From Nevada to DC

One day in the office this week. Tomorrow I leave for DC and I just finished printing out all my travel and conference paperwork. I was going to have all weekend to figure out my business casual/appropriate for DC’s muggy as hell weather- attire. But then Elko happened and now I’m thinking I don’t really know that I have a lot of clothes in this category.
Or shoes.
Might have to pay a visit to Payless after work.

I also don’t feel like I got over my being sick yet. The thin mountain air in Nevada didn’t help. Coughing, chapped lips, runny nose, dry eyes. My ears are going to hurt on that plane tomorrow.

in Elko

Memorial weekend was going to be uneventful. I was staying home, staying in, doing nothing. But then Dylan texted thursday night and asked if I wanted to meet half way. So friday we both drove to Elko, Nevada and that's where we're at right now. We camped the first night, but yesterday it started snowing and we were afraid Ester weren't going to make it out of the canyon. So we got a room downtown Elko. It's quiet, pretty uneventful, we're staying in and it's still so nice to be out of Pocatello and being with Dylan. So memorial weekend did kind of turn out like I expected it to, only in Elko.

my secret is no secret

I was to ever be famous; it would be for one reason only. So I could be on Dancing with the Stars. Yep, this coming from the person who totally burns people who like Justin Bieber. And no thank you, I would not like to take a moment to self reflect.

Watched the finale last night, and the night before. Every Monday I wish I was in a ballroom gown swirling away with Mark Ballas. I imagine us rehearse these super complicated routines, use each other’s make up and giggle over healthy smoothies in between fittings for our outrageous stage outfits.

Monday nights the tv has been mine. Been ever since we got a tv. Dylan would occasionally drop a negative comment about the show (I think whenever he felt his testosterone levels drop from too much sequins and feathers) but mostly he’d be pretty good about letting me watch my dancers.

One night, about a month or so ago, I overheard him asking our neighbor
“Hey man, did you watch Dancing with the Stars last night when NKOTB was on?”
While drinking beer. Priceless.

Oh, there’s a little diva in all of us. Mine sparkles like a purple disco ball and dances with Mark Ballas to the tunes of cheesy 80’s music surrounded by fake smoke and an audience stunned by their grace.
Perfect 10’s – every time.

pills and pains

Insurance companies are like aids, you can fight them but you can’t win. How much hassle is $150 worth? Some more, definitely. But how much, I don’t know.

I will never go to the hospital again. At least not while conscious. It’s just hard to relearn and think of doctors as money hungry salesmen rather than health care providers actually trying to help you.

-You should take this test and this medicine and these x-rays and come back for a million check ups.
-Why, cause I need to?
-No, but because I want the money!

Right… right. I forgot. I forget. Why are so many Americans on all these random medications? Cause they need to be? Or cause there's a lot of money into making them think they need them....

Iffy

First I thought I was getting sick. Then I thought I was just imagining it since Jessica and Dylan were both talking about their sore throats. Then I spent all night unable to sleep, going from freezing to burning up, coughing, dry eyes and a throat clogged like a bad drain.

Contemplated calling in sick. Felt my forehead and couldn’t decide if it felt like fever. Asked the cat what she thought and she said I was being a wuss.

Ughh… I don’t feel like working at all but I want the hours, I need the hours. And it’s just sitting in the office, copying surveys and preparing notes. I can do that, sick or not.

I'm like Baby, Baby, Babyyyy...ooooohh

If somebody cracks jokes left and right for a good three hours and then say they absolutely love Justin Bieber – how the hell are you supposed to know that’s not a joke too?

Well, I didn’t.

It’s always weird when people you think are really cool and reasonable drop a bomb like that.
It’s one thing to like the Biebs (and not a good thing either) and yet another to publically announce it without a trace of embarrassment.

Fascinating.

haha, who's your friend?

Back from the dorms. Everyone else had a view. But I had everything else. Pretty excited about that arrangement.
When the man who says
"you need help with that? Cause I can get my staff to do it.."
is your friend, well, you're hooked up. And I'm talking hooked up as in toothpaste, pillow, tv, bedding, private bathroom...

And overall I’d have to say the summit turned out good. A few mishaps, a few schedule changes that were less successful, but overall, definitely went well. The girls seemed happy.

This morning we started out with yoga in the grass, soaked in sunshine and bird song.
I’m excited to see how my tie dye shirt turns out, never done that before.
Learned a few things about opposable thumbs and acne.
But mostly, I got over 30 hours of work in.
Sweet.

TMI - so that's what that is

What a day what a night. Last night. It was. Yeah.
My new shape up flip flops are giving me bloody blisters.
I’m getting instructions that make no sense. I don’t even care because it’s not my event.
Whatever.
U2 are playing in Salt Lake City next week. I didn’t think I cared at all. But maybe I do.
I have to think about that.
I'd rather be thinking about that.

R......O.....C.......K.... hm....

I’m calling people to inform them they won a prize in our raffle. Some are really appreciative. Well, most are. But one lady was so ungrateful and demanding I just wanted to go “Roasted! You didn’t win, you lost actually….”

Real tempting, but I did let her walk away with the grand prize. But she acted like it was a freaking game show and not a local fair raffle. Because no business in Pocatello will donate a cruise in the Bahamas, just so you know.
How stupid.

Other than that it’s just me and B rocking out in the office. Rocking out in slow mo…

what to write

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is on TV. Yesterday I talked to a girl who lives next door the house they built here in town back in August. She was saying the foundation is cracking, the paint is chipped already and they are having a bunch of problems with the house. Maybe building a house that normally would take several weeks or even months to put together in just one week is not the greatest plan.

I’m supposed to send in notes for the discussion I’m leading during the DC conference I’m going to in June. They’re due tomorrow and I haven’t written them. Because I have no idea what kind of notes they are expecting.. length, format, stuff like that. I got an e-mail saying I was supposed to send them in and in the e-mail it also said
“and if you have any questions regarding these notes or need any help writing them, just let me know”
So I let her know. And got nothing back. So I don’t know if I should just totally freestyle it or not send it in or what.

Oh the dilemmas.

so much better

Had a much better day today. Slept for a solid 10 hours. Woke up next to a cat purring like crazy and with the sun shining in through my window. Headed out to the Pokey parks with the other americorps members and tried to get kids active. Or whatever…

Got laundry done, the dishes, went for a run… bla bla right? AND, I went to a sex toy party. Never went to one of those before. Love the description, “it’s just like a Tupper Wear party, except not at all”

It was cool. No, that’s a bad word. Inspirational is much better. Glad I went. Would go to one again. Even if I didn’t get paid for it…
And that’s not the sole reason my day was better. Talked to D. He’s good. Pretty much the best. And so I can be good too.

2 pains -1 Advil

Beautiful weather. Far from beautiful day.
I have had a few anxiety attacks in my life. Well, no.. I take the ‘attacks’ part back. Compared to severe anxiety attacks mine were probably more like a bad cold.
A mosquito bite next to a rattle snake bite.
But they’re still painful and extremely uncomfortable. But what I’ve learned is that there’s no way around them, you have to go straight through.

Good thing I have a toothache to take focus off the heartache.

I'm going to answer that with a toe touch

Just gave a presentation at new employee orientation. Thought I did alright. Knew there weren’t going to be any questions because my boss had assured me there weren’t going to be any questions… there never are, she said.

But I still asked, are there any questions? Oh, and there were.

-Which bathroom do transgender people go to?

-How do you handle transgender people? (eh..with latex gloves?)

-What exactly do you do in your office?

(that was only the main focus of my entire presentation so maybe I didn’t do alright after all…)

-Why is that important?

(because we ultimately want everybody to sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya… duh!)

I hate presentations. Next time I’m going to do an interpretive dance instead.

like a slizzard

Snow on May 9th. It’s not a blizzard, it’s not that bad. But it’s definitely not that great either.

Tomorrow night me and D are going on a date. I’ve been trying to get him to wine and dine me since sometime before there were dinosaurs but you know how it is… when you can go any night, you don’t go any night.
So you have to wait until there are no more available nights left, and then you can go.
Wednesday night we head out to Grandma Melba’s to say goodbye and consume a week’s worth of food in two days and then that’s that.

My brain is so spacey today. I start something, I look out the window, I forget all about it. I start something else, I find the old project, I get distracted.
Basically, I get shit done.

Back from the trailer

Quite a few almost fights. A guy who almost fell in the fire. A grumpy old woman who almost was a man. Rain, mud and a museum closed for mother’s day. We almost forgot more items than we remembered.

Minus a few minor mishaps, it’s been a real good weekend. Would definitely go back to Maple Grove Hotsprings. I’d bring paper plates and larger supply of tortilla chips. Next time.

I’m not great with tents. I love Ester. And the fact that we could rent at trailer made this a real nice and not at all hard core camping experience.

In cafe veritas...

One last take home-final to type up and then that’s the end of my first semester of my third run at college. Last time? Maybe. ..

The weather looks good for Cinco de Mayo. And hopefully it will stay good for camping too. So ready to be done and out of this office!

But not yet, Plato’s paradox, you said? I can probably come up with some 1000 words of BS on that. Let me just get some coffee…

I might pull a hamstring bending over, but I'll reach that bar

I just read the guidelines for the paper I just finished typing. Good to know what I should have done. But since my professor pretty much already promised me she was going to be unhappy with whatever I turn it, I feel like I will meet her expectations.

Go Bristol!

So instead of celebrating the death of a person, which is just too morbid for me, let’s focus on some more positive news, shall we; Bristol Palin is considering supporting gay marriage!
Now that’s worth doing a little twirl for!

I am in no way intending to say or reflect anything positive about Usama Bin Ladin and hopefully he will spend eternity realizing what he did and the pain he caused. But celebrating his death... well, let’s see, he celebrated the deaths of thousands, and we condemned him for it. So... if we celebrate his death, how are we any better? Apparently this is only a paradox for my liberal, overly pacifist mind and a total no-brainer for most people around me, but nonetheless.
I dance on nobody’s grave.

Instead, today I applaud Bristol and may she continue to feel attracted to the burning flame of logic. Amen.

iPhonies

The more I see people and their iPhones, the more I don’t want one. I don’t want to be so preoccupied with my phone that I can’t have a normal conversation with people actually present. I don’t want to depend on to my iPhone for communication to the point where if I’m not talking through it, I’m talking about it. I don’t want a gadget to define me like all the people who are just screaming I want an iPhone! for no other apparent reason than just to have one.

I do want a new phone pretty soon since mine is a piece of crap and I’m not above materialism in any way. But at least I realize that it’s a want, not a need. And I don’t want an iPhone.