Home again home again, jiggity jig

Jesse made the trip back to Utah yesterday while I stayed behind in Corvallis. We thought he might be starting work this Monday, but it turns out he'll probably be starting *next* Monday. He was not a happy camper when he called me a few hours into his drive to let me know his had just received a speeding ticket. The speed? 89 in a 65. The price? $427. Crazy! There goes our apartment deposit...

The good news is, all the fish survived the trip! We know many people who when faced with a distance move tend to sell all their livestock instead of trying to move everything. We've made the move twice now and all fish (and most corals I think) have all lived, so either we're doing something extremely right, or other people are just too lazy to attempt a proper move.

Jess is going to scout out potential living places for us this week. We have a couple duplexes that sound like they might be a good fit for us. Jesse took his camera and he's going to send me photos so we can make a decision together, but mainly I'll be going off of his recommendation.

I got an email from Mom today stating she had joined Facebook! Of all people, I would never have guessed Facebook would interest her. I'm already on MySpace and barely ever use it these days, and I've been resisting joining Facebook because I'm not sure I want to set up an account with another site that I may or may not use frequently. We'll have to see.

I've been applying for jobs like crazy back in SLC, but I think I may ramp it down a bit. I think a lot of places are probably going to want to fill their positions before I'm planning on moving back, so the best thing to do will probably be to start looking again maybe a few days before the big move. Although, as of now we're not really quite sure when that will happen.

Back to SLC...

Hello my little chickadees. Today Jesse and I decided we would be moving back to Salt Lake City. We've been kicking the idea around for awhile now, and it just seems to make the most sense. We really want stability, and SLC appears to be a place where there are more job opportunities. I've applied at quite a few places, and there is a possibility that Jesse may be able to work at Unisys again, so maybe things will start to look up, work-wise.

At this point, I don't think we'll be going to Alaska for the summer. It all depends on how finding work goes in SLC. One of the reasons I was leaning away from Alaska was because it conflicts with my family's annual Mercer Lake vacation. This might be the last year for awhile that we are all going to be there, and that makes going all the more important to me.

Our tentative plan is maybe heading over to SLC tomorrow and bringing a couple of our aquariums to set up. We'd help get things cleaned up in the basement and then head back here on Sunday. We'd stay in Corvallis for a couple weeks, then get a truck rented and do the majority of the move. Nothing is set in stone, though, and everything is really up in the air.

So, that's where we are today. We'll keep you posted!

Friggin' SWEET video

This stop animation video is quite well done, and the song is nice, too.

Long hair from days of yore

So, I just came across this photo again. I love it because my hair is frickin' long, I have a nose ring, and at the time I had no clue where life was taking me... Come to think of it, I still don't... Hmm.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Octuplet mom photo

Have you guys seen the photo of the octuplet mother? If not, you can see the photo here. Seriously, I don't know how those kids didn't burst from her belly, alien style.

And the winner (so far)...Alaska!

Princess called us today to offer us both jobs for the summer, and we accepted them. So for now, we're headed to Alaska in May. However, Jesse was looking at his application status online for a job he applied for with the city of Salt Lake, and it appears his application has been sent on and is qualified for an interview. When he applied to was for an applicant pool, so we don't know if the city is planning to fill the position any time soon, but it would definitely be a good starting ground for a career move.

I heard back today that three of my ten applications to the UofU were qualified and forwarded on to the various hiring departments, so there is also a good chance that I might be called in for interviews for any of those positions. I joked to Jesse that after months of not being able to find work, just watch, we'll have to choose from eight different jobs.

So, while we've accepted the Alaska jobs, for whatever reason I kind of don't think we'll end up making it. Not that I don't want to go, I think it'd be a fun experience, I just feel that something else might be around the bend. We'll keep you posted.

Will work for money!

Hmm. Jesse and I applied with the Princess Cruise Lines to work in Alaska this summer. We both had our interview last Monday and we thought all went well (Jesse would be a server and I'd be a hostess). We are still waiting to hear back from them! It's frustrating because until we know what we're doing this summer, it's hard to make other plans. I don't know why they wouldn't hire us, but you never know, maybe they just have a ton of stellar workers lined up who have years of experience.

I'm somewhat torn, because while I think Alaska would be a great experience, it pays for crap and we wouldn't come out ahead, be about breaking even. So that other part of me thinks that we should be looking for "career" jobs and screw Alaska. I've started applying for jobs back in Utah; applied for 10 with the UofU just tonight. We'd rather try for work in New Mexico or Arizona but we don't have any friends or family we could crash with while looking for work, and we have tons of friends and family in Utah who'd be willing to let us couch surf for a bit. So as it stands, we're just looking for anything and everything.

Jesse and I had a date day yesterday. For lunch we hit up a sushi restaurant, and I think I must say that it is my new favorite place for sushi! I was so impressed, I took a photo of my order.

Doesn't that look delicious?! I seriously don't think I've ever been to a place where they gave as much filling as this place, I was in heaven! Of course, now I just want to go there every day, and Jesse is denying me! Mmm, smoked salmon, cream cheese, mmm... I was brave and tried a new dish (the longer piece of raw fish, covering a bit of rice). I'd decided it's time for me to branch out, but wanted something safe so I opted for the salmon. It was good, but kind of bland. Had a nice texture and not a bit fishy. Next time maybe I'll try the ever-popular spicy tuna hand roll. We'll see.

Later on we went to see the movie "Taken". We both thought is was a decent action/thriller movie, but not one we want to own. Glad we saw it and all that, but not superb. Dani and I are going to go see "He's just not that into you" sometime next week. I was watching a reality show today called "Jockeys" which is about, you guessed it, jockeys in the horseracing industry. Jesse said, "Holy cow, is there a reality show about EVERYTHING?!" And I said, "Pretty much." So he says, "We should start our own reality show: Unemployed." And I laughed, saying, "I don't think many people would watch. The majority of our day consists of sending out mass résumés, watching TV, and you messing around with the tanks." Then again, in this voyeuristic society, maybe we'd get quite the fan following.

Have you been following the Michael Phelps "scandal"? I think it's extremely stupid they are making such a big deal about it. Yes, if it were a performance-enhancing drug, then maybe I'd get riled about it. But please, it's weed. If anything, it would ruin his game, not enhance it. He'd gain like 20 pounds from all the munchies. I think kids (well, high-school kids) are smart enough to know the difference. He's a 23-year-old person; there are probably thousands of people blazing up right now. The only difference is, he's in the limelight, so a photo of him taking a hit off a bong makes instant news. I have some photos of friends from college, and believe me, no one would pay me a penny for them. It just seems silly to me that our news people are worried about trivial things like this, when our unemployment rate is at an all-time high, with no end yet in sight.

Before we moved to Oregon, I had this idea that I'd be seeing my friends at an exponential rate, compared to when I lived in Utah. Velvet and mom tried to warn me that this probably wasn't going to be the case, but I scoffed and said, no no, I'll see them all the time. Well, I hate to admit it, but Vel and mom were right. And it kind of pisses me off. It seems like I'm making all the effort to get together with friends, go and see them, call them, and it most definitely isn't a two-way street. At first I thought it was just because they weren't used to having me in the state, but come on, it's been three and a half months, and I've seen friends maybe two times. This is just ridiculous, and a little sad. I had hopes that it would be like it was in college, but I guess time does march on, leading people in different directions. How profoundly sad, and slightly depressing.

Psst. I'll tell you a little secret: I have baby fever set to a slow simmer. Seriously. I see people's babies, and I just WANT them. I want to be in a position where we can have kids, anytime we decide to get at 'em. I know we still have about another year to go, hence the slow simmer, and I know the first couple years of marriage it's important to just grow more as a couple, because after those kids come you're basically never having an alone moment again...but still. Give me those babies! I like talking about kids names, usually while we're about to go to sleep, and Jess takes it in a completely other direction, thowing out names he knows I'll hate. He thinks this is supremely amusing. He says we should just wait until there's a baby a-brewing, but you know me, I like to be prepared. And it makes it seem more real, somehow. Something like, if I can't have kids right now, at least I can dream about their names and what they'll look like. Maybe they'll have Jesse's curly dark hair, and my mouth. Or maybe they'll have my odd sense of humor and Jesse's ticklish spots. I love thinking these thoughts.

We have lunch planned with Grandma Baugher and Ginny tomorrow, so it will be nice to see them. Hopefully we'll remember to bring along the camera.

Oh my.

Christopher Walken is...Puss in Boots!