Testing...testing...testing

I am attempting to make this post using my Blackberry while sitting in the hammock. If it shows up, I was successful!
Unfortunately I was unable to attach this photo using my Blackberry. Does anyone know if it is possible?

Klutz

Last week, I tripped and fell hard while walking home which resulted in a nasty scrape on my knee, ruined slacks, 3 broken fingernails, scraped palms and a bruised shoulder. And ten strangers asking me if I was okay, which was ever-so-slightly embarrassing.

Last night, my hand slipped while playing pool at FHE and I grazed my knuckles on the wooden table. There is now a small hole in my middle finger and my pointer finger is scraped.

This morning, while styling my hair, I managed to burn the tip of my nose (no visible injury with this one - thank goodness!)

I am not a fan of this sudden propensity for clumsiness. It is very unusual for me. And it hurts too much.

New Blog Header

Ash felt that my blogs appearance was a bit on the boring side so, using a photograph I had taken, she prepared a new header for my blog. I find it to be a very pleasant change. Thanks Ash!

Perfect Man

I was just visiting with one of my friends at work. She was telling me all about her son, husband, and baby on the way and it was such fun to hear her stories. The conversation took the course that it usually does - - - what's up in Brenda's life? And as usual, that inspired one of her speeches trying to motivate my social-ness which led to her relating a fabulous conversation she had with a friend . . .



Mary's friend: I've done studies and the perfect man just isn't going to magically appear on my couch.

Mary's response: Yeah, but when you do find the perfect man you won't be able to get him off your couch!

Walked Home

Yesterday after work, I decided to finally do something I have considered doing since moving out here . . . I walked home from my office. And loved it! I Y walking.

The entire walk (including all pauses for traffic or points of interest) took just under 1.5 hours. According to Google Map Pedometer, the total distance covered was approximately 4.5 miles. So I averaged about 3 miles per hour. I get accused of walking too quickly all the time, but it turns out that the average speed for adults is 3 miles per hour - - - so maybe I'm not the one who needs to change my pace :)

Really a New Yorker

After three frustrating visits to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and waiting patiently for two hours during the last one, I have successfully earned my New York State driver's license. All it took was presenting my birth certificate (thanks to Mom for overnighting it to me), social security card, proof of employment, proof of address, driving record from Oregon and my expired Oregon driver's license. As I handed over my Oregon license, the woman at the counter said to me, "you know we're gonna keep that, right?" I gave a sad sigh and responded "yes." Maybe I am a bit of a sentimental extremist, but that tiny rectangle of plastic has been my constant companion for over 9 years! It has lived in various purses and been presented with pride on countless occasions (not so much to officers of the law, but to people requesting identification). It felt as if I were surrendering my own identity as I slid it across the counter. And now it is time to embrace a new one - - - I am no longer an Oregonian, but a New Yorker.

Even Here

Growing up in a small town it was common to see notes such as this posted on the doors of local businesses, however I never expected to find one in the great city of New York!
The frozen yogurt and fresh fruit were delicious and definitely worth the wait!

My Cousin came to see me!

During the last week, I had the pleasure of having my cousin Garrett come to NYC just to visit me!!! And, I suppose, to see some of the city. He arrived late on Tuesday night and I showed him around my neighborhood a bit. We found a deli where we purchased sandwiches and then wandered over to the East Side River, between the heliport and South Street Seaport. It was great to catch up and enjoy spending time with my cousin. Below are a few high-lights from his visit....
Wednesday Garrett was on his own while I was working. He explored Midtown and met up with me to attend the Broadway musical Wicked. We both loved it!

Later we met up with a few friends to go to Junior's for cheesecake followed by a quick visit to Times Square.
Friday we went to Chinatown and Garrett found some litchi at one of the corner markets. He ate this fruit while serving an LDS mission in New Caledonia (Fiji mission) and insisted that we try it. Litchi is actually quite good, just a lot of work to eat. After exploring Chinatown we went to Little Italy for dinner. We convinced Ash to join us as often as possible!
Saturday we walked the Brooklyn Bridge....
And introduced Garrett to real NYC pizza - Grimaldi's!
I took a vacation day on Monday and Garrett and I wandered around Central Park
And then we attended the Yankee's game! We had great seats behind third base and left field and the three home-run hits during the game all came within 20 feet of us! It was the afternoon game and we melted! NYC was experiencing a heat wave and the temperature reached 99 degrees! It was a bit warm, but so worth it because the game was amazing to watch!
Monday evening we took Garrett to Serendipity for dinner and some frozen hot chocolate to round out his visit.
I love spending time with family and am so grateful that Garrett came all the way to NYC to visit me! We had the best time!

Bowling!

A group of us from work went bowling and it was so very nice to have a planned activity away from work for once. This past seven or eight months has been pretty intense with work, so it was fun to relax and enjoy a break. I was pretty impressed with the skills of my team, for the first time in my life, I witnessed a Turkey! Kevin bowled three strikes in a row and it was pretty amazing!

My camera was malfunctioning (need to figure out what is up with it) but I managed to get one good photo during the night ~ Kevin had a bit more form than the rest of us.I'm not one who generally makes a fool of myself. So I take it kind of hard when I slip up and do something beyond embarrassing. Needless to say, I don't have nearly the control of the bowling ball that I thought I did . . . or maybe it just had a mind of it's own and chose to go the opposite direction than I intended!
Regardless, the moment was overshadowed in everyone else's minds by the fact that I managed a few strikes of my own and didn't just hang with the gutter!

Tagged

For me the word 'tagged' doesn't bring to mind the game of tag that children play in elementary school, no, it actually makes me think about tagging cows. I really don't know the technical terms but basically you pierce the ear (or ears) of the cow and insert an identification tag. This allows the farmer or rancher to identify their property and prevents complications if two herds mix as each farmer is able show a record of ownership for that animal and claim it based on the information displayed on the tag.

Considering the word 'tag' in the traditional form is much more logical when associating it with being encouraged to blog about one's self . . .

Rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
* What I was doing 10 years ago - - - A Wednesday in June in 1998? Farm work, probably digging corrugates or weeding, along with many other farm jobs.
* 5 things on my 'to do' list today - - - Work, Laundry, Cleaning apt, Mulcock Movie, and welcoming Garrett when he arrives from Boise!!!!!
* Things I would do if I were a billionaire - - - Continue to live life, probably being forced to deal with lots more issues and struggles, but still I'd just live.
* 3 of my bad habits - - - Guilt-tripping others, Underestimating time, and Selfishness
* 5 places I've lived - - - Vale, Rexburg, Provo, Manhattan (maybe I've only lived in 4 places)
* 5 jobs I've had - - - Farmer, Seamstress, Landscaper, Babysitter, Auditor

I feel guilty so I will continue this game of tag by requesting to know more about Erika, Karli, Mel, Denisse and Annie.