A First

Today started out like any other day. I woke up.... okay correction I woke up at 6 which is a little earlier than I normally wake up. My husband asked why I was up and I replied," I don't know I wasn't tired anymore and I just woke up... so I'm up." I got ready for work and went in a few hours early. Since it is Thanksgiving Eve my work was planning on closing at 4, which cut me short a few hours, we had lots of work to do to prevent us from coming in on Friday so i figured I would go in at 8. Okay so apparently my day didn't start out as usual but continuing on anyways.

I had just finished punching holes in some books so that they could be plastic coiled, like a spiral notebook but not metal. I'm going about my work, thinking about Christmas stuff. Just as I finished crimping a coil on a book BAM my elbow came in contact with a corner of the punching machine. Pain shot through my arm, probably the worst "funny bone" pain I have ever had. I set the book down and hold my elbow, straightened it and shook it out. My vision starts to go crazy and my head feels funny, like when you stand up too fast. I leaned over so that my arms rested on the table in front of me. Next thing I know I feel like I'm coming out of a dream after a good rem sleep. You know when you linger in half sleep stage but I hear a voice say, "open her mouth!" I open my eyes, and my mouth, and I see my co-workers around me. I am pretty confused because if I just had a heavy sleep why would I be waking up at work? I see Chris, our press guy, and Kim, my manager, over me and more people in the background. Kim is asking me if I am okay I tell her yes while thinking, why wouldn't I be I just took a nap at work apparently. She told me that I just passed out and hit my head. I was like WHAT!? I passed out? A little part inside of me was like FINALLY, I have a pass out story cause I feel like I am the only person I know that hasn't passed out. They had me sit up. I had hit my head on a machine that was directly behind me, no blood or wound. I just sat there, stunned. Then people started talking about what happened, because the sales people came out of their office to see what the big sound had been. I'm sitting there listening to them and all I can do is laugh and my eyes started leaking too. I felt bad for laughing because I know I scared the crap out of them and that passing out is serious and scary but I just couldn't stop laughing. Even now, thinking about it, I chuckle.

From what I gather, Kim saw me hunched over but my arms had fallen down, like I was reaching to touch my toes. And she was walking over to me and asking me if I was okay as I started leaning (probably more like tipping) back and she got to me just as I hit my head on the lower part of the machine. The press guy saw me going down and yelled "#*(%&!!" Once I was down my neck/head twitched a few times and the press guy thought I might be going into a seizure, which is why he was telling Kim to open my mouth to make sure I didn't swallow my tongue. That's when I woke up.

I tried to tough out the day but when I felt like I needed to stay seated, I realized I wasn't really helpful. Plus the head honcho boss strongly suggested I got to the doctor just to make sure everything is good... okay and my husband was ready to come get me and take me to the doc. I called my mom and she came to get me.

We called my regular doc's office and they said since it happened at work I needed to go through some process and get it taken care of that way. Instead we went to instacare and they said go to the ER now. Off to Riverton hospital we went. I was not excited to go to the ER cause there are sick people there and I didn't want to be around that right then but YAY no one was there. I had been drinking a lot of water because my hubby suggested to do so, by the time I got to the ER I was ready to pee my pants but the receptionist said hold it cause I will have to pee in a cup. She lied. I was escorted to an examination room asked questions about the incident and then other people got called in, a nurse, a tech and a physician, I'm thinking this is a lot of people, maybe this is worse than I thought. Anyway the questioner asked what my pain level was I said a 2 then she got talking to the nurse and then she said, " you stated your pain level was a 4?" I said no a 2. I don't like the # scale for pain, if you know Brian Regan and his skit on pain level you know my feelings, kind of. Anyway, my physician, Dr. Balls (yes, I snickered immaturely, in my head) basically confirmed my answers to the questions. Told me it was from the pain of whacking my elbow. Depending on the pain, it can send your body in to shock, I think he said serotonin gets released which makes your circulatory system dilate and you blood rushes to your extremities instead of your heart and brain. Your heart rate drops and you often feel like you might faint and in this case i did. This could be medically incorrect but cut me some slack he was talking fast and my head felt like it had a head cold so comprehending vast amounts of info at once wasn't happening. BUT fortunately they gave me a handout about it that I can read later.

When leaving the nurse said that if I should start vomiting, my speech goes weird or I start acting funny I should go back in cause those are signs of a concussion that don't always show right away. Based on that my mom and I decided I should go to her house rather than go home and be alone or go to work to get my car and drive home. So I am here at mommy daycare until my hubby is done with school =) One of my co-workers mentioned that if I had been standing straight up I probably would have hit my head on a part of the machine that would have hurt me a lot more, we're talking blood and stitches and shaving of hair to make stitches probably... I don't know if they would really have to do that but I'm grateful I said my prayers today and that the part about being safe came true. Yes I fainted BUT it could have been worse. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father that it looking out for me and for my mom who is taking care of me even though she is trying to get ready for Thanksgiving and I'm not really much use right now. Dr. Balls said to avoid alot of strenuous activity. Blast. there goes my run tomorrow anyway I am just rambling now. Love you guys and thanks for reading!

The work party

Last night we had our work Christmas party. Its a little weird having it this early in the year but I would rather get a work party over with and have plenty of time for family and friends closer to Christmas. In all my years working, since I was 17 so 8 years, I have never had such a cool Christmas party. The employees had to meet at a specified spot at 5pm and our spouse's or significant others would be meeting us later at 6. The boss handed each of us an envelope with our name on it. He said, "there are 2 things in this envelope. A list of rules and the other you have to spend. Here are the rules; You have an hour, you must buy from 2 or more stores, no group shopping or collaborating, save your recipes and there will be a prize for the one that gets the most items BUT they have to be different." Then the production manager pointed out that he missed the #1 rule which was you MUST spend what is in your envelope on YOURSELF!.... Then the boss yelled GO! and we went rushing towards the mall that we were near. Opening our envelopes we each found a single $100 bill. WHAT!? My boss is giving me a $100 to go shopping. It was probably the most stressful shopping trip of my life.

I started at a Precision Mountainwear found a beanie I liked but felt bad giving the guy a $100 bill for a $13 item. Instead I went to the Forever Young shoe store. Found cute shoes but not in my size that were decent priced. I finally found some cute black ones, which I really needed for work of all things. They ended up being about $24 I handed over my $100 bill. It was officially broken with about $76 left and minutes ticking away. I ran back to get my beanie only to find out it was actually only $5 BONUS.  Racking my brain of all the stores that were in the mall and thinking where I might get lots of things for fairly cheap. I went to Bath and Body works and got some lotion because I am almost out of really good kind. I was trying to buy lots of things but I also wanted to be practical by buying things I would actually use. I went to Victoria Secret cause a new bra would be useful and I was running out of time and I still had quite a bit of money. Well I went in walked around changed my mind and right outside of that store was a Hickory farms stand and they had peppermint snow mints! They looked delicious and they were 2 for $10. Afterwards I ventured to Claire's debated on getting a scarf or 2 but then I dashed over to Victoria Secret again. After VS I went to the Candy barrel and got $3 worth of Bob's Sweet Stripes (love those things). Following the Candy Barrel I completed my shopping spree at Claire's where I got 3 pairs of earrings for about $13 that left me with change. Then I shed my coat because I was DYING of heat after rushing through the mall and stress of shopping on a time limit. I walked as fast as I could across the parking lot back to Chili's where everyone else was waiting.

If I would have remembered to ask for a receipt from the candy store I probably could have won the prize of a $100 gas card. Regardless I had fun and I like the stuff I got. It was fun telling my husband all about it when I got home. I think all the girls but 1 went to VS but one bought a perfume thing and mints, another bought a blush brush, the third bought panties and I bought a bra. Oh did I mention we had to show everyone the stuff we got afterwards. People were shocked that I bought a bra knowing that. What it's underwear, every girl has at least one so I wasn't embarrassed by it. This was the best game ever. I am glad I went practical rather than just buying tons of stuff to win. The guy that one bought a lucky coin from the Asian gift store. I'm like really? I know its only a dollar but what are you going to do with that? Anyway. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving. =)

13.1 take 2

Last Saturday, Oct 20, I ran my second half marathon this year and well in my life. It was the SoJo half marathon, it took place in South Jordan, UT starting in the Daybreak area. I was kind of excited mostly nervous because I had become lax in my training. My first on I was all gung-ho doing my running everyday but there was a point where I started burning out but I knew I HAD to go run or I would really hate myself after my race.

I went to bed my normal time,because I have found that going to sleep earlier does nothing for me other than add hours I am in bed... awake. I slept great!... for 2 hours and then I was up every hour. I seem to always have this fear I won't hear my alarm clock go off and I'll be late or miss whatever it is I need to be to. However, in the past my phone (which is now my alarm clock) has fallen under my bed and managed to hide under some clothing and I have still heard it going off. For some reason I suddenly think that I'm not going to hear it when it is 10 inches away from my head with the volume set a few notches higher than usual. I'm weird, it's okay I'll admit it. So here I am race morning waking up every hour checking the time. At 5:30 my husband's alarm goes off, after that I gave up trying to go back to sleep and I was out of bed at 5:45. As I ate my oatmeal I went over all the things I need in my head. Even with all my preparation, when I got to my friend's house she asked if I had my shot blow. NO! crap. Shot blox are of most importance to me when running long distances. They are like gummy bears but a cube and the there is science behind them, all I know is they keep me going. I used them in my last half marathon about every couple miles after mile 5 or 6. My brain was freaking out about how I was going to make it through this half marathon without a good amount of training or shot blox. Fortunately Kim had some energy blast things, made by Power Bar, that she dug out of some drawer in her kitchen. At first I was weary but figured about mile 9 I probably would have eaten it off the floor.

It was chilly, cause it's autumn time and Utah is actually getting that season this year, and the wind was BLOWING! Worst combo, in my opinion. I hate running when here is a lot of wind. It just makes shedding your jacket the worst. Even though in your head you know that once you start running you'll be glad you put your jacket in your drop off bag (which are bags you put all your stuff in, usually put your number and name on so you can pick it up at the end of the race). Shivering all the runners huddled at the start line to send off the 2 hand cyclists and a few minutes later we were off like a herd of cattle, only faster. My first mile was clocked at 8:24 (8 minutes, 24 seconds) once my little app thing communicated that to me I looked at Kim and said, "I just got an 8:24 mile." She nodded, "We should probably slow down". Our next mile average was 8:45... Eventually I had to break away from Kim (meaning she left me in her dust) because I knew if I wanted to finish this race this was not the proper pace. The race went well. Most of it was downhill which I think helped make up for my lack of training. Mile 8 I started getting a pain on the top of my right foot near my big toe. I continued to run because I figured the sooner I get to the finish line that sooner I can get off of it, only 5 miles to go whoo hoo! The miles flew by as I was listening to my audiobook, well at least until mile 11. I made myself run no matter what and I made it to the finish line and I celebrated my 2 hour and 17 minute finishing time. One thing I thought was really weird about this race is they had pretzels and Swedish fish at some of the aid stations. Swedish fish I can understand because they would have the same effect as my shot blox. But pretzels? I can't imagine running while chomping on pretzels. I understand salt replacement and that they would be a great post-running snack but while I'm running? I just thought it was weird.

Yay for experiences. I think after my Ragnar Trail Experiment I am interested in running on more trails but I may hold off for a while. Give my body a break from running because I think my brain is burned out on it. I do intend to keep exercising, I'll just find some other ways for a little bit. Thank you for reading =)

Ragnar Trail Experiment

About a week and a half ago I was invited to participate in the Ragnar Trail Experiment by a friend. I found out I would be running 3 legs, two almost 4 mile legs and one 7 mile leg, on trails. Trail running is not something I was experienced with but I figured what the heck it could be fun and one of the few Ragnar runs I might be able to afford. I was already training for a half marathon that I will be running next Saturday so I figured it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to do roughly 15 miles.

Friday morning I was up 4:30 AM to make sure I had everything and get to our meeting place. We had to be to Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort by 12 PM. We packed the suburbans full of camping supplies, our gear and our team of 7. Saying a prayer for safety we headed on our way. The rain started about 30 -40 minutes into our drive. I was in one Suburban with Logan and JaNae. At one moment, about 1. hours into the drive, I was looking down at my phone and I hear JaNae yell then BAM!! We hit something. The Burb starts hydroplaning and we are swerving down the highway, weaving in and out of the reflector posts along the highway. Next thing I know we are heading down the ditch or ravine between the two directions of traffic. At this point I hear JaNae's voice but I don't know what she is yelling. I'm thinking, "We're going to roll, oh my gosh we're going to roll and I'm not going to get to run. I've never been in a rolled vehicle, please don't roll!" Then the vehicle came to a halt about 20 feet away from a steel rod in the middle of the ravine. JaNae was about to freak out when Logan turns to her and says everything is okay. He got our recorded the damage with the video camera that we happen to have. I was like HOLY CRAP!!! I can't believe that just happened. What happened was a big, lifted truck lost its tire. Logan said he say the sparks, from the wheel hub hitting the ground, so he was slowing down, looking for the tire, when the tire hit us on the passenger side bumper. We were delayed getting information and talking to the highway patrol man that showed up after we drove out of the ravine. Yes, we were able to drive away. What a miracle! Logan says the only thing he remembered was the sparks and hitting the tire after that just that his hands were moving, with the steering wheel, and then being stopped in the ditch and telling JaNae it was going to be okay. There was a guy that stopped, as an observer, and he was so surprised that we were still upright. People say miracles don't happen anymore. I disagreed before yesterday but now I strongly disagree. It was a miracle we didn't roll, that we missed all the posts along the way, and that we didn't get any other vehicles involved while swerving! Miracle and I am grateful.

Once we got to Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, on time in spite of death defying events, we were able to check-in and eventually able to set up camp (there was some confusion but it got figured out). We had the 2 suburbans in a V shape with the backs together. Then we set and Easy-Up and nestled as close as we could to the open backs of the burbs. Laying down a tarp for the floor and hang in tarps for walls with blankets for insulation. It was cold about 45 degrees when we got there and it was raining off an on. We also set up our propane heater so we got roasty toasty. It was the coolest little set up. We had the common area and the two "bedrooms" (as we called them) in the back of the suburbans.

We were suppose to have 8 people on our team but one of them wasn't able to make it so we had 3 legs we had to cover. We got things all set up and figured out our running order, I was runner #4. At 2 PM we sent JaNae off to run trail #1 (the green trail, 3.9 miles). When she came in we sent Jody off onto trail #2 (the yellow trail, 3.8 miles) then Calleen onto trail #3 (the red trail, 7.2 miles). Then it was my turn. We had a tracker and were able to tell where our runners were but on Calleen's run the phone she had on her for the tracker died so we didn't really know where she was. We estimated she would be back about 6:30. At 6:20 I got my stuff on and had my shoes on, one tied, when we heard the loudspeaker announcer say, "team 2 your runner is here." Oh CRAP that was us so as I'm running out the door I was tying my other shoe and sprinting down to the start, about 75 yards from our humble tarp abode. We switched the timer anklet and away I went. 

The trail was marked by green reflector tape, and glow sticks. It wasn't dark yet and I hoped to get back before it started getting dark enough that I would need my head lamp. The rain had stopped for a little while so the trail had dried just a little. I have never done trail running so I didn't really know any particular "best practices". There was horse poop all over at first I tried to avoid it but once I started getting mud caked to my shoes I figured mud, poop, who cares just as long as I don't face plant into poop. There were parts where the trail was covered by a puddle, they instructed us to just run through it, I went around. I figured the less mud caked to my shoes the better, I don't need 5 lb weights on my feet to make it harder. Some times there was no way to avoid squishing through mud. about 2.5 miles, maybe I started walking, the altitude (6,500 ish ft) and the mud caked on my shoes were wearing me out faster than normal. As I was walking I came upon a little, 2 story, white house with its windows smashed out. It made me think of a house on a movie called 'The Road' and in that movie the house belongs to cannibals. I stared at all the windows cautiously and miraculously found my second wind and took off again. There were some steep parts where I told myself it wasn't anymore difficult than Suncrest and to just keep going. I made it through those 3.9 miles in about 45 minutes. I was proud of myself. It is not my best time for 4 miles but for running with mud cake weights, in the rain and cold I will take it. 

After me Logan headed out on the yellow trail. Shortly after he got back they closed the yellow trail because it was getting to be too dangerous but they still left green and red open. Teena headed out on red for her 7.2 miles. She did not return until 3 hours later, covered in mud. She had fallen 4 times and couldn't really run because it was too muddy and there were some "rivers" running across the trail die to the rain. I think it hadn't stopped raining since the last mile or so of my run. To be honest after I heard the yellow trail had been closed I crawled into the back of the burb to get some sleep. I estimated my next run would be at 4:30 AM. I vaguely remember Teena coming back to camp and everyone there gasping at how covered in mud she was. When I eventually woke up all the way, around 11:30 PM, I saw the runner that was suppose to be out on the trail standing in our tarp abode. I asked her if she was back already and she said she wasn't going out, we were calling it a night.

I slept all night on a cot in the common area. At 7:30 I woke up, we had a focus group at 8:20 to give feedback about the Ragnar Trail Experiment. After that I said I would go out with Jill, who didn't get a chance to even run, if she wanted to run of the trails. She didn't want to. We watched some of the people come in some had mud up to about mid thigh, one guy had mud from his shoulders down. We decided to hangout for a bit to let stuff dry, since it finally stopped raining, then pack up and head home. 

I didn't get to do all my runs which was kind of disappointing but I didn't want to put myself in danger of getting hurt a week before my half marathon. I loved the Ragnar Trail Experiment though and would do it again if they make it an actual event. It was cool being a guinea pig... a muddy guinea pig for something that I think would be a great thing. Ragnar Relays aren't for everyone but I think this would be something more people would be able to do. I hope Ragnar does it. I think if we did end up running and I ran all my legs in the mud, like I ran my first leg, I would have not been recovered enough in a week to run my half marathon. If it would have been dry then it would be a different story, I think I would be fine since I would have had about 7 hours to recover before my next run. I had a great team and I am glad they invited me to be with them. I hope you enjoyed reading and next week tune in to see how my half marathon went...hopefully this commitment will actually make me write =)

A Quarter of a Century.

Today I turned 25. I was born at 3:56AM so I am already officially 25 years old plus some hours and minutes. Reflecting back on 25 years of life is interesting. I have learned many things but I think I will only share a few.

First. God is important. He is the one being that will always be there for you so stay close to Him. Pray often and He will bless you. Along with this be patient with His timeline. He is pretty smart and knows you better than you know you. He wants what is best you for and will not give you more than you can handle. He loves you and wants you to return to Him your time on this earth is complete.

Second. My mom was always right. I never wanted to believe it, especially when I was a teenager and "knew everything" but now I know she was always right and I should have just listened to her.

Third. School is probably one of the most important things you will accomplish in life. Don't screw it up even if your friends do (if your friends all jumped off a 100 foot cliff to their death would you do it too?). Being smart is cool, maybe not in high school (I don't really know anymore its been almost 10 years since I've been in it) but once you are past high school and all its drama there is college and you can impress your kids with your vast knowledge. I am still impressed by how much my dad knows. I think he could win Jeopardy.

Fourth. Goals! Have them, write them down and your plan to accomplish them. Nothing feels better than accomplishing goals. Sometimes you have to set goals you don't know if you can reach just to prove to yourself that you can. Don't be afraid to fail because you can always try again later.

Fifth. Exercise! I love it and it makes me feel good. The best times are when I get up early and just DO IT! There is never a workout you will regret. Find something physical to do and then find, or make, a friend to do it with. I have a few running buddies and I have a place I play waterpolo during the summer. I have several hiking trails to pick from and a hubby that will go with me. Get out and do something.

Sixth. Hard Work. It's kind of a pain but it is worth it. Nothing that comes easy is worth doing. I read a quote once, somewhere....by someone that went along the lines of the river becomes crooked because it always takes the path of least resistance. Men who do the same end up crooked just like the winding river. Push through what you have to in order to get to where you want to be. Laziness is wastefulness.

Seventh.Laugh at yourself. I do it all the time cause I'm freakin hilarious!!

Eighth. Friends are important. The people you surround yourself with will rub off on you. Choose wisely. I am grateful for the friends I have and have had. I strongly suggest staying in touch with people, which I am awful at and I know I need to do better because I have some cool people as friends and they need to know how much I appreciate them and think about them.

Ninth. Not every idea is a good idea. Jumping off the bed and walking down the stairs backwards seem like fun/interesting ideas. In my experience they lead to broken bones. Broken bones lead to casts or restraints that last for 6+ weeks. When you are in 2nd grade, 6 weeks feels like an eternity. Try not to break bones.

Tenth. Don't let your fear be what holds you back. Okay this may contradict number nine but it's what I would like to leave you with. Fear has kept me from doing several things. I've always been shy (which I link to a form of fear) and I feel my life has suffered a little from it. Now I try to utilize my fear...energy? (for lack of a better word) and use to concur my fears. Still have a long ways to go but as I learned from the movie 'What About Bob?' BABY STEPS!


Thanks for reading! I'm excited to start another year in my life, half way up the "Hill" of life.

And Runnin, Runnin....

I found this through Pinterest but it originally came from here

I found it amusing and some parts true. Please enjoy:

18 Things Nobody Told Me About Running

1. It’s hard…like, really hard. But just like relationships, parenting and figuring out your new iPhone, it gets easier with time. You may even–gasp—start to like it!

2. Clipping your toenails will take precedence over plucking your eyebrows some days.

3. In spite of your childhood hatred of “weird food,” your pantry will be filled with running superfoods you’re not really sure how to pronounce, like quinoa, chia, spirulina and acai.

4. At some point, you will see other runners peeing in public. You will wrinkle your nose at them: EWWW, GROSS!

5. At some point, you, too, will pee in public. You will never judge again.

6. Ditto for snot rockets.

7. When you first start, four miles seems like a lot. One day, you’ll catch yourself telling someone “I only ran four miles today.” Try not to smile smugly when that happens.

8. You’ll wince at a pair of high heels with a $100 price tag, but declare it a bargain if that same tag is on your favorite running shoes.

9. Your laundry basket will smell like a boys’ locker room. You won’t really notice (or care).

10. You’ll geek out at the opportunity to run in the rain, because it’s just that awesome.

11. There will be stretches of days when you don’t feel like running at all. It’s perfectly normal, it’s not a failure, and a few days off does a body good.

12. Like Christmas, you will be wide awake at 2 a.m. on race morning, giggling. Also like Christmas, you will not be allowed to wake anyone in the house up until 5 a.m.

13. Without any prompting on your part, family members, friends and coworkers will take up running, too. They’ll ask all the same questions you had when you started—and this time, you’ll be the one with the answers.

14. The first thing you’ll do when you book a vacation or work travel is look for races and/or cool running routes in the area.

15. “Runger” is real, and it is marvelous. Only pregnant women and runners can truly understand strange cravings at strange times.

16. While running with your friends, you will talk about food, children, current events—everything but running. During cocktail hour with that same group, when you’re showered and wearing “real-world” clothes, all you will talk about, ever, is running.

17. The friends you make through running will become like family.

18. Anyone can do it. (Yes, you!) 

I thought about number 16. It's true. My running buddy and I talk about work, anything and everything while running. When we are at work (cause we are co-workers) we mostly talk about running or exercising or food for running. Anyway I hope if you are a runner you got a good laugh and maybe if you aren't you found something interesting or funny.

For the record, I have not peed in public while running, nor have I blown a snot rocket because it would end up like the situation in Mulan when she tries to spit a lougey and it just sadly drips down... and I don't want snot dripping down my face while I am running without anything to wipe it on but my skin or tank.

Class of 2012

I realize I have lots of things I need to talk about that have been going on in my life. However, I feel like I have very little time to catch up on them all. The first thing since my marathon is graduation. YIPEE!

Four years of hard work and stress coming to an end. I honestly think I was in one of the most laborious programs at my college. One of my professors said that he once had a girl in one of his classes and her dad was a professor in the school of medicine. He mentioned to her that how shocked he was at the amount of homework that she had to do and that his students didn't have that much. This is where I rest my case about a tough program.

There were late nights filled with constructing projects, xacto knife injuries, miscuts, and waiting til morning to reprint. Blood, sweat and tears went into my projects. Okay, so there were usually more tears and sweat than blood because too much blood meant restarting a project, unless it enhanced the design of my project which it usually didn't.

Graduation day was the best. I thought I was going to be late because I didn't double check the commencement ceremony arrival times. I thought it was 8:20 it was 8 and I didn't realize that until we were in the car on our way there. I think my dad broke laws once I announced my err. When we made it to the parking lot there were several people in cap and gown wandering around so I felt a little more at ease. I found where I was suppose to go and walked down the winding line of bachelor graduates. I finally saw some familiar faces of my design peers. I think almost the whole program was standing in line together. It felt like we stood there for hours but that could have been because I decided to wear cute high heel sandals and it is a long walk from the parking lot to the Hunstman center. Finally the line started moving. The rails dividing the lines kept getting skinnier and it started feeling like a heard of black cattle being herded into single file lines. When I got close enough to the core of the Huntsman building and could here the graduate march (or whatever it is called) I started to get really excited. Seeing all the people there and all the graduates it was amazing. I couldn't believe I was finally there, in cap and gown getting ready to graduate en masse. Whoever picked the speakers did a great job. The student speaker did a great job and the co founder of Pixar was very interesting. I learned a lot from those 2 speeches and I am so happy to finally be done. Now I just need to find myself a "real" job.

Thanks for reading.