Catching Up
It is Saturday night, and I had a fun last few days, and tomorrow I get to see Novalí. Life is great for me right now. This blog is playing some catchup on the last few days.

Thursday
We chilled. Becky came over and Hermen help her wash her car and peel some stickers off of the back window. I finally started on doing my custom taillights for my NX. I think the NX will like the new lights. Now while we are talking about the NX, I want to clear something up. Yes the NX is female. Many of you have asked me (not commented on my blog about it) why I call the car a "she". Well there are a few reasons for that. The NX is tempermental, she gives me headaches, causes me trouble, costs a lot, high maintenance, I like showing her off to my friends, and no matter what happens I still love her. The NX is a woman, and we are in a committed relationship. My life is sad, I know.

Back to my story... We ended the night with a trip to my favorite eating place in Allendale, the Country Cupboard. Yes, I know mostly retired people go there, and the food is mediocre at best, but I like it. I feel at home, like a regular customer. As many of you have noticed I now have started to like that country feel. So I had the smelt dinner, some great homemade desert and got punches on my Country Cupboard diner card. Yes, I am a "regular".



Friday
Homecoming at WMU! This year WMU honored a Latino as one of the Distinguished Alumni. So of course I had to score some tickets to the dinner, the Betas and Gammas also scored tickets and got a shot out from the MC during the program. Nice to see Vic and Colleen representing. I love knowing the school thinks highly enough about our fraternity and sorority that we get free tickets to such a high profile event.

Then we went to the Firehouse. This was one of my usual hangouts when I was living in Kalamazoo. The place was packed, we had to park on a curb, wait in line for too long, and heard the same music from the same DJs who worked when I was there. The fun part was seeing all the old faces from WMU. Of course I saw Megan, and my Brothers Vic, Geo and Rey were there as well. It was great, running into old friends from campus and saying hi, asking what they are up to, and exchanging short stories in a loud bar. It was fun.

The night ended with a trip to Big Burrito for fatty Mexican food late at night. I felt at home again.

Saturday
I slept in. I should of gone to the parade with the Betas and Gammas, but I was tired. I deserve one day that I can sleep. So I slept.

Around 2pm I finally decided to do something. I was thinking of heading to the game, but I never went as an undergrad when the tickets were free, why would I go when I have to pay as an alum? So instead I made the trip to Waldo's to see Megan. I drug Colleen with me (all my Brothers were in the game) and it was great. While in line we made friends with some drunk Irish guy, he needed a lighter and he thought it was hilarious I was in a Latino fraternity and that I did not have a lighter. Once inside I saw tons of friendly faces, and was reminded of how many people I miss from Kalamazoo. I still never ran into Doogie, but I am sure I will catch up with him soon.




I then headed home to Allendale. The Latino Student Union was having a program, and between the dinner and dance portion the gang decided to swing over to the house. It was fun hanging out and relaxing. I was trying to get some homework done tonight, but they were a good distraction. They cracked me up, and Ramiro as usual admitted to crap most people would not admit to, like having overeaten reeses pieces and puking. Who does that? The other Neo, Santiago was dressed like an Old Cuban pimp, the light green polyester pants were great, he said it was for the island theme of the dance... no else was dressed up, so I think Santi just like the pants and did not want to admit it.

So now they left, I am going to try to study a little and then get some sleep. I am getting up early to go and spend the day with Novalí.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
For those who like old Western movies you get the title. Nothing like Clint Eastwood shooting up people. No shootings here, or dirty saloons, I just thought the title was fitting for todays post.

The Good:

My trip to Bolivia is official. I got my confirmation today, and I will be home bound in December. I will fly out of the Chicago-Ohare airport at 5:26 PM CST on December 15th. I will arrive in Bolivia the following day at 9:02 AM. Long trip, and this time I will do it alone. I can not wait to get there and see myfamily. It has been over three years since my last trip.

The Bad:

I got the NX running this morning. Took a few more tried to dry it out, and then I ran to Tolman Auto and had them shoot air in and spray some silcone sealer in there. She works now. But it looks like I will more then likely need new spark plugs now. The pic above is of the body kit I want to get... anyone want to sponsor me getting that body kit? I will put your name on the front of the car. I had to try.

The Ugly:

The Centellas family has bad luck with cars. Andy's luck ran out last week when he totaled his Civic. That is some impact there! Glad he was not at all hurt, and able to laugh (and cry) about it later. My sister Raquel totaled a car, Miguel totaled one in high school, and I totaled two so far. When it comes to cars, the Centellas kids have a bad record...

Go Team PLP!

Homecoming GVSU
Friday night started the weekend with a bang. The annual Lip Sync was that night, and I had been looking forward to the Betas performing with Delta Zeta and Lambda Chi Alpha. The event was great and they took third. Hermen, Ramiro and Santiago did an awesome job with it and cracked me up. Good work Bros!




The weekend continued as Team PLP flew into action. Saturday morning was car time and Hermen and I had big plans for our rides. I wanted to fix my rear bumper gap, reroute my seat belts, put in my side marker lights, paint my wiper arms black, clean my car, and start ideas on how I would redo the trunk. Well most of that did not happen.

For the new readers, you might wonder what is Team PLP. It stands for Parking Lot Performance. This summer Hermen and I started to race my NX, and work on our cars more. We worked on cars in my parking lot, and we tried to make our cars (or truck) have better performance, in my parking lot. Generally anyone pulling into my old apartment would see parts in my parking spots, hoods popped open, and one of us wondering how we managed to make those huge divets in the concrete with my car ramps...




For the old readers, I am sure you know the antics of Team PLP all too well. Saturday morning Hermen and I worked on the cars. I rerouted my seat belts to go through my new seats (looks great!). I started the work of realigning my rear bumper better, after a trip to True Value to get some hardware, she is done. Not perfect, but looks much better. I still have not gotten my front side markers back in yet, soon.

Then we ran into some issues. Hermen had the idea that we should clean our engines. That means spraying some Simple Green, letting it set, and then hosing it off. Generally not a problem. It was a problem. Both of our cars did not want to run well afterwards. Sputtering, back firing, and just plain acting up. Why you might ask? We were not sure. It took forever for us to try and figure it out. On Hermen's truck it was the PCV fitting that was loose. His truck is running fine now. The NX, that is another story. It is at least driveable, but not running well.

Team PLP did not know what to do. I posted a thread on my SR20 Nissan Forum online. Some guys gave me some good ideas on what could of gone wrong. We figured out that water got in my spark plug wells. I got it mostly fixed, I will mess with it more tomorrow, hopefully I will be able to finish it before I got to be to work. Wish me luck.




The rest of the weekend was laid back. Saturday went to the football game, it was my first at GVSU. I am not a big fan of being outdoors, in the cold, watching a football game from a terrible location. I had a good time out there with Hermen and the gang. Even the two SagiNAW people (Andrea and her friend) who also decided to attend and sit with us rowdy guys. And for the record, old school Louie was the bomb. We need to get him back for good, screw that new muscle Louie, he can't dance.

Saturday night was the homecoming dance. Nothing special.

Sunday worked on the cars some more. Got my wipers painted. Helped Ramiro try to figure out why his heat does not work. And then we all (four guys in the duplex) went to the store, bought some steaks and potatoes, cooked and had dinner together. It felt like I was home and mom called us all to dinner. It was cool. We watched part of the Cubs game.

Now I am in my office at GVSU. Trying to work on a paper, but perfering to Blog. I better write this paper...

Far from Western
It is a Thursday night. I had a fun day; was productive in my morning meetings, had lunch with Becky, office hours in the Student Organization Center (SOC) was a good time as usual, went shopping to the mall with Hermen, and got a different phone (hopefully this one will work better).

However, it is late and I am not going out. Why? You might as yourself, I ask myself the same question. When I got back from the store, I munched on some chips and salsa and chatted on IM with some friends, caught up with some olds ones, and got to know some new people better. I love AIM, I used to hate it, but I have grown to love it.

Tonight my excursion is to the laundry mat. Not just any ordinary place, it is in a Speedway gas station. I am not alone, Hermen is with me. If I am hungry I can grab a hot dog, microwave a sandwich, get a 64oz pop (who needs that much liquid?) or buy some animal crackers and bleach. This place has it all. But I am still wondering, why am I here on a Thursday night? And what does it have to do with the title "Far from Western."

When I was at Western Thursday were the big night out. We (Vic, Doogie, Gary, Megan, Rudy, or whoever was around) would generally start the night at good ol' Waldos. Mixed drink pitchers were like 5-6 bucks and it made a good place to meet up. Depending on the night, or who I was with would determine which location we would hit next. If I was with Megan and some other IFC/NPC Greeks we would hit up the Tap Room (affectionately called the Frat Room because of the high Greek attendance). If it was a night Vic and I managed to drag Rudy and Gary out of the house we would hit up Club Soda for Latin Night.

The Tap Room trips meant talking about Greek stuff, cute sorority girls, fraternity guys hoping to impress girls with their car or buying them enough drinks so they do not realize they lacked personality, non-Greeks wondering why they came, and the DJ pretending he was in a real club like in Chicago or something. All around a typically good Kalamazoo time.

The Club Soda trips were something else. Glad we never paid cover, teaching gringas how to dance, pretending we were better dancers then we really were, seeing the same people who were there when we started Latin Nights there four years ago, half off drinks 'til 11, and trips to either Big Burrito or Chester Chicken before heading back to the Epsilon Estate.

But tonight, Hermen and I sat at Speedway, wondered why our socks and jean pockets never get dry, used lots of quarters, were impressed by how many other people eat their hot dogs besides us, and came home with some Burger King (extra zesty sauce, its the best).

I miss Western, Homecoming is next weekend there, I am very excited to be back again. I have made trips there a few times this semester, but I am seriously looking forward to seeing some old friends. I never went back to Homecomings for High School, I guess I am excited to make up for that and keep up with WMU friends. Tonight got me nostalgic, I know the Betas and Gammas from WMU are out at Club Soda, and I really wanted to be there, but I was at Speedway.

Well I need to finish my Burger King. Busy day tomorrow.

My apartment complex and the polar bear.
Colleen has requested I post the picture of the polar bear driving my car. So here it is:

Can you see him? He is doing the gangster lean over the center console.

Well I have received many questions about my apartment complex. It is an exciting place, most of the time. I have some very different characters there, which make it fun. I will start the description right inside my own apartment.

Four Betas live there, Ramon (UoM) and I are both alums, and Hermen and Ramiro attend GVSU. Our landlord is crossed eyed and did a terrible job of painting out apartment. Everything is off a little, and pretty much all the trim has some paint on it. Our kitchen counter tops are orange, and the corners are held together with yellow tape. Very classy. We painted the basement floor purple (we are Betas!) and we tried our best to make the place look presentable. I think we did a good job. And no, do not use the towels in the bathroom, they are for looks only. Towels are in the closet.

Our complex is a bunch of duplexes. The partners in our duplex are girls, five of them. Over the summer we made friend with Joy, Casey and Libby. The other two moved in late and we never see them anyways. Libby drives the Mitsubishi 3000GT, well I wouldn't say she drives it... Really she cleans it, washes it, loves it, and tries to drive it. Her skills with a stick shift are very limited, she is getting much better then before! Joy plays rugby, and I promised I would watch a game. I guess buying from the bake sale was not enough support for the team, I need to sit in the stands and watch a game I don't understand. Casey about drove Parking Lot Performance crazy this summer when Hermen and I racked our brains trying to hook up a cool sound system in a Cavalier. We made that job much harder then it needed to be. These were the neighbors who struggled over the weekend on how and where to hang their rainbow flag. Such a funny site, you had to be there.

What was more comical with the neighbors was when I met Joy's mom. She is a sorority advisor so I met her at an advisor dinner. When I told her I lived next door to her daughter she seemed very surprised and said, "I thought from their description of neighbors they lived next door to girls!" I was not sure if I should be offended, or flattered. Was it my dashing fashion sense with the curtains and matching towels? Hum.

Now the real adventure is with the guys down around the circle drive. These guys can party, the fact that most of them are in the mid 20s, and mostly high school girls hangout there... I won't hold that against them too much. I have never seen such responsible partiers. Seriously. When they party they stand out in the parking lot and make sure people do not take our parking spots. Then they get up at 10-11 AM and hose down the parking lots and clean up all the bottles. How nice is that? Then promptly at noon, once the place is clean, they pull out the ping pong table and start playing Beer Pong. Never too early to drink according to them, my favorite quote I often hear early in the morning, "Wake up and Drink!"

Now across the way... pugs. Yes pugs, and lots of them. You know, those dogs with way too much skin for their little bodies. I want to call it a Pug farm, but that does not sound right. There are about maybe 20-25 pugs over there. They yelp all day, but are normally quite at night which is good. One time the gate broke, and we had pugs all over. It was funny helping Casey chase a bunch of pugs around the complex. Ah good times...

The other best highlight of the new place, we are one block away from Tolman Auto, and Tolman Auto Supply. Oh yeah, very convenient. I got new wipers and turn signals bulbs on Saturday. Took 15 seconds to drive there. Nice, very nice.

End of story. Tonight I am playing catch up. Fun.

Last Tan
It is getting cold in Michigan already. This weekend was a lot of fun, despite the cold, and the sun peaked for a few seconds when needed. Let me recap the weekend.

Friday the dance lessons went great. We had a good turnout, and everyone who came enjoyed themselves and had a good time. Santos as usual did a great job teaching the uncoordinated how to dance, but for some, like Santiago... the cause was lost. Hey Santi, don't try blaming it on the person next to you, that excuse can only get you so far.



Saturday woke up early and cleaned my car. Put my new clear front lenses on the car, and drove to Holland for the SpeedWise grand opening. It was a good time, the Nissan guys from the Forum were late, so I was representing NISMO, or more importantly the SR20 by myself. The rest of the SR20 Forum guys finally showed up though. Let everyone know what a real import can do! Check out the pictures, click on the SpeedWise link from my car page. My NX.

The sun came out a few times during the show. I got some sun, not a lot. Usually at shows I get a little burnt and then it turns into tan. No tan for the white boy this time. I am guessing no more tans for this year. Unless I fake bake...


Then Saturday Night was IFC bid acceptance. The event went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. They made it more fun then ever and I was glad Hermen, Santi and Colleen saw it as well. I know often times the Betas and Gammas don't know what the "other" groups are doing, they enjoyed it I think. After that the girls next door had a party, we hung out over there, I watched them carefully decide were to rehang their Rainbow flag. Quote of the night, "Don't worry if it is crooked, the flag isn't supposed to be straight." My apartment complex is one fun story after the next.

Sunday was hard work... went with Hermen to help his mom move stuff. I never seen someone have so many heavy items. Beds, dressers, night stands... that couch, or sofa sleeper is a better description, weighed a ton and I think I pulled my leg muscle. It was a good work out, I needed the work out. Then to end that workout I cleaned our bathroom today (we finally started cleaning rotations, I got the bathroom). I did the tub. Four men live here. No one has done it in 2 months. It is clean now. End of story.

Homework time.

Big Weekend
This weekend started bad, but we got some exciting things planned for the rest of it. Hermen and I woke up late, we went to Kalamazoo for Latin Night at Club Coda with Ramiro and Ramon. It was fun, but we lost some valuable sleep hours.

Hermen knocked on my door and woke me up, yelling, "hey how we getting to campus?" I had not thought about this before going to bed. So we asked the neighbors. Joy, Casey and Libby were up and we chatted with them. Libby ended up taking Hermen to campus, and me to the shop to pick up my car. Thanks Libby!

Then it was off to CompuCraft for me, but I stopped to get some good Mexican food on the way. I was deprived of my usually Taco Bell craving at 2 am on the way home, so I replaced it with some real Mexican food from Tacos Ganaderos near downtown GR. It was good. Now my office smells like carne asada.... yum.

This weekend, well we got a lot planned. Tonight we (the Betas) are hosting dance lessons on campus. This should be fun, always way more girls show up then guys. Santos, a Beta from EMU, is doing the lessons. He is really good, salsa, merengue, cumbia... everything. Afterwards we will maybe take him to our favorite local bar, BFE.

Tomorrow morning we have to swing over to the grand opening of SpeedWise Motorsports. It is the shop I am going to, they are kicking off the new show room and having a little show. Some area Nissan guys are coming and we will relax and talk cars. Then I have to work at GVSU, the Interfraternity Council has their bid acceptance event. I am going to be there, making sure nothing goes horribly wrong, and I am sure nothing will. They did a great job with recruitment.

Then Sunday, I think Hermen and I are helping his mom move some furniture, and then heading over to the Delta Zeta chapter retreat. I might not end up making it to the Delta Zeta thing, we will see. They invited us because we are paired with them for Homecoming.

Back to work I go, yeah!

Four Betas, two cars and 3.5 licenses
Well juggling rides to campus, to work and to Tolman Auto (the repair place by our house) has been fun. There are four Betas in our apartment, right now we only have two cars (mine is in the shop again... and Hermen's). The other part of the equation is that Ramiro is on a restricted license and can only drive between certain times.

So what adventures are we up to? Tuesday night we got left on campus with three Brothers and only my car (which is now just a two seater). So guess who rode in the trunk? No not Hermen (he would not fit I think), Ramiro of course! So when we pulled into Burger King, our usually stopping place on the way home, the girl at the window commented on how cute he was all in the back of the car crunched up. Ah.... felt like I was in high school cramming all kinda of people into my little Honda CRX, the good ol' days.

This morning Becky did me the favor of letting Hermen and I use her car to drop my car off to get the windshield replaced. It was fun having breakfast (really it was just coffee for me) with Becky and Hermen. Hermen made fun of my Novalí mug (has her picture on it), Becky worried if the mug we gave her was clean (I am 90% sure it was clean), and I used the last drop of the flavored creamer. Why do Betas have flavored creamer you might ask... don't ask cause I do not know.

So if you see one of us on campus, offer us a ride or something. For rides home we will offer our repair services for your car. Whether it is missing a rear view mirror or just needs to get cleaned. We appreciate the help.

Also, for the record, assuming nothing else goes wrong with project NX... she will be done in three weeks! Keep your jokes to yourself.

New Phone!
For those that mocked me over my old school looking phone... I finally got a new one, and no I did not get the Kyocera 7135 I have been dreaming about for the last year. I want the Kyocera 7135. It is a phone, MP3 player, and Palm Pilot all in one! Does it get any better? I highly doubt it. So what is the catch?

The phone costs five hundred dollars. I do not have five hundred dollars to spend on a fancy phone. I wish I had that money to spend on a phone. Generally I would of been impulsive and just gotten the phone (I was on the Verizon website and was one click away from buying it!). Then I sat back, thought about it, and for once made the good financial decision to not get the phone. Yes, I am sad.

So now I need everyone to help cheer me up. Since I did not get the fancy phone that integrates my Palm Pilot and transfers my phone numbers... I need to manually enter all those numbers into my phone. That sucks. I started doing it last night, took me forever to get just 40 names in there. I have a ton more to go. So here is where you can help me, call me! This way I can just save your number in my phone. My number is the same, so just call me. Text me to so I can save you in my text area as well.

Thanks!

You learn new stuff everyday
This weekend I learned a lot of new things. I thought that the things I learned are so important I would share them with you so you can learn from my life as well. Here goes:

1. Novalí is not only the smartest little girl, but the funniest as well.

2. When trying to pry an intake manifold off a truck, use a pry bar. A screw driver will break.

3. In the instance that you have a TV too big to fit on the entertainment center, you can try putting the entertainment center on top of the TV (Thanks for the entertainment center Santi, it looks great!).

4. Always take your keys. How many times have I left the house without my keys, thinking Hermen has his... I was wrong again.

5. If you run out of clean underwear, swim trunks are an excellent substitute.

6. No matter how many times I have seen Chris Rock's "Bigger and Blacker", I laugh every time. Livin' la Vida Loca!

7. You should never, under any circumstances, pimp out a Geo or an old Saturn. It is just wrong on so many levels.

8. Read the directions on taking off your distributor cap before you take it off. This will save you time throwing tools on the ground, getting mad, and then having to take the car (or a Blue Truck) back to the shop. So much for saving money doing it yourself.

9. Never try to save money on your car by putting in cheap parts. You will end up just having to replace those cheap parts with good ones (my KYB AGXs and HyperCoils came in this weekend!). I am tired of having to go over bumps at 2 miles an hour.

10. Talking is over rated. When you are good friends with someone, and something comes between you, don't try and just talk about it. Send each other emails, written communication often works so much better to get your point across (plus they (or I) can't interrupt you in the middle of a sentence).

11. You are never too young to feel old.

12. No matter how many quarters you put in the dryer, the pockets of your jeans will still be damp.

13. After you put chilly, mustard, ketchup, onions, and cheese on a hot dog from Speedway, it actually tastes pretty good.



I had a great weekend. Friday just chilled at the house, got work done and watched movies with Hermen and Becky. Got sleep early cause Saturday I knew would be long.

Saturday got up early and went to see Novalí. I have not been able to get away for an entire weekend, so going more often but for just one day is working out well. We played all morning with the set of blocks I got her. She learned all the animals on the blocks, and some of the numbers as well. I know she is only 2 and half, but it is never too soon to start teaching her how to read. I mean she is the smartest girl in the world. She liked building stuff with the blocks more then me trying to sit her down and teach her the letters on the blocks.

Sunday slept in a little, helped Hermen with the truck, did some homework, and most importantly got my laundry done. In the middle of the day, locked myself out of the apartment, had to run to Holland to get keys from Ramiro, and just happened to run into a cool car show at AutoZone.


Got to run... homework is calling my name.

Schedule
Trying to plan my weekends is a pain. Why you ask? Well here is the deal. I got so many things I want to do, but not sure how to decide what all I have time to do. I wish there were more hours in the day.

Here is what is going on this weekend.

I need to go and see Novalí, but with my suspension the way it is on my car not sure it will make it (my suspension is so low I can barely make it over speed bumps). So I might bump the trip to next weekend when my car suspension will be redone. Also I have not had the time to reregister the car, got insurance, but no registration yet. Plus I just saw Novalí a week ago, so it has not been that long. I hate living so far from her.

Hermen is working on his truck, I think we will work on it this afternoon. I owe Hermen time on the truck, he helped so much with the Nissan. I also got to get Ramiro's system hooked back up. For those who had not heard, he left his car at my place, and I forgot to lock the door... and bam! His stuff got jacked! I still feel really bad about it, I have been trying to find the replacement dash pieces but no luck. He got another radio, so I got to help him rewire the amp and subs.

Studying, the one thing in life I really hate. Seriously, I hate it. For some reason as an undergrad I loved looking up information about student affairs, Greek life and reading articles. However, now that I am required to do it for class, I have no desire at all to do it. Funny how that is huh?

Finishing my car. Yes I know, will the project ever end? More then like not, but I have parts sitting in my place that I would like to get installed soon. My taillights need to be painted, the interior finished off, a good vacuuming never hurt either. But when will I have time?

So today I am making the list of stuff I need to get done, and deciding what I will get to this weekend, and what I will get done next weekend.

No names... not yet
I still do not get a lot of people commenting on my blog. However, I get a lot of people who ask why they are not mentioned. Well, maybe if you commented on my blog I would bother to write about you. So like my friend Bob Bacik said, you have to more then just ask to be in my blog. End of story.

For those wondering... I finally got insurance for my car and it was cheaper then I thought. So this week is really going pretty good for me. Recruitment was great. Got car insurance. Found a great deal on the rest of the suspension stuff for my car. Work is getting less stressful. Everything is just going much better! Yeah.

I better get back to work. Got a few more meetings tonight and then I am going home early for once! Adios...

Relaxing
Yesterday was a ton of fun! It started in the morning with finishing up a paper for class, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Then watched Hermen wash his truck, polish his new 20s, and make sure the stereo and sub was working right. Team PLP was looking good, the audio was crisp... too bad the truck is not running at 100%. This weekend we will get it tuned up and fixed, no really we will.

Twice during the day the Interfraternity Council had a car parade around campus. It was great, the police helped block off some streets, and we rode around all the residence halls on campus promoting fraternity recruitment. Good times.

That night was orientation for the fraternities. The Betas were involved and so was Sigma Pi who is expanding here this fall. It was cool to hangout with Doogie from WMU who was here for Sigma Pi.

During the day I also worked on a Mac from one of Andres' friends. I think I figured out what was wrong with and saved the data. Nothing gives me more satisfaction then getting a computer fixed, especially a Mac. Hopefully I will get the machine back together and it will be a happy mac again.


Today... well I hate Wednesdays. I work at CompuCraft from 8am to noon, then drive to GVSU and have two classes. Straight class from 3 to 9. Long day. But tomorrow I will finally get the insurance stuff solved and just work at GVSU all day and get caught up. I also am expecting my new suspension components to come in soon... she is getting there... slowly... slow and steady wins the race.

Real men don't use umbrellas
Tonight it rained when I headed to campus for my meetings. I like the rain, it cools off a humid day and for some reason puts me in a good mood. The rain reminded me of something, that natural guy reaction to the rain. The shoulder shrug and brisk walk.

What? Yes, the shoulder shrug. The natural reaction for any male when faced with rain. You don't look for an umbrella, you don't run for shelter, you don't put anything over your head. You shrug and crunch up your shoulders, and start a crisp fast walk.

Does the shoulder shrug protect your head from getting wet? No. Does that slight extra crispness in your walk help keep you from getting so wet? No. Why do we do it? Cause running or getting an umbrella is just not cool. So we shrug, and briskly walk across campus. Cause we are real men.

Great Weekend
I had a good weekend. It started Thursday when I swung through Kalamazoo and hung out at Club Soda with the Brothers. It felt like old times, dancing Merengue, and hanging out with my Brothers. No Chester Chicken though, a trip to Kalamazoo just is not complete without some gas station chicken, next time.

I spent Friday with Novalí, it was fun. As soon as I got there she got all happy and gave me a hug and a kiss. We had a fun day together, nice short nap, fake lunch on her Barbie dishes, and hearing her new songs. Check out Novalí's site for new pictures.

Saturday was busy, I finally got my car back from the shop. She is totally drivable now, and I spent the afternoon getting all the trim put back on and finished off. There is more work to do on her still, but she is really starting to look good now. Check out the new pictures, NX Page.

At night we had the annual Independent Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Ice-Breaker. It was huge, we had almost 1000 students come, so the place was packed. It was a late night, but thanks to my Brothers and the Gammas from WMU who came up for the party. We had fun exchanging stories, hearing Ramiro's bitterness over getting pulled over, ideas on how Hermen can avoid the friendzone, made fun of Ramon's music collection and lack of DJ skills, and just relaxed. Good times.




Today Andy came to visit. It was good to hangout and show him campus. Becky met us on campus and we went to eat at the new campus cafe, the Fresh Food Company. Andy was impressed by our nice facilities, and Becky and I shared our grad school horror stories with him. Afterwards we went back to my place, Andy fixed Becky's laptop, and I tried to fix his friends iMac. A day with Andy would not be complete without us working on computers.

I am looking forward to this week. Recruitment starts for the fraternities meaning we will be busy, but a fun busy. As long as this sore throat doesn't get worse I know this week will be more fun then the last few stressed out weeks.

Breathe
Today I relaxed. In what was to be one of the worst days for me, I got to breathe and relax. My trip to Vincennes, IN was put off, I need a break and I can do one of presentations later. It worked out well.

So today I figured I would relax, get my car from the shop, get insurance, finish up some school work, and sleep in. However I got a phone call at 8 am so I didn't get to sleep in, then I find out my shop did not get the part in for my car, and I can't find a good deal for insurance.

I was surprised that no one had horror stories about the Secretary of State. What? Every time I go it sucks, the old ladies behind the counter are all mean, and I have to wait forever. This time was no exception.

You go, and then you wait in a line. But the first line is just for you to tell some lady what you are there for. She gives out the ticker number, and whatever paperwork you need to fill out. Why can't they just post signs, which tell me to grab a number, and what forms I need. I can get my own number, I do it at the deli, I think I can do it at the Secretary of State Office. Then you sit and wait, wait for the numbers to go until they get to you, and for some reason you get excited when it is the number before you. Even though you know that number will take the longest, just because it is the number before yours.

They call my number, I hand them the form, which asked me three important questions, one of which was: Have I ever had a seizure while driving? NO. And if I had, would I seriously put Yes knowing it would mean I would not get my license? Then it asks me to write down height, eye color and weight. I could write anything I want. There was no scale, no tape measure... Come on now...

Finally I get up there, they ask for a few bucks, and then have to check my vision. "Are you wearing contacts?", the lady asks. Once again, they believe whatever I say and ask me to look in the little black box. Oh well, I got a new license coming in the mail.

Now I just need my car back, and find an insurance company. Wish me luck.

No car. No license. No fun.
The car did not get done today, the part came in late so I get it tomorrow. Then I decided I better just rent a car to drive to Indiana for my presentation on Thursday. So I go to www.enterprise.com to rent a car (I get a super discount through GVSU), when I am filling out the form it asked for divers license expiration date, so I take out my license to look...

I did not know your license expires when you turn 25. Seriously, I did not know. I plead ignorance on this and I mean it. So add another thing I have to do tomorrow, getting a new license. Tomorrow will be packed.

I have a Division of Student Services meeting in the morning, hopefully this one will be more exciting then the rest. Then I get to run to the Secretary of State Office, sit there forever waiting to get terrible customer service, take an ugly picture, have them lie to me about how long it will take for me to get my new license in the mail, and wonder why I bother paying taxes for such crappy service.

After the exciting trip to the Secretary of State Office I more then likely will have no desire to do anything else, but I still have a packed day. What will keep me going is that I have an exciting presentation on Thursday. The presentation I will be a part of at Vincennes University in Indiana is the first trial run of a new program from CampuSpeak, the company I am doing research for right now. If it goes well, it could mean more traveling and public presenting and speaking for me.

Well I got to run and get some rest, long day tomorrow. Feel free to share your success stories at the Secretary of State Office on my blog.

Productive
I wanted to see Novalí this weekend. Because of my car I was not able to, and did not have enough time to look into the train or other transportation. Since I did not get to go to Chicago I figured I would stay in and be productive.

I got a lot done. Washed the huge pile of clothes that took over the corner of my room. I am now practically done with all the paperwork for my internship class. Finally got to Walmart and picked up the last few apartment things I have been needing to get. I cleaned the kitchen with Hermen (he is the other clean roommate), we even tossed all that old crap in the fridge out. I read some research articles for one of my classes. Completed paperwork for my practicum class, and got closer to getting that finished.

For fun stuff, no I did not go out at all, I went to Best Buy and spent the gift certificate my parents gave me for my birthday. I got my amp, so now I got all the stereo stuff for my car, just need time to install it.

Sorry there is nothing funny in this post. This is the typical, boring story blog from Sam you all grew to love. I was not in the mood for funny this weekend.

Tonight I am trying to get more school work done, then get some rest and hopefully get some good news about my car in the morning. Keeping my fingers crossed, I need some good news right about now...

McFlurry and Pizza
Finally my shop got my car done! The seats are in, the suspension is installed, and I went to pick it up. I was all excited, glad to have my car back. So I went to Holland to get the car, paid Speedwise (one of my shops) and headed back to Allendale.

On the way back the brake light went on, never happened to me before. A few seconds later I lost pretty much all feeling in my brake peddle. I was able to drive it just slow enough to pull into a garage in Allendale.

They inspected the brakes, come to find out a hose got loose and fluid leaked. However, in the time it took for the brake light to come on, and me to find a garage to put it in, I ruined the master cylinder. So now I am facing a major repair to my brake system, and I have no car for the weekend. Normally I would not mind so much but this was my weekend to see Novali. It has been three weeks already, now it will have to be four since I can not make it.

It was a stressful day. I am tired from this long week, my car had to break down, I won't get to see Novali (unless by some miracle they get my car done tomorrow), I did not get caught up on work stuff, and I am just plain annoyed with school.

On the plus side, I got to eat a McFlurry today, those always cheer me up. I love McDonalds McFlurries with oreos. Yum yum, thanks Becky. Then Hermen took me for Chicago style pizza at this place in Grandville. Nice to have good friends around to fatten you up to try to make you feel better.

A Year in Review
Thanks to Mom and Dad for dinner last night. The Japanesse Steak house was awesome as usual. Miguel, Andres, and Raquel it was good to see you three. I wish we all could get together more often.

This post dissappeared, not sure what went wrong. So here it is again, or for the first time for those who did not see it during the brief time it was online.

** original post **
Yesterday I got nostalgic. I was replying to a birthday email, and I started to think of all the great things I got to do this year. So here is my year in review.

Last Birthday I got to hangout with Dishwalla and the Verve Pipe all day. They were in concert at GVSU, and I had to work the event. So my assignment was to drive the bands around. How cool was that? Good start to a great 24th year on the third rock from the sun.

One of the real exciting parts of the year was all my traveling. So let me telling you all the places I went, in order of appearance. I am leaving out trips to Chicago, cause I go there often for various reasons.

Lawrence, KA. - spent four days there at a conference.
Columbus, OH. - conference again.
Arlington, TX. - got the big Texas trip compliments of UTA.
San Francisco, CA. - conference. Compliments of WRGA.
Santa Barbara, CA. - 2 day stop on Highway One.
Los Angelos, CA. - vacation.
Philadelphia, PA. - went to visit my younger brother Andres.
NewBurg, NY. - Vic's sister's wedding. The old roadtrippers back in action.
San Francisco, CA. - Board meeting. Compliments of WRGA.
Cape Cod, MA. - vacation.

Those were some fun trips, meet fun people, and ate some great food. I remember places by the food I had while I was there. I also learned how nice it can be to travel on someone else's dime, very good.

What else have I accomplished this year, besides getting free trips you might ask? Well here are some things.

I started graduate school. Meet new challenges, rose to the occasion and succeeded. I was part of the team that won the GVSU case study competition, nice plaque for the collection. I was also nominated, and placed on the Board of Directors of the Western Regional Greek Association.

My start up company, OutSight Design is doing very well, not a millionaire yet but business is good. I have done websites for CompuCraft, real estate, Greek Life, shirts for the Betas in Michigan, shirts for Gammas, brochures, flyers, etc. You name it, I can design it, just send me an email at, sales@outsightdesign.com.

I also started racing this year! Did my first AutoCross event in June and had a blast. It is my new hobby, and once my car is back I plan to get back into it. Very relaxing, and one of the few things in life that makes me get jittery the day before. I love my little Nissan NX 2000.

Novali is bigger then ever, got her back to Saginaw a few times this year. Her use of the Spanish language is amazing and I hope she keeps it up. She brings a smile to my face everyday (her pictures are in my office), and I wish I lived closer so I could see her more. I hope she knows how much I love her, even though she would not sign Happy Birthday to me yesterday. No song.

To my family, I am trying hard to make you proud. I know I don't make it home as much as I should, or call much. But I blog, and I email. Your support has made me successful, thanks.

Another year in grad school, then who knows what will lie ahead for me. I don't like to plan the future anymore, I just let it happen and go for the ride. It was a good ride this year, and I feel refreshed... even though I am in my quarter life crisis now. Did I mention the motorcycle I want to get?