Hula Honeys

For the record, I am now officially the best female champion hula hooper at my company.

Funny thing is, I found it's way easier to use one's neck, like so:


Some more priceless moments:





Goodness, I love my job!

Jane Austen Fight Club

Have you guys seen the latest viral video hit, the Jane Austen Fight Club?

Behold the awesomeness:



Now, it gets even better. This video was the winner of the Santa Monica 3rd (YSA) Ward's annual filmfest.

That's right. The viral trend that's being written up in TIME, Glamour, CBS, BoingBoing and the Huffington Post made its debut at a singles ward activity.

See the lovely gal playing Emma? Yeah, that would be my all-too-amazing friend Farrah. For reals. She's one of the coolest chicas I know, hands down.

Yay, Farrah dear, for the amazing viral vid success - can't wait to see where else it goes!

Sassy

Tonight, while blowdrying my hair (which I do at my desk whilst reading stuff on the computer), my 13-year-old sister, Tessa, caught me on Facebook chat. As we're talking, I'm asking her about a spiffy deal my dad's given her: practice archery enough times each week for a year, and she gets a laptop! (My sister's a competitive archer who's been California state champ for her group in the past. I know. She rocks.)

Color me jealous. A little.

Well, ever the middle child, I made some quip about how Dad never made me that sort of a deal - but, then again, I never needed to be bribed. I may or may not have smirked a little... until I got the reponse.

"Well, you never did anything to merit it."

Yowzas!!! Since when did Tessa get so danged sassy?! So I'm reeling from this for a second, trying to form a witty comeback, when the next message pops up:

"That last one was dad."

Ah.

Makes total sense now.

So, my dad's not really a sass in his everyday dealings - but we have a fun dynamic. Lots of mutual teasing involved (which can actually be bad when doing in front of the aforementioned teenager who then thinks she can treat Dad the same way. Ummm, no. I earned that privilege with age!).

*sigh*

I miss my fam. Loving my life, don't get me wrong - but, ah, homesickness can be a beast sometimes! Missing California like crazy the last few days. So I booked a flight to Colorado. Yeah, someone explain that logic to me.

RC: The Inequitable Nature of Equality

Well, friends, my first real post is up at Rational Conservatism! Come check out "The Inequitable Nature of Equality." Read, comment, share if you feel so inclined.

And as a sidenote, I've just got to say that I'm loving the shape this project is taking! Such a fun collaboration with brilliant like-minded thinkers. It's fun to be part of this team.

Enjoy!

Tasting Life

Anais Nin once said, "We write to taste life twice, once in the moment and in retrospection."

The older I get, the more I find this to be true.

Driving home today, after an absurdly stressed-out-by-the-living-sitch day that involved asking a roommate to do her [insert-expletive] week-old dishes and spending my lunch break checking out a one-bedroom in Springville that's not nearly what it purported to be on Craigslist ("darling" my foot!!! Think fleabag 1950s motel-turned-apartments with a trailer park in back. For reals.), I decided that I really need to blog some of the more fun, ridiculous moments I've had in the last 10+ years.

After all, I've got some KILLER stories:

- Flirting with Mel Gibson at a screening of The Passion (before he went crazy)? - CHECK!

- Driving my rental car into a ditch in Seattle en route to photograph my BFF's wedding? - CHECK!

- Sneaking onto the set of an MTV pilot on the beach in Santa Monica with a couple of guys I just met and then getting lost all over L.A.? - CHECK!

(When I say my life's a sitcom, I mean it!)

Not to mention the countless trips all over the country about which I often blog in advance - but rarely recap after the fact.

Needless to say, it's been a lot of fun. And while the last year of my life has been a steady stream of monkeywrenches over which I have zero control, the past is concrete. Maybe if I start recording some of these stories (with more retrospection than the journal entries penned right after the fact), it'll help brighten the craziness of the last year.

It'll also balance the hyperfocused political wonkiness that seems to take over when I'm blogging about political theories, current events and the like. As thrilled and delighted as I am for the amazing project I'm part of, Rational Conservatism, I know I will need to get on here and blog about the things that make me a ridiculous 27-year-old woman. Otherwise the bubbly, fun side of me will get overwhelmed by frustrations with what our dear country and world are becoming. It happened during Prop. 8 blogging, and I just don't want to go there again. I need fun and light and silliness. Both are strong parts of who I am, and I've got to work to strike that balance.

So, I hope y'all won't mind indulging me as I spin the yarns that have created the tapestry of my life.

And thanks to so many of you for playing a part in that. :)

The best-laid plans...

You know, considering the way that my life has played out in the last year or so, you'd think I'd be used to things rarely working out as I plan (and yet somehow being awesome).

Nope.

Still drives me nuts when I make plans and then have the rug pulled out from under me.

My new landlord might kick us out to move his family in in December. While I totally get that it's his prerogative, and I appreciate the advanced notice, seriously, that will mean THREE moves in THIRTEEN months. Three times renting a 16-foot moving van. Three times scrounging up people to help me load and unload my stuff. Plus it means figuring out a new living situation, for which I'm at a loss. I've soooooo been looking forward to getting my own place after this year. Not sure if I'll be in a position to get my own place by December, and I certainly don't want to be locked into a yearlong lease with roommates until December 2011.

So... yeah. It's really frustrating and confusing when I act upon a decision that makes perfect sense to my mind and feels right, only to get news like this - the final straw upon dealing with miscommunications aplenty, roommates who don't do their dishes or clean (if you don't have time to clean up after yourself, you don't have time to cook! Seriously!), and dealing with the fact that I'm not only back in Provo - I'm back IN ONE OF MY BYU WARDS!!!

Really. I'm not even two blocks down from the Pink House I shared with Tina and Hayley six summers ago, when I took Brittny's spring/summer contract. Ridiculous. Totally didn't realize 'til I drove past the place in my moving truck.

Anyways. I should expect the unexpected by now and know that I have no control over anything, really. All I can do is to move forward with faith, acting the best as I can within my limited scope of knowledge and then trusting God to validate those choices as long as I'm not acting against a no on His part. We've got this two-way communication/trust thing down, for the most part, so whatever's to come will be better than what I've planned... but it still results in a few more grey hairs every time.

I swear I'm not pregnant, but...

Remember my awkward exchange with Dr. P?

Well, seriously - I know I'm not preggers (duh), but sometimes I wonder. Constant nausea? Random cravings? What the heck?!?!?!

Brie.



All I want for lunch today is brie. Nothing else sounds good - my stomach has been killing me for more than a week now, and somehow brie is appealing as something I could handle.

And because I have to leave really early for a dentist's appointment in downtown Salt Lake this afternoon, I'm working through lunch - and so I asked my buddy Dave to bring me back a wedge of brie from his lunchtime run to the store, which I am currently eating with a spoon.

Ridiculous.

On the upside, I'm getting practice? This isn't practice I particularly enjoy, however. Sheesh.

The Problem with Conservatives

At last!

After a week or so of getting the infrastructure of the blog in place, Rational Conservatism is up and running! This is when it gets fun. The authors have been introduced, and now we're on to posting our brilliant ideas.

Like so:

Conservatives want to be able to succeed or fail by their own efforts. They want to be able to use the Puritan work ethic that was present at the Founding of this nation, combined with their intellect and ingenuity, to make a better life for themselves. They believe in basic fairness. (We’ll probably discuss distortions of that term in another post.) They believe in property rights. They believe that the things they purchase by means of their labor are theirs, and they should be able to determine the manner in which those items are used. (There will likely be a discussion of taxation at a later point as well….)

Because conservatives are not satisfied to simply ask “who is John Galt?” (yes, I’m busy reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment), they take it upon themselves to try to better their lives and the lives of others in the process (with the lives of others being bettered as an externality to the bettering of the conservatives’ own lives).

But this is where the problem arises.

Want to read more of Jeff's awesome post, "The Problem with Conservatives"? Click here. Comment, if you feel so inclined, and enjoy!

Stay tuned for my first post about equality of opportunity vs. equality of results in coming days. The ideas are all there in my noggin, but with work, moving and some modicum of a social life, I have yet to put the proverbial pen to paper - however, if they don't get out of my brain soon, I'll go nuts! The curse of being a writer. Concepts haunt me until they're out on paper, and then I can move on with my life, lol.

Silver Linings

For the last couple of days, I have been nauseated beyond nausea! Not sure what the deal is, but I just had to share this Pollyanna-esque thought I had last night.

After work I popped into WinCo to stock up on everything imaginable to settle my stomach: fresh ginger, crystallized ginger, gingersnaps, ginger ale, saltines, chicken noodle soup (I already had toast and applesauce at home), hoping something would work. While shopping, I had this thought:

Well, on the bright side, at least I'll know what does or doesn't work for me when I'm morningsick someday.

And then I had to laugh - way to find the silver lining, right?!

But isn't that life? In almost every instance, there is a great lesson to be learned if we're open to it, even if that lesson's what not to do.

I've been thinking about that a ton lately in regard to my last job. It was awesome at first, but when we lost our bread-and-butter client, the job devolved to where it felt like we were on some sick sort of PR version of Survivor. I made it through something like five rounds of cuts in 11 months before being booted off the island - er, from the agency. So crazy. But as awful as that experience became, I wouldn't trade all the knowledge I gained for anything! What I learned there got me the amazing job I have now, and I'm still in touch with some awesome contacts I'd never have met otherwise, including our top-notch social media consultant who I still hit up for feedback or tips regarding my current job. (He's cool like that. Such a fan!)

My time in Lehi will come to a close tomorrow - I'm picking up the moving truck in a mere 2 1/2 hours, to be precise! Truth be told, it hasn't been the most stellar experience of my life, but I've learned so much - SO much - about myself, my family, the world around me. And the upside was that I always knew it was transitional, so there's not really anything I'll miss. It was a stepping stone to get me back to myself after coming off the worst few months ever (losing a job + having pneumonia for three months takes a while to bounce back from!), and I'm delighted to start this new chapter refreshed and ready to tackle what comes my way. It's been an adventure - but when isn't life?

What are some experiences that taught you deeply, even if they weren't particularly enjoyable?

Rational Conservatism: My New Project

Check it out, friends! As of earlier this week, I'm the newest contributor to Rational Conservatism, my friend Jeff's politics team blog.

Per the mission statement:

I’ve long advocated a type of conservatism that I’ve not found to be nearly prevalent enough in society. I believe that Humans are both rational and emotional beings. I find no contradiction in this either. Indeed, it is the blending of the two that gives humanity its depth and its capacity for sustainable growth. By growth, I mean economically, personally, societally, spiritually and in other ways that are not coming to mind.

Pure reason is insufficient, and so is pure emotion. To be ruled by either is folly.

Rational Conservatism is to allow oneself to be informed by both, and to do so uncapriciously. The dispassionate consideration of values, reason, emotion and the impact of each before coming to a conclusion is the essence of Rational Conservatism.

This is not intended to become a dry collection of academic writings that no one wants to read. Instead it should serve as a window into not only the conservative mind, but the conservative soul. (Yes, conservatives have souls)

So, here's the backstory - the blog's founder, Jeff, has been a friend of mine for nearly a decade now, since his freshman year at BYU (his older brother, Michael, and sister-in-law, Brittney, are two of my dearest friends). Jeff's every bit as political as I am, so it's a natural to team up on this blog. Of course, this also signals the end of Curly-Haired Conservative (which never really did get off the ground). Team blogging is something I really enjoy - there's less pressure as opposed to one person carrying the blog, plus the collection of varied voices and interests really add a lot.

So, if you're interested, please add us to your Google Reader and join in the fun!

Also, Jeff and I are still recruiting writers, so if this looks up your alley, let me know, and we can add you to the team!

The day everything changed

It all started with a simple seven words.

"did you get my email?check facebook"

The buzzing of my phone was startling. Here it was, almost 2 a.m., and I was finally getting ready for bed at my friend Patrick's place in Logan after a delightful evening of rekindling our friendship.

The text was from Twitter, a direct message sent by Leigh, one of my BYU journalism friends. Tired as I was, curiosity got the better of me, and I got Patrick to boot up his computer so I could figure out what Leigh's cryptic message was all about.

And my life took a completely unexpected left turn.

Leigh has one of the coolest jobs of all my friends. She's a publicist for Deseret Book, working in downtown Salt Lake City, going on book tours around the country with such notables as Fablehaven author Brandon Mull or cute lil' David Archuleta. I'd been enviously tracking her career for a while and had said that if a job ever opened with her, to let me know.

Well, she made good on that promise - the Facebook message was all about a publicist gig soon opening with her at Des. By that point, I was pretty ripe for a change - I'd even blogged about wanting to move away from Orange County, and I'd been miserable at my job for a while.

But Utah? Not quite the opportunity I'd hoped for - I was so dreaming of a more exotic, fresh locale - but what a killer job!

And so, with that, a year ago today, after meditating on it and weighing pros and cons for a few days, I knelt down and prayed about moving to Utah - and got an unmistakable yes.

So, Utah it was, even though I didn't know how it would all shake out. Of course, as we all know, that's not the job I wound up with - they ended up never listing the spot. A couple months of puzzled limbo ensued - knowing I needed to move, not seeing what the opportunity would be. Much to my surprise, another friend told me about a perfect-for-me position that would soon be listing at her PR firm. Again, that position never did list officially, but I got a plane ticket to Utah and scheduled an interview anyways.

Thanks to the marvel of Facebook, I heard about another job in Orem via a couple of my BYU professors. It was in Orem, and goodness knows I never wanted to come back to Utah Valley... but I couldn't ignore the impression to apply for it. Fine, back-up job, might as well not put all of my eggs in one basket, right? So I applied in late August, did a phone interview a week later, and - the rest is history!

A year later, all I can do is shake my head. It's been such a marvelous journey, learning to trust that God will work out the details so long as I'm doing my part. What I wanted didn't happen at any step of the process - I wound up in a state I didn't want to move to, to the back-up job I didn't really want, and to Lehi of all places. But it has been wonderful. Wonderful! I absolutely adore my job and really can't say enough good things about it. It's an immense blessing in my life to have a job I'm so excited to go to every single morning. There's no place I'd rather work, and I have zero desire to leave this amazing environment for the rest of my career.

Next week I'll step into yet another unexpected twist in the saga as I move back to Provo, a whopping three blocks away from University Villa, where I lived my senior year of BYU. Considering how I've struggled with being so close to where my much-beloved college life went down, it's pretty darn surreal to accept that I'll be shopping at the same grocery store, commuting on University Avenue right past several friends' college apartments, crossing the path of my daily on-foot commute to campus. Bizarre doesn't even come close, friends.

But it's right. So completely, totally, undeniably right. The timing's perfect, the price is right, and it's just too perfect a situation. The ever-brilliant Sara, who was one of my reporters when I was an editor at BYU's student paper, The Daily Universe, six summers ago, Facebooked her need for roommates to take some vacancies in her house. (Sara's now a 3L at BYU's law school, or will be in the fall). I'd been thinking about moving for a while - after all, living with Mason and Angie was always temporary, although we had no exit strategy set - so I looked at the house on Monday and just knew! It's such a cool, old house, and I'm beyond thrilled to see how my room comes together. Plus Sara is such a cool cat, and as much as I've resisted the idea of having roommates again (it's been nice not dealing with them for the last nine months!), I'm ridiculously excited. We should have a BLAST together!

Granted, it's all happening so much more quickly than anticipated - it'll be less than three weeks altogether between seeing her FB status about it and actually living there! - but that's pretty par for course. This sort of stuff's happened enough before, I know to just go with it and enjoy the surprise around the corner.

Everything changed a year ago today, and it's been a great ride. Just this morning it hit me that my Utah life is so much better than what I left behind in Orange County. The job is a HUGE part of that, but beyond it, I live close to so many of my favorite friends from across the spectrum of my life. I get to do so many of my favorite things more easily here, like attending the temple, running up to Park City to shop, taking weekend trips to Idaho, spending time with my grandma. And I get to also pursue so many goals and realize accomplishments I've long desired, like getting out of debt, running a relay race, starting a Master's degree. None of it would've been possible in Orange County.

Surreal? Yes. Unexpected? Of course. Perfect?

Always.