A change in weather.

I know it's been so long since my last post, but so much has been going on! Let's start with where we left off, the last weekend in September. Shortly after I posted the last blog we got a call from Justin's Aunt Marcia (Vasquez Side) offering us a free plane ticket home for the wedding. Justin's Uncle Chad (Gale Side) works for Delta Airlines and we were able to use a buddy pass of his so the both of us could go home. We flew in on Friday night and got a chance to really surprise our parents. We walked up very nonchalantly to the fire Mike and Becky had built that evening and the scream that came out of Becky's mouth was deafening. She cried, then I cried...it's really what we do best. My parents were very surprised too, probably not so much as our dog Brody who greeted me by flying out the front door and peeing all over my shoes. He really must have missed me.

Saturday we went to Heidi Duffie and Justin Clark's wedding in St. Libory. Heidi is Justin's first cousin. Ok, wait, Heidi is Justin GALE'S first cousin. Haha. The wedding was gorgeous and the reception was a really great time. We were also able to go my cousin Jason Mines benefit in Evansville. Jason is the husband of my first cousin Roxy, they have two very young sons. Jason was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July and has since been fighting a brave and inspiring fight. The event was a huge success, my mom said that they raised over $60,000!! People who say there is no kindness or generosity in this world don't know the people of Southern Illinois. Thank you to everyone who helped in anyway, it's appreciated more than you can ever imagine.

So on Monday we were back home in L.A. and back into the groove. The rest of that week was mildly uneventful.

Monday the 5th Justin started classes. I can already see an improvement in his playing. He's playing faster and more skillfully than most guitarists his age, I can't wait to see how he does with a band. His schedule is very nice. He leaves for class around 9 then comes home from 1-5 and has an evening class 3 nights a week from 5-6. He doesn't have any classes on Friday...lucky dog! Justin has met a few more people through GIT (that is the program he is in at Musicians Institute) that we have been hanging out with regularly. Of course we hang out nonstop with the boys upstairs (Dan and Boz) but in addition we also hang with Aaron who is a guitarist from Southern Indiana, Nate who is a guitarist from Calgary, Canada, and Lambert a guitarist from France. Because of that lack of estrogen in our group of friends I end up spending a lot of time drinking beer (not that I didn't before!), watching music DVD's and listening to vulgar jokes. :) But we all get along and we are all pretty much in the same boat, relying on each other for entertainment and to ward off loneliness.

Today I was offered a full time management position at Patty's Pizza in Santa Monica. Patty's Pizza is a gourmet pizza company that focuses on fresh and nutritious 'take and bake' pizzas (http://www.pattyspizza.com/). They also have a wholesale company whose products are currently in Trader Joe's. Justin and I both had their product after my first interview, and thought it was delicious. I was offered a position at the restaurant location in Santa Monica as the General Manager. I will be fulfilling GM duties as well as focusing on boosting their sales in store, online and with catering. I took it of course because it will be wonderful experience and the salary, benefits and bonuses are double what I'm currently making. I can't wait to start this job and expand my horizons. Patty and her husband James (who is the current GM) are going to be working with me for the next couple of weeks until I fully understand the system. I start Wednesday!

As most of you already know Justin's Great Uncle Mark (ML) Vasquez passed away last week. He and Real, Justin's Grandpa, were brothers. Justin was especially close to Mark's side of the family because Mark owned M.L.Vasquez for many years until his children Rodney and Laurie took over. Justin worked for Rodney and Laurie for 5 years through junior high and high school. The brickyard where Justin worked was at Mark's house so he worked with or saw him on a regular basis. While they didn't always see eye to eye, Justin enjoyed working with Mark. He often made remarks to me on Mark's sense of humor and was always very thankful for his occasional plane rides on very hot days. I will always remember how sweet he was, remembering me, even in the sea of hundreds that make up that family (to be able to remember a distant nephews girlfriend is really a feat in that family--believe me.). He will be very sorely missed by many, I know the family reunion won't be the same without him. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family in their time of grief.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain here, can you believe it?? Looked like it was going to all day today, but it held off. The weather is getting a little cooler, I guess that means fall is here-although you wouldn't know it unless you've been to Target recently to see the aisle changes-the concrete is still gray and the palm trees still brownish-green. Well this about wraps it up, I promise it won't be so long before the next post, I had so darn much to write about. So tonight the guys are going to come over to help celebrate! We are going to pop a bottle of champagne and toast to new jobs, new friends and finally a change in weather.