Duties

I am the Stake Music Chair for my calling, so part of my responsibilities include visiting with each ward's music chair, helping with those kinds of things, etc. Today began the cycle of ward conferences, and I am attending those to support the ward music people.

A few observations from today's two (well, more like 1 and a half) meetings:

-I will have to leave much earlier if I am going to be on time to these buildings I've never been to.

-I don't go to BYU. I have no idea where most of the buildings are. Apparently, neither do a lot of the people who go there.

-Lots of the people on campus today do not attend BYU, just like me. Therefore, they also do not know where the buildings are. This was true of most the people I asked.

-Someone should update the little maps inside the buildings. The one in the Talmage building makes it look like several buildings all put together, with many doors and stairs and stuff. I saw the "You Are Here" dot on the map, and I honestly could not figure out where the little things that should have been right next to me were. Perhaps this map is 50 years old...not great for a first-time visitor.

-The Talmage Building is intimidating--there's a poster on the wall about factoring tropical polynomials. Unless that's some kind of drink with a little umbrella in it, I really couldn't help with that.

-There are strange callings in some wards. I saw a guy get called as the "Ward Social Interaction Specialist" today.

-I would never be the Ward Social Interaction Specialist because, I believe, you would need to have some sort of ability to interact socially.

-8:30 church is really, really early, but it is still 500 times better than my 1:30 church.

-Having church meetings in a chapel is so nice. I met in the Institute Building for two years for church meetings, but I had forgotten until today how nice church buildings really are. Meeting at BYU is fairly awkward.

-Every student ward should always have one visiting baby. Meetings are much less somber when there's a baby there.

And now, much like that baby today, I need a nap.

Random Thoughts

Dolly Parton has HUGE...

How much money would UVSC save if the just watered the lawn instead of the sidewalks and parking lots? Could they reduce my tuition?

I should be a doctor--they make lots of money just guessing what's wrong with people. I bet I could guess just as well as they do.

I bet that if I went to BYU, my teacher wouldn't swear. That could cut down on the entertainment value of my class.

I should get out my sweaters--it's getting chilly!

How long after moving into an apartment is it acceptable to not have unpacked? Couple months? Right?

If I got a nap each day at work, I think I could be more productive. Or happier.

Someone today in class said they preferred homework to tests. Are they nuts? I love a class that's all tests.

Safari can't seem to access my ftp sites I need to go to. First Mac problem! Downloaded Firefox, and all is well now.

I am so, so ready for a vacation. Who wants to go??

I have to watch a movie with my team from my class. Working really, really hard to feel like it's not a colossal waste of my time...

Is it a coincidence that there is a Visiting Teacher Supervisor meeting here at my apartment on the same night that I should have scheduled my appointments for but never did?

I'm a Mac

And I'm a PC. It's a bit complicated.

My MacBook arrived today. I'm using it to type this. It's going okay so far.

I have to get up early tomorrow, so I can't write all about it tonight.

Suffice it to say, I'm pretty pleased.

GIANT!

I have a sore throat. My tonsils are GIANT. They are always large, but the past couple of days they are particularly huge.

If they get any bigger, I may not be able to breathe.

That would be a horrible death.

Playing the Questions Game...

Disclaimer: I started this posting approximately 100 years ago. I apologize for never finishing it. Here it is, in all it's glory: 5 questions that were posed to me for my blog.

Sorry for the long wait. I should have made it more exciting to make up for it.
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1. What would be your ideal job? Who would be your boss? Who would be your coworkers?

Um, not working? Is that a job? That would be awesome.

Truly, I suppose that right now I think my ideal job (besides not working) would be having my own business. I didn't used to want to do that--I've never felt super entrepreneurial, but I want to have a business where I can help people. It'll be a cute office where we'll be a center for helping people help themselves--financial counseling and classes, legal aid, English language, etc. If people have a need, we'll help them achieve their goals. My coworkers would all be awesome...main requirement? Not wrapping my desk in aluminum foil. I've had that happen in the past, and it wasn't my favorite. I don't know who the coworkers would be. Actually, since it's an ideal job and not real, yeah, there are a couple of people who I've worked with in the past that I'd love to work with again, so I guess them. And my sister, if we could get our geography figured out. She could do the law stuff.

2. You have $10,000 to spend on upgrades to your current car. How would you pimp your ride?



Uh, $10,000 is a lot to pimp my ride. I guess I would like a stereo that my iPod could just sit in and be super compatible with. How much would it cost to make it into a hybrid or an electric car or something? That'd be cool. I was reading the other day about an electric car that can charge like 80% of its battery in just 4-6 minutes, so that's totally feasible. If that's in the budget, then I'd do that. But if not, then I guess I'd reupholster the seats, and get a new steering wheel cover. And an air freshener.



3. What does everyone you meet immediately know about you? What is something that most people that know you would never guess about you? What is something that your friends know but your family doesn't know?



Everyone who meets me probably immediately knows that I am loud and have a loud laugh. The thing that people who know me would probably never guess is that I am very, strangely, painfully shy. I am super uncomfortable meeting new people and my favorite things to do are just sit at home and bum around with just a couple of people.



Something my friends know that my family doesn't...hmm, hard to think of, and then difficult even then because most of the people who read this blog are my family, so then they'll know! :) But truly, it's a hard question because I probably tell my family more than I tell my friends. If there's anything my friends know about me that my family doesn't, it's that I always stay longer than I mean to--I stay up way too late, I stay after things way too long...I linger. And I don't mean to--I just get distracted. Especially with certain people. I just like being with them, so I stay. And then, naturally, I regret it later, but...



4. You have 6 months to travel and an unlimited budget. Describe your trip. (That wasn't a question...hmmm...describe your trip? There we go...)

Unlimited budget? Super. I pick up my sister and her family and we hit all the great locations. First, we go to Petra before it blows away. Then we see Egypt--pyramids are fun! Then I want to see everything in Europe. I have a HUGE list of things in Europe that I want to see. We would do all of that. I would also love to go to Alaska, but before we do that, we have to pick up my mom and dad. Since we're up there and we have mom and dad, then we hit the Canadian Rockies.

Then we get all the rest of the family (unless they wanted to come on the first part too--I guess since I have an unlimited budget, it'd be free for them, so maybe they'd be game) and we take a big Caribbean cruise to the exotic locations. And we get massages and pedicures. (I just really would like a pedicure right now.) The massages would be for everyone else--I'm not into that.

Then, we finish in Disneyland, which is definitely the happiest place on earth. I love it there. So fun.

Also, since we had an unlimited budget, during all of these travels we purchased lots of clothing and home furnishings. That way, when we get home, we still have lots of fun stuff.



5. What is your shower routine? If you're really in a hurry, what do you skip? What do you occasionally forget to do?

First, I turn on the shower. I get my hair wet, and then shampoo. Then wash face, then rinse face and hair. Then conditioner, and then wash body while conditioner...conditions. Then shave legs. Then rinse all, then get all the hair off the shower wall (because that's where I put it when it falls out...don't want to gross out a roommate). Then lotion and clothes.

Quite often, I skip shaving my legs. Especially since my shaving accident. I'm blond, so I can get away with it. Or I think I can get away with it.

I don't usually forget anything, but I often think that I forgot to rinse out my hair. But fortunately, I almost always did. That is gross. If you've ever forgotten to rinse out your hair, you know what I mean.

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1. Leave me a comment saying, "I too am an egomaniac."2. I'll respond by asking you up to five questions. You will answer them, because you like talking about yourself.3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Gnat Attack!!

A couple of days ago, I started to notice gnats in my apartment. They have not gone away.

They are everywhere. Where are they coming from? I have taken out the trash. There is no food on the counter.

Why won't they go away??

Sockless

Today, I decided to wear tennis shoes to work. I am always allowed to wear them on Fridays, but since I can't wear jeans, I always find that to be a weird look. However, my feet really hurt from walking a lot in heels this week, so I am just being ugly today.

This morning, I discovered that I have approximately 10 socks, none of which match each other.

This could be a problem during the winter. I may have to invest in socks. Bummer.

The only complete pair I could find? White socks with hearts all over them. It's just adding to the cuteness of the day...

Dear World

Dear Truck Owner:

I am very sorry that I had to have your truck towed from my parking space tonight. Truly, I didn't want to, and I feel bad that it's so expensive.

However, tenants are not supposed to park in visitor parking, and people have been towed from visitor parking overnight--I can't afford to pay for my car getting towed when I have a perfectly good parking space that I paid for.

I did try to figure out whose car it was, and I waited, hoping that you would come back to claim it.

If it's any consolation, every person who saw me out there with the tow truck took the opportunity to tell me I was horrible for doing it.

Really, very sorry about the whole thing. I hope that whoever bought you that very nice truck is also willing to pay to get it out of tow-land.

Best wishes on all your future parking,

Liz

Not Words

At work, we like to keep track of funny things people say that are not, in fact, words. A few have come up lately and I thought I'd share, for everyone's entertainment.

• Scientifical
• Certificated
• Conversate
• Deceivious
• Computerated
• Compilated
• Orientate

The problem with English is that if people use a word enough, it eventually becomes real.

A word we found in the dictionary today? Ironicalness.

Ummm...

Peanut Butter Update

My brand of peanut butter was on sale at the grocery store on Saturday.

This caused it to be cheaper per ounce in the smaller jars than in the bigger jars.

YAY! For the next little while, I will no longer have to have awkward situations with my giant peanut butter jar.

Now I can smell like something else.

Uh...

One of my roommates is out of town. The other leaves for work before I do and hasn't been home yet today.

Today when I got home from work, there was a vacuum in my living room.

We don't have a vacuum.

I know

I realize that I smell like peanut butter. I had a peanut butter apple for lunch today. I have a peanut butter apple for lunch every day.

I recognize that I smell like pb after my lunch.

There are worse things I could smell like.



A peanut butter side note: it is cheaper per ounce to buy peanut butter in big jars, and I eat a lot of it, so that's what I do. I'm getting to the bottom of the jar I keep at my desk. It's getting really hard as I get to the bottom of the jar, and my hands end up with peanut butter on them. I need a longer plastic knife or a wider jar. IF only the peanut butter manufacturer's read my blog...

My Real World

My friend Laura always tells me that she thinks that I should have my own reality show. I try to convince her that it would be exceptionally boring, consisting largely of sitting at my desk, sleeping, or watching TV. She is sure that it would be hilarious.

Yesterday was the only day I have agreed. Some great things happened at work, and I was so excited about it that a couple of times when I was in the copy room by myself, or in the kitchen at my apartment alone (and then a couple of time when I wasn't alone), I would get all smiley and jump around in an excited/insane fashion. If anyone had walked in, they would have been worried. I'm pretty sure that my roommates were alarmed when I did it in front of them.

But it's something I've learned from my nephews: sometimes, you're so happy, you can't just smile--you have to just show it with your whole body. Otherwise, you might explode.

Noooooooo!!!

My beautiful, special computer is having component failure. This is apparently when everything slowly stops working and I have to buy a new one. My dad said that my computer probably has somewhere between 15 minutes and 15 years left. Specific, isn't it?

But, sadly, the bottom line is that, at any time, my computer could crash and it would all be over. Bye-bye, years of documents. So tomorrow, I have to go buy an external hard drive to back everything up, and then I need to get a new computer so that I have something reliable.

I have had this precious laptop for almost 5 and a half years, and I can't bear to part with it. Not only do I have to part with it, but it's going to cost me approximately one zillion dollars to replace it. *sigh* So much for my spring vacation.

Word from the Wise

We know that I look like I work at Target, even when totally not dressed like a Target employee (see earlier posting.)

But now I'm starting to think that I just look wise. I was at Macey's buying some apples, and some random guy asked me which apples I thought he should pick. His wife had asked him to buy apples, and she hadn't specified what kind. Evidently, he didn't realize there was more than one kind.

So I helped him with his selection, and as he thanked me and walked away, it occurred to me: I just have a wise look about me. That must be it, right?

Or maybe I look dumb but kind. One or the other. Probably a toss up.

Oh, and why can't single guys think I look wise and want help at the store? That'd be even better.

30 minute...never mind

My apartment complex has assigned parking stalls. Most of the stalls are marked with an apartment number, and there are a few marked "visitor" for visitors, one can only imagine.

A few weeks ago, they (the mystery apartment people? The HOA? I have no idea...) came and painted "30 minute" above each stall marked "visitor" and then a tow truck made circles around the parking lot for the next few days.

No one appreciated this new development. People whined and complained, but I thought that the complaining was happening just to each other. However, apparently, someone complained to the powers that be, and about a week after the 30 minute was painted onto all the stalls, they came back and painted black over it so you can't see it anymore.

Poor planning? Yeah...I'm thinking that's it.

But seriously, who thought that 30 minute visitor parking was a good idea? Who is going to drive all the way to see me and stay less than 30 minutes? I think that the tow guy just wanted more money.

However, upon further contemplation, one wonders if the 30 minutes was a good idea--that could keep people that you really DON'T want to spend time with from coming over. Sadly, people who drive down to see me are usually people I want to spend lots of time with, so this doesn't get me anywhere.

Rice Krispy Treats

This weekend, when my sister was in town, we made Rice Krispy treats and ate a lot of them. And they were fantastic. They are one of those treats that I forget how much I like, and then I have some and can't stop thinking about them after that...

It's really too bad that they have absolutely no nutritional value, or I would eat them ALL THE TIME.

Yum. I've been craving them all day, and it's not helping me focus on my work.

Yum.

And so it goes...

Party's over. My sister and her family went back to Michigan today. Bummer. I had to come to work (which I didn't have to do yesterday because of Labor Day) and teach a class all day today, and it keeps going for all this week. It's a pretty intense training, and it's usually 5 days but I'm cramming it into 4 days to appease various people.

My voice was hurting on Thursday of last week after a training that day, and it hasn't really felt much better. It's not that I'm sick; it's just that sometimes I wear out my voice. Anyway, after spending the night up with my nephew, breathing the same little patch of air he was breathing, and knowing that he was getting sick, I'm now thinking that I'm going to get sick too. Oh well. He is totally worth it.

I'll try to post some pictures of my weekend. My nephews are too cute. I love them so much that it causes me physical pain. :) And it's just great to be with my sister--I could spend weeks and weeks just hanging out with her and her family. We don't even have to be doing anything special--I love just being with them.

I can't wait for my sister to win the lottery so that I can move in with them full time.