My Shit

So I had my interview at the The Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management today. I feel it went well. There are things I wish I would have said and things I wish I wouldn't have said and directions I am glad the conversation took and directions I would have like to have seen the conversation move toward. Hey, that's life, and all-in-all I'm happy with it. The one professor I've been speaking with the most, because I like what she studies the most, was not there.

I had already had the opportunity to speak with her and have been in good e-mail contact with her over the months. The fact that she didn't feel she needed to be there seems to be a good sign to me. If I made a bad initial impression she might need to take a 2nd look or, possibly, I wouldn't have made it this far in the process. But, since she wasn't there, I am guessing I made a good impression.

I guess the waiting has really just started. Now I need to know how the interviews turned out (will be sending thank you notes to the 4 people I did talk to in a couple of days), then I need to see if I can find enough funding, then I need to check my conscience to see if I feel okay leaving the little company I've been working with. I thought it might be good to wait another year before starting my Ph.D. but if I get in ... I had a lot of fun talking to these guys today. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Signs that your girlfriend thinks you are getting fat:

she gives you a magazine on light cooking.

I am trying out the chicken with mushroom and wine sauce tonight. It is very easy to make and you get the bonus bottle of wine minus 4oz.

I woke up at 3:30am this morning. It is now 5:00am, when I normally am supposed to get up, and I did not go back to sleep between 3:30am and 5:00am. I managed a solid 4 hours of sleep. I think I will be a mean as shit, grumpy bastard today. I have my interview with Georgia Tech tomorrow at 4:00pm. I hope I get much sleep between now and then!

I had a very odd dream last night. I had a dream that a very cute little blonde girl kidnapped me. She also kidnapped two of my cousins because they were there when she took me. They escaped though (and didn't call for help -- bastards). Her goal was to use me for sex (damn the luck, right?). She kept me in her garage. She never could bring herself to go through with it though. I could have escaped at any moment but was basically waiting for the sex.

Funny though that the dream version of me was basically the same as the real version. I got tired of waiting and started to push the issue. I was tired of being bossed around and not allowed to do the things I wanted to do. In the end I escaped (and without the sex -- so sad).

So I've been working with a little shop down near Atlanta to put a new exhaust system on the Monte. The car is an SS and sounds like a puss. It needed an upgrade but I really didn't want to pay for this. But now that I must pay for a new cat, might as well do the entire thing.

There are going to be some modifications here. First is the new catalytic converter. I don't know who's cat I am putting in but it is supposed to be a nice unit that the shop ordered. The car also has a 4' long resonator in it that is getting ditched. The car has some serious growl that is all being stopped by the current exhaust and I want that sound getting out of the back. There is also what appears to be a trap where the O2 sensor is located (if you don't know what a trap looks like then look under your sink where the water drains out, the massive u-turn is a trap). We are going to use 2 1/2" pipe from the cat back and get rid of this u-turn. I almost wonder if the u-turn is needed to change the flow of the gases for the O2 but I know that O2 sensor is much less critical than the one in front of the cat so I really don't care.

So now we have straight pipe from the cat back to the gas tank. I must still make the big u-turn around the gas tank. This is good because it should help reduce exhaust velocity and get rid of some of the higher pitched sounds (i.e. I don't want the Monte to sound like a weed-whacker or a Honda. After the tank the single 2 1/2" pipe will y out to dual 2 1/2" pipe. Each of these pipes will feed a Dynomax Ultraflo muffler. The single 2 1/2" to dual 2 1/2" should also be very effective in reducing the exhaust gas velocity. The Ultraflo muffler is basically a big glass-pack.

The new system should sound very nice. I have had M and his friends help me design the system. The goal is to sound near stock at idle and highway speed. But have a nice growl on acceleration and when under power. I am also hoping for a slight horsepower gain but we'll see.

So the headlight/dash-light problem in the Monte Carlo got worse. Then the engine started missing real bad. After plugs and wires I decided to take it to a dealership. As it would turn out the body computer (or body control module - bcm) had shorted out. I was happy that I might be able to send the bcm back to Delphi and an old boss there that I didn't like. I used to work for Delphi, know that their quality sucks, and was excited to get to rub it in the face of an idiot boss. I had the dealership leave the broken module in my car. Much to my dismay, the broke module was made by Motorola. At least the problem with the dash lights is now fixed.

The other problem with the car is that the catalytic converter is clogged up. The new factory unit costs $700. I can get an high flow after market unit for $200. Hmmmmm, Chilort likes performance and hates high dealership costs. I wonder what he will do.

I have been invited to interview for the Ph.D. program I applied for at Georgia Tech!

So, where has the author of this blog been? Busy. Still busy and mostly tired. Very very tired. As soon as I get hot water I'm taking a shower and going to bed. Oh yeah, that's right, we're getting hot water. Tired.

The girl demanded a new post. Apparently the Faulkner like, stream of conscience, late night after a few beers post was disturbing to her. So here's a new post.

The hike went well. I did about 12 miles of the A.T. between Neals Gap and Testanee Gap. The dog pulled me for the first 8 miles or so, walked beside me for the next two, lagged behind on a 1 mile up hill, then back beside me on the 1 mile down hill. You know for sure that you are going to hurt like hell the next day when you start to wear out a dog.

I've been working my ass off. Lots of projects and lots of projects.

I've had no time to work on my Superbee. M did buy a sand blaster. Having a sand blaster is really very nice. Next time I go home I am going to have to pick up about 1 english shit ton of little parts to clean.

I really can, to my surprise, explain most of the last post. It doesn't mean I'm going to though. Kind of like lyrics to a song. What does it mean to you? Or, what it means to you is really what matters.

Going out hiking in about 8-10 hours (need to sleep some first).

Need to get out in the fresh air.

Away from people.

Where the only sound of humanity are the jets overhead.

Time to think some about life.

What I'm doing.

Why I'm doing it.

Where I want to be.

Why I want to be here.

Something is wrong.

Can't tell if it is big-wrong or little-wrong.

I'll get back to you on this one.

Time for a new set or problems?

Not happy with the course?

Not thrilled with the place?

Did it all to myself though.

Well, most of it.

Just need to get out and away.

Need a break.

Need some time, some real time, maybe my neck and back will quit hurting.

I just don't know what happened.

Don't know why so many people do what they do.

Don't know why most of time I let it bother me so much.

I'm so looking forward to about 11 miles of hiking and alone time on a sunny day that should warm up to 60 degrees F.

So what are the problems?

Not sure. Not even sure if I started making a list of all of the problems if they are all actually really problems. Problem or not problem? If I list it then it must be a problem, right? Hell, who knows. My problems are only my problems because I categorize them that way. If I had different categories then I would have different problems. Fewer problems? More problems? Probably just different problems. It is all made up of how I slice the world.

Wish I were drunk -- "too drunk and still drinking" -- DMB

Fucking DMB, Matchbox 20, so many other bands and other songs I heard and shared. And now I can't listen to them. I can't hear them. Just sad and lonely when that happens. "Some devil stuck inside of me. Why can't I set it free?" -- DMB

I need to get out of this body, this life, for a bit. Live something else, someone else, for a while. Do and be something different. I don't dislike me. I am tired of being me for right now though. Don't worry dear reader. I'll be fine in a few hours. Just a mental thing.

I think I'm going to quit the mental masturbation for now and go to bed. Too late to be thinking all of this now.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.

What day is it? Christmas? No. A birthday? No, well, at least not mine. Win the lottery? No, better than that.

Today is the day I walk into the liquor store and see that Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine is on the shelf. I bought five 6-packs. I'm saving one for the girlfriend's father. So I'll probably have to go back to the store in a few days and by another case or so (5% discount for buying a case of microbrew at the local liquor store!).

Still no hot water. Grrrr. Making my bath water on the stove every night is getting old ... fast.