Christmas and Work

Blog

So, I'm really bad at blogging, but here goes anyways! I wanted to give you guys a brief low down of what's been going on In my lately.

First thing that's pretty new is I now work as a programmer at RRDonnelley. I've worked there for about a month now. I was super stoked to get the job :) I'm really excited for the experience, and the income is proving to be a BIG blessing.

When I first got there, I wasn't sure what to expect, but now the job, I'm discovering, is right up my alley. I've been prepared well, and my boss assures me I'm doing well so far.

When I first started working, I was really, really nervous about working while going to school. How on earth was I supposed to have the time to do that? Well, funny thing, we've started to go to bed early an wake up early. We still don't have as much time for God as we'd like, but we do have enough time. I didn't think I could do it, but It happened :)

I'm also starting to enjoy work. The time flies pretty quickly now. Not much checking the clock, waiting very impatiently to go home.

The other thing that has been happening is the Christmas season. It's been busy to say the least. Been working hard on a couple of particular gifts; ill write about them later! I've been so focused on getting the people I care about the right gifts so much, and getting everything ready, that I haven't really had much time to think about much else. I'm super excited, though, to have a few days to just spend time with my family.

It been an interesting experience, to reflect for a few minutes and realize I've been completely lost in doing what The Lord would have me do; namely, spending time with those I love. You know what I mean? Makes me think I need to spend a few minutes really thinking about what the Christmas season is really all about. Well, talk to you later!!!

Michael

Change in Life's Course

So yesterday has thrown my life's plans through a loop. My plan in life was to get my master's in CS, then go and get an MBA and a doctorate in Business from BYU, then start my career. Now I'm really not sure. Yesterday morning was a startling reminder of how much I need to focus on school. I didn't do so well on a test. To make the day better, I also found out that I'm not going to be an institute teacher. On top of that, the Business College was advertising their one year MBA program. All of a sudden I was questioning what I wanted to do with me life. 

Today I'm going to meet with the advisor for the one year MBA program, and see what happens. Rachel has one year of school left, and it seems like a really good opportunity to walk out of USU with a Master's Degree, as my wife will be here anyways. 

Truthfully, I really don't know where my career is going to take me. I've felt the last couple of days that The Lord is putting forth His hand and is guiding me to those things that He would have me do; that he's letting me know what He wants me to be, one step at a time.

I would love less debt (I'll have to take loans out to go to graduate school, I'm pretty sure), but I also need to obtain as much education as possible. But yeah, as it stands right now, I'm going to go straight for my MBA and see where The Lord takes me. I'm going to keep an open mind and heart so I can be guided by The Lord in what I should do.

I tell you what, getting married is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I surely do love my wife. Every single day, I marvel at how beautiful she is, how radiant she is, how pure she is, and how grateful I am for her love. Someone is our ward said that marriage agrees with us. I concur. Marriage is one of the greatest things ever. Spending every possible moment with my best friend every day hasn't proved to be a hassle; it has proved to be one of the greatest joys of my life.

Anyways, that's what's new. I am currently working as a computer science tutor. I have spent a lot of time learning and growing, and every day I am seeing improvement. Its really exciting to see. I am so grateful The Lord saw fit to bless me with some needed finanical assistance while at the same time giving me the chance to really strengthen my core knowledge of Computer Science.

I love you guys; thanks for the chance to keep in touch with you. Technology truly is amazing, as is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Love you!!!

Hey there everyone!!!! I am so bad at keeping a blog, but I decided that I'm going to make time to do it, especially since its a great way to let everyone I care about informed about my life.

I've had an interesting experience I wanted to share with everyone today. Since the summer, I've been mulling over whether or not I wanted to work while I was at school. We seem to have just enough to take care of our needs as of right now, so I haven't been sure. However, once I finally decided to get a job, The Lord confirmed to me that I am on the right path ... I think. 

Right after I decided I wanted a job, a tutor position opened up in the computer science tutor lab. Guess who got hired? this guy did!!! I don't even need to work any evenings!!!!

After I got the job, I learned why I got the job. When I first started going through the CS program, I didn't really understand what's going on or apply myself as I should have. As such, the information mostly didn't stick. Well, as a tutor, I am going to be teaching other people those basics. I feel like one reason I am a tutor is because The Lord is providing me the opportunity to actually master the fundamentals that google has compensated for up until this point. Am I excited? Oh you bet!

I decided on something. I've gone to all of the teachers  that teach CS one and two, and a going to be doing the assignments the students are doing. This is how I'm going to master those fundamentals, plus it will make much more able to tutor the students. When I'm at work, I'm only at work, and I'm really excited about it :)

What else is going on in my life? Not a whole lot. I'm going through e seminary teaching program to keep my options open. It's been a great class. Mostly I'm just supporting Rachel. She's busy, so The Lord is keeping my schedule more open so I have time to cook and clean and support my wife when she needs it; she's really busy after all.

I most definitely love my wife most dearly. I am so happy to be with her. Life is pretty peaceful and just plain good, and that's pretty much it. Until next week!!!

Hey there everyone!!!! Last blog post before I'm married! Real quick, Kristin, I haven't forgotten about you. Life has just gotten in the way. Getting married with a full time job gets in the way of doing much else. So ... I guess I just wanted to write about some of the wonderful experiences Rachel and I have had together. Yesterday we went up to the apartment we're going to live in during the summer (I live there now, as it's five minutes away from where I work), and we started getting some of our things unpacked and moved in. Believe it or not, it has been quite a treat. I guess the only way I can think of to describe how it felt was that it just felt natural to be so close to living together. When we got engaged it felt the same way; it didn't feel weird at all; it just felt normal. Us getting married feels like another natural step in our progression. I'm really grateful for it. I'm sincerely glad that we have decided to wait as long as we have to get married; We're so much closer as a couple than we ever were in December. It has been the right thing for us to do. I don't how many people are actually going to read this, but I just wanted to commend Rachel and I's families publicly. They have worked so hard to make this come together. How hard they have worked hasn't escaped my sight; I'm very grateful for it. However, it's only been recently since i've actually come to undertsand a little bit about how hard they've worked to make things come together for us. I love Rachel, and I'm really excited to be marrying her. We had a concert at my place yesterday night, and I had so much fun. I love Jeremy, and I'm really grateful for all that he did. Rachel and I had such an amazing night! SPending that much time together with nothing but each other to think about was the most incredible thing. I love that girl. Anyways, next time I write I'll be sure to give you guys a run down of what we did on our honey moon!!!! Michael White

First Week of Work!!!

Hey everyone!!! I hope everyone's had a great few weeks! So, this week has been my first week working as an intern for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I must say, it has been a pretty good week. I really like the job! First thing, this is a very faced-paced job. It's the real deal. Just like any other job in industry. I don't know that for sure, because I haven't worked anywhere else, but the professionalism in the workplace is pretty amazing. Second, the atmosphere is fantastic. It feels good when you walk into work. I've been really impressed with the team I work with and the people I've met; so far, I've been the only one to get frustrated :). They're quite amazing! On top of that, my manager, Ted, made it clear that not knowing what's going on is just fine; he told me that he didn't expect me to know everything, but he did expect me to ask questions and to figure out what I don't know; how relieving is that! Since then, I've loved working here. The other thing that's pretty incredible is how nice the people here are; they understand completely when I have to leave for a few minutes to take care of things at home. I'm a service missionary, right? Well, I need internet to serve. Well, on Friday I had to leave at two to get my router from the UPS guys, and they were just fine with it! In short, the job is simply perfect; it is really challenging, and I am really going to stretch and grow academically this summer; on the other hand, I am able to support myself, and they allow me to get other important things done in my life. The other tangent I wanted to head down is how wonderful of a family I have. I had my bachelor's party today; we went and played laser tag, ate pizza, played frisbee. It was SO much fun, but the thing that really stuck out was how much my family and I bonded today; particularly between my brothers and my friends. The love that was felt today, oh how it was worth it! Today has been a pretty incredible day because of that love that has been felt, I think. Anyways, I'm just rambling as of right now. I have learned an interesting lesson on priorities this week. I felt like I juggled a lot last semester. Well, with a full-time job, I really haven't had much opportunity to do much besides work. It has left me to think that maybe from now on instead of trying to do all kinds of things, maybe I should try instead to choose which things are most important, and do those things very well. Anyways, I'll see you guys next week! Then it will only be a week until I am married! SO HAPPY!!!!! Michael White

Things are actually happening

Im doing this from my phone, so of there are typos I'm really sorry :) Auto-correct for ye lose, right? Regardless, this week has been a good week and I've learned a bunch of lessons. The first thing that's hitting me stronger and stronger every day is how things are actually happening. It's dead week right now, the week before finals. Well, the n of ye semester still seems a little surreal to me. I know it in my head, but I haven't comprehended yet that in a week and a half, I start my internship, this semester will be over, and I'll be married faster than I can sneeze. Mike did a fantastic job on the wedding announcements :). Just ... Wow ... I'm getting married! Well, I have exciting news! I'm going to the temple to receive my endowment tomorrow! It's a crazy story, and I've leaned a lot, so here goes: I have been planning this entre engagement to just get endowed a week before the wedding. Not a big deal, right? Well, ye other day it dawned on me that because I'll be moving into our apartment alone for three weeks, that would be a great time to go through the temple; having God on my mind at work, and t home, would be a great way to deal with the loneliness and intense pressure I'm expecting as our wedding draws near. Well, after talking to Rachel about this, it felt good, so ... Strate looking into getting endowed on finals week. Well, Bishop was okay with that on Sunday! So ... I called my grandpa to get things worked out. He couldnt do it on finals week. What do I do? This is where the lesson comes in. I figured I'd try to get endowed this week, but I felt strongly like I was throwing my time table on the Lord's, so I didn't expect anything to happen. Well, Tuesdy rolled around, and at 2.30 I stopped by my bishops office at my bishops office on campus. By six thirty I had my recommend. I had been told that they were hesitant to let someone pull out their endowments too soon before the wedding an ere I am, going through with t family ... Tomorrow!!!! So what's the lesson? I don't know as much about the Lord's will as I thought. I thought I knew what he wanted of me, but I was do convinced I shouldn't get endowed this week. Huh. Goes to show I need to work in seeking the Lord's will, and I think I'll start with step three. Being the corny, hopeless romantic I am, I am grateful I have the chance to start welding a spiritual bond with Rachel. I am SO excited to see where it takes us! I can't wait to get even closer to her!!! I just wanted to give her a shout out and tell her how special she is. Hon, you're incredible, and I love you very much. I'm completely flattered that you chose me to be your husband Michael White

What a good week

Hey everyone! Here's my post for the week!

I must say, Rachel is the most incredible woman on the planet. We had the most bonding experience last week, and it's thanks in large part to Rachel's goodness.

So here's how it went down; Rachel comes to me, glowing and ever so happy, and just tells me that she get it! She tells me that she knows what she needs to do, she promises to do it, and she told me like a hundred times that she loves me :). The thing was, you could feel the Spirit just glowing in her; whatever happened to her that night, it's been incredible and blessed us exceedingly.

We haven't been the same since. Because of that, I learned an incredibly powerful lesson, one that has changed me. Rachel is the greatest woman ever, and I have struggled with feelings of inadequacy; especially after Rachel just gets even better at times like this.

Well, I finally realized that the point isn't for me to be my best self to deserve Rachel, the point is for us to become our best selves, together, relying on each other and Jesus Christ. The point? I learned that I really CAN do anything because I have Rachel in my life. Working together with her, supported on the foundation of Christ, I really can do anything, even let go of my imperfections, even keep my head high when I fall short of my expectations. Rachel's just wonderful; We're going to have such a blissfully happy life together; I love her so much.

School's going good, and I can't wait to get married. The closer we get as a couple, the harder it gets. Ugh. The next six weeks (on the dot ;) ), are a challenge I'm looking forward to conquering.

I learned a great lesson that I'd like to share before I end my post for the week. I felt in conference that I should write down the impressions of the Spirit I get. Well, put simply, I feel like a new spiritual man as I have done this. It's incredible to know how many promptings the Lord will give us in our lives as we listen. We had a lesson on stress management in my business class. I felt like I had stress management down, so I wasn't paying attention. Well, I had an impression that if I would study the handout she gave us, I would learn ways to improve how i do things. By writing it down, it's been impressed upon my mind much deeper than had I not wrote it down. Same thing goes with all of the other things I've written down. I've been blessed with a closer relationship with the Holy Ghost, and that's incredible.

I love all of you, and I thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Kristin Groner, Rachel and I are coming to see you once you get home!

Michael White

Job Hunt

Hey everyone!!!! I had an amazing week that had some pretty powerful lessons in it.

First!!! ... The good news ... I got an internship with the Church's ICS Department!!! Meaning, I have a software engineering internship for the church this summer!!!!!

The journey was interesting, though, and I'd like to tell you about it if I could. It started with getting a call from them saying that some more managers at the ICS Department were saying they wanted some more resumes, and to spread them, they needed my permission. This was amazing in of itself, but my initial Impression was that this would be a fall internship, not a summer internship. So once this became a possibility, Rachel and I needed to decide what we would do if the internship became a possibility.

With a fall internship came the necessity of pushing back my graduation a semester, so I counseled with my dad, my grandpa, Rachel, and came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea; they have benefits to put you through school, so putting graduation off a semester was worth getting my foot in the door.

Then I found out that the internship was for the summer. So what do I do? I had already accepted an internship in Provo, which would further develop my iPhone and iPad developing skills. Which was the correct choice?

The problem I found with this decision is I was worried my biases were clouding my judgment. As I prayed about the issue, I felt strongly like the choice was my choice. This didn't help. I'm really grateful that everyone let me work through the issue on my own. When it came down to it, the choice was clear; work for the church.

I'm just grateful for the experience. I've never had to make a choice between multiple good choices before. It has been a good week, and now I get work on the Joseph Smith Papers Website. See you next week!!!!!!!!!

Michael White

I am back for the count!!!!!

Hey everyone!!!!! I've learned some key lessons about how to manage my time; I learned that spending a lot time trying to find time to do stuff really isn't that productive; I've found that just jumping into the middle of things has resulted in my getting a lot more done. So ... I'm going to keep this blog up to date :):):):):)

There are a couple of things on my mind at the moment, so I figured I'd share them with you. The first one is Rachel. I remember when we were saying "nine more months until we get married" now it's less than two months away!!!! I sure do love her, and I'm going to be really relieved when we finally get married.

The other thing that has been on my mind has been a lesson my roommate taught me last night. We were talking about the line between being a good example and forcing beliefs on others. He told me (I'm paraphrasing), "Mike, it's a lot more important that people have their own experiences with God than it is to share your experiences with them. Doing that is really not that hard. All you need to do is be friends with people; they will see the way you live, what happens I your life, and they will see the differences between you and them"

I'm not insinuating that I'm a saint or anything, but I learned what I needed to learn as I read the Book of Mormon. Here's what I learned; there are two key components to making a difference in other people's lives; 1) we need to live our lives the way god would have us live them and 2) just love people.

That brings up an interesting dilemma in my life at least. There are so many amazing people in my life that I love and want to spend time with, but time is something I need more of! I havent come to any conclusions on how to solve this yet; as far as I have been able to tell, all we can give is our best efforts, and the Lord will magnify those efforts.

I love you all, thanks for listening!!!! I'll talk to you next week!!!

Michael White