in the swallows

Crew

2007-06-12T16:45:00.000-06:00

I know that earlier I painted a picture like my spring quarter was hell, which at times it was. But in a previous posting here stated, "it was the best of times" as well. The second week into the new quarter my mind was absolutely spinning. How in the world was I going to get through it all in one piece and come out on top? I already felt my time was spread so thinly, I couldn't imagine putting anything else on my plate.

And then there was crew.

A group of fellow grad students decided that they wanted to take four precious hours out of their evenings and enroll in some rowing instruction. They approached me with their ideas seeing that they needed one more guy on the team. Initially I laughed in their faces, wondering how in the world they were going to be able to rationalize being away from school those four evening hours a week...hours which were prime time to study, plan, analyze, diagnose, write, etc. But after some thought, I realized it would be a great way to spend time with the same people I would be seeing day in and day out, and yet give us some time to decompress as a group and make other sorts of connections to add to our schooling. I'm so glad I did, because not only did I find out that I love rowing (and I think I could get good at it with some serious training), the time we spent out on the water helped me appreciate this GORGEOUS city and land that I live in. Seeing the city from the water provides another unique and interesting perspective into Seattle living. My love affair with this city continues to grow and grow.

As you can see Seattle is the land of many bridges which make beautiful backdrops, and these pics were all taken the same day as we attempted to row long and hard out to Ballard. I was cockswain or "cox" that day, meaning I was giving the rowing orders and controlling the rudder (or "udder" as I accidently called them the first time) of our boat. It was actually my only time during the quarter to be cox, as I usually rowed portside apart of the bow pair (second from the rear of the boat).

Enjoy.

This is a pretty picture of a very large vessel we successfully beat back to our boathouse before the big wakes could come by and toss us around. I made our team row like their lives depended on it, as Jackie my fellow rower would say.

Vancouver and San Francisco

2007-06-12T16:34:00.000-06:00

My dearest and darlingest Linda graced me with her presence over Spring Break, and together we went on a 10 day adventure of the West Coast all the way from Vancouver, BC, to San Francisco. She really took the best pictures, and I'm still trying to get her to send some to me, but here are a few highlights from the trip.

Totem Poles at Stanley Park, Vancouver

Derek hugging Founders Tree in the Redwoods

Linda on Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, Vancouver

San Francisco on a foggy afternoon

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

2007-06-11T16:07:00.000-06:00

Wow. I did it. At times I didn't know if I could pull it off, but I just got my grades back from Spring Quarter and I passed with flying colors. For any of my gentle readers out there whom I haven't permanently lost, this past quarter was no small feat. Never in my academic life have I ever been pushed, pulled, stretched, frustrated, loaded upon and expected to do MORE MORE MORE than this past quarter. I think I expressed sometime ago on this blog that after my first (fall) quarter I truly felt like a bonafide grad student. Well, those feelings were just one-upped to "tried-and-true". If I ever thought that I didn't want to do this for the rest of my life, this quarter would have shown that to me. I feel like I've emerged from these past 12 weeks like a beaten warrior, but victorious none-the-less. The only regret I have, is not keeping this blog up to date.

That's the thing about me, I have yet (and at this point probably never will be able) to master the fine art of paying attention to all defining aspects of my life when more is asked of me than I think I can handle. Instead, during times of trial, I basically abandon anything that doesn't directly benefit my ability to surmount my challenges. Anything on the side becomes temporarily superfluous. So in the case of school, once I really started to feel the weight of the quarter, I had to narrow my focus on what was really going to get me through it all, taking away distractions and anything else that would set me off course.

I realize how damaging this type of attitude and lifestyle can be -- to friendships, family, and to personal relationships. I wish I were different, but at 28, this is pretty much who I am, and always have been. I'm not sure if there's a lot that can be changed at this point. What I do have going for me is the fact that this program won't continue on for the rest of my life, and as my good grad-school friend Jessica has told me numerous times, "Grad school is just a time to be selfish, not in a bad way, but in a way that you get what it is you need in order to turn around and start giving back to others."

So right now I'm on a week-long break. Summer quarter will probably be no different than last, but with the stress lessened by the fact that I have already done this once before, and I don't see it getting any worse. In the mean time, I'm going to get some pics up of what I have been doing since my last post.

Stay tuned, more to come!

2007-05-31T17:32:00.000-06:00

In May D-rock:

-had a blast celebrating Cinco de Mayo with the crew team, and watched UW crew cream Berkeley, Purdue, Wazzu, and a whole host of other teams.
-turned 28!
-took second seat to the clinical work in our team (was a great relief after April being lead)
-celebrated what seemed to be a birthday every weekend
-decided that a PhD probably won't happen for me right after grad school
-fell more and more in love with the Emerald City as it came back to life

2007-04-30T17:27:00.000-06:00

In April D-Rock:

-took the lead in two diagnostic sessions
-started rowing and learned how painful it can be to lift and carry a boat on your back with eight other people when you have about 6 to 8 inches on all of them
-spent time with Jed and Chris
-consumed more caffeinated beverages than a person probably should
-realized for sure that child-language development was not the path for a career (something I pretty much knew already, but needed to be convinced of it)

2 down, 1 to go

2007-03-13T18:43:00.000-06:00

FINALS.

AGAIN.

I know, I was just doing these in December, but that's the glory of the quarter system. By chosing to matriculate in a school that is still on quarters, you've electively chosen to put yourself through one more frenzied week of finals. What's worse, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Luckily I have just one more to crank out before spring break. And helping me get through the dread of finals is knowing that my darling Linda will be flying in from London to spend a week with me in and around the Pacific Northwest.

Linda and I met nearly five years ago while spending our summer breaks studying in jolly ol' England. She was in my same "History of Elizabeth I" class. On the first day I had noticed that although she spoke English quite well, I could tell she wasn't American, nor British. Linda was aruging a point with the professor (one that wasn't taken too well, I should add), but Linda had a really valid point. Her confidence mixed with supported info and her "accent" intrigued me. I had no choice but to approach her immediately after class and get to the bottom of the mystery. That curiosity blossomed into a beautiful friendship, still going strong today. Here's a pic taken August 11, 2002, on Linda's birthday. We've just come down from a very soggy day exploring Neuschwanstein Castle.

What's funny is that more than likely any pics we take this upcoming week may look just as wet and soggy.

Linda these days is working on her master's at Oxford and just got accepted to Christ's College at Cambridge for a PhD. So, yes, I definitely plan on making a trip back to England sometime in the next three years to visit her in the city where it all started.

While here for spring break we'll be heading up to Vancouver, BC to say hello and spend time with our neighbors to the north (first for me!). We're also toying around with the idea of going down to San Francisco and taking even more fog and dampness into our spring break. While other classmates of mine will be working on their tans on Maui, or in Hawaii, Florida, and other sunny locales, I'll be working on my paleness factor and seeing if at all possible I can get whiter.

Besides that, life is fine and fun. No, not dating anyone (SHOCKER!), but that's okay, school keeps me warm at night ;)

Sorry for the infrequent posting lately. But thanks for reading, just the same!

States and Countries I've visited

2007-03-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

I'll show you my maps if you show me yours!

I've totally stolen this from another blog, but I thought it looked fun, and hey, this is what the blogsphere is all about, right?

Visited states/countries shown in red.

These maps don't include "airport" visits, with the major exception of Taiwan, and that's only because I've honestly spent more than 48 hours of my life over the years in the Chiang Kai-shek airport in Taipei. And sadly it's probably the lamest of all Asian airports I've spent time in.

create your own personalized map of the USA

create your own visited country map

As you can see, the South American, African and Australian continents are still on my list (as far as my continent check off is concerned).

Okay, your turn.

Axo Axonic--a summary

2007-03-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

I must apologize for leaving you all in the dark about the details of the Badminton tournament. Surely you've all been sitting on pins and needles.

First, we declared ourselves the AXO-AXONIC team, named in honor of our Neurology class where we learned all about axo-axonic synapses. Here's a pic, just in case you're scratching your head. I think it looks like two badminton rackets.

Well, we managed to to take 4th place, which isn't that bad considering some of the teams we went up against. In the semi-finals we played a team where collectively the two had close to 12 years of competetive experience playing doubles. As Jessica and I scrambled madly to keep the shuttlecock in the air, I could overhear our competitors going over grocery lists, dinner plans for the weekend, and time schedules for movies. They would honestly keep their eyes on the birdie half the time, and yet with the LEAST amount of effort, hit it in such a perfect way that would send Jessica and I running just to get in place for the return. There were minutes (plural!) where the guy on the other team wouldn't even move his feet, and yet they managed to CREAM us. The game was over before we knew it.

So we went into the consolation round, where we played a team that was much more evenly matched. We lost to them as well, but had a hell of lot more fun trying--in fact, after the match had officially been won, we continued playing with them for another 30 minutes, just because we were having such a good time. They were two grad students for the engineering department, and we had a fun time making jokes about engineers and speech-language pathologists.

My game improved 10 fold, and of course Jessica still rocks with the racket.

NEXT YEAR>>>>>> we'll give that team we lost to in the semifinals a run for their money (and maybe make them move around a bit before they pulverize us all over again ;)

Well February Sucked...

2007-03-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

in my blogging, that is. Actually, it was a wonderful month. Guess I had a little writer's block.

Taxes

2007-02-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Is there any better way to spend a few hours on the weekend?

(barf)

Then and Now

2007-02-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

then...

October 1984

Rob (the pirate), Derek (the cowboy), Lauren (the clown)

...now

December 2006

Rob, Derek, Lauren

We won tonight's game!

2007-02-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

And by WE I mean Jessica.

(I just tried to stay low enough so she could do her thing with her bad-self)

Badminton

2007-02-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I took a long awaited step out from behind the front that I have been falsely living behind for the last decade and a half. And after much contemplation over a $15 registration fee, I decided that it would be selfish for me to continue shiedling from the world my god-given talents. Let it be known that D-Rock is back to rule the roost on the Badminton court. My fellow MedSLP-er in crime, Jessica, and I signed up as a team for the UW Intermural Mixed-group Badminton Tournament 2007. Yep...after a 14 year hiatus from Freshman PE at dear old East High, Derek is once again showing the world how well he can handle a shuttlecock. And Jessica, a former badminton champion and birdie exterminator, felt the need to get down and dirty after hours and hours of professionally/polite clinic behavior. Behind the dark hair, cute smile and pearl necklace is a force of nature only a few brave souls would dare go up against.

Today we spent the better part of 37 minutes prepping ourselves at the IMA, working on our service, backhand, smashes and basic doubles strategery. We're pretty much going to wipe the court clean with those undergrads.

Basically it's going to suck for anybody else to go up against us.

Attempting Pool

2007-02-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Trying way too hard to look cool

How long does it take to fall in love, and then out?

2007-01-31T01:06:00.000-07:00

I'm just wondering.

A strange occurrence of related events happened two nights ago that took my mind back to a situation I was in almost two years ago--with this guy I was starting to see and like for about two weeks. For one reason or another, I discovered, just this Sunday night, that he has tried on more than one occasion tried contacting me by phone, and these attempts went completely unnoticed by me. Without going into all the complicated details, let me just say that there's an uncomfortably large amount of information on the internet about each and every one of us...stuff that we can all access if we try hard enough. I was able to put two and two together with some information that I came across, and like I said earlier, came to the shocking realization that he had tried, more than once, to contact me.

So...I started thinking...if I realized XX had been calling, would I have answered? what would I have said? what would I have felt? what do I feel now? what would he have said? how would I have reacted?

Is it ridiculous that I really don't know the answers to any of these questions. I hate to say this, you don't know how much I do, but I think in this case, I'm not totally over him. There are some people that you meet, date, stop dating, and move on with no residual feelings.

And then there are others...

This is what happens when ABC airs re-runs...

2007-01-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

I get mad, stomp my feet, call friend Jackie-ASU, and bitch and moan about working hard all day and not getting the reward of enjoying new episodes of my favorite shows. Waaa!

But instead of deciding to watch something else, I figured I haven't said much on the blog about school this quarter. So lucky for you (or not, depending on how you actually feel about my blogging) I'm going to get a bit more into the school aspect of D-rock. If that stuff bores you, then this entry is just not for you.

This quarter so far is going SOOOOO well. The classes I have this quarter are much more up the alley of what I want and see myself doing professionally. Not that last quarter was informative and significant, it was. Really, it's as if last quarter laid down the framework so that I could really ENJOY what I am learning now.

My two favorite classes are Neuroanatomy/Neurophysiology and Voice Disorders. I'm toying around the idea of asking my Voice Disorders professor if she'll be my mentor for a master's thesis. Even when the studying is really challenging, or there are concepts that are just not sinking in as fast as I'd like, I kind of sit back and laugh, "even though this is kicking my ass, I'm loving every minute of it". The professor for Neuroanatomy has had the career that I would DIE for. He got his master's, worked for a little while and then went back for his PhD, and instead of following the academic route at a University, he worked as a researcher in hospitals, until he got to the point where he wanted to come back to school and teach. Not that I'm not interested in research, but his was more hands on and in the actual field, whereas sometimes in a university you get wrapped up in the "Ivory Tower", and even in your research.

Anyway...it's been a great quarter, and whereas last quarter I was eagerly looking forward for it to end, this quarter is going way too fast, and I'd really wish it would slow down so I can take more of it in.

I've also been working with kids in various developmentally delayed preschool classrooms up in a town called Mukilteo. I spend about four hours every Monday working with little kiddos with Austism, Cerebral Palsy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and others, who need speech and language treatment. They are really adorable 3-5 year olds, most of them functioning at much lower levels than their typically developing peers. Some of them have great speech but inappropriate use (they are lacking knowledge of how to use language appropriately in social situations), whereas some of the others are completely non-verbal and we are just working on either some articulation (like making sounds), or working with picture cards/boards/computers that help them communicate their ideas and needs. I didn't think I would enjoy working with this population as much as I have so far.

Anyway...that's just a little wrap up of my school life. As you may or may not have noticed from my blog entry from last week, I went out for drinks with a guy last weekend which went HORRIBLY. We were SOOO wrong for each other. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Pic from Christmas in Salt Lake

2007-01-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hess, Jed and Derek....I love me my Cortez Street roomies!

You know you need to do laundry when...

2007-01-27T23:57:00.000-07:00

The only thing you can find in your closet that resembles underwear is a speedo...and you wear it.

Jedathon

2007-01-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Hed~

Pancakes

2007-01-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

In an effort to really use all of the food in my cupboards before I make my way up to Safeway to get sprayed once again by the produce section, I have been eating EVERYTHING that is preparable. Yep...even those boxes of Krusteaz Buttermilk pancake mix that I've had for way too long (don't worry, no spoiling or foreign bodies growing there). I forgot how easy and quick a few pancakes with jam in the morning can be! Yum yum.

What not to talk about on a date

2007-01-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

If you insist on talking about how much money you make a year, how expensive your cars are, that you have the best taste in the world for clothing, how much you spent on your trip to St. Tropez, and how much you love tossing money around because you have so much of it....sorry, it's just not going to happen.

A bit more about me

2007-01-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

True story...happens at least once a month for me.

As many other twenty-somethings out there, I have had my fair share of apartments and dwelling spaces I have called home. In fact, since the time I turned 20 I have managed to live in 13 different homes/apartments. Again, this isn't an abnormal for most people my age...talking to most of my friends here in Seattle, my numbers are pretty on par with the norm. About 99.9% of the time I have no problem remembering where in the world I am living, where I live, and what I'm doing living there. But during the other .1% of the time, usually in the morning when my body and mind wake up but I haven't opened my eyes yet, I kind of laugh and realize that I'm not exactly sure where I am. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel lost or out of place, it's just that I honestly can't remember if I'm still serving in Albania, or waking up in my tatami room in Japan. It's sort of a weird game I play with myself...will I wake-up upstairs with my other 11 other roommates at the Fort Douglas, or will I be licked to death by Bogart at the Swallows. Am I still on study abroad living on Thompson Lane, or am I home in the basement on Princeton Ave? Will I open my eyes only to see Jed's and my very long bodies sharing a small double bed on Cortez Street, or is it 2002 and I'm living in the pool house on 2nd Ave? Just yesterday, I had to remind myself that I moved to Seattle, was in grad school... and if I waited any longer, would probably be late for ProSem that morning. ;)

Sign for future degeneration? Maybe. But, if things go that way for me later on in life, at least I'll have the comfort of knowing that I'll just be lost in a lifetime of wonderful memories.

Why?

2007-01-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Not sure.

When Hessica comes to play...

2007-01-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

My darling Hess came up to keep me company in Seattle over the MLK Jr. long weekend. I was just getting over my cold, and was getting a little stir crazy only spending time at school or in my bed, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect. We had a fun dinner with some of my school friends, and ventured over to Kate's Pub in Wallingford. The next day, Seattle showed its cold ugly face, so we kept on the down low, and ended up seeing Notes on a Scandal, for which I would like to say..."SCANDALOUS--go see it now!"

Sunday Hess and I met up with Brie and another Jessica (from my program) and headed to the Experience Music Project in the Seattle Center. Although the museum is really nice inside and I learned a lot, it was a bit more expensive than I would regularly go for, and I'm not sure if I'd actually recommend it to anyone. I don't imagine I'd go again, unless there was a really cool traveling exhibit showcased there. After the museum, the four of us walked over to a cute coffee house for a cup of joe and to chat all things boys and men. Yes, I know, I can never really get away from being "Derek and the girls"...what's a gay man to do. In my defense, when I was living up on Cortez Street, I was definitely in the majority as most of my friends were (gay) men.

That night, Hess took me out to Ray's Boathouse on the Puget Sound where we wined and dined. Delicious. The next day, we took the Washington State Ferry out to Bainbridge Island, had breakfast, and then got to know the area a bit. Before I knew it, the entire weekend had rushed by, and I was taking Hess back to SeaTac.

THANKS FOR COMING, HESS! I HAD SUCH A GREAT WEEKEND!

Dinner with peeps from school at the Indo Cafe
Derek, Jessica, Liz, Chad (some of my fellow Med-SLP students)
Derek and Hess

Hess and Derek freezing our asses off getting this pic with Mt. Ranier as our lovely backdrop
You know it's a good song when you both are closing your eyes

Derek on ferry to Bainbridge Island

My nose, my nose, in the dark it glows!

2007-01-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

I had really great intentions to get back to Seattle and start up with the blogging again, but my plans were thwarted by a pretty cruel cold that has been going around UW. Suffice it to say, I'm taking everything as far as medicine is concerned to get me through this one. I've blown my nose raw about a million times this morning, and it's definitely become lower-respiratory because I have the cough from hell.

Truly a joy to be around, I'm sure.

D-rock recommends...

2007-01-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

BORAT
Totally irreverent, totally ridiculous, totally hilarious. Not for the faint of heart. Loved it.

THE QUEEN
Run, do not walk, and see this film.
My favorite from last year.

BLOOD DIAMOND
I don't know if I'll ever look at precious gems the same way.

DREAMGIRLS
The most fun I've had at the movies in a long time.
Amazing.
L-O-V-E-D it.

Burst

2006-12-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is kind of what you feel like when you see your major crush of the past 5 months walk into a bar with another guy.

4 AM cartwheels & No power in the tower

2006-12-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

My goodness, I can't believe I actually survived finals. Looking back at what I was assigned to do and accomplish, it really doesn't look like I was given too much. On paper, my finals requirements looked easy-breezy. But, when you start peeling away the layers of what has to be understood in theory in order to execute practically or at least explain critically in essay, the comprehensive work cut out was extremely taxing and exhausting.

For example, a simple 10 pager where we had the luxury of creating our own child-aged patient and develop a treatment plan for his/her disorder became one of the most complex tasks I have ever completed in my history as a student. Conceiving a "case" from onset, through screening, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and outcome proved to be a hair pulling, excruciating brain busting assignment for this first-quarter/first-year grad student. A fellow procrastinator and I spent the better parts of Tuesday and Wednesday stuck in a treatment room at the UW Speech and Hearing Clinic researching and laboring over our prelinguistic patients with autism, and found ourselves being driven to near insanity as we gave each other tangible rewards such as "work hard for an hour, and then we'll go out at 2 AM and get gyros at the Pita Pit on the Ave", or "finish our validity/reliability discussion on a certain study by 4 AM, and then we can do cartwheels down the halls of the clinic". And of course there was the ubiquitous influence of caffeine that goes hand in hand with finals and stress. But, apparently procrastinating paid off, because I ended up getting a perfect score on it.

And my reward for surviving finals? 80 mph gale-force winds, with rain that seriously was coming in upside down. Welcome to winter in the pacific northwest. My friend Kevin E. was in town for work and crashed at my pad and helped me celebrate the end of my first quarter. What takes me a good 10 minutes to walk from my apartment to Gas Works Park to enjoy this view...

Took a solid 35 minutes in the wind and rain where we were able to enjoy this view...

Lovely.

But that really didn't get me down, since I was to return to my blessed home in the mountains the next day for Christmas Break. I managed to get my apartment clean after a week and a half of absolute neglect, packed my suitcase and hopped on the King Country Metro to the airport, where I got to wait an extra five hours for my flight because someone forgot to plug in the Air Control Tower (hee hee...just a reference to "Airplane" the movie). SeaTac was once again thrown into the national spotlight, but this time not because of differences in opinion regarding holiday decor, nope...this time due to electrical problems from the previous night's storm.

I managed to take off and land in Salt Lake, which welcomed me with blankets of snow drapped beautifully over the valley and Wasatch. It was a great homecoming.

Cheating Time

2006-12-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been a horrible blogger these past three weeks...and I'm about to be even worse by posting a few entries using dates in the past. No, I'm not trying to pull a fast one on father time, it's actually a way for me to be able to organize time lost and keep events straight in my mind.

So, humor me if you will.

Homestretch

2006-12-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I am working on 10 hours of sleep since Monday morning....it all comes to an end tomorrow at noon when my last final gets out.

Delirious doesn't even begin to describe the state I'm in!

End of quarter...finals

2006-12-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write and thank everyone for all of the warm wishes and notes of support about losing and getting my car back. I'm sorry I haven't responded individually, but I do appreciate your thoughts. It's great to have it back, and in a weird way, it's like it never happened.

I'm in the home-stretch of school, which means that I have a lot to think about and do, and not a lot of time to come up with clever blogs. Sorry. I'll be home during the holidays for two and a half weeks, and I'm sure I'll be able to think of some fun things to share.

To all of you out there who are in finals right now, I'd like to wish the best of LUCK! I'm definitely thinking about you and feeling your pain!

Great News!

2006-11-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

You'll never guess who called me during my Phonological Assessment class? The Seattle Police Dept!

MY CAR WAS RECOVERED!!!!!

I don't have a lot of time to write, because I have a mountain of homework to get to, but I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to let y'all know. So let me just try to answer any questions pre-emptively.

1. The car was in fine shape, I have no clue how they got in, but the locks weren't damaged.
2. The ignition is a little jacked, the key slides right in now with no trouble. You could probably stick a flathead screwdriver in it, start the car, and drive just fine.
3. Nothing was taken. Everything was still in its exact spot, including the garage door opener.
4. Only about a 1/4 tank of gas was used.
5. The car was ditched in the U-District, really close to where I had looked, actually.
6. The person who stole my car must have been very short, because the seat was scooted all the way to the wheel (the 93 Sentra is pretty small to begin with).
7. There is an amazing amount of fur all over the back seat, which I guess means that a cat/dog were in on the heist as well ;)
8. I bought The Club, so now my car is about as protected as it can be without installing an alarm.
9. The car is back in my possession, and once again parked in the parking garage...waiting to get stolen again ;)
10. I'm thinking of seeing how much a simple GPS device would be to throw in the car under the seat or something like that. If it's cheap, I might get one just for the hell of it.
11. I'm very happy,extremely grateful and very much relieved...as well as very impressed that it was found in a week--pretty much to the HOUR! (I realized my car was missing around 3:30 last week, and that's when I got the message). It was found by parking enforcement, because it was parked a little skiwampus on the street.

YAY FOR RECOVERED VEHICLES!!!!

I would like to go and celebrate, but instead I just get to read more exciting single case studies for Methods and work on treatment/behavioral objectives! I know, the life of an Speech-Language Pathologist in training is just THAT exciting!

A lot to be thankful for!

2006-11-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

You know, the timing of this stolen car of mine is really pretty awful. I mean, how am I supposed to feel bad about myself when our nation is focusing on what we're thankful for? ;)

Actually, it couldn't have happened at a better time. Last night, after classes were out and for the first time didn't have anything urgent that I absolutely HAD to do to meet a deadline, I sat in my apartment and started to get all down and gloomy (helped of course by the current weather we've been having). I was starting to get filled with rage, and since I didn't have anyone to take it out on, I started to hate Seattle again (like when I first moved here) except this time my thoughts about the city and its people were getting vicious and hateful. I knew it needed to stop and that I was just letting my mind wander because I felt hopeless. So, I decided to get off my tush and go out and look for my car on foot. Now, I had no real expectation of finding it (which I didn't) but I thought that at least I was TRYING to do SOMETHING about the state I was in. So, I dressed warmly and went out and combed the streets of the University District. Some of the statistics I've read have said that stolen cars are sometimes abandoned in the same neighborhood from where they were stolen. I thought I would go and and give that theory a try.

Although my search came up empty handed, the walking felt great. I realized that I could look for my car and talk at the same time (multi-tasking at its finest), and then also took a lot of time to process some emotional build-up I had put to the side and not dealt with yet. In the previous 48 hours I had gone through the gamut of emotions: trying to let it roll off my back, laughing about it with my classmates, crying about it alone, feeling violated and vulnerable to pissed off and wanting to scream, the typical emotional responses that you go through when you experience a great change in your life. I just wanted all of that to be better and resolved. I took three hours, selected a neighborhood north of campus, and basically didn't leave a single street unchecked. I didn't find my car, but I did find quite a few Nissan Sentras, and one that I imagine had also been stolen and abandoned. It was red, had been bashed in the side, and was parked on a little side street with 2 tickets on the windshield. It made me feel bad for my little car...wherever it is. As I walked, I just told myself that each minute I was out there was another minute closer to being more at peace with this situation, whatever it may be. I'm not the type of person to say that everything is fine now, I know stuff like this doesn't heal overnight. But, taking that time helped me feel good last night, which I really needed.

One thing that really helped was thinking about my family. One year ago, today, my Uncle Grayson passed away at the age of 69 from a mixture of cancers. His son, Jared, more my brother than my cousin, and I talked for quite a while on the phone. He listened to me as I bitched and moaned about my car, and then we spoke about this past year and how it has affected his life. It made me remember that although losing a car this way really sucks, it's not a death, and nobody in my life has been taken away from me or hurt. I still have a father, a mother, all of my siblings, and I haven't lost anyone near or dear to me (except for Uncle Grayson, and some great aunts and uncles who lived long and full lives into their 90s) in the past while. I ended up spending the rest of the night thinking about the people I love, the things I am grateful for, and what I look forward to in my life. None of those things included my car. So, although I was out actively searching for it, my mind eventually wandered off into a much more peaceful state.

And today, Thanksgiving Day, was really lovely...I was invited to the Grittners for Thanksgiving Dinner, and actually just got home. The green bean casserole was a hit (thanks for the recipe, Steph)! We started around 3 and just kept going with intermittent games, drinks and dessert, and then back for many more rounds of dinner. It was easy to let go of my car, being surrouned with friends, the luxury of having a day off, great food and feeling safe.

Times like these help put things into perspective. I really have so much to be thankful for.

I am truly blessed, with or without my car.

2006-11-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Oh where, oh where has my little car gone
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his cramped back seats and leaking oil gasket
Oh where, oh where can he be?

P.S. If you know the answer, then please leave an anonymous comment here...no hard feelings!

40th Anniversary

2006-11-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a break from my complaining about my stolen car and just let y'all know that today my parent's celebrated their 40th Anniversary. Amazing, huh? I'm grateful to have such a wonderful example of marriage in my life, and to have such wonderful and loving parents who love me, but more importantly, really love each other. I only hope I can be as happy with someone one day.

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mom and Dad! Here's to many more years to come!

A few pics...

(I shot this a few years ago when they came and visited me in Thailand. Aren't they cute?)

(yet another pic from Thailand, those are really the only ones I have on my computer!)

A turn of events...

2006-11-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I have been somewhat quiet with my blogging lately, mainly due to a trend observed in my professors of assigning lots of long and tedious assignments right before the Thanksgiving Break. I was actually thinking about a new blog topic on Saturday as I was baking my first ever green-bean casserole. I volunteered to make it for Thanksgiving dinner at the Grittners (school friends) and decided that I needed to give the dish a try before I have other people ingest comfort food which could potentially turn out to be anything by "comfortable". My thoughts started wandering towards the realization that pretty much everything I eat at home is served in a bowl. I am constantly washing and re-washing my four bowls that I brought to Seattle, and rarely use my plates. I figured that I could have a lot of fun with this idea and elaborate it into a long and creative blog that would make people grin over the holiday weekend. But alas, my plans were thwarted today as I walked out of my elevator into the parking garage only to find that...

MY CAR WAS STOLEN!!!

&%$#!)&#%@!^*%@$! (insert favored explitive here)

Seriously.
Stolen.
As in not there....gone!
Poof.
Disappeared.
Adios!
Sayonara! (which is somewhat appropriate because I ~~drive~~ drove a Nissan)

Yep, I am now one of the 10,000 annual car thefts which occur annually in Seattle. Apparently being locked and parked behind an electric gate is not a big enough deterrent against property theft these days. This city requires more of their fair drivers. In fact as it turns out, Seattle, as I have just recently come to find, is also the land of The Club, of which I had none for my car. Damn.

I find the whole situation a bit funny, to be quite honest. First of all....HAVE YOU SEEN MY CAR? I mean, have you taken a really good look at my car? It's a 1993 Nissan Sentra (yes, I realize that there could be people reading this blog at this very moment who have no recollection of that year, either because they were too young or weren't even born yet) still in all of its 90s glory including:

1. Automatic seatlbelts and lap-belts that have actually been shown to be quite undependable when the going gets rough.
2. A TAPE deck that enjoys chewing up cassette tapes to oblivion. Yes you did just indeed read the words "tape deck" and "cassette tape"
3. Manual windows
4. Manual locks (on all four doors)
5. Manual transmission
6. Manual radio tuner and temperature controls
6. Car manuals (I was kind of on a roll there for a sec)

Luckily nothing in my car was of great value to me, although I am somewhat embarrassed to think of the state that I left my car in. Those of you who know me well, know that I pay the absolute minimum amount of attention to my car as I possibly can. That's why on the backseat floor of the car you'll find:

Lots and lots of loose papers including American Red Cross Brochures, Laminated CPR and Rescue Breathing technique easy references, flip flops, water bottles, old bottles of tanning oil, and lots of other junk, empty Orbit Gum containers, paper cups, receipts galore, a host of programs from Ballet West, Utah Sypmhony and Utah Opera, and basically anything that I was too lazy to take out of my car and put in the recycling bin (which is a lot...kind of scary to think about).

Anyway...now I'm without a car, which doesn't put a huge cramp in my style, since I usually take the car to the grocery store or to Belltown when driving to Jackie's house on Thursday night to watch Grey's Anatomy. I really don't use my car too much, but even so, it really sucks to know that it's been stolen, and right from underneath me.

:(

So, if you see me on the street with six bags of groceries in hand and I look like a drowned rat because I've managed to let a gigantic semi splash me with the dirty water of the ONLY puddle within 100 yards of sight (true story), could you take a little pity on me and offer me a ride (after you've laughed you a** off, of course)?

Oh, and yes, be expecting this blog to follow this sort of theme for the next little while. As sad and inconvenient as this may be on my life, it's providing me with TONS of stuff to write and complain about. And fortunately...YOU get to read about it!

Way to go South Africa!

2006-11-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

South Africa:
1948-1994, racial segregation made legal with Apartheid.
2006, gay marriage made legal by South Africa Parliament.

My goes off it you! Now that's what I call progress. To quote my sister Leslie, "if only we could evolve so quickly!"

To read about gay marriage in South Africa, click HERE.

The Nation has spoken

2006-11-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish you all a very blue Wednesday...that's right BLUE! You'd think that growing up going to East High and then the University of Utah I would all about Red (& White), but today I'm very very pleased for what Blue stands for! Now I just hope Virginia will come through for the Senate...fingers crossed.

The best part about last night was watching Rick Santorum concede on live television knowing that Bob Casey clearly was unstoppable in the voting booths. One down (of imbeciles, that is) a lot more to go!

I hate how much I love it

2006-11-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm undergoing some inner turmoil right now, over something very very serious. I was debating on whether or not I should share this with my readers, since it's a bit more of a personal issue, but I decided that it wouldn't be fair to you or myself to keep on lying and withholding such important information about who I am and what I do.

It's just that what I'm about to tell you pretty goes against my very nature--it has the potential to disrupt my whole identity as I know it. I've tried to supress it, ignore it, dismiss it from my life (get thee hence!), and chase it back to the place from whence it came. I've tried surrounding myself with things that won't remind me of it so much, but I'm having a hard time though. The internet makes it so available, it's just so easy to access. It's really disturbing how much it's changed my life. But I can't seem to get away from it--there's something just so addicting, exciting, alluring, mezmerizing, euphoric, and gratifying that I've given up on trying to pretend any longer. Some of you might cry at the news. All I can say, "I'm still who I am...this doesn't change anything". Please love me for me, and not for what I'm about to tell you. It pains me to write this even now, but it's the right thing to do.

Josh Turner...

Country Singer...(cringe)

Twangy Country Singer...

I mean SUUUUPER twangy...

NASHVILLE twangy (shudder)

With deep bass voice...

Hit Single...

"Would You Go With Me?"...(deep breath)

Love it. (gasp)

Seriously...L-O-V-E

Sing it all the time.

Shower.

Class.

Computer Lab.

Bus.

Grocery Store.

Know all the lyrics.

And even the twang.

Love the twang.

Find bass voice sexy.

A little obsessed.

Heart it.

Can't get enough.

We're talking 8 times a day for the last month.

(that's a lot of twang)

I'm hopeless.

Ugh.

2006-11-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

I don't mean to brag, it's just that in 8th grade I had a really hard time with math and it was the only time in my life I got a C. I'm sure I wasn't the greatest of students, and I don't think I had the greatest of teachers, so I didn't necessarily SHINE in the subject. It pretty much devastated me that entire year. It wasn't until I started geometry in 9th grade and that I was able to prove to myself that I could once again be good at this. I guess I've never really gotten over my eighth grade year...because here I am 14 years later blogging about it. Funny how we just don't let go of some things, eh?

Temple Grandin

2006-11-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went up to Edmonds, a town north of Seattle, to listen to Temple Grandin who was speaking at Edmonds Community College. Dr. Grandin is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, and is most popularly known for two things: her design of livestock handling facilities used in meat plants around the world to help reduce anxiety of livestock, and the fact that she has autism.
I was interested in listening to her speak this evening on her book Thinking in Pictures, especially because I have my nose in the world of verbal language development so much of the time, it's wonderful for me to listen to someone else describe a phenomenon that I'm concerned about (language development) but in a completely different way than we study in grad school for Speech-Language Pathology.

The lecture hall was packed, in fact they had to turn a lot of people away, and she took us on a great journey into the mind of individuals with autism who think in one or three ways: visual (photorealistic), numbers/patterns/math, and verbal. Dr. Grandin is a visual learner and literally must have a visual representation of EVERYTHING in order to understand it. She goes into great detail about this in her book (shown above).

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to share this was because not only was she an incredible speaker, but she said some of the funniest things. One specifically I don't want to forget. Now, she is high functioning, but even in her lecture it could be observed that some of the stereotypical traits of autism are very much a part of her life, like social interaction skills. She was answering a question during the Q&A about medication and she was talking about how at times she takes a tylenol at night if she is feeling overly stimulated (itching, nervous, etc--physical conditions of discomfort that characterize her autism) more for the placebo effect instead of taking an actual sleep inducing drug. Then she said, "I just really don't want to get addicted to any sort of sleep medicine. In fact, I see that Lunesta moth on television, and all I want to do is go over and stomp on it till it's dead". The lecture hall burst into laughter. I guess it was the way she said it, and in the context of the evening that made it such a hilarious moment. I totally hate that Lunesta "moth"[butterfly] too. In fact, my friend Emily and I used to joke about how damn annoying the female voiceover is for the commercials, let alone the absinthe colored/hallucinogenic butterfly that can put you to sleep no matter where you are (even the astronauts in outer space...watch the commercial to understand the reference). Leave it to Temple Grandin to put my thoughts into words. :)

65!

2006-11-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

To my boogey boarding, water and alpine skiing, lap swimming, world traveling, weight lifting, church going, summer hiking, high diving dad who turned 65 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Safeway Produce Section

2006-10-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

I love my local Safeway. It's relatively close, relatively cheap with a relatively good selection of stuff to choose from. But one thing that is certainly isn't "relatively", is cool. It's way more than that. Now I can't speak for all Safeways, and not even the Safeways in Seattle, but the Safeway in the University District definitely is much better than relatively cool. Especially when it comes to the produce section.

One fine September day, whiling away all the hours in the middle of the week and probably in the middle of the day (I can't believe how much time I had on my hands before school started--just 5 weeks ago!) I was being very picky about the types of plums I was going to have for my fruit bowl. There were many types to choose from...it was a big decision. After going with the cheaper option (student loans and all) I started my leisurely stroll downt the fresh vegetable wall, doing my own little version of food window shopping. Stopping at the arugula (this was in the heat of the spinach scare) and admiring the nice leafy greens, I was suddenly blinded by a flashing light. "Yep...this is it...this is how I'm going to go...go towards the light, Derek...go towards the light" is what ran through my head for a split second. Was it the worst migrane imagineable? rare under-age strokes? Why can I only see white in every direction? I stepped back and thankfully realized that my eyes had just been inches away from a strobe-light fixed directly above the fresh vegetable produce (you know, the greens, brocolli, cucumbers, etc.). That's just one of the advantages of being 6'5"--head/face/eye/nose/neck/etc injury due to low hanging objects...the little things in life people under 6'3" will never have to worry about. Anyway, the strobe flashed again, and repeated a few more times. Suddenly, literally from out of no direction, thunder was violently clapping, and by this time I really thought I was hallucinating. "Great...first my eyes, now my ears...they call this place SAFE-way?" The strobes continued to go, the thunder got louder and louder, and then the waterworks started, spraying me and the veges with the finest of mists. I had just experienced a tropical storm inside a grocery store on the corner of 47th NE & Brooklyn. I stood in awe, wiped my face and laughed.

The purpose of the strobe light? At first I couldn't decide if it was just a way to warn smarter shoppers to either stand back or get ready for some spring showers, but then there was the additional thunder claps which preceded the misting. So then I thought, "okay, the strobe is to signal the shoppers who suffer from some form of hearing loss, or who aren't paying that much attention to audible warnings, and the thunder is for those with low vision or who are completely blind". But then it really hit me...Safeway is just giving that produce the respect it deserves--its own producarian rights, by developing and maintaining an environment that is as close to being natural as can be while being located in the middle of a great and busy American city. It's taking into consideration the well being of the produce while each individual waits to be taken to a home or restaurant, where they will come face to face with their maker and close the chapter on this phase of their existence. Safeway...the progressive grocer.

So, I will continue to shop at Safeway, and purchase their well-tended produce, and try my best to do the same for them as I bring them safely home, minus the blinding strobe. Maybe I'll try making my own gushing water sounds as I wash my carrots, bang pots and pans as I spin my lettuce, and whisper sweet nothings into the ears of corn as I husk away. Regardless, Safeway gets the Derek star of approval for most fruit & vegetable friendly in Seattle. Safeway has set the gold standard, it's time for the others to catch up.

A litte orientation

2006-10-21T13:20:00.000-06:00

Before I came to visit UW last February, I sort of had this idea that Seattle was just a big American city that was settled nicely along the Puget Sound. I had images of something like Chicago on Lake Michigan, or a coastal city like LA, Miami, Charleston which as far as I'm concerned are cities situated in a north-to-south direction with a body of water at just one side of them. The only difference, I thought, was instead of the Pacific or Atlantic, it would just look a lot more forested, nestled in the dense evergreens of the Pacific Northwest. What I didn't truly understand until this last winter when I came to visit, is that Seattle is actually a series of peninsulas, more than one isthmus (you like that description, that way I'm not forced to pluralize isthmus and look like a dork), a series of lakes, rivers and of course the Puget Sound that create a rather complex terrain and urbanisitic nightmare for traffic. But it is the complexity of the area that makes it so charming and unique.

I thought I'd share a dumbed down/touristy map that shows the lay of the neighborhoods in the city of Seattle and their relation to water. There are a lot of other neighboring cities like Bellevue (where Microsoft is), Redmond, Issaquah, etc etc, but this map is just of the actual city of Seattle. Click on the map to englarge.

If you see where the University District is, and then you read the word "Wallingford to the left of it, my apartment building is pretty much where the 'd' in Wallingford has been written.

It's really amazing living around so much water, having to deal with bridges, and windy paths to circumnavigate large bodies of water, especially having grown up in Salt Lake where everything is laid on the grid.

I love it here, truly. The first week or two after moving was really rough, and at times I regretted my decision to move away from home. It was a strange time, because I was getting to know and appreciate the beauty of my new home, but I resented it at the same time for being so gorgeous. I guess I wanted to hate it on some subconcious level so I could keep feeling blue and wallow in my "bummed out" feelings. Of course those were just the pains of relocating, and the growing pains of removing yourself from your friends and family. It's the third time in the last 8 years that I've done this, and truthfully, it gets easier each time. But try as I may, I never could honestly hate the city...this place is intoxicating.

Seattle is steadily taking hold of my heart one vista, one redwood, one rain storm, one coffee house, one overcast day, one lake, and one friendly face at a time.

Greek Mythology on Rollerskates

2006-10-19T15:51:00.000-06:00

(This one's for Steph)

I often think of and silently thank my sister Stephanie for being one of the many people who have helped me appreciate the performing arts, like classical piano music, modern dance, ballet, symphony, experimental arts, musical theatre and film as well. One film and one experience to which I can thank her solely is what I like to call one of the finer things in life, Xanadu. Yes, you read it here my friends, Xanadu. I personally like to think of it more as an EXPERIENCE and not just another film. How did Xanadu come to be apart of my life? Thought you'd never ask.

As Stephanie has fondly helped me remember, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Xanadu was her first tape cassette that she owned. We would listen to it for hours and hours, letting the smoothly synthesized sounds of Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John seep in and energize our souls. Of course we would never sit and passively listen, no, we would clear the furniture upstairs, keep the curtains open and share our ELO love by dancing our hearts out for all Princeton Avenue to see.

Stephanie had the good fortune of having been old enough to see Xanadu at a friend's house growing up, and I would ask her to tell me what the movie was about. Being older now I can look back and appreciate how young she was and how much she may or may not have understood what was going on in the movie, but at the time she was my older sister and the moral authority for all things Xanadu. I envied Stephanie. I loved loved the music so, and just dreamed of what images could possibly go with such enlightened orchestrations, choruses and vocals. I would often ask her to recall the movie as when we'd listen to the soundtrack. I'll never forget her summarizing the movie one day to me as I listened intently to her vivid descriptions...

It's Greek Mythology on rollerskates...the movie starts with beautiful girls who lived trapped inside a wall and they really want to dance. One by one they come dancing out of the wall wearing really gorgeous dresses. Then they help make a rollerskating rink.
Truly the perfect story. No other tale could have impressed me more at the tender age of four.

A few years later, I was finally able to experience first hand the cinematic mastery of Xanadu, climbing to the upper echelon of Derek's Flix Favorites, and has stayed there ever since. I found this clip on a friend's MySpace page last night, and I just had to share it all with you, so that you too can take part in one of the finer things in life.

Repenting

2006-10-16T18:01:00.000-06:00

Weekend when Leslie was here: Late dinners, sleeping in, hiking, walking, napping, laughing, being goofy, kayaking, reflecting, commiserating, divulging, and lots of good eating

This past weekend: Reading, reading, reading, reading, typing, freaking out, reading, reading, late nights at the computer lab, reading, reading, collapsing from fatigue, and more reading.

This whole "paying for your education" thing is messed up. Shouldn't someone be paying ME to do this? Ugh.

Les-a-lee!

2006-10-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

For all you language dorks out there, don't you just love the epenthetic 'a' in the title? Okay, back to your corpora....go on now go...shew shew!

My Boston dwelling sister, Leslie, graced me with her presence this weekend and inaugurated my apartment as being the first weekend guest. Now, in all fairness, Mom was really my first weekend guest, but I like to think of her as more than that...I mean, who would really make their guests help unload U-Haul trucks, carry up the box springs, and drive for two days just to WORK? No no, Mom is like co-settler. Jared, on the other hand, is co-founder, although he never actually got to see the place, but that's another story. I digress. Leslie got in on Friday night and left just last night(Tues). Apparently some schools in Boston actually celebrate Columbus Day. Here at UW, I think we looked at each other and said, "he sailed the Nina, Pinta and Sangria, right?". But whatever the reason, I had Leslie all to myself for four whole days. One cannot conjure in words the feelings of joy felt by seeing a family member/friend/loved-one after being surrounded by strangers for weeks. I had the same sort of experience when I was in Japan, and my friend from high school and college (and LIFE!), Danae Whipp, was finishing up her contract in Japan, and crashed at my pad before taking off from Fukuoka Airport on her way back to the States. Seeing her in the sea of bad-Japanese haircuts, screaming cicadas and sweating the day through was a feeling that the word "happy" hardly touches.

I think I've gone on long enough that I just need to start a new paragraph and get on with the weekend. I guess I'm trying to make up a bit for a lull in my writing (thanks to said-weekend guest ;). Les and I picked right up where we had left things in Newport this summer, and embarked on a really great four days. We managed to walk the hell out of the northern neighborhoods of Seattle (University District, Wallingford, Ravenna, Fremont), visited the Ballard Locks, made people blush in clothing stores by dancing to funky ambient music, both suffered from really bad gas after a great lunch buffet on the Ave, discovered Snoqualmie Falls and the some fun trails in the Cascades along McClellan Butte, silently and not-so-silently cussed out impolite hikers, slept-in, caught up on all the family stuff, had competitions who could make the ugliest face in public, had sushi on Lake Union, kayaked to Gas Works park and along Fremont, watched MAKING FIENDS and a lot of other fun stuff. And just as a side note, if you ever want to come and visit me and go kayaking, I will go for you...but only for ONE hour. That's my limit. That's it. After that, my 38 inch legs just can't handle the, as Leslie and I called it, "perfect and un-moving Roots & Wings position" any longer. I didn't hold back in letting Leslie know of my discomfort level, but by the time I was paddling back under University Bridge, she kindly asked me, "How you holding up?", to which I replied, "I'm fine now...the numbness is euphoric". No, I'm not a whimp, I was just biologically assigned a very very very very long pair of legs.

You probably don't care about my issues dealing with being long and lanky, so I'll cut to what people want...pictures. In an effort to further my photographically-challenged/undocumented-life cause, I managed to take all of two pictures on this trip. That's actually an improvement for me. Just ask my darling Jed. Ten days spent together in Boston and New York this March resulted in 5 or 6 pics (although they were really great, I must admit).

Leslie and I at the base of Snoqualmie Falls, doing the whole "Derek will take a picture with his freakishly long arms (that surprisingly go with his even longer legs) and make both of us look really distorted" thing.

Leslie's toilet of choice. We saw them EVERYWHERE and couldn't get over the name.

The best part of having a weekend guest...there's someone there who wants to get out and see things that you really want to see but have somehow managed to put off as foolish ideas. "Why would I want to go and commune with nature, when I have 300 pages of diagnostics reading to cover before next Friday?"

The hardest part of having a weekend guest (and being in school)...going and having fun and forgetting that you are indeed in school and really need to stay on top of your studies before they start getting on top of you.

We were blessed with delicious weather...truly. I don't know what I'll do when the real Seattle weather starts moving in. I've been so spoiled these past weeks with days of warmth and basking in the sun's rays. I fear I'll suffer from a panic attack with reality sets in...but in the mean time, I'm enjoying THIS reality!

So many besos to my sister Leslie for getting on a plane and flying to the LEFT coast (as she likes to call it). It was great having you here!

Clean Apartment

2006-10-06T18:46:00.000-06:00

There are many wonderful benefits to having a weekend guest...and the one which I would like to highlight this evening is the benefit of feeling like you really have to make the apartment look nice. Maybe I should have guests more often (hint hint)!

Things that make me feel...

2006-10-04T17:36:00.000-06:00

SAD....getting a Hep B booster, Tetanus Booster, Varicella Titer, and TB skin test all in the same arm.

HAPPY...getting an email from my professor letting all his grad students know that class has been cancelled tomorrow due to an unforeseen obligation to which he must attend.

The reason this makes me happy (albeit temporarily, because you always know that when teachers miss class, they feel even more inclined to dampen our gleeful spirits by clarifying to the class that we will be still tested on what was supposed to be covered, regardless if they get around to lecturing on it or not) is because I have to be at school Monday through Friday by 8:30 or 9:00 AM. Now, I know that some of my gentle readers will see this and respond in emails saying, "Oh poor D-Rock, who has to get up in the morning with the rest of the working world". But allow me to remind you that I am PAYING to do this, not being PAID. You all have paychecks to help you get over the misery of waking up and beating the sun to the face of the freezing earth. I just have interest accruing student loans, which strangely enough offer no real comfort.

And while I'm complaining about my schedule, may I make a suggestion by way of academic law proposal? What's so wrong with mandating that all Med SLP students who are found in the clinic or Eagleson Hall before the hour of 10 be severely punished for their contemptible infringement of a newly fashioned "A.M. Productivity Intolerance" deptartment policy? I would pledge to uphold such an initiative and certainly would not be found to be a perpetrator of such heinous activities against it.

So, tomorrow morning, I will not be waking up to my alarm clock. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be rudely awakened at 6:15 sharp when the guy on the other side of the block revs up his mufflerly-challenged motorcycle for one minute (which interestingly enough turns out to be the LONGEST minute of my day). It's just that after my heart stops pounding out of my chest and calms to a normal beat, I'll be able close my eyes knowing that I can fall back asleep and let my body take over and wake me up when it wants to. Which will undoubtedly be 7:30. ;)

Everything is beautiful at the Ballet...

2006-10-01T19:17:00.000-06:00

Okay everyone, don't hold back, and sing it with me...
(gotta love Chorus Line)

After talking to my sister Leslie on the phone for quite a while yesterday, I reminded myself that not only did I make the move up to Seattle to go to a good program in my field, but also because I really wanted to experience what Seattle has to offer. So, after spending the majority of this last weekend in doors in front of the computer or a textbook, I awoke this morning feeling that I could justify going and doing something non-school related for the afternoon. I remembered that the Pacific Northwest Ballet was finishing their run of their season opener "Director's Choice", a program of three different ballets, all of which I had previously seen, but wanted to experience with a new company. So, I got a bit dressed up, took the bus down to the Seattle Center where the new Opera House is (of course I took a textbook with me on the bus and read), and enjoyed a WONDERFUL afternoon of living performing arts.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ballet. I do. I just love it so much. I love the classical tutus and tiaras and sparkles that makes little girls want to grow up to be fairy princesses and the such. I love the danced barefoot avant-garde choreography that offends and makes old women in the theatre wax nostalgic and ask, "Why can't they just do the traditional stuff that we want to see?" I love Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Rosalinda, Anna Karenina, etc. as much as I love Ghost Dances, In-and-Out, Black Cake, Equinox, Polish Pieces, and today I especially loved In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, with its score that sounds more like a hundred cars involved in the worst auto-collision possible.

Above are two images I found online, and a great clip of two members of the pas de trois in the final sequence of the ballet. Can I just say that YouTube really kicks ass? Pardon my French, but you can seriously find ANYTHING on YouTube these days. The video clip has really bad audio, so you can't get the full effect of the music (it's really overwhelming when you see it live, it's common to see people plugging their ears, I can' even imagine what the dancers are experiencing with the music blasting).

There are some things in life that I just really never want to be without...and a ticket to the next ballet is one of those things.

Who are the people in my neighborhood?

2006-09-29T00:10:00.000-06:00

I think that this might be an ongoing title, as I see fit to fill y'all in on the type of people who surround me at school, at play, at the library, on the street, etc.

Today I'd like the highlight the very honest students of the University of Washington who used the Post Office on University Avenue. I had purchased a compiled text made up of lots of different articles from the local copy stop on the Ave (University Ave is affectionately known as the Ave here at UW), and then had to run quickly up the block to the post office to drop something in the mailbox, and then run and make it to my two-hour afternoon class. When I got to class I realized that I didn't manage to bring back have my newly acquired ($32) text, and that most likely it was going to be gone when I went back to retrieve it after the lecture. Much to my surprise, the text was still there, and still in the same place I had left it two hours before. This post office is super busy, and I wouldn't doubt if a hundred or so people hadn't passed through it during that time, and yet my so-brand-spankin'-new-you-can-still-smell-the-fresh-forest-in-the-paper-stack was just waiting for me to come and find it, completely unmolested.

So here's a great THANK YOU to the honest and kind people who used our country's national postal service today in Seattle!

Acronyms and George Foreman

2006-09-27T22:06:00.000-06:00

Well...it has definitely begun! School is in session and I can already feel the squeeze of the quarter system. My first year at the U I had the quarters, which I remember really loving, and I know I'll love them again, too. After Albania the U had switched to semesters, and I got used to it, but by week 12 or 13 of a semester I would always start losing some steam. With the quarters, I won't have time to lose steam...it will be Christmas before I get a chance to even breathe!

The first two days of this week were spent in a nice dream-like state sitting through two lovely days of orientation. Nothing was brain busting, we went over lots of procedural and house keeping stuff, we engaged in a lot of nice get-to-know you activities, had a lovely dinner on the waterfront of Lake Washington, chatted with the professors, had long lunch breaks, etc. Monday and Tuesday were great.

Today, was baptism by fire. Wow! My day started with classes and instruction at 9:30 AM, and I honestly didn't stop going with reading, lesson preparation, meetings, etc. until 7:30 PM. I was smart to bring a pear and plum along with me that I somehow managed to wolf down in three bites somewhere around 3. Last week I was sleeping in till 10, going for a morning run till 11, cooking lunch till 1, taking a walk till 4, napping, lounging, calling friends, etc. Those days, as far as I can see it, are pretty much gone till next September. Sayonara!

The biggest observation I have to make about today is the amount of acronyms and abbreviations that go with ANY job or ANY study. Speech-Language Pathology is certainly not the only field or career out there that enjoys shortening long phrases (medicine, law, science, business, etc.), but it is also one that I think does it almost to a fault. I wouldn't be surprised if there were acronyms for acronyms somewhere along the line in my graduate career. I've been inundated with a deluge of HIPAA, IPA, PIP, POEC, ASHA, PLS, PLSE, MWIT, PICA, WAB, MLU, SPHSC, CCC, AAC, AAA, PVT, PPVT, EVT, and about a million more. Even typing them all makes my brain scream from pain. And, I'm sure that I'm only a the TIP of the iceberg.

I get to start seeing a client next week who is seeking some articulation instruction from the clinic. Luckily that will be the ONLY client that I'll have this quarter...some of my friends who are starting new grad programs have three or four already, so I do consider myself very lucky. One is a nice number to work with and ease into the clinical aspect of school.

So, after a long day of being given binders full of papers and workbooks, and running around the Speech and Hearing Clinic like a chicken with its head chopped off, I retired to my humble abode, and grilled up a nice breast of chicken with carrots and peas on the side. I would like to be known as having said publicly in my life that I just LOVE LOVE LOVE devices that do about 90% of the cooking for you. Mom and Dad have equipped me with two such contraptions that have kept my mind sane and my stomach satisfied. One, the George Foreman grill, two being the Yan Can Cook steamer (more on that in a later post!). My dinner preparation consisted of plugging in the George Foreman, taking a frozen chicken breast and placing it on the grill, and closing the lid. 15 minutes later I was eating a surprisingly juicy and quite tasty dinner. I wish I could say that I picked the peas from a vine peeled the carrots myself, but I actually just bought them from the freezer section and boiled them to death. Yay for simple cooking!

Muriel's Wedding

2006-09-25T17:45:00.000-06:00

The night before classes started, I decided to watch one of my all time favorite flicks, "Muriel's Wedding", it ALWAYS puts a great smile on my face no matter what. The movie is full of classic lines, but this is probably my favorite.

When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I've met you and moved to Sydney, I haven't listened to one ABBA song. That's because my life is as good as an ABBA song. It's as good as Dancing Queen.

Oktoberfest

2006-09-24T14:28:00.000-06:00

One goal that I have while working on my master's is to volunteer more than I have in the past. And since I haven't been doing a lot of that generally, a few hours a week will be a really huge improvement. I read in the Seattle Weekly last week that the Fremont Oktoberfest was looking for volunteers, so I took it as a nice way to jump start my goal and in the mean time experience something that is very "Seattle" or "Fremont" (a neighborhood in Seattle). I had the time (it's going on this weekend), and I love working events, so I thought I'd put in my application. I got a call back, and after looking over my application, the volunteer coordinator assigned me to...drum roll please...TICKETING! Shocker! I wasn't all that surprised, and in fact would have been a bit insulted had they not pegged me for that job. So I worked my shift last night which ended up working the entrance gates for about 5 hours. It was actually really fun, I didn't have to handle any of the cash (being just a volunteer and not on staff), and I just got to hand out the beer mugs and tolkens to people as they came in after they paid, and the wrist bands and tickets for people who were DDs (designated drivers), or for people who didn't want to drink and just came for the festival fun. It's the biggest Oktoberfest in Washington, and they say the 9th most popular in the world. They get tons of entertainment for the weekend, have lots of tents and vendors, and lots of stuff to taste. Attendance was REALLY high last night and everyone seemed to be really happy. It was fun, and I met some really cool other volunteers and staff. Not to pat myself on the back, but I was told I handled myself very well under pressure, and most of my co-workers were very complimentary. I confessed that I had a few years of working ticketing and festivals (Olympics, Sundance) and while I was explaining that, a customer overheard me and offered me a job on the spot as a manager for some arts festival somewhere in California. So....I'm quitting grad school and moving south, NOT! It actually felt REALLLLLY good to look her in the face, thank her for the offer, and then tell her that I was a grad student, and just wouldn't have time. It felt nice to be recognized for a job well done, but it felt even greater to know that it's not the path I'm following for the rest of my life. At that moment, it really hit me...I'm truly moving on, and it feels wonderful!

And since I volunteered, I get to go over today and get in for free!

Bogart

2006-09-22T15:43:00.000-06:00

Today (after my sweaty run) I've been reading a blog written by this guy close to my age in Salt Lake who has a cat, and I was suddenly overcome with a heavy dose of sadness. I really miss my little friendly Bogart who used to curl up with me in bed, do backflips when chasing the pen light, run up and down the stairs of the Swallows, purr in my lap at night watching the Daily Show, dart out of the litter box after taking his morning dump, and insist on licking me at 6:57 am sharp EVERY MORNING. I could use a little Bogart in my life right now, and it bums me out the think that he's not here with me right now. I know this isn't the only time I've blogged about losing Bogart, but it's still something that I have a hard time coming to terms with. Sometimes when people ask me about it, I just give a short answer and change the subject. For being someone who likes to talk, this can be a topic of conversation that I don't always enjoy. But, I do think of him often, and miss our all-too-brief season together. I only got to have him for 6 months, and I was honestly planning on enjoying him for a good 15 or 20 years. So, for all you pet owners out there, please take advantage of the little furry/scaly/slimy/what-have-you creatures and just be thankful that you have them around.

Hope you're doing well with a new set of healthy kidneys, my little friendly.

I don't glisten...I SWEAT!

2006-09-22T11:35:00.000-06:00

I fondly remember being at the cabin and having Brian and Julie, my brother's-in-law family (making them my "shoestring" family") up for a nice fall evening and Brian making us laugh and snort with his rendition of the Saturday Night Live's "I don't sweat...I glisten". Brian has great comedic timing and is one of the best story tellers I know.

I've always thought that was such a great saying, and sadly one that doesn't apply to me in the least. One quick lap around Princeton Avenue will get a single stream of sweat running down the side of my cheek....and a mile? Forget it, it's over! For some reason or another, the sweating gods have given me the deep end portion rom the pool of the perspiration gene. In a weird "in my dreams" sort of way, I was hoping that my ability to sweat on demand would change since I would be living at sea level here in Seattle that my excessive sweating might be different. You know, it's easier to breathe (which it is, I might add) and therefore I won't be taxing my system as much. Well, dear readers, that very wet side of my life hasn't changed a bit. Not that it's gotten any worse, luckily it hasn't. But, it has definitely not improved either. Nope, I still sport the totally flushed skin, red faced, unmanagable hair look, film of perspiration located everywhere I have skin. I'm afraid if someone were to photograph with a flash, I might reflect too much of the light and just be a big bright blur.

Now, I like running and exercise, for many reasons, one because it helps my body look good, but I certainly am not expecting to attract any Prince Charming in the actual process. Sometimes I see cute guys and think, "this is really killing your cute appeal, Derek, and probably not impressing anyone". But, since that's just one reason I exercise, I just keep going. I've had to come to the realization that Yep, I think I'm stuck with it.

Fortunately in my life, I don't have the problem of sweating in everyday activities, sitting in a chair, taking a flight of stairs, etc. That other type is a whole other kind of sweating, and one that isn't necessarily any easier to deal with from day to day. I guess I have hyperactive sweat glands, but ones that only really over do it when I'm really exerting myself. There are a lot of people out there who have a whole different kind of sweating problem than I.

The funny thing is, even though I'm sweating like a pig when bouncing around a gym or whatnot, it doesn't mean that I'm more or less tired than the jogger next to me. Comments have been made to me like, "you look exhausted", and "don't you think you need to take it easy?" It's sort of funny, because it's when I really get my blood pumping and the sweat pouring that I get more into my groove and rhythm of what I'm doing. Growing up dancing at CDT was proof of that more than anything. I would sweat, people would stare, but I was always dancing and keeping up just as well as the person next to me. Same goes in an aerobics, kickboxing, spinning, whatever class. I've just learned to be polite and bring a sweat rag to keep it to myself. So, if you happen to see me along the path, sweating up a storm, I'll just look at you if you're one of those "I just ran a 10K and I'm slightly damp around the temples" and cuss out the sweating gods when you're not in earshot.

The reason I bring this up is because I've happily found what thousands of other Seattle-ites have been enjoying for almost 30 years now, the Burke-Gilman trail. It's a bike and pedestrian committed path in urban Seattle that runs about 17 miles or so from Redmond (Bill Gates-ville), down like Washington, and along the shipping canal to Ballard. I live a mere half block off it, making it hard for me to ignore and making it easy for me to get motivated to get out and participate. Most people run or bike, and since I don't have a bike yet, I run. I'm a mile's jog from Gasworks Park, offering great views of Seattle from Lake Union, and I'm mile's run from a nice stretch of path with trees that are honestly eighty to a hundred feet tall above me. I love that even in Seattle, you can still feel you are in the woods. The trail is what is left of the Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad. When the need for rails decreased, the city of Seattle decided to use those paths as pedestrian/bike paths. Seattle has 90 miles of dedicated bike paths throughout the city. I love it, and it reminds me a lot of the hundreds of miles of bike paths through Cambridgeshire and East Anglia.

Here are some pics (again, none that I've taken, it's much easier to just steal others photos from Google Images) of the trail.

This pic is near my apartment

This one is right in the middle of campus, making UW a very accessible school for non-drivers. Luckily I just walk to school, but nice to know I could bike if I wanted to.

Blown out tire

2006-09-16T17:53:00.000-06:00

This picture really should be looked at when reading my earlier post "i AM the slow truck". Sorry to be chronologically impaired here.

Why, you may be wondering, am I sticking out my tongue here? I've asked myself that already. At the time thought it would be funny. Whatever. You get the picture, very little tire left, Mom and I on the road in the middle of nowhere Idaho. Good times.

Jordanelle '06

2006-09-16T16:45:00.000-06:00

I think this picture is even cooler because it's blurry. We went up to Jordanelle resevoir before I left for Seattle, and had a mighty fine day on the water.

I don't know what I'm trying to do here, but I think I'm channeling my inner Arsenio.

This one is a little more, "Look ma, one hand!"

I was very pleased with this trip...I hadn't been on skis for more than four years, and I was able to shoot right up and have a blast. My goal for next year is to get up on Slalom again...it's been years since I've even tried.

Rofte Gjuha Shqipe!

2006-09-14T20:53:00.000-06:00

So Wikipedia, pretty much my favorite website and a crutch that I have leaned on for the past five years, has a new splash page, and so I decided to see if they had Albanian up, and sure enough they DO! Here's a link to the main page in Albanian if you'd like to see for yourself!

CLICK HERE

And for those of you who don't know, I'd like to take this opportunity to explain a few basic terms in the Albanian language. Albania, like Germany, Greece, Hungary, Japan, China, and I'm sure a lot of others, is a country that is known internationally as "ALBANIA", but to Albanians there is a whole other set of words for their country's name, language, etc., just as Germany really is Deutschland, and Greece is Ellas, and Hungary is something I can't remember right now, and Japan is Nihon....allow me to introduce you to things "Albanian".

Albania=Shqiperia
Albanian (person)=Shqiptari (m)/Shqiptarja (f)
Albanian (language)=Shqip

These are all derivatives of the word 'shqiponja' which means 'the eagle'. Albania is the land of eagles, hence the name. And, furthermore, Albania's flag shows the double headed eagle, symbolizing the two main groups of Albanians (North and South, basically) who were united hundreds of years ago by their national hero (kind of like our Washington or Lincoln), Skenderbeu.

I'd be more than happy to continue this discussion if anybody has any questions. You know how to reach me.

Seattle realizations and things learned

2006-09-14T17:22:00.000-06:00

1. It's already fall here, no more last warm days in the 80s
2. Pasty skin is in (the jury is still out on how I feel about that)
3. Buildings here are built in warm colors (tans, browns, deep reds, etc.) to keep the soul inspired during the grey months of winter
4. Food costs considerably more here that in Salt Lake.
5. Everyone bikes, EVERYONE. I need one.
6. I live near the Seattle Peace Park which displays a statue of Sadako, and also has a Public Peace Garden which is right next to my building. Very serene.
7. People like their socks and sandals. Barf.
8. Sometimes I think I'm the 21 year old I see on University Ave, but I'm not. I'm the 27 year old.
9. Seattle-ites like their garage door openers....seriously! Just like they show in the movie "Singles". If you have a parking spot, you've got in made.
10. Caffeine isn't just a nice thing to consume in the morning, it's a city-wide pastime.
11. I'm going to be very wet.

This and a million other thoughts have been floating around in my mind, just thought I'd share. a

Some pics of UW

2006-09-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

As some of you might know, not only is UW a fine school, it also is situated on a gorgeous campus. Here are some pics that I can find online.

The Suzzallo Library (the graduate library on campus)

The Graduate Reading Room inside the Suzzallo Library (anyone can study there, I think maybe at one time it was reserved for grads, but not now).

Denny Hall, the oldest building on campus, used for Administration

The Liberal Arts Quad in spring

Miller Hall (on the Quad) in Fall

Aerial view of Library, Red Square, and Quad

My building, Eagleson Hall

Drumheller Fountain and Mt. Rainier

Other side (looking up from lower campus) of Drumheller Fountain

Sunset over Gerberding Hall

Aerial overlooking UW campus, views of Husky Stadium and Lake Washington

i AM the slow truck....ugh

2006-09-11T16:12:00.000-06:00

We made it, and luckily in one piece. I don't have internet access at home yet, so sorry for the delays in writing and getting back to you if you've written. I can get on really easily on campus, so I'll be able to keep in pretty good contact with y'all from this point on.

Well, my goodness. That trip was fun and absolutely took EVERYTHING out of me. Mom and I got up at the a** crack of dawn and headed out. We were on the road by 6:30 am, which was good because it gave me some time to be on the freeway with less congested traffic and get used to driving my 18-wheeler. No, not really, but for someone who usually zips around the city in a teeny tiny Nissan Sentra, I might has well been commanding the Titanic--and without a rear view mirror! That was the hardest to get used to. And speaking of icebergs and other obstacles, after two and a half hours of easy and pretty pleasant driving, we had our first (and luckily only) major problem...

On a quaint little stretch of road on I-84 between Tremonton, Utah and Twin Falls, Idaho, Mom and I started to hear something that just didn't sound right. I looked into my rear view mirror only to see the back of the cab I was sitting in (oh right...that doesn't work, duh!) and then over to my side mirrors and saw little bits of tire dragging off and tumbling across the road. Although startled by the sight, nothing seemed wrong with the car, the wheel wasn't leaning one way of another, and everything else felt fine, and so I figured that I had just driven over a blown out tire that had been close to the side of the road (because of COURSE I was driving by the side of the road, when you are driving a U-Haul and towing a trailer, you don't actually DRIVE anywhere, you crawl). Mom heard the same noise, and looked out her side and didn't see anything wrong and said, "Do you think that was our car?", to which I replied, "I don't think so, and if it were, some driver would SURELY try to be getting our attention". And literally as I was articulating that last syllable 'tion', I heard the warning semi-truck horns that I so eagerly worked to hear as a child on road trips (you know...you pass a truck and mimic pulling down on the cord to get them to acknowledge that they too are bored out of their minds on a long expanse of road in the middle of nowhere). I turned to Mom and with a laugh and said, "See what I mean?". We followed the truck driver and pulled over at the next exit, #263, the Juniper Road Exit for all you curious readers, and safely parked our car and took a deep breath. The kind and concerned driver got out and showed us that indeed WE had blown a back tire on the trailer the car was loaded onto. All that was left was a mere 6 inches of tire, we had basically been riding on the rim for the last mile. Besides the tire, everything was just fine, so we had a lot to be grateful for. I had cell service, so the truck driver left and Mom and I were stuck in the center of Idaho. I called U-Haul and they sent some nice guys from Tremonton to fix the tire. The whole scenario only put us out two hours (thankfully), and soon enough we were back on the road again.

I had already slept pretty poorly the night before, and with the tire malfunction, I was maybe one of the most alert drivers on the road. Luckily I-84 is not the most traffic heavy thoroughfare, so I didn't have that headache to worry over. My goal, even with the delay, was to get to the state of Washington before we stopped for the night. Luckily we made it a lot further than just in the state. We stopped in Yakima, which is pretty much in the middle of the state. We were welcomed with the smell of sweet grapes, as Yakima is known as Washington's wine country. I think from the time we stopped in Idaho to fix the tire, to the moment we pulled inot the motel parking lot I had not had a moment's feelings of relaxation. At dinner I felt my body finally give into the softness of the padded booth bench, and it took all of my strength to eat my food. After dinner and a nice long shower, I zonked out for about 10 hours. I finally slept really well.

The next day we only had two and a half hours drive to Seattle, so we were able to sleep until 8. That drive was gorgeous, winding in and out of the Cascades. Besides not being able to use a rear view mirror, the other aspect of driving that I never got used to was not being able to pass the slow trucks. I WAS the slow truck. Every once in a while I would come up behind a truck, going about 65, and turn my blinker on and start the process of passing. About half way through I would catch myself and say, "I am NOT driving the Suburban, there's no way I can pass this thing". It happened A LOT, and each time it did Mom and I would laugh harder. You'd think that I would have learned, but as you drivers know, there is a sense of passiveness when taking a road trip, and you start relying on auto-pilot responses. Needless to say, after two days on the road, I have a new found respect for those who drive large cargo types of vehicles. It's hard work! Glad I don't have to deal with that for a long time.

Seattle or Bust!

2006-09-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Sorry my posts have been so freakin infrequent. We loaded up the U-Haul yesterday, and after a really crappy night's sleep....WE'RE OFF!

Here's the route, if anybody cares to know. Do you think I can make it on two tanks of gas towing my Nissan in a gas guzzling van? Pray for me!

Once I get settled and online, I'll let y'all know how the move went. Much love!

Mt. Aire

2006-08-30T23:45:00.000-06:00

Even though I'm eager and excited to start my Seattle life, I'm sad to be leaving Salt Lake during my favorite season....autumn. Today, I've especially lamented having to say goodbye to my beloved Mt. Aire and it's radiant fall colors. I'll miss them by about a week or two.

Nightmare

2006-08-23T21:52:00.000-06:00

Last night I dreamt I was at Yellowstone with my dear friend Hess. In the dream, she told me that she had never been to the Old Faithful Inn, and I was absolutely thrilled to show her what I consider one of the most magical places on earth.

Why was I so thrilled, you may wonder. Allow me to explain. Growing up (not included in last night's dream) my family had a fun tradition of making the roadtrip to Yellowstone over UEA weekend (usually in late October). It was our way of communing and helping put that magnificent park to sleep before its long winter. We would all crowd into the station wagon, loaded with our warmest of winter clothing, and drive the length from Salt Lake in one day. Easily the best and most rewarding part of the trip was turning into the driveway of the Old Faithful Inn and getting your first view of her majestic wooded roof and her sweeping wings with the dormer windows. We would gather our belongings, check in at the front desk, and find our rooms without delay. Some years we stayed in the original wood structure with rooms furnished with beds and a sink....toilets and showers were down the hall and shared with other Inn guests in your hall. Other years mom and dad splurged and got rooms with en suite bathrooms. Both were fun...we were usually just relieved and so happy to be there. We had arrived and guaranteed an enchanted weekend.

We would spend our days touring the geysers, each of us seeing how our favorites were holding up. I always loved the simple Morning Glory pool, and was deathly afraid of the deceptive Beauty Pool where you if were at the right angle, you could see the skull of a bison who probably went to the pool's edge to water and collapsed due to the shock of being scalded. We would travel to Yellowstone Lake, peek in the windows of Lake Yellowstone Hotel (which was vacant for years and years when I was a child), cross Fishing Bridge, brave through Porcelain Basin with plugged noses, go north to Mammoth to see the elk hanging out besides the buildings, gaze at the gorgeous Mammoth Hot Springs, and see as many mud pots, geysers, and wildlife as we possibly could in the daylight.

My favorite part of the day, however, was when the sun went down and it was too cold to be outside any longer, and we would retire to the Inn. I felt like the Inn was mine to explore, study and discover. I loved finding the most secluded stairways, or look closely at the wood pillars used in all aspects of decoration, and dream of what it would be like to live there year round. The pinnacle to any Old Faithful Inn visit, whether you are staying overnight or not, is spending time in the Great Hall. As far as man made structures are concerned, there is no fonder or better place in my mind.

With the lamps aglow, the wind whistling outside and my comfy sweater on, I would sit for hours people watching, use a reading table to do a little "UEA weekend" homework assigned by a teacher, and kick up my feet with the siblings and parents after a long day of hiking and walking. I would look up to the crow's nest (which has been out of use for my entire life) and imagine what it would have been like to be serenaded or played to by an orchestra in the "heavens". I imagined what it was like to stay in one of the three "Third Room" suites that cost a million ga-gillion dollars. I never recall a feeling of boredom while I was there. I do remember having feelings of intrigue when I'd happen upon other friends who were also visiting with their families. We would find some of the old couches with fluffy stuffing sitting on wood frames and talk talk talk. There were the hide and seek games that would always start and end in the Great Hall as ally ally oxen free, or just a simple jaunt down the main staircase to visit the gift shop by the main entrance. There was something very special about sharing that weekend with my classmates, as it has made a most indelible impression in my mind, one which I have never, nor will I ever be able to shake. It's as if I made permanent bonds with them after sharing something so sacred to me. For me, no memory in my mind is more cozy and more nostalgic. I savor those memories as I savor my closest of relations.

So....why is the post entitled "Nightmare" and why have I taken so long to get to the point? I wanted to paint a picture of how much this place means to me, even today. Well, back to my dream....Hess had never been to the Inn, and I felt it a deep honor to introduce her to one of my most beloved places on this green earth. The building's facade was unchanged, as was the fun front door with its decorative and twisting 9+ locks that actually work in the winter to keep the place secure. As Hess and I walked in, my stomach twisted as my heart dropped and my mind started to spin. We walked past the front desk into the Great Hall to see that a re-decorating crew had covered all the stately timber pillars with white faux wood paneling, and had painted the paneling to make it resemble a birch forest--and a very unnatural and poor one at that. Instead of taking our first steps into what should have been a room filled with dark browns, grey stone, and golden laquer finish on the wood illuminated with warm oil lamps, we stumbled into a very generic looking (albeit large, tall and airy) hotel lobby. They had placed white carpeting on the floors, covered up the stone fireplace with more white paneling, and had high-teched the place out. Parents and children weren't sitting the traditional rockers, but were sitting in lazy boy recliners with game controls in hand and staring off into space at the hundreds of flat screens in front of them which televised their loud video games. I could hardly breathe. I wanted to scream and cry "INJUSTICE!". I turned to the clerk and asked with tears rolling down my cheeks, "What have they done to my Great Hall?". He looked at me with sad eyes and said, "People want their conveniences, and we are just trying to cater to them. Plus most people aren't interested in all of that old decor anyway, so the hotel thought it best to do some minor updating".

I made myself wake up that instant (something that I can do when I just can't stand to stick around in a dream any longer) and my eyes shot open as I felt my heart racing. It really had just been a HORRIBLE nightmare. There were still some tears in my eyes, and I was scared to fall back asleep in fear that I'd have to go back to that godforsaken place. Luckily, the Old Faithful Inn is a National Landmark and registered with the National Historical Society, so they will never be able to do anything like that to it. I don't usually hold that much stalk in my dreams, and I'm not one to go sharing them with other people, but I just had to get this one off my chest. It really affected me. I just don't know what I'd do if that were to really happen. That's why I had to write about it. Plus, I felt this would be a good way to declare my undying love for Yellowstone National Park and to thank it and the organizations (National Park Services, etc...) and the laws that are in place to help us protect and enjoy these blessed areas.

I want to also publicly declare that its never a good thing to use wood paneling. I understand its a cheap option, but c'mon. That's just my inner wanna-be interior decorator SCREAMING inside.

And I want to let it be known that I love the Inn and hold it so near and dear to my heart. May it stand for years and years to come and continue welcoming visitors who can share in its magic as I have.

Veritable Smorgasbord

2006-08-19T10:24:00.000-06:00

Just to counter what might be considered a "heavy" posting (Just for the record...) I wanted to let y'all in on the fact that somewhere between finishing class this summer and now, I've mentally retreated back into the mind of my childhood and pre-teen years. Like I've posted earlier, I've become a total Potter-holic (no, not a pot-aholic, Harry Potter), and I've been reading books that I passed over as a child like A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver, The Chosen, and a whole host of others. They are really great reads, and even though categorized as 'Children's Lit' they offer A LOT to the adult reader as well.

That's not where it ends. I've also rediscovered some of my all time favorite movies from my childhood, one being the cartoon based on the Newberry Honor Book Charlotte's Web. That has some CLASSIC characters, songs and even some nice lessons. Templeton the rat is just as hilarious at 27 as he was at age 5. And the Goose/Templeton song is just as engaging and ridiculous as I remembered it. Just in case you need a little reminding, this is how their anthem to junk food goes. Don't hold back, just find that inner 8 year old and sing along!

A Veritable Smorgasbord

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord
After the crowds have ceased
Each night when the lights go out
It can be found on the ground all around
Oh, what a ratly feast!

Melon rinds and bits of hotdogs
Cookie crumbs and rotton cotton candy
Melted ice cream, mustard dripplings
Moldy goodies everywhere

Lots of popcorn, apple cores
Bananna peels and soggy sadwiches
And gobs of gorgeous gook to gobble at the fair

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord
After the gates are shut
Each night when the lights go out
It can be found on the ground all around
That's where a rat can glut, glut, glut, glut!

Love me some Charlotte's Web.

Just for the record...

2006-08-18T18:38:00.000-06:00

I have been asked how I feel about the recent article/interview that was posted on LDS.org regarding homosexuality, and I figured that sharing a brief blog would help those of you understand how I feel about it. I'm usually a man of many words, but today I am going to be concise (those of you who know me well, know that concision is not nor has it ever been my forte) and express it in a way that is meaningful to me.

I am Derek. (Derek=proper noun)
I am gay. (gay=adjective)
I am a gay. (a gay=article+noun)
I am homosexual. (homosexual=adjective)
I am a homosexual. (a homosexual=article+noun)
I am Derek. (see above)
I am out. (out=prepositional/adjectival properties)
I am happy. (happy=adjective)
I am secure. (secure=adjective)
I am loved. (am loved=perfect tense verb form)
I love. (love=verb)
I am Derek.

I trust the relationship between me and my maker, and it's the only one I give credit to when it comes to dealing with sexuality. Therefore, I really do not and will not fret over what was written and said in the article.

Here's the article if anybody would care to take a look.
ARTICLE

Down with the slum lords

2006-08-13T22:58:00.000-06:00

Not that I have ever truly slummed it (except for a three month period in Tirana, Albania during my mission), and I was damned if I was going to start at the age of 27. My cousin Jared, affectionately known as J-Rod, Jerry Farm, Jared-Angel, Jer-bear, and JARED (to be screamed with frustration and fault), and I hopped in his new Honda and made our way up I-15 and then over on I-90 to Seattle for a quick weekend of apartment hunting. And hunting it was. I came prepared with about 20 leads, all of which came crashing down on me in the first 20 minutes of my search. Things go fast in the leasing world, especially when the availability is numbered and the demand is high (and that, my friends, is about as economically minded as you will EVER hear/read from me). Needless to say, it is currently a RENTERS market in Seattle.

After many hours of walking through mice infested, insect ridden, and CRAPPED ON THE FLOOR apartments (no joke), I found a place that was in my budget, close to the school, clean and quiet.

Entrance

Kitchen

Bathroom-just so all y'all won't be scared to poop at my place

Living Room

Now, just remember that you have to ENVISION the place furnished with my things--so yeah, this will pretty much be what it looks like, since I have close to nothing :)

I'm pleased as punch with it. I actually have underground covered parking, and the building has an elevator. I'm on the top floor (4th), and have a nice view of the University Neighborhood and a partial view of Lake Union.

So, now that you've seen the place....COME AND VISIT!!! (after Sept. 8th)

Oh, and here's a picture of J-Rod and D-Rock visiting Mount St. Helen's. Amazing trip, I would really recommend it to anybody who plans on driving north on I-5 from Portland.

love me some Heidi

2006-08-06T13:51:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd post a fun pic of me and my little Heidels at Cory's going away party. Have fun in Japan, Cory!

If you'd like to visit Heidi's site, click HERE.

Missing, Misinformed Missiles, Miscarriage, Miserable Marriages, "Miss" Pageants, Mystery

2006-08-05T00:03:00.000-06:00

A week that offered a wider variety of events/"material" to experience and react to than usual.

Normally when you get a call from a friend telling you that they are coming home for a family funeral, you would react in a reverent way--one in which you might express your immediate condolences. Call me a bit insensitive, but when Jed informed me that he was coming home for a few days to go to Grandma Atha's (his and Jessica's great grandma's) funeral, I couldn't have been more ecstatic. It had been over three months that I hadn't seen Jed, and even though he was coming back to Salt Lake to mourn, I couldn't have been more (selfishly) happy. It was the best surprise "weekend vacation" that didn't require me to travel that I've ever had. Jed got off the plane, and we really didn't miss a beat the whole time he was here.

If you catch me staring into space, I'm most likely imagining what my life will be like in Seattle, come September. For the most part, I'm consumed with thoughts about my living space; how close I'll be to campus, what my apartment will be like, how much time I'll actually be spending at home versus at school/clinic, if I'll have neighbors, if I'll be neighborly or more reclusive, if it's really going to rain every damn day as they say and how I'll experience the elements in my new home. It's been quite the mystery. Thankfully, I think I'll have a much better idea about my soon-to-be life as I head up to Seattle next week with my cousin Jared to go apartment hunting. Armed with references and hopefully enough money to put down for a nice apartment (to rent), I anticipate that by this time next week I'll be able to provide a better answer for people when they ask how I'm feeling about moving away for grad school. Just as a side note, I've found it equally interesting to hear a lot of people ask why I'm LEAVING for grad school instead of going to the U. These questions come with true intrigue and amazement. My answer, "just wanna see what else is out there". I'm sure my decisions are making some people shake their heads in bewilderment, but that's nothing new.

I've never considered myself to be very paternal. I don't know if it's because I'm gay and for me I have not personally associated being a gay man in a gay relationship with raising kids. Just to stop any confusion, there are lots of great gay couples out there rearing their own families. I just don't see me as being a part of that. When I think about my future, I don't see kids of my own...that is until I heard news of my sister's miscarriage. It was sincerely heartbreaking for me. Two of my sisters have had miscarriages, and due to circumstances during those times, I was not able to be near them as they endured and coped with their losses. This time around I've been able to talk a bit more with Nat, and I have partaken (ever so little, albeit) of her grief, and it struck an emotional chord within me that has never been pricked before. I still don't think I'll have kids, but I guess that recognizing how powerful that loss was for her and some of the feelings I felt about it, I guess that somewhere deep inside me has definitely pondered the idea of raising children?....or at least (and not to be morbid), the sadness of losing one.

Watching Senate members interrogate Rumsfeld and some of his top men during the Senate Arms Services Committee hearing this week made me sick...because it was the first time since our nation has been in Iraq that I've seen our military leaders actually admit to problems and not fight against their opponents statements discouraging our military presence there. We've been watching for over three years some of our nation's leaders go red in the face defending our unilateral pre-emptive actions in the Middle East, not missing a moment to throw out the tired and worn out standbys "freedom, patriotism, terrorism, mass destruction, collateral damage" along with other made words like "compassionativity" and other bull shit. Those of you who know me, know that I realy have nothing good to say about Bush...AT ALL...and even less to say about us being in Iraq. Watching the Senate hearing showed me that the situation is so dire and so out of control that even those who have supported our military efforts and painstakingly never let up on why we should be there NOW can't even stand up for themselves anymore. Civil war in Iraq. What the hell have we created?

You might want to check out some interesting articles in the Salt Lake Trib and the New York times about gay men who are married to women and the issues they are facing.
SL Trib article
NY Times article

And not to just post about death, loss, sadness, happy/unhappy marriages and global blunders....I thought I would end this post on a lighter note. Tomorrow I have the PLEASURE to work not only one pageant....but THREE! Yes, the US Continental Pageant (???) has landed at the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts and tomorrow the newly appointed Miss Teen US Continental, Miss US Continental, and Mrs. US Continental will all being their reigns of queens supreme of the US Continent. Isn't that great? I think the event organizers may have taken James Monroe's "Monroe Doctrine" a little bit to heart when coming up with this beauty contest. Thinking that political and physical geography awareness aren't exactly pre-reqs for this one. Yikes. Sounds like a winner of a pageant to me.

Western Pilgrimage

2006-07-25T23:22:00.000-06:00

Since the first summer I was alive (and probably before that), my family has flocked to beaches for a week or two in the summer to bathe in the cool waters of the west and just get down with spending time with the family. The majority of the years have been spent somewhere along the beaches of Southern California. I hardly consider a summer well spent unless I've put in some serious beach time, and I've been very fortunate to have parents who have provided these rich experiences for their children.

We took our annual pilgrimage to California to worship the sun and water a bit early this year (usually end up packing the car and driving down sometime in August). This year followed a very similar routine, but was dotted with one particular very fun event. We were going to be the whole WRIGHT clan minus one--we were losing Jim to the Harvard Forest back in Massachusetts, and for the first few days of the trip we really missed his presence. However, unbeknownst to everyone except Dad and Les, and much to our delight and surprise, "...And on the 4th day, Jim arrived..." He just ended up strolling up to our set up cabana and said "hi" as if nothing were odd at all. Jim (and Leslie's) efforts to travel across the contintent gave us four whole days for our family to be all together again, enjoying the regulars such as: eating way too much, swimming till we were water logged, sleeping-in, boogey boarding for the best dip, body surfing retro-style (hand out, palm up), Mexican Train, catching up on family gossip and whatnot, watching the Pacific Ocean swallow the sun, getting maytagged in the waves of Newport and just being total beach bums. This year we also had fun on the night of the full moon by heading out to the waves at mid-night to watch the summer grunyon runs. Nat also made an announcement...one more Connolly on the way due in Feb. Congrats Nat!

I also got some good reading time in. Upon reading an announcement from J.K. Rowling a while back regarding certain details about her 7th Harry Potter installment, I decided that I finally needed to hop on the Harry train (sorry Heidi!) and get on with getting to know Hogwarts. I really hate missing the boat on really major pop culture information, so I decided to become and informed reader when the news leaks about who could possibly be the ones to die in her 7th book. I read the first three books on the beach and can say that I am completely and would be certifiably addicted (if there were a way to prove that). Very much looking forward to getting the six books read. I figure it's nice easy reading before grad school.

Here are some pics taken at Victoria Beach, and at Newport. When I'm down there I always dream of one day being able to spend a whole summer down at the beach and wholly embracing the Pacific Coast vibe. Maybe one day.

I know this could be a wedding shot, but it's just my sister Stephanie and I at our favorite beach.

NaLesSteKeDer (actually, Kev, Les, Nat, Steph and D)

Steph (holding Zachary), Jim & Les, D and Mom

D holding my precious little Camilla-rooney

The Five Whats?

2006-07-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

I'm cheating chronologically (typing in August, but posting this in the past) and putting in an post quickly celebrating the birthday of my one and only Hessica. We enjoyed a delicious evening at the Five Alls, and Jess opened up her presents for all to see. If you're curious what was in the gift bag, you'll have to ask her.

Allen Cat, Hessica, Sniffins Quigley and D

Shopping to clear the head

2006-07-01T12:08:00.000-06:00

When things aren't going the way I'd like them to in life I usually react in a similar way--I shop. Junior year of high school I narrowly lost the election to John Lyman for Junior Class VP, and later that spring I again lost in the primaries for Student Body Secretary at East. Sure enough in both events I found great solace in putting down a considerable chunk of change in exchange for new items to help my wardrobe sparkle. When I was in college going through a rough time with my pledged greek fraternity, I retreated to the welcoming and familiar walls of Nordstrom, and then made my way over to the Gap and proceeded to purchase the same T-shirt (Ringer) in four colors...and for those of you who know me personally, I still wear them to this day.

Well, last night, upon feeling like a certain aspect of my life was slowly but surely slipping out of my grip, I decided to retaliate/regroup and shop for music. Call it a musical emergency. I purchased two CDs from the group Muse, whom my friend Allen had introduced me to about a year before. I would describe their music as a really wonderful mix of Rufus Wainwright, Radiohead, and even a little Bjork (vocals mostly). There's nothing I love more than when alternative rock blends in classical sounds, instruments, and even more traditionally classic themes and motifs. Muse offers me the perfect amount of angst without turning my mood too disdainful/revengeful or souring my countenance into something far too ugly--LOUD yet CIVILZIED. Something that a scorned lover? sometimes needs.

Single Thirties and Forties?

2006-06-29T19:02:00.000-06:00

As my darling Jed likes to say, I feel like I am knocking on the door of thirty. I often think about other people I know who are in their thirties and forties, and they often describe how time flies at lightning speed because their lives are focused on their children, partners/spouses, homes. So, even though 30 is three years away for me, I can't help but be somewhat curious as to how my thirties will differ from those who are in more "conventional" living situations (married, home owners, parents, etc.) If I'm single at 30 and throughout my 30s, will time move as fast? will people look at me as being selfish? If I don't own property will I be seen as "wasting the American dream" on rent? Will people treat me like Bobby in Sondheim's musical, Company, or as the character Brian in the TV show, What About Brian? Will people look at my life, say things like, "Poor baby, all alone", or "Isn't he lucky to have all that free time?", or the killer, "When do you think he'll grow up finally?" and things of that nature. I'm not afraid of being exactly in the same living status in my thirties as I am now, nor am I opposed to settling down with someone. I guess I look at my future and think that it sounds just as busy and complicated as others, either way it turns out. But, when I hear the things people say about single thirty-somethings, I start to wonder how that decade will fare for me--especially in the eyes of others.

How, you may ask, did I get on this topic? I finished my shortened/intensive Aural Habilitation/Rehabilitation class today and I celebrated the taking of my final by heading down to the library and checked out a slew of Sondheim musicals. Sondheim has some interesting things to say about society, the make-up of the family, friendships, and our perceptions of others. Of course people have lauded his name and recognized his ability to realistically portray a lot of the feelings and notions that we have a hard time putting into words. Amazingly he does it well, and even matches those thoughts with some nice melodies. You could say I'm just hopping on the fan bandwagon.

Anyway...heading to Hessica's for some date night activity. Tonight is the movie Hard Candy at Brewvies. Good times, "free" film, and good nachos!

Same time, next year?

2006-06-28T19:58:00.000-06:00

I know, I know....I'm lame. I mean, who really waits over a YEAR to post on their own blog? Especially the blog that was meant to "reconnect with out of touch loved ones"! I know you're throwing mind daggers at me right now which I --OUCH!-- good aim! In all honesty, there have been literally MONTHS where I didn't even think of posting, and then a whole lot of other months where I thought of it, but maybe decided to see what was on VH1 instead. I know...you can't get any lamer. In my defense, I started this when I lived in some other apartments, alone, and with an internet connection. Since that time I have moved into DATE NIGHT CENTRAL with good friends Jed and Hessica, and am now living at home with the parents. More on that later.

But, what I really wanted to share with you is how funny and how even more fitting my blog title has become in the past year. When I named it long ago, I was going for something shocking, unique and mostly for people to scratch their heads and say, WTF? Ironically, swallowing has been a huge focus for me this year at school, or to be even more specific--the inability to swallow efficiently. This disorder is called DYSPHAGIA and is an aread of study and practice that I will be working on for the next three years in grad school. Seriously, it's going to be just about the biggest aspect of my job once all is said and done. So, I offer you a new way to interepret my recently resurrected, very inconsistent and somewhat sporadic blog "to swallow..."

Much more to come!

Oh, and this one's for Kevin & Trixi-girl. :)

Debut

2005-06-22T18:56:00.000-06:00

My sister Leslie and her newly wed husband, Jim, were married yesterday at the Alta Lodge, in Alta, Utah (located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon). Even though they had chosen Summer Solstice as their wedding date, the weather was nothing to write home about. It appeared like it was going to work against us for the Tuesday wedding, and we were all terrified with the idea of having to have the ceremony inside, instead of being able to have the ceremony outside with the idyllic back ground of snow capped High Rustler looking down upon the wedding party. But.....literally one minute before 6 o'clock (the scheduled time for the ceremony), the rain stopped, the sun peaked through, and we ran out and dried off the seats, and we had a wedding! If anything, it made the occasion more brilliant, and the sun shone upon the snowy hills, and especially down on my "bedecked" (as my Aunt Karen likes to say) sister and now my newest brother in law. From there on out, the evening was flawless. As we dined on delicious steak and salmon, the skies cleared up, and the blue grass band got settled on the wood deck, and we transitioned effortlessly from toasts of good cheer and fortune to some foot stompin', heal kickin' fun. We danced the night away, as the alpenglow kissed the two lovers (and everyone else who had the good fortune of being outside for those 20 minutes) good night.

You know, I've always rolled my eyes at the people who say they want to get married just so they can throw the best party of their lives, surrounded by their closest and dearest loved ones. Well...for a few short hours, I became that type of person that I usually so loathe. :)

And yes....the American debut of my tan summer suit was a smash hit. My brother, Kevin, also went with the same look, and we decided to match even more by wearing pink shirts. We looked incredible, if I do say so myself. As I get some more pics from the evening, I will be sure to put them up (I'm still trying to figure out the HTML code to add a photos section similar to the archives....so if anyone knows Blogger really well, and can help me out....just holler!)

The best thing of the night, was after the dinner and dancing had calmed down, I was able to give Jim, a man that I have grown to love so much over the last eight years, a big ol' hug, and finally call him my brother. Welcome to the family, JIM!

Warmest Wedding wishes,
D-Rock

because Somebody's getting married today!

2005-06-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

In honoUr of my sister's wedding that will take place on the 2005 Summer Solstice, I would like to dedicate today's blog to Jim and Leslie, and let the Muppets help out a bit. If only I could have found a link to the song....darn. This blog will probably only be understood by those who called Princeton Avenue their home in the 1980s, but since this a family affair, I think it's pretty appropriate.

SONG FROM THE 1984 MOVIE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
(on the occasion of Miss Piggy and Kermit's wedding)

Somebody get some flowers!
Somebody get a ring!
Somebody get a chapel and a choir to sing!
Somebody get an organ to play!
Cause somebody's getting married today!

Somebody get a preacher!
Somebody bake a cake!
Somebody get some shoes and rice and presents to take!
Somebody get a sweet negilee!
Cause somebody's getting married today!

Somebody get champagne!
Somebody rent a room!
Somebody get the lovely bride!
And somebody get the-
Somebody get the-
[Kermit nervously stumbles overstage here since the rhyming word is "groom" (of course)...]

Somebody somebody somebody somebody somebody--!

Somebody get this wedding underway!
(Swedish Chef): Coose-a sumebudy's getteeng merreeed tudey!

With Love,

D-Rock

in the swallows

2005-06-10T16:35:00.000-06:00

I moved into my cozy little attic-like abode on 1st South during Labor Day weekend 2004. The move was a smart one, as it kept me here in Salt Lake, but it enabled me to have the space I needed in order to really re-establish myself here in my beloved city. I live in the Swallow Apartments among a great array of personalities and characters. Yes, I think I have heard just about every joke about living in "the swallows" but innuendo aside, it's a great place to live, and I always have a fun joke to use as an icebreaker.

My apartment consists of possibly the four smallest rooms ever put together to make a livable space. But, it did offer an incredible amount of closet space, not that I'm looking to store more baggage or skeletons or something of that nature--I already had a nice time cleaning those things out back in 2002. As I walked into the pad for the first time, I had images of being able to fit all of my wares neatly and comfortably into three quite large closets.... and I was sold. The location was great, the price was affordable, and I could already tell my neighbors were quirky and fun. Although in Japan I had a fantastic apartment with two bedrooms, huge kitchen, nice sized living room, and two balconies with storage space outside AND I only had to pay around $200 a month for my pad there (thanks to the Japanese Government providing wonderfully subsidized housing for its teachers), I still thought that the Swallows would be a great place to call home for a year in my lovely Deseret.

To sum up the year in a nutshell....because there is no way in hell that I'm going to try to catch up with long entries.

I got home from Japan and found myself back at ArtTix selling for the usual Capitol Theatre, Abravanel Hall and Rose Wagner crowds. It was a nice return to familiar territory, familiar faces, a familiar wage, but hard to deal with the change from jetting around Japan at my own will to wondering how I would cover rent for September.
Got a phone message from old ArtTix boss, "Marcus Aurelius" Chambers, who now works for Sundance. He needed help for this year's festival, and I was up for a full time job to replace ArtTix. After a little drama in the interview room, I was hired as the Event Ticketing Manager. Salary increased (much to my relief).
Spent the next five months learning the ins and outs of the Sundance Institute, learned how to manage a small department, and learned that Derek suffered from tunnel vision during the festival and pretty much stopped all outside communication with people that weren't directly related to Salt Lake City life or to Sundance itself.
In the meantime, I decided to adopt a furry little creature to call my own to come and live with me in the Swallows. I found my precious little feline friend at the animal shelter, and he soon became mine. I named him Bogart, and we spent the first two days of life together just napping and getting used to being around each other. He was super cuddly from the moment I took him out of his cage at the shelter, and my heart instantly melted for the little guy.
After surviving the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in Park City (my sister Leslie took Bogart for the month of January while I lived in Park City), I was drained emotionally and physically. I had managed to survive at Sundance eating free Einstein's bagels, free everything from Starbucks, and free Dominos pizza anytime a crisis would occur--so yeah, just about every day. Ticket system crashes? Come back to my office to find a nice fresh pizza on my desk. Have to have a showdown with the director of the Sundance Industry Office, and voila....cheese pizza waiting back in the ticketing room. Crucial members of the Sundance staff getting fired mid-festival and well, what do you know.... free pizza party from the upper ups, of course with the team building warning, "we all will need to step it up and share the work load". It was really amazing. I never knew that pizza could solve so many problems. But alas, Derek suffered from carb face, and spent the next month trying to reintroduce items like fresh vegetables and food that actually sat well in the stomach.
Right after the festival, my friend Jed (whom I met and worked with at the festival) and I headed down to warmer Florida for a five day detoxification. Jed introduced me to a Florida that I had never known, and also to the delicious world of Popeye's Chicken and Sunny's BBQ. Yum. Jed knew Rob (Rob Ferre) from SUU, and we were able to spend a bit of time with Rob at the Disney parks. Jed took me to my first real drag show at the Parliament House in Orlando, as well as showing me the beautiful lake lands of Orlando. I came back to Salt Lake very refreshed, and ready to finish up my last month at Sundance.
March rolls around, my job at Sundance came to an end, and I'm back working at ArtTix. This time, very happy with working part time, not worrying as much about the financial situation. Bogart starts to act funny, napping more and more (at this point, he is 11 months old) and I call my friend Heidi and said the words that one should never mutter about ones pets, "Bogart looks lethargic".
Five days later, I'm burying Bogart in my parents' backyard under the not yet blooming lilac bush. He suffered from kidney failure, and by the time he had shown real signs of sickness and lethargia, his kidneys had gone kaput. His last days were spent growing increasingly weaker, but still he was very much a loving companion up to the end. Our last night together was very sweet, as he mustered up all of his energy to crawl over to where I had rested my head. The next morning he had lost all of his strength and ability carry his weight, and I took him in to be put to sleep.

Rest in peace, my little friendly

Jed and Everett (two very good friends that I have made since moving back to Salt Lake) introduced me to Gold's Gym where I can now be found on Monday nights bouncing around the aerobics room to fun and overly mixed popular songs, attempting to look cool while shadowing the teacher in her kickboxing moves. I leave feeling the endorphins surging my body, but I look horrible (drenched from head to foot in my own sweat, face flushed red....the whole bit--not a pretty sight) and make a bee line to the men's locker room hoping that no cute boys are looking my way. You can also find me there on Wednesday morning as pretty much the only boy taking step class. In April I sort of had this re-awakening concerning my body and realized that I feel much better when I actually engage in something more active than walking to work.
Made the recent decision to go back to school this fall for Speech-Language Pathology. Need to get a year's worth of "post-bachelors" classes under my belt before I can enter a grad program. So, it's back to the U, and in many ways it will be a very happy return. I absolutely love school, and I do love the University of Utah. It's not my intention to go there for my masters, but I'm more than happy to be able to put in this year of work at my alma mater.
My sister Leslie is getting married, and it's been fun helping her get ready for the big day. She and Jim are having their ceremony at the Alta Lodge, with dinner and dancing to follow. I'm excited because I get to make the American debut of my tan summer suit that I had made in Thailand. Not that anybody else probably cares, but I can't wait to dazzle the wedding goers.....but not too much, I mean, it is my sister's wedding, not "Derek's gayest moment ever".

I'm probably missing tons of other really important information, and thus offending many of you. Sorry. I don't really feel like going into many details about my love life from the past, but plan on being more up front about it from here on out. In brief (and just for the record, I am anything but brief--concision is not my forte) I have dated a few guys casually here and there, but really haven't had anything very serious. A few little heart breaks, but nothing major. I'm still "on the market", but not out busy shopping.

Okay, from here on out I am going to really try to keep myself and all y'all abreast of what's going on in the life of Mr. Tall & Lanky. Hope you like what you read. If you do, let me know, and if you don't, then just keep your thoughts to yourself! ;)

D-Rock

2005-05-28T09:08:00.000-06:00

Derek balancing atop Angel's Landing