Bored and doped up at work

Back pain will forever be the devil for the upright. I did a lot of driving this past week. Lawrence to Atchison to Davenport, Nebraska to Phillipsburg to Wichita and then back to Lawrence.

Christy and I spent Christmas Eve and Day with my dad. That was really fun. I know Christy had fun, but it wasn't the same because it was her first Christmas away from her family. Then we drove to Nebraska to spend a day at her aunt's house with her family. That was great fun. We had lunch, played some basketball and NCAA 2006. Had dinner and then played a couple of card games; Up and Down the River and Texas Hold'em. Tuesday we traveled to Wichita to meet my old roommate Patrick and his fiance Melissa. They're getting married in June and we had to get fitted for a tux and a dress. It'll be great fun this summer to see our best friends from college get married. We then traveled back to Lawrence because I wanted to work some.

Getting back to being doped up. Yesterday I was here at work and decided to hit the pot. Well when I stood up I had sharp, shooting pain in my lower back, butt, and legs. It was killing me. I went home and laid down for a while while Christy fixed some lunch for us. She's so good to me. Throughout the day I took some over the counter stuff like Advil and Tylenol. Those didn't help very much so I decided to go to the doctor this morning. They gave me some pain pills and muscle relaxers. I have to go for some physical therapy later this afternoon.

Well, the past several weeks have ushered in many changes in my life. As stated before, I graduated from college after seven excrutiating years, got engaged to the woman of my dreams, and have subsequently found a job and am getting a new car.

The job I will be starting is serving as a GIS Technician for Douglas County in Kansas. This is great because I won't have to move for a job. I haven't started yet, but from what I understand I will be dividing property into lots for the appraiser's office and updating maps that fire, medical, and police vehicles use when they are dispatched. I'm really excited to get started with this job.

Many of you know what a wonderous vehicle I drive, but it will be gone soon. Whether in someone else's hands or just put to rest at a junk yard, I love it. I've driven that thing since my sophomore year in high school. One of Christy's sorority friends had this car that she blew the head gasket in. Well, she's from Minnesota and her parents didn't want to tow it all the way back so they're selling it for $50. Christy's dad used to be a mechanic and he said that he'd help me fix it up. They're coming later this afternoon to pick it up and tow it to thier house where we can work on it. I really appriciate all that her family has done for me over the past year and a half or so that I have known them.

Must get back to work now.

Overwhelming Sunday

This past Sunday my father came for my graduation from college. It has been seven and a half years in the waiting. During the course of my studies at the University of Kansas I screwed around my frosh and soph years. My junior year I thought I knew what I wanted to do, Computer Science. While I was in the unknown stage of my vocational training, I had taken a geography course. Although never having taken a course in geography during my high school years, or primary years for that matter, I decided to change my major to geography. It came easily to me and I found that there were jobs that involved computers, which I am fairly adept at. I have since completed the requirements to obtain a geography degree.

About three years ago I met a young lady at a party that I decided to attend. It was just after Easter because some of my friends were having the First Annual Peeps Challenge. It involves eating as many Peeps as you can in a ten minute period. Peeps are those sugar coated marshmallow confections that come around Easter and Halloween. Well, I was at the Peeps Challenge and upon the conclusion, which invloved vomiting, we decided to head to this other party. This is where I met the woman which I want to spend the rest of my life with.

I am friends with some of the people that were having the party. My two roommates were in the Air Force ROTC program and knew one of the ladies that lived in the house. I was talking to someone that was near the keg and I overheard a girl say that she was Lutheran. I interupted her and asked her if she had said that she was Lutheran. She said that she did and was Lutheran. I began and continued talking to her throughout the night. She happened to be in my roommate's girlfriend's sorority.

It was towards the end of the spring semester and it was her frosh year at the university so she lived in the dorms. My roommates and I had a party a week or so later and I asked my roommate if he could ask his girlfriend to ask her to our party. She came and we began talking again. As the night grew to an end, I asked her if she would like to go on a date sometime. She accepted saying that she would go on one when school resumed in the fall. Over the summer, we exchanged a couple of emails. I thought that she was not that interested in dating me because there was not that much communication that occurred during the summer.

The summer passed and school began. I made sure that I got in touch with her and asked her out on a date. The first couple of dates, as with most first dates, we spent time getting to know each other. We continued dating and my fondness for her grew enormously. I asked her if we could be boyfriend and girlfriend. She agreed to it and I was so happy. I had never really dated seriously in high school or at any other time.

Move ahead to two years later. I have since acquired an engagement ring from a contest that a girl had at the university. She was engaged to a man and he broke it off with her. She felt that anything she bought with the money from the ring would be tainted, so she had a contest through the school newspaper to give the ring away. I won the contest and my girlfriend liked the ring.

So, this past Sunday, some of my friends and family attended my graduation dinner. I thanked everyone for attending and showing their support for me. I then said that I had a question to ask a special someone. I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I am so happy that I have found someone that I love and she loves me. There is nothing that I would not do for this woman because she believes in me and the things that I do.

Wow, that's a lot of writing for three in the morning. I'll try to keep things more up to date now that I will be done with school tomorrow.