I’ve Got the Fever, Book Fever

Whenst I first began this here blog, I was fast approaching ungrad graduation and beginning the laziest year of my life. That year I did actually have a job, an awesome job, but restaurants don’t really open until 11. Or at least the one I worked at didn’t. And because it was open 6 days/week, and some days shifts lasted more than 8 hours, I didn’t have the typical 8-5 job. Some days I didn’t work at all! It was fantastic.

However, some days did bring boredom. You can only watch so much daytime TLC, TBS, Vh1, and MTV. I did have a fun tradition with my roommate Sammy who would come home for lunch, and we would eat and watch Just Shoot Me reruns together. Blah blah blah, odd tangent there…… Anyway, so I decided to pick up reading again. I had been a big reader during youth, petered out during junior high and high school and completely stopped in college because I couldn’t be bothered. But right outside my door was our bookcase filled with other people’s books just calling me to come over and read them. One of my roommates, Becky, had some books she hadn’t even read yet. (I am the type of person that will only buy a book if I’ve already read it, Becky is the opposite.)

I selected the book Atonement. I had never seen the movie, so I was excited to read it and discover it on my own. I had heard that was some unpleasantness in the first part of the book, but once I got passed things of a minorly graphic nature, it was fantastic. It was like the spark plug in my literary tank of gas (terrible, terrible analogy). I started reading one book after another, bang bang bang. Even sneaked some in to work when I was just at the cashier desk. It was like all the books I could have read during school were coming back in full force. Even when I started grad school the next year I would set aside reading time. A flame that couldn’t be extinguished. (Lots of references to fire and heat in this post.) I did slow down during thesis time, but picked up again right after.

I keep a running list on the index card I use as a bookmark for all my books and the timeframe that I read the books listed on that card. I also keep a “book box”. I like to keep track of what books I’ve read for a couple reasons. 1) My mom kept a “book box” of all the books she’s ever read, a little summary of them, and what she thought of them. Just little index cards. She has about 2-3 card boxes bursting with the cards. She, and the other members of my family, have always been voracious readers, so I felt like I needed to step it up and keep track. My book box still looks quite bare. And 2) I sometimes refer to my running list when someone asks me for suggestions. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget what you’ve read in the last couple months.

Since starting WIC, unfortunately reading has slowed. I really only have time for reading when I get home for about 30 minutes or so, and during lunch hour. So lunch has become a very selfish, precious hour for me. The problem is also compounded with the fact that I also get Rolling Stone and Food Network magazines. Lots more to read each month. Anyway, I’m working my way through the Girl Who Played With Fire. I read the first book in the series over a year ago, figured I should finish it up. I can honestly say I have no interest in seeing the movies based on these books. They are so incredibly graphic in print, I never want to see it on film.

After this, I’m not sure what I’ll read. I flip flop between classics that I feel like I should have read, and contemporary books that everyone is talking about. My family always pushes Dickens, so maybe I’ll do another one of those….

This post was brought to you today by the fact that NO ONE is showing up for their appointments. Slow slow slow….

Why is this guy popular?

So, Skrillex. Let’s talk about this guy. I heard about him in Rolling Stone awhile back, and didn’t think much of him since I don’t care for dubstep. But I saw him again in RS, and I thought to myself, that guy looks kind of familiar…..

Rewind to Octoberish 2007. I had wanted to see this band, The Rocket Summer, that I had just fallen in love with that year. I didn’t think my roommates would go, so I invited dear Christers. The concert was the AP (Alternative Press) Tour with Rocket Summer highlighting, and it was at The Avalon in Salt Lake City. I was pretty excited. However, I didn’t realize how many bands were going to be on this “tour.” So Christers and I showed up with THREE bands left to see before the one we came for.

So, we were already a little irritated that we had to sit in this sweaty cesspool of other early 20 somethings. And then to top it off, this joker who was a Corey Feldman look alike came out with his screamo band. This guy was terrible. His shirt was ripped (I believe you can see it in the picture) and he had disgusting blond roots from his scraggly black hair. Plus he sucked.

The next picture is of Christers and my first impressions of him. Clearly we were thrilled.

Do you see where this is leading?

So I went home that night and did a little research to see who this person was that destroyed our eardrums with what can only be described as the sound of the very loud, creaky gates of hell opening. His name, Sonny Moore.

Now I’ve come full circle. When I saw the picture in Rolling Stone, I knew. I knew this was Sonny Moore reincarnated as Skrillex. His music is just as bad now as it was then. However, now he wins Grammy Awards (it’s true, last Sunday). To be fair, I don’t hate all dubstep. And I can actually listen to his music for about 30 seconds before the vocals really come in.

And since it’s Friday, and I’m in a good mood because I have Monday off, I think I’ll give it yet another try. Maybe this joker with the asymmetrical haircut will win me over yet.

The Intern

So, there is a reason I haven’t been a-bloggin lately. There are actually many reasons, sheer laziness being the main one. But let it be noted and notarized that I did try and start a new blog almost every day this week so far. But there has been a small hiccup to my daily life that has prevented my vast audience from receiving whatever mundane drivel I was going to spew that day.

We have a new intern. Yes, I know that I have only been a non-intern for a year now. But that doesn’t mean that I find them really enjoyable. Being an intern sucked, having an intern sucks more.

I was also an intern at the very place I work now. For a month in fact. I remember how there was really only one person that was nice enough to let me follow her a lot. I vowed I would be better than others were to me. But man does it get old. I was assigned to show her around Monday morning, which I was more than happy to do. When she was done getting all “oriented”, she sat on a chair with her computer on her lap in the middle of the room. People kept tripping over her, and I was worried someone might bark at her to move. She is very sweet and nice, so I politely mentioned she could come sit with me until our manager found her somewhere else to sit.

Joke’s on me. She was sitting there and out manager came in and told her how nice I was for letting her share my desk. She has no intentions on putting her anywhere else. I want to show you a sketch that I have drawn, dimensionally correct, to show you why this is a problem.

Let me show you a larger drawing of the office to show you why I am frustrated about this. (Desks are highlighted in orange, people sitting at the desks in green).

So having someone sitting within 6 inches of me everyday with full view of my computer makes me less likely to engage in anything personal, including email. Obviously she isn’t here today, which is why I am able to write this very gripe-y post.

It’s going to be one of those months I guess.

Blog-o-mine

So, yes, it’s true, I’ve been sick. I was so sick on Monday that my boss actually sent me home! I was debating going in that day because I felt so ill getting ready, but I wasn’t sure how much sick leave I had, plus I didn’t want to leave work hanging. But I guess I looked super tired and sick, and sounded terrible, so they sent me home. Also, we had an audit the next day that I had to be here for, so my boss wanted me to be “healthy” the next day. Sadly, I wasn’t much better, but any sleep helped, I’m sure.


The day after, Wednesday, was quite an interesting day. Disconcerting during, but hilarious after. My previous post showed that I was relying on DayQuill to get me through. It makes you feel better, but at a price. I have never had this reaction to it before, but I was absolutely loopy at work. I felt incredibly disconnected in my mind and when I was talking to people during consults, I would sometimes wonder what was going on, and what I just said to them. Apparently I had some spelling mistakes in my notes too. Anyway, it was kind of funny because that day I was on Amazon and made two rather bizarre purchases. Does anyone remember the TV show Wishbone? Well, now I own a DVD of 4 episodes. And the entire Ramona Quimby book collection (which are actually very cute books). The only reason I drove home safe that night was because I decided not to take another dose around 3, so by 6:30 it had pretty much worn off. Crazy crazy day!

Since then I’ve been sleeping every chance I get, I think I’m pretty much better. I also spent Saturday spending WAY WAY too much at the Park City Outlets. I had always said that when I got my first real job, I would spend the entire first paycheck on a shopping trip. I didn’t do that at the time, but I got pretty close this weekend….. And now I am not quite sure how to fit everything in my closet.

In final news for today, I thought I would post this picture. It’s not a great picture, but it was nighttime. I don’t think I mentioned that I bought a new car on this blog-o-mine. Well I did. It is a Hyundai Elantra, of the 2010 silver variety. I was thisclose to buying a new one, but my uncle who works at Larry H Miller connected me to a dealer who “gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” (get it?with the picture?). It is zippy and shifts in to next gear easily, a definite advantage over ol’ Jane. I do miss Jane though. I miss her soft beige seats and her low proximity to the ground. But mostly I miss her red color that was so distinctive. I walk right past my new silver car every single time I come out of a store. Which is kind of embarrassing when people watch me backtrack. Anyway, the point of this is that the Elantra is a very popular car now because Hyundai is stepping up their game and making quality cars all the sudden. Last night I parked between two other Elantras. It was a good thing that I left the restaurant pretty late because I’m almost positive I would have tried to get into one of them instead of my own!

Necessities

Head not clear enough to blog. This is how I spent my last 3 days at work.

Ode to Los

This week is certainly full of odes isn't it? But I felt like I needed a brief one since the Los gathering last night was so pleasant.

Long term readers may remember me blogging about getting a job at Los Hermanos in fall 2008 and the training, and so forth. I LOVED working there, for the most part. The hours were not awesome, and making hardly any money was even less awesome. What was good about the job then you may ask? It was the fact that I got to hang out with fun people all day long. I actually liked going to work because I loved goofing off all night with a little bit of hard labor in between. With some exceptions, the hiring-cool-people record was very good at Los. The fact is, we all just got along and had a lot of fun. We were all young and in school and trying to figure out what we were going to do next. Of course there were spats and disagreements; you can’t help it when you work with people all day long and into the nights. Also the fact that most are in their early to mid 20’s….

But since I worked full time, and sometimes overtime, I got to spend lots of time with all the workers. And the time period that I worked there was especially awesome because we’ve all been able to stay friends since. For some reason we all got especially close during the year I worked there (not because of me or anything, just that time frame). I haven’t worked there since August of 2009 and I still see them every couple months.

We got together last night because Rachel and her husband Danny are moving to Arizona to start school. Rachel worked there for quite awhile and everyone loves her because she is just so sweet! It’s becoming a trend though. My old roommate Becky that also worked there practically slipped away in the night last weekend. And two other couples are moving soon too! It’s kind of sad to see everyone move on and away, but I am so grateful that I was able to work there and make the friends I did. I have incredibly fond memories of that old building, and wish that it hadn't moved across the street! It's wonderful to see everyone going their own ways and getting married and having kids, but still having fun like we used to.

Side note: I am happy to have a job that I don’t rely on tips for.

Tech-ies

This blog is a dedication to my friends, the Tech-ies. Not to be confused with Trekkies. Although that new(ish) Star Trek was pretty awesome. And I have seen the original six Star Trek movies before….. more than once….. I have an older brother, c’mon!

To use a favorite phrase of mine: but this is all neither here nor there. As devout readers (you know who you are) know, I have been working at Primary Children’s Medical Center for the past year and a half. This hospital will be abbreviated in this post as follows: PCMC, Prims, Primarys. Any one of those will substitute the incredibly long title for the hospital that I usually refuse to type out. But for all you less devout readers (you also know who you are), I figured I’d follow scientific writing rules and write the entire thing out once before I’m allowed to abbreviated it (if you don’t believe me, see Handbook for Thesis Writing available on the U of U website, it’s a page turner).

I’m rambling again. The point is, because I’ve been working there I’ve made good friends with the other techs. I think I mentioned a recent Halloween party we had. There is Jennie (far right, was same year in my program), Jenessa (far left, finishing second year of CMP program), and Hannah (second from left, recently finished another master’s program at U). From August 2010 to May 2011 the four of us worked together several times a week. There were two other techs during that time, Amanda (who I work with at WIC now), and Darren. But they worked super infrequently, and don’t come to our gatherings. There are actually two new techs, but since they weren’t part of the original lineup, they don’t get invited. That sounds mean and elitist, but why would you invite people when Jennie and I don’t really know them? It ruins the fun intimate group we have going.

This little motley crew came over to my house Wednesday night for a Mediterranean Night. We don’t always have themes, there are no streamers or balloons or anything, but we do like to mix it up a bit. I didn’t come up with the Mediterranean food choices, but I definitely cemented the theme when I said we were also tie dying t-shirts. That is a very typical Mediterranean activity, yes? Even if it isn’t, I had dye that has been sitting around for AGES!!

We do something every other week, or maybe a little longer between depending on the busy-ness of the season. We sometimes will go out for dinner or see a movie, but we also rotate through each other’s houses so we can have a little homemade fun. So far we have done a BBQ and Halloween do at Jennies, a Fajita Night and Christmas Party at Jenessas, a pizza night at Hannahs, and a dessert and now Mediterranean night at mine. With lots of other delicious things in between.

I loved working with them, and I love that we still hang out even though we don’t work together like we used to. I still work at PCMC occasionally on weekends, but it’s not quite the same. And oddly enough Jennie (who works at IMC) and I sometimes contact each other for work related reasons. And oh the emails. It seems like I daily am conversing with someone, or all of them in ridiculous, winding emails. Not entirely unlike these blog posts.

And finally, praises and thanks that Wikipedia is back online. Holy jeepers, I thought I was going to go crazy the other day!