Memorial Day

Today my mom and I drove up to Idaho to put flower on the graves of family members. First stop was the cemetery in Blackfoot where my cousin Beau is buried. Then it was out to the Thomas cemetery to give flowers to my uncle, known simply as Crumley, who died in 1994. My mom, who is 16 years younger than her sister that was married to Crumley, remembered him as being kinda mean to her and the younger sisters back in the day. Of course things changed as they got older, and she remembers him fondly.

Then it was on to the Moreland cemetery where mom's parents are buried. They have a lovely, simple headstone with their names engraved and the names of their seven daughters engraved on the back. My mom of course ran into people she knew, as she does every year--her cousin and her sister's in laws.

Afterward we took a drive down Perkes Road, named after the Perkes and their seven daughters who lived off the road, and took a look at the old home. As we drove slowly by it and stopped then turned around, a nice gentleman outside mowing his lawn came over and asked if we were lost. My mom kindly replied that she used to live in that house down that lane and that we were just taking a moment to remember it. Such nice people in small towns.

On the ride up I peppered my mom with questions about her childhood and what her sister's did and what she did. Sometimes it's weird to think that before I ever came along my mom was a child, a teenager, a twenty-something, a girl going to college and working and having fun.

What's Been Goin' On

This is what's been goin' on:
--my laptop got a virus (so I think)
--summer semester started
--my 3-week Public Speaking course is both good for the procrastinator in me and bad; also, my teacher and I do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to outlines
--my Intro to Statistics class starts in a couple weeks and I'm pretty much dreading it
--I had a Michael Scott-esque run in with a George Foreman grill and have a neat scar on my hand
--experienced snow in May
--said snow meant I wore my winter coat, which led me to find the car key I thought I had lost at the Energy Solutions Arena in the pocket
--LOST ended. It was awesome. My feelings for the finale go back and forth from day to day, but when it was over Sunday night I felt a big sense of loss. Read this dude's take on the series as a whole to get my exact feelings about LOST, and a great pic of Daniel Faraday.
--I will forever be in love with Daniel Faraday, because when he gets sent to an island he wears a tie. And he totally rocks the beard.
--just learned that to take the GRE costs $160!! Whoa!
--also just realized that I really need to start studying for the GRE
--wondering if I should make the next move

My Brother's Birthday

Today my pretty awesome brother turns 31. Turning 30, for him, was a moment to be celebrated; he claimed that anyone under 30 is sub-human and won't actually be human until they hit the 30 benchmark. Yes, I still love him.

Today was spent eating at his favorite restaurant, Dee's, and hanging with the fam. When we went to Leatherby's for ice cream, we insisted on embarrassing him with the waiters singing Happy Birthday to him. His 31-year-old faced actually turned red!

And because my brother has some pretty cute kids that I absolutely love, here's some pics of them having fun in Auntie Em's truck and eating ice cream. (No pics of Ivy, but she has a performance tonight so pictures will be forthcoming...if I can fix the virus I think I got on my laptop.)

If My Life Was A Movie

Friday night I headed downtown to meet my sister at Gateway for a movie (Robin Hood, pretty decent, but go in knowing that it is a huge set-up movie and there are clearly plans for a sequel, so you won't be disappointed). As I exited the train I saw a man standing by the map, holding a smaller, paper map in his hand. He clearly needed help, so I swooshed in and asked if I could help him.

He had just arrived in America the day before from England and was now trying to get to his friend's house where he was staying. I stared at his map and tried to give him the best directions, and felt pretty confident that I was leading him in the right direction. As he said thank you, I told him that when I had been in London and was lost just as he was, a nice gentleman stopped to help me and that I was just paying forward the help. He smiled and thanked me again.

As I walked away, I couldn't help but think that if my life was a movie, I would've turned around and asked for his name. We would've exchanged numbers, and his time here in Salt Lake would've been spent with me. We would miraculously be super into each other, as is only the case in the movies, and we would've been each others "ones". You know that this always happens in the movies, from What A Girl Wants to Chasing Liberty to pretty much any chick-flick.

My life is not a movie, though, or even a fairly decent tv show. I helped him and was on my way, and that is that. Even if he was my "one", I'm pretty sure that he's not the only "one" and I won't be set to suffer through life looking for him. Cuz man, wouldn't that be awful.

Roommates

Having roommates can be a very mixed bag. Sometimes they are awful and you're pretty sure that living on the street would be preferable than with that person. Fortunately, I've never had that experience. My sister was my actual room mate when we were kids living in a small house on Ardella in Pocatello. She was super clean and I was...let's just say not so clean (okay, let's call it clutter-y).

When I went to Snow College, my first experience with roommates and away from home, I lived with my best friend and my awesome cousin Rachel. So yeah, not really a big deal. Lindsay and I thought it was awesome--we'd watch t.v., order pizza from Fat Jack's, and occasionally study. It was like high school but ten times better because we didn't have parents and we lived together so coordinating activities was a lot easier.

Moving to New York was my first never-met-you-but-now-we-are-sharing-a-bathroom/kitchen/living space. Perhaps you don't know, but I got super lucky there, too. Rosemary and Maria (and Marky Mark, who I include as well because he was a pretty constant fixture at our place and lived on the second floor to our sixth floor) were the best roommates a girl moving out to the big city could ask for. They each hold a special place in my heart.

And the reason for this post, my current roommates. I had never met any of them before I moved in. Miraculously, we all get along, don't have drama, are all pretty easy going, and really just each do our part with the house cleaning and such. When the clothes in the dryer aren't yours but you need it for your currently wet clothes, we take them and fold them! Lacey did that for me tonight (I suspect she felt bad that I had folded hers a few times prior), and it made me think that roommates are pretty awesome.

I know that lots of people aren't so lucky with their roommates, and that I've been pretty blessed when it comes to the ones I've had. So even though having roommates can be less than ideal sometimes, for now, it's pretty good.

Race For the Cure

Yesterday I got my tired butt out of bed early to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with my work and our running group, the BracPack. Calling it a 'race' is a bit of a misnomer, though, as it's more of a 3.2 mile stroll with 16,000 people down and up 300 and 400 West. I spent the time chilling with my boss and co-worker, shooting the breeze and pretending we were tuckered out. So even though I had no post-race elation and that feeling of accomplishment from giving it your best, me and my new running shoes did feel good about the good cause we were supporting.

Friday Night With Cousins

Friday night, before heading to Abravanel Hall to check out some awesome music, I stopped at Temple Square to check out the blooming tulips. It was gorgeous and peaceful and magical and lovely. The smell of the pink, purple, yellow and red tulips permeated the entire area, mixing beautifully with the serene surroundings.













Then it was onto some classical music with my cousins. Phaedra has season tickets to the symphony, but sometimes she gets VIP tickets from her dad's boss, which was the case last night. She invited two of the coolest people she knows, me, of course, and our cousin Eric, who has been in Japan the past year or so teaching English. He has been everywhere (thanks to an early-out with the airline he worked for and getting to fly for free) and has even rode an elephant!

The music was the piano concerto no. 2 by Saint-Saens, a composer born in Paris who I had never heard of. It was amazing. After the first few bars, Phaedra and I looked at each other with a knowing glance of, "Oh yeah, this is awesome and I love it!" It ended all too soon, with a stunning finale of piano and orchestra combining to create an ending of 'fiery virtuoso'.

As always, I was moved by the music and reawakened my long-lost dream of being part of an orchestra making beautiful music for the masses. I'm glad that even though my skills are lacking, there are people out there whose skills are most definitely not lacking and they choose to share them with me.

Semester Done

Phew. That sound you heard yesterday around 6:30 pm was me breathing a sigh of relief that the semester was finally over. I finished all my homework, took my finals, and completed my projects. It was a good semester and I learned a lot. I got super awesome grades...as long as we don't count my online class (apparently my guesstimation at getting a C+ was a little bit of wishful thinking) and really think that I worked hard.

Along with learning about the weather, geography, making maps, and the environment, I learned that I sometimes really underestimate what I'm capable of. I don't mean for this to be a huge pat on the back for me, but I really did quite awesome. For working full time and going to school with five classes, I managed to get all As (again, don't look at the blemish that is the online class). I completely rocked both my powerpoint presentations, aced numerous tests, and generally felt proud of myself.

I know that SLCC isn't exactly the hardest school there is. But it was a good way to get me back in the school groove again. It's also a great way to make me feel confident in myself and my abilities to be able to tackle grad school. Because honestly, I'm terrified of it.

This post strangely morphed into something weird, but I've been trying to write it for an hour now and clearly the writing mojo is not with me tonight. So goodnight.

It's the Playoffs Baby!!

Last night my original plans were to come home from work and start on the remaining assignments I had left for my online class. I of course had procrastinated until the last possible day and foresaw myself working until the midnight deadline. Then my mom texted me and asked if I wanted her ticket to the Jazz game tonight. I debated for about five seconds--homework, Jazz game, homework, Jazz game??

The game was awesome. And we won.

In the words of my cousin Phaedra, when I look back on that night, I will not think about my class and the undone assignments, but the complete awesomeness of the Jazz winning the first round of the playoffs. My sister teased me that I was fine with being a C+ student in the class to go to the Jazz game. And in the morning light, I'm still fine with it.

The game was intense! Playoffs are crazy: fans are out of control, every call is circumspect, every foul questionable, and every basket a reason for cheering. Balloons and firework displays are the norm, the Bear works harder to the get the fans cheering, fans make even more signs (some more clever than others) about the Denver Nuggets. Boozer plays like the all-star he is (19 rebounds!), Deron is even more awesome, Matthews steps it up and proves he's the "pride and joy" of the team and fans.

All I gotta say is, Bring on the Lakers.