Week 1: A Survival Story

Okay, so I know I promised to update more often shortly before going missing for over a week.  BUT WHAT A WEEK IT HAS BEEN!  Locals keep apologizing for and/or complaining about the weather recently, which is quite frankly absurd to somebody who left this not two weeks ago:

An Unbiased Account of New York Winters

...to move into this:

The Wasteland

That being said, it's been an adventure every day in some way or another. Working for NASSCO is fantastic, particularly because I have yet to realize that printing out Excel charts is not actually exciting.

The past two days have been a break from the norm, shifting from office work to "LET'S GO PULL SOME METAL IN HALF!"  Elli and I paid a visit to San Diego State University's structural lab to test weld strength, and saw what it was like to be on a normal school's campus

Pictured Above: Just Another Day at the Office

Other interesting news includes the expansion of my cooking repertoire, formerly Exploding Eggs and Burnt English Muffin, with the new additions of Burnt Cheeseburger, Burnt Chicken, vodka a la penne, and tacos with tortillas fit for the gods themselves.

Last night was the Southwest SNAME meeting, which might as well have been called the "NASSCO Engineer's Dinner" with the exception of about four attendees.  The following day, which is coincidentally tonight, was the Webb Alumni dinner and yet again another mass gathering of people who have at one point worked at or with NASSCO.  It was fantastic to see Webbies from every generation show up in one place and collectively prove that we can, somehow, survive in the real world after escaping The Institute.

At some point during dinner, it dawned on me that I was rubbing elbows with not only half a century's worth of alumni, but administrative figures that are only mythological creatures at other schools.  While it's impressive enough that I personally know every one of my professors, it's another thing entirely to eat dinner with your college's Dean, President, and President-elect as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Living in paradise, in beautiful and free housing, at an interesting and stimulating workplace as a paid intern while participating in a tight-knit family of renowned professionals...I could live with this.