Tribute to my New Friends

You know your life is boring when you talk to an old friend after, oh, six months and you have nothing new to report, nothing has changed... still studying.... still working... Well, now that summer is here without school, I've been trying to catch up with old friends. I've also been trying to make new friends. I'm sure Rob gets sick of me telling him how hard it is to make friends once you're married. I don't know if any of you other girls feel the same way--it might just be me. I now somewhat understand how hard it is for a guy to ask a girl out the first time. Every time I meet someone who I think would be fun to hang out with I'm always asking Rob, 'how long should I wait before I call?' or 'should we just do dinner and a movie?' Either way, I found the easiest way to make new friends is to just steal his. So to all of you who may not know these people, here are some of my new friends.








This is Amber, her and Rob have been friends since they were like 3 years old. She's like a girl version of Rob. Rob and I talk A LOT, and we like to discuss different points of view on different issues. Because Rob is going to law school, he always has the better argument. Amber is currently in law school, and whenever I want to win an argument, I call her. Amber is totally my role model. She is going to law school, working, and has 2 kids. I have no idea how she can do it as I can barely keep my two dogs alive. Plus, she's super tough. She's been through a lot and I love her attitude about life. She doesn't take crap from anyone. Unfortunately, she lives in Arizona and probably will for a long time. Who knows? Maybe Rob will go to law school in Arizona. As much as I hate how hot it is down there, it'd be way fun to live next to Amber and her family!





This is Mariah. So she wasn't Rob's friend before she was mine, but her husband Doug has been friends with Rob for a long time. So Rob and I just decided that she's my new fashion consultant. She always dresses so nice and looks so cute....while going to grad school and working. That's harder than it looks. At her wedding I remember her dad saying that she got a job when she was 16 at Dairy Queen or something just so she could buy clothes. This is great for me because before I got married, I never knew how to dress and never liked shopping. Her and Doug are currently in San Francisco for the summer. Before they left we went shopping. I only got a couple of things, but Rob loves them. He says I need to hang out with Mariah more often. Aside from her fashion sense, she's really fun to hang out with. I'm so glad she is at BYU with me. She brings some sanity into my world of grad school!

Well-- I'm out, I hope I can post more. This whole blogging thing can be difficult. I know how to use computers, but I'm pretty sure a 2nd grader can blog better than me.

Oh and just a side note to Rob's latest blog-- Regis and Kelly are incorrect about living to 140. They are extrapolating the data they have as no one has ever lived to be 140 (except for Moses). But that's okay eh? You always say it'd be better to die young!

Rob's Feigned Graduation

Wow, So it's been a long time, eh? Yeah. It's ironic how much extra time you are supposed to have in the summer, and yet how little time you end up having. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we really have no excuse for the lack of posts, other than the old adage 'Where did all the time go?'. The real benefit to this situation is the fact that we've had a lot happening over the summer, we've been more diligent in taking pictures, and my memory seems to still be functioning for the past couple months. I hope this is an equation which equals out to many posts to come that are interesting, not just what I'm feeling/pondering for a given day (although I'm sure those could be interesting too!).

So I graduated...well, sort of. The proof:

I think I've probably said that 100 times so far since May. It is my feeble attempt to describe the ever morphing situation that is my life. My schoolings has become an ongoing affair with a fleeting mistress.

Case in point.
#1: I have a letter from my department which I use to gain employment that states 'Robert has completed all the requirements necessary to be awarded a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering'. No degree awarded yet due to my involvement with the combined BS/MS program.

#2: I have pictures from a graduation ceremony in which I was walking with my fellow BS/MS students for the completion of said degrees. However, no ground up tree pulp as of yet garnishes my wall. Blasted parsley at the Cheesecake Factory mocking me on my plate... :-) Seems I have a knack for unfinished finished things. A status update, to date, I have finished all my BS requirements, all my MS coursework, billed the minimum required number of thesis hours, but am aforementioned thesis short of completing my MS. I will be done with this in the Fall and thus will be officially given my wall decor December of 2008.

#3: I have way too many classes...interesting predicament to have, eh? What does having around 215 hours at a university give you after you've completed your MS? Answer, you are one course away from a PhD in course load....oh and that pesky thing called a dissertation. If you take the cope out road....like I probably will, you are awarded the silver medal, i.e. an Mphil. A masters of philosophy in Mechanical Engineering. A PhD minus the dissertation component. So worst case, I'll have that May of 2009, but my profs would like me to take a hiatus for law school and work on the dissertation during my summer and Christmas breaks.... Comments? Don't know that I really want that, but it won't increase the number of years of school I have since I'll have it done in a couple summers.

One thought I've had about all this is that I think it's a father-son thing. I've learned that I'm genetically predispositioned toward education. My Dad places a high value on education. Not just at a university, but in everyday life. He is probably the oldest guy at all the conventions, the only guy I know that asks for textbooks for Father's Day, and that goes jeeping in Moab and takes his geology textbook to look at rocks.

I think that's why I'm in no hurry to start my life long career and terminate this lifestyle as a student. Lucky for me I've got the wife that agrees. She supports my hippie views on life and what it's really about. It also helps that she's smoking hot...lucky, I know.

Happy Anniversary Babe :-)

Just as a clarification, for those of you that think I sound disgruntled at all, you are sorely mistaken. I'm a cynical person, I've learned to accept that. I love my life, my wife, and my school....ife. I'm excited for the future, but not overly in a hurry to get there. Why bother, according to Regis and Kelly I'm going to live to be 140 years old....

Don't forget to celebrate!