Friendship...

I spent all summer as I have every summer of my college career, feeling sorry for myself that I have no friends here in Winnemucca. Last night, I realized that I do have friends here, it's just a different kind of friends.

The human resources/safety departments here at work took me out to dinner last night. I realized how much I truely like them, especially Tammy and JoEtta. No, they're not people I can hang out with regularly, partly because they have children nearly as old as me (well, Jo does. Tammy's son is 9), and partly because I don't drink, which is a huge part of the social atmosphere around here. But they have made my work time more enjoyable, they like me, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy to realize that I have had friends all long.

iPhenomenon

I get the iPod. Not a huge fan, because I think it makes people anti-social, but I have to admit, a credit card-sized devcice that will play music for me during a 14 hour drive or some other such nonsense is pretty cool. And the iPhone...ok. Cool phones make people feel special. But this? This is just absurd.

Back to School Shopping: Bag

Andrea did this a while back, and I decided I need help too. My backpack gave up the ghost after seven odd years of service, and it's about time.I don't want another backpack, and I'm getting to the point where I want/need something that can translate easily from school to professional job interview. My biggest problem is that my coat is black and all the bags I like best are brown. Maybe it's a little ocd of me to not want to mix black and brown, but if you lovelies say it's ok, I'll take the plunge. Please advise!

Ok, Option one is this funky tote. I really like the colors and detail, but I don't know if I can pull off (or would want to pull off) an orange and teal bag for everyday. And it's not so much professional. But it's 14x12x3 inches, so it should hold pretty much everything except my biggest textbooks.

So this is probably my favorite (and most expensive) of my choices. It's 15x9.5x5.5 inches, which may be a little short. Comes in three colors, black, chocolate, and this tan/brown combo, but I like this one best.

Option three also comes in three colors, this tan/coral, tan/tan, and blue/tan. Again, this is my favorite color, and is 17.5x11.75x7.25. Larger, cheaper, and younger than the previous, but do I want to look young? Well, yeah, but also "grown up", whatever that means, which I think this pulls off as well.This one is pretty and classic. It's 15x12x5. It has a detachable shoulder strap, which I like, for hauling around campus.This one is fun with the polkadots. The website doesn't give the dimensions, but it's called a "weekender" and on the model, it looks quite good sized, just right for my schedule, in fact, just about right for my heavy course load. The print won't translate as well to professional as some of the other choices. It also comes in solid black and a red/black tartan.

This one on Style Violet won't let me copy the picture, so you'll have to click the link yourself. I like it a lot, but it's kind of trendy. At 14-20z16x5, it's definitely big enough.

high school

Sandwiches and homework spread across the table, gossip, laughter, and the smell of formaldehyde in the air combined for an average, perfect lunch hour. I remember all those lunches in Mrs. Hill's biology classroom, the whole "group", before we got interested in other things, when we were still the "smart kids" from middle school. We snuck into the staff room to microwave leftovers, had molecule wars and reviewed for exams, giggled over crushes and went to the bathroom down the hall for private conversations. We shared cookies and gum, answers and questions, planned field trip escapades and parties. Looking back, it seems idyllic.

But I also remember petty arguments. Put downs disguised as friendly teasing. Cliques within the group became even more apparent as the months passed, and we eventually fell apart. Oh, we still met in the mornings before class, but by graduation, we were basically "Facebook friends" before the term or the website existed. Now we read each other's blogs, promise to call and never do, and write on walls to make ourselves feel like we're doing as we promised: To be friends forever. Even when we're old and living far away from each other.

I was challenged to write about where we ate lunch in high school...this is what came out.

My sisters and I are going on a little trip tomorrow through Friday.

We're staying here:

(Harrah's Reno)

We're going here:

(Lake Tahoe)

And we'll be doing lot's of this:

(back-to-school shopping)

Look what I just bought!

Pamela Barsky Luggage Tags from See Jane Work. Not technically a need, especially since I don't travel all that much (at least not by airplane or train or whatever), but cheeky and fun, and since my sister and I have matching suitcases, I can justify it, because we roadtrip together quite often.

BTW, See Jane Work makes me happy. I love cute school/office supplies because it means I'll enjoy using them (ie, oh, look, I get to use my pretty notebook to take notes in....in chemistry. Hooray!). They're a little more expensive than buying generic stuff at WalMart or wherever, but cute! And we're all willing to pay more for cute, right?

Things I Want to Tell You

• I got a mole removed yesterday. It's being sent in for biopsy, and hopefully it comes back benign, because it it's malignant, it could be a sign of something much more serious than skin cancer, particularly because of it's location (my right breast, a spot that has never seen the sun). Just thought you should know. I'd post a picture, but I'd rather not have a picture of my boob on my website...I'm not that kind of girl. Besides, who really wants to look at incisions and sutures? It makes sleeping difficult, because I always sleep on my stomach, and it hurts. So I'd go to sleep on my back, turn over, and wake up because of the pain. Made for a restless night, to say the least.
• I got a letter from my apartment complex yesterday, telling me which apartment I'm going to be in, and with whom. I'm in #7, which is like the pit of despair. It gets no sunlight in the front, which may make my emotional instability worse this winter. I don't know any of my roommates, so that should be interesting.
• I may or may not have a job when I go back to school in a few weeks. Hopefully I do, because I don't really have the time to find another job. My boss is unhappy with me because of my schedule, so hopefully...
• Finally, if you do this sort of thing, my cousin Jared could really use your prayers. He's had a lot of difficulties in his life, especially the last couple years, and he's trying to turn his life around, including quitting smoking and drinking, confessing some things, and making atonement for his wrongs. He's making a big step in that process today, and he's terrified. He's not sure if he can do this. So, please, pray for him, or think good thoughts, or whatever it is you do. I would really appriciate it, and I know he will too.

Sometimes, I really hate my job. Like on days when I get a lecture on not coming out on what is supposed to be my day off, when no one asked me to come to work. Or on days when they make me call all the people who are coming to the company picnic this weekend, at home, when a good 90% of them are actually here, at work. Or when they don't want me to leave early for my doctor's appointment. Or they snap at me for telling them I didn't get last week's paycheck, and tell me it's my fault (um, I turned in my time card. On time.). Or when, apparently, somehow, it's my fault that the golf tournament at the company picnic got moved to 3pm instead of 9am by the people at the golf course.

Oi. It's only 7:15...I've been here for an hour and a bit. And all this has already happened. I'm so glad I only have a couple more weeks and then I'm never coming back.

A Great Man

James E. Faust passed away early this morning at the age of 87. I don't have much to say about this, just that I will sorely miss him. President Faust was one of my favorite of the General Authorities, and I will miss his warm, loving words at next General Conference.

Official LDS Press Release on the life and death of President Faust.

The Good News Times

Between the tornado in Brooklyn, the collaped bridge in Minneapolis, the Utah mine cave-in, the horrible wreck I saw on the freeway on my way home from work, I'm ready to, as Loralie suggested in an old episode of Gilmore Girls, start a good-news-only newspaper. I know the bad news is important, and even though it's terrible and I read in horror, I would be lost without it. But still, world, can you hold off falling to bits for a day? I need some sunshine in my soul.

Question,

Is it strange that I'm mentally decorating a home/apartment that exsists only in my imagination?

A MasterCard Commercial

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Cultural Anthropology: $88.51
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The Sociological Imagination (used): $4.88
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The Poem of Cid (used): 13.76

Knowing that you might actually enjoy the semester's reading: Priceless