Dogs

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 have been really busy in the last two weeks! It is a long process to explain, but I don't want to forget anything later in life, so bare with me!

So, where to begin... I was about to accept a job for a start up in Boston when, that night, I get a call from two huge companies. One of the two being the notorious Facebook (which had previously turned me down). Well, this all happened on a Thursday night. I was flying to Boston the following Wednesday through Friday to check out the company, but both the other companies want to interview me. I told one I could on Tuesday, and the other I could on Monday.

Sunday night I fly out to San Francisco from Miami. I arrived at 9:30 at night, woke up the next morning for an 11:00 interview. The interview ended at 2:08, so I sprint to catch the 2:11 train. I get back to the airport, get my luggage, and head out to catch my 5:15 flight. I was flying from San Francisco to Omaha for the Tuesday interview, unfortunately I had a layover in Denver. Well, United decided to cancel my flight, so I had to spend the night there, and fly out first thing the next morning. Only problem with this was that it was 12:30 PM before I finally got to sleep. I had to wait in a 1.5 hour line to book a flight the next morning, and then an hour line to get my luggage since I would be flying on a different airline. Luckily I was one of very few passengers that got their hotel paid for. Many were told it was weather-related, while I was told it was mechanical... pretty sketchy!

I barely made it to Omaha in time for my 11:00 interview. It finished, and I drove back to the airport for my 3:55 flight from Omaha to Atlanta (to catch a connection to Miami). Well, right before take off, they were told to return to the gate due to weather in ATL. Well, I wouldn't usually worry but I was suppose to fly out of Fort Lauderdale to Boston at 6:00AM the next morning, so I had them switch my ATL connection so that, instead of flying to Miami, I would fly straight to Boston. Around 6:30 we were able to leave, arriving in ATL around 10:30. I spent the night in the extravagant Crown Plaza hotel (thanks dad for using your points), then once again, woke up bright and early for my flight.

I arrived in Boston on Wednesday morning, and spent the entire day with the Daily Jolt (the company I now work for). They walked me through exactly what I'd be doing, they even worked out a time schedule. I was really impressed, and really excited because I knew exactly what I'd be doing. After spending the day with the Daily Jolt, Facebook called me and told me I should expect a verbal offer the next day by mid-day.

Thursday was spent with a Realtor, touring all of Boston, checking out the different areas to live. I fell in love with Beacon Hill, but it cost a fortune to live there. Fortunately I also liked the Brighton area. Facebook finally called me at around 7:00 PM and discussed their offer with me. Very intriguing offer, slightly more than the Boston job. Of course, the Daily Jolt wanted an answers by that night. So, I spent 2 stressful hours weighing my options, then I went to dinner with Aaron (my new boss) and told him the situation. I explained what Facebook had offered me, and we were able to work out a very similar offer, and I decided the Daily Jolt was the right job for me. I am an east-coast kind of guy, I'll be a Mid-level programmer rather than a Junior-level programmer (meaning I'll be essential to the company, rather than just another programmer), I'll be able to do a lot of work from home, I'll be in Boston (where I've wanted to live for 7 years now), the cost of living in Boston is quite a bit cheaper than San Francisco, and on top of everything, my best friend lives here. I have yet to regret my decision, once Facebook goes public maybe, but we'll see.

I was very excited to get home after a week of traveling the nation. I left Boston early Friday morning, and had a layover in Philly. Well, as you could probably have guessed due to my extreme luck, there were issues. They boarded the plane right on time, I passed out 2 minutes after boarding. Well, after I passed out, they announced that "there was a small mechanical problem, but it should be fixed in about 10 minutes and we'll be off". I fell back to sleep, into a deep sleep, and after 30 minutes they decided to make everyone get off the plane. Of course, I was in such a deep sleep the flight attendant had to wake me up. I noticed I was the only one on the plane, and she told me I had to get off. I asked "We already are there?" and she explained the situation to me. Oh boy! Another never-ending layover!

Once I get off the plane, they announce that "The good news is that it is a small mechanical problem... The bad news is that we have to fly the part in from Atlanta." Of course, this meant they weren't canceling the flight, so we had to sit there and wait. They did offer us a $25 voucher for a future flight (after reading the fine print I found out it expired 7 days later), as well as a $10 food voucher to use while we were waiting.

1 hour passes...

2 hours pass...

"Attention passengers, we regret to inform you that the part didn't make it from Atlanta. We are going to have to cancel the flight. Oh, and every flight to Florida is over booked until tomorrow at 2:30! Thank you for flying Air Tran"

Luckily for me, I had nowhere I had to be... most the other passengers were leaving the next morning on a cruise, so obviously 2:30 PM flight wasn't going to work. Some of them drove to Baltimore, others just broke down and cried. "It is our anniversary, and now we are stuck in Philly". I felt bad for them. I waited in line to rebook a flight (another 1.5 hours) and to get my free round-trip voucher. I nicely asked to be upgraded to business class as well. They also were kind enough to give every passenger a $30 discount at a hotel (even though it was mechanical failure).

Finally I was re-booked for the next day, had my hotel coupon and I made my way to the luggage area to get my bags. It was now after 4:00 PM (the flight was suppose to leave at 11:11 AM). I get to the luggage area, and it is all chaos. There were passengers at the end of their rope with the airlines, yelling at anyone with an AirTran t-shirt. They had no clue on when our luggage was going to be brought to us, so, realizing I had a while, I nicely mentioned that I had expected to get my hotel paid for considering it was mechanical failure that was the cause of my misfortune. Well, the baggage lady was eager to help since I was the only one being polite. She called about 5 different "supervisors", and none of them answered. Finally one showed up (not for me, he had an issue he was trying to resolve). She explained to him my situation, and he reluctantly brought me to the front desk. Well, 30 minutes later I had a voucher for a free hotel night. My luggage arrived right when I got back, and so I headed to the hotel (nearly 6:00).

At least in Philly I was able to sleep in the next morning since my flight wasn't until 2:30. It was my first full night sleep that entire week.

I flew back here (to Boston) this last Thursday, once again having flight issues. My flight leaving Fort Lauderdale left 2 hours late. I arrived to my connect in Philly 30 minutes before it was suppose to leave. Thinking I had to hurry I rush to the next gate, only to find out that my connection was also running late. I got to sit in Philly for 2.5 hours! Woohoo. Of course, by this time, I was very accustom to waiting, especially in airports.

During the week I was in Fort Lauderdale, I had been looking for apartments using craigslist. I found this one that I just had a feeling for. I couldn't tell you why I was so fond of it, just that I kept saying how much I wanted to see it in person. I spent Friday morning looking at places in Beacon Hill... $1500+/month for 350 sq. ft. apartments. None of them excited me too much. At around 2:00 Megan and I headed over to the apartment I found on craigslist. Immediately I knew it was the place for me. $1425/month for a 650 sq. ft. apartment with 10 foot ceilings. Everything was brand new, including the kitchen appliances. They redid all the electrical as well, so it can support my electrical needs. Across the street there is a park with a lake where I can walk my dog. It is directly on the Green line (Trolley to downtown), and there is a bus that goes straight to work. I also have a shared deck and a backyard so I can let my dog out there as well. I'll post pictures as soon as possible.

Labels: atlanta, best friend, denver, dogs, nebraska, patrick folts, philly, san francisco, 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 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

This semester is going to be hectic, but exciting at the same time. I am excited about teaching Computer Literacy II recitation, looking for a job, and most importantly graduation. It also looks like I am going to be creating the website for Alpha Gamma Delta sorority... There sure is a lot on my plate right now, but as I mentioned, I am excited.

My sister came down with mononucleosis and is thinking about withdrawing from this semester. I've been taking care of her for the last few days. I've been sleeping on the sofa so that she could sleep on my memory-foam-super-ultra-comfortable-600-thread-count-sheet-luxury bed.

Last week I found and saved two stray dogs. A 100 pound golden retriever and an 80 pound black lab. They haven't found the owners last time I checked, but hopefully they will soon. I wanted to keep them, but since I already have two dogs, and these two were gigantic, I figured that wouldn't work out too well in my small apartment.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention how great of a resource monster.com is. I put my resume up there earlier this week and I have already gotten 3 calls, and 4 emails. Looks like I'll have a lot of choices for the future. One of the jobs is in Colorado Springs, which is really exciting because then I'll be near the ski slopes... I still don't know where I'll end up, but hopefully somewhere near the mountains. Well, monster.com is just full of head hunters that spam your email, and call you at all times of the day... don't bother wasting your time there... goto websites individually

Labels: dogs, family, grad school, megan folts, work

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

I got a dog on Saturday! I got it from the local shelter... it is a German Shepherd mix (they think it is mixed with a black lab, but it looks more like a German Shepherd but without the extremely pointy ears) He has to be neutered before I can bring him home, so I won't get him until Tuesday. I am really excited... now my family has 4 dogs so Christmas and Thanksgiving are going to be hectic... His name at the shelter was Pirate, but he needs a manly name since he is being neutered, so that name is definitely out of the question. I went and bought him food, food dishes, toys, collar, leash, etc at Petsmart already... and I bought a collar for the invisible fence... I can't wait till Tuesday...

UPDATE: I decided to name him Jäger!

Labels: dogs, family, vacation

I finished the 2.5 day project of cleaning and organizing the kitchen... once I was finally done with that I moved on to my laundry closet and the dining area... and now I finally started the living room... I can't decide where to put my fish tank though... There is more Akira (my sister's dog) hair in this place then there is on all three dogs my family owns combined... but I still want a dog myself... especially since my mom just got one... we'll see, once I get all moved in and hopefully find a roommate...

I can't decide which bedroom upstairs I want as my office, and which one I want as my bedroom... or if I even want to move up there at all... major dilemma here, and nobody to help me through it... I definitely need a TV ASAP because it is really lonely in this apartment without some background noise...

Labels: brian and patrice mankowski, dogs, lori folts

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

We spread my dog Spirit's ashes at sunrise this morning... it was sad... we did it at my Grandpa's favorite spot on the the beach by his condo he lived in... B( ok, enough thinking about it...

Labels: dogs, grandpa

my dog is allergic to something so we have to give her allergy medicine 3 times daily... she has hives all over and is itching like crazy so we had to put that thing around her head so she can't nip at her skin... so now she can't itch (except for with her leg) and she is miserable... the nipping caused her to have open soars in some places and her fur is falling out there too... if they don't heal soon she has to go onto antibiotics... man, what a freak of nature dog... only a dog that my family owns could end up so messed up...

Labels: dogs

MY CAT CAME BACK! After like two days, he came back... YAY, now I am going to keep it... I also got a job making a website B) which is really cool... good time good times... (except my dog died) I am seeing my aunt today too, she is coming with my cousin to Gainesville on her way to Ft. Lauderdale from Atlanta... Francisca is at school right now, so I am a little bored, but besides that I am excited...

Labels: atlanta, austin foster, development, dogs, francisca amunategui, ft. lauderdale, gainesville, kristen foster

I found out today that my dog Spirit has a tumor in her intestents.... She can't poop, so she can't eat... I thought I was ready for this to happen... I mean she is 13, almost 14... can't see, can't hear, and now can't poop...

There is an operation to remove it, but the vet said that it is risky... and that since she is so old she probably won't make it through it... so now we have to decide if we should put her to sleep or not and take the risk of her dying a more painful death if the surgery fails... It is just so hard to know that she is suffering... I have had her since I was 7... that is a long time... it is going to be weird living in a world without her... I want to put her to sleep though, I don't want to risk her feeling more pain than she already is... and even if we did teh operation, she probably would have something else go wrong with her body pretty soon...

My little sister is taking it the worse... Spirit has been in her life since she was 2... she went out and bought her a whole bunch of her favorite foods (bologna, peanut butter, etc.), but she can't even eat it... she gets to stay home tomorrow and be with her... I might not get to see her again, which is hard... I did say goodbye to her as if it were the last time I would see her though, because I knew it could happen any time...

She is the smartest and most freeminded dog that I ever have known... She will be missed...

Ok, semi-subject change... on another animial note... there is a cat that won't leave our back porch... it is one of the sweetest cat I have met (I don't usually like cats)... just wants to be loved... but we can't have it because my mom is allergic to them... and when she comes to visit she wouldn't be able to be in our house... So, for now it plays with our dog in the back yard and we feed it and water it because it was here for almost a week and we knew it was starving because it looked like it... it is black with white paws... and looks to be about a year old... we posted signs around the neighborhood but nobody has called yet... we are calling the pound or whatever tomorrow to see if anybody has called in a cat missing with that description...

Labels: brian and patrice mankowski, dogs, lori folts, megan folts