Survivor Night

As some of you may have noticed, I didn't post my weekly survivor post last Thursday, Blogger wasn't cooperating and I could not log on. If anyone is curious what happened last week, you can go HERE and read about what happened.

This week, the show is on an hour later, so let me run down a few things before the show starts. Stephenie LaGrossa is winning the vote as the most popular survivor with a 90% rating. Tom Westman is running second with a 78% rating. Steph is also in viewer votes on who everyone will be the last standing survivor with 57.8% of all votes. Tom is second is 18.1%. Of course these polls are a couple weeks old, so we;ll have to wait and see. Steph was almost voted off last week had Janu not decided to put her own torch out.

The show starts off with Steph trying to get to the bottom of what happened last week with her four person alliance that she made on the second day. I think everyone is starting to realize what a threat she is right now, and she realizes she has nothing to lose so she is going to try to turn any situation into her advantage.

The rewards challenge was an auction. Survivors were given $500 and were bidding on items for their own personal reward. $120 was paid for a big bowl of ice cream with all the topings. $260 for a Cheeseburger, Fries and a softdrink. $300 for Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and parmesean cheese. $40 for a beer and I missed the rest of them. (talking to George about my car)

The Immunity challenge was tossing coconuts to break plates. Ian Rosenberger won immunity. The pre-vote the girls were talking about forming an immunity and voting out Tom, the games strongest player.

When it came down to tribal council, the person who was voted by the viewers was voted out. Steph became the third member of the Jury and the last person of the now gone Ulong tribe to be eliminated from the game.

Can you believe this

I haven't posted in my BLOG much this week because I've been pretty busy. My car blew out a spark plug Tuesday Morning going to work. I managed to get it back home and had to take it to BAMCO to re-tap the spark plug hole. I took Jeans car to work Wed while my car was being worked on.

This morning I was driving to work and my car had no power. It was fine on flat areas, but I had trouble doing 50 MPH up some of the Hills. My car has a 3.1 Liter engine and usually doesn't even start to labor going up those hills. Gary took a quick look at it and seems to think it's a spark plug wire. It should be minor, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh well, It's Survivor night. I turn the TV on George W. Bush is talking. Arrrrggghhhh.
No fear though, I checked the survivor website and it's on at 9:00 tonight so I won't have to miss it.

Tomorrow is Friday, it was a quick event filled workweek. Next Friday our office is having it's official opening to the public. The CEO of Infotech, our parent Company, will be there as well as a few more VIP's. I'm hoping President Bush will come, that way I can tell him Thursdays at 8:00 is a no no for him to go on network television. Doesn't he that it's survivor night?

This looks like it's going to have to be a double post night.

Another Sunday

Yep, it's Sunday morning, one of my favorite times of the week. This Sunday morning Mother Nature is not cooperating and dropped a little bit of that ugly white stuff on the ground last night. Not much, but I've already seen enough snow for this season.


Didn't do much of anything yesterday other than veg out and watched the NFL Draft. Adam "Pac Man" Jones was the first Mountaineer taken when the Tennessee Titans made him the sixth overall pick of the draft. I guess my autographed copy of Morgantown Mahem is now worth a few more bucks.

Chris "I'm a Butthead" Henry was drafted in the third round by the Cincinnati Bengals, closing out the first day of the NFL Draft. Day two of rounds 4-7 are today.

Chatted with Kim a little yesterday morning, she has made some really nice changes to her Website. I really like the way it looks now, I guess she is learning how to manipulate PHP now.

Oh well, off to Super Wal-Mart I go.

BLOGGER is stating to piss me off

Survivor night and their 30 minutes of Maintenance turns into three hours. Oh well, maybe next week.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Wow, doing all the traveling that I have been doing I haven't written in the BLOG as much as I would like to do, so I guess it's time for a Tuesdays Tidbits.

* I guess Randy got a brief chance to come home this weekend. He was given a three hour leave and opted to return home for a few hours. He sent me an IM, but I wasn't home.

* Talked to Amy a little bit last night. I was helping her put together a Resume so she can send it out. I need to fine tune it with her when she gets back to Morgantown. I think together we can get her an effective one together.

* George has been working hard on his addition. He and Moke have now managed to get the back of the house off where the old bathroom was at.



* I was lucky enough to see Brittany not once, but twice this past weekend. Brittany, Ed and myself sat and enjoyed a WVU baseball game Sunday afternoon.

* Pam tells me that Val is doing very well at her new job. I think she would like to get some experience under her belt as a Pharmacy Tech and then try to get a job at Mylan Pharmaceuticals.

* Erica has been hell on wheels in her walker. She has learned to maneuver it when she gets herself in a bind. Maybe a little too well.

* Everything is still going good for me in Frostburg, I still love my job and look forward to the challenges it presents me every day.

* Congrats to my Sister Pam. She has passed some national certification for her job and has just made herself marketable anywhere in the country.

* We had a softball scrimmage tonight against my old team. I think we all had a good time. I think we are playing in the same league this year, so hopefully we will get a chance to play against them this seson.

* I was talking to Bryan Riley after the scrimmage and he tells me Mark and Laura Davis have split up and Mark has moved back to town. Looking forward to seeing him this summer.

* I have talked to Mike Haines today, to me this is now officially softball season!!!

A nice Saturday

Today has been a pretty good day if I do have to say so myself. I initially planned on going to the WVU Football teams spring football game. Right before I went there I managed to run into Ed and Brittany. I went into Burger King and walked out of the restroom, next thing I know this little girl is running up to give me a big hug.





This made my day.

Then I go to the spring game and meet a few posters from Blue and Gold News and tailgate prior to the game. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and I loved it. I did manage to get a few random pics from today.



The team ceremonially entering the field as they traditionally do for every home game, including the spring game. There were a few thousand fans there to cheer them on. All money raised today goes to WVU's Childrens Hospital.



I looked behind me and I seen this annoying guy sitting there. The guy in the blue hat was pretending like he knew something about football.



Obviously he doesn't. Look, here he is with his play book asking for play advice from the fans. LOL

Actually, Coach Rodrigeuz was up with the fans the entire game and gave a fan a chance to call the first play of every drive in the game. It was nice having him sit behind me and hearing him call the game among the fans after getting them all involved. I'm sure it created a memory of a lifetime for a few fans and I think it went over quite well. Rich is one of us and he makes himself more visable than any other football coach I've seen here.

He was afraid to ask me for play advice, he knew if he did I would have his job before the day was over with. I think he was obviously intimidated by my vast football knowledge.

Is it Football yet?

What a day this will be for football lovers. Today in Morgantown I will be meeting a few other posters from Blue and Gold News and watching the WVU Football team play its spring football game.

Laat year was a blast, I managed to see a few former classmates who had already graduated and moved on and got to catch up with them and see what they have been doing lately. Hopefully today I will see a few more of my fellow Alumni and let them know whats new with me.

Survivor Night

As some of you may have noticed, there was no Survivor night post last week. Blogger was having some serious problems and I lost my post.

Last week, Ulong was made a one person tribe. If you want to read about last week, Go Here and read about it.

Going into tonight's episode, we are still at two tribes, but the merger has to take place tonight. There are nine people left in the game, eight from Koror and one lone survivor from Ulong. Koror consists of Caryn Groedel, Coby Archa, Gregg Carey, Ian Rosenberger, Janu Tornell, Jennifer Lyon, Katie Gallagher and Tom Westman. Many of these names you don't know, mainly because they have not lost an immunity challenge yet. Ulong has one lone surviving member in Stephenie LaGrossa.

I checked the popularity poll and believe it or not the singing Wanda Shirk. That was a complete surprise, bit she was annoying. Stephanie has also emerged as the favorite to win the entire game. She has to be the sentimental favorite being the only member of Ulong left.



I look for a merge tonight, but you never know what the game holds.

The early part of the show keys on Stephanie and her one person tribe. She had to do everything to keep the camp going, from keeping the fire going to gathering food to doing everything by herself. She received tree-mail to let her know to grab her canoe and paddle to the Koror Tribe. She was in tears, because I think she was afraid of being alone. They are keeping the tribal name Koror.

The tribe soon had a couple local visitors who were there to teach the survivors how to fish Palau style. They all managed to bring in a feast of fish.


The immunity challenge now changes from tribe to individual. The immunity challenge was to stand on a perch in the water. The last person standing on the perch wins individual immunity and won't be the first member selected for the jury.

After three hours, and Jeff tempting people with doughnuts, Chocolate Chip Cookies and finally Pizza, Tom was the last man standing and won the very first individual immunity.



At tribal council the question of what alliances were going to fall into place and who successfully recruited Stephanie into their alliance and got the numbers needed. Personally I think it will either be Coby or Janu going home. Coby has ticked everyone off and Janu hasn't done anything since the game started.

By a 5-1-1 vote Coby was voted off and the first member of the Jury.

A nice Sunday afternnon

I got everything done early and mananged to make it to the WVU-Rutgers Baseball game at Hawley Field. When I first got there Rutgers was ahead 4-0 and had bases loaded. Coach Van Zandt got tossed from the game and it looked like it could be a long day. We shut them down after that and ended up winning 6-4.



It was a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon with baseball and a nice sunny day.

Tidbits

* congratulations to my niece Brittany, she has made the honor roll for the third time this school year. I'm extremely proud of her.

* It's calling for 76 degrees here today, so I want to get a good start on my days chores of grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning so I can enjoy some of the afternoon sun.

* Val started her new job this past Tuesday. She's working with my sister Pam in Sabraton.

* Amy is still in Chicago, she left Tuesday for a three week visit to Nick's sister Samira.

* I went to work yesterday for my first weekend at the NRAC since leaving. My Mailbox was gone, my computer was disconnected and obviously no one was around. We have a project winding down and I don't know how many more times they will need me to come in. I went in and did a little organization of where the project is currently at.

* Got a chance to have a nice little talk with Kim on the phone yesterday moring. She was blogging as I was talking to her. (How ironic)

* Stopped over yesterday afternoon and visited with mom. Sat on the pourch and BS'd for a couple hours.

* I also stopped by Jean's friday evening after work to say hello. Val and Erica Jean were there. Erica Jean has a walker now and is hell on wheels. So knows how to get around in that thing and knows how to navigate it very well. Actually picking it up and turning it when she comes to a dead end.

* I'm starting to look into other cell phone companies and plans. Ntelos just doesn't seem to have the ability to reach past Cheat Lake without going into either Analog or Digital roam. I'm leaning towards Cell One, but thats not a definate yet.

* I did manage to send Randy an e-mail this past week. I need to send another one soon. I'm very proud of him.

After the first week

After my first week at VARGIS, I absolutely love the job and everything about it. It's in my degree, what I was trained to do in college and it's quite interesting to do what we are doing.

It's a job that I actually look forward to going to daily. I don't know if it's the 762 mile drive each way that gives you a good chance to reflect on the upcoming day or just wind down after a long day. Maybe it's me getting a chance to learn a new marketable skill in GIS, I don't know, but I like the entire situation right now.

It's almost as if this is the light at the end of the tunnel that I had to travel through in college. While you are in college you do things blindly with the hope of finding a light at the end of that tunnel, I was fortunate enough to find it. It was a long journey, but well worth it.

A Quick Tidbits

* This is going to be a short, quick tidbits, I have to go to work in a few minutes.

* Tonight is my first softball practice of the year, I'm going to go and play with some friends this year and leave my old team. It's just no longer the same. The new team also has two other guys who I have played with before also joining the team. I don't know how much I can play this year, but I'm looking forward to this season.

* Amy sent me an IM from Chicago last night, she said she took my advice and had some of the Giadonna's Pizza my sister Kim advised me to eat when I went to Chicago, she said she loved it.

* My commute to work is an hour long, but this time of the year it has been a pleasant and enjoyable drive. Lots of scenery and it really is a stress free drive. Almost relaxing. Let's see what I say after the weather gets bad though.

* Got my first hands on chance to work with Stereogrammetric images yesterday. The best way for me to describe it is using your computer screen as one of the old 3-D View finders we had as kids, only intensified to the extreme. It's amazing that you can see a guy in 3D peeing in his back yard, and be able to zoom it to the stream. (LOL)

* It feels different for me having to dress up for work, but I actually enjoy picking out my wardrobe every morning. Already wanting to buy more Dockers, threy are a little expensive for what I'm used to wearing, but well worth the price.

* Gotta Run. Have a good day.

First day at new job

I started the rest of my life today. It was my first day working for VARGIS and I feel better than ever about my decision to join this team. I really like what I see and as far as potential, the sky is the limit.

The computer I have is an absolute state of the art Dell, 3.6 Ghz with 2 300 GB Hard drives and a 40 GB hard drive. Dual DVD drives, one a writer and two 20" monitors. What a set up, even for a computer geek like me I was completely shocked.

If you go HERE and watch long enough, you may see me on the camera during working hours.



The building on the lower right is the commons. It has a Taco Bell, Chic Fil-a, Pizza Shop, Starbucks, Rib place, a place that makes wraps like blackbear and a salad bar. On the other side of the walkway (sidewalk crossing the picture) is my office.

I'm really excited now for what the future holds.

Sunday Mornings

I just love early Sunday mornings, they are so peaceful and quiet. This Sunday morning is no different. I woke up at my normal time of about 5:00 AM, but recently it's been 4:00 AM for the past few weeks. Thankfully we move the clocks ahead an hour today so my bodies natural clock is back on it's normal schedule.

Being this is Final Four weekend, it would not be complete with out me watching my all time favorite basketball movie Hoosiers. I don't know how many times during WVU"s NCAA run that lines from this movie ran through my head. It's not a true to life movie, but based on the 1954 Milan High Schoolteam that won the Indiana State Championship.

I'll watch the movie and probably start my normal Sunday routine of grocery shopping and laundry.

A ceremonial walk of passage.

Today is April 1, but it is more than April Fools day to me. It is a day that I feel that I take a ceremonial walk of passage in to the next chapter of my life while officially closing out the current one.

Part of my daily routine is to drive the WVU Coliseum and park my car for the day. It has been he beginning of my day for about six years now. I would park there and either walk to the PRT or to the Ag Sciences building to go to work. Since I graduated last May, it has primarily been me walking to work.

It has been a relaxing walk that actually has a breath taking view on some mornings.



Today is my last day to work at the NRAC and thus will be my last day to make this walk, I start working for VARGIS this coming Monday. It is going to be the final day of my college years you could say, even though I have already graduated. West Virginia University for the first time since 1999 will not be a part of my daily routine.

It is all going to come to a conclusion today when the work day is over. When I have to walk out of the NRAC and start that final walk to the Coliseum. That final walk is going to be a ceremonial walk of passage of me not only closing one chapter of my life, but starting the next chapter.



Although I am going to miss working with some people that have been very influential on my life, I look forward with great anticipation to what the future holds. It's also nice to not leave a job that I have worked at for any length of time for a better career opportunity rather than a company closing their doors and putting everyone out of work.