I don't have much to catch up on... And I forgot yesterday was my usual blog-post-Sunday... Oops.

   My design proposal went over very well. My teachers are very excited to see how my yacht design turns out. I can't wait to show them what else I am capable of. I'll post updates of my design as I make them. So far I've decided on how fast I want my boat to go, how heavy it will be, how much fuel it will need, and what engines and powering system to use. I don't have any graphic representations of that to post. IF you are interested, here is that information:

Cruising speed: 27 knots
Max speed: 35 knots
Weight: 11,400 kg
Engine: 2x Volvo D6-435 IPS Drive
Fuel: I don't remember off the top of my head. Something like 350 gallons...

   Pictures are more fun to look at (I think), so I'll post more CAD drawings when I have them.

   Last Wednesday I took a trip to Portland with my friend, Rachel. She grew up near Portland, so she is familiar with all of the cool places. Places that tourists/new people (whatever category I fall under) don't know about. She took me to Empire. Empire is a bar that was having its weekly "Clash of the Titans," otherwise simply known as "The Clash."
   The Clash is kind of like the battle of two bands. Each week, two bands face off. The bands are actually cover bands. Bands who impersonate whoever they are covering that night. For example:

Korn vs. Limp Bizkit
Mariah Carey vs. Whitney Houston
Britney Spears vs. Justin Timberlake
Spice Girls vs. Backstreet Boys
Radiohead vs. Pink Floyd

   When I was there it was The National vs. The Walkmen. Nope, I have no idea who those bands are. I didn't recognize any of the songs. But it was still a lot of fun. The bands play every other song. I can't even tell you which band won. But I know that it was the band in the first picture below:

   Quite a few kids took off early for spring break, so the classroom was a bit empty on Friday. It was a fun day for that reason. Our instructors, Derek and Sean, ordered pizza for the yacht design students. And they joined us in playing Cards Against Humanity. If you know what Cards Against Humanity is, you know that that isn't the best card game to play with your teachers. But Sean and Derek are cool guys who don't get offended easily. I guess sailors/designers aren't usually very uptight, huh?

The students have played this game a lot on the weekends, but it has never been as funny as when our teachers played.

   The game is a lot like Apples to Apples, if you are familiar with that game. Everyone has ten or so white cards. One person draws a black card and reads it. It has a sentence like "No romantic dinner is complete without _______." or "What do white people like?" Each player looks through their ten white cards and lays down the best answer (usually the funniest one) like "Michelle Obama's arms," or "racially-biased SAT questions," or "anal beads." The player who drew the black card reads all of the white card answers and chooses his/her favorite one. I think our teachers almost peed their pants. 

   I was at the grocery store the other day looking for some fresh mozzarella. I saw this parmesan. It is from the parmesan factory that I toured in Parma, Italy. I see this parmesan in basically every grocery store. I didn't realize at the time of the tour in Italy that I was at such a well-known, successful worldwide company. The most memorable part of that tour was Libby and I trying not to puke at the smell. And lots of laughing.

   And I found this on facebook. Kelly and I have the same expression. I see, like, three kids who are smiling for the picture.

   I'll do my best to take some pictures of my trip to Florida with Dad and Devin. Hopefully I have some luck finding a place to live!