Procrastination...

I know this paper isn't going to write itself, and I know that it's the last paper I'm EVER going to have to write (for school) but for some reason, I can't bring myself to work on it. I thought maybe if I wrote a blog post, it would start writing itself.... It could happen!

I'm Tired

I'm tired of people not doing what they say they'll do. I'm tired of people not showing up for me. I'm tired of people who pretend to be my friends. I'm tired of the people who don't contribute in my group for class. I'm tired of dealing with stupid people all the time. I'm tired of drama. Not mine, because I don't think I really have any... but I'm tired of everyone else's.

The Government and its Damn Oil

I was reading an article in Fast Company, a magazine I was turned on to during my MBA, and came across an article called, "Motorhead Messiah." If you go onto the website, you can look up old issues of the magazine and read the articles. Anyway, this article is about a guy named Jonathan Goodwin and how he has been re-designing engines to make them more powerful, and more efficient, and how his innovations could help the US car manufacturers rebound from their slump. At the time the article was written, he was working on a Hummer H3 (a vehicle that weighs about 5,000 lbs) - when he's done with it, the vehicle will have 2,000 foot-pounds of torque, will get approximately 60 miles to the gallon (as its being converted to a hybrid engine), will be changed from 300 to 600 horsepower, and will be able to do 0-60 in five seconds! Remember: we're talking about a Hummer here, people. Isn't that amazing? (The picture of the Hummer is for reference... and it's pink because it's cute)!

Well kids, because things are the way they are, and this country relies so heavily on the money generated from oil, we'll never see Goodwin's innovations streamlined into the general marketplace. Just think how much better off our environment would be if these changes could be made for all the cars in the US. Is it ever going to happen? Probably not! What the hell is wrong with our country's priorities?

Here's a link to the article. It's really interesting, I'd suggest reading it just for fun.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html

"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die."

After everyone had left the party last night Auri, Trent, Di Bradley and myself went upstairs to watch "Across the Universe." I'd been looking forward to seeing the movie even though I wasn't entirely sure what it was about. The movie, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, is a musical set to the music of The Beatles, and it's about the Vietnam War and how it affected everyone. Over the last few years, I've heard the talk comparing Vietnam to the war in Iraq and the movie helped me better understand the parallels. I've never been a particularly politically-minded individual, but I'm slowly becoming that way. I am really anxious to see who will be elected President at the end of the year and also to see what will happen over the next few years. I think this election will possibly be the most important election my generation will see in our lifetime. For this reason, I feel it is incredibly important for everyone to educate themselves on the candidates, and to vote for the person who most closely represents his or her beliefs and values.

I was talking to Auri the other night and we were discussing the voting process and the Primaries. I told her that I had been on the fence for a long time regarding the Democratic candidates and was having a hard time making a decision. We got a newsletter from the Council for the National Interest and it outlined each of the candidates thoughts on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This is a particularly important subject to me because my family is there, and I want our next leader to take the steps to foster the peace process. I voted based on what I had read in that newsletter. The candidate that I voted for stated that he was a proponent for a resolution that satisfies both sides of the issue. As we were talking about this, Auri made a very profound statement... Anyone who takes sides is directly contributing to the conflict. I couldn't agree more. The sad part of the situation is neither side will ever give up, and I doubt if I'll ever see a resolution in my lifetime.

Homework and other stuff

Well, it's official.... I will be done with my MBA in 15 days! Woo Hoo! I absolutely cannot wait to be finished. I'll finally have my life back and I'm looking so forward to it. I'm really excited to not have to waste my freakin' Saturday nights doing homework that I should have gotten done earlier in the week (on the actual day it was due) because I'm so burned out I have no desire to even look at it. I know that if I'd just focus and get it done, my life would be a lot less stressful, but I've always procrastinated in regards to homework, so why should I change my ways now?

Anyway... Last night we had a party at Auri and Trent's house and it was a blast. And, I'd just like to state officially for the record that I have some of the best friends in the world! (Even if Karen won't give me a copy of my birthday trip pictures)!

Man vs. Wild

I think I'm going to start watching Man vs. Wild diligently. I've now heard two stories of people surviving after doing what they learned while watching the show. One story was about a couple of kids who fell into a frozen-over lake and after learning what to do from the show, they were able to save themselves from hypothermia. The second story is about this couple from Utah who was just found alive after 10 days in the wilderness! The best part about the show is that Bear Grylls is really hot, so I will be thoroughly entertained!

A Powerful Message

Some people may love this song as much as I do.... some may hate it. I don't really care. That's the beauty of the country we live in - freedom of speech is a gift. I blasted this in my car on my way to vote. It was a little tribute by me, to my country and our future leader. Here are the lyrics...

"Hands Held High"

Turn my mic up louder
I got to say something
Lightweights step it aside when we come in
Feel it in your chest / the syllables get pumping
People on the street they panic and start running
Words on loose leaf sheet complete coming
I jump in my mind and summon the rhyme I’m dumping
Healing the blind I promise to let the sun in
Sick of the dark ways we march to the drum and
Jump when they tell us that they want to see us jumping
Fuck that / I want to see some fists pumping
Risk something / take back what’s yours
Say something that you know they might attack you for
Cause I’m sick of being treated like I have before
Like it’s stupid standing for what I’m standing for
Like this war’s really just a different brand of war
Like it doesn’t cater to rich and abandon poor
Like they understand you in the back of the jet/when you
Can’t put gas in your tank / and these fuckers are
Laughing their way to the bank / and cashing the check
Asking you to have compassion / and have some respect
For a leader so nervous in an obvious way
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay
And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
In their living room laughing like
What did he say?

Amen, Amen, Amen

In my living room watching / but I am not laughing / cause
When it gets tense I know what might happen
The world is cold / the bold men take action
Have to react or get blown into fractions
Ten years old / it’s something to see / another
Kid my age drug under a jeep
Taken and bound / and found later under a tree
I wonder if he had thought the next one could be me
Do you see / the soldiers / they’re out today they
Brush the dust from bulletproof vests away
It’s ironic / at times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday
There’s bombs on the busses / bikes / roads
Inside your market / your shops / your clothes / my dad
He’s got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that show
My brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spine
On the back / he hand wrote a quote inside:
“When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”
And meanwhile / the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay
The rest of the world watching at the end of the day
Both scared and angry like
What did he say?

Chorus: With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

-Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park

Minutes to Midnight Album

Random Ramblings from this Week

I think this is becoming a forum for me to complain, and not so much for me to share my thoughts and wisdom with the world. I think this picture of me sums up my week. Yes, I realize it's only Tuesday night, but it's already been the week from hell. It actually all started last week with the 2nd of two, glorious snow storms.

After the car got high-centered at the park, and Zak and I dug it out, I didn't want anything to do with it the next day, so Odum drove us to work. When I got home, I was informed that I had a flat tire. Fabulous, I know. My parents were out of town for the next three days so I took my mom's car to work for the remainder of the week. On Saturday, I took my car to get new tires and have the "check engine" light looked at. The guy at the tire place got my tires off and then figured out he ordered the wrong size tires, so he sent me on my merry way with a set of loaner wheels until Monday. From there, I had the check engine light looked at and found out everything is fine. It came on because the tires were spinning out of control when it was high-centered last week. (Can I tell you, by the way, that the service writer at the car place is totally cute? My dad sends me to see him every time I go in, and he's just so damn cute)! Anyway, I was on my way to Auri's on Saturday night and hit about 60mph on the freeway and the steering wheel began to shake uncontrollably. I came to the conclusion I couldn't go over about 58mph or the front end was going to get jacked up. So I took the car in Monday after work when they said they'd have the wheels ready to go, (keep in mind that I had my dad call the guy to tell him I was on my way and the guy said he was waiting for me) and when I got there, they told me they ordered the wrong size tires, AGAIN!!! So I was back on my merry way, though it wasn't so merry. I was extremely close to either ramming my car into a snowbank, or rallying the car before I gave them the tires back and told them to shove them. Luckily I refrained from killing myself, or anyone else, and got home safely.

Earlier yesterday I had called my mom to say hi, only to find out my poor mom had been cleaning up doggy diarrhea all morning, her brand new washer flooded the laundry room, and she had to take the dog to the vet. In addition to this, my uncle's mom is in a nursing home and isn't doing too well, so things are just shitty around my house this week. When I got home, we both cried a little, got some dinner, and came home and layed on the couch. We're better today (and so is the dog).

I had to take off early again from work today and drive back to 10600 South, from 100 South, to go get my tires. I had a call earlier this afternoon stating that they were mounted and ready to go. All I had to do was drive 106 blocks on the freeway in stop and go traffic at rush hour to go get them. Fun, huh? Sorry for the venting, but it seems to help when I get it out.

The GD F'ing Snow

I'm sitting on my bed in my jammies and my Pussy Cap wondering how much it would cost to move to Hawaii. Can I just say I'm so done with the GD F'ing snow that I could scream? I'm going to vent, so if you don't want to hear it, then don't read this! All the talk over the weekend was about the BIG storm we were going to get on Monday. It could possibly hit early in the morning before the commute, or it might hit a little later, no one was really sure. By the 10 o'clock Sunday night news, the prediction was that the storm would hit at the end of the morning commute. I packed my bags accordingly for work anticipating the storm. I took my boots, gloves, hat, scarf and my long wool coat, and left to pick up Odum.

The wind was blowing quite hard when I left, but the snow was no where to be seen. Totally fine with me. We got to work with no complaints other than it was really cold. I looked outside around 10 AM and the sun was shining, although, I could see the clouds rolling in from the west. At about 10:30, my coworker gasped and told us to look outside. It hadn't quite started snowing but it was extremely dark outside and the flurries were starting. About 10 minutes later it was a complete white out. By about 12:30 PM, my boss sent our department home so that we wouldn't have to deal with a messy evening commute. Plus, payroll was running and we couldn't do much anyway. Odum and I walked to my car, drove to Chilis, had some lunch, and ventured home. The roads were pretty bad, but we didn't really have any problems until we got to my hill. We decided previously that we'd just go to my house and have Dale pick him up. Once on my hill, I gave it about four tries and then gave up and parked the car in the parking lot at the park. Dale came to pick up Odum and I spent the next hour snow blowing/shoveling the driveway.

Also keep in mind that we've known for the last three days, if not longer, that we were going to get dumped on. Well where were all the damn plows? In the hour it took me to drive home from work, I think I saw two plows, working side-by-side. There are something like 437 plows in the state of Utah, or maybe that's the Wasatch Front, I'm not sure, but where the hell were they? If we know it's going to snow, why aren't the drivers sitting around waiting for the first snowflake to fall? They should see that the storm is on its way and get in their GD plows ready to go. I'm sick of trying to drive my little Solara through inches of snow on snow-packed roads because they haven't been plowed. What's wrong with everyone???

Of all the nights to have class, tonight was the night. Since my car was stuck at the park, I borrowed my mom's Tahoe and went to school. We were only there for about two hours and to our amusement, the teacher sent us home. Once I got home and opened the garage, Zak came out and said he'd go with me to get my car. He brought the dog (not sure why) and a shovel.

Let's just say that for the next hour, the two of us shoveled snow, rocked the car, pushed the car, and in Zak's words, Dukes of Hazarded the car. It took us an f'ing hour to dig my car out. It was high-centered on a snow bank that I wouldn't have pulled onto had I seen it in the foot of snow that had fallen in my neighborhood. Now, I have totally bare tires and my "check engine" light is on. I'd be surprised if there is any gas left in the tank after that little fiasco. So, I'm not sure if I'm going to buy new tires, or if I should trade in my car and buy something with four wheel drive. At this point, I never want to drive anywhere ever again.

I will have my MBA at the end of February... why can't I find a fabulous, high-paying job somewhere like Hawaii and move there? I could buy a condo or a townhouse and a scooter, and I'd be happy for the rest of my life. My friends and family could come to visit me all the time, and I wouldn't have to deal with the f'ing snow. I think that sounds like a much better way to spend my days than digging my car out of the snow.

Cheeky Bamanas

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking it would be fun to go over to Auri's one night, make some dinner, play with the kids and have a little drinky poo. We planned our evening out, made our shopping list and I went to the grocery and liqor stores. I had told the boys that if they were good and listened to Mommy, I'd bring them treats. When I got to the house, Auri started cooking, and I started playing with the kids. I gave them their treats, which were jelly bellies in these cute little plastic jelly bean-shaped containers, and they loved them. I didn't get one for the baby because I figured jelly beans weren't the best things for her to eat. Anyway, we're playing, and hanging out and I called Aidan a Chiquita Banana. He looked up at me and said, "I'm not a Cheeky Bamana!" Obviously, I started cracking up. And needless to say, I've now been calling everyone Cheeky Bamanas!

By this time, we're finished preparing dinner and we sit down to eat. The boys weren't feelin' the very yummy tortellini in white sauce that Aurs made for dinner, and I asked them if I should take their treats away because they weren't listening to Mommy. Aidan turned to me and said something like, "Fine, take them away from us!" This time I tried not to laugh as I didn't want to instigate any more naughty behavior. After we were done with dinner and had some play time, it was time for the boys to go to bed. Auri and I took them downstairs, got jammies on, and Auri got situated on Tristan's bed to read a little bit from Harry Potter. I kneeled at Aidan's bedside to keep him company. We chit chatted while Auri read to the boys, and out of nowhere, Aidan looks at me and says, "Tata, I love your boobies!" How do you not laugh when a three year-old says stuff like that to you? I guess Aurs didn't hear him say it because I had to tell her about it later. I love going over there to play with them for the sheer anticipation of what he's going to say next! The rest of the evening consisted of Auri and I watching TV and hanging out. We tried to drink, but I think we're getting old because neither one of us was feeling really hot after the first glass and a half of wine. C'est la vie!

Keep in mind that in addition to Aidan's witty responses, I am constantly entertained by Tristan and his outfits. I rarely see that kid in regular clothes. Most of the time he's dressed up in his Batman outfit, but occasionally I see him dressed as a dragon or a Ninja Turtle. Apparently, a few weeks ago he dressed Aidan up in Taryn's ladybug costume, and then proceeded to put it on himself. I think my absolute favorite is when he puts on his snow suit that he wore when he was about a year old! It's not a pretty sight, and that's all I'm gonna say!

I babysat the kids this past Friday night and I was really hoping to be entertained. Other than Tristan wearing his Batman outfit, nothing else really exciting was done or said. I was really bummed about it too. Half the fun of spending time with them is the fact that I like coming home from their house with stories to tell! Oh well, I'll have lots of time for them to entertain me!

A fantastic snow adventure

I woke up yesterday to radio traffic reports telling people to stay home if they could. The reports also said that the plows hadn't been out and venturing out on the roads wasn't worth it. I called Odum and we decided it would be better to wait to leave until about 8:30 after the plows had (hopefully) been out. I opened the garage and saw about a foot of snow and I wasn't sure if my car would make it over the snowbank in my driveway. I left my house at 8:35 and slid down the hill... when I got to the street below, my back end fishtailed and my wheels just spun. I'm not exactly sure how, but I managed to make it from the bottom of my hill to 9400 South.

Once at 9400, I had a decision to make. Play it safe, hang a right and go to 1700 East, or be a daredevil, hang a left and try to make it up the hill to get to Odum's house. Seeing how I wasn't having much luck at this point, I decided to play it safe. I waited to pull out until the only car I could see was a safe distance away. I stepped on the gas and not a lot happened. After flooring it, I finally made my way onto 9400 heading west and crept up to the light at 1700 East. I was trying not to stop and to be able to roll through the intersection, but oncoming traffic dictated otherwise. Once I was able to turn, I was worried my car was going to get stuck in the middle of the intersection on 1700 and 9400 in the way of oncoming traffic. I somehow made it through and made an immediate left onto Sugarloaf Dr. Keep in mind at this point that not one of the roads I've traveled on has been plowed. On Sugarloaf, my RPMs were up around 4 and my speedometer said I was going 40 mph. In all actuality, I was doing 5! My tires were spewing snow at all angles and snow was coming up and over the hood of my car. I finally made it to the front of Odum's driveway and he got in the car. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of riding in the car with Odum, know that he is a nervous Nelly.

Once in my car and safely belted in, I put the car in drive. Did we move? No, not so much. After a little coaxing of my wheels, we started in a forward motion. I decided I'd rather try to slide down the hill toward 9400 than to go back the way I had come, seeing how it was so successful. I safely made it down the hill and the car struggled to get to the end of the street. I knew from previously pulling onto 94th that it would take a lot for the car to get going, so this time, I waited for an even longer clear path. As I pulled out to make a left, the car got what I'll refer to as "sidetracked." It wasn't sure if it wanted to go left, right, or anywhere for that matter. Meanwhile, Odum is screaming, "Just go to your house, just go to your house!" I think I floored it all the way across five lanes of traffic and got back to my road.

We worked our way down Peruvian (the road I came from earlier) and got closer to my circle. I figured there was no way my little Solara was going to make it all the way back up the hill, so I was going to try to make it to the park. After passing my circle, and consequently, the entrance to the park, we went around the block that's northeast of my house. Keep in mind, the roads still have not been plowed and I'm in about a foot of snow. Once again, I was flooring the gas and snow was being kicked up at all angles from below, as well as coming up and over the hood of my car. Could I see? Not so much. There were a few stop signs in the neighborhood, but since no cross-traffic was coming, I wasn't going to stop. Right before the last stop sign we came to, there was a rather large dip in the road, which I had forgotten was there, and obviously couldn't see. Let me tell ya, I think we got air! If we didn't, we at the very least, bounced really hard.

At this point, we're now back at the junction in the road where I can turn left into my circle or right into the park. We already established I wasn't making it up the hill, but could I even see the driveway to get into the park? No! So guess where we went? Down the road that heads west from my circle. Yeah, I know. I was going to turn into the little cul-de-sac a couple of houses down, but a big truck was coming and my car wasn't cooperating. I did make it to one of the neighbor's driveways that was plowed and sat there for a minute. By the way, as I'm trying to maneuver the car, my mom called. Also keep in mind, Odum is intermittently shrieking. We sat in the driveway for a minute so I could collect my thoughts and then my mom called back. Hello? Didn't I just tell you that I'm having an EXTREMLY DIFFICULT time driving, and you're calling again??? She suggested parking my car somewhere and she'd come pick us up in her Tahoe. I backed out of the driveway and got the car into the cul-de-sac across the street from where I was. And guess what? I left it there! Yep, in the snow bank, off to the side, away from anyone's driveway. Odum and I put our coats on, got my crap out of the back and started our trek.

Remember: nothing has been plowed at this point. We were both in our work clothes. I had boots on, but Odum was wearing his nice shoes. We decided it was better to walk down the middle of the road in the tire tracks than it would be to walk in a foot of snow. Then, naturally, another car came down the road and we had to get out of the way. Luckily, Cort Heiner's family and their neighbor had snow blowed their sidewalks so we were able to get through. At the end of the sidewalk though, where the park begins, the snow blower had stopped and we had to jump in. We walked for about 30 yards in a foot of snow until we got to the driveway across from my circle, then made our way across the street and up the hill. My mom and dad were mad because they said they'd come get us, but at that point, I told them it was just easier to walk.

So, the rest of the morning was spent shoveling, snow blowing and salting the driveway and sidewalks. Remember, my car is still in a snow bank down the road. It stayed there until about 3pm when Sandy City had plowed the parking lot at the park. Had they plowed my circle, hell no. But they plowed the park. I made an attempt to get my car up the hill at this point, but it was a no-go. So, I moved my car to the park parking lot, then went home and took a nap. At about 6pm my dad said they had finally plowed our circle and I went to bring my car home. I only had to attempt the hill once and I made it up successfully.

Kind of a boring story, I know, but I was honestly afraid to get in the car again for the rest of the day. I think I'll be seriously considering buying an SUV with 4wheel drive next time I get a car!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up on it and share news with everyone on a regular basis. Hope you all had a safe and happy New Year, and are looking forward to 2008!
Love,
Erica