June update

Jun 2: Did a short wet lab at work for the new centrifugal ECMO pumps. Exciting and nerve wracking to think that everyone on the CTICU and PICU will have to get trained and proficient on these!

Went to Westdale FHE to learn some computer genealogy tricks. However, none of the limited work that’s been done for my family was available. I did, however, talk a bit with Mauritius a bit, about keeping cultural heritage when converting to the LDS church.

Did a couple precepting days for a new hire at work, and have started mentoring V.

Jun 16: Family dinner at the homestead to celebrate Father’s Day, and Bork’s and my birthdays. We missed JLITH, Genie and the beans, but it’s good to gather none-the-less. Curry stuff for dinner. Raspberry shortcake for dessert. Again, I am not so much of a cook as an assembler. Maybe I’ll start trying new dishes to cook when the weather gets cooler.

Jun 19: Over to Lindy Groove for my birthday. Was able to get White Boy, Friend, Laughtear and eVincerator in for free, and saw many other friends that I haven’t seen in a while. Friend and LT got video footage of my birthday dance! I have so little footage of me dancing … mostly because I’m there to dance, not to tape, and so is everyone else. Another little bit of my life recorded for all the people who really have no interest in my life whatsoever. And it’s posted on facebook to boot!

Jun 20-22: Arrowhead weekend, which deserves its own little post.

Jun 23: My birthday. The years keep getting better and better. Had a little get-together to play farewell Catan for The Dot. He’s finally done with school, and whisking Ballerina and A out to Chicago to earn a living. The Dot will always be a legendary Catan player. I voted that he gets his own move named. Whenever someone makes a play where they seem to know what’s in everyone’s hand, it should get called The Dot. Just like whenever someone is a long time playing a turn, they get called VJ. I asked TD what he would do for Catan thrills out in Chicago … would he give it up altogether, play on-line only, or try and educate a whole new crowd. He voted for the latter. We told him that he may want to hold out on revealing his true Catan virtuosity until the newbies were invested enough to keep playing … no use slaughtering them before they’ve even gotten the addiction going.

Jun 24: Called in sick today. Took the day for myself instead. In the evening, White Boy drove me out to Third Street Promenade, and I bought myself a love of a bike. Had to test drive it and another model around the block a few times. And despite the Hawaiian flowers, I bought it and a helmet, and bikes my way home on all three speeds. It’s like flying!

Jun 25: Called in sick today as well. In retrospect, I should have asked for vacation time off, I just didn’t think that I would need it as badly as I did. Rode my bike up to Westwood and saw Coyote at the LA Independent Film Festival. It’s such a major undertaking to do a full length feature film on a tiny little budget. I’ll be interested in seeing what else Brian Peterson does over the years. After the film, I zipped home on my bike, avoiding the traffic in the parking lot (20 minutes) and Westwood (who know how much longer that was) that my friends had to endure. Bike Freedom!

And, went over to HSAAL’s for his birthday celebration. Rock Band on a projector. Mammoth chocolate cake. And Alien Versus Predator: Requiem. Possibly the worst movie I’ve only partially seen … because the screen was so dark (due to Rock Band hookup?) that most of it was indistinguishable.

Jun 26: Lindy Groove. Eboy, who normally does WCS came with one of his students and revisited his once-upon-a-time, far-far-away lindy.

Jun 27: Little get-together in the park to say farewell to The Dot and Ballerina. One of their friends from the OC made a Catan baby quilt … with an ocean-blue background, and appropriately colored hexes. Quite possibly the most fabulous Catan accessory I’ve ever seen. After the park, a few of us got together for the last few Dotty Catan games in LA.

Jun 28: Over to the LA Regional Food Bank In the morning. First time I’ve ever been. And it was quite fun … working with five other people from my ward and a bunch of teenage girls from a local church, rocking out to music on a radio. The work itself seemed rather pointless: taking things out of boxes, and putting the same things into other boxes, no sorting whatsoever. But maybe I just don’t see the big picture. Whatever, I’d go again.

Home to shower. Then went to the Santa Monica stake center to see Kiss Me Kate, which a few friends have been working on to their wit’s end. Really, I had to go to see what kept Gadget Boy from Arrowhead this year.

Then, went to a black tie event in the evening with a friend. Rubbed shoulders with some billionaires and foreign ambassadors. Actually met the Mexican ambassador. Saw Buzz Aldrin. Heard some really corny tribute speeches. Saw an aerial, Cirque du Soleil-type mini-show, and danced to a live band. I’m generally a casual type of woman, but every once in a while, it’s really nice to get dressed up and feel elegant.

Jun 29: Got together with some friends at Will Rogers State Beach to eat dinner, watch the sunset, and hang out. We used to do this a lot way back when. Then it got too big with a lot of people that we didn’t necessarily like, so we stopped going. Now that it was just our group, it was nice and intimate, and friendly enough to accommodate a few newcomers.