The Wedding of Chad and Chelsea

So the time came for another wedding. I still find it hard to believe that we're there....that I'm at the age where people are getting married.

As I took the plane ride home Friday for the wedding, I also came to realize that this chunk of time is the new official 'longest away from home'. I left home on Jan 6 to return July 19, so just over 7 months. So it really was a great feeling to look through the window over the prairies. All the square fields full of wheat, and canola and hay was a welcoming site.

Friday was also another big day, it was the release of the final Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! So of course, myself, Cory and Kyley along with the groom Chad in tow, headed to Chapters, Sherwood Park to be at the midnight release party. When midnight hit, it took us another hour to wade through the line and get the book, and since we all had to be up early for the wedding, we conceded and I read out loud just the first chapter during our car ride home :)

Saturday was busy as any wedding day usually is. 8am for breakfast, 9am to decorate the cars, 10 am get ready and be to Chelsea's parents house (site of the wedding) by 11am. The ceremony was beautiful in a lovely backyard. It was a pretty warm day, in around the 30's so inside the suit...well i was sweating off a couple pounds.

We then of course went for pictures downtown, drove around and started the reception by 6pm. And as per usual we heard some good speeches. Even Chad, who we usually make fun of, since he's known to mumble in front of crowds gave a heart warming speech. Then we simply danced the night away.

I like to Move it Move it was my official song of the night..because for some reason it was in my head all weekend. And Ta-da...another friend married...or as I like to say...another one bites the dust

Sunday was lazy, just lounged around then got on my flight home. I was going to try and convince the pilot to take a little detour on the flight home. The flight from Edmonton to Seattle is only 1.5 hrs...not nearly enough time to finally sit down and read Harry Potter. No go though, but i got pretty far on the book Sunday then finished it Monday...no spoilers from me, other then it was an INCREDIBLE book and a SPECTACULAR end to the series :)

I didn't take many pictures so i'm going to have to get them from my friends, but here's one good shot

I'm Moving to FRANCE!

Ok so negligent blogger Logan has done nothing over the last month. To be fair i've been a busy beaver working long days, playing some sports in the evening, that by the time I get home all I do is make some dinner and go to bed. And although I still have a lot of back posting to do (May Long and such) I have to post the BIG NEWS!

So here it is..

I got accepted to SUPAERO in Toulouse, France for a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering to start August 31st for two years

It's been almost two weeks now since I found out and I'm just beginning to believe it. For a long time I really was in a state of disbelief. I set goals high for myself, and I put more pressure on myself to succeed than anyone else can put on me. That being said...I always set goals i'm sure I can achieve. So when it came to being accepted to the graduate schools in Europe, I never assumed I would actually be going.

I really had no idea where I sat, as I had no idea how competitive it was to get into these schools. Plus I'll be honest, I'm not A+, 4.0 student. I had to really work for my grades and I came out with a B+ average....which I'm not complaining about, but it doesn't scream 'I belong in grad school'

Add to the fact that the schools I applied to...well they really are the best Aerospace Engineering Schools in Europe. So it really was an all or nothing shot. So when I look back now at how I got in, I can only assume it was a sum of all parts.

I had decent grades, usually B is the minimum to even apply for grad school, so a B+ isn't too bad. I had, what I can only assume, were incredible reference letters from two great professors at the University of Alberta, Dr Carlos Lange and Dr Lorenz Sigurdson. I really admire both of them and got to know them well through my tenure at the U of A. I was lucky enough to have great work experience. Between working with Dr. Lange on the Phoenix Mars Lander (to be launched in one month btw), to my IAESTE work exchange in Denmark where I was able to work with Finite Element Analysis, to my current job actually working for a company that modifies airplanes and helicopters! I mean, how lucky can you get with the jobs I've had. Of course there was also the fact that our 460 group was the Capstone Design winner as one of the best final design projects of our year, I made sure to mention that fact. And lastly would be my overall character. I had to write a 3 page statement of purpose that described who I was and why I wanted to go study Aerospace Engineering. It's never easy to write about yourself, but I tried to exemplify that I am more than just an engineering student, and that there is more to being an engineer than the all of the equations. So I guess all of that came through.

So in the end I actually got accepted to all of the school I applied to which was really just incredible. But I have chosen to go to France and I will now make another post with some info about the school and why I chose it.