An Admirable Girl

(Explanation of title: My mother and little sister have become highly involved [the word "obsessed" was deleted by Sara during the editing stage of this post] with an Asian soap opera [I would expect this kind of behavior from my sister {who frequently watches international things online}, but was surprised that Mother {who doesn't even know how to comment on blogs] had also fallen prey} and apparently in this soap opera world the praise "an admirable girl" is doled out for young women who keep themselves busy, ie-- "she works and takes two classes. she's an admirable girl.") (too many parenthesis! was anyone else confused by that paragraph? I was. that's why I'm not editing it)

Since I'm home in Michigan again, I feel called upon to give another "trip down memory lane" report.

But before I tell you that story, let me tell you how Michael and I met. We met online after I'd succumbed to Facebook's advertising "Do you want to meet Mormon men?". When I finally decided "yes" and clicked on the advertisement, I searched for my ideal candidate and saw Michael and though he looked cute and liked that he was "a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll" and that he liked to hunt. So I sent him a brief email saying that I was also a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll and that, although I had never been hunting I supported the idea and even won an essay scholarship from the NRA in high school. I had no way of knowing at the time that no sentence could have more quickly and deeply endeared me to his heart. He sent me back an email saying (among other things) that I was on the fast track to getting on his good side. And the rest is history.

So while I was home, I thought it would be fun if I could find the essay I wrote, so I decided to go through my trunk in which is stored all the memories of the first 18 years of my life.

My goodness, I had no memory of being so busy!! My business is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that my mother says her main memory for me during this time was how frequently I would fall asleep behind the dining room table while working on homework and other projects. She was always a great support for me, as evidenced by the fact that during high school my after-school chore list typically included "take a nap." Bless her. (Also, she made me tell my boss at Pizza Hut that I could only work four days a week.)

I have very few memories of my life pre-college, but (as illustrated by the items in my trunk) it turns out I was up to all sorts of exciting, important, and/or time-consuming activities.

For example, did you know that I was a paper girl for four years? I had completely forgotten. And yet, every day of my life (except Saturday) fifth grade through eighth, I made sure the papers were out by 5:30. And, if the delivery bag I used is to be believed, I even earned the title "Honor Carrier." Good thing I held on to it.

Apparently, I was very involved in Speech competitions. I remember that my friend Jamie and I formed a Speech and Debate team at our high school just so that we could be co-captains (also, I believe we were the only members). But I had forgotten that I also competed in middle school (where there was already a team established). In my trunk I found several of the judges' reviews and I got a kick that over the approximately seven years I was competing, most of the reviews were exactly the same: "Good expression and diction. SLOW DOWN!!!"

And speaking of Jamie, I found a folder full of poetry we (or mostly she) had written on a field trip once. We went through quite a poetry-writing stage in middle school and if the sample I currently have in my possession is accurate, the re-occurring theme in our work was to somehow including the word "Moo" in every piece. While our infamous five part series "The Brady Brunch Massacre" is still missing, I am happy to have found these originals. Although, I must say they are not a sample of her/our best work. The good ones were all committed to memory decades ago. I have decided to share one of the ones I store in my head

Ode to Glue
(Sung to the tune of "Home on the Range")
By Dr. Jamie S., chief resident of Pediatrics at the 3rd best children's hospital in the US (in her pre-MD life)

Oh give me some glue
With a wrapper that's blue
And a nozzle that's awfully big
If you give me glue,
Then I will thank you
'Cause glue's made of horses, not pigs.

Glue, glue, glue, glue, glue
The cow on the wrapper says "Moo"
If you don't give me glue
I don't know what I'll do.
So please, please, please, please give me glue.

(Jamie, do you want me to send you these originals? They include "Druggies on the Street", "Ode to Buddy," and "Bus Seats, subtitle The Seats on the Bus".)

Just because people like pictures, I've decided to include one of me and Jamie earlier this year while I was visiting her in St. Louis. No review of the first 18 years of my life would be complete without her.

Also, in high school I was a scripture mastery diva. (I use the word "diva" on purpose, wanting to include all the snobbery and attention-seeking that is usually involved with the word.) At the conclusion of every school/seminary year, Sister Goldman would van us down to Louisville to compete in the Multi-regional Scripture Chase Smackdown (not official title) where we would be tested on our academic scripture prowess again seminary students from four states. Since this is my blog, I"m going to go ahead and tell you people that I kicked butt every year. Need proof? These are journals I won every year. One year one of the Hardie boys (I can't remember which one) tied with me for first place. I still haven't quite forgiven him, which ever one he was.

In high school, I was SO proud to have earned a letterman jacket. I bought one, but for some reason never got around to sewing on the letters I had earned, so I never wore it. But I think one time I decided to wear it to a football game, so I pined one of the letters one and that's how I found it in my trunk. The other letters were nearby, but still not attached. I think I"m probably at the stage of my life where I can start wearing my high school letter jack in an ironic way, but I don't want to have to deal with another coat (I already own about 6 and I never wear any of them).

In middle school and high school I started my obsession with the theatre. Unfortunely, in my little town in southern Indiana it was a three hour drive to any theatre that got the good traveling shows. Fortunately, I had an awesome big brother (with a driver's license) who was also interested in shows and so we would go together. That was always a highlight in my small-town girl life. Apparently, so much a highlight that I kept the newspaper advertisements in addition to just the playbills. This trip through the trunk, I decided to throw the newspaper clippings away.

In my trunk, I also found an old friend. In our family, my cabbage patch kid Nelly is famous for being in more family photos than Sara as a baby.

Now that I've been through the trunk, I am dealing with all sorts of important life questions. Will I ever need my high school diploma, or should I throw it away? Will I ever have to prove to anyone that I did, indeed, earn my Mia Maid medallion? What should I do with these medallions-- perhaps a charm bracelet? Is it petty for me to keep the dress I wore to high school graduation and my favorite jeans from my senior year just so I can periodically put them on and see if they still fit? Why did I keep this fifth place ribbon? Is it gross that I still have the cast from when I broke my fingers playing basketball when I was 14? These are the questions that currently plague my existence.

In conclusion, I did NOT find my NRA essay, but I did "find myself." Also, the plaque the NRA gave me at their Christmas Banquet that year where I was their honored guest. (I had forgotten about that.) (please note that the "Third Place" was for the entire state of Indiana. and I don't think I need to remind you that guns are important there.)

Why My Life Is Awesome

Can you believe it's been one month since my last post? Crazy! Well, a lot has happened in that time to turn my life from being "totally awesome" into "practically perfect in every way." I will tell you about them in the order in which they came into my life.

1. The Perfect Boyfriend

A lot of you have heard about my new fella. Yes, Michael and I decided to become exclusive this month. This is the only picture I have of the two of us together. We are ice skating at his office Christmas party:

Now to satiate your curiosity, I will answer the most commonly asked questions about him and our relationship. But be warned-- I am only writing the answers, you will have to figure out the questions yourself.

Online. Manufacturing engineer. 6"2'. Sacramento. Yes, in Ecuador. 31. No, he's never been married. Yes, that is old for a Mormon-- at least in Utah. Not anytime too soon--neither of us want to feel rushed. Yes Dad, he makes me happy and takes very good care of me.

2. The Perfect Job

I have accepted a position at a wonderful for-profit private school based on the philosophies of Ayn Rand-- a match made in heaven for me. They teach children to be clear-minded, self-sufficient, independent-thinking conceptual thinkers. I am totally impressed by their program and love being a part of it. I was hired as a jack-of-all trades so I can learn all about the different aspects of the school and become sufficiently indoctrinated without being pigeon-holed into one career path. From there, they will see which direction they want to promote me.

I had my second interview with them on Monday. I taught preschoolers about deer and 3rd graders about the Wright Brothers. They offered me the job immediately thereafter and asked me to start the next day. I told the headmaster (yes, we have one) I'd have to think about it for a few hours, but since it was exactly the job I had my heart set on, it was an easy decision.

Since accepting the position, I have had to cancel three other interviews and refuse to schedule two others that were offered.

Also with this job, I get two weeks off from Christmas and don't have to work during the summer unless I want to.


3. The Perfect House

My first commute the 25 minutes to work came the morning after a huge snow storm. The highways had not been plowed. I came within 6 inches of having a head-on collision on I-15 (not my fault). Even though I was lucky because there is considerably less traffic commuting out of Salt Lake than in, I was still 30 minutes late to work on my first day and my nerves were fried. I decided that I would NOT be doing that all winter and I would just have to move to Sandy (which, conveniently enough, is also where Michael lives, although this was NOT the reason for the move. seriously--weren't you paying attention?!! I was almost killed commuting!).

After two days of searching I was blessed to procure for myself the MOST PRECIOUS tiny little cottage in Draper 4 miles from my work. Please notice the ivy climbing up the walls:

It is very small (600 square feet) but is completely sufficient for my needs. Since it's tiny it will be cheap to heat. It is on a beautiful road with grand old houses with Christmas lights. It feels and sounds like the country even though it is not far from Draper Parkway. The yard area is huge and there's even a place for a garden that is irrigated! There's a washer and dryer. I only pay for power and gas. I can paint and the landlord will even pay for it! The bedroom closet is twice as big as my current one. It's only two miles from the Draper temple. Starting in February, I will have my own garage to park in and store stuff! And it is ALL MINE!!

As much as I like having roommates, I am so so so excited to have my own place!! ALL the food in the refrigerator will be mine! I can keep as much stuff as I want in the freezer! I can have fresh garlic AND the jarred stuff! I will not feel guilty for leaving my dishes! I can walk around in my underwear! I can play music whenever I want! I will always have the best parking space! I won't have to coordinate with anyone regarding when I can be in the shower!

I am going to have so much fun decorating and turning it into my perfect little home.

Yes indeed, life is good.

Productivity

After three months, I think I have come to the end of the "fun" in my "funemployment." Now I am trying to focus more on being productive and finding a job.

After a day of fasting and praying to be more productive and make better use of my time, I had an epiphany. Like so many of the epiphanies that I bother recording on my blog, this one also had to do with the arrangement of my room. It occurred to me that two pieces of furniture needed to be switched. And I did it and it has made ALL the difference in the world, once again forcing me to ask the question, "What do people without divine intervention do with themselves?"

So now my desk is in a much much much better place where I can easily access it and it doesn't collect junk. It is sort of the focal point of the room, which adds to my desire and ability to sit there and do productive things. (You may have already noticed the dramatic increase in the number of blog posts I've written.)

My roomie Ashley came in to chat with me the other day and was so amused by what she saw she suggested that she take a photo for my blog.
Yes, that is a heating pad attached to my neck with the tie from my Halloween costume. After much thought, I decided that this was the best option. And yes, my neck is feeling better now, thank you for asking.

Reflections on Business Attire

I had my first interview today. It was technically a pre-interview skills screening, but all the same I donned my interview suit and put on my nylons (which I ONLY wear to job interviews). I put my hair back in a conservative low bun and looked at myself in the mirror. I always think the same thing: "BORING!!! How to men do this every day? What's the point of trying to look exactly like everyone else?" I do shake things up a bit because my suit is navy instead of black, even though my headhunter in NYC said I had to have a black one to get a job on Wall Street. She insisted my super cute brown herringbone suit was too "academic" and would not get the job done. I agreed to get a more professional one, but drew the line at black.

As I walked down the lobby towards the elevator in the downtown highrise building, I remembered how much I love the click-click-click sound high heels make on the nice marble floors of corporate buildings. And i did notice how silky and sexy the nylons felt. I laughed and laughed that I didn't have to sign in with security to get in the building, and that the receptionist didn't have to buzz me into the office through beautiful, but bullet-proof glass. And the breathtaking view from the office was the mountains instead of Trinity church, world-famous skyscrapers and sailboats on the Hudson (oh, I really do miss the sailboats). But the mountains were beautiful. And unlike my beloved Wall Street law firm, no one here was wearing jeans or polos. Although the other lady taking the skills test with me was wearing knit pants. I was glad I busted out the boring suit.

By the time I caught a reflection of myself in the full-wall mirrors in the gold-plated elevator on the way back to my car after the skills test, my attitude must have changed. I saw myself and I thought: "Dang! I look GOOD."

Apparently I can totally rock the business professional look. Not that I would want to every day.

In conclusion, I will just add that despite my 18 months as a favorite employee at a multi-million dollar Wall Street law firm, I was totally not qualified for that job.

C'est la vie.

PS Also, our elevators were faster.

New Post

I feel like my last post was a bit on the "Negative Nelly" side, so I want to clear some things up.

First, it's not that I'm opposed to being in Utah, it's just that I was so very very fond of being in New York and it was sad to see my last tie severed. People who live in Manhattan tend to have that as a big part of their identify, so now I'm just learning to define myself on different terms. And let's just come out and say it-- living in Utah is a bit cliche, if you're not from here.

Second, I realized I very much like the motto on the license plate. The other one was old. This is the new one
"Life Elevated." I can get behind that. It is meaningful and inspiring on several different levels. I'm happy to bare that slogan on my car.

And so far I've only lost my car in the parking lot twice. And, obviously, I did eventually find it both times. It occurred to me that knowing what my plate number was would have been helpful. I should really look into that.

So, I"m sorry if I was seeming like a Debbie Downer. Please forgive me.

And There Was Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

The state of New York cancelled my car's registration because I'm no longer insured in New York. The University of Utah looks at when you got your Utah driver's license in deciding whether or not you get in-state tuition. So I spent four hours today at two different branches of the DMV (because you can't get your license and registration at the same place).
I do not know HOW I am going to be able to find my car in a parking lot now.

Although I did keep the weeping and wailing to my inside, I do think that I might have gnashed my teeth a bit when they took my New York title from me and said they'd send me a new Utah one. I just don't think that was necessary.

It occurs to me that in the four months I have owned this car, it has had three different license plates. Four if you count the one from the previous owner that I drove it home in. And in the 13 years I've been a licensed driver, I have lived in 8 states and gotten licenses in 4 of them. This is the first time I've gotten a new license before the old one expired. And while I was/am super sad to sever these ties with New York, I remind myself that I will be saving several thousand dollars if I do decide to go to the U of U or if the police ever discovered my registration was null and void. C'est le vie.

Funny Things I've Come Across Lately

Because it's my blog and I can post random meaningless stuff if I want to.

How to Be the Favorite Auntie

Since being in Utah for 1.5 months I have NOT found a job. I have NOT taken the GMAT. I have NOT found a volunteer opportunity. I have NOT even painted my room.

But I HAVE become the favorite Auntie to my three nieces.

You may ask how I accomplished this in so short a time. For the benefit of my readers, I have broken my strategies into three easy steps:

1. Download a coloring app onto your iPhone
The nieces will be begging for it (and thus your attention) every time you're near.

Please note: be sure to turn off the sound during sacrament meeting.

2. One word: Birdie Flap Flap
This is a game my sister invented when I was a little girl. I have no idea how she did it, being only 6 years older than me. It is tiring enough with these tiny little girls!

3. My nieces take after their favorite auntie in regards to their love of dancing. I host a dance party very frequently when we get together. In this particular picture, I out did myself with the epiphany of a table-top dance party. (Like I always say, "train them up in the way they should go".) But usually our dance parties consist of us all dancing around on the floor together. (Note to readers: if you want to teach your three-year old niece that the secret to dancing is all in the hips, do not do it where the child's mother can hear you.)

How Office Life Has Ruined Me For Home Life

Today I was baby-sitting for my niece at my sister's house when her phone rang:

Me: Lewis home. This is Holly. How can I help you?
Caller: I'm looking for Jason Lewis.
Me: I'm sorry, he's not in right now. Would you like to leave him a message?
Caller: Yes, please.
Me: Alright, you can leave that message with me.
Caller: I'm confirming his dentist appointment for tomorrow at 4.
Me: Okay. I will pass that on to him. Thank you for calling. Good-bye.

I realized I was being way too professional half way through the conversation, but I couldn't stop myself.

Time Capsule

I'd imagine that you'd be interested in hearing tid bits about my fabulous new life out here in Salt Lake City. Well, I have been having all sorts of fun times and learning lots and having great experiences, but isn't it funny how when you have so much free time it seems like hardly anything gets done? Well, that is my situation and, as you can see, blogging has fallen to the wayside.

But I really did want to share this thought.

Last month, I set off on an unexpected last-minute trip to Michigan. While I could go on and on telling the tale of why I went, how cute my nieces are as traveling companions, and the adventures I had while there, instead I want to talk about my "bedroom" there.

It is the only place I've ever lived that has been preserved through the years just the way I left it. And more than that, it has become a sort-of symbol to me of my parents' love for me, of God's love for me and just of all-around goodness. This appreciation started about two visits ago. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't the last visit due the previously-mentioned run-in with a bat that caused me to sleep on the couch the whole time I was there). While sitting in my room I just felt overwhelmed with love and gratitude. I felt so thankful for the 1.5 years I spent there, grateful to God for guiding me there, and glad I listened to his promptings. But mostly I just so so soul-shakingly grateful to have a real, honest-to-goodness home. So many people don't, due to divorce or family craziness or the death or parents or various tragic things. But I am blessed enough to have a place where I am always welcomed with opened arms by parents who love me no matter what. A place where I love being. A place listed on my phone contact list as "Home."

And in addition to that, whenever I go to my "home" bedroom, if I'm so inclined I can go through my drawers and shelves for a lovely trip down memory lane. I want to share with you a few highlights.

This is a quilt my Young Woman's group cross-stitched for me when I graduated from high school. Talk about love! What a really nice, thoughtful thing to do for a person. And let me show you some close-ups so you can see how totally talented these people were and how much time they put into it:
(that last one was blurred, but I wanted to share it anyway)

I haven't taken this special quilt with me to any of my other homes because I don't have a place nice enough to keep it.

And speaking of special bedding, I always love seeing this much-loved, worn-out bedspread which my mom got for me special (from the catalog) when I was about 10 It warms the heart.

And here is my totally awesome alarm clock that I got for my 8th birthday, so I could wake myself up for school I love it!! (and please note, that I was up being productive at 6am)

While I was thus strolling down memory lane, I looked through my mission scrapbook and realized that my mission wasn't 100% heartache and self-disappointment-- there were fun times too

And I looked at some of my favorite mission souvenirs/recorditas/chachquees (sp?)

Oh man! I LOVED buying stuff on my mission!

But, it occurs to me, I love buying stuff where ever I go, and most of the souvenirs of my world travels are still at home in Michigan. Below is the instruction on a game I bought in China. Please enlarge and read-- it is one of the funnier examples of Engrish I've ever seen (esp. the last two sentences)

And this trip I decided to go through the clothes I left there. HELLO!! What inspired me to not take these with me to New York? I must have been sleep-deprived or something
Elmo socks
frog prince pajamas

Well, that concludes our stroll down memory lane for today.

Pictures not shown here include the tremendously ugly yellowish brown shirt that I loved sleeping in; the Impressionist calendar I bought as a junior in high school and turned into art which I hung on the wall everywhere I lived from 1995 to 2003 (I just counted--5 different places); and the three totally beautiful quilts my little sister made that are currently on my bed at home.

My Favorite Conversation of the Day

Today I fulfilled a life goal of going to Ikea and staying as long as I wanted--no rental car to return, ferry to catch, or mandatory meeting to attend. Upon arriving home, I realized that I had accidentally shoplifted a rug (don't worry, I'll call tomorrow and make good). But that is not the point of this story. The point of this story is to share the conversation that happened immediately upon my returning home:

Me: Is Ashley home?
Roommate: No, I think she's still at the football game.
Me (with emotion bordering on horror): What?!!!! There was a game tonight?!!!!
Roommate: Yeah, the first NFL game of the year, I think.
Me: Oh!!! Thank goodness!!

Apparently, it had temporarily slipped my mind that teams other than BYU play football.

Go Cougs!!!!!


PS. I'm publishing this post from my iPhone in bed at 3:30am because I can't sleep because I'm so so so excited about my plans to decorate and organize my room/life. Thanks Valerie for all the ideas and inspirations.

First Day of the Rest of My Life

I'm back in the "city" (ha ha ha) now, and my new life is going even better than I had hoped.

It turns out we have a totally awesome grapevine in full bloom in the backyard, so of course (since this is exactly the kind of thing I do now that I'm living it up country girl style), I decided to can grape juice. It was my first ever solo canning experience and it went GREAT!!

Grapes on the vine:

A close-up (can you even believe how perfectly beautiful they are?)--

There were lots and lots of grapes. Just to put things into perspective, this bowl when de-vined contained about four cups:

Here they are in the hot water bath. Luckily, a pressure cooker was not needed because, in addition to not having access to one, I am deathly afraid of them. I could only do three jars at a time, but it worked out pretty well. Thank goodness I decided to bring my trusty, much-loved stock pot with me to my new life.

And the glorious finished project:

There are so many people I'd like to thank:
Thank you Ashley for discovering the grapes.
Thank you Ashley's mom for giving me the jars.
Thank you Mom for being available throughout the day to answer questions.

And, just to make life even better, I was able to buy 12 more canning jars today, so I'll be able to make even more! Yippee for suburb living! Yipee for canning!!

Just call me Farmer Holly

I've mentioned before that I have both a city girl and a country girl happily living inside me. The last few years, of course, I've spent more time developing my city girl side. I have often referred to my move to Salt Lake City as relocating "to the country" but I know that's not probably legitimate, so for Labor Day weekend I decided to bump it up a notch and try out real bona fide country life. So I trucked it up to an Idaho farm to visit my roommate Ashley's family who live on a real, working farm. And let me just say, a girl could get used to this. Allow me to share some highlights--

*this is how meal time goes--we spend maybe like 30 or 40 minutes in the garden and then we have four kinds of unbelievably yummy, just out of the garden veggies and fruit for dinner. (everyone had a good laugh when I was found looking for green beans to pick in the tops of the potatoes. I am such a city girl.)

*you maybe think you understand Idaho potatoes because you have procured them in the grocery store, but trust me on this one--you don't understand how tasty they are until you've had one fresh out of the garden.

* we had cooked carrots for dinner toight and I could not believe there was no sugar on them. they were SO stinkin' sweet. In a good way.

* this afternoon I laid in the grass for an hour and just listened to the wind blow. I also spent a while trying to get the horse to let me pet him, but that didn't work.

* Saturday morning there was a big excitement because Grandpa caught a corn-stealing raccoon in a trap. It was an vicious fellow, or at least he seemed that way when he was being poked with a stick. We woman folk felt bad about it, but Ashley's brother had to drown it. That's how life is here on the farm.

* they have NINE boxes of fresh super yummy peaches. I'm allowed to eat as many as I want.

*today for dinner, in addition to four kinds of veggies from the garden we had beef that was raised on their farm. I couldn't even believe how tasty it was.

* the grasshoppers here are fascinating. there are SOO many of them and they fly a little and they look just like butterflies when they do it.

* if it's not too windy tomorrow, we're going water skiing.

I could go on, but I won't. After just one evening here, I told Ashley "I can see why you didn't want to stay in Manhattan, if this was your other option." I think that just about sums it up.

Here and Now

Did you realize that I had been living out of my car, adventuring across America for three weeks? I had no idea until right towards the end. No wonder everyone kept asking me "What? You're not in Utah yet?" No wonder people were getting on me about updating my blog. That also explains why I've run out of so many of my toiletries while I've been on the road. I didn't realize I'd been gone so long until I was thinking one day: "I've never been away from New York City more than two weeks. I bet it will be hard when I hit the two week point." I did the math in my head to find out when that would be and realized it had been four days earlier.

Well, time flies when you're having fun.

But the epic cross-country trek has ended. I'll probably write about it later. For now I just want to report that yesterday I arrived safe and sound in my new place in Salt Lake City. I don't have a bed yet, so like any good suburbanite, I slept in the grass in the back yard. (photo taken and edited by my new roomie Ashley, who is a graphic designer who knows who to do fancy things with digital photos. You can see her sleeping bag on the futon.)

I'll report more on my new life and my most recent adventure later. For now, I will just report: so far, so good.

Back to Suburbia

I arrived at my parents house in Michigan around midnight. As always, Mom had made me a sign.

**My mom and I sat alone on our private back patio for a while and watched a meteor shower. We saw 3 super incredible awesome ones.

**I discovered/remembered that I own a super awesome retro Schwinn bike. In suburbia, you have so much storage space that you can easily forget owning even such a major thing as a bicycle. (When I lived here before, my dad heard me say that I wanted a bike, so he got me one at a garage sale--wasn't that nice? But then the tires got flat and I couldn't figure out how to change them and then I forgot about it.)

**I tried to remember the last time I was in a house with central air-conditioning and I THINK it must have been when I was at home last summer. (I'd been in homes that had AC more recently than that, but I decided winter didn't count.) Then I realized that the air probably isn't on because this is Michigan and it's 61 degrees outside.

**Eventually I retired to my quarters in the basement. I do not believe that a mouse or cockroach ever struck the terror into my heart that I felt upon discovering that there was a bat (or some sort of dark, mysterious, ominous-looking flying creature) trapped down there and flying around like a crazed rabies-spreading disaster. This was my first ever close encounter with a bat (or other dark, mysterious, ominous-looking flying creature) and although I am very fond of throwing around the fact that more people are killed every year by their pets than have been killed by bats in recorded history, I don't mind telling you that I made like a military man and full-on belly crawled out of the basement, whimpering like I was in a war zone.

Things like this only happen in suburbia.

Nice Rack

Partially because of my long-held secret jealousy of all the cool people who drive down the highway with bikes on their cars, I decided to buy a rack and transport my bike to Utah in my car along with the rest of my earthly possession.



And if you think I'm too mature and sophisticated to spend the entire day making jokes about my "great rack", then you are 100% wrong.

The New York Lists

My native New Yorker co-workers think it's SOOOO funny that I didn't know that "NO STANDING" actually means "NO PARKING." I mean, comparable to the Dead Dog Story funny. It amuses them to no end. I don't quite understand why they are just so amused by it, but it does bring to mind the first item on the below list:

Things I Will Miss About New York City:

1. any social gaff or faux paus can easily be explained away with a coy smile and the simple statement "I'm from Indiana." I'm pretty sure that will hold NO weight in Utah. But, on the other hand, there will probably be significantly fewer opportunities to expose my ignorance there.

2. This may be vain and politically incorrect, but I love walking around in my neighborhood and being so, shall we say, "verbally adored." Being blonde doesn't garnish much attention in Utah. White guys don't tell you that you're beautiful, just because they see you walking down the street and they think it.

3. Nine JCrews, 14 Banana Republics, 4 Esprits, 8 Ann Taylor Lofts, 3 Anthropologies, 10 H&Ms. (Did I ever tell you about December 26, 2006? I managed to work ten hours and still hit the after-Christmas sales at 4 different JCrews. Where else in the world could you pull that off?)

4. The lovely social aspect of the subway system in two ways: 1. really, truly being amidst and among your fellow city-dwellers, 2: it extends most social events--you ride there with your friends and then ride the subway together back home. Your event doesn't begin and end in the parking lot, but you spend your travel time with your people too.

5. Driving back into the city from anywhere. Seriously, the city skyline takes my breath away every single time.

6. People selling fruit on just about every street corner.

7. Being surrounded by water on all sides. It is so so so lovely to drive down the highways that run on either side of the island. I LOVE the views of the Hudson and of the Harbor from my office too. And, of course, we're close to the beach.

8. Thinking/praying/meditating/studying time on the subway.

9. Being one subway ride away from just about anything you could possibly think of.

10. Rooftop dance parties.

11. Any little patch of green anywhere is beautifully landscaped and perfectly manicured. there are small little parks everywhere and the big parks are the most beautiful ones in the whole country.

12. Need I mention Broadway, ballet, opera, and Gray's Papaya hot dogs? (yes, they DO belong in a category together)

13. Free concerts somewhere every single day.

14. Walking around looking at the beautiful buildings and things.

15. Being surrounded by the type of people who want to live in New York City.

16. The hussle and bussel and wonderfulness of it all.

17. Flying to Europe takes the same amount of time as flying to LA.

18. Even if I have a non-prestigious job, I am accounted a success just because I live in Manhattan.

19. Did I tell you about the time I saw Keanu Reeves on the subway? No? That's because that sort of stuff happens all the time and isn't worth reporting

20. Subway dancers


Now, just to be fair and objective:

Things I Will NOT Miss About New York City:

1. Dealing with mice and cockroaches

2. Waiting and waiting for the subway to come on the weekend or late at night when they're on weird schedules and I'm sooo thirsty and soo tired and just want to BE HOME ALREADY.

3. Having to carry anything I want to eat or use (potatoes, watermelon, toilet paper, furniture) up the four flights of stairs to my apartment.

4. Feeling like it's a little miracle every time my car is still there where I left it and without a ticket.

5. Not being able to have a white comforter on my bed because it's by a window that I keep open and it will turn gray in two days.

6. As lovely as only paying $89/month for all my travel expenses (and I don't even pay for it--my work does), getting places on the subway does take a lot of time. So something like a trip to Home Depot or Target will take up 100% of your free time for an evening.

7. Don't believe it when they say it's the city that never sleeps--it will take you at least 45 minutes to get to a store open after 10pm. I mean, those stores exist, but there aren't too many of them, so you'll have to take the subway and if it's after 10pm, the subways aren't running as often. Give me one good 24 hour grocery store any day (and even my little hometown in Indiana has several)

8. It is an unbelievable hassle to get to the airport, especially if you have more than one bag. On multiple occasions getting from the airport to my home has taken more time than my entire flight.

9. Even the most simple weekend get-away requires renting a car which makes it hard to plan and expensive. So even though we're surrounded by really beautiful nature areas, I have only been camping 2 or 3 times the three years I've lived here.

10. Being a Republican in Utah is going to be boring.


And yet, when all is said and done, I will miss Manhattan so much. Even though I'm excited for my upcoming adventures, I am so so so sad to leave. But I am sure it is all going to be for the best.

The Car Report, Part II

On the morning of June 29, 2009 when I noticed my car was missing, I felt right away that everything was going to be okay.

When I learned that through some sort of miracle, I had insurance that would cover the theft, I thought "Oh! This is it! Everything IS fine!"

When my insurance company's three week waiting period was over and they told me how much they were going to pay for my car and I realized that even with the $1000 deductible, I was going to turn a profit on the whole ordeal, I thought "Oh Wow! Everything really IS okay!"

And when the police called me on Tuesday August 4th and told me that my car had been recovered in perfect condition I thought "The insurance was just a red herring! Everything really is fine. I wouldn't have seen this coming."

A quick "what the heck?!" explanation: For all intents and purposes, my car had been stolen by a towing company. They towed my car (signs that read "No Standing" should be understood to mean "No Parking") but they (the tow-ers) did NOT enter it in the "towed car" database and did not attempt to contact the car owner. My car sat in the impound garage for a month before they noticed no one had to come to pick it up. When they ran the plates to find the owner, it came up as stolen, so they gave me a jingle.

The first thing I did after the call was go to the impound to check on my car. It really was in perfect condition. Figuring out how to get the car out of the click proved to be much more difficult. After two days of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, I hatched a plan on how to illegally break it out of the impound. Marcus agreed to help (I was maybe not forthcoming with him that my plan wasn't technically legal). After my endless hours on the phone with various state and local departments who were of NO HELP WHATSOEVER, you can imagine my surprise when the lady working at the impound lot knew exactly what I needed to do and it was a process that took less than an hour. You'd better believe I brought her cookies when I came to pick up my 100% legally legit car. Thank you Impound Security Lady!

As I drove home, I had this realization: I had made a legitimate parking error. If they had put my car in towed car registry (as they were legally obligated to do), I would have had to pay the $200 towing fee. Then I would have had to worry about parking the car every night. And I would have had to pay the $150 for insurance for the month of July. So, minus the mental exhaustion of trying to get the car back after it was recovered, having my car "stolen" turned out to be a WINNING experience for me. How CRAZY is that?!!

And it occurred to me: "The WHOLE time everything really was 100% okay. God had this plan that I couldn't have even comprehended." Wow! Plus, the arrived home just exactly when I needed it-- the day before I had to start moving out of my apartment and just in time to answer the prayers of a much-worried ward activities committee who didn't have enough rental van to get everyone to a river rafting activity. I am very very thankful that God gave me the "everything is okay" prompting and that I was able to hear it even in what could have been a frantic situation. And I'm so glad I was able to stick with that feeling of peace and hope throughout the ordeal.

Funny story:
Once I finally got my plates, Marcus (who, I'm going to add here is my hero) asked if I wanted him to come help me get the old plates off and the new ones on. The impound lot is a pretty out-of-the way place, so I said, "Marcus, I love accepting help from you, but I can handle replacing plates by myself." (Although I did accept his mini-tool-kit-thingie.) I was totally wrong--I could not to save my life get the front plates off. I even cut my finger fairly badly trying. I finally had to just pull on the plate enough to make the holes big enough that I could slip it off. Then when I took the car to get the safety and emissions test immediately after, the fellow there put the new one on for me. He didn't seem to have any sort of problem with it. Sheesh.

Seriously, do you know anyone who is more blessed than me?

At that point, the only thing that hadn't worked out 100% perfectly was the fact that I had committed to drive someone else's car across the country. BUT after fasting and prayer, last Sunday another person was found to drive the other car, so now I am free. I was worried about that one, but I figured God had a plan-- someone out there must have been looking for a car to drive across the country and, sure enough, God helped us cross paths with that person and now everyone's prayers have been answered.

Sometimes God's goodness and wisdom just blows my mind.

Work Will Be a Vacation

Today I arrived at a friend's house to drop off some stuff. She took a look at me and said, "You're sunburned!" I thought about this and realized two things: 1. that would explain why my neck has been hurting and 2. that gives some credibility to the vague feeling I've been having that I've done nothing for the past three days except walk in the hot, humid sun to various places entirely too far from a subway stop where I don't really want to be anyway.

Last Wednesday, with only 13 scheduled work days left before I leave for my new life, I realized that my firm doesn't pay for vacation and personal days that weren't used. Since my replacement was already fully trained, and since my hording tendencies provided me with 5 unused days, I decided to take this week off. My plan was to spend some quality bonding time with the city I love and have plenty of time to pack.

As Day 4 of my vacation is coming to a close, I can report that I have not done a fun thing yet. What have I been busy doing? That is a story for another day. But I will say this--for the first time in my life, the following has been happening to me 3-4 times a day: I"m going about my business (probably walking somewhere in the sun) when all the sudden I feel super hungry. I say to myself: "Why am I hungry?!! I JUST ate!!" Then I stop,thinking for a bit, do some counting on my fingers, and realize it's been 4-5 hours since I'd eaten anything. Then I'm annoyed by the fact that I have to do it. But, I very much want to avoid another episode of Wednesday's Full Blown Emotional Breakdown, so I eat. And nap when necessary. But mostly run from place to place trying to get things done and field phone calls and e-mails, which, by the way, I can check while I'm out and about because I finally took the leap and got myself an iPhone! It's only been 48 hours, but already I can't imagine my life without one. I will say nothing else because my words cannot do justice. But, for comparison's sake, I am now going to post a picture of the cell phone that I had been using before. Yes, that is tape holding it together. It has been there for about three months. It was time to move on. Which, as I type this I realize for the first time is very symbolic. My phone is moving on (and up) and I'm moving on and up. And, as much as I spent thinking about it before, it is even more wonderful than I'd hoped.

A little of this, a little of that

1. As I am working on de-junking my apartment I discover I have three decks of Uno and two of Phase Ten. I don't think I've played Uno the entire three years I've lived here. And why do I have three opened jars of jam? I'd like to think I'm a bit more organized with my food.

2. I cannot, for the life of me, get a countdown timer on my blog. This has been a source of much frustration for me. Everyone else makes it look so easy!

3. Sunday I went to church and taught Relief Society. Wearing two different shoes. I didn't notice until the closing hymn. Those who did notice during my lesson thought I was going to tie it in as an object lesson at the end. Good idea--I might try to work that in some other time.

4. I MIGHT have just done laundry for the last time in New York. Oh happy day.

5. This is my favorite thing someone asked me recently: "Other than generally following your bliss, what are your plans for Utah?"

6. I think I'm going to take all the light bulbs with me when I leave. They're the $3 kind that last for years and years and use like 1/10 of the energy. I bought them, so it's not petty to take them, right?

7. I stink at frisbee. Just fyi.
I could put 4 more pictures just like that one, but I will refrain.

8. My "regular" roommates have both moved out and I have two very lovely subletters until the end of the month. Funny stories: I made lentil soup and asked if they wanted some. They each replied, "What's a lentil?". They both are great at doing their dishes, but one of them washes her dishes and then puts them back in the sink. I think that is so funny (funny "ha ha" just to clarify). It amuses me how things are done differently in different families and you go out into the world thinking this is normal. (Said roommate just turned 16.)

9. Last night I saw West Side Story (it was great!) and afterward we wandered around looking some sort of dessert. My date recommended we sit in a small park to eat, but asked if I would get too cold. I decided I would be fine and then had this realization: It is July 23rd and we don't know if we can eat in the park because it might be too cold? What a weird summer.

10. Yesterday I discovered that my firm doesn't pay for unused vacation days, which means I get to take all of next week off!! Then one week of work and then off to my new life!

I think Jane Eyre said it best

Subtitle: Apparently some people haven't heard yet.

I am typically a very at-peace person. Whenever I feel a little disturbance in my internal serenity, I know that something is wrong. I consult with Heavenly Father and we typically figure it out in short-order, I do something about it, and then I feel better. It's a quick and simple process that I very much appreciate.

So you can imagine my surprise when several months ago I had a week-long bout of anxiety that I could not figure out. After several days of dealing with this and no answers as to why, I was sitting in the temple one morning after my shift and the prompting came to me: "Maybe it's time to start thinking about leaving New York." I didn't like that idea so I brushed it off. I had no intention of moving, but just for fun I started thinking of where I would go if I did leave. I thought it over for a while because it is fun and liberating to realize that I could live ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE WORLD that I wanted. And even with all the exciting possibilities, it didn't take me long to realize that if I were to live anywhere other than Manhattan (which I had no intention of doing), I would live in Salt Lake City. I know, it's boring, but I would be closer to two of my sisters, my three nieces, and all sorts of friends from various stages of my life. Because, really, I could move to Scotland or West Africa or Shanghai or Nebraska, but what's the point if I'm not surrounded by people I love? But I could not bear the idea of leaving New York. It's like Mr. Rochester said: "it is as if I had a string somewhere under my rib, tightly knotted to a similar string in your frame, and if that distance came between us that cord will be snapped and then I should take to bleeding inwardly."

The next morning I woke up and was feeling more emotionally uneasy than ever. I decided to call my home teacher Bryan and ask for a blessing. The blessing was very lovely and didn't tell me what to do, but did say things like "you will be able to maintain the friendships that you established in New York" and "your work will be understanding about your decision." I realized that God was, obviously, leaving the decision up to me but that He thought it was time for me to move on.

I spent most of the next day (Saturday, fortunately) in bed mourning. Several lines from Jane Eyre kept going through my mind. Most notably "I see the necessity of leaving you, and it's like looking upon the necessity of death." Extreme, I know, but I could definitely see where she was coming from.

Eventually this clarifying point came to me: I really really really love New York. And New York has been SO good to me. But, fundamentally, New York is an inanimate object that is incapable of loving me back. And in the choice between a place I love and people I love, I will choose to be near the people.

After that insight, I did feel better about the idea of moving, although still sad. That was the end of April, so I've had awhile to get use to it. (Although I did not make public my decision until June.) My sadness to excitement ratio has been steadily moving towards "excitement" during that time. I will be living with two of my favorite friends (and two random but supposedly very agreeable girls) in a totally awesome house. And, at points, it has seemed to me that New York City no longer sings joy to my heart the way it used to. I'm ready for a new adventure. I'm going to learn to ski (snow AND water), take up tennis, spend more time hiking and camping, have a garden (!!!!), and just generally do an all-around better job of grabbing life by the horns.

It is interesting that three years ago when I was trying to decide where to move, I had my options narrowed down to New York City or Utah but realized that moving to Utah would be the "safe option" and I did not want to make a decision just because it was safe, so I decided (thank goodness!) to take the risk and move to Manhattan. As I made the decision this time, it occurred to me that the tables have turned and now the decision to stay in New York was "safe" and the decision to move to Utah was risky and adventurous. Life is funny sometimes.

As I get closer to my departure date (only three weeks!!!) I'm getting sad again. I am so so so thankful that I got to spend three years here. I've wanted to live in Manhattan since I was around 13, but I never thought I actually would. I have loved my time here so unbelievably much. I have learned and grown and changed in ways I wouldn't have imagined. BUT I know that Heavenly Father is leading me to something even better. And He and I together will create a great life for me wherever we go.

Everything Is Beautiful at the Ballet

I'm not sure as to the how, why, or when, but lately the idea has come to me that I am a big, big fan of the ballet and just never knew it. So, I decided to test my hypothesis with a trip to the America Ballet Theatre's Production of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. It turns out (and I love when I can say this)I was right! I do love the ballet.



Why, oh why, could I have not discovered this earlier?

It turns out that every night of a ballet performance has different people dancing the leads (in ballet terms "principle"), so every show is a little different even though the choreography is the same. The fellow I stood next to for the first act (after that, I moved from my standing room ticket that I paid $26 for to the seats directly in front of me which sale for $103) had seen the performance three times! And it only ran for one week. (The week the ABT was doing Giselle, he saw every single show!) I could have done that. Oh well.

I love when I discover another one of the beautiful things about life. So many things to be thankful for!

Harry Potter 7, take 2

One of my favorite New York City memories is the subway after the midnight release of Harry Potter 7. It was around 1:30 or 2 when I went into the station and I loved that every single person there was reading it.



I myself was determined to read the entire thing before any spoilers were printed. To that end, I stayed up for about 20 hours straight and read the whole thing in pretty much one sitting.

At this point, I will explain that my addictive personality manifests itself in full force when it comes to books. You may be aware of how I can get obsessive even with bad literature, so you can imagine my over-reaction to good literature (seriously, don't even get me started on my love for Uncle Tom's Cabin). With this in mind, several years ago I have set for myself a "only one time through" rule for Harry Potter. I just get too, too, too excited.

That said, I was disappointed with Death Hallows. It just didn't move me the way I expected it to. Other people seemed to love it a lot, but it just didn't elicit a strong emotional response from me. Which surprised me, especially since everyone else I talked to about it said it was the best one yet. (as a side note, my favorite was probably #3-- I almost beat myself to death with the book because of the suspense at the end.)

Friday night, in preparation for the upcoming release of movie #6, I went to a Potter-themed party to watch #5. The next morning, I was trying to remember who had died at the end of book 7 and I couldn't remember so I got out my copy and started looking. I read one paragraph and was instantly sucked in. Despite my once-through rule, I found myself re-reading the last 150 pages. And it was really really really good. I kept thinking "this is the best book ever!! No wonder everyone loved it!!" I was touched, moved, distraught, uplifted, overwhelmed and inspired (sometimes simultaneously), and eventually--emotionally satisfied.

Let this be a lesson to me: I cannot emotionally appreciate a book when sleep-deprived. I will not make that mistake again!

PS Right after finishing this post, I found this on PostSecrets