Red or Green?

Albuquerque has many quirky things about it, but the most prevalent by far is the question you will be asked at almost every eating establishment... "Red or Green?" For those of you who are not familiar with this phrase, allow me to translate...

New Mexican: "Red or Green?"
English: "Would you like us to drench your meal in red or green chile?"

Notice how they do not give you an option for 'no chile.' For those people who do not like spicy things and say 'no chile' are given dirty looks and I am sure talked about behind their backs. Who wouldn't want chile?!



Sometimes the waitress will get advanced and asked "Red, Green or Christmas?" which translates into "Would you like us to drown your food in red chile, green chile, or a mix of both?" These people must have cast iron stomachs.

New Mexico is known for their Green Chile. You will find it everywhere. Literally everywhere. Here is a short list of things these people put green chiles on:
- pizza
- Subway sandwiches
- McDonalds cheeseburgers
- any 'New Mexican' food
- breakfast burritos

and the list goes on and on.



I actually enjoy the chile. I have enjoyed all the food down here. I don't do well with lots of spice, so I am usually coughing and chugging water the first few bites, but then my body seems to ignore it and lets me eat in peace. Life is good.

Land of 'Entrapment'

I meet people who are from Albuquerque... been here their entire lives... and have no desire to leave. I have even met people who have left... moved to Denver and LA... then CAME BACK to the big Q... WHAT?!?

At this point, I am afraid that I am surrounded by crazy people. What is more scary is when I ask these people WHY they want to stay or WHY they moved back almost all of them have said, "Yeah... we joke that New Mexico is the 'Land of Entrapment'." Yikes!

On one hand I want to embrace this city and love what it offers. At the same time I am worried about getting too attached and not being able to move away!

So far... their mountains have become more picturesque to me... uh oh... is this the beginning?!

I will remain confident in this...

... I will see the goodness of the Lord.

I went to a new church today! Copper Pointe Church. It was SO much bigger than any church I have been to in Utah. Probably four times bigger than my church in Salt Lake, Capital Church.

I will admit, it was pretty intimidating... so many people and I didn't recognize one face. But God put me there for a reason. I found my seat and tried to settle in. The smoke machine was going, lights were flashing and the band started. It was like a concert. I didn't recognize any of the songs.

But then the pastor started talking and I really liked his message. All about how to live a blessed life. Everything he said matched up with what Troy talked about at Capital.

Then more music and they let us go. I didn't meet anyone, too many people. But I liked the pastor and think I will go again. I just have to get connected... somehow. There is hope!

Real Job Starts Tomorrow!

I have been in school for as long as I can remember. After high school, I knew I was going college. After undergrad, I knew I was going to grad school. I know school. I am good at school. I have it all figured out. Now, I am leaving that all behind and stepping out of my comfort zone and into... the "Real World".

I worked at the Space Dynamics Lab for three years, so it's not like I haven't ever worked before, but this is different. Now I am an employee, not a student assistant. I have no idea what to expect.

My job title is a Systems Engineer. I pretended to be a Systems Engineer on my senior design project up at USU, but I really am not sure what this entails. What I do know is that I will be working with and talking to a lot of people. One of my strengths is building relationships, so I am hoping I will be able to use that.

Well here goes nothing... I have so much to learn, but I am excited and ready to start my new life!

Wish me luck.

Beginning of a New Adventure

Well, its only been an hour and a half since I wrote last and my last post was about BLTs... which means I was probably having a bad day... Bacon is my comfort food. So what have I been up to the past year and a half?

I started and finished my Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. I have lived in Utah my entire life and always wanted to leave until I moved to Salt Lake. I love it. There are bars and coffee shops and so many things to do!

But, the more exciting news is what I am doing right now. Last March I was offered a job at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM. I don't know how I feel about ABQ, but Sandia is a great company, a great place to start my career and they offered a very nice starting salary. So I busted my butt to finish classes and my thesis and finally defended last Tuesday!

Since then I found a place to live in ABQ and moved down here. I start work on Monday and I am nervous but very excited. I will try to do more with my blog now that I might actually have things to write about. Plus all my buddies in Salt Lake might want to know what I am up to.

So here we go... Isis and I are in for a new and hopefully wonderful adventure.

BLTs are Good for the Soul

I have had a pretty crappy day... I won't go into too many details because I don't want to sounds whiny. As it is, I decided my day needed to turn around, and the best way I knew to do this was to make bacon. I told my friend Dave about my crappy day and he was on board for making bacon! He made the bacon and I prepared the rest of it. Fresh hot peppery bacon, crisp clean lettuce and delicious ripe tomato... all on toasted bread... The amazing orchestra of flavor produced in such a simple sandwich is incredible.



Never pass up an opportunity to eat a BLT or bacon is general. And yes, my day did get much happier!

Volunteering

For the past two weekends, my friend Shayla and I have been dragging ourselves out of bed Saturday morning and going to the Cache County Humane Society to volunteer!



It is the greatest thing we have ever done! We are currently helping out in the cat room! We move all the cats to carriers, then completely clean their kennels, put in new water and food and make their space look nice. One of my favorite parts is deciding which blanket to put with which cat. It is like being an interior designer! "I wonder what would make this cat the cutest?" I always feel very accomplished after looking back at the kennels, they look wonderful! But... inevitably... just as we put a kitty back in, it either uses the litter box, spills the food or messes up the blankets. :) That's ok though! It is a lot of fun!

We also have a decent amount of time to just hang out with the cats! Today, two were adopted while we were there! It was so neat!

Some of my favorite cats are:

1) Sparkles: She is a Mane Coon, therefore large, but she doesn't shed and she is so playful!



2) Megan: She is in the communal area and will place herself right on your lap if you sit down. She is total cuddle bug!



3) Mississippi: She is small and precious! She is only 6 months or so, but she is so friendly and much more calm than most kitties.



It is a great way to start a Saturday!