Saturday Surprises

So, Saturday I had to run errands, do chores, you know...boring "grown-up" stuff. I started early and ended up at home around 2. After that, I was planning on spending the afternoon with Mike doing some laundry and generally being silly.

At 2:30, Mike comes over, and while I am folding laundry tells me that I need to be ready to go by 3:00. Needless to say, I was surprised, since I still had at least 2 more loads to do and he had not previously mentioned us going anywhere. Also, the only makeup I had on at this point was some mascara, and I was still in my comfy "house" clothes. But, he tells me to dress warmly, so I managed to throw myself together pretty quickly, and when I look at the clock, it's 3:02.

So, I grab a jacket, a hat, a scarf and my Jack Skellington gloves, as well as some road snacks (since all I'd eaten up to that point was some yogurt), and we head out to Mike's car. He still refuses to tell me where we're going, but I have my suspicions, which were confirmed an hour and a half later when we arrive at Ocean Beach. I had mentioned to Mike earlier last week that I wanted to go watch the sun set over the ocean, and now I was getting my wish.

But, not only was I going to get to watch the sun set; I was getting a fun, romantic dinner on the beach. Mike brought blankets, hot chocolate, and foil wrapped food to cook on the fire for us to enjoy. It was a fantastic surprise, and the food was good. It was also fun to be bundled up so much I looked like a marshmellow and to drink steaming hot chocolate. YUM!

So, we hung at the beach for a little over an hour before we couldn't take the cold anymore, and then we got in the car and headed back. I was thinking, "oh, we can go in the hot tub; it's chilly outside and that would feel nice", but Mike still had one more trick up his sleeve. He says to me, "Okay, you have a choice. We can either go to your house and get some movie snacks, then go see Twilight (meaning New Moon of course), or we go straight to see Twilight." I was pleasantly surprised, because he hasn't read any of the books, and I hadn't expected to see it before Wednesday.

So, after a brief stop to pick up some goodies for the movie, we headed over to the theater to join the teeming masses. I really enjoyed the movie, and the entire afternoon and night in general. So, even though he doesn't read my blog: Thank you cupcake for a taking me on such a great date!

Hidden messages...

I have taped up a few fortunes I've found entertaining here at the office. The best one I've ever gotten says, "The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well." If you think real hard about it, it probably means that there are NO normal people, but I prefer to think that I just don't know any of these supposedly normal people. Life's much more interesting when you're strange - seriously.

I also get little messages inside the Dove chocolates I buy. One of them said, "try something new this weekend." Okay, like what? I am fairly adventurous, and I have tried a lot of things. Any suggestions?

These messages also got me thinking about who really writes them? Is it some 5 year old kid in Chine being paid 50 cents a day? Maybe a 90-year-old woman in Fargo, North Dakota...dontcha know?

And what would happen if that person was having a REALLY bad day when they were thinking of new things to put on their packaging? Would I open a delicious caramel filled Dove only to find the message "It's only going to be downhill from here" or "It's all a lie." And what if they were feeling violent? Would I get the message, "Guns rule"? I suppose they could have a great sense of humor and try to creep me out by putting "We're watching you." on the package. Sorta reminds me of the label on my roommates sweater that says have fun washing! What is that supposed to mean? Is it a threat? Is it a promise? Or is it just their way of saying that you can wash it however you want?

Leave it to the Canadians to show us the way...

I'm sorry, I didn't catch that....

Voice activated phone systems make me crazy. Here are just a couple of the many reasons for this:

1. Are you listening to me?? If you've ever called 511 here in the Bay Area to get traffic information, you know that the" guy" tells you that you can begin speaking at any time. However, I don't really want to speak over him, partially because I feel like I'm interrupting (I know it's not actually a person, but still...); the other reason is because I don't think the system can hear me because the system is "talking." Most people can't be simultaneously listening and yammering, so I feel like this is a reasonable assumption.

2. I am enunciating the best I can. I really dislike telling the system what I want and having it think I said something different. One time, I pushed the voice dial button on my cell and said, "Call John Cropper" (this is my boss). My phone says back to me, "Did you say call John Weber?" No, I didn't you stupid piece of technological crap! Or when I say, "Call Terri Nocco" it thinks I said "Call Irene work." Seriously, what the heck?!

Or, I will again call 511 and say "680 south" and the man says, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that" or, even better, "I heard interstate 80 west, is that right." SO annoying!

3. "Talk to customer service" Many times, these voice systems work well, however, many times they only serve to send me into an escalating cycle of screaming into the phone. At this point, I feel bad for the live person on the other end when I yell, "speak to a customer service representative" only to have the system force me to tell it WHY I would DARE ask to speak to a breathing human being.

Oh yes, all this technology is supposed to make my life better. Does it? "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

Why you shouldn't cook distracted

So, I turned on the pot of water to boil my artichoke, and then noticed the Comcast bill on the counter and remembered that I needed to call them regarding some charges. As I am on the phone to them, I turn to my right and notice an unusually tall flame reflecting in the backsplash, so I quickly hangup and turn my attention to this flame.

What's on fire? The plastic splatter cover we use in the microwave...so I dump baking soda all over it, and hence we have...

The BEST part of this whole story is that the smoke detector, which goes off when we bake cookies, didn't make a peep.

Only at BYU...

So, I just love reading the Police Beat in the BYU Daily Universe. In Provo, people call the police to report suspicious characters:

Oct. 10 A man was riding a bike near the WSC late at night while wearing sunglasses. Students found it suspicious that the man was wearing glasses at night and called the police. Officers could not locate the suspect.

Oct. 13 A suspicious man was reported outside Heritage Halls. A male was standing outside Young Hall at 2 a.m. when officers arrived. The male turned out to be a resident of Young Hall who said he was “just enjoying the night.”

Oct. 17 A suspicious man was sighted by the Tanner building at 8 p.m. The caller reported the man suspicious because he was dressed in all black. Officers were unable to find the black-clothed man.

Sometimes students, employees, or just stupid EFY kids misbehave:

October 23: A call was received at 4 a.m. from Heritage Halls reporting five students arguing about a laser pointer. The students were shining the laser into the eyes of people driving and students walking by. The students with the laser pointer were informed about the dangers of laser pointers and given warnings.

July 22: A report was made of someone driving on the grass at Helaman Halls. A description of the truck was given and an officer was dispatched. The officer stopped the truck and the driver said he did not remember if he drove on the grass. The driver then told the officer he could not lie and that he was guilty of driving on the grass. The driver was given a warning.

June 16: Someone reported seeing a man in the stadium with a rifle. The police responded and found out it was a grounds employee sent to eliminate pigeons with a pellet gun. Officers stopped him. The man was not able to shoot any pigeons.

June 3: An EFY counselor thought he could smell marijuana in Gates Hall around 11 p.m. He found three EFY participants smoking marijuana in the stairwell. Police said the juveniles will be charged.

And of course, there are the occasional incidents involving animals:

June 20: A stray cat fell into a mechanical well and couldn’t get out. Officers responded and rescued the cat.
July 4: An owl was found in the former president’s home. An officer communicated with the owl and it left.

September 17

A caller reported there was an injured duck in the intersection of East Campus Drive and 1060 North. An officer arrived and took custody of the duck, gently removing it from the road. The officer called Provo Animal Control and they came and picked up the animal.

Oct. 11 Several female students left their apartment for 30 minutes to attend ward prayer. When they returned to their apartment, they found a severed elk head on their kitchen table. The suspects could not be identified and the elk was disposed of at the materials handling building. (As a note, I would also call the police on this one...right after I finished screaming.)

Halloween, Part 2

Saturday was Halloween, and it was relatively low key. I woke up early, thanks in large part to the extremely courteous dog who started barking at 8am and was still going strong at 8:30. I ran some errands (grocery store, bank, post office, car wash, etc.) and then came home.

Mike came over around 2 and surprised me with a gluten-free pumpkin pie (which was SO good, btw). He then spent the next half an hour dancing around gleefully decorating. My apartment looked like the fall fairy had whipped through there. It did provide some nice Halloween ambiance for an otherwise sunny and beautiful California day.

First on our "Halloween movie marathon" was The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie I love and quote frequently. I sang along for most of it, but then fell asleep for about 20 minutes during Jack's present deliveries. When that was over, Mike got up to make us pizza (on gluten-free crust of course) with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. Michelle also decided to join us for the next two movies.

WE watched I am Legend and the original Halloween, which I had DVR'd and neither of them had ever seen. Sure, by today's standards it's not anything fancy, but there is something disturbing about a man who doesn't speak, never moves faster than about half a mile an hour, is insanely strong, and has had no compunction about killing since he was 6-years old.

After the movie marathon, we cleaned up and went to visit Mike's sister, who was housesitting two large and extremely fuzzy dogs. I gave one of them the nickname Demon Dog because his one blue eye glowed red in the dark.

Lastly, we went over to Mike's and watched Prom Night, during which, I fell asleep. Yeah, it was THAT good.

Overall, Halloween was mellow, but fun. We only had one group of trick-or-treaters, and so I have leftover candy :)