Super powers

I recently listened to an episode of This American Life from 2006 about super powers. The first story in the program was a man describing what question he usually asks at parties: invisibility or flight? At parties, he likes to ask random people which super power they would like between the two. People generally quickly pick one, then waffle back and forth afterward. They inevitably ask "can I also have super strength or another power as well?" "No" the author answers "only flight or invisibility." People generally ask other questions such as "will things I pick up be invisible too?" or "how fast would I be able to fly?" Myself, I can't decide. While flight would be helpful, since I hate to drive, I wouldn't like it without the ability of super strength (to carry luggage or other stuff.) Invisibility would be nice but if people could always hear my steps or if what I picked up floated, it wouldn't be very helpful. Also, I wouldn't be a very super invisible spy unless I was also invincible. Hmmm, such a dilemma. What do you think?

A restful day; but was it Plan A?

Today was a restful day. Since I had the day off, I slept in and played around on the computer when I woke up. I then decided to be active and clean my room. As a final part of cleaning my room, I vacuumed. It was then that I discovered that my vacuum wasn't working properly. After careful study, I realized that the brushes at the bottom weren't spinning due to a broken belt. I headed off the the vacuum repair store, stopping along the way to drop off some shirts and magazines at my old place of employment, Prosper. Susan and I had a nice chat and I even managed to say hi to some of the IT department and a couple of other people. It's strange; the front receptionist had no idea who I was since she started after I left. There used to be a time that most people had at least heard my name (that happens when you work in HR.) She looked at me with scepticism and caution when I said that I used to work there.
I returned home, fixed the vacuum (which I am slightly proud of,) and had dinner. After doing 3 loads of laundry, I thought I would contact an old friend who lives in Texas and try to catch up on some other stuff. One of the things I caught up on was listening to Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me, an NPR news quiz show. It was a "best of" episode with various comedians. Afterwards, I flipped over to another NPR show, This American Life, where I heard five short stories centered around the theme of "Plan B." Now some of you may be thinking: "short stories about a morning after pill? Why?" Well, the theme of "Plan B" had another meaning. Everyone has a Plan B; this is the plan you follow or path you take after your Plan A falls through. An example would be a young man who always wanted to be a professional football player but seriously injured his knee. He takes his Plan B of going to business school and becomes a lawyer. Everyone has a Plan B because Plan A is something that you usually come up with in junior high, high school, or your first year of college. Then life interrupts, something changes, or you give up. This is when Plan B comes into play. Or, for that matter, Plan C, Plan D, E, F, or G. The only point when the planning ends is when you die. I know that I'm not still on my Plan A or Plan B. Are you? Even better, do you still want to be?

Family Rocks!

On Saturday I was able to drive up to see family. I was later getting there than I would have liked due to a last minute visit from my landlord but I was able to get there before dinner was served. Since we were celebrating Tanner's birthday, he got to choose the meal. (The cute two-year old chose turkey, mashed pototoes, squash, etc.) I think he has great taste in food and was very smart to mention it to Nana. It seems like only yesterday he was born. After dinner, and for a while beforehand, many of the grownups took turns playing Rock Band. It was a lot of fun. (Thanks Jeremy for providing the instruments and the game.) The only part I did was singing but the drums looks like a lot of fun. Jordan killed on the guitar and Jen totally rocked the bass. While we played, the kids ran around and tried to kill themselves by sliding down the slide in various positions. Luckily the slide is in the basement so we could keep an eye on them and help out. I got home late (11:30pm) and stayed up another hour reading. On Sunday I went to church with Roommate W, then had Scottish pancakes in the afternoon. Roommate E made them and I'm going to try to con the recipe out of her (she said it was a family secret.) On Sunday night, Roommate E, Roommate W, and I went to Ward prayer. It was a lot of fun and I got to talk to my crush for over an hour.
On Monday morning I awoke with a sore throat and body aches. In spite of my better judgment, I went to work. After a meeting with MJ, my boss, and another manager, I went home. My boss was practically pushing me out the door. (Have I mentioned how much I love my boss and job lately.) Last night I felt like I had swallowed barbed wire, someone had punched me in the face (the sinuses especially,) and that I was outside in the cold. I was shivering pretty badly. I was asleep by 10pm and slept until 8:30am this morning. While I am feeling a little better, I was advised by my work to not come in. Thus the post in the middle of the day. I have taken a nap today and will take a shower soon. I hope to get back to work tomorrow since I find being sick a waste of time. I feel unproductive and lazy but don't feel well enough to get anything really accomplished. I've checked my work e-mail twice and have done a little work but I feel like I am in a little bit of a fog. I plan to get lots of sleep tonight and feel much better tomorrow. As a side note, Roommate E and Roommate W are also sick. Roommate M last sick last week and we all suspect that she passed it on to us. Luckily, she is feeling great now so I have high hopes this will soon pass.

On a random note, I have to say that I am incredibly lucky to have such a great family. I know it seems like a random comment, but I've been thinking about it lately. A few times in the last week I have been reminded how great my family is. Here are a few things that I am grateful for: my dad has never hit me, my mom isn't a drug user or alcoholic, my brothers are married to the mothers of their children, my sister doesn't steal from me, I grew up in a house where I was loved and protected, I had food and clothes growing up and didn't have to worry about where I would sleep, my siblings and I get along and actually like each other, I still talk to my parents, and I am pretty healthy. After hearing horror stories from others, I can't believe how lucky I am. Anyway, I thought I would put that out into the universe. My childhood could have been horrible but it was great. I would like to thank my parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins for making my life so wonderful.

Craft time

Every once and a while, I feel the need to create something to brighten my world. For Christmas, my sister gave me a necklace that she bought at a boutique. It was a necklace pendant made out of a scrabble tile. After studying it, I figured that I might be able to duplicate it. Using glue, origami paper, and Mod Podge I managed to cover the tiles. It took me three tries to figure out what adhesive to use to attach a metal ring it the back of the scrabble tile. If anyone wants one, let me know. Here are pictures of my first necklace and my work station: