I briefly considered blogging last night, but I was far too tired. I'm coming to realize that every day this week is going to be long. Woo.
After I got up I cut the grass. I was only able to cut half of it because I had a dentist appointment. So I'm going to finish the grass in a little bit here.
I already spoiled the surprise, but I had a dentist appointment. It was fine. As usual, they got all grumpy that I don't floss enough. Flossing is silly and far too easy to forget.
After the dentist I came home, had lunch with Kimmy, then left for Muncie. We took a load of Kimmy's things and some wedding presents that we've received. Since I had to be out of Windermere by today, Jessie and Richard were generous and allowed us to use their spare bedroom to store our nonsense until we can move into our house. After we unloaded the van and went to Windermere to pack up everything that I had over there. I generally don't use the word stuff because it makes me feel so overly wasteful and unappreciative. But whilst moving the word stuff is simply too appropriate. And there was lots of it. To be fair, there were a few larger things (like chairs for our dining room table) that just take up a lot of room. And I have many kitchen-ware items that will most likely be replaced with wedding gifts. But since I don't know what all I need, I felt that it would be wise to keep them for the time being and give them to Goodwill when they get replaced. Yarg. And we had to clean my apartment. I thought it would take about an hour. 2 hours later we were mostly done. Then we went to Jessie's for dinner, unpacked the van, and went back to Windermere for the last load. It would have been wonderful if we could have moved into our new house yesterday, but as timing, as I've learned, is rarely perfect. So we make do with what we have. We got everything cleaned out and moved to Jessie and Richards by 9, then Kimmy and I left for Findlay.
I talked with cousin Nick on the phone for a few minutes to get some plans down for when we're out in his area of the country. We're going to be staying with him Saturday night on our way to New York and then Wednesday night on our way back. I'm excited. It's going to be fun. Like... ALL of the fun.
Anyhow, we made it back to Findlay around midnight and then went to bed, for I was tired. The end!
7.31.2012
7.29.2012
Day 433
Oh goodness. Today was a long and busy day.
My body decided to wake up around 7:30. I stayed in bed for a little longer and tried to convince myself to fall back asleep, but I had no such luck. So I got up and ate and all of that jazz.
I really enjoyed the sermon at church today. I wish I'd had a pen with me to take notes because I don't remember everything that was discussed. The main topic was Jesus' transfiguration and the significance of meeting Elijah and Moses on top of the mountain. I remember pastor Craig saying something that made me think "Wow, that's a really good point that I'd never considered before!" But I have forgotten it, and now I am sad.
After church we had lunch and left for our adventure! Mom, dad and I went to Muncie to see a house that Kimmy and I had considered renting. So we met Kimmy there, met the landlord, and walked through the house for a while. It was pretty nice. The last tenants haven't move out yet, so there was still some... stuff.... left behind. But the landlord assured us that everything would get cleaned and fixed before we moved in. It's a little more expensive than I had wanted to pay for housing, but we get a lot for the price and we really need a place to stay. So we're going to live there. The landlord was very easy going and incredibly helpful. I'm pretty excited. We didn't get any pictures, but we'll be sure to document when we move. It's pretty fantastic.
When we'd finished looking at the house we drove past a house that some of my parents' friends from church own and rent out to people, just to see how it looks. Then mom and dad went on home. Kimmy and I went to go see Kathryn for a little bit, since she was in town at the time. She was in Muncie over the weekend moving into her new apartment, so we stole some of her time for a bit. That was fun. We just talked and caught up on life and everything. Even though grad school is really hard and things, I'm excited to move back and see all of my friends.
After that we came home. We got back around 8:20. Then we packed the van up for our trip tomorrow (back to Muncie......). Aunt Kathy and Beth are here, so we talked with them for a bit. But mostly we packed the van. It's going to be a busy week....
And now it's time for bed. Good night, all.
My body decided to wake up around 7:30. I stayed in bed for a little longer and tried to convince myself to fall back asleep, but I had no such luck. So I got up and ate and all of that jazz.
I really enjoyed the sermon at church today. I wish I'd had a pen with me to take notes because I don't remember everything that was discussed. The main topic was Jesus' transfiguration and the significance of meeting Elijah and Moses on top of the mountain. I remember pastor Craig saying something that made me think "Wow, that's a really good point that I'd never considered before!" But I have forgotten it, and now I am sad.
After church we had lunch and left for our adventure! Mom, dad and I went to Muncie to see a house that Kimmy and I had considered renting. So we met Kimmy there, met the landlord, and walked through the house for a while. It was pretty nice. The last tenants haven't move out yet, so there was still some... stuff.... left behind. But the landlord assured us that everything would get cleaned and fixed before we moved in. It's a little more expensive than I had wanted to pay for housing, but we get a lot for the price and we really need a place to stay. So we're going to live there. The landlord was very easy going and incredibly helpful. I'm pretty excited. We didn't get any pictures, but we'll be sure to document when we move. It's pretty fantastic.
When we'd finished looking at the house we drove past a house that some of my parents' friends from church own and rent out to people, just to see how it looks. Then mom and dad went on home. Kimmy and I went to go see Kathryn for a little bit, since she was in town at the time. She was in Muncie over the weekend moving into her new apartment, so we stole some of her time for a bit. That was fun. We just talked and caught up on life and everything. Even though grad school is really hard and things, I'm excited to move back and see all of my friends.
After that we came home. We got back around 8:20. Then we packed the van up for our trip tomorrow (back to Muncie......). Aunt Kathy and Beth are here, so we talked with them for a bit. But mostly we packed the van. It's going to be a busy week....
And now it's time for bed. Good night, all.
Day 432
Hello there.
Yesterday was quite intense. It started off with good old breakfast and showering. That wasn't the intense part.
After my normal morning rituals I did my finances and packed up the van. I'm taking a load of things to Muncie tomorrow, provided that everything works out today (more on that later). So I packed then van, then did some cleaning. I think it finally started to hit me that in less than a week I'll be married and moving out of Findlay. It's weird. That wasn't the intense part either.
Mom and dad and I went out to dinner at Steve's Dakota Grill. We saw Juan, and old church friend from when I was in high school. We talked with him for a little bit before we were seated. I hadn't seen him in a few years so it was nice to be able to catch up a little bit. Anyhow, dinner was really good. We talked about wedding things and marriage nonsense. I asked them what sort of things they had to change in themselves after they got married. We had a nice little discussion about that. But that wasn't the intense part.
Remember that time when I thought I had a place to live in a few weeks? Yeah................. apparently the landlord's wife rented the house to someone else and he didn't know until yesterday evening. That was a little difficult to take. I certainly don't blame them or hold it against them. After all, they just need people to live their and (in a completely objective sense) it doesn't make much difference who it is. All is not lost though. They have another house for rent that we're going to look at today. It's on the upper edge of our price range, but I think we can still do it. So we'll see how that goes when we give it a visit today!
After all of that silliness I went to go hang out with friends. James' birthday is today, but we got together last night to celebrate. Our plan had originally been to go up to Bowling Green, but then we decided not to... we were all feeling pretty lazy. I had a lot of fun though. We listened to music, played with fire outside, I taught Cory's girlfriend a little bit of swing, watched our current favorite youtube video (many many times), and played silly games. It was quite fun. James is officially a year older! Good work, team.
Ok. Off to tackle this day.
Yesterday was quite intense. It started off with good old breakfast and showering. That wasn't the intense part.
After my normal morning rituals I did my finances and packed up the van. I'm taking a load of things to Muncie tomorrow, provided that everything works out today (more on that later). So I packed then van, then did some cleaning. I think it finally started to hit me that in less than a week I'll be married and moving out of Findlay. It's weird. That wasn't the intense part either.
Mom and dad and I went out to dinner at Steve's Dakota Grill. We saw Juan, and old church friend from when I was in high school. We talked with him for a little bit before we were seated. I hadn't seen him in a few years so it was nice to be able to catch up a little bit. Anyhow, dinner was really good. We talked about wedding things and marriage nonsense. I asked them what sort of things they had to change in themselves after they got married. We had a nice little discussion about that. But that wasn't the intense part.
Remember that time when I thought I had a place to live in a few weeks? Yeah................. apparently the landlord's wife rented the house to someone else and he didn't know until yesterday evening. That was a little difficult to take. I certainly don't blame them or hold it against them. After all, they just need people to live their and (in a completely objective sense) it doesn't make much difference who it is. All is not lost though. They have another house for rent that we're going to look at today. It's on the upper edge of our price range, but I think we can still do it. So we'll see how that goes when we give it a visit today!
After all of that silliness I went to go hang out with friends. James' birthday is today, but we got together last night to celebrate. Our plan had originally been to go up to Bowling Green, but then we decided not to... we were all feeling pretty lazy. I had a lot of fun though. We listened to music, played with fire outside, I taught Cory's girlfriend a little bit of swing, watched our current favorite youtube video (many many times), and played silly games. It was quite fun. James is officially a year older! Good work, team.
Ok. Off to tackle this day.
7.28.2012
Day 431
Well, yesterday was the last day of my internship. It was a pretty busy day, as we had a lot of end-of-the-month work to do. But it was a really good day. We went to Bob Evans for lunch in honor of my last day at Central. They wanted to hear about wedding plans and about some of my thoughts on how the summer had gone. I've said it before, but I definitely learned a lot this summer. I've learned about myself, actuaries, employment... and other things. It was quite beneficial. They also gave Kimmy and me a couple wedding gifts, which was beyond generous of them. The whole department treated me very very well.
After work I came home and talked with mom and dad for a while, then had dinner. Mom made Swedish meatballs and rice, and they were quite tasty. Then we sat around and talked for a bit!
Later on I went to Becky's and hung out with friends! We watched silly videos on youtube, watched a movie, had some punch that Becky and Miles made (with pieces of fruit and stuff!), and went to the park. It was a good time. Then it was home -> bed time. The end!
After work I came home and talked with mom and dad for a while, then had dinner. Mom made Swedish meatballs and rice, and they were quite tasty. Then we sat around and talked for a bit!
Later on I went to Becky's and hung out with friends! We watched silly videos on youtube, watched a movie, had some punch that Becky and Miles made (with pieces of fruit and stuff!), and went to the park. It was a good time. Then it was home -> bed time. The end!
7.26.2012
Day 430
Well, today began like many others. I got up, ate, made my lunch, and went off to work. When I got there I actually had things to do. I love that feeling because even though I know it's not really my own work, it feels like it is. So I worked on a few update assignments and things.
Today in "What's new on the Internet": Google announced that they will be releasing a 1 Gigabit internet connection in Kansas City. To put it in perspective, a 25 gigabyte Blu-ray movie could be completely downloaded in under 4 minutes. In current technology, that would take over 12 hours. Looks like I'm moving to Kansas!
During lunch Lee and I discussed one of our favorite topics: the exams. They're really atrocious. I'm only 2 in and I'm ready to be done. The thought of every evening and half of my weekend being devoted to studying for the next 5 years is not appealing. I understand now what a lot of my friends go through who work out a lot. They'll say how much they hate working out, but hate themselves if they don't. That's now studying for these exams is. It's addicting in the sense that I feel guilty and awful when I'm not studying, but I also despise how much it takes away from my life. Especially when I'm still young. In a way it's approximate to getting a PhD... studying and spending every waking moment on something until your late 20s (if you start right away). My best hope would to be done by the time I'm 28. It's really not even about the money for me... it's more about the hope of finding a job that I love with the skills that I have. There are not many skills that I have where I excel enough to get a job over someone else except in the area of mathematics. There are a lot of jobs that seems awesome to me, but I simply do not posses the skills to succeed. I'd love to be a professional stunt man or martial artist (basically I want to be Jackie Chan). But there isn't a huge market for that and I just don't have the physical capacity for that. Or I'd love a job where I can develop mathematical theories that somehow alleviate unemployment or inner city issues or AIDS. I don't even think that job exists. But I've heard that being an actuary can give you such a sense of helping people through mathematics if you happen upon the right opportunity. As a probability person... That's wonderful and awful. Because I'm a probability person, I'm not much for gambling. But you know, we'll see where this all takes me. I do my best not to make life choices based solely on feelings, as emotions are fickle beasts. At the moment: I need a job so that I can pay bills and provide for myself (and Kimmy soon). So for now: let's kick it into high gear and get through more exams. It's never been about the money for me. It's always been about finding a job where I feel like my skills are being fully utilized and people are benefiting from my work. We'll see how this goes! Life, as I'm learning, is an adventure. And the adventure isn't about where you go (entirely), it's largely about how you get there. I certainly don't want to miss out on all the exciting things that life has for me by always focusing on the future. I always felt bad for those people who put off everything until retirement. "When I retire," they say, "I want to buy a home in Florida" or "I'm going to learn more languages" or "I want to travel" or "I want to find my passion." If I wait another 40 years to do the things I love I'm going to hate half of my life. Sure I speak with youthful naivety, but I just can't imagine a world where I have to hate my next 40 years of life simply to enjoy the following 20 or so. I'd like enjoy all of it. Clearly I won't enjoy every moment. But I want there to be things I enjoy the entire time. Maybe it's my job. Or some volunteer work. Or playing piano again. Or getting a degree in Anthropology. Who knows... but I can't fathom putting everything off until retirement.
I'm going to be busy, that's for certain. Well, now that I've had my little monologue (I suppose that is a purpose for my blog)...
Anyhow, after work some of the Actuarial Department went to dinner in Delphos at some Mexican place. We concluded that the menu was identical to one at the Mexican restaurant in Van Wert. It was pretty good. It tasted like pretty much every other Mexican restaurant north of Texas. After dinner we all went putt-putting! That was a lot of fun. Like... probably at least a 3 gallon bucket of fun.
We were silly. This is Lee. One of the holes had a spinner with different actions you had to take. Lee's was to hit the ball with the opposite end of the club for the first hit. It went well. My action was to take 1 off of my score for that hole! After we were done Lee handed out our awards for the "First Annual Actuarial Open." I received the MVP for all of my long years of dedicated service to Central's Actuarial Department. It was silly.
In other exciting news, I started using Pandora on my phone today. I'm not sure why I've never done this before, but it's pretty grand.
Then... I came home. I talked with mom and dad for a bit, then updated this silly thing.
And now I'm off to bed. One more day of work! Here we go!
Today in "What's new on the Internet": Google announced that they will be releasing a 1 Gigabit internet connection in Kansas City. To put it in perspective, a 25 gigabyte Blu-ray movie could be completely downloaded in under 4 minutes. In current technology, that would take over 12 hours. Looks like I'm moving to Kansas!
During lunch Lee and I discussed one of our favorite topics: the exams. They're really atrocious. I'm only 2 in and I'm ready to be done. The thought of every evening and half of my weekend being devoted to studying for the next 5 years is not appealing. I understand now what a lot of my friends go through who work out a lot. They'll say how much they hate working out, but hate themselves if they don't. That's now studying for these exams is. It's addicting in the sense that I feel guilty and awful when I'm not studying, but I also despise how much it takes away from my life. Especially when I'm still young. In a way it's approximate to getting a PhD... studying and spending every waking moment on something until your late 20s (if you start right away). My best hope would to be done by the time I'm 28. It's really not even about the money for me... it's more about the hope of finding a job that I love with the skills that I have. There are not many skills that I have where I excel enough to get a job over someone else except in the area of mathematics. There are a lot of jobs that seems awesome to me, but I simply do not posses the skills to succeed. I'd love to be a professional stunt man or martial artist (basically I want to be Jackie Chan). But there isn't a huge market for that and I just don't have the physical capacity for that. Or I'd love a job where I can develop mathematical theories that somehow alleviate unemployment or inner city issues or AIDS. I don't even think that job exists. But I've heard that being an actuary can give you such a sense of helping people through mathematics if you happen upon the right opportunity. As a probability person... That's wonderful and awful. Because I'm a probability person, I'm not much for gambling. But you know, we'll see where this all takes me. I do my best not to make life choices based solely on feelings, as emotions are fickle beasts. At the moment: I need a job so that I can pay bills and provide for myself (and Kimmy soon). So for now: let's kick it into high gear and get through more exams. It's never been about the money for me. It's always been about finding a job where I feel like my skills are being fully utilized and people are benefiting from my work. We'll see how this goes! Life, as I'm learning, is an adventure. And the adventure isn't about where you go (entirely), it's largely about how you get there. I certainly don't want to miss out on all the exciting things that life has for me by always focusing on the future. I always felt bad for those people who put off everything until retirement. "When I retire," they say, "I want to buy a home in Florida" or "I'm going to learn more languages" or "I want to travel" or "I want to find my passion." If I wait another 40 years to do the things I love I'm going to hate half of my life. Sure I speak with youthful naivety, but I just can't imagine a world where I have to hate my next 40 years of life simply to enjoy the following 20 or so. I'd like enjoy all of it. Clearly I won't enjoy every moment. But I want there to be things I enjoy the entire time. Maybe it's my job. Or some volunteer work. Or playing piano again. Or getting a degree in Anthropology. Who knows... but I can't fathom putting everything off until retirement.
I'm going to be busy, that's for certain. Well, now that I've had my little monologue (I suppose that is a purpose for my blog)...
Anyhow, after work some of the Actuarial Department went to dinner in Delphos at some Mexican place. We concluded that the menu was identical to one at the Mexican restaurant in Van Wert. It was pretty good. It tasted like pretty much every other Mexican restaurant north of Texas. After dinner we all went putt-putting! That was a lot of fun. Like... probably at least a 3 gallon bucket of fun.
In other exciting news, I started using Pandora on my phone today. I'm not sure why I've never done this before, but it's pretty grand.
Then... I came home. I talked with mom and dad for a bit, then updated this silly thing.
And now I'm off to bed. One more day of work! Here we go!
7.25.2012
Day 429
My day at work started with a meeting. It was a follow up to a meeting that I attended last month to discuss some rate changes for about 8 different states. After the meeting was over Lee and I went to another conference room and he explained some of the mathematical theory behind how rates are chosen. One of the big issues that every insurance company has to handle is the matter of how reliable the data is. For instance, if a company covers 10 and 8 of them all happen to crash into each other at the same time... was that a coincidence or are 80% of the cars really going to get in wrecks? Probably not. It would be accurate to say that you don't have enough data to make a very good assessment. This is a completely fair and standard procedure. The issue becomes: what next? Well.... in a lot of applied statistics, our goal is to be able to fit the data to a normal curve. Normal curves are very nice and have amazing properties. Thanks to the Mean Value Theorem, the only real challenge is to get enough data points to accurately (and objectively) state that our data does, in fact, fit a normal curve. In our case, we need 1082 claims to say that our data is good enough. This seemingly arbitrary number is determined when we figure out how accurate we want to make our data. We can never 100% guarantee our data... but we can get close. The issue is that getting 99.999% accuracy requires a lot of data that nobody has. But industry standard says that 90% or 95% or so good enough. That's where the 1082 applies: if we can get 1082 claims, we can guarantee that our data is 90% accurate. It's pretty neat how the math works out, but I'll leave that for some other time (actually, I doubt I'll ever get into it). So after all of that excitement, I went back to entering data into Excel models.
In other news, I get married in less than 9 days. Let's hope it all comes together!
After work I came home and ate some rice. Then I played games with friend Miles. We won all of the things and saved the world from all the bad guys.
Then I went to Steak and Shake with friend Kelly! It was much fun. She was a trooper and wanted to hear about the sort of things I do at work. So I did my best to explain some of the general concepts that were discussed in the meeting this morning. Obviously I couldn't give actual details, but I tried to explain a bit about the reasons of why rates change and how we can't just change numbers all willy-nilly. Then I did my best to explain some of the ideas behind "credible data" (what I was explaining up above) and how we can determine what is or is not credible. This is one of those areas for which I have a difficult time giving good explanations because it's still so new to me that I haven't yet come up with a good explanation for people that aren't actuaries or mathematicians. I mean... unless my saying that "standard practice assumes a normal distribution such that P{ -k*E[x] < S < k*E[x]} = p where k follows a Poisson distribution with some mean E[l] and p is (in essence) our confidence interval and k follows a stochastic process" would really fit well into a good explanation (which I don't think it does) then I need to work on something a little better. So until I come up with something better.... we use magic.
Anyhow, dinner was fun. We talked about work and weddings and friends and how amazing the milkshakes are at Steak and Shake. 'Twas a good time.
And now... bed. But only two more early mornings for me! Woo!
Good night!
7.24.2012
Day 428
Hey, it's Tuesday!
It rained a little bit on my way to work today. It was much needed. Work today mainly consisted of two or three different update projects. Most of it was to prepare for Friday, as it's going to be a very busy day in the department. My time at Central is quickly winding down. It's been a very good summer and I've learned a lot. Most of the lessons I learned were not ones I anticipated learning, but they were all very important to learn.
After work I came home and ate dinner with dad. Mom was off doing things with Primrose and grocery shopping. When she came home we helped put groceries away and then we talked about our days.
I guess I don't really have many exciting things to talk about today. While I was driving home I had something I'd wanted to discuss, but now it escapes me. I can't even describe how excited I am to not have an hour long commute everyday to get in the way of any stray thoughts I have. Or to not pay for the gas. I get two extra hours every day soon!
Hm. I guess that's about it. I took advantage of my remaining week of work (and having access to my work email address) and purchased Office 2010. Using my work email address and a promotional program at work I was able to get it for $10. It's worth it.
Yup. So... I made lunch and now I'm going to bed. Good night!
It rained a little bit on my way to work today. It was much needed. Work today mainly consisted of two or three different update projects. Most of it was to prepare for Friday, as it's going to be a very busy day in the department. My time at Central is quickly winding down. It's been a very good summer and I've learned a lot. Most of the lessons I learned were not ones I anticipated learning, but they were all very important to learn.
After work I came home and ate dinner with dad. Mom was off doing things with Primrose and grocery shopping. When she came home we helped put groceries away and then we talked about our days.
I guess I don't really have many exciting things to talk about today. While I was driving home I had something I'd wanted to discuss, but now it escapes me. I can't even describe how excited I am to not have an hour long commute everyday to get in the way of any stray thoughts I have. Or to not pay for the gas. I get two extra hours every day soon!
Hm. I guess that's about it. I took advantage of my remaining week of work (and having access to my work email address) and purchased Office 2010. Using my work email address and a promotional program at work I was able to get it for $10. It's worth it.
Yup. So... I made lunch and now I'm going to bed. Good night!
7.23.2012
Day 427
I was tired this morning. After a long weekend of silliness, but body was still recovering. But I made it.
I went to a meeting first thing (almost) this morning at work. I've come to realize that the meetings at work are generally different than the ones I've participated in at past jobs. In the past, most (but not all) meetings have been action oriented: "here is this issue/problem/event, now we need to do something about it." About half of the meetings I've been to at work are object(ive) oriented: "here is this thing... you need to know about it but not necessarily act on it." Today's meeting was mostly action oriented, except that (as the president of the company stated before the meeting even began), only one persons' opinion really mattered at this meeting. Jeff was the main presenter and at the end asked if everyone agreed to his proposal. So this meeting was sort of both action and object oriented: a large portion of it was Jeff giving other people necessary information from some work he'd done, but part of the meeting was him asking if they approved of his suggestions.
When the meeting was over I did some updating stuff with Vivian. I think that was most of the rest of the day. We're getting ready to finish up our end-of-the-month things, so work is getting busier.
After work I went to go teach dad's soccer team some ballroom dance! As part of a team building event dad asked me to teach them to waltz. And friend Becky helped me out! I thought it went well. They followed along pretty well. Near the end I could tell they were done, so they requested that Becky and I dance and do moves that we hadn't been able to teach. It was fun. Becky did really well for only learning everything yesterday. Good job, friend!
When I got home I looked at text books for the fall. It appears that I'll only need two: a study guide for my exam in November and a study guide for the class the covers material for my next exam (MFE - Modeling Financial Economics). The class for MFE uses another book that I already have. I don't really like that book, but it's the only real text book on the market that covers this specific material. Gross.
I got an application for the house Kimmy and I most likely going to rent in an email last night, so I started to fill it out today. I had a few questions, so I sent those off and hopefully get a response soon. When I'd gotten as far as I could I played Team Fortress for a little bit. Kanissa played with me for a while, but we didn't get to be on the same team for much of it. Which was silly.
Ok. I'm off to bed. Let's hope I can recover from my sleep deprived weekend now! Night!
I went to a meeting first thing (almost) this morning at work. I've come to realize that the meetings at work are generally different than the ones I've participated in at past jobs. In the past, most (but not all) meetings have been action oriented: "here is this issue/problem/event, now we need to do something about it." About half of the meetings I've been to at work are object(ive) oriented: "here is this thing... you need to know about it but not necessarily act on it." Today's meeting was mostly action oriented, except that (as the president of the company stated before the meeting even began), only one persons' opinion really mattered at this meeting. Jeff was the main presenter and at the end asked if everyone agreed to his proposal. So this meeting was sort of both action and object oriented: a large portion of it was Jeff giving other people necessary information from some work he'd done, but part of the meeting was him asking if they approved of his suggestions.
When the meeting was over I did some updating stuff with Vivian. I think that was most of the rest of the day. We're getting ready to finish up our end-of-the-month things, so work is getting busier.
After work I went to go teach dad's soccer team some ballroom dance! As part of a team building event dad asked me to teach them to waltz. And friend Becky helped me out! I thought it went well. They followed along pretty well. Near the end I could tell they were done, so they requested that Becky and I dance and do moves that we hadn't been able to teach. It was fun. Becky did really well for only learning everything yesterday. Good job, friend!
When I got home I looked at text books for the fall. It appears that I'll only need two: a study guide for my exam in November and a study guide for the class the covers material for my next exam (MFE - Modeling Financial Economics). The class for MFE uses another book that I already have. I don't really like that book, but it's the only real text book on the market that covers this specific material. Gross.
I got an application for the house Kimmy and I most likely going to rent in an email last night, so I started to fill it out today. I had a few questions, so I sent those off and hopefully get a response soon. When I'd gotten as far as I could I played Team Fortress for a little bit. Kanissa played with me for a while, but we didn't get to be on the same team for much of it. Which was silly.
Ok. I'm off to bed. Let's hope I can recover from my sleep deprived weekend now! Night!
7.22.2012
Day 426
Greetings!
So I woke up this morning and felt like garbage. After staying up late, playing laser tag, and sleeping on the ground all night my body was about ready to mutiny. And the tent smelled pretty gross with 5 sweaty guys in there. I was more than happy to get out of their in the morning. Unfortunately, I was so sore that getting out of the tent was not an immediate option. So I was left to stew the in the stench of man sweat until I was able to convince my body to submit to my bidding. The first 30 minutes of being awake was spent sitting around a smoldering fire from last night with the other guys, trying to tell our joints to work properly. It was much more difficult than it should have been.
But progress was made. We cleaned up our stuff and went to our standard post-nonsense breakfast restaurant of choice: Waffle House. As my bachelor party was not officially over yet, I had to wear my tiara. We looked awful. But as always, Waffle House was great.
Then the festivities had to end and we all went home. Boo. On the way home we mainly recalled our favorite events from the night and tried to talk about... something. I don't recall what except that none of us were in a mental state (tired, worn out, and freshly filled with Waffle House) to actually carry on much more than a surface level conversation.
When I got home I showered and brushed my teeth. It felt so great. After shower I let my nasty bag air out then played games with Jared and Miles for a bit. After mom and dad got home from their weekend of soccer I talked with them for a while. Good things are good. They told me about their weekend at the soccer tournament and I told them about my adventures in Columbus. Then I got some rice while mom and I discussed wedding things.
After rice I did some banking things that desperately needed to be done. Then we had dinner. Dad made hamburgers on the grill. They were good. After dinner I went to Becky's to teach her some dances. She's going to help me teach dad's soccer team how to dance tomorrow, so I needed to teach her the dances first. It will be an adventure!
Now it is bed time. Yes. Good night!
So I woke up this morning and felt like garbage. After staying up late, playing laser tag, and sleeping on the ground all night my body was about ready to mutiny. And the tent smelled pretty gross with 5 sweaty guys in there. I was more than happy to get out of their in the morning. Unfortunately, I was so sore that getting out of the tent was not an immediate option. So I was left to stew the in the stench of man sweat until I was able to convince my body to submit to my bidding. The first 30 minutes of being awake was spent sitting around a smoldering fire from last night with the other guys, trying to tell our joints to work properly. It was much more difficult than it should have been.
But progress was made. We cleaned up our stuff and went to our standard post-nonsense breakfast restaurant of choice: Waffle House. As my bachelor party was not officially over yet, I had to wear my tiara. We looked awful. But as always, Waffle House was great.
Then the festivities had to end and we all went home. Boo. On the way home we mainly recalled our favorite events from the night and tried to talk about... something. I don't recall what except that none of us were in a mental state (tired, worn out, and freshly filled with Waffle House) to actually carry on much more than a surface level conversation.
When I got home I showered and brushed my teeth. It felt so great. After shower I let my nasty bag air out then played games with Jared and Miles for a bit. After mom and dad got home from their weekend of soccer I talked with them for a while. Good things are good. They told me about their weekend at the soccer tournament and I told them about my adventures in Columbus. Then I got some rice while mom and I discussed wedding things.
After rice I did some banking things that desperately needed to be done. Then we had dinner. Dad made hamburgers on the grill. They were good. After dinner I went to Becky's to teach her some dances. She's going to help me teach dad's soccer team how to dance tomorrow, so I needed to teach her the dances first. It will be an adventure!
Now it is bed time. Yes. Good night!
Day 425
Wow. What a day. To summarize: Bachelor Party.
So I woke up around 9:30 or so. After I showered and everything, then packed up and went to meet Miles. He and James and I carpooled down to Columbus for the big event. We had to stop to get bad coffee and Gatorade. You know, to stay hydrated.
After we all arrived (which was an adventure because apparently half of the roads were closed), we went to Wendy's for lunch. Then we suited up and head off to our next event: Laser Tag.
To be specific, it was Blazer Tag since we were all wearing suits. It was fun! The fog machine was broken so fog just kept for pouring in. You seriously couldn't see 5 feet in front of your face. It was great. Then we went go-karting. People were laughing at us because we were wearing suits. And because I was wearing pink tiara.
After Magic Mountain we went to go see The Dark Knight Rises. It was fantastic. James fell asleep, but he hadn't slept at all in about 38 hours. So it was acceptable.
We got out of the movie around 11:30 and went back to Jared's. We'd set up the tent earlier, so we started a bonfire and sat around for a while. After I'd made it past the No Sleep Threshold (prior to which falling asleep would earn you a Sharpie tattoo) I went to sleep. I was so tired. But all in all it was really really fun.
Bachelor Party = success!
So I woke up around 9:30 or so. After I showered and everything, then packed up and went to meet Miles. He and James and I carpooled down to Columbus for the big event. We had to stop to get bad coffee and Gatorade. You know, to stay hydrated.
After we all arrived (which was an adventure because apparently half of the roads were closed), we went to Wendy's for lunch. Then we suited up and head off to our next event: Laser Tag.
To be specific, it was Blazer Tag since we were all wearing suits. It was fun! The fog machine was broken so fog just kept for pouring in. You seriously couldn't see 5 feet in front of your face. It was great. Then we went go-karting. People were laughing at us because we were wearing suits. And because I was wearing pink tiara.
After Magic Mountain we went to go see The Dark Knight Rises. It was fantastic. James fell asleep, but he hadn't slept at all in about 38 hours. So it was acceptable.
We got out of the movie around 11:30 and went back to Jared's. We'd set up the tent earlier, so we started a bonfire and sat around for a while. After I'd made it past the No Sleep Threshold (prior to which falling asleep would earn you a Sharpie tattoo) I went to sleep. I was so tired. But all in all it was really really fun.
Bachelor Party = success!
7.21.2012
Day 424
Well, yesterday was quite the day!
I decided to test the fates a little bit yesterday. Usually I get gas at the same point in my trip to work each time (at Speedway in Beaverdam on my way to work). This means that I'm usually going about 240 miles between fill-ups (since I fill up every two days). I'm typically a little under a quarter of a tank when I fill up. So today when I approached Beaverdam I was still somehow above a quarter of a tank. So I thought to myself "well, it's 30 miles from here to work and another 30 miles from work back to here. I can make that!" Spoiler alert: I did, but it was getting pretty low.
At work I did a few update/checking projects. I also learned (again) how important it is to make sure that no one has assigned a macro to shortcut keys that I used. Things almost got bad when I tried to Undo (CTRL + Z) and... it ran a macro. Well, it tried to but it couldn't actually run, thank God.
After work I came home, shaved, then went over to Becky's. Miles, Becky and I played video games and ate pizza! Then Kelly came over and we went up to Bowling Green for the night. We just kind of meandered around town, hung out with some of Miles friends up there, and eventually found a classy restaurant where we could sit and chill out for a while. And by classy I mean Taco Bell. But we had a lot of fun!
And now for another day of exciting times!
I decided to test the fates a little bit yesterday. Usually I get gas at the same point in my trip to work each time (at Speedway in Beaverdam on my way to work). This means that I'm usually going about 240 miles between fill-ups (since I fill up every two days). I'm typically a little under a quarter of a tank when I fill up. So today when I approached Beaverdam I was still somehow above a quarter of a tank. So I thought to myself "well, it's 30 miles from here to work and another 30 miles from work back to here. I can make that!" Spoiler alert: I did, but it was getting pretty low.
At work I did a few update/checking projects. I also learned (again) how important it is to make sure that no one has assigned a macro to shortcut keys that I used. Things almost got bad when I tried to Undo (CTRL + Z) and... it ran a macro. Well, it tried to but it couldn't actually run, thank God.
After work I came home, shaved, then went over to Becky's. Miles, Becky and I played video games and ate pizza! Then Kelly came over and we went up to Bowling Green for the night. We just kind of meandered around town, hung out with some of Miles friends up there, and eventually found a classy restaurant where we could sit and chill out for a while. And by classy I mean Taco Bell. But we had a lot of fun!
And now for another day of exciting times!
7.19.2012
Day 423
Well today was exciting!
The drive to work was pretty uneventful... until the storm. About 20 miles from Van Wert the rain began. And oh goodness, did it rain. There hadn't been much rain in that area for quite some time so it was very welcome.
I did a couple updating projects at work. That about sums up the work part of my day. But I did get to do most of it by myself, so that was good. I don't mind working with other people, but I feel like I'm contributing more when I can just sit down and do work. Which is silly because I'm not contributing any more or less regardless of who is or is not sitting there. But I guess it's just easier to feel like the work matters? I'm not quite sure... I'll have to think about that.
After work I went to Becky's for dinner! Miles made tacos for her birthday and they were amazing. He marinated to steak in... a bunch of amazing things. I don't remember what all was in it, but it had cayenne pepper in it (which is obviously the most important ingredient). So we had tacos (with homemade green salsa, also made by Miles) and cornbread (made by Becky). It was amazing. Marci also joined us for dinner. We had fun. After dinner we played a game of Settlers. Miles was being silly and trying a new strategy of collecting all the wheat and then trading it on his wheat port. This would have been great except for the part where he never got wheat. So.... his next strategy was to just make everyone else lose. Except me, because he likes me! Marci ended up stealing the win from me though. Boo!
And! And Becky made chocolate sauce for the ice cream!
Apparently they just felt like making ALL of the food today. But it was all quite tasty. James came over later on and we just talked about things. The usual. I like being able to just sit around and talk about things.... while eating ice cream! It's pretty great. Also we briefly discussed grammar. Specifically the sentence "For what are you looking?" It sounds weird, but it's correct (versus the more common "what are you looking for?").
Anyhow. Bed time. Good night!
The drive to work was pretty uneventful... until the storm. About 20 miles from Van Wert the rain began. And oh goodness, did it rain. There hadn't been much rain in that area for quite some time so it was very welcome.
I did a couple updating projects at work. That about sums up the work part of my day. But I did get to do most of it by myself, so that was good. I don't mind working with other people, but I feel like I'm contributing more when I can just sit down and do work. Which is silly because I'm not contributing any more or less regardless of who is or is not sitting there. But I guess it's just easier to feel like the work matters? I'm not quite sure... I'll have to think about that.
After work I went to Becky's for dinner! Miles made tacos for her birthday and they were amazing. He marinated to steak in... a bunch of amazing things. I don't remember what all was in it, but it had cayenne pepper in it (which is obviously the most important ingredient). So we had tacos (with homemade green salsa, also made by Miles) and cornbread (made by Becky). It was amazing. Marci also joined us for dinner. We had fun. After dinner we played a game of Settlers. Miles was being silly and trying a new strategy of collecting all the wheat and then trading it on his wheat port. This would have been great except for the part where he never got wheat. So.... his next strategy was to just make everyone else lose. Except me, because he likes me! Marci ended up stealing the win from me though. Boo!
And! And Becky made chocolate sauce for the ice cream!
Anyhow. Bed time. Good night!
7.18.2012
Day 422
Somehow bedtime always comes way too quickly. Silly.
Today was casual day at work AND I didn't have to make lunch. I didn't feel rushed this morning, which was pretty great.
This morning at work was pretty great. The company had it's annual picnic and Bring your child to work day. As an added bonus for those bringing their children, the Fire Fighter Museum and the Inserter Room were both opened for tours today. So Lee and I did a little touring!
The Fire Fighter Museum is located in the basement of Central. They have lots of firefighting memorabilia from over the years. Mostly buckets, axes, and hats... but they also have a couple fire trucks. So that's pretty neat. Lee really didn't know a whole lot about any of it, so we just made it up. We were probably pretty close on most of the history. One thing they did have (this part is actual truth) was... fire tokens? I think that's what they were called. Back when fire fighters were privatized, people who had purchased fire insurance would hang a big metal fire token over their front door. If someone had a fire token of their door, firefighters would come put the fire out and save the inhabitants if there was a fire. If there was no fire token... well... it's a good thing it's not privatized anymore.
So we had a little picnic for lunch. And by little I really mean it was pretty substantial. After lunch some of the actuarial staff (including myself) went to go help Jeff teach kids how to juggle. Most people preferred to watch, so we tried to learn how to juggle with the kids. It went okay. I was able to get a few consecutive juggles (and by that I mean two). But I have the theory in my head now, so at this point it would just take a lot of practice.
Most of the afternoon (and the part of the morning that actually contained work) I worked on an update project/report thing. I was almost done at the end of the day, but I'll need to finish it tomorrow and do some checking.
When I got home I had some dinner. It was really healthy: hot dogs and rice. Becky invited me to go to Logan's for her birthday, but in the spirit of knowing I'll be spending money this weekend I respectfully declined. So I just stayed in tonight, played some games, and looked for places to stay during Kimmy and my tip to/from New York. I believe that I have everything figured out, but will finalize things tomorrow.
And now it's far past my bed time. Night!
Today was casual day at work AND I didn't have to make lunch. I didn't feel rushed this morning, which was pretty great.
This morning at work was pretty great. The company had it's annual picnic and Bring your child to work day. As an added bonus for those bringing their children, the Fire Fighter Museum and the Inserter Room were both opened for tours today. So Lee and I did a little touring!
The Fire Fighter Museum is located in the basement of Central. They have lots of firefighting memorabilia from over the years. Mostly buckets, axes, and hats... but they also have a couple fire trucks. So that's pretty neat. Lee really didn't know a whole lot about any of it, so we just made it up. We were probably pretty close on most of the history. One thing they did have (this part is actual truth) was... fire tokens? I think that's what they were called. Back when fire fighters were privatized, people who had purchased fire insurance would hang a big metal fire token over their front door. If someone had a fire token of their door, firefighters would come put the fire out and save the inhabitants if there was a fire. If there was no fire token... well... it's a good thing it's not privatized anymore.
So we had a little picnic for lunch. And by little I really mean it was pretty substantial. After lunch some of the actuarial staff (including myself) went to go help Jeff teach kids how to juggle. Most people preferred to watch, so we tried to learn how to juggle with the kids. It went okay. I was able to get a few consecutive juggles (and by that I mean two). But I have the theory in my head now, so at this point it would just take a lot of practice.
Most of the afternoon (and the part of the morning that actually contained work) I worked on an update project/report thing. I was almost done at the end of the day, but I'll need to finish it tomorrow and do some checking.
When I got home I had some dinner. It was really healthy: hot dogs and rice. Becky invited me to go to Logan's for her birthday, but in the spirit of knowing I'll be spending money this weekend I respectfully declined. So I just stayed in tonight, played some games, and looked for places to stay during Kimmy and my tip to/from New York. I believe that I have everything figured out, but will finalize things tomorrow.
And now it's far past my bed time. Night!
7.17.2012
Day 421
Today was certainly a roller coaster of activity. That's a figurative roller coaster... not a literal one.
Let's start with getting through the morning routine. My stomach was not happy this morning. So that made the morning great. On top of that I had all of the "I have no place to live in a month" stuff going through my head. And I was tired. It was not pleasant. On the way into work I was still really tired, even after my coffee. I stopped at a gas station for a 5-hour energy because I really didn't even think I'd make it to lunch. It was bad.
But, I did in fact make it. I did a few more checking/updating things to finish off one of the big monthly/quarterly projects that I've been working on at various times for the past two weeks. After lunch Lee and I finished it off! My mind was all over the place until about... 2pm. It was difficult to stay focused on anything. But I survived.
After work I called Creekside again. They informed me that their minimum income level was specifically referring to income... not assets, scholarships, or financial aid. So that was pretty disheartening. I was getting pretty down about how I'd put so much trust in getting this apartment when I knew I should have found a back up plan. I talked with mom and dad during dinner about it and they assured me that something would come up.
So after dinner I did some searching around and talked with Kimmy. We found this really cool house that we're going to try to rent. It's very affordable and looks nice, so I sent the landlord an email and hopefully hear back from him/her soon!
Kimmy and I talked about apartments and things for a while. I hope this new place works out because we both really liked it. And it would be nice to have a place to live.
I think that's about it from over hear. Now for some sleep. Night!
Let's start with getting through the morning routine. My stomach was not happy this morning. So that made the morning great. On top of that I had all of the "I have no place to live in a month" stuff going through my head. And I was tired. It was not pleasant. On the way into work I was still really tired, even after my coffee. I stopped at a gas station for a 5-hour energy because I really didn't even think I'd make it to lunch. It was bad.
But, I did in fact make it. I did a few more checking/updating things to finish off one of the big monthly/quarterly projects that I've been working on at various times for the past two weeks. After lunch Lee and I finished it off! My mind was all over the place until about... 2pm. It was difficult to stay focused on anything. But I survived.
After work I called Creekside again. They informed me that their minimum income level was specifically referring to income... not assets, scholarships, or financial aid. So that was pretty disheartening. I was getting pretty down about how I'd put so much trust in getting this apartment when I knew I should have found a back up plan. I talked with mom and dad during dinner about it and they assured me that something would come up.
So after dinner I did some searching around and talked with Kimmy. We found this really cool house that we're going to try to rent. It's very affordable and looks nice, so I sent the landlord an email and hopefully hear back from him/her soon!
Kimmy and I talked about apartments and things for a while. I hope this new place works out because we both really liked it. And it would be nice to have a place to live.
I think that's about it from over hear. Now for some sleep. Night!
7.16.2012
Day 420
This has been an interesting day.
I was pretty tired when I woke up, but after I got moving it was better. So... breakfast, shower, make lunch... the usual. Then off to work.
I finished a couple things I'd been working on with Vivian last week, then worked on a monthly project I'd been working on a couple weeks ago. I just about finished it today, but the additional tasks that are included (since June was the end of the quarter) make it longer. But we're hoping to get it done this week. It's so crazy to think about how I only have one full week left.
During lunch Lee and I talked about growing up. And how hard it is sometimes. How different it is from college where you could go to class after three hours of sleep and still be fine. Professional work is so different from that. You can't be drowsy when you're talking with your boss or at a meeting. There's no exception for incorrect work. When you submit your work, it has to be correct. It's not an easy transition and I've learned a lot this summer. It's been a very difficult but good summer.
After work I went home. I talked with Kimmy on the phone because she called Creekside about moving in. There were some details still loose, so I called them back. Things could be interesting next year... It appears that until Kimmy gets a job, we won't make enough money to live there (basically). Kimmy's been applying to jobs, but it's really difficult because this is about the earliest she can apply for a job (most places don't interview for help over a month before they want someone to start). So that's neat. I'm still looking at a few other options, but it was not easy news to hear.
After dinner I started to work some things off of my to-do list. I got a couple items done, but I was just so worn from the day.
Later on I went to George House with Marci. We had an absolutely wonderful time. I haven't really gotten a chance to talk with her for a really long time. We talked about school, family, growing up, science, religion, money, working, our significant others (and how awesome they are!), and about how real life is. I had a really good time.
It's time for bed now. Let's do this. Night!
7.15.2012
Day 419
Here we are again!
I woke up around 7 today. You know... the usual. Richard and I had breakfast and watched Star Wars. A little bit later Jessie and mom woke up and joined us. So we ate and talked and watched Star Wars. It was a good morning! But then mom and I had to go home. We stopped by Creekside on our way out of town, but they are closed on Sundays. Silly.
Oh, let's see. Mom and I made it home safely. I unpacked and got lunch. For I was hungry. Then I just chilled out for a while. It was nice to finally get a chance to relax this weekend!
Around 4 I went to go help Becky and Miles put her new table and entertainment center together! They made a trip up to IKEA in Detroit, so I went to go help assemble the things. It looks really nice. Sometime later I'll put some pictures up here. But yeah, she got some new furniture because her parents needed their things back (Becky was borrowing a couch and table from her parents, you see). So we put them all together and it looks really good! It definitely fits the room better. And sweet new rugs! Marci came over for a bit, but then she had to go... do something. I don't think I heard what she was off doing?
To celebrate our new project we got ice cream. It was quite wonderful. Kelly came over to see the new toys (and friends!). And Becky's parents. We just had a little old party right there! Then we sat outside for a while. We contemplated building a fire, but the wood was pretty wet after some of the rain we've had. So we just sat outside because it was nice.
Then I had to all dumb and come home. I was not amused, for I wanted to stay much longer. Bleh. Now I am going to bed. Good night.
I woke up around 7 today. You know... the usual. Richard and I had breakfast and watched Star Wars. A little bit later Jessie and mom woke up and joined us. So we ate and talked and watched Star Wars. It was a good morning! But then mom and I had to go home. We stopped by Creekside on our way out of town, but they are closed on Sundays. Silly.
Oh, let's see. Mom and I made it home safely. I unpacked and got lunch. For I was hungry. Then I just chilled out for a while. It was nice to finally get a chance to relax this weekend!
Around 4 I went to go help Becky and Miles put her new table and entertainment center together! They made a trip up to IKEA in Detroit, so I went to go help assemble the things. It looks really nice. Sometime later I'll put some pictures up here. But yeah, she got some new furniture because her parents needed their things back (Becky was borrowing a couch and table from her parents, you see). So we put them all together and it looks really good! It definitely fits the room better. And sweet new rugs! Marci came over for a bit, but then she had to go... do something. I don't think I heard what she was off doing?
To celebrate our new project we got ice cream. It was quite wonderful. Kelly came over to see the new toys (and friends!). And Becky's parents. We just had a little old party right there! Then we sat outside for a while. We contemplated building a fire, but the wood was pretty wet after some of the rain we've had. So we just sat outside because it was nice.
Then I had to all dumb and come home. I was not amused, for I wanted to stay much longer. Bleh. Now I am going to bed. Good night.
Day 418
What a day. Yesterday I was able to sleep until about 7:30. It was pretty great. After I woke up I showered and went down to breakfast with mom. Most of the breakfasts they had at the Super 8 were bread based. Toast, bagels, danishes, waffles... So it was a great place to carbo-load. There was a couple there speaking and non-English language. Mom and I determined that it was possibly German. It was at least some East European country's language. We thought.
After breakfast we went to Wal-mart.
We still had about 45 minutes to kill before we were supposed Kimmy and her family for lunch, so we just walked around the store and talked for a while.
We had lunch at an Irish pub type of place. It was pretty good. I had a taco salad. Kimmy's mom made photo books for us! And we discussed wedding food.
After lunch we went to Kimmy's grandparents house and talked with them and some family for a while. It was fun. Kimmy's grandpa showed me his camper. I guess they used to do a lot of traveling. It was a really nice camper. I tired to convince mom to buy it. She didn't go for it.
Let's see. We went to the Abraham Lincoln museum. It was pretty cool. They had a couple really neat shows. One of them was... Something about the ghosts of history or such. They used a lot of light projection onto the mist that was sprayed Ober the stage. It looked really good and my description is less than excellent.
After the museum we went out to where the reception/party was. They had it at the campground where Kimmy has been a camp counselor for the past... Forever. So it was nice to see that. The party was good. I got to meet a lot of people, see some other people I hadn't seen for a while, and talk with all of the people!
Mom and I left around 7 to go to Muncie. It was a decent drive. We talked about lots of things. It was good. And now... It's Sunday! The end.
7.14.2012
Day 417
Good morning, all.
Yesterday was quite the day. And I imagine that today will be another such day.
It all started with, you guessed it, waking up and going to work. I had the additional task of packing everything up for my post-work trip. I naturally forgot some things, but I'll manage just fine. So work went pretty normally. It was casual day and food day. That's always neat. Phil brought in a fruit bowl and some Havarti cheese. Lee made a chocolate eclair cake. It was all quite wonderful.
After work mom and Kimmy came to Van Wert so we could all commence on our adventure. Mom and I are in Springfield for the day, so we left last night after I got off of work. It was a long evening. I rode with Kimmy and we talked about pretty much everything. It was really everything... or even close to everything. But it was pretty great. Mom was a trooped and volunteered to drive by herself. She listened to some of the Interpersonal Communication CDs I have.
So now I'm in Springfield. You know, I don't really like blogging the next day because I feel like I miss so many good details. But I was way too tired last night. And mom and I stayed up talking like middle-schoolers last night. It was fun. And quite silly. But mostly fun.
And now I'm off to shower and eat breakfast!
Yesterday was quite the day. And I imagine that today will be another such day.
It all started with, you guessed it, waking up and going to work. I had the additional task of packing everything up for my post-work trip. I naturally forgot some things, but I'll manage just fine. So work went pretty normally. It was casual day and food day. That's always neat. Phil brought in a fruit bowl and some Havarti cheese. Lee made a chocolate eclair cake. It was all quite wonderful.
After work mom and Kimmy came to Van Wert so we could all commence on our adventure. Mom and I are in Springfield for the day, so we left last night after I got off of work. It was a long evening. I rode with Kimmy and we talked about pretty much everything. It was really everything... or even close to everything. But it was pretty great. Mom was a trooped and volunteered to drive by herself. She listened to some of the Interpersonal Communication CDs I have.
So now I'm in Springfield. You know, I don't really like blogging the next day because I feel like I miss so many good details. But I was way too tired last night. And mom and I stayed up talking like middle-schoolers last night. It was fun. And quite silly. But mostly fun.
And now I'm off to shower and eat breakfast!
7.12.2012
Day 416
I don't really remember what thoughts were going through my head when I woke up this morning. If I recall correctly I had a really weird dream. But I don't actually remember what it was. If someone could go back and remember my dream for me I'd really like to know. Thanks!
Work was fine. I did a few updating projects with Vivian. That was a majority of the day. Yeah.
During my daily Lunch Time with Lee, we discussed what sort of knowledge we would choose to instantly know if given the option. Liking learning languages or being able to play instruments or be a master chef. Any knowledge bank. He picked that he would have all actuarial knowledge... to the point where he would be known as the modern Father of Actuarial Science. We both agreed it was kind of lame, but it would be nice. Personally, I would either pick knowing all martial arts or ultimate knowledge of acrobatics. Basically I want to be Jackie Chan. It would be such fun.
After work I came home.... I wonder how many times I have used that exact phrase in a blog post. Anyhow, upon arrival Kimmy and I got some food. We were going out with friends later, but we were both pretty hungry. So food. Mom came home and we talked with her about our days and everything.
Around 7ish we went to go see friends. Well, first we went to the store to get Kelly flowers. For it is her birthday! Then we went to dinner at some really classy (trashy and awesome) Mexican restaurant named Olers. For those not familiar with it, the front looks like this.
It's pretty lovely. I took this picture from Google Maps, hence the wonderful marks. But yeah. It was great. The food was actually pretty good. I had this taco-pizza thing. But it was a lot of fun. There were lots of people there and they were all fun. Kelly was there with her mom, Becky, Miles, Miles' family, James, and then a couple of Kelly and Miles' friends from work. It was lots and lots of fun. We were all being loud and silly. Many fun times were had. But then I had to be an old man and leave :( I don't like having to do that.
Anyhow, I have to go to bed. I have a very long weekend ahead of me. Good night.
Work was fine. I did a few updating projects with Vivian. That was a majority of the day. Yeah.
During my daily Lunch Time with Lee, we discussed what sort of knowledge we would choose to instantly know if given the option. Liking learning languages or being able to play instruments or be a master chef. Any knowledge bank. He picked that he would have all actuarial knowledge... to the point where he would be known as the modern Father of Actuarial Science. We both agreed it was kind of lame, but it would be nice. Personally, I would either pick knowing all martial arts or ultimate knowledge of acrobatics. Basically I want to be Jackie Chan. It would be such fun.
After work I came home.... I wonder how many times I have used that exact phrase in a blog post. Anyhow, upon arrival Kimmy and I got some food. We were going out with friends later, but we were both pretty hungry. So food. Mom came home and we talked with her about our days and everything.
Around 7ish we went to go see friends. Well, first we went to the store to get Kelly flowers. For it is her birthday! Then we went to dinner at some really classy (trashy and awesome) Mexican restaurant named Olers. For those not familiar with it, the front looks like this.
It's pretty lovely. I took this picture from Google Maps, hence the wonderful marks. But yeah. It was great. The food was actually pretty good. I had this taco-pizza thing. But it was a lot of fun. There were lots of people there and they were all fun. Kelly was there with her mom, Becky, Miles, Miles' family, James, and then a couple of Kelly and Miles' friends from work. It was lots and lots of fun. We were all being loud and silly. Many fun times were had. But then I had to be an old man and leave :( I don't like having to do that.
Anyhow, I have to go to bed. I have a very long weekend ahead of me. Good night.
7.11.2012
Day 415
I was pretty tired this morning. It's just been really hard to get the motivation to go to bed early this week. But I got up, went about my business, and went off to work.
I finished the entering of data portion this morning for the report I've been doing. Vivian and I should be able to finish the rest of it up tomorrow. She and I spent the rest of the day working on it, so I'm pretty confident we'll get it done.
For lunch Jeff took us to lunch at Bob Evan's in honor of Sharon's 45th anniversary with the company. Lunch was good. Vivian put together a trivia game for us to play that was centered around things that happened in 1967 (when Sharon started working).
I just lost all motivation to care at all about updating this. So this will be short.
I got home, talked with mom and Kimmy, ate, cleaned up... the usual. Mom went to go take people at Primrose out for a thing. Kimmy and I went to Hobby Lobby to get some wedding decorations. Then we went to visit Mama and Poppy. We had fun. We talked about wedding things and dancing and other fun stuff like that! And about how awesome the "Great Courses" company is. They're really quite great. I highly recommend getting some material from them.
That's about it. The rest of my night was pretty normal. Lunch.....reading...now blogging. And bed. Good night.
I finished the entering of data portion this morning for the report I've been doing. Vivian and I should be able to finish the rest of it up tomorrow. She and I spent the rest of the day working on it, so I'm pretty confident we'll get it done.
For lunch Jeff took us to lunch at Bob Evan's in honor of Sharon's 45th anniversary with the company. Lunch was good. Vivian put together a trivia game for us to play that was centered around things that happened in 1967 (when Sharon started working).
I just lost all motivation to care at all about updating this. So this will be short.
I got home, talked with mom and Kimmy, ate, cleaned up... the usual. Mom went to go take people at Primrose out for a thing. Kimmy and I went to Hobby Lobby to get some wedding decorations. Then we went to visit Mama and Poppy. We had fun. We talked about wedding things and dancing and other fun stuff like that! And about how awesome the "Great Courses" company is. They're really quite great. I highly recommend getting some material from them.
That's about it. The rest of my night was pretty normal. Lunch.....reading...now blogging. And bed. Good night.
7.10.2012
Day 414
Huh. Today was Tuesday. I sort of forgot about that. I just had a brief flash of "Tomorrow is Tuesday." But, surprise ending to this story: tomorrow is Wednesday.
So today at work I started doing a monthly report that is pretty time consuming. I'm scheduled to work on it today and for the next two days. I got a lot done today, so we'll see how long it actually takes. I'm guessing that I'll still finish it sometime on Wednesday though. It's a pretty substantial update.
During Lunch-time with Lee, we discussed (you guessed it) math. We decided that there should be a job where we get paid to just discuss math with our colleagues. So... it's like being a student, except that it's actually doing something beneficial to society. The catch is that neither of us want to get a PhD. We'll see how that goes.
When I got back from work Kimmy and I went to drop my car off at Wal-mart for an oil change. I was about 2000 miles over.... oops. So we came back, had dinner with mom, then went back to pick up my car. And get a few groceries.
Kimmy and I came home for a few minutes, then went off to George House. Upon arrival I ran into an old co-worker, Ben. He and I used to do a lot of catering together. And now he's the general manager at George House! So it was nice to talk with him for a bit. Then friend Tiffany came and we went inside, ordered drinks, and acquired a table. We just sat and talked for a while. It was fun! She just got back from camp so she had lots of exciting stories to share.
Then I had to be an old man and come home. Dumb. And now it's bed time. So good night, ye internets!
7.09.2012
Day 413
I woke up this morning around 4:45. I'd had a dream in which this old lady was screaming at me... not yelling but legitimately screaming something fierce. It was more than a little startling. I contemplated getting up, but decided to go for another 45 minutes of sleep.
When I did wake up... well, you know how it is. Had someone given me the option of sleeping for another 2 hours I would not have issued a single complaint. But I digress. It was time to get up.
This morning I worked with Vivian on a quarterly project. We got as much done as we could at this point, so that was good. After lunch I worked with Lee on filing new rates in a few states. Usually what happens is that a department wants to raise/lower rates by some amount, then they ask the actuarial department to see if we can actually do that. So we look through the huge database and determine how the numbers work out. It's a pretty interesting process.
When I got back from work I talked with mom for a bit about our days. Then I sat down and stared blankly at a wall for about five minutes. It's very refreshing to do that. I have a hard time winding down while driving, so usually my arrival at home marks the beginning of my unwinding for the day. Since most of my day consists of staring at tiny numbers on a screen, it's nice to stare at a blank wall for a change. It usually only takes me about 5 minutes.
Mom made leftovers for dinner. They were very good. Yesterday she grilled chicken and it tasted really really good. After dinner mom went to work on some things outside so Kimmy and I cleaned up the kitchen. Dishes are never-ending. Just in case some of you were uncertain... they go on forever.
After cleaning I moved some laundry... then ceased to be productive. I was fine with this decision. Tomorrow I need to go get my oil changed though. Apparently driving 600+ miles a week really takes a toll on your car. Who would have known?
Ok. That's probably it for now. I'm going to get some sleep. Good night all!
When I did wake up... well, you know how it is. Had someone given me the option of sleeping for another 2 hours I would not have issued a single complaint. But I digress. It was time to get up.
This morning I worked with Vivian on a quarterly project. We got as much done as we could at this point, so that was good. After lunch I worked with Lee on filing new rates in a few states. Usually what happens is that a department wants to raise/lower rates by some amount, then they ask the actuarial department to see if we can actually do that. So we look through the huge database and determine how the numbers work out. It's a pretty interesting process.
When I got back from work I talked with mom for a bit about our days. Then I sat down and stared blankly at a wall for about five minutes. It's very refreshing to do that. I have a hard time winding down while driving, so usually my arrival at home marks the beginning of my unwinding for the day. Since most of my day consists of staring at tiny numbers on a screen, it's nice to stare at a blank wall for a change. It usually only takes me about 5 minutes.
Mom made leftovers for dinner. They were very good. Yesterday she grilled chicken and it tasted really really good. After dinner mom went to work on some things outside so Kimmy and I cleaned up the kitchen. Dishes are never-ending. Just in case some of you were uncertain... they go on forever.
After cleaning I moved some laundry... then ceased to be productive. I was fine with this decision. Tomorrow I need to go get my oil changed though. Apparently driving 600+ miles a week really takes a toll on your car. Who would have known?
Ok. That's probably it for now. I'm going to get some sleep. Good night all!
7.08.2012
Day 412
This weekend went by quickly, but I don't suppose that's so uncommon.
I woke up around 8:30 and felt amazing. I had some breakfast, showered, then woke Kimmy up for church! Church was good. The little VBS kids sang at the beginning! They were precious. Pastor Craig talked Jesus feeding all of the people. It's good to be reminded that not only does God take care of us, he gives us more than we need. That makes me happy :)
After church we came home and I think we did some wedding things. Well, we had lunch first. Then we did wedding stuff most of the afternoon. It was necessary.
Then we went to hang out with friends Becky and Miles! It was fun. We went to the park! Well, first we went to Rite Aid to get a bouncy ball, then we went to the playground to play four-square. It got really hot out though, so after we got back we all just laid in the cold house for a while. After we came back to life we started a game of Settlers of Catan. Kelly came over while we were playing and we explained some of the basic concepts to her. I don't think she really caught on, though... we did a pretty bad job of actually explaining what was going on.
Um... then we went to a movie. After movie Kelly had to go home, but the rest of us had a quick little bit of Wendy's. I got a frosty. Zero regrets.
And now I am home and going to bed. Good night, my friends!
I woke up around 8:30 and felt amazing. I had some breakfast, showered, then woke Kimmy up for church! Church was good. The little VBS kids sang at the beginning! They were precious. Pastor Craig talked Jesus feeding all of the people. It's good to be reminded that not only does God take care of us, he gives us more than we need. That makes me happy :)
After church we came home and I think we did some wedding things. Well, we had lunch first. Then we did wedding stuff most of the afternoon. It was necessary.
Then we went to hang out with friends Becky and Miles! It was fun. We went to the park! Well, first we went to Rite Aid to get a bouncy ball, then we went to the playground to play four-square. It got really hot out though, so after we got back we all just laid in the cold house for a while. After we came back to life we started a game of Settlers of Catan. Kelly came over while we were playing and we explained some of the basic concepts to her. I don't think she really caught on, though... we did a pretty bad job of actually explaining what was going on.
Um... then we went to a movie. After movie Kelly had to go home, but the rest of us had a quick little bit of Wendy's. I got a frosty. Zero regrets.
And now I am home and going to bed. Good night, my friends!
Day 411
I woke up yesterday morning at 6:30 and was terrified that I was going to miss work. After a minute or so I realized that it was Saturday, so I slept for another hour and a half. It felt fantastic to sleep in so late!
After I got up I showered and things. Jared and I had a TF2 date, so we played that for a while. Mom and dad got a new chest freezer yesterday, so I helped dad move the food into it. The new freezer is pretty neat. The door stays open and the seal on it actually works! It's crazy.
Mom came home from running errands and we had lunch. And talked about why hot dogs are made in an elongated shape instead of (as I suggested) in a ball and put on a stick. It sounds weird, but maybe if we'd been eating it that way all along we'd actually prefer it! Who knows.
Kimmy and I went to see the Amazing Spider-man at the theater. I really liked it. They definitely portrayed Spider-man closer to how he was in the comic books, which I liked.
After the movie we went to dinner with mom and dad. They'd never gone to Five Guys, so Kimmy and I introduced them to it. It was quite tasty. Dad asked Kimmy and me if our generation likes from before when we were born. We said that most people do. Sometimes it's more as an appreciation for that style of music (though they don't actually own any of it), but I think it would be a fair statement to say that most people in my generation enjoy older music. Personally I'm not a huge fan of 70-90s music (generally, there are some exceptions), but I do enjoy Big Band style music.
When we'd finished eating we went to the store to do some shopping. I had recommended to Kimmy that she try taking B12 vitamins to give her more energy, so we picked a bottle out. There were many options that ranged from 2.5 grams to 50 grams. We decided to start with something mid-range and got the 10 gram version. I just took one, so we'll see what it does!
After shopping Kimmy and I went to go hang out with friends Becky and Miles and James! When we got to Becky's house James was still elsewhere, so we went to get a movie. And cookies! Oh man, we got so many cookies. Like.... 5 boxes of cookies. They were so amazing! James arrived shortly after we did and we watched the movie. One of the kinds of cookies we got was a double stacked oreo. It had chocolate and vanilla filling with three cookies instead of just two. It was the best. After the movie we talked about some different scary video games that are really good. I have one of them but only played a little bit of it. I should probably try it again sometime. Then... we played Super Smash Brothers for a little bit. By this time it was pretty late so Kimmy and I came home.
The end!
After I got up I showered and things. Jared and I had a TF2 date, so we played that for a while. Mom and dad got a new chest freezer yesterday, so I helped dad move the food into it. The new freezer is pretty neat. The door stays open and the seal on it actually works! It's crazy.
Mom came home from running errands and we had lunch. And talked about why hot dogs are made in an elongated shape instead of (as I suggested) in a ball and put on a stick. It sounds weird, but maybe if we'd been eating it that way all along we'd actually prefer it! Who knows.
Kimmy and I went to see the Amazing Spider-man at the theater. I really liked it. They definitely portrayed Spider-man closer to how he was in the comic books, which I liked.
After the movie we went to dinner with mom and dad. They'd never gone to Five Guys, so Kimmy and I introduced them to it. It was quite tasty. Dad asked Kimmy and me if our generation likes from before when we were born. We said that most people do. Sometimes it's more as an appreciation for that style of music (though they don't actually own any of it), but I think it would be a fair statement to say that most people in my generation enjoy older music. Personally I'm not a huge fan of 70-90s music (generally, there are some exceptions), but I do enjoy Big Band style music.
When we'd finished eating we went to the store to do some shopping. I had recommended to Kimmy that she try taking B12 vitamins to give her more energy, so we picked a bottle out. There were many options that ranged from 2.5 grams to 50 grams. We decided to start with something mid-range and got the 10 gram version. I just took one, so we'll see what it does!
After shopping Kimmy and I went to go hang out with friends Becky and Miles and James! When we got to Becky's house James was still elsewhere, so we went to get a movie. And cookies! Oh man, we got so many cookies. Like.... 5 boxes of cookies. They were so amazing! James arrived shortly after we did and we watched the movie. One of the kinds of cookies we got was a double stacked oreo. It had chocolate and vanilla filling with three cookies instead of just two. It was the best. After the movie we talked about some different scary video games that are really good. I have one of them but only played a little bit of it. I should probably try it again sometime. Then... we played Super Smash Brothers for a little bit. By this time it was pretty late so Kimmy and I came home.
The end!
7.06.2012
Day 410
We meet again.
I made eggs this morning for breakfast. They were good.
On most Friday's I don't really feel like listening to anything intellectual on my way to work, so typically I'll just listen to music. It's nice.
I spent most of my day at work updating some supporting worksheets for some things that get sent out to various important people. And I do mean most of my day. Like from about the beginning of the day until around 4. But I got it done, so it's ok. Over lunch Lee and I talked about trips we want to take after we finish our exams. Kimmy and I have talked about going to England and Scotland in celebration. That would be pretty neat. We'll see what actually happens, but that's our current plan. We have a few years to save up though.
After work I, you guessed it, came home. And then had dinner with mom and dad. Mom made spaghetti! After dinner I helped clean up a bit, made Kimmy's bed in preparation of her arrival, and cleaned my bathroom.
Kimmy got here around 9. After she got her stuff in and everything we opened the wedding presents that came in the mail this week. Yay presents! It was exciting.
Then we sat around and discussed some wedding things, but nothing too heavy. Just a couple things I'd been wondering about the honeymoon and such.
But now it's time for bed. Good night, all!
I made eggs this morning for breakfast. They were good.
On most Friday's I don't really feel like listening to anything intellectual on my way to work, so typically I'll just listen to music. It's nice.
I spent most of my day at work updating some supporting worksheets for some things that get sent out to various important people. And I do mean most of my day. Like from about the beginning of the day until around 4. But I got it done, so it's ok. Over lunch Lee and I talked about trips we want to take after we finish our exams. Kimmy and I have talked about going to England and Scotland in celebration. That would be pretty neat. We'll see what actually happens, but that's our current plan. We have a few years to save up though.
After work I, you guessed it, came home. And then had dinner with mom and dad. Mom made spaghetti! After dinner I helped clean up a bit, made Kimmy's bed in preparation of her arrival, and cleaned my bathroom.
Kimmy got here around 9. After she got her stuff in and everything we opened the wedding presents that came in the mail this week. Yay presents! It was exciting.
Then we sat around and discussed some wedding things, but nothing too heavy. Just a couple things I'd been wondering about the honeymoon and such.
But now it's time for bed. Good night, all!
7.05.2012
Day 409
Today, like most others, began. Then it continued on for a while. At some parts, it seemed to take a surprisingly long time. These instances I have affectionately labeled as "My Commute." Other times seem to go by remarkably quickly. I call these "Sleeping," "Break Time," and "Fun with Friends and Family."
Like my average day this summer, I spent a third of my day at a place where I make some money. I, along with many people who I do and do not know, collectively refer to this thing as "Work." Work is often seen as a necessary evil to advance society and, more importantly, pay rent, keep the lights on, and maintain a satisfactory level of food in my belly. There are some, myself included, who generally enjoy work. Though everyone has their reasons (for some it's the actual job, while others find satisfaction in the sense of accomplishment they achieve through going to Work), we all continue to go and participate in this ritual.
So today was like most of the other days in which I ended my Sleeping ritual far too quickly and began my Work routine far too early. But no hard feelings were exchanged between Sleeping and Work, so we're all still friends. While at Work, I had an exchange over the consumption of nutrition (a series of actions we call "Lunch") with a particular cohort named Lee. We discussed the superiority of a 4 day Work Week (with 4 ten hour days) over the traditional 5 day Work Week (with 5 eight hour days). Personally, I would love a day off in the middle of the week. Lee, on the other hand, would prefer a three-day weekend.
Anyhow, Work was fine. Nothing too major or exciting to report.
After Work, I talked on my mobile cellular device with a certain Tim Hollowell to catch up, exchange pleasantries, and discuss how life has been going. It was good to hear from him, as always.
I had dinner with mom and dad. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The following message has been abridged at the request at one or more of the participants. Thank you for your cooperation.] After dinner I helped mom and dad move some things in the basement in preparation for the arrival of our new freezer tomorrow!
Then I went over to Becky's. James is home from vacation, so I got to see him again! Miles and I ate Lava Pockets. Then we watched some Youtube videos, discussed computers we'll never get, and talked about silly Facebook statuses. It was a good time.
Now I will partake in the beautiful miracle of sleep. Good night!
Like my average day this summer, I spent a third of my day at a place where I make some money. I, along with many people who I do and do not know, collectively refer to this thing as "Work." Work is often seen as a necessary evil to advance society and, more importantly, pay rent, keep the lights on, and maintain a satisfactory level of food in my belly. There are some, myself included, who generally enjoy work. Though everyone has their reasons (for some it's the actual job, while others find satisfaction in the sense of accomplishment they achieve through going to Work), we all continue to go and participate in this ritual.
So today was like most of the other days in which I ended my Sleeping ritual far too quickly and began my Work routine far too early. But no hard feelings were exchanged between Sleeping and Work, so we're all still friends. While at Work, I had an exchange over the consumption of nutrition (a series of actions we call "Lunch") with a particular cohort named Lee. We discussed the superiority of a 4 day Work Week (with 4 ten hour days) over the traditional 5 day Work Week (with 5 eight hour days). Personally, I would love a day off in the middle of the week. Lee, on the other hand, would prefer a three-day weekend.
Anyhow, Work was fine. Nothing too major or exciting to report.
After Work, I talked on my mobile cellular device with a certain Tim Hollowell to catch up, exchange pleasantries, and discuss how life has been going. It was good to hear from him, as always.
I had dinner with mom and dad. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The following message has been abridged at the request at one or more of the participants. Thank you for your cooperation.] After dinner I helped mom and dad move some things in the basement in preparation for the arrival of our new freezer tomorrow!
Then I went over to Becky's. James is home from vacation, so I got to see him again! Miles and I ate Lava Pockets. Then we watched some Youtube videos, discussed computers we'll never get, and talked about silly Facebook statuses. It was a good time.
Now I will partake in the beautiful miracle of sleep. Good night!
7.04.2012
Day 408
I've always imagined that I'd like a day off in the middle of the week. My official decision: I like it.
This morning started off well. I slept in until 8! It was lovely. Then I went to Waffle House with friends! And we had the same waitress that we had when we went after my birthday. I forget her name, but she's pretty awesome. She's this... probably 60 or so year old lady and she's so excited to be there. And she came and gave us all hugs :) Anyhow, breakfast was wonderful. For it was Waffle House with my friends.
When I got back I took a shower. Then talked with dad for a bit about our various going-ons (goings-on?)... the different things we did yesterday. Then I set out to complete my checklist. I was less successful than I'd hoped. Most of the things got added to my "Things to discuss with Kimmy when she comes this weekend" list. Some of them need additional thought. Like trying to cancel a class for the fall. Ball State recently restructured the process/website for signing up for classes. And I couldn't figure out how to add/drop classes. Lovely. So that might just be the sort of thing that I do when I get there in a month and change. I also did some looking into travel plans for Kimmy and my honeymoon. I looked at stuff for a long time and wasn't super pleased with any of the things I was finding. But we'll get it figured out.
Let's see.... I had dinner with mom and dad. Then mom did some grocery shopping, dad and I cleaned the kitchen. Other exciting things.......... yeah, not too much else happened around here. It started storming again. I was slightly less than amused. But it only lasted for 30 minutes or so.
I think that's about it. Secretly I wouldn't mind being done with work for the week. But I don't think it's going to happen, so I should probably get to bed. Good night!
This morning started off well. I slept in until 8! It was lovely. Then I went to Waffle House with friends! And we had the same waitress that we had when we went after my birthday. I forget her name, but she's pretty awesome. She's this... probably 60 or so year old lady and she's so excited to be there. And she came and gave us all hugs :) Anyhow, breakfast was wonderful. For it was Waffle House with my friends.
When I got back I took a shower. Then talked with dad for a bit about our various going-ons (goings-on?)... the different things we did yesterday. Then I set out to complete my checklist. I was less successful than I'd hoped. Most of the things got added to my "Things to discuss with Kimmy when she comes this weekend" list. Some of them need additional thought. Like trying to cancel a class for the fall. Ball State recently restructured the process/website for signing up for classes. And I couldn't figure out how to add/drop classes. Lovely. So that might just be the sort of thing that I do when I get there in a month and change. I also did some looking into travel plans for Kimmy and my honeymoon. I looked at stuff for a long time and wasn't super pleased with any of the things I was finding. But we'll get it figured out.
Let's see.... I had dinner with mom and dad. Then mom did some grocery shopping, dad and I cleaned the kitchen. Other exciting things.......... yeah, not too much else happened around here. It started storming again. I was slightly less than amused. But it only lasted for 30 minutes or so.
I think that's about it. Secretly I wouldn't mind being done with work for the week. But I don't think it's going to happen, so I should probably get to bed. Good night!
Day 407
Yesterday was a pretty good day!
Things started off sort of off. I woke up and was sort of disoriented. More than normal for a morning. But I was able to push through and get off to work. Once I started drinking my coffee I felt a lot better.
Most of the morning I spent working on a report that we do every month. Which was fine. For some reason I just really didn't have much energy in me yesterday. But I made it through. During the afternoon break we watched tennis. One of the guys, Matt, has a fantastic gift for very colorful descriptions. I told him to write children's stories after he retires. He agreed.
Mom and dad were gone for the day, so I just made a quick dinner for myself. Dad had an all-day business trip and mom went to go help uncle Mike and aunt Shasta do some moving things. So after dinner I went go hang out with Becky and Miles and Kelly.
We had fun. We played Super Smash Brothers for a while, then a couple other games. Then youtube videos and listening to the amazing soundtrack of Bastion! Specifically Zia's Theme. Such a pretty song. Let's see... we made some food as well. Then we turned on some dance music, wore white shirts, turned on some black lights and danced! It was fun. I think we also started a movie? But I fell asleep pretty much instantaneously after we finished dancing. For it was late and I was tired.
The end!
Things started off sort of off. I woke up and was sort of disoriented. More than normal for a morning. But I was able to push through and get off to work. Once I started drinking my coffee I felt a lot better.
Most of the morning I spent working on a report that we do every month. Which was fine. For some reason I just really didn't have much energy in me yesterday. But I made it through. During the afternoon break we watched tennis. One of the guys, Matt, has a fantastic gift for very colorful descriptions. I told him to write children's stories after he retires. He agreed.
Mom and dad were gone for the day, so I just made a quick dinner for myself. Dad had an all-day business trip and mom went to go help uncle Mike and aunt Shasta do some moving things. So after dinner I went go hang out with Becky and Miles and Kelly.
We had fun. We played Super Smash Brothers for a while, then a couple other games. Then youtube videos and listening to the amazing soundtrack of Bastion! Specifically Zia's Theme. Such a pretty song. Let's see... we made some food as well. Then we turned on some dance music, wore white shirts, turned on some black lights and danced! It was fun. I think we also started a movie? But I fell asleep pretty much instantaneously after we finished dancing. For it was late and I was tired.
The end!
7.02.2012
Day 406
Alrighty. Today started like any self-respecting Monday: still a bit sleepy. But after a shower, breakfast, and some coffee I was feeling pretty good.
I was a little frightened when I got to work. I arrived at 7:50 and I was the only one there. This wasn't so unusual, as both Phil and Lee are out of the office until Thursday. But it got to about 8 and still no one was there, which is definitely not normal. So I went to go see Jeff and figure out what to do next. He and I talked for a bit about what needed to be done that day, then about the storm from the weekend. Vivian came in around that time and we caught her up to speed on work today and the storm business. Then she and I went back to my cube to finish our end of the month work.
During break, Denny and I talked about the storm and everything. We were discussing how much we enjoyed the casual day today (and tomorrow) and he made a comment about how nice it would be if they also had Thursday and Friday as casual days.
Roughly two hours later everyone got an email about how we would be having casual days on Thursday and Friday. If only he'd commented on getting those days off....
During my afternoon break we were discussing the results of the Eurocup soccer tournament. Matt always really enjoyed how low-scoring soccer is (somewhat sarcastically) and said how he doesn't understand why the soccer game even continues after the score is 3 - 0, because the game is already over! It was funny. Then we talked about generators and we felt like old men.
After work I came home, ate dinner with mom, and talked about work and things. The she went to go get some ice to dad (who was at soccer). I cleaned up the kitchen a bit, then went to go see friends! I like friends. Marci has to leave tomorrow :( So we sat and talked and lit the Tiki torches. It was fun. I did not want to leave because we were having fun. Hurumph.
When I got back I talked with Brandon on the phone for a bit. I hadn't talked with him in a long long time, so it was good to catch up. He's had a really tough past few days, so we talked about it for a while. I think he felt at least a little better.
It is officially far past my bed time, so I'm going to sleep now. Good night everyone!
I was a little frightened when I got to work. I arrived at 7:50 and I was the only one there. This wasn't so unusual, as both Phil and Lee are out of the office until Thursday. But it got to about 8 and still no one was there, which is definitely not normal. So I went to go see Jeff and figure out what to do next. He and I talked for a bit about what needed to be done that day, then about the storm from the weekend. Vivian came in around that time and we caught her up to speed on work today and the storm business. Then she and I went back to my cube to finish our end of the month work.
During break, Denny and I talked about the storm and everything. We were discussing how much we enjoyed the casual day today (and tomorrow) and he made a comment about how nice it would be if they also had Thursday and Friday as casual days.
Roughly two hours later everyone got an email about how we would be having casual days on Thursday and Friday. If only he'd commented on getting those days off....
During my afternoon break we were discussing the results of the Eurocup soccer tournament. Matt always really enjoyed how low-scoring soccer is (somewhat sarcastically) and said how he doesn't understand why the soccer game even continues after the score is 3 - 0, because the game is already over! It was funny. Then we talked about generators and we felt like old men.
After work I came home, ate dinner with mom, and talked about work and things. The she went to go get some ice to dad (who was at soccer). I cleaned up the kitchen a bit, then went to go see friends! I like friends. Marci has to leave tomorrow :( So we sat and talked and lit the Tiki torches. It was fun. I did not want to leave because we were having fun. Hurumph.
When I got back I talked with Brandon on the phone for a bit. I hadn't talked with him in a long long time, so it was good to catch up. He's had a really tough past few days, so we talked about it for a while. I think he felt at least a little better.
It is officially far past my bed time, so I'm going to sleep now. Good night everyone!
7.01.2012
Day 405
Today was pretty decent. I woke up around 7:30 for breakfast and some coffee. The coffee was really good. And we had bagels for breakfast! Woo! After we ate we spent a while trying to get the last piece of furniture upstairs. It was this big entertainment center that was probably made out of solid cherry. It was really heavy. After a lot of maneuvering and fidgeting we got it upstairs. But not without a little pixie dust.
After we got it upstairs I took a shower. It felt amazing after all the sweating and gross that I felt. When my shower was done I talked with mom for a little bit, then headed home. I was pretty curious to see if we actually had power.
And we did! All of the power! I was pretty excited. Originally I was going to clean the yard up... but it was so hot and after moving so much in the past few days I really just wanted to stay inside. So I did! I cleaned a little bit, then played games with Miles.
Side note: here's a picture from the tornado.
It was a big storm.
Back to my story. After games I did some more productive things. Like filing all of my receipts from the past week or so. I try to do it every Friday, but this past couple weekends have been pretty busy. I knew I had money, but I hadn't done any budgeting. Which is bad. But everything worked out!
Ho hom. After a little more being productive-ness I went over to Becky's. And Marci was there! Becky and Marci were talking sewing things, so Miles and I went to the other room and watched silly videos on the internet. After a little decision making we went to Taco Bell for dinner. For it is cheap. When we got back Kelly was there! There was a storm that made the power blink. I'm afraid for my power supply on my computer. I might have to get a new one soon... bleh. I do not want to get a new one, but all of the power blinks have been really bad for it.
Anyhow, we all sat and talked about things during the storm. Pretty silly at first, but as the night went on we got into more serious and deep debates. Which is mainly Miles and Marci and me, with Becky and Kelly chiming in when they desired. Some of them are things and beliefs that I've put on the back-burner for a while because I've just had so many other things on my mind. They're questions that needed answering, but I hadn't quite gotten through every big question during my time at Mount Vernon. So some things I had decided "I'm going to need to wait to make a final answer on that one." And as I brought up tonight (and everyone agreed), it's foolish to every think we know everything or what every answer to every question is. We can't. And I think we all have core values that, even when logic break downs... we just have some convictions that are more rooted than logic. But I don't think it's a bad thing. Sure, it's not the logical or philosophical thing to do. But humans are not logical beings. Even the logical ones. We all fall short of perfect logic. And that's part of what makes us human.
Ok, enough of my nonsense. Time for bed. Night friends!
After we got it upstairs I took a shower. It felt amazing after all the sweating and gross that I felt. When my shower was done I talked with mom for a little bit, then headed home. I was pretty curious to see if we actually had power.
And we did! All of the power! I was pretty excited. Originally I was going to clean the yard up... but it was so hot and after moving so much in the past few days I really just wanted to stay inside. So I did! I cleaned a little bit, then played games with Miles.
Side note: here's a picture from the tornado.
It was a big storm.
Back to my story. After games I did some more productive things. Like filing all of my receipts from the past week or so. I try to do it every Friday, but this past couple weekends have been pretty busy. I knew I had money, but I hadn't done any budgeting. Which is bad. But everything worked out!
Ho hom. After a little more being productive-ness I went over to Becky's. And Marci was there! Becky and Marci were talking sewing things, so Miles and I went to the other room and watched silly videos on the internet. After a little decision making we went to Taco Bell for dinner. For it is cheap. When we got back Kelly was there! There was a storm that made the power blink. I'm afraid for my power supply on my computer. I might have to get a new one soon... bleh. I do not want to get a new one, but all of the power blinks have been really bad for it.
Anyhow, we all sat and talked about things during the storm. Pretty silly at first, but as the night went on we got into more serious and deep debates. Which is mainly Miles and Marci and me, with Becky and Kelly chiming in when they desired. Some of them are things and beliefs that I've put on the back-burner for a while because I've just had so many other things on my mind. They're questions that needed answering, but I hadn't quite gotten through every big question during my time at Mount Vernon. So some things I had decided "I'm going to need to wait to make a final answer on that one." And as I brought up tonight (and everyone agreed), it's foolish to every think we know everything or what every answer to every question is. We can't. And I think we all have core values that, even when logic break downs... we just have some convictions that are more rooted than logic. But I don't think it's a bad thing. Sure, it's not the logical or philosophical thing to do. But humans are not logical beings. Even the logical ones. We all fall short of perfect logic. And that's part of what makes us human.
Ok, enough of my nonsense. Time for bed. Night friends!
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