I hadn't been to this temple since I was a young woman. It is still as breath-taking as ever.
This is the delicious treat that my friend, Boyd, provided. He was out on his occasional chocolate run and came back with a treat for everyone that was in the lobby, myself included. He is a head honcho with the Publishing Dept. and any sign that I am on his good side is wonderful. Everyone in the Publishing Department are so nice! I hope they like me...
This was the view a few weeks ago in the crazy rain/wind storm. I may hate riding the train, but this shot was totally worth it.
Story: I was delivering packages to the different floors at the end of my work day and happened upon this poster by the Music Department. I don't fully know what they are trying to say with this poster, because as I understand it, the majority of the building is dedicated to Mr. Fredette. This makes me think otherwise....Anyway, it made me chuckle, so I had to document.
This was from my last reception while being captain. This is what happens to my servers. I work them to the bone! (JK, he was actually running on three hours of sleep due to a midterm earlier that morning, but still. If Amy had walked in, I would have been highly chastised for letting my servers sit on the job. I say, "Hey, lady. He's been working a double for you. Give him three minutes and he'll be fine. The best servers are happy servers."
Do you remember my episode with the roofers? Yup. This was that same morning, running from my house.
Down the block and around the corner, to H&M I will go...
Thank you, City Creek, for claiming half my paycheck. Hopefully, I maintain my self control.
- My house needed a new roof. Therefore, my parents have been in contact with a company called Jasper Roofing for a few weeks now. Yesterday, we had our entire roof re-shingled. (Actually, it was re-everything-ed.) It wasn't all that bad except for the pounding, the walls shaking, the loud footsteps above my head, the Spanish that I couldn't understand, and the fact that we have a sky light in our bathroom. All my childhood fears of someone being able to see me through that skylight were realized in one morning. Allow me to clarify: I don't think the man saw me, but I most definitely saw him. The whistling above my head whilst getting ready for work was enough to shake me to the core. For the first time ever, it was a relief to leave my house. Yesterday morning was the epitome of awkward.
- Is there a possibility that there is a full moon tonight? Because all the crazies came out of the woodwork this afternoon. A man waltzed into the lobby claiming that we must be 15 E South Temple. Please look at the large numbers on the front of the doors, sir. We are not. I attempted to keep my cool and guide him in the right direction, but that seemed to frazzle him further. He decided he was going to ride the elevator until he found his contact. I asked if he had a key card and was authorized to ride the elevator because we are a secure building and the only way that you get up the elevator is through me. Well, you can imagine, I was not the high light in his afternoon. Still, I feel satisfied that I didn't let him pass me. Sir, I'm tough. Deal with it.
- When I talk on the phone, I feel super awkward. I was talking to a new staff member for Brighton and she laughed and laughed. I wasn't necessarily trying to be funny, but my mind runs like crazy and my mouth usually follows it. I hope she doesn't think I'm certifiably insane...
awesome
- For all you romantics out there, especially romantic readers, I just found you the greatest book. It is a must read! It will be published next month through Shadow Mountain. Do you remember when I posted so that I would distract myself from reading? Well, this is that book. Let me tell you, it is a good thing I waited as long as I did. This past weekend, I didn't want to do anything else.
Watch out for Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.
Here is the book trailer. I watched it and it made me giggle as I saw the Utah version of England resides in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The accent wasn't the most believable either, but don't let that dissuade you from reading. If I could find a man like that, I'd consider myself a lucky girl.
- Have you ever noticed that your voice changes when you talk about sacred things? This past Sunday, I was asked to give the closing prayer. I didn't think much of it until a friend told me he had to open his eyes to make sure that it really was me talking. And I think it's awesome.
- Sitting at the reception desk has a few perks. Every now and again, I'm offered free food. Most times, it is a cookie from Hagermann's that other associates don't want to eat. [Side note: you should try Hagermann's chocolate chip cookie! At least that is what I think it is called. It has oatmeal in it, so it may have a different name, but it's delicious! Not as good as the Dutch Chocolate, because, like my Oma always says, "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch!" Just so happens, I'm half Dutch. ;) ]
Back to my story- A few days ago, Keith came through the lobby and offered me his chocolate chip cookie from lunch. Turned out that he was given two for the price of one, so I suddenly had two cookies on my hands. I ate one, but had the other just sitting on my desk, tempting me. Cory walked through after a meeting and I asked him if he would like it. He surprised me by taking it. My small act has now turned into "our thing" because yesterday, he came all the way down to the lobby to offer me his extra cookies from a meeting. I asked him, "You came all the way down here to offer me a cookie?" He said, "Well, you were so nice yesterday, I thought I would return the favor." I always knew I liked him. There is a great bunch of people that I have the privilege to work with, but Cory is among my favorites.
- Brighton's Welcome Party is THIS SATURDAY! I'm super excited! And then today, suddenly, I got really nervous. Shoot! I'm Director?
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much has been going on in this little life of mine. I've been trying to work three part time jobs and get Brighton up and running at the same time. The stake activity that took months to plan is over and done, accomplished with flying colors. The Relief Society Presidency is working on our RS Birthday activity in two weeks from yesterday. My social life has taken a little bit of a hit but never fear, things are about to calm down, although just a little bit.
This Saturday is very likely my last day working as a JSMB banquet server. I finally pulled the plug. With all of the events that are scheduled during Saturdays for the next few months, there is no way I can do both. Even without Brighton coming into play, it was really becoming too hard to keep going. I felt disconnected from the other servers by working one day a week and every time I did work, I felt a little rusty. I was disappointed with myself after every shift. I am slightly worried about the money situation, but the answer, I hope, lies with my dad and being more responsible in my hours at MassMutual. Everything works out, right? Right.
I went into Laurel's office a few days ago. I still can't believe how nice the supervisors become when you start threatening to quit. She complimented me again and again and said how much she has loved working with me. I wonder what Amy would have said if I told her that I was done. Interesting...
Brighton is just about to be in full swing. Tomorrow is the official Kick-off with the Brighton Representatives and then next Saturday is our official Welcome Party. I CANNOT WAIT! Our staff is going to be amazing this summer, no doubt about that. Change is going to be a good thing for camp. Not that we are changing a whole bunch, but we are updating a few things and getting rid of the needless stuff. Zim is such a wonderful president and she has truly looked over all of camp and seen what we need and what we can do without. I've been waiting for this for months and I have to pinch myself to realize that it is actually happening.
With all of the excitement of Brighton starting and the staff that we do have, there has been a surprising amount of pain caused by the staff that we don't have. I knew that saying no to wonderful girls would be difficult, but I didn't realize that it would be this difficult. I have already learned much as Director. The biggest lesson learned is that I can't personally fix everyone's problems. As much as I love these girls, I can't take the hurt away. I can't place the responsibility on my weak shoulders, as much as I try to "bear one another's burdens." My lesson in the past two weeks is that bearing one another's burdens does not mean that I have the power to solve them. I only have the power to send them to the source that can lift their pain. I have felt the Savior's love in a completely different capacity than I ever have before, and for that, I am grateful.
The past few weeks have definitely been a rollercoaster, but I wouldn't trade it. Life is still amazing, even with little hiccups every now and again.
Disclaimer: This post was written to distract myself from reading at my desk. Heidi brought me down my own FREE copy of a book that is coming out through Deseret Book next month and I know once I crack the binding, I won't be able to put it down. Then, there were multiple free books up in the break room that were up for grabs. Guess what I'm doing every spare moment for the next few days... :)
Remember how much I love my job? Free books and just because? Yes, please!
