Register to Vote... or You Won't Get Married!

*Warning: shameless plug for my work below.*

**Warning #2: The video is HIL-a-rious!!**

Guys, today is National Voter Registration Day!

Are YOU registered to vote? Have you moved to a new address since the last time you voted?

Make sure you're registered, and then make sure you tell a friend!

To register to vote, CLICK HERE.


Sidenote: One time, I was dating this guy, annnnnd I nearly had to re-enact this movie! He was registered, but he HADN'T VOTED!!! :-/ Needless to say, it did NOT work out between us. (But OK, in full disclosure, it wasn't because of his civic irresponsibility.)

Retreeeeeat!

Last weekend was SO much fun! Our congregation of young singles took a weekend-long camping trip to Caledonia State Park in Pennsylvania (I just love that within an hour, you cross, like, seven states on the East Coast!). (We even held our weekly church service in the woods on Sunday morning!)

The whole weekend was a blast and really, the only bad thing I have to say is that my toes nearly froze off at night! (Thankfully, my roommates and I had some things going on Friday night, so we drove up early Saturday morning and, therefore, only slept one night at camp!) I haven't been camping in a year, and I'd forgotten how much I miss the outdoors (and my belov'd Utah mountains!)

Since we were so close to Gettysburg, some of the group explored the battlefield, others explored the actual town. I chose to go hiking. Or really, "hiking." But even though it was mostly flat, it was still gorgeous, and we got to "hike" part of the Appalachian trail. (No Argentine mistresses involved.) Plus, I got to catch up with my pal Jesse, which is always great. :)

GOR-geous!

can you see our reflections? :)

why do my photos come out upside-down??

Oh! And mid-hike, we found a SWING!

seriously... why are they right-side up on my phone, and upside-down on flickr??

We had a "Battle of the Sexes" game at night, followed by an impromptu dance party, and an outdoor movie. FRRRRREEEEZING, but fun. :)

(Game show photos courtesy of "other" Jesse. Ha!)

My roommate, KILLING it in the hula hoop contest!

And a li'l preview of this coming weekend's Utah-BYU football game. :)

Probably my favorite part, though, was gettin' to hang out with some of my favorite people. I loved making new friends and getting to know old friends better.

First day

Last day

Annnnnnd, uhhhh, I think I know what Jeffie's favorite part of the weekend was:

Thanks to the Activities Committee for such a great weekend!! xo :)

Shooting

Today, in my city, in my backyard, in my home, 12 people died at the hands of a shooter (or shooters? We don’t even know).

I was getting ready for work (straightening my hair) when I received the CNN alert that a shooting had occurred at Navy Yard. (It was around 8:30am.) I didn’t give it a second thought. After all, shootings happen how often in DC? And I kept straightening my hair. Normally, I would’ve already been on my way to work, but I had a meeting on the Hill this morning, so I went straight there from my house, rather than stopping in at the office.

When I got off the metro at Union Station a few minutes after 10am, I saw police ALL around the station -- one officer even standing guard with his trusty K-9 companion. And that's when I knew something was wrong. I walked all the way from Union Station, past the Senate office buildings, across the Capitol plaza, to the House side, and every 10 feet or so, there was a police officer on duty, weapon (probably loaded and) at the ready. It reminded me of Istanbul last month (but I haven't told you that story yet, so you probably don't understand the comparison unless I've shared that story in person.) When I arrived at the Member's office in the Longworth building, the news was on, and the coverage was ALL about the shooting. Navy Yard was closed down, the metro had stopped running, police were looking for suspects, and no one knew at that point who or how many had died. 

But to be completely honest, none of this phased me. I mentioned some of the bits I'd caught from the TV to the others in our meeting, but none of them seemed phased either. We went about our business, and then we caught a cab back to our respective offices, with nary a thought for anyone at Navy Yard. 

When I got back to my office, the news was on (surprise). It's always on, but the coverage all. day. long. was about the shooting. The reporters kept saying DC hadn't experienced anything like this since 9/11. And I felt today a lot like I felt on 9/11. I didn't get what the bug fuss was about. On 9/11/01, I was in high school, and I remember my history teacher, Mrs. Miner (who was also our M.U.N. -- Model United Nations -- advisor) saying that our world would NEVER be the same. That forevermore, time would be divided into pre-9/11 and post 9/11 time periods. And I didn't understand why... Today, I just didn't get why the media was making such a big deal about the shooting. And the more I thought about it, the more distraught I became that I live in a world where mass shootings are SO commonplace, that when one occurs a few measly miles away from me, I can so easily turn around and go about my day like nothing has happened. 

I went back and forth all day between periods of dismissing the news and going about my work and periods of shock at my own... callousness? No, that's not the right word... Hang on, let me Google synonyms... desensitization, inhumanity, cold-bloodedness, lack of sympathy or tender feelings, etc. This kept going on in the back of my head even throughout the night. I half-joked to my roommate that I was overanalyzing to make up for underanalyzing the situation all day. 

It sounds ridiculous probably, but it's true. My heart does hurt for those who were affected by today's shootings -- the victims, their families and friends. And it hurts for myself and those of my generation who have grown so accustomed to news of mass shootings, that we go abut our days, and things like this no longer phase us. It makes me feel... angry. The worst part is I don't know what to do about it. I don't know what I can do to make the world a better place in this regard. Now, as in many other times, all I can do is rely on prayer to comfort and strengthen those affected by the shootings -- and myself.

Work Trip (Google NYC + the High Line) & an Update

Sooo, it's been a few weeks since I last blogged. (And quite the few weeks it's been!)

For starters, I went to Istanbul for 10 days! (11, if you count travel.) I have SOOOOOO many photos from that trip, and I promise I WILL post about it! It was quite the adventure. (No, seriously. Pick an emotion... Any emotion -- excitement, joy, pain, frustration, fear, sickness... I did it all.)

I got sick at the end of my trip (as in... bronchitis-sick), so when I got back, I spent some time sleeping and trying to recover before...

I started my new job!! Monday was my first day, and it has been really great so far! I really like my co-workers, and they've been so great to already make me feel like I'm a part of the team. :) It also helps that I'm excited about the work I get to do, and I've jumped right in! In fact, on Tuesday, I got to travel to NYC for work with some of my co-workers. We spent a day (a day of delight!) being trained on how to use Google's tech tools better, and let me tell you that I am BLOWN away by Google NYC! That place is amazing!! I want to move in!

Green screen at the YouTube office!

For starters, they have food everywhere! There's a HUGE cafeteria (so huge there's an entire FOOD TRUCK of just desserts in the middle), and smoothie bars, cafes, and snack stations everywhere. There's a lego room, a workout room, a game room, on-site daycare, dry-cleaning, the greatest lounges everywhere, a Pac-Man arcade game room, an IN-HOUSE masseuse (!!!), AND they ride Razor scooters up and down the halls! Basically, I want to LIVE at Google. (Oh, and the staff and products are pretty great, too. ;) Ha ha!)

So jealous of these Googlers!

Since this was a work trip, we didn't have time to really see any sights. (Though we DID eat our way through Chelsea over those three days.) I made it a point to go running in the morning so I could see the High Line, which has been on my NYC bucket list for a while. It was so pretty!

These folks made my morning!

Pretty, right?? And umm, my favorite blogger (C-lin, I know you'll appreciate this!!) was also at the High Line yesterday! Too bad we weren't there at the same time. ;)

And then, to cancel out my run entirely, I made a stop at the Doughnut Plant! (which has also been on my NYC list for a while.) I don't like donuts/sweets, but I'd heard so much about this place, I HAD to check it out when I realized there was a location really close to our hotel. And let me tell you, the Doughnut Plant did NOT disappoint! These are seriously delicious! My favorite was the coconut lime cream-filled donut (the one shaped like a square), followed every closely by the creme brulee donut, but honestly, I don't think you can go wrong here! And coming from someone who doesn't really enjoy sugary things, that's saying a lot!

In other news, school has started up again, and it's crazy and wonderful to not be going back to class! I'm not *quite* done yet, but at least I'm not in class. It's been kind of hard to stay motivated here at the end, but I just have to keep on keepin' on.

And speaking of school, my BABY-EST BROTHER STARTED JUNIOR HIGH LAST WEEK!!???! I don't know how to feel about this. My little Christopher, all grown up! Spencer is in 9th grade this year, annnd that's everyone in school this year. I can't believe how fast they're growing up! *sniff* (To give some perspective, I was in 9th grade when Spencer was BORN...) Crazy!

Those are the biggest things right now. Istanbul updates coming soon!

BRB

Sooo... I'm leaving the country today. (Don't worry. I'm coming back!) See you in a couple o' weeks! :)

(Or on Instagram a lot sooner. ;D )