Saturday, July 10, 2010

A Note from Mark

Hi. The weather is great here!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Making Connections and Family Outings

I was very worried that William would have nothing to do once Mark started school and no one to do it with. However, prayers have been heard and within the two weeks we have been here, we have made some very fortunate connections.

Last Wednesday I took William over to the Claremont Library. There, he struck up a friendship with another little boy who was about a year and a half older than him. The age difference didn't seem to matter to either of them. They both enjoyed running crazy around the library while me and the other boy's mom tried everything to get them to stop. While me and the mom were chasing our sons, we started a conversation. In this conversation I mentioned that I just moved here. She then told me about this great "mommy and toddler" summer program on Mondays and Wednesdays that needed more sign ups or else it would be canceled. This program is a pre-preschool program with classroom activities on Mondays and fun field trips on Wednesdays and it runs for 6 weeks. The best news is that the whole program is only $10! I couldn't believe it! She told me how to register and we exchanged phone numbers. Later that week, I ran into her again at the supermarket. She actually remembered me and came up to say hi! We talked for about 30 minutes and made future plans to have a little swim party at her house in the coming weeks. We start the pre-preschool program on Monday. I'm very excited!

We have only been here for 2 Saturdays so far, but Mark and I aren't wasting anytime going on outings and getting to know California. On the first Saturday we went to Griffith Park. We saw ponies, went on a train ride, and saw the train museum. I used to go to Griffith Park when I lived in California as a young girl. It was great to visit with my own child. All my childhood memories were coming back. It was easy to remember how much I loved it as I watched the excitement in Will's eyes. We had a great time.

Today, our second Saturday, I convinced Mark that we should go to the beach. He had met another student at Western who was married with a two year old son (Cody, Trish, and Wesley) who had mentioned that we should all go to the beach. So, Mark called him up and we all met at Laguna Beach. Cody also invited another first year student who also is married with a two year old daughter (James, Rachel, and Addy) to meet us there as well. We had a great time. Not only did we all have two year old children, we are also all pregnant and LDS! With all of these things in common, it was easy to connect with each other. It was also great for William to play with kids his own age. I was personally proud of Will. He is a few months younger than the other kids, but he was the only one who wasn't scared of the waves. He loved running and jumping in the water while the others were a little more hesitant. Mark got to splash and play as well with the guys as I got to sit and talk with the girls. We made future plans to get the kids together and hang out.

Heavenly Father is looking out for us and hearing our prayers. We have been so fortunate so far in our time in California. Things are looking very positive!

Move in Day and Cockroaches (again)

Mark and I are very lucky. We have the support of both sides of our family who are always willing to go above and beyond to help us out. Moving to California was no different.

A week prior to our move, we moved in with my parents as we packed up our apartment. When truck loading day came, all of our friends came and helped load us up. The whole thing took about 2 hours. Best of all, Mark's parents, June and Robert, and our close family friend, Donna, drove to California with us to help unpack and to watch William as we got things in order. My little brother, Mac, also came with us and lent his muscles to the effort.

I had contacted the Elder's Quorum President in our new Claremont ward and he recruited 4 others to help us unload. This was quite a sacrifice because we came the same night as the Lakers/Celtics playoff game. With all the help, we were unloaded and almost completely unpacked in two days.

Everything went very smoothly EXCEPT when we arrived, we found unwelcome tenants already living in our new kitchen. What is worse than dead cockroaches? LIVE COCKROACHES! Yep, to my complete horror, we came across several cockroaches in our kitchen as we were moving in. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't do bugs. Seriously, I don't do bugs! I was on the verge of telling everyone to put everything back on the truck, we are going back to Arizona. But, I couldn't do that. The good news is that, Mark called the apartment office and they got us an exterminator by the next day. After that, the sightings have been few and far between, but I'm always on the look out.

Naturally, we were very worried on how this big move would affect William. We have been praying that the Lord would help him through this and adjust quickly. The Lord hears and answers prayers! From the moment he walked in, William claimed this apartment to be his. He ran inside and exclaimed, "Oh wow!" He immediately took to the stairs like he's been doing it all his life. He ran into his room and spun around in the big space and laughed. He was having trouble sleeping soundly a week prior to moving, but hasn't had a problem yet since we moved in. I think seeing his toys and things out clued him in that this was his new home. Between upstairs and downstairs, he has a lot of space to move toys from one room to the other and organize things just the way he wants them. He has been so pleasant and positive during this whole experience. A complete answer to prayers!

Apartment Hunting and Cockroaches

Being on the verge of poverty, I hoped we could actually benefit from the housing market slide and get more room for lower rent. In Arizona, we could practically rent a four bedroom house for what we are paying in mortgage for our 2 bedroom condo. So, my hopes were high when it came to looking for a place to live in CA. I was thinking that we could find a little 3 bedroom home and we will be as happy as can be. Apparently, no one told California.

The rent in California is so high, it would make you blush. As I explained before, our student loans allow very little for rent (about $1040 per month). Which, in Arizona could get you a small house. However, in California, that will barely get you a studio apartment. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not!

Mark and I took 2 trips to CA to find a place. I was signed up on every apartment finder website available to find the best deal. I also looked on Craigslist. On Craigslist, I found scam after scam. People trying to rent places that they don't own and businesses that say they will find you a great place but for a small fee. Lesson I learned, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Our goal was to get a 2 bedroom apt or condo with laundry hook-ups and within 20 minutes to Western. According to the people at Western, the best places to live are in Chino Hills, Claremont, Rancho Cucamunga and the worst places are in Pomona and Ontario. However, The average rent for a 2 bedroom in the suggested areas is $1500 per month+ utilities. This was way out of our range. So, we had no choice to look in Pomona and Ontario. Still, even these place in not-so-nice areas, were running about $1300.00 per month + utilities. Lets just say, apartment finding went quickly from "exciting adventure" to "depressing reality".

I found a real estate agent who agree to help us find some condos to rent, but she either kept showing us places out of our price range or total lemons. She showed us one place in Pomona which was completely filthy and in disrepair. The patio was completely overgrown with a tree that was home to about a million bees (although she said that it was a great place for our kid to play). Our search was getting farther and farther away from the school and more and more unappealing. One place we looked at didn't look too bad. It was just a little out of our budget, but a good size. However, as we were walking down the stairs after viewing the bedrooms, I noticed a bunch of black spots on the living room floor. On closer examination, the spots turned out to be cockroaches. Yep, about 100 dead cockroaches all over the ground. Needless to say, we didn't get that one.

Then we found it! There was an apartment complex that came up on one of my web searches when I first started looking. It was in a good location and a good price ($1149 per month). But, I didn't take it too seriously because it didn't have laundry hook-ups. However, when Mark and I checked it out, we were quickly impressed. The unit was a large 2 bedroom townhouse with a bathroom downstairs and upstairs. Lots of storage closets and the walls were not white, but a pretty neutral color. Best of all it seemed to be very clean and only 5 minutes away from the school in the city of Claremont. We liked it, but it wasn't exactly perfect. It didn't have central air conditioning and no in-unit laundry. But, compared to everything else we looked at, we hit the jackpot! We happily signed a lease and celebrated with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Bucca di Beppo.

Once I was willing to prioritize what was needed in an apartment and what was more of a luxury, I began to enjoy the experience. Mark and I really felt good about the place we found. We think it will be a good home for us even when the baby comes. Move in day is June 14th!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Test of Faith

So, I've been pretty positive that this whole moving to CA and medical school thing will work out and all will be fine. I knew we would be taking a vow of poverty, but I guess I didn't really have an understanding just how poor we would be.

Last night, Mark received his loan disbursement information. After tuition and books, we will have a whopping $22,000.00 for the SCHOOL YEAR (that's 10 months, not 12 months.) I usually am the positive "we can do it" one of the relationship, but last night I swear my heart stopped for what seemed like for ever.

I went to bed feeling a little overwhelmed. I've been teasing that we would be living in a cardboard box and it look like in reality we can only afford a cardboard box. Reality is beginning to set in. My thoughts go straight to working and finding a job. However, that isn't really an option until much later because I will be having the baby a couple of months after we move. And, depending on the job, any extra money I make will be paying for child care instead of helping us stay ahead.

This morning, I took William to our park play day. Members of our ward meet at a park every Wednesday morning. One of the moms is currently living what we are about to experience. Her husband is in the DO program at Midwestern. They have a little boy a little older than William, a baby girl, and another one on the way. I asked her how she makes it work. She says that is difficult, but possible. This statement alone made me feel better. She mentioned that they couldn't do it with out government assistance, ie food stamps, Access, WIC, etc. And that the ward, family, and friends help out. I knew that we would have to utilize government programs but I didn't know how much of a dent they would make. Talking to her gave me a realistic perspective and gave me a positive boost.

Mark and I are going to go do a house hunting trip in May. Let's hope we find a nice, cozy, cardboard box!

Monday, April 5, 2010

My Last Days

My parents have always encouraged us to be educated and pursue our passions. That is exactly what I did. Despite all my logic telling me to get an education in something sensible, my heart wouldn't be happy unless I did theatre. So that is exactly what I did! I majored in Theatre Education at the University of Utah.

I am very passionate about the performing arts and equally passionate in the education of young people. To me theatre is the perfect vehicle to teach children so many life skills, i.e confidence, empathy, communication, eye contact, public speaking, and the list goes on. I started college when I was seventeen and started teaching theatre at nineteen. I loved it! I became the drama program at a small charter school in Salt Lake City. The school was geared toward at-risk teens from 7th-12th grade. This turned out to be an educational experience that no college program could offer. I was able to put what I was learning in my classes directly into practice in my own classroom. With a full-time college student schedule plus teaching my drama classes, I was stretched thin, but loving every minute of it. This type of ridiculous schedule will prove to become my norm throughout my career.

I loved college. I loved what I was learning and I loved my students. I graduated in May of 2005 and decided to visit my parents in Phoenix over the summer in order to put my resume together and look into graduate programs. Reality quickly set in that I graduated with a degree in theatre and full time jobs are few and far between. I applied to every possible job I could find all over the country. I even applied to become a dance instructor for a summer program for a theatre in Phoenix named Valley Youth Theatre. Out of all the resumes and applications I filled out, Valley Youth Theatre was the only one that called me back. One of their summer teachers backed out last minute. I was in the right place at the right time.

My first summer at Valley Youth Theatre was great. For the June session, I worked as the dance instructor for the 5-6 year old camp. By the second session, my then boss made me the dance/acting teacher and I was in charge of directing the final production. After summer camp, I stayed on as a contract teacher and taught various acting classes. It was a great job, but I had yet to fully understand how special Valley Youth Theatre was. Then I saw Cats. For some reason or another, I didn't make time actually see any of VYT's productions when I first started working there. There is a certain expectation when you think of youth theatre and although I am an advocate of theatre for youth, I wasn't very interested in seeing a production. If you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all, right? WRONG!

As a lover of almost all musicals in the world the one musical I had no desire in my heart to every see was Cats. I don't know why, I just wasn't interested. However, my husband, who does not have the background in theatre as I do, saw a production of Cats when he was young and loved it. So when VYT was putting on the production, I thought it would be fun to take him. My somewhat low expectations were completely blown out of the water from the moment we walked into the Herberger Theatre and saw the set. The set was rented from the Broadway touring show and looked amazing. Yes, the set was phenomenal but was quickly overshadowed by the stellar performance of the cast. The performance of this young cast rivaled Broadway productions. It was one of the closest things to a perfect production I have ever seen...AND IT WAS A YOUTH THEATRE! That is when I understood what a special theatre I had the honor to be associated with.

It was around that time that I was hired on full time as an Education Associate. I taught the majority of the classes and directed plays for the Playmakers Troupe as well as co-directed the improv troupe. I became close with my students and their parents. VYT soon became a second home and a second family. I was consistently given new opportunities to be creative and tackle new challenges. About 8 months after becoming Education Associate, I was promoted to Director of Education and Outreach. I was responsible for developing our performing arts curriculum and running the department. I was also given the responsibility to direct two main-stage productions. This, although a great honor, made me very nervous. Bobb Cooper, the Producing Artistic Director (and my boss), directs the majority of the main-stage shows and is a complete genius. I have a lot of admiration for his work and was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get the level of performance out of my casts that he is able to accomplish.

However, my nerves were calmed as Bobb became a great mentor. He allowed me the freedom to direct and was very gracious and helpful with his advice and encouragement. My first main stage productions were A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail and The Princess and the Pea. They were great experiences.

The next year I directed A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail (I directed this show 3 times as it was our annual holiday show and loved every cast) and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The latter was literally my ultimate dream come true. As a huge Shakespeare fan, Midsummer has always been on the very top of my list of shows I wanted to one-day direct. Bobb gave me my chance. And better yet, he agreed to let my sister, Nicole, design the set..

The stars aligned for me and this production. I worked with the most amazing group of young people who were just as keen to make this show something special as I was. I demanded nothing but the best from my cast and they delivered. I felt like I had a lot on the line with this one as it was the first Shakespeare production ever done at Valley Youth Theatre and it was my personal desire to make it a memorable show.

I poured my heart and soul into this show. My sister, who has the same heart for theatre as I do, was a great partner in this production. She would come over to my house and we would brainstorm every aspect of the production. Her talent as an artist was a godsend. I was inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night painting and she was able to paint it as a backdrop for Midsummer. I didn't really appreciate the scope of what I asked her to do until after the fact. "Hey Nicole, can you paint a famous masterpiece on an enormous scale for my production? Great, thanks." If she was intimidated by the request, she never showed it. She just made it happen and it was spectacular. The entire set was magical; the lighting was beautiful; the costumes were perfect; and my performers and crew were completely dedicated. Every moment working on this show was a dream come true. My favorite show, working with my sister, with the support of a wonderful theatre. The icing on the cake was when I won the VYT Stars Award for Best Direction for A Midsummer Night's Dream. This production will always have a special place in my heart.

Along with directing, I continued to teach my classes, have a baby, and see the education department grow. This year I again directed A Winnie the Pooh, a new play Between, and The Hobbit. With three shows in a row, I directed for 6 months straight. That is Monday thru Thursday from 5-9pm and Saturdays from 11am-6pm. I have to admit, I was getting pretty burned out near the end. My schedule was getting tiresome to my husband and I hated not being home to put my son to bed at night. However, I couldn't think of anything else I would rather be doing. If I had to work, I would not want to work anywhere else or do anything else. It was while I was directing The Hobbit that we found out that our lives would be making a dramatic change.

We found that we would be moving to Pomona, CA. With this upcoming move, my husband and I came to the decision that my last day at VYT would be the opening night of The Hobbit. Although I was excited about the move, I dreaded quitting VYT. As I said before, VYT was my home and my family. My life was entwined with the staff, students, and parents. When it came time to put in my notice, I cried and cried and cried. Bobb cried too. He had become such a mentor to me. His passion for this theatre was inspiring. He was a great boss to work for. It meant a lot to me that he too appreciated and acknowledged my contribution to VYT and recognized how important this theatre was to me.

In a spiritual sense, I can honestly say I could see Heavenly Father's hand in all the opportunities I had from college to now. Every moment was one answer to prayer after another. I was given a slew of life experience in a period of 5 years. It was more than just being in the right place and the right time. I believe that as a daughter of God, He loves me and guided me to these opportunities. I am truly blessed beyond what I deserve.

On the opening night of The Hobbit, I brought my parents, my husband, and my in-laws to see my last show. Nicole also worked with me on this production as the set designer. We have so loved working together! She is so talented. This show called for a moving, breathing, talking dragon and she was able to create the perfect dragon. She was there as well. I'm not very good with goodbyes and I like to avoid sentimental moments because I get very emotional. However, as much as I tried not to think about this being my last hooray, I was constantly approached by parents and students who were very sorry to see me leave. It truly touched my heart to see how many people cared about me and the work I did. During the opening speech, Bobb mentioned that this would be my last show and to my great surprise, the audience gave me a standing ovation. It was an incredibly special moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I will always be grateful for my time at Valley Youth Theatre. I recognize that not many in this world have the opportunity to truly do what they love and have their personal and professional dreams come true. This chapter of my life will be treasured in my heart forever.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Next Chapter

OK- here we go into the unknown.
My name is Jessica. I am 27 years old, married to Mark who will be turning 29 this Saturday, mother to "the WB" who is almost 2 years old. We have been married for 4 years and we live in Phoenix. We have a very comfortable life. BUSY! But, comfortable.
My parents moved to Phoenix while my sister and I were attending college at The University of Utah. Both of us were studying theatre. She was studying theatrical design while I was studying theatre education. I graduated 2 years before her. After I graduated, I decided to spend the summer with my parents in Phoenix while I put together my resume and figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. The day after I got to Arizona, I met Mark. Actually, to be honest, I did meet Mark a few months before on a prior visit to Arizona. It was an LDS singles activity that I went to with my friend who had just moved there. We were helping her find friends. I noticed Mark immediately. He is tall with dark hair and amazing eyes. Very handsome. I was dating someone in Utah at the time, but I mentioned to my friend that if she was to date anyone in Arizona, it should be him. And that was that! I ended my little visit, went back to Utah and moved on my my life without giving him another thought. So the day I arrived back in Arizona after my graduation, I was shocked when my friend approached me and said, "Remember that guy you thought I should date? Well, I told him you were moving down here and he's going to ask you out tomorrow." The surprising thing is that he did just that. That was in 2005 and we have been together ever since.

When we married, Mark was still in school getting his undergrad in Life Sciences at ASU. I got a job at Valley Youth Theatre as a contract instructor and quickly moved my way up to Director of Education. I was also a main stage performer with The JesterZ Improv Comedy Troupe. Needless to say, life was busy for both of us from the start. We were in love with each other and in love with what we were doing.
We had our first child in the summer of 2008. We were both completely smitten with "The WB" from the very beginning. Because Mark was still in school, I had to keep working. Although I would have liked to stay home, we couldn't have asked for a better situation. Both my parents and his parents lived in our same area. The WB was also the first grandchild of both sides of the family, so when it came to childcare, the grandparents had no problem accepting the responsibility with open arms. I loved this because I knew I was leaving him with people who loved him as much as we did and would respect how we wanted to raise our son. We never had to pay a dime for childcare. We were very lucky.
Mark graduated from ASU in May of 2009. From the beginning, we knew that Mark would go beyond a bachelor's degree. When we were first dating he was seriously considering Dentistry or Chiropractic. Mark is a very diligent researcher. He shadowed dentists and chiropractors. He read articles, asked questions to make sure that he was 100% sure about what he was going to do for the rest of his life. He was looking for a profession that would help people, allow him to do humanitarian work, allow time for his family, and make a decent living. Through his research he was lead to Podiatry. It is kind of a niche in the medical world that seemed to meet all of his qualifications and after shadowing several Podiatrists and a lot of prayer, he knew that this was his direction. Once Mark sets his path, it is nearly impossible to veer him from it. He applied to 8 Podiatry programs.

Our top school was Midwestern University. A relatively new program at a great school and best of all, it was 2 miles north of where we were already living. It was the most natural choice. Our lives would hardly change at all. Mark would still be in school; I would still be working; and we would still have the support of both our families. It seemed so perfect that I thought, of course, this is how it would be. The seven other schools were just back-ups. Months went by. We heard from San Francisco, Philidelphia, and Chicago. Mark interviewed at all of them and received conditional acceptances to all of them. (He had yet to take the MCAT.) We were thrilled with the positive outcome with the interviews, but kept holding out for the call from our local school, Midwestern. Chicago sent him an acceptance letter in December giving him 2 weeks to take the spot. We started to panic. The school in Chicago was a great school with an excellent program. I mean, it was the Dr. Scholl's School of Podiatry. THE Dr. Scholl. They accepted him as long as he scored ok on the MCAT, but he had to send in the deposit with in 2 weeks of receiving the letter. We didn't know what to do. We didn't want to turn down a great program, but we still wanted to hold out for Midwestern. Mark was scheduled to take the MCAT in January. I encouraged him to call Chicago and ask for an extension. They granted him one. The new deadline was extended to 24 hours after receiving his score. This gave us a little breathing room.
After Mark took the MCAT, he had to wait about a month to get his score. In that time, he was invited to interview at Western University in Southern California. At the time, this school wasn't really on our radar. I grew up in Southern California and didn't really have a desire to go back. However, he went to the interview and was completely impressed by the program and the school. Something told him that this was the school for him. They handed him his acceptance letter at the conclusion of the interview with the condition that he gets a certain score on the MCAT.

So, the waiting game continued until FINALLY he received his score. We though that this would be the key to answer all of our questions. However, it wasn't that easy. He got a high enough score for the school in Chicago, but it was a little under what Western University required. PLUS we now had 24 hours to accept the school in Chicago. I encouraged Mark to call the people at Western and explain the situation. They said that he could send his request into the Admissions Review Board and they would get back to him in about a week. I told him to call back and explain that we didn't have a week. We have 24 hours! Putting all our cards on the table worked in our favor. The woman on the phone with Mark from Western University put him on hold for about 15 minutes and then instructed him to check is email to find his answer. Mark was at work at the time so he called me to check his email. There in the inbox was an email from Western officially accepting him to the school. We were elated, relieved, excited, nervous, etc. I was just thrilled that we weren't moving to Chicago. Southern California was looking real good.

So that brings us to where we are now. It is the beginning of April and we will be moving in June. We will be moving with hardly any money, very little knowledge of the area, and a toddler. The only thing that gives us hope is knowing that people have been in this situation before and have survived. This is what inspired this blog. In researching our move, I've been desperate to talk to anyone who has done this. So, in effort help those who will do this in the future, I will document our entire process.

So here we go, into the unknown. Moving in June, starting school in August, and oh yeah, I'll be having our second baby in September. This will definitely be a great adventure!