Suspenders

A fellow just got off the bus that was nice and round like a bowling ball. He was wearing mork & mindy suspenders (rainbow style for those who grew up without that show). I envied him. For my 8th birthday I got such bright suspenders myself, but as I wore lots of dresses they went sadly underused. When I grow up and can wear anything I want because i'm a batty old woman I will get myself another pair and maybe just wear them with skirts.

Tragedy

If you can't tell it's a partial melted see's choclate bar! I love chocolate. So do the ants it seems. All part of my daily bus ride. Have I mentioned how sad I am that these are coming to an end shortly? One more trip to ogden! Luckily, though, the pass is good until mid september. Last year I took it to work up until the day it expired. We'll see if my environmentally concious self wins out over my lazy consumerist self.

Homework

For my final class presentation today i'm showing a clip from this super "video novel" starring none other than the king of "I can't believe it's not butter." I think I will get an "a" on the assignment for sure.

goatee man

When I was in college there was a stereotype called "denim man". He wore all denim and had a leather belt paired with leather shoes. This was typical byu student - fashionably casual. Well those days are long gone - I wonder what the look is today.

anyway, now that i'm grown up, i've discovered a new kind of man. He doesn't show up so well in my photo, but if you think about it you'll realize you see him regularly. He's bald, has a goatee, is usually wearing a blue dress shirt, and black pants. This particular example is resting on the train instead of being attached to his balckberry like most others are. He also seems quite a bit younger in his facial features. I think he's new to the role. I had to be sneaky taking his picture - i'm glad he was sleeping.

Rose bushes

They hurt. I wonder if I really think they're worth it.
p.s. There may be nothing grosser than a fly encrusted broken snail.

I don't think yard work is my thing.

Empty

I've got the entire bus to myself. Unfortunately I have the sort of driver who feels the need to use the overhead speaker to announce every upcoming stop which makes for interrupted naps. Have I said how much i'm going to miss my bus rides? I am. Using the restroom at weber this morning made me sad because i'll miss using their facilities. I really like the 70's brown ambiance. It's the only building where l've had class and i'll miss it like I miss the old lee library with its worn stairs and brown carpet down at byu. Life is a series of attachments constantly being broken and eventually replaced with different attachments.

Ants

I wish it showed up better. This is the post holiday sight that greeted me this morning while waiting for my bus. Something about the morning after late night festivities is always depressing.
as for the holiday - i'm happy to report my 24th was filled with family friends food and fun. I love walking through the crowded streets with everyone out talking and partying waiting for fireworks at 10.
Before joining the masses in the streets I joined friends in a review of some of the best worst video clips around, courtesy of the lost media archive's director, and my good friend, blair sterrett. What a hoot!
And before that, I managed to borrow a copy of harry potter 7 from a brand new acquaintance (parties are great for networking) and read 200 pages. I think if I allow myself 100 a day then i'll still have time for homework.
And before that, I got to hang with family visiting from texas. Nothing like playing hours of nertz with the good women in my family. The best part - winning after losing for the first half - hooray!

A/C on bus

I think there's something about trekking uphill in 100 degree heat that makes me appreciate the a/c on the bus now. I wonder if the same will be true about my class.
ah, flaming lips is now playing - have I said how much I like them? I do. This is the part of going to weber i'll miss - the long bus rides filled with music, blogging, and napping. Only 3 more after today.

treking

i went on a practice pioneer trek for ma's and pa's. my ward (single adults) are going in september and i get to be a ma! luckily, september won't be nearly as hot as this past weekend was. we had two girls get a bit of heat stroke. the really cool thing about our ward's trek was that instead of having a women's pull (typical event on trek) we had a men's pull (something our ward probably needs). we pulled handcarts up hill for about 5 miles total. near the end, we were put on silent mode and then the women were pulled off, leaving the men to do two hills on their own. the women would go ahead and pull rocks out of the way or put rocks behind the wheels when they paused. some women just silently said prayers for the men. when we all stopped some women massaged the men or offered them water or jerky. i just focused on being in my place in my space and in my own spiritual state. sometimes i try so hard to do everything and worry about others that i don't just reflect on where i am and what i should be doing. i did some praying and reflecting and mostly was grateful i didn't have to help pull the carts up those hills. i've had the ox cart song stuck in my head all week - "creeaaak creeaaak creeaak creeaak, is their song." it gets annoying to me and those around me. i didn't sleep at all the one night we were out there. my brain wouldn't shut up. i was comfortable and it was a nice night and i was definitely tired, but i couldn't fall asleep. i wrote in my journal around 3:30 and then took a walk around 4:30. it was nice to walk around in the dark in my pajamas and not have anything to worry about. i like nature. i like the spiritual growth and the group unity that comes from doing activities like the trek. i am grateful for good faithful people who are willing to put the time and energy into organizing such events. i'm really grateful that i don't have to go again until september.

Teeth

I just got back from the dentist. New one for me due to new insurance. I liked him! And the hygenist. Tons! I will go back. But now my teeth are sensitive and tired. So i'm eating watermelon. Pleasant and soothing. I did find out that i'm a clencher. I bite my cheeks and I have bone growth in my bottom jaw and a slightly nearly receding gum area - all signs of clenching, apparently. He said if my teeth touch each other more than 30 minutes a day then i'm clenching. So my new goals - stop clenching and start flossing - although my lack of tartar made him think i'm a good flosser - problem is I know the truth.

Matchy matchy

I know you can't tell from the photo, but the guy across the bus aisle has my exact back pack! I had to sneak this photo while his head was bobbing. Taking the bus to weber makes me feel like i'm going to advanced high school. My high school bus experience was much more crowded, less air conditioned, less restful (everyone here sleeps), and we had elvis' skinny double as our driver.

Quote

This is from david o. Kckay - I love it!

What rogrs can there be for a man unconcious of his fault? Such a man has lot the fundamental element of growth, which is the realization that there is something bigger, better, and more desirable than the condition in which he now finds himself. In the soil of self-satisfaction, true growth has poor nourishment. Its roots find great succor in discontent.

Hollyhocks

I so love these flowers. I believe I blogged a photo last summer about them. My mother once pointed out her love for them so I think that's where my bias comes from. They are tallish and floweful and last - unlike other flowers - that's my logical reasons for preferring them.

In other loving news... I love flaming lips. Just now enjoying some spider bite by them. Love the drumming and the whiney sadness. Good stuff.

Steel Days

Ever heard of 'em? I guess american fork celebrates them. I went last night to enjoy the closing concert. These photos were taken as we were leaving. My friends wanted to beat the crowds so we left during "this land is your land". Ryan shupe and the rubber band were the closing act, but for this song they brought out the earlier performers to join them: john schmidt, peter breinholdt and some people whose names I don't remember. Ryan had everyone pull out their cell phones for a happy "lighter" moment at the end. I tried to capture the blue fire-fly like image. Use your imagination to make it better. I totally loved the night - under the stars with good music. Very nice.

Heart of darkness

I'm reading it the bus. It's by joseph conrad - I recommend him! Only 70 more pages. In the mean time, here's a great quote:
no, I don't like work. I had rather laze about and think of all the fine things that can be done. I don't like work- no man does - but I like what is in the work, - the chance to find yourself. Your own reality - for yourself, not for others - what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.

Bus naps

Like these fellow bus riders, my mondays and wednesdays usually involve an hour long nap on the bus, occassionally interrupted by sudden breaking. Most of us start out with noble intentions. The girl on the right has her scriptures opened to helaman. This is one of my favorite things about taking classes at weber. That, and the homework is lots easier than what I have to do for my byu independent study class.

HP

Last night I caught the latest potter installment. There's so much time between movies with books in between, I can never keep the stories separate from each other. I conciously tried not to anticipate or figure out what would happen next, I just tried to enjoy and follow the story as played out on the screen. I think that was the way to go. It totalle made sense and I liked a lot about it. I later heard that they took a lot of liberty with the story, not following the book exactly. I was pleased with this decision, but then again, I can't say I really remember the book.
My favorite thing about the show was that it was free. Some family friends have a real estate business and they recently got my sister in a new home. They had a preview showing for their customers. The cool thing is that we knew this family 30 years ago when we lived in puerto rico. They had kids our age and my parents befriended them. Then converted them. Then went to see them sealed in the temple. It's cool to think how simple decisions can create life long waves.

it's been a month

time goes quickly. i learned that last month when my father died. i'm aware of it again as a month has already passed. it hasn't exactly gotten any easier, but i'm sure it will with more time. last night i went to a fireside given by ed smart, father of the famous elizabeth smart. he spoke a lot about eternal families. the closing song was the same one we as a family sang at dad's funeral - "families can be together forever." it was a good fireside. i'm impressed with the smart family's resiliency.

anyway, my good brother sent a photo of dad's last ride in his family email last night. i like it. i choose to share it as a little anniversary post, i guess. i like that my youngest sisters were the drivers - they had the most experience driving dad's truck. now my mom is selling it - we're all okay with that - it was dad's toy anyway. any buyers out there? i think ma is asking for 15,000. wow - that sounds like a lot. i think that's the amount he put into it fixing it up, including the initial amount he paid for it. things. they don't matter so much it seems.

Ack!!!!!

I sat on this! Only for a brief second - but it was one second too long. That is wetness on my bus seat!!!! What a way to start the day.

people like to ask what i'm doing with my summer. I guess everyone dreams of having a couple months of holiday. Well i'll tell you. I commute to ogden twice a week with the general public and that really takes up a lot of time. But I think the main thing i'm doing - probably every day - I stay up till midnight. I don't know why. I don't intend to at all. I think having more time on my plate tricks me into thinking I can do every imaginable social activity there is. People really do take up a lot of time. I've always said they're my hobby of choice. Last night a trip to the airport to fetch a friend went from an 8:30 appointment to an 11:30 one - something about rain in the south causing delays.

Party

Here we are having a good time. Dainon even came! I'm happy to have a photo of lynn!

Catherine's pass

So I failed to take any really stunning photos, but here are a couple representing how I spent my fourth. I took five friends up to catherine's pass - where you can look from little cottonwood canyon over to big cottonwood canyon. There were tons of gorgeous wild flowers. This photo is of the elephant flowers - they really look like little elephant heads. Unfortunately you can't quite see the trunks and ears that give it that distinctive name. We also discovered some patches of snow. This is a photo of mark picking a snow fight with me. I love hiking! I love being outside with good people and nature's stunning beauty.

Rodeo

Guess where I am! I just told you - the rodeo! The tooele bit 'n spur! Good times I tell you. I came with my friend stacy.

FDT

This is my first fdt ever! It wasn't a success but at least I had good company! We're at apollo burger in wx. Related to crown and atlantis - for your fdt information.

Color

Yes - those chairs ARE red and purple. They beg the question why. I have seen no others - just these two, arranged in friendly conversation at a cheap wannabe wood round table by a 3 cent copy machine. The 3 cent may be my absolute favorite part of this whole arrangement. Where in this world, these days, do you find such cheap copies?
I'm out of class early today - a miracle? Possibly. Especially since I was popping zingo mints to try to keep awake.
Last night I stayed up too late visiting with a friend on the double-lane slide at the elementary school on my street. We wondered if we were looking at stars or planets. We figured with so much light pollution of the city it would be impossible to really see stars. Who knows. It was nice to lie on a slide at night looking at the sky with a good friend. We need more summer nights in the world just so we can find more peaceful moments like that!