Vail skiing resort…

It has been a while.  I have successfully completed two weeks at my new job and I love it.  I am learning so much that after I get home I feel like my brain hurts from absorbing the days information.  I really do like it and I look forward to going into work every day.

In other news,  yesterday Mike, Dan, and I made our first trip into the mountains.  We got up at 5am and started the drive to frisco where we met an old high school friend of Dan’s who got mike free ski rentals.  After our brief stop we made our way to vail.  We skied for six and a half hours only stopping after crashing down the mountain a few times and once for a bathroom break.  All and all it was a day of all smiles.  We like to call it skiing per-a-grin!

Today is a day of rest of course as it is sunday, but tomorrow it is back to the drawing board in the office…

All is well in Denver…

My “big boy” job…

As most of you already know, this past monday I started my new job at FAK, Inc.  (also known as Freight All Kinds, Inc.  I was hired onto their Denver Sales Team and I am known throughout the company as being “the new dispatcher.”  And as I am told, some of the newer singles are asking about me that I haven’t met yet…

The breakdown of my new job is starting to become more clear to me after everyday of work that I successfully complete.  It is my job to find and maintain as many clients that I possibly  can.  In doing this, I call upon many businesses and ask them who is taking care of their shipping needs.  If I can win there business, they provide me with shipments when they become readily available.  Other agents in the office ship everything from booze, to raw materials, meat, crushed cars, and produce, but the sea is massive, the opportunities are endless and almost anything that you have touched, used, or even thought about buying at the store is shipped by some kind of freight broker.

After I get clients, and they offer loads to me, it is then my job to find, organize, and negotiate a fair price with the trucks and in theory earn 15% of the price offered from the client from the price that it takes to hire the trucking companies.  

When I am not finding and shipping loads, I am always looking for new clients and new business opportunities.  

Tomorrow will be day three and I am sitting in on every aspect of the company.  Yesterday I got the overview of the entire company, today I learned about the insurance and claims side of the business and tomorrow I am scheduled to learn about he safety and legal side of things.  After that, I am told that I will sit in on accounting, the financial side of things, management, watch other agents at work, take a two day sales seminar, and learn the computer system.  When I have successfully completed all of these stages of the training process, I will be thrown to the wolves and expect to swim!  Everyday, is exciting and there is much to learn.  I am trying to be a human sponge and take it all in.   

all in all, I am truly enjoying my new routine of waking up at 5:30, shower, breakfast, in the office at 7, hour lunch break, work until 4, rush hour traffic, couch, bed by 10.  So far so good…

The start of a new life style…

Today is day two living in denver.  Two days prior, my cousin Dan and I, made the 21 hour trip to denver embarking an a new beginning.  The drive was slow considering we had to keep the speed limit at 60mph but the weather couldn’t have been better.  As we pulled into denver the view of starry skies and a beautiful view of the Denver city skyline was filled with anxiety of what this life will bring.  

The first night was one of the most adventurious I have ever had.  Without being able to move into our new apartment until the next morning, and no place to stay we opted for an night sleeping in an automobile.  All and all it was a cold one.  I now have a new found love for the volvo, as it is now known for the possible to sleep comfortable in the back seat with little discomfort.  

The last two days have been absolutely the most busy days of my life.  We unpacked the truck in our storage unit, returned the truck, fixed a flat tire, met the landlord, got spare keys made, bought groceries, figured out the parking situation, moved in, met with old friends, heard a live bluegrass band, broke in the kitchen with a marvelous dinner, and tomorrow I start the rest of my life in a cubical!  I can say with no sarcasm that I am ecstatic!

Our new place is absolutely beautiful… only two blocks from the capital building, which puts us right smack dab in the middle of downtown denver.  It is a dream come true.  I can’t stop thinking about how wonderful it will be to finally have a padded bank account in the near future, and have shaken the feeling of a poor college student once and for all.  

Work starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning… I can’t wait for what it brings…

Christmas and such

And so the season begins and end before you know it.   This was the first year that I experienced life without a family member and it just wasn’t the same.  In the years before 2008 I always had the luxury of spending time with all my family members, but this year was the first without my grandpa.   It was sad, but it made me appreciate my family more than ever.  Until this year, christmas wasn’t about family but more about getting gifts.  I know that I am getting older because this year it was about being with my sister, parents, uncles, cousins, and grandparents…

It was strange without grandpa, but it brought the family closer…  It was different, in good ways and bad, but in the end, it made me realize that no matter what the grace of God threw my way, life goes on.  I have been blessed to have grown up in a such a wonderful family and I will never be able to forget that.

I also have spent a lot of time with friends this holiday season and it makes me happy to think that no matter how bad it gets friends are always there.  I have spent that last few nights with Lauren which has made life easier on keeping my mind away from my resent loss.

It is no more than a few days before I take the long trip back to Denver in a box truck with my beloved cousin to start my new life.  I am very excited (although it is about the 22 hour drive) but I am excited none the less about things….  It should be a good time.   I wish you all a happy new year if I don’t get to talk to you before that date… I love you all and have a happy 2009!

Michigan… home again…

Two nights ago and all day yesterday we drove…  We tackled the trip from Denver to Grand Rapids in a little over 18 and a half hours of driving only stopping 4 times for gas.   Dan put it best on a bathroom wall… 3 men, 1 car, 18 hours!  With the combination of Dan biting his nails with worry, Mike being the DJ, and myself driving it made for quite the trip.  We all traded roles in the car and it was a long and boring one indeed…

Lets just say that I am not looking forward to drive back out to Denver with a box truck and some more of Dan waking up from his comfortable sleep only to tell me to concentrate before he closes his eyes again… (thanks dan!)

Tomorrow, yet again, I will be on the road for several more hours to Chicago where the family will celebrate Christmas together.  Even thought it will be the first christmas without grandpa I am still looking forward to the traditions that we have been partaking in for as long as I can remember.

Now that’s the Christmas Spirit!

Yesterday evening was an eventful one indeed.  Mike and Tim hosted an ugly christmas party in which there was many participants.  I, personally, found myself wandering the isles of Goodwill and the Salvation Army, reminiscing about the many times in my college years where costume parties wouldn’t be anything without these wonderful stores.  As I searched for the most amazing attire, I started getting frustrated at my situation.  It seems that everyone had already snatched up all the good sweaters (and when I say good, I mean the most wretched, nasty, horrible sweaters that your grandmother knitted for your brother 18 years ago, and then was handed down to you with love…)  After searching for hours I settled on a red turtleneck, a dark green blazer, and for the icing on the cake I found a christmas ivy patterned vest in the ladies section!  It had hand stitched gold beads on it.  A ladies small made the costume even more dramatically horrible!   This task of putting together an outfit is always more challenging that anticipated and I have decided that somebody could make a fortune for a few months of the year selling ugly old christmas sweaters and attire.  

In the scheme of things, my life seems to be coming together nicely out here.  I landed a job in the marketing and sales department of a third party logistics firm called Freights All Kind, which employes call FAK for short.  It seems like it will be a fascinating job, and although the economy is in a lull, they reassured me that they have not felt the repercussions a bit.  I start Jan. 5th of the New Year.  

I also found a place to stay for 3 months in downtown denver.  It is a one bedroom, fully furnished apartment.  It is two blocks from the denver capital building and is an absolute bargain for the price.  I am very excited to move in at the beginning of the new year and start the real world with a true “big boy job”.  

Tomorrow is my last day in Colorado before I make the long trek back to the wonderful state of Michigan to spend some quality time with the parental unites and my darling little sister.  I am excited to see them all and tell them about my travels.  It also could be one of the last times that I see them all together for quite sometime now that I have relocated to the mountainous area of Denver.   It is a start of a new beginning and I am ecstatic with absolutely no regrets.

A trip to the Mountains

I am amazed that only after two days 62 people have viewed my blog.  Very impressive.  Today Mike and I drove to Elderado Springs State Park and got our first taste of the Rockies up close and personal.  We decided that the -6 degree weather wasn’t going to stop us from being couch potatoes so we laced up the hiking boots and headed out.  Even thought it was rather chilly the hike was a sweaty and difficult one!  We hiked 3.5 miles up and 3.5 miles down.  Achieving 1000 foot advance up the brutal terrain and finding the reward to be a beautiful view!  In the distance we could see a train going threw the mountains.  It was quite a sight to see. 

Last night I attended a semi formal black tie christmas party with a few of the people that I have met.  It was a good time filled with cookies, card games, and christmas cheer.  Everyday, I seem to wonder why I didn’t make the move out here sooner in my life.  So far, so good

My exploration into the blogging world.

Hello all…

For everyone or anyone who actually reads this, together, we are experiencing my first blog ever!  I have recently made the nomadic move to Denver in hopes of finding a career.  I have now been here for a week and have already  felt the Grace of God in many regards.  First and foremost, I have been blessed to be able to share this small window in my life with some wonderful people.  I am currently living at my high school partner in crime, Mike Morter, and his wonderful roommate Tim’s place.  They have been gracious enough to spare their tight, yet awesome living quarters to spare me a space in the closet in which i cannot complain!  It is very cozy and I enjoy their company.  I do however try very hard to be as little of a burden as possible as they work diligently on there quest to becoming a great band.  Mike and Tim boggle my mind with there outrageous musical talents, lyrical geniusness, and ability to jam together in ways that I only could imagine coming from the greats such as DMB or Phish when in the grove.  

As for Denver it is absolutely beautiful and perhaps one of the most brilliant ideas that I have ever come up with.  The city is magnificent, the views are breathe taking, and the people are wonderful.  Since the moment I got here, people have been astonishingly friendly.  Even a girl at a stop light that caught me staring gave me a friendly smile back… (I was anticipating a frown for my uninvited creepy gaze…haha)  I am also amazed at all of the creativity, not just musically, that surrounds me.  Even Tim’s girlfriend Amy, is without a doubt one of the most artistically inclined people I have ever met.  Her art that she creates so effortlessly brings my appreciation to new heights, and I just stare at her work for longer than I think I should afford.

So far, this move has been a spectacular adventure from the beginning.  I made the 16 hour drive from denver with 50 bucks in my pocket not quite sure what life would send my way, packed the 95 volvo with enough clothing to get me threw a week, and embarked on the journey of my life.  After one interview, a job has been found, a place to live has been made, and God seems to provide my tummy with enough to keep me satisfied for the time being.  And the adventure continues daily…

 

Somethings never change... Mike (partner in crime) on the couch of his apartment.