Lime Green Pants

I have this pair of pants: they are lime green--I mean, you can see them for miles around, lime green. They weren't expensive and I just bought them one day because they were on sale (once again, I stress the lime-green-ness :)

I purchased these guys back in 2003 and they have been everywhere with me. I have so many memories in them...

• hiking the Wasatch mountains in the dead of night
• being spotted by friends outside of the MTC one P-day
• almost all my adventures from the Philippines happened in them. Seriously, they are in almost all my pictures from the mission....*sigh*
• Jules
• eating ice cream on the love sac in them nursing a broken heart
• loaning them to my friend Rachel when she got was too pregnant to wear jeans

It may sound crazy, but they mean a lot to me...and now I'm sending them to Germany to comfort my friend Sanita on her mission. I think I'll miss them terribly, but I shall be comforted by knowing that they are having their own adventure--and I can have them back in 18 months. :)

*When I talked to Sanita before she left--I got so homesick to be back on a mission, I almost cried several times. I wish I could go back. Again. And again. And again.

Crossing the Bar

I attended my granddaddy's funeral today and as he has been a devout Southern Baptist his whole life, they had a preaching instead of a program. I started thinking about it, and I decided that my favorite poem about passing on is this one listed below. I'm gonna make sure everyone I know knows that I want it read at my funeral one day. If you have a poem that gives you comfort, feel free to share. :)

Crossing the Bar
by Alfred Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
  And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
  When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
  Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
  Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
  And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
  When I embark;

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
  The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
  When I have crossed the bar.

Granddaddy

What do you say about a man you've known all your life when he's suddenly taken in a car crash? Well, I'll say that I loved him. And he was a great man. And he had people standing in a line that went out of the building to the curb for his viewing-- this went on for 4 hours. May peace bless his widow. Bye, Granddaddy.

Ugh

I am done. I am sick and tired of being a magnet for boys who are needy. I'm not saying that every guy in my past has been so, just most of them.

And today, I was approached by a very silly girl. She had been complimenting me and I thought she was being silly because she was trying to impress her boyfriend/fiancee/husband (she had introduced him as all 3 during the course of our interaction). She then proceeded to lean over and whisper in my ear. Her question? "Are you bi-sexual? Because you're cute." Oh crap.

Silly bisexual women, stand in line behind all the needy men. I really need to meet someone...

Huxley's New World

Anyone remember reading Brave New World in high school? I liked it...probably because we read it and compared it to 1984, which I thought was scary.

Well, this last week I had an experience. And this book came to mind. Disclaimer: I HAVE given myself 3 days to process this experience and make sure this post isn't a post of passion. I was sitting in a classroom learning. And, in my experience, the best way to learn is to pay attention and ask questions (feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken here). Well, my facilitator told me to quit asking questions because I was wanting to know things that weren't relevant. (If I'm asking questions about my job that were prompted by materials I read in the manual, how in the world is this not relevant?!) Anyway, I was (and am still) outraged and disgusted by the fact that I was told "not everyone exists on the same aptitude level." So what, I should stop inquiring because there may be someone else in the room who can't or doesn't want to understand something? (which I don't think was the case)

I suddenly had flashbacks to BNW and poor Bernard and Helmholtz--persecuted by society for daring to have a mind of their own. I absolutely refuse! to be kept from inquiring about things relevant to my position in the company just because someone (regardless of his title or position) says I should. This might be disastrous in the long run, but behaving any other way would contradict my moral beliefs. Am I being too tenacious about this? What do y'all think?

SNOW!

I can't believe that it snowed today in my hometown--twice! For the second time in my life, white powder has been poured down on the residents of Newton, Alabama. Glory be. :)

Today as I drove in to Columbus, GA for my next week of work, I found myself in a winter wonderland. I can't believe my eyes--there is at least 1.5 inches of snow on the ground. And the cars and the rooftops etc. I was nostalgically reminded of Provo--I miss you guys.

And while I am grateful to be back in Dixie, I admit that I do miss the snow. So, the grass is greener on the other side, always. ;)