The last few months!

The last few months have been quite an adventure to say the least. With little help from me in earning an income and little in the way of finding employment, however the stress is all but gone from the time when I was working with the expectation of not getting paid for several months. Amy and I have stress, but it's a different feeling. I have started to list my remaining clocks on a web site that Aunt Roberta told me about called etsy. I will have listed 4 by the end of the day and a fifth hopefully before I leave for a week to help in St George at the Dickens Festival. I only have 7 clocks left and Amy and I hope that they will sell, as well as a table or two!


This one was made from a pallet. I liked the knot and since we threw away the pallets, I cut out what I liked and made this desk clock. It's about 14" tall and 11" wide and about an 1 1/2 thick.

(click to enlarge)
I love Walnut and this is some really nice Old Walnut. You can tell that this tree was old by the deep, rich color of the wood. I didn't really want to cover it up by the clock face, but it looked good with it. It's only 10" X 7 1/2"
This one has Alder and Poplar. As you can see they alternate and I cut them as a mirror image. The number pieces are colored shells. This clock has a 10 7/8" diameter and almost an inch thick.
I saw the brown pieces on the table saw in this shape and in my mind I saw this clock!. I had this interesting piece of Maple. I cut it in half and set the brown pieces around it and poured the white around the rest to form this design (it starts as a liquid). It's 12 3/8" diameter X 1"

Finished

I finished 2 of my clocks. I only have 8 left and have decided to finish and sell them. One of these clocks was made to look like a Halloween Decoration and the other is just something else altogether, but they are very nice and are going up for sale on several web sites. Ebay, etsy.com and itallstartedwitharock.9f.com and here on my blog.



If interested let me know or if you know someone who is.

A new beginning!

Tomorrow I'm starting a new job and training. I start work at Deseret Industries while I'm trying to get into school. They have a program that allows you to work while train for a new career and the career I've chosen is Radiology Tech. I am excited to start this chapter in mine and Amy's life. I know that this will be a long hard road, but the payoff will be worth it. I will always miss Granite work and you never know if I will get the chance to do that again, I hope so, but not for the company that I've been working for ever again, that chapter of my life is over! Wish me luck!

The last day!

I quit my job today. I figured that it really wouldn't hurt us much since I'm not getting paid anyway! But I called my boss and left him a message telling him that I was going to quit and turn him in for not paying me. I received a call about 5 minutes later and he had found a few hundred to pay me. I took it, but I quit in the process of picking up a check. I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders and I was quite happy tonight and I really don't have any worries. I will certainly miss granite for a while, but new and exciting things are in mine and Amy's future. First thing is to get into some sort of college course and I may have found an answer to that through LDS Employment and there is training available through Deseret Industries. I'm going to go for some kind of Medical. I liked Radiology Tech and they have one for a CNA, so really any of what they offer will help. I'll find out Monday.

Spare time.

I've had a lot of spare time lately. Work has all but stopped and finding a job hasn't been any better. Applying online is just a hassle, either your bombarded by emails for school or ads! But not just any school, the one's that will cost you not only an arm and a leg, but maybe your whole life and anything else you might own. I guess if you want to get in and out of school in a year or less then this would be an option, but I've been told to go to a school that is accredited and I am currently preparing for the test to get into the MLATC which is in Orem by UVU.

So while I haven't been as busy with work, I've been trying to keep myself busy. I've sold just about everything I've had in storage on ebay and I listed a few of my tables just to see what would happen. Nothing happened, yet, but they did what was intended for the moment and that was for people to see them. About 50 people have looked and that is all I was looking for.

I dug out my clocks that I made several years ago and decided to finish and sell what I have left, but first I needed to test it and so I finished one. It's orange and black and looks like it belongs to Halloween, so I bought some stickers and used them for the numbers and if you read my wife's blog: auntieamyandcounting.blogspot.com you can see that Nya my neice was very helpful in helping me finish the look of this clock. And then you can read about next injury from the same night as well. Amy and I took it with us yesterday when we went to visit my Aunt Roberta and she put it in her booth at the Holy Cow in Pleasant Grove. So I hope it sells and these are the pictures of it.

The backside.

Headaches!

I suffer from headaches, Migraines to be exact and this last week has been a showcase of different headaches. The stress level for Amy and I has been overwhelming to say the least, but we've managed to keep faith that all would be well. Yesterday, we both met our breaking point and both of us kind of had a bad day!! We didn't fight or anything, but we were definitely not in a good mood! But that changed last night when we both thought all was lost!!

Trent (my brother), came over last night and was helping me get signed up on a new web site to look for new jobs. Basically jobs for civilians on Government installations, like Hill Air Force Base or The Tooele Army Depot. So far I've found a few with great pay and I plan on going for it, but last night he kept telling me to just turn in my boss, just be heartless and do it! For me this is a really hard thing to do! I always turn the other cheek and I'm very patient, but I was at an end of my patience, but I had an overwhelming feeling to call my boss and give him just one more chance and if it didn't get me the results I wanted, to turn it over to the Labor Commission. First thing I did though was to go over to the shop and see what was happening. Much to my surprise, nothing had happened in the way of having a job gone and installed by Tuesday. It was still there! I figured that they just didn't have the same kind of speed that I have or it was just a pain to Fab., which is what it looked like to me. So I called and was told that he had collected a check that day, but it was after the bank closed. He asked if I could wait until morning and if I could help them install the job. If you pay me first, then I'll help you. He agreed and this morning, we got paid nearly $2,000 and we're up too date!!

The moral of this lesson for me is, always follow the spirits guidence. No matter how bad someone else has treated you and how angry they make you, always follow what that still small voice says! The Lord did not let us down and even in the midst of feeling all was lost, something happened that changed that. I know that we're not out of the woods yet, but we don't know what's around the next corner and we'll continue to fight our way through these tough times.

Today is a better day, my body is a little more rested and calm, but I have a Migraine the size of Mt. Everest!!!!!


Thanks George for all your help and I'll consider and keep that knowledge for the next time that this happens, except I won't wait 2 months next time, I'll walk every 2 weeks if I don't get a check on time!

I went to work today,

I went in at about 8:30 this morning and waited and waited and waited. Finally at 10:00, someone showed up and at 10:15 my boss showed up and I said that I was leaving and I would come back but only after I received my pay in full. His only response was that he understood and he is working on getting all of it together.





Then I left!!

Why do we work?

Work, it's an easy enough word and easy to understand. Why do we work and have jobs? That is easy enough as well. To earn money is usually the first thing that applies to this basic word. Work used to be this and more for me: A sense of accomplishment, a job well done, pride in my work, the best fabricator on the planet, creativity and something to do. Many of you know that work for me this year has been a little slow. This year has been hard to say the least with little or nothing to do at all, until now! Work is booming and we're booked for several weeks.

For about 6 weeks though, Amy was in and out of the Hospital and during those weeks and for those days I spent my time with her giving her my total devotion and support to her to help her get better. Luckily, before all this happened, I had been paid after waiting for 3 months to get it. 3 months is a long time to wait for a paycheck and the stress that goes with that is not fun either! During all this free time I had, I was applying for jobs and going to interviews. And still nothing has happened in improving our circumstances! Recently I was turned down again and I didn't get the job, but now it doesn't seem as if I need a new job since mine is busy again.

But,
I feel dead at work! I no longer have a desire to do the work, at least not there! The "not" in "getting paid" has given me a desire to just not bother! I have now been waiting another 2 months for a check. For what little they owe me, you'd think that they could pay me! I have just about sold everything that is not tied down on ebay. I only have 1 box of personal items in our tiny storage closet and I may break that down even more to earn what little amount of money you can make on ebay!

I have been working hard and fast everyday for a two weeks now. The amount of work that I'm doing each day is enough for a small crew, but somehow I manage to produce about 2 slabs of granite a day, which is fast for 1 person. Sink cut outs take a toll on your back and take at least 2 hours of time. More than 1 in a day is hard enough and one day this last week I did 4 sinks plus the job in about 9 hours time. That is a super fast time! The more I do the more they expect and the more I won't be paid for! This is super frustrating!!

Finally, yesterday I was told that they would have to try to get me paid fast sometime soon! Soon should mean "NOW" and "NOW" should not wait! My desire to work has lost it's taste and everything that is said to me makes it even more tasteless!

I work well with praise as well as pay. Being positive and praising one's work, works great! But the one's who are doing your bidding, your work and paying your bills, seem to be forgotten more often than not. I would like a raise or a bonus, a job well done, but it seems that all I'm getting right now is, "you complain too much, are you sure you can get this done today?" and if there's a mistake, it's my fault automatically. Maybe if the schedule wasn't overbooked and on such a jammed up time line, that there would be time to breathe and think about what is being said! There seems to be no praise anymore, which makes bad situations worse! Depending on what is said to me next week, I may just walk out the door!

So, why do we work?
Well, I work for my boss's sake!!

3 years ago

3 years ago next month (Aug), I started working for Ken again. I worked retail for 5 years and learned many new things like retail really sucks, it doesn't matter how hard you work for big chains, if your not willing to brown nose, you'll never get anywhere! I set a few records at Wal-mart while I was there. I received employee of the week and month in the same month and for 10 days of that month I was on a very special vacation in California. When I quit there, the store manager was begging me to stay, but I got a higher paying job closer to home and went and worked for Cabela's for about 2 years. Same story there as Wal-mart, overlooked, underpaid, and under appreciated until the day you leave, but I had to do something else and get out of the atmosphere that was turning me into the kind of person I didn't want to be.

When I started to work for Ken, he had changed the company name from KMB to Utah Granite Counter Tops and they were only fabricating granite. I was told by Kevin to make what you want whenever, so I started to make the little one of a kind end tables again. I am very fascinated with rocks in general, but the one's that have special qualities like iridescence and lots of colorful designs, really get me to thinking, so I started to make my 3rd table and I had this small piece of green granite that has a really nice vein in it. I bought a piece of white marble tile at the Home Depot and cut it to fit in the hole that I made in the granite. I found 2 pieces of slate, one is green and the other is a major contrast of a dark maroon red with some yellow in it and I glued them together. I made it so that you can just turn the slate over and have a completely different look! Eventually I found a piece of marble that was kind of green and white mixed. I put a rope light under the tile and when it's plugged in, it lights up. I'm one of those kind of people who likes something different sometimes on a daily basis, so I can use either the slate or the marble whichever I feel my mood is in. Enjoy


Green tile natural light.

Green tile with rope light plugged in and on.

Plain tile and light is on, but its impossible to see with the flash!

Maroon slate.

Green slate (flip side).

Careers

My job has been less than desirable these last few weeks with little or no work at all. I get to go in tonight and start a new one that goes to Heber later this week, but for the most part, I'm glad that I was home to help Amy out the last few weeks with our many trips to the LDS Hospital. We only have 4 more, then we're done. Yay!! To those who don't know, it's just some tests and such. While at the hospital so many times, I've gained an interest in Nursing and everything that they do throughout our stays there. It makes Amy a little queasy at times when I'm asking them questions about what their doing to her when their doing it, but for some reason, it hasn't made me sick or anything like that, so I got to looking into some options and I've decided to go to school for some kind of Nurse or something Medical. My first thing is to get an EMT certification, so this week I'll be going over to SLCC and getting the info that I need. I've received some really good idea's so far and think that I'll go for my EMT first, then apply for a job on a Paramedic Crew and go from there. I feel like this is the best thing for me right now and I've got it in my mind, so I better get to it. As far as work goes, I'll take it as it comes and I'll try yo get more work as well in the meantime.

I didn't get the job!

Most of you already know that I had applied for a job with Merit Medical and had a great interview, but I didn't get the job. I was really calm throughout the week waiting for some word of the outcome. Friday morning I got that word and I was ok with it, but deep down I was hurt. I've had a hard weekend, but Amy has been here with me and she is all that really matters. The love that she shows me can make all the difference. I know that there must be something out there for me and Merit must not have been it, so I'll still keep searching for what is waiting for me and fabricating granite which is what I love! I just wish I could be working more than 2 days a week!

What's been up!

So, some of you have asked me to post life in general, so here is the first and probably the last. I got this blog going to share my artistic talents in hopes to find some interest in it. I haven't found much and not many people really care at all, but such is life. So Amy and I moved to Draper Ut. back in April. We love it here in our nice little appartment! It's quiet and we have yet to meet any of our neighbors! We have however, met their smoke! Yuck!! What a discusting habit and we have to keep cleaning up after the butt-heads! ha.

We have had a hard year so far and work for me has been a bit depressing! Slow at best and getting paid was a whole different problem. I have been paid in full just last week, but it's taken 3 months to get it. We have been surely blessed and have continued to fight and have made it every month with lots of prayers and great family support, (You all know who you are and we love you so much, thank you!) I have been job hunting for months and last week was quite the test. On Thursday, our brand new car broke down and the dealer would not get us a temporary vehicle, but they managed to find a part somewhere in this vast country and had our car fixed by 1pm Friday. Monday afternoon I received a call from Merit Medical about a job in the shipping department and yesterday morning I had to go in for some tests. If I passed the test, then they would interview me. I was very nervous! I hadn't been in this situation since I had applied for Cabelas almost 5 years ago. I passed the first test with an average score and the 2nd test with a better than average score and then the 3rd test, which was a dexterity test. I aced that one and set a new record for them as well! I had an interview and now we are just waiting to hear. So basically if I get this job, it will become my primary job and I'll still work at the granite shop part time. I would like to stay in granite and I love what I do, but I think I'm going to have to love something else! Other than all of this extra stress, Amy and I absolutely love to go hiking, movies and one anothers company!

Jewelery Box

We found this marble box while we were helping my mother pack for her big move! I made this box when I worked for KMB Countertops about 6 years ago. As most of my friends and family know, KMB is now Utah Granite, but I made this box in my early learning days of fabricating stone. Fabian was from Argentina and the person who taught me to fabricate and he got me the marble for the lid of this box. The sides and bottom of this box are Travertine and basically this outside box holds an inside box that is made of Solid Surface, which at the time was my specialty. I found a music box and set in the inside box's lid and it's of one of my mothers favorite pieces of music called-Music Box Dancer. The total weight of this box is 17.4 lbs and a little too heavy for "the mom" to be moving around, so it sits on a shelf in her closet until she can find a permanent spot for it to be diplayed.

Mazes

Mazes. I started drawing and making mazes in Jr. High. I would watch my mother find her way through them pretty fast and would learn by watching her how to make them harder. I noticed that she would start at the finish and it was ten times easier to get through it by going backwards, so I started making it hard both from the finish and the start. She doesn't even think about going through them anymore. I made quite a few, but I haven't made any for several years, well at least since High School. Here are a few pictures of what I have and some of the ideas I had making them.

The crude maze above is one of my first. Once I got started drawing mazes, I used this thing called a ruler! ha

This one has my sister Sarelle's name in it. I got to where I put words and shapes and intigrated them into the maze itself.

This one is easy except for the three colors it is drawn with and it messes with your mind!


This one says start and finish as well as having a start and finish.

I used mostly diagonal lines in this one.

This one is a replicated design of itself all the way around the page.

This is the master copy of the maze on the right.

This is my big maze. It has 2 pages and I called it a story maze because it has 2 stories. This page is the start page and the one below has the finish. Each shape that is a different color links each page together. My assitants finger points out the elevator to the next page. This maze is very hard and you have to flip the page 17 times to get to the finish, that's if you go the right way