Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'

"There's a bright golden haze on the meadow . . ."

I had a wonderful morning yesterday . . . and the whole time I just kept thinking "I should blog about this"

It all started with my snowboarding class. Yeah, I've been taking a snowboarding class this semester. I enrolled in the class last fall because I've always thought it would be fun to learn how to snowboard, but I knew that I would need some one-on-one training in order to be able to do it. So yesterday was the last day of class (a block class). I went up there, and i was the only one there besides my instructor. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it to class the past few weeks because of sickness and board problems. So, I was nervous to go and be with my instructor again because I still can't really do anything . . . and it was the last week. I felt bad that I hadn't been able to be there . . . but I'm glad I went. We started out with me trying to stand up on my own - again. It's very difficult for me since I'm a big girl in not-so-good shape. after many failed attempts to get up I was exhausted and seriously wanted to just give up. But then when the instructor gave me a hand and helped me up, and with a little bit of help from him starting out, I was finally able to glide down the hill on my own. on my own. that's a big deal. It was great! going from discouraged to elated - that was a lovely start to a lovely morning.

It continued with a baby shower for one of my favorite companions from my mission, then a visit with my adorable neice and nephew, then a visit with a dear friend who recently had a baby - and yes, that is one adorable baby - and finally with a nice afternoon chat with my younger sister in the sandwich shop where she works.

It was a lovely morning not only because I was able to accomplish such an important milestone in my snowboarding skills, but also because I was able to visit with so many important people in my life. That really - in all honesty - is what accomplishment is all about. Our greatest accomplishments in life will be those that we share with our loved ones - the people that we really look to and rely on for peace and strength. I really am grateful for the friendships that I have in this life. Thank you friends, family and loved ones . . . you are my why.

kink

I woke up with a kink in my neck this morning. it was on the left side . . . but now it's migrated to the right side. you don't realize how valuable your neck is until it's broken ;)

Time is running out for this post, believe it or not . . . I know it's a short one. I just wanted to give you one musical moment. I rediscovered Stina Nordenstam this week. She's a lovely, unique artist that I have loved. Her music is very difficult to come by though. I was finally able to find her latest album "world is saved" online this week. I just have to say that it's by far the most addictive album I've found in a while. Stina is unique - with a voice like nothing you've ever heard before - but it's a precious voice. The emotion seeps through every crack in her quiet harmony's. If you should feel so inclined, please check her out.

Peace Out

clouds in my coffee

believe it or not, I still had problems with the router after that last post . . . so here I am a week later and it's been working consistently for me 24+ hours. I think I just had really bad luck and purchased two bad routers in a row.

I've been watching the olympics, and I wanted to make a little comment here about the scary US coach at the top in the downhill skiing events. has anybody else noticed him? he stands in the background while the guys are getting ready to head down the hill and he just yells at the top of his lungs! it's really kinda scary. has anybody else noticed him? I'm just thinking . . . no wonder they guys are struggling on the hill. I would probably be scared to death if I had somebody yelling at me like that. then again, it might get me down the mountain faster "get me away from that guy!"

I hope that other people have noticed him and laughed at him along with me.

I remember when the olympics were in Salt Lake in '02, I took a liking to the speed skating relay. I came upon it again the other night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's exciting! I think it's more exciting to me because of the way that the skaters weave between each other and there are so many people on the ice at once. it's appealing to the eye for me.

I like the yellow helmets too ;)

I finally made the switch to MAC yesterday. I was able to sell my current laptop and purchase a 12" ibook. It was a tough decision to determine what to get, but I decided in the end that for what I'll be using the computer for, I don't need a powerbook right now. It was also difficult because i know that they're going to be updating the ibooks very soon, but I also know that no matter what, buying an apple is never going to be cheap. ;) So far, I love it. I love the portability and reliability - and I love learning new and easier ways to use a computer. It's a good thing :)

As an afterthought . . . Shani Davis. Hmmmm. I just watched his speech after he won the 1000m speed skating event. I wonder what the heck is going on with him!? very interesting . . . if you didn't see it - you should google it and see what you can find.

And that's all she wrote.

24 Hours

Well, Almost.

For starters, you should all know (you being those who actually read this . . . and of course I have no idea who you are) ahem . . . you should all know that I am not one to shed tears often. I don't think I've ever cried in a movie theater. wait . . . scratch that, I did cry when I saw First Knight when I was about 16 . . . and I cried when I saw Little Women . . . but right around the age of 18 I stopped crying. Rarely do I ever cry . . . and so now I go into my story:

Wednesday, 4:30 am:
I'm up late (yes, very late) writing a paper. Why so late you ask? well, I won't go into details . . . I'll just say that I am still recovering from the nasty never-ending cough/cold bug and I spent the majority of my afternoon/evening on Tuesday curled up in my bed catching some much needed Z's.
still . . . I' ve been typing away at this paper for at least 4 hours, and my brain is starting to slip. I'm tired, I'm cold, and the suspicion keeps coming to me "what if teacher is sick again today? she IS pregnant and she HAS called in sick the past 2 class periods to let us know . . . I should check my school email"
but you see, there's one problem. I don't have internet access (speaking past tense here). of course, if I drive down the street about a block, I know that I have standing permission to use my friends wireless network. hmmm . . . It's freezing cold outside. I'm in my PJ's. I would probably have to scrape my windows if I go out now. ugh! so, I brush the thought aside . . . but it just keeps nagging at me. so, finally, I put on my shoes and coat and I shuffle out to my car. Of course, for some reason on this freezing cold night as I'm sitting in my car, my computer doesn't want to cooperate and connect to the network and checking my email takes 15 minutes instead of 5. but, of course - nagging suspicions shout "we told you so" when I see the email from my english professor telling us that she will be in class - however, the papers will not be due! ugh is right! and so I drive home and climb into bed, still very cold, and unable to sleep. sound like a rotten night?

yeah, it was.

but there is a point to all of this. I'm typing this little post from the comfort of my bed right now. therefore - as you can see - my little fiasco on Wednesday morning finally pushed me over the edge and I decided it was about time to get internet access at home. a big step seeing as how I am a relatively poor starving student . . . but a step I felt I needed to take.
So I signed up with a good broadband ISP in my area. relatively cheap - the cheapest I could find compared to the competition. by Thursday morning at 10 AM, I had a connection. beautiful. of course, owning a laptop - I felt it would only be logical to get a wireless router and have the ability of blogging from anywhere in the house. so, Friday at 7 I came home, router in hand. little did I know that it would be a little less than 24 hours before I would be able to move away from the kitchen counter and type to my hearts desire.
After calling belkin 3 times last night because of problem after problem - I finally thought I had things fixed, and I went to bed. When I woke up this morning, however, I quickly discovered that things were not working as I had thought - and I could only maintain a connection wirelessly for about 4 minutes - then it would drop. I called belkin one last time, knowing that they were going to tell me to return the router - but hoping that there was a problem somewhere on my network set-up. alas - the technician was completely convinced that it was the router and I just needed to take it back. ugh! another trip to the store. no! but, by now, I had tried virtually everything! it was like 2 in the afternoon . . . I had already spent how many hours trying to get this to work? ridiculous!
so, I took the router back and got a linksys instead. much more reliable brand, supposedly (although I read excellent reviews on belkin). so - I got going on the set-up, and things were running smoothly, until the install software ran into a glitch somehow and I couldn't proceed. ugh again! I had to call linksys support . . . which was not fun at all. I had to call them twice - and both times they were rude. I'm not one to complain (honestly - I'm not) but they were rude. very short and impatient (don't get me started on my feelings about IT companies outsourcing their customer service to native lands. it really really really really really bothers me). sheesh. the belkin guys were at least patient and gave me slow step by step instructions. these linksys dudes were acting like it was the end of the world. I guess that's why I had to wait on hold with belkin much longer vs. the quick connection I got with linksys.

anyways - I'm getting off the subject here. on the second call with linksys, the tech told me (without really listening to my problem) that I had a defective router and I was going to have to take it back to the store. NO! (and this is where the crying bit comes in). I did not want to take it back! I did not want to bother with this anymore. as soon as I hung up with mr linksys, I shed a few tears and the hopelessness began creeping in. I was simply exhausted with the whole thing.

so, I called my brother-in-law and vented my frustration with him a bit, explaining the problem to his computer scientific self and hoping he would be of some help. He thought it was strange that I didn't have a connection. I agreed. I said "I can get a connection now, when I'm wired straight to the router . . . but of course when I go wireless and unplug the cord (reach back to unplug the cord - but wait - it's already unplugged. it's already unplugged? it's already unplugged! I'm wireless? wait . . . is this working? www.google.com . . . search for . . . 'free'. it works! no "page cannot be found" error. yes yes yes!)
and I immediately went from complete frustration to complete elation.

I guess I'm not much of a storyteller, but I had to relate that one. I called my brother-in-law at 6:30, so as you can see it took 23.5 hours from start to finish before I could sit on the couch and google torino while I watched the olympics.

and suddenly the world seems like an OK place to live in agian.

Thank you belkin for having relatively friendly customer service.
Thank you linksys for making a router that would actually work
Thank you B-I-L for listening to me vent
Thank you self for persevering and checking that cord one more time.

phew. any questions?

I guess I have an excuse to blog more often now. You should see more of me now.

peace out.

MACadamia

so, I'm typing from a mac right now. thinking about switching over. what thinkest thou? 12" or 14"? iBook or Powerbook? so many options! all so good!

just before I'm over and out

sorry it's been a couple of weeks. time has been going quickly. I still enjoy being a student . . . very much. The homework is starting to get on my nerves, but learning is far better than sitting idle.
Last Thursday I caught a terrible cold. I'm still getting over it. This season just hasn't been good for me. Just when I'm over one thing, another comes along. Oh well. I'm just looking forward to the day when I'll be able to get through the day without coughing.

Despite my illness, I went to a concert this past Wednesday. Duncan Sheik. I've been waiting to see Duncan since I was 17. The first time listened through Duncan's self titled album, I came across the song "home" and put it on repeat for a couple of hours. I just love that song. love, love love it. and duncan closed with it. it was so excellent. he's so nice. such a down to earth guy. The concert setting was very intimate. I was able to talk with him for a minute after the show and get my picture with him. It was a late night, and I'm still paying for it (I'm tired) but it was well worth it.

So, all I've really been listening to the past week or so is Duncan. Before that it was imogen. speaking of imogen, they played imogen at the club before Duncan came on. They just put her album on and let it spin. it was awesome. I felt like I was the only one in the room that was singing along, but I was so happy to hear her being played out in public. she deserves that. she's so good!

I leave you with one little story. Near the end of the show, I had a drunk gentleman come up beside me and say "it doesn't matter who's playing, I just like to party". I could have let his drunken comments throughout the rest of the show get on my nerves, but I decided instead to just laugh. Drunk people. they are funny. I'm just glad that I don't drink.

And that's all she wrote. Have a pleasant evening, y'all.