Chris' Updates

My family came into town on Friday, ready for the Tour de Force of Colorado relatives. They decided to try and see if all of us could sleep in Alcott, and after some shuffling and a couple of air mattresses, we managed it. On Saturday we saw Grandma Bobbie, along with aunt Rhonda, aunt Teresa and her grandson. After breakfast and a short visit, we were off to Great Grandma Keller's and Grandpa Doug's, and saw Teresa's boyfriend Ed, aunt Gwen and her two girls. Grandma Keller is not looking well these days; cancer is taking its toll. It's very sad to see her whither away like this. As the evening set in, we headed over to see uncle John and Maryann at their isolated little foothills house. They're doing well, as are all of their dogs. Sunday, Zach decided to leave to visit his friend Josh. The rest of us did a bit of clothes shopping, and in the afternoon we visited Grandma Doris and aunt Nancy. They seem to be doing pretty well these days. After that, Mom and Dad dr...

Well, I spent the first part of my break at my parent's place in New Mexico. I had a very relaxing time. Looking back at the whole trip, I only left the house a few times. I got to meet my sister Jeannie's boyfriend, who was recovering from a bout of some sort of colitis. He's a nice enough guy, but he has a long and colorful history in Los Alamos. The family opened packages on Christmas eve. I made out with a bunch of new tools, which I can certainly use. I've also got a gift card to Best Buy, which is always handy. On Christmas day, my brother Zach and I went for a run around the neighborhood, and I really didn't keep up very well. Dinner was very good: lasagna, sides, and pecan pie. My parents had saved the frozen pie from Thanksgiving. I planned on staying a bit longer, but my family is also planning on coming up to Colorado, so I drove back today. This should give me a day or two to clean the house.

I'm done, it's over, fin . My exams all went pretty well. Arabic was a little bit iffy, but I was impressed that I did know a few things. I hope my grades are good enough for Engineering, but it's out of my hands now. It's a strange feeling. I'm relieved that I've done my part and I don't have to work anymore, but still nerve-wracking. It shouldn't take more than a week to get my grades back, but I have no idea how long the dean's office will take in its decision. I've decided that if Engineering turns me down, I'll still stay at CU for another semester, to try for appeals, and so I don't have to switch schools in a matter of days, potentially. That could be a nightmare. Besides school, driving is also winding down, at least for me. I haven't volunteered my services over the break, although I might want to do a little work. At this point, I want a break from the bus. The internship is still going well. At this point, it's pretty s...

School is drawing to a close. I finished up my classes this week, and tomorrow is my first exam. It's really been a good semester, even if it's been stressful and difficult. If I can just pull my GPA up, I could be admitted to the College of Engineering and Applied Science. If I can't, I'll be barred from the college and the Computer Science major, at which point I'll probably transfer to another school. My predicted grades put me right on the line, and I'm not yet sure how to feel. On the other hand, my exams count for a lot of points, so they could really help or really hurt me, either way. In other news, the internship is starting well. I've decided to work on the same project as Holly and Marlin. Some of the ideas are covered by non-disclosure agreements, but basically we're going to be working with Natural Language Processing ideas, trying to expand the field in new ways, and possibly make a profitable application. Let me say this; if we can pull o...

Hey, just a quick update. There's not much to report for school, since I'm just looking ahead to the end of the semester and the fateful decision. But the exciting news is that I just interviewed at a small corporation called Rational Data. Holly has been working with them for a few months on a new project, and recommended me to her boss, the CEO, Marlin. The interview went well, and I've already been invited to start next week, although we're not sure which project I'll be involved with just yet. I'm just excited that I'm looking at real-world experience!

This week, I took my last midterm, for calculus. I felt pretty good about it, but I only earned a 67. I'm not fretting though, I only have to hit the average. My monthly Army drill was this weekend. First thing on Saturday morning, we had a random UA screening. Funny thing about the random people chosen, though; most of the E-4's and below were "randomly" chosen. Just funny is all. While people were waiting for the urge, our Major put in The Muppet Chrismas Carol . I'd never seen it before, and it was cute. After that, we got some work done on service calls. I ended working mostly on phone lines again. Sunday afternoon, there was a Christmas gift drawing, and I got a mug and some candy out of the deal. I have to say, I really like this unit, and I'm proud to serve with such a great group of people.