Work is still kicking ass... the new version is super cool, a few little things to do yet, but the main design is pretty much done. Been a busy month, I got to see my friend Alana Rush, who I haven't seen in over a year. She had been traveling the world doing cool stuff. When she finally moved back to the states, it just happen to be 45 minutes from me. I just found out another one of my high school friends moved to Florida, MA as well. Hopefully we'll get back in touch as well.

I've been really happy with my decision ever since I moved here. I love my job, my neighbors, the weather... pretty much everything about it. I am wickedly stoked about the weather... Fall starts in a few days, but it already feels like it... today was the first day this week to hit 70 degrees! The smell of the air brings back wonderful memories of days before Florida. I don't know how I made it nearly 9 years there... It completely and utterly sucks...

The only thing I miss about Florida is my friends and family... Nithin has already come to visit, he was the first, and he gets many friend points for that (note to all you other friends who haven't yet). Patrice, Brian and maybe Megan are all coming up in early November for the Boston College/FSU game. Patti plans on coming up sometime next month as well. YAY visitors!

When Nithin was here we did a lot of the touristy Boston stuff, so now I know what to suggest to people when they come up to visit me... I'll still use the next few as guinea pigs, but at least now if I have to work, I'll have something to suggest to people...

On the 1st of this month I helped my best friend move. I had to carry heavy furniture down 3 flights of narrow stairs, walk it 4 blocks, and then up another 4 flights of stairs... it took 3 of us 4 hours to get everything, and she claims to have already moved "the majority of it" before I started helping... I was sore for a week...

Not much else besides hanging with the neighbors, waiting for visitors, moving friends, and catching up with old friends has happened as of late, so not much else to blog about...

Labels: best friend, boston, boston college, brian and patrice mankowski, florida state university, megan folts, nithin sathyamoorthy, patti botero, work

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

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

This Friday I am being awarded the "Outstanding Teaching Assistant" award at the Computer Science award ceremony. Pretty cool! I have worked my butt off; I even taught a new class this semester. I am quite honored by it, I'm going to miss working here at FSU.

Labels: award, florida state university, 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

After 9 years of working with HTML it is very hard to guess what is difficult for those who are just beginning to learn it. I have spent the last two weeks doing my best to teach my students the very basics of HTML programming, and they keep coming up with these great questions that I never even would have thought of... Of course, I am technical minded, and most my students seem to be artsy rather then technical, so it is neat to see how they can approach something completely differently than me. I am having a blast teaching it though, and have learned a few things as well (The coolest being the ability to start a ordered list at something other than zero... I've never had a purpose for this, so I never learned it, but then a student asked the question, and so I had to know.)

I've been working hard on the job search, but have very little time to check up on applications... I'm also trying to compile a list of all the projects I've worked on throughout college, this is a lot more time consuming then I had guessed. I've lost some of my code through the years, but I'm going through what I still have and I impress even myself with all the programs I have written. Oh, well, too busy to write more today...

Labels: HTML, 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

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 was told by my boss today that I possess "the skills, knowledge, motivation, and ethics" that make me a perfect fit for Freescale... Pretty nice... I didn't think I would have another internship opportunity next summer because I have finished everything he needed done, but it turns out that he thinks he will need somebody next summer for something similar, yet different... So he hopes he can pull me away from summer classes at FSU so that I can do that, and if he ends up not needing me he said he is going to put in a good word for other departments so that I could still get hired... The exciting thing is that now that I have this internship under my belt, as well as I would be half way done with my Masters degree, my starting salary should be closer to $65-70,000/year ($33/hour... $264/day... $1320/week)... and I'll have nobody to spend it on except for me! They explained how they decide the pay rate by plugging in your credentials and it spits back a number after assessing you... They explained how it assesses you by how much school and how many internships you have had... woot woot... and so if I decide not to stay at Freescale, which I would rather not in the long run, but still, if I don't stay here then I could still say that I made $70,000ish at my last job so I would be making tons when I got out of school... I think I am going to apply for internships at other companies next summer as well... maybe diversity would be better, it doesn't matter where your internships were according to Freescale, but I would think other companies might think otherwise... If I could find an internship at a video game company I would scream... yeah... oh well...

Megan comes to Austin on Wednesday... I am excited to see her... I am going to take off most Thursday and all of Friday so I can chill with her...

I miss my fellow CSers... can't wait to get back to Tallahassee, move into my house, buy a dog, and start programming... I still want to program after programming the whole summer, which is a good sign that I am on the right career path... Oh well...

Labels: austin texas, best friend, freescale, tallahassee, work

Well, I worked for 10 and a half hours yesterday which was good because I don't want to work much this Friday... On Friday we are having a intern picnic so if I only have to go to that and not come into the office, that would be nice... Harry Potter comes out at 12:00 midnight, but if Heather wants to hang out I don't think I am going to the festivities... I preordered mine (Deluxe Edition) through Amazon.com because it was $18 cheaper then in stores... Last night I went to see the Fantastic 4... pretty good... it is unrealistic in my eyes so I liked Batman a ton better but it was still a worth while movie...

After that my uncle started talking about genealogy and I got him really excited about some things I have found out using census records... nerdy, I know, but still, genealogy is so much fun... a HUGE puzzle to solve history... I'll probably be spending a lot of time with him working on that now... Anyways, as I likely mentioned before, my friend Megan is coming to visit in the end of July and that really excites me... she is so much fun... she relaxes me too... I want her to meet Heather too... Oh well, we'll see if anything happens with Heather and I... I want to do something to night but I think she is working... I might just go sit at Chili's and let her serve me B)...

Labels: amazon, best friend, genealogy, harry potter, heather, kelly folts, movie, work

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

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

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

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

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

I spent the morning washing my car... man it is sexy... I got tinted windows yesterday that keeps 58% of the heat out... I read the first chapter of Harry Potter and there is so much that I seemed to have missed the first time I read it because I had no clue what was going to happen in the future... small things, but they are interesting... The first week of work was pretty long and made me realllllllly tired waking up early like that every morning... I am really excited about what I am going to learn though... I get to automate Excel projects to make things that take 30 minutes take 30 seconds instead... of course, I made the mistake of finishing the first one so quick that they are going to expect a ton of me when I still have almost everything to learn... oh well... we'll see how it goes... it is going to be really nice getting memorial day off and still being paid for it... the same with 4th of July... on top of getting those paid for, I get 14.67 hours a month off for anything I want... all this free money is pretty nice... B) Oh well, back to work tomorrow for another full week...

Labels: car, excel, freescale, harry potter, work

I just got through my first day of work, of course it was only orientation, but it was 7 hours of orientation... There was this girl that I swore I had dated before, and the odd thing was that she had the same first name as her too... Well, after talking to her I am sure it is not the same girl because she never lived in Germany and is a year and a half younger, but it has to be her identical younger twin...

I still don't know exactly what I will be doing, I find that out tomorrow, this was just the general stuff about the company, filling out paper work, etc. <yawn> oh well, I got paid $224 for it... not bad at all... that is a lot to make in a day B) every day B)I realized today that the internship is 2 weeks longer than I thought so that is another $2240 I'll make... woo hoo... I need to get my car windows tinted, and maybe buy a new computer... I make enough in a week to do both, it is really hard to find ways to spend the money... I am saving most of it though... I got my first American Express... it will double my warranties on things and all that goodness... Instead of paying rent to my parents when I get back to Florida, I am going to join their mortgage payment and pay 1/3 of it so that when they sell it I will get 1/3 of it... my first real estate purchase if it all works out... we'll see... well, this morning when I woke up I pulled the pulley on the light to turn it on and the whole dome thingy fell off the fan and shattered on the floor... I thought that that was a perfect start to my day... Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes... I hope I can actually do what they need me to do...

Labels: austin texas, freescale, work

Well, in about 3 hours I have an interview with Freescale, a company that use to be part of Motorola... My uncle works there and told me about an summer internship that I might want... So, I thought why the hell not, and I am going to try... They pay for relocation even... I don't know how much they plan on paying me yet, but if it helps pay for grad school, then yippee... I also applied to be a video game tester in Orlando for $8... that is with EA... that would be sweeeeeeeeeet... I get my foot into the video game industry... which is cool...

If I live here the whole summer then I could start looking for houses in Dallas in case I get accepted to SMU... I am kinda scared to move so far away, but the truth is I really have no reason not to... all I have to think about is myself, which is weird... I am really excited about the thought of it, even though I am scared too... I need to feel like I am at a different stage in my life, because I will be... I don't want to be stuck in the same lonely routine in Tallahassee...

I hope they think I am good enough to get into these gaming schools... I would work like crazy once I got in, the problem is getting in... at least everyone at SMU will remember me because they freaking announced that I drove all the way from Florida during the main presentation by the Director of the school... embarrassing... but oh well... I feel more qualified than the other people there sounded... none of them seemed to know anything about programming... they were all scared about having to program... and I was really really excited about it... Even if I didn't go into video games after graduating, I would be a SUPER DUPER programmer and be able to apply to other places as well... They would teach me a whole bunch of very useful things...

Next week, after my Algorithm's test, I am going to start programming like crazy and finish up my portfolio...

Guess what! I got a 104 on my first intellegent systems test... so now we are done with 50% of the course and I have like a 99.999999... which is sweet... I only need like 40%'s on the rest of the course work to pass... that is a fun class...

OH well, I have to start getting ready for the interview... so yeah... bye

Labels: electronic arts, freescale, gaming, grad school, kelly folts, tallahassee, undergrad, work

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 am super excited to go to Orlando this weekend... I have a high expectation that I will have fun... I guess it is kinda easy to have that expectation when you are going to an amusement park... but I am more excited about chilling with my friends... I've only been here a week and already I have that lonely feeling I was so happy to get rid of when I left here... I guess even when I was down there I had that lonely feeling, it was just easier to find something/somebody to distract me from feeling it...

I have read 2/3 of The Da Vinci Code since yesterday... I seriously cannot put the book down... I want to buy Angels and Demons now so I can start reading it as soon as I am done with this one... I actually bought The Da Vinci Code last semester but never had the time to pick it up and read it because of my huge course load... I am excited about my Intro to Intelligent Systems class... it is going to be easy and interesting at the same time... there is a lot of programming which is my passion... We are making a spam filter for the first project... it'll be fun...

I am starting to stress about all the grad school stuff I have to do... I finally have 3 teachers writing me letters of recommendation, but now there is all this crap I have to do for them so that they can start... I started filling out the application for GuildHall, the gaming school in Texas... that is the one place I really hope I make it into... I really don't want to stay here in Florida... Unless maybe I went to UCF and worked for Electronic Arts while studying there...

I was invited to my friends wedding... the only problem is that it is in Montgomery Alabama... I want to go because then I could dress up and look sexy, but I want to bring a date (so to speak) because I won't know anyone there if I do go... I guess it would be a lot to ask somebody who doesn't know the bride like I do to go to a wedding with me... especially in short notice (it is in 2.5 weeks)... oh well, I might ask somebody...

I start my TA job next week... pretty excited about it... (the money anyway) I got paid this last two weeks too and I didn't even work... $200 a week... yippee... that on top of my lab job which I make about $100 a week, and the website that I do for the sociology department which has really really kicked up in the last month or so (i've been working about 5 hours a week which is up from an average of .25 hours a week) I make $12 an hour on that job... I have a lot of free time still though... in a way I am excited about homework so that I can be distracted from boredom...

Labels: electronic arts, grad school, programming, reading, undergrad, wedding, work

My family is probably going to come up here to out run the hurricane that is coming... FREE FOOD! yay... they said they will most likely be here Thursday night. Depending on where the hurricane is headed of course...

I still love my job, it is the third day now, and I get to sit here and do whatever I want... super... I am at work right now.

I got my new hard drive yesterday and I am getting my new RAM today... my computer will be super... I already have Linux up and running and now I need to install Windows... At least I will have something to do this weekend... either hang out with my family, or work on my computer to get it just right...

The Sims 2 comes out soon, I want to preorder it... They have a DVD edition so you don't have to have a million CD's...

I have maintained my goal weight of 180lbs... I am going to try and loose more though... I use to be 206ish before my diet, and I peaked at 213... my ring doesn't even fit me anymore... my fingers probably weighed 10 of those pounds I lost... he he... I have lost all this weight on a CARB ONLY diet... which I think I should start marketing... I could make millions...

My History teacher is leaving for 2 weeks.... she is going to China to pick up her newly adopted baby (16 months)... if we go to class when she is gone we get extra credit on our midterm... and on this Thursday class is canceled... (we have to do some stupid online thing that takes five seconds instead of doing class) My history textbook is actually interesting, it isn't really textbookish... it is more novelish... and all the questions that she is going to ask us are opinion questions with short answer/essay answers...

Miami/FSU game is this upcoming Monday at I think 8:00... going to be exciting... hopefully we will win for the first time since I became a Seminole.

I have been asking around and it turns out that most people in my major don't have over a 3.0 GPA, they all have like 2.8s and stuff... so it is really looking like I am a strong contender for the National Security Agency scholarship that I want...

I might be a TA next semester, but I am afraid of looking stupid... but if I am a TA I get paid at least $10 an hour and no matter how much you work you get paid for 20 hours a week... so if I did that, and this, and the website I would be a full time employee and might be able to get a faculty decal...

I might be getting Gmail in the next few weeks... which is an invite only thing... so I am excited... (Gmail is Google's new mail thingy that is all the rage) I will be able to invite some people after I have had the account for a while... if anyone is interested let me know...

Ok, I am boring so DONE

Labels: electronic arts, florida state university, football, hurricane, undergrad, work

I have a job interview this Thursday for a webmaster... hopefully this one will work out... and it pays as well... I haven't gotten much feedback from this person, but it is for a non-profit organization "Collegiate Leadership Academy"... non-profit could spell trouble because I need money... but we'll see... that means I have to shave though... I haven't shaved in almost 3 weeks... Yeah, anyways... just was excited...

Labels: work

I am getting a modem for my computer that lets me have caller ID on my computer... I know that doesn't sound that great, but with the amount of calls my roommates get, I will know without running to the phone who is calling... I can also set it up to automatically hang up on certain people... I am really excited about it...

I totally have fixed my computer up in the last few days, instead of studying... it is running better than it did when I built it...

I can't decide if I want to go to grad school or not... I decide I am going to apply for this scholarship that is just for FSU students... FSU's Computer Science department is one of 36 Universites that is NSA (National Security Agency... A government agency) certified... Being certified the CS department alone gets over $1,000,000 a year to give to their students that will promise to work for them for 2 years (work for the NSA for 2 years)... well, FSU actually has barely enough people applying for this scholarship... so they say it is pretty easy to get...

Benifits: All food, books, housing, tuition paid for, plus $8,000 a school year (2 semesters) spending money... (that is $1000 a month spending money)... and $55,000+ starting salary... (which isn't quite the average starting wage getting out of college with a masters, but they paid for it, unlike others... The starting wage is more like 65,000)

I just don't know if I am interested in the security... but that would be a great opertunity whether I liked it or not... I don't know... the two downfalls about it is 1) don't get to choose where I would move... most likely would be DC, which isn't bad... but still... 2) sign 4 years of my life away... (2 years for masters, 2 for job)

Oh well, give me your opinions if you have any...

Labels: florida state university, grad school, work

Hola friends, Francisca won't stop talking to me on my cell phone so I got out of it by telling her I was going to write here... he he... j/k (I just have to stand outside in the sun in order to talk on my cell phone so it was a pain... she wanted me to talk to her for 3000 hours... but I was like "uh, yeah")

Anyways, I miss my titters, I think I am going to go there this weekend... Roach insists that her new "LCD" is better than my "CRT" (flat screen is better than my big, bulky monitor) but she is uberly wrong...) she wants me to see her's, and she wants me to fix her computer... we might even go all the way down to Orlando because it is the titter sister's birthday... doubt it though, titters has to work...

My Aunt is finally telling the parents at her school about the website... I am really excited, now people will actually be using it... it won't just sit there looking pretty... which of course it is... B) She is also going to start paying me $30 a month to maintain it... B)

Ken's office messed up on my taxes, they told the government that I earned more than I did, so she said she would pay the difference, the thing is, I think the difference is $300 because I actually earned so little that there was no taxes... but yeah... that is still exciting...

Sebastian, the super cool dude, gave me his old GForce 3 (a REALLY cool video card)... it is like 4 times better than my old one... he is super awesome and I thank him...

I am officially broke... I have to get my dad to pay me back for gas that I used to get home...

I sent my resume to Bob Myers (That Human Resource Manager for all of Reebok) he is editing it for me and then sending it off the the "important person" at EA...

I have no food here... I need to go grocery shopping...

Labels: christina roach, electronic arts, francisca amunategui, kristen foster, sebastian amunategui, work

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