Year in review...well sorta

I've put this post off for nearly 2 weeks. I've had the time on my hands. I am not so used to being lazy so I had to give it a try and trust me I became an expert.

The following post is a reflection of the past months. My college career is coming to a close and I am trying my best to make the most out of it. These are some of the years I will never be able to have back.

September


September started with a trip to Corvallis to see the Beavs play Wisconsin. To say the least I wasn't looking forward to this trip. I was still interning with ODOT and would have to drive up from Medford to Corvallis by myself which I am not a fan of. To say the least the trip was worth it and I saw everyone I was so used to seeing on a regular basis during the school year. The Beavers won and little did I know that win would be the start of something.

My tenure or time came up with ODOT in the middle of September. I moved up to Corvallis for the last 9 months of my college career. Classes started near the end of the month. At this point I was told my senior year would be my easiest year of the 4 year or in my case 5 years. This ended up being the case for me and I enjoyed it to say the least :)

October

At the beginning of the month my little sister made homecoming court for her senior year. My brother and I made a day trip down south to support her since she was at all our football and basketball games over the year. She was so beautiful and the trip was totally worth it! She was runner up but who remembers that stuff 10 years from now? She was happy either way so it was good to see :) The following weekend after going home my parents came up for a Beaver game and what would be my last Beaver game with my family as a student. With that game and after the Wisconsin game the Beavs kept winning! We once were 6-0. With it being my last year I decide to get tickets for the game in Seattle. Getting the tickets nearly a month in advance was a long shot but their was something about the Beaver team that I liked. It almost paid off but the trip was blast! Good times with good people. Super blessed.

School was continuing to be what I was told. Easy. Compared to my previous spring term it was a piece of cake. I still was doing quite a bit of homework but it was something I have done more of before. Along with school I volunteered to help sign up students for our annual retreat in the fall for my church group. That itself was more work than school but the Lord made everything work out in the end minus all the stress I accumulated. Definitely learned to lean on him always no matter what!

Halloween came around and I did nothing! Instead I watched my Blazers beat the Lakers on opening night! Became super excited for the potential the young team had going forward and so far so good.

November

November came around and so did No Shave November. I became such a fan that after I shaved everything a couple weeks ago, I made a vow to never do that again. Facial hair is coming back in and I am looking good. Ladies start lining up :) Haha. Got to live for something right? Our annual Fall Retreat with our church was the first weekend and that was such a good break from school. It is so cool to be part of a college ministry where the power of God is present in people. 

After the retreat the term continued to work in my favor. Again, a blessing. The Civil War came up quickly and despite the loss it was one for the books to remember. I was able to get tickets for my dad and sister so it became a family affair minus my mom who was at home taking care of the animals. We got a picture with the Heisman that Terry Baker received back in 1962. It was awesome! My dad made some new friends during the game and lets just say we had a memorable game of flip cup at halftime that I will never forget! Good times indeed. 

Another memory would have to be our IM co-ed football team. We won the whole campus championship in great fashion too beating the other team 31-0! We had over 30 people their to support so we had the edge for sure. I tackled someone even though it was flag but you got to do what you got to do right? :) To cap off November we had to shave, which I didn't do completely until a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say this last November was the best November I could ask for. My super senior year was becoming all I had dreamed it to be :)

December

Finals came up before I knew it. Passed them with flying colors like a boss! Worked 3 days after finals to make a little cash and then headed up to Portland to watch the Blazers beat the Spurs 13 rows up from courtside! It was an awesome game to see and I couldn't be happier for the rest of the year. Break has been lazy to say the least but as I stated before, I have become pretty good at it. I am back in my element in the country and spending time with my family which will be my last Christmas break at home :( Reality sucks and it really hits you sometimes. Baby lambs were born as well so I was one happy camper :)

Looking towards the New Year

Well the world didn't end which is too bad, but that means I can chase my dreams still! I've applied for a full time position with ODOT and just have to wait and see what happens in January. Worst case is the Lord has other plans for me which I am fine with. One time will tell :)

New Year's Resolutions for me moving forward are pretty simple.

1) Grow closer to God and become more like Him

2) Gain 15 pounds 

3) Graduate with a 3.0 GPA

The 3 G's is what I like to call them. Not to hard to obtain in my eyes. 6 months will be gone before I know it. Life as an adult is right around the corner, but that is something I don't have to worry about until the time comes. Focus on today and tomorrow will come. Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for my winter term. If it is anything like fall I am going to be amazed no matter what and I am excited to see what is in store :) God bless and thanks for being along side me in my journey

Ecclesiastes 4:5

"The fool folds his hands and ruins himself"

I want to start off this post with this piece of scripture. As most of you know, this summer has been a blessing in disguise. This opportunity came my way for a reason, to be an intern at ODOT. If I chose not to embrace this once in a lifetime opportunity, I would be throwing it away. I believe God speaks to people in many different ways. Some people take the opportunities that are offered before them, sometimes some people don't.  I guess it depends on the season you are in.

Nearing the last month of my internship, I have learned a lot. Each person I have dealt with has been really influential in my growth this summer. A lot of responsibility has been thrown on my shoulders which isn't a bad thing. In today's economy, having your foot in the door of a company isn't such a bad idea. If the Lord opened up this door, it will take a lot to shut it. Hopefully I'll know what to do if that situation does arise sometime.

As most projects are in the closing phase at the office I am stationed at, my project is the only active busy one to say the least. The contract ends at the end of November. The next big project facing this area is an interchange at exit 24 on I-5. It is called the Fern Valley Interchange. Engineers have been talking about this project with so much excitement, it actually kind of worried me. So I did some research. PLEASE click on the link below

http://cms.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION3/docs/ProposedFVInterchangeStagingJuly2013.pdf

If you scroll to the last page, that is what you call a diverging diamond interchange! One thing that stands out is that when you go over the bridge you are driving on the other side of the road! CRAZY! Sorry but this excites me. I have the change maybe next year to be a part of this project. There is only one other diverging diamond interchange in the US and that is it! This is the future of driving everyone.

It is opportunities like this that get me excited about my field. I could take opportunities like the one I was blessed with this summer and chose not to use it. I believe that would be a waste. God speaks to you in many different ways no matter what the season! This summer has been an eye opener for sure. I can honestly say I know I am in the right field of study and I am passionate about it! It will be sad having it come to an end in one month. But at the same time I am looking forward to the next year of my life. It will possibly be my last year in Corvallis and I want to make the most of it before it is time to move on. Oh the excitement :) Can't wait! God Bless you all and thanks for following my journey!

My Journey So Far

This summer has gone by so fast! It is the first of August and I don't even know what to do with myself. One thing I can say for sure is that I am completely blessed beyond belief and I have no reason to ever complain again! This post will be all over the place but I hope you all can follow it :)

The job has been great! I am impressing my mentor more and more everyday and that has been my goal since day one. I am also learning a lot as well. It is a change getting paid to watch people work. Still not used to it. I guess I never will. The project has just completed Phase One which looks beautiful! It is so cool to see a project come together that you are a part of. This has been a dream of mine for the longest time and it is finally coming true.

My mentor couldn't be a nicer guy. I have been blessed to have him as my mentor. I look at how this summer is going and God could have chose a different path for me. He chose not to. David my mentor has already told me that I have done more than he has asked for and is thankful. David's brother is the project manager and he hired me back in May. So if I am good with David, I am good with his brother. David has already made comments as if I already have a job with them and with two positions opening up next summer that I get one of them. It is so encouraging to know I am liked and that my hard work is paying off!

A funny story this week that happened was Tim the project manager thought that I already graduated. It kind of connected all the puzzle pieces together once he told me that. Back in May when I interview he started the interview with telling me about their graduate program. This is great for people who have already graduated! He must have looked at my transcript and thought that since I have 190 credits that I was done with school which isn't the case. But because of all of this mess, I will most likely be getting a big pay raise which is also a blessing so I can't complain.

One of the hardest things I am having to face is the next year of my life. I am excited to graduate but the thought of joining the work force scares me a little bit. Not only that but where am I going to be! It is hard because I visited Portland last weekend and I have a lot of good friends in that area. Seeing them just made me miss them more! I love being home with my family in Southern Oregon, but most of my friends are in the Willamette Valley. The thought of me having my own place next year at this point and working full time is mind boggling! Though most of the signs point to me having a position here in Southern Oregon with ODOT, a part of me wants to be in the Willamette Valley close to friends. The one thing that gives me peace with thinking about this whole situation is that God is in control and I completely trust His decision. I want to be obedient to His will in my life and that is worth the world to me! I am so blessed to have what I do. This is just me looking out for what I think is best but in the end it is what God ultimately wants!

So this time next year Southern Oregon is most likely what I will be calling home for at least two years. Whatever happens after that is up to the Lord. This summer has been such an experience with all it's ups and downs with whatever the problems may be. All I know is that things are working out and before I know it I will be back in Corvallis finishing my last year of school! :) So exciting!! Anyways I want to thank all of you who are joining me on this journey by keeping up on whatever kind of blog you want to call this. I hope to be back soon, thanks for all the support. God Bless!

Pictures on the job

This is a Type 4A inlet being installed. They are 

what you would call a gutter on the sidewalk

Sidewalk after it has been poured

This is a baby retaining wall

This is a cast in place manhole for the storm sewer pipe

Just a funny picture of the job site next to us

Another funny picture

Week of July 9th-13th

This will be a weekly thing just so ya'll know. When you put in the hours I do you become pretty tired. So here is last week in a nut shell :)

Monday- In the morning a delivery truck dropped of 36 inch concrete storm sewer pipe! Extremely huge by the way. The pipe crew had to lower sewer laterals all week and since the pipes have asbestos in it they had to be extra careful. It is taking time. For the grading crew they continued to excavate the road to get ready for curb and gutter to be poured by the end of the week. The contractor pouring the retaining wall showed up to start working on the wall. After they pour the footing it takes a week to cure and since I am writing this 9 days later, they just showed up today to pour the stem so one more week of curing. One of the mixing trucks hit a cable line but luckily it didn't break :/

Tuesday- On this day nothing changed from the previous day. One thing that was different is that we had to perform some stabilization on the grade. That consisted of digging down 1 foot and filling the hole in with 4 inch minus or shell. This helps with the overall grade of the road so that in the future it won't fail. I had to measure out the areas of the digouts for payment so I have to be as accurate as possible.

Wednesday- I get to the site on this morning to find out the grader has a flat tire. Having gotten to know the crew over the last month I have learned a lot. Donny the foreman for the grading crew takes pride in what he does. His equipment is like a kids toys in a sandbox. Don't mess with him! The tire got fixed and he was up and running in no time. My mentor David had decided to go on vacation for the rest of the week. Another inspector showed up on the site to get familiar with the project. Good thing for him and for me the next two days would not be that exciting, haha

The next two days- I found myself for the first time looking for something to do. The crews where basically slowing down for the week. Grading was almost done and they had curb and gutter set for Monday. The sewer laterals finished up Friday and on Thursday they found out they have to relocate some water services because they are in the way of the 36 inch pipe. What is new! So water lines are on the agenda for Monday and the pipe crew.

One cool thing about this week was I got to know another inspector. The funny thing is this inspector has the same name as a friend of mines in engineering at OSU. Jake Pritchard is his name. One the the funniest things. The only thing I feel bad for the guy is that he lives in Roseburg! I live in Medford. If you are not familiar with the distance between the two cities, that is exit 30 to exit 124! Almost 200 miles a day! Just to support his wife and 11 year old daughter! I have such great respect for that guy. If I ever have to do that to support my family I will, but man it must be tough. 3 years and counting he has done this.

I got paid at the end of that week and I was pretty happy with the outcome. Not only is the internship an experience but it pays good that is for sure. Not complaining one bit :)

Until next time, God bless

Stand In Awe

I love this song and love this album! I wanted to post this because it is so good! Hope it blesses you how it has me :)

Stand In Awe

Week of July 2-7

This week on the job turned out to be pretty well given we had the 4th off. Most people get paid for the holiday but I don't. I tried seeing if overtime pay would kick in at 32 hours instead of 40 hours but that wasn't the case. I still got 41 hours in for the week so I can't complain. Averaging 9-10 hours a day and 45-50 hours a week isn't bad for my situation. I couldn't have been more blessed having the chance to live at home with my parents and save money at the same time. It is good to just come home and relax and visit with my family. I miss Corvallis but I am going to make the most of the next 2 months because odds are this will be my last time at home ever. Their is a possibility that ODOT may want me to work for them after I am done with school so I could move home then but that is further down the road so I don't have to worry about that just yet.

One of the many things that is great about this job is I am starting to really get to know the workers. To sum up most of the guys they are a bunch of perverts but they work their butt off! Being around construction surely hasn't helped with my sailor tongue but I look at this as a season in my life where I have to work on some things. Everyday is something new and I am learning a lot. My mentor sometimes throws me under the bus with paperwork but I look it as a challenge. So far I have done good so I am happy.

As for the project. We have moved to another phase which means cutting into another street and installing storm pipe. 30 inch pipe has been installed up to a certain station where we have to cast in place a manhole. The engineers at the city that designed this project sure have had a lot of problems. What makes this experience good is that I now know what mistake not to make. One of the problems with their design that they think is fine is having a 36 inch pipe flow into a 30 inch pipe. In all logic that is completely backwards but that is their choice. While the pipe is being installed the main road is being cut for subgrade before we build up the road. This phase is almost done and one of the most interesting things to me I learned last year in school was the process of building a road. I am now seeing it firsthand and it is amazing. At the end of the week, the contractor that is building the retaining wall showed up to form the area up with rebar for the footing to be poured. This got started today and I have a picture posted showing the process from afar.

With this job it can be super tiring. With the weather making a turn for the worst in terms of heat, I will be getting a lot of sleep that is for sure. I hope to keep up with more posts in the future but for those following the fun I am happy to share this part of my journey with you. It is so easy to get down on yourself when everything doesn't go to your plan. It happens all the time to me. But I am so glad God's plan for my life is better then the one I make up in my own mind. This summer has been a great journey and it is just getting started. Thank you all and enjoy the ride. God bless

THE F.N.G.

Well it has been almost a week since my last post and it will probably continue to be a regular thing given my busy work schedule. The internship has been great. I am known as the F.N.G on the site which stands for f-ing new guy which I take pride in. I got quite a few hours last week with it being the end of the month. We have to pay the contractor for what they have done so far on the project. It is a chore for the most part I'll tell you. After the 11 hour day on Friday and 12 hour day today it has been stressful and challenging to meet demands. Good thing most of it isn't my fault. I record daily reports on the project so my hope is to by tomorrow have some fun and interesting stories up. The bed is calling my name but God bless my followers and more is to come. Peace

Days thus far

So Thursday we continued to do work. The days are starting to blend together so I will try my best to post every day from here on out. That is doubtful to happen but it is good to hope. My job basically is to shadow the lead inspector and assist him in anyway possible. I have so far taken the duty of doing all the FIR's which are field inspection reports on all of the bid items to make sure that ODOT will accept them. Hardly ever does this become an issue but I am in charge of that because if something goes wrong we have something to fall back on. My daily reports for the project will be reviewed by the lead inspector so it is really good to pay attention to detail and make sure you over exaggerate things to make an impression. The weather was supposed to get bad Friday so the contractor did the best it could to met their weekly goals. Some of those goals were finishing the storm drainage from one inlet to the other inlet which they did and marking centerline for subgrade of the road with hubs so the road later next week could be checked by surveyors.

Friday it of course rained. I spent most of the day in the office working on pay notes for the bid items. How the contractor gets paid monthly is by the amount of bid items they install. They give us the report and we write up the pay note. That is my job. So that kept me busy. Another thing is taking a lot of pictures of the site so we have something to fall back on if something goes wrong. So I uploaded the pictures to the computer and filed them. Along with all of the paperwork, I make copies of everything just in case and since I am not paying for the paper why not.

Today I was out on the site the first half of the day by myself. This was kinda boring because I didn't have really any direction to start with so I had to make myself busy. It is hard when other utility companies come up to you and ask you questions and you have no idea. In the end it all worked out. One downside to the project we found out today was the 18 inch storm pipe they installed last week didn't meet specifications with compaction. Since ODOT is in charge of the job they have different standards and specifications are always changing so it was to bad to see this happen. Now they have to dig up the 3/4 minus and recompact everything which throws them out for a loop. We are nearing the end of the storm drainage installation on the first phase of the project so I look forward to seeing it complete.

This week I am supposed to be getting some action on some asphalt paving so I am looking forward to that. I will most likely be a night shift but this weather has to change for anything to happen. Anyways, I hope to keep you all posted with the progress. I hope to post pictures of the plans to people have an idea what I have to look at and translate to real life situations. Till next time.

My first three days

So I started work Monday, spent two hours filling out paper work  to start out the morning. I found out in the process of all of this that I get my own work space, a cell phone, an email, and a computer for the duration that I am working with ODOT. Pretty cool if you ask me. The only thing I could ask for is that the email stays the same and that this position opens up an opportunity somewhere within ODOT. This has been my selfish prayer for the last year to get a job somewhere and so far it is working to plan. So thankful. After getting settled in I got paired with the engineer I am shadowing. Nice guy with lots of experience. The site I am working on should be a city job but ODOT has it. A local construction company is doing all the work with the engineer I am shadowing being the main inspector. So let's just say I do a lot of standing a round but I am learning a lot. I probably make more then the laborers on the job site do but that is okay I guess. After getting settled in it was basically the end of the day. A local landscape truck delivering soil to a local resident it one of the contractors water truck but no damage was done. With this happening I can finally go into all the paper work I am going to have to deal with on the job. Should be fun. After each day I have to fill out a daily report of what construction has been done and keep it on record. Tasks should pick up as the job progresses but this is okay with me, I don't mind it.

Tuesday I started at 7 in the morning and headed out to the site. To give you a low down on the project, the road heading towards the new high school built in South Medford is being extended and having sidewalks constructed. Along this is a storm drain system that has to be dug out to be completed. This has been the main focus thus far in the project. Blueprints for projects never work out to print I have come to find out. On paper it works but in the real world you are bound to have a problem. An example is on Tuesday we hit a lateral sewer line that was not marked and not far enough down. Man are their more stories that go with this problem. This halted construction for half a day but luckily they found something else to work on. Installation on the storm drain will continue for the rest of the week.

Today I was lead inspector on the job. The engineer I shadow had another project to inspect so I imagine this will be happening a lot but I am up for the challenge. I got a little of crap today but a lot of the guys are super funny and nice so I can deal with it. Prior to the job other companies like for power, water and sewer to be exact should have finished their job. This was supposed to be done by the end of May. We had everyone their today. I have never seen so many backhoes excavators and trucks in one strip at once. I made sure I took notes of everything I saw so I could record it in my daily report. I also have a camera so we can go back and double check what has happened just to double check. So far this internship is more than I could ask for! I started my day at 7 and got home at 6 but that is okay, I want the experience. I'll get to work tomorrow at 6:30 to finish more paperwork in hopes that I get off around 3 but we will see. Overtime is time and a half so since most of the people I hang out with are in Corvallis except a select few in Eagle Point, I'll take all the overtime I can get. Look forward to filling you all in more with stories as time goes on. Should be an enjoyable ride. God bless you all and until next time

Summer of Fun

Howdy all, wanted to really try and keep the people that are interested in my life posted on what is happening this summer. As some of you know I have an internship with ODOT in Medford which is a blessing! I grew up here and living with my family one last time will be super fun and enjoyable as well. I will be working a lot but will be seeing some people I haven't seen in a while as well.  Some of you have already asked me how my internship is and I have said it is great! I want to use this blog as much as possible to update you day to day. Just in the three days I have worked I have so many funny stories and this blog will help organize my thoughts. My past three days will be posted later tonight but I wanted to put this out there to the people that might want to follow over the summer :) Thanks!

The Hurt and the Healer

Click on the title and listen to this song. Wasn't really a big fan of MercyMe until the song All Of Creation came out. Recently I just heard their new song The Hurt and the Healer and it is a great song to me at least. From my view it is a song that talks about how our hurt and suffering are met by God's mercy and grace. Essentially we collide. This song really blesses me and has become one of my favorites in just a couple of day just because of the message it sends. I hope that all the hurt and suffering I do face in life, I will put my focus on Christ remember that He loves me and is my healer! Life is full of ups and downs. Job said it best as should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad? If my life was perfect where would Christ fit? I am proud that my pain and suffering has made me a better person. Everything in Christ has strengthened me even through the bad times where if really hurts, but God is always their. But when your hope is in Him, it makes it a little better to get through. Hope the song blesses you as much as it has me

Stubbornness

This week my assignment is to read Exodus. I guess you don't have to call it an assignment because it should be an enjoyment but I do have a goal to meet. Reading through the first 12 chapters has been great so far. Moses has been pleading with Pharaoh to let his people go but has failed time after time. God even says that though Pharaoh will be stubborn, it is only to multiply his miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. After ten plagues and the firstborns dying in all of Egypt, Pharaoh finally lets the Israelites go. There exodus from Egypt is finally complete. When wrapping up the night, this thought has entered my mind. Will the Lords intention for a stubborn heart always lead to us understanding his miraculous signs and wonders? Of course OT times are different from now but it is a question to ponder. Will my stubbornness in times of lukewarmness magnify God's glory? I sure hope so and I pray it never gets to that point again ever. But at the same time, I am thankful God does show us his glory in the good and in the bad times.

2.28.12

I find it fascinating almost every time when the day comes to an end. My days recently this term have been filled with a lot of studying. But at the same time, though this term by far is the toughest I've had, I've have more time to seek God through his Word. If I wasn't in this Ironman challenge with a group of guys, maybe I'd be in bed by now. Each day these last few months has taught me so much and I can totally see God's hand in everything. Not everything is perfect all the time, but I try and see the good out of it. Recently I have been at a crossroads with my job. People can share their experiences all the time. But for me their has not been a day that I have off that my boss seems to call me or has something to ask. A complete micro manager which could be good or bad. Today I thought I would be funny to ignore his phone call this morning at work and had money on it that he would call within 5 minutes. It only took two but I was still impressed. Three phone calls later and I figured something serious was going on. I will leave the rest of the story up for interpretation but a verse I come back to more than ever now is Romans 12:10-12. I love how the NLT version states the verse. It says:

"Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying"


This verse can be applicable anywhere but for me the never be lazy and work hard for the Lord really gets me. No matter how many times I can complain about my job, I have a job so I should be thankful. God has me their at this moment for a reason. Though I may not agree with half of what my boss has to say, I have to honor him. This is a constant struggle everyday with whatever it maybe. For the time being and what was on my mind tonight, this was it. So, whenever you are discouraged at the workplace or wish you has a job somewhere else, remember what we are called to do. God knows our plans, it is our job to trust him with it.

Nightly Words For Thought

I figured it has been a while and thought it would be good to check in. Nice to be back. As I write this entry the clock has struck midnight and it has really been on my heart to journal down my thoughts nightly and see what common theme shows up in my walk. Starting tomorrow I am gonna try and see what it looks like to journal every thought that either is on my heart or that God revivals to me. Not all will be posted but having continual followers would be cool. Since I won't be on Facebook to see your thoughts I hope whatever is on my heart and mind for the particular night, I pray it blesses you. Test trial coming your way, now it is time for bed :)