Half a year

half a year has gone by since my last blog, I should go back and read what it was.

But my life as it appears to me know is very stressful. I have 5 projects that I am currently working on. This takes up almost all of my time, Plus I have been working a lot as well.

My five projects for this semester are as follows

• designing a Low cost wind turbine, specifically designed for lower income countries
• designing a alternative energy vehicle, its based upon hydraulic pressure and an internal combustion engine. Hopefully we will have some working components by the end of the semester
• I am working on a team with Engineers Without Borders to develop a way to make homes in Mali more weather resistant. I have a few good leads on what we can accomplish, so I am hoping that will make it possible for me to travel there this summer to implement my ideas.
• My Art Design and Engineering class is finally working on the project which I signed up for in the class, it is to design the interior of a passenger jet. With a lot of effort we should be able to have this designed by the end of this semester and built next semester.
• Lastly, I am working on a paper on the Viability of Wind Energy in the United States.

This semester I have been struggling with a lot of things. I have never had this problem of not being able to focus on class work before. I mean there was the occasional spacing out in class, but I feel like lately I have been really detached from the world. I spend a lot of time with a few of my friends because I can't really take being alone all the time. I guess to catch you all up to speed, August 31st 2008 my half brother Jay took his life. For nearly a month I felt nothing I never was able to see his body, this has caused me to not really realize he is dead. I still imagine I will see him at Christmas when I return home. I went to a memorial service for him, and I spoke at it. My family was glad I was able to return home for it but still my grandmother has not said a word to me. I really hate that it took a death for my family to speak to each other but as the months have passed since then the relationship has broken down once again.

This summer Katie came to Iowa to live with me here. It was great having her here all the time but, it caused a lot of problems once she left. I have not seen her in 3 months, after spending 3 months with her then not being able to see her at all it really is a shock. I will be leaving in a couple weeks to go to see her in Cleveland for Thanksgiving. Though I think that only seeing her for a week won't be enough.

The big question I have right now is, where will I be next semester, or this summer, or next year. I have a lot of places I would like to be and what I would like to be doing, but I just am lost as to what is going to be next for me.

Nick