Family

Florida State University's circus is celebrating their 60th anniversary, and for the first time during my attendance here I went to see it along with Nithin and two of his friends. I was amazed at how well the students performed... The entire show was put together by students of FSU. They made a few mistakes here and there, but if you saw the things they were attempting, you would be amazed just at the attempts. Growing up I only went to one Circus because my mom is highly allergic to, well... everything, but in this case animal dander. I forgive her though, she at least took me to one!

On the job front: I seem to have done well on my first technical phone interview, because now the company wants to fly me out for another one. I really have to find a way to relax during these things! My heart rate skyrockets, I start sweating like a dog, and I can't process words very well. No matter how much I try to calm down, I just can't do it. Interviewing has always been a huge fear of mine, one that I have tried hard to overcome by mock interviews etc... Nothing seems to work... During this interview I wasn't sure what to expect... I had read some websites about what to expect, but I hadn't been in the situation yet, so maybe that made me more nervous... I totally went blank on some very easy questions, so thought I was bombing it. I guess I got the point across that I really like to program, and that, when I get into a project, I own it completely.

On this upcoming Tuesday I have a second interview with another company that I have dreamed about working for since high school. I am very nervous about it, after this last interview I went out and bought books about technical interviews with big companies such as this one, and plan on reading as much of them as possible before then. The only problem with that is that I have a huge Compiler's program due Wednesday, and an Analytical Methods assignment due Friday (these "assignments" take anywhere between 60-100 hours to complete, and I have so far only had time to put a good 15 into it). My favorite e-store has also contacted me about a potential job and wants my availability for a "technical phone interview" that I should be "prepared to code" for... Well, how do you code over the phone? I guess I'll find out.

On top of my school work and job search, I am trying to find renters for my house, and on top of it all this next week I have to work extra hours because the Computer Literacy II class has their tests to take. OH! And it seems that my whole family thinks this next week is a perfect time to visit!

Labels: family, florida state university, grad school, lori folts, nithin sathyamoorthy, 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

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

So far it has been a hectic Winter break! Grandma and I drove all the way from Tallahassee to Lincoln Nebraska to attend my cousin Tara's wedding. From St. Louis all the way to Lincoln we had to drive through the massive storm that shut down the Denver Airport. We were supposed to leave Wednesday the 20th, but grandma showed up on Tuesday and peer pressured me into leaving a day early to avoid the storm. We made it to Metropolis Illinois around 11:00 PM (12 hours after we left), we gambled for about an hour (I won $80! Go me! Grandma broke about even), then finally we went to sleep around 1:00 AM. At 4:30 that same morning, Grandma decides that we should probably hit the road so that we can make it through St. Louis before rush hour... Unfortunately, we were further from St. Louis then we had thought and ended up hitting the beginning of it. About 4 hours into our second day I was exhausted, so we pulled up into a McDonald's parking lot and slept for an hour, restocked our supply of energy drinks, and then continued our never ending journey. Finally, at around 3:30 PM we arrived in Lincoln.

We spent the first night in Lincoln at my Aunt Kelly's house, but the next day Grandma and I, along with the many other relatives flying in that day, checked into the Embassy Suites... They had a complementary "cocktail hour" from 5:30 to 7:30 every night which was the first thing to make me feel like I was on vacation.

On the 22nd I went to the wedding rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner... The dinner was much more enjoyable because it turned out that I wasn't even need at the rehearsal (I was an usher for the wedding). The wedding the next day was probably as close to perfect as a wedding could be... and the reception afterwards was a blast. Like my cousin April's wedding, I once again caught the garter... Last time I caught one, I ended up dating somebody for 4 and a half years, maybe this means something good is around the corner.

On Christmas Eve I flew from Nebraska to Salt Lake City, took a bus out to Park City, and met up with my second family, the Rushes. I spent the last two days on the slopes, but now my knee is killing me, so I reluctantly decided after the first run to take the day off. For those of you who don't know me well, my absolute favorite thing in the world is skiing, so taking a day off when I only get to go once or twice a season, is a really really big deal. I'm going to try and get back into my exercise routine when I get back to Florida and condition my knee for next time. I hurt it about 2 months ago while playing soccer.

Last night after skiing, Samantha and Astrid brought me to their Yoga class... an hour and a half of what seems easy, but really is a major work out... For the first time since I was 6 I attempted a hand stand, I had somebody helping, but I was able to do it, so that was exciting. The whole working your "inner-being" hoo-ha was kinda weird, but I don't remember the last time I was that relaxed.

Tomorrow I fly back to Nebraska to begin another endless journey back to Florida. Hopefully this time we'll have sunlight... Hope everyone is having a great vacation!

Labels: april pinner, aunt kelly, family, grandma, nebraska, rush family, skiing, tara polly, vacation, wedding, yoga

Well, Thanksgiving was very much appreciated... If it weren't for such a great holiday then I wouldn't have been able to get a break from school and work... The week prior I slept very little in order to finish all my huge school projects early, so that I could use the entire Thanksgiving week for relaxation. I headed down south to my parent's house last Friday, and didn't come home until this past Sunday. On the way down my sister Megan and I stopped in G-ville and had dinner at Friday's for Patti's 24th birthday. Unfortunately we got there right during rush hour so we had to wait nearly an hour before Patti made it there. I was glad to see her despite how little time we had!

On Saturday I decided I was going to camp out for a Wii since my previous attempts of pre-ordering it failed. I headed out at around 7:00 PM thinking 5 hours before it was sold would be plenty... I had heard every Walmart would have around 50 Wii's... Well, that was before they sold them to their employees first... I went to both the closest Walmarts and I was told that the line was already longer then the magical number of Wii's being sold... Depressed, I headed home and decided that I would try good old Amazon.com instead... Not knowing when they were going to start selling them, (I knew it was going to be between 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM EST) I decided I would wake up every hour on the hour and start pushing the refresh button... By 10:00 AM I was pretty drained and loosing hope... Still not for sale... Finally, at 11:00 AM, I thought I would try one last time before heading out to the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and the Sawgrass Mall with mom and Grandma. Sitting there pressing F5 while casually talking to my mom, I glance over at the monitor and I see "Buy with One-Click Ordering" appear on the page! YAY! I got one, they sold out in less than a minute and I was one of the people to get one! Go me!

The Wii arrived on Tuesday via UPS overnight... I unpack it, set it up, put Wii Sports in... "Unable to read disc..." I get an error... after browsing Nintendo's website I find their customer service number... They are sending me a new one, but it sucked because I had no game to play on my brand new system... I ended up renting one from Blockbusters, but I wanted to bowl, or play tennis... After getting bored of the game I rented, I headed over to Gamestop, and mentioned that I got the Wii and was waiting for Zelda to be shipped to me... They then told me that some guy sold them his used copy of it (4 days after getting it!)... Of course I went ahead and bought it for $10 less then it cost brand new... I was the first person (at least at their store, but probably anywhere) to get a used Wii game... Pretty cool...

On Thanksgiving we were suppose to goto Epcot and eat at the German-all-you-can-eat buffet... Well, when we called to make reservations, we found out that they were completely booked... So, last minute, we had to change plans and cook a Thanksgiving feast... My dad and I headed up to Melbourne to pick up my Grandma (who was there the day before our plans changed, but headed home thinking she was going to meet us in Orlando)... At first I was disappointed because I was really excited about the German food, but in the end (after sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, peas, turkey, cranberries, 2 apple pies, and 2 pecan pies) it all turned out well...

Now it is back to school where, despite being ahead of the game before I left, I am right back in the "ahhhhhhh! Grad School" mode, trying hard to stay ahead... I just have to keep telling myself "3 weeks left!"... but then of course I think about the 14 page paper, the programs, and the bookwork I have yet to finish... Oh well, we'll see what happens...

Labels: family, gaming, grad school, grandma, lori folts, megan folts, patrick folts, patti botero, vacation, wii

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

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

Over Christmas break I went to Homer LA for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. It was great to see all my family again, and it was very relaxing after a never ending, extremely stressful semester. Two of my cousin's announced that they are getting married! I am really happy for both of them. It looks like my sister will also be getting married this year...

Anyways, I know it is pathetic, and I swore it would never happen to me, but I am addicted to Facebook... I use to hate the thing and thought it was stupid, but now enough of my old friends have joined to make it interesting... I have talked to many people that I haven't talked to in years. My first "girlfriend" is one of them that is finally on, Deanna Tobin. I put quotations around girlfriend because we "dated" from kindergarten to 6th grade (when I dumped her to date Maria Wilkins which lasted 3 days). I just found her on there yesterday so I haven't been able to contact her yet, but I think it will be very interesting to see what is up in her life. Kathy Zischka also now has joined and so I can finally communicate with her again after loosing contact for quite some time. I found my good friend from elementary school Brandon Bert a while back and found out that he lives only two hours from me (on the Gulf Coast) so we are going to try and meet up sometime. Anyways, these are just a few that I was excited about, there are many, many more that I am waiting to be "confirmed" as a friend on that will also be interesting to see where they are in life...

School this semester is going to be really really really really boring as I finish up my required courses. The only positive to this semester is that I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday, so I get four day weekends. Well, I guess another positive side is that my work schedule changed too and it is much better then the previous year which is hard to imagine possible.

Labels: brandon bert, brian and patrice mankowski, deanna tobin, facebook, family, grad school, homer, honey folts, kathy zischka, maria wilkins, papa folts, tara polly, work

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

My friend Megan and I weren't sure if we were up to the long drive to my Grandparent's lake house (I wasn't because I had had 9 hours of sleep in the 3 days before) but finally we decided it would be good to get our minds off things... so we both hopped in our cars and headed there... right before leaving I got my car its first oil change, which turns out to cost me extra because it is difficult to do... so that cost me $45 because I didn't know of any cheap places to get it done... hopefully in the future it will be cheaper... anyways... About 200 miles into my trip as I approached Dallas the sky turned pitch black, and it was noon... The clouds were nearly touching the ground and the winds were blowing hard... the horizon had a green tint and it began to hail... I was freaking out because I was still 20 minutes from Dallas and I had to go about 10 miles before I found a good place to stop to let it pass... I swear a tornado had to have passed within a mile because that was some sort of storm... that is exactly what you see when you see it on the weather channel... Luckily it only lasted like 20 minutes until it cleared up enough for me to get out on the road... so I jumped in my car and started to drive... the highway was flooded after the quick storm and I was in a construction area and the construction dust had combined with the water, making it white... yeah, that was scary...

Once I finally got there I greeted everyone and then played basketball... I pitched one over my head, without looking, all the way across the court, and made it! That shot almost let me win in horse... but, when I was about to win, Megan pulled up and I was sweaty and covered in dirt so I gave her a big hug... aren't I nice... When she got there we ate dinner and then I think we went kayaking for the first of many times during the weekend... Then we just chilled and talked about stuff that was on our minds... the next morning I woke up early, Papa and I went outside and talked while he had his morning smoke... he is hilarious... by 6:30 I was bored so I went to see if Megan looked like she was in a deep sleep and she did, so I stayed talking to my papa for another 30 minutes and then checked on her again, this time she had an angry look in her face and her hand was over her eyes so I knew she wasn't sleeping soundly (the sun was beaming through the window straight into her eyes)... I went inside and tickled her arm pit to wake her up... We just chilled most the morning and went kayaking, swimming in the middle of the lake and ate... then sometime in the afternoon we both passed out in each others arms... I don't know if it was her breathing that calmed me, but for some reason I was able to relax and get things out of my mind and sleep for a much needed hour...

Once we awoke, the Fourth of July celebration started (yes it was the 2nd, but that is when they start on the lake) with a parade of all the boats decked out in red white and blue... this happens as the sun sets and once a full circle around the lake is complete, the boats gather by the dam and watch a fireworks display...

The next morning was much like the first, just chilling... We tried to take a nap on the hammock but just ended up talking for 2 or 3 hours... in the afternoon we went inner tubing, but as soon as Megan got on the boat ran out of gas, so I didn't get a turn and her's was a short one... after a jet ski towed our boat back to the dock we talked to the neighbors (the Browns who are the parents of my Dad's childhood best friend) until dinner was ready... on the way to dinner Megan pushed me into the lake where it was only 2 feet deep so she had to run like crazy before I got out and tried to drown her... after dinner it was time for more fireworks! We were all out on the dock and my uncle tried to push me in but barely missed so then, when he was trying to push Tina in, I ran up behind him and pushed him instead... Everyone was so happy I did because they love picking on him, mainly because he is constantly picking on them...

The next day Megan had to leave really early in the morning because she worked at 6:30 AM on the 5th... I decided to stay though, and played scrabble with my sister, watched karate kid, and stayed in my pjs all day even to watch the fireworks... (I knew I couldn't go down by the lake or my uncle would have pushed me in) After the fireworks, we all played Scategories, which was really hard because we had around 9 people playing so it was hard to be creative enough to get any points...

At 4:45 the next morning I headed back to Austin with my sister so that I could make it back in time for my appointment where I got my wart removed... hopefully it won't grow back, I got it removed before and it did, but this time they cut it off, then burned it, so it didn't bleed, and also so it might destroy it at the root... oh well, we'll see...

Labels: best friend, family, homer, honey folts, kelly folts, megan folts, papa folts