School Year is Ending

Well the end is coming. I've been hiding out in school for the last two years. I've been continuously in school for 18 years. Almost 2 decades! The job hunt goes on but I've enjoyed the extra time that I've spent in college round two. It has been nice to mingle with normal people as well as my meat-head friends haha. I have basically one week left. I have a fifteen page paper due Tuesday and a presentation due Thursday. This class, even though its my only one, has been rewarding and frustrating. I've learned a ton of computer skills that can be used for my thesis and in the job that I hopefully will have soon. The past 2 months have been one computer problem after another. I've been basically working on the same problem the entire time. I figure something out and I go full speed until I run into a wall, then I get help and I'm off to the races again. It's been quite frustrating. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. That light is radiating from the sunny island of Jamaica! That's right, Jenny and I are taking a vacation to the Sandal's resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Jenny wanted to take me to celebrate my getting my Master's Degree. Check out the website. It's awesome! We first scheduled it to happen this January but we needed to move it back. The resorts actually have really good deals if you schedule in January. We got this trip for over 50% off of the regular price. Their are restaurants, pool bars, and outdoor activities all included! I can't wait. Jenny has a get together for her summer internship Saturday night and we are leaving right after and driving from Des Moines to Chicago through the night to make it to our flight early Sunday morning. It's going to be awesome. We'll def take a ton of pictures so you see everything we do!

But I really should get cracking on that term paper and presentation. I'll be done soooon!

Easter Pigs!!

I know I said I would get these out there last weekend but I'm a little late.

Last Sunday Jenny and I took the Guinea Pigs, Guinness and Peanut, out for their nightly play time. That's the time of night where we take them out in the extra bedroom and let them run around free! The are really funny when they run around. The "popcorn" and chase each other around. I've made a few little obstacles for them and a little cardboard box house for them. Jenny and I usually watch TV on one of our computers or read a book while they play. They think of us as just treat dispensing obstacles. They jump up and run down are legs and back haha. Goofy pigs!

This piggy play time went a little different and they were NOT happy! For Guinness we got him an Easter Bunny costume and Peanut got an Easter Egg. When they don't want to do something they are extremely hard to hold. They wiggle around and its hard to get ahold of them, especially Peanut. Guinness has gotten a lot bigger and he's a bit easier to hold. Jenny did the dressing and I helped by giving them snacks. They even attempted to nip a little bit. We finally got Guinness's costume on but Peanut was just too tiny and he slipped and squirmed his way out. We ended up putting them in an Easter Basket with come Easter eggs and some of that paper fluff grass. We were able to snapped a few pictures before they escaped and slithered out of all their costumes. Afterward we soothed their hurt egos with some carrots. It was really funny though. Enjoy!

Just got the costume on!

Both of them in the basket no egg for nut

Peanut escaped!

No more costumes just pigs in a basket

Passter or Eastover

Well its time for another holiday! Actually this one has been going on since last Tuesday. That holiday is Passover. It's cool living with Jenny because she grew up different than I did back home in Montana. It's neat to get exposed to different traditions and holidays. Although I'm not Jewish, this year I decided to go along with the diet restrictions of Passover with Jenny. Solidarity haha. The biggest difference in the diet is no gluten. Most wheat products are out, which when you think about it is a huge part of what you eat everyday! It's been tough without bread for sandwiches, wraps, noodles, and oatmeal. The story is that when the Hebrews escaped Egypt with Moses, they didn't have enough time to let their bread rise. Don't quote me because I'm not a biblical scholar but I think that is the gist. You can buy unleavened bread in the grocery stores. It's made by grandpa Doug's new favorite wine maker Manischewitz. Jenny and I bought some the other day. It doesn't have much tastes. It's kind of like a saltine cracker. Thing's are going good though. It is a little hard to figure out what to have for dinner. We've made and gotten a lot of asian food this week. Rice and rice noodles are ok. I had a ton of fried rice and sushi last night. Even though I have newly discovered eating healthy and staying fit, I couldn't stop myself from eating all of the rice in one sitting. I paid for this by having a bulging painful stomach for the rest of the night.

Anyways that is the Passover part of Passter or Eastover whichever you want to call our combined holiday. We are also celebrating the Easter part this weekend. We got an Easter basket, some candy, and of course Guinea Pig costumes haha. I don't have the pictures yet but they should be awesome. The pig costumes are from Cuddly Cavies (cavies are another name for guinea pigs). The costumes were actually shown on a South Park Episode where giant guinea pigs were attacking society. Hopefully that doesn't happen with our guineas. We bought a bunny costume for the big one (Guinness) and an egg costume for the little one (Peanut). It should be entertaining to get those on them. They are going to be purdy mad.

Other than the holidays nothing really is going on. The month started out with great weather but for the last week it has been crappy. It's been cloudy almost everyday and raining a lot. Hopefully this clears up soon. I'm ready for the real spring. I know this doesn't sound to bad for those of you in Montana. I've been hearing horror stories about how much it has been snowing. I don't miss that at all. Spring needs to spring haha

Happy Easter (and Passover)!!

I thought this was over

Well this morning, April 16th, after a week of 60 to 70 degree weather I awoke to find a ridiculous sight. It was SNOWING!!! It was really wet and heavy and was actually sticking to the ground. As I write this however, it is already starting to melt. That's too crappy days in a row. Yesterday it rained all day and the wind blew pretty hard. I don't know what the rest of the day is going to bring but it's not a good start. Jenny and I as part of our running plan were supposed to run 3-4 miles yesterday and 6-8 miles today. We skipped yesterday and hoped for better weather and this is what we got. We might have to head to the gym and run on the track but that doesn't sound as cool. We'll get it right. Jenny is in good shape. She went on a huge hike and several runs last weekend while with her friends in Denver (you can check out what she did here).

Anyways, I was warned this would happen. Mom and Papa Doug told me that it was ugly back at home and the winter just wouldn't go away. I thought we were immune all the way down here. I guess not. Hopefully next week it will get back to the sixties and seventies that I was enjoying last week.

Here are some pictures I snapped this morning


PS the sun is trying to shine now. The weather can't break my heart like that and expect me to forgive it with a little sunshine

Hooray for working out

I have great news. After finishing P90x this week (we kind of skipped the last rest week because Jenny went to Denver) I feel great and the good news is that I'm under 220 lbs for the first time in at least 2 years. I hope my scale isn't dying and just showing me lower and lower numbers every time I step on it. Anyways I feel great about it.

I've been trying to eat a lot better and I think that it is working. I snack a lot during the day and don't eat huge lunches and I'm trying to give up pop all together. I've only slipped up a couple times but that might be part of it. I'm trying also to eat out less unless its a sandwich or something. I don't know if they have these sandwich places in Montana but Jimmy John's and Milio's are awesome places. The beat the crap out of Subway. It's all about the bread.

Jenny and I (I may have mentioned it) are training for a half marathon in Des Moines in June. After running 4.25 miles today (with a few short walks) I have to say my goals for this half marathon are fairly limited. I plan on finishing without dying at this point. I've attached the training schedule below. Hopefully after a little train up I can get my mind right. My calves today felt like they were going to explode out of my legs. I can't wait to feel that in the morning. Anyways the moral of the story is that I am under 220 lbs and I feel awesome about it.

	SUN	M	T	W	TH	F	SAT
Wk1 4/10- 4/16	REST	1x1200 PI (400) 2x800 CI (200) 4x200 SI (200)	3-4 miles, or rest	2x2 miles PI (800) + 4x100 S	REST	4 miles + 4x100 S	8-9 miles
Wk2 4/17- 4/23	REST	1x1200 PI (400) 2x800 CI (200) 4x200 SI (200)	2 miles	3 miles PI (800) + 4x100 S	REST	5K race pace	6 miles
Wk3 4/24- 4/30	REST	2x1-mile CI (800) 6x200 SI (200)	3-4 miles, or rest	4 miles PI (800) 1 mile CI + 6x100 S	REST	5 miles + 6x100 S	10 miles
Wk4 5/1- 5/7	REST	2x1-mile CI (800) 6x200 SI (200)	3-4 miles, or rest	4 miles PI (800) 1 mile CI + 6x100 S	REST	5 miles + 6x100 S	11 miles
Wk5 5/8- 5/14	REST	2x [800 SI (400), 400 SI (200) 200 SI (200) 1200 PI]	2 miles	4 miles (incl. 6x1:00 SI) + 4x100 S	REST	10K race pace	8 miles
Wk6 5/15- 5/21	REST	2x1200 CI (600) 4x400 SI (200) 4x200 SI (100)	3-4 miles, or rest	4 miles PI (800) 1x800 CI (400) 2 miles PI	REST	6 miles + 6x100 S	11-12 miles
Wk7 5/22- 5/28	REST	2x1200 CI (600) 4x400 SI (200) 4x200 SI (100)	3-4 miles, or rest	4 miles PI (800) 1x800 CI (400) 2 miles PI	REST	6 miles + 6x100 S	6 miles
Wk8 5/29- 6/4	REST	4x400 CI (200) 2x200 SI (100)	2 miles PI + 4x100 S	2x400 CI (200) 1x 200 SI	REST	3 miles easy	RACE

As for my previous post, I would also consider a smaller SUV like an Xterra, Forerunner, Escape, GMC Terrain, or a similar Jeep like a Patriot or Compass. I just want a vehicle that a bike can fit into so I can carry it around and such.

In other news. I'm alone this weekend with the pigs. Jenny is in Denver with her friends from high school. Apparently they took a wrong turn while hiking and a three hour hike turned into something yet to be determined as of 8pm central time.

Ok hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Truck Dreams

I know I don't exactly have a job right now but I feel like I can always dream about my next vehicle. Not that there is anything catastrophically wrong with my current Acura CL. It has some miles on it and I've replaced the belts and tires and what not. That aside, I've always wanted to have a truck. I think they are both cool and practical. The Acura just just can't move around a lot of stuff. I just want to pack around my bike or go camping or something like that. Jenny doesn't understand. I don't have pictures of the Acura right now and as of now it needs a good washing. A pigeon decided to crap all down the side. I hate pigeons.

Anyways I've been doing a lot of research into what I want to drive. I kind of want an American truck but I also want a good one that will last. I can't decide if I want a full size truck or a a lighter truck. If I get a smaller truck I definitely want the full crew cab. I haven't decided on either an extended cab or crew cab for the larger truck. For comparison's sake I chose the crew cab for the full size truck.

For the light trucks I compared a GMC Canyon, a Nissan Frontier, a Toyota Tacoma, and a Ford Ranger. Here is the results from that using Kellybluebook.com. Comparison

The Canyon is slightly more expensive than the rest. It has slightly better fuel economy. The Tacoma has more towing capacity. The Frontier has more horsepower. Purdy much anything is better than the Ranger. Tough call.

I also compared the big trucks on KellyBluebook.com as well. I compared a Dodge Ram, A Ford F150, a GMC Sierra, and a Toyota Tundra. Comparison

The Ram and the Tundra were the least expensive. The Ram had the worst gas mileage. The F150 had the best gas mileage. The Ram and Tundra have the most horsepower. The Ford has by far the most towing capacity. I do like the way the GMCs look though.

Now on to the new fangled technology. This part of the post has been inspired by Jennifer Klein and her quest to help the environment. Since 2009 General Motors has built the only hybrid full size trucks on the market. They recently improved things with the 2010 and 2011 models. Its actually really cool. An electric motor takes care of things under twenty miles per hour and seamlessly turns the gas engine off and on. This ups the city miles per gallon from 14 to 20 which is significant. It doesn't help as much running full out. The price is a little steeper but you could possibly get it back with fuel savings and tax credits. You can check out the GMC Sierra Hybrid.

Thoughts would be appreciated haha. All I know is I have at least 3 years to save up money for a down payment (my loan will be paid off by then).

Politics Make Me Angry

Nothing has really been going on lately. I'm just waiting patiently for word back from HR Green. I've also been working diligently on my my project for my thesis. I had a mini breakthrough today which is great. It was something tiny that I had missed for over two weeks. I feel kind of stupid but at least I'm moving forward.

Anyways, I watched a documentary today called Capitalism: A Love Story. It basically outlined what happened in the United States up to the economic downfall in 2008. The story actually made me sick to my stomach. I felt terrified watching it. It is sick and terrible what can happen when people just look away while evil is happening. The United States has been the strongest country in the world for almost 100 years but I feel and have been feeling lately that we hang on to that by a thread. The United States that everyone thinks of when the think of the perfect country is the United States from the 1940s to the early 1980s. A time where people worked for a living, hard work in the steel mills, they were unionized, people actually made things, and went to school for more than just to go to school. Now we are a country that doesn't do anything. We ship out work and companies fire workers or hire illegals so they can pay them nothing. Banks run this country not the government and definitely not the people.

Here are some things of note from the movie:

-Until recently some companies like AIG and Wal-Mart took out life insurance policies on their own workers so that when they died they collect hundreds of thousands of dollars while the deceased's family went into debt.

-Major Airlines like to make more money by paying their pilots less than $25000 a year. They collect millions of dollars from the government in subsidies while they short the people that are in the most direct control of people's safety. Weak.

-When the United States was the most powerful and had the best overall quality of life the richest people in the country were taxed almost 90% now they can get out it and leave the bill to the poor and the middle class.

-Almost all of the heads of the treasury department have been the heads of major banking companies like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Seems to be a conflict of interest doesn't it. After this happened all regulation on banking disappeared. Coincidence?

-When the bill to bailout the financial industry went through congress the first time it was voted down huge. Then the heads of the parties and government met with the banks and suddenly there was a complete turnaround. Not only did they get the bailout, but the banks wrote in that the money could not be regulated at all. Then everyone was shocked to find out the heads of the companies just pocketed the money. No shit. Who didn't see that coming.

These are just a few of the things going on that as a citizen in this country I had no idea what was going on. That in itself is sad. It's ridiculous. Money destroys people. I go back to my Wal-Mart post a little while ago, those buttholes in the Walton family have done nothing to give back to the people that made them great. They broke peoples backs and ran good people out of business just so they can hoard all of their money. I guess my point is that if people have the liberty to screw other people out of their hard earned money with no recourse they are going to do it.

As you can tell I'm pissed off.

HR Green Company

Yesterday, April Fools Day, I got an interview with HR Green Company! It was really a spur of the moment thing. I had a phone interview with them on Monday morning. The phone interview was a kind of get to know the company thing. Nothing to in depth. I was expecting the reply from that take a week or so to get back to me. But lo and behold I received a call Thursday afternoon while I was in class. I stepped out to take it and it was an offer for an interview the following day! That would be Friday afternoon at 4pm.

Me and the Shirt and Tie

A little closer

All day Friday I kinda dilly dallied around and then had to rush and get ready. Jenny helped me out a lot. She proofread my application and steamed my shirt and suit. She's such a sweetie!! When it was all said and done and I was ready to go I thought I looked purdy good. See for yourself.

Jenny and I took off for our 20 minute trip to the interview. It's actually not a bad trip. I could get right on Highway 218 and it leads right to it. Its even before you get into Cedar Rapids itself so thats good. Cedar Rapids has approximately 100,000 people and is a really industrial city. Iowa City is the more of a college commercialized town with the nicer shopping and places to eat. A lot of people travel back in forth for work and pleasure. Their is usually some traffic but yesterday was the worse I had ever seen it. There must have been an accident or something. Long story short even though I left at 3:40 for a 4:30 interview I still ended up a little late. It was OK though because I called ahead and it turned out that one of the interviewers was also caught in the same traffic!

The interview I felt went really well. There was two guys there interviewing me and one guy was on the speaker phone. Overall it went well but I did stumble through a few things but I think I sounded good despite it. Nothing that really stumped me. They told me that they are planning on getting through all of the interviews early this coming week and let everyone know their decision by either the end of next week or the week after. Hopefully I don't have to wait too long!! This job would be great for me, its close by so I could stay here in Iowa City with Jenny next year. Also they outsource some of their work to their other branches all of the time. I think that if I needed to get to Des Moines it wouldn't be too much of a problem. But we'll see!!!

After the interview (and after I recieved my fat tax refund) I took Jenny out to Granite City Food Brewery. Its kind of a chain of restuarants that brew their own beer right at the restaurant. They also have a ton of great food choices. We had a couple of beers and a great dinner. We had a tomato basil flatbread pizza for an appetizer, Jenny had a bruschetta salad with some awesome bread, and I had the steak chimichanga. It was AWESOME haha. I also ordered some of their mac and cheese to go. It was way tasty with bread crumbs and bacon bits toasted on top. It was a great post interview little meal.

I'll let everyone know about how the interview goes. Wish me luck!