Obligatory Update
This will be my pathetic attempt to recap the big, important events that went on in my world over the past year. If I forget something, let me know. That way I will know you are a stalker because you know my life better than I do.
1. I got married. I think that's an important one, yes? On January 17th, the love of my life and I became one. Not that we weren't at that state already, but Father Alton who gave us marriage counsoling put it best; the wedding was not a promise of commitment for each other, but more a promise of commitment for our friends and family. It was a beautiful ceremony in the chapel at Augustana. It was very humbling to see so many people in one spot showing their love and support for Angie and me. The reception was a lot of fun, despite some technical difficulties with the PA system and drama involving parents. If I have to go through another wedding (not for me, for my children), I would definitely hire someone to handle everything on that day. We did a fantastic job planning the whole thing, but there was some unneeded stress on the actual day because I felt personally responsible for making sure everything went according to plan and I didn't have the luxury of enjoying our one special day. After almost a full year, our marriage is as strong as ever.
2. I became an uncle. My brother and his wife had their first child, Gianna. Although I haven't actually met my niece in person yet, I will in a few weeks when I go home to IL for the holidays. From the pictures I've seen, she seems like a healthy, happy baby. My friends at school have taken to call me "Uncle Buck".
3. I got a job. Despite my previous reservations about the efficiency of nuclear power, I submitted my resume to the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC for a summer internship. At a meet and greet several days later, my manager outright offered me an internship working in the Incore and Monitoring Systems group. I had a lead on another internship with Sikorsky dealing with helicopters, but it would have been an hour commute and it turns out that the whole United Technologies conglomerate is kinda going down the crapper. Anyway, I did such good work over the summer in both the design process and procedure development, I was made an offer to come on board as an Engineer following my graduation next May. For $64k, crazy good benefits, and solid job security, I couldn't say no. I know this will delay my return to Illinois for some time, but this is an amazing opportunity to start my "adult life" in the best possible manner. I currently am continuing my internship 24 hours a week during the school year to make rent money and keep myself in the fold. No offense to my former alma mater (because others make their success in their own way), but the University of Hartford has already done more for me in the last three years than the liberal arts of Augie ever could.
4. I built my own computer. Details may follow in a future post if I find time to get the pictures uploaded. My 2001 Dell Dimension has all but had it, so I decided to save a little money by building my own rig. I ended up spending more than I originally intended, but my computer is pretty sick. So far, it has handled everything I have thrown at it in terms of processing and graphics and it doesn't even blink. The major impact of this experience is my introduction to Linux and open-source software. I am running Ubuntu on my new computer. Price tag on that operating system: FREE. Open-Office (equivalent of micro$oft office): FREE. I could go on, but it will always be the same: FREE. Why pay lots of money for a product that restricts you from knowing what is going on and limits you to do things the way it wants you to; paying money to be a slave to a monopoly just for simple word processing and web surfing. Linux does all the same things window$ (and MacO$) can do while being 100% transparent in its operations. The world of Linux users maintains the operating system and provides free and easy support. Why does this sound good to be true? Because there is an unfounded stigma that you have to be a rocket scientist to use Linux (technically, I am a rocket scientist thanks to my education, but that's beside the point). If everyone were to break their comfort with the great oppressor and overcome their fear of technological freedom, we could... I'm rambling. This is a topic for some other post.
That's the big stuff. I am entering finals week of my second to last term of undergraduate education. Still holding onto a 3.5+ GPA and I am looking to increase it more this term with four As and a B. Next term will be similar. Instead of the stress of looking for a job, I will have the stress of studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, which is the first step on my way to being a fully licensed professional engineer. Steven Buck P.E.; I like the sound of that.
Peace out.
1. I got married. I think that's an important one, yes? On January 17th, the love of my life and I became one. Not that we weren't at that state already, but Father Alton who gave us marriage counsoling put it best; the wedding was not a promise of commitment for each other, but more a promise of commitment for our friends and family. It was a beautiful ceremony in the chapel at Augustana. It was very humbling to see so many people in one spot showing their love and support for Angie and me. The reception was a lot of fun, despite some technical difficulties with the PA system and drama involving parents. If I have to go through another wedding (not for me, for my children), I would definitely hire someone to handle everything on that day. We did a fantastic job planning the whole thing, but there was some unneeded stress on the actual day because I felt personally responsible for making sure everything went according to plan and I didn't have the luxury of enjoying our one special day. After almost a full year, our marriage is as strong as ever.
2. I became an uncle. My brother and his wife had their first child, Gianna. Although I haven't actually met my niece in person yet, I will in a few weeks when I go home to IL for the holidays. From the pictures I've seen, she seems like a healthy, happy baby. My friends at school have taken to call me "Uncle Buck".
3. I got a job. Despite my previous reservations about the efficiency of nuclear power, I submitted my resume to the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC for a summer internship. At a meet and greet several days later, my manager outright offered me an internship working in the Incore and Monitoring Systems group. I had a lead on another internship with Sikorsky dealing with helicopters, but it would have been an hour commute and it turns out that the whole United Technologies conglomerate is kinda going down the crapper. Anyway, I did such good work over the summer in both the design process and procedure development, I was made an offer to come on board as an Engineer following my graduation next May. For $64k, crazy good benefits, and solid job security, I couldn't say no. I know this will delay my return to Illinois for some time, but this is an amazing opportunity to start my "adult life" in the best possible manner. I currently am continuing my internship 24 hours a week during the school year to make rent money and keep myself in the fold. No offense to my former alma mater (because others make their success in their own way), but the University of Hartford has already done more for me in the last three years than the liberal arts of Augie ever could.
4. I built my own computer. Details may follow in a future post if I find time to get the pictures uploaded. My 2001 Dell Dimension has all but had it, so I decided to save a little money by building my own rig. I ended up spending more than I originally intended, but my computer is pretty sick. So far, it has handled everything I have thrown at it in terms of processing and graphics and it doesn't even blink. The major impact of this experience is my introduction to Linux and open-source software. I am running Ubuntu on my new computer. Price tag on that operating system: FREE. Open-Office (equivalent of micro$oft office): FREE. I could go on, but it will always be the same: FREE. Why pay lots of money for a product that restricts you from knowing what is going on and limits you to do things the way it wants you to; paying money to be a slave to a monopoly just for simple word processing and web surfing. Linux does all the same things window$ (and MacO$) can do while being 100% transparent in its operations. The world of Linux users maintains the operating system and provides free and easy support. Why does this sound good to be true? Because there is an unfounded stigma that you have to be a rocket scientist to use Linux (technically, I am a rocket scientist thanks to my education, but that's beside the point). If everyone were to break their comfort with the great oppressor and overcome their fear of technological freedom, we could... I'm rambling. This is a topic for some other post.
That's the big stuff. I am entering finals week of my second to last term of undergraduate education. Still holding onto a 3.5+ GPA and I am looking to increase it more this term with four As and a B. Next term will be similar. Instead of the stress of looking for a job, I will have the stress of studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, which is the first step on my way to being a fully licensed professional engineer. Steven Buck P.E.; I like the sound of that.
Peace out.