Scenic Route

I'm in Boston!  with my eldest sister!

Today, on the way back from my church, my sister decided to avoid the highway because of the heavy fog reducing visibility.  Instead, she decided to take a quick turn onto another route home so that we could drive along her favorite road to see her favorite view of Boston.

Then she realized what she had just decided to do and we both laughed.

We stopped and took pictures anyway.  So, here you have it, folks: the best view of Boston.

(My sister had to point me in the right direction as I couldn't actually tell where Boston was)

Visibility 100 yards?

Isn't this gorgeous?

This is not actually in the direction of Boston.

Life Imitates Literature

Every time I put on my coat - either one - I feel so gloriously happy.  The rest of Virginia might be sad about cold weather but I'm not.  There's nothing so calculated to make an absolutely penniless, unemployed person feel as luxuriously accomplished in life than to own two coats.

Probably because I read about  the joy of owning two coats in a book (Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster).  Probably because I have a wonderful friend who gave me the most beautiful wool dress coat before she went to balmy Egypt for a year, leaving me with two nice coats.  

In any case, every time, I leave the house, I have to check to transfer my wallet, keys, phone from the pockets of one coat  to the other and I love it every single time.  

It got me thinking - I live a lot of my life imitating books.  

When I was seven (or eight), I put gum behind my ear before I went to bed like the gum-chewing girl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, effectively requiring me to get the world's ugliest haircut and banning gum in our house for years.  

When I was in college, my friend and I convinced our friend to let us bake him a cake for a birthday that would occur several months later, simply because his name was Tom, and Old-Fashioned Girl had once so fashioned just a situation.  

I once tried to start a Philomathic Society based on a book, but no one would go for since they didn't like the word 'math' in the title.    

When I was a child, I tried to force myself to be a stoic based the book Stoneface.  

I keep the annual American Mayday celebration - dropping off flowers at doorsteps - because of the book Jack and Jill.  

I follow the Japanese tradition of tying Tanabata wishes to trees, but rather than use traditional Japanese methods, I've picked up my methods from The Ornament Tree.


I really wonder if I've ever held an original thought in my life.  

It Happened

Today was not a typical day.

I investigated channel flow with a stick (and saw vortex shedding).

I packed a box of supplies for a fluid mechanics course I'm teaching in January.

I caught up with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

I watched a movie I've wanted to see for several years now (The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer starring Cary Grant and Shirley Temple).

I stayed in my friend's lab with her until 1:30 am, working and talking about everything but mostly about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I came home and uploaded my dissertation.

It was a good day.  A once-in-a-lifetime kind of day.

I'm glad I lived it.

Week Off

Pics from Thanksgiving and beyond

Just Chillin'

We made chocolates for Uncles' birthdays! (Just like they do at the Lindt factory in Germany - or so I convinced her)

Smoothie Mustache 

Smoothie Mustache - day two

My attempt at a smoothie mustache was not as successful.

My life is a sitcom

Episode 1: Caught doing embarrassing things

<Annie and I drive up to catch our friend Wil taking pictures of a culvert>
Me: Oooh, what's new with the draining?  Did all that rain last night get backed up?
Wil: Umm...I can't believe I got caught being nerdy.
Annie: We love it.  We love seeing you get excited about your field of study.
<Joseph comes out to join us>
Annie: Joseph, how did your date go?
Me: Oh yeah, how was your date last night?
Annie: Last night?  You went on a date last night?
Joseph: Yeah, it was good.
Annie: Who did you go with that last night?
Me: Wait, who did you go with that other time?
Annie: Oh wait, maybe we don't want to know.
Me: Why don't we want to know?
<Annie looks at me and I look at her.  Then we look at Wil and Joseph and Joseph shrugs>
... <awkward silence>
Wil: So, yeah.  That happened.

<Later>
Me: So, wait, why did we have to stop talking about Joseph's date?
Annie: I think Wil's interested in her!  They're asking out the same girl.
Me: Oh, awkward!


<Annie sees me in the kitchen sitting in front of the oven>
Annie: Are you seriously watching the garlic bread toast?
Me: Uh...yes.
Annie: <laughs> But why?
Me: Last time, it all burned.
Annie: So, you're going to watch it this whole time?
Me: Yes!  The smoke alarm went off!  Jerry is probably upstairs laughing at my pathetic attempts to cook.  I'm determined not to burn it all again.  

Stop and Think

Last night, I had an interesting dream.  The first part included espionage and I won't go into details about it but somehow in the process it landed me in Russia at a Mormon singles' conference.  (For those not in the know, this is intended for people over the age of 30.)

So, there I am, sitting at a table at this conference, introducing people to my sisters and anxiously waiting for dinner to start.  I look over and notice a blonde young man with sad eyes who rather looks like this.

So, we start talking - mostly because I'm curious about why he's even attending the singles' conference.  It turns out this kid has just returned from his two year mission and was in attendance because the prophet was speaking at the conference.  (That still doesn't really explain it but it satisfied my subconscious so let's go with it).

Anyway, this kid's story was pretty impressive.  When he was about 16, he had met some Mormon missionaries and became genuinely interested in changing his life around from the rascal life he was living before - we didn't go into details.  Without the support of parents (his father had passed away and his mother was always working to support the family), he started making changes and joined the church.  He continued to improve his life and graduated from high school and served a mission.  Now, he was going to college - one of the first in his family.  I was impressed by him.  He was so good and doing so well.

So, why was he so sad?  Then, he started telling more of his story.  Back when he met the missionaries, he casually mentioned it to a friend.  Before he knew it, that friend and that friend's entire family joined the church.  The missionaries liked teaching the lonely sixteen year old boy but they LOVED teaching the entire family.  And it seems, that's how things went from thereon out.  No matter what he worked to accomplish, his friend did it better, with more people in awe who applauded the results.  This boy changed his life around; the other's family entirely changed and were even sealed together and held prominent callings.  This boy served a mission but nowhere near as "cool" as the friend.  Essentially, this friend and the friend's family were as golden as you could get.  As he told me his story, I watched his face with some sadness.  Because he would never achieve the status of his friend, he believed that he was always a failure.  The comparison and the feeling of failure from such comparison was destroying that beautiful soul of that young man that I somehow to admire in that short time.

I looked into his face and wanted to simultaneously hug him and shake him.  Instead, I said, "I wish you could see yourself.  You're amazing and you've accomplished so much.  You've got to let your jealousy and hatred go.  You're just hurting yourself by comparing yourself to this other family.  You'll never see how far you've come that away.  And you're just going to get eaten up inside with your jealousy."

And then, I woke up before I got to see his reaction.  But in waking, I started to wonder if I needed to listen to my own words and take my own advice.  Or if others do as well.

Leading Questions

More Niece conversations

<listening to the song Will You Marry Me>
Baby: <smiles at me> Erin, will you marry me?
Me: Yes.  Will you marry me?
Baby: Yes.
Me: Awesome!
Baby: Now, ask me in Japanese.


<Baby spies Gwiyomi's partly eaten cupcake on her high chair>
Baby: Gwiyomi's birthday cupcake
Me: Yep.
Baby: She didn't eat her cupcake!
Me: Nope.  She just ate the icing.
Baby: But someone has to eat the cupcake.
Me: Haha, I see where you are going with this.  But no, you can't eat the cupcake.


<I decide to put a blue ribbon in my hair for church and Baby watches me>
Me: There.  I think that works.  Do you like it?
Baby: Yes!
...
Baby: You know, my mommy really likes the color blue.