January 2004

I spent most of this past weekend in Union budgeting sessions. I was more of an observer, and I provided tech support for the budgeting software that I helped create. It was definitely nerve wracking at first to see the small bugs emerge that we missed during testing. After the first few minutes of the first day, however, things went very smoothly and we were able to add dozens of requested features to the software on the fly. My boss sent out an e-mail to everyone at the end of today’s session (the last for this week) stating that our software was able to save 275 man-hours, and perhaps dozens of trees!

Unfortunately early mornings of budgeting and late nights of work meant 3-4 hours avg of sleep per night. I’m exhausted but thankful that I have no classes on Tuesdays! Thank goodness for my five-day weekend

Everyone was very impressed during this morning’s presentation of our budgeting software. Josh and I worked on it last night until almost 4 AM (including a few breaks for shisha and food), and had to get up for a 9 AM presentation. It definitely went well, although there are a few bugs to fix and aesthetic issues to address.

When I left this morning for campus, it was -13° F with a wind chill much lower. When I got back to my apartment a few minutes ago, I realized that there is no water. Apparently (according to Capital News 9) there was a water main break not far from here that sent kids at a local Troy school home for the day. Hopefully I’ll have water again soon!

I also tried calling RPI’s Bursar’s office to see about my tuition payments, and for the first time in probably two or three years I got a busy signal (seriously, that’s not an exageration)! In the day and age of call waiting and cell phones I’ve become completely unaccostomed to busy signals. It sounded so foreign… And no, I still haven’t been able to get through. Perhaps someone took the phone off the hook on purpose?

And since I only got 4 hours of sleep last night, I think a nap is in order.

I arrived back in Troy late last week, and have been pretty busy ever since! I spent part of the past weekend catching up with friends as they arrived back at RPI, and then worked hardcore to finish writing this budgeting software before this weekend (which is when budget reviews begin).

So after tomorrow morning (where we’ll be presenting the finished software) I’ll be ready to kick off the semester (the last semester as an undergrad!) as it was meant to be kicked off! Plus, it’s a three day weekend, and since I don’t have classes on Tuesday, and only one early on Friday, it’s really more of a 5-day weekend

My photo album is teeming with brand new and never-before-seen pictures from the past week, and some I’ve had in the archives from last year! Take a look! I’m still working on some of the captions, but most are done now. Let me know what you think, and be sure to vote/leave comments if you feel like it.

I arrived home late last night, did a little bit of unpacking and then went to bed early. Many things to accomplish today, because I’m heading back to NY either tomorrow or Tuesday. At the top of that list is getting a haircut, I’m starting to look really shaggy as I try to let my hair grow out a bit.

I hate the weather here! Especially after being in the sunny mid-80’s of Miami, the 30’s and rainy weather of Ohio (and probably even colder crap in NY) is really painful. I’m already working on my application to Georgia Tech in Atlanta, it was in the mid-70’s there yesterday

Right now we’re driving along I-40, somewhere not far from Knoxville, TN. No worries, my sister is the one driving while I take a short break. We still have at least 4 hours of driving left, but it sure will be nice to be off the road for a day (until I head back to Troy on Monday). I still have a lot to do before school starts on Jan 12, and unfortunately I’m not getting much done in Ohio because there is so much other fun stuff to keep me distracted!

I really didn’t want to leave the 80-degree temps of Miami, but indeed I’m headed back to cold Ohio, and eventually to the even colder/snowier Troy, NY. We left relatively early from the Red Room Inn, Miami and hit several traffic snarls along the way to Savannah, GA where I am tonight at another Red Roof Inn.

The traffic reports on the radio explained the traffic problems as vacationers returning north. I guess that could describe us, although that didn’t make me any less unsettled. A trip that should have taken 8 hours ended up taking almost 10, and that was with me driving as fast as possible. At many times along the interstate, we were traveling at 25 MPH or less, and a few times sat completely stopped!

Tomorrow we will make the 11 hour trip from Savannah, GA back to Kettering, OH. Should be mostly uneventful, but unfortunately the days of short sleeve shirts and shorts are over for the next few months But I’m looking forward to eventually getting back to Troy, snow and all!

Today wasn’t quite as eventful as the past two, but still had some interesting landmarks to report. We started out visiting a couple of schools my sisters is considering for a transfer.

Florida International University (FIU) was a nice looking school. It’s very modern with many new buildings being constructed, and the dorms look like an apartment complex. Being that it is New Year’s, nobody was around to give a tour but we did the self-guided thing from my car. We drove through the surrounding neighborhoods and noticed that a lot of the houses and apartments had bars on the windows. After consulting a local, we discovered that this behavior is somewhat typical for Miami. I’m not sure, but I don’t think I would feel too safe moving into a neighborhood where my neighbors all had bars. I’d quite honestly be a little freaked out.

After FIU, we stopped at Barry College in downtown Miami. The campus also looked new, but in order to get onto campus, we had to pass through a security checkpoint where they took my name, license number, and reason for visit. The entire campus was surrounded by a large iron fence that prohibits entry except through the one security gate. Again, I thought that was a bit freaky and can hardly imagine RPI being like that! Actually, their security reminded me a bit of the US Embassy in Cairo’s security. The only thing they didn’t do was walk around my car with one of those inspection mirrors. They must not be worried about car bombers at Barry…

Following that visit, we drove over to Miami Beach to check things out. We came to Florida completely unprepared for swimming because we thought the water temps would be too cold. We walked out to the beach to feel the water, and it was very warm! After a few hours, a trip to Wal-Mart to get swim stuff, and lunch at Burger King, we were back at the beach swimming in the Atlantic on New Year’s Day! How cool is that??

Tonight we had dinner at Bennigan’s Irish Pub and Grill which is right next to our hotel. The food was ok, but (in the words of Jim Carrey from Liar Liar) I’ve had better

Christina is going to try to arrange a tour of FIU tomorrow morning, and after that we’re going to hit the road for Savannah, GA (the first step of our trip back to Kettering, OH). It’s going to be another early morning! After all this I think I’m going to need a vacation

So much has happened in the past few days that I haven’t had time to update! Here’s a quick try:

Tuesday

We visited the CNN Center in Atlanta. What a neat place! They were broadcast segments live for CNN AM. The anchors look a lot different in real life than on TV. Also, the CNN Center is a very secure location. To open every door, you need a proximity card, and near really important doors (like the door to the studios/newsrooms) there are guards sitting at desks checking IDs.

Following our trip to the CNN Center, we went just across the Centennial Olympic Park (yes, where the bombing happened during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games) to Georgia Institute of Technology. That’s one of my possibilities for graduate school. I really loved the campus, which is pretty much right downtown Atlanta. It’s a great location, and the campus sports its own Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, and a hotel and conference center. Instead of typical cafeteria in their student center, they serve up Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Chinese food. Additionally, the on-campus housing office offers places for grad students, which are very nice.

We took the campus tour which was nice. I think campus tours need to be taken with a grain of salt. The girl who led the tour showed us a mocked-up freshman dorm, a classroom in their newest building, and the rest she kinda pointed out as we walked through the campus. My sister and I wandered around the campus for a bit after the tour and were able to see some of the things the tour missed. What I really need to do is some more research into this school before I can make a concrete decision.

We spent the rest of Tuesday driving to Jacksonville, FL. We made it there late afternoon. We went to have dinner and shisha at a local hookah bar named Casbah. It definitely wasn’t as good as 1000 Nights in Dayton, OH but it was acceptable. The place was completely packed, but luckily we got there early and got a good table. People that came in after us waited for an hour or more for a table.

Wednesday

We woke up early and toured Jacksonville University, a school my sister is considering a transfer to. The campus was relatively small, and is closed during the few weeks of this winter break. It definitely shows its age, but the grounds were somewhat attractive.

After driving for an hour or so, we stopped off at the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canavral, FL. What a place! I have some good pictures that I will post when I get back. The best part was by far the 2 1/2 hour bus tour to the launch pad/gantry and Saturn V rocket center. The only downer besides the entry fee of $30/person was that included in the entry price were two IMAX movies. We waited in line for almost 30 minutes, and once we got to the door, we found out that the current movie had been filled for almost 20 mins and they just forgot to tell us. So, no IMAX movie but the rest of the place was cool.

We finally made it to Miami, FL around 7 PM. After a quick search on the internet for New Year’s Eve events here in Miami, we headed out to the Bayfront celebration. Bayfront is a trendy shopping/restaurant area in a Miami harbor. We had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, a few margaritas (which were really good but cost $8.75/ea), and then watched the 20-minute fireworks show across the harbor! It was a great evening, and at 75 degrees at midnight probably the warmest New Year’s Eve I’ve ever experienced!