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!!