What on earth does Jeff actually do?!

I have been wanting to sit down for a while now and write about my job and what exactly I do for forty hours each week, mainly because I feel so bad for my wife and family whenever they get popped the question and have to fumble around to try to explain it.  Even I have a hard time trying to describe it to people when asked, and usually have a few different explanations based on the technical understanding of the person asking the question.  Some of the responses I'll often give are....

• "I work in the IT industry."
• "I work in maintaining data centers."
• "I work with 'The Cloud' and data storage."
• "I am a tech support engineer."
• "I support Network-Attached Storage arrays."

That's just a small sample of the different replies I give to people who want to know what I do for a living.  But in reality, my job is pretty complex to explain.  In fact, even my entire title is an acronym:  FAST VP SME, which stands for Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools Subject Matter Expert.

That's certainly a mouthful, so I'll try to start at the beginning.

I work at EMC Corporation in Draper, which is an IT company that is most widely known for its storage arrays and its acquisitions of VMware and RSA Security.  Not being able to afford multi-million dollar computer equipment, I'd never really heard of EMC in terms of their data storage systems, but knew who they were because of VMware and RSA, which I was exposed to quite a bit while studying at UVU.

If there was one word I could use to describe EMC, it would be "HUGE!"  Especially after coming from a small business of maybe 80 employees, I was incredibly shocked to be surrounded by several hundred employees just in Utah, as well as hundreds if not thousands more worldwide, all supporting a large variety of products.

I was hired on as a Technical Support Engineer for the Symmetrix department.  I don't usually like to refer to myself as being in "tech support" because of the call-center stigma that is associated with it, because even though I work with customers in resolving break/fix issues, I think the term "technical support" doesn't do my role very much justice.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I think I should first explain a little bit about what this Symmetrix thing is.  The Symmetrix storage array is the first product created by EMC, and is what is called a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) array.  These arrays look like giant refrigerators that line up beside each other like a football team on the scrimmage line, and are filled with hundreds or thousands of hard drives.  

Why on earth would someone need so many drives?  Well, just think about it.  If you're reading this post, then chances are you have a Facebook account, unless somehow I'm way more famous that I think I am...which is not very.  How many photos and videos would you say you've uploaded to your account?  Hundreds?  Thousands?  Ok, now ask yourself how many users exist on Facebook right now?  I sparked my own interested just now and Googled the answer, and it turns out that Facebook has about 1.19 BILLION active users as of October, 2013.  So multiply that number by the number of photos and videos you have on just your account and see what you get.  I'm not sure my calculator even goes that high.

Well, all those pictures have to be saved somewhere, and that's a LOT of storage space.  That's where storage arrays like the Symmetrix come into play.  These powerful machines can hold petabytes and petabytes of data, and make sure that it's ready and accessible every time someone needs to use it.  These arrays have loads of features to make sure that the data remains intact no matter what by having several backup power supplies, spare replacement hard drives that will kick into gear the moment one starts to fail, and even the ability to have a mirrored system set up hundreds of miles away just in case a major disaster occurred in the area like an earthquake or tornado and the primary data center went offline.

I was trained to support these arrays for all of our customers (which are pretty much all Fortune 500 companies) and make sure that there are no problems accessing their data at any time and at the speed that they want.

The Symmetrix has a really interesting system in place where it actually complains automatically to EMC whenever it's having any problems.  This "call home" feature allows the array to automatically dial home to an EMC server with any issues, which in turn automatically opens a support ticket for my team to investigate.  These "dial home errors" that dial home arrive in the form of a four-digit hexadecimal number with a two-digit modifer number which refers to a specific error.  Some examples of these errors are 24AF.78, 01B3.C0, 0471.02, and 033E.38.

This was probably one of the hardest parts of the job, learning how to decipher these codes to know what they are referring to.  One may refer to a failed drive that needs to be replaced, whereas one may refer to a backup power supply that won't hold a charge, and another could indicate that a cable was plugged into the wrong jack.  I look at the list of errors now and am still surprised when I know what they mean, when they looked completely Greek to me months before.

This is why I say that we are not the "traditional" type of technical support center, because in our case we will receive a report of an issue and have it corrected or a local representative onsite with a replacement part before the customer even knew there was a problem in the first place.

The way we do this is by remotely accessing a laptop built into one of the arrays, which is called the service processor.  The same way that I'll patch into my dad's computer to help him get rid of a virus or install a program, I can connect to an array in Sweden or Australia or anywhere else and remotely troubleshoot issues.

My primary role when I was hired was to investigate and resolve these dial home errors, which I performed until I was enrolled in a two-week course taught by a colleague from our Hopkinton, MA, office.  James Nigrelli was a Technical Support Engineer (TSE) like I was, but he had been flown out to Utah to teach me--along with a small group of people--about a new feature in our top-of-the-line Symmetrix VMAX arrays called FAST VP, or Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools.

This feature is surprisingly exactly what it sounds like, although it probably makes no sense to anyone reading this at the moment.  But in a nutshell, here's how it works.  There are essentially three types of drive technologies that make up a storage array.  The first type is called SATA, which is the hard disk that most of us are used to, with the spinning metal plate touched by a spindle used to read and write data, making it essentially look like a tiny vinyl player if you were able to see inside its chassis.  Next comes the Fibre Channel (FC) drive type, which is essentially a SATA drive but with a much faster, optical connection and a faster speed.  Third is the Enterprise Flash Drive (EFD) type, which is an Enterprise version of the Flash or Solid State technology, which is what you'd find in a USB thumb drive, your iPhone, or even some computers like the Macbook Air.

Obviously the faster, better drives are going to be more expensive than the slower ones, and customers want to make sure they're getting their money's worth out of them.  FAST VP is a completely automatic system built into the VMAX arrays that collect performance statistics on the data and then uses those statistics to make sure the data that is "hot" and being used all the time is being kept on the faster drives so they can be accessed quickly and that the "cold" data that isn't being used very much stays on the slower, less-expensive drives.

Did I lose you?  Well, then think of if this way.  Let's imagine you are a fashion extraordinaire and have a pretty extensive wardrobe, but just moved into a small apartment with only one closet.  With all of the clothes you have, you're going to need to keep them in three different locations: your closet, the garage, and at your parents' house.  Naturally you're going to want the clothes you wear all the time in the closet, the clothes you might wear every now and again in the garage, and the clothes you own but really should have been given to Goodwill a long time ago at your parents' house.  It's the same thing with FAST VP, but with data.

I really enjoyed learning about FAST VP and, after James returned home, I soon became the "go-to guy" for any FAST VP-related cases that were opened.  I had such an aptitude for it that, one year ago, my manager approached me and informed me that he wanted to send me out to the Hopkinton lab with another TSE named Richard Kimball (no relation to Harrison Ford) to study FAST VP "from the masters" in order to become a Subject Matter Expert.

The trip was incredible, but also difficult because it was one week before my wedding.  But I learned a ton, studying alongside James and his mentor Rob Tasker.  They taught me so much, and I was able to experience the busy life of those in Boston for a while, which actually made me pretty grateful that the Utah lab is a bit more mellow.  I also had the opportunity to meet the Symmetrix developers, including the programmer who invented FAST VP, who shockingly is actually a pretty young guy.

Upon returning from my trip, I was bestowed the title of FAST VP SME, or FAST SME for short.  Richard and I then became the first escalation point for Utah TSEs before having to escalate to the Hopkinton lab for help with FAST VP-related issues.  

A few months later, James announced that he had taken a job in the development team and would be leaving the support lab.  Shortly after that, Rob announced that he was being promoted to the L2 Support Team, which is the elite escalation team for all cases.  While he would still be a resource for troubleshooting FAST cases, I soon found myself to be the primary escalation point on a global scale, as I have a Monday through Friday shift and have more of a full exposure to the feature than Richard, who works on a rotating shift and will often spend up to a week at a time away from the lab.

Being one of two FAST SMEs on shift globally during the US business hours, I had a lot of responsibilities on my hands.  Not only was I expected to take all the FAST-related cases that appeared in the support queues and act as an escalation point to others, but I also participated in weekly and bi-weekly conference calls with the developers (referred to as Engineering) that I met in Hopkinton to discuss current and new issues that affected the feature, participating in a group called the FAST Task Force.

I have truly learned a lot while in this position.  Not only have I had to stretch my technical understanding to great lengths in order to understand the abstract concepts behind the product I support, but I have also had to hone my customer-facing skills as I have grown accustomed to sending dozens of emails each day and participating in several impromptu conference calls throughout the week.  I also became very adept at writing knowledgebase articles and other technical documents to help my colleagues in diagnosing various issues relating to FAST VP and its counterpart technology known as Virtual Provisioning.  (I'm not even going to attempt to explain this concept, as it's much more complex than even FAST VP!)

This job has been really wonderful, and yet very stressful at the same time.  More than occasionally would I go twelve hours without eating anything because I had to work through my lunch, and would come home with throbbing headaches from swiveling between my four workstations.  But on the whole, I really loved my job and felt like I lived up to expectations.

You may have noticed that I have been using the past tense when describing my job.  That is because I announced today to my team that I have taken on a new role as a TSE II in the RSA Security department, supporting the Security Analytics (also known as the NetWitness) platform, which is a tool for identifying and putting a stop to hacker infiltration attempts.

As I obtained my degree in IT Security, this has been pretty much what I would call my "dream job."  I always wanted to work in the IT Security field, keeping hackers at bay and fighting the virtual battle on the cutting-edge of technology.  I now hold a position in one of the leading IT Security companies worldwide.

This role is going to be much different than supporting the Symmetrix storage arrays, as I will be forgetting about hexadecimal error codes and proprietary software commands, and will instead be returning to my Linux roots, which I couldn't be more excited for.  I'm also being sent on a two-week business trip to Washington DC and Virginia in a few weeks for extensive onsite training to learn more about the product that I'll be supporting.

To say that I am excited would be an understatement.  This job opportunity also came at the perfect time, as Whitney and I will be having our first child at the end of March, and have had a lot to do in order to prepare for his arrival.  It really was a blessing that I discovered the offer when I did, so that I could take advantage of it and make this huge change in my life.

While I'm afraid of leaving the Symmetrix team, especially as I will be putting the burden of my role onto others' shoulders, I definitely feel like this is the right move for me at this time, and that I am doing what is in the best interest of my growing family.  But I am also so relieved and grateful that it includes starting a role in the job I've always dreamed of having.

Here's to the future!

A Time for Giving Thanks

I attended church today knowing, as this is the last Sunday before Thanksgiving, that I would be hearing several talks all bearing the subject of gratitude and giving thanks.  What I didn't know, however, was how much this would affect me and cause me to turn my mind inward on all of the reasons that I have for which to be thankful.

This past year has been one unlike any other for me, with so many changes in my life and so many experiences, both great and difficult.  That is why I am going to dedicate this blog post to try to put into words my gratitude for the wonderful blessings I have in my life.


My incredible wife Whitney
One year ago, I was engaged to be married to the most amazing, beautiful, incredible woman I had ever met.  I am pleased to say that, even after being married for 10 months now that I have a better marriage than I could ever have hoped for.

Whitney is the most loving individual that I know.  She truly understands me and blesses my life every second that I am with her.  She has given my life new meaning and has loved me more than I ever thought I could be loved.

Growing up, I always dreamed of having a wife that loved me as much as I loved her.  However, I never really thought that this would be the case.  As hard as I tried to envision it, I always saw myself in a relationship with someone who didn't reciprocate, or never put as much effort into the relationship as I did.  However, I was beyond blessed to find Whitney...or rather, for her to find me.

I can honestly say that Whitney is my biggest fan.  She supports me in everything that I do, and truly makes me feel like I matter.  I enjoy my time with her more than anything else, and can't begin to express how happy I am that we get to be together forever.

Becoming a dad
Whitney is now 22 weeks pregnant with our baby boy.  This is the most exciting, yet terrifying event I've experienced.  But I am really looking forward to being a dad.  I've been hit again and again with glimpses into the future; whenever I get to feel the baby kick, whenever I see a little boy staggering up and down the floor at church or in grocery stores, and especially when I spend time with my nephews.

While I know it's going to be hard in a lot of ways, I couldn't be more excited for the day when I get to hold him in my arms for the very first time, and I'm really looking forward to every moment I get to spend with him throughout the rest of my life.

My wonderful family
I have been incredibly blessed to have been born into an amazing family who loves me and has done everything they can to bring me up right and to be there for me in my time of need.  My parents are so great.  I have a mom who is always willing to give a listening ear and who is always there for me when  I need her.  I can't even begin to count the number of times I've had a heart-to-heart with her while growing up after having a difficult or stressful day.  She is also such a wonderful mother-in-law to Whitney, and that has been a huge blessing in both our lives.

My dad has also been there for me throughout my entire life and has always been willing to help me with anything.  Whenever I need help, he is there and ready to give 100%.  He has been an incredible example to me of service and generosity, and he has helped me to become the man that I am today through all of his life-lessons, whether they were intentional or unintentional.

I am also very lucky to have two siblings that are also my best friends.  I feel like we broke the mold (at least to some degree) when it comes to the stereotype of sibling rivalry.  Rather than fight, we played with each other and did everything with each other.  Even today, I believe that we really respect and love each other and continue to teach each other every time we're together.  I'm also grateful to have a great new brother-in-law who I love just as much.

When I married Whitney, I also inherited some incredible in-laws.  I have a mother- and father-in-law who I love very much and who have been great examples to me.  They have really welcomed me into their family with open arms, as have my brothers- and sisters-in-law, and I have been so grateful to have them all in my life.  It is also so wonderful to finally be an uncle, and to 3 nephews and 5 nieces!

My job
Sometimes with how stressful my job can be, I forget to consider it a blessing.  But in reality, I am so grateful for the job that I have and how much it has helped me in my life.  I work at a company that is on the cutting edge of technology, which is exactly where I've wanted to be.  I work in a great atmosphere doing what I love, and with great people.  I have an income that allows me to provide for my family, as well as unbelievably good benefits.  It is also so breathtaking to work somewhere where I feel like I can truly grow and expand my knowledge and skill set, and where I feel like I can continue for years to come.

Bronx
Yep, even as mischievous as he can be, I'm very grateful for the little wiener dog.  He has been such a fun addition to our home, and is such a lovable little creature.  He always makes us laugh with his funny antics and, even though he's still just a puppy who makes mistakes, he is getting better with his training every day, whether it is to ring the bell by the door to go potty or to stay out of the kitchen while we're cooking or eating.  He is also very in tune with our emotions.  If someone is upset or emotional, he will trot over immediately to provide whatever comfort he can.  He is truly a good dog, and I am happy that we have him.

I could easily go on and on, and end up turning this blog post into a novel.  But I am just so thankful for everything--and everyone--I have in my life, and for all of the support that have been given from everyone around me.  I'm challenging myself to be more aware of these blessings and gifts throughout this next week and do my best to remember that this week isn't about the turkey or about the Christmas shopping, but about expressing gratitude for everything we have.

Taught by a Nightmare

I woke up to a nightmare last night.  Not one of those nightmares involving monsters or ghosts, but one of those that caused me to wake up in a cold sweat and that continued to bring itself to the front of my memory all morning, bringing with it the same sense of unease and anxiety.

I dreamed that, for some reason or another, I was being admitted into a penitentiary.  Whether or not I was guilty or innocent of the crime that was committed wasn't important or made known in the dream, but it was known that I would have to be locked up for at least one year. 

While the details of the dream were and are hazy, I remember more vividly the feelings and emotions that were felt while I was asleep and trapped in that situation.

As I stood in line, waiting my turn to be processed by my old mission president (who was the official in charge for some reason), my mind turned inward as I began to reflect on the situation. 

I've always been the kind of guy that tries to find the silver lining in difficult situations and to look on the bright side of things.  This was the same case in this dream.  As I thought about the confinement that I would be in, my mind thought that at least I would be able to catch up on a lot of reading and studying without interruption.

However, as soon as that thought crossed through my mind, it was followed by a sickening feeling of dread as I realized how much I would be missing.  I would be away from my wife.  I would be away from my parents and my family.  And worst of all, I would miss the birth of my firstborn child.

I wish that I could say that I woke with a start upon feeling those emotions, but I had to endure what felt like an eternity of those feelings before my back pain finally jolted me awake, followed by my alarm shortly thereafter.

As I mentioned earlier, even after being awake I was plagued by the memories of this nightmare, that my memory unwillingly recalled over and over again while I prepared myself to go to church.  Sitting in sacrament meeting, I was still bothered by the dream, and prayed silently for comfort.  It was at that time that a feeling of understanding came over me about the dream that I had.

It's always been in my nature to be able to get immersed in projects, studies, and solo activities, whether they be something music-related (such as practicing the guitar for hours at a time and/or writing music), something technical like building a website or learning and reading up on technology that I work with or want to know more about, and/or even just reading for entertainment and leisure.

With life being so busy these days, those things have nearly become a thing of the past.  After working full-time at a satisfying yet stressful job, I come home and simply want to spent time with my wife.  I no longer sit in front of my computer with my guitar in hand, wearing headphones, or sit down with my Kindle in hand for hours at a time.  There just isn't time.

But what this dream has brought to my realization is that this doesn't matter.  The thing that means the very most to me in my life is my family, and it always will be.  More and more, in fact, as my family continues to grow.

This week is very special for me and my wife, because on Wednesday we will finally get to find out the gender of our little baby.  My thoughts on what it will be changes almost every day, but I will be absolutely thrilled whether it be a girl or a boy.

Yesterday, my wife and I were able to do a lot of work to prepare for the baby's coming.  We worked on cleaning out the baby's future room, which still had been completely full of wedding gifts that we haven't been able to use or return yet.  We swapped out and hung drapes in the living room and two of our bedrooms.  We also finally got to move our dog's crate from our bedroom to the computer room, now that we finally have some drapes that will keep it dark when it's time for him to take his naps.

It was really wonderful to spend the day like that yesterday.  It was a lot of work and my wife and I were both pretty sore by the time we were finished, but it felt amazing to know that we were preparing for the new addition to our family.  I think about our little baby every single day and how great it will be when the time finally comes to meet him or her.  I already know that it will be a sacred experience for me and Whitney.

I love my wife very much.  She is my rock and my reason for waking up every morning.  I love every second I get to spend with her and am so excited that I have all of eternity to be by her side.  Some of my favorite moments that I've had since being married were just lying in bed with her talking about our day, or worries, our excitements, or anything else that came to mind.  She is the best person to talk to and I think we are each other's therapy in a lot of ways.

Having said that, it is no wonder why my nightmare affecting me so heavily.  The thought of being far from my wife, my child, and the rest of my family was--and is--unbearable.  I'm no psychologist, but I think that this was the primary fear that was manifesting itself to me while I slept.  But, as traumatizing as it was for me, I am grateful for the realization that was presented to me of exactly what my priorities are.

I know now without a doubt, as I'm sure I did before the dream as well, that my family is my highest priority in life, and I will do everything in my power and with all of my energy to make them happy and to be worthy of the eternal marriage that Whitney and I established on the first of February this year.

Llamado a Servir

Since the day that my little brother Easton entered my life eighteen years ago, I knew that the day would come when he received his call from the Lord to serve his two year mission.  However, that day always seemed to be part of a future that would never arrive, an everlasting tomorrow.  He was my little brother and always would be.

Despite that feeling, I never doubted that he would be an incredible missionary.  Throughout his entire life he has always had an amazing spirit about him that spoke volumes about his convictions and his testimony of the Gospel.  This sense of preparedness has seemed to skyrocket over the past few years and months, and even weeks.

Easton and I have always been very close.  Even while he was really young, he was my "little buddy."  He and I did everything together.  We were the perfect video game companions.  We rode bikes and skateboards.  We even just hung out and did whatever sounded fun.

I also had the unique opportunity of saying that I played in a rock band with my little brother.  When I was about eighteen years old, I began a band called Last Gamble with my cousins Joel Thompson and Jake Jensen.  It started out as a cover band, with us just playing renditions of our favorite songs by Millencolin, Tiger Army, and Rise Against.  At the same time, my grandpa Elliott--who played in a jazz band for about 38 years--was teaching Easton to play the drums, and he was really picking it up quickly.

I was extremely impressed with how well Easton had learned to play, especially at his young age.  I had attempted to learn the drums from my grandpa, but I just couldn't fall into it as much as I wanted to and shifted toward the bass guitar instead.  Easton, on the other hand, flourished and had a natural rhythm.

I decided to help my brother along with his gift and bought him a Tama Stagestar drum set, which is designed to be a smaller set used for gigs where you don't have a lot of storage space.  I, however, found it to be the perfect size for such a little guy.  Easton joined our little group and we began not only learning covers but writing our own material.  We even got invited to play several shows in local venues, one of which performing as the opening act to a band I would later join.

We became pretty well known in the Provo area because of Easton, and I got accustomed to getting calls from venues asking if we were "the band with that awesome ten-year-old drummer."  People looked forward to hearing us play, and I'm sure it was mostly because of how fun it was to watch a kid who was barely taller than his drum set playing some advanced fills in songs.

As time went by, our small group dissolved as I went on to play in larger bands and because Jake lived so far away, but my bond with Easton was still very strong.  One of my very best friends growing up was my cousin Joel, and when he had to move to California I was very sad that I had lost such a close friend.  I turned to Easton and we did a lot together, whether it was going places like Nickelcade or to movies, playing racquetball, or just hanging out at home playing video games.

Even after my mission we still spent a lot of time together, even though he was obviously in his teen years and had a lot of other friends that he hung out with.  Some of my favorite memories of my unmarried life are when Joel, East, and I would meet up in my basement with our Xbox systems to play Call of Duty or other games late into the night together, laughing at each other and just having a great time.

Throughout those teen years, East has continued to really impress me.  Even with his energetic, fun side he still had a strong testimony and stood up for what he believed in.  I distinctly remember a time when he and I were the only ones home while my parents and Steph were out of town, where we had a long, late night talk about a friend situation he was having.  His friend was not very interested in living by Gospel standards or attending church or seminary, and East was worried that remaining friends with him would affect his own spiritual standing.  He had turned to me for help because he had come to a crossroads where he needed to put friendships on the line to do what is right.  I am so happy to know that he made the right decision, and that such thoughts were even on his radar at that age.

I have been continuously impressed with him, especially during this time that his mission is drawing closer.  I was excited to know that he has been attending a mission preparedness class, and that he has been thoroughly studying the Preach My Gospel manual so that he can be as prepared as possible.  It was also wonderful to hear of his progress as he filled out his mission papers and met with the bishop and stake president.

This past Wednesday, the day finally came when the envelope arrived at my parents' home addressed to "Elder Easton Dean Shurtliff," stating that it was from the office of the First Presidency.

We all met up that night to go to Brick Oven to celebrate both the call and several family birthdays occurring that month.  After dinner, when Easton's nerves were undoubtedly ready to pop, we returned home and sat around him as he opened the letter.  We all made our guesses on where he would go, but I think honestly we could see Easton serving both stateside and foreign, and so could he.  We knew he would truly be happy with wherever the Lord sent him.

With emotions running high and the tension thick in the air, Easton opened his call.



Aguascalientes.  Easton--soon to be Elder Shurtliff--would be serving in the Mexico Aguascalientes mission, serving the Lord in the Spanish language.  He would be entering the Provo MTC on January 22nd.

Easton...obviously...couldn't be happier, and neither could we.  I am beyond words when I say that I am so excited for him to be serving in Mexico.  I know that he will be an incredible missionary, and that he will dedicate his whole heart and soul to the Lord during that time to help others to come unto Christ and experience the joys of the restored Gospel.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Priesthood Session of general conference with Easton for the last time before his mission.  It was so touching to look over at him as he hurriedly scrawled down notes from each speaker in his notebook, rapt with attention.

I just know that Easton will be a superb missionary, and I am so excited to love and support him as much as I can while he is gone with mail and by any other means necessary, and know that he will truly be used an an instrument of the Lord in preaching the Gospel to the Mexican people.

Just as he has been throughout his entire life, Easton continues to be a huge example to me and I look up to him so much.  I am so excited to learn from him and follow his progress during his mission, and to see the man that he becomes while he is out there.

Back to Muse

I've played in several bands over the past eight years, and in almost every one of those bands I have played a show or two or ten at the Muse Music Cafe in downtown Provo, UT.

One of the moments I've remembered the most about that venue was playing a show in a metal band called Tamarack.  The band was established by a friend and neighbor of mine, Brady Bills.  I wasn't actually in his band at first, but one day there was a knock at my door and I answered it to find him and his dad holding a CD.

Brady told me that he had a huge favor to ask.  He had a show scheduled at Muse, but his bassist in his band had a bought of stage fright and decided that he didn't want to play shows and abruptly quit.  He asked if there was any way that I could fill in and play for them.  My previous band had parted ways not too long before that, and I was leaving on my mission in the coming weeks, so I agreed to jump on.  He was super excited, and promptly handed me the CD and told me that it had all the songs we would be playing but that some of them did not have bass lines recorded so I would need to come up with my own. He also told me that the show was in two days. 

It was an interesting experience trying to get the songs down pat, and to write new parts for a few of them.  But I sat in front of my computer, bass in hand, for a few hours and managed to get pretty solid. 

We had one late night rehearsal, and then it was off to the show.  Although I didn't have much playing time with those guys under my belt, I feel like we did very well, and it was really fun to play a style of music that wasn't my norm.  

Over the years after my mission, between Formerly So and Goodnight Annabelle, I've played at Muse probably over a dozen times.  Have I ever played larger venues?  Yes.  Have I ever played venues with a better sound system or a nicer stage?  Yes.  But at the same time I enjoy playing at Muse because of its intimate feel and because it is in the heart of Provo. 

Over the last nine months or so, we have played shows across the far reaches of Utah.  We had the great privilege of opening for Mayday Parade in Richfield, near the small town of Annabella, where our band got its namesake.  We also had the opportunity to play at the UBIC (Uintah Basin in Celebration) 2013 event in Roosevelt.

While those shows were amazing, I would by lying if I said that I didn't miss playing in Utah county, especially as that is where most of our fanbase resides. 

So I am very excited to say that Goodnight Annabelle will be playing at Muse Music Cafe tonight for the Helping Houston benefit event.  The doors open at 8pm and we are the first band on the bill, so we will be going on at 8:30pm.  I'm very excited and can't wait to show everyone the new songs we've been working so hard on over the past year.

 

Building Our Family

It's certainly been a while since I've written a post about something other than music, and in that time my life couldn't have changed more dramatically.  The girl of my dreams said yes when I asked her to marry me, we bought and moved into our condo in Saratoga Springs, and began our new life together.  We have now been happily married for eight months.

I'll be the first to admit that life was turned on its head for me, as I'm sure it was for my wife.  Going from a life of being single and not having to worry about things like rent or utilities to having the responsibility of providing for a family, paying a mortgage and other bills, and just being the patriarch of a home has yielded its fair share of stress. 

However, through all of those stressful times (which are certainly ongoing), I have been blessed to have a loving wife at my side.  There are few things as comforting as knowing that I have a wife waiting for me at home, with whom I can confide in and who is always willing to listen and to share my burdens.

On the other side of the coin, I am so grateful for the movements when I am able to be there for my wife when she feels stressed or worried, when she falls ill, or just needs someone to hold her. 

Some of the most sacred moments that I've experienced over the past few months were when Whitney or I have felt that overbearing feeling of anxiety or stress, and have turned to either other for help.  I hope that I have been able to help her as much as she had helped me, because she had done so more often than I can count.  

Whitney is incredibly skilled at reading my emotions and knowing how to be there for me. Sometimes she's able to help me understand the anxieties that I'm feeling about work or other worries that I haven't even been able to come to terms with myself.  She is an incredibly good listener and shows an empathy greater than anyone else I know.  Whether this comes from her degree in Psychology or a wife's intuition, I don't know, but I certainly appreciate it. 

While I definitely don't feel like I measure up in terms of knowing the best way to be there for my wife, or to comfort her in the way that she needs most, I am definitely trying my best, and believe that she knows that.

One of my favorite traits that Whitney has is the bravery to always ask for a priesthood blessing whenever she feels sick or is mentally or emotionally strained, or just needs some extra help.  She also has an incredible faith in the Priesthood and in my worthiness as a priesthood holder and knows that the blessings are ore than just words and that they truly have a positive effect in her life.  I am so honored to have this unique opportunity to bless her life, and really look forward to these times. 

Marriage is not an easy thing, but it is definitely an enjoyable thing. When I think back on my life without Whitney by my side, I have no idea how I was able to make it.  She has been my rock as much as I hope that I have been hers. 

We now have the wonderful blessing of knowing that our family is soon to get even larger, as Whitney is currently 14 weeks pregnant.  I will never forget that moment when I got to see the first ultrasound and see the throbbing heartbeat of the small child--our small child--that is growing inside of her. Seeing that heartbeat caused my own to feel like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest, and I was overwhelmed with the feeling of how real the situation had become.  One very powerful thought filled my mind and hasn't left me since that moment:  I'm going to be a father. 

While I'm nervous and anxious about how this huge event will chang my life, and how I will be able to step up to the task of being a father, I am extremely excited and can't wait for the moment to arrive.  I also know that I couldn't have asked for a better mother for my children.  Whitney has been so incredible to me that I have no doubt at all that she will be an exceptional mother.

The time is drawing nearer each day and there is still a lot to do to prepare for the coming of our baby, but I couldn't be happier.  I am so grateful for Whitney and her sacrifices with being pregnant. I love her with all my heart and so am thankful that we are able to make our little Shurtliff family even bigger.