Changing Seasons

Before I moved to Hawaii people would tell me the reasons why they could never be happy here. Quite a few people said that they would suffer from island fever, many said that they would miss their family and friends and a couple people said that they would miss the changing of the seasons.

The strongest reason for me to stay on the mainland was because I would miss my family and friends. Island fever didn't seem like it would be an issue for me. After living in some cold places, with a low tolerance for the cold, I definitely didn't think that the changing of the seasons would bother me one bit. 

Once I started working here, I noticed a big difference in the work ethic in Hawaii. I heard that people were more laid back here and I honestly thought that it would help me not be so uptight. Some people would come into work when they wanted to, others would push their work off on me, some of the salaried workers would take two hour lunches every day so they could exercise and still leave work at 4:30. 

The result of all of this being laid back hasn't been good. The auditors are constantly frustrated that problem issues are not resolved by the next year, the school is behind on a few things that could get them into legal trouble and the biggest issue is that if they are not on top of some of these problems, they could lose federal funding. That could be devastating to the school and would cost the church millions. 

There has been talk of closing the school down all together. The previous school president was brought in because he was a business man and they needed someone to save the school money, otherwise the church was considering closing it. Apparently he became the bad guy because he said no to a lot of costly projects. What a lot of the locals don't realize is that they should really thank him for saving their jobs. The new school president that was brought in is trying to smooth things over since many of the locals don't seem to like the business approach. They seem to think that the school should be run more like a charity than a business. 

So what does any of this have to do with the changing of the seasons? Well I have a friend here from Canada that knows the ins and outs of this school better than anyone I know. She started to work here about the same time I did, but her parents have been here for years trying to save the school money. They came over as missionaries and stayed as donors and now her mom is taking classes here so they can stay with a student visa while her father continues to try to save the school money that is constantly thrown away. 

Her family and I seem to see things eye to eye on this school. Her father has a theory that when people have to deal with the changing of the seasons, they learn to work hard and prepare for the future. If our ancestors were not prepared for some of the harshest winters they would not have survived and we would not be here. It almost makes me appreciate the winter again. ;) I probably would have left this place by now if it wasn't for a good friend I can commiserate with. 

I do not doubt that some day this school will be closed. I would feel sad for all of the Asian students who come here and find their spouses and raise adorable families but with all the things the church is doing with the Pathway program, it doesn't make as much sense to keep a costly school like this going. I was taking to the new HR director last week. She is well aware of the problems facing the school and she has asked her superiors a few times, "Why don't you just shut us down?" Time will tell, maybe the Lord has plans for this place that I do not understand but it has been quite a learning experience in the mean time. 

I'm Blessed

There is an older gentleman named Ernest who works security in my building. Every time I ask him how he is doing he smiles and says, "I'm blessed." I am grateful for his example and I cannot deny that I am blessed as well. He is one of the most cheerful people I know and from what little I know about him I can only guess that this comes from his gratitude to God.

I was just asking him about a car accident that happened in front of my building at 4 AM a few weeks ago and when I asked him about it. He told me that the woman had fallen asleep at the wheel and had been driving in a ditch for a while before she ran into a pole. He said something about prayer that I didn't fully catch and when I asked him what he said, he just replied, "God is good." Yes, God is good. Thank you Ernest for your good heart and your testimony.

"You're Voting for Hillary I Hope?"

A woman asked if she could sit at my table for dinner at the busy Seattle airport on my way from Minnesota to Utah. We were both silent at first and then I decided to ask her about her travels. She told me that she was heading home to California and had just been visiting her daughter in Seattle. She asked me about my travels as well. She was probably around 60 years old, definitely old enough to be my mother.

After we finished talking about our travels she said, "You're voting for Hillary I hope?" I looked down because I knew things were about to get awkward. I shook my head no and said, "I'm voting for Donald Trump." She was obviously surprised and began to tell me about how he was a racist bigot and how she had worked in Women's productive care most of her life. She said that she is grateful that she has never had to make the decisions that other women have had to make. She said some women just don't have the access they need to birth control.

I just quietly responded that I am not a fan of the things Donald Trump has said but I cared more about the sanctity of life. There was much more I could have added like taking about the importance of the Supreme Court nominee but I didn't think it was wise to get into an argument with her. We both finished our dinners and I must say that our conversation ended quite pleasantly despite the circumstances.

I really believe that Hillary Clinton could quite possibly be much more corrupt than the media makes us believe. What the media has shared is pretty bad. We also need to remember that we joined forces with Stalin in WWII to defeat the Nazis. We must do what needs to be done to protect our country even if it is far from the ideal.

God Bless America!

Making and Keeping Covenants

According to lds.org, "A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey those conditions. When we choose not to keep covenants, we cannot receive the blessings, and in some instances we suffer a penalty as a consequence of our disobedience."

 I loaned my sister some money to buy a car several months ago. It is interesting to be on the giving side of a covenant. It gives me a tiny view into how Heavenly Father must feel about us in some ways. Tonight as I think about how Heavenly Father makes covenants with us I keep thinking of the deal I struck with my sister.

Before I sent her any money, I asked her to prepare a budget. She seemed to think that she could pay me $100/week. I knew she lived paycheck to paycheck so I wanted to see if it was even possible for her to make such large payments. She didn't jump right on her assignment. If I were in her shoes I would have gotten her my budget ASAP especially if I needed a car as desperately as she did. To get her budget I had to call her on the phone and ask her several questions about her income and expenses to get the information I needed.

Heavenly Father wants us to show him we are ready and capable of making covenants. He wants us to show him and maybe ourselves that we are capable of keeping commitments. Converts need to take the discussions, they need to have faith, they need to repent. If they can't take these basic steps then how could we be expected to keep bigger commitments? He also doesn't want us to fail in our commitments and feel like failures so he will not have us make commitments that we cannot keep.

Sometimes I am not sure why I had a moment of pure generosity. I think I was just tired of watching her get $2,000 cars that she would end up paying $8,000 for after all of her interest payments. Part of the reason I did it is because I am naive. I didn't foresee all the problems that would arise in the process. I didn't understand what a low priority I would be to my sister, how many times I would have to follow up and remind her to make payments, the effort it would take to track her weekly payments or the lack of respect I would be given at times.

I think about Heavenly Father and the ways he wants to bless our lives. Sometimes we completely forget about him and what he is trying to do for us. we forget about the covenants we have made with him. We at times make him a very low priority and even go so far as disrespecting him.

I want so much for my sister to be responsible, proactive, dependable, reliable, and grateful. Sometimes I have to remind her to make her payments and have these other characteristics. It can be a lot of work. More work than I was anticipating. I just assumed that she would be so grateful for the loan that she would automatically have all the other characteristics I was expecting.

Heavenly Father wants us to develop these characteristics also. It makes me think of the parable of the talents. He will bless us with so much if we develop the aforementioned characteristics. He also tells us that we need to acknowledge his hand in all things D&C 59:21 and if we don't his wrath will be kindled.

When I went home to visit, I got to see the car she purchased, a Honda Civic. It looked like she lived out of it and that it doubled as a trash can for her. There was so much in the car that she had a hard time fitting me and my carry on bags in it. It was a nicer car than any she had ever owned and yet she had no respect for it. I told her that I still owned three fifths of the car and I wanted my car to be clean.

Heavenly Father is trying to give us Eternal Life. How do we treat that gift. Do we remember that and try to keep our lives free of sin? Do we remember the promises we have made to him? Mosiah 18:8-10 tells us that we have covenanted to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those in need of comfort. It also tells us that we promise to serve God and keep the commandments. That is all we have to do and then he will bless us with the greatest gift we can receive. Seems like a no brainer, right? Why do we make it so hard?

Perhaps I didn't fully understand what I was promising at my baptism when I was eight years old, but I was wise enough then to know that it was the right thing for me to do and that it would bless my life. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that is patient with my short comings, probably much more patient than I am inclined to be with my sister. I am grateful that he has allowed me to make my covenants even though he knew at times I would break them and break his heart in the process. I am grateful for the ways the gospel and my covenants have changed me and made me a better person. I may have a long road to go but I am grateful to be on the path.

Finally A Vacation

Sadly is had been almost a year since I have taken a vacation. It all just made me realize how much I have needed it. I have been working full time, in school full time and I have not had a vacation in about a year. It really makes me not want to go back to work at all, ever again. They picked the wrong time to let me go. The weather was about perfect in both Minnesota and Utah. I almost wanted to move back to both places especially since things aren't going so well at my job.

My niece was kind enough to sleep on the floor in her brother's room so I could sleep on her princess bed. It made me feel like a princess.

Of course there was some family drama. I don't think that my vacations with family would be complete without any drama. I went to my old beauty school, shopped at Mall of America, walked the skyways downtown Minneapolis and visited Minnehaha Falls. 

My family was nice enough to have an early Christmas with me since I will not be going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was fun to hang out with my adorable nieces and nephews.

I think I enjoyed the scenery best in Utah though. Don't tell any of the murderers but I hiked Desolation Trail alone and came out alive. It was so gorgeous up there. 

I tried to see as many Utah friends as I could. I think I did pretty good for only having two and a half days to see everyone. Moe got me into see some modern dance at the Rose Wagner Theater where I met his new possible love interest Christina. I hope things progress there because she seems low drama and I don't think she is a drug user, so that is something to celebrate. I got to see where all the magic happens in that place and pretend to be part of it. 

The only good thing about my trip back was this amazing sunset.

Now I just need to figure out how I can quit my job and go on a permanent vacation. 

Salesman

We have been dealing with sales people at work. We are looking to upgrade our online payment processing system. In the process I realized how much mistrust I have in salespeople. It seems that they are always trying to highlight the best features and hide the bad features at least until the contract is signed.

In the process I discovered that instead of just paying $3,000 a month for their services, we will be paying an additional $12-15,000 a month in credit card fees and I seem to be the only one at work that seems to care that we are quadrupling our costs to use this new product that will give us minimal features that do not justify the expense.

During this whole process I have been thinking about the sales tactics the adversary uses on us. He is either a great salesman or a terrible salesman depending on how easily we bend to his will. So many of his tactics can be compared to a salesman. There is probably more I can say about this, and I am sure I can go deeper into analyzing this, but the bottom line is that I could never sell anything because I am a terrible lair and I would probably end up hating myself in the end.

Today in Sunday school it was pretty interesting because we had a lesson where the teacher asked if anyone was a salesman or was good at selling things. He got a volunteer to come up and try to sell misery to the class. He had us come up with a list of good things about misery that the saleswoman could focus on. The class shared things like, misery loves company, it is easy to obtain, doesn't require any work to receive, is often proceeded by pleasure, and it has an endless supply. Then the volunteer gave us her sales pitch. She did a great job and we all laughed at how ridiculous it was to think that anyone would buy into the sales pitch.

The reality is that people are doing it all the time. I am sure I could come up with a list of people who are not making great choices in their lives right now and they are completely miserable. They have no clue that they have bought into a bunch of lies and empty promises. It is so sad to me and such a tragedy. I wish I could do more to help them see the lies they have believed and yet sometimes they seem so far gone to ever bring back to reality. What on earth is there to do? This topic will probably stay with me for a while. Perhaps this post will come with a part 2. We'll see.  

Seven Cups

I had a new cultural experience today. We had a much needed training meeting for the Cashier's Office which I am now managing without the promotion or pay raise. Planning the training was a little stressful because I had to give two of the three presentations. I also had to figure out how to tell the employees that their performance wasn't inline with company policy and that it needed to change in the nicest way possible. I needed to lay out job requirements and expectations. I was trying to undo a lot of damage done by a previous manager that was fired for not doing his job. We were going to also talk about counterfeit money and what to do if they were robbed. I have never been in a management position before so all I could really do was rely on the examples of manager's I have had over the years.

I also needed to coordinate closing the office, notifying the school's staff and employees, get someone to meet the armored car with our deposit, plan lunch and make sure we had the supplies we needed. I was trying really hard not to drop the ball somewhere. I had asked an employee to get the lunches and I told her to make sure we had utensils and cups for the drinks I bought. She remembered everything except the cups.

Our usual conference room was scheduled so we had to meet in a new room with fancy buttons to turn on the technology that I wasn't familiar with. The group that had the room scheduled before us ran over 5-10 minutes so we were just waiting for them to leave and I was getting anxious, wanting to make sure we had time for everything we needed to cover.

A woman came out to let the other group know that we were waiting to get in the room. I thought she was very helpful and hoped she could help me get my laptop plugged in and maybe help us with some cups. After the others left she came into the room to grab a laptop and clear some things out. I asked her how to plug my laptop into the projector and she paused and looked at me in a way that confused me, but I didn't think much of it but she did show me where the cord was I needed to use. I then asked her if she had eight cups we could borrow, then said, Oh we only need seven. She nodded and walked out of the room.

I assumed she went to get the cups, so after I got my laptop working I followed her out to get the cups. I found her in a back office sitting at her desk and asked her if she had the cups. She again gave me a look that confused me, but I didn't think much of and I followed her into a larger conference room where she had some supplies and gave me 7 cups.

The training went way better than I was expecting and everyone seemed to really find it helpful. My manager who was sitting in on it also commented that we should do that more often. I was so glad it was over and so happy that it went well. As I was leaving the lady with the cups was standing outside the door with a stern look on her face. Apparently she had been waiting for me to come out and dealing with her frustrations for the last 50 minutes.

She then proceeded to tell me in front of my boss that she worked for the office of the president and I had no right to demand that she tell me how the technology worked. It was my responsibility to make sure I knew how everything worked before I started my meeting. She also told me that it wasn't her job to get me cups. That it was supposed to come out of my departments budget. That it was my responsibility to make sure I had my own cups for my meeting.

I responded quickly that it was not my intention to make any demands on her and that I was sorry. I was just trying to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible and not get her any more upset. She walked away and my manager asked me, "What was that about?" I said I didn't know, but I didn't think seven cups was such a big deal. I then said, "I just figured we were all working together for the same purpose." translation: making the school a success.

There are so many things I do not understand about that situation. Why did she say I was demanding anything from her when all I did was ask her for help with two small things? I did not use command statements, I always asked a question. She did seem like a native Hawaiian or pacific islander. In her culture am I supposed to ask for help using certain key words to show my humility and her generosity? It was seven cups, what was that really going to do to her department budget? Did she not understand that maybe I needed help because the group before us got out late and I didn't have time to set up like I wanted to? Did she have a lot of resentment for white people repressing and insulting her people for generations? I don't know I am grasping at straws here but I am so confused by the whole situation.

Part of me wants to understand the situation better and the other part of me wants to say she is just a mean and nasty person to everyone and I should not let her actions bother me. Whatever the case, I can't imagine losing sleep over it isn't going to get me anywhere. I have too much to do right now in my life as it is.

The positive side that I should remember is that my boss's boss called me into his office an hour or two after our training to tell me about how much my new manager appreciates me and sees that my experience is a good fit for the Cashier's Office.  God bless that woman in the blue shirt working for the president's office. Good night!