New Job is still the best

As you've read, I have a really sweet new job. It's pretty much the best thing ever.

Some updates, for your reading (and viewing) pleasure:

I go into the office in SLC on Mondays. It's awesome. I have my own little office with a desk and a giant window overlooking the Gateway Mall.

(That's my view)

I thought it was the coolest until I saw Eric's window on the other side. He's got a view of Temple Square but then, I guess he IS the creative director.

(That's Eric's View during the 2002 Olympics/ at Christmas)

It's still pretty freakin' awesome and I feel legit.

(That's me trying to be sly and take of picture of myself at work without my co-workers seeing me and making fun of me)

I also got my access card today! It's got a picture of me and I scan it at the door and it let's me in. I also sent in my first invoice and will be receiving my first paycheck soon. It's all happening so fast!

Don't mind my hair in that picture. I was trying to do something like this:It didn't work out.

Tonight, I'm talking to my mom and mid-call I get a call from my boss. I tell my mom I'll call her back and proceed to answer Peggy's call.

She says that there is a man in Australia who I need to interview. I get on skype to set up an appointment but he can't do it any other time but right that second. So I've just spent the last two hours talking to the 2009 winner of Australia's Biggest Loser! It was awesome. He's famous and so cool and has the most incredible stories.

Mostly he is an inspiration. He lost more than half of his body weight and has kept it off for two years! He makes me think that I can lose weight and be healthy too. Hopefully I don't have to go on a reality show to do it.

Basically, mom, that is why I never called you back.

But my job rocks. Keep your fingers crossed that they'll find me irreplaceable and essential to the shoot then pay for me to go to Australia and New Zealand for the filming!!

New Job

I got another job (because I'm not nearly busy enough: I still sleep at night)

It's actually pretty amazing. My church (click here) is pretty awesome but some people don't know that. So the church headquarters in Salt Lake City have created this campaign called "I am a Mormon." At it's most basic level, it's mini documentaries about Mormons all over the world. It's used to help people understand that we don't eat our young or worship seagulls. Just the normal crazy stuff like no coffee and three hours of church on Sundays. By portraying people doing normal things, they're helping to make Mormons less mysterious and more inviting.

Pretty awesome, right? Right! My job, then, is to call these potential subjects and get to know them. I interview them for an hour or so and come up with a good angle that the producers can take with them. I've had the job for exactly one week and have already done four interviews and have two more set up.

At first I was really nervous. I hate talking on the phone and words that are so clear in my mind often come out as "blsgrebfwnnuuuuhhhhh...." Not cute. But these people are so amazing. I ask one question and they just open up to me. Everything from scuba divers to farmers in New Zealand. They have amazing and inspiring stories. One woman made me cry when she told me about the obstacles she faced when adopting her daughter from China. Another couple told me about all the times they've almost died but through miracles were saved. I'm realizing that people are awesome. And not it the "dude, you're awesome, bra" kind of way. In a way that actually inspires awe. One woman visits orphanages in Thailand every year and raises thousands of dollars for them. Her story is incredible, but so is the man's who wakes up every morning at 4 am to milk his cows, run his farm, and then goes to the school board meeting.

I've said before that I hate people, but that's a lie. These friends (which they feel like and are... on facebook) are reminding me that there is good all around. We don't have to be bogged down by the negativity that is out there. Hurray for wonderful humans who talk to me, and hurray for the comapany that pays me to to do it. And hurray for the Church that brings them all together!

?

I've just realized the most terrifying thing about not knowing what I'll be doing when I graduate:


WHO WILL I SEE THE FINAL HARRY POTTER FILM WITH?!?!

5k

I ran a 5k! Well, I jogged/ walked a 5k. My time is not important, what's important is that I wasn't last and I FINISHED it. I'm pretty proud of me. Here's a picture of me looking immensely cute, post race. I was gross and tired and it was less than 10 degrees. Cold.


HAPPY (late) THANKSGIVING!!!!

Names

Some names are awesome.

Some are not.

We all have our favorites and here are mine:

Female
Charlotte
Elizabeth
Adelaide

Male
James
Oliver
Rupert
Franklin

Turns out I like old British men... hmmm.

Thoughts of a Tuesday

I have a fever and the only prescription is graduation!

This is insane. I thought high school senioritis was bad. But this, this is mixed with a heavy dose of "scared out of my pants" and "welp, what now?" Increasing, in my opinion, the intensity.

April 2011 means:
no more college
no more "help" from mom and pops. (the quotes are there because I should have been doing everything on my own but every now and then they'd throw me a bone in the shape of money.)
no more homework
no more tests in the testing center
no more student discounts (legally)
and a handful of other things that don't seem important enough (or easy enough to spell) to put here.

Other than being scared out of my MIND about the offerings of 5 months from now, good things have happened in the here and now:

1. I was accepted into the advanced screenwriting course for my final semester. I will be writing a feature length screenplay and then selling it more hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, that's the plan at least.
2. I'm famous!

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/18361/Americas-changing-perception-of-Mormons

I was quoted in "Mormon Times" which is a subset of "Deseret News" which is only circulated in Utah so, basically I'm a superstar. (I'm at the very end, so you can skip the article if you want and just read about me.)
3. I went on a date. I know, right? Sure, it was blind and set up by my ward and involved other people and a mystery tie, but it's a step in the right direction. He's from Virginia, funny enough, and has good taste in movies (although, I'm always nervous that people lie when they learn I'm a film major. C'mon, people, my favorite movie is "While You Were Sleeping"!) Cool guy.

So, life is good.

CHRISTMAS! what?

My Friday: A New Novel by Amy Roskelley

I haven't been up to Salt Lake at all since this school year started so I was grateful for the opportunity yesterday. My dear friend, Lauren, got in a car accident (she's fine, thanks for asking) and was car shopping. Naturally, all the cars she wanted were in SLC and, newly car-less (I almost said "careless", whoops...) she enlisted my assistance. In payment, she took me to cheesecake factory! yum.

So, we leave early afternoon, 1:30 right after my last class. The first stop is right there in Provo. Finding the location was a treat within itself, but eventually we succeeded and made our way up the front porch steps of a cute little house. This was, not, however a home. It was a loan place? maybe? where they rented carpet cleaners? and sold VCRs? Basically, sketch.

So we tell the girl we're there and she yells in the back for "Jake." (I guess the quotation marks were unnecessary but they just felt right.) A middle aged man comes out and says to follow him, the car is just a couple blocks away. weird.

We follow him and 10 minutes later pull into a gravel lot behind an abandoned building where 5 or 6 run-down cars are lined up against a chain-linked fence. Seriously, if it wasn't 2 in the afternoon, I would have been scared for my life.

Long story short: the car didn't even start. heck no, techno.

Then the drive to Salt Lake. uneventful.

Finding the dealership, a little eventful. when Lauren called guy #2 and told him that we were lost and "by the airport" he laughed. Lauren blames google maps, I blame Lauren.

We made it, test drove three cars, she's thinking.

Third and final place. hilarious.

Rick (guy #3) was the Utah version of a "good ol' boy." He runs a one door garage out of what looks like his trailer. With a huge dog (named Tank) and a small blonde woman who I assumed was his wife but Lauren thought was his niece (maybe both...).

The car wasn't technically allowed to be driven since it was uninsured and without a license plate. So once around the block while Hercules (Sandlot reference anyone?) followed me around and sniffed my crotch. Then Rick proceeded to tell us stories and show us his cars and be weird and funny. And dirty. Physically, not verbally.

Then cheesecake factory where we sat at the bar because it was PACKED and I got carded for the first time in my life!!! It was very exciting.

Yummy food, yummy cheesecake. :)

Got caught in hecka (my mom reads this...) bad traffic and Lauren was late for her date! Sorry. But apparently he wasn't mad.

And I went to bed.

The end.

ps- Lauren's car that she totaled: Explorer. The only car she's looking at: Explorer. Seriously, branch out! That was super boring car shopping.

pps- don't mind the terrible switches from present to past tense. It happens.