Home Stretch

Eight weeks.

There are only eight weeks left of my academic career.

Yeah sure, I could miraculously pass the Ph.D. Qualifying exam on the second try with no preparation, but I doubt it will happen. Even if it does, who says I'll even complete a Ph.D. A masters is good enough for me at this point in my life. Maybe I'll go back to school when I decide to have children.

Anywho, we're coming to the end of spring break as I type this. Over spring break, I:

- Attended a LAN party
- Worked a ten hour day, an eight hour day, and a four hour day
- Went to the oxygen bar at the Mall of America
- Completely failed to get any homework done
- Went to Duluth and sampled delicacies such as a BrewHouse Elk Burger, Sammy's House Special, and Italian Village cannolis and lasagna
- Helped my mom construct emails to the funeral parlors in Mount Pleasant and Burlington that also make monuments
- Drove back to Minneapolis and promptly went to Dave's house and watched Twilight New Moon Rifftrax
- Slept several hours past my alarm(s)

I suppose it's been a good spring break. I wish it would last longer. In eight weeks, I will be a fully-fledged MASTER OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. I haven't heard back from the graduate office... so hopefully I can get this sorted out soon. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to handle 20 hours of work a week, on top of 12 credits of graduate classes. With the added stress and grief of my father's passing, I may have to drop a class and finish in the summer. I think I can manage.

Cross your fingers for me.

Shattered

I am not broken, I am shattered. When the fragments are collected and slowly, carefully pieced back together, there are tiny gaps that remain. Combined, these gaps form a much larger missing piece. This hole in my heart can never be filled.

Al Franken, Google Fiber, The Duluth Answer Man. Genius.

Excellent presentation on the future of technology and gaming.

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2010 - Guitar Hero 5

D. Edward Fitzgerald 1950-2010

Born in Burlington, Iowa to Gerald F. Fitzgerald and M. June Lane Fitzgerald Ruby on August 14, 1950, passed away on February 18, 2010. Ed was raised in Mt. Pleasant Iowa and attended Mt. Pleasant High School where he excelled in academics, football, and acting, graduating in 1969. Ed was offered football scholarships but refused them and decided to go to work at the Bluebird Bus Factory. Recognizing that he didn’t want to continue working in that vein, he then enrolled at University of Iowa, where he graduated with a BA in English. Afterwards, Ed worked for the Iowa highway department, a job which allowed him to read during work downtime. After completing his reading list, he decided it was time to go back to school and attended the University of Iowa Law School where he graduated with high distinction. After passing his Bar Exam, he accepted a position at the Hanft, Fride Law Firm (where he became a partner) and later chose to work for American Family Insurance as In-House Council. His decision to join Hanft, Fride was influenced by the many family vacations spent fishing in Minnesota.

Fishing wasn’t his only passion. He took advantage of other opportunities that Minnesota offered such as downhill and cross country skiing in which he demonstrated a surprising ability to balance on two boards, something he often lacked on his own two feet. Besides his annual fly-in fishing excursions with friends, he shared his love of the outdoors with anyone that was willing. He particularly enjoyed these activities with his children, in which every occasion became an adventure. Another pastime that Ed excelled in was cooking. Everyone that was fortunate enough to partake in the results of his culinary abilities always waited with anticipation for his next creation. His family especially looked forward to the yearly gift of his famous pepper jelly. Ed also taught himself to build computers and became the technology aficionado and expert to many of his friends. He recognized the importance of having computer abilities and built computers for all of his nieces, nephews and even a few friends.

His thirst for knowledge didn’t end with computers. Ed valued education and continually sought to expand his knowledge of all subjects and enjoyed doing so. He shared common interests with everyone and appreciated in-depth conversations on any subject. Ed had an eclectic taste in music and literature. Any gathering was filled with his music, family videos, and fine food.
Ed’s greatest passion was his children. He would bend the ear of anyone willing to listen to him talk about the accomplishments of his girls. He instilled his thirst for knowledge in them and they shared many interests with each other. They were more than just his children, they were his best friends. Ed and his wife Dawn believed that their children were the best things that ever happened to them and shared in that joy.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Lane Fitzgerald. He is survived by his wife Dawn Mitchell Fitzgerald, daughters Adriana and Tara Fitzgerald, a brother John Fitzgerald, a sister Lynann Ruby, several nieces and nephews, and many friends.

The weeks of work and school

*pant pant* It's not February yet! I can still make two posts in January. *cough*

*wheeze*

Anywho, about three weeks ago, I started my new job. For the last three weeks, I've been reading through quality assurance documents, documents describing the design process, documents describing the technology that goes into the machines created at my work... you name it, I've read it. It's been fairly boring, but I've gotten the chance to talk to quite a few people at work and shake some hands and learn some very interesting technologies. Now that school has started, I'm going to be working about 20 hours a week. With 20 hours a week, I'm able to enroll in benefits and start accumulating vacation time. Also, it means that I can actually start working on real projects!!! I'm excited. However, I'm also a bit disappointed as it seems I will only be working on software for the upcoming project as the hardware has already been designed.

I'm finally in my last semester of school (at least for the time being). I'm taking 11 grueling credits... just enough to finish up my master's degree. I even filled out the graduation forms and had them signed by the Dean of Graduate Studies. He kept asking me why I was only doing a master's degree and not a Ph.D. as I had initially intended. Apparently he remembered me from a presentation I gave in his lab group regarding my research my first semester as a grad student. He asked me why I hadn't come to talk to him sooner... he told me that he could have found me a TA position and possibly a new adviser. He sighed as he signed my forms. He told me that if I passed the qualifying exam, I could take one class a semester to keep my graduate student status and he'd help me find an adviser to do a thesis. I told him I'd think about it, even though I know I don't have time to properly study for the qualifying exam. So it goes.

Last semester is going well so far. My classes seem relatively easy... we'll see if I say the same thing when I have time to make another post in 3 weeks. Heh. Well, back to homework, I guess.

100th post, First day of work

This is my 100th post after a long hiatus.

Today is the first day of my new job.

After a nearly sleepless night, thanks to the "help" of my cats, I am awake and ready to start a new chapter in my life. I am starting the transition from school to the workplace. One more semester of classes + part time work, and I'm cleared for a full time position in electrical engineering. I'm excited... and scared shitless.

I went out yesterday to try to find some appropriate attire for my new job. The dress code states that traditional business and business casual are okay. However, it seems like most of the people I've met have been wearing the more traditional business clothing: Button-down shirts and slacks. I have several polo shirts, but my 2 or 3 button down shirts have been through the mill. I bought my current business attire at Old Navy. Upon visiting there, they apparently do not carry anything for women in the workplace anymore. They did not even have polo shirts. So instead I bought overpriced button down shirts and a pair of (mens) dress shoes at Target! They don't look very good, but so it goes. It's better than what I had in my closet previously.

So I'm wearing my new clothes... Waiting until 8 am to travel the 2.6 miles to my new job. I'm hoping I get there too early for my 8:30am appointment... I'm not really sure how bad the roads are. Hopefully, other than the usual ice, the roads won't be too congested.

Anyway, I know I said this before, but I'm going to try to get this blog active again. I think it helps me unwind a bit to post my thoughts and goings on here. Hopefully, I can keep up with my busy schedule next semester.