Amazing Walkthrough

Part of the reason that we moved up to this heavenly place was to increase our focus on our family and our spiritual goals. Nancy pointed out tonight that we had been missing a few opportunities to improve those choices. So tonight, we had prayer together. In the morning, I am going to try and get the kids up and do it again. Even now, I am reading the scriptures tonight. Lets see how we can do eh? Please, feel free to keep me honest.

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So, I recently changed the theme of my blog. It was a bit stale but I also saw a similar view where I am living now.

Looking out my front door:

Yeah, I know it mostly shows a tree but the mountain behind it. Yes, I can just imagine that with snow all over it. Can’t you?

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Recently I had the worst job interview of my life. Let me tell you the story. It starts like most job interviews. I wanted to arrive early. Even though this location was only 35 minutes away, I had never been there so I left an hour before my interview time. Freeway traffic wasn’t too bad. I was following the instructions.

Down I-15. Check

Off the 15 and onto the business loop 215. Check

Take the 2nd exit for Union. Yup

Go left to merge onto Union going North. Check!

Destination on the right in approximately 2 minutes. Check.

Oops! Now we run into the issue. The road ends about 30 seconds after I get onto it. FRACK! 10 minutes left to find it.

Thankfully the pioneers and planners of Salt Lake City had the good graces to plan the entire city on a block system. So, I find my way around to approximately the right area. Then, I find the location but can’t turn into the parking lot. So, then I circle the entire mall area next to the location. Fine. Finally pull into the parking area. Go inside. Only 2 minutes late.

Get on the elevator. Hit button 3 for third floor. No joy. Fourth floor? Nope. Second floor? Nada. Okay, broke elevator. Hit open door button. Nothing happens.

Umm…

So, I pull a Superman. Put my hands on both sides of the door and PULL, and PULL, and PULL.

Suffice it to say, I did get to the interview about ten minutes late (after taking the stairs), and then realized that one of the two references I had given the interviewer ended up being for a guy who the night before had checked himself into the hospital. He has congestive heart failure so he might not be amiable to getting a call for a reference.

Anyway, the interview did eventually go well and I hope to hear from them soon but until then, just umm… call me Superman would you? It will make me feel better.

Tags: exercise, Friends, lolz, Unemployed, Work

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It has been a week or so since I last posted. Well there seems to be a reason for that. You see I have completed my trip to Utah. We are now in Orem and in our new home.

Want to see it? So does Nancy.

So I made a video (and I am shaky and quick to move around. So be forewarned).

Of course Nancy still wants to see the house. She isn’t even sure she wants me to post this but… oops.

My sister did come with me to sacrament on Sunday so that was nice. I like our new ward. The YW President is anxious to meet KK. Another member of the YW presidency lives in the house on the video behind ours (the one with the swingset). Best part? Her name is Mo. HAHA! I just can’t get away from these Mo’s can I?

I am just anxious for them to get here.

Today on the radio as I was in the car, Michael Buble sang about “Home”, then Donna Lewis sang “I Love You Always Forever. Next, was Rascall Flatts “What Hurts the Most” and finally, Lady Antebellum sang “I Need You Now”. What a quartet of emotion songs. Oh did I mention the radio station? 97.9 FM up here is a LOT different than 98 KUPD down in the Valley of the Sun ehh?

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Well it has been a few days since I have updated but also it will be a few days before I move to Orem, Utah. We have been running through all the different things we need to get setup. Elders coming to help us load up, check. Elders scheduled to meet us up there to unload, check. Power, gas, trash, sewer, telephone, internet and television service all set to be in and on in our names as of the 9th: check.

Now, all that is left is for the packing. Okay, so even that is going well:

Well maybe not my office then but… Look at the kitchen:

Where did that space come from?

Old Mother Hubbard..

Looked in her cupboard…

To move away from home…

But where did they all go?

FOUND THEM!!!!

Ah the joys of moving.

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So I promised a story for you of my Utah adventure.

MJ and I decided on Tuesday morning that we needed to go to Utah in order to move forward on our path. We found 10 to 12 properties which we were interested in. We made some calls. Then, we made some arrangements. We left Wednesday morning on a wing and a prayer. We arrived late Wednesday night. MJ never probably realized just how often a family has to stop on any trip.

Thursday, we decided to look at a place in Orem. We loved the place, but had to convince Nancy that the place was the best option. Friday morning, we called the property owner back. We wanted one last look to convince Nancy that we had the solution. We arranged to get the deposit ready so after our appointment, we could go and get the cash needed.  The property owner advised us that she would see us but she was showing it that morning. We arrived as quickly as we could. We arrived before the other party and we arrived before the property owner (lets call her Kay just because). Kay, after having spoken with the other party, waved to MJ. She then proceeded to show the house. As Kay and the other party walked out of the home, Kay handed the keys to the other party.

I was steaming mad. I almost couldn’t talk to the woman. MJ thankfully was able to be as civil as possible. Kay apologized but it all seemed empty. It soured the rest of the trip really for both MJ and I. We continued to try and find homes. We placed many applications and heard back from a few. At this point, it is all for naught as we still don’t have a home. We have a couple of people which would rent if it is still available at the end of the month.

Then the trip home.

We had planned to leave Saturday in order to get home for Father’s Day. After having no success, we needed an additional day to try and find something. We finished some time after 4 in the afternoon. Upon some reflection, we decided to travel home on Sunday instead.

So we started out Sunday morning around 7 am. A few hours into the trip, I received a text from KTAR news. It said that there was a fire in the Flagstaff area. We didn’t know if we would be affected, but we wanted to get home as soon as we could. We arrived in Cameron, Arizona and heard the first bit of a possible hint of Highway 89 being closed. As we got in range of the smoke, we could tell we were in trouble deep. I sent a text to Nancy, “30 minutes outside of Flagstaff.” and sent a photo of the smoke.

Look at the smoke!

The road was closed down. We decided to wait and see if the winds calmed down and allowed us through. We waited some time. A highway patrol officer pulled up to where we were parked on the side of the freeway. He said, “You may want to find another way home, as this may be closed for a while.” We waited a while later. Finally, we pulled the plug. We headed out back to Cameron, then over to The North Rim, down to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and down.

Approximately two hours later, I sent Nancy a text again. “30 minutes outside of Flagstaff… again.”

We finished the trip, We got into Phoenix about 2 in the morning.

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I have no time. I have DesertBash tomorrow. I am trying to get a shower in. Did my workout.

Down to 206.

That is all for now… but I need to tell you about my trip to Utah, my trip home, and how someone ruined the entire trip for me.

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Okay so day 4 since I had a rest day. It was not my easiest workout but I did get to play basketball just as they had promised. Too bad it was just lunging off the Wii Fit balance board and throwing a pass to an imaginary team mate. Still it was invigorating. I meant to do it this morning after the guy came to take pictures to get the house listed. He showed up but took no pictures because we don’t have enough of the house empty for him. So us staying up until 3 a.m. was a waste, but my house is clean for the most part. YEA! Of course, since I stayed up that late, a nap was inevitable but I didn’t get any choice in when it was. So the workout was time shifted to 4ish this afternoon (Trivia tonight with friends at normal workout time). In the end, doesn’t matter as I got it done, but now the sad news. I am off from the Wii Active until at least Saturday or possibly Sunday (Weight tonight: 207).

You see, tomorrow, MJ (sister), KK, and Syd and I are headed to the Great White North or as most people call it, Utah. Yes, at this point, the plan is to include my sister moving with us and helping in any way she can.

We are going to scout homes in the Salt Lake City/Provo/Pleasant Grove area. We will go up this weekend, hit as many houses as we can, and then pick one or two or half a dozen, and put in an application and a deposit, and then come home for:

1. Finding a job (well actually 3. One for me, one for MJ, and one non-paying externship for Nancy).
2. Packing up the house into little tiny boxes and then putting them in a medium to large truck.
3. Reducing the clutter. If you could see my office from the crap hole it was, and Nancy has made MASSIVE strides on this one two.
4. DESERTBASH
5. DESERTBASH
6. DESERTBASH
7. DESERTBASH
8. DESERTBASH
9. DESERTBASH
10. DESERTBASH
11. DESERTBASH
12. DESERTBASH
13. Starcraft II
14. Moving to Utah.

Of course those are in no particular order. No importance should be assigned to their seemingly random order either.

Yup, my annual foray into charity events for kids starts next Thursday as we setup the Shrine Auditorium for what promises to be a big huge honking success of a video game LAN for something close to 66 hours of gaming.

Then back to the exciting world of planning, executing, and stressful job of moving a family of 7 (got to include the cats if I have to pay a security deposit on them right?) to Utah to begin again.

On the plus side, a friend of mine told me she is sleeping with the windows down tonight. If I did that here, well… someone might suddenly combust and burn down the house. There, it is just refreshing.

Tags: basketball, exercise, Family, Gaming, Goals, Home, House, Unemployed, Weekend, Work

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So today in addition to being a big birthday that we were to attend, today was also day two in the exercise game. Well okay so it was like day 14 or something like that but… day two on consistency. The exercise at the pool (I did swim for a short bit) and the workout with Wii Active and man am I feeling it. Happily for Nancy and I, tomorrow is a rest day for the both of us.
For those keeping score, 206.6 tonight. Of course weight can change from day to day depending on the time. I really do want to find a time to regularly weigh myself.

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So if you read Nancy’s blog at all, you already know that a big change is a coming. We are moving. Where? Well we hope to find home in Utah but we aren’t certain yet where in Utah.

Couple of minor steps here to overcome:

1. My sister MJ has recently come to live with us. While she may move out prior to us moving, we may just have here come with us in order to help her and our situation out. We have already planned on a 4 bedroom house as the girls have to have their own rooms now. We planned to use the 4th as a guest room, but for now, MJ can use it.
2. We have to find Nancy a place to do her externship. She is currently attending Pima Medical in the process of becoming a Medical Assistant and they require a 5 week externship. She can begin working on that 5 weeks as of August 1st.
3. We lose the house to trustee sale on July 31st. Family reunion in Provo is July 30th and 31st. Good time to move and head that way anyway no?
4. I need to find a job there. Would love to find something which is work at home but those jobs are rare and even more rarely, worth the hassle that they take to make it work.

So as you can see, it is some work. Add to that, I have recently had some major weight loss (most probably from poor care of my diabetes but right now, I plan to look on the positive side of this. I have also begun (again) reading the Book of Mormon in earnest.

I recently had an opportunity to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting about Scriptures as well. We were originally asked for 5 to 10 minutes each with 3 speakers. One speaker then realized it was Memorial Day weekend and we were down to two speakers. On the morning of the talk, my partner in our Sacrament Meeting said, “I hope you prepared a good talk”. She then stood up at about seventeen after and continued until twenty-five after. Only problem was, my Bishop’s first counselor had asked us to take it until five to ten minutes to the top of the hour. Thirty five minutes. Ughh… I had prepared fifteen to twenty minutes. Thankfully, I ended up speaking until five minutes after the hour, and was told multiple times by what seemed to be half of the congregation that I did an excellent job and it would be a talk they remembered for some time.

Tags: Church, Diabetes, Diet, exercise, Family, Home, kids, Medical, Scripture, Unemployed

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