Revisit of Goals 2005

Since I apparently did not set any goals for 2006, I figured I would go check out the goals for 2005 which I am going to carry over as continued goals for 2006. The original goals are in BOLD.

The first three goals definitely were a failure in 2005 and thus far in 2006.
- Loose 30 lbs that I have gained the last 6 months. Now this needs to be loose 45 lbs plus and being able to fit in the bridesmaids dress from August 2005 for my cousin's wedding New Year's Eve weekend.

- Exercise More
* I will say that this is getting a bit more attention than it has in the past two years. Today I walked to Work. The walk to work is about 38 minutes, when cutting over to the Ed bldg on the way and back. Plus approximately a 10 minute walk daily from the car to work.

- Eat Healthier
* Now that I have moved to Bloomington, I believe that this is coming around at least I am not eating out every meal nor eating really late at night.

- Make a decision about where life is headed next.
* Completed: Grad Apps, Interview, and Successful Admittance into a HESA program, as well as moving to Bloomington and after tomorrow will have classes to start taking in a bit over a week.

- Save money for that next life decision
Needs to be modified to live within the new means that are in front of me and not one with a decent salary.
* Not sure how this one went, but I can say that I am definitely avoiding the eating out these days and gas expenses will hopefully be going down as long as I stop all this crazy traveling.

- Read More
* I did read I Was Howard Hughes by Professor Carter, which was quite an enjoyable and interesting book that definitely maintained my interest even though I really had no clue who Howard Hughes was. Definite recommend.

- Finish 1 of 3 Cross-stitches for my cousin's kids in 2 weeks, and hopefully finish the other 2 by end of year :-)

* This was down to 2 cross-stitches til this past week when my mother shared the wonderful news that my cousin and his wife are expecting their second child. Sad thing is I haven't quite finished the cross-stitch for their 1st child yet. Though I do have to say, it is only in need of outlining and her information. Then I can start the second cross-stitch that I have with goals to complete it by Christmas and get started on the now third one. Maybe I can actually get caught up and get one done before the baby turns 1.

So those are the goals from the past and the current status. I feel a bit more confident that by the end of 2006 most of these will be on the right track and 2007 can start with a new set of Goals.

Cardinals vs Reds

The final three game series between the top two teams of the NL Central starts tonight. In my opinion this is a very crucial series with the Cardinals having lost three in a row after the last series with the Reds, while the Reds where 2-1. The lead is down to 1.5 games in favor of the Cardinals. Go Cards!

Though I have to admit, I was rooting for Cinci the other night even though the Cardinals had lost, but for the next three games its all Cardinals.

UPDATE: I was able to catch one of the three games this week, which was a great game by the Cardinals and their pitcher Carpenter. The Cards ended the series up an extra game on the Reds. We will see what happens come playoff time.

Tech Question - I Need Help

I really hope my tech friends are still reading my blog. I know at least one is but we may need the assistance of others. Not questioning your skills but questioning the ability of the question.

So I have been trying to setup my IU Exchange account on my home PC. I accomplished that feat in the same Profile as my previous Outlook emails, but then when I checked to see how my PALM would sync with Outlook, the results were not favorable. It was going to sync with my new exchange mailbox since it was the primary data file. I had to set it as the primary data file in order to maintain the emails on both my home pc and the network. I don't want to sync all of my home contacts and calendar events with my work/school account. So how do I solve this without creating another profile in Outlook?

For now, I have created a secondary profile in outlook which contains my IU account but that results in my mind to a lot of extra management. Any ideas or suggestions would be highly appreciated. And for those out there who say "Get with the Times and Run away from PALM", that answer doesn't work especially since I am already spending more than I make. No more new unnecessary gadgets for me :-) I've splurged about all I am going to splurge for awhile.

682 Emails in Inbox Alone Not Counting Automatic Filters

Okay, so I was talking to one of my friends, whom I didn't have an email address in my contacts for. She mentioned having 4 email accounts, which reminded me that I have a gmail account. I decided to see if I could still login to my account, which was successful. Then I checked to see when the last time I had tentatively checked my email. Looks like mid May 2005. I am really shocked that I could still login. I added a few additional filters to the system, and managed to clear the inbox down to 2 emails both of which I had read previously.

How many email accounts do you have? Do you check them all? How do we go about managing such accounts?

I know that my first hotmail account is long gone now because of the 30 day login process they had in the past. My yahoo account is still functioning because I log into yahoo, but I never check my emails nor get any. We all see the status of my gmail account, though it is doing a great job of catching all the IT listserv info. Maybe I should use it more for that. Of course since I changed isp services, my bellsouth email address is gone though I saved any emails that I wanted off of there. I have yet to setup an Insight email address. Should you have an email address with your isp? My Georgetown account is history when they switched systems over. I finally lost access to my account there. Now I have two IU accounts which is a bit crazy though I can set the exchange address as the primary and route the information from the other system over to exchange. I can't delete the other systems account which seems random. Those are all that I remember though I am sure there are more.

Productive Weekend

How life has changed in the past month? A month ago, I was wrapping up one life and getting ready to embark on a new life. Over the years, I have experienced a lot of changes in life but I believe this to be the one of most significance in a long time. Not only have I moved 120 miles from where I have called home for the past 10 years, I also quit a lifestyle that had me running around crazy. Not to say some of the crazy running around will not start again soon, I do believe the time that I have for myself and to actually enjoy life will be tremendous. Main reasons: I'm not working 50 plus hours a week at a computer desk, not driving 2 plus hours a day to get to work and other activitiesm, I find so much enjoyment in what I am doing even if it is sometimes very slow and seemingly uninteresting to most people.

So with all of that said, today has been one productive day. After awaking shortly after 9 am and enjoying a quick breakfast, it was time to organize and clean more of the apartment. The office area was starting to become a big clutter ball and needed major assistance, which it received. The ironing board is now along the wall and the UK crates are in the corner awaiting books and notebooks from school. All the office supplies and other related items are still in disarray, but progress is being made. I also was able to get the VCR setup to receive cable in order to tape my favorite shows :-) (Chris see I haven't fully embrassed all of the latest technology.) After all of that, I proceed to clean the apartment mostly vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom , and taking out the trash before I decided I had been productive enough for one day.

For all of those Geeks Out There

Thanks to my new Bloglines account I found this interesting article about IBM PC 25th Birthday. Since several of my old avid readers are computer geeks, I figured you would enjoy.

On that subject, Chris guess what? I think you get the distinction of being the only one in the group now using your computer degree. How does it feel?

What a Game?

::Before I start, Chris I suggest sitting down so you dont fall down with another post :-)

Back to the real post

Wednesday Night, I finally was able to find the St Louis Cardinals vs the Cincinnati Reds baseball game on TV. What a heck of a game was played that night, well at least for the hitters. If you quit watching after the first inning, you missed quite a comeback, a hold on, and then a squeeze of luck in the final inning for the Reds to win. Congratulations to the Reds for a hard fought game! Glad to see the Cards pulled out today's game with a victory.

The Cards are still up 3.5 games on the Reds in the NL Central. We will see how the weekend shakes out as both teams head east before meeting one last time during regular season in St Louis mid-week.

Go Cards! As long as the Cards are winning so can the Reds :-)

Wow Life is Grande

I think this past weekend was one of the first times in a long time that I was able to relax and worry none about the week ahead. In ways, it was definitely a needed vacation; though in other ways, it seemed like old times hanging with wonderful friends. Thanks to all who allowed me to stay with them and have no worries. Even with the lack of sleep, it was one of the most wonderful weekends that I have had in a long time.

Friday Night or Saturday Early AM, I learned a new game, DaVinci Challenge, that must be played when one is conscious and not dead tired, especially if they are in charge of the score :-) It's a strategy game of shapes and symbols for those logical minds.

Saturday Night was time for baseball and fireworks in Lexington. It was wonderful to hang out with church friends and enjoy an outstanding game of baseball and fellowship.

Having no stress or hundreds of things to run back to, I was able to sleep in a bit, attend Mass, have a lovely lunch, and hang out with a friend before making the trek back to Bloomington.

Now that is when the weekend lost a bit of its fun and excitement, as I came home to a broken AC unit. Thankfully, I did have a small fan which kept me cool overnight, and it was fixed today while I was at work.

Definitely going to enjoy the next couple weeks and get all the relaxation in that I can because I know come the start of school things are going to become very busy and crazy. With that thought, it is time to get some sleep before another day of work.

Slowly Converting to the New Age

Though for the past 6 years I have worked in the IT field, personally I have continued to live in the dark ages as many of you know. So this week has definitely been a time of technology upgrade:
- Monday for the first time in over three years, I upgraded from 28.8 kbps connection to 100 mbps connection, and from rabbit ears (5 channels) to digital cable with 70 channels.
- Today with a bit more information from my friend KS, I finally plunged into the world of bloglines, setting up over 25 feeds. This was not my first attempt at setting up RSS Feed tracking. I had originally setup a page on myyahoo.com for RSS Feeds but it was not the most visually appealing, and I never went out to review it. We will see what luck I have at actually reading and keeping up with blog updates and other news now.

Well I just heard a report that the gas prices have gone sky high, so I am going to run over to SAM's and see if they still have semi-cheap gas or not.

The First Week

Well, it has been almost a week since I planted myself firmly in Bloomington. A lot has happened and lots still to go. Thurs evening through Mon morning, where spent without internet and nothing but PBS on the TV. I did a lot of unpacking and rearranging of things. I believe most things are now in their basic appropriate locations. There are still a couple things out of place but not sure what to do with them. The office is in need of great assistance, as there is still a corner of boxes mostly of school and office materials that need to be sorted and organized, plus tons of papers to be filed.

Monday afternoon, I took a nice long walk to campus, unknowing of the heat advisory that was out. Guess that’s what the TV is for, learning about what’s going on. Needless to say, I survived and was smart enough to take a water bottle with me. The journey started with a walk down a random bike path towards campus and then over to the bldg for classes, which took a bit less than 1/2 hr. Then it was off to the office, which took another 15 minutes, going via the roads. I took an extra journey over to the main drag to check out parking for Tuesday and back towards the office. This is when the journey became interesting; I decided to see if I could find the path from the office to classes through campus without a campus map. In taking what seemed to be more traveled routes, I found myself on 10th Street and North of where I wanted to go, but on the path towards home so that’s where I headed. 1.5 hrs later, I found myself back at the apartment out of water and very hot and tired. Needless to say I have not ventured out on any more long journeys this week in the unbearable heat, though I am willing to go again once things cool off.

Tuesday was off to campus for the first day of work. It was an easy day of finishing paperwork, getting a parking permit (followed by finding a place to park with the permit), checking out the office, and learning a few things about what was presently going on. I took a few items back with me and went home to enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Cable...its addicting...having not had cable TV for over three years now, I found myself mesmerized by a couple movies on AMC, while I skimmed the papers during commercials.

Today was a very hot day and day of research and getting acquainted with things in the office. Our office though air conditioned was still very hot and humid, my supervisor checked out the thermostat right before we left and it was 79. No wonder we thought we were hot. I also looked at classes for the fall semester and tried to see what was offered and what times. I have 2 mandatory classes, which one is on Mon and the other on Tues. Then the decision comes into which other class to take and then depending on that which professor.

It’s late and I’m tired. So I think we will end here.

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?

So I haven't checked out one of these crazy quizzes lately and ran across this one on Lindsey's site, I figured why not so here are my results. Enjoy!

You scored as Sleeping Beauty.

Your alter ego is Princess Aurora, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty!

You are beautiful and enchanting, and as sweet as ever. Sleeping Beauty 75% The Beast 69% Goofy 63% Pinocchio 63% Ariel 56% Peter Pan 56% Donald Duck 44% Cinderella 31% Snow White 31% Cruella De Ville 13% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

The Move

Thanks to all the wonderful people who came and helped me move especially those that made the treck to Bloomington. Thanks to God for keeping us dry and giving us the strength to move all of the heavy boxes and furniture.

Saturday was a busy and tiring day, but we managed to get the truck packed up by around 11 am and had the majority unpacked out of the truck by 4 PM. Unpacking out of the boxes consumed the rest of the evening into Monday morning. Though the apartment is far from being straight and organized, the bedroom, computer room, kitchen, and bathroom are useable with all the main pieces unpacked.

On Monday afternoon, I enjoyed a rather scenic drive from Bloomington to Paducah. No interstates come into Bloomington so that will always lead to an adventure of sorts. There are a couple ways out of town and then once you hit I-64 several options of how to get to Paducah. I decided that I knew what the WK looked like so it was a trip along Illinois backroads instead. It was actually fairly straight and flat through Illinois. Next time, maybe we will take another route for a new adventure.

All necessary business has been taken care of here and so next on the journey is a trip back to Lexington to take care of a few more items, plus see some YAACK friends. Then its off to Louisville to take care of a few more things before heading back to Bloomington to prepare for the first day of work and continued organization of the apartment.

Bloomington Indiana Here I Come

Wow, the time has finally arrived for my departure of this great state, Kentucky. As mentioned previously, this Saturday I will be packing up the Penske truck and heading to Bloomington, IN. Thanks to all of those who have volunteered to help pack, drive, and/or unpack. I appreciate all of your assistance especially those who are in for the long haul.

Though several people had doubts whether or not the apartment would be packed by Saturday morning, I am proud to say that over 90% of the apartment is now packed with a day to spare. I do agree that all the small things laying around not yet put away can be a pain but by the time I hit the sack tomorrow night I plan to have it all done.

The last few weeks of work were interesting but very productive. At first, I was really stressing about work because of all the big projects that I had started but were not quite done yet. I was pleased by the time I left because the brunt of all those projects had been implemented or the knowledge transferred. By Friday, I was feeling 100% more relaxed and ready to enjoy my last day, which didn't quite go as planned. Thursday night late, we lost a switch in the data center and all nightly processes blew up, so I spent the first few hours finishing the cleanup and then it was time to enjoy my last day of work. It was hard leaving, knowing that it was a great place to work and a lot of people who actually cared about you. It wasn't as hard to leave the work behind and the all nighters to fix the issues due to equipment malfunctions. I really cannot say anything bad about my time there and I look forward to the new adventure.

Thanks to all of those who have helped in sending me off to Hoosier land:
- Thursday night was a blast with the co-workers. Played Texas Hold-em for the first time and actually didn't do too bad, though still have no clue how to play.
- Saturday night, my first and potentially only IU cake from the folks at Church, as we watched Shakespeare in the Park
- Sunday, an awesome Red's game, in the freezing temperature :-)
- Sunday Eve, Drive-In movies to see Pirates of the Caribbean II and Cars, both of which were good, continuing in the dry cool air of July.
- Monday lunch, with some Gtown/Comp Sci folks at my favorite Thai restaurant thus far SIAM.
- Monday night, packing began thanks to the wonderful help of Shannon. By the way movers, she apologizes for any overly heavy boxes or covered up handles in advance (which were already broken so she covered to save you from the hassle).
- Tuesday night, Ash did a remarkable job at getting a lot of people together without me having a clue about what was going on. Even if she did wake me up at 1/4 after 8 Tuesday morning to attempt to get me to decide where we were going and to see if it was alright if plans changed to Louisville instead of Frankfort. Nick's cousin was in Louisville and he wanted to spend some time with him, though it was just a big cover for the rest of the plans already devised. I will not go into all the details here but the 4 party dinner ended up 7 people in Louisville at the Cheesecake Factory, and I got to ride to Louisville from Frankfort, which was great. Thanks guys that was awesome.
- The rest of the week has been spent with the Parents finishing up the packing and cleaning the apartment.

Well, I believe it is time to signoff for now. The next post will be from Indiana or somewhere besides Georgetown at least.

Update on Life

I will not promise to keep this up to date. I think by now we all know that is not going to happen. I do plan on trying to keep it more up to date upon start of grad school, so that all of you in Kentucky and scattered across the countryside, have a clue how I am surviving in Grad School. Of course, I make no promises though.

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The plan for the next two months:
Work 6 more weeks and let them know in 2 weeks for a 4 week notice.

Leaves 2 weeks to pack and move.

Tentatively looking to move Sat. July 22, if anyone is interested in helping out here, Bloomington, or both :-) Once I secure an apartment and think things over a bit more, I will let everyone know the definitive move date. And I will need help as my Dad is working both weekends though they may come up the middle of that first week to pack the car full to take back to Paducah.

GA Position starts August 1st

School starts Aug 28 with Orientation the weeks prior.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Apartment Search
I believe that I have finally narrowed it down to a 2 bedroom apartment about 1 mile east of campus.
- 740 sq feet
- All electric
- Nice area with Bike/Walk trail to campus
- Friendly management
- Bus Stops close as well
- I put an application in this evening so we will see what happens next.

Truely I just want this part to be over so that I can go on to the next big challenge.

I have secured a bank in town so that is one big step. I just have to wait for my current direct deposit to be redirected over there and I can close my checking account here in town.

If anyone has a good checklist of all the things you need to do when moving, please forward it my direction. There are so many things that you have to look at in changing your address on its insanity.

I believe I am going to change my residence back to my parents house that way one I dont have to deal with the change of state citizenship for a few short years.

Well its time for some sleep. More later.

Grad School - Here I Come

In three short months, a new phase of life will begin. I thought that was started some six years ago has now merged past a thought into reality. Starting in early Aug, I will be headed to Indiana University to pursue my masters in Higher Education Student Administration. I received acceptance into the program and passed my faculty interview back in March and this week the final stage of full acceptance into the program was completed with the acceptance of a graduate assistantship in the Faculty Council Office.

The joy and excitement that I have cannot really be put into words. After visiting all three schools in late February/early March, IU is where I felt at home, and the connection to the people and the city was just amazing. It took sometime to come to fruition, but now that it has, I am very glad that this is the position that I have been offered.

I was thinking once it was all settled and I knew where I was going that life would slow down a bit. Now I look at the future and see oh so many things that have to take place between now and early Aug. It is going to be one crazy summer at least until I secure a place to live and finalize all the details about the move. The other trick will be keeping my mouth shut at work, to not blurt out that I am leaving anytime soon. I do plan on giving them more notice than 2 weeks.

There is the long awaited Grad School update. Thanks again for all the support and continued prayers are appreciated as I continue on this journey.

Alive and Kickin

Nearly 3 months have passed since I have last spoken with you guys. I know I promised to do a better job this year and have failed miserably at it. Life has been very busy to say the least.

Quick update and more to come on some subjects:
- Grad school is picking up again and I will give a full update by the end of the week so stay posted.
- Had a very busy February traveling to BGSU to IU with a pitstop in Indianaplis for a couple nights. Then it was off to work for 5 days, before heading to BSU on Fri night into late Sat. Tuesday morning, Feb 28, I caught a plane and headed to DC.
- DC/Baltimore/Annapolis/DC/Alexandria/DC/Lexington - What a trip. I got to see some old college friends as well as see some wonderful sites. More stories to come. That was the conclusion of February and start of March.
- Staying actively involved with the Church group. We had successful transition of officers in early March and I have stepped down to member-at-large for as long as I am in town.
- Work has finally slowed down after the insane start to the new year though there is still tons to do and to clean up. Hopefully we will get a lot accomplish in the next couple of weeks.
- Autocross/Solo season has started and I am having a blast. More to come on that as well.
- Christmas can finally be declared put away :-)
- Easter weekend was a lovely one and great time to catch up with old friends as well as family. Laura, my big sis in Phi Mu, was married on Holy Saturday in Paducah oddly enough (where she too is from). More to come on that as well.

There is the quick synopsis of life for now. I so will try to update on all the stories that I sort of hinted at but did not finish very very soon.

Grad School Update #2

Here is the latest on grad school applications.

Bowling Green State University
Completed
Passed Round 1
Interviews in Mid-February

Indiana University
Should be completed, but haven't received word of completion yet.
Scheduled for interviews in Mid-February after BGSU

Ball State University
Completed application today. Transcripts still have to be sent.

That is it for now. So wish me luck in a few weeks and please pray for me as I travel to BGSU and IU and back home.

Bluegrass Region Porsche Club - Rally Event

The Bluegrass Porsche Cold Rain and Snow Time-Speed Distance Rally resulted in another successful event for Female Duo. We were able to defeat the local pros/rallymasters, Lo and Phil.

Results and Comments from the Porsche Website
1st - 211
2nd - 240
3rd - 495
4th - 690
5th - 801

Five teams enjoyed great weather and good roads on January 15th for the PCA road rally. As always each team had their own story to tell: 10-mph locals who finally turned off, dogs who were reluctant to move from the road, bathroom breaks while "on the clock" and the frantic effort to make up the lost time, the inevitable friction between driver and navigator. After 80 miles of wandering through Scott County, three pages of instructions, and four checkpoints, the SCCA teams once again showed that beginners' luck doesn't exist in rallying.
At least the PCA teams drove nicer cars. Congratulations to Ken and Lee, first-timers who finished 3rd overall in Ken's 911. New members and also first-timers George and Deanne in their Boxster S didn't score as well but had lots of fun anyway. Each point is one one-hundredth of a minute, so the winners drove 80 miles in 2.5 hours and changed speeds 23 times, with a total error of 3.5 minutes.
There are currently no other PCA rallies scheduled, but Phil is planning an SCCA rally for March or April which will be open to PCA members.

Grad School Update

Yes I am still working on applying for grad school for the Fall of 2006. I am pleased to say that I have finally submitted applications to both Indiana University and Bowling Green State University. These are my top 2 choices and I am looking into which other schools I want to apply to.

Interview sessions for both schools occur in mid-February so I have a lot to do between now and then to get ready.

Thanks for all of your support and prayers. I will keep you posted on the pursuit of my masters in Higher Education Student Administration or College Student Personnel.

Look back at 2005

As New Years Day comes to a close, its time to reflect on the year past. I know for one that you guys did not hear from me a whole lot this past year especially as of late. So I am probably lucky if anyone is actually still reading my blog and interested to hear what is going on. But thats okay I will share for those out there still listening.

2005
Prayers and Praises
- Would like to remember my uncle Dale, who passed from this life to eternal life, in June.
- For my aunt Debbie as she continues her battle with breast cancer.
- For all my friends and family who got married or enaged in 2005.
- For all my friends and family who received new children into their lives in 2005, and are expectant of 2006 babies.
- Thanks for a successful year of YAACK and may the new year bring new energy.
- As I discerned to pursue a career in higher education and for the continued application and interview process.

What Happened
- I did get to enjoy the sites and surroundings of New York city, including a Yankees vs Cubs game.
- Was chosen to participate in the Alpha ODK CLT2 program
- Successful ODK Province X Conference and Academic Year for Province X
- First canoeing trip, and hopefully not the last. Though I hope to have more water next time, and maybe be in better shape.
- Didnt make it through the holidays without getting sick unfortunately. Maybe the holidays during the first half of the year where better than the last half. Nothing like being sick for each major holiday.
- My car is now 3 years old and approaching 84000 miles.
- Failed on 90% of my goals for 2005. We will have to see what we can do for 2006.
- Had a mole removed from my right cheek, receiving 17 stitches to close it up. It is healing just fine and was not cancerous.
- Did succeed in putting up my Christmas Tree and getting out my Christmas decorations.
- Georgetown College played UK for the first time since 1938 and resulted in a respectable game.

Purchases/Gifts
- Finally got a new printer, which is wonderful. It been put to a lot of use as of late.
- Dad decided I needed to move into the digital world so I received a digital camera for Christmas. (I have no clue what I am doing) And yes I still have my 35 mm camera and using it :-)
- Working DVD player without the sound system (DVD player received last Christmas has broken again and currently has my Harry Potter movie)
- New Speakers for my computer
- Down Comforter for my bed (very nice and warm)
- USB 2.0 PCI card

What didnt Happen
- Didnt make it to a St Louis Cardinals game in the old stadium
- Didnt move to Louisville to some peoples happiness and others sadness
- Didnt make it to a Reds game either
- Didnt complete all my grad applications like planned

There is the quick overview. I will try my best to write more in the New Year.