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Showing posts from August, 2013

Radical Revolution

Last evening I met up with some friends for a free Concert in Davis County at the Farmington Station.  The concert guest was a group from Portland called Radical Revolution, an 80's cover band.  And OMG - to use the 80's vernacular, they were "totally awesome"!  It was a "total blast"!   The band sang for 2 hours, doing most of the 80's classics you would want to hear. I came of age in the 80's, so I consider that the music of my generation, and it wasn't long before I was out of my seat dancing and fist pumping and partying like it was 1999. I enjoyed myself immensely, and looking back on it, perhaps a little too much. I'm tempted to search for "Crazy Dancing Lady" on youtube this morning, just to make sure there's no clandestine cellphone videos that are going to go viral.  Word to the wise: If the 80's cover band starts playing Van Halen's "Jump", any females over 40 might want to think about it

Temple Saturday

I'm still doing well on my goal of getting to the temple once a week.  This morning I left the house a little after 7:00 to get to the Salt Lake Temple and do some initiatory.  I've learned that I need to get there as early as I can - before 8:00 at least, if I don't want to be there waiting in line for a long time.  It was a lovely morning, and the temple felt especially peaceful today, considering it's summer and high wedding season.  The ordinance workers who helped me during the ordinance just happened to be girls from my Ward, and it was a very neat feeling to be there among friends of mine and to spend a few minutes performing the work.  I honestly had a difficult time leaving the grounds, just because it felt so pleasant there.  I snapped a quick picture, but it doesn't really do it justice. If you aren't one to do initiatory regularly, may I suggest that next time you go, that you make some time for it. It is a beautiful ordinance with many wonderf

Studying for my CBAP

In the category of good, but intimidating news, this week I received notice that I have been accepted to sit for the CBAP Exam.  This is the exam which, if I were to pass, would grant me a professional certification in Business Analysis from the IIBA, and allow me to put those 4 letters after my name.   I never necessarily aspired to be a Business Analyst or Software professional. Ask any member of my family, and they'll tell you that I was the one who was always reluctant to have anything to do with computers or technology.  Yet somehow I fell into this career, and I have tried to make the most of it.  And now that I've gotten involved with the IIBA, and especially in my role as Chapter VP over Professional Development, it seemed that I should try to set an example of continuing to advance in the profession. The application process is quite daunting.  You need to prove that you've spent over 7,500 hours in the last 10 years working at being a BA, and you need to show y

R&H and Inspiration

Most of you know that I'm just about the world's biggest "Sound of Music" fan. It's my feeling that for most of life's questions, the answers can usually be found in "The Sound of Music".  I say this only half-way facetiously.  Think about it - if you're nervous or scared, remember to count your blessings and sing about "My Favorite Things".  If you're uncertain of your talents and abilities, sing about having "Confidence in Me".  If you're not sure the direction of your life, go and "Climb Every Mountain". R&H wrote a lot of shows, but for me "The Sound of Music" is perhaps their most inspiring.  It was the last show they wrote together - Hammerstein passed away before it was officially staged.  I like to think that he knew he was going to die soon, and that he was a little closer to inspiration right then. But come to think of it, I may need to tweak my theory a bit.  I'm listening to

Sundance!

Friday evening some friends and I met up to go see "Annie Get Your Gun" on stage at Sundance.  I used to visit there quite a bit when I was living in Provo and going to the Y, but it's been many years since I've been up there.  But I have to say that it was fabulous and breathtaking, and I was rather sorry it had been so long.  The show itself was terrific (although when you're used to Howard Keel in the part of Frank Butler, casting a tenor in the part just doesn't quite work), especially the lead actress. So fun, and I could barely contain my vocal enthusiasm - a sing-a-long it was not, and I had rather a hard time remembering that. It is a bit of an effort to get up there.  About halfway up Provo Canyon, and then once you find a parking space you have to take shuttles back and forth to the outdoor theater. But it was well worth the trek.  THe air was clear and crisp, and the stars were out in abundance.  It was a beautiful evening.

Indexing

So as part of it's Family History program, the Church has a volunteer activity you can do called "Indexing". The basic idea being that you download a batch of microfilmed picture files - of things such as census records, marriage records, military muster rolls, and the like, and then you enter the names on the images in to the Indexing program.  People go online later to view the indexed records, and they don't have to go through the challenge of reading the old handwriting. You've already done it for them. Anyhoo - I haven't been involved in any Family History work for quite a long time (and frankly, I DO NOT like using the New FamilySearch website).  But I figured I should try to get back involved in it a bit, and Indexing seemed like a way I could do that.  So - the last 3 or 4 weeks in a row, I've been indexing. Since my church schedule starts in the mid-afternoon, I log in on Sunday mornings (I have plenty of time) and index for 30 minutes to an hou

Breaking Up

Dear JC Penney, For most of my adult life, I have been a loyal JCP customer.  I carried a JCP credit card - it was only my second credit card, and I carried it proudly.  There were plenty of JCP stores around, and I spent many a happy Saturday afternoon amongst the clothing racks.  JCP had great sales - My favorite was the one where they gave away a candy bar at the store entrance, and inside the wrapper was the amount of discount you got on your purchases that day. It was also the store where I discovered what can happen to a woman when she sees a clearance sign.  Sigh...  JCP was my store.   There was a day when you could go into a JCP store and the selection alone would take your breath away. There was something comforting about having a store where I could buy great clothes from a great selection, and get the occasional housewares item as well.  The last few years though have taken a toll on our relationship.  While I've still tried to give JCP the first opportunity for my