Top 10 Things I Hate About Utah:

1. The mass amounts of undisciplined urchins running around because families are very young because they are either a. Mormon or b. Hispanic...both of which encourage children for parents that are very young and encourage lots of them! Which now brings me to point 2...
2.Mormons. period
3.Bad Drivers and their rush hour traffic (Learn the NY rule of the left passing lane...for my sanity)
4. Stupid Liquor Laws (which brings me back to point 2)
5. Lack of Trees
6. Their stupid road system (which brings me back to point 2)
7. The dryness (I constantly feel like a dehydrated lizard)
8. The sexist attitude (Just bring your husband by... you mean you aren't married?! Again bringing me back to point 2)
9. The fact that it takes an entire month to get permanent license plates. (Hello, welcome to America...it's called technology)
10. The fact that 90% of the people out here insist on driving badly with their unnecessarily large vehicles...If I get into an accident because of their incompetence...they win.

So I have been here for a month and the honeymoon is over. One month down...many more to go. I am missing the east like crazy. Which brings me to my recent happenings. I worked Monday and then took off for Ohio on Tuesday. (The trip was from Tuesday-Thursday and then I have Friday off..because I work for the government) Middle of nowhere Ohio. It was quasi east...and it made me realize how much I miss a decent amount of humidity and trees...and oh yeah normal people. The reason that I was in Ohio was to visit a Boeing factory that makes products the Air Force uses.

We landed in Ohio around 6:30. It took over an hour to get our rental car in Ohio! Then we were on the road, I feared for my life because the driver was slightly scary. Also, Mormon men do not believe in listening to women who might have an idea of where they are going...or maybe it was just the men I was with. Who knows... anyways because no one would listen to the girls we were an extra 45 minutes getting to our hotel than we needed to be. We checked in at 9 at night...I was exhausted and frazzled. I crashed.

Wedneday we went to Boeing. It was fascinating and I learned more than I would have sitting in my office in Utah. On the way back to the hotel the driver (coworker) got lost. Of course women's advice was not solicited...or listened to when given. I got to the point where I started yelling directions very loudly and flippantly to the front of the vehicle...I demand to be heard. I MAKE THE RULES!! The same thing happened that night going to and from dinner. Thursday morning it was back to the airport...The back of the car was open and the lights wouldn't turn off...I jumped out and tried to shut the door. It wouldn't work because the car wasn't in park and the door wouldn't open. DUH!! I tried to explain it...but the Mormon wouldn't listen. (Is anyone surprised) He decided that the 2 guys were going to get out of the car and try to shut it. Of course it worked because he had to put the car in park to get out. When he got back in he said, "It just needed a...(I thought in my head...if you say a man's touch, you lose a testicle) a... an engineer's touch. (He isn't an engineer!!) They must think I am a bitch...and that's why I am not married. Oh well. They can think that.

The other girl and I decided that the next time we take a trip...we are getting a rental car for the 2 of us. The guys can drive around lost for all we care.

On the way back home I decided that Utah rush hour traffic is the most annoying thing I have driven in. It is so worse than Northern Virginia rush hour...and they don't have nearly as many people. I think the problem is that Utahns don't believe that the left lane is for passing...so they will sit 4 cars across all doing 50 miles an hour (or far less) because the sunlight is in their eyes and they are too stupid to wear sunglasses. It took me over an hour to go 25 miles.

Yes, the honeymoon is over. And all that is left is a very bitter stubborn, scrappy, Irish-CATHOLIC east coast girl that misses home and everyone there.

That is all.

Funny Story!

So last night I went to bed around 10:30. All of a sudden I sat up in bed and looked at the clock...I thought it said 5:30. Which made me happy because it meant that I beat my alarm and it was time to get up and get ready to go to work. So I got in the shower, put on my clothes and went to do my makeup when it occurred to me that I should look at my watch. I did and my watch said midnight...which made me think that my watch had quit. Then I looked at the alarm clock...it said midnight...I went out and checked my computer...midnight. Needless to say I took off the work clothes and crashed again.

Work is going well. I work with a lot of cool people on a lot of cool things (some of which I can't talk about). I found out that at some point I am going to have to spend 3 weeks in illustrious Dayton, OH for a class that I need to take. I'm not sure when that will be and I am getting antsy about it because I need to know, so I can plan my schedules.

Utah is ok. It snowed this past weekend in the mountains. I looked out the window and I was like why the hell is there snow on the mountains...this can't be good. We went to Park City that night and it was freaking cold!!! So fall/winter is starting to set in...and I am not liking it...a week ago it was 90!!!

I have also met some cool kids around my age and some of them are from the east coast!! This one lieutenant even went to LeMoyne and did ROTC at SU!!! We reminisced about Dinosaur, Faegan's and Pita Pit for a while one day.

So things are going well...

That is all.

Working!!!

Other than work...my life is boring. Let me preface it with that!!

So the first week at my site was INSANE!! There are so many things that I don't know. I had a lot of fun though and I think it will be better when I get my first paycheck. So, Monday I was released to my supervisor at 10:30...the problem was I told him I would get released on Wednesday. So I called his cell and he was in a meeting...oops. He told me to show up at his office and sit there and wait for him. So I was waiting outside his office and some lady told me to go in and sit down. I felt really awkward sitting in his office while he wasn't there...but this lady told me to do it. So I did...and he came in and he reminds me of a larger version of Brandon's dad...which is way cool because Brandon's dad is awesome. So I sat down and he started explaining my job to me. First off I work on the Minuteman III which is the only intercontinental Ballistic Missile that the US has. Because of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks and whatnot...we can't build new ones...we have to repair old ones. Well not so much as repair as update and use better technology and Hill is the only base in the country that sustains these things! Basically I am an 1101 which I guess is a large project manager. That probably sounds confusing but basically I am going to dictate how the government spends its money on certain things. How crazy is that?? I go shopping for the government!!! The other crazy thing is that the AF works really closely with Lockheed Martin and Boeing! It makes me feel like I am back in the simulation again. Right now I am trying to learn all the jargon. And there is a ton!!!!!! The good news is that my Major and Lt Colonel are AWESOME!!! These guys are the Yes Sirs in my division and they are cool!! Being here also has helped me develop a new admiration for Professor Meigs!! He was the coolest ever! I never realized how big a 4 star general was (the highest ranking one we have here is a 2 star)..and now I miss him. But the people that I work with are so cool...I feel like the golden child...they drag me around to all of these really high level meetings and make me sit at the table with them and stuff...it is the coolest feeling!! The only bad part is that I am feeling a slight resentment from some of the other employees that did not get the same treatment when they started. Here's the thing though...1) Most of them are from Utah...they never moved! 2) They aren't usually new to military life. So whatever!!

The other nice thing...I put in 9 hours of work a day...and I get every other Friday off. That is so bitchin...I love the Federal government.

I am way exhausted from working and trying to get my apartment in order and trying to memorize jargon...but its cool. I think I will like my job.

I also appreciate the comments and feedback!!

That is all!

Reconnected Finally!

Now that I have internet, I can update everyone on what has been going on since I flew out to Utah.

Thursday the 24

I decided that it would be a magnificent idea to go to the Great New York State Fair really early in the morning on Thursday because I won't get to go this year. So we arrived at the fair around 8:30 and left around 12:30. It was a fun time and I will miss the New Yorkness.

We left for the airport around 3ish and per usual our flight was delayed almost a half an hour. I thought that was bad...but sitting on the runway at JFK for over an hour was way worse. Meanwhile my cat is having drug freakouts in her carrier. It was a rough trip and I was absolutely exhausted at the end. We got lost on the way to the hotel and we finally got to bed about 5 am NY time.

Friday the 25th

We left the hotel at a decent time and after missing our turn and winding up at the Air Force Base, we finally found the apartment complex. I walked into the apartment and I thought it was a dump immediately. I tried not to cry because I was exhausted and this was less than optimal...and we took a nice walk through the complex. I ran into a mom and her kids and she told me that she likes it here and that the area was really nice. After that I ran into a Layton city police officer and asked him what he thought about it. He reassured me that the area was nice and as long as I was careful...there was nothing to worry about. I decided since the traffic around here reminds me of Northern Virginia and it is rather difficult to find an apartment...I would take the one I had reserved. It has since started to grow on me. It isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was in the beginning. The way that I look at it I have 2 WHOLE bedrooms and 2 WHOLE bathrooms...so how bad can it be? I will post pictures as soon as I take them.

There are also a ton of mountains around me. I live on the edge of the Rockies on what is known as the Wasatch Front. I guess the skiing is phenomenal but I am still trying to get used to seeing mountains everywhere I drive.

Then it was off to the car dealership. By this point in the day I was so exhausted and sick of signing my life away. However, the guys at the dealership were really nice and some preconceived notions that I had ended up to be false. I ended up getting a cute black Honda Civic ("classy chicks drive black cars") and so far, I like it. After leaving the dealership, we got dinner. After a long drive to Salt Lake to return the rental car...I finally went to bed.

Saturday 25th

I woke up in the morning and started looking through some paperwork that the apartment complex had given me. I realized that half of the paperwork had one address and half the paperwork had another. I then went to the office to see which address I actually lived at. It turns out that there was a brain lapse in the office and that I had been given the wrong address on the official lease that I signed. I almost freaked out. I had already given the internet, gas, electric, insurance, car dealers and the moving company the WRONG address. So I smiled, was very gracious and walked away slowly so as not to blow up at them. Then I started recalling all of these organizations to correct the flaw. It wasn't a big deal but it was an added stress that I just did not want to deal with.

I spent the afternoon driving around aimlessly trying to figure out these crazy mormon roads. (No offense to mormons but having an address like 1325 West 6000 North can be a bit confusing to people not from the area...how can you have 2 different directions in the same address? Also calling roads by 2 different names and then not posting both names is also confusing...it took me 2 days to realize that the 2000 North that I passed all the time was the mythical West Antelope Drive that was part of my address but that I had yet to find.)

Sunday August 27th

On Sunday we went to the early mass at the Catholic Church. If you have never been to Utah let me explain some things...there is a LDS or Mormon church every 500 feet...no joke. You can be driving through a town...see an LDS, drive another block and see another LDS. There is only 1 Catholic Church within a 25 mile radius from me...no joke. Heaven forbid you try to find a Jewish temple. So we went to church and then found the grocery store. It's no Wegmans but it isn't horrible. I also found out how much I miss real bagels. I proceeded to come home from church and pass out for 3 hours. I was so exhausted and stressed from the move that it just happened. We then drove around again aimlessly finding the necessities.

Monday August 28th

Today we went to Salt Lake City and saw Temple Square and the house of Brigham Young. Someone said it best when they said that Salt Lake City was like a party that you weren't invited to unless you promised to drink the Kool-aid. People were giving me nasty looks for wearing shorts. They were also really pushy about there religion. I had a sister walk up to me when I was researching ancestry to try and convert me to Mormonism. I politely averted her comments at every turn and insisted that we needed to leave the area immediately. After that we went to the Cathedral of the Madeline because we felt like we needed a little Catholic influence in our day. The Cathedral had a very hispanic influence to the decor. The columns were green, purple and orange and the patterns on the floor were southwestern patterns. It was a pretty cool church. We had contemplated going into Brigham Young's house but I decided that I had had enough conversion for one day and I was getting very cynical of the Mormons.

Tuesday August 29th

Today I went to the base to fill out some more paperwork. It was such a pointless visit but it was the bureaucratic red tape process that I needed to go through. I did find out however that the Air Force has a program where 3 hours a week employees are excused from work to go workout. So I will get paid to work out for 3 hours a week.

Wednedsay August 30th

I was told that my household goods would be here on this day. So I called at 8 am and they told me that my household goods were not coming on Wednesday and that they would probably be there on Saturday but she would have to call me back. Of course she didn't call me back so I had to call them back and they told me that it wasn't going to be on Saturday, it was going to be Monday. I told them that was Labor Day and they assured me that they would be delivering on Labor Day. I was livid!! When you give someone a no later than date...it should be NO LATER THAN THAT DATE!!! Plus I wanted to have everything settled before I started work. Instead of fuming around all day about things that I could not change, we went to Park City. It's this really affluent old mining town where most of the Olympic events were held. We went on the Olympic tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone coming to the area. There were athletes there training while we were there so we got to see ski jumpers jump into a big pool. The tour also took us to the top of the bobsled, the skeleton and the luge tracks. After that we were taken to the ski jumps. Seeing the view from up there was unbelievable. Main street Park City has a lot of little cute shops with everything from tourist shops to art shops and an old prison. The drive there and back was a little intense though because I don't think that the state of Utah believes in guard rails or suggested speeds. We were driving through the mountains on I-80 and there was nothing to keep us from plummeting to the valley below.

Thursday August 31st

Today we went up to Logan Canyon and Bear Lake. This was another area that I would recommend to people. It was so pretty but another one of those intense rides with no guard rails. The views were amazing and I will post pictures of that too! On the way back we had the best raspberry shakes because Bear Lake is known for its raspberries. We visited Amanda's place in Logan before heading back to Layton. She is going to come into town this weekend and that should be good. I am glad that I know someone in Utah!

Friday September 1st

Today we went to Antelope Island. There are free roaming bison on the island. There are no fences which means that you can be driving around...and bam there is a buffalo in the road. The view from there was awesome too! I also got to float in the Great Salt Lake. Your skin gets really dried out and your hair gets gross but I highly recommend it! There is literally no way you can drown...if you sit down you automatically float to the top! It's the weirdest feeling! I also got my bison burger which is a delicacy I have not had since 2004 at the South Dakota reception! There is also a cool ranch on the island. I can't imagine trying to farm on an island...but I guess they managed. The island is also looking for people to be trail patrols...so I might volunteer to ride a horse.

Saturday September 2nd

While we were doing laundry I got a phone call from the moving company. It turns out that they can't find labor to help them on labor day (uhh duh! I tried to tell them that) so they will be there on Tuesday. I was absolutely furious because I was supposed to start my job on Tuesday. The good news was that I had already contacted my HR guy and he said that if that happens that I would have to go to work at 7 am, get sworn in, leave and get my stuff and then go back when I was done. It was more stress than I wanted for my first week. So, rather than fuming all day we went to Gateway Center in Salt Lake. It was the complete opposite of Temple Square. Gateway Center has a lot of little shops and restaurants. There were little goth kids walking around and it felt more like New York. Then I dropped my mom off at the airport and I returned to my empty apartment alone.

Sunday September 3rd

Amanda came down to visit and we went to Park City. It was really nice of her to come down and hang out with me and we had a great time. We went to the Outlet Mall there and we got some great deals and I got a new pair of hiking boots! So now I can go hiking in these beautiful mountains.

Monday September 4th

Amanda and I went to Oktoberfest at the Snowbird Ski Resort. We had a blast drinking German beer, eating German food (Spatzle and Strudel!) and listening to awesome yodelers in leiderhosen!! It was such a good time.

Tuesday September 5th

Stressful! I went to work at 7 am and got to the training building an hour early. I told the lady running the training about how I needed to go home and get my household goods and she gave me a bunch of attitude about missing training. I told her that this was not my fault and I had no choice and that I was going to be back as soon as possible. So after I got sworn in, I left and came back by the end of lunch. The moving company got off easy because they didn't unpack anything...and they were supposed to...but because I had to get to work so soon, they just left everything. I was depressed about it because I didn't want to have to come home to boxes, but I didn't have a choice. So I got back to work and made sure that the lady knew I was there. She asked me how long I had lived in Syracuse and I had to make sure she meant NY because there is a Syracuse UT 2 minutes down the road. She knew NY and she said that she had been stationed at Hancock and that her daughter had been born at Crouse the same day that the Carrier Dome had opened. Then I told her about Kara and how she was born that day too!!! So I thought we were back on good terms again.

Wednesday September 6th

Today was pretty good. We are learning about diversity, sexual harassment, benefits, services and other things that are available at Hill. The diversity speaker that came in today is by far the best diversity person that I have ever heard. He managed to bring a humor to the subject without offending. I wish I could put him in a box and send him to the Literacy Corps because he was amazing.

Thursday September 7th

This morning was not so good. This might be a good time to state that I am by far the youngest person in training, the only one not married and one of 2 females. There are 17 people in our training. I am also 1 of 2 not from the Utah area. Because of this I am still trying to learn the rush hour patterns. Wednesday I was 20 minutes early to work. Today I left 5 minutes later and I was 5 minutes late because of all the freaking base traffic. I rushed in as quickly as possible and the trainer made a big spectacle of me and everyone applauded that I was there...when in fact I was not the last one to come in...but she made a spectacle of me. I understand I was late...and that is unacceptable... I completely understand that. However, when you know that the traffic is really bad at certain gates between certain times...you should tell the rookie. I was slightly offended that I got cut no slack..but such as life.


Several things about Utah...it is hot, dry and sunny all the time. It has been no less than 70 degrees at any point in time. Today when I was driving home it was 86 (that was actually a break for us). You can't get good bagels here anywhere (there are acceptable ones in the grocery store only)! There is no such thing as good hot wings. My experience with local pizza places thus far has been sub par. There are also no local ice cream stands!!! In a state that is over 80 degrees more than it is less than 20 you would think they would have something else besides Dairy Queen.

I don't know how I like the job yet because I am only in training right now. I have a feeling that I will like my supervisor though. Him and I have been in contact via email and he seems pretty understanding.