Dear Autumn

Dear Autumn,

On your first official day here I'd just like to say, welcome back! I've missed you for a long time now. I know your visits are brief--sometimes as short as only a few weeks. Perhaps you don't feel welcome in Utah? I admit, there are a lot of people who wish that Summer would linger a little longer. And I'm sure that Utah's reputation of having the "greatest snow on earth" makes you feel as if people are only enduring your stay in anticipation of an early arrival from Winter. But I, for one, am a true fan of yours.

Now that you're here, let me tell you of some of the things I hope we can do together. After all, I plan to make the most of every minute we have together.

• I used to always love when school was starting, and I have a suspicion that it had to do with your arrival. Remember how I used to try doing my homework outside under the trees? Haha! The homework was so boring it would often put me to sleep. But you always had a bed of leaves for me to nap in. I think this year I need to read a good book under a tree again, for old times' sake.
• Speaking of leaves, before it gets too cold we should go on a hike. I've been getting better at my photography. We'll do a photo shoot up in the mountains. But you're so photogenic, I can't imagine one picture not turning out perfect.
• I promise we'll do another murder mystery this year. They're loads of fun! I know I could do them in other times of the year, but they're funnest with you around. Maybe that's because of all the spooks of
• Halloween! This has to be the best time of the year (better than Christmas). I plan to spend all October enjoying this holiday. Remember when I was 10 and Grant Gordon and I would read each other scary stories? I think that might be part of the reason I love all the ghosts, goblins, witches, mummies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, skeletons, and other spooks of Halloween. It's time for haunted houses and scary movies! And who can deny the joy of dressing up in obscure, eccentric, scary, or funny costumes, parading through the school (0r the office), and going to fun parties?
• I'll go to a corn maze this year, and try to get lost. It's always funner when you're legitimately lost. Besides, I'm in no rush to go back inside and get out of the perfectly chilled air, that smells of harvest.
• You bring the best food. I love your tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, pumpkins, apples, and of course sweet potatoes. You always give us plenty of excuses to eat delicious soups and chili. There are tons of good recipes to enjoy while you're around.

There are plenty of other reasons I hope you'll stick around this year. I love your visits, and hate it when you leave early. I hope this year you'll stay for Thanksgiving. You're a much better guest than Winter (who's always cold and impersonal). But either way, I'll make the most of the time I have with you.

Sincerely,

Jon

Free Money!

You know it's a good day when you check your messages at work to find out that you won a $100 gift card from a local grocery store! You should go enter your name - they're running this promotion until Saturday. You could be as lucky as me!

Conference Calls Gone Wrong

Sometimes people struggle because they don't understand the technology they're using. I often feel that's the case with some of the equipment we use at my office. We're a satellite location of corporate headquarters, which is located in New York (surprise, surprise). So we often have meetings in which we video conference into New York. I'm always entertained at how long it takes them to troubleshoot what's wrong with the video conference - why we can hear them but not see them, etc.

Sometimes people are just idiots, and are oblivious to the impact that their use of technology affects those around them. I experienced one of these moments yesterday. The CEO in New York was speaking to the company. Big deal. Our office wasn't the only office video conferencing, and many others were calling in to listen from various parts of the country. About halfway through the meeting we heard a phone ring from one of the many lines connected to the mothersource. For the next few minutes, I was treated to one half of a personal phone call. Following that, we heard a baby crying, and somebody moving things. This went on for a good 30 minutes while the CEO (whose receiver was silent, and was therefore unable to hear the background noise) went on with his presentation, unaware of the problem. Multiple times, someone from another line voiced in to request that the person put their phone on mute. But the efforts were futile. The guilty party was obviously not paying any attention to the meeting.

On the other hand, it did break up the monotony. So thank you, anonymous stranger.

It's a Poll!

So I've decided that I don't blog often enough because I can't think of things to say, am waiting to upload pictures, or just sometimes don't care. I know the disappointment that comes when you go to someone's blog and nothing has been updated. So I think it may be time to start a blog series or two. I've seen some pretty fun blog series other people have done. And I think if I had a repeating subject, it would make it easier to update the blog once in a while when I otherwise wouldn't be posting anything.

And since you are my loyal readers, I figure there might be something you are more interested in reading on my blog. So what kind of blog series should I start? I may start a couple, depending on if I really want to write a series on any particular subject. But please give me your input. Vote on the poll to the side----> and feel free to add comments if there's anything else you'd like to suggest.

Okay, several of these ideas are stolen from other blogs. So what?

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

That's right! It's opening night! I'm so excited to be performing in front of live audiences! This show has been a lot of work for me, and I really think it's paid off. I work with the best cast I've ever worked with, I have a TON of stage time (I almost never get a break backstage between costume changes, etc.), and most importantly, I LOVE this show. The story is fun, the music is catchy, and the choreography is definitely challenging and fun.

So if you can make it, I definitely suggest it. You can find details by clicking on the Upcoming Peformances tab at the top of this page. :-)

I'm back!

I promise I'll get some pictures posted up here as soon as I can. Please be patient. I took over 400 pictures in Europe and am having a hard time deciding which ones to post. Plus it takes a while to upload pictures, so I'm not so thrilled about taking the time to do it.

A Little Less Conversation

Can we get some better conversation starters? Everybody uses the same ones so many times a day that it almost makes me sick. Think about it: How many times do you find yourself giving the same generic answer to "How's it going?" (granted, that's become more of a greeting than a conversation starter these days). And how many times DON'T you say "nothing" when someone asks "What's new?" "How was your day?" usually results in a one word adjective, with the question being returned to the asker. The conversation starter usually gets nowhere, and people resort to their backup conversation starters: asking about work (it's a 4-letter word), family/dating life (thank you for reminding me that I'm single), or any hobbies of yours that they're aware of (which always risks being out-of-date). When all else fails, people resort to their favorite topic--themselves. You know someone is really grasping for topics when they bring up the weather (unless there's something extreme, like a hurricane).

I'm guilty of these conversation starters just like everyone else. But I try to mix things up every once in a while by asking a random question in place of "How's it going?" For example, a few weeks ago I started asking people "What made you decide not to become a teacher?" I was surprised at how effective of a conversation starter that was. Turns out nearly everyone considered teaching at some point in their lives, and many of their reasons for not choosing the career touch on controversial issues, such as government pay and benefits, disagreements with state-mandated curriculums, and even gender bias and stereotyping in the workplace. Needless to say it was an effective conversation starter, and I had many conversations that were much more interesting than the typical "life is okay. you?"

I've also tried to throw off the generic conversation by having something to say when people ask me "What's new?" In case you're not aware yet, I am obsessed with being busy. If I ever end up sitting at home doing nothing one night, I add something else to my already-busy schedule. So there's usually something new in my life to talk about. But I've found myself resorting to the default "nothing" in two situations: 1) if I can't remember what I've already told you about, or 2) if my life is so focused on one thing and I'm think I'd bore you if I brought up the topic. Such is the case right now in my life. While I could talk about my new home, my roommate's new dog, my upcoming trip to Europe, or the upcoming wedding of one of my best friends, I find myself really only wanting to talk about Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which has consumed my life lately. I'm incredibly excited about it, and could talk anybody's ear off, but I'm generally concerned that I'll bore the other party, so I resort to the "nothing" that leads to nothing in a conversation.