Running

I am going to run the Louisville Marathon on April 30th.  This requires much training and mental and physical preparation.  I recorded the mileage from when I ran the Cleveland Marathon May 2009 and I ran over 200 miles for just the training.  This time around I have set some new goals.  Last marathon my goal was to finish, this marathon my goal is to finish under 4 hours without stopping to walk.  I feel like I know more now and these goals are reachable but it will be hard.  For example I’ve heard rumors that Louisville is very hilly whereas Cleveland was basically flat.  So I am training here in Marietta which is a good thing because there happen to be a few hills here.  So far the training is going well, I am extremely sore but its all good.

This morning I was scheduled for a 5 mile run.  Ok, no biggie, I’ve run 5 miles lots of times.  Well I forgot that I was already sore, and that 6:30 in the morning isn’t very fun.  But after I got going it was quite the adventure.  In case anybody was wondering, it is still dark at 6:30 in the morning, and there were about 4 inches of snow everywhere, and it was still snowing and windy, so pretty much a blizzard.  I feel like I use alot of commas.  None of the sidewalks were shoveled (on the parts where there were sidewalks) so there was quite a bit of resistance.  I only saw one other human being until I got close to campus and this person was dressed like a firefighter with a giant suit and reflectors and a huge backpack and his face was even covered with this reflector mesh stuff.  It was a funny sight but then at the same time I’m sure so was I. 

Fun adventures in the snow….yay.  I get to do it again in the morning.  Sometimes it is lonely but it is good thinking time.  I love to run. 

First Day of Classes

My first day of classes for this semester went well.  I was planning on getting up at seven to get a few things done but hit the snooze several times and then just gave up and slept until 8.  My schedule for this semester is pretty convenient and will be the lightest work-load yet.  Mon./Wed./Fri. I have class 9-12 with a lab on Wed afternoon,  and Tues./Thurs. I have class 9:30-12:15.  For those of you that are interested my classes this semester are:

Strength of Materials (engineering)

Physics

Advanced Engineering Mathematics (A math class for engineers)

Fluid Mechanics (another engineering class)

Myth and Folklore (a general education Literature class)

I am taking 16 credit hours in all so I will have more “free time”.  This semester my free time will be filled with work and working out.  On Tues. and Thurs. afternoons I will help build the sets for the plays the theatre department puts on and then go work at the rock wall.  I will also work the rock wall on Sun. nights.  In the mornings before classes I will train for the marathon I am running April 30th in Louisville KY.  In the afternoons/evenings I will be doing soccer training which means I will be buff.  In addition to my craziness I will also do homework and hang out and go to church etc…… 

So this is going to be a fun semester, I am looking forward to it but also wish I could just skip it and go to NM right now and then start my more fun petro classes that will consume my junior year :)

Here a couple of pictures from last semester

  

A white board at the library filled with one engineering problem, this was not even the longest one I had to do

Basically what happens at the rock wall when no climbers show up.  My co-workers don’t know I have this hehe

Doing secret important stuff with George

Christmas Break

So I have been on break for almost a month now and have no pictures to show for it.  One of the reasons I started a blog was so that I would take more pictures.  Fail. And I think that everybody who would read this already knows about my life but I'm bored and feel like writing. 

This break started out a little crazy as plans changed last minute about how I was getting home and everything.  It didn't help that my Physics exam lasted 3 hours.  I was expecting to get done and meet my parents in Marietta but that didn't happen, I ended up going to Parkersburg to pick up two birthday cakes and then driving to Cambridge where I met some of my family at Cracker Barrel.  Thankfully I had a car.  I have really enjoyed having my own transportation at school the last two months it will be sad going back without it.

Anyways I wasn't supposed to be home on Friday but it worked out that way so I got to be there for Joey's 6th birthday and he got a spiderman suit and jumped on me to wake me up in the morning.  A few days later Ironman (Micah) joined him in this daily joy.  So I got to be home for that and Timmy and Micah's piano recital.  I'm so proud of them.

For the first week after I got back Marriana and I had decided to help Mother with homeschooling Micah and Joey.  It is fun and stressful at the same time.  Joey is my buddy and is a hard one to keep focused.  And now that school has started for them again, lets just say this is also going to be a fun week. 

The Church Christmas dinner went well.  The youth group always puts on some kind of skit/entertainment for the people.  We did a kind of Biggest Loser thing with special guests from.....everywhere. It was interesting and funny even though we were scrambling to get it together last minute like we always do and say that next year we won't.

I always like Christmas for the family time.  There are no words to describe the atmosphere of family.  Sure I can tell you what we did, and I will, but it just brings a good warm fuzzy feeling when I think about Christmas in general.  Our family always does the advent wreath where we light candles representing different people in the Christmas story.  I'm very glad Marriana is here because I have always lit the second candle and so I still got to because she lit the first one for Daniel.  Another family tradition is good food and we had lots of it, so much I won't even put it all because it would take too long to read and would make me even more hungry.  Uncle Mark and Aunt Cathy and my cousin Terri came to visit for 2 days before Christmas and which was pretty cool.  Then Christmas day is always exciting and hectic.  I have to say my favorite present was the toothpaste :) 

The day after Christmas we packed up and drove to KY which happens to be my birthstate.  I love it there and had a great time with everybody (even the shopping part) and guitars and children everywhere and gator rides and gun shooting and visits from friends and the cave and the cows and the hay......yeah, it was pretty fun. 

Now it is the week before I go back to school.  This break has gone by very quickly but it has been good on so many levels.  I don't feel as though I have gotten a whole lot done but I am doing my best to be helpful to my mom with a happy heart.  Alot has happened in the last three weeks but I am looking forward to getting back to my routine and schedule and my family in Marietta.  Although I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to again to my family here.

Summer Internship

It is very interesting how well being a Petroleum Engineer seems to suit me.  It all started my junior year of high school when I first began to look at colleges.  I looked at several in WV and OH but didn't really give Marietta that much thought.  I knew I wanted to go to a D2 college for soccer and I knew that I wanted there to be really good food.  Well, that all changed when I got a letter from the soccer coach at Marietta saying he had seen me play in a summer showcase and would like me to look at the school.  I like to know what all my options are before I choose something so I decided to visit. 

I think that the first time I came here I was sick so it wasn't that great of a time.  Except I do remember meeting Auntie Linda in Parkersburg to pick up a cake.  That was good.  The soccer coach seemed really interested in me so I came back a few months later with Katie and Reamer for an overnight visit.  I had lots of fun and liked the soccer team, liked the campus, the food was ok,  and I got a scholarship.  So I decided Marietta it would be.  Oh, but then I had to choose a major.  I knew that I wanted to do something with math and science but not in the medical field.  Marietta College is very well known for its petroleum engineering department and when I found out how much they make, I decided to give it  a shot. 

The whole summer leading up to my freshman year I would tell people that I was going to major in petroleum engineering and would get these really impressed looks from people and they would ask me what that was and my reply was "I don't know but I'm going to find out"  Last year I kinda got an idea a little bit about it but I really still don't know that much.  All I know is that I like the classes I have to take and I don't have to write alot of papers, I just have to do tons of math problems. I like it alot, it seems like a perfect fit so far.

One of the things that the department does so well is to provide opportunities for us students to get summer internships with oil companies.  There are numerous companies that come onto campus and give information sessions and based on our resumes in a data base, will select students for interviews. 

I had I think 6 interviews with different companies in September and October.  I was getting nervous because I had only heard back from two of them saying I just didn't have the skills they were looking for.  But last week Dr. Chase, the head of the department. sent me an email saying he had talked to one of the companies and had highly recommended me to them and to look for any emails from them in the next few days.  Well they did send me a job offer for the summer and I accepted. 

This summer starting on June 6th I will be starting my first day with ConocoPhillips in Farmington New Mexico! I have no clue what I will be doing but I am very excited about it and know that I will learn a ton about the oil industry and more of what my future holds. 

So, that's my big news right now. New Mexico.  Pretty sweet

Stagecraft Painting Project

Instructor's Pistol Class

The past two weekends I have attended a two day course that will certify me to teach a pistol class and issue conceled carry permits once I turn 21.  I will also be able to get my own conceled carry at that time.  They days were long but it was very worth it.  I had lots of fun and met some interesting people I wouldn't otherwise know.  I even decided it was so much fun I would take pictures of my awesomeness.  So here they are I hope you enjoy. 

We actually did get to use the flashlights and shoot in the dark today. 

 I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a picture with the western cowboy revolver I got to shoot today, it was alot bigger and more impressive than this little baby although this one packed quite a wallup. 

 For this drill we had to shoot around a barrier at two targets and then shuffle across the floor, make a 911 phone call, then shoot two more targets to mock a break in situation.  I pretended I was Jack Bauer in my head the whole time. 

Me doing an awesomely cool pose.

The whole class

Well yeah, that's all for now

Jordan's Senior Soccer Night and Following Adventures

I know this is a month late, but the night of Jordan's senior soccer game was so full of adventures that I feel as though I should write about it.

It started around 5AM Wednesday morning when I got up to do procrastinated homework.  At noon when I was done with my classes I found the car that I would be borrowing, printed directions, grabbed my driving hat, and set out to get Marriana.  The plan was to drive to Steubenville where she goes to school (2 hrs), and then to Norwalk where the game was (3 more hrs), surprise everybody (only Dylan knew we were coming, and I don't think we even saw him that night), hang out for awhile, then drive back to Steubenville where I would spend the night before heading back to Marietta the next morning for my 11 o'clock class.  Foolproof right?

Well, the first part went well, we got to Norwalk in time for Marriana to visit her mom for a bit, then we showed up to the game around 7:15, right as Norwalk scored their first goal.  Everyone was really surprised and Jordan played a great game.  They won 6-0 and he scored the 6th goal.  It was so much fun to get to be there. 

Cheering in the stands (these pictures were hyjacked from other sources)

Halftime (Man do I have a good looking brother)

After the game

It was so nice to be home for the first time this year and get to chill out with the family even if it was only for a few hours

This has to be one of my new favorite pictures

After awhile it was time to leave, we left Norwalk around 11:30. It rained for about an hour but other than that it was good for driving.  I had an energy drink and some seeds and I was just cruisin along the way I like to.  

I think this is a good place to insert that I love driving, especially by myself because I can be as loud as I want and so on the way to pick up Marriana I had been singing for awhile when God put in on my heart to pray in the spirit.  Ok, so for about 45 min. before I got there I was just pressing in for I didn't even know what, like hardcore warfare kinda stuff which I don't normally do unless I know what I'm praying for.  When I was done I just said, "God let these prayers accomplish whatever they were for."  So, back to the drive from Norwalk, Marriana fell asleep so I just started praying agian but quietly.  It was weird because she woke up suddenly and told me to stay on the road (which I totally was, I don't know why she freaked out), so I stopped praying and later learned that she started praying then.  (She prays really quietly I guess).  Ok, point being, lots of prayer in that car.  You might be wondering why, I'll tell you why. 

All was going well until we got to Strausburg where a really huge old building had caught on fire.  There were fire trucks from every county around and traffic was backed way up.  We went on a little detour and continued on our way.  No biggie, it was just interesting. 

We kept going on 250, when around 1:30 ish the car started making weird rattling noises.  We were in the middle of nowhere with only woods and a winding road around us.  So I did the only thing I knew to do and kept driving.  Well, that plan failed when I felt the power steering and power brakes go out so I did my best to get it off the road.  I just happened to land halfway in the front yard of the only two houses within a 3 or 4 mile radius (my estimation), and steam was just pouring from the hood.  At which point a drunk man comes stumbling out from the house and into the road. Yep, I was in his yard, and he was not happy about it. 

He came up to my window and started pounding on it yelling at us to open it and talk to him, not wanting to anger the man, we made sure the doors were locked and rolled the window down enough to talk to him, rather I let Marriana talk to him.  I reached for my phone and called 911...NO SERVICE.  As if this nightmare could get any worse, but it could.   

This guy would carry on about something for a bit, then ask us something, get mad at our response, stomp off, come back, be happy for a minute or two, get mad again.  This happened for awhile.  At one point he was screaming at me to turn on the hazard lights and to open the hood; I had never driven this car before so it took me a while to find the right buttons and levers but I eventually did although not fast enough for this crazy guy.  In the midst of one of his rants he mentioned something about his old lady.  Marriana jumped on this opportunity and asked him if his wife was home.  His response was something like "Well actually she lives in that house and I live in this house because she likes to decorate her way and I like to decorate mine."  Marriana asked him to go get her and he got upset because we didn't trust men and called us some interesting names but he did eventually go and get her for us. 

Out of the second house walks this lady wearing jeans, a leather jacket, no shoes, and smoking a cigarette. Oh boy. The guy decided that the car needed to be pushed off the road completely because it was still partially in the road.  There was a convenient lot right across the street so he yelled at Marriana to get out of the car and help push; up to this point, we had stayed put. She reassured me that beause the woman was there everything would be ok, so the three of them pushed the car off the road.  Then the lady went back inside to go look for some oil or something.  Situation: me sitting in drivers seat, Marriana and guy standing on the passenger side of the car talking, windows cracked.  All was fine until he said something about kissing her so I got out of the car ready for anything despite the glare I got from Marriana that said "you stay in the car missy." Thankfully this guy didn't try anything because I'm pretty sure I would have beat him up if necessary. 

The lady, whose name was Tammie, came back and so we asked if she had a house phone we could use.  The guy starts flipping out when we mention calling the police, and Tammie told us we could call our parents but nobody else because she didn't want the  police to come either.  (she was obviously on some drugs).  Our parents were 2 1/2 hours away and we estimated we were only about 30 min. from Steubenville.  So Tammie told us it was ok if Marriana called some of her friends to come get us.  So we entered the house....

Remember how I said it couldn't get any worse?  Well, these people raised German Shepards for a living.  I think they said that between the two of them there were sixteen.  I am not particularly fond of dogs in the first place.  So we walk in this lady's house and there are four dogs (she had put the biggest one upstairs) barking wildly.  And you could hear dogs all around; in the back yard and at the guy's house.  Tammie found the phone for us.  It needed recharged.  So we had to wait in this house for her phone to charge.  We went and sat on the couch and these dogs were sniffing me and licking me and if I looked at them wrong or moved they would start barking at me.  Also, the guy decided that he wanted to come into the house to but Tammie told him to go home, he said no, they started fighting, she threatens him with a stick, he leaves, comes back, this happens several times until the guy takes some pills, goes home, and we don't see him again for the rest of the story. 

The phone finally charged enough for Marriana to call Armando....he didn't answer, she left a voicemail and then the phone died again.  I think she did end up getting one text out telling him to call that number back.   Anyways, so there was nothing to do but wait.  We were sitting there on the couch and I was exhausted so I kinda fell asleep while Marriana was busy multitasking.  She amazes me.  First of all, she can talk to anybody, I mean ANYBODY for a very long time.  So she was talking to Tammie, trying to get a text to go out, comforting the freaking out Hannah, bonding with these dogs, praying, and who knows what else while we waited.  As messed up as Tammie's life was, she was very helpful and I am very grateful for her taking us in even if the circumstances were not ideal.

Marriana's friends finally understood what was going on and came out to find us.  They got lost trying to find us, I think part of it was I had missed my turn and hadn't realized it.  After a long time they finally found us, I have never loved a stranger more than I loved Armando and Hannah Voss that night.  We ended up getting oil for the car, it drove to a gas station then died again and we rode back to campus.  It was during that drive that Marriana made a very funny connection.  This guy's name was Chester.  Her household gave creepers the codename "Chester" and warned about them.  If only we had listened.  Sorry I don't have any pictures of the car breaking down event.

We got back to campus around 6:30 that morning.  I was SO happy when the sun came up.  That was definentally the scariest night of my life.  I shake everytime I tell the story, it was like a living nightmare.  But God protected us, and no harm came to us.

Uncle Rodney came with a trailer and picked me up.   We went back to get the car.  Everything seemed to different in the light.  We loaded it up and drove back to Marietta.  I think I slept the whole way.  I finally arrived back to my city at 5:30 that evening, so happy to be back, and so happy to be alive. 

I still think that getting to be at Jordan's Senior Night was totally worth it.  I would even do it all over again if I had to.