Second Chance

A girl just moved into my YSA branch.
From Australia.
I told her I wanted to guess by her accent which part of Australia she's from.
I said "you're not from Melbourne?"
She is.
She's from the last area of my mission.
I know her mum, and remember with vivid detail her house:
the painting on the wall, what we ate, what we talked about.
I don't know if you feel this way,
but sometimes I feel that I didn't get everything done when I was there.
And let me tell you (without getting into details),
this may be a
second chance.

Progress, or, You Were Right

Then: 

I wasn't lonely 'til the rain came, 

drops on the glass the only sound.

But what I want to hear is my name

while I am driving you around.

I thought that this was what I wanted,

thought I could go out on my own.

Thought I could fly, but I am grounded.

Don't want to do this all alone.

Now there's a palm tree out my window.

Against the moon, I guess it's nice.

But it also casts a shadow,

A doubt that I can do this right.

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Now:

Another home, another window,

another year has passed and gone.

And though the waves still crash and winds blow,

tonight I'm feeling much more strong.

Last time we spoke I felt defeated,

could only see what I had lost.

But victory came when Fear conceded.

To win, I pay a daily cost.

There are thoughts words cannot capture,

and I can't hold the hands of time.

These days won't fit inside a camera,

but I have learned to make them mine.

I had a birthday party last weekend and we're still laughing. (This post is just for me--don't worry about it.)

Flying Monkeys: Magical.

Toasted Marshmallows: Hostile

To The Man Who Invited Me To A Speed Dating Event

Thanks, but I'm much more interested in slow dating you.

Advice to technology

Things Google Maps should be able to do:

Measure the as-the-crow-flies distance between two points

Things Gmail chat should be able to do:

Allow invisible users to choose select people who will be able to see them when they are invisible (and the fact that they are invisible)

Yes?

**update: I went to maps.google.com and checked out their labs. And yes, there is a feature that allows you to measure the distance between two points. That's better.

Summer's on my mind

Assuming I have the money, here are the cities I'd like to see in "Celebrate: You Escaped the Crucible of Your Afflictions," premiering in my life in Summer 2011.

Napoli, Italy (to see friends)

Crema, Italy (my old haunts)

Marseille, France (to see family)

Oslo/Bergen, Norway (to meet extended family)

Tangier, Morocco

Istanbul, Turkey

Budapest/Prague

A Glimpse of my Friday: Someone Else's Images; My Speech Bubbles.

Nilsen's Law: If you never got called to the principal's office as a student, you will get called down regularly as a teacher.

I jump in it

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So funny. The way he says "package." Then "I jump in it." :)

Teacher's got homework

Yes, I know what these mean and can use them in a sentence. Most of them. Holla!

My habitat

(What is happening with BYU football?)

My new apartment building is right on the water. It's got a pretty good view, including these things: 

palm trees (26)

apartment buildings (2)

parking lot (3) 

stop signs (2)

cruise ships (2)

cargo cranes for getting shipping containers off of boats (7)

Biscayne Bay (1)

the edge of downtown (1)

the occasional sailboat (1) 

Rueda de casino (Cuban salsa)

This is the style of dance lessons I take every Friday night. I am getting addicted. I was so happy after I left yesterday and it's all I want to do tonight (no such luck).

The video is just a few steps above the skill level I am in, but I feel like our classes are more energetic.