"I can't help but notice, that for someone who doesn't like change, you rearrange your room a lot." ~Kathryn Gardner
I cut my hair. I moved to Provo. I tried to switch to the new Pinterest before they did it for me. And I did rearrange my room.
I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would have liked me to mention this sooner and also more personally. Rearranging my room is a big step and I neglected many in the effort. I do apologize for the informality of this route but I've been holding out on the subject area to write about it now. A part of me might have been frightened to bring it up; we learned in my last post that when I announce something, it becomes concrete to the point of scary real. The craziness? I feel okay, even calm. Glad I finally put it out there about rearranging my room!
So...the real reason I've brought you here today is to inform you of my move to Provo. It's new and exciting and I never thought I'd EVER leave Cedar City. But here I am, writing from my new apartment in Provo, UT, jobless and inexperienced, having never lived away from my hometown. And I feel CALM??? Honestly, it's freaking me out that I'm not freaking out! (I still think that if I wait just a couple more days a freak out will happen but I've been saying that to myself for the last month!)
And since I'm not having a come apart, now seems like a good time to talk about my feelings on change. I will NEVER hug the couch - but - I'm continually learning that, "All stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end and
when they do, it's only an opportunity for another story to begin."
So begins a new story for me...a change that I chose for myself. So as Katie pointed out in the quote above, I don't like change (like when my parents got their new, uncomfortable couch) but I do like to rearrange my room A LOT! And that's the difference - we don't have power over all change that happens in our lives but we have power enough to cope.
And if ever you find me rearranging my room, it probably means I'm unsettled about something out of my control. Happy changes to all!!!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Adventure #21: When Things Go Wrong...
If things go wrong, don't go with them. ~Roger Babson
"I locked my keys in the car."
All I wanted to do was laugh hysterically and curl up into a ball on the floor, but announcing my dilemma made it real. And, therefore meant I was in no state to think clearly. Being three hours from my spare key, having dropped my family off an hour north of my current location, needing to fix this within 12 hours, and losing all capability to be logical, I was relieved to be staying with My Friend Katie.* MFK, since we became friends in June 2011, has taught me a bit about the use of logic and emotions.
"Don't freak out."
MFK often said this to me when I was overly concerning myself with some little things. Scheduling, contacting people, not reaching self-appointed deadlines, etc. were met with this response. Thankfully, in the instance of my keys locked in the car, she did not say this to me. I actually don't remember the words of her immediate response but she was on her computer looking up 24-hour Locksmiths before I could put myself together enough to recognize the word 'Locksmith.'
"What options do we have?"
A question, while varied in its form, occurs frequently in our friendship and, having come back from Emotionland, I was aware enough to form coherent suggestions. For some stubborn reason, I did not want to deal with a locksmith, at least not as the first choice. My thought then was to look up how to break into a car. Katie, using her super-speed typing, had pulled up several videos on such a subject. We watched a few, searched for materials in her newly-moved-into basement apartment and MFK spent an hour breaking into my car, using a flashlight, twine, a crowbar, gift bag, a shoelace, stick, and a lengthy scrap of wood (we couldn't locate a wire hanger in the accessible parts of the house to which MFK's apartment is attached). At this point, exhausted and unsuccessful, logic necessitated that we rest and call a locksmith in the morning.
"You're going to stress about this all night, aren't you?"
I tried lying but having both lived with me for a year and nearly lived with me for a year before that, MFK knew what my distant eyes, contemplative expression, and attempt at a joke meant. Lying has never been a honed skill for me - I've never wanted to practice it. But I was going to stress and Katie knew it. Which is why in her 'cheer up' voice she sing-songly suggested watching White Christmas (because I'd been wanting to watch it for a month or two and it always got pushed back in, as it goes in our movie selecting process). So I took her up on the offer and an hour in, we were asleep. But not before I decided that I had one more idea to try in the morning before calling a locksmith.
"Any success?"
And that's where MFK found me - 8 o'clock in the morning (I couldn't sleep past 7), with twine attached to a string that I had looped to hang down. I could get the loop over the lock but couldn't keep enough friction to effectively pull up, releasing the lock. Maybe ten minutes after she'd come out, I finally realized I needed a further element to succeed. Having spent another hour trying and not knowing what that element was, I followed Katie back into the house, momentarily defeated.
"Do you have a wire hanger? Melody locked her keys in her car. And we are going to win!"
MFK must have been as determined as I was (or she knew I was feeling that way), because when she asked her sister (who'd been asleep the night before) for a wire hanger, I knew this was the missing element. After deforming the hanger, we headed straight for the car...this time with an audience! A couple attempts with just the hanger proved unfruitful. However, when the hanger was bent to frame the lock and then combined with a secure backing of twine, the ideal circumstances were created to pull up, release the lock, and OPEN THE DOOR!
Thus verifying that with three hours and the support and resolution of my level-headed, logical friend Katie, anything is possible!
*For clarification, My Friend Katie, MFK, and Katie are all the same person. :) PS: Happy birthday to MFK!!!
"I locked my keys in the car."
All I wanted to do was laugh hysterically and curl up into a ball on the floor, but announcing my dilemma made it real. And, therefore meant I was in no state to think clearly. Being three hours from my spare key, having dropped my family off an hour north of my current location, needing to fix this within 12 hours, and losing all capability to be logical, I was relieved to be staying with My Friend Katie.* MFK, since we became friends in June 2011, has taught me a bit about the use of logic and emotions.
"Don't freak out."
MFK often said this to me when I was overly concerning myself with some little things. Scheduling, contacting people, not reaching self-appointed deadlines, etc. were met with this response. Thankfully, in the instance of my keys locked in the car, she did not say this to me. I actually don't remember the words of her immediate response but she was on her computer looking up 24-hour Locksmiths before I could put myself together enough to recognize the word 'Locksmith.'
"What options do we have?"
A question, while varied in its form, occurs frequently in our friendship and, having come back from Emotionland, I was aware enough to form coherent suggestions. For some stubborn reason, I did not want to deal with a locksmith, at least not as the first choice. My thought then was to look up how to break into a car. Katie, using her super-speed typing, had pulled up several videos on such a subject. We watched a few, searched for materials in her newly-moved-into basement apartment and MFK spent an hour breaking into my car, using a flashlight, twine, a crowbar, gift bag, a shoelace, stick, and a lengthy scrap of wood (we couldn't locate a wire hanger in the accessible parts of the house to which MFK's apartment is attached). At this point, exhausted and unsuccessful, logic necessitated that we rest and call a locksmith in the morning.
"You're going to stress about this all night, aren't you?"
I tried lying but having both lived with me for a year and nearly lived with me for a year before that, MFK knew what my distant eyes, contemplative expression, and attempt at a joke meant. Lying has never been a honed skill for me - I've never wanted to practice it. But I was going to stress and Katie knew it. Which is why in her 'cheer up' voice she sing-songly suggested watching White Christmas (because I'd been wanting to watch it for a month or two and it always got pushed back in, as it goes in our movie selecting process). So I took her up on the offer and an hour in, we were asleep. But not before I decided that I had one more idea to try in the morning before calling a locksmith.
"Any success?"
And that's where MFK found me - 8 o'clock in the morning (I couldn't sleep past 7), with twine attached to a string that I had looped to hang down. I could get the loop over the lock but couldn't keep enough friction to effectively pull up, releasing the lock. Maybe ten minutes after she'd come out, I finally realized I needed a further element to succeed. Having spent another hour trying and not knowing what that element was, I followed Katie back into the house, momentarily defeated.
"Do you have a wire hanger? Melody locked her keys in her car. And we are going to win!"
MFK must have been as determined as I was (or she knew I was feeling that way), because when she asked her sister (who'd been asleep the night before) for a wire hanger, I knew this was the missing element. After deforming the hanger, we headed straight for the car...this time with an audience! A couple attempts with just the hanger proved unfruitful. However, when the hanger was bent to frame the lock and then combined with a secure backing of twine, the ideal circumstances were created to pull up, release the lock, and OPEN THE DOOR!
Thus verifying that with three hours and the support and resolution of my level-headed, logical friend Katie, anything is possible!
*For clarification, My Friend Katie, MFK, and Katie are all the same person. :) PS: Happy birthday to MFK!!!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Adventure #20: Principle of Cheating
"When I consider life, it is all a cheat. Yet fooled with hope, people favor this deceit." ~John Dryden
I like to cheat when playing games. I cheat to help other people. Strange? Enjoyable! In Phase 10 and Skip-bo, I especially enjoy it. Recently while enjoying a game of Skip-bo with MFK (My Friend Katie) and Jeremiah, cheating for others jumped from merely an action in games to a principle for my life.
I hadn't realized that the cards in my hand would help MFK place hers (for anyone who is not a Skip-bo fan, basic game play can be Googled). It was too late; it was already Jeremiah's turn. But that didn't stop me - ba BAM! MFK was set up perfectly.
Even if anyone tells you different, my motivation had been to help her. The convenient result? Her cards were setting up mine.
Next round...Jeremiah hadn't won yet, though MFK and I had. Logically, it was his turn to win. If you factor in the time of night and the adventures of the day, giggling like crazy and always out of turn, MFK and I used our cards to give him an opportunity to win.
Our motivation was to give Jeremiah a win. The convenient result? This became the most memorable game of Skip-bo in my life.
So I like to cheat when playing games. I also like to "cheat" in real life by helping others succeed.
From these two examples, there are life lessons to draw. Often, when we help others - family, friends, neighbors, strangers, children, etc - we are setting ourselves up to be helped.
- Anytime I've cleaned in a spirit of service, for instance, I've been set up to receive blessings from those actions: finding something lost, feeling accomplished, smiles from those I love...
- Anytime I've listened to another person in their time of need, I've received the answers I needed in my own life as well as a feeling of increased trust in that relationship...
- Anytime I try to make another happy, I find happiness in my life.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Adventure #19: The Zigzag
“Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.”
~ Tahir Shah
There's a post somewhere on the Internet that describes lines. These lines spoke to me as more than math terms. Though I love math, I gained insight that I had not expected to procure. In this gathering, I decided it's something I'd like to share. Here is good. And I suppose I ought to start with the concept itself:
To renew in life, we can zig when expected to zag. Sometimes we reverse it. Often we enjoy connecting with those who will also zig when we expect them to zag. I propose that in the best relationships the zigging and zagging unite the principles of parallel lines with lines that only meet once.
Consider the following illustration:
There's a post somewhere on the Internet that describes lines. These lines spoke to me as more than math terms. Though I love math, I gained insight that I had not expected to procure. In this gathering, I decided it's something I'd like to share. Here is good. And I suppose I ought to start with the concept itself:
- Parallel lines have a lot in common but they never meet. Ever. You might think that's sad.
- But every other pair meets once and then drifts apart forever. Which is pretty sad too.
To renew in life, we can zig when expected to zag. Sometimes we reverse it. Often we enjoy connecting with those who will also zig when we expect them to zag. I propose that in the best relationships the zigging and zagging unite the principles of parallel lines with lines that only meet once.
Consider the following illustration:
When the blue and purple lines are traced, the places they intersect as well as the parallel sections are blatant. But the beautiful part? The blue and purple lines are traveling together! They remain clearly themselves. They connect. They have plenty in common. They continually renew and refresh through unexpected zigging and zagging. And through it all, they grow together. That's the beautiful part!
The inspiration of The Zigzag came from a dear friend, who often zigs when I expect her to zag. We are currently traveling together - we remain ourselves - we connect - we have plenty in common - and we refresh through unexpected zigging and zagging. I have grown because of that friendship. And while The Zigzag can vary in size as well as apply to a variety of
relationships, this friend is proof that The Zigzag does work.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Adventure #18: Something Funny
"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." ~ Victor Borge
The urge to write something funny led me to ponder moments in which I've laughed and what about them I found humorous. For instance, the time my roommates, Amanda and Brittany, were learning about asymptotes.
"You're an asymptote!" Brittany called Amanda.
"Can't touch this! Dun un un un..." was Amanda's response.
I'm sure my nerdy side factors into my love of this exchange but, between these two, this is most memorable for me. Perhaps, it is only funny to those who know that an asymptote is a function that gets closer and closer to a specific point but never crosses it. The beautiful part to me is that they had learned enough about the concept to make the joke - they certainly are the clever sort!
Another time, I was doing a puzzle with my roommate, Linsey. The clue for the word was "Food Vessel." In my honest-to-goodness best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, I looked at Linsey, flexed, and said, "It's ver you vessel with your food." Her response was contagious, in that we laughed for what felt like hours. It made me think: Yeah, every once in a while, I have a good line.
One further example of laughter is with my current roommate, Katie. While enjoying the company of my family one evening, the laughter couldn't be held in. MFK (this is what I call Katie) was especially infectious in her energy. I thought I might attempt to stopper the insanity...or perhaps contribute.
"You're weird," I said, eyes crinkling.
"Yeah, so?" MFK responded.
"Lychee!" I pronounced.
"Oooooooooooooommmmmmmmm," Katie concluded, going zen.
This conversation may not make sense others; after all, it didn't completely to us. But I'm pretty sure that people overhearing most conversations I have with MFK won't connect things coherently. So anyone eavesdropping will need a road map back to intelligibility.
I live in a realm of hilarity. I hope everyone does - humor is a necessity in every life. To laugh is to live in the moment, fearing nothing and hoping everything. So, as my sister Miranda once said, "Can I put a smiley face on here in all seriousness?" :)
The urge to write something funny led me to ponder moments in which I've laughed and what about them I found humorous. For instance, the time my roommates, Amanda and Brittany, were learning about asymptotes.
"You're an asymptote!" Brittany called Amanda.
"Can't touch this! Dun un un un..." was Amanda's response.
I'm sure my nerdy side factors into my love of this exchange but, between these two, this is most memorable for me. Perhaps, it is only funny to those who know that an asymptote is a function that gets closer and closer to a specific point but never crosses it. The beautiful part to me is that they had learned enough about the concept to make the joke - they certainly are the clever sort!
Another time, I was doing a puzzle with my roommate, Linsey. The clue for the word was "Food Vessel." In my honest-to-goodness best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, I looked at Linsey, flexed, and said, "It's ver you vessel with your food." Her response was contagious, in that we laughed for what felt like hours. It made me think: Yeah, every once in a while, I have a good line.
One further example of laughter is with my current roommate, Katie. While enjoying the company of my family one evening, the laughter couldn't be held in. MFK (this is what I call Katie) was especially infectious in her energy. I thought I might attempt to stopper the insanity...or perhaps contribute.
"You're weird," I said, eyes crinkling.
"Yeah, so?" MFK responded.
"Lychee!" I pronounced.
"Oooooooooooooommmmmmmmm," Katie concluded, going zen.
This conversation may not make sense others; after all, it didn't completely to us. But I'm pretty sure that people overhearing most conversations I have with MFK won't connect things coherently. So anyone eavesdropping will need a road map back to intelligibility.
I live in a realm of hilarity. I hope everyone does - humor is a necessity in every life. To laugh is to live in the moment, fearing nothing and hoping everything. So, as my sister Miranda once said, "Can I put a smiley face on here in all seriousness?" :)
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Adventure #17: Emotions
“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”
~ Oscar Wilde
In relation to emotions, I've been wondering what way is the best to respond to them. There seems to be two schools of thought in my life on this topic.
Problem with #1: Like the quote above states, this leaves a person at the mercy of one's emotions. That may work if you never have to interact with others but it's difficult to be a part of a society if you have no idea what your emotional state may be at a given instant.
Problem with #2: A person attempting this drastically increases the risk of becoming numb, of essentially turning off a range of their humanity. The saddest part is, without the bad, the experience of the good is decreased. Loving is harder, joy is lessened, and life becomes blah itself.
Acquired from discoveries of late, I've learned that I quite agree with Mr. Wilde's sentiments. I want to use my emotions - enjoy them - dominate them. To do this, I think I'll practice a balance of the two strategies I've discussed here as well look into new approaches to embracing the emotional struggle that is being human.
Good luck to all of you out there doing the same!
In relation to emotions, I've been wondering what way is the best to respond to them. There seems to be two schools of thought in my life on this topic.
- Experience each emotion as it comes, good and bad, just let them consume you.
- Ignore bad emotions completely, shun them, push them away entirely.
Problem with #1: Like the quote above states, this leaves a person at the mercy of one's emotions. That may work if you never have to interact with others but it's difficult to be a part of a society if you have no idea what your emotional state may be at a given instant.
Problem with #2: A person attempting this drastically increases the risk of becoming numb, of essentially turning off a range of their humanity. The saddest part is, without the bad, the experience of the good is decreased. Loving is harder, joy is lessened, and life becomes blah itself.
Acquired from discoveries of late, I've learned that I quite agree with Mr. Wilde's sentiments. I want to use my emotions - enjoy them - dominate them. To do this, I think I'll practice a balance of the two strategies I've discussed here as well look into new approaches to embracing the emotional struggle that is being human.
Good luck to all of you out there doing the same!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Adventure #16: I Love You
When you say, I love you, you are making a promise with someone else’s heart, try to honor it.
I - When said, you incorporate yourself. This is where the commitment starts and you are making the commitment. It's you; you are promising something, something beautiful and dangerous. The power of this undertaking is real and is made personal by the inclusion of yourself.
Love - In a basic English class, we learn that this is a verb. Simply, this is what we do. Since actions speak louder than words, the act of confessing love, on whatever level, is the start of an excellent expedition. In order to fulfill such, your actions must envelop you, consume you, until you cease to be. During the journey of loving another person, you become love itself.
You - They are the most important part; whoever receives your words is the most important part. By your words, you are connecting hearts and joining destinies for even just an instant. It is in these instances, the beauty and danger arise. As the quote says, you are making a promise with someone else's heart. While it isn't always easy to live up to this, the only joy you'll have is in the adventure of love.
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