NicholasYax.com

I keep saying I am going to update my blog more, and I keep failing.  The problem is I keep having good news coming that I wait for to post, but it just gets more and more delayed and then never comes.  Well, it is February 28th, and I want to get a post out before the month ends, so when the good news does come it will just need to get its own post.

Regular visitors to my blog (are there regular visitors to my blog?  I don’t think there actually are, as you all just read this via the Facebook feed.  It is at nicholasyax.com, in case you didn’t know) may note that I no longer show posts on the front page.  I turned it into a static page with some links to my resume and such, in hopes of having a place to direct prospective employers to some of my school projects.  You can just click the “Blog” link up top though to see all 586 posts, and growing.

Since we are kind of on the topic of blog statistics, I am just 333 visitors from crossing 20,000 in the blog’s nearly 7 years.  I also just passed over the 170,000 word mark.  Not too shabby.  Of course, if I followed my original “every third day” schedule, I would be at nearly 850 posts come the blogversary in May, not the mere 590 − 600 I will likely reach.  Oh well, such is life.

So, important events from February…

Jenn and I got to spend Valentine’s Day together, and went to The Blue Cow for dinner.  I had lamb chops for the first time, and they were pretty good.  She bought me a backpack (a hiking backpack, which I hope to use this summer) and I got her a scrap-booking bag.

We went to the Grand Rapids Boat Show which was pretty fun.  I particularly enjoyed the old wooden boats over the new ones.  There was also a wake boarding demo put on by the folks building the new waterpark in Allendale.

Jenn’s parents came in this week, for the first time in almost a year.  We went to Schuberg’s, did a bit of shopping, they got a hotel, had breakfast the next morning, a bit more shopping, and they were on their way.

I have been doing some genealogy lately, and doing rather well.  I have followed three of my grandparent’s lines back to about 1700, but my Grandpa Don I can’t even get to his parents.  I will need to try and get whatever I can from my Mom and see if I can find any little hints.  I know others have tried before me and got pretty much the same, but there is more info going online all the time, and there must be something new out there we are missing.

And I think that covers it for February.  I am right around 500 words, so good enough for now, I say.  Will report back by March 31, or when I get good news, whichever comes first.

So, today is the end on December, of 2009, and of the 2000s.  2009 has brought my graduation from college and my wedding, unfortunately not my employment though.  The 2000s brought my graduation from high school, my near employment at GM, all of my college career, meeting, proposing, and marrying Jenn, Moving twice, the loss of a grandmother and grandfather, the birth of the blog, and much more.

So, I haven’t updated since October 31, so what has happened?  I had an interview in October with Gentex that seemed to go very well, and I was convinced I would be receiving an offer, but didn’t.  My best guess is that I lacked enough supervision experience as it was a supervisor position.  I had another on November 30th in New Baltimore with an injection molding company.  It is not exactly what I am looking for but could certainly lead to it.  No word from them yet.  I also had a phone interview with Sonoco (no, not Sunoco) but again lacked supervision experience as they were looking for supervisors as well.  I have applied to a couple dozen positions that I have not heard back about.

Thanksgiving Jenn and I spent together and made turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing.  The turkey was more a turkey meat loaf, came out similar to the turkey in a TV dinner.  I wouldn’t get it again.

Jenn totaled her car on December 8th, so has been using mine since.  We really don’t need 2 cars anyway.

December 18th we went to Bay City for Christmas, and from there to Alpena, getting back home on the 20th.  I got some money and gift cards, a gallon of Hawaiian Punch, a jar of pickled bologna, a knife, some cashews, and a Dust Buster.  While in Bay City we ate at Niko’s, that moved into the former Rudy J’s location.  They were pretty good, but its weird being in there because it isn’t Rudy J’s (though Rudy J’s is nothing like they were either).

Jenn and I got new phones on the 22nd.  We both got the Samsung Flight, hers red and mine grey.  They are pretty cool, just wish I could get isync to work.

Jenn and I spent Christmas Eve together as she had it off.  Made ham, sweet potatoes, green beans with bacon, and apple crisp.  Turned out very good.

And that pretty much brings us to now.  Jenn is off for the next several days so we are celebrating New Years together.  I think the plan is going out with some of her friends from work.

This is the 25th blog of 2009, so I did not manage to beat last years 45.  25 blogs in a your comes out to about one post every 2 weeks.  Well, I am fairly sure I can beat that in 2010.  I have actually been toying with moving the blog from hosting myself to Wordpress.com.  They are free, but I would need to pay for my domain name still and for a domain hosting fee.  Nearlyfreespeech.net has been great, but they are raising some fees.  It is understandable and not by much, but for me it will nearly double my hosting fees.

I am closing in on 20,000 visitors, and should make it sometime next year.  Traffic has been too variable for me to make a very accurate guess but it should be around early March, give or take.  Also, this being post 584, I should hit 600 mid to late 2010.  As far as word count, I was at 168,265 as I started this post and have already added nearly 600 words in this post.  170k is given, but I think 200k is a bit of a stretch for the upcoming year.

I am trying to think if there is anything else I need to add, but am drawing a blank.

Well, I guess that is it then.  If I think of anything else I will post it, be it this year or next.  Have a happy New Year everybody.

Well, as you can obviously see (if you have ever been here before) the blog has a new theme. I have been looking for a month or so on and off, and I think this one will keep me happy for a year or so.

Some highlights…

• Links to my facebook, twitter, and youtube profiles at the top of the sidebar, more to come (Amazon wishlist, etc…).
• Links to random posts about halfway down the sidebar.
• Static page links (about, projects, etc…) have been reorganized and are now in a drop down at the top.
• Comment links are at the top of the post, rather than the bottom where they were.  If people complain, this might change, but it was the default in the theme and for now I am leaving it.
• Pretty little icons spread all over (comments, tags, author, etc…)
• Total visits and word written moved from the footer to sidebar.  Clicking on “visitors” will take you to the visitors page, where you can see yourself if you want.
• List of all pages at the bottom of each page.  Instead of just “Next” and “Previous”, actually specifies page 1 of 115, with links to page 2, 3, 4, beginning, and end.

That should be the gist of the new stuff.  There is plenty more new in this theme, some that I haven’t even found yet I’m sure.

Outside of the blog update, I have just been relaxing and looking for jobs.  With the rumor of GM announcing bankruptcy and closing 14 plants and 22,000 lay offs tomorrow, I think I am leaving Michigan.  With that many GM layoffs and closings, even spread nationwide, Michigan is going to be hit really hard.  Add in the effect on suppliers and them issuing layoffs and closings and you are left with a bleak outlook for job seekers, especially new grads without experience yet.

Alright, thats more than I have written in two months right there, so I will leave it at that.

nick

So, Today marks six years since I started the blog. The future, though, is a little uncertain. With Facebook and Picasa, low visitor count, and my complete loss of habit of posting here, I question the reasons for continuing the blog. I’m not saying I am quitting, just that it is in the back of my mind. At the minimum, there will be a rather major redesign. This would include more obvious links to other places you can get info, like my twitter feed, picasa updates, and facebook page.

Moving on, I still have no job.  Still looking, but really not even much to apply to.  Hopefully some company opens up a lot of jobs soon.

I’ve been reading some books on backpacking and it’s getting me excited.  I want to try it, perhaps this summer, but need money to be able to do it.

Thats all for now.  Will try and be a little more regular since I have nothing else to do until I am working.

nick

OK, lets begin the time machine…

Spring break I sent out my MacBook on Monday to have the palmrest repaired.  The next couple days I read a decent amount of “the Watchmen” as I had no computer.  Tuesday I drove to Bay City for the day.  Went to William’s Cheese and The Turkey Roost with my Mom, then installed RAM for my Dad and Grandma.  Meanwhile, my brother was driving to Bitely, just a few miles from me.

Thursday my computer returned, but my initial excitement was quickly squashed when I started it up and found they had formatted my HD.  Thankfully I had backed up to my new flash drive I picked up Sunday at Staples (for really cheap too).  Still, I only had my files, not a full backup.  Reinstalling all my Mac apps, plus Windows and those apps is a pain.  Why they needed to erase my HD to do a case repair I have no idea.

Saturday, my Dad and Grandma came here to visit.  We took them downtown, to Schuberg’s, pet store, shoe store, Old Pioneer Store.  Following that, we played some Wii here (Grandma is really good at bowling, who knew?) and they headed home.

Then, it was one more day off and back to school for this week.  School was hum drum.  We talked about the disc golf tournament at the SME meeting Tuesday, most of my friends spent Tuesday in various bars while I tried to enjoy the weather.  We got a couple games of disc in over the week.  Thursday I got my Lean test back and pulled off a 102/105,  which he counts as a 100%.

Still no job yet.  I would be happy with a few more decline letters so I at least know they are getting through.  All I can do is keep trying.

Edited a few pages on the site today, and got a pair of new themes.  The About and Project pages just weren’t real organized.  Haven’t tried the themes yet.

Jenn and I were going to head to Bay City today for the St. Patty’s Day Parade.  We woke up and didn’t feel it though, and weather looked rather blah.  I may head in next weekend though, as Scott will be in town on leave.

Watched a few movies.  ”Alvin and the Chipmunks” was meh, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” was really good.  Saw a few other but can’t remember them right now.  Guess they probably weren’t that great.

I think that wraps it up for now.  Will try and get another post up over the week, maybe this weekend.

nick