I've been shot!*

I was going to write "I've been hacked!" but that isn't the quote and I've seen what happens to the guessing when I change the quotes. I would have gotten guesses for movies about computers, and that's just not where it's from. So...anyway. I've been hacked! Thanks Sarah for bringing it to my attention.

My hotmail e-mail took on a mind of it's own and started to e-mail some link to everyone in the contacts list. Since I no longer use my hotmail account I had no idea it was happening. So I signed in to over 2,000 new e-mails (almost all junk, maybe four or five were from real people and those were to tell me I've been hacked). I had failure to deliver notices up the wazoo, so I could tell when an e-mail had been sent...I even got the e-mail (because apparently I had myself in my contacts list...I don't know what that was all about).

Anyway, so I composed an e-mail and just sent it to everyone in my contacts list...as I know that I actually don't know everyone in my contacts list (I don't know where they came from, but I've seen names I don't recoonize) I threw in a stranger clause at the end. Here is what I said:

Hello,

It has come to my attention that my e-mail has been sending out spam. I don't even check this e-mail so you can imagine that I am upset that it has taken on a mind of it's own. I apologize for it's delinquency. In any case I will no longer be using this e-mail address (since I haven't really been using it for over a year now anyway). If you need to contact me, or would like to get back in touch my e-mail is @gmail.com (removed to prevent further spam). If you are receiving this e-mail and don't know who I am, that's fine, I probably don't know who you are either. In that case, let's just pretend this never happened. Thanks everyone!

So, that should take care of that. ...I hope.

In other news, in an effort to go green (which usually just means - spend less money and bulk up our profit) my company has decided to give us our choice of a coffee mug or a water bottle. Being the non-coffee drinker I am I went with the water bottle (plus, I already have a mug, it's holding my discolored sweatarts). Anyway, I got my water bottle today, and the sad thing is, it's probably the highlight of my morning. I was so happy, I went and washed it and filled it up with water and while I was walking back to my desk my arms were swinging, I was smiling, and little cartoon birds and squirrels sang a happy tune.

Yup - despite the e-mail hacking life is good.

What an unexpected rainstorm.*

Reminiscent Wednesday! (Because you guys love living my glory days with me right?)
This is the story of my very first DVD player. Yes, I am old enough to have a story like this.

I was in college, in good ole' Rexburg, living at Normandy apartments. I had recently lost my car to an automobile accident (that might be a whole different story). I'm a bit foggy on the details but something tells me I was trying to get back at Tami for a lame surprise (Tami - if you remember feel free to correct me). I had told her that I had a surprise for her, more that a surprise person was coming. So she nervously hung out at my apartment waiting for our surprise guest, trying to guess who it might be. "Is it a boy or a girl?" I shrugged my shoulders (because I didn't know). Finally there was a knock at the door, I can only imagine the excitement Tami felt as I went to the door, swung it open, and there was the pizza dude. Yes - my surprise visitor was the pizza delivery person.

So we ate pizza and then we wanted to watch Shanghai Knights...my very first DVD...but there was one problem. No DVD player. I had bought the DVD because it was on sale and I figured eventually I needed to start changing over my movie collection to those, but I didn't think how you need a player to view them. Since my car was gone we got Sara to give us a ride to the Wal-Mart, I made my selection (the cheapest) and we went through the line. Sara (and I believe Cassie) were already in the car as we approached it. Sara, ever the prankster, decided that she would drive away a little bit. Tami and I, ever the ticked off type, started to walk towards our apartments. Sara drove out of the parking lot and onto the street, she stopped near us to give us a ride back but we refused, at this point our pride had really kicked in and there was no getting around it. Sara said, "Fine" and was gone. I kept telling myself, and I think also telling Tami that Sara would come back. There was no way that she would not come back and make us walk home all the way from The Wal-Mart.
...But folks, Sara didn't come back. We stayed on the main road for quite some time in case she decided to come back for us, but finally we went the back roads - less cars and it was probably quicker. Below is a map showing our travels:

A DVD box is no easy thing to carry, the thing is very awkward. I had to keep switching arms as one arm would fall asleep. Did I mention it was summertime too? So it was hot, I had an awkward bulk, and our friend

just

left

us.

We were almost home, we could see the funky brick of the back wall of Normandy Apartments. Our legs and arms were exhausted, we were thirsty and hot, and home never looked so good. We were almost home and with our eyes on our home we failed to see the sprinklers in the lawn pop up (sprinklers are indicated with blue dots on the map above). We had to act fast and run with our weary legs and arms to the safety of the other side of the lawn. We finally made it back to my apartment, exhausted, and we still had to hook up the DVD player.

But...I don't remember the details of the rest of the night. I know we kept giving Sara a hard time about it for the rest of the summer, but that is kind of where my memory cuts off. I must have suppressed them due to the trauma.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

This weekend...this weekend...hmm...let's see.

Saturday morning I slept in until close to 9 o'clock...that means I clocked in close to 9 hours of sleep! What the Amazing? It was great. I finally got up, cooked up some breakfast and then laid in bed, cause I could. I finally got up for real and took a shower and got ready for the day. I had a date at 1 o'clock and I was meeting him downtown at the Edgar Allen Poe Museum. I had been there before but I tried to play it off like I hadn't. My pride got the best of me because we couldn't go upstairs in one of the buildings because there was going to be a wedding there and the room was reserved for the wedding party. My date wondered aloud what was up there and I said, "I know!" So...then I had to say, 'yeah, I've been here before'. It's the room where the voice over reads "The Raven", and on the other side of the teeny, tiny hallway is the boyhood room (replica) of Edgar Allen Poe...where it is said that a ghost resides. I was actually grateful to be looking at the lower level without hearing that super creepy voice coming from upstairs, and the boyhood room...creeps me out a little too, so all was well with me. I did learn something new, you see, there are so many things written in the museum that if I had a little more patience I would have read it all by now, but instead, being impatient, I get to learn something new each time I go.

Edgar Allen Poe was actually a little bit of an athlete! Who would have guessed, he doesn't strike me as an athlete- I guess because he writes or something, I don't know, it's possible.

Anyway, he swam six miles in the James River, which, according to the little plaque, has never been repeated. That's impressive.

That took a total of 30 minutes, so as we were leaving the museum we decided maybe we would get ice-cream (I had already eaten lunch). Neither of us really knew what was around, I knew of the River City Diner, and that was it, so we started to walk towards the Canal Walk because I remember seeing some shops down there last time I went. We stopped though because we saw the Holocaust Museum (I have been there before too, and admitted it this time). I guess this was kind of a macabre date.

I'm all for learning about history, but the Richmond Holocaust Museum has to be one of the scariest places that I have ever been...yet I keep going back. I think because it's free, therefore the people I am with always want to go. I jumped a few times and acted like a real pansy a few others. No matter how many times I am there that place will do it to me. It's eerie and I don't expect sunshine and butterflies, but I also don't like feeling like I'm in some scary movie. I did finally go through the tunnel. See, there is a tunnel in one of the rooms to demonstrate what it was like for one Jewish family that lived several weeks underground. I cheated and used my cell phone to light the way. Once to the main part of the tunnel there is a display set up with red light and a about a dozen plastic mannequins and a German audio recording ready to go once you get to a certain point...that point happened to be as I first noticed the dozen or so plastics looking at me. I don't think I screamed, but I can't say for certain that I didn't.

I am hesitant to say that it was fun, rather, it is always a sobering experience. Especially as you get to the liberation section and you read the stories of those who survived and those who found the survivors. I held my ground though, and didn't cry, but I mentally made it a point to finally finish reading Izzy's Fire, a book I bought at the gift shop there about...5 years ago. (P.S. I have been crying while I read that book...in the privacy of my own home of course). World War II just seemed to display the worst in people. The Americans were dropping A-bombs, the Germans were committing genocide, the Japanese were doing death marches and who knows what else because to be quite honest I don't know all that much. I know about the big things that they teach you in school and they make movies about. You look at all that was wrong and then you read about the soldiers coming in and pretty much saving those people and you think of all the soldiers that died just to get the armies there and how some of those prisoners were barely hanging on, to their lives, to their faith. Many of them having already lost all that they had. I read about soldiers, nurses, resistance fighters, one woman who left her daughter at a Catholic convent while she helped with the underground, helping Jewish families escape Nazi controlled countries. The best and the worst displayed in relatively a few short years. I wonder how our history will sum us up.

I didn't mean to get deep there, I was planning to go on and on about how when I got home I slept the rest of the day and go into a silly diatribe about how I must have contracted African Sleeping Sickness. African Sleeping Sickness (I was going to reduce that to just letters but thought better of it, and quickly) Diatribe averted. Rather, I would like to thank anyone who has ever devoted their time to serving our country, who knows how many lives they have affected with their service whether directly or indirectly. Thanks for all that you do!

I can't ask him what he's doing. I'm supposed to tell him what he's doing. I ask him what he's doing and I'm gonna look like an idiot.*

My friend, Gretel, is going to try to visit all 50 states next year (the blog that will document it is HERE). She has been to 18 states so far, so likely she won't be repeating those 18. I think it is a cool goal and I support her.

Since traveling to all 50 states is on my Bucket List I am hoping to jump on the bandwagon and join her for a few. I have been to 32 states, though not all of them for extended stays (which...some of them don't require extended stays - besides, MY bucket list, MY rules...I don't have to stay long). So basically, you math whizzes out there have already concluded that I only have 18 more states to go. I am not trying to finish it by the end of 2011...but it couldn't hurt to knock out the northeast with good company right?


visited 32 states (64%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

This did however, get me to thinking about next year and all my tentative plans. At the beginning of February I will be going to California to visit this crazy girl and at the end of February I will be driving to New Mexico (not a state I've been to yet) with this one. It looks like G (for that is the name to which I refer to Gretel as) will be heading to at least Delaware and Rhode Island in April and I am begging her to let me come along. Near the end of May I might be going to New York with Amber (New Mexico girl). That just takes me through the first 6 months of the year! The cool part, I can carry over five PTO (paid time off) days from this year to next, I just have to use them in the first quarter (by April 1st)...no problem. I have been very careful with my PTO because I want to make sure that the full five days carries over. I'll use those days for California, I'll only be gone for the weekend with New Mexico, and I'll have 17 days for the rest of the year.

I'd like to go out to Utah next year too to visit with that side of the family again. I miss them and 2010 was the first year I haven't been out there since 2000. I also want to go to the Grand Canyon, so I don't want to waste Arizona on a drive through, or lay over, and I'd like to go to Mount Rushmore, then of course, find an excuse to go to Hawaii and Alaska (those may have to wait longer). Anyway, as you can tell, I've caught the bug from G. But if you want to see someone visit all those states in record time, go follow her blog, it's sure to be a good time.

I was saved by a flying wild man in a loincloth.*

I am bored (surprise, surprise) and so I have decided to give you a little Reminiscent Wednesday...it's Wednesday right *checking calendar* yes, Wednesday.

When I was 18 I moved away from home for the first time. I didn't just move out of the house, I moved 2,500 miles away! Was I sad? Did I cry? Yes. Yes. But it was the start of an adventure I didn't even know I wanted back then. I drove out with my friend Melanie in my 1993 Hyundai hatchback

Note: this is a googled image, not my actual car...but pretty darn close.

My sister and her boyfriend lead the way in her Ford Escape.

Interjection here: Unbeknownst to me at the time, 18 year old people aren't running on all cylinders, that is to say, our decision making and life preserving skills are not completely developed at 18-years old...that being said - don't judge me for stupid choices...and don't tell my mom.

Okay...so again, I drove out to Utah in that car! It's a miracle it made it, and at a few points (especially Southern Utah) I felt like the car was going to die! It had never been to the mountains before and had no clue what this elevation junk was all about. But it survived and so did we.

I was in Provo for under 48 hours when I was invited to go hiking at 2:00 in the morning...with strangers. They were cute, and there was another girl going (who had apparently also just met them), and one of their friends was coming as well, a grand total of 5. I couldn't talk Melanie into it...she was a little older, maybe her survival instincts had kicked in and she realized that I was embarking on the stupidest adventure ever...she didn't stop me though...and seeing as I am here blogging about it, that's okay-this time.

So we leave super early in the morning, which still feels later to me because my body is running two hours ahead. We drive up to Mount Timpanogos (referred to as 'the mountain' from now on). I think it is only fair to tell you that the reason we were hiking this mountain so early in the morning was to get to the top in time to see the sunrise...there, that should justify my stupidity.

*Said in creepy story teller voice* Now our story really begins. It's a tale of darkness and shadows, adversity, adventures, threatening beasts that lay in wait to destroy and finally triumph.

Before we began to hike up the mountain there was official business that had to be taken care of. It was still dark out, but we found the latrine/outhouse/whatever and took our turns. Having an already overdue water bill I not so patiently waited my turn. It was a rather spacious latrine thing and once inside I found my way to the other side and told myself I needed to go before we started the hike. One problem, I had seen an episode of X-files once where there was an alien or monster living in a porta potty, it would attack people who sat on it and insert it's spawn into them...uh...no thank you. (note: so here we see that I will go to the mountains with strangers without a second thought, but the moment I am faced with a fictitious monster from X-Files I grow timid...) Seeing as how there could be a monster in there and that even if I did have a flashlight I wouldn't be brave enough to look inside, I forewent the privilege of using the restroom before beginning the hike, and then proceeded to complain about it as we started out.

The boys said that I could use the woods but I didn't see how that was any better so I just made myself ignore it. We hiked and hiked and hiked for hours in the dark. At one point we came to a valley and we made our way across it and then we hiked some more. I saw snow, in July...that was very exciting to me because being from Virginia I was lucky if I saw snow in the winter, much less July.

I had to keep stopping though, I was physically tired and drained. I had just driven 2,500 miles across the country in three days, I wasn't used to the elevation, and I certainly wasn't used to the time change. I hadn't slept in almost 24 hours. At one point I sat on a rock (we all did) but when the group was ready to go I told them to leave me there and get me on the way back. They assured me it wasn't much further, but I wouldn't budge...I was dying. So they left me. Had I been older and wiser I would have seen another dumb decision being made, but as it was, I was just grateful to be left alone panting and holding my cramping sides.

I got bored though, not even ten minutes later, I couldn't bear the thought of just sitting there on that rock, waiting for them to come back. The strangest thing happened, I heard the words of my early morning Seminary teacher, the theme my senior year of high school was, "You can do hard things." I looked up towards the top of the mountain, it didn't feel all that close, but I realized I would always regret coming this far and not finishing the journey. So I got up, swung my little Jansport backpack over my shoulders, and followed after my group. Luckily the sun was coming up, and there was a trail, because I'm no tracker.

I had barely gotten back into the hike when I came up to a switchback in the trail that was blocked by Mountain Goats (I mentioned in the last post that there was bad blood between us). I want to point out that at this point in my life I had been around dogs and cats...some wild birds, squirrels (before I knew I hated them), an occasional bunny in my parents yard. I didn't know the protocol with Mountain Goats, their horns looked like good enough weapons, and their beady eyes threatened me as I stared up at them. "You can do hard things" I told myself, but being impaled by a goat didn't seem to land on that list. So I contemplated just crawling up the hill where the trail ended up going anyway. I tried, slid down, tried again...nothing, all the while the goats stared at me. I stood there for a moment, contemplating my fate and then I got angry. These goats were not going to stop me. I moved forward with determination and gusto. Then I timidly passed the goats hoping they didn't really notice me there.

Once passed them I continued on my journey, hoping that at each turn I would be reunited with my group. Finally, I reached the top. It was BEAUTIFUL! My group was so happy that I had decided to finish the hike. I looked out over the scene, I snapped a few pictures, got one taken with me at the top (I will try to find these pictures and post them) and I thought of that theme, "You can do hard things." In conjunction I feel the need to throw out an undeclared theme of my life, "You can do stupid things and still live to tell about them, but don't press your luck."

*Note to reader, I practically ran all the way down, straight into the latrine and used it with the blessed sunlight comforting my paranoia.

Fish are our friends.*

...Zebras are not

Zebras are greedy little buggers who will eat feed from a bucket...or Amber's shirt. We were both screaming and Amber was like, "Honk the horn! Honk the horn!" and I was screaming, "Roll up your window!" she didn't cause it was one of the only rules she remembered. Turns out another one was DON'T FEED THE ZEBRAS...oops.

Today was another day of adventuring. I went to visit Amber in Lynchburg and we drove over to the Natural Bridge.

BIG tree.

The Natural Bridge. I haven't been here since I was a kid, so it was great going there again.

Amber - her first time there.

They had a little Indian village up the trail a ways and they told us a lot of Native American history. Like how there have been women chieftains.

Mountain goats! Ah! I decided to face one of my fears today. The mountain goat. This guy jumped up on a wall and stared me down...not cool. But I gave him a Ritz cracker later.

I couldn't help myself. We didn't go to the haunted monster museum, but this sign was great.

On the way to the safari place we saw Foamhenge...a foam replica of Stonehenge. Pretty sure there isn't a plastic replica of Merlin at Stonehenge, but that's ok.

The safari is where you have a bucket of feed and you drive through this park with a bunch of wild/tame beasts...such as this one
Handsome fella.

The beasts would just come up into the middle of the road and block the way. You can see the different kinds of animals here...notice the dino (ostrich- seriously, they look like dinos with their creepy eyes and T-rex feet) back behind the zebra.
So we fed one of these things and LATER realized that they were ALSO on a list of animals to NOT feed. It was scary, we had one on each side of the car and we were screaming and honking the horn...we did that a lot it seems.

Don't let these cute guys deceive you, they are just as greedy as the zebras...but they are too short to practically climb in your window.

He was scary. He's on the do not feed list...I can imagine why anyone would feel comfortable enough to feed him from their car, but he was just standing in the middle of the road, getting close to cars and licking windows.En route we came across this dinosaur and cave woman just sitting outside of a little convenience store...being a tourist I took a picture with it.

And this is why Virginia rocks.

That's not me, that's not who I am.*

Let's talk about exciting:

I have been so focused on countdowns lately (my sister coming, Christmas, birthday, California, Bryan coming home) that I totally forgot about this countdown until today. I am excited for this book...so excited that I may go read the first two again...I have never done that before.

A little girl*

Just wanted to let everyone know that my boss had her baby! A little boy named Tyler (yes, I am aware that my post title is "a little girl" but it's the movie quote I thought of so it's the movie quote you get!)



So I went rock climbing again this weekend, we went to a different place this time, one that was all about rock climbing and had all different kinds of walls...and I feel more strongly than ever that I am scared to death of heights. I would scurry up the walls quickly and with relative ease but there would be moments when my hand didn't seem sure enough on a hold for me to move one of my legs and I would take a moment and think, "what the crap am I doing?!" But then I would change holds or find a way to have my hand more secure and then I would move my legs up and get closer to the top.

Each and every time at the top though I froze. I didn't mean to, I had every intention of being a big girl and letting go, but my legs didn't want to hang free and my hands seemed to tighten around whatever hold I had been holding. Jordan and Amber were with me and I could hear them from the depths below, "Let go of the the wall, Jessica!" I feel like if they could have shaken me from the wall with the rope that attached me to them they would have.

Right before I went up the last wall Jordan asked if I was really scared of heights. I told him that I think I might be because I get so scared and despite my intentions to let go of the wall so I can come down I keep wondering if I can get away with crawling back down. He told me that on the next wall I should look around when I am at the top, orient myself to it or something, and then do that as I go down the wall.

...So I tried that, yeah, no bueno...I think it made it worse. The last wall I did was the highest one (I don't know if it was the highest one there or the highest one I did). When I reached the top I tried Jordan's advice and looked around me...I saw the top of the last wall I climbed, and I don't mean the top as though the walls were equal in height, I mean the top where the dust collects and no one ever goes to because it's the flat top of the structure. I could hear Amber below telling me to let go of the wall and simultaneously I could see my knuckles turning white as I held on tighter. Breathe Jessica, just let go. I let my legs go, they dangled there but my hands wouldn't move. Finally, after Amber called out a few more times and I'm certain people were beginning to wonder if we had an emergency on our hands (a code yellow - as in chicken - as in, don't call me chicken* (ok not as in don't call me chicken but I wanted to throw that quote in there too)) I let my hands go and Amber began to bring me down. My hands, acting on their own volition would randomly reach out and hold on to the closest hold, then Amber would repeat for me to let go and I would for a second or two. Then I decided it was best to close my eyes, without the eyes cooperation the hands couldn't act on their own, they wouldn't know where to go. I made it to the bottom safely, happy about getting to the top of this wall, sad that I am a pansy.

You did it, buddy, you kicked water's butt!*

The Well people finally came (yay!). Two weeks of mineral filled sulfur water really makes you appreciate the days that the water smelled good and didn't cut your cornea (true story - well, almost true, but I got a dirt speck or something in my eye and it hurt pretty badly).

So here's the 4-1-1 from my hero - Dad.

First things first...I will now have to be careful with the hot water from now on. It's not the minerals, it's not the well, it's not the sulfuric smell that makes you want to upchuck (yes, I just said upchuck like we're in the 90's) it's because today my dad is turning up the hot water heater. Apparently it was set to the 'young children and elderly' setting (and they are allowed to smell like sulfur) and the well guy said that the sulfur smell isn't coming from the well but rather the hot water heater reacting with the minerals. He said that if we turn up the hot water heater the sulfur smell should go away in a few days (I intend to go run a bunch of hot water to speed this process up). The well guy told Dad that if you put water into a cup it smells like sulfur for a bit and then dissipates and is good...I said to Dad, "Tell him to tell me that when he is washing his face with the stuff." True story.

Anyway. So they say that I have plenty of water in my well, there was a decrepit piece on the pump which they replaced. They said something about it being like a hose without that piece working properly so that it was pushing up sand and such into the water which was getting past the filtration system and causing the water pressure to be lax. So that should fix the mineral deposits in the water, the water heater should fix the smell, and now my dad is looking for the company to services the filtration system (because apparently I have one of those snotty ones that require the original installer to come and doctor it) so that our water can be the best that it can be.

I am happy - I'll be happier once I know that the filtration system has been taken care of, but one step at a time.

Let's Hear It For The Boy.*

Last night I was driving home from work in the rush hour traffic and I decided to stop while the light was yellow. On a typical day I would go through, being one of the last to make it through the light and then feel guilty about it because I hate when people do that. But last night I didn't do this. Plus, it's nice to be the first car, you aren't stuck behind anyone and you are just enjoying the music as you drive along. I'm glad I did that.

So I was sitting there barely paying attention to the cars rushing past us across Staples Mill Road when all of a suddenly these two guys come walking across my view pushing an orange VW Bug.

Sadly for the driver my first thought wasn't, "Oh that sucks for him" but rather I smiled...That just doesn't happen everyday. It was good to see that the woman in the turning lane next to me was smiling too. Everyone waiting at our light seemed to patiently watch them creep by, and then they were done and I was left with a view of a line of cars backed up, blocking the intersection. But no one looked frustrated, no one honked horns...it was strangely serene.

A few seconds later and the guy who had been closest to me, pushing the Bug ran back across headed in the other direction with a smile on his face. This was the first time that I had looked left, and saw a car blocking the lane, other cars moving around it. I watched as he ran to this car blocking traffic with it's hazard lights on and got inside. He took the hazards off just as the light turned red. I looked to the right and saw the man with the orange Bug sitting safely in the parking lot of the corner gas station. I smiled wider, the one man wasn't the passenger in the orange Bug, he was just a good Samaritan, helping out a fellow commuter. I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the stranger man who did a good deed yesterday and lightened somebody's load (literally). May we all have a little more courage when we see someone in need, whether it's pushing their car to the gas station or going up and talking to someone who looks like they feel out of place.