Lisa Bayley and Adam Buchanan want to get a dog. In fact, they're moving out of their apartment so they can. They're planning on getting a puppy from someone they know in three months. The only problem is that they want a dog now. So they're getting one. They asked Tori the other day if she thought I would want to take the dog in three months since they'd be getting the puppy. I just don't understand. Dogs aren't things you can disregard when something better comes along. They're a living, breathing animal. It all kind of saddened me.
Oh, and I would love to take the dog in three months if only Barb and Neil would let me!
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Warehouse Therapy
As some of you may know, Katie Dickson and I have dedicated ourselves to Backcountry.com. Have you ever heard of Wilderness Therapy? Yeah, well we're doing Warehouse Therapy. It's much the same concept except you're not out in the wilderness for an extended amount of time trying to survive. There isn't even much time for journaling. (Unless you do it on one of your many breaks, I suppose.) I'm not even sure the benefits are the same. Instead of truly finding who you are and your sense of place in the world, you are making money. That's right, cold hard cash.
Yesterday was our first actual day of Warehouse Therapy. We got to work while it was still dark outside--6:30 in the AM--and left when it was dark--9:30 in the PM. Luckily the weather was nice enough during our first lunch break to eat outside. I don't think I can go a whole day without seeing the sun. Ever.
But the overtime pay will be nice. And basically that is why I have become such a hardcore, die-hard employee. Not to mention the sweet gear deals.
So the consensus is that Warehouse Therapy isn't even all that bad. What I do in the whole scheme of things is actually pretty chill and I even get to listen to the radio (yesterday and today 101.9 The End has been talking about Ghost Stories on their morning show... and we all know how I love ghost stories!) or CD's if I would remember to bring them. And time doesn't drag on how it sometimes might while you're at work.
The best part about this is that Katie Dickson and Anna Cleverly have become working women. We're the two in our house that have been unemployed for extended periods of time recently, just going wherever the wind has blown us. It's nice to be rooted. In a warehouse. Or something.
Yesterday was our first actual day of Warehouse Therapy. We got to work while it was still dark outside--6:30 in the AM--and left when it was dark--9:30 in the PM. Luckily the weather was nice enough during our first lunch break to eat outside. I don't think I can go a whole day without seeing the sun. Ever.
But the overtime pay will be nice. And basically that is why I have become such a hardcore, die-hard employee. Not to mention the sweet gear deals.
So the consensus is that Warehouse Therapy isn't even all that bad. What I do in the whole scheme of things is actually pretty chill and I even get to listen to the radio (yesterday and today 101.9 The End has been talking about Ghost Stories on their morning show... and we all know how I love ghost stories!) or CD's if I would remember to bring them. And time doesn't drag on how it sometimes might while you're at work.
The best part about this is that Katie Dickson and Anna Cleverly have become working women. We're the two in our house that have been unemployed for extended periods of time recently, just going wherever the wind has blown us. It's nice to be rooted. In a warehouse. Or something.
One funny story from work today: Some little old lady from who-knows-where sent Greg (the customer service guy) and the whole warehouse some sort of nut candy type something and some garlic/cashiew mix she had apparently made herself. They were packaged in the same box she was returning some
climbing shoes in. Everyone was scared to eat it because who knows if it was laced with arsenic. I guess she really appreciated the service. Or she is just bored and lonely. Anyway, it made for a good laugh. Thank you, Claire David, wherever you are.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
An update on Don, the guy with the cat (AKA Don, the guy to avoid)
I guess Robert was right. Do we all remember the guy who fell in love with me in Texas? Don? Well, I thought I had made him pretty aware that there was a guy back home in Salt Lake City that I was dating and really liked a lot. I thought he was aware that whatever was going on with us was purely a friendship. Besides, he lives in Texas and I live in Utah. What would be the point? So I was okay with keeping in contact with the guy. I believe he's in my life for a reason, just not a romantic one. My brother-in-law, on the other hand thought he was still trying to weasel in on me.
So Don calls me on the phone fairly regularly. I often don't answer when he calls, but sometimes I do. We email. And sometimes we chat on MSN Messenger. So we have kept in touch. I thought he was still aware of my feelings for a certain boy here in town. But I get an email the other day, and he flat out tells me that he likes me. He wants to know what I think about that.
What do I think about that? Hello, of course I know he likes me. I knew that from day one. Okay, maybe day two. But I seriously thought he was on board with the friendship thing. I like someone else. Isn't that obvious? It should be, because I've flat out told him about Marcus Wright.
So Don calls me on the phone fairly regularly. I often don't answer when he calls, but sometimes I do. We email. And sometimes we chat on MSN Messenger. So we have kept in touch. I thought he was still aware of my feelings for a certain boy here in town. But I get an email the other day, and he flat out tells me that he likes me. He wants to know what I think about that.
What do I think about that? Hello, of course I know he likes me. I knew that from day one. Okay, maybe day two. But I seriously thought he was on board with the friendship thing. I like someone else. Isn't that obvious? It should be, because I've flat out told him about Marcus Wright.
I got oats on my head but don't call me an oat-head
I woke up late this morning. I was tricked into going to FHE in a BYU ward last night and didn't get home until well past my new bedtime. I was tired.
I went to my cupboard to get out the oatmeal. The canister is too tall to stand upright on the shelf, so I have to lay it down on it's side. Apparently the lid doesn't stay on too well. As I grabbed the oatmeal, oats started spilling out everywhere. There were oats on the one and only chair, oats on the floor, even oats in my hair! I did not have time for it. I swept it up, made breakfast, threw a lunch together, and was out the door in a reasonable amount of time. Katie Dickson asked me when I got in the car what was in my hair. Was it leaves? No. Oats.
It's nice to go to work every morning with your roommate. Especially your roommate wtih a car. (Tomorrow I have to ride out there on the bus, which means leaving my house about an hour earlier. . . oy vei!) Today it was my turn to drive. After I had pulled out of the driveway Katie turned to me and said, "You can listen to whatever you want." So I took that as I can listen to whatever I want. So I turned it to my favorite radio program, X96's Radio From Hell. After a minute of listening she turns to me again and says, "Do you want to listen to this?" As if it was by accident that I purposely changed it to this station and didn't really want to listen to it at all. I told her that I did in fact want to listen to this station and that I don't even like it when they play music--I just like to listen to Kerry, Bill, and Gina talk! I told her to give it a try and maybe she'd like it. She informed me when we got to work that she didn't. I think there will be more listening to my favorite morning radio program in the future if I'm ever given control. I'm sure it will be more out of spite than anything else.
Oh what a morning it was. . .
I went to my cupboard to get out the oatmeal. The canister is too tall to stand upright on the shelf, so I have to lay it down on it's side. Apparently the lid doesn't stay on too well. As I grabbed the oatmeal, oats started spilling out everywhere. There were oats on the one and only chair, oats on the floor, even oats in my hair! I did not have time for it. I swept it up, made breakfast, threw a lunch together, and was out the door in a reasonable amount of time. Katie Dickson asked me when I got in the car what was in my hair. Was it leaves? No. Oats.
It's nice to go to work every morning with your roommate. Especially your roommate wtih a car. (Tomorrow I have to ride out there on the bus, which means leaving my house about an hour earlier. . . oy vei!) Today it was my turn to drive. After I had pulled out of the driveway Katie turned to me and said, "You can listen to whatever you want." So I took that as I can listen to whatever I want. So I turned it to my favorite radio program, X96's Radio From Hell. After a minute of listening she turns to me again and says, "Do you want to listen to this?" As if it was by accident that I purposely changed it to this station and didn't really want to listen to it at all. I told her that I did in fact want to listen to this station and that I don't even like it when they play music--I just like to listen to Kerry, Bill, and Gina talk! I told her to give it a try and maybe she'd like it. She informed me when we got to work that she didn't. I think there will be more listening to my favorite morning radio program in the future if I'm ever given control. I'm sure it will be more out of spite than anything else.
Oh what a morning it was. . .
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
What's the color of YOUR collar?
I would like to think my collar is a nice shade of light blue. Yes, it's true I do work in a building with no windows and things that could fall on your head, but I also get to sit at a computer. . . So maybe I'm somewhere inbetween blue and white, perhaps a lovely [insert fabulous shade of blue here]?
Monday, October 10, 2005
#47. Go to Havasupai. CHECK!
Virgil Ash would be so proud. After 22 years (okay, so only after about 5 years but the story gets bigger every time I tell it) I finally made it to the Grand Canyon. Havasupai to be more precise. Thank you, Virg, for sparking the dream!
It truly is a tropical paradise in the desert. I fell in love with the brilliant orange cliffs and the amazingly clear greenish-blue water. I know the pictures won't do it justice.
We started out on Thursday with a fun little road trip to Kingman, AZ. After driving up and down Route 66 looking for a cheap motel (But one with a hot tub. Hey, we have standards.) we settled on the Quality Inn. We woke up early the next morning to find that Cyndi had gotten sick. Food poisoning? Stomach Flu? Whatever it was, it was not good for a ten mile hike into the Grand Canyon.
From Kingman it was about another hour and a half to the trail head. Once we got there we discussed what we would do with Cyndi. Should she go in her state? Would she even be able to carry her pack? She would need electrolytes and fluids. So we decided to put her pack on the helicopter (for a $20 fee) and she would just hike down with a daypack full of water, gatorade, and toilet paper. She realized halfway down the trail that every time a helicopter flew over head she would need to high-tale it to a bush quick! I guess Pavlov and his dog were on to something with that whole operant conditioning thing. Pretty funny, in that sad-for-Cyndi sort of way.
The hike was long. It took us six hours. My feet were aching by the end and I don't think any of us were in a very happy mood. We rolled into camp around 6 o'clock and by then it was already dark. We were informed by some tourists in the village of Supai that it gets dark at 5:30pm. They were right it turns out. So we found our group, set up camp, made some Pad Thai, and pretty much went to bed.
The next morning we went on a little hike to Mooney falls. Cyndi stayed at camp for this one. Too bad, because she really missed out! The falls weren't too far from the campground, and we could've gone on a longer hike to some other falls (the rest of our bigger group did that) but I was more concerned with playing in the amazing water than hiking. The approach to this waterfall was cool. You had to climb down through this rock tunnel and down some old ladders that had been placed. Closer to the bottom it got really slippery and wet from the mist and spray of the waterfall. It was actually kind of scary, but well worth it.
The water was a little cold, but not too cold to keep us out of there. We jumped off little waterfalls into pools of water and splashed around in the larger pool. The waterfall was amazing.
After our hike back up through the rock we went back to camp. Cyndi was nowhere to be found. We just figured she was in the bathroom. It turns out she was at Havasu falls, bathing. A funny thing about our sick friend, Cyndi. She was famous among the bigger group in camp, but also mysterious. No one had seen her, only heard about her and how hardcore she was for hiking down there in her condition. Later that afternoon she was feeling better, though, and she was up and about and went with us to play in Havasu falls so everyone got a good look at her. We were hoping to sneak her in and out of camp undetected. Oh well.
Havasu falls was awesome! There were so many little pools to sit in and we were brave enough to swim out to the big waterfall and climb up on these rocks behind it. We actually got to jump into the waterfall from behind! Too much fun. Y'all should see my pictures sometime.
The last night we camped in Havasupai was spent in battle against raccoons.
"What's that noise?"
[Maggie or Tori proceed to bang on tent]
"Cyndi?"
"Yeah?"
Did you leave your backpack out?"
"Yeah..."
Somehow those rascally guys got into her pack and pulled out some trail mix. At least they didn't shove her pack into the river like they did to Maggie last year. I think she's still bitter about that one. But we had to wake up at 5 am anyway to get out on the trail, so the battle had to end. We took down camp and were on the go before the sun even came up.
Luckily Cyndi felt much better by this time. What took us 6 hours to hike down only took us 4.5 hours to hike up. I guess things move a lot quicker when you don't have to duck behind a bush every ten minutes. The hike wasn't bad until that last push straight up the mountain. But we buckled down and did it. Yeah for Havasupai!!!
The ride home was fun. . . I got to spend nine fun-filled hours with some of my favorite people. Mags played DJ and gave us our own little personal concert/DJ mix and Cyndi drove the whole way home. I got to sit in the back and eat food. Life is great sometimes.
In true girls camp fashion we gave each other "awards" of sorts. This is what we came up with:
CYNDI - Trip Trooper - I am amazed that anyone could hike that with food poisoning and still have such a good attitude!
ANNA - Trip Hippie - My "Do it for love!" motto was in full effect, and I ate anything that was offered to me, and I was all about the environment and LNT on the trail.
TORI - Trip Guru - She thought of everything and thought ahead to any possible situation. She's a smarty-pants!
MAGGIE - Trip Mom (or Trip Nazi) - Some might say trip nazi, but really she was the one to get things done and make a decision. She really helped out with Cyndi and was just totally there for her in her time of need.
So plans are in the works for a trip next spring, we couldn't wait a whole other year. I hear my eternal crush, Christian Sabey wants to come. . . If I had only known! So yeah, Havasupai. A tropical paradise in the desert. Pure love.
It truly is a tropical paradise in the desert. I fell in love with the brilliant orange cliffs and the amazingly clear greenish-blue water. I know the pictures won't do it justice.
We started out on Thursday with a fun little road trip to Kingman, AZ. After driving up and down Route 66 looking for a cheap motel (But one with a hot tub. Hey, we have standards.) we settled on the Quality Inn. We woke up early the next morning to find that Cyndi had gotten sick. Food poisoning? Stomach Flu? Whatever it was, it was not good for a ten mile hike into the Grand Canyon.
From Kingman it was about another hour and a half to the trail head. Once we got there we discussed what we would do with Cyndi. Should she go in her state? Would she even be able to carry her pack? She would need electrolytes and fluids. So we decided to put her pack on the helicopter (for a $20 fee) and she would just hike down with a daypack full of water, gatorade, and toilet paper. She realized halfway down the trail that every time a helicopter flew over head she would need to high-tale it to a bush quick! I guess Pavlov and his dog were on to something with that whole operant conditioning thing. Pretty funny, in that sad-for-Cyndi sort of way.
The hike was long. It took us six hours. My feet were aching by the end and I don't think any of us were in a very happy mood. We rolled into camp around 6 o'clock and by then it was already dark. We were informed by some tourists in the village of Supai that it gets dark at 5:30pm. They were right it turns out. So we found our group, set up camp, made some Pad Thai, and pretty much went to bed.
The next morning we went on a little hike to Mooney falls. Cyndi stayed at camp for this one. Too bad, because she really missed out! The falls weren't too far from the campground, and we could've gone on a longer hike to some other falls (the rest of our bigger group did that) but I was more concerned with playing in the amazing water than hiking. The approach to this waterfall was cool. You had to climb down through this rock tunnel and down some old ladders that had been placed. Closer to the bottom it got really slippery and wet from the mist and spray of the waterfall. It was actually kind of scary, but well worth it.
The water was a little cold, but not too cold to keep us out of there. We jumped off little waterfalls into pools of water and splashed around in the larger pool. The waterfall was amazing.
After our hike back up through the rock we went back to camp. Cyndi was nowhere to be found. We just figured she was in the bathroom. It turns out she was at Havasu falls, bathing. A funny thing about our sick friend, Cyndi. She was famous among the bigger group in camp, but also mysterious. No one had seen her, only heard about her and how hardcore she was for hiking down there in her condition. Later that afternoon she was feeling better, though, and she was up and about and went with us to play in Havasu falls so everyone got a good look at her. We were hoping to sneak her in and out of camp undetected. Oh well.
Havasu falls was awesome! There were so many little pools to sit in and we were brave enough to swim out to the big waterfall and climb up on these rocks behind it. We actually got to jump into the waterfall from behind! Too much fun. Y'all should see my pictures sometime.
The last night we camped in Havasupai was spent in battle against raccoons.
"What's that noise?"
[Maggie or Tori proceed to bang on tent]
"Cyndi?"
"Yeah?"
Did you leave your backpack out?"
"Yeah..."
Somehow those rascally guys got into her pack and pulled out some trail mix. At least they didn't shove her pack into the river like they did to Maggie last year. I think she's still bitter about that one. But we had to wake up at 5 am anyway to get out on the trail, so the battle had to end. We took down camp and were on the go before the sun even came up.
Luckily Cyndi felt much better by this time. What took us 6 hours to hike down only took us 4.5 hours to hike up. I guess things move a lot quicker when you don't have to duck behind a bush every ten minutes. The hike wasn't bad until that last push straight up the mountain. But we buckled down and did it. Yeah for Havasupai!!!
The ride home was fun. . . I got to spend nine fun-filled hours with some of my favorite people. Mags played DJ and gave us our own little personal concert/DJ mix and Cyndi drove the whole way home. I got to sit in the back and eat food. Life is great sometimes.
In true girls camp fashion we gave each other "awards" of sorts. This is what we came up with:
CYNDI - Trip Trooper - I am amazed that anyone could hike that with food poisoning and still have such a good attitude!
ANNA - Trip Hippie - My "Do it for love!" motto was in full effect, and I ate anything that was offered to me, and I was all about the environment and LNT on the trail.
TORI - Trip Guru - She thought of everything and thought ahead to any possible situation. She's a smarty-pants!
MAGGIE - Trip Mom (or Trip Nazi) - Some might say trip nazi, but really she was the one to get things done and make a decision. She really helped out with Cyndi and was just totally there for her in her time of need.
So plans are in the works for a trip next spring, we couldn't wait a whole other year. I hear my eternal crush, Christian Sabey wants to come. . . If I had only known! So yeah, Havasupai. A tropical paradise in the desert. Pure love.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
An update of sorts
I haven't posted in a while. I'm not around a computer that often and when I am it seems I can't find the words. But here I am, groping for the words anyway. . .
The day I got home from Sabbatical I went on the annual Ruth Lake hike with my dad and Eliza and Paul. I'm glad we started that tradition; it's a good excuse for a scenic fall drive and a photo on the fridge. Later that night I went on a hot date. Life back amongst the mountains is good.
I've settled into the new house. Once again there is a good dynamic between roommates. There's a good vibe to the place even if we don't have much furniture. Come sit in our hammock or watch a movie in our pillow room. We're simple people striving to live sustainable lives. I wish we had a garden.
I still haven't found a job. Well, I haven't been looking too hard yet. Last week I was busy unpacking and organizing and resting for "the big race." It turns out I got a little bit o' the stomach flu. I guess that's not too good the week of a marathon. But I resolve to do better. As soon as I stop procrastinating (Read: writing blogs and such) I am looking for that danged job!
Even though I fell short of my goal time, the weekend in St George was really fun. We stayed with my dear friend and ex-roommate, Maria Nelson and her family. Mary and I got to sleep in the magnet bed (I swear I could feel my blood circulating better!). Gloria Staci even made a brief appearance! What more could you ask for?
So now it's the start of another week. Yesterday I got my hair dyed by my friend and also ex-roommate Lisa Bayley Buchanan. (Or just Lisa Bayley for short) I'm looking quite sassy.
Last night we all went rock climbing up Big Cottonwood Canyon for FHE. And by "we" I mean me, Lisa Bayley and her husband Adam, Tori, and this Brett kid. I was a little worried as I was hiking down the trail and crossing the river--my legs still hurt from the run and it is hard to walk up and down stairs let alone a rock face! But, surprisingly, while I was on the rock the legs didn't hurt at all. I like this new FHE tradition complete with lesson (usually to do with something relating rock climbing to the gospel, but this week it was about marathon running), activity (rock climbing for now, snow shoeing in the near future) and treat!
I'm going to Havasupai in a few days. I'll get to cross yet another thing off of my list of things to do before I die. I'm excited. It's a tropical paradise in the desert. I get to share it with good friends. Life is so dang good!
Okay, I think I've probably rambled enough about the last week of my life. Now I need to focus. . .
The day I got home from Sabbatical I went on the annual Ruth Lake hike with my dad and Eliza and Paul. I'm glad we started that tradition; it's a good excuse for a scenic fall drive and a photo on the fridge. Later that night I went on a hot date. Life back amongst the mountains is good.
I've settled into the new house. Once again there is a good dynamic between roommates. There's a good vibe to the place even if we don't have much furniture. Come sit in our hammock or watch a movie in our pillow room. We're simple people striving to live sustainable lives. I wish we had a garden.
I still haven't found a job. Well, I haven't been looking too hard yet. Last week I was busy unpacking and organizing and resting for "the big race." It turns out I got a little bit o' the stomach flu. I guess that's not too good the week of a marathon. But I resolve to do better. As soon as I stop procrastinating (Read: writing blogs and such) I am looking for that danged job!
Even though I fell short of my goal time, the weekend in St George was really fun. We stayed with my dear friend and ex-roommate, Maria Nelson and her family. Mary and I got to sleep in the magnet bed (I swear I could feel my blood circulating better!). Gloria Staci even made a brief appearance! What more could you ask for?
So now it's the start of another week. Yesterday I got my hair dyed by my friend and also ex-roommate Lisa Bayley Buchanan. (Or just Lisa Bayley for short) I'm looking quite sassy.
Last night we all went rock climbing up Big Cottonwood Canyon for FHE. And by "we" I mean me, Lisa Bayley and her husband Adam, Tori, and this Brett kid. I was a little worried as I was hiking down the trail and crossing the river--my legs still hurt from the run and it is hard to walk up and down stairs let alone a rock face! But, surprisingly, while I was on the rock the legs didn't hurt at all. I like this new FHE tradition complete with lesson (usually to do with something relating rock climbing to the gospel, but this week it was about marathon running), activity (rock climbing for now, snow shoeing in the near future) and treat!
I'm going to Havasupai in a few days. I'll get to cross yet another thing off of my list of things to do before I die. I'm excited. It's a tropical paradise in the desert. I get to share it with good friends. Life is so dang good!
Okay, I think I've probably rambled enough about the last week of my life. Now I need to focus. . .
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