6.30.2004
9:49
Jimmy Buffett - Margaritaville

End of a month, but it doesn't seem significant. With another two months to go before the return to school, it seems like I'm just wading my way through summer without direction. Still no call from Corning--my dad told me that the production trainer is on vacation until Tuesday the 6th. That leaves me with less than 7 weeks working there, so it had better be worth the trouble. I did finally get things straightened out with Teresa, and she is mailing my missing Subway money this week. I also got a call from VTTI pre-screening people for their Smart Road research study. She said I qualified, so in a couple of weeks I'll be giving them an hour of my time for $20. Plus I'll probably get to drive some car with brand-new prototype stuff, which is very exciting.

6.28.2004
11:30pm

Finished reading Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and capped it off by watching my Jurassic Park DVD. I realized something while thumbing through the pages of the novels: I have a real interest in biology, particularly genetics. It brought back memories of my genetics class at NCSSM and my short Recombinant DNA class at Summer Ventures. I know that it's not the kind of thing I want to do for an occupation, but I think I may use a few elective credits to take some biology classes at FIT. It's one of the few sciences these days that isn't totally immersed in theory, and there is still a significant tangible nature to the study. Anybody who knows me can easily see that I'm a computer nut/nerd, but recently my interest seems to be waning as I realize how insignificant computer technology is in relation to the big picture. Sure it will pay respectably, but I don't think I want to be locked into engineering for my whole working life.

6.28.2004
8:55am

Posting for yesterday... Dad and I were gone most of the day working at the new property lot in Christiansburg. He borrowed a sickle-bar mower from a coworker and we used that to clear all 1.176 acres of land. Dad worked on marking the property boundaries, and when all was said and done it was a pretty decent looking spot. We finished up around 3:30, returned the mower, and headed back home. Mom had just returned from Kobi's agility trial in Lynchburg, where he double-Q'ed and earned his MACH championship certification. She got some gifts and a cake from her friends for the milestone achievement. She and Dad went back to the property to lay out where they want the house to go, since the builders will be contacted early in the week to start scoping things out. I was tired and incredibly bored, so I started reading Jurassic Park; Crichton never fails to entertain.

6.25.2004
2:39pm
Jimmy Buffett - One Particular Harbour

Got up this morning and made a trip to Wal-Mart to buy Jimmy Buffett's "Meet Me in Margaritaville" 2-disc album. For some reason I got the urge to download a bunch of Buffett music last night, and I decided to do things right and purchase the songs legally. I went to the New River Valley Mall cinema to see Two Brothers, which just came out today in the US. It's a charming film set in the 1920s French Indochina about two tiger cubs that are separated, one ending up in the circus and the other in the Excellency's menagerie. They are re-united a year later as adults expected to fight each other to the death in an arena, but obviously that doesn't happen. Definitely recommended to anyone who likes animal/nature films. I haven't gotten any calls from Corning yet, but my dad said practically the entire managerial staff is away for a conference today. We might rent Secret Window and watch that tonight, since he hasn't seen it yet.

6.24.2004
2:02pm

Well, I finally got a job lined up. Dad got in contact with the HR officer at Corning and had him call Adecco to put in a good word for me. Adecco called me back almost immediately and told me to stop by to fill out the last bit of paperwork. They told me to expect a call from Corning shortly for an interview and to begin work. When I got back home I went to Quizno's for lunch with Mom, her treat since I washed her car this morning.

6.23.2004
7:15pm

More nothingness... I didn't realize how long the day is without a job to keep me busy. I woke at 9 and read some news sites after breakfast, and Mom left around 11 to do some shopping. It rained constantly today, ranging from a light mist to a heavy downpour, which only made me more melancholy. I did make a loop around town looking for more places hiring, and the only new sign was at Pizza Hut delivery. Considering how inferior my knowledge of Blacksburg is, I didn't even think about taking a delivery job. I made a stop at the Dollar Tree to buy a few items, and it amazes me how much you can get for a buck these days: 10W-30 oil, DVDs, brand-name storage containers, poster board, laundry detergent, etc. They didn't have any car compasses, which is one of the things I went looking for, but they did have bug & tar remover. When I got home I called Cindy about my missing $156 from my paycheck, and she told me to call the district manager to work things out. More annoyance, aggravation, and wasted cell minutes.

6.21.2004
9:32pm

Job hunting sucks. This morning I got up and went to Adecco to see about a job in production at Corning. My dad told me that most of the temporary workers they get leave after a few days, which forces Corning to shut down assembly lines and lose money. Well, Adecco wasn't keen on the idea of hiring me for just the summer, but they did say that Tetra was looking for summer production workers. The consultant said I didn't look like the type of person who would enjoy production work, so I told her I would think about it and get back with them. In the meantime I went to Family Dollar and applied for a clerk/cashier position. When I got back home Mom and I played some tennis for a while, then I washed my car. I started washing hers as well, but the Foxridge maintainance people came at 4:30 to pack up the hoses until tomorrow. When Dad got home I told him about the incident at Adecco, and he's going to talk with someone at Corning about hiring me anyway.

In the news today, SpaceShipOne successfully completed its launch to 62 miles above the Earth's surface, piloted by Mike Melvill. SpaceShipOne is the first viable entry into the X-Prize competition which is intended to promote easy and affordable space travel. It won't be long before communications companies are searching for the lowest bidder to get their satellites into space.

6.20.2004
11:02pm

Just got back from a long day of driving, from Blacksburg VA to Greenville NC and back. I left with Brittany at 6am, and we got to ECU at 11:15am and started moving her in for Summer Ventures. She happened to get a single-occupancy room, but I believe they will room her with someone when there is an opening. Unfortunately my front passenger tire was punctured by a nail, so I had to stop at Wal-Mart for repairs before I made my way home. I also went to Best Buy to use a $10 gift card and got the album Away from the Sun by 3 Doors Down on hybrid SACD. While listening to the CD in the car I discovered a horrible skip on track 3, so I turned around and went back to exchange the CD for a different copy; fortunately the second one had no flaws. I finally got back on the road around 2:30 and made a stop at the Streets at Southpoint in Durham to see the movie Dodgeball, which was funny and pretty entertaining--everyone laughed at "ESPN 8: The Ocho." The movie got out at 6:40 and it took me another 3.5 hours to get back to Blacksburg. Mom had taken the dogs to the park today so she could use the agility equipment of one of her acquaintances who lives in Radford.

6.17.2004
2:25pm
BNL - Brian Wilson

Still no luck on the job frontier... I turned in all my applications yesterday, just waiting for a phone call now. Only Hardees and Burger King seemed somewhat interested in hiring me, but they aren't exactly my top choices.

Brit has to go to Summer Ventures at ECU on Saturday, so I might be driving out there with them if I don't get a job offer soon. The trip is 5.5 hours which is almost as far as Wilmington. Apartment life has been pretty decent so far, but I've been bored during the day with nothing much to do. I played tennis with Mom today around noon, and I just got back from washing my car, but other than that I've just been idle. My dad still has quite a few DVDs I haven't watched, so I've been occupying myself in front of the laptop with a puny 2.1 speaker set. We're in the "Graduate/Professional" section of Foxridge, so we aren't supposed to play music or movies very loud.

6.14.2004
6:30pm
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall

Well, this is the first chance I've had to make a posting online. Our internet had been disconnected in Wilmington on the 10th, so I'm just now getting online at the new apartment. We have Adelphia Broadband cable now instead of RoadRunner, but the speed seems to be comparable. My cell phone number will be changing soon to area code 540, hopefully with the same 515-0086 suffix. If not, I'll try to let everybody know through AIM or this blog.

My present address (until Aug. 19) is:

3500 Richmond Ln.
Apt. F
Blacksburg, VA 24060

My initial impressions of the apartment have been very good; the Foxridge complex is huge, with apartments and townhomes and regular-sized houses too. Our townhome is 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a small kitchen and living room area. The dogs seem to like it here, although they need to cut out the barking whenever they hear a noise. We arrived here yesterday around 6pm so most of the major unpacking was done, but this morning we put some more stuff away then headed for Christiansburg to do some shopping and take care of paperwork. We got some shelving units at Wal-Mart and took Brittany over to Christiansburg High School to meet with a counselor to sign up for Fall classes. Dad stopped at the DMV to get some license registrations forms, but I may just wait and get a new license in Florida since that's where I'll be spending most of my time. I've been spending the last hour or so setting up my computers and getting the wireless network up and running. Dad's got 128-bit WEP enabled so it's unlikely anyone will be stealing our internet access. Not that they would need to, because Windows found 3 other unsecured wireless networks in the immediate vicinity, with the default router passwords still unchanged of course. Lots of opportunity for mischief, but I don't want to cause any major trouble.
Photos

6.9.2004
5:55pm

I'm glad to see that the Florida Tech OASIS Autonomous Racing team is finally getting some publicity, courtesy of Slashdot.

Today has been pretty hectic so far, starting with the movers showing up at 9am. I had to be at Subway by 10, so I avoided much of the chaos at home. There was some pouring rain on an off during the morning, so customers came in bunches when the sun was out. I got off work at 3 and headed home to mow the lawn, since this afternoon was the only practical time to do it. The movers had to rent a smaller U-Haul truck to ferry boxes from the tractor-trailer to the house, since they couldn't fit their truck around the cul-de-sac. They left around 5:30, but they'll be back all day tomorrow to continue boxing our stuff. I've already sorted out all the stuff I will want in Florida, so I just have to tell them not to pack it away. Mom seems to be holding it together so far, and she said she spent the day sorting papers and running around making sure that the right things were being packed. We're about to go out for some dinner, since the refrigerator is dehumidifying and there's not much in the house to eat.

Tomorrow's going to be my last long day of work, from 11am-midnight probably.

6.7.2004
1:27am

All work and no play makes Jeremy a dull boy...

Just got back from a 13 hour work day, if you count Subway and Hollywood East; far too long a day IMO. My back and legs are telling me to find a new career path, fortunately I only have 5 more days of work at Subway left and 2 at the cinema. Nothing of much interest happened at work, except that when I was getting ready to leave the cinema there was a weird guy just sitting in his car near the employee lot. Sandra didn't want to take any chances, so she had me wait until she left; by that time the guy had left, so we'll never know what he was up to.

6.6.2004
6:55pm

Ronald Reagan died today, made front headlines at CNN and MSNBC websites. I never knew the man as an actor or president, so it has little significance in my life.

6.5.2004
1:05am

Got back 30 minutes ago from HP PoA at the Carmike 6 theater. I bought my ticket at 3:30 between working at Subway and the cinema, and when I went back at 9:30 I found out they had sold out every seat; it's a good thing I went early. One of the guys at Hollywood East was also going to see it at 9:55, but he was going to Carmike 16. Although the show was technically sold out, there were still a few empty seats left during the screening, so I didn't have to sit right next to anybody. I went into the film with high expectations, since the first two HP movies were particularly good. I will say that I found PoA less "magical" than the first two films, which is most likely a result of Cuaron trying to make the film more life-like, rather than a fantasy world. The new geography of Hogwarts was a little disconcerting but does make the grounds more interesting if not more realistic. Since this film is only a little over 2 hours, there's a lot that had to be cut from the books, and unfortunately many of the cuts are missed. We don't get to see much more of Diagon Alley, and hardly anything of Hogsmeade at all. The scenes seem fairly choppy since the movie has to progress so quickly chronologically, but there are some interesting transitions--particularly when the Whomping Willow casts off its leaves in fall and the ice after winter. I feel sorry for the couple of songbirgs that flew too close ;). On a positive note, Hermione, Ron and Harry all give performances to rival their first two, and Gary Oldman certainly fills out the character of Sirius Black. I think that the casting for Dumbledore and Lupin should have been re-thought, because it seems like the actors just don't fit the part correctly. If only Richard Harris's ghost was around to resume the part of Dumbledore. The special effects were very stunning, especially Buckbeak and the flying camera shots. The dementors were sufficiently scary, but they did seem curiously reminescent of the Wraiths from LOTR. The proximity freezing effect seemed pretty unnecessary, since the dementors suck happiness from people and not inanimate objects, but it probably did help explain their effect to non-readers. The sets were all very nice this time around, although for the life of me I cannot understand why the great hall ceiling would look like galaxies and nebulas. Maybe they changed the spell that imitates the sky. Mail by owl is never mentioned once in this movie, so I suppose they think that people have had enough of that by now. Let's see, what else, what else... Peter Pettigrew is cast very well, and even though he doesn't get much screen time he conveys the aura of a rat thoroughly. Also, Voldemort is hardly mentioned at all in this film, aside from Pettigrew's defection to his cause. The mysterious prophecy from Trelawney is spoken but never questioned or explained. The time-turner phenomenon is covered just as in the book, which was a great way to wrap up the movie. If you keep wondering why clock chimes play throughout the movie, I think it's supposed to be a sort of foreshadowing.

Enough for now... gotta be at work by 10.

6.4.2004
12:30am

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Today is the official release of Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban. Unfortunately I won't be able to see it opening night, since I have to work at Subway from 11-3 and Hollywood East from 5-10. If I get really lucky I might be able to buy tickets for the 10:30 showing at 3pm after I get off at Subway, but I'll see how that goes. Mom and Brit are planning to see it as well, so I may just end up going with them to a matinee some day.

6.3.2004
11:59pm

Such a long day... woke up sorta late at 9:30 and was at Subway by 11. Had a fairly busy day, as well as a bunch of stuff off the truck to stow away. I had to clean the dining room as well, so I left 20 minutes late at 3:20. After that I went home for 90 minutes then left for the cinema. Fortunately it wasn't all too busy there, but I did have to close the dishroom so I didn't get to leave until 11:45. I gave Jessica my forwarding address so they can mail my final paycheck to Blacksburg, and I also gave it to Cindy at Subway earlier today. Only about another week left until the move... starting to look forward to it more and more.

6.2.2004
7:35pm
The Eagles - Hotel California

Just lounging around on a nice Wednesday afternoon. I didn't have to work today, so I went this morning to get my hair cut and to pick up my Subway paycheck. They decided to withhold my first paycheck even though I'll only be there 5 weeks, so I only got $267 this time around. Great Clips wasn't too busy so I was seated right away. My hairstylist was from Virginia so she talked about the different attractions when I told her about the move to Blacksburg. When I was finished I headed back home to wash and wax my car. My mom had just finished waxing her car when I arrived, so I got to use the garage for shade. I also need to shampoo my car upholstery, but I'll probably do that later in the week. At 2:30 Mom and Brit left for the dentist office, and I had to follow at 3:30. My appointment was very quick and they said my teeth look nice as always. They said goodbye on my way out, since we've been going there for 9 years they have gotten to know us pretty well. When I got home I finished watching Fight Club and sorted some papers that I acquired while at FIT.

6.1.2004
1:02am

Finally back from a long shift at the cinema. I wasn't originally supposed to work today, but I was called yesterday to come in for their 3rd annual anniversary. In the morning I went to Subway to get my paycheck and to tell Cindy I couldn't work tomorrow; I found out that paychecks don't come out until tomorrow, so it looks like I'll be heading back that way. I browsed the web and read CNN for a while, then made a trip down to Best Buy and Circuit City. Best Buy had Finding Nemo on sale for $12.99 so I picked that up, then went to Circuit City for Fight Club at $9.99. When I got back home I started watching Fight Club before I had to leave for work at 3:30. I worked on the fryers again at Hollywood East, then I had to close the dishroom which meant staying until 12:15am. On my way home I called Cindy and found out that I have tomorrow off from Subway, which is a small relief.