BoyinSuit

Bedtime - Day 25 of 365

I thought this shot would turn out cooler than it did.  I was trying to show what happens when I usually go to bed, but the dogs would not cooperate with me.  All they wanted to do was play with each other and not lay down like they usually do while reading.  Frodo didn't even make it into the photo!

Unemployed

Last week, I was informed that due to budget cuts, all the law clerk at the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office had to be laid off.  This news really didn't hit me until today, which would have been the first day of full-time summer employment.  I really liked working there and wish I could have stayed, but now I have to look for a new job.  I thought today would come and go, but when I got up this morning, I realized that I am unemployed.

My Personal Bubble

I've learned two of personal lessons this week.  Is the universe trying to tell me something?  The first lesson involved my fight with Brian.  The second lesson involves how easy it is for me to become angry and deal with it in a bad way.

Brian and I work out at the field house at school.  For a gym that services a student body the size of a small town (30,000), the locker room is awful.  It's very small, lacks benches, and cannot comfortably hold more than twelve people at a time.  It can hold many more people uncomfortably, meaning that personal bubbles are violated all the time.  The shape of the locker room is an "E": the long vertical line serving as a four foot hallway and the three small horizontal lines (about 10 feet by 6 feet) containing lockers.

On a typical day, I'm easily frustrated that I'm standing inches away from old and hairy naked men.  (Yes, I still am frustrated when I'm standing inches away from young and muscular naked men).  I like to have space to dress myself.  When I'm very frustrated, I usually tell someone who is trying to access a locker that they will have to wait a moment for me to finish because there is absolutely no room for them to enter the 10x6 area.

On Wednesday, I was in a good mood after my workout and started changing.  Brian was next to me and another naked old man was changing next to us.  A moment later, a fourth man walked in to access his locker that was located immediately next to our locker (this usually doesn't happen).  It was annoying and my personal bubble was forced to shrink.

However, the man did something different.  He commented on how inconvenient this was and joked that the only thing that could be worse than the four of us in this small space would be another man with a locker located immediately next to his.

Not five seconds later, a fifth man walked into the area and accessed the locker that the fourth man hoped would not be taken.  All of us couldn't help but laugh. 

Instead of being angry, I laughed it off.  I realized that I don't have to get angry every time my bubble is invaded at the gym.

Let's just hope it's invaded by cuter boys.

The Prize

I was working in the office when Brian asked me if I wanted to see something gross.  I said yes and Brian presented the plastic container that contains Titus' food:

We surmised that this little fellow got trapped in the dog food bag that we keep in the garage and died.  When we transferred some of the food in the bag to the plastic container, he went along for the ride. 

Brian said that the mouse was the prize at the bottom at the bottom of a cereal box!

Inner Lawn Peace

I mowed the lawn today and got really, really angry.  First, I had to run to Lowes to get a part for the lawnmower so it would start.  Then I actually had to mow the lawn, which wouldn't be so bad except that the lawn was long.  I'd mow two passes parallel to the house and have to empty the lawnmower bag.  The backyard was even worse! Half a pass necessitated a emptying.

I still got angry even though I was listening to Miley Cyrus and Rihanna.

After some testy swearing at the lawnmower, Brian said that I was overreacting--and I was.  I decided that I needed to settle down and realize that mowing a lawn shouldn't cause me to blow up.  So I meditated...

My First Ride on a Utah Public Bus

Despite a commitment to save gas and the enviornment, I haven't riden TRAX since school started. Today, Brian took the car home and I was forced to take not only TRAX, but also the bus. It's very nice compared to other places I've been, so I will probably do it again. I just need Brian to do it with me.

Is it weird that I like the smell of public transportation?

My Piano

When Brian said that he wanted to go to law school at the University of Utah, I told him there'd be stipulations (since I originally wanted to go out of state). One of those stipulations was a piano. For the past couple months, I've been looking for a reasonably priced piano and today, one appeared on craigslist.

The exterior is not in great shape, but it was the perfect size for a place in our house. It's out of tune, but hopefully, a piano tuner will be able to fix it.

The Sunday Before Actual Classes

Brian and I have decided that we're going to reserve Sundays for relaxation only. That means that we will not do any school work so we can have a break from our busy schedule. And today started that trend.

We went to the Original Pancake House for breakfast. I wanted an outside table so I told the hostess that we ONLY wanted an outside table. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Russell said that we'd be waiting all day if we kept our request to “outside only.” I said that we might get seated earlier because the hostess might give us the first outside table. Turns out, I was right!

We came home to clean the kitchen, mow the lawn, and clean up the garage. We relaxed for a bit and then played Ticket to Ride.

We went to Family Home Evening where everyone asked how the first week of school went. I told them most of the things that I've written about here. When we got home, Brian made some porterhouse steaks and grilled some corn. It tasted amazing! I feel so lucky to have a guy who can cook and likes to cook.

We ended the evening by watching Harold and Maude; at first I didn't like it but it grew on me and I enjoyed it. Now I'm so tired that I'm about to fall asleep writing this...

IKEA Draper: The Experience

Brian, Austin, and I finally ventured to the new IKEA in Draper. It felt like I was in an over furnished amusement park. There were unsupervised children running everyone (I even told one to go find their mommy because they were annoying me), fat people trying to sit in small chairs, and generally way too many people.

I don't understand why people love IKEA and want to go every weekend like Scott & Ken. It's great, but I'd rather look through a catalog that only has pictures of people that actually fit in the furniture.

Change in my Life

I've finally decided to change a huge part of my life for the better.

I've decided to use Gmail instead of Yahoo! Mail.

I'm one of those dumb people who heard about gmail awhile ago but didn't switch because I was annoyed at the ads that appear on the right side of the screen. When I paid for Yahoo! Mail (yes, paid for email), it got rid of those ads that appeared as the footer on my emails.

But I was finally convinced today when I read about all the wonderful things that gmail can do. Actually, it was a matter of Getting Things Done, or GTD.

GTD is an action management system that was really popular a couple of years ago. I discovered it via Lifehacker and became intrigued since I feel that I am really unproductive. It basically helps you organize, initiate, and archive things so much better.

A big part of GTD is keeping your inbox empty. I cannot begin to count the number of emails that have descended down my inbox into nothingness because I said I'd get to it later. Since gmail could provide me with a fresh start, I decided today that I will only use gmail to increase my productivity.

Since I'm writing this entry much later, I'm happy to report that I respond to emails much better and am keeping my inbox empty. Moreover, through Gmail, I've discovered lots of Google Apps that are amazing: igoogle, Google Docs, and Google Notebook.

Preparing

I spent today getting ready for tomorrow. When I travel, I always make sure to clean the house so I can come home to a clean place.

The Day that Music Took a Break

I got the gym today and realized that I forgot my headphones. The idea of doing cardio without music scared me, but I sallied forth to the elliptical machine and did it. I felt really good about myself for coming through for myself, rather than giving up.

I realized that I don't enjoy thinking while working out. I'd rather rock out to Britney or Madonna or Hilary or Kelly.

My Sleep Number is 35

On Monday, Brian brought home a new Sleep Number mattress for us. Since he works at SelectComfort stores, he got a sleepnumber bed for 50% off (a deal we couldn't pass up).

The bed is made of air chambers that allows you to adjust the firmness of the bed. When we first got it, he made it the softest it could go and I joked, "It still feels hard." He wasn't amused.

But more seriously, I'm getting used to it because I'm not used to something so comfortable. I fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep. I think I wake up more refreshed, but I'm not sure and will have to wait to see if that's true.

One of the things I like is that after doing research, I found that Consumer Reports gave the mattress a high rating.

Sunrise Running

I did something this morning that I've never done in my life!

I woke up at 5:45am in a very "wakeful" mood. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I should get up and go running. After I had this wonderful thought, another thought of going back to bed came into my head.

Instead of listening to it, I immediately put on shoes and left the house. I didn't allow myself to even think about going back to bed.

Running toward the sunrise is amazing! It felt awesome to be awake while others were sleeping--it made me feel like I had accomplished something by 6:30am.

On My Own

In a continued effort to exercise, I went running in Sugarhouse Park. It was fun, though it reminded me of running in middle school. This time it was me wanting to run rather than an overweight gym teacher.

Then Make the Jam!

Brianna came over today to help me make strawberry jam. I had so much fun with her (like I always do) and we made tons of jam. If you're thinking about making some yourself, its so easy! Plus, its saves money.

A Baker in the Makin'

I now own a KitchenAid mixer (it was on sale). I can now bake with an apron and try my hardest to emulate Martha Stewart.

First Mash the Strawberries

Since being domestic is a lifelong goal of mine, I bought 16 pounds of strawberries at the grocery store today. Why does someone need that much?

'Cause we're going to make jam!

Going to the Gym

In an effort to not be fat, gain muscle, and feel better about myself, I've been going to the gym during my lunch break. It's a nice break from the office and I find that it's the only time I can go where I don't have an excuse (morning I sleep in and evenings I'd rather not go).

Currently, I weigh 185--fifteen pounds more than when I came back from Mexico last year at this time. My goal is to be 170 by the time law school starts.

Things We Can Do

I gave a family home evening lesson tonight on global warming and outlined eleven things we can all do to help the environment.

1. Change all lightbulbs to CFL's.
2. Recycle.
3. Make sure your tires are properly inflated.
4. Wash clothes in warm or cold water.
5. Adjust your thermostat up/down two degrees.
6. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket.
7. Unplug electronics when you aren't using them (since they use energy while plugged in).
8. Always choose appliances that have the energy star symbol.
9. Buy local food.
10. Pay your bills online (saves paper).
11. Bring cloths bags to the grocery store (both plastic AND paper bags are really bad for the environment).
    

All By Myself

Brian's out of town visiting his parents so I have the bed entirely to myself! I love it!

Saving the World, One Lightbulb at a Time

A big difference from living in West Valley and Salt Lake City is that West Valley doesn't provide recycling cans, therefore I had no impetus to divide my trash.

I was wrong!

Wanting to know why West Valley didn't recycle, I went to the city website where I found that they DO recycle. You just have to special order the can (which I did) and pay $4 a month extra for it (which I gladly did-- it's the environment!).

I'm so excited to get it and start separating my trash. When I told Brian, he thought I was being weird.

"Why are you all of a sudden so concerned with saving the environment?" he asked.

I seriously attribute it to the film, "An Inconvenient Truth." It made me realize that through small and simple things, I can reduce my impact on the earth. I haven't drastically changed my lifestyle as some environmentalists want me to (hybrids are expensive and public transportation, well, is public transportation).

Here a few of the small things I'm trying to do:

• I only use CFL light bulbs.
• I wash my clothes in cold and warm water--never hot.
• I turn off lights and unplug appliances I'm not using that still keep running even when they are "off."
• I use cloth rags instead of paper towels.
• I never get plastic grocery bags because they are awful for the environment.

Those are really simple things that everyone can do. They're easy AND they make me feel good!

Not So Lazy Sunday

I told Brian we could relax today since we both don't have to work today. But 1pm came around and we were still cooking and cleaning.

"I'll never get to relax if we keep cleaning!" Brian exclaimed.

We ended up getting about two hours of relaxing because we made a nice Sunday dinner and invited friends over.

TV Night

I came home and found Brian in bed. Feeling badly about yesterday, I got in bed with him and watched "Heroes" and "American Idol."

Fun Filled Day

Today was an awesome day. Because lots of things happened, here's a rundown:

7:00am

My mother asked me to go to church with Russell in Provo this morning. Remembering what I promised, I wore a suit. However, I didn't want to blend in too much... I've been reading GQ and they had a section on matching ties and shirts. One combination excited me so I tried it out today: pink shirt and dark tie. I looked fabulous!

8:30am

We pull up in front of Russell's house and I call him to let him know we are outside. He comes out and he looks... tragic. His shirt and pants are wrinkled, he's wearing past-their-prime tennis shoes, and his hair looks like a poofball. He looked like the poor kid in elementary school that always got teased.

As he approached the car, my mother pointed out the obvious. Russell got mad and went back inside the house. I put on the "older brother" mantle and talked Russell down. He put on nicer clothes, did his hair, but still "rebelled" by wearing the moldy tennis shoes.

Driving to church, the two of them argued over stupid stuff. I told them both to stop because they were getting on my nerves.

9:30am

As sacrament meeting ends, a guy comes up to me and tells me that my outfit it cool. He's probably sad that he can't pull off pink.

9:35am

Mom wants to go to Sunday school. I tell her no. She persists and tells me to go. I say, "Mom, I came for Sacrament meeting. I'm not going to another hour of church. That's the way the cookie crumbles."

She responds: "Listen to me! You will both go to Sunday school because I'm your mother and I'm asking you to go. Plus, I'm buying breakfast after church. THAT'S the way the cookie crumbles!"

9:37am

I'm sitting in Sunday School. I tell my mother they will probably mention gays.

9:57am

Gays are mentioned.

10:30am

We sit down for breakfast at Mimi's Cafe.

12:30pm

We arrive at a park for lunch. My mother and her two friends I hung out with on Wednesday are supposed to come.

3:00pm

So this "little" lunch turns into a ward picnic! At least 20 people come and enjoy themselves. I didn't know anyone, but it was fun to meet new people and talk to them. I meet Jeremy, a first-year BYU law student, and spend fifteen minutes picking his brain, asking him every law school question I can think of. I hope he didn't get annoyed with me.

3:47pm

Russell finds a rainbow bracelet and puts it on me. My mom sees this and asks, "Are you going to a parade?" Everyone laughs.

4:30pm

We drive to the house of an old friend of my mothers. She walks into the house and asks if anyone is home. Immediately, my mom's friend screams and embraces my mother. Laurie asks if we're hungry and Russell and I say no. She says they just finished roast and mashed potatoes. Russell and I say that we found more room in our stomach.

Laurie makes the best rolls known to mankind so my mom asks for the recipe. She spends twenty minutes explaining to my mother how to properly bake them and even gives me a bag of the delicious rolls!

6:30pm

We arrive at my grandparents and I find my grandmother making peanut butter squares for me. When I tell her that she doesn't have to, she says, "I know you like them and I thought you'd enjoy them." I love her so much!

7:30pm

My mom and I drop by my Aunt Wendy's to see her new kitchen. It looks great and we compliment her. It's cute seeing her so excited and Wendy deserves her new luxury.

9:00pm

I drop my mother off at my sisters house and thank for her the day. There's nothing like spending the entire day with your mother.

Dinner with the Ladies

I was on my way home from work when my mother called me and told me that I should spend time with her and her friends. Being the momma's boy that I am, I took the nearest freeway exit and found the "Relief Society Ladies."

I had so much fun with my mother, two other women, and one of the women's teenage daughter. We talked, we ate, and we laughed.

When I got home, I told Brian about the fun I had. He laughed and told me that he hung out with "the boys" tonight and saw "300."

I thought the contrast was funny.

Random Facts at the Hospital

My niece Carly became sick, so Brian and I met my mom at the hospital (she's babysitting the kids while my sister and brother-in-law are out of town). As we waited, Brian and I exchanged useless information we knew. We went on for about 20 minutes! Who knew we knew so much?!

Do you know what country has the most hospital beds per 1000 of the population? Japan.

More Cleaning!

I came home to a filty, filthy house! I cleaned, did laundry, and cleaned some more. I'm starting to rethink the housewife thing...

Basement Cleanup

We ordered carpet for the basement tonight and are hoping it will be here by the end of this week! Because we're so excited, we started cleaning everything up at 9pm and now I'm exhausted!

The worst thing they can say is no

Brian gives me courage when I am weak. It’s one of the many reasons that I love him.

As Brian drove me to pick up my car from the shop, I lamented on the $600 bill that the mechanic quoted me yesterday. Brian said, “Why don’t you ask for a discount? You always use them and they should give you something for being loyal.”

Later, standing in front of the mechanic, I politely asked for a discount.

“Sure! Let me see what I can do.” Like that, he took off fifty bucks.

As my mom says, “The worst thing they can say is no.”

Rose Park

Brian and I used to buy milk from this place because it was only 100 feet away from our apartment:

I'm Sick

Russell and I ran errands after helping Austin move. What was supposed to take an hour took three (thanks Wal*Mart) and by the time we got home, I went to bed to take a nap because I didn't feel well. I was supposed to go to the Democratic Legislative Ball, but unfortunately, I got sick--and I never get sick!

Instead, I watched Misery with Russell and went to bed early. Why did she have to shoot the sheriff?

Boring First Day of 2007

I spent my day off cleaning the office. When Brian got home, I helped him with stuff in the basement.

Yes, I worked all day.

To make it even worse, Netflix messed up my que. They shipped the first disk of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 instead of the Next Generation. I wish they had a phone number on their website to call and complain...

Sunday

I spent most of the day editing my cow video that I posted yesterday. I realized today how much I LOVE video production.

Regular Sunday

Brian and I ran errands today and then worked on the house.

And yes, he did make breakfast for me this morning.

New Freezer!

A present that I bought for Brian and myself on Tuesday was delivered today. Here it is:

Yes, it's a freezer. Why would two guys like us want a freezer? The main reason will be evident in about two weeks, but we also needed room to freeze things. My Mormon upbringing taught me to always have food storage and to buy in bulk. We went to Albertson's today and bought 15 pounds of chicken, lots of butter, and some pies. I spent an hour today putting two breasts of chicken into a bag and vacuum sealing it (yes, we have one of those).

We love our new freezer and are excited to fill it up with delicious food!

What I wake up to every morning

One Lightbulb can save you $233 a year! And we bought 40!

Al Gore would be proud of me. While Brian and I were at the Home Depot, they were having a sale on energy saving lights. The deal was so good that we bought more than enough light bulbs to last us awhile (since each bulb can last up to 7 years). When we got home, we replaced every light in our house.

Brian's always been an environmentalist...

A Bumpin' Saturday Night

Brian (just getting home from work): So what do you want to do tonight?
Jesse: What time is it?
Brian: 8:30pm
Jesse: It's late. We should go to bed.
Brian: But it's Saturday night?
Jesse: It's still late!

I Need Tums

Everytime I eat something, I get sick afterwards and it's usually when I go out to eat. Am I getting to that point where I can't eat certain foods? Isn't that a symptom of old age??

Baby Got Back

I don't know what I did to myself, but my back went out this afternoon. My boss asked me why I was walking like "a big black woman" with my butt sticking out.

Daylight Savings really saves daylight

I love daylight savings time! I wake up feeling more refreshed because I went to bed early last night. I'm not changing the clock in my car so I feel like I have more time.

Housewife Sunday

Brian made breakfast for me... again. I feel so lucky to have him to do it a third week in a row. I hope it becomes a tradition because it's wonderful!!

After Brian left, I made a to-do list of all the things that needed to be accomplished. I had to do laundry, clean the kitchen, and clean the garage.

I spent about three hours cleaning the garage so we could fit our two cars inside. This last week, ice has been forming on my windows and has been driving me nuts! Why park your car outside when a garage is available? It was by far the biggest accomplishment of the day.

When Brian came home, he was really excited about all the work that I did. He was most excited about parking his car inside the garage.

Later tonight, Austin and Melissa came over and we watched "Lost" together. Since it's Halloween time, they brought stuff to make caramel apples. Besides getting stuck in our teeth, they were great.

Boyfriend Gone...

When you don't have a boyfriend to sleep next to at night to keep you warm, a cute dog and new down comforter sure come close.

I love Sunday's

For the second week in a row, Brian made a fantastic breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. He's going to Colorado for two days since he's being forced to take some time off or he'll lose it (not in the intellectual sense).

After he left, Russell and I sat around and did, well, pretty much nothing. He commented that this reminded him of the days when we used to sit around at watched "Next."

I can't wait for those days to return.

My Day

After walking a neighborhood for political reasons, I spent the rest of the day relaxing. It's been awhile since I've just had a day to myself.

The Kind of Person I Am

I had a blast tonight!

Did I go to a fun party? No.
Did I see a really great movie? No.
Did I play games with old friends? No.

I watched new TV shows! Brian and I invited Scott and Ken over just to watch TV. We saw Jerico, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Stargate, and Nip/Tuck. Though it may sound lame, it was really fun to just sit back and be entertained.

Dirty Pop

I had some alcoholic popsicles today after work. I didn't like them mostly because they tasted weird and like alcohol.

Brian and I went on a date tonight: we ate at the Cafe Rio and saw "The Covenant." While the movie was kind of lame, I liked it because it was homo-erotic. It also had plenty of guys with their shirts off... very sexy guys with their shirts off... very muscular guys with their shirts off...

I work hard for my money and you better treat me right!

Today was really supposed to be my last day at work, but I decided that I wanted today off so I could relax and play video games all day.

Fortunately for me, I work for Ross Romero and there were many things that needed to get done. By the time 3pm hit, I decided that I had done enough for him and started doing what I had planned on doing: playing Dead Rising on Xbox 360.

I only played for two hours because I had to walk tonight for Ross. When I saw him, I told him that he ruined my relaxing day since I had to do work for him.

As he laughed, I plotted an assassination...

Okay, so not really since I really like him.

Maybe I could just break his legs...

Computers Replace People

Megan and Mckenna came over tonight for dinner. After they left, Brian, Russell, and I played video games.

I stayed upstairs to play "Dead Rising" on the Xbox and the other two used our computers downstairs to play "World of Warcraft."

We really didn't talk to each other until 2am when we went to bed. I thought it was funny that we "hung out" in separate rooms being entertained by computers.

It really was fantastic.