Saving the Planet

In Boulder, alternate energy sources are abundant and you will VERY rarely see someone actually throw anything away that can be recycled.  Cardboard, newpaper, aluminum cans, glass bottles, junk mail, milk cartons, juice containers, and even the cardboard box tampons come in!  You name it, they recycle it!  It not just about recycling.  Its about water and fuel and pollution and open space and so on.  Here in AZ, it seems that the standard thought process is about a decade behind when it comes to preserving our natural resources.  Don't get me wrong; people still think of it. Just not nearly to the degree they do in Boulder.

I have decided not to let the fact that I live in AZ deter me from my Boulderite sense of energy awareness.  So yes, I still recycle.  And yes, as soon as its not 110 when I get off of work, I'll be commuting on bike.  But the most recent decision I have come to, is that I am going to line-dry all my clothes.  I first thought of it when I noticed that you cannot turn on the light in my laundry room without a fan turning on.  I cleverly deducted that the reason behind such mandatory air circulation was because a dryer heats the air you are paying $$$ to cool with A/C.  Hence, the fan to draw out the hot air before it seeps into the rest of the apartment simply to get cooled back down.  My conclusion?  Skip the dryer all together and hang your laundry.  I found a convenient rack that can hold almost a full load  (I don't want my personals hanging off my balcony, anyway) and it collapses nicely to be stored when not in use. (The one I have is similar to this: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11072972)  So yes I'm saving energy, but that's not even the best part!  My clothes dry QUICKER in the AZ summer sun then they do in the dark confines of man-made dryer.  Ironic, eh?

I guess I should mention one thing to AZ's credit. I noticed that my water heater is located outside in the storage closet off my deck.  It makes a perverse sort of sense...  I already miss the snow.

Pushing Through The Pain

Some of you may be privy to this, but others may not be.

I am training for a marathon.

Why on Earth would I ever do such a thing? Well, its simple really. I'm doing it for cancer research. I found a program called Team in Training that trains aspiring athletes while raising money for all types of Blood related cancers.

Check out my website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs10/kogilvi0a1

I can honestly say, its not a lot of fun to actually get up at 5:30 AM almost every morning to run just so I can get my mileage in before 1) it gets "hot" (typically its about 80 deg in the mornings) and 2) so I'll have time to cool down so people don't ask me why my face is so red. When I work out, my skin goes from almost translucent white to bright red!

Although, its not fun, I am already starting to see the benefits of running on a consistent basis. My legs are solid muscle and I seem to sleep 9 times better than I ever have in the past.

I am now on my 4th week of training and therefore have worked up to about 4 miles on my long runs. I can only imagine how I'm going to feel once I'm up to 10 or 15 miles. The first mile always sucks, but as my coach says, it does not suck as much as a round of chemo. As long as that holds true, I'll keep running toward the finish line!

p.s. Feel free to contribute to TNT on my website! (Link is above)

Like buttah'

I recently started using my counter-top butter container again. For those of you unaware, a butter container is the second best invention in the history of the world. (The first being the wheel.) It is a porcelain container that keeps your butter fresh at room temperature. You put 1/2 inch of water in the container but the lid is a large enough to mash a stick of butter inside of it. Thus, when you place the lid on the container, the butter is sealed from the air, protecting it from spoiling quickly. Butter at room temperature ALWAYS!!! Its genius! No more cutting little tiny pieces and taking so much time spreading the butter that your toast goes cold before you eat it. S'wonderful!!!

The reason why I said "recently started using, again" is because there is a delicate balance that must be upheld when one lives on their own. You see, although the container offers air-tight protection, nothing can maintain butter indefinately; even the freezer. When I first got my porcelain chassis, I would put an entire stick of butter in the lid. Unfortunately, (and fortunately for my heart) I do not eat a whole stick of butter very quickly. I learned relatively quickly that rotten butter smells almost as bad as rotten fish. Seeing how this is not a scent Victoria's Secret would pick up in its next round of perfumes, I decided to quit using it until a future date when I had a family to help me dispose of the butter in a manner more pleasing to the senses.

When I moved into my new apartment and ran across my porcelain container as I was unpacking boxes, I decided to give it one more shot. This time, I only put in about 1/3 of a stick each time I refilled. It works! I can now get through my butter without the rancid disposal process.

Saved by the Dogs

Moving to a new location means that one has to endure weeks of constant name/face recognition exercises. I don't really mind it. And I'm relatively good at it. (Relative to the majority of the population.) But today as I got home from work I ran into one of my neighbors in my apartment complex. I could remember her dogs' names but I could not remember hers! Krista? Kristina? Kristen? I have no idea. But for some reason I could remember that her little brown chihuahua was Hollywood and her big black Saint Bernard was RockStar. The worst part? She remembered mine! The best part? I think she didn't notice that I didn't know her name since I called out to her dogs. I guess you could say I was saved by the dogs.

First Impressions

I am officially relocated. I will move into my permanent apartment on the 18th. It'll be my very first personally funded apartment.

At work, I've finished the two day corporate training orientation that all new hires are required to take. Now I have a mountain of procedures and documents to read and tons of acronyms to learn. Yeehaa. (Notice my lack of optimism.) One important thing to mention is that the job I was hired for is not the job they put me in. To make a long story short, the program they hired me to work on was called KEI and I was going to be doing work in their Design, Integration and Testing (DI&T) group. Turns out that the KEI program was a defense contract that got canceled a few months back. Unfortunatly, when the contract was canceled, so did my original job position. So rather then resending their offer, I was then moved from DI&T to the Electronics Components group. I'm not complaining since I know some people who don't even have a job yet. It just would have been nice BEFORE arriving.

My new ward is huge! The Relief Society is so big that they can't fit us all in the RS room. We have to meet in the chapel. After the small size of the ward in Colorado and the small branches all around the Denver area, it was kind of a shock. But the biggest difference I've noticed is that the people here aren't as focused on education. Most of the people I've met are either working in a "non-degree required" job or are slowly working toward something indistinguishable at the local community college. There are exceptions of course but its difinitely something that stands out as a difference between a student ward and a singles ward. (That and the "m" and "w" words gets thrown around a lot more here). That being said, I hope I get a calling (soon).

All and all, AZ looks like its going to work out; as long as the summers don't diminish me into a smelly pile of goo.

Love to you all.

I get an "F" in Making Decisions

How come every time I go to the fabric store to make an article of clothing I come out empty handed? I mean EVERY TIME!

I haven't been able to choose out any fabric and a pattern to accompany it for at least the last 5 times I've decided I wanted to make something. There are too many choices! (Ok, I admit, I can pick out patterns...) My philosophy has been that if I'm going to go to the trouble of making something, it has to end up being one of my top 3 favorite things in my closet. Its too much pressure!!!!!

Picture Time!

Here are the pictures I promised. The video will be compiled once I have the DVD NASA promised us!

The team as Kristian presented our Test Readiness Review.


Boarding the flight!
I was extremely excited!

Kristian, myself and our experiment as we were climbing to altitude.


I believe this was on the second parabola.
I honestly don't remember looking at the camera.


This is my favorite shot.
At least, when it comes to my facial expressions.


Getting down to business.


Another shot of the experiment in
the early parabolas...my hair is still up.


I was fascinated with Kristian's inability to keep his feet down.
(He got yelled at for it a lot!)


The crazy mermaid hair!


I'm not sure what the face was all about but its kinda funny.
The girl in the corner was our NASA mentor.


Me having fun floating after checking that cameras were still rolling.


Another experiment pic.


It was fun to just let your arms float!


Kristian with his feet up... AGAIN!


Kristian with his feet down.
ITS A MIRACLE!


No words needed...



This is a shot of another girl on another team
but you can see me in the background having a good time!


I'm having a good time!


Here's a camera shot that gives an idea of the overall cabin size.


Near the end of the flight.
I know this because people are looking out the windows.


A special hello to all my family and friends!


All of the individuals that were on our flight.