On Thursday, as I was parking my car at my apartment, I realized that the car was about to roll over from 999 to 1000 miles. Having this car a month now, I figured I should put at least one picture of it on my blog. I didn't feel like driving around the block a few times for it to roll over (and I figured this was cooler than 1000). So I woke up and left 5 minutes early to get to work, and before I drove off, I snapped a few pictures. About 2 miles (yeah, 2 miles) from my apartment, I was stopped at a light and noticed it was at 1000...

This week, my job is putting me through weld training. It's a 40 hour course taught at Front Range in town. They paid for the class, and I get paid to take the class - a very nice change of pace from what I'm used to with college. The class is a sped up class of a 3-credit class that Front Range offers (a combined total of 64 hours over the semester). Too bad I can't get a few credits from this!
The class is a Wolf-specific training, meaning it's just me and 7 other Wolf employees. We are wrapping up the section on GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding), and I was sick of doing the same weld over and over again. That same day, we were taught how to use the acetylene torch, and I practiced cutting and playing with the torch. The torch can cut through these letters (which is 1/2" thick steel plate) easier than I can cut a cake. It is literally that easy.
I cut out the letters in my name and welded them onto a plate. Whole process took me a little over an hour, mostly cleaning up the letters from the acetylene cutting.

My work provided me with a week of welding training. Seems fair since I sit at a computer and stare at weld prints and simulate welding all day long at my job. My work thought that it would be a good idea for me to understand why certain things are how they are (like torch angles, why certain things have to be welded different ways, etc.).
The training was a 40 hour class at the Front Range Community College right here in town. It was an incredible shop. In this picture, the tables on the left are oxy-acetylene torches, which can pierce through a inch of steel quicker than I can cut a piece of bread. The red machines in front of that are the TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welders, and behind those, the MIG (Metal inert Gas) welders - all along the back wall (in the next image).

With school, it's hard to find time to go out and take photos, especially if I want to go with another college student with just as busy of a semester. I find that I don't get to hang out with many people during the semester, except for a few good friends who are in my classes. Since it was break, I figured I should go out shooting, and that I could invite Tabitha, who just got back in town.
I suggested going shooting, she suggested a cemetery. I was confused, but went along with it. There is something peaceful about a cemetery when it's covered in a light coat of snow. I feel like the snow added a nice touch to all the photos - especially this one.

I bought this stuff called matcha. Basically it's a whole green tea leaf that is crushed into a fine powder. You can use it in baking to make tea-flavored stuff, or you can make tea with it (kind of like an "instant tea" mix like you have with coffee and other drinks). So the green colored part is the matcha shortbread, and the white part is an unflavored shortbread.
Overall the cookies turned out fairly well.