Another Late Night Vigil...

So here I am again writing to you from the early hours of the morning (or wee late hours of the night if you need to think of it in that context). It's now exactly 1:00 a.m. and I'm still wide awake.

This late night schedule is mostly due to my working hours. For example, last night I wasn't home from work until after midnight, and then it still took me atleast two hours to wind down before I could actually sleep. And even though I took time to distance myself from my working hours before trying sleep I still had Chili's dreams.

Those are the dreams that haunt me from the worst of what happens at Chili's. I hate those dreams, they're the ones where customers are upset over food orders, or I'm being sat too many tables at once and can't keep up, or there is something else going on that is totally out of my control. These dreams always keep me from having a good night's sleep. Not very pleasant at all.

Another reason I'm still up at this hour is because I choose to be : ) Tomorrow (actually today because of the hour) I'm taking an overnight flight into Jamaica to visit friends. The way I figure the situation is that if I can stay up late tonight I'll be more inclined to take a nap this afternoon and be more alert and rested during my flight and layover. The only problem with this solution is the following day when my body is saying I should be sleeping and I actually need to be on the go. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there (how's that for a motto?) : )

Well, I should be off I still need to pack for my trip and knowing me I'm going to need to take my time (double checking everything for I'm always bound to forget something).

Up Later Than Usual...

I don't know if that heading is really true or not (it's 12:25 a.m.). I do have a tendency of being more of a night owl. Maybe tonight it just feels as if I'm up later than usual because I'm actually pretty tired.

You'd think with my burning eyes and on coming fatigue I would just choose to fall right off to sleep. Think again. For some reason it's in this state I'm most productive. I wanted to get some writing done tonight, and it's when my brain is beginning to shut down that I'm actually getting around to that writing.

I blame this tendency on all those years spent in College. I formed a rather nasty habit of waiting to the last minute to finish my work (okay...my last entry did hint that this habit of procrastination was more a part of my nature than something I formed over time). For me waiting to the last minute was working on that final draft (sometimes it was the rough draft) in the wee early hours of the morning on the project's due date.

Even now as I'm post college I seem to do my best writing late into the night. For some reason my eyes have to feel that burn as they stare into the computer screen, and my mind has to swim in a sea of haziness. It is during this time that the words pour forth onto the screen with little effort. In these late night hours I'm not one to second guess my writing, and sit and scrutinize every sentence.

The late night hour allows my true voice to come across paper. If you want to really know what I think or feel keep me up late at night, and then give me pen and paper or a computer and you'll have your answers. Just beware the spelling and grammer might not be so hot. : )

Ode to a Procrastinator...

Sheesh...let me just say that I got it all taken care of with several hours to spare. The "all" I'm speaking of was my taxes. Yes, I know I waited to the last day and almost the last hour to finish them, but alas I am a procrastinator.

You'd be proud to know though that I actually began the process back in January. Then I never finished and papers laid on my desk for several months. It occured to me this past weekend that I could save myself the effort of handwritting the rest of the forms and save postage by e-filing. It was really a simple process and took me less than two hours to complete. I highly recommend that method for anyone in the future.

Now, I'm relaxing at my desk listening to a new cd called, "Celtic Woman." The song at present is "Danny Boy," ah...how beautiful. I enjoy peaceful music like this...puts me in a great frame of mind.

Well...that's the end of this day. Now it's off to bed to get the rest I need for the new day.

Home Sweet Home...

Very early this past Thursday I arrived in Virginia for a visit home. By very early I'm talking plenty early. I took a red eye flight into town and got to Baltimore Airport at around 5 a.m. Of course I capped off that long flight with an equally long and tiring drive home (about three hours). Bless my parents though for they did the driving home and let me sleep in the back seat. It's been a great visit so far, and I've realized recently that I'm enjoying something now that I haven't really done much of in Utah (of course I plan on remedying that situation on my return). What I've done a lot of so far is just visiting with friends and family. Often times that means giving a little advance call or just showing up unexpectedly on their front doorstep. Visiting with people in their homes or places of work and taking a little time out of my day to meet them on their home turf is actually quite great. So often in Utah I'm known for calling people up and meeting them somewhere else or they do the same with me. That's great and all, but usually we end up in crowded restaurants or very public places that are noisy. What a pleasure it is to stand out doors or sit in a quiet living room and have a relaxing and fun conversation. Well I really should be cutting short my thoughts here and getting myself off in bed. I have one more full day in Virginia and I need to be well rested to make the most of it.

A Song of Praise...

Last night was worship team practice for Church. We got together and learned this amazing new song. I wanted to take a moment to share the song with each of you and maybe it'll touch your heart like it did mine last night.

http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=30295&mode=music&recordid=67159

Here of Late...

Here of late, I've been thinking plenty of home, and by home I mean life back in Virginia. I guess I'm beginning to realize that "home" will always probably mean Virginia to me. Here I've been in Utah for almost a year now, and life is comfortable and good, but home is still Virginia.

Why, you might ask am I thinking about home? Well, partially because I'll be leaving for a visit to Virginia in about two weeks, then there is the fact I've been in Utah so long, and now my family is considering selling the one home I lived in most of my life. I know, so many thoughts that swirl around in my little head.

First off is the visit home. Yeah, I guess that really got me going on my home thinking. It'll be the first time I've seen my parents or siblings in almost a year (well except for my brother who I did see at Thanksgiving). Then of course is a whole bunch of other family and friends I haven't seen in just as long and I can't wait to see them either. It's funny but when I think of my visit home it isn't the places I'll be seeing again but the people (well except for El Charo's!!!) I guess all that say "home" is about love ones not location.

I'm definitely glad it's not about location, because as I mentioned earlier my parents are considering selling the family farm and the home of my childhood. This isn't really all that bad, but I am glad I'll be going home again just to spend some time in the ol' place. I can't begin to share all the special memories that house has for me and my family. But then again when you still have your family you don't need a house to remember special times.

Strangest of all my thoughts here of late is that Utah is good for me. Sure there have been tough times here, when I missed family and friends or longed for my established life back in Virginia, but for the most part that isn't so. For the most part I have a happy and established life here in Utah. Being here (exactly where God wants me) gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment that makes life a joy.

All of this leads me to another thought. Okay, so Utah might not be the "home" of my family and friends, but it's become a "home" of my heart.

And this is Jenn signing off from here late night ramblings. Hope you enjoyed and until next time...God's Blessings on you all!!

What a Week...

What a week I just had. I believe in this past week I went through just about every crisis a person can name (okay maybe not every crisis...but you get the point). Here's a few from my list with some stories to go with:

• Emotional
• Car
• Financial
• Physical

Well, I know you don't want to hear about all my little crisis', so here's the car and the physical to tide you over.

I've known that something was wrong with my car for some time, but every time I took it to the shop the mechanic said it was fine. Of course my car was on it's best behavior for the mechanic, but when it came to just me in the car it made funny noises and behaved very badly.

Eventually I found a mechanic who was inclined to agree with me and say that yes it did make funny noises and something was definitely wrong. In fact it was the water pump that needed to be replaced desperately for the sake of my coolant levels (I had leaking coolant - which I've learned is NOT good). Okay, so all of this meant that I had my car in the shop and out of comission for two days.

My physical crisis relates to a bump on my head that I recieved. While at work on Thursday night I crashed my head into the corner counter and blacked out. I ended up at the ER getting a C.T. scan, because nobody wanted to take any chances with my huge ol' goose egg and my dizzy spells. All in all, what should have been a short shift at work waiting tables turned into a long visit to the hospital. Then of course the next day was followed by a pounding headache, but I guess that is to be expected.

So there, you have my week of crisis in a nutshell.

Hot Tea...

Hot tea in the morning. Hot tea in the evening. That's me a one to two cup addiction each day. I've got such a collection of hot teas now that I can have a cup to reflect almost any mood that I might have.

Tonight I'm relaxing to a cup of hot jasmine. Hmmm...what mood does that reflect? I believe I drink this brand when I need to relax after I've had an especially hard day.

It wasn't that today was terrible, for some reason I felt down about it. No worries though, after a few calls home and my cup of jasmine I'm doing much better.

So, what's the point of this entry? I guess it's just to let you know the comfort and joy you can find in hot teas. Go out and get ya some!!!

When Maija Says JUMP...

I JUMP!!! You better believe it :-)

So I was reminded today by a dear friend, that it was time I got online and posted an update on my blog. It's interesting, because from what I've been hearing there are actually persons out there that enjoying reading these ramblings of mine. Well all I have to say is kudos to you if you get something from all of this.

Today went by so quickly. I was on the go from work at Chili's to music practice at Church. And most of the time I had my new roommate Emily along enjoying the ride and acquainting herself to the new "Utah Culture". Well to suffice it to say, we accomplished much ground today in Emily's first day in Utah.

Soon enough I'll have more stories (meaning more interesting than the ones at present) to share with you all concerning Emily in Utah and I'm sure to have some photos to go along with the words. Until then.............

From a Virginian to Virginians...

http://www.blogthings.com/virginia.html

Accident Prone...

So if I believed in horoscopes I'm sure mine for the week would have been the "doom and gloom" prediction of keep to your bed and pull the covers up tight. This is all NOT to say that the week has been dreadfully awful, it's more the point of the accidents that keep coming my way.

First off, yesterday at Chili's I was preparing a cup of Broccoli and Cheese soup to serve to one of my guests, when some spilled over the edge of the cup and preceded to scald my left hand. OUCH!! I spent as much time as I could spare in the busyness of the lunch rush to place my hand under running cold water. In the end I mostly toughed it out and went about my business in a mood that was somewhat less happy than before.

If that wasn't enough for the day I went home to bang up my right knee. Seeing as there is a story behind this accident I should give you curious folks the details. I was at home enjoying dinner, chatting friends, and the viewing of a rather strong hail storm. My plan for later evening was to swing by the Church for music practice and as my luck would have it the storm ended before I had to be on my way.

That is where my luck ran out. Well, either my luck or my intelligence, and I would like to think it was the former rather than the latter. In order to arrive at my vehicle I must first descend a flight of concrete stairs outside of my apartment building. Without even thinking as the condition of these stairs after a hail storm (remember hail is equivalent to ice) I proceeded down the stairs with very little caution. Next thing I knew my right foot slipped back on the ice and momentum was pulling me head first down the stairs.

Fortunately, though my luck and intelligence were at an end, quick reflexes were not. I grabbed hold of the side railing and prevented myself from a serious head injury. Though as you can probably guess my knee wasn't saved from a similar fate. The right knee caught the edge of the stair in acute pain. I limped my way back into the apartment and discovered that the concrete edge had created a nice gash in the skin from which blood was issuing. Of course I only like blood when it stays in it's proper place (you know working diligently to carry oxygen through my INTERNAL system). Something about blood of the external part of my body doesn't quite thrill me.

I began by stopping the bleeding with pressure and bandaids. Then it was on to help the swelling. At this point I made my way to the freezer to see what I had on hand that would do in a pinch. AHH!!! A nice large bag of frozen hash browns, perfect. It was truly perfect for the occasion. The hash browns in the bag were cold and formed nicely over my knee. I recommend having some on hand in your home, just in case your luck or intelligence ever desert you.

Now if you think that is all, then you are quite mistaken. Today I went back to work at Chili's (you know a little knee injury can't get me down - not with advil at the ready). I was helping another server by taking a hot skillet meal out to their table.

When I work with the skillets I'm usually careful not to become distracted so that I might not hurt myself. Unfortunately this table could have cared less that I had a sizzling skillet in my hand. As I was trying to balance the hot skillet a guy at this table was trying to shove dirty dishes into my other hand asking me to get them out of his way (first off I have to say HOW RUDE).

Next thing I know the dishes the guy couldn't wait another second (that's all that would have taken me to place the hot skillet down and pick up the dirty dishes with both hands) started to tilt in my hand. I tried to spread my hand out to balance them before they fell and my other hand with the skillet moved at the same time with the motion. That's when I experienced the major pain of my thumb being seared by the skillet. Of course I'm at the table with guests so I try to hide the injury by gritting my teeth and practically dropping the skillet into the guy's lap (don't worry it made the table). Then it was both hands to the dirty dishes and me walking away in pain (and of course I'm not perfect so I was thinking a few nasty thoughts about rude and impatient people).

So there you have it, my accident prone past few days. Here's the rest of the week may it be filled with accident free hours.

Joel Says...

ugh! dail up=dumbdail up is like grandma and a trucker teaming up to block both lanes for no apparent reason... no, there is a reason: a sick pleasure in making joel go crazy.

Welcome to Dial-Up...

Okay, so maybe I've downgraded, but atleast I've gone honest. It's probably best that I explain that sentence more thoroughly. As it happens since moving this past October I've been using wireless internet as my connection. At first, being the technological illiterate that I am, I figured that if you bought the wireless card (as I had) than any connections you found out there (space and time or whatever) were free.

WRONG. I soon learned that wireless connections are never free, some are just unprotected. For me this meant that continuing to siphon internet connections this way was paramount to stealing. Having read the 10 Commandments once or twice...or just several dozen times, I realized that stealing was probably bad.

Now I had to make some decisions, like what was the best internet for me, and what fit in my budget best? Since internet is not a high priority for me I figured I could live on dial-up (relatively the most inexpensive). Dial-up also had another advantage that of having to have a land line phone connection.

Being that I'm now out in Utah it was advantageous to have a local number for all those persons tired of calling me long distance on my cell phone. So, now I have a local number and legal internet service...aren't you all proud of me?

1...2...3...TESTING

Just checking in...catch you all later.

Driving to Provo...

Much earlier this evening I took some time off to visit a dear friend of mine down in Provo. The plan was to dine out at Zupa's and enjoy some fondu (we like fondu). In the end we deviated from the plan somewhat, we ate at Zupa's, but enjoyed sandwhiches instead. I must admit the sandwhich was well worth giving up the fondu for and that is saying a lot.

The drive down to Provo (south of Salt Lake) was so beautiful and just another reminder to me that living in Utah ain't all bad. I left Salt Lake around 4:20 and already I was starting to see somewhat of a sunset because of low cloud cover on the mountains. At one point as I was crossing the mountain coming out of the valley when the sun broke through the clouds in the most amazing way. Not only was it reflecting beautiful bright yellows, but it held pinks, purples and blues.

Every time I see a sunset off of the mountains I'm reminded of the awesome nature of God. To me sunrises and sunsets are perfect, and not only reflect beautiful colors, but more importantly a beautiful God.

Lately the sunrises and sunsets have given me a blessed peace in my life here in Utah. Not to say that the skies aren't beautiful back home in Virginia, but in some ways that just don't hold up to the majesty of the skies here in the west.

Oh all this is foolish sentimental talk, but it's still true, atleast to me. Hope you enjoyed reading about it, for whatever it is worth to you : )

On the Ball...

Hey, so I mentioned yesterday that I would be adding Family Christmas photos to my photosite soon. Well....I did it.

GO and check 'em out...
www.jheatwole.photosite.com

Come One...Come All...

...and check out my newly updated photosite. I've kept up the pictures from Africa to be enjoyed a little while longer, but other than that it's all new pictures.

Soon enough I hope to have some Christmas family photos posted as well, but I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

So, come check out all the fun at www.jheatwole.photosite.com

I Should Be in Bed...

...but I'm not. Truly, I can't fathom why I am still up. I'm sure it has something to do with the good book I picked up earlier in the evening and couldn't put down until it was finished. Another valid reason would be that I'm fairly use to these late hours, having been working them here of late.

Working as a server is so fairly unpredictable. Some days, like today, I must be at work to see the placed set up and opened for the guests. And then there are other days, like last night, when I have to stay fairly late to make sure the place is cleaned at set to rights for the next day.

The worst is days like yesterday (Friday) when I was there to see everything set up and opened, and then I was still there at the end of the day to see everything cleaned for the next. What makes the situation even more tiring is the fact that a few short hours of sleep later I was back at work making sure everything was set up and ready for today's guests. Needless to say I'm a very tired young lady and I'm thankful for my evening off tonight.

Though obviously I'm not using this time off very wisely (i.e. sleeping). I've spent it in studying and pleasure reading. Also for those of you who know me very well I had to spend some of the time cleaning my apartment (it's not really work it's relaxing - you'll never change my opinion otherwise).

So why have I been working the long hours recently you ask. Let's just say if you play you pay. And I had a wonderful time playing earlier this week. Two of my friends from back home in Virginia came out for a short visit.

During the time they were here time was spent exploring around Utah a little bit. I do mean exploring!! These guys (brothers) seem to love maps and going off on the little lines you find on them. You know the lines I speak of, the ones that are smaller than the rest and usually head out in directions away from cities or towns.

Oh what neat places those little lines take you. I had so much fun getting out of the city, and spending the time with two persons who enjoyed the random adventures as much as myself (probably even more so) made the experiences very memorable.

Well, I haven't much else to share, but I figured you all would enjoy some photos in parting. SO ENJOY!!!


We made a stop through Provo Canyon to take some scenic pictures. This one shows a clear shot of my friend Kyle. My friend Kyle is a good guy, but he is a little misguided when it comes to farm equipment. He seems to think green and yellow makes good colors on machinery. Personally, I'm more taken with red and blue, which I'm sure you all will agree are far superior.


Now this is Brendan, who happens to be standing on a snow covered road. We had taken one of those little lines (on the map) I had mentioned earlier. This little line lead us out to who knows where, I certainly don't know where, but then again I didn't have the map. We sort of just followed the road until it came to and end...well sort of. It was a very scenic spot and it certainly had a good bit more snow around than the city. I just loved the fresh air, clean snow, and mountains in the background.




I'm throwing this final photo in because it's fun and I like it. One of my favorite moments of my friend's visit was when we went to Maija's home in Provo. We had originally traveled down to Provo to take a tour of the indoor climbing wall Maija works at, but the randomness of the visit lead to a lesson in weaving. Maija is quite talented in weaving and showed us the working of her loom and samples of linens she has made in the past. I love how we went to learn or be shown one thing, and ended up be taught something completely different...Maija was so sweet to go along with our randomness.

Well, I guess that's enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity (haha...with no pictures of me). Blessings!!

My...My...My...

....it's been awhile. So, I'll admit to being some what negligent with the updates here of late. The truth is I haven't much to share, nor have I been pondering any great thoughts.

My life has begun to revolve around work here of late. That hasn't really been such a terrible thing. The more time I spend at Chili's the more I feel at peace, that God specifically put me there.

That has everything to do with the people I meet that I wait on and the people I work with. Here are two specific examples though they might not mean as much to everyone that they do me.

This past Monday I had a wonderful evening at work and met some really nice people. One table happened to be a group of five young adults, some from Australia and the others born and bred Americans. They were so nice and I enjoyed waiting on them. At the end of the evening I noticed one of them was wearing a fish necklace and I commented on how cool it was. They asked if I was a Christian too and before I knew we were exchanging the names of Churches we attended. I hope to be spending more time with them in the future and I thank God for that special meeting He brought together.

Another neat acquitance I've made while at work is with Bobby one of the Chili's bus boys. It just so happens that Bobby is originally from Staunton, Virginia and moved to Utah awhile back. I thought originally that he moved for the skiing and snowboarding he talks a lot about, but I've since learned that the move was prompted by his decision to join the LDS Church.

Bobby and I have had quite a number of great conversations about life back home. I call him R.E. Lee (since that's where he went to high school) and he calls me T.A. (well because that's where I went to high school). I know that God brought Bobby and I together and I'm looking forward to furthering our friendship.

Well, that's life at Chili's (atleast the good parts). Stay tuned for the next installment of my life is all work.