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.
