Living a Pretty Suite Dream

Officially an Engineer

That's right, people. This week, I received the dial caliper engraved with the phrase "Official Engineer" awarded to every engineering student as he graduates from studenthood to realengineerhood.

I wish that were actually a thing. But really, this past week at work made me feel that I'm truly an engineer, not simply an engineering student. That title doesn't come with your diploma, or with your first job, but with the first contribution you make to the industry; and for me, that contribution was the official release of my drawings to initiate production of the tool I created for the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride.

Almost two and a half months of designing, testing, analyzing, tweaking, and improving culminated this week as I finished my drawings for the tool and sent it off to another guy to begin the manufacturing process. If all goes well, I might be lucky enough to actually see the final product before my internship ends. If it's not produced by August 5th, though, I'll never get to see it, since it'll be used in the maintenance bay of the attraction where only cast members can see it. That'd be pretty disappointing to never see the final product... I'm praying for a "quick" manufacturing process, if you can ascribe such an adjective to a three-month process.

So yeah! It feels great to have completed something of substance in this internship - something that will stick around even after I leave, for others to use, and hopefully appreciate. I've also affirmed what I expected to be my favorite part of mechanical engineering: design.

Punitive Matters

Last week was the second time in 14 months I've been robbed of a profit from the Warren family's traditional sporting-event gambling. The first came at the hands of Joe Flacco and the 2013 Super Bowl Ravens, when they intentionally took a safety to run down the clock and beat the 49ers. Had it not been for that unnecessary 2-point score in the last 60 seconds of that game, I would've walked away fifty bucks richer. And I'll never forgive Flacco or his franchise for that.

Last weekend it happened again, this time during the Masters. Former Masters Champion Bubba Watson, chosen by Reeses, and 20-year old golf prodigy Jordan Spieth, chosen by me, went into the final round on Sunday tied for the lead at five under par. As the day progressed, Spieth rose to a two-shot lead but then - just as Reeses and Búbble predicted in their trash talking to me that morning - choked on the back nine to drop to three back of Watson and a tie for second place.

Once again, robbed of almost fifty bucks in the final moments of an iconic sporting event. What made the loss even more bitter was that Reeses slept through the entire final round of the Masters, dreaming of the new outfit she'd buy as Bubba came through in the clutch. But mark my words, Spieth will come back to win the Masters some day. And when he does, he'll be my pick.

Fortunately the universe seemed to have enough fun toying with me, as three days later I went into the MyASU online portal and discovered that I'd been awarded the $2000 W.L. Gore scholarship by ASU's engineering schools. I'd applied for the scholarship about a month ago, and I'd put considerable effort into my essays for it, so it was great to see that my effort wasn't for naught. Plus, school will be $2000 cheaper next year! I mean, my incredible parents and grandparents are the ones paying for my education, but it's good to know I'm saving somebody money. And maybe saving them money for my bachelor's degree means they'll have more to invest toward my master's... :)

The real reason I'd been on MyASU that Wednesday evening, however, was because of more frustrating matters. Earlier that afternoon I'd received an email informing me that the Structures & Properties of Materials class I'd signed up to take in the fall had been canceled, and that I'd have to try to find another section to sign up for. Thanks, ASU.

Go figure that the only section of that materials class - that I need to take as a prerequisite for future classes, mind you - with seats still open is one that conflicts with my Thermofluids II course. And that thermo course has no open sections left to switch into. So I'm kinda stuck!

I'll continue to check regularly for more openings; my advisor told me that many students will likely end up dropping out of sections once spring grades post, and as we get closer to the start of the fall semester. But if worst comes to worst, maybe I'll just take a class for fun, be it salsa dancing, non-Euclidian geometry, or something in between!

Did I Forget to Mention...?

In other news, the new Captain America movie is fantastic. Go see it, be it for Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, or just a lot of intense action. Atom, Libra, and I went to see it at a drive-in theater in Lakeland, about thirty minutes outside of Orlando, and we all loved it.

It was my first time to the drive-ins, and we had a really great time. We stopped at Publix on our way out there and picked up some subs and other snacks to eat during the movie, and I think I discovered my new favorite sub sandwich: the Mojo Pork. Not only is it the best from Publix, it blows Subway and all those other sandwich places out of the water... Even the Meatball Marinara.

Best of all, though, the drive-ins are a screaming deal. Five bucks per person for two brand new feature films! The other one we saw that night was the Muppets Most Wanted, which was very funny and cute. Captain America takes the cake, though.

Last weekend, after the Masters, Francisco and I hit up Hollywood Studios to use up some fast-passes he'd been holding on to; unlike regular fast-passes, these ones don't expire until the end of the month in which they're given! Still just a one-time use, though. He won't tell me where he gets those things, all he says is, "I know people." I'm thinking he's part of a Disney-themed Mafia or something. Regardless, we made the most of them: twice through Rockin' and twice through Tower, plus an animation class and Toy Story Midway Mania. Fun evening!

Well, I think that's about all the interesting Disney-related stuff from the past two weeks... Oh yeah, except for one thing. Can I get a drum roll, please?

Keep going.

Keep going. This thing deserves a serious build-up.

A week and a half ago, on Wednesday afternoon, I got to take a tour of the Dream Suite located inside Cinderella's Castle, right at the heart of the Magic Kingdom. Many of you probably didn't know that a suite existed inside the castle; others have probably known for years because you're true Disney fanatics. Either way, you should be jealous. It was amazing.

It's certainly not very big, but they absolutely make the most of the space. You take a private elevator from the ground level up to the foyer, where there are two doors: one is to your suite, the other is to the quarters of a private butler who sees to you during your stay. A private butler!!

And the suite itself is just gorgeous. It's themed to look and feel like Cinderella's castle, from vintage furniture to stained glass windows to marble columns with moldings of Jaq and Gus; but it still includes all the wonderful amenities of modern-day living, like a TV and hot tub. I would love to post pictures, but... That would just kinda ruin the magic of it, I think. Besides, I'm sure you can find stuff on the internet already.

How did I come about this opportunity, you ask? Well, apparently that week was National Architecture Week or something. (The engineers give the architects that to make them feel better, but it really doesn't sustain the same overwhelming popularity of National Engineering Week.) One of the events of the week in honor of that was a tour of the Dream Suite, given by none other than the two architects who designed it. They sent out an Outlook invite to all D&E cast members for 25 slots to be filled, and thankfully I was already looking at my email when they sent it because the slots filled up in less than five minutes.

Not to toot my own horn, but it really is a rare opportunity to see the inside of the Dream Suite in person. You can't book it yourself, no matter how much money you have; it's pretty much reserved for only the winners of the occasional drawings they do for an overnight stay in the place. Even Disney cast members don't get to see it much: Rawlings told me he's never gotten to see it in the eight years he's been with the company. It was such a privilege, and probably the neatest cast-exclusive thing I've done so far in my internship!

The one picture I will post is that of the Dream Suite key that they gave each of us as a souvenir. It's a nice thing to commemorate the experience - and to prove to you all that I'm not just making this all up.

Right after the tour I left for my doctor's appointment about the knee pain I'd been having. The doctor diagnosed me with patellar tendinitis - inflammation of the tendon that connects the patella (knee cap) to the tibia (shin bone) - in both knees. He gave me some exercises to do on my own, as well as pain meds for the bad days, and recommended I begin physical therapy.

I'm disappointed that it's tendinitis, because that was exactly what I was afraid of: a repeat of the struggles I dealt with in seventh and eighth grade. But at least it wasn't something more serious, like an ACL tear, that would require surgery. Six to eight weeks of physical therapy will be a bit invasive to my schedule, but not as invasive as knee surgery, which would likely require therapy afterward anyway.

Happy Easter!

Since I've been in Florida, I haven't gone to any church services. Instead, I've been listening to the sermons from the pastor at Red Mountain Community Church back in Mesa, which the church posts online every week. That way I can still be learning every week even though I don't have a church to attend regularly.

However, it being Easter Sunday, I did want to get out and find a service to go to, so I could more formally celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All week I had no idea where I was going to go, until on Thursday at work, I came across a blurb on the Disney Company home page about services being held in the Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary Resort for Easter. There were three services: two Catholic, one Protestant. It was just what I needed!

So despite being out late the previous night at Ghirardelli's in Downtown Disney with Francisco and some other interns, I arose nice and early on Easter morning to attend the Protestant service at the Contemporary. It was a nice service; nothing exceptional, but it felt good to come together with others to worship and celebrate such a significant day. I admire the other guests that attended that day, most of whom seemed to be regular guests at Disney World rather than employees. They're sacrificing an entire morning of their vacation to attend church!

I came back that morning and slipped in the oven a couple pans of sausage and cheese strata I'd prepared yesterday afternoon. That, along with cinnamon rolls, is a traditional part of the brunch my mom prepares every Easter Sunday. Much like with my birthday cake in January, being 2000 miles away from home couldn't keep me from preserving the tradition! Half of it, anyway.

Well, happy Easter everyone! It's sinful pleasures like this dish that remind me how thankful I am that Christ died to absolve us of our sins. And now He has risen! He has risen, indeed.


P.S.  You may have noticed I didn't do a blog post last week. I've decided to post every two weeks instead of every one, because it was getting difficult to keep up in terms of both time and content.

P.P.S.  It has come to my attention that my sarcastic discouragement of sending me letters from several weeks ago has caused some wonderfully thoughtful people to refrain from writing to me. I was kidding before - I would love to receive your letters. And if you feel like including a care package of cookies and brownies, I wouldn't object to that either.