What Makes it Good?

How often do you evaluate the movies you see? About the movie as a whole, or the plot, the characters, the acting, the graphics, the music? On these topics I imagine we analyze them both conciously and subconciously throughout the experience as well as right afterwards. We talk of how the parts came together to create the whole, about the merits of this actor/actress, how they brought out their character. How the movie was too slow in this part or how everything blended together perfectly. Perhaps we discuss the pros and cons of sequels, either to eagerly anticipate the next installment or shake our heads and wonder why they're wasting their money when they should have spent it making this one better first.

Though I've never studied film-making, acting, or any such portion of the movie industry, I invite myself in as a movie lover. Without those such as myself there would be no blockbusters, no midnight releases, no box office top ten lists. There would be no thought of a sequel, for who would have gone to see the first? I've never spent time and money listening to critics and professionals tell me how to appreciate their version of a "good movie" or cast disdain on their version of a "bad movie" simply because I don't care to let others decide what makes me happy. What has never occured to me before this, however, is why they make me happy.

Our family owns hundreds of movies. Literally. VHS, DVD, BluRay, Digital. I myself own 40 or 50 (pithy in comparison, I know, but as I still live more or less at home, why bother spending my money on those I know my family will buy?). My favorite movies include Star Trek, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella Man, and The Lord of the Rings to name just a few. I think the ones I love most draw on some aspect of my passion, my romanticism, my perception of my identity, to allow me to be drawn in, to relate to the characters and story and appreciate the work that went into them. Does this make them "good"? Perhaps, perhaps not. Who am I to decide for anyone but myself?

Tonight I saw a movie that truly blew all other movies I've seen this year completely out of the water. And lets face it, there have been quite a few incredible movies this year: Julie and Julia, Up, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek (I've watched my copy alone over 10 times), Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Terminator Salvation, and Transformers 2 just to name a very few. I appreciated many of these for their plots, their music, their casts, their special effects, their expansion of their genres. So what is it about this movie that rises above all these others? Simple. It not only drew me into the story, the lives of those portrayed (brilliantly, it must be said), but gave me much in return. What is the movie I've taken four paragraphs to get to? Invictus.

It's not often that I walk out of a movie theater feeling truly better than when I entered. It's even more rare when I walk out with more self-esteem. I don't know the last time, if ever, that I walked out of a movie with a positive sense of purpose to truly improve, progress, challenge myself to raise the bar because the standards I only subconciously set for myself are proven to be lower than what I know I can truly attain in this my life.

If you want special effects, go see Avatar, you won't be disappointed. If you want a good, solid, fast-paced sci-fi, by all means watch Star Trek. If you want a wonderfully diverse family-friendly flick, I highly recommend The Princess and the Frog. If you want to learn more of the world, see Invictus. If you want to learn more of how public opinion shapes politics, and how politicians can shape public perception see Invictus. If you want to see Morgan Freeman in a role that truly brings out his genius, see Invictus. Perhaps most of all, though, if you want to learn more about yourself, about what draws on your heart and intellect both, about the effect that one person can have on the lives of many others no matter who they are, please, see Invictus. While I can't speak for anyone else, I will tell you this: I walked into that theater alone and a bit lonely, and walked out feeling loved.

December-Out like a...frisky puppy!

Well, maybe not a frisky puppy, but not really a lamb either :) The annual Petty Christmas Party was held in Draper on Sunday and was fun. We talked, we ate, and we did a gift exchange. Fortunately Santa Claus had other engagements and didn't make an appearance this year (which was fine with all of us, as the 5 great-grandchildren in attendance were too young and the rest of us too old).

I actually took a Christmas vacation this year-three days, mostly to myself or with family (as Christmas vacations should be spent). On Wednesday I slept in a bit, went to physical therapy, and spent the rest of the day doing laundry, some cleaning, and other odds and ends that I can't really remember but I'm sure I enjoyed. Christmas Eve found me sleeping in again (yay sleep!) and then going downtown with Mom, Michael, Jane and Morgan to DG, where some of us played, and one of us did all of her Christmas shopping (it was pay day, and fortunately only took me an hour) and working (a few things cropped up while I was there). Lisa and Dalton came up too and we all went to lunch together, after which I made another stop back at work before going home, where I spent some time watching White Christmas and wrapping presents.

That night was the Phillips Christmas Party, this time hosted at our house. We ate, watched the three dogs tumble and play, and watched the younger kids open presents from Grandma and Grandpa Phillips. Afterwards those who were spending the night got on our new pajamas courtesy the Pajama Fairy (thanks Mom!). Laura and Chris then joined me in my appartment where they watched White Christmas and wrapped their family's presents while I did my physical therapy exercises, which got rid of a headache I'd been fighting all day. Most of the family started watching our annual movie It's a Wonderful Life, though Chris, Laura and I stayed in my place to finish watching White Christmas (it was a White Christmas marathon on AMC, if you were wondering :)). I fell asleep pretty quickly that night, even before they were done playing Santa Claus--there were three or four people right outside my open bedroom door.

We all got up at about 7:00 Christmas morning, where we opened the presents we had received, and then watched Jane open her presents. It took a while, as she totally loved the second or third present--a set of toy dishes. She wasn't at all interested in opening any more until she was told she could play with the dishes afterward. We also called a few people and caroled-Chase (Amy's fiance), Lisa (the only one who answered), and Michael (Chris's brother, who didn't answer and had no idea who was calling :)). Mom made a delicious breakfast, after which I took a short nap and then went to the movies with Amy, Laura and Chris. We saw Sherlock Holmes-what a great movie!!-and then returned home where Laura was a mom again and I spent most of the rest of the day watching Star Trek Voyager (finally on Season 7, yay!) on a new LCD TV. Cool, eh? Ok so it's a 15" LCD, but still and LCD :)

I went to work this morning planning on it being busy but expecting it to be just a regular Saturday for the most part. Fortunately for me (though unfortunately for the museum) it was much like a normal Saturday, though we had a few busy waves come through. I took advantage of our increased staff discount to purchase a Perplexus, a 3D maze game that we got in earlier this week and have already sold most of them. I also brought home some Kapla blocks- a set of blocks that are all equal in size. While it might sound boring, they're actually a lot of fun. You can build almost anything you put your mind to.

Overall I've quite thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas season. I'm looking forward to much book shopping in the near future (I got a total $75 in gift cards to Barnes and Noble) and using my new knives and my other presents. Merry Christmas!

December-In like a Lion...

This month has been one for the books. A lot of ups and downs, ins and outs. Fortunately, I'm on an upswing. Thank you Christmas!

As I mentioned before, I saw a neurologist about my migraines. He prescribed the physical therapy (which has already made a big difference!), a new 'when-I-get-a-migraine' medicine (still haven't filled that one...anyone have $100 lying around?), a preventative called Zonisamide, and no more caffeine. I quit caffeine that day and got the Zonisamide. Everything went quite well for the first few days (caffeine withdrawal headaches aside)-I didn't get a migraine, I was getting plenty of sleep, my attitude perked up and I was pretty happy for the most part. Unfortunately, I did a complete 180 after only five or so days on the medicine, and completely bottomed out about 3 days later. Literaly. It was honestly the scariest thing I can ever remember going through.

I normally am able to focus on what's going on, and catch myself (at least to some degree) when I'm feeling down and can then work through whatever trial is at hand, be it a new manifestation of an old concern or a new one all-together. My dad has definitely helped in this process over the last several years (thanks Dad!). I started noticing though that I was sinking fast. I started getting down on a Sunday. Monday and Tuesday were progressively harder to work through, and I began to get an idea that something was wrong, but I didn't take the time to really sit and figure it out.

I started my physical therapy early on Wednesday morning and went straight to work, where I knew after only an hour or so that something was seriously wrong. I was fine when it was just me, but after we had been open only an hour or so I couldn't stay still. Everygthing was getting on my nerves, and I was jittery. It reached a point where I could not focus-my first desire was to start running. Somewhere, anywhere, as long as I possibly could and longer. Knowing I couldn't do that, I took a 15 minute break (I NEVER take 15's) and walked briskly around the Gateway Mall on a day where the temperature didn't even get to 30. My face was numb by the end, but I had expended some of my energy and finally was able to focus to some small degree on getting online orders out (our online store, almost discontinued, blew last year's numbers out of the water and will now live on (YAY!)). Another indication that something was totally wrong came in that I could not tolerate what I perceived as lazy behavior in my coworkers. While I normally make myself look at a situation more objectively, I had to force myself to not blow the situation out of the water completely. As it was I did later apologize to one coworker who got the short end of my temper (though it was much tempered, it was rather extreme of me).

I made it through the workday only by sheer force of will and the help of the Spirit, for I did not do it alone. My coworkers caught on after a bit that something was NOT right (thanks Megan and Joe especially!) and the day eventually came to a close--but not until about 7:30 or 8:00 as I did the night's reports on my own and then remembered that another register had to be set up for the next day. I had come to suspect early in the day that the Zonisamide was playing a part, and I definitely received a confirmation of that after getting home and taking another dose. Oh dear.

I swung quickly from extreme frustration to anxiety attacks (which I've never had before that night) to sobbing uncontrollably, all within minutes or even seconds of each other. The only times I felt any peace at all that night were in a short but definitely earnest prayer and later when I received a Father's Blessing, without which I would have gone to the hospital. Fortunately I had the next day off. I slept in, and then (foolishly) drove to my neurologist's office. I was feeling more or less ok that morning, but shortely after arriving everything came back almost full-swing. I think I scared the receptionist (which was kind of funny in hind-sight, but not then) and barely lasted the 10 or 15 minute wait for the doctor's response, which was to stop taking the medicine (well duh!) and come back in a week. Arg. I spent the rest of the day napping on the couch and watching Star Trek (Chris Pine does an amazing job, and Zachary Quinto's right up there with him).

The next six days were bumpy at best with frequent anxiety issues, though each day got a little better. One friend finally explained what was going on-Organic Depression triggered by the Zonisamide. It was a small relief just to have an idea, a name to go with the roller-coaster ride. I finally saw the neurologist again a week after my trip to his office. After apologizing to the receptionist, that is ;). I was told to list Zonisamide as an allergy in the future and given a new preventative--one that I've been on before and didn't react to negatively. I also learned that the medicine was completely out of my system 3 days after I stopped taking it, though I personally was still trying to recover. No more anxiety, finally able to concentrate, no more tip-toeing around words at work (well, no more than usual, anyways) the next day. Ah, relief.

I think I'll end this one here and start another for Christmas. Bravo to those who read this whole thing :)

And the plot thickens...

I saw a neurologist today. The first time in my life I've seen one, which is kindof odd I suppose when for over a decade I've been getting different treatments for migraines. I was actually rather impressed. Dr. Evan Black took detailed notes and also answered my questions without being at all condescending, something he shares with my cardiologist and my primary care physician. I've totally lucked out. I did get the impression though that it's a bit of a sore spot between neurology and cardiology on whether or not PFO closures help migraines.

He told me to quite caffeine and gave me three prescriptions, one for when I get migraines (the copay alone on that one is $95, I'm holding off for now...), one for a preventative-four pills a night of a med usually used for seizures, and one for (drum roll please) physical therapy. That's a first. I've had variations of the first, I've tried a preventative with mixed results, but never have I been refered for physical therapy. I'm certainly hopeful, many of my migraines start because of the tension in my neck. The only downside to it, at the moment, is that my first apointment at TOSH is Monday...morning...at 6:30 AM. Oh joy ;)

I am always curious though about the range of medications I've been prescribed in the past. My first preventative was an anti-depressant. One doctor tried giving me regular migraine meds, followed by a heart medicine, then a different prescription for seizures. Guess we'll see how this latest combination works out :)

The Passing of a Friend

I lost a good friend this week. This friend has been there, through thick and thin, in good times and in bad times. No matter what kind of mood I was in, or how long it had been since our last interaction, this friend never left me. This friend passed no judgements, offered no criticism, was around for every holiday, work day, weekday, weekend. Every winter and summer, spring and fall . For about five or so years this friend has seen it all. Best of all, this friend came free of charge.

Yes, it is sad but true. My TV has finally passed on. Thank you, TV, for your years of dedicated service. I shall never again know your like (mostly because they don't make your model anymore....that and I'm broke).

Crazy? Plenty of evidence for it...

I spent last night on my couch. Again. Sigh.

I'm not the best at keeping things clean. Since moving to this back apartment, though, I've never let it get too out of hand, but if you were to walk in at any given moment you would invariably find something that has gone undone, most typically the dishes. For a week or so, though, I've had clean laundry waiting to be put away. Not to be deterred from my leisure in order to do it, however, it spent some time migrating back and forth from the bed to the couch and back again. If I was too tired to move it from the bed I would just sleep on the couch. While I do have a comfortable couch, my neck is paying the price.

A week or so I got an email announcement for my ward's book club, for which there wasn't yet a meeting place set up. Having been in charge of the book club before and wanting to help (and knowing I'd be much more likely to attend if it was at my place), I emailed the new leader and offered to host. It was on a Wednesday, and I anticipated having the entire day beforehand to get my home cleaned up and ready.

A few days later, my boss and I were discussing the schedule. All of his meetings had been moved from Monday and Wednesday to Thursdays, one of his days off. Having experience in scheduling, I knew the thing that made the most sense was for us to switch days off (which he had already discussed with his boss, but I made the suggestion before he could ask :)). It wasn't until later that I realized that this would put a damper on my plans for book club. I wouldn't get home until a few minutes before it was scheduled to start. Oh dear. I started cleaning a bit on Sunday, but didn't get anything major done until Monday. I got some dishes and laundry cleaned while making brownies for FHE that night, which turned out very good, thank you very much.

I had thought I'd have more time on Tuesday to finish up, but after receiving an email that day with an offer for free tickets to Curtains! at Hale Centre Theatre, I got a couple and took my sister Amy along. The play was great--a musical, murder mystery comedy. I got a kick out of the guy in the lead, he was perfect for it--so expressive, engaging, and not to mention attractive ;) It was also rather amusing to watch the crowd- Hale has a center stage, with seats all around. The people on the front rows across the way provided a nice side-plot--the family with a dad soo excited to be there that the teenage son (in a pink shirt...) finally got into it as well. The man who when one of the actresses was dancing in front of him watched her while occasionally shooting guilty glances in his wife's direction to see if she noticed and then later tried his best to avoid looking at the actress (hard, as she played one of the main characters, lol). Just off to my left on the front row was another, older man who, during the same dance kept staring at the actress in front of him. When she winked at him, his wife whipped around to glare at him suspiciously (or at least I would suppose, as I didn't actually see this part but Amy did).

I made it home sometime around 10:30 or so and set to cleaning up. It only took until...oh...2:30 or so. My laundry was put away, my movie shelves arranged, my dishes (while not clean) all moved to the kitchen, my table cleared off, a couple of pictures put up. I knelt to pray at the end of the night and got the impression that I needed to read my scriptures to help me through the next day. After a chapter of the Book of Helaman, I finally went to sleep sometime around 3:00.

I got up the next morning and made it to work. One of the first things I found was a virus on our main Retail register. I ended up having to trade that system with another register, which took about 20 minutes or so. We also had an event that day for which we got the check-in information a bit late, but fortunately I work with some very talented people who were able to work it out. I did however run up against several challenges of my own throughout the day. The Lord knew what He was saying when I was prompted to read the scriptures. For all I don't recall anything relating to what I went through, the spiritual boost was definitely needed. I was very happy to be on my way home.

Book club went well. Mom kindly baked my cookies for me, so that when I made it all I had to do was set up some extra chairs and put up a couple of signs. After everyone left, I enjoyed my clean living room and relished in the fact that I had the next day, today, off. I ended up falling asleep on the couch, despite the fact that no laundry covered my bed. Ah life. My neck is stiffer than ever, but at least I know better than to avoid going to the trouble of walking the 15 feet or so to my room :)

Yep, um, yeah, uh huh, and how!

I keep waiting for something that seems worth blogging about, and in the meantime I've let much slip past. Go figure.

I took last week off for a "stay-cation," during which I stayed home almost all day every day. I had a migraine from Sunday through Monday morning, at which point it finally left and I could function on some level. That being said, the migraine wasn't as bad as usual, and I'm wondering if being on an aspirin a day has helped. For FHE that night we combined with several other groups at the church for pumpkin carving, though I confess I spent most of the hour socializing for a change :).

The highlight of Tuesday was taking Michael up to the Clark Planetarium. After some debate, we got tickets to one of the IMAX shows and then got dinner from the food court to pass the time. We got back to the Planetarium in plenty of time, but unfortunately the upper floor was closed down for a private event. We spent the time wandering the open exhibits and the gift shop, then sitting at a table where Michael kept trying to convince me it was time to buy concessions. Not wanting to run out, I held out, though most of it was gone before the movie was half over. The movie was called Fighter Pilot:Operation Red Flag, which followed a jet pilot through portions of training in battle simulations, quite fascinating, informative, and intimidating all at the same time. What our soldiers go through is both amazing and daunting, and I hope that we as a country can honor them for their service.

At the end of the day I went up to the front of the house to visit mom and dad for a bit, and found them in the middle of a conversation. Afterwards I ended up helping mom empty a set of bookshelves, which she gave to me, and then helping her bring in another set that better matched her decor. On Wednesday the highlight was a visit from my Visiting Teachers. It gave me a reason to clean the apartment, and I finally had laundry and clean dishes. I was also able to get all of my books shuffled around the way I wanted them, and happy day! I love books, and this certainly reaffirmed my satisifaction in my collection, though I confess that I'd rather not move anytime soon, thank you very much. Here is the before picture from when I moved in:

And here is what the look like as of a few minutes ago when I took the picture:

Happy Day :) For the last big event of Wednesday, I finally assembled a 3D puzzle of the Eiffel Tower while watching Star Trek: Voyager. I've had the puzzle for years, seven or eight at least, and it had been started but never finished. Now that I have a place of my own and am free to decorate it however I choose, without fear of it being moved, or disassembled or in any way. I was up until at least 3 AM completing it:

On Thursday I slept in until past noon. I got up and picked up Voyager where I left off. I had borrowed all 7 seasons from my friend Nate, and had fallen off watching it some time back. I was half way through season 2, and am now almost done with season 4. It was 4:00 before I realized the time, and had only a short time to prepare a Visiting Teaching lesson of my own. After our first visit, about two hours later, I had another hour or so to refine the lesson, and to help dad in getting dinner for him, Michael, and myself. After the second and final lesson, I returne home and watched more Voyager, but only an episode or two as I went to bed early in hopes of a productive Friday, and to not completely blow my sleep schedule as I had to work on Saturday.

Mom woke me up on Friday to ask if I wanted to go to WinCo with her, a new discount grocery store that opened recently on 7200 South right off the freeway. As it was payday, and I had spent the week on the last of my food supply, I jumped on the chance and spent the entire morning with her, first at WinCo, then Costco, and finally Walmart for some last minute additions. All told, I spent over $300 between groceries and bills. After unloading everything I did some more laundry and spent the rest of the day doing...something...mostly involving watching Star Trek and playing Taipei on the computer. We were going to attend the neighborhood Halloween party, but opted to stay home instead.

Saturday marked the last morning I had to myself and my first day back at work. I think I enjoyed the morning, but I confess it hard to remember. At work I first helped close out a couple of registers, and then spent the next three or so hours going over and correcting the reports that had been generated in my absence. In the meantime the museum's Spooktacular event was going on, and our admissions numbers were significantly higher than they had been for the weeks prior, keeping everybody on their toes. Welcome Back, eh? It was both frustrating and exciting, though I confess I wouldn't have minded a couple more days to myself ;)

Fortunately I had Sunday as a buffer. I went to Sacrament Meeting and then choir practice, followed by yet more Star Trek and then cards at Grandma and Grandpa Petty's, where of course mom and Grandma blew the rest of us completely out of the water, despite Grandpa's cheating ;) Several more episodes of Star Trek later, I finally went to bed for the night, not sure whether to be excited or dread the next day.

I suppose dread won out, as I got off to a bad start and it only got worse. When I got home I was in no mood to prepare an FHE lesson, but got right online and chose a General Conference talk. I guess the Spirit had a hand in it, as I finally chose one that ultimately helped me, while seeming to help those to whom I taught the lesson. It was That Your Burdens May Be Light by L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. I spent several hours working on the lesson, in the middle of which I made lasagna. Ah lasagna, one of my long-time favorite meals :) Since giving the lesson on Monday things have been going better. While most things have not changed, my attitude has. Here's hoping that I can continue to remember what I've learned, and things will continue to improve.

On Brains

I took today off from work for my follow-up appointment. I'm pretty glad I did-I had a migraine yesterday, and this way I actually get to enjoy my day off. Well, for the most part at least--I was still rather nervous this morning and spent pretty much the entire time reading Harry Potter fanfic and avoiding getting ready. I finally dragged myself off the couch and headed off to the Heart and Lung Institute.

It caught me off guard when the nurse checking me in asked why I hadn't had an EKG at my last appointment. Not knowing I should have had, I said as much, at which point I learned that that was the procedure for people with a history of bradycardia (slow heart rate, the reason this whole shebang got started in the first place). About ten minutes and one EKG later, I was visited by Dr. Kenwood's PA, who told me that my MRI was completely normal. Yay! I didn't exactly jump for joy, but the feeling of relief, while somewhat more gradual than expected, crept over me. A few minutes later Dr. Kenwood himself came in and spoke with me for a bit. As the PFO hasn't led to any mini-strokes or any such thing (I got the impression that MRI's rarely came back clean to their office), he recommended that I talk to my doctor before I make a decision on whether or not to close it, which I plan on doing next Wednesday. I'll have a follow-up in two months with Dr. Kenwood.

Dad asked me if it was kindof like being a kid--when the other kids have a cast or something, and while you don't exactly want a broken limb, you want the attention that goes with it. I have to confess that perhaps a small part of me does feel that way. Fortunately, it's a very, very small part. While that small part has perhaps enjoyed the drama of the last couple of weeks, I'm definitely excited to stop losing sleep over it. To have a worry I can cross off my list. I've always secretly worried that I've had a tumor or something that caused so many migraines for so many years, and the last week especially added fuel to the fire, but now there is proof out there that I have a perfectly normal brain (lol well, healthy at least, even I wouldn't say I'm perfectly normal).

Dr. Horrible! Yay!

So for those of you who don't already know, I'm a huge fan of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which was made during the writer's strike. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day and is about a villian (NPH) striving to get in to the Evil League of Evil. In the meantime, he falls in love with Penny (FD), who he met at the laundromat. While stealing some Wonderflonium for his freeze ray, Captain Hammer (NF) barges in and 'saves the day', getting credit for saving Penny when he is the one who actually put her in danger in the first place.

Neil Patrick Harris hosted the 2009 Emmy's, during which there was a very cool Dr. Horrible bit. They start by having the accountants come out to explain the Emmy selection process, which suddenly gets interrupted:



HAPPY DAY!!

I actually caught very little of the Emmys, but was most definitely happy that this was part of it. Owing to my continued excitement, I figured I'd spread the joy :)

Babies, Books and Brains

It's been an eventful three days. You've already read about Uncle Darren's departure, so I'll forge ahead with yesterday's big occasion: Megan Leigh Wampler was born at 4:02 pm, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. She's such a cutie!!


While the newest addition to the Wampler clan adjusts to 'life on the outside', her sister Jane is visiting us here in Salt Lake for a while. Here's a pic of some quality time with her and my brother Michael, who is most certainly one of Jane's favorite people:


And so on from Babies to Books: I swung by Barnes and Noble yesterday to pick up a highly anticipated book: The Squire's Quest by Gerald Morris. I've been reading the series for a few years now, and this most recent addition features the original main character, Terence, who at the beginning of the series becomes squire to Sir Gawain, named a knight in King Arthur's court early in the book. Characters throughout the series include Terence, Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, King Arthur (of course), Sir Kai, Sir Bedivere, Sir Dinadan, Sir Lancelot, Tristan and Iseult, Sir Palomides, and soo many more classic characters of Arthurian legend. Finding it hard to go to sleep last night, I ended up finishing the book in the wee hours of the morning.

Now along to Brains--as to why I found sleep slow to arrive (despite the fact I was really truly yawningly tired early in the evening), on Monday I had scheduled my MRI for today at noon. I had to convince myself that reading Harry's Future really wouldn't prepare me for the MRI and hauled myself out the door ten minutes before my appointment. Three minutes later I walked into the office and filled out the paperwork. Fortunately I didn't have to wear a gown for the MRI, and so was able to remain comfortable in my own clothing for the test. I was also able to listen to the radio during the test, though I think they need to get Bose to take a look at quality headphones that wouldn't interfere with the imaging. I was slid into the snug machine after being told to remain completely still, which oddly enough wasn't that difficult. The headphones fit comfortably and helped keep my head stable in the machine. I didn't care for the contraption they put over my head and snug over my chest, but the air was well circulated so I didn't end up feeling particularly claustrophobic once I'd gotten used to the noises of the machine itself. I was a bit dizzy and fuzzy afterwards, but made it home safely. I'm glad I have the day off to just sit back and do whatever the heck I want to do :)

I'm not sure how long it'll take before I get the results. They'll send them to my cardiologist once the radiologist has a chance to look them over, at which point I'll also be able to request a copy of the results. I'm a little nervous of the unknown, but at the same time until something is known I'm trying not to stress about it. Time, and the results, will tell. Again, until then, there are lessons I am learning in this process, and I know that I will be able to use whatever information I gain now in the future, for any number of experiences to come.

UPDATE: I'll be meeting with the cardiologist for the follow up next Thursday afternoon.

Thank You Uncle Darren

I was very grateful to have today off, as I was then able to go out to see my Uncle Darren off. He was deployed along with 44 other National Guard members to Iraq. This will be his second tour there. The departure ceremony started at 10:00 this morning, with Uncle Darren standing out in front of his platoon. Yep, that's him, in the center (this picture is from ksl I believe--several tv crews were there and our family made it on several of their cameras):


And here is a view from my seat amidst the friends and family of the soldiers:


After the initial ceremony we all gathered around our loved ones. Here's a quick picture of Darren, Karsen, Ethan and Joey:


Though it was certainly chilly, we soon made our way out to the Black Hawk helicopters. As the leader, Darren had signed for them, so we of course appreciated the fact that they were all "his" ;) We spent the next hour or so around the helicopter that he would be leaving in-taking pictures, talking in general, striving not to cry (some of us were more successful than others), and chasing Michael and Ethan around. Karsen also got a piggy-back ride from me, and then we helped keep each other warm.

I was able to get several videos, but as they are on my cell phone I won't subject you to each of them. I did want to offer this one at least. I wanted to get all four helicopters with their blades going, but my angle was wrong to have them all in one shot. The main focus is on his craft, though I warn you, turn down/off your computer volume before hitting play-it's loud, and my cell phone mic isn't exactly the best:




It was quite the sight, watching those 45 men and women take off in formation to serve our country (actually 21 left today, the rest will be leaving tomorrow). My thanks to all those who stand for our freedom, and my special thanks to you, Uncle Darren, for your great example. We all love you.

Boys Named after Prisons...or is it vice versa?

Actually, it's the boy's ancestors that have prisons named after them, just as he was also named after them. But more of that later. (To those familiar with the series, insert internal chuckle here).

It's been quite the week. Mike has been out of the office on a "stay-cation", leaving me to cover both my usual duties and pick up any slack. Frankly, some things have gone undone, but I'd like to think that we've managed quite well, thank you very much. I am confessedly tired, but on one line of thought I haven't had a break this week (I don't count my day off, as I spent it in bed with a migraine and then only got about half an hour to an hour of not so restful sleep before working a 9.5 hour day). Ah well. I must admit somewhat selfishly that I have enjoyed having the office largely to myself. It definitely makes for a more focused work environment. At least when I had the chance to use it.

There are two rather pointed events this week, though, one definitely positive, one part of an ongoing process. As to the latter, I had my follow-up appointment at the Heart and Lung Institute today. Not as informative as I would have liked it to be, as I met with a PA instead of the Dr. and he hadn't been able to get all the information beforehand. I do however have a referral to get an MRI done of my brain. As mentioned before, PFO's increase the likelihood of strokes. People can actually have strokes without knowing it. Some studies are linking migraines to brain lesions. I have also heard of those whose migraines have actually caused brain damage. Considering the incredible physical strain I've experienced in my own migraines, I suppose I'm not particularly surprised. I don't know that I'll have had any such issues, but considering I was pretty sure I didn't have a hole my heart I think I'll just wait for the results.

On a happier note, the former event of the week involves a very good author, Brandon Sanderson, releasing the third book of a rather hilarious series: The Alcatraz books. Alcatraz vs. the Knights of Crystallia was released yesterday. I was able to make it to the bookstore to pick it up before returning home to crash for the night an hour later. While sad that I couldn't keep myself awake long enough to finish it, it certainly put a smile on my face as I read it during lunch (before my dr appt), during dinner (on break after being called back into work), and then after I got home, where I read the final two-thirds in approximately 2 to 3 hours. Not the longest book, but definitely a worthy addition to the collection!! Alcatraz is a boy raised here in the United States, deep within the "Hushlands," the Evil Librarian-controlled world that we know of. What we don't know about are the Free Lands of Nalhalla, Mokia, and one or two others that I confess due to the late hour I've forgotten. Because the Librarian cults are evil, they name famous prisons after freelander leaders, and majestic mountains after themselves. Alcatraz, one of the most infamous prisons ever, is named after our young hero's ancestor, Alcatraz the First, a notoriously powerful leader who's "Talent" was breaking things. He even broke his people's language, disguising their most powerful secrets for generations. He also broke time, leaving his tomb suspended and protected from the ravages of time in the heart of the Library of Alexandria.

On a final note, I've created another blog. Why? Because I was in the mood. There are also things that for whatever reason I've felt self-concious posting on this one. Hence, for a much more random strain of my thoughts (perhaps more closely reflecting the reality of my personal habits of flickering from serious or mundane to rather silly and off-the-wall) feel free to check out the new blog at amusedchameleon.blogspot.com.

Life Lessons

I have a hole in my heart. Am I scared? Not particularly, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least nervous about it. Before you start worrying, though, let me explain the nature of said hole (bear in mind that I'm not a medical professional!).

It's called a Patent Foramen Ovale. Before we are born, there is an opening between the left and right sides of the heart, as we get our oxygen from our mothers. After birth, the opening seals, so that blood will pass from the body, through the right side to the lungs, back through the left side and to the rest of the body. In one out of four people (yes, an entire 25% of the world's population), said hole remains open, to some degree or another. This allows some blood to pass from the right atrium to the left without getting filtered by the lungs and getting oxygenated. The majority of people never experience adverse effects from the PFO (aka right to left shunt), and don't even know they have it.

In some, however, there are side effects. Shortness of breath, exhaustion in general, increase risk of ischemic stroke (due to blood clots possibly passing from right to left without getting filtered out by the lungs), and-the reason I was tested in the first place-migraines. I've read that there are a few treatment options, which I'm sure I'll learn more of in my follow-up appointment next Friday. The one I've read most about is called a transcatheter closure (I think...I only saw that name one place, it probably goes by one or two others as well). A device is inserted into the hole, which fans out and seals it from both sides of the heart chambers. Over time natural tissue grows over the patch. This keeps the blood flowing into the lungs, where it's supposed to go.

There is much debate over the effectiveness in the procedure in treating migraines. For some the migraines increase. In others, however, the migraines are decreased or even stop all together. I confess some hope that by having this procedure performed I could stop getting so many headaches. I don't know if my cardiologist will recommend it, or if he did that my insurance would pay for it, so I'm not planning anything until after I meet with him on Friday.

For now I bear in mind that I've had migraines all my life (mom says they started around when I was 2 years old). I've lived with them for over 2 decades, and will live with them longer if need be. I have the same heart now that I've always had, and it functions the way it's supposed to as far as exhibiting the behaviors of a healthy heart (I know this from the stress echo last Thursday, not to mention that I haven't dropped dead yet, thank you very much). I'm not going to die anytime soon, so I plan to keep on living ;). I do however appreciate a new take on some things, a new point of view. Not in everything, not yet, but then no change occurs over night. It comes in small things, sometimes a matter of reflection, other times catching me by surprise.

Whatever happens, there are lessons I am learning from this experience. Good lessons that I can use throughout my life. And for that, I am grateful.

Of Hearts and Heads

Last week was an absolutely insane one. I was up, down, in, out, generally everywhere, physically and emotionally. Work was chaotic, but since when is that new?

One of the things that occupies my attention most, however, is my upcoming visit to the Heart and Lung institute for a heart test. Worried? I keep trying to convince myself that I'm not, but who wouldn't be, at least a little.

It all started a few weeks ago when I went to the dr's office for dizziness and sinus pressure. Not much happened on that front, but while I was there the doctor noticed that I generally have a slower heart beat than usual. For kicks and giggles we did an EKG, which she said a visiting cardiologist would look at within the next couple of weeks. A few days later I got a call from her office about a culture that came back negative, and I asked the person who called if a cardiologist would still be reviewing the results. My doctor called back to confirm it, and I mentioned that I had since been reminded that my grandpa had a pacemaker put in due to his slow heart rate. The next day she called and asked if I would like to be present while he reviewed the results, and I agreed.

That appointment had some interesting results. The cardiologist wasn't concerned about my EKG, but the subject of my migraines came up, and he informed me that there is a heart condition that can contribute to chronic migraines like mine. In one out of four people there is a shunt in the heart that doesn't close after birth. Usually no biggie, there are occasions when an open shunt can cause migraines, or other health concerns. I go in for a treadmill test soon to find out whether or not that could be the cause of my migraines.

I dare say that I am becoming increasingly intrigued. I've spent the last 26 hours with a migraine of varying intensity. It started as a sinus & stress headache, and rapidly advanced into full-blown misery. Normally my migraines last only 12 hours or so. While I didn't relish going to work on the back of a nasty night's rest, I nonetheless had planned on doing just that-until I tried getting out of bed and was largely unsuccessful. I called in to work and sent out an email requesting the delay of a phone meeting and went back to sleep...until about 2 in the afternoon. By that point, while I still had the headache, I was able to eat a bowl of cereal. Two hours later I was able to eat a couple of burritos and spend the rest of my time out of bed. I still have a headache, but at least I can function. Sigh.

Do I relish the idea of a possible heart condition? No. If I had said heart condition and fixing it would fix my migraines would I do it? In a heartbeat (pun intended ;) ). What if I don't have that heart condition? Well, then I'll rest well for having a healthy heart and keep getting the same migraines that I've had for my entire life, as long as I can remember. It's possible that the cause is neurological, in which case I might be recommended an MRI test, but I think I'll take it one step at a time.

New Digs

I had all of these grand plans of posting pictures of the move in process-empty rooms to fully unpacked and set up. Ah the best laid plans...ok so maybe they weren't the best laid plans...well, here are a few at least.

I had all of my stuff moved into my apartment as of two weeks ago tomorrow. The bed, the couch, the tv, everything. I spent several hours moving books back and setting them up in order, or at least my order--according to how likely I am to re-read it.

These are all of the books I had in my possession at the time of my move. I gathered another five of them back from family and friends before I finished shelving them, and have at least another 10 lent out. I had them all stacked on my coffee (I mean hot chocolate) table, but had to start stacking them on the floor when I ran out of room...

Here they are, all nice and shelved (again with the exception of the one's I've lent out. Probably closer to 12 or 15 the more I think of it...)


My old desktop is set up, and my entertainment center has already presented a season and a half of Star Trek: Voyager. All of my dishes are put away, for the most part at least, and I have food in my cupboard. Or at least I did, it's time to go shopping again! All of my laundry is done, now if only it would hang itself...ah well.

One of the key features in my decor comes from Discovery Gateway. We recently hosted an art exhibit that boasted some very talented High School student art. As our interactive portion, patrons could sign up for a cork tile workshop, where they made found-art collages on cork tiles that could then become part of the exhibit. A large number of these pieces went unclaimed at the end of the exhibit, and as my boss didn't have the heart to throw them away, I decided to take advantage of my formerly bare living room walls to spare him the heartache. I now have over 50 of the tiles across my wall, and I'm absolutely loving it :) Here are a couple of pictures:

Here are about half of them on my living room wall. The couch has since been moved back and now sits about a foot and a half under the bottom row.


Thank the cell phone for the great pics. The wall actually is white, but I took these at different times and, obviously, different lighting. This is a close up of some tiles on the next wall over.


I spend the majority of my time back here watching tv (currently flipping back and forth from Disney's The Ice Princess and Jean Claude Van Damme in Blood Sport), playing around on the internet, and trying to keep up on the cleaning. I've already hosted FHE once, and am going to again next Monday. Here's hoping I'll be able to get off from work in time to bake the now-promised brownies! I bought supplies a couple of weeks ago and ran out of time, but this time I have an extra hour or so to prepare, so I should be able to manage it :)

Happy and Sad, Sad and Happy

Opposition in all things, right? Fortunately for me, my glass is half full. Most of the time ;).

Lisa and Christian were able to move the bulk of their belongings out of the back last Saturday. Due to some plumbing fun, however, they still have bits and pieces lying around. Not a huge deal, but it does mean that I cannot yet move all of my belongings. Happy, or sad?

Both.

Sad: I would have liked to be able to move all of my stuff at once, have it officially be "my place" right off the bat.

Happy: I have good and valid excuse to take my time getting stuff moved in

Sad: It will be another week or two before I can host FHE

Happy: It will be another week or two before I can host FHE ;)

Sad: I'll have to go up to the front of the house for good reading material

Happy: I have time in which to move all of my books- they're rather heavy all told-the down side of owning so many

Sad: My shoulder, which had been much improved, is not particularly happy with what I've done so far today (moving the bed, and with Christian's help the dresser)

Happy: My heaviest piece of furniture (besides my couch) is now in place and will not have to be moved again.

Sad: ...Nah, that's enough sad for now.

Happy: I have time to shampoo the carpets before I move everything back. I've already done the bedroom, now I just have to do the living room and dining area. I'm also way excited to have my own bathroom, not to mention the most preferable bathroom in the house :).

All told, I'm pretty happy. I think, however, that if I had to move all of my belongings today I'd end up back in physical therapy for my shoulder, and that would most certainly not be a Happy. Fortunately, that's not the case. I'll be glad for now that I have time, and that I have a much better wireless internet connection now :)

Exciting Times Ahead

Well, it's almost time-Lisa and Christian are moving out this weekend. They've already begun to move their belongings over to their new house. The first time I saw the interior of their new place I confess I was not particularly impressed. After working for over 2 years in real estate and seeing numerous homes, ranging from around $100,000 all the way to $2,000,000 and more, I confess I was a bit snooty at first. I'm sorry, Lisa & Christian.

I have been back a couple of times since, and my opinion of their place has decidedly changed for the better. I began looking at it in a new light. I personally have a tendency to be more comfortable in rooms with character-one or two (sometimes more) quirks that set them apart from the rest of the house. I began to find myself somewhat jealous of their new home, knowing that if it were mine I would be quite comfortable there indeed. Their house certainly doesn't lack character :) I also love their yard, most particularly their back yard. It is good though that they are the ones moving there, as I would not have the motivation to put nearly as much time into improvements and maintenance as they have already done and will continue to do. Not to mention there's no way I would be able to make the payments...

I have been able though to set aside my jealousy in favor of excitement-I get to move into the back apartment next week :) I once made a diagram of the living room back there (as I was using it as a bedroom at the time) as well as all of the furniture I possessed at the time. I still have the diagram, and added to it the dining area once while I was babysitting Dalton. I wasn't able to diagram the bedroom (else I would have woken Dalton prematurely from his nap), but did measure out the new furniture I've acquired since the first diagram was made two years ago. I've been having fun arranging and re-arranging my furniture, and am excited to be able to do it for real. I've never had so much space to myself, though, and am not sure yet what to do with all of it. If anyone has a spare couch hanging around, or a small dining table or desk, let me know and I'd be happy to take it off your hands for you. I have a few pictures and other wall hangings, but I think I'll finally use my tapestry blankets as, well, tapestries. I'm rather curious at what the outcome will be. Definitely on the plus side, I'll finally be able to showcase all of my books :)

I'm not the only one excited for this move. Lisa and Christian get their own house, I get the apartment, Sarah gets my room, and mom gets her living room back. All told, despite the pressures and stress of moving, the physical exertion high on the list, we'll all be much happier when all is said and done. Another plus, it won't hurt the weight watchers efforts. I've gone back and forth the last couple of weeks between losing and gaining, and I'll be very happy to lose next week. Wish me luck!

A Journey of Rediscovery

Given the rather somber, philosophical nature of my recent posts, you're probably thinking, given the title, that this is another one of those. It's probably about how we need to rediscover our roots, or something like that. Fortunately, as I don't dye my hair, my roots were never lost ;)

Today's journey of rediscovery started after I'd finished all that could be done from home for our online store update. For those of you who don't know, our store at the Children's Museum has its own website at www.discoverytogo.org where you can buy a selection of our products. I am one of two people at the store that are charged with both maintaining and updating the online store, and so it's been a source of pressure for a few weeks now, but as we're updating tomorrow, there's not much left to do.

After typing up a few final things, I took myself off to the library. Ah, the library. For years I've preferred to purchase my books, building my own library and thereby having access to many of my favorite books whenever I want them (not to mention they just look cool when they're all neatly shelved). I've also managed to avoid late fees this way. Due to my own...less than frugal...habits, however, this is no longer feasible, except perhaps on a small, selective scale (for instance, perhaps one or two books every couple of months instead of seven or eight). In light of this, I got onto the Salt Lake County Library System website and put a couple of books on hold.

When I walked in to pick them up, I got sidetracked by the books on sale. While they're typically aren't any books I would usually buy, the fact that it's only fifty cents for a hardback sold me on a couple of them. I also checked out four other books and three dvd's. Yay! The main challenge now, of course, will be to make sure to get the books and dvd's back in time to prevent late fees :)

From Then to Now...You Choose

Think back to High School. To the teenage years. We go to school for almost a decade before we reach it-just another first day, just another lunch break, just another gym class or math assignment. Yet everything is in flux. Feelings are changing, the pressure is increasing, and everything is so much more dramatic than it ever could have been before, sometimes even earth shattering. We're young enough that we're not quite sure what to do, and old enough that we're too proud to let anyone else know it. But we deal with the hard times as best we can, and roll with the high times.

When does that cycle end? Well, for some of us it never does. We start settling into habits, behavioral patterns, and never see outside ourselves enough to know that frequently the change needs to come from us, not from those by whom we feel 'wronged'. How could we possibly be at fault? We did everything the way we should have, could have. They are the ones that need to change, they are the ones that need to see what they're doing to us.

Bull. Pull away from that reflection, Narcissus, or you'll drown. You are an intregal part of every situation, every challenge in your life, and therefore have the power to affect change in each situation and challenge, both for the better, and for the worse. In those times when we truly are the root of the problem, we need to be humble enough to take responsibility for our actions, and then work to improve. In those times when we are truly not to blame (and be honest with yourself on whether or not you are or might be), think about what's going on, what could be going on, that would affect the person/situation and don't judge prematurely.

Many times, more than we'd care to admit, the problem comes from both ends, from them and from us. Those are the difficult times to determine that we may be at fault to some degree, to decide where we need to change and where perhaps the other person could stand to improve. Once acknowledged, however, the hardest part comes in the realization that we can't expect them to change, no matter how much we try or want it. We must first change ourselves, most importantly in our perspectives and attitude. How much is your pride truly affecting your views? In my experience pride is at the root of the vast majority of relationships, both personal and professional. Are you mad because of a true wrong or injustice, or because someone stepped on your proverbial toes? On the opposite side, are you happy because of a job well done, or because someone stroked your ego afterwards?

So what does this all have to do with High School? As teenagers, we are starting to work through some of the same levels of pressures experienced as working adults, but without the perspective we can gain over time. As adults, if we choose to develop and progress, we build a reference of knowledge and experience to pull from as we face new and increasingly complex issues, giving us the groundwork from which to pull both strength and solutions. We also have the choice, to let life knock us down and roll over us. Guess what, though-it's totally up to you. Is the challenge facing you out to break you, or are you there to progress, to learn what can be learned and rise to the future, knowing that you've worked through hard times throughout your past and will triumph in the future? The choice is yours, and yours alone.

To Sleep...I Wish

I've always found it something ironic that when you need sleep the most it proves to be quite elusive. I had very little pressure on my "stay-cation" and therefore slept whenever I wanted, but now, after a 10 hour shift and right before a 12 hour shift I just can't really get to asleep. Sigh.

Having said that, at least my bosses fully intend me to use my PTO this year. At Discovery Gateway, a non-profit children's museum, those who work there don't stay for the pay for good reason-it's not exactly rolling in the dough. Having said that, full-time staff members do get a couple of good perks, including a decent amount of PTO per fiscal year. Unfortunately, due to the staffing in my department (or more typically the lack thereof), I lost a fair amount of hours as I was unable to take that time off prior to the end of the fiscal year and those hours don't roll over.

This fiscal year started on July 1st and started the PTO balance anew. I scheduled my stay-cation because I was in desperate need of a break (most if not all of my coworkers would agree with this, as I was rather frazzled by that point and only getting worse). That being said, in an effort to not lose more hours (or my sanity, though it may be too late for that), I am already being encouraged to look at taking some more time off, perhaps in October. As I won't be traveling, I dare say I'll be spending the time basking in the solitude of my new back apartment and reading, or watching Naruto in Japanese on hulu.com. For those of you who are wondering, no I haven't moved into the back yet, but I hope to within the next two or three weeks.

Until then, work is rather interesting to say the least. I'm having a rather fun time with the changes, for all the increased work load is not exactly ideal. I've met one of our new employees, and am looking forward to working with two more over the next couple of days. On the down side, we've had some...fun...issues to work through which will result in increased security measures in our department. Sigh. We are also already preparing for the holiday season, are updating our online store next week, and will be updating it again in two months. I am behind on those projects, but at least I'm about caught up on one or two other rather large ones. It's all about give-and-take. At least my job is never boring :) And it's a good thing that September is historically slow at DG (school starts up and parents no longer have to worry so much about entertaining their children during the day--a great month to have the museum practically to yourselves if you're thinking of visiting), so that I'll have time to catch up on everything and train others in the tasks that only I currently know.

Well, I'm off to read for a bit, and then hopefully I'll be able to rest. At least I shouldn't have any problems falling asleep tomorrow night. Then again, if I do, at least I won't have to get up on Saturday until noon or so. It's all about counting your blessings I suppose :)

Stay-cation Day One

Isn't the point of taking a stay-cation to relax without the hassle of packing to go someplace else? I didn't really have plans for this week, but whatever they were they took a turn last night. Over the past couple of months I've put my body through a wringer- back in April I rejoined Weight Watchers, knowing that my then-current weight was really having an effect on me, on my body, my self-esteem. I have since begun making the lifestyle changes that are necessary for long-term weight loss (and it's paid off-I've lost 25 lbs so far :) ). It does have certain ramifications, however, on the things that happened later.

May and June (especially June) were intense months between remerchandizing the store, and then in prep and completion of June Inventory. After the hard work, both physical and mental, of June inventory, though, my sleep and eating habits were out of whack. I started eating too much after several months of tapering it down. I had one nightmarish migraine that week. While I do get chronic migraines, I go through phases with them, and I guess this marked the start of a new round.

I had another minor migraine about two days after that one, and had another huge one last Monday. I've been up and down physically this last week, and after two back-to-back twelve hour shifts, I guess my body decided to protest yet again. Yesterday saw the start of my most recent migraine, which didn't end until this afternoon. Sigh.

Having said all of that, however, I am very much looking forward to breaking the cycle, and am going to use this week to do it. Back to a regular sleep schedule. Clean the bedroom, get rid of all of the crap on the floor. Exercise, prepare actual meals. Most of all, just let my body recouperate, and get back the reserves that I finally burned through as of two days ago. Wish me luck!

I did enjoy going to FHE tonight. I was recently called as a group co-chair, and so now have no excuse for missing :) We went to Brother and Sister Mayer's house. Brother Mayer is a counselor in the Holladay 29th ward. We had a great lesson & discussion on Our Refined Heavenly Home from the Ensign. I get to give the lesson next week, good thing I'll have time to prepare :)

On a final note, a big big BIG thanks to my brother-in-law Chris for taking my car apart and putting it back together. Once again, you are Amazing :)

Constant Transitions and Squeaky Wheels

Interesting title, isn't it? It seemed to hit the spot. Life is full of so many little changes that we learn very early on to adapt, to the point where we don't even notice that change has occurred. Some circumstances force us into quick side-steps or small leaps over temporary obstacles, thereafter allowing us to settle into our latest, comfortable routine. Then there are the changes that necessitate the entire revision, sometimes even replacement of that routine. Times during which we learn of ourselves, and have to exert our will and act to progress, trusting that God knows what He is doing and has His hand in the outcome.

This is such a time.

Rather dramatic, right? Sometimes I let myself think so. I have a great tendency to over-analyze many a situation I find myself in. I subconciously (and, yes, conciously) exaggerate my position, as we all do to some degree or another. It probably doesn't help that many of the books I read feature so prominantly on one character, with reference their companions or enemies, that little attention is spared for background characters past some small desire of or service to the "hero". As the main character in my own narrative, I also at times lose sight of the bigger picture. Let's face it, who doesn't? Am I the hero, though? Time will tell, I suppose. For now I'm sticking with my parents as my heros.

As for the changes that lead to this, well, ramble, rant, hot air, they are many and yet oh so few. First: I have been released from my calling as Literacy Specialist at church, and been called to be an FHE group leader. I think that Brother Boulter finally got his wish, as he has been encouraging me to be more social for over a year :) I have to say that I am slightly intimidated, but I hope, with the Lord's help, to rise to the challenge.

One thing should help to some degree, and that is that, with Lisa and Christian (and, it must be said, Dalton) moving out, I will be moving into the back of the house- what now amounts to a full apartment. This second change is the one that I am most immediately excited for, as I will have four rooms and several closets to spread out into from my current one room, one closet personal area. While I will be leaving behind my very pretty purple room, I believe it's worth the sacrifice :) I am still slightly lacking in furniture, but thanks to the acquisition of a couch from Amy (thanks again!) and the return of a very good coffee (or in my case hot chocolate) table from Sarah (my thanks to you as well), my space will definitely be less barren. My continually increasing book collection will also go a long way to filling the space, I'm sure. I love books :)

The third change. Ah, the third change. The one that I have been the most dramatic about stems, as usual, from my job. For starters, Inventory is finally complete. So much learned, and progress was, I feel, made. I spent a very good portion of June practically running around in circles trying to prepare for it, and then the first week of July recovering from it. The entire two weeks prior to June 30 were spent in as much preparation as possible, though we often found ourselves righer tightly-staffed. I was somewhat frazzled, I must confess, but I have learned a great deal, which shall stand me in good stead for next year's inventory and also for other similar circumstances.

June 30 saw me arriving at work at 9 am as usual. I finished cleaning all of the inventory areas, including sweeping the floors. I took a fifteen minute break to run to the food court for lunch, and then forged ahead. From 1 pm to 11 pm I had a couple of minutes to myself at a time, I spent so much time running around. Far from alone, though. Mike and Joe were there just as long, and the rest of the retail department weren't so bad either ;)

Thursday dawned much earlier than I wanted it to, but at least it was a productive day. I was sore from the day before, but was at work by about 7:15 to help Julie import the counts from the inventory company. The computer program was down for the first several hours, but we prevailed. Sadly, were things that were missed or mistaken on. I spent the rest of the day, with a break for a physical therapy appointment, going through the over 150 pages of our inventory list to determine what items needed to be re-counted and adjusted. It took me until the end of that day to go through the list, and then to determine just where some of the items were. I was tired.

It showed quite prominantly the next day. I awoke with a headache. Oh dear. I made it to work, but was sent home shortly after noon as I was quite obviously (at least to my coworkers) unable to continue. Only on the way home did I realize how bad off I was, as I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open and my mind focused on driving. I spent the rest of the day in bed. I couldn't even watch my favorite tv shows, though they didn't even come on until after I had already slept for about 9 hours. Sigh.

I was able to make it to work the next day, though, and complete the inventory recounts and adjustments (with much help again from Joe and Mike). I was then able to enjoy a family barbeque, a long nap, and finally fireworks on the 4th of July. Monday and Tuesday saw the final recovery of my sleep schedule and blood sugar levels to normal. Fortunately I also have a week-long "stay-cation" in two weeks, a much needed break from work right before the next big change there- Nate is leaving DG. After working for the museum for, what is it, four years? he is moving on to bigger and better things. With his departure, the entire dynamic of our department will change. New people will come in, tasks will be shuffled around a bit, and someone will have to learn how to juggle :)

What does this incredibly long-winded post have to do with squeaky wheels? Nothing, really, except that my thought process was kindled today when I took advantage of the perfect weather to take my infant nephew on a walk, my monologue accompanied only by the squeaky wheels of his stroller. And there you have it.

Root Canals and Project Gutenberg

Okay, okay so I haven't updated in a while. This day, therefor, is brought to you by my second root canal, courtesy of which I have a hard time eating, and talking, lest I'm on painkillers. I consequently took today off as a sick day in hopes of giving my mouth time to recover.

Now on to more fun topics. Here in ye' olde United States, the copyright on books runs out after (I think) about 150 years, meaning that any book published more than 150 years ago is now in the public domain and can be published/reproduced by anyone. Enter Project Gutenberg. The source of free ebooks from authors such as Jane Austin, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and more. I spent at least an hour last night downloading over fifty classics. I started reading The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, but I'll have to put it on hold until the next book for our book club is chosen. Now that I've finished the most recent Brandon Sanderson book, I'll be reading Yearning for the Living God, by F. Enzio Busche.

Speaking though of Brandon Sanderson, I had the opportunity to go to a reading/signing of his at the Barnes and Noble at Jordon Landing with my friend Rebecca from work. He did a reading from The Way of Kings, to be published some time next year, and from Alcatraz vs. the Knights of Crystallia, the third book in the most hilarious series of odd magics ever :) I won a medallion with the sixteen allomantic medals from his Mistborn series, and got his autograph on copies of Warbreaker (the new one I just finished) and on Elantris, his first book. Brandon Sanderson is the author that has been chosen to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. You can download a free copy of Warbreaker from his website, though I definitely think its worth having the hardback.

High Time

I figure that since it's been almost two months since I last updated, its high time that I finally let people know what's been going on.

At work, we learned mid-March who our new supervisor would be (for those of you who don't know we waited for around 5 months for this answer)-his name is Mike Picardi, and as far as I'm concerned he couldn't be more welcome!! While I did apply for the job, I had reached a point where I just wanted the question answered! I also admit that it was something of a relief- while I believe that I am capable of doing the job, I had hit a high-stress point in my life and was ready to let some things go. Now I can enjoy my job and not worry so much about possible drama, both within my department and without. I do have to say though that it is rather interesting to train your own boss.

At home, I've been babysittting my nephew Dalton every Wednesday (well, more often than not). What a cutie!! He's filled out quite nicely and has most definitely grown. As much as I love taking care of him, though, I recently decided to try to take a day off last week for a break. What an ordeal-not getting the time (thanks, Sarah!), but what happened with it.

Even with another person working in our department, until he is trained there's only so much he can do. I have recently had to pick up extra hours for various reasons-staff absences, getting backed-up on processing paperwork, the museum being very busy due to Spring Breaks across the state. After working a few overtime hours a week for several weeks, it ended with working a total of 15 overtime hours in one week. Wowzer. While I appreciate getting the work done, and I know I'll appreciate the paycheck when I get it, by Saturday I was quite drained. I slept in on Sunday, broke down a bit, regrouped my emotions and faced Monday with a positive outlook.

On Tuesday morning my mom helped me take my car to the shop to get it through safety and emissions. My dad kept me updated on the repairs, etc, and we were able to get it through the tests, fix an oil leak (knock on wood-still testing the results on that one), and get the registration renewed. I got off work at 4 pm, made it to the shop by about 5 pm (give or take), and was home before 6 pm. I knew before leaving work that something wasn't quite right- I felt a bit light-headed and weak. I chocked it up to the week before. At the shop, however, I knew something more was up. By the time I made it home, I decided it was time to find ye olde thermometer. My average temp is somewhere between 97.6 and 97.8 degrees- I had hit 99.4. A bit of a fever, but not much, right? Within one hour I was up to 100.7. At this point (obviously not thinking entirely straight, but erring on the side of caution (ok, probably paranoia)) I asked my dad to check in on me occasionally, and then added a blanket or two to the bed and more or less crashing. Before I fell asleep for the night I was up to 102.7. My throat was killing me, and I just couldn't get warm.

Fortunate I suppose that I had previously asked Lisa, Dalton's mom, for a "day off", right? I spent the entire next day in bed. I got up a couple of times knowing that I needed to eat something, despite having no appetite whatsoever. I ended up with a package of Ritz crackers. I think I remember making Ramen that night, but ate only about half of it. I just couldn't bear thinking of eating more. So much for my "personal day" that I was going to spend out doing whatever the heck I wanted. Though it really was fortunate that I wasn't depended on to care for Dalton that day. Thanks again for the Nyquil, mom.

The fever finally left around 4 am Thursday morning. I was scheduled to work, but called Mike and got permission to only come in for our scheduled meeting. Thank goodness-my throat was still absolutely killing me. I spent the morning in various pursuits while recovering-taking my brother to school when my dad didn't have keys, weighing in at Weight Watchers (I lost 6.6 pounds last week!), and then driving up to my favorite restaurant for breakfast/lunch before the meeting in hopes of gathering some sort of energy. Sadly, Litza's wasn't open yet. I then went to the Gateway and killed the pre-meeting time with some very light shopping and a quick trip to the food court. I guess it was a good thing that Litza's wasn't open as I could only actually stomach part of a cheeseburger at that point.

After the meeting, during which I was mostly silent-being reluctant to talk due to my throat, not lack of opinion-I finally made it back to Litza's, starving after having had very little to eat over the previous 2 days. I quite thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and took a larger-than-usual portion home for dad to share. I quite gratefully spent the rest of the day in bed.

After spending most of Friday being weak and coughing a ton, I awoke on Saturday with, joy of joys, pink eye. I went to work nonetheless, being very careful to use plenty of hand sanitizer and frequently washing my hands. Sadly, though, my energy was pretty much gone within the first hour of work. I set up an appointment at my clinic for just after noon and left work as soon as Nate got in. No wonder I was so tired- my blood pressure was way low! They tested me for strep. Even though the rapid test was negative, I was treated for it anyways, along with getting a prescription for the eye. Oh joy. I spent the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday in bed, hacking up lungs left and right.

Finally on Monday I was feeling ok-I kept hydrated, and was also grateful to find out I didn't have strep when the more reliable 48 hour culture was also negative. I spent the day getting caught up on paperwork...again. I guess its a good thing that its actually my favorite part of my job :). Today I spent doing other office work that has been waiting a very very long time to be worked on, and anxiously checking ups.com.

Why check ups.com? I was tracking a package, of course. What package? The package containing my new toy-an Asus Eee PC 1000 HE netbook :) In otherwords, its a 10 inch laptop. Yay! It's not meant for gaming, or heavy-duty processing, but for basics its perfect! I mostly want it for internet and basic word processing, and possibly for music. It has built-in wifi and bluetooth, a webcam, and a 160 GB hard drive :) Even better, its a cool shade of blue! ;) There was a fair amount of drama initially-I had incorrectly installed the upgraded RAM I got for it. Not until I had let it sit for a few hours could I come back to my broken toy to fix it. I'm just glad that I figured it out.

So far so good-anyone with questions about my netbook, feel free to ask! Chances are I'll probably even have it on hand and can show you personally. Right now I'm trying to run down the battery before charging it again- I'm at 51% with almost 4 hours remaining.

Butterflies, Birthdays and Books

This last weekend was a rather interesting one. I set the butterflies free on Friday, as I frankly was worried about them due to the cats (there are paw prints on the sand Zen Garden I had set up next to them), and the fact that I am frequently gone all day and therefore don't always remember to feed them. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the temperature and it was colder than it should have been. Hopefully they are okay. Here are a couple of photos of the event:

On Saturday I worked from 9:00 am to about 8:30 pm. An hour or so of that was on the museum floor-even when I was a Discovery Host (the ones who typically staff the floor) I never actually worked in any of the exhibits-that was back when they also staffed the Admissions and Retail registers, making this a unique and therefor somewhat exciting experience. I got home that night and thought to go straight to bed, but instead stayed up for a few hours, finishing one book and then another. I got to sleep somewhere around 3:00 am.

My actual birthday was rather tough to begin with- I overslept a bit, and so got in the shower a bit later than planned. That worked out really well-after only a few minutes the water twice got really hot, and then went very very cold. I confess I was rather frustrated by this. I finished up and got out the skirt I wanted to where only to remember that I needed to iron it. I was rather frustrated, but still managed to make it to church only a couple minutes late. After a roller coaster of emotions during church, from frustration and loneliness to peace, gratitude and love (several circuits through these and a couple of others), I returned home and had a good day with my family. Mom made lasagna, garlic bread, and a really really good chocolate cake. Grandma and Grandpa Petty came up for dinner, and we watched the last 60 laps of the Nascar race. Why, you ask? Didn't know I was an avid Jeff Gordon fan, did you. Okay, so I'm not. Dad, on the other hand, is, and was at the race with my uncle Darren. Mom waved just about every time we saw the stands, and we were all somewhat disappointed when Kyle Busch won. At least he had a cute car, though ;) I was asleep sometime around 11:00 pm, after taking Nyquil for my cold.

I slept so well last night. I didn't wake up until 10:00 am, when my bishop called to wish me a happy belated birthday :) After trying to set up lunch with the gals at RE/MAX and not succeeding (hopefully we'll be more successful on Wednesday), I went to lunch with my brother-in-law Christian and my nephew Dalton. We had a good time, and fortunately Dalton slept through it. I spent only a few moments at home afterward before heading to Great Clips for the long-awaited hair cut. I last got my hair cut right before starting in the Retail department at work, back when I was 23. I decided recently that it was time to get it cut again, but knowing that my birthday was coming up I chose to wait until afterwards, thereby being able to say that I didn't get my hair cut at all while I was 24. I think it made a pleasant way to celebrate turning 25. I think I got a good 3 to 4 inches chopped off. I spent the rest of today watching tv, working on my finances, and chatting a bit with dad, who got home late last night.

There's not actually anything much to say on the book front, its just that I always talk about books in some form or another. Right now I'm reading Enna Burning, the sequel to The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. So far so good :)

Of Babies and Butterflies, Busy Days and Books

Much has happened since my last post. Time to play catch-up.

Dalton James Mortensen, the cutest little nephew I have (being the only one, time will tell), was born January 27th after a long, hard delivery on my sister's part. Here are some pictures of the happy family, along with one video I received just a few moments ago:

This one is Dalton the day after he was born, shortly before going home from the hospital.

Here is the happy family the day of Dalton's birth :)

Courtesy Michael's cell phone

As I have Wednesday's off, I have the great privilege of babysitting Dalton every Wednesday starting next week, as Lisa will be going back to work. More updates there to follow :)

About two and a half weeks ago I brought home something I never thought would enter this house-butterflies. Well, caterpillars to be exact. We carry a product called "Live Butterfly Garden" by Insect Lore at work and recently placed an order so that we'd have it in stock for the spring. In the catalogue it stated that a free live butterfly garden was included for display with an order of twelve or more. We placed our order for twelve, me suspecting that the display would only include some sort of set-up of the kit and information on getting the butterflies. That is until we received a package stating "Live Butterflies Open Immediately." You can imagine my surprise. I thought that there were actual butterflies in there, though how someone could ship them is beyond me. Nate and I cautiously opened the package in a closed room to discover the caterpillars in a nicely sealed container. Our boss would not allow live butterflies, and so I brought the package home in excitement.

As cute as they were to begin with, those caterpillars got huge! After about 10 days or so they formed their chrysalids (cocoons) and are now hanging on the side of the net, where they shall remain for a few more days (the stage lasts between 7 to 10 days) before becoming Painted Lady Butterflies. I confess I'm at something of a loss of what to do with them after they emerge-you can't release them until the temperature is above 55 degrees. Maybe I'll give them to Michael...

More pictures will be posted soon :)

Work continues to be busy. Not that we have a lot of guests every day, but there is much to be done in my department and only a handful of us to do it. This last weekend was President's Day weekend. Most people see it as a break-and so as something of a tourist destination we of course were rather busy. I worked from the Thursday before all the way through Tuesday, including all three days of our busiest weekend. Saturday, courtesy a snow storm in the morning and Valentine's Day in the evening, was not as busy as we had anticipated. We were able to get a fair amount of cleaning in, particularly in the office. I now have a much more efficient way to store the paperwork I process next to the computer I always use. Yay! It does make it much easier to organize myself and keep track of what I'm working on.

Kim called me on Sunday morning, asking to trade shifts with me-her Sunday for my Friday. I haven't had to work a Sunday in about four or five months, and so agreed. Jessica, Morgan and I were able to sell 20 memberships that day-a rather impressive number for a Sunday, if I do say so myself. Still, it took its toll. Monday, President's Day, was about as busy as I had anticipated it would be. Not as busy as last year, but definitely busier than normal. We processed more admissions and memberships in the first two hours than we often do on an average weekday. We had a total of 2021 admissions and sold 45 memberships that day. Fortunately we were adequately staffed, if a bit tighter than what I would have like. Oh the joys of working in a recession. Still, I know that I have learned a great deal more in taking over many of the tasks that would not have fallen to me had we still had a manager. I process all of our department's paperwork, as well as the orders from our online store, among other things. As most of you know, I have applied for the Retail Supervisor position, along with Nate. No word yet, but I believe it will be resolved in the next couple of weeks.

Not to be outdone by her new young cousin, here is a video I just received of my niece, Jane. Forwarded to me by Michael, who got it from our sister Laura, Jane's mom:

I dare say she's the cutest niece I have ;)

So after having a very long week, I decided that today would be a good day-a day I could relax and do whatever I wanted to do and not worry about work. I slept for around 9 hours, had a leisurely morning, and then took myself to two movies-Inkheart and Taken. Inkheart was very cute, one that I will most likely own someday. I then had almost an hour between movies, during which I called my dad and then relaxed in the food court of the Jordan Commons' food court..plaza..area.. and read a new book. Quite an interesting place to read, I dare say. But then I've trained myself to read in any number of places and situations by virtue of much practice ;)

Taken was a rather more extreme version of the movie I thought it would be. Five years ago it would have been rated R. Very testosterone-driven, it is about a retired spy who's daughter gets taken while she is vacationing in Paris. Using all of his incredible talents, he hunts down not only the ones who took her, but the ones who later bought her from the female-traffickers who took her to the people who bought her, leaving the wreckage and the dead in his wake. This movie had a much more "real" feel to it than other spy/assassin related movies and shows I've seen. Despite it being very well made, I will nonetheless probably never watch it again.

Not quite yet ready to make my way home, I decided to go to the dollar theatre and see what was playing there. Not being interested in waiting over an hour for either of the shows I was interested in, I went to the Century movie theatre in Sandy instead. Not wanting to wait for any of those movies either, I ended up spending a bit of time at Barnes and Noble. One of my favorite places :) I wandered around a bit, finally purchasing a novel-writing kit by Chris Baty, founder of Nanowrimo, in anticipation of my participation this upcoming November. I also purchased the newest Trudi Canavan book-a bit of a stretch for me, but as the cover and actual book were both done in purple and white, it was obviously meant to be. It also helps that it's set in the same world as her Black Magician trilogy, of which I am a fan. After stopping in the cafe for a hot chocolate and a fresh chocolate chunk cookie, I finally made my way home, relaxed, refreshed, and ready for tomorrow.