Howeird can it get?

Field Work 2011 Underway

2011-01-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

Well, got everything moved down and set up to do all of this one more time. Yesterday was field trip day. I took the new students around my field area some and showed them what most of the major units look like. We also traced out the Towaliga fualt for quite a ways in Justin's area. I am totally jealous! There was a ridge that must have been 2 miles long and a couple of hundred feet high. I wish I had relief like that!

I spent most of the day today trying to get landowners contact information and getting traverses set up for later this week. Bob is coming down Thursday and Friday to tag along and make sure that Justin and Carissa get off on the right foot. I alreayd have some meetings with landowners set up for early tomorrow morning. I got in touch with the caretaker of a huge tract of land that is owned by some strip club mogul. Unfortunately, the owner wasn't interested in letting me on his property. I can only imagine the stories that could have come out of that one.

And we're off

2010-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just getting started on the first structural geology lab of the semester. It is a bit of a bear, but it is really nice getting back into the stuff I enjoy the most. I measured an awful lots of structures in rocks last spring, but I don't really feel like I have done much structural geology. Hopefully I will learn some things that will change that this fall. :D

2010-07-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

Pay homage to the lighter......

2010-06-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

I got reacquainted with a thought today. Last winter Jonny and I went to my Uncle's house and spent an afternoon building and using bow and drill fire making kits. It was definitely a cool learning experience. There as also definitely something rather primal about making fire by literally making a fire by rubbing a couple of sticks together. Recently, I have started watching a show on TV (no way!). Dual survival is a reality show on the Discovery Channel that puts two survival experts together in adverse conditions and shows how they cope and eventually survive long enough to reach civilization or get rescued. The two guys on the show have styles that are almost polar opposites. One is ex-military and usually fights nature head on using any modern equipment he can get his hands on. The other fellow is a primitive skills expert and tries to live alongside mother nature. It makes for a pretty interesting show because both of the experts actually compliment each other most of the time. Anyways, I suppose watching the show made me start thinking about some of the very limited primitive survival knowledge I have acquired over the years. The thought that I was recently reacquainted with was that is is almost an insult to our ancestors to not carry a lighter with you. :D

With the right materials and conditions, starting a fire with a bow and drill is tough, but not impossible. Only based on my personal experience, a bic lighter in my pocket at all times seems like a damn fine idea. But I like to take it just a little bit farther... Think about the thousands of generations of modern humans who ran around the planet fighting for survival. If we could take a bic lighter back to some hunter-gatherer types a few thousand years ago I think they would have been extremely appreciative. the power to create fire by flicking your thumb across a tiny striker that is small enough to keep in your pocket and contains enough fuel to light several hundred fires is truly an awesome thing!

2010-05-20T09:38:00.001-07:00

The Big Sky and Me.......

2010-05-02T20:47:00.001-07:00

"It was strange that a man could go off and leave a part of him living behind him and have no power over it and no say-so but only the knowledge that there was a live piece of him that wasn't with him. It was as if a man couldn't get free from what he had been and done. He couldn't be himself alone; he had to be all the other men he was, in the season before and the season before that and the season before that. He couldn't stand just by what he did now; he had to stand by what he had done in the past, too. Old Dick Summers would understand if he was around to be talked to. Still, it was all right, all right this time. A man knowing he had got himself a young one was alright. It gave him a different feeling from what he had before, a kind of secret fullness in the chest."
- A.B. Guthrie

This almost made me weep.

2010-03-06T07:55:00.001-08:00

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2010-03-04T09:29:00.001-08:00

Pretty hot stuff

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2010-02-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

Virtual piedmont traverse

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2010-02-26T08:49:00.001-08:00

Dear god the undergrowth

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2010-02-12T10:52:00.001-08:00

Georgia field work in the snow. doesnt get any better

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2010-02-06T09:02:00.001-08:00

Wow

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2010-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

One that didn't quite make it.

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2010-01-29T06:57:00.001-08:00

Mylonite.....Kick ass!

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2010-01-28T06:18:00.001-08:00

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2010-01-23T12:09:00.001-08:00

Ahh georgia

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2010-01-22T09:54:00.001-08:00

My field partner for about an hour

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2010-01-20T12:24:00.001-08:00

I have been on UT's campus all afternoon and it is really just a different world compared to working in the field. The spring semester is in full swing, and all I want to do is walk around in the woods and look at rocks.

I had my 1st committee meeting today. It was really mostly a formailty/get to know you sort of thing. The extents of my field area did change a little bit. Instead of being restricted to the entire High Falls quadrangle the area now includes some of the Indian Springs quad. Hopefully this will allow the mapping done in my area to be connected to much of the other GA piedmont mapping done by fellow Hatcher students. I think this might be a semester of kicking ass and taking names. I am pumped!

2010-01-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was my first real day in the field. I looked at a bunch of aerial photos using Google Earth and studied the topographic map of my field area in order to plan a traverse. Matt and I drove down a little dirt road and then just headed off into the woods along a huge lineament that is pretty obvious from the topo map. I ended up collecting about 20 stations and seeing four different rock types. We came across a really odd metasedimentary rock. I called it a metagraywacke in my notes but it was really almost entirely biotite and quartz. I suppose it could have been formed from a really dirty sandstone (which should still classify it as a metagraywacke) but I had never come across a rock quite like it. We also came across a pretty sweet sheath fold and got a bunch of pictures.

The terrain down here is something else. Really thick foliage (especially briars!) and quite a bit more hilly than I would have thought having just looked at the topo. It is hard to imagine doing field work down here in the spring and summer after everything has grown up. Maybe starting out in the winter just sort of eases you into the idea.

We also jumped a bunch of turkey throughout the day. They were all lucky that it isn't turkey season becuase we must have walked past 10 tree stands. Apparently the woods are a happening place on the weekends around here. I think the plan today is to work some pavement outcrops in Matt's area.

Cheers!

First Day in the Field

2010-01-13T04:45:00.000-08:00

I spent most of the day riding around in my new field area. There is a really odd mixture of subdivisions with shiny new homes packed together and gravel roads with run down single-wides. Apparently there are quite a few people who work in Atlanta who commute all the way from Mcdonough every day. On the Geology side of things, the day was pretty productive. I stopped in at the state park and got some information about contacting the park manager. I hope to convince him that I have a legitimate reason for walking around on the rocks just below the dam at the state park. I found a few promising exposures that I will be going back to in the coming weeks to document. I am really beginning to see the appeal of this whole field work thing. It sure beats going to class and doing homework all night. :D

1st semester, check......

2010-01-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well, the semester turned out alright after quite a few long nights. The much needed christmas break has ended. I just finished packing up some books and quite a bit of gear that I think I may need for field work. On Monday I am going to be moving my things down to McDonough Georgia. An apartment there is going to serve as a field camp for my mapping project. Matt is going to be continuing his work in the area around Jackson. I am going to be mapping the High Falls quad which should contain the Brindle Creek and Towaliga faults. More to come on that end of things later.

I am really hoping that I can use some of the "down time" in the evenings to do some good reading. There are a variety of geology related topics that I need to study for classes I will be taking this fall. I really think between the sheer volume of field work and doing some night time studying, I might really start getting a handle on some things this semester. I will still be teaching a 101 lab at UT as well as doing field work. I am also looking forward to going to the joint NE/SE GSA section meeting in Baltimore in March. Aside from getting to hear some interesting talks, I think there should be quite a few of my friends from undergrad there as well.

Well, I need to get things loaded up in the car. I just moved everything into my new office, and now I am moving half of it right back out. :)

2009-10-23T19:28:00.001-07:00

Definitely starting to feel drained. Another month and a half.....

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2009-08-25T06:19:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Pretty bad ass.....

1st day of grad classes

2009-08-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

Sooo, I went to my first class yesterday and I had a mineralogy quiz about 15 minutes in. Now, the professor didn't take it up for a grade, but still. I am now looking at a list of about 250 minerals that I probably need to memorize. I also have to write a mini-thesis on a petrological description of a thin section. That is all geology-speak for describing the characteristics of a rock sample in great detail. Oh, and I also get to learn how to use the microprobe. All of that is just for my Geochemical Analysis class.

Tectonics is going to end up being very cool, I think. It seems like it will be really laid back and we will spend most of our time just sitting around and discussing the "big picture" aspects of geology. I am pretty excited about that, and I believe we are going to be taking quite a few field trips. Field trips are arguably the best part of studying geology. Anyways, I think I have a paper to write in Tectonics as well, but I get to pick the topic.

I have also pretty much decided I will be doing a mapping project down in the inner piedmont in Georgia next spring. Honestly, I have a hell of a lot to learn about metamorphic rocks. It is going to be an extremely challenging project due to the polydeformed rocks, and the location. There isn't much relief in my field area, and it also happens to be in the SE United States. Outcrops are going to be few and far between.

Well, I am going to cut this one short. I have to go over to the rock room and bust up some big samples so we can make rock/mineral kits for the undergraduates. Yeehaw!

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2009-08-19T07:23:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

yep..... a sock full of smoked-malted-barley, good times

Sock Boil.jpg

2009-08-19T07:21:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

You know it is going to be a good brew when there is a sock boiling involved.

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2009-07-28T10:36:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Fantastic picture of Torin and Dad

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2009-07-11T19:07:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Not the office

Liasons, technological peaks, and rain

2009-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

So, I am a couple of months into my research assistantship. The research group has not yet found any definitive evidence of paleo-earthquakes. At some point this week I am supposed to go and do some recon work with another one of the researchers along some majors rivers in the ETSZ. Hopefully we will find something.

2009-05-31T08:36:00.001-07:00

These are the sort of roads i like to travel on

2009-05-27T15:28:00.001-07:00

SO to recap the last two days of field work.... We spent a whole lot of time driving around....A little bit of time standing in corn fields, wheat fields, hay fields, and cow pastures....and a really short amount of time collecting samples. I had one job the first day out, use the post hole diggers. Well, that worked for about a hole and a half. I ended up breaking the handle off clean near the "pincer" end of the diggers. I am not sure what sort of reputation that will get me. Oops! I figured they must have been a damn nice set of diggers too, they had been just fine since some time in the mid-1970's. That is a pretty good run for a set of wooden handles.

I guess I didn't know my own strength or something.

I am going out in the field for about a week starting tomorrow with another researcher. I am looking forward to being out on the road, but I am really going to miss my weekend home with the family. I am pretty sure that I will just take an extra day or two off at the end of next week so I can make sure and spend plenty of time with them.

First real Day in the Field

2009-05-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

So,today I went to the field with my adviser as well as a couple of other graduate students. Both of the grad students are working in he Piedmont just east of Atlanta, Georgia. These trips are typically used by the graduate students to get some help from our adviser with interpretations of the data they have collected in the field. I asked a lot of questions, but I felt fairly lost for most of the day. I am pretty sure this is to be expected since it has been a few years since I have had an introductory class on metamorphic petrology. I did come away with a good idea of some things I can learn over the summer to make things a bit easier on myself this fall when I start my classes.

On the way down to the field area I told my adviser that was already thinking that I would like to do my masters thesis on a mapping project in the blue ridge or piedmont. I came to UTK to get a really solid background in geologic mapping in very difficult terrain. I am certainly still going to work on the paleoseismic study over the summer, and I may still be involved on some level when the fall comes around. I wouldn't describe my adviser's reaction as overwhelmed with joy when I told him. However, he acknowledged that I would certainly have the option to work on whatever I would like in the fall.

It has been a long day. I think I am going to call the wife, and then read for a bit before I pass out. My brain in serious need of a recharge.

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2009-05-11T19:54:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

On Friday I got to tag along with another grad student to his field mapping area near Newport, TN. It ended up being a really beautiful day outside. The field area is covered with farms that have probably been around for about 200 years. We decided to try and track down some outcrops on the top of a big hill. When we hiked to the top there was a pretty spectacular view to the east where the Blue Ridge mountains are.

This week I am reading up on Appalachian mountain building. I have covered a lot of the topics before, but it has been a couple of years. Neat the end of the week I am going to hang out with the cartographer guy across the hall and learn how to use a couple of new software packages. Sveet.

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2009-05-06T10:53:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

The view from the end of the hallway looking west across campus.

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2009-05-06T10:52:00.003-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

The door to the office I share

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2009-05-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

The view from the office window looking toward South Knoxville.

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2009-05-06T08:37:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Welcome to grad school!

Tossed Gauntlet

2009-05-06T06:48:00.001-07:00

I just looked at the photograph of my office posted in the previous entry. I guess we will find out once and for all which is mightier, the PC or the Mac. I am pretty sure I already know who is going to win that battle, but in the Mac's defense, it is probably quite a bit older than my lappy. Still, it is sort of funny to have both of them sitting side by side on the desk. Maybe I need to put a piece of tape down the center of the desk to keep them from fighting.

New office

2009-05-05T07:26:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Well it isn't much at the moment, but I will work on that. I will post some more photos soon of the building I will be working in as well as some updates on how things are going.

Made it to campus early

2009-05-04T05:16:00.001-07:00

Made it to campus early and even found a parking spot. waiting on someone to show up in my new department now.

2009-04-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

So we are pretty much moved in with the in-laws now. I had a busy couple of days to say the least. we have most of our stuff in storage for the summer. Tomorrow we are going to go camping for a few days in the mountains. Next week we are going to the beach for three days too. w00t

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2009-04-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

Sweet

The End of an Era

2009-04-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

"Sounds like the good end of an era" is how my best friend described my after-work activity. I sat on my porch and smoked a Montecristo cigar and had a couple of beers. It really is the end of an era. The majority of my 20's have been spent working at an engineering firm in Chattanooga. I went to work there in 2002 right after I moved home from Denver. After about two years of working I started back to school and decided that I would like to move over to the Geotechnical and Dam Safety Department.

While I was attending UTC and taking Geology courses I got to work on some pretty cool projects that actually involved a fair amount of Geology. I was fortunate to get some work experience while I was in school.

While I was driving home this afternoon it suddenly sank in that, "Holy shit, I am really going to graduate school in a couple of weeks". I put in my notice six weeks ago, but it really hadn't hit me until today. Work has been pretty busy since I have been wrapping up a couple of pretty large projects. So, I guess this is it, the end of the 20's, got the degree, got married, had a child, went to field camp, managed a couple of high profile jobs, and somehow came out the other end in one piece.

Now on to the 30's...... only time will tell.

Less Than Three Weeks Until Move

2009-03-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sometime this week I need to go and check on getting a storage unit for all of our stuff. The plan, as of today, is to put about 95% of our stuff in storage and spend a couple of months living at my inlaws house. I think I will be traveling quite a bit as a part of my research assistantship this summer. Also, this will give us a couple more months to get all of our credit cards paid off which will be nice.

Last weekend T and I went to talk with a realtor about getting a house in Knoxville. We were sort of hoping to get a really sweet deal on a foreclosure. Apparently, most of those deals are being scooped up by investors, so they are hard for regular people to find. I think we will probably just end up renting a place for the couple of years we are up there. T and t are going up to Knoxville today to look around at some townhomes and condos. We really need some space. Right now we are making due with a 1,000 square foot duplex, and it is really crowded, especially now that we have t. He really needs his own space, and T and I really need our own space for an office. So, hopefully she will come across something that will fit that bill.

I will really only have two more weeks of work after tomorrow. Awesome....

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2009-03-24T10:40:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Alright, so an entirely new level of cuteness has been attained. Seriously, it is almost impossible to be upset with him these days.

2009-03-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.badmovies.org/multimedia/moviesl/meetfeebles1.mpg

Update and musings

2009-03-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

So, I accepted the offer at UT-Knoxville last Thursday. I turned in my notice here at the office. I think my last day is going to be April 17th. I talked with the wife and I think we are going to try and go on a vacation before we move up the road.

There is an extensive laundry list of things I have to do in the next six weeks. Obviously we are going to have to start packing. We will also have to start looking for a place in Knoxville. Also, Tonya will have to start looking for a job of some sort. It is a little daunting, but I am really pumped about getting started on the whole grad school thing.

I am going to start working on a research project this summer with my advisor at UTK. We are going to be looking for evidence of earthquakes in the Tennessee Valley for a government agency. It is going to be a chance for me to get my feet wet with research and also get in some field work. It is going to be an absolutely enormous transition for me I am sure.

Gotta run.... more later

UT-Knoxville

2009-02-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

So..... I did, in fact, get an offer from UT-Knoxville. When I originally applied there it was sort of at the bottom of my list. Since I went up to visit the folks at Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) I have really changed my opinion of them quite a bit. For one, the professor that would be my advisor (if I accept the offer) is pretty much the guy as far as Appalachian Structural Geology goes. Also, their department is particularly well funded. I don't think I will have to spend much of my time writing grant proposals.

On the one hand going to UTK would put me in an extremely advantageous position. I would be free to concentrate on my research without the looming threat of losing funding. If I do end up in academia though, it might be good to know how to write grant proposals. Of course, I am sure I will have the opportunity to see how that entire process of getting money for projects works. I may not get any hands on experience though.

I am really excited about the prospect of actually getting out of my current situation though. I am thankful for all of the experience I have gotten while I was an undergraduate student. I am certainly ready to take the next step in my education though. I plan on really busting my ass, no matter where I end up. This is going to be my opportunity to finally work exclusively on things that really interest me. I plan on taking advantage of that.

More to follow soon. I have to send UTK a reply by March 9th.

Whew

2009-02-18T04:27:00.000-08:00

I got an email from a professor last night which stated I should be getting an official offer to attend graduate school later this week. I was really not enjoying sitting around and waiting to hear something back from someone, anyone at this point. Now, at least I know all of that scrambling around to get all of those applications in on time wasn't a total waste.

Waugh!

2009-02-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

It has been a few weeks since I posted and I suppose it is time for an update. The meeting up at UT-Knoxville went well. I met with Dr. Hatcher and we talked for quite some time about upcoming research and the way things work in the life of grad students there. I also met the acting department chair as well as the graduate admissions chair. Currently, I have the application submitted, but my transcript from UNC still hasn't been added to my application packet. I am a little frustrated about that, but hopefully that will be resolved this week.

I spent almost tow weeks working up at Center Hill Dam immediately after I went to UTK. It was pretty cold weather for drilling, but we made due and got finished ahead of schedule.

The sitting and waiting to hear back portion of applying to graduate school is definitely my least favorite so far.

More Stuff Sent Out

2009-01-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

Sitting here, drinking a home brew, listening to Tool, and contemplating life's many complexities.......

Well, all of that except for the part about the complexities. I am going up to UT-Knoxville on Thursday to talk with one of the professors there. He sent me an email and asked that I be prepared to stay from mid morning until mid afternoon. I am not exactly sure what he has planned, but it sounds like quite an ordeal. Well, I am sure it isn't going to be an ordeal exactly, but it sounds like there is going to be a lot of talking. Hopefully I will get to meet several of the professors as well as some of the administrative staff in the Geology department as well as the graduate school.

I am pretty pumped about this. It seems like I might actually be wearing someone down at this point. :)

I have already got all of the application materials turned in at Stanford and Chapel Hill. I have UTK and NAU still to go. I had sort of forgotten how much of a pain in the ass it is to get all of this crap together.

Oh well, you have to want it right?

laters.....

Supplies for the weekend.

2009-01-07T09:17:00.001-08:00

I looked at the weather forecast today, and it looks like it is supposed to rain in East Tennessee on Saturday. It has been raining all week so far, but perhaps things will dry out a little bit. Last weekend I went to my uncle's house with Jonny and worked on some primitive fire-making. We used flint and steel and also a bow and drill. I am not really sure how many people have started a fire with a bow and drill, but I would say that is a pretty small number in the continental US.

It was actually a pretty inspiring weekend. I started three fires and made my own bow and drill kit. As far as hobbies go it doesn't get much more inexpensive than this. The reason I was looking into the weather this weekend is because I plan to make up some more tinder and char cloth. I might sneak over to my parent's house and take over part of their back yard. I need to make a campfire for a couple of hours to make the charcloth.

Last night I went and bout some materials for the firemaking. I got about 200 yards of jute twine. I will have to unravel this and sort of tease it into filaments like hair.

I also bought 2 yards of monk's cloth which is an untreated, woven, cotton cloth. This stuff will make great char cloth which can be used to catch sparks from flint and steel.

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2009-01-07T09:14:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Torin at 11 weeks, hanging out on the big boy bed. He really does change every day. It is an amazing thing to watch.

2008-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

So, mission effin accomplished on the workout. I jogged for about 25 minutes and then Tonya convinced me to go and do legs afterward. I am pretty sure that I am going to roll out of bed, scream, and fall over first thing in the morning. It felt good to get a workout in though. I am going to try my absolute best to get back into it. I am going to be in the field next fall, like, for real! I have to get my ass to Geologist fighting trim.

2008-12-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

You know there is something terribly wrong with your lifestyle when you go to walmart and realize that the most exercise you have gotten all day is walking to the back of the store to buy some food. I am going to the gym tonight. Seriously.....

I am also sending off the first application for graduate school today. W00t, I am ready to get this show on the road. I still never got an email back from anyone at Stanford. I suppose all they can do is say no, but it would be a damn fine place to study Geology.

TnT

2008-12-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

I don't really think I need to comment on this one.

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2008-12-01T05:20:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

I think this was about 2:30am on Sunday morning. I wasn't really thinking ahead when I decided to start baking bread at around11:00pm, but whatever. I think it turned out pretty damn good. The piece in this photograph was exceptionally good being hot and fresh out of the oven with a healthy slathering of butter (yeah real butter, not that margerine bullshit!)

Between brewing and baking bread.... i am thinking I might have an unhealthy obsession with yeast. Problem? Maybe......

Fantastic picture

2008-11-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

This is awesome for several reasons

2008-11-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

Took Torin for his first shot today. He wasn't really happy about it, but he only cried for a few seconds afterward. He did sort of glare at Tonya and I for awhile with a pout. It was hard to look at him. It was like he knew we were in on it together. We took him there knowing what was going to happen and we didn't even warn him. Poor little guy.

It has been nice for the last few days. I haven't had the GRE hanging over me. Of course, I worked saturday and last night. I sort of had a day off on Sunday, but I just slept and then went to Walmart and what not.

I have been doing some serious thinking about graduate school. I am wrestling with the idea of going for a master's degree initially instead of going straight for my PhD. If I got into a really good school I would be tempted to go ahead and go straight for the PhD. I finally started getting some emails back from professors which is a good sign. I am also starting to get letters or recommendation out and get requests for transcripts sent out. I am a little concerned about how things are going to work out with the family. No matter what sort of stipend I might end up getting, there are going to be some pretty serious changes in everyone's lifestyle. It is one thing to talk about it but another to actually make those changes.

It is going to be really weird to not work.....

2008-11-24T06:00:00.001-08:00

There is really no reason that my office has to sound like a tuberculosis ward every morning. These people need to start getting some more rest or something.

I had a pretty good weekend overall. I worked all day Saturday with Nathaniel. We are almost done with our little remodeling project. All we have left to do on the inside of the house is the trim. It will be nice to have that finished up. Sunday I watched the little one for a few hours while the wife got some much needed rest. Made the big run to Wally World last night. Those hurt, and it is only going to get worse as the boy gets older.

I need to get to it here at the office.

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

2008-11-16T20:05:00.001-08:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

I like to think that one day.... I might get to sleep this well again. Maybe you have to get to the point that other people feed you and wipe your ass again before you can get this sort of rest. :)

2008-11-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yep, totally over going through the GRE practice handbook. I now remember why I never enjoyed algebra. Thank god there is some geometry on that thing. I don't even want to talk about the vocabulary words....

eirug/!9v485!!!!!!!1

2008-11-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Tommy and Andrew and I agree..... we are simply over it.....

2008-11-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

Election day, I guess I know what is going to be on tv tonight. :D Not the regularly scheduled programming, that is for sure. I am going to finish hanging drywall and lay tile tonight. Should be fun stuff. The boy is growing like a weed. It seems like he is a little different every time I come home. I don’t think I will get to see him a whole lot today. I did sneak in a couple of extra hours of sleep last night. I got to see him right before I left for work this morning, but I probably won’t get home until 9:00 or so tonight. Meh, I can always make some time around midnight when he is up eating. I can already tell how easy it would be to really miss out on your kids growing up with work and everything else going on. I am going to try my best to keep that from happening.

I am totally jealous of Dave. He is working Germany this week. No matter what I end up doing, I think that I would like to have a job that involves a fair amount of travelling. I need to work on getting another language under my belt at some point. I can remember all of those people saying Latin was a good choice in high school. What a bunch of crap. I wish I had taken Spanish or German. I know that there is always time for that sort of thing later on. I do much better with some instruction though. Maybe I will look into taking something this spring at the community college. It would be totally worth it.

Back to the grindstone.

2008-10-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

So, the wee man only woke up at 10:30 and 1:30. I don't think I have ever appreciated 5 hours of continuous sleep so much. It is a good thing he is cute. I don't think I would put up with something being so high maintenance otherwise. :D

It's friday, and (ssshhhhh) don't tell anyone, but I don't think I have anything planned for this weekend. I am broke, so maybe it is a good thing that I don't have any plans. I was trying to figure out if November or December was one of the two months in a year that all of us who get paychecks bi-weekely get three checks within the same calendar month.

I have been looking around online a little more seriosuly at graduate schools over the last couple of weeks. I think I might just say eff it and email some professors out of the blue this weekend. I figure it can't hurt to go ahead and let some people know that I am interested in studying with them. I need to read up on their research some more though.

Oh, and Fallout 3 is awesome.

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2008-10-30T06:17:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

Nothing exceptionally interesting going in the cubicle today. But I figured what the hell, I would share. :D

Incidentally, the background on my computer is one of my favorite pictures. Tommy, Jonny and me on a Geology field trip in Death Valley. The photo was taken looking west across Death Valley. I believe that Ubehebe Crater is somewhere in the distance on the right hand side of the photo.

Not the best night

2008-10-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

I am not really sure what his deal was but Torin sort of fussed all night. I think he ate 10 ounces of formula in two hours last night. I think I am going to see if I can't trade my car in on a cow. In the long run I believe it might be cheaper.

Poor little guy though.... I wish he could tell us what he needs instead of him whining and us guessing.

Fatherhood and other recent happenings

2008-10-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

So, the last 4 days have been a total blur. I haven't really had a chance to sit down and reflect on all of it until now, so I figured that I should commit it to digital memory before everything fades away. Last Wednesday night (10/15/2008) my wife and I made a trip down to Chattanooga shortly before midnight. Lots of things were going through my head at the time. Our lives were about to change forever. At around 2:30 am all of the preparations had been made to begin administering pitosin to my wife. I don't think that either of us slept very well in the hospital (does anyone ever sleep well in the hospital?) but we did try and catch a few hours of sleep. Around 6:00 am our doctor made a visit to check on my wife and try to break her water since she had been having contractions for about 3 hours at that point.

I think it was around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning when my inlaws showed up to keep us company. My parents came down from Cleveland a little bit later in the day. That morning, my wife began to complain about being uncomfortable and opted to have an epideral. It took about an hour to get everythnig set up and get the epideral going. The day really crawled by because everyone was just sitting around trying to pass some time while we waited for my wife's body to get ready to have a baby. After approximately 18 hours of labor, the doctor said that my wife was getting close to delivery. All of the family got up and wished us luck, gave my wife some hugs, and proceeded out into the hallway where they would be until everything was over.

It took two hours of pushing to bring my son into the world. I cannot imagine how it must have felt for my wife to go through that even with the epideral. She was completely exhausted by the time it was over. Even though she wasn't in too much pain, her body had already done a huge amount of work throughout the day before she even began pushing. After talking to the family members who were outside the door, they all thought that she was going to need a ceasarean section. I have never been more proud of anyone in my life. I watched how hard she had to work, and how much of the exhaustion she had to push through. The feeling of relief that swept over us both when my son was finally born is unlike anything else I have ever experienced.

So at 8:55 PM on October 16th, 2008 Torin Drake Howard came into the world. We all stayed at the hospital for a couple of nights after the birth. Those two days were a complete blur. Getting the entire family home. I have no way of knowing what the rest of my life holds for me. But I know that I am going to have another person in it now. Perhaps we will have more children, and perhaps not. Either way, Torin is my first child, and my son. He will forever hold a particularly special place in my heart.

Right now I am on the night shift. I don't think that my wife has gotten an especially good nights sleep in several days, so Torin and I are chilling out in the spare bedroom. I have been messing around on the computer and playing some games while he sleeps on the bed behind me. About once every 2 or 3 minutes I will turn around and just make sure that he is still breathing. I am sure this initial anxiety will pass. There is no doubt that almost all new parents go through this stage. He is going to grow up so fast. I hope that I can remember what things are like right now, sitting here with him just sleeping peacefully behind me, forever.

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2008-10-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

The newest member of the family. Born on October 16th at 8:55 pm. What have I gotten myself into? :)

2008-10-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

A lovely way to start out a Monday morning. I got up fairly early and got to the office around 7:00 this morning. I was supposed to be here early to help Dewayne get ready for his trip out of town but, he isn't here yet (8:15). I would imagine it is going to be at least 8:30 before he gets here since he isn't here already. It's not that I mind, but dude.

I have to go back to the soils lab today to take more pictures of dirt. I think we only have around 25 tubes left, but that will still take more than a day (especially since I am not going to get there until late now). It is a nice chill day when I am there, but it is bordering on boring as well. I have to send out some emails to our client this week and try to get them to make some decisions so that we can actually do something with all of this dirt I have been taking pictures of.

This could be the week he arrives. I hope it is. I think it will be a relief to everyone.

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2008-10-11T07:13:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

So here we have a prime example of why my wife and inlaws kick ass. I got four, yep, count em...four beer steins for my birthday. My inlaws don't exactly approve of drinking, but I think they assume that these will be mostly decorative. Heh.....right.

30

2008-10-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, the big Three Oh tomorrow. Time definitely flies and all that jazz. I am turning thirty, and I am going to have a son sometime within the next few weeks. I am really a bit overwhelmed. I can't really describe how I feel about it. My life is never going to be the same. I have been gone for most of the summer, and I would have just been a bystander really even if I had been around. Really going to change things...... a lot.....

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2008-10-05T09:07:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Queazel

So, I would say this means that the baby shower was a success. It is a little hard to tell, but that is a queen size bed completely covered with baby accessories.

The wife loved it though, and it is always fun to watch her have such a good time.

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2008-10-02T19:07:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Decado

I got my big birthday present a few days early. I am sure that I am going to be posting about activities using this guy in the near future. I already spent about 15 minutes loading up some geocaching spots near the office and the house.

I have wanted one of these for years!

Vroom Vroom!

2008-09-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

So, I sat down with the wife last night and started discussing motorcycles. I have been wanting one for years, but I have just never gotten around to it. In light of the recent gas shortage I believe that the time has come. We still have some credit cards we need to get paid off but sometime after the beginning of 2009 I think I might be getting something. Conservatively speaking, if I had a payment of $120/month I would break even since I would be saving so much gas. Now of course I have in mind the bike that I should probably try and get and I also have in mind the bike I would really like to have. Only time will tell which one actually ends up in the garage. I am really hoping it is the Ducati though.

I think Dewayne and I might take a riding course together. He hasn't been on a motorcycle in about 25 years and I have only been on the back of one. I am really looking forward to learning though!

Ahhh, payday..... gotta love it. The bank account will look good for a couple of days at least.

No dam way

2008-09-24T05:29:00.001-07:00

It is shaping up to be a decent day. I told the lead geologist at Chickamauga Dam that I wasn't interested in working for them right now. It was an internship position and I really want to pursue graduate school. It would be a really sweet opportunity to learn all about engineering geology and whoever gets the job will certainly get some experience that isn't easy to come by. I really did think about the opportunity a lot and I finally decided that it just was not the direction that I want to take right now. Maybe someday a job like that will seem like a good fit.

It was almost like there was a weight lifted off of my shoulders when I sent the email asking to be taken out of the pool of applicants. On one hand I felt a little like I was letting go of something I shouldn't have, but I also felt a bit of relief. Now I feel like I can really focus on graduate school, the GRE, etc.

One of the cutest pictures ever

2008-09-23T08:50:00.001-07:00

So, I was at my parents house a few weeks ago and I came across this one. Me at 8 years old with the Jolly Green on my lap. Too damn cute.....

Back to the grind

2008-09-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

As I said in my post yesterday I am not too thrilled about being back from vacation. However, this week is really the first full one since May that I have been around in the office. I am trying my best to get up at a decent hour and get into the office. I hate working until 5:00 PM. Also, I talked to the boss yesterday and he was cool with me taking a late lunch around 2:00 and going to the gym to work out. I haven't been able to have a decent workout schedule for the last three or four months, so I am looking forward to getting back to that as well.

The weekend was exactly what I needed though. It was like I got to turn my brain off for three days. I have to say, that was a pretty nice feeling.

On the to-do list today, getting that voter registration card sent off. I am not sitting it out this election.

Well, time to get things packed up, grab a coffee, and take the scenic route to work.

2008-09-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

Ahhh the Monday after a vacation.....is there any worse way to start a week. I have a decent sized report to get started on. I am sort of looking forward to getting started on it since it will essentially wrap up the project I have been working on all summer. Speaking of which, I think I will add some pictures from that project from a later post.

I really need to get my ass in gear and start studying for the GRE as well. I told myself that I would start studying in earnest after my little vacation.

Oh, totally purchased a SWEET Boba Fett keychain last night. I have to act like an 8 year old on occasion. I think it keeps me young. :)

The last vacation

2008-09-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

So, apparently this weekend is it. This will be the very last time that I get to go on vacation by myself without feeling guilty. I had better make it count. I should not miss this opportunity. I had better enjoy it.

Personally, I think that is a bunch of bullshit. :)

Those are the sorts of things that I have been hearing about this upcoming weekend. All of my friends and coworkers have been telling me that taking a trip by myself to hang out with my best friend this weekend is about to be a novelty. Apparently, once you have a child these things are nigh impossible. Even if I did get to go I would have to deal with an extremely pissed off wife who thinks that I have abandoned her, and that I would not be pulling my weight if I leave.

I am not officially a father yet. In a few weeks I will be though. I really do believe that my marriage is different. These predictions about how my life is about to change are not all that different than those I heard when I got married. I was not going to be able to go and do the things I enjoyed anymore. After hearing all of these comments I have come to the conclusion that there must be a whole hell of a lot of angry people out there. I am not sure if I simply lucked out and ended up with a wife that is especially cool or if the fact that she and I have great communication is responsible. I do know that things have definitely not turned out like all of my friends predicted. I am very happily married. My wife and I do things together all the time (which is sort of why we got married....we like each other), but I also do plenty of things on my own with my buddies.

I am not complain about the advice. I appreciate everyone trying to give me a heads up. Unfortunately, all of that advice just makes me feel sorry for all of those people out there. I don't think things have to be that way. That is just no way to live.

1st

2008-09-09T12:49:00.001-07:00

So, this is the first post where I suppose I am supposed to go on and on about why I started this blog, who I am, what I am doing, and where I am going. Well I figure that I can get to that soon enough. Plus, I should probably get back to work. More later.....