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

Since I graduated I have been really busy... I keep trying to finish organizing my things, but people keep needing my help in far away places. I've been traveling a ton lately, first I was flown out to Ft. Lauderdale for an interview... the next week, I had graduated so I went on a camping trip in Anastasia Park near St. Augustine. The dogs absolutely loved the beach. I bought a fishing license, a pole, lure, etc, and attempted to fish, but the poles we bought were too cheap and the wire would tangle after every cast.

The day after I got back from there, I headed to a celebration that my family had planned for me in Atlanta. It was good to see my aunt, and my cousins. They took me to the Atlanta aquarium, which was really really cool, just a little too crowded.

I got back from Atlanta, and the next day my uncle Mike calls me up and tells me his computer broke. Best Buy wanted $350 to even begin to fix it, so he decided to use frequent flier miles to get me to Birmingham, Alabama. Well, Tallahassee is extremely small, so I had to fly through Atlanta (I was just there the day before). Not only that, he decided he wanted me there ASAP, so he put me on the 6:15 AM flight. Turns out (once we looked at a map, that Birmingham is only a 300 mile drive, rather than the 400+ I thought it was). Well, I get there, and his hard drive was fried so we bought two new ones, I got Windows up and running for him, and finally I used Norton Ghost to make the second one identical. Now if one hard drive fails, the other automatically starts working, and all his files are the same. He also backs up to CD, and uses an online backup program (made by Quicken) to store his files on a server automatically, every night. A little paranoid! he he... It was good to get to know him better, he is my least known uncle.

I finally get home, spend a day trying to organize, when I get a call from Patti asking me to come to Gainesville to cheer her up. Unable to let a friend down, I dropped everything I was doing and made the 2 hour trek to the Gville. I think I have only slept in my bed one night in the last 3 weeks.

Next week is the Facebook conference in San Francisco that my friend Kyle and I are going to. I am pretty stoked about that! Then it is back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Labels: austin foster, bailey foster, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, facebook, gainesville, kristen foster, kyle gower-winter, mike folts, movie, patti botero, tallahassee, vacation

I officially have gotten another person addicted to the Sims 2... Dmitri hasn't been sleeping, and seems to have given up on his own life, just so he can make sure his Sim's life is working out. I too have been playing it a lot lately... on my third generation of Sims... I've also been Guitar Heroing it up to the point where I have blisters on 3 fingers and my arm... I have beaten 6 songs on ultimate despite not being able to beat "Psychobilly Freakout" on hard.

Yesterday I stayed on campus all day to finish up my first major project that is due next week. I also have a test next week, so thought I'd get the project out of the way. This weekend I am heading to Tampa for a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert with Nithin, Kelley, and her roommate. I am uber excited! Anyways, back to applying for jobs!

Labels: dmitri sokgobenzon, electronic arts, gaming, kelley jones, nithin sathyamoorthy, red hot chili peppers

Last week I helped Amanda move to Jacksonville... It wasn't something I was very happy about doing, but it had to be done... Her apartment seems really nice, big bedroom, mature roommate... Glad things are working out for her, just wish she didn't have to be so far away! This week has been really long without her to lean on...

Well... after helping her move, Dmitri and I drove to Gainesville. We dropped Vaska off at Dmitri's parent's house, and then headed off to see my second best friend Patti. Yes, my second best friend, it is a long story to explain why she doesn't quiet top the list (of course, she is a very close second), so I'll save that for another time... Anyway, when we met up with Patti, she, along with the entire University of Florida dentistry school, were attending a BBQ at a lake right outside Gainesville. They had quite a few events, including a raffle for mp3 players, dvd players, and even a flat screen TV! Well, I was only 10 tickets (out of thousands) away from being the big winner and walking away with that flat screen TV! I was completely bummed about being so close, yet so far from absolute glory... After the BBQ we headed over to her place where we watched some football and just hung out... Once all the good games were over, we went to what I think is the best restaurant in Gainesville, and then we went to see the movie "Open Season" (which I recommend if you like animated films)... My only regret about the whole weekend is that short time I was there... I got there late Saturday afternoon and had to leave first thing on Sunday... It would have been nice to see my other Gainesville friends, it has been forever... Of course, it'd probably be weird since it's been so long... <sigh> oh well, next trip I'll definitely have to at least give them a call...

On another note, I finally was able to get something better than a B on a Aggarwal test! Very proud of myself, of course it is just one test, and now there is a 14 page paper and an intense program due... but at least I was able to prove to myself that I can do it, it'll help motivate me for the final...

Lastly, but definitely not least, I was asked to be in my cousin Tara's wedding this December, which makes me feel real special, even if it is just ushering... I am going to be the best damned usher there ever was! I am also in my sister's wedding in July... man everyone's getting married!

Labels: amanda vichich, brian and patrice mankowski, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, family, football, gainesville, grad school, movie, patti botero, tara polly, vacation

Well, I decided that it doesn't matter how broke I get, my happiness is priceless... I have to go skiing... in 3 weeks to be exact... it has been 3 years since I have... and that is way way way way (etc.) too long... This time I am going with my friend Kelley Jones, my roommate Dmitri, and possibly Angie and my roommate Micah... Of course, knowing me, I have to do it right, so I went ahead and bought myself brand new K2 ski equipment... they are freestyle skis so I can have fun skiing backwards, doing tricks... etc... because of my chances of breaking a bone, I bought a helmet and goggles too... all I need now are boots... The ski package I bought comes with a case and bindings... and what looks to be a long underwear shirt that matches the skis, which is really nerdy, but so me...

UPDATE: Skiing was awesome! Here are some pictures:

There was a blizzard that brought fresh powder for us!

We also went to Chimney Rock:

Chimney Rock is near the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi river, this is a picture of the very top of it:

Labels: angie kapec, dmitri sokgobenzon, kelley jones, skiing, vacation

This weekend twice as many people came to the BBQ as did for the Miami game... nearly 30 people... lots of fun... After the game Micah, Dmitri and I went with two of Dmitri's friends (Megan and Josh I believe) to Village Inn for breakfast/dinner... it was a blast there... I'm glad FSU won, it was getting scary for a while there... the only exciting parts of the game all happened in the first two minutes... but at least there were lots of people to socialize with... This time people actually brought beer as well... I bought hot dogs for everyone and Micah cooked them up on the grill... Hamburgers take way too long with such a small grill and so many people... so we decided not to make them this time... nobody seemed to mind...

I saw Lord of War (the Nicolas Cage movie)... it was pretty slow moving, but really made you think... scary I guess... not like horror movie scary, but "damn, that sucks" scary... if that makes sense... I forgot to take pictures once again... I should really start so that I can fill my photo section of this site... I spent $600 on the stupid camera...

Labels: bbq, dmitri sokgobenzon, florida state university

My roommate Dmitri goes running almost every night, and I have started to go with him... I have never been in so much pain in my life... He went on Friday as well as tonight and I ran 1.5 miles, and then walked 1.5 miles, each night... I don't remember the last time I ran more then about 10 steps... the pain is good pain though... hopefully I'll stick to it...

We were suppose to start the bowling league tonight, however, they lost our registration information and booked another team instead, so now we have to hope that some other team quits... I was pretty bummed about that...

I am completely and utterly addicted to the show "24"... It is amazing... My roommate has the first four seasons on DVD and Tatiana and I started watching them... we are almost done with season one (5 more hours)... It is really really really really good...

Labels: bowling, diet, dmitri sokgobenzon, exercise, tatiana treffehn

Grad school officially starts tomorrow and I am really excited... of course, I wouldn't have minded if Katrina hit near by so school would have been cancelled... also, if it hit closer New Orleans would not be completely destroyed... I hope everyone makes it out ok... I really want to visit there someday...

I haven't updated in a while, but that is because I have been busy helping my new roommates move in and playing Champions of Norrath on his Playstation 2... addicting game... I also was went bowling and played pool this week... I am joining the Billiards Club and the Pizza Bowling League... As a member of the Billiards Club I will get free pool at FSU's bowling alley... and it only cost $20 for membership... I want to get really good... For the Pizza League, Dmitri, Micah and I are on a team with another one of their friends... Every Sunday we will play 3 games of bowling and get 2 slices of pizza for only $6 a week... sweeeeeeeeeet... I love bowling...

I had a ton of meetings to get ready for the school year as well, hour upon hours of them... he he... I also became the Treasurer of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM)... which means I have a ton of stuff to do for that as well.. it'll be a busy a year...

There is a ton of stuff that we have to give to Goodwill, the problem is I don't know when I will have time for them to come out and get it... hopefully early in the week so I don't have to have it all cluttered in my living room...

So, I decided to take Distributed Application Development even though I have heard really crappy things about the teacher... I am just too excited about it and I also heard that the TA convinced him not to give tests, bur only to assign projects... and projects is what I want... I am also taking Pattern Recognition and Advanced Unix Program, both with teachers that I have had in the past (and loved)... and lastly I am taking the require Research class that I am really not looking forward too at all...

Labels: bowling, dmitri sokgobenzon, gaming, grad school, hurricane