It's Been Such A Long Time...

I have an almost pathological fear of needles. I can't stand the sight of them, whether they're intended for me or for someone else. I don't know where or when I developed this phobia, but they make me cringe. Once, when I had surgery on my ankle back in 1998, the nurse put an IV in me...and left the needle uncovered! I had to ask her to put a bandage or something over it, because the sight of the needle poking into my hand was creeping me out.

Anyway, I hate needles. This is part of the reason I donate blood. I do it to prove to myself that I can.

It's been a while, though. There was a time when I donated every eight or nine weeks, which is as often as they let you do it.^† I donated fairly regularly when I was at Weber State, and also when I was at BYU.^‡ And we have regular blood drives here in our Stake. Alas, the Stake blood drives almost always run from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m., which was right in the middle of my work schedule at the call center. Since I no longer work there, however, I was able to make it to the blood drive this past Thursday.

I had a really interesting experience on Thursday night. I'd read the donor information card and filled out the paperwork and was being interviewed by one of the workers. After getting my name and date of birth, she told me the address they had on file for me. It was old. It took me a minute to figure out where it was. It was, in fact, the address of the first apartment where Practice Wife and I had lived after we got married. That means that the last time they had me on record for giving blood was probably 2002, or maybe 2003.

I was discussing this with Nancy, and she said she was sure I'd given blood since we got married. I remembered that, after thinking back for a while. It must have been a Red Cross blood drive. Most of the blood drives here are conducted by ARUP, a local lab owned and operated by the University of Utah. That's all I can figure.

Either way, it's been too long. I need to get back into the habit of donating, partly for my own benefit and partly because there's always a need. The folks running the drive thanked me several times for coming in. They also said that blood supplies were lower than usual right now.

So let me recommend blood donation to my reader(s), as well. If you can, or if you've ever thought about it, give a pint of blood sometime soon.

Donating blood: so easy, even I can do it.

--

^† I also used to 'donate' plasma twice a week, but that was more of a financial thing. I finally gave it up when I started to feel it was too much like prostitution...you know, selling my body for money, that sort of thing.

^‡ There was one time I went in to donate blood at BYU, and it went badly. It hurt a lot more than usual, and the bag wasn't filling very quickly at all. It turned out that the phlebotomist had inadvertently stuck the needle all the way through the vein. So the only thing to do was for them to take the needle out and put it in my other arm to finish the donation. I left that day with bandages and wraps on both arms. And went directly to marching band practice for the next three hours. Not the smartest thing I've ever done. I got a really nice bruise on my (first) arm to show for it, though.

Big Scary Test Results

Regular readers may remember that I had a Big Scary Test about a month ago. It was the Praxis II Chemistry Content Knowledge test. It's a standardized test designed to demonstrate to my school (and to any potential employers) that I actually know something about chemistry. At the time that I took it, I wrote the following:

"Anyway, I took the Praxis II last Saturday. And I did well. I won’t know exactly how well for approximately four weeks, but I felt very confident about the outcome when I left the test room."

Well, I got the results back yesterday, and here's how I actually did:

Possible Score Range: 100-200
Average Performance Range: 149-175
Required Passing Score: 151

My Score: 192

Listed on the score sheet next to my score was the letter E. So I looked at the bottom of the page and found this note: "E = Your score on this test qualifies for ETS recognition of excellence!"

Needless to say, I am quite pleased with this outcome. I was a little afraid to say this before now, for fear that I'd jinx it somehow. But now that I have the results in hand, I can say it confidently: I nailed it.

The score sheet also had results broken down by category. I found these particularly interesting.

I: Matter and Energy; Heat, Thermodynamics, and Thermochemistry 12/15 (80%)
II: Atomic and Nuclear Structure 10/10 (100%)
III: Nomenclature; The Mole, Bonding, and Geometry 14/14 (100%)
IV: Chemical Periodicity; Chemical Reactions; Bio/Organic Chemistry 20/23 (87%)
V: Solutions and Solubility; Acid-Base Chemistry 10/12 (83%)
VI: Scientific Methodology; Science, Technology, and Society 11/11 (100%)
VII: Math/Measurement/Data Manipulation; Laboratory Process and Safety 10/14 (71%)

Result VII was a little disappointing. If this test was like my previous experiences, I probably lost points on Significant Figures. I'd better take a look at that.

In the aforementioned blog entry from test time, I also wrote the following:

"Teaching these classes for the past month or so was the best test preparation I could ever have hoped for....I call it a blessing."

And it's true. Had I not been teaching Chemistry for a solid month before taking this test, would I have done as well as I did? Not a chance. Absolutely no way at all. That teaching assignment came exactly when I needed it. It was truly a blessing.

Thank You, again.

Tuesday Tunes: Week 82

Brought to you by The Music Memoirs

It's time for a fun little game of 5 and 10:
Pick 10 of your favorite artists and list 5 songs they do that you like.

Here are my five and ten:

I. Asia
1. Time Again
2. Sole Survivor
3. Who Will Stop the Rain
4. Free
5. Parallel Worlds / Vortex / Déyà

II. Boston
1. More Than a Feeling
2. Foreplay / Long Time
3. A Man I'll Never Be
4. Amanda
5. I Need Your Love

III. Cross Canadian Ragweed
1. Lighthouse Keeper
2. Wanna Rock and Roll
3. Cold Hearted Woman
4. Highway 377
5. Don't Need You

IV. Kansas
1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. Lightning's Hand
3. Distant Vision
4. Child of Innocence
5. Play the Game Tonight

V. Mike + The Mechanics
1. All I Need Is a Miracle
2. Another Cup of Coffee
3. I Don't Want It All
4. Ordinary Girl
5. Why Me?

VI.Reckless Kelly
1. Vancouver
2. Seven Nights in Erie
3. Back Around
4. Sixgun
5. Mersey Beat

VII. Rocket Scientists
1. Oblivion Days
2. Better View
3. Nether
4. Rainy Days and Pastel Greys
5. Aqua Vitae

VIII. Rush
1. Subdivisions
2. The Larger Bowl
3. Earthshine
4. Limelight
5. 2112

IX. Toto
1. The Road Goes On
2. Stranger In Town
3. Roseanna
4. White Sister
5. Home of the Brave

X. Yes
1. Changes
2. Love Will Find A Way
3. Spirit of Survival
4. Going For the One
5. Can I? / Face to Face

Happily Ever After?

I came across this statement today as I was looking at the Sunday School lesson I'm teaching next week. This lesson is about the Plan of Salvation. This statement is taken from an address by President Boyd K. Packer called The Play and The Plan. It compares the progress of the soul through the premortal, mortal, and eternal worlds to a three-act play. I found this excerpt very thought-provoking:

There are three parts to the plan. You are in the second or the middle part, the one in which you will be tested by temptation, by trials, perhaps by tragedy. …

Remember this! The line ‘And they all lived happily ever after’ is never written into the second act. That line belongs in the third act, when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right. …

Until you have a broad perspective of the eternal nature of this great drama, you won’t make much sense out of the inequities in life. Some are born with so little and others with so much. Some are born in poverty, with handicaps, with pain, with suffering. Some experience premature death, even innocent children. There are the brutal, unforgiving forces of nature and the brutality of man to man. We have seen a lot of that recently.

Do not suppose that God willfully causes that which, for His own purposes, He permits. When you know the plan and the purpose of it all, even these things will manifest a loving Father in Heaven (Boyd K. Packer, The Play and the Plan [satellite broadcast, 7 May 1995], 1–2).

It's hard to understand sometimes why bad things happen to us, especially when we're trying to do what's right. Don't the scriptures promise us that when we are obedient, we will be blessed? (Mosiah 2:41, for example.)

Yes, they do. But the scriptures do not specify in what manner we are blessed. And they do not promise us a life free from temptation, trial, or even tragedy. There are some things we learn only by overcoming challenges, even ones that seem impossible to bear or unfair to us. "Sometimes," as Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "we learn 'by sad experience'".

What the scriptures do promise--what Jesus Himself promised--is the strength to overcome these things.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Perspective. Patience. Perseverance. Perfect faith. These are the things that carry us through the hard times, until we reach our "Happily Ever After".

Even so, we are to seek joy in the journey. And we are especially to help others find joy along the way.

Top 5 On Friday: Week 222

From The Music Memoirs

Top 5 "Unique" Voices

Videos are included for your listening/viewing pleasure.

Geddy Lee of Rush


Jon Anderson of Yes


Matthew Bellamy of Muse


Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits


Gwen Stefani of No Doubt
Embedding disabled; Click here to see the video.

--
(I was also going to nominate Steve Perry of Journey, but have you heard Arnel Pineda? Uncanny, I thought.)

About the Chopsticks

This is in regard to Question #32 in the previous post. -M
--

I am quite proficient in the use of chopsticks. While I initially learned to use them as a child (there was a Chinese restaurant in Greeley my family attended from time to time), I really became an expert on my mission. That's not all that unusual; lots of Latter-day Saints learn to use chopsticks on their missions. Only my mission wasn't in Taiwan, or Korea, or Japan, or anywhere like that. It was in West Virginia.

How does one learn to use chopsticks in West Virginia? Glad you asked.

It's been almost twenty years since I was there, so my memory's a little fuzzy on some of the details, but I think it happened when I was in Morgantown. On our P-day ("Preparation Day", the one day each week when we do mundane things like laundry and grocery shopping), all the missionaries in the area met at a local laundromat. This particular laundromat was the lower floor of a building; the upper floor was a Chinese restaurant. After getting our clothes clean for the coming week, the six of us—four Elders and two Sisters—would go upstairs for lunch.

It was my first week in Morgantown, so everything here was new to me. During our laundry time, the other missionaries kept talking about how good the food upstairs was. So I was pretty excited to go up for lunch. We all ordered, and a few minutes later the waitress returned with our meals, along with silverware for everyone.

Except me. She brought me chopsticks.

I asked if I could get some silverware, and she said no and left. The other five people at my table were all grinning and/or laughing. At me. Finally, the District Leader explained it to me. The missionaries had been coming to this restaurant every P-day for a long time, and an understanding had developed between them and the family who owned the restaurant. Whenever a new missionary showed up, the restaurant staff knew not to bring him (or her) silverware, just chopsticks. It was like an initiation, a rite of passage.

I was the new guy, so I got chopsticks.

Now, if you didn't know how to use chopsticks, you had basically three options. First, you could eat with your fingers. Effective, but not very dignified. Second, you could try to elicit sympathy from one of the other missionaries at the table and see if they'd let you use some of their silverware. Slightly more dignified—but not terribly likely. Third, you learned to use chopsticks, as quickly as possible.

I chose to use the chopsticks. And I continued to use them, even after I was no longer the 'new guy'. I actually asked for them. And after a while, I didn't have to ask any more.

I've been proficient with chopsticks ever since.

65 Answers to Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
My hair

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
Blue, although calling it 'my' hoodie is a bit of a misnomer, since Nancy wears it as much as (or more than) I do.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Considering that's my wife, I'd better say yes!

4. Do you plan outfits?
Not really, although I often have a reason for wearing something specific. That's not really the same thing.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Moderately frazzled. I can't think of how to end the paper I'm working on.

6. What's the closest thing to you that's red?
Barron's Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I go through cycles of having lots of vivid dreams that I remember clearly and not remembering dreams at all. I'm in the latter cycle now. Sorry.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
I'm sure there was at least one kid in the classes I subbed for today that I'd never met before.

9. What are you craving right now?
An intelligent-sounding ending for my paper (see #5 above).

10. Do you floss?
Occasionally.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
Cole slaw.

12. Are you emotional?
I can be.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
No. I'm pretty sure I've counted to 100 before, but not 1,000.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick ?
Bite first, then lick.

15. Do you like your hair?
Yes. I've got more of it, and more of it the right color, than most of my friends my age, so I can't complain.

16. Do you like yourself?
Most of the time.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
Sure. The man's from Texas, so I'll be he knows some killer steak places.

18. What are you listening to right now?
Chatter around me in the library.

19. Are your parents strict?
Pretty strict. Growing up, we knew that if we didn't walk the line there would be trouble. And there always was.

20. Would you go sky diving?
Are you kidding? Jumping out of a perfectly fine airplane is not the act of a rational mind.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
Yes, especially with peaches, pears, or cantaloupe.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
Yes, Ted Nugent. He's a nut.

23. Do you rent movies often?
We do Netflix.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
I'm sure there's a copy of Twilight in here somewhere, so I'm going to have to say yes..

25. How many countries have you visited?
One: Canada.

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
Not in a long time. Maybe it's time to do something about that.

27. Ever been on a train?
All the time. When I was going to college, I rode light rail pretty much every day. More recently, I've ridden the commuter rail train between SLC and Ogden. And I've taken Amtrak to Cheyenne and to Tri-Cities, WA.

28. Brown or white eggs?
Green eggs. With ham, preferably.

29.Do you have a cell-phone?
Yes

30. Do you use chap stick?
No. I'll use Carmex or Blistex sometimes, if I remember to buy any.

31. Do you own a gun?
No, but I have a nice compound bow I haven't shot in years.

32. Can you use chop sticks?
Yes. Remind me to tell you the story sometime.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Nancy, of course. I wouldn't have it any other way.

34. Are you too forgiving?
No. I'm frequently too trusting, but once that's ruined, my forgiveness is not easily gained. Probably should do something about that, too.

35. Ever been in love?
Yes, even now.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
Making me dinner, I hope. :)

37. Ever have cream puffs?
Yes.

38. Last time you cried?
During a discussion with Nancy, I think. We were discussing the present, the future, and the difficulties involved therein. You know, the usual.

39. What was the last question you asked?
"Do you have keys to this classroom?"

40. Favorite time of the year?
Autumn. After the blistering hot summer days here in the barren desert, the cooler weather is a delight.

41. Do you have any tattoos?
Intentionally allow myself to be poked repeatedly with a needle? No, thanks.

42. Are you sarcastic?
Have you met me?

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
No.

44. Ever walked into a wall?
You've just described a big chunk of my middle school years.

45. Favorite color?
Plaid Green.

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
Not that I recall. Wanted too? Frequently. Actually done it? I don't think so.

47. Is your hair curly?
Not in the least.

48. What was the last CD you bought?
Phoenix by Asia.

49. Do looks matter?
In what context?

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
If you mean 'Cheater' in the relationship sense, then highly unlikely. If you mean in the academic sense, then absolutely not. Cheating=automatic zero.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
No, but it's higher than we'd like. We're passive shopping around for a new carrier.

52. Do you like your life right now?
No complaints. Things over the past few weeks have been especially good. (See previous posts for details of which.)

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
Since I sleep in the same room as Nancy, I suppose the answer is technically 'Yes'.

54. Can you handle the truth?
It's hard sometime, but it's best to know where I stand.

55. Do you have good vision?
It's all right. I need new glasses.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
Nobody I actually know personally.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
Pretty much every day.

58. The last person you held hands with?
Nancy, of course.

59. What are you wearing?
What are you, some kind of a pervert?!

60.What is your favorite animal?
The one who plays drums for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

61. Where was your default picture taken?
My default picture for Facebook (where this thing came from) was taken at a friend of Nancy's wedding reception.

62. Can you hula hoop?
For about 7.3 seconds, yes.

63. Do you have a job?
Two, actually. Maybe three. At the moment, I'm not quite sure.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
Lunch.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes.

Abundantly Blessed (Part II)

Back in July 2002 I took a job as a telephone interviewer with a local market research company. It wasn’t a great job, admittedly, but it was a job, and I needed one at the time. I’d been working for the now-defunct Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Utah, and I’d gone back to school to finish up my degree at long, long last. At first, CCCS (not to be confused with CCCP) was pretty cooperative with my unusual scheduling needs. But they became less flexible as time went on. There eventually came a time when I asked for Friday, July 5th off so that I could spend the extended weekend with Practice Wife and her family out of town. (This was before I met Nancy, obviously.) At first, when I requested the time off from the Counseling Director—who had two years’ less experience with the company at the time than I did, incidentally—she remarked mostly to herself that she needed to schedule some time off for the summer, too. And she did: Friday, July 5th. Rather than approving my time off request, she went ahead and scheduled herself off for the day instead.

I objected and took my case to the Vice President, Lisa. She seemed surprised by what had happened, but told me not to worry about it and to go ahead and plan of having that day off. So we made the necessary travel arrangements. Imagine my surprise when schedules started coming out and I saw that I had open appointments on Friday the 5th. I called Lisa to ask what was going on, and she told me they needed me in the office that day. I reminded her that I had plans over the weekend and that she had told me I could have that day off. She said, in effect, that it was the Counseling Director’s decision (the same woman who had effectively stolen the day from me) and that she (the Counseling Director) had said no. She also suggested that I change my travel plans so I could join the rest of my party for the weekend, but insisted that I’d need to be in the office on that Friday—because we were expecting SO many people to come into the office on the Friday after the Fourth of July, apparently. I suggested that maybe I just wouldn’t be feeling well enough to come in to work that day. She, in turn, suggested in pretty straightforward terms that I’d be risking disciplinary action if that happened.

So, a week or so before the day in question, we all got an e-mail stating that the schedule for the week of July 4th had been finalized and detailing who was expected to be in the offices that day. Along with this information came a warning that anyone missing that Friday for any reason could be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of their employment. Less than two hours later I faxed in my resignation, effective Wednesday, July 3rd. At that point, I wanted that day off more than I wanted to keep working for that company.

(It was not without a certain satisfaction that I learned less than two years later that the company had been seized by state regulators for financial mismanagement—hence the “now-defunct” descriptor in the first paragraph.)

Anyway, as I was saying before, I now needed a job. And I managed to get one pretty quickly. I sold ticket packages over the phone on behalf of the Utah Symphony. I’d worked sales in both retail and call center settings before, and I hadn’t cared for it. This job was little different: low pay, inconvenient hours, and a boss with questionable ethics and personal hygiene. But it allowed me to pay the bills. Kind of. I still looked or something better.

When I found out about the market research job, with a pay rate $2 higher than the base pay I was making with the Symphony and the promise of no selling, I was interested. I went down and filled out an application, taking a spelling and grammar test and bringing proof from Utah DWS that I could type 25 words per minute. They scheduled me for training the following evening, Wednesday, July 31st. I took the training class, passed, and was offered a job. I started on the phones the next evening. I've been there ever since.

When the call center director posted flyers five months into my tenure saying that they were hiring a few new supervisors, I was definitely interested. And, by my own estimation, I was as qualified as anyone in the company to be a supervisor. The management agreed, and a month later, I started training as a Quality Assurance supervisor. Since then I have also worked as a Production manager, Trainer for new employees, and Quality Manager.

It's been a good run a lot of the time, but there have been profound problems along the way. The talent level of the people I've worked with, aside from some of the supervisors, has been generally underwhelming. The workload has been notoriously unsteady, especially in recent months. And, of course, there have been numerous stupid issues with my paychecks. As I wrote after the most recent paycheck incident, I'd reached the point where I'd bolt like a gazelle if I could find any other work.

As I was conducting one of my classes on Thursday, April 16th, I felt my phone buzz. Obviously I didn't answer it, but during lunch I listened to the message. It was a private tutoring company to which I'd faxed a résumé about a month and a half previously. They said they were looking for someone to teach math and wanted to set up an interview with me. I called them back, chatted with the administrative assistant, gave them the names and numbers of some references, and scheduled an interview for 3:30 p.m. the next day.

Friday morning I felt awful, a condition that persisted well into the afternoon. It was bad to the point that on my way to the interview, I stopped at Albertson's and bought a bottle of water and some Alka Seltzer. But I made it to the interview on time and in reasonably good shape. I met with the local director, and she seemed impressed by my education and experiences.

She offered me the job right there.

She asked if I could start on Monday, April 20th. I asked for an additional week to finish getting ready for the Praxis II. She asked me to think it over for the weekend. She said if I really needed an additional week they could work with that, but that they'd prefer for me to start on the 20th if I could. I ended up taking the additional week to get ready for the test. (I've already discussed how that went.) I called on the morning of the 20th, per her instructions, and told her I was looking forward to starting on the 27th.

And then there was the other thing I was looking forward to. After school on the 20th, I made my way down to the call center. It was payday, so I knew everyone would be there. That's what I wanted. I wanted to be able to say goodbye to those employees and co-workers that I'd actually miss. Jason, my boss for the past six years, was happy I'd found a job in my field, but sad to see me go. Some of the other supervisors and employees, like Theron, Jeannie, Beth, Sara, Lynn (Terry), Keith (the Axeman), Elliot, Greg, Bernie, and Libby said they'd miss me. And sure, I'll miss them too. But not so much that I'd ever want to go back. Several of them told me to make sure I stop back in from time to time to see how things are going. Frankly, I don't see that happening, but I suppose anything's possible.

I started the new job this past Monday. After three days of training, I'm basically flying solo already. I tutor three kids at a time in different subjects. I may have one student working on junior high Algebra, a second on Trigonometry, and a third on Chemistry. Some of the kids just need help with homework, while others are enrolled in courses through the center for which they actually receive school credit. Every day, every hour, is different.

The first week has been interesting. For the first two days, I felt lost. I had no idea how I was going to keep up. Over the next couple of days, though, I started to learn the intricacies of the center, as well as some strategies for keeping up and even getting ahead. My first solo day (Thursday) featured two hours with a pair of brothers. (What causes sibling rivalry? Having more than one kid!) The older one is dedicated, but learns slowly sometimes. The younger one has focus issues. It's not just ADD or ADHD, it's more like ADOS (which stands for "Attention Deficit—Oooh, Shiny!"). But I made it through, and I think they both learned something in the process. I'm going to be fine with this job.

The new job doesn't offer as many hours as the call center did (yet). But the hours I'm getting are consistent, which is something the call center could never say. Better yet, the new job starts me off earning a buck and a half more per hour than I made as a manager at the call center. And it's in my field, which gives me valuable experience on top of that.

Best of all, the company is accredited—which means that when the time comes for me to do student teaching, I can do it there and get paid for it.

Having this come as it has on the heels of the long-term substitute teaching experience, I can't help but see this as another big blessing for Nancy and me. Somebody's looking out for our family.

Thank You, again.

--
To borrow a bit from Lord Mhoram —

::glances skyward:: "You don't have to shout, You know."