And reality sets in

It has or is starting to hit me
That in a couple months
Well actually 6 weeks
I will be graduating

Now what?

That is the question that I and others ask
What am I going to do?
Where am I going to be?
Will I have a job?
God I hope so

It has been hard to find a GIS job
Most I find are out of state
In places I do not wish to go
Or are for people with way more experience

I have found some Planner positions
I am filling out an application with County
I hope the fact that I am a intern there will help me
But it is not guaranteed

Most Planner jobs I find are back in the Bay
God that would be a hella of a commute
Sac to the Bay
I'd take the train
Or live at home during the week

But I do not want to leave her up here
All by herself
I do not think I could do it
Emotionally
Mentally

So now what?
I wish I had an answer
Wish I had a clue
But for now
...?

-------- ------ -------- ---

So an update on my life
Got my car back
My old car
My fav car
My integra

Amy's brother fixed it
Well he thinks he solved the problem
I trust his abilities
His knowledge
So far it works fine

Starts up everytime
Starts up on a dime
Do you like my ryhme?

I am sorry for that digression

Yes my integra is back with me
Oh how I missed her so
She may not be the cleanest car
Or one that would make your head turn
But she's been mine since 2001

I just cannot let go of her
So many memories
So much fun
I do not think I'll ever get rid of her

I hope she keeps working
I will call it a success come December
If nothing bad happens by then
Then success

-------- ------ -------- ---

My golf swing has gotten bad
I was doing so great
Then all of the sudden
BAAM!!! now I am like a rookie again

I do not know why
I think it is a mental problem
I need to get to the range

Class is good and all
But maybe I am trying to hard
To hard to be the best

I shall see today if I am better
Try and figure out what is going on
Because I truly do not know why

-------- ------ -------- ---

END

Let's be GREEN

How many of you take care of your house?
How many of you are disgusted when your house is a mess?
For those that are
Then why is it so hard to clean up our enivronment
It does not take much
Really

Is it so hard to drive a little less
To take public transportation
To carpool with people
To walk or bike instead of drive

For alot of people it apparently is

Our society has become so dependen on the automobile
I mean look at how much larger and larger people are becomming
Look at when the automobile was introduced
Then look at when obeseity started to rise
I bet you would find a interesting correlation

-------- ------ -------- ---

I digress though from the original point
I am not here to point out reasons why people are large
I am here to adress the concern for our environment
Our Home called Earth

People people can you hear me?
The time to act is now!
The temperatures!
Thems arisin!

You cannot ignor the facts
The facts that there is more CO2 in the atmosphere than before
The fact that the temperature is warmer than it has been in centuries
The ice in the artic is shrinking and will be no more in decades to come

Do you want to see Polar Bears go extinct?
Do you want to see the current in the North Atlantic go dormant?
What do you mean dormant?

I mean is that as more fresh water ice (melting glaciers of Greenland) enters the Atlantic
The current that brings warmer water and temperatures to Europe will stop
This will cause a drastic drop in temperatures
Temporarily causing a period of frezzing
Then will come a time or warming

Becomming so warm that parts of the world will be extremely hot
It is a future that can become true if we do nothing
I emplore you to do something
Even if it is as simple as recycling
Driving less
Walking or biking

I ask you not as a Geographer
Not as a envrinmentalist
But as a fellow member of this planet

I do not care how hip this may be in the media
We do not need people who want to be hip to jump on the bandwagon
We need people who care and want to save this planet for future generations
So join us in the fight to make this planet a place for future generations to grow up in
A place where they are not batteling horrific weather conditions
A place where they are no endless summers

Lets make it a place to enjoy
A place where people can live
A place that is better than what it is today
We owe it to this planet
With out it we would be no more

We all fall

Well, it is that time of the year again
The time of year where the leaves begin to change color
Where the skied start to turn grey
A time where we wonder how will this year end

Will it end with us being single?
Will we complete what we wanted to complete?
Or will it turn out to be a complete and ragged mess?
For some it will be a success and others it will not
So where will you end up?

For me I think this year will end on a good note
I will graduate this December
I will celebrate 3.5 years with Amy
And hopefully will have found a full time job
But time shall tell

-------- ------ -------- ---

At the moment I am still working at County
Sacramento County that is as a Student Intern
I will admit I do not think that what I do know I could do forever
Yes I could do it for a few years
But not for long term

While it is interesting
It is not what I want to do
Atleast I think

I would like to try other aspects of GIS
Instead of just dealing with water drainage and hydrology
Do not get me wrong
What I do is important
I am currently making local flood plain maps for the whole county
Which if you know how many rivers and creek we have
It is no easy task

I like the people I work with
I like learning what I have and am learning
I am grateful for the opportunity I have been presented
But it is not something I cna envision myself doing long term

I would like to try out different areas of GIS
Say with planning be it environmental or urban
I would like to try it out with transportation as well
Or work for a agency where GIS is used for a multitude of things

I have started to look for jobs with other agencies
Unfortunately the openings at County are no longer posted
But this is expected and I could not have started right away
I still have not graduated
But still I liked the idea that they were available

-------- ------ -------- ---

I have looked for jobs with the City of Sacramento
They do have some but I am lacking in some of the requirements
Like 1-2 years of experience
My internship is not long enough
But I may get lucky

I have seen a few with the State of California
Some look more promising
But again nothing is for sure

San Francisco has a planner position
But again in a city as big and competitive
It will be a tough fight

I have also seen postings for other cities in the Bay
Ones for companies here in the Sacto Area and back in the Bay
Some look good and promsing
But seeing as how I am a good 2 months from graduating
I will have to hope that other ones are posted

-------- ------ -------- ---

School so far has been going
Not the greatest start
But two of my classes this year are not major classes
So I have to get back into the habit of not analyzing things geographically
So long since I have written in a non analytical geographic standpoint
But fear not I should get B's and A's this semester...I hope

I should atleast get an A in golf
I actually have learned alot
I was never taught by a pro
I just picked up tips from friends and family
My shots are more consistent and straighter then ever before

I want to get down to the range
But at the moment that is not possible
Soon I hope though
Amy is taking it with me too
She's not bad...but could use improvement

I know I should not judge her
She's never been the athletic type
Which some may find shocking knowing me
You may have expected me to end up with a fellow jock maybe
But no, I fell in love with someone totally opposite

-------- ------ -------- ---

Really she is
She grew up in the city
Two to be exact
Minneapolis and San Francisco

I grew up in the suburbs
Pleasanton baby
The good old East Bay

She's full blooded Chinese
I am half
She's first generation born American
I am 4th and 7th depending what side you look at

I am hot
She's not
Well she is
And I'm not
But I thought I'd give it a shot

I played sports most of my life
She never has and probably never will
She's bilingual
I am just bi-racial

She grew up economically challenged
I grew up economically well off to a degree
She's worked since she was 14
I have worked when I chose too

She hates me humor...but she still laughs
I say she has no humor...because she makes fun of me
She's girly
I am manly

There are so many differences that I do not wish to list
But the point is that we are very different
More than people know
But in the end our differences is what drew us together
It is what makes our relationship so interesting and dynamic and fun

Form our differences we have learned so many new things
Viewed the world in different ways
Experiences new things
And through it all
We still love each other
And as long as that is what we have in common
That is all that matters to me

-------- ------ -------- ---

Sacramento is trying to change its image
She is trying to make herself over
She is trying to become a national city if not a world city
She is in the shadow of her big sisters' San Francisco and Los Angeles

She is trying to add new residential units downtown
Trying to capture and evoke that 24 hours living that her big sisters' do
She wants to not be looked past anymore
She wants to be noticed and wanted

Sacramento for all her rich and wonderful history
Cannot escape this shadow which she stands in
The outside world has a view of her
One which it cannot shake yet

The "Cowtown"
The "Hicktown"
The Government Town
The "Sacramento"

If people only knew what was going on
If they only knew the possibilities that lurk
If they only knew the people
If they only knew the culture

-------- ------ -------- ---

Sacramento is not this "Cowtown" anymore
She is a city that is growing fast
1.2 million people live in the region
400 some odd thousand people live here

We have the biggest urban infill project in the country going on right now
We are capital of the 5th most power economy in the world
Yes, California the state is that powerful, USA you may thank us

Sacramento is changing for what I think is the better
We are changing our image
We are adding new high rise office buildings
Adding new venues
Adding new restaurants

We are the next place to be in 5-10 years
Housing is still affordable here
We see the mistakes of other areas
And try implement corrections here

Our population is one of the most diverse in the Nation
Our mix of class is one of the most diverse in the Nation
You have middle-class living right near or next to lower-class
We have three Universities in the area

We are changing for the better
We have plans for condo towers in the downtown core
Plans to make a huge new addition to downtown (the urban infill)
We have a good regional transit and bus system

We have the NBA kings
We have the Sacramento Rivercats (AAA baseball)
We sit on the confluence of the American and mighty Sacramento Rivers
We even have the Terminator

But I digress
Sacramento is the next big thing
She is comming of age
You may look at her big sisters now
But Sacramento my friend
Will catch your eye soon