Week 16: 04/12-04/18

   

Week 16

     04/13 - I got a fellowship for Texas A&M! I still have to hear from Purdue, but this fellowship is a great deal and may be the deciding factor. The best part about it is that I get to pay in-state Texas tuition, which is half of the out-of-state cost. I'm hoping to know by the end of the week what my decision will be.
     04/14 - I caved and bought GTA V for the PC. I haven't really played video games since like November, and as such I was not going to get the game, BUT I decided to get it because my best friend Brendan always talks me into buying things basically. This is probably good considering he's going into professional sales. Also, I finally cut off my hair but I'm happy about how it turned out. I think I finally figured out how to talk to the hairdresser in such a way as to make her understand what I want it to look like haha. Next time I'll just bring in that ^^^ picture.
     04/16 - I didn't get an offer from Purdue, but I feel good because TAMU is going to be great! I officially accepted the fellowship and admissions offer, I'm soon to be an Aggie!

Profound Thought of the Week: "Having applied for four schools but only getting a fellowship offer from one, I realized that 1) it was good that I applied to TAMU and 2) Not getting good offers from the other three schools made my choice much easier. Rejection can sometimes be a good thing."

Week 15: 04/05-04/11

   

Week 15

     04/05 - Happy Easter! I went to my great aunt and uncle's this year, as is the tradition. I got to see most of my family, which was good because I realized I may not see them for a really long time. I mean a really long time, like September. After Seattle I'll be heading to grad school someplace almost immediately, so the next time I'll be around is the first week of September for Kelly's wedding.
     04/05 - Still not certain about graduate school, but I know I've gotten into Texas A&M! It's in College Station, TX and has a top-ranked structures program. It would be very cool to spend about 11 months in Texas, so I just may end up going there.
     04/10 - Mom's Weekend. So this year my mom couldn't make it out for mom's weekend but I had a lot of fun hanging out with some other moms. On Friday night we all watched Katie's long-anticipated dance recital for her club Velocity Dance, of which she is the president. It's a Mom's Weekend tradition and something cool we look forward to each spring. Afterwards, several of us went to our favorite place on campus, the Illini Inn. Mel's mom (hereby known as "Sweater Momma") and Kathleen's mom (hereby known as "Liz") joined us in our not-so-drunken trip. Mom's Weekend is a fun time to hear about the "good old days" of college-age life from the mothers, definitely a fun perspective.
     04/11 -  Today we went to the Indian color festival of Holi, which celebrates good times and color. Our party consisted of me, Melissa, Sweater Momma, David, Aubra, Dwi, Jimmy, and some guy named Brandon I think... Anyways, it was a lot of fun throwing around bags of colored powder at each other and strangers, all for charity. There was also some stellar Indian food there, which I always tell myself to eat more of in life.

Profound Thought: "Family, family, family. I realize I do want to explore the country, but when it comes time to settle down and raise a family, I want to be near family. Also, remember to eat Indian food because it's yummy."

Week 14: 03/29-04/04

   

Week 14

     03/29 - Coming down from the Spring Break high, time to get to work. A big part of said work is finding a place to live in Seattle. I know it'll be tough but it's exciting too.
     04/03 - Jesus Christ Superstar. So, my neighbors have this long-held family tradition of playing and sing-alonging the songs from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar on Good Friday. The tradition started in the 80s with just their family and has since grown to included family friends, including my family. It's a lot of fun! The first time we went we didn't know any of the songs and thought the idea was "out there," but by the second year we went it became something I've looked forward to each year. Recently they've moved the event to a local cafe, Katie's Cup, in downtown Rockford. My dad and brother joined the musical ensemble this year with Alex and Steve. It was great fun and a cool way to reflect on Good Friday.

Profound Thought of the Week: "Traditions are interesting. They don't make any sense to people outside of them, but with a little bit of experience it's easy to pick up what's going on."

Week 13: 03/22-03/28

   

Week 13

SPRING BREAK HAS BEGUN! Below I have summarized the different legs of the trip. I may write out the full story someday, but I'm way behind on my blog posts, so for now you get a summary :p

First Leg: Memphis, TN

• Dates: 03/21-03/22
• Lodging: Felizita's (AirBnB)
• Food: Central BBQ, Brother Juniper's, Blue Monkey Bar
• Bars: The Tap Room (road frosty)
• Places Visited: Beale Street, Gibson Factory, Riverwalk, MLK Memorial, Arts District, Victorian Village, Graceland (just the sign lol)
• Highlights: The man with the shopping cart, eating a half-rack of ribs after 6 hours of driving, Kathleen "tripping in Memphis," David's new cocktail, lots of walking...lots, Lorraine Hotel was very surreal
• Quotes: "Walking in Memphis" (wayyyyy too much), "Watch your B's and W's kids" (me), "Tripping in Memphis!" (Kath), "I ordered a rum & whiskey, it's a bit much" (Dave)

Second Leg: Gulf Shores, AL

• Dates: 03/22-03/27
• Lodging: Cove 117A via Young's Suncoast Vacation Rentals
• Food: Pasta, bagels, Bahamas Bob's, beggs
• Bars: The Hangout, Bill's by the Beach, Pink Pony Pub
• Places Visited: The beach for dayyyyys, the pier, Pier 33, gift shops
• Highlights: morning run/walks on the beach, hours of sunshine, poolside fun, bubba kegs, Superman kite, aloe, eat when hungry & sleep when tired, night naps, mermaiding with Mel and Katie, our puppy Jeff, Dirty Dave dancing, no responsibilities whatsoever!
• Quotes: "Pierre 33, trece tres...expecto patronum, they'll never know...a little bit of wingaurdium leviosa and I'll just float on away" (Jeff), "I'm too hot...hot damn," "PB&J with salsa, not very great" (Katie), "I think I'll just pee my pants, I'm going to shower later anyway...are you sh$&$;$($ting me" (Kath&me), "Wait, does everyone here think I'm gay?" (Dave), 

Third Leg: New Orleans, LA

• Dates: 03/27-03/28
• Lodging: Plaza Suites Hotel
• Food: Daisy Dukes, Cafe du Monde, chicken shack
• Bars: Pat O'Brien's, Bourbon Street bars
• Places Visited: French Quarter area: St Louis Cahedral, Bourbon St., Preservation Jazz Hall, Oak Alley Plantation
• Highlights: everything was pretty awesome, I want to return. The plantation was neato.

Future Javan: if you decide to make this trip again, stop by Memphis for food but keep on going to Alabama, it's the place to be. I'll probably write out the entire trip somewhere, as many details as I can remember. It could fill a small book though so it may or may not make the blog.

Profound Thought: "Things don't always happen the way you expect, but be hopeful and you just might  be delightfully surprised :) Also, swimming pools are a great invention and should be frequented from time-to-time."

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"