jQuery Grid Plugin - jqGrid

Hi, I"m trying to load data from the server and then sort locally so I don't have to make another call back to the server just to sort the data which takes a long time. Currently I load the data from a mysql database with datatype: 'xml'.  How do I act upon the data locally?  The examples I've seen mention this change:  datatype: 'clientSide'

But I still need to load the data from the server.  I figure I have to:

1) get the data from the mysql database.

2) load it into a local array?

3) draw a grid using the local array?

4) sort as needed.

Thanks!