Episode 2 - Young Marriage

We’re taking you back to the early days of our marriage—when love was strong, but so was the chaos.  From m1oving in together to dealing with the unsolicited “advice” from people who swore we wouldn’t last—this episode is a hilarious trip down memory lane. Tune in for the laughs, the lessons, and why you should never let your haters run your life. 😆

🎧 Hit play and join us as we spill the unfiltered truth about what it’s really like starting out as a married couple.

💬 Tag us with your funniest marriage stories! #MarriageFails #CoupleGoals #PodcastLife #UnfilteredUs #RelationshipAdvice #NewlywedChronicles

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Miguel's Instagram: @wealthy.1

Susie's Instagram: @sdguzman98

Transcript

Episode 2

Speaker 1

[00.00.00]

 You're listening to unfiltered us, where we keep it real and unscripted. I'm your host, Susie, along with my husband, Miguel. Ready to dive in? Let's get started. 

Speaker 2

[00.00.12]

 All right. Welcome, everyone, to our second episode of Unfiltered Us. And we got a lot more coming. So I figured, um, you know, obviously we want to keep it short, but at the same time, it's, uh, it's a journey of 30 years, so it's going to be a long way along, um, 

Speaker 1

[00.00.31]

 the EP, so. Yeah. 

Speaker 2

[00.00.33]

 Yeah. And we got a lot. I mean, we've even gotten people, um, requested to be guest. 

Speaker 1

[00.00.39]

 I know, which I'm excited about, because I would like to really get some guests on, like, different points of view of different personalities. You know, we have so many friends with different types of personalities, so it'd be interesting to bring them on. 

Speaker 2

[00.00.54]

 Yeah. I'm excited. I know we are going to have guests and I know they're, um, going to share with us, obviously, maybe stories we have together and we're going to pick their brain too. So yeah, it's, uh, you're going to have 

Speaker 1

[00.01.06]

 to be interesting. 

Speaker 2

[00.01.08]

 Very true. You're going to have your guests. I'm going to have my guest, and it's going to be it's going to be a fun thing. It's going to be dynamic. So all right, so let's get back to, you know where we left off last, last time I think uh, we talked a little bit about. You know how we dated, right? And how we met and how, um, we got to a point in our lives where you got pregnant. You were 16 years old, right? And, um, no need to discuss how that happened. 

Speaker 1

[00.01.37]

 I mean, I'm pretty sure everybody knows how that happened. 

Speaker 2

[00.01.41]

 Yes. So, um, that was a big deal back then. That was, um, you know, world three, one of the pioneers of the. What is that show called on MTV? 16 and pregnant. 

Speaker 1

[00.01.55]

 16 and pregnant. That was definitely me before it was the show on MTV. 

Speaker 2

[00.02.00]

 Before it was a thing, huh? Or was it before it was televised? Yeah. Hey, I was I, uh, pioneered that or I what? How do you say that? Yeah, you're the founding 

Speaker 1

[00.02.10]

 member. I'm the founding member. 

Speaker 2

[00.02.11]

 You were the one. Yeah. So going back and I. I remember thinking this. Right? Because I remember when you had, um, told me that you got pregnant. And, you know, at that time, I was thinking, okay, well, you know, this is it. You know, I'm going to be a dad, and, um, I gotta assume responsibilities. And, uh, you know, our life is just about to change, right? 

Speaker 1

[00.02.38]

 I mean, and I was, uh, I don't know, I, I try to think back then, like, what my mindset was obviously being 16 and, and pregnant and I, I only had like a it was, it was a toy store called KB toys at the time. That doesn't exist anymore. But I was probably only making what, like $9 if that an hour, you know, to be able to. Survive off of that. There's a lot of things obviously we didn't think of. 

Speaker 2

[00.03.09]

 Yeah, we were definitely not prepared. We were not we were not ready, that's for sure. You know, and, um, I know you had a part time job. I had no job. Right? I had no job. 

Speaker 1

[00.03.22]

 No, actually, work is like we said before, you were here on a student visa. 

Speaker 2

[00.03.25]

 Correct. Then I remember after that, I figured, well, I gotta work, right? I, I gotta give me a job. I gotta, you know, I gotta provide. Um, we were both in high school, and I remember that we did figure out that I could start maybe something part time, but I figured, um, you know, I just gotta get a job, you know? And so we we made the decision. And I remember before we go into the job situation, I remember we when we told, um, your parents, um, your dad was like, all right, you know, like, he he was just like, okay, what do you guys want to do? You know, uh, and, uh, your mom was just the complete opposite. Yeah. 

Speaker 1

[00.04.05]

 Yeah. Not happy. And that's been, uh, an on its own. That's been a 30 year journey. But, um, you know, she was not happy. You know, she was, um, I remember, you know, we were sitting outside, uh, of their house at that time, and she was just crying, and she thought your life was ruined. Yes, because you were a ten year. You're about to be a teenage mom. And she was like, what are you guys going to do? And it was it was a big it was a big deal back then. It was. 

Speaker 2

[00.04.34]

 And looking back, thinking as a parent now, looking back, the crazy times that we put them through because we were just kids. Yeah. You know, I mean, we've we've had our kids pass through the 15, 16, 17 age, uh, mark. And looking back when we put ourselves in that position as a parent, as a, as a kid backed into a parent. And that was, that was. Yeah. That was that was scary. It 

Speaker 1

[00.05.05]

 was scary when our daughter turned 16. I remember thinking, oh my goodness, this is when I got pregnant with her, you know, and I couldn't imagine her going through something like that at that age. I just thought, what was I, you know, that I but, you know, back then, especially any teenager even nowadays thinks I'm so grown. You know, I'm so grown and it'd be fine. There's there's nothing can go wrong, you know. But 

Speaker 2

[00.05.34]

 what's the worst that could happen? 

Speaker 1

[00.05.35]

 Yeah. You know, that's that's the crazy part. You're so naive, right? So naive. And I remember when our kids were going through that age, I'm like, oh, I don't even know how we did it, right? I really don't really 

Speaker 2

[00.05.50]

 know. Yeah, I, I again, I, I can't think of it either. But I do remember that one thing was for sure that we wanted to get married. Okay. That was maybe, um, probably the best decision that we made at that age. And I say that because from a man's point of view, right. Or from a from a kid, because I was 18, I was 18 back then. So I was considered a quote unquote adult, but still I was I mean, I was still a teenager in a sense, because at 18, 19, you're still a teenager, right? You're still a young kid. Just because somebody turns 18 doesn't make them a grown ass, full blown wise man. Okay. But I do remember saying, okay, I got I got to take responsibility for what I did, you know, I gotta get married. I remember telling my mom and she was like, okay, well, I mean, if that's what you know, that's what you gotta do. You gotta do. Right? And so we did decide that we were going to get married. We did. Um, you had to. When we went down to the courthouse to get our marriage license, 

Speaker 1

[00.06.52]

 my dad had to sign off on me getting married because I was so young. I wasn't legally an adult, so my my dad had to sign and say, yes, it's okay for her to be married. I do remember that. 

Speaker 2

[00.07.04]

 Right. So, um, I'm sure the people at the courthouse were like, what the hell is going on? 

Speaker 1

[00.07.10]

 What kind of Mexican crap is 

Speaker 2

[00.07.13]

 that? You know, I always tell people sometimes when they ask about our story and we tell them that part. Sam and her dad was from. Her dad is from Sinaloa. So I had to say yes, you know, but, uh, no, it was it was, uh, definitely. Looking back, it's probably one of the best decisions that we made. Going back to the point that I was trying to make. Because, you know, what I've noticed since we did that is I've noticed, uh, people or guys, right, that are in the same situation, they find themselves in the same situation as I found myself as a as a as a man, as a young man, uh, that got their girlfriend pregnant. And it's easy for them to say, well, you know what? Do you stay with your parents? I stay with my parents. And, you know, we'll see where things go, right? Like guys nowadays and and for a while, they just they're afraid to take on responsibility. They're afraid to take on, you know, um, an accountability. Maybe it's the word that I'm looking for and and deal with the consequences, um, of what they did. Yeah. You know, and so to me, especially because I didn't have a father growing up, in a sense. Right. How my brother that kind of looked after me a little bit. But for me as a man, I thought, okay, well, this is my shot. This is my opportunity to be something that I didn't have a chance to get. You know, because growing up. Yeah, my brother looked out and you can say, oh, he kind of like your father figure, but he's still not your father. You appreciate him, right? But he's still not a father, a dad. And so that was where I found myself in that position. Besides the fact that, of course, I wanted to be with you, I found myself as a man in that position to say, okay, I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be a dad. I got to take accountability and I got to take responsibility for that. 

Speaker 1

[00.09.05]

 Yeah. And I appreciate that so much, because it would have been so easy for you to easily walk out on me and your daughter and just say, that's it. Like, you guys need to figure it out. Uh, you know, I'm going to go stay with my mom. I'm going to, you know, maybe start dating other girls something, you know, and and you, you stuck around, which I know it's hard for a lot of guys to do that, you know. And so I'm grateful for that. Thank you. 

Speaker 2

[00.09.35]

 Welcome. You know, and this is why I have a hard time. And this is something personal. This is my personal opinion. Um, this is something that's personal to me. Um, when I see other men not taking accountability and responsibilities, you know, for for their actions, for what they did. And I think, man, I, I just, I, I honestly think less of them to be honest, you know, and, and I mean, maybe, maybe you don't like what I'm going to say. But again, this is unfiltered. And so as a man, I just think you gotta deal with it. You gotta, you know, you gotta own up to your mistakes. You know, I remember back then thinking, okay, that the the bus stops, you know, I gotta get a job. And I remember I, I went and applied at Wendy's, um, on Nellis and Harris. There's a Wendy's right on that corner. I applied uh, there. They never call me back. Thank God I applied at Sam's Town Casino. Right. I wanted to work at Sam's Town Casino, and, um, they never call me back, I thank God, and I remember, um, I had gone to Home Depot to. Help my brother in law install the water heater. He was buying a water heater and we had gone to Home Depot and I saw one of my friends from high school working at Home Depot, and I remember I asked him, I said, man, I need a job, you know? And then he goes, apply. I'll, I'll talk to the manager. And I said, okay. And I remember going back, my other high school friend drove me one day after high school and, um, they gave me the, you know, it was a paper application back then. They gave me the application, I apply for the job, and he spoke to the manager, and the manager ended up calling me back. And that was, uh, my first job. Um, I was still in high school, where we were still in high school, and I would go to high school. What is it, six to like one or 7 to 1. And, uh, my first job was to two 11:02 p.m. to 11 p.m.. So we did that Monday through Friday. And, uh, that was my first job. But, um, I want to go back to when we got married. So I want you to talk about a little bit about maybe from your perspective, what that was and, uh, our honeymoon and all that, huh. 

Speaker 1

[00.11.49]

 Well, obviously getting married at 16, we did go to the courthouse. We, um, got the marriage certificate. We did, uh, go to a chapel that I, if I remember correctly, they, like, charged us 100 bucks to have the ceremony there. So we booked that we, you know, invited people. We did invite a whole lot because my mom, in a sense. I felt like my mom was, like, really embarrassed by the whole situation. I think that's what made her so upset. The fact that she had a daughter that was now pregnant and getting married at 16 and, uh, you know, I understand that now as a mom, in her perspective at the time, I didn't understand why that was bothering her so much. And it's not that I would have been embarrassed about my daughter being pregnant. Um, but it is something that you just don't expect for your children. You want your children to obviously grow up, find someone you know, uh, get married, have kids, or, you know, and my daughter now is obviously doing everything that I had. We had hope for her. You know, she became a large taking on that. So. So looking back, obviously my mom thought her me what is she going to grow up to be? You know, there is no future for her. And, uh, so we didn't invite very many people to the wedding. 

Speaker 2

[00.13.14]

 Let's, let's, let's bring something up to again, because I think it's important, um, because there is a lot of people that thought that we were going to fail. There was a lot of people, especially family. Um, and, and I say your family, because you have way more family here than I do or than I did at that time. Now it's less. But, um, there's a lot of people that I was coming in with the wrong intentions. Yeah, 

Speaker 1

[00.13.43]

 right. Nobody really thought you were marrying me, or in a sense, got me pregnant to get papers because you were here on a student visa. So they just assumed that this is the next step. This is what he needs to stay in the States, which, I mean, if that was true, I would have been down to, like, you know, make him a legal. And I 

Speaker 2

[00.14.07]

 would have appreciated it. You know, I'm like, hey, I got something out of it. So it worked out. Worked out the case, you know, paid 

Speaker 1

[00.14.14]

 off. A lot of people thought that. A lot of people thought, oh, he just wants to marry her for the papers. You know, he just wants to stay here at the state, and that's why. 

Speaker 2

[00.14.23]

 Mhm. Once, once he gets his paper, he's gone. He's 

Speaker 1

[00.14.26]

 gone. You heard that. Yeah. We heard that a lot. So there wasn't a lot of people invited to our wedding. Uh it was mostly just friends actually our friends who obviously knew that I was pregnant. And uh I want to say obviously my mom. My dad and your dad and your mom. I'm sorry. Um, 

Speaker 2

[00.14.44]

 but my brother came. 

Speaker 1

[00.14.46]

 Oh, yes. Your brother came from Venezuela. Mhm. But we didn't have a whole lot of, uh, actual family members. 

Speaker 2

[00.14.52]

 It was in your parents backyard. 

Speaker 1

[00.14.53]

 It was. My mom made her famous tamales and. And 

Speaker 2

[00.14.59]

 it was fun. It was a great time. It was a great time. And my 

Speaker 1

[00.15.03]

 cousin from California came. And he knows it was a wonderful time. Shout out to 

Speaker 2

[00.15.08]

 your cousin in California. 

Speaker 1

[00.15.11]

 All of them. All of them. It was the it was a great time. You know, we we did the whole wedding ritual with the money dance and all of that stuff. But we had a great. I remember 

Speaker 2

[00.15.23]

 your brother went and got a room because we weren't even old enough to get a room. And I remember being at the boardwalk in, 

Speaker 1

[00.15.32]

 like, the 

Speaker 2

[00.15.33]

 non-existent does not exist anymore. It was right on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard. And, um, I think it's called Park Central Park Way now, right where that street is, that goes into the T-Mobile arena, where the, uh, it's a park. MGM now, it used to be Monte Carlo without that wasn't even Monte Carlo before it was. It was a Holiday Inn boardwalk, 

Speaker 1

[00.15.56]

 and it looked like a Ferris wheel outside. Yeah. I mean, and they had you really know, they 

Speaker 2

[00.16.03]

 had I remember they had a 24 hour buffet, 24 hour buffet. It was open 24 hours. And that boxer butter beam was their commercial, uh, model or 

Speaker 1

[00.16.14]

 whatever. That's correct. You remember that? Yes. Yes. And so he got us a room, and I remember, um, your brother Henry coming over and says, okay, this is the the key to the room. He he. Because we were so young, we couldn't even rent the room. Right. And then that was our honeymoon. Uh, we stayed, I don't know, maybe a couple of days there, three days or so. And then across the street was the MGM, and they used to have a theme park. They did. 

Speaker 2

[00.16.40]

 They had a theme park with a bunch of different games and rides and stuff. And so we would go to that 

Speaker 1

[00.16.46]

 because we couldn't do anything else. We couldn't go to clubs, we couldn't gamble nothing. And so shout out to the MGM for having a theme park at that 

Speaker 2

[00.16.56]

 time. Back then, it doesn't exist anymore. That's crazy. I 

Speaker 1

[00.16.59]

 mean, I feel like I couldn't get on a lot of rides because I was pregnant and you probably wouldn't had gotten a lot of rides because you you're most emotions 

Speaker 2

[00.17.06]

 I don't do right. 

Speaker 1

[00.17.07]

 Yes. You do not. That's another 

Speaker 2

[00.17.09]

 topic. We'll talk about that another day, but I, I don't do right. Um, so back then, you know, and I remember we we ended up moving in with your parents. Um, we stayed in Henry's old room. I think Henry had moved out by then. And so we were staying in his room, and then, um, you you had a job at the toy store? I had gotten a job, I think actually took a few months because we got married. What, end of September? We did. And I didn't get a job until March. March, I believe March 1997, a few months before. Lissette was born. That's when I got the job. In between that, I just get. I work with your dad, right? And his landscaping company, helping him out, doing a few things here and there until I, you know, was able to get that Home Depot job. But we have, uh, we kept going to school. We never stopped. You 

Speaker 1

[00.18.02]

 know, you did graduate even though we 

Speaker 2

[00.18.04]

 were going to two different high schools. 

Speaker 1

[00.18.06]

 Were you? Uh, I remember at least I was born. And you, uh, ended up graduating a month later, and, uh, I still had a whole nother year to complete. So I was pregnant with her my entire junior year. Um, and it's crazy, because even in school, the thing nowadays that you're pregnant your entire junior year, I remember I'd fall asleep in class because I was so tired. And I remember my history. I would fall asleep for some reason. Always in history class. I don't know if I found it just really boring, or that was just around the time that I would just get so tired, probably my day and he would let me sleep. He was the sweetest man I remember. He would just let me sleep, you know, and I'm sure I everyone would catch on that I was sleeping, but he would just let me sleep. You had no issue with letting me sleep. I remember that he was very, very it's crazy. And it's crazy to think that I had a teacher like that. And then I had a teacher that would tell me stuff like, you know, your, your, your future is not pretty much telling me your, my future is very bright anymore. Yeah. She would she would make it known that she thought I was going to be a failure in life. So that's crazy how some teachers are so. Well, I don't want to say welcoming, but so optimistic so that you could have a great future or like letting you be. And then you have a teacher who did not see any kind of future for you and was just like, you're pretty much a failure already, which, um, I guess joke's on her because we're not failures. 

Speaker 2

[00.19.48]

 Yeah. You know, looking back, it was really. It really was an uphill battle. Like, uh, like a major uphill battle. Where where I think if people were to be told. Up front that that was what they were going to go. If people were to be told upfront that this is what you're going to have to go through, most people will say, no. I feel most people would not take on that challenge, right? Because even I remember just something that just came up to me even after we got married. Um, you did you you you did have you do have a cousin that used to go to the same high school that I went to. Yeah. And he didn't like me. Oh, no, he didn't like me. And now now, side note, we're good now. We're really good now. Like, you know, we've we've talked right a few years ago. We've talked and we're really good. Okay. We like each other a lot now. But back then he did not like me. So I don't know if it was part of the whole family thinking, you know, Miguel has bad intentions and he's going to do this and he's going to do that. But I do remember we would, you know, cross paths during school and we would just dog each other, you know, and I'm like, what the f is his problem? You know, I'm like, I, I don't know what the f your problem is, but you know, I'm not going to back down because I'm like, you know, I don't know what your freaking problem is. And, uh, a couple of times we got into fistfights after school, you know, and I remember one time, right out, I. Right out of school, he drove right in front of my my, I think I had a car back then. And he drove right in front of me. He was just dogging me. So I'm like, yeah, you're looking at, you know, and he's like, what? And I'm like, what? And so we pulled up on the side of the desert, and we got out of the car and we just went at it. And I remember him saying, I'm gonna go tell my aunt. And I was like, okay, go. I don't know what I have to tell you, bro. Go tell your ass. You know, I don't care what she gonna do. You know, like, you have a problem with me. And so, um. But, yeah, it was really an uphill battle, and, um. We're good. Now, I want to say you and your cousin, we're good. I we have a really good relationship. Every once in a while, he calls me, or he texts me, and and and we're good. Um, which is a good thing, because he's a good guy. You know, he was just, um, and again, we we've talked as, as adult, uh, about our past, and we put it behind us, you know, which is a great thing because I understood where he was coming from, and he definitely saw that I'm still around and my intentions were not what they thought. 

Speaker 1

[00.22.27]

 Yeah. So I, um, going back to high school, so then I, I ended up graduating with a one year old. Which funny story about my graduation is that obviously being a mom and having a really early graduation, it was so difficult for me to get myself ready and get our daughter ready. And, uh, I ended up being really late for our high school, my high school graduation, and I ended up not being because, you know, how you have. I don't know if they still do it nowadays, but at that time, you had to be in a specific spot, um, out of the group, like you were ranked. You were in a spot. Like, seating 

Speaker 2

[00.23.10]

 wise, I think it's alphabetical order. Yes. No. Well, for my school was depending on where you were GPA wise. Uh, and I had actually graduated with honors, so I actually graduated with a completely different, um, robe. All right. 13 different color 

Speaker 1

[00.23.28]

 row, different color row DPI is a certain GPA in above board, different color robe. I knew you were smart and the rest of the group. And so since I was so late, I ended up I had to wear white robe and everybody else that was in that group at that certain GPA for a Burgundy, if I remember correctly, red, maybe red or Burgundy robe. And since I was so late, I ended up being like a white spot in between a bunch of red and Burgundy robes. And I threw off a bunch of, like, stuff that needed to be done. Like, uh, according to your notes, Anita 

Speaker 2

[00.24.12]

 Campos. And then you got up. 

Speaker 1

[00.24.14]

 Yeah. Like you, it was so bad. And then everyone would be like, oh, you were the white spot. Like, in between all the robes that stood out. You stood out because I was so, so late. But, I mean, I made it to my high school graduation is that I was extremely late. And so then I obviously graduated, um, now with a one year old, you were still working at Home Depot? Um, at the, uh, we were we stayed with my parents for an entire year before we moved out with my brother and his then girlfriend. So we we moved out in an apartment with them. And remember the two bedroom apartment? They had one bedroom. We had the other bedroom, and now we had our daughter. And then she ended up getting pregnant. And then my nephew and not our 

Speaker 2

[00.25.02]

 daughter. Your sister in law? 

Speaker 1

[00.25.05]

 What did I say? You 

Speaker 2

[00.25.07]

 said we had our daughter and then she ended up getting pregnant. 

Speaker 1

[00.25.13]

 We had our daughter. But then, yes, my sister in law ended up getting pregnant. 

Speaker 2

[00.25.18]

 I just want to clarify that. Yes, 

Speaker 1

[00.25.20]

 they ended up getting pregnant. And then my nephew came along. So then it was six of us in this two bedroom apartment. Yeah. It's fun times. Yeah. So then they ended up obviously moving out, and then we ended up finding somewhere else to live a little cheaper because we were still on a on a very tight budget. Yeah, but I didn't buy then I ended up working for Walgreens. I think I was with Walgreens for like an entire year. 

Speaker 2

[00.25.47]

 Yes, I remember that. 

Speaker 1

[00.25.49]

 I worked for Walgreens, and then I started working with a staffing agency who was able to give me with the power company, and then that's how I ended up working for Nevada Power at the time. And I stayed with them for like nine years. Nine years. Ten years? I 

Speaker 2

[00.26.09]

 think you did ten, ten years. I remember you got a pin 

Speaker 1

[00.26.14]

 down. I'll do 

Speaker 2

[00.26.15]

 a ten year, ten year award. You got a ten year badge, baby. 

Speaker 1

[00.26.20]

 I said your pin. And then, um, obviously, then by that time, the business that you had got into was doing very well. And then I was able to quit my job and and I haven't had an actual job since then. Wow. 

Speaker 2

[00.26.34]

 That's amazing. That's almost. Yeah. 

Speaker 1

[00.26.37]

 Like 18 years. Yeah. I, I one thing, um, while all this was going on after I graduated, because I graduated a year before you, I went to, uh, what? Back then with CSN, and now they dropped the community si off of it. So it's called CSN for you preppie guys. Uh, but it's called Community College of Southern Nevada back then. Right. For the people, they dropped the community because they they they sounded ghetto. That's what they said they did. They dropped the C of the. But it is a community college. So C you send for you younger people. So um, I, I was going for I remember I was going for business management. I still don't know what that means because I didn't really learn anything about business from college, but that that was my goal and I had scholarship. So that's the only reason why I went, because I didn't really pay for it. In fact, they pay me to go to school. They were giving me every semester. They were giving me X amount of dollars, uh, besides paying for my school. There were, you know, um, giving me money because of, um, the scholarships and the grant that I had at that time, which helped out a lot, too, when it came down to, uh, us moving out and getting our own apartment and stuff like that. So. But we never, never stopped doing the things that, um, we were, we were going to do. And I think in both of our jobs at that time, we wanted to climb up the corporate ladder. You know, I remember my goal, 

Speaker 2

[00.28.04]

 right? Which you did. You went up a few positions, and I know they even transfer you to a few departments and obviously with pay raises and things like that. Um, I remember I became at Home Depot, I went from a regular associate down to, uh, what they call department supervisor, a department head. But my next goal was to become a assistant manager, which they never promoted me. Thank God. Um, you know, but that was that was our goal back then. So it's not like, you know, one of the things about us that I want people to understand, which I see so many people get stuck, is that at everything that we've ever done, we have always done our best to just keep climbing up and to keep moving forward. You know, when you look back at where we first started, and I'm sure we'll go back and talk a lot of other stories that, you know, between we got up to now. Um, but we've always has always been a consistent climbing up, you know? 

Speaker 1

[00.29.07]

 Yes, always. I mean, I made it a point to when I got hired on to Nevada Power. I was just there temporarily. They had hired me on temporarily because, um, the department, the audit department needed, like, uh, an administrative person. And they hired then the woman that I was working under really liked my work and really liked me, that she ended up hire me. On completely permanently. And I wish you had hired me on kind of part time. And I told her that I needed something full time, that I was going to start looking in other departments at Nevada Power because I needed something full time. And she was just like, no, don't even look like I'll I'll give you the full time position. So then I went full time with her. I was with her for many years until I decided to go into accounting because I just love numbers. I've always been a math person. Like accounting has always been my thing. 

Speaker 2

[00.30.07]

 Is that what you went to school at sector for high Tech? Uhhuh. So then, um, both tech. It was kind of odd, like accounting, but at the same time, it was more like computer management, like learning how to do a lot of stuff on the computer. I never went to college. I don't have a college degree at all. Um, but the thing with Nevada Power is that so many people knew me, um, because I was great at not only working my department, but I was great about, like, doing other things, like setting up other things. I was part of a department that not a department. I was part of a group that would bring in, like health classes to Nevada Power or like making people healthy and stuff like that. I even had brought Weight Watchers on, I remember 

Speaker 1

[00.30.56]

 and, uh, so a lot of people knew me because my name was always like every morning there was a post that went out to Nevada, to Nevada Power employees. And, uh, they would have to contact me to be able to go to these classes or join Weight Watchers or whatever we'd be. And so of course, everybody knew my name, so I made sure my name was always out there. So when I went to go apply for the accounting department, they didn't really care that I didn't have a lot of the maybe education a 

Speaker 2

[00.31.28]

 degrees or anything like that. 

Speaker 1

[00.31.29]

 They liked that. They liked me so much as a human that they were just like, you know what I mean? Like this person, we want her on just because everyone gets your spirit. Her. Yeah. And so, 

Speaker 2

[00.31.42]

 yeah, it's just your personality. You know, you've always had that personality 

Speaker 1

[00.31.45]

 how to do the job. It's not that I, they hired me on just because I was great, like a great person or a great personality. They hired me on because I knew my stuff as well. And I could prove it to you because I had worked in the audit department. They really liked my work. Right. And and I just needed some learning on maybe how to do the, the program that they were working with. But once I, I learned it, I learned it, and I was really good at it. And so that's the other thing is that I feel like sometimes, especially coming up the corporate ladder, it's not so much the education, but like how well you could get along with other people. And they really liked that about me. So then I went from the accounting department, and then I decided that I wanted to go into legal. So I did go to the legal department. And I really thought that my younger years, for sure, I had always said that I wanted to be a lawyer or something to that effect. I went to the legal department. I didn't like it as much as I thought I was gonna like it. And they could see that, like, from me, that it was a lot of hours, which there's nothing wrong with that. I just wasn't really willing to do it because I had my family. By this time we had Miguelito and I had two kids, and I just wasn't really looking forward to spending so many hours for that and not have much of a pay increase. Right. And and I remember I went back to my old department, they're like, we'll take you back, don't worry. And they did. Um, and so legal was fine with it. They, they understood where I was coming from. I went back for the accounting department, and I, and I stayed there for a long time until Nevada Power had a whole restructure. And then they put me in HR because they're like, everyone loves Suzy. Let's just sticker in HR. But I did not want to be an HR. I did not want to know about people's benefits and how much people were making. And, uh, that's when, thank God, we were introduced to the company that you're we're now with. And, uh, you were able to grow it to the point where I could just leave because I just wasn't happy anymore. And a lot of the people that were in the business, um, we're in the company when I was there. We're starting to leave as well, so it wasn't the company that I had grew up those ten years with. It was completely changing and I just didn't really want to be there anymore. 

Speaker 2

[00.34.20]

 Right. I remember I think he was like maybe 10 or 15 years, maybe went by after you had left Nevada Power, that if you would run into somebody that was still working for them and I would mention your name, they were like, yeah, Susie. Sure. Susie. Yeah. You know, like people remembered you. You know, there was a lot of people that I became, my clients that I helped out. And somehow, someway, they work for the power company. And I said, yeah, my wife used to work for the power company. Oh, what's your wife's name? And I didn't mention they'd be like, oh, yeah, remember 

Speaker 1

[00.34.55]

 I've been oh yeah, she 

Speaker 2

[00.34.56]

 left or this or that, blah blah blah. So you definitely made a huge impact. Um, you know, if you were to stay there and you would have stayed either with internal audit or accounting, I mean, you definitely would have been super way up there now. Yeah, but it worked out like you said. You know, it worked out at that time. You know, it was it was time to move on. You know, it was time for a new chapter. And, um, you took on the 100% role of, uh, mom for the kids. I think when you, um, I don't remember how the kids were when you when you quit your job. 

Speaker 1

[00.35.29]

 You had to start it when he was five. And Elisa was in fifth grade, so she was probably a nine, nine, ten years 

Speaker 2

[00.35.38]

 old. Okay. Yeah, I, I, I, I forget their ages at that time, but that was, that was a that was a fun time. You know, it was a great time for again it was scary right. Anytime you get to make a career change or leave a job or a career in a sense because you've been there for ten years, it's it's always scary. Um, but let's go back to and we, we want we have a few minutes here before we stop our second episode. Um, but let's go back to, um, that time, you know, when we got married and it was an adjustment, you know, it was it was definitely an adjustment for me because moving into your parents house. Right. And now having to, you know, have a wife and a baby on, on, on the way. And I know that, you know, we may be talking about how it might have been pink and pretty, but it was a lot of times that it wasn't. It was a lot of times that it was that it was tough, you know, and that's why I said it was a really uphill battle, because there was a lot of adjustments. There was a lot of growing up to do also. Especially on my part, I would say. Right. Um, but from your end as well too, because we were just 16 and 18, you know. So maybe talk a little bit about that. Um, on that, on that time period. Well, I just, um, and I don't know if it's like a womanly instinct. I just knew I was going to be a mom, and so I knew I had to step up my role as a mom, you know, as a even though I was 16, 17, I knew I had to grow up and I had to grow up fast because there was this human coming into our, our lives. And I just thought, okay, this is it. I'm going to graduate high school and, um, you know, find a job for me, see how we make ends meet. You know, thankfully, my parents were so full, very with letting us stay there. And so any money we made, it's not like we had to pay rent, but we still had to think about diapers and and formula and obviously clothing and anything that, that we needed. And then, then as far as like. Just little things, little minor things that we need, like gas or, you know, car repairs, food. Yes. 

Speaker 1

[00.38.02]

 So it and it's not like you made a ton of money and it's not like I and I didn't work for a little bit because I had just had Haley said. So you had to be the one providing the income. And it's not like your money was. 

Speaker 2

[00.38.15]

 It was $9 an hour, my first job, which at that time I thought it was a lot of money because most places were hiring for six, $7, you know. So to think back on, uh, being married with a kid on a $9 an hour salary or wage, you know, um, and like you said, luckily your parents did help out a lot. But that's what I mean by it was tough, you know? And and it wasn't all pink and pretty. It is my point that I'm trying to make right here, because I don't want people to think that, you know, since you and I got together and we got married, dad, that we that we've never had tough times, that we've never had issues, right, that that come up. But we have always learn and figure it out on how to overcome those issues and overcome those adversities, if you want to call them, which till today, unless, unless we sit down and talk about it like we are right now, they're kind of irrelevant at this point. You know, we kind of forgot about them because we, we we grew out of that. 

Speaker 1

[00.39.19]

 Yeah. I just needed you to grow up a little faster, 

Speaker 2

[00.39.24]

 you know? 

Speaker 1

[00.39.26]

 Uh, 

Speaker 2

[00.39.26]

 I'm I'm working on that 

Speaker 1

[00.39.27]

 right now. Back then, it was tough because I felt like I was being an adult for both of us, and I. It is not to throw you under the bus or anything. I mean, I'm just being truthful, like you, uh, you times up had a lot of growing up to do, and it's. I think as a guy, I don't know if and like I said, I don't know if it's our motherly instinct that we just knew we had. I had to grow up because I was bringing a human in. And maybe it's because I was pregnant with her the entire time that I knew this, this human was coming into our lives. And you didn't want to give up a lot of stuff, you know, like you still wanted to hang out with your friends. You still wanted to party every weekend, even though you guys weren't even legally allowed to party with each 

Speaker 2

[00.40.19]

 age, you never stopped. And, 

Speaker 1

[00.40.21]

 uh, you know, and and I just, I there was a lot of times where I thought our marriage just wasn't going to work out. I thought, this guy does not want to grow up. He wants to still party. He he wants to have his friends. His daughter and his wife are not very important to him. And so there was a lot of stuff that I just couldn't put up with anymore. And and I say it truthfully because obviously this is very unfiltered, that I just was this, this, this marriage is going to end. I just never saw a future. And I don't know if you see how do you see it in your point of view at that time? 

Speaker 2

[00.41.03]

 Yeah. I mean, looking back when we talked a little bit about this on the first episode, you know, when you're going through something you might not know why you're going through, but looking back, yeah, I can see that there was a lot of time that I've wasted, um, on things that shouldn't have been put on, you know, instead of dedicating it to you and, you know, the kids because you even, you know, the me going out every Friday and Saturday religiously, um, for years. Right. Because even after we moved into our house, uh, our first house, I did it. Um, looking back, I'm like, man, I should have had done that. You know, I should have spent more time with my kids, you know, and going out every Friday and coming back home Saturday morning at three in the morning and same thing on Saturday night and coming back Sunday morning at, you know, 4:00 in the morning and sleeping until three, was not it, you know, looking back is um, definitely a lot of wasted time and and like you said, it was maybe in maturity. Uh, I just needed to grow up a little bit more. Um, maybe it was just the people I was hanging out with. Uh. And this is why I'm big on, you know, family time now. You know, it's almost even with our grandkids. I want to, in a sense, make up, you know, for that time. Uh, but it's just something we had to go through, in a sense, to maybe make our marriages stronger. And maybe in the next episode, we'll talk about what really did change that, because I, I really attribute me changing, uh, my lifestyle to the business that we were introduced 

Speaker 1

[00.42.44]

 to. I agree 1,000%, I 

Speaker 2

[00.42.47]

 agree, and so maybe we'll pick it up on the third episode and we'll talk about that, but we'll go back to this point, 

Speaker 1

[00.42.54]

 okay. Thank you guys for the next episode. It's going 

Speaker 2

[00.42.58]

 to be fun. Make sure you guys plug in ready 

Speaker 1

[00.43.00]

 because he knows about TV. 

Speaker 2

[00.43.04]

 Okay. See you guys. Love you. Bye bye bye. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Unfiltered Us. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't forget to hit that follow button so you never miss an episode. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment and join in the conversation. If you think someone else will enjoy today's chat, go ahead and share this episode with them. Your support means the world to us. Until next time, stay real and stay unfiltered.