The Great Midwest

Ryan's sister Kelli is just about the coolest person I know. She's lived in New York, made a living as an amazing artist and teaches ceramics as a tenured professor. She lives in Moorhead, Minn. now and is going through this......

Fargo, which is just on the other side of the river from Moorhead, is having a 100 year flood. Poor Kelli had to move everything from her basement apartment upstairs so that it would not get caked in mud. Her classes have been canceled so that her students could fill sand bags. In the midst of all this she still somehow had time to send us a post card about her upcoming show.

http://ems.fisherwebdesign.com/T/ViewEmail/r/95A49B927E843DED

Congratulations and Good Luck Kelli! You have two major fans in Salt Lake.

Ryan's Big Day

Sunday was a big day. Ryan was ordained an Elder (more info? lds.org), we had tons of family drive through the crazy weather to attend and we cooked for eleven people. It was a busy weekend. We are so grateful for all the support Ryan has received. We have such awesome families and friends. Now Ryan can get to work with his new calling: ward mover, I mean 2nd counselor. Elders quorum, not bishopric.

Date Night

Ryan and I went out on a date night last night. We had not been out to dinner with just the two of us in forever. It was so fun and super delicious. We went to the Red Iguana, both of us love it! We were both so tired from a long day at work that we came right home and promptly fell asleep trying to finish Kung Fu Panda. I love date night with my man.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like Ashley gave you some guns for your Birthday!

First Bike Ride of the Season

Last year we bought me a bike. I had big plans to ride it everywhere. It turns out biking is hard, especially up hill. I got on the dirt a little last year, but not as much as I wanted to. Since I'll only be working every other week this summer, I decided it would be a great year to improve my bike handling skills. We went on our first ride today. It was supposed to be a pleasant ride up City Creek Canyon, a paved trail. Since I've started work I haven't had time to work out and it really showed. Ryan was not even breaking a sweat and I was dying, I thought my heart was going to break out of my chest and flop all over the trail. I kept telling Ryan how mean he was for making me bike (even though it was my idea) and exercise (he knows I hate it). Of course by the time I got into the car (Ryan put our bikes on the bike rack) I had a nice smile on my face. I know tomorrow my legs will be sore, but luckily that goes away. So the next time I want to go on a bike ride I've forgotten all about the hard part and only remember that it made me smile.

David Grew a Moustache

The Good Things at Work

Ryan said that my last post only listed the bad things at work, so I thought I would list some of the things that I like about work.
1. Getting paid + killer benefits
2. Working with cool people and knowing random people in other labs (my cousin, a boy on Ryan's drumline and a former chemistry TA from the U, random)
3. Learning new things. I know this is the interview answer, but it really feels good to exercise the ol' brain
4. Did I mention the awesome benefits?

First Week of Work

It turns out that working 40+ hours a week takes a lot of your time. It had been so long, that I almost forgot. Luckily they didn't take without giving.
Here is a list of the things I got from my new job......
1. A horrible ID badge picture (I had him take it 3 times)
2. A lot of possibly helpful information if we are ever attacked by terrorists or the whole east side is on fire or becomes radioactive
3. The knowledge that according to HIPPA I shouldn't even be mentioning HIPPA now or the fact that I have a job where HIPPA is mentioned
4. and last but not least a cold from my trainer
All in all it was a productive week. I'm so glad that I'm done with orientation, excluding the mountains of required online training for new employees. Luckily I'm finally in the lab and pullin the ol' pipetting skills out a retirement. I really do like my actual job, and the people I work with, it will just be nice when I'm done training. So, ask me in about three months what I do for a living and then I might actually be able to tell you.

Chest Fouls

So I got invited last minute to the Jazz game tonight. My friend Natalie had super sweet 11th row tickets from her work. It was a nail biter. Jazz won! During the game we were discussing how we don't really know much about the fouls in basketball. Well, Natalie was being honest and I was trying really hard to think back to my Jr Jazz days and pretend that I totally knew all about it. So a charging foul was called and I explained it. Then the next foul I missed so we listened to the announcer and it sounded like he said "chest foul." Hmmmm, I don't remember those from Jr Jazz? We then went on to describe how their was groping involved, it was then reported to your supervisor, HR got involved and a huge investigation ensued........then a foul was called. The rest of the game every foul was a "chest" foul, until finally we heard the announcer slur "Jazz foul." They really need a new announcer who can enunciate his words.

Being Laid off Gives You Lots of Free Time

So, since being laid off I've been able to travel, read, organize and have house guests. It turns out that it totally rocks to be paid to stay at home. For the recap: Their was a "Reduction In Force" at Myriad on January 5th. Yours truly was on the list. I just remember thinking "I'm not old enough to get laid off." It turns out that I am. For the first week I worked on my resume like a mad woman and turned it in to everyone. Then Ryan and I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with the Marching Band for Obama's Inauguration. I know, I know.....I deserved a little luck after the beginning of the year. It was a wonderful trip. We hung out at the National Mall, visited Gettysburg and waved at Barack & Michelle from about 30 feet away.

Ryan & I in front of the MSNBC trailer, calling our families and telling them to watch for us.

Ryan with a Gettysburg drum. All of the kids on his drumline had to take a picture with the drum.

By the time the Utes actually started the parade, the sun was setting (as you can see) and it was getting a little chilly. Luckily Obama was still in his bullet proof booth waving and smiling until the bitter end.

Then I came back to a flurry of interviews and one long, disgusting cold. The only wonderful part about getting sick while laid off is that you don't have to worry at all about missing work and using vacation time. I got caught up on a lot of movies and suckered into reading the Twilight saga.

Just as I was getting over my cold Ashley and I both had a wonderful idea. Since I'm just hanging out here in Salt Lake and she's just hanging out in St. Louis, why don't we hang out together in the same state? So we found a cheap flight and voila...Ashley and Chloe are at my house! I had so much fun while they were here, I really didn't want them to leave. Alas, all things come to an end and they had to go back to a lonely Jeremy. The end of their trip also signaled the end of my freedom from corporate tyranny. But not before I could throw a baby shower for my very pregnant friend Betsy. All in all I would have to say that it was a wonderfully fun break from the rat race. (Besides the initial stress of finding a job, of course.) Today I started my new job at ARUP, where my cousin works and whom I plan to bug relentlessly. More to come on the job later. Now I wanted to close with incredibly adorable pictures of my super cute niece.

Of course Ryan had to teach her how to drum, she loved it....along with coloring and Ikea.

PS Cort I expect my present in the mail very soon!