Week number 4

It been almost a month now and I am officially a Toyota Employee with all the projects they have me working on. Today I went to Kentucky which was a 3 hour drive from Princeton. Toyotomy, which is another location that manufactures service parts for older model vehicles, is much smaller. We were only there for 2 hours and drove for a total of 6! When I got there we sat down in a conference room for a bid meeting. Four different companies were present and they all treated me like a real engineer, since I was designing the pallet they need to fabricate. It was neat to see how the process works. I design, draw, and tell them what to do; they slave and sweat to build what I want; they get paid all kinds of money and I get what they make. Interesting.

The trip was intriguing. We took a Toyota Sequoia, a company vehicle obviously, and it was me with 3 guys. Jeff (my team member), Dave (another coop), and Jay (the guy running the show on this project), and we all bonded pretty well. Apparently I talk a lot and the New England accent represents laziness. We don't pronounce our R's or T's and sometimes we create letters where they don't belong. For instance:

• - Car = Cah
• - House sounds like Moose (Don't know why this is. Try it out)
• - Park = Pahk
• - Someone else = someonelts
• - idea = idear

I'm sure you get the idear. I get picked on so many times for my accent and I can't pick on theirs because they are the majority! Kentucky people have a really bad accent too. They are the total Hicks of Hickville.

It has also been almost 2 weeks since Missie left and it's quite lonely in the apartment. So... I bought a hamster. Yep, that's right. Her name is Acelyn. Keeper made that one up (I made the spelling). She is so adorable. Every night she runs in her wheel forever! I would wake up at 1 in the morning because of it. Here is a picture of her. She is called a black bear hamster. She takes care of herself most of the time but I usually take her out for 30 minutes right before I go to bed. She's just starting to get used to walking around on me and on the floor. I love putting her in that pink ball because she can walk all around the house and I can do the dishes or cook dinner or just watch her.

I am getting used to staying here alone. I don't have to worry about listening to my music too loud or wanting the TV on or what kind of food I cook. Usually having roommates requires you to watch your every move. However, if I had the choice again, I would not choose to live alone. Having a dog would have been nice but eventually it would get tired of me working so many hours and I would be neglecting it. (Doesn't mean I don't want one anymore MOM!)
The other day I received a card in the mail. Now this was not just any card. This was a card from my family that I was not expecting at all. As soon as I opened it I cried. It was amazing. Whenever I was in cheerleading or part of a group everyone in the group would sign a card to say thank you. Well, I NEVER realized how much that means. Having my whole family tell me in just a few words how much they miss me and love me means oh so much. I cried tears of happiness. I HAD CROCODILE TEARS FOR GOD SAKES! So thank you to anyone who wrote in my card, especially Keeper.

I know we haven't been too close as siblings but now that we are older and growing up I think we need to get over what has happened in our past and prove to each other that we have one anothers back. You have grown up a lot. You are really starting to mature and finally realizing what life is all about. Life is what you make of it. If you make one decision that you are not so sure of then it's not what you want. However if you are scared of accomplishing something you really want, overcome your fears and take a chance. The only people who will be there for the rest of your life are your family. I have lost all my friends from High School and below. Jaimie whom I met in 6th grade turned to drugs and waitressing for a career. Stacy and I stopped talking for some reason I don't even know, but shes not their. Sonya and I stopped talking for nearly 2 years. Now she has a boyfriend and is living with him. She expects to be getting married soon. Nikki was too immature for me and now she is married and has a son. Jared was a loser and never worked out for me. That's just a story in itself. The only people who have stuck through thick and thin for me are my parents and family (which means the people who actually stay in contact with us). <-This is my experience. What's yours?

The gym has been treating me pretty good when I go. I have completely changed my diet and lifestyle. I feel much healthier and working at Toyota makes me happy, for now at least. Time is going to fly by and soon I will be home again in classes. Marco is coming to visit the weekend after Valentines and I cannot wait to see a familiar face. Oh Yea and for those of you who bet on me wanting to come home, I don't. I just miss you and I miss home. Doesn't mean I won't last hear because I can do it. And I will do it. And I will come back in the Fall like I promised. HAH!

Time for bed now! Talk to you soon. <3Always ME

Pictures of my first apartment!!

Indiana: The New Life

It's here. All my preparation to move to Indiana has finally paid off. I am in my new apartment and it's gorgeous. I will have pictures to show you soon. Everything is working: electric, cable, internet (obviously), and heat. Oh yes, and I have a dishwasher and an ice maker :-) ! This is my first apartment ever and for the first time I am living completely on my own. There are a list of bills to be paid, and to pay them I need to have a source of income called a JOB.

Tomorrow I start my new JOB, co-op if you will, at 6:30AM with orientation. Toyota's Manufacturing facility is pretty much the size of a city. Thankfully I won't be the only one pulling into the parking lot with a car besides Toyota. My mother and I drove through the parking lot and saw all kinds of cars including FORD, MERCURY, HONDA, etc.

Thank god Mom drove here with me. We had a blast even though it was 19 hours of straight highway. Pennsylvania was beautiful though. The mountains create a view that should never go unseen. Since we were on the road so much we were able to see the sun rise and set along the farm country, or so called Tornadoville. When we arrived to my new apartment my mother noticed she had the same type of apartment when I was born. The funny part is that we share the same bedroom location and size in which I lived the first few months of my life.

I share my apartment with Missie who is also a Toyota Co-op student. She just moved in today. Her husband and son came to help her set up. Her son is adorable and has the best manners I have ever seen a 7 year old have. Hopefully Missie and I will be able to develop a good friendship.

Wish me luck on my first day as a Toyota employee!