Pretty Much Alone

I’m out here on an island.

I get to choose how it feels and looks but the weather is cold, crisp and sunny (with chances for snow flurries).  The view is what I get to decide:  concrete and asphalt, extremely old buildings, rivers or mountains.  The skies are normally filled with clouds of all sorts.

This is what I signed up for back in June 2017.  The UNKNOWN expectations of my future. Letting it ride with the wind.

There is good and there is bad.

Out of every 100 people I meet there will be 98 Mormon believers and 2 “everything else” believers from Atheist to Zoroastrianism.  This is according the Wiki page about Provo Utah.

Job Seeking has become unfun.  I’m not Mormon and while they do NOT ask about my religious affiliation I don’t know the “language” at all.  I feel like telling everyone I’ve got to get to Fireside tonight for the MTC Women’s Conference planning with my fellow Sisters. There are plenty of buzzwords there.

One person told me to BE CAREFUL in conversation if I ever wanted to get a job!  That’s nearly impossible for me.  I feel like I chat too much.

Anyway, interview after interview – rejected over and over.  Oh and these days there is NO reply letting you know.  They just cut the line and let you drift away in Wonder Wonder World.

I took myself off Facebook and Instagram again and am considering a full shut down and restart of this blog to make it more “Mormon-centric”.  We did sign a lease and I’d like to get a job.  I’m pretty sure this blog isn’t helping me at all.

I’ll just go get a donut.

 

THE GREAT MORMONS

I want to give a shout-out to a few people I’ve met that I think are Mormon.  Not 100% sure… but unless I’m seeing some tats showing and hear a cuss word I’m gonna conclude they’re part of the 98%.

My Yoga Teacher Chenae.  She is amazing.  I have two classes a week with her.  She told me we (Husband Unit and I) bring good energy to her class.  She is so relaxed and Zen’y.  Namaste.  Clearly she shines good light out because I definitely feel it.

I say this because I was told (by a Mormon teacher) that the people that grew up here in Provo have a thing about them that would explain their feeling of altitude over the rest of mankind.  Mormons outside of Provo have (on an absolute majority) been amazing, friendly, kind and fun to be around.

I have continued to go to all of my  weight lifting classes because I actually felt like the teachers made me feel welcome.

The list of activities I participate in is growing: swimming, pilates, Zumba AND Zumba Gold and cycle.  I’ve used the indoor track and love it too.  Can’t remember if I missed anything. Each of the classes have amazing leaders/teachers.

So, thanks to Erin, Amy, Drew, Heather, Wendy, Kara, Gabby, Becky and Stacey.

More positive vibes to share:

The instructors for my weight lifting classes.  One in particular is Lauren.  She’s off the charts friendly and talks like she has had a life outside of Provo. Amy cracks us up with her dry humor and stories.  Erin is a Mermaid – I firmly believe this because she is SO friendly and creative.  Heather is one of the nicest and most accommodating people I’ve ever met – she is an Iron Woman (she should be making Pilates workout video she is so passionate about it) and STRONG.  Wendy was subbing  for another teacher when I met her and she did the nearly impossible: taking a room of uptight early-risers through an hour of torture (AND WE LIKED IT), Gabby was the most patient person trying to teach me how to swim (I’m getting better), Kara was the FIRST instructor I met and she had such a positive attitude I just wanted to be in her class again, I call Drew Mr. Pain because the class was WAY WAY WAY above my abilities and he pushed me to try my best and lastly the two cycle instructors Becky (LOVE her program) and Stacey.  When class began Stacey put on the greatest music REAAAAL LOUD and shouted out, “NOT TODAY SATAN!!!!!”  He was a riot and got the whole room jazzed up.

In retrospect I feel that any sort of commitment here requires some “skin in the game” and that needs to be “being a Mormon”.  Without a doubt I’ll never be a Mormon (or join any other religion or cult-religion again).

OUR ANIMAL KIDS

Saved one spider, I’ve been feeding dozens of ducks oats every day and there are some magical looking birds (mom and dad I believe) roosting in our porch roof.

Zoey has some sort of rash-like situation happening.  We battle it with medicine but sometimes it gets her (plus she doesn’t do much all day so has plenty of time to be bothered and scratch it).  The donut has helped a lot.  Clearly she seems to be loving it…NOT.

Kona has now sprouted wizardly grey hair on his paws.  Is this the same as the curtains matching the carpet in the K9 world?  (I firmly believe I have TWO readers not including Randy… we’ll see). He is still anxious to sniff and eat anything that isn’t made out of wood, metal or plastic.  Walks along the Provo River are filled with food treasures.

Note: Randy discovered that carrots would help Zoey.  He ordered some dehydrated carrot powder or flakes (still hasn’t arrived) but in the meantime I discovered ALL of my carrots were pressure cooked in the InstantPot so he could give them to the dogs.  Rather than, say for example, serve them 1T of dehydrated carrot he served them 4 cups.  Poor Kona and his raw rear…and I guess Randy deserved the punches in the nose as those carrots moved through a chocolate lab(oratory) compressed gas release system or aka Dog Farts.  Oh gawd.

Piper has been visiting the backyard more.  I’m also growing cat grass myself (because none of the pet stores carry it here).  We have a tiny farm in our cupboard and it’s working out great.  She gets too fluffy and I cut her hair chasing her around the house with extremely sharp scissors.

We continue to feed them 3 times a day and the only difference I see is bigger poops, more poops and better begging techniques.

 

OUR HUMAN KIDS

Thought-provoking: I am rarely asked how Jordan and Claire are doing by anyone (family included now that my mom is dead).  Morgan is often the topic of “kids”.    Randy and I met on e-Harmony with two kids each.  He with Amanda and Morgan and me with Jordan and Claire.  All of our kids are different and incredible human beings.  They share a lot of commonalities but truly are so different.

Recently a friend’s friend asked me how MY kids were doing.  I never thought of a separation between all four of our kids. I’m proud of all of them.

Jordan

Schooling continues in Oregon.  Engineering.  Going well.  Carrying A average in classes.  Recently wrote a paper on The Congo which inspired a lot of great texts back and forth as he plowed through the history there.  He continues to create artistically, read and rides his bike.  He also keeps Randy and I appraised of great movie-night shows we can watch at home on Netflix or Plex.  Have you seen Black Mirror yet?

 

Claire

Working in Santa Barbara at NEXT Energy Technology and no, was not affected by the fires or flooding.  She’s coming up on her one year anniversary!  In all my 50 years I have met a lot of people that went to college for X and aren’t doing a job connected to X.  Claire is actually working in the field she studied which rocks.  Naomi Ginsberg would be proud of her (that was her professor at Berkeley).  Recently she successfully jumped out of an airplane and I’m pretty sure she’ll be doing it again.

 

Morgan

We get to see Morgan regularly!  Laundry here is WAY better than any other place (of course) and on Sunday we have all of her house mates over for a dinner.  That has been so fun and these young ladies are amazing in so many ways.  Right now she has a packed schedule:  Anatomy, Ballet, First Aid & CPR, Book of Mormon and Creative Writing.   She went to her first ballet (as a spectator) last week.  I haven’t had a chance to ask her what she thought of it.  For fun she and her house mates are trying to squeeze in things to do TOGETHER making fun memories that will last forever.  I think that’s brilliant.  She, Randy and I buzzed up to Ice Castles earlier this month and had a blast (then a hot chocolate on the way home).

I JOINED THE POSHMARK WORLD

The other day I bought a brand new cotton fluffy delicious robe on Poshmark.  I donated mine before we left and it’s rather chilly to go from the shower to our bedroom…across the living room passing the big glass window.  Randy says the neighbors are fine with it.  It’s even PURPLE!

My friend Tracey has been able to quit her job and dive full time into RESELLING online.  She has many different shops and stores.  Reselling online is a fun way to find and share what’s in your own closet as well as treasure hunt for incredible things to resell.

I’m sticking with clothing, accessories and shoes.  My “store” is called PITA THE BUTTON GIRL.  I have about 2,000 people following me and today I have 78 “Listings”.  Instead of working on my Posh Closet I’m writing this blog update.

I hit some GOLD while visiting Park City at a boutique which I am hoping will be a magical find for someone in need of a Louis Vuitton Denim Skirt. THANK YOU to The Sundance Film Festival and all of the fancy-schmancy celebrities that visit and leave their “worn once” apparel.

My gorgeous and fashion-forward Yugoslavian Princess friend Danijela has been coaching me through this world of high-end fashion.

As most of you know, I spent the last 12 years in running shoes, sports bras and workout pants…and 805 Boot Camp shirts!  We’ll see how this all goes…it’s quite a task to open and keep a shop fresh and fun online!

If you are curious about Poshmark (or my Closet) and want to shop please use my “referral code” which is @saritapita and you get $5 in credit (I will too).  Go here to see my official Closet.

In the meantime I am continuing my job seeking through LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor.

WRITING.  GETTING BETTER AT IT…I THINK

I am also taking an English Class and working on my writing skills.

So far it has been a great experience.  We get topics to write about then spend the second half of the class discussing them.

I’d never read Kurt Vonnegut until now.  Check out the short story Harrison Bergeron.  Did you know Kurt Vonnegut only published 14 novels in his lifetime?  I thought there were way more.

Right now Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is on deck.

Wanna know something completely ironic?  Neil Gaiman wrote the introduction to the 60th Anniversary Edition of the book I borrowed from the Provo Public Library (WHICH IS AWESOME BY THE WAY).  Neil has a sister named Claire.  I named MY CLAIRE after Claire Gaiman, Neil’s sister.   Claire and I were friends when I was returned to Los Angeles after escaping from the Sea Organization.  She was one of the only people that I liked (enough to name my child after her!). Her husband was one of my most favorite guys too, Timmy Edwards.  Or Tim Edwards if you are being picky.  I called him Timmy.  Reading the Forward brought back the memories of Claire and Timmy (and me and Jon, Claire’s dad) and I miss them both.  The both have strong English accents (or they did in 1987-1988).

 

 

I hope everyone is doing well.

Namaste.

 

POLLS – I LOVE THEM (you can even see the results too)