Catch Up!! Hiking in Flip-Flops

Hello All!
Sorry for the delay on recent posts, I've joined a gym! They have some fantastic classes every day that you can drop in on, which have been kicking my butt into shape. As in majorly kicking my butt into shape. So I've mostly been getting home and crashing into exhaustion.

HOWEVER I have been able to meet up with Ryan for dinner twice in the last two weeks which has been great. We met up in Santa Monica for dinner and wandered the beach and such. It's pretty sweet, it has random things like DINOSAURS (!) so it has to be fun right?


Ryan has recently started making his own music in his free time with a partner in crime so been trading some music as well which is nice to change things up. And by trading I mean he's been giving me some awesome music while I happily listen.
Pictures from last week (only looked at the beach):


Pictures from this week (actually made it to the beach):


Hopefully next time we'll actually make it to the pier!

Last weekend I decided to keep it relaxed, but I still wanted some California experience so I took a long route to Manhattan Beach, which was a suggestion of Tessa's, by going up north first through one of the the National Forests, and then south along the Pacific Coastal Highway. It was beautiful! I made the mistake of dressing more for the beach so when I saw a cliff that needed hiking, the flip-flops were a little bit of a problem, but I survived.
Look closely at the picture below and note the drop off on the hill I hiked.


Heading to the beach on the highway:


Along the way I stopped in Santa Monica and got lunch at a joint called The Counter, which is a make your own burger place which was fantastic. Baked Brie-Pineapple and the works? Yeah that's what I thought too.... YUM ++!


Unfortunately the beach was packed by the time that I got there and parking was slim. I spend about 30 min trying to find something, but eventually settled with 2-hr parking and set off exploring. Spent the first half hanging out on the pier and making friends with some foreigners who thought the fact I had a journal was awesome, and the second half wandering the boutiques.

Of course there was more than just boutiques around, but also some specialty stores...


Sunday was spent doing errands and doing a little shopping at the mall near my place after my workout classes. Overall it was a great weekend.

Next up is Universal Studios bright and early tomorrow morning and Venice Beach on Sunday!
We're thinking about trying to arrange a camping trip up in the Sequoia National Park, but we're trying to find a weekend that we can reserve a spot so we don't get up there and get stuck with no place to camp! So if anyone knows anyone with camping gear in the LA area, let us know please!! Renting is not cheap...

Week Two!

Well this week started out with a kick, I got rear-ended while being stopped at a light on Monday which was a nice wake up call. Dead battery and an accident within a week of each other is a record for me for sure! Seems that L.A. is making sure I'm on my toes :p Fortunately the damage isn't that bad and I was unhurt other than having a raging headache.

Poor baby...


BUT I was able to get to the post office in time to argue with them until they gave me my package. After that was a comfort-food dinner since I managed to find some Chipotle :p It also ended up being quite a happy night since Brendan cheered me up by surprising me and sending an itinerary of his airfare reservation. Coming out for 4th of July! I can't wait!! :D

Work was pretty good, was certainly kept busy doing some more research and I started rendering some parts and modeling the MD80 in Pro/E, which was fun!

I had an unplanned, but awesome weekend!
I was woken up entirely too early by some texts telling me to come to the beach. So bright and early, reminisce of morning practice, I dragged myself out of bed so that Brady and I could get to Huntington beach since apparently surfing is better in the morning. There we met a big group doing Project Impact and with Brady's youth group from USC. They had a whole bunch of surf boards, about 6-7 boogie boards and three big containers full of wet suits in various sizes. It was cold and windy in the morning, but it eventually started to warm up.

I managed to grab a wetsuit and learned to boogie board and totally dominated. And by totally dominated I mean I stuck it out until I got a few good rides in and I'm definitely in love with it. Surfing is the next stop! It was so choppy even the most experienced surfers were having trouble (there was actually a surfing competition that was down the beach from us) and it was certainly overwhelming at first, but it was fun. I'm lucky I'm a pretty good swimmer so I was able to get through the first set of waves. In fairness the waves were probably about ten feet tall and crazy all over the place!


Stand 12!

Attempting to try and get a picture that shows how big the waves were, buuut this doesn't show there's about a 2-3 foot drop as soon as you get in the water. Aaand of course the waves were all calm while I was trying to get a picture.


On the way home Brady and I stopped at a more upscale shopping area called 'The Block at Orange', which was neat. Overall a great day and so nice to see more people close to my age.

Pretty sunset on my way home.


Today was chill, I managed to join a gym Friday afternoon and I went to two group classes today, which I am DEFINITELY feeling now :p I'm going to get my butt kicked into shape if I keep this up, but that's good, I miss having a regular training routine! Mostly a few errands, catching up with a few friends and getting ready for the coming week tonight.
All in all it ended up being a great weekend and a great week. Looking forward to meeting up with some awesome people who got in town this weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRETA!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY!!
I wish I could be there for your amazing day, I know you're going to have so much fun in the city!

BLACKHAWKS WIN!

I don't think that there's much that needs to be said here, other than 2010 Stanley Cup!

A salute on their homecoming. God, what I'd give to be home for the parade tomorrow!

Breakfast with champions!!

Week One Survived: CHECK!

So I have officially survived a week in LA! I would say that's success as a start :p After getting in touch with multiple random friends/co-workers/acquaintances I've started to compile a list of things to do which includes:

-Hollywood Walk (the stars etc)
-Getty Villa/Center
-Santa Monica Pier (may get a preview Tuesday!)
-Various other beaches
-Universal Studios
-The Grove (window shopping!)
-Drive part of the Pacific Coast Highway
-See The Ruse perform in concert (Peyton's broja's band...missed them in the SB!)
-Eat at: Roscos, In & Out, Pinks and The Counter.
-Meet up with: Melissa, Brady, Ryan, Ian, Julian & Eras, Talk Kristin into visiting Melissa and I (HINT HINT!)

[possibly Six Flags and Disneyland, but also then my amazing childhood memories could be all destroyed...]

Am I missing anything? I hope no one! It's entirely possible, please correct me if I am missing anything.
Work went well the rest of the week. I am the 'official MD-80 drawing expert' now. Aka I'm the only one who has gone through all the files and figured out what may or may not be useful for the project and/or what should be ordered. It's been fun, certainly has pleased my OCD-ness. Next week I may begin rendering in Pro/E which would be fun, call me a nerd, but I enjoy that kind of thing.

Yesterday I went to Zuma Beach! (on suggestion of Ian) It was nice! It was actually pretty overcast and gloomy, but apparently that is typical for this time of year. And it did clear up closer to noon so I got some sun. I took a slightly longer, but much prettier route to the beach through the mountains that was absolutely worth it. Also, I got to see surfers for the first time!
I came back late afternoon, chatted with Claire-bear, had some dinner and then headed to see the Griffith Observatory. This is the observatory from where I parked my car:
Brady and Janet met me there and we were there just in time to see a gorgeous sunset. And check it out! The Hollywood sign! I know it's silly, but it was the first time that I saw it! Click to see it bigger, then you can actually read the Hollywood part.
It was actually pretty funny because I went to the roof to get better pictures and there were some guys filming part of a movie on one of the balconies. I was confused as to why the guy was yelling into the phone, but there were a whole bunch of people watching them film which was pretty neat.
Inside the Observatory was the expected nerd semi-interesting exhibits, which of course entertained me. And Janet made sure that we got the touristy-as-expected pictures:
You have to love backdrops. When it got close to closing time we headed to the House of Pie which was nearby and it was SO SO good! Best coconut cream pie I've had in ages :) Definitely worth it...and certainly will be returning!

Sunday has been low-key, some grocery shopping etc... just getting ready for the next week and catching up on my ever-growing list of things to do...

An Adventure in Southern California!

Hello from sunny Los Angeles!

First things first:
Yes, Los Angeles....and no I haven't seen the dreaded USC quite yet though I am sure it is an inevitability sooner or later. And, if for some strange and dangerous reason, anyone needs a reminder as to why Notre Dame is still one of the best places to go to school...

Now! As to why I am in LA, that's a good question to ask. I can quite honestly say that I had no plans to come to LA until....oh a week and a half before I left. And why did I decide to do such a thing? Well a certain back-up quarterback had an internship, but was told by Brian Kelly if he didn't get his butt in gear and train for the summer he wouldn't be given any sort of shot at playing (for which I am grateful, but kinda a bummer for him) WHICH means a plea for anyone interested in taking his place and I applied! After some massive praying and some HUGE love by Professor Schmid, I was lucky enough to be picked for the internship.

Here is the description of the internship:
The ISTAT Foundation is a foundation made up of Aerospace companies and their senior executives has put together an Internship to follow the development of the MD80(aircraft) P to F conversion program which includes the design engineering and FAA interface. This will be from concept to design at the first company the intern will visit in California. The second company also located in Ca. has been tasked with the development of the SSID's for the MD80 program and will test damage tolerance analysis, fracture control, failure analysis, supplemental inspection programs and fleet structural integrity programs. The third stop will be at a company in Miami Florida where the intern will see firsthand how the design efforts of the first two companies are transformed into physical parts and then fitted onto the MD80.

So here I am! I have a little studio apartment near a Westfield Mall, a movie theater..and a Trader Joes! Haha, there are actually a whole bunch of things close by. It means it's a little further to the two places that I will be working, but it's a great location and the drive is a cinch.
New little home, 'living room'
View out the window:
I have a Murphy bed! (If you don't know what that is, it's a bed that folds up against the wall, I'm partially pulling it down)
Adorable little kitchen:

And to add to it, a noble steed! Er, rather a flamboyant reject from pimp my ride is my companion for the summer :D I have to say though, I am becoming quite fond of it. Aka I'm totally getting attached. The photo completely does not do it's true color justice.
Although its battery did die momentarily this morning, buuut we survived. The maintenance guy came to save the day with a neat little gizmo that jumped it. I'd only done it with another car before so I was impressed.

I got in on Sunday, was exhausted so went to see Sex and the City 2 (unimpressed, though I liked the scene with Miley Cyrus) and crashed. Monday, did some grocery shopping and had lunch with Mr. Convey, who has been helping arrange things for me, at the Cheesecake Factory with his wife. It was really good, and they were overwhelmingly nice and insisted I pick a piece of cheesecake to take home with me. I can assure you, none of that went to waste! It was such a nice gesture, like a little taste of home! :)
Tuesday was my first day, the guy who was essentially put in charge of me actually didn't realize I was coming until that morning, but they found things for me to do! I was productive and it was a good first day. Today (Wednesday) I had to learn how to use the new version of Pro/E which was a talk and a half, but the guy who's cubicle is across from mine was very nice and helped me through it. Overall things have been going well, I'm excited to start exploring this weekend!