Today Is the Big Day, Time to Go Get the Keys to the Apartment!
So today marks a big day for Jenn and I, the day we go pick up our keys for our new apartment. As I mentioned in the last post, this is going to be our first place for Jenn and I not only as a couple but also as individuals. We both have never lived on our own, getting through school, and getting ourself into the workforce before taking the next step. Last week we went down to Newport Beach and found the apartment that we both loved, and today we are going to go get the keys. We don't really have any furniture to move in, or really much of anything, so after we take our initial tour of our new place we will be off to go shopping, starting with some groceries.
Our other stops today will most likely include Ikea, Crate and Barrel, and a few other furniture stores. Because we have the next two months free we are not in a huge rush to officially move in but are planning to stay down there for about half the week Friday-Sunday/Monday. Some of the big items we are looking to purchase is a bed, a couch bed (so I have somewhere to sleep until we get married), a dining room table, and an entertainment center. I will be taking both video/pictures today and should have a good walk through of our place following todays eventful happenings.
Living and Working on a Budget
I don't know about you but I am not a big fan of budgets. Its not that I don't see the usefulness, I do, its that it means I have to watch every penny I spend. Jenn and I are working really hard both at work and on our budget. We are looking at getting our first apartment this summer and our main goal is to have plenty of money to furnish the place really nice. So we have scheduled a budget for the coming months that we are going to try and stick to to the best of our ability.
Without going to the specifics, we are not necessarily tightening down to the point to where all we can have is Ramen from breakfast, lunch, and dinner but we are going to have to be smarter about what we spend money on. I have to say we have done a tracking of our money spent since the 1st of March and it is crazy how fast things add up. Whether its a starbucks, red bull, or even a quick gallon of milk things start adding up like no other.
So we have conjured up our plan, and now are going to do our best to stick with it. The thing is the later we wait this summer the more $ we have for the apartment. We would love to get a really nice TV and one of the new iMac's and that will all really depend on our savings from now until then. The budget started a few days ago and already I am ready to be done with it. The good news is both Jenn and I are pretty good about our money so this plan should be one that really works out.
Jenn and I Have Completed Our Pre-Marital Class
It is with great joy that I write this post today, as Jenn and I have completed our six week Pre-Marital class that we have taken at the church we attend The Grove. We have loved attending The Grove over the past 3-4 years, we feel it is a really great moving stone forward in our faith and has been a true blessing for both Jenn and I. With that being said this class has been a little disapointing. That is not to say that Jenn and I took away nothing from the experience it was just a really hard time for Jenn to be taking the class. Jenn's new job at SCE has been tough on her, who is to blame she takes the train at 6:00AM each morning and doesn't get home until 6:45pm and works extremely hard so the weekend is her time to just relax, so I can't say we were going into this with complete open arms.
So did I learn anything from the experience. Although I really didn't need it, it just confirmed what I already knew, and that is that Jenn is the perfect match for me. Its funny they have you take all of these different questionaires and surveys to see your compatibilty (I would imagine similar to something like Match.com) and yeah we pasted them all, but those tests don't tell me I want to spend the rest of my life with Jenn, I do and this class although not necessarily the most enjoyable experience was just another reason why I cannot wait for September 19, 2009, our wedding day.
So what's next? Well we planned/booked the Honeymoon which I will go over in another post, and now we are looking for our own place. At first we were looking to buy a place, but Jenn's current job has a lot of mobility both within the company and location and we want to do everything not to restrict that, so we have decided to get an apartment for the time being. More then anything we are just beyond excited to get our own place. We stayed at home throughout college for a number of reasons, it allowed us to travel, it allowed us to save for us, for this time in our life, and it allowed us to plan and boy have we planned.
Since deciding to go the Apartment route we had contemplated living close to home in Riverside, or even going outside this area but to be honest we just never found "that place". And granted we know this is a temporary location we really wanted to start out right, this is what we have saved and planned for so I think we have finally decided to live where we really want to, and that is in Irvine. Having gone to school their, and Jenn gone to school and worked out their we loved the area. We have the beach 10 minutes away, Disneyland/Angels Stadium is 20 minutes away, and all of the food and shopping you could want. We are really happy with coming to this decision and I can't wait to start posting about the rental process and showing us start to move in this summer!
A Long Week Turns to Great Weekend
I started my new job at Southern California Edison at the beginning of December and boy has it been a wild ride ever since. I really enjoy my new job but I got put in part of a project that was already missing key dates and was put on the team to help get back up to speed and finish the project. Well this week marks the definite due date of this project and the last few weeks has been full of some really long hours. This is the second 50+ hour work week which is fine but it means I really have to maximize my weekend and this past weekend I feel like I really did.
Friday night I left work at around 9:45PM, I start at 7:00am and only had a 30 minute lunch through the day so as you can guess it was a long, long day. Saturday I spent the first half of the day relaxing and then Jenn and I headed out in the early evening to the local movie theaters and saw Slumdog Millionaire. I liked the movie a lot but I am one that thinks it might have been over hyped. The story was inspirational, and it was truly a well made movie but the way people talked about this movie I was expecting perfection and I just didn't see that in this movie. It is a movie I will want to buy but I just don't know if I would be so ready to give it the Best Picture nod for the upcoming Academy Awards.
So after the movie we decided to go for a little ice cream at this new place called Cherry On Top. It is a self service soft served ice cream shop where you can take your choice of toppings and you are charged on the weight of your creation. I had a chocolate soft serve with oreos, gummy bears, bananas and nuts. It was a really weird combination but it was really quite tasty.
After such a long week I just wanted to relax so Jenn and I decided just to drive, and of course we like to hang out down in the beach areas so we headed down to our favorite place, Irvine. We didn't even head out for the coast until 9PM (after the movie and ice cream) so when we ended up in Irvine we actually went down to the Irvine Spectrum which is a huge outdoors mall with a Carousel and Ferris Wheel. Jenn had the great idea of going on the Ferris Wheel which was really beautiful at night. It was one of the many times I regretted not having my camera along with me. It was such a fun night we were singing along with the radio, grabbed some hot cocoa and just enjoyed a really relaxing and enjoyable evening.
Yesterday we also had our first week of a six week Pre-Marital class at the church we attend here in Riverside, The Grove. This is a requirement for us to have the pastor we chose for our wedding to do our ceremony. So we got through the first week and so far so good, it should be interesting to see how this course goes. Neither Jenn or I like these sort of things but we both agree that it can't be bad for us. All in all it was such a great weekend I got to spend a lot of time with Jenn and just relax with her throughout the weekend. Now its back to the grind, another week another dollar!
What a Year 2008 Was!!! And I Cannot Wait for 2009…
What an up and down year 2008 was. I could have never predicted how this year turned out, but boy am I am glad to sit here today knowing what an amazing year it was. The year started like many in the past, knee deep in college, trying to make the final push to graduation. Becoming under the realization that "real life" was just around the corner. I remember getting the word from my academic advisor that I was on the road to graduate in June 2008 and I had still to make it through College Statistics and Calculus 2 to graduate to of my most hated classes.
I remember having a job interview with Scottrade for an internship which I eventually was given the eventual turn down for, for not having enough time left in school. I remember being pretty let down by this, knowing that I would still be working at Bank of America until the end of college. I remember changing locations at Bank of America for a few months which was a huge blessing, I needed a change more then anything. More then anything I knew that this was going to be the year of big moments in my life.
Obviously graduating from UC Irvine was one of those huge moments of the year. There were times at UCI that I didn't think I was going to make it. It was a really challenging time for me, UCI was a real test of patience and willpower and I can't tell you that even to this day I am so happy to be done.
So now of course comes the part about Jenn. Wow what a year it has been for both Jenn and I. I remember being thrilled at the beginning of the year when Jenn landed one of the best jobs a college student could hope for as a research analyst for an intellectual property law firm. This job has been a huge blessing for both Jenn and I, they give her great hours, they work with her schedule, and it seems to be a great job to put on a resume. Plus she gets to work in a beautiful skyrise only a few minutes from UCI.
So Jenn and I both graduated in June of 2008 although Jenn had classes to take up until the end of 2008. I remember walking hand in hand with her to graduate and knowing that this was the women I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
Jenn and I looked at rings at Robbins Brothers in early 2008 and I knew that I was going to ask her to marry me sometime during the summer of 2008. I ended up buying her ring without her even knowing in April of 2008 and hid it from her for a good three months. Then came our big Europe Trip in July of 2008. I am not going to recap the trip because I have a daily recap on this blog of the adventure. But of course the biggest day was July 3rd 2008 on a partly cloudy afternoon in St. James Park on a beautiful park bench overlooking a very nice pond and the London Eye that I asked Jenn's hand in marriage. Although I knew she was going to say yes, just hearing those words from her mouth made me feel like a million bucks and it truly was the happiest day of my life.
Jenn and I adventured through London, Paris, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Egypt on a trip that will give us memories for a lifetime. Then came a three month job search and a hunt for a wedding location. We ended up doing a great job of picking out everything for the wedding and I sit here today knowing that almost everything is in place for an amazing wedding in September of 2009. The wedding is set to be one of the most lavish and breathtaking events I have ever been to. And the best part is I get to marry Jenn, something I have wanted to do for over 5 years.
2008 ended with some more great moments with both Jenn and I land jobs at Southern California Edison. This was such a stress relief for a number of reasons. I for one was growing increasingly restless while working at the bank. Secondly Jenn and I really wanted to start our marriage off with a good foundation something which is now very possible with our new positions.
There is so much I haven't recapped for 2008. Last night Jenn and I went with my brother Jake and sister Amy down to Orange County and spent the night down there to bring in the new year. It was a great time, a little tiring, but all in all it was a lot of fun. Jenn and I also had the spur of the moment trip down to Vegas with my great friend Chris and her best friend Jenna. It was one of those trips that you just don't forget about.
Going into 2008 I had really no foundation for what was to come, I just knew I was ready for the next steps. Now I sit here on January 1, 2009 wondering where will I be writing this post from on January 1, 2010? How will the wedding go? Where will we live? Our honeymoon? Our first Christmas? Our first mortgage payment? Do we ever cook? How will 2009 go?
There are two things I know, trust in the Lord more then anything, and secondly I know I will be with Jenn and for that I cannot wait for what 2009 has in store for me.
I Just Got my First Full Time Job! And So Did Jenn!
Wow what a couple of months this has been. For the past six months since graduating from UC Irvine I got engaged, took an amazing trip to Europe, and now have landed full time employment. I am truly beyond words, I don't even know how to describe the feeling of relief and excitement I have with landing this job. So what is the job? I have taken a position as a Project Analyst at Southern California Edison. The position will entail a lot of computer work in Excel and Access both programs I am fairly familiar with and will hopefully lead to some great opportunities down the road. For those who don't know my current employer is Bank of America and there I work as a Senior Teller and it was past time for a change. I am really excited to move on and really open up my horizons. But I am not the only one with good news these days.
Jenn in an effort to always strut her stuff has also landed full time employment, before she even graduates. Jenn is a year younger then me and is about to complete her college degree from UC Irvine in 3 & 1/2 years completing on December 11th of this year. She has also taken a position at Southern California Edison as a Marketing Analyst in a full-time 18 month college program which will then potentially lead to a permanent position. We are not at the same work location as unfortunate as that is, but we both have landed great jobs well before we tie the knot next September.
My last day at Bank of America is this coming Wednesday the 26th of November and my start date is December 1st at Edison. Jenn won't begin her Marketing Analyst program until Mid-January. With the economy the way it is, and the way unemployment is on the rise we both feel extremely blessed to have been given these opportunities.
One Year Until the Big Day
Well by the time I got this post done it will actually be less then a year from the big day for Jenn and I. Yes on September 27, 2009 Jenn and I are getting married. This isn't necessarily news for anyone who kept up with the Europe 2008 trip, but I don't think I have announced our date, so there it is. To commemorate that, Jenn and I went down to where we are getting married down in Dana Point, CA to the spot we are getting married at yesterday. It was a beautiful, somewhat overcast day, and it was just great to get out and get down there. We also bought our engagement photos which like everything about this wedding were a bit on the pricey side of things, but 100% worth it.
What I find crazy is the massive changes that will happen from today to next year. What jobs will we be in, where will we end up living, who is going to come to the wedding, how will the wedding be, will the economy turn itself around by then, will the 49ers be any good by then? All of these questions remained to be answered between now and then. Whatever the case as Jenn and I talked about yesterday, no matter what we just can't wait or 363 days from now when we both can say "I Do". It is something for me I have been waiting for and anticipating for 5 years now, and I think I can manage to wait for just one more.
I will have more updates on our wedding soon, in fact I have been using iWeb to create a wedding page for Jenn and I, and so far I love the software, it makes clean and easy sites and I am hoping I can make this website turn out top notch. I will link everyone to it when its up so you can get ahead of the game and rush out and buy us something! Just kidding. Well maybe not!
What a Weekend It Was
So this weekend I was supposed to go see an LA Galaxy game (soccer game) with my Dad and Brother with some free tickets that my mom had gotten from her work. Well we ended up having the wrong day/# of tickets and didn't go. That worked out anyways as Jenn and I went with Jake and Amy (my brother and sister) out to Orange County for what we thought would be a night of dinner and mini golf. Well one thing I have learned with my fiance Jenn is that plans are only minor guidelines to what a day is going to be. That is really what I love about her, if it wasn't for her I would just do the same thing over and over and over again and never really experience anything.
We went to Downtown Disneyland to go get some food and everything was packed, we walked around for a good half hour trying to figure out what to do and decided that it was actually getting late and we hadn't done anything. Jenn and Amy (both are big on making new plans) decided we should all get a hotel room, rent a movie and get some room service. So we ended up staying at the Hyatt Irvine got some desert and watched What Happens in Vegas. Who would have thought?
That is what is so great about Jenn. you never have a clue what to expect so it always keeps you on your toes. We all had a great time, we were dead tired on Sunday, but sometimes its better when plans don't work out.
A Day of Engagement Pictures
When Jenn and I got engaged I knew that we would be doing a lot of different things before we actually made it to the big date. One of the first stops on the road of engagement was taking engagement photos. Jenn and I chose to go with Jack Randall Photography who is going to be doing our photography and video for our wedding next year. Today Jenn and I went down to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano to take our engagement photos. I have never done anything like this before but we were lucky enough to have the owner of Jack Randall and one of his assistant photographers to take our photos today. The weather out here in Riverside looked merky but it was beautiful down at the mission and from what I could tell they did a great job. Jenn and I get to go back down to his studio in Dana Point to go pick some out. I am really excited to go see how they turned out, I would say between the two photographers they had to have taken a thousand pictures.
Let me just say that I went into this whole engagement photo day thinking "oh great I get to get our photo taken", but it was actually a lot of fun. Jenn and I had a fantastic time and we just had a lot of fun playing with the camera. It was a little awkward to have someone taking your picture from every possible angle imaginable but in the end we really loved it and can't wait to check out the pictures.
My First Week of Educational Freedom!
So I took the week off, I didn't necessarily have that planned but I decided each day that I would take that day off to rest and get back ready to go. So a week went by and I figured that is about enough time to sit around and be lazy and so now I am back ready to go here at The World of Joel. So the graduation went well, it wasn't all that red hot of a commencement ceremony but then again when are they? Jenn and I got to do it together, so that was the real winning ticket and made the entire experience worthwhile.
So now what? Well I can't say I have been going ahead full steam looking for a new job, I have looked, but I am putting that off until after my upcoming 3 week trip. Speaking of the trip, beginning next Monday, so Monday the 30th of June I will be doing daily updates on the trip. Jenn wants me to do daily updates on the trip so not only you the countless loyal readers can see what we are up to but so five years down the road Jenn and I can remember details that if not written down we would have never remembered. I am going to set up a Flickr stream with all the latest photos and for at least the first half of the trip do daily updates on the trip. When we get to the cruise part it will be a bit more sporatic due to the crazy prices of using internet on a cruise ship.
Outside of that I have been crazy busy with my latest project, I am not calling it my last project, but I will say its by far the biggest I have undertaken. I will be unveiling it to you all when I get back. So that's all from now, expect daily updates again starting tomorrow!