Yesterday was the best first day of school that I've ever had. And that's the way it should be, since it is the beginning of my senior year and all. :)
I started my new job, went to 3/4 of my courses (don't worry the 4th class is a TuTh, so I won't have it until later today!), and was able to relax when I got back home later in the day. I'm taking four engineering courses this year: ME 332 Fluid Mechanics, ME 391 Mechanical Analysis, ME 440 Fundamentals of Aerospace Engineering, and ME 422 Intro to Combustion. This is going to be fun, right? Actually, I've been pretty psyched for these classes since the middle of summer when I was doing my engineering internship. It's just really awesome to see anything that I learn in school being applied to people's daily jobs! I think my favorite class is going to be my toughest (ME 332), but it's still pretty early in the semester to tell!
How was everyone else's first day? Were you able to make it to all of your classes on time and in the right buildings? Sometimes it's tough to navigate this campus, but (most) upperclassmen should be able to lead you in the right direction!
And like I said, I also started my new job! I'm an undergraduate mentor for EGR 100 Intro to Engineering this semester! I have to attend the 8am small group session (lab) every Monday, but I found out that my friend Ross is the other mentor of that class, so that'll make it a lot better! I have another section in the middle of the day on Wednesdays as well as open lab hours Wednesday nights, but overall, I don't think it will overwhelm me with taking up too much time. I'm actually really excited to meet the freshman and future engineers. Who knows if you'll ever get the chance to work with them? And it's also a fantastic way to promote Phi Sigma Rho, since we are an engineering sorority and all. :)
Time for my bakery job now! Luckily, I got my favorite shift this semester, decorating football cookies, so hopefully it'll make it go by fast! Can't you tell I just want it to be Friday at 8pm?!?!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feeling good.
Just got internet! I guess that means I should blog, right? I mean, I'm practically all moved in back at MSU! :)
But honestly, it feels so good to be back in East Lansing! I really missed it this summer, and it was even worse than last year because I wasn't even in Michigan to visit if I wanted to! I passed the Spartan Stadium and East Lansing exits on my drive up here, and it just got me more excited to FINALLY get back on campus! Even though classes start in two days and I have yet to get my books and figure out exactly how my school/work/Phi Rho schedule is going to work out, I'm SUPER pumped for this year to start. I can already tell it's going to be a good one.
The only thing that I DON'T enjoy about the beginning of the semester is all of the packing/unpacking. I just never knew that I could have so much stuff! I tend to accumulate more and more each year. Remember that picture I posted after my sophomore year of all the things I had to unpack for a summer back at home? Yeah, try adding another carload of things to that.
You know what I am excited for though?!
FOOTBALL.
The first time I drive past the new scoreboards, my jaw dropped. I just cannot believe how GIGANTIC they are! Pictures do not do those screens any type of justice. I can't wait for the first game of the season, and I'm so happy it's a night game too! My friend and I decided that we're going to be in the front row, so we're getting to the stadium really early! I hope my 4 o'clock class won't interfere!
Guess I should go back to more unpacking. I hope everyone else has accomplished more than I have and are already moved in and ready for school!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Goodmorning and goodnight, I'll wake up at twilight.
Wow, now that my internship is over, this summer has been going by SO fast. Last week I was in Chicago and now I'm back home in Michigan.. And next week I'll be back in East Lansing! :D
So after my internship finished up, I flew to Chicago to surprise my boyfriend since he is still at his summer internship. I was originally supposed to be flying there Saturday and he was going to pick me up at the airport, but I decided to change my flight to get there a day early and show up at his doorstep. And oh boy, was he surprised! I was able to spend the whole week with him and we also go to go into the city that weekend! It was my first time in Chicago, so we ended up going to the aquarium, Millennium Park, and Navy Pier. Lots of touristy attractions, but it was fun nonetheless.
Unfortunately, Jack still had to work full time during the weekdays, so I lounged around his apartment and caught up on some school and personal things that I wasn't able to finish while I was in Oregon. When he got home from work, we walked around in the parks, explored the city, or just caught up on television shows and movies we had on our bucket list to watch! It was just really nice to spend time with him for a week after not seeing him for three months :)
And that leads me back to being in my hometown! I've been home for less than 48 hours and the living room is already filled with all of my clothes and college stuff and it's an absolute MESS. So my job over the next week is to organize it all and figure out if I need anything for the upcoming year! Hopefully this won't be too difficult, I want to make sure I can enjoy a little bit of summer before school starts up again! :p
So after my internship finished up, I flew to Chicago to surprise my boyfriend since he is still at his summer internship. I was originally supposed to be flying there Saturday and he was going to pick me up at the airport, but I decided to change my flight to get there a day early and show up at his doorstep. And oh boy, was he surprised! I was able to spend the whole week with him and we also go to go into the city that weekend! It was my first time in Chicago, so we ended up going to the aquarium, Millennium Park, and Navy Pier. Lots of touristy attractions, but it was fun nonetheless.
Unfortunately, Jack still had to work full time during the weekdays, so I lounged around his apartment and caught up on some school and personal things that I wasn't able to finish while I was in Oregon. When he got home from work, we walked around in the parks, explored the city, or just caught up on television shows and movies we had on our bucket list to watch! It was just really nice to spend time with him for a week after not seeing him for three months :)
And that leads me back to being in my hometown! I've been home for less than 48 hours and the living room is already filled with all of my clothes and college stuff and it's an absolute MESS. So my job over the next week is to organize it all and figure out if I need anything for the upcoming year! Hopefully this won't be too difficult, I want to make sure I can enjoy a little bit of summer before school starts up again! :p
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Let's don't say goodbye, I hate the way it sounds...
“...so if you don’t mind, let’s just say ‘for now’.”
- See You When I See You, Jason Aldean
Today was my last day with Eaton for the summer. It’s bittersweet, and I truly mean that. I am SO excited to get back home to the mitten, to see my family and friends, to move into my apartment, to start school again and take classes that I know I’ll enjoy, and to get back to my sorority sisters so we can FINALLY become a chapter, but I’m also REALLY going to miss Oregon.
I have changed so much this summer, in so many ways. I never used to be comfortable doing new things alone, and I have never been away from my family and friends for so long and so far, but I’ve found out that I’ve come to really enjoy it. I met some pretty incredible people out here, and I was able to share those new experiences with them. I found out that I really like hiking and running, some things that I had never thought I would like, and I’ve fallen even more in love with camping and being outdoors than before. I now love to cook and look up crazy recipes with ingredients I’ve never heard of or tasted before, just to try something new on my palate for a change (pinterest.com is excellent for this by the way! I spent many-an-hour browsing for new recipes that I want to try, and some that I’ve made more than once because I like it so much).
I’ve learned more about what makes a successful business than what the majority of my peers learn in internships with other companies and other majors. I worked with all kinds of different people in different positions and learned so many new things from all of them. I feel like I was spoiled with my location though; everyone in Oregon is just SO FREAKIN’ NICE. Our Power Center has employees with some of the most professional yet relaxed relationships within the office and on the manufacturing floor. It makes for such a great working environment and promotes improvement and success in everyone’s everyday work. In my opinion, Eaton is so unique in this aspect, and that’s something I feel is especially important when seeking companies to work for full time. I would definitely consider working for them again, if they’ll have me!
I have changed so much this summer, in so many ways. I never used to be comfortable doing new things alone, and I have never been away from my family and friends for so long and so far, but I’ve found out that I’ve come to really enjoy it. I met some pretty incredible people out here, and I was able to share those new experiences with them. I found out that I really like hiking and running, some things that I had never thought I would like, and I’ve fallen even more in love with camping and being outdoors than before. I now love to cook and look up crazy recipes with ingredients I’ve never heard of or tasted before, just to try something new on my palate for a change (pinterest.com is excellent for this by the way! I spent many-an-hour browsing for new recipes that I want to try, and some that I’ve made more than once because I like it so much).
I’ve learned more about what makes a successful business than what the majority of my peers learn in internships with other companies and other majors. I worked with all kinds of different people in different positions and learned so many new things from all of them. I feel like I was spoiled with my location though; everyone in Oregon is just SO FREAKIN’ NICE. Our Power Center has employees with some of the most professional yet relaxed relationships within the office and on the manufacturing floor. It makes for such a great working environment and promotes improvement and success in everyone’s everyday work. In my opinion, Eaton is so unique in this aspect, and that’s something I feel is especially important when seeking companies to work for full time. I would definitely consider working for them again, if they’ll have me!
Also, this is what my coworkers surprised me with after my presentation to them today. It's a QA (Quality Assurance) sheet from one of the projects that I worked on, and all of the guys in my line and in the office signed it. I'm going to miss them so much. I can't wait to hang it up in my room next year. <3
And I’ll be back in this city before I know it. I did so much in the greater Portland and Orgeon/Washington area, but there’s still SO many things I need to do. My first stop will be the Power Center, though. :)
Overall, this summer was as close to perfect as it could possibly get, and that’s really saying something for how I felt three short months ago. It flew by, but at the same time, I’ve felt like it’s gone on forever. I guess I’m just ready to start another chapter in my life and hope that I take away all the best aspects of this summer with me.
Friday, August 3, 2012
A vital presentation.
(PREMIS: I was supposed to post this on Tuesday night, but got wrapped up in packing!)
Well, this is it. Tomorrow morning (5:32am) I’m getting on a plane that will take me to headquarters and so I can present on what I’ve been doing for the past three months. I wasn’t even nervous until today. And I don’t even know if it’s nerves or just eagerness to get everything wrapped up and packed up to make my way home.
I also figured out that I’m awful at practicing presentations. I’ve been stressing out all day over EXACTLY what I want to say during my presentation, because we’re only given a very strict 5 minutes to talk about what we felt were the most important contributions to the company this summer. That is NOT enough time. Especially when I tend to go on tangents in different directions and it takes me forever to try to get back to my main point. That is something that I definitely need to work on, and will hopefully get practice on for the future! I wish there was some way to automatically have better presenting skills. I know there’s classes on it, but I’ve never heard about how successful those really are..
Anyway, I need to finish packing and getting everything taken care of before I leave Oregon for a few days. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch some sleep on the plane back to the East Coast!
Wish me luck! (I need it!)
Ps. When preparing for a presentation, never write out and entire speech and try to memorize it. Everytime I try to think about what I wrote, I always get messed up and forget what to say. So don’t do that :)
Well, this is it. Tomorrow morning (5:32am) I’m getting on a plane that will take me to headquarters and so I can present on what I’ve been doing for the past three months. I wasn’t even nervous until today. And I don’t even know if it’s nerves or just eagerness to get everything wrapped up and packed up to make my way home.
I also figured out that I’m awful at practicing presentations. I’ve been stressing out all day over EXACTLY what I want to say during my presentation, because we’re only given a very strict 5 minutes to talk about what we felt were the most important contributions to the company this summer. That is NOT enough time. Especially when I tend to go on tangents in different directions and it takes me forever to try to get back to my main point. That is something that I definitely need to work on, and will hopefully get practice on for the future! I wish there was some way to automatically have better presenting skills. I know there’s classes on it, but I’ve never heard about how successful those really are..
Anyway, I need to finish packing and getting everything taken care of before I leave Oregon for a few days. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch some sleep on the plane back to the East Coast!
Wish me luck! (I need it!)
Ps. When preparing for a presentation, never write out and entire speech and try to memorize it. Everytime I try to think about what I wrote, I always get messed up and forget what to say. So don’t do that :)
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