New Job

After a long search and a few months of being completely broke I finally was able to get a new job. I quit my old job at the library back in April because I thought I had something lined up. I actually had a few things going for me but unfortunately they all fell through so I was stuck without a job for awhile. At times it was kind of nice. I slept in every day and pretty much had nothing to do but that quickly got old. I did a couple of weeks of EFY to give me a little money and kept up the job hunt.

I was finally hired at Provo Canyon School as a team coach. I'm basically like a mentor/counselor at a school from troubled youth. Most of the kids have had a tough time growing up; suffering from different mental disorders or behavioral problems. I'm excited for the opportunity I have to work with them and hopefully I'll be able to help.

My first day on the job was a "Handle with Care" training. There are times when the kids can start getting out of control and we have to learn how to help and/or secure them if necessary. We were also trained on what to do if they lash out at us. We learned a few ways to get out of being choked and how to block a punch and different things like that. We were also given a little handbook with helpful diagrams on how to get away if being attacked. I was flipping through the book and came across this gem:



This is what you do if someone is biting you. You grab their nostrils and pull up. I laughed pretty hard at the picture and found it to be very informative. So now you know what to do.

Anyway, my first few days have gone really well and I'm excited to have a job and hopefully help some of the kids out.

Summer so far

Summer 09 has been a good one so far. I've been out of the job which has been frustrating and kind of nice sometimes (except the being broke part) and I haven't been taking classes. I'm pretty much a bum. It's been nice to have a break though and as of today I have a job. I got hired at Provo Canyon School. It's a school for troubled youth and I'll be working as a counselor/mentor. I believe the official term is coach. I'm really excited to start working and I think it's going to be a great experience for me.

Besides efy, I've been keeping busy with intramural softball and ultimate frisbee, camping and other random adventures throughout Provo. I still haven't made it back to California but I'm planning on going around August



I went camping/fishing with Jake Lee and the two Starkey California Highway Patrol Officers Scott and Ben. Classic.



The Lakers beat the Magic in 5 games to win their 15th NBA championship. What a great day. After his epic performance in game 4, I'm considering naming a son Derek Fisher. Kidding... Maybe...




I finally had the chance to see Rosa perform in Singing in the Rain and it was amazing! She did a great job and the show was really good. Anyone who gets the chance to see Singing in the Rain at the Hale Theater in Orem should do it! This was taken right after the show :)



Pretty much our entire ward (apartment complex) has gotten sick these past few weeks and even though I did get sick for awhile, I was able to avoid the swine flu. This picture really has nothing to do with me but it makes me laugh. A lot. Stupid kid. I get the feeling that this is what my kids will be like. The pig lickers.


Well that's what has been going on so far these past few weeks. I'm excited to start working soon and hopefully more fun things can happen. And maybe I'll start blogging more. I say that every time and it doesn't work out too well but who knows, maybe this time it will happen.

EFY

For the second consecutive summer I had the opportunity to work as an efy counselor. Efy (especially for youth) is a week-long camp for youth that is done by the LDS church. You don't have to be Mormon to go but probably 99% of the participants are. It's a really cool experience to work as a counselor and always a lot of fun. I worked two amazing weeks here in Provo. I guess it was really more like 1.5 weeks. I did the first week at BYU and my 2nd week I was supposed to work in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah campus. However, I unfortunately got sick at the end of the first week. I came down with a fever and pretty much every other swine flu symptom (tested negative though). There was something definitely going around efy and I got it. I was told on Sunday that I should not work the week in Salt Lake because I needed to get better. I was a little upset but understood why I couldn't work. I also knew I wouldn't be able to give 100% and efy is a pretty demanding job actually.

Tuesday comes around and I get a call from the Provo coordinators asking if I'm feeling better. I take my temperature and was feeling much better so they ask me to take over for a counselor who got really sick. I came on Tuesday night and worked the rest of the week. It was a lot harder than I expected to come on mid week but I think the week went alright. I had really great co-counselors so that helped a ton. Both weeks were a lot of fun and really good experiences. I had the chance to work with great co-counselors and amazing youth!



These are my co-counselors Jessica and Kelli. We were pretty much the best counselors ever. I always am really lucky when it comes to co's because they are always awesome.



My boys from the first week. I always tend to get the crazy ones. This was a really fun group and I loved working with them.



The entire company "Show unto the world". Such a great group!



My Co's from the 2nd week, Megan and Katie Jo. Once again I had awesome co-counselors to work with. I'm pretty sure there isn't a single picture where all three of us were looking at the same camera. There were about 30 youth lined up in front of us with cameras. We're kind of a big deal



The entire group from the 2nd week. Our company name was In the light. This group was really good at making a cheer for games night


My boys from the second week. Another awesome group of guys to work with. I'm grateful I was able to feel good enough to work with them