Well hello world! It has been way to long since I have last wrote a blog. I chose to abandon blogging in order to focus more time to my school work. I may only have three classes a semester but I feel like I do enough work for 30 credits a semester.

It was a very insane semester. At times I had nothing to do and at other times I wanted to put a gun to my head (not really but I am trying to emphasize a point). Everyone ended up fine like it always does. I finished my semester with all A's and a wealth of experience that is worth far more than the grades.

Once the semester was done it was time for some much needed rest. Going to school for a year straight is not only physically exhausting it is also mentally. My goal was to view my month long vacation as one really really long weekend! I went on a few vacations, rekindled some dormant friendships.

I will talk a briefly about the vacations that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. The first was an overnight trip to Philadelphia to see a concert. Lois Anne and I went to Philly becuase I wanted to see Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers and becuase she could get us a free room (I heart her Marriott perks). We did a light seeing in the historic district nothing too much becuase we werent too familiar with the area and because we had dinner reservations. The trip was definately worth it, we had some great drinks, some great food and saw a great show. We could nto ask for much more from a overnight trip to Phila.

We also had a free hotel stay in Washington DC. We were both extra excited about this trip because neither of us have ever been to the Nations Capital. This was strictly a sight seeing trip, which means a hell of a lot of walking. This doesnt concern me too much becuase I enjoy walking but since I played basketball the evening before we left my knees were killing me the entire trip. A little known fact about me is that I suffer from "the worst knees ever" and after doing a lot of running I usually have numerous aches and pains. Why do I put myself through this? Who knows I love to play basketball.

Back to the subject at hand. We saw everything we could while we were there. If it was a famous monument we were there. I was not aware of how close everything in Washington DC actually was. Unlike New York where everything is all over the place, a lot of the monuments were all withing the same vicinity. Which allowed us to see everything we wanted to. Overall the trip was a great time, we hade the most perfect weather we could ask for in January and we got some great pictures of the trip.

During the semester my friend Timmy alerted everyone that he was coming home for Christmas and New Years. This was very good news becuase Timmy lives in Japan and no one has seen him since Keiths wedding two years ago. It was great to see Timmy for a couple weeks. Our friend Joe also started to hang out more which was also a pleasant surprise. The first night Timmy was home we all went to Dooleys. It was very weird to see everyone together for the first time in two years. I felt like I was in high school again. Overall my break was great for many reasons but most importanly I got to see some people I dont see on an everyday basis

Unfortunately all good things must end, and it was time to get back to school. This semester is going to be very important for many reasons. First and foremost I am completing the bulk of my remaining credits (9 of 12). Second, I have to find an internship/job for when I eventually graduate. The last reason is because of RFP. RFP is arguably the hardest course for us IIT majors. RFP culminates in mid April with a three day conference where we network with professionals, watch presentations, interview and most importantly present our proposals in front of 40 professionals. The class is very important and I am looking forward to all the challenges throughout the semester.

The best thing to happen to me since I have been back has been my acquiring of a PDA. For anyone who is unaware of PDAs, they are basically small handheld computers. I, along with my authoring class were given them because we will be designing flash applications for them. I really dont know how I have lived without one and am facing the realization that I will be purchasing my own once this semester is over with and I have to return my PDA.

I am currently in the second week of classes so everything still feels very new. I am looking forward to getting more job related experience and also a very funfilled semester. I am especially looking forward to a weekend trip to Boston in March.

Until next time
JK