Dear Margarita, I love you.

Today is Friday, and by golly, I don't have to work at all this weekend! Holy shit, really, you ask? Yes!! So, at dinner tonight, with my family, I had a celabratory Margarita. And boy, was it delicious. After dinner we went to Barnes & Noble. Perhaps it was fitting that I had a drink beforehand, because if you know my family you know that we stay at the bookstore for WAAAY to long and normally I am dragging my brothers out of the place.

So, today at my job, that-one-coffee-shop-that-some-people-have-heard-of, I was speaking to a customer who comes in almost every day. Today I finally asked what he did for a living, and he told me he is a psychologist. Psychology and Sociology have always interested me, and I have toyed with the idea of pursuing these interests as a career. Particularly helping at-risk kids and teens overcome issues they face. I have been feeling the need to be reintroduced to a former passion of mine, and I think this is just the thing. It is on my mind this evening.

Ohio

My plane landed back in Salt Lake at 12:15 a.m. Sunday night, a 40 minute delay from the scheduled time (thanks Dallas thunderstorms!!!), and then had to be AT work at 5 a.m. I was probably really grumpy at work yesterday, but now that I have caught up on my sleep, I must recap the weekend.

The original plan was that I was flying into Boston Friday evening, where Jason would pick me up. He was working in New Hampshire, but a couple days before I was supposed to leave his job said he had to go to Ohio because of a crisis. SO, he had to scramble to change my flight to go to Ohio instead. It all ended up working out, so I was headed to Dayton instead.

When I boarded the plane, the man sitting to my right said "Just so you know I get nauseous." GREAT, i thought. Right away, the girl to my left was asleep on the pull down table thingy in front of her. So I thought, If I need to make a mad dash to dodge projectile vomiting, I will have to manuever around the sleeping lady. Luckily, with the help of deep breaths, the man didn't have to use that paper bag he was clutching.

I had a 2 hour layover in Chicago on my way to Ohio, which was kind of cool. The Chicago airport is massive and I was a little nervous to venture far from my gate for fear of never finding it again. So, I cruised the gift shops, ate my ($11!!) sandwich, and picked up my friend Camron her shot glass.

Then, finally, I was on my way to Dayton. I was really excited because I hadn't seen Jason in a couple of weeks, and relieved to get out of town after my crazy week. The Dayton airport is tiny and not very hustle and bustle, which was nice. Jason picked me up and we headed to the hotel to drop my crap off, and then grab some Thai food in downtown Dayton. The restaurant is called Thai Nine, and the have great curry and martinis. Here is the funny conversation we had with the waitor:

Me: "I will have the Green Curry."

Jason: "I will have the Red Curry."

Waitor Man: "How spicy would you like those?"

Me: "What are the options?"

Waitor: "On a scale of 3-9."

And, he was totally serious about the 3-9 scale. For the record, a 7 is too hot.

Saturday we went into Columbus and walked around and saw the Columbus sites. The weather was slightly freezing, with a lot of wind. That night we met up with Jason's friend Julien, a 23-year-old french man who, upon greeting me, did the kiss-each-cheek gesture that I assume all french people do. Which I LOVE. We headed to a little french restaurant, that, if I visit Dayton again I must go to again. The Crepes are fantastic, and the martini called French Kiss was SO good. The highlight of the evening was when Julien asked us, "What is a French Kiss?" I guess in France kissing with tongue is not called a French Kiss. Lol.

Sunday we slept in and then had breakfast, before I had to head to the airport. The weekend was quick, but so fun and I was sad to have to come back....

Shitty day....

...today is.

I want Spring weather to be here.

I am ready for Spring. My second favorite season.

Today we had a godawful snow storm, and thankfully today I didn't have to drive to Park City. I was working in Park City all last week for the Sundance Film Festival. I saw one and a half cool people, Quentin Tarantino (cool) and Matthew Perry (half cool. or maybe just quiet?).

Anyways, this last week wore me out so bad that yesterday when I got home from work I took a nap- and didn't wake up until this morning. On the positive side, I am definitely not tired.

When I got to school a few minutes ago, I was pleased to see that my article had been published in the school paper. I wasn't sure that it was going to be, as I didn't feel like it was my finest work, but they published it. So naturally, I grabbed the whole stack for my scrapbook, my mom and dad, and my posterity.

In other news: I really love the song "Lake Michigan" by Rogue Wave. You may recognize the song from the Zune commercial. What is the Zune? Not sure, but it looks like an attempt to be an iPod? Whatever. Anyway, check out the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86YGj5D6I3k

-Amanda

An (almost) Lindsay Lohan sighting

Apparently, according to people.com, Lindsay Lohan dined at Happy Sumo at the Gateway lastnight in Salt Lake City. Apparently she is staying in the area for a while, post-rehab.

What is interesting about this, because Lindsay Lohan is not, is that Utah apparently has a really good rehab facility. Who would have thought?

A Long October

This month is going to be rough. I am trying to have a positive outlook and do the best that I can.

Since I have been back in Salt Lake, it has mostly been gray skies and rain. Except that last few days have been beautiful and sunny, with the falls leaves glowing on the trees. Fall is my favorite season. I have fond memories of walking home from elementary school during this time of year, crunching the leaves under my shoes, my nose pink from the chilly air.

Fall also inspires me to read a good book. It is on the agenda.

Have you heard the new Iron & Wine album? My god, it is amazing and you must get it. I don't even know who I am talking to right now, or if anyone reads this blog, but whoever you are, go buy Iron and Wine's The Shepherd's Dog.

To be able to get online on my laptop I have to go somewhere with (preferrably free) wireless. That usually leads me to my favorite downtown coffee shop. There is nothing great about the coffee here, and infact the tea is pretty damn horrible. But, for some reason I like this place.

A humbling experience

Lastnight my family and I went and served the homeless dinner at the Rescue Mission. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. My dad and brothers had done it once before, and they said it was a great experience.

They have the volunteers sit and listen to the sermon they give before dinner is served. The man who gave it said he used to be homeless and an alcoholic and said he has since found god. I don't know if it made an impression on the large crowd of mostly homeless men and a few homeless women, but sitting there looking at everyone, I really hope that it impacts them somehow.

I haven't been to any kind of church service in a long time, and probably wouldn't normally go to one, but it was refreshing and sad see this preacher standing at the microphone in his jeans and dirty t-shirt. I think the most effective words of advice someone can give is "I have been there, I made it through, it is hard and I still struggle, but you can do it." And, that is what he said.

After the church service, we went downstairs and got the food ready. It was lasagne, soup, and rolls donated from the event center down the street. I was the lasagne scooper, and several of the men said to me "Can I get a little more? I haven't eaten all day."

After the hundred or so people came through and got their food, we all washed the dishes and swept the floor. The residents (those who live at the Rescue Mission but also work there) thanked us for coming and we left.

It was a really fulfilling experience, and I definately want to do things like this more often.