I don't know how many people know but I my blog where I post nowadays.

Does anyone even read this anymore?

BTW I will be in Erie Aug 6th -10th if anyone wants to get together.

I got promoted this week! I am now a Software Engineer I. No longer Associate Engineer :).

Just thought I would pass it along. It came along with a 5% salary increase. I am catching up to Matt slowly.

Well that just shows how stupid the people are that make these quizzes. I am so not a Democrat. Assholes.

Yesterday Matt and I went house hunting and saw 5 houses.  We started off the trip thinking that we wanted to look at colonial style houses but realize by the end of the day we really like bi-level house.  We found a house in North Mentor that we absolutely adore.  Our Realtor is going to find all the houses that are that style that are currently on the market and ones that have previously sold so we can have an idea what these houses go for.  I will be going to Quebec this week, and this weekend is Easter (that came quick), so we won't be able to look at houses for a couple weeks.  The house has been on the market for about 3 months so I am not concerned about it disappearing anytime soon.  Our lease ends in June at this apt. The month to month rent here used to be $100 extra a month but they changed it to $25 extra so we don't feel pressured for a quick house find. 

Today was great, I slept in and finally woke up around 10.  Matt says that we are going out to eat and he wants to take me to his favorite Indian restaurant, but it is all the way in Parma.  This is ok, because Matt thought of doing something sweet for me all on his own and it made me feel really great.  We went to Trader Joe's after and then Heines for groceries.  Today was like 71 degrees outside so we grabbed a beer and sat on the porch until the sun went down.  We let Bill and Bitty out on the porch with us so they could enjoy the nice weather.  They were so cute, but kept looking down over the edge and made me nervous. 

Tomorrow I need to finish my software design description for my one project so I can go to Quebec free and clear.  I also get to find out my friend's date went.  

Good night!

I think it is a draw currently.  Last week I didn't go to Quebec.  I stayed in the lab writing documentation.  I wrote a Software Architecture Description and a Software Requirement Specification.  Next week I get to write a Software Design Description and update a traceability matrix.  My trip to Quebec will be the first week of April unless they reschedule again.  I will have completed everything required of me by 3/30 (the end of the month).  Because of all of the typing I got a horrible thing called mouse shoulder.  I have been using a heating pad all weekend to get better so I can do more of the same next week. 
Friday I had a social life for the first time since I moved to Ohio, yep 9 months... sad sad Becca.  Anyway I went out with Matt and some of his buddies that he worked with at recent previous employer.  We went to a Mexican restaurant  in Mentor and had Margaritas and dinner.  My pathetic existence consists of lunches and work being my biggest social activities.  Hanging out with older men is my idea of a good time. 
I have decided to do something about not having outside work friends.  Matt and I are joining the bike club and I am going to do some sailing this summer.  I should be able to meet some people.  I am currently trying to find a chick for this guy at work cuz he needs a companion, then I can invite him out with me and Matt.  I hope he finds someone, cuz he's kinda picky and I don't blame him he shouldn't settle, I just want him to be happy because he's such a great guy. 
Next week I am calling up USAA to get pre-approved on a mortgage.  I need to also call back the Realtor, we have been playing phone tag for a week, I think I going to give her my # at work or in the lab, because my cell doesn't work in the lab.  Poo!

Tomorrow will be 64 F  I need to go biking and work off my winter flab.  I have lost 7 lbs so far lets see if I can loose 7 more plus some.

Life is so strange.  Crap hit the fan on Friday for my one project, development is a week behind schedule and that makes V&V behind schedule.  I am also required to complete 4 different documents for this project, and of course no one realized this until Friday that it had to be completed by the end of the month (3/30).  So here I am not able to sleep on a Monday morning at 5:15.  I have been up since 430 and can't get back to sleep, just trying to figure out what to do first.  I have started the documents but these aren't just 2 or 3 page docs.  These documents are always closer to 100 pages and the Software Design Description is split into 2 documents because it is so huge and will probably be over 200 pp each.  I also don't know what I am writing about, I don't have all the answers, so if I have questions it takes me a week to hear the answer.  So I have everything ready to leave TOMORROW for Quebec and they tell me that I probably won't be going until early April.  I can understand why but what is with the "probably" am I or am I not going.  I just want to plan my life and I can't do it when upper management has spaghetti for spines.  Tell me what I need to do and then let me do it.  So nevertheless I won't be doing much outside of writing crappy papers that I don't know what to put in them for the next 2 weeks. 

Now we have to see if they will re-approve this trip that they didn't know would be approved to begin with.  HMPH!

See subject, this is why I haven't been on in a while.  I have been so busy enjoying life and work.  I normally complain about work but it really hasn't been too bad since I moved down to the lab.  The lab is much quieter and I get more work done in a shorter period of time.  I am going to Quebec next week, by myself, and am using this week to tie up any loose ends.  I have a lot to accomplish in the 3.5 days that I will be there.  I should brush up on my French as well so I could converse in the native language. 

I dusted off my bike this weekend and went biking yesterday because it was absolutely beautiful outside.  I probably got about 5 miles in, but that is an estimate because I have misplaced my speedometer.  I will have to look for it soon.  I am thinking about joining a bike club in the area and want Matt to join with me, one of the guys I works with is on it and says its really fun.  I want to meet more people in the area and figure that this might be a good way to do it.  You can't meet people if you don't join things. 

I got the name of a  realtor  in the area because now that Matt and I both have a job and it doesn't look like we will be unemployed anytime soon we need to find a house.  We plan on looking at houses in Mentor and Willoughby Hills.  I hope we can find something reasonable.  We started looking when we lived in Erie and the prices are a lot higher out here.  It is amazing how only an hour away can make the average house price go up by 50K. 

I should be getting a promotion this review cycle.  I deserve to called a Software Engineer 1 and not Associate Engineer II.   My boss has been talking about it for about 6 months now and if it goes through it will be the first promotion in our group since it's inception.  The director of my group just doesn't give out promotions, it just doesn't dawn on him.  Luckily I have my boss pushing for me and everyone I work with as well.  I even talk to the VP when I have chance or see him in the hall. 

Oh and before I forget, I highly recommend a very strange sandwich combination, Peanut butter and egg sandwich.  I know it sounds gross but it isn't too bad, You will have to try it for yourself to see but its a combination that I wouldn't have thought of if I didn't talk to people during lunch. 

This weekend is St. Patrick's day, go drink a beer and wear green.  I am going out to eat with Matt and his parents and it should be a fine day. 

Well last time I posted I was getting ready for the R&D Chili cook-off.  Well now that has come and gone the summary is that it was super fun and I won 3rd place.  I won a really cool multi-tool with the company logo. I also found out that I am going to Quebec again, by myself this time at the end of the month.  I need to help integrate the part I created with the part created in Quebec, this only includes the first project out of 4 that I am involved with, so I think I will be going back many many more times.  I am also pretty impressed with the response of upper management to the request to go to Quebec. 

My dad and brother Josh are driving back from Missouri tomorrow and are stopping to visit for a day.  This is cool because Joshua hasn't been up since I graduated college and my dad hasn't seen the new cats or my new MacBook.  I took off Wednesday so I could spend the day with my family.

I officially made the switch.  I now own a MacBook.  Well I owned it for about 2 weeks, I don't know why I never got one sooner.  Love the Mac.  It is so beautiful, easy to use, great for geeky programming stuff, great for music, won't crash, and I haven't turned on my computer since I bought it.  It was about $1300, like tax and all that jazz.  I got the all white one and it looks so sterile. if I want too I can video chat and voice chat because the microphone and camera are build right in. 
In work related news, I moved my working spot to the Control lab on the first floor and now remote desktop into my cube PC. It is actually much nicer doing this because the lab is very quiet (me and another guy I work with) and it has great lights that make it feel like summer time.  I am currently 88% done with my first round of screens for the washer I am working on with the Quebec team.  It looks like I will be going back up to Quebec, this time by myself for the integration of the 2 parts of code. 
Being away from home won't seem so bad this time because I finally have a laptop to use the free internet available at the hotel.  I have to write an email to my director stressing the fact that I really need to make this trip because of how well the project is going so far and we don't want it to slip. 
Tomorrow all off R&D is participating in a Chili Cook-off.  They are awarding prizes for 1st- 3rd place.  I hope I come out victorious.  I love food and I love competitions so this should be fun!!

Have a good night!

I just bought a stick of DDR memory today and now I have 1.5 GB of RAM for my computer at home.  I actually have more RAM than Matt's computer now and it was on sale as well so It was well worth it.  I originally had only 512 MB on my system.  Now the only left to make this system decent is a LCD monitor, I was going to say "make it usable" but I am using it now.  HA! 

When we went to Micro Center today we went to see the Apple Store in the back.  I want to get a Mac book so bad but it will cost about 2K to get the one I want and that is just too much when we are trying to save for a house.  We were talking to the sales associate and he was telling us that since Macs now use Intel chips they can support all Windows software so we could use all of our old software.  The mac books can even be duel booted and will run Windows XP if you want.  So, someday I suppose I will get one but a house is more important currently. 

Well I am going to go get some more bread cheese.  We got it today at Heinen's and it is like a big cheese stick that you warm up in the oven and it stays it's shape.  It's really good so I will go have other piece. 

Does anyone know how to clone people or at least does anyone have a Doppelganger that I can borrow? 

I am swamped at work and with the 5 projects that I am currently on, 2 currently that I am on for 100% of my time each.  I needed to chill for a few minutes and gather my thoughts so I don't go postal.  I can't wait till I move down to the lab, it should be really quiet down there and people won't know I am there for at least a few days, and I get a white board *heart*.  I just completed a Gantt chart that maps out all the activities I am part of out until about May and it looks like there needs to be about 2.768* of me in order to complete the tasks on time. 

Well I should get back to work so I can leave on time, or something.


* No scientific study backing these findings.

Wow when I woke up this morning there must have been at least 8" of new snow had fallen over night.  The plow cleared off our parking lot but plowed the Jeep in so I had to dig myself out, it was pretty crazy.  I have yet to mail my secret pal's spin to knit package.  I feel so bad about it, it has been sitting in my car for a wheel. 

Anyway....
I have a new website.