College...The Five Year Way

The End

2006-07-01T00:30:00.000-04:00

I may have said this before, but this will for sure be my last post in this blog. Stay tuned for 4ourthyear.blogspot.com , and I promise it'll be marginally more interesting than this one. Coming up:

Going to NYC- plenty of pictures and experiences
Going back to KY- because I absolutely adore this girl.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summer as much as I will.

Sleep? What's that?

2006-06-29T08:59:00.000-04:00

I haven't gotten anywhere near as much sleep as I should have gotten these past few days, but I'm definitely not complaining. I'd hate to jinx such a good thing, but I haven't felt this great in so long.

Keep the good times coming, I've got a southern belle.

I'll Miss Ya Bluegrass

2006-06-27T02:47:00.000-04:00

So here I am, back in Michigan for the next 10 months or so. I had a great past 6 months in Kentucky, and I'm already looking forward to going back down there. I've got a couple reasons.

It feels strange being at home, eating dinner with the family, sitting here in my room, with clothes and semi-unpacked boxes everywhere. Of course, the first thing I set up was my computer and speakers. My pick for this week has definitely got to be Josh Ritter's Animal Years. This is probably the closest I've ever gotten to listening to country music, but I like to think Ritter is more folk rock than anything else. Take a listen, let me know what you think.

Right now, I couldn't be happier. It's nearly 3 in the morning, my contacts are drying out, and I'm tired beyond belief, but my mind is racing and my heart is keeping up. It's been a long while since I've felt like this, and I consider myself unbelievably fortunate. I can only hope that the streak continues right on through the rest of the summer.

Have a good week everyone, if today was any indication, I definitely will.

Last Day of Work - Not

2006-06-23T16:23:00.000-04:00

Since I couldn't make my presentation today, I'll have to go in Monday and do it. Unbelievable.

Anyway, last night was kind of crazy. A bunch of us went to the Legends game (Thirsty Thursdays, how can you deny it?). I thought the night would be over after the game, after all, I did have to go to work at 7am the next day.

Garrett, the genius he is, decides that we're all going to the strip club. Sure, why the hell not? I've only got a couple more nights here, not like I'm going to be doing anything better. So we hit up Cowboy's first, let Keith have his fun, then went over to Solid Platinum.

I finally got home around 2:30 or 3 and just crashed, only to wake up at 7am. I raced to work (that's right, no shower, no cleaning up of any kind- I only brushed my teeth), and just wasted the whole day away. Everything I ate for the first half of the day tasted like Bud Light, and that made me angry. What a waste of food.

Nonetheless, fun night. I don't have a single regret, and that's the way it should be.

I'll be back in Michigan on Tuesday, not that more than 3 of you care. I know I can't wait.

Go Figure - Rain

2006-06-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

My last week in Kentucky, and of course there's got to be the possibility of thunderstorms every day.

This weekend was fun, yesterday Park Place threw their annual pool party, which basically boiled down to free food and beer. And as if that weren't enough, the bonus was a raffle that I actually won- $100 off of one month's rent! Seeing as how our lease expires next Tuesday, I convinced the manager to just give us a refund on June's rent. So I'll take that.

It was hotter than hell yesterday. I just remember walking around on the deck and my feet burning, like I was walking on hot coals or something (hotfoot). And today was a complete 180, thunderstorms for a good part of the afternoon, which I didn't mind. It feels really cool out now.

Enough about the weather. I want to make the most of my last week here, try and do all the stuff I'd meant to do these past six months- go to a Legends game, ~~go out on a date with a Kentucky girl~~, and a few other things I can't really think of right now.

The good news is that I'll be back down here in May. So instead of missing yet another semester at MSU, i'll be in Kentucky until August, which I'm really looking forward to. The summers are great here.

So have a good week, no matter where you are.

1 Week

2006-06-16T18:06:00.000-04:00

Hey, it's been a while. I've been pretty busy with work, working out, etc. It's finally the end of the week, so I'm going to chill at the pool and enjoy this weekend. This will probably be my last full weekend down in Kentucky, and as much as I want to make the most of it, I'd rather just relax. I don't think I've slept more than 6 hours in any one night this whole week. If I sit down for more than 12 seconds, I'll pass out.

No More Mr. Big Head

2006-06-02T23:42:00.000-04:00

When I was in third (or maybe it was fourth) grade, the doctor took my dad aside during my annual physical. "I am a little worried about his head size, it seems to be a little large for his age."

Of course, it didn't help that taking my dad aside meant moving 2 feet to the left of me; my giant ears (which were to scale with my enormous head) picked up every word my doctor said.

And finally, 11 years later, I am proud to state that my head has stopped growing, and is in fairly good proportion with the rest of my body. I might even go so far as to say that I have a nice looking cranium. If that's selfish, then forgive me, I really just wanted to rub it in that doctor's face.

I can't believe the Pistons lost tonight. No trip to the Finals this year, no ring for poor Antonio McDyess. Game 6 was probably the worst game I've ever seen this Pistons squad play. Just pathetic, no defense, no motivation whatsoever. Maybe Flip Saunders is to blame, maybe he isn't. All I know is that this loss wasn't the right way to start a work-free weekend.

Kentucky Girls Are The Greatest

2006-06-01T21:41:00.000-04:00

If I had to have a girl randomly picked to date me, and I could only choose the state, I'd choose the Bluegrass State. I would've told the girl at Applebee's today that she was absolutely beautiful, except for a few things: because of my grease and slag-laden jeans, not to mention my ugly stubble and absent patch of hair. And honestly, it would've been a bit awkward.

I can picture myself as a confident guy that could go up to a girl and tell her she was pretty, or hell, even talk to her but for a few minutes. But then I just choke and retreat. Good ol' C&R.

Well that's all I had to say.

I'm Never Cutting My Own Hair Again

2006-05-30T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well, lesson learned, and I have the patch to prove it. In a random fit of boredom this past Friday night, I decided to give a try at cutting my own hair. Long story short, I messed up. Unless you think a patch of hair that's shorter than the rest of the hair is attractive, then I most definitely messed up. It's times like these I'm glad to work at a plant and wear a hard hat all the time. Hard hats also help when you fall down stairs, or get staplers thrown at you.

Memorial Day weekend went pretty well, even though I did work 70 hours, including a 14 hour stint on Saturday. That was fairly fun. Yesterday I just relaxed out by the pool, showing "The Patch" off to all the girls. And seriously, there are so many gorgeous girls in Kentucky I just don't know what to do. I'd even go so far as to say that [most] Kentucky girls are more beautiful than [most] Michigan State girls. And that's a pretty tough accomplishment. So congrats to UK girls.

Short post tonight, I'm tired as hell. I really think the short hair is sapping me of my energy a lot faster than it normally would. If you really want to see the hideousness that is my hair, click on my facebook profile. yikes.

Good Night

2006-05-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

Good night.

Yes, I'm aware that it's not even 7pm yet. And yes, I'm even aware that it's 80 degrees and sunny out.

I have to be in at work tomorrow at 3:30. In the morning. We're running welding trials for the new Camry Hybrid, and since we can't interfere during normal production hours, we chose the 4am-6am timeslot. Doesn't seem unusual at all, not one bit.

You might be saying, "Hey, Justin, quit complaining, you'll get out of work at lunch!" And I'll say, "Lunch? Ha! What about my 4pm meeting? It's sure as hell not going to run itself!" Odds are I'll probably hit you in the shoulder or flick you in the ear. Really hard.

I'm heading for a 60+ hour work week, which really doesn't bother me. I've got nothing much better to be doing anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a true story for you:

Last week I drove my supervisor to pick up his car from the shop (an hour away). You see, his belief is that as a car ages, it can go longer without an oil change. So, being the strict believer he is, he drove well over 20,000 miles (possibly 30,000, he didn't remember) without an oil change (Please keep buying Toyotas). Long story short, he needed a new engine.

Anyway, on the drive to the dealership to pick his car up, we were talking about work, drinking, the usual stuff a co-op and his supervisor talk about. Here's the dialogue, see if you spot anything unusual:

Supervisor: Yeah, you should come over to my bar this weekend, we'll have a good time.
Me: Yeah, definitely, we've been meaning to for a while now.
Supervisor: Mmm, yeah.(30 seconds of silence)
Me: So what's going on with the fuel tank installation?
Supervisor:Yeah, I ain't sure, it's, it's.................................
(I look over to him)

The man fell asleep midsentence. So while I'm in disbelief, wondering how he could have done that, he shakes a little bit (usually involuntary) and wakes up. And he changes the topic! I spent the rest of the ride just in complete awe. What a piece of work.

Forever the Optimist

2006-05-21T22:38:00.000-04:00

Hey, it's been a while. This past week was nothing too special, so I won't talk about that. My family came down to visit yesterday, which was really nice. I got to take them out to dinner at Johnny Carino's last night, and then we went to church and breakfast at Waffle House (another classy joint, only the best for my family). As if that wasn't great enough, I got to drive a Charger R/T, which was a blast. A 5.7L Hemi V-8 will make any guy's day.

I really hope I start getting busy this week, and there's no reason I shouldn't be. A lot of new equipment for the Camry Hybrid is coming in the next month, and that requires plenty of prep work. Now, why do I want to get busy, you might ask?

I need to take my mind off other matters. I talked to my ex-gf on Friday night for the first time in a while. It wasn't awkward or anything, just different. From the sound of it though, she's doing very well for herself, and I couldn't be happier for her. She deserves nothing but happiness and kindness from everyone around her, and that was something I couldn't give her.

Nonetheless, I feel fortunate to have lived the life I've lived so far. I try and take nothing for granted, but that's just impossible. I've been meaning to do more volunteer work since I've been down here, and I think I'm going to take the first step this week and start contacting some organizations. If I could do it, I'd drop everything and join the Red Cross in an instant. But that will have to wait for a few years, at least until I graduate.

Hope everyone has a good week, make the most of it.

Good Week

2006-05-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

I've been looking forward to a weekend of nothing since Tuesday. The first half of this week was fairly busy, but then just tailed off until today, when the amount of work I did might actually have been negative work.

But regardless of how slow work has been, it's been a good week. We actually won our basketball game this week, and even though my contacts got gouged out and i had to shoot free throws with one eye, I was feeling good.

Only 45 days until I'm done with my co-op at Toyota, and while I am going to miss Kentucky, I'm excited to get back to Michigan and catch up on everything I've missed. And that includes going to see Nacho Libre with my amigo Nacho, doing some fishing, and spending time with my family.

CD of the rest of the month, without a doubt: Snow Patrol~ Eyes Open. Incredible.

The Derby Sucked

2006-05-07T22:19:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I was not impressed at all. I thought it'd be an all out party, but it really wasn't. I think the parking lot before going into Churchill Downs was a lot better, and that's not saying much. Bottom line: I wouldn't recommend going to the infield party at the Derby, unless it's your first time. I guess I can just say I went, and that's about it. Definitely not worth $40.

I did manage to escape with a souvenir. It's about 8 feet long by 6 feet tall, and even though I don't drink all that much, it's going up on the wall next year:
And now here's the good stuff. Apparently someone broke into our apartment last night, through the living room window. Luckily, Keith's friends were sleeping in the living room, and the would be robber tripped on one of the guys and fell on the other. He then dove back out the window. I'm glad his friends were there, otherwise we would've been screwed. Frankly, I'm a little nervous to go to sleep tonight, even though I know the windows are locked now and the guy would be an idiot to try that again. I hope I can fall asleep tonight.

Felicity, I Hardly Knew Ye

2006-05-05T22:12:00.000-04:00

We saw Mission Impossible 3 tonight- not bad, typical action flick, crappy ending. But I think the big thing was Keri Russell flexing her action muscle. She's a damn good shot, if I may say so myself.

So right now, it is a quarter after ten, or 10:15pm to the layperson. I have to wake up at 4:30 tomorrow morning, get to TMMK by 5:30, run welding trials at 6, and hopefully get out of there by 8. Then I'm going to pick up Craig and we're going to head over to Louisville for Kentucky Derby festivities. Should be fun, or a crazy experience at the very least.

I think it's time to get to sleep. Pretty good week so far, no complaints, hopefully the weekend goes just as well.

Why Won't This Weekend Just End?

2006-04-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

The short version? Most boring weekend ever.

The long version? Not much longer than the short version, but I'll try and exaggerate as best as possible. Friday after work, I worked out. That was the highlight of the day, right there. You missed it? It's right there, between work and That. Saturday? More of the same. You know it's getting bad when the highlight of your day is getting an oil change.

I just didn't know what to do this weekend; I'm getting kind of tired of just spending money, because I know it's going to come back to bite me in the ass. Luckily, it rained for most of today, so I felt justified in staying inside and drawing/watching tv/eating.

Yesterday could have been a great sports day, what with the NFL Draft, Tigers, Pistons, and Wings all playing. Results? Lions draft defense (thank God), Tigers whomp on the Twins, Wings lose a crucial game 5, and the Pistons let Michael Redd go off for 40 in a Bucks win. I've never felt like I was such bad luck, but there's a history. Last season, I was at the Engineering Building for most, if not all of the Lions' wins. Looks like I can't watch any more Detroit sports.

I'm actually looking forward to work this week, at least I'll have something to do. Good luck to everyone starting Finals tomorrow, that's gotta suck. Have a good week.

What A Slow Week

2006-04-27T23:15:00.000-04:00

Honestly, it felt like today was Friday, and I didn't appreciate it. I flew solo at work today and had more than enough to do, problem was, I just didn't feel like doing it. Well, that, and I really couldn't come up with the answers to a few of the questions (How the hell am I supposed to know whether or not the 240V breakers in the power panel can be replaced by 480V breakers to be used for the gantry system?). In short, I'm ready for the weekend.

I got to thinking this afternoon (doesn't happen often), and I've come to the conclusion that getting back in the habit of having classes every day and studying for those classes is going to suck giant panda balls. Such is life.

The Kentucky Derby is next weekend, and as far as I know, we're going to be partying in the infield with 70,000 other people. I'm getting to the point in my life where I want to experience as much as I can as soon as I can, and what better way than to start with The Derby?

I really want to do some fishing this summer, just me, some friends and the lake. And I want to hike, go kayaking, and maybe even some mountain biking. We'll see, my summer's only going to last two months. Better make the most of it.

Quite A Turnaround

2006-04-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

This week ended pretty nicely, I'm fairly surprised. Today was a beautiful 75 degrees, so I just hung out by the pool and finally got in. The water was a little cold, but I think it was the taste that threw me off more than anything. I really don't think I should've gone in the pool. Oops.

I'm still a little angry about how work has gone this past week. Just by taking two days off for Easter, I've been all but given the shaft by my supervisors. It seems that I'm no longer the project leader for my front suspension modifications. The project manager assigned to design and fabricate my modifications doesn't communicate with me, but instead the other two people on my team. Basically, if I had to draw a progress curve of how this term has gone, it'd be like a rollercoaster, but a really boring one. Up, Up, Up, Steady, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down (Really long drop, think Millennium Force), Down, Down, Down, Down. And now I'm just waiting to hit the brick wall at the end of this ride. A little over two more months and I'm done here. I doubt I'll be coming back, unless this ends up being my only option. My supervisors lack communication skills of any kind, and it's impossible to get anything done with no leadership.

Tomorrow, there'll be some more relaxing by the pool, then we're going to go tailgate at Keeneland, and watch some races. Should be a fun end to a nice weekend.

I don't think I'll be living at home at all this summer; I'll be done here at the end of June, and our lease in East Lansing starts in July. I'd rather just move up there immediately and relax for two months. I'm already looking forward to the pool parties and barbecues.

And Once Again...

2006-04-17T22:45:00.000-04:00

I was right. I called it on Thursday, and it came true yesterday. I am amazing.

Anyway, the weekend went well, for the most part. Seeing family was good, it's amazing how fast everyone's growing up and growing apart. And honestly, 5 years ago I didn't think I'd care about my family as much as I do now. Besides a couple friends, family's all I've got, and I consider myself lucky everyday.

And to sum up, life sucks. It's unbelievable how things can go from worse to worst in a matter of days, but hey, that's life. It's times like these that I regret being so damn optimistic about everything. And one more thing: 99.5% of girls are a waste of time. The other 0.5% are taken. It's science.

Michigan

2006-04-13T22:54:00.000-04:00

Back in Michigan for Easter. I'm glad to be here, I'm just hoping this weekend is as fun as I hope it will be. Tomorrow and Saturday are pretty much "spend time with family" days, as is most of Sunday. I'm going to go up to East Lansing Sunday evening to watch the Pistons game with Josh and just hang out, like old times. It'll be nice catching up with the 3 friends that realize I'm not at MSU this semester.

This will definitely be my last visit to Michigan before I come back for the summer, especially with gas around 3 bucks a frickin gallon. Times like these, I'm glad I don't have an SUV. So I figure, half of April is already gone, May and June to go, and then I'll be back in Canton. What I've been thinking about more and more lately is how hard it's going to be getting back into school mode. When I go back to MSU in the fall, I'll have been off school for 9 months.

Time to have a great sleep and a great weekend, Happy Easter to all of you.

Oddities

2006-04-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

Beautiful weather for most of the day? Me, talking to a beautiful girl, and being talked back to? Me, finally feeling a sense of self worth and confidence? Me, actually excited to go back to Michigan State for a couple days?

Oh yes, things are on the up and up. And up and up.

A Happy April To You

2006-04-05T21:46:00.000-04:00

Weather's starting to get better- a lot better. And really, if you couldn't tell by now, now you know: my mood is completely dependent on the weather. So I'm in a great mood, I usually always am.

Work's going alright- most of the guys in the office have either gone back to NA or moved down to Texas for the next few months, so the place is a lot more laid back and easier to work in. My project is finally moving forward again, and I need to figure out a way to erase the 3 week delay, fast.

I got a couple days off for Easter, so I'll be coming back to Michigan Thursday night, spending the following few days with family and catching up, and then going back up to East Lansing to catch up with the few friends I care about the most. Plus, it'll just be nice being back up at Michigan State, I've really missed the people and the campus.

So to end, I'll see you if I see you, and if not, have a great rest of the week.

Uh Oh....

2006-03-31T01:47:00.000-05:00

It's almost 2am. I have to wake up in about 4 hours. I think I might have made a mistake in going out tonight, but we'll see. Avio was still fun.

Work has sucked as of late. There's been no guidance, no support, nothing. The one guy that was helping us has gone all Charlie Chaplin on us (not the dancing and hijinks Chaplin, the silent Chaplin), so he's avoided us like the plague. The three of us working together have maybe 8 months of experience combined, and that just means frustration since we know absolutely nothing about process and the way things are done at Toyota. It makes me angry that I've been thrown into a situation as disorganized and chaotic as this one, but who knows, maybe I'll be the better for it.

I'm going home for Easter weekend; I took both Friday and Monday off, so while I'm planning on spending the weekend with the family, I was thinking about going up to State on Sunday and hanging out there until Monday afternoon, when I'd unfortunately have to drive back down here to Lexington. It'll be nice to be back up at campus for a little bit, I really do miss East Lansing.

Hopefully the weekend is as good as the weather was today, just absolutely gorgeous.

Not A Bad Weekend

2006-03-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

Sure, we didn't get to go to any bars this weekend, and hey, maybe the weather was a little cold. I still had a good time this weekend. What a difference talking to the right people makes.

I finally went outside for a run today, just 2 miles, but wow, did it feel good. It's nice running around Lexington because it's hilly, so there's always a good challenge. I can't wait to get back to running outdoors 5-6 days a week.

I don't want to work tomorrow. If it's anything like last week, it's going to be a complete waste of time. Last week was probably the most unproductive 5 days of my life at Toyota.

I think I'm going to see if I can get a transfer to the Technical Center in Ann Arbor for the summer. Only bad thing about that is I wouldn't really get any vacation, which could hurt the road trip plans we've got. So forget the Tech Center, I'll just find a job somewhere else. Josh and I were talking about getting a landscaping job. I wouldn't mind working outdoors, doing some manual labor. Never hurt anybody.

I'm coming back to Michigan for Easter, and that's that. I haven't told my supervisor yet, but he won't mind, I'm sure. Taking Friday and Monday off are ideal, but I'll be happy with just Monday off. We'll see. Have a good week.

I'm Getting Restless....

2006-03-21T22:42:00.000-05:00

Work this past week has really been a drag. I'm between stages on my project, which means plenty of downtime. PLENTY. Yesterday Mike and I went up the stairs past our office, and checked out the roof for a little while. We also saw the new 2007 FJ Cruiser, which was pretty sweet.

I flew solo for most of the weekend; Keith went back to MSU for St. Patrick's Day, so I held things down here. Weird thing is, I didn't mind being alone. I liked making dinner by myself, driving around by myself. That can't be good. I'm getting too used to being lonely. It's time to make some new friends. Preferably beautiful Kentucky girls. But I'm not picky, they don't have to be from Kentucky. Wow, I'm funny.

And it's getting cold again. What the HELL? I want spring to be here in the worst kind of way. Well, technically, spring is here, but it's like Michigan's winter followed me down here, and I don't appreciate it one bit. If I have to go one more day wearing gloves, I will just snap.

The basketball league starts Thursday, and I'm pretty excited about it. Yesterday was the 3 point shootout, and I placed a disappointing 3rd out of 35 guys. I lost by 3 points (ironic, I guess), and lost out on an awesome $25 Dick's giftcard. Oh well.

Why Bother?

2006-03-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's the weather, maybe I miss Michigan, but I've been in some kind of funk for the past week. I'll get out of it once the weather starts getting better.

Actually, I do know what it is, and it's actually a couple things. I'm tired of the guys at work being huge perverts, always talking about the two hot girls in the entire plant, or pointing out the titties on one of the girls. I mean, Jesus, you're 45 years old and you're still calling them titties? Pathetic. It's cool to say, "Hey that girl's pretty hot," but to stare at her like you've never seen a woman before? Grow the fuck up and show some respect.

Speaking of respect, I have no tolerance for people who cheat on their boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/significant other. Even worse is when you do cheat on that person, and don't even fess up to it. Just break it off, I don't care how much you say you care for him or her, you wouldn't be in this situation if that were true.

And girls, stop dating the assholes! We're just as tired of hearing about it as you are of dating these idiots! There's more than enough good guys out there, but for some unbelievable reason you go to the bastards that'll step all over you and treat you like crap day after day. I don't mind lending an ear and trying to help anyone out, but if it comes down to something you have do for yourself, there's only so much I can say or do.

And it's only Monday.

No Talking About Work

2006-03-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

Seriously, there's no reason. It's just more of the same.

This past weekend was probably the most fun I've had down here yet. Josh and Andy came down, and Keith's friends Andrea, Renee, and Mary stopped on by too. Friday night we went to Austin City, this country bar out on New Circle. I didn't think I'd enjoy it that much, but I was wrong, once again. Great atmosphere, beautiful girls, and just an overall good time. We didn't get to sleep until around 4 or 4:30, but it was worth it.

Saturday was a pretty laid back day for the most part- watched the Spartans lose yet another Big Ten game to Illinois, played some football, enjoyed the elementary school playground, and then just relaxed until it was time to go out again. This time we went over to Rosebud and McCarthy's. It was cold as all hell, so that wasn't so much fun. McCarthy's was really packed, so we just left after an hour of hanging out there. Maybe it was longer, I don't really remember.

Some of us had a sleepover in the living room, since the apartment was so cold. Did it help? I'd say so. I was a lot warmer, even though certain people were blanket hogs. Ah well.

We did try building a tent indoors. It was going well at first, for not being able to throw those stakes in the ground.

But then we realized we needed those stakes, seeing as how the whole thing was falling apart.

Everyone was depressed at the fact that we had to take it down. Especially Keith. It really hit him hard. I don't think he was the same the rest of the weekend.

Sunday finally came around, and after a Waffle House breakfast, we came back and just passed the hell out. Great weekend.

What?

2006-03-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

I'd been meaning to type something here for the past couple days, and I finally accidentally clicked on the Post button, so why not now?

Indiana, was....interesting. The 3 hour bus ride there was cool, but for the most part I just relaxed and managed to sleep in 15 minute spurts. After we got to the hotel and got something to eat, I decided to play the loner card and fly solo for the night. Sometimes I just want some time to myself, time to just relax, reflect, not have to worry about other people or anything else, for that matter.

The co-op day itself was just boring. So much food and too much walking combine to create a very tiring experience. I was pretty much dragging myself through the plant tour. Overall, pretty crappy co-op day, but I did manage to meet some new people who I wouldn't mind hanging out with while we're down here.

Today I had a Bid meeting with two vendors, the first real step in my Front Suspension project. I was so nervous through it all- I mean, I like talking, but to talk for 40 minutes in front of 9 other people about something you yourself just started learning about 3 weeks ago? Tough. I think it went well though, and I'm definitely looking forward to moving on with the project. The fact that Toyota has essentially given me $150,000 to carry this project out is a little scary. Part of me wants to just waste the money on cool robots that do nothing, but something tells me I'd never get to see those robots.

Josh and Andy are coming down tomorrow for the weekend, so that should be fun. It'll be cool having the guys down here, showing them around. Hopefully they have a good time. One more day of work and then I'll be free for two days. I can't believe how much I look forward to the weekends now. I barely have any free time on Saturdays and Sundays as it is.

No Novel, Just A Short Story

2006-02-27T22:49:00.000-05:00

Weekend was fun- Mike's 28th birthday, we went to Malone's steakhouse for dinner, then downtown to McCarthy's afterwards. Mike brought to my attention that I've got the skills, but not the game, when it comes to girls. Or maybe I've got the game, but not the skills. Who the hell knows.

Co-op day is Wednesday in Princeton, Indiana, at the Toyota plant there. We're leaving tomorrow at 3pm and getting back Wednesday night. Should be incredibly boring or moderately enjoyable.

Josh and Andy are coming down this weekend, as well as a couple girls Keith knows. Should be a fun weekend.

The key word of today's entry: fun.

I'm Definitely On A Third Eye Blind Binge

2006-02-23T23:41:00.000-05:00

Finally, the week is almost over. Or is it? I might have to work Saturday, depending on how badly my manager yells at me in tomorrow's meeting. I was supposed to work on this report for him, but without the right information (or any information at all), that was impossible. Not to mention that I was working on this on Saturday, and no one except co-ops work Saturdays. Ah well, if I didn't get fired on Monday, odds are I'll still have a job by the end of the day tomorrow.

Life's going alright for me, at least right now. Sure, I'm working around 50+ hours a week, but I stay busy that way, and it helps me keep my mind off other matters, matters that would consume my mind if I had time to sit around and dwell on them- like I'm doing now. It's not anything serious, it's just that my mind tends to wander and start thinking of all sorts of "What if" scenarios. I don't need that, I just need to appreciate where I am right now and not worry about what could've been, or even what could be.

There's been some talk among a couple of the co-ops about coming up to MSU for St. Patrick's Day, but I don't if I'm going to be joining in. We'd be leaving Thursday, and I have meetings and projects to attend to on Fridays, and work pretty much every Saturday. As much as I'd like go back to East Lansing, I don't think it's a good idea. So, sorry to the two or three people that would've wanted to see me.

This weather needs to start getting better immediately. I'll take 50s, I don't mind. I just need to run outside again, I miss that. Helps me think things out a lot clearer. Wow, I'm being way too serious. I'll stop now. I'm really only this serious maybe 5% of the time.

I Worked 12 Hours Today....

2006-02-17T22:49:00.000-05:00

And honestly, I didn't mind it too much. After a meeting at HQ in the morning, I stayed until 8 at Georgetown since the second shift was starting production of the 2007 Camry fuel tanks. Exciting times around the plant, and just from me saying that, you can tell how boring my life has gotten again.

After work I met up with Mike at O'Charley's for a burger and a beer. He's a good guy, I'm glad he's working in the same office as me, because he's pretty much taken the role my supervisor was supposed to take. I don't mind it one bit, Mike's cool and knows his stuff, probably even better than my supervisor.

I'm just going to relax tonight; I have to work tomorrow morning, which kind of sucks, but I'm so far into overtime and getting stuff done that it doesnt really matter. Not like I have much else to do on a Saturday anyway.

A Single's Greatest Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T23:16:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Even though it should be done everyday, hopefully you took the time to tell the people that mean the most to you how important they are to you. Not a day goes by where I don't consider myself a lucky guy for having the great friends, loving family, and just overall amazing support system surrounding me.

So while I may not have someone special, someone to call my own, I realize I don't need that. I just need a few good friends and caring relatives, and I'm all set. Good night.

Anyway, Here's What Happened This Weekend

2006-02-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

It seems weekends are really the only free time I have. And even then, I have to work some Saturdays. Thankfully, I only worked in the morning, so that left pretty much the rest of the day for doing absolutely nothing at all. I decided to get some posterboard and duct tape and lighting and try out this idea I've had for a while. Hopefully the whole wall's filled up by the time we get out of Kentucky.

Anyway, a couple of Keith's friends came to visit this weekend, so we hung out, went to the bars, just the usual. I had maybe 2 beers the whole weekend- my excuse to not drink was to just be the designated driver. I really don't see the point in drinking, but I've said that before, so there's just no reason to repeat it again. I'll hang out, go to the bar, and still have fun, just without the alcohol.

Time is really flying by though, and while I am having fun down here, I'm just as anxious to get back up to Michigan, continue life up there. Once the weather starts getting nicer, I'm going to get out more, get back to drawing and photography on the weekends, and do what I want to do.

Let's Clear Up A Few Things...

2006-02-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

1) Do not, and I repeat, do not apologize to me for your drinking. God help me, if I hear you say "I'm sorry" once more, I will hit you in the face. It's not your fault I chose not to drink, that's an active decision I make on my part everytime I go out. I still manage to have a good time somehow.

2) I have more willpower and determination than you might think I do. Don't try and pressure me into something and expect that I'll just give in. Because I won't.

3) I am most definitely not like every other guy you might meet in a bar, at a party, or anywhere else for that matter. Don't you dare try and classify me as such.

4) I'm a strong believer in fate and karma. I know for a fact that good things will happen to/for/around me, not because I deserve it, but that's how it's going to be.

Well, now that that's out of the way, how about a regular post?

Whoooo! Weekend!

2006-02-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

Oh, wait. I have to work tomorrow morning. But I guess a couple of Keith's friends are visiting this weekend, so I feel obligated to hang out with them tonight. Should be some fun, even though the whole "wake up at 6am on a Saturday" doesn't sound too enticing.

I finally got assigned my first real project at Toyota- I've been placed in charge of changing one of the front suspension lines to accomodate both the 2007 Camry and 2007 Camry Hybrid. The Camry Hybrid's front suspension rear cross member has one less hole, and a diferent arrangement for the electronic steering feature. Sound boring? Maybe to you, but I'm having fun with it. It's better than going through boxes of books or taking pictures.

Only 11:30, But I Should Seriously Be Asleep

2006-02-06T23:37:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a good weekend, I know I did- for the most part. Overall, the drive home was worth it, just wish I didn't have to drive back. Ah well.

When we were downtown, we stopped at the Renaissance Center to check out the SportsCenter broadcast. After waiting with the crowd for close to an hour and only seeing Merrill Hodge, we finally saw 3 broadcasters step to the ESPN desk. And guess what? The desk said "En El Superbowl." That's right, we had waited to watch ESPN Deportes. After getting out of there, we saw a few more things around Woodward and called it a day. If it weren't so cold and wet and windy, I wouldn't have minded staying down there a little longer. Downtown Detroit actually looked pretty nice- well, at least the real downtown area; I'm sure the suburbs were still fairly run down.

Once again, not so much to write about as I thought. Is it possible that life is actually getting boring again? Quite.

Forget The Wrench

2006-02-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

No more Indiana or Canada next week. Apparently some of the actual welding engineers are going instead, and they decided to bump the co-op off. That's fine, I'll probably have my hands full (of more boxes to carry downstairs) with all the work they're handing me.

Only a couple more days until I go home for most of the weekend. If I stay until Sunday afternoon, I won't be able to see most of the Super Bowl. Ah well, big loss, it's just Pittsburgh and Seattle. The important thing is catching up with my friends and taking my parents out to lunch. They'll have been married 23 years on February 6th. Dad's turning 50 this year, so we're going to have to start planning for that soon enough. And then there's their 25th anniversary, and that'll be here in no time- not to mention that I'll (hopefully) have graduated by then, and they'll be expecting me to spearhead the event.

I don't have much to say, except for the fact that there aren't enough hours in the day. I woke up at 5 this morning, worked out from 6-7, went into work at 7:30, left work at 5:15, played basketball until 7, grabbed a delicious Hot and Ready from Little Caesar's, sat around for close to an hour, and before I knew it, here I am. 10pm, and I'm calling it a night.

A Wrench Got Thrown In The Works

2006-01-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-01-15T19:37:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-08T13:54:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

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

2006-01-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

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!

Still Alive

2005-12-26T07:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, everything is well and good here in India. I'm sitting in my cousin's cyber cafe in Virar, a town outside my family's village. Besides the air and crowded everything, I'm having a great time. People here are so nice and caring, I'm really mad at myself for not having come here in the past eleven years. I'm coming home on new year's day, so until then, hope everything is good stateside.

Wired

2005-12-21T00:39:00.000-05:00

I managed to stay busy for most of today, which is a feat in itself. After sleeping in til around 10 (that's the latest I've slept in a very long time), I left for Farmington Hills. First up, my drug test- because of my impeccable timing, I got there during the lab's lunch hour, so I moved on to my next stop: visiting some of the folks at work.

I showed up there, and everything just seemed different. There were completely foreign faces, and only after hearing all the shouts in the conference room did I find the familiar faces. I hung around for a bit and caught up with Kaitlyn and Katie, and then left to grab lunch with Andrea.

After enjoying a deliciously overpriced beef kabob and some hummous with Andrea, who by the way gave me a very nice card, I went back to Canton and stopped at the Secretary of State to renew my license. I think my new license picture is going to make me look like an idiot, but I guess I'll find out.

I Now Love Naomi Watts

2005-12-18T22:56:00.000-05:00

My God, is she gorgeous. We went and saw King Kong tonight, and now we're in love. Well, she doesn't know it yet, but she will. The movie was pretty good too.

Lions lost today, again. This was the first Sunday in a while that I didn't watch the whole game. I gave up around the second half. Final score: Cincy 41, Detroit 17. The only great part was the pregame, in which they showed lots of Lions fans protesting Matt Millen stil being the GM. I completely agreed.

These next few days are going to be a complete whirlwind. I'm going back up to East Lansing to grab more things I either forgot or needed to get, and to say goodbye to the couple people I didn't say goodbye to. Not too many people realize that I'm not coming back next semester, and I really only told the people I talked to on a near daily basis. After all, if I went a while without seeing someone, would they even care if I were gone? Probably not. No difference, I've learned to get over that stuff fairly quickly.

Between visiting family, goodbyes to friends, and packing, I'm going to have very little time to do much of anything else. I'm sure I'll still find time to post- it's not like I sleep or anything. Not with so much on my mind.

Kinda Wished I Stayed In East Lansing

2005-12-18T01:12:00.000-05:00

I got back to Canton around 1 this afternoon. After unpacking and eating and more unpacking, I relaxed for a little while. Alright, a long while. The house was so empty, so quiet, I had no idea what to do. After watching an episode of Family Guy and doing some drawing, I decided to watch Closer. Not a bad movie, but it's definitely going to need a second viewing.

I went over to my uncle's house in Rochester Hills for the evening, which was pretty nice. Honestly, I have a great family, a very strong, supportive family, and I should be more thankful for that. I got to know a family friend even better, and learned that I've got to strike while the iron's hot. Stupid cliches.

I can't wait to be in India. Home is nice, but it's cold and lonely- don't get me wrong, I enjoy some solo time, but it'd be nice to get out and do stuff with the friend(s) I've missed all semester. Maybe tomorrow.

Friday's Top Five: Places I Want To Travel

2005-12-16T21:11:00.000-05:00

5. Australia
4. Italy
3. France
2. Mexico
1. The Vabbinfaru Islands

So Much To Pack, Too Lazy To Do It

2005-12-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

Well, this semester's officially over. Let's recap:

The Good:
A possibility of making the Dean's List for the first time in my 3 years here
Meeting a few great people
The Toyota job
Catching up with old friends
Finally accepting who I am

The Bad:
Just one regret.

Usually, anytime the Good outweighs the Bad, I'm happy, but not in this case. Hopefully that one regret doesn't weigh on me for too long. I guess we'll find out.

I'm going home tomorrow, and then the next few days will just be a whirlwind of catching up with family, packing, and spending whatever else time I have left with the few friends that mean the most to me. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I'm going to miss Michigan. A fresh start never hurt anyone though, and I welcome that.

Friday 3 PM Can't Get Here Soon Enough

2005-12-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

The fact that I've got a 7:45am Programming final tomorrow and a Calc final at 12:45 is not really fazing me yet. I'm surprised I haven't crashed yet, seeing as how Kristin and I put in around 7 hours of studying (truthfully, like 4 hours of studying and 3 hours of straight up lollygagging). I haven't studied too much for Calc, but a 77% will still net me a 4.0 in the class, so I'm not too worried. Oh yeah, and we get 3 index cards. Haha, I love progressive teachers. They know we'll be able to use books at work and won't have to rely on our pitiful knowledge.

And God Bless my Stats professor, who gave me a 4.0 for my 90.4%. That definitely put me in a good mood, a good enough mood to pay a visit to Burger King and even give those odd Chicken Fries a try.

I'm not going back home until Saturday afternoon. Hard to believe this semester's come to an end so fast, and for once, I actually wish I was coming back here in January. Unfortunately, new opportunities beckon, and who am I to deny those opportunities?

EDIT: By the way, this Finals beard-turned Fu Manchu-turned handlebar mustache idea has been a bad one. I can't wait to shave tomorrow. That's what I meant by the whole 3PM not getting here soon enough.

Halfway Done

2005-12-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

With two finals done and out of the way, all that's left is CSE 231 and MTH 235 on Friday, which kind of sucks. Tomorrow's going to be a study day, but tonight I'm just watching the Pistons game and maybe The 40 Year Old Virgin, which I happened to buy.

I left today's Econ final feeling a little confused. I was the first one to finish, which usually never happens. This means one of two things, or some weird combination of the both: 1) I actually knew my stuff and studying paid off; or 2) I got every question wrong in the worst possible way. I really don't think it was the second one, so hopefully I get a decent grade back on that one.

Stats was a little harder than I thought it would be; after all, we did get to use like 5 pages of cheat sheets. I ended up getting an 90% on it, which really pissed me off. A 4.0 in the class is a 91%, and I'm sitting around a 90.4%. I don't know how nice the professor would be in rounding that up.

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm turning into those whiny little bitches in high school that complained about their grade not being close enough to an A+. You know who you are. So stop it.

Studious Monday

2005-12-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

I've never spent more time studying a single subject than I did today. Economics alone is a pretty boring class, but add in a twist of Calculus and you've just got a twist of boredom.

Econ is probably my most worrisome final out of the four, but if I manage to 3.0 the class I'll be really surprised/pleased. It's important that I leave this semester with the best possible grades, since Toyota will be (I think?) requesting my transcript.

My parents called from India today; they're doing well, and everyone is excited and waiting for me and my brother to get there. It's going to be odd seeing cousins I've never met before, but I'm up for it. Travel is always fun, never hurts to broaden your borders and see what else is out there in the world.

I should already be asleep right now, as tomorrow only has more studying in store for me, but there's more than a few things gnawing away at my mind. Relationships never come easy, and you have to put in the time if you want to make it work. If that time isn't there, then what's the point? At times I've wished that I wasn't going to Kentucky next semester, all because of a girl. Hard to believe, I know. And the strange thing is I don't even know what she's thinking- I suck at reading girls. That's what happens when you have next to no experience in the department. The best thing I can do right now is push forward, focus on school, and worry about girls later on. I've learned my lesson, and that's the fact that a girl can just be a huge distraction, as I (and my grades) found out the first two years of college. Who would have thought that my mom would actually be right about that?

Finals Aren't Stressing Me- At All

2005-12-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I must be one of the very few people that doesn't get stressed around finals. You've got the library open 24 hours and people always in there. I'll take a good night's sleep over going on Red Bull overload and pulling an all-nighter. I guess that's why I've always had a different college experience from everyone else.

I studied for my CSE 231 final a little bit with Kristin today; there's still a lot of stuff that I'm not clear on, so hopefully the prof will hold a review session.

Tomorrow I'm heading up to the library to study Econ and Stats, and maybe a little more C++ stuff. My first final, STT 351 (Stats) isn't until Tuesday night, and I'm not too worried about that. The professor actually made us a 3 page cheat sheet to use, so I'll just spend some time adding in examples and learning the last few sections, seeing as how I didn't pay any attention the last couple lectures. Last Thursday a few of us spent most of class trying to figure out a Sudoku, but couldn't get it.

Well, time for the Lions (Sunday Night Football, what a joke) and the Pistons game later on. That just means no more studying tonight. Oh well, I'll be fine.

Friday's Top Five: Movies

2005-12-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

I did one of these a while back, and then just stopped. So without further ado:

5. Fargo
4. American Beauty
3. Fight Club
2. Unbreakable
1. The Shawshank Redemption

No comedies on this list, these are the movies that I could just sit at home, all alone, and watch. Of course, company is always appreciated.

The Blizzard of 05!!!!

2005-12-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

I don't think this qualified as a blizzard, but from I could see from outside the window this morning, we got around 7 inches of snow.

Just as we were going to sleep around 1:30 last night, Josh had the genius idea to go outside and walk in the snow. Here's the parking lot, to the left.

Michigan Avenue- the streets weren't plowed, and while we were walking around, the few people driving gave us some weird looks. All I have to say is that I wish I wore a pair of tube socks, because plenty of snow got in my boots.

Once we came back, I ended up playing some PS2, and finally called it a night around 3. Can't wait to go outside today.

First Picture (That I Wanted On Here)

2005-12-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Of course it's going to be of the Sparty statue! Anyway, it's snowing pretty decently right now, and we're supposed to get as much as 7 inches overnight, so that means plenty of winter pics tomorrow. If you're interested enough in snow. Which you're probably not.

I Should Probably Be Studying

2005-12-08T14:41:00.000-05:00

After all, finals are next week. I also have a Stats quiz in the evening, but for some reason, I can never get going on this whole "grind out the last two weeks of the semester" deal. I wouldn't say I've run out of gas, I think I've just stopped caring, more or less. I've got to fix that.

I got my camera today, a PowerShot A610. Hopefully that means more pictures coming up in entries- we'll see.

Last night, I almost suffered mightily because MSU's server was seemingly down. No MSU-related sites could be accessed, and I was starting to freak out because I hadn't handed in my final programming code, the code that I put almost 24 hours into. Thankfully, the server came back up around 11 and I was able to submit my file.

I think I'm going to head to the library and get some studying done there- I'm more worried about my Econ final than anything else, so the plan is to study the Macroeconomics section at least 2 hours each night until next Wednesday. I just read that to myself, and realized there's no way I can work with Econ for more than 30 minutes at a time. Three cheers for short attention spans and boring curriculum!

I Woke Up at 7:30....

2005-12-07T00:25:00.000-05:00

....And didn't come back to my apartment til around 6:30 today. I had class from 8:30 to 10, and then after meeting with my professor for the whole "cheating" thing, I worked on programming with Kristin and a couple other people (although I doubt Art is much help at all) from 11 to 4. Of course, there was that little lunch break (Mediterranean Chicken Wrap & Hummus from Woody's Oasis, good stuff), but that just counts as work time too.

Then there was the co-op seminar from 4-5, and Stats from 5:30-6; I left early, went back to the apartment, grabbed my laptop, and drove back to the Engineering Building, where I was until 8:30. I think I've put in around 15 hours on this damn project, and there's probably around 2 or 3 more hours of work to do. I can't wait til it's over. The project part at least, I will miss the class.

Geez, Justin's Got A Lot Of Free Time

2005-12-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

You know what? I'll let that one slide, but only because it's true.

I was at the Engineering Building from 3-7:30 today, working on an absolutely frustrating and ever-complicated project. I'm glad it's due Wednesday night, because I don't want to spend more than 5 hours working on it tomorrow.

And apparently my programming code from one of my projects got flagged for being too similar to another student's work:

For Computer Project #9, your solutions were identified as being essentially
the same. That is not acceptable, since the computer projects are
individual assignments.

Excellent. Awesome. I'm not stressing out over it because I know it's just a simple misunderstanding. I still have to talk to the Professor about it tomorrow morning after class. He's a pretty good guy, so I'm sure we'll be able to clear it up.

It snowed for most of today, but I couldn't tell if it actually added up to the four inches we got over the weekend. All I know is that my pants were soaked for most of the day.

My parents are leaving for India tomorrow evening; my brother and I aren't leaving until the 22nd, which sucks. I'm now old enough that I can actually appreciate traveling to another country, and this time around I only get to spend a week there. As much as I'd love to sightsee this time around, it'll be more of a family trip, seeing as how I haven't been there since the fourth grade. There's so many cousins I've never met before, and obviously that's going to be a little strange. Still, I'm excited to go.

At the time of this posting, Blogger was down or something, because no one could access any blogs on blogger. Hopefully this gets fixed, otherwise I could save the typing and just talk to myself. Which I do anyway. Sometimes.

Thanks to Horst, or Hans, or Franz

2005-12-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

This big burly German feller came into class today, huffing and puffing, and with a strange smile on his face and in a loud booming voice, announced that our class was cancelled for today. "So you are free to do whatever you please!" I said thanks and left Wells Hall immediately. What a waste of time to walk there and back. And now I've got to head back out to the Engineering Building to work on my last programming project of the semester.

I ordered a camera over the weekend, the Canon Powershot A610. Cost me around $200, and wow, is that going to hurt even more when the credit card bill comes. I wanted a nice camera to take to India so I can take as many photos as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to post some up here and let you know what I'm up to there.

Well, back out into the cold I go. Not cool. Well, it is, but it's not cool in the sense that it's awesome. Because it sucks. It sucks royal blue monkey nuts.

It's 2 A.M., I Must Be Lonely

2005-12-03T02:01:00.000-05:00

If you know the Matchbox 20 song, it's 3 a.m. But I don't feel like staying up another hour, even though I'm not tired at all. I know I'm just going to hit the wall around 12:30 tomorrow afternoon.

After watching most of the Pistons game tonight, I headed over to Cedar Village to hang out with Jess, Andrea, and a bunch of other people. Since I drove, I didn't drink, just relaxed, met some new people, played a little foosball and caught up with some friends.

Funny Drunk Interaction of The Night:

(Random guy on couch, after seeing my watch)
Random guy: Dude, that's like some kind of James Bond shit, that watch!
Me: Yeah, it's pretty sweet (I push the button to show him the digital readout). The digital's helpful, I can't read those hands.
Random guy: Really? I'm just the opposite, I can't read digital!
Me: Are you serious?
Random guy: Hahahaha no man, I'm just shittin ya! I pulled that same thing with my mom and she fell for it too!

December? Already?

2005-12-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

What in the hell is happening to time? November came and went just as fast as October, and I don't even remember September. Might as well bring on December.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my Stats professor loves integrating current events and politics into his examples. Actually, I have mentioned this. I'm pretty sure. Anyway, today, his example about Tests Concerning Hypotheses (exciting, I know), brought about another tie into something we might be able to relate to.

Professor: "So, do you guys remember the O.J. Simpson trial? You might not, it happened a long time ago and most of you are too young to remember (No one answered mostly because we were tired, we just smiled and let him go on). Anyway, it was a very long trial for the murder of his wife, Nicole Simpson---Nicole Brown Simpson, and her..... friend, Ron Goldman."

Then he went into his example, which I won't bother with here, because honestly, I don't remember it. The good news is that I got the whole crossword done.

One more week of class, and then I'm done, for a little while. I can't believe it. I'm definitely going to miss my friends, especially a few of the ones I made this semester. No worries, I'm sure I'll be visiting East Lansing a couple times.

Lucky = Break Even

2005-12-01T12:23:00.000-05:00

After the first quarter of the Pistons game last night, Josh and I made a quick run up to Kroger for more of those delicious donuts. I swear, they lace them with crack or something, because between the two of us, we've eaten like 10 or 12 of those boxes in the past 3 weeks.

On the way out, I saw the instant ticket machine- I had been feeling lucky all day for some reason, so I decided to get one of the $1 tickets. As lucky as I may have felt, all I did was get $1.00 3 straight times. I'll take a break-even and buy another ticket, why the hell not? Would've been nice to win a little bit more, but oh well.

This apartment search thing in Kentucky is getting a little hectic. They don't have any furnished apartments available, so we're probably going to end up renting some furniture, because I don't feel like dragging a couch and desk and other crap 340 miles. Hopefully everything works out smoothly.

And it's becoming more apparent that I most likely won't be able to celebrate my 21st birthday up here; I start working on the 9th, and the 7th is a Saturday. I want to be here with the few friends I have, not down in Lexington. I'll have to save the celebration for another weekend I guess.

Well, seeing as how I skipped my programming lecture this morning, I'm going to try and be productive the rest of the day. Probably not.

You'll Probably Learn More From This Than Anything I've Already Written

2005-11-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

1. First thing you did this morning?
Realized I woke up an hour before my alarm and went back to sleep.
2. Last thing you ate?
Some delicious chocolate Teddy Grahams.
3. Is your cell phone a piece of crap?
No, it's a block of crap. But I'm not complaining.
4. What's the thing you look forward to most in the next 6 months?
Moving to Kentucky. Or going to India. Both are fairly exciting.
5.Whats annoying to you right now?
Nothing, really.
6. What's the last movie you saw in a theater?
Saw II.
7. Do you believe in long distance relationships?
Nope. They don't work. Trust me.
8. What's the worst?
Worst what? Worst feeling? Loneliness. Worst food? Plenty of choices. Worst comedian? Can't stand Kathy Griffin.
9. Is there someone you miss?
No one in particular.
10. What inspires you?
People that give their lives for the greater good of others.
11. If you could put together a concert of 3 bands or artists, who would you choose?
Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters, and Coldplay.
12. Song that sums up your love life?
Ben Harper~Another Lonely Day. Sad but true.
13. What's one thing you wish you could do better in?
School. I suck at academics now.
14. If you could be anywhere this second, where would it be?
In bed. I don't know why I'm not in bed yet.
15. What's your most vivid memory from 6th grade?
Jeff Harris making fun of my clothes. That son of a bitch.
16. Latest addiction?
Probably Blogger.
17. Have you ever had the slight urge to kill someone?
There's this one foreign girl in my C++ class. But with her, "slight" is an understatement.
18. How many people would you say were interested in you at once?
I can't think of more than 1.
19. What do you love doing?
Driving, being unneccesarily outgoing, running, listening to music, staying in when everyone's out.
20. Do you think someone thinks about you daily?
Besides my mom? Um....no.
21. Who was the last person you saw or talked to?
Josh. We do share an apartment.
22. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Vehicle Engineer would be sweet. If not that, then definitely an entrepreneur.
23. What is your favorite food?
Anything that tastes halfway decent. Right now? Mostaciolli.
24. How many people do you know with the same name as yours?
Justin is ridiculously common.
25.What was the last thing you spilled?
For some reason, water always seems to avoid my mouth and land on my shirt. What a crappy question to end on.

Spontaneity Is Awesome

2005-11-29T19:36:00.000-05:00

Instead of today being a pretty boring, cold day, it was... well, still a boring, cold day. I was going to go to the machine shop to work on some Baja stuff, but ended up going to Jackson with a girl from my high school that I hadn't talked to in 2 years. Reason? She wanted to get a dog from the Humane Society for her Army boyfriend. I didn't mind doing it, it was something different and I always like driving. Oh, and she gave me 20 bucks. Only bad thing that came out of the whole trip is the fact that I've got to vacuum the car to get rid of all the dog hair.

Stats was so gi-normously boring today that at least 87% of the class fell asleep during the 90 minutes at one point or another. I tried staying awake, but the combination of the professor's boring, monotonous voice and the even more boring material was too much to handle.

I might be going to Kentucky on Saturday, if we have enough interest in an apartment to sign for it.

Steve Mariucci got fired yesterday, but really, it should've been much more than that. If the Lions hadn't signed Matt Millen to an extension (quite possibly the most IDIOTIC move in NFL history), I'd put him on the chopping block too. Literally, I'd chop his head off.

Only 3 More Weeks

2005-11-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that November's pretty much over, and all that's left is 16 days of school in December, 16 days that could make or break my plans for spring semester. But more about that later.

It feels good to be back up in East Lansing- I can't say why exactly, but it just does. With that said, I'm going to continue being the old man I am and call it a night. I'm making the most out of this week.

Well, I'm Ready To Head Back

2005-11-27T01:19:00.000-05:00

East Lansing is calling my name. Today might have been the most uneventful Saturday in the history of my life. Besides doing a bit of shopping in the morning, I did absolute nothing for the rest of the day, besides catch up with a couple friends and get involved in the most ridiculous cyber-drama ever. Haha, wow.

I don't even have that much to talk about- a testament to my boring day. Hopefully next weekend turns out a bit better, I might be going to Kentucky to look for an apartment. Gotta find someplace to live.

Hell, It's Only 1am, Why Not Post Now?

2005-11-25T01:22:00.000-05:00

I was going to wait til tomorrow morning, but I'm wide awake. After spending almost 7 hours downtown today, I can absolutely say that I will never, ever, pay to see the Detroit Lions play football again. What a pathetic excuse for a National Football League franchise. The Thanksgiving Day game used to mean something, it used to be a showdown between a somewhat competitive Lions squad and a pretty evenly matched opponent.

The past two Thanksgiving Day games have seen the Lions score just one touchdown and 3 field goals. The Colts scored 41 points last year, and the Falcons scored 27 this year. The defense completely fell apart, as did the offensive line. There's no way I can blame Joey Harrington for this loss, he had no time to throw the ball. Now, Jeff Garcia didn't help by throwing a few ill-advised passes to Falcons defensive backs, so he's to blame a bit. Enough of the Lions rant, bottom line is they suck, and since we can't fire the $5 million man Matt Millen, we have to get rid of Mariucci and our entire offensive line. Seriously.

Spending time with the family was pretty nice; it had been a while since all of the cousins had been together- most everyone had matured in some aspect, so it was weird having the conversations we had without any eyes rolling or shifting. I think I definitely took for granted the fact that we always saw each other when we were younger, and now that we're all getting older and moving away and apart, we're learning to appreciate our family even more. At least that's just me, I can't speak for the rest.

My brother, however, is still the same. That's a good or bad thing, depending on how, and if, you know my brother. I miss the days when we were younger and he was quiet and humble- now that's he's a college freshman, his attitude has taken a complete 180, and he's probably one of the most arrogant, self-absorbed people I know. But, I guess it's working for him and he's fitting right in at Michigan, so good for him. I wish nothing but the best for him, and I know he'll be successful when he's older, but right now he's just hard to deal with.

This is much too long an entry, and if any of the people that read this are like me, they won't even make it to this part. Flibbity flobbity. The Great Wall is an illusion. Goose feathers make wonderful socks.

Thanksgiving With The Lions Sucks

2005-11-25T00:11:00.000-05:00

ATL 27, DET 7. It wasn't even that close.

Bring On The Turkey

2005-11-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

It's nice to be home- I think I took it for granted my freshman year, seeing as how I came home at least twice a month it seemed. This year though, I've only been home 3 times, so anytime I do make the trip, it's always comforting.

What's not comforting is the fact that it's been snowing outside all day, and we've probably got around 3 inches on the ground already. Can't wait for the Thanksgiving football game- the Lions will probably lose, and the traffic and parking will suck, but it'll be more fun than just sitting around.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Today Couldn't Be Going Any Slower

2005-11-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

It's physically and scientifically impossible for time to pass slower than it has been today. It doesn't help that I've had only one class today, and it's been the most eventful thing that's happened to me today. That was 7 hours ago; I still have Stats to go to at 5:30 and then and only then will I be done for 5 glorious, just as boring days. Only difference is I'll be at home and not in East Lansing.

"There is no emoticon for what I'm feeling!"
~Comic Book Guy

1 More Day....

2005-11-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Today went pretty well, besides the crappy weather, which I've come to expect. The calc test was 95% exactly what our prof went over in the review session on Friday, so that made things a lot easier. And after that, the day went by pretty uneventfully- worked out, got some work done, but mainly just relaxed.

Tomorrow should be more of the same: programming (early) in the morning, cleaning up and packing stuff up in the afternoon, and stats in the evening. And after that it's home free- I don't know if we're leaving Tuesday night or Wednesday; most likely Wednesday since I do want to wind down a bit and drive back during the day.

Man. I really don't have much to talk about. Guess I'm ready to go home, relax, and come back on Sunday ready to attack the next 3 weeks. Hard to believe the semester's passed so fast.

Yes! A Complete State Of Michigan Collapse!

2005-11-20T23:40:00.000-05:00

So the Lions lost today to make it 0-6 in Michigan's major sports. And no, I don't count Western Michigan beating Central Michigan as a win, I'm talking the major sports. Sorry Broncos.

I didn't get to see any of the game today, seeing as how I was at the Baja shop from 11 to 4:30 and then the CSE lab until 7. But I'm glad I didn't, that's just one more thing I'd be frustrated about.

I tell you what, there are some real weirdos at the Baja shop. You people know who you are. But it's always a good time there, no matter how much work needs to get done. Today we took out the transmission and engine on one of the cars to strengthen a bracket and move the transmission forward. Those are some stubborn bolts.

CSE was frustrating at first, as always, but once we got the hang of it, it felt good to get it done with.

Calc test tomorrow, and after that I can relax and look forward to Thanksgiving. Andy got tickets to the Lions game, so that should be a good time. Not to mention the fact that I'll be home and be able to relax, without worrying about tests for the next week.

This next month and a half is going to be kind of rough though: finals are the week of December 10, and then I'm going to India on the 20th, flying back on the 31st, celebrating New Year's in the air, having some kind of 21st birthday party January 7, and moving down to Kentucky on the 8th or 9th. I'm looking forward to all of it.

Have a good week all, I know I will.

The Most Horrible Sports Day In Michigan History

2005-11-20T00:30:00.000-05:00

I'm so emotionally drained I could only afford to copy my away message.

Boooooorrrrrrrrriiinnnnnng

2005-11-17T23:31:00.000-05:00

I could have gone to see Derailed tonight with Michelle and her friends, but I decided to stay in and work on my programming project, which went absolutely nowhere. I ended up listening to depressing music (Damien Rice, David Gray, Ryan Adams, etc.) and wandering aimlessly around the apartment.

I realize that what I'm going to say next may hurt my hetero street cred, but that's alright. Steve and I might go check out The Goblet of Fire on Saturday. So if any of you girls want to come along, please do. If not, whatever, 2 nearly 21 year old guys can watch Harry Potter if we want.

It was so cold today that everyone's away messages basically described their hate for the cold, how cold it was, or how warm they wish it was. Stop complaining. Seriously, we all know how it feels outside. My face freezes too.

Thank God I only have one class tomorrow.

This Is How Productive I Can Be in 30 Minutes.

2005-11-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

Just another example of what I do instead of listening in class. To read the whole thing, click on the example. Thanks to Kristin for the old school instant messaging.

And by the way, it's freezing outside. At least if you live in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, or any of the other Northern states. Time to walk back to the apartment.

Seriously, What Crappy Weather

2005-11-15T23:20:00.000-05:00

Absolute crap, from when I woke up at 7 this morning to when I'm typing this piece of crap paragraph. Nothing but rain, wind, and bitter cold for most of the day. Only good thing is the day went by somewhat fast, and I got a gift in the form of a free water bottle. Thank you very much Alison.

I didn't know it could happen, but it's fairly apparent now: every Stats class is even more boring and sleep-inducing than the one before it. And if I didn't have an apple and granola bar to keep me up, I surely would have slept for the entire 80 minutes. Instead, I took some half-assed notes and finished the State News crossword.

Pistons won tonight, bringing their season record to 7-0. I don't know how long they can keep this pace up, seeing as how the starters are playing a lot of minutes. Darko actually got some time in the first half, and didn't mess up too bad.

Tomorrow won't be any better, especially with a CSE lab at 8 in the morning. I can only hope it warms up a little bit, or it just doesn't rain. The rain is the big thing, seeing as how I'm not gay enough to carry an umbrella with me. Sorry, just my opinion.

Oddly Glorious Monday

2005-11-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

I may be losing my fantasy football games, but I still consider myself a winner after today- I got a 95% on my Stats midterm and a 90 on my CSE midterm. I actually thought I got a 100 on the CSE test, but I was retarded enough to ignore the 3 0's next to the questions I got wrong. I'll still take it, thing is, I don't know how to act- it's been a while since I've done this well on tests.

Got my programming project done a day early, and mostly without the help of any TA's, which is always a good sign. As for the rest of the week, there can't possibly be that much work to do. I found out I won't have any class next Wednesday, so it'll be nice to relax for a little while before heading back home. I'm probably going to drive down to Georgetown to check out the area and look for apartments- Keith, one of the other people from MSU that interviewed, also got an offer in Georgetown, so it'll be cool to hang out with someone else from here.

Time to do some work, which is code for "waste the next four hours until I fall asleep or just give up."

Done With Yet Another Week

2005-11-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

Ending the week with a beautiful November day is a lot better than ending on a cold one. I forced myself to go to class today, which was the hardest thing I had to do all day.

We played football over at Brody today, for the first time since September. Felt good to get some energy out, though I am incredibly sore and my wrist is still killing me.

Stats test went pretty well, but I do know I got one wrong for sure. Stupid ass Poisson distributions. I really want to get out of the apartment this weekend, do something fun, but who knows. There's a CSE project that needs doing, and the Wings and Pistons are playing tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

By the way, girls are complete teases. I don't even care to pursue anything anymore, I just don't know what they're thinking.

Friday's Top Five - Third Eye Blind Songs

2005-11-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

In no particular order, it was hard enough picking only five.

Motorcycle Driveby
Good Man
Palm Reader
Slow Motion
Losing A Whole Year

Why Doesn't Thanksgiving Just Get Here?

2005-11-08T13:55:00.000-05:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it up here. I just want some turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Is that so wrong? Didn't think so.

I'm taking another step away from the old procrastinating Justin. I've actually gone so far as to map out on an hour by hour basis of what I'm going to do. Anal? Perhaps. Or maybe I realize that I need this in order to stop wasting the inane amount of time I do. There are so many times during the day when I do absolutely nothing. And when I say nothing, literally, nothing. I can't even describe what I do when I'm doing nothing, because there's no term for it. It's, it's nothing.

C++ test went alright today, the function writing part was not so bad this time around. Now there's a Stats test on Thursday, but because my prof is smoking something, he's letting us have 2 cheat sheets. 1 is hard enough to fill out, I don't know what I'm going to do with two. Maybe I'll write some funny jokes or leave some space for drawing/scribbling.

And I know I'm the last person to give advice to girls, but here it is: If a guy is an ass to one girl, odds are he'll eventually be an ass to you.

And now my advice to the guys: girls are a complete tease. Don't fall for any signals you think you might be getting, blatant as they may be.

Untitled

2005-11-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a little less uneventful than previous weekends. I really think "uneventful" is becoming my most used word.

After a few nice days of 60 degrees+, things really cooled off last night. It rained more than enough, and waking up to dreary skies and unnecessary wind gusts was not appreciated. Got some grocery shopping done this morning, and then did absolutely nothing for a few hours.

I actually went up to the library to study with Kristin today- I might actually do that more, since I managed to accomplish more in the 3 hours I was there than I did all of last week reading in the apartment.

2 tests this week, Stats and C++. Should be fun. It seems that everyone has got a busy test-filled week ahead of them. So to everyone that does, best of luck. And to anyone that doesn't, screw you. Screw you.

This Daylight Savings is a Bad Idea

2005-11-03T22:59:00.000-05:00

Honestly, it's almost a week later, and my internal clock is still messed up. It's only 11 and I'm already tired. Maybe it's because I decided to run to and from my 8:30 lecture this morning. Or maybe it's the 3 hours I spent at the CSE lab. It's great having a partner that does absolutely nothing to contribute, much less emails you back.

If you've seen my away messages at all this week, you'll know that the apartment as well as all of East Lansing is under attack from ladybugs. I went downstairs to fill out a maintenance request, but they said it's happening everywhere, so maintenance might not be able to do much. I can understand the fact that ladybugs are everywhere, and it's fine if they're outside. But once they pull an osmosis on the window and appear in the apartment, then it's the complex's problem.

Two midterms next week, so this weekend will be filled with a decent amount of studying. If the weather stays nice though, I do want to throw the football around. Haven't done that in a while.

Guilty As Charged

2005-10-31T22:59:00.000-05:00

First off, I am a completely secure heterosexual male. Now that that's been established, tonight's episode of Laguna Beach was pretty damn good. Seriously, good for L.C. for realizing that bastard Jason is...well...a bastard. She deserves better. Like me. I'd treat her pretty well.

This whole daylight savings time thing is really messing me up. The day goes by really slowly, and I feel like I have all night to make the most of things. But come 9:00, everything goes double time, and before I know it, it's midnight.

I think I'm going to be taking a drive down to Georgetown a weekend before Thanksgiving, to get the living situation straightened out. I'd really prefer living on my own, but part of me wants to get a roommate or something down there.

I got nothing else. Tomorrow begins November- here's to hoping it's slightly better and more productive than October.

Home Is A Comfortable Bore

2005-10-30T00:20:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty much a family day- after checking out a few stores, I went over to Northville and Farmington Hills to visit with some family, including an aunt who is my biggest supporter and by far the hardest working woman I have ever known. I admire the hell out of her.

And I guess it's beginning now- everyone in the family asking me if I have a girlfriend, or anyone in particular that I care about. And my answer's the same: "I'm tired of it, I don't want to force things to happen, and if something does, well then, great." Geez, 21 is still a few months off, why the rush about girls? The family gossip well must be running dry.

Quick shot here: Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease." Good song, very catchy.

They're really making progress on the Canton IKEA. The bright blue sheeting went up, and wow, is that an eyesore. It really manages to stick out, but I guess that's the point. I'm not looking forward to all the traffic that's going to come through town. I read in the paper that the Bolingbrook, Ill. grand opening had over 20,000 people on the first day-- and that's with the larger IKEA 40 miles away in Schaumberg. I don't even want to think about how many are going to show up here.

Part of me still doesn't believe this whole Toyota thing is happening. I'm just waiting for it to get pulled from underneath me. I mean, God forbid it, but it just doesn't seem like I should be the one getting this job. I couldn't have been the most qualified. Ha, who knows.

Hard to believe October's pretty much over. Few more weeks til Thanksgiving, and after that, only a few weeks until I leave for India for a week. I'm really looking forward to that, I haven't been there since 4th grade. So many cousins I have never met. Can't wait.

Home for the weekend

2005-10-29T01:09:00.000-04:00

I decided to come home this weekend, mostly because our fridge was completely empty. That, and to see Saw II, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to get freaked out by what nightmarish things the human mind is capable of concocting. Jesus, that movie was even more twisted than the first. I still don't know if the sequel is better than the first.

After the movie we took a quick trip over to Ypsi to check out a little Halloween party at Kyle's new digs. Nice place, but the party was a little lacking, so we left pretty early.

This weekend is basically going to be a "gather up as much food as possible and visit with family" weekend. Maybe get a little work in, but probably not. It's 1am, but I'll be honest; it's hard getting to sleep after seeing such a sick movie. I can't wait for the DVD.

This can't be good

2005-10-27T15:34:00.000-04:00

Ever get the feeling like you just want to get absolutely piss drunk?

....I don't feel that way, someone else does. Ah, time for class. Glorious.

It's So Hard To Get Up

2005-10-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Especially when it's pitch black at 730 in the morning. That's always fun.

It was nice going into today knowing that I have something cool to look forward to in January. But, there are a few things I've been thinking about.

I'm going to India for Christmas break- I won't be back until the 31st or 1st, not sure which one. Toyota wants me to start on January 2. Not gonna happen.
I think I'm going to get a dog. It'd be nice to have one to come home to after a long day- of course, there's the issue of what I'd do with him once I was done in Kentucky. Maybe I'll get a gecko instead.
I need to look for an apartment. Since Georgetown is a bit of a small college town, I'm guessing rent is kind of expensive, so I might try and look for one in Lexington, which is like 20 minutes out.
It's really going to suck monkey balls that I'll be "celebrating" my 21st birthday by myself. Hopefully I can start work the week after or something. It's not like I plan on getting piss drunk, I'd just want to hang out with some friends.

Oh yeah, and I guess there's this whole school thing I have to worry about. I have to make sure I keep my grades up for this semester, otherwise Toyota could yank the co-op and I'd be incredibly screwed. That's the last thing I want.

I do know that once I get down there, I'm going to treat it like a fresh start. No one down there will know who I am, so at least I'll have that going for me.

Great News....Now What Do I Do?

2005-10-25T12:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I somehow managed to get one of the jobs at Toyota. And yes, I'm incredibly excited. Never in a million years did I think I would be selected for something as great as a co-op at Toyota.

As ecstatic as I am, I still don't know what to do. Obviously, 80% of me wants to take the job, live in another state for 6 months (possibly more), and have a great experience. But there's that 20% that says, "Play it safe, stay here, take your classes, be close to your friends and family." There's so many things I have to take care of if I do take the job: I have to find a way to pay the rent here while paying the rent wherever I end up living (sure, the parents will cover it, but that's a ridiculous burden), there's the question of moving everything and furniture and of course, classes. This co-op would put me at least a semester behind graduation, and I guess that's one of the big things. It'd be cool to graduate with the people I entered college with, but if that ends up not being the case, then so be it.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'd be stupid to pass it up... Right?

Dear Comedy Central....

2005-10-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

Please stop airing the Blue Collar Comedy Tour 18 hours a day. Please stop airing the Blue Collar Comedy Tour at all. In fact, please stop airing anything related to any of those guys.

Thank you.

And What I Give To You...

2005-10-24T00:28:00.000-04:00

Decent, uneventful weekend. If you haven't figured it by now, I'm not the average college student. I don't go out every weekend and get piss drunk.

Today we went back to Abbott Pointe to check out a couple more units there, and we decided to set up an appointment to sign a lease on Tuesday. It's a bit further out, but 2 bedrooms and plenty of space, not to mention a huge balcony, are definitely nice. And for the same price? Can't beat it.

The Lions somehow managed to squeeze out a win today; I didn't get a chance to watch the whole game since I was at the CSE lab for close to 5 hours, but I'm glad we won. Strangely, a 3-3 record is still decent in the pathetic NFC North.

Andy came up for the weekend, which always a decent (and honestly, challenging) time. Of course, he forgot something, this time, his history notes. This means I'm waking up early tomorrow morning to meet him halfway. It'd suck for him to drive all the way back here again.

This week shouldn't be too bad, I'm just looking forward to hitting my stride and getting things to go the way they should.

It's Good To Be Home

2005-10-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

The flight back was good, it was raining in Erlanger, but just dry and chilly here. The day went alright, and I'm glad it's over. It's out of my hands now, and I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks.

I actually had only two interviews at Toyota, one at 9:00 with Production Engineering, and the second and final one at 12, with Simultaneous Engineering. As far as the actual interviews, I thought they went well. There were a couple times I stumbled on my responses, but I think I may a decent impression overall. The guys from Simultaneous definitely seemed a lot more interesting and travel a lot, which is always cool. Plus, the fact that they're the bridge between Design and Engineering is exactly where I'd want to be. I hope I get a call back from them, but if not, I guess I move on and forward. But Toyota seems like a great place to work- everyone I saw there was relatively young, and there is always something going on.

Overall, not a bad experience. Toyota foots the bill, I meet some cool new people, and I come back more confident and aware of what I need to do in the future. Good Night- I am completely exhausted.

Erlanger is.....

2005-10-20T16:15:00.000-04:00

Pretty boring. So far. Flight was good, except for the customary turbulence. I'm sitting in the hotel now, wondering what I'm going to eat- it's a little harder not having any cash on me or a car. Idea: take the hotel shuttle back to the airport, hit the ATM there, and even have dinner at the food court. Who knows, I'll figure something out. That bed is looking pretty inviting.

There's another guy here from MSU, and he's a senior. So obviously he's got a bit more experience than me academics-wise. At least there's someone else here to hang out with though, as much as I enjoy flying solo.

The rest of the night I'm just going to review my interview strategy and get as prepared as possible for tomorrow morning. It's going to suck waking up at 7am.

I Woke Up Too Early

2005-10-20T07:47:00.000-04:00

I don't have class until 8:30. But for some reason, I didn't change my alarm and woke up at 7am. I went back to sleep, but still woke up at 7:30. So I've just been sitting here, foamy toothbrush in mouth, watching the sky change colors as the sun rises. Right now it's a streaky purple and orange red. Kind of reminds me of that Trix yogurt, the Raspberry Rainbow flavor.

After I get back from class, I'm going to finish packing my stuff up, print out my boarding pass, and end up leaving for the airport around 12. I've never flown out of Lansing before, so I don't know the security protocol there. Last thing I want to do is get manhandled by security guards for trying to bring a Mach 3 on board.

I'll post again when I get to Erlanger, and fill you in on the exciting sights and sounds of Northern Kentucky.

Arrested Development = Hilarious

2005-10-17T23:48:00.000-04:00

Seriously, it's a funny show. Watch it.

Pretty dreary day today. Cold, a little rainy, and just overall tiring. Go figure, it's a Monday. I've got my Econ midterm Wednesday, so tomorrow will mostly be devoted to studying for that.

I decided to get my haircut before going to Kentucky- I was going to grow it longer, but maybe after the interview. And oddly enough, we've run out of food again. Everytime we go to Meijer, we never seem to buy the actual stuff we need, and when we get back, it's like "Shit. We forgot to get stuff we can actually eat as a meal." Oreos and Ruffles just don't cut it anymore.

Tuesday should be fun.