The Universe's Suggestion Box

Please leave us feedback about your experience.
                                                                    Thanks,
                                                                           Management, The Universe


--I could use 'commercial breaks'. This whole life thing is so constant, I need a chance to pause.

--Chocolate should be healthy.

--Cockroaches? Really? Why?

--Needs more rainbows.

--Must you be so mysterious?

--I'd like my own soundtrack. It could just play in the background all the time. It would be great. And there could be different songs for when I interact with people. And I'd know if they were nice or jerks or whatever by the music. Seriously, you should do this. It's a brilliant idea.

--Bring back the dinosaurs!

--Please make magic a thing. That would be awesome. Thanks.

--An FAQ page. And make your contact info easy to find.

--Could you please add a naturally occurring food in the color of blue? All the other colors are represented, and it is totally bugging me that blue isn't.

--I think EVERYONE should get snow for Christmas, not just some places.

--Transportation is slow. We need apparition or transporters or something.

--Love what you've done to the place--it's gorgeous. Keep up the good work!

Compartmentalizing

Recently, I caved in and upgraded to a smartphone. It was a bit of a bittersweet moment, because I am no longer a card-carrying member of the Luddites, and I enjoyed being one of the few who has technology dumber than themselves.

But due to certain situations, I was compelled to 'modernize', those situations being 1) winter bus-riding and 2) not having a local branch of my bank but needing to make a regular deposit. Other than that, my phone, however smart it may be, still has one specific purpose: Communication.

When it comes to technology, I am very compartmentalized. My phone is a phone. I use it for phone calls and texts (and, now, to check if the bus is on its way and to deposit checks more conveniently). I have an iPod for audio enjoyment. I have a camera for taking pictures. I use my tablet for streaming video, playing games, and reading. And if I need to create documents, surf the web, or do other computing tasks, I use my laptop. A device for everything and everything on a device, ha ha.

There are some people who find this behavior very bizarre and assume that anyone who would choose to use different devices for different tasks must be some kind of technophobe. This, friends, is far from the truth. It is simply a different way of organizing oneself. I just happen to have the type of personality that finds different devices more conducive for certain tasks. It doesn't make me out-of-date or a dinosaur or technologically incompetent. It is just how I choose to arrange myself and order the tech in my life.

So, on behalf of all the like-minded people out there, I'm standing up for tech-preference diversity. Thank you for respecting my technology choices.

The best of times, the worst of times

Okay, so maybe 2014 didn't quite hit the extremes of best and worst, but it was definitely a roller coaster year of highs and lows. Or maybe more like a bell curve, rather than a lot of ups and downs. I don't know and I don't feel like thinking over it that deeply to figure out what my year would have looked like on a graph. In terms of work, it was definitely the bell curve. Things were really looking up and seemed really hopeful. Until June. And then it was a long steep downward slope and, well, work just hasn't been so fun and welcoming. Happy New Year, and welcome back to limbo!

But let's skip over that aggravation. There were definitely good things in 2014, so here's the highlight reel:

• I moved to a new place, with a new roommate, and it has been a good change. 
• I survived all of the polar vortexes of 2014 and a record-breaking winter snowfall.
• I got a new niece, two new nephews, and met them all, plus I met my 3 year old niece for the first time!
• I went back home for an entire week (and got paid vacation!!!) and got to see a lot of my family and mountains!
• I completed Great Lakes bingo, saw Niagara Falls, and spent more than a few hours in Canada. Super fun.
• I presented at a professional conference for the first time.
• I enjoyed the friendships I've built and was really blessed by the people I know.
• I was called as an ordinance worker at the temple near me, and have been serving there since June.

I read some good books, including a couple about the Middle East that were quite insightful and going on an Agatha Christie binge. Watched some good movies, and some lame ones. I didn't seem to actually change any of the things I wanted to--I still go to bed too late, don't eat as healthy as I should, and spend more time on unimportant activities than I'd like, which has me frustrated to no end. Why is it so darn hard to change?! Anyway, I keep on trying to keep out of trouble and get by, so I guess it's life as normal. 

As for 2015, who knows what it will bring. Will this be the year I finally land a permanent job? Or will I chuck it all and move to Iceland? Will this be the year that I finally break those bad habits? Will Johnny finally tell Mary that he's always loved her from afar? Stay tuned to find out!