Month: May 2015

GSL Open Water Clinic

May 30, 2015May 31, 2015 · Leave a comment ·

It’s official 2015 open water season has begun and life is happy for yours truly. Next week is the GSL 1 mile swim and it will be my 4th year swimming it. I am probably my least prepared for it but I had a test swim today and it gave me more confidence for next week. They said I swam about .9 miles today and it wasn’t too bad so I think it will be great for the race. Please pray I will be able to sleep next Friday because that could be a problem since the race is early in the morning.

Today was the GSL Open Water clinic and it was a huge success.

The water was very warm at 75 degrees. This is why they have the GSL swim so early in the year because the salt and position makes it heat up very early .

Getting in the Great Salt Lake is an experience. Your whole body reacts to the salt. Your nose and any other tender spots burn, your skin tingles and the water feels heavy like no other. As you are swimming you can feel the salt sucking strength from your body as you quickly get dehydrated with no relief. People think it is like the ocean. It is nothing like the ocean. 5 times saltier than the ocean in fact!

It was so funny some tourists from New York asked us for tips during their stay and where they could buy “local shrimp”. I didn’t know what they meant at first and realized they were talking about the brine shrimp! These are microscopic organisms that live in the Great Salt Lake, the only living organism in the lake. Certainly not the kind of shrimp they were hoping for!

This year the water is very shallow and it seemed extra potent. It’s so shallow they had to take all the boats out and have them in the parking lot. We started at the marina and then they had about 5 buoys set out going towards the south beach. The GSL swim has always been a straight shot to the Black Rock beach but this year they are doing a loop to one of the rocky beaches because of the water (if they did Black Rock it would have to be half swim half run and I’d be out).

I have decided this year to swim in batches of 50 and as I was testing out my stroke I think it will be good to alternate breaststroke and freestyle. Sighting is so hard in Great Salt Lake even with buoys and the current can be very strong. There is something so motivating about swimming breaststroke open water because you can see your target dead on. It is a little bit slower probably but it feels faster in the moment which is very encouraging.

Open water is such a mental sport. It always feels like I am never going to get to the target. I tell my friends it feels like you are on a swimming treadmill. Even when you are very close it seems like you aren’t going to make it to the final destination.

But today I went out of the marina area and then about a half mile and then swam back to the marina. Gordon told me it was .9 of a mile so pretty close. This has given me great encouragement for next Saturday. I was really nervous since I haven’t swam open water since last July but now I feel confident. I’ll be tired but I know I can cross the finish line!

My friend Etsuko is swimming open water this year (hurray!) and her friend could not understand why we would get in that stinky ‘cesspool water”. It’s hard to explain. Sometimes the swims give me anxiety and stress me out but there’s nothing like the feeling of finishing especially at GSL.

There is something about the human experience that needs to occasionally do hard things. And people don’t expect a big girl like me to do something hard. With my feet issues I can’t run or do anything like that so when I first went to open water it was like finding my home. It was where I belonged with all the other misfits who love the water. Even among swimmers a very small percentage do open water.

I’ve had so many people I’ve taken to the lakes and they hated it. It was dirty. It was gross. It was cloudy. But then every once in a while there will be someone like Etsuko, my friend Abby or myself who love it. We love the challenge. We love being out in nature. We love the unpredictability. We love the comradarie and family but at a certain point we just love it.

It’s like when you love key lime pie you can say a few things that you like but it in the end comes down to your taste buds just like it. Same with me and open water. It is hard. It makes me nervous and I doubt myself sometimes but I love it. It fits me and I am SOOOOOO Excited for the summer.

I hope you can all find your athletic match and hopefully it can be outdoors enjoying the beautiful, crazy and sometimes stinky world God has given us.

Stay tuned for tons of fun open water updates this summer and all the excitement of next weeks big race! Go SLOW!

Accounting Goodbye

May 30, 2015 · 2 Comments ·

Today marks the end of an era in my life. It is my last official day working in accounting (at least for the foreseeable future). It’s been 10 years since I got behind a desk taking a simple secretarial job never dreaming it would dictate the next decade of my life. I still can’t believe it!

If you had asked me when I was growing up or even in college if I would work in accounting for 10 years I would have said you were nuts. I’ve always been cluttered and bad at math. Little did I know that accounting actually has very little to do with math. It has everything to do with routines and organizing data.

In some ways it was a good career for me and maybe not a surprise I ended up there. I am great with routines and am extremely fast at data entry. I am also someone that can do the same thing over again and not grow tired of it. I could eat the same thing, see the same movie and be fine. That part of accounting never bothered me.

What was difficult was I seemed to be prone to errors especially at the beginning because it was all new. It seemed at first I was inventing new ways all the time on how to mess up the check run (I can’t believe no check runs! Wow!). These mistakes were always caught by one check and balance or another but it was still humiliating and it didn’t help that my manager at the time rubbed them in my face and made me feel ashamed of my work.

She was the wicked witch of my life. Not only the worst boss I’ve ever had but one of the worst people. She manipulated me (and everyone else) so that I found myself apologizing when I had actually done good work. Imagine what it was like when I made mistakes. I put up with her for 3 years because I lacked the courage to quit my job but finally in December 2007 I had enough! In one of my proudest moments I walked out and into nothing to begin the great economic year of 2008 (seriously who quits their job in 2008. That’s how bad it was). Kierkegaard talks about the great leap of faith and how it has to be perfect or it is illogical to believe. That moment in my life was as close as I’ve ever gotten to the perfect leap. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind it was the right thing to do.

Everything good that has happened to me in my life has been a response to that leap including starting this blog! I was unemployed and decided in May 2008 to blog how I was feeling. Honestly I felt like I needed healing after such an intense period (some of you may think I’m exaggerating but it was a time of deep depression and anxiety for me working in that job. Only God knows how tough it really was).

At that time I graduated from my MBA and thought I would go work in marketing or maybe human resources but over 40 interviews and nothing. My Dad asked me if I wanted to help manage his properties and I did that full time for about a year (thanks Dad!). I learned that even if I was doing some accounting work I was happier working from home and being my own boss. I felt free and it was exhilarating. I also moved to Draper during this time.

Then I got the offer to work part time in marketing for Grabber, which I did giving at warmers at local events (remember my old Grabber van?). But that was quickly dissolved and they needed help with accounting so back I went but this time I was working from home which was pretty good.

My next boss Kevin was a delight and I began working full time for Impact, Grabber and my brother’s new company Poler. I would go up to Syracuse, Utah once a week and print checks and do other mind numbingly boring tasks that nobody in all 3 companies wanted to do. That’s the history of my time in accounting. Because I was so fast if there was someone who didn’t want to do something I would get the job which was generally okay with me. One of the worst projects was entering 27,000 lines of inventory into quickbooks for Impact. So boring! (it was then that I got into podcast listening because it distracted me a little bit without being too much).

Then the company’s were sold and Kevin moved over to exclusively Impact while I stayed working for Grabber and Poler. Each week I did more and more for Poler until I was working for Grabber only managing their sales tax. I became the queen of sales tax.

Then they sold Poler and eventually Grabber was sold to Kobayashi. In 2013 I went from working at Grabber to Poler full time and then to part time last summer. My boss at Poler is a woman named Kelly and she is a total delight. I will really miss working with her. The part time work was a little bit of a safety net as I am working 30 hours in my marketing work for Kobayashi and it gave me a full 40 hours with Poler but it feels good to sever the ties and focus solely on my new job. (well except for my Dad’s rentals).

The problem with all of this work is it was never ending. I was grateful for it but because I worked from home there was no separation between my life and work and if I didn’t do certain things they just didn’t get done. In the case of accounts payable that is a major problem or payroll. It has to get done! So there was many a time when I was sick as a dog and printing out checks or entering data into a computer in Hawaii or California. It was also sometimes hard to go home because my father was my boss and it meant I couldn’t relax because I was always working or thinking about work. No breaks.

But I got to work from home so it was worth it. The very idea of going to back ‘cubicle Hell’ as I like to call it makes me nauseous. It will be very tough for me after working from home for the last 7 years. I pray every day that nothing will change in that department.

Fortunately things are looking great in my new marketing job and I really feel like I have scored the job lottery. I couldn’t be more happy. Every day I am learning new things and honing my craft. It is so satisfying!

I am nothing but grateful for those years in accounting. It was a journey I needed to go on and it sustained me for 10 years. It helped me buy my home and do so many amazing things. I never felt completely whole doing accounting and had decided it was just a compromise I was going to have to make in life. It was the card I had been dealt career-wise and at a certain point (8 years in!) you have to accept what God has given you and not be miserable all the time.

So I am grateful but getting this new job has taught me to always maintain a sliver of hope. Good things do come to those who wait and work in the sphere God has set them in. I wasn’t anticipating a career change. It came out of nowhere but like I said it has been a dream come true.

And now one door is closed and another is 100% starting, no safety net. I hope I can eventually be made full time with my new career but I will wait patiently and do my very best. In some ways it is actually nice having 10 more hours a week to do personal projects like my youtube channel (but I want the 40 don’t get me wrong!). There are times and seasons for everything and just like my accounting career morphed and changed I’m sure this new job will do the same. I can’t wait to see where it takes me!

10 years of accounting is done! Hurray! (I don’t know if anyone but me will read this rambling post but it is my story which I needed to write out). Sure love you guys and to 10 years of marketing!

I Miss Casual

May 27, 2015 · Leave a comment ·

Guys I miss casual. What do I mean by casual? Well, its not that I don’t have friends but its the type of friends you can have in 20s but almost never have in 30s.

Casual is having nothing to do on a Friday night, texting friends and all going to a movie. That kind of thing never happens.

Casual is getting together to watch American Idol or Survivor every Wednesday night at your house. That kind of thing never happens any more.

Casual is if I’m bored having someone to call and hang out with because they are also most likely bored. That kind of thing never happens.

Casual is stopping over to chat with friends, usually to bring them a flyer or something from church. That kind of thing never happens. (all email now).

What we have in your 30s instead of casual is a calendar. Everything is planned out and scheduled weeks in advance. That is fine but there is something more relaxing about both the regularity and spontaneity of casual. It was just so easy and now friendshipping is a lot of work.

Now even to meet a friend for lunch is a challenge. Her schedule, my schedule are both busy and it’s tough. Plus, about 80% of my friends don’t live in state any more and 99% have kids which is fine but usually requires more planning.

I know with book club I had to take a break because it was turning into this thing that I hated. I felt like the book nag when it was supposed to be fun. It was such a chore trying to get people to come that I finally threw up my hands in frustration.

But I can be to blame too. Just Saturday I missed the Hand Made Co-op (although I did message my friend as early as I could) . I had a terrible night with about 3 hours of sleep and I knew a drive up to Salt Lake wasn’t going to happen. This was especially true because I would be going to Bountiful later that afternoon for the Open Water clinic. I figured I had to pick one and with the GSL Open Water Swim coming up soon I knew I needed to be at the clinic.

So I can flake out on people too. We all do. It’s just tough to get people together.

That said, I suppose it is silly to pine for the past. This is my life now and it isn’t casual.

Sigh…

Movies I Think are Boring

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 · Leave a comment ·

Just did a post over at the movie blog on Movies I Think are Boring. I think you will all get a kick out of it. If you aren’t following the movie blog please do. I think you will really enjoy it.

Rachel's Reviews

Since I started doing this blog I have noticed a lot of my favorite movies others will claim are boring and yet movies they love I will find boring. In fact, I have moved away from using the word boring in my reviews (I call it the B word) because I find it doesn’t tell you that much. It’s kind of like calling something nice, a bland adjective.

So what do I mean by boring? Well, basically a movie that puts me to sleep, that I found tedious and slow. A movie like Boyhood which others found to be boring to me was extremely compelling because its about real life. I could have watched that for days. Boyhood knows what it is trying to be so it is very compelling.

A lot of people find Fantasia to be boring but I do not because it is so different and it…

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Dense Reads

May 22, 2015May 24, 2015 · Leave a comment ·

I am a part of a new book club with some friends I met online. The most recent selection is called Dune by Frank Herbert. It is a science fiction tomb that I did not care for. Let’s just say I called it the “Phantom Menace of books”. It was so long and the characters never shut up. Far too much explaining about things I didn’t care about (a lot of carrying on about spices and trade) and no recognizable villain. I didn’t get that far in it because I kept falling asleep so I might be able to use it as a good insomnia cure.

But I went to book club hoping to find out why a member of the club had selected it and why she liked it. Her explanation was very interesting. She said she liked that it was dense without being old English like a classic. Meaning something that was full of details and every time you went to it you got more about the world and characters. She also liked that it was thoughtful without being philosophical which evidently she hates. Anyway, it made me think about my own reading and what ‘dense’ books I like. One’s I could read 1,000 times and I’d still get new details and information. I can’t think of that many. Most books I like are pretty straight forward in plot and story. Not sure what that says about me but there you go.

Here are some that came to mind.

1. Wrinkle in Time- a book I didn’t like as a little girl but I read it fairly recently and loved it. It is very rich in detail and not sure what it all means.

2. The Chosen/My Name is Asher Lev- this book isn’t dense in a way but the characters are so complex every time I read it I feel differently about them. When I read it in college I thought Danny’s father was a beast not fit to raise children. Later he didn’t make any sense to me and then I began to feel sympathy for him. So in the sense of its characters it is very dense.

3. Middlemarch- You guys know North and South is my favorite book but it is a pretty straight forward romance. Middlemarch is much more complex. Dorothea Casaband is a layered character that is tough to understand. On one hand she is foolish and marries Mr Casaband despite outward signs of his miserly ways. She’s so hopeful of a thoughtful intellectual man buried deep inside. Then her interactions with Will Ladislaw seem so different than what she was looking for with Mr Casaband. It seems like she feels sorry for Will who has married a stupid woman but didn’t know any better. It’s the motivations of the characters and their behavior to one another which is very compelx in Middlemarch.

4. Great Expectations- My favorite Dickens (aside from Christmas Carol) and one of my favorite books because it is so different. You’ve got Pip all of the sudden given a chance to improve his life but from who? He assumes it is the bizarre Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella who sit in a mansion with a decades old wedding that never happened. When I read it I learn more about the characters. Why Pip does what he does. What Dickens is trying to say in his strange story?

5. Autobiography of Malcolm X- This book may surprise you being on this list but it is one of the best autobiography’s I’ve ever read. Malcolm X is such a layered character and while I haven’t read it in a long time it is one I could read 100 times and get a new impression of him each time. He was a man who of many public personas that he was willing to abandon when he had change of heart. Especially for someone in the public eye that kind of change is remarkable.

6. Howard’s End- Another book with rich characters. I love the different class bubbles each of the families are in and how that colors their view of the world. The Wilcox’s, Schlegals and Basts are characters I never quite figure out. They have positive traits but fall sway to human weakness easily. The mere premise is interesting too. What is it that Mrs Wilcox see’s in Margaret? Why does she give her Howard’s End? What was she trying to accomplish or did she just get along with her? It’s a rare movie about class that doesn’t tell you who is right or wrong but gives you the story and you decide.

7. Watership Down- Another book that grew on me. Our troop of rabbits including Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig flee their home and come in contact with several societies including a communist like state and a totalitarian regime. On the surface it is an adventure story with the rabbits narrowly escaping death many times. But it is also a piece of social commentary on the flaws of various forms of government and how power corrupts absolutely.

8. The Book Thief- Do I need to praise The Book Thief more on this blog? It is so rich. Everything from the narrator, to the complex characters, to the number of characters, to the setting in Nazi Germany to the book within a book, to the messages on politics, writing and family are astonishing. I love this book!

9. Little Dorrit- A lesser known Dickens book that I really liked. It’s very melancholy but with Dickens family living in a debtors prison it has a closeness to the story that you don’t quite get in any of his other books. The society that develops within the prison and William’s inability to adapt to free life is very interesting. Little Dorrit is devoted to her father but in a way also imprisoned by him. She could be such a cliche of a character but she isn’t because she consistently thinks of others before herself almost too a fault. The big reveal at the end and the house collapsing is so great. It’s a book that says a lot about human group theory and our desire to do the right thing in the eyes of other people even if it hurts us in the end.

10. The Bible/Book of Mormon- I know this seems like an obvious one but it is absolutely the richest read in my opinion. What else could I read every day of my life and get new insight and inspiration from every day? But it’s not just the counsel that is rich. The stories are deep as well. There are lots of miracles that aren’t explained, characters whose motivations are complex like David. And of course Christ spoke in parables which are extremely layered and dense. By design we are supposed to work to understand the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan.

What dense books do you like? It’s interesting how few of these books have been made into great movies- really only 3, Malcolm X, Watership Down, and Howard’s End. Like the versions of Wrinkle in Time and The Chosen these kind of dense books end up feeling muddled, long and convoluted as a movie, which makes sense given they are such dense books!

LDS Storymakers 2015

May 18, 2015 · 4 Comments ·

Another great year at the LDS Storymakers Conference has come and gone. Storymakers is a conference for Mormon writers where we can take all different kinds of classes and lectures on every part of the writing and publishing process. This was my 3rd year attending and once again I had a great experience. I feel a renewed commitment to improving my writing on this and my other blogs!

The cool thing about the conference is it is helpful for bloggers and Nanowrimo writers like me but also great for actual published authors. And it’s not all just religious writing. Most of it is pretty squeaky clean but all different genres are featured and discussed in the conference. If I was just a reader I think the conference would be good and well worth the cost. It is also a fun time to interact with friends and make new friends. My writing buddy Emilee was there and we had a good time catching up.

The highlight of the conference was the Friday night keynote by Martine Leavitt. I wish you could have all heard it. The tamber of her voice was very meek and soothing but then this incredible profundity kept coming out. It was so well written and moving.

She talked about her 2 worlds, a gospel world and writing world and how living both to its fullest have made her the best version of herself she could be.

“I wonder if each writer gets an individualized life curriculum designed to make her the best writer she can be, specialized life learnings that contribute to her development as an artist”

She then spoke about her life and the lessons she’d learned a long the way including self confidence, humility, hope, hard work, children and faith.

“I couldn’t write to a certain word count, or a certain number of pages. Nothing could be guaranteed. But I needed to write myself soul-fed and happy. I discovered that I didn’t need to write a lot to be happy, I just needed to write something good. I found that even a single, perfect, beautiful sentence…could make me feel nourished”

I also loved this quote

“I think it’s more likely your children will turn out just fine precisely because they have a happy parent who is happy because she writes”.

I’m not a parent but I think we all can feel guilty on occasion for taking time to develop our talents. Her point is our children, the world, our loved one’s are going to be better off if we are happy and especially happy writing. I think that goes for my blogging a well as novel writing. I am happy when I’m blogging and I hope that makes the world a little bit better.

Finally she said

“The Lord knew I needed one more thing to become the writer I wanted to be, perhaps the most essential ingredient of all, and that was love…Writers who love are curious about others. They ask questions. They observe without judgement. They try to understand. How can we write about people other than ourselves if we are not constant and ready students of humanity?”

I’ve thought about that many times with my blogging- wondered about the readers out there and what your struggles might be. Wondered if there is anything I could say that might help you? You guys don’t know how much I love every last one of you who reads this silly blog!

Anyway, it was an excellent speech! There were many other great moments of the conference. My sleeping has been bad lately so that mad the morning sessions a little bit difficult but I still got a lot out of it. I really loved a lecture from Anne Perry on characters. I took classes on romance writing, using food and music, blogging and more. All very helpful.

If I was going to provide some feedback I wish there were more classes on social media like there have been in the past and I didn’t care for the food (who knew I was such a picky eater!). Convention food is the worst!

But it was a lovely weekend and I left feeling enlightened, overwhelmed and excited.

1000th Post- First Post Revisited

May 16, 2015May 17, 2015 · 5 Comments ·

So it’s here! 1000 posts! Can you believe it? I’ve thought of a lot of different things I could do to celebrate but after sharing my favorite post for 999 I thought I would take a look at my very first post on this blog.

Before I start I will say that I in no means make light of those who are without work and facing the extreme trial of unemployment. My experience was unique and from the perspective of a young 28 year old girl who finally found a happy spot in her life.

May 12, 2008 I wrote The Freedom of Joblessness.At the time I had been unemployed for 5 months and because I had been so unhappy in my previous job it was not as difficult a time as you might expect.

It was exciting and it felt like I had a renewed lease on life. I had also just graduated with my MBA in April. At the time it seemed like I had been set free from a corporate penitentiary and I wanted to blog about it!

“So, this is my first foray into the world of blogging… It is hard to describe my last 6 months but let me just say that I am in the job hunt and I couldn’t be happier. I honestly think I will be a bit sad when I have to go back into the work force”

At my previous job a manager made my life miserable and being free from her influence did so much good for my self confidence and over all happiness. I think that was a large amount of the freedom I felt. I said “after a bit of a breakdown last year I needed a change more than anything”…

I then share a quote “I would rather be doing nothing than doing something I hate”

But that sounds so lazy I hear you say. I elaborate

“The thing…is that I haven’t been doing nothing. When did we get it in our head that the only viable thing for a person to do is work? I have actually been very busy. In fact, I have been doing things that I actually love that I don’t have time for when I am working including doing some writing, making a cookbook for my mom, and exercising on a regular basis”

I think there is something to that. Why do we have this assumption that if a person isn’t participating in paid labor they are doing nothing? If I won the lottery and could make it I would quit my job in a heartbeat even though I love my job now.

The amazing thing is about 10 days after this post my Dad asked me to start working managing his rentals. I did that for about a year working from home. Before I knew it I was working for Grabber part time. Then full time and then over to Poler, Now Kobayashi All working from home!

When I look at everything good in my life including this blog it all started with the tough decision to quit my job. To place my happiness above all the other factors and go for it. That joy felt freeing and peaceful and it still does and perhaps that’s why I keep blogging. It was liberating then and it is liberating now!

To 1000 more posts!

My Favorite Post

May 15, 2015May 15, 2015 · Leave a comment ·

This my friends is post 999 of this blog, which obviously means my next post will be my 1000th silly thought to all of you. That’s 7 years of writing my life. 1000 posts! Can you believe it?

I thought long and hard on what to do to commemorate such an achievement and here’s what I’ve decided This post I am going to share with you my favorite post. Then for the 1000th I am going to revisit the very first post I ever did called The Freedom of Joblessness.

So out of 1000 posts which one is my favorite? It’s tough. They are all kind of my babies and I worked very hard on them. But there is one post that was very difficult for me to write. A post where I took a real risk and probably opened myself up more than any other post (which is saying a lot!).

I didn’t know how people would respond but was overwhelmed by people who told me, mostly privately, that my story was also theirs.

It was a post called Never Fall in Love

In the post I admitted to the world that I have never fallen in love like it is some kind of disease or confession:

“I’m 33 years old. I’ve never been in love. I’ve never been kissed. I’ve never had a break up or a heartache. I’ve never had anything more than a crush from time to time and I honestly do not know why. I really don’t.”

And there it was out there for the world to see. For a while I felt a little embarrassed but why? It’s not like I had done something foolish or wrong. I just hadn’t fallen in love yet.

Worried I would get people trying to make me feel better I implored them to let me work this problem out to its completion.

“Now before I start this line of thought- please, don’t placate me with assurances of my finding the right person and promises in heaven and not loosing hope. I know such things and I agree but just for a second I want to put a question I’ve asked myself many times out there for all of you-

What if a human being never falls in love? Can you live a full life and never fall in love?”

That last question is one I am still pondering. We after all believe in eternal families as fundamental to Heavenly Father’s plan. So I don’t know if it is possible to live a full life and never fall in love. I really don’t.

So what do you do?

“Nothing. As far as I have been able to figure out you just wait. Yes, you can workout and go to activities, date whenever you can, but none of that is any guarantee of falling in love. Believe me I know.

You certainly can and must always be hopeful and happy with what you can control but it will probably always be this big part of being human that you don’t completely understand”

But here’s the key that I learned from writing the post.

“I guess the only thing I can say to my fellow love-lorn is that everyone has an ache of some kind…Everyone has regrets and wishes for something they never quite experienced and never enjoyed. That’s what the atonement is for.

After all, as far as we know, Jesus never fell in love either, so we are in pretty good company”

And then I shared a talk from Dennis E Simmons where he talks about faith and the ‘but if not’ moments of life. Having hope yet not finding love surely qualifies as such a moment.

At the end of the post I spoke out to those who are struggling and I think it encapsulates well why this blog is powerful at least to me.

“Hang in there! I know I’m not the only person out there who has wondered about this. Please share your stories”

Through this blog I have been able to see I am not the only person out there. Whether it is something silly as finding another soul who loves You’ve Got Mail or The Book Thief as much as I do or someone with a history of bullying or someone who loves to swim like I do, it is all so valuable to me.

It makes me feel like my life actually matters to someone and no post shows that more than Never Fall in Love.

What is your favorite post? Have any impacted you or your life?

Survivor Second Chances

May 12, 2015 · 6 Comments ·

I recently did a post on the current season of Survivor called Survivor 30 Being Annoyed and Abuse.In the post I talked about how mean spirited the season has ended up particularly centering around a woman named Shirin who was verbally assaulted by a fellow castmate named Will in a personal attack that hasn’t been seen on the show before. I was feeling pretty down but found something I could take away from all the conflict. I realized how I can rationalize doing hurtful things to people because their personality is annoying to me which really isn’t a good reason when you think about it.

So I took something away from it and I am curious to see how it all ends (hope for Mike!).

Luckily Survivor didn’t leave us all depressed with season 30 for long. They announced season 31 is going to be called Survivor Second Chances and they are doing something they’ve never done before. They have nominated 32 players, 16 women, 16 men who have all played the game once before. Some of these are old time players from seasons 1 and 2 and others are from the current season 31 including Shirin (hurray!). I’m so excited to see any of these 20 back again but it has been like Christmas for Survivor fans to hear the campaigning and try to decide what people to vote for.

My favorite podcaster over at RHAP has been working overtime to interview as many of the contestants as possible and these are thorough 45 to an hour long interviews which again is like a holiday for fans. We get to hear all about their original seasons plus what they would do differently. We can even provide ideas and suggestions for the upcoming season something that has always been impossible (we usually don’t know the cast until it has already filmed!). So if you are fan of the show it has been a real treat.

To listen to Rob’s interviews go to http://robhasawebsite.com/category/survivor/survivor-second-chance/

The graphic above shows the people I have decided to vote for. I looked at it as if I was a casting director and what mixture of personalities and types would I want on the show. That’s why I have some strong personalities like Troyzan and Abi, some thinkers like Spencer and Stephen, some challenge beasts like Terry and Tasha and some who will play with real heart like Kelly and Woo. The rest are just people that I like a lot and am curious to see what they do. Whoever gets picked it is going to be a ton of fun to see, as I don’t dislike any of them.

I tried to pick people that I think will be positive while still being competitive. Even if there are some feisty one’s I think the one’s I picked keep it to the game and know it is all in good fun. If it is mean like this season and misogynistic I will be very sad. Let’s play hard but have a good time while in the game guys and girls!

Feel free to follow my ballot and vote every day at http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/second-chance/

Are any of you voting? Who do you like? Please let me know!

On a side note today is my 7 year blogiversary! That’s 7 years writing my silly thoughts about life. I should do something more important but I’m saving that for post 1,000 which is 2 posts away. Wow!

Handymen?

May 8, 2015 · 10 Comments ·

Before I start my post just wanted to say I’m 3 posts from my 1000th post. Can you believe it? Do any of you have ideas of what I should do for post 1000? I’d love suggestions.

Anyway, when I purchased my home one of my concerns was how I would handle repairs. I am not a very detail oriented person and so things like repairs or assembly I am not great at. When I was at the rental I could call the landlord and have things taken care of easy-peasy. The few times I was put in charge of a repair project at my Dad’s rentals it did not go very well. I’m great at making calls but not the actual labor part.

In addition, my father, who is great at such things, is in California and I don’t have anyone else in my family nearby who is able to help. (And it doesn’t have to be a man but I don’t know any women either). You see why I was concerned before the move!

Luckily I have a new house so things have been relatively incident free. However, the last few weeks I had to fix a pocket door handle and install a new kitchen faucet. My Mom’s cousin fixed the door but I had a hard time finding anyone to help me with the faucet.

I put it on my facebook I needed help. Asking my friends if they knew anyone who was handy and could help me wiht the faucet. To my surprise the answer was no. And then I called my home teacher and he couldn’t think of anyone either. Eventually I texted a friend and her brother in law came over and the faucet was installed.

Still, I was surprised how few men out there have basic handyman skills. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago when such abilities were standard operating procedure for men. I guess that’s a stereotype so maybe it is a good thing but are we also raising kids without practical skills? I certainly don’t have those kind of abilities so I can’ t judge anyone else but it does seem like a little bit of a loss.

Shouldn’t we be teaching these kinds of skills to both boys and girls? I do know how to change a flat tire and check my oil but things around the house I am totally clueless. I guess I always had a Dad who could do those things and I assumed there would be people like that in my life. Now at least I’ve found that to be tough to find.

Luckily after about 2 weeks of searching I found my friends brother in law but it was quite the needle in the haystack! It shouldn’t be that hard.

What do you think? Should we be teaching these type of home repair skills to kids or is it just a new era where we are all digital and that kind of work is hired out? It seems like a loss and it certainly makes life tough for us single girls sometimes!

At least I have a new faucet installed. Hurray!

Rachel's Musings

My silly thoughts on life, family, theater, work, religion, music, swimming and more