Catch Up

It's been a while since my last post. Dang it... I need to get better at this whole thing. However, life took over and I got super busy. School has ended, another semester down and I'm only 4 months away from graduation!!! Who knew it would happen. Yes I passed all my classes. So now I only have to knock down this term, and I'll be done! I'm also doing my internship right now. So that's where life got super busy. Around the end of March, my boss at the pool I was working at received and email that a guy she knew was looking for staff at a brand new pool. She immediately emailed him back listing all my many qualifications. At this moment, I have now been the Pool Manager of the new Lindon Aquatics Center for about a month and a half. It has been the best experience of my life so far. I am learning so much everyday. I am involved in every operation of opening up this pool. It is a brand new facility that is still under construction right now. I currently am up to my neck in sorting through applications as well as designing t-shirts, setting up our computer software, forming all our policies and procedures as well as trying to get all the equipment ordered and getting people totally certified to work. It's craziness. Between everything I'm doing I'm working 10-12 hour days right now! It's so much, but totally worth it. This is unfortunately a pool that is only open for the summer, so the job only lasts through September, but the experience I'm gaining is totally invaluable!

Oreo Commercial

Last year in my Marketing class, we had to come up with an advertisement for something that was already out there on the market. My group decided that we were going to make a commercial on Oreos. I have included here a link for you to see it. It makes me laugh.

Sorry the audio is so horrible. I was wearing the mike, so only my voice is really well picked up on.

Recycling...

So I wrote this probably when I was 16... but I love it... so here we go!



As I was meandering down the lonely dark lane,
I came across an unseemly sight.
In the middle of this dreary way
Was a brightening power
Conquering and driving away the evil influences.
A tiny little flower,
Paving the way for more to follow,
To defeat the dark sadness called winter.
Though small and feeble,
The whiteness brightens the day like nothing before it,
Reminding of days gone past and better,
More fun times.
Of the sun and the green, green grass
And all the amenities of summer gone by.
One miniscule flower can refresh
And make new the overpowering force
That drives away the hopelessness that seeps into a world.

I Love My Boss....

... and I'm not lying! She is amazing. So today I went to work and she pulled me into her office. I was just thinking she needed me to sign some papers from a class that I had taught with her, so I was shocked when yet again, she had lined up another possible job for me. No joke. They are building a new rec center a couple of cities over right now, and they are looking for some aquatics staff. So unbeknownst to me, she had emailed him all of my qualification and everything I've done so far in life. He quickly responded asking for my contact info... Ahh!!!! I don't know what I'm going to do if something comes from this, seriously. The internship we had talked about me doing with her was so exciting, but this is a life defining experience! I'm just going to wait it out and see what comes! Seriously... so excited!

iPod

Fun little thing, just put your iPod on shuffle and list in order!

1. Opening Credits- “Continue Dreaming” Matt Nathanson

2. Waking Up- “My Paper Heart” All American Rejects

3. Work- “Fever” Ella Fitzgerald

4. Falling in Love- “Thinking of You” Katy Perry

5. Fight Song- “Clash of the Tartans” The Real Mckenzies

6. Breaking Up- “Without You” Hinder

7. First Date- “Selfish Girl” Rihannah

8. Life- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Marvin Gaye

9. Mental Breakdown- “Forever” Chris Brown

10. Drinking Song- “Walking with a Ghost” Tegan and Sara

11. Flashback- “Somebody’s Baby” Phantom Planet

12. Getting back together- “In my Head” Anna Nalik

13. Wedding- “Up Against the Wall” Boys Like Girls

14. Losing Virginity- “Most Girls” Pink

15. Birth of a Child- “Beautiful” Lifehouse

16. Final Battle- “Six Feet Under the Stars” All Time Low

17. Death- “Won’t Go Home Without You” Maroon 5

18. Ending Credits- “Holding Your Breath” Regina Spektor

Graduation!!!

I recently decided that I'm going to graduate this year instead of wait another year, so I condensed all my classes into these 2 semesters. I have one class left for spring!!! I'm so excited. A few days ago, I was just sitting around waiting for my next class to start and I was like... ooo... I need to apply for graduation. So to make a really long story short, after dealing with the driest counselor on BYU campus, the bubbliest teacher on the campus and a few more people, I am now prepared to apply for graduation! I just need to remember to take my wallet up one of these days so that I can pay the fee to graduate. Why on earth is there a few to graduate? Seriously... 15 dollars so they can process your application? Slightly ridiculous seeing as I have paid close to 20,000 already... hmmph. But once that is in, I will have officially applied to graduate from this school! Now all that is left is I have to pass my classes from this semester, spring term and find and complete my internship. Phew... seems like a lot... but I think I can do it. As for the internship as of right now, I'm just planning on keeping my lifeguarding gig... should prove to be exciting! Okay... now just to stave off senioritis...

Starting Anew

I swear every few months I resolve to begin blogging again... but it's happening yet again. We shall see if it actually holds this time, who knows. Life is going totally crazy right now, but I'm not going to post about all that right now... I'm going to slowly post about them, drag it out I guess. Haha... anyways, here goes nothing!

The Election

Recently, there was an election. I'm assuming you know this unless you have been living in a bomb shelter. In that case, you wouldn't be reading this. Well I have been following this election and the candidates since 2006. I was a hardcore Mitt Romney fan. He seemed to represent everything that I thought was important and was fully ready to back him. Yes, I was that person. Then Romney dropped out. I stopped caring. My only interest in the election was moving to Australia if Clinton won. Well it finally came to the point where Clinton was out (thank goodness) and soon it was time to apply for an absentee ballot. I sent in my app... and waited... and waited... and waited... I soon realized that I had waited too long, and it was now too late. I was saddened to realize that I couldn't vote, the election that I had been following for so long. Now I won't say who I was planning on voting for. That isn't fair to either candidate, especially now that we have a new President Elect. I will say that I was and am prepared to support either candidate, whoever won. I'll come back to that thought later.

I was disappointed that my family had moved to Georgia. This meant that I was registered there, and not in California. As a California citizen I would have been able to vote on Prop 8. This was the election I actually cared about. I felt very strongly about voting for Prop 8. Not only had those in authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoken out about this, I felt that this was fundamentally wrong. Marriage is between a Man and a Woman. This is the way it was meant to be created. This was how it was originally ordained, and this is how it was meant to be. Now, I know that people are going to say this is because I'm a Mormon. Grow up people. The count was so close. There is not that percentage of LDS in California. How could we have controlled the vote like that. Not only that, there are some LDS that were against it. Others that have no left the Church because of this. Obviously the majority of California (LDS and non LDS) wanted this to pass. By the way, is violence and hatred really the answer? Why is it necessary for people to treat the church this way? Check out this article. Okay that is all I have to say on that subject.

Here is an excerpt from a talk by Neil A Maxwell. It really sums up my feelings.

“Discipleship includes good citizenship; and in this connection, if you are careful students of the statements of the modern prophets, you will have noticed that with rare exceptions--especially when the First Presidency has spoken out--the concerns expressed have been over moral issues, not issues between political parties. The declarations are about principles, not people, and causes, not candidates. On occasions, at other levels in the Church, a few have not been so discreet, so wise, or so inspired.

“But make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters; in the months and years ahead, events will require of each member that he or she decide whether or not he or she will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions.

“President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had "never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional, or political life.” This is a hard doctrine, but it is a particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . .

“Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . .. .

“This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened. . . .

“It may well be, as our time comes to "suffer shame for his name", that some of this special stress will grow out of that portion of discipleship which involves citizenship. Remember that, as Nephi and Jacob said, we must learn to endure "the crosses of the world" and yet to despise "the shame of [it]". To go on clinging to the iron rod in spite of the mockery and scorn that flow at us from the multitudes in that great and spacious building seen by Father Lehi, which is the "pride of the world," is to disregard the shame of the world. Parenthetically, why--really why--do the disbelievers who line that spacious building watch so intently what the believers are doing? Surely there must be other things for the scorners to do--unless, deep within their seeming disinterest, there is interest.

“If the challenge of the secular church becomes very real, let us, as in all other human relationships, be principled but pleasant. Let us be perceptive without being pompous. Let us have integrity and not write checks with our tongues which our conduct cannot cash.

“Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even these, however, must leave a record so that the choices before the people are clear and let others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, that others will step forward, having been rallied to righteousness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds--a majority which was, till then, unconscious of itself.

“Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves "summer is nigh". Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat.”

Neal A. Maxwell, “Meeting the Challenges of Today”, BYU Devotional, 10 October 1978

When I read this I was struck by the meaning of this. I have a lot of friends that are really mad because Obama was elected President. Now while I may not agree with all of his ideas, I do know that he was elected by the people. He was able to get the younger vote, and got more people to vote from the younger demographic than ever. I am amazed by his speech making. So while I may not agree with his policy, I do believe in supporting him. He was elected and he is the leader of our country. If we don't all unite, that is much worse than any policy that could be put in place. As made manifest by the 12th Article of Faith, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." So in closing, though I didn't vote, I am going to sustain our President for as long as he is in office. I believe it is the right thing to do.

My Hero Trait

So currently in my life, I am not wanting to be super social. I don't really know why this is. I have a feeling it is due to the fact that I recently moved. I don't really know anyone in my new area, nor have I had much of an opportunity to get to know people in my area. My roommates and I have recently taken up watching seasons on TV together. This isn't really that new for me. I tend to watch a lot of movies and seasons. I recently got huge into Heroes. I've been putting a lot of thought into what I would want my Hero trait to be. I think I would want Hiro's characteristic. I really want to be able to teleport, and stopping time would just be an added bonus. Do you realize how much money this would save? I would be able to just teleport everywhere... no airplanes, no need for cars... nothing. That would be awesome. I could go home whenever I wanted to (that is my biggest issue in life right now). That would be so freaking awesome! And the stopping of time. I don't know I could just get so much more done that way. Then I could go ahead and get the normal amount of sleep and such. It just seems like it would be the coolest one ever.

Shaping of the Life

So here it is, two months after my last post. I've been horrible that way. Life has been one crazy mess of fun. In the past two months, I have decided to completely change every aspect of my life. So I am currently a student in college. I was planning on getting a couple of minors and graduating in a couple of years. The projected date was April of 2010. However, I was sitting at my house one night looking at my schedule for the fall and all the sudden I just felt like I needed to change everything. So I did. I did all the math and realized that if I dropped my minors, I could graduate in the next year. So I put everything in motion. Within days I had all my classes worked out and I had talked to all the right people and now I am set to walk in April of this next year. Then after my internship, I will get my diploma in August. It was crazy how it all changed.

Well after I changed my life plan as far as school, things started going south with all of my current friends. I started getting used. And I started having all these relationships that had been going for years that suddenly just stopped working. People just disappeared. I had been living in the same place for 3 years and I just felt like I was suffocating and needed to get out. So now I've moved to a totally different part of town (it's actually closer to work and my classes, which is nice).

Now I'm not quite sure why all this is happening. In fact, it's driving me insane because I'm so lost in life right now. I don't know what I'm going to do when I graduate, I also don't know what I'm going to do this weekend. I don't have the friends that I had before, and I've been to busy to meet people in my new area. But I know that this is right, I know that there is a plan in my life that is being set in motion. It's a weird feeling, but it's crazy cool.

American Idol!

For those of you who don't know, American Idol tryouts have started. On July 29th, they are going to be in Salt Lake City, UT. That is the closest tryouts to me, and that is the closest I will have ever been to tryouts. Now, I have never been formally trained with how to sing, but a part of me wants to go and tryout for American Idol. Why you might ask? Well it's the little girl dream in me, I'm not going to lie. I've always wanted to be the next Hannah Montana. I think I could pull of the Best of Both Worlds tour better than Miley Cyrus. I don't know though, doing this, it could let me down on all my dreams. In my head, I am the American Idol that is undiscovered. If I don't make the cut, it would ruin all my inner ego. Burst my bubble in other words. It would also be totally irresponsible. I would have to take off from work, and I would probably turn down the ticket if I got accepted to go to Hollywood. But I would get to possibly meet Simon Cowell, how awesome would that be? I mean Simon Cowell. My whole goal in life is to totally get ripped into by the man. He is my hero, the blunt honesty, never caring what anyone thinks, making people cry all the time. I would love to be in the presence of that. That would be part of the reason for going. The other part would be to see how far I could possibly make it through the auditions. And as much as I would like to think I could make it to Hollywood, I don't know if I could. Also if I did, I would like to see how far I could do, but I can't miss school. I'm so close to being done. Why would I stop for one crazy little competition. Now, realistically, I know that there is no way I could go any further than the first few rounds. I would like to think (as you know) that I could make it to the finalist, but I know there is no way. It would be just a totally irresponsible thing to do. But who knows... maybe I'll do the irresponsible thing for once (okay so I'm actually always irresponsible, we know this). We shall see what happens...

Too Spiritual?

It’s been a while since I last wrote. This would be because of a lack of ideas on what to write. In fact I still have no idea what to write on. This is partly due to the fact that I am in a horribly bad mood. I have had the recent opportunity of losing a friend due to the reason that I am too spiritual. I’m not kidding. I was asking how to get out of a bad mood, and he said beer, and I turned that down. Then he said sex. I said, no that will push me into a deeper bad mood. Now him being every much a Mormon as I am, he asked why. I told him it was due to the fact that I would feel guilty due to sinning. Well then he said well I think you are far too spiritual for us to be friends… sweet. That’s a first. Well I guess I’m glad that I found out and didn’t put too much more into it. ::)

Recent Storm

In a couple of days I have the opportunity to turn 21. Okay it’s not really an opportunity. It’s happening whether or not I want it to. This day comes every year, June 13^th. This year is especially special, the 13^th comes on a Friday, and I’ll be turning 21. Originally I was really excited for this day. I was going to do a 21 themed Vegas type party, it was going to be awesome. Well as my birthday has been approaching, less and less of me has wanted to party. In fact I’m not even getting work off. I have no desire too. I was trying to figure out why this was. Then it hit me… I’ve never really been away from home on my birthday (okay except for the one where I was in Australia, but that doesn’t count, I mean it was Australia). Birthdays have always been a really big family day for me. We always do a huge family thing. Okay maybe not huge, but dinner is always together and we always do stuff together. So I’m extremely homesick. In fact I don’t really want to do anything on my birthday. I’m excited because my mom is sending me packages daily. So my birthday is going to be spread out. And she spoils me. I got the first today (it was a new swim suit to teach in, only I would be excited for that). So I’ve slowly been working myself into a bad mood because I’m not with my family, and most of my friends are gone. Luckily I have Becky here for me (and others… you know who you are). She sings me happy birthday every time I open a package (strict instructions from my Mom). It’s just slightly funny to me that a birthday is creating such a bad mood. Oh well… I’ll get over it!

Tribute to Michael Scott

So a previously mentioned, I am a lifeguard. Being a lifeguard I am privy to many conversations that otherwise I would not be allowed in on. It is fun to sit on stand and watch people’s lives. I have to find a way to entertain myself while sitting on the stand, in fact I often make up soap operas in my head. Maybe I will fill you in on those later. However, a lot of the time, I just overhear phrases that often make me laugh. What some people say… sometimes you just have to wonder if they are just darn near stupid. Often lines are translated into a Michael Scott references “that’s what she said” (though sometimes I change it to that’s what HE said). Some are better than others obviously, but I’m going to start with just a few.

One day I was sitting on stand, and I see this family playing together and they have a fairly large inner tube. They are playing around putting the babies up on it (now tubing isn’t extremely fun seeing as we just have a pool, no slides that allow tubes or anything). Well I was watching them and I see one of the boys look at his friend and say, climb up on that. Now these are not big boys, they are kind of small probably 6 or 7. So the boy looks over and says “Awe man… you want me to climb on that?!?” Haha… all I could think in my head was that’s what she said. Seriously… what else could you get from that?

Another scenario… Enter into a pool yet again (obviously). I’m teaching a lifeguarding class this time. Well these kids are learning how to do spinals. A spinal is when someone injures their head, neck or back. It is a long (supposed to be fast, but takes a while when teaching people) process that involves a lot of steps. So I explain all the steps once and show how it’s done with help and a volunteer to be the victim. After I’m finished explaining, I have them break in to groups. I go off to watch the first group. While they are attempting the seemingly impossible, the first rescuer makes his save. Then the second rescuer goes over to sink the board. While after trying unsuccessfully a few times, he looks at me and goes, “How the heck am I supposed to do this?” Haha… that’s what she/he said!

Okay so I definitely saved the best one for last. Once again we are doing spinal saves, but this time I’m just recertifying lifeguards that have been at this for a while, there was not a huge need for explanations. I was watching them to make sure everything was being done right. I am good friends with all of these people because I work them. Well as the girls are about to pull the board out of the water, another lifeguard looks at them and says, “Would you like me to be the third and get on the back?” Okay… say it with me now… That’s What He Said!!!! Seriously… that is the only thing you could get from that. Okay so honestly, I yelled it this time, I couldn’t hold it in. :)

Wendy Peffercorn?

I am a lifeguard. I take great pleasure in saying the previously stated sentence. It means a lot to me, I am highly trained, I take it seriously and I love what I do. I get paid to sit around in a swimsuit and get a tan. I watch stupid people make stupid mistakes and get paid good money to do it. I swear all I do all day is yell walk. In fact I’m pretty sure most the kids at the pool think I only know a few phrases, walk being the number one. In fact most days I feel like a broken record. But once we get past that, I do actually love my job. It has knowledge on how to save people’s lives. Not only do I know that, but I love to study it. Recently I went and got my Lifeguarding Instructor Certification. This means that I can now teach lifeguarding classes, and instruct today’s youth on how to also save lives.

I feel like I have a new found power that slightly scares me. I have been recertifying a lot of old lifeguards that just need to stay current. This is totally fine to me. I don’t mind this at all, they already have the knowledge, so they just ask a few questions, take the tests, and we are good. However, I helped out teaching an actual lifeguarding class this past week. I was only there a couple days, but I was left alone to teach what you do if you think someone has hurt their spine. This is a long and complicated process that you have to do completely perfect in order to ensure that you don’t injure the victim anymore. Also this has to be done super fast in order to keep the victim comfortable and make sure they are breathing. Well I wasn’t given a whole lot of time to teach this, so I taught it the best I could, trying to pass on all my knowledge to these wanting minds (not, they didn’t really want to be there at this point). Well a couple of these kids I work with.

This is a good and bad thing. Good, because a couple of the people are actually really good at what they have learned. They totally understood what I was saying and did everything with complete confidence. The bad side is because some of these people can’t save someone’s lives if their live depended on it. They did well enough to pass the test and all, don’t get me wrong, they just froze up a bit under pressure. I had to calm them down before they could think properly. So when I have a shift with these people at work it may cause me some issues. That I will have to get over.

But back to the good. Today I showed up to work and the supervisor told me that they had the first spinal rescue of the year. I was like wow, I wish I had been here (I’ve never been a part of one before in all my years of guarding). She was like yeah, Emily did it (name has been changed). Well Emily is a girl that I taught to do spinals yesterday and I certified today. She had been on duty for like 15 minutes for the first time ever when it happened. Well apparently it all went smoothly and she did an amazing job. But wow… talk about responsibility. (Oh by the way, the kid had just hit his head and after EMS checked him out, he went back to playing). I mean seriously, I trained that girl. If I had taught her wrong something could have gone totally wrong. Hmmm… You never saw anything like that in the Sandlot… Blast!