Earthquake!!!

*** Things in quotes are comments that were actually said by TV reporters yesterday.
TV Reporter: Good afternoon, America. Today is July 29. Only a few moments after lunch "We witnessed a torrential seismic event here in Los Angeles." I'm with SarahLynn Zavoral of Huntington Beach. Sarahlynn, did you feel the earthquake?
Me: Yeah. I heard rumbling and thought that the people in the apt above me were going crazy, but then I remembered that we are on the top floor! Next, I thought that a large cart was being pushed down the hall. But then the furniture started tinkering and I felt motion right under me. I realized that I was in an earthquake!
TV Reporter: What did you do? "When we felt the quake, we were terrified. I had to look around the newsroom to see what others were doing." Were you scared?
Me: Well, I'm a teacher, and this past year I taught a science unit on plate tectonics and earthquakes. So I knew exactly what to do. I sprang from the couch and stood in the nearest doorway. My heart was pounding, but I wasn't necessarily scared. I did think for a moment, "If this is the Second Coming, am I ready? Yeah, I said my prayers and read the bible today, so I should be good."
TV Reporter: Well, that's good news. How long did the shaking last? What did it feel like?
Me: Some reporters say that it lasted for 30-40 seconds, which is actually a really long time. No offense, but I think they're exaggerating. The shaking probably lasted less than 10 seconds. I would say it felt like a very bad wind storm was shaking the house while a big party of people were dancing around up stairs. Then it died down and I felt gentle rocking, like being on a lake boat.
TV Reporter: "Now, we're trying to get in contact with the city fired department about what efforts are being done to stop any fires or fix broken electricity lines." What damage occurred in your home?
Me: Well, you have to remember that even though it was a 5.4 earthquake, LA is 30 miles west of the epicenter in Chino Hills. And all of the buildings in Southern CA are specifically designed to withstand earthquakes. The biggest damage I witnessed was a small picture on the piano that fell over. Have you heard any reports of injuries or damage to buildings?
TV Reporter: Fortunately, we have not. But "experts say that this was a strong siesmic event. It is the first major earthquake since 1994. We aren't used to being jerked out of our socks like we were." I'm glad to hear that you are safe. How is the rest of your family and friends?
Me: Actually, my husband was in San Diego for the day and didn't feel a thing. He's really bummed that he didn't feel it.
TV Reporter: Well, thank you for your time, Mrs. Zavoral. As you can see, it was a "very tragic event" for the people in LA. I'm reporter Exag Gerater. Back to you, John!

Vacation and Wedding in DC

I went to Washington DC this past week to be at Megan Mitchell's wedding!! (now Megan Bassatt) Megan, Janae and I lived in a college apt for two years after we became friends at the BYU dorms. I also got to see Kisha, who was my dorm RA and friend at BYU, too. Her son Nathaniel is so adorable!!

Highlights of the trip:

• Civil War battlefield in Manassas--amazing what our country endured at that time
  
• Falling asleep with baby Nathaniel in my arms
• Seeing all the green, green, green!! No wonder people called this New World the Promised Land
• Laughing at all of Kisha's stories and impressions of people
• Realizing that grandma Sharon loves the baby cartoons more than Nathaniel
  
• Being in the temple with Megan for an endowment session--so neat to enjoy the sacred truths of the gospel with a close friend
• Dipping my feet in the water fountain at the sculpture garden
• Singing the preamble to the constitution while waiting to see the original constitution at the archive building
• Walking and walking and walking from monument to monument
• Singing "I'm just a bill on Capital Hill" from School House Rock while being on Capital Hill
• Being at all the American places that I taught my students about
• Lounging on the grass overlooking the DC monuments, talking with Janae and Megan
• Remembering how great America is
• Helping decorate for the reception
• Drama from offering unwanted help with the table centerpieces (one of the aunt's took things a little too personally)
• Witnessing the stresses of wedding planning. Megan, did you know that a bunch of boys were playing soccer in the reception room Sat morning?
  
• Getting lost with Janae
  
• Being bored while waiting for things to happen with wedding preparations
  
• Sneaking to Walmart with Janae to get more supplies for decorations
• Losing Megan's car keys in Walmart
  
• Getting lost with Janae again- too many trees to tell where the heck we were
  
• Going to the wrong church
  
• Helping Megan get ready
• Freaking out about being late to the temple because the tom-tom GPS had us going to two places. We do not recommend the tom-tom GPS
• The beautiful temple marriage
• Helping Megan in the Bride's Room
• Pampering Megan in the outside heat while taking wedding pics
  
• Gorging on yummy reception food
• Seeing Megan so happy
• Remembering my own wedding and missing Jeremy
• Wrapping the groom's car with saran wrap and writing fun messages on the windows
• Getting lost with Janae by following the wrong car to Kisha's house. We ended up following a car that pulled over as if to let us pass. When we pulled up alongside to see if it was still Kisha, the freakiest man in a black hoody with big eyes and a sucken face glared at us. We screamed and sped away. It took forever to get back to Megan's apartment without a GPS or Kisha's phone number.
• Almost locking our luggage in Megan's apartment
• Playing "guess my number" with Janae
  
• Discussing opinions about adoption with Kisha, Isaac and Janae
• Staying up late
• Enjoying a surprise breakfast made by Kisha- yummy bacon!
  
• Seeing how extremely attractive Jeremy is when he picked me up from the airport

Jeremy had to stay home and work. While I was gone, he told me some highlights he had:

• Hormel meals for 6 days in a row
• Endless Sports Center
• Being able to leave clothes on the floor without getting in trouble
• Golfing
  
• Having the boogie board all to himself
• No Sarahlynn Hair to clog up the shower drain
• No accessories in the shower to accidentally knock off the rack
• No one to tell him to take out the trash
  
• No fresh vegatables or fruits with dinner
• No one to have fun with
• No one to talk to while he ate or worked around the house
• No home-cooked meals
• No beautiful smiles and funny dances to greet him when he came home from work
• No one to cuddle with at night, not even the stuffed turtle 'cuz Sarahlynn took that, too
  
• No one to play jokes with
  
• No one to say "I love you" to every five minutes

I suppose Jeremy got the short end of the stick on this one! It's great to be back in Huntington Beach with Jeremy, my one true love. But I must admit that I LOVE the East Coast and hope to live there someday.

That's right, I sell SPAM

Me: "Hi there I'm Jeremy with Hormel Foods. I got a chance to take a look at your store and I found a few opportunities for you on aisle three. Do you have a minute I can talk with you about it?"
Grocery Manager: "Uh, uh, I donno, uh."
Me: "Habla Ingles?"
Grocery Manager: "No."

Yeah that's my job. I drive around to small independent grocery stores all over Los Angeles and try to get more Hormel products in their stores. Since I'm the new guy they don't trust me to go to headquarters yet, so it's more about learning the products and how grocery stores work right now. Eventually I plan on ending up at the corporate offices in Minnesota doing brand management. But for now I struggle to communicate with Spanish speakers (I served my mission in the states, English speaking), and all sorts of Asian languages. I've got 153 stores to call on every six weeks so I get around pretty quickly. Where was I last week? I started out in Long Beach, went to Compton, Inglewood, and South LA, then to Hollywood and Burbank. There's a ritsy chain out there called Gelsons that I go to where they've got cafes and fancy olive stores.
Fridays I go to the sales office in Irvine to do planning, training and product testing. Last Friday we tasted seven different brands of bacon, then I took the rest home and had bacon for breakfast, BLTs for lunch, and...well, SarahLynn wouldn't let me eat bacon again for dinner.
So it's not the most glamorous job, but it's definately great experience for me on my way to the marketing department in Hormel. And I get all the bacon I can eat.

The Best of Orange County

We made it so that anyone can make comments. Try making a comment about this post and we'll see if it works. We also added pictures of our apartment to "Our New Life Slideshow," so check it out!

Huntington Beach (HB), and ultimately Orange County (OC), is pretty much one of the greatest places to live. Here's what we've done in OC to illustrate our reasoning.

One Weds we enjoyed our evening sitting on the beach, watching the dolphins come to eat along the shore. That's right, DOLPHINS! Right along our public beach. It was the second time we've seen them. They are black and come right up to where the surfers wait for the best waves (which is only chest deep). We can't tell exactly how many there were in this pod, but we would see 7 or 8 pop up all at once. Every now and then, a few would jump out of the water or stay on the surface and slap their fins as if waving hello. It was the coolest.

Check out the Video of Our Dolphins to see what they look like! Just watch the first 30 secs.


Another great part about OC is the LDS New Port Beach Temple. It is so beautiful (and pink). The landscaping looks like the Garden of Eden! We love being in the temple and feeling the Spirit. It is awesome to know that Jeremy and I are married forever--not till death do us part--because we were married inside the Lord's temple. I went there by myself this past week and was overwhelmed with Heavenly Father's love for me and all His children.

The Swap Meet is another highlight around here. Every Sat, all year long, people come and sell anything they want at the Swap Meet. It's a lot like the markets in Thailand, which made going a very nostalgic experience for me. All the swap meet rows add up to 4 miles! They've got furniture, books, clothes, kitchen stuff, knick knacks, sports stuff, food, pretty much ANYTHING you want! (with the exception of pharmacy stuff, although there might be some drug dealers in that place since it's so huge).


Then there's endless entertainment. Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Hollywood, and famous stadiums like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball stadium. Don't worry, we still have our loyalties with the Northern CA teams. The Oakland A's beat the Angels when we went. What a confusing game with A's on both teams!




On Saturday we enjoyed all that OC has to offer at the Orange County Fair!! It was my first time really going to a fair. All our friends in Longmont have no idea what they're missing at the Boulder County Fair (no offense, Colorado). Highlights included glass blowers, pig races, being inside a real camera obscura, my first funnel cake, hypnotist show, enormous sausage for dinner, and the biggest skateboarding competition in history: the Maloof Money Cup! None of you will be able to see it until July 20 on TV, but we saw it live! We sat right in front of the half pipe and got to watch the world's best skate boarders. Awesome!

Beware of Super Turtle

It is believed that a turtle currently under the care of SarahLynn and Jeremy Zavoral possesses alien super powers. After yesterday's supernatural display, we have found that this might be the case!

Sergio is not the typical slow-poke turtle you've seen on Looney Toones and National Geographic. Sergio is one-of-a-kind. Only the size of an adult hand, he sprints across the room, climbs over boxes and up bodies, and he constantly maneuvers his filter from one side of his tank to the other. Sergio also devours live fish. "One time I bought 12 goldfish for his tank," said caretaker Jeremy. "Day by day, they have all disappeared." Sergio's eating habits are so interesting that 4 parties have been solely devoted to him.

All of Sergio's caretakers have been mystified by his abilities. Sergio's captive life began more than 5 years ago when SarahLynn bought him for her best friend as a Christmas present. Since then he has lived in numerous apartments, the Robertson home, and Mrs. Zavoral's fifth grade classroom. "Sergio has an amazing endurance and personality that you can't find in any other turtle!" said Janae, rightful owner of Sergio. She has allowed SarahLynn and Jeremy to take care of the turtle since there is no safe way to get him to Janae's home in New York.

Reports of Sergio's super powers became public yesterday, July 9, 2008 when the unexpected happened. "I let Sergio roam around the apartment since he had the jitters," said SarahLynn. She noticed that he was spending a lot of time by the sliding window that leads out to the porch. "At one point, I heard him scuffling extra loud and glanced over. To my surprise, Sergio was climbing up the screen door!"

Sergio, believed to be a painted turtle, had figured out how to wedge himself in between the glass and screen door just enough to give him the leverage he needed to climb completely vertical. Reporters got to the scene just in time to catch a shot of him five feet from the floor; a victory that even veterinarians are baffled by.

There is no doubt that Sergio's super brain knows that the sliding door is his ticket to freedom. In the summer of 2006, Sergio successfully escaped a Provo apartment by passing through the open porch door. His super powers were put to use as he sailed safely down the 20 ft drop to pure concrete. Doctors say that no other turtle could survive such a treacherous fall. Even more amazing, Sergio was able to conceal his identify for nearly a month before he was discovered at the neighbor's house.


Only one mystery remains. Where did Sergio come from, and how did he get his super powers? The only clue to his origin was given 2 weeks ago when SarahLynn and Jeremy took him on his first trip to the beach. "We put him down as soon as we got on the sand. To our amazement, he booked it straight to the ocean," the couple commented. "Thinking it might be a coincidence, we picked him up and faced him a different way. Every time that we picked him up, spun him dizzy, and then placed him back on the sand, he immediately turned and went straight for the ocean!"


Experts say this is hard evidence that Sergio is among a species of alien reptile that was dropped in the ocean while a comet inhabited by super turtles passed over the earth some 300 billion years ago. Sergio is possibly the only surviving link to his alien ancestors. Fact or fiction? You be the judge. But there is not doubt that Sergio is one super turtle!

Surf City USA 4th of July

Jeremy and I realized that both of us have spent 4th of July in a different place for the past 7 years! Highlights include Provo, Thailand, Colorado, Sacramento, middle of nowhere in Texas, Minnesota, and now Huntington Beach!!

We were totally pimpn' for this year's fourth. We rode with our new friends, Steve and Crystal, on beach cruisers all around town, including to the parade on Main Street. This main street is not the typical old fogey kind of main street with stores that have been the same since 1922. This main street is the hippest part of Surf City USA. Ritzy restaurants, cool clubs, and sheik shopping.

And then there's the fancy, brand new beach houses to go with it. All the porches are in the front yard, and each house is 6 inches apart from the next one. Every yard and porch is adorned with palm trees, exotic flowers and 4th decorations. It's a very social, patriotic, tropical feeling! We loved being able to call ourselves "locals."

The fireworks were enjoyed in the sand next to the Huntington Beach Pier. Talk about the place to be! Lights, food stands, glowsticks, kids, drunk people. People making out, people passed out, and people grossed out. It was a great adventure.

Click on our Surf City 4th of July Slideshow to see our pictures in more detail!

Playing House Hunters

We played House Hunters once we got to CA. We researched beforehand several apartments and then chose three locations to actually look at. From the three that we toured, we made our decision. What do you think we chose? Apt #1 with the pool, new appliances, and large bedroom; Apt#2 with the pool, new appliances and large bedroom; or Apt #3 with the pool, new appliances and large bedroom? Stayed tuned to find out.

It was a tough decision since all the apartments were very similar. Ultimately, We chose Apt#2 with the pool, new appliances and large bedroom!!! This one is the best choice because it is the closest to the beach and it actually has 2 pools, spa, workout room, party room with table tennis and billiard table, basketball court, beach volleyball, and great landscaping. We feel like we live in a resort!

So we had our decision within ONE DAY!! Of course, we had to wait 6 days before we could move in. Not to mention that they wanted every kind of documental information you can imagine. Bank statements, pay check stubs, passports, SS cards, letters from Hormel, it was ridiculous! So we spent two hours rummaging through our moving truck to get all this stuff. What a pain!

We tried going on vacation to pass the waiting time. It was pretty cool and I will post about that later. But to be honest, we were stressed during a lot of the vacation on account that we needed to find a place to put our moving truck, get a refrigerator, set-up electricity, find cable and Internet, etc. etc.

Finally, moving day! Were we spared any logistical problems? Of course not! The movers came 2 hours early and charged us for waiting time, so we had to take care of that. And then we found out that our building is the only one in the complex without an elevator; a real treat for the three 5'4'' movers who were expected to take our piano up to the second floor. It was stressful, but once again, Jeremy kept his cool and the Lord blessed those little guys with a LOT of strength as they hauled that piano up 37 steps. This time we were blessed with really good movers; they didn't break anything!

So throughout our journey we learned to put a lot of trust in the Lord. We are so happy being together in this great apt. And hopefully I can be just as patient as Jeremy during our next move six months from now!

Moving Adventures

What a crazy adventure we had just getting from Utah to CA. It began with the stress of the movers in Provo breaking all of our furniture that actually has monetary value, including our dresser, dining table and piano. Although he could have fumed over it all, Jeremy was very patient the entire time. Don't worry, we filed complaints, but Jeremy helped me to not freak out. We realized that Heavenly Father was probably trying to remind us that all of our things are just things.

Another challenge arose as we began our second day of driving the Budget truck. We were leaving from Las Vegas with what we thought would be enough gas to take us to an easy fill-up somewhere out of the city a little. Well, the gas gage had a mind of its own.

About 25 minutes into our trip, the gage suddenly plummeted below E. We followed the GPS lady's voice off the nearest exit to gas. She must have thought it was hilarious that there actually wasn't any gas station on this exit at all. In fact, there was nothing but road construction! We flipped a quick U-turn on a little hill and... what? Why didn't the truck move when Jeremy pressed on the gas pedal?

The truck puttered to a stop in the middle of the road. In the farthest left lane. On a hill. In the desert. It was 103 degrees out. And we didn't have anything to eat or drink. We said a lot of prayers and I even tried singing, but it was too hot! Needless to say, we were grateful when the Budget guy showed up. We were taken care of, but from then on, we had to use our math skills for gas gaging.

Even though we had some challenges, we know that the Lord answered our prayers. We also know that he was teaching us to value each other more than our things and to be prepared. Now we really appreciate our working gas gages and always take something to drink with us when we leave the house!