Back for a moment in my free time which has worn thin lately. For those who read this but not other statuses elsewhere, I'm engaged! My fiancee's name is Jessica Dowds and she lives in New Berlin Il at the moment. Our wedding date is set for August 14th and though we know we'll be scraping money together during my last semester I'm confident in the job market in my field. Hopefully with a good summer internship at Qualcomm, an excellent company, I'll have a solid foundation for finding employment in December. The wedding is going to be pretty basic with my family and a few close friends and any of Jessica's family (who are geographically farther away) and her/her family's close friends. Jess is all ramped up about it and I know she wants me to be too but I've never been a big planner. If I need to put something together I can but I dont fuss over details. Guess that's the way of the male. lol. Jess and I have been together for 3 years a month and a half and we'll soon be committing to a lifetime. Hope she can deal with me lol. I ask for your prayers for her strength as I'm away at school this semester and in Colorado over the summer. It'll be a difficult time for her. Pray for minimal stress for both of us when planning everything. I probably wont be soothing for Jess with my tendency to not choose for her. Also pray for our faith. Jessica and I will hopefully be coming into membership at our home church and give praise for God's work in our lives. Also pray that Jessica's almost full time employment continues so that she is able to save up funds for when we are married and out on our own.
God Bless
-Gregory Michael
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Weekend
Well, Friday was the University of Illinois Students' party day. I don't really know but I don't think that Unofficial St. Patrick's Day (Unofficial as it's referred to most often) has been around very long. I know it has been for as long as I have been here at the university but I believe it wasn't much before that. One thing I had thought about, that corresponds pretty closely to the time frame for the removal of the Chief as our beloved mascot. Again, I really don't know the real time frames of either of these events but I could see a correlation if they do happen to align.
Anyway, I didn't do anything, just sat in my dorm room and did hw. I attempted to go for a bike ride but turns out my tire had blown off of it's seat after I aired up the tires on Thursday and it put a pretty big hole in my tube. I tried to fix it but couldn't get the patch to stick right. Luckily I had another tube meant to replace my back tire tube sometime in the future. I put it in the front tire but decided it was too late by that point to go for a ride on that beautiful day.
But that was ok, I finished my assignment and Saturday was just as beautiful. I went out on a bike ride and had to turn back once because of a bike issue. Quickly fixed I headed out again and rode out to the mall area. Unfortunately for me the traffic was very busy and this dual city has horrible roads filled with potholes. Well when trying to avoid being hit by a car I looked back and when I did my bike going probably about 15 mph found it's front tire in a pothole as big a round as the tire and about 3 inches deep. Well once in the tire didnt come out and being my front tire the rest of the bike kept it's inertia, as did I and both went over the handlebars. I would have been fine with a bit faster reaction rate or a curbless road but instead my chin found direct contact with the curb and split a 1.25 inch gash in my chin. I got to the side of the road pretty fast dragging my bike with me and a woman and her children stopped and helped me out. Thank You though I don't remember your name. Well if I had thought it through I would have rather called a cab but the woman called 911 after looking at me. The standard response around here is typically 2 police cars, a firetruck and an ambulance. I guess off campus it's only the later 2 because I didn't see any police but the firetruck arrived first and then the ambulance. Again, really wish I hadn't ridden in the ambulance. I have no idea what it's going to cost but it really shouldn't be much seeing as all I got was increased speed of checkin at the emergency room and another gauze pad. :(
At the emergency room I got 2 internal stitches and about 13 stitches to keep my wound closed. It originally looked like a hole the size of a quarter in my chin. I have a couple other scuffs but I'm fine with those. I really wish I hadn't hit my chin. Anything other than that I would have just brushed off. Even a gash in my arm I probably would have just bought peroxide and rubbing alcohol at the mall and patched it up myself, and would have rode my bike back, but my face, darn, couldn't see how bad it was until I washed myself off in the emergency room. Life lesson: Extend arms more, they don't Require stitches or a mirror to see! Oh, and if you can get up immediately after the crash, call a cab, not 911.
Oh well, if my parents let me I'll pay for the ambulance ride. I really hate that I didnt think of a taxi on the spot. The idea actually didn't come to me until Sunday. Oh well. Life goes on.
-Gregory Michael
Anyway, I didn't do anything, just sat in my dorm room and did hw. I attempted to go for a bike ride but turns out my tire had blown off of it's seat after I aired up the tires on Thursday and it put a pretty big hole in my tube. I tried to fix it but couldn't get the patch to stick right. Luckily I had another tube meant to replace my back tire tube sometime in the future. I put it in the front tire but decided it was too late by that point to go for a ride on that beautiful day.
But that was ok, I finished my assignment and Saturday was just as beautiful. I went out on a bike ride and had to turn back once because of a bike issue. Quickly fixed I headed out again and rode out to the mall area. Unfortunately for me the traffic was very busy and this dual city has horrible roads filled with potholes. Well when trying to avoid being hit by a car I looked back and when I did my bike going probably about 15 mph found it's front tire in a pothole as big a round as the tire and about 3 inches deep. Well once in the tire didnt come out and being my front tire the rest of the bike kept it's inertia, as did I and both went over the handlebars. I would have been fine with a bit faster reaction rate or a curbless road but instead my chin found direct contact with the curb and split a 1.25 inch gash in my chin. I got to the side of the road pretty fast dragging my bike with me and a woman and her children stopped and helped me out. Thank You though I don't remember your name. Well if I had thought it through I would have rather called a cab but the woman called 911 after looking at me. The standard response around here is typically 2 police cars, a firetruck and an ambulance. I guess off campus it's only the later 2 because I didn't see any police but the firetruck arrived first and then the ambulance. Again, really wish I hadn't ridden in the ambulance. I have no idea what it's going to cost but it really shouldn't be much seeing as all I got was increased speed of checkin at the emergency room and another gauze pad. :(
At the emergency room I got 2 internal stitches and about 13 stitches to keep my wound closed. It originally looked like a hole the size of a quarter in my chin. I have a couple other scuffs but I'm fine with those. I really wish I hadn't hit my chin. Anything other than that I would have just brushed off. Even a gash in my arm I probably would have just bought peroxide and rubbing alcohol at the mall and patched it up myself, and would have rode my bike back, but my face, darn, couldn't see how bad it was until I washed myself off in the emergency room. Life lesson: Extend arms more, they don't Require stitches or a mirror to see! Oh, and if you can get up immediately after the crash, call a cab, not 911.
Oh well, if my parents let me I'll pay for the ambulance ride. I really hate that I didnt think of a taxi on the spot. The idea actually didn't come to me until Sunday. Oh well. Life goes on.
-Gregory Michael
Monday, March 1, 2010
Being a Teaching Assistant
So tired. It's the kids! Lol, no not my kids, or even kids at all really. I'm referring to the 391 students that I help as a TA work on their projects. The room that we have all to ourselves is so nice to have but when it comes the night of turning the assignments in, what ALWAYS happens. The students have waited far too long and have found themselves with questions, with answers that should have been discovered a week before. So I spent 5 hours tonight in a 75 degree room with kids that haven't slept(or showered) in 32 hours. It really wore me out tonight. Hopefully the project that is due Wed night doesn't keep me worn until then. Especially with a different assignment and exam the day after.
Short one this time, need rest.
Good Night and God Bless,
-Gregory Michael
Short one this time, need rest.
Good Night and God Bless,
-Gregory Michael
Sunday, February 21, 2010
This weekend I spent an abundant amount of time doing somewhat worthless work. I spent alot of time setting up a bunch of server stuff on my LAPTOP. And after all that I've done, I'm pretty sure it's not getting out. It's alright doing the loopback connections, but because I'm inside a dorm, housing managed network, I dont have access to the routers to do my port forwarding. It was all a foolish idea but I liked setting it all up. Even more foolish was the fact that my laptop runs Windows 7 and I'm using utilities that have been contorted to be ported to Windows. By this fall I'll have a small form factor desktop to bring to my apartment and set up for my final semester of school!
It's fun thinking that this semester is already a quarter over. Which means I have only 7 more class months left to complete my education. It really doesn't seem like I should be as far as I am but it's true what they say, "These days go by so fast." I'm anxious to get out of school so I can start my life. I really do love having my evenings free to do what I pleased. Last summer was great during my internship. This summer I'm working for Qualcomm and hopefully it will be even better because I'll be doing something I enjoy more. I know I'll be homesick though. Or maybe just missing my Jessica. I realize now that I don't really have many plans for my life. Sure the next year of my life is just about set. But I sometimes wonder what I'm going to do with myself after a few years in the workforce and coming home to projects. I love projects. My first couple posts explained that pretty well. The other day I thought of something while walking past some office construction here on campus. I really miss my construction jobs. This computer engineering stuff is the place to be. I enjoy it a lot, but I miss building physical things. I know I'll have plenty of time to do that around the house but the idea of working for habitat for humanity came to mind. I think it would be the perfect thing for me to do.
Well, I'll leave it at that thought.
-Gregory Michael
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Jon Stewart, Genius Above Fox News by miles
This, is genius. I may not agree with the language or other programs on Comedy Central, but Jon Stewart, is SO much smarter than the entire Fox news collection together. Watch this,
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4001020/oreilly-vs-stewart#/v/4003531/entire-jon-stewart-interview/?playlist_id=87485 and compare the attitude and analysis of Jon Stewart, compared to Bill O'Reilly. Jon is hilarious at least, BUT he makes so many valid points, expands upon them, doesn't seek to change the subject like BillO to avoid the topic. It's not like BillO was limited on times. They cut 3/4 of the interview anyway. Jon tries to make points and BillO attacks him out of context without addressing the points Jon brings up.
Jon is soooo cool headed. He laughs off so much and brings BillO somehow back down to earth.
I've long hated Fox news for their direct attacks toward people. Not just opinions, but attempts to slander many people. Jon makes fun of people on his show, but they are <5 min jokes, that are clearly jokes.
I can't keep talking. I would go on for days. Jon communicates my opinions very well, check it out please. If you're really interested in my thoughts, compare the full interview to the parts that BillO shows and see what Fox really wants to communicate.
Check it out, humor me and leave me a comment, I want to know what you think.
-Gregory Michael
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4001020/oreilly-vs-stewart#/v/4003531/entire-jon-stewart-interview/?playlist_id=87485 and compare the attitude and analysis of Jon Stewart, compared to Bill O'Reilly. Jon is hilarious at least, BUT he makes so many valid points, expands upon them, doesn't seek to change the subject like BillO to avoid the topic. It's not like BillO was limited on times. They cut 3/4 of the interview anyway. Jon tries to make points and BillO attacks him out of context without addressing the points Jon brings up.
Jon is soooo cool headed. He laughs off so much and brings BillO somehow back down to earth.
I've long hated Fox news for their direct attacks toward people. Not just opinions, but attempts to slander many people. Jon makes fun of people on his show, but they are <5 min jokes, that are clearly jokes.
I can't keep talking. I would go on for days. Jon communicates my opinions very well, check it out please. If you're really interested in my thoughts, compare the full interview to the parts that BillO shows and see what Fox really wants to communicate.
Check it out, humor me and leave me a comment, I want to know what you think.
-Gregory Michael
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Get Me Out of Here
It's the people...I can't stand the evils that exist in people. Attitudes and behaviors are unchecked and when called out aren't even apologized for.
Earlier today someone dropped their entire tray on the ground. One, the amount of glass from the glasses we have to drink out looked to sum up to like 5 of them. It's ridiculous and probably part of why they're dirty hands couldn't hold up the tray. 1 glass is all anyone should need, if you run out of drink, go get more! It will speed up how long it takes to get a drink in the dining hall and maybe, just maybe, cause you to do a little more activity. And after dropping the tray the person just walked out of the cafeteria leaving the pile of glass shards, the broken plate, dirty napkins, and even the tray right were it fell, not telling anyone. Not that anyone needed to be told that it was dropped. It made plenty enough of an announcement itself with all the breaking stuff. It just annoyed me that no attempt was made to even help clean.
After my tray had been put on the conveyor and I had removed the silverware into the tub for them and my napkins thrown away (two steps other people are too lazy to do like requested) I walk out the cafe doors and start down the hall where this girl is obviously too busy or important to recognize me walking towards her in the only space I have to walk and move over. She walks right into me and the other two taking up the rest of the hallway just laugh and the three walk away without an apology after my sincere apology. The hallway is 5 feet wide, and three girls and countless other groups don't find it necessary to allow others the convenience of walking down the hall as freely as they feel they're entitled to everywhere.
Smokers, nearly every time I walk out an exterior door at this university I have to smell some idiot who thinks it's their right to ruin the day of everyone else. I could ramble about this for hours in hateful language but, I'll summarize my opinion in one sentence. Go smoke somewhere else so that the rest of us don't have to smell the stink of you dying.
Tonight a couple companies had some food tastings to the students in the dinning hall. Greed and theft disgust me. Apparently one guy couldn't get enough of the 2 bite portions under the heat lamp to fill his fat gut so he ingeniously thought to just take one of the whole pieces that had been sitting on a Styrofoam plate out of the heat lamp. Others decided that a mouthful of candy wasn't enough so took like 3 (of the same candy, not different ones to test all) of those servings.
I just wanted to vent. I want to be away from it all. Don't like complaining but with so many people just indifferent about their disgraceful behavior, beyond that of a normal person I just don't care about complaining.
Earlier today someone dropped their entire tray on the ground. One, the amount of glass from the glasses we have to drink out looked to sum up to like 5 of them. It's ridiculous and probably part of why they're dirty hands couldn't hold up the tray. 1 glass is all anyone should need, if you run out of drink, go get more! It will speed up how long it takes to get a drink in the dining hall and maybe, just maybe, cause you to do a little more activity. And after dropping the tray the person just walked out of the cafeteria leaving the pile of glass shards, the broken plate, dirty napkins, and even the tray right were it fell, not telling anyone. Not that anyone needed to be told that it was dropped. It made plenty enough of an announcement itself with all the breaking stuff. It just annoyed me that no attempt was made to even help clean.
After my tray had been put on the conveyor and I had removed the silverware into the tub for them and my napkins thrown away (two steps other people are too lazy to do like requested) I walk out the cafe doors and start down the hall where this girl is obviously too busy or important to recognize me walking towards her in the only space I have to walk and move over. She walks right into me and the other two taking up the rest of the hallway just laugh and the three walk away without an apology after my sincere apology. The hallway is 5 feet wide, and three girls and countless other groups don't find it necessary to allow others the convenience of walking down the hall as freely as they feel they're entitled to everywhere.
Smokers, nearly every time I walk out an exterior door at this university I have to smell some idiot who thinks it's their right to ruin the day of everyone else. I could ramble about this for hours in hateful language but, I'll summarize my opinion in one sentence. Go smoke somewhere else so that the rest of us don't have to smell the stink of you dying.
Tonight a couple companies had some food tastings to the students in the dinning hall. Greed and theft disgust me. Apparently one guy couldn't get enough of the 2 bite portions under the heat lamp to fill his fat gut so he ingeniously thought to just take one of the whole pieces that had been sitting on a Styrofoam plate out of the heat lamp. Others decided that a mouthful of candy wasn't enough so took like 3 (of the same candy, not different ones to test all) of those servings.
I just wanted to vent. I want to be away from it all. Don't like complaining but with so many people just indifferent about their disgraceful behavior, beyond that of a normal person I just don't care about complaining.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Can't Sleep
Well I think it happens to all of us at some point. Something we did in the day or something with the conditions we're trying to sleep in makes it impossible to get to sleep. Normally I would simply lay there until I eventually fall asleep but I know what is causing this situation so I won't bother. I drank a bit too much caffeine this evening after having a 3 hour nap today. Both were really good ideas at the time but I know tomorrow I'm going to regret them when I'm groggy. Oh well, it's happened before and fortunately I don't have any reason not to take a nap tomorrow afternoon anyway (a shorter one as to not continue the cycle).
Random Fact:
I bought a reciprocating saw earlier tonight. It was a really good deal and I (hopefully) helped out the couple that was selling it to get themselves out of a hard place after the husband had been laid off. I gave them a couple extra dollars on top of what he wanted for it but I'm not sure if I gave him enough. I probably should have given more but it did feel good to be generous, especially since they drove it to my dorm so that I didn't have to find transportation and navigate my way to his house. His name is Doug and I'm going to pray that he and many more that have been laid off will be able to find a job and eventually job security.
Random Fact:
I bought a reciprocating saw earlier tonight. It was a really good deal and I (hopefully) helped out the couple that was selling it to get themselves out of a hard place after the husband had been laid off. I gave them a couple extra dollars on top of what he wanted for it but I'm not sure if I gave him enough. I probably should have given more but it did feel good to be generous, especially since they drove it to my dorm so that I didn't have to find transportation and navigate my way to his house. His name is Doug and I'm going to pray that he and many more that have been laid off will be able to find a job and eventually job security.
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