27 November 2017
My day so far has gone smoothly,
but my legs are aching. I got a permit to go into two areas of the building,
and that allowed me to record the progress of six sections of the building.
This morning I finished emailing
all of the home teaching companionships. Now I have to follow up with
companionships that I emailed last week.
28 November 2017
Yesterday evening at home was
distracted by the Miss Universe Contest. Jessica liked how Thailand, Colombia,
and Jamaica got top five. If you don't know why those countries are meaningful
to me. My mom is from Thailand. My mother-in-law is Colombian, and I served my
mission in Jamaica.
Today has gone smoothly at work.
I have been thinking about how I can participate in my company as a more influential
manager. R&S got a Project Engineer to fulfill a role similar to me, and he
has been trying to influence the progress of our work. There is a lot of work
to be done in two areas. Maybe the smaller extra work should be done when it
slows down. Would that be procrastinating?
I finished reading Jacob chapter
five. A verse that impressed me in chapter six is number four, saying "as
many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of
God." God knows the heart of every man. He will not condemn them, if they
are willing to accept the gospel in mortality and not had an opportunity to
accept it. If people do harden their hearts, they will not be forced to live
the lifestyle of salvation; therefore, they will remain in a Terrestrial World
like ours after the resurrection. People need to work out their salvation.
29 November 2017
Today has not gone smoothly.
People's badges were not scanning, and a foreman's daily report was not
delivered. I need to go back to get the reports after lunch. Another foreman
wanted me to put his company email on his IPhone, delaying my work by a half
hour. I hope that I can finish today on time.
Yesterday evening I was packing
up on time to leave work, but I forgot my lunch box on site. I had to walk back
out, and I was able to find it.
After work Jessica and I went to
our self-reliance class. Today's class is not about debt, and it was inspiring.
It taught the importance of mentors and a goal oriented lifestyle, teaching
that evaluating the purpose of goals and establishing mission statements. My
goal is to be a great leader in my family, career, church, and community. I
made a plan to start talking to Brad Aird, my Project Manager, about being a
mentor. I asked him what I can do to practice management. He told me that I can
help by enforcing safety, and tracking extra work and equipment. We don't want
to do work without getting paid for it, which is easy to do in construction,
and we don't want to have too much equipment on site. I attended our first
safety meeting today, and that delayed my work today too. Audriana asked if I
could help her get around campus, but I was having too many delays in my day to
help her. Pete did not prepare the reports for me yet, so I am waiting for him.
I ran into Diego, and I realized that
I could invite him to the Creche event of Palo Alto. I have not seen Robert all
week, so I invited Diego today with the invitation that the sister missionaries
gave me. Diego is the man that I invited to general conference and see me speak
in Sacrament.
30 November 2017
Today is going well at work. I
already been through four areas, and I got three more.
I got lucky yesterday because I
had two areas to record, and the security told me that I did not have the right
permit to enter, so I was able to finish my report on time.
At home Jessica has preparing for
moving on her mind. She had me talk to management about ending our lease early.
I started reading chapter seven
of Jacob today. Chapter six is powerful. I already wrote about a section of one
verse. Pondering about people who will not harden their hearts, I recall that
God has said that "there are many yet on the earth among all sects,
parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth
because they know not where to find it." I also hear of people diligently
seeking truth; however, an assumption of mine is that God is subtlety calling
to all his children. Jacob writes in chapter 6.
"Yea, today, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die? For behold, after ye
have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring
forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? Behold,
will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will
ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many
have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of
God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a
mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?"
There are many gospel allusions
in these verses. Why would we die, if we do not hearken to the voice of God? We
all will be resurrected. Spiritual death is life without the physical presence
of God. We are all spiritually dead on earth, and Terrestrial life will always
be spiritually dead.
Let us listen to the word of God
as given to up by modern and ancient prophets. The modern prophets of God lead
the kingdom of God, and it is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. God the Father and his Son called upon Joseph Smith Jr to restore the
Kingdom of God, since their kingdom was destroyed due to the apostasy of man,
martyring all of the disciples, after the death of Christ.
1 December 2017
Last night Jessica and I kind of
had family council about our finances. I was actually behind updating my
expenses and income tracker, so I caught up to start the month well with a new
budget next week.
Work today was chill too. My
superintendent wanted four hours today to retrieve some supplies, but I
couldn't make the sacrifice.
I concluded reading chapter seven
of Jacob today. When I read the chapter previously, I imagined the meeting with
Sherem and Jacob to be a more extravagant setting like Sherem, approaching
Jacob at a throne after waiting a lot for an appointment with him. Reading it
again, I expect that the moment was more happenstance, and the visit lasted
less than five minutes. Jacob dealt with his confrontation easily. Sherem's
stature in society and God, striking him down, made the situation more
momentous because the Nephite nation needed to nurse him for a while. Why did
God strike a man down for confronting the prophet? The man was the leader of an
anti-Christ movement, seeking to destroy the faith of all men including the
prophet. Sherem eventually did confess to the people who followed him that
Christ will come to prepare the way to salvation of all mankind by resurrecting
and performing the atonement. In the end of his speech, he died, confounding
the audience.
3 December 2017
Yesterday was very busy. My
parents took Jessica and I grocery shopping at our favorite Asian store. It was
good to commune with them. My dad found an Asian buffet like Tatami that we are
going to try for our Mission Dental Lab Christmas Party. It is called Tomi.
After Jessica and I went to a
Mexican restaurant and bought a new tire for my bicycle. Last Friday I noticed
that my tire is getting worn.
We went early to help prepare the
food for the ward Christmas party because Jessica and I are on the Food
Committee.
A cool thing that happened on
Friday night after coming home from serving the Food Committee is that Robert
finally added me on Facebook. He hailed me up, and I said that I was carrying
an invitation for him all week to see the Creche displays at Palo Alto, missing
him. He started a video chat, showing me that he was eating peanuts with his
daughter. We talked, and it was good to see him.
As I served on the Food
Committee, I was asked to put water in pots for the Rice Pilaf. I was slightly worried that I didn't put the
water in the pots accurately because we were cooking nine boxes for everyone. I
also worked on setting up baskets full of rolls with Jessica.
We met the Campbell family during
the Christmas party. I was bummed that we did not get a great seat for the
program, but I left to invite my family to join us to see the 350 Creche
displays from 50 countries.
It was enjoyable to see all of
the creative ways that the nativity scene is depicted. The abstract versions
were most fun. It is interesting that there are great traditions in the Silicon
Valley, but I have never heard of them; although, I grew up in Capitola, which
is less than thirty miles away. My parents thoroughly enjoyed the event. It was
last minute, but it worked out. Trevor came too.
Sunday classes at church were a
rebuking telling us that to get our house in order and fast better.
4 December 2017
Today is my birthday, and I
caught up with a couple friends messaging each other.
5 December 2017
Yesterday evening at work I was
feeling rushed, and my stress was making me inefficient and late. Audriana said
"Shouldn't you be leaving?" It's your birthday. I asked her to
compose my report, so I can leave. I bought a luxury pair of ear plugs, and
Jessica and I went to Five Guys last night for dinner. The burger's taste was
too mild, but the milkshake and Cajun fries were excellent; although, Jessica
thought that the fries were too spicy.
I did get cake on my birthday.
Dave, a Mason, gave some cake randomly to the foreman, and the foreman shared
it with me. It was very tasty chocolate cake, being homemade and made from
scratch by Dave's wife. I was telling Jessica that 99.99% of cake is lousy, but
this one was excellent.
This morning an odd thing
happened. Jessica woke up early with me at 4 am. She said that she finally
caught up on sleep.
7 December 2017
I have missed writing in my
journal the past couple days because Jessica has been calling me during lunch.
8 December 2017
Last night I went home teaching.
It was a miracle because my companion's daughter has a friend that lives at the
apartment complex, and we home taught the friend's father. Reed Chavez is my
home teaching companion, and he has not met the father yet. This was a great
connection for us.
I have been finishing my reports
early for the past week, so I was consulting with colleagues about what more
that I can do. My project manager told me to start tracking the counters.
Cycling has been so cold in the
morning that I had to start wearing gloves. It has been 37° in the morning for
a while and.
On Wednesday night, I practiced
my bicycle mechanic skills, trying to replace my tire. The tube was too big, so
I brought my bike to the shop, and they ran into the same problem, popping the
tube. They were impressed with how much the tire was worn. They said that they
were replace the tube for free. I offered to pay for the liner that they
replaced, but they said to keep them in mind next time, not requiring to pay.
The bike shop is Silva Cycles.
I have been wanting to buy these
ear plugs that look more mainstream than normal orange ones. They are called
Isolate from, a UK company, Flare.. They told me to wait for a couple weeks on
Wednesday for its shipment, and later that day they said that it will arrive
the next day, which was yesterday. I am wearing them for the first time now,
and I put them on early this morning to see how they would block the sound at
home. They are good, but I don't think that they are better than normal orange
ear plugs. I think that it is weird to walk around public with orange throw
away ear plugs, but the design makes me feel comfortable wearing them. There
are aluminum and titanium options, and I chose titanium. Their increased
density raises their efficiency.
Normal ear plugs only lasts a few
days, but Flare's Earfoam lasts up to eight weeks. Jessica and I are practicing
more zero waste principles, and throwing out Earfoam every eight weeks would be
better that throwing away ear plugs at least once every few days.
At work some people commented
that they look weird. I was worried that they may look vane, but people think
of them as earplugs; although, they can be seen as an ear accessory. I don't believe
that hearing protection is an accessory. It helps me focus more. It's kind of
late the blurring skill of photography. You can blur out the sound that you
don't care to hear.
10 December 2017
Today is a Sunday, and I am
waiting for Jessica at the church as she is in her education self-reliance
class. The StoryWorth questions that my grandfather are answering are good. I
need to find time to record them. I listened to grandpa's two recordings that I
have not transposed yet because I accidentally asked him to answer a question
that will be asked this coming week; however, he did not directly answer the
question. I love hearing my grandfather talk about the church and his love for
the gospel.
This weekend was very busy
because I celebrated my birthday with my family. We played many games: at least
two rounds of Tokaido, a couple rounds of Uno, and one round of Machi Koro.
Thomas and Ashley came, and we played a round of Tokaido and the couple rounds
of Uno with them until they had to leave to sleep early. I only won one round
of the many games. My Tokaido career is no longer a winning one. After a second
game of Tokaido, we watched, the movie, Your Name. Ashley one the first game of
Tokaido with a strategy that is not typical for us. She mainly went straight to
the encounters. Trevor and Jessica tied in the second game Tokaido; although,
we realized that Jessica was playing the game wrong. Trevor should be the sole
winner.
"Your Name" is an odd
movie. I think that it is inspired by interstellar. The art is great. The story
is not developed well, neither are the characters; although, they devoted a lot
time to them. I give the move a seven out of ten for story and character
development. The science fiction is weak.
We did not get to sleep until
about two in the morning, and we planned to leave for a free admission day at
the Monterey Bay Aquarium the next day at nine on the morning. I was surprised
that we went through the long line of the aquarium entrance fairly quickly. I
asked each individual of the party what their favorite sea animal was, and we
were able to see a real one if the following favorites: sea otter, sea turtle,
and seahorse. We were unable to see a real-life dolphin; although, it was
Jessica's favorite. We met some new animals that I never heard of like the
garden eel. The sea turtle was too fast for me to get a picture of. Afterward
we went to Phil's Seafood Market restaurant for lunch.
I got a Ciopino. It was so big. I
was surprised that I ate it. I shared some of the crab. I would probably get
full if I opened up the crab. It was served in a bread bowl, and it was over
served with plenty of seafood and broth. A second bowl was needed to keep the
dish manageable.
We picked up Trevor on our way
home at work. At home we played Machi Koro. Jessica, Trevor, and I were all
pretty close to winning. Jessica looked like she was going to win at first, but
somehow I caught up and won.
We had to take a break from the
game to go to the Stake Christmas party. The Duran family seemed to be the host.
We ate tamales, rice, and beans. I spoke to Trevor about my theory that Apple
is trying to take on all the technology companies, making their products
compatible only with their own products. Apple cords, Apple Bluetooth, Apple
Wi-Fi, Apple Watch, and so forth only works with Apple products. Trevor
explained that none only Apple is trying to monopolize technology. Samsung, LG,
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other companies are developing ecosystems of
products.
Today at church I was too
exhausted to stay conscious for the Ward Christmas program, napping on
Jessica's shoulders. Life at home in Santa Cruz is exhausting. I did have a
good experience during sacrament, reading 3 Nephi. I pondered my life in the
Gospel.
After sacrament, I took Jessica
to the door of the secretary to decide what appointment time that we should do
tithing settlement. We did that this afternoon.
The bishop taught us about the
widow's mite. Most everyone that day that Jesus was observing the offering were
not giving of their substance in the attitude of the law of consecration,
giving only part of their wealth, but the widow gave everything that she had,
defining the law by her example. The bishop showed us a real mite from
thousands of years ago, and he gave both of us a newly fabricated mite. Let us
dedicate our lives and everything that we own to the building up the kingdom of
God.
This morning at work I got a dust
mask from our field office. I have been thinking about getting a respirator
mask for a while, but I didn't want to buy them. There is so much dust from so
many different sources from insulation, wood, metal, stone, plastic, paint, and
more. I don't want to breathe this in regularly.
Comments
Post a Comment