I Can't Believe I'm Eating This

Oh what a beautiful morning!

2011-03-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was walking out to my garage one morning last week and this is what the woods behind our condo looked like. It was so serene and beautiful I had to take a picture.

Today, it's raining. It's been raining all week and they said that we have a new storm blowing in today. Hopefully it will blow by quickly and we will be back to sunshine.

Stanley

2011-03-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is my beloved thermos. My parents got it for me as a gift. It holds three cups of warm steamy liquid that I can sip on as I freeze at work. If you are in the market for a thermos, Stanley is the only brand to buy and they have it at Target!

În mâna Domnului

2011-03-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

I slid off the road on Monday morning on my way to the job site. I was moving into the next lane to pass a truck on my way up the pass when I hit a patch of ice. It had been slushing (fat rain, rain/snow mix). I have been driving a Ford Explorer while I am out of town because it has 4-wheel drive. Unfortunately the only thing that rolls more easily than a Ford Explorer is a 12 passenger van. I remembered that as I was carreening out of control down the interstate and the only thing that I could think most of the time was "too fast, i'm sliding too fast." I thought for sure that it would roll once I hit the gravel, but thankfully it didn't and I am alive to tell the tale.

That's where I left the road.

This is a 180 degree turn from the last picture. It looks like I was going backwards when I came off the road and then finished turning. I stopped against a barbed wire fence.

The damage. Pretty much the only casualty was the tail light, and some gouges in the paint from the barbed wire. I thought when I initially stopped that something was wrong with the front end, but the snow plow driver helped me drive it out and it seems to be running just fine.

As I was spinning I actually remembered to turn my wheels into the spin. I would like to credit Austin for talking about turning into the slide and the physics involved over and over again. It could have been the thing that stopped me from rolling.

After all was said and done and I was sitting at the job site I decided to give my mom a call and let her know what happened. I said that it had to have been the hand of God that saved me from a roll over. Then she told me what had happened the day before. She and my Dad had accidentally fasted on Sunday thinking that it was fast Sunday. When they had realised their mistake they shrugged it off and my uncle who was visiting my parents and had fasted with them commented that they must have needed to fast. I'm glad that they did. I am thankful for the extra protection from my parents faith.

Cachuck

2011-02-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

I've been driving by this El Camino every day this week. Every time I see an El Camino I think of my friend Sara S. I don't know why but she is obsessed with them. She pointed out every single one that we saw in Hawai'i and for some reason Hawai'i has a disproportionate number of El Camino's. Sara calls them Cachucks because they are cars and trucks.

Last night there was an El Camino in my dream. I'm pretty sure that it was this one. I don't know what that means. Is it significant if you dream about an El Camino?

Obstacle Course

2011-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

We had some problems again today. The water unexpectedly rose and flooded our prep area. The flooding made it more difficult for me to get from my truck to the barge. The situation was exacerbated because I had so many layers of clothing on that I was almost wider than I am tall.

I had to come down a little hill on the right, then walk across the boards in the upper right, climb up onto the trailer, walk across the trailer, pull the boat over, walk through the boat, climb over the anchor line across the boat, pull the boat over to the barge and then climb up onto the barge.

It made me feel like I was doing an obstacle course in a sumo suit.

This is why I was wearing so many layers. The wind was so cold it froze the water the second it stopped moving. Burrr.

Is It The Weekend Yet?

2011-02-24T22:13:00.000-08:00

Oh wait, we are working the weekend.

This is how my week has gone.

Monday-5 feet of drilling in 10 hours of work. For reference I expect that we should get around 50 feet done in a good day.

Tuesday- 5 feet in 10 hours again

Wednesday-

This happened. That rod on the right used to look like the one on the left, but the bit sheared off during drilling and wore the threads off of the rod. We couldn't retrieve the bit and we can't drill through the bit, so that meant that we had to scratch that location and move 5 feet away and start over.

Today- I woke up to several inches of snow on the ground. The drive into work was harrowing over the pass, but the brutal part was the wind. The drillers spent 5 hours getting the rig up and running.

Luckily my waitress didn't sit me at this table for dinner tonight.

Now that would have been pathetic.

Jeggings

2011-02-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

Jeggings is my favorite word of 2010. Just thinking of it makes me giggle.

Washyourhandsingtonian

2011-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

My mother studied health sciences in college and she is paranoid when it comes to germs in public places. She indoctrinated me well at a young age. To this day I am still terrified of public bathrooms.

The State of Washington Public Health has an ad campaign right now that is to promote basic health practices. It is a song called Washyourhandsington. Every time I hear it on the radio I giggle. So I thought that I would share it with you. The link is below. Enjoy and don't forget to wash your hands.

Washyourhandsington

Chambers Bay

2011-02-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

The drillers decided to take the weekend off and it was a welcome relief for me. I was so excited to sleep in my own bed last night.

Today while I was running errands I made a stop by Chambers Bay park on my way home. The park is located on the Puget Sound between a world class golf course and a wastewater treatment plant. Originally the land was one of the largest gravel pits in the United States. It is an awesome park with a big walking trail, a dog run, a large grassy area and a bridge over the railroad tracks down to the water.

I did the construction observation for the shafts that the bridge is built on. It was a tricky job with lots of challenges, including night work due to tides, multiple crossings of the railroad tracks every hour and strange soil conditions due to the quarry leftovers.

The day was sunny and clear so I had a fantastic view of the Olympic Mountains. My most favorite mountain range in the world.

The day was windy so there were lots of sailboats out on the water. It made me long to have a sailboat of my own.

Here is a view of the pedestrian bridge from above.

We had a ward activity this afternoon. We had fun eating brisket, shooting guns and sitting around the campfire. With those yahoos on the right it's lucky that no one got shot.

Atlanta

2011-02-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

I recently traveled to Atlanta to visit my cousin Laura. We had so much fun while I was there.

Amazingly enough to start off my trip I ran into my cousin Warren at the Denver Airport.

Here he is with his darling family. I hadn't seen him for years and had never met his kids.

On my first night in Atlanta we ate at the Varsity and then grabbed a dessert on the top floor of the Westin Hotel which had a rotating floor so that you could see the full panorama of the city while you are eating. For my poor carsick prone body it was a little bit of a challenge, but it was a blast!

Our next stop was Coke World and then the CNN center.

This is Laura and I. The best part of Coke World is the tasting room where you can try Coke products that they sell all over the world. Including the disgusting tasting Beverly. Laura says that it tastes like B.O. and I have to agree. They also had a flavor that I loved drinking in Romania, Fructe de Padure.

This is Stone Mountain. It is a monument to the Confederate army. I just don't get the devotion to the Confederates. The history was interesting about how the Union army took Atlanta. I was also fascinated by the geology of the batholith.

I was in Atlanta for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. On Monday we went into the city to see the parade. Before the parade started we stopped off at Underground Atlanta.

Underground Atlanta is a little touristy shopping place.

The parade was really late in starting and it was cold and rainy. Finally we gave up and went to a little market and had a piece of sweet potato cheesecake pie.

Bill Clinton said that this was the best piece of sweet potato cheesecake pie. It was the best one I had ever had as well. Although, I'm not really sure where you would ever find a piece of sweet potato cheesecake pie other than here.

After our pie we found a spot underneath an overpass where we could watch the parade. We shared some turkey drumsticks for lunch. I wish that I had a picture of the parade. Different sororities and fraternities marched in the parade and each had their own stomp group. I loved watching them perform. It was probably one of my favorite parts of my trip to Atlanta.

Last of all we walked down to the house that MLK grew up in.

Here is the church where he and his father preached at. It was on the way.

Here's our whole group in front of the house. Nearby was also a National Monument dedicated to MLK Jr. It was a really good exhibit. We saw the video on the contributions of children in the civil rights movement. It was fascinating. They had some really ingenious ideas, for example they had the children march so that if/when they got arrested the parents could still continue to work and keep their jobs.

Thanks Laura for a great trip!

Gone with the Wind

2011-02-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

I just watched Gone with the Wind for the first time. I finished it today. Going to Atlanta made it clear to me that I had to see this movie. I have to say that I was surprisingly pleased. It was a fantastic movie. I didn't even want to stop watching in order to go to dinner.

Even though I enjoyed the movie. I have to say that I cannot relate to Scarlett. I have never been that flirty or fickle in my life. She is so amazingly manipulative that you actually feel bad for her, but her nastiness is what makes the movie so irresistible.

This movie definitely gets a thumbs up.

Rubbernecking

2011-02-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

I'm watching the Grammy's tonight. I watch it for two reasons. First and foremost so that I can see Lady Gaga in all of her strangeness. Watching her is like rubbernecking on the freeway. You know that something terrible has just happened and you can't look away.

I also like to see if the singers really can sing or if they have been working with Timbaland.

On a different note. I pass this on the way to my hotel.

If you can't read the side it says Trans-Zilla.

A Day Off

2011-02-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

69.25

Ugh.

I just finished filling out my timecard for last week. That's how many hours I worked. Our timecard goes from Saturday to Friday. I start over again today, but thankfully I had the day off.

For my day off I did whatever I wanted. I was up early. I started the day off with some waffles. Every time I say waffles I think of the donkey on Shrek.

Do you remember these from the cafeteria at college? They have the same waffle makers at the hotel.

Then I went swimming. I love the slate tiles on the walls.

Next I went for a run. Watched dirty jobs. Ewww. Thanks Greg. Got dressed and wandered around Ellensburg. I saw a movie after lunch.

A drive down the Yakima River Canyon was one of the days highlights. These rocks had bright green lichen on them which was exciting to see in the all brown landscape.

I also spent some quality time laying around in my room. I love this hotel.

It was a good day.

La Plaza

2011-02-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

This is La Plaza. The home of the best mexican food that you will ever eat. I have tried almost everything on their menu including the seafood coctail and there hasn't been a single thing that I haven't loved.

My youngest brother Greg was introduced to La Plaza by his best friend's family. Then Greg introduced La Plaza to us. It is the place that we never miss when we go home to visit.

When I returned from my mission I had a few months where I lived at home while I was looking for a job. I spent a majority of my time looking for jobs and making food for my little brother.

Every day after Greg would get home from school he would come find me in the house and the exchange would go like this.

Hey Kenz
Hey Greg
Are you hungry?
I haven't had lunch yet. (I would wait to have lunch because I knew that this was coming.)
Want to go to La Plaza?
Sure.

Then Greg would drive us in the Buick over to La Plaza.

We would order food and Greg would turn to me and ask me if I had any money.

We went almost every day. He asked me for money, every time.

If you've ever wondered what it is like to have a little brother, that is it in a nutshell.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

2011-02-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

We started at 7 this morning. I love the morning. The earlier I get up the better the day goes. It was sunny and still on the river today. I smiled all day.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

2011-02-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of windmills in a large windfarm that is along the hills over the Columbia River basin. When I first started working of and on again in eastern Washington about a year ago there were only a couple of windmills, now there are hundreds. They were turning today, just as I am sure that they turn almost every day. This area is windy.

My friend Sara has worked on a research project studying windmill related bird deaths. Unfortunately, many many birds are killed every year by windmills. Hopefully someday their research will go towards better designs that will decrease the impact of windmills on the bird population.

Like a Dream

2011-02-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday night while I was waiting for my dinner at a restaurant. I started

flipping through the pictures in my phone and I found a picture from Kaua'i.

It seems hard to believe that I was hiking along the Kauai Na Pali coast in August.

Glacier National Park in June.

The Grand Canyon a little over a year ago at Christmas time.

Sometimes the day to day seems so eternal that I forget the fun things that happen in between.

Maybe I should flip through my pictures more often.

A Sedan

2011-02-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

This was my rental car while here in Alaska, a Nissan Altima. Please note that it does not have 4-wheel drive or good ground clearance which rendered it completely useless for my job, but other than that it was a great car. Usually I rent a car and think, sheesh I can't wait to get back to my Mini, but this time I kept thinking "Wow, this is a good car. I really enjoy driving it.". (no, I don't know how to use quotes)

Windshield wipers up=it's cold here.

MaeLynn

2011-02-06T00:31:00.000-08:00

This post is for my cousin MaeLynn who passed away earlier this week. I just wanted to express my love for MaeLynn. I tried to find a picture of us as kids at my grandparents house, but I guess I will just have to wait until I am home to find one. I will always remember MaeLynn as lanky and happy. I will remember her laughing.

One quick story. MaeLynn was allergic to freshly cut grass and would always sneeze if she was around it. MaeLynn never sneezed just once, she always sneezed multiple times. We had so much fun counting them. Whenever I sneeze more than once in a row, I always think of MaeLynn and smile.

We miss you MaeLynn and can't wait to see you again someday.

Step Into My Office

2011-02-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

This is our drilling spot at the northern end of the Juneau airport runway. I use the tripod between the truck and drill rig to break open the samples and then the tailgate of the truck for recording my notes on the log. Behind us is the Mendenhall Glacier that is nestled below the snow covered mountain in the middle.

This is how close we were to the runway...

XTRATUF

2011-02-03T23:52:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my waitress last night and I joked that in Juneau wearing a pair of Xtratuf's around was considered normal behavior. She laughed and said that she wears hers everywhere, in fact she would even wear them to a party with a dress if she wanted to.
These are my Xtratuf's. They are durable, waterproof and the coldest shoes I've ever worn. My feet were so cold today that on average I could feel less than 50 percent of my toes.

Welcome to Juneau

2011-02-02T20:12:00.001-08:00

I arrived today in Juneau for work. There was a full rainbow when I came out of the airport. I was really taking pictures of the flags to show how hard the wind was blowing.

I've slid sideways in a car before, but I've never flown sideways in a plane until today.

Juneau is beautiful, it combines all of the best parts of the northwest. Emerald water, pine tree forrests and craggy snow covered peaks. I can't wait to see it on a sunny day.

Grilled Cheese

2010-09-15T10:08:00.001-07:00

Last night I was making myself a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, since I vowed to quit eating out after apartment shopping all day (not living in the ghetto is pricey). There was leftover cheese from the wedding and I happened to still have some bread in the house so a grilled cheese sandwich seemed good until I grabbed the butter which had mold in it. A smart person, who has time to go to the grocery store, would have thrown the moldy butter away but not me. I simply tried to select butter that didn't have mold on it.

As I was grilling the sandwich I thought "I can't believe I am eating this".

The Big Apple

2009-05-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

While I was in New Jersey working I had the oppurtunity to go into New York City on the weekends and tour around and visit my cousin Rachel. We had such a blast and plan to travel together someday in the future. Here's the pictures in no particular order. Please note that I am literally freezing to death in most of these pictures.

On the shore looking over the water to the Statue of Liberty

A monument to civil engineering, the Broklyn Bridge

Grand Central Station

Rockefeller Center at night.

After we went to see Wicked.

Times Square.

Radio City Music Hall.

Under the Romanian flag at Rockefeller Center.

Rachel at Rockefeller Center.

Where they film Good Morning America.

Thinking of Nicholas Cage and Cher in Moonstruck.

Romanian food! Sarmale, Mititei, Mamaliga, Ciorba, Zacusca, salata de vinete...

Jones Beach

Being admitted at Ellis Island.

An engineers picture of the inside of the Statue of Liberty.

The orginal flame on the Statue of Liberty.

Rachel on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

Looking back at NYC on the ferry.

The Garden State

2009-01-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

I came to New Jersey last week for work and expected it to be part of the same country that I grew up in, but quickly found out that I was on a different planet. Some reasons why I wasn't in Seattle anymore Toto:

1. Everyone speaks loudly and in a nasally voice. I was totally amazed by my ability to eat my words and not say to the lady at the rental car counter, "You're joking right? You don't actually talk like that".

2. No one wears Goretex. I feel like a total freak everywhere I go, because I am the only one wearing a Goretex jacket. I knew that I should have bought a jacket with a fur lined hood in Romania.

3. I am the only blond, literally. Before I went to Romania I didn't really believe that you could have pale skin and dark hair, but apparently it is all the rage on the east coast.

4. They have townships. It has taken me a week to figure out that a township is the unincorporated area for a town. There is a sign for a new township every ten feet.

5. There was a fur coat commercial on the radio. I wanted to call those people and let them know that PETA is going to eat them alive. Although that wasn't as shocking as the lady that I saw wearing a full length fur coat in New York.

I am sure that there have been other things that have surprised me, but those were my first impressions of New Jersey, the final frontier.

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm

2009-01-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

I have been working in New Jersey and part of my job is to ship the rock cores that we pull out of the ground freight to our office in Springfield Missouri. Needless to say the local UPS Store loves us (my coworker Rob and I, Rob is working a different hole). My first shipment was for a lot of rock and cost 500 dollars.

So, I went in today to ship just one box of rocks and the lady who works the counter told me that Jack, the guy who is in charge of placating angry land owners was in there that day too. They had told him that one of us had been in earlier, and he had asked "Who, Pebbles or Bamm-Bamm?". The lady chuckled and said that they have now dubbed us Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm.

Triathlon

2008-08-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

Austin and our friend Kate organized a Triathlon at our friend 's house on the lake. The triathlon was a blast and wonderfully low key since none of us had time to train. We did a half of a sprint. It was a quarter mile swim, six mile bike ride and one and a half mile run. We made it official by giving ourselves numbers on our arms and the backs of our legs. I took fifth place out of ten and had a great time.
Me swimming

Starting the bike ride

Dogs

2008-08-17T10:28:00.001-07:00

My family never owned a dog when I was a kid so it has been an adjustment living with dogs.
My Grandma's dog is pictured first and his name is Diego but we call him 'D' and my Grandma also calls him 'tidbit'. Diego doesn't like very many people and he has finally warmed up to me and now waits for me to pet him when I come home from work. Diego is quirky and won't let me take him for a walk. He just sits on the front porch and stares at me. Diego likes to bark at my dates and chase them all the way down the street when they are driving away. Apparently he needs to let them know that he is the man of the house and that it is not ok for them to leave with me.

Next is my Aunt's dog Zach. Austin and I have watched him quite a few times while my Aunt has been on vacation so he feels undying devotion to the two of us. My dad can never remember his name so he always calls him Luke, but that is a step up because usually my dad calls all dogs 'Dog'. Zach can be very persistent in wanting you to pet him, but he is very cute when you do. Zach also likes to go running with me, he makes sure to let me know that he is faster than I am.

Last of all is this darling shitsu named 'Sasha'. Austin found Sasha under the A/C unit at the local elementary school while he was walking Zach. Austin went back to the house and got a bone so that he could entice Sasha to come out from where she was wedged under the A/C unit. After Austin gave her food Sasha was permanently attached. We both ended up loving her. Every time we would go outside to pet her she would do figure 8's around our legs and then when I would sit down to read she would sit dutifully by my feet. I never thought that I would like a little dog like Sasha, but we were sad to give her back to her owner.

Blue Angels in a Blue Sky

2008-08-17T10:19:00.001-07:00

There are few things that make me feel more patriotic than seeing the Blue Angels fly. So I had fun when we went to Mercer Island and watched them fly during SeaFair for our ward activity. We got to walk on to the I-90 bridge and watch them from there. They flew directly over our heads a couple of times and the sound was ear splitting. The show was great, they would fly so high that they would disappear into the sun and then come roaring in over the back's of our heads. Next year I hope to see the pirates that come ashore during SeaFair.

A Kimono

2008-08-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

I recently went to the Bon Odori celebration at the local Budhist Temple. As we were watching the little girls dance in their kimono's I thought of a kimono that my Aunt Allyson purchased for me in Japan many years ago. While I was on her computer tonight, I found a picture of it.

The Danger Ranger

2008-08-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is my work truck affectionately known as the Danger Ranger. Being assigned to this truck is a rite of passage in my office. I wanted to list some of it's finer points:
1. No Radio; being stuck in traffic is absolute torture.
2. Shakes above 55 mph; giving me nightmares of being stranded on the highway.
3. No 4-wheel drive; this might not seem essential until you see the steep muddy roads that I have to navigate on a job site.
4. Broken Tailgate; it fell open once while I was driving down the road.
5. No A/C; I love pealing myself off of the vinyl seats at every stop and I have perfected the art of leaning across the passenger seat to roll down the window while driving on the freeway.

Run Away

2008-07-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ever since I finished high school and organized sports have become a thing of the past I have taken up running. The things that I like the most about running are being outside and the way you feel when you finish. Running also helps me sort out my thoughts and feelings for the day, helping me decompress and relax.
My favorite run in California is the canal trail along the hills behind our house, on this trail you can see the whole valley and it is always best early in the morning when there is still dew on the hills and the sun is not in your eyes. My favorite run in Utah is the trail that follows the Provo River into the canyon, the water bubbles peacefully along as you run the gently rolling trail. My favorite trail here in Washington is the Cedar to Green River Trail, it is an old rail line so it disappears into over grown trees and ducks under little brick bridges.