So, Shea asked a good question yesterday.  Why did I decide to go into Environmental Engineering?  First, maybe I should define it, as in my experience it is a little known field.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor:

“Using the principles of biology and chemistry, environmental engineers develop solutions to environmental problems. They are involved in water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues. Environmental engineers conduct hazardous-waste management studies in which they evaluate the significance of the hazard, offer analysis on treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps. They design municipal water supply and industrial wastewater treatment systems. They conduct research on proposed environmental projects, analyze scientific data, and perform quality control checks.

Environmental engineers are concerned with local and worldwide environmental issues. They study and attempt to minimize the effects of acid rain, global warming, automobile emissions, and ozone depletion. They also are involved in the protection of wildlife.”

Now, the simple answer to that question is that when I was a sophomore in high school, my dad grounded me until I had decided what I wanted to study in college.  (The relationship I have with my dad is complicated, and we are not actually very close.)  I picked Environmental Engineering, mostly because I liked science and math.  I didn't really know what it was about. 

When I was a senior in high school, I had the opportunity to intern at our local water treatment plant.  There, I discovered that I found water treatment fascinating, and decided that that was what I wanted to do. After a poor initial college choice, and a transfer to a school that I loved, but where I got an essentially useless (to me, anyway) degree, I ended up at UMass, where I met Angeler and Phoebs.  They are still 2 of my closest friends.

On second thought, I didn't just "end up" at UMass.  My professors at GCC (now GCU) knew I wanted to go into engineering, and found me several summer internships to apply for.  (And the degree isn't totally useless- an engineer with a liberal arts degree is a rare creature.  Y'all will have to trust me when I assure you that you would not read the blogs of my colleagues.)  I applied for, and was accepted to, an internship at UMass.  The work I did that summer further convinced me that I wanted to study EvE.

So, UMass 4 years, got my degree, and a job in NC.  I was running a drinking water pilot plant for my current firm, albeit at another office.  At that office, I did mostly drinking water work, with some wastewater work thrown in for variety.  After orchestrating a transfer to my current office, I now work mostly on groundwater remediation, doing technology demonstration studies.  I am trying to pick up more drinking water optimization studies, but that has been a tough sell.  However, I think that will come.

I enjoy what I do, and I like that I am, in some sense, helping to make the world a better place.  My family has a history of service-oriented careers, and that is important to me.

As an aside, I enjoy it when y'all ask questions.  Please do!  (Although, I won't promise to answer all of them.  Most of them, but depends on the subject matter.)

I walked into work today at my usual time, 0730.  I noticed that my laptop was not in the docking station, and my first thought was, "I don't remember taking that home."  Also, the monitor stand above the docking station (which does not, in fact, hold a monitor) was askew.  I told Kimmy (my office mate) that my computer was missing, and she said, "Maybe [our IS guy] took it to upgrade it?"  I thought it unlikely, but called his cell anyway.  He didn't have it, so I called our Facilities Manager.

Watergirl:  Hey [Facilities manager], it's Watergirl.  My computer has been stolen.
FM:  You're joking.
WG:  Yes, I called you on your cellphone at 0745 because Kimmy and I are playing a joke on you.

We thought until about 0830 that mine was the only one gone.  My office has an outside door to it through which many people pass, but it doesn't always latch.  I was thinking crime of opportunity.  However, as others started to come in, it turned out that more were missing. 

This bothered me a lot more that I would have thought that it would.  I didn't lose a lot of data, I was able to do labwork today, and it wasn't actually my computer.  Still, I was uneasy for most of the day.  I've forgotten my cellphone at work in the past; that could have been gone as well.  I sometimes work on the weekends, and now will every little noise make me jump?  I don't know.  I was angry at the person(s) who did this , and angry with myself because I knew that this could happen, but I didn't take my laptop home every night (as we are now supposed to do) because I got complacent.

Today was also a riding lesson.  I rode Bruno, who is a big 1250 pound baby.  We worked on pushing forward into the trot and making him light on the forehand, pretending that we could do canter pirouettes.  By the end of the ride, all was right again. 

It has come to my attention that even though high voter turnout is expected for this election, there is still a large number of eligible voters who will not be voting.  I understand the apathy; I do not like the choices being presented to me and am skeptical that the outcome will have any effect my life, either postively or negatively.  That said, I really have not been in the "adult" world for an administration change before.  I will therefore not tell you who to vote for- that is your decison.  I will not tell you for whom I am voting, as that is my right.  What I will tell you is why I will be voting this year.

I vote to honor the memories of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, who campaigned for women's rights and suffrage for over 50 years and never gained the right to vote themselves.  I vote to honor the memory of James E. Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, whose bodies were found in an earthen dam in August of 1964.  They had been working to register black voters in Mississippi.  I vote in reverence to the men and women who have died while fighting to protect our freedom and those of others.  I vote because many of the world's citizens do not enjoy the political freedoms I do.  I vote because I can.