Throughout the month of March I've participated in a workout contract with Chris, Grant, and Matt, three of my team members at work. The rules were simple: You show up at the gym by 6:30 every morning, or else you have to buy each of the other three members of the group a $3 juice (AKA. "a delicious fruity beverage", like a Naked Juice or an Odwalla -- I prefer the Superfood varietals). There were a couple of exceptions, such as the morning after the guys play Gears Of War online, or the morning after working late.

To be honest, I really haven't enjoyed being in the contract. I prefer to sleep in until 7:30 or so, and when I was living up on Wood Lawn I'd have to get up at 5:30 just to make it to the gym in time. Now that I'm living downtown, it only takes me about 5 minutes to get to work, so I can get up at 6:00 and still make it in time. Nevertheless, I prefer to sleep in later than 6:00, so I was planning on not signing the new contract for April. Here's what Grant has proposed, though, including a couple of addendums by Chris and myself:

Date Beginning: April 1st, 2007
Date Ending: April 30th, 2007

Contract:
Each morning you will attend either one of the following:
1) Carmichael Gym
2) Red Hat Training Room

Arriving no later than 6:30am.

If you miss an outing you will buy all other people in the contract either a high-dollar coffee or juice (eg. Naked Juice or Odwalla).

Exceptions:
Matt does not have to attend if he has a soccer game the night before. Must be verified.
The day after XBOX gaming sessions.
The day after you work past 8:00 PM.
You are allowed to miss the gym the day after returning from a vacation.

Additional stipulations:
All participants except Tim are permitted to miss a maximum of ONE day per week. If no exceptions have been met, participant (except for Tim) is permitted to miss ONE day for any reason of his choice without penalty. Tim is allowed to miss a maximum of TWO days per week. If no exceptions have been met, Tim is permitted to miss TWO days for any reason of his choice without penalty.

They're giving me two free days off each week, but I'm still hesitant to get up at 6:00 three times a week. I have to sign this contract by tomorrow. If I don't sign it, they'll razz me for a whole month.

I wrote this email to my dad this morning, and decided to share it with anyone who reads my blog:

I listen to NPR on the way to work, but this morning I decided to flip through the radio stations to see what else was on... I found a BBC station, and I immediately remembered that morning in Barcelona where I woke up and you were watching a riveting expose on the horticulture of snap beans. And then I was thinking about how every time you hear the BBC, it's always about the most ridiculous topics... so imagine this with the best annoying British accent you can come up with:

"Today on BBC 1, What's gotten into Prince William's tea? We'll head up to Sheffield and check on this year's turnip harvest. Does Beckham have a new hairstyle? And what's the latest regarding the baker's strike in Londonderry? More of this, and recipes, after the break."

seeing how well his children had been doing. They had improved technology and communication, they had become literate and interested in education, they had become nicer to each other. And so God decided to give them a reward for all of their effort, a sign that he was proud of their growth; final proof, once and for all, that he truly did love his children on Earth.

That was the day that God ordered the invention of Cheetos.

The house is now completely sold, signed for, paid for, closed, etc., and the money is in my hand. Congratulations to whomever bought my house -- it's a good one. Thank you to John Root at Exit Realty in Springville, my agent, who did an excellent job throughout the whole sale.

So it's been a week since I made a huge decision that I'd been prolonging for some time. I didn't want to do it, but the answers to my prayers kept getting louder and louder, until I couldn't ignore them anymore. So I acted on that answer rather than prolonging it another day. I'm sad to report that I'm not over it yet, but I'm happy to report that at least I'm breathing normally again. I've been trying to keep myself busy, because any sedentary time this past week has only been spent moping or crying. Nevertheless, I'm looking to the future and trusting in the very clear answer I got to my prayers.

Part of what has helped me has been the friends I've made here already. One of them, a guy named Michael, has become a really good friend. We've had several discussions over the past week about my situation, and on Saturday he encouraged me to look into the book "Trusting Jesus" by Elder Holland. This morning I ordered it through Amazon, and it should arrive tomorrow. This whole ordeal has given me the impetus to step up my scripture study and prayer, and I really feel good about the direction I'm heading in that regard.

Another friend who has influenced me deeply has been my roommate Brian. He and I moved into the house on Wood Lawn (the first place I lived in Raleigh) at the same time, and since the contract was running out on the house, and our other roommate Russ (the cop) was moving out, I decided to invite Brian to move with me to my place downtown. I like the idea of living by myself, but I think it's only ever been a good idea on paper. Me living by myself is definitely a recipe for disaster right now; all I'd do is sit around and feel sorry for myself. So Brian and I moved into the new apartment on Hillsborough Street near downtown Raleigh on Saturday. Brian is a really good guy. I really feel blessed to have met him when I did, mostly because his friendship is exactly the medicine I need right now, and he has that awesome southern way of always saying the right thing at the right time, in a way that will always help.

So that's where I am. Improving, but still heartbroken. I'm sure that time will continue to heal my pain.

One thing I did was to book a flight to New Orleans for Easter weekend. It gives me something to look forward to. Mac and Mickelle won't be there much longer, and I didn't get to spend much time there when I stopped there on my way out to North Carolina, so it'll be nice to go to NOLA one last time. I leave on Friday the 6th of April (we have that day off at work) and come back early on the morning of Monday the 9th.

If you'd like my new address, please feel free to email me and ask for it. I'd rather not post it publicly.

There is nothing more painful for me than change. I've made a lot of changes in my life recently, and for the most part they've all brought me some level of pain, some more than others. I've adjusted fine to the new job, the new routine of life, with minimal pain, but breaking old ties has brought me a world of hurt in the past few days. I can't comprehend of why the Lord would want these ties to be broken, but I felt the time was right and that the answer to my prayers was very clear, and even though I've wanted to die several times over the past few days, it'll get easier with every day that passes. I don't think I'll ever fully get over it, but there will be other things to fill my heart. For now, though, it hurts so very much. My best bet is to just bury myself in my work and in my ward, continue to pray several times a day for the strength to make it through these moments, and continue to try and forget that this piece of my heart has been removed, albeit by my own choosing. God will take care of me in the end, he'll wipe all my tears away in the end, if I continue to follow the answers to my prayers, even if in doing so I have to pass through miserable times.

So I've decided to rent an apartment in the downtown area for a year. I want to be part of this city, and going to the suburbs would keep me from getting to know my new adoptive home. I will go back to home ownership eventually, but for now I'm fine with renting.

I started with a list of 8 potential apartments. Whittled it down to 3, then went and visited them all again today. Two are very similar: 75 years old, high ceilings, original wood floors, vintage everything, but tastefully restored and reconditioned. One of them is more expensive, but it's in a nicer area and is two small blocks to the heart of the restaurant district. The other of the two is within walking distance of a grocery store and the institute, but the area isn't as nice, and they don't seem to take as good of care of the grounds/hallways/etc. as the first place. The third place I was considering is $100 cheaper than the cheaper of the other two, but it's in the heart of a different part of town, a restored shopping area with cool restaurants and shops, plus a grocery store within 100 yards walking.

I ruled the third one out pretty quickly, even though the location is convenient. Then I decided to go with the first one, even though it's more expensive, because I feel better about it than about the second one. So now all I have to do is pick a unit (there are two available).

I feel like this could be the last chance I have in my life to live in the downtown of a city. Once I have a family I'll go back to the suburbs. I've always wanted to live in the downtown of a city, though.

Working hard, having a lot of fun. Love my ward, love my job, love this city. Back to work...