Empire of the Sun

Okay, so I just finished watching this movie called Empire of the Sun. I must say that I really really enjoyed it. It has a young Christian Bale (12 yrs I think this was his first movie) and John Malkovich (sp) and a young Joe Pantaliano. As well as a very small part of a very young Ben Stiller. It is a movie based on the book of this young british boy that got caught in Shanghi right after the attack on Pearl Harbor and during the Japanese invasion of China. It gave wonderful insight into what happened to all of the British/westerners during the Japanese occupation. I am always interested in Eastern films and in learning about the Chinese and Japanese cultures, so I was pleased with Spielbergs portrayal of this boys life during this time in world history. Christian Bale did and excellent acting job, and I think got an award for that, and the story was very touching. It was a little bit slow in parts, but I ended up crying at the end. I know that this is not a very great review, so it is a good thing that my job isn't reviewing movies. I just wanted you all to know that I enjoyed this movie and it made me so grateful for all the things I have, as well as the health and safety of my children. I am grateful for the soldiers in all times of war who risk so much to give so many of us the freedoms we enjoy.

apology to Jacob Webb

I was thinking in bed last night where I do my best thinking and was worried that all that 'family talk' on vacations may have bugged you. I remembered that you don't exactly have thrills being around your other family right now. that happens. we are just so wonderful and great..... woops, better try again, we are lucky, and even though we all have faults and stuff, we really are lucky that being together is still fun. maybe it wouldn't be if we saw each other all the time. after all, we go to Cleveland for our vacations twice or more a year, and our kids wouldn't call that fun, but I just find it that important to me too see my family, even with all their weirdness. and we certainly included you in all I meant when I said the word 'family'. hope this makes sense.
seperating from home can be a long or short experience, but it is always going to happen. you have done a good job at becoming independent. I admire your sense of adventure and freedom. I had it. I left home at 18, moved far away, and never got another dime except for Christmas and birthdays, even when I really needed it. I learned a lot, and I am glad I did what I did. ok, that reminds me of a movie quote, " Let's be independent together." dad will get it. better go before I bore you all to death.

Atlas Shrugged?

Wow Cari, you have got to be kidding! that makes me somehow impressed. I found it a tough read, and never really could get into it. I must not like long books. maybe that is why I gave up so early on this Harry Potter stuff. I have a very short attention span in books and movies. it has to be new and different.

What will happen to Harry?....

Ok Cari, I figure that your question was worthy of an entirely new blog post, as this may generate quite a discussion as Rawlings has left SO many possibilities with book six.

I have to admit, all through books two (when ginny was really introduced) through five I really didn't want Harry and Ginny to get together!! In fact, even through most of book six I was still hoping Harry and Hermione would start snoggin!! However, after seeing their relationship as more than Ron's little sister and Ron's best friend, I was disappointed when Harry broke it off. (I guess he had just finished watching the first "Spiderman" movie though... super geek with glasses breakin off a relationship with his long time love redhead for the greater good... hmmmm...) Anyway...

I think Harry will triumph (not the dog) over Voldemort and survive. I really think he'll end up marrying Ginny and we'll see the Weasley family get Hermione as well. In fact, I could see Author becoming Minister of Magic when it's all over with, and if the books go on long enough, Harry will become Headmaster of Hogwarts. Ok... maybe it's streaching the "happy ending" a bit much, and since Rawlings seems to have abandond doing the happy endings in book three, I don't see her going back to it anytime soon. In fact, I regrettably predict that Harry is not done losing those closest to him. I can see one or both of the Weasly parents getting snuffed out, or even Ron and/or Hermione. I think either that, or Harry will be killed along with Vodemort.

Personally, I'm just hoping the Ministry gets what's coming to them... especially Fudge and Umbridge!!! EEEWWWWW!!! WE HATES THEM SO MUCH!!! oh, and that stupid prat Percey!!

to bret

thanks, hon, for this blog thing. a great new way to keep up our communication. I really like it. mom

To Jacob and Carolyn......

Okay, we are for sure coming to your wedding. It was touch and go there for a few hours as prices have gone up since last time, and rebooking fees are very large. I am telling you now, if this wedding doesn't happen this time, I am coming for both of you personally either for the money or your first born child, and I hope it is a girl!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are looking forward to seeing you guys. Keep your noses clean and your hands off each other!!! We love you guys.

Harry Potter

At last I have finished. I first need to apologize to Karen for all the reading that I did when I was not supposed to be reading. Sorry. Maybe by the time book seven comes out I will be more mature. Anyway, I was good enough to let Tommy read it first!

I have thouroughly enjoyed all the Potter books so far, but I am sorry to say that this was not my favorite. In fact, inspite of how much I loved it, I think I still liked it the least. I did not feel that very much of a new flavor was introduced to the overall nature of the story. It was more a repeat and then a hold for the end. Now you will say that the part about the Horcrux's is very new, you know ripping your soul appart and killing someone. Very nice, but I did not like that consept all that well. I thought it had some serious technical flaws. What I did enjoy, since you are all obviously getting ready to make complaining comments, was Rowling's improving ability to tell a story with all the literary techniques availible used to perfection. I think she has changed significantly since the first book. She is a world class writter. What I also enjoyed, after being starved for it in book V, was the intamate long association with Albus Dumby recorded in the pages. That was great. He has always been my favorite character outside of Harry. I am a sucker for a character that has great power and ability beyond others especially when this ability is hidden or when the charater is humble. Given that, I was not at all happy about the ending. Albus seems to truely be gone. I expect that he will address us again from his frame in the Chief Mistress's office, but the greatest wizard of all time was easily removed with a simple straight forward curse from that wuss Snape. What's up with that? So now it seems to be clear that Snape is indeed evil and he was able to conceal this fact from the greatest wizard in the world. A wizard that knew him very very well. Well I do not buy it, and neither does Tommy. We are of the opinion that Snape is infact good and that he did kill Albus as part of an overall plan to eventually take out Voltemort. In other words, Albus let him do it. Albus begged him to do it. The plan is now in place. Harry will play his part and Severus will play his and Voltemort will die in book seven. Any other theories?

vacation

wow! you guys are easy to please! a trip to Poughkeepsie, NY, and everyone's bragging about it! throw in a water park and a hike, nintendo, and basic parking lot basketball, and wham- you have the top of the line vacation. maybe it was my cooking and hospitality, like making people sleep on the floor. maybe it was just not being at work. no, cause I am never at work, and I liked it. Bret is right, it was being together. you are all so wonderful! I am so happy that you all had such a good time. we are living proof that things don't have to be fancy, expensive, or luxurious to be good. I am still washing towels and sheets tonight, putting toys back in the attic, and finding clothes and shoes, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. also thanks for all the help. I never once felt like a slave or stuck in the kitchen. I am so greatful for children and families and my life. I love being a mother and grandmother. it is the best job in the world, most of the time. mom

Ditto

I couldn't decide whose post to comment on, so here we are with another new one. :) I concur with, support and ditto everyone that everyone has said. Last week was a wonderful, wonderful week. I wish I would have taken people's advice and gone a week earlier so I could have been there longer. I had so much fun with everything we did and it was wonderful to get to be with everyone. I don't think I would have made it to the end of the summer without that break. Even now, in the middle of my 9 hour "work" day (I know my job is easy, but it's still hard to be here and listen to people complain), I wish I was still in New York. Just looking at these mortgage papers makes my head hurt. I don't know if we'll get the condo or not. I'm glad we tried either way. I have learned a lot just from trying about how complex it is to purchase something this big.
I'm so grateful for the time I had in New York and this wonderful family that I am joining in 15 days and some number of hours. :) And that guy I'm marrying to get in. He's cool. And Jacob Webb. He's cool too I suppose. :P

My two cents

So, like Jacob I decided to just post my own blog, instead of commenting on the others. I will have to agree with Bret that this trip was one of the very best for me since we have been married. I loved being all together and just getting away from life for a short time. I am not so eloquent as Bret in my rehearsal of events, so I will keep it short and sweet.

I loved spending time with Kathy. Watching her grow up is so fun for me and helps me remember all the fun and heartbreak of being that age. Kathy is such and amazing and mature girl for her age. She makes me laugh.

I was glad that Carolyn could be there too. I feel like it gave everyone a chance to know her better. I thought she did such an excellent job keeping up with all of us monkeys! And she will be such a good edition to the family! Can't wait to see you as the next Mrs. Wall in a few weeks!

I think that Dad was so much fun this trip. He is getting so good at not letting things bother him so much outloud. Maybe we both were working on our tempers! I know mine can get really out of hand sometimes. Thanks so much for the fun day at Mountain Creek. It was a great idea and I think everyone had a lot of fun. You should suggest things more often!

I was so grateful for my brother being there. Jacob Webb, you are so much like our dad in so many good ways. You helped so much with the kids and I appreciate that tremendously! I am still counting on our trip to CA!

And I always love spending time with Mom! She is such a good example to me and I learn so much from her. You all are so lucky to have such a great woman in your lives.

Jacob Wall, as usual keeps me laughing. I missed kicking his butt though. I figured I had to restrain myself so as not to embarrass him in front of Cari. LOL. I am happy for you, and you have found a good woman. Treat her well and she will be the best thing that will ever happen to you. I hope things work out with the condo, but if not, think of it as a good first attmept!

Bret, Bret, Bret... I am so sorry I said you looked horrible or terrible. I really just meant your hair. I am grateful to you that you let me go for a week to have fun without you. You are my best friend in the whole world. And not just because you give me all your money! :) I love being with you and even though I turn into bizarro girl out in New York for a time, you are the person I most enjoy spending time with. Thanks for having your priorities in line. I am with you, I think family is the best and most important thing ever!

And Tommy, well, you kicked my but at DDR. You were so nice to my kids. Your laugh makes me laugh and I can't believe you don't have all of the girls going ga-ga over you because you are so cute. I doubt you read the blog, but there you have it.

So, I don't know if that gave any insight into how my trip went. Suffice it to say, I could have spent two or three more weeks there. Time flies when you are in the company of good people. I am blessed to be in such a family where deep things are talked about, where the gospel is lived daily, where happiness abounds and where love abides. Thank you for a most joyous, incredible vacation. Can't wait to see you all again soon. I love all of you very much.

NY and money!

Well, I thought about commenting on everyone else's posts, but decided to just write my own. Sunday was a great day. I got to relax and just think about the previous week. For me, the vacation was much to short. Though I don't think that should come as a surprise to anyone. Now I am at a computer desk in a large lab taking complaints about a test they think is too hard. Maybe they should have studied! The only thing keeping my mind not a peace is the newly learned infromation that might keep Cari and I from our condo. The lender requires two years of W2s to prove we have been working. Well, the mission might end up messing this up. I have my W2s from before the mission, but I am now wondering if they will actually give us the loan. If they don't, it won't be a big deal; just maybe a little frustrating after going through this whole process and then at the end it all being in vain. Money or no money aside, life is great! I am getting married in 17 Days to the most beautiful and talented girl in the world. I have one of the most wanted jobs in all of BYU. All my family are healthy and well. The vacation was incredible and many more exciting and meaningful memories added to my collection. But, most important, I have DDR for TWO WEEKS! See you all in a few days!

The Great NY Getaway 2K5

As I sat down at my desk this morning in the Paradise II building and opened up my 600 unread emails, I wished I could turn back time and go back to where I was last week. The trip to NY was wonderful this year - not that they have ever been bad, but this one seemed especially great. Here's how it appears in my memory:

Trip to NY - I was able to travel to NY with Jacob Webb this year, which would have been a lot nicer had we been able to sit together. No matter, it was fun to know he was with me. On our first flight out of Phoenix we knew it would be an interesting flight when our row didn't exist - but was actually right where the bathrooms in the back of the plane were. They had changed planes. In the end we got better seats, but it was fun to think we might have to sit in the bathrooms - well, I guess that wouldn't be fun. Upon arrival in Connecticut we were greeted by my beautiful wife who welcomed me by saying I "looked terrible!" I told her she looked wonderful and asked where she bought her sandals. I think she was referring to my hair, which had been bleached blonde.

Beach in Rhode Island - one of the days we headed up the Connecticut coast to Rhode Island to some beach with a name I can't even try to remember. It was fun driving down the road in CT that we used to travel weekly to visit my parents in NY. We parked at a pizza joint and the parking cost included use of their bathrooms, showers, and a private beach. Though the beach was overrun with seaweed, something the people claimed was not usual, the day was fantastic. The weather was perfect, the waves just right, and the sand fun to play in. Lunch included a brilliant fish sandwich and the breeze made it so I was never hot. The boyz loved the beach and eventually loved the waves. The only thing missing was a nice lobster roll or scallops. But it is hard to complain.

Trip to NYC - we took the train down to NYC along with Tevia, Jacob Webb, Jacob Wall, Cari, Kathy, Tommy, and eventually Jesse Hettinger joined us. It was a great day in the City with visits to Ground Zero, the financial district, a great NY pizza joint, Times Square, Battery Park, Central Park, and more. Hopefully Jacob Webb, whose first time it was in NYC, enjoyed it as much as me. My "tours" of NYC don't have too much real tourist attractions, but more real NY areas. Though my legs were sore afterwards, I loved it as I always do - and enjoyed a nice black and white cookie on the train home.

Trip to Action Park - this water park, which actually is called something like Mountain Creek now (due to how many times they were sued I am told), which is found in a small time in north Jersey, was fun. I enjoyed being with the kids. It was hot, which was good since the water was cold (as I remember as a teenager). Even more amazing was the fact that nobody got mad, even when lunch took much longer than expected and it was hard to keep track of everybody. Thanks to Tevia for seeing the sign the rest of us missed so we could get there in the first place!

Trip to Mohonk - this resort, which still ranks as one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, met my expectations once more, as it had been nearly 9 years since I had been. The weather was most cooperative with the only cool day perfect for hiking and scrambling the rocks. The labyrinth up to the lemon squeeze was as fun as always. Throw in some beautiful scenery, feeding and touching and getting snipped at by huge trout, rowing a boat on the pristine lake, and a beautiful hotel and you get one of the most picturesque spots on earth. I loved it like always.

Sports - though I admit I would have liked to have done more physical activity (some of the men weren't up to it due to staying up too late playing World of Warcraft!), I did get in some good basketball (even with a bum ankle), some golf, some tennis, and some fun in the pool. This is one of the things I wish we all lived closer so we could do more together more often.

Harry Potter - I was able to finish the Half Blood Prince while on vacation. It was perhaps my favorite of the series, and it was fun to see so many people reading it. There were four copies alone in my parents' house! We are all Harry fans, so it was a fun part of the trip to discuss who is the half blood prince!

But now it is over. The talks with my mother, the Nintendo, the great food, and sleeping in are now a thing of the past. Once again I return to routine and realize how much family means and how little things like money and jobs mean. Sure, we need a good job to support our families and toil on the earth, but it is such a shame to see so many people put those things first and lose touch with the things that are most important. What is more important than to sit and laugh and discuss spiritual things with family? This was a small glimpse of what eternal life as a family should be and will make me try even harder to make that happen. Thank you all for your examples and fun. I love each one of you and will always be here for you.

The perfect vacation!

I just wanted to thank everyone for giving me the PERFECT VACATION!! It really was! I'm now at work, and it's actually good to be back in the office. I guess that's the sign of a good vacation... right? It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. It wasn't too packed or rushed, but there wasn't too much "do nothing" time either. I got lot's of sun, exercise, and rest in the right amounts so I didn't come home worn out!

Thank you SO much Mom and Dad for EVERYTHING!! It was really good to spend time with and get to know you all these last couple of weeks! Cari, you really are a great addition to the family!! Well done at Monhonk! :)

Thanks again to everyone, for everything, it was the best vacation I can remember! And I went to Cancun last Thanksgiving! :)

shoes, towels, and computers

shoes, towels, and computers and nintendos everywhere I look, must be my kids are all in town!
what fun I am having watching you all. thanks for coming. I love being together. it was a blessing to have 4 children, especially wonderful ones like you! this includes Jacob Webb and of course, Cari.
I hope you guys are having a nice time.

2nd Hottest Day...the Saga Continues

The car doctor called me this morning and said the car needed a new fan. He said the fan wasn't working and it would cost me a good $500 to fix it. Being skeptical of all doctors, car or human, I told him I'd think about it. I went online to see the cost of the fan for the Stratus and saw that you can actually just replace the fan motor for around $60. So I called the car doctor back and asked if we really needed to replace the whole fan (really two fans) or if we could just replace the motor. "Well, we could do that," was his reply. I noted how this seemed a much better option to me, as it was about 400 dollars cheaper. "But you don't know if the other motor will go out," he replied. "I don't know when anything on my car will break, otherwise I wouldn't be here, would I?" The conversation from this point need not be detailed except that my last words were, "don't touch my car, I'll pick it up after work." In my mind I added, "how stupid do you think I am?"

After discussion with friends, I am thinking that it might just be the thermostat. A good friend at work said what I needed was somebody who just works on cars at their home. They are cheap, honest, and good. So I called our home teacher who happens to have a brother-in-law who works on cars at home. They take their cars to him. Since I figure you can't really screw up a car that overheats, I took it to his house and look for a diagnosis tomorrow. I am hoping the words "thermostat" and "cheap" are somewhere in the diagnosis.

I have heard that Dodge has now offered their employee discount to me. I'm thinking a nice Dodge Grand Caravan with Sto and Go seating would look awful nice in Slave I's cargo hold.

Surprise!

Bret, did you know that Brent Butler lived in Mesa? Of course not, since you likely do not even know who Brent Butler is. Well he is one of my very many cousins that you guys have basically never met. Any way his mom is Verla Butler who is my mom's sister. Verla unfortunately was killed in a car accident in SLC yesterday. Verla and Dale were close to us when we were kids and we used to visit their farm in Idaho quite often.

Hottest Day of the Year

I'm not sure if today was the hottest day of the year, but if it wasn't, it sure seemed like it. I think it was around 116 degrees. I understand that many humans don't like the heat. It's no fun to run around in. But our cars should understand that we need them the most on days like this. On the way home from work yesterday, the car got hot again (see posting about July 4 weekend). I hoped it was just a fluke and tried again today.

Of course, after sitting in the hot sun for 8 hours, the Stratus decided she didn't want to work any more. She got hot. I stopped. It happened to be the one day that I actually forgot my cell phone, due to it not being the right place this morning since I used it for a conference call I took from home at 6 AM. So I couldn't call anybody. So I decided to put the heat on (hey, it's not like it could make it any HOTTER than 116 degrees, right?), rolled down the windows, and made for the auto shop.

Of course, it cooled off on the way there and by the time I got to the auto shop she was nice and cool. I stated as nicely as I could to the auto shop guy that cars suck, it's dang hot, and go shoot my car. Then I started the nice walk home in 116 degree heat in my nice black pants and business clothes. Hey, it was only a mile or so. When I got home, I realized I didn't have the garage door opener, so I took the Wookie - who was much more willing to drive in the heat - to get it. When I got back I realized that my Jeep keys don't have a key to enter the garage door! I had locked this on the way out, something I NEVER do, but thought it a good idea since the kids were skateboarding in our driveway.

So I went around back, sweating nicely in my clothes to get the spare key to the back door. FORTUNATELY I had left the gate unlocked. However, upon arriving at the back I could not find the key! Tevia had moved it from the non-secret hiding place. I imagined that she must have given it to the Bennions or something as I began to dread the fact that I was locked out.

Eventually I found the key in another place and was able to enter Slave I and feel the nice air conditioning. I guess we all need days like this to appreciate how wonderful we usually have it. I hope the car doctor finds out what's wrong with the Stratus. Maybe she's just moody - she is getting old!

MIA

So I guess I gave Tevs a bit of a scare... I was MIA this weekend in California. I had the best trip!!! We started off on Wednesday night and went to St. George and spent the night with the Hoth's (my old roommates I went with) cousin. He is the course pro at Coral Canyon Golf Course there. So, Thursday morning we got up and got to play a round of 18 for free!! We did have to pay for the cart though... but 17 bucks for for a championship course!! it was great!!! The carts were equipped with GPS that told you exactly how far from the pin you were, and gave you tips on hitting, and a map that showed you exactly where you are on each hole... it was SO nice!!! Then we went on to Buena Park California where Brian, (my other old roommate lives) and stayed with his family. Then we got up early on Friday and went to Disneyland where Brian's brother (Scott, who works as one of the characters at Disneyland) got us into the park for free... that included the park hopper pass to both California Adventure and Disneyland plus a fast pass which allows you to go through lines faster.... not that we really needed them... it was a great day to be at D-land, we didn't wait more than about 10 min for any ride!! And any line that we would have had to wait longer in, we either used our fast pass, or went on as single riders, after all, it was just the four of us guys so we didn't care if we were together or not. Anyway, I have tons of pix, you'll probably see them when I come out to NY. Anyway, Saturday, we went and play a round of 9 holes at an executive course, then finished the day at Huntington Beach... not my favorite California beach, but there were some decent waves for boarding at least. Anyway, Sunday morning, we got up and went to a Las Vegas singles ward where the Hoth's uncle is bishop. We were back in Provo by 9pm.
That sums up my weekend... I'm looking even more forward to THIS weekend!! Bret, I'm still bringing my clubs, right? What day are we planning on playing? Saturday morning, early?

A Walk in the Dark

I just got back from a long walk through a different part of our neighborhood, one I haven't been to before. It is up on Banff street, whatever Banff is. It was a refreshing evening and I thought a nice walk would help get rid of this terribly yummy coconut cake that my will can not avoid.

This part of our area is full of ranches; not the homes, but horse ranches. The whole street is literally almost all horse ranches. In the dark, with hardly any street lights, it felt like I was in a different world. The air was cooler due to the lawns with moisture. The smell was of manure, hay, and fresh cut grass. The sounds were of horses naying and dogs barking. The homes were larger and looked inviting; something very different from most homes in Phoenix. It was like a new world. And who new it was just two or three streets up from where I live?

As I walked in the dark and felt nervous for one of the only times due to the quiet obscurity, I thought of what a neat lesson this is. Sometimes we are so sheltered in our little worlds, we don't even notice the little difference right next to us; forget in other cities and countries. Many of these homes had front porches with people sitting on them. I can't remember the last time I have seen something like that. It is like I turned back in time to the 60's or something. Nobody sits on front porches in AZ. It is a backyard society, with walls all around so nobody can see you. It brought a nice feeling - even though I don't really like horses. I wonder if Tevia has ever walked up there. She would love it.

Speaking of Tevia, I am alone. She is in NY with my two boys. I already miss them. I miss Malik's "six minutes" and "you mean Starfox?" comments. I miss Jarek's imagination and genius mind. I miss Tevia's big smile and her love for me. I can't wait to see them again.

Church alone is very different than with a family. I was able to really pay attention in sacrament and felt the spirit very strongly. Strong enough that I actually did some home teaching today. 1 family down, three to go. My companion is still MIA. He has been missing for four months now. Nobody knows where he went.

movies anyone?

Hi all. If there is a movie that you have been wanting to see on DVD, let me know and I will put it on my netflix queue. I will be getting my movies in new york while we are out there. Just let me know and I will add it on! Can't wait to see everyone.

terror

Why is it that whenever you guys come to town they raise the terror alert level? the city is now filled with more police and armed men checking subways. the level in the city has been changed to orange.

Busy Much?

It has been a busy week. It seems like I type that a lot lately. Maybe life just continues to get busier, so maybe a better sentence would be, "I am getting old." I was sad that Jake and Cari couldn't come down this week. It would have been a nice reprieve. I am getting sad as Tevia and the boys are leaving Saturday. Tonight I played football and soccer with the boys and realized how old they really are getting. We played tackle and it was a lot of fun.

So I've realized it is darn difficult to find Brazilian music online - legal Brazilian music. So I feel like I am almost forced to turn to other options to get Brazilian music. I don't understand why Americans just don't listen to music in Portuguese. Come on people! Now Spanish (and by Spanish I mean Spanish language) music is quite easy to find. Alejandro Sanz, Juanes, Shakira...they are quite popular. That stuff is good, too! I must admit - I LOVE Shakira's new song with Alejandro (La Tortura) - though the video is kind of freaky. It is in my head constantly. I hope she comes here in concert - she is somebody I would actually pay to see. I haven't been to a concert since seeing Live in Utah with Tevia 8 years ago.

post camp

I could write for hours about camp. It rained all the time, the girls from Long Island were hard to deal with, my nurse was unreliable, every minute someone was calling, "Sister Wall", since they didn't know Ann Rawlings and there were no other stake leaders. we were always wet with sweat and or rain, I never sat down for more than five minutes, I missed a lot of lunches and dinners and had carrots and granola bars, and I slept 6 hours a night. all in all, I loved it. it was the hardest thing I have done in years, physically and emotionally and spiritually. what a challenge. I survived and am better for it. we had several miracles, big and small. I fell in love with so many of the young women. I felt the Lord's hand during the week. I felt I had been prepared by already having learned to delegate and then let things go. things fell through, fell apart, etc, but it was ok, and I never got upset or mad. on Thursday morning, the morning of the hikes, we awoke at 6 am to have to shower and get the girls up for scripture reading at 6:30. OH how I was tempted to stay in bed, (well, that is not the word for the uncomfortable broken dirty cot I slept in). it was raining again, and I thought, heck, why not just all stay in our tents and sleep in? what's the use getting up to be rained on again. but Ann and I read some scriptures, skipped a shower, (no reason to), and woke up the sleepy girls. by hike time, the sun was out and they had 3 solid hours to hike. yeah!!! I grew in many ways this week. I also worked harder than I have in over 10 years, physically. wow. I am proud that I could do it. I ended up with no ticks on me, not even a single mosquito bite, a few blisters from continually sweeping bat poop up, and I lost a few pounds. not bad.....

Do Not Enter

This morning I woke up a little earlier so that I could hitch a ride with Rose to work. The plan was to have Tevia and the boys pick me up at 4 PM to make the trip up to Lakeside for the weekend. This plan tends to work the best as it reduces the amount of pre-trip stress. Tevia showed up and I got in the car on this 112 degree day to head up North.

About 2 miles down the road we noticed that the temperature gauge was nearly at the red line. This was odd since last week we had the pleasure of taking the Stratus in due to the same reason. The nice car doctors diagnosed a faulty water pump and gladly accepted our hundreds of dollars to surgically repair the car. It was fixed on Monday and all week both Tevia and I had driven the car without the slightest hint of problem. It appeared the doctors had gotten it right.

So it was frustrating as we were at the very beginning of a 4 hour trek to the North on one of the hottest days of the year to see the symptom return. As it got hotter and hotter (according to the gauge), we decided that it wasn't the best idea to start a trip like this. So we stopped and took a look. The coolant was boiling and overflowing out of the "escape hatch" - or overflow tube. This was the clincher, so we decided to just pack up and go home. Tevia and Jarek were distraught at the idea of not being able to go up to Lakeside. They were both in tears. So as I drove West toward Slave I (the name of our homestead) I noticed the temperature went back down to normal. After a few miles in rugged rush hour traffic, not once did it even try to go above the midline. At this I thought, well, maybe it was just a fluke. Perhaps there was too much coolant and somehow this caused it to not perform well and not it was able to release the excess and we'll be fine. I thought we could at least turn around and drive for a few miles to see how the car reacted. As we neared the exact same spot we had turned around before, the car started getting hot again. It was crazy - like a sign. Like a blatant "Do Not Go" sign from our car.

Once again we turned back home and drove back. Not once in the 30 minute drive home did the car ever get hot again. It stayed steady and cool. Needless to say I am taking it back tomorrow to have them investigate, as I invested quite a bit in their prognosis and surgery. My thoughts are that the fan is not working - so I hope they have proof that the water pump was truly the issue last week. But the strange thing was how it only got hot as we headed to Lakeside. It truly seemed like some kind of sign that we should not go. Perhaps it was. As an optimist, I think perhaps had we gone something bad would have happened - or if we stay something wonderful will happen. Tevia, like most sane humans, just goes on about how cars are the scourge of the human race and money pits - both very true statements. The Wookie (our Jeep) could have been used, but this would have costed us a small fortune with the current gas prices. So it looks like we will stay in Fire City for the long weekend. Thank goodness we have a pool.

Either way I get Monday off - so it is good for me!

New York City

Bret and I were discussing the trip to NYC and were just wondering what everyone else was planning or expecting to do while down in the city. First, we were really wanting to take the train, as Bret and I both would much rather do that than drive down as it is easier, and cool to go to grand central station. We figured that Jake Webb would want to do that as he hasn't yet. We couldn't remember if Jake Wall had taken Cari on the train or not yet so didn't know if she wanted to do that too. While down there did any of you have any idea what you wanted to do? We figured we would go to times square, empire state building, ground zero, battery park, fao Swartz, eat pizza, get peanuts and that was what we pretty much wanted to do. We didn't know if you all had anything else you wanted to do.

Jake Webb, was there anything else you wanted to do while we are in New York? We were thinking of going to the Mansions, and maybe either Minnewaska (a really cool place) or Mohaunk(sp?). Bret mostly just wants to hang out, go golfing, play tennis and basketball and eat at the cullinary.

I know Cari and Jacob are going to be there the last week, so if there are things you want to do with all of us, let us know. If you want to do things alone, too bad! J/K!!! :) We thought it would be fun if we went to Mohaunk and hiked and had lunch there at the hotel. Bret is checking on that to see what the cost would be and if they charge for hiking.

Anyhow, any input would be great so we can start budgeting out for the things we are planning on doing. I think that we will probably still be going up to New Englad for either a day or overnight as well. Hope you all are doing well. We are getting so excited to see everyone.

For Cari, and Mom and Kathy if you are interested. One of the things I want to do is go to that day spa again. Anyone interested?

Also, to Mom, are Kathy and Tommy going to be going to the City with us when we go down there? Just wondering.

Got to go get my kids to PT. Take care.

camp

as I head out to girls camp this morning, say a prayer that the ticks are few and far between, the storms are not as severe as they are predicting, the spiders don't bite, and the bats don't scare all the girls. the bat poop falls out of the ceiling as we walk, and that is gross. the mice ate big holes out of the mattresses in the nurses cabin, where I am sleeping. this should be fun!
Kathy and Fred and Sarah, Eric, and their baby Trevor come in tomorrow night for the night, so Kathy and I will run home for dinner and get a cool shower and a break.
Bret, Jarek Young lives in Phoenix now. do you want me to work on getting a phone number?
and so does Bryant Hettinger and his wife, Kristi. she is a chef at a fancy resort there, so it may be fun to have them for dinner one night.
I leave this message to all my children this week, as I already miss Tom, ( he left this morning at 4 am for scout camp), : "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"
3 John 1:3-4?
love you all! mom

Chicken Pox??????

Well, my kids were exposed to the chicken pox by kids who have come down with them. They were exposed on the most contagious days, two days in a row! The crazy thing is, the girls who have the chicken pox were both vaccinated! My kids were also vaccinated too, but apparently this doesn't make that big of a difference. According to my friend though, this strain is very mild for the kids who have had the vaccination. This is a heads up just in case my kids break out with it. There is a chance they could by the time we leave for New York, as there is a two week gestation perioed from the time of exposure. I just hope and pray that they don't get it. Is everyone else immune or inoculated?

yucky day

I lost my keys, which I have never done before, ( and I think Kathy did actually), I spent weeks getting daddy to measure my front room windows for blinds, and spent $60. and none of them fit and I bought them too small and they were specially cut so I can't return them. I am so sick of working on girls camp items and problems that I don't even want to go next week, I can only drink 8 oz of fluid every hour all day and nothing after midnight cause I get my fun colonoscoly tomorrow. I got yelled at yesterday by dad and Kathy. Tom is always on the computer and has a bad back again so can't do yardwork or play sports, so I am going to my blog buddies for a bit of sympathy. yep, that feels better already. when you write it all down, it doesn't look so bad. dad just called and he's not mad at me. it isn't 114 degrees here. the kids are both gone for a 3 hour chem test, they found that little scout in UT, camp will be over soon, and you will all be here! ah, the spiral of life.

Too Hot!!!

I have just decided that it is too hot in Arizona. Now you might think that I would have already come to this conclusion years ago, but I am making it official right now on this here blog. It got up to 114 today. Almost a record, which was 115 in like 1968. Global warming anyone?

The boys and I went to a friends house (Suzette Haynie) after physical therapy to hang out and swim since we hadn't seen them in a year or so. We got in our suits and jumped in the pool, and after about 30 minutes we decided that it was just too hot even to swim. The sun was pounding on us and the sunblock on our children's faces was melting into their little eyes. So we all headed back into the sanctuary of the air conditioned house and listened to seven little kids playing together. It was nice catching up with my friend and another friend (Bridget) who popped in after hearing I would be there visiting. I am grateful for friendships that pick up right where they left off even after not having seen each other for a year.

So, back to too hot. This heat wave really couldn't come at a more inconvenient time! Our Stratus is currently being moody. Meaning that it is overheating. Well duh, you might say, it is hotter than fire and brimstone so why wouldn't the car get temperamental? We made it home from Suzette's without a hitting the H line, but I had to turn the air off, so the last five minutes to the house were very sweaty indeed! And as luck would have it, we hit every red light possible on the way home.

So being the frugal person I am , I decided to trouble shoot this problem myself. The cap on the coolant reservoir is basically non-functional, (cracked and falling off) so I whip out the handy dandy owner's manual and looked up the pertinent info. It seems that I will be able to replace the whole reservoir myself. I figure that if that is indeed the problem I will only be out the 15 bucks for the part, plus of course the ten pounds I will lose sweating to death changing it. I would hate to take it in and that be the problem and they charge me 40 bucks labor for them sweating, plus 30 bucks for the part! I hope it fixes the problem, otherwise I will have to take it in. Wish me luck on my car escapade tomorrow.

I miss you Bret. I hope no crazy people call me tonight because you know how my imagination gets going. I told Kathy and Paul that I would call them if I heard anything strange and they promised they would call 911 for me! LOL. Here's looking forward to your safe return on Friday!

too nice

I have just decided I am too nice to everyone. and it seems to be a fault when I thought it was a good thing, so I guess you got it from me. oops, so sorry.

The Fragile Ego

Today I experienced some feelings I haven't felt in a while. My team had a meeting with my manager, the VP of International Operations - which we do every few months. This gives them an opportunity to give feedback directly to the VP without having to filter it through me. It also gives them an opportunity to give feedback to the VP about the Directors (me). Later on in the day I had a meeting with my boss to go over the feedback.

As a background, I have a reputation around the office as being the boss that everyone wants to work for. I'm the guy that they are "grooming" to be a future leader of the company. I am used to hearing very positive feedback. I am not used to hearing any negative feedback. And I don't expect to. Why would I? I am a great worker and have years of experience behind me that help me deal with every situation perfectly, no?

Well, I got plenty of positive feedback, but then I was given some constructive feedback that my team had shared with my boss. The feedback ranged from being too nice, to not giving enough constructive feedback, to being too happy all of the time, and being more of a leader and less of a "friend." My boss did an excellent job of sharing this information with me and letting me know that this feedback was to make me a better manager. These weren't horrible things, certainly, but areas that I can improve in order to help my team as well as become a better person.

And the truth is I would agree with all of the feedback. I am too nice sometimes. I do have difficulty sharing negative feedback with my employees. I tend to focus on the positives, and this may limit my team from progressing since I am not helping them to improve. This is all very logical, but when I am hearing it, and maybe even agreeing with it, the voice inside my head starts getting quite defensive. Excuses come into mind as I think, "yeah, well what do they know." Or "sure, I could handle it like that, but my way is better." Once in a while a voice might pop up and say, "what loser on my team said that!" And all of these are emitting from a protected, fragile thought in my mind that realizes that I am not perfect. Certainly, logically, I know I am not perfect. But it sometimes hurts to hear other people notice that. Even as I smiled and appreciated the feedback, and agreed, and wrote down notes as my boss spoke, feelings I haven't felt in a long time whirled inside of me. Feelings of fear, despair, failure, and exclusion. Had I been alone tears may have even come to my eyes.

I found this to be such an interesting reaction. Words meant to help me, and surely meant in no way to demean or discourage me, were taken to a certain point to be hurtful and cutting. Who cares if the team told her they wouldn't want to work on any other team? Who cares if they said I was the reason they worked at Prudential? There was something about me they didn't like. How could that happen? I went back to my desk and finished the day waiting to blog about it. This was fascinating to me. I never realized how immune I had become to negative feedback. I never realized, conciously at least, how fragile my ego had become.

It became very evident that we, as humans, indeed need to be humbled from time to time in order to improve. The Book of Mormon, so evident of God's wheel of humility, points this out - and we read it and say, yeah, that is great. But how true it is! On a greater scale of importance, this is what I need in the Church also. Will I do my home teaching if all I get is a phone call once every three months asking if I did it? I don't think so. I need someone to slap me in the face and say "do your home teaching or you are going to hell" - or something equivalent to that. And I need to believe it. The prophets talk about how if we do not improve, we are just getting worse. We must progress or fall. There is no neutral ground.

And so, just weeks after my ego-tripping blog, I am put back into my place. I am not perfect. I am not the perfect manager. I can, and must, improve. I owe it to myself, my team, and my employer. How much more do I owe my family and friends; my God? What if we had monthly meetings with God on our progress here? Could we survive letting down our God? Is this why he leaves us alone to have faith? Letting him down would destroy our egos. And yet we do it every day.

Tomorrow I head back to work with a team that knows I am not perfect. I go back with goals to improve. I go back with my head a little lower, my strut a little smaller. I go back knowing I can improve. I go back knowing that my ego is fragile. I go back knowing I am human. I go back hoping God doesn't come visit me and give me some constructive feedback.

weekend warior

Ok, so this last weekend I went on a couple of dates. You remember the 29 year old (Angela)?... So were supposed to go out last Wednesday, but I called and cancled on her becuase I forgot about a city league soccer game I had on Wednesday... but I told her I'd give her a call sometime to go out next week, or something. Well, she ended up calling me on Thursday and asked if I would go with her to an art show in Salt Lake because she has a friend that was displaying art there. I said yes and we went out for sushi at Benihana's then to the show. It was a fun date. Afterwards I dropped her off without having any plans for a third but we left the door open for it.

Well... the next day (Saturday) I was golfing with my roommmates from last year and I got a text messege from her. She asked me if I wanted to come over that night to make and eat pizza and watch Star Wars (Episode IV). We had talked about watching the original trilogy before, but I was thinking we would start the day after a date... but, I said it sounded fun, and we set a time.

We made pizza, and watched the movie. It was a good "date" and I still think she's very cute and fun... However... I'm not sure if I really see it going anywhere. We've talked about her ex-husband. They seem to be good friends still and he is very involved in their son's life. She didn't really have a reason for why they got divorced other than "it just didn't work out"... she also threw out the "I was too young when I got married" excuse. I think she was 20, they were married for 7 years, and have been divorced for 2.

Anyway... I don't know what to do. I'm not sure there is anything I should do. I don't get the impression that she's really all that into me, or that she's getting emotionally attached... it seems more like we're becoming "good friends, no benefits" kind of a thing. So at this point, I don't think I need to really bring up questions about the future of our relationship with her... do I?

The Scarlet Pimpernel

I was supposed to write this blog over a week ago, but anyway...
So a week or so ago, Jacob took me to see the Scarlet Pimpernel at an outdoor theater in Orem. Despite what he might think about it, it was a very fun date. He said that if it was a good date, I should write a blog about it, so yes, fiancee of mine, it was a good date! It did rain and the people sitting right in front of us did put up a monstrous umbrella that blocked the stage, but it was still fun. :-) The play itself was really well done and I had never seen it before, so that added to the excitement. There was this stray cat the tried to join the performance during the first act, but honestly, that was funny. I did feel bad for the actors when the cat ruined some of the more dramatic moments, but what can you do? The story was good, but I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give anything away. Just if you ever get the chance to see the Scarlet Pimpernel, go for it.

Work Drama and Sonicare

I think one of my "talents" is to remain calm and have a calming effect on people. This is particularly helpful as a manager. My team is almost always under control, happy (content), and professional. Don't be fooled that all teams and workplaces are like this. We have one particular team in my department that thrives on drama. In my opinion, the team tends to reflect the personality of its manager, so... This week we had an employee who was a good employee not show up on Friday. Her manager thought that was kind of weird and called her. Nobody answered. Then the manager received a call from HR saying that the employee had filed for disability the day before and was going to be out for a few months. There was no explanation, nothing. Finally the manager was able to get hold of her on Sunday and the employee said she did not wish to discuss the matter and that she would let her know if she was ever coming back.

So today we spent hours in meetings to try and figure out what to do with her caseload. It drives me crazy. How can her manager not know what was going on? How can someone be so strange? I know responsibility is not something everybody has, but at a certain point you expect people to have it. This team is notorious for drama; this is the second person in a month to basically have a nervous breakdown and have to leave. Remember folks, we are not brain scientists here. We move people from country to country. Sure, it can be stressful, but so can playing Nintendo! It's a state of mind.

On a lighter note, it is always fun to find a product that changes your life. Not in a way that it is so dramatic, but that you change your habits that you never thought would change. Like soap. Who would have guessed 10 years ago that almost nobody would be buying bar soap? For my birthday I got a Sonicare toothbrush (thanks mom and dad). I am a person who has always taken good care of his teeth - even flossing recently. But I always have brushed my teeth. This toothbrush makes my teeth feel so good! It really is amazing. I can't imagine going back to a regular toothbrush (except while traveling, etc.). My teeth file like they do after the dentist - every day. Products like this impress me and I hope they guy that came up with this gets rich. S/he deserves it (hey, it could have been a girl).

Tevia was in a giving mood and we purchased a nice home theater system this week. It has been fun watching Star Wars and other movies in digital sound with a big subwoofer. It completely changes the whole movie-watching experience. Good stuff. Thanks Tevs.

And finally, congrats Jake (BP) and Cari for setting another date. Good luck - and if I have to cancel my tickets again, I'll come collect the fee from you guys in happy valley. :-)

The Date

So I went on a date yesterday with a girl that is couple of months older than Tevia and has a 6-year old son. She's not LDS, or at least I'm pretty sure she's not, but it was a really good date. We had planned to go on a fairly normal date, (dinner and a movie type) but I found out yesterday was "free fishing day" in Utah. Since she and I both like fishing (you know, not our FAVORITE thing to do, but haven't been in a long while, and it's out of the ordinary so....) we decided to do that pretty much last minute. (night before). She lives in Sandy (for those of you not familiar with Utah cities, Sandy is about halfway between where I live in Provo and Salt Lake... so it's about 30 minutes away). I was going to be in Salt Lake Saturday morning for a former co-worker's birthday lunch at Red Rock Restaurant, so the plan was to go pick her up after my lunch, which I assumed would be done around 3 or so.

Well, I assumed correctly and we finished at 3. I called Angela (my date) to get directions to her place. When I got there she was still watching her son as well as her roommate's daughter while her roommate was at a funeral that should have been over at about 3. We waited around with the two very energetic kids for about and hour and a half. I didn't mind the kids at all since I do like kids, even though I'm not used to them being so energetic because I'm used to Jarek and Malik. Anyway, I could tell Angela was VERY ready to leave when her roommate finally returned close to 5.

It was now raining but we were pretty set on going fishing, just because... and I had it planned to go to Jordenelle Reservoir since the fishing reports I read were saying that's where the best fishing was... so that was a good half hour - 45 min drive to south of Park City on the other side of the Wasatch front. We were hoping the weather would be a little better over there but the more we pressed on the harder it rained. When we finally got there, the rain actually stopped, although it was still quite cold.

She was going to get her own pole, but was unable to, and I only had one which I had bought earlier that day. So I strung it up and would cast then she would reel it in. after a while I convinced her to try casting which she did. It was a pretty funny site to see, but she eventually got the hang of it and we took turns fishing for a while. Then it started to rain again (and it was getting late, and we were getting hungry) so we decided to head back and hit up a restaurant in Park City on the way back. We found a little place called "The Loco Lizard" which was a really good Mexican food place. (by good I mean decent salsa, homemade, decent tortillas, and really good beans... all the makings of a good Mexican food restaurant). I got the mole poblano, and although it wasn't as good as what I've had from members in Texas, I still liked it.

It was about 10 o'clock when I got her home and we both seemed to have a good time. I know I probably shouldn't even bother pursuing this but the sad thing is, she has been the best company I've had on a date for about a year or so. I am taking her out again this week, and I guess I'll just see how things go for now.

ps. No, we didn't catch any fish... no bits either... but it was still a good trip.

happy happy birthday

To my Bret, who I have loved since the day he came into my life, when I was alone and scared, and he became a tiny but strong companion as I traveled new paths. You deserve a great day1 You already have a wonderful life, so it is hard to wish more for you- but of course, I do. We send you more wishes for peace, love, and happiness. May the windows of heaven continue to pour upon you as you lead your family along their path. You are doing a great job, and have used your 31 years well.

Rwanda and Shadow of the Giant

Two mediums of entertainment have really touched me this weekend. The first is the movie Hotel Rwanda, which I have wanted to see since it came out in theaters months ago. The second is Orson Scott Card's newest book Shadow of the Giant.

Hotel Rwanda, with a stellar cast including Don Cheadle (one of my favorite actors) did a fantastic job of helping understand what it is like to go through a genocide in your country - and what one man can do. How often do we say I can't make a difference. This man made a difference and literally saved thousands of lives. This whole thing happened while I was in Brazil (1994), so I admit I was not very informed. The director does a great job of making you feel the emotions without trying to be propaganda - like many films do. The film helped me feel like my goals in life are worthy. I do want to make a difference in this world - not on a global scale, but to help at the individual level. I want to serve with my wife in a third-world country and get to know the local culture and share with them the greatest gift they can receive - the gospel of Jesus Christ. I look forward to that day. I know that missionaries are needed in every country including the USA, but I have crafted my whole profession to date to be able to serve in countries like Rwanda, Brazil, etc. We are so blessed in this country and so few realize it. I am often ashamed of how blessed we are.

The movie also fits well with my belief that the USA should stand up and take a Hegemonic role in the world. We have the money, the army, and the values to do so. I am sick and tired of people wanting the USA to avoid getting involved in the troubles of other countries. We should be involved. We should be willing to sacrifice our money, and yes, even the lives of our own children, to help those around us. The Hegemonic theory is studied and debated often in schools like Thunderbird, and I think in the USA we see a trend that may end our hegemonic involvement. I believe the world needs a hegemony to keep peace and protect those that can not protect themselves. I know this is a controversial topic, but I am a firm believer. No, I do not serve in the military, but I would be willing if necessary. We are a Christian nation with the money and ideals to change the world. We have done so for nearly 75 years now, and I believe we are the only country that can continue to do so.

This is a great segue to Orson Scott Card's book - coincidentally the follow up to his last book the Shadow of the Hegemon. (I understand that not everybody is familiar with the term Hegemon. If not, look it up). This is the final book in his "Ender's Shadow" series. I am a huge fan of OSC, but would have to say that the past two books, while entertaining, were not in my mind great works. This book, however, brings back the OSC I love with his great insight into politics, military, and the human psyche. We really get to know Peter, Ender's older brother, from a different perspective. OSC also does a great job of throwing in his own beliefs about the ideals of family, love, and religion. While many may find this offensive, I find it refreshing - though admittedly this might be due to the fact that I agree with his feelings. It was a book that brings hope and logic to how the world might one day unite as one. We are all brothers and sisters - even if many don't want that to be the case.

So this weekend my mind has pondered my role in this world - and prompted me to think if I am trying to make a difference. I don't want to be the citizen of the world that sits and lets things happen. I want to create change that I believe to be right. I am happy to say that on one hand I am going down that path. My largest goal in life - to one day serve missions with the ultimate companion in Brazil and other nations - is going well. I am still a believer of the gospel, which is essential to this plan, and I have patterned my career to provide me a greater ability to do so by not only providing the money necessary, but also the international skills (including language capabilities and cultural understanding) to help realize that dream. On the other hand, I find myself too complacent when it comes to government and leading those around me. Don't get me wrong, it is not that I believe I should be a leader, or have the talents and skills to do so. It is more that if I don't then we find ourselves with leaders that want to be leaders - and usually lack an understanding of the people they lead. I will strive to change this in my life - and not just in the secular world, but in the religious world also.

And thus a philosophical weekend leads up to my birthday this week. I often think of myself as being so young, and so don't want to rock the boat or involve myself. But I am no longer young. It is time to stand up. This is the weakness of my generation and the ones that follow. We are treated as children by the older generations. They do not let us grow old, and thus we shirk responsibility. Unfortunately, this will have a grave impact on the older generations as they begin to retire. They will find they have no children to take care of them - for they will not have reached the maturity to do so.

dad and I are callingless, and today is Boomers birthday

Yep, poor old dad is getting released today from ward mission leader. he doesn't have a clue why. it was done poorly, as the bishop just called him in after the baptism last sunday night and said, "after Maya's baptism next saturday, you are done". no thanks, no you did a great job, no reason, nada. dad thinks of course that the bishop just doesn't like him in PEC or running anything. so both of us must be somehow black-listed, or, as jacob thinks, getting something new that the bishop didn't tell us. dad is sad. he has had such success, loves his missionaries, and does a great job.
and Kathy, hello, where are you older brothers in her life?????? and sister-in -laws, including Cari and Jacob webb. she is so happy today because the bishops son turns 16 today. good grief. he got mad at her last saturday cause she 'talked' to Scott too much. he got mad friday night at the seminary auction when he didn't win the clown bike. he is so immature compared to her. I really don't see what she sees in him. I guess it is safety. so as a mother I should be happy. she certainly won't be doing alot of necking this year, even if he does actually get to date her. they are all going on a triple date this coming friday. I think it will all spell trouble, and when she does break his heart, which she will probably break at least 10 more guys hearts, the bishop will give her a terrible BYU referral, cause he is like that. but what can I do, I can't make her unlike someone she thinks she loves. I wish all of you were here and could constantly give her great dating and guy advice. but I guess that she has to have her own experiences. she is so amazing, so valuable, so cute, she could get any boyfriend she wants, and she always picks guys I would least expect. Now that I wrote all this, I really should be happy. it is better than meeting a guy she really loves and then goes steady with and gets too serious with. so I guess she is fine and doesn't need any advice yet. I will let you know. stay in her life though. she looks up to all of you. mom

Driving School

So, I was in driving school for eight hours today. HOW DULL!!!!! I had a really hard time staying awake due to the fact that I spent about two hours crying my eyeballs out last night after watching a movie with Bret. That hasn't happened to me in a LONG time. Crying from a movie that is. We watched Hotel Rawanda and I was so moved and upset by it. I knew vaguely what had happened there, but seeing it in a movie really made me feel sad and horrified with humanity. I know that the genocide in Rawanda is just one example of human atrocity. There are countless other examples in this world of how humans are despicable, but knowing that doesn't make the reality of it any easier to accept. The whole time I just kept thinking over and over how disappointed and anguished God must be with his children and wondering how he is going to sort everything out in the end. I know that the blood of the righteous (and I believe innocent) will stand as testimoy against those who shed it, but I don't envy the job He has of sorting everyone out at the end.

Anyhow, back to my original thoughts. Driving school. You can imagine how puffy I was in the morning after two hours of sobbing, for that is what I did. My eyes were stinging and my head was pounding and having to listen to the droning of the instructor was almost more than I could stand. I'll just add this other little tid bit in since it made me wonder....(and made Bret think I am kookoo for wondering) At the beginning of the class I was sitting by this woman and we were talking and getting along fine. Then, after lunch break, she moved away, where as everyone else stayed where they were before lunch break. Did I smell funny? The bad part about it was this, a big fat guy came and sat where she had been sitting before. Now the chairs in this room were rather small and very close together. So he technically hung over both sides of his chair spilling onto mine and the guy on the other side of him. And, he was smelly. And I was freezing because they had the temperature down to like 65 degrees. He was not cold, due to all the extra layers of fat and skin, so he kept fanning himself and spreading his B.O. smell in my direction. Not pleasant. I finally got up and walked around the class so that I wouldn't fall asleep or pass out from the smell. Anyhow, that is how my driving class went down. Did I learn anything? Not really. I am already a defensive driver. But, at least I don't get the points on my license.

So that is that. My Saturday pretty much down the tubes. At least It didn't last twelve hours. For which I am very grateful.

Grand Rapids and a free Koran

Tuesday I left work at noon to head to the Phoenix airport. I boarded a "Ted" plane and endured the long trip via Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I used to think that business trips were fun, but most are certainly not. I arrived at the hotel in GR around 11 PM. It took me a good few hours to fall asleep as I watched cable - something I don't really have. They had an odd show about real life bounty hunters. It was certainly interesting. I finally fell asleep around 3 AM and was woken up by the wake up call at 6. I got up, showered, shaved, put on my suit and headed down to the breakfast where I met up with the account executive. I was in GR, by the way, to visit one of our clients - Steelcase. Steelcase is the company that probably made the office furniture you might enjoy at your place of work. The office was beautiful with a nice waterfall inside.

The meeting went well as I discuss international compensation and expense management along with my colleague Cindy Yakowicz. By 4:30 it was time to leave and I went back to the airport. My flight out wasn't until 7 or so, so I tried to get another flight out earlier. Believe it or not, I was successful due to the wonderful customer service of a guy at the Northwest Airlines counter. I flew back (without a movie!) and got back here around 9:30 PM. That is a LOT of flying time in a 36 hour period. Even worse I don't get any mileage for it since the airlines I try to fly (America West and American) don't fly to Grand Rapids. I must admit that Grand Rapids was quite beautiful. It even reminded me of NY with all of the green, trees, and big yards.

I got back in the office this morning and had received 200 emails in the day I was out! I was on a two hour conference call in which I was able to read the news while I listened to inane chatter and found that there is a Muslim group giving away free Korans (Qu'rans). I ordered one - and it really seemed to lift my spirits. It comes at a time while I am reading Orson Scott Card's (OSC) new book Shadow of the Giant. Islam is discussed at length in this outstanding read, so I was excited to order this book.

On a slightly different note, we rented In Good Company last week, about a young man who is on the fast track at work and ends up managing people the age of his parents. In the end, he realizes that though he is successful he really wants what some of his employees have: a family and a reason to live. I enjoyed the film (though it wasn't awesome), but it really made me feel grateful, for I truly believe I have both of these things. I have a wonderful career and reputation at Prudential - yet I have not had to sacrifice a wonderful family in order to achieve it. Thus is the beauty of the gospel, and I am grateful for all that I have. Even when Tevia threatens to abandon Jarek and I for Memorial Day I know that I have more than most men. I'm sorry Tevs - I guess it is hard for women to understand the friendships between men. True friends, in my eyes, are people who never have to ask to come over - and are always welcome in my home. It has been years since I have had a friend like that. There is no reason to have to "clean up" or "prepare." They become like family.

desgraciados

for those of you who do not speak spanish, a desgrasiada is basically a person who i happened to take out on memorial day. i kinda met her through a friend on the internet.... and yesterday was the first time i actually met her in person. she and i were supposed to go on a hike up spanish fork canyon, then to the nutty putty caves but it was raining super hard yesterday morning.... also, she decided to bring a friend with a date last minute, which i thought was fine seeing as we had never officially met and i wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable spending the day with a guy she didn't really know yet...
anyway... because of the rain i decided to change plans to hike timpanogas caves instead... they thought it'd be fun, none of us had gone before... because i was expecting a fairly difficult (or at least long) hike, i thought it'd be important to make sure everyone had a good breakfast first since it was pretty early in the morning and they had driven down from salt lake. no one had eaten yet, so i made everyone biscuits and gravy w/ scrambled eggs... the food was great, and i'm a pretty harsh critic of my food... but, nary a thank you from anyone!!! i thought, oh, well... none of really know each other still, and conversation was pretty sparse, especially since i was in the kitchen most of the time... well... after eating we headed up to timp caves. it was still raining so i bought us all panchos ($2 bucks a pop)... plus i paid to get in the park, ($3 bucks) plus I paid for all 4 of us to do the hike/tour ($7 bucks each)... again... nary a thank you... the hike was good considering everyone complained about everything the entire way up!! but, i didn't let it get to me, and i had a blast... in fact, after we got back to the visitor's center, one of the rangers suggested i apply to be a tour guide/ranger for next season and started giving me all this info on how to apply... it pays $11.50/hr, they're VERY flexible with scheduling, i'd get to give tours, AND i'd get to explore other areas of the cave that regular visitors never get to go in!!!.... so, i dunno... i guess it's a possibility...
anyway... back to the "desgraciada".... basically, i just wanted to say (mostly to Kathy and Tommy I guess)... (but also to those of you with spouses too)... don't forget to say thank you when your date or anyone does something nice for you... it can go a long way, or it can leave a bad impression of your poor character!!! needless to say... i don't see a 2nd date in the future for this girl.

Alias and JJ

Okay, so I know that most, if not all of you do not watch alias or Lost. But let me just tell you how much you are missing out on! OH MYLANTA!!!!!! The last two weeks have been absolutely phenomenal!!!!!!!!! JJ Abrams is such a genius. Well, the first part of this season for Alias wasn't all that great, and I actually missed a few episodes, but they really got things going once they introduced yet another Darevco sister. (sorry bret if this ruins anything for you. I won't give too much away) And as you all can probably tell, I like these women because they are powerful, mean and somewhat redeemable, for the most part. Anyhow, I was thrilled with the season finale of Alias because it went right back to its roots by ending with a heart-pounding cliff hanger, which I love and hate!!! It would take a long time to give an overview of everything, so I won't , mostly because none of you are fans, but it made me feel reaffirmed in my choice of screen name on this here blog!

As far as Lost, I haven't had a chance to watch the finale, but last weeks was so good. JJ has done a fantastic job on his shows.

In other TV news, it looks like the creators of X-Files are putting something pretty creepy out this summer called Night Stalker. It looks pretty scary, so I am sure I will watch the first one at least.

Sorry if I sound like a TV head. I don't really watch all that much, and I watch it when my kids are in bed. So THERE!!! :) Hope you all have a fun weekend.

Memorial Day weekend

You really couldn't ask for better weather than what we've been getting here in Utah this past week or so. Now that the rains have let up, the temperatures are in the mid 70s to mid 80s, and a soft cool breeze tops it all off. My Precious finally got a much needed bath and BB-Q weekend is upon us!! It really puts me in a dilemma... I already have SO much junk I've accumulated over the years I've lived here in the FoxHood apartments, but I'm seriously considering investing in a small to large gas grill. Last summer (around this same time) my work had a summer party and my bosses gave out really nice BB-Q sets (everything but the grill). So I have a Trophy Homes apron and cooking utensil set that have gone unused for much too long.
Anyway... my point is, although I may not be doing the traditional BB-Q or camp out this weekend... I'll be not doing it in perfect weather! Hope ya'll's Weekends are great too!!!

Episode III

I agree with Bret. Although I haven't been waiting as anxiously for it or as long... I really enjoyed it. I think Lucas did an excelent job at bringing the 6 series movies together with this one... and it kinda makes the first two not suck so bad... sorry Bret, I still think so much of the magic of Star Wars was lost in the digital effects of Ep. I&II... oh, well.. like I said, this was definitely a redeeming movie for the series. I also agree with mom when she says it moves a bit slow in parts, and my only other tift is how Lucas just throws Chewy in there as if he's to be a great friend of Yoda... I know I don't have all the knowlege of the Empire series or anything, but it seems there was no indication that the wookies (Chewy) even knew or cared much about the Jedi in episode 4,5,&6.

Although my heartstrings were not pulled as it sounds many of yours were... the more I think on the concept of the series as a whole, (and after reading Bret's insight on all of it) everything becomes more emotional and yeah, I get choked up at the thought of it all... a bit. I think one of the reasons I don't too much is because I have some sort of internal mechanism to protect me from getting too emotionally attached to fantasy anymore... heck, it even effects real life sometimes... it's just that it can get a bit embarassing for a 25 year old guy to get teary over movies, and that used to happen a lot more before... anyway...

I'm really glad I went and visited Bret N Tevs for my cousin Heidi's wedding... I was able to see the Clone Wars (was it?)... the animated series and get introduced to General Grevious a bit... so when I saw him in the movie, I was really impressed... I think they did an excelent job with him! 4 sabers at once.. pretty cool... even though it seemed Kanobi chopped his arms a bit too easily when he had such a difficult time to defeate him... I think the fight scenes were still great!

So yeah, overall... a great movie... especially for the price... $0. I love my job and all the perks I get here!

Revenge of the Sith

I haven't posted in a while, due mostly in part to the fact that my brother and his fiancee were here - so I didn't have much time to spend on the computer. The other reason is we were busy watching Revenge of the Sith and shoveling rock. Thanks for the help Jake.

Regarding the movie - here is my review:

I have waited literally decades for this moment. Star Wars has been a huge part of my life. Some of my first memories involve seeing Empire Strikes Back with my aunt Kathy. I remember seeing Return of the Jedi with my father while most of downtown SLC had rivers in place of streets. I recall getting into the books written by Timothy Zahn that carry on the story of Luke, Han, and Leia. Then the dozens of other books I read as part of what fans call the "Expanded Universe" of Star Wars.

I remember waiting to see Episode I with my family in NY - even though the theater wasn't that great. I think I saw it multiple times and loved it - though it received a lot of negative criticism. Three years later Attack of the Clones made me fall in love again. And here years later, the last of the films was released. I have been anxiously awaiting this day for years. How could it possibly live up to expectations? I purchased opening midnight tickets to the digital theater and restlessly awaited that moment. Wednesday I did little at work except think about that night. When time came to go, we loaded up with Tevia, Jake, and Cari (sp?). Tevia and I had digital tickets. Jake and his girl did not. But as we entered the line, the people in front of us had two tickets to sell. I ran to get Jake and they were able to see it with us in the digital theater. Even nicer, they let us into the theater 3 hours early, so we could wait indoors in nice seats instead of outside in the heat. Kip eventually joined us and we enjoyed speaking with the many fans around us. Our theater had some people dressed up, but the crazy fans seem to have missed out on the digital format, and were in the mile-long line outside having lightsaber duels, etc.

There was talk of the movie starting early - and we were all excited. But they changed their mind and we had to wait until midnight. When the movie began the theater erupted. We were in the third or fourth row from the front, so our seats weren't awesome, but they weren't bad. The opening scene (and I have now seen it twice) is perhaps the most amazing battle scene I have ever scene. It was beautiful and amazing. This film will change the way films are made in the future.

I was aware of many of the spoilers, though I tried to avoid them. I therefore knew much of what would happen. But I was pleasantly surprised by a few things. I found the acting some of the best in the series, and it moved very fast. It certainly was the darkest, and felt it merited the PG-13 it received. My biggest surprise was how well Mr. Lucas was able to help the viewer sympathize with Anakin and his decisions. It was a great metaphore on how good people can be lead slowly down the wrong path until they have become something they never would have set out to be. It is even easy to say that he made correct decisions. It is very true that passion and love, though great gifts from God, can blind us. The Emperor did a fantastic job of showing how manipulative he is. He is pure evil - and like the devil can ensnare us with lies and manipulation. He manipulates everybody in this film: from his apprentice Count Dooku to the Jedi Council to Anakin himself. He plays a great evil character that meshes beautifully with his acting in Return of the Jedi.

I also saw how many times Anakin could have been saved had somebody just reached out to him. Mace makes a fatal mistake of not letting Anakin go with him to arrest Palpatine (due to his nontrust in Anakin). Had he brought him Anakin would have seen Palpatine's evil. Instead he arrives late, according to the Emperor's plan, and witnesses Mace about to kill the Emperor. He hadn't seen Palpatine murder three other Jedi. Instead he sees a man being bullied by a power-hungry Jedi. Obi-Wan later does nothing to convince Anakin that Padme did not lead Obi-Wan to Mustafar. Instead, Anakin continues to believe that Padme has betrayed him. Even wise Yoda does little to interfere with Anakin's path. Instead, all of these people slowly watch him lose control until it is too late. How often do we do the same with those around us?

The fight scenes were spectacular and some of the effects amazing. The end was pure sadness, as I couldn't help but cry during the exchange of Anakin and Padme, and eventually between a mutilated Anakin and Obi-Wan. "You were the chosen one!" The actors do an awesome job of showing the emotion, and as a viewer I can not help but feel their pain and suffering. You can not help but believe that Anakin is a good man deep down inside of an evil one. Like Lucifer of old, his good intentions can not justify the means. This film, unlike any other, ends on such a sad note that you almost leave the theater in pain - though this also could be juxtaposed with the feeling that this is the last of the films.

I loved this movie and understand why the critics did, too. I did not find it the best of the six (I think I still like Empire more), but it is a classic addition to the series. Fortunately for us we know the ultimate outcome - and this helps the movie to not be even darker. Especially the second time I saw it, I felt myself reaching out to Anakin - to help him see the other side. (I admit also that in almost every scene with Padme she looks JUST LIKE Tevia! This makes the movie even more dramatic and real to me, as I certainly would do anything for Tevia). I feel for Yoda as he fails. I feel for them all! It is an emotional film.

It ends with some great ties to the original trilogy - and throughout the film we get answers to questions left unanswered in other films: like why Obi-Wan tells Vader if he is killed he will become more powerful, or even an explanation of the virgin birth of Anakin. All in all, Lucas is a genius that has brought imagination - and even morals - to at least two generations. I thank him for that.

star wars stuff

ok, so we expected to see something here about the movie, even though my other Jacob isn't seeing it til this morning. we all saw it last night. of course, I will start with too much fighting for me. but that was a given. I like the bad guy-good guy theme stuff all the way through all of the trilogy. it got slow in a few places, and I would have added some side plots to keep people like me interested. I had a little kid next to me, about 9 or 10, who was with his 'big' brother, who was 12 or 13. they had cans of silly string, which they used every once and awhile to decorate the chairs in front of them. ( a bit distracting) what did I get out of it? courage. I will be praying for courage for me. I hardly ever pray for anything for me, and I know I could be more courageous. Yoda goes into a room, by himself, and confronts this huge universal bad guy. I loved that. why did he do it? cause he knew the force was with him. I know Heavenly Father is with us when we need Him, but do we always really feel that when we have to face daunting situations? I want a little yoda, so where is that little keychain one, jacob? what do I have to face that I need courage for? oh, I could give you a great list..... I ended up standing outside in my pj's this week, as you may recall. I have to face a stake president today, and find out if I am in YW or not, and I was tempted all week, even as skywalker was, that I am not good enough, or I am too rebellious to be the YW president. and so I get these rebellios feelings and feel like........ oh, better not tell my kids. so I pray for jacob and Cari to have the courage to move forward and only get married in the temple. and for Tev to be a great influence in Primary, and For Jarek to see his good and recognize his talents, and for my other Jacob to overcome whatever he has in his life, and Bret, you are pretty courageous, but do your home teaching!
yes, I liked the movie, and would see it again. Kathy and Tom loved it! dad is already at the temple with the missionaries and 2 new members he baptized. he will get home at 3, and then go right to stake conference. I think he liked it. love ya all, mom

jealous

Hi, I can write this cause no one else here hardly ever reads the blogs. I am glad you will all be together this week, and jealous that I am not there. yes, we are seeing StarWars and even already have our tickets for friday night at 7. it is sunny and I cleaned carpets, painted 2 walls in the kitchen, washed the windows inside and out in the green room, and still have energy. Tom is done with tennis. his back was really hurting him the last 2 weeks. we took Daisy to Quiet Acres last night for FHE. it was fun remembering all of our walks there. still no news on the YW presidency thing. it is driving me crazy. have fun together, and don't spoil the movie for us! love ya, mom

Dreams

Yeah Cari, I don't think you're a spaz for letting dreams effect you... I think Tevs will back me up on this one... I know she and I have similar dreams sometimes... the best ones are when you've been beating someone up all night, or fighting like in a war, or like you're a secret agent like Alias or Austin Powers... k, maybe not Austin... but you know...
It's kinda funny you mention the dream thing though... I've been reading the Harry Potter books lately. I want to get through them all again before the 6th comes out. Anyway, I'm on the 4th, still my favorite, and the other night I had a dream I was in the Triwizard Tournament.... it's not that I was Harry Potter or anything like that, but I was in the Tourney and it was way wierd... But I wasn't doing too bad... ya know, for not having any wizarding experience myself and for being a muggle and all. Anyway... there was one point that I woke up in a sweat, but I can't remember what was happening... oh well...
As for the running out at 6am to check the car... Yeah, I've done that one becuase of a dream too... us Honda owners are really the only ones who can know what it's like to worry about their cars like that... but at least the Precious has an alarm, so I'd hear her if something was wrong. :)

Vader's Blog

Ever want to read Darth Vader's blog? Well, you can. I found this very creative. It is also quite accurate, as this guy really has a good knowledge of the Star Wars universe. There are some things in here that made me crack up - but I warn you - if you don't know a lot of the Star Wars universe, it won't be as funny or impressive. One of my favorites is his day he has lunch with Boba Fett. It made me laugh. I also like his blog on mother's day about Padme. Check it out.

http://darthside.blogspot.com/

egos, emperors, and wookies

Congratulations on your achievments Darth Sith Jedi Master Bret!! I know just what you mean, it is nice to get even a simple "thank you" now and again from management/presidents/CFOs/big wigs. I know my efforts are appreciated around here... well... it's either my efforts or the way I keep everyone laughing around here.
Tevia... yes, you are very... well, in your own words, "persuasive." But I've yet to see lightning fly from your fingertips.. YET! But the jury is still out on you being the emperor or not.
Poor wookie. I'm with Tevs on this one... with gas prices where they are... I couldn't justify keepin him around... Not only does he seem to guzzle it up on the road, but apparently, if he's huffing now, that's just that much more down the drain... even if it is just fumes.

I wanted to anounce, the sun is out today in Provo, and I will be going golfing after work... I'd like to bring my clubs to play in AZ when I come in July... Don't know how feasible that'd be though... let me know what you think Darth Jedi Wall.

Ego Tripping

This week has been crazy. I apologize to Tevia for having to stay late and work on things, which is abnormal (luckilly). This week a few things that have happened that continue to show me in a good light in the company. We had a client come in this week (Tyco), and at the last minute I was asked to replace the director assigned to the client and present to them that day. I don't mind doing presentations, even sales ones, so I was able to pull off a great presentation with the five client visitors as well as some very high level Prudential people. I have been involved in many of these the past few months - including Bayer which we won their business and will be a well over million dollar client. Remember, I am not in sales. I received a lot of compliments from many people for my work with Tyco. Word also got around that I had replaced the other director and so many people in the department see me as the new superman - or the new Sofia (my old boss/mentor who was the greatest thing since sliced bread). The next day I was in a client presentation when the account executive on the account (which happens to be Prudential Financial - or own parent company) went on and on about how me and my team have changed our relationship with the client contact since it came to my team a year ago. At one point in the presentation the President of our company - Margery Marshall - just turned to me and started clapping - and everyone else stared at me and clapped. It was a strange feeling.

So I have felt very blessed this week to know that my company values me and that they feel I am good at what I do. Not that I haven't felt that before, but it is nice to receive recognition. I know that even a simple thank you can be heartfelt and make somebody's day. So I am trying not to get a big head - as I already suffer from enough cockiness - and keep doing my job. I love what I do. It has been busy, but I still don't work as much as many managers at my level.

On a separate note - the Wookie (my Jeep) started smelling like gasoline yesterday - very strongly. We let it sit and in the morning it still was very stong smelling, so I decided to take a better look. The Wookie then decided not to start! Crazy walking carpet! So I had him towed to the shop down the street (thanks AAA). They replaced the battery but found no leaks and smelled no gas. So I picked him up and wonder if he was just huffing yesterday or something. We'll see if he smells again. Tevia was ready to trade him in this morning. She must be like the Emperor - he hates Wookies - as you'll see in Episode III.

Use the Force Bret

Okay, so it has rained pretty much non-stop for the past 2 months it seems!!! Bret, I know you have control over the weather in the region you live... but do you think you could maybe extend that power, use the Force, or whatever it is you do and make it stop raining here?? I know Utah has been in like a 6 year drought or whatever, but come on, this is supposed to be a desert, droughts are expected... besides, I could care less if the entire state burned, cause in the mean time my new golf clubs are just gathering dust!
Speaking of golf, and the Force (two very different things come to mind)... first, the Force... my work rented out a movie theater to see Star Wars III on the 21st at 8am!!! we can bring whoever we want for free... just like they did for us for LOTR III and Harry Potter III... I'm SO excited... cause the only thing better than getting to see BIG movies that are coming out, is seeing them for FREE!!!!
As for the golf thing... although I haven't been able to hit the real links for some time, I met a girl who has Tiger Woods Golf on X-box... so we play that every now and then... and that's almost as fun... but not quite. :) I have to say though, I am better at the real deal than on X-box... yup, the last time I went golfing I hit a 10 over par... and that was after doing a 4 over on the first hole... so every other hole was either par or boggie golf!!
Anyway... Bret, please use the Force to give us some clear weather for the Real SL game this weekend... cause I can't seem to get these dang Mormons to stop praying for rain!!

construction, what I know...

So, I worked in a construction company for four years and learned a few things about the way a schedule is set up. And here is how it goes, the person who calls and complains the most and the loudest gets service first. Now, generally I am not the type of person who is a big wave maker. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and think that they are all nice and good and fair. So we have had our pool under construction since the middle of April and now we are in the second week of May and we are still waiting on this company to get a move on finishing up. The last thing they have to do is come out and start the pump and put in chemicals. The pool was finished being plastered on Saturday, and they said they would be out the next day (yeah right) to get everything going. Now mind you, they had already taken the last installment of our money, so in my mind I am expecting things to get done. Well, it is Tuesday and I have already called two times since yesterday morning with them reassuring me that someone will call me this afternoon. Well, as you can imagine, no call, so I call again, and this time I am quite irritated. The girl gets back on the phone after "checking" what the schedule is, and tells me that I am two more days out. I was mad. I interrupted her and said no way. I told her that I had paid in full and that I didn't want to be kept getting put off and put off because they had my money and didn't think it a priority to finish out the job until they felt like it. So I explained that I wanted them out here and that if they couldn't get someone out here, I wanted my service fee back for the part of the job they promised me would be done in a certain time frame and wasn't. Well she said "Hold on Mrs. Wall". So I did, and she came back and said I must be "lucky" because someone would be out today before five.
Moral of the story: Sometimes you really have to be the squeaky wheel to get things done, even if it isn't exactly your normal way of doing things.
I knew this from working construction, but didn't think that I would ever be the annoying woman on the other end that you just wanted to go away!!!!!
That is all.

The Dark Side Shrouds Everything

This week has been a week of sithspawn! It is funny how some weeks, like Tevia noted some days, just seem to go bad. Work has been crazy this week with so many typical big corporation bureaucratic mishaps, unaccountable employees and mishaps. Luckily for me, I am an optimist and can get through the days without too much strife - and then come home to a wonderful family that can make me forget the woes of the day. This week for the third month in a row our accounting group messed up the invoice to one of my clients. The third month in a row! The client called me fuming because so many of the mistakes were the same as the last two months. He knows the errors are not my fault, but I am the one who gets the calls and hears the complaints. I am the one who has to elevate the issue to senior management only to have the issue thrown about as no one wants to take responsibility. So what is the solution? I will audit all invoices from now on. No, I am not an accountant, I do not work in billing, I do not get paid for it, but if I want the client to be satisfied the only person that can do it is me. And this is just a small example. Now, I know this attitude is one of the reasons I have been very successful in my career, but sometimes you just get tired of taking everything on. My job responsibilities become blurred and it gets more difficult to focus on things that are truly important.

I still like my job, and I understand that these things go on everywhere, but it is good to vent from time to time. When you deal with things like this and then have to deal with two employees who start an email war telling the other one how much they don't like them and makes one of them cry, you just start to wonder. I think I was able to handle that one pretty well, though, as the one guy agreed he was in the wrong and apologized today. He came to me afterwards and said it must be tough to be a manager and have to deal with such dumb things. I agreed. But I know none of us are perfect and some days some people just really tick us off. Even me, believe it or not. There is this one guy that we play basketball with and for some reason he just bugs me. He is rude, cocky, annoying...just like most of us. I don't know what it is that just puts him in a league of his own. I told this to Kipp, and he agreed. For some reason this guy just bugs. Maybe he has a really bad spirit or something. So I try to be nice to him - but it is hard. (Not that I am mean to him, I'm not really that type of person).

Two weeks until Episode III. I am reading the book Labyrinth of Evil, which is the novel that leads up to the start of the movie - a PREQUEL to the prequel you could say. It is getting me psyched, like I wasn't already. I've heard from some good sources that this movie will make you cry. So be prepared.

Luck

It seems strange that one person would have such bad luck the whole day doing errands. I got in every line where the person in front of me had a problem and had to call the manager, and every time I got on the road to go to my next stop, someone cut me off, and two of the stores I went to didn't have what I wanted even though the same store in a different location had the stuff just two days before. I guess I am just glad that I got home safe and didn't fare worse. I will try to keep my luck just so and stay home the rest of the afternoon, Oh yeah, after I pick Jarek up from school. Have a lovely day.