Christms this year was rough for me. Yes, there are definitely reasons why, but those are not important. Let me just say the following: the best part of Christmas by a wide margin this year was unwrapping the various pieces of the nativity and talking as a family about what they meant to us. Second was church on Christmas; my parents ward did an amazing musical program.
Spending time playing games with my family was also fun. I hadn't played nerts in such a long time. Other than that, Shaine put a huge smile on my face with her Midnight Christmas announcement that I will be aunt Katy to a baby Athey in July 2012. I am grateful for the real reason we celebrate Christmas and to have people in my life who are so caring and fabulous.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Various and assorted thoughts
I am so glad that God has seen fit to place some fabulous people in my life. There are some genuinely selfless and amazing people surrounding me. Often, I feel undeserving of all the wonderfulness.
At this time of year, when the leaves on our trees here in California go rapidly from green to red to yellow and then blow off in a 70 mph gust, I wish for more lasting fall colors. I also wish for a house with a yard and lots of leaves to rake so I can make a giant pile and jump in it.
Water has a flavor. If not, when you drank it, it would be like liquid air in your mouth. Disagree with me...I dare you!
At this time of year, when the leaves on our trees here in California go rapidly from green to red to yellow and then blow off in a 70 mph gust, I wish for more lasting fall colors. I also wish for a house with a yard and lots of leaves to rake so I can make a giant pile and jump in it.
Water has a flavor. If not, when you drank it, it would be like liquid air in your mouth. Disagree with me...I dare you!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Twilight
Here is a list of why the books are better than the movies:
1. In the books, it makes more sense why Bella and Edward care for each other. He is attracted to her beauty, her selflessness, her blood (of course), and how differently she thinks than most people her age. She likes his face, his smell, and how he tries to be a better person, despite the hand that he was dealt. They also share taste in music. Plus, in the book, they actually have the conversations getting to know each other.
2. We get more detail in the book about the pasts of all the other Cullens, especially that Alice was in a mental institution before she became a vampire, and James killed the vamp who created her.
3. Despite the fact that Stephenie Meyer isn't a super great writer, Bella is infinitely more likeable in the books than Kristen Stewart playing her in the movies is.
4. The books are full of drama, but they are also full of humor, which was lost in the movie - except for the most recent one, which is my favorite one thus far.
1. In the books, it makes more sense why Bella and Edward care for each other. He is attracted to her beauty, her selflessness, her blood (of course), and how differently she thinks than most people her age. She likes his face, his smell, and how he tries to be a better person, despite the hand that he was dealt. They also share taste in music. Plus, in the book, they actually have the conversations getting to know each other.
2. We get more detail in the book about the pasts of all the other Cullens, especially that Alice was in a mental institution before she became a vampire, and James killed the vamp who created her.
3. Despite the fact that Stephenie Meyer isn't a super great writer, Bella is infinitely more likeable in the books than Kristen Stewart playing her in the movies is.
4. The books are full of drama, but they are also full of humor, which was lost in the movie - except for the most recent one, which is my favorite one thus far.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Super Sewing Saturday
After seeing Breaking Dawn, part 1 this morning (there was not nearly enough blood IMHO), Lisa and I hosted the first ever Super Sewing Saturday at our place. It was a lot of fun. We had three machines set up, and a variety of projects going on, most of them Christmas related.
I make a couple things which I can't mention, because they are going to be Christmas presents, but they turned out super nice. Shaine made a table runner, complete with gold ribbon. Lisa is still working on her super adorable apron, and Amy flitted around helping everyone with various things. Unbeknowst to me until about a year ago, I seem to have a natural aptitude for sewing, so it's always enjoyable when us girls get together. I can't wait to do it again!
I make a couple things which I can't mention, because they are going to be Christmas presents, but they turned out super nice. Shaine made a table runner, complete with gold ribbon. Lisa is still working on her super adorable apron, and Amy flitted around helping everyone with various things. Unbeknowst to me until about a year ago, I seem to have a natural aptitude for sewing, so it's always enjoyable when us girls get together. I can't wait to do it again!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Filter!
I am still working on my personal filter. This is especially difficult in certain circumstances, and on Facebook, I just thank my lucky stars that it doesn't post my knee-jerk responses to some of the status updates I see on my news feed. Cause WOW...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Driving
For some reason, the number of car accidents on the 680 corridor between Crow Canyon and Stone Valley seems to have increased exponentially in the past few weeks. I witnessed a collision 2 weeks ago, and have seen at least 5 more after-the-fact in the intervening days. I have a few ideas about why this is occurring:
1. We're back on standard time. The population is so utterly confused about what time it is that they forget to have their morning Starbucks (because it's LIGHT ALREADY), and then they drift off....into the car next to them, or in front of them. You get the general idea.
2. It's been raining off and on. At night, the glare off freshly rained-on pavement can be overwhelming, so drivers are just shutting their eyes while they drive. No shoes, no vision, no problem.
3. They forget to get the optional turn signal package installed on their vehicle. You know, the one where all you have to do is flick your hand slightly to let other drivers know you want to change lanes or make a turn? Some people apparently didn't get that option on their car, and they simply swerve in and out of the lanes expecting the rest of us to be prescient.
All of this has led me to a great distrust of my fellow commuters, a trust which is going to be really hard to earn back.
1. We're back on standard time. The population is so utterly confused about what time it is that they forget to have their morning Starbucks (because it's LIGHT ALREADY), and then they drift off....into the car next to them, or in front of them. You get the general idea.
2. It's been raining off and on. At night, the glare off freshly rained-on pavement can be overwhelming, so drivers are just shutting their eyes while they drive. No shoes, no vision, no problem.
3. They forget to get the optional turn signal package installed on their vehicle. You know, the one where all you have to do is flick your hand slightly to let other drivers know you want to change lanes or make a turn? Some people apparently didn't get that option on their car, and they simply swerve in and out of the lanes expecting the rest of us to be prescient.
All of this has led me to a great distrust of my fellow commuters, a trust which is going to be really hard to earn back.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Totally useless post
I just have to get this off my chest: NO ONE should be surprised that Kim Kardashian's marriage is ending after 72 days. I don't follow the show that closely, but the few clips I did see while channel surfing usually had her a Kris Humphries arguing about money or something else. The vendors who supplied her with millions of dollars worth of free or discounted items should sue for reimbursement; it's not like she can't afford it. Perhaps the 'Occupy' protestors should start picketing her house, as she is exhibit A for shameful consumerism and waste.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Why I just love driving in the Bay Area
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thanks, that was really helpful
I am taking a Business Law class through DVC right now, and it is all done online. The class is compressed, and therefore every two weeks I must read 4 chapters in the text, and answer a discussion question. The discussion questions come from the book, and our professor wants us to cite multiple sources in our answer, refer to ourselves in the third person, and basically give some convoluted answer. Here is my first post, which was answering the question "If providers of social networking sites are failing to protect their minor users, why should they be immune from negligence claims?"
Social networking sites should be immune from negligence claims because they do have measures in place to protect minors.
When signing up for an account on Facebook, for example, one commits to them to ‘not provide any false personal information on Facebook.’ (1) Also included in Facebook’s terms of service is a commitment to “not use Facebook if you are under 13 (Facebook).” MySpace also has a similar minimum age requirement for its users, and reserves the right to terminate a user account if it is discovered that the user is under 18 but representing that they are over 18, or vice versa (MySpace). In the case of Doe v. MySpace, the plantiff was 13, however, she chose to provide a false age to the social networking site, thus eliminating one layer of protection the site would have provided to a user under the age of 18. Defense counsel for the site can put forth an affirmative defense of Assumption of Risk (Miller & Jentz, 116); when the minor joined the
site, he or she agreed to the terms of service, and in the case of Doe v. MySpace, Julie was in clear violation of those terms, and would have had knowledge of the risk she was taking.
An additional consideration for exempting these sites from negligence claims pertains to the idea of contributory negligence3. Julie Doe was still under the care of her legal guardian, her mother, whom it appears
was unaware of Julie’s online activity until after the sexual assault occurred. Julie herself was negligent when she agreed to meet with a 19 year-old man alone. In this instance, the minor using the social site initiated face-to-face contact, which was not the responsibility of the creators of MySpace. Most social networking sites attempt to remove offensive or criminal images, language, or videos; these sites, however, cannot remove or prevent crimes that occur outside of the digital domain.
Section 230 of US Code 47 states that the U.S. government has to goal “to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their
children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material. (47 U.S.C)” While it appears that the idea is to assist companies in developing so-called ‘child filters,’ this does not guarantee that minors will (1) circumvent the filters put in place by social networking sites; or (2) that the filter will be effective at blocking all
potentially dangerous images or interactions.
References
1. Facebook. (2011, 26 April). In Facebook Terms, section 4. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf
2. MySpace (2009, June 25). In MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement. Retrieved from http://www.myspace.com/Help/Terms
3. Miller,R.L., & Jentz, G.A. Business Law Today (9th ed.). (2011). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
4. 47 U.S.C. § 230
After this post (I got 17 out of 20), the professor advised all those of us who got 17 or less to reread the syllabus. Ok, I did that; it basically says, don't copy from the text or other students, write in the third person, and use a lot of references. I did that, but clearly it was not enough, so I emailed the professor to ask him about additional sources of precedent, and all I got back was that I should look at the students who did well, and if "that is too hard," I should refer back to the examples.
I love circular reasoning - especially when the students who got 18-20 points weren't really better than me, and had grammatical errors (which he claims to dock points for). Thanks for the help, Dr. Churchill - P.S. your syllabus is full of formatting errors.
Social networking sites should be immune from negligence claims because they do have measures in place to protect minors.
When signing up for an account on Facebook, for example, one commits to them to ‘not provide any false personal information on Facebook.’ (1) Also included in Facebook’s terms of service is a commitment to “not use Facebook if you are under 13 (Facebook).” MySpace also has a similar minimum age requirement for its users, and reserves the right to terminate a user account if it is discovered that the user is under 18 but representing that they are over 18, or vice versa (MySpace). In the case of Doe v. MySpace, the plantiff was 13, however, she chose to provide a false age to the social networking site, thus eliminating one layer of protection the site would have provided to a user under the age of 18. Defense counsel for the site can put forth an affirmative defense of Assumption of Risk (Miller & Jentz, 116); when the minor joined the
site, he or she agreed to the terms of service, and in the case of Doe v. MySpace, Julie was in clear violation of those terms, and would have had knowledge of the risk she was taking.
An additional consideration for exempting these sites from negligence claims pertains to the idea of contributory negligence3. Julie Doe was still under the care of her legal guardian, her mother, whom it appears
was unaware of Julie’s online activity until after the sexual assault occurred. Julie herself was negligent when she agreed to meet with a 19 year-old man alone. In this instance, the minor using the social site initiated face-to-face contact, which was not the responsibility of the creators of MySpace. Most social networking sites attempt to remove offensive or criminal images, language, or videos; these sites, however, cannot remove or prevent crimes that occur outside of the digital domain.
Section 230 of US Code 47 states that the U.S. government has to goal “to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their
children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material. (47 U.S.C)” While it appears that the idea is to assist companies in developing so-called ‘child filters,’ this does not guarantee that minors will (1) circumvent the filters put in place by social networking sites; or (2) that the filter will be effective at blocking all
potentially dangerous images or interactions.
References
1. Facebook. (2011, 26 April). In Facebook Terms, section 4. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf
2. MySpace (2009, June 25). In MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement. Retrieved from http://www.myspace.com/Help/Terms
3. Miller,R.L., & Jentz, G.A. Business Law Today (9th ed.). (2011). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
4. 47 U.S.C. § 230
After this post (I got 17 out of 20), the professor advised all those of us who got 17 or less to reread the syllabus. Ok, I did that; it basically says, don't copy from the text or other students, write in the third person, and use a lot of references. I did that, but clearly it was not enough, so I emailed the professor to ask him about additional sources of precedent, and all I got back was that I should look at the students who did well, and if "that is too hard," I should refer back to the examples.
I love circular reasoning - especially when the students who got 18-20 points weren't really better than me, and had grammatical errors (which he claims to dock points for). Thanks for the help, Dr. Churchill - P.S. your syllabus is full of formatting errors.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
*Yawn*
Today is a day of mixed emotions for me - it is the day my ex got married. Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely got the better end of the breakup, but I have OCD, so I sometimes ruminate about the how and why of our relationship, and why it is that he found someone to marry, but I have not. There are people who will tell me to 'let it go', or 'get over it,' but I prefer to think of it as learning how not to make the same mistake again. Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, and quite frankly, I need to be smarter and not date anybody if it's at all reminiscent of my year with him.
I enjoy doing things as a single person - I don't have family responsibility and can spend money on shoes, but I have a righteous goal of getting married. There are many things I feel I need to work on (just in case the Lord decides to start implementing Old Testament punishments again); like many of us, I am a work-in-progress.
So, that was the reflective part of the day, and then there was the lazy part of the day with new roommate Lisa D, who is AMAZING! We went to the gluten-free bakery, got tons of food at Safeway, and then proceeded to watch a few episodes of Vampire Diaries. We keep having a debate about getting a 10'x8' poster of Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, but we really aren't sure where to find it. We also came up with a great plan to get Lisa on SYTYCD; her story involves a pet monkey and a footie pajama onesie. Stay tuned to Fox...
The last thing I did tonight was hit the corn maze with some of the LDS mid-singles. It was highly entertaining, especially when they decided to trust my map reading skill implicitly. I could have been leading these people to a chainsaw massacre, and they happily would have trotted along behind me. Actually, there was a guy in a full Gilly suit with a leaf blower wandering around, but he was more interested in screaming bands of teenagers than in our Mormon posse. The midsingles are a fun, nice group of people, and I hope to participate in more activities in the future.
I enjoy doing things as a single person - I don't have family responsibility and can spend money on shoes, but I have a righteous goal of getting married. There are many things I feel I need to work on (just in case the Lord decides to start implementing Old Testament punishments again); like many of us, I am a work-in-progress.
So, that was the reflective part of the day, and then there was the lazy part of the day with new roommate Lisa D, who is AMAZING! We went to the gluten-free bakery, got tons of food at Safeway, and then proceeded to watch a few episodes of Vampire Diaries. We keep having a debate about getting a 10'x8' poster of Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, but we really aren't sure where to find it. We also came up with a great plan to get Lisa on SYTYCD; her story involves a pet monkey and a footie pajama onesie. Stay tuned to Fox...
The last thing I did tonight was hit the corn maze with some of the LDS mid-singles. It was highly entertaining, especially when they decided to trust my map reading skill implicitly. I could have been leading these people to a chainsaw massacre, and they happily would have trotted along behind me. Actually, there was a guy in a full Gilly suit with a leaf blower wandering around, but he was more interested in screaming bands of teenagers than in our Mormon posse. The midsingles are a fun, nice group of people, and I hope to participate in more activities in the future.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Station 45
So, I am working out here at the Fire Station, which I always find fascinating. Because I am in the basement, I can hear all the radio calls going out. You would not believe how many calls they get for old people who have fallen down. No wonder LifeAlert does such a good business!
Two calls that stand out to me today are (1) a bike versus a car in Moraga, and (2) a 5 year-old with a bloody nose at school in San Pablo. I understand the need for an ambulance at the first, but for a bloody nose? Maybe a lifetime of chronic bloody noses has desensitized me, but I would just tell the kid to lean his head forward, plug it with a tissue, and maybe put some ice on it. It's not like it's a femoral artery or anything...
Two calls that stand out to me today are (1) a bike versus a car in Moraga, and (2) a 5 year-old with a bloody nose at school in San Pablo. I understand the need for an ambulance at the first, but for a bloody nose? Maybe a lifetime of chronic bloody noses has desensitized me, but I would just tell the kid to lean his head forward, plug it with a tissue, and maybe put some ice on it. It's not like it's a femoral artery or anything...
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I haven't written in weeks! Things have been crazy busy, and I just haven't been inspired I guess. Life has a way of catching up to me sometimes, and yesterday was one of those days. My boss looked at me and said I looked like I was 'spinning out.' Between juggling 3-4 clients this week at work, reading 4 chapters (100 pages) in my textbook, and trying to have a social life, I think I am starting to spin out.
General conference was last weekend, and it was amazing, although I have to say that it's much harder to pay attention when you have 5-10 friends watching it with you. It still found it to be a much needed recharge, especially the overriding message of the Book of Mormon.
I also ventured into lasagna making - Paula Deen did not lead me astray with 2.5 lbs. of meat and a pound of cheese. That got gobbled up pretty quickly, as did the gluten-free beignets. YUM!
General conference was last weekend, and it was amazing, although I have to say that it's much harder to pay attention when you have 5-10 friends watching it with you. It still found it to be a much needed recharge, especially the overriding message of the Book of Mormon.
I also ventured into lasagna making - Paula Deen did not lead me astray with 2.5 lbs. of meat and a pound of cheese. That got gobbled up pretty quickly, as did the gluten-free beignets. YUM!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-Chia!
I know I cannot be the only one who finds this disturbing. What exactly are they supposed to do for me? I guess my main concern here is that if you take these, you will start growing green sprouts instead of hair.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Shark Night!
Last night, Lisa and I went to see the super craptastic film, Shark Night. It truly lived up to our craptertainment expectations, and honestly, the post credit rap video was worth the price of admission. Here is a small tidbit of it...I shouldn't have been filming in the theater, and it's super crappy quality, but I really wanted to share this with all of you since it brought me so much joy. I hope this inspires you to at least rent the film.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Reflections
Ten years ago, I was on the mission when the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I still remember that afternoon quite vividly; my companion, Hermana Gallegos (now Noemi McKnight) and I went to teach a second discussion in Valencia. When we walked into the apartment around 4:00 (10am New York time), the investigator had the TV on, and I saw the twin towers going up in smoke and asked her, "Oh, what movie are you watching?" It was shocking to find out that this was no Hollywood idea, this was the work of evil men intent on destroying America.
People started running up to us on the street asking me where I was from and asking if I knew anybody in New York. Thankfully for me, I did not, but there were many who did. After that, our mission president told us to avoid any areas with high concentrations of Muslims, and for us sisters to be home an hour earlier every night. There was one day where Noemi and I happened to go into one of those neighborhoods, and even being largely unaware of what was happening in the U.S., I was terrified. "Don't say a word'" she told me.
I never experienced the unity that so many spoke of in the days following 9/11, and in many ways, I feel as though there is more discord in our country than ever. When I came home, all I saw was a nation of excess, taking things for granted, and a general sense of entitlement. But, I still believe in the greatness of America: we want people to succeed, and give them opportunities if they work hard enough.
On another note, it's been a year since the breakup, and things are great. Over the past year, I have traveled a ton, had so many fun adventures, and of course, made some fabulous new friends. Life doesn't always go the way I plan for it to go, but it never leaves me bored. Thanks to the following: Mom and Guy for showing me what a celestial marriage is supposed to be (and for being silly).
Jeff and Daniel for putting up with me every week; you are like my brothers.
Terri, Leesh, and Mich for sticking with me for so long it's ridiculous; you all have qualities I can learn from.
To my church friends (there are WAY too many to name) for being generally awesome and making me smile.
To my roomie for being kindhearted and generous in a way that I don't know I ever will be.
And finally, to Shaine, who will always be my sister, no matter what. Team D.I.L. forever - I'm rooting for you!
People started running up to us on the street asking me where I was from and asking if I knew anybody in New York. Thankfully for me, I did not, but there were many who did. After that, our mission president told us to avoid any areas with high concentrations of Muslims, and for us sisters to be home an hour earlier every night. There was one day where Noemi and I happened to go into one of those neighborhoods, and even being largely unaware of what was happening in the U.S., I was terrified. "Don't say a word'" she told me.
I never experienced the unity that so many spoke of in the days following 9/11, and in many ways, I feel as though there is more discord in our country than ever. When I came home, all I saw was a nation of excess, taking things for granted, and a general sense of entitlement. But, I still believe in the greatness of America: we want people to succeed, and give them opportunities if they work hard enough.
On another note, it's been a year since the breakup, and things are great. Over the past year, I have traveled a ton, had so many fun adventures, and of course, made some fabulous new friends. Life doesn't always go the way I plan for it to go, but it never leaves me bored. Thanks to the following: Mom and Guy for showing me what a celestial marriage is supposed to be (and for being silly).
Jeff and Daniel for putting up with me every week; you are like my brothers.
Terri, Leesh, and Mich for sticking with me for so long it's ridiculous; you all have qualities I can learn from.
To my church friends (there are WAY too many to name) for being generally awesome and making me smile.
To my roomie for being kindhearted and generous in a way that I don't know I ever will be.
And finally, to Shaine, who will always be my sister, no matter what. Team D.I.L. forever - I'm rooting for you!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Busy bee
The past couple weekends have been busy for me, and the next few also promise to be eventful.
The weekend of the 23rd, my friend Alejandro (we refer to him as Alejo) was in town from Utah to visit the Colombian consulate. Since the consulate is in the financial district of the City, he only saw the not-so-scenic part of San Francisco on Friday. We did take him to Emerald Glen Park on Friday night for Leavitt's going-away to Arizona party, but wanted to show him around the more tourist-y parts of SF on Saturday.
We drove over to SF and went up Columbus St. to Lombard, where we stopped at the crooked portion.
Lisa and Alejo climbed the stairs while I waited at the bottom. Then, on the way back to the car, we noticed this quaint little gate and a small park, Fay Park. We wandered in there for a few minutes and decided it was a good place to play hide and go seek.
Next, we headed down to the Embarcadero, and more specifically, to Pier 39. We enjoyed the sea lions and the candy shop!
The next stop on our day of fun was Fort Point at the far west end of Crissy Field. It was super windy, but of great historical significance.
After this stop, we finally made our way over to Ocean Beach. It was overcast and cold, but we still put our feet in the water.
And, if you are Lisa's friend on Facebook, you can also see this video of a Seagull eating a crab.
Yesterday, in my apparently new tradition of going to Yosemite every month (Lisa and I are going on August 20th if anyone is interested), I drove myself, Alan West, Allison Orgill, Lisa Despain, and Ryan Heaton to the valley. We had a great time.
Allison, Alan and Ryan ended up hiking about 2/3 of the way up to Upper Yosemite Falls, while Lisa and I hiked about 1/2 mile of the same trail before she graciously agreed to hike on the Valley Loop Trail with me. We hiked from the Camp 4 all the way to Mirror Lake on that trail, saw Lower Yosemite Falls....
Lisa and I stopped at the Awahnee Hotel for about 20 minutes on the way to Mirror Lake, and once at Mirror Lake, we dipped our feet in (the water was cold, but it felt REALLY good on our hot feet). I managed to drink almost my entire CamelBak full of water, which is a good thing, because it was HOT!
We rendezvoused with Ryan, Alan, and Allison at the Camp 4 bus stop right at 3, and then headed back to Curry Village to get the car and head home. It was a long day (we left the church parking lot at 6am and got back at 9pm) but it was really fun, and I can't wait to do it again.
The weekend of the 23rd, my friend Alejandro (we refer to him as Alejo) was in town from Utah to visit the Colombian consulate. Since the consulate is in the financial district of the City, he only saw the not-so-scenic part of San Francisco on Friday. We did take him to Emerald Glen Park on Friday night for Leavitt's going-away to Arizona party, but wanted to show him around the more tourist-y parts of SF on Saturday.
We drove over to SF and went up Columbus St. to Lombard, where we stopped at the crooked portion.
Lisa and Alejo climbed the stairs while I waited at the bottom. Then, on the way back to the car, we noticed this quaint little gate and a small park, Fay Park. We wandered in there for a few minutes and decided it was a good place to play hide and go seek.
Next, we headed down to the Embarcadero, and more specifically, to Pier 39. We enjoyed the sea lions and the candy shop!
The next stop on our day of fun was Fort Point at the far west end of Crissy Field. It was super windy, but of great historical significance.
After this stop, we finally made our way over to Ocean Beach. It was overcast and cold, but we still put our feet in the water.
And, if you are Lisa's friend on Facebook, you can also see this video of a Seagull eating a crab.
Yesterday, in my apparently new tradition of going to Yosemite every month (Lisa and I are going on August 20th if anyone is interested), I drove myself, Alan West, Allison Orgill, Lisa Despain, and Ryan Heaton to the valley. We had a great time.
Allison, Alan and Ryan ended up hiking about 2/3 of the way up to Upper Yosemite Falls, while Lisa and I hiked about 1/2 mile of the same trail before she graciously agreed to hike on the Valley Loop Trail with me. We hiked from the Camp 4 all the way to Mirror Lake on that trail, saw Lower Yosemite Falls....
We rendezvoused with Ryan, Alan, and Allison at the Camp 4 bus stop right at 3, and then headed back to Curry Village to get the car and head home. It was a long day (we left the church parking lot at 6am and got back at 9pm) but it was really fun, and I can't wait to do it again.
Friday, July 22, 2011
What is that SMELL???
Public bathrooms rarely smell decent. In worst case scenarios, they smell like, well, crap. Literally. If you're lucky, it may only smell bad, but the stalls will not have paper on the floor or pee on the seat. Now, let's turn to the bathroom in the office building where I work...
It doesn't usually smell bad in there, and for a bathroom, it's quite nice; the landlords have decorated it in shades of grey. and put (fake) orchids on the counter. However, when I walked in today, I was overcome with dizziness as the odor of a newly replaced air freshener hit me. The scent was supposed to be Ocean, but it didn't smell like any ocean I've ever been to. I felt as though I had just stepped through the door into a florist who had only 1,000 rotting honeysuckle plants in stock; the smell was gonna give me a migraine. Now, I am all for making the bathroom smell a little more pleasant, but for heaven's sake, we don't need to make it smell so sickly sweet that I am overcome with the urge to 'hold it' all day, do we?
It doesn't usually smell bad in there, and for a bathroom, it's quite nice; the landlords have decorated it in shades of grey. and put (fake) orchids on the counter. However, when I walked in today, I was overcome with dizziness as the odor of a newly replaced air freshener hit me. The scent was supposed to be Ocean, but it didn't smell like any ocean I've ever been to. I felt as though I had just stepped through the door into a florist who had only 1,000 rotting honeysuckle plants in stock; the smell was gonna give me a migraine. Now, I am all for making the bathroom smell a little more pleasant, but for heaven's sake, we don't need to make it smell so sickly sweet that I am overcome with the urge to 'hold it' all day, do we?
Monday, July 18, 2011
Seriously so blessed
It's very cliche, but I feel like I have some great people in my life, and I truly am blessed. So many of the women in the ward are willing to lend an ear and give helpful advice when I need it, and of course, my roomie, who is willing to drag her butt outta bed at all hours to take me to the hospital when I need it. Friends are important. A couple weeks ago in Sunday School, the teacher asked us why Christ asked Peter, James, and John to come with him to Gethsemane and "watch and pray." One of the responses was touching: Christ knew he was going to be having a very difficult time, and even he needed his closest friends with near him. If Christ needed friends, so do we.
Friday, July 15, 2011
What a Day
My Thursday was very interesting. As a preface, I had been having back-end digestive problems since Sunday night.
I woke up at 1:00am on Thursday with tear-inducing pain radiating from the lumbar region of my spine. I decided to try to wait it out and go to the urgent care center at 9am when they opened; my body had other plans. Around 3:45, despite repeated attempts to fall back asleep (or even find a position which wasn't excruciatingly painful), the stabbing pain was still there, so I decided to drive myself to ValleyCare. I knocked on Lisa's door to let her know, and of course, she being the selfless person she is, offered to drive me.
We'll skip past the boring stuff and get to the heart of the matter: I was seriously dehydrated. The doctor speculates that the back spasms were related to the bowel issues and the dehydration. In any case, they started an IV and pushed Toradol and Zofran into me. The entire IV, 1000mL (about 4 cups) emptied in less than an hour. They also checked to make sure I didn't have any infections; all of this is fabulous because I really dislike needles. Lisa had to keep me distracted by playing WordFeud. I think I still won, but am losing the game we started (I blame the drugs).
Other than the severe dehydration, there seems to be nothing wrong, which is a good thing. The doc prescribed me some pain meds and told me to get some sports drinks (I opted for PediLyte, which I think is a little gentler on the stomach). Then, it was 8:00am and time to go home and go back to bed until 12:30pm.
Much of yesterday was spent sitting around on a heating pad, watching Harry Potter movies in preparation for Deathly Hallows Part 2.
We met Shaine and Kevin (and 4000 other people) at the Dublin theater at 10:00pm and got in line. The theater had the lines divided into lines for theaters 1 - 10; the IMAX; theaters 11 & 15 (for 3D), and theaters 12-14 & 16-20. We were in the line for theaters 12-14/16-20, and it took us until 11:40 to get inside and get seated. After a few (too many) previews, it was time for epicness...
I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd part of the Deathly Hallows; it was action-packed, fulfilling, and emotional. I didn't think I would cry as much as I did, especially for Snape. The girl behind us was snivelling, and I was just quietly weeping as the truth about Severus finally was revealed visually. There were clearly people there who had not read the books, as they gasped in horror when seeing Lupin, Tonks, and Fred's bodies.
I can't believe it's over, but it filled the emotional expectations I had for it; I hope J.K. Rowling invites us Muggles back into Harry's world sometime in the future.
I woke up at 1:00am on Thursday with tear-inducing pain radiating from the lumbar region of my spine. I decided to try to wait it out and go to the urgent care center at 9am when they opened; my body had other plans. Around 3:45, despite repeated attempts to fall back asleep (or even find a position which wasn't excruciatingly painful), the stabbing pain was still there, so I decided to drive myself to ValleyCare. I knocked on Lisa's door to let her know, and of course, she being the selfless person she is, offered to drive me.
We'll skip past the boring stuff and get to the heart of the matter: I was seriously dehydrated. The doctor speculates that the back spasms were related to the bowel issues and the dehydration. In any case, they started an IV and pushed Toradol and Zofran into me. The entire IV, 1000mL (about 4 cups) emptied in less than an hour. They also checked to make sure I didn't have any infections; all of this is fabulous because I really dislike needles. Lisa had to keep me distracted by playing WordFeud. I think I still won, but am losing the game we started (I blame the drugs).
Other than the severe dehydration, there seems to be nothing wrong, which is a good thing. The doc prescribed me some pain meds and told me to get some sports drinks (I opted for PediLyte, which I think is a little gentler on the stomach). Then, it was 8:00am and time to go home and go back to bed until 12:30pm.
Much of yesterday was spent sitting around on a heating pad, watching Harry Potter movies in preparation for Deathly Hallows Part 2.
We met Shaine and Kevin (and 4000 other people) at the Dublin theater at 10:00pm and got in line. The theater had the lines divided into lines for theaters 1 - 10; the IMAX; theaters 11 & 15 (for 3D), and theaters 12-14 & 16-20. We were in the line for theaters 12-14/16-20, and it took us until 11:40 to get inside and get seated. After a few (too many) previews, it was time for epicness...
I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd part of the Deathly Hallows; it was action-packed, fulfilling, and emotional. I didn't think I would cry as much as I did, especially for Snape. The girl behind us was snivelling, and I was just quietly weeping as the truth about Severus finally was revealed visually. There were clearly people there who had not read the books, as they gasped in horror when seeing Lupin, Tonks, and Fred's bodies.
I can't believe it's over, but it filled the emotional expectations I had for it; I hope J.K. Rowling invites us Muggles back into Harry's world sometime in the future.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Congratulations..
To Hang Nguyen of Raleigh, North Carolina for being the moron of the day and calling my house not once, not twice, but three times! If you'd like to call her, you can reach her at (919) 271-8053. This is her cell phone, so feel free to text her as well.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Weekend fun
On Friday, my boss let me off work at 12:15, which was awesome. I went over to Jeff and Daniel's house and played Settlers of Catan for awhile before switching to Phase 10. I did very well at Settlers, but not so much in Phase 10, which usually ends with me throwing my cards at the winner. :)
Saturday started with a lot of lazing around the house. Lately, I have been reading a lot. Some of the books I have read include Last Night at Chateau Marmont, Breathless, Buried Prey, Robopacalypse, most recently, a nonfiction book about the 1999 tragedy Columbine. That's what I was reading most of the day Saturday. Then, at 4, I left and went to Concord for the baptism of my 'nephew' Dalton Balmori. Rarely have I felt so loved, as when he walked into the room and his face lit up; "AUNTIE KATY!!!" I am really grateful to Heidi and Ramon for making me an honorary aunt; AnaSophia, Dalton, and Abigail are all unique and special people, and I love them. The baptism was marvelous.
After that, I hit up the Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza and got myself a pair of Cole Haan flats on sale. Thanks to my boss for the giftcard! Then, it was off to home. Lisa got home around 9, and I looked at her and said, "You wanna go to the 9:30 Monte Carlo?" Of course she wanted to go with me; it was a cute movie. Totally predictable but in the good, funny way.
Sunday I headed to the Pleasant Hill second ward for Dalton's confirmation; it's been awhile since I've seen a lot of the old Mtz 2nd people, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone from the Bergs to the Echols and even Mary Bell, whom I adore, was there.
Monday of course was the 4th of July; I started off by going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for half an hour. After that it was reading (Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub). I headed over to the 'rents house; my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy some stuff, and Guy went to pick up a 15 foot ladder. About an hour later, I was asked to help on the ladder; my parents were applying some sort of crazy stained glass looking thing to the window above the stairwell. We also ended up mounting a 4 foot tall print of the Boston Temple.
Shortly after that was swimming; not gonna lie though, I only got in the water for about 5 minutes.The rest of the time was spent reading in the shade or laying out in the sun. Swimming was followed by a quick rinse, and then cooking. I made an apricot, blueberry, and strawberry crisp with my gluten free flour. Mom made fruit salad, I made corn on the cob, Guy cooked the steak. We also had macaroni, green, AND potato salad as well as chips and baked beans. Yeah, we ate.
After dinner was a boys vs. girls game of trivial pursuit. I am sad to say that the boys beat us....twice. Then I skipped the fireworks and came home - if you know me, you'll know that I need decompression time, and was utterly lacking that by Monday night. No fireworks, but a great weekend nonetheless.
Saturday started with a lot of lazing around the house. Lately, I have been reading a lot. Some of the books I have read include Last Night at Chateau Marmont, Breathless, Buried Prey, Robopacalypse, most recently, a nonfiction book about the 1999 tragedy Columbine. That's what I was reading most of the day Saturday. Then, at 4, I left and went to Concord for the baptism of my 'nephew' Dalton Balmori. Rarely have I felt so loved, as when he walked into the room and his face lit up; "AUNTIE KATY!!!" I am really grateful to Heidi and Ramon for making me an honorary aunt; AnaSophia, Dalton, and Abigail are all unique and special people, and I love them. The baptism was marvelous.
After that, I hit up the Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza and got myself a pair of Cole Haan flats on sale. Thanks to my boss for the giftcard! Then, it was off to home. Lisa got home around 9, and I looked at her and said, "You wanna go to the 9:30 Monte Carlo?" Of course she wanted to go with me; it was a cute movie. Totally predictable but in the good, funny way.
Sunday I headed to the Pleasant Hill second ward for Dalton's confirmation; it's been awhile since I've seen a lot of the old Mtz 2nd people, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone from the Bergs to the Echols and even Mary Bell, whom I adore, was there.
Monday of course was the 4th of July; I started off by going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for half an hour. After that it was reading (Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub). I headed over to the 'rents house; my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy some stuff, and Guy went to pick up a 15 foot ladder. About an hour later, I was asked to help on the ladder; my parents were applying some sort of crazy stained glass looking thing to the window above the stairwell. We also ended up mounting a 4 foot tall print of the Boston Temple.
Shortly after that was swimming; not gonna lie though, I only got in the water for about 5 minutes.The rest of the time was spent reading in the shade or laying out in the sun. Swimming was followed by a quick rinse, and then cooking. I made an apricot, blueberry, and strawberry crisp with my gluten free flour. Mom made fruit salad, I made corn on the cob, Guy cooked the steak. We also had macaroni, green, AND potato salad as well as chips and baked beans. Yeah, we ate.
After dinner was a boys vs. girls game of trivial pursuit. I am sad to say that the boys beat us....twice. Then I skipped the fireworks and came home - if you know me, you'll know that I need decompression time, and was utterly lacking that by Monday night. No fireworks, but a great weekend nonetheless.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wow
So, there has been a bit of drama between myself and Jeff & Daniel since I told them on Sunday I wasn't going to Vegas because I wasn't feeling well enough. I have been on antibiotics for a week now, and am making progress, but can tell I'm still not 100%, because despite sleeping until 11am today, and only doing mildly taxing things (went to temple and saw a movie...the end), I am exhausted less than 12 hours later.
Anyway, I posted my two activities on Facebook, which exacerbated the problem. See, they think that I didn't go with them because they are gay. Yes, my family expressed some concern about me traveling with two guys, but only because they thought people at church might assume they are straight and that it might look like I was doing something bad with them in Sin City. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment (I also think it underestimates many of the friends I have at church), but I can understand it. Then, when I got sick, and the hotel needed 72 hours to give me a refund, and thought of hours in the car blowing my nose, and walking through a smoke-filled casino with already reactive lungs (I have asthma), and thought that I should take care of myself first.
Sadly, the way the whole thing played out gave them the impression that I decided not to go because they are gay, which is not the case at all. Hello - I spend every Friday night (practically) at their house,and they are like my brothers! If I end up losing two friends over this, I will be hurt; mostly because I thought they knew me better than to assume the worst about me.
Anyway, I posted my two activities on Facebook, which exacerbated the problem. See, they think that I didn't go with them because they are gay. Yes, my family expressed some concern about me traveling with two guys, but only because they thought people at church might assume they are straight and that it might look like I was doing something bad with them in Sin City. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment (I also think it underestimates many of the friends I have at church), but I can understand it. Then, when I got sick, and the hotel needed 72 hours to give me a refund, and thought of hours in the car blowing my nose, and walking through a smoke-filled casino with already reactive lungs (I have asthma), and thought that I should take care of myself first.
Sadly, the way the whole thing played out gave them the impression that I decided not to go because they are gay, which is not the case at all. Hello - I spend every Friday night (practically) at their house,and they are like my brothers! If I end up losing two friends over this, I will be hurt; mostly because I thought they knew me better than to assume the worst about me.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
My bad
I realize I only posted once in May; the month was an extremely busy one for me. We spent much of the month driving to and from Petaluma for work, which is a 150-mile round trip every day. I ended up driving 1650 miles in 16 days.
So, you already know that I went to Yosemite. The weekend after that, I went to Monterey. Jeff, Daniel, Juka, and I visited the aquarium, did lunch at Bubba Gumps, visited the tidepools, and drove down 17-mile drive. We then drove back up the coast a little and had dinner on the beach in Aptos. Here are some pics of that fun day:
The weekend after that I did girls' night at Delphine's on the Friday, but made a point of doing nothing on Saturday - it was really nice.
However, last weekend, I went up to West Point with Jeff and Daniel; we stayed at Daniel's grandparent's house there. Being away from TV, computers, cell phone signal, the freeway, etc. was REALLY nice, and allowed me to win pretty much every board game we played. I won Monopoly twice (probably the last time that'll happen).
We went to Black Chasm cavern and to Moaning Cavern, and here are the pics and videos:
Ziplining was SOOOO fun!
All-in-all, May was a busy, but highly entertaining month for me. I hope June will be the same!
So, you already know that I went to Yosemite. The weekend after that, I went to Monterey. Jeff, Daniel, Juka, and I visited the aquarium, did lunch at Bubba Gumps, visited the tidepools, and drove down 17-mile drive. We then drove back up the coast a little and had dinner on the beach in Aptos. Here are some pics of that fun day:
The weekend after that I did girls' night at Delphine's on the Friday, but made a point of doing nothing on Saturday - it was really nice.
However, last weekend, I went up to West Point with Jeff and Daniel; we stayed at Daniel's grandparent's house there. Being away from TV, computers, cell phone signal, the freeway, etc. was REALLY nice, and allowed me to win pretty much every board game we played. I won Monopoly twice (probably the last time that'll happen).
We went to Black Chasm cavern and to Moaning Cavern, and here are the pics and videos:
Ziplining was SOOOO fun!
All-in-all, May was a busy, but highly entertaining month for me. I hope June will be the same!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Yosemite!
Every year, our family takes a trip to Yosemite National Park; the constants are mom and Guy. This year, for the first time in 6 years, all of us kids got together for the vacation as well. I had a blast hanging out with my bonus sisters Monica and Rebecca, and talking to bro-in-law Zack. My sisters are unique women, and each of them has different strengths. Both of them are good listeners, and more patient than me by far. Monica seems to totally understand my warped sense of humor, and my perspective on dating in the YSA ward. Rebecca understands the annoyance of being chronically ill, although she deals with it with much more grace than I do. Zack is just Zack: he is a storyteller without an off button, but it's okay, because he makes us all laugh.
It was a great trip, and here are some of my pictures:
It was a great trip, and here are some of my pictures:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
People from Arkansas can't take a hint
And called 4 times this morning. The caller ID said Shirley Cordell, and the phone number was (479) 459-4475. We answered three times around 7:30 this morning, and I finally told them their information would be posted here on the internet.
Someone else from Arkansas (I assume a friend of Shirley - not to be confused with a friend of Dorothy) called back just after 11 from (479) 552-2951 and left an unintelligible voicemail.
Someone else from Arkansas (I assume a friend of Shirley - not to be confused with a friend of Dorothy) called back just after 11 from (479) 552-2951 and left an unintelligible voicemail.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Car Smashing!
Saturday at noon, I headed out to Bollinger Ranch to participate in some good times. At the December 2010 YSA Charity Ball, Dave Haupt and Mike Corrigan had bid for (and won) and tractor ride with Aaron Locey. This tractor ride also was to be accompanied by smashing some stuff. Aaron had a couple ovens he was going to smash, but this year, he also had a full car to demolish. It started with them attempting to remove the windshield by kicking it out, which was unsuccessful. Aaron then set out to remove the side windows - he got two out without problem, but the driver's side windows both shattered.
While they were doing this, Katie (Schirtzinger), Caroline (Melgarejo) and I took turns swinging the sledgehammer at the bumper (after Mike and Dave had a go at it of course).
Sledgehammers are HEAVY! Once all the side windows were out, the guys had to empty all the fluids out of the car (oil, gas, transmission fluid, coolant). And, if you don't have a hydraulic lift, you simply use your backhoe.
While the car was lifted Katie got to slash a tire, which is something she'd wanted to do. At last, the car was ready for smashing. But before the guys could do that, Aaron had to teach them how to drive this beast of a dozer.
Katie, Caroline, and I got lost about halfway through the instructions. Terry (Hagen) said it takes a lot of hours before you totally get the hang of it, but that it's easier to just do it. As a prelude to the car smash, the guys ran over some ovens.
Now we get to actual car smashing:
Once the car was smashed, Aaron decided to cut it in half to fit it in his scrap metal bin.
I have to say, this was pretty fun; it took longer than expected, but there is something quite satisfying about crunching metal. Next year, we drive a car off a cliff and watch it explode. :)
While they were doing this, Katie (Schirtzinger), Caroline (Melgarejo) and I took turns swinging the sledgehammer at the bumper (after Mike and Dave had a go at it of course).
Sledgehammers are HEAVY! Once all the side windows were out, the guys had to empty all the fluids out of the car (oil, gas, transmission fluid, coolant). And, if you don't have a hydraulic lift, you simply use your backhoe.
While the car was lifted Katie got to slash a tire, which is something she'd wanted to do. At last, the car was ready for smashing. But before the guys could do that, Aaron had to teach them how to drive this beast of a dozer.
Katie, Caroline, and I got lost about halfway through the instructions. Terry (Hagen) said it takes a lot of hours before you totally get the hang of it, but that it's easier to just do it. As a prelude to the car smash, the guys ran over some ovens.
Now we get to actual car smashing:
Once the car was smashed, Aaron decided to cut it in half to fit it in his scrap metal bin.
I have to say, this was pretty fun; it took longer than expected, but there is something quite satisfying about crunching metal. Next year, we drive a car off a cliff and watch it explode. :)
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