My Favorite Groundhog Day Story

On Groundhog Day in 2007, I was working at Sugar N' Spice in the BYU Cougareat. I had been in such a rush to get to work that I completely forgot to check the news to see if Phil had seen his shadow. But I figured, customers have to be good for something, right? So as I scooped their ice cream, I asked each customer if they had heard whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow. Purely selfish, not trying to make polite conversation or anything. (I'm trying to be sarcastic, is it working?)

Most folks had forgotten it was Groundhog Day. Eh, no biggie, I told them. Just curious. But inside I was seething. How could people forget about Groundhog Day! That obscure little rodent up in PA was going to determine the course of their lives for the next six weeks, and they didn't even care? C'mon, people! But then the unthinkable happened....

As I scooped her Raspberry and Cream Cheese scoop of ice cream, I asked the next girl in line if she knew whether or not the groundhog had seen his shadow. She looked at me blankly. It can be hard to hear in the Cougareat, so I asked a little more loudly. Still no answer, but now she was starting to look confused. I asked her if she had seen the movie with Bill Murray. No. So I decided to be a little more clear (Groundhog Day can be a bit difficult to understand). I said "Oh, you know, once a year up in Punxsutawney, PA, the groundhog named Phil comes out of his burrow and and if he sees his shadow, we'll have six more weeks of winter. They have a big ceremony and everything!" She stares at me, then says "I'm sorry, I don't follow that sort of thing."

What!? I gave her the benefit of the doubt, and let her have a few more seconds of small talk so she could prove she was a foreign exchange student. Unfortunately, she was not.

I had to have one of my co-workers ring her up because my eyes were tearing up from trying not to laugh. I didn't have the heart to ask anyone else the rest of my shift.

Think about it, though -- if you had NEVER heard of Punxsutawney Phil, and this girl starts asking you all these random questions about groundhogs and Bill Murray. What WOULD you say?

I GOT THE CALL!!!

Actually, it was an e-mail, telling me that....

I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE FOREIGN SERVICE!

I'll start training on March 2nd here in Arlington. That's when I'll get the list of possible embassies or consulates where I could be posted. After that....who knows!?!?!

Just as a little background -- I first took the written FS exam in April 2006. I passed, but failed the oral exam the following January. Then I took the written again in September 2007, passed, and passed the orals in January 2008. I've been waiting for a call since then. I thought I might be getting close the past couple of days, and I think I've gone cross-eyed from staring at my gmail inbox for so long.

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I've got a new boss...

And you can't see her in this picture, but you can see me! Look right below the black camera being held in the air horizontally. No, not the old man! Yes, can you see the top of my head? Right in front of me is one of my co-workers, who got to shake Secretary Clinton's hand. Several of us decided to go join the masses today, welcoming her to her new job. It may look like we're all trying to attack her, but we're actually just waving.

Inauguration!!!

Wow, what a weekend. Sunday -- went to the "We Are One" concert. I sang "American Pie" with Garth Brooks!!!!!!!!! And "This Land is Your Land" with Peter Seeger! And I saw Tom Hanks (he was the size of an ant -- the only reason I could see him is because his dark black suit stood out against the Lincoln Memorial. But I saw him, I swear!). The concert was fantastic -- all 500,000+ of us bonded by freezing for a few hours, then singing and dancing together on the mall.
My co-worker Jason found a fantastic spot right behind the World War Two Memorial (and right between two Jumbotrons -- that was key).


Then today....

Took the insanely packed metro to Arlington Cemetery, walked across Memorial Bridge...(so cool to see everyone walking)...


Then found a lovely spot right in front of the Washington Monument. Not too far away (can you see the Capitol? It's right behind those speakers.)


I spent the day with Cara and Ashley (see below) and Mary and Levent. And a million + other people. And of course President Obama. I'm pretty sure he waved at me. Through the Jumbotron.


At any rate, we walked the four miles home, and tried to thaw out. Still working on it. All in all, a super-cool day. Being on the mall with a million different people from so many backgrounds, old and young, from the East Coast and the West Coast and the Midwest and New England, and ALL FREEZING! But definitely all excited to be there and to be a part of history.

I'm Sarcastically Challenged

Sarcasm? It's cool. Way more clever than saying "Dude" or "Duh" or something. But apparently (at least for the past year or so) my sarcasm sensor has been malfunctioning.

(Oh no, I'm starting to rhyme again. Apparently that part of my brain is still working correctly.)

I have no problem being sarcastic. I've got the eye roll and the vocal inflections down pat. But I can't seem to pick up on it. Or if I do pick up on it, I have no idea how to respond. Case in point:

My roomie Kara and I went to Costco last night to return a broken vacuum. The lines were horrifically long, so we each jumped in a different line. A guy standing in the line behind me says "Oooh, y'all are doin' a violation." I look around to see if he's going to tell on me. He chuckles. "Oooh, you're going to get in trouble, you can't do that." I was pretty determined to keep my spot in line, so I just stand there and shrug and say something like "Oh, this is against the rules?" But when he folds his arms and shakes his head again, I figure I'd better get out while I still can. I pick up the vacuum. His eyes get big. "Oh no, I was just being sarcastic, I was just teasing!" So at this point I know he's being sarcastic, but I have no idea how to respond. I laugh, and then start moving over toward Kara's line. "It looks like hers is going faster, I'm just going to head over there." He feels so bad, he starts waving me back. "No, no, don't worry about it! You can stay here!" I keep moving. And smiling politely, holding my vacuum. His last-ditch effort was -- "Well, if you decide to come back, I'll save this spot for you!" Aw, what a nice guy. Too bad I couldn't process anything he was saying to me.

For a fun read, check out this NYTimes article about how the brain detects sarcasm.

I think daily doses of Stewart and Colbert may be my only hope now. Phew, this could be tough. :)

Quote of the (yester)Day

While I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting room yesterday, an elderly gentleman approached the receptionist's desk...

Elderly Gentleman: "Hello."
Receptionist: "Can I help you?"
Elderly Gentleman: "People have been tryin' to do that for years."

Not my finest Sunday...

So I know that "keeping the Sabbath day holy" is a bizarre or outdated concept to most of the world, but it's something I've realized I really need to put more effort into and take more seriously.

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning and realized that the Sunday I had planned was not at all what it should have been. I hadn't prepared to fast (I shouldn't have even been fasting today, but I forgot to do it last week), I'd be getting paid to work, I would miss most of church, I would spend money on the metro because I procrastinated putting more money on my card, I would be eating out, I'd be going to some beautiful gardens with a friend (not a big deal, except for the entrance fee....), and probably eating out again.

I'm not perfect, I've done all these things on Sunday before, but I think having them all happen on the same day really hit home to me. Most of the time when I break the Sabbath, I look at it as unavoidable -- and sometimes maybe it is. But often if I would just take the time to plan ahead, I could do a lot better. I keep thinking of the Israelites and their manna (Exodus 16). God commanded them to gather and cook twice as much manna the day before the Sabbath so that they could keep the Sabbath day holy. As I was thinking this morning, I wrestled a lot with whether I was rationalizing away my principles and beliefs or if these were just minor, unavoidable technicalities. Looking back on God's commandments then and now, I realize keeping the Sabbath day holy isn't a bunch of technicalities; it's one of the ten commandments, a pretty big deal. And sure, no one's going to sit there and tell me exactly what I can and can't do on Sunday, there will be gray areas and nuances. But in the future I am going to try my hardest to think ahead a little more when planning out my Sundays.

It's not really about spending the money, it's more about keeping God and Christ in mind, taking the time to go to church to worship, and giving others the chance to do the same (if you're spending money, you're causing someone else to work on the Sabbath etc).

I won't tell you how my day turned out -- let's just say some things I was able to adjust and some things I messed up on. And why do I have a (work-in-progress) commitment to observing the Sabbath? Because it reflects my commitment to God, and when I put God first in my life, other things fall into place (it's not always pretty and not always perfect, but I know he's there for me). I've got so much going on right now and so many big decisions to make, I can't afford not to put God first.

(For good reference...)