Avas Summer Dance Recital 2012

All day i had planned on clearing out Ashleys memory card to make sure i had adequate space to record Avas dance but forgot till last minute but figured i would be ok as i recently cleared it (turns out it wasnt all that recently). So i only got the first little bit of her first dance. I was so mad at myself. I actually didnt get to watch much of her first because after my epic fail i was frantically trying to fix the problem..............#Dad Fail

F#*!

I believe that these were the words that flew out of my mouth at about 7:55am this morning!! Today was my last day working before we head off to Disneyland and i have been on a deadline. Not enough hours left in the day to get done what needed to be done so of course the day wasnt going to go as planned.

I was cruising along as the traffic was building about 15 minutes out from work already running 15 minutes behind due to a morning crash. As i was checking my blind spot i started to merge to the next lane but as i swung my head back around i noticed a huge chunk of steel appear from the car in front as it passed it. I couldnt do anything to react so i drove straight over it and heard a huge thumping noise. I knew that it had done some damage - all i could hope for was one tyre and not 2. It took about 5 seconds before i started to feel that my tyre had blown so i pulled over on the shoulder of the car pool lane to check the damage.

As i pulled over i allowed myself not even 3 months of space against the cars and busses flying passed at 80mph. I had to do this quickly. I checked my phone for the time and got to work. It took me 10 minutes to get tset up, tyre off and replaced before i was off again. Was a little worried with the passing traffic but well impressed with myself to get it done so quickly - i guess i can never wonder why no cop will ever stop for me as i see happen so often.

Just the start to the day i needed but so glad to now be siiting at the other end of the day with beer in hand and 10 days off ahead of me..............

Motivation

So true........

Note to self.........

You have lost your way a little dude!! Its time to refocus!! When you return from Disneyland it is time to get back into the fitness regime unless you want to fail at the upcoming half marathon. Train hard and remain focused!! Lets get it done.........

Conversations

Driving home from work with the girls in the back after having picked the girls up from Ashleys work yesterday we had the radio going and Ava was singing along - or should i say mumbling. I decided to sing along but as it was a "girl song" Ava screams NO!! Dont sing Daddy - its not your song....its my song!! (this happens all the time). I turn around while she is singing and say I love you Ava do you love Dempsey? she replies yes. Do you love mum? she replies yes. Do you love me? She replies.......i dont love you daddy cause you are not my dad (this is also a common occurrence). I turn the radio off ans tell Ava that i turned it off because she doesnt love me. Without skipping a beat she replies...........i love you again daddy - Now turn the radio back on!!

Frustrated!!

To day that i have been a little frustrated of late would be a big understatement. It feels as though i have little control of what is going on in my life right now. Too much to do and too little time in all aspects. I am back working on a hotel that i was working on a few months back and it is a mad rush to get it done - as it always is.  I basically have less than 2 weeks to complete the job when in all reality it is about 3 weeks worth of work. Everyone else on the project has burnt up all of their hours so it falls on me. The way the job and the hours within this job have been structured it was doomed to not make it within the budget from day 1.....but in the world of architecture there are no excuses. So next week i will be working as much unpaid overtime as possible to get it done......awesome!!

Work as a whole is the core of so much of what is going on in my head right now. I am almost certain that i am mentally not all there right now due to the upcoming move. There is so mush B.S. politicing that goes on i just dont have the patience to deal with it. With the structure of the company i am definitely feeling like a commodity. I knew going into starting this job that it is a production office - which means that when you are at work you are expected to be at your desk getting things done. Makes for a very tedious work life.

I am finally very close to getting having my portfolio completed which will be a big weight off my shoulders, but once that is done i will have to move into the job search aspect. It seems like once i get home from work i always have more work to do. I have been very inconsistent with hitting up the gym and all other parts of my "nomral life" lately which has thrown me around a bit.

Hopefully after Disneyland in 2 weeks things will calm down and life will return to some form on normality........because i need it!!

Work v Play

Every day i drive to work i have to make a very hard decision. You would not believe how many times the thought has occurred to me that if i was to head south instead of north i would have a so much better day.........

Motivation

I love this quote - wish i could live by it a little more often............

Lyric on my mind

My head has been in a bit of a weird place lately. I am not really sure what is going on, but i am all up in my own head......all the time!! I think its a culmination of everything that is going on right now. To say I (we) have a full plate is an understatement. Work is going nuts. We are on overtime watch, which means that we have too much work and not enough time but we are not told when we are required to do overtime it just happens. I like to know my schedule and that is not happening right now. I am also struggling a little with enjoying work. We let go of one of the only guys i consider normal a few weeks ago and have hired a handful of others, all of whom i am not a big fan of. Work just seems to be less fun lately. I am also a little worried that i might be checking out already now that i can see the end of the road for the Utah life. Its not like i dont care about what i am doing - i still go to work to learn as much as i can with the remaining time i have, but with a few things going on in the office it makes it hard to stay on top of things.

We also have the move coming up and i am not sure if i am anxious about such a big move but i have too many thoughts on my mind. We have so much to organise between now and then and with no date its hard to work towards a plan. I feel as though we are not getting anything done that needs to be done as right now its all the minor details that are being organised. Not knowing what life will be like when we move is a pain in the ass. The life i left behind will be nothing like the life we are returning to. There is a lot on my shoulders to make sure that the move is the right decision for the family.

Its been really hard to remain in the now and not live in the past. I have found myself to become extremely reflective of late. Its like i am living in a montage. Thinking of all the amazing times we have had here and all of the things i wanted to do but now do not have time. I hope that the next 6 months dont go by so far that i am not able to enjoy our last days here.

Luckily we have a trip to Disneyland coming up in 3 weeks time which is going to be a very welcome break from life. I am really looking forward to seeing how the girls enjoy themselves as this time we are taking an extra day so that the girls can adjust and Ash has spent a lot of time prepping suprises for the girls throughout the entire trip. It is going to be a lot of fun. I also cant wait for my yearly trip to Vegas. It will be my last time there for quite some time so i am going to make sure to take it all in.

When i was driving home today Maybe by Sick Puppies came on and a lyric stuck with me with where my head was at today.......

Maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change

And maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try

Pics of the week........

 She has the style

 Something happened we never thought we would see

 Becoming quite the artist

 They love the longboard

 New floaties for summer - she cant wait to get to the pool

 Feeding time at the zoo

 Dempsey loves to put things on her hat - I love seeing her in my hats. She has a swagger when she wears them backwards

 Went to a friends art exhibit - was kinda weird

 Finally golfing again

 Ashleys new longboard - its actually a lot of fun. Might need to get myself one some day

 Entertaining Demps

Lake Mountain

 Today was the warmest day that we have had so far this year - it got to 82 so i took the opportunity to get the hiking started for the year. I have been wanting to do this hike since last year so was eager to get out and get it done. The plan was to climb to the peak of Lake Mountain which sits on the west side of Utah lake. I wanted to take a picture of Timp in all of its glory and a panoramic of the valley. Things did not go as planned.

In the 6 months since my last hike i seemed to have forgotten just how much work it is to hike uphill and how seeing a smaller mountain from the highway does not mean that it will be a short hike. I had allowed about 90 minutes to the summit but on my way up i passed another hiker. So i asked him how long it took for him to hike to the peak. He told me it was about 2.5 hours one way. It was right then and there i knew it was going to be yet another hike where i would not reach the top. It also turns out that the pictures i took did not meet the expectations i had. I am not sure if it was just the wrong time of the day or if it was a little hazy but the pictures did not come out looking as crisp as i was hoping. I also realised i did not know how to use the panoramic function properly.

I am going to head back out in a few weeks but will drive up some ways so i can get more pictures later in the day. I might also set aside an entire morning so that i can hike to the summit. It would be good practice for the Timp hike and the half marathon.

Con Trails

Today when i was out hiking I  was blown away at the amount of planes flying overhead. Anybody that reads this blog would know that i am slightly obsessed with Airplanes. I couldnt believe how many flight paths there were. Where we live in Orem you can look up to the sky at just about any minute of the day and see a plane flying through the Utah corridor on its way to SLC.  I hiked on the west side of the lake today and noticed the air traffic was almost tripled. At the higher elevation the planes were definitely closer but then ontop of that you could see the flight paths that were flying to other states.

The sky was covered with Con trails. A sight i have grown to love. I can not really remember seeing too many if any at all back home in Australia. I think the first time i was blown away by them was the first time i was in the U.K. It will be strange to move home and not be able to look up to see them above.

This thought reminded me of a conversation i had with Clair many years ago when i first moved to the states. Clair was talking of 911 and how one of the strange aspects he recalls of that day was the fact that all flights were grounded and there were no con trails in the sky. At the time i had not been here for very long and did not understand that comment at all. Today is a different story..........

Put into perspective

Today i headed out for my first hike of the year. With all of the time to myself i had plenty of time to think. I got to thinking of the move to Australia and at what financial cost. It really is adding up and when thought about as a whole it can be quite overwhelming.

I started to thinking of all things Utah that i enjoy or would want to participate in if we decided we never wanted to move. Winter would be snowboarding with a yearly lift pass which is $$$$, I would have to buy a snowmobile. Summer would be all of the hiking get up, I would want a boat to go wakeboarding, a mountain bike, a ATV and then i would want a big bad ass truck to move all of these boys toys around.

So when you think about it, what would be the cheaper option? I think it is sixes!!

Ashleys Present

Ashleys Birthday was about amonth ago now and I wanted to do something special for her. Its easy to buy a gift but it always means a little something more to make something. At the time i was teaching myself photoshop and came across a tutorial that helped me put this little bad boy together - got to say i was pretty happy with myself. Got it mounted on canvas.....looks pretty good!!

Song of the day...........

Limp Bizkit - Shotgun

Almost a yank!!

Last Thursday i had my interview and test to become a U.S citizen. We started the application in January and expected it to approx. 6 months so we were amazed when we were informed in march that my application had been processed and the test was less than month away. The test was on U.S. history and knowledge on the setup of government, none of which i had any prior information on. I was sent a study manual which consisted of 100 questions of which i would be asked any 10. Ash grilled me in the week leading and it didnt take long for me to answer 100/100.

I had my appointment at 7:45 in SLC and was expecting it to take anywhere up to 2 hours time. When i sat down the guy pulled out a file that would have been 3-4 inches thick. I asked him if that was all infomation on me to which he replied everything since you first entered the states. I wasnt sure how i felt about that. I was asked to confirm some questions that were part of the apllication but one of the questions i could only laugh at. After asking if i had been to rehab i was asked if i was a drunkerd. I laughed so he clarified the question. Do you get drunk and fall about?? I had to think for a minute.

I was asked only 4 questions and once he decided that i had studied for the test i was asked to read out the sentence What country is to the north of the U.S and the write it down. He then handed me a piece of paper stating that i had passed and telling me that the i will be notified of the ceremony where i am sworn in as a citizen. He stood up shook my hand and showed me the door.  I was in the interview room for about 20 minutes total. As i left i couldnt believe that was it and i was now basically a u.s. citizen.

Hollywood!!

On many occasions since being here i have been called Hollywood by people i dont know very well at all. I think its mainly when i am out wearing my aviators and my leather jacket. The other day when heading out for lunch one of the builders that i looked like Sly Stallone on the cover of this movie. Its a little strange that dressing nice creates such a reaction - only in UTah!!

Job search.........

The time has come for me to move into the job search portion of the move. Its been something I have been in the process of for a little while now. Every few months i browse the job sites back home to get a feel for whats out there and where at what type of places i will be applying to. I am currently in the middle of putting a portfolio together to accompany my resumes, which is taking a little longer than I was hoping for.

I am not at all familiar with the architecture world back home as i have only worked with small home builders in the past so i am going to have to try to cover all bases and hope that i get a response from firms that fit what i am looking for. It will be an interesting proposition if i find myself in a position to choose which firm I want to work with.

From what i am seeing through my online searching there are plenty of jobs available that meet the job description i will be looking for. Now i just need to get my ass into gear and finish my portfolio.

Its going to be a long month......

We are slammed at work at the moment so that means overtime......and loads of it. That means for the next 2 weeks atleast we arent sure what our daily hours are going to be till we are told when we arrive that day. The only days not considered working days are sundays - thank god for holy utah!! Luckily i get out of thursdays being an overtime day as that is the night Ash works. We have been told that we are not required to put in the overtime but I would not want to test that by saying no and find out a few weeks later i was not required due to a lack of commitment. We can really do with the extra $$ right now so i cant complain as it will help with paying off Disneyland and Ashleys visa. I just have to put up with seeing the guys at work more than i do my family in the short future!!

Thats some crazy shit!!

2Pac - Live at Coachella