Employed Engineer

For the longest time, my "about me" description has described me as an "unemployed engineer."Actually, it still says that, but it's not true anymore. I got a job...and it's in my field!
I got the job back in March, so I might have told you all about it in person. If you haven't heard from me, well... the job might be why. I work at a company called Arcadis. It's a consulting firm. My office in in downtown Portland in one of the big tall building with pretty views. It's pretty great.

The Impossible Achieved

I finally discovered a task that I find odious enough that I will apply to jobs as a means of procrastinating. I thought it was impossible, but it's not. That task is skim coating. It's dusty. It's strenuous. It's slow, and the process is not very satisfying. The end result is worth it, but oh how I dislike the journey. I realized how much when I found myself applying to a job to put off going back to it.

By the way, I am writing this blog entry from inside a cardboard box. Buddy has grown too big to sleep in the bed with us. He's only 55lbs, but is a bed hog. I haven't been sleeping well. He has a dog bed but it gets cold at night.
A few days ago a package arrived from my Amazon wishlist, Bean Bag Chairs! The shipping boxes are just the right size for Buddy's dog bed. Buddy's not so sure about the whole idea. At first he refused to go in the box. Once I was in the box he walked in a laid down. It is nice and warm in here and Buddy's dog bed is pretty comfy. Who knows maybe Buddy will just keep sleeping in the bed, and I will end up sleeping in the box.

The Bean Bag Boxes Waiting On The Front Porch

The FE

Practice Problems With My Favorite Pen

Did I mention that I've been studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE)? The FE is a certification exam. If you pass it, you can be registered as an Engineer In Training, an Engineering Intern or Intern Engineer. It all means the same thing, but different states use different titles to keep it interesting.
I guess some people find the term Engineer in Training to be confusing because it sounds like the Engineer is not yet an Engineer. Personally I think engineer in training sounds like a training bra... Anyway an EIT/EI/IE is an engineer, just not a certified Professional Engineer (PE). You have to work as an engineer for several years and take yet another exam to become a PE. A PE is the person who signs off on/ takes responsibility for the quality of work on a project. So if the bridge falls down... the PE is the  one responsible. I'm not likely to be designing any bridges as I'm in environmental engineering not civil, but you get the idea.

Passing the FE is a step along the road to becoming a PE. It's a six hour exam with a 25 minute break in the middle. There are a limited selection of calculators that you are allowed to use. You can bring in cough drops, but they must be unwrapped prior to entering the testing room. You may not bring in scratch paper or a pen. The staff at the testing center give you a grease pencil and a reusable pad of laminated paper stuff with which to do all your scribbling. I took it on Friday Nov. 20th.

My Study Buddy

I got my results yesterday; I passed!  What joy! No more studying for that! Now I can apply to all the jobs that want an EIT/EI/IE whatever they want to call it.

A Year In Summary

It's not quite a year since I've written in my blog, but it's close. It's been an eventful 10 months. I hope to tell you about the in more detail, but here it is in summary.

1. In February 2015, Andrew started a permanent job with Lam Research, a company located in Tualatin, OR. It's a huge leap forward for him, career wise. He has broken the experience catch-22 that so many of us slam into when we graduate. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it goes like this: The entry level jobs require experience; It's impossible to get that experience without getting a job. I'm so proud of Andrew. 

2. Andrew's increase in income put us in a place to become home owners instead of renting. We moved in with my parents and started the process known as buying a house. I became queen of paperwork.

3. I decided to retile the entryway to my parents house as a Mother's Day gift. Removal of the til revealed a rotten wall and shoddy construction. Andrew and I replaced the living room front wall. It's sturdy safe and rot free though not yet drywalled or insulated. 

4. Just after Mother's Day our house in Newberg closed, and we moved in.

5.We began remodeling our house. (Still in progress.)

6. Melanie Moser, one of my very best friends, got married and I was a bridesmaid. 

7. In July 2015, we got a puppy. His name is Buddy. 

8. I decided that I don't want to have children. A puppy is enough to make me crazy. Fortunately Andrew is okay with that (both the crazy and the lack of kids.) 

9. At the end of July, Andrew mangled his finger with the router. Router injuries often result in amputation. It's a tool that's meant to remove a lot of material. Andrew got lucky, really lucky. He still has his finger and it almost looks normal again. 

10. I still volunteer with the USGS. I've put in over 300 hours in the last 12 months.

11. I am still looking for a job although I'll admit could have submitted more applications than I did. 

12. I am 4/5 of the way through writing my book. I have promised myself that I will finish it by the time I turn 30. That happens this April.

Why I Like Tuesdays

So I have a job. Did I mention I have a job? I have a job with the City of Salem until the end of October. I've been adjusting to my schedule. It turns out that jobs take a lot of time. Fortunately I love mine and here's one reason why. It's called Tuesday.

Every Tuesday Chris and I do sampling on Detroit Lake. Chris is my coworker who I do most of my work with. The watershed monitoring program only has two employees. One is me. The other is Chris. We work together quite well. I will not post a picture of him today because I have not asked him if he minds having his picture put up on the internet. I doubt he does, but it's best to ask. 

So, now that I've oh so briefly introduced Chris, here is some of what I saw last Tuesday. 

Proud mamma and baby ducks at the log boom, our first sample site of the day. (Chris took this picture for my as my hands were full of cable.)

Here's picture of me doing a water quality profile at our second site of the day, heater creek. (Chris also took this picture) 

Oh yeah, and by the way, I'M ON A BOAT!

...and look who's hanging out.

A guest joins us when we stop for a snack.

Awkward adolescent Mergansers! 

Proud mamma Merganser with her teenagers.

Baby duck and the last site of the day (Brietenbush Arm.)

The ducks and geese at Breitenbush arm of Detroit Lake are extremely bold. I'm told they will hope right up in your boat with you, and I believe it. 

Andrew and I move back to Corvallis

So, a little less than two weeks ago, Andrew got the offer for the job he now has. The offer was made on a Thursday. The HR lady said that they would like him to start on Monday. As you may know Corvallis is an hour and a half drive from Portland. Best not to start a new job with a big commute so... we moved. 

Friday morning, we looked at an apartment. We liked it so naturally we ripped out the carpet. 

Our new apartment without the carpet.

Perhaps I should explain about the carpet. The previous tenants had a cat. This cat was not nearly so well behaved as our cats. The carpet reeked of cat pee. The land lady told us she had shampooed it three times and was thinking it would just have to come out. "Want help?" we asked. She was very appreciative. 

After the carpet was gone, Andrew and I drove to Portland and on to Seattle. We spent Friday night with the fabulous Sarah and Joe. Saturday morning, the four of us loaded the U-haul. 

Then Andrew drove the U-haul to Portland and I followed in the pickup (a.k.a. Trucky.)

In Portland, we loaded the ferrets, cage and all, into the passenger seat of the U-haul and stuffed the cats into their respective carriers. In all honesty Ember was the only one who had to be stuffed. Terrified, she was determined to hang on to the edges of the box for dear life. Alex just gave us a puzzled look.

The ferrets figured it out quite quickly.
Climb in your hammock and you won't get jostled around. Resume napping.

We arrived back in Corvallis Saturday evening and began unloading. While we were away, the landlady and her husband had installed the new floor. It's linoleum, but it looks like wood. I like it a lot.

The bed was a big priority. See the new floor? 

Sunday morning was a time for more unloading.
It was also a time for climbing into dressers (Alex).

By Sunday afternoon, we were tired, the U-haul was empty and I had beer. 

The living room also looked like this.

Monday, Andrew went off to his first day at work. I continued unpacking and rested. Unfortunately all the moving strained my back. I moaned and groaned a lot and got sick to my stomach. Fortunately, I have a fashionable back brace. See aren't I pretty. When the weekend rolled around Andrew and I were lazy; the weather was beautiful; and we had a picnick.

Andrew took all the photos that I have for the entry. They are good photos don't you think? Sadly he took no photos of himself.

A picnic!

Andrew's New Job

Yep. That's a picture of my tea. 

I'm hanging out at Southeast Grind in Portland. It's one of Abi's favorite coffee shop's. I was supposed to pick up her backpack for her. Unfortunately I misheard the the address I was supposed to go to. The one I have doesn't exist. So... yeah... no backpack for Abi. On the up side a pretty man with long blond hair just ran by looking like an elf warrior. So I got to gape at him over the top of my laptop. Aw, he stopped running. It looks like he's only pretty when his hair is flying thin the wind. Now he looks sad. Uh oh, he knows! The random man is a mind reader.

Andrew has a job in Corvallis. It's a three month position as technician. Hopefully it will lead to a permanent position as an engineer. I am in Portland for three days a week continuing my volunteering with the USGS. I miss my Andrew. I'm really proud of him.

Job Searching

Thanks to my friend Abi, I've hit a little break in the cloud that is job searching. She introduced me to a tutoring website. So I am now making a little bit of money. It's not enough to support myself, but there remains the possibility that it could be. Regardless, it makes the whole waiting to get a grown up job easier and it doesn't get in the way of my volunteering work.

http://instaedu.com/online-tutors/Jenny-B-10559/

A Few Things Mostly Sad But Not Heartbreaking

A few things that I wanted to write about for posterity. Non of them are earth shattering (because as you know the world revolves around me)

1. Anna, the chicken died about a month ago while I was visiting my parents. I said hi to her along with the rest of them when I arrived. The next morning Mom found her dead in the chicken house. I went out to look at her body. It looked like she had died in her sleep. It's an unusually peacefully way to go for a chicken. That makes it a little less sad somehow.
Mom said that Trouble was staying in the hen house with Anna's body. The two of them were friends especially. Trouble is the lead chicken and Anna was at the bottom of the pecking order and Trouble kept Penny from picking on Anna too much.

2. Andrew didn't get that job. Yeah, you guessed that already. If he'd gotten the job I surely would have written something about it.

3. My Masters of Engineering Final Oral Examination is coming up. It looks like it will happen December 5th. I'm scared. I don't think they are in the habit of failing people but what if I just spin in a circle an pea myself like Micky (my parents dog.)

4. I've been depressed, bored and lonely a lot lately. It's a hard life stage. Andrew's done with school and looking for a job, but no job yet. I'm almost done with school and looking for a job but no job yet. A lot is uncertain and I have a hard time finding things to be proud of myself about. I'm constantly falling short of my own impossible expectations.

5. Here's something happy. My friend Kate got her dream job as a Head Start Counselor. She finally gets to do what she loves for a living.

Self Motivation

Things that I need to do to keep the ball rolling (so to speak)
1. Send an additional email to the people at the USGS that I was hoping to intern with
2. Finish the online ethics training for my degree
3. Arrange to do my Masters defense

Stuff that I need to study:
1. GIS
2. Prepare for Masters defense
3. Study for FE exam (should overlap with master defense)
4. Keep working through my differential equations course

The Daily Grind Required For Healthy Existence:
Socialize
Eat
Drink water
Exercise (Pilates would be good.)
Dishes
Laundry
Make The Bed

The Daily Grind for Happy Healthy Pets:
Play time for the ferrets
Litterboxes
Fill food bowls
Fresh water

The Extra Things That Make Life Nicer:
Tea in a fancy tea cup
Playing music
Listening to a book on tape while doing laundry of dishes
Lighting candles
Sitting at the table to eat
Coordinating meals with Andrew

The Results of Andrew's Phone Interview

 At the end of the phone interview yesterday, Andrew emerged from our office/library to find me wrapped up in one of my favorite blankets listening outside the door. So I already knew about half of what was said in the interview. They told Andrew at the end of it that he would hear from them in one to two weeks. They called back today to set up an in person interview for next Monday. So far so good. Good job Andrew.

I am proud of this picture

Humming Bird and Azalea

The same humming bird and Azalea 2 seconds later

I took this picture on the OSU campus between Merrifield and the music builing (I don't know what it's called). I damaged my lunch in my attempts to get my camera out quickly but I ate it anyway (the lunch that is not the camera). I think the picture was worth it.