Family

I met my future sister-in-law last week. and I drove up to Dartmouth to meet her sister Mirelle. She's awesome!

Ballet

Saturday afternoon we met up with Camille and Hailee for a nice time at the New York Ballet. It was interesting... A couple of the dances they did were odd but there were a couple of really good ones.
We went uptown and had dinner with a friend of at a great mexican place that was a little steep but very tasty. It was great to have a little spice in my food again.

Great friends

Our friends Lisa and Veronica threw a small engagement party for us last night and it was great. I loved the cake and here is the picture, Lisa said that there wasn't enough room to get the whole word on it... She cracks me up.
I have to thank the many people who are supportive and encouraging to us. Whether it be words of wisdom or hugs and kisses, we are very blessed to be surrounded with good people.

A great dessert

Sometimes we just need some ice cream to make things feel better. Lucky for me that I have ice cream and an amazing woman to eat it with. Notice only one spoon! Who would have thought that I would share my food!!! She is some kind of wonderful!

It's official!!!!!!!

Well here it is! I have only known her for a short time but want to spend eternity with her. May 19th is the day that it will begin!
I love her.

Hello Kitty Valentines!

For the first time, I had a valentines to remember. I got a diary to keep track of events. A bank to save for the events, and a ring to use until the event.
Life tends to throw a few curve balls our way and every now and then we get to hit a home run!

He's blue!

A picture of Ed, Joni and myslef with the blue m&m at times square. It was great having friends in town and showing them all the things and people that I have come to love out here in the East. I am very tired and am now in the proccess of finding a job. I am kind of thinking that it might be nice just to work at Wendy's for a few months just so I can get out of any stressful job situations, plus get a discount on some food.

I have to say thanks to friends and family for their kind words and to David for the time he spends listening and telling me the truth no matter what may happen.

They're here!

Joni and Kathy made it into town this morning at 5:30am and now we will be running around the city and showing them the greatest place to play!

On a personal note, the fox that I have been chasing has caught me! its a great feeling, it makes me wonder how I got through without her.

Kiddles

Becky sent me a few pictures of Dano and Moo and I think this one is my favorite. I have to admit that I miss those kids like crazy!

Alright, well something has been in the works for some time now and I don't want anyone to worry about me. I quit my job today. My boss is a great guy and he wants to head in a direction that I do not want to follow in. He is being more than kind and giving me a nice package to leave with. I am kind of sad about it because I like the people that I worl with but at the same time, this is the right move right now. I am not sure what to do next but I have been very fortunate in life to have things work out in the end and that is what I am hoping for now. I really don't want to talk about it too much right now so i will leave it it like that.

Other than that, things are great over here. I am more smitten by my fox every day as she slowly lets me into her life. I am a lucky man.

Now I just get to start the job search again but it shouldn't be too bad... At least I hope. Oh and if anyone wants to send some cookies, I always eat them.
Here's my home address for those who don't have it.
7804 76th st
Glendale NY 11385

What a good looking group!

From left to right we have Amber, Camille, myself, Josh and Hailee. They are a great group to hang out with and I love these girls... At least I loved them until they stole all my Hello Kitty items from my apartment on Sunday. I have to be proud because they did it right under my nose but still, they took all my Hello Kitty! I came home from church in Manhattan with them and my apartment just felt empty. They all came over late Saturday night for a sleep-over and we had a great time. Of course now they are in hot water and it will take some serious cooking for me to like them again.

I have to say that this was a great week and weekend, on Friday we met up with the NY singles group and played at this place up in Times Square called Dave and Busters. It is a fun arcade and they have food and all sorts of things to do, and it's free which in the city is hard to come by. After that we went to a diner and hung out for a couple hours just enjoying some fun conversation and I pigged out on fries and onion rings. David even made it out for the night and he crashed at my place friday night which was great because he was able to help me move some storage for a friend of ours Saturday morning. Nothing like a little service for a little pick-me-up!

The only thing that I can't get out of my mind is this girl that I am chasing... I have to admit that she is one clever fox. I know what I want to do about the whole thing but I am holding back for the time being out of respect for some other people. It really is driving me insane but the best I can hope for is to let time work things out. Part of me would love to be the caveman and beat my chest and show her what I have to offer and the smarter side of me says that it is best to hold back a little and let her figure things out on her own. One thing I know is that she is worth every second of pursuit. Now if only I could focus on anything other than her for 30 seconds my life would be much easier. Drama.

This week should be another fun one. My friends Joni and Kathy come into town Thursday and we will be running around like crazy people trying to see everything before they go home on Monday. I am glad to have more people come out because moving out here has really changed my life in a positive way and I want people back in Utah to see that.

A really bad haircut

Alright, I don't think that I have complained too much since I have moved out here. I have accepted the changes as they come and make the best of them but this, this has gone on too far! I can not get a decent haircut in this city!!! Every-time I have the need for a trim I try a new place just hoping that they will be a little better than the last but all I find are more idiots with razors.

Anyhow... I am over it. Really though, I just miss my Armenian barber in Utah. Greg knew how to do it just right. In a couple weeks it will be grown out enough to be bearable... I guess this is what happens when a person prays for some humility...

Now I am really over it. As far as life goes out here, this past week has been a blast. There hasn't been too much time for sleep but that just makes everything more enjoyable. I don't think that I am getting too old for sleep-overs, at least I hope I'm not.

David has had an injury the last few weeks so he has been coming to the Morristown class with Frank and I and that makes the night much more fun. There is nothing quite as funny as when David is able to throw out a great insult to someone in class who is a little too assuming. We just got back from eating at Cosimo's. The big boss hooked us up with some good meatballs. I have never been a big fan but these were really good. That place has to be my favorite pizza too.... Listen to me. All I talk about is pizza! Some things never change.

WOW!

So there isn't a picture today or much to write right now considering my brain is not working. Just want to say that I had the best night that I have had in a very very long time. Not super exciting, or way cool just the best night. I may be foolish but one thing I know is that people of great value are hard to find and when they come along, we need to absorb every second. I know this sounds vauge but once I can see straight I will explain everything. It's going to be a very good day!

Sleepover

Here's Hailee and Amber sleeping away Sunday morning. They slept over on Saturday night and I drug them with me to the singles ward up in Inwood... Mostly I went there to see a certain female but I only had a couple minutes with her so I am really kicking myself. I hate to admit it but I am smitten. I hate when this happens to me to because I turn into such an idiot. I know that I can play the part without any problems but that is always just for fun, now I can't help it. Oh well, it was good to have some female support though so I had some feedback on how stupid I looked.

I did have a great weekend though. It involved sleeping and dancing and eating. What could be more fun? Friday night there was another dance here in Queens and afterwards a group of us went into Manhattan for some food. I got a giant cookie that was freshly baked topped with ice cream, it was very good. After in the street they talked me into doing my Buttons dance and I did it. I felt ashamed but that is a daily occurance with me. I got home around 4 Saturday morning and spent most of the morning and afternoon in a strange haze that I didn't snap out of until I made plans to meet up with this girl in the city. Nothing like a strong case of the butterflies to get me out of the house and putting on the fancy clothes.

Work is going well and I love my apartment. I can really say that right now my life is starting to show some fruits from the last 6 months of my labors. I can relax and really enjoy some quality time with great people. It is strange to think that if I had not moved out here that I would not have met the people in my life. To some extent I miss Utah and everyone there but now this is my life and I couldn't imagine not being here and really having great people to spend time with. Not that I want to sound too preachy but I feel truly blessed. I must be getting sick to start feeling this emotional but it's just the way I feel.

Big snowflake

I have come to realize that most every picture up on this blog is of me or has me in it. I guess I don't need to justify my vanity seeing how this is my own blog and I am the only one who reads this anyway... Not really but i suppose this could be considered a journal of some kind except that I don't put any of the secret stuff in here, I have to keep mom proud.

Life has been great out here. Work has it's hurdles but I am not working 12 hour days any more and I am able to get out of the office and get the audits done so it just feels good to be outside. The weather here has been amazing. We had 70 degrees in the city on Saturday. I slept most of the morning and then got on a train for Manhattan jsut to get some air and stretch my legs. That sounds funny now that I have said I went to Manhattan to get some air... i have been here too long already.

On Sunday I attended a different singles ward and found them to be friendly and fun. This was the Inwood ward and they meet up in Spanish Harlem, not the greatest neighborhood but a good place all the same. Right when I walked through the door someone introduced themselves to me and said he was Josh, the bishop! That cracked me up. I liked that he was so unassuming to just be himself first and realize that being a bishop is more than a title. They had a break the fast pot luck after church as well so I hung around for that and spent time making a few more friends.

Last night we had FHE for the singles in my branch at my friend Lisa's house. It was great even though i was the youngest one and the oldest was in his 50's. I really liked hanging out with them and we laughed our heads off. My gut still hurts from all the laughing last night. We played Balderdash and there were some very very funny answers.

Other than that, I have just been enjoying the quiet moments. I have some friends coming out this month and some more next month so it will be great to have the company and see some sights.

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!?!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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...