Merry Christmas!

How's this Christmas treating everyone? I love being able to be home and relax. I went to bed at 8:30 last night...innnncredible. Slept until 7:15 the next morning and I plan on repeating the same schedule sometime soon. Getting old, haha. Guess that's what turning 22 will do to you.

Tomorrow the whole gang of us will be heading up to Grandma's house. We haven't been up there in a couple of years, so I'm looking forward to it. Seriously, though, this eating thing has to stop. I'll never get into that wedding dress in two months.

Eloping is looking better than ever. Weddings are a pain. I just want to get married to the man I love and enjoy my day. The end. Every other little detail is unnecessary and too expensive.

My Wedding Site

My brother is incredible and put together a site (click here) for our wedding. It looks great, and soon will have some more information on it for you to enjoy!

School is keeping me very busy, but I am attempting to find a part-time job for the rest of the year as well, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I played some IM volleyball last night. That was a lot of fun! It's been a while since I have been able to play. The teams weren't very good, but I got to hit once and just touching a volleyball again was nice.

Christmas break is in two weeks, which I'm really looking forward to! I haven't finished my shopping yet, darn it. And I think it's only one or two more gifts, but still...I think some people enjoy finding gifts for other people, but for me it's kind of stressful. I love to give gifts, but only if I am sure they will love what I'm giving them.

We booked the White Chapel and the Ohio Building and photographer are almost booked, and we meet with the caterer on Sunday to finalize the food and cake with her. Then over the rest of the weekend we are hoping to register and possibly find wedding bands as well. :) Exciting stuff, we'll be keeping busy! I'll try to post more later, maybe with pictures.

Here's a summery one. Mm, Florida!

!!!!!!

I have a dress!!!!!

That's all.

December Already?!

Time is flying by. School makes it seem reeeeally slow sometimes, but wedding plans make it seem like I don't have time for anything and tomorrow is always here before I'm ready for it. I think I kind of like things this way. I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I'm certainly not bored!

We have locations for the ceremony and reception booked, invitations bought, the invitation list almost complete, tuxes ordered, and a caterer almost booked. I have another photographer meeting on Thursday and tomorrow I will be going wedding dress/bridesmaid dress shopping. This weekend we will be placing a flower order and designing the bouquets/corsages/boutonnieres, as well as addressing invitations. Our program is almost done and we have ideas for entertaining people at the reception...our wedding music is coming together as well.

Things are really happening! It's exciting and can be lots of fun. I just need to remember that when things get stressful. If school didn't feel the need to butt in on my plans, things would be fine and dandy.

I am still looking for full-time employment after graduation and part-time employment for the rest of the school year. If anyone hears of any openings, let me know! Thanks for all the support. I'll see some of you this weekend. Later!

Thanksgiving break has been wonderful. #1 news.....

Tobin and I are getting married! Here is a picture of the happy couple:

More details to come.

#2 news....my family is amazing, I will miss them after break, and I head back to Rose tomorrow to start the second of my last three quarters.

1/3 of Senior Year Complete

Break is amazing, I'm at home enjoying my amazing family and eating far too much food. My brother fixed my Stone Age computer and Thanksgiving is coming up SOON. Can't wait! :)

I love not having to think. Break is good for the soul. The only down side so far was the UofM/OSU game. Next year, boys.

IKEA was awesome, I got lots of coveting done and even bought a toilet brush. :) Maybe someday I'll walk out of there with the kitchen of my dreams too, but that day's kinda far away.

Finals

Monday - Control Systems (1 PM)

Tuesday - Theoretical Aerodynamics (8 AM)
Engineering System Design (6 PM)

Wednesday - Mechatronics (6 PM)

I'll be outta here in three and a half short days. :)

Last Friday

This is officially my last day of classes for this quarter. I have finals next week and then I'll be home for break. :)

Wanna hear some sweet news? I'll be taking only 14 credit hours next quarter, then guess what? ONE class in the spring. And I'm done. :):):) No more books, or teacher's dirty looks, or any of that noise. I'm DONE!

I am already several weeks into my senior project for the year, in which my team and I will be designing, building, and flying a model airplane of about 5 feet by 4 feet, maximum dimensions. In the spring we will be making a trip out to Kansas to join the other DBF teams (from all over the country and overseas...MIT, Purdue, etc.) in a competition. Since we started before the other senior design teams, we will also finish a month or so early. :P So I will have even less to do after our final competition. We will have to present at Rose, but that won't be a big deal, and the required documentation for the DBF competition will also cover our senior design documentation. It's a good deal.

See you all over break. I'll basically just be studying for the next 5 days, hopefully with no interruptions. Later!

Sorry about the long time since I last updated. This quarter is doing it's best to kill me, so most of my time is spent preventing that from happening.

Volleyball is almost over, for which I am extremely grateful. We have one more practice tomorrow and one more game on Wednesday, then I am done.

I am working on a project that will become a football game for one class. This class consumes more time than I thought possible, but our game will be sweet once we finish. It's really a simple idea, it's a field goal game, just flicking a paper football through the uprights, but we will be building a nice game board with movable uprights. The teams are Illinois and Michigan, and the game lights up an LED by each name when it is that player's turn. Then you get 20 seconds to kick a field goal. If you make it, your score on the LCD screen goes up by one. The first team to reach 5 points sets of the buzzer which plays that team's fight song and the LCD announces that you won. It's fun, but mostly just a pile of wires and a computer program right now. :)

Mom and Dad are coming to visit me this weekend! I'm excited and ready to show them around. It will be fun.

I can't wait for break. Sleep, food, turkey,Elyse's birthday, family, and some relaxing....it will be so nice. See you all soon!

Fall Break

In Kentucky today, heading to Virginia tomorrow. We lost in 4 today to Transylvania. It was a pretty good match, after the first 2 games. Very disappointing, though. Tomorrow should go better, after a nice long trip on a bus. I think it's supposed to be 8 hours or something.

I get to go see a brand new niece soon! Maybe this Sunday, maybe next Friday, or the weekend after. I'm not sure, but I can't wait! See y'all soon.

I'm an Aunt Again!

I'll post pictures of me and the new niece as soon as I go up there to visit her and take some pictures! :) Yay, welcome Ava Joy Rumley!

Career Fair

Yesterday was our Rose-Hulman career fair. We had 210 companies attend, a record for us. I'm on the career fair team, so we set up Tuesday night and on Wednesday I was required to work the fair outside of actually attending it.

It was amazing. I talked to lots of companies (got lots of free stuff, hehe), and today I have two interviews. I have to apply online for another job as well, and I am waiting to hear back from another company. This is a big day, I'm a little nervous.

I'll let you know how the interviews go. Gotta go get ready. :) Lacey, hope you're hanging in there ok. SOOOON, no worries!

Ratatouille

I was inspired by the Disney movie and made some ratatouille, again courtesy of my Cooking for Engineers site. The dish was pretty good, but I think if I were to make it again I would add more tomatoes (or a tomato sauce) and serve it over rice. Next on my cooking list: homemade mushroom soup. I'm excited about this one!

Homecoming was this weekend for Rose. The football team won! It only proved the outhouse theory correct. Our tradition is to set off a huge bonfire and if the outhouse on top falls through the middle of the beams, the football team will win the next day. It did, and they did. It was a good game! Once again, KT and I made shirts, and this time Dani did too. Lots of fun, and a pretty good weekend minus our volleyball game.

Now I'm waiting for baby Rumley #3 to show up so I can run up to Michigan to see him! Today's the due date...so maybe I'll hear something soon. Time to get some homework done, I'll update soon.

More Vball Stuff

It's what I do, sorry that's all I've talked about recently. Here are some photos from the last home match. We didn't win, I don't know why we played so poorly...I actually had a decent game, but we couldn't pull it together.

Serving:




















This one makes me laugh. Frog legs!













These next two are in sequence. Block goes up:



















Nu-uh, son.



















Trying to split 'em. Don't remember if I was successful or not.



















That's all, folks. Enjoy.

Pre-season Conference Standings

Check it out!

http://www.heartlandconf.org/volleyball/volleyball.htm

Hi

What's been going on with me? Mostly I've just been busy recently with school, practice, games on weekends, and trying to get back into college mode. I got to see some of the fam last weekend, thanks for coming down, guys! I can't wait to see you all this weekend.

I have lots of projects and labs this year, and I'm sure the job search will keep me hopping. Having an offer does make it a tad less stressful, but not much.

Gotta get going, I'm on a lunch break right now. Here's a picture of my lovely team! :)

Second Set of Games

We won...went home 2-2 this weekend...so we already have as many wins as we had last season. I think we won both matches in 4 (Luke, not 4 seconds or minutes...4 games in one match).

And that's all for now.

First Games

We lost the first game in 3 and the second in 4. We looked really good in the second game but I think everyone was tired. It wasn't the best day. Tomorrow will be better. I'll let you all know how those go. Two of my interns made it to the first game, I kinda wish we could have done better for them. Going to bed now.

I made ribs (the pork variety) yesterday. :) I'm almost domestic, Mom. Em, they turned out pretty good! Really simple, too.

Volleyball has settled down into a somewhat normal routine now, and our house has couches and will soon sport a futon as well. We're ready to roll for this year, I suppose. Classes start on Thursday, in two days. Our first game is on Friday. So soon! I'm looking forward to it, though.

I have found a new website I like. It's called Cooking for Engineers. Nope, not kidding at all, and it's exactly what I need too, imagine that. :)

I spent a buttload on books and I only got 3 this quarter. Hopefully I can beg borrow or steal for next quarter. Alright, that's all I got for now. Later!

Short on Supplies

I have vegetables on my hand. Got an X-ray today for a jammed finger. Nothing's wrong with it except the size. It's a little puffy, thus the vegetables on my hand.

There's not much else going on. Just volleyball. I took Tylenol nighttime stuff so I'm about ready to hit the sack. At 8, yep. All done with two-a-days though! Later taters.

Two-a-days are like dying without the reward of death at the end.

One Down

One two-a-day down, three more to go. I'm surprised we only have 4 this year, but I'm glad. I really think two-a-days do nothing for you except lots of reps with the ball. It's a tearing down of your body with no time for building your muscles back up.

We had our first puker yesterday morning. Poor little freshman.

Well, I need to head down to the gym soon. Can't wait to see everyone!

I don't know how it's looking on your computers, but it's supposed to be plain. There will be no visible boxes and all links should be on the bottom of the page. Embrace change. It's good for you.

Vball

I'm back at Rose. Volleyball preseason. I'm tired.

If these posts are looking funny, use Firefox.

Look, I'm a Tropical Storm!

This is really cool except for the destruction and danger I am going to bring upon the coast of Texas. Maybe I'll become a hurricane.

I got to drive a 770 truck (y'all saw that one) and a 777F truck (you haven't seen that one, I'll put pictures up later maybe) and I also drove a big scraper, not sure of the size. I have pictures of me up in the first 24M, and it's painted white. I'll try to show you that later as well.

I have two days of work left and then volleyball starts! :) My final act at CAT is a presentation from 8-9 on Friday morning. :) We'll see how that goes. Love y'all, ttyl!

I Got to Drive a Truck!

Sorry about the photos in this one, I can't figure out how to make it not be all jacked up.

I drove the smallest one Decatur makes, apparently, but it sure felt big to me! I drove over this little hill they have inside the practice track, and it felt like I was going over a mountain! The cab points toward the sky for a bit, then you're pointed right at the ground....WOW. Lots of fun! It goes up to 42 miles per hour. Not sure I ever got that fast, though. It was so bumpy...the one I drove didn't have the bed attached, so there was no weight holding her down. I couldn't keep the gas pedal down I was bumping around so much! Yep, the engine kept revving and revving...haha, they won't let me do this twice!

Anyways, these pictures are all with a different truck that has the bed attached. It was on the sound pad, and I got to raise the bed myself! Sooooo cool! Look how big this monster is. I'm shorter than the wheels!















This isn't a smile. It's a grimace of pain. There was lots of sun.

I know, you all wish you were as cool as me with my nifty hard hat. Safety glasses too, but you can't really see them in this picture.


















Oooo. Big toys.
















Here you can see my super sexy ear plugs. I'm getting ready to drive this baby! Well, raise the truck bed at least.

Mommy! Look what I can do!


















Yup, that was all me. I feel small.





















Another shot in case you weren't digging the last several.

Check my studly self out. :)

Hey Everybody

Had my 3 interviews today. And the drug test. All went very well. :) I'll know more in the next few weeks.

AGH

I have my job interview tomorrow. Yikes!

: )

How come keeping one apartment clean is a full-time job for me? I already have one, thanks very much. Ridiculous, I tell you. And I don't want to hear one word about maids and Rose-Hulman.

So, my cubicles and chairs are Steelcase office furniture. Isn't that cool???? I'm supporting my brother's business, as you can see. ;) I was crawling around under my chair trying to find the name, but I got it! Entertaining for my coworkers, I'm sure.

I'm no good at planning for dinner. I started thawing the chicken way too late. Guess it's yogurt and crackers for a meal tonight! Mm mm good.

Later!

Homesick

I think an empty apartment is a sad thing to come home to.

I miss you guys. I'll see you in August. :)

Short and Sweet, Just Like Me

Look! It's me wielding a shovel! And a house that's taking up way too much of the picture. Focal point = me.














We had a fun/hot day building houses for Habitat for Humanity. There's more pictures but I don't feel like posting them. :)

Aaaand, I feel TONS better, thanks a lot for everyone that pitched in. I really appreciate it.

21 days of CAT left, and then I'm back in preseason. Wooooohoooooo! Who's pumped about this season? That'd be me.

I'm going to go be domestic now. Yikes. Later everybody! (oh and check out Meyer's castle online, those of you connected to Jo-B...sheeeeeeminee. that's pretty)

I'm Famous

Happenings in Decatur-land...

I was on the Decatur news! Yup, WANDtv. I'm trying to ward off the mobs of autograph-hungry fans by hiding in a somewhat run-down apartment and developing nasty diseases. That'll teach them! So, the Caterpillar motor grader team worked on some Habitat for Humanity houses this past Saturday. Yours truly was caught on camera wielding a shovel. :) Fun stuff. I should have pictures to show you all soon.

Also, I seem to have gotten on the bad side of ill recently. I don't know what happened, but I began to notice a pain and swelling in my side and some unnatural bleeding. I went to the doctor...scary stuff, I felt like a little kid playing grown-up, let me tell you. The nurse guy calmed me down though. :) I like him. Anyways, I'm on some medication now that seems to be helping, woohoo! I'll be back in black and scampering around work and the gym in no time. The clinic did manage to toss out my urine sample before getting it tested, however. Ah yes, the competency of Decaturville-ians loses none of its potent reputation.

Side note: my pee is now ORANGE cuz of the meds, how cool is that??? Aaaand, my boyfriend is wonderful and deserves like 3 gold stars or something. He takes care of me and I kind of like it. I'm skipping work today and I get to see my lovely family in just a few short hours! Thanks for all of the help my scattered family members gave me yesterday, I was kind of a basket-case. You're all the best!

Lots Is Not the Same

I no longer have a roommate. It's a long story, but between one incompetent HR lady and an issue with cockroaches, Emily and I were moved to new apartments, separate ones. I like having the freedom back, but I miss having the company. We still hang out and stuff, but nighttime is a little scary once again. Maybe if it wasn't such a shady neighborhood...

I got recommended for a full-time position at CAT! That doesn't really mean I have a job, I still have to be chosen for an interview and all that, but it's a step in the right direction. Work is going pretty well; I am now almost through my seventh week, which means I have five weeks left of work.

Volleyball starts sooner than ever! I'm a little frustrated because my running times have gone up. I have been focusing a lot on lifting and not on running, so now I need to balance those better. I have five weeks to get my butt in gear!

I miss everyone and hope to see you over volleyball season at a game or two. If not, I'll definitely see you after the season at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Love you guys!

New News

My new roommate is super! She's going to be a lot of fun, yay!

Things have been picking up at CAT; I am in training for two days and I work afterwards, so I get to be busy and I LOVE what I am learning in Investment in Excellence training. It is so rewarding and revealing; psychological stuff that makes you think about how you think and why and what you can do to change it. Good stuff.

Got my first ticket, boo. :( I'm no longer upset about it, but paying it off is a hassle.

I had my outdoor adventure quota for the year when I went hiking, fishing, and swimming with Toby on Sunday. Here are some pictures of me as a fisherperson. I'm a pro! Didn't catch anything, but just wait til next time!














I can fish!














Nature. Doing its thing.



















I really can't aim.



















There's a good one. Nice big cheesy smiles.



















Is he in pain? I think he likes it.

TTFN! Tee eye double guh err. ;)

Internship

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit Mapleton Foundry, where all CAT engine blocks are poured (including the race car engines, pretty cool). It was pretty amazing...a fun tour and a day to spend somewhere new. Peoria is a 2 hour drive, so I got to leave the Decatur office at 10:30 that day. It was cool to see how the foundry worked, but the best part was when we were watching the furnace and something went wrong. There was too much scrap metal in the furnace (magnesium in this instance, I think) and the electrical cord caught on fire. We got to see them extinguish that fire, and then they had to pour the ladle of molten metal back into the furnace, which is unusual and difficult to do without spilling. Another fun part of the tour was when we watched the crane operators break the metal parts out of the sand castings on a vibrator belt. The operators have one hand in a sleeve, and whatever their hand/arm does, the crane arm does as well. It was amazing! One operator used his crane to wave at us, which was neat to see.

I visited Grace Baptist Church today. It was alright, but I think I will look around some more. The people were very nice, but they don't seem to have anyone around my age, which is a little awkward.

Next week I am going to Peoria on Wednesday for a business etiquette seminar. Business suits are required and from the agenda it looks like the meal is going to be very formal (completely foreign to me, in other words). I'm excited to try this! It's going to be very new and different.

Mom and the kids came to see me Friday/Saturday! Thanks, guys! I really enjoyed having some visitors, especially on the first weekend with nowhere to go. You all really filled up the apartment, it was a nice feeling! Alright, it's primetime tanning hour. Later!

Work Stuff

Lots has been going on! I am finally official at CAT. Got my employee tags today. They get me into and out of the security gate without having to call security every time; and it allows me to carry a camera onto the shop floor to photograph problem machinery.

Tomorrow I am taking a trip to Peoria for an intern activity. I'm excited to meet all of the other interns! Right now I only know one guy from Rose besides the guys in my worktools group. They're fun, though, and a lot closer than Peoria interns, so maybe I should get used to an older group of friends.

I spent the weekend in Ohio, and came back with a cell phone! If you want my #, just email me. I am still figuring it out...I'm a lil cell phone illiterate, but I'm catching on quick!

Luke, one of the things I can work on at CAT if I want is a website just for our team to use. When you are designing a webpage, do you do the coding by hand or do you have a favorite program you like to work in? I kind of work on this in my spare time, so let me know what you think. Thanks!

First Day of Work

Don't worry folks, I'm not quite as dumb as I look. I've been stealing the neighbor's wireless for a while now, so as long as I don't move my laptop, it works great!

Got a tour of the facility today. WOW, those machines are HUUUUGE! I work on the Motor Grader team; these babies have a big blade ranging from 12 feet to 24 feet, a scraper, and other tools that can be attached. I got to climb up into the cab of one of the 24H's...the biggest motor grader CAT makes. It was cool. Very high, lots of levers and such.

I'll be working on a military motor grader project, which just means I will be designing changes for a motor grader so it will fit on a plane.

Hehe, guess what I got to wear today? I brought along my steel-toed boots but left them in the car. I wasn't sure if we would need them or not. Apparently we did. Anyways, they supplied me and this other dude with strap-on steel-toes. I looked sexy, y'all. Plus, they make this fun horse-shoe clopping sound when you're on cement. Nice.

Once a week for the next four weeks, I get to skip a day of work for intern-related stuff in Peoria and the surrounding area. :)

Oh, and when it rains, it no longer smells like Cheez-its but instead like vomit. Yum yum!

I'm Not Dead Yet...I'm Getting Better!

I'm all moved in. Not unpacked in the slightest, but all moved in! Decatur is...interesting so far. The air smells like Cheez-its, but it's not so bad overall. My apartment is HUGE and lonely, come visit as much as you can! I can put you up in your own bed.

I currently have no phone or internet (Panera is my best friend), so this posting stuff may not happen too often. I'll try to keep y'all updated, though! I had orientation today and I start work tomorrow. And now my computer is about to die, booo, so I'm off. Love you all!

Poorer, Ready to Be Richer

Don't expect to go very far if you're not willing to risk a lot. I'm putting a lot into this education stuff, and I expect a lot out of it. Some may see that as arrogant, but at this point I'm thinking I've earned a paycheck or two.

I HAVE AN ABODE! I even know how to get there now. Groovy. I'll be moving this weekend, spending some time with the fam for Memorial Day, then orientation starts on Tuesday. So remember, when you're getting bored or lonely, there's a girl in central Illinois who would LOVE to put you up for a night or seven and be entertained! Plus, y'all know Decatur's the liveliest city in the Midwest. Partay all day long!

I'm all packed now, just down to throwing away the roomie's junk at this point. :) Summer's here, and I'm a SENIOR. Bring it.

No longer a bum...

I have an apartment!!!! I'm beginning to feel less stressed out about this internship deal now that I actually have a place to live. Yay!

Granted, I don't know WHERE yet. Or if I have roommates. But it's fully furnished, that's good. I don't have any internet unless I want to pay for it. We'll see if I really need it. More details should be coming soon. Ugh. This is ridiculous. Actually talking to the HR lady does help get things rolling, however.

fun times ahead

Things are finally rolling in the intern process. I am trying to figure out what's going on with housing still, but I know that I officially start the 29th. It's kind of weird at the moment, since I will apparently be training in Peoria but I work/live in Decatur (about a 2 hour drive). Hmm. I'm still working some things out.

Three weeks of school left! I have official senior status, according to the registrar, but I will have it for real after finals are over!

EMILY AND DAN ARE COMING TO SEE ME!! Suuuuper excited...I haven't seen 'em in ages.
Yay...drive safe, guys.














Sisters - miss you guys!

Inauguration

Well, our new president was inaugurated on Friday. I went to the ceremony on Friday and the student reception and comedian act on Saturday. It was kind of a cool time; we got key chains to celebrate the occasion and I really enjoyed the comedian. He was a former engineer, and his jokes were extremely nerdy and very funny. I would tell y'all a few, but that would just make me seem like more of a nerd than I am. :)

We did happen to get his DVD, though, so maybe some day when you're visiting, I can entertain you with tool humor.

Still waiting to hear back from Caterpillar about my internship this summer. So far, I've heard nothing back from my calls and emails. Guess I'll try again on Monday.

Life's been kind of crazy lately. Things are busy, but somehow this week I managed to have 3 or 4 free evenings. That NEVER happens, so I am kind of worried about next week. Yikes. I better go study for my heat transfer test now. Dinner would be good as well. Bye!

ANNOUNCEMENT

Who's registering as a senior for next quarter's classes? That's right, this kid is! Woohoo! I might actually make it out of this place!

Spring Break cont.

Hot tubbin'....this is in the lanai at Carol's house (KT's grandma).



















Thuggin' in the Tob's clothes.














KT and I cheezin' with our side ponytails.















This was cold and rainy day, right after we had played volleyball in the rain for a couple of hours...and swam in the freezing ocean for a while as well. Don't open your mouth. Ever. Don't let the water into your nose either, painful!

Oh, we totally saw stingrays on a sunny day at the beach! They were the color of the sand and REALLY hard to see unless you looked for their little wings flapping. Fins, whatever. That day we were all so burnt that we kept most of our clothes on and could only stay out in the sun for a couple of hours. But it was fun anyway!














I'm wearing a hat. Don't get used to it.

Hope to see all of you soon! 5 weeks of school left and I'm a senior! Whoooaaaa.

Spring Break!

The gang: Skul, Tobin, KT, and me! The location: Clermont, Florida with 3 trips to the coasts to hit the beaches.

It was too short but SO fun...mostly sunny (we spent one rainy day at the beach...the Floridians thought we were crazy!). We all got a little burnt, some more than others, but it was well worth it! The temperature difference from Florida to Indiana was extreme and uncalled for, though! From 95 to 38 in one 14 hour trip. Ugh.

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!















Tobin, Erin, Skul, and KT














Heading to church on Easter.















The boys at Skulley's (aMAzing sea food, may I recommend the blackened Amberjack, mmmm!)















At the pool by KT's grandma's house. Beautiful and SO sunny!

I'll post more later. Bye all!

Chin Up

I don't really have time for this, but since I am currently stuck in the middle of a Matlab program that won't work, here I go anyway!

Heading down to Florida in a day and a half! I'm excited; I think I have everything I need, or almost! Now I just have to pack it all. The hard part is getting everything done before we leave. I have to finish that scholarship package and send it, pay a bill, finish my Matlab homework and Heat Transfer homework, write thank-you notes to professors, and study for and pass a test for tomorrow. Volleyball practice is mixed in there somewhere along with packing. I don't think sleep is very high on the list. And I no longer have time for choir, so I may not be making that cd I told y'all about. Boo.

So, my internship is getting closer, and I am getting scared. There are so many times that I am doing my homework and I sit back and think, "who in their right mind would want to DO this for the rest of their lives?" as I begin to stab a pen in my eye. Hopefully reality will far surpass college banality. It's not so much the social stuff; it's the horrible, dull, tedious and grueling academics. I think at this point I should be finding things I'm interested in and enjoying a class or two. Beyond the occasional senile professor, classes are actually witheringly boring. Except for my lit classes. In hindsight, I may have picked the wrong major. Er, school.

Don't worry, be happy! I shall make lots of money, pay off my loans, and become a book editor or a log-hauler or a hole-digger and be dirty, healthy, and content.

And I just found out my comp apps assignment got moved back, so these tears are now tears of joy. Later taters!

Working hard

It's so WEIRD to be productive; I had all of my homework done by 9 tonight. That's with being behind in two classes as well. :) Craziness. Don't worry, I don't think I'm making a habit of this. But it sure is a good feeling. Shouldn't last too long though with tests looming on the horizon, oh boy!

Thanks to everyone who prayed...Tobin made it back safely to Indy at about 7:30 tonight. The March was successful and tiring, from what I hear. Everyone's back in the Haute now. :)

Spring break is in a couple of weeks! Florida, HERE I COME!!!! Sun and beaches, beaches and sun, I can't wait! And I'm whiter than snow, y'all. I'm laying out as much as possible here, but I'm trying to avoid frostbite too. K, it's a tad warmer than that, but it's not quite hot enough for me to lay out very comfortably. I have goosebumps the whole time. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Ok, just thought I'd let you know what was up. Later taters!

Busy Weekend

I thought I'd have a program to write this weekend, but apparently we had a lab day in class, and I got it done in there. AMAZING, I get to head home this weekend and not worry about comp apps at ALL. Happy birthday to my Jaymi! 21 on Sunday. I'll be home for Saturday night and some of Sunday to see her and my family. Yay!

So, Tobin is heading down to New Mexico as we speak. The actual Bataan Memorial Death March starts on Sunday morning, bright and early. It's a 26.2 mile course with elevation differences; plus, the guys are in full fatigues, boots, and carrying packs that must have 35 pounds in them at the finish line. So, any food or water they carry is extra weight since they can get rid of it as they march. The group heads home on Monday. Please pray for them all for a safe trip - no accidents or dehydration or anything like that!

Time to get some heat transfer done. Or take a nap. Or both :). Heat transfer tends to do that for a person.
Here's The Tob and I after the military ball! :)

Results Are In

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Apparently the majority agrees with me. "Buck-naked" is definitely the correct term. If anyone wants to get back to me on the etymology of that phrase, that would be cool too. As for why I asked this in the first place, since when do I need a reason for any of the questions I ask? I was just curious.

Oh, and we almost definitely have a house! I will call today to get the final arrangements made, then we start signing stuff. No worries, padres, I'll read it first. At least skim, anywho. Alrighty, I'm out!

I Need a Vote

Ok, I have a dilemma for you all to solve. Is the proper terminology:

1) butt-naked

OR

2) buck-naked

eeehhhhh?? Please get back to me with your votes. I may or may not weigh the voting so the results coincide with my own personal feelings on this matter. Thanks, dudes!

Sick of Staring at Code

This programming stuff is kicking my tail. I lose. The end. I swear what I am telling the computer to do makes perfect sense to me.

Well, it's official, KT and I are heading south for spring break! We are heading to Florida and will be hitting the Gulf Coast as well as the Atlantic Coast. The trip is 14 hours long and we are driving a stick. And...since KT doesn't want to drive the whole way, I am supposed to drive this car as well. Hypothetically. Should be interesting. Anyways, we'll be staying at KT's grandma's house and hitting the beaches as often as possible. :) Mmm. I miss the sun.

I don't like time changes. This daylight savings time crap puts me in a bad mood. I just lost an HOUR of my LIFE. Urg.

Ooo, my roomies and I may have found a house we like. I just don't want to get an apartment; I hate them so. You can hear everything your neighbors do/say/eat/flush, etc. So I am in favor of a house. We looked at a big duplex (sweet and cheap but really old and slightly scary) and a tiny house (cute and well kept but a tad expensive). We've seen several other places, but those two are pretty much the only ones I like. My roomies will be going to see the little house on Wednesday and soon we will make a decision. Aah! It's so fun...I like the independence having our own place will give us.

I am going to be an aunt cubed!!! :) :) :)

Spring Quarter news

Funny story. I decided to move my lazy butt and go running after doing jack-squat over break. That part is the good decision. I took the Heritage Trail that runs behind Rose; and I came across a mutt who followed me down the trail! He was so cute. My little running buddy.

So, the bad decision came when I reached the Heritage Apartments and decided to take roads back to Rose instead of the trail. First of all, the only road that went the right direction didn't have a sidewalk, so I chose to run down a gravel road that led to a scary plant in the middle of nowhere. Freaked out, I jogged on by and ran down some railroad tracks (in hindsight, perhaps not the best decision either). Sadly, they ended and I took off through the woods. My inner girl scout here abandoned me and I kind of wandered until I found a railroad bridge that led to a road (scary bridge, the Fox and the Hound kind but smaller). I ran down the road and started knocking on doors to ask for directions back to Rose, but no one NO ONE was home. Finally, tired of all that, I backtracked the whole way I had come. Picked up my dog escort again as well. And saw a coyote.

Anywho, long story short, I ran for 1.5-2 hours instead of 1 and really thought I had missed my classes until I got back and realized I just barely had time to get ready and go anyways. Snap. I thought it would have been fun to try and explain that I missed class because I got lost running around Terre Haute.

Hey I Made It -

I'm the world's greatest!

Finals are DONE. I have none left. I shall not take any more.

I got an A in Nutrition!!!!!! I left my last test in that class on Friday in a REALLY bad mood, I thought I did terrible...and it turns out I didn't. That's a pleasant surprise that doesn't happen very often here.

Alright, gotta run around and bribe financial aid...my break has OFFICIALLY started. :)

I tooootally almost forgot; Dani and I were driving back from looking at an apartment and there was a little red car by the side of the road. It caught my attention because I thought it was Skul's and I didn't know if he needed help or not. So we were slowing down and we saw a guy get out of the car and lean with his back against the side of the car. At that point I knew it wasn't Skul's car, so I started to speed up again. Then, just as we were about to pass him, the guy projectile vomited all over the place. Wow. That was quite a sight. Dani was so disgusted, but I couldn't stop laughing. It was like the movies when they overexaggerate the whole thing. Amazing. K, there's my gross story for the day.

Finals Start Tomorrow!

T: Mech Meas presentation at 2:30ish
W: DFM at 8, Horror Lit due by 12

Then I am done, son! No more winter quarter for Err after 12 on Wednesday. :)

I have a copy of the HL movie I will be bringing home; you all can watch after I leave. Yeah, it's that good.

My roomies and I are looking for apartments/houses. We have a really good option open for us that we will be looking into tomorrow; today we looked at three places, none of which will probably work for us, and we have another appointment set up for Thursday. It's really kind of fun. I'll let you guys know when we find something.

Blood Drive

I did it! No passing out or anything. So proud of myself! :) I better have saved a life too, dang it. I asked the lady if I could keep the blood for our horror movie we were shooting later that day; she laughed, but I didn't get the bag. It was still gross; the bag bloated with my own blood...ugh. It reminded me of an obscenely large mosquito. They take a lot. A lot more than I was expecting. But it's all over, and in a week I can find out my blood type. And cholesterol level.

I've been practicing with the basketball girls when Coach Prevo has the boys practice team come in. It's fun; but I'm leaning towards not playing next year. There is a large time commitment, and I would be doing it my senior year. Not sure if I could take that, starting all over that late into my college career.

Volleyball starts in about a month and a half! We had our first meeting, and soon will have another one to vote on captains.

I am frrrrozen right now. It's hard to type. I got back from filming about 15 minutes ago, which means we were outside about an hour and 45 minutes; and it's coooold! But I shot my dying scene and I think we're all done! Wooohooooo....

See you guys in a week and a half!

Edit:

Look it's my stunt double!

snowing!!

It almost feels like Christmas now! Good thing we still have our lights up...

So even Michigan would have to admit that Terre Haute has had its first official snow now. It's so gorgeous! Finally, something to cover up the dead trees! One pipe down by the SRC has a huge frozen waterfall coming out of it. Pretty amazing! Walking to class didn't feel half as cold with snowflakes falling all around you. I love the muffled feeling I get when it snows. It's comforting and makes you feel warmer even though it's only 14 degrees outside. Everything's quieter and cleaner and brighter. Yay snow!

So, next year we might possibly live off campus; I'm excited! I wouldn't mind if we didn't, but it would be so fun if we did! We've been crunching numbers and so far it seems like living off campus is the way to go. There's a shocker, Rose is cheating us out of $$.

Haha, I got a paper (well, several) back from Minster for my Horror Lit class, and his comments made me laugh out loud. I love that man. Here's one of his comments: "Oddly mixed metaphor. I have the mental image of someone stalking a glass jar of allspice." Apparently he didn't like the wording of my sentence. But I guess he liked the rest; that's the first A I've landed in that class. Oh, and he used the word "panache". He's my favorite. He's the only guy I know that likes words enough to call a paragraph "tight". Hehehe.

I'm going to attempt to get work done before my day decides to get long; that's what happens when evening hits. All meetings and practices tend to start about then. Later taters!

yay it's monday

After this week, we'll be done shooting our movie for Horror Lit; I'll let y'all know if I will get a copy of said movie or not. Hopefully not. It's going to be highly amusing to watch, but I'd rather not have the evidence of my humiliation in a form that could be copied and distributed. For those of you that didn't know, I'm part of a group of 7 making a film for my lit class; it's a horror film, or it's supposed to be. So I get to scream, run, cry, etc. Oh boy. Why do I do these things to myself? Actually, the hardest scenes to shoot were the ones where I just have to sit and talk to somebody. I'd rather run around; no surprise there.

In other news...I'm not overloading next quarter. That was decided for me today after getting my spring quarter bill. Mmm, I love this school.

Em, are you going to need that stats book? Let me know.

Angelic, really

Family resemblance??

Somebody takes after his big sister.

I GOT IN

The Intro to Aero class added another section, so I get to take it next quarter!!!!!!! Dr. Purdy is a sexy sexy man. He's the department head, and all of us that couldn't get into the class at registration time have been talking to him; and I see him all the time down in the gym when we are working out, and he kept saying he was coming up with a solution. And now I'm in!!!!

The down side is now I am theoretically taking 22 credit hours. I have the option of dropping a class, but I'm not sure I want to at this point. If I take the load I have, I'll finish my lit minor and have 2 out of 5 of my classes required for the aero concentration completed as well. But I might die. So I think I'll wait until classes start and see if it is going to be absolutely overwhelming or not.

Everything's going fairly well right now. I got to see a play yesterday at Hatfield (The Importance of Being Earnest), I am still doing choir, volleyball spring season starts soon, I am shooting a movie for a class, and I'm swamped with projects right now. I'm busy but happy, and that's how I like it. Miss you guys back home...come visit anytime! Warn me in advance though, the apartment's kinda a mess. :) I know you're all shocked. Ok, got to get on some stuff; later!

I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

Not gonna make anyone else do this, so I'm not really going to explain the rules. Jori tagged me and I love her so...you all get to see 6 weird things about me. No strings attached. Enjoy.

1) I have a thing about hand towels. The ones people hang by the sink. I never use them; not hygienic at all! People wipe their mouths on those things and do heaven knows what else with them...gross! If there isn't another alternative, I will air dry my hands, just flap them around for a few minutes until they are dry.

2) I hate when I can feel my own heartbeat. It makes me woozy.

3) I do things in even numbers unless it's a multiple of 5. And I always start walking with my right foot.

4) I have to sleep with something against my stomach.

5) I torture myself by "facing my fears". Since I'm scared of heights, I climb as high as I can get, especially if the floor is see-through (grates, for example), and scare myself silly. Or, since I have a weird fear of water (namely, things IN water like fishies), I go as deep as I can stand into the lake until I just can't take it anymore.

6) Caffeine and Claritin-D knock me for a loop. After a frappucino one evening, for example, I pulled an all-nighter because I couldn't sleep. I got a lot done, though; finished homework, shaved my legs, and cleaned the room. Oh, and the medicine makes my heart pound...see #
2.

Ok, that's enough about me. I hope you appreciate me, Jori!!!

GO BLUE