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

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

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

Well, I went Orlando this weekend, it was uberly fun... I stayed at Joes on Friday and Saturday night... Friday night we went to ESPN Club on Disney Boardwalk... it was pretty expensive, but I still had fun... we had to spread out onto 4 tables since there were so many of us... Joe, his girlfriend, his roommate, and I went early to put our name on the list only to find out that there was no list so we waited for an hour until the other people finally showed up (after major drama because Shanon got lost on her way and was mad)... Overall though, it went well... Joe had one of every speciality drink they made and then he got a pretty lame birthday cake (it was free for birthday people)... it was really nasty so his other roommate ordered a HUGE ice cream Sunday that came in a football trophy bowl... and so we all chipped in a dollar (all 18 of us) so that she didn't have to pay for it... and we had 18 spoons and were all eating it (it had strawberries, oreoes, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries... etc... you name it, it was probably on it... oh and peanut butter... I got there early Friday because Joe wanted me to meet his girlfriend... then we went to Blockbuster and bought ourselves xbox games...

Saturday I went to Epcot first thing in the morning, but for the first time ever my parents didn't leave South Florida before 5 AM... they actually left at 7 so I was there an hour before them... so I had to find my way away from Epcot and went to a place closer to where they were so I could meet up with them... We parked one of our cars at Publix and drove together once they finally arrived... So once we finally got there we ate... first thing once we got into the park... some pastry place, pretty good... then we went through the educational rides for a while... Megan and I got a fastpass to the ones with long lines... when we finally were suppose to go on those rides we split up from my parents... of course, knowing my luck (it has happened on every ride I have been on since I was 12 it seems like, all three of them stopped in the middle of the ride... and say they are experiencing difficulties... when I went to Islands of Adventure a while back every ride stopped for some reason or another... the Dragon ride, twice... once they made Francisca and I get off because she had no sandals on, the other time who knows what happened... also the Spider man ride broke for like 20 minutes when I was inches from getting on it... This all started at Oktoberfest the year that the ride crashed killing 6 people... it broke down when I was in line to ride it... it didn't open until the next day (the day it crashed)... lucky I wasn't there the next day... that same year I went on a ride there called the "Frisbee" it spun like one of those gravity machines that throws you against the wall, and it rocked at the same time (like one of those big ships that go upside down and sit there)... that was probably the worst (as in the best) I have ever been on... buutttttttttttt... the girl two seats from me vomited... ALL over everyone next to her... luckily we were spinning the opposite direction, otherwise I would have had it in my mouth... like almost everyone else... luckily it didn't cause a chain reaction because then I would have gotten it too... poor girl... more importantly poor people... Oh well... back to the story... ok, so... once we finally got through with those rides we met my parents in Germany for dinner/lunch... it was about 3:30 at the time... it was a buffet they had all the German goodness... Schnitzel, Kartofflen (Potatoes), Wurst, Semmel mit Kase und Fleisch (bread roll with cheese and meat), Sharf Senf, Curry Ketchup... und am bestem die Apfel Strudel mit Vanilla Sosse... it was really really really really good... ALSO they had freshly made Spetzi (for those of you who don't know, which is probably most if not all, Spetzi is a drink in Germany that is made from mixing Coke and citrus drinks... yummy goodness) I loved it... so did my family... I only spoke German for the whole 3.5 hours we spent there... I told the waitress that it was my Dad's birthday so when the band came on they announced it and sang happy birthday to him in German... everyone was swaying their Steins around singing along... or mumbling that is... so finally when we were done we went on to the other countries in a rush because it was raining and cold... we completely skipped France because it isn't worth our time... he he... we watched some video about Canada though, but that is because we happened to walk by when it was starting...

So when I got back to Joe's, the party was about to start... the cops broke up the party... that was another exciting yet scary thing that happened... that happened at 1:00 I think because I remember Joe complaining after he was excited about being the first party out of his friends to be broken up...

The next morning I was woken up by my sister at 11 something because she wanted me to go to Melbourne (my Grandma's house) and watch the Vikings loose... I got up and left Joes and picked up Patti went... We had fun in the car ride catching up... There was a ton of food at my Grandma's house too which made it worth while... Once the game was over we drove back and then I watched her play video games for about an hour and then Eric, she and I went bowling because it was Sunday night and they had a special 1.50 per game and 1.50 for shoes... we played 3 games we all won one... the last game the score was pretty low because all of our arms were tired but it was REALLY close 84 (Me), 85 (Patti) and 86 (Eric)... I won the second game with a 120... my first game sucked because I was using a 12 lb ball rather than the 15... after bowling we went to walmart and then we went back to her house and I passed out... The next morning I woke up and drove home in 3 hours and 10 minutes... I love cop radars and loud music... When I got home I played video games like usual but then at 8:00, since it was cold, I ran around the block... I was going to do the same today but it is below 30 tonight and that is too cold for any clothing I have... I don't want to get sick again...

Today was my first meeting for my TA job... It seems like it is going to be easy so I am excited... I checked out my office... not bad... not particularly good either though... but now I have access to a fridge and microwave so I can eat on campus... I also got everything worked out pay wise and filled out my time cards for the first two weeks even though I didn't work... I found out that I actually don't start until next Thursday, and then I only work 2 hours... so for the first 4 weeks I will only have worked, including meetings and getting use to the software, about 5 hours and I will have been paid $800 for it.. B) that is $160 an hour... B) I have a lot of responsibility on my hands though once everything gets rolling... I am the administrator or whatever and that brings with it making sure everybody is happy...

so within the next month I will be getting about $1500+ from all my different jobs... what they owe me and what they will owe me... life is good...

This weekend I am going to dive head first into the whole grad school/job applying thing... I just don't know what to do for the statement of purpose... we'll see... ok, well I think I have even started to bore myself with this blabbing so that's enough...

Labels: bowling, eric rubinstein, francisca amunategui, grad school, joe castelbuono, ketchup, lori folts, megan folts, patrick folts, patti botero, publix, sick, vacation, work

(I wrote this last night, but for some reason it didn't post... so here it is)

I beat halo 2 about 30 minutes ago... go me! After that I came over to the computer to see if my last teacher posted a grade, and it turned out that he did, and for the first time ever I made straight A's (meaning no A minuses either) just pure, sexy A's... oh well..

My family and I celebrated my birthday today (well, technically yesterday, the 13th) because they are all going to be busy tomorrow and can't... I opened all my presents except one of the one my parents got me... I got 2 dress shirts with matching ties from my parents, Ultimate Bustamove for Xbox live from my sister, and a brick from my grandparents... luckily they used fifty $1 bills for the padding... B) think they are all tricky and stuff... I am hoping the other present my parent's are giving me is the digital camera I want... even though I have nothing really to take pictures of, I want one... because then if I wanted to take a picture I could without paying a lot for film/processing...

I don't know what I am going to to do when I get up this morning... if that makes sense... I already beat Halo 2, maybe I can try and beat it on Legendary (the hardest difficulty)... or just play it online for the whole day... who knows... I just hope I don't get any more mature since I am 22, because that would suck and I would be boring and have no reason to live...

Oh well, the best birthday present I got was getting out of the hell semester I just had... I am glad I did so well, if I didn't then I would have been angered considering the amount of effort I put into it... next semester better be easy... or fun... well, my elective better be fun because "Complexity and Analysis of Data Structures and Algorithms" sure as hell won't be... I think I am taking "Introduction to Intelligent Systems" as my elective... learn about making computers think like a human... sounds cool, sounds fun... sounds hard though...

Labels: birthday, gaming, honey folts, lori folts, megan folts, papa folts, patrick folts, undergrad

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

I got really excited today when talking to my parents close friend Bob Myers... He is the Human Resource manager for ALL of Reebok... former Vice President of The Bank of Boston, and most impressing, former Vice President of the Limited/Victory Seceret and all those stores owned by that company... Needless to say, he has connections... Well, turns out he is pretty close to an important person at EA (Electronic Arts.... they own many different computer gaming companies, including Maxis... The one that makes the Sims and SimCity)... He suggested that I try to get an internship there this summer with his help... he told me, "give me your resume and I can help you edit it and I'll fax it to him, and maybe he can slip it to the top of the pile..." B) just talking about it freaked me out because it was so exciting... The sole cause of my passion for computers came from a little revolutionary program... SimCity Classic... and now I have a chance to get an internship there, or if it is too late to get one for this summer, possibly a job there... My heart was pitter pattering like crazy... I knew he had connections, but he just happened to mention the one company I would want to work for more than any other... even if I didn't get hired forever, if I got an internship there I would be satisfied for life... I don't know... but to me that is exciting...

Anyways, later on in the conversation Microsoft is brought up... turns out he knows the HR Manager there along with a few other VIPs in the company... Microsoft scares me though because it is what made computing what it is today, and I don't know if I have what it takes to contribute to that... REALLY nerve racking to think about working on something that has to do with so many peoples life's... yeah...

All this is really scary to me... I feel like I am so little compared to these HUGE companies that are practically the cause that I am who I am... I have never been so excited... even if I don't get the job, knowing that I have at least a better chance than most people is exciting...

My parents have been friends with Bob's wife since 8th grade... and with him since 11th grade... All I know is that I will owe him so much even if I don't get the job... he doesn't have to do anything for me, but he is... I talked to him for only 20 minutes about this particular subject, but it has thrilled me... It is completely different discussing something that you could always talk about, but when you did you were thinking "yeah right like that will ever happen", when you can stop thinking that, even if it is just for a minute...

Oh well, Isketch time... I hope I can fall asleep...

Labels: electronic arts, lori folts, microsoft, patrick folts, work

I missed it here, Francisca's mom has made me lunch and dinner already and it was SO good, although it contained squash... nasty, but I avoided it... I am a little annoyed because my parents gave my old room away to a visitor... so now I am stuck upstairs with no TV, having to be really quite because they go to sleep at 8:00, can't go browse the kitchen without going ALL the way down stairs (and worsely, if that is a word, back up the stairs...) I don't do stairs... they were made by the devil... anyways, so I don't have my own room anymore... I was fine with it because it was going to be a week (I am only here for spring break) and I thought he would be gone by summer, but in fact he will be there for a month of my summer so I have to put up with this for WAY to long... I don't know if I sound spoiled or stupid or whatever, but it sucks not to have your own place that you are use too... I think I am going to live at the Rush house or Tito's house for that month of the summer... that will teach my parents... he he... We are supposively going on the Rush's new boat tomorrow, I am excited... YAY! (see the excitement)...

Joe really sucks at Mario Cart... it is great winning EVERY game... I feel bad for him... oh well... I was offered a job at Ken's newest business... the networking one... I am going to work there all summer... it will be great... hopefully Joe Joe will be working there too so I can beat him up...

IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot down here... I hate the heat and hope to never suffer living in a hot place again... I want to live in Boston because there are lots of computer related jobs there and it is MUCH colder there... I hate beaches too... sandy, salty, greasy, hot, sunny (my eyes are abnormally sensitive to light... THEY ARE!) etc... also because my Grandpa would always take me to the beach by his house... and now he has passed, and it is sad... so... I like mountains... they are cold, cloudy (unless you get higher than the clouds...), they have fresh water rather than shitty salt water... they have trees, shade, animals, SNOW TO SKI ON! And the aura of the people there are just much different... even the tourist aura is different depending on where you go... I want to own a ski resort... I could ski for free, but also because for some unknown reason, as a kid I always wanted to run a hotel and resturant... sounds weird to me anyways, but I just thought (and still think) that I can run it much better than the ones they have... Not only that, it would be fun to design and build considering I want to be an architect as well as a computer nerd/geek..

Labels: adriana infante, boston, francisca amunategui, grandpa, joe castelbuono, lori folts, patrick folts, rush family