Twilight

I saw Twilight today. It was interesting. Lots of screaming girls in the theatre. More details to follow.

This Past Week

This past week was my first full week at my new job. Overall, I would say it went well. Monday and Wednesday I helped out in the accounting office. They were behind because they're moving all the companies accounting to this office and not separated to each of the other offices. I also spent 3 days doing my job as receptionist. Tuesday was a bit intimidating, but Thursday was great. I really felt on the ball with stuff and handled many different things at the same time. Friday, now that was just a bad day for everyone. There was a rude driver behind me on my way to work, Eric was at home not feeling well and then it just went downhill from there. For the most part I handled my job well, but it just wasn't happy. I'm still learning and I enjoy it, but we all have bad days at work. It's been a good weekend though so I'm ready to go back tomorrow and try at it again.

It was a pretty crazy week besides work too. Monday night we had F.H.E. at our friends place. So, we came home and made dinner then went to their place until about 10pm. When we got home it was time for bed. Tuesday we went to a special screening for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. It was a really good movie. We didn't find out until the next morning that it was going to be rated R. I think it's rated that because there is some violence, not too intense, but it was there. I think even with that it was a sweet movie with a good ending. It definitely leaves you with hope. Anyway, on Wednesday night I came home and prepared some dinner to go in the crock pot. After I got that ready I went and picked up Eric to go to a blood drive for our stake. His scheduled time was 7:30pm. We got there about 7:15 and he filled out his paperwork. (I can't give blood, but I was there to support him.) We had to wait about 2 hours before Eric was able to give blood. The line was just so long, but at least we had friends there so it didn't seem like it was really all that long. Eric pumped really fast, but near the end he got a little faint and so they put his gurney down and feet up. One of the ladies started giving him lots of juice while he was laying there. I finally stepped in to help him out too. It was so hard to see him like that. Every time he tried to sit up for the juice he would shake so much. I think he was just really weak. He finally felt well enough to leave. Thursday though was a different story. By the end of the day he just felt sick and faint. I picked him up from work and we got some dinner. We finally had a night to just be home. We watched The Office and 30 Rock. It was a good night. Since then we've just been enjoying our down time. I'm grateful to not have such a packed week coming up. It will be nice to have some breathing room for once.

Work!!!

Alright, since Eric and I got to California we knew that I would need a job since he would be interning, which would likely be unpaid. Right before we found our apartment I started looking for work. The day after we moved in I started a job that was temp to hire. It was alright, but I was never sure it was the right job for me. Turned out they needed an actual accountant and not an accounting assistant so I didn't get hired permanently. It really was for the best because I wouldn't have been totally satisfied there. For about the next 3 weeks I looked for a job. I went on several interviews, but nothing really came of it. I can't even begin to imagine how many of my resumes are floating around out there. Then, I was offered a job. I didn't want to do it and knew that I would hate it. However, we really needed the money so I did it. It was so lonely and frustrating. After I got home after my second day I actually cried to Eric. The next morning I got teary-eyed because I didn't want to go to work. Then, I cried at work. So, Eric told me I needed to quit. I went in the next day and after lunch (when the boss came in) I told him that I would work one more day and that would be it. He was pretty cool about it so that was nice. I kinda trained the girl he brought on after me. That made the day go a little bit better. I was just so relieved to be away from that job. Oh, during this week of hellish work I got a call about a job interview the next Monday. I was so excited about it and that only made me want to quit more. This Monday, I went to the interview. I decided that I either did a really good job or a horrible job at the interview. It was one of those interviews that could go either way. Later that day Juliette, the HR manager, called to do a phone interview with me since she wasn't able to meet with me earlier in the day. We had a nice chat and I was even more excited about the work, but I still wasn't sure. Yesterday, I received a call from the woman I interviewed with and she said that they were just waiting for my background check in Utah to come back and they'd offer me the job. I was very excited. This morning, she called and offered me the job. They are paying me more money than they planned to pay for this position and I will get full benefits. It's the perfect job and everything I need.

Oh, you might be wondering where it is and what I'll be doing. It's for a company called Creative Technology. They are an entertainment/technology company. They do staging for large events, check out the website. I will be the receptionist/administrative assistant in their LA office (which is in Panorama City, not LA). I won't even have to get on the freeway to get to work, so nice. I will do reception work and then any other overflow stuff that people around the office need done. I will be kept busy and that's the way I like it. It's kind of intimidating, but I'm really excited to do it too. Yay for work!

This is a huge blessing. I have had quite the interesting journey to find employment, but the beauty of it is that we've always had enough money to pay our bills and what not. Truly, this challenge has been fun and exciting, but a little scary too. Now, I get to work for real and have a routine. I'm so excited! Plus, now I get to go shopping for some work clothes. Yipee!

Prop 8 Passed!

It looks like Prop 8 has passed making it part of the California constitution to only recognize marriage between a man and a woman. It is quite a success for those of us who participated in the process. I'm happy to have helped to make a difference. I don't know that my life would have been very different if it failed, but I know that there would have been an impact on my children and the future of our society if the proposition failed. We did what was right before we could even fully know how right this decision could be. Congratulations to all the supporters of this proposition!

Addendum to Prop 8 Posting

This is just another thought from my previous post and the comments that were made. Please read!

A friend brought up a good point about how the supreme courts (state or federal) are part of the system of checks and balances in our government. He mentioned this to my complaint that 4 judges in California ignored the votes of Californians and said that gay marriage would be recognized in this state. Although I agree that the supreme courts are part of the checks and balances in our government, I do not believe it was ever intended to be a checks and balance for the voice of the people. They do not have the right to interpret the constitution just as they see it as a balance to the voice of the people. As Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, "...government of the people, by the people, for the people..." This government was established to serve the people of this country. As public servants they should uphold the desires of the people. It is not a perfect system, but it does work. I suppose we will see what the voice of the people is when all the votes are counted.

Prop 8

Today is election day if you haven't heard, but I'm sure you have. Having just recently moved to California we weren't able to vote. However, that does not mean we couldn't participate in the political process. The cause we chose to support was Proposition 8 in California. This proposition will put into the state constitution that only marriage between a man and woman will be recognized. Just a couple things about that.

1. Domestic partnerships between same-sex couples will still be recognized and they have all the rights and responsibilities of married heterosexual couples.
2. This does not change the laws.
3. Californians have voted to prevent same-sex marriage before.
   
4. God has ordained marriage between a man and a woman, but not whoever else feels like it.
5. Marriage is not a right, definitely more of a responsibility. (Anyone who is married should know what I mean.)
6. I do not hate or dislike homosexuals. I am just standing up for what I believe in.

In our support of Voting Yes on Prop 8 Eric and I have spent some time at a call center. There, we made calls letting people know about Prop 8 and encouraging them to vote YES. This morning we went to a polling location with a list and crossed off everyone who had already voted. From there the list of those who haven't voted will go to a calling center where they will remind those who said they would vote YES to be sure they do so today.

I know that people don't agree on this issue, but that's the beauty of voting. We can all have our voices heard. At the end of the day we'll see what the people of California have decided. In the mean time let me know what you think. I would love to hear both sides!