Running

Today, for the first time in maybe 3 years or so, I ran without the fear of not being able to breathe. Hooray for my new inhaler!

10 Things I'm Grateful For Right Now

In no particular order:


1. My cat. I love when she follows me around and nudges herself into my lap--no matter what else is already there--or when she tries to eat some of my popcorn by sticking her whole head into the bag, like she did last night (at which point I pushed her head out and threw three pieces at her, which she ate).

2. My scriptures. I almost accidentally left them on Trax today. That would have made me quite unhappy.

3. Friends. All of them.

4. My computer(s) and the Internet.

5. Singles Ward mingles where they feed you a meal.

6. My mom. In hindsight, she's nearly always correct. There's something to be said for listening to your mother.

7. My bed. Nothing is as beautiful and inviting as your own bed after being away for nearly a month.

8. Medicine: for a happier, healthier ME!

9. The basics: food, clothing, shelter, work, etc. I have them all.

10. Plants. I think the peperomia I propagated is finally growing! Woohoo!

The Bronx

Yesterday I paid $5.50 for the privilege of spontaneously sightseeing as I drove through the Bronx. I did cross two lovely bridges in my travels though, so I guess that was kind of nice. It was the New Jersey Turnpike that saved me. I was supposed to be in New Jersey, you see, not in the Bronx.

I still can't stop myself from singing Simon & Garfunkel in my head every time I see a sign for the New Jersey Turnpike.

The New Jersey Turnpike took me right to where I wanted to be, AND it only cost me $4.50 for the privilege.

I kind of like Utah, where you can get lost for free.

Fun With Word 2007

Writing Workshop

I am sitting here in my room watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (in English) and writing a blog post. But guess what I could be doing? Writing a novel. THAT would be something worth blogging about.

Speaking of writing, there's going to be a wonderful conference/workshop this year, held at the Waterford School in Sandy. It's the annual Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop. You can link to it here, or there's a link on the side of my blog.

As I'm going to be involved in the workshop, and as I'm starting graduate school next week, and as, at this moment, I happen to be ill, my blogging may suffer over the next few months/years...

For now I'm going to finish this movie. After that, I write.

Hymnals

I am a little bit nuts about books. I've had to employ a points system of rewards in order to prevent myself from going on random book-buying binges. Hymn books are a particular weakness for me. These are the hymnals I have so far, in order from top to bottom:

1. Reproduction of the original LDS pocket-sized hymnal.

2. Pocket-sized French LDS hymnal. I bought this while at the MTC because it was marked down: someone had returned it, and they'd had to un-engrave it (if you look closely you can see the gold plate they glued over the engraving area).

3. 1950's edition hymnal, pocket-sized. I found this at DI for $2, still in its box, in pristine condition.

4. Pocket-sized German LDS hymnal. I plan to someday learn German.

5. Pocket-sized Spanish LDS hymnal.

6. Pocket-sized English LDS hymnal. I covered it in the hopes that the cover would stop crumbling apart.

7. Special edition leather-bound LDS hymnal.

8. 1950's edition LDS hymnal.

9. Unity Song Selections from the University School of Christianity. I have wanted to purchase other church's hymnals at many times while visiting foreign countries (particularly England), but have restrained myself from spending too much money (I usually had multiple other items I already planned to purchase). This hymnal is not foreign. I found it at DI. Good old DI. I can afford a book from DI.

10. Spanish LDS hymnal.

11. Regular old English LDS hymnal. Mother and Father Edit bought a hymnal for each of us kids when the books were first published in 1985. They even had our names debossed and foiled on the front.

Three of these hymnals were bought from the MTC, three were bought from DI, three were given to me, and two I bought from other sources.

Eleven is not an excessive number when you consider the total number of available hymnals in the world. :o)

(French) Horn

I've got a French* horn:

And I know how to use it!**

*"The International Horn Society recommends that HORN be recognized as the correct English label for our instrument." [From the Minutes of the First IHS General Meeting, June 15, 1971, Tallahassee, Florida, USA]

I, on the other hand, have given up trying, as a lot of musicians erroneously assimilate saxophones, trumpets, and even trombones with the word "horn." I would like to call the horn something that more accurately describes its roots, such as the French-American-German horn, but as this can be shortened to faghorn, I don't think it's likely to catch on anytime soon. Gafhorn?

Maybe I should write a separate blog entry about this. :o)

**If you would like to see me use it in a local production of Handel's Messiah (select movements), come to Hillcrest High tonight at 7. It's free!

Automatic Bathroom

If you go to the ladies' bathroom in the Wilkinson Center on the ground floor near the information desk, you will encounter the following:

-automatic flushing toilets

-automatic water faucets

-automatic soap dispensers

-automatic paper towel dispensers

-automatic hand dryers

Aaaaaaaaaand...

-automatic toilet paper dispensers

For real.

All they are missing is automatic toilet seat protectors (that bathroom currently has no seat protectors at all), which I saw at an airport once. Odd things.

And maybe automatic doors. Then you wouldn't have to touch ANYTHING.