Work changes

Now I know I said two days ago that it looked like I may be getting a lot of hours...ya, not so much.  Apparently when sales go down your hours go down with it- and sales dropped.  So instead of having another high week of work, i'm down to 23 hours.  Which, technically speaking, is only 6.5 less than this week but because I grabbed someone else's shift, it feels like 12.  I'm just glad that of all the reason's that hours could've dropped, this reason is legit. I mean if it was from just not putting me on the schedule, i'd be pretty upset, but since everyone's hours are affected it totally fine.  Only down side is that if this happens too often, my schedule of when i'll have all my money saved for my mission will be thrown way off!

Busy Day

What a day at CVS today!  I had picked up a shift today since Ibelisse didn't want to work.  What i didn't realize was how short handed we would be and have to deal with the pre-Chargers game rush.  From 6 to close, it was just Megan and I, and from about 5:45 to 7:30/8:00 there was a non-stop line.  We were constantly checking and trying to get the line down, but as soon as we got down to a few people, a couple more would come.  Not to mention the fact that Megan had to manage all manager stuff along with Pharmacy "help" calls, and i had to also cover photo.  With a constant line it gets kinda hard to do the other stuff as well.  Fortunately, it slowed down to "dead zone" around what would've been half time (9:00) and I was able to clean-up a little, take care of the last bits for photo, and actually close all of photo in between customers while Megan was in counting drawers.  What amazes me is how long it takes Ibelisse to close photo when she doesn't have to take customers compared to how fast I could do it and still be able to ring up customers.  She takes a half hour easy, and takes longer if she can, while I was able to close it down in 15 min with a few customers as well!  Its not supposed to work that way.  But I guess its better for me in the long run because I'm the one getting the hours.  You know, it really is kinda nice to just let it out once in a while too.

New Calling

I guess when you stay going to your home ward long enough the bishop is bound to give you a calling, and I guess I was here long enough and couldn't stay under the radar.  I am now Deacon's Quorum Adviser's Assistant.  Thus, I am now in Deacon's Quorum with Nathan and hope that he doesn't plan on me playing favorite's.

Now that's MY new calling...my dad got a new calling as well--Bishop!!!  And what a shock that was to us.  So dad's a bishop, mom got released as RS Pres., and I'm in charge of deacon's.  Fun fun! 

Update

Boy am I good at keeping up to date with this blog.  I've done better on my other "personal blog" but this one has suffered quite a bit.  To bring anyone reading up to speed, I work at CVS Pharmacy and absolutely love it.  Not only is it a lot better than Sears in the aspect of customer service, but i get better pay, its more fun, the managers are great, and its nearby!  Not to mention that I'm also getting a bunch more hours on a consistent basis.  This coming week, I had 29 hours scheduled, but then by a change of attitude by a co-worker who decided she didn't want to work one of her shifts, I am now working 34.5 (and getting a + on the managers side).  Yes it took away my Monday night and the one day off, but who cares!- I mean its another $40+ into the mission fund.

Mission:  Yes, I had planned to be gone by now but I've still got a few loose ends to tie up so the new goal is to have the papers in/leaving by January '10.  As to my funds, if I can maintain a $250 paycheck each week, I'll make $1,000 per month meaning I'll make about $4,000 by the end of the year (approximately) and I'm at $5,200 in my fund right now so I'll be just shy or right on.  So here's my thought process with work hours.  More hours--> more pay--> mission fund surplus--> money in the bank when I get home from my mission.

School: I am out of school right now saving up for my mission.  It's also allowing more personal time to do things that I wouldn't have the chance to do otherwise- mainly work, but i'm also in training for a triathlon this October.  Plus, my last semester at school just through into a world of hurt and depression so I figured I could use a break from that while I prepare for my mission.

Other than that, not much to report on other than the calling that i got in the Del Sur ward and a bit of news there.  But that's on my next post.

Summer has arrived

Well, actually its been here for a good couple of months now, but hey. So, the update of my life.

Work: I started off the summer getting a job at Sears and then another job at CVS three/four weeks later. Sears was okay, minimum wage of $8.00/hr, 8-13 hr weeks, and pretty boring during slow time because all we could do really was stand in front of the register and wait for customers. CVS however was quite different. They paid $8.50, could give me 40+ hours, and are 2 minutes from home. Thus, I quit Sears and am now training in the Photo department at CVS (enabling me to get the 40 hours). Do I regret quitting Sears?- NO! they said they would be able to get me 15-20 hours, but what they didn't mention is that hours are based on how long you've been there. And with me being new I didn't get those hours. So I figured that they had kinda cheated on me in that sense so I don't feel bad at all about leaving them. Besides, with Sears having the priority of a full availablity schedule and giving me less than 15 hours while CVS gets my availability weekly and still giving me 25-30 hours, it only made sense to give CVS the full availability and leave Sears behind.

Depressions: Yes I can admit it, I suffer from depressions from time to time. I am now seeing a counselor to help me control them and be able to get over this problem. I've actually had a few depressions since being home. None of them suicidal like at school, but still pretty bad. Of what I want to say on this topic, I can say this much: some are due to the feeling that I have no friends where I'm at (at home) or in general. Yes I do have close friends and family, but sometimes family isn't the one you want to talk to and texting or calling isn't the same as being face to face. The scary part of these depressions is how I react sometimes. I keep getting the feeling of just needing to get away and make those same feelings follow and then leave them there. I've even been gone for 3 hours one time, just took the car and drove. Eventually I let my dad know where I was so he wouldn't flip, but other than that, no contact with anyone. Another time I planned on running away from home. I had all the clothes I needed for work and play the next day (if any play was to be had), had some snacks, and a sleeping bag all in the car ready to go before I headed to work. But that plan fell through as work provided the distraction I needed. Those feelings left me for the most part and instead of running away, I just drove to a park to be alone and write for a good hour. I've since then told the counselor and we are picking out the possible triggers and causes of these depressions. I've also noticed they come less often and less severe. So there is progress with these depressions.

Sarah: lol...I can't even think or her without smiling. We met back in high school when I was a senior and she was a freshman (at least that's when I started liking her) but then she moved to Sandy Utah for her dad's work. Didn't really stay in contact because of my dad's urgings to date/like girls more my age. But then i went up to BYU Provo (30 min. from Sandy) and got talking to her again on facebook. Ended up visiting her over Easter break and then eating over about a month before Winter semester ended. It was kinda difficult being with her because I liked two girls at that time and wasn't sure about either of their feelings towards me so I didn't know how to proceed from there. In the end, the other girl made it clear we were just friends. So i've kept up with Sarah and realized that I like her a whole lot! We've been texting all summer and now its probably come to the point where we are un-official girlfriend/boyfriend. The only thing stopping me from making it official is that my dad told me "No girlfriends before your mission" once I got back from school. The only problem is that I started liking Sarah before I came home. Not to mention, that for her birthday present this Wednesday, she asked her parents if she could come visit me (and other friends down here).
----break in writing----
Right now I just really wish she could be here right now to help cheer me up. I've just had a tough time at church and want to be able to be with someone I love. Someone outside of family that can be there for me and that I can talk to about it and not feel bad about involving them.

Boating: -One of the great joys that I can have! Saturday my mom, dad, spencer and I went skiing at a lake and had a blast. Two turns each (short on time overall) and each one pretty good. My first run I just played across the wake, as in, clearing it from one side, then the other and just doing small bunny hops on it. My second run the water was getting pretty choppy so I couldn't cut out as easy but I did manage to get enough air on my bunny hops to land a 180 from the right side and go goofy before doing another 180 on the left side to come back to regular position. That run with those tricks made my day...other than talking with Sarah.
Not to mention that a week from now we're going on our houseboating trip for a full week in which I get to work on the tricks even more before I have to put the board away for two years.

Well, that's pretty much all you really need to know about my life that important anyway. Anything else is pretty much everyday stuff so there's no real need to talk about it.

Long Time (Foreplay)

Wow, it has been awhile since I last posted! Must be all that school stuff getting in the way as well as having a bit of emotion confusion over the only thing that a guy can have emotion confusion over. lol But ya, its all been fun and all this semester. The only good news that i'm thinking of right now though is that there is only 24 more days till i get to GO HOME!!!!!!!!!! and not only go home but stay home for a few months rather than just a few days home and then back to the dorms! :(

"Home, home in San Diego, where the squirrels and the ra-abbits play, where seldom is heard, a discouraging word, and the sun is out shining all day!"

"Yes, I randomly burst into song."
-- or --
"Be careful what you say, I could randomly burst out into song."

Sauna...at college??? Part 2

Alright, so I finally got around to posting the pictures from the May Hall Sauna we had a couple day ago. The location: where else?--the showers!

Josh

-the guys-
**don't worry, we all had swim trunks on**

we're so HOT- we can hardly make out who's who!

Jeremy- nothing else needs to be said :D

and you can't forget the "natural" hot springs

oh the joys of living in the freshman dorms
if only everyone had that experience
because THAT my friends
is where great ideas are formed!

Sauna...at college???

Yes, there was a sauna at BYU tonight. Not sure if its still functioning, but we basically had a little rain-forest all to ourselves. How did we do it? mmm...maybe i'll tell you next time I post a blog. don't you just love me! :D

Also, a few other points of what's happening in my life:

One- I re-arranged my room...again! :D
Two- I'm almost out of snackage! (hint hint!)
Three- pulled a 180 snowboarding last Saturday!
Four- record on my run is 3.8 miles in 29:45.21 (mm:ss.ms)
Five- total miles for the semester is 96 miles; need 140 for class, need 4.1 every day from now to end of semester to double that figure!!! boo-ya!

alright, I know there was something else but I completely forgot it, so when I remember it i'll post the pic's of the sauna to show that I wasn't kidding about it!

Its Been Awhile

Well, seeing as I haven't posted in quite a while, it seems I have some story telling to do...

early January
school starts again and i get all my classes going. I got a jogging class (MW) for a few weeks and then large gaps between class periods (turns out we only meet 11 times during the semester). Music 101 we meet every week :'( on MWF. my stats lab is also on M but other than that those days are open after 12! TTH are my busy days...Econ 110 with Kearl from 9:30-10:45, hour break for either devotional or nap, depending on the day, and then i head to mission prep for an hour, social dance (pretty fun at this point) and then end with Stats 221 from 2-3:20! Longest day ever! though it's kinda sad...that's 6 hours of class and that's how long high school was...maybe it's because I don't have lunch later in the schedule, its always too early or not at all.
But anyway, that's my class schedule that I wish was shorter on those TTh, so i could get a little less stressed and hungry on those days!

later in January
Well, this news could throw you through a loop...my music class (or more appropriately named- Music Appreciation class) is harder than either my Stats or Econ class right now! What's up with that??? I took music as a 3 credit class thinking it was going to be a medium easy class...its my hardest class! Also, Stats and Econ are turning out to be my medium classes right now! can this world get an more confusing???

February
I just HAD to ask, didn't I! and it all starts with the thing that confuses guys the most--GIRLS!!! I met a girl, Mindy, and we hit it off pretty fast. (holding hands after 2 days)(we knew each other before but hadn't really talked that much- roommates with a friend from home.) Anyway, with that background...we were hanging out for a few nights straight and then I found out that she still had a boyfriend back home--talk about making it complicated! Turns out the next night when i saw her again, she started a heart to heart and told me she just wanted to be friends. (more behind the scenes...I had been talking with her roommate Laura and was able to have her get me the lowdown on what was happening on the girl side (does she like me or no?) and so she really softened any pain that could've come from that heart to heart) So we are just friends right now and it might stay that way...if so, OKAY, i'd rather have her as a good friend than as a friend that I lost because I couldn't handle something like that. But we still hang out a bit, skiing over the weekends, and just hanging out- just not as much as before.

Present (past few days)
well, turns out its SOOO nice to have a friend you can call WHENEVER! i was walking home from the testing center after taking my mission prep test (written so I don't know the score yet) and had just hung up talking with mi padre. About 2 minutes later, after passing the Tanner building on the other side of the street, I started hyperventilating! The only reasons I can THINK of are that i was slightly sick (that horrible throw-up feeling in the throat and stomach), it was cold (yes I was bundles up), i was a little stressed, and I was tired. those are the only factors that I could see that could've contributed to it though. Anyway, I quick laid down so I didn't FALL down and thought who could get to me the fastest to help. Hinckley Hall was closer than my own hall at this point so I called the only 2 people I knew well enough down there that could come quick. I tried Laura first-didn't answer so then i called Mindy and she picked up thank goodness! She quickly came up, along with Laura which confused me for only a second because i could hardly think at that point, and was able to keep me from going completely beserk. (i've hyperventilated before, once to the point of my right hand seizing up in a fist, and my entire left arm doing the same thing; another time, from a migraine to start it, I had a full muscle seizure where I could not stop jerking from side to side with either my head, legs, arms, whatever!) i realized that I had to get my breathing under control but it was too hard to get the words past in an understandable way. example: I told them (by then the EMS from BYU had arrived) to "count to 4"-or give me a beat that could make me focus and slow my breathing, i guess that's the bando in me--only they thought I was saying "[its] happened before." listening to them i could see how they got to that but when I repeated saying it trying to make it more clear, it got harder to see how they couldn't understand. Eventually, a paramedic came and got started talking and was able to get me to slow down a bit...that is until i went from an intake pace of about 8 breaths every 5 seconds to suddenly dropping to 1 in 4 seconds in an instant! (I have a feeling that that was a blackout but one I remained conscious for the whole time, like an instant blackout and then you're back--very weird feeling) so now my breathing was slowed but I felt so stikin' weak and the paramedic guy was telling me to throw off the rag-doll routine! I couldn't believe him!!! but i guess in the end it did help because I was able to stand again after a few minutes and head home to where i could warm up (that grass is cold at 10:30 at night!) Mindy walked me in and let me warm up in the lobby for a bit before walking me to the door to the stairs leading to my room (not visiting hours so girls couldn't go past the stairwell into the halls). This is the part that really has me through a loop though, and STILL has me confused...after saying good-bye and before she left, she kissed me on the cheek! . . . . what do you do to that??? kissed and then left (we'd already said good-bye). so that just still has me through a loop for the simple reason of "what does it mean?" was it just a "glad you're okay", "I love you and glad you're okay?" WHAT DOES IT MEAN????????? anyway that, was all last night and I haven't seen her since (partly because I slept quite a bit today) and i'm still really confused over it! But that's my life so far.

Future
future doesn't always mean far future! it's just what I have planned so far (for when I actually plan ahead). Monday i plan on going skiing with Mindy and a bunch of other friends (not sure exactly, they're all in Hinckley and thus not in my ward at all) but its President's Day so no class and I'm taking full advantage of it and heading to the slopes! its snowed almost all day today which means that there's going to be a ton of snow on the mountain!!! YEEEEEE!!!!!!

well, as far as I can tell, that's all the interesting stuff that's happened to me this semester that's worth the time to type. If you want to hear more, you'll have to find a time when I'm on facebook, call me, or even better-VISIT! :)

k, take it back, there is one short story I can tell real quick...
late january I was heading to my mission prep class from the dorms when i rolled my ankle going down the stairs. Ended up heading to Urgent Care (even though its the furthest building away from...anywhere on campus!!!) and getting it checked out. Got a $500 brace (covered by insurance) and got to wear it for 2 weeks straight and for any activity from then on. Now the interesting part...that night there was a ward activity at Jump On IT, and knowing me, I'd never miss that kind of activity. So I brought one of the crutches they had assigned me (didn't really need it, it was just in case my foot started hurting) and had a blast going across all the trampolines there! Next day I ran for 3 miles on the foot (inside track so I wouldn't slip on any ice). Then the best part...Sat I'm out shredding on the slopes as if I hadn't rolled it two days earlier! the ankle is totally fine now, the 2 weeks of the brace have been done for awhile and i'm still going boarding and doing crazy stuff- course, when am I not :D

Christmas Break

Well, it finally came and I am so excited to be home. Finals are done, the drive home is done, Christmas wrapping is almost done, and the wait till X-mas done is almost done! So now the 'done's in pieces!

Finals: don't ask me what I got, cuz I didn't look! I didn't want to ruin my break by having to think of the scores I got so I just didn't look at them. End of story! :)

The drive home: very unique this year. Not only was I going with Renae and Chris in Katie's car (KT flew home) but there was snow almost the entire way down!!! Even in Vegas! Renae got some sweet pics so you'll have to ask her for the photos unless I somehow get a hold of them as well!

Christmas wrapping: just a few more gifts and then I am done! This year I got really creative with how to wrap some presents, and even better, what gifts to give! I can't say it now because someone may look and it would give it away, but if I remember next time I post, i'll tell about it!

X-mas wait: is 2 days away (technically!) and it is sweet! The cool part is all the stuff we've done. once I figure out how to do the pictures I'll put some up!

Well, that it for now, but I will end with the note of me going on a lunch date today with a girl (Elizabeth D.). We went to Brett's BBQ and just had a grand old time catching up on each others life. Personally, I hope we can do it again! :)