Friday was my first day of work. I didn't actually get to do any real work yet; this was simply a new employee orientation day, where I sat in a classroom for most of the day and got talked at about the company and some common things that I need to do (like how to get in to buildings, etc). We got to go on a small tour of one of the facilities in the afternoon, and I got to eat lunch with my new boss--that was the first time I had met him.
This weekend was really nice! Ben came up from S. Maryland on Saturday evening and spent some time here--we watched some movies that evening, and then went to downtown early Saturday afternoon to look at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the associated historical district. We also got to tour the original Congress Hall/Capitol Building (ProTip: Philadelphia was the Capital of the U.S. for the first ten years). It was a beautiful day out, so we took some time to just walk around downtown. Unfortunately, most of the historical places around there charge to get in, so we didn't get so see all the things (like Benjamin Franklin's burial place) that we wanted to. Later in the afternoon we came back to my apartment and grilled bratwurst and drank beer in the parking lot; yum!
Monday was my first "real" day of work, where I actually got to sit in my cubicle! I met all of my co-workers, they seem like they're going to be a lot of fun to work with. Most of my day, unfortunately, was pretty boring; I have to spend pretty much this entire week trying to get access to all the computer systems and tools I'll need to do my job, and doing mandatory training on Boeing's policies. The export controls ones (a.k.a. don't give stuff to non-U.S. people) are particularly boring, and of course are the longest.
Today, I worked more on computer systems and training, but also got a few small introductions to the actual work I'll be doing, which was a nice change of pace. I finally got to go over to the Chinook factory across the street and take a look at how they're built; the scale of the operation is simply incredible! Finished off the afternoon with more training and computer systems, but I should be done with that (for the time being...) by the end of tomorrow.
I'm pretty much moved in to my apartment now; there's still a few boxes of miscellaneous stuff that I need to unpack, and my empty TV box that I'm reluctant to throw away (it may join forces with a slab of wood to become a table), but everything else is more or less where it's going to stay for the next few months. It's nice to be able to sit down and relax after coming home from work, instead of always feeling like there's something I need to do.
Showing posts with label goings-on. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goings-on. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Philadelphia Day 2
Yesterday:
- Moved in to new apartment. It's better than I expected in some ways, worse in others. It's a first-floor apartment, so that means it's actually half below ground and everyone in the parking lot can see directly in to my apartment. I do, however, have brand-new carpet and reasonably new appliances. Parking (which is a free-for-all) appears to be scarce during the evenings.
- Went to "Pre-Employment Processing" at work. In other words, did 1/2 hour of paperwork and proved I'm a U.S. Citizen, and got my photo taken for my ID badge. Hopefully it's better than my MN drivers' license. I made one new friend there; he worked for Boeing for a few years as an Engineer in L.A., but is now doing contract administration (business).
- Had dinner and a few beers with my Dad at Iron Hill Brewery, a nicer restaurant that brews their own beers (excellent!). It's been a long while since I've had such a long conversation between just the two of us.
Today:
- Went shopping for furniture, since I'm lacking dining room furniture, a coffee table, dresser, and a nightstand. I ended up purchasing a dresser and some dining room chairs at IKEA (found a decent dining table next to the apartment dumpster--claimed!)
- Got an early birthday present from Dad, a GPS for my car! The roads around here are really confusing, since none of them go north/south, not even the major ones. Most of the roads are based on the river, which runs to the south-west, and none of them are straight for very long. They also aren't named in any sequential pattern, so you really have to know the area to know where you're going. Also, the typical street sign is about 2" x 16" and brown, so finding and reading them is nearly impossible.
- With the aforementioned transactions, I triggered a fraud flag on my credit card. It seems buying $400 of gas in a drive across the country and then spending $500 more at stores is suspicious... who knew?
- Dropped Dad off at the airport, which represented the last of my many goodbyes. It was hard, and now I'm all depressed, but I have plenty of things to do to take my mind off things.
- Went "grocery" shopping, which consisted of stopping at the Wawa store on the way home from the airport. These things are everywhere; they're pretty much little convenience stores, except they don't sell gas. I only got bread and milk. I'll buy more food later when it's not rush hour.
Tomorrow is my first day at work!
- Moved in to new apartment. It's better than I expected in some ways, worse in others. It's a first-floor apartment, so that means it's actually half below ground and everyone in the parking lot can see directly in to my apartment. I do, however, have brand-new carpet and reasonably new appliances. Parking (which is a free-for-all) appears to be scarce during the evenings.
- Went to "Pre-Employment Processing" at work. In other words, did 1/2 hour of paperwork and proved I'm a U.S. Citizen, and got my photo taken for my ID badge. Hopefully it's better than my MN drivers' license. I made one new friend there; he worked for Boeing for a few years as an Engineer in L.A., but is now doing contract administration (business).
- Had dinner and a few beers with my Dad at Iron Hill Brewery, a nicer restaurant that brews their own beers (excellent!). It's been a long while since I've had such a long conversation between just the two of us.
Today:
- Went shopping for furniture, since I'm lacking dining room furniture, a coffee table, dresser, and a nightstand. I ended up purchasing a dresser and some dining room chairs at IKEA (found a decent dining table next to the apartment dumpster--claimed!)
- Got an early birthday present from Dad, a GPS for my car! The roads around here are really confusing, since none of them go north/south, not even the major ones. Most of the roads are based on the river, which runs to the south-west, and none of them are straight for very long. They also aren't named in any sequential pattern, so you really have to know the area to know where you're going. Also, the typical street sign is about 2" x 16" and brown, so finding and reading them is nearly impossible.
- With the aforementioned transactions, I triggered a fraud flag on my credit card. It seems buying $400 of gas in a drive across the country and then spending $500 more at stores is suspicious... who knew?
- Dropped Dad off at the airport, which represented the last of my many goodbyes. It was hard, and now I'm all depressed, but I have plenty of things to do to take my mind off things.
- Went "grocery" shopping, which consisted of stopping at the Wawa store on the way home from the airport. These things are everywhere; they're pretty much little convenience stores, except they don't sell gas. I only got bread and milk. I'll buy more food later when it's not rush hour.
Tomorrow is my first day at work!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Double Take: Moving to Philadelphia
A few weeks ago, "moving to Philadelphia" was just another fact about my career trajectory: it was unquestionably the best decision to make; a necessary sacrifice to get to my "dream job;" the next in the series of adventures that make up one's life. Meghan would move out there with me, and I (we) would get to see family and friends often enough to suffice; neither seemed a big problem at the time. I was significantly more at ease with the decision than she was, probably because I had the added excitement of going to start a new job (hopefully one that I like), while all she had to look forward to was me leaving.
However, it did not truly become real until three things occurred:
First: I had to say goodbye to everyone. It started on Sunday, when one of my friends from high school (in fact, the only one that I really stay in contact with that I didn't go to college with) came by on the beginning of his spring break to say hi/goodbye. That didn't really hit me too hard, because he's been away at school on the West Coast for the majority of the past 5 years.
Then was Wednesday, my "official" farewell party. It literally took until I was putting on my shoes to go to the bar to realize that that was the night I would actually have to start saying goodbye to everyone. It wasn't terribly difficult; a lot of the people there were somewhat casual friends, and I had plans to see my closer friends later in the week.
Friday was the night where I went out with my closest friends, for a night of food, drinking, and revelry. It was a little bit harder; since everyone was leaving for the Easter Holiday, that was last time I would get to see them. As most of my current and former roommates were present at one time or another, it was a really nice way to look back at college and what a fantastic experience it has been.
Easter Sunday, however, was the hardest, when saying goodbye to my (extended) family. When they were leaving our Easter gathering, they asked, "when will we see you again?" I already know the answer (for this year, at least) is Christmas. It's hard for me to stomach that, while living out there, I will likely only see my extended family once or twice a year; I'm used to seeing them at least every two months or so; for all the major holidays, birthday and graduation celebrations, and some other miscellaneous gatherings. However, being a 22-hour drive away greatly reduces my ability to attend such things.
Second: This will be the first time that I am living more than 20 minutes from my parents' house. I first realized this in the final stages of packing for the move, when I was making sure that I had everything, similar to when going on vacation. The realization that something I forgot is no longer a "quick run home" really drove the point home: I am moving away, for a significant amount of time.
Third: I just got back from saying goodbye to Meghan, I'm leaving for Philadelphia in the morning. I promised not to cry on the way home, if she didn't cry going to sleep. It felt really awkward and disjointed to not be able to say "see you tomorrow" with a smile. For the next 6 months or so, seeing each other the 3-4 times a week that we grew accustomed to is no longer the norm. Sure, there will be phone calls and web-cam chats and other communication, but nothing can ever replace the feeling of a very special girl falling asleep in your arms. Ever.
Now that the full magnitude of "moving to Philadelphia" has hit me, things no longer seem so clear. To the contrary, everything now seems so uncertain. Although the proverbial "plan" has always been to work in Minnesota, I don't know if that will change, and my present self wouldn't be happy if it did. I don't know what it will be like to have all of my friends and family 1300 miles away. I don't know how I will handle everyday life being away from my girlfriend.
"Life's an adventure," I keep telling myself. We'll see where it leads.
However, it did not truly become real until three things occurred:
First: I had to say goodbye to everyone. It started on Sunday, when one of my friends from high school (in fact, the only one that I really stay in contact with that I didn't go to college with) came by on the beginning of his spring break to say hi/goodbye. That didn't really hit me too hard, because he's been away at school on the West Coast for the majority of the past 5 years.
Then was Wednesday, my "official" farewell party. It literally took until I was putting on my shoes to go to the bar to realize that that was the night I would actually have to start saying goodbye to everyone. It wasn't terribly difficult; a lot of the people there were somewhat casual friends, and I had plans to see my closer friends later in the week.
Friday was the night where I went out with my closest friends, for a night of food, drinking, and revelry. It was a little bit harder; since everyone was leaving for the Easter Holiday, that was last time I would get to see them. As most of my current and former roommates were present at one time or another, it was a really nice way to look back at college and what a fantastic experience it has been.
Easter Sunday, however, was the hardest, when saying goodbye to my (extended) family. When they were leaving our Easter gathering, they asked, "when will we see you again?" I already know the answer (for this year, at least) is Christmas. It's hard for me to stomach that, while living out there, I will likely only see my extended family once or twice a year; I'm used to seeing them at least every two months or so; for all the major holidays, birthday and graduation celebrations, and some other miscellaneous gatherings. However, being a 22-hour drive away greatly reduces my ability to attend such things.
Second: This will be the first time that I am living more than 20 minutes from my parents' house. I first realized this in the final stages of packing for the move, when I was making sure that I had everything, similar to when going on vacation. The realization that something I forgot is no longer a "quick run home" really drove the point home: I am moving away, for a significant amount of time.
Third: I just got back from saying goodbye to Meghan, I'm leaving for Philadelphia in the morning. I promised not to cry on the way home, if she didn't cry going to sleep. It felt really awkward and disjointed to not be able to say "see you tomorrow" with a smile. For the next 6 months or so, seeing each other the 3-4 times a week that we grew accustomed to is no longer the norm. Sure, there will be phone calls and web-cam chats and other communication, but nothing can ever replace the feeling of a very special girl falling asleep in your arms. Ever.
Now that the full magnitude of "moving to Philadelphia" has hit me, things no longer seem so clear. To the contrary, everything now seems so uncertain. Although the proverbial "plan" has always been to work in Minnesota, I don't know if that will change, and my present self wouldn't be happy if it did. I don't know what it will be like to have all of my friends and family 1300 miles away. I don't know how I will handle everyday life being away from my girlfriend.
"Life's an adventure," I keep telling myself. We'll see where it leads.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
New Job!
After 12+ months of searching and applying, hundreds of rejected applications, and countless gut checks, I finally secured a full-time job with Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Ridley Park, PA!
Right now, I'm not sure whether I'll be there for a year or a decade, or if this job is specifically something I want to do long-term, but at a minimum, it's a job in the aerospace defense industry. At this point, I don't have a specific job title that I want in 20 years, other than I know I want to design aircraft. Hopefully this experience will at least give me more insight in to where I want to fit in to the process.
I felt the largest obstacle I had to overcome in finding a job was the fact that I still have no actual (relevant?) industry experience--everything on my resume has "University of Minnesota" tacked next to it, and my current job is more or less completely separate from what I want to ultimately do, so getting this job is a huge step in the right direction for me.
Although I don't yet have an official start date, it will probably be about a month from now. Moving out to Ridley Park (a southern suburb of Philadelphia) is an exciting, new, and nerve-wracking experience for me; I've never lived outside of the Twin Cities, and never truly lived on my own--that's an entirely different post, though.
Yay!
Right now, I'm not sure whether I'll be there for a year or a decade, or if this job is specifically something I want to do long-term, but at a minimum, it's a job in the aerospace defense industry. At this point, I don't have a specific job title that I want in 20 years, other than I know I want to design aircraft. Hopefully this experience will at least give me more insight in to where I want to fit in to the process.
I felt the largest obstacle I had to overcome in finding a job was the fact that I still have no actual (relevant?) industry experience--everything on my resume has "University of Minnesota" tacked next to it, and my current job is more or less completely separate from what I want to ultimately do, so getting this job is a huge step in the right direction for me.
Although I don't yet have an official start date, it will probably be about a month from now. Moving out to Ridley Park (a southern suburb of Philadelphia) is an exciting, new, and nerve-wracking experience for me; I've never lived outside of the Twin Cities, and never truly lived on my own--that's an entirely different post, though.
Yay!
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Job Search
In a little under 3 months, I will be done with school and have to move off in to the real world. Which means, in the interim, I need to find a job, find a place to live, and basically re-set my life.
I've had a few interviews here and there, stemming from the two job fairs I've attended, but none of them have yielded any results (job offers, that is).
I know exactly two things about what I want to do for a living:
I'm starting to think, in my opinion, that I've never really worked "hard" for anything. Sure, I've been successful in school, been involved, won a few awards, done a few cool things, but maybe I never really was truly, really, challenged by any of these, and, maybe now that I'm required to really work at something, I'm failing miserably. To try to solve this, I'm now commiting myself to dedicate at least one hour of every day doing nothing but job searching: applying on-line, researching companies, searching for new ones.
Hopefully it'll all work out in the end.
I've had a few interviews here and there, stemming from the two job fairs I've attended, but none of them have yielded any results (job offers, that is).
I know exactly two things about what I want to do for a living:
- I want to design aircraft for a living. I've known this for 4 or 5 years now. It really doesn't matter what kind; there's just always been something fascinating about the beautiful complexity of an airplane
- I don't want to work for NASA. In the 1960's, I would. Maybe if we get in another "space race," I will. But not now. It would be cool, but I don't want to work on any project where Congress directly controls the budget.
I'm starting to think, in my opinion, that I've never really worked "hard" for anything. Sure, I've been successful in school, been involved, won a few awards, done a few cool things, but maybe I never really was truly, really, challenged by any of these, and, maybe now that I'm required to really work at something, I'm failing miserably. To try to solve this, I'm now commiting myself to dedicate at least one hour of every day doing nothing but job searching: applying on-line, researching companies, searching for new ones.
Hopefully it'll all work out in the end.
Monday, September 22, 2008
It's that time of year again...
...when I wonder if I'm taking on too much for the amount of time I have. On the docket this semester:
- School, including
- Senior Design: yet another design project, expected to take ~15 hours/week
- Aeromechanics Lab: A massive amount of data to sort through, several lab reports, etc.
- Thermodynamics: never really grasped this subject, been dreading taking this class for a couple years now
- Marching Band: winding down my last year, getting ready to be done but still enjoying it immensely.
- Work: getting in some hours in the morning, but not much
- Social life: living with the people I've hung out with for the last three years takes time! Plus, GF living 30 minutes away doesn't help
- Solar Car: somehow became Project Manager, feeling like I'm not doing enough in that role right now
- Job Search, aka "the new one:" still getting used to the whole "I'm going to have a career next year" thing. Slowly working on my resume, but this is going to have to ramp up quickly in order to get done. The rest of my life starts now.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
...and it's over
No more solar car for the rest of the summer.
I have no idea what to do with myself for the 8 hours of free time that I suddenly have.
Marching band starts again (for the last time) in two more weeks.
It seems like I have some need for myself to be chronically busy, otherwise I'm just confused.
I have no idea what to do with myself for the 8 hours of free time that I suddenly have.
Marching band starts again (for the last time) in two more weeks.
It seems like I have some need for myself to be chronically busy, otherwise I'm just confused.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Holy Crap
We leave for the Solar Car race in 7 days.
7 days.
I'm really excited and a little bit scared. I've been working towards this event for three years, which probably makes it the longest single project I've ever worked on. Three years of giving up time to hang out with friends and study.
It's really, really cool to see it finally be (almost) finished, but at the same time I'm worried that we've somehow completely screwed up, nothing will work, and we aren't living up to the standard set by previous teams.
On a somewhat related note, this will also be the longest (duration) trip I've ever been on.
...7 days...
7 days.
I'm really excited and a little bit scared. I've been working towards this event for three years, which probably makes it the longest single project I've ever worked on. Three years of giving up time to hang out with friends and study.
It's really, really cool to see it finally be (almost) finished, but at the same time I'm worried that we've somehow completely screwed up, nothing will work, and we aren't living up to the standard set by previous teams.
On a somewhat related note, this will also be the longest (duration) trip I've ever been on.
...7 days...
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Wow, it's been a while
It most certainly has been a while since I posted anything, especially considering my goal was to make several posts per week.
These next few weeks are going to be hectic, but hopefully a lot of fun and the best end-of-year yet. The solar car is almost "done," we're unveiling it next Thursday. Thus, my schedule for the next two weeks are:
Tonight: go to shop, install mechanical components of the car
Tomorrow: all-team meeting, work more on car, attend Meg's freind's wedding in the evening
Sunday: Frisbee, maybe homework, maybe solar car
Monday: Class, solar car
Tuesday: Work, solar car, homeworks
Wednesday: Class, LOTS of solar car, more solar car
Thursday: Unveil solar car (10:00AM, McNamera Alumni Center), show off car all day
Friday: Last day of classes, continue work on car
Saturday: More solar car
Sunday: Frisbee playoffs
Monday: Study for finals, work on (finish?) Flight Dynamics final project
Tuesday: Aerodynamics Final Exam
Wednesday: Insturmentation & Structures Exams
Thursday: Leave for St. Louis for solar car inspection event
Uff-da.
These next few weeks are going to be hectic, but hopefully a lot of fun and the best end-of-year yet. The solar car is almost "done," we're unveiling it next Thursday. Thus, my schedule for the next two weeks are:
Tonight: go to shop, install mechanical components of the car
Tomorrow: all-team meeting, work more on car, attend Meg's freind's wedding in the evening
Sunday: Frisbee, maybe homework, maybe solar car
Monday: Class, solar car
Tuesday: Work, solar car, homeworks
Wednesday: Class, LOTS of solar car, more solar car
Thursday: Unveil solar car (10:00AM, McNamera Alumni Center), show off car all day
Friday: Last day of classes, continue work on car
Saturday: More solar car
Sunday: Frisbee playoffs
Monday: Study for finals, work on (finish?) Flight Dynamics final project
Tuesday: Aerodynamics Final Exam
Wednesday: Insturmentation & Structures Exams
Thursday: Leave for St. Louis for solar car inspection event
Uff-da.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Here it is...
...that one week every semester where everything in all your classes seems to line up in the most inconvenient way possible. I have 2 midterm exams and 1 quiz on Wednesday, plus a large project due on Friday. Not to mention that motivation is falling off a cliff due to Spring Break starting in 4 days. At least it won't continue in to the next weeks like it always seems to do...
"Hold on to your butts!"
"Hold on to your butts!"
Friday, February 29, 2008
New Toy!
I ordered myself a new camera last week; it came in the mail yesterday!After playing around with some of my friends' cameras, it became apparent that I really liked photography and I should probably get a camera of my own since I'm doing so much interesting stuff in the next year or so. It's a Canon Powerhot S5 IS, which is just about as nice as they come without going up in to the $600+ range (waaay more than I would spend on just about anything).
Hopefully I can make my life well-documented; I post my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnskyscraper.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Mmmm, cookies....
Tonight was Hockey Mom cookie night, when the Hockey players' moms make the band cookies for the game.
It's nice to know we're appreciated :-)
It's nice to know we're appreciated :-)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Homework
I spent the entire night working on what is legitimately the most difficult homework assignment I've ever had. Period. After 4 hours in the afternoon of bumbling through algebra that should have taken me 20 minutes. Pissed off at half my classes. No time to see Meg. Have to get up early tomorrow morning and work all day.
Break is needed, but will never come. That's the life I've built for myself.
Edit Feb. 20: Lost my mp3 player today. Screw you, life.
Edit Feb. 21: Finished the homework, found my mp3 player!
Break is needed, but will never come. That's the life I've built for myself.
Edit Feb. 20: Lost my mp3 player today. Screw you, life.
Edit Feb. 21: Finished the homework, found my mp3 player!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
V-Day
...was nice :-) We exchanged gifts (and cards), then went to dinner at a nice restaurant. I was a little nervous, as I've never needed to do this before (this xkcd comic comes to mind), but all went well. How it should be.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Spring Semester, v3.0: Update
Classes so far are going pretty well. My only major "issue" is that, on Wednesdays, there's a weekly quiz in Flight Dynamics and Control and homework due in Aerodynamics. Going to class for 6.5 hours, 3 days a week is working out pretty well, as it frees up just about everything else. As for individual classes:
- AEM 4303W - Flight Dynamics and Control: This has turned out to be the most interesting class of my four. Not too much new material (we've covered most of it in AEM 2301 - Mechanics of Flight), but that should change pretty quickly. The professor likes to mumble a little bit, but I can here him most of the time.
- AEM 4202 - Aerodynamics: Also a pretty interesting class, it's nice to see that there's actually math behind all the stuff that makes an airplane fly, not just unsupported imperical evidence. Homeworks for this one take a while, but it's still managable in an evening. The professor is liable to make mistakes writing euqations on the board, which makes lecture a little frustrating.
- AEM 4501 - Aerospace Structures: It's kind of interesting to expand on the knowledge of a previous class and see where stuff comes from, but (so far) that's the limit of this class. Unfortunately, there's no [reliable] textbook for this class, so I have to mostly pay attention in lecture, which is difficult at times since it's right after lunch.
- AEM 4601 - Insturmentation Lab: Remember the first week of lab, when you learned how to use the equipment in the lab, and then answered a few simple questions about it? That's this class, but every single week. I find myself doing a lot of homework and/or solar car in lecture, especially since most of the information that goes on the board is handed out at the beginning of class. The lab is a bit more interesting, but like I said, "advanced lab orientation" is what this class should be called.
- SVP 35 - Solar Car: We've really started building the car! Every week, the random collection of parts in the shop gets closer and closer to looking like something drive-able. Accordingly, it's also taking up more and more time every week; most of my weekends have had some form of solar car in them, if not the whole weekend. Tuesdays and Thursdays are falling fast too... time is going fast...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Uh Oh, Tax Return Time
Since I actually had a full-time, well-paid job this summer, I made more money than I ever had before. As a result, I also have a sizeable tax return: $850 this year. History has shown that when this happens, instead of saving the money, I like to buy new toys (last year's "investment" was an mp3 player). I plan to buy myself a digital camera (finally!), mostly so I can take pictures of solar car.
Unfortunately, this only accounts for about $300 of the money. Aside from saving it, on this year's 'maybe' list:
Unfortunately, this only accounts for about $300 of the money. Aside from saving it, on this year's 'maybe' list:
- 2nd computer monitor
- LEGO Millenium Falcon, the largest LEGO set ever created
- Desktop PC, so I can play computer games that are less than 3 years old
- TV of decent size for future apartments
- Stereo Amp for the speakers that I own but can't use
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Spring Semester, v3.0
And so begins the Spring Semester of 2008.
Classes are as follows:
Classes are as follows:
- AEM 4303W: Flight Dynamics and Controls, A.K.A. "How Airplanes Work." I'm really excited for this class, I'm hopefully learning basically what I want to do for a career.
- AEM 4202: Aerodynamics. The academic side of AEM, all about airfoils and the like. Still pretty interesting.
- AEM 4501: Aerospace Structures, A.K.A. "Deform on Steroids." I've always been at least a little interested in mechanics (Dynamics, Deform, etc.) so we'll keep an eye on this one, it has potential.
- AEM 4601: Insturmentation Lab, A.K.A. "How to do actual scientific experimentation." This one seems to have a lot of EE and I haven't learned a whole lot yet. This one seems the least promising of all my classes.
- MUS 3490: Men's Hockey Band. 'Nuff Said.
Thoughts:
- Yay for being done with Lib-Eds! All Engineering courses, all the time from here on out.
- Upside: No Class on Tuseday, only a lab on Thursday. Downside: Class from 9AM until 3:30PM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This means half the days feel like high school again, and the other half feel like full-time work.
- All classes are in the same department, and thus in the same building. I'm bringing lunch to class this time around so I can get fat by not walking enough.
Spring Semester Starts
Hmm... I don't like this new UI. It took me 2 minutes to figure out how to add this post. Turns out a post is actually called a "weblog" now. Interesting... Looking around, I'm actually just now deciding that I'm considering a move over to blogspot, which doesn't try to be a social community, unlike here. I'll look in to that.
I have a new account over at flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/mnskyscraper. I've really only posted pictures from my Ireland trip in 2005, but I should be investing in a nice new digital camera soon (Canon PowerShot SX100-IS) that will allow me to get a lot more pictures up there.
All of winter break was spent on Solar Car: except for the week sorrounding Christmas, I was at Northwest Airlines' Composites Shop working on building the body of the car for 8-10 hours a day. It's nice to be done with that now.
digg.com is a wonderful website. I spend way too much time there.
Spring Classes:
*AEM 4303W Flight Dynamics & Control
*AEM 4202 Aerodynamics
*AEM 4501 Aerospace Structures
*AEM 4601 Insturmentation Lab
Thoughts on Spring Semester:
*Hooray for no more lib-eds!
*No class on tuesday, only a lab on Thrusday = more work hours
*All of my classes are in the same building complex. I don't have to leave there for 7 hours. feels like high school.
*Upper division rules. I'm actually interested in most of the material now!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
School?
Spat Camp: Long, tough, fun
Leadership: new, exciting, more work than normal marching band
Solar Car: Dead as of Aug. 1, Back on as of Aug. 30
Solar Car Timeline: Unknown
Solar Car attitude: Mixed
Classes: none on Tuesday, only one on Thursday! Should be a good semester.
Lib-Ed's: Mus1001 - Clapping for credit as a night class
Apartment: nearly fully moved in; Gopher shrine shaping up
Sports: can't wait for hockey, still pretty excited for football despite loss
Leadership: new, exciting, more work than normal marching band
Solar Car: Dead as of Aug. 1, Back on as of Aug. 30
Solar Car Timeline: Unknown
Solar Car attitude: Mixed
Classes: none on Tuesday, only one on Thursday! Should be a good semester.
Lib-Ed's: Mus1001 - Clapping for credit as a night class
Apartment: nearly fully moved in; Gopher shrine shaping up
Sports: can't wait for hockey, still pretty excited for football despite loss
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