raid at some point. Regardless I am excited to reach the beginning of the peak and establish myself enough before the new expansion. To seventy and beyond!!! lol, peace for now.
Last weekend Sarah and I got iPods. I have held out since they first came out and finally took the plunge: I got a 80gig iPod classic. Its partly because I've always wanted one but never could rationalize price (in my pre-job days) and partly because we have a playlist ready for the wedding and.... need a way to play the music there! In fact we've got numerous playlists which we are stoked on so it will be a really fun party! After getting it and throwing all my music on it, I could tell Sarah really liked it (actually she REALLY liked the black nano at the store) so the next day after work (my first Saturday I had to work, WEAK!) I surprised her with a nano of her own. Its rare that I can just make a spontaneous moment out of nowhere, so it was great times. Now we each have music and video at our fingertips (even though she has vowed to ignore the video option... for now). I put some video on my iPod and am using a certain program that does a certain something with a you know what so that I am able to watch thingamajigs on my iPod. Hope that wasn't too incriminating! If any of you iPod video owners need clarification just let me know I can help ya out. So its fun times at the house and especially on the road for me.
Work is really rough these days, helping others while trying to handle my own work. Its interesting to see what 15 years younger really means in the workplace: better computer skills, more flexibility and adjustability, and much faster execution. Experience means nothing if the tools are foreign to the user. I am definitely the guy with zero experience who can handle the tools and make a much bigger impact on a project than the experienced members. I like being here, but its frustrating, I can't wait for 15 years from now when I can go at a snails pace and let the newbie come in and do my job.... or take my job...hmmmm. It is simply nice to be appreciated, so all is well in the woooorkplaaaaaace.
Poder hit 66 over the weekend, my hope is to take 2 more weekends to hit 67. My sights are strictly set on getting to 70 and getting to run instances and heroics with the guild. Who knows exactly how things will pan out, but my hope is to get geared enough to run a raid at some point. Regardless I am excited to reach the beginning of the peak and establish myself enough before the new expansion. To seventy and beyond!!! lol, peace for now.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Good on all fronts!
Wow I'm getting bad at this! Well, at least it looks like I can hold down a monthly blog. Lots and lots has happened recently, and I've been quite the busy bunny. For starters the wedding is coming along and Sarah and I had a bit of an "OH SHIT!" moment earlier this week when we realized that we are 6 weeks away from the two week relax pre-wedding day. So we've cracked down a bit and are getting stuff done. Everything is planned in a basic sense and now its up to us to put the pieces together in time. Sarah recently got into the Crisis Clinic (those phone people who keep people from jumping of buildings) and now she's training and being constantly evaluated. i'm really proud of her and her drive never ceases to amaze me. After completing some online psych courses she's gonna apply to the Antioch Social Counselor/Therapist grad school program and she'll be on her way to full certification and being able to help people and have her own practice and everything. It's great being in a relationship where we both have our strengths and we are both professionals... and goofballs at the same time.
On the goofball front, Sarah stayed up till some ungodly hour playing WoW because it was finally the day she could gather enough friends into a group to complete her elite ground mount quest. This means that she gets to ride around on a flaming horse, so that's pretty sick. As for me I got my mount as soon as I hit 60, shelled out the 900 gold and I've been cruising ever since. We're both lvl 63 now and loving the Outlands, its really a sweet place!
With all the money we're making going to the wedding and honeymoon we're saving while drooling over things that would make life easier/funner. Easier: Sarah is really interested in a scooter (Vespa, Honda, or any other 49cc badboy) and it would solve some of our transportation issues we've come across recently. With her training and work, the bus is only so good and once we can rationalize it and work the numbers out we'll prolly spring for a little one-seater. On the fun side we're ready to make the jump to have separate computers, especailly with school starting up for sarah after the wedding. For now we just want to be able to game together, so if anyone out there has a loaner computer they're not using, we'd jump on it and us it probably thru february until we go for a mac. So anyone with a tower (already got a monitor) or a laptop that is outta commision hit me up, we'd loooove to work something out.
We bought a toroise two weeks ago and we've been revamping his house recently. He's a little guy, full name is Gamara Darwin and he is really adventurous. At only 4 months old, Gamara looks like your run of the mill reptile pet, but he will grow tons and tons in the coming years. His species (the Sulcata Tortoise) is the 3rd largest in the world and they reach 2 feet in length and anywhere from 80 to 150 lbs!!! Which is really really cool! We're tryign to train him at a young age and he is really active. He eats grass and some other greens but mostly various grasses to keep him eating a healthy diet. We are really pumped about having Gamara as part of the family and we will definitely be planning out future housing needs based on what the little guy needs to live comfortably.
Work has been one adventure after another. We had family day yesterday so I showed Sarah my cubicle and some of the projects they have out on the slab. Last Friday they successfully installed 35k lbs of test fixture and product ONTO a cradle I designed and drew. It took 2 full size cranes to pull it off and I was sick to my stomache nervous about it not matching up. But it turns out I am competent and since then i've gotten more than one pat on the back for my design. This week figures to be a lot more chill, so I can stay up to date on my sonics (and all the efforts to keep 'em here) and get ideas for which mac to go with for Sarah. Oh and one quick note: the owner of Firehouse Coffee in Ballard is a really really great guy leading the charge in keeping the sonics at home, support his business and sign the petition he has at the cafe. And don't forget to vote tomorrow (whcih reminds me i better fill out my absentee ballot tonight). Peace.
On the goofball front, Sarah stayed up till some ungodly hour playing WoW because it was finally the day she could gather enough friends into a group to complete her elite ground mount quest. This means that she gets to ride around on a flaming horse, so that's pretty sick. As for me I got my mount as soon as I hit 60, shelled out the 900 gold and I've been cruising ever since. We're both lvl 63 now and loving the Outlands, its really a sweet place!
With all the money we're making going to the wedding and honeymoon we're saving while drooling over things that would make life easier/funner. Easier: Sarah is really interested in a scooter (Vespa, Honda, or any other 49cc badboy) and it would solve some of our transportation issues we've come across recently. With her training and work, the bus is only so good and once we can rationalize it and work the numbers out we'll prolly spring for a little one-seater. On the fun side we're ready to make the jump to have separate computers, especailly with school starting up for sarah after the wedding. For now we just want to be able to game together, so if anyone out there has a loaner computer they're not using, we'd jump on it and us it probably thru february until we go for a mac. So anyone with a tower (already got a monitor) or a laptop that is outta commision hit me up, we'd loooove to work something out.
We bought a toroise two weeks ago and we've been revamping his house recently. He's a little guy, full name is Gamara Darwin and he is really adventurous. At only 4 months old, Gamara looks like your run of the mill reptile pet, but he will grow tons and tons in the coming years. His species (the Sulcata Tortoise) is the 3rd largest in the world and they reach 2 feet in length and anywhere from 80 to 150 lbs!!! Which is really really cool! We're tryign to train him at a young age and he is really active. He eats grass and some other greens but mostly various grasses to keep him eating a healthy diet. We are really pumped about having Gamara as part of the family and we will definitely be planning out future housing needs based on what the little guy needs to live comfortably.
Work has been one adventure after another. We had family day yesterday so I showed Sarah my cubicle and some of the projects they have out on the slab. Last Friday they successfully installed 35k lbs of test fixture and product ONTO a cradle I designed and drew. It took 2 full size cranes to pull it off and I was sick to my stomache nervous about it not matching up. But it turns out I am competent and since then i've gotten more than one pat on the back for my design. This week figures to be a lot more chill, so I can stay up to date on my sonics (and all the efforts to keep 'em here) and get ideas for which mac to go with for Sarah. Oh and one quick note: the owner of Firehouse Coffee in Ballard is a really really great guy leading the charge in keeping the sonics at home, support his business and sign the petition he has at the cafe. And don't forget to vote tomorrow (whcih reminds me i better fill out my absentee ballot tonight). Peace.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Not daily anymore but things are good!
Well my blog has gone from semi-daily to bi-monthly quite quickly. Work has kept me pretty busy these days, I am really getting into the thick of it here at the undisclosed plane factory. I've got plenty more responsibility, they are trusting me with all sorts of stuff and so far I have responded well. My speed at designing, modeling, and drafting is what makes me feel like a lock here as long as I want. I learn quickly and am flying by all my superiors in that regard, but the paperwork can be tedious and I am constantly working on the social interactions (why can't I just email everything?!). So work life is fine, and my time management is improving to the point where I can rebound or play tennis or play WoW after work and still have a good dinner and kick it with Sarah.
A new category I will throw into the mix is LOST. Skip this paragraph if you don't want secrets and spoilers revealed. NOW! Ok, so basically the show is really sweet and they did a good job of getting me to have conflicted feelings about characters and history. Last week Sarah and I finished season 3 so now the brutal wait till season 4 begins. My theories include that the island is at a different time (perhaps time loop) because of the fancy-ass phone that Naomi has and the story she said about how Driveshaft released a greatest hits album. That means that in 92 days the outside world: found the plane crash, determined Charlie was dead, the record producers compiled the album, released it, and the general public who is not a Driveshaft fan has knowledge of the album. Either there is a time discrepancy or she is just plain lying, which could very well be the case. They aren't leaving the island in season 4 and things will only get more complicated. I can't wait.
In WoW news i have hit 57 and am now grinding in the Outlands. Once I hit 58 the game changes from old to new and I will abandon all my current quests in order to accept all the new spiffy Burning Crusade quests. The grinding XP in the Outlands can't be beat but its boring and slow-going. I'm probably 90 kills away from 58 so I will hopefully get in down in 1-2 hours whenever I can get that much gaming on. My gear that I worked so hard and spent so much gold to ramp up will soon be obsolete, so I'll try to focus on good quest rewards to make me powerful all over again. My gold situation is still sweet, I'm around 900g and hope to hit 1k before 60 (when I get my next mount). Apparently there's lots of $ in OL just from kills and quest rewards so here's hoping!
On the Sonics front the changes keep coming. Goodbye Ray and Ra, hello Durant, Green, Kurt Thomas, WallyZ, DWest and a bunch of future picks. Presti has taken control of this team's wheeling and dealing and honestly he's impressing the crap outta me. The verdict is still out on this team as a whole, but I'm hoping we can at least make some waves this season. The arena issue is still grim, but as of this week Brian Robinson over at Sonicscentral.com started the "A Deal is a Deal" PAC. Which means that as long as Mayor Nickles does the right thing, the Sonics will be bound to their KeyArena lease till 2010, and in that time we may find the private investors we're hoping for. Even anti-arena-ist Chris Van Dyke is on board with this because if the lease is bought out it will screw over the city and more importantly the Seattle Center. It may seem like a mess now but if everything pans out just right the sonics could stick around after all.
Last weekend I got my suit for the wedding and its pretty spiffy. Looks really good and I'm pumped that some of my clothing is finally nailed down. Still gotta get some little things along the way like shoes and stuff but its nice knowing the suit is set. The registry is gradually growing, but Sarah and I keep putting on $5-$20 items on the list and the Macy's and Target people point it out to us all the time. Oh well I'm sure there will be enough super expensive gifts to meet some people's appetite. Playing tennis with Sarah recently has been great, we're actually getting some great rallies in and while neither of us is ready for the Open yet, we give each other a pretty solid workout and have fun. We've also gotten into a DVD some friends let us of Freaks and Geeks. Its a pretty funny show and its nice having something (like LOST) where we can enjoy at the end of the day and kick back together.
Well that's most of whats been going on, everything is pretty smooth, my weekends are packed but fun (like helping Bec et al move into their new place) and work is do-able and I'm feelin pretty up-beat about everything. Plus its a nice day out.
A new category I will throw into the mix is LOST. Skip this paragraph if you don't want secrets and spoilers revealed. NOW! Ok, so basically the show is really sweet and they did a good job of getting me to have conflicted feelings about characters and history. Last week Sarah and I finished season 3 so now the brutal wait till season 4 begins. My theories include that the island is at a different time (perhaps time loop) because of the fancy-ass phone that Naomi has and the story she said about how Driveshaft released a greatest hits album. That means that in 92 days the outside world: found the plane crash, determined Charlie was dead, the record producers compiled the album, released it, and the general public who is not a Driveshaft fan has knowledge of the album. Either there is a time discrepancy or she is just plain lying, which could very well be the case. They aren't leaving the island in season 4 and things will only get more complicated. I can't wait.
In WoW news i have hit 57 and am now grinding in the Outlands. Once I hit 58 the game changes from old to new and I will abandon all my current quests in order to accept all the new spiffy Burning Crusade quests. The grinding XP in the Outlands can't be beat but its boring and slow-going. I'm probably 90 kills away from 58 so I will hopefully get in down in 1-2 hours whenever I can get that much gaming on. My gear that I worked so hard and spent so much gold to ramp up will soon be obsolete, so I'll try to focus on good quest rewards to make me powerful all over again. My gold situation is still sweet, I'm around 900g and hope to hit 1k before 60 (when I get my next mount). Apparently there's lots of $ in OL just from kills and quest rewards so here's hoping!
On the Sonics front the changes keep coming. Goodbye Ray and Ra, hello Durant, Green, Kurt Thomas, WallyZ, DWest and a bunch of future picks. Presti has taken control of this team's wheeling and dealing and honestly he's impressing the crap outta me. The verdict is still out on this team as a whole, but I'm hoping we can at least make some waves this season. The arena issue is still grim, but as of this week Brian Robinson over at Sonicscentral.com started the "A Deal is a Deal" PAC. Which means that as long as Mayor Nickles does the right thing, the Sonics will be bound to their KeyArena lease till 2010, and in that time we may find the private investors we're hoping for. Even anti-arena-ist Chris Van Dyke is on board with this because if the lease is bought out it will screw over the city and more importantly the Seattle Center. It may seem like a mess now but if everything pans out just right the sonics could stick around after all.
Last weekend I got my suit for the wedding and its pretty spiffy. Looks really good and I'm pumped that some of my clothing is finally nailed down. Still gotta get some little things along the way like shoes and stuff but its nice knowing the suit is set. The registry is gradually growing, but Sarah and I keep putting on $5-$20 items on the list and the Macy's and Target people point it out to us all the time. Oh well I'm sure there will be enough super expensive gifts to meet some people's appetite. Playing tennis with Sarah recently has been great, we're actually getting some great rallies in and while neither of us is ready for the Open yet, we give each other a pretty solid workout and have fun. We've also gotten into a DVD some friends let us of Freaks and Geeks. Its a pretty funny show and its nice having something (like LOST) where we can enjoy at the end of the day and kick back together.
Well that's most of whats been going on, everything is pretty smooth, my weekends are packed but fun (like helping Bec et al move into their new place) and work is do-able and I'm feelin pretty up-beat about everything. Plus its a nice day out.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Return from Hiatus
Well its been a while since my last update so here is a everything you need to get you all up to date:
Life and vacations: The Banff/Jasper trip with my dad went great, got video footage and when I start having weekends to relax I plan to make a nice, short video of the trip, nature and fun etc. I missed Sarah but returning home was great, its so nice to reconnect with someone that knows you so well. Then we had a relaxed weekend followed by ANOTHER camping excursion with Bec and the gang in fill-in-the-blank-sylvania, near Olympia. Upon Bec's request I am separating out sections of my blog, so there! We returned home last night and have been taking it easy (except for worky) ever since.
Work: Work is keeping me really really busy these days, I have authority (to some extent) and slowly I'm learning to use it. Its crazy seeing the fruits of my labor, and I was recently invited to the 787 unveiling which should be a really fun time. The 4th is on Wednesday so that'll give me just the break I need in my work week. :)
WoW: I know no one reads this section but the update is: lvl 54, 730g (after getting Sarah a present and twinking Poder's gear a bit) and alchemy and herbalism are nearing the topped out stage but they progress very slowly. I have tried to do a 5-man instance called blackrock depths (BRD for short) about 7 times and it has never progressed significantly in each trial. But I'll keep at it and maybe land that perfect group. Grinding really is the way to level a character, I made 100X the leveling speed just killing undead and skeletons in the plaguelands compared to trying to get a group together for BRD. Making progress.
Sonics: Well now we got something! About 30 minutes after drafting Kevin-the-savior-Durant I found myself contemplating jumping off the balcony of the 4th story apartment. Turns out we traded Ray-jesus-shuttlesworth-Allen for the #5 pick (some green guy I didn't know), Wally Szcerbiak (I think I'm gonna toss my cookies), and Delonte West (huh?!). Well since that impulsive moment I have stepped away from the ledge and gotten to know (read) more about the theory behind these picks. Its true Allen is playing on bum ankles but he probably had 3 good years left in him, but the bond between Durant and Green (who played in Wash DC together when they were kids) sounds very Pippen-Jordanesque. Delonte West is the starter everyone is crying for at the PG or SG position and we may or may not be done with our dealings. For a bit we were a team with 6 small forwards but since then it looks like Durant or Green can cover the 2 and 4 while we keep Shard at the 3. So maybe this is the beginning of a new sonics era, and the sun is shinning just a little bit here in Sonicland, lets get out there and see what these kids can do! I'm crossing my fingers that a Watson/Wilcox trade for Rip Hamilton goes thru, I will personally guarantee the playoffs if this team starts the season with Durant, Green, Lewis, and Hamilton. Here's hoping!
Misc: This 4th of July I'm debating not doing the chaos fireworks at gasworks, its fun for a bit but ultimately a long stretch of time for all the hassle we have to go thru. Now that we live in Ravenna the commute is even rougher, so there's a possiblity we will pass this year. A friend of ours is going to watch the Transformers movie so maybe we'll do that instead. Interesting news article today: there are 12 7-elevens that over the weekend turned themselves into kwik-e-marts! One is in Seattle so I'll be on the hunt for that place which will sell buzz cola and other fake-turned-real simpson products. Should be fun! The wedding preparations are well underway and I've scoped out the hotels in NY for our honeymoon, this trip will be amazing and I'm pumped to have that sort of a relaxing time just me and Sarah. We have been brainstorming "recuerdos" (things to give each wedding guest at the wedding to remember it by) and we are slowly closing in on the top secret selection. Sarah and I are lost in LOST, the show is amazing but I won't ruin it for anyone (I am halfway thru season 3) so I will not discuss anything lost related on this blog. Just know that the show is GREAT! I posted on Sonicscentral a couple times last week and had some heated debates over there about our team, there's a good set of guys over there, I wish that Supersonicsoul would get as much discussion as the "central" does but I assume that both sites are viewed by all true fans. Good luck ray I will wear your jersey with pride. Next time I promise to update more often so that posts like this one don't have to happen. peace
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