sooo over vegas

here i sit in mccarran airport, for the 5th time in two months. even if i actually LIKED vegas, this would be a bit much. but i am the victim of the latest airplane schedulers (sick bunch of freaks) playing their cruel little jokes. you see, i'm actually on my way back to portland. i know, it makes perfect sense that i would fly from california to NEVADA on my way to portland, right? yeah. no.

anything to save a buck though, or 150+, particularly as i start embracing the fact that the bucks may be stopping in a couple of months. and vegas isn't so bad really. the people watching is spectacular, and no, she definitely should NOT be wearing that tank top as a dress. just in case you were wondering.

what i'm a little confused by at the moment is that my 9pm flight to portland is showing a departure time of 9pm, with a status that looks like this: 'Mech Delay'. now correct me if i'm wrong, but if there is a delay, shouldn't that scheduled departure time be at least a minute later than it's predetermined flight time? just sayin' is all.

i'm sure i'll get there eventually, and when i do... i'll be hitting the sack as soon as possible! but tomorrow...tomorrow...i have absolutely no plans.

can you believe it? i haven't planned one activity for us. not one. granted, there are some 'ideas', but NO plans. i may be learning something new about myself this weekend! like whether or not i can actually function without a plan. at the very least, i'll have new pictures:)

for all you travelers...

a nice quick list on the latest baggage restrictions...

Airline Baggage Quick Reference

Major US carriers continue to change and update policies regarding your checked luggage. In an effort to ease your travel experience CTA Travel has compiled an up to the minute list of the latest baggage rules. Most airlines base the checked bag fees on fares paid, mileage status and baggage weight. Be sure to check with your carrier or CTA Travel Professional prior to travel. The Information below is subject to change.

Air Tran
$20 for second bag; effective 5/15/08 on systemwide flights

Alaska
$25 for second bag; effective on tickets purchased after 5/1/08 for travel after 7/1/08 on domestic flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first class

American
$15 for first bag, $25 for second bag; effective 5/12/08 on domestic, Puerto Rico and Canada flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers, first & business class as well as full fare coach

Continental
$25 for second bag; effective 5/5/08 on domestic, Puerto Rico and Canada flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first & business class

Delta
$25 for second bag; effective 5/1/08 on domestic flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first/business class

Frontier
$25 for second bag; effective 6/10/08 on systemwide flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first/business class

JetBlue
$20 for second bag; effective 6/1/08 on systemwide flights

Northwest
$25 for second bag; effective 5/5/08 on North American flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first/business class as well as full fare coach

United
$15 for first bag, $25 for second bag; effective 5/5/08 (second bag) 8/18/08 (first bag) on domestic, Puerto Rico and Canada flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first/business class

US Airways
$15 for first bag, $25 for second bag; effective 5/5/08 (second bag) 7/9/08 (first bag) on domestic, Latin America, Caribbean and Canada flights
Exemptions: Elite frequent flyers and first/business class

it's the 21 kids that are throwing me...

		I will marry Spencer.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Italy in our fabulous Apartment.
		We will have 21 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a Black Lexus.
		I will spend my days as a Photographer, and live happily ever after.

dear parents,

you know how i always say i got the best of both of you and all my flaws are my own? well at least on a physical level, i finally have proof :)

thanks to heidi for sharing!



for the record, dylan looks 19% more like mom, and kate 6% (also more like mom)

eating my words

i hate the show 'so you think you can dance?' or maybe it's just that mary murphy actually makes me so sick to my stomach that every time i TRY to watch the show, i end up in the bathroom dry heaving.

alright, alright, i'm being melodramatic. but only a little.

that being said, i flipped on the tv in my hotel room last night, and guess what was on? i must have been distracted because i didn't immediately flip the channel. and then i was distracted by the show itself. in fact, i was absolutely mesmerized by this:

there is a story behind it, and maybe that's part of why it was so moving, but watching it again and again, the movement itself is simply magical.

i don't know that i will ever watch again, but there were a couple of minutes there, where i was absolutely transported to a soft peaceful place. and when you're in vegas...that's saying something.

weekend with anne

well i'm back in vegas (107 degrees. woo hoo!!) but i'd be remiss if i didn't recap my weekend with anne!

her family was nice enough to plan their vacation just a few miles from me, so i kept her all to myself for a couple days before letting them have her. well... maybe not ALL to myself, but i did my best.

having anne here made me feel kind of like i was home again, or, not home, but on vacation. yeah, that doesn't make any sense. it felt good, whatever it felt like. and one of the greatest things about anne is that she is as picture crazy as i am. there is never a time where i would say 'hey, let's take a self-portrait!' and anne would respond 'nah, i don't feel like it.' in fact, if anything it would be the other way around..which should tell you something about anne's mad photo taking obsession!

so, behold the photos.

our first adventure was to the getty villa. the villa is the second getty, and rather than being filled with modern art, is the home of greek and roman antiquities. everything about the getty is modern, and everything about the villa is...not. columns and reflecting pools. bronzes and sculptures.

anne and i were both completely enamored of the reflecting pool and decided to spend some time enjoying it. about a 1/2 hour later, i woke up, and it was time to go:)


i let anne go visit her family while i headed to meet the d's to watch the twins perform in their school variety show. they absolutely did not disappoint. brad performed the big mac rap with a few other boys, and rach sang 'i enjoy being a girl'. gone are the days of hanging microphones and children screaming in to them. no sir. these kids performed on their outdoor stage with their headset mics, and perform they did.

(will update with pics and video when i am back home!)

my next adventure with anne was a near repeat of deb's visit. but of course, we had to spice things up. we started off by actually taking the tour of the chinese theater, and frankly, i'm kind of glad i've seen the inside now. it was amazing! the tour itself was nothing to speak of, but the theater itself was impressive enough, so it was all good.

before and after the tour, i held hands with matt damon and george clooney, and said hello to will smith (the newest foot and handprints) and the harry potter crew.

after all THAT activity, the next stop was the hollywood sign. you know, it's all fun and games until someone starts bleeding. in this case, it was me.


i parked uphill of the dog park entrance (the best place to take pics), and as we walked down the steep incline, my flip flops combined with the gravel on the sidewalk proved a lethal combination, and in no time flat, i was doing my version of the splits. and i think it's obvious. i'm no gymnast.

luckily there was a water fountain, and i was able to clean my wound. but i only had the fountain to myself for a second before i had to share it with the gorgeous black lab that had somehow heard the running water from across the park. we made it work for both of us, and then it was time to take more pics!

after the sign, it was time to head back home, and after a bike ride, we met up with anne's family for some beach time before calling it a day!


it was great to have anne here, and it makes me even more excited that i will be home in august for a week, so i can see ALL my peeps. or at least, the ones who haven't moved away yet!

angels in the nosebleeds

there is a tradition in mormondom, that previously unbeknownst to me, extends beyond the borders of virginia. that of mormon day/night. sometimes an amusement park, a water park, and in this case, a baseball game.

i spent more than one friday night at a nationals game on mormon nights, and when jenny invited me to attend the mormon night angels game, i couldn't pass.

i like baseball. live. but i like that baseball is as much about the company and the junk food as it is about the game.

friday was no exception.

i took off from work a little early to meet up with jenny and the d4, and we headed to angels stadium. we located jenny's ward tailgating party and enjoyed some food. i passed on the hot dogs (i haven't had one in 12 years now!) but enjoyed some veggies and some brownies. my idea of a balanced diet.

as we made our way into the stadium and to our seats, i paused to buy a baseball cap, and we moved on. as we entered our section, we were greeted with the announcement that it was in fact mormon night, and that there were (insert number here) members of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, in (insert location here...california? the game?), and shortly after we sat, a group of mormon youth, directed by a friend of jenny's, sang the national anthem.

the game was a loss, but all of the other elements were right on target. the company. the junk food. and, yay, fireworks! i do love a good light show.



for the rest of the pics, click here

reactions

it's safe to say that my response to learning that i would be laid off in three months falls into either the 'absolute denial' or 'absolute faith' category. i'm not sure which yet, and maybe a little of both.

on the one hand, i know with certainty that this job, this company, and these co-workers were meant to be a part of my experience here. since the end of this chapter comes not at the tip of my own pen, i can only assume that it's conclusion was also meant.

as my commenting friends pointed out, i am lucky. most people don't get the kind of warning i've gotten, and i'm grateful for that.

on the other hand, another job search. job searches are exhausting. they test your endurance, your ability to please, and yes, even your self-worth. and i just did this. in fact, i was doing this 6 months ago. now i am doing it again? i know that for two years i was desperate for change. i know i sort of asked for it. but come on! isn't this over-correcting a little bit?

upon learning the news that my guaranteed income was no longer guaranteed, i did what any self-respecting red-blooded american would do. i went shopping.

not just any kind of shopping, but camera shopping, mind you.

a couple of years ago i owned a sony point and shoot. i hated everything about it and swore that i would never buy sony agan. fast forward to february '08 and my last camera has had it's final farewell. i am so lured in by a touchscreen, and on camera red eye fixing, and 5x optical zoom, that i barely notice the large chunk of change i'm laying out, is for a sony.

well my friends, me and that sony have had quite the love hate relationship. mostly hate actually. the biggest problem is that the pictures are awful. i have to do a lot of photoshopping to get semi-decent quality pics. and i am far from being a photoshop wiz.

so it was time for a new camera and a smarter choice. i am absolutely thrilled with my new purchase...particularly the custom self-timer. if you've ever posed for a self-portrait with me, you'll know how long that 10 second timer lasts. but now, i can set the timer from 1 - 30 seconds, and to take 1 - 10 shots. 10 seconds just got a lot shorter, folks!

after the new purchase, i did some number crunching and determined that i should be able to sell my sony and it's acoutrements, for enough to cover the cost of the new camera. so, basically, i just got a free camera and it's way cooler than my expensive one.

good timing too, as the weekend is chock full of activities!

it's official

though i knew it was possible, i hoped it wouldn't come to this..i am officially being laid off in september.

so, anyone looking for an event planner in california (and i might consider oregon), let me know :(

saturday

Sadie (the bike) and Aynsley (the blonde) and I spent some time together today. It was nothing short of idyllic. Mid 70's with a perfectly soft breeze blowing, and the pause for ice cream cones did not hurt one bit. It was surprising to ride past the Christian rock concert at the base of the pier--but that is one of the things that makes Huntington so interesting. Should make for an entertaining summer!

So, here are my random questions for the day, inspired, no doubt, by today's bicycle adventure:

1. What would your 'perfect' vacation be? Would it be somewhere tropical, somewhere 'historical', somewhere another language is spoken? What kind of activities would make it perfect? Lounging around, seeing sights--what kind of sights? Who would be with you on your perfect vacation?

2. What are the top 10 songs on your (possibly) currently non-existent summer playlist?

3. What is your favorite way to spend time outside?

the difficult thing about having a life is blogging about having a life! as a result, you are going to have to make do with summaries instead of novellas.

1. the visit (sounds like a weird horror movie title, doesn’t it?)
it’s safe to say that the visit did not go exactly as planned. i plan for perfection after all, and perfection isn’t reality. between lack of sleep, actual physical illness (his), timing issues (mine), and too serious conversations, the weekend was slightly challenging. that being said, it was also really great. we visited the wild animal park in san diego

had dinner with my old bishop and his wife,

gave the cousins a chance to grill him at sunday dinner, rode awesome rides at magic mountain,

and enjoyed the beach.

on a sidenote: emily, trish, amy, and the few others i’m sure i’m forgetting at this very moment – rich and billye send their love. i gave them all the updates i could!)

i feel lucky to have met such a great guy, and am excited to see what the future holds! it was hard to say goodbye, but i should be in portland again at the end of the month, so somehow, i’ll make due.

2. the shower
last night was my boss’ baby shower, so after work i headed to holly and charity’s for the shindig. they live out on balboa island, which though close to me, is unexplored territory. it was absolutely darling, and i will definitely have to go back one of these weekends to pop into all of the cute little shops. there is so much adventuring i have yet to do and hopefully some exciting news (see #3) may motivate me a little (or a lot) more.

being completely honest here, i kind of hate showers of any sort, but there were great people and great food. it was a pleasant surprise to have such a good time! i genuinely enjoy my co-workers and it was fun to interact with them in a different environment.

on top of that, i saw something at the house that i must have. it’s a sign similar to the one below:

so so true.

3. import friends
a couple of months ago deb was seriously talking about moving to california. i had to keep that on the dl as she worked through things, and ultimately, for the moment, she has decided to stay put in ny :( but, while she was processing and planning, she tried to talk one of her new york friends, into moving out here.

i’ve known mehaela for many years through deb, and through some other common acquaintances , and she is absolutely fantastic. well, unbeknownst to me, she is originally from the area (well originally from romania, but whatever), and though she never anticipated or planned on leaving new york, deb was so persuasive (she’s regretting it now!), that mehaela is moving here in july. and not just ‘here’, but huntington. we’ll be in the same ward, and i will finally have someone to go explore with! i actually feel really badly for deb. this means her two closest friends will not just be living on the other side of the country, but in the same city as one another. life is both strange and wonderful sometimes!

4. ticket to ride
i finally bought tickets for ‘pageant of the masters’ and i couldn’t be more excited. if you are already wondering (i’m sure you are) what i would be doing for my birthday, on august 27, now you know. i will be watching people pretend to be art through binoculars in laguna beach. how seriously cool is that?

i also bought tickets for joshua radin, and i will be celebrating my pre-birthday weekend (august 23rd) with him. though i’ve been obsessed for a long long time, i managed to miss him every time he played baltimore (which for some reason, was a lot). unfortunately, he doesn't play here as frequently (this is the first time that i know of), so i have been vigilant in watching and waiting. i will finally see him live, and i have a couple months to figure out how to kidnap him, and put him in a box where every time i open the lid, he sings lovely tonight, or sky, or fear you won’t fall. he doesn't even have to spin in place while he sings. aren't i generous?


5. anniebean...
...will be here in just over a week. ‘nuff said!