A Wonderful Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day. After two months of stressful, though manageable, action and pressure I had a day all to myself. Nothing to do but what I personally chose to do. I took advantage of my shoulder, the reason I had two days off in a row, to sleep in and do nothing. Literally. I spent a good five hours watching Highlander episodes (starring the incredibly attractive Adrian Paul) and working on Sudoku puzzles. It was an incredible relief, a day that both my body and my mind rejoiced in.

Owing to my ever-increasing sense of efficiency and productivity, however, I did take the time in the evening to clean my new room. Having just moved into it, there were pictures to be hung, clothes to be put away, and curtains to mount (thanks again Christian!). I begin again to reevaluate my perspectives from this new stage in my life-after two days of not much going on, I can see how it would be possible to have too much time to yourself. Only so many hours you can spend on tv and sudoku. Fortunately I have a good job that I truly enjoy. There's always something to do, and I'm constantly working hard and learning from the experience.

Speaking of work, and the benefits of taking a break, my shoulder is finally getting better. The muscles are feeling more like they are sore and less, well, injured. Its not perfect yet, but I'm not as limited in my range of motion now. Yay! I'll be able to get back into the tasks I'm used to performing uninhibited-like lifting boxes and reaching product on higher shelves. The register is certainly getting easier to use-owing both to my improving right shoulder and my increased proficiency with my left hand.

Well, its getting late and I have a new book to read. To days off, finding satisfaction and joy in hard work, and healing shoulders. Cheers!

To Read, To Crochet and To Write

Having just ventured once again into the glorious place that is Barnes and Noble, it shall be no surprise that I did not exit empty-handed. Five new books have just joined the ranks of those awaiting a spot on shelves that I do not currently own. I haven't even finished all of the ones I bought last time, not that that's a bad thing. At least I've got my fill (temporarily) of book shopping. Minus the one I have on order, of course.

This trip was a bit harder than some. Not in book choices-courtesy my remaining gift cards I was able to splurge and get books that I haven't been waiting for. No, I recently decided that it would be a good idea to carry a full box of about 10 reams of paper on one shoulder, thereby straining my biceps and leaving me unable to do everything that my relatively physically-demanding job entails. Working in a gift shop one of the things I do every day, at some point or another, is to work a register (be it for minutes or hours at a time). While I can move my arm sideways, moving it forward just plain hurts. NSAIDS help, but I haven't been able to take the 2 to 3 days off that my doctor recommended to let it rest. Yesterday was just no fun at all in that regard. Its very frustrating not to be able to do everything that I normally don't even think twice about.

It is an interesting learning experience, however. Its humbling to have to ask for help where I've typically been very capable and independent, like in carrying boxes, stocking the store, especially vacuuming. I'm typically the one who vacuums the store in the mornings. I've got a very nice, efficient system worked out. Twice though this week I've had to take other tasks while Nate vacuumed. It really does take a whole new mindset. One that I'm glad to learn-not in order to take advantage of others, but more so in learning a new aspect of teamwork.

I also picked up my crochet hook for the first time in a long time. I crocheted something of a sling for myself- a more obvious reminder to myself not to do as much lifting. Its also more comfortable for my shoulder than to have my hand forever in my pocket, for all it looks rather tacky. I tell myself that its a new kind of scarf when my arm isn't actually in it :) I admit though I wouldn't even have bothered if I didn't occasionally here a faint popping sound in my shoulder (much like the sound of popping knuckles) where I haven't ever heard it before.

And now for the final part-the writing. It seems I'm more likely to get comments where I've posted another excerpt from my 'novel'. I still haven't decided whether or not to continue it, nor what my pen name would be, but here is the next installment, directly after the last:

"The conversation continued after they boarded the train, Sally appreciating how the mother of the young trio was able to calm them down for the ride, or at least curtail their exuberance by not letting it progress past limited bouncing in their seats at each stop and excitedly pointing out the window at the train’s speed and the mural- and graffiti-covered buildings flashing by. She silently applauded the mother for letting her children work out some of their energy at the platform.

The train ride seemed to fly by, startling Sally with how quickly they approached her stop. Apologizing to the kind gentleman, she began gathering her things. “Perhaps we could continue this delightful conversation by other means. Do you perhaps use email very often?” Pleasantly surprised at his question, she gladly exchanged email addresses with him, promising to send him information on the book that day. With a satisfied air, the man graciously thanked her for her time and bid her good day.

She breezed through the exit, making her way towards work with more grace than she ever remembered possessing. She barely heeded her surroundings as she pondered the strange yet utterly rewarding adventure she had just been party to. While sifting through her memories, however, she realized that she’d never found out how she had first drawn his attention, let alone warranted the conversation they’d had. Warning flags went up when she considered some of the negative possibilities of why a young woman would attract such attention. Unable to reconcile such predatory acts with the compellingly trustworthy man she’d just met, however, she determined to put such thoughts away, while keeping the warning signs simmering on a back burner in the event that she’d been mislead. It wouldn’t do for her predictable life to be overturned by the upset that unknown men had been seen to afflict on their victims.

Returning to the new insights she’d gained of the book in her hands, Sally lithely bounded up the steps to the private employee’s entrance of the book store. Upon entering, she took a deep breath of that wonderful paper and ink smell she loved so much. There was something incredibly calming, and yet energizing, by that inticing, memory laden scent. She had loved libraries and book stores for years, and had many happy and joyous experiences in such places. She always took a moment to “stop and smell the roses” as it were in anticipation of another wonderful day at the job she loved.

As her thoughts returned once again to The Last Lecture, and the insights she’d had through her conversation with the still unnamed man (his e-mail address didn’t provide any particular hints in that regard), Sally began the procedures to open the store for the day. Cash drawers had to be counted, activated and put into the registers. The registers had to be turned on and keyed in, ready for the cashier to log on to the point of sale system. A quick run through of the store had to be performed to make sure the night janitors had been thorough, and then another, slower journey made to that each book was shelved. She made a mental note to have Benjamin and Susan help her go through each section within the next couple of days to make sure each book was shelved properly.

As the day shift employees started to arrive, Sally made her way back to the manager’s office and started generating to do lists. One list was a set of tasks for each employee based on their general knowledge and strengths. Another list involved various book displays and the racks of related merchandise scattered throughout the store and her suggestions on which should be replaced soon and with what merchandise, to help the store seem “fresh” and the merchandise updated. It was also a great way to market the items that otherwise weren’t selling. She made suggestions on which merchandise should be shifted to the front after viewing their inventory. Items they had large quantities of went up front and by the audio visual section. New items for the secondary sections and also scattered so that they were placed close to their genres. Each section also included books on related topics, books by the same author, or books in the same genre though not necessarily closely related. Novels suggested by Oprah’s book club and other various talk shows went both in the front and next to the café.

The third list included items that needed to be ordered for the upcoming holiday season. Halloween was just around the corner, soon to be followed by both Thanksgiving and the ever busy Christmas holidays. Richard Paul Evans books topped the list, of course. This was, after all, Utah state. Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, Grace, and several other novels and financial independence books, had a great following in his home state. He was also known to give firesides and speeches in the area on a regular basis. She also thought to showcase some other up and coming local authors next to his works. She enjoyed his books, but as she listed his publications her thoughts slowly drifted back to The Last Lecture and her conversation with the strange gentleman she had met that morning."

Sorry for the weird spacing, I'll fix that up later.

Thank You Santa! and Bill!

So for Christmas this year, a tame one considering past Christmases, I received some truly great and greatly appreciated gifts. Hamlet on dvd (the four-hour one with Kenneth Branagh), a jewelry box from Michael, a pen with a mini etch-a-sketch attached, and a most wonderful Conair neck/shoulder massager. I think though that my three favorite gifts are as follows: the History of Joseph Smith by His Mother (the most recent revised and enhanced edition), and two Barnes and Noble gift cards totalling $120. YAY!!

Now obviously I couldn't do anything with the gift cards on Christmas day. Instead I watched Hamlet while using my new massager, spent a large amount of time cleaning up Sarah's mirror after she decided to drop it on her head, watched Mamma Mia with mom and Sarah after their return from the hospital, gave Morgan a ride home in a blizzard (pretty fun, actually. Thanks for letting us use your truck, dad!!), and stayed up late watching Bill's new blu-ray of Dark Night with him and with dad.

I slept in on Friday morning, much to my chagrin on one level-I still have much cleaning left to do in my old bedroom before it's ready for Lisa and Christian to move into. I did do some cleaning, but left early for work as I was worried about what the roads would be like. I fortunately made it safely, with only one slide through an intersection. I also made it early, and so took myself off to ye olde book shoppe, Barnes and Noble. I spent every second I had and then some dashing amongst shelves in quest of several books I knew I wanted and those I knew must exist that I would want. After some debate I settled on six books, grabbing a seventh as I made my way up to the register. Courtesy two of the books being on sale, and thanks to my membership, I only spent $70.46, leaving me with $49.54 for future book shopping happiness.

I got home from work after 10 pm, after trading my car for the Explorer and giving Kim a ride home. I did some cleaning in my old room before I decided I needed boxes. I'll be taking some home from work today-the advantage of working in a store is that I have access to any number of boxes. I then cleaned up my new room a bit, putting away my laundry and straightening up the post-Christmas mess. I'll be cleaning the old one tonight after I pick up at least one new bookcase, possibly two considering that the one large set I have now is already full and holds not even half my books, let alone my growing vhs/dvd collection. I think I have room for two more bookcases...I hope... At least a lot of my other stuff will be getting carted off to DI after today. I'll be cleaning out at least four of my 6 under-bed bins, as well as my two huge blue bins, and condensing what stuff I am keeping into the emptied under-bed bins. I'll be getting rid of any blankets and pillows that don't have extreme sentimental value (such as my graduation quilt and the quilt I got from one of my Iceberg managers, Cinta. Needless to say, though, I will not be getting rid of any books. Not a single one. Not even you, Cup of the World, which I'll most likely never read again...

Books Books Books!!!

Can I just say that I love books? I LOVE BOOKS!!! There, I said it :)

Anyone who knows me, with perhaps the one exception of the person I started training on the register today (sorry Whitney), knows that I read practically every day. I read on my breaks (or at least I would if they existed anymore), I read when I get home. I read every night when I go to bed. If I have the day off I read before I even get out of bed. For years, books where an escape. The only way that I didn't feel like I was lacking, like I didn't measure up. In books I didn't exist as myself. I learned at a young age how to relate to the characters and then became completely absorbed in their lives. I lived their adventures, rejoiced in their successes, felt their pains and wept for their losses. Yes, I cried. I still do. My favorite way to spend my time when we lived in Marysville was to go to the library and check out a whole new stack of books. That's how I first learned to walk and then to ride my bike while reading. Over time I no longer needed to escape. I learned how to live my own life and enjoy it. Books will always remain a huge part of my life, though. They're still my favorite way to de-stress. Even now if I have the money the first place I go to is Barnes and Noble to find all the new books my by favorite authors (Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley, Mercedes Lackey and Gerald Morris to name just a few).

Now to my success-I finally learned how to add my goodreads widget to my blog! Yay! It took me several websites and methods, but it is now proudly placed on the left-hand side. Two hundred of the books I've read, in alphabetical order by title. I will probably be adding other widgets later, such as my current-reads list, and perhaps I'll find a way to post the book we're reading in my ward's Relief Society book club. Right now it's Christmas Jars by Jason Wright and Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers and Ben Sowards.

Thus begins the end of a long, hard day. As soon as I'm done posting this blog I'll grab a spoon and some Brownie Batter ice cream (thanks again, Morgan), head back to my room, curl up in my robe and continue reading Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. Fortunately I don't work tomorrow, so even if I stay up through the wee hours of the night I'll at least be able to sleep in a couple of hours.

Uh oh. Dad just turned on an eye-catching episode of Northern Exposure. Looks like I won't even start reading until the wee hours :)

Another Excerpt

Hi all! Things are stretched a bit thin right now, at work and at home, therefore limiting the time I've had to post. I'm taking a quick dinner break right now though and decided to post another excerpt of my "novel" to be. I don't know when I'll be picking it back up, but not before the new year at least.

This excerpt is from the beginning. It ties in with both my current job at the children's museum and also with the book I was reading at the time, which plays a key part in the story.

"As she stood there she heard a small girl talking to her mother about how excited she was to go to the children’s museum. “I want to play with the balls, and the hecilopter, and the doggie in the house.” Sally smiled at the young girl’s enthusiasm, and wondered if since she pronounced helicopter as ‘hecilopter,’ she also said ‘basghetti’ in stead of spaghetti.

“We’ll have to wait and see, sweetie, we don’t know how many other children will want a turn” the mother stated, bringing her sometimes boundless patience to bear with this her youngest, most energetic young child while trying to manage control of the girl’s two brothers. It seemed that for the moment, taking the train to down town Salt Lake City held even more promise of excitement to the boys than their destination. They soon started to run up and down the platform, bounding after each other with enthusiastic whoops of happiness and glee, barely heeding to their mother’s plea to “please settle down, there are other people here!”

Standing at the far end of the platform, Sally held the perfect spot to view the spectacle. While perhaps a little shocked at the mother’s limited control over her young ones, she also knew that the boundless energy young children generate must be released somehow, and found a simple joy and humor of her own by the combined performance of the rambunctious boys and the ever lengthening list of things the girl planned on doing seemingly instantaneously upon arriving at the museum. She determined that perhaps one day she would visit the place and find out if all of the things the charmingly blond girl described could possibly fit all in one place.

As she watched, she noticed an old gentlemen standing a few feet away, calmly gazing at her. His faded flannel shirt, worn out wind breaker and faded blue jeans told her this was a man who was no stranger to work. His bearing, however, seemed to be that of a dignified noble lord right out of one of any of the medieval books she had read over the years. The straightness of his posture, the assured and open expression on his face, and particularly the intelligent, dancing gleam in his eye gave him a presence that practically guaranteed respect from even the highest placed executive of the most successful corporations. Curious as to how she could have drawn the gaze of such a man, particularly in light of the scene being provided by the young trio, she took a few steps over and struck up a conversation with him. After exchanging vague pleasantries, he commented on the small hard bound book tucked under her arm, asking if she had read much of it and inquiring after her feelings on the book as a whole. Delighted to have already found someone to share her new treasure with, she gave him a brief synopsis of its contents, and how it came to be written. His questions slowly drew more out of her, and he soon began making comments that inspired her to make new connections both through the book and in what more she could draw from it to apply to her own situation and self-perspective."

So there you have it! Let me know what you think :)

Leaves Dancing in the Wind

What a great time of year! The first thing I really noticed this morning, aside from my annoyance at my alarm, was just how strongly the wind was blowing. On my drive downtown for work, particularly north of 2100 S., I was enthralled by the number of leaves on the road, and how they were dancing in the wind. It lent almost a mystical quality to the morning, on a day I know I'm in desperate need of any such help I can get. It's pretty busy at work, and the first order of business was a meeting regarding recognition of child abuse. Not the type of meeting that anyone particularly enjoys sitting through, but a necessary one for employees at a children's museum.

I'm doing Nanowrimo this year. I know that I'm not going to be able to finish the full 50,000 words, but I'm going to make a serious effort to tack on another couple thousand words tonight. Here's an excerpt, if anyone's interested:

"She soon lost herself amidst financial documents and order forms, wandering through them as a fairy would drift through an enchanted woodland. She flitted through meadows filled with catalogues of children’s novels, weaved through the stands of music and art literature, forged through rivers of nature and science reference works, and finally fought her way through those venerated tomes of knowledge that bore the history of everything from the United States of America to the creation of string cheese. She had stopped to gaze into a small pond claiming to know the answer of the difference between Canadian bacon and Danish ham (apparently it was the sound the pig made, the Canadian one going “oink, ay”) when a knock came to her door."

The "she" is Sally Bradford, my protagonist (main character), who works at a book store. The whole canadian bacon/danish ham thing was inspired by a conversation at Litza's Pizza with some great coworkers.