Monday, September 29, 2008

I brake for red lights

The other day I had to run an errand on campus. I believe I was buying sticky notes and pens. I was driving along 9th East when the light at 9th North turned red. Being a law abiding citizen, I stopped for the red light. Being a complete ditz, I looked both ways, and continued on my way. Halfway through the intersection I realized in horror that the light was still red! I looked around and everyone at the light had a "what is she doing" look on their faces which probably matched my own "What am I doing" face. I figured I was halfway through, I might as well finish it off. So I just kept on going. I later told Dave about it after which he threatened to take my car keys away.

On Friday we had an interview for a "position" in an apartment complex. If we get it we will manage (collect rent, fix small maintenance stuff, advertize openings, etc) the 39 units in the complex. It will only be $100/month in rent plus utilities. It is in Provo so we would save money on gas too. On the way to our interview we stopped at a car place so Dave could ask intelligent questions about cars. As we pulled out onto State Street again we hit a red light at D.I. Dave stopped, and when the pedestrians were done crossing, he went, as I exclaimed "Dave...Dave...red...Dave...it's still red." He made the exact same mistake that I did. He kindly pointed out that he would have gotten 2 tickets if caught because he was on his phone: one for distracted driving. I wondered aloud if the cop would have been able to tell that I was mentally distracted without the cell phone prop.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Name Game

So you know how if you say a word often enough it starts sounding odd? Well on Tuesday, as I walked to the church for YW, I did this with my name. No I didn't walk down the street saying my name over and over and over and over, it was in my head. It is a very common name, and I've always thought of it as such, as well as plain and tall, and not as princess-y as it should. As I was saying it over and over to myself, I began to notice how odd it sounded (as is what happens) and started to wonder what it sounds like to other people, whether they've known me for a very long time, or as I introduce myself to them. Just a few thoughts I had walking down the street.

September - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love September. It is probably my favorite month of the year. Here's why:

  1. It's Birthday Month! Mine, of course, and it seems like a lot of other people have birthdays in September as well. I can think of 10 off the top of my head.
  2. The weather is just right. (In the Rockies at least...poor Texas.) "It's not too hot, and not too cold, all you need is a light jacket." (name that movie?) It also isn't super windy like Spring time.
  3. BYU FOOTBALL! Ok, so football season only starts in September, and goes til November and sometimes December, but it's still there! I listened to the game against UCLA today on the radio, and did my costco run at halftime. It was great! (59-0) I even wore my $5 football shirt: "The Quest"
  4. Food. For me at least this year, my little garden is finally beginning to produce. I will have cucumbers galore, hopefully some tomatoes will turn red before it freezes, I found a pumpkin about the size of my head hidden in the middle of the patch, the lettuce is almost ready to be picked, I picked a whole 3 pods of peas from the plants that survived, and my carrots are starting to get bigger. Not to mention the random assortment of gourds that are growing.
  5. School starts. Ok, so I'm not in school this semester, which is exciting, but when I was in school, I enjoyed the first month of a class a lot before I got bogged down with procrastinated homework.
  6. The colors. The fall colors start to show in September all over the mountains. Bright red, orange, greens and golds (go toppers!).

What is your favorite thing about September?

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Labor Day/1st Day of School

Yesterday was officially my first paid holiday. Granted, I got off early for graduation in August, but that was only 2 1/2 hours of paid time off. Yesterday I got to spend the whole day doing whatever I wanted, and I got paid for it! I started off by sleeping in until 10. Well, I slept until 8 or so, then just laid in bed until 10. Then I got up, poured myself some grape nuts, and watched Notting Hill until 12:30. After my oh-so-productive morning, I washed 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the bathroom counter/sinks and mirror, changed the fish water, moved the fish to the kitchen window sill (nestled among the leaves of a plant, so it's like it has its own jungle river niche!), and changed the bedsheets.

Today, however, I had to go to work again. Wo is me. Today was also the first day of school for Dave...but not for me. Usually at this time of the year I start having anxiety dreams about starting school. Not that I'm scared, it's just an exciting/stressful event. This is the first September since I was 4 years old that I haven't had school. One would think that the dreams would cease. Alas, they still come. I dream constantly that I actually DID sign up for a class, and I go and various odd things happen, as they tend to do in dreams. This morning, I woke up at 5:00am and couldn't go back to sleep until 6:00am. My alarm was set for 6:30am. In that half-hour early morning nap I had yet another dream. It wasn't about me starting school, but school starting was still present in that dream. Maybe I'm just nervous for Dave to be starting school. Best of luck to him and everyone else beginning the Fall 2008 semester.