The Calm Before The Storm

Have you ever wondered at how amazing life can be? Have you ever felt as though your "cup runneth over" and there's no end in sight to just how many blessings will be showered down? Have you ever felt perfectly content and blissfully happy with life?

I have.

I do.

But I know from experience that this calm and peaceful state is temporary. The storm is on it's way -- the butterfly's wing has fluttered on some remote island and air molecules are becoming super charged, bumping into one another on an inevitable path of destruction.

I know it's coming.

It always does.

But I chose to put that out of mind and just enjoy the warmth and amazing state of comfort in which I am currently basking.

I love my family.

I love my God.

I love my job, friends, house, roommates, and life.

Things are so good and I can't ask for more.

Now is not the time for worry but time for enjoyment. These are the moments we live for -- the moments when you don't have to wait to be happy but can simply "be" in the moment and that is enough.

Just thought I'd share.

A Whole New World

I've completely rearranged my life and it feels pretty good! In fact, I'm head over heels in love with my new life!


Step 1) Got a new job. I said goodbye to the plasma donors and hello to pediatrics. I'm still jabbing people with needles but now they cry more. However, I get to choose my own bathroom breaks! Oh the luxury! Plus, it's far more rewarding to help sick kids get better and I love pulling up to the huge hospital every day instead of a little brick building surrounded by taco carts. (Let it be noted that tacos from a cart cooked by someone who cannot speak English are some of the best food on the planet -- as long as they don't give you food poisoning).


Step 2) Moved away from home. That's right, after a two year stint of on again off again home dwelling I have finally moved away from the family bosom! While I don't love paying rent, insurance, and grocery bills on principle, it does feel nice to be providing for myself. I now reside in a quaint 100 year old house in the Avenues of SLC! My room used to be a back porch that was redone in the 70's or so with real wood panelling on two of the walls and half of the ceiling. There's no closet, but I do have a sink! In the main part of the house we have an enormous front room with a study off to the side and a dining room. We also have a gas burning stove and a Modern Maid oven straight from the 1960's!

Step 3) Began attending a YSA ward again. Those of you who know me well will know that I do not like the meat market mentality of most single's wards. I have skillfully avoided them for the last two years but must now resign myself to regularly mixing with other Young Single Adults during my time of worship. *sigh* It's a good change, but it does make me nervous. After having attended for two weeks now I can state that there are no ogres in the congregation. In fact, it is comprised of delightful and attractive human beings -- children of our Heavenly Father who just want to be loved. And luckily they just reorganized all of the leadership so there is only a small possibility for any kind of leadership role to squiggle into my hands. *sigh* It's a good change, and there is room for growth. 

There are blessed few opportunities in a person's life to start over again. As it happens, I've just been given one. I'll do my best to make it worth something. 

A pleasant surprise as I've been unpacking all of the things that have surrounded me for years: everything fits and looks marvelous together in my new station in life. Tender mercies.  

Remembering

"Never go through life saying 'I should have.' If you want to do something, you do it."

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow: Job Interviews

A little different from the original Shirelle's version I love, Amy Winehouse's verision is certianly notable as well!

I officially started my new job at Primary Children's Medical Center this morning! After a day sitting in the same place, I'm itching to get out and see what there is to see and do what there is to be done!

The last two weeks at Biomat were very difficult. While I've been absolutely ecstatic about the new job, it's hard to leave friends and a company that has treated me pretty well. They gave me a job when it seemed that no one else would. My experiences there were certainly beneficial and I feel a better person because of my work with plasmapheresis and plasma donors. I've never had to leave a job before. My contract has always expired, the season has ended, or there was an understanding that I'd be leaving for school again in the fall. Putting in two weeks notice and writing a letter of resignation was odd to say the least. s

While I have little experience leaving a job, I must admit that I have plenty of experience being rejected from job opportunities. My very favorite job to date was working as a Lab TA for the Anatomy department at BYU. The material was mastered and class aced, but my confidence was very low and I wound up applying four separate times (that's four separate semesters) before they accepted me. And you know what? I was good! I really was! I was good because I loved it. I was good because I had to fight to get there. I was good because no matter what I kept up the pep and passion for learning and did my darnedest to convey those things to my students. That's what made the job so awesome!

So, for every job interview I'm lucky enough to be invited into I arrive with the same determination and drive I carried into my anatomy teaching.

"I am the best! Just Let me show you! And if I'm not, I'll do everything in my power to become such!"

While managers tend to like my resume just fine, they are usually impressed most by my interview skills. Here are a few tips:

- Pray
- Scope out the interview place ahead of time so that you can arrive a few minutes early and keep your nerves in check.
- Pray
- Smile. A lot. A lot, a lot. It shows that you are friendly and comfortable. Remember, they are hiring someone they want to see every day. In a death match between Smiling Suzy and Debbie Downer, the smile will win every time because of popularity and crowd support. The poor downer dies alone and destitute in the street because she couldn't get a job since no one wanted to be around her. It's a sad tale. :(
- Pray
- Anticipate questions that may be asked and have a rough answer ready to be tweaked on spot for specific working.
- Pray
- Be concise. Keep responses short and sweet. I have a tendency to ramble (as if you can't tell) so I try really hard during an interview to say as few words as possible. It's ok to have empty air between questions. That's part of how they can determine your response to stress.
- Pray
- Always end on a high note. If they ask about your weaknesses, tell them truthfully but then mention a related strength. I'll say it again -- Always end on a high note.
- Pray

The most important thing for me, as an LDS girl trying to live in accordance with what the Lord wants for me, is to invite the Spirit in that interview too. It helps me to feel calm, comfortable and collected. That's why I "interview very well."

So, I'm off to bed at 8pm so I can get up at 3am and make it to work by 4:30am. Hopefully I'll still love my job tomorrow.

Wish me luck as I go off to steal blood from infants!

Ta-ta!

Let's Talk About "It"

Albrecht Durer, 1504

My youngest brother and sister recently attended a ward Youth Conference full of fun, sun, and warnings against intimacy. Not too long ago this same group was subjected to a fireside wherein hand holding was likened to a gateway drug to fornication. We've been hearing stories about increasingly more frequent admonitions to youth about avoiding intimacy entirely before marriage. Most of these stories include cringe-worthy analogies about chewed bubble gum or smelly sneakers.

This needs to stop.

It doesn't work.

It simply makes some afraid of all things tender and excites others to taste of the "forbidden fruits."

In college I was introduced to talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland given in a BYU devotional in 1988. It literally changed the way I thought about sex. It is my opinion that this talk should be pasted into every Young Men's and Young Women's manual around the world. It's tender, thoughtful, and just "right."

Of Souls Symbols and Sacraments

After a rash of weddings for close friends and the associated bridal showers and bachelorettes, it feels ever so much more important to talk about these things before the anticipated hour. Let us be educated, reach out, and tenderly educate those around us. Sex is more than just the gratification of a physical need. It is very special and should be approached with respect.

Not that I know anything. I'm just a Molly Mormon virginal old maid.

Here

This site is very interesting and provides a necessary sounding board for the discussion of sex amongst LDS men and women -- but mostly women.

It's about...time.

Patience.

A virtue that I am severely lacking naturally but have been trained to cultivate over the last few years.

With so many goals that are time sensitive -- meaning that they may be accomplished only at certain times of year in a specific sequence -- patience is of the utmost importance. Not only is it the practice of waiting for the right opportunity, but doing so in the right spirit. Waiting in agitation is a waste of energy. It also distracts from the main goal.

Right now I am in a situation where patience is quite important. As my MCAT test date looms ever closer, it is imperative that I give my brain, body, and nerves appropriate care and preparation. Becoming agitated because I can't seem to memorize the formula for that one physics principle is not going to help. Slowly working through the formula and then applying it to several different practice problems is a much better approach.

I feel the time crunch and want to find short cuts. There aren't any. Just patience. And time. And dedication.

Just breath.

This will pass.

Survival is a given.

Changes in the Wind

With so much going on you'd think I'd have quite a lot to say...

Alas, not yet. I'm going to keep this all close to the vest until there is a little more certainty in my world.

Coming soon: Erda Days!