So much to talk about.

Every 6 months I reflect on the last 6 months and wonder how it is I ended up in my current situation.  You should know that without exception said current situation has always been better than expected. 

Currently I have a sweet job where I sit in cubicle-ville 10 hours/day, 4 days/week and model machine equipment in 3D.  I have a sweet Dell with 8 gigs of RAM and 2 24" LCD's.  We're in the design/conceptual phase of a new plant that will be the BDC.  I get to interact with architects and engineers all day, problem solving and coinciding efforts to satisfy the expectations of the dreaded upper management.  We call our large room of 10-15 people the bullpen, where things aren't exactly PC but results are made.  A lot of the engineers are traveling consultants who go around the country half the year helping with projects such as our own.  I work with people from Seattle, Boise, Portland, Milwaukee, etc.  Our favorite game is to make fun of the Wisconsin people and their lost legacy with Favre.

Every Wednesday the dreaded upper management takes the entire office of 20-30 out to a swanky bar and grill on the river called Kimo's.  There is an open tab on food and drink from 6-9, and everyone gets the opportunity to find out who's an alcoholic, who's good at pool, and who's got the best stories.  It was awkward at first hanging out with a bunch of professionals (I'm like 1 of 3-4 people there without a degree) but I really enjoy it now.  Every Thursday they bring in pizza for lunch.  I'm surprised I haven't gained tons of weight yet, but I've been more active this summer than the last 3 combined...

I work for a subcontractor of the main contractor on this project.  The client also has some of their corporate engineering people working with us in our office.  About three weeks after I started my boss told me that the client approached him with interest in my services.  He told me to stay on my toes and keep working hard.  Yesterday I got pulled into the office of a project manager with the client.  He said I'm going to be interviewed next week for a designer position within the company.  I have a definite leg up on others because I'm already working for them.  It wouldn't change my job at all, just who signs my checks.  And the checks would be bigger, and the benefits better, and the 401k and profit sharing would start working for me, and I would get three weeks paid vacation first year.  Probably the biggest draw though is their corporate dedication to continuing education. Yes, they would pay for me to go back to school.  Sounds like a win-win, but...

I love my hometown. It's not huge, it's not tiny. It's warm. I have friends. It is an awesome place to settle down eventually. 

I'm not sure I'm ready to settle down, and this is definitely between a semipermanent and permanent decision.  I really enjoy the north Puget Sound area.  I've spent 3 weekends there this summer, and I'm going back there next weekend. I wakeboard over there. I have a lot of friends over there, and I love the smell of the nearby water and the lush green growth everywhere. Yeah I know it rains a lot but I handled it and got used to it, it wasn't really that bad.  My plan before this job was to go back there, to what I wasn't sure, but going back was definitely in the cards.  I could get another good job over there.  As good as this one could be? Probably not.  Now I'm in the "how much a good job and okay environment weighs against an okay job and great environment" area.  Never thought I would be making this decision so soon.

Had a conversation about this with my Dad last night.  He feels my fear of commitment to something like a job here is immaturity.  I don't disagree. I'm glad I'm not fully grown up yet.  There's a lot of stuff yet to do as an immature 20 something.

Girls and politics have dominated a lot of my thinking lately.

Politics in the sense that the farther we go into the election campaign the more we find out how much of a joke Barack is.  He isn't anything new. He spews the same left-wing rhetoric as the rest.  "The government is at fault for your crappy life. We can fix it for you. More taxes. The rich are to blame.  More government programs."  He's been caught a couple of times lately saying some ridiculous stuff when the teleprompter isn't on.  And he backed away from McCains challenge to a few debates.  And he's flipped on flopped all over on oil, drilling, and the environment...  Read these if you care.

Organic food as a lifestyle choice and not much more:     http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2519969/Organic-food-does-not-have-more-vitamins.html

SCARY (series of articles on Obama):     http://www.ibdeditorials.com/series8.aspx

GENIUS (Thomas Sowell):      http://author.nationalreview.com/?q=NDA3Mw==

Girls are crazy.  They drive me crazy. I don't understand them.  I never will.  Besides carnal desires and the urge to procreate I dont understand why people get married.  Romance only lasts for so long, but at certain times I'm more than ready to jump into it.  Sometimes when I'm lonely I know that having someone other than a dude to talk to would be nice.  The fact that God created men and women for each other just doesn't do it for me right now.  I really want to know why.  Been thinking about this for a long time.  Starting to realize that it's never one thing, that it could be a different reason at different times, maybe sometimes more than one.  All I know is I have one close buddy who just got out of a longterm and is super bitter, and that has a bit of influence on me.  Another is in a relationship where his girlfriend calls him a lot when we're together and it never sounds fun.  I'm scared I won't be able to have fun if I get a girlfriend. Maybe I wont care. Maybe I'll be so gone into whatever relationship world that I wont care about having fun with my buddies for months.  It happens. It'll probably happen to me.  Then the shine wears off. Then what?  I've hung out with a couple of girls this summer that could do that to me. Scary.  Luckily I'm too timid in those situations to do anything about it.  Fun times are here again.

Nathan

I've tried and failed to update my blog 3 times in the last 48 hours.  "Tried" as in clicking the "blog now!" button, thinking of something witty and cool to say, and writing 2-3 lines.  "Failed" as in getting bored with not knowing what else to say, not liking what I said already, and saying "screw it" by closing the window (without saving).

I was however, commanded to blog, so I will attempt to do so once again.  Note that this is done not by my own volition, so you may consider this blogging against my will.  Maybe even under duress.  "The choice is yours" (only Dennis has the reference for that quote).

Anyways, let me start by saying I can't believe that summer's almost already over!  Okay that's not true.  "But it feels true" (10 pts if you know where that quote is from).

I'm at the point where I don't know what else to say.  Good buddy Tim advises that I go to point form when all inspiration has left.  And now for my shameless "Plug of the day."  Tim finally unveiled his long-awaited photography/music themed website.  You should check it out... here ---> http://www.almosteric.ca/

*I am still waiting on a friend of the family's here in town to hire me for an internship at his electrical engineering company.  Apparently he's VP and has enough clout to make such moves, but has informed me that the project he wanted me to help do CAD work on has not come up yet and to sit tight unless I find something else sexier in the meantime.  That sounds crass. Who knew working could be so provocative?

*My brother Seth has finally proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Marissa.  I'm very proud of him for doing it, and look forward to being a groomsman once again.  I live and die with those tuxes, and I have a feeling something special might happen once again.  Does lightning strike twice?  I wait with eager anticipation.  The wedding is apparently September 27th, in Wisconsin. 

*I have no idea where I will be this fall, at least no concrete idea.  Going back to Prairie becomes less of a reality everyday for me.  I wish I were in the same boat at Jeremiah or Elliott, needing only one good year to get in and out.  But my situation requires that I spend about 2.5-3 semesters' worth of classes there, and I don't think the school will accommodate me for that long.  I tell people that I am waiting for class lists, etc.  The problem is every time I get new information it's gets worse and worse.  I also try not to live by the word-of-mouth information that could just be rumors.  However, in the last few months almost all "rumors" I've heard about the school become reality.  So for all intents and purposes I believe my days there are numbered.

*At this point the smartest thing for me looks to be going to a technical college in Bellingham, WA.  I lived and worked near there last year and really like the area.  My reason for the tech school is that the line of work I've been involved with the last couple of years generally requires a two year engineering degree, which I don't have.  To go there and finish one would make me more marketable for jobs in the future, and give me an AAS (applied arts and science) transfer degree with which I can choose to continue and finish a bachelor's in that field, or finish a humanities major with a combination of transfer credits from Prairie and the tech school. 

*So yes I've become practical once again.  Don't ask me why, because besides the failing economy, the prospect of mass loans, and the reality of being back in this "real world" are the only things I can think of.  I've seen about 3 articles in newspapers and online since being home about how student loans just don't make sense anymore.

*The future isn't all doom and gloom though.  I am honestly excited to see what is in store for me down the road these next few months and years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_on_re_us/luxury_homes_fire

debate the merits of arson for the greater good of the environment, now.

"Hey what do you call a hippopotamus and a hell-if-i-know?  Oh, dangit."

Thanks Jeremiah.

Valentines Day, 2008.  We have class.  The music students are walking around performing "singing grams."  At least I think that's what they're called.  They cost around $12, and all the proceeds go to charity or support a trip or something.  Good cause.  I consider getting one for a group of people to remain anonymous. The song - something with the line "where you lead, I will follow..."  Since they would never sing it for me I dont feel obliged to return the favor. 

Our Valentines evening.  We unexpectedly have a friend come over and make us perogies with spices, onions, bacon, and summer sausage.  It's the real deal.  We're so happy we ask her to be our Valentine.  She accepts.  All is not lost.  We finish up with some cha cha practice and remind ourselves that maybe next year will be the year when we have valentines of our own.

Dave's probably coming back to this household soon.  It will be quite the adjustment with him here again.  I talked with the school today about a job that might keep me here this summer as well.  We're exploring all the ways we might have an awesome summer up here.  I'm promised nice weather for at least a couple of months during that time.  I was promised the same thing last year on the coast...

Stay classy Xanga (because Facebook isn't)

Nathan

"NEW YORK - The number of abortions in the United States fell to 1.2 million in 2005, down 25 percent from the all-time high of 1.6 million in 1990 and dropping the abortion rate to its lowest level since 1974, according to report issued Thursday."

I realize that there are many other factors here.  We can talk about the ethics of imposing our will upon others who should have control of "their bodies."  We can also talk about the fact that the pro-choice crowd may better "love" women faced with that decision. 

The fact remains though that probably no one who reads this blog actually wants an abortion to take place.  And the figures are very clear in stating that abortion is in decline under a *gasp*  neo-conservative regime.

It's hard for me to talk about ethics or morality when the giant elephant in the room is the debate about whether or not a fetus is actually human.  Whether you think a fetus becomes "human" at conception, after the 8th week, or whenever, it is pretty scary to gamble on something that no one is sure of - with potentially a human's life.

Read the rest of the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080119/ap_on_re_us/abortion_decline

Nathan 

p.s. i will now accept all comments stating that the decline is due to everything but the current administration.  cool-aid drinkers unite.