And still the sun shines...

In some sort of cruel irony, on this beautiful day, I just found out that one of my really good friends growing up has passed away. I am still in the denial phase right now, but I know that next phase is coming so fast. I guess I should take advantage of the fact that I can look at the situation with almost no emotion right now.



I first met Evan Chang in Summer Strings. It was June of 1998. We were both 12, and the world was at our fingertips. It's hard to think that that was 10 years ago. He was the cellist I wished I was; dedicated, focused, and just naturally talented. That tended to be the trend with Evan. He was also one of the truest friends I've ever had. He was always there for me, whether I put him in the fore or background of my life through the years. He truly was a special person, and I'm grateful that I knew him. His life was cut so short, but I am glad that he has finally found some peace.

Kinda random bits...

So, here's the scene. I have just accepted a new position as a Tracker at a Jr. High (Trackers track the attendance and behavior of students; catch high-risk kids before they spiral too far downward, make referrals to Truancy school, participate in IEPs, etc.) The principal takes me to the top-secret key closet to get the Tracker's keys. After we grab the keys, we go back to his office to inventory them and fill out the paperwork. There are TONS of keys on the ring, as well as a whistle. He makes the comment; 'you know, I don't think I've ever heard this whistle blown' and continues to inventory the keys. It's not until he inventories the third gym key that he decides to look more closely at the label on the keys. Yes, folks. He had grabbed the Track keys, not the Tracker keys. I was almost tempted to ask if I could keep the whistle =)


Well, after working 11 days in a row, I have the day off today. It's not the longest amount of days in a row I've worked, but it feels different because I've been working a lot more doubles. I am getting used to having two jobs, and I don't feel as frantically busy (or tired) anymore. I mostly am just getting used to how busy I am and I think I like it. I have never appreciated my free time like I do now. I feel more productive because I'm constantly working, but also because I'm learning to make my time off be more productive.


Good things that have come from working at the Jr. High:
I guess kids aren't always trying to manipulate. Crazy.
I realized that I absolutely LOVE my other job
I have a really good threat for Small Brother if he ever decides to act out or be bad at his Jr. High
Getting paid a month behind means I'm getting a check in June after NOT working for a month.
I am picking up some useful Spanish (well, useful if I'm ever buying drugs or cussing someone out)
I am sure there are more pluses to working constantly with teenagers, but I'm about to be late, so I gotta go!

Pls don't call them "Precious Ones"

I think that this lady is absolutely hilarious. After being a nanny (and meeting a prospective mom who was EXACTLY like her from New Jersey) I could not help but laugh at her listing. It was hilariously funny, and, I am sure, SO true. The entire story is generating a lot of press, and a lot of hate mail, apparently, but I just think it's great.

Workin 9 to 5

Well, I decided to get a second job. Today was my first day, and I think that it went (overall) well. I am officially the new tracker at one of the Jr. High Schools around here. =) It is very similar, yet very different from my current job, and I'm way excited to see how it goes, and how I end up liking it.


I can tell from the get-go that I have to learn to relax a lot more while there, which will be hard because on Thursdays and Fridays, I will work at the Jr. High, and then at my other work immediately after, but hopefully I will be able to find the balance! Today was a good day, so I'm looking forward to my new job (and realizing that my life will be absolutely filled with Junior High drama. oh Joy!)

I guess hindsight is 20/20...

I found this post today in my drafts section. It makes for a pretty funny story, so I decided to post it. It's from July 3, 2008. I did not add anything to it, so I guess I'll give you an update. Yes, we did indeed break the golf cart (new gaskets or something along those lines. I mostly was too embarassed to really pay attention when Grandpa was telling me) No, I did not burn down the house in Malad; Yes, I realize now that I am probably less responsible with fireworks than all the pre-teen cousins we had at the house that night doing fireworks; and finally, NO, I do not think the grandkids are allowed to go 4wheeling without grandpa any more, and YES, you can go ahead and blame us for it =)



Well, today, Vili, Pene and I decided to go 4wheeling at the ranch before the salmon bake started. Great idea. Into the car we go, and we drive up to the ranch. Once we got there, we realized that there were three of us and only two 4wheelers. In comes the genius idea to drive the golf cart to the mouth of the canyon so that we won't have to drive the 4wheelers all the way down to trade out with the third person.


Well, Pene and me start out and go exploring up the canyon a bit, and the guilt starts hitting me. We really should go back and switch out Vili. So, we start down the canyon to where we left him, but he's nowhere to be found. As I am looking around, I notice a set of tracks that are too close together to be a 4wheeler that are heading up the canyon. Surely not, I tell myself. Well, I decided to follow the tracks up the canyon, and sure enough, 10 minutes later, and at about the very top of the canyon, I find Vili and the golf cart.


Now's the part where we fast-forward past all the 4wheeling (just a side note: going through the river first gets you wet. Being the second person through gets you wet AND muddy.)


So, we've had our fun up the canyon, and get in the golf cart to come back down when the golf cart refuses to go anywhere. We think it's out of gas, and not really wanting to drive all the way back down the canyon to get gas then come back up, I get the genius idea to push the golf cart with the 4wheeler while Vili steers/works the brake. It seems to work fine for most of the sections (mainly the flat or down-hill sections) but makes me hate life when I'm pushing the golf cart up a hill. Long story short, we finally get the golf cart out of the canyon, fill it up with gas, and it still does not move. Eventually, we just get a rope and tow the golf cart back to the ranch. Maybe I should listen more to the voice in my head that said "golf cart and canyon are not a good mix"


Later in the evening, I had another great idea that did not quite pan out how I expected. I had a bottle rocket-type firework that had a broken stick. No problem, right? I figured if I just stuck it into a standing up tent pole, all would be fine. Not so much. The only problem was when the rocket tried to take off. It did NOT go straight up like I assumed it would, but instead perpendicular to the tent pole; right over everyone's head (did I mention that at this very moment, the bishop was visiting?) and straight into the roof of Grandpa's house (Oh, don't worry. It is just the house that MY grandpa's Grandpa built. Nothing too valuable or sentimental there...) Thankfully, it missed hitting anyone while flying past their heads, and mostly just sizzled on the roof.

Annoyances...

Well, I was just thinking of a few things today that really annoy me. Here you go.

*Overly helpful people just annoy me. Seriously, sometimes I just want to yell at them! If I wanted your help, I would ask. Thank you, overly helpful.

*When people have their windows down and music really loud at stoplights. Actually, it mostly just annoys me when they're listening to retarded music. I feel like people who want to listen to music I don't like should do it with the windows rolled up, at least.

*Having my hair cut. It is always a really emotional time for me. (Emotional mainly because the only times I do it is when I finally get sick of how much shampoo/conditioner I use, so I go get my hair cut out of anger.) Sadly, the anger is ALWAYS replaced with remorse soon after. I miss my long hair, but I DO NOT miss getting my hair cut, and I don't miss how much shampoo/conditioner I used to go through.

The biggest reason I'm growing my hair out now is that I don't want to feel pressured to talk to some random lady while she cuts my hair. I really wonder if there is a "small talk" class/requirement in cosmetology school. I feel like the biggest brat any time I get my hair cut because I just don't care to share my entire life story (or even how my day's been) with the complete stranger cutting my hair. The ones that absolutely drive me batty are the ones who assume that my lack of response is just because I'm shy, so they pry EVEN MORE! If I'm not talking, I'm probably fine not talking.

*I just remembered that I used to have a yellow bird (and by used to, I mean like only a few months ago). A Cockatiel. Don't ask me what happened to my cockatiel named Sunshine, because I really don't know, and now it's annoying me. At one point, I gave it to my aunt/uncle and their kids, but they gave it back. Then it was here for a while, and now it's not.

*The way slippers disappear in this house.

*This one could probably go with the hair one, but I just hate small talk. From everyone--The grocery store clerk, the guy at the counter, you name it. Today, I went in to pay a bill, and was perfectly content with the silence. The guy I was paying, however was not. He kept looking all over (which, I'm not gonna lie, TOTALLY made me feel guilty of something) until his eyes found the window, at which point he asked me about how likely I felt rain would be. "umm.... I wouldn't doubt it" What am I supposed to say? 'Well, depending on which meteorologist you consult...' Goodness, I hate small talk. Get in, get out, get on with your life.

*It totally annoys me that I can be driving along, following every traffic law, driving a 100% legal car, and a cop pulls up behind me. *Panic sets in* I don't care what I'm doing or who I'm doing it with. I feel guilty as SIN. My heart rate and breathing do not drop back to normal until at least a full 90 seconds after the cop has left.

*I am absolutely certain there are many more, because I'm in quite the cynical mood, but for now, that's it!

Another smashing round of TAG!

Well, Megan tagged me, and I've never been one to back down from a dare, so here goes.

What I was doing 10 Years ago:
10 years ago, I was just coming back from my first ever experience with GIRLS CAMP. Yeah, it was tons of fun, what with the girls I shared a tent with constantly sneaking off to smoke... Little did I know, as a young, impressionable beehive, that I would go on to attend girls camp for the next 8 years straight...yeah, so what if this is my first year NOT going to girls camp?

What is on my To-Do list today?
I'll do tomorrow.
*Wake up before 9 am (this may not seem hard, but believe me, it is)
*Troll through craigslist and ksl.com to find apartments, then call on said apartments so that when Vili calls to ask about it, I will not feel guilty.
*Call HR and get a new badge
*Go play at Seven Peaks (cross your fingers it's not overcast)
*Go to Talia's house to pick up all the junk I left when I was there last week
*Decide on something fun to do for FHE (like seeing Step-Brothers =)
*Do it

What are 3 habits of mine?
*Turning off lights. I sometimes turn off TOO many lights, which tends to cause contention.
*Humming. I seriously hum constantly to myself (like a crazy person). I never really noticed it (or put two and two together to realize that other people can FOR SURE hear me hum) until the little girl I nannied for started humming all the time. It gets really embarassing when I catch myself humming and realize I've been harmonizing.
*Facial Expressions. I say A LOT with my face.

3 Things you might not know about me:
*Sometimes when I leave messages or get off the phone with someone, I repeat what I said and decide if my voice sounded weird... I think it's probably more weird that I obsess about it than however my voice sounds...
*I am able to cope with, and actually ignore most of my OCD tendencies, but most of the time, it takes a lot less effort to just give in. Especially at work. I love it, because for the most part, it is a completely structured and predictable environment.
*I fell out of our tree house and cracked my head open when I was four. Actually, now that I said that, I didn't crack my head open then. I cracked it open tripping on the only stair in the entire house... I mostly just fell a lot.

4 TV Shows/Movies that I Love:
The Closer I adore that show. I really am attached to the characters, and it's got a good plot.
10,000 BC I don't care what anyone else says. It's a really good movie with a cute storyline.
Monk I especially love the older seasons. They played into his OCD a lot more then, and it was pretty scary how many parallels I saw between my own OCD urges and Monk's.
Gilmore Girls What can I say? I just love the witty banter, but I'm so incredibly angry that Lorelai and Luke are not married.

4 Books that I Love:
Lord of the Rings I am absolutely astonished at the entire world and civilizations that Tolkien created. LotR is an entire world that you can escape to any time you wish. The amount of thought and detail he put into his writing is amazing.
The Book Thief This is my favorite book of the hour. It's a really interesting concept.
Chronicles of Narnia Another fantasy land to escape to. This one just comes with its own religious references
The Book of Mormon I feel like the lightning bolts or dagger eyes will come out if I don't list it. =) In all seriousness, it is a book written by my ancestors for my day. How can you go wrong with that?

4 Jobs that I have had:
Trainer at Provo Canyon School
Nanny
Legal Clerk
Concessions at Keauhou Cinemas

5 Places I have lived:
Well, I've moved like 15 times in my life, but it was always between Utah and Hawaii, so:
Salt Lake City, UT
Orem, UT
Kona, HI
Makawao, HI
Kaneohe, HI

5 of my Favorite Foods:
Salad There is nothing better than a nice, crisp salad
lu pulu If you don't know, I can't really explain. Except that most people say it looks like cat food...
Chili's molten chocolate goodness Who cares about the name? You know what I mean
Thanksgiving Dinner (sans Pumpkin Pie) I feel like it all counts as ONE because you gotta have it all or nothing. Who eats stuffing in the middle of summer?
Macadamia Nut Shortbread MMMmmmm! is all I need to say

Who have I tagged:
Pene
Talia
My mamma
Michelle