California Weekend

So, this has been a very exciting weekend for Eric and I. I'll give you a run down from day to day.

Thursday

• I received a call from a job I interviewed for on Monday. He wants me to start tomorrow. This would appear to be good news, but I'm not so sure. I'm not really excited about the job and I'm not sure if I'll be happy there. However, we need the money and it's not a horrible job so I'm going to try it out for now. I think it will be fine and in this economy I'm very fortunate to have been able to find a job. It truly is a blessing regardless of my feelings for the work. I'll let you know how it goes.
• We cleaned and organized to prepare for Eric's brother's family to get here with our stuff. They left Utah in mid-afternoon. They arrived here around 1:30am. There was so much stuff packed in their truck. It was crazy, but we're so excited to have our stuff. There is more in Utah, but we'll get it eventually. Anyway, we got it all unloaded and finally went to bed between 3:30 and 4:00am.
  

Friday

• Eric and I slept in until about 11am. We were so out of it. Zach and Megan (Eric's brother and his wife) slept in as much as their baby would let them. They didn't fully get up until about 11am either. They had more interruptions than we did though.
• We all got ready and left around 2pm. We hit up an In-N-Out for lunch. As usual it was delicious. If you haven't had a Neapolitan shake you should try it. It's super delicious.
• After this we drove down the 405 to get to the beach. We thought it would be fun to go to Venice Beach, but while looking for parking Eric noticed that it looked kind of dirty. So finally, we decided to head up more toward the Santa Monica beaches. They are quite nice. We finally found a place and stopped. It was around 80-85 degrees outside. The guys got in the water first and then Megan and I went and changed. The water was so fun. It was cold at first, but it didn't last too long. We stayed until about 5:30 or 6:00. We were there when the sun went down. It was absolutely gorgeous and not crowded at all. Oh, the crazy thing that happened is that I saw a guy get totally naked changing into his bathing suit. I was just surprised that he would get naked in front of everyone. Fortunately I just saw the side of his leg and nothing else.

• Once we got home Eric and I quickly showered so we could head over to Eric's mentor's house. (I'm going to call him mentor because he's the one in the business who has really helped Eric out and put him in contact with a lot of really helpful people.) We arrived a little bit before 9:30. We had pizza and played Taboo. We didn't leave until 12:30am. We are so happy that we went even though we ended up tired.

Saturday

• We got up a little bit earlier on this day. We wanted to go down and see some Hollywood landmarks and hot spots. We took the long way though so we could drive down Mulholland Dr. to see Beverly Hills. It was cool and there are some ridiculous houses on those hills.
  
• Then we hit Hollywood Blvd. We really wanted to see Mann's Chinese Theatre. It's really cool, but not something to spend hours looking at. We did check out all the handprints and stuff. My favorite was the Harry Potter one.

• After that we walked up and down the street seeing what we could see and having lunch. We saw the Kodak theatre and Ripley's Believe It or Not! We got pretty tired though and went back to the car so that we could go see the Hollywood sign. We found a super cool look out and Zach took some good pictures of us. I'm glad we have this picture.
• After this we had them drive by Disney studios and the WB building that Eric interns at. That was cool for them to see how massive it all was.
• Once we got home Eric and I had to rush to the store to buy groceries for the chili cook-off for our ward Trunk or Treat. I didn't win. I think it was too salty, but Eric liked it. Anyway, we got back and quickly made that so we could hurry off to the Trunk or Treat.
• The activity was so much fun. Zach and Megan dressed their little girl like a lady bug. She was totally adorable. She loved our friend's dog. Megan also got excited when Bart Johnson who plays the dad in the HSM movies showed up. (He's in our ward.) She got her picture taken with him. It was super cool.
  
• Finally we came home and watched Toy Story and headed to bed.
  

Alright, so that's about it for our busy California weekend. There was never a dull moment and we are exhausted from it. We loved having them here and all that they did for us. It was nice to get out and enjoy what this great metropolis has to offer us. Anyway, we're ready for a new week to start tomorrow. I'll let you know about any other adventures that we have.

"The Valley"

So, I just wanted to write a little something about where we live and how cool it is. We live in the San Fernando Valley. This is "the valley". You know, the one that Cher mentions in Clueless when she gets stuck at that gas station after the party? Yeah, that's where we live. Although, don't let this picture fool you. It's a very large valley. We live just over the hill from Los Angeles. We can actually just drive up the hill to get to Beverly Hills. We can be to Santa Monica in about 30 minutes or Hollywood in 15-20 minutes.

It's really cool living here because it feels somewhat secluded from the chaos of LA, but we're still so close. I also love that after living here for a month I'm really starting to know where I'm going. I can take back roads and still make it home okay. Sometimes I like it when we take the wrong road or go a different way because then we get a little bit more familiar with the area. It's a huge area. Let me show you another picture. This is a vista of the San Fernando Valley, but it only shows part of the valley. We live to the east of here. It's so massive, but it feels much smaller when you're living in it.

I just wanted to let you all know about how cool it is to be living out here. We're excited for our lives here. We hope can all come visit and enjoy everything we get to enjoy as well.

Arrogance and my First Bar

Okay, so I wanted to apologize for my slightly arrogant post yesterday. I hope no one read it and thought I was super arrogant for my belief in being able to help people. By no means do I believe I'm the only person who can help others or that I'm superior at it. I just love people; it's a strange hobby, but it's the one I got. Anyway, my greatest apologies for anyone I might have offended.

Now, about the bar. I went to one in downtown Hollywood last night. How weird is that? It was a get together for one of Eric's internships. It took us forever to find parking. Then, once we get there it was so loud and crowded. (Fortunately, you can't smoke indoors in California so we could at least breath in there.) We weren't quite sure who everyone was even. We talked with some people and met a few more. We probably stayed for about 30-45 minutes. Then, we just felt weird not drinking and standing around. So, we said our good-byes and left. Finally, we found our way out of town and headed home. We wanted to try PinkBerry, but we couldn't find one near us. On our way home though, Eric quickly exited the freeway and I was confused until I saw In-N-Out. Then, I knew he wanted a neopolitan shake (it's on the secret menu). He ordered two and we had a delicious ride home. Overall, it was a fun night with some new experiences.

Being Needed

So, last night I was thinking a lot about working and what not. I was thinking because I had two interviews today. (They went really well, but we'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted.) I realized last night that one of the things I need and have been missing is interaction with other people. I've stayed home alone all day, everyday this week. It just gets so lonely sometimes, especially for me. I don't just want interaction, I need interaction.

In a further pondering, spiritual moment I had last night I realized further that I need to help people. I can't just talk about the weather with them. I need to know about their lives, what problems they're having and how I can help them. I don't know why I, out of all the people that have and will ever exist, was given the ability to talk to people and understand them to the point of being able to make a difference. However, not knowing why this is my gift does not absolve me from the responsibility and the blessing. I want to help others and bless their lives. I'm greatly satisfied knowing that I have helped someone. I'm probably more satisfied (and thus arrogant) than I should be.

In realizing this I know that I need a job soon to fulfill this need I have to interact with lots of different people, but also to help them. I may not be able to help people as much in my work, but I know there are other ways. I could get involved with community service or non-profit groups. Even easier would be to get involved at church and meet more people and fill the gap where I am needed. I just know in my heart that I am needed somewhere for someone and it's driving me crazy not knowing where to go next.

To be employed or not to be

So, we've been in our apartment for about 2.5 weeks now. It's nice and it's starting to get cozier. The day after we moved in I started a job working in an accounting office. I was helping them reorganize everything (and I do mean everything). I've never sweated so much in heels before. After about a week of doing all sorts of filing and organizing they had me start to learn some actual office type work that they do there. It was getting better and I was liking it more. Oh, important thing to note is that this job was supposed to be temp-to-hire. I was working hard and doing really well compared to other people they'd had in there. I figured I was for sure going to get hired on in a few weeks. However, that's not how it happened. They decided they needed an actual accountant in there to help run the business. (Who would have guessed that an accounting office needed an accountant?) So, they hired someone else and let me go. It's not like I was fired because I was never officially hired, but it still wasn't good news.

The funny thing about it all was that I never felt like it was the job for me. It was just a means to a financial end. Eric and I have an apartment and bills that need to be paid. Fortunately, those 7 days worth of work are going to pay our bills for this month. Rent will come out of savings, but we're lucky to have that. It's only been a week without a job, but it feels like forever. Eric is looking for weekend work too. I'm just trying to not feel desperate.

I have to keep reminding myself that after I was told that I wouldn't be working for that company anymore I had a few moments of complete despair and fear about our finances. But quickly after that I felt reassured and confident that things would work out. The further it gets from that feeling the harder it is to remember it, but I know that somehow it is all going to work out. The right job is out there for me, but it may take some time to find it. I'm just trying to have faith and take those steps that will lead me in the right direction for employment. Who knows where it will be? I sure don't.