the eternal student

Statistics on first month of my second PHD

The first month of my second PHD (Pizza Hut Delivery) went like this:

Total money earned: $855
Total Hours: 76
Average Tip: $3.55
Money Spent on Gas: $44
Miles Driven: 370
Avg. Pay Per Hour: $11.32

So was it worth it and will I continue doing it? Considering I planned on making about an extra $200/month, yet I earned $780 with factoring in gas and wear on car-I'd say it was a big surprise and worth it. I worked 3 nights a week which did add too much stress to me and Lynn. I had a tightness in my chest from stress (but we also were closing on our house in Atlanta at the same time). I've stepped down to 2 nights a week and the stress is gone. I believe 2 nights a week is much more manageable for the next few months. We will see how next month goes. I'm also still pursuing a 2nd job that uses my brains and does not conflict with Micron's interests.

Last night was the first game of the Broncos football season and apparently a huge night for Pizza Hut as well-except I don't start working until 7pm so I missed all the extra tip action. No matter- we had a bunch of extra pizza at the end of the night so I had a brainstorm of trying to sell it at the WalMart down the street. NO problem, in 15 minutes I had sold 7 pizzas for $20. The pizzas would otherwise had been thrown away.

Also, for some reason all the musician's I'd love to see are deciding to come to Boise in the next month. Given one pick-who would you go see from the following?
The Black Crowes
The White Stripes
Stephen Stills
Smashing Pumpkins
Queensryche
Brandi Carlile
or The Beyonce Experience.

Building am old fashioned Horse Bridge with the NFS

Saturday I took a neighborhood teenager, Kevin, to work with the National Forest Service on trail maintenance in the Payette National Forest as part of Vineyard Boise's 'Let's Tend the Garden' initiative. We got to work on building a bridge spanning 20ft across a creek. I have huge admiration for John, the Forest Ranger in the picture, as he is passionate about building trails that generations can walk on. I'm pumped that someday the boys will be walking on this bridge I helped build.
It was an awesome experience building this bridge with our hands. We felled Douglas Fir from the woods, peeled the bark off, cut to appropriate lengths, and lifted these massive logs with our hands. Rewarding work. I highly recommend doing trail maintainence if you ever get the chance. Of course you probably won't have two guys as awesome as Forest Rangers John and Davey.

I have a burden for the kids in our neighborhood who need strong spiritual men in their lives. I wouldn't call myself a strong spiritual male, but I am willing to follow the Spirit's inklings about who I should be reaching out to. It's funny that when I asked Kevin to go with me this weekend, his mom insisted it needed to have a spiritual element to it since he would miss church. That took me off guard but I should have known God was setting me up.

Trailapoolaza and Meeting a US Senator

Saturday morning I took Gideon and Isaac fishing. We didn't catch anything except a few sticks which Isaac was still excited about. Gideon felt bad about putting the worms in the water so we switched to a bare hook. I'm thinking Idaho fish really want flies and not bait-they're snobby that way.

Saturday afternoon I spent the day mountain biking up at Bogus Basin for Trailapoolaza in which they were opening new trails and testing the waters on using the ski lifts for mountain bikers. I love my hardtail Gary Fisher Mt. Tam, but seeing all the new full-suspension bikes and gear out there made me realize how ancient mine was. Oh well, I love it still and it gets me down the mountain! I had great time working my butt off to the top of Schafer Butte. At the end of the day I had a $2 Wit beer and fell asleep listening to free music. Good recovery time for Andy.

Tonight I met US Senator Mike Crapo. We exchanged pizza and cash. I thought about asking him how the Senate was approaching the sex and child trafficking epidemic in the US, but it was late and I think he was really hungry. Maybe next time.

Cartoon of the Day

If you haven't listen to Dave Ramsey on Fridays and you are discouraged or unaware of what debt does emotionally to you - then listen to Dave Ramsey's on Friday. Hearing real people pay off their debts and describe the freedom they feel keeps me going-especially when I have a crappy night of tips. Hearing people making $3400/month and paying $2000/month towards debt is inspiring to hear.

Ohhh, I did get called a "really hot pizza man" tonight. They even ordered another pizza so I would deliver it. If only their tips were as big as their mouths.

My cup overfloweth

There's alot of inner change going on right now. I feel the full blessedness of having a great job at Micron, three awesome boys, a killer wife, one sweet almost perfect dog who i hope will shed his lazy tendencies although I don't have my hopes up because he is Lynn's dog, a psycho cat, and pretty much the best place for us in the world to live. I mean- I'm going to go fishing and swimming on my lunch break tomorrow because I can. Tonight I took the Gideon and the Isaac to ride their bikes while I fished the Boise with the Phineas on my back. Meanwhile Lynn was at the dog park getting some mommy alone time and Arlo was learning from other mature dogs on how to chase a ball and swim. It just doesn't get old to me how much our family loves being outside. They say kids these days are spending 50% less time outside than kids were 6 years ago. Not our kids baby. It just doesn't get old to me how much I love the freedom to bike, fish, swim, hike, play in the Boise community.

At the same time I feel how precarious all of this is. The recent layoffs at Micron and in nearly all semiconductor companies makes me realize it could all be gone in a moment. IBM just laid off the some of the division in Poughkeepsie NY where I interned one summer and almost took a job except it fell through by God's grace. So my heart and mind are prepared now to lose it all. It's a bittersweet spot-to realize what you have, to be okay losing it, and yet working hard to enjoy it all the more. At the same time I have complete faith that God will provide. We overbought on our house and it is hurting us finiancially, that is partly why I'm at delivering for Pizza Hut. It's a short term problem though- I know this house is meant to be blessing to us and others. So we are praying that an international student attending Boise State University will choose to live with us to learn English and American culture. We have a yearning to share our lives and this seems like a perfect way, plus it would help us financially.

So far Pizza Hut has been great. I actually enjoy the job so far- I just can't think about the pay scale compared to what I earn at Micron. I've always loved to know every nook and cranny of my surroundings and delivering pizzas allows me to do just that. Plus I get to drive around and listen to the BBC all night. In a strange way I enjoy washes dishes so that finds right in with closing the store at nights. And then there are the people I work with-they definitely bring me out of my engineering nerd self. It's strange, but I'm gaining confidence in myself to pretty much tackle anything set out before me.

So my heart is full. I am driven more and more by an external desire, that ether called God's Will and Peace is forming into visible shapes. I know God is shaping me for something unique through this Micron/Pizza Hut combination. When Andy is driven by things outside of himself he is happiest.

Lynn's garden is bearing squash, beans, and more goodness everyday.