Hello, Winter

It was 16 degrees this morning. Brrr.

Thanksgiving Wrap-up

Alright - after spending much of the night typing away at my 30+ page research paper that needs to be 1st draft submittal worthy by Monday, it's just about time for bed but not before a post.

Thanksgiving back home was wonderful. Allison and I were thinking about doing the Turkey Trot in Detroit, but the seasons first white-stuff was enough to convince us to sleep in. Thanksgiving day was spent at my parents, eating turkey and cheering for the Lions in the first quarter, and then tried to contain the anger for the remaining 3. I tried to get over the most recent Lions disappointment by going over to Allison's parents and having Thanksgiving dinner #2. That helped.

Black Friday was spent in traditional form at Our Shepherd with the movie trilogy. This year we watched Oceans 11, 12, and 13.

Saturday night, we had some friends come over for game night. The men proved victorious in Battle of the Sexes. For me, the funniest part of the night was when Matt gave the hint: It's a religious animal. What would you have guessed?

Sunday, Allison and I went to church, and I got to make a guest appearance playing the congas in Firelight. After packing up, we played some ultimate frisbee in Troy. It was a little cold (30 degrees I think...) but it wasn't so bad once you hoofed it down the field a couple times. After frisbee, I jumped in the shower, went to the airport, waited for a delayed flight, got on the plane, waited for another delay, got to Milwaukee, found my car after searching the entire long-term parking lot, and made it back to Sheboygan. *whew*

Speaking of frisbee, we learned that our good friend Cody will be leaving Michigan to head back to the west coast. This year alone, a number of my friends have left Michigan: Greg, Jodi, Robbie, Katie, Mike, Melinda, & now Cody. Crazy.

Now it's less than 4 weeks until Christmas break. My last day of work for the year will be December 21. I'll be flying into Detroit that night and will be there until January 1. Until then, work will be keeping me busy, Allison will be here the weekend of December 7, oh - and I have to work on a research paper or something.

Oh, I almost forgot. The answer to Matt's clue: St. Bernard.

Back

Somehow with the magical sorcery of Central Standard Time, I made it back to my apartment while it is still technically Sunday (despite numerous delays at Detroit Metro).

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for Thanksgiving updates later this week. I need some sleep.

Congrats, Detroit

I guess Detroit is the place to be if you fat and angry.


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i5ZosSlEKY0sR3iDYZmm1_JW0bHQD8T0EUK03
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050105/americas-fittest-fattest-cities

Posting Like Crazy Today

Allison stumbled across this interesting article about Kohler. Check it out if you like.

http://www.diversitycareers.com/articles/pro/05-junjul/dia_kohler.htm

Also, I got word that Kohler is looking to hire more engineers and those in finance that have SAP experience. So, if you are an engineer or in finance and you're reading this, let me know if you would be interested. Kohler has a referral program! :)

Cheeeeese Pleeez

Thanks to the UAW negotiations, I was able to celebrate Veteran's Day this past Friday. That meant a long weekend for me (and just enought time to make the trek to Sheboygan). Yippee! I arrived Thursday evening and was excited to hear that Joe had booked a day for me at the Kohler Waters Spa. It was great! It was truly the type of spa that you could spend the whole day in and many of the treatments featured unique Kohler products. Check out the link below.

http://destinationkohler.com/spa/spa_index.html

Friday night was highlighted by a night on the town (at a neat non-smoking bar) with one of the teams that Joe will be working with. The whole place was filled with his co-workers. I can't remember the last time we even attempted an after work outing with my group. I think they stopped trying after no one showed up at the free christmas party one year.

Last but not least, Joe and I ventured out the Gibbsville in order to get some fresh Wisconsin cheese.
http://www.gibbsvillecheese.com/about.htm

Yes, fresh from the cow. It was a pretty small shop on the front of a farm (and reminded me of Cook's Dairy Farm for you Michiganders). Anyway, we left with about 3 pounds of cheese for less than $6. Quite a steal I thought. If you are craving some WI cheese feel free to place an online order. Just remember that they halt shipments June - September due to refrigeration concerns.

The Apartment Is 10 Days Old

Special Report by Joe Blake - Allison's Phone Call

How to Use a Bidet

When we were touring the Kohler Design Center last weekend, Allison's mother called me over and asked me a question:

Joe, can you demonstrate how to use this?

A very odd question for your mother-in-law to ask you, but I did what I thought was the likely answer, pants up of course. I figured, in my new line of work, this may be an important thing to know, so I did some research. I now share this priceless knowledge with you - How to Use a Bidet.

2 Days Old

I completed my second day at Kohler today, and so far so good. There's not a lot that I can comfortably write about on a public blog about my job, but I'm really going to enjoy it. You'll just have to trust me. :)

The one thing I can talk about is how many brands are under the Kohler umbrella. Here's a little excerpt from their homepage:

The Kohler family of businesses extends far beyond the kitchen and bath to collectively offer the finest in furniture and accessories, cabinetry and tile, engines and generators. It markets these products under the brand names of KOHLER Plumbing, Sterling Plumbing, Kallista Plumbing, Ann Sacks Plumbing, Tile and Stone, Robern Mirrored Cabinetry, Canac Cabinetry, Baker and McGuire furniture, KOHLER Engines, KOHLER Power Systems, in Europe, under the brand names of KOHLER Germany and Jacob Delafon in plumbing products and Sanijura in bath cabinetry, in Asia as KOHLER China and in the Pacific as KOHLER Australia and Englefield Bathroomware. Kohler has developed successful Hospitality and Real Estate businesses, Destination Kohler as well.

And I thought GM had a ton of brands!

The kitchen table that Allison and I ordered online arrived today. So I got that assembled. I have successfully beat Guitar Hero III on the 'easy' setting in 48 hours. I've joined the YMCA, and I've started my research for my project on aerodynamics for my Automotive Design class I'm finishing up.

Last weekend, I called the principle percussionist for the Sheboygan Symphony. There's currently a substitute percussionist spot open, and I'm going to audition for it. The audition won't be until January, but I'm pretty excited. It's been sometime since I've been able to play in a classical setting, and I miss it. So hopefully things work out. The symphony practices and performs at the theater just a couple blocks away, so that would be really convenient. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and see what happens come January.

Allison will be here in 3 short days. I can't wait! And I'll be home 1 week from tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Life is good.

All Alone

It's been an action-packed 2 weeks. Allison and I went on an apartment hunting trip, we've packed, and Allison's parents, my dad, and Allison all made the trek to Sheboygan, WI to get me moved in. Well, I'm excited to say that I am moved in and my first day at Kohler will be tomorrow. It's a bit harder to say that now I am here alone. It's a little weird--the quiet. But it won't be too long. Allison will be back in Wisconsin this coming Friday (she has a 3 day weekend). Then after Allison leaves next Sunday, I will be flying home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. So these next 2 weeks will be busy as well - just a different kind of busy.

Tomorrow is my first day at Kohler, which is sure to be filled with orientation and meeting countless people that I will struggle to remember their names. I am really excited about the job. It felt good to take Allison's parents and my dad through the Kohler Design Center so that they could get a feel for the capabilities of the company.

Tomorrow also marks the first day of 24 that I have to complete a 30 page research paper on vehicle aerodynamics. Fun fun.

I'm also hoping to stop by the YMCA and sign up for a membership there. I've been eating out at restaraunts everyday for the past 2 weeks, which really didn't help me with my goal to lose 20lbs. I probably have to lose 25 now. Training starts tomorrow!

Alright, well I better start getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is a big day.

The Guetzkow's Made It

We got into town around 10pm local time and swung by the apartment to unload some bedding (so Joe doesn't have to sleep with the beach towel tonight). Well, it wasn't as easy as it seemed--the door was jammed by an object that shifted during travel. Super Driver (me...Allison) showed up just in time to prevent someones future hernia. After just one rapid, downhill deceleration I was able to shift the contents enough to get the door open and rescue the bedding. Now Joe can be warm tonight...and me too! Good night.

I'm Here

8 hours, 2 bathroom breaks, and 1.5 tanks of gas later, my dad I are in Sheboygan (and my computer is already up and running on the interweb - I'm an addict). Allison and Dad G. & Mom G. are due late tomorrow night.

Stay tuned for more updates throughout the weekend.

Moving Day

Last night was awesome. 30+ friends show up at James' last night for a goodbye party for me and Allison. I have the best friends in the world.

Well moving day is here. The Uhaul is packed, and my car is packed to the ceiling as well. I just need to find some room for my computer and I'm outta here. Wish me luck!

Allison's Restaraunt Reviews - Sheboygan Part 1

Here is the video I mentioned last weekend.

Apartment Hunting is Over

Sunday is just about here, and that means our apartment hunting trip is over. Overall, it was a great trip. We signed a lease for an apartment that we are very excited to be in for the next year. Allison had a good experience at Kohler on Friday. And we got a really good pulse on the area that I wasn't able to get last time I was here.

Sunday morning, we are going to go visit a Missouri Synod Lutheran church in Sheboygan. The information we have gathered thus far is that the Lutheran churches in Sheboygan are primarily traditional services, which is different from the GenG contemporary service Allison and I attend in at St. John Lutheran in Rochester, MI. Pastor Luke told me about a church that sounds a lot like St. John, but it's a lot closer to Milwaukee than where we will be living, and I'd prefer not to drive 45 minutes one way to go to church. It's probably going to take some time, but hopefully we'll find a church home here in Wisconsin sooner rather than later.

I uploaded some more pictures to our Flickr account. I also tried to be all creative and recorded a movie off my camera of Allison doing a quick review of the local restaurants we ate at while we were here, but YouTube did not like the overall size of my video. Hopefully I'll get to play with the file later this week and get that posted soon.

We're flying out of Milwaukee at 5:30pm CST, so we'll be back in MI later tonight. Then the packing fun begins. I better get some rest now while I can.

Sheboygan Pictures

Ok, my pictures are available on flickr. I do my best to respect peoples' privacy when I post pictures, so almost all the pictures on Flickr with people in them will be marked 'private'. In order to see them, you will have to be listed as my friend on Flickr. If you're not already and would like to be, shoot me an email or leave a comment with your email address, and I'll send you an invite. Don't worry - it's free. I just don't want random internet people seeing every picture I have.

Anyways, here's 1 picture I took of Allison at Lake Michigan. This is less than 100 yards away from the apartment (I signed the lease!).



The rest of the pictures can be found here. I'll update this during the next 2 weeks as I move in this coming Thursday and get settled in.

We Found an Apartment

Allison and I flew into Milwaukee, WI Wednesday morning, and it has been a busy 48 hours. Over the past 2 days, we have looked at 15 different apartments throughout Sheboygan, WI. We have picked our favorite, and hope to make it official today by signing a 1 year lease. It's a small 2 bed/2 bath condo (but with just enough room for 2-3 visitors) just off Lake Michigan. Directly across the street from my building is the Sheboygan Marina. The beach is approximately 300 yards north of the marina. The YMCA is 1 block north. Downtown Sheboygan is 4 blocks west with the art center, movie theater & restaurants all within walking distance.

Last time I was here, I didn't have a lot of time to get to really get a pulse on the city, so it's very exciting to get a chance to do that this time. I've taken some pictures, but I forgot the usb cord to download the pictures. I'm going to venture to Walmart later this morning to see if I can find one, and then I can post them.