I shake my head at some boys...

Two funny exchanges happened last night at our stake's FHE carnival...

The first exchange was a little serendipitous. My brother-in-law's brother, who has been on a mission for two years and living in New Mexico before that, was in the parking lot of the park where we were. As we were pulling in, Rachel said, "Hey, that's Jon!" Indeed it was. As we walked past, I sidled up to his group (a bunch of college guys) and said, "Hey, Jon!" He turned and looked a bit confused...here is the exchange that followed:

Me: Do you remember who we are?
Jon: Nods
Me: ...Laura's sisters...I'm Annie and this is Rachel.
Jon: Yeah, I know.
Me: It's been awhile, huh? You just got back from your mission?
Jon: About a month ago.
Me: Well, that's great! And now you're here just going to school!
Jon: Yep.
Me: We recognized you and just wanted to come say hi. I guess you haven't seen Matt and Laura for awhile, huh?
Jon: It's been about three years.
Me: Wow! That means you haven't even met two of the nephews!
Jon: Yeah.
**It just kept getting more and more awkward because you could tell that he was hoping the conversation would just end so he could get on with his non-awkward life. We talked for a tiny bit more about what his ward was doing up there and why we were at this park as well. Finally, I said, "Well, I guess we'll see you around!" and we were mercifully done with the conversation. Rachel and I kind of laughed about it for the rest of the night, but we'll also give him the barely-home-from-the-mission benefit of the doubt. I'll have to email my sister in Abu Dhabi about it.

The second of the two stories was even a little more painful than that. A group of girls from my ward was standing around talking, and a guy moseyed over and introduced himself. One of our friends asked some introductory questions about him, but then he turned to me and started asking me questions. Umm...ummmmm....ummm.....HEY, where did everyone go?! They had all abandoned me. Now, it's not that this guy was horrible. I talked to him for a good ten or fifteen minutes, but we really didn't have much in common. He had no sort of ambition to get any kind of degree. And then he had the gall to mock me for my English degree and persisted in telling me about his awful grammar habits that he cherished. He kept pronouncing words in horrible fashion (it is a 'CREEK'! Not a 'crick'!!), and then he relished it when I would shudder. I don't think he realized with whom he was dealing. I finally nudged our proximity closer to where my friends were. When it got to a little bit of a lull in the conversation, I turned to Rachel and said, "Are you about ready to go?!" I think she caught the hint of desperation in my voice because she eagerly agreed to head out. I got a "we'll see you around" from him, and we called the time of death. Crisis averted.

Now, it's not that I am opposed to getting my flirt on...but this guy was obviously not my type. He was kind of a little more awkward, and I appreciated that he wanted to carry on a conversation with the likes of me, but there was definitely nothing there. And the more he kept trying, the more I kept thinking, "Oh please, just stop." I even said to him, "I think I'm going to stop while I'm ahead!" To which he replied, "But you're not ahead. I am." Oh, sweetie, this is ridiculous. My friend called later to find out if I had gotten his number or if he had gotten mine. When I breathed a sigh of relief and told her no, she was kind of disappointed. Just because he's male and breathes (like certain kinds of coral) doesn't mean I need to have interest.

In short, my faith in huMANity was a little shaken last night. But it sure makes for some fun stories!

On a completely unrelated note, I just have to brag that I got on the scale this weekend, and I am now the lightest I've been, probably since my sophomore year of high school. Yay!

Life's little devastations

If hardship comes in threes, I might just be in for some trouble. This past week for my family has kind of been a doozie. I think I'll just count my blessings and continue to try to play a supporting role here.

I got a phone call on Wednesday from my bro-in-law, Dennis. Turns out he'd lost his job...the one tied to their family's insurance. Agh!! Kind of important to have insurance when you have two kids with medical conditions. Luckily I have good news to report in this arena as of late...well, kind of good news: he may have found another job. Our family's praying for things to work out for them.

I got another phone call from my mom on Saturday morning. "Natalie's apartment building is on fire." Um...um...UM! Yeah, if you read in the news on Saturday, the apartment building that burned down in Midvale? That's her's. Well, the apartment next to her's is the one that actually had flames. As scary as that is, Natalie's place was fortunate enough to not to get engulfed by the fire. There was plenty of smoke damage and water damage by the time they were allowed back in that evening.

As Ben and I were leaving my house on Saturday night to go to dinner and a music festival, my mom called and told me that we were moving Natalie--right then. We headed up to her place after grabbing something to eat and going to the festival for ten minutes. At their place, the smell of smoke was so acrid and gross...I got a little sick from it, even. I felt horrible for Ben, thinking I had dragged him into this. He was a really good sport about it and helped a ton. We got most of their stuff packed and out of there.

And so go the fun times of life. I think I'd better take some extra precautions this week, maybe invest in a helmet or some elbow pads. I'll be super cautious as I'm driving and check to make sure my meat is fully cooked before consumption.

I hope I never get THIS bad...

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!

So as most of you know, I'm probably world's most anal person about responsibility. I check my bank accounts daily and keep a calendar in my head that rarely fails me. I never run out of clean underwear, and my car always gets its oil changed before the 5,000-mile mark (trust me on this one...experts have said that changing oil every 3,000 anymore might be hard on the engine). I keep my bills in a hanging file, alphabetized. I hardly ever forget a birthday. When I borrow something, I try to return it quickly and in good condition. I have a budget that projects my finances for the next six months. 'So what does this have to do with anything?' I bet you're thinking...well, ask my former insurance company.

On Tuesday in the mail, I received a collections notice. That's right, I got a notice from an agency stating that I had been delinquent in paying my bill for my insurance premium--the one that I canceled two and a half months ago. Well, that's strange...CONSIDERING I NEVER RECEIVED A BILL FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY TO THIS EFFECT! I was so angry that I dropped the rest of the mail on the middle of the living room floor and went back to my files to see if I had missed something. Nope. Nada. And don't worry, I'm the only one who checks the mail at my house, so it's not as though it was misplaced by someone else or something.

Yesterday I called the collections company. Luckily, they told me that this 'delinquency' hadn't been reported to the credit bureaus yet (seriously, pristine credit here...and I'm kind of proud of it!), so all I had to do was make the payment and everything could be cleared up. I kept trying to explain to the guy that I pay my bills and this was ridiculous of the insurance company. I could tell that he was just trying to appease me, but he didn't really care what I was sputtering out. I really just wanted to rant and say, "Well, we could have saved YOU the trouble had the stupid insurance company sent ME the bill in the effing first place!"

I asked the guy if I could just pay it over the phone with my AMEX. "Oh sure," he said. "It'll just be a $9.95 convenience fee in addition to the $33.40." (Yeah, that's right...my $33 bill got sent to freaking collections. Ugh!) I about tore into him and said, "CONVENIENT FOR WHOM?!" Apart from the fact that my OCD correct English would have been lost on this poor fellow, I didn't want to shoot the messenger. I tried to simmer my anger and asked if I could do it online and not incur the fee. Apparently not. "So how do I do this without having to pay the extra $10?" A check. I can do that.

So a lovely check for $33.40 is headed their way as of today. I swear, if this marrs my credit in the slightest, I will have words to say to both the insurance company and the collections agency. I pay my bills! Had I gotten one, I would have paid it! Especially for the small amount it was!! I'm not exactly sure what lesson to learn from this.

No dying here! (But almost...)

On Saturday, some longtime friends and I went up to hike to the Timpanogos Caves. We went a few years ago and decided that it would be fun to go again this year.

I was worried about the hike. Don't get me wrong...I've actually lost a lot of weight and gotten into better shape since the last time I did this hike (and I mean, it's only a mile and a half on a paved trail--how hard can that be, right? Well...). But I have to take into account that I have asthma. As much as my legs are all gung ho for heading up that hill, sometimes my lungs don't agree and I've got a revolt on my hands.







Actually, Saturday's hike was better than I've done it in the past (surprising to the people who went, I know). The rest of our group went ahead while I suffered through some gasping with Ben sticking by me. Poor Ben. He's been hiking with me before, so this asthma thing of mine isn't new to him, but I felt bad that I was holding him back (no, this isn't a deep metaphor for life here...). He also carried my backpack clear up to the top, even after we'd had the conversation of how he didn't really like carrying things while he hiked.

We did make it to the top in plenty of time. That's what Ben kept telling me: we've got PLENTY of time. And we had time to eat goldfish crackers and peanut butter M&Ms while we waited for our cave tour to start. I was a little bit sad that Erika, even pregnant and all, made it to the top in better shape than I did. But you go, Erika!

The cave tour was fun. Some of the things I remember from past tours I've taken, they didn't highlight. Like the 'heart' of the cave. Or the 'salt and pepper shakers.' Or the 'cave bacon.' But that's ok, because we learned a lot of other cool things. I did knock my head on one of the low-hanging ceilings, though. No stitches, though (and that's saying a lot for someone as clumsy as myself). :)

After the hike back down, we went back to my house and did pizza scones. Lisa and Danny joined us for dinner and games, too. About once a year, my friends make the trek down to visit me in Provo, so to make it worth their while, I make pizza scones. They probably clog your arteries faster than most foods, but they are divine (if I do say so myself!). The secret? They're actually really easy to make. Don't tell. I also made lemonade ice cream cake, which is always one of my favorites. Wow, just blogging about it now is making me kind of hungry...

With dinner over, we broke out the games and did some Apples to Apples and Mad Gab. Everyone kept making me laugh during Mad Gab, but I have to brag: I rock at that game. I think I've blogged about this before, so I won't go into further details. Once we got sick of the group games, we sat around and talked for awhile...and for some reason, we got into some of our earliest memories of our group. Well, let's just say I'm glad those years are far behind me, but I'd love it even more if we didn't remember some of those things. It was fun to laugh and talk, though.

At least I'm not allergic to this type of cat

On Friday night, Ben and I went to see Cats at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake. It was quite the experience...not really what I was expecting, but an adventure nonetheless.

We headed up to Salt Lake and tried to think of somewhere we wanted to eat. I've gotten to eat at a bunch of different Salt Lake restaurants in the last year or so, but I couldn't think of any place for some reason. Fat lot of good my experience is in situations like this! :( Ben decided that we'd find a parking spot and then walk around and see if something caught our eye. Luckily, we found Lamb's Cafe right off 200 South. Since I'd heard really good things about it, we gave it a shot. It was decent...nothing to really write home about, but the food tasted good and the atmosphere was kind of fun. The waitress struggled, though. She kept trying to bring us the wrong table's drinks and food, and she had difficulty remembering what we had already ordered. We survived.

Our timing was perfect, though. We finished with dinner and walked over to the theatre just in time to get in. I didn't know what I was in for, but hey, plays/musicals are usually fun experiences, right?

I'm a Cats virgin. The only thing I know is that it's been on Broadway forever and that the song Memory is from the show. I should have done a little research beforehand, but I figured I'd just go soak in the experience and see how it sat with me. Verdict: strange show. Not much plot. Impressive songs and dancing. I thumbed through the program before it began and didn't eke much out of it except that the characters were listed in 'amphibolical order.' All I could think was, "must Wikipedia later."

The show got underway and I was lost. What were all these cats singing about the 'jellicle ball'? I knew I was new to it all, but I'm an intelligent person...did I somehow miss the class where they taught that vocabulary word? Apparently not, because it's not really a word. As it turns out, the show has a very thin plot at best and all of the songs were just character exposition. Oh, I guess there's a little bit of a scare when the patriarchal character gets kidnapped, but don't worry, they find him in the next song or so. Phew. Also, in case you're wondering, the cast does come out into the audience, but there was no molesting or lap-sitting.

Well, for Broadway's longest-running musical, it wasn't too bad. Neither Ben nor I fell asleep. Good parts: the costumes were pretty amazing; some of the actors' voices were wonderful; it was fun to have a cultural experience like this to add to things I've done in my life. Ben, like me, was a little put out that the show wasn't more cohesive, and both of us were kind of sad that the song Memory held pretty much no meaning in the context of the play. It's a song full of heart-wrenching and angst...but it was kind of an afterthought in the midst of all of the Cats introducing themselves. Beautiful song. Horrible placement. But who am I to argue with Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Life

Reasons to feel crappy today -

1) I wasn't the healthiest eater yesterday...and my body is kind of revolting. Come on, I even got you the non-calorie laden Jamba! Oh who am I kidding? I've got to start eating more vegetables or something. This is what I get for trying to jog on the treadmill at its steepest last night...

2) The stock market is plummeting. Seriously. It's like Black Tuesday all over again, practically. Ok, that's probably stretching it, but after Monday's big drop, today's is additionally bad. I don't know much about the market, but I'm thinking down probably isn't the best for my current occupation. Bright side: I could start a 401(k) today and would probably make good returns on it in the near future.

3) The gynecologist awaits me this afternoon. Women, you feel this pain, so I won't go into specifics now or later.

4) It's freaking Wednesday. How about a Friday here? A little help?!

5) I'm frustrated at my impatience with life. Today especially, heaven knows why.


Reasons to feel glad today -

1) There is chocolate pudding in the fridge here at work. That could probably make anyone's day, really. And don't worry, it's sugar-free, so a tad healthier than other alternatives.

2) A new episode of House on my TiVo. I'm finally caught up with all the DVDs and onto what's actually happening on real television!

3) It's not Monday. For that I am grateful. In fact, I've officially hit my halfway through the work week.

4) I look kind of hot today, I'm not going to lie. You know somedays when you just want to feel like the bomb, so you put on some extra-cute clothes and really strut your stuff? I decided I needed that extra boost, so I'm giving it my best shot. Plus, after having slept in for the first two mornings of the week and looking like death warmed over at work, it was kind of nice to do something with my hair and not feel like a schlub.

5) Weezer just came on my random mix of music I listen to. That's always going to ease some of the pain. :)

When in Rome...or Salt Lake

Last night I was meeting some friends in Salt Lake to go to dinner downtown. It was starting at 6:30...we figured we'd leave Utah Valley around 5:30 and be there in time to park and be there in plenty of time. Around 1:00, I remembered that the BYU game would be ending around 4:30 or 5...meaning horrible game traffic headed north at 5:30. UGH. I mean, I love sitting in bumper-to-bumper, but I figured with a little planning ahead, I could avoid the atrocity of the freeway.

So what were we to do for two extra hours hanging out in Salt Lake? I'll tell you. We...

* Walked clear from one end of the Gateway to the other
* Shopped for earrings (and found some hot ones!)
* Watched a kid play catch with his dad and some other ones get drenched by the fountain
* Tested lotions at Victoria's Secret and tried one of their new fragrances (just me, don't worry)
* Discovered a new fashion idea for Ben to try out (it'll be hot)
* Looked at some cute clothes for me (still strange for me to shop for clothes with a guy in tow...)
* Used the bathroom at the planetarium
* Learned about the oort cloud (blew my mind)
* Wondered why there were so many similar clothes stores at the Gateway

...and that was just in the first hour. Then we headed to Temple Square where we...

* Sat down for a few minutes in the Tabernacle and realized how little it is compared to the Conference Center
* Went to the Visitors Center and saw the Christus statue...they played the narration in English and German (which Ben really appreciated, him knowing German and all)
* Stumbled upon construction for a big BMX event...lots of dirt!
* Saw a 'historic mansion' that I had no clue existed.
* Mocked the teeth of the man on the Utah Symphony banners hanging everywhere

Who says two hours are difficult to kill in Salt Lake City? Give us a couple more and I'm sure we could have just as much fun.

Warm and fuzzy

In contrast to my pet peeves post, I thought I'd do a flip side post: tell you about some of the things that make me happy! While this post may not have as many angry exclamation points, hopefully it'll put a smile on your face. I know I'll be happy!

- Getting email. Or a Facebook wall post. Or seeing someone has updated their blog. I love reading about people and the things that happen to them. If I'm at work, there's a little pop-up that shows me when I have a Facebook message waiting in my inbox. Seriously giddy. So, good people, keep it up! And I'll try to do the same.

- Saturday lunch. It keeps me going throughout the week! I don't care what or where, but Lace and I always have a splendid time getting together and discussing the week. We're becoming quite well-versed in Salt Lake City restaurants! Last Saturday we went to a new place, and after the waitress left us, I turned to Lacy and said, "I swear she's been our waitress at another restaurant before!" It's quite possible, too!

- New television shows on the TiVo. Not much beats coming home after work and seeing that you have new episodes of fabulous shows to watch. Sure, sometimes it's just Jeopardy, but have you met me? Keeping up with all the new shows is another story, however...

- Hair cuts. Ah, that fresh from the salon feel of newly cut and thinned hair! I look forward to it every time, and I've gotten quite willing to pay whatever cost necessary to keep my mangy locks manageable. Same goes for getting my eyebrows done. Hair is a curse, I tell you!!

- Winning something on eBay. This hardly ever happens for me, and usually I'm not too disappointed, but there's a sort of adrenaline rush that happens as you see the seconds tick down to zero and your bid holds firm! I've gotten to do some bidding for my boss this past week, and it's kind of awesome! (What makes it even greater is that it's not my own money I'm spending!) And I'd have to add any sort of winning to this category as well. I'm not extremely competitive, but there is definitely enjoyment in getting to ten points first in Settlers or shooting the moon in Hearts. Just as long as the other people playing are good sports. I try not to rub victory in people's faces unless they are sucking about losing.

- Chocolate. Oh sweet joy. Some people (you know who you are!) aren't as addicted as I am, but their loss, I say. Who could resist hot cocoa on a snowy day? I like chocolate in pretty much all forms...dark, white, milk...solid, liquid, um gas? If they had chocolate air I could breathe, I would consider trying it out! Then again, the damage to my lungs might not be worth it.

- Fitting into jeans you haven't worn in forever. You know when you have to keep sucking in to get the button closed? And it's quite depressing? Well, what elation when the sucking can stop and the jeans don't cut off circulation anymore! I'm a fan. Along with this is the feeling of seeing numbers on the scale get smaller.

- Scary movies. Most people don't think these are as hilarious as I do, but come on! Even if it's 'based on a true story,' you do realize that these are actors, right? I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if I were in a psycho killer thriller horror film. BUT, I must qualify and say that startling movies are a different story. Those are the kind that make you jump because the bad guy leaps across the room and grabs the heroine's legs. Eek. I consider myself punchy, not scared. Haunted houses also make me giggle a little bit. I think one of my favorite times was when we said Lisa's name at one of the Frightmares haunted houses, and all the employees followed her around and chanted her name. I thought it was quite entertaining, but I think she begs to differ...

- A clean kitchen. I'm not the biggest fan of the actual cleaning, but once it's all scoured and lemony fresh, I get this contented, silly grin on my face and I breathe a sigh of happiness. It almost makes me not want to use my kitchen, just so I can keep it in its pristine condition. Kind of like when you get a new pair of shoes and you're afraid to wear them, for fear of scuffing them or stepping in mud.

- Afternoon naps. After working from 6:30am - 2:30pm, I love coming home to an empty house where my bed awaits. I guess I could use these afternoons for something more productive (see the section re: the TiVo), but sometimes I just need to crash. My sleep schedule is like no other normal person's. I go to bed around 11 or 12 and wake up at 5:30...naturally, I could use some extra zzzz's in the afternoon, so I'll take 'em when I can get 'em. I remember being a little kid and fighting my mom for making me take a nap in the afternoon. Now I fight to GET the nap.

- Certain smells.
* Cedar
* Baking bread
* Rain
* Christmas Eve (yes, it has a distinct smell!)
* Leather
* Coffee
* Popcorn
* Zaatar (a Middle Eastern spice)
* Clean laundry
* Some guys' cologne (or just some guys in general)
* Best Buy (strange, I know)

- Waterskiing. Every summer, I try to make it a point to get invited on some sort of boating adventure where waterskiing is a possibility. It took me two summers and a lot of biffing it for me to finally stand up on skis while being dragged by the boat, but once I figured it all out, I was hooked. It tires me out like nothing else, but I love it! I tried wakeboarding for the first time last summer, and thought that was kind of cool, too, but the soft spot in my heart goes to waterskiing.

- Checking something off a list. I make lists. Lots of them. Ask anyone who knows me...if it's not on paper, then it's definitely in my mind's eye. And there's a deep satisfaction that happens when I get to delete something off of it. We found the bread at the grocery store? Check. I've taken my car in for an oil change? Check. It gets to the point where I will put even the smallest of tasks on my list just for the lovely feeling of crossing it off. Shower? Yep, done.

- Road trips. These come with their own 'to do' lists, but that's not the point...I really love joking and laughing and talking about life as you make your way to a destination. Or playing Crack the Case. "So....soooo....on the floor...I'm not playing!!" And staying in a Motel 6 anywhere is quite the experience. Just so long as the neighbors don't stay up until all hours of the night talking about random things (sorry, Lace!). And eating licorice and drinking Diet Coke with no remorse...ah, what joy!

Ok...I'm sure there are plenty more...I'm kind of just sitting here in bliss after having thought about some of these things I love. Anyone else have something little that truly makes life worth living?

Little things that make you want to do something drastic...

Enough things bother me that I thought I would vent a little and make a list of my favorite pet peeves. Please don't think a lesser person of me; you're privy to my therapy.

- Misspelled marketing gimmicks. I was looking up some items for my boss and came across a website called 'QuikClot' (don't ask...). Um, why aren't we putting the 'c' in there, peeps? Would that throw something off? I just don't get it. Krispy Kreme? Come on! Both of those words start with 'c' normally! I think it's the worst when it's something that's geared towards small children. Yeah, good idea, teaching our kids that cat is spelled 'kat' and that it's cute (or is it 'kute'?).

A trailer I saw on the road. Ugh...does spelling it with a 'z' make it better?!

- 'People' stickers in rear windshields. I don't care how many kids you've got or if you have a dog or cat. Seeing your little family in stick figure form advertised in the back of your minivan seriously makes me want to tail you or raise my fist as I pass. I'm not exactly sure why.

- Barefoot public bathroom use. GROSS. There's a girl in one of the offices on my floor at work that never wears shoes into the bathroom. It makes me shudder to think of all the germs teeming on those tiles. I personally slip off my shoes sometimes as I'm sitting at my desk. But you can bet the farm that I'm lacing up those bad boys when I make the trek to the restroom.

- Bad grammar in general. Come on...this can't really be a surprise. Some of the worst offenders:
* Where are you at? Just end the sentence with you, and you can keep some of your IQ points.
* We was. Oh was you?
* Exspecially. I know that's not how you spell it. So why do you say it?!
* You're vs. your. I was at IHOP a long time ago and saw a sign that said, 'Smile your on camera.' Not MY on camera, but yours.
* Apostrophe 'S.' JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING ENDS WITH AN 'S' DOESN'T MEAN IT NEEDS AN APOSTROPHE! I can understand people mixing up 'its' and 'it's,' but I've seen cases that are downright horrific. I think one of my favorite is when Lacy actually changed the whiteboards (whiteboard's?) at a restaurant.
* Nuke-you-lar. Just because Pres. Bush says 'nuclear' that way doesn't make it correct.

- Navigating Wal-Mart. Sure, I like the low prices and whatnot...but a lot of people at Wal-Mart are not the brightest. Please don't block the aisle and then look at me disgustedly when I politely say excuse me and smile as I try to pass! Also, if you can't see your children while you're shopping, they're probably causing mayhem somewhere...somewhere near me. (I trust anyone reading this blog does not fall into this category.)

- Bicyclists who double as pedestrians when convenient. The other day I had to slam on my brakes for a bicyclist who decided to ride his bike across the crosswalk at his own convenience, in the middle of busy traffic on a main road here in Provo. I know, I know, I should be more vigilant and watch for these cyclists...or pedestrians, for that matter. See, if he had been WALKING his bike across the road, I should have stopped, no complaints--he would have been considered a pedestrian and had the right of way. But he decided to ride, making him a vehicle. If I had decided to just pull out in front of traffic like that in my car, people would have honked and thrown a fit. I think the thing that irks me is that when I gave him a bewildered glare, he glared right back with a menacing, how-dare-you-almost-not-stop visage.

- Fish handshakes. You know the ones...step up and be confident in your greeting! And don't use the excuse of being female. Women can have firm handshakes, too!

- Husband & Wife. No, I'm not talking about married couples in general. The last few months, I've noticed a billboard in American Fork that drives me crazy...it's advertising a sex shop called 'Husband & Wife.' WHAT they're advertising doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's HOW they're advertising it. Their tagline? 'Tasteful. Comfortable. Clean." I heard third-hand that it's just a sex shop, plain and simple. But I guess if you say that it's just for married couples, it makes it 'clean' somehow? I mean, obviously their demographic is the thousands of LDS couples here, but come on...ridiculous.

- Drivers who can't figure out the right-of-way. Many a time I will pull up to an intersection with only a stop sign, waiting to go straight. Another car, waiting across from me in said intersection, will be waiting to turn left. Who goes first? I mean, they were there first, right? WRONG. It's my right-of-way! (Please, if I am incorrect about this, let me know!) One that killed me the other day (and I'll see if I can do justice explaining it without the use of hand actions) is that I was headed west and stopped at my sign. A person in cross-traffic (in relation to me) was headed south and wanted to turn right so they would be headed west, in effect, in front of me. But I had a stop, so I was waiting for them to complete the turn. Nope...they STOPPED (with no sign) and waved at me impatiently like they were waiting for me. In no way did I have that right-of-way! Sheesh. Goes for round-abouts, too. If you're in it, you keep going...no stopping, idiots! Learn how to drive, Utah. That goes for passing in the right lane as well.

- Websites that make you sign up. Yes, I get that there's motive behind this...they want to sell my information, right? Well, ha. I have a fake email address I use. Actually, it's real. It's my 'garbage' email address. Fooled the system--booyah! Ok, just let me revel in my little triumph. But seriously, I hate having to enter a bunch of information about myself just to either read an article or find out how much shipping costs. Just have a little 'calculate shipping' option so I don't have to enter my address and credit card number before I find out that it's really going to be $24.95 to ship my $6 item. Sheesh.

...and the list goes on. Got any? Let's hear some of yours.

You know what? I'm sure I commit a myriad of offenses against other people's pet peeves. I really do try to be somewhat tolerant of these seemingly inhumane acts I have detailed above. And that's probably why you haven't seen me on the news as of late... "A Provo woman allegedly rammed the back of a minivan today on the freeway. When asked about her reasoning, she maniacally stated that she 'had just had enough of those idiotic stickers and someone had to do something.'"

I shoulda been a beauty school dropout...

1. Did you date someone from your school? If by 'date,' you mean hold hands with a boy once in awhile when our friends weren't watching, then yes. I dated a boy named Ben--the first of many Bens in my dating experiences, apparently. I'd like that year and a half back, please!

2. What kind of car did you drive? It really couldn't be considered a 'car,' but I drove the big, blue Suburban my junior and senior years. We sure crammed a lot of people in that thing sometimes.

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of HS? Too. Many. To. Count. Ummm...a little help? I really think I've repressed these memories. The closest I can come to remembering something truly catastrophic was from the 9th grade: I slipped in the mud playing flag football in gym class--in front of the guy I liked a lot. Sounds pretty harmless now, but it was kind of devastating. **I came back to this one! The cafeteria question reminded me...one time one of my friends wrote a story in reference to Ben (see question #1) and me. It was kind of cheesy and sappy. The guys really wanted to read it, so they stole it. I stood up in the cafeteria and shouted as Ben Heiner (it was him, correct?) ran away. All of the din stopped abruptly as everyone turned to stare. Eeek.

4. Were you a party animal? On weekends, I could be found making renditions of "To Kill A Mockingbird" or playing rounds of Catch Phrase for hours on end in Lisa's basement. Thinking about it now, I can't really come up with anything better we could have done with our time.

5. Were you considered a flirt? I would have liked to have been, but I was not good at communication with the opposite sex. Hmm...times haven't changed that much, it seems!

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Looks like everyone else was in choir, so I would like to proudly state that I was in band. Ok, remove 'proudly' from that last sentence. I did marching band and Wind Ensemble--the works. Yep, I stuck with it my entire high school career. And I haven't touched my clarinet since.

7. Were you a nerd? Have you been reading this post at all?!

8. Were you on any varsity teams? Marching band was popular at my school, but the school district vetoed adding 'varsity' to its title. ;)

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? For what? Being too loud in the cafeteria? Nope, they let me attend every last day.

10. Can you still sing the fight song? I had this thing pounded into my head in band, so it's a stubborn bugger there in my brain.

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Ms. Coburn, Mr. Shaw, Ms. Barney, Ms. Hyer

12. Where did you sit during lunch? Yes, I was a participator in the loud table fiasco that occurred daily.

13. School mascot? Dart. And what the crap is a dart?!

14. Did you go to homecoming, and with whom? Once. Ben.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? If time travel were possible, why would I want to waste it reliving the worst years of life?

16. What do you remember most about graduation? Those gold gowns. And driving home at 6 in the morning dead tired.

17. Where did you go senior skip day? No one told me about this. Awh man, I missed it!

18. Were you in any clubs? National Honor Society (pretty much on paper only), Creative Writing Club, ummm...can't think of anything else.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? Actually I've lost about 20 lb. since high school. Sorry Bree...I must have given it to you... :(

20. Who was your prom date? Ugh...I didn't go my first two years of high school, and then my senior year, I was set up on a disastrous blind date. Let's just say that one of the girls in our group ended up finding out that one of the guys we had all been set up with had blown up her mailbox the year previous. Ouch.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Only two things will get me to go: 1) If I've discovered a new element and I want to shove it in all those losers' faces; 2) If I marry a hot celebrity and I want to show him off.

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Dress better. Don't worry about being so obsessively on time for everything. Teachers can't do THAT much to hurt you...really.

Tag some people: Adrianne and Devony