Kitch's Chronicles

2010 Already

2010-01-26T21:32:00.008-05:00

It is hard to believe, but January 2010 is almost over. The past few months have just flown by and I can only imagine the rest of the year will do the same. For those out of the loop, my wife and I are expecting again - a boy this time. We have decided on the name Noah Logan, and his expected birth day is May 21st. I must say that I'm really excited to have a boy and to simply have another baby at all will be nothing short of amazing.

Isabel has grown up so much over the past few months. It seems that she is learning to say new words on a daily basis on top of learning how to do new things like opening doors. She now has nine teeth and her hair is getting very long, but has remained very soft and curly. Despite her developments, she is still only in the 25th percentile for her weight. Her height, however, is well into the 90th percentile. Isabel apparently will be tall and skinny. We have been talking to her about being a big sister and how she will need to be ready for her little brother's arrival in the next few months. Obviously she doesn't really understand what is really going on yet. So far she has been kissing her Mommy's belly and then pointing to it while saying "baby." Oh the rude awakening she will have when reality hits her: she'll have to share Mommy and Daddy's attention!

Shayla hasn't necessarily been sick more often, but probably worse off when she has been sick so far in this pregnancy. She's handled it well so far and has continued to babysit Cora. We've planned for her babysitting days to come to an end in late April so she can have some time with just Isabel before Noah is born. After that she'll have her hands full with our own little ones! Luckily this time around I will have more time off thanks to a new Purdue policy which allows fathers to have more time off for the birth of their child.

My job has been busy as usual. Just this past Saturday I took the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) exam, which I won't get the word on whether I passed or failed for at least another few weeks. Hopefully I did well enough to earn the certification so I can focus my professional development on a more technical certification next. I've been giving it a lot of thought and am leaning toward pursuing the CCNA and hopefully continue with the more advanced ones within the Cisco Network Security certification path. Unfortunately Purdue, like many other universities across the nation, is facing a major budget cut. So far the direct impact has not reared its ugly face in my immediate group, but the money savings "plans" will more than likely be put into action the closer we get to the next fiscal year (July 1st).

These past few months have also been a rough time for my family - specifically my Mom's side. At the end of August we lost my Uncle Vern to liver cancer, which was really tough. Luckily he didn't suffer long. I also have my Uncle George down in Texas who is battling the final stages of pancreatic cancer. I got to see him while he was up visiting with his wife in the Fall. Hospice has been called upon to try to make the rest of his time as comfortable as possible. He's in our thoughts and prayers. My Aunt Mary also dealt with cancer - vulvarian cancer - by having surgery followed by radiation treatments. Everything went extremely well with her surgery and treatments, and so far she is feeling pretty good.

One more thing coming this year: Marty and Julie are getting married September 4, 2010 down in Louisville, KY. Marc and I are the Best Men and, of course, are in the midst of plotting the Bachelor Party. We are definitely looking forward to it!

Despite the roller coaster ride over the past six months, I know now more than ever that I've been blessed with great friends and a loving family that keeps me going everyday. Even though this isn't the best start to a year, the wonderful events that will happen (both planned and unplanned) will make it one of the best years to date. Think positive, do right, enjoy time with those you love and care about, and make 2010 a productive year - I know I plan to.

The Building Excitement

2009-12-23T15:01:00.007-05:00

With my days of working in 2009 behind me, I can focus on the joyous holidays that are almost upon us. This year, I think, will be especially exciting for us as a family since Isabel is now 18-months-old and is already itching to rip into all of the presents under the Christmas tree. This is also my first year that I truly get to play the fun (or not so fun) Christmas parent role. I'm honestly looking forward to putting together Isabel's bigger toys then concealing them for her to discover Christmas morning. Last night Shayla put away some of the toys that Isabel doesn't really play with anymore and/or has outgrown to make room for the ridiculous amount of toys that she will receive for Christmas. Christmas Eve will consist of Christmas movies and music as well as house cleaning and then toy building once Isabel goes to bed. Here's looking ahead to yet another wonderful Christmas! Happy Holidays to all!

Long Week in December

2009-12-17T21:16:00.005-05:00

The title of this post says it all. By Tuesday it felt like Thursday, so needless to say I'm more than thrilled that the weekend is almost here. At work there's always something going on and I've also been trying to find enough time to study for the CISSP exam that I'm scheduled to take next month. Isabel has been extra moody this week, too. It has been frustrating until tonight when we finally figured out what Isabel's problem has been: teething! She finally popped tooth #7 through her gums! Shayla made the discovery while we were buying diapers at Wal-Mart this evening. Since that tooth has made it through her gums Isabel has been in a much better mood. Here's hoping to a wonderful Friday to end the work week...

The Jealous Girl

2009-12-12T18:54:00.009-05:00

As one would expect, my little girl is the most important person in my life - or I guess tied for most important with the other little sprout growing in my wife's belly. I don't see anything wrong with this and neither does my wife, but the problem takes center stage anytime my wife and I show any sort of affection to one another and Isabel is there to witness it. We had this happen literally minutes ago: I pulled Shayla up off the couch to hug her and slow dance with her and Baby Spicer. Yeah... that lasted a whomping thirty seconds until Isabel caught sight of this display of affection and instantly began mumbling her toddler jargon while pointing with her angry face.

Naturally I picked her up and allowed her to join in on the family moment. That made her happy enough to stop her pouting. These are the things that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. Also, I plan to tease Isabel about moments like these when she gets older.

Google Search = Life Saver

2009-11-18T18:36:00.010-05:00

Yesterday I was at work and received a call from my wife. She proceeded to tell me that the Jeep (Grand Cherokee) wouldn't start, but the battery seemed fine because the lights would come on without any problems. So during my lunch break I decided to look under the hood and try to figure out what the problem could be. Since I know nothing about cars, I didn't immediately see anything that caught my eye. Dreading the idea of getting the Jeep towed PLUS paying a mechanic to fix it, I decided to "Google it" first.

I fired up the laptop and typed "car won't start but lights come on" into the Google search field and hit Enter. Multiple sites showed up that were useful and the ones I checked mentioned some basic troubleshooting steps. The first couple of steps were ones that were already eliminated from being the source of the problem just from simple observation while attempting to start the Jeep. Then one step finally stood out and seemed like I should look into the possibility of battery connector corrosion as the burden. I immediately took back out into the garage, popped the hood, and lifted back the battery connector covers to see nothing but an abundance of messy corrosion built up around the connectors. Hope immediately filled me up as I came back to the laptop to see exactly how to proceed with handling corrosion build up on battery connectors. My newly acquired hope rested upon a very helpful article I found: http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/auto/mechanical/how-to-clean-car-battery-terminals/

It really was as easy as the "How to" article put it. Now that Shayla and I had done the battery clean up, it was time for the true test: put the keys in the ignition and try to fire up the engine. I let her do the honors. My nerves were on edge as she opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. Her hopeful eyes looked straight into mine as I nodded for her to give it a shot. She inserted the key into the ignition and twisted...

The engine roared to life! Excitement and relief consumed me as I realized the amount of money and headache we saved ourselves by doing one simple auto maintenance task. Tragedy avoided!

Here We Go Again

2009-10-22T20:31:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we had a family visit to my wife's new OBGYN. That's right, we're pregnant again! Our previous doctor left so yesterday we had our first appointment with Dr. Sam and it went very well. The doctor says that Shayla's measuring 10 weeks and, confirming Shayla's suspicion, she looks big and round! Everything went smoothly - Shayla got some blood taken for testing and a new prescription of Zofran for her nausea. Luckily they also had a few doses of the H1N1 shot which Shayla received since pregnant women are considered high priority for it. We go back once a month until a lot closer to the due date when we have to go every other week (and then eventually once a week).

Taking a step back, Shayla and I had always wanted our kids to be roughly two years apart. Late August we decided we would stop preventing it and... BOOM! Insta-preggo! Now Isabel will inevitably be a big sister. Unfortunately Shayla has probably been sicker than she was with Isabel. Hopefully the worst is over for her this time around.

We won't get our first ultrasound until right before Christmas and we do plan on finding out the gender of the baby. At first I think Shayla and I were both just going along, but now that we've gone to the doctor we are pretty excited!

We Want Our Living Room Back!

2009-08-23T15:06:00.007-04:00

Isabel has been getting into EVERYTHING in the house for quite some time now. Not only is she opening cabinets and drawers; climbing chairs and tables; opening and closing doors (luckily only ones that are already open - she can't reach the door knobs yet); reaching up to tables and counter tops to pull down things she shouldn't be messing with; dragging toys all over the house (mainly the living room and kitchen)... she has literally taken over the house!

Our master plan to get our living room back? To convert the hardly-ever-been-used guest bedroom into a play room. We've already sold the queen bed set that was in the guest bedroom to a college student and have begun re-purposing the remaining furniture (the computer desk minus the hutch is now a table for displaying pictures in the foyer). We are currently in the go-through-all-the-remaining-stuff phase of cleaning the guest bedroom. Shayla has already picked colors to paint the four walls of the new play room; each wall color will match one of the pastel colored toy storage bins.

Wish us luck!

Dr. Destruction

2009-07-19T20:52:00.007-04:00

From the day she was born, I knew Isabel was going to be an extraordinarily active kid. I expected to be exhausted from running around chasing her all the time - but not this often already! It seems like she went from walking to running in a matter of days. Combine her quickness, eagerness (and ability) to climb any and everything and her nosiness (or inquisitiveness as her Great Granny likes to say) and you get pure and utter destruction.

When I say destruction, I don't mean that she literally destroys things. I mean that her characteristics (listed in the previous paragraph) lead her to actions such as: pulling out all of her toys and spreading them out across the entire house, climbing things like her little Pooh chair, falling off of things she *shouldn't* be climbing (her play table, etc.), getting into things that are forbidden to her, screaming at random intervals, and dancing around like the living room is her stage.

Perhaps the most irritating habit she has developed is throwing down her sippy cup when she's done. Milk, juice, water - the contents don't matter. She loves plucking the strings of our patience by directly disobeying this parental unit. One day she will get over the sippy cup throwing stage.

At the end of the day, she is still daddy's little girl.

I'm Now That Parent...

2009-06-30T22:43:00.008-04:00

Before becoming a father, I have to admit I was one to become slightly agitated when someone's child would act up while I would be trying to decide if I was going to buy Frosted Flakes, Cheerios or some good old Lucky Charms. You've experienced it at some point: the loud and seemingly bratty child pushing you out of the aisle and straight to the alcohol aisle.

Up until the past month or so, I still had not been on the other side of that scenario. Today I can say that I have experienced the other side - multiple times now - and it isn't fun. In fact, it is a lot more disturbing as a parent in that situation than the shopping stranger. As a parent in public with a kid acting up like that, you experience various emotional (and sometimes physical) states: embarrassment, exasperation, hopelessness, distress... you get the idea.

So for all those who aren't parents yet and have been through the annoyance I described above, I apologize for any times my child has (or will) screamed and fussed in Wal-Mart or any other public place. But be warned: one day you could be on the flip side of that scene!

Quite the Climber

2009-06-05T21:03:00.006-04:00

Our newest form of entertainment: watching Isabel climb any and everything in sight. She tries to climb on the coffee table, the couch, the toy chest... you get the idea. Although she's got the climbing down for the most part, she's still trying to figure out how to get down safely. Most of the time she manages to get down unscathed, but there are still several times when she face plants and laughs hysterically at herself. That itself is beyond entertainment.

Today I was lucky enough to witness Isabel repeatedly going down her small toy slide - all the while laughing and loving it. Of course she's trying to not only climb up to the top the correct way, she also tries to climb back up the slide the wrong way. Precious moments!

Best news yet: I was actually able to capture very good footage of our little adventurer in action. It should turn out to be a great weekend!

Back To Reality

2009-05-31T20:50:00.017-04:00

Until about one week ago, my wife and I have been very lucky with regard to our daughter's nighttime sleeping routine. Normally around 7:00PM we would start getting Isabel to wind down before putting her down for bed around 8:00PM. It was as simple as that; no rocking or anything more than kissing her before lying her down in the crib. She hasn't really needed to be rocked to sleep in months, but the past few nights we have had to rock her just to get her to calm down before bedtime. Despite the rocking, she still manages to scream herself to sleep - lasting anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. The little girl's ability to fight sleep and test your patience is uncanny. Her techniques for fighting sleep include, but aren't limited to: constant babbling; screaming; pushing against you as hard as possible; flailing her limbs; smiling and laughing.

Perhaps the most frustrating times when she doesn't seem to want to go to sleep is when we have company. The embarrassment really sets in when you are trying to have a normal conversation in your living room, but it gets interrupted by the screams of your child. Luckily we haven't had that happen too many times yet.

The best thing about this sleep "issue" is when I do actually get to rock her to sleep. Experiencing all her fighting and screaming doesn't matter when she's cuddling into me. Watching her fall asleep is one of the most awing things to witness.

Shayla and I are utterly baffled and thankful at the same time. While right now it is beyond frustration, we are very grateful for the days when she would go to sleep easily.

Daddy In Third Person

2009-05-23T20:54:00.004-04:00

Isabel will be one year old next month and it is hard for me to realize that eleven months have come and gone already. It sure is a great experience - parenthood. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love being a dad - and a husband, too - because the reward for putting in the work is so extreme in the greatest way possible.

Along the way I've noticed my life change before my eyes: going to bed earlier (*much* earlier); not going out and actually doing things on a frequent basis; changing diapers; crawling around on the floor like a kid; the list could go on and on. One alteration that has become prominent in my mind is referring to myself in the third person as "daddy". For example, I find myself saying (as if I'm talking to Isabel and she can comprehend the words) phrases such as, "Daddy has to go back to work" or "Daddy is getting your food ready." Who knows how long I've actually been doing this? It could only be a month or so or literally Isabel's entire life. I'm leaning toward the latter.

My saving grace on the matter has to be Shayla. She does the exact same thing only she tends to refer to herself as "mommy" instead of "daddy". Come to think of it; we even refer to each other as "mommy" and "daddy". Having a child is like editing your identity. I think ahead to the days when I'll be thought of as "Isabel's dad" instead of Kitch - although I'm sure that may very well be the case now.

Any other parents experiencing the same "third person" tendencies?

Better Late than Never

2009-03-27T15:22:00.005-04:00

This is my first post of 2009 and I have to admit I've just been flat out lazy when it comes down to blogging. Isabel just turned 9-months-old - she's now crawling around, cruising (walking while holding onto stuff), eating some solid foods, and getting into EVERYTHING she can! Here's a pic from January:

Life has been good and busy so far this year. Today is actually Kayley's first birthday! My oh my how time flies... Between work and the family I've kept very busy, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to consistently warmer weather so we can spend a lot more time outside. More to come next time, so stay tuned...

Fall Is Here!

2008-10-17T13:59:00.014-04:00

FINALLY - Fall is here. No more lower 80's or upper 70's - this is the weather I love: slightly chilly yet still warm enough to avoid breaking out the winter coat. It reminds me that Shayla and I made the right decision to move back to Indiana. We love the four seasons and want our children to grow up with that experience.

Since Halloween is just around the corner, we've already got Isabel her costume plus one that B & E gave to us for her to wear. We bought her a ladybug outfit from Macy's and Shayla made the wings for it. B & E let us borrow a butterfly costume. Here are pics of her sporting each one:

Ladybug

Butterfly

Marty and Julie have a cute little bunny costume for Kayley, but I unfortunately do not have a digital copy of the picture (yet).

Well I'm off to finish up my work day then enjoy the weekend with my lovely wife and daughter. Plus we'll be getting a visit from Marty and Kayley! Enjoy the last days of Daylight Savings Time (clocks change Nov. 2nd!).

First Post of 2008

2008-10-07T15:45:00.006-04:00

It has been just under a year since my previous post, so I'm going to try to make a better effort to check in more often. So yeah, 2008 has been just as if not more of a hectic year than 2007. Shayla and I were lucky enough to have our first little girl, Isabel Ann, on June 17th. She is our everything and obviously receives most of our time and energy these days. I honestly cannot believe she's going to be four months old, but I guess all of those things that my parents used to say to me are starting to come true. "They grow up so fast" is the first one that comes to mind. It seems like just yesterday we brought Isabel (we call her Izzy) home from the hospital, but now she's rolling around and trying to crawl! Time does fly and there isn't much you can do about it. Here's a cute picture of my little girl at the Columbus Crew soccer game back in September:

More good news: Marty, Julie and Kayley moved from Chicago to Indianapolis (Castleton area). Who is Kayley? Oh yeah, Kayley Marie is my niece that was born on March 27th. Also, Marty and Julie gave me the honor of being her Godfather. It is nice to have them much closer to us. Plus when we go visit them we don't have to worry about the parking fiasco that we had to deal with in Chicago.

Things are great here and I'm just keeping busy and enjoying Izzy while she's still so little!

2007: Quite A Year!

2007-11-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe all of the stuff that has happened this year: moved from Florida back to Indiana, started my new job, got married, Marty moved to Chicago with his girlfriend, Marty and his girlfriend got pregnant, Shayla and I got pregnant, plus many other more minor events. I honestly cannot believe Thanksgiving is just a little more than one week away and Christmas is just around the corner.

So the latest and biggest news yet - Shayla and I are pregnant! We went yesterday for our first doctor's appointment and it went really well. We got pictures from the ultrasound, plus the entire ultrasound was video taped for us. So far everything looks great and we're just so excited to be adding to our family. Here's hoping to a wonderful ending to 2007!

Married Life

2007-06-11T10:44:00.000-04:00

So I am now a married man, and so far so good. It definitely helps that Shayla and I had lived together for over a year before our wedding, so not much has really changed for us after the wedding. We're still one very happy couple... but now we're married. Shayla has, for the most part, gotten her name legally changed on almost everything now.

Our focus has really turned to our house. We've been landscaping, rearranging, and looking for other ways we want to customize our house to fit our style. It is surprisingly fun, but at the same time it is a lot of work. But the main thing is that we both really enjoy it.

Another thing going on right now is Marty's move from Cincinnati to Chicago. He's felt that he has needed a change in his life for awhile, so now that an opportunity has presented itself he has decided to take it. Let's all hope it works out well for him.

2007 - Bring On the Changes!

2007-02-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

In my previous post, I put down some major events of 2006. I know it is still February 2007 still, but already there are several things for me to note:

Jan. 12th - Received an offer from SecureWorks/LURHQ in Chicago
Jan. 17th - Received an offer from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN
Jan. 18th - Accepted job offer from Purdue; immediately began looking for a house
Jan. 26th - Looked at nine different houses in Lafayette/West Lafayette; put in an offer; seller accepted offer
Feb. 7th - My last day at Harris Corporation
Feb. 9th - Shayla's last day at Eyeglass World; officially moved out of our apt.
Feb. 10th - Drove our vehicles from FL to Indiana
Feb. 12th - Closed on our home!
Feb. 18th - The Big 25!
Feb. 19th - Started my new job at Purdue

All of it happened so fast, but this year only gets busier. We still have the wedding and honeymoon in May, Shayla's cousin's wedding in June, Chad's wedding in July... I'm sure there are some other things that I can't remember right now. What a start to the year...

2007

2007-01-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

So it has definitely been too long since I've put up a new post on this blog. I have some extra time right now, so I figured I could do an update.

2006 flew by. It seems like just yesterday Shayla and I were moving into our apartment (way back in January). Summary of 2006:

Jan. - Shayla and I moved into our apartment and I traded in my Mustang for an '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4
Feb. 18th - I proposed and she accepted. Also, I turned 24.
Feb. - Purchased our 50" Samsung DLP HDTV from Best Buy; Purchased our Onkyo 7.1 Surround Sound System from Circuit City and Shayla got a job at Eyeglass World
May - Began working on the Mission Support network
October - Earned my CompTIA Security+ certification
November - Earned my CompTIA Network+ certification... potential opportunity elsewhere...
December - Another potential opportunity elsewhere...

There are a lot of other things that I honestly don't feel like putting down.

2007 so far is looking pretty good. As a reward for my hard work and earning 2 certifications, I'm being sent to SANS Boot Camp in Orlando for training to earn my GSEC certification. Wedding planning is mostly done, so it is a matter of details before May 12th. Until next time...

May '06

2006-05-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

So today is my first day working weekends again. Let me say that I definitely didn't miss it. It SUCKS! Mondays & Tuesdays are my "weekends" now. We're still waiting to see who is going to get the new Mission Support positions.

Julianne is coming down for a visit tomorrow through Friday. She just graduated from Purdue and wanted to get a little R&R time down here before pursuing her Master's in St. Louis this Fall. It should be a good time.

Shayla, Linda & I are heading back to Indiana June 15th-19th. Unfortunately the majority of the trip will consist of making arrangements for the wedding, but I'm sure we'll still manage to have a lot of fun. Regardless, it'll be nice to get away for a few days. That's about it for now.

Almost April

2006-03-30T10:13:00.000-05:00

So March is winding down and April is almost here. This year is literally flying by. Shayla, Linda and I went to Space Coast Stadium Tuesday night to watch a Spring Training MLB game between the Nationals & the Indians. (The Nationals stomped the Indians.) Dan M. was there w/ some of his friends, so after the game we went to Port Canaveral for Ladies Night at a bar/club called Fishlips. It was a good time and will definitely go back soon.

Danny will be down here next week. It will be good to hang out with him again. I'm going to take him out on the town & get him really wasted... like the good old college days!

A bunch of us are going out tonight since its a 3-day weekend for most of us. Should be a good time.

2006 - The New Year

2006-02-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile, but I figured I should post something since its been about 2 months. A lot has happened: Shayla moved down here, I've been working 3rd shift, I traded in the Mustang for a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4... and on my b-day this month I proposed and got engaged! Oh yeah, plus I broke my hand. That's a story I'd rather not tell, but right now I'm getting over it by attending post-surgery therapy/rehab. to get it working again. Um... on the work front, this is my last week on 3rd shift. Ryan quit, so I'm taking his spot on 1st shift. I'm excited about going back to a normal schedule again. The next 2 months Shayla & I are going to have 4 visitors: Nick this week; Roni later this month; Danny the first week of April; and Marty at the end of April. This year will probably fly by with work, planning the wedding, and hosting guests. It should prove to be a very interesting year!

R.I.P. Travis Alvey

2005-12-08T00:49:00.000-05:00

Nick informed me today that one of my peers from high school, Travis Alvey, killed himself. I don't know what to think, but it is definitely sad and makes you realize that you can't take things for granted. R.I.P. Travis.

November '05

2005-11-30T18:14:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile, but not much new. I will be heading home for my "Christmas vacation" in a few weeks and I am definitely ready for it. I have done a little bit of my shopping, but still have plenty left to do. The best thing about this month has been that I got the XBOX 360 premium package the day it released. Plus, I sold my old modded XBOX and accessories to this guy at work for $200. Other than that, I've just been working and hanging out w/ Mark, Pace, Mansoor, Brad, Zach, and Chris. Shayla is moving down in January. We're staying in the complex I currently live in, but we're moving into a 2bed 2bath. I'm pretty anxious, especially because I'm totally sick of only seeing her once every 2 months! I think I'll leave you with that for now.

Shayla's Last 2005 Visit

2005-10-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

Shayla was here this past week. We bought a furniture set (sofa, loveseat, recliner), applied at a couple apartment complexes, went to the beach, and bought some stuff for our puppy. That's right, for an early Xmas present I bought her a puppy. She's a Pug/Dachsund mix and was born on 9/1/2005. Shayla is picking her up today after she's off work. Shayla won't be down again until January, when she's going to move down here. I'm heading home in December, so I won't see her or our puppy (Sandi) until then. For now, its just working and waiting for things to happen. Next month the XBOX 360 comes out, then it will be Thanksgiving, etc etc. For now that's all I have.

From Florida to Indiana to Florida

2005-09-14T01:26:00.000-04:00

So I got back Monday from my trip back home. It was nice being off for 6 days, plus getting to go home for the first time in 8 months. Richmond still sucks, but it was great to see my family, my friends, and Shayla. I made a trip to Purdue and made it out to the bars, which was a fun time. I feel like time just fast-forwarded while I was home. Now that I'm back, I'm in the midst of a 7-day stretch of work. I don't get a day off until my "weekend" starts when I leave from my Sunday night shift.

Football season started! I'm glad that Saturday, Sunday & Monday are going to have games on. There have already been plenty of upsets both in college and NFL. Should make for an interesting year, that's for sure.

This past Monday also marked 3 years for Shayla and I. It doesn't seem possible, but I'm glad we've stuck it out and plan to for however long it takes.

To Make A Long Story Short...

2005-09-04T19:34:00.000-04:00

Support Hurricane Katrina Relief by donating! If you're a Halo fan like me, go here and get a t-shirt plus donate $15.

US Men's Soccer qualified for World Cup 2006 by shutting out Mexico 2-0!!!

Travis is here for his visit... I won't get to see him much since I work until I leave to go back home for a week on Tuedsay. I'm so ready for my mini-vacation!

For the detailed version of this entry, check out my personal webpage: http://kitch.boilerballers.com

Promotion! (Update)

2005-08-27T20:22:00.000-04:00

An update on my recent promotion: I will no longer have to go to 3rd shift. No one wanted Brandon's spot on 2nd shift, so I get to step into it. I got lucky with this situation.

Also, the work phone that was assigned to me is pretty sweet. Its a Motorola v540. I guess Harris is phasing out Sprint and going with Cingular.

For those of you wondering... Hurricane Katrina did not affect Melbourne. The hurricane was a few hours (at least) south of where I'm at, so I haven't noticed much from this beast of a storm.

Promotion!

2005-08-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my boss announced my "lateral" promotion from a Security Operator role to a Security Administrator role. This is awesome, in my opinion, because I'm moving on up within the program. The down side is that I have to move off of 2nd shift and start working 3rd shift. This change happens on Saturday September 17th. Brandon also got a promotion. He's moving from his Security Administrator role in the NOCC to a Security Engineer position outside of the NOCC where he can work a normal schedule and not have to have odd weekends or change shifts.

More good news is that I'm heading home for a mini-vacation. I fly from Orlando into Indianapolis on Tuesday September 6th. I leave to come back on Monday September 12th. I have to come back that day because I work. The 12th also marks my 3 year anniversary with Shayla. Sucks I can't stay that day, but we'll have to celebrate it early. That's all for now.

Euchre/Poker Night

2005-07-23T19:03:00.000-04:00

This past week I've really picked up on my workout/running activities. I got a MP3 player w/ the sportsband and all that jazz, so it makes working out and running a lot less painful. I've also been trying to work on my tan. Ya know: going to the pool a lot, driving w/ my top down more often, etc.

Yesterday was my Friday off, so I worked out then went to the pool w/ Pace. We then journeyed to Captain Hiram's down in Sebastian. Noble, Mansoor, Olsen & Kati all went as well. It was a good time. I had an awesome Grilled Mahi-Mahi sandwich and of course it was happy hour, so we enjoyed the brew as well. Last night ended up being a euchre/poker night at our apt. Pace, Marty D, Chris G, Mike G, Ryan and myself ended up drinking and having fun teaching Chris how to play euchre. It was a fun night, hopefully another night like this will happen sooner than later.

Swing Shift

2005-07-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

I love the hours of Swing Shift, but working weekends definitely blows. Tonight... I still have technically 4.5 hours left of the shift, but I feel like I've been here for a lot longer than 5 hours. I've begun to make myself workout and run again, which is good. I'm also making myself get out in the sun more and enjoy the Florida life a bit more. Its about 20 days now until Shayla will be down here for her 21st birthday. Roni is coming with her. I'm sure we'll have fun, although the only solid plans we have is to go to Vero Beach then take her out for her birthday. Rob should be down here tomorrow or early this coming week. Not sure how long he's staying, but either way it'll be a blast.

Quote of the day: "Ohhh Randy"

Hurricane Season

2005-07-12T01:30:00.000-04:00

Well, living in Florida isn't perfect... especially from June-October, which is classified as Hurricane Season. The upside to this is that Brad, Pace, our friends Dan & Ryan, plus myself are all on the BNOCC (backup network operations control center) team. That means that if a hurricane is projected to affect Brevard County that we'd fly up to Chantilly, VA and man BNOCC. There is considerable amounts of cash to be made: per diem pay, hazard risk pay, overtime, etc. Plus we each get our own hotel room and there is 1 rental car to every 2 of us.

This past weekend was our shift change. Brad went from 2nd shift to 1st. Pace and myself went from 1st to 2nd. Right now my weekends are Monday & Tuesday, so I've only had to work 2 days on 2nd so far. I like the timeframe because I don't have to get up early or anything, plus I get an extra 10% for working that shift.

Marty and Kasie came down this past week to visit. It was nice to get to hang out with them again, but the time just flew while they were here. We're hoping to make time to go to Houston to visit Marc in October, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Another One Bites the Dust

2005-06-15T16:08:00.000-04:00

So Brad, Pace & myself went to Chicago this past weekend to "bury" one of our friends. No, Eric Trautvetter didn't physically die... he just surrendered his life to his bride, Jenni. We ended up having a blast by not only drinking (as usual), but hearing about Eric's ex-girls in the limo on the way to the wedding; sweating our asses off in our tuxes in a church with horrible A/C; taking a 26-person stretch Excursion to take more pics at a park then heading off to the reception (with a LOT more drinking going on); having some good food like Chipotle & Fuddrucker's; hanging out w/ Chad; and watching Arte Lange's stand-up "It's the Whiskey Talkin". Overall a fun trip. For pics, see Pace's website ( http://www.bapace.com ) and click on the Pictures link.

May already?

2005-05-18T16:22:00.000-04:00

That's right, I've been a resident of Florida for 5 months now. I haven't been keeping up on this blog, but there's not much to say. Work work work. That's about it. I've been trying to get my new website up and running, but it looks like I'll have to keep bugging Pace about uploading my new template. When it is up, I'll post the URL for it. For now, you can check out http://www.boilerballers.com although no one posts there anymore either. Plus, Pace updates his website (http://www.bapace.com) with some good stuff. Check it out.

So far so good

2005-04-03T15:22:00.000-04:00

Just another boring day working weekends. Its not bad because I don't have to work with a lot of people and I avoid management on weekends, but its typically slow and boring. Overall, I like the job, love my Mustang GT Convertible, and love Florida. The $$$ helps, too, of course. Hopefully this week we find out the new shift schedule. I will more than likely be moved off of 1st shift as I requested 2nd shift as my #1 choice and 3rd shift and my #2 choice. Either way, I make more $$$ for working an abnormal shift.

Been awhile

2005-02-19T14:37:00.000-05:00

I haven't spent much time updating this blog, so I figured I'd take a few moments today to post something. I've just been working a lot and trying to enjoy my time off when it rolls around. Its nice when I get to go to the beach since its only February! Gotta love Florida... The job is good and definitely so is the $$$.

Lovely Florida

2005-02-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

So far so good... the job and the weather. Started doing shift work today... I'm on days (1st shift) w/ Wed & Thurs as my weekend (plus every other Friday off). More updates to come, but another time...

Finals Week

2004-12-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

Already got my A in CDFS255, just trying to get at least C's in my other classes so I can graduate. Hopefully I pull B's or even A's, but at this point I just want out of here.

Here is what my week plan is:

Monday - Took CPT455 Final then worked; worked on CPT443 lab report; went to Jake's
Today - Working; working on CPT443 lab report; Halo 2!
Wednesday - Pick up cap & gown; Halo 2!
Thursday - Turn in CPT443 lab report; work; study for CPT480 final; Halo 2!
Friday - CPT480 final; Halo 2!
Saturday - The day before graduation... you figure it out
Sunday - Graduation!!!

Update

2004-11-30T18:18:00.001-05:00

11/29/04
Job offer from Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida:
Specialty Engineer I (Security Operator)
$48,000 + $2,400 signing bonus
Full relocation package

11/30/04
Accepted job offer from Harris! Start date is Jan. 17th, 2005

Good-bye Indiana, hello Florida!!!

HALO 2

2004-11-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

As expected, Halo 2 has been ridiculous with its huge opening day sales. Although the game itself is sweet, it wouldn't be half of what it is without XBOX Live. My roommates, friends, and I have already dedicated hours to build up to Level 9 status. If you see the gamertag "Gravey Trained", beware!!! Currently, we're ranked about 600... which is pretty damn good. We'd probably be ranked higher, but we've been nice enough to let Danny play and lose some games. Good job, Danny!!! And if I manage to get my XBOX to utilize XBOX Live again, look for the gamertag "Klitch". Brad and I hope to start a Clan on Live soon...

2nd Round Knockout!!!

2004-11-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

Waiting for the phone call from Harris to set up travel arrangements to fly down to Melbourne for 2nd round interviews. Next weekend its off to the Green Bay area for 2nd round w/ Kimberly-Clark. Hopefully offers will follow these interviews!

**Special Note**
Rob finally won a game of poker last night!!!

The Job Hunt!

2004-10-20T12:06:00.000-04:00

After several interviews (and several still to come), I have received 2 rejections and one 2nd round interview. This 2nd round interview is with Harris Corporation, which means they are flying me down to Melbourne, FL within the next 3 weeks.

As to Purdue football, we should've beat Wisconsin. Now that we haven't and there is no way in Hell that Orton will win the Heisman, its all about having fun and getting really tanked and going to the remaining home games.

Boilermaker Football

2004-10-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

Probably the best thing to happen to Purdue's football team since 1943, the last time they started out 5-0, happens this weekend. First off, Friday morning ESPN's Cold Pizza show will be filmed here. Even more important is the fact that ESPN College Gameday is going to be held here Saturday morning! Kickass, Purdue! Whoop those pussy Badgers!

Good News During A Week of Hell

2004-10-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

CPT455 Lab 3 is a real bitch. Although my lab group is totally on top of documentation for the lab report, we cannot get everything going. Damn FTP objectives...... And tomorrow is the CPT443 exam, which is entirely short answer/essay. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to that. PLUS... CPT443 Lab 2 is due Thursday, and we still have plenty to do for that.

So the good news is that last night I was chosen as a pre-select for both JP Morgan Chase AND Adtran. I have both interviews next Thursday morning. It will prove to be an interesting day. Wish me luck, esp. w/ JP!

Busy busy busy

2004-10-02T13:39:00.000-04:00

School, work & job-hunting is hectic. The semester gets more full as graduation gets closer. I've had one unsuccessful interview (Deloitte), but have a couple more w/ International Paper and Harris Corporation. Hopefully there are plenty more to come, but ya never know.

Purdue plays Notre Dame in South Bend today. If we can pull of a W today, our ranking should shoot up quite a bit.

This weekend in Football

2004-09-12T10:36:00.000-04:00

In case you didn't watch any NCAA Football action this weekend, there were some really good games on. For instance, Ohio State pulled a last second 55-yard field goal out of their ass to beat Marshall 24-21. And then there was Georgia who almost lost to South Carolina, but ended up with some clutch plays to pull the win. Northwestern came close to taking Arizona State, but lost. Beside the 59-7 Boilermaker win, my favorite game was the Michigan / Notre Dame game. The first half proved a decent Wolverine showing, although they could not score a TD on ND's defense. In the 2nd half, however, we witnessed many irregular Michigan turnovers, which allowed Notre Dame (especially their Freshman Tailback) to slide past with the win. Today the focus is on the NFL.

What a weekend it turned out to be

2004-09-08T21:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Friday night I talked to a TA about computer shit like you read already. Saturday night, believe it or not, was another night filled with alcohol and some drunkass drama. My buddy, who I shall not name, wasn't even supposed to be driving at all (nor drinking for that matter) and decided he was pissed at me & 2 other buddies who came up to visit. So, naturally, he thought he was going to drive home. Now mind you, home for him is 150+ miles from West Lafayette. I went to bed around 4:30-5am and had a wakeup call from one of my friends who was up for the football game. He pounded my door, opened it up, and tossed a can of Keystone Light at me. What did I do? Shiiiiiiit, drank and drank... drank and drank and more... we drank from 9:30am until about 1am the next day. In the midst of the drunkeness, a road trip to Hoopeston, IL was taken to obtain another 3 cases of beer. I believe half a case was chugged and tossed out the window on the way back home. To top it off... Brad had a friend up, Richard. The result: a DO NOT ENTER sign in the wall in the garage and the lawnmower in my room. Try waking up to that at 8am on Labor Day.

You know you're a computer geek when...

2004-09-04T16:28:00.000-04:00

You go out to the bars and get wasted enough that when you see a buddy/TA, you discuss ISA Server and packet filtering with him. Thanks to Rum & Cokes, Amaretto sours, Long Islands, and Grateful Deads.

Hey Danny, didn't mean to rip on you so hard on the last posting.

THANKS DANNY SULLIVAN (FAG!!!)

2004-09-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

So for CPT455 lab our group is me, Chad, Brad & Danny. Danny decided to only take 3 classes this semester, hence his classes are only Monday-Wednesday. He has the genius idea of commuting from Indy once a week, then crashing w/ his cousin or at our place while he's up here. So anyway, lab one is due on Tuesday and the fucking labs are closed all weekend. Danny totally fucked up the ISA install, plus he installed AD when it wasn't even needed. So last night the 3 of us in the group who aren't total retards had to uninstall all his shit and reinstall. And now here we are: Friday, the only day we have only 1 class and we're in lab cuz of Danny. THANKS DANNY, BE TOTALLY WORTHLESS!!! For those of you interested in Danny, you can reach him at: dlsullivan@gmail.com or sullivad@purdue.edu or dannys@purdue.edu . If you want immediate contact, feel free to call his cell phone: 317-514-2115. Chad wants me to publish his home address & phone #, but I feel that is too much.

One week down

2004-08-30T17:49:00.000-04:00

The first week of my last semester here at Purdue was okay. Of course, the best part was going out Monday night and getting Mark pretty fucked up. Also, I must say that class is much more interesting when you have a laptop. Just tuning out the prof to surf the web, check e-mail, or to simply not pay attention is nice. For some pretty funny stories on the web, check out this site: http://www.tuckermax.com . It has some good stuff in it that made me laugh out loud numerous times.

Fall '04

2004-08-20T22:13:00.000-04:00

"Back to school, back to school... to prove to dad that I'm not a fool"

What a weekend

2004-08-17T00:28:00.000-04:00

Friday night was Tony's bachelor party in Indy. I got to see friends from HS who I probably haven't seen since graduation. We showed him a good, adult time. Saturday I came back to Purdue and had a nice relaxing night at home... however Saturday night made a nasty Sunday for me. Luckily, I'm feeling much better and am looking forward to the last weekend before classes start.

Food For Thought 8/12/2004

2004-08-12T14:48:00.000-04:00

What if Hitler had won?

FYI

2004-08-11T14:49:00.000-04:00

I have this just because Eric started one. I signed up so I could make comments on his blogs!!! (http://trautvetter.blogspot.com) Check it out!

Love my job

2004-08-11T14:25:00.000-04:00

Ah, the joys of working 10-2 Monday-Friday. It is bitch work, but hey... its not that bad I guess. I do look forward to a night filled with NCAA Football 2005 and Doom 3... so I can't complain too much. Will my HB win the Heisman? We'll see...

#1

2004-08-11T01:13:00.000-04:00

2 Days until Tony's bachelor party...
1 Day until Xecuter 3 modchip...