Christmas Countdown!

Good Morning to all!

I would like to start off today with a confession: I ran out of coffee, and its too cold to go to the store, so i took the leftover coffee that was still in the pot, and microwaved it! There I said it! And it was DELICIOUS!

Yesterday was Ricks 24th birthday. In true Jessica fashion, I agonized over getting him the perfect gift, plan the perfect day, stress about making everything special, and like always nothing went planned, I got stressed, and then quickly got over it. I am slowly letting go of my views of the way things are "supposed" to go, and enjoying the splendor of what the day brings.

The plan was to wake up early, go on a horseback ride on the beach, go out to brunch, go home and relax, possibly catch a movie and then relax. Sounds wonderful huh?!

What actually happened was Rick's friend from high school, who lives in Sacramento, his wife, and their 6 month old baby girl stopped by on their home from a wedding. They stayed over, Rick stayed up till 3am playing video games and catching up with Ryan, and then we slept in till 9:30. We then chatted all morning and finally got out of the house at noon. We went to go get brunch, had a wonderful meal, and then we both knew our fate. We were full, the clouds were started to roll in, we had UP! on DVD waiting at home... So we went and got a Cold Stone cake (which in California is $50!!!) spent the afternoon cuddled up, watched UP! which is Ricks new favorite movie, and took a nap. We got take out from Whole Foods, opened gifts and then Rick had to prep for work. It was a wonderful day full of things that Rick really wanted to do, which is what actually matters.

Hillarity ensued watching Rick with the baby. "Where does she sleep? In the car seat?"... (as i lay her on the bed so we can put the pillow cases on) "Jess, you can just lay her down, she will roll off!" "Why is her mouth always drooling"... He also apparently thought that babies and puppies are quite similar and would amuse Shaylen by growling at her and seeing if she could fetch. WE ARE IN FOR A REAL TREAT!

I found a website that gave me all the information I needed for getting my teaching credentials in the state of California, however it is practiclly impossible and now i feel like I am no better off. In California, if you already have a bachelors degree, all you need is to pass the CBEST test, a year of full-time classes, 6 months of student teaching, and then a final test. So thats it! I just need to study for the CBEST, pass it, apply to one of the three schools in my area that offer the program, quit my job, go back to school, take out more student loans, and then in a year and a half, and $10,000 later I will be able to teach in the state of California ... and then by that time, we will be moving back to Arizona ... easy, right?

I am trying to be thankful for how blessed I am, especially at this time of year. I have a job that gives me full benefits, as so far allows me to pay my bills. I have an extremely comfy home, I have the support of an amazing man, and a great family. Yes, my job is not what I want to be doing. Yes, California is expensive, and far away from my family which sucks. However, like Rick always tells me, I need to take steps forward to apply for other positions, and let it go. What is supposed to happen will happen, but in the meantime, I can't spend my time whining and complaining... but more then likely i will :)

4 days till Christmas, I hope that you all have a very merry christmas, and I hope that everyone takes a little time to do something for those less fortunate.

UPDATE

We are officially into the holiday season and I am so excited to continue decorating the house, drink as much peppermint mocha's as I can afford, and spend the days wanting to rupture my own ear drums due to the the cheery, upbeat, non-denominational holiday music Verizon insists on playing on repeat for the next 30 days!

Work is getting better. I was moved out of sales after a month because HR didn't approve my switch to sales right away because of my program, so I went to a customer service role and took more of a leadership role within the back end of the store. Its more of a fit for me, I get to work on merchandising, inventory, preparing for audits, reviewing all the daily paperwork and reports, and have the opportunity to learn about the operations side of the business, without the stress of sales. However my goal is to still make it out of the retail store soon and get into a corporate position ASAP. I want to make this my first and last holiday season in retail. I would also like to make this my last holiday season away from my family.

Thanksgiving was great with just Rick, his dad and sister and myself but it wasn't my Thanksgiving. I do need to start to let loose a little bit and start making my new traditions with Rick and start to put myself out there and be willing to take part in traditions that arent mine... however I am a stubborn, controling wench and this might take a while to get used to, but i feel as though i am making strides considering the fact that I have not choice :)

This thanksgiving I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to grow and learn and figure out who I am and who I want to be in the future. I know that it is rough now, and I whine and bitch, but at some point I will look back on this point of my life and cherish the time I have here and the nights Rick and I spent bickering about the dishes, surprising each other with small suprises, wrestling on the couch (which always ends in someone getting hurt, and it isnt me) and talking all about what we dont know we want for our future. Life is good, and it is better when you have a wonderful person to share it with.

ONE WEEK TILL I GET TO SEE THE FAMILY IN LA!

the grind...

I have officially been in my store for one month. I have learned so much and I am starting to get into the swing of things. Selling, however, is such a stressful job, especially when you have giant whiteboards staring in your face everyday with you successes or failures and all the successes and failures of everyone around you. One day your on top and everyone is happy with you, the next day you push and hustle and nothing comes, and everyone is reminding you that you aren't hitting your numbers, you should be doing this, should be doing that... it is rough to say the least. I hope that I soon find my own rhythm, and my own way of ensuring that I am getting the sales, the contacts, and the referrals i need to ensure i stay far away from manager meetings and "coaching opportunities."

It is going to be hard to get used to having Tuesday and Wednesday off, and Rick having weekends off, it is a little rough because it gives us very little time to unwind, relax, and plan things to do together. However Sunday night we were able to drive to Berkeley to see the John Legend concert, and it was amazing. Rick got amazing tickets from Gallo and he started the concert in the middle of the crowd, 5 feet away from us! It was so nice to get out of the house, away from the grind and have fun together. It was the weirdest feeling to be on the Berkeley campus. Seeing all the students walking around, and expierencing a completely different feel of a different campus, it made me miss UA so much. At UA you know you are on campus the second you get near it, it is beautiful and expansive... Berkeley... not so much, i had no idea we were even on campus until I saw some greek letters. It made me miss Tucson so much, especially now that it is football season, not only for UA, but for my brother as well.

Being here is such a challenge for me. I am trying to adjust to a new job, a new lifestyle, a new budget, and a life that is not filled with the constant presence and support of my family and friends. It is a great opportunity for me to grow, and figure out how to handle life on my own, so I am greatful for that, however it also makes me realize that I want to make the most out of this opportunity, but in the future, i want to be around my family.

I WILL BE HOME FOR JENN'S WEDDING OCTOBER 15-18... however my time will be very stretched because I have all the rehersal dinners and fittings and then of course the wedding! I cant wait!

Here comes the battle

Just got done with Sunday night dinner; steaks, baked potatos, grilled corn, sauteed mushrooms ... reminded me of home. Now comes the snuggling on the couch watching Entourage and going to bed at 9:30 cause I am now all grown up and apparently the second you get a real job, you turn into an adult who grills full meals, spends sunday's clening and then going to bed early.

Week one of work in the store is done and I AM EXAUSTED! This is hard, harder then I thought, harder then I wanted but just hard enough to push my boundries, challenge me, and push me to make it work, make it fun, and make a success out of it. 6:30am meetings pointing out that working hard isnt good enough, and that we need to be better, do better, make our numbers, hit quota. All of this when all I know how to do is NOTHING! Training was a joke, it taught me nothing, I can tell you everything you wanted to know about Verizon as a company, about the features that we offer on our phones, but I can't complete any transactions completely without having to ask for help or having it take an hour to show some old guy how to send a text message.

Dear God,
Give me strength, help me to see the reason behind why I am here.

Amen

Furthermore, I come home from work at 9:00 after being on my feet in heels all day, take a shower, go straight to bed, get up and do it again. Now the weekend comes and my head says "LETS GO DO SOMETHING! I WANT TO GET OUT, EXPLORE!!!" but then my body says "HELL NO, my feet hurt, my legs are numb, my back is aching, im camping my ass on the couch and wathing marathons of Real Housewives of Atlanta." my body seems to be winning lately. Hopefully after this next week my body will stop complaining all the time and I will be able to do something fun.

On a lighter note; I don't know how I would get through this without Rick. He makes me suck it up, makes me realize that my bitching doesnt help, and helps me change my attitude. It also helps that he massages my feet and does all my laundry ;).

So Rick and I went on a walk today, and we walked past a house for sale so I grabbed the flyer and then passed out. $789,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a TINY backyard and a TINY kitchen, REDICULOUS! So it looks like my dreams of buying a house out here is not happening, EVER, cause that is crazy. So i better start making the most of me living here cause this apparently is not a long term thing.

I miss my friends and family, but I do enjoy having to spread my wings and figure life out on my own.

Enjoying life :)

So its Sunday again, and the laundry is going, the bills are paid the mail is sorted and all the chores are done (almost), everything is perfect minus the fact that in a few hours I have to once again pack up all my stuff, drive to Walnut Creek, check in, unpack and start week 4 of training. I have another in-store day on Friday so I get to come back Thursday, which will be nice however training is very bitter sweet. I love the friends I have made during training and we are having a blast hanging out together, training is easy, just a lot to learn in such a small time that just when I think I understand one concept, we are moving on to a whole new lesson (just like school haha) Living in a hotel room for 5 weeks sucks, just when i was getting adjusted to my house, but I am treating it like a vacation because once I get into my store it is ALL WORK and NO PLAY!

The other day we had to analyze all of our stores month to date and year to date stats as well as top and bottom performers in our store. Lets just say from this point on there is only positive gains to make ;) My job is going to be a giant challange for me however if I can do as well as I believe I can then I will not only move up fast, but I will also make a comfortable amount of money.

So yesterday Rick and I drove to Pacifica and back down the coast and had lunch at Moss Beach Distillery. It was gorgeous about 59 degrees, smelled amazing, Rick and I stood on the edge of the coast and watched the waves, and all I kept thinking is how much I LOVE MY LIFE right now. It is beautiful and fun and full of laughter and love. I could not be happier (well maybe if I had a golden, but there is a time and a place for everything :)

Working girl :)

So my first week of work is officially done!

I am in training right now for Verizon. 5 weeks in Walnut Creek, but hotel and meals are all paid for so that helps :). I am able to go home on the weekends, and the drive is only about an hour and fifteen minutes however because we start at 8, and there is crazy traffic I would have to leave my house at 6 to get there on time if they didn't put me in a hotel.

Training is really overwhelming but very exciting and fun. It is so much information to learn that 5 weeks seems like nothing. We do tons of online trainings and presentations to teach the class what we learned. With all the lingo, the devices, the plans, and the additional features, it is interesting but I feel behind. Most of the other people who are training with our Leadership Development Program people are just Retail Sales Reps, and they have all worked with other companies and know a lot about the technology and services. I feel like I need to take time on my own to get ahead and learn all the additional information. I need to know what they mean when they through out acronyms and tech talk. I am doing really well though, I am getting the hang of a lot of the plans and features and have been doing really well with my assessments. I think if i just put a little more effort into it I will be really successful.

Rick is doing really well with his job too, he loves it and is really excited. He wakes up at 5 everyday and is out of the house by 6. He really likes the people he works with and has one of the biggest territories in California, where they always put their top people to ensure it is taken care of. Biggest news of them all it that he got his wine list of discounts on over 100 different wines and cases! YEA!

But when I get home on the weekends, there is so many errands to run and unpack, do laundry, repack, it feels like I have no time to relax, however 4 more weeks and I am going to enjoy getting to know all the people in my training group and feed off their knowledge, and learn as much as I can. Next Friday we get to have our in-store day so we go home Thursday and spend Friday in our stores. I still haven't seen my store or met my managers, so that should be fun and really informative.

Now if I could just focus on not eating a bunch of food, and start going to the gym after work everyday, I will be set ... we will see if this happens this week :)

July 4th

What a weekend!

Wednesday Rick and I went golfing! It was so much fun to spend the afternoon at a little executive course, right on the water! We had a blast watching the planes come into the airport and proving that when we play golf consistancy really isnt our thing. :)

Lynsey and Mike decided last minute to come visit for the weekend, and finally arrived Thursday morning. After they took a little nap (apparently 13 hours of driving through the night can wear you out) we took them down to the beach. We walked along the beach and had fun climbing on all the rocks in the coves. We saw sea lions and huge jelly fish that had washed up on the beach. It was a beautiful day! We then drove home and spend a very fun evening grilling steaks and making dinner. It was such a weird feeling to have someone else in our home. I was so excited though because now we had people to go into the city with and it was the first time all of us, except Rick had been to SF.

Friday we woke up and drove into the city. We had plans to visit so many places but the traffic and crowds were crazy! Especially trying to drive around in a city which non of us were familiar with was an experience :) We went to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then drove through Golden Gate Park. We went through Chinatown and then parked and walked around Haight Ashberry. Then we decided to try and get tickets to the Giants game. We drove down to the field and tried to get scalper tickets. The game was sold out, and their were going to be fireworks after the game so thre were hundreds of people trying to get tickets. We ended up finding parking and getting tickets for all 4 of us to sit together. It was an amazing expierence to watch the fog roll in over the stadium and then the fireworks after the game. I had a great time.

Saturday Ricks firend and his fiance came into town and we all drove to Millbrae and took the BART into the city. It was really fun taking the train in and then walking down the Embarrcadero. We went down to Pier 39 and walked around and saw the sea lions. There were practically no sea lions on the pier compaired to last time I saw them 2 years ago around Christmas. They said it was because the water was so warm that there are less and less of them that get on the docks. We all had dinner at Bubba Gumps and then visted all the little shops. There were thousands of people watching all the bands, sitting in the grass and walking around. No one knew where the FIreworks were going to be shot off at so finding a good spot was nearly impossible to do. Finally after asking a hot dog vendor, a cop and about 10 different people where we should go to see the fireworks, we just found a spot of grass and sat down. 20 minutes later, huge fireworks, right in front of us!! It was awsome. There were 2 different barges, one right off of Pier 39 and one down near Fishermans Warf. They were the same show, going off in unison. There were so many people that this was the only way to help with the crowd control and so everyone could see.

After the fireworks were over we walked back to the BART station. Walking like sheep with the thousands of people that were down there was kinda scary, because all I could think about was how awful it would be if anything happened in the city and we actually had to evacuate, the word impossible came to mind. We got a little lost but we eventually found the BART and took it back into Millbrae. The BART ride into the city takes about 20 minutes and then an additional 10 minutes to drive back to our house. So it was really nice especially because we didnt have to deal with the traffic and the parking.

I am so tired, but had an amazing weekend! Now its relaxing time :) I have to start packing in a couple hours, and drive to walnut creek. I check into my hotel tonight, and tomorrow morning at 8:00 i report into WORK!!! I cant believe it is here, I am so nervous, i feel like its the first day in a new school. What do i wear? What if no one likes me? What if it sucks? What if? I have no idea what to expect, but I have nothing to loose, I only get one chance to make a first impresion and I am excited for my new opportunity. I am also excited to get a paycheck!!

Say a prayer for me tonight :)



The Giants Game :)

Driving down Lombard Street

Golden Gate
Golfing

The Weekend

One more week till my job starts, so its time to be a tourist. I am going to perfect the art of tourist on a budget seeing as rent is due and despite the fact that it is discounted, it is still $675 a piece for this month and then it goes up to $815 a piece. So despite the fact that it is nice and cool, and there are so many fun things to do, the costs are outrageous!

Friday we drove to Davis again to get a bunch of the stuff we still had at Ricks parents house and to bbq with Ricks friends. When we drove back Saturday morning it was 100 degrees and humid, it was awful. We then stopped at an outlet mall in Vacaville and it was even worse, 103 and sticky, now i know what they mean by Tucson being a dry heat. We drove back over the San Mateo bridge back into Foster city and I watched the temperature gage in my car go from 100, down to 90, to 80 and as we pulled into our complex it was a beautiful and breezy 78. I can get used to this.

After we got home Saturday I took a nap and then we went for a walk down to the water. Once out of our complex, the lagoon is a minute away and is beautiful. They have a place right on the water where they do wind surfing lessons and kayak and paddle boat rentals. Rick and I are going to go rent kayaks this week and save the wind surfing till the paychecks start to come in.

I am really enjoying my kitchen and am impressing Rick and myself with my cooking abilities. I even made guacamole to go with our chicken quesidillas!

Yesterday, it was really hot out and because our apartment has no air conditioning, we decided to drive down to the coast again. However, we were not the only people with this idea and ended up driving all the way to Santa Cruz (45 min. south of us) and cutting over to highway 1 from there. We ended up pulling off the road and hiking down to this hidden beach. People had their dogs and were just relaxing and it was beautiful. The water was freezing but it was nice and warm out so it felt good. Rick and I explored the beach for about an hour and got hungry so we got back in the car and drove up to Davenport. We stopped at this little inn where they were doing wine tasting from a local vinyard called Beauregard. So we got some food and the wine and enjoyed a great meal with the fog rolling in. On our way back we hit traffic in half moon bay, and waiting an hour and a half to go a mile.

Things I want to do before work starts:

1. Go golfing! (there is a course about 5 min. from our house and its $12 for 18 holes plus a cart!!!)
2. Go into the city and play tourist
3. Get chairs and a table for our back patio
4. Go kayaking in the lagoon
5. Go to a Giants game


Here are some pictures and videos:


Wine tasting in Davenport


Naked man on the beach :.(

The fog rolling in on our drive

Finally Settled!

EVERYTHING IS OFFICIALLY SET UP AND DONE ... almost :)The last thing that is going to be done is the 2 accent walls that are getting painted this weekend or monday, cant wait because I feel like the color on the walls are exactly what we need!

Where do I begin? Rick and I have been very productive these last 4 days! Everything is unpacked, the couch is here, $800 later (but financed at 0% for 6 months so thats nice), the satellite was installed, the installation guys had to bolt it into our wall on an extender pole and then run the wires under the carpet, they did a great job, but if we ever move out that is going to be a HUGE pain in the butt!

We got to explore a little bit the other day. We drove to Half Moon Bay and then up the coast to South SF and back down. On the drive there (which only took about 20 min to the beach!) there was vendors selling fresh honey and $5 for a dozen roses, so we are going back to get some of both this weekend. There was also a giant Christmas tree yard, growing trees that we can go cut down! We got some coffee and went down to the beach, it was absolutly amazing! There were huge waves and some surfers but there were only a handfull of people there. It was like a hidden gem that was all ours. It was very cold, about 60 degrees and the breeze made it a little more chilly. We then drove up the coast on these tiny windy roads and it was absolutly gorgous. We then went back through south SF and drove past Candlestick Park, then it only took us 15 min to get form Candlestick back to our apartment! Everything is so close here!

Wednesday night we got a text from Rick's friend Ryan (who lived with Rick down in Tucson for about 6 months 2 years ago), that his wife was in labor. So we drove into Sacramento and made it just in time to see baby Shalyn Rose. It is weird watching someone growup so fast. It was only 2 years ago that Ryan was sleeping on a air mattress in Ricks room, now he is married and has a beautiful baby girl. It makes me realize how fast 2 years go by and how much I need to live in these moments and love where I am, and what I am doing at this moment.

It is getting easier everyday to get used to not having family and friends around, and I am excited to spend another week exploring and then start work. Today we are going back to Davis to see Rick's friends and the baby. It will be nice to get out and have fun. So far living with Rick has been wonderful and I think I can get used to having someone here to kill all the spiders and hang up all the pictures without a ladder.

Here are some pictures of the adventures!



MY GARDEN: tomatos, strawberry, herbs and flowers :)
A little taste of Foster City :)
The new couch and the living room
Half Moon Bay - Venice Beach

here we go

So my first 24 hours in Foster City have been successful, and exhausting! We are making progress unpacking and setting up however the big couch purchase still needs to be made, and I think once that is taken care of it will feel a bit more put together. Our apartment is huge and I am very happy, it is a lot of space for the two of us. We are right next to the parking lot so there is no trek back into our new home. The playground and basketball courts are just steps away and their is a huge walking path that goes around the complex and down to the water just feet away. We also are allowed to get 2 accent walls so we picked out the colors and I think they are going to be painted by the end of the weekend, hopefully, then we can continue to hang stuff up on the walls.
The weather for the next week is a solid 75 and sunny every day and the breeze makes it wonderful. The nights really cool off and sweaters and blankets are a must!
Living with Rick is going great, taking some getting used to but all in all I think we are working things out. Because I am such an amazing person and girlfriend, i gave him the den to decorate. I let him put up some jerseys and UofA flags, he seemed pretty pleased with his room, however I am secretly plotting my attack to go in there and fix it all because i didn't have the heart to tell him almost everything is crooked.
We went shopping yesterday at Target, Bed Bath, and Home Depot. EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE and it is going to take some getting used to. Simple things like shampoo, and coffee are $4 more then they were in Tucson. We went grocery shopping, and I think the fact that it was 10pm and I was hungry and tired didn't help but I was amazed at the prices!!! $4 for a gallon of milk, $8 for a bag of 5 frozen chicken breasts and $5 for a box of cereal, it adds up QUICK! We are keeping all of our recipts and putting everything into our spreadsheet and being all big and adult about the whole thing, I feel so old!
I am having a lot of fun, but its so different having all this stuff going on and all these things I want to share with my family and friends and not having anyone to call and have them come see everything. Not having any family and friends around is going to take some getting used too. I was excited to make new friends here, however I feel like it is going to be a little difficult. I am the only white blond I have seen in 2 days! If you aren't Asian, or Indian, or old and Jewish, you don't really fit in. I was at costco today, because thats the only place with prices I recognize, and I felt like a complete outsider. I was the youngest one by 20 years, the only white person and by far the only one with blond hair and makeup on. VERY different from what I am used too.


TO DO:
Get a couch
Get walls painted
organize all my bathroom stuff (apparently I have "too much crap" - Rick)
organize the electronics
consolidate my student loans
put myself on the lease
open joint savings accounts (ahhhhhhh)
fax in my relocation papers and all reciepts
EXPLORE!!!