Stress and Sunrises.

Wow! We are getting really bad at keeping you updated on our California adventures...sorry about that.
As Dan said last time, we have both been very busy with work but I know that is not a good excuse!

Some of you may know that, instead of a wonderful class of little kindergarten-2nd grade students with Autism, I am teaching a hellacious group of misbehaving 2nd-5th graders with Autism and other behavioral disabilities this year. My classroom is a incredibly chaotic and anxiety provoking place to be and sometimes makes me wonder why I became a teacher..... After several weeks of being incredibly stressed out (a couple of breakdowns included) because of my job, I have realized that the best part of my job is the drive to work each morning (sad, but true). Not only is this a time where I am able to talk to family, thanks to the time difference, but it is also the most beautiful sunrise over the hills of California. Each day, I am motivated to wake up and get going for work in anticipation of what the morning sun will show me because it is different and somehow more beautiful each day. After attempting (and failing) to take pictures of this while driving, I have seriously considered hiring someone to wake up and ride to work with me to capture it in a picture but realized that, even then, it is not the same as seeing it in person. If you visit us and are willing to wake up before the sun, I would love to take you on the drive!!
In addition to my incredible commute each morning, I am also motivated by my amazing finance and his "pep talks" each evening on how everything will be ok (well, not always that optimistic, but still motivational). Also, each weekend I enjoy every minute I have to relax, from 2:30pm Friday to 5am Monday morning, which also helps the weeks go by.
On another note, some of you may not know, but I am starting to work on my masters degree through a program offered through my school district!!! This is a 3 year program and when it is over I will have my "Masters of Teaching Instruction".  The first "class" is this Saturday and I am really excited to be the student again instead of the teacher...wish me luck!

Until next time, I will try to remember the song I always sing to Dan when he is acting like Eeyore:
"Be optimistic, don't 'cha be a grumpy...when the road gets bumpy, just SMILE SMILE SMILE!"

Love, and counting down until we see you again!

Oh my...it HAS been a while...

Welcome back friends, we haven't forgotten about you! We have been incredibly busy lately, so allow me to take a moment to fill you in. Let's see, since I've been here last, we have had our first visiter to the area, my brother Josh. We had a great time seeing the sights, seeing a great concert, and eating an absurd amount of great food and indulging in drink from a local (read two blocks from our apartment) winery. I have also found myself a job! Yes, I am officially gainfully employed and attempting to make the transition into the "working" world.

For those of you who don't know, I am working for BigTray.com, a restaurant supply company. I am doing logistics/customer support for them. Exciting? Not really, but I am finally feeling like I am serving a purpose out here. I also have weekends off (effing awesome) to do whatever it is that I please. The office is filled with people who used to work in the restaurant industry as chefs, cooks, servers, etc., a very fun, welcoming, friendly crowd.

I have been getting to work at 7:30 am which I never ever thought would be possible for me, those who know me and my sleeping/staying up late habits know exactly what I'm talking about here. My office is only about twelve miles from our place, but due to the traffic, it takes about 35-45 minutes to actually get there. Every day, I have to drive over the bay bridge, which is something I have had to get used to, especially in traffic. It is somewhat unnerving to be in relatively slow moving traffic over the San Francisco bay for six miles or so. Once you are on the bridge, you are on until you arrive in the city more or less. Once again, definitely took some getting used to, but lately I've come to realize that if the thunder doesn't get you than the lightning will. Plus, if I have to be stuck in traffic, sitting watching the sun rise over the golden gate bridge is a pretty kick ass place to be.

In other news, this weekend, we are planning on going to Santa Cruz to check out a potential wedding venue. Pema Osel Ling is somewhat of a Buddhist retreat "zen" center if you will in the Santa Cruz mountains. They have a Redwood Amphitheater there, that looks like an absolutely amazing place to start our lives together "officially". We will definitely take some pictures of the venue and keep you all posted as things continue to develop here.

Until then, keep us posted on what is going on in your lives! We love and miss you all, and can't wait to hear from you and see you all soon!

Love!

We know, we know.

It has been awhile since we've updated this...Dan is going to blog this weekend! We have BOTH been busy with our jobs...yes, he got a job!!
Just a little preview; we are going to look at a wedding venue this weekend!

More soon, we have not forgotten you. xoxo

The first week.

First of all, I have to confirm from Dan's last post that I couldn't be happier! This was the first week of being engaged to the most wonderful man ever and, although it was also my first full week at school, it has been absolutely amazing! We spent the first few days of the week on the phone spreading the news so we didn't get to enjoy the little time we had together until the end of the week but it was worth it because I have received the best welcome from Dan's family and could not be more thankful.
I finally had 3 days off this weekend and it was nice to not have plans (although we missed the trip to Crater Lake to see my brother and Angela) because we were able to explore our area a little more, just like we did when we first moved out here. Our exploring has also gotten a little more productive to our health because we have been doing most of it on bikes!!! It really provides a completely different view and gives me a better appreciation of how wonderful this state really is.
Anyway, back to the engagement! I know everyone is impatient and wants to know when/where and how this is all going to pan out...well too bad. We are still working on setting a date and will let all of you know as soon as we get it. I will let you know, though, we have started looking at venues, colors, honeymoon spots, and all of the other good stuff and I can assure you it will be nothing short of perfect! I can hardly wait to officially be a part of the Pescovitz and Eagle families and, most of all, spend the rest of my life with Daniel.

On a side note...I have finally posted some long awaited pictures and also figured out how to read your comments so please leave some :)

Love love love you all!

Big Big news...

One of my favorite things my mom used to say while my brother and i were growing up was, "You must be growing up under a rock". This was a question usually posed to my little brother, an inquiry as to why it was that he was so pale in complexion. Other notable mother quotes and insults that were directed our way were frequently calling my brother and I vikings, savages, saying that something or someone was dumber than a box of rocks, I once heard her say fuck a duck which I got a pretty good kick out of, and once while I was lollygagging (another favorite of hers) during my freshman year leaf collection, I was even referred to as a "dildo". Yeah, I know. Anyway, while the expression, growing up/living under a rock was typically directed at my brother for being pale, it can also be used to describe someone who hasn't heard about our latest development.

What is going on in our lives right now you ask? Well, we have been going on lots of wonderful bike rides along the bay, and we have been teaching bailey to "say please" when she wants us to throw her ball. Pretty exciting right???? Well, thats not the BIG news. Those are all recent developments, but I suppose what you all want to hear about is that Michelle and i are now engaged! We haven't set a date yet, but the wedding will most likely take place within the time frame of June 1, 2011 and August 28, 2026.

All kidding aside, we really couldn't be happier. Well, I know that I couldn't be happier. I don't want to put words in Michelle's mouth, after all, this relationship is a two way street and she is entitled to an opinion on the subject as well.

For those of you that don't know the story, I will give you the cliff's notes: I asked and she responded with a resounding yes. End. If you want a little more detail, which I would think you would, here is that version. On Sunday August 29th, Michelle and I picked up some sandwiches and a bottle of wine and drove up to Inspiration Point in Tilden Regional Park, right behind Berkeley. We arrived at Inspiration Point had our sandwiches and a glass of wine before we took off on our evening hike. We had been remembering the early days of our relationship as it had been just over three years since we first met. We walked along the trail for a while before finding a "suitable" location to sit and take in the sunset and scenery. We were staring off into the distance with the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco perfectly in view. As the sun started to descend, it lit up the sky a brilliant orange with shades of purple and blue on top of Mt. Tamalpais to the right of the bridge. Time for me was running out as Michelle was getting cold, and she had to get up early for work the following morning. Realizing that I didn't have much time to bullshit around, I had to capitalize on the situation, pulled out the ring and dropped to one knee: cue the waterworks. She was totally taken by surprise and much to my surprise ; ) she said yes! It was hands down the most romantic experience I have ever been involved with in my entire life.

Our families and friends have been so supportive and wonderful over the past few days, and we would just like to take a moment and thank all of you for your support.

We love and miss you all!

Rocks and Hard Places

Readers, welcome back. I have a sneaking suspicion that this blog is picking up steam, the number of readers may even be in the double digits now! Considering the fact that between Michelle and myself, we have eight parental figures who are "obligated" to at least feign interest in what their children are doing and going through, the aforementioned number of readers loses some of it's shock value. However, it is nice to know that people are interested (still) in what is going on with us, and we have received many wonderful compliments about this blog, so thank you all for everything and to quote Neil Young, "It's lots of fun to have you there".

Now let's get down to business shall we? I find myself at a juncture in my life, a crossroads if you will. "What are these cross streets I am standing at" you ask yourselves? The intersection I am stuck at (with a broken traffic light, I might add), is "What the f*ck do I want to do with my life ave." and "How in Gods name am I going to do it blvd."

On and off over the past few years, I have been pondering this issue with almost an unhealthy obsession (something I have become quite adept at). So let's take a short journey shall we? And for a short (hopefully) period of time, I will hire all (at least eight) of you to work for me at . Sound like a lucrative offer? Well great, let's embark.

We'll start back in high school with a math class I took. Now I know those of you that knew my in high school (Mom and Dad, looking your way here) will say to yourselves, "Math?!? You struggled with math for quite some time". I did for a while, but somewhere along the line, something clicked for me while studying geometry and came to a pinnacle while I studied trigonometry. I became damn good at trigonometry, and actually won an award in high school for it (senior math student of the year). I don't know what it was, but I felt a very deep sense of satisfaction being able to solve complex trigonometry problems. I really felt like I was accomplishing something there, it felt good.

The next point on this timeline will land between my junior and senior years in college when I packed everything I needed in a backpack and traveled Europe for a month. To this day, that experience stands out as one of the best things I have done with my life to this point. I mean, what an absolutely incredible experience. I remember landing at the airport in Munich and thinking to myself as I tried to read signs in German about what was are, "Oh shit.....What have I gotten myself into here". You know what happened? I made it! It was such an amazing experience, and it really taught me about cultural significance, and as an added bonus, I learned a very important lesson although I didn't know it at the time, and still to this day have a hard time putting it into practice. I know you are all on pins and needles waiting for me to divulge my secret, so I won't keep you waiting any longer. I learned that the best things in life are born of fear and anxiety and apprehension. I was terrified initially about Europe, and it turned out to be a quintessential life experience for me. Now, I know that this will come as a surprise to many of you, but in the months, weeks, and days leading up to our move to California, I was beyond terrified. Our families and comfort zones are back in the midwest. You know what though, I lived through it, and believe it or not, I've even managed to have a little fun in the process. That's not to say that this whole endeavor has gone over without a hitch (lack of employment), and devoid of anxiety (that first week i was a wreck), but we are here now, living. I do believe that this will be, like my travels in Europe, one of, if not THE best thing I have done with my life. I would still like to have a little occupational direction and more importantly, passion.

The next stop on the journey train will be at the creation of this blog. Before this, the extent of my writing was for research papers and a few creative writing essays back in school. I had never before written because I wanted to, and I have to say, I am really enjoying it. I feel comfortable and at ease. I enjoy sharing my point of view with folks, and it seems like people are enjoying it (even if they "have" to by the parental code of ethics).

Now these are certainly not the only things I enjoy. Good food, music, outdoors, golf, animals, spending time with friends, family and loved ones amongst others are all incredibly rewarding experiences as well. If you've been wondering where it is you the reader enter into this equation, it is here. You all, my newly hired creative department if you will, are going to be taking on the daunting task of somehow combining the previously mentioned passions into something that will actually earn me an income. And let's not have any half assed answers here like a traveling mathematician who writes about his experiences while eating a meal prepared be a three michelin star chef at the turn of the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links. We need quality stuff here people!

Disclaimer: I don't want any of you to become to consumed with the task of helping me find my way. After all, I am only 25 and I'm positive (somewhat) that something will present itself to me in the years to come. But if you're bored and thinking about me, which I know occurs more often than not, let's collaborate for the greater good of society!

Once again, thank you all for your support and well wishes!

Love!

Back in the West from a weekend of love

It's been a while since we've updated this blog so I hope you're all still with us and along for the ride!

We are back in the bay (actually, we have been back for nearly a week at this point) after heading back to the midwest for the wedding of some of our closest friends, Matt and Jill Gilmer. The wedding was fantastic, and it was great to see friends and family, even though we couldn't spend as much time with some of you as we would have liked. Another long time friend of mine, Jon Turner got married as well last monday at the Cincinnati courthouse.

Jon's wedding wasn't "typical" wedding as it took place in the courthouse, but after all, the end result is the same, right? Jon being one of my best friends in the world for many many years now, I would have loved to stand there with him on (hopefully) on of the happiest days of his life, alas, that wasn't the type of wedding the two of them wanted, and this, as most (read: all) things often do got me thinking. Now I know you are just riddled with suspense right now asking yourself, "What did this get him thinking about? I'll be it is something really interesting!". If this isn't the thought that is going through your head right now, humor me. Let me believe that people hang onto my every word just dying to know what I'll say next. Side note: I'm really not that shallow, but everyone likes to feel important and interesting now and then. Back to pertinent subject matter, I was thinking about what it actually is that makes you cool.

I don't mean cool as in wearing the hip clothes, listening to popular music, and having people beating down your door to hang out all the time. I mean cool as in being comfortable and confident with yourself and whatever it is that you may be doing. This is something that I have always admired my friend Jon for, is not giving two shits about what other people think, say or do, and just taking part in the things that make him happy. Being cool, in the truest sense of the word means doing what the fuck you want to do, when you want to do it (within reason of course!). People (I) get too caught up with what other people think if you and become self-conscious and self-doubting. Do what you (I) want to do, be who you (I) want to be. Easier said than done as most things are. I feel like I'm well on my way though. I'm living in the city I want to be living in, with the woman I love, and right now, I'm doing what I want to be doing (except for looking for a job, I hate that). Now, you may be thinking to yourself that this paragraph of text seems like mindless dribble, and you'd be correct. I have been thinking lately about my definition of being cool and, if you'll allow me to toot my own horn for just a moment more, Michelle and I are pretty fucking sweet as far as I'm concerned.

This past weekend, Michelle and I went to the Outsidelands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park (pretty high up on the aforementioned coolness scale). There was a point in the afternoon, as we were sitting in the middle of a polo field listening to My Morning Jacket play an absolutely killer set where Michelle looked at me and just said, "I can't believe we are actually sitting in Golden Gate Park listening to live music." to which I replied, "Yeah, and we only have to travel about forty minutes to get home". Once again, pretty God damn cool.

The festival itself reminded me of "simpler" times. A time, for me, where one of my few worries was what concert I was going to go see next. It was pretty great to feel that way again. Sure we weren't rolling joints all afternoon or having profound psychedelic experiences as can certainly be had at music festivals, but you know what? We had a really good time (cool). Highlights were the Levon Helm band, The Pimps of Joytime, My Morning Jacket, and Further. Further, a band made up of some really top notch musicians, including Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, both of the Grateful Dead, played a really cool set. After all, the Grateful Dead lived in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco so this was something of a hometown show for them. It was a neat experience to see the surviving members of the iconic band play a show, essentially where it all started. Another cool experience.

It's getting late here, and I am in need of some sleep. I caught a little bit of a cold from being outside in cold (yes, we've already become so accustomed to the weather here that 50's and 60's are considered cold). This is also Michelle's last week before starting school so we are bound and determined to enjoy it, damnit!

It was great seeing everyone recently, congrats to Matt and Jill, Jon and Ruth, and Amanda and Cody (they just had another baby girl). Until next time.

stay cool!!!