Week 12: 03/15-03/21

   

Week 12

     03/16- The week is winding down to Spring Break! I got lucky in that I have a front-loaded week. After Tuesday I'll have nothing to do until post-break. That allows me to finalize much of the planning for the trip.
     03/18 - There are still four days till the trip but I've already packed. All of my luggage is black somehow, down to my tripod and baseball bat. I probably over-packed but I don't really care, we'll make it work.
     03/20 - My bro turned 20 today! He's pretty cool. I mailed home his present because I can't see him in person this year. I sent him a Sons of Anarchy blanket. It's pretty large and very soft, all good things. Tomorrow we leave for the trip! I'll push my 21st post to next week's post so I can encompass the entire trip in one post....also, I discovered I can semi-pull off the man bun, but it's not a suggested look.

Profound Thought: "It's really not that hard to plan a trip with people, you just have to do it and hope people will pay you back."

Week 11: 03/08-03/14

Week 11

     03/11 - Got some sick shorts for Spring Break! Decided that shorts were necessary for a beach trip so I picked some up while I was browsing the 'ole Ragstock in town. I also left with bandanas, a Chief ring, and ended up getting a hat at Urban for Kath. Which leads me to an early profound thought...
     03/13 - Hey, so remember that interview I had last week? Yeah well after a week+ of anxious anticipation I found out I got the job! Whoooo hooo! I talked to my parents and people and I'm about 95% positive I'll take it! This weekend I'll talk with the company on the phone to work out some details. I'm excited! Seattle here I come!
     03/14 - Meet my man Simba. Simba fell into my care when my brother Jonah was born. Basically, people noticed that the new baby was getting a lot of attention so my mom's friend Lisa bought me Simba. He's been my main homie ever since. I only recently decided that he might enjoy college life so I brought him back with me the last time I was home. Long live the king!

Profound Thought of the Week: "Sometimes, a sale price is a good enough reason to buy someone a present."

Week 10: 03/01-03/07

Week 10

     03/02 - I got an interview! I will be doing a phone interview with KPFF, an engineering consulting firm in Seattle, WA. The summer internship would be an awesome experience! Time to get my game face on. It may be very premature, but I've already looked at the trip to Seattle if I drove. It would take 30 hours, I would drive through Minneapolis, visiting my cousin Kelly there, then through Fargo, visiting my cousin David there (as well as any Fargo movie/TV gift shops). From there I'd have a long driven through North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. I would totally turn it into a massive road trip, complete with visiting and camping at Yellowstone and other National Parks on the way. .... I may be ahead of myself, but I don't care.

     03/05 - The interview went well! We talked for about an hour about the company and the internship and my past work experience. The position would entail me working in the Structural Engineering team at KPFF. Along with the other interns, I would be involved in a real-time bridge or building project doing real design work. He said the interns are treated like entry-level engineers, so that's awesome. I am now really interested in the opportunity. I was told that there is just one internship position and that he'd call or email me next week! Wish me luck!

     03/06 - Unofficial has arrived; officially. Now, as a senior, Unofficial has become much more of a symbolic gesture than an opportunity to get completely plastered. This is only my second celebrated Unofficial, but it is also my last. (Freshman and sophomore years I was a good boy and visited home). A big part of me feels like I missed out on a lot freshman and sophomore years but, the past two years have been so great that it cancels out I think. This year, my friends and I planned it out to a tee. We started out with pancakes, mimosas and Irish coffee at the Shack at roughly 9am. I went to class from 11-2 then headed over to Mel^2 for healthy and unhealthy snacks and Irish car bombs. Finally, we ended the night at my place with Shamrock shakes, gummy bears, and cheesy potatoes, David really enjoyed those...all of them. Nobody went to crazy, which is always good. My neighbors got raided by the police, which is always good. That's about it.

Profound Thought of the Week: "It's never really about the booze, it's about the friendships"

Week 9: 02/22-02/28

Week 9

     02/25 - Tomorrow is the career fair. Ahh! So today I'm hardcore polishing shoes, prepping my resume, and researching companies. This week's post should have a professional photo, which I'll take later tonight or in the morning.
    02/27 - The career fair went well I think. I talked to about 9 companies, many of them out-of-state. Hopefully I'll get a sweet internship.
    02/28 - So my brother, Brendan, Big Sic, Bleck, and some kid named Geary decided that because they couldn't be here for Unlfficial next week, that they would stop by UIUC for a night. It was quite the night. We had a lot of fun just goofing around and acting like stupid boys, reminded me of being home. Also I met I some Swedes and tried to explain how I'm Swedish slightly, they weren't having it.

Profound thought of the week: "Internships are a great way to explore the country, you may as well be available for travel while you're young and have no real responsibilities."

Week 8: 02/15-02/21

Week 8

     02/19 - Spring Break plans are well under way. We have booked a place with someone in Memphis named Felizita, who sounds cool. It'll be good to have a local's advice when picking out places to see and eat. In Gulf Shores, we got a condo across-the-street from the beach, which is baller. Now we just have to figure out the New Orleans leg of our journey. Oh, and "we" officially consists of myself, David, Melissa, Katie and Kathleen. "Walking in Memphis" will become the trip theme...
     02/20 - First of all, shout out to all my pears! Secondly, shout out to my friend Melissa's blog for giving me a shout out earlier. So many shout outs, so little time. Finally, it may behoove you to know that I've never used behooved in a sentence before and it may be the wrong context. Also, the Spring Break Clan (hereby known as SBC) has officially booked our paradise getaway. Below are some pics I stole from a website: <insert stolen photos>
     02/21 - Home sweet home. I thought I'd make a trip home to see my parents and such. I won't be  back for Spring Break so I thought I'd stop in. It's been a good couple of days, I got to see my grandma and cousins. On Saturday night I enjoyed going to Neighbors bar to watch a local band The Steevie Nicks perform. The band members are all old friends of my parents so it's cool to see them play. Right now I'm watching the movie Avatar on TV, which is a good movie even thought it's basically a remake of Disney's Pocahontas.

Week 7: 02/08-02/14

Week 7

     02/09 - So if you look you'll see that I recently added a "Project" and several "Recipes" to the blog. I've finally reached a point in my "Song of Fire and Ice" books that I'm PAST the TV show. This is a big deal because it took like 3000 pages to reach this point. I'm now in the 4th book but I've heard that the 4th and 5th books cover the same general timeline but from different and new perspectives. This is bothersome because when the new season of the show comes out in April, it's quite possible that I will see content from the 5th book though I'm technically "ahead" in the 4th book. Because of this, I must either not watch the show...or read really really consistently for the next two months. When I was younger and had nothing to do reading a 1000+ page book per month was no biggie, but that's not quite the case anymore.

     Twice now at the gym I've opted to make my cardio session of exercise one in which I read whilst on the exercise bike. If I make a habit of this I just may get through both books in time...

     02/10 - Looking back through the past couple weeks I realized that I've already mentioned my friend Kathleen twice, but nobody else, which is annoying because everyone deserves a spot on this page. As to not play favorites and to bring some interesting lists into this blog, I will now list all of my close college friends in the order and circumstances in which I met them:

1. John - my first roommate, who I decided I could live with for an additional two years. I never had to worry about him doing anything stupid, which is exactly what you want in a roommate.
2. Brad - my freshman year next-door neighbor who has that "Brad Reputation." His freshman roommate peed all over his room and he's my go-to for video game advice. I feel like he also basically introduced me to the next few people on here, so I owe him that.
3. David - also a neighbor at Newman, I think mostly we met from having physics together but we hung out a lot at Newman obsessing over film and Walking Dead. So naturally we've lived together at bropartment for two years.
4. Aubra - I met her through Brad I do believe, but it's hazy because we all kind of hung out all at once. Instant friend, completely dependable. Also, easy to scare with zombie makeup.
5. Will - also met through Brad at the same time I think...he's especially hazy because you never quite know where he is or what he's up to. He's the oldest in my grade so naturally he became the rum-runner for everyone.
6. Katie - Katie came around at the same time as the previous two, we all hung out in the Lewis Lounge a lot (lol). All jokes aside, Katie is basically my main nigga and we have a super-chill-hipster kind of connection.
7. Kathleen - For the past four years I've associated Kathleen with Katie so I assume I met her at the same time too...but it may have been slightly after. Regardless, Kathleen redefined for me what it means to be busy with homework, idk how she does it. If I want a good laugh, I turn to Kath.
8. Melanie - I met Melanie at the same time as the bulk of the group, probably through Katie or Brad. I was confused when she went to China for a semester because I don't think anyone told me. Now she is gonna kill terrorists, so that's cool.
9. Andy - Now I think I remember I met Andy at some point late into freshman year through John probably because they share a major. Basically we all did HW together in the caf till like 3am daily. When it was time to choose an apartment, Andy, John, and David were the obvious choice of roommates. As a musician, he's the John Paul Jones to my Jimmy Page.
10. Kelly - Kelly, Gail, Matt, and I suffered through TAM together in our freshman/sophomore years. Kelly is also a structural engineer so we continue to joke around about the hell that was: TAM. Also we both like Seinfeld and that somehow comes up way too much.
11. Peter - I didn't actually meet Peter at Newman but he's a structural engineer so I think we met in classes like sophomore year then I realized he was a Newmanite. He's the only person on this list that I know for sure I could not out-drink. I might live with him if I go to Texas.
12. Dwipayan - So I'm fairly certain Dwi was blackout drunk when I met him. He kept trying to sit in a chair in the caf but was failing at it hardcore. I remember thinking he was hilarious and one of the most cheerful people ever, both drunk and sober. He moved into the bropartment senior year after John moved out and has been spreading insightful wisdom ever since. Dwi is the only other person I live with who consistently likes spicy food and vegetables.
13. Melissa - I met Mel like first semester sophomore year maybe, definitely at the Newman caf. At first I was confused as to who she was exactly because Aubra and Katie seemed to know her very well but I had never seen her before. This past year especially we've come to rely on each other for advice and support, definitely someone to have in your corner.
14. Kevin - So one of the instances in which I was eating lunch with Aubra, Katie, and Mel this character showed up and launched into a fantastical story of a seemingly ordinary encounter. After about the third time this happened I indirectly realized he and Mel were dating. At first I guess I just thought he was the local storyteller stopping by to spread his stories. 
15. Marylynne - So one day John showed up with a girlfriend and that's the story of how I met Marylynne. Since then she's probably spent more time in my kitchen than anyone else has and I would definitely hire her as a babysitter someday.
16. Tommy! - So Tommy! always has an exclamation point after his name, as far as I'm concerned. I know for sure when I met Tommy! because it was Mom's Weekend 2014 and we were all with our moms at the Shack. At the time he was just Katie's new beau and now he's a part of the family. If I ever need a pep talk before a run or major decision, or if I just want to engage in a rap battle, I'll go to him. He's the only person on this list who didn't live at Newman (maybe?).

So, apart from Tommy!, literally all of the people on that list lived at Newman for at least two years. It's a hell of a place. Also, to those of you on this list, correct me if the circumstances are not correct. Though freshman year felt like yesterday, apparently my memory isn't what it once was.

     02/13 - So yes, as you can see in my picture for the week, I finally shaved after like 6+ months of a well-trimmed beard. I don't really like how cold the world is now but I'll keep things in line until post-career fair mumbo jumbo.

Profound Thought of the Week: Sometimes a selfish quest can lead to a selfless act. I stopped by a store on my way home one day to look for some sales/stuff that I could buy for myself. I didn't really need anything but I felt like spending money. Well when I went in there I ended up getting nothing for myself and leaving with a gift for someone else, something to brighten up their day/week/life. If I hadn't have had that "selfish" desire to spend money on myself, I wouldn't have bought the gift.

Week 6: 02/01-02/07

Week 6

^^^So I didn't realize that the volume buttons on iPad take a picture when camera is open...this is what happens, candid this week.

     02/01 - Super Bowl Sunday...or should I say, Katy Perry Sunday. I hosted a party, but we all mostly just wanted to watch KP. Well, actually we just wanted to watch Kathleen watch KP. (For those of you who don't know, Kathleen loves Katy a bit too much...) But yeah, it was good "last college Superbowl" for us all.
     Anyways, I'm kind of liking not being swamped with homework, go figure. Rather than pursue a job or research, I've decided I'm going to look into getting grad school scholarships and contacting people at ALL the schools I've applied to. That way wherever I go I (hopefully) already have something set up. We'll see what happens!

     02/04 - Let's see...So I clearly need a shave and haircut though I'm not really ready to act/look like a professional yet, is that immature of me? I think if I start getting into that mindset I'll be better motivated to apply for all those scholarships and such. If I look the part I'll be ready for any random research or job interviews that may pop up....

     02/07..so yeah, haircut didn't happen this week. What DID happen though is I finally got around to working on one of my mini construction projects: The Bike Trailer. If you head on over to the "Projects" page I posted some initial designs and work pics...also, I've decided that it would be good to pursue research this semester after all, so I'll contact some profs about that.

Profound Thought of the Week: Be an encouraging person. It sounds stupid but really, so often I've found that even the smallest words of encouragement can go a long way. Most people, myself included, tend to just say nothing or say little when someone is going through a hardship because we don't want to give off the wrong impression or be "embarrassed" by it. It doesn't really make sense to withhold encouragement.