my excuse for procrastination

Why am I still in here?  Because I'm trying to work my ass off so I can stay here.  The last prelim results came in, only 2 out of 5 passed.  I'm taking them next time they are administered and I'm already starting to stress about them.  I want to pass on the first try, I don't want to have to worry about them after that, but recent results have made it seem like I won't.  One of my friends passed, while another did not.  The one who didn't pass now has to leave and it sucks.  I've been told by older grad students that this test will be hard, but don't worry too much because almost everyone passes.  Well it seems like that is changing, and I don't want to fall victim to it.  So I'm in the lab working on stuff.  Maybe not studying, but trying to write a kick ass end of the semester report for my adviser.  I think this may help if I'm ever close to the cutoff next December.  Hopefully he'll remember all the work I did on this (and over this coming summer) and that could help my chances.  In other news, my two exams are this week too, and I'll be happy when those are finished.  I did very poorly on the midterms, so I have to come up big during these to keep my grades where they are or bring them up a bit.  If I don't, I'm afraid I won't even really get good chance to become a candidate.  Everyone said grad school was gonna be pretty hard, and I can see that now.  You need a lot more than just brains to get through here.  It's gonna take a ton of hard work (for at least 7.5 months) and a lot of luck.  Of course the consolation prize is a Masters, but I'm not too keen of not coming out on top.....

The oral prelims for the winter semester are today. Two of my friends are taking them. Even though there's 7.5 months until I have to take it, I'm already getting anxious for it....

I'm not gonna lie, I have a ton of material to go over before then and I feel like I'm behind even though I have plenty of time. The thought of no other prelim separating my turn makes it seem so close. I feel if I don't begin studying soon, I won't pass. I've set a goal to start studying 7 hours per week starting on July 1st... but knowing me, I won't start right away, although maybe I will on this. This one test pretty much determines if I can get a PhD from Michigan or not. Unlike at Clarkson, my class grades haven't been phenomenal. Don't get me wrong, I'm doing pretty well, but it's not straight A's like Clarkson. I can't ride the curve like I often did there, because everyone else is really smart! I think the whole point of this exam is that I'm supposed to feel this way and overstudy, so I guess it's having an effect on me. I've never really worried about studying much for exams before, but this one is getting to me and it's still a long ways off.

In other news, what is with people going on rampages at schools?! First we have Columbine, now this VT thing. It's impossible for me to even understand how someone could get to the point of wanting to kill a bunch of people like this. I always felt annoyed when security at Clarkson (and now at U of M) increased around campus. I always thought it was pointless, but now after seeing what happened at Virginia Tech, I can understand the increase in security even if it still annoys me. These are supposed to be places of higher learning, I would think people who attended them would have enough reason not to do something crazy like this. I guess no matter how much education you get, you can still become completely insane.....

It's been a long time since I posted on this. I've been really busy these past few months with school, getting ready to move Emily out here and the wedding plans. All this planning and I just wish it was all done and we can go enjoy our new home and our week in Jamaica with some cool people! Less than 9 weeks until I'm sitting on the beach of Jamaica in the sun with some Jamaican alcoholic concoction in my hand....

So school's going pretty well. U of M is MUCH harder than Clarkson was. I'm not sure if it's due to the difference between undergrad and grad classes, or just that U of M is more demanding. I think it's a combination of both. I think it's for the best though. Everyone in academia and industry knows the strength of the aero department here, and looking at the job prospects of older students, it helps a ton. It's very promising when most starting salaries are in the six figures in very hot research areas. I just hope I can live up to the university's high expectations. I'm taking the Prelims next December, and let me tell you, I'm already afraid of them.... So much memorization and studying since pretty much anything I've learned so far (and much I still have to learn and study) is fair game for this exam. As much as it's going to be painful, I also see the value in it and believe that it will definitely help me in the long run (so long as I pass!).

Emily and I are doing great (hence getting married in less than 9 weeks!). It's definitely been tough being away from each other for almost a year, and if we did it again, we'd probably find a way to avoid that (early graduation, etc), but we're gonna make it through it. This time made me appreciate how much we do together when we live together and how well we get along with each other (at least for the most part).

We have our new apartment picked out and ready to move into. Just waiting for her to graduate so we can move all our stuff out here (Big truck Roadtrip!). It's much bigger than the apartment we had in Potsdam, which is great so now we can actually have people visit and they have their own bedroom (and bathroom!). I can't wait, and am looking forward to whoever our first guests will be. If you want to come visit or want our address, email me, and I'll be happy to send it to you. I think that's about all I have to say right now. I'll be sure to try to keep this updated more often.

...You say "wicked" instead of "really."

...Half of your clothes are from L.L. Bean.

..."Bike Week" up in Laconia is the highlight of your summer.

...You take your annual trip into Boston, and you "pahk ye cah in Hahvihd Yahd"

..."Vacation" means going to Burlington for the weekend.

...You go out of state and don't understand what "tax" means on your receipt.

...You refer to the Patriots/Red Sox/Celtics/Bruins as "we".

...You can not only identify a Massachusetts accent, but you can pinpoint the exact city/region of origin.

...You can visit Berlin, New London, Bethlehem, Lisbon, Lebanon and Dublin all in one afternoon.

..."Down South" to you means Boston.

...You don't have a coughing fit from one sip of Ballantine Ale, and PBR is for when you crave that smoother, fuller taste.

...You can actually pronounce Kancamagus.

...You know what a bubbler and a lav are.

...Your neighbor throws a party to show off his new snowblower.

... It was always fish on Fridays when you were growing up.

...You can recognize someone from Mass simply by their driving.

...You know what they sell at a packie.

...You know what First Night is.

... "The Curse of the Bambino" is taught in public schools.

... You own some form of yankee-hating parephanalia.

... You think Doug Flutie is the greatest athlete ever.

... You know how to make a frappe. (and you know why its different than a milkshake.)

... You know that the "Big Dig" is also a kind of ice cream you can get at Brigham's.

... You can successfully merge from 6 lanes of traffic down to one.

... You never "go to Cape Cod." You "go down to the Cape".

... You think that Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter are more sinister than Whitey Bulger.

... You visited some combination of Old Sturbridge Village, Plymouth Plantation, and Strawberry Banke on field trips in grammar school.

... You're aware that there is a town, somewhere in Massachusetts, named Brimfield, where they have the biggest outdoor antique market in the world.

... Paranoia sets in if there isn't a Dunkin Donuts, an ATM or a CVS within eyeshot at all times.

... You keep an icescraper and can of de-icer on the floor of your car ...year round.

... You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop. (don't even deny it)

... You order iced coffee in January.

... You know what candlepin bowling is.

... You hadn't gone to church in 5 years, but you made time to pray when the Sox made it to the series.

So I'm pretty tired right now but I want to finish a couple torrents that I have going so I can put some more music on my IPod before the trek across the northeast. This has been one quick time back at home. Sorry to all those people I had planned to visit, but I just diidn't have as much time as I expected. The month since graduation flew by. In a week, I will be in Ann Arbor getting ready to attend seminars and get my work done.

It should be an interesting summer out there. It'll be the first time that Emily and I have been apart for a prolonged period of time (months) since my freshman year in college. We made it through that so this year should definitely be doable. It may be difficult at some points, but will be well worth it. We've been together 4.5 years, so we can easily handle less than a year apart.

In other news, I get to use my mom's car for the summer in Ann Arbor. I needed to get a bed out there and this was the easiest solution to get it out with a U-Haul trailer. Plus, my uncle hasn't had time to fix a couple of things on my truck, so this will give him more time. Unfortunately this means I have to drive the trip back from Ann Arbor instead of flying which will cut down days I could have spent at home (mom was NOT happy about this ontop of not having her car). But this way, I think I'll be able to stop by in P-dam at the end of the summer to visit with Emily real quick too which will be nice.

I can't wait to be able to get set up in Ann Arbor and finally get back into a routine. This past month has been nice, but had no structure. That's probably partly my fault by not finding a project that interested me. My grandfather wanted me to split a pile of wood, but I wasn't particularly interested in doing that on one of my last breaks home. Especially since it still isn't cut yet and I'm no fan of using the chain saw. So someone else is going to have to deal with that. It'll also be nice to be able to use my desktop again with a full size keyboard and mediapad. Just one more week....

I guess I should go to bed so I can start gathering up all my stuff and packing it away tomorrow.

So I got a widget to post on LJ because I'm lazy and don't like the web interface. I hate this time being in limbo. I finished up at Clarkson a few weeks ago, got everything home. Now I'm just pretty much waiting for June 18th to come when I head out to Michigan. I need something interesting to do and it doesn't seem like I'll get anything until I go out there.

So my cousins' graduation party was today. One is graduating from college and one got two certificates (don't ask to explain, I don't know what that means). It was fun. I didn't have to do anything since I told my mom I didn't want a graduation party. I did this so she and I didn't have to do as much work just for me, but unfortunatly my mom still had to do more than she should have cus my aunt is awesome. She's getting on my nerves, but I'm gonna be gone soon so it's all right.

It's just frustrating being in limbo. I'm ready to go to Michigan and start the next part of my life, but I can't yet. And even when I leave, it won't be complete until next year...so much waiting

yay it does! I have a widget for posting on lj now

does this work?

 Put an X by the movies you've seen.
If you get more than 70, you're a movie whore.
COPY and REPOST ! PLACE YOUR SCORE IN THE SUBJECT LINE

(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Boondock Saints
(X) The Mexican
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(X) Garden State
( ) The Princess Bride
( ) Young Frankenstien
(X ) AnchorMan
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Saw
( ) White noise
( ) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
Total here: 16 My Total: 9

(X) 50 First Dates
(X) Jason X
(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
(X) Scary Movie 3
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
(X) Harry Potter
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
( ) Resident Evil I
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
Total here: 18 My Total: 15

( ) The Village
( ) Donnie Darko
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) 13 Ghosts
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(X) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
( ) Thirteen going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Dodgeball
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came A Spider
( ) Deep Impact
Total here: 18 My Total: 11

(X) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
(X) Eight Crazy Nights
(X) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumb & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
(X) Halloween
(X) The Ring
(X) The Ring 2
( ) Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(X) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X) Child's Play
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(X) Seven
(X) Oceans Eleven
(X) Oceans Twelve
( ) Identity
Total here: 41 My Total: 27

( ) Lone Star
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
(X) Independence day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
(X) My Boss' Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
( ) Frailty
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
Total here: 19 My Total: 6

( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) X-men 1
(X) X-men 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Others
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Ring of Fire
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle
(X) Old School
( ) Ray
(X) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
Total here: 17 My Total: 7

(X) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Boogeyman
(X) Hitch
( ) Back Door Sluts 9
( ) Anal Acres 1
( ) Anal Acres 2
( ) B-Cup Divas
(X) The Fifth Element
(X) Star Wars episode I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars episode II Attack of The Clones
(X) Star Wars episode III Revenge of The Sith
(X) Star Wars episode IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars episode V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars episode VI Return of The Jedi...
( ) Troop Beverly Hills
( ) Swimming with Sharks
(X) Air Force One
( ) For Richer or Poorer
( ) Trainspotting
( ) People Under the Stairs
( ) Blue Velvet
(X) Sound of music
(X) Parent Trap
( ) The 'Burbs
(X) The Terminator
(X) Empire Records
( ) SLC Punk
(X) Meet Joe Black
( ) Wild Girls
( ) A Clockwork Orange
( ) The Order
(X) Spiderman
(X) Spiderman 2
( ) Amelie
Total here: 37 My Total: 19

(X) Mean Girls
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
(X) The Incredibles
(X) Collateral
(X) The Fast & The Furious
( ) 2 Fast 2 Furious
( ) Sky Captain Of The World Of Tomorrow
( ) Closer
Total here:9 My Total: 6

(X) Titanic
( ) Saved
(X) Bowling For Columbine
(X) Farenheit 9/11
(X) The Sixth Sense
(X) Artificial intelligence (AI)
( ) Love actually
( ) Shutter
( ) Ella Enchanted
(X) Princess Diaries 1
(X) Princess Diaries 2
( ) Constantine
( ) Million Dollar Baby
( ) Envy
(X) Eurotrip
( ) Malibu's Most wanted
(X) Big Daddy
(X) Black Sheep
(X) The Breakfast Club
( ) West side story
Total here: 20 My Total: 11

(X) A Christmas Story
(X) Spanglish
(X) Pulp Fiction
( ) Sleepover
( ) The Evil Dead
( ) Killer Klowns From Outer Space*
( ) The Seed of chucky
(X) Vanilla Sky
(X) Nightmare Before Christmas
( ) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
(X) Interview With The Vampire
(X) The Crow
( ) Purple Rain
( ) Reservoir Dogs
(X) Wayne's World
Total here: 15 My Total: 8

(X) Wayne's World 2
( ) 21 Grams
( ) Blow
(X) Edward Scissorhands
( ) Clerks
(X) Beauty and the Beast
( ) Guess Who
(X) Monster In-Law
(X) Elf
(X) Stuart Little
(X) Stuart Little 2
( ) Mall Rats
( ) Chasing Amy
(X) Dogma
(X) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Total here: 15 My Total: 9

(X) Beetlejuice
(X) The Last Samurai
( ) The Amityville Horror
(X) The Aviator
(X) Romeo and Juliet
( ) Barbershop
( ) Beauty Shop
(X) Legally Blonde
(X) Legally Blonde 2
( ) The Forgotten
( ) Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen
( ) Grudge
Total here: 12 My Total: 6


TOTAL: 134...I must be a super movie whore :)

In light of my phone breaking, I also lost all the phone numbers I had stored in it. Leave your phone number in a comment or im it to me if you want me to have it on my phone.