Saturday May 16, 2009

So, it’s been a week and a half since we last updated our blog, so this post is more from obligation than desire to write what is happening with our lives. Alex is doing well. She loves her job, her husband, and her Jesus. The problem is with me, and, since I am the one who writes, it makes sense that I have not wanted to clue anyone in on the hardship of finding a job. I don’t want to make this about that though.

Here is what I want to share. I am running every other day to keep my endorphin levels high, which help me have a better outlook on life. I am reading quite a bit, right now it’s The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and watching cartoons to fill the time. I also spend a lot of time applying for jobs and working on my typing skills; I figure that if I am proficient in Microsoft Office and a strong typist then I will be better off when I do get a job. So, that’s what occupies my days; well, that and shopping to make our apartment home.

Alex and I went to Ikea the day before yesterday to look at furniture. We need a table and chairs for the kitchen really bad; we sit on the floor, which is really tough on our tailbones and not really sanitary, a big deal for me. We have also been to Target and Macy’s several times since we moved a week or two ago. We have spent a fair amount of money, and it serves as a reminder that getting a new place to live with new everything is an expensive undertaking. Oh, and I put a dent in the wall: I was trying to climb up the wall and the pressure from my feet made the wall cave just a bit. I am excited to try to fix the drywall.

I am using an old site to post philosophical and religious ideas that I have and want to voice. If feel like reading it, you can find the link on the right side of this blog.

More pictures of the park

Wednesday May 6, 2009

It has been a crazy week, but quite successful. As you all know Alex and I moved into our new apartment, Alex was hired at a restaurant (check out Orsorestaurant.com to see what the menu looks like), and I had an interview at AppleOne, which is a temp agency. I have no job leads, but hopefully through rolling up my sleeves, applying, and doing follow ups will get me somewhere. Here’s a list of employers that I am either in the middle of writing a cover letter for or I have already submitted my resume and cover letter: Penguin Group, Achievement First, Taylor Hodson, Vilcek Foundation, and Simon and Schuster. I have a lot more work to do, but God will place me where He wants me as long as I do the work to get there.

Alex and I ate Mexican food last night in celebration of Cinco de Mayo and Alex’s job. We had a lot of fun. There was a band playing, free shots of cheap tequila, and a raffle drawing for free stuff. Everyone was fully entertained. The restaurants in the area are really good, not in the sense of fine dining, but not too expensive and good for the price; the Chinese restaurant directly under us has $8 entrees and the portions are a good size; the pizza place is extremely cheap (the two of us can eat for $7); the Mediterranean joint is also along these lines. Just so you know parents, we are eating well both at home and out.

I got my hair cut on Monday. Alex thought it would be nice to post a picture of my new hair, so there it is. I don’t like it. They left too much on top and my hair frizzes on top because of the humidity here; I think I look femme with the new hair. Fortunately, that is why God created product. I have been styling it since yesterday, and I think that it looks better. Let me know what you think.

I went for a run yesterday, the first one in the new neighborhood. It’s great because Prospect Park has a nice running road that is just the right distance if I enter on the north side and exit on the south. Rae, when you get here we’ll do the run together (dad if your knees are doing okay then we’ll do it as well). I am posting some pictures of Prospect Park that I took today. I feel like bragging because the area is really incredible; Alex and I are extremely fortunate. Enjoy the pictures.

By the way, I will be posting video soon. Sorry it’s taken so long, but I’m picky with editing. We love you all.

Our Apartment

Sunday May 3, 2009

It’s been a crazy ride, but we have an apartment. Sorry that this blog hasn’t been updated in a couple weeks; we had nothing good to report on that was solidified. We love our apartment. The layout is little awkward, but we like it since we don’t cook in the same room we sleep, and a hallway separates each room. We have a small walk-in closet, a linen closet, bathroom, kitchen, and living room—in that order counter-clockwise. We’ve begun to make this space home by hanging pictures, a full-length mirror, and a white board calendar. We are currently sleeping on an air mattress, which stinks but way better than sofas or anything else we can afford right now. Josh, Claire, and Dave were great for letting stay at their place for the week and a half while we were apartment hunting.

The apartment is two blocks away from Prospect Park, if you don’t know anything about the park I suggest you google it for pictures since I don’t have any to post and it’s a gorgeous area. Downstairs, there are two grocery stores, a Chinese restaurant, a Starbucks, a pizzeria, and a bookstore, just to name a few things that are within a block. The subway is five blocks away, which is extremely close and means that Manhattan is only a ten or fifteen minutes ride. The Laundromat is two blocks down, and it takes a small fortune to wash all of our clothes.

I am going to post pictures from Washington D.C. and of the apartment prior to us moving. We are not quite ready to show you what the place looks like with all of the furnishings and whatnot, but it shouldn’t be that much longer for this place to have a complete makeover. I hope everyone back home is doing well. We miss you very much.