Hasta La Vista Logan!!

TOMORROW

I have 2 job interviews!
One at the Canyons, and one at Park City
I am SO SO SO Stoked!!!!

Ellen and i have been on the look out for aparmtents. Today, Ellen stopped at a place in Sugarhouse on Garfield and 1500 E. From what she said it is pretty much perfect, besides the fact that she doesnt want to share a room. It is only 550 though, and i personally think that 275 a month for rent in the sugarhood is totally worth the shared room.

I feel like everything has fallen into place SO well, that this must be the right thing to be doing, even if no one agrees with me.

SLC here i come!

I'm Coming Home!

ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS GETTING OUT OF LOGAN

I applied for some jobs at ski resorts. As immature as it may seem to leave college after fall semester, to be a lifty or ski bum, that is totally what i am doing.

I am so excited to move to Salt Lake, into a great apartment with my best friend Ellen, and have my dream job! There are so many things about living in Salt Lake that i have missed. Things i wouldn't miss if i had moved anywhere else but Logan, like Eggs Benedict. There isn't a single place in Logan that has a good Eggs Benedict! There are no Crepes either. yum, I love crepes.

other things that Logan lacks:

Target
good employment
anything good open after 10 (except for wal mart and rancheritos, yuck!)
a little cafe with delicous healthy food
Whole foods market

those are some things that i'd rather not live without.....

It will also be nice to have some money. Right now it is a struggle to buy food, after having to pay for school, housing, and bills all on a part-time job and student loans.

I feel like life will be a little less stressful, and i will be a little happier :)

only a little over a month until I am back in Salt Lake, and hopefully working at a resort so i can Snowboard for free EVERY DAY!

The Bay Area Excursion

San Francisco was amazing!

The train ride was like 19 hours long, but there were great views along the way, especially when we got to the mountainous parts of California.

When we got to the train station in Emeryville, we originally had planned to take the bus straight from there to Fisherman's Wharf, but our plans had changed and we were staying in Berkeley the first night, Instead of San Fran. We took the bus from the train station the the BART(bay area rapid transit) on the way we Drove Right past Pixar. Who Knew that Pixar was in Emeryville, California? We didn't.

Back to the story. We hop off the BART right next to Berkeley Campus. First things First, a stop by the Delicious Crepes a Go Go





YUM! From there we wandered a little, until we got to our host's house. Her name was Lisa, and she lived in a house with a bunch of other students. Unfortunately Lisa was super busy studying, but her roomies had plenty of time to entertain us. Here we are on the roof of their house.



The next morning Lisa's room mate Mike drove us up into the mountains behind the university where he showed us this great View!

It really looked so much more amazing in real life. We could see all the way to the golden gate bridge!

We hopped back on the BART, and it took us to San Francisco through and Underwater Tunnel!
First we bought a $18 3 day Muni Pass, which was totally worth it! We then shopped a little and spent some time at Fisherman's Wharf, until our next hosts met us around 4. His name was Chris, and he took us to his house. It ended up being a little ways out of town, and a little weird.....LOL. It was in the GHETTO that is for sure, and some of his room mates were very involved in the campaign to Legalize Marijuana. SERIOUSLY. Needles to say they were Potheads. It was definitely and adventure.

That night we headed to a small party, and after that Ellen and I walked over to Castro, where we had Crepes and got some awesome Pictures!


Then back to the funhouse, where we had some even more interesting experiences. You can ask me about those in person if you want. It was definitely a Laugh.
Although our original plan was to stay there both nights, we decided against it. In the morning we packed up and said goodbye.

We headed over to Castro again, for breakfast. we went to Cafe Flor, and I am telling you, they really do have the best Eggs Benedict I have ever had. From there we asked the nice men handing out liberal voting guides where we could get a pedicure. On the way to the salon we walked past a great sidewalk sale where i bought some shoes, and Ellen bought a few books. Here we are just after the mani-pedi on the left, and on the right is a funny poster we found in Castro.


Then we headed over to Haight and Ashbury, where we both did some shopping and picture taking. I bought some GREAT $90 shoes, for $20! YES!

Above: Haight & Ashbury

On the left, I am laughing so hard because while we were shoving onto the crowded train, the man in front of us full on mooned us. it was a complete accident on his part, but man was it funny!

We took some pictures, played at the little beach, and then hopped on the cable car that took us back to Market street, and straight to a BART station.


On the cable car we were suddenly surrounded by a bunch of hilarious Jets fans from New York that were in town for the game against Oakland the following day.


We took the wrong train and had to switch trains twice:)


Our host Chris must have been worried about us, because he met us about three blocks from his house. He introduced himself and led us to his place. It was a cool little green house, and after we walked in Ellen noticed a bunch of PIXAR posters and stuff on his wall. He works there! How Ironic?
Chris was definitely the most hospitable host we had. He took us to Sushi that night for dinner, Taught us everything about home brewing (one of his many hobbies) as well as gave us a lesson on single malt scotch.
Left is a picture of his Hammered Dulcimer, a popular instrument in other cultures, but not generally used in western music. Right is Chris's Kegerator, Which holds 3 kegs of his delicious Home-made Brew.


Chris also gave us a blanket for the train ride home, and took us on an hour long private tour of pixar before he dropped us off at the trans station!
What a guy! I will definitely be returning to visit him in Cali.



Pixar must be an amazing place to work. Below is the cereal collection in their staff kitchen, and Ellen eating breakfast while Chris talks about working at pixar. The models above are in their front entrance.

Pixar had an outdoor swimming pool, soccer field, basketball court, & volleyball pit! It also had 3 bars on site, and guess how everyone gets around? On Razor scooters! The Galleries of the development art were just amazing! There is also a giant movie theatre, where Chris said they have movie night regularly.


What an insane place to work!

We said goodbye to Chris at the train station, and we were on our way home!
Ellen fell asleep under Chris's Blanket immediately.
some hot boys got on the train in Sacramento, and i was going to ask them to sit by us.
Unfortunately we got stuck with an over aged mother who's thong was showing, and her 3 year old was out of control!

needless to say we switched train cars within an hour of the screaming kid's arrival, and boy were we glad!



19 or so hours later, Anthony picked us up at the train station. 4 a.m.!
and a slept through school the next day :)

wow! Really? hmmm

The Future Vice President of The United States of America, My friends, Sarah Palin

lets hope not!



wait, did she answer the question?
ahhhhh!

Update on Prop 8

The Mormon church not only supports proposition 8, but members have forked over a total of over 6 million dollars towards the cause!

Better things could have been done with 6 million dollars:
Donate it to a cause that could save millions of people's lives, like cancer and aids foundations, or to starving people in third world countries, to build schools, orphanages, to scholarship funds for the underprivileged.

Maybe they could have put it towards making Utah a more sustainable state? Donate it towards environmentalist causes, in order to educate the Utah population better about heir personal effects (and their 6 kids) on the planet, and how to make up for it, or help out.

Towards developing different sources of energy, hydro or electric cars. Even purchasing smart cars for their own use would have been a good example, a great way to save energy, and would have been better then wasting their money on Prop. 8

I know plenty of people, especially LDS youth here in UT, who are too immature to be married, and too ignorant to be parents, and yet they are because this culture supports it. There are plenty of gay people on this planet, and in this country, and in this state, that have more right to be married, or be parents then many of the incapable straight people who already are!

At least gay people who wanted to be parents wouldn't be contributing to overpopulation, instead they could adopt a child that needed a home. But apparently that is not acceptable, it is better for people to get married at 19 and 20, when they know nothing about the world outside of UT and start popping out babies like it has no effect on the planet.

This is ridiculous!

6 million dollars could have helped improve impoverished people's lives!
NOT PUT TOWARDS STRIPPING PEOPLE OF THEIR RIGHTS!!!!

Support Equal Rights, Freedom? Don't support Prop 8!

I am writing this from a Religiously Neutral standpoint, which means that i am keeping my religious beliefs altogether separate.

I am pretty alarmed as a resident and native of Utah, home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, at their decision to advise the members of their church to support California's Proposition 8, a proposed amendment of the California state constitution that would ensure that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized.

The LDS Church claims Political Neutrality, and on their website they state:

The Church’s mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to elect politicians. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in matters of party politics. This applies in all of the many nations in which it is established.

I would claim that their recent actions have violated this neutrality claim, but they presented some guidelines proceeding this statement of political actions the organization does and does not condone. One of these guidelines states:

We Reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that we believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.

Therefore, they obviously state under their neutrality, that when an issue conflicts with their moral beliefs, they will then address their congregation of their political standing, so i can not claim that they have violated the neutrality statement. Nonetheless, I just can't agree with their actions. One of the things i have long admired about the church is their decision to claim political neutrality, and although they have followed their own guidelines i am afraid they have failed to follow mine.

The Following is a quote from a former member of the LDS church, born and raised in UT, who is now an Openly Homosexual human being, not living in UT.

"i find it interesting that the Mormon church started out tiny- oppressed and pursued by people and the government mostly because they condoned and practiced what most people considered to be a sexual perversion but they felt it was their right to worship- and they fought and fought to be recognized as a legit organization and now look at them fighting against the very thing that allowed them and chance to not be obliterated."
-anonymous

The tables have turned, The church is oppressing, discriminating the people who are fighting for freedom, the very thing we came to america for in the first place.

This is not merely an attack on the LDS church, but on a coalition called Protect Marriage. The Church accepted an invitation to participate in ProtectMarriage, a coalition of churches, organizations, and individuals sponsoring a November ballot measure, Proposition 8, that would amend the California state constitution to ensure that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized.

On May 15th, 2008, California became a state that grants equal protection and equal rights to same-sex couples. Regardless of how people feel about marriage itself, many people from across the political spectrum are lining up against Prop 8 ,the marriage ban. From the left, the right, and the political center, a lot of folks just don’t like the way Prop 8 singles out one group to be treated differently. After all, our California Constitution, the law of our land, guarantees the same freedoms and rights to everyone. America itself was founded on the principle of equality, and equal protection under the law is as American as apple pie.

My question is, Where has our free agency gone? Throughout my own involvement with the church this is one thing i recall hearing about many times. My free agency, my right to choose, my freedom of choice, given to me by my "Heavenly Father" and "Jesus" and their eternal sacrifice. Isn't this the very thing the church is supporting stripping an entire group of people of? Their rights as human beings to enter into a legal, binding contract with one another? Wait a minute, a Legal contract? This is where i get really confused. Why does the church even care about people's Legal right to marry? The church has their own institution of marriage, in their temples and churches, that is marriage for time and all eternity, that will not be affected by any change in one's legal rights. Legal marriages are seperate from religious marriages.

Therefore it seems that a church should be allowed to limit marriage rights to fit their own beliefs, and people can enter in to a religious marriage recognized by a church and it's beliefs.
A legal marriage, in a country where freedom of choice, equality, and one's rights are so important, should include any two people who wish to enter into a legal contract of marriage with one another.

My personal Belief is that the supreme court decision to recognize same-sex marriage was a huge step towards the real freedom this country proclaims. We should not be taking a step backwards now, after such an accomplishment. Regardless of how you feel about marriage we should not eliminate fundamental rights for any Californian. Let us move forward, and claim truthfully that the country we live in is free.

Sites
NPR-When Gay Rights and Religious Liberties Clash
LDS church-The divine Institution of Marriage
LDS church- first presidency letter to congregation about supreme court decision to recognize same-sex marriage
Facts and Fiction about Prop 8
noonprop8.com
List of who Opposes Prop. 8
LDS Church Readies Members on Proposition 8

every meal, every day......

I am pretty sure this is all i ever eat:



It's pretty pathetic.

I should do something about this

I hate white walls!

White is a great color when it is used the right way, in the right room with the right elements, but i am so sick of white walls! im so sick of dull colored walls too actually. A bright, colorful wall seems so much more exciting and interesing. I have been dying to pain a wall Lime Green. you might think that would be awful, but just take a look:




or blue



red




I just don't want white

unless it looks like this:




But i guess i will have to accept dull walls as long as i am in college and renting.

UGH

The Small House Movement

In my recent exploration of living more sustainably i have come across something called the "small house movement". People who downsize to homes that seem ridiculously small and inconvenient at first, but after really thinking about what we NEED to survive, and be happy, is it really all that ridiculous? I think not. Bigger isn't better, Less is more.

These tiny houses that go as small as 80 sq. ft. come equipped with kitchens, bathrooms, closets, a couch and a loft bed! Who needs more than that to survive? I don't, and after considering how much it would minimize a persons footprint, structural, as well as carbon, It seems like a great idea. Then add in the rising energy cost, and the mortgage crisis, and it just keeps sounding better and better. These homes cost less to purchase, maintain, and heat! One woman who built herself a 89 sq ft home in a friends backyard said that with rising enegery costs, her bill was a little more expensive lately. It has gone from $4 to $8 a month. How great does that sound?

Below are some Interesting ways that people have of living small, but still living comfortably and in style.

Jay Shafer has been living in houses smaller than some people’s closets since 1997. He now owns a company called Tumbleweed Tiny Houses.
Jay's tiny house tour:

For more on Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, Jay, and Living in tiny houses visit
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Builder Brad Kittel makes these Texas "Tiny Houses" from 95% recycled materials. The only new elements of the home are electric systems, plumbing, and insulation. Unlike modern prefab mini-homes, each one is unique and reflects the style of its salvaged parts.

Based in Gonzales, Texas, Kittel's company specializes in scrap materials. The homes are built on pier-and-beam foundations, and they're portable. Porches are bolted on for fairly easy disassembly. Buyers can choose the components of their homes from Kittel's inventory of second-hand doors, windows, paneling, and trim. Prices range from $42,000 to $155,000 depending on size. To see the entire article click here

Photos: Sarah Wilson for This Old House


For a more modern, but more expensive way of living small:

The Loftcube takes advantage of unused space on high-rise rooftops: either the landlord can keep it there and rent it, or you can take it with you when you go. The pod-like exterior can be finished the way you want in combinations of glass and wood blinds, and the 36 square meter interior is customizable, too. Modular wall panels...

...separate the kitchen and bathroom, with the same tap used for both sinks (a bit like the swivel screen in the Sustainable Condo) to cut down on plumbing materials. The shower head can also water the plants, which is, if not terribly useful, sure to provide endless party entertainment.

While we love the idea of prefab housing that doesn't leave a footprint on undeveloped land, the Loftcube is heavy on wood and plastics, with no indication that they're sustainably forested or produced.

http://www.loftcube.net/

And Last but definitely not least:

Shipping Container Homes by PFNC Global Communities

Appalled, but also inspired by the poor living conditions of families in Juarez, Mexico, Brian McCarthy has begun a housing project worth paying attention to.

PFNC's container homes are 320 square feet on average, and they company aims to keep them around $8,000 each, to remain affordable for the average worker in manufacturing plants along the U.S. border.

For more Tiny Houses click below:
NY Times tiny homes
tinyhouseblog.com/
The small house Society
weehouse.com
greenaerie.blogspot.com/
tortoiseshellhome.com/
thecabinhouse.blogspot.com/
http://www.coyotecottage.com/index.htm
turnbulltinyhouse.blogspot.com/
blueskymod.com
sustain.ca/

Skoy Cloths

My Skoy Cloths came today, and they are everything they claim to be! I love them. They definitely Kick paper towels in the A. I think Everyone should buy these, It will save you so much money on Paper towels (1 cloth=15 paper towels)

They are reusable, can be cleaned in the sink, dishwasher, or washer, and are 100% Biodegradable.


Definitely a good investment.

http://www.skoycloth.com/

Another Grand Day in Logan

I change my mind so often about this place. I do love living in Logan....sometimes. The College environment is so much fun, and i always have so many friends around me all of the time. Communal living does have it's ups and downs, that is for sure! I am just not focused! on anything:( what to do?

ugh

I recently rediscovered my LOVE for grilled cheese sandwiches. I eat like at least 3 a day. I feel like i will never get tired of them, they are just so good! Too bad cheese is so fattening.
I definitely need to work on my eating habits.

but i feel good for now.