Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What I Miss Most.


 Scripture Night with Tarah.  There was no better way to start off the week than having scripture study with one of my best friends.  Don't ask me why but during one of our weekly scripture studys we decided to act out the scene in Numbers (the story about the talking donkey). It is the odd times like this that I miss.  I would give anything to have these nights back.  

I Love My Mom!

What is considered underwear these days is ridiculous. But I say hey, its a free hat courtesy of Victoria's Secret. You can't go wrong there. My mom has excellent photography skills. I asked her if the picture turned out okay and she said it looked great. I said "How could you describe a picture as great when the girl in it has a G-String on her head?" Now that was a moment of deep laughter. Yet another reason why my mom is so cool.

Work... or is it?

I am lucky enough to have not only one but two jobs that I absolutely love. One of them is working at a Preschool and the other is working with people who have disabilities. Although I have been told to "go to hell" and I have had to stay up multiple nights to care for a sick clients, I feel like in the end it is very rewarding. Does it take patience? YES! but I like to look at them as normal people with a lot of extra quirkiness about them. No two days are ever the same and I cannot even begin to tell you the many lessons that I have learned from these people. I am constantly laughing at the funny things that come out of their mouths...


No I did not take this picture of Lau around Halloween. This is Lau. He likes to dress up in... bizarre outfits. Lau also calls me every night before I come to work and leaves me messages on my answering machine. It is usually him singing to me "Oh Lindsey you, you got what I need." or "Hey Lindsey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind! Hey Lindsey...". A funny thing about Lau is that he doesn't have any toes but still insists that his toes are cold and he needs another blanket over them to keep them warm. Not only is Lau one of the funniest people I know he is also one of the sweetest. Every morning he gives me a snickers or a big bag of M&M's.

Lau- "You have a rose in your eye and it sparkles."

Lau- "I know I don't have any toes, but Lindsey will you marry me?"

Lau- "Will you cook me some bacon?"
Me-"Sure where is it?"
Lau- "It is in the melting freezer."

Sadly I don't have a picture of Brian. Brian is an interesting character that seems to be in his own little world. He likes to get a reaction out of people by yelling out swear words. I'm ashamed to say that I think it is hilarious so it takes all of my will power to keep a straight face when I am telling him that he shouldn't do so.

Me- "What is so funny?"
Brian- " The cat."
Me- "What cat?"
Brian- "The cat at the pet store."
Me- "What happened with the cat?"
Brian- "The cat licked me."



Diane is the one that, as Amie likes to put it, "Damned me to hell." When I first met Diane she was the most harsh person that I had ever met. I felt as though I was constantly "walking on eggshells." She was like a volcano, you never knew when she was going to go off you just knew that she eventually would and that it wasn't going to be good. I believe that no matter how coarse a person is they have a squishy inside. Some people are just harder to get through than others. Working with Diane I was determined to break through to the "squish". So I decided that I would no matter how she treated me I was going to act like she was my best friend. It was scary because I am not used to people yelling at me for no reason but in the end it was well worth it. I got Diane to laugh! I got her to laugh! This was unheard of. Pretty soon Diane was telling me that I was pretty, that she really liked me because I was really nice AND that I was her number 1 favorite staff to work with. Shocker, more than you know.

Diane- "I can't find someone to love me like Carl loves Laura, no matter how much I brush my teeth."

Diane- "Is that your tripod?" (pointing to my ipod)

Diane- "My closet is too small for all my clothes."
Me- "Well maybe if you put away your winter clothes then you would have more room."
Diane- "No then my closet would be empty. I like to look rich and like I have a lot of stuff."



Unfortunately I don't get to work with Jerry anymore because he moved to a different house. Jerry always use to say that he was my father. I would always ask him If that was the case then where he has been all my life and what the heck did he do with my child support money? We would always end up laughing hysterically. One night I noticed a picture of a black woman on his keychain. I asked Jerry who it was, he said that he didn't know, he had found it on the sidewalk and attached it to his keychain. About ten minutes later he said that it was his model girlfriend, and my new mom. Oh and Jerry prefers his bacon burnt as you can see from the picture above. In fact he likes it so burnt that when you drop it, it shatters.

Jerry-Where I'm from we don't wash our dishes
Me- "oh really....where are you from?"
Jerry-"Out of the country."
Me- "And where would that be?"
Jerry- "Indiana"
Me-"Jerry you do realize that Indiana is in the United States?"
Jerry-" No its not! I'm from Mexico."



This is Terrie. She was the very first client that I ever worked with. Terrie was non-verbal and confined to a wheelchair. One thing that I loved about her was her sense of humor. She loved to make fun of me. One day she said that I should be a client rather than the staff. (Keep in mind she is typing this into her keyboard that would talk for her.) When I asked her if I could be her roomate her eyes got really big as if she had seen a ghost and she mouthed the words NO. Sadly Terrie past away in February. Being with her in her last hours was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I miss her so much and probably learned the most from her. Her cheerful attitude amongst her dim situation never ceased to shock me.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Meet the Wilsons


Dinner at the Wilson house is just not dinner until my dad throws down a bet.  Best known as "The Bruce Bet". On this particular day Amie came to dinner.  I could tell what was about to go down just as soon as my dad  started to say "Amie... how much do you like rolls?".  The bet: Amie stuffing four dinner rolls into her mouth.  The stakes: A milkshake for Amie and I.   I  have never seen Amie turn down a milkshake so, of course, the bet was on. As Amie was stuffing her face it became very apparent that four rolls would result in one of us having to give her the heimlich.  Not wanting Amie's parents to forever hate us for killing their daughter, my dad lowered the number of rolls to three.


Sunday, March 29, 2009

Life Lessons Learned From the Bum at Movies 9

After talking with Maria I was inspired to write down the valuable life lessons that I learned from the Bum that would frequent Movies 9 while I was working there. I only hope that those who read this can gain the same knowledge that I have, from the man reffered to as the Movies 9 Bum.

-When you have an actual job you are indeed "working for the king".
-It IS possible to loose BOTH of your shoes in a movie theatre.
-A wet brochure will not pass as a movie ticket.
-If you annoy or creep out the people in the lobby enough, they will buy your movie ticket for you.
-It is not always good to be constantly having the smell of liquor on your breath.
-Digging through the trash to find a large popcorn bag can get you a refill free of charge. 

I Want Magenta!



“Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I've got a few missing. It's ok though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type.. I'm like, "hey girl, magenta!" and she's like, "oh, you mean purple!" and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, "no - I want magenta!"”
-John Mayer-

Women



"The world has enough
women who are tough; we need women who are tender. 
There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. 
There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. 
We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. 
We have enough greed; we need more goodness. 
We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. 
We have enough popularity; we need more purity." 
— Margaret Nadauld

“Woman is God’s supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good."

"Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth. 

"God will hold us accountable if we neglect His daughters.” 

"Every woman is a daughter of God. You cannot offend her without offending Him."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this."

"So often our sisters comfort others when their own needs are greater than those being comforted. That quality is like the generosity of Jesus on the cross. Empathy during agony is a portion of divinity."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell