Goal 48: Ta ta for now

Bachelor degree? Sure, as long as I pass all my classes. Including this one, which just happens to be MY LAST CLASS AS AN UNDERGRAD.


My mechatronics project was baller, but we had a lot more programs with the mechanical system than we could have imagined. Then we had more problems with the sensor. But we built our own mouse, and designed a totally new product that we plan to test and possibly commercialize.


Senior design was quite a time dump this year. As the leader of a project that had to design and build all in one semester, I had quite a challenge ahead of me.

After nights of coding and wiring, and days of building, we had a near-final product to display at final design presentations. I had a team of bosses as people played with our exhibits. In the end, we won with the highest scores across the board from all reviewers, professional and students.

Because of all the work, I was still working past the last day of finals, past the parties, and past graduation. So walking was for fun. It was a nice act to crown the previous five years, but not as satisfying as any moderately conclusive event that had occurred during those years.

Goal 48: Graduate and Earn my Bachelor of Science Degree

Mostly symbolic, and not really a release of any sort, I graduated. Nonetheless, I graduated.

"The Friendamily"

The days and week after I graduated were pretty hectic. Graduation parties in Socorro and the Jemez, and moving EVERYTHING from Socorro to Albuquerque, and saying goodbye to good friends like David Stockavas and Chris Santiago. I also had to quit Sandia, which is no easy task.

Six days later I left for Florida. I packed everything I would need for the summer the night before. I drove 17 hours, and then 18 hours, to arrive in two days. I moved my carload into the empty one bedroom apartment I was subletting from my dear friend Felicia Provost. I did all my paperwork, picked up my ID, and then had my first day at Walt Disney World Ride & Show engineering a few days later. It's like a dream.

I couldn't have been happier that things worked out with me at Disney. I love it, and I'm very excited for what the summer holds. I'll be listening to audiobooks, reading real books, and making graphics in my spare time. By the end of the summer, I anticipate I'll be moving to California to start the funding hunt at Stanford.

Cincinnati and the Grad School Expo

This is a little bit of a backwards post, since it all happened before Disney, but it's not like that really matters, does it?

Purdue gave me $375 to visit their school, and attend their Big Ten+ Graduate School Exposition. That's a deal, right? Right. I decided it would be a good time to have a vacation too, so I routed through Cincinnati to visit a good 'ol friend, Kathryn Franchini.

I left on September 24th to Cinci (Local-speak), where Kate picked me up from the airport, we drove through terrible traffic, and we caught up a bit.

We had some cheese with our wine.

The next day, Sept. 25th, I toured Cinci while Kate was at work. This was at the library, the only place to get internet because she's too cheap to have modern conveniences (such as a couch to sleep on).

Then for dinner I made this delicious stir fry dish. I made it all with inspiration from Whit, and her impromptu stir fry dishes.

The bamboo shoots in this batch were the first Katy had ever tasted.

That night we went out on the town in Cinci. It was pretty lively because there was a music festival going on at the time.

Many fountains featured people with water-related super powers.

We saw this band called 'Oh My God.' They were actually really good, despite having Jerry Seinfeld on Keyboard, and my cousin Logan on lead guitar.

Kate couldn't help but enjoy the music.

After the concert, we went to Skyline chili, which is apparently a local favorite chain. It was really good, and it's roots go back to Greece. The prices were reasonable too, losing me only a single $2 bill.

After the chili, we went to an 80's dance party and jammed out until the night got late. The next morning Katy graciously drove me to the Indianapolis airport (2hrs away) to meet Nic Schafer (another Techie attending the expo), and pick up my rental car, this Honda beaute:

We drove to Purdue, now Sept. 26th, and touring the school was really eye opening. I toured the acoustic, engine, and HVAC labs. Then, after eating dinner with a member of the ME faculty, he took us on an exclusive tour of the nanotechnology lab, and Discovery Park. His name was Jeff Rhoads, and he is now responsible for, basically, everything I know about grad school.

Touring the labs and seeing the campus really sold me on the idea of a big school with lots of resources, and it also made Purdue seem much more appealing.

Purdue became infinitely more attractive when I found out about their aesthetic campus facilities, namely, their skybridge. On Monday, Sept. 27th, there were a few more seminars about graduate school, followed by a brunch with representatives from each school.

At the brunch I talked really in depth with Duke and Notre Dame's Business and Innovation schools. They gave me some really cool information, and told me a lot about the new programs that are being developed that give engineers a business background, focused on going into industry.

The grad school fair was excellent, and many great schools were there. However, after talking so much with Purdue faculty, and representatives at the brunch, speaking with recruiters and admissions people felt like a waste of time.

One of the biggest revelations while talking to people here, was that PhD's get all the funding, and Master's students are left out to dry a lot of the time. This is going to be a huge factor in deciding what I do after I graduate.

We left Purdue a whole lot smarter than when we got there. I felt many magnitudes more comfortable with the process and schools involved, and I think it was a great experience.

This was a fun little trip to visit one of my best friends, and learn a ton of information about life after undergrad. I plan on visiting more campuses, and deciding if I want a PhD or not.

Goal 49: St. Louis Reunion Tour

This last week has been a good week.

It began a couple months ago when a friend of mine, Felicia Provost, sent me a message informing me of the next Walt Disney World Epcot World Showcase Custodial College Program Fall 2008 Reunion (WDWEWSCCPFTTER). Normally when these come up, I reply with an apologetic 'No,' but this time would be a bit different.

My disadvantage has always been that I am coming from about four times as far as anyone else, and that I am a Tightfisted Student Traveler (TST). But this time, since I am an Employed Student Intern Making Good Monies (ESIMGM), and because it's been over a year since I've seen anyone, I Absentmindedly Bought Plane Tickets (AmBPT).

I got to St. Louis and got picked up by my host's sister and sister's boyfriend (Host had a pool date with her own boyfriend). The next day was a treat as I toured the bustling little town of Highland, IL and drowned in heat stroke. The day turned up when I was granted a bit of freedom on a four-wheeling cadet vehicle.

Here's the vehicle at a pit stop I made to get eaten by mosquitos real quick.

I wandered the corn fields for days in a daze. I was fascinated by the corn fields. I have never had the opportunity to experience corn fields in my lifetime, so I made sure to live it up a bit.

I accomplished two feats while in the corn field. 1) Eating corn fresh off the stalk, and 2) Eating Corn WHILE it was Still on the stalk and ALIVE. (ECWSA)

That night it was time to go into St. Louis to pick up the two lovely ladies, Felicia Provost and Rachel Edsey. We went a bit early, and stopped by the Hardrock Cafe to get some drinks and a pilsner glass for my mother.

We walked around the town a bit before I became a royal pain in the ass (RPIA). Understand that this blog is called "Skybridge," and it's a bit of a held secret that I've been collecting pictures of skybridges everywhere I go, and St. Louis would be no exception.

So I offer that we should go to another bar, and drive by a skybridge en route. Everyone agrees, but my host, Ashley Volluz, is reluctant, saying that she does not know of any skybridges in St. Looey, and that parking would be more than difficult to find. I politely insisted, and we began a very interesting drive across the city.

We began with Ashley asking me where a bar was, because she didn't know of any bars. We drove to the riverfront as a default, but didn't react quickly enough to snag an open spot outside of one of the bars there. It was time to drive around and look for a skybridge then.

I see one down one of the roads, and inform Ashley on how to get there. She seems confused and unwilling to change into the required lane... So she begins to freak out, and act like it's easier to juggle chainsaws than to turn left. She gets us on a one way street that takes us back around the same streets again, but we make it to the skybridge street.

"Pull over there, by the meter."

"Where? Over there? Ok..."

"...you're missing it..."

"I CAN'T PULL OVER THERE, WE'RE AT A STOPLIGHT NOW, JUST TAKE THE DAMN PICTURE NOW."

Fantastic.

So I step out of the car at the red light, and begin to take a picture. Then I proceed to take another. After that, I walked around the car and took another few. The light had turned green, and you can bet that Ashley was impersonating a furious chimpanzee in the driver's seat. I casually walked back to my door, and got in the car once the light turned red again.

Things were tense in the car after I teased Ashley nearly to tears. So tense, in fact, that she turned down a one way street, going the wrong way. Luckily headlights weren't the last thing we all saw, and Allison yelled sanity into Ashley, and she pulled over. It doesn't end there, because then a man walks up and opens Allison's car door. He remains completely silent, and points to the door, as if to say "Look at what happens when you leave your car door unlocked. Ass-holes like me walk up and open your door." Ashley recomposed herself, and we went to pick the girls up.

The next day was a chilled-out graduation party that involved a pool. All of us Disney folk stuck together, and caught up on each others' lives, and reminisced about old times. The best part was that Ashley knew that hanging out with old friends was no fun at all, and continuously pestered us to hang out with her friends, and mingle with strangers. We repeatedly disobeyed, finding various ways to escape her claws of fun.

That night, after we had all gone to bed because we had early departures, Ashley even had the generosity to kick us out of her room so that she could bump uglies with your boy toy. Then it was obvious that her cousins and friends loved having people sleeping on the couches, because then we could watch tv with them, or listen to them stumble in and out of the house.

Despite trying so hard to miss their flights, we forced Rachel and Felicia to arrive at the airport only thirty minutes before their plane took off. I had a little extra time, so it was time to complete a goal.

Goal 49: Eat a World Famous Hamburger

Blueberry Hill is a famous restaurant on "The Loop" in St. Louis, which was apparently created by Chuck Berry.

There were four of us.

They're famous for hamburgers.

The famous hamburger was delivered.

I chomped into the said burger.

Ingredients: Bun, hamburger, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonaise, ketchup.

The burger was tasty, but not SO delish. The burger was cooked to order, and well done, and the ingredients were all fresh. However, I'm a fan of a little extra greeeez or flavoring, especially on my patty. Even a dash of salt could have done the burger good. I can't complain about a burger that touched my taste buds with good flavor, but I hope they were better back in the day they got famous.