Wow! It has been quite a year so far. So much is happening and I don’t even think my brain has quite processed one bit of it.
Engaged
So, on April 12th, my then girlfriend flew in to Sacramento to visit me for the weekend and a few days. Upon arrival, I swept her away up to Redding, California to a place called Turtle Bay Exploration Park. There we enjoyed a day at the museum. We learned a lot about the construction of Shasta Dam and got to see a bunch of animals. When we were done there, we walked across the Sundial Bridge to the McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. We walked around there for a little bit, enjoying the beautiful day that it was.
When we were nearing the end of the walk, Bea got distracted by a bunch of butterflies that were fluttering around some beautiful flowers. I took this opportunity and told her “I think I see something over there, I’ll be right back”. I ran off behind a large bush, pretending to pick something up off the ground while grabbing something from my backpack. I brought this surprise over to Bea and said “Hey hun, look what I found!!” revealing a Minecraft Diamond Ore block. She was totally amazed at what I had supposedly found in the bush. Then I got down on one knee while opening the box exposing a beautiful diamond ring and proposed to her. She was in shock for a few seconds, but quickly recovered saying “Yes!”
The Interview
From August 2013 up until April 2014, I had been applying for jobs in hopes to relocate to the greater Portland area. This is where Bea lives and I grew up in Spokane, WA so I had been wanting to move back to the Pacific North West to escape the heat of Sacramento that I endured for 6.5 long years. After I had proposed, I double-timed my effort in looking for a job. On April 28th, I got a phone interview that went really well… So well, that they wanted me to come in the following Monday for an in-person interview!
The in-person interview, also, seemed to go pretty well. They had me complete a couple tests. One dealing with a hardware issue and the other dealing with creating a newsletter from a Photoshop PSD. I did pretty well, definitely a lot to learn on the newsletter side of things, though. The following week was probably one of the longest weeks ever. Josh, the guy who interviewed me finally called back on Tuesday the 13th to offer me the position!!! I was so excited! I couldn’t believe that all my efforts finally paid off and I was about to move closer to my sweetie!
The Move
I finished my job at Intel on Friday the 23rd and frantically got all my things fully packed and ready to go. On the 24th, I picked up a U-Haul trailer and loaded it up with the help of my mum. Wednesday, I grabbed my cat, who had to stay with my mum due to living situations, and drove off to Vancouver (Not BC), Washington (Not DC) to start my new life! With the trailer, it was about a 14 hour drive, but I finally made it by 8:30pm. On Thursday, I was already moving into my new apartment. My fiance and soon-to-be-Mother-in-Law graciously helped me unload the trailer. I couldn’t have done it without them! It went decently well, though I am definitely hiring people to move me next time! Pulling a muscle in my lower back once is enough for me… After a week and a half it’s still giving me a lot of grief. However, it is getting better pretty fast, so I am very thankful for that.
The New Job
I started my new job on June 2nd and have six days under my belt. I am seriously loving it so far! I cannot believe how blessed I am to have this job. The company, Adair Homes, seems like an excellent company to work for so far. The environment is great and the people are some of the best people to work with. My manager is very easy-going and so far seems like an excellent manager… In fact, we might be becoming friends.
My position is to be Josh’s Information Systems Specialist. That means I do everything from Computer Support to Server Management to web development. So far it has been a blast learning everything I will be responsible for. I cannot wait to see what else this job has in store for me.
Long Story Short
It’s been a crazy year… So far new fiance, new town, and new job. Soon I will add new wife to that! Which will also include a new cat! 2014 has been a year of change for me. So far it’s been and will be change for the better…
I like 2014.