the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble

i'm not normally one to talk about finances openly, but this scared the shit out of me today, in that 'mini panic attack, i'll laugh at it later' kind of way, so please indulge me. i was at the bank, which by the way sucks-so if you ever move to northern california, i do NOT recommend westamerica bank. i've been here a month, and i still haven't received my debit card, which they assured me would only take 8-10 business days to arrive. however, since it has yet to be seen, i have to resort to going inside the bank anytime i need money to buy anything. this would not be so much of an annoyance if the tellers did not act as though i was wearing a red wings jersey to an avalanche game. i swear, they roll their eyes every time they see me, even though, all the time, in my head i'm thinking, 'if you would just get me my damn bank card, you wouldn't have to deal with me...' i also have to ask for a balance each time i make a withdrawal, because they actually charge a monthly fee to have access to view your account online.

**like i said, i DO NOT recommend this bank to anyone!!!! but it's the only bank that is within walking distance to my house, and i opened the account before i had a car, so i guess i'll just have to deal with it for now. **

but i digress

asking for my balance was what caused my little freak out today. i kindly asked the teller for my balance, to which she replied, "eleven sixty four". now i'm used to being a poor college student, and not having much money to spare, and i'll admit to the occasional miscalculation, resulting in my funds being lower than i expected, but this was VERY WONG. on the drive home i was going over in my head what could have caused such a monetary oversight. usually my money mismanagement was the result of careless use of my debit card, but since i don't have one, and have had to use cash anytime i want to buy something, that didn't make sense. then i thought that i might have double paid one of my credit card bills (they do warn you if you click the 'submit' button twice, it can result in a double submission of your payment) or perhaps a wayward check i wrote that just cleared...but nothing was coming to mind.

so i finally broke down and called the bank, explaining that i had just been in there making a withdrawal, and needed to confirm my account balance, to which i was told, "one thousand, one hundred sixty-four". ugh. westamerica-you will be the death of me.

dear hawaii...

it's not that i don't miss you...

it's just that there are other beautiful places i want to explore, too...

hope you had a lovely president's day!

pending drug and tb clearance...

i will be bhr corportation's newest per diem mental health specialist (which is very similar to being a case manager). miracle, upon miracles, this job was the original reason i decided to move to california. their h.r. manager had emailed me while i was sending out mass resumes to three locations: portland, hawaii, and the bay area-which were the three places i was mulling over for the next phase of my life. i told her that i would not be relocating until the end of the year, still not knowing for sure what my plans were going to be, so she told me to contact her once i was in california.

so with that as my main job prospect, some hope, and a prayer, i set off for california in the middle of january. now, two interviews and several references (thanks jonathan and seth) later, so long as i pass their drug screening and am tb free, february 15th will be my first official day on call.

wish me luck!

the horse is beginning to smell...

i'm not saying that i won't go and see it, cause we all know that would be a big fib...but i also read that they might be considering a third movie?

yeesh.

art imitating life...

when i first saw previews for this movie, i was super excited to see it, in fact i might have even blogged about it...but since i was living in hawaii at the time, and the closest movie theatre was at least 45 minutes away, i quickly forgot about it. now that i am in front of my computer all the time, whilst i meticulously search the internet for jobs, i decided to downloaded it, and i have to say that it quite accurately portrays the uncertainty and anxiety that you can feel while you are job hunting.

it's admittedly not the deepest movie, and probably won't win any oscars, but i can't help but relating to ryden's character, and not just because of her offbeat family. she's very driven, and has always known what she's wanted to do, but finds herself floundering after college when her meticulous plans for the future don't quite meet her expectations. she is further juxtaposed by her best friend who is completely ambivalent towards his future.

michael keaton, jane lynch (she played meryl streep's sister in julie and julia), and carol burnett did a great job portraying members of ryden's eccentric family, and the always lovely zach gilford plays the overlooked friend, that any girl in real life would have already fallen in love with. however ryden appears to be oblivious to his charms.

so i guess for your typical 'follow your heart regardless of whatever's going on in your life' movie, this one happens to strike a chord with me.

we made it!!!!!

we made it to california. indy hasn't stopped purring since we got here, and juneau has peed on the floor twice, so we're right on schedule.

let the job hunt/car search begin.

pictures to come soon...

reality check

this morning i had the honor of attending a very special service. it was intensely emotional, and supremely uplifting and hopeful. seeing others' strength in the face of adversity exposes a side of themselves that one might not normally get to see.

i can't imagine the pain that they have been through these past few weeks, but it couldn't have happened to more capable people. i know in my heart that they will be able to press forward, though this difficult trial, and come out on the other side stronger. dealing with loss is an essential part of life. though it may seem unbearable-it's times like these that we have to remember that we are never given anything that the lord feels that we will not be able to handle. death is not an end to all means, just another step towards our eternal progression. those who have passed away, are in a place of peace, far away from the earthly trials and tribulations that are so abundant in this world.

we can also take comfort in the fact that there are people everywhere willing to help, whether it be in person or in spirit. an overwhelming amount of people responded with their support and prayers for baby gavin, and even though he was only on earth for a short period of time, he was still able to touch an enumerate amount of lives in the process.

what a humbling experience. it makes any problems i might have been having seem trivial, as they pale in comparison to true loss and hardship. as i watched baby gavin's parents, richie and natalie, up on the pulpit, i couldn't help but notice how they handled everything with such grace, and how strong and steadfast their testimonies continued to be. their knowledge and firm belief in the gospel will help to shape their children's testimonies, in addition to ensuring that anyone close to them will feel the spirit strongly-as it continues to comfort them in this difficult time.