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.

Full Plate

Wow, I have a lot of crap to do in a short amount of time. Within about a month I'll have graduated college. This means I have to figure out who I'd like at my graduation, graduation dinner, etc. This also means that the job hunt is on.

Finishing up classes sucks. I've always found that the period of time between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester is a bunch of bull. All brain cells, composed of fat mind you, have been inundated with fat from Thanksgiving dinner and the several glorious football games of that day. Brain function pretty much comes to a hault until after the drunkeness of New Years Eve flushes all of that artery clogging goodness out of the cranium.

This past weekend I asked my girlfriend's (Christy's) father for permission to marry her. I was really nervous for some reason when I asked. I don't know why I was nervous because I feel so comfortable around her family. I consider them my second family. I don't think he expected me to ask him for his appoval. His response was, 'Well, uh, I guess so. She's got a great guy.' (pardon the rest of this message b/c i'm inebriated)

So, on Tuesday I come to find out that Chirsty has been accepted to Washburn Law School. I'm elated that she has achieved such a feat, but I know that there are tough times ahead. Law school is very demanding on a person. Tonight she attended a 'seminar' on what it's like to be in law school. I.e. the differing careers that can be had from obtaining a law degree based upon your undergrad. They also had something similar to, 'balancing law school and your family'. This is the part that really scares me. I'm confident in the fact that Christy can do fine in law school, however I don't know if our relationship can last through this period of time.

Tonight we discussed that fact, and that we'd have to really work at our relationship. When we spend time together, it would have to be our time, quality time. By that time, I hope to have a lucrative geography job, making money for myself and her. I mean, even though, at that time we won't be married, I will be saving money for our livelihood. I'll support her in any decision that she makes towards her career. I just hope that I, and our relationship are considered heavily when decisions are made.

Well, I think it's about time to turn in, considering I don't have class tomorrow. I've got to get up, go to class, go to work, donate plasma, and get smashed at a friend's birthday party. I'll be seeing you in a while.

Rock, Paper, SADDAM!

I was just browsing around Yahoo today whilst I was bored at work and for some odd reason people had been searching for Rock, Paper, Scissors. So I clicked the link and it took me to a page with a bunch of RPS sites.

I found this hilarious page where someone took photos from one of Saddam's trials and made a little comic out of it.

Check it out

Flash version here

Not so late 'Late Night'

So, tonight was Late Night in the Phog. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is the first time the college basketball teams can officially practice together. It is an annual gathering where fans can come and get a 'first look' at this years team.

Here's a look at our new scoreboard with video boards. It's pretty cool, but during the scrimage they didn't display the player stats which sucked. But hey, it's still cool because everyone will be able to see replays during the game.


















Here's a closer shot of the screens towards the bottom. Mmmmm, that's good light emitting diode!

Who knew even the slightest Remote Sensing was this cool!

This is too sweet! Being a geography major and having taken Remote Sening classes, aerial photography is always a cool thing to see.



I can't believe that this was flown by a kite?!?!

Avast ye maty!

Lastnight the sorority that Christy is in had a pirate party. Typical drunk freshman were found on the bus. They really had a hard time walking since they were so drunk, but they were also wearing really high heels. Great fun!

On another note, check this crap out:

Same initials, similar logo, different schools

KU paid $88,900; Kutztown paid $20,000 two years ago

By Eric Weslander (Contact)

Friday, September 30, 2005

Call it the other KU.

Most Kansans have never heard of Kutztown University, a 9,800-student school in tiny Kutztown, Pa. Neither had the people involved with designing Kansas University’s new $88,900 logo, which bears striking resemblance to that of the other, eastern KU.

“They’re distinguishable, but they’re also easily confusable,” said Phillip Breeze, Kutztown University’s director of University Relations.

Breeze chuckled to himself Thursday when contacted by telephone and asked to look at an online version of Kansas University’s new logo. In his view, the two schools’ logos are just a little too close for comfort.

“I don’t see the two schools getting in a battle. I don’t think we’re fishing in the same pond for students,” he said. “But if we don’t police it, then it becomes public domain and we’re both hurting then. I just think we need to have the legal people chew on this bone.”

Both logos display the upper-case letters “KU” in a variation of the Trajan font, with the leg of the “K” swooping down underneath the “U.”

David Johnston, KU’s director of marketing, said he doubted it would cause anyone to actually confuse the two schools.

“We’re not concerned about it. We find it curious,” Johnston said. “Unless there’s confusion in the marketplace about who is KU and what is the home of the Jayhawks, then we’re not overly concerned about it.”

Paul Carttar, executive vice chancellor for external affairs at Kansas’ KU, called the similarity “unfortunate.” But he said he believed the school was on solid ground, in part because since 1979, Kansas University has owned the federal registered trademark for the letters “KU” for any higher-education uses.

He said that during the process of choosing the new logo, the school’s intellectual-property attorneys gave the green light to the new look.

“This is a humorous situation, but nevertheless we are very confident of the strength of our position,” he said.

The announcement of KU’s new logo earlier this year came after more than a month of gathering feedback on four finalist designs, both in meetings and online. The finalists were chosen with help from LandreyMorrow, a Portland, Ore., firm that was paid $88,900 for its work, which also involved creating a 53-page set of standards detailing how the logo should be used.

Some people have criticized the spending, but KU leaders say they believe they got a good value, given the size of the bids submitted by other firms.

Still, Breeze said his school’s logo overhaul, which preceded Kansas University’s by about two years, also included a 60-page set of design standards. But Kutztown U’s logo cost only $20,000.

Adrian Gonzales, a KU freshman from Shawnee, said of the two logos, “If you didn’t look at it that closely, you wouldn’t know there was a difference,” he said.

The logo on the left is for Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. The one on the right is for Kansas University. Both display “KU” in a variation of the capitalized Trajan font, with the leg of the “K” swooping underneath the “U.”

But he said KU’s logo change didn’t matter much to him, and he said he didn’t think the similarity between the two schools’ logos was a big deal.

The same goes for Keith Erney, 22, a senior at Kutztown University contacted by telephone Thursday.

“What do I care?” he asked. “It’s so far away.”

He said he wasn’t even that familiar with Kansas University.

“I have heard of it. Your colors are, I guess, purple and white?” he said.

- 6News reporter Brooke Wehner and staff writer George Diepenbrock contributed to this report.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/sep/30/same_initials_similar_logo_different_schools/?city_local

And Lars said let there be blog!

So, I've done these things before but this one I'm going to try to keep up to date. I've never really had any kind of journal so I figured I would try this out. I'm just gonna mess with the settings now.