Directions:
Place a cookie sheet in an oven set to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, lightly grease 8 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan (I used two 6-cup muffin pans). Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon, and set aside. Separate the crescent rolls.
Roll each marshmallow in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the marshmallows in middle of the crescent dough. Pull the sides up and completely seal the marshmallows inside. Place the rolls in the greased muffin cups. Fill the empty muffin cups halfway with water. Brush each roll with milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Place the muffin pan(s) on the preheated cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, pour the leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture into a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Fill the cup with powdered sugar. In a small bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the sugar mixture. Stir in enough milk to make a glaze. Remove the rolls from oven, and allow them to sit in the pan for 1 minute. Place the rolls on a serving platter, and drizzle the glaze over the rolls.
I seem to average one to two posts a month. I'd like to post once a week, but blogging about nothing is pretty boring. I've been trying to get Sean to post once in awhile, but now that school has begun and he's working full-time again, he's not likely to.
Work is going well. I attended supervisor training, which lasted two full days, last week. It was pretty fun, and I liked meeting people from the other contact centers/hotels in the Salt Lake City area. One of the courses touched on professional grooming/clothing, which made me really self-conscious about the way I dress for work. So, this past weekend, I went and spent way too much money on several new outfits. I wore one of them today and received several compliments, so it's already begun to pay off.
I mentioned that Sean went back to school this week. I, too, begin a new term at WGU tomorrow. I'm retaking two courses, Quantitative Reasoning and Communication and Visual and Performing Arts, I didn't complete last semester. I'm also taking Marketing Principles and Applications and Fundamentals of Finance, Accounting and Information Technology. I feel more motivated now than I did last week; let's hope I stay motivated enough to actually do homework.
I'm getting tired, but before I go to bed, I wanted to post this recipe. Sean and I prepared it Saturday evening, and everyone enjoyed it.
Peel each eggplant leaving 1-inch of skin at the top and bottom unpeeled. Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick. Evenly coat each slice with the salt and purge on a sheet pan fitted with a rack for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and roll in paper towels to dry. Slice the pieces into thin strips to resemble pasta.
In a large saute pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and chili flakes and toast. Add the eggplant "pasta" and toss to coat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cream and increase heat to thicken sauce. Finally add the basil and Parmesan and toss to combine. Season with pepper, no salt needed as the eggplant will have residual salt from the purge. Serve immediately.
It's been nearly a month since my last post. Time flies - I can't believe there are five months left of this year. At least I update this blog more often than Sean...
Let's see, what's happened? I guess I'll start with work (as I usually do, it seems). My first week as the ICS Supervisor went well with only a few issues I didn't know how to handle (one of them being a representative with swine flu). In fact, one of my associates commented that the transition has been easier for her than she expected. However, we began our annual associate opinion survey (AOS) this week, and John (my manager) and I believe we'll be scored low - some of our employees don't like and resist change. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few months, and regardless of the results, I will strive to be the best supervisor I can be.
Oh, remember the manager of Customer Relationship Management position I mentioned I applied for in this entry? I got to meet the guy who got the job, as well as the hiring manager and a few other corporate executives, today. He seemed nice, and it was exciting to get to know people I'd be working with at headquarters (if that is where I end up in the future). Of course, I need to get my degrees in Business Management and Marketing first...
I've continued to procrastinate schoolwork since my last post. It's terribly frustrating - at work, I have no problem completing tasks I set for myself or that are assigned to me, yet I struggle with school. I'm just not motivated for some reason, which I don't understand, since graduating from school is tied to moving up at work. It really decreases my self-esteem/confidence. I know I'm intelligent and can do just about anything, but I've always had trouble with school. I appreciate the suggestions you left in my last entry. If you have any additional feedback, please let me know.
On to lighter subjects, we (Sean, his family and his friend, Mike, and I) returned from a nice week-long vacation yesterday. We left home Saturday, August 1, and stayed overnight in Portland, Oregon. I love that city - it is so beautiful, and if I didn't want to end up in Washington, D.C., I'd want to live there. The next day, we stopped at Powell's Books - the largest bookstore I've ever been to - before driving to the house we rented in Florence, Oregon. We spent the week playing on/in the lake, relaxing inside, and visiting nearby attractions, such as the aquarium in Newport, Oregon, and Old Town Florence. It was a fantastic vacation!
Sean and I put an offer on this house before we left on vacation. According to my brother-in-law and real estate agent, Daren, we should be hearing from the bank regarding our offer tomorrow. Honestly, I don't think they'll approve the offer we made, but I hope they counteroffer with a reasonable price. I'm really looking forward to being a homeowner, and this property felt like home more than any others that we have looked at. *crosses fingers*
I have nothing new to report regarding Big Brothers - I still haven't been matched, and I haven't heard from anyone since my last e-mail several weeks ago.
Well, I think that pretty much sums up the past month. I hope to update sooner next time. Until then!
I guess it's that time again. It's almost been a week since my last entry. Not much has happened, though. I haven't started my new job yet. My official start date is July 25. They will begin training me before then, however, which is a good thing, considering John, my new manager, leaves on vacation July 24 and will be gone my first week on the job. That will be interesting. I'm sure that's when everything will go wrong.
I still haven't been matched with a Little. I e-mailed my Match Support Coordinator (I think that's her title) for an update, but she didn't have one. It's too bad - there are a lot of kids out there that need a positive, male adult role model. I appreciate the desire to match brothers based on comparable interests; however, it seems to me that the delay ends up hurting the children. I guess I'm just being impatient.
And school...well, I've been procrastinating on that lately. I need to complete four tasks by the end of August. Possible, but not easy. *sigh* I really want to graduate in 2011, but I don't seem to have any motivation at the moment. Any suggestions?
That's about it. There might be more I could mention, but I'm pretty tired and I have to wake up early tomorrow. Maybe I'll edit this entry later...nah. Have a great night!
So...remember the position I mentioned I applied for in this entry? Well, as the title of this post implies, I got it! The wait was frustrating -- it was supposed to be announced yesterday -- but I am so excited! I feel bad for the other individuals, one in particular, who applied, though; I know what rejection feels like.
I will be supervising/managing a team of 23 representatives. I've worked with them for several years now, both as their coworker and as their QA. Some of them can be a bit difficult and challenging sometimes, but that's what will make this new job interesting and maybe even fun!
I don't know when I "officially" start - I'm going in tomorrow, which is normally my day off, with bagels for the team to kind of "grease the wheel" and hopefully decrease any tensions that may exist between us (since QAs are not the most well-liked individuals). Most likely, I will start the week after next.
Here is the e-mail my new manager sent, with a few minor punctuation and spelling corrections ('cause I'm anal like that), announcing my promotion:
Hello everyone,
I am happy to announce that Andrew Jenkins has accepted the position of ICS (Internet/Correspondence Support) Supervisor. Andrew started with Marriott back in March of 2006. Since then, he has worked as a phone representative, ICS representative, and as the Quality Assurance Specialist for ICS. I am excited to have him rejoin the ICS team as he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. Andrew is a tremendous asset to our center. Not only has he done a terrific job of monitoring the ICS team, but he also serves as a back-up Team Facilitator as well as being a member of both the "Fun to Serve" and "Spirit to Serve" committees (the "Spirit to Serve" committee actually does not exist anymore...). His dedication to his work and to Marriott speaks for itself. Please join me in congratulating Andrew on his new position!
My mom called earlier this evening to ask if I know an "Amanda" from California. I asked for the last name, but she said "Amanda" told her I would know who she is; I don't. My mom then proceeded to explain why this "Amanda" called. Apparently, we've "gotten together" a couple of times the past year, and I'm her baby's father.
WARNING: TMI
First of all, I'm gay. I've never had sex with a girl in my life, and I think if I had, I would remember such an incidence and would have used protection (unless I'm a "sleep sexer," as Kim so eloquently puts it). Second, why is this "Amanda" calling my parents' house? I haven't lived there in over three years.
We're thinking: a) it's a prank, b) "Amanda" called the wrong number, or c) "Amanda" is trying to extort money. Regardless of the reason of the call, I think it's pretty damn hilarious.
EDIT: "Amanda" is not my lover. She's just a girl who claims I am the one, but the kid is not my son (or daughter?).
During the past two weeks, I worked more than 120 hours, so I'm sure you can understand why I didn't post earlier. The extra money will certainly be nice -- it's paying for a trip to D.C. in October, which I'll talk about later -- but I had to take two (paid) days off this week to make up for the weekend I missed last week. Instead of doing homeworking like I planned, though, I've been playing Sims 3. I have tomorrow...
I haven't heard anything about the job I applied for two weeks ago. I'm pretty sure, though, that the hiring manager will begin interviewing this week. *crosses fingers* I really hope I get it, and if what I've heard (that I'm the top candidate) is any indication, I'm pretty sure I will. Oh, in my last entry, I told you I bought a suit to prepare for my interview. Here are two pictures of it:
To further prepare for the interview, I made an appointment at the Sanctuary Day Spa & Salon for a haircut and manicure tomorrow morning. The package I booked also includes a deep tissue massage, which will be nice. I've never treated myself to something like this before, so I'm really excited.
I received a letter from Big Brothers Big Sisters a few days after my last post. It took longer than expected, but I was finally accepted into the program! The process of finding a Little for me will no doubt be quite long, but I'm excited. I hope I'm matched with someone before the end of summer - Lagoon isn't open all year!
I also talked about Dr. Bentley's Pops Concert in my last entry. The songs we as alumni sang were recorded and posted on Facebook. I don't think you need to be a member of the group or Facebook to view them, so check them out: Defying Gravity and For Good.
Mistaken - I'm sad to see you deleted your Facebook account. My schedule is wide open for your visit next week, so give me a call and we'll get together: (801)867-1322. It'll be nice to see you again! As for what I like and dislike about Sims 3...
Likes:
Being able to walk seamlessly around town is awesome! You can visit neighbors and commercial lots without load screens, allowing you to fully immerse yourself into the neighborhood.
The addition of traits, such as "Family Oriented," "Good" (and its counterpart, "Evil"), and "Workaholic," allows you to customize your Sims' personalities, far above what you were able to do in Sims and Sims 2.
The "moodlets" are pretty cool. They can positively and/or negatively affect your mood, and they can be obtained by certain events, such as moving into a new home (a mood booster) or getting burglarized (a mood buster).
The stories of your neighbors continue to progress. They age, have children, quit their jobs and find new ones, and move out of town. It balances out the neighborhood. If you don't want the stories to progress, you can turn it (and aging) off, which is another plus.
Dislikes:
Weather, which was added to Sims 2 via the Seasons expansion pack, is nowhere to be found. Weather should be a standard feature, but I'm pretty sure it will be added again in a future expansion pack.
Apartments, which were added to Sims 2 via the Apartment Life expansion pack, have been removed, too. Like the weather, I'm sure these will come back at some point.
Where are the pets?! Another expansion pack, I'm sure.
EA is really trying to milk as much money as they can from consumers this time. In addition to the inevitable expansion packs mentioned above, they have a store, which I haven't been able to download items from, with tons of objects and other items you can buy with SimPoints. How do you get SimPoints? Well, other than the 1,000 SimPoints you are given for registering your game, you have to spend real money to get them.
I'm sure there are other likes and dislikes, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.
As mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I'm going to Washington, D.C. this October. We're staying for four days, and we'll be attending the National Equality March at the Mall. Our flight is booked, and we have a room reserved at the JW Marriott Hotel Washington, DC, which is located steps away from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm so excited! It'll be my first time in the Nation's capital.
Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for reading!
So, yeah...way past my once-a-week post! Sorry. Honestly, I haven't been motivated to do much lately. I am supposed to be writing an essay comparing and contrasting three paintings for school (anyone want to "help"?), but instead, I'm updating the blog I've neglected for the past two weeks. Now that we know where my priorities lie...
Okay, what's happened since I last posted? My oldest nephew, Tyler, had his missionary farewell a week ago yesterday, and left on...Wednesday, I believe. Even though I no longer consider myself Mormon, I'm sure he will be an excellent representative of the Church. I can't believe how fast time flies, though! It seems like just yesterday my brother, James, and I were babysitting him and his brother, Dallin.
A week ago today was Dr. Bentley's final choir concert, as mentioned in my last entry. It was definitely bittersweet singing the alumni songs ("Defying Gravity" and "For Good" from the musical Wicked) we prepared and watching Dr. Bentley and his wife, Becky, ball their eyes out. It was very powerful. I have to admit that I cried, and honestly, blogging about this is bringing up a lot of emotions, too (I take after my mom and sisters). Five others from my year were there, and I wish more had participated. It was good to see them again, even though most of them rarely talk to me anymore. I hope we have a reunion sometime this summer, but I doubt we will, unfortunately.
Okay, what's next? Oh, the position I mentioned in this entry opened up last week. Obviously, I applied. I bought a very nice suit on Saturday, and I've been practicing interviewing with my manager for the past several months, so I'm sure I will do fine. The posting doesn't close until June 11, so it will be awhile before I hear anything, but I'm excited. I've heard from a few sources that I'm the top candidate, so wish me luck. It wouldn't be a huge pay increase, but I'm not disappointed. I'm just looking forward to more responsibility and visibility. I will keep you updated, of course.
I ordered Sims 3 from Amazon.com awhile ago and received it on Friday. Needless to say, I've been spending much of my time playing it, making it difficult to finish my homework. It's pretty fun, and since I'm not sure how many of you actually play the Sims series, I won't go into much detail about what I like and don't like about this new version. I asked Sean to hide it for me so I would write my paper tonight, but we can see how well that's working...
In addition to buying a suit on Saturday, Sean and I checked in to the Salt Lake City Center Marriott for the evening. It was Pride this weekend, and we always enjoy staying downtown for the festivities. Last year, we stayed at the Hotel Monaco. Both hotels are very nice and I recommend them to anyone visiting Salt Lake. Anyway, Paula Poundstone performed Saturday night. She was pretty funny, and we watched her until it started raining. On Sunday morning, we woke up to more fun, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the parade. We did, however, go home afterward instead of going to festival, which is kind of disappointing. I hope next year will be more dry.
Although I'd love to update you on Big Brothers Big Sisters, not much has happened. I've called the woman who interviewed me several times, but I always get her voicemail and she never calls me back. Someone else, however, finally got around to contacting another one of my references, Sean's mom, Julianne. I'm sure it will be another two weeks before they call the rest of my contacts, Sean and my boss, Jeff.
That pretty much brings us to today. I've had the Manhattan Clique remix of Katy Perry's "Waking Up In Vegas" stuck in my head. I swear I've played it at least fifty times today, and no, I'm not exaggerating. It's the only way I know how to get songs out of my head. I wish I could buy it, but I've only been able to find the song on YouTube, which I've included for your listening pleasure.
Well, I think it's time to go to bed. Wish me luck on writing the essay I keep putting off, and I hope to post again next week. Be like Mistaken and remind me to update this blog if I..."forget" to. It helps to know that people actually read it! Now I need to pester Sean into posting again...
Goodnight!
EDIT: I was able to find "Defying Gravity" on YouTube, but I couldn't find a good version of "For Good":
First, Mistaken deserves a prize for commenting on the blog every time it's updated. You are fantastic!
On to the point of this entry. I'm 25. It's been seven years since I graduated high school. You would think high school drama would be forgotten, wouldn't you? Well, you would be incorrect.
Recently, my old choir teacher (Brian Bentley) announced he was retiring. He touched a lot of people (in a good way - get your minds out of the gutter), so a lot of us wanted to do something special for him. A Facebook group was created, which lead to a mini-high school reunion.
Earlier today, an old friend from choir -- Vocal Ensemble, where the most friendships are supposedly made, to be exact -- e-mailed our choir group, encouraging us to attend the final concert on June 1, since we will be singing two tribute songs. Here is part of the message he sent:
We would love everyone there! Since my wife and her family are the ones in charge of the whole thing, I thought I should stress it more to my year. We have had 4 people [one of them being me] participate so far but would love everyone.
I decided to reply to him with the following:
To be honest, our year isn't as close now as we were in high school, and even then, we weren't as close as other years. Heck, hardly anyone talks to me anymore...
I'll be surprised if more people from our year participate on June 1. It would be nice, though. And maybe we can get together afterward to catch up. Just an idea, of course.
Thanks for trying,
Andrew
Did I receive a reply? Nope. I guess I shouldn't have expected one in the first place, even though he was the choir president. The thing is, I'm not sure what I did to my old high school friends to make them stop talking to me. And if it's only because they now know I'm gay, well, that's a pretty petty reason.
That's not it, though. This same person updated his Facebook status, saying he was at a crossroads and didn't know what to do. I commented that he should do what he felt was right for him and his family (vague answer for a vague situation). Did he say "thank you" for the advice? No, he deleted my message (I should mention others have commented on his status as well, and they haven't been deleted). Wtf? What did I do to deserve such treatment?
I'm considering leaving my old choir's Facebook group and deleting all my "friends." But for some strange reason, I can't do it - choir, and my group, meant too much to me to "throw it away" over this stupid drama. *sigh*
I don't have anything to say, really (other than the fact I'm bored and nothing is entertaining me). It's getting harder and harder to find something to blog about, but I'm still going to stick to it. That right there, folks, is dedication. Now if only I could be more dedicated to school...
Speaking of school, I passed my Fundamentals of Marketing and Business Communication course. I was kind of worried since I hadn't studied as much as I should have, but I'm happy I made it through another class. Only 16 more course to complete before I graduate...think I can do it in two years? *sigh* I procrastinate too much.
Sean, Mike (Sean's dad), and I had a good time last night. First, we went out to eat at Flemings with Julianne (Sean's mom). Even though it is a little expensive (I'm not even going to mention how much I spent last night), their food is so good. We then saw Angels and Demons. It's been a long time since I read the book, but I liked it better than The Da Vinci Code. I'm excited to read Dan Brown's next book, The Lost Symbol, which touches on Freemasonry.
I don't have any Big Brother updates for you. Only one of my five references have been called, which is a little disappointing, but I'm patient...somewhat. I'll probably give them a call on Monday to check on their progress since I was supposed to hear from them by today.
My old supervisor was promoted to manager the other day. I'm excited. Why? Because I'm going to apply for his position when it's posted in a few months. :) Hopefully, I'll have better luck than when I applied for a manager of Customer Relationship Management position. I wasn't even interviewed, which was really disappointing since I felt I had a good chance.
Well, for someone who didn't have much to say, I certainly wrote a lot...
I interviewed with Big Brothers Big Sisters a week ago yesterday. It went well, I think. I should hear from them within the next week if I am accepted into the program, and the process of matching me with a Little Brother begins, which could take a few months, unfortunately. I'm very excited to be a Big Brother. In fact, I already have a few activities in mind. I'll continue to update you on the progress, of course.
On Thursday, I saw the new Star Trek movie with Sean and his family. I thought it was excellent! Although some Trekkies are disappointed with the changes that were made to the Star Trek universe, I feel it gave new life to a nearly-dead franchise, gaining new, younger fans. They, the Star Trek producers, writers, directors, et cetera, can take the series in a new direction without being tied down by the original time line and story. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this franchise in the future.
Here's a video mocking the disappointed Trekkies from The Onion:
We also saw "Transmorfers: Mormon Meets the Eye" at The Off Broadway Theatre. It wasn't as funny as some of the other plays I've seen there, but it was still good. Afterward, we went to Keys on Main, which was really fun. We were all pretty tired, though, so we left early. I'm sure we'll go back sometime soon.
Yesterday, we walked in Salt Lake City's Race for the Cure. More than 18,000 individuals participated (about 100 of them from my work), raising several thousand dollars. It was nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather in support of a good cause - breast cancer. I am grateful my mom was able to overcome this disease several years ago, and I walked in celebration of her.
Although someone may be watching you, Orwell's 1984 is not the subject of this blog; instead, I'm referring to Big Brothers Big Sisters, whose mission is "to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth."
As most of you probably know (since I mentioned it on Facebook and The Mo-Board), I applied to be a Big Brother. My boss has been encouraging me to volunteer outside of work (he recognized a need to develop myself), I'm good with kids (I often babysat my nieces and nephews when they were younger), and I attended a networking breakfast last Saturday where I met another Big Brother who talked about the program, so I decided being a Big Brother would be a good opportunity for me.
I have an interview with the organization on Saturday. They'll get to know me, run a criminal background check (obviously - they wouldn't want predators working one-on-one with children), and begin contacting my references. I'm attending an orientation next Tuesday (a week after tomorrow), as well. I'm really looking forward to it. After all, I'm a kid at heart sometimes, and I'll enjoy playing video games, attending sporting events (*gasp* "Did Andrew just say he would attend sporting events?"), hiking, cooking, and hanging out with a child.
If I'm accepted into the program, I'll be sure to continue blogging about my experiences as a Big Brother. Which kind of leads me to my next issue; my last post only received ONE comment (thanks, Sally)?! Granted, I didn't write much to comment on, but that's beside the point. You need to step up and make it worthwhile for me to blog! :-p
Until next week...
EDIT: Make that two comments on my last entry. Just because I say "goodnight" doesn't mean I'm actually going to bed, James. :-)
Believe it, folks. I'm planning on proving you all (James) wrong; I'm going to post at least once a week. Of course, I should be doing homework instead of blogging or playing Civony (I'm addicted; if you enjoy MMORPGs and games like Age of Empires and Civilization, you might like it).
Well, I guess there isn't really a point to this (short) entry, other than to meet my post quota for the week. ;-p It fits The Last Word thread theme, though - random, relatively pointless conversations where friendships are developed. This blog is just a more personal extension of that.
Anyway, I better go since I didn't get much sleep last night...who am I kidding? I'm going to stay up and play Civony...just a few more minutes, I promise...
I've decided to begin blogging...again. I tried doing it several months ago, but deleted the blog after I hadn't posted anything after a few months. So...here's hoping it'll be different this time. I'm expecting all of you to encourage me by posting comments - lots and lots of comments! :D
I've invited Sean to blog as well. Since I can't guarantee I'll be active, I certainly can't guarantee he'll be active, especially when he is busy watching Star Trek, being a pest, and other, more legitimate reasons, such as going to work and school. But hey, maybe two inactive bloggers will result in one active blog.
Anyway, I'm hoping to post something at least once a week, and I'm expecting you all to remind me if I "forget". Capiche? Capiche.
Btw, yes, I shamelessly stole the name of this blog, The Last Word, and the name of this entry, The First Word, from The Mo-Board. I'm sure these won't be the last, since I'm unorginal like that.
Well, Sean's pestering me, something he does well and quite often, to come to bed. Goodnight, and I really hope this rain doesn't turn into snow tomorrow morning. Yuck.
