Back to Utah 2012

While I felt very useful in Michigan, I did not feel I was reaping the complete benefits of receiving a degree, i.e. working for pay. I pursued employment opportunities in Michigan, but with a poor market, especially for interior design did not have success- especially when everyone hiring entry level design positions required 2 years experience. HOW do you get EXPERIENCE for an ENTRY LEVEL POSITION! I was a little frustrated at my circumstances, but tried to keep hope. Eventually I received an email from the chair of the design department at LDS Business College with an employment opportunity at Ashley Furniture in Salt Lake City as a Visual Display Associate. I emailed them my resume and was glad to have them ask for an interview. I took a trip back to Utah to interview and as a bonus got to visit with my bff Jessica Ellison! The interview was a success and I would go home from my trip just to turn around in 3 weeks and drive out with all my stuff and find a new place to live. I loved my time at Ashley, finally feeling like I was a contributing member of society. I was responsible for managing all the displays in the showroom as well as overseeing all of the accessories including receiving them, arranging them, marking them for sale, and keeping inventory. I even got to paint quite a few walls. It was a surprising amount of physical labor from which I incurred a few injuries:

This was as a result of smashing already broken accessories to smithereens so no one could steal/repair them from our dumpster. One time I almost got stabbed in the eye while hanging some metal artwork that slid off its nail and poked me just under my eye. I don't know how many times I thought I might fall of a ladder, especially while hanging very heavy artwork/mirrors on very high walls. Looking back I'm surprised there weren't more injuries... but then again, I am a bit of a ninja... or as Mom always says- a Monkey.
I also bought my first real purchase- a sofa & love seat! Oddly it was not from Ashley Furniture.

Mom and Dad laugh at me for having purchased living room furniture before purchasing a mattress, but I had priorities, even if they were silly.
Later in the year I did buy a mattress, but not without much thought. In fact, I took advantage of the opportunity to sample mattresses overnight when Ashley Furniture was having their carpets cleaned overnight. Jess met me after work and after the store closed to customers we watched Footloose on the large TV in theater type recliners. Thanks to my position I got a real steal on the mattress I ended up buying. I love it.
While work occupied most of my time there were always fun times. Easter with part of the Ellison clan was nice

Jessica and I also started a "Girls Night" where we invited some of our friends in the ward to have dinner, which evolved into having a white elephant game and we did this once a month, taking a commemorative groupie each time:

 


In the fall I had the coolest opportunity to sing in the choir for the General Relief Society Meeting and it was so neat!

It was a really great time.