Changes

It is amazing how much can change in a week.  For example, last week, a day after Good Times, Bad News, I updated my status on Facebook to, "Andrew L Jenkins thought today was going to be a bad day, but instead, he received good news that made the day fantastic! He is not looking forward to next week, though..."

A few individuals criticized me for posting such a cryptic message, so...the good news: I received a nearly $2 raise, and Sean was offered the job at Marriott Guest Services he applied for (Marriott Rewards Specialist, my first position with Marriott, as well).  The extra cash will be appreciated, and I bought Sean an Xbox 360 (and a few other things) to celebrate.  I won't/can't provide much detail regarding the last sentence in my status, but it involved the terminating of an associate, something I don't enjoy doing.  It went better than expected, though.

I mentioned in Let's Call The Whole Thing Off our friend Mike was moving in with us.  Well, that briefly fell through when the company he worked for was sold, but he applied for a job with The Ritz-Carlton and was offered the position a few days ago.  So, he'll move in soon (probably this weekend), and all three of us will be/are employed by Marriott International.  Speaking of Marriott International/The Ritz-Carlton, we launched The Ritz-Carlton Rewards today.  Exciting!

Well, it's getting late, and I'm planning on waking up early again tomorrow.  I attended the Big Alliance's Young Leaders Forum this morning to meet and listen to gubernatorial candidate Peter Corroon, so I'm pretty tired.  Good night!

Good Times, Bad News

Time passes way too fast.  I can't believe it's September, and Mom's been gone six months.  Pretty soon, the year will be over, and it feels like it just started.  I love that it's getting darker earlier, though, as well as cooler.  I used to say winter was my favorite season, but I think I enjoy fall more.

On Monday, Sean and I returned from Capitol Reef National Park.  My family usually stays at Thousand Lakes RV Park over Labor Day weekend every year, and we estimated we've visited this particular campground for more than 15 years.  Below is a picture (stolen from my sister Jill) of the view behind the park:

And here's a picture of Mom and I the first time, I believe, we visited Capitol Reef:

Strike a pose

Sean, my brother James and his wife Heather, my brother-in-law Daren, and I hiked Sulphur Creek, my favorite place in Capitol Reef.  This article does a good job explaining why.  Everyone seemed to have a good time.

Before the trip, I received a call from my Big Brothers Big Sisters Match Support Specialist.  He had bad news.  My Little Brother's grandma asked for the match to be closed because she expected someone to play sports with him more often.  I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why she didn't give me the opportunity to change.  I'm disappointed, of course, and I'm sure it'll be a long time before I'm matched again.

Well, it's late, and Sean's pestering me to come to bed (what else is new?), so hopefully, I'll update again soon.  I feel like I don't even scratch the surface of everything that has happened between posts, but it's hard to find time to write.  I'm still trying to update every week, though, but you can see how well I'm doing...

Good night!