Furniture!

Today I took a big step and actually went out to buy myself some furniture.  I've been unhappy about my situation for a little while now and I finally decided I wanted to do something about it.  After a week filled with some unanticipated confrontations, it was just what I needed.  It was a nice day outside instead of the predicted rain, so I happily drove off to Ikea in search of a dresser.  Not only was I successful in finding one, but I also ended up with the matching bed frame (which means I'm officially off the floor!).

Finding the furniture proved easy, but actually getting the boxes into my car was quite difficult because they were heavy and bulky and I was alone.  I somehow managed (with the help of a nice older man at one point) and soon I was back at my apartment, ready to assemble all the pieces.

Little did I know that the assembly would take me over three hours to complete and after a whole lot of tightening screws, I'm sure my forearm will be sore in the morning.  I still had a good time and really like putting things together like that.  It made the afternoon go by quickly and the results made me so happy.  I finally have a place to put my clothes (no longer in the living room!) and I have a real bed.  I'm so excited over such a small change, but it just reaffirms my decision to bite the bullet and go for it...yay!

Spring Round-Up

Today the optional girls from Twisters had a competition in Livermore and I was invited to be on the floor.  The drive there was an easy hour and the competition started at 4:30pm.  The girls have been pushed hard over the last couple of weeks but all the training and numbers seemed to pay off because in the end the level 7s all hit their routines.  We only had one miss from the entire group and that came from our lone level 8 on beam.  They seem much more confident than they did even a week ago which is perfect because we have state championships coming up in the next couple of weeks.  State is being held in Sacramento this year so that means I get a free trip home at the end of the month, woohoo!!  Hopefully the girls won't be spread out between too many sessions, but we're going to have to wait and see.

Congrats on a great evening, ladies!  It's time to kick it into high gear so we can challenge for a place on the podium in two weeks.  Let's do it!  :)

Johnson & Johnson

This evening I had the opportunity to attend a discussion headlined by the CEO of Johnson & Johnson.  It was put on through Stanford Biodesign and is the first in a series of talks centered around medical devices and the like.  I was really interested at the beginning when he was talking about his career path and how he got to where he is today.  After awhile though, I found myself trying to research things on my iPhone while listening at the same time because I wasn't too sure what he was talking about.  I didn't know enough about the ins and outs of the company to really keep up with what he was saying, but I did walk away with some newfound knowledge.  In that sense, it was a success and I must say that it was nice to have something to dress up for for a change.  Even though it wasn't a formal event, I brought out my coat and wore something other than sweats or jeans.  Alex joined me (he was actually the one to clue me in about it in the first place) and I'm pretty sure we'll back for one or two others in the series; it's a good way to find out more about companies that operate in the field I hope to break into in the near future.

Welcome, Nastia!

Today Twisters had the pleasure of welcoming 2008 Olympic all-around champion, Nastia Liukin, to the Bay Area.  She is here to help promote the Olympic Trials which start on June 28th at HP Pavilion.  It's really exciting that the trials are in California once again and Nastia commented on how honored she is to be a part of the process.

We had a very short practice for the girls today and then stopped them so they could help us clean up the gym.  We spent two hours getting everything ready and with all of the help we were able to get it all set up without any major issues.  There were streamers, balloons, banners, and even a couple of video presentations.  It was all very well done and I have to say that Allan's hard work and preparation really paid off.

It ended up that Nastia's flight from LA was delayed due to the weather, so she arrived about 15 minutes late.  Then tension in the gym was palpable and everyone was on edge waiting for her to arrive.  She finally got there and was escorted in, the video tribute was played, and a little speech was made before the mic was handed over to her.  She gave a very inspirational talk before answering some questions from the girls and signing autographs.  Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of time because she had another gym to visit before the evening was over, but all of the girls were excited to have the chance to meet her and get a picture with her.  I'm hoping her words will serve as encouragement for our girls to set goals and dream big.

Happy Birthday, T-Dub!

Shout out to my classmate, Tenaya West!!  It's her birthday today and she is 24...a magic number!  Last night we went out to San Francisco to celebrate with some of our friends and this morning we got up and made a nice breakfast in her honor.  We had belgian waffles, handed out some small gifts, and watched a movie a couple of friends and I made for her.  It was a nice morning but I'm afraid our afternoon plans of going to the beach may be spoiled due to the not-so-hot weather.  Oh well, I think her parents are coming in from Davis to see her so that will make for a nice, lazy Sunday before we all kick off another week of work.

Happy birthday, T!  I hope you not only have an amazing day, but an amazing year full of fun and surprises :)

March Already?

It's hard for me to believe that I've been working for Twisters for almost two months now.  It's even harder to think about the fact that I've been home for that long and I'm finally settling into a daily routine.  I'm still hunting for engineering positions, but enjoying the mornings and early afternoons I have to get things taken care of.

Yesterday I was finally able to get my car back up to Sacramento for what will hopefully be it's last repair.  It needs a damper installed in the passenger side door and then after that it should be good as new (let's hope it stays that way for some time).  It was a fun but quick trip...there and back in one day.  I left with Alex after I was done working and we got to my house around 4pm.  I gave Alex the "grand tour" and then we played darts in the garage (fun but he totally killed me, as usual).  While doing that I was able to get Annie to come over which was great because I haven't seen her since before I left for Australia.  She was up in the area because her girls were competing at the Byers meet, so it was perfect timing!  Alex and Annie were introduced and then we spent some time watching the live broadcast of SMG competing at Oklahoma before jetting off to La Placita for dinner.  It was a very yummy but interesting meal because my grandparents were also in town.  On a very happy note, my dad looks amazing!  I can't believe how much he was up and about, walking around as if nothing had happened.  His scar is healing nicely and he was even able to give me a hug, yay!  After dinner Alex and I got back in the car (the Maxima this time) and drove back to Stanford.  We arrived around 9:30pm and were both exhausted.  We passed the time by playing a letter game and dancing and singing to some awesome music.  Even though it felt long, it could have been worse.

This afternoon, SWG had their final home meet, which also served as Senior Day for Brownie, JP, and Peach.  It's really hard for me to believe that these three girls are already seniors!!  It seems like yesterday...I won't get into that now.  All of the girls performed well, with bars being the highlight event, and there were some nice senior tribute videos at the end.  I also saw a bunch of the Twisters level 6's that I coach and they got really excited and sat with me when I came down to watch the videos.  SWG came away with the win and had a 196.575 score that will hopefully boost them in the rankings.  It's always nice to get a win over rival Cal and we were also able to tally one over Arizona.  It's now into the home stretch as they get ready for the Pac-12 competition and post-season.

The weather here has been fantastic this weekend and I look forward to the week ahead.  It's T-Dub's birthday next week so there should be some good times had by all and hopefully some fun things to report!