A Letter From Home

Greetings Friends and Family!

I am officially writing to you from our new home at Swiss Towers!  This is an incredibly exciting transition for us and new stage in our lives!  God has truly been providing for us in every way, but more of that later.  In just the past four days, Shalyn and I have experienced a wide range of things.  I will write about everything in chronological order for your ease of reading!

We woke up on Thursday morning expecting to move into our apartment from 1 PM until 6 PM.  However, I received a call at 9 AM from the apartment manager stating that an error was made and that we are booked for both the morning and afternoon move in periods!  So, we were able to start moving in right away.  Shalyn and I traveled to Irving to pick up our trailer which was hiding at the Community Bible Church, where Tami and Moryam attend.  After a harrowing trip into the heart of Dallas, we arrive at Swiss Towers and get a tour of our new apartment.

Shalyn was super excited and eager to start helping me unload.  I had to tell her that she could not help me unload the van and trailer, but would have to wait in the apartment to sort our many boxes.  The reason for this is that it has been in the mid to high ninety's all week and it was scheduled to be over 100 degrees that day!  From 11 AM until 4:15 PM I was moving all of our "stuff."  Fortunately for me, our friend Moryam was able to come over at 1:30 PM and help me move everything in the trailer, and most importantly the couch.  This couch weighs over 200 pounds and it was rough for us to move that.  I am not sure who was more tired afterward, Moryam or myself!  Despite having spent all afternoon moving heavy boxes, Shalyn and I found ourselves unable to settle down and rest, so we kept sorting and organizing all of our "stuff."  Needless to say, we have way too many possessions!

We spent Friday buying groceries, sorting more of our possessions and waiting for Time Warner Cable to turn on our internet.  I have come to find out that I heavily rely on the internet to keep me entertained and informed.  I had a bit of a confrontation with the bath/shower which culminated in me taking a bath for the first time in probably twenty years since I was not smart enough to figure out how to get the shower to turn on.  Naturally, Shalyn had no problem getting it running and she had to teach me how to master the shower.  I was a bit annoyed.  Well, Friday night came and the internet was still not working, so we call TWC to see what is going on and we find out that they changed the date of installation but they did not let us know!  They said that the technician would arrive sometime between 8 AM and 9  PM on the following day!  I was a little more than upset about this, but I thought, "Mike, let it go.  It is not that big of a deal.  Tomorrow you will have the internet and the world will make sense once more."  How wrong I was.

Shalyn received a call from Dallas Theological Seminary regarding her interviews for a library position at the Seminary and they offered her the job!  She has been super excited about it and it has been an answer to our prayers regarding finances.  Within ten days, Shalyn and I have both secured jobs that will help pay for my Seminary education.  God has been so clear that He wants us down here studying and I am very thankful for all of His provision!  She starts in 8 days.

Saturday came and Shalyn and I had to go to Mesquite, TX to get her bridesmaid dress fitted.  I went to Best Buy since I hadn't been in one for quite a while.  Then we visited Long John Silver because we love their chicken, hush puppies, cole slaw, and fries!  I was in heaven.  I heard a customer say, "I want some slaw and some fish."  I was like, "What is 'slaw?'"  Yeah, he wanted cole slaw and I am too much of a northerner to figure out these cultural differences.  The south can be a silly place!  We visited Sam's Club to pick up some beef for hamburgers that we wanted to make later and it was during this particular leg of our journey that I noticed how absent minded, tired and cranky Shalyn was.  So, I told her that we are going home and she can take a nap to recover her strength (I laid down the law).  Well, 8:30 PM comes around and we still do not have internet, so I call the company again.  They tell me that it was activated and I told them that it was not working.  So after a 30 minute phone call they tell me that the earliest that they can have a technician come is Wednesday!  I had to get a bit stern and strong with them because this was entirely unacceptable.  I told them that someone had better come tomorrow or else I was going to become upset.  So they put in an order for expedited service and told me that a technician would arrive between 9 AM and 11 AM to fix our service.  I went to bed a little angry.

I wake up early Sunday morning to be ready to receive the technician.  I thought at 9 AM that I should call to check that he was coming and the machine tells me that I have a service date on Wednesday!  No, no, no!  So I get on the phone with the representative and explain the number of times that they have changed dates on me without contacting me.  I went on to tell them that it will be fixed today by TWC or else I will go with one of their competitors for service.  She informed me that I'd be waiting longer for the internet if I went with someone else.  So, I had to tell her that I wouldn't care if I had to wait a week and pay twice the rate that TWC is charging me for this service and that I'd make a point of sharing this story with everyone that asked me if they should go with TWC.  Needless to say, they sent a technician out a few hours later and my internet is up and running.  In fact, they gave me a speed increase for free because of all the unprofessional behavior they were exhibiting.

So here I sit, with my wife by my side, giving you an updating on the current happenings.  Check back soon for another update!

Blessings,

Michael and Shalyn

The Dallas Farmers Market

Locally grown food at a cheap price

Greetings Friends and Family!

Today, I am typing to you from my same spot, our studio hotel room on the outskirts of Dallas!  It was a beautiful, but hot day, with temperatures reaching 84 degrees.  Shalyn and I, being sick of sitting inside the hotel room all the time, decided to go out and experience the Dallas Farmers Market that our dear friends, Tami and Moryam, told us about last year.

It was a really interesting experience because there were four "sheds" that had different types of stalls.  One of the sheds catered to those interested in buying their groceries in bulk, while another two sheds were dedicated to the use of general produce and meat.  I posted on Facebook that Shalyn was in her version of heaven on earth!  It was wonderful to see her eyes brighten at the sight of so much healthy and cheap fruits and vegetables.  She transformed into a kid that wanted to taste and buy everything that she saw!  Needless to say, but I will anyway, I had to reign her in before she spent all my money!  I only jest slightly here.

After seeing the first three sheds, we visited an enclosed shed that held a number of mini-restaurants and odds-and-ends stores.  We decided to indulge and buy a large freshly squeezed lemonade from one of the vendors.  Once the drink chilled, it was really good though I do not believe that it was worth the $3.50 price tag!  The things I do to keep my wife happy.

Shalyn found small trees that she wants to buy

Unfortunately for me, Shalyn found two flower shops that was stocked with a number of exotic and local plants.  So naturally, she had to roam the countless aisles of plants and think about how she'd build a garden.  However, in the usual form of the grim reaper, I was forced to dash these dreams by noting that we will not be able to have a garden due to the fact that we are living in an apartment complex in the middle of a large metropolis.  Sometimes I have to bring my lady back to reality, though I try to soften the reality check!  I love her for her imagination though.

We concluded our five hour outing by visiting Sam's Club in Irving to check on the prices of food in comparison to our Waukesha store.  For the most part, we observed that the prices are pretty much the same with a few small exceptions to the rule.  On the plus side, we were awarded with the opportunity to try out some interesting samples and we indulged in a slushy (my idea)!  All in all a good day.

Tomorrow we are heading to church with the friends that I mentioned earlier in this post and other posts as well.  We are looking forward to fellowshipping and worshipping God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Until next time!

Michael and Shalyn