Category: Journal

  • It is not good for man to be alone

    It struck me in the temple this morning that “it is not good for man to be alone” isn’t exclusively about the value of marriage—that men need women to help balance them and provide an alternate viewpoint. I believe it also applies to the fact that humans are social beings by nature—we are to be…

  • Feeling good

    It feels like things are heading in a good direction. I feel confident in how to maintain the vehicles we need to be able to get people where they need to go—no more wondering when a car will sit in the shop for weeks limiting our options. Laura has actively taken over the Cruze as…

  • Off my shoulders

    I’ve decided that my car insurance rate through Liberty Mutual amounts to then sending the message “we don’t want to insure you.” For the last 2½ years they’ve been charging me essentially $400/month for 2 cars. Before that it was $300/month. I just insured 3 cars through GEICO for $140/month. I also bought an extended…

  • My new Camry

    I finally completed the process of purchasing the Camry today. I started work early so I’d finish work by the time I left to complete the purchase. I’m excited to have a car that gets at least 1½ times the gas mileage and that is covered by a warranty for the next 100,000 miles. It’s…

  • Confirming the value of preparation

    It’s funny that I spent scripture study this morning talking about the preparatory work Joseph did before he prayed to ask what church to join. Today was an example of the value of preparation. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks researching and test driving cars while trying to figure out what I could afford.…

  • Crazy church day

    Today as I was looking to decide where to sit down in Elder’s Quorum I heard a thump in the hall behind me and when I looked out in the hall Sister Dixon had fallen (she’s at least in her 80’s) thankfully there were people immediately helping her including a doctor and a firefighter so…

  • Forward progress

    Saturdays have been hard in the winter as I have less to do outside. They were fine over the holiday break but otherwise I feel like I water a lot of time on those days. Today was an exception. I didn’t really push myself but I identified two backup cars to pursue if the Camry…

  • A second perspective

    Laura actually came with me on a test drive tonight (I drove 3 cars) and it was good to have a second perspective. I had driven a Honda Insight and thought it was fine but I drove another one tonight with Laura and she mentioned some of the same things I had noticed and that…

  • Moving forward

    I got news today that my latest oil leak would be another $1800 fix—as if I needed more incentive to just get a new car—so I declined getting it fixed. I’m focused on my car shopping. I drove a 2024 Honda Civic today and a 2023 Toyota Camry. I was surprised to realize that I…

  • What support looks like

    I talked to Mom about needing a new car soon and asked if she would be able to help me make it happen. We talked about the process and she encouraged me to not write off the possibility of getting a completely new car if that turns out to be the best option. She also…