Saturday, December 30, 2006

We're heeeere!

I know that I posted this picture over the weekend and it is now Wednesday of the following week but I just haven't had the right time to get this typed. I also know that I might catch some grief for not doing anything "amazing" for the New Year. Here I live in NYC and have one of the biggest parties going on just a matter of miles from my home and I didn't join. All I have to say about that is there is no way that I could be talked into be a sardine for 10 hours in Times Square just to see a flashing ball drop. This may sound cynical but after being stuck in crowds on just a normal evening there is no way that this sounded fun.

Friday night I went to a dane up in Inwood. Fun dance, good people. After the dance Amber Hailee Rob and I crammed into my little work truck and made our way down to the Path station so the girls coule get back to Jersey. Hailee and Rob wanted a little alone time so Amber and I found some food and waited for them to find us.

Sunday was a church day after a lot of sleeping, then I split my time between Jersey at the Ortiz home and in Queens at Lisa's house. I slpet through most of monday and spent the rest of the time in my PJ's at lisa's place.

Now I am back to work and just getting through one day at a time. I really wonder what goes through my technicians'heads when I see the things they do at a customers home. A funny note this morning I was going over some customers with one of my guys and I remarked how it would suck to have this man's name. He asked which one and I said Henry Kissinger. He told me it was him... I said THE Henry... He said yes and that he gets to go through Secret Service everytime. Who would of thought that the Orkin man had such connections!?!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Orange and me



Behind me you can see the Orange Mime. I have to say that he impresses me even though he isn't that good at what he does. It is fun to see where he pops up over the city though and to see how the crowds react to him. Becky told me I should get a show of my own and have been giving it some thought. I think maybe W.W.W.D. What Would Willie Do? I could play some Willie Nelson music and have people sing along then sell some bracelets for a couple of dollars... It would give me something to do on the weekends at least.

Christmas was great. My family was able to send me some great gifts and I spent the day in Jersey with friends. Christmas Eve, I dressed as Santa and went to a friend's home and did a routine for her son that is 4. It was funny because this kid never stops talking but when he came in and saw me he shocked. I left through the back door and changed into normal clothes and rang the front door bell. He saw me and was still quiet and his mom said that he just had a visit from Santa, so I asked him what he talked to Sant about and he said "I didn't know what to say!". He is a funny kid so it was fun hanging out with him. After that we all went to midnight mass at the local Catholic church. That was interesting but I liked it.

Christmas Day i went to the Ellis home hoping to hang out with David for a few hours but he had alternate plans that involved an attractive Brazilian. I can't say I blame him for it considering I spent part of my Christmas in similar circumstances. When I got home that night I slept like a baby, after eating Chinese food of course. That is my new tradition, Chinese food on Christmas!

I had Tuesday off so i spent the morning cleaning my apartment and getting some groceries then just hanging out with friends the rest of the afternoon. Just add sleeping and working and that was the rest of my week as well. There is a YSA dance tonight up in Harlem that sounds like will get a big turnout so I am looking forward to that especially because the Jersey crowd is planning on coming over for it.

my thought for the day is that I am really getting settled in my life... The thought of actually having kids of my own really scares me! I don't know how people do it, it must just be one of those things you like after it's all done.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

PC in NYC!


I got to do a little bit of off road driving yesterday in Brooklyn. We set up 36 rat boxes around a vacant lot that is about to undergo some work. Since this is a big overgrown space and everyone is concerned about rodent migrating to the surrounding areas we were called to set up a defense system. That is the proper way of saying it, I just had fun driving my truck through the hills and grass all over this place. I will admit though that it was in a scary part of town that I wouldn't want to be in late at night, actually i don't want to be there anytime. It was underneath the belt parkway not far from Coney Island but right by the subway depot so it was a dead spot where anything could happen and no one would know.

I am glad that it is Friday and i will have a four day weekend until i return to work and then i will only be working 3 days! It will be a great time to get some reading done and catch up on some sleep. I got some cold from my workers here, it is like having kids, when they get sick, I get sick... It was just a few days of being sore and stuffed up and hopefully I won't get it again for a few months.

I found a great place for Chinese food around the corner from my apartment. I did make the mistake of saying extra spicy because it came out without any spice at all. I should have known better then to confuse them, next time I will just point to the picture and say "1, to go" just to keep it simple. Next I need to try the pizza place that is a couple blocks further. I love having so many things close by to where I live. I might gain 100 pounds but at least it will be close to my house so I won't have to walk far to get fatter.

For the holidays, I am planning on sleeping in and then speding some nice quiet time at home then heading to the Ellis home for the evening. I am actually looking forward to some quiet days of doing nothing. If the weather is nice I might head into manhattan to see what is cooking but other than that no plans and that is a good thing.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Having fun in chinatown!



Steve, my boss, said that I was heartless and crazy for letting my sister navigate her way around the city by herself so he gave me the day off. Of course I had already worked 3 hours and had most of my work done and now I owe him one, but it was nice of him. Becky and I drove into the city and eventually parked at a lot near the Holland tunnel which made for a nice escape. We worked our way accross Canal street where she bought some women purses things for a pretty good price. It was one of those places that we had to follow a little chinese chick a few blocks up and into the basement of a little shopping mart. In the basement it was behind another locked door and it was a paradise for her.

After the collection of her loot, we walked through Chinatown for a little bit and sat in a park down there just to people watch and enjoy the language. It is a fun place to sit and see all the old men shuffle around and play checkers. There was even a bit of music there that made me feel like I was watching a martial arts movie.

We went up to little Italy after that and got some cannollis from Ferrara's. They were good and I want more but I don't want to have a heart attack this year so I might wait a few weeks before I go back.

We went into Jersey and hung out with the Ellis family for a bit and then got some of the good pizza over in Westfield... It really is good there. We made it out to Morristown for institute and then crawled back home to get a few hours rest before heading out this morning. As I type, she is walking around one of the museums in Manhattan and I am hoping to get out of here soon so we can get some food and figure out what the plan is for tonight. I just want some sleep.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Columbus Circle



Becky is in town and I am tired already. I worked a few hours in the morning and then we hit the streets. Not too far from me, there is a town in Queens called Forest Hills. This is a great little community, there is a ton of money there so it is hard to find parking on a street that is public... But we found some and went into town. They have great shops and pizza places and a Tasti D Lite! We grabbed a couple slices from some places then went into Manhattan. There is an express train there so it makes for a fast commute.

We went just about everywhere. From Times Square to Columbus Circle then through Central Park and the Zoo. After that we made our way down to Rockefeller Center to check out the tree and the magic snowflake building. Back in Queens we got some good spaggetti from my man at Luigi's then went back to my place for dinner and Elf.

I slept like a baby. Today is another day and I think we will be heading into Jersey later for some more pizza!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Bryant Park


It was another fun weekend out here on the East Coast. There was another dance in Queens that was kind of a let down, mostly because the Stake President was there in the corner monitoring the social movements of the singles. After the dance I was able to get a few friends back to my apartment and have a sleepover! It was great just haveing people around to talk and laugh with, for a little bit I actually felt like I was back in my old apartment in Utah. I slept for a long time on Saturday to make up for the night before and then went to Manhattan for a few hours.

One downside to my place is that there isn't easy access to the subway so I have to drive a little ways to get near one and then try to find parking. When I was in the city, Cesar and I decided to head to NJ for a sleepover with the same group as Friday. We did that then on Sunday drove to Long Island to attend the singles branch out there. They are a fun group and i think that with a few more visits I might actually want to hang out with them... I am a snob sometimes!

This past week overall has been nice, with Vinny back I was able to get off of work at a decent hour and get some fun in the evenings. I walked over to the mall on night and saw Deja Vu, it was a fun movie, stupid but fun.

This week should be fun and busy. Becky is getting into town tommorrow night and I will be picking her up and then showing her around. juggle that in with work and a budding social life and it will be fun to keep moving. Right now, i am just tired and really can't wait to get home and get some sleep...

Monday, December 04, 2006


Where to start? Firs off, I am now in my own apartment in Queens and I am so happy that I could just sit at home for the next week and not be bored at all!!!

This has been a very fun, busy and stressfull week. On Monday we had an auditor come in to look at some of the commercial accounts that we handle here in the office. He is a nice guy but it gets very tiring putting forward the top game for 3 days straight. I did eat some good food with him though, we did Famous Daves one day for lunch and then had some good mexican food from Cozymels. One day we ate at Applebees but that was because the pizza hut we were going to eat at was infested with roaches so we went accross the street to somewhere safe. I learned a lot of little things that will help make my job a bit easier.

A few nights this past week I met up with some of the Jersey girls to run around the city. This led to some moments where I was led into temptaion to dance and sing "Loosen up my buttons" on the streets of NY and this may have been filmed and posted on myspace accounts of these girls... I really wonder why I do such stupid things but then I realize that I will do just about anything to make a cute girl laugh even if it means throwing my dignity out the window.

The weather here has been very nice this past week and made for some fun trips into the city and to Jersey. I walked the Brooklyn Bridge twice and have ridden a ton of subways and seen some really funny people. On Saturday, I was with Alexis and we both had a good laugh about this man sitting accross from us. It looked like he had purchased some used textbooks and was reading them, the funny part was that he was reading them like they were the funniest things he had ever seen! Thumbing through a high school math book and laughing at it... He is one that I will remember!

David was nice enough to give up his Friday and help me clear out my storage locker and get the last of my junk over here. It took a little longer than I had planned because we were in a commercial vehicle and couldn't drive on certain roads so we had to go the long way to get places. I was able to get him some food from the place I like around the corner from my office so that made it worth it, at least I think it did.

The people that I am renting from are super cool and I look forward getting to know them better. Which brings up an interesting conversation that I have been having a lot lately... Trust. I am not going to start talking deep or anything but I have really been learning that maybe I don't trust people enough, oh well. I doubt that can change, all I am worried about right now is finding a Hello Kitty shower curtain for my bathroom and getting the smoke smell out of the apartment.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Brooklyn Bridge


It has been a nice weekend. I am in the office just to goof around on the computer before I go to church today and i can say that I am actually well rested and relaxed! With just a few more days left until I move into my own place, it seems to me that my life is starting to come together in a way that I am pleased with.

Friday night, I met up with some girls for another run through Manhattan. I got my Tasti D Lite and they were able to skate at Rockerfeller canter. They tried to talk me into it but really, there comes a point in a man's life where he just knows that he will not put on ice skates and look like a 300 pound fool slipping on the ice.

Saturday I slept in and then enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the city. I went to Canal street but couldn't find anything worth buying so I strolled through Little Italy and Chinatown making my way to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a perfect day to just get some air and see the city. It was also good for me to get some alone time. I had been on friend overload and was starting to get cranky.

This week at work will be a bit stressful, there is another auditor coming in and I will be the one showing him around. If I had more time to get out in the field for some of my own audits I wouldn't be stressing it but since that hasn't happened, I am just praying that things will go smooth and that I won't get yelled at too much. Lucky for me I still fall under the new guy category so I might be safe.

The highlight of the weekend would have to be the Orange Mime that we danced with Saturday night. Really, it takes guts to do that and I have to give the man props, I really don't think that I would dress in orange and athen hit the streets of new york performing but that is just me. I could see my cousin Dave doing that though... I will have to talk him into it.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Chillin with Morgan



So I saw Morgan Freeman and had to get a picture with him! Of course this was outside the wax museum and he really is just a statue but still, I saw Morgan Freeman!!!

Wednesday night I had some time on my hands, the group that I was going to be meeting decided to take a bit longer in getting to the city so I got bored of waiting and went for a stroll on up to 81st st where they were inflating the Macy's parade balloons. It was cool to see them but at the same time it was weird becasue on TV these things look huge and cool. Up close they are just painted garbage bags... It was fun becasue there was a ton of people and it is just fun to listen in on the many different conversations, especially the people from Jersey. I met up with the group at the balloons and we did another round of Dora, Big Bird and Snoopy... We grabbed some pizza and then I got some more Tasti D Lite, it was really good, I even got chocolate sprinkles instead of rainbow. Talk about living life in the fast lane.

Yesterday for Thanksgiving, I was invited to the Ellis home and was able to visit and eat with them and and eclectic group of guests. last night, David and I took off to a friend's house and stayed there until around 2 this morning. I wanted to stay as late as possible to avoid traffic coming back into NY. It was fun, we just messed around and did the usual flirting yelling and teasing that we do best. Some of it was caught on film and when we watched it later that night, I had to ask myself why I do such stupid things? At the time it seems funny but when i watch it later.... i really am an idiot! It is a wonder that I have friends at all with the way I behave.

1 more week and I will be living in my own apartment! Just want to remind everyone of that because I am truly excited to be a lone wolf again.

I am at work today but I am hoping that I won't have to do much work at all but just goof around until I can go home and back to sleep. It sucks being the low man on the totem pole but Steve takes care of me so I will do what I got to do to keep him happy.

Monday, November 20, 2006

A home away from home


Well this is the place that I spend most of my time. It hasn't changed much other than the new furniture which gives me some more working space... Horray! Other than a couple failed attempts to get my motorcycle to the bike shop in Jersey and a couple of activities, i have been tied to this desk and it is starting to get to my head.

This past week was fun overall, even if I was in a pissy mood for most of it. The highlight would probably be Saturday night in NJ. There was a multi-stake activity for the YSA and they had some food talents and dancing and of course, the best part was having a lot of cute girls to flirt with. I will admit that there is one that has got my attention but who knows how long that will last... I saw the new Santa Clause movie that afternoon as well. I was hoping to see Stranger than Fiction but I didn't want to wait an hour for it so i got the next show. It was 2 hours of my life that I will never get back and I can't believe I watched the whole thing! I was able to find some very tasty donuts in Manhattan on Saturday morning though. Across from the temple there was a mini farmers market and they had these apple cinnamon sugar type donuts that were way too good.

Went to church yesterday and listened to our ecentric stake president somewhow tie the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland to being a member of the church. I am sure that he is a great guy underneath but it is might painful to hear and watch him at the pulpit. He likes to fling his arms a lot and pull strange metaphors out of thin air. I met up with Lisa last night and we chatted for a little while and thn played a game of scrabble. She was thumbing through the dictionary at one point nad stopped and said "Stand of fish! that isn't a word!" Then when trying to read the definition, she realized the word was standoffish... We had a good laugh over that one. She won the game, I had some creative words but she was bale to get most of the doulble and triple word scores. i would like to say that I let her win but I didn't. She is going to Utah in a couple of weeks and I told her to look Becky up at the Zoo and I hope she does because they would get along great.

Today will be another day at the grindstone but I need to get out of here early for real today so i can get this bike fixed. I was all ready to do it last week but I realized that I had left my key for the motorcycle at the apartment... I was right next to staten island so i had to double back and that took about an hour so by the time I got to Jersey we tried to get to the shop but couldn't do it in time. Today I have to get it done. Among everything else that is going on I want my motorcycle back and in good repair.

Well, i am being swarmed by the guys so I need to get back to work.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Godiva at Grand Central


Another week complete. I know that soon enough I will be able to stop the madness and start smelling roses but for now, i will just keep plugging away. In some ways it was really routine, Morristown on Thursday, Queens dance on Friday, Manhattan on Saturday, but really this place has become my home. I don't know how to explain it other than to say that this is a great place to be. Whether driving on the NJ turnpike or riding the A train through Brooklyn, or eating some great Godiva dark chocolate in Grand Central Station, I feel at home.

Morristonw on theursady wasn't too bad because the snobby girls didn't show up in full force. it is fun to see how quickly the mean girls will be nice to everyone as soon as they are alone... They have some great strength... Anyways, there is a new nanny in the class, wink, and she seems really nice, wink...

Friday night was the Queens dance and it wasn't fun this time around. For some reason the party never got started and so many people would show up, walk in and then walk right out. The music was a little too heavy on the latin side, even for some of the Latinos. Afterwards though David and I went to a Diner with some of the Jersey girls he brought with him and we were there for a couple of hours eating ice cream and french fries. That was a ton of fun and made the whole night worth it. i worked a few hours on Saturday morning, long enough to get mad at most of the guys working. I really don't understand what is going on in the minds of these men and why they need a babysitter to do their jobs but that is what I do, all day long. The nice thing about it though is that I am really getting past the learning curve now and I am able to do some proper followup with the guys to let them know I am watching.

Saturday night I met up with some friends and we went to a comedy club, the improv on 59th street. It was fun, other than the 2 drink minimum. i don't mind buying overpriced drinks but it would be nice if they were at least tasty. oh well. The comedy was really funny and they made fun of a cowboy from Montana most of the night that sat at the front. After that, we did the usual thing of wondering around Manhattan until we found our way back to Grand Central. I still had a bit of energy so instead of taking the shuttle cross town I walked to my train and it was a nice night so it was a great stroll. Of course by the time I got home I was tired as all get out but I really enjoyed it.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

He's busy...


This is just a funny picture. i tried calling Danny the other day and I got his voicemail... well I guess he was too busy to answer his phone but he had some time to take a picture of him in the bathroom! I laughed for a good 10 minutes when I got this one.

We had a regional manager in the office yesterday and he did a follow-up audit to the one that we failed in August. I have been worried about this for some time now just because the termite portion falls onto my shoulders and I didn't want to let anyone down. We passed everything without problems, well other than missing a couple of signatures on some paperwork but that is fixed by driving to the customers house and getting them to sign it. Problem solved and now I am almost stress free.

After seeing Wicked, i decided tht I should read the book. From what people have told me I was prepared to hate the book but I am really into it right now. Sean, my florist in Utah, loves the book and it is one of his favorites to read and I agree with him. It is much darker than the musical and it delves deep into the politics and religion of Oz. Really, it is just a great commentary on our society and very honest with matters of race religion and class. Mostly it feels good just to be reading again. I didn't realize how much i missed sitting back and enjoying a great novel until now. Winter is a great time to read anyways with it getting dark at night.

Tonight I think that I might head out and catch a movie. Not sure yet, maybe the prestige or I just might get some chinese food and stay home. So many tough choices to make. Plans for Friday are going to be fun. There is another Stake dance in Queens. I am hoping that given as much fun as the last one was that there will be a lot more people there this weekend.

On Sunday I forgot it was stake conference and pulled up to a locked church parking lot. I made my way out to the singles ward on long island... They are nice there but kind of nutty too. A perfect combination. I even made it out to Morrstown that night for the CES broadcast and that was really fun. None of the snotty people showed so it was a great group to hang out with for a few hours.

I am hungry so i am thinking chinese food. But some pasta sounds good too.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Naughty Moo


Lacy sent me this picture of Amelia and I love it so I am putting it everywhere i can.

I wish that I had something happy to say right now but I really don't. The last few days at work have been a bear mostly because I haven't been able to get out of the office all that much and do some field work. i know some people might love working in an office but I am going crazy. Yesterday, I went to my truck in the morning and it was raining and I had a flat tire! Changing a flat really isn't that hard to do but it is much nicer when it is warm and dry outisde.

I have become disenchanted with the morristown institute class. To make a long story short, I am sick of meddling girls who have nothing better to do than point out the falws in everyone else around instead of trying to build others up. I know that I am not always nice, but I have reasons. it was nice last night though because I dropped off Frank and David was in the process of making hamburgers and that was some good comfort food. Of course I stayed late because it is always fun talking with David, especially late at night when we are even more goofy than normal. I really don't know how many hours of sleep I am missing but at this point I just figure that it doesn't make that much of difference anymore.

For the weekend, I want to find a good diner in the city. I was there the other night and we ate a place that was worse than the night of Wicked. It was more fun though because now we all have a nasty manhattan food story. At this point I just want to sleep through Saturday but if I do that, work will really suck on Monday so i am going to force myself to find something fun.

One plan that I am looking forward to is on thankgiving eve, I am going to Central Park to watch them inflate the balloons for the big parade. I don't think that I will watch the parade the next day but seeing them the night before will be good enough for me.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Look who's cool?


I took this picture last week after I got a decent haircut by some rapping russians.
So, last night, I met up with Kate and Tanya for dinner and a show. The dinner was crap but the show was incredible. Wicked was everything I was hoping it to be! I even got goosbumps... No tears were shed but I loved the entire thing and I will be going back many times I'm sure. My only complaint is that I couldn't hit the back button and listen to a song again like I can on a CD. Next time around though I will do some more research and find a good place for dinner that not only serves tasty food but a lot of it. i don't mind paying 20 bucks for a plate of spagetti but at that price I would expect it to fill me up at least. It was some funky pasta too that was shaped like aball and had the texture of cheese. oh well, i will chalk that one up in the learning experience catagory.

Work has been busy the last few days and most likely won't be letting up for the next few weeks either. The one good thing to that is that even though there are some 10 or 12 hour days, they go by fast. I need to do something fun in the city this weekend. i am not sure what but if the weather holds nice like this i would be stupid to spend the day at home.

Monday, October 30, 2006

He's single


Here's David!!! I had a fun weekend and I can thank David for that. There was a singles dance Saturday night in the Caldwell stake and he was a hit with a few of the ladies. I really don't know how he pulls it off but he does and that is all that matters. After the dance, we found a diner where we just ate for awhile and talked until 1 or so in the morning. I can't get too specific on the time because it was the end of daylight savings and there is the whole spring ahead fall back thing to figure out and that just gets too complicated.

On my way out to Jersey, I drove through canal street to pick up a couple more watches. I was driving down the street until I saw a guy standing alone with bulging pockets. As soon as I went 4 steps on the street I had another guy ask me if I wanted a watch! I love that place. I haggled for about 20 minutes until I got a couple good watches at a good price. By the time I was done, there were a couple of tourists watching the whole thing and wanting to learn the art of yelling. One guy wanted to know if it was real and I told him most likely not but for 20 bucks, who cares!

Yesterday, I decided to go to a singles branch that I had heard about out on long island. Yesterday was also the day the singles branch decided to go to DC! There were about 10 people there so I stayed for sacrament but took off right after, the people that were there seemed really nice so I will give it a try in a couple weeks. Of course, I am still heading to Jersey a lot but I figure that even though these people are far away at least they are in NY.

I am excited for Tuesday, that is when we are heading to see Wicked. There will be a lot going on with work this week so i am hoping that I will be able to get out of work early enough to get into the city. Of course, every week there is a lot going on with work... there is always something that pops up and makes me wonder why i left Utah in the first place but the wierd thing is that I am really glad i amde the move out here, go figure.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Nick


What a weekend! Time went by too fast and there were far too many people to see to get it all in just a few days. Long story made short, I saw friends family and ate a lot of food. I got a chance to catch up with Nick Saturday morning and just like old times, he slept in and I had to pound on his window and call his house a few times to wake him up. I can't tease him too much about it because I still have a hard time waking up.

Do I miss Utah? Yes. Am I glad to be back in New York? Yes. Going back was great just to see people and enjoy some good compnay. It also reminded me of how clean the state is and how little traffic is on the roads. I forgot that there isn't a stop light on every corner and it doesn't take an hour to go a few miles. Of course I am glad to be abck home here in Queens; loud neighbors, traffic at 6:20 this morning, working with the team here at Orkin... Now it is just a matter of getting all my Utah friends to come out here and see my new way of life.

What am I missing most about Utah? Daniel, Amelia and Samuel. those are some cute kids and I am glad that they haven't completely forgotten me. The singles scene is much more active in Utah but that goes without saying. While home, I recieved a tip about some fun singles out on Long Island so i am thinking about giving it a try. All in all, it was a great time and I am very very tired and want to go to sleep early tonight just so I can start to catch up from my social marathon last week.

Friday, October 20, 2006

My New Buddy


I have arrived in Utah and I am tired. I woke up around four in the morning so I could finish packing and get to the airport with enough time to do the whole securoty thing. I don't know how some people are able to sleep on the plane but they can and i hate them for it. I saw the family yesterday and it was great, I just wsh that I would have been more awake so I could have been more talkative.

This is a picture of little Samuel, he is a calm baby. When he gets fussy he doesn't even cry that loud, of course that is compared to Moo who can be heard across the valley. He is just a small little package that likes to be held...

I jumped on the motorcycle yesterday and made the rounds to visit a few people, I forgot my sunglasses in NY so I dropped be a store to pick up a pair and bought some bue ones by mistake.... This does not make me gay. At least I don't think that it does. I didn't even realize they were blue until a few hours later. I should buy some new ones but I am hoping that noone will notice and I can get by with them until I go home then I will just throw them away.

There are a ton of things to do now that I am here andI don't know if I have enough time to get to them all but I will try.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

$20 special on Canal Street


So here's my latest purchase on the streets of Manhattan. My boss really like it so when I come back from Utah, I will schedule an audit close to Canal street that I can take him with. I like the idea of buying from the guys hiding their goods. It is as close to buying drugs as I will ever get so I am enjoying the rush.

On a work issue Vinny, the other Service Manager, had a heart attack on Sunday and is very sick. He won't be back to work for about 6 weeks depending on how another surgery goes. I have cancelled my next training class in Atlanta but my vacation to Utah is still on. I am glad that he will be alright, in a way this will be good for me to juggle most of the responsibilities because when he comes back I will hopefully have this whole learning curve thing behind me.

It has been a rainy day here in NY and I have spent most of it driving from Brooklyn to Long Island... There are some really rich people that live out there. Nice house nice cars and deep pockets. It makes me realize that I am in the wrong business but this is what I am best at so why change now? Besides, this is a great learning experience for when I am ready to start my next big adventure.

Tonight, I really should go to the gym but I think that it will be chinese food and a couple movies for me. Tomorrow is going to be another long day and I just want to get it over with so I can take a nice little vacation.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Dancin' fools


Here is a picture from the dance here in Queens Friday night. I was happy to see my Jersey friends show up even though I was pretty much out of energy the whole night. I have to admit that even though i was tired, it was a very fun dance. The DJ kept things going and going and had a ton of good songs to keep the floor moving. I even met Erica... She is the girl between David and I and she is not only cute but nice!! Which as we all know is a hard combo to find here in NY. Of course, she is from brazil and lives in Jersey so i guess that explains it. David did have an interesting night driving everyone over and back home but that is his story to share and for me to laugh at. Once I am in my apartment, I can have everyone sleep over so they don't have to drive home too late, especially through Brooklyn.

Saturday I worked a few hours in the morning here in the office and hated every second of it. There is something about office work that I really hate. I got out and met up with a couple girls in Manhattan and did a little of everything. We went through Chinatown the shipyard the financial district, across canal street(where I bought a watch I really will never wear just because I talked the guy down to a price I thought he would never go for) Then we went up to central park and hung out there just to get some energy back. I did have a ny moment though because there was a man selling poems. After listening to his story I decided that it would be worth helping him out. He goes by Willie G., the poet of NY. He was homeless but now lives in a mens shelter and by day he writes poems and then sells them. They are not the greatest prose ever written but if and when i see him again, I will buy a few more.

I went to bed early last night and watched a little of Sleepless in Seattle... I am a nerd but it is a cute movie. I am not sure what is happening today yet. I am giving a talk in church later but with the weather staying like this i might ditch the rest and head back into the city for another afternoon in the park.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Central Park


I had to meet up with a technician in Manhattan last night and he was running a few minutes late so I went for a walk around Central Park. I was close to the Met and went up to the resivior there and got this picture. It was a cold day but great for a stroll.

Now I am here at work being swarmed.... Work is just a party

Monday, October 09, 2006

Long overdue


Considering for the last few days I have been a total slob and done nothing but lay in bed wearing my cowboy pjs and watching episodes of NYPD Blue, I started a gym membership. I went to the one around the corner from my office and I got it for one month just to see how I would like it. They don't have everything that I am used to but the have some good cardio equipment and that is the most important for me. I startd with some weights just to get loosened up again and then got on an eliptical for about 30 minutes. I am used to doing 45 to an hour but since it has been a long time 30 minutes was enough to kick my butt. It feels good though and I am hoping that I can get back to going 6 days a week just to cut a few more pounds. On the scale I was still under 285 but that mostly means that i ahve lost some muscle mass. I will check will David to get his agreement. Long story made short, it's time to stop being lazy.

I was given a church talk assignment last Sunday for the 15th, it should be fun. I like how they do it in this branch. A guy walks around church handing out letters. We read the letters and confirm our availability. It kind of feels like Mission Impossible so I feel all stealth. I am thinking that I won't sit on the stand but hide somewhere until it is my turn then drop from the ceiling or something.

I also checked out an apartment that is looking very promising. It is in Glendale which is a nice quiet neighborhood. It is not the greatest place but it is a good size and they only want 850 a month. They are keeping it cheap so that they can get someone that they like and trust to live there. It should be available in about 1 month then I can move in and start getting furniture and having some friends over for movie nights. It will be fun to have a social pad again.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Morning in Manhattan

This morning, I met up with one of my technicians to do an audit of his work. The appointment was on 71st street between Lexington and 3rd ave. It's a nice part of the city and I got lucky and found an open parking spot right near the building. Too bad for Orkin, by the time we finished up I had recieved a parking ticket for not moving before the sweepers came in.

The last few days have been crazy but I am getting used to it. Now after work i go home and eat some dinner than fall asleep. It feels nice to get caught up on all my rest.

Two words.... Sausage Bread!! I had never heard of the stuff before but it is the best thing next to pizza and mexican food. Its a loaf of bread stuffed with sausage peperoni and ham. The bread is really soft too and taste like a crescent. I loved it, good bread and meat... I need to find some more places that sell it, I got this stuff from a place down the street from the office so there are bound to be better Italian bakeries somewhere that will have it.

No big plans for me other than running around the city again this Saturday and I am thinking that I want to see the central park zoo. Just counting the days until I get back to Utah for a visit and to see those kids.

Monday, October 02, 2006

A quick hello


I can say that this was the best weekend that I have had since moving to NYC. Apart from finding the Rotel tomatoes, I had a great time running around and seeing some family.

Saturday, I worked a few hours in the morning by driving out to Riverhead which is out on Long Island and I was able to go early enough to not have to deal with any traffic. For the afternoon, I met up with my friend Shawnee and ran around manhattan with her. Mostly being the nice man and waiting while she did some shopping. We had some good thai food for lunch at Yum Thai Food. Catchy name. It was in Midtown, then we made our way down to Canal street and worked through the crowds and vendors to reach Chinatown. We ended up down on broadway by battery park to get a picture with the bull but it was pretty crowded there so we sat at a park for a while and just hung out in NYC. That has to be my favorte thing to do here. With all the parks they have, it's hard to choose just one.

Sunday, I was getting ready to head into NJ for the afternoon and I got a call from my parent's, they had a few hours with a layover at JFK so I ran over and picked them up. I showed them my apartment and office then took them for a drive around Queens. I think that my driving style scared them a little but hey, it's New York. I even got a couple souveniers from their trip to Europe, lucky me. I got them back to the airport and made my way to Jersey. i stopped in on the Ellis family for a little bit then went to the Ortiz's. Lucky for me Liz was there and David and I were able to ruffle her feathers a little. i really enjoy acting like a 12 year old kid. I guess because it comes so naturally.

Work today is a killer but it will be over soon enough. it is just tough to get back to work after having such a good weekend. This week shouldn't be too bad, I just need to think of something to look forward to.... Maybe more dip.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Eureka!


I know this doesn't seem that great to some people but I have found Rotel in NJ!!! After looking in just about every grocery store in NJ and NY and not finding it, I tried to make my favorite dip using Del Monte tomatoes... It was horrible. When i was in NJ friday night I stopped and some stupid grocery store to get some candy and went to check the tomato aisle to see if they had it and they did, I was shocked and bought 4 cans. Saturday night I bought the velveeta and had myself some great chips and dip. It was great. Enough said.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

A view from my balcony


So here is a pic as the sunset last night. I really like where my apartment is at, being in Howard Beach makes for an easy commute. I would have shown some pictures from inside but it isn't too clean and I don't want to brag about a dirty apartment, besides it is just temporary anyway.

It has been a busy week with work and I haven't gotten a chance to see anything that fun. I did go into Jersy a couple times and had dinner with the Ellis family on Tuesday but then David was off to judo so I dropped in on the Ortiz family for a couple hours.

With it being conference weekend, I am not sure what my plans will be. I do have a couple audits I am doing tomorrow morning way out at the end of Long Island, not the tip but pretty close. It will be nice just to see what life is like out there, from what I hear it is a bunch of rednecks and millionaires.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

NYC's best italian....


Alright, well I am happy to say that I am back from Georgia. The classes that I were attneding were basicly a review of serving a mission. How to resolve personality conflicts... Giving praise... Teambuilding... Setting goals... Motivating... There were a couple things that I found useful and those were interviewing techniques. I had no idea so much went into a proper interview. Mostly I learned what not to say that would lead to any legal conflicts regarding discrimination.

I got back Friday night and ran straight over to NJ for an institute class, it was long but the teachers are good people so I want to support them. Saturday was a blast. I woke up early just so I could check in here at the office and see how much work would have to get done and what I could sort through quickly. i then met up with some girls from Jersey for lunch at The Olive Garden in Times Square.... Really, don't even ask. If the girls want olive garden, give them olive garden. I don't get it especially because there was a huge street fair on 7th ave from times square all the way up to central park. They had every sorts of meat and bbq and veggies smoothies candies and treats, but we had eaten our overpriced salad and pasta. Enough said.

We walked up to central park and met up with some more people on our way to Belvadere Castle. It's a cool plce to visit and it gives a nice quiet view of the park so we hung out there for awhile. Dinner time came and a few of us that were staying longer found a diner across from Madison Square Garden that was decent and stayed there for a bit until a couple more people showed up from Jersey. Then we spent the rest of the night making our way downtown and over to the Brooklyn Bridge. I really enjoy speding time there and I am not sure why. It's just a relaxing venue to spend some time with friends I guess.

I am happy to be social again after spending all week with a bunch of old men who all have an opinion on everything. Of course, there is quite a bit of work for me to catch up on but that should make the days go a little faster.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

What the????


I got back to my room this afternoon and found 2 miller lights on the desk. Honestly, I had no idea how they got there. I asked the other guys at dinner if they had anything and it turns out they did. Appearently, here in Atlanta, they don't give you a mint on the pillow, its beer on the desk.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Mmmmmmm


I found a decent smoothie shop a few blocks away from the hotel here in Georgia. That is about the only good thing about being here. The classes I am attending remind me of an episode from The Office. I am surrounded by management.... Enough said. A few more days left and I will be back in Queens where I can buy pizza anytime and anywhere I want.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Waiting at JFK


Just waiting here for my flight to Atlanta.... Very very bored. I think this whole week is going to be a drag but I had a fun weekend in New Jersey so I am hoping that's enough to get me through Friday.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Samo


Here is a picture of the new nephew. From what I have heard, he is doing well but he still needs a few more days in the thingy before they will let him go home. No one has really gotten a chance to hold him yet so I am not too jealous. He is really just like Dano as a newborn, it cracks me up.

I do have a ticket for a visit to Utah. I finally decided the other day that if I kept putting it off I would ever be going so i got a flight in October. I am making it a long weekend so I won't miss too much work in a row. I get in the morning of the 19th and take of the afternoon of the 24th. Really short so I am in the middle of making plans to see the most people in the shortest time. There is a YSA activity that weekend so I will attend that and between a pizza party and dinner with family I will have plenty of time to spend with Dano and Moo.

Sunday night, I had a chance to hang out with some of the other people in the branch I am attending and I am glad to say that they are cool fun people to spen time with. Of course I also drove to NJ that night too, had I known that the people here were going to as cool as they were, I would have dropped NJ like an ugly baby... Making new friends is a lot like dating, you just have to let some time go by to see if it is a match, or my way is just call everyone crazy and spend a lot of time alone riding a motorcycle.

Work is great other than one bonehead. He is older and has been used to not having any supervision. So now I have this 60 year old man questioning everything I say. Lucky for me I have the termite experience so everytime he tries to tell me why something won't work I can explain how it can. I really don't mind an argument every morning but it is starting to take up the time I need to spend with the other guys. Sooner or later he will fall in line, if not..... At least my office is comfortable now, I have a bunch of pictures around and could always use some more but I really like it and so does everyone who steps in.

I tried another pizza place down the street and it was crap. Enough said. Around the corner from there and within walking distance of my office, I found a decent gym i can workout in. A 1 month membership is 35 dollars but if I buy for the year it goes to 200! A lot cheaper than golds or ballys. It is small but has everything that I will need to use plus, I can get there easy for a mid-day workout and just stay longer at the office that day to make up for the time. I really need to get this moving weight off, I have been lazy for too long to be comfortable.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

A wedding in Jersey




These were taken at Grant and Lisa's wedding back in August. The first is of David giving a toast to the new couple and he did a great job of it by keeping everyone laughing. The next has me in it so of course I like it... It has mom and dad ortiz in it as well so I might as well let everyone else get to know them. The wedding was great and even had some fun dancing going on.

Other than a lot of work, not too much has been happening here. I went up to Albany a few days ago for a meeting with some other Orkin managers so we could learn some more about the DEC regulations. I am so used to the Dept. of Ag. in Utah being laid back that this was a shock to see how many regulations there are in the pest control business. I guess it is a good thing but when there is a big company like Orkin, there are bound to be a few employees that make it hard for the entire company. There really weren't any major violations just a bunch of small things. It is always best to be on the good side of the regulators so we will keep up the work.

I did make a few contacts from Western, a sister company to Orkin. They were cool guys from NY and NJ. I will have to drop by their offices sometime just to keep in touch, connections are a must in this business. I have already had a friend from Jersey asking about employment and I was able to point him to the right people, hopefully things work well for him.

I bought a ticket to Utah yesterday. I figured that I just had to do it, the more I delayed, the more the ticket would cost. i will be back from October 19th to the 24th. Just a quick trip to say hi. Mostly I want to see Dano and Moo and the new one.... I just miss them a ton. I am not sure if i will make it back for Christmas just because of work and it would be easier to take a week off in January or February. We will see how things go.

I am off to Jersey for the day in a few minutes. It is fun just hanging out with Davd and acting like an idiot, of course I don't have to act too hard.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

A work in progress

This is my office. Not much to look at but you should have seen it before. It was the file room and had been flooded out so the carpet was old and rusty from the cabinets. There was a musty smell in the whole place and it was dingy. I got to work by clearing everything out and pulling up the carpet. Then I had to chip up all the tiles that were glued down to the floor. Next came glueing down some carpet of my own and getting some odds and ends for furniture until my real desk and chair arrive. I put up my license plate picture and my Dale Murphy stickball poster and once my tackboard arrives, I will get some more pictures of the family up as well. I am proud of it. Of course, the phone and computer are not hooked up yet so whenever I get a call I have to run out of my office to the nearest available phone but at least that will count as some excercise.

Speaking of working out, I went into Jersey esterday and spent the day with David. We started off with some weights at his place. Then did some manly work at his brother and sister-in-law's condo and got fed. We went back to his house to chill a little bit before going to a ward bbq. I gave him a refresher course on riding a motorcycle and even let him get some practice time in on driving a clutch. All in all it was a very nice Labor day. I even got to see Sister Ortiz, my mom here in the east and she told me that I spend too much time talking. I have no idea what she is refering to..... It was fun driving home last night because there were some fireworks going off at Coney Island so as I was getting off the Verrazanno bridge and driving across the belt parkway I could see them going off behind all the huge tankers out on the water. It was a really pretty sight.

I have had a few leads on apartments. Just as I am getting settled into my place, the mailman here told me he has a friend that is renting out a 1 bedroom apartment for a very nice price. I will take a look but I really just want to relax for a couple more months before moving again. That is just the lazy man talking. I will take a look at it and see what he has to offer. If it is worth taking, I will just have to take it.

Things I really miss right now: A new baby nephew, cold summer nights, mountains, home cooked meals. Other than that I still love the city and am especially glad to have gotten a package from Becky and my Mom today. I got pictures and some goodies, not to mention some bday money as well.... pizza time.

Well, i am going home and getting to bed. This job is getting to me. I stayed up last night stressing everything that had to get done today and now that it is done I can look forward to tomorrow. Sort of.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Somewhere in Philly

So I am now home. Crazy that I call New York home but I am happy to be back among my fellow city dwellers.

going down and seeing the branch in Philly was the best training I could have gotten. Policies that I didn't understand before are no longer a concern and I have plenty of ideas for getting my job done the right way. The branch there had recieved a commendable rating on the termite audits and I want that! It won't take much more than just doing the job right so I am up to the task. It will be a challange but I am game.

I didn't get to see the Rocky statue, I guess there is some discussiona as to where it should be displayed. I did get to eat a philly cheesesteak see the liberty bell and get lost. Enough for any tourist. I want to go back when i will have time to see the sites. The city is only about 2 hours from NY so there really isn't an excuse not to go back.

Now, I just want to sleep on my own bed, even if it is an inflatable mattress...

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The Room

Not too shabby for a room. It had a bedroom living room and bathroom. Not to mention a fridge for my oreos.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

40 watts


Here's a picture of Tayson. From what I understand, he was made a deacon today. That is a neat experience and I am kind of bummed that I wasn't able to be a part of it.

Yesterday was the NJ multistake activity at the beach. Talk about a drive. From Queens to Island beach state park it is about a 90 minute drive, with no traffic. This being NJ, there was plenty of traffice the whole way down there. I made it in a little under 3 hours. It was a lot of fun though. They had some decent food but mostly it was fun to hang out with some friends. NJ really has some pretty beaches. It was a bit chilly since it was overcast and the wind was blowing but the water was nice and warm. I wasn't planning on getting in the water but since David jumped in right away, I had to step up to the challenge as well. Talk about some big waves, it took a lot of strength to stay upright.

After, I joined the Ellis 3 on a drive back down the CHiscken or the Egg resturaunt for some more of those chicken wings. MMMMMMM they were great of course.

I am off to a fireside in a few minutes here in Queens, it's for the start if a new semester of institute. I really hope that there will be some cool people attending some classes so i can get friends that live under 1 hour away from me. I don't think that is asking too much, but who knows.

I leave early tomorrow morning for Philly, I have some people that I will be riding along with to continue some training. It should be fun. All I really want to see is the Rocky statue though. Maybe the liberty bell but mostly the Rocky statue. I am going down there with Donna, she is a new scheduler we have here at the office and she has some training lined up to do down there as well. If we leave early enough, we might miss some of the Jersey traffic......

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Manhattan for the night


I was able to get out of the office at a decent hour tonight and I got myself a haircut. Another butchering... I don't know what it is with the people out here, all I want is a nice smooth haircaut. I miss my barber in SLC, Greg was great, he knew how I liked it and he took his time to do it right. Oh well, I'm sure with enough time, I will find someone who can do the job out here.

I had some time to kill so I went into Manhattan to shop for a briefcase. I want something that will work for both the office and being thrown around my truck. I didn't find anything so I went to Tower Records and got season 4 of NYPD Blue and I am very excited to start watching that season. There is a new Carly Simon cd that I have been hearing on the radio and I wanted to get it too but since I don't have my system set up I will get that later. It is a really good cd though, they play it on a jazz station out here and she sings all the standards and it is really good.

Ice cream and tv rounded off my evening and it's another day in paradise for me tomorrow.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Sunday

This sign speaks for itself.

I am still in a fog from testerday. After getting some storage from NJ I came back to the apartment and got settled in. Picked up a few groceries at a nasty store, and somehow fell asleep for about 4 hours. I stumbled around the apartment for awhile before I realized that I was awake.

Today, i attended church at the Richmond Hill Branch. There are quite a few unique people in this ward and they were all very nice. They didn't have an orginist so we sung the opening hymn to a cd player that broke at the begining of the sacrament hymn. The choirester was great and just kept waving her arms until we got through it, with a smile the whole time. I met a girl named Veronica, I thought that was funny. Yes, she is single but we are not going there...

I am heading back into NJ in a little bit for a fireside but first I need to finish my dinner here in the office. Spaggetti and pizza. I know it is Sunday but I wasn't in the mood for yogurt and oreos for my dinner. Besides, they deliver, and i really like it. Pizza by the slice, what a wonderful world.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Happy Birthday


Happy Birthday David! He is now 27, that's old!

The Office


So, it's a Saturday morning and I figured that I would come into the office to check my email and post another pic on the blog. Why not a picture of my office. Obviously, it is not a highrise building. It's in Queens and has barred windows and graffiti, ever so peaceful. I do have to admit that Queens is really growning on me. When I first got to Jersey, everyone told me to stay away from a town called Elizabeth. I drove through it once and thought that it was a scary place. Now after living in NY, I drove through Elizabeth and think that it would be really nice town to live in. It's all about the contrast.

I have been over to Jersey the last couple of nights to attend the institute classes and I am heading over again to get some stuff out of my storage locker. It really cracks me up how I can live in NYC and still be bored enough to want to go over into Jersey for a social life.

No matter what, I am just happy to have a place that I can call my own, even if there are roommates. Actually, the guys are upstate right now and I don't think that they are coming home until Monday which means I have the place to myself. Not bad for 500 a month. Howard Beach is really a nice neighborhood, there is a Wamu just around the cormer along with a theater and grocery store. It would be perfect if it was a more central location but that is why it was cheaper.

I did call the Branch President of the branch I will be attending and he was very nice and seemed surprised that I wasn't calling to ask for anything other than to transfer my records. They meet at 1 on Sunday so I guess I can sleep in for a little while. I really hope that there is at least one person that I can pal around with. I am in desperate need of a NY friend and I am not ready to start posting on a dating site to meet one.

PS-Send pictures, I need stuff for my walls. Megan says it will help me feel more comfortable out here.
Mailing address: 10601 101st Avenue, Ozone Park, NY 11416.
That's the office, so mail them. thanks

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Cookies for me!!


Lucky me. I came back to the offoce this afternnon and found a box of cookies sent from Utah to cheer me up for my birthday. I have been sharing and everyone thinks that they are the best cookies they have ever tasted. Good job Katie, everyone is impressed.

Sunday was a great day, after church I made my way over to Jersey and took a nap over in the park in Westfield. It really is a great town. When i woke up, I went to the Ortiz house. They have Quickly become my family here in the east. Mostly because they are just a little bit crazy like me and I love being there. We has quite a group show up and we played mophia which was really stupid but I went along with it. David was a trooper and had everyone sign a card for me. I'm not much of a birthday guy but it was nice that he remembered.

I spent Monday, my birthday, here at the office. Nothing fancy just talking to family and eating some food and getting through the paperwork and phone calls. This week, we have the regional service manager here and he is great to talk to because he has a grundle of ideas and is a great communicator, so I appreciate having him around.

Today, I rode with my termite techs and we went to a couple of jobs in Brooklyn and one here in Queens to redo some of the problem areas. It is hard getting the point through to them but I think that things will work out nicely once everything settles down. I really enjoyed just getting out of the office and on the road. The customers are all happy to see us and it really isn't that hard. Long hours but that is what I came here for. I am also spending time here in the office getting my future office cleaned out. It was the file room so I moved all the files out pulled out the carpet and padding and now I will be chipping up the tiles and putting down new carpet, then i can settle in and make it a comfortable workspace. not to sound too odd but I will do some floor lighting and get some of my posters from home on the wall.

I am moving into my place tonight. I got a room in Howard Beach which is just a 5 minute drive from here and right next to the belt Parkway which will make getting to Jersey easy... sort of. The room is small but clean and cheap. Well, cheap for out here. 500 bucks a month and that includes utilities. i can use the living room and kitchen and the guys aren't home much at all because they live upstate and just use it when they are in town. A good deal for me and I get a chance to save up some money and time to look for a nice apartment. now I just need to find where the ward meets out here and that is that.

Thanks again to katie for taking away some of the pangs of being homesick with her cookies.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

I need sleep

Another fun week of living here in NYC. With the audit over at work, things will slow down a little bit but there are a lot of things that we need to work on for the follow-up visit in a few months.

Thursday, I went up to the Morristown institute again and then went out with Brooke and Sara to a club called the Colorado Cafe. It was rock night and they had a band trying their best to rock out at all sorts of songs. My favorite was when they did the theme song from Cheers. Of course, I was one of the few people singing along but that is just a great song. I crashed at Brooke's house that night and went straight into Manhattan the next morning to meet up with my termite technicians at a job site. They were actually happy to have me drop by and check in on them even though I didn't do any work.

Last night, I met up with Liz and Tanya again at Pier 46 which is part of the Henry Hudson Park. They have free movies on the pier every Wednesday and Friday night until the end of summer. I had a blanket and we just chilled and watched that Lemony Snicketts movie, which is dumb but it was such a great night at the river that we hung out there until around midnight just talking and relaxing.

I am heading back into NJ tonight for Grant and Lisa's wedding after I do some more apartment shopping. I saw a decent room earlier that was clean and not very far from the office. Clean rooms are hard to come by but something will turn up soon enough. Mostly, I need to get a gym membership. With eating out a lot and not getting much of a workout, I am putting on some pounds.

I did have a fun experience yesterday while parking to go to the bank. I pulled into a spot that a car had just pulled out of when another car that was 30 feet up the road started backing up to get into. He saw me in the spot and started jumping up and down and throwing his arms every which way. He had to have been at least 50 and was acting like I took away his bottle. I started laughing and decided if he wanted the spot that bad, he could have it. I went around the corner and parked there. Turns out that this guy worked in the bank, I didn't say anything to him but I told the teller and we had a good laugh about him being on the verge of tears. Some people just really crack me up.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Grimaldi's


So this has been a crazy busy week. Very fun but very busy. I am still here in Manhattan at the Blumenfelds and I am hoping to have some time after work this week to get into an apartment. I really enjoy the people that I am working with. The techs that i will be managing are good hard working guys for the most part. The biggest problem that I see so far is just getting them to have better comunication skills with the customers. A couple of the guys are a little hard to get moving but they get their work done at the end of the day, what more can I ask for?

Yesterday, I went into Jersey first thing in the morning because I had to drop off some unforms to Viking and help a girl with moving some furniture. I met up with a girl from the Morristown institute and we went to lunch in Morristown at a cool resturaunt called The Famished Frog. I really liked the food. The service was great as well. My only complaint was that they brought our food out really fast so we were only part way through our appetizer when we were served. After that, I was tired so we went and sat on a bench on The Green, a park in the middle of town. Before we left, we stopped at Godiva's and got some chocolate to nibble on.

Last night, I hung out with David Liz and Tanya (the one in the picture) here in Manhattan. We met up with the girls outside of Macy's. We walked for a bit anf then decided to walk across the Brooklyn bridge abd get some pizza at the other side. I really had a fun evening. Next time, I will ride the subway accross the river and then walk the bridge towards the City to get a better view of everything. It was still a great view though. Truth be told, I like the pizza at Cosimo's much better than at Grimaldi's. I know that it is more of an overall experience but the pizza really wasn't that good at all.

Today was another day of sleep and church and meeting up with friends. Earlier I met up with Liz and Tanya again and we met some people in the Park and just sat and enjoyed a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I did get a parking ticket tonight, my first of many to come but I am going to contest this thing. Appearently it was a bus zone but there wasn't a buss sign anywhere on the block and I parked with other cars..... Welcome to NYC

This is going to be a crazy week at Orkin because there will be an auditor and the regional manager there at the branch. Things are all in order and I really don't have to worry at all but I will be busy all the same.

Friday, August 04, 2006

NYC at its best


So here is a pic sent to me by Scooter. I wish that I had more time to write but I am just working and sleeping. I love the job and am learning the office side of management quickly.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Dinner


I couldn't resist. For dinner, I ate the whole thing. All 18" of New York pizza took me a couple hours to eat but it was really good!

Here's Johnny!


So things have been really crazy and I don't know where to start, so i will introduce you to Johnny. Johnny is one of the Ellis' cats who is cute and friendly but also very stupid. I like Johnny as long as he doesn't get too close to me. He love garbage and sneaking into the basement.

My first day at Orkin was yesterday and I loved it. They set me up with a company vehicle, gas card and EZ pass, got my payroll squared away and uniforms ordered. I am impressed with Steve and know that he is a hard working guy that I can trust and that means a lot. He is short on office staff so I ended up working the phones for the afternoon, even though I can't work the computer system there, I was able to work with the customers on some of their problems. The biggest problem is just getting the techs to show up, I don't know what these guys are doing but it drove me crazy.

Last night Alan took me out to a great fancy Mexican resturant called Rosa Mexicana. I sat down and started to look at the menu and realized he wasn't so I put my menu down and followed his lead. Dining in Manhattan is very different but I enjoyed it. You start with an appetizer and then maybe another one and then the entree. The whole evening is filled in with conversation as well. The food was great and the presentation was awesome. Afterwards, I met his business partner Mark and Mark took us around the corner to get Tasty Delight. It is a softserve ice cream that is pretty decent, we all got sprinkles on top.

Between the dining and letting me crash in his apartment, the Blumenfelds have been more than kind to me. It is fun to come home and have the doormen greet you. Alan also showed me a trick when coming down the elevator to get a taxi ready, you just lift the phone times and when we got to the street... Presto! A taxi. It was fun. Once i find an apartment, I will be bored but for now, I'm enjoying every second.

Friday, July 28, 2006

So long Viking!


Well, it is now official. I received a call from Steve this afternoon around 1 asking me if I wanted to work with him and I took it. I am very very glad to have the chance to work with a great company with some very nice benefits. The only down side is that I had to call someone to quit my current job and since the chain of command is all screwed up over at Viking I called the man who bugged me the most. He didn't answer his cell phone but I told him i was quitting on his voicemail and he should get it sooner or later. I really don't need them for a job reference ever so I wasn't nice but I didn't burn any bridges either. Part of me wonders if he has gotten the message because I haven't heard back from him. I thought for sure that he would call just to cures me out but nothing yet.

I talked to Dano and Moo this afternoon too. I called over to Dad's house and Katie was baby-sitting. Dano went on about some food on the table and then I got him to laugh over my guess what? pizza hut routine. When I talked to Moo, she just said milk a few times and I think that is a great conversation.

After work I dropped by Cosimo's for another slice of the best pizza in the world. I know that when I am gone, I am still coming to Jersey for that pizza. Pizza David is happy that Judo David is coming home, he has been getting some moves together to catch him off guard. What is going to happen is that he will bug Judo David and then get hurt because he was trying to show off. David doesn't like that.

I am happy that David will be home soon. I miss my friend. Even if he is kind of a geek around the ladies and can kill a conversation in one sentence.... he is still a good man and it will be fun to have him around again to hang out with.

Saturday is a busy day of moving women helping out at a singles activity and moving into Manhattan. I'm lovin' it.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

The Angie and The Willie


This picture was sent to me the other day. Angie and Bret were enjoying the Kamas Demolition Derby and she saw this Willie Nelson look a like, I am jealous that she got the pic and not me.

Things are looking very good on the job front. Tuesday I took the day off from Viking and met up with Steve and Vinny over at the Orkin office in Queens. Long story made short, they still like me and and I went to take my drug test and physical. Once the results are final and corporate has a chance to review them, I am a full employee of the company with all the benefits. I am just excited about walking away from this job I have now!!

I am very lucky because I called Alan Blumenfeld, a friend of my dad's, and asked him about some of the neighborhoods in Queens that it would be safe to rent a room in until I found out what area I want to live in and he offered to let me stay at his place in Manhattan until I found a room. That is a very kind offer and I am very very lucky to have kind people around to help me in this transition.

Other than that things are still fun here. On monday, I went into Manhattan with Carol to attend a stake FHE at the stake center. It was a mix of comedy and music. The comedy was by this lds girl who I thought was smart and funny and CUTE! A great combination. The music was very generic but.... what are you gunna do? We drove into the city that night and it wasn't bad at all, a lot faster than the train and we had AC.

On a sad note, Fifi the chicken did not make it home last night and I am worried about her. I am hoping that she got lost and will soon find her way back home.

Tonight, after dropping off some laundry to get done, I went to Cosimo's for a slice and found that all of downtown West field was having a party of some kind. It was cool, there was a band and a lot of runners. I got my slice to go and walked through the crowds and listened to the band. They were the Michael Craig Band and were really funny. Kind of like the Smothers Brothers but not as good. I love this town. If I ever some back to Jersey, I really want to live in downtown Westfield.

So that's the scoop. Miss the family. Miss the mountains and those nice cold summer nights but I love being here in the East!