February 1995
HELLO, FRIENDS AND FAMILY...
...and greetings from the Grand Canyon State! As most of you
know by now, we Dallapes moved from Edwardsville, IL (about 15
miles east of St. Louis) to Phoenix at the beginning of this
year. Today we are commencing our family newsletter, DALLAPE
DIRT, to keep all of you up-to-date on what goes on in our lives.
DALLAPE DIRT will be published monthly, and, in addition to the
news, will also contain special features and articles in the
upcoming months.
We got to Phoenix in the first week
of January, and rented a small apartment on the western part of
town. We drove here from Edwardsville, and so got to see a host
of interesting sights along the way.
The job market has been good to
Jerry. Less than three weeks after moving here, he had received
three job offers! One he declined readily, but the other two were
in close competition. He ended up choosing the one with better
opportunity for advancement (though not quite as "safe"
as the other). He works for Simmers Capital Management Corp. Inc.
is now in training to take a series of tests which will qualify
him to sell Mutual Funds and other variable products (variable
annuities and variable universal life policies). The company is
hoping to expand from three to 50 offices in the next five years,
so they're training their employees to learn how this type of
company is run, and not just sales. In 2-3 years Jerry will be
expected to open his own branch office. He says he's looking
forward to helping people make more money on their investments.
Suzanne has applied to several
different retails businesses, and has had a few interviews, but
nothing definite yet—though she's still waiting for replies
from some companies. Hopefully it will not be too much longer
before she, too, has work.
On the weekend of January 21, we
took a trip to Rancho Pales Verdes, CA (a 7-hour drive from
Phoenix), to see Suzanne's family, Jim and Roxanne Bettonville
and kids John and Allison. The Bettonvilles moved from Illinois
to California last June. We were all very happy to see each other
after such a long time, and we spent a fun weekend talking,
playing games, baking bread, and generally having a riotously
enjoyable time. They are planning on making a visit to Phoenix in
the next month or two to see us. Jim gave us a computer to use
until we can buy our own. It has a word-processing program, but
is lacking a printer. So the newsletter will be typed for a few
months, until we get our own setup. Still, it's nice to have a
computer, as it helps us to know what to look for when shopping
for our own.
The newsletter will be short this
month, but in future issues we'll expand it to include special
columns, recipes, articles, and games. Until next time, everyone
take care, and please don't hesitate to stay in touch!
| WEATHER REPORT January temperatures mostly stayed within Phoenix's normal range of 400—600, with a few days getting up to 70. It has been wetter than one would expect Phoenix to be, with about five drizzly days in January. In the next couple of days, they are predicting temperatures in the low 80's! The air has been nippy and fresh. |
QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Out of all of the people in the world, whom would you choose to be your Valentine? Send in your answers, and we'll publish them in the next newsletter! |