I didn't want those pictures anyway

Today was a bust! I had a plan, and I failed. My phone broke yesterday, so I spent the first half of the day talking to Sprint over the phone. They were very friendly, but proved worthless. I took the train down to 42 to find the nearest Sprint Store. They were also friendly, but very slow. Let me back up a little. I’ve been to a sprint store before, and they always seem to delete all my information. Luckily with the technology we have these days we are able to ‘back up’ our phones to our computers, as to not lose any data. I found the cord and program and with a little work, was able to back it up. I was very impressed with myself, but found a problem with the software. My pictures weren’t on the computer. I found a solution. I would put all my pictures on my SD card and voila, problem solved. I decided to put all the pictures into folders, and then I could easily put the folders into one big mega folder. It took me a while because I had to copy and paste each picture. I was down to seven pictures left, and decided these last ones weren’t worth it, so I would just delete them. In my haste to finish the job I deleted the mega folder. I had to go into the bathroom and splash my face with cool water. I thought they only did that in the movies, but it really works. I came out, always with a plan, and I called Sprint. My phone has Windows Mobile, and I deduced that it would have a ‘Recycle Bin’ program because Windows for a PC has it. They told me there was no way to recover my files. The lady was very nice and I’m sure she could tell I had been crying. Every time she put me on hold I would lose it. She was very apologetic, but told me there was nothing she could do. I hung up and covered my face with a blanket to muffle my sobs. I seemed to be destined to lose my pictures.
Girls camp, first real camera, Jamie Beasley threw sand on it to make me mad. It worked.
Vacations, disposable cameras, let’s be honest- no one ever gets those developed before they lose them.
Chicago, camera phone, got stolen at a laundro-mat full of Hispanics, and then again at Gameworks.
Hawaii, camera phone, Sprint wiped it before I could copy them.
History shows that I was never meant to have memories that last.

THE Colors

Like usual I spent a couple hours last night on the phone with Matt. We talked about our birthdays since his is tomorrow and mine is the week after. He started making me a boondoggle and asked me what colors I wanted. Being sneaky I said, “Green and Orange and if you have it, Brown.” He started laughing and said, “Those are ugly colors. What do you really want?” I didn’t know if I should cry or laugh or be offended or sad, but I didn’t want him to ask why, so I just kept half-gasping half-laughing, and yes a third half, half-guffawing. He was so confused and I let him be. Little did he know, those were the colors I was hoping for, for a certain event I’ve been hoping would happen in August. When he comes out (in 4 days!!) I was going to run them passed him, but saw the opportunity here and took it. BIG MISTAKE as The Spleen would say. He didn’t have brown so I told him to use white. After asking several times if I was serious, followed by ‘are you okay?’ he started the green, orange and white boondoggle only to find that he enjoyed the colors together. I don’t know if he figured it out and just said that to make me feel good, or if he really did think they looked okay, but he said, “Oh, I guess they aren’t too bad.” I took that for a positive reinforcement.

The Last Day (YC 9)

The third and last day I was sick. A lot of girls got sick, and I guess it was my turn. Yuhi was my mother because she took care of me. She’s awesome! We just packed up our stuff that morning and went back to the Grove for testimony meeting. I felt a lot better after. It was awesome to see these kids from the city, some who have never seen a barn, come out and appreciate the experience and feel the spirit touching their lives. How blessed I was to get to go and see those sites, to feel the spirit and gain a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon and for the prophet Joseph Smith.

Food (YC 8)

I wasn’t in charge of any girls, so I felt pretty useless. I felt like I had to earn my keep by working in the kitchen. The first night I made spaghetti sauce, meat balls, noodles and bread for 100 plus kids. The next morning I made oatmeal and cream of wheat, and chopped pecans to go on top. I also helped clean a lot to feel worthwhile. I was sick Saturday morning and I felt really bad that I didn’t help make the breakfast. Dana had to make the pancakes by herself.

The Dance (YC 7)

Friday night there was a dance. I was tired from the long day and could feel some heat exhaustion coming on. Dana was excited to dance, so I tried to be. This, and in the kitchen, is where I got to know the leaders. I stuck close to Dana and Yuhi, but Yuhi had Shane. Jalene was crazy. She was all over the place. She danced like she was on Broadway, it was awesome. The kids taught us a way cool dance, kinda like a line dance. It’s done to the song Soulja Boy- How to crank that. It’s pretty cool, and way fun.

Advice Followed (YC 6)

I followed the advice of the stake president and as I was leaving the Hill Cumorah I saw the boy from the van, the one whose name I can’t remember, and he was walking by himself. I asked what he thought of the hill and he just shrugged his shoulders. I tried to get him pumped by saying “Moroni was here! When he was alive, and as an angle to show Joseph Smith where he put the plates, isn’t that cool?!” He said, “What plates?” I took a deep breath and realized he might not know who those people where. “He said, why didn’t he show us where they were?” I laughed and said, “Didn’t you see him up there?” he shook his head, no. I said, “I did. He was that gold guy on top of that white pillar.” I don’t know if he knew that I was talking about the monument, but he said, “Maybe next time.”

Hill Cumorah (YC 5)

Before we hiked up the hill, we saw the Joseph Smith movie. I’m not sure what it’s called, but they show it in visitor centers. I had seen it before in Hawaii. This movie is powerful and gives many opportunities to feel the spirit.
The hike up the Hill Cumorah was very steep. My legs were burning by the top. It was a beautiful view and there was a monument at the top. It was neat to think about who had been here in the past thousands of years and the significance of this site, in Book of Mormon times and in modern times.
The kids were rolling down this steep hill, and I had a feeling as one of the adults that I should stop this before someone got hurt, but I’ve always been on the stricter side. I took a couple of deep breathes and resolved to follow the other leaders’ examples. One girl was rolling and started to curve toward the trees. Everyone was yelling ‘STOP!’ but I think she must have been going too fast. From above we could see she was going to hit her head on a huge rock. We held our breath as Philippe (from the van, well actually from Mexico, but I knew him from the van) ran and dove in front of her to stop her. She stopped inches away from the rocks and trees. I tried to embarrass him by calling him a Hero. He blushed and said he wasn’t, but I made a big deal about it. I know he secretly liked being called a hero, who wouldn’t?