Two Week Synopsis

Well I feel like a lot has happened since I moved in to my apartment.  It has taken a bit of adjustment trying to figure out living with people you’ve never met before and fending for yourself when it comes to dinner, but I have really enjoyed it.  On days when I don’t work I normally hang out by the pool either working on homework, meeting the neighbors or reading. :)  Also, on Wednesdays I have started attending a community group (bible study) that is run through a church down here called Reality LA.  It was a friend of mine from high school that invited me to go the first time because it was held at her house.  It just so happened that my roommates wanted to go to that church the following Sunday so I had a lot of fun going together with them.  It has been such a blessing to have Natalie down here (The one who invited me to bible study).  It’s crazy to me to think that we had gone to middle school and high school together and yet we were never super good friends and here we are, God bringing us together, in order to build a stronger connection.  It makes me sad to think that I won’t be down here for a long time just so that I could continue building that relationship.

Another friend of mine that I know from high school, Matt, is down here as well.  He has been an incredible blessing and he was even the one who helped me find roommates to live with while I’m down here.  It has been fun to meet up with him every once in a while to have dinner or go out to coffee.  I definitely know that God brings people into your life for a reason! It’s just hard to imagine leaving them in a month or two.

For the 4^th of July I was able to head out to Monrovia to spend some time with family.  What a blessing that was!  One of my roommates, Tiana, came as well and we all went to the Rose Bowl for their firework show.  The main difference to me this year was that you are allowed to have huge fireworks, but you can’t do any personal fireworks, which is opposite of what I have grown up with.  Nevertheless, it was a great show and I really enjoyed being with family!  

That following Friday, Tiana, her mom and I all went to the Burbank 100^th year celebration.  (If you didn’t read previously, I live in Burbank now)  It was so much fun and there were a ton of fireworks as well.  Because Burbank is a fairly large film city they did their firework show choreographed to music from different shows or movies.   They were either from Warner Bros., Universal or others.  On the note that Burbank is a big film city, I went grocery shopping the other day right by my house and I saw Tom Virtue.  I know the name might not sound familiar, but this is what he looks like:

He played on Star Trek: Voyager, Even Stevens, and guest starred in many other TV shows, along with being in many movies. If you ask me.. He’s pretty famous :)

The rest of the time that I am down here is normally spent working.  I enjoy work and, like I said before, I have learned a lot already.  This weekend is what the media and public are calling “carmageddon.” Kiewit is closing down the I-405 for a 10-mile strip in order to demolition a bridge.  Traffic is already bad down here so I can understand why people are not looking forward to it.  Lucky for me though, because I got Friday off and now I have to travel to work on Saturday. (I hope you can read the sarcasm in the “lucky me” comment.)

This is the bridge being demoed.

To make my time down here even more worthwhile, I decided to make a list of things I should do while I’m down here, including: see the famous stars on the side walk, sit in the audience of a TV show and see the Hollywood sign.  Nothing to extravagant, but it should be fun.

On a completely different note, I would like to say, I love my Grandma Laura.  It is extremely hard to know that I was down here in LA, unable to go see my grandma before she passed away last night.  I praise God that I was able to see her only a month ago at her birthday party, but it wont be the same next time I go to Eagle Point.  I wish there would have been more time…

Well, I don’t want to end on a down note.  I’m excited to watch the demolition of the Mulholland Bridge tomorrow and I wish my cousin, Kevin, and Liana the best of luck as they start their future together this Sunday.  I so badly wish I could be there. Congratulations!!

All my love!

Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)

Journey to LA

Hello Everyone! So just to cut to the chase… God has sent me on yet another journey.  I am going to start from the very beginning as to how I got here.

It all started this last February when I decided to attend the OSU Engineering Career Fair.  I was going in hopes of finding an internship for this summer, but was rather discouraged as I walked around looking at a ton of booths, realizing that the booths/companies that seemed to stand out to me, weren’t civil engineering companies at all.  After about 45 minutes I decided to call it quits and head home, but it was then that someone from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard caught my attention and decided to talk to me.  After talking to them for a bit I was given an interview on the spot and was feeling much better about things.  I had never had an interview and regardless of where this job went, I was feeling much more confident.  As I was leaving a young man approached me and started asking me questions about how the fair went and why I never went to go visit Kiewit’s booth (which is a fairly well known heavy civil engineering company).  I was telling him that I was a little intimidated by that company because they were larger and I didn’t have very much experience.  It was then that he kindly introduced himself (being from Kiewit) and invited me to have an interview with them the following day.  I agreed because I figured more practice wouldn’t hurt and I went to the interview the next day.  Things went really well and I was offered a second interview. 

As the months went on I continued to keep in contact with both companies, hoping to get my hands on a summer internship.  I really liked the vibe that I was getting from Kiewit and not so much from the other company so I figured God was trying to show me something.  It wasn’t until the beginning of May that I drove up to Vancouver to finally get my second interview with Kiewit.  I was rather nervous, but I knew that God had everything in control and the most important thing I already had, which is His love. I literally clung to the song by Brandon Heath called Your Love and just knew that everything was in God’s hands.  After the interview I was content in just knowing that if I was supposed to have this opportunity it would be given to me and if not, I always could go home for the summer and work there. 

I wasn’t supposed to find out about getting the internship or not until the end of May, but regardless, I spent the next 24 hours thinking in my head about all the things I should have said differently.  Then- as I was sitting in the computer lab in Owen Hall- the very next day… I got a call from the HR manager at Kiewit and she offered me the job.  I was ecstatic! I just knew that God was putting together the pieces to this journey and I just had to jump into the passenger seat and He would take care of the driving.  I had no idea where Kiewit was going to send me, but I knew that God was going to do work in my life or the lives around me wherever I went so I was completely and entirely trusting in that.  It wasn’t for a few more weeks that I learned that I would be moving to LA.  Having no clue where I would be living, how I would get down there or anything, I just knew that I had to trust Him.

So I finished up my second year at OSU, had a week at home and then took off down south.  The first leg of the trip was my boyfriend Ben, my Father and I.  We headed to Eagle Point on a Thursday night and stayed down there for the weekend.  I got to see Caitlin, Keith, Kelsey and lots of family members. This weekend was my cousin Scott and Justine’s wedding, which was absolutely beautiful.  We had a lot of fun being down there and then on Sunday Ben and I took off for the 12-hour drive to LA. 

 Caitlin, Kelsey and I

 The Groom!

Ben did most of the driving.  We listened to a lot of music, watched A Walk to Remember and just enjoyed each other’s company. J  Once we got down there we stayed at Uncle Chris’s and Aunt Jan’s house in Monrovia.  Ben was such a blessing because as I got ready for bed, he brought in all my things and made me lunch for work the next day!  Getting in to LA super late that night and not knowing how long it would take me to get to work, I didn’t get much sleep that night.  Being so early in the morning, it didn’t take me too long to get there and I ended up being an hour early for work.  Oops.

The first day was just the basics.  I took a few tests, filled out some paper work, and was introduced to a couple people from work.  I was even able to meet a fellow Christian, although he would be quitting the following week.  However, the most rewarding part of the day was heading back to Uncle Chris’s and Aunt Jan’s to have Ben there super excited to see me.  The next day was the same, getting up and heading to work, but after work this time, Ben came and got me so that I could bring him to the airport.  Of course he didn’t come empty handed, but instead he brought me flowers and a card.  What a thoughtful young man! We found ourselves extremely early to go to the airport so we decided to head to the nearest beach.  This happened to be Venice Beach, which let me say, it has a lot of “character.”  We had a lot of fun and even when we got to the airport we hung out and played cards until he had to board his plane.  It was hard, but knowing that God has His hand in it all made it a little easier for our minds to cope with it.

I have now competed two weeks of work.  Normally when I get home I would just lie in the hammock and read my book.  However, one night Lisa, Tessa, Aunt Jan and I all went to see the musical Les Miserables.  It was great!! And I’m so glad that I got to spend some time with the aunt and cousins.  Within the first week of living down here my sister Valerie also moved in and I was extremely blessed to have her living in the same house, even though it was only for a short while.

The first weekend that I was down here I joined up with Genesis (A high school musical group that I used to be a part of) and I stayed with them for the entire weekend.  We went to Disneyland and then the following day, after their performance, we went to Irvine, CA to ride in a huge helium balloon, but all the slots were full, so we just hung out at the park.  Then we headed over to Huntington Beach and once I parted ways with them I headed to Uncle Dominic’s and Aunt Elia’s for dinner.

This weekend was a bit different, I moved into my new apartment, where I live with three other girls.  I’ve only met two of them, but they are very nice! The apartment is fairly small but it does include two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  Not only that, but we also have a pool in the middle courtyard area of the apartment complex.  It is very nice to have this, especially with the 100-degree weather that is predicted for today and the coming days.  And just in case anyone is interested, my address is:

Kimberly Harnish

4321 W Kling St.

Unit 31

Burbank, CA 91505

 View from the front door.

"Hawaiian flowers" that apparently exist in places other than Hawaii.

I’ve really enjoyed the sun down here and the Spanish radio stations.  Going to church with my roommates this morning was also a blessing.  It has been also nice to have a few people from high school, Natalie and Matt, who have stood there with open arms just in case I need anything.  I have felt extremely blessed in the start of this journey and although I miss everyone at home extremely I have to put aside how tough it is and let God do His work.  I know that He either has this time to change my life, has me down here to change someone else’s or a combination of the both.  Plus, I’m getting some great experience through my internship and I’ve already learned a ton!

Just remember: Estoy en las manos de Dios. J