Week 8 - Happy 4th of July!!

I cannot believe it is the end of my eighth week here! It blows my mind to think of it. Time is flying and I am starting to feel sad I have to leave all these fun adventures and friends behind, but all good things must come to an end. I had a great week full of visitors and less work...because of the holiday!

MONDAY
During our mentor session, we go to hear from the chief marketing officer. She was awesome! She had so much spirit. She talked about the value of mentors and the support they can provide. She also talked about how to be a good mentee. I hope I can be a good mentor to the girl I am working with.

What a treat it was to meet up with a friend for dinner. BroFrank is the first person I have seen since being out here that actually knows me and knows me outside of the last three months. It was refreshing! We were able to catch up and talk with one another about the fun things we have been up and about the ward back in Cougar town. We ate delicious food and I showed him my apartment. Seeing him made me miss my other wonderful friends from Cougar town, but it gave me a breath of fresh air. Thank goodness for business trips that send people my way :)

TUESDAY
We went bowling as interns! They had a row of food that was utter temptation...everything was my weakness. Chicken tenders, pizza, mozzarella sticks, cookies, chips, salsa, etc. My mouth continues to water just thinking about it! Of course, we didn't eat it all, so they set to-go boxes out...I filled mine and got dinner for the next couple of days. Bowling was fun. I think my best was 123, and everyone was asking me how I got so professional...whereas normally, in bowling, I am the worst with the group I am competing. I guess that extra tuition for my bowling class paid off.

Me, my shoes, and my lane.

the food...

WEDNESDAY
I actually got to relax at home! Crazy! I haven't had a night to myself for a long time. I enjoyed the break and spent it writing last weeks blog post for you to read.

THURSDAY
I took the day off work! I got to sleep in and then I spent the day with my lovely friends from Cougar town. We left at about 9:30 and headed to Santa Cruz! I feel like I have been there a lot recently. But, we went to a beautiful beach! I can't remember the name, but it was gorgeous. It was cloudy for most of the morning and the sun eventually came out so we could play in the water. Smiley and Reader collected a lot of shells to take home with them. Plus, we actually saw living sand dollars! They are dark purple and they have all these hairs on the bottom that move. It is kind of creepy but awesome! We built a sand castle that we heard people talk about! They made comments and asked other people if they had seen it. It was legit...especially since we didn't have any tools except our bare hands. The deep trench around it saved it for a long time, until the tide rose. The water was freezing as usual, but the three of us dove in head first just for the thrill. The sun was beautiful and we were freezing, so of course we laid out to dry. Unfortunately, we didn't think of sunscreen so we all got a little lobster-like.

I made it back in time for my ultimate Frisbee game. My team got destroyed. I am used to playing on teams where I am the worst Frisbee player...now I am on a team where I am the best Frisbee player...that isn't a good thing! But, as my Papa told me when I told him how frustrated I was, "Little humble pie can be frustrating." ...yes, yes it can.

FRIDAY
Happy Fourth of July!!!!! I love this holiday! In the morning I tried to catch up on some work, but from 2 on, I partied! At the Calls', there were probably about 400 young single adults that went through from the time of 5 to 7. Crazy!!! There were a ton of people and it was a lot of fun. I met some new people, but enjoyed the pool, ice cream, burgers, volleyball, and the sunshine. It was the perfect day! Curly, was adamant that I go to Santa Cruz to watch the fireworks. He promised it would be memorable because they can only do illegal fireworks there...no city show or anything. I was planning to go to the hill and watch the entire valley of fireworks, but he kept insisting that I come. So, I sought the opinions of my Cougar Town friends and they said to go, so I went. It was definitely memorable, but not exactly in the way we were expecting. We pulled up to the beach and the police were surrounding it and monitoring all who entered, there were big spotlights shining on the beach to make sure no one shot anything off, and trucks patrolling the area. We tried to find a semi-dark spot, but it was kind of foggy and we spent most of the time looking back and forth all around us to see where they were coming. It was fun to see them from the beach...but, they weren't shooting off like crazy as we expected. Someone did happen to sneak to the beach and plant a few about 50 yards from us, so we felt the strong boom and awesomeness of those two fountain fireworks but that was about it. On our way out, we saw a bunch of people gathered on the street. Our curious souls dragged us over and we saw a house completely in flames. We think it started from a firework gone bad. I think everyone was okay, but it was sad to watch it burn. We went and got pizza in order to let the traffic die and then headed home. It was a fun evening and great to celebrate the freedom of our country!

SATURDAY
I threw a party at mi casa and it was off the hook! I found out we were only supposed to have 2 guests per apartment...I broke that rule about 8 times. I think there were 16 people who came. The only reason I found that out was because as we headed to the pool, the person at the front thought he'd be clever and just reach over the gate and open it up instead of waiting for me to open it with the fob. Well, someone was watching and saw this big group of people come in and the first reach over and open it. They automatically called management saying a group of people who didn't live here just entered...so, management came out to investigate. Luckily, I had a good relationship with management and they said it was okay. Kelly then played the role of going and getting everyone who came late so I could stay with the guests at the pool just in case something happened again.

I told people they could bring a snack if they wanted, and every single person brought something! I was so surprised! I didn't think we would have anything besides the cookies I made. We partied at the pool and hot tub for about an hour and half until every one arrived. Those who swam came back to my apartment and changed and the others went to the theater to make sure no one came to take it. The three girls that swam went and changed first, Suh had come home and came out of the restroom while all the guys were just waiting in our living area. She was pretty surprised to see 10 guys just chillin in the apartment without seeing me or another girl. We watched the Adjustment Bureau, which was actually a pretty good movie. It was fun to have everyone over and it made it feel a little more like home. I am grateful so many people came and I hope I have another one soon.

SUNDAY
Curly specifically invited me to a game night and birthday party at his house, so of course I had to go. He took the time to catch me after Sunday School and tell me in person. We played Quelf...which required me a to sing a song in my best country love voice and later dance and sing to my favorite disco song. It was pretty ridiculous...only a few other people had to do something as embarrassing as my tasks. I was grateful I went and exhausted by the end of this eventful weekend. Sorry I don't have more pictures to entertain you in this post.

Thanks for reading yet another post. Time is ticking down...Stay tuned for more tall girl adventures next week.

Peace out.

-the tall girl

Week 7 - Partyyyy Week

This week I call party week because literally I went out every night doing something crazy and adventurous. I am loving it, but it makes me tired. Here's the deets:

MONDAY
I finally got to go to the Boardwalk!!! Ahhhh!!! It's been on my bucket list since being here, and I got to go. We went for FHE because they have dollar night. You can ride every ride for a dollar. We went on 4 rides. We got 3 tickets from the ward and then one ticket from a couple people who didn't use all of theirs. I loved it! My favorite ride was the fireball. I did get a little sick, which is crazy because I rarely get motion sickness from rides. You are swinging and turning around on the end of the pendulum too. I loved it. I rode the Giant Dipper which was my second favorite, there were so many up and downs and turns and it is an old wooden roller coaster. I was also in the first car so I never had any idea if we were going to go up or down. Undertow was my next favorite. It was a roller coaster as well. You went in a 2x2 cart. Your cart was spinning and you were moving fast with lots of drops and different things. It was a solid roller coaster and I enjoyed it. We concluded with the Log Ride that everyone raved about...I was sorely disappointed. I was expecting something awesome...but really, you just go up a hill, meander around in your log, and then go down a hill and get splashed like Splash Mountain...kind of silly. Here are some pics to document the evening:

The Fireball!!!

Me and ChattyMan

I have more pics to add, but for some reason I haven't gotten them yet. The few that are in this post are the ones that got sent to me. I with I had one of the whole group with the sign...you will eventually see them.

TUESDAY
I began being a mentor for a 16 year old girl who is interested in coding. They were supposed to match us up by interests...but really, I don't think we have much in common. I tried to make conversation, but it will be an interesting mentorship. I hope I can inspire her in some way. She comes to eBay to learn how to code along with a bunch of other high school girls. I just meet with her once a week for an hour for the next five weeks.

Institute this week was insane. We had so many people show up! It may have been because the ribs and brisket that were served beforehand, but they stayed for the lesson and volleyball. The level of play was definitely higher than the normal play, which was really fun. I actually got to hit and we had long volleys and everything. I enjoyed it and did a good job getting to know Baller and Friend. They are two guys who are tall and attractive and the athletic type.

I came home and my two roommates were sitting on the couch talking. I began talking with them and we talked late into the night. Sue talked about how she was so afraid of death. We began to each discuss our beliefs of death. I expressed that if I didn't have the belief I had, I would be terrified of death too. I explained how we believed we could be together forever if we live righteously because of Christ. Suh, being a Christian, talked about her beliefs in that regard too. We talked about peace and how we each felt peace in our lives and the love of God for each of us. Suh told Sue and I about when she was a teenager and she grew close to the Lord because that was all she had. She explained how she has kind of forgotten him over the years because she has never been at such a low point again. I told them that is why I do the things I do every day, read, study, and pray. We talked about the meaning of peace and the type of feeling it is when you feel the Lord's love for you. Later, when we were going to bed, I invited Sue to pray with me. She said she didn't know how, but she wanted to. I said the prayer and we prayed a couple more night this week. She even asked me one night if she could pray with me. While I pray out loud sitting by her, she nods her head and giggles agreement to what I am saying. At the end, she says "word." I hope eventually she will be filled with the love of God and no longer seek for that filling through worldly substances and people. Only the love of God will bring someone true and everlasting peace.

WEDNESDAY
I went and got Thai food with my team for lunch. I ate some weird stuff. I had shrimp that was part of my soup, these weird noodles and sauce, garlic chicken, a weird salad with squid, and so many other things I can't remember them all. I probably would have been sick if I hadn't liked dessert. It was coconut rice with mango. Sooooo good! Definitely the best part.

I went to dinner with Surfer Boy at Apple headquarters. I wanted something that wasn't foreign to my mouth because lunch was a little over bearing. I went with pasta, but really it wasn't that fantastic. Next time I will be able to get something better. He dropped me off for visiting teaching and I loved visiting my sisters. They are so sweet and kind. I am grateful for their love and I laughed so much. I was grateful we could go visit.

THURSDAY
I went to dinner with my team that night because it was Connie's last day. I will miss her. We ate yummy food at this Greek restaurant and I enjoyed being with the team outside of work. Here are some pics of the event. On Friday I got a mass amount of emails and one of my teammates that has nevver met me, but lives in Texas asked me if I was 7'0 tall! Tom told her that I was only 5'7, so she will be so confused when she actually meets me at the end of July. I told here that things and people were just very small in comparison to me. Now, they all have an interesting view on what size I actually am.

Senior Manager who is now my manager. 

The Crew

Herb who calls me KittKat

The sourcers who are here in SJ

We went and visited our last sister and then went to a pool party at Baller and Friend's house. They told me it was going until 10, and we got there around 9...and everyone was gone. I probably would have chickened out if companion hadn't been there. We had fun talking with the guys and telling stories. They did a really good job of asking me all the questions. I pulled companion in as much as I could. I was grateful we stopped by and honestly, I was going to talk to them, and this way it was more personal. I am grateful for companion and her great attitude about it not being a party after I had invited her to it.

FRIDAY
I owed Cubical Buddy lunch, so we went and got some good grub. He was a great help when evaluating what to do with my career and I enjoyed getting to chat with him. We of course had some good laughs and he bought dessert at ColdStone when we were done.

That night was the long awaited TOP SECRET intern welcome event! They wouldn't tell us what we were doing, but they told us to bring a pillow and sign this waiver. I did both and was in for quite a night. First, we arrive and they had 5 of us a tent and say, got set this up. We will time you and see how fast you can do it. Winners get a prize. We had to pop the tent, put in the sleeping bags, stake it down, and hang the lantern. We did it all in 09:11! I was impressed. Only me and Freckles had pitched a tent before. We did well, and we did win! :) Here is what the camp area in the middle of downtown San Jose, at PayPal HQ...there are trees, so you can't really tell...

I got a gold star for winning the tent pitching contest.

After pitching the tents, we headed to the soccer fields where they had a bunch of blow up arcade games set up and food trucks waiting to feed us. It was awesome! There was a zip line, a ride you harnessed in and jumped off a pad with elastics on your waist to spring you and you could do flips and stuff, they had two Indian women doing henna, a s'mores station, mechanical surf board, the beer garden for the people who wanted to drink over 21, and music! I had a friend who had never had a s'more before. Of course, I talked like Ham on the Sandlot to teach them. They all loved it! :) I now know what to say when people ask me what an American food is. I got a lovely blister from a can of burning purple jelly.

Blister...hurt like heck.

Day old Henna...I can't find the pics that were took the day of...it was beautiful. All free hand.

So, after the henna and all of those experiences. My friend AJ, who was definitely drunk by 11, came and grabbed my arm and dragged me into a circle of all the Indians. Most of them I am sure were wasted...it reeked of alcohol...which smells like rotten fruit. They were having the time of their lives. Indians party hard and dance hard when the music gets going. I had absolutely no idea, they are so quiet and reserved! So, I was dragged into the midst of at least 50 dancing Indians. AJ taught me certain moves so I could "fit" in. But, let's be honest...a tall white girl doesn't fit in with a bunch of Indians. Finally, the music died out and we went to get water and snacks...this is 11 PM by now. A couple Indian guys came up to me and complemented me on my dancing. They said I did great!...now you know they were drunk. One guy said he was watching and thought wow, she's got spirit!

We watched Heavy Weights...the Disney movie about fat camp. Then, we finally went to bed. I decided not to sleep in the tent with one other guy...I chose to sleep under the stars. As you can see :)

Screen as shown. Huge blow up screen outside :)

My bed that collected morning dew.

SATURDAY
I slept relatively well, can you tell...

That afternoon I spent in recovery mode and then headed to Santa Cruz for another adventure. Here my henna washed off and I walked to a lighthouse. I actually got to touch the light house, which was awesome! It was a fun evening. I went with peeps from the ward and a lot of them ended up being interns that are here for the summer from Cougar town. They just got here this week, so they came to party. I enjoyed getting to know them.

SUNDAY
Here is my henna on Sunday with all the brown washed off. It actually got a lot darker after I took these pics.

So, that's my stories of the week. Party in some way every night. I spent very little time at home. I have to take advantage of everything I can while it's here. Hope you enjoyed reading yet another long post.

Peace out.

-the tall girl

Week 6 - Half Way!!!!

I cannot believe my sixth week has come and gone already! I have been incredibly busy and I have some great stories to tell. I am partying it up and working as much as I can. It's fun and most of it is new, which is even better! Sorry for being late with the post, but enjoy :)

MONDAY
I went to dinner with Surfer Boy, to Thai food...of course, he'd never been there so I tried the safest thing I could think of...garlic chicken. Even that was a little strange. I enjoyed it though and my left overs mixed with beans made a yummy burrito. We had to go to the bathroom so bad before FHE that we ran into this random church that was open. I think we used their nursery bathroom and they were in what seemed like a cultural hall learning some type of dance. They were still at it when we came home.

So, at FHE our bishop's wife had the most genius idea! You roast marshmallows over a fire and then you put it into a cup with crushed oreos, crushed grahams, or fruity pebbles, crushed nuts...you use a spoon to mix it up so you have a fresh rice crispy of your own!! It is so delicious! I decided to play sand volleyball with everyone even though i was in my crop slacks and dress shirt. It was totally worth it! I love playing. As we were leaving, I was going with Surfer Boy, 5-4 comes up and asks if he can steal me for a minute...we are literally leaving...but, we step aside and he asks me out for Saturday. In the meantime Surfer Boy is just watching from afar. I say yes because I believe second dates are courtesy because first dates are just terribly awkward. We finish our short conversation and luckily Surfer Boy doesn't ask what it was about. He did say I was popular and everyone wanted to talk to me...which is not entirely true.

TUESDAY
Perk of the day at work! They are starting to give away free fruit! They have peaches, bananas, apples, oranges, and nectarines all for free! I am so happy :)

Of course, institute. The lesson was incredible and I enjoyed the teacher. We learned about applying the scriptures to our lives. We had a lot of fun at volleyball and the best part was when a kid ripped his pants. I thought I was going to die laughing. We were playing, we had a good volley and then all of the sudden he just starts backing out of the gym...out team looks at him and he says, I think I ripped my pants. He didn't come back for a while, so his brother went to check on him. He sure enough ripped them to the point he couldn't come into public...luckily someone had an extra pair of shorts for the poor kid.

WEDNESDAY
On Monday, my manager put in her two weeks notice. She is leaving the company. We were all blown away and left speechless. Our team of love, laughter, and lots of fun is being split apart and it's interesting to watch. Everyone handles change differently. They either stay and deal with it, go with the flow, or leave and she chose to leave. It makes me feel weird because she hired me...but, now I will have connections elsewhere for later in my career.

THURSDAY
I took it easy and studied for my talk. I also got to video chat with Oma while she was in Switzerland. I enjoyed looking at the window at the beautiful scenery from the small phone screen.

FRIDAY
We had our intern meetup during lunch and they had ice cream sundaes!!! Oh, it was so good! I loved it. I mixed all sorts of stuff into my chocolate ice cream...as you can see :)

This is just how many connections I have at this point on LinkedIn...I think I have gotten 50 since being here...at least, now it will be interesting to see how many I leave with. 

So, this picture is an office that I went by and couldn't help but take a pic. She is obviously in love with Disney or she buys it all on eBay...not sure.

Crazy office...

I went to dinner at a Greek restaurant with Surfer Boy and then to see Malificant. It was a pretty good movie. I was expecting so much more going in, but it had a unique line of turning the villain into a hero. It's worth a watch if you can. I enjoyed the evening and I am grateful it was chill because I was exhausted!


SATURDAY
This was a very long day for me and definitely tried my patience in many ways. I went on a 4 hour date with 5-4. We went miniature golfing...we putted at 36 holes!!! So many!!! I couldn't believe it. We then walked around to find a place to eat and found a Mexican food restaurant. It was pretty good, nothing amazing, but I was starving by the time we got there. Here are a couple pics...

Here is the putt putt. And my fingers.

Here is the awesome tanline from being outside for 2.5 hours golfing 36 holes.

Beer Can Beach! 

Later, I went to the beach with Chatty-Man, Surfer Boy, and Laura. I was freezing so I refused to get in the water although I did walk along the beach and got my feet wet. We met up with a bunch of YSA's from the area for a big beach bonfire. It was so fun and it was actually a bonfire...big and awesome. I stuffed a giant mallow with a bite size snickers and cooked it...it was pretty good although the mallow as hard to cook all the way through because the flames were ginormous. I talked to so many different people while I was there and a bunch of guys from the other wards. It was a lot of fun!

SUNDAY
I spoke in sacrament meeting about the value of prayer in my life. Susan actually came to sacrament meeting!!! :) It was awesome! I was so grateful that she came. The sister missionaries were so sweet and she sat by them during the meeting. I enjoyed speaking and many people told me I did well. One person told me that I said "um" 133 times...but I don't believe that. I rarely say that word...and I know I said it some of the time, but he's the only person that counted or noticed I said it a lot. I will work on that next time I give a talk. I think I use it as a transition because I talk only from an outline and usually don't do a practice run. The "um's" naturally come.

Well, the next post is packed with adventure, so prepare yourself!! Thanks for reading.

Peace out.

-the tall girl

Week 5 - I climbed a real rock!

I cannot believe another week has flown by. The beginning of the week always drags on and then all of the sudden it's over. It's been a fun week and I've enjoyed the experiences I have had.

I forgot one great adventure of last week! I got to use GoogleGlass. It's awesome! I can tell it still has quite a few glitches, but it was cool. Wearing a computer on your face and being able to talk to it is pretty cool. You just tap the side of your glasses and say, OK Glass and the say a command. You can video or take a picture of anything you are looking at. It will find your location and give you directions. I was super excited to use it! I don't think they are for sale yet. I wish i had taken a picture with it on so I could have proof. I didn't have my phone, and honestly even if I did I wouldn't have pulled it out...my dumb phone to take a pic of the newest technology...nope.

This is what it looks like. You just tap the side where her finger is to turn it on.

Here's the recap of the tall girls adventures this week:

MONDAY
I needed to go to the grocery store, so I skipped FHE and went shopping. I got some basic ingredients for some bigger dishes that I will make at some point. I splurged and purchased a cake mix, crisco, and chocolate chips so I can make some delicious cookies! I'm craving good desserts these days. I also bought some OtterPops. I am also way excited about those!

Sue was kind of looking bummed when I got home so I asked her if she wanted to play cards. I pulled out good ol SkipBo and taught her how to play. We did a couple games and then Roomie 3 asked if she could join. I of course said yes and I taught her how to play. We began and it turned into one of the funniest games of SkipBo I have ever played. Roomie 3 was hilarious and super intense about it all at the same time. She would get so hyped up on her turn that she would breath in and out of her clenched teeth and the one game she won, she was so excited she smacked the table so hard she cringed! We were laughing and talking about all sorts of things as we played. I am sad Roomie 2 wasn't there to join, but Sue and I needed to get to know Roomie 3 better...we were kind of terrified of her at first because she didn't seem too friendly.

These are the roses dried...they now decorate my apartment! Yay!

TUESDAY
I actually got Sue to come to institute with me! She really wanted to play volleyball, so I told her she had to come to the lesson first. We talked about the importance of scripture marking...I got to teach her a little bit about Christ visiting the America's because she didn't understand that part as we were reading and marking it. The missionaries and everyone in the ward was so excited she was there. I think everyone took a chance talking with her and helping her feel welcome. I was so grateful for their support. I think she enjoyed the volleyball afterwards. I laughed the entire time as usual and enjoyed being with friends.

WEDNESDAY
I went rock climbing with Surfer Boy after work. We went up to Castle Rock. We were going to do Summit Rock, but it was closed. I was really nervous about climbing real rock...but, we did it! We had to hike around for a long time looking for a rock that was huge and that had clips at the top we could clip our rope to. We hiked and hiked and eventually found a huge rock, with another rock leaning up against it. He told me I could climb first...I wasn't too excited about that but I agreed. I tried and got about 4 feet off the ground and fell a bunch of times...we were valeting each other, so falling just means so the harness caught me. He had actual rock climbing shoes, so he tried to do it after I couldn't succeed. I don't think he fell, but he was able to summit. He struggled and it was a long climb to the top, but he made it! I decided I must try again in order to be able to call it a successful climb for the both of us. I tried at least another 5 times without success...getting up 4 feet and falling. I was about to give up, but he told me to try it one more time. I had to wedge my hand and arm between these giant rocks and take a lot of long leaps of faith to get past where I was. I leaned against one rock to rest before continuing the climb. I had to because I was exhausted! I finally got to about 4 feet from the top and had to reach really far to get the next hold and missed. I fell, but I got pretty far for being in running shoes and having weak shoulders. He was impressed, he even said I probably outdid him. I was a sweaty shaky mess by the end. He had to untie the rope from my harness. I couldn't do it my hands had no strength left. Rock climbing outside is a whole different game. There aren't certain paths carved out and there isn't a pulley at the top to make the rope flow smoothly for valeting. It takes more energy and more concentration. It was a good experience! I definitely had my fair share of bruises, scrapes, and bug bites.

THURSDAY
I went on my date with 5-4. We were eating dinner the entire time, so the height didn't really bother me. He is from Vietnam and grew up there, so we had plenty to talk about. I really don't like Pho...it's a Vietnamese dish. Soup, noodles, meat, joints, shredded stomach lining, and I'm sure other things that I don't want to know. I was a good sport and ate all I could, but I don't think I will seek it out again. He's a fun guy, but 8 inches is a lot...he's probably attached to me now.

FRIDAY
I went and saved the Bay!! I worked outside for work. I pulled weeds and watered native plants. The weeds are invasive and killing the natural wildlife, so we had to clear those and water the struggling plants. Here are a few pictures of my adventure. I loved being outside and getting to do yard work. I am also grateful for parents who made me do a lot of yard work as a kid so I knew what to do... and this weeding and watering is nothing compared to tumbleweeds....

The whole group. 

Hard at work...watch out for my pick!

Another of the group.

Back at the office with my sticker for proof I went.

This bad boy was waiting for me when I got back to work on Friday!!!

Now I can officially work from home because I have a work phone :)

SATURDAY
I got to go to the Oakland temple for the first time! It was beautiful. Being in the temple was a great blessing and I am so grateful I got to go. I was done with baptisms at least 2 hours before the people in the session were done so I walked around the grounds and took some pics and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We went out to eat afterwards at a cute little icecream shop called Fenton's that is apparently in UP. Here are some pics of the unique Oakland temple.

I had to take a selfie just to show I was there...It was really hard to get me and the temple in the pic....

This is the view of the Valley from behind the temple. 

This engraving of Christ appearing in the Americas is on the front and back of the temple. 

So, instead of heading home after the temple, Chatty-man decided that he wanted to go home to Sacramento for Father's Day. He wanted company and he promised we would do something fun...so I said, what the heck. I thought it would be good practice for meeting future in-laws...but with very low stakes because I haven't even been on a date with Chatty-man. I was very worried about what his family would think and that it would be awkward...but, they were so happy he was there that I was just a bonus person. They were super friendly and I spent a lot of time answering questions. We went to dinner with his two sisters that night at On the Border...a good Mexican food restaurant. I enjoyed the sizzling fajitas and then we went to a RiverCats baseball game! It was fun! It is the first baseball game I have ever watched besides high school. It was really entertaining and we actually got to see fireworks at the end!! I am so excited for the 4th of July! I can't wait!

RiverCats Basebal game. Wicked awesome seats!

Fireworks!

SUNDAY
Chatty-man's dad gave a talk in church that was really good and most of the people at church just thought I was a family member, so that was helpful for the whole situation...it's been interesting trying to explain to people that I really just went with him for fun and no other reason...His Mom gave the lesson in Relief Society, so I got good exposure to the parents and their beliefs. We played games in the afternoon and had a delicious Father's Day dinner. I was grateful to be with a family on that special day. The ride home was fun and we continued to get to know each other better...but, he still talks too much and I know nothing will happen between us (I'm just letting you know that because I know you are wondering).

I got to talk to my Papa when I got home. I am so grateful for the wonderful father that raised me. He is my biggest fan and my greatest support. I love him so much. I am also grateful for the many other father figures and priesthood holders in my life. I have been so blessed by their teachings and influences. I would not be the person I am today without them.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found it enjoyable.

Peace out.

-the tall girl

Week 4 - I talked to real people!

Another week has flown by! I cannot believe I have been here for four weeks. At times it feels like I just got here, and then at other times it feels like I have been here forever! I am definitely playing hard and working hard at the same time. I love the experiences I am having and grateful for the friendships I am creating. Here's what week 4 brought me.

First, I forgot to talk about this last week...I was eating dinner on Sunday night and I really, really wanted to have chocolate. I remembered two small kisses I felt earlier that day in my scripture bag! I ran and got them. I opened the first, which you see the wrapper opened here. Then, as I began to open the other, I realized I caught myself in my own trap. During church a couple weeks ago. I made all my kiss wrappers into one kiss so that I could trick someone. I had totally forgotten about it! I opened it with excitement and thrill to eat another piece of chocolate...but it was full of wrappers. I couldn't believe it! The fake kiss is pictured here.

Some pranks work against you.

MONDAY
I faced a huge emotional dilemma. How do you reject candidates? My heart just felt so sad for them. They are recent graduates trying to start a career. Oh, I feel so sad I can't help them all. The only way I was able to get any work done was the recruiter told me that he would do the dispositioning and I just needed to send him the names. Phew! I was then able to move through candidates...although slowly. I am getting faster at sifting through them. It will take time and luckily my team is patient with me.

Surfer boy texted me early in the day and asked if I wanted to go to dinner at Apple headquarters. I of course said yessss! He came and picked me up from work and we went back to Apple for dinner. I got this cool little sticker with my name on it and we got dinner. We chose the pizza oven place and I got my own pizza. All the employees get to eat for free, which meant as a guest I also got to eat for free :)

Visitor Sticker

TUESDAY
Institute and volleyball were fun. I enjoyed playing and really you just have to laugh the whole time or else you could get really upset. I don't play easy on people though, and I think some people fear my serves...but, it's good for my team.

On the way home 5-4, who gives me a ride to church every week asked me if I would like to go to dinner sometime. I said yes, even though he is breaking my record for the shortest person I have been on a date with by two whole inches. When I said yes, he said, "phew, that went much better than planned. I had a whole scenario planned...but I just decided to ask instead." I was very curious so I asked him to share his scenario...here was his plan:

5-4: So, hypothetically speaking, would you go out with someone who is 5'4?
Me: Yes

5-4: So, hypothetically speaking, if a really nice guy who gave your rides everywhere asked you out, would you say yes without things getting weird?
Me: Yes...(and, these yesses are for the hypothetical situation description purposes.)

5-4: So, bringing this to real world...will you go to dinner with me sometime?

I laughed so hard at this hypothetical situation he cooked up in his mind. I am glad he shared it with me so I could enjoy it. I guess it is really that hard for a guy to ask a girl out...This will hopefully be a one and done date. It's happening next Thursday.

WEDNESDAY
There is a local farmer's market that comes to campus every other Wednesday. It's fun to see the random things they bring. They have all sorts of candy covered nuts and dried fruit...etc. And, the best part...samples! I walked around and probably tried most of the dry fruits that looked semi-delicious and then some of the candy covered almonds...soooo good! I got my sugar fill all for free.

After work Kirby and I went to a step areobics class that was taught my a personal trainer in the campus gym. I kind of looked ridiculous trying to get my feet to move that fast up and down and across a step. She kept saying things like, if you are out of breath, don't over do it...do what you need to do and do as long as your still moving...or you can get a drink of water if you need. I wanted to say back to her, lady, I am not even breaking a sweat right now! I could go run three miles and be just fine! I just don't have the stinkin coordination to move my feet that fast! I tried as hard as I could to keep up...but I didn't want to trip and fall on my face...It was an adventure. I'll probably go back just to see if I can get better and actually catch on. It's good for me to work my foot--eye coordination, I am used to hands.

THURSDAY
This was my first day actually talking to candidates! I did phone screens and all sorts of awesome stuff. I enjoyed talking with them and being on the other side of a phone screening interview. They think I know everything and I just toot their horns at the beginning and they are immediately flattered and excited that someone is reaching out to them. I enjoyed it and I hope it will get a little easier. I definitely stuttered my fair share and said um and cool a lot.

That night, Kirby and I traveled to the intern event together in San Jose. Of course, we didn't look for directions before we left so we hopped on the train and off at a station she thought we might need to get off on. We were still two stops away. We had to wait for the next train...we could have worked an extra 20 minutes. Then, we hopped on and off at the right station this time and then headed in the wrong direction. We walked for a block and half and then realized we probably weren't going the right way. We tried asking people and they looked at us like we were crazy. Eventually, we turned around, walked back, and found our way. Her smartphone was definitely of no use to us. We had dinner at Gorden and Breish brewery and restaurant. The food was delicious, the wings were my favorite...I don't know what they were, but they were the best wings I have ever had!

We walked from there over to the theater where we had it all to ourselves and watched the new X-men movie. It was good! I enjoyed it and it was fun to have free popcorn and a soda and a theater full of interns. I enjoyed the whole evening, although I was bummed it wasn't Friday and there was work the next day.

FRIDAY
Work was pretty normal, but a little high stress. I went in early and worked as long as I could. I talked to a few candidates, which was fun! I went to the intern get-to-know-you event and back to work so I could leave early. Once I left, I went camping!!! Kelly picked me up and we went to the church to meet up with the other peeps.

We went up to Big Basin State Park. Here's a pic of a big redwood cross section, but it's blurry...of course I was shaking.

This bad boy is over 1500 years old. Crazy!

I rode up in the car with Chatty-man and another girl. We set up tents and had some good hotdogs and s'mores over the fire. I borrowed a sleeping bag and pad from a kid in the ward, so I slept comfortably and warm! What a blessing! We stayed up late talking and laughing around the fire and Kelly and I stayed up even later chatting in bed. It was fun and we slept in pretty late the next morning...especially for camping!

SATURDAY
This is the day we went hiking!! We went on a 10.5 mile hike. There were only 5 of us that were tough enough to hike and not go home early. The hike was beautiful and the surroundings were gorgeous. I was so grateful to be in nature away from the sounds of the city. I forget how wonderful it is to have peace and quiet all the time. We saw some beautiful falls and some huge trees. Here are a few pics, I am sure more will show up on fbook soon. It was a blast, but as you will see, I got really dirty and by the end, my feet were aching so bad! I was very grateful to sit down at the end.

Pro-Camper, Chatty-Man, and Me

Me at the beautiful falls. 

Bigger falls that we couldn't get close to. 

Dirty shoes...this pic doesn't do it justice.

That is not a tan line...definitely dirt.

I enjoyed the experience and I hope I get to camp a couple more times before heading back to school. I was grateful for Pro-Camper and Kelly who brought everything I needed that I didn't have here.

SUNDAY
Nothing crazy happened today. I didn't have the lesson or anything, so church was pretty chill. Dinner at the Call's was awesome as usual. Roommate #3 arrived. She is Asian, but from Chicago and goes to school in Boston. She seems fun and I am glad we are all here. Only 8 more weeks...which is crazy! Time is flying.

Again, thanks for reading. I hope you found some laughter and got filled in with what I have been doing. I hope you are well.

Peace out.

- the tall girl