Goodbye, 20-something

In the series about Ender by Orson Scott Card there is a book called Speaker for the Dead. The point of the Speaker for the Dead is to speak the truth about someone's life. To reveal the good, and the bad. Often we gloss over the bad spots, the trials, and just say we had a great life. Well, my 20's were good and bad, high and low. So here is my Speaker for the Dead.

20: Raleigh Temple open house, moved into an apartment, got robbed, moved again, had the biggest snow storm ever, lived with Iguana girl and had the Iguana jump on me, started as a co-op at IBM.


21: Saw BNL with my sibs and BFF, lived with my BFF, had the best halloween ever, went on job interviews to exotic locations like NYC and Austin, got engaged, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (Go TarHeels!), got a full-time job at IBM, the project got cut after two weeks, and switched to another job at IBM, got married, moved into MSH (before the nice remodel), and worked in the nursery.


22: Got promoted at IBM, moved to the ghetto at NCSU, got called as the YW Camp Director and had a great time working in YW with my mom and sister, went to Utah for christmas, visited my BFF in honduras where she was working in the peace corps, and got robbed at machete point.


23: Got robbed, again. Rode the bus to work. Changed jobs at IBM because the project went away. Escorted another BFF through the temple, and went with my sister to the temple before she left on her mission to Italy. Went to another BFF's wedding. Finally went to an official girls camp as the director, and was very glad my mom and sister were there. Joined an orchestra.


24: Finally bought a second car, but it has no automatic anything. Bought a house in what was essentially the ghetto. Saw Les Mis, went to my BFF's wedding, and took a train to visit Charlotte.


25: Changed jobs at IBM because the project went away. Went to Boston for work, and flew home in time to see Transiberian Orchestra. Went to Mexico after christmas and climbed the pyramids. Separated from my husband. Moved into an apartment that was not in the ghetto. Saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Taught 5 year olds in Primary.



26: Got divorced. Took my sisters to see Transiberian Orchestra, and some plays (South Pacific and Wizard of Oz and Grease run in my mind, but I may be mixing up years). Taught 11 year old girls in Primary (much easier than the 5 year olds).

27: Bought a lovely townhouse. Changed jobs again at IBM because I was tired of being a tester. First time I ever proactively changed jobs. Took my sisters to see Stomp. Went to Anaheim California for work, and added a vacation to see the whales and SoCal. Helped my sister move out to Boone for grad school, and then went to visit several times over the next few years. It is a great town.



28: Promoted at IBM. Took my family to see Wicked. It was totally awesome. Drove to visit my grandparents in Nauvoo and got to see the Temple. Drove to Chicago for Labor Day with my sisters. Did a report on slavery in Charleston for a class, and got to spend Spring Break there doing research. Went skiing for the first time in Boone.



29: Spent my birthday in St Louis for work, but also on the weekends got to see my sister in her new job in Missouri. My BFF moved in, and we did the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Drove to NYC and Boston for Spring Break, and saw A Blithe Spirit, Phantom and Mama Mia on Broadway. Also got to visit with another BFF and her family in PA which is where they got new jobs. Worked the 2-day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Chief Programmer at IBM. Saw Coldplay and U2 in concert with friends. Visited my sister in Missouri, and saw Legally Blonde, and her brand new house. Had a totally awesome time eating my way through Provo with my sister. Did a triathlon with my mom and sister. Went to San Jose Cali with my two BFFs for a girls single weekend (yea, imagine that "All the Single Ladies" song). Wrapped it up with a camping trip to the mountains with friends.



If I missed anything you remember, post comments :)

What I can say was great about my 20s was my family, my friends, the ones that were there in the beginning, and the ones I met along the way, and the fantastic trips that were made possible by my job.

A few weeks ago, I asked for ideas on what to do for 30. I decided I would take the GRE. Wish me luck, I take it on Nov 6. Hello, 30!

Gravity

Today was a very full meeting day, from 10:30 - 5:30 straight. But my noon meeting ended early, so I quickly went to the break room to warm up my lunch. I had a microwave pot pie, where you open one end and leave it in the box with a crisping top. Ding. I lifted the pot pie out of the microwave, with the open end facing me..... and watched the pot pie slide out of the other end and splatter all over the floor. Typical Monday.

Don't you know how to drive this thing

It feels like yesterday that I went to the DMV to renew my license because I was turning 25 years old and it was going to expire. It was a terrible picture because it ended up being a really big head shot. And I looked at the license, and thought, geez, the next time I renew it will be 2009 and I will be 30! That is SOOOOO OOOLLLLLDDDDDD. (Said the way Lindsey Lohan says it in Freaky Friday)

Fast forward 5 years, and here I am, once again needing to renew my license. I guess this means that I think I am old.
The state has changed the laws. Now you go in and get a piece of paper for 20 days while they mail you your license. Apparently mailing a license reduces fraud? I know drivers license pictures are not the end of the world, but........ I really wanted something that was at least a more normal proportioned head. So I did my hair and went to the DMV expecting to be waiting forever. Amazingly on a Friday they were completely empty. I didn't even have time to review the signs they quiz you on. Whew! I only got one wrong. At least I still know how to drive. And then I realized I had forgotten to put on lipstick. No time! They were ready for me to take my picture. And then I wanted to see it, to make sure it wasn't another big head.... Nope! That might cause fraud.
So I had to sit and wait and wait for the license to come in the mail. It has arrived, and I can say with a sigh of relief I do not have a huge big head on my license. Apparently the DMV has taken pity on me for being old and gave me a half-decent picture. As an aside, the next time I need to renew my license will be in 2017....... yikes!

Weekend Warrior

I feel like my blogs have become just about what I did on the weekend. But the weeks seem to be the same.... so I guess I am living for the weekends right now :)

So this weekend was another packed and exciting one.

First, I gotta whole lotta happy! I love seeing the crafts and the food competitions, especially the cakes. I just gotta say that the deep fried snickers was disgusting. I guess I am not a fan of deep fried things. But the corn on the cob and turkey was good.


In the awkward moments list, riding the Ferris Wheel with my boyfriend, a girl from my ward and the two kids she nanny's ranks right up there. So the girl was like, I will cover the kids eyes so you can kiss at the top. I am not a fan of public PDA, so I said no thanks, but it just felt awkward.



Then my BFFs and I went to Mama Dips in Chapel Hill for lunch. They had never had hush puppies, and were skeptical about NC barbeque. Well, Mama Dip set them right. They now love hushpuppies and vinegar barbeque!



I also had an Orchestra Concert. It was a completely packed house, so my mom and sister had to sit in the hallway. It was a children's concert, so we played fun songs that sounded like animals, and the William Tell Overture. William Tell is so energetic, I love playing it.

After the concert, I had dinner back at my place. I made my special chicken chili, and served Mama Dips corn bread. It was the most amazing corn bread I have ever eaten! I totally recommend Mama Dips mix.

All in all, a fabulous weekend.

The walnut doesn't fall far from the family tree

My family was sitting around the kitchen table, basking in the sunlight that streamed through the large windows. Outside it was a gorgeous fall day in North Carolina, 75 degrees and beautiful. My grandparents were visiting and sharing stories. My grandmother told us how one of her siblings was engaged to be married to a man before he went on his mission. "We don't do that anymore". Mom told us when Dad first met her parents, he threw a snow ball down Grandma's neck. Then as they were driving out of the canyon, he got out of the car and picked some wild flowers. Grandma said her mother kept a meticulous diary, so whenever she would tell a story that Great-Grandpa didn't remember, she would say, I'll go get my diary. So Grandma inherited these diaries, and looked up the day she got engaged. Nothing. Apparently it wasn't memorable to her mother. Mom said she and Dad had gone to her parents house to tell them of their intention to get married, but that Grandpa kept getting up from the table. Finally they were able to share the news, and then Mom's brother came in, so Grandma said, Your sister has decided to increase our family, and Mom's brother said, "Oh, she's adopting from the Indian Welfare program?". Grandpa and Dad sat through the series of stories saying they didn't remember anything, and how could any of it possibly be true. Mom then told about Grandpa's sister driving to meet a return missionary, and passing out on the road, and when he got off the plane, he said, How you been kid, and punched her in the arm, she knew she would marry him. Grandpa didn't remember this story, and said anything from his sister was exaggerated, so then to have Mom tell it, means it was twice as exaggerated, so my sister said the only thing we could be certain of is this guy got off a plane.

I enjoyed hosting my grandparents and sisters one evening so they could see the new paint job and the big tv. The best part to me was my grandparents being very excited to watch baseball in HD, and my sisters sitting over in one of my big recliners, giggling and whispering because baseball does not interest them.

We also got to go to a Civil War site and see some rifles being fired, and tents, and ride in a buggy. We are all very glad that we have better accommodations today when doing things like Girls Camp.

And what family visit would be complete without food? Mom went all out because we had two birthdays to celebrate. First, there was salmon with a wonderful coating of seasonings, a fruit basket, mashed sweet potatoes. My sister made a beautiful and delicious cheesecake. Then we got to eat pasta with seasoned bread and more fruit, followed by cinnamon rolls.

Besty Day Ever!

One of these was delivered to me today at work. It smells even better than it looks. For several months, I helped a team in Toronto with our installer. This included twice daily meetings, making sure their defects got high priority, etc. Halfway through, the person I had been working with quit the company, and I got to work with a lovely lady who was much more enjoyable. Apparently she appreciated my work, because she sent me chocolate covered fruit. I am blown away by this gesture. At work we can receive 3 Thanks awards a year, and usually when you already have gotten your quota, people just send you a note: I would have given you a thanks award, but you are at your limit. Which is nice, but chocolate covered fruit is just amazing! And suddenly, a dreary, rainy work week is infinitely better.

5200 weekends....

When I was in college I had a roommate who counted life in weekends. She would say, only two weekends until fall break, or some other milestone. It sure made the school year fly by, but it also made us think about what we had going on for the weekend.
When I started at my job, a mentor told me that you get a maximum of 5200 weekends, if you live to be 100, so then if you throw away all the ones that you couldn't walk or talk for, and the fact that you really won't live to be 100, you might have 4000 weekends. So you should make them count.
This weekend was packed with activities.

Friday

IBM has a mentoring program at NCSU, and my boss asked me if I wanted to be one of the mentors. So Friday was the first meeting where we get introduced to our student. They started the meeting with a get to know you game. People kept asking me what my major was. I would say, I am a Chief Programmer at IBM, I am not a student, I am a mentor. They would look at me in disbelief and walk away. I finally found my student, and she looked at me in disbelief. Part of me wanted to be wearing a badge that said: "Yes, I am turning 30 this month, and I really am the Chief Programmer" :)
This reminds me of another story. I was working at Wal-Mart after I graduated high school. I was sitting in the break room eating lunch and a woman walks in. She says, you can't be back here. I say, excuse me? She says, where is your mother? I said... I work here. She says, no you don't, you can't be older than 12. I said, I am almost 18, and I do work here. She really didn't believe me.
People have always told me I will be grateful some day for looking young. I can tell you, at work functions, I am never grateful I look young. It makes it really hard to be taken seriously. I am sure in other parts of my life it is good. But not at work.

Friday night a group of friends went to the corn maze. This is the one I used to run by during my triathlon training. It was a lot of fun, and I was pleased with the turnout.  You had to find stations and get a stamp throughout the maze.  After the corn maze, we all headed down to Goodberry's because some people were new to North Carolina and had never had Concrete. Yum. I remember when we first moved here, we went to Goodberry's and they hand you the concrete upside down, spoon stuck in it, and it doesn't fall out of the bowl.  Amazing!  And then everyone was like, wow, only 10 PM, now what?! And I was thinking... uh.... bedtime. But we went to a movie, The Invention of Lying. It was entertaining. However, as Saturday morning rolled around a bit too early, I realized that I am getting too old to stay out until midnight every night of the weekend!

Saturday

Saturday morning was a bridal shower for a friend. It was fun to go and chat with people, and the food was good. Then the sessions of conference, which were wonderful. It was a typical North Carolina fall day, gorgeously sunny skies and 75 degrees. I got to eat lunch outside in between sessions. Immediately following the session, some friends and I went to the U2 concert. My friends are amazed at my knowledge of backroads, and my ability to avoid huge traffic jams. We arrived at the concert right before 7, which is when it was scheduled to start. Of course, it started a bit late, but that was perfect. Carter Finley was an outdoor venue, and the weather could not have been better. The stage was huge and was described by Bono as a space ship. It had a screen that moved and expanded, fog machines, lights, and a disco ball. It was a great show.

Sunday

Sunday started out with pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, which were very tasty. Then I enjoyed conference again, and my boyfriend met my parents and sister over dinner. Mom always makes a good Sunday dinner, and this time she made apple crisp, which was fantastic. Mom tasted all the apples in the farmers market to find the perfect ones, and they were great. Every time I go to Mom's house, and she shares food from the farmers market, I think... gosh, I should head out to the farmers market!!! It is too bad that my mom's house is not on my way to work this morning, otherwise I would have grabbed another piece for breakfast. I think I am too used to having daylight savings time on Conference Weekend, because by 7:30 I was ready for bed! Or it could be too much partying going on.