Bolder Boulder

I have decided to run the Bolder Boulder this year. I just couldn't live with myself if I lived in boulder for 8 years and never did it. Thus, I decided to get my feet slapping against the dirt again so that I can actually make it through all 6.2 miles (10km) without stopping. I went online to find a novice training schedule that would bring me up to a level that would be sufficient. Seeing as how there are only 6 weeks til Memorial Day I figured I would have plenty of time. Unfortunately, all I found was an 8 week schedule. So I thought, "No big deal" I'll cut the first two weeks off and jump right in.

Bad idea!

I've haven't been running religiously since last summer. In fact, I've only been doing 1 - 1.5 mile run every other week. When I added in the strength I have from Ballet and I figured I'd be fine. The training recipe called for a 3.5 mile run my first day (which should have been the beginning of the 3rd week). I knew it was going to be tough but I figured I could do it. I was wrong. I only made it 2.5 miles (with a couple of minutes of walking in the middle) before my back and my knees were screaming at me to stop. I went back to the schedule and it turns out that if I had started two weeks ago, the first run I would have had to do is a 2.5 mile run. So I'm just going to have to accept being two weeks behind and hopefully gain a little ground as I progress through the next couple weeks.

Bittersweet News

Tor has official announced the release date for the next Wheel of Time book.

http://us.macmillan.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=12669&publisher=torforge

On one hand, I'm realy excited to see more of those beloved characters. On the other,I'm bummed they are splitting it into 3 novels. It'd be nice to finally read the end. I'm also not very happy about the idea of a movie. Especially after seeing what they did to "The Sword of Truth."

Unique Names

I am a big advocate of unique names.

I have a certain pity for individuals who are so accustomed to hearing their name when they aren't the one being addressed that they don't even look up. I, on the other hand, look up whenever I think I might have heard anything remotely like my name. For example, I have a sister named Malea. Our names don't exactly rhyme but they sound similar enough that sometimes I respond under the assumption that I was the one addressed.

(There are also the (frequent) occasions when a family member (i.e. mom) uses the wrong name and it saves time just to respond.)

Another example of times when its fun to have a unique name is when you go to google and search for yourself. For me, the first 2 complete pages are entries that are directly connected to events in my life. (Even though you would think they were two different people! Engineering and music?!?!) But there are those of you out there that can do a google search for yourself and not find anything that is connected to you until the atleast the 5th page of results.

I ran a little experiment. I inserted the name "Julie Smith" through the search engine just for kicks and giggles. Its a name I pulled out of a hat. The top few hits were a website for an author. But the results quickly begin to vary from a state farm agent to a jewelry maker to a travel photographer. Obviously, they are not the same person.


The only downfall of having a unique name is not being able to find your name in the keyring selection at a miscellaneous gift shop while vacationing in some location where the local population is dominated by tourists. Actually, on second thought, that's not a downfall...

I guess the point of the story is that I like my name. I like having my own identity in a world of almost 7 billion people. I'm grateful for the time my parents took to figure out a name that fit me and that isn't common or redundant. I plan on doing the same for my children.

Catch Up Thoughts

Although, I enjoy writing my blog, I fear that I have less readers than I could count on one hand. Regardless, its the closest thing I have to actually writing a journal so don't fear that I will quit.

As previously announced, I have landed a job in Chandler, Arizona. Assuming my background check and whatnot is up to par, I will be starting on July 6. My official job title is an Associate Mechanical Engineer in the Design, Integration and Test (DI&T) group of the Mechanical Department at Orbital Sciences Corp. That's a fancy way of saying that I get to design and test mechanisms used on rockets. :)

I will have most of May and June to sit back and detox from 8 years of school. Ideally, I would spend a week or two after graduation in Florida for the Shuttle launch currently scheduled for 12 May. Then spend a couple weeks preparing for Houston, going to Houston for microgravity, then heading off to visit friends either in Germany or Chicago or San Francisco, then packing up my stuff and moving it to Phoenix. Of course, in the real world one must think of how to fund such dreams. Come July, I'll have the funds to make such glorious plans (and not the time), but until then I am still a poor student wishing for more money.

GEEK ALERT!!!

Some of you can sense the irony of me moving to Phoenix from my role-playing days. For those of you out of the loop, my defining character's name was Faile "Phoenix" Zarine: a Commander in the Empire, highly trained in the art of spying.(Those of you who know the Wheel of Time and are snickering...the name is not my fault!) Somehow she ended up being a double-agent for the Rebellion against Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. (Yes, this was a Star Wars game.) Not because she believed the Empire was the epitome of evil but because she believed that the leaders of that great government were corrupt. Which put her end-goals very close to the goals of the Rebellion: assassinate the leaders of the Empire.

Phoenix had a very special gift. She used what was called a "Force Artifact" to command fire. How was this accomplished? Like all good stories, she was in the center of a forbidden romance. His name was Lan Therin; crowned-prince and jedi-knight of the planet Thera destined to marry for political gains. (Now you Wheel-of-Timers are groaning...sorry!)

Her Majesty the Queen insisted he marry Senator Ianya Araughtnivallia Adeti. (Sorry for butchering the spelling Amy!) When she declined it was then thought he would marry Princess Elaina from a planet whose name I can't remember. (Even though its the planet Faile eventually died on...) All the while, Lan's heart belonged only to Faile.

The "Force Artifact" Faile used was a Ruby Ring (her once-engagement ring) that converted love into fire...literally. It was her love for Lan that allowed her to control fire. She used this power to help free Thera and the Rebellion from the evil wrath of the Empire Leaders.

Wow, I kinda got side-tracked...back to the topic.

END GEEK ALERT!!!

I'm moving to Phoenix. And Faile was such an important part of my social life for over a year. It was a time where I had great friends and I was surrounded by kind and generous people. Life is not the same with out them. Although, I personally am not a fan of hot climates, the Faile side of me will help me adapt. I've been doing a little research on the Phoenix area to figure out the best place to live. I was thinking I'd like to find something near the Phoenix South Mountain Park. If anyone of you knows something I don't, let me know!

Now, from hot to cold, yesterday we had a typical late-March snow storm. According to 9 News we received, from Mother Earth, a total of 18 inches of snow yesterday. It's glorious! All winter its been in the 50s, 60s and 70s and we finally got some decent snow. I'll miss these March storms in the future. Perhaps I'll take some pictures later on today when I trek out to go get my car. (Which I abandoned about a mile away.) Of course, as per usual, the storm came during Spring Break. So there was no official time off of school. Bummer.

Speaking of school, there are precisely 41 days until I graduate. When I think of all the things I need to accomplish in those 41 days, I start to get a headache.

The Wait is Over

I found out today! Ladies and gentlemen, I got the job!!! And I'm worth more than I thought!

Its decision making time...

Waiting

Last Friday I contacted a company that I interviewed with two weeks prior. I asked them where they were in their hiring process. (Though my wording was substantially less clever due to nerves). They said that they were finishing up the final round of interviews that day and that they would get back to me "early next week." Well, its early next week already and the waiting is killing me. I don't have cell service in the shop (where I spend all of my time when I'm not in class) and therefore will most definitely miss the phone call. So I've been making hourly trips out to the court yard to check my voice mail. Nothing yet. I'm beginning to second guess putting a high number as my salary preference and keep playing over in my mind the things I said in the interview that were not so brilliant. glub.

I actually thought about not posting this entry simply because if I didn't get the job it would make it even worse. But because this is the foremost thought on my brain I could not not write anything. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that I would write a blog about it and if I didn't get the job I would simply delete the entry and hope that no one had read it. So please save your comments til I post a "yah" or "nah" to preserve my bubble of reality. Thanks!

Success

After 6+ months I finally took the time to figure out how to properly change my background. Yea, for procrastination!