The good, the bad and the busy

I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible.

The Good: had a great week/weekend. I went to the science museum with Katie on Saturday (body worlds was really interesting), to the Legion in Hopkins on Friday with Erin and others (and met 6 oles and others and had good beer) and today I'm going to be watching MI3 with Christian after creating an inventory of the contents located in our storage in Burnsville. Tomorrow I'll be flying off to my first business trip to Boston. I'll be visiting a wire & cable expo to learn more about the industry and the terms used in it. Then I'll have to pack up my stuff soon cause I'll be moving to Oakdale beginning of next month - to be closer to work. I'll be living in a 1br apartment (but a pretty nice one!). Problem is I'm moving on the 1st and on the 2nd I have this: the trip to Germany - for my mother's b-day, class reunion and wedding. Gosh, I'm going to be busy!

The Bad: hmm, I'm not going to get into this one. A couple of things are bothering me, but they ain't nothing I'm going to do about. I did my part and I'm going to ignore my anger to the best I can and what helps is being busy. Good stuff. Oh, and I still smoke, ugh....

The Busy: Did I mention it already? I'm going to be busy.

Ha, now that was short. One thing though. I've noticed again that I haven't posted a picture. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures in Boston. So if I do manage to find time to do that I'll put them on here asap.

"I'm too busy...no time to talk!"

First off all I want to say is that "I'm too busy...no time to talk!" translates into a loud "Fuck off I've got better stuff to do than to talk to you!!!" Yeah, people are busy, but seriously, isn't that just another way of saying that you don't want to allocate the little time it would take to have a chat, phone call, or hang out? Sure there are times that you actually have things to do (like meetings, dates or bedtime or times when you're sick), but thats not what I'm talking about. Its more when somebody says they can't call you because they're busy, or when they say that they'ld give you a call and never do. It sure sucks when it starts getting one-sided. Feeling guilty already? Well, this isn't really directed to anybody so don't worry. Though one thing more: I you have time to spend a lot of time on the internet, playing computer games, or watching tv, then maybe you should feel guilty.

I admit that I feel some guilt myself.

And I'm also trying to adjust to the post college life of having noone around...'bout time to start joining those fun 3M clubs and make new friends I guess

Got trip? Got celly? Got bills?

Wr0d! Here are a couple of nice new things:

I'm flying to Boston on the 22nd of this month. Then on the 2nd I'll be flying to Germany (80% certainty). Boston is going to be a wire expo and the flight to Germs will be thanks to my mothers b-day, class reunion, and finally my cousin's wedding! Wow, they sure don't come one at a time!

I ordered a new celly for my busy self :) - as a gadget freak I just couldn't let myself live with this little poop of a phone from Siemens. So instead, I got the Blackberry 8700c....man, this thing is going to make me happy and keep me there for another 3 or 4 years! I can't wait!

Eh nice? Not really...I have a bunch of bills creeping up on me - 1) gotta start paying back to my second college loan :( 2) Had to pay some for my new apartment in Woodbury 3) cell phone bill ...and bunch of others...eek :(

Ha!

I know now why I was being f'ed up. I'm not getting enough sleep and I'm not working out enough. I'm gonna wake up tomorrow at 4am and go run and bike for 1 1/2h. That will do me good! Sucks to be you reading all these confused and depressed (was it?) blog entries. Anyhow, things are going to be better...speaking of which, I got a new laptop! Its kick ass and sleek lookin! Oh yea!!

Getting over things

There are always things you need to get over. They are things that started in the part and keep on bugging you and influencing the type and style of life you have. For one there is smoking - a bad habit I picked up quite a long time ago. There are a lot of occasion in which I have to go out of my way, make myself look bad and pest others with my ashtray breath so I can enjoy that little stick of joy - oh and when I'm really quiet its because of the breath - something at least. I really need to get over the thought that its a part of my life and quit it for once and all...urgh, I could use some help with this one.

And then there are other things that I rather not go into detail. I cause some changes and for the time being I thought that it was for a good cause. Then it seemed like things won't go back to how it used to be and I was comfortable with it. Now I'm not sure anymore about anything and its starting to bug me again. How is it that something that took place more than 2 1/2 years ago can still plague me like this? Can it go back to how it was, and would that be a good idea? Or should I put more effort into my job and not think of having a life? Ugh, must be a sign that I'm not getting enough sleep. I'm off to bed, good night.

Things in the past few weeks

Ok, its been a while since my last post so bear with me...there is a bunch of things that took place, which will most likely cause this post to be a longer one. But its should be worth the read.

1) Job: I got the job at 3M and tomorrow is going to be my first day. Well, not really the first day at "work", because I'll be doing more of the paper work so that I can work, but it'll be my first official day as a full-time 3M worker. My position is going to be: APD (application and product development) chemist, I've heard a lot of what I'll be doing, but not all the specifics. So in a way I'm excited, but also kind of scared. In any case. its an all new beginning and I really hope that everything goes as planned and that people will like my being there. You'll be reading about my experience there soon. Not much about the technical side, but more of the impressions in a general matter - Can't forget that there is a confidentiality agreement!

2) Car: New tires are awesome. I'm really happy that I chose to get a full new set of tires. Now I have great grip and driving is a lot more fun. Unfortunately that wasn't the only news...My car had some issues last week causing me to arrive at work late and make me poorer by about 400 bucks. The bearings in the front axis (close to the rotars) were used up and not only did the mechanic have to change them, but also replace my fully rusted rotars. Anyways, its all nice and new and the zoom-zoom seems to be pretty much back. I'm still hesitent about my long drives everyday, but hopefully that'll change soon. Anybody want to room with me in east St. Paul area? I could use a trusty roomy.

3) Parents: They're here...here being in MN. My father and mother, both are here to visit and its been great to see them again. They are both in good shape and I feel much better about them being so far away - I was really worried that I may have to move back to Germany sometime soon, but I'll be a while till that happens. For now they'll be enjoying life while I try to get my carrier started. Tomorrow there is going to be a dinner party in Sun Fish Lake and I'm really looking forward to my mother's Japanese food. Yummm!

4) Random other stuff: I went to a wedding yesterday. It was the wedding of a childhood friend of mine, and I'm really happy to see him and his wife tie the knot. They are both great people and I can see them getting old happily together - just the way anybody would dream it to be. I wish I could say that I've met that girl (maybe I did a while ago-but that the past and I have noone to blame but myself) - maybe someday soon...or maybe not. Ain't my priority right now anyways...or so I tell myself.

I gave up on the triathlon stuff for this year. I'm going to continue training, but it won't be with a goal. Next season though I would like take part in a couple of sprint and olympic distance triathlons...and hopefully I'll get a decent position. I'm going to have to start planning my training for the fall and winter soon!

One thing I really need to stop is smoking. I've been smoking for over half my life, and though its a part of my "self" I really need to quit. Not only for the triathlon, the money, and how people percieve me, but also cause I need to prevent that cancer stuff growing in me (I know I could get some other type of cancer anyways, but lowering the probability should be always something to think of).

Alright, so thats about it I guess. Here is a nice little thing I found on a friend's myspace blog post. Its funny as hell and I had to copy and paste it.

HOW MANY MINNESOTA COLLEGE STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?


1. At Bemidji State University, none, Bemidji doesn't have electricity yet.
2. At Bethel, it takes none. They don't screw.
3. At Carleton, it takes two. One to change the bulb and one to explain how they did it every bit as well as any Ivy Leaguer.
4. At Concordia, it takes ten. One to figure out how to screw it in, nine to find an ugly enough lampshade to match there school colors.
5. At Gustavus, it takes six. One to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.
6. At St. Kate's, it takes seven and each one gets four semester credit hours for it.
7. At Hamline, it takes three. One to change the bulb and two to phone a friend at St. John's to get instructions.
8. At Macalester, it takes four. One to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get high off the old one.
9. At Mankato State University, it takes 1, but it takes him 6 years.
10. At Moorhead State University, it takes 3, one to change it and 2 to crack under the pressure.
11. At St. Ben's, it takes 4,one to change the light bulb and 3 to figure out how it will help them meet their future husband.
12. At St. John's, it takes none. We get the Young Tommie Sluts to do it for us, and they make us lasagna.
13. At St. Mary's, it takes five. One to change it and four to talk about how they would have done it in Chicago.
14. At St. Olaf, it takes 100. One to change it, 49 to talk about how they do it better than Carleton, and 50 who realize it's all a lie.
15. At St. Thomas, it takes eight. One to change it and 7 to bitch about how they wouldn't have gone to St. John's/St. Ben's even if they could have gotten in.
16. At University of MN St Paul, none, down town St. Paul looks better in the dark.
17. At University of MN Twin Cities, 4, one to change the bulb, and three to write up a complaint to the Board of directors stating that they could have gone to a better school If they had wanted.
18. At the University of MN Duluth, the whole student body, there's nothing else to do in Duluth on the weekends.
19. At University of MN Morris, it takes 1; he just holds the bulb and waits for the world to revolve around him.
20. At Winona State University, it takes 3, one to change it and 2 to figure out how to turn it on.
21.At St. Cloud State University, it takes 0- they don't know how

Take care y'all! And thanks for reading it till the end...and if not...then you won't be reading this so nevermind.

Spring...the time of changes?

Nothing big this time...sadly. But I did manage to get some new summer tires. I bought them online and had them shipped to me last week, and now they're on my car. Here is a picture of the tires, both new and old.
I like that you can see the difference in thread deapth. I got these new tires put on my car (yes, i didn't do it myself, i'm lame...) and boy, what a difference it makes! I feel more stable going straight (stronger resistance to wind?) and cornering, well, all I want to say that its hella fun. Here is a zoom up of both the old and the new tires. It should be apparent which tire is which.




Otherwise I should hear today more on the new potential job at 3M. The rest of the procedure should be more or less a formality, meaning that its about 99% sure that I'll be getting the position. I can't wait to learn new things and to have more challanges.

NO WAY!

Can you believe this? I can't! Gizmodo was talking about a flashdrive with a size of 64GB!!! Here is a picture of it.

It doesn't look great considering that the price is $2800 - I expected it to transform into a supercomputer or make the owner look much better, but apparently it won't. But I think that this will lead to pretty cool technologies. I'm thinking of smaller laptops, mp3 digital camera cell phones with huge data capacities and more cars using usb flashdrives to play music (ok, this one may be redundant). I'm sure the price will fall fast once other competitors come out with the same drive. I'll give it 3 years till its down to today's price of a 512MB drive. Anyhow, great news!

One step closer

Its raining, raining, and raining.... And driving 1h back from work today seemed like an eternity - esp. with the traffic jams growing out of nowhere. Anyways, so thats sort of how I'm feeling right now. Instead of being efficient and cleaning the mess that has been spreading around like a forestfire, I sat down and am updating my blog while watching "the perfect murder" with Gwynith Paltrow (sp?), Michael Douglas and Aragorn (whats this actors name?). ...oh man, Aragorn and Gwynith are having sex right now. And now its over...finally.

And so I got sidetracked. Back to whats more important - I'm closer than ever to get my foot into 3M. I received the job offer and now its all about the drug-tests and background screening. If all this goes well, and there is no reason it shouldn't, I should be working at Dyneon 3M starting next month. I'm very excited about this and hope that nothing will get in its way. Its about 99% sure that I have the job, but the 1% is something to fear of. If this goes well, I'll have a great job that I can be at for years. And when I have enough experience, I could either go for a MBA or if I really get into the chemistry side of it, even a PhD. Anyways, so thats my carrier life.

The personal life is sadly more than lacking. I've got friends I see every week, but don't really feel like I have a person to talk to on a daily basis...some call them girlfriends. Oddly I'm not really looking around, even though there are times I would wish for nothing more than some warmth. Bah, lame shit. Though the girlfriend stuff ain't looking all too great, I may be getting some more company. Ari is coming back to MN and may be looking to live in the twin cities. Since living alone is getting a little boring, so I may move over to the St. Paul area and room with him. It would be pretty sweet...playing WarCraft 3, chilling out and driving around with our cars, leaving a cloud of dust behind...mind you, hes a bit more crazy when it comes to dirt roads.

So next week will be interesting. I'll find out if I'll be rooming with Ari, if I got the job and when I'll start, and maybe I'll meet some interesting girl/woman at Dyneon (haha, doubt it cause I'll be head deep in work). The future looks always nice when its painted colorful.

Ugh

Had a bad dream. Seems that some decisions from my past just keep on haunting me. I made this one choice because I saw zero hope in it, and I still believe that I was right. Still, I have these sad happy and peaceful dreams that just make me real unhappy. Time to get a job that consumes my soul I guess - no better way to avoid such relapses when you're too busy :)