quotable 2007

these are quotes i have been collecting this year ... some i've seen on friends' blogs (thanks); others i've just run into. enjoy! if you have one to add, let me know.

• "we do not remember days, we remember moments." -- cesare pavese

• "it's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." -- eleanor roosevelt

• "we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -- anais nin

• "he who takes offense when none is intended is a fool, he who takes offense when offense is intended is a bigger fool."-- confucius

• "love is blind (and sometimes deaf and stupid)." -- anon.

i want it ...

my harp teacher informed me a couple weeks ago that she would be selling one of her harps. yes, the one that i fell in love with earlier this year:

i want it ...

happy birthday to me

spent the day driving from l.a. to ogden, utah, with my sister, her husband, and their 1½-year-old, where we had yummy spaghetti birthday dinner, sang happy birthday, and opened presents. then slept. :)

the clouds roll in

every once in a while the clouds part and the sun shines down. and i, through no fault or merit of my own, just happen to be standing *right* there where all the sunny goodness lands. (on other occasions, i just happen to be standing right there were the bird doo lands, too -- metaphorically and literally -- but we'll discuss that at a later date.)

so, as i bask in the warmth, enjoying the unanticipated sunlight, i wonder just how long it will last. because i know that soon enough the light begins to wane, the clouds roll in, and the sun disappears above them. and life returns to the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other process that it always has been.

the very same week that i met pharmacy boy, he had knee surgery. so since our chance meeting that was itself a frolic in a moment of sunshine, we haven't had much conversation other than random midnight texts and one email. okay, and one short phone call. hardly anything to blog about. but i feel this story needs closure.

a couple days ago, i got the following text message:

pharmacy boy: good morning. how r u? i am a little better. i was prescribed a sedative to help me sleep. i think i will be visiting family for the next month. i will leave friday. i hope you have a very happy holiday.

so, sometimes wonderful, exciting things happen, but the timing just isn't right. as "grown ups" we realize that's just the way life is, so we live with it. but i have to say, it would have been so much more fun to live with if pharmacy boy had taken me for a ride on his bike sometime before the sun hid itself behind the clouds.

a third

yes, there was one *more* work-related holiday party this year. we got a new office managing partner at our woodland hills office this year. and he is *all* team-woodland-hills-spirit. so ... since he came to our office, we've had office bowling events, happy hours, impromptu office lunches, one-on-one lunches/breakfasts, team-woodland-hills encouraging voicemail messages, go-get'em email messages ... he even got us a big flat-screen tv for our reception area and sent bakery-bought-homemade cookies to each employee's home for the holidays.

so, with the holidays upon us, he took advantage and organized a "woodland hills professional open house holiday reception for clients, prospects, networking colleagues and alumni". yes, that's what he actually called it. it was an opportunity to invite our clients and prospects to come visit our office (which is still fairly new) and network and meet new people.

as the date of the event was getting close, we received 3 emails from the office managing partner: (1) a general reminder about the event with a second request that all employees be present; (2) another reminder about the event with a special request that those planning to attend consider working from the office (instead of a client's office) for at least the last half of the day so that all will be prepared and calm when "our guests" arrived; and (3) a third reminder about the event with a special request that employees organize and clean their desks and bring personal effects/pictures/plants/etc. to make sure it looks like we work in our office. *that* one was hilarious.

on the day of the event, i did end up working a half-day from my office so i could be ready and organized and cleaned. however, i forgot to bring family pictures and other paraphernalia to home-ify my cubicle. oops.

the event was so well organized: we had florists and caterers showing up in the early afternoon; my harp teacher (the firm hired her to provide ambiance) arrived around 430; our people were filing in all afternoon; and clients and other guests started showing up around 6. the evening went until about 830 and was quite nice.

at first i felt a little like a seashell on a mountain peak since i didn't know many of the guests and wasn't high up enough on the totem pole to command the attention of, well, really anyone. but i soon figured out that i could just hang out in the reception area and when people arrived i'd introduce myself and ask them whom they were with and whom i could introduce them to. it turned out to be a great strategy: i met so many people and really just had a great time doing so.

one of the bankers i met was such a character. actually, most of the people from his bank were just fun. this guy, though, connected with me over chocolate. i was chatting with a few of his co-workers when he walked up and his first question was, pointing at the dessert tray, "so, which of these do you suppose has the most chocolate in the least amount of space?" now, *that* is a question i am more than happy to answer ... and to research! after trying a few of the goodies, i found the one and pointed it out to him. he quickly snatched it from the tray and ate it. and loved it.

as we continued talking and eating chocolate, i guess i got some chocolate on my lip, which i often do and so i have trained my tongue to clean me up pretty efficiently, but my new banker friend noticed it and turned to grab a napkin to help me out. i, quite honestly, didn't notice what he was doing. but before i knew it, he was turning back around and had a napkin pressed up to my lip. umm, he, uhh, wiped my mouth for me and then looked at the napkin, which was clean because i had already licked my lips. he then said, "oh, there's nothing on there". i must have had a look of bewilderment on my face as i tried to assess whether what just happened was okay because his next comment was, "don't worry i have kids". but i'm *still* thinking that wasn't okay. just really not sure it was okay. okay?

henna for the holidays

i hate shopping. and because i hate shopping so much, my preparations for our firm holiday party last year consisted of choosing between 2 dresses my sister happened to have hanging in her closet that fit me. which happened late in the afternoon on the day of the party. yeah.

but ... i would like to be better, improve, branch out, and generally be more "normal," so when i got the invitation for this year's holiday party, i thought i'd try shopping for a new dress.

one evening a couple weeks before the party, i headed over to the mall to see what i could see. i got there around 7. by 730, i had tried on 3 dresses that fit neither me nor my pocket book, tried on 1 blouse that would have worked with a skirt i already own if it had come in any size besides petite, and stopped myself from pulling out all my hair in frustration 4 times. i left the mall.

as i drove home feeling both frustrated and like a failure, i passed joann's fabric and craft ... after 30 minutes, i had found 2 patterns, 2 fabrics, and a new hope that perhaps i'd have a new dress for this year's party.

i started cutting and sewing on thursday night that week. and continued on sunday afternoon and evening: it was mostly done. but i needed to go up to my sister's to use her other sewing machine for the edges. the night before the party, i was at my sister's finishing the zipper and clasp; all that was left was the hem and the ribbon-belt. so at 1030 that night, i was pressing everything, trying to get it perfect since that's the type of perfectionist i am. one of the seams near the zipper was really thick. so i pressed on it hard with the iron. and as i lifted the iron ... umm ... the fabric was stuck to it: i had burned a hole in my dress! yeah-huh! (see photo at right.)

after a discussion with my sister of any and all alternatives to removing and replacing the singed piece of the dress, the next 2½ hours were spent removing and replacing the singed piece of the dress. and *then* i could work on finishing what was left. it was a long night. but i got 'er done. (see photo at left.)

the holiday party this year was themed, "rock the casbah" and was held down at the grove of anaheim, which was very nice. the firm had gone all out in decorating and preparing for this event. when cute guy and i arrived and even before entering the hall, we saw belly dancers, fire breathers, two huge camels, and even a monkey. cute monkey. famous monkey: she is the monkey from pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl.

the evening was a lot of fun, even after a very long drive (in the rain). i quickly found a few of my office friends and we all exchanged introductions. the rest of the evening was filled with good food, dancing, casino games, raffles, fortune telling, and henna painting. so many fun things. and it was fun to see my co-workers outside of the office and enjoying themselves.

seeing the fortune teller/tarot card reader was an interesting experience. i hadn't done that before. but she said some interesting things. she said that based on the cards i chose i'd be faced with some new contracts, which could be any kind of contract: whether business, or housing, or work, or relationship ... and when she said "relationship" she looked straight up at cute guy. umm, uncomfortable. anyway, and she said that when considering these contracts that there would be many people who would have an opinion on them but that i would be the one with the final say. (i would hope so.) she also said that i pulled the ___ ___ card (can't remember) that meant that i would have lots of money. i'm okay with that.

cute guy got some of the same cards, and some of the same description/reading. yes, she looked at me whenever she said anything relationship-y to him. heh. anyway. it was fun. and i ate some really good dark chocolate while we were waiting in line for our readings.

oh! and i *totally* forgot to get henna before the evening ended. i completely blew that one ... grrr.

holiday mixer

every year the owners of our office building put on a holiday mixer. i wasn't going to go, but then one of my co-workers returned from the mixer and told me that this year there was a special guest:

the dark side

before:

after:

let's just say that i am announcing my deep and abiding love for chocolate to the whole world ... without words.

(a friend suggested that the *other* way to accomplish this would be to give myself a swirly everyday instead. eeww, gross. i opted for dying my hair.)

fajita night

at byu my roommates and i decided we were cool. as such, we started pronouncing f.h.e. as if it were a word: "fa-hee".

one monday afternoon, as i was heading up to campus to drop something off, i called out to one of my roommates, "oh hey, are you going to 'fa-hee' tonight?" just then, one of our neighbors was passing by: "wait, what are you doing? what's 'fajita night'?" needless to say, we thought it was hilarious *and* we thought we were even more cool. so it's been fajita night ever since.

tonight i went to fajita night with my friend becky at the singles ward in my stake. the night's activities were (1) white elephant gift exchange and (2) sharing favorite Christmas treats.

while i was driving home from work kinda late tonight, i remembered that i, umm, i'm not a fan of white elephant gift exchanges. i already have too much junk and i am certain that no one wants the junk that i don't want -- pretty sure no one really wants the junk that i *do* want, either. plus, i didn't have time to worry about that: i had to make a favorite Christmas treat!

i stopped at the grocery store and then skeedaddled home to make ...

easy peppermint bark
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
10 - 12 peppermint candy canes

place candy canes in plastic bag and seal. crush candy canes to small pieces.

prepare a large plate by covering with waxed paper.

starting with the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small dish, melt in the microwave by heating on medium power for 2 minutes. stir. continue heating for 30-second periods on medium-heat, stirring between each, until chocolate chips are fully melted. watch carefully and do not overheat as chocolate burns easily.

spread melted chocolate on waxed paper to a thickness of about ¼-inch. sprinkle crushed candy canes over melted semi-sweet chocolate. place in freezer to harden.

melt bittersweet chocolate chips in the same manner. once the bittersweet chocolate is melted, pour over previously prepared semi-sweet chocolate, creating a new layer. sprinkle the bittersweet chocolate layer with crushed candy canes.

once completely cooled/hardened, break into pieces. enjoy.

mmm. it was so good! it's super easy to make, *and* *it's* *chocolate*!! (no, i'm not drooling on my keyboard.)

watching airplanes - gary allan

sittin' out here on the hood of this truck looking up
at a caramel colored sunset sky
checkin' my watch doin' the math in my head
counting back words to when you said goodbye
well those runway lights are gettin' brighter

[chorus:]
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore
right now i'm sittin' out here watching airplanes

i would've lied, could've cried, should've tried harder
done anything to make you stay
i wonder what you'd do if you looked out your window
saw me runnin' down the runway just like i was crazy
that fence is too high, so am i

[chorus:]
so i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore

by now i know you're thirty thousand feet above me
but a million miles away, a million miles away
by now i know i oughtta act like you don't love me

[chorus:]
but i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore

yeah, i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
go by, by, by
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
baby bye, bye, bye

tay-has

my little sister inge and her husband jared just moved to the city of enchantment (aka, lake jackson, tx -- about an hour outside of houston). and what's a better housewarming gift than ... me!? yup. 4 fun-filled days with the coolest almost-cpa in southern california. what more could you want? no, really: what more could you want?

i was to arrive on november 7, wednesday evening, late, but this was the first time last month that i missed my flight. so instead, i arrived thursday morning, early. inge picked me up a little after 6 am and took me to her apartment where i slept. yeah. she had a doctor appointment or something, so i crashed on their guest bed while she was gone.

when she got back, we showered and got ready for the day. it was fun to just chat and catch up. we took a walk over to the sea center texas, which is like a small aquarium that has animals, etc., specifically local to the gulf coast area. (i was interested to learn that dow chemical is a supporter of the sea center.) at the sea center, inge introduced me to gordy. he's a jewfish. inge thinks it's funny that "jewfish" sounds like "doofus".

we came home from the sea center and ate tuna fish sandwiches, which sounded appropriate, and then we played games/chatted/hung out until jared *finally* got home from work. at which point we all changed clothes and went to the rec center! so much fun! "the recreation center-lake jackson is 65,500 square feet of family fun and fitness." and yeah, it is! we played racquetball for a while -- jared played with some friends that actually know how to play, and inge and i played with each other and pretended to know what we were doing. i think we had more fun. though jared got more sweaty. and then we went to the swimming pool to slide down the slide. *loved* that!

the next day was friday and jared doesn't have to work every other friday. so friday we drove out to galveston, after a lazy morning of waffles and wii tanks. we saw the seawall and went to the aquarium at moody gardens. i had a blast watching the sharks swim around in all those tanks. sharks are pretty cocky.

that night we watched stranger than fiction since i had just purchased it when i spent the night at the airport, but i think all of us fell asleep before the movie ended -- it was a long day.

saturday we lazed around again in the morning. i guess that's what vacation is for, isn't it? and then we headed out to brazos bend state park. on the way there, we stopped to take pictures of longhorns -- we were in texas, after all -- and we stopped to observe a memorial site for albert sydney johnston, confederate hero and texas patriot. this is a picture of me looking confederate, in honor of mr. johnston. this is also me looking unsuspecting as fire ants were eating my left foot.

back in the car, we continued the drive out to brazos bend state park while i complained and tried to weasel some fire-ant sympathy from the newly-native texans.

at the park, we saw an alligator! he swam up just after we arrived and posed for a few shots. if you look closely at that picture, you can see him in the background between inge and me. it was mesmerizing to watch him swim over, which i think is precisely what he intended. it's probably part of his attack plan: enchant them with my movements, then straight for the jugular!

after hanging at the swamp for a few minutes -- not too long because we quickly became aware of a covert mosquito operation to eat us alive -- we drove to the george observatory. we had a 15-minute "mini class" about the stars and constellations and then got to go look through the enormous telescopes to see some of the amazing things in the heavens. we saw a dumb-bell nebula, some other-cool-things-that-i-can't-remember, and lots of stars. we also saw the andromeda galaxy! oh, *that* was so cool.

sunday was church. i enjoyed visiting with inge and jared. their ward is nice. after church we played ticket to ride, a way fun game that i have mentioned in this blog before. inge and jared have the märklin version that has passengers, which makes the game a little more interesting. after the game, we went to the airport and i didn't miss my flight back to l.a.; so i'd say it was a productive day.

the results are in

as part of my annual physical last week, i had blood drawn for lab tests.

(and i got a nasty bruise from it, too, because the nurse poked the wrong vein. yes, i blame her. this picture isn't a very good representation of my bruise: i forgot to take a picture a couple days ago when it was in all its glory. but can you see how she poked the way wrong vein? it wasn't even in the center of my elbow pit.)

i got my lab results back today. here are the highlights:

triglycerides -- 97 mg/dL
cholesterol, total -- 215 mg/dL (should be less than 200)
hdl cholesterol -- 60 mg/dL
ldl cholesterol -- 136 mg/dL (should be less than 130)
glucose -- 80 mg/dL
sodium -- 138 mmol/L
potassium -- 4.0 mmol/L
white blood cell count -- 5.9 thousand/uL
red blood cell count -- 4.91 million/uL
hemoglobin -- 13.0 g/dL
hematocrit -- 38.4 %
platelet count -- 283 thousand/uL

bottom line: i'm healthy. my cholesterol is too high. i eat too much red meat. but i just love it so dang much!

prepositions

in grammar, a preposition is a part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. it is any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship. we use them all the time. "the cat is on the sofa." "the chipmunk ran around the tree." "i have the gift for her in my car." "i made a fool of myself on the phone with him."

last may i went to in-n-out burger on my way to my sister eden's house. as i was waiting in the drive-thru line, i was talking to my other sister inge on the phone. as they do when there is a long line at the drive-thru, an in-n-out employee was standing outside with a headset, taking orders and relaying them to the kitchen. i guess it's their way of committing you to wait in the long line: after all, you've already ordered your double-double, animal style, and chocolate shake. (what do you mean, "is that what you always order, christianna?"?)

so i was on the phone with inge, just chatting about the betterment of society as a whole and the real impact of nuclear testing facilities on our nation's rising generation (probably), minding my own business as i slowly crept forward in a line that seemed to be getting longer rather than shorter. at this particular in-n-out, there is an outdoor eating area right by the drive-thru line and it was a nice evening, so there were a few people enjoying their ground beef outside. as i pulled closer to the picnic-table area, inge and i were coming quite close to the singular root of the world's problems as a whole, but i noticed two guys sitting at one of the picnic tables and looking in my direction.

my window was open because i had just ordered my double-double, animal style, and chocolate shake (probably).

"so, what did you order?" the blond called out.
"a double-double, animal style. what about you guys?"
"4 x 4's for us: that's four meats, four cheeses."
"wow, i haven't tried that."

when the next line from the brunet guy started with a "so, do you live around here?" i knew that this conversation might get a little more involved, so i told inge i would talk to her later and pulled the earbud out of my ear. i can't remember much of the rest of the exchange (it was 7 months ago, after all), but it did end in me leaning out my window with a post-it with my number on it.

(an aside: as i pulled forward, eager to get my beef fix, i picked up my phone to call inge back only to realize that she had been on the phone the whole time and thought the whole getting-hit-on-in-the-drive-thru-at-in-n-out was hilarious.)

the brunet called me before i even got out of the in-n-out parking lot, but i was already on the phone with cute guy and this was back in the early days of that, so i didn't answer and in-n-out boy left a message. the next week, i met up with both of the in-n-out boys at a mexican place near where we originally met.

over the last 7 months, communication has been sparse. blond in-n-out boy moved up to seattle (*why* does everyone i know move up there!?), and brunet in-n-out boy moved to azusa, ca.

last week i was back at the in-n-out near my sister eden's, which made me think of the in-n-out boys, so i sent a quick text to both of them. we all caught up, shared news, etc., then brunet in-n-out boy suggested going to see a movie out in pasadena, and since i am *dying* to see beowulf ... we made plans to do so on thursday last week.

which introduces a whole new preposition to this story: up ... he stood me up. yup. i texted him thursday afternoon to find out the details of the show and stuff, which he didn't respond to. then i called him when i left work to see if he just hadn't received my text (which is happening *a lot* lately: so aggravating), and he didn't call back. and i haven't heard from him at all since then. yeah.

so, i guess the most appropriate response to him is also the most simple: i'm out!

(there you go, matti: that's the story of the in-n-out boys.)

more than the doctor ordered

monday was my annual physical, which, as my sometimes-employed friend commented, is just something that those of us who have health insurance do. so yeah. i went. (figured i should especially make sure to get in there before my insurance coverage changes in january.)

anyway. i've had this annoying rash on my right-hand fingers since before my mission, so since it's now been more than 6 years that it hasn't gone away of its own accord, i decided it was high-time to bring it to my doctor's attention. he looked at it, asked some questions, looked again, and said he'd give me something stronger than cortisone-10. he wrote the scrip and i was on my way.

down in the lobby there was a pharmacy, and as i breezed past it on the way to my car, i decided i would see what it's like to be like the rest of america and actually just go to the pharmacy located at my doctor's office. so i turned around and walked right in.

when i walked in, there was only one other "customer" there (don't know why i put quotes around that, but i did. live with it.) he was a kinda-scruffy-looking guy, mid- to late-twenties, with a worn-out black t-shirt from some band i'd never heard of, and a tattoo on his right bicep. he was waiting in the general area of the pharmacist window, so i stopped to evaluate the situation. he quickly acknowledged that he had already been helped. so i marched up to the window and gave the pharmacist my prescription. because i hadn't been to that pharmacy before, she needed to collect some information:

"address?"
i gave it to her.
"phone number?"
i gave it to her.
"date of birth?"
i gave it to her.
"date of birth?"
i hesitated ...

as i stood there looking at her, a panic quickly came over me: "i thought i gav--" "didn't i just ans--" i looked to my left, then to my right ... !! ... "have i entered some sort of time warp?!" i scratched my head. i looked up at the pharmacist. i looked down at the paper. but, but there it was: she had just written *down* my date of birth. so why was she asking me *again*? i looked up at her again.

it was then that the pharmacist let out a nervous giggle. oops: she'd asked that question twice.

the other customer piped in at this point, smoothing over the situation with a bit of flirtatious humor, "it's okay, she doesn't look like she's that old."

i turned around; i'd forgotten he was there. i probably looked pretty surprised when i turned around, but then i smiled before i turned back to the pharmacist who had a few more questions for me.

as i waited for my prescription, pharmacy boy made small talk. it was kinda fun, but kinda awkward, neither one of us knowing how long this conversation would last before the prescriptions were filled. he was nice.

after about 10 minutes, the pharmacist had his prescription ready. as he packed up his stuff, he seemed to be hesitating a bit. he walked over to me again to ask one more quick question as he fumbled through his wallet looking for his business card. he finally found it and handed it to me with a smooth, "we should do lunch sometime." to which i responded with an equally smooth, "okay."

as he headed toward the door, he had one final comment: "i'm not normally dressed like such a scruff, just when i ride my bike ..." and right then i noticed that his big leather jacket had a harley logo.

he rides a bike! swoon!

a new hangout

i have been forced to a new hangout. well, i suppose it really is a result of choice and my own ill-planning (but who wants to claim that?). the new digs? the airport. yep. much like unto tom hanks in the terminal, i have been spending quite a bit of time at the airport. i’ve learned my way around, made a few friends, reserved my own stall in the restroom, contracted a poor starving musician to play where everybody knows my name when i arrive. i am becoming quite familiar with this place. and the routine that has regrettably become my norm whenever i fly.

tonight i've been here for 6 hours already. about 5 more to go. and all i have to say is that i really hope that i can escape this fate. i don't really want everyone here to know my name. though, i wouldn't mind if the cute tsa guy remembered it ...

for the second time this month, i find myself with too much airport time on my hands -- and unfortunately with too much hot chocolate on my shirt. :S (okay, it's only the first time for that this month, but yeah: as you can see, it's been a great evening.)

about two weeks ago, i missed my flight to houston by 20 minutes. argh. it was a surprisingly painless experience once all was said and done. but let me sing the song of that evening for you.

my flight was to depart at 620. i calculated that on a wednesday evening, i could leave my client's office by 430 and arrive in perfect timing -- perhaps i'd have to walk briskly through the concourse. of course, when making my calculations, i didn't take into account the huge accident that was to occur mid-way from my client's office and my house at 422 on this particular wednesday ... so, instead of the 15 minutes that it takes to get from westlake village to my house on a *regular* wednesday, it took me 1 hour. which then ruled out using the flyaway with its stressfree ride and $4-a-day parking. so, in a panic, i called my 70-year-old roommate ... and she graciously saved this pathetic, punctually-challenged punk. the drive down to lax usually takes about a half hour -- i needed it to take 20 minutes, max. which of course, it didn't. because it was a wednesday. i guess. so ... leaving my house at 530, we pulled up to terminal 5 at 645.

now, don't start to think too much ill of me. not only did i have enough capacity of thought to call my roommate as i stared at the 40 gabillion red tail lights between my client's office and my house, but i also thought it prudent to call continental airlines. y'know, see if maybe they might hold the plane for me. umm. that’s a no. apparently.

"okay, so is there another flight tonight?"

"well, there aren't anymore flights tonight, but there is one that leaves at 1 am and i can put you on that," the customer service rep suggested.

"great."

"there’s a $100-change fee ..."

of course there's a fee. "... uhh, okay ..."

"... and then you just pay the difference in the airfares -- which is $600. so for $700 i can get you on the next flight." she sounded altogether too perky to be delivering such news.

perhaps because of her perkiness, i thought about that for about 37 seconds, but ultimately concluded, "umm, i can't do that."

"okay. is there anything else i can help you with?" again with the perky.

"no. thank you," i said, with a new determination to make it to lax in time.

when i arrived, i walked straight up to the ticketing counter.

the cute guy there asked "what time is your flight?"

"i just missed it."

"to houston?"

"yeah. is there another flight i can get on?" i asked.

"yes, the red-eye. it leaves at 1."

"yeah? can i get on that?" i tried to seem like this was new information for me. maybe i could get out of the enormous fee if i looked desperate enough.

"certainly." i liked this guy.

"umm, and how much is it to change?" please don't say $700, please don't say $700.

"it's a $25-change fee." i really liked this guy. evidently continental airlines has recently implemented an i-didn't-plan-ahead special. that's okay by me!

so after saving myself $675 that evening, i figured i could splurge when my brother-in-law suggested that i buy a dvd to watch on my laptop while i waited the 6 hours for my new flight. and it was a good idea. it took some looking, but i finally found a shop that had dvd's: a bunch that didn't interest me at all, but they had stranger than fiction which i originally had no desire to see because will ferrell stars, but my sister said that she really liked it, so i thought i'd give it a try: there weren't too many options. and i *loved* that movie. (except for the ending, which completely, totally, and entirely disappointed, but that's fodder for another blog.) i was quite entertained by the story and the storytelling, and there were only a few moments where i felt like the "message/moral of the story" squelched the entertainment value. quite good. yes, it was quite good.

tonight's events followed a similar melody with a few variations (for interest): left work at 6 for a 9-o'clock flight, attempted the flyaway this time since traffic wasn't quite so bad (it's not wednesday after all ... well, *now* it's wednesday, but it wasn't when i decided to take the flyaway), got to the airport at 820, but didn't get to my terminal until 850. i missed boarding by 5 minutes. ugh. but ... i've already been through this routine ...so it was less stressful. the only problem is that the next flight to salt lake isn't until 8 in the morning.

at this point, i have already watched my new airport flick pick (eragon -- not bad), downloaded the pictures from my camera onto my hard drive, named them, removed all the red eyes from them, spilled hot chocolate on my brand new white tank, and now i fear that this black seat is forever molded to my boney hiney. i might need to leave an apologetic letter to future occupants ... if i can ever pry myself up. which ... i should consider doing ... i think it's about time for a potty break ...

a rough weekend

cute guy dumped me on saturday night.

i dumped perfect boy on sunday night.

it was a rough weekend.

fresh air

i just got an email from the scheduler here at work ... and ... no more stinky client! yea!

starting next monday, i will either be at a different client doing year-end preparation work -- one of my favorite clients to work on -- or back in my office. which i am so happy about.

now, i have to admit that this week here at the stinky boring client really hasn't been as bad as previous weeks. i still just have a bad taste in my mouth from it, though. so it will be nice to leave for reals.

charitable donation

i have been donating platelets at the american red cross for about a year now: pretty much since i moved out here. and i love it. now, some of my friends don't understand why i do this. i can go in up to every 2 weeks, but mostly try to make it once a month. it is a bit time consuming (one donation takes about 1½ to 2½ hours), but among the benefits, i count the following:

1. you save a life, or two, or three, or ... -- platelets are needed for cancer patients and other people undergoing a bone marrow transplant, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment or organ transplant. people with type a+ blood are particularly good donors, and can even give 2 or 3 units in one sitting. that's 2 or 3 lives right there. so you can pat yourself on the back for that.

2. it doesn't really cost you that much -- your body starts replenishing platelets pretty much immediately. within 48 hours, your body's platelets should be completely replenished and you'll be totally back to normal, assuming you were "normal" to begin with. so ... what does it hurt?

3. you get to feel needed -- platelets can only be stored for aout 5 days. so that means they need to keep replenishing that supply. and, as it states on the red cross website, "platelet donors have the satisfaction of knowing that their donation will be saving a life within just a few days." you get to feel needed and satisfied.

4. it keeps you healthy -- i know that when i am planning to go in and donate, i kind of watch what i am eating and make sure i get enough liquids and such a little bit more than normal. in order to give platelets, you have to meet the same good health requirements as for donating whole blood. the thing that always gets me is the iron levels ... so i've learned that for the couple of days before i donate, i need to eat a little more red meat (ha! as if i could possibly eat more beef than normal!), or spinach, or raisins ... i've been learning all kinds of things that have iron in them. and i even find that chocolate has some good iron in it, more than i would expect, considering the bad rap chocolate always gets. it has iron! it's healthy, i tell you!

5. you can catch up on movies -- because the donation takes so long, they let you watch a movie while you are there. the following are just some of the movies i have seen while donating:

   the prestige
   transformers
   girl with the pearl earring
   failure to launch
   the aviator
   premonition
   cinderella man
   an unfinished life
   lord of the rings: two towers
   the illusionist
   x-men 3

   it's a perfect opportunity to see the flick you missed in the theater. my red cross is constantly getting new movies. in fact, i think they just joined netflix, so they can keep up with what's newly coming out.

6. you can catch up on cookie-consumption -- you know how when you give blood, you get to go to the "treats table" afterward and munch on some sugary goodness -- and that's when you just donate whole blood, which takes about 20 minutes -- well, imagine how many cookies they will let you eat (and even take some with you) after your 2-hour donation! i suppose i could include herein a list of some of the snacks i have eaten after donating platelets, too, but i think we'd all get a little sick just thinking about all those calories.

   oh! my red cross just got all new kinds of snacks, too!

i just scheduled an appointment for this saturday (yes, partly because of the new snacks) -- and i think all of you should look up the number for your local american red cross and set up an appointment for yourselves. i went twice last month and i am scheduled to go twice again this month. can you keep up?

now, before i wrap up this post, i have a question. i would definitely consider a platelet donation as "charitable." wouldn't you? so ... do you suppose i can get some sort of deduction for that on my taxes this year? just wonderin' ...

---

(to follow-up ... this is what i found at irs.gov. phooey.)

an amusing weekend

this was a while ago, but i haven't taken the time to write about it yet ... so here we go!

southern california's amusement parks really celebrate halloween. i got an email from a friend a while ago who was trying to put together a group of at least 25 people to go to knott's scary farm (so we could get discount tickets). well, i forwarded the message on to a handful of people, as did many other people ... turned out we got about 130 people to commit to go! it was so much fun.

i already mentioned that i spent about 5 hours screaming that night. and i loved every moment of it. it was completely hilarious to me: i was with a group of people the whole, entire night (did you catch that: not by myself, at all, ever) and somehow the "more than 1,000 fully costumed, very-alive creatures wandering the park" zeroed in on me and chased me down all night long. and i, of course, screamed like a very small child while running frantically in a zig-zag pattern (yes, i thought that would help) until the monsters had had their fun. it was absolutely fabulous! i loved every moment of it.

(my companions kept lecturing me and trying to give me tips about how to "not show them your fear -- they can smell it, y'know, like dogs." but i was having too much fun to pay any attention to that. i paid $28 to get scurred, dangit, and scurred is precisely what i was gonna get!)

two days later, my friend becky celebrated her birthday. at disneyland. now, whereas knott's scary farm aimed to "continue to set new standards in adult scare entertainment," disneyland is still the happiest place on earth. every halloween they transform the haunted mansion into a "the nightmare before Christmas" theme, they make a big mickey face out of white and orange pumpkins on the welcome lawn (instead of the usual flowers), and they "grow" candy corn in the main plaza in disney's california adventure. but disneyland is in no way as scary as knott's scary farm. which is *fine* -- we still had a great time. it's been too long since i've been to disney. loved it.

part of the problem

i have recently realized and have to admit that part of the problem is that i am still in love with someone else.

a pastime

if any of you guys haven't yet checked out "the pioneer woman" blog i have listed over there on the left, you are missing out!!

lately, she has been posting the story of how she met and fell in love with her husband, which has been hilarious! (and a story that any woman will love and wish she were the one living it.)

i have found her site to be the best way to waste time here at work -- way better than updating my own blog ... which i usually find entertaining enough ... but seriously: reading hers is way better. promise.

she also posts recipes and cooking tips on her linked site.

(and she takes really cool pictures. honestly, i don't know what she *doesn't* do.)

"it"

on september 2, my friend becky and i went to the northridge singles ward so becky could make some friends. you see, there was going to be this really fun barbecue party at the bishop's house the coming friday night and i was going to be out of town ... so becky needed to make some friends so she could show up and not feel like a complete schlemiel. after church that sunday, the ward had a break-the-fast potluck, so becky and i, of course, stayed to chow down on what singles term "homemade" (mostly chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and anything else you can store in your freezer until the next potluck). the food wasn't bad.

becky and i stuck around to help clean up and as i carried a stack of dirty dishes into the kitchen, a guy stopped me at the door and was like "hey, i remember you from an activity last Christmas."

"uhh, you do?"

"yeah."

"umm, what's your name?" i asked, a little thrown off.

we exchanged names -- thank goodness he didn't remember mine, if he ever knew it. we got to talking a bit and, since he was in charge of the potluck, we started washing dishes while we chatted. spent about a half hour cleaning and chatting. he grew up around here, he likes hang gliding, he's an accounting student at northridge -- he's graduating this coming spring, so we talked a bit about accounting and a bit about my firm and stuff. once all the dishes were clean, i found becky and we went home.

while i was in utah, becky was amazing! on saturday morning (the day after the barbecue) she called me and was like, "you are going to be so proud of me!"

"why? what did you do ... ?" i was a little nervous.

turns out she got to the barbecue a bit early, before anyone she knew was there, but as soon as she found perfect boy she went over to say hi. after a few minutes of conversation, she said, "oh -- christianna says hi," paying close attention to his response so as to be able to give me a full report.

"really?" he asked, and (as becky describes) his eyes lit up.

yes: i was proud of becky. that sunday at church while i was still out of town, becky approached him again and brought me up again ... and then she got me his phone number!! uhh, yeah. they talked a little about accounting and my firm and he told her to have me call to talk about my firm some more.

so i called him once i got back into town and i just have to interject here that we still haven't talked any more about my firm since that first day i met him. we have talked a few times since then, and talked about many things. and he is just a perfect guy -- seriously. as far as the "list" of things, he is perfect in most everything that is most important to me: active and involved in church, kind, concerned about others, serves others, gets my sense of humor (which is difficult, i know -- no really, i know), loves family, wants a family, wants to be right before God ...

so, why am i not falling head over heels for this kid?

someone once said in reference to me that he just wasn't feeling "it", whatever "it" is ... and i have to say that i might now understand that. because i'm just not feeling "it" with perfect boy. as far as "on paper," there is no reason why this shouldn't work out swimmingly, but there's something missing ...

i've been thinking about it a lot lately: i don't want to lead the kid on, but i also don't want to sign him off and say goodbye too prematurely -- too many people are telling me that sometimes you have to wait for that "click" or whatever, which is something i haven't ever experienced. so i am trying to be patient. but i just don't in any way feel for perfect boy what i feel for cute guy.

maybe i'm only even thinking about him because becky put in a lot of effort for this to happen. maybe.

i really don't want to hurt perfect boy. we've been out a couple times, but i think things are going faster for him than for me. while i was in chicago, he and i talked a couple times on the phone. the last time was thursday night, during which phone call he asked me out for that saturday night. as we were hanging up, he snuck an "i miss you" in there. i had no response to that. in all the time since i have known him, i've only ever seen him maybe once a week, if that, so for me to be out of town for a week really wasn't a big deal. and also, i just don't miss people -- i kinda figure that i'll see people again when i see them, or i'll talk to them when i talk to them, so why dwell on the feeling? sorry. that's me. anyway ... i don't know.

anyone out there good at these kinds of analyses? have the solution to my problem (err, at least to *this* problem)? ;)

the windy city

or close thereunto, anyway ... i spent all of this week in st. charles, il -- a little town about 45 miles from chicago -- for training for work. i hadn't ever been to chicago before, except for lay-overs, so this was kind of exciting.

and mostly boring, unfortunately.

well, the training wasn't too bad, and i met lots of people from my firm all over the u.s. and puerto rico, which was fun. (that's a shot of me and one of my co-workers, leila.) and we got limo service to and from the airport -- fun, too, though we didn't have a sun roof to stand up out of. doubt the driver would have let us, anyway. oh, well.

the training was held at this training center that used to be a college campus of some sort with dorms, a fitness center, a bar and everything. so we got to stay in the old dorm rooms: which were tiny! i could really sit on my bed and brush my teeth at the same time, or sit on the toilet and wash my feet in the shower at the same time. and actually, i had to be careful not to lift both my arms up in the shower at the same time so i wouldn't hit any funny bones. and there was certainly no rolling around allowed in the bed. i don't know how students used to put up with those rooms! i did survive, though; don't worry.

the days were spent in the classroom, 8 to 530. then the night life! err, yeah. let's see, monday night was a networking/ice-breaker activity: we had to build a mouse trap using pvc pipe, paper and rubberbands (the "mouse" was a pool cue ball). tuesday night i got out of class, got some dinner, then went on a walk/jog with leila and we found the cemetery that was next door -- very cool -- then i had to do some stuff for work (what i don't understand is how i can have had so little to do over the last 2 months here at this client, and then the one week that i leave there is suddenly so much stuff to do that i have to work on it while i am away at training. yeah.). after class on wednesday night i went up to my room and watched a movie before dinner, then just spent the rest of the evening as a hermit in my room kinda watching tv and kinda working on some other stuff for work, annoyed that i had to do anything for work at all -- oh, and i went to the gym with my friend jen for a little bit, too. thursday night i watched another movie or tv or something again before dinner, then dinner, then leila and i went to the gym for about an hour -- i've never spent so long in a gym before! -- then back up to my room where i spent the rest of the evening on the phone: my sister inge, cute guy, perfect boy, my mom. and then yesterday i flew home!

i am psycho. really. i admit it. one week of not having my packed evening schedule and i was so ready to rip all my hair out. yup, guess i don't know how to relax. like, at all.

crazy-busy

i quite honestly feel like i haven't slept in 2 weeks. i don't know what my problem is, but i always seem to think -- and blurt out before thinking any further -- "sure, i can do that, too!"

when i got called to be a teacher in relief society back in april, one of the sisters in the ward stopped me in the hall and said quite frankly, "i need to teach you something."

"umm, okay ..."

"no," she said quite sternly.

i was confused -- yes, with a furrowed brow.

"you need to learn to say 'no.'" evidently i was already doing too many things and spreading myself too thin.

my response to her then was the same one i use today: "well, i just figure that if i *can*, then why not?"

i have to admit that i think i may have overdone things a bit in these past couple weeks. since october-1, not only have i put in a full 80+ hours at work (which is still boring for the most part, but not as boring as it had been), but i have attended 2 after-work work events, taken 6 little girls shopping for fabric as part of our let's-learn-to-sew activity (wow, i am impressed with mothers who can do that without going crazy), spent 30+ hours driving (yes, i got lost a couple times), screamed away my voice for 5 hours at knott's scary farm (*so* much fun!), attended 1 relief society pot-luck, had 2 harp lessons, attended 12 hours of training for work, taught seminary once (now, *that* is a difficult class to teach), attended a women who mean business awards luncheon (good food), watched general conference, donated platelets once (which took surprisingly long this time), watched 1 movie with a perfect boy, attended game night at my sister eden's followed by dinner with perfect boy, eaten too much sushi with the girls, finished my way-good library book (finally) ...

... okay, i was just now trying to think of a good way to end that list ... nothing is coming to me right now. i guess not only am i out of time these days, but i am also out of a brain. heh.

tu compañía - keith urban

if i could be anywhere with anyone
you know exactly where'd i'd be
under the covers waiting for the sun to rise
your head on the pillow next to me

your feet propped up on that kitchen chair
morning papers scattered all around you
coffee brewing on the cast iron stove
and the pleasure of just knowing that you're mine

[chorus:]
well, i love the way you look
love the way you feel
and the way you roll your eyes
at the kisses that i steal
love the way you stare
when you're staring right at me
i just love your company
oh, yes, i do

arm in arm on some spring sidewalk day
laughing just because it feels so right
wrapped up under the blankets all cozy by the fire
as long as you're here close enough to touch

[chorus:]
well, i love the way you look
love the way you feel
and the way you roll your eyes
at the kisses that i steal
love the way you stare
when you're staring right at me
i just love your company
oh, yes, i do

[chorus:]
well, i love the way you look
love the way you feel
and the way you roll your eyes
at the kisses that i steal
love the way you stare
when you're staring right at me
i just love your company
oh, yes, i do
oh, here we go now

unfulfilled

last night i ordered precisely 7 waters at happy hour -- each individually, specifically, one at a time -- and i drank exactly ... 1. (no, i didn't leave a half-dozen glasses on the table.)

after the FAS 123R training yesterday (which was a very long and exhausting day, by the way, but worth it -- i really enjoyed it) we had a happy hour celebration for a couple of my co-workers who are going to china on a type of exchange program with our shanghai office. i arrived shortly before 5 and the waitress quickly got my order: "water -- no, not bottled, just water." i thought that was pretty simple.

about 10 minutes later another waitress asked what i would like, i told her i had already ordered.

the first waitress came back with everyone's drinks. except mine. no worries. maybe she had too many drinks to carry in one load.

after another 10 minutes, a third waitress came with more drinks, so i asked her for a water. she went off to the bar. she came back with another round of drinks for everyone. but no water.

now, repeat that cycle a handful of times. the wait staff kept coming out with more drinks, with quesadillas, hot wings, jumbo shrimp (yumm!) ... but still no water.

i guess i should have ordered something they could put on the tab. :S oh well, i have a water bottle in my car. so, after i'd been there just over an hour, i thought i'd better head out -- still had lots to do that night -- i started saying my goodbyes and then i heard a "christianna, christianna! it's here! it's heeere!!"

yes, my friends: my water had arrived.

so, i couldn't very well take off without enjoying this long-awaited moment of pure refreshment ...

if that's what it was supposed to be, i was left very unfulfilled -- the water was too cold and they'd put a lemon in it: yuck. oh, well. i drank my water, finished my farewells, and took off.

and then i drank my water bottle when i got back to my car.

the trip

i didn't post anything about my trip to utah yet! before i start getting hate mail ... i figure i better put some stuff up ... enjoy!

thursday 9/6:

woke up at 430 am to catch a 7 am flight: too early! *why* do i always get the super-early flights? honestly ... i had stayed at my sister eden's house because she was nice enough to sacrifice her morning sleep to take me to the airport. ... well, then i dropped my phone in the toilet at lax just before flying out. y'know, for fun.

we arrived at the salt lake airport around 10 am, but sat in the plane until 1045 while we waited to be taxied into the gate -- evidently the tow bar on the truck broke and they had to get a new one -- so that took a while. i finally got my luggage, rented a car ... and drove down to provo. (that's me in the sunroof of my rental car -- how lame is it that i had never driven a car with a sunroof before?)

i got down to byu around 1130 -- just in time to hand out the last ice cream cone for our grant thornton ice cream giveaway. then the whole gt team went to lunch at the brick oven near byu campus. after lunch, i finally went to my hotel, checked in, got somewhat settled, and took a quick nap! it was wonderful!

meet the firms started at 7, so we arrived by 630 to help set up and just "be ready." i had a *great* time -- i absolutely *loved* recruiting! meeting so many new people, talking to them about my experience and why i chose gt, networking with other people at my firm. it was so much fun. i love meeting new people!

after meet the firms, i met up with jessika -- an old high school friend of mine -- haven't seen her in probably years. after she showed me her new place, we went and got frozen custard at this cute place in springville called yummies and it was yummy! it was so much fun to see jessika and catch up on everything! (jessika -- how did i forget to take a picture with you?!)

then i went to pick up my sister matti. she's crazy. (i am putting this picture on here just for her. heh, heh.) she and i went to wendy's for some late-night chicken nuggets then had a hotel party ... which consisted of turning on the tv until we started falling asleep -- about 37 minutes -- then turning it off and sleeping. hmmm. my parties generally used to be a bit "wilder" than that ...

friday 9/7:

i woke up early and took matti to work. when i got back to the hotel, i decided to find the swimming pool: a morning swim! it was fabulous! i swam for maybe 20 minutes then sat in the hot tub for a few. but then i had to get going.

the firm put on a barbecue lunch with an oktoberfest theme at kiwanis park -- well, it was byu, so we did root beer instead of regular beer. mmeh. we also had some apple beer, creme soda, bratwurst, chicken breast, sauerkraut, and german potato salad. the food was great. we also had a root beer stein race and a hot-dog eating contest -- i couldn't believe how quickly this one kid put down 6 hot dogs and buns! (that's a picture of me with linsy, one of the girls out of the portland office.)

we wrapped that up by 2. then i went up to riverton to see my folks who were fixing something with the air conditioner at my aunt's house. i got my hands dirty, then i convinced my mom to come back down to provo to go to dinner with my old roommate kanani and her husband jeffrey: it was *all-you-can-eat sushi*!! i mean, c'mon! how can you turn that down!

and it was delicious all-you-can-eat sushi. seriously. we paid $20 a head, but probably ate about $35-worth of sushi each. oh my goodness, i go into a sushi coma just thinking about it.

saturday 9/8:

i think i slept in a bit on saturday and then spent the morning with my mom figuring out some stuff on her computer. i don't think we did much else on saturday -- probably took naps.

oh -- i got a call in the morning from this guy that my aunt has been trying to set me up with: he asked me out for that night. so around 4 i got ready for that and drove down to my aunt's house to wait for my date. he got there about 630 pm: we had dinner at chili's and then went to the driving range to hit some balls. it was a fun time. he was a very nice guy.

sunday 9/9:

sunday was church -- i really love my parents' ward: good meetings and wonderful people. after church, mom and i discussed the plans for monday for a bit and then took naps -- wonderful naps! ... i think i should sleep more on a regular basis so i don't end up taking so many naps when i go on vacation ... :S

mom and i then had dinner and played ticket to ride while we waited for dad to get home from work (he's been working so much lately!). ticket to ride is *so* much fun to play! my brother introduced it to us a couple years ago and i just love it. i mean, afterall, it won "spiel des jahres 2004" or "2004 game of the year" in germany ... so that has to tell you something!

monday 9/10:

monday was a work day. and we worked! mom and i decided that if we were going to work on organizing the office, we should paint it while we were at it. and then if we were going to do that, we might as well switch the office over to the bigger room. but if we were going to do that, then we needed to paint the bigger room, too -- fire-hydrant yellow isn't very concentration-and-productivity-friendly. so the original "let's organize the office" project got a little bigger.

bring it!

so in the morning mom and i went to lowe's for paint. then got started moving furniture and everything else ... and then we painted! and it was fun! i don't think i've ever painted walls before -- loved it!

we got the office painted pretty quickly because we only painted the top half of the walls (bye bye, cute-little-rocking-horse wallpaper!). after we let it dry a bit, we moved the furniture in and got it set up in there. (now we just need to do something about that bedspread -- sorry, mom.)

tuesday 9/11:

the next morning we painted the old bedroom (soon-to-be new office). yellow's not a bad color, so we just toned it down a bit -- and covered up matti's unfinished art project.

then things got to be a bit more work: so many things to organize as we put them in the office. but we were getting stuff done. the layout of the furniture was fun to decide about: we ended up bringing up a second large table from downstairs and will probably bring the file cabinet up, too. we'll see about that one -- it was too heavy for mom and me to move anyway. then lots of papers and such to just go through and throw away -- it's amazing how easy it is to hold onto stuff you just really don't need.

the organization of the office is a project that we continued over the rest of my trip ... and there's still plenty to do. but it's in progress ...

tuesday night was so much fun! around 4 i headed down to salt lake to meet my friend michelle for dinner and then ... the keith urban concert!! yea! oh, it was so much fun! michelle and i have been every year since i got home from my mission ... so it's a tradition that i am *happy* to continue! the concert was so great -- he always puts on an awesome show and he is *amazing* on the guitar! and it was so great to spend some time with michelle ... i can't wait for her to move out here!

wednesday 9/12:

after such an amazing night, maybe things couldn't have gotten better ... but seriously each day of my vacation was so much fun.

wednesday morning i got up early and drove again down to salt lake -- well, bountiful -- to see my old roommate amy! she and i packed up her son and headed out to the mrs. cavanaugh's chocolate factory. oh, even just as we were getting close, the sweetest chocolate smell was so wonderful! wow. it was great. we watched a video about how they make chocolate and then got to see the factory in action. :) it was kinda funny -- a bit anti-climactic -- not much to see, but i just really wanted to eat *all* of the chocolate downstairs in the chocolate shop. it was seriously amazing. i bought some chocolate to share with amy and take home to my mom. (she shared with me -- mmm, yumm!)

mom and i worked more on the office the rest of the day -- i think ... man, i can't remember! i should have made this trip log sooner!

in the evening i got a call from my dad: there was a muse concert down in provo that needed to be loaded out and they were short a couple hands, so i of course accepted. i *love* working on concerts!! so he and i left the house about 930 to drive down -- usually, we arrive about half an hour before the concert is over, end up watching the end of the concert from back-stage, and then start tearing down the stage as soon as the house lights go up. i got put on the lighting/electric crew for the evening. i usually end up doing sound, so this was a bit different: but just as fun.

oh. i got injured: i was taking down lights from one of the trusses and had to duck under to get to the other side. but i came up too soon and conked my head (hard) on one of the lamps. but because i was there with some pretty rough and burly men, i didn't want to be a pansy about it so i just shook it off and got back to work, chanting "don't be a girl, don't be a girl" to myself. but then i started to feel a trickle running down from the top of my head ... umm, yeah, that was my blood. so i ran over and had my dad look at it -- i had gotten myself pretty bad, but i was okay: no stitches needed. so i got back to work again. but i'll tell ya, i had a headache. and a lovely streak of pink/red hair to go with it. i figure that just kinda helped me fit in better with the roadie crew.

thursday 9/13:

since dad and i didn't get back from the concert load-out until about 3 am, i slept in a lot on thursday. mom finally woke me up around 1230 to tell me to come with them for lunch: yummy javier's mexican food. (i use the word "yummy" a lot -- but seriously, there is so much good food in this world!)

after lunch, i can't remember what i did -- probably not much because of the intensive hard work from the night before. i swear, most of the time i think i am in pretty good shape, y'know, but then i go and work a concert with my dad that completely kicks my butt and i feel like i had been in some sort of cocoon for the past 30 years and had never used my legs before so i walk (as minimally as possible) around with unbelievably sore muscles for about 4 days while i recover. it's insane.

in the evening i got ready and went out to meet another old friend from school, desaray. we had dinner at this super cute italian place in downtown ogden and it was so great to see her!

friday 9/14:

i slept in again on friday, but not as long as the day before: i was up and at 'em by about 1030. but then all of us kind of lazed around all morning -- dad didn't have to work. it was a nice morning. mom had a job interview down in provo at 2, so we headed down there. mom drove while dad and i sat in the back seat and worked on building a database system for his company -- something i have been intending to do for a couple years now, but i just don't ever get very far on it. frustrating. i still have lots to do for that.

after the interview -- which went well: she got the job! -- the three of us went over to byu campus to check out the minerva teichert exhibit at the museum of art and to see the new hinckley alumni house. it was a fun afternoon followed by ...

... too much sushi!! *again*!! yup, we picked up my sister matti from work and my brother jorgen from his apartment, we called my aunt susan kay ... and then we gorged ourselves on raw fish. it was awesome.

wow. i ate way too much sushi again. it is a darn good thing that i don't live in provo: all my money would be spent, which would be problematic because i would need to buy new pants to fit my sushi belly, because i would *spend my life* at this place! ha.

after sushi, mom and dad dropped me off at amy's place. she and i and her friend karen made cinnamon knots (cinnamon rolls fashioned into knots instead of rolls). and then we watched a movie and did pedicures. it was fun. i spent the night there so that i could be there early in the morning to go hiking. it was a fun night.

saturday 9/15:

woke up about 730 ... well, i think amy was up much earlier with her son who has a habit of waking up too early every day. after quickly getting ready to go, amy, her husband, her son, and i headed south to go to timpanogos caves. it was a fun 1½-mile hike up followed by a 40-minute tour of the caves, and then a hike back down. it was really cool; i had a great time. that's me and amy inside the cave, though you can't really tell.

my sister maren came over that evening -- i hadn't seen her yet on this trip, so i was glad she was able to come. we worked on the office some more; maren helped. then we went out to dinner: chinese, this time. i think that's the same place we went for maren's birthday when i was up there in june. it's good food.

sunday 9/16:

after church on sunday, mom and i headed down to my aunt susan kay's house for dinner and games. yup, we played ticket to ride again: the three of us played once before my dad got there, and then all of us played one more time before mom and i headed to the airport to drop me off.

what a full trip!! i had a *fabulous* time and loved seeing so many people! i love where i am living now, but i surely miss my friends and family in utah ... that's why it is so great to be able to go back to visit!

welp, until next time!!