Todd's Life

Nice Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Saturday was boring...I went to Goodwill to drop off my fiancee's last load of clothes and other items, and then I went to the recycling center in Upland to drop off my aluminum cans.

8 AM Sunday morning, Mark, John, and I rented a Penske truck from Pomona and moved my fiancee out of her apartment in Glendora. The rental place didn't have the truck I reserved, so they gave me an enormous diesel truck. It was pretty difficult to drive, but easy to get the hang of. We were done packing the truck by 11:30. After we unloaded the truck at the storage unit in Upland, we took the truck back to Pomona, fueled it (I got kerosene-smelling diesel fuel all over my hands), and took it back to the rental shop.

Afterward, we treated Mark and John to Dave n' Buster's at Ontario Mills. Stacy and I were so grateful that everything went so smoothly. We could not have asked for a better move!

Rusty

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Rusty the old dog ran away on Sunday night from Montclair, and was gone for four days. They just found him this morning in western Pomona. What a long walk! I'm so glad he's OK!

Not Much

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Not much happened last night. I did my laundry and sat by the pool with my neighbor Mark for a couple of hours.

My fiancee and I will get most of the remaining packing done tonight and tomorrow night when I'm staying with her, and Sunday's move should go as planned. I rented a Penske truck as usual, because they are always brand new. I think they sell them to U-Haul when they get old! This morning was cold (for So Cal, at least), with temperatures in the mid 40's. There was a three-car pileup on the 210 at Mountain this morning, and traffic was backed up past Carnelian. It was a mess. I also forgot to set my second alarm last night for 5:45, so I overslept till 6:30. I hate waking up, getting ready, and immediately running out the door. I usually spend 30-45 minutes watching TV so I can "wake up" before driving to work, but not today. Oh well! I'm getting pretty hungry, so I'll eat at 11:00 this morning. Mexican sounds good! A bean and cheese burrito, extra cheese, and a beef taco with a hard shell. Mmmmmmmmm.....

Last Few Days at Work in Pomona

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:26:00 +0000

I decided to take some time out of my not-so-busy day and blog about nothing. Heck, I don't really care much. I don't have all that much to do, just a couple of easy lab analyses. My only dilemma now is whether or not I should start a new analysis with only 3 hours left in my day. I don't want to do any unpaid overtime during my last couple of weeks here. I have gained valuable experience here, even though it was a little unfulfilling due to the seemingly permanent hold put on the project I was hired to complete.

Tonight I plan to do my laundry, including my bed sheets, and possibly get some cleaning done before the end of the night. I will stay with Stacy tomorrow and Thursday nights, and I hope we get all the packing done.

2012

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Saturday was a cool, relaxing day...All I did was sit around and watch TV. My fiancee was out running errands, so I decided to relax. In the evening, Mark, John, and I went to see 2012 at the Ontario Mills AMC. The movie was horrible. Full of action, but not much else. No story line, a very liberal political message, and the actors always seemed to defeat impossible odds. We all agreed that it was a waste of money. I slept pretty well Saturday night, and then I went to church with Stacy and her mom Sunday morning. We ate at Millie's, a really good restaurant in Covina, for breakfast. I spent the rest of the day helping Stacy pack for her move next Sunday.

Quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:22:00 +0000

I haven't blogged since February 2009, but I'm going to start this thing going again to chronicle my life as a newly expecting father. Much has happened since I last blogged, so I won't even bother trying to say anything.

I have to go home tonight to do my laundry, which has been piling up for a while. I've been at my fiancee's apartment for the past couple of days. Last night I took care of some stuff at the church where our wedding will be in April (Sacred Heart in Covina, CA). Our counselor gave us some tasks to perform before our next appointment in a couple of weeks, so I took care of them quickly.

Here is my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/ToddTheChemist
And my updated photo albums: http://community.webshots.com/user/toddthetank

Laid Off

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:58:00 +0000

I got laid off from work yesterday morning. They came and got us one by one. When all was said and done, our entire Analytical Development department was canned on the spot, along with many administrative and maintenance employees. I spent the day today talking with recruiters and job prospects, but I have room to be picky about salary. I got a very good severance package from my employer, which was a very nice gesture for a smooth transition to another stable job.

In all actuality, I needed a change. I have been flirting with changing jobs for some time now, and now I'm forced to change jobs. I just didn't want to leave a stable job and position myself on the bottom of the totem pole at a new company in this economy. It's in my nature to get tired of the same job tasks once a job switches from "learning new things" to "repetitive." From the looks of things, I won't have very much trouble finding a new job. I have many connections in the field who know how I work.

A Mushy Message:
To all those I leave behind, it has been great working with you over the past couple of years. I will have the opportunity to work with many of you again somewhere down the road, and I will no doubt stay in touch with as many of you as I can. To my former company and project directors, thanks for allowing me to learn so much through the hands-on experience and teaching possibilities you have given me; with no other company would I have been able to perform such a diverse and wide array of duties with my initial level of experience. From HPLC problem-solving to softball and holiday parties, the memories will forever remain with me.

The Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Last weekend (Super Bowl 2009 weekend) was a good de-stresser. Saturday was spent sitting around all day, unwinding from the long week at work. Sunday, Markie, John and I went paint ballin up in the mountains. To make a long story short, I got ambushed. I took a direct hit off the top of my head, and my Dickie's jacket is now trash. But I'm old enough to make my own decisions (even bad ones). I just washed it, and when I pulled it out I noticed the resemblance of the jacket is closer to that of a painter's outfit. Oh well, no biggie. Afterwards, I took a well-deserved shower and we all watched the Super Bowl. Let's just say it reminded me why I'm not much of a football fan. The sport kinda sucks. But that means Spring Training is right around the corner! Go Padres and Angels!

This past weekend's photos are posted on my Webshots account at http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569901025EmpNtH.

The Weekend in Alta Loma

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:15:00 +0000

This past weekend was a long one that tired me out. It was fun, though. I took lots of family pictures, which I will post tonight. Hang tight!

Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging (INTJ)

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:54:00 +0000

This morning I got to work super early, so I decided to do a little web surfing. I ran across this long survey that asks lots of questions on how I react to certain events and how my personality affects the way I perceive and accomplish things. Questions also asked how I organize my desk and lab spaces at work, how I react to learning situations alongside large groups of people, how my emotions play into my motivation for doing work, and how detail-oriented I tend to be. Here are the results, taken from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JungType.htm:

My type is: INTJ (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging)

% Strength of Preferences:
Introverted: 56
Intuitive: 62
Thinking: 1
Judging: 67

I am a:
Moderately expressed introvert
Distinctively expressed intuitive personality
Slightly expressed thinking personality
Distinctively expressed judging personality

When I conducted a search, I found tons of information about my personality. I was shocked at the accuracy of most of the information I read, and I can easily align these traits with the way I actually am. Two sites were of greatest help:

http://www.keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=mastermind
This site gives a general overview of current established psychological views on the INTJ personality, describing it as the "Rational Portrait of the Mastermind." The site also lists several famous people with that personality, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sir Isaac Newton, Peter Jennings, and Alan Greenspan.

http://typelogic.com/intj.html
This site provides a very comprehensive analysis of INTJ and seems to adhere to current viewpoints.

I have probably bored the heck out of my audience (if I even have one) over this crap. But I decided to tell the world about my findings anyway. I was both shocked and intrigued about the information I read this morning.

Anyways, I finally got a haircut tonight. I have been pulling massive amounts of overtime at work and am again at the point of mental exhaustion. It's hard to get anything done outside of work when I come home late. But at least I'm dead efficient (and I still have a job hehe).

Mt. Cuyamaca Hike

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:02:00 +0000

Today Joey, Ivan, and I climbed Mt. Cuyamaca in east San Diego county. The peak marks the second highest point in San Diego county, and it's within Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Expecting to see beautiful pine forests interlaced with rolling hills of oak, I was surprised to see mile upon mile of dead, burned out forests, with the only living plant life sitting 4-5' above the ground. When we arrived at the trail head, the conditions were partly cloudy, cold (~50 F), and breezy. Not too many hikers were out.

I had forgotten that Cuyamaca was ravaged by the Cedar Fire in October 2003, and judging from the total devastation of everything as far as the eye can see, the intensity of this fire must have been extreme. Over five years of aggressive replanting and seeding have yet to show . Barely a single tree that we passed by survived after the fires. The entire place was a dark, foggy scene out of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Giant charcoal toothpicks rise out of green shrubbery, and giant burned, fallen trees were scattered every which way over the trail. I assume they had recently fallen under the stress of nature taking its inevitable course. When silent, we could even hear the cracking of nearby dead tree trunks, ready to fall under the wind and cold. Usually after fires, some trees regain life, but here, not more than a few trees per mile remain. It was hard to fathom that this place was once considered one of the jewels of San Diego, a very popular destination for those seeking a quick getaway for the weekend. Thick, thriving pine forests and lower-lying oak trees once characterized Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. You can read about the history here.

Cal fire was running lots of control burns of the foliage along the side of the fire road (to get equipment in and out of there in the event of another fire). Small fires, which had seemingly been burning for two days or more, were all over the place, with no one watching them. Close to the summit, two oak tree trunks were on fire, and no one was around, so I guess lightning struck them a day or two ago and went unreported (or no authorities cared). They provided a good source of warmth in such a cold place. These random fires added to the melancholy setting. We were constantly reminded that this poor place just can't catch a break.

Anyway, we started up the mountain, which is a 6.7-mile loop trail out and back. The weather quickly turned foggy and drizzly. We saw a large group of deer along the way. About 2.5 miles up, dirt trail turns into a steep, well-maintained fire road that leads to the top. Once we got to the top, the temperature was around 25 F (my intuition), and it was extremely foggy and windy. Ice was everywhere, with patches of snow here and there. Several radio and cell phone towers dotted the summit. We were the only crazy people there. Being my typical self, I only wore a long sleeve t shirt, and my ears, nose, and fingers were all numb. Pretty dumb of me.

The peak is 6,512 feet above sea level. The elevation gain from the parking lot at the campgrounds was about 1,500 feet. All in all, it was a fun hike and I'm ready to go back soon. This popular hike is described at http://localhikes.com/Hi kes/Cuymaca_Peek_7320.asp.

The online photo album can be found at: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2459582210067617085hMPpEi

Burnout

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:50:00 +0000

I'm close to reaching the point of burnout at my work. This is due to the fact that we have lots of projects to complete before the end of the month and not a lot of people to complete them all. In fact, it's me and another person in charge of completing everything. I worked almost 60 hours last week, and this week I think I might just hit 60 hours. Although I'm not complaining, I usually reach a wall where I can't think or perform my duties assigned to me. I decided to only work nine hours today so I can get a good night's sleep and catch fire in the lab tomorrow.

When there's a lot of work to be done, I am happier. I just hope I can continue to perform my duties to the fullest of my abilities.

Call of Duty: World at War

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:52:00 +0000

I purchased the Windows PC game Call of Duty World at War a couple of weeks ago on pre-order. It finally came out yesterday, and I went to Best Buy on my lunch break to pick it up. I installed it after work, and it's simply INSANE. I played the game on the highest resolution possible, and my computer handled it nicely. Everything looks so real. Before I sold my previous game, Medal of Honor Airborne, I plowed right through the game with ease. Call of Duty World at War, though, will be no cake walk. Bodies and appendages stack up so high it's hard to move when under fire, language is very foul, and injuries, burns, and bullet holes are very realistic. I'm going to have a great time with it.

Fork in the Road

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:24:00 +0000

On Saturday, Ben moved all of his stuff out of the house, bound for Austin, TX to start a new life. He got transferred to a new office. A huge North American big rig showed up, along with about 7 guys, to help him move. I took a long drive around East County to stay out of their way. I went through El Cajon, Julian, Cuyamaca, and returned through Ramona and Poway. I noticed a lot of folks still have not rebuilt their homes, and are still living in motor homes placed on the burned-out properties. Joey was out of town, and Ivan was, well, God knows where. It was a pretty uneventful day.

Sunday, I ran in a 10K, the Mission Inn Run, in Riverside, CA. I ran 10K (6.2 miles) in 49 minutes, 49 seconds. The coworker I went with ran it in about 52 minutes. I couldn't help but notice that a man in the 75-80 age group ran it in 55 minutes, and a man in the 80-85 age group ran it in 1 hour, 5 minutes. Holy crap! However rare these times are for individuals that age, it's great motivation for me to continue running my whole life. I think jogging at that age is a combination of luck and extremely hard work combined with a healthy lifestyle. Keep going!

This week at work so far has been hectic. We are trying to stay as busy as possible, and that seems to keep our spirits up. We have plenty of work for now.

Lagging Behind

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:46:00 +0000

I'm really starting to lag behind on the whole grad school application process. The essay (personal statement) portion of the application is no longer appealing to me, and I have no enthusiasm left. I don't care, either. I will get it done this week, or maybe two weeks from now. Oh well. I can't send the apps until I have talked to my letters of rec, but I don't really care about that, either. I'm in a motivational rut, so far down into the abyss that I don't care about being in a rut. The whole GRE exam disaster really killed the whole thing for me. I can't put much effort into something that's going to prove futile regardless of what I do.

Something good is going on with me as of late, which I will not talk about here, but It's safe to say I can't think about anything else. It's easy to guess what that is. Oh well.

I Love Toyota (and Midas)

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:42:00 +0000

Early Saturday morning, I took the Scion tC to Discount Tire to have the tires rotated. I then went to Midas (on the other side of the parking lot) to have my brakes inspected, since they have 30,000 miles on them. They did a full 30,000-mile checkup on my car for free! They checked the car inside and out, including everything under the hood and the suspension. Not only did they not find a single issue with the vehicle, the brakes still look brand new! One comment they did make was that the external condition of the car was pitifully dirty and needed attention. But I got that taken care of yesterday afternoon. I also put new windshield wipers on the car.

The employees at Midas were courteous and honest with me. I wish all automotive maintenance facilities were like that. For anywone who does not perform car maintenance themselves, I would definitely recommend Midas for checkups, brakes, and oil changes instead of the notoriously shady lube shops. It's widely known which ones I'm talking about. Midas prides itself on honesty and customer service and it shows.

Now the tC is very happy with me and will go over 300,000 miles! Maybe that's wishful thinking :(

Getting Stuff Together

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:16:00 +0000

For this upcoming week, my goals are set. I am going to kindly chat with my potential letters of recommendation and make sure they feel comfortable writing them. I am going to start writing my personal statements and looking into potential graduate advisers at Oregon State and Washington State to guide me through my PhD research (and whom I will hopefully work for). I will attempt to match the interests of about three professors from each potential university with the experience I already have and tie in that experience with what I hope to achieve in graduate school. Last, I will look into other money-making possibilities, such as a teacher's assistant or an unrelated lab.

Next weekend I will wrap up the essay and fill out information to give to each of my five letters or recommendation. Hopefully, all my depressing unofficial transcripts and pitiful GRE scores will have arrived so I can send them with the final applications.

OK, let me be honest with myself. Full admission to either of these schools for a PhD will be a LONG shot. Fortunately, I already know that and am not afraid of failure. I plan to write sparkling personal statements and get excellent letters of recommendation. Everyone believes in me, especially those I work with.

MCAS Airshow 2008

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:20:00 +0000

The MCAS Miramar Airshow 2008 was a huge step up from last year. The weather was much better, considering most of the Night Show performers were rained out. The fireworks display was great, but the Wall of Fire ignition box got wet when it rained. It took about 30 minutes for the Marines to install a manual ignition switch, and when they did, it went perfectly. Throughout the day, we were treated to demos from the F-22 Raptor, the Blue Angels, the Harrier, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, and an FA-18 Super Hornet. Civilian performers included the Red Bull MiG-17 and the Oracle Challenger.

I got overtired, I guess from sitting in the sun all day. I had a bad headache behind my right eye, and so I took a nap in the car between the day and night shows, which helped a lot. I posted the photos from this excursion at http://good-times.webshots.com/album/567905841amEMmb.

The next day, on Sunday, October 5, Markie and I went to see the Desert View Tower in the desert 80 miles from San Diego. The top of the tower gave us marvelous views of the Imperial Valley. Near it were a couple of hiking trails with large, Joshua Tree National Park-esque rocks carved into by a sick man who escaped the humidity of coastal San Diego to soothe his ailments during the depression era. After stomping around that area, we went all the way to El Centro, up through the Salton Sea, back through Palm Springs, and into Rancho Cucamonga, where our weekend fun ended. I had to drop him off for work the next day. Photos from the Desert View Tower are posted at http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/567908734vDEYkK.

Weekend Photos

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:51:00 +0000

I took tons of photos over the weekend. Markie and I went all over Southern California. Saturday was the Miramar Air Show, and on Sunday we went to see the Desert Towers in Jacumba, CA, the Imperial Valley for some amateur model rocket launches, the Salton Sea, and back to Rancho Cucamonga to drop off my brother.

Due to my studies for the week, I'm not quite sure when I will get around to posting the photos. I have to learn a ton of material by the end of Friday, and it's probably not going to happen :(. I'm have a huge disadvantage to people straight out of college; it's been almost 4 years since I graduated, and I cannot study after work! Lord knows what the scores will be...

Miramar Air Show Excitement

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:34:00 +0000

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, my brother and I will be attending the all-day and twilight airshow at Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, the former TOPGUN training facility and subject of the movie named as such. I can hardly wait! We will get to see demos from the F-22 Raptor, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the FA-18 Super Hornet, the Red Bull MiG-17, and the Blue Angels, to name a few. The show starts around 9 AM and continues until the record-setting Wall of Fire and the spectacular (and potentially dangerous) fireworks display.

I heard all the jets practicing while walking from building to building yesterday at work. That really provoked my excitement and curiosity!

I'm traveling up to Rancho Cucamonga tonight to pick up my brother. It will be really nice to have a guest for a change! I will take lots of photos throughout the day. Unfortunately, just like last year and the year before, San Diego's first rain since spring is expected the Saturday of the airshow. God, I sure hope it doesn't rain. If it starts to rain, Markie and I will have to drink our beers inside the Chinook helicopter, as we did last year and the year before.

Flash of Genius

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:44:00 +0000

I was given tickets yesterday to a advance screening of the new movie Flash of Genius starring Jake Abel. It officially comes out Friday October 3, but I got to see it last night...ha ha! The movie is a true story about a man named Dennis Kearns who independently invents the intermittent windshield wiper. He tries to sell the idea to the Ford Motor Corporation, who shows a lot of interest in his invention. Ford had been having lots of trouble developing the intermittent wiper blade up to that point, and so they gave Kearns a deal worth a lot of money for his idea. Shortly after Kearns sends a sample wiper blade to Ford for mass production and inclusion on a line of vehicles, Ford mysteriously backs out of the deal. A few years later, Ford introduces a Mustang equipped with intermittent wiper blades having exactly the same circuit sequence and design as Kearns' original model.

Kearns spends the next decade of his life seeking compensation from the Ford Motor Company for their sleaze. His marriage fails, he alienates his children, loses his job as engineering professor at Wayne State University, and at one point gets admitted into a mental institution. But he never stopped fighting. I won't give the end of the movie away, but it has a great ending.

An article about the true story can be found here: http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/NEWS23/808170383.

Anyways, I need to hit the books. I am extremely tired of studying this GRE crap. My mind is failing, and I don't study very well after work. I have a monumental amount of online courses left to take, and I only have nine more days until my PrincetonReview.com subscription runs out. I'm extremely flustered.

Weekend Productivity

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:03:00 +0000

The weekend was spent being generally productive. Friday night, I studied the princetonreview.com GRE material for a while and went to bed early. Saturday, I woke up at 9 AM, went running, and went to work for three hours. I then bought some oil for my oil change Sunday.

Sunday was very productive. I did laundry, memorized some note cards, and then changed the oil in the Scion tC. I completed the day studying some more. Too much studying, but I guess I can say I'm getting a little nervous about this whole thing. My scores are not where I want them to be, and I've always been disastrously bad at taking multiple choice exams due to my inability to choose my first answer. I have to think clearly and hope for the best.

Motivation

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:42:00 +0000

Yesterday was another productive day, from a work standpoint. I was able to finish a lingering project with no difficulty. The day went by very fast! After work, I attended a going away party at Rock Bottom Brewery in La Jolla for yet another departing coworker. My manager and a couple of people in my group also attended. I had a long chat with my manager about my long-term career goals, and I have to say, thank God for him. He is an inspiration to me, and knows the scary good things my mind is capable of producing. He is behind my grad school interests 100%.

I just woke up from a long, much-needed sleep. I plan to go running once my body wakes up for the day, and then it's off to work again. The end of this month will be much better for us this time, and I PLAN on working only a couple of hours today.

Coming Along

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:36:00 +0000

I was able to get off work at 4:30 PM yesterday, after a pretty long day of lab work. I headed home and continued studying for my GRE exam, and studied until about 9:30 PM, when Joey put on a movie. The studying is really coming along.

We watched the 2007 movie Run Fatboy Run, a film about an unmotivated Londoner with no direction in his life. He left his fiancee at the altar five years before, and in order to win her back from a rich American investment banker, he changes his life around and runs a marathon (with an inspirational twist). The movie is humorous, but it also appeals to the emotional senses. I planned to go to bed around 10 PM, but the flick had my full attention from start to finish. I give it 3.5 stars.

Ugly Summer

noreply@blogger.com (ToddTheTank) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:16:00 +0000

This morning I woke up to a bright scene outside my window. But it wasn't direct sunlight; it was the accentuation of the sun's rays through the thick layer of white morning fog that has become so common for San Diego throughout the entire summer of 2008. This summer was by far the coolest, ugliest, cloudiest, and most boring summer I have experienced since I moved to San Diego in 2001. We never had a single 95-degree-plus heat wave (which is good I guess), and no weather at all to speak of, save for one day of thunderstorms in early August. I took a photo of the weather outside my office building this morning on my Apple iPhone. Look at how ugly it is!

I got a very good night's sleep last night for the first time in a long time. I was able to find the self-control to go to bed before 11 PM, which is the main reason for my lack of sleep. I sleep like a rock when I actually go to bed, but I'm so wired (and tired) after work and a long run that I don't go to bed on time.