More of the same? Not quite....

   I'm starting to get the hang of this nursing thing....well sort of. Doing this long-term care thing can be pretty monotonous, but at the same time there's always some little tidbit of information that manages to sneak in and make the day awesome.

   Today was more of the usual stuff. Getting people out of bed, cleaning them up and taking them to breakfast. We focused a lot on getting the overall health appearance of our patients. My instructor told us to just look at people and observe their overall countenance, skin color and mood. Last week in lab, I passed my BP and pulse practical test, so I wanted to really get in there and try out my skills. The facility however only uses the mechanical vital sign machines, so the only things we could do manually were pulse and respirations. I was excited though when I did pulse and respiration on a patient and then did it with the machine and it matched perfectly, lol. :)

   One crazy thing that we did have to deal with today was a patient who had C. Diff. I noticed that one of the patients had an isolation cart outside their room. Isolation carts have things like face masks, isolation gowns and gloves in them, and it is meant to obviously provide a better barrier between you and your patient in cases of high risk virus or infection. In this case, C. Diff is short for Clostridium difficile (had to Google that one, haha). C. Diff is a bacteria that causes severe diarrhea when the patient has taken too much antibiotics. Taking too much antibiotics can kill all the good "gut bacteria" in your intestines, causing weird digestive issues. If you've ever been on a cruise ship, you probably heard about Norwalk or Norovirus, as they are very common when people live in close quarters and when people don't wash their hand thoroughly. C. Diff is kinda the "Norwalk" of hospitals and nursing homes. Anyway, so one of the patients I worked with today has it. We had to "suit up" and put on isolation gowns, face masks, and of course, gloves. The patients room had a uniquely strong odor which I could smell from down the hall. The patient should recover soon, however my clinical instructor wondered if perhaps next week we will have more cases of it. I guess it spreads really fast.

   So to conclude today's clinical, it was interesting, awesome and still fun (even with the diarrhea). I've noticed that my social life has pretty much come to a standstill. I work and study, and then I go to school. It's tough, but I don't really mind. One of my classmates got some fortune cookie saying which actually was appropriate for what we are going through right now, "The cost of something is what you give up to get it." Yup, it's worth it. :)

This just cracked me up!

Week 3: More Realities

   My hands are a wreck! Part of nursing (and medical care in general) is having proper hand hygiene. You are supposed to wash them for 15 seconds between every patient. Sometimes you can get away with just using hand sanitizer if your hands aren't visibly soiled, but it depends on the situation. And of course, you often wear gloves. Well after my first couple clinical days (today was the second hands-on clinical), my hands are so dry! This is my first job where I'm pretty sure manicures should be part of the on-job benefits. ;-) I honestly can't recall how many times I washed my hands today....but it was a lot!

   Today was a little more hectic than last time. My floor has three hallways, with patients evenly split amongst the three. There are usually 6 CNAs (2 per hallway), but today only 4 showed up. I don't know what happened to the other 2 and they didn't get anyone to replace them. I guess it was lucky the student nurses were there today, because CNAs now had 12 patients to take care of instead of 8. We rushed around trying to get everyone to breakfast on time, did the usual stuff. The last patient I dealt with is quite a colorful lady. Mrs. M is the one I mentioned before who hates men. Last week, I was with a male CNA and as soon as we entered the room she started yelling at us to get out and get her a woman. This seemed to put her into a bad mood the rest of the day because she just continued to yell at everyone to get out of her room, even when there wasn't anyone in the room. Today, I was a little frightened going in there, but this time I was with a female CNA and Mrs. M couldn't have been sweeter. She ate breakfast like a champ, and cooperated while we cleaned her up. Even though it was a little more crazy and busy today, it actually went pretty smoothly. Just goes to show that we have good days and days where we "wake up on the wrong side of the bed".

   Later, while we were doing a post-clinical conference with our instructor, she mentioned that there were 3 patients from last week that had died since we were last there. According to the nurses there, that's a lot in one week. I realize that in a place like this, there will be deaths. Even though I didn't know the patients that well, it's still sad. I was especially saddened to find out one of the patients that died was "Bob", who I mentioned last week. It was a little surprising because he seemed to be doing great last week, and then suddenly he was gone. My instructor told us that while it's sad, you have to protect yourself when it comes to large amounts of loss in these places. How ever you protect your mental state is up to each individual, whether it be in a humorous way ("bit the dust", "sold the farm", "took the train to celestial bliss", etc.) or if you just want to reflect for a moment. In some situations, you might lose 3 or 4 patients in one day, and it is hard to be numb to it while still having sympathy. I think this is where having some sort of religious conviction is extremely helpful. Regardless of what you believe, I have to believe something about happens after death whether it's heaven, hell or nothing, cause otherwise I don't think I'd last that long in this field.

No More Rose-Colored Glasses

   I hate to use my blog as a "here's what I did in nursing school today" chronicle, but my clinical instructor told us to do a "reflection journal" and since it's my blog I guess I can do whatever I want with it. Plus, I'd like to remember how young, inexperienced and stupid I was at the beginning so I can look back and see how far I have gone/will go. And there are some hilarious nuggets that have happened which I'd also like to remember.

   So, today was my second clinical day. I like to refer to it as the first "official" day, because the real first clinical was just a light orientation of the facility we are in this semester. Today we actually got to work with patients and boy, was it eye-opening! The facility, Greenspring Village, is basically a community for seniors of all health statuses. There are folks who live independently in little apartments, people who have somehow been injured are in "rehab" (to get back to independent living, the closest to a hospital scenario) and there are the long term care people (those who cannot live alone and require 24 hour care). 

   For the first 8 weeks of this semester, my group will be on the long term care floor. Basically all of these patients are living here because they need round-the-clock supervision. It seems like a decent place to live. Being in a place like this opens up a whole Pandoras-box of discussion, like how or why families put a loved one in a place like this. According to my instructor, Greenspring is actually one of the nicest senior care places in the area, and your wallet definitely takes an impact by being a resident. Supposedly, they don't accept Medicare and your net worth has to be at least $500,000. The residents are well educated, and many had government careers (Senator, House Rep, military). In some cases, I'd rather just live at home with a home-care nurse, but it just boils down to having money to pay. The residents seem happy enough to do group aerobics, bingo and watch movies. There's kinda a "pecking order" with the residents as well. The folks who are the most mobile or vocal tend to be highest on the chain, while those who don't talk much or bed ridden are lowest. In fact, one of my patients "Bob" (not his real name) is one of those on the "low" end of the chain. He likes to ambulate (move around) in his wheelchair and tends to bump into others accidentally, and I think he's pretty adorable. Those "noisy birds" don't like that and kinda pick on him a little. Ah, social order at the age of 80. I was pretty stoked to be working with seniors. Being with them reminds me of the years I lived in Alaska and the people that I got to drive around. After age 65, people tend to lose their inner monologue and it's the older people who tell the dirtiest jokes and politically incorrect or racist stories. Entertainment at it's finest. :)

   Since we student nurses have no idea what we are doing, we were paired up with a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant). CNAs are below the LPNs, and do most of the grunt work at Greenspring. We went around with them and helped get the patients out of bed, washed their faces and upper body, dressed them and got them to breakfast. Once out of bed, we changed linens and tidied up. Most of the patients were cooperative and friendly, maybe a little too friendly. The CNA warned me of this one male patient who apparently really likes the ladies. I didn't think anything of it, until as I was putting on his shirt, he reached around and grabbed my butt! "You're getting fresh with me!" I exclaimed and pretended to be offended. He just laughed, haha. Some don't like the routine at all. One of the male patients actually punched a CNA! There's a female patient who hates men and will only allow females in her room. So it can be quite dramatic!

   The rest of the day went as smooth as can be expected. Nothing else super exciting happened. It was definitely hard work though! CNAs are usually assigned to 6-8 patients, and in the span of only about 2 hours they have to get 8 people out of bed, cleaned, dressed and make the beds. It is important to learn the basics and working with CNAs gave me an appreciation of all the hard work they do. And even though the work is laborious, at the end of the shift I just felt this overwhelming satisfaction about what I had done to help others. I just knew that this place was exactly where I needed to be and that my life is on the right track. Even when I'm changing the adult briefs or cleaning up stool.....when it comes down to it, it's all about helping people and I LOVE THAT.

   

   

My Day of Birth....

   Today was my 26th birthday. In anticipation of this event, I was a little depressed because I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20. I know, I know, some people are like "Oh, 26 isn't OLD! I'm actually in my 40's...that's OLD!" or my Dad telling me that I'm halfway to 52. (thanks Dad) I suppose I am young still. Don't they say you're only as old as you feel? I thought about that saying, and it's definitely true. I see a lot of people around me who are the same age but have such different lives. A lot of the girls I grew up with are married and have at least 1 or 2 kids. I see people who are living the nomadic lifestyle and have no intention of ever stopping. As I look back at my 26 years I see a lot of accomplishments and things I'm really proud of, such as:

1. Living in Alaska for 4 years and seeing a fair amount of that great state! I've been to Denali          National Park, traveled the entire Alaska Highway, seen glaciers calve and some amazing wildlife. Oh, and I've seen Chicken, Alaska, and I've driven on one of the scariest highways in Alaska, the Taylor Highway.
2. I have been to 48 states. I just have Vermont and Hawaii left. I've heard that's really good for someone so young (said my bus passengers).
3. I've been to 5 countries: Canada, England, Spain (layover but it still counts), France, and Scotland. Well, maybe 6 if you count the Yukon, which might as well be it's own country.
4. I probably have at least 120,000 miles worth of driving under my belt, between cars and buses.
5. In the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: US and Canada, I estimate I've done 100 or so, which doesn't seem like a lot, but that's 10%. It includes swimming with manatees, White Sands National Monument in NM, and Durango & Silverton Railroad to name a few.

   So I'll quit bragging for now, haha. I guess my whole point in this post is that age really is just a number. I feel younger than 26, but I've already got the experiences of an 80 year old. So maybe it's not that bad turning 26. I have a blessed life. I have great friends. And I will be the most hilarious, awesome, crotchety 80 year old when the time comes....in 54 years.

I'M BAAAACK!!!

   I am shamefully coming back to the blogging world with my head down, almost hoping no one will notice it's been 3 years since my last post. And one so depressing to read about my grandmother dying, I hope to make this comeback with some funny and uplifting stories about my new adventures.

   So where have I been all this time? Well I was in Alaska working still. I got 4 summer seasons under my belt. Love that place. Then I did another job called "Moose Mobile" in conjunction with the Alaska thing. Basically I drove one of Holland America's bear buses around the country and promoted travel to Alaska. Because of that job I became a Platinum Marriott hotels member, the highest level you can get. It was awesome, because any time I checked-in to my room I would get a free upgrade to a suite. Awww yeah! Anyway, after doing Moose Mobile for 2 years, I suddenly got this feeling that it was time to settle down and maybe be stationary for awhile. So I decided that I would go back to school and finally get a degree.

Me and my bear bus, Corpus Christi, TX

   Basically, when I was a kid I always had this fascination with medicine. Yes, there was that one time I was caught trying to drink Dime-tap (that delicious grape cough syrup) straight out of the bottle, but that's not the kind of medicine I'm talking about. I was enthralled by the human body. I wanted to be a surgeon, specifically a plastic surgeon. I used to joke that I would give my sister a boob job where one boob would be like a cantaloupe and the other a cherry (hey, it was funny when I was 10). But the medical profession was kinda scary, and intimidating. Over the years, my mind flitted around to various college majors. First it was Marine Biology. Then it was Photography. Then for awhile I thought History would be fun. All the while, a voice in the back of my head kept saying "Ball$, go for nursing!". I never listened. I even toured a new out-patient wing of a hospital with my LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) grandmother, and just had this urge to get in some scrubs and get hands-on! I told myself, "Nurses have to clean bedpans, clean-up poop, and jab people with needles. Why would I ever want to do that?". Then one day I said (after the urging from a friend), "You know what? It's time to man up!" and so I applied to Nursing school. You all know the rest....

 

 

Life Goes On...

Big G with the fam

...after tragedy strikes. As you may know, my grandmother, Big G, died February 6th after battling uterine cancer and a brain tumor. She was my last grandparent. Back in 1998, my grandfather (her husband) died of a brain tumor. Then in 1999, only 10 months later, my mom's mom died of ovarian cancer. I was only 12 at the time and while I understood the sadness and importance of what happened, I feel that my memory wasn't quite as cognoscente as it is now. I was sad, but it didn't really affect me as much as Big G's passing has. I suppose it's helped having 11 years to cultivate a deeper relationship with Big G. Especially as I'm now an adult, interpretations of life are different.

Carol Jeanne Loveridge (Big G) was born September 6th, 1930. She was the youngest child be many years. She was also an "accident" child. Her mother was a good woman, but as far as I understand, Big G was never really wanted. I suppose the fact that she was born during the Depression, made finances tight all around with an extra mouth to feed. She had a lot of hardships in her childhood due to that fact. She lived her entire life in Springville, Utah, and married her high school sweetheart, Clyde LaMar Clark, when they were both just 19 years old. I had the opportunity to come across some old yearbooks from when the two of them were in high school. The "autographs" they wrote to each other were absolutely precious. Those two were the very definition of "soul mates". Together they had 7 children, 18 grand-children and (so far) 16 great-grand children. While her early years were somewhat love-less, she made sure that no one else felt unloved when they were with her. She made everyone feel like she was their best friend. In fact, after her funeral, my mom was at the local floral shop. She was chatting with the florist, when the subject of Big G came up. The florist said that all the customers who came in to buy flowers for Big G had said things like "She was my best friend" or "I could always tell her anything and she never judged me". I really admire the legacy she left behind. I hope that by the time I'm about to kick the bucket, I have the same thing. Even a fraction of what Big G had, and I'll be happy.

When I first heard she was seriously sick, I was so sad. I didn't cry until I got on the phone with her, and she started singing one of her silly songs. She always had this thing to sing some old song which was relevant to the situation. For example, when waking you up in the morning, she'd sing a song about Mary Sunshine who woke up too soon and scared away the moon and stars. After expressing my sadness over her illness, she got firm and told me "no tears" and that she wasn't afraid or sad to be dying, and that was a huge comfort to me. From my religious standpoint, I knew that she would be ok and that she would be reunited with her husband, something I knew she wanted badly. And the fact that she wasn't afraid, helped me make peace. After all, something I realized is that I wasn't saying "goodbye" to her. I was saying "see you later". I was lucky to be able to fly out to see her a week before she died and then again for the funeral. While I know she's gone, there's a part of me that hasn't fully absorbed that she just isn't alive anymore. When I saw her for the first time in her casket, I almost expected her to just wake up. She looked like she was sleeping. It was difficult watching them close the casket. I didn't want her to be alone in there even though I knew her spirit was long gone. It's funny how hard it is to say goodbye to the body of a deceased person. We know they're gone, but since the body is the last thing we have really to hold on to, it becomes the symbol of them.

I feel like I've been dealing ok with her death. I think right now, I'm in a state of irritability. I'm not sure why. I don't resent God for taking her. I'm not angry, I guess I'm just more intensely sad than normal. Life without her is going to take a lot of adjustments. But like I said, life goes on after tragedy. You can't fight the forces and unavoidable occurrences that happen. You must adapt and be flexible to be truly happy....

You Know You're a Bus Driver When...

This is what I drive, except newer....

So as I've mentioned previously, I'm working as a bus driver for Fairfax City CUE Bus. It's just a small public transportation company run by the City of Fairfax. So far it's been a pretty good place to work. The supervisors are all nice. My co-workers are all really nice to work with. Some of the drivers have been working there for 20+ years!! I'm easily the youngest person by probably 20 years. I guess I'm officially done with training now, the last few days have consisted of me driving with an experienced driver riding with me for support. My next day in the driver seat is Monday in which I guess I'll be driving alone for the first time! I'm a little nervous they're cutting the apron strings! I guess I need to get myself to REI and buy a knife to carry with me...you never know what can happen with those crazy passengers, right? It's never been a dull moment at the CUE bus!


This past week by far, has been the most eventful. I worked Monday through Thursday. Monday was pretty quiet considering it was a holiday, but after that it got all crazy! Tuesday I saw someone rear-end someone else. It wasn't bad, but the guy who was the rear-ended got his car hood all folded up. Then later on in the day, one of the drivers gets on the radio to ask for an ambulance at her location. We come to hear, that she hit someone with the bus!! Apparently, they think this lady who got hit, was trying to catch a bus on the other side of the street. She thought she could cross the street before the bus departed and dashed out in front of this driver. I didn't see it happen and I'm not sure of all the details, but it's definitely sad and scary!! It would be bad enough hitting someone with a car, but can you imagine hitting someone with a bus?! I'm not sure how the woman is doing who got hit. I think they said she's in the hospital (obviously) but I don't know much else. Then on Wednesday, I drove most of the day. During the morning, we got stuck in pretty bad traffic, and so we were running 15 minutes behind schedule. So the lady driver who was with me, took the wheel for a loop around the route to catch up time. Well she's a maniac driver as it is, plus add the fact that she was trying to catch up time, and it was kinda a scary ride. I didn't feel the need to sit and watch her since I knew the route, so since I was really tired I kinda just started snoozing. Awhile later, I open my eyes to see where we were, and she was just about to pull next to a bus stop sign. She swung in way too deep and ended up smacking the side mirror on the bus stop sign!! Glass shattered everywhere, including on the man who was waiting at the stop! He wasn't hurt, but obviously shaken. That definitely woke me up! After that happened, they brought us a new bus and she made me take the wheel again.

That experience with her driving all crazy though made me think...It would be advisable for commercial drivers to go through better training when they get CDLs. I'm not saying that all CDL holders are nuts. But I've experienced some pretty crappy bus driving. There are some drivers who accelerate really quick and then slam on their brakes to stop. There's drivers who just pull into bus stops too deep, and eventually shatter mirrors. It makes me grateful, and I think gives me an advantage, that Holland America gives their Driver Guides such good training. Or maybe it's the fact that one of the most important aspects of being a tour driver is always having the comfort of the passenger in mind. It's stressed to us that you should always Feather Brake, and to take turns slow and to not jar the people on the coach. Plus, you have to keep in mind that even though time is an issue, passenger safety is an even bigger concern. You shouldn't let your rush to keep time, endanger the passengers you're carrying. Even if you're running late, it's better to be late than dead.

Apparently, I'm also famous. I hate to say it but I'm kind of a big deal. People KNOW me. Haha. Seriously though, I guess being a cute, young, girl bus driver from Alaska gets people talking. I had a passenger the other day get off at the Metro (Washington DC's train system, not unlike the subway), turn around and say to me "Oh! You're the one from Alaska!". It was funny because I wondered who she heard it from, but I guess one of the other drivers mentioned something. Similar experience have happened to me before. People are always so impressed or intrigued that such a young girl drives buses. The more I have thought about it, the more appealing it is in some ways, to just drive a bus the rest of my life. The pay is really good (I'm starting at $16/hr, while the veteran drivers I'm sure make way more) and it's a good skill to have incase I need a fallback. The only thing though, is that I don't want to turn into those leathery, old bus drivers. I've seen the women who drive the buses and they all LOOK like bus drivers. Sun damaged skin, wrinkles everywhere, scraggly hair, frumpy oversized clothing, bus driver butt (you know what I'm talking about ;). If I do end up driving buses a lot, I REFUSE to turn into one of those creepy drivers. I will stay as fashionable as I can (for a bus driver) and will make sure I don't get fat or ruin my skin with sun damage and wrinkles.

So I came up with a short list of "You know you're a bus driver when...." things and I thought I would share. So without further ado... (this comes from both my experience in Alaska and here in Fairfax)


You Know You're a Bus Driver/Driver Guide When...

1) While it may not be the most direct way to go, you find yourself driving to places following your bus route when you're off duty.

2) You pass a historical site, and suddenly feel the urge to narrate and tell people about it.

3) As you drive through intersections (while off-duty), the booming "announcer man voice" plays in your head "Now approaching Fairfax Circle" or wherever you happen to be at the time (this happens to me, and makes me sad, lol)

4) After driving in the bus and getting into your car, you watch your mirrors extensively and make sure you don't hit anything with your "tail-swing" (tail swing is virtually non-existant in a car/compact SUV/mini-van)

5) You wish you had or actually have convex mirrors on your personal car

6) You give your car a mini-pre trip before you leave in the morning


So anyway, that's all for now. This bus job is kicking my butt as far as sleep goes and being tired. In Alaska, I never really had a problem getting up in the morning for work. Probably because it never felt like work. I was surviving on an average of 6 hours a night and it didn't bother me. But now, I'm getting up sometimes at 4:15 am! Luckily, next week I'll be working afternoon routes so it won't be as hard. I am NOT a morning person.

The Last 9 Months Can't Be Contained In One Post...

Look at me! I'm on a roll! Two posts in two days!! I guess I must be bored. Abby and Trent left to go back to Texas, and I have yet another day off. Well, actually it's more like half a day off since I'll be working at 6pm. It was really sad for me to see them go. They've been keeping me company for the last month and it's a hard adjustment. It was fun to have them around. We got to do all sorts of fun things. We actually went shopping a lot, mostly because of Christmas. I almost dread the holiday season here in Fairfax. The traffic is TERRIBLE. After living in Alaska with barely any traffic and Skagway not even having stop lights, it's a huge change. It takes forever to get anywhere around here! One day, Abby, Trent and I went to Tyson's Corner Mall which is about a 20 minute drive under normal circumstances. Driving there wasn't bad, a little traffic but not much delay. Well on our return trip home, it was 'rush hour' and a 20 minute drive took 3 hours!! I had to break out my GPS to find a back road way to get home in order to avoid taking the highway. As a general rule though, here in Fairfax, traffic is generally just bad. Some days are better than other days, but it usually just takes longer to get places. A lot of times it's just because the traffic lights take forever. You can wait at some of them for as long as 5 minutes! Not to mention the crazy drivers too! Some people just shouldn't be allowed to drive. I'm a firm believer that when someone renews their license they should have to retake the written exam too. It would force people to refresh their memories on how to drive properly. For example, just yesterday I almost had an accident with another car as I was turning out of a shopping center. I was at a red light and looking to turn right. It was a double-lane road and my turning lane was clear, so I began to make my turn. Out of the blue, a car in the left lane, decided to change lanes in the intersection and almost side-swiped me. The driver then proceeded to honk at me! Now I will admit, that if the result had been an accident, it probably would've been my fault. BUT people are always in such a hurry, trying to weave in and out of traffic that it poses unnecessary danger to others. Had the other driver waited until he'd gotten out of the intersection BEFORE changing lanes, a possible accident could've been averted. One other thing I've noticed about the drivers here in VA that I haven't noticed anywhere else is their turning methods. So say you're turning left onto a road with two lanes going in each direction. Are you not supposed to turn into the innermost (i.e. left) lane? Then if you need to, you may merge into the outer (right) lane? Well apparently, people here in VA do it backwards. It's nothing horribly dangerous I suppose, but it's a little thing that irks me. I'm a professional driver, so I guess driving flaws are more noticeable to me than to other people. Moving on...

As an early Christmas present, Trent gifted me WoW and bought my first months subscription. He had tried getting Abby into it, but she didn't really like it. I was his next recruit. So I started playing, and I must admit, I still don't really see the point of it BUT it is a pretty fun game. I haven't decided whether or not I will pay the $15/month to keep playing, but I'm tempted. I guess it depends on how much time I'll have to play. Once both jobs kick in, I'll potentially be working 7 days a week. I won't be able to play in Alaska at all since the game runs on Internet and Skagway Internet would not be able to run the game fast enough. I guess we'll see, but I suggest everyone should at least try it.

After Christmas was over, came the New Year! I can't believe it's 2010! I remember when 2000 rolled around! All the silly hype about Y2K! How people thought all the computers would crash with the Y2K virus. Or that they wouldn't be able to calculate the year 2000. I remember my Dad had to stay at work that night to monitor the computer systems and so me, my sister and my Mom all went to his office. We brought our traditional New Years party snacks and celebrated 2000 in the conference room. How things have changed! I was 12 years old then, barely even knew how to navigate the internet and now here I am about to turn 23!! Gosh I'm getting old! I wonder if I would have admired myself back then, if I knew how I would turn out in 10 years? I wonder how my life will be when the year turns 2020? As for my projects these next few months, I need to get back on my diet. I've kept off the 20 pounds I lost last winter, but I think I need to drop another 20 pounds or so. I also need to start saving money in order to buy a car to take to Alaska. In the Fall, I plan on returning to school somewhere. I'm considering Western Washington University if I can get in. If not then I'll either try a community college or do Independent Study through BYU. I doubt I'll be returning to Virginia or the East Coast for awhile. I love the East, but I need a change of scenery to decide where I really want to be. I'd obviously like to graduate college, but I really want to move up with REI and eventually become a store manager. We'll see where the wind takes me!

Harassment Pays Off

So yet again, I've been harassed to write a new blog entry. I'm terrible at writing frequent entries, unless I have something interesting to write about. I guess this time I'll just make some updates as to what I've been doing for the last 9 months....

First off I went back to Alaska for 5 months. It was a total blast as usual! I was so happy to be back. Skagway has almost become my real home. The second the plane landed, I felt immense relief and happiness to be back where I belong. It was cool going back as a second year driver too. I started out doing local tours again, but then I got roped into doing highway tours since they were short on drivers and I knew how to run them. In the '08 season, I tried doing highway and hated it. I didn't like leaving all the time and living out of a suitcase. This year however, since most of my good buddies (i.e. Helen and Donnie) didn't come back to AK, I didn't mind leaving. Not to mention, the local Skagway drivers weren't getting as many hours this season as we had been getting in '08 so I made more money there, plus WAY more money in tips! I've realized that local tours are too inconsistent as far as tips go. One week you could do really well, the next week you could get totally stiffed. Highway is much better since you're spending multiple days with your passengers, resulting in a better relationship, resulting with them giving you more money.

After highway was over, I was stuck in Skagway for a month doing local tours which kinda sucked money wise, but was fun to enjoy the town. I got to hang out more with some friends I hadn't seen much all summer, plus go hiking up to the glaciers too!!

Glaciers are gorgeous! Especially when they're sporting an OM NOM NOM cave!

In August, my parents came to visit also!! They were there for about a week. I only got to see them for like 3 days since I still had to run my highway tours. But they did a bunch of tours, and got to see where we all hang out. Plus, they were able to ride on one of my highway tours partway up to Whitehorse. It was fun having them onboard!

Mom, Dad and I on a bike tour down the White Pass!!

Once the season was over, Bethany and I decided to take the ferry from Skagway to Bellingham, WA. The managers shut down employee housing early, so we had to take an early ferry out of Skagway to Juneau. We were in Juneau for 3 days! It ended up being a LONG time in Juneau since we didn't have a car and were restricted to the downtown area. Now you may think that there would be plenty of things to do in Juneau, but the tourist season was practically over so most of the attractions were closed, had limited hours or were only open on the weekend. Plus downtown Juneau, while historical, was basically like Skagway on steroids with a McDonald's thrown in. None of the shops we came across were unique (most stores had a location in Skagway too) and it was all the same touristy merchandise I'd seen a billion times in Skagway. Below is a picture of Juneau from the mountain top:

So after an eternally long time in Juneau, it was time for the eternally long ferry ride to Bellingham!! Luckily, a couple other friends joined me and Bethany for the ride. The ride was basically 3 days and 3 nights!! We had plenty of en

tertainment though. We had both bought a couple TV seasons to watch, and I loaded my iPhone up with games to play. During the ride, the ferry stops at lots of towns as it makes its way to Bellingham, so we had plenty of opportunity to get off. Plus we got to see more of Southeast Alaska. We stopped in Sitka, Petersburg, and Ketchikan. All of them just like Skagway! Haha. But the ride was gorgeous and I got to take a lot of pictures!!

The wake from the ferry:

Sunrise on the Ferry!

Whales!!!

After the ferry ride, Bethany and I arrived in Bellingham and got picked up by our friend Chelsea, who was also in Alaska with us. She gave us the tour around town. Showed us the hotspots, and we met up with Rose, another co-worker from Alaska. It was fun to be back in civilization! We went to a movie, got to eat real food and enjoy real shops!! We went out to this place called Larabee Park. It looked a lot like The Point in Skagway with similar landscape and views. I didn't want to leave Skagway at all, so it kinda made me homesick. But we found some starfish in the water which was so cool!!

So after 3 days in B-ham, Bethany and I rode the bus to Seattle and went our separate ways. Well actually, we both went to the same place (Baltimore) but my flight was later in the day. I decided this winter that I would live at home to save money, so here I am in Fairfax, VA. I'd thought about the idea of possibly just collecting unemployment for the winter, but then I'd really have nothing to do to occupy my time. So I ended up getting a job at REI, which if you don't know, is an outdoor sporting goods store. It's kinda like the Nordstrom of sporting goods. It's a really awesome place to work!! The company is on the "Fortune 500 Top 100 Companies to Work For" list and it's easy to see why. Not only do they help provide health insurance (even for part-time employees), but they give you great discounts on gear. I get 30% off gear I buy from REI, except for the actual REI brand gear which I get 50% off. I can also buy directly from the manufacturer's for an even better discount (more commonly known as ProDeal). ProDealing is addicting because it's usually 60-75% off the retail price. Since REI is just part-time, I also got a job driving buses for a public transportation company. I'm still in training for that job though, since it took awhile for all the logistics to be completed. But it pays $16 an hour and it's a good filler job for extra money.

Now that's its after the holidays, it'll be good to settle down for a few months. Abby and Trent were here for almost a month. They leave tomorrow :(. And in 3.5 months, I'll be going back to Alaska!! I'm planning on driving up this year. My world was shattered a few months ago when I found out that HAPA has decided to only run highway out of Fairbanks this year! It's a terrible decision if you ask me, and now I will be reduced to only doing local tours in Skagway. But I'm hoping with a car, that I'll be able to enjoy Alaska more and be able to travel more too.

It's Been Awhile

So I'm sure some of you have been clamoring for a new blog post of mine. Not that my life is super exciting. Nothing much is new lately. I'm still in New York but there's a light at the end of the tunnel to end my monotonous past 6 months. I'm leaving in about a week to go home to DC!! I will be in DC for about 2 weeks, and will then fly to Utah. I will be in Utah to visit Abby and Trent (even though they're coming to AK also) for a couple days and will then ride on the company buses to Seattle. Then it's only a short 3 hours flying to Skagway!! Woo-who!! 

I did have a bit of bad new today though. My friend Helen was going to come up after she found out she wasn't getting this internship she applied for. So I was all excited, but then she tells me today that she did get the internship after all, and will be doing that instead. Now don't get me wrong, I am super excited for her to have this opportunity (and it's in Germany!) but I was so disappointed to put it mildly. But then I remembered my other friend Amber who is coming up! I've known her for 8 years from middle school. A couple months ago out of the blue, she asked about Alaska and said she'd be interested in coming up this summer. So I sent her a bunch of links to jobs in Skagway and she was hired by one last week! So as much as I'll miss Helen, it'll be fun to hang with Amber (who I also haven't seen in a good 2-3 years).

So right now I'm just working on getting ready to go. I need to start a packing list of stuff to bring, which I think will mostly be clothing. I thought about bringing beauty/personal stuff, but figured I can get most everything in Skagway or have it shipped so why waste the luggage space? OH! And I got a matching rolling duffel bag that goes with this cute plaid duffel I got in AK last summer so now I have matching luggage!! I know that's super dorky, but it's cute and I don't have to tie some stupid ribbon on my suitcases cause they're so individual! 

So if you go back in my blog about a year, you might find a post on weight loss. Well needless to say I caved and quit the diet before I went to Alaska. Well since I've been in New York and have had nothing else to do, I started my own program in February and have since lost 15 pounds! I basically just count calories, nothing fancy. I use the WebMD website for help and reference and it's been going really well! I realized today that my conviction towards being healthy has been helped along by the fact that I don't do much besides babysitting my niece so all my energy goes into this diet. I've been exercising more, and feeling so much better. The only downfall (which is actually a good thing also) is that all my clothing has gotten to big and I've had to buy new stuff. And this leads me into my secret that...

I am going to allot some of my Alaska earnings and go on a shopping spree after I get home in the Fall!! I'm going to need new jeans, and all sorts of things. Plus I would like to buy a little bit of jewelry and want to get a couple things from Tiffanys. Yea I know, I'm splurging lol. My goal right now is to lose about 6-8 more pounds before I leave for AK, and then continue my goal once I get there. So cross your fingers for real this time! Cause I might need it!

This year in AK is going to be so much more fun I think. My friends and I have plans to go camping (among the bears and moose) and I want to go to Whitehorse more often. And my goal this year is to see those elusive Aurora!! Three of my friends are going to have cars, so I think we'll have to make trips up to Dawson City more often. That's where the lights are mostly seen. I really need to see them this year! I'm also toying with the idea to visit Juneau more often. At least go down once. It's a 3-hour ferry ride and they do whale watching there. That's also something I'd like to see one of these days.

So there you go. A basic summary of what's going on. I don't feel like sharing anymore, so go away. Thanks!

Indie Wears Salomon Hiking Boots

Far away from any major civilization in Southeast Alaska, lies the small town of Skaguay. Skagway was a famous port town during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, which supposedly is quite well known (though I had never heard about it). Hundreds of thousands of men came up to this remote place to find the supposed gold that lay hidden 500 miles north in the deserted Yukon Territory. Only a few found wealth, the rest died on the treacherous trail, or came back empty handed.

That was then, this is now. Today, Skaguay is a bustling tourist town. Visited daily by cruise ships sailing around the better ports in Alaska, toting old fogies around who have saved all their lives on order to take this trip. Coming to Alaska is said to be the adventure of a lifetime. About 500,000 people come each season, and it is quite the unique place. Which brings me to my purpose.

One day, I was off work, hanging out, minding my own business when my friend Bethany tells me that apparently Harrison Ford was visiting the town. With him was longtime girlfriend Calista Flockheart and her son. I was a little intrigued. I'd heard about famous people coming to Skaguay to visit, for example Kevin Bacon, but I never thought I would be here when some random celeb showed up. Bethany however, wanted to search for Mr. Ford, and I agreed just out of curiosity to see if we could actually find him. All we knew was that he had flown his own plane into town, and was out and about. We found out that he had ridden the White Pass and Yukon Route train, but had since gone on his merry way. We hoped maybe he would pop into some of the shops, and since downtown Skaggs isn't that large (one street about 1

0 blocks long), it seemed we'd be able to find him easily. So we went up one side of the street, then down the other with no luck. Bethany had the idea that maybe he had stopped in the Skagway Brewing Company for a drink (or to try their famous Spruce Tip Ale), so we went in that direction. We arrived at the Brew Co. and got a drink, and looked around the room, but saw nothing. After about an hour of searching for the elusive man, we gave up and headed home. 

After arriving home, my other friend Donald said he wanted to buy some rock climbing gear, and so I decided to go with him. By now I'm pretty sure every person who lived in Skaguay had heard he was in town, and a few people had gotten pictures of him, but I doubted I would run into him. So Donnie and I went over to The Mountain Shop which sells more rugged camping and outdoor gear, including rock climbing harnesses and shoes. After looking at their selection, I was wandering around the store, when who should walk in, but Mr. Indiana Jones himself!! I couldn't believe it! It took me a second to realize it was him, he was sporting a beard and sunglasses as well as one of those hats with the big brim around it, one would wear in the sun or for water activities (see below):

Once I had gotten over the shock of seeing Harrison Ford in this little town, I immediately sent a message to Bethany to get her butt over to The Mountain Shop ASAP! Donnie and I continued to watch him covertly, and overheard he was in the store looking for socks. The ones he had on were giving him blisters or something. So we watched as he went into the dressing room at the store and started trying them on. The sales guy asked him what kind of boots he wore and Indie said they were Salomon. I was kinda surprised because I never thought Salomon's were all that good of a brand. But to each his own I guess. Bethany arrived and joined us. At one point, I was standing in line to purchase something and Mr. Indiana Jones himself was right in front of me making his purchase of socks. I really wanted his credit card receipt but couldn't get it of course. I never got the courage to talk to him, partially because I didn't want to annoy him, but I wish I had said something. After he left, everyone was just like "Um did Harrison Ford really just come in here?".

The next day, I had to work and we heard that Harrison was still in town, but that it was his last day. I didn't expect to see him again, but just as I was driving out of town with a tour group, who should I see walking on the sidewalk was Mr. Ford (with Calista) yet again! I really wanted to say something to my group, but by the time I realized it was him we had already gone past and it was too late. And then that was that. He flew out that evening to who knows where. And that my friends is my brush with a major celeb. 

Obsession

So once every two years, I get the exciting opportunity to pick out a new cell phone. With all the abundance of new models, I often have a hard time choosing which one to get. Do I go for something more stylish? Something with more function? Blackberry? LG? Samsung? What to do?

It all started when I was about 14 years old. The cell phone was just starting to become mainstream, in that the normal person could get a cellular phone instead of just corporate big-wigs. A few of my friends had gotten them, and I wanted one soooooo bad!! I would search constantly on Amazon for cool phones I wanted. I knew my parents would never let me do one with a contract, and it was then I discovered the pay-as-you-go plans. I think it was AT&T who first cam up with the GO Phone, where you could pay as little as $10 for a card with 30 minutes of talk time. At 14, I knew I would never use a lot of minutes, I would mainly use the phone for emergencies or incase I needed to stay after school for some reason. So I saved my money and I began to prepare a list of the pros to having a cell phone to convince my parents. Then luck struck! Amazon was running a deal where I could get a prepaid phone for free with rebates!! It was a few weeks before my birthday, so that in addition with my "pros" list, my parents went ahead and ordered the phone for me as a present. I was so excited the day it arrived! I assembled everything and the next morning my mom called AT&T to get it activated! I was the proud new owner of a cell phone!

Then, a couple years later when my sister left for college, my parents decided to get cell phones for us all on a family plan on Verizon Wireless. I got the popular Motorola "bean" phone. It was so awesome. I discovered how to text and I didn't have to do the silly prepaid thing any more. After a year though I started to get bored with it, my sister having gotten a COLOR screen phone (that was the new technology then), and I decided I wanted to upgrade too. My sister had somehow convinced the Verizon guys to let her upgrade early. I wasn't so lucky and had to buy mine on Ebay (the LG VX6000) for a lot of money. But I was content to have one of the coolest phones on the market, and I loved it. Then a year after that I left for college and got to upgrade again. This time it was an Audiovox flip phone. I liked it for two weeks, then I hated it. It was super bulky and not really any better than my LG, so I got another new phone on Ebay which was also an Audiovox, but much more streamlined. It was a good phone. Even more technology advances were made over that time in phones like the addition of MP3 players, higher megapixel cameras, and improved internet. I was excellent at texting, people were always commenting on how fast my fingers flew around the key pad. I began researching the phones I would get to replace my Audiovox and I really wanted to stick with LG. LG had already served me well, their phones are good quality and hold up well. It was still a hard choice since most phones all had the same features. But I ended up with the LG VX8700 which I've kept the whole two years. I've never had any complaints with it, and never got bored which was a problem with phones I had before.

So now the time has arrived for me to get another new phone. Now the technology is focusing around touch screens. The hot phone of the moment was the Apple iPhone which was an iPod, phone and internet device rolled into one. I wouldn't mind getting and iPhone, but I hate AT&T so until Verizon carries it I won't get it. But I liked the idea of a touch screen, and was all set on trying out the LG Dare, which was definitely not at the same level as the iPhone, but seemed pretty cool anyway. I'd always wanted to get a Blackberry also, but didn't want to spend an extra $30 a month for the higher plan. But then news reached my ears about this new Blackberry coming out that was a touch screen phone, the Blackberry Storm. I was super excited to see it. The touch screen was different than any other phone. Instead of tapping the screen, you actually pushed down on it, which sounded really cool to me. It was said to be the iPhone killer, which while it competes there will always be those diehard loyal fanatics who will never let the iPhone die anyway. But after reading Cnet.com's review and user reviews I wasn't sure about the Storm. It was released to early in order to make the Christmas market and therefore had/has some bugs. But reading more and more reviews it seems like the bugs have been worked out. Apparently it has a slow accelerometer and the camera sucks. Fortunately, though Verizon has a 30 day policy to choose a phone, so if I don't like it I'll get the LG Dare. But I think it'll really be useful in Alaska with internet. I pay $60/month for limited megabyte, slow as molasses internet. With a Blackberry I'll pay $30 extra on my phone bill with almost full browsing capabilities. 

But the point of this blog isn't really a review of the Storm, just mainly a chronicle of people's enthusiasm for new technology. And if you think I'm bad, remember there are millions that are a million times worse! Those weird "techies" who constantly have to have the most current hot electronic toy. I remember when portable CD players were all the rage and when the iPod came out I thought it was stupid. I figured, what's the big deal about carrying around a folder of CD's? HA! How wrong I was! It's amazing to see my 100+ selection of CD's shrunk down into a pocket size device! I currently have 1,951 songs, which averages out to over 150 CD's! And now we have cell phones that take pictures, shoot video, play music, browse the internet, give us directions, look up nearby restaurants, and more. Amazing isn't it?

Photo Contest

So if you hadn't heard, I recently won a photo contest! The contest was from the White Pass and Yukon Route train company. The WPYR is the train in Skagway, AK where I work in the summer. So basically they have this contest that runs to the end of each year and anyone can submit photos of the train or having to do with the train. There are 10 winners each year and the winning photos are used in publications and advertisement for the company. So I submitted a few photos and low and behold one of them was chosen as a winner(see picture above)!! The link to the winner page is below, as well as a link to a page where they are already using my photo(it's pretty easy to spot)! 

http://wpyr.com/multimedia/photocontest.html

http://wpyr.com/brochures/english.html

Gripe Session

It has been brought to my attention that I need to write something new in my blog. Apparently people are tired of reading about my hair fiasco (you know who you are). So in an attempt to keep things fresh I am going to tell you all about my recent escapades.

Really though, my life isn't super exciting. Yes I am still in New York City where I plan on staying until a couple weeks before I go to Alaska in April. I'm still babysitting a few days a week for my sister and I have also added one day a week babysitting for someone else. The real excitement came in December when I found a job in a photo store on Craig's List. I got a call the next day after emailing my resume, and went in for the interview. It went well, the guy said when I got back into the city after Christmas, to call him and he'd have me come in. So after the holidays I called him up and oddly, he hardly even remembered me. After sort of an awkward convo, he said he'd call me when they needed someone, and so a week later I was happy to get a call from him. I went in a few days later and began to train for the job. It was a lot to remember at first, but I got the hang of it after the first day. The job didn't seem so bad, until the owner of the store came back from vacation. The owner is Hungarian and apparently doesn't like it when people stand around...ever. You constantly have to be doing something, otherwise he'll yell at you for not doing anything. I learned that I needed to look busy every time he came around and when he was occupied with something else I could relax. I took to hiding in the basement, anally reorganizing all the printer inks just so I wasn't in his overly watchful eye. After the third day working there however, my manager (the guy who originally interviewed me) hadn't given me any sort of schedule, he just said to call the following week and we'd talk. So I called, and they didn't need me during the week, but might need me Saturday. So I called again on Friday (today) and was told they were covered and to call back Monday. Well needless to say, I've gotten pretty fed up with it all. I realize I'm in a "trial" period, but if they really need someone, wouldn't they want to use me? So I'm honestly debating whether or not to even call back on Monday or just focus on getting another job. It's hard though because since I work most of the week babysitting, I really just need a job on the weekends and it's hard to find such a job. So my best bet right now is to work on getting a couple extra babysitting jobs to fill in a little. I mean this whole ordeal with the camera store has just been odd. The manager dude hasn't trained me in anything(some fellow employees have shown me some of what I need to know), hasn't told me any store protocol, rules, or told me what the pay periods are. Yes I should ask (especially after all this time has gone by), but I shouldn't have to ask, as proper training should go over that kind of thing. But no, I get nothing, nada, zip. Maybe deep down, I don't want to work there. It is rather stressful with that Hungarian dude running around. And to be honest the only thing I've missed from this job is the money I could be making. 

Moving on, I just want to say how happy I am to finally have a competent president in office!! Woo! I had tears in my eyes the whole time (which reminds me of something else I need to talk about...more below). I feel so much more positive about our country and where we will end up after Obama makes positive changes. I think the whole country is happier (well the Dems at least). Although, the 'pubes probably aren't happy anyway. It's so pathetic that people are still complaining about Obama being president. GET OVER IT!! He's president whether you like him or not. Unless he screws up big time and gets impeached, he's not going anywhere! I for one am excited to see that he's already making changes (tax breaks anyone?). I honestly don't get the logic that conservatives have for being conservative. It just doesn't make sense to me. Even celebrities who make tons of money, and pay more in taxes under liberal reigns support him. For example, Oprah will be paying about $9 million more in taxes than she does now with Obama, but if McCain had won, she'd be paying like $8 million LESS. So obviously, Obama's got some pretty good views for our country if people are willing to pay that much more in taxes (even though $9 million is probably pocket change to Oprah). Oh and while I'm on the subject of politics, can I just say how much I hate Ann Coulter? Seriously, if you've ever listened to her speak, you come out of it with no understanding of what she was talking about. She has this new book basically saying that single-motherhood is the main cause of people to commit crimes. I was watching a clip of her on The View a few days ago, and basically if you argue with her, she just shouts over you and you can never get a word in. I'm pretty sure that's her tactic. That's probably how she gets book deals, she'll just talk over the publisher until they give in. I mean, what dumbo actually buys her books and agrees with her? Like that one she wrote called "Godless" about the women of 9/11 who lost husbands, and Miss Ugly 'Pube claims they're exploiting their loss to make money? Well what are you doing Miss Coulter, if not exploiting 9/11?

And last but not least, remember when I said I was teary eyed during the Inauguration? Well it reminded me of something. I've been thinking about this for some time, but the last few years I get all misty-eyed over everything. And I wondered what is different that all of a sudden I'm all emotional all the time? Well I just chalk it up to hormones and stupid puberty that even makes my eyes water at some cheesy, tug-at-your-heart-strings commercial. Hormones that make me cry like a baby at the end of the 4th and 5th Harry potter movies (and the 6th and 7th books). Seriously, wtf? For Pete's sake, don't mention anything sad to me, ever!! HAHA

So that, my friends is the end of my random blog. If I remember, I will try to post something a little more thought out and interesting. But now it's late, and I'm going to bed!!

A Happy Sight!

So I don't think I ever mentioned my hair fiasco. What a mistake! If you hadn't heard already, I now have like dirty blonde, reddish hair. This is of course entirely my fault. See, one day my mom and I went to this outlet mall. We went over to the J. Crew outlet, and one of the sales girl's had a nice shade of blonde hair. My mom commented about how nice it was, and the girl told us what color she used. Just Loreal Preference out of the box. It was a nice shade, and I figured it would look good on me. So a couple days later at Wal-mart, I made the decision that I would try it. As most know, I already have light blonde hair, so this dye was mainly supposed to lighten it a little more. I took the dye home, and immediately got to work. I followed the directions carefully, and should've noticed when my hair was lightening up that it was turning a weird color. It was kinda a yellow, with an orange cast to it. I hoped it was just the dye and not my actual hair color. When I rinsed out the dye and dried my hair I saw this icky blonde color on my head. No, I wasn't the victim of blonde turned complete orange, but my hair just didn't look good. It was like someone had taken a yellow crayon and colored my hair with it. Needless to say, I was not happy.

So I suffered the next day, wishing I hadn't ever dyed it. I will admit that one thing I've loved is my hair. It's always soft and it was the prettiest color blonde. So became the obsession to get it back to the natural color. And because I wanted to make matters worse, I went and bought a dye stripping kit, which is basically bleach. So after applying that my hair then was completely bleach blonde. I did purchase another dye kit which was close to my natural color and planned on using it. But after I bleached my hair, I didn't want to mess it up even further. So I made an appointment that day to go to a salon and get it corrected. I didn't know how much it would cost, but I was hoping no more than $150. 

My colorist met with me and I was wearing a hat over my poor hair. I felt so bad for it! :( I brought a photo of what my hair used to be like, but it was a 4 year old photo from my senior pictures. She was shocked at my transformation, but got to work. First she did highlights, and then did a base color to darken my hair. Afterwards, she did some sort of toner shampoo, and then a quick trim. All this I still hoped wasn't going to be a ton of money. After she blew it dry, it definitely still wasn't the right color. It was a light brown with lighter brown highlights. I wasn't super happy with it, but it was a million times better than the damage I had done to it. But to add insult to injury when she rang me up, it came to $250!! I was just thinking "why the heck is it so much!?". But I thought it out (and I still feel she kinda ripped me off, or at least took advantage of my plight) and she charged me for the color, highlights, and the toner wash. Plus she charged me for a full hair cut, when it was only a trim. But whatever, I'm still kinda ticked and I have a theory. While she was working on me, she was talking to a bunch of co-workers about some new commissions system the salon had implemented. Like the more money you do in services, the more commission you get at a higher percentage. And to be honest I think that's why she did all that extra stuff. I should've asked what she would do before she did it, but she just went ahead and did all these extras things without even asking. So let's just say I learned my lesson to always ask, because she totally took advantage of my sad condition. 

But the reason I'm writing this blog anyway is because since my hair actually grows pretty fast, I can already see my roots and original hair coming through!! My hair now is still much darker than my original color, but it has lightened up quite a bit after washing it several times (and with the help of shampooing with Dawn dish liquid). But what I think I will do is let it grow out as long as I can, and then go to a salon (or hair school so it's cheaper) and have them match my original color. I still greatly regret ever messing with my hair. But I've made the mistake now, and as soon as it's back to the original color I will never mess with it again, except for getting occasional highlights.

I was going to write about something else, but my niece is now covered with cracker goo and a total mess. I must attend to her....

Ok now she's all cleaned up. Onto the next subject. Well, more like a rant and soap-box, or just venting. So recently, I've again been blasted for supporting Obama, who has won the presidency. I am very grateful and happy that he will be calling the shots. But I'm sick of people still badgering me about it. The episode occurred on Facebook and knowing how that works, you put up a status about what you are doing or thinking at the time. Well I said I was grateful for Obama and a while later received a very rude comment from someone I thought was my friend. I was shocked that he would even say such a thing especially because he's Mormon and shouldn't use words like that. Anywho, he said I was stupid to support Obama because he doesn't think more government in our lives is good. But you know what? The election is over people! Obama is going to be the next president whether you like it or not, so get OVER it!! Obviously, the current administration and Republican method is not working for us right now. We need change. Someone has to step in and take control, because things are spinning out of control! Ok I'm done now. :)

 

Just an update of my boringness....

I'm bored right now so I decided to blog something. Although I guess the previous blog pretty much sums up what I've been up to. But let's see...I got back yesterday from the Thanksgiving weekend. Like I'm sure you all know, I've been in NYC right now, so everyone went to my parents house for the holiday in Washington DC. Man, I love that city! It's just so full of history and those freakin' awesome monuments? How cool are they? Don't even get me started on Philly. And Boston is cool too. I mean the whole East Coast rocks hard core! This is where our country started folks!!

Ok moving on from my love affair of the East, but the weekend was pretty fun. I was able to get kabobs twice, but still have yet to go to Ravi Kabob which is the family favorite. Maybe over Christmas we can go there. We also went to this place in DC called the Eastern Market, which is this big outdoor market with vendors who sell everything from produce, meats, and cheese to rugs, artwork and jewelery. It was a pretty cool place! Afterwards, we went to this new burger place called Ray's. It's so under the radar that they don't even have a sign outside the joint to advertise what it is. But basically, this chef who owns a steak restaurant next door decided to open a gourmet burger place. So they sell 10 oz. burgers and then you get a side of your choice. They don't do fries, but you can get potato chips, coleslaw, etc. It was super good!! My sister and I shared a burger and got really good gourmet bleu cheese on it. Then I got these yummy kettle cooked chips that were Chesapeake Crab flavored. So that was good. And then there was this really cute guy who walked in with a couple friends who kept glancing at me. He was not only cute, but had gorgeous blue eyes! Oh man I nearly melted! lol what a dork I am. But now that place will always hold good memories for me, and hopefully if I ever return, maybe I'll see him again!

Anywho, I ended up staying in DC through Monday. My mom and I wanted to go get a Christmas Tree, but we ended up going to the National Zoo instead. You see, when I was in DC a couple weeks ago, my mom and I went to the Museum of Natural History and they have this wildlife photography exhibit sponsored by this lady, Windland Smith Rice, who is a famous wildlife photographer. It's really cool! My mom and I saw the 2007 exhibit last year and this was the new 2008 one. Basically, people submit their pictures of wildlife and the winners are displayed at the museum. So since then, it's been my goal to one day have a picture displayed in this exhibit. And that's why we decided to go to the Zoo. I would like to go many more times so I can increase my chances of a great shot. I got some good ones when I was there this time around, but nothing that would compare to what types of pictures are in this exhibit. I'm hoping the spring may be better as far as weather goes. Plus some animals don't go outside in the winter (like the elephants) so that will be better too as the elephants just stay behind their cages, and you can't have metal bars messing things up. I really hope that this year in Alaska, I can capture some great shots too. Especially the Northern Lights. That was the one thing I wanted to see, but the weather can be really hard to work with. It's almost always cloudy up there. 

Ok so then on Tuesday I got to utilize my CDL skills by driving a Penske truck up to New York City. My sister and brother-in-law had a bunch of furniture stored at my parents place that they wanted in NYC, and I got to drive it up. I'll admit it was a little freaky at first getting back in the saddle. Not so much driving the truck, but driving it in a much higher traffic area. And then I had to keep remembering that the truck was only 16' long as opposed to the buses I was driving which were 45' long. I kept thinking I needed more merging space than I really did. But all went well, and now I'm back in NYC for a bit. I still have yet to hear from any jobs. But I have now applied to some places in DC, and I think I will stay here until Christmas. I think I'll be able to scrape by until then. Like I've mentioned before, no Christmas gifts for anyone, but I think I'll have to do IOU's and wrap them or something. Whatever, I'm done blogging now. :)

Stressed...

So I'm a little stressed right now! I've come back from the Land of Utah, and am now living in NYC for a short while. And yes now I have to enter the scary world of job hunting in New York. So far I've only been there a week, so I haven't had tons of opportunity to search for jobs. Although I did apply for a job at a place called the Container Store and thought for sure it would be a shoo-in. Well I guess you can't count on the fact that you have plenty of experience, to get you a job because a week later I was sent an email saying that "they didn't have any positions to discuss with me at this time". I wasn't quite sure how to take that...did they fill all the positions (but then why were they still accepting online applications?), or did they not think I was qualified? Well blah, blah, I didn't want to work there anyway! (Well actually I did, because I really need a job in order to buy christmas gifts for people, and it would've been fun) But after that I applied to the same store, different location and hopefully their HR person won't be such a dumbo. I have all this experience in retail and customer service!! Whatever, moving on...

It's nice, but also hard to be applying to all these places online since I will soon have to call all these places to confirm they got my application. It is a cool feature to just be able to apply online though since right now I'm in Virginia for the Thanksgiving holidays and can't be running around in NYC collecting job applications. Although, some places don't accept online applications and I have to go get those. But just for my own record let me list all the places I've applied to online so far:

1. Verizon Wireless

2. Gap/Banana Repulic

3. Circuit City

4. Some place called Pylones

5. Buy Buy Baby

6. Apple Store (I really want this, I applied for like 4 different positions at all 3 NYC stores)

7. Bed, Bath and Beyond

8. Marriott

9. The Container Store

So yea lots of applications filled out. I've basically memorized all my employment info including phone numbers and addresses. I still need to take an application over to J. Crew, because as of a week ago they were hiring, although now, who knows? I should've taken it over already. But I will admit, it's a little intimidating looking for jobs in NYC, or even living there. It's nice not having to worry about a car payment, or rent (I'm living with my sister and brother-in-law, and I babysit for them in exchange for rent). I've always loved visiting New York and just chillin' for a couple days, but it's a whole new ballgame living there. Now that the holidays are coming up, I won't have any money to buy gifts, if I don't get a job soon. I won't have any money for anything. So much for saving money in Alaska. I was able to earn enough for my digital SLR, and my Macbook and to pay off debt and stuff, but now I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. (learned my lesson this season, don't get sucked into The North Face!) So if anyone has any more places I can apply to, feel free to suggest something. Oh and I've applied to three temp employment places (the temp employment is apparently slow right now, I assume because of the economy). I've also posted myself on Craig's List as a nanny/babysitter. I wish my harp skills were up to par and then I could hire myself out for weddings and stuff. But being that I was in Alaska for so long without a harp, and now my harp stays in Virginia with my parents, I have barely enough time to get up to speed on Christmas music.

But now it's late, and I didn't intend on staying up so long. I took the pleasure in coming up with the perfect blog address and had to change it. And then I had to write a new blog since I haven't written one in awhile. But now I must stop and go to bed...I think my dad is going to torture me tomorrow and get me up at like 8am >:(

NIKON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Recently watching TV I have been seeing a lot of Nikon commercials. It's that whole series endorsed by Ashton Kutcher. Now at first I liked them, but now I find them more and more annoying(the commerials, not so much the cameras...well maybe some of the cameras). And you know me, I'm constantly trying to protect the sanctity of cameras. 

So when I first see the commercial for the new Nikon D90, it does sound like a good camera, 12 megapixels, the D80's update(I liked the D80), slightly faster, blah, blah, blah. But then they say it has Video Mode that shoots HD movie!! Wait! Say what?! Video mode?! Why on earth would a digital single lens reflex camera need video mode? I'm sorry but that's just not the point of an SLR! Thank goodness this camera isn't high-end. These stupid consumers who want to be just like professionals with their little dSLR's. And now they want stupid video mode? I mean, I love video mode on my little point-and-shoot as much as the next person, but I would not want my camera taking energy and function away from my still shooting. And those who get the D90 to shoot video should be ashamed of themselves. It's like those rich people who buy $8,000 cameras just because they can, even though they don't know how to use it, and their pictures turn out mediocre. As if they thought they could get better pictures just because they have an awesome camera. It makes me want to vomit! j/k But no, seriously if Canon ever thinks of putting video mode in their cameras, I might disown them!! I think I will write them an email....

Proposition 8

Yes of course I have to blog about this. I've gotten pretty worked up over it. Maybe I've gotten so worked up that I have a disproportionate view, but I don't think so. It's a huge issue here in Utah because of the high concentration of LDS people. I don't want this to be too long, but I feel I must get this off my chest, and out in the open. I'm sure I'll get some flack for it but whatever...

First off, I actually think Prop 8 is kind of silly. It seems like all we are fighting about is one word, "marriage". If Prop 8 does not pass, then civil unions between same-sex couples will be deemed a marriage. So we're wasting all this money on a single word to be applied to same sex civil unions? Yea...there are many other more important causes we could spend money on...like helping 3rd world countries, or improving the environment.

Moving on, of course being an LDS Democrat, I'm kinda torn on the whole same-sex thing anyway. On one hand, being LDS, I obviously don't agree with the homosexual lifestyle. But on a different level, I feel they deserve the same rights, status and privileges heterosexual couples get. I'm absolutely in love with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights and it's shameful how we often forget about these important, fundamental documents our country was founded upon. If it hadn't been for these papers, our country would not be what it is today. Specifically a passage from the Declaration of Independence states-

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

So who are we to say, "No you cannot have a civil union because you are of the same sex."? I've gotten ahold of a few reasons our society would be doomed if Prop 8 does not pass. And I present them below.

1. Children in school will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.

     -There has been talk that parents are not allowed to pull their kids out of school if there is material being taught they would rather their children not hear. I think that children should know that there are same-sex couples out there. I am also living proof that you can support same-sex marriage and still support the church. I feel in my conscience that is the right position for me, and I will teach my children tolerance for all lifestyles even if my religious beliefs don't necessarily agree. And who says you can't pull your kids out of school? If it means that much, school districts will usually allow you to enroll your child in another district, or you could enroll them in a private school or even home school them. This is similar to the whole issue about teaching evolution in school, or stopping the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance because it talks about God. Plus, whatever happened to the PTA? Or to School Board meetings where parents could go and voice their opinions about various things?

2. Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide same-sex couple housing, even if counter to church doctrine.

     -This is absolutely not a valid issue. A PRIVATELY funded school has the right to do whatever they see fit, without pressure from the government. That's the whole point that it's PRIVATE! It's not in any part, owned by the government. It's like saying the government is going to force you to allow someone in your PRIVATE home. They can do that if they want to compensate you (see Amendment 3 of the Bill of Rights), but otherwise it's a private matter. There is a PUBLIC college (the name escapes me right now) that is considered a Jewish school. It is not private however, so in that case, then yes this school would eventually have to allow same-sex couples housing (which actually might just be allowing same-sex couples to live in the married housing). That's the point though, they cannot discriminate because they are partially funded by the government, and the government has a say.

3. It will cost you money. This change will bring about a cascade of lawsuits. (e.g. photographers cannot refuse to take pictures of gay couples, doctors cannot refuse to artificially inseminate gays, even given other willing doctors)

     -So isn't one of our whole ideals is that we cannot discriminate against anyone regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender? Isn't that Fair Employment Act thing at the bottom of every job application you fill out? So as I am a photographer, if I refuse to take photographs of a gay couple, aren't I discriminating against them? So basically they have the right to sue me. Yes I have the right to refuse, but they also have to right to react to my decision. As much as some might say it isn't about not tolerating same-sex couples, this reason seems to me all about intolerance of the same-sex lifestyle. We have a choice but we also have to deal with any consequences. That's free agency.

4. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriage may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines.

     -This is a potential issue. But because of our beloved Bill of Rights, the First and one of the most important Amendments is freedom of speech. Now it has been stated that the First Amendment may not necessarily apply to "hate speech". But in conjunction with Amendment 2, Freedom of Religion, this could protect ministers from lawsuits. In addition, you can call being gay a religion as well. And I could be in error saying this next sentence because I seem to have a fault with always wanting to see the good in people, but I don't think that the "gays" are out to get us "straight" people. Yes there are going to be a select few who might want to sue over every reason, but they just want the same rights and status as heterosexual couples. Some fear that homosexuals will try to force their lifestyle on the world, but this is absolutely not the case. All the gay people I've known have never tried to force their lifestyle on me, and sometimes even joke about it themselves. They are sometimes even more tolerant than us "heteros". 

There are a few more reasons in this list, but right now it's 12:30am and I'm too tired to type more. Maybe in the next few days I will address the rest. This whole situation seems very familiar to me...hmmmm where have I seen this before? Could it be from the 1970's when Blacks were fighting for Civil Rights? Could we go through all these reasons and substitute "blacks" for "gays"? Could all these have been issues back then? Has the passing of Civil Rights for ALL people regardless of race ruined our country? The answer to all questions is "yes" except for the last one which of course is "no". I honestly don't see any difference between what is happening now, as opposed to what happened during the Civil Rights movement. Yes there were some bumps along the road of integration, but it's all pretty smooth now. There will always be opposition in the things we do, because that's the beauty of our country. We have the blessing of being able to think whatever we want and being able to worship however we want. As LDS members, "We claim the privilege of worshipping the Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow ALL men to the same privilege, let them worship how where or what they may."

     

Creeped Out

Right now it's midnight and I'm in my room. Big G (my grandma for those who don't know) has this doorbell that when you ring it, it plays two songs. There's a song for the back door and one for the front. I'm not sure what the deal is, but it would appear that the doorbell wiring has shorted or something because it will randomly play a note or two. Well occasionally it'll play like 1/4 of the song and then just cut out! Eeek!! Needless to say I'm a little freaked out. Apparently Big G heard it at 3am last night! 

Of course it starts right around Halloween, and adds to the fact that I've always been a little afraid of my grandmas house for some reason. It really doesn't make sense that I should be afraid of it. No one has died in the house except my grandpa, who was a fantastic man and I can't imagine he would be haunting the house. Also my grandparents built the house, so they are the only ones who have ever lived here. 

I've had this fear for as long as I can remember. To give you a picture of the layout, there are two bedrooms on the first floor, and there is a bedroom in the basement. When my family would visit, my grandparents of course had their room on the first floor, and my parents would stay in the other upstairs bedroom. Us kids would then have to sleep either in the basement bedroom (which was usually my older sister and brother since they were more "seasoned"), or they had a hide-a-bed (bed in a couch, occupied by me and my other older sister) which was located in the basement "family room". I typically would feel fine when I slept upstairs. But when I had to sleep in the basement, even in the bedroom down there, I would always feel like I was being watched. Even when it was just me and my mom visiting and she was downstairs with me (since often there were quite a lot of family staying) I could never shake it. Plus the house would always make strange noises and I just didn't feel comfortable. I figured when I got older I would grow out of it, but even now as I'm almost 22 I still get uneasy feelings here. I get it upstairs (more so when all the lights are off and I'm staring down the dark hallway), but usually it's still the basement that gets me. I used to shower at night and most of the time everyone had gone to bed by the time I was finished, and there are several dark storage rooms down there where there could easily be someone or something lurking. I will say though, one time(only a year ago) I was in Big G's room watching TV. My mom came in for a brief second, turned to leave and right as she was about to go through the door, a wind chime ACROSS the room started swinging and chiming. Now I'm not about to use that as evidence that the place is haunted. My mom had been over there and could have brushed the wind chime with her head. But what we thought was weird was that it didn't start chiming until several seconds later, where it should've started chiming as soon as my mom brushed it(if indeed she did). Plus there was no window open where the wind could blow it, nor were the floor vents blowing. Hmmmm..... 

So again I've constantly wondered why this house creeps me out so much. As far as I know it's been a place of happiness, so there shouldn't be a reason why it would feel this way. I'm one of those people who's really into ghosts, but the thought of actually seeing one scares the crap out of me. I've gotten into this show called Ghost Hunters and watching that has educated me a little bit on the subject of the paranormal. What I like about this show over other ones of the same type is that they use scientific devices to catch hauntings. They don't just go into a place and "feel" that it's haunted. They use video cameras, thermal cameras, EMF detectors, and sound recorders to solidify the presence of a spirit. They say about 80% of locations people claim to be haunted really aren't (or they just didn't get any proof). One tool that I'd like to get my hands on is the EMF detector. EMF stands for Electromagnetic Field. It's basically energy that some believe are spirits trying to manifest (or show themselves). The only issue with this tool, is that it also picks up electricity. You can usually tell if what the EMF is picking up is a bonafied spirit, or just electricity by moving the device around. If it seems like the "reading" is coming from the wall or a light socket then it's obviously man-caused. However, sometimes the energy field seems like it's just floating in mid-air, with no apparent source. This would indicate that something is trying to manifest. So long story short (too late) I'd like to use this device to see whether or not there's a strong EMF field coming from somewhere in the basement. You see, it's not usual that wires, sockets, lights, or electrical boxes have EMF readings. Even though there's electricity flowing through them all the time, good electrical devices block the EMF's from "seeping" out. The reason for this, is because high EMF's can cause sickness, uneasiness and a feeling of being watched for those who are sensitive to it. If the EMF is really high, even people who normally wouldn't be affected can still sense it. So not to say that when my grandparents built the house they used crappy electrical stuff (although who knows since it was built over 50 years ago). But there could easily be an EMF leak somewhere and I wonder (well more like hope) that this is the cause of my fear. Although, it could be as silly as my brother or mischievous cousins, scaring me at some point and then as a result me being scared the rest of my life. You'd think I'd remember that though if it caused such a huge effect on me. 

But wow, this turned into one silly thing as the doorbell short circuiting, to a long essay about Big G's house. I guess I wasn't as tired as I thought.