Mr Darcy meets Samwise Gamgee

Things I have done...

2008-12-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I stole this from Suzanne but it was fun and easy.

Things I’ve done in bold.
Things I haven’t done but would like to do in italics.
Things I haven’t done and don't want to do in plain text.

1. Started your own blog. (But this is my first post in 4 months so I am not very good at it.)
2. Slept under the stars. (Without at least a tent? No but it would be fun it I was somewhere warm enough without the fear of animals.)
3. Played in a band — or musical.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (Not really sure what would that really means but I am pretty practical about my giving.)
7. Been to Disneyland. (I've been to Disney World and sorry if I offend any from California but I don't have much of desire to visit.)
8. Climbed a mountain. (I have climbed along the side of my mountains but I haven't really summited anything sizable.)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris. (Been there, done that, no real reason to back. In case you haven't heard I didn't really like it.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (I am not really sure what they mean by this but I taught myself how to make a quilt and I am going to count that.)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables. (In theory I would like to but I am fairly certain I would kill the plant before it produced any veggies.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (Only once and it was my birthday.)
24. Built a snow fort. (I am not sure how I grew in the midwest and have never done this but I am going to blame it on how much older my siblings are than me and they didn't want to play out in the snow with me.)
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden a Gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (I would like to but I don't think I can actually achieve it, not holding my breath.)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (But what I really would rather do is something some of my cousins have talked about is walking the route my grandfather marched through France and Germany during World War II.)
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (There is just no way I would have enough persistence and motivation to accomplish this.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (If your not satisfied visit a 3rd world country - if your reading this you have nothing to worry about monetarily.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (If you think I am going to you have never seen me have to deal with my fear of heights.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (I would think I have done this at some point but I can't think of a specific instance.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (I have been to the 2nd level and that was enough to terrify me.)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain. (This is something that is much more romantic in theory rather than reality but in a light rain I think it would be nice.)
53. Played in the mud. (Yay, Calvin Mud Bowl!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (It would be cool to save but I could take or leave it.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (Again I have toyed with the idea in theory but in reality, I don't think so.)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia. (I think is born out of watching all the Russian Red Wings.)
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. (Tirzah once brought me flowers when I was hosting dinner for a small group of friends.)
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma. (I pass out when having blood tests taken so no thanks.)
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (Not really a toy but I still have the first quilt my aunt Nancy gave me for Christmas when I was 8.)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt. (I technically have one border left to add but I am so close to done I am counting it.)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (I still a little sad we didn't make it when we were in London but I am hoping to go back anyway.)
77. Broken a bone. (Really my sister broke it for me.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (No thanks - one of the owners of my engineering firm was in a motorcycle accident and broke his back and had to have his hips replaced. I don't plan to ever get on one.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (Through blurb.com you can create a book of photos and I would love to do that but that probably isn't what they mean but it's still a book.)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (Chester once was and the caption was "Chester, the dog,...)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. (Like Suzanne I have seen it from the outside.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (I'm sure Russ would take me and teach me everything if I really wanted to but I think I will pass.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. (Can I pick who it would be? Most movie actors - no thanks. But I would love to meet and have a real conversation with Steve Yzerman or Gordie Howe or a few of the other Red Wings.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit. (I have been amazing how frequently people have suggested suing someone over the smallest things. It just sounds like a horrible why to handle things and a big pain in the butt.)
98. Owned a cell phone. (What adult at this point hasn't?)
99. Been stung by a bee.

What's New With Me - Part 2

2008-08-24T17:12:00.000-06:00

So I thought of a few things I intended to include but forgot so here is part 2.

First, as Suzanne pointed out we went to Europe last summer. We met one of my friend's from Denver in Vienna and went on to do a whirlwind tour. In 10 days we saw Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, London, Oxford, Stonehenge, did lots of random driving, Bristol, Liverpool, Chatsworth House, and back to London. It was a lot of fun but on the next trip to Europe I hope to spend a little more time in each place but going to fewer places. Not that I have any idea when that will be.

Also, 5 years ago I bought a townhouse. I have learned that not only do I not like white, I can't just pick a paint color and paint a room. Each room I have painted has involved at least 4 different paint colors. This is a time consuming process for me but I enjoy doing it and I have loved the rooms when I get done with them. The downside to the townhouse is that it was built in the early 60's and still has the original bathrooms and kitchen so are they ever stylish. I would like to gut both bathrooms and the kitchen and do something more modern with them but I need to stop traveling half across the world every year to come up with the money to do this.

And on Friday I will turn 30, which I have been dreading since I turned 29. This summer I have realized my real problem with that is that I always subconsciously thought I would be married by now. And so now I hate the idea of turning 30 and still being single. I realize I just need to be content with where God has placed me and I know that he is in control and it will all be in his timing. But it's still a struggle. And don't bother to tell me that 30's are the new 20's or the best time of your life. Plenty of people have told me that but it has yet to help. So there's an honest answer on how I am feeling right now.

So enough about me, how are you?

What's New with Me

2008-08-17T08:55:00.001-06:00

Since joining Facebook a lot of my college friends have asked "What's new with you?" or some variation of that. Seeing that it has been 7 years I don't really feel like that question can be answered on a Facebook wall so I decided to do this instead. These aren't necessarily new, but new since the last time I talked to many of my college friends.

Two months after graduating from Calvin I took a job in Denver and moved there. I love living in Denver. And although I haven't gotten into skiing, I love the mountains and all the fun things they have to offer. I enjoy hiking and camping and this winter I went snow-shoeing for the first time and I hope to do more of that next winter. I also love the weather in Denver. I didn't know that it was possible for the sun to shine every day ~ the first month I lived in Denver I was constantly amazed that the sun was out every single morning. That is something I have gotten used to and I don't know if I could go back to never seeing the sun. And although I miss having lakes around I don't miss the humidity. So there are no plans of moving back.

I ended up hating the job that first brought me to Denver and for a long time I felt stuck and didn't really know what I wanted to do. After 5 years I decided to leave and attempt a career change to which God responded "Sorry I don't think so." So I returned to engineering but the job I now do is much different than my previous job so it fits me and my personality much better. I now design heating and cooling systems in commercial buildings, and in the last month I have started to learn a little plumbing. In addition to the job itself being better I really enjoy the people I work with and the guys I work for.

I started doing Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) in the Young Adults Class in Denver when I first moved to Denver and have absolutely loved it. Now I am a discuss leader which is a role that I am not a natural at because I don't really see myself as a leader but I have really enjoyed it and God has used to it challenge me and help me grow.

And lastly, the thing that really is new. In October I am going on a mission's trip with my church to Zambia. We are going to work with a children's orphanage there. The goal is use what we do for a living there but seeing how electricity isn't reliable there isn't the need for heating and cooling so I am not sure what exactly I will be doing. But I will see Africa and the impact of AIDS first hand.

Oh, and don't worry - I am still a Detroit Red Wings fan and I am not afraid to show my true colors. The two times the Wings have won the Stanley Cup are the only two times I wish I was back in Detroit.

So what's new with you?

In Over My Head?

2008-08-03T18:45:00.001-06:00

The other day I was talking to a co-worker about those situations where you find yourself in over your head. And he said I was in over my head with my next world adventure. And I wasn't sure how to respond to that because I knew that this was God's will but I did feel that I was in over my head. This weekend God showed me that I am not in over my head, I am following in obedience but I do need to focus on trusting Him that I am suppose to do this.

On October 24th I am leaving on a mission's trip with my church to Zambia (south-central Africa). A little over a year ago I decided that I would like to go to Africa and when the church announced the trip I was really excited about it. Then as the trip started to turn into a reality I got scared and wondered if this was something I was really suppose to do. Finally I couldn't come up with any reason not to go and prayed about that and when God didn't say "No" I said yes.

Since saying yes I keep hearing the importance of obedience. It showed up in daily devotions, the Bible study I am doing this summer, in church last weekend and then last night in the book I am currently reading about Moses. And I wanted to yell, "I am being obedient, I am going, what else to you want?" Then I kept reading and realized that it's not just about doing it but also about trusting Him no matter how illogical or scary it may seem. I don't believe going to Zambia is illogical, actually I think at this point in my life I think it is totally logical. But I have come up with a lot to scare me about this trip and it was the point at which the trip became real enough that I started to realize those fears that I started to pull away from the idea of the trip.

So I am going and I am not in over my head and starting to manage the fear enough to start to get excited about this. But still a little scared that I have no idea of what to expect from it.

I have also been hearing a lot about prayer lately. I wonder what that is suppose to mean? Hmm...

I have finally started...

2008-07-27T19:25:00.002-06:00

My Europe Scrapbook!

I have only been talking about starting it for about 6 months. So finally over the 4th of July weekend I officially started. Here are the 3 pages I have so far.

Inspired of course by Suzanne's (and now mine as well) crazy tradition of taking pictures of our feet.

Here are a few observations on the scrapbook so far. First, scrapbooking is far more time consuming than I remembered. Or maybe it's just it has been so long since I have worked on a scrapbook that I spent too much time agonizing over the little details. (It being being me this is entirely possible.) Also, I discovered I enjoy shopping for the stuff more than I enjoy doing it. I do enjoy scrapbooking but I really do like looking at all the stuff you can buy for them now. And my third observation, I discovered this as I started to layout my next page - I printed WAY too many pictures to possibly use. (For details see my post "An Overwhelming Task" published in January.) I knew I wouldn't use all them when I printed them but wanted to give myself options. Now I have firmly decided that I gave myself way too many options.

But now that I have completed 3 pages and used 15 pictures I am so close to done that I should start working on my next adventure. Oh wait, I actually have. But more on that later...

My Comcast Afternoon

2008-07-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

As I said in my last post concerning my Internet saga my next scheduled appointment was July 21, which was Monday. On Monday I called to make sure someone was actually going to come and I was informed that when they are scheduled to bury a cable they have 7 days to complete it. Once she said that I realized that one of the about 20 people with Comcast that I have spoken to had told me that. And she couldn't really hear me because of my sucky cell phone so there was no point in yelling at her.

So then today I decided to call and remind them they were running out time. The poor guy that answered my phone call. He first told me that it could 4-6 WEEKS because the city had to come out and mark where water, electricity and gas are. At that point I went off about how I had already been without service for a month and if it going to take that long to take care of it I should have been told that upfront. He didn't bother to read enough of my account to see that I had been without service for a month and then went back to work. So he agreed to send a "high level" tech this afternoon. This tech called my cell phone when he got to my house and it was actually the same guy as the last time and he still couldn't do anything. The big problem is that because I am in a townhouse there are 3 sidewalks between me and the cable box. He seemed annoyed that they hadn't done it yet and when he called dispatch he was told they 72 hours from the scheduled appointment to complete it. Notice this is different than the 7 days or 4-6 weeks I have been told. He told me they would be contacting me to bury the cable and to keep his cell phone number and call him if I didn't hear from them and he would harass them to do it.

At that point I was really frustrated because then I didn't even have any kind of time frame of when it would be fixed. Not that it had mattered up to this point but still I was frustrated with that idea. And I gave up on the idea that I was going to have it back in time for the Olympics so I was wondering which of my friends I could crash for 2 weeks to watch.

So I imagine my surprise when an hour and twelve minutes later I received another call from a different Comcast tech who called to tell me he had buried a new cable. I was in shock. He offered that I didn't have to come home and he could tell from his laptop that my modem had a signal. I definitely wanted to come home, I almost didn't believe him - not that I thought he was lying to me but it seemed so unbelievable. I came home and saw that I did in fact have cable and Internet service. YEAH!! What he really did was just bury it under the sidewalks and then did the hid the cable in the bushes the rest of the way. He said they would come out and finish burying it in a few weeks. I am not holding my breath but I don't really care when they come.

All three of the Comcast people I talked to today acknowledged that I had been a victim of poor customer service. Yeah, no kidding, I think I noticed that. Tomorrow I am going to call and tell them I am not paying my current bill because the dates it covers I didn't actually have service. And I am working on the cell phone issue.

And now I can move on to posting about real things without going into work to do it.

Updates on Rain and my Internet Service

2008-07-13T14:20:00.001-06:00

So first on the rain, we get three days in a row where it rained for 15-30 minutes and apparently that is our raining season. This week I heard a radio DJ say that were headed in a dry spell and we weren't going to be seeing any more rain for a while. I realize DJ's aren't really the authority on it but it made me laugh that she was implying that 3 days of a little bit rain was a wet spell.

On to my Internet and Cable woes. I still don't have any service at home so I am reduced to staying at work late and coming in on the weekend to check my email and make sure the world around Denver hasn't exploded. I am adjusting to not knowing what is going on in the world but I will would like to be able to know.

You probably don't care but here is my current situation with Comcast and my internet woes. Three separate Comcast techs have been to my house since this started - 2 this week. And the next one is scheduled to come out July 21. Tech #2 should have been able to fix it and he was scheduled to put in a new cable from the box to my house but he apparently left without doing anything (I was at work but the tech called me while I was at work with a question so I know he was there) but didn't bother to tell anyone at Comcast why he didn't or schedule any else to come out. When I got home from work and it didn't work I called Comcast and they have no idea what he did or didn't do or why he didn't fix it. So they scheduled Tech #3 and told me he should be able to figure out where the line was broken and splice it. I didn't believe this - it sounded like a line to prevent me from yelling at him. But it was a good thing I didn't believe him because he tried to find out where it was broken but no luck. So Tech #4 is scheduled to come out and do what Tech #2 was suppose to do.

So far a couple of decisions have arisen from all this. One, I love having the internet in home. I have been reminded over and over how much easier it is to find information with the internet. But I am going to be more responsible in how often I use and how much time I send on the computer. I don't need to check my email as often as I did, I am not going to self combust without it. But then going to the opposite way I have decided to join Facebook. I am really not sure when and how I came to this conclusion but I have been toying with the idea for about a year now and apparently 3+ weeks without the internet is going to throw me into it. Again, I don't know why.

But if Comcast doesn't get my TV working by the time the Olympics start (still several weeks away) they are going to start getting several nasty phone calls from me. They are already guaranteed a letter about how poor their customer service is.

Getting Older

2008-07-06T17:17:00.000-06:00

My grandmother is always telling me not to get older. And I always remind her that there is nothing we can do to stop it. Well this weekend I was reminded of why I don't I always like the effects of getting older.

On the 4th of July I was at a friend’s house for a BBQ and during the time that fireworks were going on around the city we found our way to a park close to her house. Because Chrissy lives on the west side of town we could see firework shows from all across town – including the ones from Coors field in downtown Denver after the Rockies game. (For those who don’t live in Denver and this isn’t obvious the elevation on the west side of town is higher as you get up next to the foothills so from that park you could see a over most of the Denver area.) The park had swings so we got on the swings and started swinging while watching fireworks. Initially I was reminded of Suzanne’s list of the 10 things she wants to do before she dies and one of the things on her list being running outside and playing in the rain. Swinging is something that is fun that you loved as a child and it is easy to as an adult but you rarely find yourself in a place to do it. But then after about 15 minutes I found the chains digging into my hips and it made them hurt enough to bother me and make me consider stopping. (Chrissy’s theory was that they are now just making swings smaller rather than our hips now as adults being much larger than they were when we were kids. And then I realized that was feeling a bit sick to my stomach and realized it was from swinging. Which I find very weird because I don’t suffer from motion sickness at all. Hopefully this doesn't become I new thing that start to experience.

I don’t like getting older and I don’t want to turn 30 in a few months but like I tell my grandmother we don’t have a choice so I guess I just have to deal with and hopefully with a positive attitude.

It's Raining!

2008-07-06T17:08:00.002-06:00

This weekend I have had quite a few conversations about rain and our absolute lack of it here in Denver. In fact one friend called me just to say "Look, it's raining. Hopefully it will last more than 15 minutes." And also Suz's post about playing out in the rain has made me think about how few opportunities I have had to do that this year. The last time it rained here was probably three weeks ago when it hailed for about 10 minutes and then rained for about 5 minutes. Right now it has been raining for at least 20 minutes. This is an exciting event in Denver. Those of you in Michigan, Texas or Florida can go ahead roll your eyes at me.

Technologically Deprived

2008-06-30T17:19:00.001-06:00

Do you every feel like God is laughing at you? Well, recently I have had that feeling.

Last weekend my pastor talked about giving up TV and the Internet for a month. He didn't mention it as challenge but something he had done a few months ago and he talked about some of the benefits of it. I decided to go ahead and do the TV end of it, especially since BSF ended I have found myself turning on the TV and then just not turning it off even though there is nothing worth watching on and then I end up wasting a lot of time. But I did have a stipulation ~ if there was something on that I wanted to watch I was going to watch that one show. But I decided against giving up the Internet because I thought all I really do on the Internet is read my friends blogs and recently I have become started to look at news sites pretty frequently and I thought what is the harm in that.

Apparently God had something else in mind. I got home from work Wednesday and I couldn't get an Internet signal so I turned on the TV and I got the same thing ~ nothing! So when Comcast came out to figure out the problem it turns out the cable running from the box on the side of my building to my townhouse got cut, probably by the lawn care guys. Anyway, normally they would just throw down a new cable and have someone else come out and bury it later but because I am in a townhouse they can't do that. There are 3 townhouses between me and the box and therefore 3 sidewalks and that would be a trip hazard. So Comcast is suppose to come out and place a new cable and bury on July 9. JULY 9TH! Without cable I get one channel and all I have seen on it is Matlock and Tellabuddies, not that matters but the sound is too fuzzy to actually hear anything. So now I get survive 2 weeks without any TV or Internet. All weekend I kept thinking "The whole world around Denver could blow up and I would never know it." I couldn't even check the weather. By Sunday afternoon I decided to come to work and check my email and the news sites to make sure nothing did blow up. It is bad enough that my cell phone hardly works in my house but now I have nothing else. For the functional technology I have in my home it could be the 1950's.

So now I am waiting to see what God is going to teach me through all this. Maybe just the idea that I can survive without it? We'll see. July 9th seems like a long way away still and I know at some point during the holiday weekend I will come into the office to check my email and double check that the world around Denver didn't blow up. If you hear of something you think I need to know about please call. (But be forewarned my cell phone will probably drop you ~ several times if we give it the opportunity.)

Let's Go Red Wings!

2008-06-07T17:57:00.011-06:00

So this is a little late and I considered not doing this post at all but I decided to go forward with it. To celebrate I thought I would share some of my favorite photos, quotes and tidbits of information that that I have found since they won.

So this is the traditional photo of the team on the ice with the cup. As a side note, I spent time looking for Steve in this photo and couldn't find him. I later read that he didn't think it was his place to go down on the ice after they won so he didn't. Honorable but I find it rather annoying.

Henrik Zetterberg with the Conn Symthe (given to MVP of the playoffs) during the parade. I like his use of it as a hat.

Russ and I like to joke about the Red Wings being the Swedish National Team because they have quite a few Swedish players. Here are the Swedish Red Wings (that played in the playoffs, there are actually few more who didn't play so not in this picture) with the trophies the Wings had won up to that point. So the players are (left to right) Tomas Holstrom, Andreas Lilja, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Niklas Kronwall, and Johan Franzen. And I had to do some research on this one but the trophies are (left to right) the Jennings (given to the goalie(s) who gave up the fewest goals during the regular season), the Campbell Bowl (given to Western Conference champions), Stanley, the President's Trophy (given to the team with the best record in the regular season), and the Conn Symthe (again given to the MVP of the playoffs). You really have to watch hockey to realize what an accomplishment it is to win all of these in a single season.

This picture is actually from game 4 (I think) of the finals. It freaks me out - I have nightmares about this kind of thing but I like the picture.

This is Pavel Datsyuk with the 2 trophies he won at the NHL awards on Thursday night. The one on the left is the Lady Byng (given for the most gentlemanly conduct) and the on the trophy on the right is the Selke (given to the player to the most defensive forward). He took the puck away from an opposing player 144 times during the regular season which is 82 games long. That is impressive, it is really impressive to watch do it. And again you have to really watch hockey to realize just how good he is.

When I went to the Wings-Avs game during round 2 of the play-offs it occurred to me that I haven't picked a new favorite player since Steve retired and Pavel is in currently in the lead. You don't get to hear him talk very often because he isn't very good at English. Here are a few example from the Detroit Free Press:

Datsyuk left the awards show with a good joke. Asked what he'd done the past
week, he was quick with a reply.
"I try to ask my wife because I not remember," Datsyuk said. "I remember party, but don't remember how I wake up at home."

Just as long as you didn't drive home Pavel.

And on Thursday night for the first time they gave out a new award for a lifetime achievement award in hockey - and it was given to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe. They had a great little clip on him which can be seen on the Detroit Red Wings website if you actually interested.

And lastly Chris Osgood and Nick Lidstrom were on Jay Leno last week. I thought it was pretty funny - you can watch it here if you would like to. http://ballhype.com/video/red_wings_bring_stanley_cup_on_leno/

And hockey withdrawl has already began because now there is nothing new going on and the Detroit papers have nothing to say about hockey.

Anxiety

2008-05-14T21:03:00.001-06:00

Tonight's hockey game was suppose to be the first Wings game I watched from start to finish without worrying about all the other things I should have been doing. But rather I was so anxious and nervous I couldn't sit and watch. Initially I thought there was something I was suppose to be doing that I was forgetting about but after walking around the house and making sure there wasn't anything that needed urgent attention I thought that I was just that nervous about the hockey game. But really, the Wings are up 3-0 in the series and are the better team so even if they lose this game I am not worried about them losing this series. (They have now lost the game but I am still not that worried. Maybe a little but still more confident than worried.)

I like to think and clear my head and pray while I walk so I decided go for a walk. So got up left and went for a walk (during a playoff hockey game!) and it took me about 30 seconds to realize that I am worried about a phone I received at work tomorrow which revealed a mistake I made in a job I designed. And tomorrow I will go to a meeting on the job site by myself - this will be the first time I have to go to a meeting of significance to work out a problem without my manager with me.

As I prayed through my fears of every possible situation that would end very badly I thought "Okay this isn't going to go perfectly and it maybe a total disaster but even in the worst possible scenario I won't lose my job over it and I will probably learn something from it." Then I was able to pray that I would learn and grow in my ability to handle these situations which is growth that will benefit me in my personal and professional life. So I am now much more calm than I was about an hour ago. The amazing power of prayer which I admit I overlook way to often. Another lesson to be learned.

A Hang Over

2008-05-01T21:45:00.002-06:00

I always wonder about those who drink and then complain about a hang over. I always think, "You did it to yourself." Well, I did it to myself, but I didn't have a thing to drink. I got offered a ticket to Tuesday's Wings-Avs game here in Denver. I had a blast but all day yesterday I was exhausted, had a headache and a sore throat but it was so worth it. I have never come home from a hockey game with a sore throat that lasted a full day so I must have yelled much more than usual but I felt the need to remind all the Avs fans that started out the night a little on the arrogant side that there was a Wings fan in their mist. I don't think I was mean or arrogant but just serve as a little reminder. I never said anything negative about the Avs, I just cheered my team on. Also, it was a chance to yell all the things I yell at the TV in the same "room" as the players, not that they could hear anything I said.

And now I am going to go to bed even though tonight's game still has a full 20 minutes to play. We are up 3 games to none and have a 7-1 lead in the game. The Wings have been known to blow leads but I trust them to be able finish this one off. The guy who sits next to me at work is an Avs fan, I will just assume that he's not going to talk to me tomorrow but I won't make him.

Tagged

2008-04-26T14:21:00.002-06:00

So Sabrina tagged me ~ I believe it was probably just to get me to post again after taking few months off. The task is to give 6 words that sum me up, at least for today. At first I started thinking of words that I hope I carry with me for the rest of my life but then I included a few others that I hope God will help me shed as he continues to help me grow. Or like Peter, it can be good or it bad, you just have to learn to control it. But again I will need some more help from God on that front.

Aunt
Loyal
Passionate
Awkward
Stubborn
Student

And as a bonus, for the moment I would say gleeful because for me watching the Detroit Red Wings cream the Colorado Avalanche is just a whole lot of fun, but I acknowledge it is pretty miserable for pretty much everyone else in Denver. And although the Wings are up 4-0 there is 20 minutes left for the Avs to come back and I have seen the Wings crumble before so it is always a possibility. (It is now 5-1 with 12 minutes to play with the Wings scoring a short-handed goal.)

Am I actually a girl?

2008-02-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

It appears that after almost 30 years of life I am finally starting to become like other girls. Recently I started purchasing or looking at things that are really rather girly that I have never really had any interest before. For example, I have suddenly become a girl with a lot of shoes. I used to pride myself on being a girl with only the minimum required pairs of shoes. Now there are shoes all over my house, I am constantly trying to figure where to put them so that they are out of the way. When I went to Florida for Christmas I brought 5 pairs of shoes with me because I couldn't figure out which to eliminate and then I bought 2 more pairs while I was there.

Also, I recently discovered that I do like candles, or at least I like the way they make my house smell. And then the skirts - for BSF I am required to wear a skirt (or suit pants of which I don't really have any that fit and you don't really find suit pants on clearance) so I now own quite a few skirts. In fact I now own enough skirts that I could really stop buying them but I still find myself looking at them whenever I am out clothes shopping. (So far very few of the shoes go with any of the skirts but I believe that soon the new skirts are just going to lead to more pairs of shoes.)

Then this morning a woman who goes to the same Curves I do was selling necklaces that she makes out of beads. And I actually looked at them, I even considered buying one. I have not worn any jewelry other than a watch in years and even when I did wear a necklace it was always the same one and rather plain.

I am not sure what has gotten into me lately. But don't worry I still don't like the color pink. And last night one of my friends was telling 2 of us that Target has some cute shirts with hearts on them on sale - and the thought of me going and looking at them made me sick.

Well, that makes it easier

2008-01-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

This morning I came into work to find out that my co-worker that drives me crazy quit over the weekend. I didn't really expect him to quit; based on recent behavior I thought the company may let him go but I didn't think he was going to quit. I am trying to not be too excited about this and I refrained from a doing a jig when my project manager told me this morning but I am really quite happy about it. One of my co-workers even remarked that he thought I looked more relaxed despite all the work that I have to get done.

I thought God had a lesson there for me to work through, and maybe he did, it just didn't last as long as I expected.

An Overwhelming Task

2008-01-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sitting next to me is the stack of pictures that I choose to print from my trip to Europe trip. Between the 3 of us we took a little of 2,050 pictures and I had intended to print about 25% of them. Instead I printed 803 of them, or 39%. The pictures create an 8" stack.

I don't intend to use all of them but I couldn't really narrow it down any further on the computer screen. Well, I guess I could have but I didn't bother to add up how many there were until I was done. Now as I look at this stack I find that I the idea of scrapbooking them seems overwhelming.

But I must admit it is not the most overwhelming task I am currently looking at. I have to clean up the spare bedroom which is where I will do the scrapbook and this involves re-organizing the closet in that room. It is a rather large closet and I use it for storage but I have discovered that I am currently trying to store much more stuff than I was when I first moved in 4 years ago so the current organization scheme I was using is no longer working. In doing this I am going to also re-organize my desk and the closet in the hallway. But still I can't really explain why I am more over-whelmed by the idea of an afternoon task than by a task that will probably take over a year (my joke has been 3 years).

Maybe because I am not sure when I will actually have a spare afternoon to work on the closet and the idea of a year whole of scrapbooking is much more fluid. And the obvious that scrapbooking sounds much more fun than cleaning and organizing. Also lastly, because I am no stranger to craft projects that last me years. If you don't believe me stop by sometime and I will show you a few.

A New Attitude

2008-01-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

I have heard it said that you can change your own attitude. I have always questioned that to some degree because I have never managed to have a lot of success with my own ability to do that. Or at least not things that I any real strong emotion tied to.

In the last week I have decided that there are two things that I need to change my attitude about, both concerning work. The first will be a little easier - it is my attitude towards working longer hours. I tend to get grumpy about it and make sure that all my friends around me know it when I am. This does not help me get through it and by the time whatever project that is causing the extra hours goes out the door I am pretty cranky in and outside of the office. My course of action on this is to just accept that I have to do and not think about the other things that I could be doing instead of working. And of course pray to stay positive during these times.

The second is going to be harder because it has been festering for a while. The guy who sits next to me drives me crazy. He started in April and about 4 hours after he started I wanted him to go away. Now 9 months later I still want him to go away. He also now he has issues going at home which makes him even more fun to be around. Last week they sent him home for a day, I started to think that maybe I would get my wish. After he returned I decided that I had a horrible attitude to this guy and maybe I should work on changing that. In the last few days I have managed to find some compassion for him in his current situation but I also need to find a way to have a conversation with him. In the past I have either ignored him because I tend to be argumentative with him. I have prayed for him this weekend and I also prayed that I can learn to get along with him. And now I just have to trust in God to have the Holy Spirit work through me because I do not have the strenght or power to suddenly like this guy.

My Christmas Vacation

2008-01-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

My company closes the office between Christmas and New Year's so as an adult I still have returned to a life of having a Christmas vacation. So this year for Christmas my brother and his family and I traveled to my parents home is Sarasota, Florida where we had a wonderful week. While a lot of the country, including Denver, experienced the dream of a white Christmas, I thrilled to say that it was in the high 70's on Christmas in Sarasota. In fact we went for a boat ride that included a nap.

The week included lots of reading, sleep, walks on the beach and even a swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Sunday I returned to the snow and cold of Denver and tomorrow I return to work. In some ways I am ready to return to the routine of everyday life but I am sad that it is ending. But I am grateful that I had the week off without having to take vacation time.

LEGO's

2007-12-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Growing up I always wanted Lego's but never managed to receive them so in my early adult life I went through a Lego phase where I would buy myself Lego's, specifically Star Wars Lego's. This weekend I was at the Curves I workout at and they had gift tags with a child's gender, age and something they wanted. I happened to find a 12 year-old girl that wanted Lego's. As girl who grew up wanting Lego's but never received them I was all over that.

Later in the day I found myself in the vicinity of a Lego's store and seeing how I had just agreed to buy some Lego's I went in. Maybe this was foolish, but I didn't really expect to want to buy any for myself. I did find a set of Star Wars Lego's that I wouldn't mind adding to my collection but I didn't seriously consider buying. Then after I purchased my gift on the way out a noticed an Eiffel Tower set, I am not sure how I didn't notice it before because they had one set up and it was really quite tall. I didn't like Paris nor did I really enjoy being on the Eiffel Tower (the whole fear of heights got in the way) but for some reason I found myself looking for the price. I am not really sure why there is no way that the set was in a range where I would actually pay for it.

But then one the way out I thought to myself, "This is why I need to have boys." My next thought was along the lines of terror of having a girl that actually liked girly things because I don't think I would have any idea of what to do with that. But for now, once my nephews are a little older I can buy them fun Lego sets. And now I am pondering taking apart one of my sets so that I can put it back together.

This is going to be fun, right?

2007-12-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

This week at work I was asked if I could help out with another project for a few days. I had been warned by my project manager that we had a lot going in December and I this would likely happen. But what specifically they asked me to do surprised me. Tomorrow I am flying to West Virginia as a part of a team of 4 from my company (and I am the only female on the trip). There is an existing building there that we are doing the renovation on so we have to go out there to look at what equipment and such is already there.

On Friday everyone at work kept asking me if I was excited about it. My honest answer to that is yes and no. I think it will be fun to be out of the office and go somewhere new for a few days. It will also be nice to get to know some of my coworkers better. I don't any of the other 3 going all that well. That also brings to why I am not so excited about it. I don't know these guys all that well and that is going to be a lot of time with them. Also, I look forward to flying so that I can sit and read for several hours but now I am going to be sitting next to a coworker so are they going to expect me to interact? Of course there is the wondering of how many hours we will be working - 8,10,12? And what we will do at night when we are done working? But if we survived Europe without any trauma I can survive West Virginia with a few coworkers for a couple of days, right? I am just trying to go into this with a open mind. Only time will tell...

"You look like you need a hug"

2007-11-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

I heard this twice yesterday. The second time was at BSF where one of my girlfriends said it to another one of my girlfriends, a pretty common scene at BSF so nothing unusual there. But the first time made me do a double take. I was at work where one of the male engineers said it to my project manager, another man. I don't believe I have ever heard one man utter that phrase to another - especially engineers. Maybe I am stereotyping engineers but in the year I have been there the guys in my office have not come across real touchy-feely.

And as I side note - I do feel like I need a hug right now. I just attempted to make a dessert for Thanksgiving that I had never made before and it didn't turn out at all. In the grand scheme of life it is rather small and insignificant but I am sad anyway. And now I stressing out about what to do instead - do I go back to the grocery store for the 3rd time tonight or wait till tomorrow? And then when I do go back do I just buy something pre-made or do I make something tomorrow night that I have made in the past? Hmm...

A New Google Function

2007-11-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

I come up with a new Google search function that I would like to see. I would like to search an image - I upload an image and Google come up with matching images or I guess sites with that image. The reason for this is that I have found some building that we took pictures of, particularly in Paris that I have no idea what it is.

For example, we have 12 pictures of this building in Paris and I am not sure what it is. And you think that if we bothered to take 12 pictures I might remember what it is. But apparently not.

Or an other example, again in Paris, but we only took 5 pictures of this one but again not sure what it is. If Angie or Suzanne or anyone else who has been to Paris can remember what they are please fill me in. Thanks.

Too Many Pictures?

2007-11-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I want to do a scrapbook of my Europe trip. To do this I must decide which pictures I want to use. Between Angie, Suzanne and I we have a total of approximately 2100 pictures of our trip. So deciding which pictures to use will be no easy task and time consuming but hopefully in the end it will be worth it and so far it has been fun, although tedious.

In the process of doing this I have wondered if perhaps we took a few too many pictures. For example, we were only in Salzburg, Austria for 24 hours but managed to take 530 pictures in that time (for comparison we were in Paris for 36 hours but took 360 pictures). And while I obviously can't show you 530 pictures I did find something fun that I can show you. There were many instances all 3 of us took many pictures of the same object so below is a video of a series of pictures we took. Here the object is the house that was used as the back of the house in "The Sound of Music."

Note: When I tried it I had to hit the play button twice to get it to play but it did work.

Colorado Weather

2007-10-21T09:48:00.000-06:00

So how about this for a quick change in weather? Yesterday was a beautiful day, in the low 80's, and then about 7:30 last night a cold front moved in so then this morning I wake up to an inch of snow and it is still SNOWING! Welcome to Colorado, you never know what to expect. And on occasion the weatherman may actually get it right.

I think this actually may be the earliest I have experienced snow in Denver, Mother Nature usually likes to save the first snow until Halloween. I thought I had experienced some bad weather Halloween's growing up in Michigan. It's amazing to me that generally the weather in Colorado is much nicer than Michigan but consistently year after year the weather on this one specific day of the year can be absolutely miserable.

But on the flip side I know I can look forward to a few 70 degree days in February. So this morning as I drive to church in the snow I will try to look forward to that.

"There is a cow in the parking lot"

2007-10-20T15:51:00.000-06:00

So yesterday afternoon while at work one of the owner's of the firm walks by and says "Our cow is out in the parking lot if you want to see it. Karla (his wife) brought it by to get it ready for trick-or-treating." At first I thought this was some kind of joke and I was missing something. No, there really was a cow in the parking lot.

While we are all standing there in the parking lot looking at the cow one of my coworkers says to Roger, "So is there some sort of return on this investment? Does the cow increase in value?" Actually they intend to breed her and sell the babies. I have never heard of such a thing, I mean other than people who have farms or ranches. I guess they keep her at a farm and they are hosting a trick or treating thing, hence the getting ready for trick or treating.

So yesterday I got to pet a cow at work. I didn't know cows could have that much hair. And she drools A LOT. Then last night some of my fellow BSF leaders were asking me what breed of cow she is. Tell me how a girl who grows up in the suburbs of Detroit would know the different breeds of cows.

All About Baseball

2007-10-11T21:30:00.000-06:00

Because I like hockey a lot of people assume that I watch all sports. For the most part that is not true. I do enjoy watching the Olympics and on occasion tennis or some other sport in the playoffs. But I have never really gotten into baseball, or at least not until this year. The MLB playoffs started a week ago and I watched at least a couple innings of all 4 match-ups in round 1. Why this year?

It is at least partially because the Colorado Rockies made it to the playoffs this year for the first time since 1995 and only the second time in their history. It is about all anyone in Denver is talking about and it is exciting to see this team that no one believed in succeed. But why I am watching every other series as well or why did I stay up last Saturday night to see if the Rockies would pull off the 1st round sweep? Or why I am watching the game now rather than finishing my BSF (which I know means I will be up late to get it done)? I am not sure why I am watching all this baseball but I can appreciate the ability to multi-task during a baseball game and still have a good idea of what is going on. I have tried many times during a hockey game but for the most part with hockey I am either watching it or it is on in the background. But tonight I have learned that I cannot do BSF and watch a baseball game. For whatever the reason, I am enjoying watch the Rockies this year. Who knows, maybe I will become a football fan? But don't hold your breath on that one and for now...

GO ROCKIES!!

One Year Later

2007-09-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

It was one year ago yesterday that I worked my last day at Trane having no idea what God had in mind for me, trusting him but scared out of my mind. I didn't know if my future involved real estate appraising like I had desired or engineering or something completely different. Considering what the real estate market and mortgage industry has gone through in the last few months I am very glad real estate didn't work out or my house may have been another in a long list of foreclosures.

A week ago Thursday I left work at 7:00 after 11 hours of work. I had actually expected to do 12 or 13 hours in order to get everything done. So as I walking out out of the office I laughed at the idea that I considered working 11 hours a victory. Then I pondered where I was a year ago and wondered if I considered the new job to be a victory over the old one. And you know what, I do. I may work more than I did before (which I do get cranky about sometimes) but this job rarely makes me want to pound my head against something - Trane left me feeling that way on an almost daily basis. This job challenges me in a way that challenges my skills as an engineer not in a way that challenges my personality traits. For example, my inherit desire to work on one thing for an extended length of time without interruption at Trane I was lucky if I got to go more than 20 minutes without interruption.

So I may not be where I wanted to be but obviously God what he was doing. And I don't know that I want to do this forever but I can trust God to continue to lead me where he would have me go.

A Confession

2007-09-27T21:22:00.000-06:00

I have a confession to make. The date is September 27th and I am listening to Christmas music. I have always been one of those people who lives by the rule that Christmas music is only to be enjoyed during the Christmas Season, which does not begin until Thanksgiving and ends on New Year's Day. In fact I had a college roommate who loved to listen to Christmas music all year long and it bothered me so much I took all her Christmas music and hid it until Thanksgiving. (Or did I take it after Christmas and give it back while we were moving out? I don't remember now)

I have actually been listening to this CD all year long since last Christmas. At first I justified it because I ordered shortly before Christmas last year and due to the blizzards in Denver I didn't receive it until after the holidays. Then I heard one of the songs on the radio in February or March and I thought, "Well if they can play it now then I can listen to my CD." Then tonight I tried to justify it by telling myself that there were none of the traditional Christmas songs on the CD but that is only half true. Then I moved to the fact that I am studying Matthew for BSF and we have been studying Matthew 1 and 2 so that reminds me of Christmas. But the truth of it is that I love this CD and I wanted to listen to it even though it isn't Thanksgiving yet. (For those who "need" to know it is "Do You See What I See?" by Todd Angew.)

And I have to say that I have been humored as I wrote this that I am trying to justify breaking rules that exist only in my head. And none of you would ever know about any of this except that I am bothering to tell you.

My Personality

2007-09-23T20:52:00.000-06:00

The other day I was reading on a newspaper's website and there was an editorial about this free online personality test. I find these things fun and interesting so I decided to take it. Below are the results, which are the standard results for me.

Your personality type:
Serious and quiet, interested in security and peaceful living. Extremely thorough, responsible, and dependable. Well-developed powers of concentration. Usually interested in supporting and promoting traditions and establishments. Well organized and hard working, they work steadily towards identified goals. They can usually accomplish any task once they have set their mind to it.
Careers that could fit you includes:
Business executives, administrators and managers, accountants, police, detectives, judges, lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, computer programmers, systems analysts, computer specialists, auditors, electricians, math teachers, mechanical engineers, steelworkers, technicians, (militia members).

This reminds me of when I got the results of the Myers-Briggs 2 years ago - ISTJ's make great accountants and engineers. It is interesting that this one specifically said mechanical engineers and I am a little (or a lot) frightened by the militia members. I honestly think my personality written out in this way makes me sound very boring but accurate which makes me a little sad. Anyway, I also think being a mechanical engineering sounds boring so it is amazing to me how many people recently have said "Oh cool" when I told them what I do. I never quite sure how to respond when someone says that because I am wondering if they are just being polite because how could anyone think that sounds cool.

If you are interested in taking the same test here is the link: http://www.41q.com/

The Making of the Name Tags

2007-09-09T16:49:00.000-06:00

Displayed on the right are all of my BSF name tags through the years. As a BSF discussion leader I get to make name tags for my group (or have to make them depending on how you look at it). How I look at it seems to vary depends on how things are going in the process. In the beginning I get to make them, somewhere in the middle I becomes that I have to and then in the end I get to again.

My creation for last year is the purple one on the right. My biggest dilemma was what combination of colors to use, I think at one point I had 4 name tags with the same design but different colors on my entertainment center. I don't think the women in my group paid much attention to them last year but as one of them was confronted with the possibility of making them for the staff this year she took a closer look and then complimented me on them.

This year (the red and blue one in the center) the design and colors was far more simply but the difficulty came in getting the new laptop with Vista, the existing 5 year old printer and the thicker blue paper to play nicely together. My printer doesn't like the blue paper and seems to jam every time I print on it (or it has so far) and every time I get a paper jam Vista decides it doesn't recognize the printer and I have to reload the printer software AND the printer drivers in order to print again. It took a week of emailing HP back and forth with HP to figure out the driver part of it. (And of course the older computer doesn't have the font I picked so I can't print them from that computer.) Maybe next year I can manage to make them without so much drama/trauma...

CamelBak Woes

2007-08-15T20:37:00.000-06:00

While in Europe my CamelBak started to leak water and I wasn't able to figure out the problem while we were there but it happened at least twice and I think there was a third occasion when this occurred. I am going camping and probably hiking this weekend so I pulled it out and filled it with water and I have left it in many different positions to see what the problem is or if I should just go buy a new bladder. Now that I am at home there doesn't seem to be any problem. So I see a few possibilities - one being that as soon as I take it hiking it will begin to leak again or for some reason my CamelBak doesn't like Europe and therefore refuses to work there or the third possibility that something happened but there was a miraculous healing while flying back across the ocean.

This weekend I may have an answer to the problem but if not I just may have to go back to Europe to solve the mystery.

UPDATE: The CamelBak had water in it pretty much the whole weekend and I never had a problem. So either it doesn't like Europe or there was a miraculous healing. Any volunteers on "The Whirlwind European Tour Part 2" to help solve the mystery?

Spiritual Splinching

2007-08-05T21:52:00.000-06:00

Maybe you didn't see this coming but I knew it was only a matter of time before I related Harry Potter to my spiritual journey.

Tonight I began reading "Get Out of That Pit" by Beth Moore and on the first page she says, "The laws of physics tell you that if you try to go one place without leaving another, you're in a for a pretty severe stretch." This immediately made me think of splinching in the world of Harry Potter. For those who don't read Harry splinching occurs when you attempt to disappear and immediately appear somewhere else but part of your body appears in the new location while leaving the rest of your body in the previous location. Splinching in the world of Harry occurs when you are not wholly focused on the new location.

I think this occurs in some sense spiritually for me, not that I can think of an instance where I can think of being in two places spiritually, but that I know I am stuck in some sort of pit and I want to get out but I don't allow myself to focus wholly on where I want to be which is walking along side of Christ. Some of my common reasons for remaining stuck is that I get distracted or more accurately I allow myself to get distracted. But for me I think a more common problem is that I am afraid to leave, I don't like where I am but a part of me is afraid of the unknown and I may not like my pit but I know what to expect from it. Or a second common reason for me to remain there is that I am afraid of the pain that is involved in climbing out, the rational part of me knows that it will be worth every minute of the pain to reach the other side but the rest of me needs to be thrown on the path before I will dare to walk the path.

I don't know what the book will say about getting out of the pit but I know enough to know that it won't be easy and I will still want to resist for some reason or other but if I chose to focus on Christ alone he will lift me out of pit and give me a firm place to stand.

My Own Bed

2007-08-01T20:32:00.000-06:00

This weekend my parents were in town and when they come to town I let them have my bed and I sleep in the guest bedroom where the futon isn't big enough for 2 people. Normally I don't have any problems sleeping on the futon but the whole time they were here I didn't get a single good night of sleep. They returned home yesterday and I the first time I walked into my bedroom, looked at my bed and took in the smell of my room I had a strong desire to just go to bed (which I fought by reading several chapters of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows").

At first I was very excited about the idea of getting a good nights sleep but then I remembered that my own bed actually failed me for several nights after returning from Europe. But not last night - I got a great nights sleep:) And I am looking forward to repeating it all again tonight.

Mission Accomplished! (But no spoilers)

2007-07-22T13:33:00.000-06:00

I succeed in reading all of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in a single weekend. I will definitely need to go back and reread at a slower pace to take it all in. But I enjoyed the book and some things definitely didn't play out like I expected but it was good and worth the read. (But if you have any invested in Harry how are you not going to read, regardless of my opinion?)

Friday night at the bookstore was fun - I have never been so excited and/or nervous about buying and reading a book before and I doubt I will ever be again. Gretchen I got outside the Barnes and Noble with our books and read the Table of Contents together, we stood there and excitably named chapter numbers that we thought sounded interesting or exciting or intriguing.

The one funny moment of my reading occurred when I was reading a particularly tense scene yesterday afternoon while sitting in my over sized chair next the front window when the mailman walked by. This blocked all the light from the window and scared me to death, I nearly fell out of the chair.

To not give anything away to those who have not finished, or even started yet, that is all I will say.

Number 104

2007-07-20T18:16:00.000-06:00

Tonight I will be at a bookstore at midnight to purchase my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and I will be the 104th person to purchase it at the Barnes & Noble of my prior choosing. I have never done a midnight release of any book or movie but this is the one time where it is worth it and I am really excited about it. (How much of a dork am I?)

So at about 1:00 this morning I will hold in my hands the answers to all of my questions. What does "deathly hallows" mean? Will Harry, Ron or Hermonie die? (I really hope no to all 3 of them, and I would really like Ginny to survive so that she and Harry can some day get married.) Who will die? How will Voldemort die? Is Snape good or evil? What about Draco Malfoy? And so many others.

After I purchase it and walk out of the bookstore it is up to me to read all of it. Earlier in the week I had visions of myself starting to read it in the parking lot but then thought "How am I going to drive myself home?" Obviously I can't do that because once I start I don't know that I am going to be able to stop reading. But will I really be awake enough to read when I get home? Hmm...

I have never completed a Harry Potter book in the span of a single weekend but I am going to try - I have very little planned for this weekend on purpose. I started "Half-Blood Prince on a Saturday afternoon and finished Tuesday night but I don't think I tried very hard. And I tend to be one of those people who flip towards the end to get glimpse of what is going to happen, I never flip to the last page but usually somewhere in the range of 2-3 chapters to the end where the climax is likely to occur. Hopefully I will be able to overcome this temptation because I will hate myself if I spoil it.

And it will all begin in just under 6 hours...

5 Most Interesting People

2007-07-12T18:53:00.000-06:00

Following the idea of "The Greatest Hits" we starting discussing some other lists of 5 that we could come up and I wrote a number of them on the plane ride home so here is another list. Maybe at some point if I can come up with a list that is just a list rather than a short story with each number I will combine a few but for now here are the 5 most interesting people (or actually 6 most interesting people)...

5 Most Interesting People:
My working definition of "interesting person": someone that stands out in my mind for whatever reason and I have very likely told several people the story involving this person.

Honorable Mention (because I couldn't narrow it down to 5): The Indian businessmen we met on the train from Salzburg to Munich who asked if we were students and thought our accents could be British.

5. The woman in the cafe where we ate breakfast in Paris - I remember her because she is the one nice person we came across in Paris - Suzanne didn't eat anything but got an orange juice which we were not charged for and it was fresh squeezed, the orange peels were still sitting on the bar. Not only do you not come across fresh squeezed in the States, you don't get anything for free.

4. The woman who waited on me at the Beatles Tour Museum in Liverpool - she could identify my accent as being from the Midwest and when I said I was originally from Michigan she started naming the Great Lakes. I didn't ask where she was from but her accent seemed like a combination of American and British, not really one or the other.

3. The woman who was our tour guide for The Sound of Music Tour, Nancy. She was very excited about The Sound of Music - if I did it for a living I know I would get sick and tired of it. And at one point she said she was going to stop talking to help with traffic, I assumed that she was just going to talk the bus driver through the tough spot but she got of the bus and stopped all traffic going the other way.

2. This is the story that has been told the most - we were across the street from the Cathedral of Notre Dame and I bought a crepe from a street vendor and when she handed it to me I said "thank you" the lady behind me in line hit me for saying it in English.

1. And lastly the immigration guy going into England - Angie went thought before me and then I when I stepped up he asked me if we were traveling together and of course I said yes. He then responded with "She is a governess and your an engineer?" with a look that said he didn't really think an engineer and a governess would be traveling together or maybe that we shouldn't be traveling together.

Greatest Hits

2007-07-08T18:32:00.000-06:00

One night over dinner, I believe we were in London but I can't be sure now, we were discussing Lost and based on Charlie's list of greatest hits we started listing our "greatest hits" of the trip. So here is my list of greatest hits from the trip...

Top 5 moments (or extended periods of time) of the trip:

The Sound of Music Tour - if you are ever in Salzburg I strongly recommend it, not only do you get to see a lot of places in the movie you see quite a bit of Salzburg and the surrounding countryside.

The first night we were in London - we didn't have anything planned so it almost felt like extra time and we just wandered around. We walked through St James Park and stopped and watched some birds then we walked over to Buckingham Palace and then went and ate a good dinner (something we should have done more of while traveling).

The Cathedral of Notre Dame - I didn't really enjoy Paris but this was my favorite of anything we saw in Paris and my favorite of all the cathedrals or churches that we saw.

The first time we stepped out of the subway systems in Paris and London. In Paris the first time we came out of the subway we knew we were at the stop for The Arc de Triomphe but as we came up the escalator it was right there in front of us, it was a great sight. Then in London it was similar, the first time we came out of the subway we were right next to Big Ben. I thought it was pretty remarkable that some of my first glimpse of each of these cities were of things that represent their respective cities.

Eating dinner at The Eagle and Child in Oxford - this is one of the places that CS Lewis and Tolkien used to get together and discuss what they were writing. For me it was just neat to reflect on that while eating dinner there. (I guess I will mention that the other two didn't feel well after eating there but I felt fine.)

Back Home!

2007-07-05T18:30:00.000-06:00

After 12 days in Europe I returned home yesterday. It is good to be home. It is good to sleep in my own bed and use my own shower. It is good not have to worry about whether or not I will be able to find a bathroom when I need one and what that bathroom will look like, or if I will have to pay for it. It is nice to be able to know where I will eat my next meal and be able to plan for it. I have already had my first Chipotle burrito since arriving in Denver just over 24 hours ago.

But what I don't understand is that after 12 days of missing my own bed and quilt is that once I was in my own bed (and after a 22 hour day so I was plenty tired) I didn't sleep very well. Out of 9 different hotels room and a sleeper train only twice did I wake in Europe and have no idea where I was. Last night at least 3 times I woke up and had to figure out where I was.

So wasn't so fun to go back to work, but let's face it, I have make money to be able to finish paying for it.

Oh, and I haven't said this yet but it was a great trip and I very glad that I went. Details, stories and my favorites of my 400+ photos are in the works.

The Itinerary

2007-06-22T20:03:00.000-06:00

For those of you who, like Sabrina, would like to live vicariously through Suzanne and I, I decided to post our itinerary and the highlights of what we expect to see.

Saturday June 23 - I travel from Denver to Vienna
Highlights: I meet Suzanne in Chicago where we enjoy a 2.5 hour layover and 9 hour flight together.

Sunday June 24 - We arrive in Vienna in the morning and meet Angie
Highlights: To be determined in flight by reviewing a travel guide and avoiding anything Angie does by herself on Saturday; hopefully finding one of the churches I picked out in Vienna so we can worship with other believers (in English!)

Monday June 25 - Vienna and then travel to Salzburg via train.
Highlights: We continue exploring Vienna in the morning, then my first train ride (or that I can remember anyway) and then begin exploring Salzburg

Tuesday June 26 - Salzburg (overnight train to Paris)
Highlights: Sound of Music tour followed by more exploring of Salzburg and then boarding a train to Paris where we get to enjoy the experience of bunk beds on a train (I am sure there will be pictures of this)

Wednesday June 27 - Paris
Highlights: We have haven't specifically discussed but I am sure the Eiffel Tower and other common tourist sights in Paris; finding out how rude the people in Paris really are

Thursday June 28 - Paris and Chunnel to London
Highlights: More exploring of Paris, another train ride and then I finally make it England where I have been dreaming about going for years. YEAH!!

Friday June 29 - Drive to Oxford
Highlights: We pick up the rental car and Suzanne drives us to Oxford (I am sure this will exciting in of itself); exploring Oxford and many CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Harry Potter sites, among other things

Saturday June 30 - Bath
Highlights: I am sure we will see some Jane Austen sights among other things

Sunday July 1 - Liverpool
Highlights: Stonehenge; hopefully see some moors and a Beatles Tour in Liverpool

Monday July 2 - Return to London
Highlights: In route to London we are going to stop at the Chatsworth House - used as Mr Darcy's house in the most recent version of "Pride & Prejudice"; "Merchant of Venice" at the Globe Theatre

Tuesday July 3 - London
Highlights: Exploring London including the Big Bus Tour

Wednesday July 4 - Return Home
Highlights: Suzanne and I enjoy a second international flight and return to the States and Angie stays a few more days with a friend in London

Thursday July 5 - Return to Work
Highlights: I return to work very jet-lagged and sleep deprived and in need a vacation from my vacation

What are the moments in life that make you most happy?

2007-06-22T17:53:00.000-06:00

This is the question that the DJ's on the morning radio show I listen to in the morning asked this morning. When I considered the question the first thing that came to mind was great conversation with good friends. And great conservations can be a wide range of things whether serious about the world we live in, how we relate to each other or what God is doing in our lives or not so serious such as Harry Potter, Lost, hockey or random conservations that just run all over.

Another reason to be excited for my upcoming trip - 12 days of worth of great conversation with 2 good friends.

Sometimes engineers lack common sense

2007-06-19T20:50:00.000-06:00

Here is a post that has nothing to do with Europe and actually happened a while ago (as will become obvious) but I just downloaded the pictures onto my computer tonight.

Last January I bought 2 cases of Coke and because I am lazy I left them in the trunk of my car over the weekend not considering that it was to be one of the coldest weekends of the year. I think the high temperature for the entire weekend was about 8 degrees. So needless to say the Coke froze and Coke, like ice, expands when frozen which caused several cans in each case to burst. I remember one of my middle school science teachers saying a can would burst if frozen but had never seen it, until last January that is.

Taking Photos

2007-06-16T19:54:00.000-06:00

Last night I was at a birthday party for a friend and everyone was telling me to be sure to take lots of pictures. At one point I kind of laughed at this and a friend made the comment "You would be surprised how often you think 'I don't need a need a picture of this' and I come back not really taking many pictures." My response was, "I took 24 pictures of the Statue of Liberty, I don't think is going to be my problem." In reality I think I took 17 pictures of the Statue of Liberty but I still don't think I am going to come home thinking I didn't take enough pictures. This will be one of the advantages of digital - I can take a ton of photos in the moment and then delete out all ones that don't turn out or are duplicates without ever having to develop them.

This afternoon I got another piece of advice that I should follow. My friend Chrissy said to be sure to take pictures with people in them. She said some of her favorite pictures from her trip to Ireland were ones were she took pictures of random guys wearing kilts. I do manage to get home from trips and have a ton of pictures of the sights and landscapes but no people. So my goal with be to take pictures of people, both random and my friends.

And I wonder how many pictures of our shoes will be taken and how many will remain on the cameras. Suzanne inherited this desire to take pictures of people's shoes from her father. The first time she did it I thought it was crazy but then I started doing it. The tend has passed even farther, then later my friend Lori came over was looking at the pictures on my camera and commented on the pictures of people's shoes and thought it was a little crazy. But then she proceeded to start taking pictures (with my camera) of our shoes. So the tend continues and I can't help wonder if Angie will pick it up and if I come home with pictures of shoes in every city we visit.

The Rafting Trip

2007-06-14T19:23:00.000-06:00

Today my company finally put the pictures from our rafting trip on the server. At the time this picture was taken we were going through some rapids backwards. Throughout the day my raft often found ourselves going backwards. The guy in front with his paddle up in the air rather than helping us paddle is Tom, who is one of the company owners. Later in the afternoon I yelled at him for talking and messing around when we were suppose to be paddling. I don't think I am ever going to live that down, yesterday he walked by my desk and said, "Kerri, I will try to remain quiet and stay focused."

The most exciting event of the day was when one of the newest employees at MEP and the only new guy to go on the trip fell out and ended up under the raft. He wasn't in my raft so I didn't experience the excitement first hand but it was entertaining to hear it retold. This may be true of any group of people but I loved watching the engineers recover from their panic and then recount the story. They wavered back and forth from total drama to just facts and complete lack of emotion. The guy who fell out usually seems on the end of panic in office but seemed pretty calm about the whole experience and one of the least emotional guys in the office was the guy in the raft who paniced the most. The joys of watching how your coworkers relate to real life experiences.

Encouraging Verse of the Day

2007-06-13T20:05:00.000-06:00

We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer.
(Proverbs 16:1, NLT)

I get a scripture verse emailed to everyday and this was today's and it made me stop and think more than usual. The first thing that went through my mind based on the first half of the verse was all the times I tried to make my plans but God had something very different in mind, such as my recent career change attempt. Thankfully, the thought made me laugh a little. But I also really liked the end of the verse because although if you had asked me a year ago where I wanted to be today I definitely would have had a different answer but I can rest in peace knowing that I am where I know God wants me, and it's not as bad as I would have expected. (Hey, I am going to Europe in a week and half and my plan wouldn't have allowed that.)

As I was thinking about this verse also made me stop and praise God that he is in control of life despite what I may try to do and is always working for my good.

Expectations & Preparation

2007-06-10T19:07:00.000-06:00

This weekend I have been thinking about my expectations for my upcoming trip to Europe and whether or not I am really prepared for this trip.

For instance last week I was looking at a map of Vienna and of course all the street names are in German and this made me realize that this will be my first time traveling in a country where the primary language is not English. Do I expect that we will have problems with this or do I think it will be no big deal? Now that I have been thinking about it I think it will be somewhere in the middle - not a huge problem but it will make things interesting. So am I prepared for this? I am prepared to walk into a restaurant and have the menu be in a different language? What will it be like to have most of the street chatter around me be in a different language?

What do I expect from Austria? I really don't know, I don't really know much about Vienna or Salzburg but sometimes that is more fun. I have had good luck with exploring cities I don't know anything about.

What do I expect from Paris? Really, I am not that interested in Paris so I expect nothing from Paris. So I guess for me Paris can only go up. I guess I expect the people there to be rude because that this all I have ever heard but I am really prepared for that? I don't think so but we'll find out in about two and a half weeks.

What do I expect from England? I expect it be awesome and decide that I want to move to Oxford, Liverpool or some other lovely place there. Have I prepared myself for anything other than this? No but maybe I should.

Do I expect the two friends I am doing this trip with and who have never met each other to really get along? I do. But I am prepared for the moments that they don't? Or the moments where I don't get along with one of them? I don't know that I am prepared for those moments but I should expect them because I don't know that it is possible for 3 people to travel together for 12 days and expect us to get along ALL the time. But prayer is probably a great way to start preparing - that conflict be kept to a minimum and resolved quickly and in a Christ-like manner.

I am trying to keep my expectations a minimum and be as prepared as possible but the more I think about it the harder that is going to be.

A Huge Relief

2007-06-03T19:18:00.000-06:00

I just check the status of my passport - it has been mailed and I should receive it on Wednesday! So I don't have to worry about not getting it or calling them, this is their disclaimer about calling:

"We are currently experiencing a very high volume of calls. Please expect delays if you wish to speak to a customer service representative. You may have to call several times before reaching a representative. However, please note that representatives are available from 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight, ET, Monday-Friday, except federal holidays. Representatives are also available for limited weekend hours for emergency situations in which travelers are leaving in 7 days or less. "

I have already been hung up on by some guy in India who works for Orbitz this weekend so I didn't want to have to call the passport office several times. YEAH!!!

Wireless!

2007-06-03T17:58:00.000-06:00

I got my new laptop yesterday and so of course everything I had intended to do with my Saturday got thrown out the window and the day was spent setting up the new computer (and playing with my new toy). I was a little worried about it not going well and being cut off from the Internet. But that didn't happen and I now have a secure wireless Internet network in my home. (Not that I should have worried too much since the old computer is on the network and works just as long it decides to play along.) I am far more proud of myself for this than I should be, especially since the software that came with the router did everything so it was very easy. Now I have to transfer data from the old computer to the new computer and figure out how to print but those are going to projects for later on in the week but for now I am enjoying using the Internet while watching a movie.

One Difference Between Men and Women

2007-05-31T21:35:00.000-06:00

Today one of the differences between men and women was highlighted in my office. This came in the form of the women worrying about what to wear tomorrow and the men just rolling their eyes when they overheard what we women are discussing. Tomorrow's attire is causing concern because the company is taking us white water rafting which means the problem of wearing bathing suits and of course what else to wear over the top of them to cover up. The issue is complicated by the fact that the water is currently 48 degrees so the rafting company is recommending wetsuits which of course hide nothing.

As I was just in bedroom trying to decide what to bring with me this image came to mind of the 4 women of the company standing in huddle staring at each other with the expressions of "What do we do? I don't think I want to do this." This was very humorous and ridiculous to me but somehow I will think it will occur, or at least in some part. And I find myself not wanting to care but I do. For example I had been planning on wearing shorts and one of the women said, "I know one thing, I am not wearing shorts." I have now spent the rest of the day wondering why, still haven't figured that one out but I am now questioning if I should wear shorts. So I obviously have not decided what to wear.

One last thought, at the end of one conversation about the attire issue of one the women said, "I will have to talk to the guys about coming up with a company outing that doesn't cause all this stress for the women about what to wear." My thought was, "I don't think one exists." I didn't say this out load but I believe that anything outside the office with coworkers is going to cause stress to women when deciding what to wear.

Jane Austen & Singleness

2007-05-26T10:40:00.000-06:00

I was recently talking to the woman who runs the book club at church, Kathleen, and she was retelling a conversation she had with another woman who was single and really not happy about being single. The woman asked Kathleen if she thought God had a man in mind for everyone and Kathleen responded, “No but I think Jane Austen does.” And the woman didn’t know who Jane Austen was. How sad to have never experienced “Pride & Prejudice” in any form.

And speaking of Jane Austen I have to point out that 5 weeks from today I will be visiting Bath where anybody who was anybody in a Jane Austen book visited so I guess now I could be someone in the eyes of Jane Austen.

Reflections on Romans

2007-05-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

Last Monday night was share night at BSF with the completion of the study of Romans. (For those who have never done BSF - share night is the when we stay together as one large group rather than dividing into our small groups and you have the oppertunity to share what God has taught you through the study and your personal life together.) As a leader I have to share what I learned through the study at the leaders fellowship which was last Friday night. I spent the week leading up to to the fellowship and the week following it trying to pinpoint what God has taught me through the last 9 months while doing this study. I came up with an answer for Friday night but I didn't love my answer nor did I really feel that I loved the study of Romans.

So after two weeks of contemplating I think God was trying to squish me like a bug. Or said differently - teach me humility. Let's review the last 9 months:

I tried to do a career change which failed.
I lost my job which then forced me back to the career I was trying to leave (although I must admit that I enjoy the new engineering much more than I ever thought possible).
While I enjoyed all the individual girls in my BSF group they were challenging group in that they were quiet and inconsistent.
I had to put my dog to sleep.
My bathroom flooded.
All while studying Romans.

In considering the BSF studies that I have completed and loved I could see a consistent theme in what God was teaching me. All the way through Genesis no matter the scripture I walked away with the lesson to trust in God no matter how things look (not sure how well I applied that this year). The only lesson I walked away with consistently from Romans was that I suck as person and in my walk with Christ. Even when we got past the first several chapters of Romans and Paul was trying to be encouraging I didn't really feel encouraged. Not that I wasn't encouraged by Romans 8 but not in the same proportion that I was feeling squished.

The very last question of the year was "How will you give glory to God for all He has done in history and in your won personal life this year?" And to be honest that was a really hard question for me to answer because I didn't really feel praising God for this last year. I sat on that question for days and in the end I wrote down "I don't know - I have been feeling uninspired recently" and went into leaders meeting praying I wouldn't be asked to share on that one.

So now looking forward I hope this grows into realizing that despite that I suck He still loves me and I would learn to experience the freedom I have in that love. And also see and be able to praise Him for all amazing ways He has provided for me. Some of them being my friends and family, that I do love the new job, I am going to Europe for the first time next month, I have some new friendships that will continue to grow from my group of women, etc. I am not all the way there yet but I can feel it starting to grow.

"All of our praise rises to the One is strong enough to make
you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now open book through the prophetic Scriptures... All our praise is focused through Jesus on
this comparably wise God! Yes!"
(Romans 16:25, 27, The Message)

Laptop verses Desktop

2007-05-13T21:33:00.001-06:00

Due to problems with my current computer I have decided to buy a new one. As I started looking one of the first questions I had to decide was a laptop versus a desktop. I currently have desktop and don't really image myself really carrying a laptop too far outside of my home so initially I didn't see any reason for a laptop. But recently this idea that somehow having a laptop to able use anywhere within my home would greatly enhance my life.

For example, I am sitting upstairs in my guest bedroom doing this, booking hotels for my upcoming trip to Europe, verifying the computer I want to buy, etc while the Wings are playing and therefore I can't watch the game and get all this done. So instead I have a second window open with the score that I check compulsively. (They are currently ahead 1-0 with 17 minutes left in the 3rd period.) And I believe it was last Sunday night the Wings were in overtime and I was upstairs on the Internet, the TV was on downstairs and at one point I thought I heard the announcer say someone scored so I go racing down the stairs only to find that nothing had happened (the Wings later lost). And then on Tuesday I was again working on the Europe trip and by the time I got around to turning on the game it was 4-0 Wings, which is great I just wish I could have seen some of it. Thursday I did nothing on the Europe trip so that I could watch the game.

So I think you get the point, so I have decided to buy a laptop. And I realize that is won't change my life but maybe I will be a little better about corresponding and help this blog to be a success.