eat, drink, and practice etiquette

Tonight Derek took me to an Etiquette Dinner on campus. A lady came and taught everyone how to sit down, greet people, eat your soup, and place you fork. It was actually pretty fun. I felt pretty good about my manners because my mom taught me very well.

The lady encouraged us to make conversation with the others at the table, and it was then that Derek decided that good conversation was better than the truth. Here are some of the LIES he shared with everyone at the table:

~He has seen the new Alice in Wonderland movie 5 times.
~I told him that he wouldn't get a home-cooked meal until he came to the Etiquette Dinner and learned some manners.

Here are the TRUTHS:

~He has never seen Alice in Wonderland, the new one OR the Disney version.
~He remembered that I mentioned that the Etiquette Dinner would be fun, so he bought the tickets about 2 weeks ahead of time without me asking.

There was one other lie he told about me which was a reflection on my character which is why I started this blog in the first place. But alas, I cannot remember. Anyway, aside from the conversation, the food, lessons, and company were great.

On a more celebratory note, today was my last day working for the Census Bureau!! Tomorrow I have one more meeting to turn in my things, and I will be done. I plan on having better days filled with positive encouragement from all around me and confidence in myself and all tasks at hand. They (whoever 'they' is) always say, "It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it!" Well, ten years from now, no matter the situation, that 'someone' will NOT be me!

come downstairs and say hello

I just realized that I never told you what I got for my birthday from Derek (over a month ago). But first a story...

Sophomore year of college I had a beloved CD case full of my favorite CDs. Since I only bought CDs of my favorite bands, the case was priceless and worth a lot... at the same time. One night as my roommates, some boys, and I were galavanting around Rexburg, my roommate just so happen to lose my case of CDs. I had asked to hold on to them, and an hour later she didn't have them and didn't know where they were. Only possible outcome: She threw them out the window.

I was lucky enough to have some backed up on my computer, but not all. I'm poor, so I just did without. SO for my birthday my kick-butt husband gave me all 5 CDs of my favorite band Guster. Surprised! Thrilled! How awesome is that! I had mentioned it to him, and 4 years later he remembered. The real kicker is that I didn't suspect a thing. He's typically bad at hiding surprises like that from me. He's improving, and I'm impressed.

2010 Census

For the past 3 weeks or so I've been working for the government.... the Census Bureau in particular, and I'm not a fan. I have a meeting with my supervisor every weekday, and it is a horrible way to start each day. He's not very personable, and I feel like a failure the moment he knocks on my door. I feel bad. He's just doing his job, but he's making me feel like crap in the process. Anyway... a job is a job and is nothing special when you're not doing what you love. I thought it would be fairly easy and fun to knock on doors all day and convince people to give me their personal information. It's harder than it seems. Everyone's living situation is different. There's not always a mom and a dad with a few kids. The houses aren't always occupied. People have moved in AFTER Census Day (April 1), and there is a certain way to document everything. I think I've got it all figured out now, but the first two weeks were so difficult. Aside from the meetings, I've been able to meet a lot of different people, and many make me sad to think that I can do nothing to help them. It breaks my heart to see people struggling and working so hard to survive in the situations they've been given. I think it will all end soon though. And I am more excited than sad to see this job go. Hopefully in 10 years I won't be in desperate need of a job.