Here’s the anxiously awaited letter from your old dad, the bum, the hobo.

Oh hi kid,

Here’s the anxiously awaited letter from your old dad, the bum, the hobo.

This has been a standard week for the unemployed. I spent most of my days updating my resume, my LinkedIn profile, and my portfolio. I’m confident in my resume, I have two versions, but I will be customizing these based on each individual job I apply for. My portfolio is a challenge. Not that I think my portfolio is bad, I am proud of it. It’s just that I’m not always sure what I should feature. I’m trying to put stuff from my last job, even though I think it’s pretty good.

I’ve had a lot of kind people reach out to me and offer to help. In fact, one person referred me to a recruiter and I have an interview set up for tomorrow morning (say a prayer for me elder). I’m not sure how well my skills match this job, it’s more marketing than creative, but my experience is closely related. Whether it lines up for me or not, it has bolstered my confidence and helped me to keep my chin up. I also think going into thanksgiving will be fun. Generally, companies slow down hiring during the holidays, but I’ll keep chugging along.

As for the week, Monday night on Messenger was the most fun with those silly AI pictures. It felt like we were together like when you guys were smaller and we would just be silly. It was hard to see you sign off that night.

Monday morning I did take mom’s car to get the fuel system looked at. Ever since we got it we couldn’t ever fill the tank all of the way. It wasn’t ready until Tuesday, so I enjoyed driving mom around for a couple of days. The tank was almost empty before the repair and when we got it back it was almost half full, and I’m sure the repair place did not gift us any gasoline.

Tuesday night I went to Wings night with the fellas from the neighborhood. I saw Parker Hales there. He’s a full grown man now. He asked how you were doing. It was nice to not be home alone. I chatted with brother Feilding, who is one of the coolest people I know, chatted for a long time.

Wednesday night was a good family night. Jacob has been going with a buddy to hear about a summer sales job. He’s thinking about it seriously to help him pay for the U next fall. I gotta say, thinking of Jake being gone all summer made me pretty sad. I’m glad we did as many fun things this summer as we did. But I admire him for being willing to take responsibility and prepare for paying for school.

Thursday night there was a freaking long Stake training. But actually there was some pretty good stories and I felt the Spirit.

Friday night your brothers and I went to go see Gladiator 2. I wanted pizza for dinner without spending a ton of money, so we pulled a Joe and got a pepperoni pizza from Costco. We ate it there and it was hot, we’re talking Heidi Rivera hot. It was really good. I liked the movie, maybe not as much as the first one, but it was a nice continuation and it was fun to go to the theater.

Saturday was a busy day. Your mom and I got up at 5 to meet Artie and aunt Patti at the bountiful temple. I have to admit, I was a bit tired and distracted so it wasn’t my best session, but it was nice being in the temple. In the Celestial Room I had a thought. We’ve been taught that after we die spirits will have a chance to hear the gospel, which leads me to understand that we, if were faithful, will have a chance to teach the gospel. Which made me think of the name I took through, Alfonso Rivera. He’s from my dads line. I had the thought that maybe my dad taught him in the spirit world and I got to do is temple ordinances (I did his initiatory last week. I don’t know, but that idea made me happy. Afterwords, we went to breakfast together. It’s so nice to be together with them.

After that your mom and I went to the “big” Costco. Then we finished of by going to Sam’s club. Her gas had lasted her all week so I filled it up voila! It went to full. 

Your mom was looking pretty tired after getting up at five every morning this week, so I made her promise to take a nap if I did a little painting in our bedroom. I painted the two walls with the windows because those are the two I can reach with the normal six foot ladder. It looks good, but guess what? Your mom did not take a nap. And she was still kinda dragging. So I called bishop Snarr and asked him to go to the game with me at the last minute. I’m really feeling like he’s become a close friend and someone I care about. I also know his family is going through some hard things. Mostly though, he’s a true Utes fan. I sent you the update from the game, man Joe, they are just bad this year. They haven’t lost seven in a row since 1986. I was a year into my mission that year. It was senior night and they have a big senior class. In the post game some of those guys were pretty emotional about their time playing in Rice Eccles. That class won two PAC12 championships then had two pretty tough seasons. Next year is going to be so different. We’ll know if it’s a good season or not by the time you get home.

Today was a busy Sunday. I had Ward Council, church, then mission huddle. There’s a family in our neighborhood that has expressed interest in coming to church, which is a big deal. They didn’t come today, but we are hopeful. The elders have an appointment with them on Wednesday night, so if I go, I’ll let you know. 

Tonight we went to grandmas, aunt Susan and everyone was there. Uncle Tim was cool about the game, mostly because if the Utes had won it would have strengthened BYUs chance of going to the conference championship. In fact, some byu fans, because they are idiots, say that the Utes tanked on purpose. Only a byu fans would think that the Utes would even be thinking of them while struggling through this horrible season.

I’m really looking forward to this week, it will be a respite from the worries I’m feeling. Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking about this trial a lot. In the past I was always fearful, always scared. I think we get trials to understand faith and trust and love of Heavenly Father. My job had been stressful for the entire year. Every day I would pray for it and that I could continue to support the family. Just because of the layoffs happened does not mean that He didn’t hear those prayers, it just means that His plan is not my plan. So, I have to trust Him whether I get a job sooner or later or need to do something else. I hope I can be calm and have faith. I don’t want to be selfishly suffering and worrying. I want to anticipate what the Lord has in store for me and just grab it. I want to use this time to search and prepare, but to also serve. I hope to look forward to what’s coming rather than fear what might not.

Anyway dude, sorry for that dad rant. For some reason it’s easier to express those thoughts here than verbally with others, so you get to endure that.

I hope you’re week goes well, I hope you are healthy and happy. I hope you have a great thanksgiving, your last one on your mission I should add. And I hope I’ll get to chat with you tomorrow. Just know how much I love you and pray for you.

Pops