Boston Harbor Cruise

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go on a company outing on the Spirit of Boston which toured the Boston Harbor area for a few hours. The lunch provided was great, as well as the scenery from the decks. The on-board entertainment, however, was super cheesy to say the least. But, nonetheless, it was a fun afternoon - sure beats being in the office all afternoon. And even though the forecast called for a 70% chance of rain, we lucked out and had clear skies for the most part.

I wanted to jump of the boat when I heard them sing!

I'm not sure what island this is, but someone mentioned that they thought it was George's Island.


My boss Chris and I. I don't even remember anyone taking this picture.

The skyline of the best city in the world!

Bathroom Remodel Update

Well the bathroom remodel has been a slower than I would have hoped, but isn't that how all big projects end up? Over the last few weeks, we ripped out an old, outdated cabinet, countertop, and faucet. Although we still have some drywall to finish up and a toilet to install (among other things), here is the progress so far.

The new granite countertop and brushed nickel faucet.

The new cabinet. All the plumbing issues in the wall have been fixed and water tight now. In the process of putting in the dryall and then installing the new toilet. What joyous work! After all that is done we will be installing new towel fixtures as well as a a fresh lavandar paint.

Yankees Yuck!

Gotta love the G-rated t-shirts we have out here - land of the Yankee haters. Little Maya is being trained at a very young age to hate the Yankess! Good Maya! Repeat after me, "Yankees Suck."

College Football is right around the corner!

That's right! It's never too early to start talking about college football. And the team that most pick to crash the BCS from a non-BCS school...Do I even need to say it?

On the quest for perfection and a third consecutive undefeated season in the Mountain West, BYU is returning 10 of 11 starters and are already being talked about as one of the top offenses in the entire country!

Enjoy...

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/AKbuckeye/160995

A week of Family Visits!!

Right before mom left for Japan, two of my sisters flew into town. Elaine came with her hubby, Mike and adorable niece, Maya. My other sister, Annie, came solo - her husband Brandon stayed behind in Utah. The other sister, Emily, was not able to fly back to say bye to mom due to her finishing up her last class for her MBA (congrats Em!). It was great to have everyone back for a few days. As always, little Mayumi (Maya) stole the show and is a contant attention-getter (and rightly so!) She is a very well-behaved baby to go along with her cute little looks.

Some pics for you!

Maya and her happy hands!


Maya and Mike enjoying the ducks


Annie and Maya


Maya with my cousin Jodi's kids, Ethan and Aaron in New Hampshire


Maya and mommy


Mom and Annie kissing Maya before their trips to Japan and back to SLC


Maya enjoying some father/daugher time


Elaine and Maya


Me and Maya at NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE'S in Methuen


Mike enjoying the fish tank at LL Bean in Maine. Maya, not so much.


Me and Maya.


Maya trying to steal some playing time from her Daddy


Grampa Mark (my dad) and Maya


Annie and one of her best friend's, Kim, from Connecticut.


Annie, Maya, and Grampa Mark.

Mom's gone, but her flowers remain

Mom left for Japan a few weeks back and my dad has struggled keeping up her old routine of constant care and courturing for the garden and flowers. Its a daughting task considering all the countless hours she put into it everyweek. Some of my mom's flowers for your viewing pleasure (before they turn to weeds!)

The Never-Ending Projects...

Well, it's not even been a month since I moved back to Boston, and it's already starting to feel like home again. Moving back into the house I grew up in is surreal, but it's been fun being back in Methuen. I'm trying to get alot done around the house and fix things up before my Dad leaves for Japan. That way at least I can get some approval on the construction and, for the most, part, get my dad to pay for it!

Some of the projects that have been keeping me very busy in my free time over the last few weeks.

I moved into the Master Bedroom and redid the closet. I wish I had a "before" pictures but the old closet was essentially one shelve and one pole for clothes - definitely not a good use of space, never-mind the sagging shelve and 25 year old paint job. I tore out the old shelving, put a few coats of paint on and installe dnew multi-level tier shelving. Much better!



In the bathroom we had a small leak coming from the faucet. It had been like this for a long time (well over a year!) and come to find out, it had slowly been detroying the counter and the countertop behind the sink. Needless to say, it needed to be fixed before further damage was done to the walls and interior stuff. We have a new cabinet and granite coutertop waiting on the sidelines to be installed. Stay tuned!

Pit Stop #2 in Washington DC

The cross-country final leg was coming close with a trip to Washington DC. I was excited to see my older sister, Elaine, her hubby Mike, and their 9-month old baby, Mayumi. I had only had one other chance to see Mayumi (Maya for short) last Christmas in Salt Lake City. She has grown quite a bit since I had seen her last! One of Maya's favorite things to do is look in the mirror - a trait that undoubtedly comes from Elaine!

I also spend some time with an old college friend, Dave Adams, but afterwards realized I didn't take any pictures with him. We, did, however, get a picture of the Homeless World Cup of Soccer. That's right - the HOMELESS World Cup. I was baffled that an international homeless sporting event was even in existance, but I guess anything to help the homeless is a good thing. Very interesting sporting event, to say the least!


The Homeless World Cup of Soccer. Definitely not the most thrilling sporting even I have ever been to.


PNC Ballpark after the sun went down.

PNC Ballpark


Mike Qualter and I at PNC ballpark soaking in a National vs. Orioles baseball game. One more stadium checked off my list! We got great seats for free from one of Mike's lawyer friends. I should've went to Law School.


Dad roaming around the Air and Space Museum


Mike holding Maya as Elaine enjoys the Air and Space Museum


Mike, Elaine and Maya, and Dad walking the Mall

Mike and Maya at the Food Court at the Air and Space Museum

I know my face is cut off, but Maya is so cute!

Maya exploring my suitcase


Maya and I at the National Gallery.

Not the best picture ever taken.

Kea and Troy come to Arizona!!!

Right before I left for Boston, Kea, a dear friend from my BYU days, came to visit from Oregon with her hubby, Troy. At BYU, Kea was practically a next door neighbor for a few years. She was always a great friend and shoulder to lean on. It had been about 4 or 5 years since I had seen Kea last! It was also my first time meeting Troy. It was good to see that Kea choose a great guy whom she is equally yoked with. I wish I had more time to play tour guide, but between baseball, work, packing, and wrapping things up, we didn't have too much time together. Kea and Troy are thinking about moving to Arizona so Troy can pursue a graduate degree in Criminal Justice at ASU.

Kea and me at one of my last baseball games.

Troy, Kea, and me right after dinner at Tempe Marketplace.

Pit stop in Wichita to see an old friend

What better time to drop in and see old friends than on a cross-country trip! Mike Asoian and I grew up together on the same street in Methuen, MA and has been a friend as long as I can remember. I couldn't even begin to attempt to remember all the times we spend together over the years (mostly before I graduated high school). Mike has been married for the past 7 or 8 years and currently resides in Wichita with his wife Sarah and newborn son, Brady. Even though I had been to Kansas once before to see him (and he came and visited me in AZ once!) it was good catching up with him and his family again.



Mike Asoian and I in his new(er) home in Wichita.


Once a Red Sox fan, always a Red Sox fan. This is the baby's room! I was completely envious of the wall, but not the four months it took him to do it.



Mike and Sarah's baby, Brady. Just 3 weeks old!

Moving back East!

Well, it became official a few weeks ago -moving back to Boston. It had been roughly 11 years since I had lived in the Boston area, but many things transpired that I couldn't turn down a golden opportunity to move back to my roots.


It was tough leaving good friends on such short notice. I didn't even get a chance to say bye to some friends and apologize for the super quick move, but I only had a short window of time for the drive back east.


I miss AZ tremendously - mostly the friends ( I don't miss the heat!). I was, however, able to play in one last baseball game with my team before heading off for the cross-country trek. It still hasn't sunk in the I actually made the move back east.

I'm not sure how long I'll be in New England. It seems as though nothing turns out the way I had planned, but I think it usually works out for the best in my case. It's a bit tough getting started all over. Even though I grew up here, so much has changed, and, unfortunately, I haven't kept in touch with many friends since I originally left the area back in 1997. But here's to new friends and semi-new life!


So far I've been busy unpacking and getting settled into my new surroundings and just started a new job today. So far, so good!


Monday, June 23. My truck with Uhaul trailer in tow, ready for the cross-country trip! The truck handled very well cross-country and had no problems on the road (thank goodness!).


Dad doing what he does best! The plan was to take turns driving, but it turns out that I really didn't get tired much and ended up driving 100% of the time while Dad played navigator (and dreamer!).


Saying bye to one of my best friends, Hannah, before the drive to Boston.

Phoenix Zoo Film Shoot

An old BYU friend was producing a film "short" and asked if I could give him a hand this past weekend. I had worked on numberous shoots at BYU and missed the production atmosphere. I recruited the help of my good friend, Kelly, who was curious to see what goes on behind the scenes of a film shoot. We didn't really have a title responsibility, but helped in random assignments like setting up craft services, running to the store for random stuff, and general art direction (moving pots and park benches!). As with all shoots I've ever worked on, this one went overtime finishing at 1:30am! I'm eager to see the finished product.

Setting up a dolly shot at the carousel.


A 4K light.


Chris and Kelly being the gophers.

Minneapolis and an old friend

Last weekend I had a last minute trip to Boston for the weekend and on Monday I flew back to Phoenix. I tried to catch an earlier flight back to Phoenix, but found myself with a 6 hour layover in Minneapolis. Since I used to live in Minneapolis, I decided to call an old friend that I hadn't seen in over 6 years. As luck would have it, when I called, she had just gotten off of work and, coincidentally, lives about 5 minutes from the airport. Long story short...went out to eat at a great little Vietnamese restaurant in Minneapolis and caught up on old times. Rayna, lets make sure the next time we meet up is sooner than 6 years!

Rayna dropping me off at the Minneapolis Airport for my flight back to Phoenix.