Say Yah to da UP, eh? Or...Hey Y'all to Tejas...Take your pick!

Belive it or not, I have survived yet another week in the great state of Tejas. Since my last entry, things around where I'm currently living have been pretty normal. I've been working out religiously, spending my token 40 hours/week at my internship, and trying to spend time with friends before school starts. At work things have been pretty steady. I've been trying to inventory some of our rotating equipment which has been an adventure in itself. Since our plant is many many years old, things have changed hands and changed formats so many times that some of our lists have become a bit inaccurate. As a result, I have been given the task and opportunity (if you want to be optimistic and call it that) of making this collection far more accurately documented. So far this whole endeavor has actually gone quite well. I'm yet to throw any computers in the general direction of the wall or trash can so that has been a plus. In addition to that, most everyone I've hit up for information has been pretty easy to squeeze data out of.

On the flip side of my life here, I've been able to spend a decent amount of time enjoying the gym. Anyone who knows me well also knows that I am proud of my obsession with the gym and exercise in general. Surprisingly enough, I didn't even really start lifting weights much until last week. I've mostly just done cardiovascular exercises and left it at that. It has felt good to get a little lifting in yet again in preparation for the lifting I plan to do back at home. I've definitely enjoyed getting my cardio endurance up significantly again. It feels good to be able to walk out of a spinning class and still be able to stand up and breathe. It's definitely an accomplishment.

This last weekend I was able to tag along to a fellow intern's family's lake house about 100 north of where I live. It was great to have the opportunity to meet new people, get back to nature, and spend a few days caring about nothing other than a lake, some food, and how much sunblock I need to pile on to stay un-lobster-fied. (I know it's not a word, but if you've seen me with a sunburn you know it's a reality.) From Friday to Sunday, we got the chance to cook many awesome meals, spend two afternoons on the lake, and enjoy some quality game playing time around the house. In addition to having many people up at the house, we also had a grand total of six dogs -- a Weimereiner, three labs, and two German shorthairs. The dogs were totally ridiculous, but it was nice to have them around. Probably the scariest part of my weekend was going out on the jet ski with my friend's step-sister and her friend. I ended up sitting in the back of the jet ski while the driver tore it up. Needless to say, I did not fall off, but I think the girl in the middle couldn't breathe for 90% of our ride because i was bear hugging her the entire time. My legs are also incredibly sore from squeezing onto the jet ski like my life depended on it. In retrospect, I probably could have induced far less pain on myself if I had just fallen off the jet ski, but at the time my #1 focus was not going flying and for the most part, it worked. It definitely felt good to get a break from the usual for the weekend and I am very appreciative that my friend's family and friends were so welcoming to my pale Northern self.

Aside from my adventures near and far from town and challenges at the gym and at work, I seem to be surviving living far far away from home pretty well. I have to admit that of all my "far away" experiences so far, this is probably the one that I've missed home the most during. I guess I had a decent amount of homesickness in Ireland because of some challenges I had with my host family, but I think the bulk of my homesickness here has come from missing many of my cloest friends and family memebers who are still up north or, in some cases, all over the US or even the world. I know that before I know it I'll be right back home and wishing I was away again, but for now it makes me a little sad that I can't drop in on my close buddies for a good laugh. In retrospect, I could technically fly home for a weekend before I get done, but I would prefer not to have to do all that traveling when I'm just going to be home in 5 weeks anyway. I guess it's kind of like what they say about relationships...when you're in one, you dream of being single because of the advantages of being unattached, but when you're single, you do just about anything to be in a relationship because you may miss some of the perks of having someone around. Either way, you're still dreaming about something you don't have at the time. In the same way, I've been dreaming about the perfect weather in Michigan, seeing my friends and family, and being able to enjoy some of the perks of Michigan summer. But I also know that if I was in Michigan right now I'd be cursing the cool nights because I'd feel like summer was going to pass through my fingers before I could enjoy it, my family would be driving me a little nutty, and I'd be wishing I could visit other places while I had the time. What a paradox.

I guess that's about all for this week. It looks like I'll be making another trip to Baton Rouge this weekend so hopefully I'll have some more yummy food pictures to post!