Recapture Lake

Today I got paid to drive.

It was a perfect driving day, too. The weather was perfect so that I was not lamenting the fact that I didn't have an air conditioner (except for once) and the sun was shining.

My quest was to get the proposals that we have been working tirelessly on for the last several days down to the San Juan School District in Blanding, Utah.

I was most concerned about my car making it.... Louise has been a bit touchy lately, and it would have been a real shame to be in the middle of the desert with no cell service and to have the engine blow (which has happened) or the brakes to go out (which has happened) or... any number of things. But she was a champ! And I had no problems whatsoever.

I had to be there before the office closed, so I put the pedal to the metal and drove as safely as I could, making a single stop where I purchased a book on CD. Since there is no radio in the middle of nowhere, and I only had a single CD in my car, this was a MUST -- even if it was terrible.

When I hit Monticello, about 20 minutes from where I needed to be, I started panicking because it was about 10 minutes until the supposed closing time. I started planning on what I would do if I needed to get a hotel room and how I would work that out.

I didn't have too much trouble finding the portable trailer that serves as the grounds and buildings office, and the guys in it only gave me a little bit of a hard time. But once the proposals were in the right hands, I headed out looking for adventure. And that really pretty reservoir I saw on my way in.

I stopped at the Blanding museum, which didn't have much to offer. Though, there were a few books that I wanted to buy (but considering that I have purchased too many books in the past two weeks, I have been banned! from buying any more for a while) but practiced self-restraint, thanked the attendant, and headed out.

Recapture Lake/Reservoir was a stunning shade of cerulean blue when I passed it. Unfortunately, that was because the water was tinted by my sunglasses -- it was not actually that color. Fortunately, it was still beautiful. I drove a path that headed to the "recreation area" to see where it would take me, and found myself the sole person on that side of the lake. I parked Louise, and stood outside, relishing the tranquility of the area. Then I drove down to the dock area, and found a peaceful little "beachy" area.

It was so picturesque. And so breathtaking. And I thought, "What a perfect, tranquil place to read my scriptures. If only I had th--..." And then I noticed that my church bag was sitting there, and I did in fact have my scriptures. Providence? Maybe. But probably just laziness, since they've obviously been in my car since Sunday.

So, in order to not make myself a hypocrite to myself (and to God) I pulled them out, and did a little reading. And it was a perfect place to read scriptures. The wind was blowing just a little bit to rustle through the brush and trees. The water gently lapped against the rocks. It was only slightly ruined by the bugs that kept buzzing around.

I enjoyed the area for about an hour, and then decided to hop back on the road so that it wasn't midnight by the time I got back. The sunset was gorgeous. Seriously. And I would know, seeing as how I was driving directly into the flaming orb for a good part of the drive.

Once the sun had set, and it was fully dark, I entered the canyon near Price, and that was where I realized, driving is rather stressful when you know that all the shrubs and fence posts are laying in wait to spring out at you disguised as a deer and you can barely see the faint lines on the road as the bright lights on the opposite side blind the dickens out of you.

But really, Utah is a beautiful state. There are so much diversity in the landforms, vegetation and even climate. I've been to Moab before, and I can't believe how different it is from Bryce Canyon, which is completely the opposite of Cache forest. It's all so breathtaking in different ways. I actually really liked driving down near Blanding, which I have never done before. It even looked different than anywhere else I've been in Utah.

But I will admit, even with how awesome it all looks -- I do wonder what the first settlers really thought when they decided to put in stakes. "Here? Really? Are you sure?" Because, that would have been my reaction.

Junk Faxes That Bite Back

I get junk faxes at least once a day. The machine buzzes and beeps and churns out page after page of "Discount Cruise Prices" and "Sell Your Ancient Cell Phones" and "Exciting New Small Business Finance!" (That one just spewed out of the old machine as I was typing.) It's gotten a lot better since I put the fax number on the donotcall.gov list, but I haven't been able to eliminate everything.

So last week when a product specification sheet came through addressed to "Kelly" and did not mention a related project or give specific directions as to who I should direct the information, I tossed it in to the recycling bin.

Fast forward to today and some guy calls and asks for "Kelly" to which I tell him that there is no one in our office by that name. Irritably he says, "Well, I don't know why they would tell me that!" I kind of stared at the phone, surprised by how upset he seemed to be. "Well, is there an office manager that I can talk to?"

"Well, yeah. That's me. Somebody probably got confused, because my name is Shelli."

Oh. He was placated for just a minute and went on and on about how great his product is. As if I know anything about it.... as if I have any say as to whether or not his product gets used.

"I sent you a fax..." Oh! It was that guy. The guy who had the presumption to send me a fax and think that I cared about his product enough to look and read through the specifications of it and what it does.

I was honest with him. I am not the person he needs to talk to. The person he does need to talk to is not here today. "Can you send me some information that I can pass on to Kevin?"

Oops. I should have known that he would be all riled up about the fact that he had sent me information in that fax. "The information isn't going to be any different than that fax," he snipped at me.

"Well," I said. "To be honest, that fax headed straight to the recycle bin when I received it."

"WHY would you do that?!" He growled, in not so many words.

"First, the fax was addressed to 'Kelly'," I reminded him. "Second, it didn't reference a project, so I couldn't send it to a project manager. I didn't know what to do with it. So I put it into the recycle bucket." Not only that, but he didn't include any other contact information other than the return fax number. So I couldn't even question him as to what it was supposed to be.

The guy's attitude put me on the defensive and really irritated me. I had asked him if he would email me the information he wanted me to pass on to Kevin, and he later asked me "which method I preferred to get that information." BY EMAIL! I wanted to shout at him, but instead I just gave him my email address and told him not to fax me anymore.

And then when I hung up, I called him a nasty name. Because really, the little turd deserved it.

Coco

I've read bits and pieces of this whole controversy with Late Night and Coco vs. Leno throughout the last few weeks, but since I don't watch late night TV (or I do, just not these shows) often, I didn't really know everything. I've never been a Leno fan - especially after attempting to watch his horrible earlier show. The only thing I've ever liked from him were those clips from the newspapers...and really, isn't it the newspaper that was funny, not Leno?

Anyway, I've always like Conan O'Brien more. I think he is funnier. I like his sense of humor. And now I like him even more as we see how much of a humble - just over all good guy he is. (I've embedded a video below here... you'll probably have to go to my ACTUAL blog to see it. Click here to do that.)



In other news, I work across the street from a bakery and just watched a really fat man help his really fat wife get into their car after sharing a few doughnuts - or a dozen. Who says chivalry isn't dead?

We'll Kimbo Slice Him

When I began working at KMA I knew that I was going to be working with all guys. It was exciting to think about and so far I have not regretted my decision. Mainly because working with these guys is like working with a gang of comedians. [Do comedians run in gangs? packs? flocks?]

For instance: I went upstairs and they were talking about a guy that is currently sporting a mountain man beard and came to talk to Steven. Thad, the mountain man, has a distinct voice and also a crazy family (brother named Star that has Thong Tuesdays and then shows everyone, lesbian sister that has a...ah, interesting object hanging from her pocket the family photo that is now showcased on the family business van, etc.) so the topic turned to Thong Tuesday and the guy they knew that went commando. Steven was telling us that guys need always have a four-layer barrier between them. Pants, unders and if they can, they should tuck in their shirts as well.

I was not in the best of moods, due to the fact that I have been seriously neglecting my need for sleep for at least two weeks now, and Wes told me that I needed to go to bed at 9 p.m. and not get back out. And if I didn't, my only other option was to pack up my house. He's obviously picked up on the fact that I need a little bit of pushing when it comes to my personal life.

The topic turned to dating - mostly because of posts that were previously written that caused some controversy which I told the guys. They were asking whether or not it was directed to a single person or just men in general. I told them it was in general and Steven was like, "Well, you let us know. If you need us to pay a visit to some guy..." I loved it! They were totally offering to be my champions. I imagine what this would be like if I had older brothers. "If you ever need us, we'll kimbo slice him!" Steven added. I didn't know what Kimbo Slicing was, but it sounds pretty painful, so I am glad that I have that option. [I later learned that Kimbo is a MMA guy?]

We were talking about how guys don't seem to be asking girls out on dates. They all think they were immune to this because they are all married - so they limit my bashing on Mormon guys to just BYU guys. Then they asked about a certain guy and if I'd heard from him or anything to which I said no. And then they offered to go to his house and "50's gangster" him into asking me out. Or to give them his phone number so they could harass him.

I think I'll try things my way first, and then maybe I will take them up on their offer. :)

Material Girl

It's always the things that we can't have that dominate our thoughts the most.

This is probably the reason I like to read "romance" novels; why I crave chocs and sveets and FOOD every time I think about dieting; and why, oh why, I want to just spend money like crazy ever since I lost my job.

I am lucky I don't have to work right now. This semester I have enough money from a loan that will pay for all my expenses, as long as I keep it closely budgeted and do not spend money on excess or luxury items. Crap.

As soon as I start working again, I am going to go on a shopping spree. And this is what I am going to buy:

1. A trip. I want to get on a plane and go somewhere. Maybe California. Maybe somewhere East. I don't care where - I just want out of Utah.
2. Shoes. Oh, shoes! I need shoes. I want to waterproof my boots. I want to buy a cute pair of black, pointy-toed flats. I want some cute heels that are totally impractical. I want goulashes.
   
3. Clothes. I need clothes, too. I need jeans. I need shirts. I need... I can't have. But I am not going to be worrying about the price when I go shopping. If I want to spend $245 on a cute dress, maybe I'll actually do it... I don't think I could spend that much on a dress. But still. I want to go shopping for clothes and not worry about how much I am paying.
   
4. A camera! Two camera. An SLR and a regular digital camera. Mine is broken and it is very sad.
5. MUSIC! I want to go onto a website and download a bunch of music, legally. But that costs money. I will wait.
6. Books. I could spend a lot of money on books. I already spend more than I should. I would spend more if I could.
7. Pedicures. Heaven on earth, need I say more?
8. New kitchen stuff. In the past weeks I've lost a cake decorating tip, a can opener, and a beer glass. My pots are ruined, and we eat Teflon-peppered food on a regular basis. I would love to change this.
9. A gym membership. Yes, that's right. And one that I would use too.
10. Furniture. Like a bed frame. And a dresser. A side table and a lamp. Oh the possibilities of making my new room CUTE! I don't want plastic furniture anymore.

*Sigh.* Someday. Someday soon I will be able to have a little bit of extra cash. But until then, keep me out of the stores!