Never A Dull Moment

Today Drew & I had to take my car to the body shop to get an estimate on the repairs to submit to my auto insurance. Yesterday Drew disassembled the front end of my sad car so it wouldn't drag on the ground when we drove. My car started up like a champ, but driving it was a whole different story. About half a mile from home one of my tires went flat. So poor little Drew got out in the cold and changed the tire to the spare. There wasn't any metal poking or any obvious reason that the tire would go flat but it did. So we started driving again and then the spare went flat too. So then we were stranded. I called AAA and specifically asked for a tow truck to come tow my car and they dispatched the request. Twenty minutes later a guy arrives with a pump to inflate the tire... that didn't work out so well. So then they called for a real tow truck and I got news that it was going to take 2 hours to get somebody out. I cancelled AAA, and got another company to tow me. It took us two hours to go 1.6 miles. I ended up being late to work. It sucked.

With the Good Comes the Bad

THE GOOD NEWS:

I had a dentist offer me a job yesterday. I accepted and start on January 5th. His practice is new and he's expanding and bringing me into help with all the new patients.

THE BAD NEWS:

Moments ago my car was involved in a hit and run accident. It was parked in front of my house and someone turning a corner slammed the front of it. My neighbor saw it all happen but the license plate was snow covered. The police did a report, but I'm not too hopeful of them finding the criminal who did this. It happened shortly after 2am so we are suspicious that there may have been alcohol involved. The worst part is my car was already totalled this year so I don't think my insurance will be helping me in any way.

Ice Capades Here I Come!

I officially suck at driving on ice. I haven't wrecked or anything, but I supersuck at it. I spin my tires a lot and I'm not so great about stopping either. One of these days I'll improve...

Well, I'm eating my words. We got a snow storm a few days ago and it's been hovering around -8F ever since. I had been informed by the locals that it doesn't get that cold until Jan. and Feb. THEY LIED! To be honest about it, cold is cold. Once it gets down to the teens it doesn't feel all that different from the negative temps... so far at least.

I was able to get another day off of work so Drew and I are going to California for Christmas to spend it with my family. It will be fun (and warm.) I was able to finish all my shopping yesterday. Hooray!

What I've Been Up To...

I haven't posted for a while so I'm going to catch up in a bullet format:

• I'm still working at Verizon Wireless. I worked on Black Friday. It wasn't horrible.
• I spent Thanksgiving in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming at Aunt Jerry's house. It was fun and the food was fantastic.
• I don't know what Drew and I are doing for Christmas yet. It depends on my employment.
• I missed my 10 year high school reunion this past weekend. A friend of mine (who is a fun person) said it was a snooze. Makes me glad I didn't go.
• Drew returned from hunting two days ago. It's nice having company at home. I've stopped having full conversations with my cats.
• Drew gave me my Christmas present early. He rewarded me with diamond earrings for being a trooper through the hunting season. (Proof again of his perfectness.)
• The wedding is still off. My family has tried to talk me back into it, but I'm still not totally sold on it. I might come around and start planning it again. I might elope too. It's up in the air.

Let it Snow...

I've had quite a few questions about the weather conditions here, and thought I would take the time to clear up the confusion. (Some people seem to think it snows constantly here which is not the case at all.) Today it snowed. The last time it snowed prior to this was October 12. How it works is it snows for a day or two and then all the snow melts and goes away.

The temperature? Today it was in the high 20s - low 30s. Most of this week it's been 40-50F. I have yet to experience any negative temperatures. Some one else asked if it was -15 F yet. Not quite... maybe in January???

The Wedding Has Been Cancelled. Seriously. It has.

So to catch everybody up to speed. Drew proposed this summer when we were in the middle of moving to Montana. He was very sweet about it. Shortly after that everybody started to ask when the wedding was going to be. I didn't really know because we were homeless and unemployed when he proposed, so we had a couple of other challenges to tackle first.

Sometime during mid summer it was suggested by family members that the wedding be planned in conjunction with our family vacation. This family vacation goes by the name of "The Cool Bean Tour." Cool Beans happens every two years and it's a week of family fun. (Past Cool Beans Tours have been to Maui and Alaska.) I seized the opportunity to have our wedding at an awesome destination and began plans with the family for a wedding set on the big island of Hawaii in August 2009.

After researching and planning for nearly three months now this has all changed. Due to my parents complains of the wedding being too much work on our vacation it has been called off. I see their point that it would interfere with our fun time, but I'm pretty disappointed and hurt that they let me think about this for three months before deciding this was a bad idea. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but right now I feel like nobody cares enough to go the extra mile for me. (With the exception of Drew. He's perfect. His family is pretty awesome too with the exception of his evil Step Mother.) I hope this doesn't change my relationship with my family, but right now I feel like reclusing away for a long time.

So to everyone who was thinking they would be invited, sorry it's not going to happen. It has been postponed indefinitely. This is yet another rock bottom for me in a year of disappointments and misfortunes.

"I Don't Think So!"

I thought this was so adorable I stole it from Palomo's blog. (Hope she doesn't mind my cybertheft) This is my nephew Mattias and sister-in-law Palomo using his new catch phrase. Too cute.

Do A Deer, A Female Deer

Drew has been guiding hunters for a couple of weeks and he's already been threatened by wild animals. A hunter and Drew were sitting in a place where deer commonly walk by. He said they were just watching and sitting quietly when they suddenly heard something rustle behind them. Drew turned around to find a herd of 12 doe deers behind them. The girls moved in and circled around Drew and the hunter. The deer were snorting and stomping their hooves for a long 30 minute stare down. Drew and the hunter sat very still and didn't make a sound. Finally the ladies decided they were no threat and they walked off. Crazy Montana stuff.

Here is a photo I took a couple of months ago of some young bucks. They usually don't like to get too close.

Moving to Montana Video

I have been taking video on my flip video camera for the past 6 months to make a short mockumentary of the experience of moving from Los Angeles, CA to Billings, MT. Some of you have been asking to see it and it will come at some point. The reason it doesn't exist is I'm missing one very important piece of equipment that I need for editing my movie. As soon as I have a little extra money I can buy it.

...Until then I'll just post a random Montana picture I took for the heck of it.

Working Girl

The Verizon Wireless job is going alright. It's a pretty easy/boring position. I greet customers as they walk in the door and queue them up to get help. They ask a lot of questions which I have no idea what the answer is. I stupidly have to say I don't know anything and that I only take names at the door. The only difficult part is the standing. I'm on my feet standing in one spot all day long. My feet are slowly getting used to it, but they hurt. Despite the sore tootsies, I'm glad I finally have some income.

Table for one please.

Hunting season has gone into full swing in Montana, and for those of you who don't know Drew guides hunters. He left for Eastern Montana (way way out in the middle of nowhere) over a week ago. He's going to be over there for over three more weeks. In the mean time, it's me and my cats. It's very quiet at home.

Feelin' Jobby...

After a long week of interviews I have accepted a position. It's not a hygiene job but it will do. Starting Saturdayish, I'll be working at Verizon Wireless. I'm not a fan of the crappy retail hours but it's a seasonal position and the pay is by far better then any other seasonal retail in town. Yay for money!

Stupid Kitty

Yesterday I had a scare with Rocky, my big fat orange kitty. He decided to eat a rubber band which led to him vomiting about a dozen times. I called the vet and she encouraged me to make him eat so he would barf up the rubber band, or pass it through. After puking all day he finally fell asleep and felt better with no sign of the rubber band. Now I get to watch for the surprise in the cat box!

Too many interviews...

This week has been worse then a pants-full of you know what. I've had six interviews in the past three days, and I have one more today. I've had a few too many of, "Tell me why we should hire you?" or "What is your greatest strength?" One of my favorites (not really), "Tell me about a time you did something with integrity." Don't forget the old, "Tell me about a time you handled a tough situation."

It's been interview hell! I've had three job offers. Two of which I turned down because the wage was ridiculously low. I'm still waiting to hear back from the others, two of which have good pay. I am thankful that I at least have something coming up. It's a lot better then sitting at home waiting for a dentist to call me.

Dog Sitter For Hire

Last week Drew's Dad went to Oregon to visit Levi, Drew's Brother. Drew and I were employed to watch his Dad's dog for a week. The dog is a hound dog named Amos. We knew Amos would be a little difficult to care for because he's a country dog who is used to running freely. We live in the city and don't even have a fenced yard. It turned out to be a very long week. Amos was miserable being inside. He would get 5-7 walks per day but it wasn't good enough. Amos is a fun dog, but I'm glad he's gone home. He was happy to leave too.

I took this video of Amos being annoying during the summer. He had to stay inside the cabin for about an hour because Drew was using some farming equipment that could hurt Amos. It's a good example of how irritating he can be.

Going down the Retail Road...

With much regret I have begun to apply for retail positions. Today I had an interview at Sears and it was a BIG JOKE. I showed up and was interviewed by this girl who I could clearly tell was new to interviewing people because she was way more nervous talking to me then I was talking to her. She even blanked out for a while and couldn't seem to tell me a job description of the position. After stumbling through the interview (I did fine btw) she went for help to bring in a "high up" person to interview me more and describe the job better. The other lady came in only to tell me the position had been filled and she didn't have any other jobs under her. It would have been nice if somebody called me and cancelled my appointment rather then wasting my time. (Insert pissy face here.) She did say that somebody else there may have a job for me, so I have to go back later today to talk with some other person. I'm very disappointed in Sears so far.

I have an interview at JC Penney tomorrow, and then on Thursday I have an interview at a place called Cookies by Design. It's a cookie baking and decorating job. "Sigh."

The Unemployment Blues

When Drew & I moved to Montana, Drew found a job at a local Ford dealership instantly. I thought the job market must be similar to that in Southern California with lots of opportunities of instant employment. I THOUGHT WRONG!!!!!

I took the summer off and began my job search in mid-August. I'm a dental hygienist so naturally I started investigating dental hygiene jobs. I started with the local paper & the internet and came up empty handed. I tried the Montana Dental Association website. I looked and looked online and nothing was available. So I started the good old fashioned door to door approach. I drove around town walking into dentist offices and talking with the staff & leaving resumes at nearly 60.....yes 60 dental offices and came up with nothing. (I did get a temp day filling in one day at one office.) I've talked with lots of dental people who know other dental people but no jobs are out there right now in this town.

Disappointed with the outcome, and money running short, I started applying for other jobs. I've applied for at least 30 positions doing various jobs. Some in which I have zero experience. The outcome has been a few crappy interviews. One interview tested my faith in God.... Not exactly a job for me. Another interview was scheduled by some guy and when I showed up the girl interviewing me had no clue who I was or why I was there.... That one didn't quite work out. Then I had one come up with a dentist! His office manager told me he wasn't hiring but wanted to meet me???? I thought it sounded strange that someone would say that, but I went with it and the dentist proceeded to lecture me for an hour about oral health... It was a weird interview to say the least. I did end up getting one day scheduled to work for him. We'll see how that goes. I also have an interview today for some position where I would keep track of some inventory. Wish me luck. I need it. I'm almost ready to head down to Walmart or Taco Bell to see if they need some help. (Insert sad face here.)

MY FOLKS HOUSE ALMOST BURNED DOWN!

My parents went to Texas this last weekend to see Kansas State (their alma mater) play Texas A&M. K. State won and I'm sure my parents had a drunken good weekend with their alumi. They flew home on Monday and noticed smoke in the air. It wasn't until my folks drove a little closer that they noticed the smoke was right by their house. They pulled up the driveway to discover firetrucks, firemen, and a yard full of neighbors watching the flames start to make their way over a nearby ridge. My parents house neighbors the miltary base Camp Pendleton, and they have miles of open brush covered land right behind their home. There is a fire break that is well maintained that actually saved their house. They also got lucky that the wind was blowing in their favor. My Dad said it was really sad when nightfall set in and all these little birds started flying all over blindly slamming into the side of the house. The fire moved it's way past their home and all was good. The Schmidts got lucky this time.

SNOW DAY!

Winter came early this year and it snowed here. Everybody keeps on saying that usually it doesn't snow in October, but I guess we got a special early surprise this year. Oh boy! I need a sled now too!

P.S. This is our house.

Drunk Lady Peeing on my Lawn!

A few nights ago I was sleeping and woke up to the sounds of "WOOOOOOOOO!!!! WOOOOOOO! WEEEEEEEEEE!!! YEAHHHHHH!" I looked at the clock, which read 12:30, and immediately thought there must be some punk kids outside. So I peeked through the blinds and to my dismay I see a lady pulling up her pants because she has just peed on my lawn. She then proceeded to stumble down the sidewalk in a crooked line back and forth, back and forth. I guess she was having a really fun time all alone with all the gleeful cheers. Then she ate it hard, hit the ground and stopped moving. I thought for a second what do I do? I didn't want to just leave her there in the cold. What if she was mentally ill rather then just drunk? What if she was diabetic and had low blood sugar??? So, I decided to call the police and let them deal with her drunk ass. I dialed and the dispatcher asks, "What is the problem ma'am?" I said, "There is a drunk lady on my front lawn." The dispatcher laughed for a moment, and then asked me where the lady was, and what she looked like, etc. The drunk proceeded to vomit multiple times while I was on the phone and she wasn't very quiet about it. About 30 seconds after I hung up the phone the fuzz arrived. The lady sobered up pretty quickly, got in the car and left with the officer. Good times.

Seasons Upon Us

So, being from So. Cal. I'm pretty accustomed to nice mild temperatures..... IT'S FREAKIN' 40 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!! burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Somebody get me some mittens!

Welcome to my blog!

Hey people! Welcome to my new blog. Since I've moved to Montana and am finding myself isolated, I thought why not broadcast myself online and share my experiences of living far far far from my comfort zone in Southern California. Check back often for updates. ENJOY.