Meet my family,

I have such interesting ancestry. My grandparents on both sides were immigrants, so I have quite a few extended relatives outside the United States. It's fun getting to know the customs and traditions of "the old country", especially when it comes to my mom's side.

I also quite enjoy looking through old photos to see how my progenitors lived.

Check out this photo my parents sent me:




The Ahmet family were ethnic Turks living in Paphos, Cyprus. My grandmother, Hatice (ha-tee-JEH), is the little girl on the right. I believe this photo was taken circa 1940.

My grandparents immigrated from Cyprus to England in the 1950s. Like most Turks, they had an arranged marriage. My mom and her siblings were all born and raised in London.

Interesting historical note: after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the island was partitioned between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. As a result, my relatives had to abandon their homeland and relocate to the Turkish-controlled north.

Here's a neat picture of my mom and her siblings:



From left to right, there's my uncle Ibrahim, uncle Ahmet (the baby!), my mom, and my aunt Narin. My other aunt Sema came along a few years later. My mom is the oldest of the Ibrahim children.


This is my mom when she was little:



Awww, she was so cute!


Here's a more recent photo of Nene (Turkish for Grandma) and I:



We took this photo the last time I visited England, back in July of 2004.

I'm proud to be a descendant of such cool ancestors.

...undecided on your major?

Look who got to represent the CE department at the annual career fair:



That's me.

I had the opportunity to provide interested students with information about our department...but I mostly just sat there and did nothing.

Civil Engineering is an amazing field. I remember during my freshman year, a friend once challenged me to name but one famous civil engineer...and I responded with this semi-humorous post.

Now, it seems, I have one more notable peer in this esteemed profession:



This happy little fellow is none other than Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He holds a doctorate in civil engineering, and worked as a professor. What a stud.


...no wonder there are no "girly men" in his country. :-P

I got a question for you...

If a kid throws a rock in the air at angle θ₁ at a velocity of v₀ and then throws another rock at angle θ₂ < θ₁, at what time will these two rocks collide?



Answer:



...brought to you by my engineering dynamics class!


Wait, I have another question:

Why...oh why...did I not major in political science?

:-P

Cleaning out my closet...

I've spent this morning putting my clothes in order. Wearing old clothes has this great nostalgic value...that's especially true for my Air Force uniform. I remember how sad I was when I had to return my AFROTC duds before going on my mission. It's thrilling to once again don that chick-magnetizing uniform.

Now I can't wait until it gets cold so I can wear my old flannel shirts.

My parents insist on buying me new clothes every now and then. They know that if they don't, I'll just keep wearing my old, tattered threads. I'm definitely not a slave to fashion.

This pair of shorts (which I've had since high school) has a gaping hole in the crotch. Still, I hate getting rid of clothing, even if it is old and ragged. I decided to seek the input of my roommates on this one:




Me: "So guys, whaddya think? Mend it or end it?"

Jules, Drew and Cole: *decisively, in unison* "END IT!"


Well, the jury has spoken. Time to make another donation to Deseret Industries.

Who can tell me what's wrong with this photo?

 



bleh.

The BYU Bookstore round-up,

Today I decided to browse the BYU Bookstore and see what fine literature my fellow alumni were feasting upon (literature is just a fancy word for "books.")



Hmmm.


Here are some interesting ones:





Splendid! My biography is on sale.




I hope this book has a whole chapter dedicated to explaining the plot of Mission Impossible.




Paradox alert!




I kid you not, that's a college textbook here at BYU...hmmm, perhaps it has a section on Facebook :-P




OH NO!!! Anyone who reads this book becomes super-annoying.




I checked, there were no illustrations. :-( Haha, just kidding!




Wow! Doesn't that just bring you back to the 7th grade?



Hahaha! I do enjoy a good satire every now and then.


...wasn't that fun? I didn't make any purchases this time around...I don't have time to read these literary masterpieces.


...and besides, the bookstore already has plenty of my money.

:-P

Love is spoken here

Behold, my family:



My FHE family, that is.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my Church, Latter-day Saints traditionally set aside every Monday night for "Family Home Evening" or FHE. During Family Home Evening, the family gathers together to sing hymns, play board games, eat treats or do some fun activity.

Out here in the university, we are all away from our families...so, BYU wards organize their students into "FHE groups" and appoint one male student and one female student to play the role of FHE mom and dad. This semester, I was called to serve as an FHE dad, so it's my joint responsibility to plan something fun for us to do every Monday night. Last Monday we sat around and played "getting-to-know-you" games, then we ate cookies, chips and salsa...yum.

That's my apartment, by the way.