We had to give the bad news today to our friend, Ashley, that we are moving. She was not very happy about it and made sure we knew it :-) We have only lived in Ohio for seven months and she is the only friend that I have made here. I told her that she could visit us any time once we are settled in.
So the next question, posed by Ashley ... what is there to do in Salt Lake City? Our standard answer to this question is outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, snowboarding and the Olympic parks. Because we have friends and relatives in an array of ages, I will need to make a list of fun things to do in SLC as Skip and I explore the area. Since we move on average of once per year, we rarely get too attached to any place that we live. SLC will become our new permanent home so activities for our guests is definitely something that I will have to research once we are there.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Browning M1911
Utah lawmakers have proposed a bill to make the Browning M1911 pistol the official state gun. Of course, it is controversial but only if you are a gun control advocate, which I am not. The founders of our United States saw fit to protect its citizens with the Constitution and subsequent Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment protects our rights as citizens to defend ourselves and this right also protects all of the other rights enshrined in the Constitution. Exploiting the attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords by a mentally ill person by working to put into place stricter gun controls is ridiculous. All data points to gun controls increasing crimes, especially home invasions and rape.
I applaud my new state for not giving into the absolute hysteria of the gun control crowd. Bravo on having a State Gun, adding to the other 24 state symbols!
I applaud my new state for not giving into the absolute hysteria of the gun control crowd. Bravo on having a State Gun, adding to the other 24 state symbols!
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Inevitable Second Question
How could you live among all of those freaky Mormons?
Full disclosure: I was raised in the RLDS (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) church, now known as The Community of Christ, which shares its origin with the LDS church. I am familiar with the religious texts Mormons study (The Bible and The Book of Mormon). I no longer subscribe to any religion but am not an atheist.
I do not watch Big Love or Sister Wives but I have friends who do. These shows, along with news coverage of the FLDS crimes against women and children, give the impression that all Mormons are "freaky" or "dangerous". My personal experiences with Mormons have always been positive. My favorite grade school teacher, Mrs. G., was a warm and wonderful person. She did introduce the Mormon practice of researching geneology but did not in any way try to "convert" anyone. It was simply a really fun history project. I do not approve of the behaviors exhibited by the Mormon church leadership (or any religious leadership) but I judge each person that I meet on their own individual merits and go from there.
So, yes, I can live among the "freaky" Mormons.
Full disclosure: I was raised in the RLDS (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) church, now known as The Community of Christ, which shares its origin with the LDS church. I am familiar with the religious texts Mormons study (The Bible and The Book of Mormon). I no longer subscribe to any religion but am not an atheist.
I do not watch Big Love or Sister Wives but I have friends who do. These shows, along with news coverage of the FLDS crimes against women and children, give the impression that all Mormons are "freaky" or "dangerous". My personal experiences with Mormons have always been positive. My favorite grade school teacher, Mrs. G., was a warm and wonderful person. She did introduce the Mormon practice of researching geneology but did not in any way try to "convert" anyone. It was simply a really fun history project. I do not approve of the behaviors exhibited by the Mormon church leadership (or any religious leadership) but I judge each person that I meet on their own individual merits and go from there.
So, yes, I can live among the "freaky" Mormons.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The First Question
The first question I am asked when I tell people our plans to move to Utah is "Why"? My knee jerk reaction is "Why not?" However ...
In 2003, I was laid off from my job in the tech industry and a year later, still unemployed. I was at the bottom of the career ladder and Skip had opportunities to move up his career ladder. We decided to be open to relocation. We moved 6 times in 6 years due to promotions. My husband, Skip, has been laid off with 30 days notice. He worked for a major transportation company for more than 10 years. This is not an uncommon situation in the current U.S. economy. We have seen too many people who are unemployed, living in a terrible job market. Their economic future is pretty grim. We decided we would not be those people.
So, where to go? My hubby and I are geeks so we came up with a weighted scoring model to determine the optimal place to seek our fortunes. Our categories were unemployment rates (current and historical), 2nd Amendment protections, politics, cost of living (current and historical), climate and types of industry (tech and transportation). After a few weeks of research, we determined that the Salt Lake City, Utah area was the place.
In 2003, I was laid off from my job in the tech industry and a year later, still unemployed. I was at the bottom of the career ladder and Skip had opportunities to move up his career ladder. We decided to be open to relocation. We moved 6 times in 6 years due to promotions. My husband, Skip, has been laid off with 30 days notice. He worked for a major transportation company for more than 10 years. This is not an uncommon situation in the current U.S. economy. We have seen too many people who are unemployed, living in a terrible job market. Their economic future is pretty grim. We decided we would not be those people.
So, where to go? My hubby and I are geeks so we came up with a weighted scoring model to determine the optimal place to seek our fortunes. Our categories were unemployment rates (current and historical), 2nd Amendment protections, politics, cost of living (current and historical), climate and types of industry (tech and transportation). After a few weeks of research, we determined that the Salt Lake City, Utah area was the place.
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