Posts

Posted on

Been really busy lately

Boy between work, keeping the house clean and Breanna, I have had a busy week.  I have to hit the sack by 10 pm at the latest because I have to be at work at 6 am so I’m not much of a night owl anymore.  Oh man, I got a 50 cent an hour raise this week.  They said that I’m learning faster than anyone they ever hired before.  They also said that my work quality is really good too.  Man that felt good to hear.  Especially when you’re used to hearing how you won’t ever amount to anything.  That’s why I’m where I am now and not back home.  This is more home to me than where I grew up ever was.

They have signed me up for some basic electrical classes too so I can start working towards my journeyman’s card and then my electricians license.  I can’t wait to start but I’m scared to death at the same time.  I’m not sure I can do it……..wait a minute, that’s not me talking, that’s what I have heard.  I WILL DO IT AND DO IT WELL!!  That’s better.  Now I have to go back to Lowe’s and get some electrical tools I don’t have yet so I’ll be ready for class.  I love Lowe’s.  It’s become my favorite store.

Posted on

Been a great week

Well I have had a great week.  Work was good and life is too.  Breanna and I talked almost every night this week and we’re going to the movies tonight.  Meeting her sure made a big difference in my life just when I needed it.  I didn’t realize how lonely I was until I met her.

It’s hard to move somewhere where you don’t know anyone at all and then to meet people, well that can be a challenge when you have to work.  I have been putting in all the overtime they would allow me to just so I could get things I need for my apartment so that left little or no time to meet anyone.  I guess the time was right.  I am a firm believer in all things will come to you that you need with the time is right.  No I don’t know where this will go with Breanna but I do have a friend and that’s wonderful.  If it goes any farther, great, if not, that’s cool too.

Oh I got some more stuff from work for my apartment.  Someone ordered the wrong pantry cabinet for one of the houses we’re working on and the company didn’t want it back in exchange for the right one.  Best part is it’s just about the same color of the cabinets in my kitchen.  I have the perfect place to put it too where it’s not right up against the cabinets so you really can’t tell it’s not the same color.  Now I have plenty of cabinet space in the small kitchen.  Nice, huh?  I just need stuff to put in them now.

Posted on

New Year starting off great

Well I have met someone.  She’s beautiful inside and out………..so far that is.  I wasn’t looking to ‘hook up’ with anyone just yet but I walked into the grocery store and there she stood.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.  She smiled and walked over to me and said ‘Hi’.  I stood there like a moron and just kept staring.  I finally get myself together and said ‘Hi’ back.  She said her name was………I think she told me her name.

Oh man, this is awful because I’m supposed to meet her at O’Charlie’s tonight at 6:30 for dinner.  That was her idea.  Wait a minute.  She gave me her phone number and hopefully she wrote her name on it.  She did and her name is Breanna.  She has auburn hair and a smile that lights up the world.  Her eyes are the most beautiful blue/green I have ever seen.  Now what am I going to wear?  See you girls aren’t the only ones that worry about how you look.

Posted on

Happy New Year Everyone

I can’t believe it’s already New Years Eve.  Some of the guys from work are getting together at one of their houses and invited me to come.  They said there won’t be a lot of drinking but there will be food so I guess I’ll go for awhile anyway.  it’ll be good to see some of the guys somewhere other than work.

People are different sometimes when they’re away from work.  I am lucky enough to work with a pretty good bunch of guys that are all doing what ever they can to help me learn and I sure appreciate all they are doing.  Like today, I was helping put ceramic tile in.  I think I could even do it myself next time.  They have taught me how to replace a toilet, put in a new bathroom vanity, sink and faucet.  I have learned how to put in a new bathtub, corner shower and even a Jacuzzi tub.  I have learned a lot from them.

It has been a year full of surprises.  Not all of them good but most of them have been.  I can’t wait to see what the new year brings so bring it on 2009!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Posted on

Best Christmas of my life

I told you I had great people that I rent from.  Well for Christmas, they gave me a months free rent.  That means I don’t have to pay any rent until February 1st.  I went to church with my landlord and the church gave me a box full of food too.  I guess Mrs. Thomas told them about me being young and out here alone.  I don’t know but now I have enough food to last for about a month I bet.

The after Christmas sales are really helping me get everything I need.  Most stores didn’t do as good before Christmas as they thought they would so they really marked stuff down a lot after Christmas.  I got a new pair of work boots at 40% off.  I got some jeans for work at 25% off.

That allowed me to buy a mattress and box springs that are new at a local thrift store so I now have a bed.  I don’t have a headboard or dressers but I have a bed.  I got a set of sheets too.  Luckily I have a blanket and pillow.  I’m getting there.

Posted on

Had to work half a day today

Well the boss told us to come in for half a day today.  I didn’t mind since I didn’t have anywhere else to be and that man really blew me away today.  He gave me a gift card for $100 to Lowe’s so I could get me some tools I’ll need for work and then gave me a whole box full of canned foods, a ham and all kinds of fruit.  He gave everyone a box of food like he did me but I don’t know if he gave everyone else a gift card or not.  I’m not asking because if he didn’t, I sure don’t want to have anyone get mad at him.

Everyone has been so very good to me since I moved out here.  I finally found a place where I feel like I am welcome and needed.  I have had a blessed Christmas and it’s not even Christmas Day yet.  I think I’ll go to an evening service at one of the churches around here and make sure I give thanks properly.  I sure hope you and your family have a very blessed Christmas too!!

Posted on

Sent out Christmas Cards

I can’t afford anything but Christmas Cards this year for my family members.  I sent them out today.  I sure hope they get them before Christmas Day.  They should get them by Christmas Eve.  I have gotten several Christmas Cards from friends and family.  What I didn’t expect was that most of them had a little money in them.  One card from my grandmother had $100 in it.  Grandma’s always looking out for me.

I have kind of raked up so far.  I have gotten money in 7 different cards and have a total of $210.  That’s really going to come in handy.  I need some clothes for work and some better work boots too.  I was wondering how I was going to afford some and now I don’t have to worry about it at all.  I’ll have to remember to sent each of them that sent money a little ‘Thank you’ note.  I feel very blessed right now.

Posted on

I didn’t know it got so cold in Arizona

I came out here in June.  I knew it got hot but it’s a different type of hot here.  The humidity isn’t a factor like it is back home so when it hits a hundred degrees here, it’s more like eighty-five back home, or where home used to be.  What has really surprised me is how darn cold it gets here.  I thought it stayed kind of warm here year around.  Oh well, I don’t mind the cold that bad.

I got a comment from an old friend back home on my first blog.  How cool is that?  I was surprised because she’s an old flame from a couple years ago.  It would be nice if she does come visit.  I do miss some of the people back home but I love it here and have made some great friends.

I’ve decorated for Christmas as best as I can on a tight budget.  My Christmas Tree is more of a Charlie Brown type of tree because it really is a twig I got from where someone cut some off of their tree.  I did spend a little money on some lights for it but I made the decorations for it.  I went to a local thrift store and they had some ornaments for fifty cents.  So I have a Christmas tree!!  I think it’s great personally. I won’t be sending out any Christmas cards through the mail because I can’t afford it but there are plenty of cards you can send online and that  will have to work this year.

My landlord told me about a 15 year old kid up the street that is in need of some guidance.  His father left them a couple years ago and his mother has to work two jobs so there’s no one home to keep him out of trouble.  I have become his ‘big brother’ more or less.  I’m trying to get him a Game Boy for Christmas if I can scrape up enough money.  He comes by every day when I get off work and helps me do what ever I’m doing that day.  He’s a pretty neat kid and if I can help him stay out of trouble, then I’ve done something good.

Posted on

Six months later

Okay, now it’s six months later and I have a nice place to live, a job with some great guys that I work for and they’re even teaching me to do electrical work.  All in all, I’m not doing too darn bad for a 20 year old.  I’m slowly getting my apartment fixed up the way I want it.  Every time I do something to improve it, like lay ceramic tile in the bathroom and kitchen, they give me something off of my rent even though they know the materials come from the dumpsters on the job.

They are great people.  Mrs. Thomas is always asking if I want something they had left over at dinner.  I think she cooks extra just so she can give me some.  She’s a great cook too.  They let me wash my clothes in their laundry room which is a room off from the garage I live over.  They keep trying to get me ‘fixed up’ with a young lady but I have more important things to do with my time and money right now.  I have to take care of myself first and then maybe I’ll start looking around to see what’s available.  At any rate, I like my life right now and don’t need any complications.

Posted on

I can’t believe my luck!

I bought a Sunday paper and was sitting outside my room enjoying the weather when the owner of the motel walked up and asked how I liked it there.  I told him that I was trying to find a small apartment to rent because I needed something more than just a motel room.

Well he told me that his neighbor had a small apartment over their garage that had just come open two days ago. The guy that had rented the place had really trashed it and it needed some repairs before they could rent it again.  That started me thinking.  I asked where it was and if he thought it would be okay to go by and see the place.  He gave his neighbor a call and said to be there in 45 minutes.  It was only about 2 miles from where I work.

When I got there, they told me not to expect too much and took me up to see the apartment.  Yeah, that guy had trashed the place pretty bad and these were elderly people that had rented to him.  I made them an off they didn’t refuse.  I offered to do all the clean-up and repair what he had messed up for the deposit and at least the first months rent.  They agreed!!

Most of the stuff I would need to make the repairs I could get off of the job site from the dumpsters.  It was scraps mostly but they had already told me that if there was something I needed, it was okay to take it.  I HAD AN APARTMENT and guess what else, it was furnished.  Some of the furniture was messed up but nothing I couldn’t live with or fix.

It was a one bedroom, one bathroom and a living room, dining room, kitchen combination.  The power was included in the monthly rent and it was only $350 a month.  Man am I lucky or what?