Yay! I Finally Got my License! (About damn time!)

Our Backyard - Pool & Apple Trees

I had my driving test on May 26th, and I managed to pass the test without a problem! I FINALLY got my license! I should have actually had it about 3-4 years ago, but a surgery that I had kept me from getting it for a few years. In the picture above you can also see my vehicle. It is the silver 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe, and it should be all registered and ready to drive legally on Wednesday. :D

I applied for a job at Staples in West Lebanon yesterday, and I might apply for a job at Best Buy later today. Now that I have a year of college under my belt, and good grades, it should be relatively easy to get a job at one of these places. Best Buy would be paying me $8.50 an hour, but Staples would be paying me $9.50 an hour. I actually have more interest in Best Buy as a store, but if Staples is going to be paying me more, for pretty much the same work, than I would much rather work there.

Also, I mean to update this blog at least once a week, but I have been relatively busy the past few weeks making sure that I was prepared for my driving test, and getting everything in order for job applications. As mentioned above, I have applied for Staples and plan on applying to Best Buy, but I very well might apply to one or two other places to make sure that I can get a job over the summer. I plan on taking at least half of the money that I make over the summer and sending it directly to my college loans, and that should still leave me with plenty of money to spend on whatever I want AND of course necessary things like gas for my vehicle etc...

The picture above is one of about 60 that I took of our backyard. I will likely be using a couple of these photos over the summer to post on my blog. I think that this is really all I have to post for now, but I should be getting calls for interviews soon, so I will be sure to post when I have more information. :D

A Lazy Day at Home

It feels weird to be suddenly taken away from the busy life. It is nice having nothing to do sometimes, but I also can't help but feel like I could be a bit more productive. I have gone through my first year of college, and it was a busy year. Now that I am home it feels like I have nothing to do. I plan on updating my resume later today, and then possibly applying to Best Buy over the internet.

Because of a couple of surgeries I had a while back I wasn't able to get my license when I should have. I have been going far too long without having a license, so I am relieved to FINALLY have a driving test scheduled for May 26th. I should be able to pass it without a problem because I think that I am actually a pretty good driver. Not having my license already is what is holding me back right now. It really sucks because I wanted to get out and start working immediately, but I don't have the transportation yet. I already have my own vehicle though. It is a silver 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. When I apply to different places over the next week or so I need to make sure that I let them know that I won't have proper transportation until May 26th. It is good to be honest on applications, and this would avoid having them set up an interview time that wouldn't work for me.

Well that is all I got for now. I am going to try to keep this blog going throughout the summer months to make sure that it stays strong. :D

Yay! My First Year of College is Complete!

GRAND FINALE!!!

I meant to update this on Wednesday because that was officially my last day for this school year, but I had a hard time uploading the video above. I had a GREAT first year at Vermont Tech! I am glad that I chose a school that pushes students to be all that they can be. It seems like yesterday that I was moving into the college, and now I am already on my 2nd day of summer vacation. It is CRAZY how fast time flies by when you are constantly kept busy. I know that this first year was the easiest of them all. I know that next year I will be, yet again, faced with new challenges to overcome.... and I am REALLY looking forward to it.

My last few days at Vermont Tech (for my first year) were extremely stressful because of having to simultaneously pack my stuff to go home AND study for my final exams. I only had three final exams, but two of them I spent a lot of my time preparing for as I watched the clock quickly tick its way down. I am happy to have completed my first year of college because it gives me great amounts of pride knowing that I am first generation college student and have already made it this far. I know that I will miss my college friends over this long four month vacation, but I also feel like this 'extended' vacation is well needed.

My first year of college. It was definitely a time that I will never forget. I have met a large group of amazing and unique people who have made me laugh countless times. People who are true to who they are, and people that share the same passion for both music and technology that I do. I got to see Lowell Sanders and Rusty Dewees, two extremely funny stand-up comedians, a famous sword swallower who has been on Ripley's Believe it or Not!, a French comedian/juggler, and even two live bands that did an AMAZING job of ROCKing out at Vermont Tech.

I also got to go to an Eve 6 concert with three of my college friends. It was my first concert, and the band playing is the same famous band that does the song I marched out to (Here's to the Night) at my high school graduation. Not only did I get to see this band, but I got to be smashed up against the stage during their whole performance. I even had several close calls with being hit by the lead guitarist's guitar because of how close I was.

It was a great year. It was stressful, but I have learned that my dreams truly are a possibility. I have learned so much during this first year. I have built a robotic car that can detect collision and turn itself around, and even a small amplifier that can channel a signal from a microphone through a piece of fiber-optic wire and out to a speaker. I have experienced a new level of education. I am more proud now than I have ever been, but I know that this is simply the beginning. I look forward to the day when I receive my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering Technology from Vermont Tech. It will be the proudest day of my life.

The video above is the grand finale of the end-of-the-year fireworks display on Tuesday night at Vermont Tech. I managed to pick my camera up at the PERFECT time to catch the whole grand finale. The screaming you hear throughout the video belongs to countless students on campus (that are nowhere near my camera by the way) who are extremely proud to be where they are. I share the same feeling. :-)

LAST WEEK OF CLASSES IS OVER! :-D

Cool Wall Design Displaying a Computer Chip (Morrill Building)

Wow! It is hard to believe, but my last week of classes for my first year of college has come to an end! I have a final exam for Fundamentals of Circuits II on Monday, a final for C-Programming on Tuesday, and a final exam for Intro. to Technical Math II on Wednesday.

Over the next few days I will be focusing on packing and studying. I know that on Tuesday night there is supposed to be an end-of-the-year fireworks display. I am hoping that my camera is able to take decent photos of the fireworks. I know that my old one simply couldn't do it.

I am sure that I will do well on my C-Programming and Fundamentals of Circuits II exams. I am confident with my math skills, but I know that my math exam is going to require the most preparation. It basically covers all of the math topics for the whole school year, so it is tough to know just how much of what is going to be on the final. I plan on spending a good portion of my time on Sunday to review all of my notes, and then of course do the same thing on Tuesday night.

Also on Tuesday night is a math review session that covers many different subjects in math. I plan on going to this because I have an 80 in my math class, and I want to see if I can make it go up even more by doing the absolute best I can on this final exam.

Well, that is all I have for now. This is the first weekend that I have stayed on campus instead of going home for the weekend, so maybe tomorrow I will get some more pictures for a couple of posts next week.