November 8, 2015

This semester has been so intense that I have not been writing in my journal. Today is Stake Conference, and we got out of church at 12, giving me plenty of time to write. My ward begins service at 2 pm this semester. This semester has been very intense. I have only been able to get ahead of my assignments for one week, letting me go to sleep early. I have not been able to workout. Jessica and I like to work out together, but we can't spare the time. I worked out once during that week, when I was ahead. Working out doesn’t take that much time, if you can schedule it well with everything. A focus of this semester has been to seek a job or internship for the off track. I want to live in Portland, Oregon over the winter to be closer to Jessica. I have been interviewing and applying to as many jobs that I can in the construction field. We decided have thanksgiving with the Ledesma family because I have a couple businesses that I want to visit that I might be able to work with.

My friends wanted me to supply a turkey as I have been in the last 3 years by winning the turkey trot, but I don't know if I can because I have not worked out hard, since I have been friends with Jessica. We started working out together the first semester that we met, and I coached her in running after concluding coaching a cross country team. I couldn't work out in the spring because I was the track and field coordinator, and that position took too much time.

This lack of working out has made me weak, and I get aches. For a few weeks, I felt bloated messing with my diet. One night, my stomach was hurting, and my shoulders were aching. It was messing with my sleep. It was not a worst situation to live it, but it was miserable. I decided to start taking care of myself. I worked out that one time. I have been feeling better. I told Heavenly Father that I would begin taking care of myself better, if he would take away my ailments. I also had a big sliver in my thumb. It is not a big deal.

When I reached out to grab a framing stud for the first time early in the semester in my finishing systems class, I got a gigantic sliver. I pulled out the big chunk of wood, and I didn't realize until a couple days later that a sliver about a centimeter long was pretty deep in my finger, and the skin already healed over it. I trusted that my hand would heal itself, so I didn't worry. It was not until last week or so that it recovered. The sliver surfaced my skin, so it can be easily pulled out. It could not be pulled out because the wood did not hold together, so I looked up what I can do on Google. An article said that if I made a paste with baking soda, the sliver situation would be made simple. I did that, and the sliver disappeared. My finger finally healed a couple days ago as I picked off the scab.

My finishing systems class has taught me so much. That class is funny because in the beginning of the class the teacher said that some people may think that this is their easiest class, but it is the most demanding class of my semester. One of the assignments from this class is way more difficult than the midterm of my project management class. I learned framing, roofing, siding, dry walling, fascia and stuff like that. We just put a door unto our miniature house.

My BIM class has one gigantic project, but my progress has been slow. My first proposal for the project was rejected because it was too big of a building. It would have been too expensive and elaborate; plus, a mall is not ideal for Rexburg. I had to restart on the project, and I lost my flash drive, so I lost about 3 hours of work. On top of that, my laptop just died yesterday, so I have to restart again. A rendering is due Tuesday, so we can practice photoshop. The class has been funny because the teacher always says that half of the class should be for working on modeling our building on Revit, but we have only been given like half an hour during class thus far.

Last week I was stressing out, fearing that I may lose my temple recommend because I have not been keeping up with my tithing. Since I was in Heber for only 5 weeks or so, I figured that I wait to pay tithing in Rexburg. I got confused with my check information said that the amount that I have been being paid, and I paid tithing on my net income. I had to figure out how much taxes were taken out of my paycheck. I tried to reverse engineer it to calculate it, since I only have the information of my last paycheck. I basically stayed up late for no reason because I just asked for my year's information from my workplace in the morning to double check my calculations. I got all of the official information and figured it out in the morning. I wanted to figure out my tithing as quick as possible because tithing settlement begins for my ward in two days.

Jessica and I have been working like crazy this semester, so we haven't been able to go on many nice dates. We go out to eat once in a while. We eat lunch and dinner most every day together. We try to go to the temple each week, but Jessica always wants to sleep in. We went to Lindsey Stirling's concert at BYUI. It is a most inspiration performance.

A few weeks ago a tried to do Twitter on my personal account, sharing it on Facebook because I like to be real with people on Facebook, since I was not writing in my journal. That didn't last long. I started followings the world news again on Twitter, and I like keeping up with that.

Jessica and I went to give blood on Friday, but Jessica didn't prepare sufficiently to donate. I donated blood just fine. Jessica was on a chair to donate blood, and I was going through the process to get ready. When I was ready, Jessica was gone. I thought that she may have donated quickly. I donated quickly. Jessica came to explain that she was not hydrated. She did not sleep a lot the night before. She has not eaten enough this morning, her veins are hard to see, and nurse said that she may have to stick her a few times before she finds the vein. She saw the complete process of my donation, seeing how calm that I was. There was another girl freaking out, and she was having a very hard time donating blood. The blood was not flowing well, since her anxiety was causing her veins to close. Jessica said that she might do that, and she would faint and other things. I told her not to say that because she doesn't know what will happen when she donates. It was a good experience for me, and I had no problems. I think that my experience could be hers, since she saw my experience. I think that the perspective that you have known the donation process will be your experience. Don’t make this life's experience worse than it is.

December 27, 2015

The semester is over. I survived all of my classes. On Christmas break, I am trying to work in Portland, Oregon; therefore, I am living at the Bleak's house. Life has been pretty simple. I failed to get a job by diligent application during school. The method of finding a job through networking basically worked.

I got Bs in most of my classes, but I neglected my BIM class, since my other classes had a lot of reading. BIM stands for Building Information Modeling. It is 3D modeling, but it has great information for construction managers. My architecture teacher was concerned that I would fail the class, but I have faced a similar situation for the past few semesters. I knew that I could pull it off. Reading is very difficult for me, and I bravely read most of my assignments for most of the semester. I loosened my reading standard to make sure that I pass my BIM class. I could upload my BIM project presentation, but it will probably not be a suitable standard that you could fully enjoy, since it is 6' × 3' in dimension.

I was applying for jobs very diligently, interviewing with many companies. One thing that I learned is that interviewing to network is a skill. I feel like my interviews closed doors more than open them. When I coached cross country, most of my team was from Oregon. I contacted them, and I contacted one in person. The one that I contacted in person was good, for the job was realistic. I tried to interview with them over the Thanksgiving break, but time was too short. I tried again on the Monday before Christmas, but the person didn't stay in the office during the time that he said that he would be there. The interviewer is named Scott McCord, and he told me to call before I come the next day. I left earlier and called the next day. All Aspects is the name of the company.

March 6, 2016

Jessica and I have two weeks until we are sealed and married in the Portland Temple for time and all eternity within the new and everlasting covenant of the Priesthood authority and power of God. We have been very busy. I mainly quit publishing my journal entries on my blog for the past few months because asking Jessica's father for permission to marry her was a bad experience,and I did not want to expose anything. I like to be open, but bad things can be destructive to talk about; especially if it is unnecessary.

I moved to Aloha, Oregon after school got out late December. Morgan and Jane Bleak graciously let me reside in there house. On New Years Eve, it came to reveal that I need to find a place to rent for a few months until the Spring semester started. It was coincidental because as the Bleaks were driving to a reception that I was attending with Jessica's family, Jane was prompted to speak with Morgan about my candidacy to rent a room from them. They have rented rooms out to many people, but bad experiences has had them not considering it. I showed that I was neat and clean, and Jane was saying that if they were to rent a room out again. I would be the ideal candidate. I did not even express a desire to rent from them, and they thought that I would  leave to return back to school shortly. When they revealed that I am an ideal candidate to rent from them, I revealed that I needed a place to rent until Jessica and I return back to school, so that's where I have been living in Oregon.

I have worked fiercely to get a good job, and it took a month to finally get opportunities for employment. It was weird because they seemed to come all at once. I could have worked for a roofing company, but I did not take the opportunity because at the time that I would move back to Idaho. I would barely finish my training, which would not be profitable for their business. I could have worked for All Aspects home restoration, but this opportunity required that I invest in a business. I applied to jobs at Indeed.com, and a company called Softpath contacted me about a job opportunity at Nike that they could extend. I profit of the home restoration contracting business was too small compared to the opportunity at Nike, which has good hours and everything.

I work in Nike IHM. IHM stands for in house manufacturing, so I am a factory worker. Since I have experience in production work, I know that I could get work quickly in this field of work. I don't have meaningful experience working in construction.

July 26, 2016

My life has been very busy since I wrote in my journal last. Jessica and I were married on the 19th of March 2016 in the Portland Temple. We waited until the week before the Spring Semester started to do our open houses in Capitola, California and Heber City, Utah. We were surprised that our first apartment was not furnished when we arrived. The semester was very hard on Jessica. I finally got most that I have been involved with ACMS, the Architecture and Construction Management Society, going to network with general contractors in a golfing event and Portland. I interviewed with a few companies. One interview got me a job for the fall semester. My semester was chill, but there was a culture developed in my estimating class of cheating, which I had to repent of. I am now in Oregon. We came here early because I wanted to go see my friend perform in his rock band. We are on vacation this summer. I will not be working because this year is the 50th anniversary of the Latter-day Saint mission in Thailand. We are going to visit there for a month.

Our approach to the marriage planning for our wedding was influenced by Jasmine, Jessica's sister. Jasmine's marriage came so fast. It was very stressful on Mercedes, Jessica's mother. Jessica and I didn't want that to happen to her twice in a row, so we hired a wedding decorator. Jessica's parents barely scrap by each month, and Mercedes insisted on obtaining a loan. I would have preferred that we lived within our means, but she has always lived beyond the family’s means to provide for Jasmine and Jessica. Jessica wants a good wedding reception, and Mercedes justified it with the loan. The loan was not sufficient for our ideas, so my parents paid for about half of the reception expenses. I don't know if the loan is better for Mercedes because we were planning the wedding on our own, but the planning period was less stressful for her.

Jessica is very indecisive, and decisions would not be made if I didn't have an opinion. We were talking with the wedding decorator for way to long accomplishing very little, entertaining her ideas. Jessica is like most girls, imagining a most wonderful wedding reception. My opinion was to go thrifty, yet stylish. I designed our wedding cake and invitations. I let Jessica put in her input as long as possible, but she never decided on anything decoratingwise. We did most of the arrangements. Mercedes participated, but we guided it.

We wanted hors-d'oeuvre to be served because we could not afford to serve dinner to everyone, and we wanted to embrace Jessica's Colombian heritage especially because the main reason that we choose to have the wedding in Oregon was to have the natural dance environment of her Colombian background to manifest; therefore, we choose to have Colombian food catered. This also avoided much of the cooking stress; although, Mercedes still cooked, preparing additional food. Foodwise; I believe that her additional food contribution was ill-conceived. We purchased small plates for hors-d'oeuvre, but the additional food main the reception feel like we have food for a dinner. After the wedding Mercedes complained that people were taking double the plates, when they served themselves food, but I believe that the guests grabbed double the plates because we had double the food that we were to have. I was trying to lead the wedding reception, so I missed all the drama of the wedding and the reception. Mercedes was taking care of the food situation, and she was lucky to have set aside a package of plates to serve the cake. Of course, Jessica and I barely ate anything. Jessica didn't eat much because of her anxiety.

The night before the wedding was chill, and we had everything prepared because the decorators decorated the chapel that we had the reception at. The food was catered. The food Mercedes contributed in addition to the catering was prepared at a previous time. We had time to meet as family to enjoy each other's company and the occasion. I found it odd that we decided to have the two sides of the family separate, but Jessica's family did their own thing, and my family went out to eat at a nice restaurant near my parents' hotel. The party size of the dinner was large. Aunt Glennalee and Devon came. They were my only aunt and uncle that came, which was expected because my family is not that united. Jessica's family is much more united. My groomsmen were there. When I started relationship with Jessica, I devoted my whole life to the preparation of our marriage, having neglected my friends. I had few groomsmen. It was basically the following two: Jesse Kaupert and Michael Angulo. My little brother and in-law were my groomsmen. I had trouble finding groomsmen to equal the number of Jessica's bridesmaids; not that she is more friendly, her roommates were close, which is typical for BYU-Idaho women student apartments. My apartments as a man were never as close to each other as Jessica's roommates. Arriving just in time from Utah, Jesse came with Paige Dexter and Rachel Dunlap, who are friends from BYU Idaho. We all had a good time eating together the night before the wedding.

I don't know exactly what Jessica did with her family the night before the wedding. I heard that everyone gave her marriage advice. R.E.'s was a little controversial, which is why I remember it. She said to let your children see you argue with your spouse, but I think that she means set a proper example of problem solving with communication. Hailey said something that Jessica and I already did, so I don't remember it well. Maybe I will ask Jessica. R.E. is Jessica's cousin, and Hailey is her half-sister.

The day of our marriage went very well. Portland was the best location because it allowed the atmosphere that we wanted, which mainly depended on dancing at the reception. We had the entire day planned for fun of family and friends. We had the marriage first. After we had our first breakfast at a Thai restaurant near the temple. We had a few hours until the reception, so we planned for a period of time for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to have a good time together with us. Afterwards we had our reception.

The sealing was done by Charle Grimshaw also known as Chuck. He was the bishop of my parent's, when they first got married. I don't remember much of what he said before the sealing. During the sealing, Jessica and I took two different things from his counsel. I remembered that Chuck said that he purchased land in the bay area of California before the 1989 earthquake to build their house. A large rock was discovered on the property after the land was acquired. A concrete foundation was not an option, and Chuck had the opportunity of building the house on the rock analyzed. The house was ultimately designed to be constructed on the rock. When the 1989 earthquake came, all his neighbor's houses were destroyed except for his. The rock is the Savior Jesus Christ, and "He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall." (D&C 50:44)

After the sealing we took pictures. Mercedes practically did everything for Jasmine's wedding pictures except take the pictures, having to choose the location and arrange the families for the photographer. One thing that was weird if the she forgot to arrange a picture for both the Ledesma and Roger family together. I definitely did not what to witness that again. We got a professional photographer to arrange everything. The pictures came out great. Jessica complained for a long time about how she didn't look natural, enduring her social anxiety. She has said that she wished that she continued to take her medication, and she has also said about the photography that she is proud of how everything went even the pictures. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with the pictures. She looks at wedding pictures a lot, which has let her ponder our wedding day.

It is Hicken family tradition to do a first breakfast, which is the first meal of a marriage. This was the first time where both extended families got to commune with each other. I asked my father to host it. Kurtis Day, my cousin, had an interactive first breakfast, letting family members tell stories of the newlyweds, but dad mainly started the meal with a prayer and gave me a general conference talk about marriage. The meal was an arranged buffet at a Thai restaurant. Our company filled most of the restaurant. Glennalee and Devon, the parents of Kurtis Day, has a special connection with Beaverton, Oregon because Kurtis served in my in-laws Spanish group. It was not a branch at the time of Kurtis' mission. Everyone got along well, but Mercedes divided from John. We had my parents sit at one table and grandparents sit at another. Jessica's parents were sitting awkwardly together, and Mercedes had her best friend sit with them. I also sat at a table with Jessica, and the generations were all on a row. Jessica's grandma sat with the family because her spouse has passed away. I tried to mingle with all of the family well, but I feel that we neglected to cultivate a bond with Jessica's little cousins especially Eve's children.

After the first breakfast I planned the time until the reception to time for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to have a good time together. I delegated to Jesse Kaupert to organize the activity. It was the idea of Paige's date with Jesse, when they went out once. We were going to fold paper boats and race them, since the Park was closed. Jesse had to improvise. We almost went exploring add some hiking trails, but the bridesmaids weren't into it, since they were dressed nice. We settled with folding paper into swans. We were at a park for a long time, waiting for R.E. and Hailey, but Daniel, Jessica's uncle, was too exhausted, requiring a nap; therefore, their time with us before the wedding reception was a haphazardly moment. Mercedes was rushing us to be at the reception area to help prepare and receive the cake; however, we did not feel that is necessary. We hung out and had a good time with our friends. I have heard people say that my focus on people was admirable. Every moment was about relationships. We basically subcontracted all the labor for the reception preparation.

The reception started very slow. We could choose to greet everyone individually or make a line for the guests to greet us. Jessica and I decided to have a line, so the guests can visit with the patriarchs and matriarchs of our families. We planned to meet the guests, hoping to have them seated with food within 30-45 minutes, but it took longer than anticipated. The family and Jessica especially was anxious. When everyone was ready, we had Jessica's father begin the activities. John's introduction was generic, and Jessica had Lucas Rodgers give the invocation. Afterwards Jessica and I cut the cake. We didn't practice it, so it was a little hectic. The slice that we cut ourselves was small. After that time we rested somewhat. Jessica tossed her bouquet, giving her little time to eat. She couldn't eat anyway, since she was so nervous. One of the main reasons that we chose to have the reception in Portland was for the environment of Latin dancing with Jessica's Spanish branch and her mother's Colombian heritage.

The father daughter dance was a little weird. Our guidance to the DJ was very minimal, which made the experience memorable. We asked John for a suggestion for a song for the daddy daughter dance, but he didn't give one. I danced with my mother as Jessica danced with her father. At first the song was a ballroom dance style of boxes. Mom taught it to me, and it was fine; however, the song changed music styles every thirty seconds or so. Jessica characterizes the song as a carousel song. It was awkward. The song choices were a little awkward too; plus, the DJ would have a ten second merengue song to transition between songs, which would confuse me. I am not used to having a miniature song transition between songs in dances. R.E., a daughter of Aaron Ledesma whose who is an uncle of Jessica lead the group in some dances. Her family are dancers. Lucas' dancing was goofy funny. Michael Angulo was a little awkward. It seemed like he was flirting with Jessica's married half-sister, Hayley. We were happy with the dance most everyone was dancing. Jessica is the only person that could get me dancing.

Jessica and I delegated the role of decorating our car and preparing our departure from the reception to the bridesmaids. We passed out a bunch of bubbles containers. It maded the dance fun. Mercedes couldn't figure out how to blow bubbles with what we got. After a while people formed a long line from the cultural hall out of the chapel, and both sides made an arch. Jessica and I ran through the line. Dad thought that we left too quickly. People blew bubbles. People waved good bye. Grandma Ledesma commented about having children. We drove off to a Hilton Suite.

One thing that I have not said is that Jessica and I had never kissed before our sealing. She thought that it would be romantic to have her first kiss when we were married. She immediately thought that it was foolish when we kissed for the first time in front of everyone during the sealing. I am talking about kisses on the lips. We drove to an embassy suite, and we thought that would be good; plus, it was advised by the Bleaks, who we were staying with. The time at the hotel is important to set new familiarity. I never felt so loved.

We chose the 19th of March because the weekend before school would be crazy; the weekend before that was general conference; and the weekend before general conference was the women's conference of general conference; therefore, we chose 19^th of March because it was the weekend before all of the conference.