Christmas 2007 in Pictures

Frustrations with work...

So yesterday was my first day back at work and I come into the retail store and everything was completely empty. I was gone for 5 days and it looked like no one had touched a shirt (to re-stock them) since then. Plenty of people had purchased shirts! I was so frustrated because whenever another area of the park is needing help I am the first one to put myself up for the tours or to stand at the host desk. So it made me really upset when no one bothered to check the retail store to see if it needed restocking while I was gone.

So I just needed to vent a little bit! I will post some Christmas photos when I find the cord that allows me to download the pics to my computer!

LSAT Score

The bobsled session for tonight was canceled due to extreme winds (65 mph plus) and the biggest snow storm of the season. So I left work at 6:15 and got home at 10:15...4 hours of driving for what usually takes at tops 30 minutes. So I get home after driving all that time I check my e-mail and there is an email from the LSAC SCORE and the subject line says "Your December 1, 2007 LSAT Score" and I freaked out! I checked the email and the score was...164!! 12 points higher than my first try!! I am so excited and now I need to go to bed!


Good things are coming!!

Vancouver??

So those of you who really know me, know that I hate being cold. So you will all be suprised that I am considering moving to somewhere even colder than Utah and Michigan.

Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Olympic games. Since I have been working with the sliding sports (bobsled, luge, skeleton) for a little while, and I have been working at the Utah Olympic Park for a while, I decided to apply for a job with the Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. I have loved the Olympic games since I was a member of the 2002 Opening and Closing ceremonies team. That was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, and working at the park allows me to relive the experience everyday I go to work.

I applied for the position of Administrative Assistant for the Sliding Sports. I would be working with the Directors of Bobsled, Skeleton, and Luge and also with the Director of the Sliding Centre. I am absolutely enamored with the sliding sports and I think that they are the coolest things in the entire Olympics. One of the people that I work with did all the announcing for the sliding sports during the 2002 and 2006 games and almost has the job for 2010, he made a call for me *fingers crossed*. He also gave me the card of the Director of the Sliding Centre, so I emailed him directly to talk about my interest in the sports. My roommate is a skeleton athlete and her dad is a USBSF (US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation) coach so he is also going to make a call for me. I'm hoping to hear back soon.

I am still continuing the law school application process but am keeping my fingers crossed for Vancouver!

The track is now clear for....the tuna?

This is what our track crew does at the end of the season. Bobsled season officially starts on Tuesday, but we have a special training and getting ready for the season starting tomorrow, and a private group on Friday so I'm pretty excited to be track side! I took my first winter bobsled ride ever today and it was AMAZING!!

TUNA IN TRACK

Funny, funny video...

World Cup: Bobsled, Skeleton, and bad life decision

So last night was the final race of the Park City World Cup races. After the races are over there is usually an after party. So being as I work at the park and mainly on the track we were invited. I went with Kim Sawtelle from Patrol at the UOP and we had and awesome time...maybe too much of a good time! I'm not feeling so hot right now at work and it really really sucks! I did get to meet Andre Lange who is a German bobsled driver and so cute. He got second place in the races in Park City. In 2002 and 2006 he won gold medals in the Olympics for 2 man and 4 man bobsled! It was really cool to meet him!

It also dumped snow yesterday. I would say that we got about 2 feet of snow yesterday at the park! It was crazy how fast it was falling! It looks so beautiful out now. One thing I do like about Utah is that it will snow really heavily one day and then be completely blue skies the next which makes it one of the most beautiful places to live!

Snowmen

So tonight at about 10pm, I got home from drying my laundry and decided that since the newly fallen snow was so pretty, that I needed to make something with it. So I jumped outside and made a snow man! He's so cute I named him Jorge for no particular reason... But I have been so stressed lately with the LSAT and work getting stressful, I was actually laughing out loud! Running back and forth through the house to get food coloring and a hat and just laughing! It was a great fun!
PS the green hat I am wearing...I made myself!!

LSAT: check!

Today I took the actual LSAT and I am so relieved that it is over! I did the very best that I possibly could have done so all that is left to do is wait! I have so many other things going now that I don't think waiting will be a problem, I think that the three weeks will go by so quickly! I mean heavens in 3 weeks it will almost be Christmas!

I am going to learn how to crochet tomorrow which could be fun, it will give me something to do at work I guess. This next week is the Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup at the park so Josh and I are going to be extremely busy with work this coming week, but it's going to be amazing to see. These athletes are of Olympic caliber, when it is an Olympic year the teams are typically chosen from the World Cup circuit!

We got a dumping of snow today, about 6-8 inches down in the valley which usually means about 1-1.5 FEET in the upper mountains...thank goodness Josh and I didn't have to go to work today!

Hope you are all having a great December 1st!

We don't have a mantle or anything so our stockings are set up on our bar area...

Panic Attack

T-3 days until the LSAT and I have been kicking things into high gear with the prep. I feel like a could study for an entire year and still learn more, but I have made huge leaps and bounds since the start of my Kaplan class. I had my second tutoring session and I am feeling pretty ready to get in there and knock the snot out of the test. I am going to do at least 4 sections tomorrow and probably another 4 on Friday so that I can be sure that I did everything possible to get the highest score possible.

So today while I was studying at work, I finished a logic games section (which I used to be so bad at, but since have internalized the Kaplan method and rock the section out!) and began to check the answers. I check them all and I felt like something was wrong because I got 4 RIGHT out of 24, when normally I'd been getting 20/24. So I took a break had a meeting with my boss about a few new products that we might sell at the park. Suddenly, I felt so sick that I almost threw up right on him! I walked away from the meeting feeling really dizzy and not good. Then I decided that I should go over the games so that I don't make the same mistakes on Test day. So I start looking at the answers and I had them mostly right!! I couldn't believe it! I ended up getting 21/24 on the session! And suddenly felt so much better about things!

Make a Wish

Recently, I decided to become a Make a Wish Foundation Wish Granter.

My first wish kid is amazing, we met him today! He is such a spunky little 4 year old. He has leukemia, which is terribly sad but he is doing so well! This is my first wish and he is so excited. His wish was to go on a pirate ship with Mickey to find the buried treasure and to sail on Mickey's Ocean! It was so cute so we are going to start work on his Disney Cruise wish!

I'm really excited to get going on Dylan's wish! It's going to be a great time!

Welcome Winter!

It has been so warm here over the past few months, so much so that we haven't had a single snow storm since the middle of October! It normally snows on Halloween and it did not happen this year. The ski resorts are panicking because without snow much of the economy of Park City and surrounding areas. I however was not worrying because, this happened the same way in 2001 right before the Olympics, then suddenly and very strongly after Thanksgiving the snow came.

Today, we woke up to a very warm morning, it was about 45 degrees! As the day progressed it became colder and colder. Then an hour before I was supposed to leave for work it starts to basically blizzard. By the time, it was time to leave work, it had snowed 2 inches! And its still snowing as I write this! Finally, some snow so that the FS jumps and Nordic jumps can be working!!

Black Friday

So, today is traditionally the day that crazy people wake up at 4am and hit the stores and go crazy. Reaching their credit limits in under 4 hours, and heading home for leftovers and a mid-afternoon nap. For me this is the first day after Thanksgiving that I have had to work. It wasn't too bad, I got to go in around 11 and then stayed until 5. After work I scheduled some tutoring for the LSAT. I want to make sure that I use every available resource available to make sure I do my absolute best on this test. I learned so much in the hour long session, then I head out to meet Mom, Dad and Josh to add Josh to my phone plan, and I get to my car and something looks funny...Well my window was smashed in...and my iPod and transmitter were stolen...

So needless to say it has been my most memorable Black Friday to date, and not for good reasons...

Hope everyone else had a great Black Friday...

Thanksgiving

I'm getting really excited for Thanksgiving. Mom, Dad and Rob come in tomorrow and everything is all set for them to have a stress-free time while they are here. We re-arranged our living room today so that we have room for our Christmas Tree! I made an Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie for a contest at work, I'm pretty excited because it looks amazing! Here is a picture of it! Countdown to the LSAT is about 11 days! I can't believe that it is so soon! I feel kinda ready but not really so I am kicking up the studying for the next few days!

Ihope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! And you all have things in your life that you can be truly thankful for.

I am thankful that my brother is back in my life and is doing really well! I missed him!!

No LSAT today, all about Football

Today I skipped my practice LSAT to watch Michigan and Ohio State...

Go Blue!!

No photo today, but basically I am trying to focus on studying for the LSAT and organizing my life so that I can be sure to get everything done. The fun part of the day was helping out with the Park City Learn to Skate holiday show! It was so fun to be a part of something like that again! I want a baby synchro team so badly!! I love skating and my little kids!!


Ok back to studying, hope everyone is having a great week!

19 days!!

My life for the next 19 days!

Time Flies...

Firstly, I can't believe that this year is almost over. 2007 was a big year that I thought would never come! When I started college in 2003 I had no idea that this is where I would be 4 years later. I think that it is remarkable how fast time goes by and I think that it is only getting faster as we get older. I remember back in elementary school it seemed like a school year lasted forever and now it seems like the weeks fly by and the years are so short. I think that being extremely busy and involved in so many different activities defiantly aids the year in flying by.

None the less the days are going to continue to pass us by and its up to us to make of them what we will. I have finally decided that in order to live life to the fullest you have to go after what you want, even if the possibility of a favorable outcome is less that likely, you really have to go for what you want, otherwise you will always be wondering "what if?". That is one question that I really don't want to ask myself anymore, I no longer want to wonder "what if I had said that to him/her?" or "what if we went for it?"...Its time to get serious and down to business!!!


6 days til Michigan/Ohio State
10 days til Mom, Dad and Rob come to visit!
20 days til the LSAT


(Top photo: Josh, Rob, and I at the Utah Olympic park circa 1992/3. Bottom Photo: Me, Rob, Josh, New Albany house, 1990/1)

Go Blue!

So Michigan didn't win today against Wisconsin but miracle among miracles in this crazy college football season Ohio State also lost! So now begins the countdown to the most important game of the season, Michigan/Ohio State! I haven't been back to Michigan Stadium since graduation (where this picture was taken) and I am missing it!!

Work is also getting better, after complaining about having to do all the work in the retail store, my boss finally had to work in the store today. Mind you I haven't been in the store since Monday, so the lady that only works part time in the store was the only one who was there to do anything. So my boss spent the entire day stocking the store, and now completely sees my point of view! Plus after go karting last night everyone was in great moods today!

7 days until the showdown!

FASTKART SPEEDWAY

Tonight was the employee party for the Host Desk for the Utah Olympic Park. We went go kart racing and then had dinner at this really cute Italian place...So I have never been go kart-ing before and figured that I would get last, but my competitive side came out and I ended up WINNING!

That's about all that went on today in our lives. Cassie our roommate is racing in National Team trails for skeleton this week, she did pretty well today but hopes to do much better tomorrow...we will keep you posted on her progress...Josh got a raise at work this week which makes us all very excited around here!

And its only a few weeks until Mom, Dad and Rob come out for Thanksgiving!!

Schools

So here is a complete list of schools to which I will be applying to as soon as I finish taking the LSAT:
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Richmond
George Washington University
George Mason University
American University
Emory University
Georgia State University
Alabama
Georgia

Comments and suggestions welcome...

Big Decisions

So Josh and I are living together in Salt Lake and working together (sort of) at the Utah Olympic Park. He really likes his job on the track crew-making ice on the track so that the athletes (our roommate being one of them) can slide on their skeletons, bobsleds, or luge-s. We are getting along great. I am studying for the LSAT hoping that Kaplan will be the "magic" that raises my score to a place where it will be more of a reflection on my capabilities. Don't get me wrong I am putting in lots of work to raise that score, which I should be doing now but...this seemed like it should be updated.

I miss all my friends in Ann Arbor terribly however I am adjusting to a new "crowd". Cassie and I have taken to hanging out with the US Ski Team-mostly the freestylers who train at the park. They have a "band" who play Monday nights at a bar in Park City we are their official groupies-we have t-shirts! Their names are Tim and Austin-hence the T and A on our T-shirts and in the photo!

Ok I should probably get back to studying so that I can do well on my practice test that is tomorrow morning!

Have wonderful weekends everyone!
and oh ya...GO BLUE beat Michigan State!!

Initation

Well, this certainly is an interesting transition that you have to embark on after leaving college. I wasn't prepared for the emotional swings that occur when you have no idea what you are going to do next. I thought I had everything figured out. SUPRISE! I didn't...

I really have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. OK thats not really fair I have some ideas, but they are on such a wide spectrum that I don't know what step to take next. And while everyone is telling me that it is OK that I have no life direction, that's not OK for me. It's not like I am not having fun, don't get me wrong, I am having a great time, going on Monday nights and hanging out in general, but I feel like I am treading water and not moving forward.

While all of this stress is coming out with my "career ambitions" I am also stressing about whats going on in my personal life. Currently there are people in my life that I am really close with. This person in particular has over the past year been there for me whenever I've needed someone. Consequentially they are they second person I want to talk to as soon as something inevidably goes wrong in my life (the first is my mom). Keeping that in mind this person and I are currently on opposite sides of the US and I miss them terribly and I dont know what to do about it.

I have never been in a situation such as this. I literally can tell this person anything and it makes me really sad to think we may not ever live in the same place again, unless I take some action...