initials

Wouldn't it be cool if the initials for my first and middle name were J and K?

J.K. Rowan

Rowan, J.K.

the view

They had window washers cleaning the windows of the office building I work in the other day. It was really loud. They rapelled down over the edge and had huge suction cups attaching themselves to the window. They had to hit the suction cups hard against the glass to attach themselves, which was why it was so loud.

But despite being distracted, once they finally cleaned the window I sit in front of, I was happy because now I can see the outside better. (This is my favorite part of my new desk.) It gets really hot when the sun is out and it's kind of hard to see my computer screen. But I do not want to close the blinds.

smell sense

The game "Identify the Smell" was played in the break room during my lunch break. First, someone stopped in to get water and said it smelled like Fig Newtons. The second person who walked in said it was like "burnt sweetness," or maybe "burnt sweet nuts"? Not sure exactly.

I had been sitting in there, so I didn't smell anything. It's kind of a curse and a blessing that after you're used to it, you don't even notice funky smells anymore.

This is living in Utah . . .

. . . at the Timberlodge Collection! (This jingle comes to my brain every time I think of the phrase "living in Utah." Without fail.)

In my adult life, except for the 5-month stint where I lived in Moscow, Russia (which doesn't really seem to count, oddly), I have never lived outside of Utah. My family moved around the country a bit until the summer of 1996, when we moved to Utah. We still moved around after that, but stayed in the Layton area.

Maybe this is silly, but lately I feel like I'm missing out on something by not having had experience living elsewhere. It seems like a lot of people go live different places for different reasons, be it for school, internship, work, study abroad, etc. Not us. Living in Moscow didn't count partially because I wasn't married, and having this experience of living somewhere other than Utah with a husband somehow makes it more valid or real. At least for now, Tim and I are schooling and working (respectively) in the Salt Lake area.

I have to wonder, would my life be much different if I did live somewhere else? I guess it depends on what I would be doing. Utah has many unique, interesting things. And people. I should maybe get involved more.

Japan relief

I got a Groupon-type deal of a different nature yesterday. Living Social is matching donations to the Red Cross for Japan relief efforts. Donate $5 and they'll give $10. Cool, no? Donate here.

I also just read that electricity has been restored to the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Hopefully that means the end of the nuclear crisis is near.

God bless Japan.

gonna get my hairs cut

I am blogging a lot today. Here and there.

Probably because I deactivated my Facebook account temporarily. The blog world fills the void inside.

Today some girls at work were talking about what a difference it makes to get a really good haircut. This has come up more than once, actually. I haven't experienced that in quite some time. I've been going to hair schools for the past several years, and I am starting to question how worth it this is. (I am not always wise with money, though I am rather frugal.) I always come away from hair school experiences with some amount of frustration. They take an insanely long time, the cut is usually mediocre, if not disastrous, etc.

That conversation at work was compelling. I called a salon to make a hair appointment. Here's to splurging on the nice things in life! I hope my wild dreams come true and I will come away from this with a haircut that is good. I don't have any idea what I want. Maybe I'll just go in and say "I don't care what you do to my hair, as long as it comes out feeling good in the end." Does that work?

on that note

I'm still thinking about food and bathrooms. Do you get grossed out by talk of bodily functions when you are eating? I don't particularly, but I know a lot of people do. What's behind this (no pun intended)?

public restrooms

The other day at work someone brought their food into the restroom. It was gross. Maybe she was taking her food somewhere to eat it and had a bowel attack suddenly, so I don't want to judge or anything . . . but . . .

On that note, I don't like the restrooms at work much. There are only three stalls. Too few to be anonymous. I think anonymity is important in public restrooms.

On that note again, remember the bathrooms at BYU with sitting areas off to the side? The one on the fourth floor in the library always had girls snoozing in it. It always seemed like a slightly weird place to nap. I guess they were comfortable chairs/couches . . . but . . .

scanning

I spent a lot of time scanning for Tim this weekend. It was awesome.

We first tried going to Meredith's to use her scanner, but Tim was having issues hooking it up to his computer. Then we went to the University of Utah library. I was thinking of the copy machines at BYU's library where you can e-mail scans, but apparently the copiers at the U library didn't have this functionality. What the what? Also, the library closed at 8 pm. What the what what? You mean people don't even have the option to spend their weekend evenings at the library on campus (where I could often be found) until midnight?

I slowly made my way through the book using a noisy Epson scanner until they kicked us out.

Then I remembered the copy machines at work! So on Saturday morning, to the office we went. Once I figured out how to use the machine, it was a dream. There were a few hiccups along the way, though. One of them involved sending a scan to one of the employees in HR and myself.

Oops.

score

Chef Bernhard sent the granola recipe. I couldn't be happier.