To Borrow

A "painting" of our new abode, using the Waterlogue app.  Isn't it pretty?

To Borrow

Houses are rentable, yes,

and cars are too, I hear,

although I’ve never rented one.

My own car is so run-down 

it's just sad.  What’s sadder

is I bought it that way,

with a seatbelt that goes across

my lap and a separate one

for my upper body.  I joke

I’m buckling up to blast off

into space where the house

I’m renting looks like the ones

you play Monopoly with,

only mine’s blue not red.

It’s also run-down, the house,

but in a beautiful kind of way—

the way a mother looks

in line at the supermarket

with a cartful of diapers

and Hamburger Helper,

one hand lovingly laced

around the fudgy fingers

of a messy child,

clutching clipped coupons

in the other hand as if one

might be Wonka’s golden

ticket promising to whisk

her away in The Great

Glass Elevator up to a place

where cars never break,

roofs never leak

and run-down isn’t even
a possibility.

Not-Quite-Paisley

I realize I never fully updated everyone in regards to the job situation. I was eventually offered the job at American Eagle, but unfortunately the exact job title and responsibilities changed from when I first interviewed to when I was offered it weeks later. Meanwhile, Zales was able to give me full-time hours again, so it turned out that sticking with Zales would be more lucrative. So I stayed.

In other news, our house is looking awesome as we get more settled. We've been here almost a month now and we absolutely love it. Brian and I are also in finals week for this semester at UVU, so we're only a few tests away from freedom! Oh, and I had two prose poems published in UVU's Touchstones, one of which won Honorable Mention. Pretty cool, huh? It's quasi-autobiographical, documenting a less-than-awesome chapter in our relationship... but it sure made for a great piece of writing.

Siân Griffiths, the judge who critiqued my piece, said, "I was so taken by the way this poem turned. If ever I made the mistake of thinking I might know where the poem was headed, I soon saw my error. Yet each surprise felt utterly earned. In other words, the poem didn't surprise for the sake of surprise, but rather it surprised because life is surprising..."

She's right.  My life surprises me all the time.

Not-Quite-Paisley

You weren’t with me the day I picked the green-blue, not-quite-paisley curtains which frame the not-so-great view of a dentist’s office. But he was. He whispered his advice on accent colors and pulled me away behind discounted duvets and we both know that I let him, his hands ticking over me in slow, circular motions. Framed, near the window, is a photo of a younger me pulling you back into an embrace, kissing your cheek. Other framed photos, mostly from New York City, where we were wed, frame the mirror—black-and-white images of trees, buildings and an abandoned bicycle.  “I’ll return the curtains,” I suggest, replacing the batteries in our clock.  “No need,” you say, with injured eyes, pulling me back to bed, back to you, all interlocking arms and legs, disturbing the duvet.  I cry as you kiss my neck and out the window I only see mountains and blue, limitless sky.  We both agree the view is better from the bed.

Poem for Jessie

April has brought a lot of really fun and awesome things into my life, but it has also brought some terrible ones. Well, one terrible one in particular, and that is the death of a good friend of ours, Jessie. We met Jessie about a year ago when our friend Emily started dating her. The two of them seemed perfect for each other, which I know is cliché to say, but it was the absolute truth in their case. They were both so happy, so in love, and when they asked us to be in their wedding this coming May, we were overjoyed. But then real life came in to remind us all that things aren't always so perfect. Things are often difficult. Things are often sad.

Jessie passed away to Gastric Cancer on April 3, 2014. I remember her laughter and her spontaneity the most. And boy, could that girl dance. Emily would text me almost every other weekend: "What are you boys doing? Let's go clubbing!" And we'd go out and Jessie was always the life of the party. I remember whenever "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus came on she would get especially excited. People always told Jessie that she reminded them of Miley. A far more beautiful Miley in my opinion. The song still makes me think of her every time I hear it.

This one's for you, Jessie.

Stolen

The club lights

flutter their aroused,

anxious butterflies;

their sweaty, shining

palms leave stolen

kisses of every hue

on your dancing body,

blushing timidly

as they do, but only

for a moment.

Only on their turn.

For who could hope

to keep you?

You, an angelic

trickster, taking

silky drags from your

e-cig, running long,

slender fingers through

stylish, cropped hair,

blowing puffs

of hefty exuberance

into the air with every

laugh.

The lights have found

new you to kiss… your musical

eyes, your glittery teeth.

You smile and sing along,

moving your body to the beat.

We can’t stop

and we won’t stop.

Constantly in motion,

moving and grooving

—a solar system

in tight, ripped jeans

and boots.  Feathers

dangle from your earlobes.

You ignite the night

with the lighter that

is you.  Hot and bright.

The club’s lesser lights

enjoy the chase, reaching

for you always but only

catching smoke.

The Blue House on the Corner

This, dear readers, will be our new home for the next phase of our lives.  (Photos taken from the KSL house listing.)

My strategy the last few days has been to stall.  While Brett was awaiting the word on whether he'd be Washington-bound or not, I didn't want the renting company to get worried that the four of us might not be as stable as we told them.  I also didn't want to lose the place to other renters, so I stalled with questions.

"Yes, we're still very interested, but what about this... or what about that...?"

The leasing agent originally offered us the place at a higher rent, so I tried my very best to negotiate.  Today she left me a voicemail while I was in class saying that the owners approved my final attempt at compromise: higher rent through the summer, back to the original in August if we prove to be good renters.  Perfect!  But I needed to stall again.

"Yes, we'd love to sign the lease, but I don't think the four of us can get together until the weekend..."

But less than an hour later, I got a text from Brett letting me know that he didn't get the Washington job and I immediately called the leasing agent up again and said, "Yes, we want it!  When can we sign?"

No more stalling.  No more waiting. The blue house on the corner is ours.  We sign the lease tomorrow and move in on the first!

How To Put Air in Your Tires and Other News

If you were wanting some sort of update on my last post, well, you're just out of luck.  I'm so sorry.  I'd give you one, but I'm still waiting.  The house we wanted to rent in Provo is actually willing to rent to us... but there are new complications now so we're waiting on that.  And as far as the other job goes, I'm still waiting to hear back from that as well.  I did have a second interview since I last wrote, but yeah, still no job offer.  Our friend Brett is also waiting for a job offer, one that might suddenly whisk him away to Washington, which is one of the "new complications" with the house.  The other complication is that they want to up the rent because we're not a family.  If I got the new job the rent increase wouldn't be so bad... but without Brett we can't get that house at all... and you see now why we're still waiting.

We wait and we wait.

Waiting.

Do you know how waiting rooms have magazines in them?  I read an issue of Martha Stewart Living cover-to-cover simply because Brian's dad bought it for him because there were macarons on the front cover.  Martha Stewart claims you can make macarons for just 18 cents each!  HOLY WOW!  But then you read the article and they're like half the size of ours and she gets really skimpy on the almond flour and, well, I guess you learn all kinds of frugal tips when you serve a prison sentence.  It's weird because I never once saw a character eating macarons on Netflix's Orange is the New Black.  Season 2 starts on June 6th in case you were wondering.  Just a little FYI.

And when your front left tire is super low, resembling a stack of really burnt pancakes, you probably shouldn't wait a week or two or three to fix it.  But, you know, since waiting is my new mantra in life I decided to wait until Brian finally said to me, "Listen, I'm not going to take care of it for you.  You're a grown man, you can figure it out yourself."

"But, I don't know how."

"Google it."

So I did.  The internet really is a remarkable place.  I found this helpful YouTube video in the blink of an eye (or maybe a little longer because the mall wifi was being slow):



Dave's not very exciting, but he taught me how to do it in only 54 seconds, so points for being succinct.  I was embarrassed at how incredibly easy it was.  Also embarrassed that I've never had to put air in my tires in almost 28 years of life.  Crazy.  I've also never had to survive in the wild or juggle chainsaws on a tightrope either.  I guess I just ain't living.

Also, I'm still waiting to borrow that Waiting... DVD.  What the heck, Krystal?

Waiting...

My coworkers and I signed the wall of our Zales store on its last night.  It's being turned into a T-Mobile.
The final snapchat of our apartment before we turned in our keys.

"Crap, I forgot to bring Waiting... for you.  I'll bring it tomorrow."

My friend and coworker Krystal has been saying that to me a couple times a month ever since Brian started working at Mimi's Cafe.  Now that he's a server, she thinks he'll really appreciate the 2005 comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris and Justin Long.  It's about waiters if you haven't figured it out.  And yes, the ellipses is really part of the movie title.  Look it up on IMDb if you don't believe me.

I just laughed and told her we couldn't be friends anymore.  Waiting for Waiting... is the last straw of our friendship.  That's it.  I'm done.  I've waited too long.

And that's how I feel with life right now.  Tired of waiting.

Since I haven't blogged in over three months (I just now realized that all six of you in Cyberland who read this have been waiting anxiously for my next post... I'm so sorry!  And if you didn't even notice my absence, just humor me), you probably don't know that lots has changed in the lives of Jack and Brian.  Where to begin?  Let's see.  Christmas was fine and dandy, New Year's was great, and then BAM!  "We're sorry to inform you that the Provo location is closing in two weeks.  You can interview for a transfer to the Orem Zales."

Yep.  My Zales location shut down at the end of January.  Thankfully, I was able to keep my job.  And I really am very grateful.  The only real downside is that the Orem location is already fully staffed, so they only had room for me and the other Provo workers to come in part-time.  My hours got cut from 40 hours to a mere 25.  That's a big deal.  So with me not making as much money and Macaron hitting a slow patch in terms of sales, Brian and I are broke!  Which leads me to the next big change for us...

We're now back to living with the in-laws.  Brian and his mom got to talking and decided that the apartment we lived in was too pricey (they even wanted to raise the rent again this year) and it would be a good idea to move back home for a bit to save up some money and look for a cheaper place.  In order to help make our living situation as cheap as possible, Brian and I have decided to get roommates.  I know what you're thinking, "A married couple with roommates?  That's lame."  And you're right, it kinda is.  But so is being 27 years old and living at home.  Brian and I are learning to embrace our lameness.

I bet you're waiting to get to the part about us waiting, right?  So here's the deal.  Brian and I looked at a house for rent near downtown Provo that we absolutely love.  It's an old home built in 1910, has tons of charm, tons of space, is walking distance from great restaurants and shops, and is generally just the bee's knees.  Brian's cousin Brett and our friend Aaron will be living with us and between the four of us, the place is very affordable (for us, almost $300 less a month than we used to pay).  We've filled out the application and now we are just waiting to hear back from them.  We filled it out Friday morning and I've literally been a nervous wreck ever since.  I cannot stop thinking about this house.  I just want to live in it!  PLEASE?

To add to the waiting, I had an interview with American Eagle on Friday afternoon for an assistant manager position.  It would be full-time hours and a pay raise, plus an opportunity to move upward in retail (an opportunity that Zales sadly doesn't seem to provide; always bringing in management from the outside).  My interview seemed to go really well and afterwards my friend Kylee, who is the other assistant manager there, told me that her boss loved me.  He said I was the "smartest applicant yet."  So now I'm waiting to hear back from that as well.

So here I am.  Waiting.  The weekend seems to drag on and I just hope come Monday or Tuesday I will know about the house and know about the job.  Please, if you're reading this, cross your fingers for me!

THANKFUL: Day 25

I'm thankful for good things that come in the mail!  Usually it's just bills and credit card offers, but today we got this awesome Save-The-Date from our friends Emily and Jessie who are getting married next spring.  We couldn't be happier for them.  We're also going to be what they call "bridesmen" so we're pretty pumped about that as well.  I'm thankful for love in the 21st Century.  I'm thankful for the rise of marriage equality throughout our nation.  I'm thankful for hot babes lying on the beach!  Hubba hubba!