Reason to Love Washington #14

Out-of-Date Police Car Scanners!

I was driving home from a friend's house on a Sunday night around 11:45. Listening to music, I got distracted, and sang along (which takes talent when the music is orchestral, but that's why horn players are cool). I turned (nearly home now), and noticed a car following me. Which was strange because the main street was nearly deserted to begin with, and what would the odds be of the one other car on the road also turning down the same street? Weird. I turned onto my street. The car still followed. Double weird. The car suddenly had flashy lights on it's roof. Red and blue ones, brightly illuminating the otherwise dark street.

Crumbucket.

I pulled over (conveniently, I was already in front of my house). Cop came out. Apparently I had been going 36 in a 25 zone.

Double crumbucket.

"Have you ever had a ticket before?"
"No, sir, and I'm feeling pretty stupid right about now."

Especially since I wasn't even in a hurry. It would be one thing to have a dramatic story to tell the officer, explaining why I was in such a hurry ("I'm in labor!" "My sister called, there's a family emergency!" "I left the oven on!" "I have to pee!"). Any of these would have been better than mine: "Well, I was listening to some music, and there was this great horn line, and so I was singing along to it, and kinda got lost in the moment... and it's not like there are other cars on this road at 11:45 at night or anything, and even when there are, no one keeps to 25 anyway!".

So I chose to not say anything.

Apparently, this is a 120$ fine (speeding, not silence, which is ok now because of the 5th amendment). Have I mentioned I don't have a job? He asked for my license. I passed it over, and explained why it looks weird (it's Canadian!). He looked at my plates. They're from Idaho. Cop was confused as to why I have a Manitoba license, driving a car registered to my name from Idaho, and speeding in Washington. I don't blame him. It took a little while to explain it all. He took my papers back to his car. I assumed a somewhat fetal position, banging my head rhythmically against the steering wheel while muttering: "stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...".

Cop came back.

I looked up.

He handed me my papers.

Explained that the scanners in his car wouldn't recognize the Manitoba license format, so he couldn't register the ticket.

He eyed me warily, as if to peer into the depths of my soul.
"Watch your speed."

"Yes, sir."

And he was gone.


So, I feel badly for speeding, but I'm very glad that I didn't get a ticket. But I also think it's weird (in an advantageous-to-me kind of way) that their scanners don't recognize Manitoba licenses. I mean, I know that not very many people from Manitoba probably make their way to Washington, and even fewer are dumb enough to speed, and fewer still dumb enough to get caught, but you would think they would have the equipment to deal with that.

Not that I'm complaining. :)

Reason to Love Washington #15

Mount Rainier!

On overcast days, you can't see anything.

But on non-overcast days, you can see it peek through Washington's ubiquitous evergreens (they didn't name it the Evergreen State out of sarcasm, that's for sure). It's cool, because sometimes I forget it's there, and then I'll take a turn while driving, come around the corner, and have a beautiful vista open up in front of me. Ta-da! It's a mountain! And it's awesome. And I'm sure people can tell I'm not from around here because sometimes I just have to pull over so I can gaze at it and take a picture. Or look around to see whether there is a better vantage point nearby. I've found some pretty good ones.... The mountain always catches my attention.

Mount Rainier. Sunrise. View from my window. Sweet.

Reason to Love Washington #16

Blackberries!!

We went to pick berries for FHE so we could make freezer jam. And you know what's cool? The berries were free!!

FREEEEE!!!!

I can't even tell you about the excitement I felt at the prospect of free* berries. And then we made loads of jam which is very tasty on toast. I ended up with nearly 2 litres of jam. Which should last me for at least a few weeks.

And it was all free**!!!



Artsy-fartsy shot of blackberries accumulating frost as they thaw after being taken out of the freezer.

*free minus cost of bandaids and neosporin to treat thorn scrapes, and emotional damage from having to run away when people who lived nearby released the hounds on us (even though the trail was public property).

**free minus cost of sugar and pectin to make the jam, and containers in which to freeze the jam.

Reason to Love Washington #17 (I'll fill in the other sixteen later)

I was driving around Bellevue yesterday before meeting some YSA branch peeps at the temple for a baptismal session. I had gone earlier in the day to spend some time there, but it was presently dinnertime, so I was driving around looking for some sort of food establishment. I never did find one, but I found something even BETTER!

Where else but Washington (okay, maybe Orgeon) could you have a public park that features a water area with a life-sized orca sculpture that shoots fountains of water out its blowhole? I had to stop for pictures. It was cool, and really fun to watch the kids playing with it.



The orca distraction made me a little more pressed for time than I would have like to have been, so I never did find a place to eat, and wound up eating a box of jellybeans for dinner. Don't tell my mom. ;)

Rexburg!!

Hm, so I had an idea for something all artistic and crafty in February, but never really got around to doing it... until now! (Dun dan dunnnnn). Those familiar with the Rexburg temple will know that the temple uses a lot of wheat motifs in its decor, especially in the stained glass windows. For those not familiar with the Rexburg temple, you need to know that it uses a lot of wheat motifs in its decor, especially in the stained glass windows. I love the designs that are used. The motif was also used a lot in the Rexburg Temple Celebration in which I performed the night before the dedication. It was a very touching experience for me, and I thought it would be cool to somehow snag a piece of the set... but before you report me, all I did was pick up some heads of wheat that had fallen onto the floor off of some displays. That makes what I did gleaning, not theft. :D
Anyway, I planned what I wanted to make a while ago, but never really had the time, and have consequently been carrying little heads of wheat with me in my luggage all summer. But now I've finished it! And I have to say I'm kinda proud of it. I used a window box so the wheat could go inside, and the stained glass motif is on a piece of vellum that has been attacked with both Sharpies and pencil crayons (those are Canadian colored pencils). So here it is!


The finished creation! Though it's hard to tell from the picture, it's very beautiful when light shines through it, it creates a really neat glow.



The design a little more close-up. And wheat. Lots of wheat.

This is for you, Teresa...

I cut my hair!

And when I say I cut it, I really mean it. The other night, around 10:30, I decided I wanted a haircut. Immediately. So I found my scissors and brush, and commenced my work. I don't think I did too badly! Maybe if the whole med school thing doesn't work out... I'll go to beauty school instead. They both involve cutting....

Iorana!!

One of our branch FHEs this summer. We learned a Tahitian hula, while the guys learned a haka.

We needed a little encouragment to shake our hips in public, though, and our Tahitian dance-trained instructor (on the left in the grey)responded to our shyness with: "Geez, girls, it's no wonder you're in the singles ward. Now shake it!!"

I have to say that I think we did pretty well for just an hour's practice... and it was a blast.

Lab Sweet Lab

The fabled day has arrived. The long-promised pictures of my internship are posted. Now is a good time to put on your "ability to laugh at bad situations" mojo. I'm having trouble getting the pictures loaded, so I may have to do this in installments.


The outside of the building. Or shack. It tends to look bigger from the outside than it really is. For scale, if I were standing right next to it, my head would reach past the shadow level on the side wall. There is apond to the right, and settling ponds to the left (the white hollowing in the ground). The lab is built down into the ground a few feet (you open the door and go down a few stairs), thus ensuring the floor is very close to the water table. This helps maintain the moist environment that is so crucial to the survival of the various species of mold and fungus in the lab. In places where the floor is not as, um, solid, as we might like, you can actually look through the holes and see the water flowing about 5 inches beneath the floorboards. This system is not as bad as it might sound, as it provides the lab with its only supply of running water that isn't fed into the fish tanks. Haha.

I believe this is an elephant fungus. And his friends. Under some of the tanks. Which aren't really tanks, but rather 38-gallon Rubbermaid tubs.



Chemical storage area. Organization and temperature and humidity controls are, apparently, optional, as is labeling.


Tin that contained aflatoxin. I can't figure out how to rotate it. Sorry.

Black mold growing on the walls in the lab, coming through the new paint.