HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Celebrating 1986
My roommate, Stephanie, had a birthday party this weekend. She was born in 1986 - the same year that the movie Top Gun was made. So to celebrate we had an 80's party and watched Top Gun!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
"Bluebird"
I love this song by Sara Bareilles. The video on youtube is stupid - but there isn't a music video for it yet.
I want you to listen to this song as you read this post...
Have you ever missed something? You're just going through your day and all of the sudden you miss something? You miss a past experience, people, places, etc?
That happened to me today.
I was driving home from work and listening to this song. And out of the blue, I missed playing the piano - more specifically - I missed singing and playing the piano.
I missed those times when I was home alone - no one else there (well, the dog was there). Anyway on those rare occasions that I was home alone, I would sit down at the piano and I would just play. Sometimes I would sing as I played. Since I was home alone, I could sing as loud as I wanted and however I wanted to.
Playing the piano is the one thing I can do without needing my brain. I don't have to think. Those are the times when my mind is just...there. I don't have to worry about my life. In those moments, everything is right in the world. It's just me - no thoughts, nothing - just me playing the piano.
I suppose I missed this today as I was listening to this song because this is a song that I would play if I had a piano and the sheet music. And if I was home alone, I would sing as I played it. And my mind wouldn't be constantly thinking or worried. Everything would be right in the world for a few moments.
"Ready to fly. You and I. Here we go..."
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My Gramper...
It is my Gramper's birthday tomorrow.
He is the best grandpa in the whole world.
Gramper joined the Church when he was still in high school. He was the only member in his family. After high school my Gramper served a full-time mission. He married my Gramma after he came home and they raised an amazing family together!
Gramper started his own computer software company, ButtonWare, where I then joined the picture and was the company mascot ;) - just kidding. (But seriously I was in the company picture.)
Gramper's beard scared me. But then again, I was also afraid of Santa...
When I was little my grandparents lived on a island just outside of Seattle. Gramper would take us down to the water were we would throw rocks. He would always find little crabs under the rocks. I was too scared to hold them but Gramper was not scared so he would hold the little crabs while I looked at them. We always named them Sebastian.
I've been able to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail since I could talk. That's because Gramper had sound clips from that movie on his laptop and would play them all the time.
He also had a fart machine. Gramma took it away.
Gramper has had 3 cars that I can remember: Wildfire, the blue jeep - Desert Storm, the green jeep - and the white car he has now. I don't know it's name.
My Gramper knows more about computers than anyone I know. He is the gadget man.
Gramper also loves to take pictures. So do I.
My Gramper loves me. He wrote me almost every day in the MTC. He would pick movie quotes from our three movies (Monty Paython, The Three Amigos, Rustler's Rapsidy) and then put them through an English to German translator and send me the quotes in German. He also emailed me frequently while I was in Germany.
Gramper loves German like I do. His grandparents are from Germany. They spoke German to him as a child. I served my mission where he wanted to serve. Gramper is also famous in Germany: Jim Knopf is a character in a children's book series.
Gramper is a great example. He and Gramma served a mission together in the Navuoo Temple. They've served in the Seattle Temple for as long as I can remember.
Gramper is a great friend. For Adam, Gramper was his sidekick when Adam thought he was a cowboy. For David, Gramper was his best friend and teacher when Dave was home schooled. For my dad, Gramper was his partner in ridding the world of evil playing computer games.
For me, my Gramper is the best grandpa I could have ever asked for. I feel so blessed and grateful that Heavenly Father has let him stay here, so that he can be apart of my life!
Alles gute zum Geburtstag Gramper!
Ich liebe dich!
He is the best grandpa in the whole world.
Gramper joined the Church when he was still in high school. He was the only member in his family. After high school my Gramper served a full-time mission. He married my Gramma after he came home and they raised an amazing family together!
Gramper started his own computer software company, ButtonWare, where I then joined the picture and was the company mascot ;) - just kidding. (But seriously I was in the company picture.)
Gramper's beard scared me. But then again, I was also afraid of Santa...
When I was little my grandparents lived on a island just outside of Seattle. Gramper would take us down to the water were we would throw rocks. He would always find little crabs under the rocks. I was too scared to hold them but Gramper was not scared so he would hold the little crabs while I looked at them. We always named them Sebastian.
I've been able to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail since I could talk. That's because Gramper had sound clips from that movie on his laptop and would play them all the time.
He also had a fart machine. Gramma took it away.
Gramper has had 3 cars that I can remember: Wildfire, the blue jeep - Desert Storm, the green jeep - and the white car he has now. I don't know it's name.
My Gramper knows more about computers than anyone I know. He is the gadget man.
Gramper also loves to take pictures. So do I.
My Gramper loves me. He wrote me almost every day in the MTC. He would pick movie quotes from our three movies (Monty Paython, The Three Amigos, Rustler's Rapsidy) and then put them through an English to German translator and send me the quotes in German. He also emailed me frequently while I was in Germany.
Gramper loves German like I do. His grandparents are from Germany. They spoke German to him as a child. I served my mission where he wanted to serve. Gramper is also famous in Germany: Jim Knopf is a character in a children's book series.
Gramper is a great example. He and Gramma served a mission together in the Navuoo Temple. They've served in the Seattle Temple for as long as I can remember.
Gramper is a great friend. For Adam, Gramper was his sidekick when Adam thought he was a cowboy. For David, Gramper was his best friend and teacher when Dave was home schooled. For my dad, Gramper was his partner in ridding the world of evil playing computer games.
For me, my Gramper is the best grandpa I could have ever asked for. I feel so blessed and grateful that Heavenly Father has let him stay here, so that he can be apart of my life!
Alles gute zum Geburtstag Gramper!
Ich liebe dich!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Transfers
Those of you who have served missions understand exactly what I mean when I say: transfers.
Being transferred to a new area on the mission involves a lot of emotions. For one: you may or may not love the area in which you are currently serving. If you love your area you may feel sad or upset about being transferred somewhere else. If you don't like the area where you are serving, transfer day can't come any sooner. Second: you may or may not like your companion. If you love your companion you're sad to get transferred and run the risk of serving with someone you don't like. Or if you don't like your companion then again, transfer day can't come any sooner.
Whether you love or hate your area, like or dislike your companion, transfers always bring a fresh start. A time to reevaluate. Set some new goals, develop better habits. A new beginning, where you take everything you've learned from your previous area and former companion and build upon those things.
I served in my second area of my mission for 4 transfers. That's 24 weeks of the same area. The same surroundings, same ward, same investigators. I loved this city. I loved the ward. I loved our investigators. I could have stayed another transfer or two without any complaint. But the day did come and I did have to leave. 
A new city, new ward, new companion, new missionaries, new investigators. It was the end of November and I was going to be here for Christmas. My one Christmas in Germany. I was sad to leave my area but I was excited and looking forward to some new adventures.
I had been in my second area for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to be in a city and not know where anything is or how to get anywhere. I hated it. I didn't like not knowing where I was. It was cold and got dark early. We lived in a sketchy part of town in a nasty, little apartment that smelled like smoke. The ward was strange and the Elders were completely unmotivated. And, we had no investigators. It was a depressing 6 weeks but we did what we could to keep happy. Feeding the ducks who lived at the pond behind the palace brought us great enjoyment.
And the palace there is BEAUTIFUL!
I also have to mention that I had probably the most amazing Christmas day EVER: a member of our ward took us hiking in the Black Forest. Yes, THE Black Forest.
To this day I still can't quite figure out why I was transferred there. The whole six weeks we had one person that we kind of taught. I felt like my time there was kind of a waste. I was happy when transfer calls came.
As you can probably tell I've been thinking a lot about this time in my mission. About that transfer in particular. Probably because I still don't understand it. Just as I don't understand what's going on in my life right now.
I've worked for American Eagle for almost 2 years now. And I've loved every moment of it. I love everything about working there: except for letting people into the fitting rooms. I can't explain it but it puts me in the worst mood and I can't stand it. Anyway, to make a long story short, just after the back to school season my hours got cut. Mostly because business died down, but for other reasons as well. I was so upset. I've given pretty much everything for my store (just ask my friends). I'm good at my job. I know everything about the store. I know everything about the clothes. I can tell just by looking at someone what size jeans they'd wear. My life revolved around AE - I seriously lived my life at American Eagle. And I loved it. I usually came away from work feeling better than I had when I got there.
So my hours were few and I needed a new job. Let me tell you, I cried over this. But a miracle came along and within a week I got a job working at Crazy 8 (children's clothing store) as a manager. More hours doing the same thing, just at a different store. I feel like I got transferred. Working with different people, different customers. And you know what, I feel like something in my life is missing. I feel so incomplete. I miss my store. I miss the people I worked with. It's like I transferred myself to a new area and miss the familiarity and comfort of my old area. I know that this new job will bring me new experiences and challenges that will (hopefully) help me grow and learn. I've learned one thing for sure: I miss living my life at AE.
So just like was I feeling when I left my second area, wondering what it is that Heavenly Father wants me to learn, I'm sitting here wondering what I need to learn this time. Hoping and praying that I can be happy again and that my experience here won't leave me feeling like I wasted time.
One thing for sure...I probably won't go hiking in the Black Forest again this Christmas...
Being transferred to a new area on the mission involves a lot of emotions. For one: you may or may not love the area in which you are currently serving. If you love your area you may feel sad or upset about being transferred somewhere else. If you don't like the area where you are serving, transfer day can't come any sooner. Second: you may or may not like your companion. If you love your companion you're sad to get transferred and run the risk of serving with someone you don't like. Or if you don't like your companion then again, transfer day can't come any sooner.
Whether you love or hate your area, like or dislike your companion, transfers always bring a fresh start. A time to reevaluate. Set some new goals, develop better habits. A new beginning, where you take everything you've learned from your previous area and former companion and build upon those things.
I served in my second area of my mission for 4 transfers. That's 24 weeks of the same area. The same surroundings, same ward, same investigators. I loved this city. I loved the ward. I loved our investigators. I could have stayed another transfer or two without any complaint. But the day did come and I did have to leave. 
A new city, new ward, new companion, new missionaries, new investigators. It was the end of November and I was going to be here for Christmas. My one Christmas in Germany. I was sad to leave my area but I was excited and looking forward to some new adventures.
I had been in my second area for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to be in a city and not know where anything is or how to get anywhere. I hated it. I didn't like not knowing where I was. It was cold and got dark early. We lived in a sketchy part of town in a nasty, little apartment that smelled like smoke. The ward was strange and the Elders were completely unmotivated. And, we had no investigators. It was a depressing 6 weeks but we did what we could to keep happy. Feeding the ducks who lived at the pond behind the palace brought us great enjoyment. 
And the palace there is BEAUTIFUL!
I also have to mention that I had probably the most amazing Christmas day EVER: a member of our ward took us hiking in the Black Forest. Yes, THE Black Forest.
To this day I still can't quite figure out why I was transferred there. The whole six weeks we had one person that we kind of taught. I felt like my time there was kind of a waste. I was happy when transfer calls came.
As you can probably tell I've been thinking a lot about this time in my mission. About that transfer in particular. Probably because I still don't understand it. Just as I don't understand what's going on in my life right now.
I've worked for American Eagle for almost 2 years now. And I've loved every moment of it. I love everything about working there: except for letting people into the fitting rooms. I can't explain it but it puts me in the worst mood and I can't stand it. Anyway, to make a long story short, just after the back to school season my hours got cut. Mostly because business died down, but for other reasons as well. I was so upset. I've given pretty much everything for my store (just ask my friends). I'm good at my job. I know everything about the store. I know everything about the clothes. I can tell just by looking at someone what size jeans they'd wear. My life revolved around AE - I seriously lived my life at American Eagle. And I loved it. I usually came away from work feeling better than I had when I got there.
So my hours were few and I needed a new job. Let me tell you, I cried over this. But a miracle came along and within a week I got a job working at Crazy 8 (children's clothing store) as a manager. More hours doing the same thing, just at a different store. I feel like I got transferred. Working with different people, different customers. And you know what, I feel like something in my life is missing. I feel so incomplete. I miss my store. I miss the people I worked with. It's like I transferred myself to a new area and miss the familiarity and comfort of my old area. I know that this new job will bring me new experiences and challenges that will (hopefully) help me grow and learn. I've learned one thing for sure: I miss living my life at AE.
So just like was I feeling when I left my second area, wondering what it is that Heavenly Father wants me to learn, I'm sitting here wondering what I need to learn this time. Hoping and praying that I can be happy again and that my experience here won't leave me feeling like I wasted time.
One thing for sure...I probably won't go hiking in the Black Forest again this Christmas...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Dear Utah...
Dear State of Utah,
Now we know that you and I are not the best of friends. Sure, your mountains are sometimes pretty and I thank you for the few days last week that you rained water and not pollution. But most of the time you are brown, rain dirt, and your people do not know how to drive. I would now like to add something to my list of things I do not like about you. Utah Starbucks. Today I decided to begin my Fall/Winter ritual of drinking Carmel Apple Spice from Starbucks. First of all, your Starbucks do not come equipped with a drive through. This needs to change. Also, I waited too long for my drink. There were 3 workers and only one of them making the drinks. And when I say "no whip cream please" I'd really appreciate it if they didn't put whip cream on my drink.
Thank you Utah for giving me one more reason to dislike you and for making me just that much more homesick.
I wish you were more like Washington.
Sincerely,
RACH
a Washingtonian for LIFE
Now we know that you and I are not the best of friends. Sure, your mountains are sometimes pretty and I thank you for the few days last week that you rained water and not pollution. But most of the time you are brown, rain dirt, and your people do not know how to drive. I would now like to add something to my list of things I do not like about you. Utah Starbucks. Today I decided to begin my Fall/Winter ritual of drinking Carmel Apple Spice from Starbucks. First of all, your Starbucks do not come equipped with a drive through. This needs to change. Also, I waited too long for my drink. There were 3 workers and only one of them making the drinks. And when I say "no whip cream please" I'd really appreciate it if they didn't put whip cream on my drink.
Thank you Utah for giving me one more reason to dislike you and for making me just that much more homesick.
I wish you were more like Washington.
Sincerely,
RACH
a Washingtonian for LIFE
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Fall is here!!
The leaves are changing colors. It's raining and cloudy. The wind is blowing and it's a little chilly outside - I believe Fall is finally here!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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