Ways to Kill Time

I've been doing a lot of waiting at work lately - waiting to get assignments from my boss, waiting to get replies to my emails, waiting, waiting, waiting, etc. etc. So, in the meantime, I've found two new favorite ways to waste some time.

Way to Kill Time #1 - Google Translate
Super super fun if you speak an obscure foreign language. Here's how it works - you translate a phrase (that you of course already know) from English to the foreign language. And see how closely the translator gets it right. (Some more common phrases work quite well - they got Merry Christmas right). THEN, you click the button saying you want to listen to the phrase. That's where the true enjoyment comes - listening to a computer speaking in your obscure foreign language. You just have to try it. Every time I listen to that computer speak Armenian, I giggle. Call me silly, but I sure enjoy it.

Note: this might only work on the really obscure languages. Its sounded pretty normal in Japanese (or so my sister said.) Stick with the odd languages on this pasttime.

Way to Kill Time #2 - Squirrel Assassins
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/games/squirrelassassins/
Um, I don't think I have time to explain how I found this game. Or why I think its funny. But think angry birds - except squirrels.

Love-Hate Relationships

So, I seem to have very intense love-hate relationships with objects in my life. See any post about a car I have owned. A good example of this love-hate relationship is with my computer. I have loved that stupid Lenovo Thinkpad. I have babied it - I took care of it when someone stepped on it, I made sure it had the best duct tape available to hold it together, and I haven't complained as its battery has decreased to a 25-minute maximum. All I have asked of it is to continue playing my music until I can afford to replace it and let it retire in peace.

Well, one day, the computer decided it was tired of Google Chrome, and apparently Internet Explorer (though I can't blame it for that one) - it will ONLY open the internet through Firefox. That's fine, I thought - I can learn to live with Firefox. Later that same day, however, I tried to go onto iTunes so that it would upload my new podcasts, but iTunes said it couldn't connect to the store. I've googled the problem, tried every solution possible, and all I can figure out is that a poltergeist moved inside my computer, who hates me and does not want to see me enjoy my weekly dose of "This American Life." That's just cruel punishment.

Joy into your humdrum lives

I love the movie "Singin in the Rain." A lot. So it isn't a surprise that random lines will just pop into my mind, like one of these classic lines from Lina Lamont, the best villanous ditz ever to prance their way across a movie screen: "If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain't been in vain for nothin'. Bless you all."

My life has been feeling somewhat humdrum. I enjoy my job (well, most of the time; less lately since I have felt my job move from "intern" to "chief babysitter"), I enjoy living with my family, and all together I don't have all that much I can complain about in my life. And I have had plenty of talks with family, articles read on the internet, and church lessons telling me I need to focus on the positive aspects of my life and not dwell on the negative. Which is true - I have so much to be grateful for that far outweigh the negative.

I just think the last few years of dating (or lack thereof) have been weighing on me and I'm kind of tired of it all. I know I'm a desirable person - I know that SOMEWHERE in this bizarre world of ours there is SOMEBODY who will actually appreciate me, who will be fascinated with the person that I am, and who will be so enthralled by me that he will actually *gasp* ask me on a date. I know all this in my head. I'm just tired of continuing to have to tell myself this, because at some point, I would sort 0f like evidence that what I've been telling myself is true. Because at some point my brain might get tired of telling this to my heart.

That's all. I don't think I want an answer - I'm just sending this thought off into the void. The serious post ends now.

How to Comb your Curly Hair

Yes, that indeed was a "subject o-matique" subject. Combing curly hair is indeed a difficulty. Especially when you are sitting in a car in the midst of a 20-hour car trip (that only was intended to be 12-hours) and realize that your curly hair has suddenly become a mat of snarls. Not fun.

So, the car trip mentioned was leg one of an epic roadtrip up to Portland Oregon. We had tons of fun enjoying the coast, enjoying the absence of sales tax, and getting spoiled with people pumping gas for you. It was absolutely wonderful - until the moment when Idaho decided to close all possible routes leading to our return home Sunday night. So, we stopped in Twin Falls at one of our company's grandma's homes and stayed the night. What did we do to make the most of the situation? We initiated the guys into girl talk. They did quite well, I must say. Idaho finally let us leave their state this afternoon, and I am happy to report that I am back in Utah.

In completely unrelated news, tonight, the UPS man dropped off a package at our doorstep. Lets hypothetically say my address is 100 North 100 East, Cool Town, USA. The package was addressed to Jo Shmo (obviously not matching any name in this home), 115 North 150 West, Bluesville USA. Epic Fail. 5-miles off epic. We live in a grid system - how hard is it to notice that they were not only delivering the package to the wrong home, on the wrong side of town, but the wrong town entirely? Good job, UPS man, good job.

Sound effects sold separately

So, those of you who know me well (or for some reason unknown reason have been reading my blog for a long time without ever having met me) know that I have a weakness: fortune cookies. 95% of the reason I love them is because of the cookie. If you are currently scratching your head, thinking fortune cookies are a sub-par treat, I don't really care. My taste buds are just that unique. The other 5% of my love is because I find great amusement in the fortunes. I currently have 2 hanging inside my closet door that bring me great hope:

"The wheel of good fortune is finally turning in your direction!" (Because the exclamation point makes it really true!)
"Your dearest wish will come true." Wish 1 - be a Jedi for a day (check!!); Wish 2 - infiltrate Stargate Command and go through a wormhole. I'm halfway there.

I also have one more saying hanging up in my closet. It was written at a time when people everywhere were telling me that the reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I'm too intimidating (how can that ever be taken as a compliment?!) Dear E, who had just told me about her first crush, responded with this delightful piece of wisdom:

"The only reason some boy can use the excuse that you are intimidating is because you're not stupid enough to have a crush on someone who just got back from drug rehab."

It is thoughts and fortunes like these that give me inspiration and hope every morning.

Lovin the season

You know what is great about Halloween? You can sleep over at your friends' house after an amazing party, and wake up, look around the room you slept in, and realize you shared your room with a skeleton, stuffed raven, a fake rat, and formaldehyde-ized creatures. And none of that seems weird.

And, as you might be able to tell from the url of my blog, I like pie. Love. Adore. And the best part of November? (other than celebrating my parents anniversary - Happy Anniversary Tomorrow Mom and Dad!!) The best part of November is pie. And turkey. But mostly pie.

Two stories - One post

Last Saturday, my family descended upon the Sprint store to change phone plans. If you happened to be one of the many people who were upset because the only employee in the store was helping us for a few hours, and if you gave us dirty looks because he was helping us instead of you - tough. We got there first. And as a note to my friends, I now have unlimited texting (yes, no more being limited to just 100 texts a month! Don't hold back anymore! Text away!)

In a completely unrelated matter, I decided that I am not one of those girls who wants a romantic "how we met" story with my future spouse. I would take humor over romance. To illustrate - my family is currently remodeling our bathroom. After all the work was done for the day, my mom was chatting with the plumber (named Bubba), and somehow the conversation led to my mother mentioning that I was single (this happens frequently). The plumber said he had a number of single guys in his ward, which led to my mom asking (jokingly, of course), if any of them were single. Bubba (the plumber), said, "Why yes, there is one that is a really great guy. Although, to be honest, he is into weird stuff - he likes Star Wars." Which of course led my mother to explain that Star Wars is not weird to me, that in fact, I'm going as a Jedi for Halloween.

Long story short, there is a high probability that I am going to be set up on a blind date by my plumber to a Star Wars loving man. I actually hope this one works out, because then, forever and ever, when people ask "how did you meet?" I will be able to tell people that a plumber named Bubba set us up. Please universe, let this date actually happen!

big hair for big occasions

I'm the most excited for Halloween that I have ever been in my life. Well, at least since I was a kid. When I was a kid, Halloween generally involved finding a wonderful outfit like a fairy or a princess, and then resorting to a hobo costume the day of trick-or-treating because it was so cold outside that my mom couldn't fit my fairy costume over the snowpants and coat that were required to keep my tiny body warm. So, we resorted to a bowler hat and a funny shirt over the coat, and called it good.

As an adult, Halloween generally sneaks up on me, and I quickly through a costume together that generally involves me ratting my hair to unfathomable heights (never underestimate the power of natural curl + ratting + super-stiff hairspray). This year, however, I actually planned ahead! Probably because I'm on a quest to not hide from anyone my passions (in the past, I used to wait at least a month to figure out if a potential friend was prepared for the full onslaught of the geekdom that is my life. Now, I give them a day, if that), my Halloween costume for this year is from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I was originally going to be Princess Leia, but my desire to run around with a light-saber far exceeded my desire to put my long hair to good use in those massive buns. Yes, I will be a Jedi knight. And don't be surprised if I end up wearing this costume at other times that are not Halloween.

Of Bugs and Men

Gnats have overtaken Centerville. Gnats and In-n-Out customers. The similarities are remarkable - both descended upon our town in droves and only seem to leave late at night. There seems to be nothing we can do about either horde, except deal with it. They both might leave when winter sets in - might. The one difference is that I do not have a windshield plastered with In-n-Out customers. That would be disturbing.

I do wonder how long it will be until I break down and attempt the visit to the In-n-Out. I mean, its super cool that my hometown has one, and the burgers really are good. However, every time I look down that road, I see police cones, cars everywhere, and more people than could possibly have fit into those cars. It makes the claustrophobic within me shudder at the thought of going near.

In related news, I have chosen a poor time to start exercising again. The biggest problem with gnats is that they love to act like they are wandering around aimlessly, but they must have a sixth sense for those people who are exercising because they will go right into joggers mouths or eyes.

Now doesn't this post make you want to visit Centerville?

A Letter

Dear Custodial Department at the Place Where I Work,

I appreciate your need for automatic toilets. The sanitary benefits would appear to be huge. However, is there a way for you to reduce the water pressure slightly so that water does not SPURT out of the toilet when it flushes? Water splashing from the toilet onto my nylon-covered legs is not the most pleasant experience.

Signed, a concerned intern.

So you all know

Over the last few weeks I have seen a lot of buzz on the internet debating various topics of LDS doctrine, I have watched news reports of a former seminary teacher being convicted of raping his student, and have heard of friends and acquaintances leaving the church for one reason or another. With all of this negativity being raised in one arena or another, I decided that I wanted to raise my voice here. It might not have a far reach, but I sure will feel better.

I know that God loves his children. I know He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the right way to live in order to return to live with him again. I know God set a pattern of communicating with His children through prophets. I know that God once again chose to have a prophet on the earth when He called Joseph Smith to be the prophet in 1830, and that since that time, we have always had a prophet on the earth.

I believe in the admonition of the Savior to judge people by their fruits. One fruit is "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ." I believe it is what it says it is, another testament that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that it affirms the Bible's claim that Christ rose from the grave.

Another fruit is the actions of the people. No, we are not a perfect people - far from it. But we are trying. Our humanitarian efforts go to far countries such as Mozambique, or close to home at local food kitchens. These efforts are for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists - anyone who is in distress or in need.

Finally, I just want to point at that for every argument somebody can make as a reason to leave the church or doubt whether or not it is true, another argument can be made to stay. If you are looking to leave, have your doubts, or concerns, please ask. Ask your faithful friends, ask leaders, but most importantly, ask the Lord. I don't know everything, I have been hurt by LDS members, and I have had my own confusions. All I do know is that I need God in my life, and when I go to church, when I pray, and when I read the scriptures, I feel God's love for me. And that's why I keep going.

And so it goes

In the continuing tradition of sharing the odd injuries that I sustain, I have one more story for you, my faithful blog readers. I went shopping with my mom the other day, and was trying on a cute turtle-neck when the tag (almost with a life of its own) went directly for my eye. Luckily my eye was closed, but I really did get a cut on my eyelid from a pricetag. Yet another injury I do not recommend.

In other news, I have been in ward-limbo for the last month. The last time I attended my Provo ward was August 15, and I had every intention of starting my new ward as soon as possible. However, a series of events in the last month have led me to be unable to attend my own church services (but some weeks I have attended 2 sacrament meetings, so don't think I'm falling away!). This week, I realized that since it has been over a month since I have belonged to a ward, I had every intention of attending my new singles ward. I stayed in Provo last night, so I woke up early to drive up to C-town to get ready and make it to my new ward. However, when I went to get back in my car to drive to church, my dear car refused to start. I simultaneously laughed and held back tears as I walked to my home ward. Here's to another week of a social life consisting of playing with my adorable 2-year-old nephew.

Good Advice

Impressive rutabaga!

I've decided I want a pen-pal. Just a few requirements: male, LDS, and relatively normal. Hot and extremely wonderful would be an extra bonus. I thought of this while watching "You've Got Mail" the other night as I was putting in a few extra hours of work formatting reports. I figure right now I'm so busy with work, it might be nice to have a pen-pal who will fall desperately in love with me, then in a while, we'll meet and already be in love. While "Over the Rainbow" is playing somewhere in the background. That would sure be easier than the other ways I have tried to meet people.

Oh, and Emma, I think you should date someone like Greg Kinnear's character in that movie. Or just a Greg Kinnear clone.

The Eternal Debate

So, of the many discussions that people get into, one of my favorites is the question: Who would you rather be, Batman or Superman? Its amazing what you can learn about somebody when they reveal the answer to that question. For example, recently my dear friend Julia and I were discussing Batman, and she said the following:

"I feel like that's the American way. A few billion dollars, a butler, and ninja teachers can make anyone into a superhero. I like that: I can potentially become a vigilante."

Doesn't that tell you a lot about Julia? And I promise, she would make an amazing vigilante.

So now I want to ponder this question, who would I be? Batman would obviously be amazing, its his brains that make him super. I want that in my life. Generally, I would think that being a klutz would automatically rule you out of being Superman, but as Batman, I could invent things to ensure that I don't fall down. Or injure myself daily.

The one thing I believe I have in the bag in being Superman, however, is the disguise. Really, how many people have watched those movies and thought, "Wow! Glasses! What an amazing disguise! No wonder Lois doesn't recognize him, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw him change into Superman, I certainly wouldn't have believed that Clark Kent is simply an alter-ego."

I, on the other hand, have an added bonus. The hair. You'd be amazed at the number of times I've confused people by straightening my normally curly hair. My own father, for example, passed by our pew at church thinking that somebody else must have taken our spot and started circling the church looking for me. Or there is the time that, sitting at my same desk, somebody walked into "Intern Alley" and asked where Emily was. Which led my coworker Curtis to describe my glasses and straight hair as the "Clark Kent look."

To prove my point, here are some pictures. Because apparently lots of people use blogs to show pictures.

Here I am, the quiet friend smiling in the middle of the pack:















But watch out, because take off those glasses, and I'm out to get the bad guys!





















And here is another picture to show how the straight hair plus SUNGLASSES would probably be my best bet at hiding my identity.

















So, all things considering, I think I could teach Clark Kent a thing or two about disguises. Or I could just become a vigilante with Julia. I just need to find the ninja teachers first.

Disney!

So, as some of you might recall, I went to Disneyland this past February. In preparation for that trip, my friends all decided to assign ourselves Disney characters, just because. I've also participated in this activity with FHE groups, mission friends, etc. Whenever this conversation comes up, Belle is always one of the first characters tossed around, as everyone tries to decide which of the brunnette girls should receive that honor. People eventually look at me and say, "Well, you could be Belle, but maybe we should try to think of something more creative for you." Really? Why must you try to be creative and think of something else? They say, maybe you could be Eve from WALL-e. Or, how about Maid Marion from Robin Hood? (the only reason I'm okay with that one was that I had a not-so-secret crush on Robin Hood when I was growing up).

So, in listening to "Beauty and the Beast" this morning on Pandora (yes, Disney songs DO pop up in my most-listened-to Pandora station), I decided next time this conversation pops up, I am sticking up for myself and insisting that I am Belle. Because, yes, I see myself being with friends that will analyze this, and I will make my voice known.

Reasons I feel connected to Belle:

• Her small town did not understand her and thought she was odd. I grew up in a community that acted like science-fiction is the weirdest interest ever. Am I odd? Yes. But so was Belle, and she got a prince because of it.
• Her theme song included the following lyrics: "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand to have someone understand, I want so much more than they've got planned." Is that my theme song as well? YES! Did I write out all of those lyrics from memory? YES!
• She loved reading.
• She had weirdos pursuing her (reference my entire dating history).

Um, I probably could go on, but suffice it to say, I think I have earned the right to be Belle. I am a little concerned that being Belle might mean I have a secret desire to fall in love with a hairy man. . .

Did you or did you not order the CODE RED?!

I've decided that Subject O-Matique should apply to my blog titles as well.

Things that are not cool:

• Putting the wrong solution onto your contacts before sticking them into your eyes. And subsequently crying all day from the pain.
• Rolling over your heel with your office chair and pulling off a huge chuck of skin. Turns out Achilles wasn't as much of a wimp as I'd suspected, heel injuries really hurt.
• Reading through a chain of emails at work and finding out that your first heartbreak works within your overall department, just in a different location. If we go on a site visit that would include his location, I may or may not call in sick that day.

Things that ARE cool:

• Dishwashers. Especially after not living with one for the majority of the last five years.
• Eating Navajo tacos on the Navajo reservation, in the middle of a sagebrush field, with a Navajo family, watching a storm roll in across the desert.

"Dream. . .

. . .when you're feeling blue. Dream, that's the thing to do. . ."

Picture me singing this song to you. Then picture my joy as my dream job came to fruition. Yes, its just an internship, but that doesn't matter. I have wanted to work with this organization since high school (and possibly earlier). Am I sad to leave my dear roommates and wonderful group of friends? Yes. Am I wary about the fact that I think the right thing to do is to move back in with my parents (even just for 6 months)? Yes (even though my parents are my absolute favorite people, I think sometimes I like them too much and am too comfortable just hanging around them). Is this the exact right thing that I am supposed to be doing with my life? Double yes. I have never known what it was to be truly excited to go to work before, and now I do. 2 days down, still loving it.

Call me if you want details. Or if you want me to sing the song to you. Because I will do either one.

Subject O-Matique

One of the most common conversations in the MPA lounge was a "discussion" about the pros and cons of gmail versus other email services. Now, while I have gmail (two accounts, actually), I still hold on to my hotmail and my yahoo accounts. Whenever these discussions would arise, it was usually everyone else fighting against Jarilyn (hotmail) and me (always arguing for yahoo). If today I were in the MPA lounge hanging with those friends, I would bring up this wonderful feature in yahoo that makes my life more enjoyable:

Subject O-Matique.

If you cannot think of a subject, or are at a loss on how to be witty, all you have to do is click on the word "subject" and yahoo will come up with a subject for you. I accidentally clicked on this feature today (and then, like a five-year-old, continued clicking on the button for much longer than I should have). So, I would like to share some of the gems with you. You can be grateful that I don't spam you all right now and fill your entire inbox with email messages with the following headings:

Tinsel and garland are NOT the same thing. Tinsel rocks.

Bonsai kittens.

Stizarbiznucks

Facts: 1) Ninjas are mammals. 2) Ninjas fight ALL the time. 3) The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

Quote me as saying I was misquoted.

You are brave young dragon. But mine is the stronger gung-fu.

we never once talked about a blow dryer

this brain has been polished professor

Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be.

A favorite Chinese diplomat around the world, crispy prawns cooked with special sauce that actually absorbed into the prawns.

chai tea vs. tai chi

Help watering the plastic flowers

And the list could continue, but suffice it to say, I want to thank the person whose job it is to sit around coming up with these subject lines. I at least got 15 minutes of amusement out of it . . .

In Love With Summer

I'm sitting outside on a hammock, listening to big band music on Pandora, mixed in with birds in the trees, and a neighbor weed-whacking his lawn down the street (obviously having some difficulty, from the sound of the machine). Today's post will be a few things I'm in love with:

• Hammocks.
  
• A piano that has ridiculous settings which allowed me to bond with a pre-teen who was at my house today. We had nothing else to talk about, but we had the polka and samba settings on my piano to bring us together.
• Hammocks.
• Having a dear neighbor that I can speak Armenian with who will not judge me when I mix in English and botch verb conjugations. Evans jan, sirum em kez, yev urax em vor im kyankum es.
• Ella Fitzgerald. And Frank Sinatra.
  
• Hammocks.
• I love getting rejections from jobs I applied for 2 MONTHS ago. . .
  
• Oh yeah, hammocks.

To Women Everywhere

Today I stumbled upon a youtube video of Judy Garland singing with Barbara Streisand, which somehow led my curious self to read up on Judy Garland's life. It amazed me how this beautiful woman struggled with self-doubt her entire life, much of it brought on by outside forces. She wasn't pretty enough, studio execs said, so they made minor changes to make her look better. After years of putting up with that, it is very clear she bought into it. (studio execs also made her take drugs in order to handle the rigourous schedule they put her through, which led to her drug addictions, yet another problem in the entertainment world).

I also was pondering on a recent article that my roommates and I were discussing from the Daily Universe (http://universe.byu.edu/node/9273), which basically says that men know within seconds whether or not they are attracted to you, and it is completely based on how pretty your face is.

The connection of these two items, and my problems with them are these: society is constantly attacking a woman's self esteem. If a woman like Judy Garland could feel ugly and not good enough, then what about the rest of us? If men indeed know if they are attracted to somebody within seconds, then what does that mean to the MANY of us women who are not being asked out? I have an issue with this. I know many women who will never be compared to Judy Garland, who might never make a photo shoot, or who will never be a size 4. But, these same women are still absolutely beautiful. Their smiles, their eyes, their curves, the mere fact that they are a woman is beautiful. And this is why - God made them. I see in every one of the women in my life a beautiful daughter of God. He made them attractive on BOTH the inside AND the outside. Just because no man is asking them out does not mean their face is not attractive enough, or that they need to fix something - it simply means that the right man has not come around.

So, to all the women out there who sometimes feel ugly, inferior, are self-conscious about some aspect of their body - tell yourself that you are beautiful. Who cares about all those critics? Look where it landed Judy Garland - a drug overdose. Its Satan who wants us to think less of ourselves. Those wrinkles around your eyes? They are beautiful, because they are earned by years of laughter. The rolls around your stomach? Beautiful, because they are evidence that you are real. The frizzy, uncooperative hair? Beautiful, because it shows that you live life and don't stop just because its raining.

Be happy, because you are beautiful. And I'm not just saying that in vague terms - I know each of the women who read my blog, and I KNOW that you are beautiful.

Lets all eat ice-cream and watch the song Beautiful Girl from Singin in the Rain to celebrate being beautiful. And then swoon over Gene Kelly, just because we can.

Mystery Solved

A few weeks ago my roommate and I were sitting outside enjoying the night air and looking at the stars, when all of a sudden it started to rain. We looked up and saw a cloud moving very quickly away from us, but from our limited understanding of meteorology, it did not seem like it could be producing the amount of rain we were getting. It was odd, but we just sat enjoying the freak rain.

Then, this past weekend my nephew and I were sitting on the porch on a very warm, very cloudless afternoon. He all of a sudden claimed that he felt a raindrop. I asked him where it came from, since there are no clouds in the sky. He said, "It was higher than the sky; it was from space. It was the astronauts. They were spitting."

I'm so glad that I now know where that freak rainstorm came from a few weeks ago. It was the astronauts. They must have been having a major spitting contest.

Application

In talking with E2 the other night, I learned that her parents became engaged because her mom was applying for jobs, and her dad said, in essence, "You'd be qualified for the job of my wife" (sorry if I butchered that, E). It got me to thinking that I'm going about this job application thing all the wrong way. I'm not sure how to go about applying for a wife position, but I think I'd have a pretty good resume for it:

• Get along great with children.
• Would prefer to stay at home with the children, but if necessary, can work in a decent job.
• E3 says I have soft hands.
• Fairly low maintenance.

Okay, that's about all I want to share without this getting awkward. My only point is, I hate job applications and would love to have an excuse to give up on them.

-Insert creative title here-

Two things on my mind today:
1) I accidentally deleted the wireless driver off my computer. I don't know how, I feel rather stupid about it, but thank heavens for a brother who fixes computer problems. Our deal is that I help with his adorable kids when I'm visiting, and he doesn't laugh at my mistakes with my computer. I think its a pretty good set-up.
2) I think I'm too influenced by TV shows in the food I eat. Today I went to get food, and every fast food place looked disgusting, so I grabbed a quick sandwich; however, I couldn't make it through the line without grabbing a bag of Funyuns, simply because Shawn and Gus in an episode of "Psych" were discussing the wonders of Funyuns. Yes, I really did try some food simply because some made-up characters on TV said they liked them. And I liked them.

P.S. - I fixed my computer. System Restore is a pretty sweet tool. Still no solution to my food obsessions, or the fact that I ended up watching that episode of Psych while I was doing homework.

Addendum to list

So, when I wrote the list I knew I'd leave off some important people - which happened (serves me right, this is why I should never mention actual people, but instead stick with talking about things that are only pertinent to me - like broken cars and starships). But, I was thinking today of how much I love my friend Katie and her husband Hank. They are a hilarious couple (who I happened to run into when I was in San Fran - literally, they jumped on the same trolley I was riding. What are the chances?!) So, I love this couple, and I love even more that they are going to be parents!! So, a big congrats to Katie and Hank, and know that you are some of my favorite people.

And, Ruth and Jeff need to be added to the list. Just because they make me happy - all the more because she asked him out first :)

I can't think of anything witty, and my computer battery has the light on that tells me "This computer might shut down at any second, with no warning and will erase all things you are working on." So, I bid you all a fond goodnight, and I promise to get back to my typical pattern of useless posts soon.

I was never THIS bad

I will be the first to admit that I'm a geek, but I promise I was never as bad as Jason from Fox Trot. Though this comic does bring me enjoyment.

Couples I admire

Walking home today, I ran into a friend and his wife and briefly chatted before continuing on. It led me to thinking about how much I love them as a couple, and also pondering about other couples I admire. Its not just that I like them individually (which I do), its that I like them even better BECAUSE they are together. They are like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, Han Solo and Chewbacca. . .well, maybe not that last one, but you get the picture. They have made the world a better place just because they are together. Their deep love for the other person is so apparent, the need for that person's friendship, and their commitment to the other person is so admirable, that you, the observer, cannot imagine the friendship of one without the other. They are your friend - them, as a couple, not as individuals. Here is a list of a few of the couples that I admire, as an example.

Richard and Debbie (mom and dad, you are the best!)

Brent and Sarah

Steven and Erika

Vance and Brittney

Amy and Billy

Todd and Hillary

Quincy and Mindy

Andrew and Ariel

Scott and Nancy

Michael and Rachel

Michael and Jani

(feel free to add some couples you admire in your comments!)

To these, and to the many other couples that I might not be remembering right now, thank you. Your friendship means a lot to me, and I truly admire and respect the love and friendship you have towards your spouse. You help give me hope that it is possible to find true love in this world - because I've seen that you have found it.

Grand Canyon part 2

In the evening we decided to find a nice location and watch the sunset, which was beautiful. We also had a little fun, like practicing our hiding skills.
















Or kissing skills (yeah, yeah, they've had more than thirty years to practice and they are still in love. Of course they have this skill down.)














Or posing skills.































In the end, God won with his ability to make everything beautiful skills. And basically everything else that He can do so much better than us. Luckily He's really good at sharing those beautiful creations with us.















We saw more beautiful creations in Zion National Park, but those pictures are on my mom's camera. Which are at her home, and not with me. So, this is it on the pics from that fun trip. Maybe in another month I'll blog about my recent trip to San Fran - or I'll throw you all off and blog about it soon. Who knows?!

Grand Canyon - 1 month late!!

Okay, so here are a few of the favorite pictures from my Grand Canyon adventure with my family. Because I suppose every once and a while I need to blog like a normal person about what actually goes on in my life. We started the trip with a stop at the Freemont Indian Museum, where we saw petroglyphs and got to play inside a recreation of a pit house - cleverly named because it is much like a pit. And a house. A pit house!















The next day we made it down to the Grand Canyon, where I forced my family to go on hikes that wore them out. Here is a picture during one of our breaks (where my little sister is thinking, how can Emily and I really be related? I think the same thing when she talks about Anime. And I love her anyway.)
















Good thing I had my favorite man along on this trip to save me from a horrid death of falling into the Grand Canyon. Odd thing was, we both dreamt of falling in at a later time . . .

















Look at that view!















My favorite part of the day started when the sun went low in the sky and was casting shadows throughout the canyon. Incredible.

I've come out of my haze

I started a book series after I graduated, as sort-of a present to myself for being done forever from school. Then I found out that I needed to take a one-credit class in order to stay employed for the summer. One-credit should be easy, I thought, so I continued to read my series - which ultimately turned into me shunning all external responsibilities and working as little as possible in order to spend as much time as possible reading. I finally finished the series today, and feel as though a haze has been lifted. I admit, I have a problem - I get WAY too involved in books. It might be a coping mechanism (you don't want to hire me, Mr. Hiring Department that won't even call me for an interview? I'll just read this book, where I will live vicariously through a 12-year old boy who is slowly taking over control of the entire known universe, and will mentally picture taking over that hiring department and making them pay for not giving me an interview), but I think it really just comes down to one thing - I LOVE STORIES. I was recently discussing with a roommate about activities I like, and I had a hard time pinning down what it is that I like to do. The truth is, I like anything that involves a story, whether that is talking with people and learning about their life, or enjoying fictionalized stories through books, movies, or TV. I also like exploring and doing crazy adventures (such as dressing like hobos and eating beans by the railroad tracks), because it leads to stories (or I can pretend that I am in a story). And yes, maybe most of the stories I like have a fantasy twist to them, but what can I say? I like fantasy.

So, dear friends, I am out of my haze, and have promised myself that I won't get back into any book series until I have finished that one-credit class (which I now have three weeks to do 48 hours worth of work), and possibly found a job.

Oh, and Grace, I PROMISE I will get pictures from the grand canyon uploaded. And possibly some graduation pictures. Soon.

Disturbing - to me at least

"What is this," you are saying, "Emily is posting 3 times in a week? She averages a post a month!" Yes, this is true. I'm trying to be better. And I also was just sitting here wasting time applying for jobs and thought I should do something productive, like flipping through the channels. And I came across one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen: a show on the travel channel on the top places to pig out. The section I watched was on the Vermontster at Ben and Jerry's, which is basically just a huge tub of ice-cream that you try to eat in one sitting.


I couldn't stop watching, it was so disturbing watching people try to eat all of this. One girl fell into her ice-cream, a few people got sick, and it was like watching the fall of civilization in a five-minute TV clip.

When it comes to food, I have realized that quality really doesn't matter to me - its quantity. I'll eat just about anything if its in a small quantity. The larger the quantity, the less I'll enjoy it, even if its something I adore (like death-by-chocolate ice-cream, which I might eat after I finish this post complaining about food). So, if you love me, don't make me eat large quantities of food. Instead, use me as a guinea pig for all those recipes that you've been meaning to try, but don't know if anyone will enjoy. Guaranteed, I'll eat it. I just might only eat half a serving.

Vote for Julia!

My dearest friend Julia is competing in a bloggerbrawl, and needs your vote! Here's the link:
http://www.mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/blogbrawl/?id=14730. You can vote on every type of computer browser on your computer (Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.) Just if you want to ensure my joy in watching Julia win :)

Puddle Jumper, the Final Chapter

So, this blog entry has been a few weeks in the making. It all started on a beautiful spring day, when one of my dear friends was getting married. Brooke and I hopped into my loving yet faltering car, and somehow made it to Salt Lake and back. The freeway was fine - it was in the city that I wanted to cry and give up. Lets put it this way: going through intersections, I think I saw a turtle turn to me and laugh as he sped past me. My car just refused to get into gear.

The next morning, a not-so-beautiful rainy day, my car would not turn on. It wasn't the battery or anything, it was turning over, but the engine was just not engaging. So, as I walked to work, I realized that this actually was a tender mercy from the Lord. Not that my car was dead, necessarily, but I realized that I had been praying for my car to last through graduation. And it did last through graduation, plus a weekend. I honestly don't think my car would have made it that long without the Lord's answer to my prayers.

Anyhoo, long story short, I was able to find a new-ish car (2001 Toyota Camry), and I'm getting a really good deal on it. It will be great. And I'm using my wedding fund to buy it, so maybe the fact that I have no money to get married will mean I meet the guy soon. . .

Anyway, tonight I realized that my car is just sitting in my driveway wasting space, so I posted it on craigslist to see if there was anyone who wanted it for parts. First, I tried turning it on again, and it actually DID, so I felt no guilt as listing it as a running car, and being completely honest about its otherwise crappy status. Within 10 minutes, I got a phone call, which went something like this:

"Hi, I'm looking at the ad for your Honda Civic."
"Yes, that's mine."
"You have it listed at $300, would you be willing to take $200."
"Uhhh, yes."
"Okay, we'll buy it."
"Seriously, you don't want to look at it or anything?"

No, they didn't. They're up in Ogden, and I think they could hear "honest sucker" in my voice, so they bought my car. They drove down to C-town to get the title from my mom and give her the money, and I drove the car up to Orem to leave it at his parents' house, and AAA will take it the rest of the way. I barely made it up to Orem, so I think $200 is okay all things considering. All I can say is, my negotiations teacher would have been laughing at me that entire conversation, and probably would have gone into the system to change my grade down a notch for failure to even pretend to negotiate a simple car sale. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you will never see me working as a saleswoman.

"Stop Eating the Paste" Special

I was reminded today of two of my greatest talents, and in an effort to not hide my light under a bushel, I will share these talents with you now. The first is falling. Anywhere. I was walking up the stairs in the Tanner building, and about halfway up decided to call my friend Sarah, whom I was about to visit. As I brought the phone up to my ear, my foot completely missed the step and I fell UP the stairs. And landed full force on the top landing. For those of you who have been in the Tanner, you might recall that the main atrium has the potential for great acoustics - I am fairly certain that the "thump" my body made hitting the floor could have been heard by all. Yes, its a talent I'm sure you all wish you had.

The next talent is my great ability to learn. I have been attending this college for two full school years, and I have finally mastered the ability to refer to the JFSB by its proper name. My usual name for it is "the building sort-of south of the tanner, it has a weird courtyard, its by the library but not too close, its confusing inside, has some sort of spiral staircase inside; you know what I mean?" I still think that's a better way to distinguish between the JSB, JKB, and JFSB, but who really wants to listen to me? I'm the type of girl who falls up stairs.

In actual news, I have a job interview Thursday. Wish me luck!!

Dating and the Job Hunt - Same Thing

Today as I anxiously awaited a phone call from an organization I want to work with (which I did NOT receive, so it will be more waiting tomorrow), I realized that there are numerous similarities between dating and looking for a job.

In each case, you are looking for the perfect fit. For some, it is an easy match, it is as though the answer just falls into their lap. For others, it requires some searching and a deal of rejection before the right fit comes. Its all just one disappointment after another, until finally, FINALLY someone that you want wants you as well.

The way you go about finding is similar as well. You must use various methods, and you'll never quite know which one will work out in the end. In the job search, most people secure their jobs through networking. In dating, its called having mutual friends. Rarely do you find the blind dates working out, but they do happen, as you sometimes find those people who really got a job simply by sending out their resume without having met the organization first.

Going back to the rejection aspect, the rejection can come in the same way as well. In some cases, its a direct rejection. Within 48 hours of submitting my resume to the FBI for a writing editor job (which I wasn't terribly in love with, so this didn't hurt too much), they told me I didn't meet their requirements. Good. Easy. I was able to get over it fast. A week later I got a rejection letter from a food bank I had applied to the previous MONTH, saying that while they were impressed by my qualifications, they had offered the position to somebody else. You know what that really meant? They really weren't impressed enough to even meet me or interview me, but they wanted to let me down gently. Plus, I had to wait a long time to receive that rejection; they could have just ignored me and pretended they didn't get my resume, I would have been fine with that. Does this sound like the dating game to anybody? Yes, rejection can come directly or indirectly in BOTH arenas.

And there are the times you get your hopes up. You submitted your resume, you know you fit. When will they call? You figure out a time frame in your mind of when they should be done reviewing the applications, calling your references, etc. You have it narrowed down to a 2-day window. You wait anxiously by the phone. . .no call. Did you read them wrong? Did they not see what an amazing fit you are? You think to yourself, should I call them, ask about their timeline? If I call, they will realize I'm interested, but if I call too much I'll appear like a stalker. However, they might be one of those organizations that only calls if you call them first. How do I know which type of organization they are? All this debate over whether or not to place a phone call.

I also was pondering which rejection cycle I would like to get out of first. Because I am an established expert at the dating rejection, and I am becoming quite adept at the job rejection. I'm pretty sure dating. Yup, I'd like the dating rejection to stop. But a job would be nice, too. Because I like food. So, if you know someone who wants to buy me dinner, or who wants to pay me so I can buy myself dinner, send them my way. I'll even give you my resume if that would help.

A Request

Dear Christian Bale,

Would you please sing in your next movie? It would make my decade.

With kindest regards,
Emily

Maybe I'm a real adult now

Today, it hit: adulthood. I still feel immature, and I'm pretty sure with my ponytail and sneakers today I still can pass as an 18-year old, but it's true. I am officially an adult. That's because today, I had to sign up for my own personal insurance (yup, my parent's insurance let me stay on until my 26th birthday, which I realize is longer than most, but I wasn't about to complain). Granted, I had to have my mom help walk me through the sign-up process, and until I have a steady income, my mom agreed to put it on her credit card and just add the amount to the debt I already owe her, but still, there is an insurance policy out there with my name on it.

I also received a phone call from my university asking for money. I wanted to say "not right now" and hang up, but last semester for a class assignment I had to go and observe the people who call on these capital campaigns, so I felt sympathy for this girl. (I would have felt true empathy, because I was supposed to actually do some calling, but because I had lost my voice due to the swine flu and pneumonia, I couldn't talk. Which ended up costing me 50 points, which might have been the reason for my A- instead of the A I was shooting for. But that's not the point of this story). Anyway, I listed to the schpeal the girl gave "to graduating seniors" (I'm not a senior! I'm a 2nd year grad student! Its very different). Then she asked me to give some money back to my school, as part of the "Choose to Give" campaign. I have a hard time saying no to requests for money, but BECAUSE I sat in on those phone calls, I now know their secret. Her goal is to get me to commit to give money, and my goal was to get off the phone and back to playing the piano. Well, I remembered that they can give pledge forms, which would mean I wouldn't have to give my credit card, and I could send money once I actually HAVE money. So, I told her to send me a pledge card, which I promised I would send. I just didn't say when.

We also completed our census. It was kind-of fun to fill out my own section, because last time a census happened, I was in high school and could care less that a census was happening. Filling out the form was over in about 30 seconds, so the exhilaration was fleeting, but it did serve a momentary satisfaction. And it again reinforced that I am an adult. An adult who still feels very dependent upon her parents, and still loves eating her fruit snacks (I got Star Wars fruit snacks for my birthday! So fun!), but an adult nonetheless.

I want to be a Jedi Knight

My roommates are saying its time for a new blog post. Which lead to the question, what have I been up to the last month? The answer: Disneyland and dressing up like a princess. Your typical month, I know. My friends and I did the Disney Day of Service, which meant for the price of 2 blankets donated to needy children, I was able to get into Disneyland. Pretty sweet deal. We had a large group go down from the MPA program, and wore matching shirts and everything (they were almost hot pink, but the store ran out of that color in bulk and we had to go for blue and green instead. I was extremely grateful.)














What did I learn there?
1)Some boys should NEVER wear do-rags.















2)It is possible to not spend a dime in Disneyland, especially if you just mooch food off your friends.
3) The 80's cover band at Disneyland is definitely worth listening to. And dancing your head off to.
4)If this whole Public Administrator path doesn't work out, my next best option is to be a Jedi Knight in Disneyland. Because I don't think I'm tall enough for Darth Vadar, nor do I think I would like the costume. But a Jedi Knight would be sweet.














So, the weekend after I got back from Disneyland, my ward had a Cinderella Ball, where each girl put in a shoe, and each guy picked a shoe, and whoever had your shoe was your date for the dinner portion of the evening. In preparation for the ball, I went to my parents house to get a dress. I learned that the way to be the coolest aunt for my nieces is to put on a pretty dress and dance with them. And the way to be the cool aunt to my nephew is to act like a damsel in distress (except, rather than being the prince saving me, he wants to be the dragon attacking me. Oh to be a five-year old boy).

So the dance was great, my date was one of the nicest guys in the ward (he even was willing to pose for the oh-so-cheesy Cinderella picture).



















We had a great time in the dinner, and then the dance was pretty good. Its pretty fun to be dress in a pretty dress for an evening, it reminds me that I really am happy being a girl.

Fortune Cookies

I have a number of food weaknesses, which include fruit snacks, potato chips, any candy bar that includes peanut butter, and apparently fortune cookies. When I was at Walmart (which was NOT the one from my hometown, which I'm boycotting), I saw chocolate covered fortune cookies and couldn't help but buy them. I think I'm in love. And because I'm in love with these fortune cookies, I have eaten around two every day, which means I have gotten a number of fortunes in the past few days. According to my fortunes:

A romantic encounter is coming my way.
I need to improve my exercise routine.
I need to follow my beliefs.
I need to make the special talents I have work like a charm.
And another one mentioned love, but I can't remember what it said. . .

Do I really believe in these fortunes? Of course not. But don't be surprised if you see me working out again.

Updates

So, I haven't blogged for awhile. You would think that during the Christmas break, while I had no school or other obligations, I would have 10 minutes to blog. Well, I had plenty of 10 minute breaks, but did not spend them blogging. Sue me, but I like talking to my family a little too much.

So, here are some highlights from the last month:

• I love putting sour cream on just about EVERYTHING. Some favorite sour cream drenched items include: fried potatoes (or french fries), toast, bagels, and all things Mexican. Well, I finally decided that I should try to be a "normal" American, so I bought some strawberry cream cheese to put on my bagels. I might still prefer the sour cream, but cream cheese is pretty good, too.
• Christmas Eve, my niece got sick and threw up on me. Right as dessert was being served. I reacted pretty well, and managed to catch most of it and nothing hit the carpet. Well, I then got sick a week later on my mom's birthday, and threw up, again, right as dessert was being served. Rather than throwing up on one of my fellow human beings, I instead threw up on my little sister's cat. Yup, he ran right into my lane, and because he made me pause a second to not trip over him, I didn't make it to the toilet in time, and instead nailed the cat. It was pretty funny (once I felt better).
• I learned that air mattresses are quite comfortable, but can be VERY COLD. Make sure you have about 3 blankets underneath you if you sleep on one.
• Palo Alto is beautiful. As is Oakland. And Utah's air quality during the winter is dreadful.
• My roommates and I went snowshoeing today. I think I'm in love. But, in order to fully follow this love, I need to make sure to always wear sunglasses, because I got a headache from staring at all the white. Not too pleasant.

That is all.