March Madness!!

Yesterday was Rachael's date of birth (the big 21), so there was drinking and dancing at Wrigley's Mansion lastnight. It was fun with a small group just having a few drinks and doing some dancing. The band was cool, they played some jazz funkiness and I shook my groove thing.

I am working today, but I am indeed not bored. Much to be done. Here is my list:


1. Finish reading Chocolat for class.
2. Work on a story (still waiting for source to call me back. meh.)
3. Practice saying my name more clearly, because here is what just happened:

Me: "Republic newsroom, this is Amanda"

Caller: "Linda?"

Me: "No, Amanda."

Caller: "Okay, Linda, here is what I need. Can you transfer me to so-and-so?"

(wtf.)

4. Call Grandma Karolyn, who will be in town on Monday and Tuesday, to see when we are getting together. She is good times, and it has been over a year since I have seen her and Mike (her significant other), so I am looking forward to this. Brad will be at Genius Camp, so he wont get to meet her quite yet. (which reminds me, hopefully sometime this year he and I can take a trip to Reno and visit them, and then go to Lake Tahoe!)

5. Plan agenda for Utah trip. Brad isn't going to be there very long, so I am looking to squeeze as much fun-ness into two days as possible. My dad suggested seeing the temple (yes, THE TEMPLE), but that isn't very exciting. I am sure we will walk by it though. I definately want to eat at Porcupine Pub & Grill, a nice spot at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (or is it Big Cottonwood? I get the two mixed up), for dinner and a nice brew selection on tap. We will walk around downtown, take light rail to and fro, see some sites, meet some of my friends, etc. I am really looking forward to it.


March is going to be sort of, madness. In a good way though. Here is why:

1. Going to California next weekend.
2. Home for a week, then going to Salt Lake for a week.
3. When I get home, decision-making time for what I am going to do about work.
4. Childhood best friend Jenna comes to town the end of March.


Okay, enough of this long blog. Back to work.

Beer Fest Aftermath

Yesterday was my first Beer Festival experience. I had fun, and honestly am in awe of people who drink regularly in the middle of the day. It was at the Mesa Ampitheater, which looks like it would be a cool place for a concert. It was 80 degrees outside, so needless to say, I should have drank more water. All in all it was the adventure I thought it would be. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment (and my embarassment).

And, I feel Beer Nirvana right now. I currently feel that I never want another swig of the liquid.




And then the 5th time I spilled Beer on my shirt (time to go home):

It's that time again.

It seems that I am in another transitioning moment in my life. I think I feel this way about every 6 months or so about my present and future career/education: sort of in a rut, low motivation, etc.

Sometimes it really frustrates me when I can go from feeling satisfaction with something that I am doing, to a month later when I ask myself "Do I even enjoy this? Am I making the right decision?"

This feelings have a lot to do with the current state of my workplace. A lot of changes are going to be taking place very soon, involving deciding on staying put in my position or challenging myself a little bit in a new one.

I know a lot of it has to do with fear. For as long as I can remember, I have been afraid of trying something for fear that I am going to suck at it. An example of this is when I first started at the paper. I would ask and beg and plead for writing assignments, but then when given one I would almost have a panic attack at the thought of being edited. I have since gotten a lot better at not freaking out, but I still can't help it sometimes.

The weird thing is, that through my life thus far I would consider myself an accomplished person. So, amazingly, this fear of mine has not limited me really. I feel like what I am saying makes no sense, but it is what I feel.

I think what I really fear is my life going off course. I spent two years before I moved to Arizona feeling like I was living in complete chaos and so unsure about many things.

I know whatever happens will work out for the best, and thank god I have great people who support me and give me pep talks when I need it.

I guess it is the reality, and sometimes beauty, of life that things don't always go as we plan them. And, sometimes straying from the course can be a great thing. I just need to stop doubting myself. But how do I do that? I guess time, as always, is the answer.

I can't resist.

I didn't watch the Superbowl. I hear the Colts won.
I can't resist posting this picture of skater Oksana Baiul arriving at the game. It is bad. She must be having the real life version of the dream when you forget to put your clothes on.

I have been "tagged"

Workplace friend Matt tagged me on his blog a couple weeks ago, which I did not discover until just now. This "tag" means that I have to list 5 things that most people do not know about me.

Here it goes.

1. I peed the bed until I was in 5th grade. I think I had a bladder problem.

2. My friend Julia and I, in 2nd grade, spent about a month planning a run-a-way from home. We thought it would be fun and exciting. So, after careful planning...the weekend came that I would sleepover at her house and we would run away. We would wear disguises and no one would ever find us. It would be important that not even her mom would be able to tell who we were, because we would probably need to go into her mom's work to periodically ask for some money because after a while, as run-aways we would get hungry.
So at the sleepover, after playing with our American Girl Dolls, I woke her up after she had fallen asleep to see if she still wanted to run away, she said "Uhhh...we probably shouldn't." So we didn't. And that's good. Which brings me to...

3. When I was in seventh grade, my friend talked me into sneaking out of my house one night. I lasted 5 minutes and ran home because I was scared. That was my only time ever sneaking out. I was pretty much totally scared to get in trouble for many years of my youth.

4. I was in two school plays when I was a senior in high school. One, was Shakespeare's The Twelfh Night, and the other one was Barefoot In The Park, by Neil Simon. I was lead in both, and in Barefoot I was nominated for a state-wide high school Best Actress award. I didn't win.

5. My arms: both are double jointed and can twist weirdly. It use to gross people out in elementary school. I don't know if they are as bad now as they used to be. Wait, hold on...I will check. Naa, they are just mildly weird now. AND, I broke my left arm playing soccer on my bike in 3rd grade. So, I had to go to swimming lessons with a plastic bag over my cast, which would sink everytime I did a breast stroke with that arm.

Peace in the Universe. It's what I am all about.

One day, shortly after I first moved to Arizona in April 2006, I was walking to the bank on my lunch break at work, and I recall two things: I wasn't having a very good day, and a homeless man yelled "Hello Miss Arizona!" as I walked by him.

Today, as I was walking into work, I heard a man yell "Hello Miss Universe!"

I looked up, and the same homeless man from last year was walking past me.

My question is this: Is the reason I have been promoted from Arizona to Universe status because of my extra geeky, new brown glasses?

I guess I will never know.

A pleasant sight

Here is my proof that winter exists in Arizona, as seen in Flagstaff this weekend.

Questionable start to my morning, but the rest of my day should be lovely

This morning when I was heading to work, in the darkness of ridiculous o'clock (6:45 a.m.), I had a bit of a scare.

There I was, making a left-hand turn on a non-arrow green. So, I mosey on into the intersection, as one should do.

Someone is directly infront of me, making their left-hand turn. They also mosey out. Unfortunately, their mosey blocked the lane of oncoming traffic right next to them out of my view. So, I go to turn, thinking all is clear ahead.

BUT NO.

There is a large car, coming right at me...so I put the ol' Galant into a mode that the poor thing has never had to go into, as I slam on the gas pedal. And I made it to my destination safely.

Now, for some reason...now my Service Engine light is coming on.

Hmm.