Musings

A blog? What is that?

That's how I feel since I haven't posted in such an extended time. It's been so long that there is just TOO much to talk about. Let's see...

School has been taking up most of my time. My classes are freakin' awesome, but at the same time they are sure to be very difficult. My teachers are quite possibly the most diverse I have had to date in my college tenure. Let me attempt to paint you a picture:

My Aircraft Structures professor is a cross between Christopher Lloyd and Raul Julia.

My Aerothermodynamics teacher is Mr. Bean, yet he is Italian. His most used phrase: "Duz zis make zense to youz guyz?"

My Vibrations teacher is definitely the coolest teacher I have had yet in college. He's about 38, but he acts like a frat boy. Normally, I'm not a fan of the typical fraternity guy, but my teacher pulls it off. He's also hilarious. And on a daily basis he seems to relate classwork to alcohol somehow. For example, today we were talking about damping vibrations as well as hydraulics and they way fluids move in and out of shafts. He made an analogy(and diagram!) of how beer flows out of a keg. Brilliant.

My Electrical Engineering Systems teacher is Bob Hoskins, but with an Indian accent and complexion.

Finally, my Orbital Mechanics professor is a cross between the woman from Fried Green Tomatoes and the mom from That 70's Show.

As far as the actual classes are going, so far so good. Structures and Aerothermo will definitely be my most difficult courses. I hate circuits, but I can do them with my eyes closed, so EE Systems shouldn't be bad. Vibrations is a completely new subject matter to me, but it fascinates me, and I love the applications, so that should be an A. Orbital Mechanics is already my favorite class. I'm getting to apply stuff I learned at work to course material, bringing me way ahead of everyone else. We even got this software,called Satellite Tool Kit(STK),put onto our computers. Yeh, that baby is $80,000 right there. You read it correctly. It's pretty much Mission Control Houston...but on my laptop.

Speaking of NASA...

Atlantis is heading BACK to the Launch Complex 39B after getting halfway back to the VAB. It seems Ernesto shifted its course just enough to make the big wigs at KSC think it was safe. Hopefully we'll launch within a week(we kinda HAVE to, but that's another story).

Tarik(my mentor back at JSC) has really inspired me to get into drink making. I bought a bar set(shaker, double jigger, fruit peeler, ice tongs, and a wine/bottle opener) last week, and I got right into it. The first thing I made was a classic mojito, but I didn't shake it well enough the first time. The next night, I tried again, but this time shaking thoroughly; the results were much better this time around. My mojitos were a hit with everyone at Dan's. I now have a "signature" drink to make people, haha.

I just returned from the store, and I now have the ingredients to make true Caribbean Rum Punch from Tarik's heavily protected recipe. I had to basically beg and plea to get it out of him last semester, but I got it alright. I had some of the punch at Tarik's last Doorstep Happy Hour at his warehouse, and it was SO good, yet freakin' potent as anything. My advice: sip this stuff slowly, or you will get verrrrrrrry inebriated verrrrrrry fast. With that said(haha), we're making a batch of it tomorrow for the first time, just in time for MSU's first football game here against South Carolina.

I love college football atmosphere, and I can't wait to see the crowds of people here tailgating tonight. There's a pre-game shindig somewhere near campus that I think we are going to attend. The game is on ESPN, so if you are near a television, tune in and you may see me :). Due to the time of the game, classes after 12:30 tomorrow are cancelled. It just so happens that my first class is at 12:30, so that means FREE day for me tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, on the diamond I'm not as happy. The Sox have had the most serious onslaught of illnesses and injuries that I have ever seen on one team. It's frustrating, for sure, but it was just learned today that Jon Lester(sent back to Boston a few days ago after being put on the DL) is being tested for cancer. A promising young player, no one wants to hear this news about him. Even with all of the on-field shortcomings, this really puts things into perspective. We're all hoping Lester turns out to be fine.

Now, the Sox are by no means out of the playoff race, but with 2/3rds of the lineup gone or injured, it's hard to do anything to be competitive. Things could definitely start to turn once players start coming back this week and next. Some great things to look forward to: Papelbon setting the record for most saves by a rookie, Papi destroying the previous record for HR's in a season by Foxx(50), and the Sox making the fewest errors ever in a baseball season.

I should stop talking about the Sox...it'll only make me more depressed, haha.

The apartment looks great. I've begun putting up all the posters up on my wall, and I am ordering a few more, except they are sports posters. One poster I am hoping to get is the frame-by-frame shot of Carlton Fisk as he is "motioning" his hit ball to stay fair during the final inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. It's a SWEET poster, and it will look superb on my wall.

Well it's late, but to be honest, I'm not tired at all. Surely there's a good movie on or something. Anyways, I'm done. The weather forecast is looking great for tomorrow; I'm ready to watch Steve Spurrier once AGAIN not win at Davis-Wade Stadium.

go dawgs. go sox.