30 October 2012

Zombies

Zombie-mania has been sweeping the nation.

We find zombies mentioned all over the place: movies, television series, literature, and even the news.

Southern Utah University even has their own resident zombie expert, Dr. Kyle Bishop, who I heard lecture on the topic in September.

I recently jumped on the zombie bandwagon, first starting with SUU's Halloween party, The Scream. My friend Ali found way a legit makeup technique on Pinterest to make us look like grotesque zombies.
Me and Ali. And a Snake at SUU's epic Halloween party.
Isn't that makeup intense?! While at the Scream, we received many compliments. And also many shudders. I'll also be wearing that costume to school tomorrow. Woot.

Last night I started watching AMC's The Walking Dead television series on Netflix.

I was up really late because I was doing the wash and I had to wait for my last load to finish in the washer so that I could dry the clothes and have something to wear to school today. While waiting for the clothes to finish, I decided to start watching TWD.

It's pretty freaky.

When the laundry (and the first episode of TWD) was done, I went in the bathroom to get ready for bed only to discover that I was out of contact solution! Blurgh!

It was 02:30.

I needed contact solution.

I had just watched a pretty creepy show and was not too keen on the idea of leaving my house to head to Walmart to purchase contact solution at this terribly late (or early?) hour.

But I did.

I drove to Walmart. Guess how many cars I saw on the road?

Zero. The road to Walmart parallels I-15 and I only saw about three cars on it the whole time I was out.
Creepy

I went to Walmart.
Parked.
Looked around.

No sign of life. The world is stationary.
This is creepy.

I go into Walmart to be greeted by
no one.
Absolutely no one.
No employee.
No patron.
Just merchandise and fluorescent lights.

As I walked to the aisle where the contact solution was kept, my heart raced.
There are walkers there, waiting for me. Hungry. 

Luckily, walkers don't exist and I purchased my contact solution without dying or becoming undead.

It was still pretty creepy, though.

23 October 2012

The Great American Road Trip

I'm no stranger to the open road.

Driving to the nine hours to visit my sister in Reno doesn't even phase me.

I would love to look out the window and watch the American splendor pass by, but, unless I'm at the wheel, I fall asleep rather quickly (solution: Dr. Pepper).

My family has great memories road tripping together.

I remember (or at least I think I  remember) driving to Missouri to visit my maternal grandparents at Christmas when I was three. Momma Linda, dad, Damian, Gail, Katie, Nick, and I. One brown GMC diesel single cab truck. We had a camper shell on the truck so we stuck a mattress back there to travel in comfort and style. It was wintertime and very cold. To stay warm, we burrowed into piles of blankets and I think we had some sort of duct going from a heat vent through the small, sliding window into the bed.

We're pretty resourceful.

 That's definitely the longest drive I've done. We did that same drive again when I was twelve.

This past weekend, we went on another road trip through the wondrous grandeur of Southeast Utah.

SUU had fall break and I thought it might be good time to visit some Utah National Parks during the long weekend and help me do my #23b423 list. So we did.

I was really excited to go camping. It has been years (seriously sad) since I've been camping in the great outdoors. I was excited to sleep in a tent, and make our food, and have sand in every orifice of my body.
My parents had other plans.
Yeah. We stayed in a hotel. In Green River (ghetto town) which is about an hour away from Arches National Park- the first park we were going to visit. 

Here's a quick recap:
Saturday
We left after SUU's loss to Weber State to our hotel in Green River.
Sunday
Left GR super early to hike Delicate Arch before sunrise to watch the sun rise over the park. We drove all the paved roads in the park seeing awesome formations. Driving through the park reminded me a lot of the scenery in Disney/Pixar's Cars. Momma Linda and I did a couple short hikes.
Went to Dead Horse Point State Park. Left and came back because we missed the actual point. We're awesome like that sometimes. 
Went to Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky District. Incredible! A well kept secret. Looks 3x the size as the Grand Canyon and has spectacular formations. Mom and I did one short hike. 
Ate at one of two restaurants in GR. Not impressed. 
Went to bed early. It's amazing how much you can get done when you wake up at 04:45. 
Monday aka Winday: 
Alarm went off. Mom said "Ten more minutes." Usually I'm the one who says that. Ha.
Ate breakfast at the other restaurant in GR. I liked it better, though it is more difficult to screw up breakfast. 
Drove to Goblin Valley State Park. The drive provided beautiful views of the San Rafael Reef. Two words: majestically rugged. Goblin Valley provided crazy cool formations. Reminded me of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland. It was very windy and I did end up getting sand in every orifice of my body.
Drove through Wayne County. It inspired me to write a book Fiftly Shades of Beige: The Exciting Story of Wayne County (it's not erotic in any way). Wayne County doesn't have a lot going on except for
Capitol Reef National Park. We only saw a tiny, tiny portion of the park which is so huge! Hiked to a natural bridge. Fruita historic town would be cool to visit during harvest season.
Drove. Saw fantastic views from UT Highway 12. I didn't take any photos. So sorry. Everyone should make this drive. It's so pretty it hurts.
Drove more. Cute, small towns, pastures, forests, creeks, canyons. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was creepy to drive through. The highway drops off on either side at one point (and it wasn't even on Hell's Backbone Road!). 
Drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. Ate lunch/dinner at Ruby's Inn.
Home.
Four national parks. Two state parks. One national monument. Less than 48 hours. 855 miles. It was amazing how much beauty is so close to our home!

Picture time!

Delicate Arch before the sun rises.
The sun lights up the natural beauty of the park.
Dad, Momma Linda, and me on a rock that overlooks the arch.
Shadows.
Huge (and adorable) field mouse cowering in a corner of a waste bin.
Me and Momma Linda. Turret Arch. Arches NP.
Can you see the Parade of Elephants? Double Arch is behind the leading elephant's bum.
Natural bonsai? It's only about 12" tall. Canyonlands NP.
Momma Linda overlooking Upheaval Dome- a very unique geological feature (salt hills, remnants of a dome in a crater). Canyonlands NP.
Dad and Momma Linda at Canyonlands NP.
Driving parallel to the San Rafael Reef.
Wild Horse Butte in background.
Goblin Valley!
Momma Linda and me in Capitol Reef National Park with Hickman Bridge in the distance.
Looking down the canyon. All cotton wood trees were yellow. The green field below is an orchard in Fruita. 
Last stop before lunch/dinner at Ruby's Inn.
The next time you're needing a vacation, look at what's near your home. I had never visited Arches, or Canyonlands, or Dead Horse Point, or Goblin Valley, or Capitol Reef. And they're all within a four-and-a-half drive from my house! I'm kind of beating myself up for not seeing these things sooner.
Now that I know how close these sights are, I'll be going again. Maybe for spring break. And this time I want to sleep in a tent.
If you're a visual person, this is the route we took.

#9 a,b,c,d

Do you remember the list of 23 thing I want to do before I turn 23?
If you don't, that's ok. You can read it here.

Last week, SUU had fall break. Momma Linda, dad, and I took advantage of the long weekend and headed off on a great American road trip to help me accomplish some things on my list, primarily visiting National Parks. On this trip we also visited State Parks and National Monuments, but I you can read further details in the post called The Great American Road Trip

Rather than bore you with details in two different posts, here are some pictures of just the parks.

We hiked to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park in the dark before sunrise to watch the sun light up the park. It was beautiful.
Momma Linda in front of Double Arch.
Me by the sign at the visitors' center.
At Island in the Sky district in Canyonlands. This place is seriously massive!
The dome formation in this photo is the namesake for the national park. Early settlers thought it resembled the US Capitol building dome.
Now I just have to go to Zion!

13 October 2012

Weather and Holidays

Fun fact: I love the outdoors.
Hiking, camping, relaxing. For me, all these things are most enjoyed when I'm outside (I guess those first two are synonymous with outside).

Fun fact: I love celebrating holidays.
I'm an advocate of fun holiday traditions and developing new traditions.
My favorite holidays:
  1. Christmas
  2. Halloween
  3. Independence Day
  4. Anyone's Birthday
  5. Pioneer Day (Utah)
Those are pretty much the only ones I enjoy celebrating. Everything else, I'm rather lukewarm toward.

Let me draw your attention to number 2: Halloween.

Halloween is at the end of this month and I will be donning a costume, and trick-or-treating. Last Halloween, I was in California visiting my brother's family. I was actually handed out candy while the parentals took their kids around for candy.
Two hunters, a flapper, a skeleton, a witch, and a fairy princess. Source.
Halloween in SoCal had lovely weather.
Halloween in Cedar City has chilly weather.

Fun fact: I despise chilly weather.
I hope that this Halloween will be mild and dry so I don't have to wear too many layers under my zombie costume. 

10 October 2012

Seven to Ten Days

7 to 10 days.
Medical experts say that his how long the common cold should last.
If it lasts longer, you should go see a doctor.
Some people don't like going to the doctor. I am one of those people. I know, it seems like It go to the doctor a lot, but I don't like it.
The day after Labor Day, I got sick. Really sick. I took some time off work and school to recuperate. A week later, I was still phlegmy, but was able to function (for the most part) in my day-to-day tasks so I went back to work and school.
I had mad an almost full-recovery when Sunday (Oct 7) came around and I was hit by a freight train of illness- the same symptoms I had been experiencing, just a little more concentrated in the head.
After measuring a temperature of 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit, I finally went to the doctor (27 days too late) today. It turns out I'm more sick than I thought. I have an upper respiratory infection. Nothing major. Thank goodness for modern medicine and competent medical professionals who know what they're doing. I'm taking a cocktail of prescription and OTC drugs. I feel like a walking medicine cabinet, but I'm going to make a full recovery. In four days. FTW (that means "for the win." Nothing vulgar or profane. I promise.).
This is how I feel. Image source.
Sorry this writing is not my best. I have sick brain.