This is a long overdue update... A ton has happened in just the few months since I last wrote. I'll try to make this as chronological as possible:

Patti came up to visit in mid-October. She spent 9 days here, and for the first time she got to meet my other best friend who lives here. They got along great (of course they are practically the same person, so why wouldn't they)...

So right on to November... the first weekend of November Patrice, Brian and Megan all came up for the Boston College/Florida State game. We had a blast and we got to see FSU upset the #2 team in the country! Woohoo! I felt a little bad for the BC fans, but it still felt great over all... Patrice was absolutely miserable because it was in the low 40's and pouring rain and her feet got wet on the walk over the the stadium. Megan had a blast though!

For Thanksgiving I flew out for a week's vacation at my grandparent's lake house in Homer, Louisiana. Lots of my family also went which was awesome. I was feeling really homesick at this point. Even more exciting though, was Mike, one of my best friends while growing up, decided to fly out and spend the week there as well. His sister Tatiana also drove in from Tallahassee. It felt great to catch up with him. It's always fun to hang out with Honey and Papa as well.

On to a very sad and depressing thing: my friends lost their baby Wesley so I only had the title of god father for less than a day. The whole situation has really brought me down during the last few months, so to avoid thinking about it, that is all I'm going to say... at least for now. On the brighter side, I'm flying to Australia in May for their wedding! 9 days in Sydney and 4 days in Fiji. I'm extremely uberly excited about it!

Now, in December I flew home for the holidays. My PTO expires at the end of the year, so with the combination of holidays, I was there for almost 2 weeks. While I was there I got to see my god daughter Ashlyn! She makes me happier than anyone on the face of the planet! It is so hard not being there while she grows up. I spent 2 days with her though... Man, those were two very tiring days.

During the holidays my dad, my grandma and I decided to do a three way car swap. My grandma got my car, my dad got her car, and I got his car. It's been a major ordeal, but it is finally working out. I was tired of paying $400 a month in car payments when I was only driving 30 miles a month.

Dmitri was kind enough to drive my dad's car up to me, and my car down to my dad. Of course, he got a free trip to Boston out of it. He spent a little over a week here, and during that time we went skiing in New Hampshire with my neighbor's brother Doug and my co-worker/friend Josh.

Of course, not everything is wonderful... I have horrible elbow pains from too much computing (of course, I'm using the computer to write this, which probably isn't the best idea). I've been to a Dr. who says I need to see a specialist... I also talked to her about my knee pain that I've had for nearly 3 years now... It hurts a ton to run/ski/hike/walk/ride my bike, etc. It most likely is going to require some sort of cartilage manipulation surgery, but hopefully not.

For new years I quit soda again... I drank no Dr. Pepper all of 2005 and absolutely no soda for 2006, but then I rewarded my self with a Dr. Pepper to ring in the new years 2007... well, that was a bad way to start a new year... so after getting in the habit of drink way to much soda again, I am forcing myself to quit it... for good this time... I'm 32 days sober... go me!

Well, I think that covers everything, although extremely briefly... but I'm suppose to stay off the computer, so that's all I'm going to write.

Labels: allie evans, ashlyn pinner, best friend, boston, boston college, brian and patrice mankowski, dmitri sokgobenzon, florida state university, homer, josh kolash, megan folts, mike smith, mike treffehn, papa and honey, patti botero, tatiana treffehn, wedding

WOOHOO! I was found out today that I am going to be the God Father of two of my closest friend's first born! What an honor! Super exciting, I can't wait until he/she is born! They told me right before work, and then I had to try and not be too excited and actually be productive! For those of you who don't know, I am the godfather of my cousin's daughter (love of my life... hardest part of moving to Boston was leaving her) as well.

Well, I haven't updated in forever, but that is because it has been some of the busiest weeks of my life... I finished moving to Boston, I am almost completely settled now... need a few more random things, but other than that, I am pretty much set up. In a gist: I absolutely love my apartment, my neighbors kick ass, and work is very enjoyable and is only about a mile from me. Jäger is loving life here too, so many new smells.

On the way up to Boston I made lots of stops. First, I stopped in Tampa for Patrice & Brian's wedding. This was absolutely awesome beyond words... Everything was perfect... short ceremony, long reception, good food, and most importantly great people. It was great to see all my family and friends. Some of the people there I hadn't seen in nearly 11 years! All the parents of my elementary school friends were there... It was great seeing them... and for the first time I was an adult as well... much different conversations take place between two adults, than between a child and an adult. It was very enjoyable. For the third wedding in a row, I caught the garter... still single ladies!

The next day I continued my drive to Boston. I stopped in Tallahassee to pick up a few things (at this point my car was packed to the brim with at least 2 tons of my belongings). I had dinner with Kyle, Shannon, Dmitri and Nithin. And then early the next morning I was off... I drove all the way to Philly, arriving after 1:00 AM... I stayed at my friend Mike Treffehn's apartment. He and I had fallen far out of touch in recent years, and I was really happy to catch up with him! (despite it being after 1:00 AM we chatted for nearly 2 hours).

I was off the next morning for the final leg of my drive. The drive through New York sucked, but Connecticut was beautiful! I need to do that drive in the Fall, it has to be gorgeous.

Once I finally arrived, I had to unload the 2 tons of stuff from my car... then I went Target shopping, filling my car again, having to unload it again. Then I went to Ikea, and had to unload another 3 tons form my car... then I went grocery shopping and had to unload even more... Once I was finally done, every muscle in my body ached.

Well, that is all I have time for, but in general, everything is going great! Can't wait for Boston tourist to seek refuge in my apartment!

Labels: allie evans, ashlyn pinner, boston, brian and patrice mankowski, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, kyle gower-winter, mike smith, mike treffehn, new york, nithin sathyamoorthy, philly, tampa, work

I officially have a cunephew (cousin nephew). My cousin April just had her second child this last week! He is HUGE! 9.3 lbs, 22 inches... He is almost as big as his 4 year old sister (my god daughter, Ashlyn). Ashlyn has hypothyroidism, which causes her to grow slowly, so slowly in fact that she is only in the third percentile for height at her age. I just hope she gets tall enough so I can take her on roller coasters someday.

I have a few big companies, (that I will mention later once I'm either given an offer, or shot down) that are showing interest at me. One of them is my dream company for many reasons, but on top of that, it has been rated the best place to work for in the entire world. I've made it to the second stage of interviews and I am hoping to make it all the way. The whole idea of working for them is making me nervous, excited, confident, giddy, and ecstatic (to name a few). I know I am a perfect fit for a job, now I just have to convince them of it

My sister is moving into the townhouse next year, and it looks like she may have found two roommates to rent out the other rooms. This is definitely a good thing considering I am part owner of the place. Now I don't have to worry about loosing tons of money just because she couldn't find roommates. I spent all last night scrubbing every nook and cranny of the place! To get all the dog hair out, I had to empty my vacuum 5 times... Vaska sheds like crazy, but I love him none-the-less... Jäger on the other hand doesn't shed much. The problem with him is, despite knowing better, he has been getting into the trash, eating food of the counter, etc... REALLY frustrating, and I can't figure out how to get him to stop.

Labels: april pinner, ashlyn pinner, dogs, family, grant pinner, megan folts, work

It's been almost 11 weeks since I was last in Tallahassee, but luckily there is only a week and a half until I am back again... Every day seems that much longer, and that much harder to get through... I don't remember the last time I was as homesick as I am now. I like Austin, but I guess I just never let myself completely settle down to make it feel like home. I miss my dog, my bed, my kitchen, my parking spot, my alarm clock, (you get the point by now)... Most importantly though, I miss my girlfriend Amanda! I'm just glad she has stuck with me even though we are 900 miles apart!

I am proud of what I accomplished for Freescale this Summer. Once again impressing myself... I can definitely see the my programming skill improving (at least in Visual Basic) which is a good thing... I like working on projects that I can see the results... I like knowing that it is making somebody's day go by with less obstacles... I hope when I graduate, and find a job, that I get the same enjoyment out of it... It'd be nice if I could feel this way about Graduate School as well, but it just feels so pointless because on-the-job experience seems much more valuable... We'll see.

My cousin April is having another baby! I am so excited, and I think it helps contribute to my longing for home (because she too is from Tallahassee)... She sent a great picture out to let the family know... The picture to the right is her daughter (my God-daughter!) I love her more then can be described...

Labels: amanda vichich, april pinner, ashlyn pinner, austin texas, family, freescale

The trek home wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... 12.5 hours is all it took... of course, this is after all the teeth work I got done in the morning (which cost me more then I thought it would)... I decided not to stop in New Orleans because I really wanted to get home... I had bought 4 red bulls, and casually sipped them throughout the trip... well, the caffeine buzz didn't hit until I got home... (11:00 PM EST) when I started to clean the fridge and oven, as well as strip all the kitchen cabinets clean of the crap I don't use (there were 4 coffee makers in the cabinets, and I don't even drink coffee...) I finally decided to force myself to sleep at 5:30 AM... But then at 8:30 AM (The oven self cleaning cycle hadn't even finished yet) I was up and at it again... Once the oven was done, I headed off to Walmart and bought $250 worth of stuff the house needed... ant bait, shower curtain, a rug, a mirror for above the fireplace, new shiny things that go under the stove burners, and a ton of cleaning supplies... (cheap paper towels, Windex, Swiffer Sweeper stuff, Febreze, Pledge, sponges, etc.)

Tatiana is in Dallas Texas and I forgot she wasn't going to be here yet... so I don't get to see her until tomorrow evening when her flight arrives... and April, Jesse, and Ashlyn were out of town until this afternoon, but once they got back they had to go to a dinner party for April's work... so I could have watched Ashlyn at this point, but the house was a mess with all the crap I was taking out of the kitchen, and definitely not baby proof...

The UPS guy came today, but he didn't ring the doorbell, I thought I heard somebody knocking, but couldn't tell if it was the neighbor's, or if it was my imagination gone astray due to the massive amounts of cleaning fumes I had been exposed to... But since the doorbell didn't ring, I figured it wasn't the door... but it was, and now I have to wait until the delivery guy gets back from his route so I can pick it up at the shipping center... which is down the street, but I have been there twice already today hoping he would be back, but then I decided I will go 10 minutes before they close... and just wait until he comes back... maybe then I will get it... I have never had so many problems with FedEX... but maybe that is just me...

The couches I got are awesome... I love them... and I was so excited to see them in my house... I got them from Adriana (Francisca's mom)... I am also happy because she got a job when she was having trouble getting one in the past because her English isn't 100% (I understand her perfectly, but supposedly there are some things she can't express clear enough...) oh well... I have to head over to the UPS center, it is about to close... Hopefully I'll get it, otherwise I will be pissed!

Labels: adriana infante, april pinner, ashlyn pinner, austin texas, francisca amunategui, jesse pinner, tatiana treffehn

Today is my last day here at Freescale, at least for the Summer... I am hoping that I can be hired as a contract employee and work from Tallahassee whenever they have issues with the Excel tools that I created... Otherwise, I may be earning less then I am spending, which could be a major problem in the long run...

I am excited about heading back to Tallahassee Monday! I have to complete clean/redecorate the entire townhouse on the Nug... I also am excited about the classes I plan on taking for Fall... I want to take the following:

• Advanced Unix Programming
• Pattern Recognition
• Distributed Application Development
• Intro to Research (blah)

I am excited about the first three though... they all fit my interests perfectly... I hope I can get into Dist Apps though because it currently says it is full, but I think if I complain, I will be able to get into it... because I really, REALLY, want too...

Advanced Unix Programming is with a professor I had Distributed Networks with... It wasn't an easy class, but I like how he challenges me, unlike many of my previous professors... Also, Pattern Rec.'s professor is extremely smart... I had him as a professor for Intro to Intelligent Systems last semester... His programming assignments are a ton of fun and his tests are challenging, but do-able if you pay close attention and take good notes...

Anyways, I also can't wait to get back and start using my new kitchen supplies... I have all these things I want to make... yummy...

I miss my CS friends, Tatiana, and most importantly, my God daughter Ashlyn... I miss her so much it is annoying...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, freescale, grad school, nugget lane, tatiana treffehn

I official decided (again) that the health care in Tallahassee stinks... My goddaughter hasn't grown since she was born and they kept saying she was fine but now that she is approaching the age of three, and still hasn't grown, they are finally worried and did some tests... Well, they think it is hypothyroidism... "Infants will grow and develop normally if hypothyroidism is treated within the first month of life. Untreated hypothyroidism in infants can cause brain damage, leading to mental retardation and developmental delays." Anyways, it makes me made because it is easily diagnosed and they still are too unskilled to know for sure... She'll have to be on medication for the rest of her life if she does have the disease... yeah... so that is all...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, sick, tallahassee

Well, I had the weirdest dream last night... it was a Kindergarten-9th grade reunion... everyone from that time in my life was there... yet, not a single person from 10th grade on... which was really weird... I actually had two girls get in a fist fight over me... who? my first girlfriend Deanna Tobin who I dated from Kindergarten all the way to the middle of 6th grade (I know this doesn't really count, but she was my first kiss) anyways, the other girl was Kathy Zischka... my first love... I dated her in the middle of 9th grade in Germany... Anyways... I know for sure it was a dream because they both flirted constantly with me and Kathy even started to cry... when I asked her why it was because I had left her, but now she was engaged to some guy, despite the fact that she really loved me... he he... shut up you guys, I know what you are thinking, I know I am pathetic...

My point is, having the dream made me regret not keeping in touch with old friends... luckily I found out that Mike Treffehn, my best friend from Germany, is trying to visit me in Tallahassee during the Fall... but yeah... I started writing to all my old friends in Germany, and I also went on Facebook and added a whole bunch of people from my elementary school... I also missed Germany itself, so I spent the day trying to plan the trip my younger sister insists we are taking this winter... but prices are WAY to high... which frustrates me... even for somebody as rich as I am... if I knew if I had the lab monitoring job next semester, then I would know more if I could afford it... otherwise with just the TA job I will be making just enough to pay morgage (I am joining ownership of the townhouse with my parents... at least $375/month), car ($400/month), health/car insurance (around $200/month)... food ($150/month) and the books/random expensive ($100/month) If I had that security of that second job it would make my life a lot more relaxed and fun so I could blow money on a awesome ski trip to Europe... And maybe even see some of my old friend from Germany...

I miss Europe... I am thinking about moving there after grad school... Freescale (the place I work now) has a branch there and since I might be able to keep my job, and could do it from anywhere... I think there would be great... America sucks he he... well, at least Florida and Texas... too damn hot... Florida is even worse though... even though it is averaging 98 here this week, the humidity is non-existent... I also found out today that Sebastian's post-cancer problems are coming back... right when he is moving into the dorms no less... which is pretty scary because, if I know him, (which I probably do as much as anyone does), he is not going to be motivated to take his medicines daily... or go see the doctor... etc... another thing that frustrates me...

I have been trying to get a hold of my god daughter Ashlyn since I got here, and every time I call they don't answer, so finally they call me and I missed it because I was busy, but Ashlyn left me a message and it made me so happy that I am not going to delete it all summer so even though I can never actually talk to her, at least I can hear her and know that she hasn't forgotten me... 4 months is a long time when you are her age...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, deanna tobin, facebook, freescale, germany, kathy zischka, megan folts, mike treffehn, sebastian amunategui, tallahassee, work

This weekend I did absolutely nothing other than play video games... it was UBER relaxing... I got off work early on Friday because I work 9-10 hour days most days, and I am not allowed work more then 40 hours a week... At 11:15 on that Friday my Uncle and I drove 15 miles from work into the backwood country Texas to a place called "The Salt Lick" where they have an open pit where they bbq and you can bring your own beer and get ALL the ribs, sausage, etc you want.... yummy... oh, and beans... It was very good... afterwards I drove home and played video games... slept... played video games... ate... played video games... in an endless cycle the whole weekend... on Monday I went to my Aunt and Uncle's friend's house... It was fun, and nice getting paid for having fun (PTO)... I won at the game of Sorry and then talked while people played in the pool... Then it was back to work... I worked 10 hours yesterday and 11 hours today... so I again can have a short Friday... I have had Jamba Juice almost (all but 2 nights in 2 weeks) every single day for dinner... I love it... B) I ride my bike there when I am not in a hurry/exahausted/or have to grocery shop... which has been once or twice a week... so like 3 times... but still, I bought a comfortable seat and a helmet and new breaks so that I don't die and am all excited about it... I have no scale here so I have no clue what I weigh... probably the same... I am eating really unhealthy compared to what I would like... I have fixed that in the last week or so, but "The Salt Lick" is one example where I didn't... This whole timezone thing is confusing... I missed the Apprentice finally because of it... and the Survivor finally... I usually am just getting home from work or jamba juice at 7, exactly when these good tv shows start here... ahhh....

Oh well, I have been really getting into this online poker that my Uncle plays, and I am actually starting to get the feel of the game... I miss my goddaughter... for those of you who don't know Ashlyn (My cousin's daughter) is my god daughter... I also miss Tat, Brian, and Patrice... oh and Akira... he he... Tat needs help buying a new computer and I need to help her but she goes to sleep at 8 my time and I don't get minutes until then... B) so I always forget to call her... oh well, it is 10:45 and I get up at 6:30 so I am going to bed...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, brian and patrice mankowski, diet, dogs, exercise, gaming, kelly folts, tv