Yup, just switched to a simpler layout...told ya SOMETHING had to change! :)

So it's really bothering me that my blog count is "stuck" at 254 even though I have a few more than that. Yes, it's a small problem. Anyway. I just put on some streaming classical music as a backdrop to my blogging.

So, what's been up? No money is what's been up. Just to recap. I still have no job...not one in sight...well, I sent an e-mail to my old both and she said that she'd generously try to help me out. If nothing pans out in the coming days (yeah, to me, like in the coming hours???), she would talk to some people to see if they can hire me back for the internship. Gotta tell ya, networking is key in the real world huh? It's all about favors and returning favors I guess.

And now, to the money thing. I think I'm going to have to do weekly house rent to Chris' parents, since I don't really have money for a whole month. Hopefully I'll have everything sorted out by the next 2 weeks, tops. So, and then yesterday I have a flat...great. I went today to Discount Tire to get 4 new tires...the CHEAPEST ones they had. $30 a tire. Now, I probably didn't need to get all 4 changed, since I don't really care if my tires are bald. Hell, if you think about it, in the summer, bald = more traction! :) Anyway, $120 for the tires and all these installation fees, taxes, blah, blah adds up and the 'real' total is $180...great. My credit card is at $1700 of the possible $1800...woot for me! I'm fucked!

I just want to get my internship done with so I can just find a job, any job. Going off on a tangent, I took off the hubcaps to my car and dabbed a little spray paint action to the rims...I think they look better...or maybe it's worse? Hell I don't know. I just like change, whether it's good or bad. I don't think I can ever live with at least SOMETHING in my life changing constantly (of course, besides Laura, lol). I changed my room a couple of days ago too. Now my small room is my office and the big room, which is quite empty, is my bedroom. It's weird, though, that something has to change or I get REALLY bored. The next thing? Who knows.

I've been wanting to sell my laptop too, so I can build a good desktop to play games on. Tough to find people to buy it, though. We'll see what happens in the next few months. I would like to ideally keep my laptop AND have a new desktop. I planned out what I'm going to get and it comes to about $550 for a nice, high-end desktop. Not too bad. I walked into Computer Renaissance the other day to check out their computers...man are they overpriced! I mean, there was a computer almost exactly like the one I'm going to make, just that mine actually has more RAM and a better video card and theirs was priced at $899...and then I was like, maybe I should just make computers and sell them. Worth it to me. Buy parts for $550, sell it for $650, make a $100 to do something fun and productive.

Well, that's it for now...I don't have any more news to shed...HOPEFULLY I'll have some job news soon.

Oh yeah, Wednesday I have a dentist's appointment to fix my chipped fillings/tooth...and I hope to god that I don't have to get a root canal...not for pain's sake, but for money's sake!

I think my post count hasn't been rising for the last few blogs. Anyway. I made this earlier today because I was bored.

http://www.voipnuke.com/uploads/NatureSlideShow.wmv

It makes you think how beautiful the world is with all the old buildings, ancient cities, tropical places, and just imagine the hundreds of locations around the world that we've never even stepped foot on or haven't even seen yet.

Among other news, I didn't get the Hilton job, but that's ok. I'm one of the last two candidates for the Marriott job and I haven't even gotten a reply from Embassy Suites, which I would like to hear from, but who knows. I'll know about the Marriott job FOR SURE on Monday...50/50 chance I guess. The pay starts at $7.50...which is sort of low...ok, really low, but oh well. You get what you get. The pay at the Embassy Suites is awesome, but oh well once again. I'm going to e-mail them to see what the status is.

Laters all.

I stumbled upon this (literally, but I don't want to explain that) and it just makes ya think, you know? I've seen this thing before, but it was for a population of 1,000. 100 works even better I think.

http://www.miniature-earth.com/

Just click the language you want to see it in.

I guess you could say that I'm in the MAJority. ;)

And then you realize, in the real world, how well you actually are compared to other countries. I don't know if I'll ever be able to escape taking things for granted, as that is how I was raised and that is how the environment I was raised in, was raised...although I can't speak for everyone.

I then sometimes wonder what life would be like if I were to be born into a MUCH more unfortunate life. Living in South America, Africa...I would be that those people who are very unfortunate have a much better understanding of life. Life without money, life without daily hassles, and perhaps, life to a more simple degree...just looking out for one another in the community and living. They don't have greed. There's nothing to greed over. They don't have jealousy (well, maybe). How can you be jealous about a car or a big screen TV when you have no roads to drive it on or no wall to put up the TV on. However, I have to say I'm sure they have dreams and goals, just like any of us...just a different kind. We dream of getting rich, getting famous, living a well-off life with family, kids, a steady job...they dream of surviving to the next day. They dream of perhaps the chance in the future that they will be taken out of their situation. Maybe they want to be...maybe they don't want to be. If I were in their shoes (well, more like sandals) I wouldn't want to be given the chance to live in grandness...it would just ruin something that they have that we don't. I'll let you guess what that is!

So this is the 255th post. That's a lot dude. It covers nearly 3 years of stuff! Anyway, an update. I had my dentist's appointment today and twofold:

1. I have no cavities! But, the back left tooth that I was talking about, if I ever did talk about, has a chip or something where my filling or tooth broke off. They have to take out the filling and re-fill it, but I guess the filling is REALLY close to the pulp, which is the nerve area of the tooth. If it's too deep, it's root canal time. Doh! I really hope I don't need a root canal. Really. Not because of the pain or whatever it might bring, but the fucking cost. Anyway.

2. There are still plenty of good people left in this world. I got there with my Mom and my appointment wasn't on the schedule. I guess the computer didn't save it or something and I had to re-schedule. My Mom was getting all upset and stuff and then while we were getting the next appointment, I guess another patient probably overheard us and he offered to give up his appointment time for us. What a fucking nice gesture. I don't know if this is appropriate or relevant, but he was Hispanic. I don't know, it's nice to know that there are nice people still around these days. He gave up his appointment for a July one...man, I don't even know if I would! Thanks to him though.

No word from the Embassy Suites yet. Tomorrow is my Marriott and Hilton interviews...man, I hope I get ONE, just ONE of the 3 jobs ya know? I'm tired of just sittin' here everyday not doing much...well, anything for that matter. Anyway, I'll update in a couple of days to let you know what my dealio is.

I just wanted to write in here before I lost my train of thought. I was cleaning out my old trunk of old stuff and came across some stuff that really sparked my memory of when I was in elementary, junior and some even high school. It's amazing how we all remember stuff instantly like that. I had a class picture from like kindergarten or 1st grade or something and although I don't really remember that time very well, I know and remember the people perfectly.

That's what life is about, right? Memories and people. In my opinion, that's all that you need to have a good life. I don't know if everyone would agree, but yeah. I mean, what other things matter? Money? Fame? How popular you are in school? The job you have? Nah, it's all about the people you meet along the way in your life that either adds or subtracts from your life. Those are moments you remember.

Do you remember more of when you got an A on a test? Possibly...bad question. Or do you remember what you did with your friends? I don't know, this topic is actually going nowhere fast. I just wanted to remind myself that my childhood wasn't all that bad I guess. I mean, I wasn't rich like other people (cough), but it was fun and that's what made it great. Spending the night at a friend's house after begging your parents, going to little league games and getting a bloody nose after the pitcher throws the ball in the air and I can't see it because the sun got in the way, and throwing rocks over the fence of someone's house you don't even know...and to keep throwing them until you break something. That's the stuff that makes life fun.

The last few days have been a series of reflection for me, sort of. Before I go to sleep, I'd think about the stuff I did bad when I was 9 or 10.

Anyway, just a short rave. Today's interview went well I think. Two more on Thursday and HOPEFULLY, one of them pulls through. I need a job bad man...really bad.

So here's to a job!

So we (TJ and I) got done finishing up this awesome project. I can't say what until after tomorrow night because people might be reading this. Anyway, it's sweet. Hope Ashley and Laura likes it!

So some good news on the horizon, sort of. I have an interview with the Embassy Suites in Denver tomorow (er, today, really) at 4pm for a front desk position. They really rushed it seems like, which is good for me. I literally send a resume via e-mail today and they got back to me. I also sent an app to Marriott on Saturday, they called me for a couple of questions, and now I have an interview on Wednesday at 10am. Cool huh? Hopefully, one of these goes through. Otherwise I'm back at square one!

Wednesday I have a dentist's appointment to look at my sore molar on the left side of my mouth and perhaps fix my cavity on one of my lower front teeth. Hopefully the molar one isn't a big deal, though the last two days, it has been more sore than ever before, although it's tolerable. It's just to that point where it's barely noticeable. I DO NOT want to fricken get my wisdom teeth out, which could be causing the soreness...let's hope not. I hope it's not a root canal either!

I'll probably report back on Thursday or so just to see where I'm at. I'll either be living here in Fort Collins or at Laura's house in Denver...we'll see if I get any of the jobs!

Just came back from watching Cinderella Man. It was a good movie! I can't imagine how life was like during the depression. I mean, living literally on a few dollars here and there, a few cents here and there is incredible. I would imagine that most people who lead a fairly good life today can't even start to imagine what this feels like. Anyway, it just made me a think a little (you know, like I always say I do in these blogs). I have it pretty good despite all the bad things that may happen. And now I'm beginning to think more like it's ok to not have everything. I mean, yeah, I've always thought that, but really, I don't need all the fast cars that I want to get or even small things like video games or to play golf. There are really only a few things you really need in life...pretty much for everyone across the board, in my opinion. I don't really want to get into the details. Maybe that'll be the next blog or something, but it's along the lines of friends, family, and a dash of _____. I'll fill in the blank later!

So it seems that my car finally took a turn for the worse. It started to erratically not start in the last few days and today it just stopped trying to turn on. Went to the Honda dealership to see about some parts. I bought a new main relay, which didn't do much, but I guess for the $64 that I paid, I can tell myself that now THAT'S not the problem. Next up was why it wasn't giving power to the main relay. The ignition switch. Since that was the next problem (most likely) I bought that online with next day shipping. Hopefully that will come Saturday and install it that day. If THAT doesn't work? Well, I spent just over a hundred dollars to figure out that it wasn't the parts that I just bought. I don't know what else it could be after this Saturday, so it's going to be off to the dealership to see if they can fix it...I know they will rape me up the ass.

I guess on the good end of things, I learned a bit more of how the car works...good thing or a bad thing who knows.

Well, that's all...

So I'm still waiting to hear back from Inverness. I hate waiting. You would think that if they are busy and short on people, they would get back to you as soon as possible. I called another place yesterday and left a message on the voicemail concerning an ad I saw in the paper. No word yet. I sometimes begin to wonder if people really call back or they know why they put ads in the paper...because they need people!

Anyway, I just had this sudden urge to see the ocean. I haven't been to the beach or seen the ocean or smelled the ocean in a loooong time. The last time was probably back in the early 90s when I was visiting my sister in Monterey, near San Jose, California. I remember we were on this rocky beach area and looking through the cracks and stuff where crabs or something lived and cool little sink hole type things where the water carved out wells and stuff. I was to see somewhere different this time, though. Maybe a more tropical location with a hidden cove or something. It would remind me of like a pirate story or something where the pirates are just chillin' and resting at a cove that nobody knows about or something. Oh well, maybe in the near future.

I'm going to get ready and head to the bank and then to eat now. See ya.

It's 1:33am...I'm starting to sleep earlier! lol. Chris just bought a new series of the car video game that we used to play on the PS2, but this one's for the Xbox and it seems to be much better. It's so easy to get into these kinds of games. I'm tired now and my eyes are hurting from watching too much TV.

I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow, but I'm going to see if TJ is free to do something. Waiting for Inverness to contact me is so, well, frustrating and nervous at the same time. Will I get the job? Will they say no? I always hate it when they say a position is filled. Anyway, I'm going to head to sleep now. I'll probably wake up around 11 or something tomorrow...because I have mono (a joke to Laura).

Good night.

Damn! 1:44am again. I can't sleep. I don't know why. I'm going to actually try and get to sleep after this blog, but anyway. Had my interview at the Inverness yesterday. I think it went well, but there are other candidates that they are going to look over for over the weekend and then they're supposed to get back to me early next week. Other things on my mind are figuring out whether or not I am going to be staying with Laura's parents over the Summer, what's going to happen after the Inverness job...well, before we get that far, I need to GET the Inverness job...which if I don't get, I don't know what's going to happen. I guess wait for my boss from Alaska to maybe/hopefully write back and say he can get me a job in Jackson Hole. And then that's another ordeal I have to deal with in finding a place to live and stuff like that. I really hope I get the Inverness job. But anyway, had dinner with TJ last night. That was fun. I am back to doing nothing tomorrow and until I get a call from the Inverness...well, that's all for tonight. Laters.

Well, it's 4:07am and I just wanted to say I love you, Laura. I hope you know that I really mean it.

Another late night/early morning post...this time, it's like 3:30 in the morning. WTF? I went to bed at like 12:30 and I couldn't get to sleep. I was just thinking about a lot of stuff. Anyway, I think I am just going to stay up and get breakfast with Laura or something. I think she'll get home at like 9 I think...6 hours to kill!!! I may watch a movie, but who knows. One thing I know for sure is that I'm going to be tired as hell later today. I am going to Kohls to get some nice shirts for the interview coming up. I REALLY hope I get it...otherwise I'm sort of screwed! Really! No money, no job, and stuff coming up to pay for things don't add up. Well, I'm going to go find a movie to watch and I'll be on my way. I can't wait to see you Laura! This may be the first time, if I stay awake, that I am awake when you get home! At this time, however, I am thinking of going to sleep for the few hours that I can...ugh, I should have went to sleep early. The thing is, it's hard to sleep without Laura. :)

A little late night posting. It's 1:30am. Laura's sleeping downstairs and I don't want to wake her if I go down there. I'm really not that tired, but I'm tired at the same time, if you know what I mean. Thursday is my interview! Hopefully it goes well.

Among bad news, my car won't start! It sucks. I was going to go cruising, but my car just ticks and ticks and won't start. It may be the battery, but I REALLY don't want to go buy another battery if it's not going to fix it. I want to know what's wrong with it! The thing is, that same thing has happened in the past, but it just got better and the car started in a few minutes. It seems that this time it's not the case. I fucking hope it's fixed by the time Thursday rolls around. Anyway, Laura works tomorrow morning, so I may just sleep up here and wake up in the morning and make coffee for us or something. It's weird. I'm just sitting here, surfing around, no work, no school (except an internship), and there's really nothing that I can be doing. Well, I guess I can look for a job, and it's probably a bad idea for me to assume that I'm going to get the Inverness job, even if it is just for the summer. I don't know what I'm doing right now. :(

Well, it's Susan's b-day today technically, so. That's about it. I'm gonna head to bed soon. See ya.

I think it's safe to say that in the last, what 14 days, a lot has happened and have thought a lot about things.

Just an update. My graduation was good. My brother came and my Mom, and a few friends. Did the whole thing and then went to Hibachi for some dinner. That was good too. And then the day after, it was the whole "me leaving for Alaska" thing and that passed. I had a loooooong day ahead of me. I ended up not staying at the airport and got a hotel that was open all night. Next day, we leave for Denali on the shuttle. Met some friends through the trip and turned out that those friends were my roommates. Good? Well, let's continue the story.

The place was great, the job seemed good, but everything else was not me. The employees and roommates were great, when they were not drunk, which was every night. The management I thought sucked...nothing was ready, including rooms, amenities, and even training was a little hectic.

So what did I do? I quit after my 3rd day. I talked to my manager and explained everything. He understood. It seemed like he was going to be leaving as well...he said to give him a call whenever he's back in Jackson Hole in Wyoming if I ever needed a job. I may just do that. It was an interesting experience nonetheless...I was out there for 1 week, almost to the hour. I don't know, the environment just wasn't for me. I don't care what others may think about that, but it just wasn't for me. Yeah, I may have wasted some things like the plane ticket and some money, but it's a learning experience. It'll be a great place to visit, though. Lots of things to do and see.

Now I'm back home, no job and practically done with school...I sent in some applications at hotels in Denver...haven't heard back yet, obviously, but I don't know what the hell I'm doing right now. I'm just sitting here and money is going to start to run low fast. I'm waiting for my Mom to call back when she gets back in from New York. That was probably fun.

The thing is that the people in Alaska are weird. Not in the sense that they look weird or act weird, but, well, yeah, their thoughts and actions mix. Like, all of them are there for a reason, to work. They are also there for another reason. Because they like the outdoors and nature at least to some degree. The strange thing is, at least to me, is that they don't act like that. They drink, smoke weed, etc. and do all these things, but it's just hard to think that inside, they're generally cool, nice people like any other person. I don't know, and they're even smart as well. They're mostly in school and all that and most have done this for a few seasons and stuff. It's just weird.

But now, I'll be here and taking in the changes that will be happening in the next few weeks. Moving, getting a new job (although being unemployed is sort of cool!) and then watching Laura head up to Wyoming, where I might head as well. Who knows. It's weird that the future is never a written story, you know? Like 1 week ago, I had it in my head that I was going to be coming back in September. Well that didn't come out like that!

But anyway, just thought I'd write a little about the craziness going on right now.

Hopefully I'll have some ENCOURAGING news in the next few days!

Just to note, this is probably going to be my final blog to a while, like 4 months while. Between work, getting used to Alaska, doing assignments for the internship, I probably won't have much time, if any, to come on to blog.

So anyway, this Wednesday is going to be my last work day. I can't believe it. I've worked over there for over 3 years. I think it's 3. They're throwing me a little, 'send away' social or something rather Wednesday. Just ice cream and brownies or something. I actually liked working there, but at the same time, I think it would be better if I left. It was so dang boring and that's just the start of it. I have made some good friends through it, though. Gaming friends which I intend to get together with again after my internship to play games. A good boss and supervisor that can give me some recommendations. And of course, there's Shannon whom I'm good friends with now. I remember when she was working on the other side of the building when I first started and then she moved to the desk in front of me. I can't even remember that far back. And there's Lee and her husband (a fellow gamer). Laura and I went to the Renaissance Festival with them last year. That was fun. All in all, I will miss working there, but like I said, I can't wait to find new ground.

What will I be doing? I hope to be working at a hotel or similar establishment when I get back. I may try and get a job up in Laramie working with the city and the parks and recreation division, but who knows. It's 4 months away now.

Lately I've been having the urge to do my Master's. There's a good looking program at the University of Tennessee for a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning. That interests me. Other than that, probably an MBA in human resources or something would be good.

The next couple of days, as well as the next few months will be turning points in my and Laura's life for sure. She's moving up to Laramie, I'm finishing school, being gone while she moves up there and all that. Life is starting to begin! It's exciting. I love you Laura. What the future holds? No one knows. We'll take it one step at a time.

So with that said, if I don't write back in approximately a little over a month, I'm dead. :) I'll be taking lots of pictures and such as well which I'll be posting up. I think that's it for me. Grades will probably be due next week, but unless I remember to check it when I'm up in Alaska, I probably won't check it until I get back. I'm nervous for my grades. It's one of those things where it can go either way, like good, as in 3.0 or great, as in 3.5+. We'll see. Heck, I have no more classes, so, haha!

Come to you, come to you, come to youuuuu!!!!!!!

So an update:

1. Fundamentals of Management - done!
2. Tourism Promotion - Done!
3. Tourism Impacts - Done!
4. Tourism Planning - Done!
5. Economics of Natural Resource - Taking final on Wednesday
6. Event and Conference Planning - Taking final on Wednesday

And that, folks, will be the last (well, maybe) test I'll take for my undergraduate career.

Among other news, t-minus 1 week before I head to the unknown area of Alaska. Getting more and more nervous by the minute! Other than that, though, things have been calm.

I've been thinking about doing a Master's program more and more. I might end up doing a Master's for business or some other related area at Wyoming, maybe the last couple years of Laura's Ph.D so we can both finish at the same time. A Master's will help out a lot.

Well, that's all for now. We're going to go eat dinner in a few hours with Holly and Susan. Laters!

It's May 3rd. Here's an update on my classes for the last semester of my undergraduate career!

1. Fundamentals of Management - done!
2. Tourism Promotion - Done!
3. Tourism Impacts - Done!
4. Tourism Planning - Just gotta turn in a 90% finished group paper
5. Economics of Natural Resource - pending - maybe a final, maybe not
6. Event and Conference Planning - 1 test and 1 presentation left

I'm outta here in 1.5 weeks. Scary and exciting at the same time!

Less than 2 weeks until I leave for Alaska...I can't believe how fast it's going and how fast this semester went. I have a grueling next 3 days to tackle in terms of tests, presentations and papers, but after that, I'm done! Well, for the most part.

Today's our monthly anniversary! I love you Laura!

Last night we went to the Carousel Dinner Theatre and Beauty and the Beast was playing. It was a great time! The food was good and the play, including the cast and set, was great. I would even go again if we have time before I leave.

Anyway, I just made some experimental soup and I'm waiting for Laura to come back.