Family Vacation- Days One and Two

Earlier this summer Mom declared that it was time for a family vacation. My parents arranged to borrow my dad's boss's RV, picked a week at the end of July, and off we went.

Day One

We didn't really do much this day--we didn't leave until after 5 pm, shortly after I got home from work. We drove for several hours and stopped at the Little America in Wyoming, where I got to see the RV in all of it's fully extended glory. Here are a few comparison shots:

Exterior:

Driving Mode:

Extended Mode:

The RV has a ton of features, including full kitchen, a shower and bathroom, running water, Satelite TV, 2 HD TV's, dvd player, a sleep number bed and more. That first night we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail-Michael, Bill, Dad and I were laughing while Mom came to the conclusion that it was the dumbest movie she'd ever seen.

The next morning as we were getting up and moving about we found that several buses full of pioneers, either heading to or returning from Trek. I went on Trek with my single's ward back in 2006 and we showed up in very similar buses in very similar outfits at that same Little America. They left soon, to be followed immediately by another group of Trekkers.

I wasn't involved in the planning of our vacation aside from working with Mom and Dad to coordinate when we were going. It was on the day we left that I found out we were going to Martin's Cove, one of the final stops of the Martin Handcart Company before they were rescued by men Brigham Young had sent out from Salt Lake. Having been there on trek four years prior I reminisced a bit about the experience as we visited several sites including a park, visitor's center, museum, and replica of the fort that once stood in the vicinity. I don't know why but I didn't even think to take any pictures with my cell phone.

After Martin's Cove we made our way to, past, and back to Independence Rock. Historically pioneers making their way to the west needed to be at the rock by Independence Day to make it to their destination in time to get settled before the weather intervened. Many pioneers carved their names on the rock, and some of these signatures are still visible today.

We stopped at a Walmart in Casper, WY later that day and picked up a few new toys. Mom did some grocery shopping, Dad, Bill and Michael picked out a GPS, and I personally finally purchased a camera, a Nikon Coolpix with which I have now taken over 300 pictures. I won't be uploading all of them here, but I have uploaded them onto facebook for those of my family and friends who are interested.

We forged ahead, with the aid of Jill the GPS (who later became Lee, and Karen, and Daniel pending the whim of the user) to Gillette, WY where we pulled into the Walmart parking lot to spend the night. Walmart encourages this, as travelers will then be more likely to shop at their stores, which of course we did.

We had some delicious sloppy joes that night, thanks Mom! Afterwards Bill burned some cd's for us to listen to (no one had thought to bring any), read books, and Michael and Mom played Zigity. Overall, a very pleasant couple of days full of fun times and family togetherness :)

While strolling through the park one day...

I took a walk today. I took a lot of walks last summer and into the fall a bit. I can't remember now why I stopped. Work has become steadily more time-consuming over the last year, each landmark completed leading into something even more challenging. I had hoped for a respite after Inventory but now find myself with even less time, and even more stress, than ever before. I remembered a conversation I'd had with my dad a while ago when he mentioned how much good taking walks had done for me, got on my shoes, grabbed a Powerade Zero and headed out the door.

The first half of the walk was very relaxing and went very well. I enjoyed the neighborhood, imagining what I would write in this blog about the profound revelations I had uncovered. The second half of the walk (in almost one hundred degree sun) was spent less on fantasizing and more on savoring shade and focusing on making it the last few blocks back home, dreaming about dark apartments, cold Powerade Zero, and a swamp cooler. I made it in the door, spoke very very briefly with my mom, greeted Michael and my dad and then dashed into my apartment, cranked up the swamp cooler, and caught my breath. My heart finally stopped racing and I was able to stretch out a bit and do my neck physical therapy exercises.

Overall I've relished the time not spent thinking about work. I realized, once again having forgot this point over the last six months or so, that I am totally replaceable at work. There is nothing I do that could not be figured out by someone else, or perhaps multiple someone else's, over a relatively short amount of time. While I do not beleive that this renders my contributions and hard work any less valuable, it helped me relax and regain a healthier perspective on what I do.

Just one more thing...

It seems like there's always at least one more part to a project before I can call it complete, or there's just one more thing to add to the end of a to-do list. For over a month I've felt more prepared than ever for our end-of-year Inventory of our merchandise. Ever since Sunday and especially today, though, I'm realizing just how much isn't actually done yet. First I notice this, then that, oh I can't forget to get that done, wow, why didn't this get taken care of?

At the same time, though, I know that this year will go so much better than the last few have. The staff members in general are more educated about the products, everyone is on board to be there that day, and we actually have less merchandise to count, as I stopped ordering about six or seven weeks ago to avoid getting a lot of new merchandise in right before having to count it all. The only things really left to do are precounts of a couple of areas and finishing touches on the storage rooms. As the store will be closed that day I'm also hoping to get done much earlier than last year (I got in early that morning and didn't leave until sometime around midnight).

Work aside and on to a couple of fun things- I was able to get a couple of tickets to an advance screening of Despicable Me. Michael and I got to the theatre at about 9:15 am, were let in around 9:25, got our popcorn and Sprite and talked about Michael's Dime of Doom to pass the time (I, sadly, only possessed a Penny of Pain and a Dollar of Destruction. They don't even come close to comparing). He is now also known as Dime Person Thing Man.

The movie itself is great, very much so worth all the hype it has received. I think one of my favorite aspects of the movie were the minions, they were hilarious! I also loved how each of the three girls were so totally unique and so totally endearing :) Family relationships play a huge role throughout the entire movie, another dynamic that I really enjoyed.

I also went to see the new Karate Kid on opening weekend. While there are definitely parallels to the original, this movie can definitely stand on its own. The action in a lot of ways feels more intense, partially due to the age of the main character, the location, and the free-hand filming style.

All that being said, I think I'll sign off now. Time to go home and think of more things I've forgotten to do for inventory...sigh. Any ideas on how to celebrate it's completion? I'm thinking jumping for joy and lighting off sparklers :)

You've Know You've Been Promoted When...

You know you've been promoted when:

~You get to re-arrange the office the way you want it

~You miss being paid hourly for the overtime pay you've lost

~You get to make the schedule and pick when you want to work

~You have to make sure all the hours are covered and end up with the least favorable schedule after all

~You finally get to do something about all the things you think are wrong

~Everyone else is supposed to tell you what's wrong...and now you can't not do something about it

~You get to decide what toys to sell in the store (one of my favorites, let's be honest)

~You are ultimately responsible to get everything sold, stocked, and organized

~You get to train people and delegate your tasks to them

~You are responsible when something goes wrong or gets forgotten

~You get to attend more meetings and know more about what actually goes on

~You pick up things to do in one meeting and then have a hard time getting them done between attending other meetings where you also get handed more to do

~You get keys that open all sorts of cool doors

~...well, let's just say never leave one of them unlocked

~You get to interview and hire new people

~You get to call and talk to the people who didn't get hired

In the end, though, it's all for the good. There are so many things to learn, to experience, to enjoy and to progress in.

In Sports as in Life

I don't know many women who are as into sports movies as I am. Rudy, Rocky, Invicible, Pride, and Cinderella Man are a few of what I consider to be classics. These movies, while providing intense and compelling sports sequences, aren't actually about the sports themselves but about those who play them, those who put absolutely everything on the line to follow their dreams. To make a difference.

In what has become my favorite such movie (yes, Invictus) there is a wonderful scene where Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) invites Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to tea. After sitting down, Mandela asks after Pienaar's ankle, which he had heard was injured. Pienaar states that in truth one never plays rugby at one hundred percent, at which point Mandela states 'Ah, in sports as in life'.

This statement has stayed with me. As you can tell by one of my previous posts I feel that it is an absolutely wonderful movie about incredible men in an absolutely pivotal time doing the impossible. And succeeding. What really hits me, though, is not necessarily the grand gestures, the great victories. It's the little things. How Nelson Mandela took great strides to truly know the people around him, appreciating their efforts and showing compassion and gratitude. How Francois Pienaar believed in Mandela, in himself and in his team and became such a huge part in unifying their nation. And small statements such as this one. It's true.

There will never be a time where everything will be perfect. Where there aren't multiple lessons to be learned and challenges to overcome. They may come in the form of work, of home, of personal life, of social life. They may present physically, mentally, spiritually, usually all three. There will never come a prolonged time of easy sailing. Frankly I think that if there is, you aren't trying hard enough. There is so much to do, to learn, to teach, to give, to serve. There are so many things that happen every day that we can either take in stride or let overwhelm us. I have been on both sides of the coin and honestly, I prefer to sleep at night. To not experience panic at the list of tasks ahead of me. Panic, stress and fear will get me nothing and nowhere. That is a lesson I began learning at RE/MAX and continue to hone and refine to this day. Am I perfect? Of course not, but why should I let that discourage me?

Life may not hit when I'm at one hundred percent, but I'm certainly going to give it my all!

Midnight to Noon

Yesterday was a good day, though perhaps some would not agree. I've been really congested for several days and went through at least 50 tissues. I didn't get a single thing I'd planned done in the office. And I was at work for over 12 hours trying to diagnose a large inventory discrepancy and help form and implement a new policy to prevent it from occuring again. There was a time, in the not at all distant past, that these events would have left me feeling entitled to having a really bad day.

Not any more :) After several heart-felt conversations with my parents (thanks to Dad especially for the after-midnight ones) I've decided to appreciate what I have, what I do, and who I do it with. To be honest, I actually thoroughly enjoyed what happened yesterday. Not that I want inventory discrepancies, but I enjoyed working with others to try to find out where it went wrong, then to determine the parameters of the new policy and then taking the time to write up and distribute it. I was involved in almost every aspect of the process. It was a puzzle that I was able to help put together and solve.

Is the problem fixed? We hope so, but any time such a policy is implemented, time must be spent working out the kinks and analyzing the results. While this will affect everyone in my department, adding time to what used to be the easiest transaction at the regisers, I will have to sit down every day and try to figure out if it works, if there are any errors or holes, and track any more discrepancies. Do I mind? Nope, not really :) While it adds time and tasks to my day, again it's a puzzle that I get to help put together.

So what does that have to do with midnight and noon? I got home just after 10 last night and took Nyquil around 11. I was asleep right around midnight and slept, with perhaps a few interruptions, until noon. Ah, happy day :) I'm feeling well-rested, I'm less congested, and I had lasagna and nutty bars for breakfast. I'm watching Burn Notice and, well, writing this blog. A good start to a good day off :)

On another good note, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!

Le Petit Prince

I think one of the saddest things about moving to Washington State when we did was that the middle school I left in Logan offered French classes much earlier than I was able to take them again in Marysville. It was one of the only classes I ever knew for sure I wanted to take each year from the moment I could up there, from 9th grade on. I collected a couple of books in French that I've kept (not like I would ever get rid of any of my books without a very good cause) through the years and I finally pulled one off the shelf yesterday.

As you could probably guess after the dead giveaway in the title of this post, that book is Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Not having really done anything involving French since I graduated from High School almost 8 years ago, I honestly had no idea how far I could possibly get. I struggled with the dedication (great for my self-esteem, I must say), but forged ahead nonetheless. I found myself laughing after only a few pages, allowing myself to be drawn into the story without fussing about each individual word I couldn't remember. I am still rather surprised at how much I do remember after not taking a French lesson since 2002. Its also a great refresher course in French grammar, where (like many other languages) nouns have a given gender. I also had to dredge a bit through vaguely remembered lessons in order to remember the difference between the present and past tenses. I think this is the part I've liked the most so far:

"...je dis au petit bonhomme (avec un peu de mauvaise humeur) que je ne savais pas dessiner. Il me repondit:

Ca ne fait rien. Dessine-moi un mouton.

Comme je n'avais jaimais dessine un mouton je refis, pour lui, l'un des deux seuls dessins dont j'etais capable. Celui de boa ferme. Et je fus stupefait d'entendre le petit bonhomme me repondre:

Non! Non! Je ne veux pas d'un elephant dans un boa. Un boa c'est tres dangereux, et un elephant c'est tres encombrant. Chez moi c'est tout petit. J'ai besoin d'un mouton. Dessine-moi un mouton."
(My apologies to those familiar with French for the lack of appropriate accents)

Essentially, after his airplane breaks down in the middle of the desert the author is approached by The Little Prince, who demands that he draw a sheep for him. Baffled, the author eventually concedes, but after having been discouraged from art at the age of 6 years old he begins by showing the strange boy a copy of his first drawing. Always mistaken by others to be a drawing of a hat, the Little Prince knows right away that it is a boa that has swallowed an elephant and demands a sheep. His first attempt is rejected as being too weak. The second one because of it's horns. His third attempt was shunned as being too old. At his wits end, the author draws a box with small air holes in the side and tells him something to the effect that 'here is a case. The sheep you want is inside.'

Excited that this may be exactly what he wanted, he asks how much it eats, concerned that his home was too small to support it. After being assured that it is a very small sheep, the Little Prince is finally satisfied.

I love this part. The exchange shows great creativity and imagination, enhanced by original illustrations of each sheep. I confess I do find it all the more endearing in French, knowing that I would most likely never have read this book in English. That being said, it is a very charming and yet thought-provoking tale that I am happy to own.