Remembering Summer 2010 - Music

You know how hearing a certain song transports you back in time to an exact moment. The sights, the sounds, the emotions? Music has always been a part of my life. Dad had music on in the house all of the time and through that example, I have had a love for all kinds of music – except opera and rap.


At the start of this summer I bought a couple of CD’s. The Black Eyed Peas, Nickleback, Lady Antebelum, and Frank Sinatra.

Good music and fun to listen to.

But one of my employees had music on ALL of the time that he was working in the office and not your typical office approved type of music —mostly RAP music ------and I LIKED it!

I would beg him to stay logged in to a certain music website so that I could hear the songs I liked over and over. Of course some of them I had to make sure I turned down the volumn ‘cause of a couple of swear words that were dropped in them – which is SO against the HC, but I kept and continue to keep listening to them.

Here are a couple of songs that will always remind me of the summer of 2010, a website address that you link to have a listen, and a super brief glimpse of my memory that is attached to it.


Black Eyed Peas – Party all the time   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIBQ5rOqSTw
Driving home from work late – night after night – and just going for long drives to release the stress.


Usher – OMG   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RarrjkoYVoQ
Midnightish drive to Sonic and this song was played for me. I think this is the song of the summer. Parking lot right before the Sonic in Provo.

Justin Bieber – Eenie Meenie    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmmCg5bKxA&ob=av2n
This was the first song of the aforementioned internet music site. This song reminds me of sitting at my desk in Heritage and working. (he has lotsof songs that remind me of sitting at my desk)

3oh!3 – My first kiss    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYC2FUutdKA
I heard this song at night again on a drive on my way to In&Out – on State street in Orem

Shaggy – It wasn’t me
- Not a song a “good LDS” should know like – so hence no link for you. Coming home from a evening game, driving through BYU campus, music blaring.

I don’t have exact moments that these songs remind me of, they are just part of the summer music memories

Jay Sean - Down

Ke$ha – Tik Tok, Your love is my Drug

Eminem – Not Afraid, Eminem& Rihanna – Love the Way the lie

Rihanna – Rude Boy

Beyonce – Halo, Irreplaceable, Crazy in love

Taio Cruz – Dynamite, Break Your Heart

Jason DuRulo – Ridin Solo

B.o.B. – Airplane, Nothin on You

Katy Perry - California Gurls

Travie Mccoy – Billionaire

Train – Hey, Soul Sister

Lady Gaga – Alejandro

Jason DeRulo – In my head

Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA


I guess now I can say I like all types of music.....except opera! 

Silent Rebellion

I have been gone from work 5 days. Well really I had to train on Friday night and Sunday morning, and I have been getting calls and texts to answer work questions so really I don’t feel like I have been “out of the office” at all. On my first day back I had at the top of my to-do list one simple task --type up the minutes from the full-time staff meeting on Aug 31st. It took me ALL DAY TO DO IT!

At my very late lunch hour I finally figured out why. I was rebelling.
When I was hired at BYU close to15 years ago, I was hired as the Office Manager. I was not hired as a secretary. I never wanted to be a secretary – I didn’t want to do things a secretary did.
Today I rebelled against that secretary hole I have been stuck in.
I have always had a good head on my shoulders and being able to solve problems. A little into my first job –while I was a high school senior I might add-- I became one of the merchandisers for the store I worked for. There were only 2 of us for the whole store! And my “success” continued with each job. My last job before I came to BYU, I was the office/facilities manager for a company that was a side shoot of a Fortune 500 company. The budget I had to oversee was mind boggling! One of the few amounts I remember was the monthly phone bill that I made sure was paid was close to $65,000.00. I changed leases and renegotiated contracts and modified how the offices in the Utah locations made purchases and I was able to save the company tens of thousands of dollars a year. I had 2 part time secretaries and another full time one that I shared with a vice president. I WAS NOT THE SECRETARY!
And then today. I had to type up minutes from a meeting that was 2 hours --that could have been completed in less than 45 minutes if I had been conducting.

And so I rebelled.

No one knew.

Now you know.

And I will tell you another secret. Tomorrow after I complete training my staff, I have to type up more  minutes from another meeting.  And there might be another silent rebellion.

Survival

This past month has been one of survival.
Breathe in, breath out
Try everything “under the sun” to get sleep at night
Get up, shower, go to work
work hard
stay at work for 10, 12, 16 hrs and the pile never goes away, and the list keeps growing longer and no one wants to join in on this “fun”
do everyone’s job
listen while others complain – a lot
go home
and the battle to survive continues on in a circle.

and sometimes the battle stops for brief seconds.
A friend bringing you lunch cause they know you have no time to leave work
A text that says Hi – hope your day is going good
Meeting for cupcakes, salads, walmart, drives
A double wide stroller with two cute boys whose smiles make you forget all of the stress
V.T.’s dropping off eats and treats on “H” day
Phone calls from the east that say “you’re gonna be ok kid”
Stopping for drinks at Sonic while on a “work errand”

I think I am at the end of this battle called August.... 
I think the circle has stopped.....
I think I can take two breaths in and row....
Breath in, Breath out, Breath in, Breath out

yawn!

passwords & phone numbers

This month I have changed my passwords multiple times.  I can't seem to find one that just "rolls off of my fingers" and is easy to type and most importantly--remember! 

I have the same problem with my cell phone number.  I changed it a year ago to what I thought would be the perfect number and made all of the numbers in my family plan close to each other thinking that they would be easy to remember -- and they are not!

I need a new cell number and a new set of passwords -- both easy to remember.

Yummy

This past week I met with my V.T's for our monthly "chat" at one of the "fancy fancy cupcake places".  It was nice to take a break from my super busy stress filled week to just sit and chat.  The cupcakes were good but the real treat came in just being around people who know how to laugh and chat about any topic under the sun.  Thanks ladies for a fun time!

Speed bumps and Parachute lines

Have you ever been driving along and all of a sudden hit a speed bump that you didn’t know was there --one of those HUGE speed bumps that bounces you so hard that if you were not wearing your seatbelt you would have smacked your head on the windshield?

This past month our whole family hit a huge life speed bump. One that shook us up, rattled us and made us lose control of what we had been doing. Dad was not feeling good and experiencing problems that don’t normally happen with congestive heart failure, so he went to the doctor. He was told that there was a chance that he had cancer. Test after scary stressful test were given and the waiting was torture. The month of July was swallowed up by doctor and hospital visits. After all of the tests were done and results were given, we found out that Dad has stage 4 prostate cancer (the severest stage).

Have you ever been skydiving? Me either. But I do know from watching my brother and helping him pack them back in the day that in addition to the chute, the lines are checked over and over. The lines hold and support the jumper and they are what you control the chute with. Friends are like parachute lines. They “hold you up” “support” you and when needed, help give you direction.

The afternoon when we got the diagnosis I sent out a txt message to a couple of people. I was overwhelmed with everyone’s response. One of my friends dropped her twins off with her nanny and drove right over. Offered her shoulder for me to cry on and of course brought some chocolate – just because chocolate helps make everything better. Prayers and fast were done on my family’s behalf. I had a friend call me when I was at my lowest point telling me that I am not alone in this, that I will be ok, that I can survive this new trial and the added responsibility now on my shoulders. I have had the “boss” line removed by my employees and they have comforted me when I break down in tears, helped me to be crazy some times and have just been there to support and help me.

I, like anyone else in similar situations, would rather not have had such a huge speed bump hit my family. But then I would not have known just how strong those lines of support and friendship are. To each of you, thank you, ….thank you for ALL of the support and not letting me fall out of my “chute”.

love

I saw this on my uncle's blog and thought that it was just too cute to not share.  How many times have we been too scared to share our feelings - and then someone else "jumps in" and the timing is off.  So if you have a "crush" on someone - be brave and tell them. 

weeds......

Have you ever just been driving down the road and decided to suddenly stop and get out and take pictures of weeds?  If not --you need to try it........

Name

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” ~ William Shakespeare


The girl's name Wendy \ we(n)- dy\ is pronounced WEN-dee. It is of English origin, and its meaning is "friend". Literary: a created name for the heroine in James Barrie's "Peter Pan".

I have always loved my name and the unique story of how it was chosen. Mom was pregnant with me when the family went to go see Peter Pan and Dad told Mom that if the baby was a little girl they should name her Wendy.

So that has been my name since birth. But in the last couple of years my name has been changed. Not by me –but those around me – and not really a name change – but a modification of my name. Wend, Wendyla, Wendall, Wendallyn, Wenster and the most recent – Wendizzle.

Most of these nicknames have been given by guys. It makes me wonder what sort of names the lost boys had for Wendy Darling……..