I spent time in the mountains this weekend in Wasatch Mountain State Park. It was, of course, bliss up at my parents’ cabin. And for the first time in my life, I went four-wheeling.

Have you ever been on an ATV before?

I want to find a job where I can drive my nieces and nephews up and down the trails in the mountains all the time. Is that too much for a girl to ask?

It was just one of many experiences that made up a great weekend. The only thing that really kept it from perfection was losing my soccer game. That was a bummer.

I needed the great weekend because in a week from today, you might not want to talk to me… for a week or two, or a month. Once this new project at work goes to production, I may not have a life outside of watching it to make sure it behaves. It better be cooperative by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

Nobody wants to miss out on my Mom’s incredible Thanksgiving dinner to sit at work in front of computers.

Every day at work, I think about how I really ought to bring in a lunch to save money and to eat food that I actually like (because I really don’t like the food they make at our grill here onsite).

And then I go home from work that day.

And guess what I do?

I don’t put anything together for a lunch the next day.

Sometimes I briefly think, oh, I’ll just get something together in the morning before work.

COME ON, LARRIE. You NEVER give yourself more than 10 minutes to get ready.

Like you’ll get up early enough to make lunch, too.

It never happens.

Today, I brought my lunch to work because I had leftovers from the AMAZING dinner I had at Porcupine Grill with Maren last night. Their Chicken Noodle Soup = HEAVEN (or at LEAST terrestrial glory).

I ate lunch at my desk today, but there are many days when I’d prefer the break and to talk about things not related to work. Because of that, I’ve come up with a list to help you, internet, with how to eat lunch with your coworkers.

1. Round Up Coworkers. The first step, of course, is to have people you can actually go with. This may actually be hard for some of you because you either are not the type of person that others particularly want to eat lunch with* or you sit at your desk mumbling and grumbling about how people don’t ask you to go to lunch with them. Guess what? You can ask THEM. (Gasp.) So get out of your seat, walk down your row and ask somebody (probably somebody that you like) if they’d like to go to lunch. Round up multiple people if you’d like. Now, go to lunch.
2. Avoid Hot Topics. The store and the conversations. They don’t have lunch options at the store. It’s probably better in mixed company to avoid deep discussions on politics, religion, or relationships at lunch. You never know who you might offend if you start talking about your major crush on some certain cute boy and the other person would rather talk about her crush on a girl. Just a thought.
3. Don’t Bring Egg Salad. Well, to be honest, I LOVE egg salad. And I don’t usually smell it when people eat that at the table. What you REALLY shouldn’t bring is FISH. And DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVEN IF IT WOULD SOMEHOW SAVE THE WORLD FROM NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, HEAT IT UP IN THE MICROWAVE. You deserve severe punishment in the life after this if you do that. SEVERE.
4. Remember Your Manners. It really shouldn’t be that hard, but some people maybe just never learned that looking like cookie monster while you consume your food is NOT appropriate. There were TWO reasons why you could see all of cookie monster’s food while he ate it. One: he had no lips. Two: he’s a puppet. This means he had no throat for the food to go down. Chew with your lips closed and don’t talk with your mouth full. Do I sound like your mother yet?
5. Don’t Belch. Do I really need to expound on this? I can’t believe I even had to type this, but I do. And I bet Janet can think of who I work with that does this repeatedly throughout the day. Yes, he is a grown man.
6. Be Interesting. Don’t talk about work. It’s a break. Share interesting stories instead. If you don’t have a good story to share, then ask other people questions. There are some really interesting people sitting around you that do lots of things outside of the office. Do you know what they are?**

Great work people. Now go forth and eat with your cube mates.

**You might NOT want to ask, though, if the outside hobbies they have are things like playing Magic or having all-night Dungeons and Dragons parties. Remember this pointer used the word, “interesting”? That’s a KEY component, people.

Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted one of these, but we’re back! Bring on the comments for this week’s caption contest. Isn’t Liberty Park pretty in the fall?

“The marble tile was gorgeous but treacherous and cold.” ~Grandma DD

Halloween and I have a BEAUTIFUL relationship. Pure bliss.

It’s my favorite holiday. FAV.OR.ITE.

What was your costume this year? Leading up to Halloween, I was worried about having a good one. I was dreaming about it even.

Thankfully, though, Halloween stores pop up in random strip malls around here and my friend Emily stepped in as well.

I came up with three costumes. One for work, one for the Friday night party and one for the Saturday night party. Try and guess which one was my favorite.

ETHNIC ZOMBIE of course!*

All the stars aligned this year to provide me with a suitable costume for the party at the Nook Friday night.

Mom lent me capris, I found makeup at a Halloween store, and Pib’s Exchange provided the beret and striped shirt with art print and spider-web nylons for the remainder of my getup. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the makeup turned out. And by pleasant, I mean, eerily surprised by my ghoulish features.

Now I’m just waiting for friends to post pictures from the party on Facebook. So far only Leigh has, but you can only see my face.

So I’m waiting.

*The grey wig for work conjured up plenty of comments and the hippie costume afforded me the opportunity to wear fake eyelashes so 2^nd and 3^rd place were still fabulous costumes.

I’m chomping on Saltines right now.

Apparently, I want to make myself thirsty. Or reminisce about eating lots of these as a child and downing them with 7up on sick days. Yummy diet!

I’m not eating them today because I’m sick.

I’m eating them because they are there.

It’s 4:42 pm on a Friday. I just finished one of my tasks and don’t want to start up a new one this close to the start of a beautiful, holiday weekend.

So I’m trying to keep myself occupied. And I begin to eat Saltines.

I’m so hungry. They aren’t very filling. Why don’t I have a cheeseburger lying on the desk waiting to be consumed instead?

I can’t hear a THING over the crunching of my crackers.

Except for every time I hit the space bar. I have the LOUDEST space bar. Ask all my cube neighbors.

They aren’t making much noise right now, though.

Do you know what a quiet office means?

WHY ARE YOU STILL AT WORK WHEN IT’S SO QUIET?

Nobody else is here.

Go home already.

Who cares if it’s not 5:00 pm yet?

You’re salaried. You got your work done today.

Go home.

Okay. I’m going home.

I need to get my costume ready for tonight.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!

“What? This is what we do on Thursdays.” ~Maren

“It’s Thursday night cuddles.” ~Megs

“You’re petting my head.” ~Maren (to Steph)

…

“Let’s practice hand holding.” ~Steph

“Oh I’m the worst at hand holding. I get bored.” ~Maren

Isn’t it obvious? Because the internet loves me, can’t get enough of me and wants to read my writing every day. Why else does anyone blog?

Or do you actually want me to answer this question? Do you even care? Since I come up with the topics for each blog entry, obviously I’m writing what I feel like, not necessarily what YOU actually want to read. Despite all of my best efforts, I have yet to figure out how to read your thoughts and therefore cater to your wants and needs. So I guess.

Back to blogging.

Okay, so let me start by saying how I’m different from “most bloggers.” I’ve decided* that MOST bloggers are not professionals. But ME… I’m CLEARLY a professional because I have an English degree. Oh, oh, and in a couple of months, I’ll have my masters in technical writing as well. See how I’m different?

What does that have to do with why I blog?

There’s one answer: I blog so that people can read a PROFESSIONAL’s blog.**

All blogging, I’m sure, is driven by narcissism. Otherwise, I wouldn’t post it for the entire internet to read. I also really want people to read it. Otherwise, what’s the point? I’ve come a LONG way from the days when I was embarrassed to have anybody read something I wrote. Regardless of the subject matter, your own writing is a glimpse into your thoughts and can be a scary thing to share with others. You get over that fear, though, given enough time or enough professors demanding peer-reviews and readings in class.

This narcissism, though, gives you a chance to know me better. And it doesn’t always portray my positive side. Most of the time, actually, it probably doesn’t. And yet I keep on feeding the fire and write more. I’ve decided that a lot of people were raised to “not air their dirty laundry.” But in a blog, your views, controversial or not, slip out and people who stop by can see right through any façade you may have in real life. So there you have it. Another reason I blog is to show the real Larrie, both to the internet and to myself.

And then there are the more practical reasons:

Practice: If I don’t continue to practice my writing, I will lose any talent I may have developed over the years. And through practice, I hope to continue to improve. Hope. I remember telling a professor once: “Dave Barry can’t live forever; somebody needs to replace him.” I have a LONG way to go if I think that replacement can be me.

History: Just like journaling, blogging creates a personal record for me. Currently, it’s all saved on somebody else’s server and one future to-do item for me is to get a printed record of it. This is just for me, something to read and remember. Perhaps it would be interesting for future generations, but I have no idea.

Community: I like to have connections to people, in real life, and online. I see my blog as a way to support my offline community. My friends and I that live far away from each other can keep updated via blogs and when we do get together every wedding or new baby, we don’t have to run through all the “what have you been doing for the last year?” questions. Also, I love it when people participate: when people comment. It’s like a gift to me every time somebody comments and did I mention that I love it? I know every blogger loves comments and I could do better myself.

Inspiration: Sometimes, I write just to post SOMETHING on the blog. But there are other times where I feel almost inspired. Of course, that inspiration isn’t USUALLY the serious kind. It’s usually the inspiration where I think the story is coming out with just the right amount of humor. And it’s when I get one of those blog entries that I feel satisfaction in blogging.

And there you have it. Why I think I blog. Did I forget any reasons? What are yours?

**Ha! I sound so conceited right now. I think it’s funny.

I’ve heard a rumor around these halls at work that the time clock wishes you happy birthday. What a nice time clock.

I have NO IDEA if it’s true, though.

I don’t work on my birthday.

The very first year I celebrated my birthday while employed here, October 14^th fell on a Friday. Several things happened that day: I took the day off, Daniel Craig was announced as the sixth official James Bond actor and I slept in. Later that day, I met up with Janet to make a trip down to Las Vegas because who doesn’t want to spend their birthday weekend on their feet all day moving from one store to the next, purchasing makeup you hardly use from Sephora and clothes you still wear from Urban Outfitters? Good birthday.

The next year, my birthday was on a Saturday. For some reason, though, I don’t really remember what happened that year. I probably didn’t sleep in because I had a soccer game. But again, I did not work. Oh and also, Chelsea FC’s goalkeepers both suffered serious injuries that day against Reading FC—Cech fractured his skull and Cudicini had a concussion. Defender John Terry had to finish the game as keeper.

Moving on now to 2007: My birthday fell on a Sunday. I slept in! Church didn’t start until 1:00pm. I believe at the time, I probably sat in really uncomfortable pews so I was utilizing a blow-up “back pillO.” Yep. Getting older is superb.

Bring on 2008. I planned a last minute trip with James and Maren to visit Peter and Genny! So I woke up (probably late enough to consider it sleeping in) in Portland, Oregon after spending time in Seattle and hitting up Cannon Beach the previous days. Pete had to work so the rest of us made our way to Multnomah Falls where we raced a train took a lot of pictures and hiked all the way to the top. Mighty cool birthday.

And now we’ve arrived at this year. My birthday fell on a Wednesday. Right in the middle of the week. Kind of awkward. So I just took the one day off. I woke up at 7:30 am, read a text on my phone and then remembered, I could sleep in. So I dropped my head back down on that pillow and went right back to sleeping. Once I finally did get up, I ate breakfast, did laundry, returned texts and went to the gym. Then it was back home to make soup, burn my tongue eating it, finish laundry, clean up and go over to Tracy’s to see the demolition of their kitchen and have my four-year old niece perform several happy birthday dances for me.

Jane’s happy birthday dances were incredible.

Eventually, Jane and Abe came with me to play at my house for a bit, drew all over dozens of post-it notes and stuck them on my fridge.

Dinner was at my parents’ with my siblings. Besides the great gifts, they all went around the circle and told me nice things about myself. We may tease my dad for being cheesy in his “old age,” but I sure do appreciate this new cheesy tradition we do.

After all the eating, gift opening, complimenting Larrie, and sweeping up peanut shells that were all over the kitchen floor, I went over to Kasey’s for delicious cake and celebrations with my friends.

See how great my birthday was? No working! (I briefly checked email around 3:00pm and sent one response because I was worried about anything going wrong on a project when I’m gone for ONE day.) It felt like a holiday. Larrie Day.

Birthdays at work don’t feel like holidays.

“I can lose five pounds in a good bowel movement.” ~Markus