Oh, Wait....My Phone is Ringing!

Wow! I can really tell that my first semester as a grad student has really burned me out on writing. It's been over a month since my last blog. Ouch!

I have been spending the last 30 minutes looking for another ring-tone for my phone. I love ring-tones because I think they say a lot about the person whose phone it comes from. I have found that most people choose ring-tones from music that they often listen to: country, pop, soundtracks, etc. It can be very revealing!

Some people go for the sound effects, which I have found are usually annoying. I had a roommate once who had a long train whistle for her text message alert. Her phone would often go off late at night or really early in the morning...and it would seriously wake me up with a start.

Personally I look for ring-tones that fit my character, make me remember good times, and that start quiet. I have "Defying Gravity" as the ring for a few of my friends, but it scares me to death most times it goes off. I currently have an angelic sounding tone which many of my friends get a kick out of. I like it because it's pretty, and it doesn't scare me. I'm having trouble finding its equal. I found "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" which fits, but I think it will startle me. Another option is "The Jellicle Ball" because it starts quietly and is catchy, but Cats is not one of my most favorite musicals. I'm torn....

So, do any of you have suggestions for good ring-tones for me?

The Rats vs The Jazz

Who knew that one could train a rat to play basketball?!!! Well, there is a rat basketball team at Utah State University (yes, that's the 'rodent' kind of rat...I promise I'm not making fun of our true Aggie team). Rat training is a part of the psychology department, which I'm told helps the students to learn about Behaviorism. My learning theory class gets to go to the rat lab on Tuesday to watch a game. I'm pretty excited.

So, do you think if I brought popcorn and a cow bell to the game, it would distract the players???

(Maybe they should teach the rats to play football...I wonder who would win if they played the USU football team. OUCH!)

6 Little Known Things About Kendra

Okay...so I'm the next "it" of the blog tag game. (I wonder if there is a way to play Enemy and Defender with blogs??)

Anyway, here are the rules for those I tag. (I think this is actually a great way to record some things about ourselves that we may never write down otherwise.)

A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about himself/herself.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them each a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for these rules.

Now about me:

1) My natural state of being is 'shy'. (Although my brother teases me that I'm the princess that bursts through the door singing "I'M SHY!!!" at the top of my lungs...I really am, but it is something that I have chosen to fight.) Growing up there were times where I was so shy it was painful. I refused to talk on the phone to do things like order pizza; talking to strangers in person caused painful anxiety; and going to a party by myself was something I would never do...never. Thank goodness I am in the process of breaking myself of my shyness. I can even hug friends, and even strangers at times, without taking a deep breath before. Who says you can't change who you are!!

2) I LOVE standing for hours in line for movies that I'm excited to see, so that I can be first in the theater. Oh...I also refuse to watch trailers for movies I am interested in. Trailers show all the good scenes and give away the plot. They should be done away with!!!

3) When I was younger I used to imagine that practically all inanimate objects were alive...at least in the sense that they could talk and also understand me. For example, I would talk to the grass as I cut it, asking it if it liked its new "hair-cut." It's amazing how many friends you can have when you can have a conversation with everything!!

4) My brother and I used to play in the walls of the Montana State Capital Building. We lived only a few blocks away when we were in our wee elementary years, and instead of getting bored we would create adventures. One of which led us to discover that there were hidden doors that blended into the walls at the capital. We would wait patiently until someone opened one of these doors and then we would run up and stick a foot in the door to keep it from shutting. After waiting a few seconds until the coast was clear, we would enter a whole new world. We would wander for hours in there, finding employee lunch rooms, tunnels to buildings on capital block, offices not open for the public, etc. Once we got in trouble because we came out close to the governor's office. I remember the red carpet and the mean old secretary that demanded that we leave. She had no sense of fun!

5) Growing up I just knew that I would be a veterinarian someday. Visiting Purdue University's Vet School, during high school, I was told that I had to have at least 600 hours of experience with a veterinarian to even be considered for the program. So, I began to go on rounds with a large animal vet. I spent several hundred hours learning how to do cow pregnancy tests, castrating calves, doing autopsies on pigs, giving horses shots and putting a uterus of a pig back in when she had pushed so hard giving birth that it had come out. (OUCH! I sure hope that doesn't happen to humans!) Anyway...if you ever want a gross story to accompany a meal, I would be happy to oblige.

6) I have always been fascinated by random selection. Hmmm, how to explain this one.... I guess an example or two would do. I used to write down the order in which my 5 cd changer stereo would play songs. I wanted to know the order. Even though I don't have time to do this kind of thing any more I'm always tempted to do so. I love Pandora Radio (http://www.pandora.com/) because it randomly picks songs that it thinks I would like. If I give the song a thumbs up it will eventually play it again. I am SOOO tempted to get out a notebook and record my favorite songs and the days that it plays them to see which songs it plays more than others.

Okay, enough about me. I now tag Hollywood, Jenette, Jeromy, Pam, Anne and my dear mother. If any of you guys don't have a blog...this would be a great time to start!!!

Ummm...They call this Fall

Last night I was watching the news and the weatherman wondered aloud when summer would ever end. Summer?! I think Utahns are so used to summer being ended by an immediate winter that they don't know what a true Fall is. Well, just so you know, the weather pattern of this last month is what they call Fall in the other parts of the United States. If it is freezing at night and then warms up between 50 and 65 during the day, that's Fall! Summer is when it is warm at night and hot during the day.

I LOVE FALL! True it is not my favorite - summer has that secured - but the crisp mornings and warm afternoons is something I have missed in the six other years I have lived in Utah. I'm sure this weather won't last for very much longer, but I'll be a happy camper until it does.

The Benefits of Whole Grain

The last little while I have been having wild and crazy dreams almost every night. After thinking about what I dreamt last night I couldn't help but chuckle. It was an elaborate dream but I only remember bits and pieces and the following is my favorite part:

I was not feeling so good in my dream. I think I had a sinus infection and I was with a friend (of whom I never saw their face) who was giving me advice. They told me the best thing I could do is smell rolled oats, like they use in oatmeal. I remember thinking that that was odd because I didn't consider that oats really had a smell. My friend insisted that it was the best cure for what ailed me. So I found one of those round containers of Quaker oats and poured them into a cup until it was half full. I then began sniffing it, really hoping that my friend knew what they were talking about.

That's all and I'm still laughing. So I'm not sure if this dream is about being gullible, about wanting a sure cure for the common cold (whole grains really ARE good for you!), or about trusting friends. Whatever the interpretation, I will have to remember this dream whenever I need a smile.

Wireless Electricity and the Roach

Okay...so I have two things to blog about today...one real and one not so real (thank goodness!!!).

First, that which is real: So get this, scientists at MIT have figured out a way to beam electricity across a room and use it to run electronic devices without wires. They call it "WiTricity" which is a transmitter that creates an electromagnetic field, powering anything from a TV to a lightbulb as long as it's within a 7 foot range. Ummmm...so I wonder what that would to do a human being?

Second, the roach. I think I had the weirdest dream I have EVER had in my entire life. I don't remember how it started but I remember that a roach turned me in to some type of vehicle. I was racing down a highway (speeding, of course) and not very happy. I didn't want to be a vehicle. The roach, who had been watching, jumped inside me (remember I was a car of some sort) and said "I repent!" and turned me instantly back into my human form. The roach said that I had an important mission and began to give me specifics when someone ran up and stepped on him, killing him instantly. I felt rather distraught because I hadn't gotten the rest of my instructions, and he really was a good roach. I left for my home feeling that the roach was a martyr.

Once at home, which was apparently in California, my mother said that I needed to go over to the house of a known mob family. I knew this had to do with what the roach was trying to tell me, but I didn't know what it was. I asked my roommate, Emily (who is my real-life roommate) to come with me. She said she would. I said good-bye to my mom who was in the kitchen, and realized that she was using some of the red potatoes that I had bought earlier that day. I told her that I wanted to make a dessert with those later but I didn't have enough now. I was really disappointed. I then decided to just leave and I walked outside to find that it was pouring rain. I got out a bicycle and had Emily sit on the handle bars. We were soaked as I started to peddle away. I soon realized that I didn't know where I was going. I asked Emily, and to my surprize she didn't know either. I headed back to the house. I went in and asked my mom where the mob family lived. She got out the telephone book and started showing me with the city map located in the back. I had Mom tear it out so that I could use it. Mom again traced the street I was to take to the mob home and as she did so I appeared to be flying over the road. I suddenly found myself on the doorstep of my destination with Emily at my side. My father (not my real dad, but my father figure in the dream) opened the door and walked out with several of the men of the family. He pulled me aside and gave me a religous pamphlet that had big chunks of it cut out. He told me that he believed that this family understood a lot about Christianity but were not ready for the full gospel. I took a moment to look at the pamphlet and felt that it did have a lot of good stuff, but it was missing the gospel fundamentals. So, was this what the roach wanted, for me to teach this family about the church? I wondered.

Emily and I then followed the family through their vinyard (which was for their family wine business) and found ourselves at a barbecue in the backyard. I was last in line but as I approached the food, it was swept away by the caterers. Not wanting to be rude, I didn't say anything. The mob patriarch saw that I didn't have anything to eat and ordered that I be served. My father figure soothed the patriarch and told him that it was a good thing I wasn't eating because I had a rare eye disease and eating made it worse. I was confused, I had an eye disease? Just then, I realized that my left eye felt really dry and so I knew it had to be true.

We were then shown more of the vinyard...and the dream faded.

Now, if anyone could interpret that for me I will sing to them "Go, Go, Go Joseph!" Man, I wonder what I ate yesterday!!!

English...always something new!

I have to say that I love the English language! It has so many words in it that I do not believe it possible to know every word that exists. Now this is probably true of all languages, but since English is my native tongue, it hits home all the more to me when I come across a load of new vocabulary. I was reading a short story for one of my classes and got really excited because I had to learn 17 new words: imprimis, scrivener, obstreperous, obicular, remunerative, cistern, florid, cannel, anthracite, indecorous, dun, execrable, doff, vintner, potation, paroxysm, and recondite. (It wouldn't surprise me if Alisha could tell what story I was reading from this list. ;) I guess that's one reason why I love to read, because I love to learn new words. (That's also one reason why I miss Elder Maxwell!) When I was little I would read the dictionary, and I guess my love for the English language has not stopped. My challenge now is to use my new words so that I don't forget....i.e. "Thad can be so obstreperous!" (Just kidding. :)

Technology vs. ???

In my Instructional Technology Foundations class today an interesting question was posed. A leading educator in the IT field has stated that technology is really not that important. It is only made to seem important by companies who spend millions of dollars advertising the "need" for their products in order to convince the public that they cannot live unless they have the newest technology.

So the question is this...Is technology really that important to our existence? Could we really function without the newest innovation or invention? I can't help but think of two recent experiences that makes me think, that at least for me, I do need to have perhaps not the cutting edge technology, but at least up-to-date technology. The first is my decision to finally give in to the cell phone craze. I remember thinking..."I will NOT get a cell phone. I don't want to be ruled by it." I remember one of my roommates who would turn around after driving 10 minutes from our apartment just to get her phone that she had left behind. The reasoning? What if someone called her when she was out doing errands? I always thought..."Well, that's why there's voice messaging. Geesh!"

Then there was the experience with getting high speed internet. Why do I need to be able to download things in an instant for $50 more a month? Certainly that luxury was more of a want than a need.

BUT....

In regards to the cell phone...my boss needed to be able to contact me at any moment (usually a few minutes after leaving my desk to run an errand) and so the solution?...giving in and getting a cell phone. I remember many of my friends' and family's jubilation at their ability to actually get ahold of me. I was often dubbed "dead" because it was so difficult to contact me because I was never home. Now, I am the one who returns to my apartment to retrieve a forgotten cell phone. How often do I check it during the day for a missed call or text?...I'm not sure I want to divulge that information...but let me just say I was right...I'm ruled by it, addicted, wouldn't want to live without it, etc.

In regards to the high speed internet...I think I was totally sucked into that one as well because of work. At work I had extremely fast internet connection, which I tapped into many times a day. When I would get home and try to access something a friend had sent, I would wait as my dial-up struggled...seconds and then minutes ticking away. I lost patience for most downloads, and thus prefered to miss out than wait. Now that I have high-speed internet there is no more waiting...and I love it. Yes, love not like it. So, like my cell phone I'm hooked.

Technology is always changing and although we may not jump on the band-wagon immediately, I think eventually we all have to jump on. Think of the evolution of music: records, A-track, cassette-tapes, cd's, MP3 players, IPods. Yes, I think there would be life without these things (they're not like water), but I do believe we all get sucked in at one point or another.

Of Mice and Men

If you ever go someday to the end of the world and turn left, you will find where I once resided in Indiana. It was a place I loved to live because of the quiet beauty of nature it provided. Two sides of our home were surrounded by woods, with the other sides farm fields of either corn or soybeans depending on the year.

If you have once lived at the end of the world yourself, you know that it comes with many creatures, especially mice. Our barn cats did a great job of keeping the mouse population scarce, but occasionally we did find a mouse or two who had found solitude in our home. I wasn't ever really sure how they came into the house because I never saw one scuttle by as I walked through the door, but on one cold winter day I found out that they arrived (at least at times) by great ingenuity.

Since I'm not a fan of being cold, I had put on a pair of hunter's overalls over my jeans and shirt, and then a coat on over that. I guess you could call me, one that was 'bundled.' Thus prepared, I headed out into the four or five inches of snow to see if there was anything more adventurous outside than inside that morning. As I walked around I realized that Sadie, our black and white cat, was stalking something. Not wanting to disturb the hunt, I walked slowly and quietly up behind her. I could see a narrow trail of tracks in the snow in front of her. Ahhh, she's found a mouse! I was curious to see if she would be able to find it, and so I followed her. She crept into a bush and then suddenly the mouse made a mad dash into the open. Sadie came slyly out of the bush and only slightly quickened her speed. I smiled, realizing that she was relishing the hunt. I stayed back a distance to watch the events unfold. The mouse darted here and there about 75 to 100 feet in front of me. Then suddenly disappeared over a slight rise in the snow. Sadie continued on in her pace and rounded the small hill. I stayed put, sure the mouse would again rush into the open, but I never saw it again. Sadie surfaced without the mouse and continued to stalk around. After a while she gave up. I was disappointed for her because she didn't catch her prey and because I wasn't too fond of mice and was hoping she would rid us of it.

I walked around a little more and then realized my face and hands were too cold for comfort, so I decided to head back inside. I left my coat and boots in the mud room and went to the living room to sit down to warm up. As I sat down I felt something between my overalls and the front of my shirt. Suddenly the mouse came rushing up towards my head, leaping from me once it had reached my neck. As it hit the floor and raced out of sight under a chair, I let out quite a scream. I sat paralyzed for a few seconds trying to get my brain to comprehend what had just happened. I felt a shiver from head to toe. It had crawled up my leg between the jeans and overalls. I had been hosting a mouse for about 15 minutes. AHHH!!! The thought made me shiver again. I went over the scene in my mind and could not figure out how that mouse had come close to me without my notice, let alone hop aboard.

Well, unbeknownst to this little mouse it had made a grave mistake. I now became the hunter especially because it dared use me for a mode of escape. I decided I would coax it into the next world through the wonder of the mouse trap. I set the trap under the chair it had claimed for sanctuary and waited for the *SNAP!* Nothing...nothing...nothing. I lost interest after a while and went about my daily tasks.

The next morning I checked under the chair and found victory. I bet that mouse didn't know what had hit it. I felt a little pang of pity because it looked kinda cute...and it was trying to save itself from being 2nd breakfast for Sadie, but there are some critters that just shouldn't be...at least in my house - or in my clothes!

The Beauty of Fall

There is one time a year that makes me just itch to be a photographer...Fall. The changing colors are so stark against the crisp blue and white of the sky.

Have all of you Loganites looked west to the Wellsvilles? They are BEAUTIFULLY red. In the summer one might say, "Stop to smell the roses," but I would say on a day like today, "Stop and look towards the mountains!" It might just have the same effect.

They say that "an apple a day..."

...keeps the doctor away, right? I mean who wouldn't run away from someone chucking an apple at you?!

Actually, I have seen a lot of people with the flu lately, sadly enough me included, and I've been thinking about how sick I really have to feel before going to a doctor. I know with the flu they say "Go home, drink lots of fluid, and rest for several days." (They actually get paid bukoo-bucks for that advice!) I'm not saying I'm not appreciative. I know that there are some creatures (viruses in particular) that are beyond the help of anyone and the doctors are exposing themselves to those little pathogens I'm carrying just to give me a look of sympathy, a squeeze (the blood pressure cuff), and a bit of advice. Anyway, we just have to suck it up and pray that our immune systems will triumph sooner than later.

But that leaves me to my original question...how sick should you be before going to the doctor? There are some in my family that believe you should go to the doctor early in the illness process...stop those little buggers before they evolve into something worse (i.e. bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.) Others say, or better said "act," differently. They must be contemplating drawing their last few breaths before they determine it's okay to go to a doctor. Please tell me if I'm wrong, but it is my impression that men are more likely to take the latter point of view. They have to be SERIOUSLY ill before going to a doctor.

Anyways, I've always been kind of wishy-washy about when I should go. Sometimes I go early when I have family or friends telling me, "Kendra, you should really go or you'll regret it!" Sometimes I go after suffering for weeks. It's the attitute of "I'm not bleeding or dying...but I'm sure not enjoying life in the current stage, either. But what would happen if I wait one more day...?"

I guess there really is no right or wrong answer (unless you wait so long you die - remember Jim Hensen!), but it is interesting to know what causes some people to go early and some to stall until the very last moment. What kind are you?

My Kind of Math

Q: Find X:

A: Here it is!!

Wow! He didn't even get points for creativity. I'd complain!

My brother posted to his blog several math problems that were found on exams and answered in very interesting ways :) He told me this is my kind of math.... I have to explain that he was my math tutor through high school. Perhaps his idea that I would answer math questions like these students can give you all a clue about how good I was at math back then and how much he struggled to cram the concepts into my brain. Hey it probably hurt me more than him...but I think he would argue that point. (The exams were in Spanish and so I will translate for those who aren't familiar with that language.)

Another attempt

Resolve the equation:

And?

(I think this kid would really like "4 is the cosmic number."

This has got to be a calculus problem!

Expand:

Teacher comment: Very funny Pedro

I think this kid is much more of an abstract thinker than an analytical thinker. :) (I swear I never tried to answer a question like this...I suppose I wasn't quick enough!)

I can see his point!

And the last....

If:

Then:

No points again. = (

It's COLD outside!

So, I need some advice. I am not a winter girl...or better, I'm not a cold weather girl. I love the warm breezes and hot sun rays of summer. It truly makes me happy to the core to walk outside and feel the heat seep into my bones. I even like the 'cooking' sensation of getting into a stifling hot car (although I only like it for the first 10 seconds or so and then the air comes on).

The weather has turned colder today...and the annual sadness of the end of the heat wave has come. It's not that I'm depressed, but I'm truly saddened that it has turned cold. I love the Fall for its colorful trees, General Conference, Halloween, pumpkins, corn mazes and Thanksgiving...but I also dread it because it means that harsh winter chills are fast approaching. I was thinking this morning that maybe why I dread winter is that there is nothing I look forward to doing in the winter (beyond the Christmas holiday and caroling, of course). I love summer because it means I can go hiking, camping, have water fights, sit in the sun, smother in my car for 10 seconds, and so forth. I love being outside! So, maybe I need something to look forward to in the winter months. Besides hot chocolate, what is there to love about being cold? I thought that there might be someone who could give me some ideas.

The joys of working with the public

After reading Jenette's blog about having a customer ask the obvious question, "Do you work here?" I have been flooded with memories of times when I have had customers ask or state crazy things. Here are some of my favorites:

1) I had many different duties as a JC Penney associate working in the catalog department - catalog orders, layaway, gift wrap and Penney's credit cards. One day I answered the phone, "JC Penney's may I help you?" In response an elderly woman screamed, "I'M NOT GOING TO PAY IT!!! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!" She kept repeating that over and over. It took me a few minutes of trying to get a question in here and there to find out that it was something to do with her credit card. I had two options to look up her account 1) ask for the credit card number or 2) get her name and zip code. Since I wasn't sure if she had her credit card number handy I figured I would ask the easy question. "Maam, what's your name?" "DON'T YOU GET SMART WITH ME...YOU KNOW MY NAME!" "Umm, I'm sorry I don't know your name." "YOU DO TOO! YOU SEND ME MY BILLS!" I could tell I wasn't getting very far. Let me just say that 10 minutes later I was able to get her name (Helen Jones - if she calls me again, I've never forgotten!) and her zip code and after 45 minutes she hung up on me because I could never get the real problem out of her. YIKES!

2) I was again at the catalog counter of Penney's when a lady walks up, slaps her hand on the counter in front of me and demands "I want to talk to somebody smart!" I couldn't help myself. I turned around and looked at my co-workers who were behind the back counter. They were smerking. I turned back around and bit my tongue because what came to my mind was, "Sorry, you'll have to come back some other time." I was a good girl, though, and asked in all my blondness, "What do you mean by smart?" I could tell with that question that I didn't measure up in her mind. "I want to speak to a manager!" So, what she meant was, "I want to speak to someone in authority." It's crazy that someone could mix up smart with authority. Apparently they haven't seen The Office.

3) My recent favorite: I was working at Utah State University and talking to a lady from the east on the phone. She asked me where USU was. "In Utah." She responeded, "Is that in California?" "Umm...close. It's separated from California by the state of Nevada." Another YIKES!

One thing about it, when I need a good laugh I often remember these experiences! So here's to Helen Jones and the rest for providing me with a snicker now and then.

As a man thinketh....

I usually keep my blogs on the 'light side' but tonight I am writing about something I've been stewing about lately and thus I'm jumping off the high dive into the deep end. :)

Interestingly enough Elder Robert S. Wood, of the Seventy, came to speak to the Young Single Adults of Logan tonight and he spoke about my stewing topic. He gave a fabulous talk on 'thoughts.' I have been thinking a lot about thoughts lately (it's up to the punny-line, I know - but true!) and thus my "Thoughts for the Month" are about how thoughts make us who we are. Elder Wood added to that tonight by stating (and I will paraphraze) that the activity of the mind is behavior that defines who we are. I find this very intriguing because in this world there is so much 'noise' about us that it is hard to find time and the quietness to find out what we truly think about. When I finally find that time I find that my thought process changes a lot. I don't consider myself random (like some friends I know! :)) but my thought process is constantly evolving. I guess that means my character is constantly evolving...and although that is probably an obvious statement...I find it fascinating. As human creatures we truly are changing from day to day, moment by moment, because we are presented with different situations which alter our understanding on reality. We thus are molding our character every day by the very thoughts we have in regards to the situations around us. I guess that is why we are told to constantly remember Christ, because then our thoughts will be elevated in response to every situation and thus make us more like Him. (i.e. - If we will have charitable or merciful thoughts our characters will mold to being charitable or merciful.)

Hmmm, just some things I am chewing on.

My Dream: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Anxiety!

It's funny how our dreams can reflect and mix all of our emotions and feelings of "real-life."

It's almost time for General Conference again. I am really excited for this conference, partly because I know there will be changes due to the passing of President Faust. I am excited too because I feel I need conference. Why?...because I am stressed. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my new life as a Grad student, but it's not an easy life and at times I feel like it's kicking my butt.

So, with that background...I have this crazy dream two nights ago. I go to Conference and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are in their seats. I love to hear them "live" and so I'm really excited. I sit down and begin to listen...but there is something wrong. As the choir is singing, they noisily turn the pages of their music; some aren't even paying attention. Couldn't they tell that they were performing for conference? This was their time to shine, but they weren't shining. I could feel anxiety beginning to well up within me. I thought, 'Well, they'll get better' but no...they were getting worse. By the time the song had ended the choir was in total chaos. They didn't even sit down together and they were making so much noise with their music! ARGH!

Thankfully I woke up after that. Well, if the choir falls apart in a couple of weeks...remember that I called it! ;) What a dream!

Pet Memorial Day

This is pet memorial day...so I am remembering some of my pets today. This picture to the right is of our pet Rory. I say "pet" loosely because he really was a wild raccoon...and could be a pest at times (he really liked to get the dogs all riled up), but we fed him and he liked to sit on our front porch at our place in Indiana. My dad loved to spoil him, so he had cat food as a regular entree. I have to give Rory credit that he did seem to like us, at least he didn't "move" away...and after a while he did become a part of our circle of pets.

We had a lot of pets growing up, but here's to Mahogany (my first dog and one of my bestest friends ever!), Johann Sebastian Bark, Lady Carmelita, Prince Red Cinnamon, Miss Kitty (Marshall Dillon is still alive), Alaska and Sadie. Like I said, there were lots more but these I give special recognition. They are missed.

To laugh or not to laugh....

I read an article this morning in the Reader's Digest entitled, " Why Men and Women Laugh Out Loud" (Sept 2007 issue). I am an avid reader of RD, and I tend to believe it's contents (sort of like the "if it's on the internet, it's true" thing) but this article is well...interesting. It says that when men know that something is supposed to be funny, like a cartoon, they laugh because they know that it is supposed to be funny. Women on the other hand withhold judgement. They will first think about what they are seeing/reading and if they find it humorous, then they will laugh. (This was all proven by a study of 20 recruited college students reading cartoons inside an MRI machine.) This study also shows that when women find something funny they enjoy it more - at least their brains react in such a way that the MRI reading screens show that there is more light and activity going on than in the brains of the men.

So the moral of the story...well, women are more sophisticated in their humor, and guys will laugh at about anything. That's why men often laugh at the crude and women do not.

I struggle with this though because I have a lot of very funny guy friends, and I don't feel that my sense of humor is any more sophisticated than theirs. Hmmmm....I'll have to pay more attention at what you guys laugh at!

Scotsman Dogs

So, I have finally had my first taste of a Scotsman Dog. I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical...the cheeseburger shaped like a hotdog just didn't sound all that appealing, but surprise, surprise, I would have eaten two if I had the opportunity.

I did get into a rather interesting conversation as I consumed the USU original treat. I had just been introduced to a student who was raised as a youth in Quebec and most recently came from San Antonio, Texas. He stated that for some reason America does have a lot of strange, processed food that would most likely not be eaten anywhere else on the planet. An example he gave was butter or cheese filled hot dogs. (I admit that I had never heard of butter filled hot dogs - must be a Texas thing. :b Yuck!) For some reason we want handy-dandy, on-the-go meals that have a bit of kick. Who has time anymore to put a piece of cheese on a hotdog, or butter for that matter! Get it to me pre-prepared! I bet they were all made for us...the college students.

Anyway, my new friend would not try the Scotsman Dog - but he stopped at the Quik Stop to have a hotdog. (I wonder what it had in it...?)

Netiquette

Okay...so I have started my Graduate program in Instructional Technology. Yeah!! And part of our instruction was that we are to use proper "netiquette." I quote from our handbook, "Return e-mails in a timely manner." So my question to all of you is, what is considered a "timely manner" in order to be considerate and proper? I know that in the past I have been accused of dying or falling off the end of the earth because it has taken me a month or more to respond to an email, so I figure that wasn't my best netiquette. But to be truly considerate, what is required...a response within 24 hours or perhaps 48 hours? Am I telling a person, hey you don't mean squat to me if I don't respond to you within three days? I feel bad when I have taken a long time to respond to some of my friends and family. It's not that they don't mean much to me, it's just that sometimes I get really busy (like working 100 hours in a week and a half's period of time) and I just can't get around to responding quickly. Is there a proper way to say, "Hey I'll get back with you in the next...I don't know...two weeks or so?" Wouldn't that seem rude too?

I guess I would ask the same question of "Textiquette." What is considered proper response time there? Is it rude to wait 24 hours to respond? I know that I often begin to wonder after a few hours if I haven't received a return text, and I know the other person is a texter. Also, how about responding to someone's voice message? (Would that be Voice Messagingiquette?) All these new fangled technologies require that we use proper etiquette, so I guess it would be a good idea to know what the common consensus is of what is proper.

Family Reunion - July 2007

Educating the Technologically Challenged

I have been officially accepted into the Instructional Design Master's Degree program at Utah State University. This is a great example of how my life can be so ironic. This degree...which I will eventually use to work as a technology consultant to increase productivity in the business world...will be earned by someone that only a year ago started using a cell phone - after years of dragging my feet amongst pressure from family and friends. I have always considered myself technologically challenged...slow...and altogether behind-the-times. So why earn a degree in technology??? Well, ironically, it turns out that even though I'm slow on the uptake, I'm apparently good at it and I like it. (I was advised to look into this program by my current boss...who sees more in me than I do, I guess.) After studying what the program is about, I believe that I will love using technology to teach and help others to reach their full potential. Sign me up!! I just think it will be odd to have someone ask me for technological advice and then actually know the answer. Soon, I'll have to reposition my outlook on life...one from being technologically challenged to the savvy...this could be scary!

The Harry Potter Phenomenon

I think it may be the "Star Wars" of this generation...only better because they are books and not movies. The Harry Potter Phenomenon is incredible to me. Everywhere I have been in the last four days people are reading Harry Potter 7 - their noses glued to the book. If people are not reading they are discussing..."Do you know what my theory is on how it will end?" "Harry Potter will die!" "Harry Potter will live, but 'so-n-so' will die!" "If Harry dies I will burn all seven books!" (That last one is my adament stance!)

I have actually just finished book 7. It amazes me that in three short days (full of work and other activities along with reading) I have devoured a 759 page book. I have read a lot of books in my life but none have I read faster than the seven books of Potter. My hat's off to JK Rowling who could create a world so real and relevant as to touch such a widespread audience and to capture the imagination of the old and young to boot!

WOW! ...and all you family and friends out there reading...hurry up! I want to discuss!! ;)

"Yours for...What??"

Okay, so I went on this fabulous trip to Moab over the weekend. Fabulous because I saw some of the most fantastic earth formations I have ever seen. The arches, fins and RV's (all-natural) were incredible. The company was on the grand side as well...go my fellow Einy's!! Advice: If you have yet to go on such an expedition, I say...get off your duff and GO!

I do have a concern...not concern a suggestion... based on observation that I would like to throw out to the Gillespies and all other human beings who happen to play "Yours for!" It is a great game, but after playing it for 20 hours (at least) I would like to make an appeal for a change in the rules. In the entire trip only two original VW Bugs were spotted. WOW! But what do you get for that but a whopping point a piece. The new VW Bugs however get 2 points...and they were crawling all over the place. "Yours for 2!" "Yours for 2!" Not to deminish these automobiles, but hey, these poor original versions are hard to find and yet the value does not so reflect. I would like to appeal a switch..."Yours for 1" for the new little buggers and "Yours for 2" for the originals. What do you say???

Do not try this at home...or on a date!

It has been said that one does not learn from experience, but by reflecting on experience. Sometimes I wonder if I need to spend more time in reflection mode....

I have decided that Kendra on bikes while on a date is not a good thing. You see, I was one of those sheltered children who did not have a bike most of her childhood. My bike burned when I was in 4th grade (a middle-schooler's attempt to see the fire department in action) and I borrowed a friend's bike in the fifth grade a few times...and then my riding days were over. Indiana gravel roads are not conducive to bike riding (the county I lived in was dubbed, "Pot-hole Capital of the Nation" for a reason). Then came date-time...just a few years later ;). Last year I went on a bike date to Bridal Veil Falls. Within the first minute I was bruised, bleeding and blushing...not a good start. Luckily I pulled myself together and finished without adding any more bodily injury.

With that kind of experience, you would think one would learn her lesson...NOPE! A year later, another date, different guy, different bike, different trail...but dang-it! the same out-come. Although I have to take a little credit that I was doing fine until we entered a mountain trail. Then it was about two minutes in before I was bruised, bleeding and blushing. Geesh...either I must practice until perfect (preferably not on a date), or I need to take a hint....

I'm advancing!!

I have just become less technologically challenged.... Thanks Thad!

So here is my question of the day to the universe - What part of the brain sees? I can look at this computer screen and yet at the same be daydreaming and watching seagulls fly over the ocean...ahhh! Are both images real and are seen by the same part of my brain? Just wondering....