A Wrench Got Thrown In The Works

Or a hammer, screwdriver, die grinder, whatever awkwardly shaped tool you desire to substitute. During the team meeting in Erlanger on Friday, my manager thought it would be a good idea for me to be a part of the Arc Welding Task Force- don't let the name or fancy acronym (AWTF) fool you, I am no superhero. So in short, I won't be able to stay in Michigan for the Super Bowl.

I'm still going to come up that weekend, but I'll be leaving around 2 or 3 Sunday afternoon instead of after the game. I haven't seen my friends in a while, and it'll be my parents' 23rd anniversary on the 6th of February, so hopefully I can take them out to breakfast or lunch before I leave.

Back to the AWTF for a little bit- Monday I'll be going to Princeton, Indiana for a couple days, then come back to Kentucky on Wednesday before leaving for Woodstock, Ontario for Thursday and Friday. And that whole week will be dedicated to analyzing welds produced by the different machinery at each plant.That may not sound as exciting as I hope it'll be, but it'll be cool to do a little traveling and get out of town for a little bit, check out the other plants.

5 more days, and then I'll be home, watching "The Jerk" and the Pistons with my best friends. Can't wait. Hope everyone has a good week.

8 Hours That Didn't Go To Waste

So today, I drove up to Erlanger to get my security badge for headquarters, came back to Georgetown, and worked the rest of the afternoon. And when I say work, I mean actual work. This might have been the first day in my three weeks at Toyota where I had real work to do. That's pretty much the only news in my life.

Before I came down here, I thought the co-op life would be pretty sweet. After all, all you do is just work 8 hours, and then you're free the rest of the day, right? Wrong-o. There's working out, grocery shopping, making dinner, getting ready for the next day, cleaning up your mess of a room, or just wanting to sleep. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it down here, good money, good friends, good (fill in the blank).

Geez, I thought I had a lot to talk about, but apparently not. I've officially been to Buffalo Wild Wings here more in 3 weeks than I'd been in Michigan in all my life. We watched MSU lose to UM last night, which was more than disappointing.

I'll end it with a little story. Leaving Erlanger today, I stopped at the Wal-Mart to get a milkshake from McDonald's. You read right, a McDonald's inside the Wal-Mart. Anyway, at this McWal-Mart, you will find the kindest, nicest McDonald's employee in the world. I don't remember his name, but when I approached him at the counter, he was sitting on a stool, legs spread eagled on the counter top (try and visualize that, it's really off putting). Here's the ensuing dialogue, best as I remember:

McWal-Mart Employee: Hello there, what can I get for you?
Me: Um, can I get a medium chocolate milkshake?
McWal-Mart Employee: Well, they only come in one size, but you can definitely have that! That'll be--
Me: Oh, could I have a medium fry too?
McWal-Mart Employee: Sure, you can have anything you want, except for my girlfriend (he points to the wheelchair bound lady he was talking to before I came up).
Me: Oh, haha.

Now that I think of it, that wasn't that funny. I guess it was just the way he was sitting and his unfailing kindness that got me. Then again, his "girlfriend" asked him to speak with the manager, because he was "so wonderful." And that's the story of the nicest McDonald's employee in the world, nay, the universe. If you're ever in the area, here's the address of the McWal-Mart:

4999 Houston Road, Florence, KY

Seriously, that man changed my life. How often does that happen?

Good Times

A wonderful Saturday morning to you all, from my makeshift Office Depot box credenza.

Last night was pretty fun, and I'm proud to announce that it didn't involve any vomit whatsoever. That's probably because I didn't drink, but I was still open to the possibility. We (a couple other MSU Toyota co-ops) got together last night and did some minor bar-hopping. I drove, because well, it's better that a sober person drive.

We went into downtown Lexington, which seems like a really cool place. It might not rival MSU in terms of bars per square foot, but the town's got it positives- plenty of parking, good atmosphere, wide variety of places to get wasted. We stopped at Rosebud first, which was a pretty nice bar. Lots of people and a wide age range, which I'm not necessarily complaining about. After hanging out there and meeting a few other people, we walked around, looking for another place.

Now even though I didn't drink last night, I just don't remember the names of the places we stopped at. I know we stopped at The Dame for a bit, which bills itself as "Lexington's Live Music Hall." It just so happened that when we went in, there was no live music. Go figure. After The Dame and a couple other places where the line was just too long, we ended up at Annabelle's, which seemed like a really mellow, yet classy place. After about 10 minutes, we got up and left, ready to check out the Waffle House.

And guess what? The Waffle House is not that impressive. You'd think they'd offer combo platters of waffles, scrambled eggs, and/or hash browns. Of course not. And while I give them props for some good waffles (then again, it was 1:30, and anything tastes good when you're hungry), I definitely wasn't satisfied with the Waffle House experience. I'll take Denny's or a Leo's Hungry Man #3 any day over that crap.

On the plus side (at least for you non-smokers), Lexington does not allow smoking inside any of its bars, which is great stuff, because there is nothing I hate more than coming home reeking of whatever it was the 43 year old spinster sitting next to me was smoking.

We're going to the Kentucky-South Carolina game today at 1, so that should be fun. Other than that, I've got some cleaning up and reading to do this weekend, which shouldn't be so fun. Especially when the book is a 174 page journey through the wonderful world of Arc Welding.

Cycle Times Are All The Rage

The second week of the Toyota experiment is coming to an end. And what are the results so far? Here's one- a Mechanical Engineering major can indeed go through 13 boxes of books, make a spreadsheet cataloging those books, and print out that very sheet. Those were the first 3 days of this week.

There's another thing I've learned: when you get an assignment, you might as well move as slow as you possibly can on it. Things will start picking up in the next month, and while I'm craving some work right now, I'll be complaining about soon.

As for good news, I finally got badge access to my department. For the past week and a half, I had to knock on the door and wait for someone to let me in. I still have to get my badge clearance for Toyota North America, in Erlanger, but that won't happen until February.

Other than work, things are going alright down here in Lexington. The weather's actually not much better than Michigan, which is a slight (huge) disappointment. The apartment's still missing some furniture, but why buy new stuff when it's just sitting at home?

Time to watch this Pistons game; I don't get many down here, so I'm going to take advantage of it.

If This Is What Every Weekend's Going To Be Like...

So I'm sitting here watching more football, about 20 minutes away from the season premiere of 24. Yes, say what you will, but I am a complete and utter 24 junkie. If I happen to miss an episode, I go on a sobbing rampage for close to a week. That said, 2 episodes tonight and 2 tomorrow are pretty much how I'm going to be spending my evenings.

Friday night was pretty much the height of my weekend. I stayed in on Saturday, ran some errands, and just relaxed at the apartment. It was nice and definitely needed. Today, I went to church and then managed to get some shopping and groceries done. It's really different, working full time, then having almost nothing to do on the weekends. No homework, no tests to study for, no labs or projects to work on. I don't mind one bit, but at the same time, that stuff used to keep me busy. Now I've got to rely on myself to keep entertained. It's times like these I wish I could sleep in until 12. But of course not, I have to wake up at 9 in the morning. I can't go back to sleep once I wake up. Physically impossible.

I'm feeling an insightful and thoughtful post coming up in the next week. We'll see.

I Can Still Taste the Jack

Last night, Nataline and Keith took it upon themselves to say Happy Birthday to me the 21 year old way. And almost 12 hours later, I can honestly say I threw up way too much for my own good.

I'm not proud of myself. If you know me, you know that I hardly ever drink. That explains why I got hit so hard, somewhat fast. Don't get me wrong, I had plenty of fun last night. I just don't think I'm going to be drinking for a little while. I can find other ways to have fun down here.

First week of work is over, and I'm starting to get used to this 8 hour a day deal. Yesterday we had a team meeting at Toyota North America, or TMMNA, in Erlanger. This is going to be an every Friday occurrence, so I'm going to try and take advantage of being an hour closer to home and head straight home for the Super Bowl.

Geez, even just thinking about that first shot (Three Wise Men, look it up) gets me feeling a little sick. Oh well, time to suck it up and make the most of my weekend. I never have any time during the week.

Maybe I'll Drive Up For The Super Bowl

I'd be lying if I said I was having the time of my life down here in Lexington. This being the first week of work, it's been kind of boring and uneventful. Today, my supervisor actually assigned me some stuff to do, so after walking around the plant floor for around an hour, I finally found the area he wanted me to check out. I'll be glad once I get an actual project to work on; for now, it seems that I'm just doing busy work, or the work that no one else wants to do.

Keith and I actually met some other co-ops today at lunch; not only were they co-ops, they also go to Michigan State. Small world. We ended up meeting up at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Spartans eventually beat Indiana, so that was cool.

This work thing is really starting to take its toll on me. I mean, working 8 hours a day has its perks, but then again, taking classes for an hour on, hour off, is also nice. Plus, I just miss the college environment. I miss talking to people my own age. At work, there's a few guys around my age, but everyone else is 10-20 years older than I am.

Two more days left in the week, and then I've got plenty of stuff to do for the weekend, not to mention the fact that my not celebrating my 21st birthday last Saturday doesn't sit too well with a couple of the co-ops. Uh oh.

Yesterday's Word Of The Day: Spatter

I'm sitting here at work, already abusing my internet privileges on my second day. I don't have much to do yet, so I just sit at my desk and every once in a while, read an AutoCad tutorial or stop at one of the other guys' desks. My supervisor isn't too big a help, he kind of just comes and goes and sometimes invites me along to check out a subassembly on the floor.

I've been down in Lexington now for 4 days, and I guess it's been alright so far. I still miss the college atmosphere; working 8+ hours a day and driving to and from work 30 minutes each way makes me feel way too old for a 21 year old.

My internet's been acting really shady at the apartment, so I've had to resort to using an unknowing neighbor's wireless connection along with AIM Express. Not to mention the fact that while our apartment is really nice, we really don't have that much stuff to put in it. I guess I'll have to wait until payday, because I've already put enough on the credit card as it is. Geez I'm bored. Only 3 and a half more hours.

Oh, Lexington

Got down here yesterday, after around a 6 hour drive. Once I got all my stuff unpacked and as situated as it could be, my parents said goodbye and left for Michigan. Keith had already been down here for more than a week, and luckily I didn't have to suffer through the lack of cable and internet.

It was my 21st birthday yesterday, but we didnt do much down here; I was feeling pretty tired after a long day, so we just went downtown and checked out the bars and clubs. We only went into one, and I'm pretty sure we won't be going to Gambino's anytime soon. It wasn't the kind of bar atmosphere I wanted to be in; sometimes you just want to go to a hole in the wall establishment. Apparently the place the be is the Two Keys Tavern, which we'll go to next weekend or something.

I've still got to go out and get some more stuff (we do need a kitchen table), but I don't know how much I'm going to get done today, with the football games and my general laziness.

I'm a little nervous about going into work tomorrow, but at the same time I'm excited. This is my chance to learn more than a few classes in school would teach me, and I'm living on my own. By the way, this apartment is nice. Once we actually make it look nice, maybe I'll put some pictures up.

India Part 2

I figured I'd write more about India while watching the tivo of last night's Rose Bowl. Don't tell me the score, God forbid.

I actually don't remember where I left off, so instead of going in a boring chronological order, I'll mix it up a bit and talk about the day I spent in Mumbai (or Bombay, if you're still living under British rule).

We hired a driver to take my family and 3 uncles (8 people altogether) in a Toyota Qualis. I'll talk about the cars there another time, it's definitely worth a little talk. Anyway, we left from home around 8 in the morning and took almost 2 hours to get to Mumbai. I'm sure I mentioned something about the driving already, but it's literally a million times worse in the city. Never ending honking, the most noxious fumes, and limitless pverty. And the dogs, my God, the dogs. Dogs everywhere. Little dogs, big dogs, thin dogs, fat dogs, hairy dogs....not-so-hairy dogs.

Our first real stop was the Gateway Of India. There so many people there it was almost impossible to get a nice picture. The other side of the landmark borders the Indian Ocean. After taking about 935 family photos at the place, all of which also included some other unknowing Indian or tourist (note to self: it is absolutely impossible to take a picture of only the people you want).

After the gate, I actually don't remember where we went, so I'll just make up the stops. We also checked out a really poor excuse for an aquarium, whose most prominent display was a whale skeleton. They also had an exhibit on goldfish and catfish, both of which are incredibly common to India, and well, the world. And then there was the market, just a giant place that I guess Detroiters could compare to Eastern Market. But this place smelled worse, on account of the dog crap and abundance of poverty. I must give credit, there was every kind of fruit I could have ever dreamt of. And dirt cheap too. There wasn't just only fruit and vegetables, there was a pet store near the end of the market, but not the friendly neighborhood pet store we all know here, this pet store had 40 parakeets stuffed into a small cage, a few puppies in another, fish in dirty aquariums, mice/rats in containers just large enough for their bodies. And the fact that people were walking around barefoot was just a little detracting. There was still the matter of that dead rat on the ground, which I'm pretty sure I stepped on no less than 13 times.

Well, now that I sat through a whole quarter just to watch Vince Young beat USC, I'm done typing for now. More later. Leaving for Kentucky on Saturday. Wisdom tooth still hurts. Still jet lagged. Still a little sick. Just makes sense that all this happens near and on my birthday.

Things Could Be Worse....I Guess

I'm still getting over the jet lag/stomach flu treat that I got from the India trip. Oh yeah, and one of my wisdom teeth is coming in sideways, or so my dentist told me at an emergency appointment this morning. He offered to take it out immediately, but said there would be "serious trauma" to my upper jaw. So I passed on that, and instead decided to go on some antibiotics and Motrin. I'll wait until I get down to Kentucky to get the teeth taken out, although I don't know when I'll have the time.

I guess I should talk about India a little more before I completely forget the stuff I wanted to talk about. Not so much has changed there in the 11 years since I was there last, at least in my family's town. As soon as we got there, so many memories from 1994 came back, and I immediately remembered everything about the town: the insanely polluted lake near my grandpa's house, the 400 year old church, the narrow, narrow roads (a little wider than the sidewalks here), and that smell. Dear Lord, that smell in the air. I can't quite put my finger on what it smells like, it's just something you have to smell for yourself.


The last time I went, I was 10 years old and my uncle and aunt both got married. Not to each other, obviously. Since then, each of them had two kids, so I always thought it'd be a little weird meeting my cousins for the first time. That couldn't have been further from the truth- all of my cousins were so loving and so welcoming that it was hard to leave. In fact, everyone in my family was incredibly kind and loving and supportive, it was almost hard to believe. I have such a strong support system in my family, and feel incredibly fortunate for that. In the picture on the left, only a fraction of my family. Now that I have a ten year visa, I'll be able to go back in 2 or 3 years and spend more than just a week there. Seven days isn't enough when you have as large a family as I do.

More tomorrow, for now I'm going to go pass out in bed and look forward to the Pistons game tonight.

America, How I Take Thee For Granted

After 15 hours of flying plus 8 hours of waiting in airports, I'm finally home. And boy, does it feel good. Never did fresh air and traffic lights ever make me so happy. I'll be posting plenty of photos in the next few days, but for now I'm just too tired to type for longer than 5 minutes. So here's one picture. Happy New Year to All!