March . Training

I am once again late on updating on how my marathon training is going.  Here is an update for my month of March.  The first 6 days of the month I was still recovering from my ankle injury so I didn't get any miles in.  For the month of March, my training plan said I was supposed to run a total of 185 miles.  I obviously didn't make that but I am happy with what I did.  My ankle put me a little behind and I missed a few days here and there but was happy with how i finished.  I completed the long runs which are the most important ones.  

My marathon is in 6 days.  At the moment I am feeling strong and ready to go.  Its gonna be a long week with final review coming up on Thursday.  I have to figure out a way to get an appropriate amount of sleep to be ready for my race and get all my work done for my review.  We will see.  Hoping for the best on race day...

JOB!!!

I mentioned in my last post that I got some good news last week while on spring break...

Well here it is...I GOT A JOB!!

I had a phone interview with TBG Partners in Dallas almost three weeks ago.  They called me back a couple days later and said that they wanted me to fly to Dallas to meet everyone, see the office, and have an on-site interview.  I flew to Dallas on Thursday, the day before spring break started, and met with everyone.  The interview went great.  I got to meet most everyone in the office and see how the office environment works.  Tuesday of last week, while I was at home on spring break, I got a call from TBG saying they wanted to officially offer me a job.  I got the job offer and officially accepted it on Monday.

So, I will be heading to Dallas in the middle of June to start my professional career.  After Sara completes her field work and we get married in November she will be coming to Dallas and a whole new chapter of life will begin.  I am extremely excited to have landed a job before graduating.  I am the first one in my class to officially have a job.  The job market for landscape architects still isn't great but definitely on the rise.  TBG Partners is an excellent firm that does a lot of great work in Texas and beyond.  They have offices in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.  My office in Dallas has about fifteen people in currently.  I extremely excited about this opportunity and can't wait to get there and get settled with Sara.

Check out the firm's website:  www.tbg-inc.com

SB12

My last spring break ever has come and gone and it was probably one of my most productive ever.  My first two spring breaks at LSU I spent with the LA department on study abroad trips to Brazil and the West Coast.  These were both great experiences.  This year I headed back home for some wedding planning and time spent with Sara, family, and friends.

I rode back to Johnson City with two friends from school  They were going to visit friends and family in Boone and Asheville so it worked out nicely that we got to ride together.

A brief recap:

Friday:  All day drive from Baton Rouge to Asheville to Johnson City.  I think it took us 13 hours total.  It was a miserable drive.  We finally got into Johnson City around 9 pm.

Saturday:  Saturday was my longest run day for marathon training, 20 miles, so I talked Mom, Dad, Abe, and Chad into going to the Creeper Trail in Virginia so that I could do my run and they ride bikes.  The weather was perfect and my run felt great.  It's a little easier to run in the beautiful shaded surroundings of the Appalachian Mtns rather than the hot sidewalks of Baton Rouge.

Sunday:  Easter.  Got to spend some good quality time with the family as well as the Greenwell's.  Sara came to church with us and then I went to the Greenwell's for a nice Easter lunch.  It was also Sunday at the Masters which is one of the best sporting events of the year to watch.  Great to watch Bubba Watson win that tournament with Sara, McAuley, Abe, and Stocton.

Monday:  Full day of wedding planning.  Sara and I got our cake figured out, got a gift registry started at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and then went up to Roan Mtn. (where we got engaged) to get a round of engagement photos taken.  It was a highly productive wedding planning day.

Tuesday:  Got some big news on Tuesday.  Will share soon.

Wednesday:  Did some more wedding planning.  Started a gift registry at Target.  Also got some loose ends tied up at home before it was time to head back to Baton Rouge

Thursday:  Time to leave Johnson City.  Chad and Brooke (who I rode with) had never been to the Smoky Mountains National Park before so we decided to drive through it on the way to Knoxville.  From Johnson City, we drove to Asheville to pick up Brooke and then to Cherokee, NC to one of the southern gateways to the Park on 441.  We had originally planned to do some backpacking in the Park but that didn't end up working out.  We drove through the Park from Cherokee to Gatlinburg on 441 making a stop at Clingman's Dome.  We then headed for Knoxville where we spent the night.  Always great to get to see all my Knoxville people!

Friday:  Another looong day of driving from Knoxville to Baton Rouge.  We did stop in Chattanooga to check out the waterfront park adjacent to the Aquarium that one of our professors took part in designing.  I had seen it before but it was nice to be able to check it out again, especially since I am doing something somewhat similar for my final project.  We got back into Baton Rouge around 6pm Friday night.

Saturday & Sunday:  Spent the weekend working on my final project.  I have to be all finished up with it for final review by next Thursday.  It is gonna be a brutal 10 days or so.

Overall it was a great spring break.  Got to do lots of things and see many people.

Back to work...

Clingman's Dome

I rode up to Tennessee with a couple people from school for our Spring Break.  Chad was heading to Boone and Brooke to Asheville so it worked out well that we ride together.  Chad had never been to Smoky Mountains NP before so we took a drive through the park on our way back on our way to Knoxville for the night and eventually on to Baton Rouge.  We had originally planned to do an overnight backpacking trip but that didn't work out.  We drove through the park on a 441 from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg.  

Here are some pics from the top of Clingman's Dome.  It was a perfectly clear day.  No leaves were budding up top but you can see the green starting to show up in the valleys.

Engagement Photos . Roan Mtn

Hope the post title didn't get you to excited.  There will be no engagement photos in this post.  However, Sara and I went up to Roan Mountain yesterday to get the first session of our engagement photos taken.  This is of course where we got engaged and one of my favorite places on earth.  Here are a couple pictures from my phone from yesterday afternoon.  It should be a couple weeks before we will get the pictures back and I will post some then.

Portfolio

Job search mode is in full effect for me right now.  I uploaded my most recent portfolio online and just wanted to share here.  It is a compilation of my works since I have been in graduate school.

When you click on the portfolio a new screen should show up where you can view it.  If not here is a link:  http://issuu.com/kylejacobson/docs/mlaportfolio

Your 2012 Chicago Cubs

My sports editor (Abe) decided to retire after one post so I am forced to throw together a weak effort for a season preview for the Cubs.  Thats ok though because the Cubs will be a weak team all year long.

After hiring Theo Epstein to be the new President of Baseball Operations, the Cubs have went into 'rebuilding' mode.  They are currently rebuilding in the minor leagues.  Adding depth and quality prospects.  Simply put, the major league Chicago Cubs will not be a good baseball team.

With that said, your 2012 Chicago Cubs...

C:  Geovany Soto.  He has been around.  Could be good, could be average.  Last year he was awful so historically this year he should be good.
1B: Bryan LaHair.  29 Year old rookie.  Solid Triple A player, unknown what he can do in a full major league season.
2B:  Darwin Barney.  While likeable, he should not be an everyday starter.
SS:  Starlin Castro.  Fantastic player.  By far the Cubs best position player.  Hopefully he can build off of his solid numbers from last year and get his defense cleaned up a little bit.
3B:  Ian Stewart.  New to the team.  Had an awful year last year in Colorado.  Maybe he can bounce back and be a good player like he once was.
LF:  Alfonso Soriano.  Dreadful.
CF:  Marlin Byrd.  Another likable player that just isn't that good anymore.
RF:  David DeJesus.  Another new guy.  Hoping for the best.

Bench:  Blake Dewitt, Jeff Baker, Reed Johnson, Joe Mather, Steve Clevenger, Luis Valbuena.

The Starting Rotation:
1.  Ryan Dempster.  Probably my favorite Cub.  Hoping he can have a better year than last year.
2.  Matt Garza.  Had a solid year last year even though it didn't show in the win column.
3.  Jeff Samardzija.  He has very long hair and was good at catching footballs.  He had a great spring.  Hopefully he can throw more strikes than balls this year.
4.  Christ Volstad.  New guy.  I have no idea.
5.  Paul Maholm.  New guy.  I have no idea.

Bullpen:  Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, James Russell, Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, Shawn Camp.  Three guys from last year, three new guys.  I am still upset they traded Sean Marshall.

That ladies and gentlemen is not a good professional baseball team.

I will be happy if they get to 70 wins and finish ahead of the Houston Astros.  Of course, I will be following along every day.

Athlete . Tourist

Some more new music.

Another great album.  The English rock band Athlete.  Album name:  Tourist

Check them out.