Little Black Dress

Yesterday Cherie and I went to the University of Utah School of Pharmacy Gala. All of the proceeds went to the Maliheh Free Clinic that we volunteer at.

This is Greg, one of the main nurses at the clinic. This man saves many lives.

View from the top. We were on the 4th floor above Rice Eccles Stadium. Our views out either window were incredible - the mountains on one side, the city on the other.

These are just a couple pictures we took at our table after we finished eating. We felt a little bit like traitors at the U stadium in our black and red, but all in all it was a very good experience. The food was good, the company was good, and it all benefited a good cause. I am so glad that I get to be a part of such a great organization as the Maliheh Free Clinic.

i heart hole in the wall

I love, love, LOVE hole in the wall places.

For proof of this, there is a whiteboard in my apartment with all the little random restaurants that my roommate and I want to try. We do try these places out on a semi-regular basis.

The other day I went to this little bowling ally on 33rd South and about 13th East called Sue-Rich Lanes. I must say, it is the coolest little place. The owner was the cashier that helped us. We had very personalized service. Yes, the machines were probably older than I was and our ball got stuck a couple times, but it was still so much fun. I love that this guy and his wife started a bowling ally and have been able to keep it up and running for so long. I can't even imagine how much planning, time, and effort went in to starting up their little business.

Maybe I am just fantisizing about the beginning of this place, but I really like that little fantasy and it makes it so much more meaningful to support their business.

If you want to go bowling in Salt Lake, I definitely recommend hitting up Sue-Rich Lanes.

time, time, time

Time...it is such an important part of this life. 

Due to a recent change in work schedule, time seems to have much less proportion than it ever used to. Allow me to explain - I work 7on/7off, Wednesday to Tuesday, 5am-3:30pm. Seven ten hour days in a row. I know that at this point you are probably thinking "wow...that is awful". But, then I get seven full days off in a row. I love my new schedule, absolutely love it. It does mess with my sense of time though. Wednesday feels like Monday or sometimes Saturday. Today, in theory, should be a Monday but it too feels very much like a Saturday. I am learning however, to not put a lot of stock into what day of the week it is so I get far less confused. It definitely makes my life interesting.

Another thought I have towards time is that it goes by so quickly. It seems the older I get, the more quickly time flies. The fact that I will be 23 in just over a month isn't what gets me. It is the fact that my youngest brother now has a driver's license and that my sister is graduating from high school this spring. Weird.

In church yesterday, one of the speakers said something like this (not an exact quote, but what I remember) "time is an investment. What are you investing your time in?" I thought that was some good food for thought. Comparing time to money kind of puts a new perspective on it. We are really careful with our money - don't spend it on unnecessary things, invest it, save it, and a slew of other things. I don't think we are as careful with our time. Do we invest it in stock that will grow and cause us to reap the rewards later? Or do we give it to mind-numbing activities that will drain us of all emotion? Is the way we are spending our time now going to benefit us in the long run? I am sure that only time will tell.

something to think about

While browsing msn.com this morning, I came across this quote from Karen Salmansohn.

"Have you heard about the famous research study done on a clique of young goldfish? They were raised in a luxuriously long aquarium with a pesky glass wall smack down its middle. Every time these goldfish tried to swim to the far side of the aquarium — ouch — they'd hit their little fish noses on the glass wall's hard surface. Eventually, the goldfish were resigned to their limited swimming options and stayed swooshing around in the half-size aquarium, which they now recognized as home.

"After a few months, the researchers removed the glass wall, allowing the goldfish full reign to swim wherever their little gills could gather speed to take them. Guess what? The goldfish never tried to swim to the other side of the long aquarium. Although the goldfish were no longer stopped by that glass wall, they were stopped by their limiting beliefs. They became prisoners of their past life conditioning!

"We humans are no better. Over time, we amass limiting beliefs about how life supposedly is — beliefs that are not valid. Then we allow these limiting beliefs to stop us from fully living our happiest lives.

"If you want to experience maximum happiness, more important than whether you see that metaphorical glass as half-full or half-empty, is whether you see a metaphorical glass wall in your way. After all, you could be the most optimistic person on this planet — consciously believing you deserve bundles of cash and heaps of loving — yet you can still remain blocked from getting all you want.

"How can that be? Because although your conscious mind might be thinking many, many fabulous thoughts about you, your subconscious mind can simultaneously remain very busy thinking its limiting glass wall beliefs."

Interesting, eh?

happiness

What is happiness? It seems like the whole world is always on this constant search for happiness. It seems to me that everyone's definition of happiness varies depending on stages of life, past experiences, etc.

For my life circumstances right now, I would consider myself happy. I am always striving to learn more and better myself, but overall I live a happy life. As I look to the future, which is commonplace - especially this time of year, I wonder what it is that will be my definition of happiness 5 years from now, 10 years from now. Granted, 5 years ago I probably wouldn't have placed myself where I am now, but life doesn't always happen exactly how we plan it - or even want it to. I sincerely hope that I will live my life in such a way that I can continue to experience happiness an joy for many years to come.

At work, I am the person that comes around and wakes you up in the wee hours of the morning to draw your blood, or the person who you come to see specifically so I can stick a needle in your arm. Not often is the person walking around with the phlebotomy tray anyone's favorite person to see. However; since I am in the position that I am, I am privy to observing a lot of human interaction.

One of my favorite type of patients to see are those with their significant others. More often than not, I am drawing the woman's blood with the man watching. I absolutely LOVE seeing how cute guys can be with their wives. The women that come in to test their blood during their first pregnancy with their husbands who are cute and protective and try to distract them while I draw the blood. The husband that makes sure I am the plebotomist his wife gets everytime she comes in because he knows I can succussfully draw her blood with minimal pain and sticks. And let's not forget the grieving husband silently holding his wife's feet,with tears streaming down his face, while the doctor accesses her after a snowmobiling accident.

All of these situations are so tender. The love and devotion that these couples have towards each other is almost tangible. With every word that is spoken I get to see how much they truly care about each other. One day I want to experience this type of happiness. I want to be the girl with the cute husband that the phlebotomist loves to see.Whether this day comes in 2 years or 20, I want to care about someone so deeply that it overtakes my whole being.

So, to Mr. Right, wherever and whoever you are, know this: I'm not really picky about what you look like or how much money you make. I'm sure that you will have a past because I have one too. Your car can be twenty years old or brand new - none of this really matters. What I am really interested in is how you will care for me. Your love and devotion to me will one day mean more than any of those superficial things ever could. I look forward to the day I meet you, and if I come off as a little stand-offish I promise it isn't just you, I come off that way to most people when they first meet me. I'm not necessarily an easy girl to catch, but somewhere inside I really do want you to sweep me off my feet.

cooking extravaganza

6 stocks of celery
4 pounds of carrots
2 whole chickens
10 pounds of potatoes
8 onions
26 cubes of chicken bullion
10 cups of cheese
4 packages of fusilli noodles
garlic salt
parsley
salt
pepper

This, my friends, is the list that a friend and I took to Smith's on Saturday night. Needless to say, we got some funny looks at the store.

We are now well versed in cooking whole chickens and mass producing soup.

random thought of the day

When I get the hiccups, I get the hiccups.

Not just one or two, but big hiccups that involve my whole diaphragm and last for an extended period of time. Also, whenever I get them once in a day it is a guarantee that I will get them at LEAST one more time.

I have had the hiccups six times today. Seriously. I am over it. haha.