Today was our Very Special fast & testimony meeting wherein new ward boundaries were announced, finally quieting months of rumbling and rampant speculation.
There are two new English speaking wards. We stayed in McAllen 1st ward and we have a new bishop and counselors. But damn near everyone I was close to or hung out with outside of church--gone. Including my friend, Minerva (mom of the wasp-stung Stephanie) and my former employer, Mary. :(
In addition, every auxiliary lost key people--the RS president, members of the Primary, YW, YM, EQ and SS presidencies. We also lost all our competent pianists and organists.
And, to be honest, there are some people I'm not sad to see go: the hardass RS teacher whose lesson on chastity last week began with us reading the catalogue of sexual sins in the manual--and her asking us to DEFINE EACH ONE. It left me feeling dirty.
Nor am I especially sad that the blowhard/always right SS president, an authority-focused stake leader and the least imaginative/manual only gospel doctrine teacher are gone, too.
Mike called me via Skype (he's in Japan) and I filled him in on all the changes. As I mentioned the gospel doctrine vacancy, I had a sinking feeling that I would be the replacement. Is the still, small voice accompanied by nausea and fear?
The SP was adamant that the old ward boundaries are history and need to be forgotten. On one hand, that doesn't seem realistic. Unless this would get us out of cleaning the meetinghouse in October. (What cleaning assignment? That guy isn't our bishop anymore). I can feel the selective amnesia settling in already...
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Party Foul
Our RS has two new counselors and the Enrichment counselor is going gangbusters on home & family preparedness, food storage and gardening. We have two workshops a month--one on a Thursday evening, one on a Saturday morning--and a food storage item of the month that is featured as the refreshments.
This morning, I hosted a workshop on composting, complete with full color handout with all the info an aspiring composter needed.
We had 9 people total. I had wrapped up most of the overview when Minerva showed up with her kids. The rest of the ladies were eating refreshments Monica brought--crisp tortilla rounds, cheese, lettuce and cooked beans, this month's starring food storage item.
Two women had to leave early, so I took them outside to see my compost bin in action. Minerva and her 3 girls came outside with us. They'd been to our house before and headed straight for the backyard swings.
I had just shown everyone the compost bin's innards when the screaming started. I looked to see which kid was screaming and why. To my everlasting horror, I saw there was a wasp nest under the swing Stephanie had been on and she'd gotten stung.
The wasps were buzzing angrily near their disturbed nest, so we walked the screaming, crying Stephanie back to the house. She had three stings: two on her arm and one on the corner of her mouth (which explained why she'd been screaming into her closed hands). Minerva called her pediatrician to ask what to do.
I wrapped some ice cubes in wet paper towels to help kill the pain. One mom had Benadryl, so we had her take one. Minerva had children's Tylenol at home, so she packed up the girls' things and headed out. Stephanie was somewhat calmer by then but still obviously in pain. After that, everyone else packed it in, too.
Hard not to feel like the world's worst host after something like that.
This morning, I hosted a workshop on composting, complete with full color handout with all the info an aspiring composter needed.
We had 9 people total. I had wrapped up most of the overview when Minerva showed up with her kids. The rest of the ladies were eating refreshments Monica brought--crisp tortilla rounds, cheese, lettuce and cooked beans, this month's starring food storage item.
Two women had to leave early, so I took them outside to see my compost bin in action. Minerva and her 3 girls came outside with us. They'd been to our house before and headed straight for the backyard swings.
I had just shown everyone the compost bin's innards when the screaming started. I looked to see which kid was screaming and why. To my everlasting horror, I saw there was a wasp nest under the swing Stephanie had been on and she'd gotten stung.
The wasps were buzzing angrily near their disturbed nest, so we walked the screaming, crying Stephanie back to the house. She had three stings: two on her arm and one on the corner of her mouth (which explained why she'd been screaming into her closed hands). Minerva called her pediatrician to ask what to do.
I wrapped some ice cubes in wet paper towels to help kill the pain. One mom had Benadryl, so we had her take one. Minerva had children's Tylenol at home, so she packed up the girls' things and headed out. Stephanie was somewhat calmer by then but still obviously in pain. After that, everyone else packed it in, too.
Hard not to feel like the world's worst host after something like that.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday Surprise
After innumerable redesigns and months of waiting, our office move became a reality. This morning. Of course, I dressed up today--skirt, slinky V-neck top, heels. Not an outfit geared for box schlepping.
The move was supposed to happen Tuesday. But the movers showed up this morning and with the whole campus gearing up for HESTEC next week, we figured we better grab 'em while we could.
HESTEC = the Hispanic Engineering, Science & Technology week, complete with a star-studded lineup of politicians, CEOs, company presidents and vice presidents and entertainment. Nancy Pelosi is speaking. I'm all over THAT. More info here.
Anyway, I'm excited to have my own office after sitting at a corner desk in the back of the graduate office with little work or storage space. I finally have my own phone line and this means I will shortly have business cards--they were on hold until the move. Now I have to retrain everyone to send reports to my new location.
Since my office had the only extra network port, I get to live with the color printer; it blows warm air into an otherwise frigid space, so I'm OK with it.
The move was supposed to happen Tuesday. But the movers showed up this morning and with the whole campus gearing up for HESTEC next week, we figured we better grab 'em while we could.
HESTEC = the Hispanic Engineering, Science & Technology week, complete with a star-studded lineup of politicians, CEOs, company presidents and vice presidents and entertainment. Nancy Pelosi is speaking. I'm all over THAT. More info here.
Anyway, I'm excited to have my own office after sitting at a corner desk in the back of the graduate office with little work or storage space. I finally have my own phone line and this means I will shortly have business cards--they were on hold until the move. Now I have to retrain everyone to send reports to my new location.
Since my office had the only extra network port, I get to live with the color printer; it blows warm air into an otherwise frigid space, so I'm OK with it.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Adios, Last Vestige of Independence
Today--if I actually do have all the correct paperwork--I am selling my Pathfinder.
It's only the second car I've owned. My first was a 1980 orange Dodge Colt that I drove during college. The Pathfinder was my BYU graduation present. It has hauled me and my gear around since the fall of 1992. Put 164,023 miles on that baby.
I'm finding I'm much more attached than I thought, which is expressing as general hostility as the day of reckoning/relinquishing neared. It feels like I'm selling off the last vestige of my old, single, independent life--so much of which has been obliterated by the changes of the past year. The Pathfinder seems like the last relic of that era. It compares to the uncomfortable feeling I get seeing my childhood playthings tagged for mom's next garage sale.
We'd talked about loaning the Pathfinder to 17 for her senior year, but the offer was rebuffed. I casually mentioned to a co-worker that we were trying to sell one of our three cars. The Pathfinder was the obvious choice while it still had some value.
The co-worker was interested in the Pathfinder for her stepson, so we began making arrangements. Had their mechanic check it out. We wanted to get a Nissan expert to check out one thing their mechanic had noted, but the Nissan dealership here won't look at any car older than 10 years--their policy. (Whatever).
So now the day is here. The buyer just walked over to my desk to say we can go over to the court house whenever I'm emotionally ready. I guess I should rip off the bandage already.
Which relegates me to being a permanent minivan driver. Sigh.
It's only the second car I've owned. My first was a 1980 orange Dodge Colt that I drove during college. The Pathfinder was my BYU graduation present. It has hauled me and my gear around since the fall of 1992. Put 164,023 miles on that baby.
I'm finding I'm much more attached than I thought, which is expressing as general hostility as the day of reckoning/relinquishing neared. It feels like I'm selling off the last vestige of my old, single, independent life--so much of which has been obliterated by the changes of the past year. The Pathfinder seems like the last relic of that era. It compares to the uncomfortable feeling I get seeing my childhood playthings tagged for mom's next garage sale.
We'd talked about loaning the Pathfinder to 17 for her senior year, but the offer was rebuffed. I casually mentioned to a co-worker that we were trying to sell one of our three cars. The Pathfinder was the obvious choice while it still had some value.
The co-worker was interested in the Pathfinder for her stepson, so we began making arrangements. Had their mechanic check it out. We wanted to get a Nissan expert to check out one thing their mechanic had noted, but the Nissan dealership here won't look at any car older than 10 years--their policy. (Whatever).
So now the day is here. The buyer just walked over to my desk to say we can go over to the court house whenever I'm emotionally ready. I guess I should rip off the bandage already.
Which relegates me to being a permanent minivan driver. Sigh.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
This Guy
was one of the actors on our flight from Burbank to Dallas. Thanks, Hevans for connecting the dots!
Haven't been able to place the other actor. I'm sure I'll be watching some random movie rerun someday, see him and gasp "THAT'S THE OTHER GUY from our flight!"
Mike will just look at me and ask "How do you KNOW all these people?!?" Which is usually what he asks (or some variant) when I come up with an actor's name he can't remember or say oh, they were in such and such movie, too. (Like Shirley Henderson who played Jude in Bridget Jones' Diary and was also in his video, Einstein's Big Idea).
Haven't been able to place the other actor. I'm sure I'll be watching some random movie rerun someday, see him and gasp "THAT'S THE OTHER GUY from our flight!"
Mike will just look at me and ask "How do you KNOW all these people?!?" Which is usually what he asks (or some variant) when I come up with an actor's name he can't remember or say oh, they were in such and such movie, too. (Like Shirley Henderson who played Jude in Bridget Jones' Diary and was also in his video, Einstein's Big Idea).
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Soooo far behind
The long weekend in LA was Grrreat!
We arrive Friday night , picked up the rental car and headed to Saladang for Thai food--had their amazing smoked salmon/ginger/lime/toasted coconut/red onion/roasted peanuts appetizer wrapped in a curly lettuce leaf and served with a golden sweet sauce. Mmmmm. Caught up with mom & dad before retiring to the air mattress in my old bedroom turned storage unit.
Saturday, I visit the chiropractor (ahhhh), and Mike and I pick up some fresh raspberries & boysenberries and luscious tomatoes at the Pasadena Farmer's Market. Off then to visit David the Hair God. He's running late, so we make our first of several trips to Trader Joe's.
When David gets to the salon, he's sporting a flesh-colored bandage on the end of his nose. Has he ventured Beyond Botox? The story is this: David's been hanging out with a woman who wasn't quite divorced (he knew the husband and hung out with them both pre-divorce). David is over at her place on New Year's Eve. The not-quite-ex husband shows up, beats the shit out of David and BITES OFF THE END OF HIS NOSE. He wins for worst New Year's ever.
He's still got it with the scissors and gives me a much improved (if shorter) haircut. We pop by home to drop off produce and change clothes before going to Angela's 40th birthday tea.
All the usual living room furniture is gone. Five tables are set up with iced tea, lemonade, finger sandwiches, scones and Devonshire cream--a sumptuous repast. For mementos, we make charm bracelets with various teapot/teacup charms. So cute! We do a round of introductions, as several areas of Angela's life are represented and we don't all know each other. We contribute to the group gift--dental work for Angela's incarcerated pen pal. We linger and chat until it's time to leave for dinner.
Dinner at Yazmin, an amazing Malaysian restaurant in Alhambra. Meet h.s. pal Wendy there, with others straggling in later. We eat and dish and Angela reads palms. Afterward, we head home to finish reading through "As You Like It" in preparation for Sunday night's Shakespeare reading.
Sunday morning, we head to church in the beloved Pasadena Ward, where there are insightful lessons, dear friends, political allies and hymns played at the correct tempo. Sigh. We want to visit cousin Rowan after church, but he's not feeling up to having visitors. We pop into TJ's and head home to get ready for the potluck/reading. More friends there, excellent food and a reading that went quite well by all accounts. Mike and I had the leads, so it was a bit more pressure than in readings past. Kudos to Mark and Angela for putting it together!
Monday we slept in. Tried to see "Sicko," but it was sold out. Went shopping at Vroman's Bookstore, Coldwater Creek, Trader Joe's (yes, again) and Bed, Bath and Beyond where I scored a drapery panel to match the one I bought last year (note to self: buy in pairs next time).
Arrived home in time for dinner with mom, dad, brother John and GF Cristina. Noshed on potato salad, baked beans, Honeybaked ham and mail-order ribs. Was nice to hang out with them after almost a year!
Oh, yeah, we got accused of bringing the triple-digit heat wave with us to So Cal. Geez, you get married on a bloody hot day and no one ever lets you forget it. :)
Monday, we pop my finished editing job in the mail and head to the airport. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to LA without a celebrity sighting, right? We had not one but two character actors sitting in first class to Dallas. One guy was middle aged, reddish blondish hair, glasses--the actor you know you've seen in something but you just can't place him.
The other guy is more of an on-the-rise dude. He was in that suspense/horror TV show on the WB where some kind of aliens landed in the town's lake and were taking over peoples' bodies? I believe he played the horsey-looking/high foreheaded sheriff with the blond wife-turned-alien. I think. I only saw the previews. If someone can name that show and put me out of the brain-wracking misery so I can look him up on IMDB, I'd appreciate it!
Coming back to Texas after the delights of family, friends and So Cal has, quite frankly, sucked. The End.
We arrive Friday night , picked up the rental car and headed to Saladang for Thai food--had their amazing smoked salmon/ginger/lime/toasted coconut/red onion/roasted peanuts appetizer wrapped in a curly lettuce leaf and served with a golden sweet sauce. Mmmmm. Caught up with mom & dad before retiring to the air mattress in my old bedroom turned storage unit.
Saturday, I visit the chiropractor (ahhhh), and Mike and I pick up some fresh raspberries & boysenberries and luscious tomatoes at the Pasadena Farmer's Market. Off then to visit David the Hair God. He's running late, so we make our first of several trips to Trader Joe's.
When David gets to the salon, he's sporting a flesh-colored bandage on the end of his nose. Has he ventured Beyond Botox? The story is this: David's been hanging out with a woman who wasn't quite divorced (he knew the husband and hung out with them both pre-divorce). David is over at her place on New Year's Eve. The not-quite-ex husband shows up, beats the shit out of David and BITES OFF THE END OF HIS NOSE. He wins for worst New Year's ever.
He's still got it with the scissors and gives me a much improved (if shorter) haircut. We pop by home to drop off produce and change clothes before going to Angela's 40th birthday tea.
All the usual living room furniture is gone. Five tables are set up with iced tea, lemonade, finger sandwiches, scones and Devonshire cream--a sumptuous repast. For mementos, we make charm bracelets with various teapot/teacup charms. So cute! We do a round of introductions, as several areas of Angela's life are represented and we don't all know each other. We contribute to the group gift--dental work for Angela's incarcerated pen pal. We linger and chat until it's time to leave for dinner.
Dinner at Yazmin, an amazing Malaysian restaurant in Alhambra. Meet h.s. pal Wendy there, with others straggling in later. We eat and dish and Angela reads palms. Afterward, we head home to finish reading through "As You Like It" in preparation for Sunday night's Shakespeare reading.
Sunday morning, we head to church in the beloved Pasadena Ward, where there are insightful lessons, dear friends, political allies and hymns played at the correct tempo. Sigh. We want to visit cousin Rowan after church, but he's not feeling up to having visitors. We pop into TJ's and head home to get ready for the potluck/reading. More friends there, excellent food and a reading that went quite well by all accounts. Mike and I had the leads, so it was a bit more pressure than in readings past. Kudos to Mark and Angela for putting it together!
Monday we slept in. Tried to see "Sicko," but it was sold out. Went shopping at Vroman's Bookstore, Coldwater Creek, Trader Joe's (yes, again) and Bed, Bath and Beyond where I scored a drapery panel to match the one I bought last year (note to self: buy in pairs next time).
Arrived home in time for dinner with mom, dad, brother John and GF Cristina. Noshed on potato salad, baked beans, Honeybaked ham and mail-order ribs. Was nice to hang out with them after almost a year!
Oh, yeah, we got accused of bringing the triple-digit heat wave with us to So Cal. Geez, you get married on a bloody hot day and no one ever lets you forget it. :)
Monday, we pop my finished editing job in the mail and head to the airport. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to LA without a celebrity sighting, right? We had not one but two character actors sitting in first class to Dallas. One guy was middle aged, reddish blondish hair, glasses--the actor you know you've seen in something but you just can't place him.
The other guy is more of an on-the-rise dude. He was in that suspense/horror TV show on the WB where some kind of aliens landed in the town's lake and were taking over peoples' bodies? I believe he played the horsey-looking/high foreheaded sheriff with the blond wife-turned-alien. I think. I only saw the previews. If someone can name that show and put me out of the brain-wracking misery so I can look him up on IMDB, I'd appreciate it!
Coming back to Texas after the delights of family, friends and So Cal has, quite frankly, sucked. The End.
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