A lot has happened since I last wrote. Let me spread the news to the world via the internet and my blog that not many people read.
I had a good friend and two cousins recently come home from their missions. I have yet to see the cousins, but one is moving out near me in January, so I will see him then. My good friend who just got home is one of the coolest guys I know. He seems to be breaking out of his post-mission shell very well.
If you have read my entry about my date attempt, you will know that I was unable to see the play that night. I have seen it now. I went with my missionary buddy. We went in our suits (I bought two of them. One is black, the other black with pin stripes) so that we could feel cool. It was ok. We were both exhausted and it was closing night. I felt like it was a little over-the-top with the craziness, but with Gilbert and Sullivan what else can you expect? After the play we went back to his house and talked for a few hours. It was good.
Two new souls have entered into the world inside my group of friends, one girl and one boy. The girl was born to a single mother, who conceived out of wedlock. Her name is Samara. She is a pretty little baby. The father is going to try to help the mother out, but we'll see if he follows through. The boy was born to a mother who is going through a divorce. The baby was placed up for adoption (though that happens long before the actual birth) and the mother found an absolutely wonderful couple to be his parents. The divorce is now in the process of finalizing, and the mother is recovering well. Bless her heart, she is a hero in a world full of cowards, chaos, and infidelity. I don't know if I would've had the strength to do what she has done, may it all work out for the best.
Thanksgiving is kind of all encompassing for this. There is so much good in my life and the lives of my friends. I talked of the other topics first to show some of what I have going on, for this I am thankful.
I am lucky enough to live close to my parents. I live about 15 minutes away from them. Being single and going to school, I often get asked why I chose to move out if my parents live so close. I've lived there all my life and I love it, but too much of a good thing can be bad. I needed a change of scenery, and have found it. I was just lucky enough to find a good change so close to something I love so much. I went to "visit" my family for thanksgiving. It was fun.
We had already done our big family thanksgiving party, so it was just my immediate family that was going to be present. My mother, being the wonderful woman she is, told me to invite anyone who didn't have a place to go to our house. I invited one of my roomies and one of his friends. His friend was originally going to go somewhere else, but she ended up coming along and bringing another friend.
We had three guests and had a ton of fun, and I am now good friends with both girls. I think I'll dub them my aliens, as they are both weird and foreigners.
That is the time in summary. I am at work at the moment, taking a break, and need to get back to hammering out my code. I will, hopefully, sometime come and write a detailed version of my thanksgiving weekend. I could take up quite a bit of space with that. I'll think up some clever aliases for the aliens, and use them to brighten up the story that I will write.
Until I write again.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Most Memorable Date
It was a cold and rainy night as I walked across the grass common area of my apartment complex, dressed in casual khaki pants and a black collared shirt. I was ten minutes late, and slightly stressed about it. I hate being late. I did have a good excuse, though (if there is such a thing). I had been at my parents house doing laundry and tending the kids. My laundry finished and I was out the door like a bullet. I broke about every speed limit law getting back home.
The show was starting at 7:30, doors opened at 7:00. It was now 7:10. I walked quickly. I was a man on a mission: get the girl and don't look like you sprinted to her apartment. I slowed down as I got closer to her place. I mounted the steps to go to the second floor and approached the door. I knocked my classic knock dut-da-da-dut-dut, put my hands in my coat pockets, and took a step back from the foreboding portal. I listened, as is my habit, for the approaching footsteps. Were they rushed? Were they heavy steps or light? I noticed a semi-rushed, normal weighted foot step approach the door and it opened, pouring light onto the stairway.
It was a face I had never seen before, one of the roommates. "Hi" I croaked. I mentally slapped myself for not getting a drink of water before I left my apartment and swallowed to relieve the dryness in my throat. "Come on in. She'll be out in just a sec" the woman says. I step inside onto the green carpet, close the door behind me, and stand by the door trying to relax.
I'm still a bit flustered from being late, but at least I sent her a text letting her know. I look around the apartment casually and notice a beautiful chair sitting on the table. It's about 2 feet tall, an off-white shade, with an intricate hand painting of flowers and vines spiraling up the legs and back rest. "Ah, this is the kind of art she's interested in" I think to myself. I admired the chair for a minute, then went back to my study of the random things lying about the apartment.
I heard a toilet flush. "You feeling better?" I hear the girl who answered the door say. I don't hear a reply, but feel sorry for the poor dear who must have just been worshipping the porcelain god Raulph. A sink turns on in the bathroom, and I hear someone brushing their teeth. Raulph must have been given quite the offering. The sink turns off and I glance towards the front bathroom to see the victim of the stomach ailment. (I'm sure you can guess by now who walks out, if you can't, read on)
Just then, to my surprise, my date walks out looking a bit pale and at the same time absolutely stunning. Two thoughts went simultaneously through my mind: "Wow! She said yes to me?" and "Poor dear. Why'd she agree to come if she was sick?". Her hair is in large curls, she apparently spent some time getting ready, and she is wearing black pants with a thigh-length black shirt, and a black jacket with a fluffy trim on the collar. She had on dark eye-shadow, and she just looked good. She greeted me, "Hey, Brian, sorry you had to wait. I think I have some food poisoning, but I'm feeling a lot better now". "You sure?" I skeptically responded. "Yeah, I think I'll be ok." she replied. We departed the apartment into the dark and drizzly evening. The time is 7:13.
We walked back across the complex to where my car was parked and began our drive to the theater. We had a pleasant conversation on the way over. I was trying to keep the conversation going and not let anything turn awkward, so I kept asking questions about her life. She lived in Germany up until she was 10, though she was born in the United States, then moved to Michigan. She lived in Michigan for a while, then moved to Australia, moved back to Michigan, briefly moved to Utah, then back to Michigan, then to Australia again. She moved back to Utah a few months ago, and runs her own arts and crafts business. The decorated chair was indeed hers, but she was making it for a client.
We arrived near our destination, parked the car, and walked about a block to get to where we were going. And thus we arrived, The Center Street Musical Theater. Now playing "Pirates of Penzance", a show I've wanted to see for a while. We entered the theater and were greeted by the central heating system as the temperature climbed about 40 degrees in a signal step. We hopped into the back of the line and waited patiently to pick up the tickets I had reserved.
"I can help whoever is next" the attendant calls. "Two adults under Armstrong" I respond. "That's $9 each, so $18 total." she replies. I hand over my debit card, she runs it through, and I sign the receipt. She hands over the tickets and we proceed into the stage room.
We are greeted by the combined smells of several hundred people, a dinner that was served at 6:30, and by the temperature increase associated with them. The temperature is at least 20 degrees higher in this room than the last. We find our seats and sit down. Front row seats, behind the tables, and sandwiched in between everyone around us. I open up the program and begin to read, out loud, the synopsis of the play.
Kelly listens for a minute, then says "I'll be back in a sec, I have to go find the restrooms." I feel terrible. I dragged her all the way out of her apartment to this play and she's still sick. Well, if she's still feeling sick afterwards and just can't handle it, I guess we'll just leave. I finish reading the synopsis and begin reading the actor bios when the lights go out and the announcer comes and begins telling us to turn our cell phones off, etc. I wonder where Kelly is and keep an eye out for her while pirates begin to walk in the audience talking with people and stealing napkins and glasses from the tables.
Just then I see Kelly working her way back to our seats. I also notice a pirate begin to follow her, but he doesn't stand a chance, she's back at her seat before he even gets close. "Brian, I got your money back, I don't think I'm going to make it" she says and hands me some cash. I still haven't counted it. I grabbed my jacket and we made our way out of the theater. She apologized once we were back outside in the cold. I can tell she feels awful about it, but it really doesn't matter to me. I'm more concerned about her than I am about seeing a play that I will be able to see next week if I really want to. It's all about priorities.
We walked slowly back to the car as I reassured her that it was not a problem that we had to leave. It was blasted hot in there, and I may have suffocated halfway through the play anyway. We drove back and talked a bit, but she was concentrating on not throwing up the last bit home, but she invited me over to her apartment to watch a movie if I wanted to. I dropped her off as close to her apartment as I could and watched her walk semi-quickly towards the stairs.
I drove around the back-side of my complex and parked my car near my apartment. I walked inside chuckling to myself about the irony of the night and, as soon as I entered my apartment, was greeted by my surprised roommates wondering what had happened to my date. I briefly explained, grabbed my "Over The Hedge" DVD and began the walk back over to her apartment.
It was like deja vu, only this time I was carrying a DVD. I walked slowly across the grass common area of my apartment complex in my casual khaki pants and my black collared shirt and once again approached the door. It was standing wide open, so I walked up, poked my head in and said in a semi-loud voice "knock knock". I was hoping for a "who's there" response so I could crack a corny joke, but she just invited me in with a yell from the bathroom area.
She appeared shortly thereafter with a tooth brush in her mouth. "Give me just a second" she said, and finished the cleansing of her enamel. She came out and I got the DVD set up and working. However, rather than sitting down to watch the movie, we just stood by the counter and talked. It turns out she was scared she would throw up again if she sat down. About fifteen minutes passed and one of her roommates came home with her "honey".
We chatted with the two new comers for a bit and then Raulph, the aforementioned porcelain god, demanded another offering. However, seeing as everything had already been offered, there was nothing to offer, but an attempt was made anyway. We must not anger the mighty Raulph. Kelly grabbed a cup of water, so that she would not have to experience the dry retching again, and we went outside in the cold to talk for a bit. Apparently the cold is soothing to a rebellious stomach.
We decided to call it a night, and went our ways. I, once again, walked across the grass common area of my complex in my casual khaki pants and black collared shirt. (on a side note, I don't know at which point I would have changed, so the description is kind of a moot point) I got home and explained to my roomies why I had again returned early, and realized that I had left my DVD in Kelly's apartment.
"I do realize I just left my movie. I'll just use it as an excuse to drop by sometime." was the text I sent when I realized this. I think it's a good idea. I think I'll check up on her tomorrow and see how she's doing. Hopefully everything has straightened itself out by then. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed spending the time with her, even with all the surrounding circumstances. After sending the text, I sat down at my laptop and worked on my biology paper. When I got tired of that around midnight (which is when I would've stopped anyway)... well, I'll give you three guesses to try to guess what I did for the next two hours, and the first two don't count.
Life Is Good.
The show was starting at 7:30, doors opened at 7:00. It was now 7:10. I walked quickly. I was a man on a mission: get the girl and don't look like you sprinted to her apartment. I slowed down as I got closer to her place. I mounted the steps to go to the second floor and approached the door. I knocked my classic knock dut-da-da-dut-dut, put my hands in my coat pockets, and took a step back from the foreboding portal. I listened, as is my habit, for the approaching footsteps. Were they rushed? Were they heavy steps or light? I noticed a semi-rushed, normal weighted foot step approach the door and it opened, pouring light onto the stairway.
It was a face I had never seen before, one of the roommates. "Hi" I croaked. I mentally slapped myself for not getting a drink of water before I left my apartment and swallowed to relieve the dryness in my throat. "Come on in. She'll be out in just a sec" the woman says. I step inside onto the green carpet, close the door behind me, and stand by the door trying to relax.
I'm still a bit flustered from being late, but at least I sent her a text letting her know. I look around the apartment casually and notice a beautiful chair sitting on the table. It's about 2 feet tall, an off-white shade, with an intricate hand painting of flowers and vines spiraling up the legs and back rest. "Ah, this is the kind of art she's interested in" I think to myself. I admired the chair for a minute, then went back to my study of the random things lying about the apartment.
I heard a toilet flush. "You feeling better?" I hear the girl who answered the door say. I don't hear a reply, but feel sorry for the poor dear who must have just been worshipping the porcelain god Raulph. A sink turns on in the bathroom, and I hear someone brushing their teeth. Raulph must have been given quite the offering. The sink turns off and I glance towards the front bathroom to see the victim of the stomach ailment. (I'm sure you can guess by now who walks out, if you can't, read on)
Just then, to my surprise, my date walks out looking a bit pale and at the same time absolutely stunning. Two thoughts went simultaneously through my mind: "Wow! She said yes to me?" and "Poor dear. Why'd she agree to come if she was sick?". Her hair is in large curls, she apparently spent some time getting ready, and she is wearing black pants with a thigh-length black shirt, and a black jacket with a fluffy trim on the collar. She had on dark eye-shadow, and she just looked good. She greeted me, "Hey, Brian, sorry you had to wait. I think I have some food poisoning, but I'm feeling a lot better now". "You sure?" I skeptically responded. "Yeah, I think I'll be ok." she replied. We departed the apartment into the dark and drizzly evening. The time is 7:13.
We walked back across the complex to where my car was parked and began our drive to the theater. We had a pleasant conversation on the way over. I was trying to keep the conversation going and not let anything turn awkward, so I kept asking questions about her life. She lived in Germany up until she was 10, though she was born in the United States, then moved to Michigan. She lived in Michigan for a while, then moved to Australia, moved back to Michigan, briefly moved to Utah, then back to Michigan, then to Australia again. She moved back to Utah a few months ago, and runs her own arts and crafts business. The decorated chair was indeed hers, but she was making it for a client.
We arrived near our destination, parked the car, and walked about a block to get to where we were going. And thus we arrived, The Center Street Musical Theater. Now playing "Pirates of Penzance", a show I've wanted to see for a while. We entered the theater and were greeted by the central heating system as the temperature climbed about 40 degrees in a signal step. We hopped into the back of the line and waited patiently to pick up the tickets I had reserved.
"I can help whoever is next" the attendant calls. "Two adults under Armstrong" I respond. "That's $9 each, so $18 total." she replies. I hand over my debit card, she runs it through, and I sign the receipt. She hands over the tickets and we proceed into the stage room.
We are greeted by the combined smells of several hundred people, a dinner that was served at 6:30, and by the temperature increase associated with them. The temperature is at least 20 degrees higher in this room than the last. We find our seats and sit down. Front row seats, behind the tables, and sandwiched in between everyone around us. I open up the program and begin to read, out loud, the synopsis of the play.
Kelly listens for a minute, then says "I'll be back in a sec, I have to go find the restrooms." I feel terrible. I dragged her all the way out of her apartment to this play and she's still sick. Well, if she's still feeling sick afterwards and just can't handle it, I guess we'll just leave. I finish reading the synopsis and begin reading the actor bios when the lights go out and the announcer comes and begins telling us to turn our cell phones off, etc. I wonder where Kelly is and keep an eye out for her while pirates begin to walk in the audience talking with people and stealing napkins and glasses from the tables.
Just then I see Kelly working her way back to our seats. I also notice a pirate begin to follow her, but he doesn't stand a chance, she's back at her seat before he even gets close. "Brian, I got your money back, I don't think I'm going to make it" she says and hands me some cash. I still haven't counted it. I grabbed my jacket and we made our way out of the theater. She apologized once we were back outside in the cold. I can tell she feels awful about it, but it really doesn't matter to me. I'm more concerned about her than I am about seeing a play that I will be able to see next week if I really want to. It's all about priorities.
We walked slowly back to the car as I reassured her that it was not a problem that we had to leave. It was blasted hot in there, and I may have suffocated halfway through the play anyway. We drove back and talked a bit, but she was concentrating on not throwing up the last bit home, but she invited me over to her apartment to watch a movie if I wanted to. I dropped her off as close to her apartment as I could and watched her walk semi-quickly towards the stairs.
I drove around the back-side of my complex and parked my car near my apartment. I walked inside chuckling to myself about the irony of the night and, as soon as I entered my apartment, was greeted by my surprised roommates wondering what had happened to my date. I briefly explained, grabbed my "Over The Hedge" DVD and began the walk back over to her apartment.
It was like deja vu, only this time I was carrying a DVD. I walked slowly across the grass common area of my apartment complex in my casual khaki pants and my black collared shirt and once again approached the door. It was standing wide open, so I walked up, poked my head in and said in a semi-loud voice "knock knock". I was hoping for a "who's there" response so I could crack a corny joke, but she just invited me in with a yell from the bathroom area.
She appeared shortly thereafter with a tooth brush in her mouth. "Give me just a second" she said, and finished the cleansing of her enamel. She came out and I got the DVD set up and working. However, rather than sitting down to watch the movie, we just stood by the counter and talked. It turns out she was scared she would throw up again if she sat down. About fifteen minutes passed and one of her roommates came home with her "honey".
We chatted with the two new comers for a bit and then Raulph, the aforementioned porcelain god, demanded another offering. However, seeing as everything had already been offered, there was nothing to offer, but an attempt was made anyway. We must not anger the mighty Raulph. Kelly grabbed a cup of water, so that she would not have to experience the dry retching again, and we went outside in the cold to talk for a bit. Apparently the cold is soothing to a rebellious stomach.
We decided to call it a night, and went our ways. I, once again, walked across the grass common area of my complex in my casual khaki pants and black collared shirt. (on a side note, I don't know at which point I would have changed, so the description is kind of a moot point) I got home and explained to my roomies why I had again returned early, and realized that I had left my DVD in Kelly's apartment.
"I do realize I just left my movie. I'll just use it as an excuse to drop by sometime." was the text I sent when I realized this. I think it's a good idea. I think I'll check up on her tomorrow and see how she's doing. Hopefully everything has straightened itself out by then. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed spending the time with her, even with all the surrounding circumstances. After sending the text, I sat down at my laptop and worked on my biology paper. When I got tired of that around midnight (which is when I would've stopped anyway)... well, I'll give you three guesses to try to guess what I did for the next two hours, and the first two don't count.
Life Is Good.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The most exciting day of my life, thus far.
Wow! I'm on a high right now! This is great! Let me brief you.
I update my resume on monster.com and got some hits. One of these hits was about 2 minutes away from my current job. For my salary expectations I told them I would accept no more than twice what I was making now, but would prefer closer to three times what I'm making now. (I used numbers, though, rather than how many times more).
Well, he told me to work up an application using the Mojavi framework in PHP5 and see if I could do it. Well, I wrote it, and emailed it to him sunday. He was gone monday in Moab, and he just called me.
Well, this is what he said: "I looked at the Mojavi stuff you wrote and I would like to know if there is a time that we can sit down and discuss offering you a position here."
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT ROCKS?!?!?!?!?!
So I'm way excited. I'm tight on cash for the next two weeks because of tuition and bills (although my insurance just went down $30/month), but I'll be good in two weeks at my next pay-check from here. And who knows what I'll be making two weeks from now. I'm going to talk to them at 3:30. I'll update you all then.
-= Later the next month =-
Ok, so I'm editting this entry to let you know how everything went.
Well, I got the job. I went in for the interview and he offered me a sustancial amount more than I was making. He asked me when I could start and I told him I'd have to give my two weeks at my other job. The following dialog is the general idea of what went on.
Him: "That's too long. I can't wait two weeks. What can we do to make you start here tomorrow". Me: "I'd feel bad just leaving them hanging. I made a commitment to them, and I'm in the middle of a project. I can't just walk out on them." Him: "Let's see, you're making $11 per hours... hmm... I'll give you $1000 to start tomorrow. That's more then they'll be paying you in those two weeks. You'd be an idiot to pass it up." At this point I hope my jaw didn't drop. "I'll have to talk to my boss. Give me your number and I'll give you a call when I figure it out."
So I went back to my old job and told my supervisor about my new possition. He told me to take it, no questions asked, so I called Garrett (my new boss) and told him we were on for tomorrow. I then waited for my boss at profitmax to get back (Ron). When he did, I went over to talk to him. Here is an approximate of our dialog.
Me: "Hi. Well, I'll just lay it out. I got offered a job making X amount per year, plus a $1000 bonus if I start tomorrow. I've accepted the offer and am planning on starting tomorrow. I'm giving you an opportunity to match them before I leave, though." Ron: "So your honor is bought for $1000? You gave us a two year commitment. This isn't holding to that." Me: "I gave you that commitment if you met my salary requirements. I am still, after 6 months, $1.50 per hour below what I asked for, and you have refused to move me up." Ron: "So you're saying that giving you $12.50/hr would be enough to keep you here?" Me: "Not with an offer for X amount on the table. You'll have to at least match it to keep me." Ron: "Well, we can't afford that. Why didn't you come talk to me about feeling under paid?" Me: "Ron, I have. You refuse to give me more than $0.50 every three months and you keep putting off performance reviews. It's ridiculous." Ron: "I would've moved you up to $12.50 if I knew you were looking for another job." Me: "I wasn't looking, Ron, they called me, so I figured why not." Ron: "I see... well isn't X amount a little above market around here?" Me: "Maybe in the '60s, Ron. That's low market value for someone with a degree. I don't have a degree, but I have equivalent experience."
I was fairly blunt. I had wanted to lay into Ron about his policies and being stuck in the past for a long time, and I finally had the chance. Hopefully I didn't burn my bridges, because I really like those guys. We then proceeded into a conversation about what I thought might need to change in the company in the future to keep employees from leaving. It was mostly him asking questions and my answering.
So I work here now. I used the starting bonus to pay off my credit card and my tuition, so that was $700 right off the top of it. I have since bought a new car, which I will write about in a new entry, and learned a lot about programming I wouldn't have learned at profitmax.
Life is good, and I am loving it.
I update my resume on monster.com and got some hits. One of these hits was about 2 minutes away from my current job. For my salary expectations I told them I would accept no more than twice what I was making now, but would prefer closer to three times what I'm making now. (I used numbers, though, rather than how many times more).
Well, he told me to work up an application using the Mojavi framework in PHP5 and see if I could do it. Well, I wrote it, and emailed it to him sunday. He was gone monday in Moab, and he just called me.
Well, this is what he said: "I looked at the Mojavi stuff you wrote and I would like to know if there is a time that we can sit down and discuss offering you a position here."
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT ROCKS?!?!?!?!?!
So I'm way excited. I'm tight on cash for the next two weeks because of tuition and bills (although my insurance just went down $30/month), but I'll be good in two weeks at my next pay-check from here. And who knows what I'll be making two weeks from now. I'm going to talk to them at 3:30. I'll update you all then.
-= Later the next month =-
Ok, so I'm editting this entry to let you know how everything went.
Well, I got the job. I went in for the interview and he offered me a sustancial amount more than I was making. He asked me when I could start and I told him I'd have to give my two weeks at my other job. The following dialog is the general idea of what went on.
Him: "That's too long. I can't wait two weeks. What can we do to make you start here tomorrow". Me: "I'd feel bad just leaving them hanging. I made a commitment to them, and I'm in the middle of a project. I can't just walk out on them." Him: "Let's see, you're making $11 per hours... hmm... I'll give you $1000 to start tomorrow. That's more then they'll be paying you in those two weeks. You'd be an idiot to pass it up." At this point I hope my jaw didn't drop. "I'll have to talk to my boss. Give me your number and I'll give you a call when I figure it out."
So I went back to my old job and told my supervisor about my new possition. He told me to take it, no questions asked, so I called Garrett (my new boss) and told him we were on for tomorrow. I then waited for my boss at profitmax to get back (Ron). When he did, I went over to talk to him. Here is an approximate of our dialog.
Me: "Hi. Well, I'll just lay it out. I got offered a job making X amount per year, plus a $1000 bonus if I start tomorrow. I've accepted the offer and am planning on starting tomorrow. I'm giving you an opportunity to match them before I leave, though." Ron: "So your honor is bought for $1000? You gave us a two year commitment. This isn't holding to that." Me: "I gave you that commitment if you met my salary requirements. I am still, after 6 months, $1.50 per hour below what I asked for, and you have refused to move me up." Ron: "So you're saying that giving you $12.50/hr would be enough to keep you here?" Me: "Not with an offer for X amount on the table. You'll have to at least match it to keep me." Ron: "Well, we can't afford that. Why didn't you come talk to me about feeling under paid?" Me: "Ron, I have. You refuse to give me more than $0.50 every three months and you keep putting off performance reviews. It's ridiculous." Ron: "I would've moved you up to $12.50 if I knew you were looking for another job." Me: "I wasn't looking, Ron, they called me, so I figured why not." Ron: "I see... well isn't X amount a little above market around here?" Me: "Maybe in the '60s, Ron. That's low market value for someone with a degree. I don't have a degree, but I have equivalent experience."
I was fairly blunt. I had wanted to lay into Ron about his policies and being stuck in the past for a long time, and I finally had the chance. Hopefully I didn't burn my bridges, because I really like those guys. We then proceeded into a conversation about what I thought might need to change in the company in the future to keep employees from leaving. It was mostly him asking questions and my answering.
So I work here now. I used the starting bonus to pay off my credit card and my tuition, so that was $700 right off the top of it. I have since bought a new car, which I will write about in a new entry, and learned a lot about programming I wouldn't have learned at profitmax.
Life is good, and I am loving it.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Oil pan, meet rock. Rock, oil pan. "Howd'ya do?"
Ok, so I haven't written in a while. I guess there just hasn't been anything hugely stressful in my life that I've had the urge to share with the entire online community. But, alas, here I am, writing once again.
Well, if you can't tell from the voice of the post and the title a terrible thing happened today. I was in Toelle County helping out a friend with his Eagle Project. No one told me there would be off-roading involved. I made it up there in one piece. Except that I heard 3 very distinct *THUDS* and felt them too. No permanent damage done, though. On the way back down, on a different trail, there were two.
I was trying to ride on the top of the rut, off to the left, so my right wheel was on the high point and my left was off the side of the road, essentially. Well, apparently I was not enough to the left. I caught the first rock, which I didn't even see coming, with the suspension on my right tire. Load thud, big jolt, and my car pulled the rock right out of the ground. No permanent damage done, except a scar on my car. The second rock I hit avoiding an even bigger rock. It apparently caught my oil pan straight on. No leaking, just a HUGE dent.
However, we get to the bottom of the trail and my oil light comes on. Oil pressure is very low! So I added some oil, light goes off, I continue to drive. I had used all my oil reserves, so I dropped into a convenience store and bought three more quarts. Put them all in (as I was a bit low on oil). As it turns out, I wasn't that low. I have about a quart over, but as I have an oil leak, that will sort itself out.
Put two of the quarts in, the light turns off. Drive for 15 minutes, light comes back on, put in 3rd quart. Light goes off. Drive for 5 minutes, light comes on. And guess what, no cell phone service! Bad situation, meet worst case scenario. My friend Tommy was following me, so I had a backup if need be.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided to cross my fingers, grit my teeth, and hope that because the oil light was flickering on and off sporadically that my car was ok. The good news is that the oil light turned off when I was almost home (after driving it for almost an hour) and hasn't come back on yet. The bad news, I probably did some serious damage to my engine.
All in all, though, I had quite a fun time with everything and hope to keep it that way. If my car dies, well, I'll bike to work until I buy a new one. I have school tuition to pay, then I'll have enough for at least a down-payment (if I decide to take out a loan) after another month. Loosing my car would, however, greatly inhibit my plans to move back out. We shall see... Keep your fingers crossed.
Future, meet Lady Luck. Lady Luck, Future. I hope you two become best friends.
Well, if you can't tell from the voice of the post and the title a terrible thing happened today. I was in Toelle County helping out a friend with his Eagle Project. No one told me there would be off-roading involved. I made it up there in one piece. Except that I heard 3 very distinct *THUDS* and felt them too. No permanent damage done, though. On the way back down, on a different trail, there were two.
I was trying to ride on the top of the rut, off to the left, so my right wheel was on the high point and my left was off the side of the road, essentially. Well, apparently I was not enough to the left. I caught the first rock, which I didn't even see coming, with the suspension on my right tire. Load thud, big jolt, and my car pulled the rock right out of the ground. No permanent damage done, except a scar on my car. The second rock I hit avoiding an even bigger rock. It apparently caught my oil pan straight on. No leaking, just a HUGE dent.
However, we get to the bottom of the trail and my oil light comes on. Oil pressure is very low! So I added some oil, light goes off, I continue to drive. I had used all my oil reserves, so I dropped into a convenience store and bought three more quarts. Put them all in (as I was a bit low on oil). As it turns out, I wasn't that low. I have about a quart over, but as I have an oil leak, that will sort itself out.
Put two of the quarts in, the light turns off. Drive for 15 minutes, light comes back on, put in 3rd quart. Light goes off. Drive for 5 minutes, light comes on. And guess what, no cell phone service! Bad situation, meet worst case scenario. My friend Tommy was following me, so I had a backup if need be.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided to cross my fingers, grit my teeth, and hope that because the oil light was flickering on and off sporadically that my car was ok. The good news is that the oil light turned off when I was almost home (after driving it for almost an hour) and hasn't come back on yet. The bad news, I probably did some serious damage to my engine.
All in all, though, I had quite a fun time with everything and hope to keep it that way. If my car dies, well, I'll bike to work until I buy a new one. I have school tuition to pay, then I'll have enough for at least a down-payment (if I decide to take out a loan) after another month. Loosing my car would, however, greatly inhibit my plans to move back out. We shall see... Keep your fingers crossed.
Future, meet Lady Luck. Lady Luck, Future. I hope you two become best friends.
Friday, May 05, 2006
A Near Death Experience and a New Phone
Last week I had an interesting experience. I decided someone up There likes me more than He should. I had just picked up my friend, Patsy, and was driving from her apartment to my house. We were driving down 800 N in Orem heading south from University Ave. to State St. We were almost to State St (just before Macey's) when a car, that was sitting in the left-hand turn lane, tried to make a right-hand turn across two lanes of traffic to make it into Macey's parking lot.
He apparently did not see me coming at 45mph. When I noticed he was coming in to my lane (probably no more than 15-20 feet away from him), I slammed on my breaks and turned my car slightly to the right. The turning car, hereafter refered to as TURNER, slammed on his break and stopped halfway into my lane.
When I slammed on my breaks, I also instinctively push my clutch pedal to the floor and put both hands firmly on the wheel. Turning my car to the right as much as I had and TURNER stopping allowed me to miss him. At this point, however, I realized that I was heading straight at the cars waiting to turn right onto 800 N.
I turned my wheel to the left, after passing TURNER, but I was still skidding and didn't change my trajectory much. I let off the break and my car whipped back into the lane where I straightened it out.
I had been driving down 800 N. in 5th gear. I looked at my speed-o-meter and read 30mph. I put my car in 3rd gear and continued driving. I looked in my rear view mirror and, through the smoke left by my tires skidding, could still see TURNER completely stopped sitting in half of each lane of traffic. I smiled and kept driving. Let me note that all of this happened in about 2-3 seconds flat.
Let's point out my sheer luck here. 1) Noticing that he was coming in to my lane. 2) clutching my car. Had I not, it would've stalled and I would've lost power steering. I don't know if that would've been bad, but it was handy. 3) TURNER stopping. 4) Turning my car just enough before I started skidding to miss TURNER. 5) Instictively letting off my break when I was trying to turn while skidding. 6) Missing all the cars trying to turn. 7) Not killing Patsy who, might I add, thinks I have reflexes like a cat.
Somebody is still watching out for me.
On another happy note of my life, I got a new cell phone. I was tired of paying massive overages every month for text messaging with Verizon. I was paying $20 for 2500 messages in/out and $0.10 for every message over in/out. I usually sent/received about 3000+ every month. That's $50 of overages. Some months I topped that. So I was paying at least $70/month for text messaging, and I got sick of it. I called them three times to see if they could do anything for me, price breaks, unlimitted text messaging, etc, but to no avail.
So, I switched to TMobile. I paid the $175 cancellation fee for my phone (I will save that much in about 3 months) and switched to TMobile. I now have unlimitted text messaging for $10/month. I breath easy and sleep better at night now.
Life is good to me.
He apparently did not see me coming at 45mph. When I noticed he was coming in to my lane (probably no more than 15-20 feet away from him), I slammed on my breaks and turned my car slightly to the right. The turning car, hereafter refered to as TURNER, slammed on his break and stopped halfway into my lane.
When I slammed on my breaks, I also instinctively push my clutch pedal to the floor and put both hands firmly on the wheel. Turning my car to the right as much as I had and TURNER stopping allowed me to miss him. At this point, however, I realized that I was heading straight at the cars waiting to turn right onto 800 N.
I turned my wheel to the left, after passing TURNER, but I was still skidding and didn't change my trajectory much. I let off the break and my car whipped back into the lane where I straightened it out.
I had been driving down 800 N. in 5th gear. I looked at my speed-o-meter and read 30mph. I put my car in 3rd gear and continued driving. I looked in my rear view mirror and, through the smoke left by my tires skidding, could still see TURNER completely stopped sitting in half of each lane of traffic. I smiled and kept driving. Let me note that all of this happened in about 2-3 seconds flat.
Let's point out my sheer luck here. 1) Noticing that he was coming in to my lane. 2) clutching my car. Had I not, it would've stalled and I would've lost power steering. I don't know if that would've been bad, but it was handy. 3) TURNER stopping. 4) Turning my car just enough before I started skidding to miss TURNER. 5) Instictively letting off my break when I was trying to turn while skidding. 6) Missing all the cars trying to turn. 7) Not killing Patsy who, might I add, thinks I have reflexes like a cat.
Somebody is still watching out for me.
On another happy note of my life, I got a new cell phone. I was tired of paying massive overages every month for text messaging with Verizon. I was paying $20 for 2500 messages in/out and $0.10 for every message over in/out. I usually sent/received about 3000+ every month. That's $50 of overages. Some months I topped that. So I was paying at least $70/month for text messaging, and I got sick of it. I called them three times to see if they could do anything for me, price breaks, unlimitted text messaging, etc, but to no avail.
So, I switched to TMobile. I paid the $175 cancellation fee for my phone (I will save that much in about 3 months) and switched to TMobile. I now have unlimitted text messaging for $10/month. I breath easy and sleep better at night now.
Life is good to me.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
One thing I've learned
I been looking around at my life and the lives of my friends and I realized something. The great wisdom is to follow.People make mistakes. Yeah, it's true. Everyone will make mistakes because no one is perfect. Mistakes are an inevitable part of life.
Now, having gotten that out of the way. There are many different ways in which people respond to mistakes. There are two basic ways in which I have noticed people responding to mistakes. The first is to learn from them, the second is to ignore them and continue making them.
The friends I have watched act in the first way have improved their lives. They are progressing in school, employment, family relations, friendships, and spiritual aspects. They, by learning from their mistakes, are progressing to a new level of maturity and adulthood. They are becoming the person who they want to become, and they will go somewhere in their lives. These are the people who 'change' for the better and continue to progress with life.
The friends that I have watched continue to make mistake after repeated mistake and not learn from them are, from an outward perspective, absolutely misserable. They are out of school, out of a job, out of touch with family and friends, lacking spiritual guidance and experiences, and not happy. They will tell you they are happy, but if you look at them or talk to them in person there is the undertone of despair. The slight downward trailing at the ends of words and sentences, the word choice that generally lacks words of action and excitement, and the drawn look of their eyes are all sign of not liking where they are.
Whether or not one learns or flops from their mistakes, however, can't change one fact: you can't undo the mistake. An awful wedding will forever be an awful wedding. An awful grade will always be a bad grade. The mistakes we make will forever effect the course of our lives. Mistakes can be fixed, but having made a mistake it will change the person forever. You will always have the memory of just how bad it is.
The real question is: will you improve your life or ruin it?
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Question Answered; A Tale Told
A question has plagued my mind for the last 6 months, and I have never known what the answer would be. I hoped that it would be a "no", but there was always a little twinge that thought it might be a "yes". I have been in the best mood since finding my answer, and I really hope the mood doesn't dwindle, because it feels so good. The question? "Will you break when she marries someone else?" The answer? An outstanding "No".And, thus, my mood soars, because my dreams told truth, and I know myself better than I thought. My prayers and sympathies to those effected. May the peace that I have found find its way into your lives as well.
I also wrote a poem that I think I will share. This was written several days before I found this new information out, but I like it anyway, and just want to put it on my blog. There really is no relation.
 | The Seat of Grace |  |
though I battle with my fears,
I know repentance only lies
along the trail full of tears.
And though I seek, I cannot find,
the entrance to the path divine.
So, I stumble along,
going nowhere in life,
seeking blindly to find my way.
I haven't a clue of where I should go,
and, yet, I stumble on.
And so I walk,
not quite doing what I should,
and hope to one day find the path,
that will take me back to the seat of grace,
and to the God that gave me life.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The Great Mistake
So, tell me. Would you marry someone you've only known for 3 weeks? Well, I know someone who did, and I will swear until the day I die that it was the worst mistake she could've ever made in her life. I hope it works out, I really do, but I don't see that happening. I may be judging him before I know him, but I've seen the result of what happens when he entered my friends life. I have never seen as many broken hearts in my entire life as this caused, not even with the Huge mistakes that I've made.There are so many things that need to be considered in this kind of situation and I don't even know most of them. Talk to anyone who's currently been engaged for a while and is planning their wedding. They have so much that they didn't even think of before. Most importantly, in a young relationship, would probably be finances. Did you even work out a budget? Of course not, you barely had time to get a marriage license. I hope it works, but most relationships that will "make it on love" sink. I hope yours is different, I've seen you hurt to many times to feel comfortable with this.
What dreams you had, what hopes for the future, and you threw it all away because he asked you to. A $50 dress that was Nothing like you had a wanted; A walmart engagement ring; Walmart wedding bands; A Walmart cake; Potato Chips and Dip for your reception; 25 people in attendance; Shunning your parents; Ignoring your friends; Breaking the hearts of everyone you know. You knew better, and you did it anyway, just for your own selfishness of finally having found someone who "loves" you. He fed you what you wanted to hear, and you ate it all up, and ignored your friends. Well, I've been right about every other prediction I've made regarding you, I just pray that this time I'm wrong.
| Floundering | |
looking for acceptance in a cold, harsh life
where the winter winds blow and the trees are bare
in a wilderness of love, nurishment, and care.
You stand and shiver as the wind howls on,
fighting the cold until all heat is gone.
Yet, as you freeze, you refuse to make fire
but when could you need have been more dire?
You want someone else to start the flame,
someone willing to play your little game.
And so you search to find the man,
who will mold to your masterful plan.
A friend from the past, you date for a while,
but when it falls through, you loose your smile.
The stress sets on, the snow grows deep,
will there every be a warm place to sleep?
A Fresh new friend you find, and leap,
he starts to sweep you off your feet,
but when another woman comes around,
and he lets you fall; you hit the ground.
Yet, when he comes back, you leap again,
hoping this time it will last 'till when?
Soon you find his hearts not there;
his flame burns out, life's just not fair.
You can't go on, it's not worth your time,
life has nothing, no reason nor rhyme.
And so you wander alone once more,
waiting for someone to open their door.
Here a shot, it fails. he cheats, you break.
The cow can't hold the bar, clean the slate.
What happens now that his flame flits away?
You walk on in the cold, face another day.
A new potential, a friend from Snow,
but he likes your friends, where can it go?
The flame burns down, the wind howls on,
hope is stifled as you trudge along.
When suddenly your flame is strong,
is this why you've been waiting for so long?
He comes along; your reason begins to fade,
and into deep waters you begin to wade.
Your friends beckon you to not,
but you can't give up what you've finally got,
against all sense, into the deep you dive,
We only hope you come out alive.
But what of dreams you once had?
When did wanting them become so bad?
But now your deams are all dead,
and your true friends are filled with dread.
There was no love in his glance that day,
love does not look at others that way.
All he wants is you in his bed,
and that is exactly where you've been led.
I pray it lasts, and hope for the best
but in this hope, I cannot rest,
because you gave up what you wanted most
for something you wanted then.
Monday, January 16, 2006
A Leaf/Twig in the Wind/River
I've recently adapted a policy in my life that I will just let what happens happen. There are several things in my life which I must concentrate on and some things that, I guess, could be qualified as secondary. Girls, for example, at this point should be secondary. I have, however, given them a much higher position than I should have. I do not qualify that as a bad thing, but I have been slacking on other things that I need to work on because I have been spending all my time with members of the opposite gender. Strange thing, though, is that I've never been happier with my life.
I dated a wonderful woman, named Sarah, recently, for just over a month. I think that from the beginning the relationship was doomed to, not failure, but end. I think that the change from not wanting to date and just be friends, to wanting to date is never a particularily strong point to start a serious relationship on. However, it was beautiful while it lasted.
The relationship was fantastic, but there came a point at which a rift was formed. At least that's how it felt to me. I have recently realized where and when and why that formed. I dare say, however, that all things considered I definately dated up. Sarah was leaps and bounds, head and shoulders a better woman than the last I dated. I am definately glad she still drops by the house, and my sisters love her to death.
So, here I sit, a single man, drifting along the current of life, floating on the breeze, and I'm still happy. I decided, however, that I need to take a more active role in calling the friends I have, and expanding my circle so that I will have more friends to call. Who knows how that will go, but I'm hoping it will go well.
So here I sit, living my life,
walking along this trail of tears.
I try not to care, but what can I do
when my life is full of so many fears?
And yet I drift along the stream
and I float upon the breeze
and somehow all my stress
turns into a life of seeming ease.
But I'm happy now, with my life, it seems
when in years past I was not.
It seems that life is now good to me,
and I'm satisfied with what I've got.
I dated a wonderful woman, named Sarah, recently, for just over a month. I think that from the beginning the relationship was doomed to, not failure, but end. I think that the change from not wanting to date and just be friends, to wanting to date is never a particularily strong point to start a serious relationship on. However, it was beautiful while it lasted.
The relationship was fantastic, but there came a point at which a rift was formed. At least that's how it felt to me. I have recently realized where and when and why that formed. I dare say, however, that all things considered I definately dated up. Sarah was leaps and bounds, head and shoulders a better woman than the last I dated. I am definately glad she still drops by the house, and my sisters love her to death.
So, here I sit, a single man, drifting along the current of life, floating on the breeze, and I'm still happy. I decided, however, that I need to take a more active role in calling the friends I have, and expanding my circle so that I will have more friends to call. Who knows how that will go, but I'm hoping it will go well.
So here I sit, living my life,
walking along this trail of tears.
I try not to care, but what can I do
when my life is full of so many fears?
And yet I drift along the stream
and I float upon the breeze
and somehow all my stress
turns into a life of seeming ease.
But I'm happy now, with my life, it seems
when in years past I was not.
It seems that life is now good to me,
and I'm satisfied with what I've got.
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