Victory Hard

The literal translation of my last name is Victory Hard otherwise known as Hard Victory. This feat I am about to embark on will definitely not be easy but a victory is needed indeed.

I spent most of the night planning, scheduling, and calculating classes and Grade Point Averages. It looks like it is possible to reach that 3.3 mark but I am going to have to retake a few classes. Two of them I have to turn from D's into A's or B's and two of them I have to switch from F's to A's or B's. The majority of those retakes need to be A's. The 4 credit F most definitely must be an A. Only issue is...that 4 credit class from MSUM conflicts with other classes and isn't offered in the Spring. This presents a slight issue since if I am not able to retake that class this Fall then I will not be able to reach that 3.3 GPA. The good news is that Katrina seems to think that I can make a deal with the sensei. He can give me the option to conduct an independent study and possibly put it down as Beginning Japanese I which in turn would be a retake and change that mar I left on my record. Looks like this victory will be hard indeed and will for sure rely on prayer and good souls.

Edit: Forgot to take into account that I will be taking additional classes. However, it looks like it still will be possible but I am going to have to work my butt off. If I can pull out A's from those retakes and somehow continue an A streak across the grid I will end up with a 3.438. Won't be easy but I am ready for it.

Student Again

I have been accepted as a student once again. I received my re-acceptance letter from NDSU on Saturday. The route I have chosen is going to be long and tough but if I succeed it will be well worth it for the future of my family to come. I am going for the architecture degree, which in itself will be quite challenging. My first year back is a sort of review year. After that year the department decides if I can continue or not. They usually have about 160-175 applicants and they only accept around 54. The cut-off GPA is only a 3.3 but after the shenanigans I pulled my last semester at NDSU I am really going to have to dedicate myself. I have a few classes that I received an F for that I can retake to bring my GPA back up from the current 2.865. It will be close but I have faith in myself and my abilities. I know that I can do anything if I dedicate myself. I also have my heart back so as long as I continue to keep my aim high I will succeed. Now to convince my Architecture adviser that I can do it.

In other news: Project 1 pass, Project 2 fail, now throwing away scrap that I could now use for the wood projects I had in mind.

Lengthy Update

It has been a while so I am going to try to post a few things that have been happening.

We are still in the moving-in process. Currently boxes, totes, and half-organized piles are strewn about the apartment. Thanks to some help from Justin Will, we now at least have all of our furniture inside. Thanks to U-Haul, we also have an empty storage unit. It looks like the biggest project to come is deciding what to get rid of.

Speaking of harboring, I gave myself a week to build something with the random scraps I have out in the garage. If I didn't complete something in a week I promised Katrina that I would throw it out. The main issue I am running into is tool sets being incomplete. I have an electric drill that is missing its battery and charging base. I also have a jigsaw that is missing the pack of blades. I know I saw the blades in a box somewhere...now just need to find them.

I found myself in a funk the other day after eating at a filthy Dairy Queen that had a crew of workers that kept screwing up and after browsing through stores that were disorganized and just plain messy. I was getting the feeling that all the people working were just there for the money and didn't actually care about the job. That showed in the respective work areas and general cleanliness. To get out of the funk we went out to eat at Chili's. It was surprisingly relaxing. As we walked up to Chili's the seater even opened the door for us. It was a nice atmosphere and everything was clean. The only thing I felt missing was the ability to hail your waiter instead of waiting for them to come by. That was one nice thing about Japanese restaurants. When you wanted the waiter you would just put your hand up and say "Sumimasen" to which you would here the reply "Hai" and would promptly be greeted by a waiter.

Today, I need to meet with a bunch of people and drive around a bit. Speaking of which...if any of you know of a nice car around $2000 we are looking to replace the demon car that Katrina drives. The horn finally decided to have one more fit and would not stop like it has in the past. Thankfully, a neighbor had their brother over working on a car so he came over and helped us unplug the horns. The time had come to sell my two Buick Park Avenues and buy something decent for Katrina.

Not It

So I looked up the show today and the way it sounds is that the building project is already on its way. It would have been nice to help out the community and someone in need but from the pictures, from the Minot project, it looks like they did very well and built a wonderful home for the family. It would have been nice to be able to help out with the building but I suppose it is better to have people with actual construction experience. They used Heritage Homes, a local home building company that specializes in homes around 150,000 to 170,000. If I remember right I recently met with an agent of theirs as we were looking at a model home. We told her our story and she told us theirs. It seemed like they were doing very well yet expanding both sides of he river. There was even a zoning map for the projected addition to Horizon Shores that is well on its way. It looked pretty decent but it is too bad that the only way the city can grow is over farmland. If we end up staying here we will have to make sure to make good use of this fertile soil. A small garden will be a must.

Now I just wait for Amy to call back to see what she has in store for me. I think my excitement has dwindled since I feel I missed the supposed opportunity she was speaking of. I called back and no answer so I left her a message.

Edit:
Hilarity ensues: Turns out that the phone call was a classic case of wrong phone number. Apparently she was trying to reach a Jesse Allen that works for case. When I called she said, in summary, "Siegert? Is that with an f?" "Nope, that is with an S" "Hmmm, have you ever worked here before?" "Nope." "What did I call you about?" All and all it was pretty hilarious. I hope Jesse Allen didn't miss his opportunity.

Intriguing Message

I went looking for my phone and upon finding it I noticed I missed a call from an unknown phone number here in Fargo. This in itself is not unusual since I often leave my phone when I go somewhere in a hurry. The unusual part is in the contents of the voice mail. The message went something like this: "Hello Justin this is Amy from Case/New Holland and I have an opportunity for you." First thing that struck me is who is Amy and how did she get my new number. Katrina thinks it may have something to do with the military since a bunch of guys just got back and maybe even something to do with a TV show that may be coming to town soon. Second thing is why is Case/New Holland calling me? As far as I know they are an agricultural and construction equipment provider. The whole thing has me intrigued with a mix of nervousness and excitement. I tried calling her back this evening and got her answering machine at work. I am going to call as soon as I wake up. If Kat is right about and it turns out it is for the show then it would indeed be a nice opportunity considering the line of schooling I am looking at pursuing. Tomorrow will tell.

Long Time

So yeah, it sure has been a while since I tossed a blog in the air. We are still unpacking and creating new ideas for the arrangement of rooms. I have so much to do outside the home yet but for some reason I would just like to focus on the inside. Maybe I feel that way because it was nice and clean until I came home and brought in a bunch of boxes. Looking better everyday though.

In other news, the weather is definitely warming up. We played Settlers of Catan on the balcony last night after we enjoyed supper and a show in the same location. Our balcony is big enough to fit a card table and at least 3 chairs with plenty of room. It is in the low 70's again and I have about 30 minutes until Katrina is done with class. Sounds like a perfect time to try to roller blades again. May not be a good idea with my ankle but I am not one to remain caged.

A Busy Return

So much to do and the hours fly by so fast. Trying to squeeze the contents of a house into a tiny apartment is no small feat. With a storage unit of boxes left and the apartment a mess from previously opened boxes one can only wonder if it is possible. Most likely I will have to get rid of a lot of furniture. That in itself won't be too difficult since well over half of the furniture we have was found and free. What does one do with it though. It would be easy to save it and store it for someone else to use but it would be just as easy to toss it out and pretend like it never existed. Either way I can't really do too much at the moment since I lack the truck or the trailer to move the larger pieces from the storage.

All in all I await the day that all the boxes are unpacked and I can actually conduct an accurate budget with a normal monthly routine. Granted, with all he traveling I have been doing recently that also needs to cool down for a return to normal to be possible.

Road Entry

I am writing this entry from the front of a coach bus as we travel the long road home from Fort McCoy. Before this moment the return home didn’t hit me. Most others were feeling joy and excitement where I just felt numb. I figured I just wasn’t going to feel anything until I was able to finally relax at home in civilian attire. However, as I look out the window and see all the townsfolk welcoming us home I cannot help but feel overwhelming joy. This is the kind of joy that brings tears to the eyes. As I type I am fighting the tears pretty heavily. It feels like we have done a great service to our country and I actually now feel that I have contributed to the freedom of each person we pass by. We each wave and each smile it grows harder to hold it in. While over there I didn’t feel like I was doing much for the country itself. I can tell I am not the only one feeling heightened feelings. The jokers are cracking jokes left and right as that is their way to lighten the mode so they don’t have to face the realism of the event. Before we started seeing mass amounts of people they were all quiet but as soon as their eyes met ours their voices became louder. I wonder how hard these emotions are going to be to contain when I am standing face to face with the loved ones waiting for me. I think the reason it hits me so hard is because this is the second moment that I really felt human kindness and the first one changed me so much. I think this will be my most memorable birthday for a long time.

April 2nd, 2010