End of Year Letter

Just a note--you'll have to click on "download" from the drop down thing beside "Menu" to read it in big format.

Merry Christmas!

For some reason this Christmas season seems to have just flown by. Perhaps because I'm not at work with work parties that seem to enhance and add to the feeling. Perhaps it's a blessing since I didn't get to go home this year.

I have been away from home one other Christmas, 1995, when I was on my mission in France. I was in Evry then, in a ward with huge geographical boundaries, so we normally didn't eat much at the members' homes. However, with the Christmas season, the ward mission leader decided to strongly encourage the members to feed us throughout the month and passed around sign up sheets. It was kind of nice to have that. Even with the encouragement, we didn't have "mangez-vous" every day (a missionaryism in France; most appointments were called rendez-vous, but when you got to eat, it was a mangez-vous), but still we got to meet quite a few more members than we'd known before and had some fun experiences seeing how the ethnically diverse members in the area lived, and particularly how they decorated for Christmas.

Or didn't decorate for Christmas. I had thought I'd learned in school that French people had a handful of Christmas traditions, and so I guess I assumed they'd dec their places out like we do in America. But it seems a lot of those traditions were in the nature of traditional as the "traditional" costumes you find on those "representative" dolls. People don't really dress like that any more. And they don't really decorate a lot either. (They did decorate--just not as much.)

On our visits, we asked the hosts what their Christmas memories and traditions included, often noting the toned-down sense we got. The answer I remember best was that they just felt the season for them was just about spending time with family.

Interesting. We do tend to think about it that way too, in the U.S., but that aspect can also have a tendency to get buried in the midst of all the places we have to go--those work parties, school things, concerts, etc.--things that tended to "cumber" my mother, as she wrote about in her story just published in The Ultimate Christmas (I know, shameless plug).

Still, even with all of the sometimes encumbering events, Christmas is about being with family, so it was a little strange to spend another Christmas without my own family. I did get to talk to my parents and then later my sister Nancy on the phone, though, which was nice. And my mom even talked me through some of things that she was doing to get the house ready for the dinner when my brothers and Nancy and their families would be coming over--so, like reading a story with good descriptions, she kind of brought me there with her words. The snowmen were lined up on the shelves and the little village was set out on the desk. The Christmas tree was up and in the family room, with only two stockings this year--one for Mom and one for Dad. What a change that is! She was shaking out the table cloth. Does this look like the right side up? And even better than reading, I got to hear her voice.

On Christmas day in 1995, we ate at the Relief Society president's house, and since she was actually an American, her house was pretty dec'd out, so it did feel a little more homey for the American in me. I also got to talk to my family that day, too. My strongest memory of that day, however, was that we just sat around for what felt like hours--I'm not sure how long it was, actually, but it felt like way too long. And we weren't really doing anything. I hated being idle, so I kept suggesting that we go caroling or something, but nobody was willing to go with me, and missionaries can't just do things alone, aside from the fact that caroling alone is just weird. So I remained crammed on the couch, trying not to get too close to an Elder, and not feeling like much of a missionary, particularly on Christmas. Besides, I really did want to sing. I played the piano in sacrament meetings in that ward, so I didn't get to sing much at all those months in Evry.

Yesterday, however, I did get to sing. And it was wonderful! What a great blessing for me. A girl in one of the colonial wards had posted on the general listserv that she was going to sing in the hospital on Christmas morning and anyone was welcome to come. That just sounded awesome, so I prayed I'd get up on time, and Heavenly Father lovingly answered that prayer. The four other people who came along were great company and had great singing voices, and the girl who had posted even played the guitar along the way, which added a sweet sound.

But the best part of course, was seeing the happy faces of those unfortunate individuals who had no choice but to be out of their homes and idle on the great holiday. We saw some radiating faces, including an elderly woman, probably in her 80s or 90s, who was just a huge smile the whole time. Another woman who had something that prevented her from speaking, wrote us a thank you note on her clipboard and tapped her foot as we sang. What a great treat that was.

Then later in the day, I was also blessed with the opportunity to spend time with a family, friends of mine. A couple weeks ago, when we celebrated the mother's retirement, the friend who prayed the blessing on the food called us a strange family in the prayer. It was kind of funny at the time, but I think his point was that we're all kind of a family though we grew up in different families. And it's true. They're great people, the Rogers, and I'm so glad they opened their home and their hearts to me.

Like my day in Evry, the meal was not "traditional," but that was just fine. I had turkey about a month ago. The laid back atmosphere and feeling like family was the most important thing about the season definitely rang true yesterday. So while I hope next year I can be with my own family, this year was a merry Christmas still. I am so very blessed.

Car Key Adventure

My car has a safety feature that is supposed to keep you from locking your keys in. That is, you're not supposed to be able to lock the door while it's open. And so for the first little while that I owned my car, I ignorantly waited until I was out of the car, then locked it with the key. (They also didn't give my automatic locks with the little button keychain contraption, which was a major disappointment, but that's another story.)

However, it wasn't too long before I noticed that sometimes the door would manage to lock before I closed the door, and soon realized it was when I was still holding the handle open from the inside. That is, if I pressed down the lock at the same time as I had the handle out for opening the door, it locked, so I didn't have to use the key. Once I figured that out, I have been locking the door without the key--for the past five and a half years. Never once have I locked my car keys in the car.

Until Thursday.

I went to the BYU Management Society luncheon in DC in the morning (it started at 12:00. I left in the morning). For some reason I felt I really needed to go, though I'm not sure why exactly. I mean it was good--perhaps worthy of another post. But anyway, since I was running late, I decided to drive to the metro station closest to DC where I could park, which was Pentagon City. It also has the highest parking fee. But since it's in a mall garage, once I realized I could validate parking, I figured it was worth it. It's Christmas season, after all. Surely there must be something I could buy.

But I was selfish, bought something for myself, and something that even contradicts my personal standards. (I've deleted the post that indicates what this personal standard is, but for those of you who remember, it has to do with clothes and has nothing to do with modesty.) And so I was punished. Maybe.

On my way home from the mall, I stopped at a gas station in Alexandria city, kind of near a place I used to live, so I was familiar with the area, and it also had the cheapest gas I'd seen around --at $1.63. Not bad, huh? (Across the street it was $1.64, but when I came back later in the evening, they'd dropped to $1.61. I suppose you never can keep up.)

I'd been pretty warm in the mall, and I'd gotten a sweet parking spot--the closest possible to Macy's in the covered parking. So my coat was off, laying on the passenger seat. But I could really feel the cold once I started the gas pumping so I was going to just sit back in my car and wait, when Wait! I can't open the door. What? I locked the door, and there on top of my coat sat my purse, which had my cell phone and every phone number I could possibly need, and my keys. Yikes.

So I ran into the the gas station and told them the dilemma. The nice manager, an Indian man in his 60s or 70s teased me a bit. "You have a spare key in your house? It will cost $100 or more to get a locksmith." Eesh.

"Yes, I think I know I have a spare key, and I think I know where it is."

"Do you want to call someone?"

"I have two roommates, but their phone numbers are in my phone. I don't know them."

"You don't know your roommates' phone numbers?" He was surprised. "Do you have a house phone? You could yell at the answering machine for someone to pick up."

"We have a house phone, but I don't know that number either. It's my roommate's, so I don't give it out."

"You don't know your house phone number?"

Luckily a man checking out defended me, "I don't know my wife's phone number. I just scroll to it and pop. Push the button."

"Oh, so that's how it works these days. Nobody knows their friends' numbers."

I guess he didn't have a cell phone. Some people, I suppose are not as connected. This digital world isn't quite as completely digital as we sometimes like to convince ourselves, perhaps.

"Do you have a job?"

"No. I'm looking."

"Oh, no no. No job. Looking for a husband, too, right?"

"Of course." I smiled and laughed.

"Maybe God wanted you to lock your keys in your car, so we could meet?" (He was kind of a funny guy, at least.) "Well, if you can't get a hold of anyone, you can come sleep at my house--don't worry, I have a separate bed."

Ha ha. But seriously, he told me later he would have taken me all the way to my house, which was a few miles away and since it was kind of close to rush hour, it would have been a long haul. But since my house key was also on my key chain, he figured that wouldn't have worked so well.

I didn't think the Sonoco would have the internet, but I knew the internet would have my friends' numbers. So I asked if they knew anywhere nearby that might have it. They looked stumped, so I decided just to wander around, over to the outdoor mall just a few yards away. Someone had to have some means to the internet.

I thought I vaguely remembered that maybe an old friend's dad owned a store in the corner, so I headed to that corner, but that store wasn't there. Ah. No, that was another outdoor mall near another place where I used to live. Yeah, I've lived in too many places. But aha! In that corner, there was a Kodak place. And lo and behold, they even had a computer with internet access right there in their lobby.

Answers to prayers!

I sent an email to my roommates, then found a phone number, and ran back to the Sonoco to call. Then waited and waited. Maybe I should have gotten the other roommate's number, too. Though Angelee was more likely to be home around the 4:00 hour when this was taking place, she had lost her phone last I heard. So I ran back to the Kodak place to get a few more phone numbers. And then, just as I had written them down, I turned to find the nice Indian face standing beside me. He'd come to get me so I didn't have to walk back in the cold. Ah. what a nice man.

Back at the Sonoco, I placed a few more calls, left a few messages, and chatted with the nice man for awhile. He had never married, had no children, but did have a few brothers and they had children. He liked being a good uncle, particularly to his one brother's daughter, but she'd decided to go out with a boy he didn't approve of so she wasn't speaking to him. Very sad. But he did have other brothers to spend time with. He was very close to his mother, but she'd passed away a few years ago. So now it was just him. He seemed to have a really positive attitude about everything, though. Very upbeat. Nice to meet new people, see the world through other people's eyes for a brief time. Maybe God did want me to lock my keys in my car so I could meet him.

Then I remembered some other people who might have keys to my house and might be home, so the nice Indian man (I never did get his name) drove me back to the Kodak place where they welcomed me warmly again. All kinds of friends to be made, huh? Then he drove me back and I made a few more calls. Finally, yeah! I got a hold of Carrie, my wonderful, sweet roommate. She hadn't found the spare where I thought it was, but she was coming to get me.

I knew she had something going on that night so I was so grateful she was able to come. And it had been awhile since we'd talked with all of our comings and goings. And in answer to prayers, again, I found my spare shortly after I got home. Carrie had to go out, as I'd thought, but when she came back, she was so kind to take me back and get my car. Everything worked out just fine. And really, it was all in answer to other prayers that I get a little exercise (which I did, running back and forth between Kodak and Sonoco places, as well as earlier that day to get to the BYU luncheon), that I have things to do outside my apartment and visit with people.

I didn't quite get a job out of it, but I guess I can't have everything. Still, it wasn't such a bad punishment for my selfish purchase, after all.

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

My parents birthdays are ten days apart, and I was neglectful of remembering my blog on my mom's birthday, but alas my dad's has come along and I remembered, so I'll combine! They're married, so they're one anyway, right?

First my mom since her birthday was first.
My mom is amazing! She is the definition of organization and time management. She has charts and lists and records of everything, to help her keep track of her 8 children, her husband, and now her 19 grandchildren, I'm sure. My fond memories of her include: drawing lessons she gave me one summer when I was in elementary school (That was part of a one-on-one time project with all of her children, and I loved learning to draw from her.); Playing with her old Barbies in her bedroom; Shopping with her and sharing the handle of the buggy as we scooted around the store; Many telephone conversations; Reading her cute poems; and more recently, her visit out to see me in 2004 even though she was scared to death of the traffic and everything. I love you Mom!

And now my dad since he's second. And today!
My dad is also amazing! He has a fun sense of humor that I think I picked up on a little. And he's fun to watch with his grandchildren. They seem to love him, too. He's very easy-going and loving. Some of my favorite memories with my dad include: going to see the Princess Bride in the theater (you might not remember, but it wasn't a box office hit. To me, this was doing something a little unusual that I knew my dad would like and being pleasantly surprised that I really liked it too.); Learning how to drive in cold Colorado mornings on the way to seminary; short and sweet father messages at Family Home Evening (Be Good); Getting lost on the way home from the airport; Talking on the telephone, in the living room, in their bedroom; Getting his kind letter to me while I was on my mission; Hearing his testimony of how much he loves my mom; Learning a few Swedish words from him when I was a kid; and so many more! I love you Papa!

Seeing Sky-Blue Pink

Seeing Sky-blue Pink by Candice F. Ransom

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a beautiful story. Lots of great images and lyrical writing. Candice is my friend, so perhaps I'm biased, but I don't think so. I think this book is worthy of attention. It's more character-driven and episodic than a lot of books I read, though it has a uniting conflict element. Some young children might have trouble understanding a book that isn't as plot-driven, but they will surely love the language and the little adventures Maggie goes on. A nice hark back to the family stories by great authors like E. Nesbit, Elizabeth Enright, Edward Eager, whom I learned to appreciate in the families class at Hollins. (Candice was in that class, and though this book just came out, it appears it was in the works already at that time, and she didn't say anything! She's definitely a humble woman, and funny as heck! If you have a chance to meet her, I would recommend it.)


View all my reviews.

Bronze Dragon Codex, review

Bronze Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. I thought the moral of the story was unique and refreshing, and the writing quality was excellent. I'll confess I originally bought the book because my friend from Hollins wrote it (Amie Rotruck), so partly for curiosity and partly desire to support her. I don't usually read a lot of dragon books. But I'm glad I did because I was thoroughly impressed. Way to go Amie!


View all my reviews.

Seeing the Blue Between

Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets by Paul B. Janeczko

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a great book for teaching about poetry. The different featured poets share their sometimes contradictory opinions about poetry, which gives the reader a broad scope of perspectives on the subject. And the poems, too, provide a broad scope of the genre, as well as being cute, clever, and enlightening. The targeted audience is obviously children, but it doesn't need to be.


View all my reviews.

Another Inadvertent Advertisement

Since it seems the big publishers in Utah like to have full paper copies of your manuscript for consideration, and since the last time I printed the whole thing I ran out of black ink and had to print about 100 pages in color (sorry Hillary!) for my thesis advisor, I decided to look into printing it at a shop. This would also save me from nursing the printer since I can only print like 20 pages at a time from my little baby.

Yeah. I called Kinko's. The guy said it would be $25 for my 252 pages. Eesh. I guess it makes sense. And even thinking about the competition of myself doing it, I realized that it wouldn't be that much less for the paper and the ink cartridges I'd go through. But eesh. Eager for a sale, he continued "if you print multiple copies, you might get a discount." "Okay, how about five?" "[numbers, numbers, numbers, calculation words, numberes] comes to about $99--that's 40% off!" Eesh. Do I really want five copies? Is simultaneous submission really worth $100?

When money's tight, I have a hard time justifying that. He concluded by telling me they price matched, so if I found it cheaper anywhere else, they'd match the price. Well, that's nice, I thought. Thanks. But eesh was still running through my brain. Maybe I'll try to publish on the national market where I'd only have to worry about the first three chapters.

So I know there's one Utah/unofficial LDS publisher that accepts emailed ms's, but their Author Questionnaire kind of indicated they wanted any sequels to be ready within a year. That's another eesh. (Though if you're reading this, sorry. I might still try you :). I have even gone ahead and started writing the sequel.)

That was a few days ago I called. But today, after this over two months of unemployment, well, let's just say I might still consider petitioning Congress on that bill. Seriously, we're in a recession. If I'd known that when I was contemplating quitting my last temp agency, maybe I would have proceeded differently. I'm still not sure though. I've run the feelings I was having at that time over and over in my mind, and I'll admit I probably made a mistake. But it might have just been time to quite anyway. Regardless, in this slump of job searching, I've of course thought that if my book sells, I might make some money, probably more than enough to cover that $25 dollars to print it. Finally today, I decided to go ahead and print it.

After making sure the latest copy was saved on my stick, ready to take to Kinko's, I had this other thought. Hm. They match prices. That must mean there are other companies. Duh, I knew that. At the job I had from February through June this year, I had to call several copy places to see if they would do a certain kind of print job and then again to see if they had a certain cartridge. Both times, I ended up walking quite a distance, once in a terrible downpour in my worst pair of shoes with a cruddy umbrella. Maybe that's why I blocked it.

But hey, it's not raining today. Thanks for unblocking me Kinko's! So, where are these, your competitors? I quickly did a Google search "copy centers near 22306," and a list pulled up. Staples. Well, that kind of makes sense. This other place on Belleview, near where I live. Interesting. I called them both--both had better deals than Kinko's. Staples had $.09 per page plus $2 handling fee. The Belleview place $.07 per page and $5 handling fee. Wow. Belleview was closer. That sounded pretty decent, even, too.

In the mean time, I had another errand to take care of in Old Town Alexandria, so I headed up there to take care of that, then was just going to stop by Belleview on the way back. But lo and behold, on my way to the building in Old Town, I see ABC printing on the corner--same building. Since I'm here, I might as well ask, I thought. Good thing I did too. $.07 per page and no handling fee. Wahoo. Now if that don't beat all.

So, of course I could get a quote from them and run it over to Kinko's. Riiight.