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2007 Christmas Day

Opening gifts with Shaft. CB receiving extra treats. Fresh snow and crisp air. Hilarious Santaland Diaries. Laughing in the car. Efficient security pass working when needed. Surfjan Stevens Christmas album. Crushing a project at work (wahoo). Receiving the coolest Christmas Video. Copy of The Entrepreneur Story. Jamming to music while working. Christmas dinner of sushi, sashimi, crabcakes, etc. Lots of sake, wine and dessert. Dominos. Hanging out with Gunner. Sheer Happiness.

Absent.

Not quite sure why I haven't blogged lately.
Busy, I suppose.
Perhaps not in the mood.
Lots of ideas, but lack of initiative.
Part of life, eh?

The Classics Keep on Rockin'

The Classic film extravaganza continues at the 1123, with recent films including:

• The Philadelphia Story - a romantic comedy with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart about a couple who gets divorced, dates other people and then unexpectedly remarries. I liked Hepburn substantially more in this film than in Bringing Up Baby. Funnily I read in Wikipedia that this was her first big hit, removing her nickname of "box office poison."
• A Streetcar Named Desire - whew. This film was a little intense! Definitely not one of my favorites, but Marlon Brando's acting was phenomenal. "Stella!"
• Some Like It Hot - fantastic little film based around two musicians running away from the mafia after wandering into a shoot out. The two men dress as women and join an all-women's band. Stars include Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. This was the first film I had seen with Monroe and liked her performance, though I hear she typically played the ditsy blonde role.
  
• Charade - one of my favorites so far! Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn work together to solve the mystery behind Hepburn's husband death. The combo of Grant and Hepburn is phenomenal, plus the thriller and romance keeps one's attention.
  
• Monkey Business - silly 1952 film starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe. The light hearted plot based around the idea of a scientist researching for the "fountain of youth" drug. Grace Kelly's dance scene and Grant's scene of dressing up as an Indian to play with the children were real good.
  
• Father Goose - I thoroughly enjoyed this film, especially Cary Grant's role as it differed from many of his other roles. The plot was based around the idea of a drunk vagabond being tricked into helping the government during WWII. He randomly meets Leslie Caron's character and the opposites soon attract.
  

Thanksgiving 2007

I truly love the holidays as it means yet another extended climbing weekend. This year the crew was seeking warmth so jetted back to St. George.

The first day Shaft, Triznut and I climbed in Black Rocks, hitting up both the sunny and shady sides. We ran a handful of sport routes and a trad line, while the CB-GBers happily slept in the rope bag.

Day one finished up with Triznut showing me the beta on a tricky 11b. We soon realized the climb was difficult due to the point that a huge boulder size portion of the climb (with bolt attached) lie on the ground rather still attached to the wall.

My all time favorite picture of Shaft.

Shaft unexpectedly busted out the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever tasted, served with wine and enjoyed around the campfire. (Funny side story: In order to have wood for the night we had to leave an IOU at a Smith's since an attendant was not present. We went back the next day to pay our debt, and were told that we weren't the only campers leaving IOUs. In fact, the attendant had to ask which one was ours. Classic!)

Day two was spent on the scariest limestone slabs on earth. Blue-eyed Amy crushed each route with ease, but the rest of us (Shaft, Triznut, Gunner, GFK and myself) were somewhat more hesitant.

The beauty of St. George.

Day three was spent bouldering in Moes. Pictured is Shaft (with Emery camo hat) cruising a problem.

Gunner easily hiked this aesthetic problem.

GRK busting out the heel hook.

Day four was my favorite as it was spent in Snow Canyon on some fantastic sport climbs. Pictured is me leading Dogma. So fun! So very, very fun!

Shaft leading Hair of the Dog.

Triznut getting ready for the whipper. Good times! =)

Striving for Healthy Relationships

I thought I would re-circle on my family posts as I have had some time to think. My family life is a wound, but also the reason why I am who I am. There is no reason to talk about the family issue any more, but rather to be forward looking into finding and sustaining healthy relationships in the future.

I believe a healthy relationship (meaning with family or significant others) should live by the following:

• Hard topics should be able to be openly discussed in a manner where all ideas can freely be brought to the table and analyzed
  
• Daily comments of love should be expressed
• Words should be carefully chosen
• Conversation should consist of two people discussing, not one person doing all the listening
  
• Time and hobbies should be willingly sacrificed for another member of the family / relationship
• Bad days or hurt feelings should be addressed
• Creating transparent lives can help establish trust
  
• Focusing on honesty is vital
  
• Crucial facts (birthday, degree of study, history) should be remembered
• Quality time should be spent on a regular basis
• Weaknesses and worries should be addressed by the other person with compliments and praise, helping the other overcome these fears
  
• Time apart is a necessity
• The "little things" truly are important (i.e. notes, a simple thank you, etc)
  

I would really appreciate any thoughts from you readers. How do you sustain healthy relationships? What have you found to be helpful?

Work Days

My work day today has been spent plugging away on an extensive spreadsheet in a windowless cubicle. I stop at one point to check my email, only to see these pics from my friend's mobile phone sitting in the inbox.

The sad thing is, he is working.

Our jobs are obviously very different. =)

Loituma Techno Video

My friend NYPE Analyst sent me this Youtube video. The song is a techno re-mix of a Finnish polka song, but the lyrics are half Finnish and half gibberish. Supposedly the song became popular after it was dubbed over this YouTube video. The funny thing is, the song is pretty catchy and next thing I knew I was bobbing my head along to the beat. My favorite part of the video is how she is spinning a leek (of all things). It is all so catchy!



Here is a video of the original song.

New Website for UtahBlood.org

I just noticed that Utahblood.org has a new website and it is REAL cool!

• They have added a new logo which is a fantastic representation of who they are and what they do
• On the homepage they list the current needs for whole blood and platelets, plus the current blood drives
• There is now a Weekly Patient List link page that breaks down what type of blood and how many units are used weekly
  
• They have started a punch card where you get a punch every time you donate, that can be turned in for schwag with their logo. Plus they have giveaways to incentivize people to come in and donate
  
• They have a Blood Blog that will let donors know who they are helping, while still protecting the privacy of the patient.

What a fantastic site! Check it out!

Donating for Life

I strive to volunteer once per week and lately have been searching for new volunteer opportunities that are more serious in nature and have stronger impacts. My latest find, which I have blogged about a little in the past, is donating platelets at ARUP. I really like this opportunity because the ARUP donations are used locally and current demand in certain blood types, one of which is mine, outweighs supply.

So far I have only been able to donate platelets once because in order to give one has to be perfectly healthy, and lately I seem to continually have a cold. However, I have an appointment again next week and am stoking up on the vitamin C in preparation.

Platelet donation is an odd volunteer experience in comparison to what I usually do because for an hour and a half there is a needle in my arm and I do experience some side effects during the process (being chilled from the blood re-entering at a cooler degree in comparison to the body and having my lips tingle from what I believe they said was a loss of calcium). But just knowing that a local person is using my platelets to continue living is an awesome feeling. Plus, what other volunteer experience requires you to sit, eat snacks and watch a movie. =)