Semester Break

For two lovely weeks, I have little more to do than some reading in preparing for the next semester. Already I've taken advantage of the break by sleeping, going to the movies, sleeping, watching a bit of tv, sleeping, reading a new book ("Florence of Arabia", by Christopher Buckley, it was a HOOT!), and sleeping. I've started another book with Leo, (starring John Ryan Jr., for those of you who enjoy the spy genre with us) and expect to finish 2-3 more by the end of the week. Have I ever told you? I LOVE to read.

Our final day of class was a real blast as we got to listen to 15 minute presentations about one technology being assessed by every team in class. Not only are the program instructors for UT's MS|STC program incredible, but the students are as well. It's hard to explain, but so exciting to be a part of. I'm very excited about what next semester holds for us (although that won't stop me from enjoying the break).

I haven't been home for several weeks now, and miss fishing with Jess and seeing the deer in the mornings. Hopefully, Leo and I will be headed home on Friday evening to spend the weekend there. The apartment in Houston, on the other hand, is in a great location, but that's probably all it has going for it. The a/c runs all day long, and if we're lucky, gets down to 85F (29C) or 86F (30C) in the middle of the day. I'm expecting a monstrous electric bill for that any day now. The company that was going to get me a reasonable DSL connection made a mistake...it turns out they cannot help me. Plan B, a company called Comcast, will charge me some huge installation fee and $40/month. They have me over a barrel...I have to do it. They will get around to hooking me up on the 20th.

Work is going well, and I'm enjoying a wide variety of projects. The next job I have lined up, originally scheduled to begin in September, located less than a mile from my apartment, has been delayed a bit. However, it does seem to be in progress, and I am still in the picture, so I'm not worried about running out of work until 1Q08. There's a part of me that would like to stay with the company I'm working for now for the long haul. When I first came on, they thought about trying to groom me to be their Marketing Manager. Even though I am currently learning so much in school that could actually make this possible, in all honesty, it is not where my strengths lie. Although I'm really good with data, collecting, interpreting, preparing, and presenting, I'm not so good with people. (That's Leo's realm.) It's not that I don't like people, because I really do. It's just that people sometimes make me uncomfortable, something that my machines never do...never.

Gee, I'm rambling today. Sorry about that. I have to head downtown and print out some large format (poster size) prints of industrial HVAC equipment and make them look really good. After that, I've got to work on a collection of key words that line up to web pages with a focus on these same pieces of equipment along with others. So, I still have a busy day ahead. Still...no homework, no team meetings, no school projects, no online discussions--HEAVEN!