It's Also Official...Kind of...

So...I announced a few weeks ago that I had graduated from Utah State University.  Well, as of today (December 29, 2008) I know that I am also admitted into the University of Utah.  It has only taken twice as long for me to find out as they told me it would.  Also, even though my academic advisor in the College of Engineering at the U has told me I have been admitted, the admissions office still has not "fully processed" my admissions, so I can't access any of the websites in order to add classes, apply for financial aid (if necessary) or do anything else...So yeah...

I guess that waiting for things to process may be one of those things that I have to get used to now that I am going to a much bigger school.  I put together some quick artwork to express my feelings at this very moment:

It's Official...

On December 13, 2008, I walked in the Fall 2008 commencement ceremony at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.  Of course, the commencement exercises do not  make the graduation official - you don't even have to participate in order to graduate.  The ceremony is exactly that - a ceremony.  It is a moment of recognition.  It is 1.5 hours of sitting in a rather ridiculous cap and gown in order to have a 10-second walk up on to a podium to hear your name called aloud and to receive a rather official-looking diploma cover which does not, in fact, contain a diploma.  Where a diploma should be is instead a sheet of paper reminding each and every "graduate" that they haven't officially graduated until they receive an actual diploma in the mail in about 4-6 weeks.

Now that I think about it, the whole graduation ceremony is a rather silly formality.  It's more for the people who want to recognize the graduate's achievements than it is for the graduate's wishing to be recognized for those self-same achievements.  If most of the graduates are anything like me (which I believe they are), they are probably just happy to finally be done with it all.  What makes my attendance even more ridiculous is the fact that I had to drive through the winter's first blizzard in order to arrive just in time to throw a cap and gown on and jump into the sea of graduates on the floor of the arena.

So, regarding the title of this post - my grades are all in now, and not only did I pass all of my classes, but I passed them with flying colors.  So, even though I still have not received my diploma in the mail, I know that I will be receiving one.  That's always a relief!  Now I can start focusing my efforts on the next academic task at hand - getting myself into the University of Utah.  I certainly wouldn't want to give myself a break...

Getting in the spirit...

So what if we don't have a tree yet?  So what if we don't have any presents?  That's not what it's about, right?  Anyways, I am beginning my preparations for Christmas right here, on our blog.  We have gone so far as to put together a list of some of our favorite Christmas songs, both new and old.  I love this time of year!

ATTENTION MOZILLA USERS!

This is probably just the dork in me that wants the world to know this, but I would like all of you Mozilla Users to know that I have fixed the HTML in our blog so that it now functions properly in Mozilla.  I have now accessed our blog in Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla and Google Chrome (my browser of choice) without any problems.  I know what you're thinking - "Why in the world would you have all of those browsers on your computer?"  Well, the truth is even I don't know the answer to that one.  The only two internet browsers that I use on a regular basis are Internet Explorer - for Microsoft-specific sites which Microsoft annoyingly limits in any other browser - and Google Chrome - which has, in the few short months I have used, quickly become my favorite internet browser of all time.  Google Chrome takes all of the good things from Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari and then takes them to the next level, for a quicker, easier surfing experience....And I'm not even getting paid to say this...Shoot.

Well I guess now I've said enough about internet browsers for you all to think I am a dork.  I dare any one of you to estimate the number of things you can't imagine doing without the internet, and then reconsider this thought.

Graduation Announcement

Okay, so I realize that this isn't really news for most of the people who actually read this blog, but I thought I ought to let everybody know that I am graduating from Utah State University with my Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in about a week and a half.  December 13, 2008 at 10:30 AM I will be walking and receiving a cardboard replica of my diploma.  Brittan and I are so excited we are sending out announcements to all of the family.

Brittan & Vernon: Through the Years

Below, I have created a slideshow (initially envisioned by Brittan) that gives everybody a taste of where Brittan and I have been since we first met.

Cody's Wedding - August 13, 2008

From left to right:  Tysen, Landon, Colby (the little one), Cody, Me & Deven

Bearing the Weight of my World...

This, my friends, is how I feel sometimes during school.  I suppose that I should clarify this by saying that it's not so much the weight of the things that need to be done as it is the balancing act of it all that I find challenging.  Between work, school, Brittan and just wanting to have some fun every now and then (yes, I do consider following sports to be fun), it often seems that I don't really have time to breathe.  Is that normal?  Everyone I've spoken to says that it is, but is it really?

Currently, I am just a few short months away from the end of my undergraduate college career.  I am kind of counting down the weeks (12), but I'm trying not to put much effort into it since I don't want that kind of distraction pulling at my coattails right now.  Utah State University has been very good to me, and I am proud to say that I will have graduated in exactly 8 semesters.  In case you didn't know, this is almost unheard-of among engineering majors these days.  I had a good motivator though -- my scholarship runs out at the end of the 8th semester, which just happens to be this semester.  All in all, it has been an amazing journey.

The journey continues, however.  Once I receive my Bachelor's degree, that is all the more reason to go ahead and get my Master's degree.  As I've probably mentioned here before, I am planning on continuing my schooling on a part time basis at the University of Utah.  I am not 100% sure about how I feel about that, since I really do love the Civil Engineering program at USU.  I guess you could say that I am looking at all of the positives:  

1) The U of U is much closer to home; 

2) I will be able to work full-time more consistently since I will only be taking two classes per semester; 

3) The U offers a classwork-only Master's degree in Civil Engineering, which apparently doesn't exist at USU; 

4) The U doesn't require me to take the GRE to get into the program because of my GPA; 

5) Not only will I be able to attend home football games on a more frequent basis, but the home team will often win; 

6) Do I really need anything more to feel good about this decision?

I guess you could say that my most difficult decision at this point is whether I start up at the U in the Spring of 2009 or the Fall.  Brittan insists that I should head straight up to the U in the spring, but the more I think about it, the more I think we would be more financially stable if I waited until the Fall...Tough choices...Either way, I've got my work cut out for me.

Snickers, Anyone?

Funny Political Animation

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A co-worker showed me this hilarious political cartoon a few weeks ago and I thought I would share it with all of you wayfarers who may not have seen it previously. This is not a political statement, in any way, shape or form. Pay particularly close attention to the depiction of Barack Obama -- you will learn nothing, but it is funny.

New York City Pictures

Revised 10-6-2008 With Slideshow:

Here are just a few of the awesome pictures we took while we were back east.

On July 4th, Brittan & I watched the fireworks over the East River from FDR Drive.

The View was very impressive from the top of the Empire State Building -- we went all the way to the 102nd floor:

I have always been a big fan of tall buildings:

We met lots of cool wax figures at the wax museum:

The Brooklyn Bridge was fairly patriotic:

But it was still no match for Lady Liberty:

On our last night back east, we went to a live performance of Stomp! in Manhattan. It was awesome.

Finally, we took way too many pictures at the American Museum of Natural History to possibly show them all -- so here are a couple:

Back to School

This summer flew by but we did manage to have some fun. We did a little camping a little biking and so on. Our main trip was going to New York and that was a blast. We did all the touristy things along with some shopping and ate to much of really tasty foods. It was a ton of fun and a nice break from working 24/7. Not to say we don't thoroughly enjoy our jobs immensely it's just nice to get away and not have to worry about deadlines and goals and trying to make everyone happy.We also had a new addition to the family our new nephew Copper who is the cutes little guy in the world.

We love being an aunt and uncle.

Now it's back to school Vernon will graduate this December with his bachelors and will continue in the spring for his masters at the UofU. (It never ends) I on the other hand am just getting started with my exercise science degree. I am really looking forward to the next 4-6 years.

Where we are...

For all who care to know:

Brittan and I have now been married for one year, ten months, five days and approximately twelve hours. These have been the happiest and most fulfilling one year, ten months, five days and approximately twelve hours of my entire life, and I believe that Brittan feels the same. In the last one year, ten months, five days and approximately twelve hours, a lot of things have happened -- and yet, not many things have changed. For this reason, it has been a somewhat difficult time for me to convince myself that a blog is worthwhile. In the end, however, I do believe that we owe it to ourselves to try.

I will have to be upfront and honest with all of those who are reading this: I will be doing most of the blogging myself. I will try to involve Brittan as much as I can (mostly to screen what I type so I don't embarrass myself and to screen what pictures I post because you know how women can be), but I can give no guarantees. Out of respect for her, I will simply say that I love her with all of my heart and soul and I am grateful for everything that she does that makes me want to be a better person.

The greatest change to occur in the last one year, ten months, five days and approximately twelve hours actually just happened last week -- Brittan quit her job at a local Chiropractor's office in order to pursue her dreams of working in the fitness industry. She is currently working as personal trainer and a general manager through a locally-based fitness company at a gym just a few blocks away from our apartment. She is also preparing herself to finally return to school after far too long away from her studies. I take the blame for that personally, since she has been working to support me through school for the last one year, ten months, five days and approximately twelve hours. Finally I am making enough money at my job during school to cover most of our bases while she studies. This is a great relief to me since I know how important it is to her to complete her schooling.

I (Vernon) am currently one semester and one month of school away from completing my bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at Utah State University (Interesting aside here -- yes, I do commute from Bountiful to Logan and back -- all 150 miles of it -- every school day. While that may seem like a lot, the only part that really seems to hurt me is the gas money. I have a $40 fill-up in my Mazda Protege about every other day. Imagine making that commute in a truck, and it is sure to give you the shivers to compute the costs.). This is a very exciting time for me. In just under 8 short months I will be done with the B.S. Of course, then I will just be starting on the M.S. since I can't sell myself short, but I prefer to think of it a step at a time. I'll also be doing the Master's on a part-time basis while working full-time, so it's not quite the same, is it? Currently, I have a great job with an engineering consulting firm very close to our apartment. The pay is great, and they really love me. I have no doubt that they will give me a good offer after I graduate, but we'll just have to wait and see how bad they really want me.

Well, here we are. I think I have properly introduced us to the blogging world. If you disagree, just let me know, and I will be more than happy to attempt to please your more discerning palate. In future posts, I believe I shall attempt to address our interests, hopes and dreams a little bit more. If ever I seem too methodical, just forgive me -- I'm an engineer.

A New Blog is Born...

To Whom It May Concern:

Brittan and Vernon Black do hereby establish a new blog. More on this later.