Travel

Happy Halloween

So, whats new…

Jenn and I ventured to Traverse City on Saturday. We were bored, and we have been meaning to go since we moved, so figured lets go. We ventured to Cadillac first, where we went into Peebles, but found nothing. So, on we went to Traverse City, trying to snap photos on the way. I have nine pics, but because of the dreary day it was, the color is very off of what we saw, particularly of Grand Traverse Bay. Once on Traverse City, we went to the mall, and to the outlet strip mall. We didn’t really need anything though, so we didn’t get anything. Next, we went looking for Boone’s Long Lake Inn. I had called my mom to look up directions, and we followed, but missed that we had to turn from South Long Lake to East Long Lake rd, so went too far down and had to come back. Still, it was rather far out of town. Was it worth it? Yes, for me anyway. The 10 oz New York Strip was well over 10 oz, pushing 14+. Jenn’s shrimp were big, but not worth the price, should have ordered the lobster. Whether we will go back is unknown, it was $60 for the 2 of us, and is out there, but was pretty good. Plus, they had Ayinger October Fest, my new favorite beer.

We had an SME meeting today to discuss our trip to Ludington for plant tours next week. We will leave school at 11, tour Whitehall Industries and Great Lakes Casting, have dinner, then return home around 5 or 6 ish.

Jenn is in Saginaw with her Mom and Aunt Mary right now, shopping and what not. She left this afternoon, will return tomorrow sometime.

I think that’s all.

Till next time…

Happy Halloween!

Nick

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Tuesday after class Jenn and I went to Grand Rapids and got new cell phones. Our contract with Sprint had expired and with AT&T buying Cellular One, they should have the best coverage in the state around Christmas. Plus, rollover is pretty darn cool. Our numbers did not change, and you shouldn’t notice any difference, although I need to dial 989 to call people now. We both got RAZR v3xx, mine grey and hers red. I managed to get mine to mostly sync over USB while Jenn’s is syncing better over bluetooth. I needed a plugin to get it working, though Leopard is supposed to have native support when it comes out tomorrow, but it won’t run on my computer. Oh well.

The tree line is pretty well bare now, and with no leaves you can hear the river now. It’s kind of weird, having not heard it before being a good 100 yards away and the leaves insulating the noise since we moved in. At the same time, it would have been cool to hear while sitting outside over summer, rather than only hearing at night when it’s quiet now, and 20 degrees out.

Speaking of weather, low 28 Sunday night, and the dirty 4 letter S word was mentioned on the news (“I’ll take Swords for $400 Alex”, lol, hah!).

OK, when i start doing that, it means nothing else good.

nick

Weekend Alone

Well, not Alone, but without Jenn. She left for Arizona Thursday to see her friend Gwen in Phoenix, and returned on yesterday (Monday).

I went to the Job Fair at Ferris Thursday, which she was still around for, then class, which was uneventful. Friday morning I had class and he snuck the lab in too, so no lab later in the day. That left me a few more hours of free time so I left for bay City around 12.

I took all side roads and even managed to become lost north of Midland. Somehow, it is very easy to take side roads through Mecosta and Isabella County, but once you get to Coleman it all gets screwed up. I have always hated Midland’s roads anyway. Anyhow, I finally crossed into Bay County, and got all excited, and then realized I had never heard of the road I was on, so went south a mile to see what one was next. I ended up at the corner of Garfield and Beaver, and finally remembered how US-10 turns south after the mall, and that since I had been north of 10, I would obviously be very north in Bay County.

Anyway, I finally made my way home, and visited with my Mom for a while. Next, I showed my car off to my Dad, then Todd. Back to home then, pick up Chris and my Mom, and we went to RiverRock for dinner. Once done there, I tried to set up something with everyone from the library but all had plans for Saturday, so I talked with Brandon for a while and then drove around for a bit. I ran to Meijer in Essexville and realized I had not been there since May 17th, almost 5 months before. It was a little weird, familiar but very different. As I drove around a little more, it really hit me that I don’t live in Bay City anymore, and as familiar as it all was, it had become a foreign place.

Saturday morning, I went to the Bay City Mall, and then to Rudy J’s with my Mom. Just before, I had helped her unload a shelf from her truck so my hands were rather dirty from it, so went to wash my hands. This, oddly, is important, because it is the first time I had ever been in Rudy J’s restroom. OK, not that important, but surprising I had been there so many times and never “gone”. Anyway, after that Tim came over to visit, then I went back to my Dad’s to see my Grandma, then headed home.

Everyone liked my car, particularly the color. I am amazed I was as lost as I was in Midland. I mean, I didn’t know where I was exactly for alot of the trip, but I think in Midland was about the most lost I have ever been, and I have never been real lost before. I am going to blame Midland and the Sun, for not shining that day. I went to Weidman for some traveling supplies (Jerky, Vernors, and a honey bun) because the sign gave me a choice of M-20 or Weidman, and I didn’t want to take 20.

So, Sunday I sat around mostly, did a little homework, and made some pretty good chilli.

Monday, Jenn returned after both of my classes.

Today (Yesterday now) I had class, we made stew, and visited the new pet store on Michigan. They have a Jack Dempsey Cichlid about 12″ long, 6″ tall, and 2″ wide. Is scary that our little Jill will get that big in a few years. Heck, in the last month we have had her she has gone from about 2″ to 3″.

So, I think that is all for post number 499.

See you next time.

nick

New Car!!!

I bought a new car yesterday. You should be able to look at it for a while here. The neon was being a real pain in the ass.

Tomorrow I need to run to campus safety to transfer my parking permit, go to class, go get new insurance, check the proof of my student business card, sit for a while, then back to class. Yes, I said student business cards. A. They’re cool, B. Student Employment sold me on them.

Tuesday, I get to pick up my final cards, pick up my suit, and class of course.

Wednesday will be standard class only, so far.

Thursday Jenn leaves for Arizona to see Gwen. Her flight leaves at 5:40ish. Also, is Ferris’s career fair. With any luck I might find my summer internship there.

Friday I have class.

At some point, either Friday or Saturday, I might head to Bay City. There was mention that my Dad would come over to Baldwin for salmon fishing, in which case I would stick around here and go fishing with him. Otherwise though, i will be in Bay City at some point.

Jenn will be back on Tuesday, at 5:40ish PM also.

OK, more on the car. Friday, while being sick, I ran out for some Hawaiian Punch (2 gallons, which are now gone) when the brake rotor decided to lock up. For whatever reason, it decided to lock up worse than normal and I had to pull over and sit and wait for it to cool down. After alot of shit, I was really pissed off, and decided I would have a new car the next day. Saturday morning, we went to the dealership, asked if they had found a car for me yet (after 1 month of having them look) and when they said no, I asked what kind of deal they could make me on something on the lot in leu. I had liked the green-grey / titanium green colored four door for about a month, and after driving it around I decided it was the one. I brought the neon there, and they decided $500 was the best they could offer. Seeing as how I bought in 16 months ago and only paid $1000, a $500 decrease was not really that bad. I hadn’t even put 5000 miles on it yet, it was at 166011 when I signed it over, and had bout with 161300 something. Still, there was a crapload wrong, and $500 was reasonable.

So, I applied for a loan, got one, and we got all the paperwork signed. We got home about 4 after stopping for dinner, and I ended up sleeping for several hours because I was still pretty sick.

Since I just transfered my old insurance from the neon, I don’t have collision on it until tomorrow afternoon. Because of that, I haven’t actually driven it since I got it home. I would obviously be really pissed if something happened.

What else…

So, the car itself, for when the dealership pulls it from Auto Trader…
2005 Ford Focus SE, 23,000 miles, 6 disk MP3 CD changer, 16″ aluminum wheels, rear spoiler, heated seats and lumbar, working air conditioning, working brakes, working suspension, working transmission, working radio, steering wheel mounted stereo controls, working fog lights, and factory warranty until March 31. I actually bought the extended warranty until 2010, since it was only about $10 more per month. That will last until about the time I have graduated, have a decent job, and am looking for a new car by then.

OK, that’s enough.

Till next time…

nick

Post #495

Yes, we are that far along. Post 500 will be sometime in October, probably about 3 weeks.

So, our weekend was eventful. Jenn and I visited the FSU Bookstore Friday and got some shirts for us and one for my dad. He had asked for one when he was here, and knowing we were going to Bay City over the weekend, decided to pick up.

My Mom and Sue stopped by on Friday. They were in Clare to shop at the Amish General Store, and since that put them already halfway, they continued over to here. We gave them the quick tour of town and enjoyed a DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

Saturday Jenn and I left for Bay City around noon, and made pretty good time. We began in Bay City at the mall, where Hagen, Dunlop, Labadie, Thelen, and Graff had brought all their used cars for some supersale. There were a few I kind of liked, but nothing great. Next we went to my house for root beer bottles and to visit, then out to Johnson’s Giant Pumpkins to watch their trebuchet and get some donuts and cider. At first I was all “aww, we saw 2x last year, going to be so-so”, but then I did see it, and I was “WOW, I FORGOT HOW COOL THIS IS!!!!”. Yeah. They also had the prototype of the air cannon he wants to build next.

Next up, was Heinz’ fruit market, for some tomatoes and peppers. Jenn really wanted pumpkins, but I made her wait. We then went back to the mall, to see if we could recheck on a car, that was no longer there. We went to Thelen to see if it was back at the dealership, and having finally found it, was informed it had been sold. Oh well.

Finally, we went to the River of Time. We made a quick walkthrough, bought some rootbeer, both independently considered buying an 1800s map of Michigan without knowing it, and left. I have been to like 15 consecutive years of the event, and it really never changes. Maybe we need some new history?

After that, we headed over to Grandpa Tony’s for dinner, then to the Mall again, this time to shop. I bought a $40 shirt for $9, and that was actually all. Next we went to see my dad and give him his shirt. Following visiting with him and my Grandma, we went to see Todd and Ashley at their new house for a quick tour of that. Around 9:30 by then I believe, we headed home.

Sunday, after all the excitement Saturday, we sat on our asses. Not totally, we watched a movie (“Wild Hogs”, good, but not great, I think we weren’t in a real movie mood), went to Meijer, pulled out my winter clothes, sorted through my side of the closet for things that I never wear, and watched the Sunday night Fox lineup.

So, that was the weekend.

A few little blog related posts:
This (as mentioned) is post 495.
Post 500 will be in October, even if I need to make 4 posts in one day.
The 150,000 word isn’t real far off (this post should put around 140,000).
For the first time, Firefox outranks Safari among my visitors.
I have plans for an overhaul of the themes, more info on the way.

That should be all.

nick

The Wedding

So, after I got out of class Friday (that was just class, nothing great, though we joked a lot, was kind of fun) I came home and Jenn and I packed quickly to leave. We got on the road, and arrived in Auburn around 5:00. Having an hour until rehearsal, we continued on to Bay City, getting to the mall at 5:25, leaving us 10 minutes to get my tux and her to find shoes. Fifteen minutes later, I had my tux (like we would make it on time) and had tried it on, and headed out to Auburn again. Rehearsal went well, about an hour or so. We were certainly not the only ones late so that was OK. Most everyone else went to the hall to setup, but I was excused to go out for my birthday. Before we left, I received my wedding party gift, an engraved beer mug from Things Remembered, the rest received theirs at the hall, the girls got wine goblets. So, Jenn and I went to Famous Dave’s. I called my mom, brother, and dad, but they had already eaten. We enjoyed our dinner, then headed to our hotel (the Quality Inn downtown Bay City, used to be Holiday Inn). Once there, after our stomachs settled, we got bored and went out for some last minute items, including black socks for me.

Saturday morning we got up, I showered and dressed, and Jenn took me out to the church for pics at 12. She headed back to the hotel to get dressed, get her hair done, and all that. Just after I arrived, all the groomsmen took Todd to the Auburn Motel for a drink, though we all just had coke. We got our pics taken and all that, and finally 2:00 rolled around for the ceremony. Ceremony went well. During vows, Todd was smiling ear to ear and nearly giggling, while Ashley was tearing up. Afterward we hung out as everyone left, then boarded the party bus. While enjoying various drinks, we went to the Waterfall Park, the Friendship Shell, and State Park for pictures. At the Waterfall Park, one of the groomsmen ran into the Tiki Lounge for more drinks, and we forgot he was gone, so he isn’t in any of those pictures. A second wedding party also arrived for their own pictures while we were there. Wenona Park we got everyone in the pictures, and got a Captain pose in too. State Park we never actually got out, not sure on the reason for that. We then stopped off at Northland Bar (I think that was name, maybe Northwoods?) on State Park Drive and we all ran in to the restrooms. We tried to get some drinks, but the girls had no ID, so they wouldn’t serve us.

Finally at the hall, we greeted everyone as they came in, then made our way in and to the head table. I was paired with Todd’s sister Holly (the only person in the wedding party I knew, other than the bride and groom) and we were first, and had no idea how to get across the hall. You would think that at a wedding reception, they would make a path for the wedding party to come across the room, and that the people would get out of the way when they saw the wedding party coming through. Nope. Anyway, we finally made it, and the rest of the party followed. Once at the table, it was time for toasts, with the mugs we had gotten the night before, mine being in Jenn’s back seat, who was not yet at the hall. We improvised and it was OK. Next was food. It is nice being able to eat first. Ashley’s Aunt catered, and did a very good job. Following eating the groomsmen cleared away the head table to make room for dancing, the cake was cut, and the fun began. As much as I hate dancing, I tried. I will only slow dance, because you basically stand there and slide your feet around. During the first dance, as Todd and Ashley were dancing before the rest of the wedding party started, we were watching Todd sing the sing into Ashley’s ear, and she was pouring tears.

So, the rest of the night was dancing and this and that. I actually missed the cake cutting, the garter, the bouquet, and I am sure more. Not sure how really. At some point Todd announced to all that it was my birthday. I had thought they were going to do around the cake cutting, but I guess was wrong. At the end of the night, Ashley gave me my birthday cake. I brought it back to hotel, and then to my Mom’s Sunday morning. I really didn’t want on my lap all the way back here, so ate some and left it there. It was very good, but was a big cake and no box. Other than that, my Brother and Dad showed up for reception, my Dad was at ceremony too. We went to Stretch’s after the reception since they kicked us out at 12. Sunday I visited mom and got my birthday present, then we headed home.

My Mom got me a dwarf orange tree, and I got a card from Dad and Grandma. I am 25, so don’t expect from many people anymore. Jenn got me nothing, but is OK, because I got her nothing, and she put out a lot of money on travel and gifts and such for my friends wedding (although I keep telling her Todd is her friend too).

So, we are home. I was too tired to update Sunday evening, and hosting company was relocating yesterday so servers were down. Right now, Todd and Ashley are in Hawaii somewhere.

I guess that is all. Another update in a few days.

I have a few pics, will try and get those up soon.

nick

Lots of Happenings

So, where to begin…

Over the weekend, Jenn and I went to Bay City for Todd’s Bachelor Party. I met up with them at the texan in Essexville where we had dinner, then bid them farewell as they headed toward Midland St., then to the Vu. From what I heard the next morning they had fun, but I am not much of a bar person.

Jenn and I went to see my dad after that, then to see my mom and Chris. After catching up and all that, we headed for our hotel. Quickly bored, we went car shopping as my neon is not real healthy, and I have that nice refund check coming. We found a nice VW GTI, but as it was around 10 on a Saturday night, the dealership was obviously not open. we then went to Essexville to see if her old apartment had been rented out yet, and it was. Next, we stopped by Ideal Party Store where I found Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale. Back at the Hotel, we enjoyed our drinks and ordered Roma’s, and watched Feasing on Asphalt.

The beer is good, but odd. It has a taste of clove and nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. Not bad, but as I said, odd.

Anyway, Sunday morning Jenn and I went back to see the GTI again, and noticed several small things, that quickly added up. It just wasn’t worth the asking price, and even for less you would need to be willing to put in some rather considerable effort. We then headed over to my house to see what was up and wait for my dad to get out of church so we (Jenn, Chris, Dad, and I) could go to Genji. Jenn and I decided to go ahead to Midland to do some shopping, and meet up with the rest there. Of course, my dad called just as we were leaving town, but that was fine.

With some good food in us, we headed to the Midland Mall where Jenn found fuzzy Crocs. As she wears them to work everyday, and the weather will be turning cold soon, they were quickly nabed up and we were on our way home.

Monday, I started school. I began my 2 years at Ferris by being 10 minutes late for my first class, as I underestimated the parking situation. After a mere 50 minutes of Industrial Engineering, I headed home. Jenn and I drove around most of the local dealers, and had some promising news that Phillips Ford may be able to find the car I want, or similar, for the price I want. Jenn then dropped me off at school for my CNC class, and picked my up after so we could peruse the bookstore, which still didn’t have my last book.

Tuesday and today were basically just go to class, come home. Although, today I tried sticking around campus from 11 to 1:30 between my 2 classes, only to have Jenn call me wondering where I was, and remind me my second class is at 3. I still stuck it out, but probably not again.

My classes, for the most part, are OK. My CNC class scares me a little, as I feel possibly under-prepared, but will deal with it. Also, the Manufacturing Program has a rather harsh grading scale, that I will have to deal with. My grades may slip some this semester, but from my Delta average of A, A, A, A-, a little drop is probably OK.

Over Labor Day, we have no real plans. We mentioned possibly going car browsing in Grand Rapids, but I am kind of sick of that. I kind of want to leave it alone until at least after I get money. I want to try and sand and stain the headboard, as it hasn’t been touched in over a month now. If I get that done, it will free up a good amount of space in the office, which would be nice.

Beth emailed all of us tech pages to let us know she got a job at Delta in the Office of Information Technology.

Weekend after this, I go back to Bay City for Todd’s wedding. Will be there Friday evening through Sunday evening.

The 18th, I might go down to Grand Rapids for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Great Lakes Conference. Will depend on if I have a car yet (I should), and what is planned for my second class that day (my first class is cancelled, as the professor is speaking at the conference).

I actually just joined SME online last night. It’s $20 a year, and I save around $100 off my certification test when I graduate. Of course, if I want to remain a member after that, it is significantly higher for a non-student membership. Plus, Ferris’s SME chapter has an annual field trip to Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Detroit, and other surrounding areas to see several manufacturing plants. In 2004, they even went to the Trek bicycle plant.

That is probably all.

See you all later,
nick

Alpena Camping Trip

So, Friday afternoon we left for Alpena, which was about a three and a half hour trip. We stayed at Camper’s Cove, which is about 10 minutes from Jenn’s parent’s house. We made a trip to Wal-mart for some supplies and then had some hot dogs. Saturday we went for breakfast at Jenn’s parents, then came back to the campsite and rented a pontoon for 2 hours and took out Jenn’s mom, sister, and niece and nephew. The kids fished for a while with no success, and I tried swimming. After that, we went out for dinner, then to see Jenn’s grandma. After we got back to our campsite we sat around a bit, then Jenn’s parent’s joined us for some marshmallows. After they left, we made some hobo dinners, then after a bit more sitting we headed to bed.

Sunday, we packed up after the rain ended, then went to Jenn’s parents for lunch, then went with her mom, sister, and Johnny to the putt-putt course and for a go-cart ride, then to 7-11 and home (by the way, big gulp floats are pretty good). After that, we headed home. On the way, we stopped at Big Buck Brewery in Gaylord, which was good. We tried to go to Jay’s, but they were closed.

My Dad is coming tomorrow to visit, so we have been picking up and cleaning here and there in preparation.

OK, that’s it.

nick

It’s a Sad, Sad Day

Jenn and I left Friday for Bay City for the weekend, to go to Munger Potato Festival, see my Uncle Steve and family who are in, and go canoeing. The trip went mostly fine, but our return on Sunday was markedly not. We arrived to find, to our dismay, Chi-chi had passed away. Judging by his state, it had been at least 24 hours before, probably some time Saturday. He was not eating or acting quite the same since we separated him, but he had always eaten a little different from the others. It could have been the lack of constant feeding, a change in water circulation because of the separator, the loneliness of being separated even, or any of several other things. He was just so cool, although sometimes very evil bastardish. It scares me because he was the first, and I would hate if our 4 other fish also passed over the next week or two as well. I’m not sure what we will do, if we will get another Chi-chi, or a different fish, or leave it as is for a while.

So, as I said, bay City was fairly good. We missed Todd in the Demolition Derby Friday, but did see the Figure 8 on Saturday. Jenn’s Parents came down and spent most of Saturday with her, and I accompanied them to Munger to tour the festival. Jenn’s sister and her 2 kids who rode the rides and made it a little more fun. We all went to Rudy J’s after, then Jenn and I went back for the Figure 8 with my Dad and Uncle, which was very good except that a driver had to be taken to the hospital.

Sunday was the canoe trip, which was a bit of a pain in the ass. It was the first time we have tried the 5 hour, and all the really shallow rocky areas seem to be in the section between the 5 hr and 3 hr start points. After tubing here, the Rifle River is a joke. Jenn fell in 4 times, mostly while I was trying to drag us over rocks. One fall the current held the canoe down on her, and another we managed to get out, but the current had the canoe to hard pressed on a rock that it took my and my uncle 5 minutes to free the canoe. Thank god they rent aluminum, or we would have broke it on that one.

Today Jenn works, with a sunburn and several bruises, and rather sore from paddling 28 miles. We actually slept almost 18 straight hours from being tired and off of our normal night schedule. She luckily has tomorrow off though.

Tour de France has wrapped up, I am watching the recaps of what I missed on demand. Will be about 20 min before I see winner, though I have a good idea.

Ok, I wont sit here and wait to post the winner, I will just leave it at this.

Today, btw, is the anniversary of Jenn and I’s first trip to Big Rapids.

Hopefully next update sooner than later.

nick

Vacation Weekend

So, we took a vacation for the weekend, as Jenn had Friday through tomorrow off. Tomorrow isn’t really off, as she goes in to work at 7:30, but kind of. Anyway, we went down to Grand Rapids and got a hotel in Kentwood, and shopped around the two malls for the evening. Dinner was at Carrabba’s, Jenn got the Pasta Weesie (similar to scampi over linguini alfredo) and I had the Linguine Pescatore (shrimp scallops and muscles in a spicy marinara, over linguini). I also had soup, a spicy sausage and lentil, and we split calamari. After dinner we went across to Grandville for a little more shopping, then back to the hotel for bed.

Saturday we went to Holland, to visit the New Holland Brewing Company. We planned to tour their brewery, but we didn’t see any other potential tourers when we arrived, so we went to their pub. We tried the sampler, consisting of their Zoomer, Lucid, Red Tulip, Sundog, Poet, and Mad Hatter brews. We preferred the first three the most, as well as the pint of (hard) Apple Cider we tried. Jenn tried a chocotini, but it was rather bad. We ate as well, I had a phili steak and Jenn a stromboli, both of which were quite good. If you are ever in Holland, we highly recommend it. We walked around a few shops downtown afterward, as we were not in condition to drive, then went to the outlet mall which was rather dead. The mall was next, but also dead, so we said goodbye to Holland.

After a nap, we had some Thai food from a place Jenn heard of from work. Mine had red curry in it, and I regretted it until the next morning, as did anyone within about 25 ft of me. After eating was a little more shopping, a soak in the hot tub, a trip to Steak and Shake, then bed.

Sunday we checked out, and went up to Comstock Park. We had some IHOP, decided we were shopped out, and headed home. About 20 minutes away, we got a call from Jenn’s parents, who were in Clare and wanted to come visit. So, we did a quick cleanup at home, then visited with them for a while. Thery had been up in Soo St. Marie for the weekend, and were on their way down to Mt. Pleasant. We wnet out to eat with them for lunch, and they headed off on their way.

After some sitting and enjoying being home, we had a Meijer run, then more sitting, and that was our weekend.

At Meijer, we got our 5th fish. We have Chi-chi, our Electric Blue Cichlid (sick-lid), Rosy and Barb, our Rosy Barbs, Kitty our Pleco (like a cat-fish), and now Sunny our Electric Yellow Cichlid. Though not the biggest, she is the first, and Chi-chi obviously is dominant over all the other fish, almost to the point I want to remove her. Not forever, just for a week for her to loose her instinct of it being her territory. Maybe adding some more caves and tunnels will help, will try that first.

Part of shopping on Friday was of course a stop at the Apple Store. While there, I eventually got a chance with an iPhone. We were playing with them, and they are quite cool. Jenn decided to try calling and believe it or not, they all have service. I called home from one, but nobody was home. They are cool, but I don’t see the need for one for me.

So, that’s what I have for now.

Scott, you are not supposed to vote “by July 4th” on the 15th, as you obviously will not be here by 11 days ago.

That’s all.

nick