Christine

Playoffs

Wed, 16 May 2007 02:40:32 GMT

So the Red Wings are doing phenominally against the Ducks afer losing Game 2 in Detroit...and the Pistons LOST at home to the Bulls?? What is going on? Not that I'm not happy about the Wings...but the Pistons were *supposed* to finish off the Bulls tonight. Granted they still have 2 games to win 1.

I do have to say that I like being a Detroit fan right now. I may get crap at work (being in Avs/Nuggets/Broncos territory as I am) but you can't deny that we have 3 really great teams right now (Red Wings in Conf Finals, Pistons in Conf Semis and Tigers #2 in the AL). If only we could do something about the Lions...

My first vacation!

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:51:49 GMT

I'm actually taking some time off!! It's my first "vacation" since I started work a year ago. It's great. :) Although it didn't start out that way....Friday was NOT a good day. Started out finishing packing, etc (the usual before a trip last minute stuff) got a couple blocks from my house...and...my car stalls. OK. Not a problem...just restart it...except it wouldn't! Luckily a police officer came along and helped push me into the parking lot across the street. I was rushed because I was worried about getting to the airport on time. Made in plenty of time....because my flight was delayed 2 hrs! Ugh...of course that turned into 3 hrs. Right during lunch time, and NWA did not offer their snacks for free (the LEAST they could of done was give us some chips..). And we weren't really allowed to eat most of the snacks they sell anyways because apparently someone on board had SEVERE nut allergies. Blech. Finally make it out to DC and we sit on the tarmack for ~1hr waiting for the gate to open.

Things have improved though. :) I basically did nothing today..and that was great. Saturday was the bachelorette party, we went to a piano bar in Baltimore, great fun. Sunday was lazy recovery day. Monday was errand day with the BTB. Tomorrow is errand/sightseeing day for me. Thursday is spa & rehearsal. Friday..I'm not so sure. Saturday is the wedding. And Sunday I fly home to a perfectly functioning car. (It started right up yesterday when I had a friend check it for me...sheesh...)

Cars and Ice...a rant

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:01:02 GMT

Can I just say that I hate my car?? Although I think it is a combination of my car and lack of effort on my apartment complex.

My car has been stuck in it's parking spot for nearly 4 days now. I can't budge it one bit. I just had a friend try and help me, and even with the significant effort...it wouldn't move. This is because there is a layer of 3 inches of ice covering my parking lot. For you MI people I'll repeat that...3 INCHES OF ICE!!! For the record it is from the Blizzard...TWO WEEKS AGO. Why is this ice still here? Apperantly they have not heard of Sodium Chloride! It does wonders.

Of course my parking lot is not the only place where this is a problem. All the sides streets are still covered in snow/ice. This truly baffles me. Sure I understand that Denver doesn't have as many plows, etc. As even smaller cities in MI, but come on. And I'm pretty sure there are no salt trucks at all. Plowing does no good if all you leave behind is a nice shiny layer of ice. At that point, don't plow...the snow gives traction! The incompetence of it all just baffles me beyond belief.

At this point I have to wait until the office opens in the morning so I can get someone from maintenance to help me get to work. Which means I will have to miss a few hours of work because the attitude in CO is not to take care of the snow/ice, but to hope it melts soon. (Which it isn't!!!)

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:56:14 GMT

Looks like I get to "miss" Christmas with the family this year. This blizzard now officially sucks. I was able to get a later flight out of DIA, but now I won't arrive until 11pm Christmas Day. Fun, huh? At least I will get to visit for a bit....

Blizzard 2006

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 23:46:27 GMT

So at 10 am it was already being called Blizzard '06 and being compared to the Blizzard of '82 (I, of course, don't really know what that was like....but I heard it was BAAAAAAD.) 24 hrs of snow and nothing but snow. There are drifts on my porch already. And can I just say that I love it?!?!? It's a great time to cuddle up on the couch with some nice hot tea next to the fire and enjoy looking outside. Now if only I had someone to cuddle up with...it would be perfect. But it's pretty great as it is...must be the tea....mmmm....tea.... The odd thing is that apparently there isn't any snow in MI and it's 45ish. Weird. So while my new home has a white christmas, I will not. That's kinda sad really.

Well as far as everything else goes...things are great. I had my annual holiday party on Sunday and it was a smashing success. It turns out that I really do know how to cook. Who knew? Maybe this means I will make an OK wife one day. ;) Of course I made entirely too much food, so that means I will be eating cookies forever...unless anyone wants to come over and help me out!

Work is going well...I'm finally going down to one office in January. Yay! I will actually be able to remember where I left things and not having to worry about remembering to bring everything I need in the morning because I can leave it there! Oh and speaking of work...I got an award a couple weeks ago! Because I'm so awesome. :)

Well that's enough for now I think, I'm going to go back in the living room with my tea. :D

Football

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:08:34 GMT

We lost.... It was a good game though (as I expected, so :P to all my friends who said it was going to be a blowout, they obviously don't understand the UM/OSU dynamic). And we kept OSU to a 3pt win. Of course USC beat Cal, so that doesn't help much. I am still hoping for a Jan rematch with OSU. The national championship game should be between the two best teams (not that the BCS is very good at determining that with the ranking system they have now)....and most people agree that UM/OSU *are* the two best teams. We'll have to see how things shake out.

Grrr...Yahoo! sucks

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 01:06:01 GMT

OK so maybe they don't suck that much, but they are rigidly following some stupid rules. I just want to be able to post pictures on Flickr again, and they are not helping me with my password problems. I don't know how many times that I have emailed them the same information, and every time it is someone new that answers and they tell me to answer a security question that doesn't make any sense. Or they tell me to access an email account that no longer exists. (The domain is now one of those stupid fake search engine thingy's)

So basically, they are now telling me to open a new account. Even though I PAID for Flickr, and I would have to PAY again. GRRRRRR....

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:16:13 GMT

Four weeks until Casino Royale premieres! I can't wait. James Bond is dreeeeeamy. And you know I'm not so sure it even matters who plays 007. I'm totally infatuated with the character. But he is just SO AWESOME!!! ...OK I think that is enough gushing from me.

Not so much going on lately. I'm finding my life so much less full of drama now that I am in the "real world". Which basically means I don't seem to be updating as much. I'm going to try doing that more often...but it will depend on what's going on.

Well I finished reading a book that was loaned to me by a friend. And it is total CRAP! It's called The List: 7 Ways to Tell if He's Going to Marry You - in 30 Days or Less!, and I don't recommend that anyone read it...unless of course you are looking to get married ASAP and don't necessarily care to whom. I do agree that if you follow the book, you will get married very quickly, but I'm not sure about the quality. The whole thing just seems like it is written for women with out self-esteem and think that the only way to be truly happy is to have a man! I think to understand this you need to see some quotes.

"A women's prime dating lifespan is from age 20 to 30."
-Because after 30 it's way too late to even think about dating...
"It's not going out on a limb here to say that with very few exceptions, if you approach a man first, you will not marry him."
-? This is again the "let the man do all of the dating work" mentality. Which I think is just totally wrong. I know plenty of guys that LOVE it when a women makes the first move. This is the 21st century, it is perfectly OK for a woman to ask out a man!
"If he doesn't call within 24 hours, don't get your hopes up too high."
-Unless he's in a coma...then he can call within 24 hours of waking up. What about shy guys? They are usually nervous about calling at all, let alone so quickly.
"If he can't ask you out on a date right away, you will probably end up dating him for 5 years before he even thinks about proposing. Talk about a waste of time!"
-So any relationship that doesn't result in a ring right away is a waste of time? No matter how wonderful the person is? One other thing the book talks about is the fact that if you DO get married after many years, you'll probably unhappy and/or get divorced. The ONLY way to have a happy marriage is to follow their list.
"After you are engaged will be the time for him to reveal the workings of his inner nerd."
-Why would you not want to know about this right away? Why is it OK for him to hide this from you? I guess if all you care about is getting married, then it doesn't matter about the guy. As long as you get married ASAP!
"If a man wants you to fit into a schedule of happy hours with coworkers, attending his friends' parties, or going on group dates with other couples, he may be more interested in being part of a couple than in getting married. There is a big difference, and this is the time to take notice of how he wants to interact with you. Even though it is fun to have a full calendar and to have fun plans with the man you are interested in, you don't want a man who is only looking for a girlfriend. You want a man who is looking for a wife."
-The idea that there are only two kinds of relationships and that they are mutually exclusive is ridiculous. So if you start out as bf/gf...you are DOOMED!!!!
"The truth of the matter is that happily married people are very codependent. They rely on each other completely."
-Rely on each other? Yes. Codependent? No. You can be dependent on each other completely without being codependent. Stephen Covey called it INTERdependent, and he was fairly accurate.
"With few exceptions, women want to spend all of their time with the man they love."
-OK here is where it starts to really bother me...read on to see why...
"Please don't make the mistake of thinking you can change his need for 'away time.' If you do, you will become one of those women who is happy when she is with her boyfriend and sad when they are apart. Don't think that you are too needy and convince yourself that you need to have your own life. If you wanted your 'own life,' you wouldn't be interested in getting married would you?"
-The idea that you can't be happy without a man, or that you can't be your own person is completely stupid! And why can't you be perfectly happy when he is gone, but still miss him anyways? That has me totally stumped. If all you are is part of a couple, you are very boring. Having your "own life" is what makes you interesting in the first place. How long can a relationship last if you are both all about the relationship???
"..a List Man knows that it's much better to pursue major career-advancement opportunities after you're engaged or married. Because: He knows that you are happy abnd content with your commitment and will have your own positive extracurricular things to focus on, such as planning your wedding, setting up a home, or raising kids."
-?!?!?! OK the idea that he will put his life on hold just to make sure that he can get engaged is a bit silly. He must also be desparate. And the idea that the only things you have to focus on relate to the relationship (wedding, home, kids)? Those aren't exactly "extracurricular"(from the relationship)are they? Not in any sense that I know of. Work is extracurricular, hobbies are extracurricular, but certainly not plans for your relationship!
"It goes without saying that a List Man will never lie to you about any matter of importance. He will-and should-lie to you about trivial matters."
-I'm sorry but I don't really want my "man" to lie to me about anything. What is trivial to one person is not so trivial to another. Now I think they mean things like "Does this dress make me look fat?" But then again, I'm not the type of girl that really asks those questions. (Why do women do that anyways??? It just seems insecure to me.)
"It won't matter if you always have your foot in your mouth in front of people. He knows that this is the way you are and accepts it."
-Why would a man put up with this? It is one thing to accept little quirks (I always wash the dishes in a certain order when I do it by hand..etc) But why on Earth would he put up with such misery? UNLESS he thinks being in any relationship is worse than being alone.
"After 30 days, he knows everything about you there is to know."
-Am I so shallow that it only takes ONE MONTH to figure me out? God, I hope not. I hope no women is that one dimensional. Or does it just mean that he doesn't care, because he (and you) HAVE to get married by a certain time.

The general theme of this book seems to be desparation. I know there are women out there who have a date in their head for when they get married. And I suppose if that is the most important thing, then sure use this book. But it seems to me that all you will get is a man who is equally desparate to get married, and you aren't even supposed to find out about his friends, hobbies, etc until AFTER you are engaged or married. Does this make sense? Shouldn't you think about these things BEFORE you get engaged/married?

Now I'm not saying love at first sight doesn't exist. (I have felt something similar myself...) but that doesn't mean it leads to happily ever after, and it doesn't mean that it is common.

Well that is about all I have for today. I'll try to post more often, and come up with something interesting to say. :)

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:14:45 GMT

The Tigers are going to the World Series!!!!!

GO TIGERS!!!!

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:03:32 GMT

Everyone should be watching Veronica Mars RIGHT now!

BEST. SHOW. EVER!!

We Beat the Yankees!!!

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 00:58:20 GMT

The Tigers have made it to round two!!!!!

GO TIGERS!!!

Plus Michigan beat MSU!!!

GO BLUE!!!

It has been a good day for Michigan sports (unless you are in E. Lansing...)

Update: The Red Wings beat the Penguins 2-0. It's always nice to have a shutout as the first win of the season!

GO RED WINGS!!!

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 23:53:09 GMT

WE WON!!!!!!

Lockheed Martin won the contract for the CEV. I am so super-psyched by this. :) It's so nice to be on the winning team.

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:50:49 GMT

Apparently I've been absent from LJ for awhile.... Ooops.

So things are going well. There really isn't too much to talk about. Work is work. Phoenix has sooo much paperwork that needs to be done. But it will be worth it when I watch the launch next year (be it on TV or in person....although in person would be MUCH cooler.)

Mostly I have just been hanging out getting used to the "real world". I am loving the lack of HW.

The interns have arrived for the summer, so I've been pretty busy keeping them busy. :)

One thing that I have found interesting is the number of Michiganders here in Colorado. I've been meeting all sorts of people from Michigan that move out here. Very strange. I've also noticed that the folks from Michigan are the ones that can party the best. The other day a few of us decided to go downtown after Happy Hour. It turned out that the 5 of us that went were all from MI! Strange indeed.

Other than that...not much going on. Chillin' this weekend because it's a nice long 5-day weekend! Yay for holidays! In a couple weeks I get to go back to MI for my cousin's wedding. Yet another family wedding. This is where having a large family gets annoying. Especially since all weddings from here on out will be my YOUNGER cousins. (I only have one older cousin and she got married last fall...) Welcome the "why are you single" type comments.

Well I will try to be more diligent in my postings.

OH and make sure you all watch the Shuttle launch on Tuesday!

I did it again..

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 03:28:12 GMT

Why, oh why, did I not listen to myself? This is what happens when I have very little to do on a saturday afternoon....

I suppose it's necessary every once in awhile...but romantic comedies really are EVIL!

First day...

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 02:12:29 GMT

Well the first day of work was...well it just was. Same old boring information at orientation, same old usual stuff. I did find out that I will be split between two areas. One of which I can talk about, the other only if I kill you all afterwards. :) Yay for multiple personalities! I'd much rather work on the projects that I can talk about. Because then you would actually know how cool I am versus having to take my word for it!

Other than that...the moving in is going well. I still don't know where everything is going to go, but it's getting better. Still need some furniture in the living room, but my papasan chair will have to do for now.

Yes I'm still alive...

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:50:49 GMT

For any who care, I am still alive. I've just been gone quite a bit lately. I graduated from UM once and for all. Now it's onto the real world. I've also gotten back from my holiday in Europe. :) I'm posting this from the Rover Office, because I can. I just wanted folks to know that I'm still alive.... I don't have much time to post everything that I want to post...so I won't. I can't really post at home much because the family computer (no hub or router...so only one with internet...*gasp*) is right next to my pseudo-mom's ashtray. YUCK! But in a week or so I shall be on my own in Colorado, so I will do my best to post then. Maybe if you are lucky I will keep busy by writing everything down and then just posting them later...keep your fingers crossed...

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 21:10:53 GMT

I'M GOING TO EUROPE!

Ok so it has been about a month since I've updated (or longer, but who's counting)....lots of stuff going on. My vacation to Europe is all paid for now. :) I'll be leaving on January 25th and returning on February 13. Yay me!

The last term is going well. I've got lots to do still, but I think I can manage it. Only two projects left, both of them will be group projects, so that takes alot of the pressure off of me. And then it is just packing for Colorado and for Europe. :)

DONE!!!

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:37:14 GMT

NO MORE EXAMS EVER!!!

Ok so I should have written that last night after the exam...but you know how it goes.

It still amuses me that my last exam of college was Astronomy 127!

ISS anyone?

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:53:50 GMT

So I'm posing a question to all folks in cyberspace that may happen across this.

What should NASA do with the International Space Station?

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 05:05:27 GMT

You know....sometimes I wonder what my issues really are. Especially when it comes to members of the opposite sex. It always seems that things are going well...then...all of a sudden, not so much. I'm very confused by it all.

Any ideas, from you folks in cyber-world?

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 19:51:54 GMT

GO BLUE!!!!

musings on...stuff

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 23:12:49 GMT

So today on the bus I heard tiny bits of conversations that were amusing to me. Mostly younger folks musing about the Career Fair that takes place today and tomorrow. Aaah the life they must lead, standing in line in a very spiffy, albeit uncomfortable, suit...just to be told to put their resume on the website. The image that the average student has about the workings of the world are amusing. They certainly don't seem to get much of it at all. They actually think handing over a piece of paper will help decide their future. It WILL not. My favorites are the kids that are so young they still don't know any of the companies...or what they do. "What does DuPont do?" HUH?!

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:34:57 GMT

OK so this week is faring better than some so far this semester.

It seems I have already gotten a "raise" from Lockheed Martin, and I haven't even started yet! It seems they forgot that I was getting my masters degree...so the original offer was based on me getting my bachelors degree. :)

In other news...my landlord sucks. He's just not very good at being a landlord. The sidewalk (including half the driveway) is being torn up and my landlord forgot to talk to his tenants about it first. Doh! I guess I will be leaving my car on campus for a bit longer.

And my first HW assignment of the semester is much more difficult than it should be. The prof just doesn't word it in a way that makes any sense. I just need a couple tiny things and I have it done...things that I should be able to get from the problem...but I can't. Grrr.

DO NOT EVER BUY A MEADE TELESCOPE

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:17:39 GMT

I've never had such bad customer service in my life! Tried calling many, many times. Always wait at least 20 min before giving up in frustration. I never even know how long my wait will be! No matter the time of day or the day of week. Plus they don't have an email address on their website. I'm so pissed it's unbelievable.

Plus MSA are being dicks about student groups. They suck. They want to have names, uniqnames, phone # and ID#s for at least 10 students on our team. And we can't get our money from SOAS unless we jump through all these hoops. Why is everyone so evil right now? Especially when I need it the least.

I've not had a few days, well mostly it was Friday that sucked (got some really bad news, if you are super curious email/IM me and I will fill you in, but it should not go up here), and I've been dealing with that and the after effects since. Grrr...

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 13:44:39 GMT

So it's school time again... My LAST semester. This should be an interesting experience. Being a GSI, working at CAEN and finishing up classes. I'm looking forward to this semester.

However, my apartment kinda sucks. No living room or dining room. But at least its only for a couple months. Then it is onto the "real world" for this little enginerd.

As for everything else that has happened lately. California was great! I love San Francisco! I love Silicon Valley! I will have pictures posted soon enough on my website, but that may take some time. I'm still moving into my apartment here in Ann Arbor and such. But I will do my best to get them up as soon as possible!

Other than that, I'm going to be spending alot of time at friends' houses...what with no living room and no cable and all...or maybe I'll get some projects done that I've been meaning to work on for a long time?