Summer 2009 has been a lot of fun! I have been very social recently, hanging out with some new friends that Taylor and I met. We were able to attend San Francisco Gay Pride at the end of June. That was loads of fun. Last week, Taylor and I took a trip to Redding to visit friends and family. That was also loads of fun.

The only thing that is really bad at the moment is that I am currently umemployed. I finished my internship the first week of June. I gained some great experience and am hoping that will help me with my job search. The option of extending my intership for three more months was available, but I bailed as soon as I could. My reasoning behind it was:

1. I didn't make enough money


2. I could devote my time to finding an actually paying job instead of working 30 hours a week for minimal money


3. I was at the bottom of the totem-pole, and got walked all over


4. The company I worked for took an extra month when it came to delivering every one of my paychecks

So to maintain some income and keep busy I have been trying to do temp work through a temp agency. It's been good, but the money isn't quite as good as I thought it was going to be.

Moving in with Zack in January has turned into the worst decision I have ever made in my life. He's a great guy, but living with him has severed any friendship we had. To not go into much detail, I'll just say that he is a very demanding person and we have a personality conflict.

I don't feel like I have too much to say at the moment, hence why I haven't been posting too much on here. Glad to just share some of the things that are happening in my life.

Originally published at I am The BlueDanMan.

So I graduated. Although I technically have four more months until I will actually be finished with school. It was an exciting day, but there sure was a lot going on up until that day! I created the interface for our web application for senior project the first week of January. I should have created the interface during Christmas Break, but I procrastinated it away. This took away our two week buffer, which hit us hard later. We slowly started coding, and then realized we had some major issues that needed to be worked out. Almost all of my Saturdays in January were spent at DeVry working with our team to deal with those pesky logic bugs.

During all of this, Taylor and I moved in with our friend Zack. It was a tough move for both of us, as we were in the midst of our projects. To make matters worse, we both contracted the stomach bug that was going around. It all worked out once we got into the new place and had time to set things up. I'm very happy with my new surroundings, but it's not quite the same as having your own apartment with your loved one. The kittens are dealing well, they are just trying to get used to the doggies still.

During the first week February, our group did our senior project presentations. We had some issues the week before and had spent the time needed for practicing the presentation finishing up the system. It was treacherous, not having a lot of practice and being in front of a large group of people. Although I felt extremely nervous, we did really well. Everyone was impressed, and I was ecstatic it was almost done. Two days later we had to present our system to real-world judges at DeVry's Technology Fair. Our team ended up earning the Most Marketable and Judges Choice awards for our major, which was also very exciting.

Graduation came up quickly following the wrap-up of our project. Savannah, Diana, and Amanda all tooktrip down from Redding to attend. My whole family and all of my friends were there. Alison and Jenny made it, and that meant the world to me. It was a very exciting day, and everyone was beaming and so proud of me. It went by in a blur, and I was so beat that I just passed out as soon as I got home from the festivities. I was so glad to have all of the most important people in my life there.

I recently started a database internship at TechAmerica, where Zack is employed and Taylor is currently interning. I have only worked one day, but I'm very excited to have this job. It doesn't pay much, so I'm going to have to get another part-time job, though I'm fine with that. The experience I'm going to gain from this position will be unfounded and I'm grateful for that. This is the kind of position I was looking for, knowing that DeVry didn't quite teach me enough to have a real-world career. So my life is making exciting moves forward and I'm ready to take them head on!

Originally published at I am The BlueDanMan.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back and just be 14 again. That is such a horrible thought, but it's really when I was at my happiest in life. I have never been able to be as happy and carefree as I was then. And that is why I always look back to that point in time. The memories flood back so easily...

...I had that grey sweater, which was actually a girls sweater, and I wore it all the time. Nobody ever noticed that it was a girls sweater, except for Athena McDaniel. And that's why I thought I liked her, because she

[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="Alison and I at the Brian Wilson concert"][/caption]

understood me. We (our group of friends) always hung out in the quad, in front of the office. Somehow we ended up calling ourselves the Outsiders, because most of us were very odd.

Alison Sepolpo was my best friend. I idolized that girl like there was no tomorrow. We spent all of our time together, discussing Great America, the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Nate Cox (her crush), and so much more! She was, for all purposes, my everything at that point in time. We were inseparable. People thought we dated, it was hilarious...

...The real world calls though. Senior project must be worked on, life must be dealt with. I will always have my memories, and will cherish them more than anything else.

Originally published at I am The BlueDanMan.

Friends Only!

Well kiddies, I have made my Journal Friends Only now.  So if you read this and you aren't on my friends list, well, I guess you're shit out of luck!  Or you can leave a comment and I may add you.