Early Morning Battle

I did not expect to do battle this morning. But battle I did. This morning I got up and got ready for work as I usually do. But, in the midst of getting ready for work, I walked into my room and saw this little intruder on my bedroom ceiling.



Actually, for the sake of accuracy, let me strike the word "little" from the record. The spider on my ceiling was absolutely enormous and dee-sgusting! There I am, eating my toaster strudel, trying to figure out what to wear to work, and all of a sudden I see the spider and have to go into battle mode. Now, before you think I'm just a sissy who can't handle a little spider, let me give you some background on my history with spiders and also try to convey to you accurately just how huge and disgusting this particular spider was. When I was growing up, I shared a room with my sister who was terrified of spiders. Whenever she saw one, she could only scream and yell for someone to get it. Since I was her little roommate who was not afraid of spiders, any spider killing done in our room was executed by me. I was also taught by my mom that Daddy Long Legs are good spiders because they eat the aphids on the rose bushes. So, whenever I see a Daddy Long Legs, I pick it up by one of its very long legs and carry it outside and put it on the bushes. I'm really not afraid of spiders.

Now for the intruding spider of this morning. This spider was the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life besides tarantulas. This leads me to believe that this spider was almost certainly a baby tarantula. How it came to be in my room, I have no idea. But, the spider was GINORMOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least a couple inches including the legs. And a spider that big and ugly must be disposed of at once. Battle stations everyone! Upon seeing the spider, my mind immediately went to work with the scenario and my different options. Option 1: Leave the spider alone, finish getting ready, and go to work. Out of the question. A spider that big could not be left running loose in my bedroom, where, fast asleep, I am vulnerable to a savage spider attack. Option 2: Squash it. This is a fairly decent option, but given the size and ugly factor of the spider, I realize that I am not up to the challenge. I can see very clearly what will happen if I try to kill it with my bare hands (and some kleenex). I will get poised in the attack position, kleenex in hand. I will hesitate for a few moments, working up the courage to pounce. As sweat begins to bead up on my forehead and I become nervous of failure, I will quickly stab at the spider, but being intimidated by its ginormity, the stab will be too weak, the spider will fall and scamper into some dark corner before I can get it. Again, failure is not an option, so I need a different solution. As all of this goes through my mind, I remember the bug zapper. Blessed bug zapper! The bug zapper looks like a tennis racket with very small metal rods. When you push the two side buttons, it conducts electricity through the rods, effectively shocking anything that touches it. My niece knows from first hand experience. It's a strong shock for a human, so basically bugs stand no chance. I've never used the bug zapper on a spider before, but it's effective on flying bugs and seems my best option at this point. So, with a quick glance at the baby tarantula, I dash into the kitchen to retrieve the bug zapper. I quickly run back and check the spider. It hasn't moved. I climb up on my bed with the bug zapper in hand. Getting into position just below the spider, I hit the side buttons and touch the bug zapper to the spider. Not surprisingly, sparks fly from the spider and its legs bend into a little ball. With the spider now twitching on top of the bug zapper, I gingerly walk to the front door, open it and toss the contorted spider outside. After washing my hands (I didn't ever touch the spider, but it was so disgusting that I had to wash my hands for psychological reasons), I then finished getting ready for work and headed out the door having won a very important battle. And, I wasn't even late!

Leah

My mom (Leah) is awesome. There is no denying that she is the best mom ever. My mom has been busy decorating the house for Christmas, trying to get it done before she left yesterday to go to my sister's house in Washington for a couple weeks. I told her that she definitely had to make sure the advent calendars were up before she left. I left before she and my dad were up yesterday and they were long gone for Washington before I got home from work, so I didn't see them. When I walked in the house, though, I saw the candy advent calendar and was glad my mom had remembered to put it up. It has three types of chocolate on it. Milk chocolate for me, white chocolate for my dad, and dark chocolate for my mom. It's very convenient that the candies match our preferences. Each year, my mom rotates them so that our preferred chocolate falls on our turn for the calendar. However, this year I noticed she set the calendar up a little differently.



If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice there is only one kind of candy for the first ten days on the advent calendar. That's because my parents will be gone until the 11th, so my mom only put my preferred candy on those first ten days. This is a small thing and probably wasn't any more work than putting all different candies on the calendar, but when I got home from work and saw that my mom had cared enough and even thought to just put my favorite candies on those days on the calendar, I was touched. And, of course, I was reminded that my mom is the best!



The funny thing about moms is that, yes, they're constantly doing the big stuff for us. You know, the stuff we notice and even, sadly, take for granted - cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. But, moms are also constantly doing the little stuff. They take care of the little details that we don't even notice or appreciate just because they know it will make us a little happier or our lives a little easier. My mom does it all the time. And while I don't always notice and I don't always appreciate everything, sometimes I do. And when I do, I know that my mom loves me and that she is the best mom ever. And even though I'm not aware of everything my mom does for me, I'm aware that she is doing things for me and I appreciate that.

Basically, my mom rocks! And I hope that, someday, my kids will say the same thing about me.

Travis

Last night I went to a great concert. It was Travis. If you aren't familiar with Travis, I highly recommend that you get to know them. They released a new album this year that is fantastic. Back to the concert. Travis came on last night with probably the greatest entrance I have ever seen a band make. When the lights went down, they started playing the theme from "Rocky". The lights were moving all around, but the stage was dark as everyone waited for the band to come on. All of a sudden, my friend Aaron pointed to the rear of the theater. I looked over and there was the band making it's way to the front of the room. They were all wearing boxer's robes and were escorted by a big security entourage. They shook people's hands as they moved through the crowd and finally made it to the stage. It was AWESOME!!!!!! Of course, they then proceeded to play a fantastic show. The lead singer even played a song completely unplugged - he unplugged his guitar and didn't use the mic. Amazingly, the crowd even quieted down enough so that we could even hear it. Great show, great band - good times!

Where is my camera when I need it?

Sometimes you see something or experience something and you totally wish you had a camera or video camera to document it. That happened to me twice today. This morning I decided to go running. It was a gorgeous day outside (somewhere around 70 degrees), so I set out in my usual shorts and a t-shirt. As I ran through my neighborhood, I contemplated how warm it was and how beautiful the weather has been this fall here in California. As I ran by one house, I looked over and saw a little girl playing in the front yard. She was probably about 4 or 5 and she was playing with some buckets of water and the garden hose. The best part of the scene and the reason I wanted my camera was that she was totally in her swim suit! No big deal - it's November 17th and this girl is playing with water outside in her swimsuit like it's July!!!! It would've been a fantastic picture.

Experience number two: Jared and I went to dinner with Aaron and Dana tonight. Aaron wanted to go to this great little Italian restaurant in Carmel (It's called Little Napoli and it's really good - the Meatball Lollipop appetizer is amazing!). I ordered the Gnocchi in a Gorgonzola Sage sauce. Our entrees came and I took a few bites and then decided to add a little bit of fresh Parmesan cheese which was in a little bowl on our table. So, I picked up the bowl and started scooping some Parmesan onto my pasta. I said, "I just need to add a little more cheesy goodness to my food." As the words left my mouth, the bowl started slipping out of my hand. I felt it slipping, but my other hand had the scooping spoon in it and I couldn't catch it in time. As I was holding the bowl directly over my plate when the bowl slipped out of my hand, it landed upside down directly on top of my pasta. "Whoa!!!!", I said. I picked up the bowl off my plate, leaving a huge mound of fresh, grated Parmesan cheese. Naturally, we all started laughing because it was a very comical situation. I had not intended to add that much cheesy goodness, but there it was. I started scooping what cheese I could off my pasta, then mixed the rest in. No harm done, really, since the pasta was still very good. But, had I caught it all on video (or at least a picture of the cheese mound on top of my pasta), it really would have added to this blog.

A picture is worth a thousand words. . .

Hello Maggie my old friend. . .

. . . I've come to drive with you again! Today I picked Maggie up from the hospital and I'm so happy to have her back. Yesterday I took her in for her regular maintenance service. She was having a slight malfunction with her hill assist feature, however, so they had to check her in and keep her for the night while they fixed it. In the meantime, they gave me a rental car (because MINIs are so in demand that they didn't have enough to give me a MINI loaner). It was a 2007 Ford Escape. That's really not a bad rental car. But, it's not a MINI. A MINI is no ordinary car. The Escape didn't treat me poorly. I have nothing bad to say about it. But, in the end, nothing compares to Maggie. I was so happy to pick her up tonight. And they bathed her, so she was nice and shiny. She's doing just fine now and is very happy to be home. The one problem I've discovered with MINIs is this: Once you have a MINI, everything else is a disappointment!

Welcome home, Maggie!

Jared is a great guinea pig!

Jared needed a haircut and was brave enough to have me do it. I've never cut anyone's hair before. I felt like his life was in my hands!


After about an hour and a couple inches later, he emerged a new man. I think I did pretty well for my first haircutting attempt. Not to toot my own horn, but toot, toot!

Shake it up Baby, now!

Let me just reiterate reason number 16 why I love California: Earthquakes!!!! Tonight we had an earthquake and here's what I know: a pretty sweet magnitude 5.6 earthquake never hurt anyone! I told Jared that this was the strongest earthquake I've ever felt. That may not be true, but I wasn't lying (I was riding in a bus when the big one in '89 hit, so I didn't feel it's full effects). It got a little scary when it kept going and going and going, but mostly it was just exciting! I love you, California!!!!!

Here Comes the Sun. . .

I would just like to reiterate reason #1 why I love California. THE WEATHER IS AMAZING!!!!!! It is late October and we're enjoying daytime highs of the upper 70's to low 80's. I don't even need a jacket in San Francisco!

Aim High

Sometimes working with high school kids can be aggravating, but sometimes it can be hilarious. A couple weeks ago, I was covering a high school football game. It was fleet week, so the Blue Angels were practicing during the game and flew by frequently. The doctor and I were chatting about the Blue Angels with one of the football players on the sideline. This kid is one of the better players on the team and has high hopes for a career in the NFL. The doctor told him that he wanted to figure out a way to get a ride in one of the jets. The kid thought that would be cool and then he responded with one of the best quotes I've heard in a long time. "If football doesn't work out, I'm going to space!"

HI!

Newsweek

As you may or may not know, Newsweek recently did an article on Mitt Romney and how his Mormon faith has shaped his life. It was an interesting article, but some aspects of it rubbed me the wrong way. And it bothered me enough that I wrote a letter to Newsweek. Now, I understand that Newsweek probably doesn't care what I think or what I had to say. But, I feel better having expressed my opinion and aggravation with them. For your reading pleasure, here's the link to the Newsweek article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21049285/site/newsweek/from/ET/

And here is the text of the email I sent them in response:

Dear Mr. Meacham:

I was recently interested to see the cover story of the October 8th issue of Newsweek on Mitt Romney and his religion. As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormon church, I was interested to see how your publication would portray my religion and its role in the life of Mitt Romney. As is too often the case when reading a media piece on the Mormon church, I was disappointed in parts of the article. Unfortunately, this time around I also found aspects of the article offensive in its language.

In the past, I have explained away inaccurate media portrayals of the Mormon church as the product of misunderstanding or inadequate knowledge of the subject. However, after innumerable such portrayals, my patience has grown thin and I have become weary of the media trying to explain to the American public a subject of which they do not have an adequate comprehension. Please do not misunderstand. I'm not trying to belittle or criticize the investigative efforts of your staff in understanding the Mormon faith. I admire their willingness to travel to Salt Lake City and spend time in learning about our faith. However, for someone who is not a member of our church to try to explain our church and how it affects our lives to someone else who is not a member of our church is like one American trying to explain to another American what it's like to grow up in Japan. In order to truly understand religion and faith, you must experience them, not just learn about them. The portrayal of our religion, then, by someone not of our faith is inherently inaccurate because it is born of knowledge (supposed or real) and not experience. And because the portrayal is not based on experience, it may grow from false information, biases, and ignorance.

To quote your publication's article, "More than 100 years after it outlawed polygamy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains an object of mystery and ridicule for many in the country" (pg. 30). Naturally our church is an object of mystery and ridicule when portrayed in the light with which your publication and almost all media portrays it. Language such as "sacred temple rituals" and "anointings and other secret rites" (pg. 31) lend an air of mystery and darkness which will naturally draw people to look at our so-called "oddball theology" (pg 4, The Editor's Desk) in a negative light. As I mentioned, I found parts of the article offensive in its language. Perhaps this will be difficult to understand without having the experience of actually being mormon. The worship in which we participate in the temples is very sacred and important to us. When referring to our sacred temple worship as "secret rites" or "rituals", it casts a negative and dark connotation to something we hold very dear. It is disturbing to note that the article treats with such levity and disrespect something that has such a deep and profound meaning to me. In a country founded on religious freedom, I would expect more than that.

It's no wonder Mitt Romney doesn't like to expand on his religious beliefs and practices when this is how they are portrayed to the American public. And when the media only focuses on complex aspects of our religion which differ from other religions, such as polygamy or baptisms for the dead, of course the American public will have a hard time understanding our faith. Much of the doctrine the media likes to focus on is difficult to understand without a firm understanding of our more basic beliefs. Presenting these more complex and advanced doctrines to an American public which doesn't have a firm knowledge of our basic doctrines is akin to trying to teach a medical student how to perform surgery when he has yet to learn basic human anatomy.

When you take a closer look at our church, however, you will see that it's not so different after all. We believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. We believe in and are led by prophets and apostles as were the members of Christ's church as he established it when he lived on the earth. We believe in the Bible as the word of God. All of these more fundamental doctrines are not difficult to understand and are actually doctrines that we share in common with other faiths. I believe that Mitt Romney's reluctance to talk about his religion is not because he doesn't want people to understand it. On the contrary, most members of the Mormon church are eager for others to understand what we believe. However, when the media pushes to discuss complex doctrines without an understanding of basic doctrines first, it fosters more confusion than understanding. Forgive Mitt Romney for wanting to focus on politics to win a political election and to refrain from feeding the media fire of misrepresentation of the Mormon church.

I did find the article's background on Mitt Romney interesting and I do appreciate the attention the article brings to our often misunderstood faith. However, I keep hoping to see the media treating the Mormon church with the respect for which this country stands and for which our founding fathers worked so hard. I hope that in the future, you will acknowledge that every religion, regardless of what they believe, deserves to be portrayed with respect and that you will bear in mind the sacred nature of one's religious beliefs.

Best regards,

Jenni Jespersen

Wedding Hair

Having smart friends is great. Especially when they're smart about things you need help with. Like wedding planning. Yesterday I went shopping with my friend Jessica who is a hairdresser. Not only is she a hairdresser, but she is a damn good one! She is excellent at making people look beautiful. Naturally, she is my wedding hair consultant. So, when I needed to look for a little something to make my hair beautiful on my wedding day, I brought Jessica with me. And boy was that a smart move! I also took my friend Amy, who is my official wedding consultant with me. The three of us looked at several hair things, but it was Jessica (obviously) who found the most awesome thing that Amy and I would have totally passed by without a second thought. I wasn't convinced when Jessica picked it up, or even when she put it in my hair. But, when I looked in the mirror, it was so cute! So, now my wedding hair thing is taken care of and Jessica remains, as always, brilliant when it comes to hair (she's also brilliant about other things, but this post is about her hair abilities). And you will all agree when you see me at my wedding. Hooray for friends who are good at things that I'm not good at!

Run Flats

This morning I had to go to work early. I left my house at 5:30 am in order to be in the city by around 6:30 am. It was still dark outside. Driving along 280, I passed a construction zone which, due to the earliness of the morning, still had the left 3 lanes closed. Shortly after passing the construction zone, Maggie started flashing me a warning light. Maggie is my MINI Cooper S who treats me very well. I started to get a little nervous and my heart started beating a little faster because I didn't know what the symbol was for on the warning light. I looked at it a little closer and decided it looked like a tire and was, therefore, the symbol for a flat tire. So, I thought, "oh crap! I probably ran over something in that stupid construction zone." Since the MINI Cooper S comes with Run Flat Tires as a standard feature, I figured I could at least get into the city and then figure out what to do if I really did have a flat. So, I pulled out my owner's manual to double check the meaning of the symbol (all while I'm driving of course - I couldn't be late). It was indeed the symbol for a flat tire (or a significant difference in the pressure of one tire compared to the others). I read through the section on the Flat Tire Monitor in my manual (still driving along - only safe at 6 in the morning) and noted that the Flat Tire Monitor should be reset after changing the tire pressure, rotating the tires, or anything of that nature. I recently had my tires rotated and figured it probably hadn't been reset, so I tried to do that while I was driving, but it didn't work (you have to start the initialization when you're stopped).

So, as I cruised along with my apparent flat tire, I started thinking about the implications of the situation. Keeping the hope of a mere difference in tire pressure in the back of my mind, I started thinking about what I would need to do if the tire was flat. I figured I could probably get home on the tire, but then I would have to get a new tire because Run Flats cannot be fixed. And Run Flat tires are expensive. Then I started comparing my current tire situation with the last flat tire I had. That was in my Isuzu Rodeo which did not have Run Flat tires. I was fortunate to have gotten that flat right in front of my house. I ran over a screw which punctured the tire and left it completely flat in about 15 minutes. To take care of that one, I spent an hour changing the tire so I could drive to a tire place and have it fixed. (As a side note, I took it to America's Tire Company which fixes flat tires for free. They were pretty awesome there and when it was time for new tires, you better believe that's where I went. I have since determined to take care of all of my tire needs at America's Tire Company!) It cost me nothing except for my time and effort to fix the tire. Had it happened farther from my house, though, I would've been stuck changing a flat who knows where in the dark. With this in mind as I cruised along with the flat tire warning lit up, all of a sudden Run Flats didn't seem like they were really too expensive. Then I thought about what I would be doing if my MINI had regular tires. I would be stuck on the side of 280 at 6 am in the dark trying to change a tire. And I would've been late for work. And I would've been dirty. Run Flat tires were becoming a better deal by the minute! When I finally got into the parking lot and parked my car, I took a closer look at the manual (there's only so much you can pick up on when you're also watching the road). I was supposed to have slowed the car down to 50 mph (oops! - I just kept cruising along at 70 to 80 mph) and then I was supposed to check the tire pressure as soon as possible. It was not possible at that moment because it was dark outside and I had to get to work. So, I figured I would just check it later and go from there. Then I looked in the manual to find out how far I could drive on the flat to see if I could get home (I had already driven about 20 miles on it). The manual said that with a light load (1-2 people) I could go an astonishing 155 miled on the tire with 0 psi of pressure!!!!!!!!!! That is amazing! I knew I could make it home on that, so I went to work and decided I would check the tire pressure later and then figure out what I needed to do. Of course, I was still hoping for one of the tires just to be a little low.

Upon returning to Maggie, I checked the tire pressure and found one of the tires to be a little lower than the others, but it really hadn't lost much pressure - that I took as a positive sign. So I took Maggie to a gas station and put a little more air in the tire. I then reset the Flat Tire Monitor and the warning light went off. This immediately boosted my hopes and made me feel better about life. I drove all the way home with no warning lights going off and no problem with the tire. Hooray!!!! It wasn't a flat after all!

While the whole situation was a little scary and made for an intense day, it made me realize how awesome Run Flat Tires are. They are amazing! To have a tire go flat and be able to still drive on it and get it fixed at your leisure and convenience is totally worth the couple hundred dollars for a new tire (granted, if I was constantly getting flat tires, I might be singing a different tune). To have a tire go flat and not be stuck on the side of the road changing it in the dark is totally worth paying a more for tires. Run Flat tires are powerful and they will change your life! And once again, Maggie takes good care of me.

Thanks, Run Flats, for making all of my wildest dreams come true!

Macaroni and Cheese

I've loved Macaroni and Cheese ever since I can remember. There are good mac 'n' cheeses and there are bad mac 'n' cheeses. I'm on a quest to find the best mac 'n' cheese ever. In this quest, I've tried a number of different versions. I've definitely found some that are tough to beat and I've also found some that aren't worthy of the mac 'n' cheese title. Here are my criteria for judging mac n cheese:

1. Pasta. This is one of the first and most essential tests of a good mac 'n' cheese. If you're not using macaroni, it's not mac 'n' cheese. Last night we went to dinner at the Los Altos Grill. We had never been before, but I knew they had mac 'n' cheese on the menu and I wanted to try it. The mac 'n' cheese came as I side dish, so we ordered it with our dinner to share. They brought out what they called the mac 'n' cheese. I instantly saw that it was actually penne 'n' cheese. That's an automatic fail. It has to be macaroni.

2. Cheese. Another essential ingredient in a good mac 'n' cheese. Personal preference is a big factor in determining good cheeses. For this, I have to say that S'Mac in New York City beats them all. Why? Because you have a choice. All they serve is mac 'n' cheese and they make many versions using different cheeses and add-ins. And if what they have on the menu doesn't catch your fancy, you can build your own. I haven't tried them all, but the Gruyere with Bacon mac was excellent and I think my favorite mac 'n' cheese of all time.

S'Mac
345 East 12th Street
New York City, NY 10003
http://smacnyc.com/

3. Bread Crumbs. Sometimes overlooked, but good bread crumbs can make a good mac 'n' cheese great. Home in San Francisco wins the best bread crumbs category. Their mac 'n' cheese is very good in and of itself, but the bread crumbs top it off with excellence. Bread crumbs should be crunchy and just sit right on top of the mac 'n' cheese. S'Mac offers a choice of bread crumbs or no bread crumbs, but any mac 'n' cheese snob will always go for the bread crumbs. Theirs are a tad on the soggy side which is why Home beats them out. Hooray for bread crumbs!

Home
2100 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
http://www.home-sf.com/

4. Texture. A good mac 'n' cheese cannot be chunky. The cheese should be smooth and velvety and delicious!

5. Craziness. Let's be honest. Mac 'n' cheese is a comfort food. It shouldn't be crazy. With that in mind, I have to say the worst mac 'n' cheese I've ever had was at the Hard Rock Cafe. Their mac 'n' cheese has some kick. Too much kick. It's spicy. Very spicy. To the point that I had to drink about 6 glasses of water to cool my mouth off! Mac 'n' cheese shouldn't be spicy. Not even a little bit. Boo for the mac 'n' cheese at Hard Rock Cafe.

Happiness is a good mac 'n' cheese. If you find one that meets this criteria, please let me know! I'm always up for a good mac 'n' cheese!

I Love You, California!

A couple weeks ago I went to the temple with some friends. We walked out after our session and enjoyed one of the most pleasant evenings and beautiful views I have yet experienced at the Oakland Temple. It was a beautiful summer evening - pretty uncharacteristic for the Oakland hills. It was warm, there was very little wind, and it was totally clear. We could see San Francisco, all the way across the bay. As we walked out of the temple and enjoyed the beauty around us, my love for California waxed stronger. I think Amy summed it up the best when she said, "where we live doesn't suck." I wholeheartedly agree! In honor of California being the 31st state admitted to the United States of America, here are 31 reasons, in no particular order, why I love California:
1. The weather is amazing.
2. San Francisco
3. The PCH - aka Highway 1
4. Lots of freeways = not so many stoplights
5. Yosemite
6. I see lots of nationalities when I look around me.
7. California believes in toilet seat covers in public restrooms.
8. The state animal is the grizzly bear.
9. The state flower is orange - I love California poppies!
10. The beach/ocean is close.
11. The mountains are close.
12. Smoking is not allowed in public buildings.
13. The San Francisco Giants
14. The Los Angeles Dodgers (I actually hate the Dodgers, but I love the rivalry).
15. Disneyland
16. Earthquakes - they're pretty rockin'!
17. Monterey Bay
18. Joshua Trees
19. Redwood Trees
20. You can drive to different areas of California that feel like completely different states.
21. People are pretty open-minded and accepting of different lifestyles, cultures, and beliefs. They're not haters.
22. You can live where it snows if you want to, but you don't have to.
23. People like to visit here.
24. Apple Computers, Inc.
25. I have a choice of really good ethnic food at any point in time.
26. I-280
27. California borders another country.
28. Diversity
29. The cows are happy here.
30. There are three MINI dealerships within an hour of where I live.
31. We recycle

iPod Shuffle - Aluminum encased power!

I have an iPod Shuffle. I have named it "Little Boy" after the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Like its namesake, my iPod Shuffle packs a very powerful punch in a little package. I often feel empowered while walking around listening to my iPod Shuffle. So many songs, such a little device. It's a beautiful thing. Another powerful thing about my iPod Shuffle is that it always seems to play the songs I want to hear. When (for as many songs as it holds) it only carries a small fraction of my musical library, I find this an amazing feat. But, that's what you get when you have aluminum encased power! Recently, however, my iPod Shuffle and I had an experience which made me realize that the power I have seen thus far from Little Boy iPod is only the tip of the iceberg. It happened like this.

Because my iPod Shuffle is so small, it fits easily in most of my jacket pockets. So, I usually grab it in the morning on my way out the door and put it in my jacket pocket so as to have it with me should I need to listen to some music at any point in the day. When I get home in the evening, I take my iPod Shuffle out of my pocket and put it on my dresser. One day, just like any other, I came home and started to do some laundry. I sorted my clothes and started my laundry, deciding at the last minute to throw in the jacket that I had worn that day. I left some clothes in the washer and went out, planning to put them in the dryer when I got home. Upon my return, I went out to put my laundry in the dryer. I started pulling my clothes out of the washer and throwing them into the dryer. As I pulled out my jacket, I saw Little Boy iPod dangling from the headphone cord out of the jacket pocket. As I instantly realized what happened (I did not take the iPod Shuffle out of my pocket like I usually do), I was gripped with a feeling of mortification. What had I done? The probable fate of my iPod Shuffle and all of it's empowering capabilities filled my mind, but I had hope. I immediately turned it on, but there was no happy light that came on telling me my Shuffle was okay. I feared the worst, but remembering that the battery of my Shuffle was nearly dead before it's tumble through the washing machine, I clung to the faint hope that it would be restored to life after a charge. I text messaged Jared and asked him how waterproof Shuffles were. His answer was not encouraging, but he said to leave it alone for 24 hours so it could dry out and then check it again. I knew that to really check it, it would have to be recharged. Over the next few days, I had no time to deal with my ailing iPod Shuffle and then I went out of town for a few days. Upon returning, I was again very busy and had no time for iPod intensive care.

It was almost two weeks after my iPod took the plunge before I had a chance to plug it in to my computer and see what happened. By this time, Jared, certain of the death of Little Boy, had bought me a new iPod Shuffle and I had resigned myself to the process of aquainting myself with a new iPod. Before pulling the new iPod out of it's packaging, I decided to give Little Boy another chance. I plugged him into my computer. A light came on on the iPod, but it did not appear in iTunes. With that, I thought it was all over. I opened some other programs and was doing some other work on my computer before opening and setting up the new iPod Shuffle. All of a sudden, an alert window popped up telling me that new software was available for my iPod. Not daring to believe it in my mind, I brought up the iTunes window. In utter and absolute amazement, I saw Little Boy listed in iTunes with all of the songs it carried still inside! I told Jared that Little Boy came back to life and he was as amazed as I was. I quickly grabbed my headphones to see if it still worked. Never has "Livin' On a Prayer" sounded so beautiful to my ears!

The power packed in that small aluminum case continues to amaze me. My iPod Shuffle has been through enough to kill even a regular iPod and has lived to tell the tale. It has been restored to it's original glory and it's empowering abilities have not dimished at all. That Shuffle and I are going places!

Getting Married

To borrow a phrase from Melanie Hawkes Krieger, "[Getting married] is probably the most harebrained thing I've ever done." The single life - it's not so bad. You just have yourself to take care of. You do what you want. It's less emotional. It's less risky. I think I'm pretty good at being single. I've been single for 28 years. It's what I know. It's what I'm comfortable with. And yet, now I decide to throw caution to the wind and give up the single life with reckless abandon so I can be forever linked to another person. I openly admit that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. I have no idea what married life will be like and how my life will change. It will probably be turned completely upside down. Am I ready for this? Probably not. But, the good news is that I have someone to do this with me. And he probably doesn't know what he's getting himself into either (or he probably never would've asked). So we can learn together. And we'll be harebrained together. And we'll probably even have fun along the way. And one thing I do know is that we'll be happy. So, although it's a little scary (or a lot scary!), I look forward to this harebrained scheme of marriage! I love you, Jared!

Under Pressure

Well, I've done it. I totally and completely caved. I am now a blogger. Apparently, I can't withstand the pressure. It was that way with Smugmug. It was that way with MySpace. And now it's that way with blogging. Everybody else is doing it and then they tell me I should do it and then I try to resist and then I cave. Welcome to the blogosphere!

I figure a blog is basically an online journal. Gone are the days of writing your thoughts and feelings in a little book with a lock that can easily be picked in two seconds with a wet noodle and trusting that nobody will ever see them without your consent. Now we bare our disgusting insides over the world wide web so that anyone who cares can mock them. Though I open my soul to the world, I'll actually be keeping a journal, so I suppose it's a good thing. We'll see if I'm more successful at keeping it online than in a book. Of course, if I fail, I fail with glory! Onward and upward!

The title of my blog comes from the Beatles song of the same name and I guess that song is partly my inspiration for this blog.

There are places I'll remember

All my life though some have changed

Some forever not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all.