I AM IRON MAN!
So, its been a while since I was last here. I got behind at school and have been struggling ever since to catch up. That meant that anything that I normally was doing from school, like blogging, was out. I'm still not caught up but I'm almost there.
Updates since December...
Ski patrol- This winter went okay but I was getting sick of HAVING to go up there every weekend and that was the only riding I was getting in. Yeah, we had some epic days but I would always be locked into a specific lift and not able to get away to really enjoy myself. Plus, it was getting to be more of a job. There were a lot of people that I spoke with that said that it just wasn't fun any more and I couldn't do much more than agree with them. The new management is really trying to get the resort up and running as a good money-maker and I can't blame them for that. But the laxness with which we had done things for my first few years on the patrol kind of set up the pace for how I liked it. It seemed like almost EVERY weekend we were doing something else, mostly avalanche training. I'm fine with all that, I mean, its kind of fun but, after my patrol pack got stolen, I couldn't afford to replace that OR buy the necessary avalanche gear I needed to really participate.
SCA- Holly and I went to Estrella War and had a really good time. I spent WAY too much money but it was pretty awesome. I didn't get to fight as much as I wanted to but what I did do was way fun. I, for a change, had very few complaint about people not taking blows or people complaining about anything. Just good, clean fighting and down and dirty fun. Especially dirty because of all the rain we got. It was like what I imagine a real medieval village would have been like after a rain. Ankle deep mud in most of the major thoroughfares, a constant pain in the ass to move around and avoid the mud, and people just struggling to get around and do stuff. We still managed to have fun, though. We spent a lot more time in camp than I am used to. I don't think we went out partying at all during the whole War. We ended up hanging out in our own encampment and having fun. We met the folks from Urweg Nordic Tribal Jewelry. Askjel and Birte were just plain awesome. Really nice people, really great product, and we spent a ton of money there. I, also, got Holly a much needed coat to wear at events to keep her warm and happy. I saw them and RAN all the way back to camp to get Holly. She had just left me a little while before telling me that she was all shopped out. I told her "I don't care if you're all shopped out or not, you need to come with me back to merchants row." She could tell how excited I was and came back with me. So, I drug her back to the Hooded Hare and had her try on coats until she found the one that fit her best and that she liked the most and I got it for her. The coat is based off a Greenland bog find (Viking Age or there abouts) and is blue wool lined with red silk. In each gore on the coat, there is an embroidered lion, and in each flat panel of the coat there is simple knotwork. There are, also, lions on the back. It is an awesome coat and worth every penny. When I get mine, I think I want mine a bit more plain just in the colors that I like. We'll see. For Valentine's, Holly got me this AWESOME silver Icelandic Thor's Hammer. I got her the Helgo Lover's pendant. Both of these were purchased at Urweg's shop. We, also, managed to find a couple of "books" from Sweden that are for Viking Age reenactors. They are all in Swedish so I'll have to get them translated. Still, though, they have great line-drawing pictures and will be very helpful in getting my kit fully settled.
Generally, speaking, things have been great thus far this year. Work is pretty much the same. Dan left but Don has been becoming more and more like Dan. I let go of my tongue for a couple of days and he hasn't acted the ass towards me since. He still has that competitive streak towards me, though. I think something about me, the non-competitive soul that I am, threatens him in some way. Who knows. Things at work are going okay, though. The only REALLY big news is that Holly's work friend Sean, the guy that pulled her away from Choice Hotels and into Remington moved to a new company called Stonebridge. He had been telling Holly to stay at Remington for 2 years and get all the training she could and then he would hire her on out at Stonebridge. Apparently, he couldn't wait that long. They entered discussions and Holly went out for an interview. They wanted her though not quite for the position she was originally told about. Still, though, its a raise, and they have told her that after 12 months, they would slide her into the senior project manager's position and give her another raise then. It was just too good to pass up. So, on the 19th of May, Holly starts her new job in Denver.
So, what does this mean for me? Well, I am getting REALLY sick of Utah and some of the crap that has been going on here for me. This is the longest I have been in one place since, well, since grade school. So, I'm totally ready to leave. Unfortunately, for me, there isn't a lot of civil service jobs like there is out here in Utah. There are still a lot, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure what all I am going to qualify for out there. I'm trying, though. I'll be staying here with the house until, most likely, the end of July, unless I find a job that would allow me to start sooner. I'm sure I could find something to do out there besides working for the government but there is a lot of other stuff involved in that and the fact that I have 17 years as of the end of April with the government. It'd really suck to have to give that up. So, I'm trying to find something out there, anything really, just to keep my foot in the door while I finish my schooling. Regardless, I'll be getting registered for a school out there and, depending on jobs, will be going back to school in August. That "depending on jobs" thing means that, if I find a job then I go to school and work. If I can't find a job by then, then I am going to school full time. No more Technical Colleges, either. This will be a REAL university, I think. In the mean time, I'm trying to get as much done here at the DATC as I can before I move. I want to get some of the certifications done out here that will be good no matter where I go or what I do. Stuff like my A+ Certification and such. I figure, even if a regular university or college doesn't want to take my credits from DATC, they will have to accept that I took and passed the A+ Certification test and whatever else I end up taking. And if I end up having to repeat some of my courses, well, I'll be a step ahead.
So, thats me since December. I'm really looking forward to getting out of Utah and into Denver. I hate to sound like a grass is greener kind of guy but, in this case, I can't see it any other way. As long as everything goes as planned and they drop this hiring freeze and I hear back from some of the jobs I have put in for soon, Holly's job is all that she is hoping it will be, and the area is as nice as we both think it's going to be then this could be exactly what we both need. Oh, at some point in there, too, I need to ask Holly to marry me and actually go through with that. Trust me, I might mention this last but it is at the FOREFRONT of all my thoughts. I have this sneaking suspicion of what her answer might be. I just need to find the right time and place to actually ask her and put the ring on her finger. Hopefully, I can swing that REAL soon. :P
Oops, almost forgot the heading of this whole blog! We went and saw Iron Man this past weekend. I have REALLY been looking forward to this movie... and it did NOT disappoint. All I can say is WOW! It was just great all the way around. A lot of people expressed the doubt that Robert Downey could pull it off but I had the utmost faith in him. I've always liked his acting and thought that, for this part, he had exactly what it took to fill this role. I was right. For me, he nailed it! The only other thing I will say on this is, for all you comic geeks out there, stay until after the credits are over. There is more to come!!!
