One to Beam Up! Farewell, Mr. Spock!

What a sad sad day for the entire Trekkie community. The very loved Mr. Leonard Nimoy has passed away. Who is Spock without Leonard Nimoy? He brought that character to life. He showed us what it meant to be a Vulcan. And more importantly taught us many lessons in life.

For those that aren't very familiar with Star Trek, and I mean really familiar as in you analyze the messages that each episode tries to convey, you might not realize the symbology behind the character Spock and why he is so memorable and important. If you watch the original series you will not that James T Kirk, Spock, and Bones were always together. More importantly they were together when tough decisions needed to be made. James represents the everyday human who constantly faces challenges in life and must make decisions. Bones and Spock play the roles of James' subconscious. You know that little voice in your head that tries to show you right from wrong? That constantly has debates in your head? Yeah, that is Bones and Spock. Bones takes on the role of showing the emotional aspect of the human. What decisions you make when your thoughts get clouded by your heart or feelings. The majority of decisions made by humans are typically of this nature. But then comes Spock. The logical side. Remove all emotion from your decision making process so that you can make the right choice. What made Spock so legendary was his ability to provide James with the right answers in times where the truth hurt the most.

And let me clarify something while I am describing spoke. People have the misconception of thinking, "Well yes, Spock can make the tough calls because he doesn't feel anything". WRONG. Vulcans are a deeply passionate race and when they let their raw emotions take over they become unstable. To the point where their race was nearly destroyed by it. Until one Vulcan, Surak, stood up and taught all the Vulcans to separate themselves from emotions and to suppress them. So Spock feels and he knows  what pain and suffering means. But despite all that he pushes it aside to always watch for the well beings of others. That is why he is epic and so important. At least in my eyes. It then goes beyond words to describe the friendship that Spock shared with James. He is there for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Is a good role model for what a friend should always aspire to be.

I thank Leonard Nimoy for pushing that message through Spock and teaching me highly important life lessons. He is just one of the many things I simply love about Star Trek. I am sad that my dream of one day meeting him has been lost for ever but I am glad that Spock will for ever live on. Rest in peace, Leonard! Thank you for changing many people's lives for the better! Godspeed!

XOXO,

Lina

\\//_  *Live Long and Prosper*

I leave you with my tribute to Spock from last year's Comic Expo. I wanted to be a Vulcan just like Spock. This was my first comic expo and when it came time to decide what I would go as it was a no brainer! I was going to be a Vulcan! I dressed in red instead of his traditional blue because red is for engineering, which fit me better. (I had a steampunk version of the Star Trek uniform, FYI). I am a proud Trekkie and will always represent!

The Vulcan ears I made for Comic Expo because I wanted to be like Spock

Vulcan Salute. Live Long and Prosper!

Determined to Learn Arduino!

For some reason after our project it seems like I have a ton of time on my hands.  (Which btw we killed it in our presentation!!!! :D) I feel I am being very efficient at home and I am getting stuff done that I haven't been able to in a while.

I have a ton of projects started or in my head and I haven't managed to get anything done for them. I have a bad habit of not getting stuff done. :/ I need to end with that habit. So instead of continuing to sit around doing nothing I am determined to get my projects done. 

For the main project I am interested in completing I need to learn how to use Arduino. I can't share what the project is because it is a secret for now. But anywho, I have never programmed or played around with Arduinos so this will be something new for me. 

I am a huge Matlab lover and consider myself to be good at it so I am hoping this whole Arduino experience won't be much different. I started off by reading their tutorials online but I just can't deal with that. I love to have a physical book in my hands. One where I can turn the pages and compare stuff easily. 

So today I stopped by Barnes and Nobles and got myself and Arduino book. This is what I got:

Sorry for the dark picture it is late here. I compared it to other books and it seemed to have exactly what I wanted. It not only teaches you about the boards and components but also how to code. Which is what I really want. 

I will be reading this in the next few weeks and will hopefully start playing with my Arduino Uno and Mega soon. If anyone cares for more info on this book and its content just let me know and I can do a more in depth post about it.

I am sooo excited to read it! Don't you just love learning?!? I know I do! ;)

XOXO,

Lina 

Sea of Snow :D

We got even more snow last night!!!! I couldn't get my car out of the driveway so I worked from home. I just cleaned the drive way and took a few pictures and a video of my front and back yard.

I cleaned all that up on my own :)...I know it isn't 3 feet of snow but this is my second year dealing with snow and that is a  lot for me.

Look at that!!!! That is like 6 inches! You have no idea how exciting this is for me hehehe.

It reaches my calf!!!!!!

You can't even see the bottom post which is 4 inches high. My entire yard is literally a thick blanket of snow.

Oh nooo..I tried to upload my video but the file is too large :/...that sucks! Well here is one of Einstein:

I want to jump in it and do snow angels and have a snow fight but I have no one to do it with :(.  I think the neighbors will think I am weird if I do it though hahaha.

 I leave you with these gorgeous pictures:



*Icicles!!!* Look at the color of the sky!!!

 :D My home!!! So beautiful. Love how the colors came out. No filters needed to display nature's beauty!

XOXO,

Lina

Snow Day!!!!

It has snowed alllll day today! :D I left in the morning to go to work and I didn't make past a few streets because my car had barely any traction. It was kind of scary because that is the first time that happens to me. I turned right back around and went home. Luckily I just connect to my work network and was able to work.

My pups were so happy to have me home with them! Einstein enjoyed playing in the snow while Zally and Jolle just wanted to stay wrapped up in their blankets.

Okay okay so we didn't get 2 feet of snow but I did get about 4 inches. Above is still fairly early and you can see the roads kind of.

Below is my car at around 5:30pm. You can see how much snow it has on top!

It was hard to tell but the snowed reached to about my ankles in most spots. I brought my dogs out to see what they would do since they have never been in this much snow before. Here is what I was able to capture:

 My poor little baby when she just throws herself on the ground in the end. I quickly picked her up and brought her inside. I need to get her and Jollee little snow shoes so their little feet don't get so cold.

Okay so if you watched the second video you can hear me gasping and the video cuts off. That was my reaction to seeing snow flakes for the first time! I had always looked for them when it snowed but never actually saw them. Would never see beautiful designs so I thought people were just full of it. But NO, THEY ARE REAL!!!! And soooo beautiful. I was able to take pictures of some that had fallen on my gloves.

Nature is so beautiful! I was like a little kid looking at the beautiful snow flakes in my hands!

Anyway, I next went inside and brought Jollee out so she could use the bathroom. Let's just say she hates snow lol

The snow was all powdery and awesome... perfect for a snow fight! XP I hope next time my fiancée is around so we can have a mini war! I also wanted to make a snow angel since I have never done one before but I will wait to make one with him. He is in Puerto Rico right now and has been enjoy a week long vacation with his family! So while I send him pictures of snow he send me pictures of paradise! hehehe..I miss him and love him a lot. I know he is having a good time. Meantime, I am enjoying my snow!

XOXO,

Lina

Love You, Pebbles!

As I mentioned in my previous post the past week has been pretty demanding and crazy because of the amount of hours we had to work. But before all that something happened the week before that deserved its own separate post.

Last week, one of our dogs back in Puerto Rico got very sick. She started spinning in circles and losing her balance. My mom brought her to the vet and they gave her many antibiotics to see if she would get better. Friday, February 6, they gave us the news that she had to be put to sleep because she might have a brain tumor or a very bad case on meningitis. There was really no hope for her and so they did just that.

I have had to endure the loss of a few pets while growing up but out of all of them this one just shattered my heart.

This is Pebbles and how we created a bond that could never be broken: Below is a picture of Pebbles fast asleep. This was taken the day that my family and I rescued her.

My sister had been visiting us in Puerto Rico and wanted to go swimming in a river that is behind our home. My parents and I had never been there before but decided to go so we could check the place out also. My sister went in the river while we just looked around. All of a sudden my mother and I hear a dog screaming its heart out as if they were torturing it. My mom and I being the animal lovers that we are quickly looked to figure out what was going on. This man tells us that his son is trying to catch a dog that some people abandoned. My mom and I look towards the man's son and see this little dog running back and forth away from him while crying out. She was in the parking lot looking for the people that had brought her. She didn't understand that they had left her there to die.

The little boy tried and tried to grab her but she was not letting anyone near her. My mom and I rushed to try to get her because her crying was breaking our hearts. While all this is going on the man tells us that the people that brought her had been throwing her in the river, grabbing her legs and forcing her underwater so she couldn't swim, and basically terrorizing her. My mom and I became furious at this point and tried even harder to get her. I remember I cornered her in one spot but she got so scared she peed and pooped on the spot. I was afraid she would bite me so I couldn't grab her. A girl came from behind while she wasn't looking and grabbed her. The crying immediately stopped and my mom and I relaxed.

We went back to the man and I asked him if he was taking the dog home. He said no...O.O <- that was my face. I turn back to the people that had her and I said, "Are any of you taking her home?". They all said no that they wanted to grab her so she would be quiet. I immediately turned to the girl and told her to hand her to me. She did and I walked back to my parents and told them, "Sorry but we are taking her home".

I remember wrapping her in a towel to keep her warm and I just whispering in her ear telling her she would be okay. When we got home with her she was so scared she wouldn't walk or anything. I brought her inside the house with me where it was nice and quiet and I just laid in bed with her. I caressed her and gave her kissed while I told her to not worry. That I would never ever let anything bad happen to her again. Little by little she got comfortable with me and she eventually fell asleep. That is the picture that is shown above.

It took a few days for her to lose her fear of people and to follow us around the house. But she quickly learned that we would always love her and never mistreat her.

She was the first female dog that I had ever had. And boy was she sweet. She used to love being with me and having me hold her. I would always carry her like a baby and give her lots and lots of kisses. I used to whisper in her ear if she knew how much I loved her. She would close her eyes and just sigh but deep inside I knew she was telling me that she knew  and she loved me too. We had a bond that I had never experienced before. It was like we had each others backs. I had never felt anything like it before.

But now, I will never be able to hold her in my arms again. Or give her her daily kisses. Watch her get all excited for lunch time because eating was her favorite thing to do. She was as great companion and will be missed so much. I know that I did everything in my power to always make her happy and she made me extremely happy. It saddens me that I wasn't there by her side while she took her last breath but I am thankful that my fiancée was able to tell her I loved her for me. 

Our little Pebbles. I names her after the rocks that you find in the river that lead us to her. Rest in peace little one. Thank you for making our family extremely happy. You will always be in my heart.

XOXO,

Lina

Is It Summer Yet?!?!

Well I have been M.I.A. again but I promise it was for good reason. See we are currently at the mid point of A-course (for my program) and we got assigned a project. Up until this point we would only have to turn in weekly reports based on different topics. Those can be pretty tedious because it involves solving the problem and then writing up a very detailed report. The homework assignments typically take 10-20+ hours to complete.

Our project on the other hand is like homework but on steroids. They want us to experience what a real life event would be like and how the company handles these situations. They did a whole simulation for us and we basically became detectives trying to solve the problem. That is all fun and dandy...except when you still have to work your regular 40 hours and have to play by their rules on solving the problem. This is a quick recap of what my team went through:

Friday: Class for 5 hours to discuss the problem and all the rules

Saturday: Met from 12pm-10pm to go over the information given and find possible root causes.

Sunday: Compiled all the information needed into a folder which needed to be handed in on Monday. We met from 12pm-12am :S

Monday: Received more information for the project, met at 6:00pm-11:30pm, realized we made many mistakes and the week would not be easy.

Tuesday-Wednesday: Work like maniacs from 6:00pm-11:30/12am to try to complete our analysis

Thursday: Met from 5:30pm-5am <----- 5:00AM on FRIDAY!!!!! We needed to hand our presentation in before 10am.

And again, all that while also working the regular 40hrs.

That week was horrible! But we powered through and pretty content with the end result. We now have been preparing because we need to present on Tuesday and then have 48hrs after the presentation to hand in a report.

I am soooo looking forward for this project to be over and done with. It sucked not getting much sleep but the overall experience was pretty fun. I know this will all be worth it in the long run. They are preparing us so that when the real thing happens we can take care of business!

I am now counting down the days until summer. Only 10 more classes left and we are done with A-course. B-course will begin in August I believe but I don't expect it to be so bad. When ever others warn you about the program it is usually about A-course. You have to make it past that one and then you will be fine.

Wish us luck on Tuesday! We might need it hahaha

XOXO,

Lina

Chewwy!!!!

Hey Everyone!

I want to share a quick little post on a Funko Fabrikations figure that I got. Funko make vinyl toys based on movies and they made a line with plushie like figurines. I bought the Chewbacca one for my desk at work. This is what he looks like:

He comes in that box. And this is what hr looks like outside of it:

He is extremely hairy and soft! Reminds me of a little pup actually hahaha. He brings a little crossbow and has a little pouch. The pictures don't do him justice. His hair is more of a reddish color not this dirty blonde you see here. Couldn't really capture it. He is really adorable. Can't wait to put him in my office.

XOXO,

Lina

Random Thoughts

I having one of those days where I just want to sleep because there is just so much going on it is giving me headaches. I should be doing homework with my friends and getting ready to watch the super bowl but instead I have stayed in bed all day. Life is pulling me in different directions and I am just busy trying to play catch up. It is exhausting having to make decisions now that will affect your future for  ever. How do you know if you are making the right decisions? Just thinking about this question is making my head want to explode.

I often ask myself if I dream too big. Am I way over my head on things? I don't like to quit on things that matter to me. I have worked my whole life to get where I am now and I intend to keep working to get where I want to be. But I won't lie that a lot of times chasing my dreams makes me feel all alone inside. No one will ever understand what you feel and what you go through to reach your goals. Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in a glass box. I know if I shout loud enough and kick and claw I can shatter the glass and people will hear me but I don't do it because I don't want to wet others around me. So I just have to make it out on my own.

I hope I am making right decisions. I don't want to live life always thinking, "What if...?".

XOXO,

Lina

Having fun before shut down

Hey everyone,

I wanted to givean update on what I have been upto since not this past Friday but the one before that. For those that truly know me know that I am an extremely huge introvert. I am actually the type that prefers to be home and hanging out at big events actually exhausts me. Due to that I don't always get out much. 

But...I am making an effort to get out more. Last Friday was my first time hanging out with friends around town this year. I got invited to an event called "Moveable Feast" where you get to see students from UC perform musicals, sing opera, dance, pretty much anything related to performing arts. Each group performs 30 minutes pieces in different theaters so you move, key word here, to see the shows you want. During the transitioning time you could also enjoy unlimited food and drinks. It was a great experience! 

We got to see steel drums:

A group called Air Quartet...my favorite!

And some Opera. I didn't take pictures of the opera singers but I did take pictures of the theater the performed in bc it was so cool looking.

It has this beautiful organ on one side and on the other just really nice designs on the walls.

It was so beautiful and very small so it made it feel intimate. 

Lastly, we ended with the orquestra.

I enjoy this a lot also. I love the violins so I always get excited when i see many violinist at one time. Overall it was lots of fun and I will definitely go back next year.

So that was last last Friday, for this Friday  I was also invited to a comedy show. It was for the "Black and Brown" tour. I have only been to one other comedy show but it was much smaller. This one was in an Arena! I mainly went because George Lopez would be there and I love him from the George Lopez show. Cedric the entertainer would also be there which was cool also. The others I will be honest I didn't know much about or I knew who they were but never heard their comedic performances. We had Charlie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, DL Hughley, and Mike Epps. 

This was the set up that they had and first up was George Lopez who was the host.

Sorry for the horrible picture but I was using my crappy phone. I didnt take many pictures or record anything because I was busy laughing. I actually laughed so hard that by the 4th performer I had a headache.

One cool thing that did happen was when Cedric came out. Lopez had everyone pull out their cellphones to light up around the stage.

This picture doesn't do it justice but it looked so beautiful.

Overall, another great experience and I am pretty glad I went. Now I just need to rest and catch up on sleep hahaha. Need to gather my thoughts and have some alone time again until my next outing.

XOXO,

Lina