Author: Sagacity

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Assistant Underwriter

It has been a few days now I have been working for the most part on my own as an assistant underwriter.  While technically I am called a Home Servicing Specialist, it is still an assistant underwriter.  It has turned out to be an eye opener.  I will share a couple of the things I have learned so far.
I sit between the assistant underwriters and the validators.  Validators are those who take the loans that come through a system of basically computer underwriting.  You put your information into a computer and it recommends the program and loan for you.  These validators then take the information you put into the system and make sure it is accurate and the computer recommended the right things.  With loans from a few thousand to millions, we cannot take the chance there is fraud or computer malfunction.  After a loan comes in from either a broker or online, people take a good look at the information.  We have to verify the identity of the person to eliminate fraud.  Everything from SSN checks to personally calling the employer to verify your employment.  There are even hotlines where we can call to verify the account information you provided is accurate and the account is active.
The underwriter or validators then place conditions on the loan after verifying the program and information for the assistant underwriters to do more homework in question areas of a loan.  Often a title is not present yet, or a purchase agreement, or flood certification, or hazard insurance, or an appraisal, or all sorts of other things.  We have to keep reminding people we need these things and when they come in to check and verify them as well.  Sometimes we need bank statements, w-2’s, paystubs, gift letters, canceled checks, letters of explanations, and so forth.  We keep on the brokers and clients until we have all the satisfactory requirements fulfilled.
In working with some of these people, I already have learned you can take very few at their word.  If they say they faxed it in, they may have, but it is just a ploy to get you off the phone and then they will fax it, if they remember.  If there is really something questionable going on then those people will make up the most random on the spot explanation.  You then ask for documentation to check their statements and something totally different comes in.  You go back and they tell you a whole new variation with the new information.  On and on it goes until you either get the real story or the loan is declined.  I am sure some loans go through under less than honest situations and we just can’t catch them.  There are some good liars out there.
When large amounts of money are included people will say anything to make it happen.
I do not wish to say all or even most of the people I associate with on the phones are dishonest, but there are a few that instantly you can smell a rat.  I feel like an investigator in many ways as I have to keep asking the questions and looking for the evidence.
Many of the documents don’t meet a certain standard.  The address is a little funny, the person has had a name change, they are not citizens yet, a paystub has some information written in, etc.  So we have to add another condition that clarifies or confirms what the applicant is stating.
One thing is for sure generally, most people procrastinate!  In the loan business and when large amounts of money are involved, people get very, very angry when their procrastination costs them.  For the broker it can be a change in rate, or the ire of the applicant, or delay in payment.  For the applicant it can mean a few more days in a hotel, debts waiting a little longer from a cash out, and more.  I just don’t understand how they can think I am going to stay at work after five to review the five documents they just sent in.  Especially when it is 5 now and they know the deadline was at 1.  Boy oh boy do they yell and scream when you tell them that we just will have to reschedule the closing and delivery of the loan.
The best part is those who have sob stories.  “This family has been living in a hotel for the past month with three kids and the mother swears she will kill them and us…”  “He needs to pay off his wife’s doctor bills so she can continue her treatment”  It makes you sound mean, but please.
One broker I notified I needed to prove his clients assets from statements and verification of deposit.  I let him know this on Monday.  On Wednesday when the deadline had arrived for his loan, he then goes on to tell me the client has been shipped out with the Navy.  I remind him that his wife probably still receives the mail and the client even has a Power of Attorney.  Well if I didn’t get a good yelling.  This broker had the nerve to send a supervisor to the next two tiers of management against me.
Heaven will certainly fall if I ever procrastinate in relation to anything for them though.  A document will show up in my system at 1:00 and by 1:15 I have somebody calling me to know if I have looked at it.  No, I have not.  I will look at the other 4 loans I have in my queue first that are closer to deadline.  I can’t tell them that, other than I will get to it as soon as I can.  Some brokers I have already learned their phone number they call me so often and I know not to answer.  Relax people, if you quit calling me I can work on the file and look at your document.  When everyone keeps calling me it means I spend time on the phone and not on your files.
This job requires a maximum capacity at multi-tasking.  If this is any indicator, I have two computer screens I use all day long.  I have my document viewer I keep track of new documents, read and approve others.  I have my e-mail that I need to keep up on at all times.  I have my data entry system for which I keep track of conditions and enter information.  I have a system that is open which is constantly tracking my clear to close loans, loans for delivery, and loans for closing.  There is the system that then keeps track of my pipeline, to let me know which loans are mine and how long they have been in the system.  On top of that, I have my web browsers which I check for ineligible appraisers, community identification and development, whitepages for addresses and phone numbers, and whatever else I need.  The entire policy and procedure guide is online and must be checked from time to time.  That is just work.  I like to keep my personal e-mail open just in case something comes in I need to take care of in relation to Elder’s Quorum or who knows what else.
So I have a half dozen things open and working at the same time and then I have people who want to call and ask a question or make a demand.  Surely I would not be so unkind as to put them on hold so I can at least get to a point where I can drop everything I am doing to switch whichever system I need to work on their problem.  For example, if I am working on an appraisal, I am working on most of the systems.  If someone calls, I have to drop what I am doing and then back out of one or two systems for them.  Then when I can go back to the appraisal, I have to take both systems back to where I was and then pick up where I left off.  Sometimes too much time elapses and I haven’t a clue what I was doing and have to back up the appraisal to a point I know I completed.
I like fast pace jobs, and this is certainly one of them.  There is not a dull moment.  There is always something to do.  I get so into work and am so busy that to take off lunch seems like such an interruption.  I typically take lunch at my desk and eat as I go.  Most people do.  The time away from the desk and what you were doing is often too long that everything gets backed up.  If I take a full hour for lunch, I may return to 10 to 20 e-mails most of which need to be addressed.  Where if I just keep plugging along I can take care of them quickly.  It is like the old blond joke, “why don’t they let blonds take breaks?  Because it takes too long to retrain them!”  It seems to hold a certain amount of truth in this situation.
Things have been hectic because a couple of people are on vacation this week meaning we are overloaded.  By the time 5 rolls around I don’t feel like I have made much of a dent.  But typically I would be caught up and feeling pretty good about life.  There will always be those who say they faxed me at 10 and it will suddenly arrive at 4:30 that won’t be caught up, but that is their problem, not mine.
This in many ways is a job I really enjoy.  I sit down and before I know it the entire day has passed.  I can look over at WIT and see that I gave 6 clear to close, scheduled another 6, and put another dozen into pending documents status.
I am very much enjoying my job at Bank of America.  The pay is good enough for me too.  I wouldn’t mind more, but I am happy.  I am somewhat sad this will probably be only a year.  Certainly it is a good learning experience and I this education will come in handy all my life.
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Ross Family Album

I was finally able to upload the Ross Family Album.  I ran out of monthly space and then just got busy.  Finally, I have posted the photos related to the Ross’ in their own album.  I have not uploaded my own family yet.  This is just what I have under the Ross files on my computer.  This includes mostly photos of my Grandpa and Grandma Ross’ family, my Aunt Caroline’s family, and a few other random photos of related Ross people.  There are a couple of my half-siblings when they were younger.

Here are some of the family groups.

James Thomas Meredith Ross

Born Ross, raised and adopted Meredith, legally Meredith, married Ross, baptized Ross, children named Ross, endowed Ross, married again Meredith, died Meredith.

22 Sep 1868 – Snowville, Pulaski, Virginia

13 Apr1951 – Fresno, Fresno, California

Married

9 Aug 1887 – Snowville, Pulaski, Virginia

Damey Catherine Graham

25 Nov 1874 – Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia

3 Feb 1933 – Marysville, Yuba, California

Children

Robert Leonard Ross

25 Apr 1888 – Draper, Pulaski, Virginia

John William Ross

2 Sep 1890 – Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia

Fanny Elizabeth Ross (married Phibbs)

18 Nov 1893 – Reed Island, Pulaski, Virginia

James Thomas Ross Jr

19 Oct 1895 – Radford, Montgomery, Virginia

Married again

? – ?

Etta

Married again

14 Jul 1947 – Fresno, Fresno, California

Martha Elnora Cackler (married before to Brewer)

3 Oct 1877 – Otter Creek, Lucas, Iowa

31 Jul 1974 – Fresno, Fresno, California

John William Ross

2 Sep 1890 – Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia

13 Jun 1948 – Livermore, Alameda, California

Married (Divorced)

6 Jul 1910 – Squire Jim, McDowell, West Virginia

Nannie May Day

6 May 1892 – Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia

19 Jan 1971 – Bluefield, Tazewell, Virginia

Children

Hobart Day

1 Jul 1911 – ,, West Virginia

Apr 1983 – Fairlawn, Radford, Virginia

Married again

12 Jan 1920 – Fort Logan, Arapahoe, Colorado

Ethel Sharp (I have written more about this marriage at this link: Ross-Sharp Wedding.)

9 Apr 1898 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

6 Aug 1925 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

Children

Milo James Ross

4 Feb 1921 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

Paul Ross

14 Feb 1922 – Paul, Minidoka, Idaho

John Harold Ross

7 Nov 1923 – Burley, Cassia, Idaho

Ernest Jackson Ross

16 Jul 1925 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

Married again

29 Nov 1926 – Rock Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming

Zana Cogdill (Married before to Coffey)

7 Nov 1892 – Dixon, Carbon, Wyoming

2 Oct 1966 – San Diego, San Diego, California

Milo James Ross

4 Feb 1921 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

Married

4 Apr 1942 – Plain City, Weber, Utah

Gladys Maxine Donaldson

20 Sep 1921 – Ogden, Weber, Utah

25 Aug 2004 – Ogden, Weber, Utah

Children

Milo Paul Ross

Judy Ethel Ross

Caroline Ross

John Harold Ross

7 Nov 1923 – Burley, Cassia, Idaho

24 Oct 2004 – Syracuse, Davis, Utah

Married

19 Nov 1946 – Evanston, Uinta, Wyoming

Colleen Fowers Hancock

2 Oct 1929 – West Weber, Weber, Utah

12 Aug 1969 – Ogden, Weber, Utah

Children

Terry Jay Ross

3 Oct 1947 – Ogden, Weber, Utah

Married again

2 Dec 1974 – West Weber, Weber, Utah

JoAnn Payne

5 Jan 1934 – Ogden, Weber, Utah

Children

Jody Valate Ross

Caroline Ross

Married (Divorced)

Lynn J Taylor

Children

Kristy Lynn Taylor

Cindy Lou Taylor

Lonny J Taylor

Married again

Abe Maxamilia Gallegos

Milo Paul Ross

Married (Divorced)

Victoria K Feldtman

Children

Scott James Ross

Jeffrey Paul Ross

Becky Collette Ross

Married again (Divorced)

Sandra Jonas

Children

Paul Norwood Jonas Ross

Andra Ross

Married again

Janice Faye Higley (Married before to Osterhout)

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Maymont

I just added some more photos to the Virginia Living Album.  It contains photos from our adventures today to Maymont.  We went and walked about half the grounds and toured the house.  Quite an impressive little home from the Gilded Age.
The photos are in chronological order.  We enter the grounds and walk toward the house.  We passed the out buildings, the silo, the carriage house, barn, and all the other buildings.  Since it was nearing 90 degrees outside we decided we would walk the grounds before going to the house.  That way we could get air conditioning before heading back across the grounds.
You see where we ventured down some paths, all lined with flowers.  There are the Italian Gardens and then the Japanese Gardens.  There was a wedding this morning in the Italian Gardens in the covered walkway.  We walked through the Italian Gardens, followed the fancy water feature down the hill until we found the Japanese Gardens.  Below the water feature is the waterfall you see through the bamboo.  They claim it is 42 feet.
The Japanese Gardens were pretty large.  We walk around numerous little lakes and through all sorts of little additions.  The fish were huge.  Some of them were honking huge!  There were white fish, gold fish, blue fish, and not to mention everything in between.
I thought all the grounds were absolutely beautiful.  Virginians don’t know how to have nice full lawns, or incapable of it, so that was the only negative point.
We wound our way back up the hill, past the Dooley Mausoleum and to the house.  Amanda was not a happy camper by this point.  The high heat, the humidity, claimed bloating, and flip flops made the last 1000 feet a miserable sop of her.  The good news is we tested every bench there was available and found them to be solid, firm, and maintained.  The birds were kind enough to leave deposits on them for us.  Amanda didn’t think they were spaced very well since they were all at the top of the hill on the easy walkways.
The house was quite impressive.  Very ornate on the inside.  Just like you would imagine a millionaires house from the turn of the last century to look like.  We were not allowed to take photographs inside the home.  Oh well, guess you will have to go there yourself to experience it.  Or you can go to Maymont.org to see what few pictures they have, but they do give the history.
So there you go.  Our visit to Maymont in pictures.
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Stepping on toes

It is time I added another update for the blog.  Many interesting things are happening in life.  Last Saturday the car passed 200,000 miles on the way to Washington.  We celebrated by having all the front seals and head gasket replaced on Wednesday.  That put us out a good $400.  Sure has been a good car.  Amanda said one of the mechanics told her about a car that had just come in which had 640,000 miles.  I sure hope this little Camry gets that many miles.  It has been worth the cost so far.
We purchased a vacuum recently.  That is a great thing.  This apartment had just enough fine dust that I was nearly constantly sneezing.  I don’t have allergies, I don’t have problems with dirt, but somehow fine dust blown around by the fan just makes my nose attempt self-destruction.  My record so far is 12 sneezes in a row.  I did not set that this week, but that is my record.  I have no hopes of attempting it again, hence the vacuum.
I received a phone call from a Mr. Frank Overfelt yesterday.  His mother is Vay Amanda Carlisle.  She was born in 1900 and passed away in 1962.  She married more than once, but eventually to Mr. Ira Overfelt.  However, this good man, Frank, went to the Salt Lake Temple to see what he could do in relation to family history for his mother.  The temple told him it had not been done been submitted by a Mr. Paul Ross.  They went on to give him my address and phone number.  It had my Idaho number and they called and visited with Jan.  She gave him my cell phone and he wasted no time in contacting me.  Before I go on, I try to make sure that all those for whom I submit to the temple are within the guidelines.  I admit I let that slide a little bit where I know the descendants are not LDS.  The principle is that if they were born in the last 95 years, you do not do their temple work.  Mrs. Vay was born 107 years ago so I was not too worried about it.  But Mr. Overfelt called wanting to know why his mother’s family history had been done.  Luckily for him, very little had been done on the card and I called the Boise Temple and had it cancelled.  I let him know he should have a free and clear light to go ahead.  Now I just have to hunt down that card, wherever in the world it is!    I surely hope somebody doesn’t try to do another ordinance on it or I will have the temple calling me with a few kind, direct words.  I really enjoy family history, I enjoy seeking people out, but I feel bad when I step on other’s toes.  But I was well within guidelines and Mr. Overfelt should not have waited so many years to do the work.  Interestingly, he sealed his parents in 1979 but did not have his mother’s work completed beforehand.  I hope the temple doesn’t call him wanting an explanation like they did once to me!
Amanda and I received a letter in the mail this week with a check for $10,000 from Capital One.  It was one of those write your own loan scenarios.  With us looking at the purchase of a car, it was a very tempting offer.  We soon realized we could go to the bank and probably get half the interest rate.  It was hard to shred that check for such a large amount.  We continue to pay off our debts and prepare for the future.  Amanda has made enough now she can pay for her $900 pair of glasses for dental hygiene.  Now she just has to make enough for the service trip to Jamaica to help poor people with their teeth (If you wish to donate, I do have a paypal account!  Feel free to send $5 or $50.)
Work continues well.  I am becoming more confortable navigating the tedious screens and pages of 20 year old DOS based program.  But hey, if nobody can come up with a more reliable program, why change?  I do believe there is probably a program out there, but BOA isn’t willing to spend the money on it.  Until then I learn the codes and pages and then do the mortgages on top of it.  I am becoming quite a bit more comfortable there as well.  So much, I went through 25 new loans on Friday.  I think that is quite the achievement.  I will have this mortgage business all sorted out by the time I am done.
Well, it is Sunday, it is naptime, and I am surely in need of it.  I was assigned to teach Family History to the Elder’s Quorum today.  It went alright but I was very short on time.  I generally felt the lesson went well but I didn’t get to drive some of the points home as directly as I would have wanted.  Leave no doubt, they definitely know I feel passionately about the topic and that family history is a requirement for them now in their lives.  I drove around for a half hour handing out new Home Teaching Assignments.  Caught them all home but one and he is my companion so I am covered there.
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Who is elected President?

I know I wrote this some time ago but I have had so many hits on this blog I decided to repost it again.  I will remove the older post.

The last time, I did not really explain why I was interested in this topic.  I have heard it before that it is historically against those who are already in office to be elected to President.  So I wanted to verify that point.  It holds true.  Only three people have ever been elected President from being an elected sitting Senator, Representative, or Governor.  It just doesn’t happen.  So the odds are against McCain, Clinton, Obama, Dodd, Biden, Hunter, Paul, and more.  The odds are in favor of those who have been out of office for some time.  That tends to point an affirmative finger at Thompson, Romney, Huckabee, Gilmore, and others.  I am not trying to come out for one group or another just wanted to know the historical trend.

I finally got around to doing some homework.  I was curious to how many senators in the past have made it to become the President of the United States.  Only 2 have ever succeeded to become President while still a Senator; John Kennedy and Warren Harding.

Only one representative made it to become President while still a representative: James Garfield.

Looking at these three individuals all three died while in the office as President. Obama, Clinton, and McCain do not appear to have odds in their favor for becoming President and living out their term.

I went on to do some more homework.  We are on our 43rd President.  Five of those Presidents were not elected to office: Chester Arthur, Millard Fillmore, Gerald Ford, Andrew Johnson, and John Tyler.  That drops our number of elected Presidents to 38.

Looking at those 38 Presidents, 13 served in the Senate previously.  Two of those Senators became President while acting as Vice President: Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman.  We do not know if they would have been elected President in their own right had they not served as President before.  The history of Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson does not appear that they would have ever become President or would have sought to.  Accordingly, only 34.2% (13 of 38) of elected Presidents have served previously as a Senator.  If you were to rule out Truman and Johnson, that would give us 30.6% (11 of 36).  Here is the time frame for those Senators who would become elected President (Truman and Johnson at their elected date).  Andrew Johnson and John Tyler also served as a Senator, but were never elected to the Presidency.

Senators elected to the Presidency
John Kennedy
Warren Harding
Benjamin Harrison – 2 years
Andrew Jackson – 4 years
Lyndon Johnson – 4 years
Harry Truman – 4 years
Martin Van Buren – 9 years
Franklin Pierce – 11 years
James Buchanan – 12 years
William Henry Harrison – 13 years
Richard Nixon – 16 years
John Quincy Adams – 17 years
James Monroe – 23 years

Looking at elected President’s who entered the Presidency within 10 years of their leaving the Senate we have only 18.4% (7 of 38).

Looking back at the 38 Presidents, 14 of them served in the US House of Representatives.  The same case applies here to Lyndon Johnson as it did above in the Senator category.  36.8% (14 of 38) of elected Presidents served in the US House of Representatives.  If you exclude Johnson, 35.1% (13 of 37).  I have listed below the time frame for people entering the Presidency after serving in the House of Representatives.  Millard Fillmore, Gerald Ford, Andrew Johnson, and John Tyler served as members of the House but were not elected President.  Johnson is listed at his elected date.

US Representatives elected to Presidency
James Garfield
William McKinley – 6 years
James Polk – 6 years
John Kennedy – 8 years
Rutherford Hayes – 10 years
Abraham Lincoln – 12 years
James Madison – 12 years
Lyndon Johnson – 16 years
Franklin Pierce – 16 years
George H W Bush – 18 years
Richard Nixon – 19 years
William Harrison – 22 years
James Buchanan – 26 years
Andrew Jackson – 32 years

Looking at elected President’s who entered the Presidency within 10 years of their leaving the House we have only 10.5% (4 of 38).  Looking at the historical information, it has been a good while since anyone has gone from the House to the President.  Those on the list that are more recent had other positions between the House and Presidency.  Johnson, Nixon and GHW Bush were Vice President and Kennedy served as a Senator.

Previous Presidents who served as an elected Governor of a state are the next order of criteria.  Only two Presidents were sitting elected Governors when elected: Rutherford Hayes and Woodrow Wilson.  There are a few who were appointed governors or military governors of territories but I did not include those.  Two governors would become President and later elected in their own right: Calvin Coolidge and Theodore Roosevelt.  Calvin Coolidge most likely would never have become President.  Theodore Roosevelt may have.  At any rate, 39.5% (15 of 38) of Presidents were Governors.  If you remove Roosevelt and Coolidge, 36.1% (13 of 36).  Here is the timeline of Governors who would become President later.  John Tyler also served as a Governor but was not elected President.  Coolidge and T Roosevelt are listed at their elected dates.

Elected Governors elected to the Presidency
Rutherford Hayes
Franklin Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
George W Bush – 1 year
Grover Cleveland – 1 year
Bill Clinton – 1 year
William McKinley – 1 year
Jimmy Carter – 3 years
Calvin Coolidge – 4 years
James Polk – 4 years
Theodore Roosevelt – 5 years
James Monroe – 6 years
Ronald Reagan – 6 years
Martin Van Buren – 8 years
Thomas Jefferson – 22 years

Accordingly,
34.2% of Presidents served in the Senate.
36.8% of Presidents served in the House.
39.5% of Presidents served as an elected Governor

For other information, John Adams, George H W Bush, Thomas Jefferson, and Martin Van Buren went directly to become President after their Vice Presidency.  Richard Nixon is the only one who would have time off before becoming President.  This is not a good indicator, only one person ever went from Vice President to President of their own accord.

Here is a list of all President’s and their positions before the Presidency.

Washington – Virginia House of Burgesses, Continental Congress, Commander-in-Chief of Continental Army, President of Constitutional Convention

J Adams – Continental Congress, Minister to Netherlands, Minister to Great Britain, Vice President

Jefferson – Governor, Minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice President

Madison – Continental Congress, Representative from Virginia, Secretary of State

Monroe – Continental Congress, Senator, Minister to Great Britain, Governor, Secretary of State, Secretary of War

JQ Adams – Minister to Netherlands, Minister to Prussia, Senator, Minister to Russia, Minister to Britain, Secretary of State

Jackson – Representative, Military Governor, Senator

Van Buren – Senator, Governor, Secretary of State, Minister to Britain, Vice President

W Harrison – Appointed Governor, Representative, Senator, Minister to Colombia

Tyler – Representative, Governor, Senator, Vice President

Polk – Representative, Governor

Taylor – No previous office

Fillmore – Representative, State Comptroller, Vice President

Pierce – Representative, Senator

Buchanan – Representative, Minister to Russia, Senator, Secretary of State, Minister to Britain

Lincoln – Representative

A Johnson – Representative, Governor, Senator, Vice President

Grant – Army General

Hayes – Representative, Governor

Garfield – Representative

Arthur – No previous office

Cleveland – Mayor, Governor

B Harrison – Senator

Cleveland – Mayor, Governor, President

McKinley – Representative, Governor

T Roosevelt – Governor, Vice President

Taft – Solicitor General, Judge, Secretary of War, Appointed Governor

Wilson – Governor

Harding – Lieutenant Governor, Senator

Coolidge – Lieutenant Governor, Governor, Vice President

Hoover – Secretary of Commerce

F Roosevelt – Governor

Truman – Senator, Vice President

Eisenhower – Army Chief of Staff, Allied Supreme Commander

Kennedy – Representative, Senator

L Johnson – Representative, Senator, Vice President

Nixon – Representative, Senator, Vice President

Ford – Representative, Vice President

Carter – Governor

Reagan – Governor

G H W Bush – US Ambassador to UN, Representative, Director of CIA, Vice President

Clinton – Attorney General of Arkansas, Governor

G W Bush – Governor

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Happy Birthday Gordon

I am supposed to be completing a letter to send off to my mother.  There is not really much tonight I want to write.  There is a bit of a reflecting mood in the air and I thought I would write a few thoughts in relation to it.
This week has been one of particular interest to me.  We have moved into a new apartment and have downsized when it comes to sleeping space.  We emigrated from a queen to a full.  My feet hang over the end by a full 4-6 inches and I find myself sleeping way too close to the uber-radiator that occupies the other spot in the bed.  I naturally move like a rotisserie in the night.  Somehow though with the feet hanging over the end of the bed it seems the blankets want to catch on the feet that spin.  Inevitably, I wake up every 4 hours at least because I have quit turning.  I have to remove my feet from the tangled mess in the end, flatten and smooth things out some, and then start over.  The good change up is that instead of regularly having to tuck in the sheets, with queen sheets on a full bed they never come untucked!
I like to sleep in a cool room.  The head stays cool but yet the bed warms up and prepares a sort of cocoon which is highly preferred by me.  However, the cold cannot come into contact with the rest of my body.  The leakage of cool air into my blissful state only can be tolerated for so long before I wake in a form of disgust that the elements could be so cruel.  The leaks are usually caused by one of two situations.  1) I have slid down into the bed some and the overhang of my feet over the end require double sheet length to cover.  Only a few more inches are given until the shortage quickly becomes apparent at the top of the bed.  2) Amanda and I both turn on our sides opening a tent-like edifice between us.  Warm air must be trapped or it flees, which it always does in this situation.
The third situation is the most unfortunate.  I can do much myself to prepare against the mentioned issues.  The last is not easily resolved.  Amanda due to some phenomenon unknown can close her eyes and her body temperature immediately jumps 14.4 degrees Celsius.  Just like their counterpart in space, female solar flares fly through space and wreak havoc on all bodies they come in contact with.  Unlike male energy fields which remain close to their source, sometimes with small hints of lunch floating, the female energy flares and seeks to travel elsewhere.  Accordingly, I not only fight the blanket monster attacking my feet, the tentacles of frigidity, but I have to combat the forces of burning radiation.  Only distance can tame this monster and that simply is not available in our lives at this moment.  So after several hours of a valiant fight, I crawl out of bed early in the morning to find refuge elsewhere.  I often find myself sitting in the living room thinking about things and watching the sunrise.
There is something about the early morning hours which seem to naturally draw a man to prayer.  I remember being out in the field moving water lines and feeling the dew settle.  The world goes suddenly silent and it is as if the world holds its breath.  There is almost a switch that flips when you recognize it is no longer night but is now day.  The nocturnal world seeks its rest to prepare for the day and the rest look with hope to the east.  Invariably I found myself looking to the east as well and yearning for what the light would bring.  Somehow I think it is much the same spiritually.  I find myself looking to the Son and yearning for what light they day will bring.
Some mornings I read, others I ponder, others I just pray.  Two or three mornings this week, particularly in prayer I received answers.  One concerning an individual whom I had been asked to consider what calling should be given.  Another answer came in relation to my own personal life.  Answers so distinct that I can tell you the very moment they are whispered.
What a strange thing it is.  At night I feel I just want to collapse and move into slumber.  But in the morning as my body awakens I nearly always feel the urge to pray.  There are times I don’t but when I do there is great power.  The more often I do, the more I recognize the solace that comes in having communed with heaven.
I sat with the missionaries in a discussion this week.  At a point in the conversation the Elder made a comment along the lines of, “Then you will come to know God exists.”  The thought struck me so hard my bosom shuttered.  Where would I be if I had to have someone try to convince me God exists?  There is not any question in my mind of the existence of God.  Did this Elder really have to condescend to such a state as to try and convince someone just that God may exist or may be interested in our lives?  What does this say of this man?  What does it say of his parents?  What does it say of any religion he did have?  What does it say of his community as a child and now?
Thank God there is no doubt or even discussion over the existence of God in our religion.  The question is not if He exists.  The question is not who is and who isn’t saved.  The question is not which church is God’s.  The question has nothing to do with doctrine.  The question we find our lives centering around on a daily basis as Latter-day Saints is what would God have me do today?  It is like the barking of dogs at us with these other religions.  They don’t have anything to even entice us away.  Our foundation and strength is so strong that those who are reared on that foundation are sure.  That foundation is continuous revelation.  That foundation is a daily walk with God.  It is when our communications disappear or disabled that we find our distance growing.  It is those who sever themselves enough that end up in forbidden paths or open rebellion.
Those who follow the path of prayer will find themselves full of the gifts of heaven.  They find themselves full of love and character to give.  They find their lives led and directed by heaven.  They find their lives full of the greatest of blessings.
I wanted to share a couple of my dearest blessings.  First my testimony of heaven and eternity.  It is sweet and beautiful to me.  There is no way I could ever designate what has been given to me anything other than a gift.  It is a gift of heaven which has been given with little or no effort on my part.  I know certain things I have done which have enabled or opened doors and literally there has not been room enough to receive it all.  I have entertained my own deceased relatives, received ministrations from angels, and gazed upon the thrones of heaven.  There have been entrances given into the past, comprehension of places, and experiences with unexplained.  The Priesthood, the Gospel, the Plan, and the Atonement are all present in their fulness for our day.  The question of the existence of eternal things isn’t even an option.
The next greatest blessing is my family.  My wife is ever patient and full of that look in her eyes which is only love.  Her hugs, her kisses, and her heart are dear to me and freely offered.  The companionship and connection that is present is a gift and comes from no other source.  Two hearts could not communicate the way ours does without the aid of beyond.  It binds us and holds us together despite the fact we are mortals in a broken world.  The same goes for the rest of family.  Only the gift and love of above could allow individuals who are willing to heed to so freely communicate and connect despite the separation of time, distance, and death.  What is even more remarkable is how people fall in and out of communication of heaven and in a sense fall in and out of their full family fellowship.  I see how family members come back in spurts and full of hope and joy and then fall back out again.  But while they are in fellowship with the spirit they find themselves relinking to the whole family while out of fellowship the shun and avoid, demean and destroy.
What other blessings there are I do not know.  Life and health are only temporary concerns.  All other aspects seem so small and insignificant.  But the testimony and family we have are the only things I know which will continue with us for eternity.
That is some of what I have contemplated in those early hours this week.  There is definitely more which pertains more to this earthly existence.  Just as important as those gifts and blessings is how I walk in accordance with that which makes those available.  Trying to figure out to help someone, coming to interpret my thoughts and feelings on subjects, and how to make a difference.
Particularly this week has been the poignant thought of President Hinckley.  What is his life?  What has he given it to?  What is he doing now?  What will I be doing at 97?  What would he really want for his birthday?  What is that which is important to him?  I really don’t think a building at BYU named after him is what he really cares about.  I don’t think his turning another year holds much significance.  What is significant to him is serving and helping others.  What holds importance to him is keeping in contact with the divine and acting upon it.  What is important to him is his gifts.  The gift of God, the gift of Heaven, the gift of Love, the gift of Spirit, the gift of Family are all his most prized gifts.
What really is it to say to someone ‘Happy Birthday’?  It is to focus on another step of mortality.  What really is important is to daily look to the east and say ‘Happy Day’ and get back to work, the required occupation of life.  So President Hinckley, Happy Day!
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Prairie Home Companion

Well, I just put out a whole philosophical e-mail and thought I would take a moment to do an actual update on life.
I am sitting here listening to Prairie Home Companion enjoying a few good laughts.  Earlier I listened to Die Frau Ohne Schatten (The woman without a shadow) by Richard Strauss.  It was fascinating to listen to.  Made me want to learn my German.  Funny how music can take us other places.
I have just finished my second week at Bank of America.  Things are going very well.  I am learning many more things about mortgages and all the documentations that attend.  The lessons mostly center around learning the DOS-based system they use for processing all these loans.  I have to admit it is a very detailed system that handles thousands of people working on it at all times with large amounts of information.  Impressive as that it, they tell us it has only gone down once in the last 10 years!  They have replaced one or two systems with Windows applications and they crash regularly so they are not in any rush to be replacing the old DOS-based system.  Therefore, I have to learn the codes and names to navigate the system to check and update information.  They teach us how to check the documents and how to put it into the system.  We were done covering the documents within the first week.  I have found out the position I will be in is basically an assistant underwriter.  It has a whole host of names, but currently it is Home Servicing Specialist (HSS).
Last Saturday and Sunday we had Stake Conference.  I think it was the most powerful Stake Conference I have ever been to.  I have been to some very good ones.  Two were in the Logan Tabernacle (one for the Logan University 4th Stake the other for the Logan University 5th Stake), another in the Springfield Missouri South Stake Center, and the last I can think of was a Stake Conference for the Chester Stake in Wrexham, Wales.  The most impressive part in Missouri was the music and the unity I felt within the congregation.  The Chester Stake was powerful for the fact of some amazing talks given, one particularly by our mission president.  The one for the 5th Stake at USU was that it was basically turned into a stake testimony meeting.  That in and of itself changed the tenor of the meeting but all were invited by name by the Stake Presidency.  The last one for the 4th Stake, I can think of two conferences in particular.  One had Elder Burton, the Presiding Bishop and the other was all the Presidency’s remarks.  President Cherrington usually gave a great talk at all conferences.  So this conference is in good company.  It wasn’t the first conference I have been to with an apostle, but this one had an apostle acted as we expect them to.  Elder Holland gave some powerful comments.
In Priesthood he taught us about Satan binding our tongues, the difference between lips and hearts, and the difference between forms of power and the real thing.  He basically told us we are doing too many things without our hearts and without conviction.  Time to step up to act in the name of the priesthood like we are expected to do.  In Saturday evening, we were taught how we live in a broken world.  Whether you like it or not, things are not perfect.  He taught us about the Atonement and how all broken things will be restored to their proper order at the right time.  Then he pounded out the importance of not whining, not complaining, and going forward in our lives with faith.  He was very direct in those who complain or say something is wrong in life.  He said nobody has the right to complain or wallow in the misery when the Savior took care of them for us.  Time to walk in faith, get up, and be about doing good.  The Sunday session proved to be just as good.  He spoke about his personal experiences of President Hinckley and his prophetic calling.  It was fascinating to learn more about the personal life of a prophet.  He spoke to us about the importance of the gospel and the role of the church.  Again, the topic had to do with looking beyond ourselves and seeing the big picture.  He ended with the importance and the role of the Holy Ghost.  How as latter day saints we live below our privileges and don’t claim the rights that are ours.  We do not appreciate what has been given to us and need to wake up.
Even though I have heard similar talks, the basic point is the power by which he spoke, namely the Spirit of God.  It literally took the message directly to my heart.  I noticed at a couple of points how my bosom literally trembled at what it was he was speaking.  I recognize the power which he conveyed.
In other news, we have been looking for a second car.  With Amanda needing to travel long distances for school this fall, it isn’t going to work to have one car.  So we are looking for a nice little car under $5,000.  So far it has been a miserable failure.  There are very few cars that are below that limit and what we are finding feel like questionable deals.  We went to look at a little Audi A4 for $4,700 and he sold the car at noon.  So we took a little Passat for a drive that he said he would sell to us for $4,000.  It only has 103,000 miles on it.  We took it for a test drive and something about the transmission raised all sorts of red flags for me.  We will have to see if something else pops up.  I may be too picky.  I don’t want a car that smells of smoke or animals.  I would like one which runs well.  I would like one that isn’t completely ugly, like a stationwagon.  Most people take such bad care of cars.  Many have rips in the seats, big marks in the doors or dash, and more.  I keep waiting for someone to give us one so we don’t have to take on a little more debt, but that probably won’t happen soon.  We will have to keep you updated.
Well, I believe that is enough of an update for now.
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The Probationary Game

Sometimes the days go by so quickly it is hard to keep up with everything you want to do.  I suppose it is part of the probationary game that we play.  Do we do things we want to do, or do we do what needs to be done.  Is there ever a point where you have everything done you need to do and can do those things you want?
To add to that problem, what about when it comes to the needs and wants of others.  I have come to believe that my needs come before my  wants.  What happens when somebody else has a need, for which I can help, does that trump my wants too.  So far in my life, it seems that is to be the case as well.
Today is a great example.  Brother and Sister Swapp were moving from their present house to another home within a mile distance.  I volunteered my time knowing how much it helps in having people to aid in moving.  I could very well have stayed at home and done many more other things, even things I think are more important.  But the need of the Swapp family ranked higher on the priority list.  For the most part, we finished all the move in about 4 hours.  I then had to very quickly, go home, get ready, and be back at the church in order to play piano for a baptismal service.  It went well, I enjoyed a few visits with some good people, took the missionaries home, and here I am back at home.
We are still not totally unpacked.  I feel like I should unpack, but I also feel a need to inform other people and let them know what is happening here.  I think there may be some procrastination in there, but I really want to record some thoughts and update the family and friends.  It takes time and effort to do this.  But I hope is that I feel a need to keep others informed and that overrides my wants of having my whole house unpacked and put away.  It will come.
I find myself at work 40 hours of the week.  The time we have for breaks and at lunch is not sufficient time to even read much of my book.  That is if I am a complete hermit and choose not to spend time with my classmates.  So half the week I spend eating lunch with them and listening most of the time.  I am the only guy in the group and they have a whole different set of things they want to talk about.  I will probably have to cut back some of that time as I don’t see it really doing much more than listening to conversations which are not of much value intellectually or socially for me.
I have books I want to read.  I still have McCullough’s Truman on the shelf and have had it for a couple of years.  It is a big book so it keeps falling down the list from other shorter books.  I have been struggling to find the time to finish Tiger in the Senate about Wayne Morse.  (He was a Senator from Oregon in the senate during the 40’s-60’s.)  I want to learn French, I want to relearn German, I want to learn Welsh, I want to write a book on C Ben Ross, I want to live in England, I want to visit friends and family, I want to read many more books, I want to learn so much, and yet these things keep falling by the wayside.  They really are good things, but somehow I cannot justify they are needs.
Just this week we helped the Jeppesen, Maravilla, and Swapp families move.  I have gone out with the missionaries and I have gone Home Teaching.  In addition, I have tried to make sure our budget is still planned, keep up to date on the registers and bills, answer the mail, write a letter to Mom, and many other things.  On top of that are the every day walk requirements of religion and life.  We wake in the morning to read a chapter of scripture together, say our prayers, shave, shower, dress, look pretty, and by that point we are racing out the door with our one auto world to be on time to two locations.  Sadly, the other half always runs late constantly and usually by the time I make it to work have lost any hope for maintaining the spirit that our reading and prayer is supposed to provide.  The single greatest blessing in my life to come will be the day when we have separate vehicles.  I know I am off on a tangent, but I know of only one thing that upsets me really, one thing that pushes me towards what I believe is anger, one thing that makes me forget my religion and want to be unkind, and that is tardiness.  I think that is why I married Amanda.  I have come to appreciate more fully the need for promptness, preparedness, and arriving early.  Many says it teaches us patience.  I find my patience wearing thin more and more when I know there is very little or no valid reason for being late other than somebody procrastinated getting ready.  I think nearly daily about President Kimball’s comments, “One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, an unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities now.”
The bulk of the day is found at work.  Then there is the time to go home.  Evenings are usually not just our own though.  Amanda does have much of her evenings home, but being in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency pulls me often to different locations.  Every evening is usually taken by the little required activities of eating, preparing for bed, reading and responding to mail (email too), writing bills, and planning for the next day or something else.  It just seems like there isn’t enough time in the day for what needs to be done.
It seems if I were to spend more of my time doing what I wanted then I would get more done.  I would certainly know more and be learning more.  That is not to say I don’t learn from those I help.  I saw a map of the human genome this morning.  How is that for interesting?  I witnessed two other ways in which I would certainly never design a home.  I learned a few more details about Brother Pyron’s life and about a shooting at a school in Grundy, Virginia.  I met a man who moved into the ward from Mobile, Alabama with his wife for a residency.  Really, while it is all interesting, and applicable lessons are available in my own life I yearn to be learning something more.  Perhaps it is the fact this is all too close to home.  It is another life of the same life I am living.  Perhaps I yearn to be learning and living in the life of another time and another person.  I just think I really want to be learning something more than the activities and daily lives.
There is some rambling of thoughts here.  Part of the constant debate I feel.  Really, history and everything we know is because of the life of someone else.  I love and enjoy learning of those around me but perhaps want to connect with something outside my culture or time.  This morning I read of Nephi and really felt like I understood his sentiments when he wrote, “Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord-  Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.  But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren.”
Often the thought crosses the mind, “if I could have lived in the days of Brigham, I would have more time to follow more personal pursuits” or something along those lines.  “If I could have been raised in France to have less of a workweek so as to pursue other intellectual activities.”  There are many times I think how much I would have loved growing up in the Rome and going to watch the Senate and learning of far away places.  I wish I could have worked on a ship where I would have plenty of reading time as I traveled the world and met people all over the globe.  I think how fascinating it would be to dive into the archives of Rome, London, Moscow, Baghdad (what is left), and Paris.
Then it dawns on me how much more information we have available to us in our day and I am glad I was not confined to a bookless world, or a carless world, or a electricityless world, and on.  There is so much available to me and I certainly believe I seek out and gain much as it is in everyday life.  But there is so much more!  It is funny at times what dawns on me as a miracle.  When I place a dozen letters in the mail and am dazzled to think they will arrive all over this country the day after tomorrow.  I wonder often how much fun it would be to host Thomas Jefferson, Brigham Young, Constantine, or other individuals for a day.  Sometimes I sit in a room and look around at what would not have been present even 50 years ago.  What questions would Brother Jefferson ask upon appearing in my living room about what was not present in his day?  How would I answer his questions?  How would I walk him through the 181 years since his death to arrive at a particular object sitting in the room?  What would he think?  Would he be astounded?  Would he comment, “Who would have thought” or “That makes sense, why didn’t we come that that?”  What would he see in my life as useless or meaningless?  I hope that we have maintained a lifestyle that is for the most part Spartan.  Just the basics for what we need in our earthly journey.  Truly, our lives are surrounded by objects that are miracles in their history and they are every day.
I hope I am showing to some degree what there is to know and learn.  The history of places, the history of possessions, the history of people, the progression of societies, and much, much more.  Perhaps I have a disconnect in the run of the mill people to those few who seem to alter the future of societies and civilizations.  Not that they are greater, or run of the mill is lesser, but that I have enough experience with the every day that I want to get beyond it all.  So many conversations, so many thoughts, so many activities just seem to be in place in order to bide the time and endure.  I seek out the activities and people who are not just enduring life, but trying to do something with it.
That really takes us to the next part of the struggle.  I do believe I have learned quite a bit and come to an understanding of many things which are not common knowledge.  But what am I to do with it.  Knowledge is very lonely stuff.  Some people it seems to puff up and make them become showoffs.  Nobody likes a showoff and it undermines what it is they really know.  Generally, many people don’t seem to care about the details of life.  How do you maintain the relevance of life when you live in more and more in a world that doesn’t exist to other people?  I believe I have come to understand and know a few things about the interactions and play of the US Senate from about 1900 to about the 1950’s.  Who in the world will I ever have a discussion with about that?  Very few people indeed!  Who will I talk to about England and what readings I have been doing?  Who will I chat with about Manchester and the mission?  Who will I talk to about Idaho history here?  How many Idahoan’s can I talk to about Idaho history?
It really is amazing how much the church plays a role in all this.  With all the separation and divisions knowledge provides, especially the more as a society we do learn, the gospel provides an amazing link to others.  It links us and connects us on the most basic and fundamental level.  Then we can build from there.
Then we come back to the needs of others.  It seems to me we can’t really pursue our wants until we have met the needs of others.  I suppose children and a larger family would compound this question many times.  I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there.
I think often of the comment about President Kimball at his funeral.  How his life was like an old shoe, worn out in the service of others.  Did he spend much time pursuing his own wants.  I am sure glad reading the scriptures and serving in the church are commandments.  That takes them from the realm of needs and wants to must do.
There really doesn’t seem to be an answer before me.  I guess we all need to answer it for ourselves.