Back in Utah

Boy am I exhausted. So, I've been working nights, right? I worked Wednesday night and then left for Utah on Thursday without going to sleep. I was really tired at first, so I stopped at a rest stop somewhere in Montana for a 20 minute power nap. (Left - my new vehicle, for a week) Surprisingly, it got me all the way here. That means that I made a 16 hour drive with only 20 minutes of sleep (and some caffeine, too). But now I am really exhausted. I was planning on sleeping in since we got here at 2:30 in the morning, but I forgot to bring my eye mask and now it is way to light for me to sleep. I have gotten a lot accomplished this morning, though, while my two sisters sleep. I think I'm going to have to take a nap soon, though.
You may wonder what I am doing in Utah. Well, first there is a family reunion this weekend. More importantly, I needed to come down to get Gizmo and the last of my stuff. I planned it around this weekend so I could go to the reunion.
My car, however, would not have made it, so Lizzy and I rented a car. (Right - me driving with very little sleep. This was after driving for 7 1/2 hours, somewhere in Montana) It's a really nice car, the nicest and newest car I have ever driven. It is a 2009 Subaru Impreza. The only annoying thing is that sometimes after I have come to a complete stop, and I start to drive, the engine will run really fast (high rpms) until I get to about 40 mph. If I'm on a slow road, it is really annoying. But other than that, it is great. It has a 6-CD changer, a device that calculates the average mpg, and lots of other fancy things that I haven't figured out what they are for yet. (Left - Elizabeth sleeping while I drive. She basically slept the entire way) It took me a long time to figure out how to get the windshield fluid to come out, even longer to figure out the bright beam headlights. I also discovered that there are controls on the steering wheel that work the radio/CD player. That is pretty cool.
I've also figured out that it is not worth it to buy Flying J gas. Now, mind you, this isn't scientific or anything, but with Flying J gas, I got 6 miles less per gallon than Exxon gas. Flying J gas was only 6 cents less per gallon. That means it cost me about about $0.78 less to fill up, but it cost one more gallon to go the same distance, which cost $2.63. That means it actually cost $1.85 more! Now I just need to compare gas mileage for the other gas stations . . .

Moving

So, I feel like I really need to post after my last entry. We had a lot of help moving our furniture. I was all ready to rent a UHaul, but on Monday Brother Stockham called to say he had located a truck and a few men to help move for the next evening. It was nice because I didn't have to do much. They made it with all the furniture from the house in one trip (Brother Stockham also pulled a trailer) and then in one trip we made it from Big Lots with my couch, chair and a half, recliner, and storage ottomon. Unfortunately, that was the easy part. The hard part was getting the furniture through the door. I was really worried, but they managed to get it all in! But I put the recliner in the front entry way so we could actually have room to walk around inside our place. Still, the living room is a little cramped.
Elizabeth slept there last night, but I didn't because my bed still hadn't arrived. It is a good thing Elizabeth stayed there because my bed was delivered this morning! I had to put it together, though. That was really annoying. I don't think I would have bought it if I knew, but we shall see if I end up liking it anyway.
Well, I need to go, but I thought it was only fair after my last post that I make it clear that help was actually given when asked! This gives me hope for the future and hopefully will make it easier to ask next time!

Musings

One of my best friends, Heather, is coming in to town today, yay! She is still an hour away, and since I don't really want to sleep for just one hour, I thought I would pass time by writing on my blog.
So, I've been looking for some furniture for my new place. I've decided to buy new furniture. Basically, I'm really tired of having worn out furniture that is uncomfortable and ugly. Plus, once I start working for the State Dept, I figure I'll actually need furniture. I've been shopping around, and luckily I found a couch set that I like. To get the couch, seat and a half (like a love seat but a little smaller), a storage ottomon, and a recliner it will cost me $1150. That may sound like a lot, but it really isn't when you consider that many new sofas (for just the one piece of furniture) cost more than that. And, to make it even better, it is the only one that I saw that I actually LIKE.
Now the problem is getting it to my place. The store doesn't deliver, but they use a moving service that would cost $80. I don't really want to pay that. So, we are trying to find someone who has a truck who would be willing to help. I already found one person who ISN'T willing to help. But, we haven't checked with people at church yet.
The only problem is that I am hesitant to ask them for help. I'm not exactly sure why. It is probably a combination of a lot of things. First, I hate asking for help, period. Second, I haven't had good experiences with asking for help. In fact, the only time anyone has ever helped me, I didn't have to ask. For example, I'm staying with another best friend, Erin. I didn't ask her if I could stay with her. She offered because she saw a need and could fill it. Every other time that I can think of, I didn't ask for help, someone offered it. Ok, I lied. One time I needed to jump my car, so I called my home teacher. He stopped what he was doing and drove down to jump start my car. But, that is one time. Every other time I have asked for help, either no one could help, or people said they would help and then didn't. As a result, I don't like asking for help from people I don't trust. But people I do trust don't seem to need to be asked.
I think another big reason why I am so hesitant to ask for help here is because I remember a time when my dad asked for help. Now, for those of you who don't know my dad, he absolutely HATES asking for help. It takes a lot for him to ask for help, even though he is willing to help others. After the fire, my dad needed to re-roof the house in order to keep our home insurance. He had a deadline, so he asked for help. A day was set up for the Elders Quorum at our church to come help. Guess how many people showed up . . . Not a single one. Instead, when I came home for my Christmas break, I helped my dad finish re-roofing our house/garage. THAT was the result of his request for help. It makes me so sad when I think about it. I know that no one did it on purpose. They probably just forgot, or got so caught up in their own lives that they didn't have time to help someone else. But for my dad to ask for help when it is so hard for him, and then not get any . . . well, let's just say, it affected more than one person.
So, in the midst of trying to figure out who to ask for help, here I am, thinking that even if we do find someone to ask, no one will help anyway, so why even bother? I've already thought up alternative plans, though they aren't pretty. Either we have to hire a mover, or rent a truck. Actually, I just looked, and renting a UHaul truck would be cheaper than going through that mover I mentioned above AND we would be able to move the other furnture that we have. So, if we can't find someone to help, that is my best option. Maybe I should just do that . . .

Hello all!

Wow, I have not posted in a long time. Things have been crazy, but not very interesting. I'm still waiting for my background check to finish so I can get my security clearance. I'm working at Walmart while I wait and Lizzy and I possibly found a place to live. It will be a mobile home, not in the greatest of conditions, but at least it will be clean and at least they will let me have Gizmo without charging me an arm and a leg to do it.
We will hopefully be signing our contract tomorrow or early this week. Then comes the task of moving in, and finding some furniture. We need a couch and a table/chairs. Other than that, I need to find myself a mattress (or buy one), but I'm hoping that won't take long to get in order.
The middle of August, we will be heading down to Utah for a family reunion, to help Sara move, and for me to get the last of my stuff. It will be nice to see Gizmo again.
Oh, I guess a couple of interesting things have happened, but they are bad things. First, I was eating some popcorn and broke my left back molar. I went in to the dentist and they told me I would need to get a crown (that is over $1000). I could just do a filling, but the chances of it breaking again are high and it could possible break to the point where it couldn't be fixed next time. So I decided to go with it. Luckily, I qualified for a care credit that is 0% interest for 12 months. That means I only have to pay about $100 a month to not pay interest.
Then, not long after, the alternator in my car died. I took it in, expecting to pay $350. My dad told me that it shouldn't cost that much, but when they gave me the estimate, it was exactly what I was expecting. To my pleasant surprise, it was actually only $225 when I picked it up! That was a relief.
Now all I have to do is hope that no other major expenses come up. All I can say is that it is a good thing I decided to get a job. I don't know what I would do if these things had happened and I wasn't working . . .
And hopefully my background check will be finished soon. If their original estimate is correct, though, I still have 4 months to wait!

Its July!

It's been a while since I posted. A LOT has been going on, some good, some not so good.
First, I got my medical clearance for the Foreign Service! Worldwide available! This is good, but I am still waiting for my background check to finish so I can get my security clearance. I have been contacted by an investigator (two of them, actually) who have been contacting people that I know and asking them questions about me. I'm glad to see it moving along, although the hard part is still left (I think): they need to contact my foreign contacts. Some of those contacts, I don't have current contact information for (besides email address), so who knows if I will be able to get them the information that they need.
I have also been working on going through my stuff. I finally finished going through the stuff in the room that used to be mine, and have moved Lizzy down there. Although, I still have things in there, at least I know what I am keeping from that room. Unfortunately, it turned out to be most of it . . . But I am getting rid of clothes (including shoes), some books, and most of my papers. That still feels good. Of course, the stuff that was in my room (besides most of the papers) was there because I was using it, so its not really surprising that I am keeping most of the things that were in that room. I will probably get rid of more of the things that are in the attic.
So, one more bad thing. My dad told my sister that Gizmo (my cat) can't stay at that house unless he becomes a family cat. First of all, he's my cat, not a family cat (not that there really is even a family), second of all, I don't want to risk exposing my cat to contagious diseases (the other cat in the house, my dad originally told me had FIV. Now he says that was a false positive and that he has some kind of skin condition. Well, what if the second test was a false negative? And how do I know the skin condition isn't contagious?) Now I have to figure out something else for him. Luckily, Erin said she doesn't mind him staying here (at her house, even though she has two cats and a daycare) if her cats don't have a problem with it. Its funny because my friend, Erin (and my other friend, Heather) are more of family then my dad has ever been. She's willing to help me out in anyway possible, even if its not convenient for her. My dad is only willing to help if it is convenient for him.
Anyway, I've been looking in to finding an apartment, just in case, but it is harder to find apartments that will allow pets here in Bismarck then it was in Provo (and I thought THAT was hard). My dad also tried to make me think that it would be impossible for me to take Gizmo with me when I start working overseas. I've since looked in to it, and he was wrong. Then again, he just says things without ever giving proof to back it up. Sure, there are some countries that require a six-month quarantine, but I think those are rarer. And, from what I understand, there are a lot of pets in the foreign service, so they have information like that readily available before you even bid on a post.
Oh, I also start working today (at Wal-mart) as a night stocker. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not sure how the night hours will affect me, sleep-wise. It will be fine. After all, it is only until I start working in the foreign service.