Big day tomorrow

Remember how I applied to be the editor at the paper I work at? Well my first interview is tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. I have no idea what the interview process will be so I don’t know if this is the first of several or if this is the only one. So if you wouldn’t mind lofting a quick prayer up to the big guy that’d be great…

Here’s the thing though… normally I’d want prayer that I get the job. This time though, I really just want prayer that the best thing happens. I’m in a real unique position for me. I love my current job. I want to be editor, I really do… but if I’m not named the new editor I know I’ll still enjoy my job and that at some point in the future I’ll most likely get another shot at it. Becoming editor right now would present some unique challenges. None that I’m not capable of facing but they would definitely change things. So I want to get this job if it’s the best thing at the right time in God’s eyes. If it’s not, I’m going to be OK with that.

So like I said… pray, but pray that whatever would be best for me is what happens. That’s really what I want right now. I am so happy that I enjoy my job and I can literally go into this interview with very little pressure because I know that no matter what happens I’ve got a great job that I truly enjoy. That’s a position I’ve never been in and I’m thankful that after so many struggles I’ve found a place I can be happy in.

Killing time

Thanks to my weird work schedule I tend to go to bed after Jess. A while after Jess. Like an hour or two. So I’m often up watching some TV and surfin’ the net. After a while I run out of things to read online. Not long ago I discovered Google Sketchup. I’ve been toying with it and recently started playing around with sketching a rough floor plan for a home Jess and I could potentially build at some point in the future. Nothing set in stone but just getting some ideas out in a way that makes it easier to look at and see if it would work.

Here’s the main floor so far.

As you can see it’s got a nice living room on the left. You can’t see it from this angle but the little triangle at the bottom is actually a fireplace. The kitchen is top middle. Bottom middle is a small office space. Top right would be a formal dining room and bottom right is a laundry room. Still in progress is an upstairs and a basement. Upstairs will be the master suite. Basement will include two extra bedrooms, storage and a home theater.

I really only mess with this when I’m bored but it’s kind of fun. It’ll be cool if we ever get to a place where we could afford to build a place of our own. It’s a personal goal. I’d love to be able to take something like this to an architect and say, “I want this, make it happen.” Mainly I just want a place of our own with plenty of space for us and for visitors. We’ve never really had a place big enough for visitors… and we’ve certainly never had a place that was actually ours.

I’m tired and need to go to bed

I haven’t updated the blog in a couple days though so I better put something up here before I pass out. It’s sad that I procrastinate going to bed. That’s a bad habit I need to break out of.

I got home from work tonight (long 9 hour day today) and got to watch most of the Lakers game. I’ve got to remember to set the DVR to record longer than scheduled for sports games cause they always go long. I hate missing the end of the game. It was nice to finally get to see a Lakers game though. They’re having a good year. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep it up and make it past the first round of the playoffs. That would help make up for the giant disappointment the Cowboys dropped on me in the playoffs.

We’ve gotten no snow this week which means that for the first time all season the snow at Lost Trail is going to be hard. I’ve been spoiled and it shows. I’m actually thinking the snow will be “bad” since we didn’t get any fresh. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still go skiing… but it’s a whole different thing when it’s hard pack as opposed to powder.

I’ve been working on laundry the past few days. I’m almost done. I was way behind on it and now I’ve got one or two loads left depending on if I decide to separate it all. I think I’ll end up just doing it in one load. I’m getting sick of laundry. You should see the huge piles of clothes sitting in our living room right now. We had a lot of laundry.

OK, that’s enough of an update for now. I’m going to bed. Sweet dreams yo!

Wish I’d had the day off

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I got my Montana driver’s license finally. I went in Friday and turned in all the paperwork and got my picture taken. When I got home Jess pointed out the flaw in my first non-Colorado license. I’ve grown 5 inches since I moved to Montana apparently. Instead of being a rather average 6 feet tall, I’m now an above average 6′5″ tall. I’m HUGE!

Anyway, I went to get it fixed this morning only to discover that the office was closed. I’d forgotten that today was President’s day so all the government offices had the day off. I’m not sure why government workers (and bankers I guess) get the day off. I wish that any time the government got the day off the rest of us were mandated to get that day off too. Well, except maybe ski area workers… they should work so I can ski. Not that it really matters… working for a newspaper I have to work even on the holidays. I don’t mind too much but it was annoying that the DMV folks weren’t there to fix my license. Now I have to go back there again tomorrow. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t a 30 minute drive each way.

Happy President’s Day everyone!

Got this from the Jodster

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Some car cleaning stuff, a pair of Teva’s, a pair of Crocs, two sets of ski poles and toilet seat covers. I’m so prepared you’d think I was a boy scout.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
Umm… it was like 2 years ago. Day after returning from Mammoth for the Orage Masters. Some of the best days of my life followed by the worst two days.

3. What’s your favorite curse word?
Like I’m gonna say that here where my whole family can read it! Actually, I try pretty hard not to say bad words.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
Jess, Aspen and Ralphie May.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Sleeping.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Reading TGR.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Sleeping I hope.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
Nope. Always afraid I’d get something that didn’t wash off.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
Goodnight babe.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Blue Bell Milk Chocolate. Hands down.

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Purple Gatorade.

12. What are you wearing right now?
T-shirt, cargo pants, socks, boxers.

13. What was the last thing you ate?
a fortune cookie

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No.

15. When was the last time you ran?
Dunno, couple days ago at the gym I guess.

16. What’s the last sporting event you watched?
NBA All-Star Skills stuff. Dunk contest was the last part on.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
My kid sister I think.

19. Ever go camping?
Oh yeah… lots.

20. Do you have a tan?
Not really. I’m pretty pasty these days.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
What’s a straw?

25. What did your last IM say?
I don’t remember. It’s been too long since I’ve IM’d someone.

26. Are you someone’s best friend?
Yes I am. And she’s mine.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Church and work.

28. Where is your mom right now?
I’m sure she’s in bed in Colorado right now. It’s way past her bedtime.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
The back of the couch and a wall.

30. What color is your watch?
The battery was dying in mine and rather than replace it I stopped wearing it. So I don’t have a watch really. I mean, I still have it, but I never wear it.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?
Skiing in New Zealand. (They’re like neighbors so it’s related!)

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
For me or for Jess?

33. What is your birthstone?
I’m a guy… like I know the answer to that. And I’m too lazy to google it.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
We don’t eat fast food anymore. It’s horrible for you. After I read Fast Food Nation I just stopped going to them.

35.How many kids do you want?
None. Though both sets of parents are praying that changes.

36. Do you have a dog?
Not yet.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Had to be Jess. She’s always calling me.

38. Have you met anyone famous?
Most of the pro freeskiers, a bunch of Christian musicians, Joey Lawrence and a few others I’m too tired to remember.

39. Any plans today?
Go to bed? It’s late and I went skiing today. I think I’ve accomplished enough for one day.

40. How many states have you lived in?
5? Let’s see… Texas, Colorado, California, Montana and I believe I was briefly a resident of Arkansas. My folks lived in Alabama but that was while I was in college so I don’t consider myself as having lived there.

41. Ever go to college?
Yup. Graduated too.

42. Where are you right now?
At home on the couch.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Warm weather. Ski season needs to last several more months.

44. Last song listened to?
Apologies by Timbaland. Satellite radio is fun.

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Sunrise.

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Salomon X-Wave 10’s.

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
Anyone that’s go so much money they don’t have to work and go heli skiing a lot.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
I doubt it.

51. What time is it?
10:45 pm.

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Almost all of them at this point. It’s impossible to find a young married couple to hang out with that doesn’t have kids.

53. Do you eat healthy?
I try. With my schedule though it’s difficult.

54. What do you usually do during the day?
Get up, work out, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
Naw. I try not to hate. Bad for the soul.

56. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
Not really. Seems so formal.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
I’ll be entering my mid-30’s. 34.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
I’ve been to three of them. Six Flags in Dallas, LA and Denver.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
Hit in the face with a pot at camp.

There ya have it. Hope it wasn’t TOO boring.

Bread is yummy in my tummy

Valentine’s Day yo! I had a pretty good one! I work nights of course so Jess and I couldn’t make plans to go out. Instead, I woke up this morning and hit the slopes for a couple hours before work. Came home and ate lunch with Jess then got cleaned up and went to work. Work was fine. Then when I got home, Jess had a nice dinner fixed for me (it was very tasty!) and we exchanged cards. I told her what she’s getting and she got me a break maker!

Ok, so it’s a bit weird that she bought me an appliance but I love… love… LOVE fresh bread. I’ve been talking about someday getting a bread machine for a while and she got me one! I’m so excited to have some fresh bread in the house. It smells good, tastes good.. it’s just good all around!

I swear I have the best wife ever.

You want your big news? I’ve got your big news right here!

OK, so I took care of things that needed to get taken care of so I’ll break the big news. Today, I applied for a new job! I know what you’re thinking… “What? I thought you loved your job?!?!?” I do! Let me explain.

First, you should go read this: CLICK ME! That will give you the background of what’s been going on the past couple weeks. It was a big deal, obviously.

So after reading that… you’ll know that the Editor position at the paper is currently open. I applied for that position today. I knew when I started I wanted to one day be editor. Now I’ve got an opportunity to possibly be just that. I’m hopeful. Our publisher is currently filling in as both editor and publisher. I’m picking up as much editor work from her as I can to get us through. I’m enjoying the increased responsibility.

So keep your fingers crossed and send up a good word to the man upstairs cause I would absolutely LOVE to get this position.

Life is a highway…

So I got a text message from my mom. (hi mom!) She’s dying to know what the big news is. Well, I can’t say just yet. I’ve got some things I need to take care of before I can say anything about it. It’s a big deal though and I need to get some ducks in a row first. So mom, be patient! Everyone else too I suppose.

So far the weekend has gone pretty well. Friday I got up and hit the slopes to another 15 inches of fresh snow. This has been just an unbelievable year for snow. I’ve skied fresh powder almost every weekend. Awesome. One of my goals for the season was to become a better powder skier. I’m definitely achieving that.

Jess found me the coolest thing last night. I have a slight collection of rubber duckies. I’m not sure why I like them but I do. I think they’re fun and whimsical. So whenever I see a fun one I’m always into it. Well last night Jess found me a set of rubber duckies… only this set is special. It’s a nativity scene of rubber duckies! Next Christmas should be quite festive with the ducks. MR Ducks!

I wonder what color the sky really is…

This has been a really snowy winter here. I think I’ve seen blue sky twice since about October. Unreal. I’m used to Colorado winters where it’s cold and occasionally snowy but mostly clear blue sky. I’m ready for some clear days though the continual snow has made for some fantastic skiing.

There’s been a lot going on this week. Unfortunately the major events I’m not at liberty to talk about yet. It’s made things a bit more stressful for me but I’m dealing well. Rest assured that it has nothing to do with me and Jess or any of our families. It’s something that I’m pretty close to and don’t want to talk about just yet. However, I will soon and then you’ll all know how big this week has been.

Tomorrow (almost today… it’ll be tomorrow in a few minutes) is my kid sister’s birthday. She’s going to be 25. Mid 20’s for Nurse Pain Payne. So if my little rug rat of a little sister reads this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY yo!

Bittersweet victory

I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t want the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. I was rooting against perfection. Count me as one of the many with a sour taste in my mouth over the whole video taping the other team’s signals thing. I also don’t like their coach. At all. He’s a sore loser and comes across as thinking he’s better than everyone else. So I was rooting for the Giants. As much as that pains me.

See, the Giants are in the same division as the Cowboys. So they’re a natural rival. On top of that, the Giants beat the Cowboys in the playoffs. So if the Cowboys had just pulled out a win against the Giants they very likely could have been playing in the big dance. Instead they crumpled and the Giants went on to upset the Patriots and win the championship. It pains me that the Cowboys had the best record in the NFC and couldn’t win one playoff game.

I am comforting myself by saying that the Giants were a team of destiny and you just can’t fight that. They came from the bottom of the NFC seeds and beat the undefeated Patriots. Now the off-season begins and the Cowboys will try to figure out how to reload for another run next year. It’s sad that they failed to live up to their potential this year but now I turn my eyes to next year and the potential this team has to do very, very well again.