Yo, yo, yo! Merry Chris"sizzle"!

Yeah, that's my best attempt, whatever.
I guess it's been a week since writing so I thought I'd put up another post for your viewing pleasure.
Starting with recent events, I woke up this morning at 5 AM. This was not just any wake up, it was an "eyes wide open, brain fully functioning, you're not going back to sleep" wake up. I don't know what happened but I decided to get going. Now that I've almost put in a full day (getting in at 6 AM will do that by 11) I'm taking a break to write a bit, you can thank me later!
Let's see...I had Jarom this past weekend for the last time. I know I said that last weekend but Kara called and there was no way I was turning this down.
We didn't do much. We went over to Jim and Kathy Hunt's to visit them one last time. They are so nice. They are going to miss Jarom almost as much as I am. They are almost like another set of grandparents to him. I'm so glad to have friends like that. They are wonderful people.
It was 70 degrees so we went to the park and played for a while but that was about the extent of our weekend.
Sunday my stomach was just turning over and over while I thought of taking Jarom back, and it didn't stop until I dropped him off. I'm really torn up about this. He's such a huge part of my life that not having him close is just going to tear me up. It's going to be a big adjustment to not have him on the weekends. This kind of means I have to start attending the singles ward <>! The good news is I'm going in armed with a girlfriend! That dark and lonely wilderness will have a bit of light because I don't have to face the "meat marketeers". Okay, it's not really that bad. I know a lot of people there and they are great so it'll be good. Plus they just got a new bishop and that can only breathe more life into the ward.
On the personal side, things with LaRee are going great! She's a real sweetie. She's as into me as I am her and we each know where the other stands so there's no (or less) insecurities about hanging out with other people. Okay, that's enough about that, ya'll don't want to know any more than that.
School's out and I pulled a C in calculus which I'm disappointed about but I'll just say I passed and move on. I did get an A in my civil engineering class so there ya go! Next semester doesn't start until Jan 12 so I've got a month of evenings all to myself (any guesses where those are going?) I'll be taking Physics for Engineers and Calculus II next semester. It's 7 credit hours as opposed to the 4 this semester (they were equivalent to 5 or 6). The other difference is that the physics is from 11:30-1 4 days a week which means evenings at the office. I'm a bit concerned about that but I'll adjust I'm sure. On the bright side (if you can call it that) I'll have my weekends to recover!
Alrighty, that's all I got. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (that's probably when I'll write again)

Arms Up, Pants Down! You Know the Drill!

Okay, so the title, although true is simply to get your attention. I felt I needed something a little snazzy to get this party going.
It's that time of year again. The time of year I get scolded for not having made my checkup appointment. For those of you that wonder why I put this off, let me tell you my experience thus far and then let you contemplate that question.
Last week I went to a new doctor here in OKC (just think SLC with OK instead of SL) just to get him to order the C/T scan. His name is Dr. Rodney Miles. He is an OU graduate and has been practicing for 20+ years (all this was in the profile that my insurance gives of doctors). Other than this information and the fact that his office was close to my work, I had no reason for choosing him over any other Dr in the area. Everything was going fine, my appointment was for 2:30 and I arrived at 2:15 knowing that I had a lot of paperwork to fill out. I got the paperwork, scanned the room and estimated that I should be in this waiting room for no more than 20 minutes.
I filled out my information (DOB, SSN, IGN, DOA, CYA, SOB, LOL, etc.) and watched several people go back. I made it to the finals, just me and one other person, and I was right on track for my estimation. This was when things came to a grinding halt! We waited and waited. It was like a staring contest except instead of staring at each other we had to stare at everything else (BTW I'm sure I won)! The clock ticked by, it was 3 o'clock and finally that mystical portal to the wonderful world of wisdom opened. We, the two finalists, sat up in our chairs in great anticipation of whose name would be called, who would win this contest we had never signed up for, who would get to GO SEE THE DOCTOR!
Alas, in the end there are no winners and losers at this office. Only those who are sick and the rare hypocondriac desporately trying to be ill. Once more I wait, but now I wait alone. Once again I attempt to practice my skills of staring from floor to ceiling and wall to wall without moving my head. The clock ticks.
Another half of a century goes by in waiting room time (this equates to roughly half an hour normal time) and finally, one hour after my scheduled appointment time, I go back to see the doctor. Once again I judge amiss. It is not to see the doctor but the Physicians Assistant. She speaks with me for a moment and then leaves me. Once again alone and having lost the epic battle in the waiting room I again practice my staring skills. Side to side, up and down I look keeping my head and neck rigid. Just as I'm getting good the door opens and the doctor enters.
We spoke about something, probably the reason I was there, and he babbled about all that he had seen in the last 20+ years and how whenever he sees something new like this he can't wait to examine it, I don't remember if he said it word for word but in summary he said, "You are a laboratory rat that I will poke and prod and examine until I am satisfied!"
After looking at the scar and pretending to actually feel for any lumps he finally ordered the C/T scan and sent me on my way.
Well, today was the day of the scan. I went to the hospital knowing what to expect having done this 5 or 6 times now.
I went to admissions filled out paperwork and waited. Then I went to imaging, filled out paperwork and waited. Finally I got back to the C/T scan and the first thing I'm told is, "Lie down, arms up and pants down to your hips!"
Aparently the nurse had seen that I had done this before and thought she would be a drill seargent and bark out orders. This didn't phase me becuase there's not much that can make the experience worse. The whole ordeal consists of first a mixture of saline solution and iodine being injected into my bloodstream. This mixture causes everywhere that has a high blood flow to feel warm and to tingle. My face feels flushed, head and ears feel hot, hands and toes tingle etc. Next, with the IV in I had to place my arms above my head and bend them so I can be slid back and forth through a little hole, all while being asked to hold my breath for 30 -45 seconds at a time. Needless to say, the nurse almost made it an inviting experience!
All this said, nothing compares to the waiting of the results. The "what could be's", the analyzing of all my bodily functions for any abnormalities. It's enough to drive someone to write about it all on a blog so that others would understand! :)
Whew! What a long entry. Oh well, the scan is done and the doctor will have the verdict in by the end of the week. I'll let everyone know what I find out.

Weekend With Jarom

This weekend was a bitter sweet one. Since Kara is moving to Utah I realized this would be my last weekend with him before coming to Utah and leaving him there. I had myself all psyched up and ready for that. I had run through all of the emotions and was ready to accept it when Kara called and asked if I could take him this coming weekend. Of course I will but man, I've gotta go through another week of torture!
Anyway, on our way back from Gainesville we stopped in Ardmore to see the outdoor light display they have. Jarom LOVED it! We drove really slow for about 30 minutes through a great display, then hit the road back to Norman. We didn't get back until after 9 so it was straight to bed.
Saturday morning was watching Superman cartoons, courtesy of LaRee, then we went to the Museum of Natural History. This has become a tradition. Unfortunately so has leaving with Jarom kicking and screaming because he is acting up. It starts out small but then quickly escalates.
The good news is once we got home he calmed down, did his time in time-out and was good to go for the rest of the night. We took what turned out to be a 2.5 hour nap and then we made some dinner and then made chocolate chip cookies. They weren't the best but it was just the experience that we were after anyway. Jarom is the sweetest and most thoughtful 3 year old I have ever known. He says and does stuff that is so beyond his age. Compliments and timely comments are so out of character for a kid his age.
So Sunday rolled around and we went to church and then had some lunch. He then asked to watch the "Joseph Smith Movie". It's called The Restoration and it's what we watch on Sundays but usually it's a compromise because he wants to watch Superman or Toy Story. This time it was by his request.
After this we headed back to Gainesville, reluctantly. After dropping him off I had a nice conversation with Chris (Kara's fiance) and then Kara called me and asked an interesting question, "Did Jarom tell you he swallowed a penny?"
I was pretty sure I took the change off of my night stand in the bedroom because when he's not sleeping, Jarom gets into a lot of mischief. Like yesterday I was climbing into bed and found on the bed a pen missing a cap, 4 books from the bookshelf and ALL of the pillows curiously stacked as high as they would go. Not to mention the cord on the horizontal blinds tied in knots! He did this all without a peep to indicate that he was awake.
Back to the penny thing, Kara told him not to ever do that again and threatened to "take away all of his 'money's' and go to the hospital"! She said he really didn't like that! Hard to say what he liked least, the hospital threat or losing his change. Well, do what works I guess. He's a funny kid.


I really like this picture of us


He's a Cheese!


He just wants me to leave him alone


LaRee, in case anyone wants to know what she looks like.

Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is finally finished. LaRee and I went to Wally World last night and got the packing tape I needed to finish my tree. Jarom did the faces of the snowmen and helped put them on the tree. LaRee and I did the little balls and put them on last night. I'm pumped to have a tree. I also got those pine cones that smell like cinamon and put them in my place so now it smells like Christmas when I walk in. I'm not sure what Sazurak thinks of it all but she's good to leave the tree alone so that's all I can ask for.



Here's the tree



LaRee made this in the snow we got last week. It was a lot of snow!


This is my crazy cat!

All Work and No Play...?Whatever!

Well, somehow between work, school, Jarom every other weekend and life in general I managed to do it! I now officially have a girlfriend. I know, I know, I was the first one saying this wouldn't/couldn't happen, but somehow it did. No worries, it's not like I'm going to go off and get married or anything rash like that, I'm not ready for that. I'm taking baby steps. It took me a while to get back on the horse, then it took me a while to get used to getting bucked off of the horse, now I'm on a new horse and I'm just going to ride this one at a nice and slow stroll. Wow, that horse analogy went way too far! I'm sure if she reads this I'll be hearing about it.
You probably want some juicy details so I'll tease you with a few. Her name is LaRee. She's a blonde. (not sure why I decided that was a juicy detail but whatever) She's a very good artist, painting and drawing. She has a pretty heavy crush on Superman, but I'm okay with that. Everyone has to have something they are moderately obsessed with, for some it's shoes, for other's sports yet other's with getting into others' business, hers is Superman. Could be worse, right? She is from Arizona but moved out here to live with her brother who is attending OU. We met playing volleyball on Wednesday nights a couple of months ago. She's got a great sense of humor but she can also get serious (but not too serious).
I'll be honest, getting to this stage was tough. You don't get much practice at almost being a couple. Now that we're over that hump it should be smooth sailing. I feel pretty comfortable with "Relationship JD" and "Independent JD" is doing well for himself too. As long as I can keep the two worlds from colliding I'll be just fine.
It's really nice to have someone who thinks your special, someone to think about in dull moments, a shoulder to cry on (metaphorically of course, I don't cry...ehem, uh can we change the subject?) I had almost forgotten how nice it is. Because of the divorce and because I took some time to be away from women I think I got my head right and I'm in a good, healthy relationship. It's been a long time in the making but it's great!

Winter Wonder Wha...???

Living in Norman, Oklahoma, the weather capital of the world, I have come to understand a few things about weather. First is, when they say "chance of rain" it usually means torential downpour in some locations but sunny skies for most. When they say "sunny and warm", they mean no clouds with gale force winds. More recently I have learned that when they say "BLIZZARD CONDITIONS" you had better stock up on groceries, get a couple movies and bust out the cribbage board cause you're stayin' home. Oh no, no, not because you couldn't get to where you wanted to go, but because all of the other people that are out are out for blood! I don't know exactly what they are thinking but I'm sure it's something along the lines of, "Awe gosh darn fiddlesticks, I got me this hya fo-wheel drav, I'll git er done!"
I can understand that for someone of this level of intelligence it would seem logical that because you can accelerate on any surface with relative ease, you would also be able to decelerate on any surface. However, I feel it my duty to tell anyone living in an area that has yet to discover the chemical reaction that salt has on ice (hint: it's not a chemical reaction), you still have only the same four wheel brakes that anyone out there has, and if you're going 300 mph you will need much, much more room to stop!
I also discovered another thing that fascinates me, in these blizzard conditions bars can still legally be open! Oh yeah, this is what we need, idiots adding liquid courage to there arsenal of cold weather driving gear! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe we should allow the bars to stay open during winter blizzards. We should even give everyone that goes in gets the keys to a brand new, two-wheel drive, half-ton pickup. "Yeah, you get your choice, the one out back in stuck in the snow drift or the one turned sideways on the hill side just outside of town!"
Anyway, the point is that without even knowing it, the National Weather Service, while trying to predict the weather, is actually predicting human behavior. Next time they call for blizzard conditions I'll understand completely. It's not a blizzard of snow and ice, it's a blizzard of complete morons!

Turkey Weekend or Weekend of Turkeys?

Hey there! Man what a weekend. I had Jarom all weekend! I was extrememly nervous about having him for more than 2 days but we settled right in and had a blast. On the drive home we noticed that the frontage roads in Ardmore, OK are totally decorated for the holidays. I think we're going to have to make a trip out there and drive them. It looks like it goes for a mile or more.
On Thursday we had some invitations to go some places but nowhere I felt comfortable so Jarom and I went to Wally World, which was open all day, and bought pork chops! We watched cars several times this weekend but neither of us were sick of it. He was quoting lines the rest of the weekend.
After cooking up the chops and downing them we went back to Walmart to get stuff to decorate the christmas tree. Friday morning we went to Lowes and picked up a tree for $25! Then we spent the day decorating between going to the park and making laps around the apartment building. We both actually took a 2 hour nap (boy it's been a long time!).


It should be noted that the theme for this tree is "paper". I still have to put on the little paper "globes". I'll post the picture when it's done and the lights are on. I'm proud of this tree!
Saturday we finished the decorating and I got my laundry done. Then we did the most important thing all weekend, watched the OU game! Oh what a game too! They won and took the Big 12 South Division Title! We came home to find Seinfeld Season 7 in the mailbox. Jarom crashed early and I started in on the Seinfeld! This season has The Soup Nazi so you can bet I was excited!
Sunday was just another Sunday. We went to church took some pictures and headed south to Gainsville. To be honest I was extremely sad to let Jarom go. It was great having him here and I can hardly wait for the next two weeks to go by so I can have him again.

Fun weekend

I tend to start all of these out with "Well," so I'm putting this sentence in to change that.
Well, it's been a while so I thought I'd give an update. I had a great weekend. I went to James' house Friday and watched 6 or 7 episodes of Seinfeld. Giddeup! James is such a mimbo!
Saturday was a sleep in day and then I watched the OU game, they won in spite of 5 turnovers.
I played an amazing game of ultimate frisbee Saturday afternoon. Believe it or not I'm actually pretty good at that sport. I can put the frisbee just about anywhere I want. They call me the Quarterback. Well, at least one guy does. :) But it's nice to be able to throw it the ENTIRE length of the field. It really spreads the defense when I get the disc.
Anyway...that night I had a date. Not the first one I've been on, just the first one i've advertised. She was 28 (only a couple of months older than me) and has 2 girls (4 and 2).
A friend of mine set us up so it was a blind date, but I felt pretty comfortable. She was cute and easy to talk to. We had a great time. I don't feel any pressure to call her soon though because I'm enjoying being single (not to mention there are other more promising things on the horizon but that's just between us...wink wink).

Sunday was Stake Conference and we had a visiting General Authority in town. Elder Wood from the quorum of the Seventy. He was a very dynamic speaker and really made a great impression on everyone there. The Stake President is also an amazing man and very down to earth. All-in-all the conference was awesome and the spirit was really strong. I think it convinced me that I need to take notes when I go to those things, or at least be ready to even if I don't write anything.
Sunday afternoon I went to a friends house. She cooked Chili and invited a ton of people, including the missionaries! We sat around and chatted and threw a little foam PBS&J car around the room. It made for great conversation (and a bit of spilled chili thanks to me...oops!)
Last night I watched Singing in the Rain with LaRee. I love that movie! The company was great too. We also watched my goofy cat go spastic!!! She's a nut at about 8PM.
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because I'll have Jarom. I'm also a bit nervous because it'll be for 5 days instead of the usual 2.5. I don't know what to do with him. Not to mention Thanksgiving day! Oh well, it will just be us and it will be fun.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I bought Seinfeld Season 7 and it will be here Wednesday so I'll have the whole weekend to watch all the new old episodes. I'm pumped. I'll probably have some folks cycling through in the evenings to watch the episodes with me.

TA&M vs OU

Well, I went down to College Station, Tx this past weekend and had a blast!!! It's about 360 miles away and the trip down took me 6 1/2 hours, thanks mostly to a 3 semi accident. One semi went head-on into two others. It was not good. All three truck cabs were completely gone as well as most of the trailers. No one survived. It caused traffic to be stopped on I-35 in both directions for 2 hours but I caught the tail end of it.
Once in College station I went to Midnight Yell practice. It was really cool. A&M fans get together at the stadium at midnight and do a bunch of yells and chants and stuff. There were several thousand people there! Unbeknown to me they turn the lights out at one point and your supposed to kiss who you're with. We I had no prior warning until the lights went out and Kristine told me. I am not a spur of the moment kisser even in this type of a situation so I didn't do anything. Hope I didn't embarass her or offend her, sorry Kristine!
So the next day we met up early because ESPN College Gameday was there doing their broadcast. We got there around 8:30 and stayed until it was over at 11. There were a ton of signs and people. It was really a lot of fun.
That afternoon we met up with some more of Kristine's friends and went to lunch for her friend Lindsey's birthday. Kind of funny that it was on November 4th. I kind of feel like I didn't miss Angie's b-day because I went to one.
We hung out until closer to gametime and headed to the game. It was quite an experience. I won't give the play-by-play but I will say OU dominated the first half then barely hung on to win by 1 point in the second half. It was ironic to say the least that the last play of the game A&M had 12 men on the field and would have given the first down to OU had they not gotten it! (A&M is famous for the "12th Man" being the crowd) I couldn't help but yell out, "Thank you 12th man!!!" I think every Aggie in the section shot me a dirty look, it was awesome!
Well, I left the next morning and made it back in 5 hours! Not too bad for a Sunday drive. I missed church though which really stunk. But I did get to go the the Gladys Knight presentation that night. Let me tell you that was amazing. It was very similar to a baptist church where there was testimony with singing of the choir and we were encouraged to clap and sing along. It was pretty refreshing to feel the spirit in that unique kind of way. I had a lot of fun.

Me & Kristine at Midnight Yell Practice


Me and Kristine at ESPN College Gameday


The Jumbotron!


Me and Kristine at the game

Last Night

Well, the girl I spoke of in the post yesterday came over last night. I was pumped!
When she walked in the door the first thing she said was, "I come bearing gifts," as she proceeded to pull out a bag of candy, popcorn and apple cider! Awesome!
We chatted while we made cider and popcorn. A bunch of small-talk really, but not the cumbersome kind. It was really pleasant and smooth flowing.
Once the cider and popcorn were ready we were set to watch the movie. She brought 2 to choose from. We chose one (I don't remember the title, but I do remember the plot) and watched it. It wasn't the "scary" we were going for but it was good as old 1940's movies go. I really like that old theater type acting in those movies.
After the movie we talked for about an hour or so and probably could have talked longer but I was a party pooper and needed to go to bed. We talked about a ton of things; family, friends, high school, short-term plans, etc. I have needed that for a long time. The whole time we talked Sazurak (the cat) kept vying for attention. (this cat is a total heart melter! She's gonna win me over with any cat lovin' girl)
Not a bad little date, I can definitely say I've had much, much worse! In fact this one could have gone south and STILL not been as bad as some of the dates I've been on!
Well, we left it deciding that we will have to watch the other movie sometime this week (do you think she planned that by bringing 2?) because I'm going down to College Station for the OU/A&M football game. That will be a fun road trip! 6 hours in the car all by myself on a Friday afternoon! Believe me I'll take plenty of pictures and post them here and on my facebook profile.
I'm still trying to figure out this blog thing. I wonder if I'm getting too personal. I don't want to put too much of my life out here because people could take advantage of that by gossiping or adding their own little assumptions to what I write. I guess that's the risk you take. Believe me, I'm not going to start getting into feelings or deep emotional reflections or anything like that. I'm sure that's the last thing anyone wants to read. I'll just be sure that I read this from a third person point of view and if it clears that it should be appropriate.
Lastly, here's a Jack Handy quote to lighten the mood and your day:
"Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the persons house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of it's head with a note that says 'You.' After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done."

Weekend Update (without Tina Faye or Kevin Nealan)

Well, here's a quick update of my weekend. I honestly don't remember what I did on Friday. I don't know what's been going on with me lately but my memory for appointments is really slipping. I had 4 things on 4 different nights last week and didn't make it to any of them. I either totally forgot or I just messed the time up so I missed it anyway. Time to get a planner I guess.
Anyway, Saturday I went to my buddy Jim Hunt's place to watch the football game. We had a great time, especially since OU won! We then got invited by his neighbor Jakie (an ex OU football player and millionaire) to watch the remaining games at his place on his 62" plasma and then simultaneously watch 2 more games on his two 48" plasmas!!! As if that wasn't good enough, in walks the Dean of the College of Engineering!!! This is a guy I will definitely get to know! We watched some good games and then I had to leave to go pick up my new cat. Yup, that's right, I decided to get responsible and get a cat. I thought about a dog but I just don't want to have to take it to the bathroom and all that jazz. A cat can take care of itself. Boy is this one an awesome cat too! She spent nearly every moment I was home this weekend sitting on my lap and purring or playing! Her name is Sazurak (that's what was given and she knows it).
After playing for a bit I decided to go to a costume party. I got a costume together thanks to mom, I went as a missionary (found my old nametags). It went over well and got a good reaction from everyone at the party, and everyone I've told about it!
Sunday was just a regular sunday. I went to church then went to a buddy's place for some grub and to play the guitar. I've got about 5 songs under my belt (not too bad for 2 weeks) and calused fingertips. I've also got a sore shoulder from strumming. Oh well, I'll get used to it I'm sure. That's about it for me. Oh yeah, I'm watching a Hitchcock movie tonight with a cutie from the singles ward. She's not completely my type but no one in the ward is and she's mildly interested in me so... No worries, I'm just looking for someone to have a good time with anyway, don't plan on any wedding bells for a very, very long time, at least from me right Dane?

Generic Update

I guess it's been a couple of days since I've written anything so here's what's been happening.
I spent the weekend with Jarom and as usual it was busy. We went to Jim and Kathy Hunts which is a regular occurrence when Jarom is in town and there is a home game. Jarom got his fill of the toys at their place and I got my fill of Kathy's cooking (she has had recipes published in Southern Living Magazine)!!
We then started to go to the family fun zone that the institute puts on a couple of hours before game time. The institute building is only 2 blocks from the stadium so they give out free hot dogs, brauts and water to passers by. They also have 3-54" HD televisions showing all the college games that are on for that adults. The kids can play on the giant air-field fun-houses and there is no alcohol or smoking allowed on the property! It's a ton of fun.
Well, as I said Jarom and I headed out but I realized that the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees from earlier that morning and we were not dressed for it.
We went home and bundled up in T-shirts, sweatshirts, coats and hats and headed on our way. We got there and found the free hotdogs and brauts but no fun houses! Well the wind was blowing from the north at about 20-30 mph so I guess they decided not to set them up :(
Well, Jarom and I went to dinner and found that the service is great during the game because the restaurants are empty! We played around for a while longer and then he went to bed and I hit the books.
It's a good thing I did too! I had a calculus test yesterday that was brutal! I fought through it and I actually think I did well. I tanked the question about finding the area of a non-right triangle with only two sides and an angle in radians given, then differentiating that equation to find the rate of change of the area as the angle increased by .05 radians/sec (huh, go figure, I bombed that one?)
This class has really challenged me. I'm going to do my best to get an A so that I can raise my GPA to over 3.4 and I can join the Honors Society on campus. The perks of that are smaller classes and better instructors so there's real incentive for me. The only draw back is the times of the classes but it might be a good trade off, especially since the math professors here are GENIUS' but they SUCK at teaching!
We'll see. Wish me luck that I did well!
Oh yeah, there is something really cool happening this Wednesday. Here's the background. There is this group on campus called the EWB and they donate their time and engineering knowledge to the community and also to help one international community per year. They are new here on campus and in need of funding. Well I really liked their goals and it just happened that PBS&J has a Foundation that gives money to these causes. We sent in an application and the company awarded $3000 to the EWB! We make the presentation tomorrow! I'll post pictures.
The other thing that came of it was that PBS&J felt that this was a cause that they wanted to support nation-wide and they want it to be an organized attempt so they needed someone to head it up. The amazing thing is they asked me to do that!!! I was shocked! So far it hasn't been anything but I'm working on making it something. We'll see how it goes.
Boy, that's a novel, sorry.

A civil engineer much, much sooner than later!

Something really funny happened to me in my Civil Engineering class today. To give some background though, on Monday our professor sent out an email and asked us to go to the USGS website and see how much the local reservoir had filled with the heavy rains we had received over the weekend. Well, I haven't had anything to do at work for over a week and I was bored to tears, so I checked it out. (okay so maybe it's true that I was a bit bored but it's probably more true that I really was interested to know how much rain we got!)

So, today I was in class and the professor asked if anyone had done what he had suggested. No one raised their hand and I knew that he knew that I had done as suggested so I just left well enough alone and kept my mouth shut and hand down. In an attempt to be nonchalant and inconspicuous, I was having a quiet conversation with the guy next to me. Well, he heard the professor's question and in response said, "What kind of a nerd would you have to be to have gone and done that?"
Just then the instructor said, "I know one of you looked at this," then he looked directly at me and continued, "JD, you looked this up didn't you?"

I guess I knew I was tagged on both accounts, so I raised my hand and said, "Yes I did. I know I'm a loser!"
Well, I probably don't have to tell you that the guy next to me was really embarrassed. The good news is we kind of know one another pretty well so we had a good laugh over it. I mean, really, what are the chances that he would say that to me and I was the only one that was the "nerd" in class? (I can hear my brother and sisters saying, "We always knew he was a nerd!")

So I guess this is just more proof that I'm in the right profession. It's also proof that I will be a Civil Engineer much, much sooner than later!

Pictures

This is Kate and me at the races over the summer






This is Erin making sure the end of this 2x4 is level. That's me in the background supervising.


This is some kid that kept calling me "Dad". He's cute and smart so I kept him, not sure what his name is though :p

Jarom is a blossoming photographer (he took this)!

I took this not too far from where I live. Not bad huh? I have it framed and on my wall along with two others.

This is me at Turner Falls. As it turns out Turner Falls is a weekend hotspot for the Hispanic community all over Texas. The only people we saw were hispanics with Texas license plates.

If the pants fit???

An interesting event took place last night, here's the story:

I had to stay home and do homework so I decided it was a great time to do laundry as well. Laundry is a laborious task because I have to go to the Laundromat in my complex but before that I usually have to get quarters and in order to get quarters I have to go get cash, so you can see how much of a chore this is.
After getting quarters, separating out my clothes and getting to the Laundromat, I loaded my clothes into the washers and went to do some homework. 45 minutes went by and I went back to change them from washer to dryer. Well, someone had left their clothing in the dryers thus occupying them all, except for one. This suited me just fine because jeans always need more time to dry. I promptly put them in the dryer and waited for the return of the dryer hog to claim their now dry clothes.
When the lady finally arrived around 9PM I tagged right behind her and as she emptied a dryer I filled it and started it. I also checked that my jeans were still drying.
I left for about an hour and upon my return found that my clothes were completely dry. I started pulling them out to take home and fold and as I approached the last dryer, the one with my jeans, I found it to be empty!!!
"Surely someone simply moved my clothes to another dryer," I thought.
Checking all of the dryers I came up empty for my clothing but found another dryer to still contain someone else's clothes. I contemplated taking those clothes and holding them for ransom (assuming they whose clothes these were possessed mine). I decided against that and came to the frightful realization that every last pair of nice jeans that I owned, minus what I had on, was gone along with a nice pair of new shorts!
I was really upset but the only conclusion I came to that would give me any closure and peace is that whoever took them must have a greater need for them than I did. I really believe that to be true and had they asked I would like to think that I would have given up every last thing I owned in the Laundromat! I'm working on being able to believe that 100%.
In the mean time, I will be going to Ross or TJ Maxx to purchase some new pants. I will also be taking back the new OU Hoodie I just purchased. A bit more good news is that I actually have a bit of cash in the kitty that I can use to take care of this unforeseen need (just can't seem to keep it there).

Sooner or later a Civil Engineer

Sooner or later a Civil Engineer

Man, what a weekend!
It started with LaRisa's birthday party. There was guitar hero and kareoke party! It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of cool people.
The next day was OU football. The game was awesome except for the fact that AD broke his collarbone and is out for the rest of the season, bye bye AD!!!
I went to Jim's place for more football watching and food. Those folks are awesome.
While I was there I got a phone call from a buddy of mine wanting me to double with him and his girlfriend. His girlfriends best friend was in town and they didn't want her to feel like a tag-along. No problem, right? I no sooner accepted the offer than I was informed of the "situation". She had a boyfriend!
"Well," I thought, "the only way this could get worse is if she is cute." I guess I should have known that I was jinxing myself because she was CUTE! 5'3", strawberry blonde, slim, well dressed and personality!
Now I had a decision to make, go in guns blazing and turn on the charm (it's a little rusty but I think I've still got it) or "just be friendly". The pacifist in me took over and I went the friendly route and I'm glad I did because she was as "cold as ice" (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/foreigner/cold+as+ice_20054885.html)
I ended up having a very pleasant conversation with my friends girlfriend and enjoying the bricktown area of OKC and the scenery that was accompanying me, if by definition only.
We exchanged pleasantries and they were on their way! Whew, that was brutal.
Sunday was pretty cool except for one thing, I woke up to my apartment leaking like a sieve!!! Called maintenance and there was nothing they could do until it stopped raining. I put down towels and buckets until today. I secretly hope they can't fix it so I can get out of that place and move somewhere with washers and dryers in the apartment! I HATE laudrimats!

First posting

Well, here we go! I've never done this before but it's so easy!
First things first though, a bit about me.
I'm 27 yrs old and I work for a civil engineering firm where I design roads to put it in simple terms. I love my job! I can't believe they actually pay me to do this. I learn something every day. The company is great and the folks I work with are great.
I'm a divorcee of about a year and I have a 3 yr old son named Jarom. He is the smartest 3 yr old you'll ever meet and I plan to post a lot of what he says and does. He lives in Dallas with his mother. I get to see him every other weekend or so which is definitely not enough. I can't wait to be done with work and school so I can see much, much more of him.
I moved to Norman, Oklahoma about 4 months ago to pursue a Bachelor's of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) and to help my company start an office in the Oklahoma City area. It's an amazing opportunity that I am so thankful for. Again, I can't believe they are actually paying me to do this!
Although I enjoy school and work, I enjoy being away from them even more. In the free time that I have (not much) I play disc golf, golf, hang out at the institute, watch Seinfeld episodes, and just try to stay out of my apartment.
I've met a lot of very cool and interesting people since being in Norman. I'll be sure to post pics of all my friends here.
Anyway, I plan to be in Norman until I finish school in about 6 years (part-time studend). After that I will be moving to whatever state my son lives in.
Well, I think that's a good start. We'll see how this things develops.