The Past Few Weeks (Part 1): Including a trip through time, a trip to Ohio and the airplane man

So, already I am a blogger failure! I start up this blog and then don't write anything on it for weeks! Well, my excuse is that I had a lot of things going on. So I'm going to try and hit the highlights of my exciting life for the past few weeks.



TIME TRAVEL:


First, I got the opportunity to take a little trip back to the Portland area to see old friends and visit my family. For those of you who have known me for awhile, you know that I have very elderly grandparents living in Sherwood. I love them dearly but it's been hard to watch them as they slowly decline in health. My grandmother has been especially sick for ages. Well, the doctors tell us that things are truly coming to an end. She stopped eating and rarely gets out of bed. With my move, I haven't had a chance to get over to see her since January. I was glad to get to see her once more and spend a little bit of time with her even though there isn't much of her personality left (she has severe dementia).


On a much happier note, I was able to connect with my old friend/roommate KT. One thing I love about KT is how we are able to just pick up as if no time has past at all! Fifteen minutes into the visit we were thumbing through an IKEA catalogue pointing out the things we loved. KT has an amazingly devoted husband and two beautiful daughters. I love spending time with them and seeing how much the girls have grown.



Here's KT and I at graduation:









COLUMBUS, HERE I COME!

So, after my little nostalgic visit. I took a week long business trip to Columbus, OH to help man a booth and do a little recruiting for the lab at the IEEE Visualization Conference. Many of you have been asking about what exactly my new job is, so here is the run down. I work at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory which is a Department of Energy laboratory as a recruiter. Now, this particular national lab happens to be run by a company called Battelle. Battelle is the largest not for profit research organization in the world and, conveniently, it happens to also be headquartered in Columbus, OH.

Here's a shot of the corporate HQ:

My first day in town, I got a little tour of the corporate office and I also got to pay homage to the first xerox copy machine, developed by Battelle scientists, which is a must for any Battelle employee (http://www.battelle.org/timeline/index.html).

The rest of the week, I learned a lot about visual analytics and the research going on at the lab. It was a very productive week and I made some great connections in and out of the lab. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Columbus! Especially the area near Ohio State University was so cute!

The little down town area:

Some cute houses near campus:

Hanging out at the Schmidt's Sausage House - John McCain has eaten here! (This of course would be a lot more significant if he were our future President, sigh.):

So, the only thing I was not so crazy about was the stupid Buckeyes! OMG, I have never see a town so obsessed with a stupid football team. Absolutely every store, every restaurant, every hotel, every gas station had a little shrine to OSU! It was completely ridiculous!

ENTER AIRPLANE MAN - THE MAN OF MY DREAMS? MAYBE

Later that week, I prepared myself for a long flight home full of trashy gossip magazines and Sudoku puzzles. As I was sitting in my seat waiting for the rest of the passengers to load, I began playing that game where you guess who is going to sit next to you. First, a lady with a screaming baby comes down the aisle . . . . whew, she takes a seat a few rows up next to a very nervous looking business man in a nice suit. Second comes the man who should have selected to have two seats, you hope and pray that you are not going to be crowded between him and the lethal drink cart the whole trip but luckily he passes you by. Then the clouds part and a ray of light illuminates potentially the perfect man. He's cute, but not too cute. Definitely around the right age. Blond . . . . always a must. Dressed well, clean cut. Of course, after your moment of awe, you completely disregard him because that sort of guy never actually ends up sitting next to you. Wait a minute! I believe he is the 7A to my 7B! A match made in heaven.

Alas, the tail ends poorly. After an amazing flight, 4 hours of conversation, the realization that he is single, probably a Christian, has strong family values, a good job, hates sports and the Buckeyes . . . I flake out and don't give him my number. I just got so flustered when we deplaned I didn't have the guts to hand him my card and I didn't fully catch his name so I can really hunt him down. So here are the spec of my airplane man:

- Fair hair

- Medium build

- 6'1"

- Works for an architectural firm in Columbus OH that happens to design new GAP stores

- Went to Kent State




- Hates the Buckeyes (potentially his most enduring quality)




If you spot him, please tell him that his destiny is waiting in Pasco WA!






Well, that's Part I, more to come soon!