Holiday!

It's official...the weekend is here! Boy, do I need a break, too! This week has been super intense work-wise. Here are somethings that made this a crazy week:


1. Learning a new job (which I'm happy about because I want to learn new things, however, learning new things in this case is stressful).

2. Busy time of the year...this was the first week of classes at ASU.

3. I'm waiting to get computer access to important things I need access to for my position (and keys to my office after being here for two weeks, too)!


I had a moment yesterday where, due to all this craziness, I felt my head was figuratively just barely above water...but I told myself, "AT LEAST YOUR HEAD IS ABOVE WATER!" and I'm not completely drowning in the new situation. I will have success in this position...it's not as though it's hard per se...it will just take time to learn everything. Besides, I love the students!

So, after work yesterday, I called my mom to vent, bought a Venti (that's the big size) fresh brewed Starbucks coffee (4 Splendas and half and half), and read some Travel and Leisure magazines and looked at Vegas hotels online in the library until Josh finished teaching his class at 7:30.

We went home last night and I booked us two nights in Vegas for the holiday weekend. We drive up there tomorrow morning. It's about 4.5 hours from Phoenix. This time, I'll remember to take the camera to Vegas because when Josh and I went in April, I left the camera at home. We're really looking forward to eating lunch at the Wynn buffet tomorrow...here's to hoping it is as good as last time!

Then, this morning I saw my payroll direct deposit amount. Uh, why is the amount only for one week of work and not two weeks? I called HR to inquire. Apparently, they do something with pay that is like two weeks behind. So, I'll be getting one week of August's pay and one week of September's pay the second week of September! HR at ASU is SO FREAKING LAME! No, I don't want to be paid twice a month...once is sufficient.

In about two weeks or so, we plan to meet up with Ryan, our friend from high school, who lives in San Diego. We're not sure if we'll drive out to San Diego, or if Ryan will come out to Phoenix, or if we'll meet up in Death Valley (Josh's attempt at a joke suggestion). We'll see.

Political Commentary: I don't want to vote for Obama or McCain...however, both chose interesting VP candidates. Interesting for very different reasons. I wonder if this whole Obama presidency is a foregone conclusion? Seriously, I don't know who to vote for and I HAVE TO VOTE.

So, time to enjoy the long weekend. Viva Las Vegas!

This Week

I started my job at ASU West last Monday, August 18. Wow-the "benefits" that this university offers are a complete joke in comparison to the University of Arkansas. I earn less than one day of vacation per month and the university does not close for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Also, I have no option into what retirement company I want to invest. It's mandatory for me to invest into the Arizona state government retirement system. I'm not fully vested for 10 YEARS...give me a break!

Then, 28 classified staff were laid-off on my first day of work due to budget issues. ASU is apparently millions of dollars over budget and they have to make extreme cuts. Great! So, a somewhat rough start to my job. I had always thought that higher education was a safe place to be in a bad economy but obviously not.

Things started looking up on Wednesday when I helped with move-in at the one residence hall on campus, Las Casas. It was so great to meet with students! Granted, I didn't know a lot as it was my third day, however, I was able to find someone if I didn't have the answer.

Thursday, I set up and worked the Employment Fair. Our office is looking for tutors and a front desk worker. I really loved getting to meet with all the different students (it took me back to my Admissions days).

Friday, I went to the Tempe campus for their all-campus welcome. I only got to see the basketball arena and one of the residence halls, however, it looked like a really nice campus. It was really great to see the welcome event for new freshmen because I felt like it was a welcome for me, too. I don't think I'll ever really be a "Sun Devil" but hearing the fight song and seeing all the freshmen excited to be there made me glad to be a part of the collegiate experience.

Small rant: After work Friday, Josh and I went to Walmart, where, as I mentioned before, you can buy alcohol. However, if you buy alcohol at Walmart, sometimes the cashier will ask to see both people's IDs, not just the person purchasing the alcohol. Josh thinks this is a stupid policy because what if I was 19 and Josh was my older husband, would they not sell us the alcohol. Or, what if a parent was with their 17 year old child, will the cashier not sell them the alcohol because one person is underage?

So, anyway, Josh had already verbally accosted one cashier a couple of weeks ago, so this time I was like, I'll just go to the car (and it's not even like I didn't have my ID, it's just that Josh is annoyed that both people have to show their IDs). Josh said no, it'll be okay. But then, the lady carded us both and Josh let loose on her, too! I mean really, Walmart's not going to change the policy (which is not enforced equally because some cashiers don't card both of us), so all that's left to do is to buy alcohol elsewhere. Which is actually fine because there is this alcohol store here called Total Wine that has the largest selection of wine, beer, and liquor....and, their prices are lower than Walmart's.

Saturday morning started out with breakfast on the patio. Even with the patio fan on, it was still pretty warm sitting outside. It'll keep getting cooler though. After breakfast, Josh and I spent time unpacking boxes. We're still not finished though.

We started out today with a visit from the Ashley Home Furnishing people. When our hutch first arrived, it had a small crack in the upper left corner. Two different technicians tried to paint over it. Last weekend, when Josh was looking at the crack (he had turned the track lights on the hutch), one of the lightbulbs on the right side exploded! The light had only been on for 2-3 minutes, so it couldn't have been too hot. Josh was just glad it hadn't exploded in his face! So, the Ashley guy came this morning and was like, yeah, we'll bring you a new top piece to the hutch but it will take 2 weeks. I'm ready to be able to display stuff!

Another thing we did today was to put one thing up on the wall...but then I noticed it wasn't centered so it's going to have to come back down. We also bought a new tv...our old tv literally celebrated it's 10th birthday this month (we bought it at the start of sophomore year of college in 1998). Thanks to Josh's parent's for the awesome gift! We bought a LG 42 inch LCD from Best Buy. Purchasing a home theater sound system to go with it is the next step.

Josh made us meatloaf for dinner tonight. This attempt was MUCH BETTER than his first attempt when we lived in New Mexico. Heck, this time the meatloaf was so good that I had seconds. While the meatloaf was cooking, Josh and I took care of the backyard. Last Sunday was the first time we cut the grass so it was a lot longer last week than it was today. While we were outside, a little bird came up to Josh and I. He was so not shy...he stood by Josh's feet and by the bag while we raked up the grass and branch trimmings.

Twilight and Random Updates

Just a note to say that I've picked up reading the Twilight series (apparently, it's all the buzz with my girlfriends on facebook). At the risk of the following being viewed as anathema to Twilight fans, I must say that at 352 pages in, I'm unconvinced of its greatness. Maybe it's too early on to judge. Aimee has said the second and third books are better than the first. I'm keen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, so that's my forbidden human/vampire love story.

On another note, I love, love, love this song by Brandi Carlile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CodLVhl65rQ. It's the song they use in the GM commercials that run during the Olympics. The lyrics are fantastic. Here's how much I like this girl. I checked out her Myspace page to see where she's performing. Closest concert is in Boulder, Colorado and it's sold out. I seriously thought about flying to Oregon to watch her before Josh put his foot down on that idea.

Speaking of Olympics, who knew that trampoline jumping was a sport? Sheesh, I totally missed my calling! And the close call with Michael Phelps last night?...AMAZING!

After filling out papers at work yesterday morning (I can't even let my mind wander to contemplate the pathetic number of vacation/sick hours ASU staff earn), I went to the DMV to register the car in Arizona and to get an Arizona driver's license.

My 70+ year old (White) clerk proceeded to tell me how I should be careful in Phoenix and never leave my purse in the car or leave any of my items like my cell phone out of arms reach. She told me I needed to be careful because of all the people coming here from Mexico and California and that gangs are really bad here. Then, I noted a piece of paper stuck to her cubby wall that said, "If you have a foriegn at your window, do X, Y, Z." I mean, can't they get it right and it least say "forienger"?

I got the Arizona plates and my driver's license. I think there is a mistake on my driver's license though because, get this, it doesn't expire until 2044!!! What the heck?!? Best $25 I've ever spent :)

My meeting with Talisha, the Arkansas alum I met at Starbucks, was super great. Talisha was fabulously friendly! We're scouting a location to host a watch party for the Arkansas-Texas game on September 13. We'll see what kind of turnout we get (hoping for 15-20 people).

We have dinner with the Dean of Josh's department and some of the other professors tonight at the Dean's house in Moon Valley.

Employed...Almost

Just a note to say I was offered the Student Support Services job at ASU-West. I'm going in tomorrow to fill out the paperwork (30 minutes or so) and I officially start on Monday. I figured I might as well start ASAP so I can start making some moolah...I've got a house to furnish and some weekend trips to plan! Las Vegas, San Diego, L.A. anyone?

Also, I'm meeting with a University of Arkansas alum tomorrow so we can work on establishing the Regional Razorbacks for the Phoenix metro area.

Josh is home with pizza to celebrate. Yay for jobs!

For Your Viewing/Listening Pleasure...

Some Interior Pictures

Here are some pics of the inside of the house with furniture...we still need to hang stuff on the walls, buy a few more pieces, and continue to unpack/declutter. But, it's a work in progress!


The scroll on the wall and the placemats on the table (with chopsticks!) were purchased last November in Beijing during our Asia travels. It's cool to use them now and to see how they tie in with everything. The bottles in the hutch contain sand from different places we've visited around the world.

"I Kinda Love This Place."

I just wanted to quote Josh regarding our house. As we were walking out the front door this evening to go buy more Dr. Pepper (2 24-packs for $10 = an amazing deal at Albertsons), he spoke the words above. Yeah, I kinda love it, too.

Of course, I've spent more time in the house since I'm not working yet. I know the whole finding a job thing takes time. So, I'm waiting. And, continuing to apply for jobs. Josh has been going into the office around 11 or so and coming home at 6.

Our car was delivered last Thursday morning (so we had to drive back to the airport to return the rental car) and our furniture was delivered Thursday evening. It was a lot easier for these guys to deliver the furniture to our single story house than it was for the guys loading it up in Arkansas taking it downstairs and around to the front of the building. One of the first things one of the Arizona movers said when he came into the kitchen was, "We think we lost one of the wardrobes. We don't show it on the inventory."

"S*&@!" C'mon, you can't lose a girl's clothes! Josh tried to make me feel better by saying that it was probably his wardrobe of clothes that was missing. Our only tasks while the guys unloaded was to check numbered boxes off the inventory list and to tell the guys where to drop off the boxes. The first thing they brought into the house was two chairs. Amazing to have a real seat to sit in after over a week without one.

When the sofa came into the house, it really filled up the living room and it was obvious that we made the right decision about not buying the two couches. The couch was/is so comfortable! Towards the end, they brought in our bed and set it up. Ah, my bed - and pillows, too!

Well, all the wardrobes did make it-yay for clothes! The number sticker on the box had fallen off. Actually, nothing was lost in transit so that is great. So far, the only thing I've seen that was broken was the glass in one picture frame (but it wasn't a significant frame...it cost about $1).

When the moving guys left, I remember walking down the hall in the dark (still haven't learned where all the light switches are) and placing my hand over my heart saying, "It feels like home."

The bed seemed so high off the ground after having slept on the air mattress for so long. That night, I told Josh that the moving experience reinforced the idea that you can get by with very little, however, it's much more comfortable to have all your things.

The following morning (Friday), our dining room set was delivered from Ashley Furniture. It looks incredible in the dining room, however, there was a crack in the wood. They sent someone out today to fix the problem but Josh and I aren't completely satisfied with the result so we have to call the company back tomorrow.

On Saturday, we drove out to Mesa to pick up the desks from the girl who listed them on craigslist. Mesa=long drive but worth it as the desks look great in the office and they were quite the deal. We went to Walmart to buy real cookable food since we now had our dishes and pots and pans. Wow, I bought some cherries...they're amazing....why haven't I ever bought them before? Oh yeah, Josh would always say they were expensive...now I know they're worth the price, so delicious.

Our first dinner with pots and pans and real dishes was steak and veggies. We even ate at the new dining room table. Having a house, not an apartment, is so much quieter...which is a good thing. The other thing I like about the house is that it's on the golf course. I like this because everyday I get to watch people have fun and enjoy themselves (hopefully!) while they take some leisure time out on the course.

Oh, but keeping up with the Jones. Our neighbors to the north have a misting system that runs across their back patio...a misting system! That looks nice but won't be happening here. Heck, we haven't even filled up the fountain yet...although Josh did try to clean it out a bit this weekend because of the monsoon storms bringing in dirt and debris. I worked on unpacking our boxes this weekend.

Oh my gosh, there's a theme song for Channel 12 News in Phoenix. "It's all on 12 news, 12 news, believe it it's true, and the best is yet to come." If I here this freaking song one more time, I'm going to go insane!!! Normally, listening to the song wouldn't be a problem, however, Channel 12 is carrying the Olympics, so it's always on! Grrrr...I tried to find it on youtube so you could experience the annoyance. I even looked on their website. Maybe, I'll video it from tv myself....just so you can enjoy it on the blog!

Speaking of the Olympics, we watched the Opening Ceremony on Friday night. The opening was fantastic. I normally don't watch the entire opening ceremony but I watched all 4 hours that night. Loving the swimming and gymnastics. Synchronized diving...who knew?!? Jonathan Horton (men's gymnastics) had such an AMAZING night tonight...awesome....too bad that one guy had to mess up on pommel horse with a 12.something to give USA the bronze!