A new blog edition

I decided to start writing again, thanks to my sister, Jen. She has to add to her blog, too. And so should Melissa. Blogging helps us to write and keep in touch and so on, and so forth. I really haven't written anything for a good six months, now. Not anything interesting, anyway. My writing needs to be honed and and practiced, so that it will improve. Unfortunately, it hurts to type because I broke my finger or damaged it in some way. In my old age fainting only leads to broken appendages, so I do not recommend it.
So now here I am in Belleville, having spent a week in Utah with my family. It was fun. I want to move back to Utah, but at the same time, every time I go back to visit it looks less and less like the town I grew up in. It seems to be a boom-town. This fact has its pros and cons. I like the growth of restaurants and fun places to go, but the population also leads to crowdedness and horrific traffic.
Compared to where I am, however, Utah seems like a place where I am much more likely to find a job and a decent place to live.
At any rate, I will post more in the days to come. I have my lovely job search to write about. Having a college diploma has not helped me secure a job as of yet, but I forge on in my exploration. Good things...good things.

I was just reading a smart article, or, a smarticle, if you will. As the end of last year was winding to an end, the author was reflecting on how incredibly bleak the future looks. We'd like to think that since 2009 is no longer 2008 that our financial luck will start looking better. But according to Stephen M. Studdert, we have not even begun to see the worst of it. To quote:

"'Eugene Ludwig, former Comptroller of the Currency, concurs:
* “We're dealing with a crisis that makes the S&L crisis look like a peanut.'"

Now I have no idea what in h-e-dash dash he's talking aobut here exactly, but I do believe it's enough to send an average American into a dizzying vertigo of horrendousness. If what we're about to face is worse than a peanut, well, I just can't take that.

I digress, and I do it quite well, in fact. Anyway, I just wanted to point out to all you richies out there that you guys are really the ones in a bad way. What can anyone take away from someone who has nothing? Yep, that's right, living in my in-laws attic does afford me a sliver of comfort in knowing I can hit no rockier of a bottom. Of course, if they were to get evicted, then I might be in a pickle. But I'm sure we'd think of something.
It's the wealthy that really suffer in these times of economic uncertainty. You really only hear of the top-dogs committing suicide after the Black Sunday that kicked off the Great Depression.
Besides...it's only money anyhow. My husband tells me that we just never know. Our situation can change at the drop of a dime. I just keep telling myself this stuff. I think it helps even. And yes, I'm going to continue to use abnormally large font because I can see it better, and probably so can you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Stupid ponderings....

Here are some stupid bumper stickers I thought of:

I'm driving in front of stupid.

Don't even think about it.

Sometimes I can't even think of how little my brain is.

Why me, Lord?

Think not what you can do for yourself, but rather, what you can do for me.

Don't honk at me or I'll puke all over you.

Bumper stickers are lame.

My other car teleports me to the Delta Quadrant.

What? Where? (picture of Vinny Barbarino)

Let us not live in the yesterdays of our tomorrow.

I hope this road takes you home.

Video

So I was sitting here listening to itunes and all of a sudden I noticed I was sad. The music made me sad. Video Killed the Radio Star (the good one, by the Buggles) was playing. I felt a sort of sadness that I've never felt before-like I was feeling something someone else had felt when they heard the song. Maybe the song prompts a bad memory for someone else and I for some reason felt it. The song has always made me happy in the past, but for some reason it's making me ponder life right now. I can't help but think, "Video DID kill the radio star." I heard this was the first video to be played on MTV. That was when MTV thought all it would ever do is play music videos. It premiered when I was but a wee child, but I remember it so well. I was only about five or six, and I watched it all the time at my neighbor's house. Allison Fricke, her sisters, and I would all dance to the music-we loved Boy George, Duran Duran, and Michael Jackson. Now, MTV SUCKS with a capital S, followed by capitals u, c, k, and s. I am most sure that most in my generation would agree. Now the internet has killed the video, in a way. itunes killed the music industry in a way, too. I don't know-something killed good music. But then I think about how generations before tv became so popular remember radio, and maybe with fondness. Most people I know think back fondly on their childhoods. I know I do. Maybe the sadness was my child self grieving for my adult self, and that's why it felt so distant. I can hardly remember a lot of things from my childhood. I was just thinking that today. It's sad, really. Something killed my childhood. Growing up and out and away from all that kept me feeling happy and secure-that's what happens when a child turns into an adult. It's funny how kids and teenagers want to do things adults do, but adults never tell them just how horrible it is to actually be an adult. I guess it doesn't have to be so bad. When I think of how magical and mysterious life used to be, I do sigh a little for the loss of my innocence and youth. It was a fun time. It was a special time, and a time I will never get back. Yes, indeed, Video killed the radio star. Just as the star of my youth flickered out and died, too.

It is a good day ever

This is beautiful Mount Timpanogos, which majestically sits in my hometown of Orem, Utah. The trees here in Illinois are something to behold especially now in Autumn, but nothing reminds me more of the grandeur of God's creations as much as the Rocky Mountains. I miss them. I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills, I love the daffodils! I think God gave us these things to remind us how small we are, and at the same time how great we can become. The title of this particular blog is actually a quote from a three year old in my church nursery, Lily. Her mother spoke today in church telling us that Lily woke up one day and said, "Mom! It is beautiful outside, it is a good day ever!" I wish I could just once wake up and think with the enthusiasm of a three year old, it is a good day. Instead, I wake up wishing I could sleep longer. When I visited Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, in Virginia, I noted how he arose with the sun every day. In his day there was no artificial light to keep him up late or television to get in the way of his own mind in the process of thinking or working. With all of our blessings of technology, we are (at least I am) easily distracted from doing things that truly uplift and help us progress. I am going to try each day to remember that now is the time to do something edifying. Now is the time to remember others and help them. What can I do to help myself progress or help someone else progress? I think I will go see if there is some way I can help my husband write his history paper. Toodles, and to all a Happy Sabbath.

Balloon Fiesta

This week is the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, beginning with Mass Ascension on Sunday. These photos are some of my favorite things about Albuquerqe, New Mexico. Living there was delish!

The Sandia Peak Tram. I worked at High Finance in '97. The restaurant was located at the top of the tram, so I got to ride it every day that summer.

Wha?

I find it irksome and bothersome that I can no longer burn cds on itunes. Must technology always try to thwart my big plans? That's right, I've got big plans for some cds I wanna burn. Now I'm stuck with five failed attempts at burning and five now useless cds. I purchased the Judy Collins album, Judith, last night. I can't sleep at night anymore, but what's really bad is that when I can't sleep I download music. It's getting to be too costly. Anyway, late last night I bought Judy Collins, yada yada yada, now I'm stuck with no way of listening to it except on my computer. Technology is supposed to make things easier, and yet it seems to complicate things. I just wanted to make a copy of Judith for my car. I used to love listening to it as a child. I think my parents had the eight-track. I know we had the vinyl record of it too, and my sister Alison and I used to lip sync to it way back when we shared bunk beds. Wow, that was so long ago. Ali and I had some really fun times together growing up. I miss it. I miss playing slap jack and monopoly with her. We also had a board game where we rolled plastic pigs instead of dice. I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called. I will have to call her. I know that whatever the position the pigs landed in indicated how many points we got. There was the leaning jowler position and makin' bacon. That's all I remember. But it was fun. Great fun. Anyway, technology, huh? Whattayagonnado?