New Coworker :: Old Friends
Briana, my good friend and school studio mate for over 4 years, always joked about working together. Today, that dream became a reality. Briana has officialy been hired at my firm -- we are now good friend, school mates for over 4 years, and coworkers! Work has been picking up, so my boss decided to add a member to our team. It's going to just be like studio class again -- spending hours upon hours together, everyday! And to make it even more coincidental, today was also the first day for schools! HAHA!
She is also getting her first apartment just 4 blocks from my apartment! We already have plans to have dinner nights, swimming nights, pilates nights, and more. I'm so excited -- and I just can't hide it!
Meet you on ‘J’ Street, Washington, D.C.
In two weeks I am attending the National American Society of Landscape Architects 2010 convention. The convention is four days (Friday to Monday). My Boss decided to make it our summer vacation time so we are all taking a week off (Wednesday to Wednesday). I thought it was a good idea to kill two birds with one rock and make it a week vacation and business trip in DC -- so I am going to DC for seven days!
I have a lot planed; sight seeing, lunches with old friends, a trip to the zoo, seeing my old stomping grounds, and of course the ASLA convention! The convention looks fantastic. The conference is featuring a lot of good speakers and presentations. I also got funding from Helen to register for the Landscape Architecture Examination Exam prep class that is being held at the convention (Thank You, Helen!) The class is over the design, grading, and water management (C and E) sections of the test -- the hardest sections. I hope it helps!
It will be good to go home again -- I have not been back to DC in eight years... wow.
Dead Grass
So one of my ornamental grasses died. I do not know what happened to it. I have two of them, they both get the same light and I watered them the same. I did not want to toss it out but I wanted it to still look nice. Hence, the braid.
Sick on a Long Weekend
I worked so much last week I took a half day Friday (July 2nd) -- and will still have overtime on my next paycheck. After a haircut I got home and spent the day cleaning up before my friend Briana came over. She asked for a favor -- taking her to the airport at 5am on Saturday -- so I suggested she just spend the night. I live about a 15 min drive from the airport and she lives about 40 min north of me. We had a pizza and movie night.
I got up around noon and didn't feel to well. After I got back from dropping Briana off, I went back to sleep. I awoke around noon with a fever, headache, runny noes, and my dang cough I had for two weeks was back (which I thought was gone). I spent the rest of the day and Saturday sleeping on and off. Sunday (July 4th) I slept on and off till around 6pm. Then I dragged myself over to Scott's sister's house in Rockwall, Texas. We all had a nice BBQ and watched the Rockwall fireworks. At 10pm I got home and went to bed.
Today, luckily, I had the day off (Independence Day, Observed). I got up at 1pm and went to the store for sudafed, soup, popsicles, and ginger ale. Scott got me some hot tea from his work -- let me tell you, hot tea when you are sick is a miracle. After a nice hot lunch (at 3pm), I napped and just got up. I had a little bit of energy and felt creative so I figured writing this would be a good outlet. Back to bed.
Ring Ring, Ring Ring
My iPhone is now two versions old. I am rationalizing getting the new phone because it is truly something I use everyday -- in fact, it is the one accessory I have either on my body or at arms length at all times (ok, ok, you're right, almost all times -- I do not take it into the bathroom when I shower; gota' keep it away from excessive moisture!).
I use my iPhone all day long. In the morning it wakes me up, in the empty office it serenades me with my MP3s, on the road it tells me where to go, it locates friends, it's my phonebook and dictionary to the world, it's my digital camera, it tells me what I have in the bank, how my investment portfolio is doing, my upcoming appointments, it gets all my emails, it's my "game boy" when I am waiting for my car's oil to be changed, it even connects to my blog so I can write fascinating post like this, and, oh yeah -- it's my phone. It's no wonder why German slang for a cell phone is "das Handy!"
The new iPhone 4 has improved the GPS functions, camera quality (and adds a flash and a second camera), adds video chat, video recording/editing, improved screen quality, and lets you run multiple apps at the same time... and it looks cool. So, I contacted AT&T and looked at how much it would cost me to upgrade to the new phone -- $200. Then I remembered the website Gazelle.com where my Mom sold a lot of her old electronics a year ago. I looked at how much they would buy my old iPhone 3G 8GB for. Amazingly they quoted me between $90-$100 -- so I sold it. They are shipping me a prepaid postage box right now. When it gets here I pop out my SIMS card (place the SIMS in the new phone when it arrives around the same time) and ships the old phone to them. Within 10 days they will send me a check! So, now, I have rationalized that the new phone is only $100 (because Gazelle basically subsidized the other half!) so I went ahead and pre-ordered the new iPhone 4 -- it arrives with free shipping on June 24th!
It Sucks
I have been living in my apartment for over 6 months now and I decided to finally buy an upright full size vacuum. Don't get me wrong, I love Agador Spartacus (my iRobot Roomba), he does exactly what they say it should do -- but it is true, they say it does not replace an upright vacuum. The Roomba is an every other day vacuum to help between full vacuuming days.
I did a lot of research online to find a good semi-inexpensive vacuum. I was looking for a bagged vacuum (I like the bags, once it is full you toss the bag and the vacuum is all clean, unlike a bagless as you empty it dust goes everywhere and the cup has residue left.), HEPA filer, and a cool look. I landed on the Eureka Boss SmartVac Upright Vacuum. It has everything I wanted and the price was perfect to boot -- it is normally $180, I got it 50% off.
As you can see from the image, it is stylish with its bright yellow "I'm going to clean you" attitude. And it is built for the user -- all the pipes and even roller brush are in clear plastic so you can see if the roller is turning or if the pipes are clogged. The HEPA filers (it has a total of 3 filters) capture over 99.97% of dust and allergens so as it cleans it purifies the air too. It also has some features that I didn't even know I wanted -- one is that when the vacuum is on and in the upright position the rollers don't turn and wast energy or toss dirt around (really good when using the hose tool).
I used it last night for the first time and it is amazing. The online testimonials are right: the suction is fantastic (my work pants will testify to that because I had to pull them out of the vacuum bag after I sucked them up), when the rollers are on it basically pulls itself forward (it is kinda heavy, so I would not recommend it for stairs), it is not that noisy -- a few reviewers said it was deafening, but I could still hear my TV as I used it for the first time. I think it is quiet for how powerful it is. All in all, so far I am very happy with it.
A Floccinaucinihilipilification
Okay, I have not written in a long time and I still have nothing to say. So, here are some interesting useless words:
- Callipygian: to have a nice butt.
- Defenestrate: the action of throwing someone or something out of a window.
- Floccinaucinihilipilification: the action or habit of estimating something as worthless.
And I'll leave you with these two conflicting proverbs: Knowledge is power. Ignorance is bliss. (I promis I will write something good when it happens... until then, we wait.)
I Passed L.A.R.E. Sec. A
I passed the L.A.R.E. Section A exam! All that studying with Briana and dinners with her boss, Ann McGuinness, really paid off. Now I just have 4 more tests to pass before I get my license. I'm worried because section A is the shortest test (and the least difficult of the 5). I have two more multiple choice tests and two graphic tests. The next test I am taking is Section B (Inventory, Analysis, and Program Development) in September 2010. Next year I will take the last multiple choice, Section D (Design and Construction Documentation) in March 2011. I want to get the multiple choice tests out of the way first. Then, I want to take the first graphic test, Section C (Site Design; a 5 hour test) in June 2011. I do not know if I want to take both the drawing tests one right after another (they are both only in June), so I may take the final test, Section E (Grading, Drainage and Stormwater Management; a 5 hour test), in June 2012. Once I pass all the tests, I will be a licensed Landscape Architect in Texas. Then, if need be, I could pay a reciprocity fee in other states to become a licensed Landscape Architect in that state.
Biggest Challenges You’re Going to Face
So, I did it. I finally spent the time to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it. It takes about as much time to fold a fitted sheet as it does wadding one up and yelling, "whatever."
I learned how to do it from this YouTube video. I love how she starts with, "One of the biggest challenges you're going to face in your life is how to fold a fitted sheet." I'm so glad I got this life challenge out of the way. Now I can handle anything!
Distinguished Follicles
Unbelievable. I turn 25 and suddenly develop gray hairs. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind gray hair -- I just didn't think I would see it on my head for a few more years. Knowing me, I did research to find out why hair goes gray. How early we get gray hair is determined by our genes. My mom went gray in her late 20's too. Hair turns gray as we age because the follicles at the base of the hair stop producing melanin. Each follicle contains a finite number of pigment cells. The pigment cells produce melanin. Melanin is the same chemical in the skin that causes it to tan in sunlight. Gray hairs are a sign that your body has less melanin then before -- need to take extra care in the sun to protect from skin cancer/damage.
Hmm, I guess I can take comfort in the fact that many people find salt-and-pepper hair distinguished -- I'll just look distinguished at a younger age then most.