New Job!

I received the most wonderful call today telling me that I no longer have to work in the call center! It's a good department with great people, but not at all the job for me. Getting yelled over the phone at regularly and having to make conversation with strangers who do not want to talk to me are not two things that I enjoy doing. But now, I get to be a receptionist! This may not sound like much of a step up for most people, but I actually really enjoy being a receptionist. It's true, I love doing spreadsheets and paperwork and having little projects to do. I'll still be working for Tahitian Noni, which is good, because they really are a great company. I highly recommend working with TNI to anyone, because they take great care of their employees.  I start at the receptionist position tomorrow and will be working in their American Fork warehouse. The people I've met over there so far seem very nice, and I'm excited to get started. Hopefully my days of dreading going to work will be over.

Mundane; adj: ordinary, commonplace, routine

Okay, so we've (I've) been bad about updating our posts. And apparently I'm getting some flack for it. I keep waiting for something news-worthy to happen, but alas that time still hasn't come. I was hoping the foreign service results would be that thing, but the funny thing about bad news is it's not that exciting to share. So to keep the masses happy, I will provide a mundane summary of our lives at the moment.

Ben's in his last real semester of being an undergrad (though he'll take a capstone class in the spring and end in June). He's still working at the MTC and starting to apply for full-time jobs. We've decided not to go the grad school route right away. Considering our situation and chosen field, it just seems to make more sense for him to get some work experience first. So we'll probably end up staying in Provo (hopefully Orem actually) for another little while. Hopefully this means we'll be in the position to travel more (I haven't been to Warrensburg in so long and I'm starting to feel it). New York City and The Grand Canyon are also on our list, not to mention the MacPherson family cruise in November.

I'm just working two jobs--at the Tahitian Noni call center during the day and transcribing at Utah Valley University in the evenings. Ben and I also work at the temple Saturday nights, which has been a great opportunity for both of us. I'm still in the market for another job (shhh) and I'm hoping to hear some responses soon. I know we're incredibly blessed that I can work so much, but it would be nice to work one job and be done at 5 every day instead of 8. It's amazing how something that is possible when you're single becomes exhausting when you're married. Maybe Ben just requires a lot of energy....

We were able to attend a sealing yesterday in Salt Lake. It was a great experience to see a live sealing (the first time for me since our own). It's amazing how much easier it is to pay attention when you're just sitting on the sidelines. We were also able to spend the weekend with Russell and Kim (and David and Kenneth) and see Sherrie and her kids. Family is another one of those added bonuses that has us wanting to stick around for a little while longer.

So there you have it. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to post some more exciting (job) news. Feel free to pray, cross your fingers, wish on a star, or whatever else might make a difference.

The New Kid

Well, after over a month of that agonizing process we call searching for a job, I have finally found a place that will take me. I'm working at a security company and my new professional title is Licensing Coordinator. I won't bore you with the drawn-out details of what I do (mainly because after two days of training, I'm still not entirely sure of everything that entails). But basically I make sure that the company and its sales people have the right licenses and permits to sell/install security systems across the country. Yes, it is about as exciting as it sounds.

The first couple of days are always interesting with the bombardment of information and all the new faces you have to remember. But it seems like there's always that dramatic moment where some confusing concept clicks and you realize you can do it. It always seems to come just before I think the tears are going to flow from being so overwhelmed. Luckily, I work with a great group of people in a really laid-back environment. Ben and Ifeel so blessed that I was able to find a job.

Ben has been working at the MTC for a few weeks now. He's also started school, and recently became Co-President of the Foreign Service Student Organization. Plus, he is signed up to take the Foreign Service Entrance Exam in October. But most importantly, college football has started up again and Boise State won their first game. Ben has arranged his schedule so that he is free on Saturday nights and any other time Boise State might be playing.

My younger brother Geoff moved in with us this past month. He just moved out to Provo and he's staying with us while he finds a job and an apartment. My dad came out this weekend to help him get settled and he made his first big purchase--a new car. Ben and I are only slightly jealous since we have yet to make this adult step.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

The past few weeks have been ones of excitement, blessings, and boredom. After our visit with my grandparents  in California, we finally made it back to Provo, with our new apartment waiting for us. It was a long and arduous task gathering all of our belongings from Draper and Highland (special thanks to Sherrie and Garrett and Rob and Annie for letting us keep our stuff there).

The only furniture we started out with was a couch and a rocking chair. Oh and a blow-up mattress. Considering the fact that we haven't made money all summer, we knew we had to get creative with our purchases. We spent the next week filling up our apartment with things from pawn shops, second-hand stores and peoples' homes (don't worry, we got their permission before we took anything).  My family was a wonderful help--my parents let us use their van, and that thing was a life saver.

Now that we're done with the excitement of moving in and having my family visit, we're settling into a more mundane lifestyle. Most of our time is filled with me searching for jobs and sending out resumes and applications, Ben waiting to hear back from the MTC and a few other places, doing puzzles, knitting, running, and watching 30 Rock. Looking for jobs is always frustrating, but we're praying very hard that we will be able to find some work soon.

Update

We have been remiss the past while as far as blog writing is concerned. For some reason, Blogger decided to delete all of our pictures, so we put our blog in a time-out. But recently we've been uploading pictures again, but we should give you an update of the many things we've done the past couple of weeks. Just a warning, we have been very busy, so this is quite a long post.

Ben spent a few days in Taipei for his internship. He spent most of the time at the food fair, but he did get the chance to see a bit of the city and even go to the temple.

He rode to the top of the second tallest building in the world.

The weekend he got back, we were invited to the house of a woman he works with, Daun (pronounced Da-gun).

We visited her village where we watched the monks get fed and participated in a party celebrating her cousin becoming a monk.

The family we're staying with left that weekend, so we've spent the past couple of weeks finishing up our jobs and seeing the surrounding area.

The children Megan taught at the kindergarten were so fun and quite enthusiastic.

Ben finished his internship by working at Thaifex, the Thailand food fair. There were many delicious samples and a bit of food carving. Yes, this is all made of food.

For our two-month anniversary, Ben surprised Megan by taking her to a nearby beach, Hua Hin. We had fun playing in the water and exploring the town.

We rented a motorbike so we could get around easier. Ben had fun driving it, but it made Megan quite nervous, to say the least (but NOT because of Ben's driving, that has to be made clear).

Back in Bangkok, we have been able to make quite a few small trips downtown.

We went into town one night to check out Backpacker's Road (locally called Kao Sahn Road). It was interesting, but considering all of the tattoo parlors, dreadlocks, and bars that could be found, we were not quite at home. However, we found a night flower market that we loved. We took advantage of the cheap prices.

We also visited Lumphini Park, which is home to joggers, high school band players, and monitor lizards.

We walked around and rode a paddle boat around the pond. We got to see many monitor lizards up close, including these two that seemed to be having a territory battle. Please note the accuracy of Ben's imitation.

Yet another trip we made was to a nearby floating market. It rained most of the time we were there, but it was still fun to walk around.

We ordered Pad Thai and cocoa yen from boats. Both were tasty. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stay and watch the fireflies.

The most recent trip we made was yesterday. For only 120 baht apiece ($4) we took an all-day tour on a train.

We stopped to see the Bridge on the River Kwai and were able to walk across it.

The train continued over the bridge and took us to the end of the line, where there was a waterfall. We ate our lunch there and then continued back. Plus we saw the Burmese/Thai border (though from a distance). It was a long day.

We were planning on going to the beach today after church, but we were both so tired that we decided to take the day to rest. This was lucky, because we were invited over to another couple's house for lunch, and we've enjoyed getting to know the people here. So tomorrow morning we'll leave for Ko Chang, where we'll be for the rest of the week. We'll be sure to keep everyone updated. Oh, and for more pictures on all of the above-mentioned activities, please see the photos link over on the right.

Pictures, pictures, pictures

It's been a busy few days, so I thought I would put up some pictures so everyone can get a glimpse of our day-to-day lives.

Ben, Adele and Alaina working on the fort we built in Adele's room. We watched The Kid inside the fort.

At Villa, a shopping center, for 10 baht you can have a machine spit out fish food and then these huge catfish come up and fight for the food. It's crazy.

The bus/truck thing that I ride to work every day. It's pronounced "Song-Tau" and basically it's just benches and a roof put over the back of a truck bed. And it only costs 6 baht.

Anvida Kindergarten, where I teach English three times a week.

The Pinvises' house, where we are staying. The window at the very top that you can barely see is our room.