I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful state. Utah has truly captured my heart with its majesty. Every day I take an afternoon drive home from work and have the opportunity to gaze in wonder at the changes that the mountains seem to have taken on over night. There are so many wonderful colors to be seen and so little time to capture them by lens. The different shades of red, orange and yellow mixed with the fading greens and grays of the mountains can really speak to ones soul. Unfortunately, this last week I did not make it up the canyon to get up close and personal with the Rockies but I heartily appreciated their beauty from afar.  

I love interviews. I have loved interviews starting on the mission where it was a chance for me to interact with my mission presidents and receive advice and put myself out there to be examined and critiqued. It gives me points that I can improve upon and grow as an individual. Last week, I was approached by my manager and team lead and they told me of a new position that may be opening up on another team and encouraged me to submit my resume. So I did and on Monday of this week, I got an email from the hiring manager asking me to come in for an interview on Wednesday. I was stoked. Come Wednesday, the interview went well. I learned a lot about the different dynamics between interviewing internally at a company and coming in completely fresh at a place I’ve never been involved with before. 

A couple days later I had a follow up interview with the hiring manager and unfortunately the team had to be restructured in a way that required the position to be closed. However, I was able to get some feedback on how I interviewed and what I can improve upon. This was amazing. The manager was very thorough in her analysis of my interview and said that I would have moved on to the next round of interviews under better circumstances. Holla! I’ll get it next time. 

Yesterday was also a pretty big day. My parents and brother came in town and we met up for lunch at Malawis (hooray for free food, especially when its good food!). (Brief review: I highly recommend the food, not the service. The serving staff were very lackadaisical with their jobs and gave such a bad vibe that it took the restaurant from one of my dad’s favorites to one that he never wants to sit down at again. If I do go again, I’ll order take out.) My family is quite loud. Normally, I’m probably the loudest person in the apartment but I invited my family to come over and visit. They blow me out of the water! I love it! I had no idea how much I missed hanging out with them until they showed up after two months 😂.

The picture below is from last night at Cornbellies. They have tons of pumpkins arranged in the shape of a christmas tree (or I guess just a tree, the lights just remind me of christmas 🎄). I went for the maze though, because I love mazes. However, this one was kinda lame because they placed numbered markers throughout the maze that let you know where you are at, which ruined the lost factor of mazes. Besides that, it was a blast and there was even a fireworks show! I guess you could call it the Disneyland of Utah County.

Overall, it was a good week, full of growth and blessings and I wish the same for you all!

– Mitch