VB & Monster Jam

Sunday was Stake Conference - which was probably the best one yet. The 70 that attended was very focused on the youth, so that was the bulk of our speakers. He did a good job as well, so I was glad I went (although I always get real antsy sitting for that long). 

Afterwards, we had dinner at Grandma's with Carol and Eve. Unfortunately, these things are usually planned too late for us to thaw something from our freezer supply, so the lasagna we brought "just in case" didn't get cooked until we were done. (Which meant that we got to eat it all week long). The good news is that the food provided actually turned out to be just enough for everyone present - including a delicious lemon pie for dessert. 

I had a chance to chat with Kassie, one of my old mission comps for a while and catch up. She's always delightfully cerebral and has some tangible goals, so I hope it all works out for her. And I'll probably chat with her again in another two years, so don't hold your breath on updates there. 

My work hired a new PT who starts in about a month - which is to help us with all the new work we have. Which means I get to transition out of Williams/Mund's Park areas and stick closer to town. Which means I'll see more patients in the same amount of time and save a lot in wear/tear on my car. This is also the time of my annual standard raise, which is 2%, and a joke. Inflation quadruples that at best, so we keep telling management that it's more of a loss than a gain, but it hasn't helped yet. I'll keep bugging them. It fits with one of my mottos - you can get anything you want if you're annoying enough for long enough. #Havasupai. 

Tired of chronic allergies that are getting worse every year (and paying for the strong OTC meds at the pharmacy to decrease the symptoms somewhat), I decided to try my hand again at a netty pot flushing. It didn't really help. But Rog DID scare me with a story about a parasite that enters your brain through water up the nose - killing 85% of its victims and leaving the others severely handicapped. It happens in still pools or in tap water that isn't filtered and has taken some netty pot victims before. So only use special water for those contraptions. 

For those not following the drama of my multi-ward activity, let me remind you. Our SPy has banned stake activities involving the 11-13y youth. Why? Who knows. So instead, we decided on a multi-ward activity for our YW in that age group that I agreed to run. I figured we could do some VB skills and games and eat food and it would be simple enough. 

Except that despite reminders, the wards didn't get the info out to the youth and my own ward completely forgot after kicking me out of YW. The second problem is that we had to use the LV building instead of the stake center and the net/poles there are trash garbage. I did go on Friday to practice setting them up and found a temporary fix and some ideas for something permanent, which ended up failing. (I think there have been too many temporary fixes previously and now we just need a new system). 

"Grave Digger" - overall winner of the night

ANYWAYS, we ended up with 3 girls and 3 leaders. We worked on skills for an hour, played a bit, and ended with a real game. Then we ate some sandwiches and chips and watermelon. The 3 kids had a great time and said they would love to do it again and would convince more people to come. So it went well and now that's one stressful thing off my plate. 

I immediately left to drive to Cenita's new casa in Chandler, AZ (about 2.5h south of me). It's a cute little townhouse and I'm excited for her and Colton to share it. We had dinner with Colton and Kaleb (homemade by Cenita, so ALWAYS delicious). Then Kaleb went to a multi-stake YSA activity and the rest of us + Colton's sister went to Monster Jam (which has been on my bucket list and Cenita has been helping me check things off). 

The crew ft. my new shirt (thanks Rog)

It was fun and super loud, so I was grateful for the ear plugs Colton procured for us from work. There were 3 events - a race for fastest overall, a skills test (rated by the audience), and a 2 minute freestyle (also rated by the audience). The trucks were often having electrical issues and needing to get flipped back over if they were stuck - but the crews were super fast at fixing them so most didn't miss any events. 

Highlights were mostly during the freestyle. The winner of this event was El Toro Loco - because by the time he was done bopping around the course, the entire body of his truck was in pieces around the track, leaving the skeleton truck. The second place for this event was Grave Digger - the only truck to do a double back flip and then attempt a third backflip (which probably would have worked if the whole truck didn't catch fire at the start). 

We got back late and Cenita and I were both nodding off before everyone left so we could sleep. She made a delicious omelet for us (sorry I said you didn't have breakfast food in your house lol). And I met our mutual friend Hannah (and fam) at the gas station for a quick chat since she's in town for a bit from NM currently. Then I hustled back to my own sacrament meeting for some ordinances and spiritual uplifting, and went home for a nice shower. You're welcome world.