Setting the Record Straight

Many of you have been keeping my husband, Leni, in your prayers recently. For those of you who may not know why, let me bring you up to speed:

Leni is graduating in 2 months and 21 days + my job ending in December + poor economy = slightly nervous about "what's next"

In all actuality, my nerves have been much less high than his about this. Who wouldn't want to hire a guy like him? He'll be up against guys with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, just like him. And maybe some of their GPAs will be higher than his....but that's okay. He has some stuff that they won't, the most important being an Associate's Degree in Automotive Technology and actual field experience before starting his B.S. back in the Fall of 2005. That combined with the fact that...as they say it...he's pretty easy on the eyes....makes up for an easy hire if you ask me.

Last week, we flew Leni to NM for a carreer fair being offered by the Engineering Dept. of the University of NM. While he was out there, he met with somewhat of a big wig from the Los Alamos National Lab. For those of you playing at home, you may recall that this is where Leni completed an internship in the summer of 2007. Mr. Big Wig (the name has been changed to protect the innocent) told Leni that he would be hiring 3 Systems Engineers in January and that he would "hold" one spot for Leni if he wanted it. This was followed up with an invitation to come back out for a "formal interview where a start date would be determined". Leni is much too nervous and modest to say it, but this is essentially an unofficial job offer. It sounds like it can't be made official unless a second interview is completed but basically, the job is Leni's. We're in the process of nailing down some dates with Mr. Big Wig...hoping for something over Leni's Oct 19-20 Fall Break.

So that's the story. Nothing is totally 100% but I'd be absolutely and completely shocked if this didn't work itself out in our favor. Thank you for the prayers and please keep them coming. I'll keep you all posted as more details unfold!

Keep It Real!

All I Ever Needed to Know

This past week I received an email from a good friend. Among other things, it mentioned how much of a waste of time it was for her to learn cursive back in elementary school.

How absolutely true it is! Other than your signature, when was the last time you wrote in cursive? Isn't it more likely that most of you print when actually using a pen and then type everything else on a computer? I have found this to be true for most.

Schools should really teach printing and then go straight to word processing.

This got me to start thinking...what else was I taught in my primary and secondary education that was a total waste of my time, my effort, and my parents' tax dollars?

Cursive: we already discussed this above
Ridiculous Spelling Words: I am a great speller. The best in my family. I always aced my spelling tests and, to be honest, enjoyed them. That being said, why the hell did I have to learn how to spell the word "lamborghini" in 6th grade? I'll tell you why...Mrs. Wolfe loved those cars and wanted all her students to know how to spell it. That word ruined a perfect spelling test score for me and I've never even used the knowledge of how to spell it until this post (actually, I had to look it up). The fact that my teacher didn't even spell her last name correctly only adds to this frustration.
Memorizing Shakespeare: I have no idea what, but my high school English teacher insisted that I memorize a variety of different sililoquies. I really don't see how it did me any good then and I surely don't remember them now!

Circuits: I had to take an electronics class in 9th grade. I have no idea what a circuit is or how it works. Why would a 14 year old girl need to know this? I feel as if I had ever needed to know it for future employment, my collegiate coursework would have required it. Doesn't help that the teacher was a total creepster.
Geometry: Okay I admit it...the basic geometric skills have been helpful at times. Like when drawing out plans for building a small project, etc. But that upper level stuff was ridiculous. SIN? COS? TAN? How about "WTF" instead!

Chemistry: the whole class in general. Total waste of time. Have never used one bit of it in my post-chem life. Not one.

This is only a small sample of these things and I could certainly list many more. But I also don't want to give the impression that I didn't appreciate my education before college. I went to some very good public schools and, looking back, had many fantastic teachers. The good far outweighs the bad. It just isn't near as much fun to write about.

Keep It Real!

Test Grade: Pass

This is my friend, Megan:

Megan really tested our friendship today. When I logged on to check my email today, I saw that much to my personal horror, she had committed the crime of sending me an email forward. I suppose the forwarding of an email is not a crime in and of itself, but the forwarding of an email that I do not deem worthy certainly is.

This was the first forward that Megan had ever sent me. Several questions hit me like a ton of bricks: Will this email be worth my time? Will it be cutsie or will it be funny? If it is funny, will it be funny enough? If it is cutsie, will I have to put an embargo on opening emails from Megan? Does she realize that my opinion of her rest solely on the content of this email? Could it be that she has no idea that the fate of our friendship depends on how hard I laugh at this, if at all? Should I just delete it and avoid this prediciment completely? Or should I cross my fingers, open it, and pray to God that Megan is an excellent judge of email forwarding, much unlike many people I know?

I went for it.

Congratulations, Megan! You are still very much in my good graces! I will never fear opening forwards from you again because I know that you are a wise judge of what you pass on and what you do not. Well done, friend. Well done.

I know that I already forwarded this email on myself and that you, the faithful "Snack For Later" consumers, may have already seen it. But if you have, you'll agree with me that it is definitely worth another look. See below:

For those of you who wonder what failure looks like...

Congratulations again, Megan...both on your hot new vehicular acquisition (PT Cruiser everyone, get excited!) and your lifetime pass at forwarding emails to me.

Keep It Real!