A Bright Red Shawl

A small six-year-old boy wandered away from his handcart company during a storm and was lost. When the storm subsided, Robert and Ann Parker realized their boy was missing and began searching.
For two days an organized search was unsuccessful.
The decision was made that the company must move on because of the approaching winter.

A pioneer journal records the following:

"Ann Parker pinned a bright [red] shawl around the thin shoulders of her husband and sent him back alone on the trail to search again for their child.
If he found him dead he was to wrap him in a shawl; if alive, the shawl would be a flag to signal her.
Ann and her children took up their load and struggled on with the company, while Robert retraced the miles of ... trail, calling, and searching and praying for his helpless little son."

One suspects that he did not just casually look behind a few trees or leisurely walk along the trail, but that he vigorously investigated every thicket, every clump of trees and gully or wash.

"At least he reached a ... trading station where he learned that his child had been found and cared for by a woodsman and his wife.
[The boy] had been ill from exposure and fright.
[But] God had heard the prayers of his people.

"Out on the trail each night Ann and her children kept watch and, when, on the third night the rays of the setting sun caught the glimmer of a bright red shawl [above her husband's head], the brave little mother san in a pitiful heap in the sand.
... [She] slept for the first time in six ... days."

Merrill J. Bateman -Coming unto Christ by Searching the Scriptures -October 1992 General Conference

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I was walking to the church to get my car when I encountered Paulina and a friend who were looking for a ride to this place they needed to get to. It wasn't too out of the way, so after getting all my things in the car and moving other things around, we drove to this carnival type of place that reminded me a bit of some of the old cities...like Italy or somewhere. I turned down a paced cobblestone walkway that moved over flowing hills inbetween buildings. I was hesitant to drive along it, as I only saw people walking around through the passageway, no other cars. But Paulina and company didn't seem too concerned. We parked, and I recognized the venue, the carnival play place I'd been to before at a different time though I hadn't realized this carnival was still here. I headed towards a ball pit sort of place and encountered my brother standing in line. I asked him why he was there and he said that he was trying to get enough tickets. I happened to have a coupon that would get him more tickets, but he wanted to get them all himself. I asked him what he wanted to get and he said that he really needed a Bunson Burner that worked. Apparently his was broken or something? I left him and ended up in a dressing room. My friends were having me try on a dress for fun. So I did, but it didn't feel quite right on me, and I felt that the bright blue and pink didn't look good on me, especially because some of the dress was see through and I didn't want people looking at my legs like that. So I grabbed another gown and it became apparent that I was on some sort of tv program as the 'dressing room' was actually a false room so that the cameras could watch me unobserved. I left the dressing room and encountered a motherly looking woman who pinned a bunch of green to me...which made it a bit difficult to move as I could accidentally poke myself. But the green dress felt...good....if it wasn't just a mock up.

-- different dream from a different day I just remembered--

The countryside was on fire. And I happened to be driving by when I saw a home that I would visit when I was younger. The porch was on fire, the wooden pillars red and smoldering. Taking my camera crew with me -because I was a news reporter- we went up to the front porch with smoldering flames all around. I knocked and went inside, and it was like....there wasn't a fire literally on their doorsteps. The kids were all running around having fun, the parents unconcerned. It was disconcerting.

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

What Grows In Winter?

You would think that nothing grows in winter right?

Well I've discovered something that does.

Potholes.

They've cropped up everywhere, like little weeds.

The roads have gotten way bumpy because of them. And it's scary to see it pop up suddenly on the interstate, where you can't avoid it and you hope it doesn't pop a tire or something.

It's probably all the snow, melting water, ice, and then more snow that we're getting this year.
Our state was kinda...deprived of the white stuff last winter, and I think that our roads have forgotten what actual snow is like. They must have short term memories as I haven't seen so many holes since a road was under construction.
A pot hole just grew today on the road leading to my place. The displaced piece of pavement still is trying to convince itself that no hole has appeared. I wonder when that piece will disappear and it will be just a hole.

I hope more don't grow though,
Otherwise it will be a major obstacle course by the time spring actually arrives and the orange construction cones of slowdum travel from the hidden valley to take over the roads again.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I was at work, doing a bit of dog training with a bunch of other people and a black lab. We had a new employee, that kinda looked like he was dressed in snake skin...but as tattoos? He had a dog that wasn't really a dog...it wasn't quite a robot...but it was more lizard like. He had three bearded dragon pets as well that would follow him around. I saw him standing up by the cash registers as I was walking around through the grooming and dog training area...

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

Immersed

Have you ever lost yourself in a book?
Insomuch that when the last page is turned, the story doesn't end?
That it's pages stay with you as you go about your day,

The best example would probably be Harry Potter.
Walking around, maybe seeing a crazily dressed person walking by,
perhaps you think to yourself -that guy has to be a wizard! They never know how to dress as Muggles!
Yah, the feeling that the book is...more of a history book, or something actually happening now even though the work itself is fiction. In any case...it feels real to you and you can see/connect things within the pages to the real world.

Where am I going with this?
Well....
I had the weirdest experience walking into work this morning.

You have to understand...I hadn't walked into the building for two days.
I would have said not since Saturday Morning when I had my shift....
But I returned that night to help a friend get a Hamster.

In any case, Sunday and Monday I was work free.
Kinda.

How did it all start?

I was making my rounds Saturday Morning, feeding all the animals and such.
I was at the Small Pets area.
Giving the hamsters, rats, mice, and guinea pigs fresh water and more food.
When I noticed a commotion on the lower level.
Where two Short-Haired Syrian Hamsters were housed.

They were fighting.

O.o Oddly enough, without any sound. Usually when the others -Russians, Winters, and Robos- fight...they emit these high pitched squeaks of distress.Not these guys.
I separated them.
But they went for each other again...well one male went for the other.
So I rescued that victim male, taking him out of the cage.
His fur was wet and I figured he'd been nipped.
I figured I'd finish feeding the others first before taking him into Iso.
And then...while showing him to another coworker,
I noticed that there was a lot of red.
His back feet were bleeding.
The attacker had gone for the feet!

For some reason that resonated with me.
I mean...how is the hamster supposed to walk if the pads of his feet are cut up and bleeding.
It would be hard for the wounds to heal if you constantly have to walk on them.
Unlike the back and face where wounds usually occur and heal without too much trouble.

Safe by himself in Iso...
I still worried about the guy. Bleeding and such. Luckily the bleeding did stop and the wounds are scabbed over now,
but they weren't when my shift ended.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I ended up having a longer shift that day as I switched the ending of my shift with a coworker who wanted to leave earlier. So I ended up getting an extra hour of work, but that meant that I now needed to take a lunch break along with a 15 min break.

I took my lunch break first and there where the pieces all fell into place.
You could say that little Hamster with his hurt feet was the...cornerstone to the whole building.
As I had had an idea in the back of my mind involving a petstore getting robbed.
But I didn't have the....idk emotional tie, to actually inspire me to write the story.
Until this hamster came into my life.

Everything lined up.
I was on break. I'd just put the hamster in Iso. I had a pad of paper and time.
So for like the first time, I didn't just sit there and think and imagine what I would write.
I opened up the notebook to a blank page and began to write.

I've been lost in that world ever since.
lol. I came home from work and wrote.
Hardly paid attention in church at all, avidly writing, continuing the story in my notebook.
And spent most of Monday lost in the world as well.
I've immersed myself into the story.

It's been soo.....Awesome! And that fails to describe it.
I'm like on an emotional high. In a constant stage of excitement.
Butterflies in the stomach, heart pounding.
It's like that "YAAAAAHOOOOOO!!!" Type of feeling!

It's the best feeling in the world, and I don't have to artificially prolong the feeling by constantly thinking about the story in my head.
No, it's so much easier to keep this excitement going as I'm writing, immersed in the events of my characters.

I can barely focus on anything else.
It's like the feeling I've gotten when I have to set down a book I'm reading, at a really really good part and leave for a bit. I may have the book out of sight, but it isn't out of mind. I can't stop thinking about it, wondering what will happen next. lol literally I'm like shaking to find out what happens next.

This is the same.
It's taken alot of effort just to write my blogs the past couple of days as I don't want to go to bed. And even harder to actually go to bed on time so I can get enough sleep for work.
lol I guess I'm lucky my responsible side is stubborner then my writing side, otherwise I would be up all night writing and suffer during work lol.
>.> I'm not sure how long that will last.

Soooo much fun! I've never gone this long in writing before. Usually it's a write one day...and never come back to it sort of thing.
Yet I keep returning to this.
I want to get the story done.
I know it's in it's rough draft form right now, but I want to write the ending before going back and expanding, adding in things I've discovered along the way, and switching scenes and characters around as I've found the flow of things.

Now.
Back to the point I hinted at at the beginning of this post lol. ^^;;

You now know that I have been lost in my world of writing for nearly three days.
Without going to work.
At a pet store.
Then today...

I literally felt like I stepped into the world of my story coming into work this morning.
lol It felt so real that I looked around expecting to see the store set up as it is in my story.
And felt the lack. As the petstore in the story is waaaaayyy different then the petstore in real life.
Yet....I expected to see the people in the story there. Walking around. They weren't. Still thought I should though lol.
And since I based many of the animals in my story off actual animals still in the store....at least I got to see them. ^^ Especially my hamster friend back in Iso. The Inspiration for the whole thing.
Wow, just wow.

Back to writing! :D
>.> And then to bed...grrr stubborn responsibility. >.<

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

April 1993 General Conference Priesthood Session

Russell M. Nelson -Honoring the Priesthood

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, is neither a democracy not a republic. His is a kingdom--the kingdom of God on earth. His is a hierarchical church, with ultimate authority at the top.
• The kingdom of God is governed by the authority of the priesthood. It is not conferred for honor, but for a ministry of service. Priesthood titles are not created by man; neither are they for adornment, nor do they express mastership. They denote appointment to service in the work of the Lord.
• A few do's and don'ts may be helpful:
• Do learn to take counsel. Seek direction from file leaders and receive it willingly.
• Don't speak ill of Church leaders.
• Don't covet a calling or position.
• Don't second-guess who should or should not have been called.
• Don't refuse an opportunity to serve.
• Don't resign from a call. Do inform leaders of changing circumstances in your life, knowing that leaders will weigh all factors when prayerfully considering the proper timing of your release.
• The one who extends and the one who receives a call are both under obligation of accountability.
• The Lord would not withhold blessings from any of His children for want of one with a particular calling.
• Husbands and fathers: With your dear partner, shape attitudes at home.
• Fathers, you understand the principle of temporal self-reliance and try to provide for a year's supply, stored at home. Please also consider the need for spiritual food and self-reliance--not just for a year, but for a lifetime--also stored at home. A worthy father should have first opportunity to administer a blessing to members of his family.

John K. Carmack -Faith Yields Priesthood Power

• Beloved brethren, in this very room there's quite enough power to do anything that we're called to do. We are the priesthood of God.
• The priesthood of God is potentially a greater source of power than electricity. Collectively, priesthood brethren perform well, but we fall far short of our potential.
• Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the priesthood's dynamic power source. By failing to put faith first in our callings, we reduce the priesthood's light and power. Other obstacles also block its beneficial rays.
• "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing."
• Add faith, however, and priesthood service becomes magnificent. Two candles suddenly burst into four hundred watts of light. More to the point, we tap into the Lord's power source, and our actions move in rhythm with His. The Lord compensates for our deficiencies. Vast, unseen reservoirs of dynamic power supply our needs.
• Faith and trust in the Lord came first. Then came action. He had no plan except confidence in the Lord.
• With faith we can get the right things to do into our hearts and the words and mental exertion to do them. It may require leaving unstructured time in our planning and on our agenda. Then faith would have some air to breathe.
• Although faith often includes positive thinking, it is much, much more tan that. Faith taps into divine sources and is a manifestation of unity and partnership with the Lord. Even the ideas and words formulated by faith come by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the power to accomplish the words formed by faith comes from God.
• Even more important, faith leads directly to eternal life, because in exercising faith, we come to know God and His power, and we become like Him.
• To really have faith, we must cleanse the instruments of faith--our minds, our bodies, and spirits.
• Pride and arrogance block out faith.
• Self-sufficiency, often through financial success, high educational attainment, fame, and honor among men, can keep us from having faith.
• Yes, Satan throws up many obstacles. He doesn't want us to have faith.
• Perhaps it is time that we humble ourselves and overcome the obstacles to faith, and then become converted.

F. David Stanley -The Principle of Work

• We are what we are as a people because our ancestors were not afraid of honest, hard work. our forefathers understood the necessity of it; sheer survival demanded it. A common ingredient among all successful people is an understanding of what constitutes paying the price of success. Basic in that formula of paying the price is an inner gift of determination that "I'll do whatever it takes." That means, "I'll work hard, with integrity, to achieve my goal."
• Hard work is a blessing of God. It involves going after it "with all your heart, might, mind and strength." That alone is the difference between the average and the excellent.
• There is a time of preparation and a time of victory.
• "One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy.
• There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for [he will have] all [his] time and talents and interest ... centered on the work of the ministry.
• Work, work, work--there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."
• If you want to be successful, start with the bottom line of work.
• But we need to do it. We need to work.
• Fathers of Zion, teach our youth the value of honest, hard work. There is no substitute, no other alternative. Be careful that you don't train up couch potatoes.

H. David Burton -Heroes

• Carefully selected heroes can give us a pattern for our lives and serve as our role models. They can give us courage to walk the road of life righteously.
• Dads make great heroes. I pray that if you are fortunate enough to have a father close by, he can be your hero. Dads, live in such a way that your sons and others can look up to you as heroes.
• I pray that you proud bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood will listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and bond with righteous heroes in standing tall against the evils espoused by the master of deception.

Thomas S. Monson -Search and Rescue

• All was well. The lost were found. Lives were spared. Worry and fear yielded to joy and jubilation.
• "It is better to save the life of a man than to raise one from the dead."
• "The wisdom  of God may appear as foolishness to men. But the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right."
• Never complaining, ever serving, always sacrificing for the benefit of others, these noble servants deserve our undying gratitude and our fervent prayers.

Gordon B. Hinckley -Some Lessons I Learned as a Boy

• It's easy for old men to lecture young men.
• I learned something I have always remembered--to watch for signs of danger and evil and stay away.
• Never to understand the potential of a boy to make something of his life.
• Industry, enthusiasm, and hard work lead to enlightened progress. You have to stay on your feet and keep moving if you are going to have light in your life.
• "Do what is right; let the consequence follow."
• "Choose the right when a choice is placed before you."
• Fathers, be good men, that your wives will speak of you with love and appreciation and your children will remember you with gratitude everlasting.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

I'm Not That Old!

I got called the weirdest thing yesterday at work.
You see, there were kids there.
As usual.
But this time, while talking to a parent,
a little girl came up to me,
grabbed me by the hand.
She wanted me to go see the fish she wanted to buy.
And she said it this way. "Ma'am, could you come here, please? Ma'am, you need to see the fish I want. Ma'am. Ma'am, I have a question."
I couldn't quite answer her right away because I was talking to her mom, so I totally felt the parent when saying "Just a second, I'll be right there, hold on."

O.o
Ma'am?
I got called: Ma'am?!?!?
O.o
I never thought that day would happen....at least not until after I was married with young kids of my own....
To get called Ma'am.
Was the weirdest thing ever!
Especially by a young kid...probably 5 years old or so.

I felt...adult but at the same time I was like "Kid! I'm not old! Don't call me that!" lol.

Yah, definitely an odd experience.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I overheard my mom telling my sister that our cat Flare had died. We were in the middle of a party, but I pulled Kikay aside and asked her what had happened to Flare. She tried to brush me aside, as for some reason...my family wasn't talking to me. But I managed to get the story out of her. Apparently Flare had gotten outside and climbed up into the engine of our Trail Blazer. And when the engine turned on....well the only thing they found was her tail and back legs. :S Gruesome. and upsetting that they hadn't seen it fit to tell me that our cat had died!!

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

Clear the Glass!

We had freezing rain here the other day.
I missed it mostly because I was at work during the really bad part where everything was covered in ice.
Yah...by the time I was done with my shift everything was basically melted water again.
No need to worry about slipping on the pavement....much.

Not so this morning.
Okay, not with freezing rain,
but something different.

I didn't realize it at first.
As last night LaKai had friends come over.
And I had heard some of them complaining about driving in the fog....
You know having it hard to see.....
I didn't really...connect it then.
As I've dealt with fog...but nothing bad in recent years.
So I thought it was typical exaggeration.

Well....It wasn't.
This morning, before the sun rose.
I walked out of my apartment.
To a thick hazy blanket of fog.

Thick. Like I literally stopped outside the door and stared at it.
I kept wanting to reach out my hand and 'clear the foggy glass.' to no avail.
It felt alot like the Twilight Zone.
With alien themed music in the background.
Do do de do do do de do.

Driving in it...was another matter entirely.
For one...my windows had frosted over.
But I was in a hurry so I only cleared what I needed to.
I wonder if that made the drive worse....
lol. I don't really think it mattered.
But I could literally not see more then five feet in front of my car.
Scary Scary.
Headlights would pop out of no where.
Though you could see them approaching like...ten feet away.
However, I was blessed in a way, as I turned onto the main main road leading up to my work,
A Semi had just driven past.
So I hightailed it over to his lane. -which was the lane I needed Yay!
And followed his nice tall red lights until I hit the stoplight that was my exit.
Yes. It felt good to see that Semi as I could see the lights clearly enough.
Which meant it was easier to stay in my lane.
As the lines on the road were...hazy...
And at that light, I hesitated, before turning, because these headlights appeared out no where from the opposite lane.
Yikes!
I hesitated again and then squealing my tires (not really) I turned and made it to work!
Where at the front doors I stopped to take this picture.

 

Aliens!!

lol.

Okay street lamps.

So weird! I can't even see the road! And it's like...right past that fourth row of white dots....

Weirdness!

I am sooo glad I live sooo close to work, because I don't know how well I would have done having to drive in this blanket of grey where thing just pop up out of no where.

:S

 

This has definitely been an interesting week so far weather wise. lol :)

 

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

 

-Sarnic Dirchi



A Tangled Kiss



 

You know how you think a project is going to take so much time.....and it takes way longer?

Yah, that's how this project was.

I thought I could get this done easy peasy....

Only the clips and music were failing to match up for like the last thirty seconds.

Totally annoying.

But I figured it out!

Mostly....

lol

 

So here comes the final version!

 

The Song: Kiss the Girl

The Movie: Tangled

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Did you like it?

I hope you did. :) lol.

So what brought this back on again?

Well...I realized that I hadn't made a music video in a looooonnnnggggg while.

Mostly because I couldn't find any songs that matched with the movie clips I'd gathered.

And...Google/Tumblr changed something about their layout and it took me a bit how to figure out what I needed to do to actually save the clips.

Which I did! ^^;;; Proud of myself for that lol.

 

Heh....I planned on having this whole epic story about how I managed to mesh Kiss the Girl with Tangled....but I'm failing at remembering right now. :S

Weird.

In any case....I'm pretty sure the song came first.

As something in the words sparked something else.

 

Okay, so I can't listen to this song without remembering a ward talent show we did like....three years ago? Four years ago?

I had contributed to the show by volunteering to sign and juggle (not at the same time)

And for fun, I dressed up as like...this demon clown. With a big green Afro wig.

Well...the whole getup was extremely hot, so after I did like my five minutes of 'talent' I quickly changed.

Only to have a quartet of guys....as their talent want to Serenade the 'clown girl'

So I stuck the wig back on my head and went and sat up in front of everyone.

Soooo Embarrassing.

For...they sang this song.

Kiss the Girl.

And at one point....a guy stepped forward to kiss me.

Innocent and embarrassed little me reacted instinctively,

and I scooted my chair back.

Dude! Don't know you! You're not planting one on me!

lol. O.o

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened had I allowed that to happen.......who knows.

In any case...that memory remains forever tied in with the song....

 

Though not really in the Tangled movie. I do admit my favorite part is when it goes Flynn Ariel, Flynn. lol. :)

I kinda halfway consider this movie a movie of....encouragement.

Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

And Flynn is like. No! No! No!

haha ^^ Tis a fun dynamic -probably influenced by that Talent Show Memory. lol.

 

There is something fun about finding the right song with the right movies. lol even with this newest addition I look at what I created and say "Did I really make this? Surely somebody else did!" Yah...I hardly believe that it was me who slaved hours upon hours to get everything done.

 

It's always such a celebratory dance when I piece everything together and publish it on Youtube.

 

Did everything I hope to accomplish during the movie work out?!?!?

....Not totally. But close enough.

As my video making system is old, so I can't sync music and clips together. No, I'm messing with clips on my computer and hitting play on my Ipod to listen to the song, and sometimes the clips go too quickly or too slow...yah, it's an adventure lol.

Full of fun surprises....like when you place a clip just so and the song matches the clip!

i.e. The clip of Mother Gothal laughing. The music does a little 'ha ha' type sound at the same moment!

Or Maximus raising his eyebrow to Flynn right as the song says "Whoa Whoa" lol. Unintentional but totally awesome!

 

Again I hope you enjoyed watching the movie!

For I totally had fun creating it! :)

 

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

 

-Sarnic Dirchi

On the Road to Jericho

We have no way of knowing when our privilege to extend a helping hand will unfold before us.
The road to Jericho each of us travels bears no name, and the weary traveler who needs our help may be one unknown.
Altogether too frequently, the recipient of kindness shown fails to express his feelings, and we are deprived of a glimpse of greatness and a touch of tenderness that motivates us to go and do likewise.
Genuine gratitude was expressed by the writer of a letter received recently at Church headquarters.
No return address was shown, but the postmark was from Portland, Oregon:

To the Office of the First Presidency:

Salt Lake City showed me Christian hospitality once during my wandering years.

On a cross-country journey by bus to California, I stepped down in the terminal in Salt Lake City, sick and trembling from aggravated loss of sleep caused by a lack of necessary medication.
In my headlong flight from a bad situation in Boston, I had completely forgotten my supply.

In the Temple Square Hotel restaurant, I sat dejectedly, cheekbones propped on fists, staring at a cup of coffee I really didn't want.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple approach my table.
'Are you all right, young man?' the woman asked.
I raised up, crying and a bit shaken, and related my story and the predicament I was in then.
They listened carefully and patiently to my nearly incoherent ramblings, and then they took charge.
They must have been prominent citizens.
They spoke with the restaurant manager, then told me I could have all I wanted to eat there for five days.
They took me next door to the hotel desk and got me a room for five days.
Then they drove me to a clinic and saw that I was provided with the medications I needed--truly my basic lifeline to sanity and comfort.

While I was recuperating and building my strength, I made it a point to attend the daily Tabernacle organ recitals.
The celestial voicing of that instrument from the faintest intonation to the might full organ is the most sublime sonority of my acquaintance.
I have acquired albums and tapes of the Tabernacle organ and the choir which I can rely upon any time to soothe and buttress a sagging spirit.

On my last day at the hotel, before I resumed my journey, I turned in my key; and there was a message for me from that couple: 'Repay us by showing gentle kindness to some other troubled soul along your road.'
That was my habit, but I determined to be more keenly on the lookout for someone who needed a lift in life.

I wish you well. I don't know if these are indeed the 'latter days' spoken of in the scriptures, but I do know that two members of your church were saints to me in my desperate hours of need.
I just thought you might like to know.

-Thomas S. Monson -My Brother's Keeper -April 1990 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Ghost Mine

It's funny how a headache can make you the laziest person in the world.
As it's hard to focus on anything, and I just end up watching a lot of tv, because other things I want to do...would strain my eyes more.
Because I can get a lot of headaches....
I do end up watching lots of TV.
Which is why I end up getting into the most random tv shows.
Because there isn't always something on tv that I recognize as I'd love to watch.
Or it's a rerun I've already watched....
So I go searching.

Those who have read other posts know that I'm into the Ghost Shows.
Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, School Spirits, Long Island Medium...just to name a few.

Well...I've found another one.
It's a new tv series.
Tonight was the second episode.

But it is intriguing.

It's called: Ghost Mine.

Unlike other ghost shows, this one as the title suggests, takes place in a mine.
A Gold Mine. Recently reopened.
And a team of gold diggers has already tramped off. (trapped off? idr.) They basically walked off the mountain.
Because of rumors of paranormal activity, the owner of the mine has brought in a paranormal team to investigate when the miners aren't working on finding that gold.

It's like part documentary and part ghost show.
I admit, the ghostly parts in the mine are the most interesting and I can jump if something unexpected happens when I'm entranced with the ghostly parts.

The documentary part is good too as I get to learn more about mining, terms and such.
;) Which can always be useful for stories and such. :)

At least...when my headache isn't making it hard to focus....
which it is right now.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Microscopically Painful

There are alot of things you expect to experience when eating a pop tart.
Sweetness.
Sugar.
Chocolate.
Creme.
Crumbs,
Frosting,
But.
Not. Pain.

That's what I got yesterday for breakfast.
A quick sharp jabbing pain on 20.
Kinda like a needle jab.
In and out. Gone.
But I was like.
O.o WHAT?!?!?
POP TART WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME?!?!!?!
It felt...kinda like what I think a toothache would feel like.
So I tested again, to make sure it wasn't just random.
Nothing with eating.
So I decided to floss to make sure nothing had gotten inbetween the teeth.
Nothing inbetween but the pressure of the floss on the teeth...hurt.
Checking closer, I saw that the area that hurt had a filling there.
>.> funnily enough....a filling that I'd just gotten a week ago.

So I was like.
Oh no.
I'm not waiting a single day to get this fixed.
I will not deal with pain.
So then and there I called up the dentist.
To see if they could fit me in.
Okay...so I was hoping for Friday. I was willing to wait for my day off.
Unfortunately they weren't open then.
Luckily they had a spot for today.
After my shift, and after my class.
So I went to the dentist.
Explained the situation.
He looked at the tooth.

"Well I don't see anything wrong with it. It seems tight in there, not wiggling or anything."
I mentally rolled my eyes.
Oh, there's nothing wrong with it? Huh, you must know my mouth better then I do, sorry for bothering you. ;) haha. Okay...kinda in a snippety mood because I've been fighting a headache all day.
Anyway. He continued with. "Let me just see...." and proceeded to floss and pick at the filling again, asking me to tell him when I felt pain.
So I did.
"Again...it seems firm in there...but if you can fill something...I'm just going to take off the top portion and redo it."
Which he proceeded to do...and I think the filling proceeded to break into two or three pieces from the comments he made.
When he took the tools out of my mouth I was like. "So it was loose?"
He confirmed it. Saying that it had been microscopically loose. Where he couldn't see anything, but I could feel it, and after he drilled at it, the filling did get loose. He was able to pull it out.

Fix it -after trying to numb that tooth...stubborn tooth it wouldn't go numb while the rest of that side was totally numbed out. 20. You're giving me trouble.
In any case.
It's all fixed and happy now. :)

lol took me a bit to figure out that all felt normal.

Have you ever noticed that with dentists?
They numb you all up. Mess around with your mouth.
And then ask. "Does that all feel normal?"
Uh...No. Half my face is still numb.
And that's not normal.
So no, it doesn't feel normal.
And since I can't feel half my mouth...I can't tell if the bite is normal or not.
lol.
It's so hard to tell. But now that the numbness is gone.
Yes. It actually is normal.

Phew. What a relief, because I didn't want to drive back up there again, as I don't want to spend so much gas in a week. :)

Plus as a bonus.
I found my pen!
lol.
Probably not a big deal,
until you know that I use this pen...on my laptop. As it's a touch screen. I have no idea what the laptop pen is called. And with this pen, I draw the comics for my other blog.
Which I figured out how to do again!
>.> I had to use google chrome in order to find that little 'find file' button. Which I did!
So my other blog is back in business!
Or so I thought, until I discovered that my pen was gone!
()_()
That was bad, as my apartment had just barely gotten a cleaning check.
So the apartment was CLEAN.
AND I hadn't seen the pen anywhere while cleaning.
:S
But, I still had one place to look.
My parents home, as that's the only other place my laptop has been recently.
And what do you know...the dentist was nearby.
So I stopped there, and found my pen!
Where was it?
Well as I was packing last time to return home, my laptop slipped between my bed and the wall.
I was in a big enough hurry that I just grabbed the laptop and left.
And what did I find when I went straight to that spot?
Yep. My pen. ^^
So proud of myself that I didn't have to search all over the house for it. ^^ lol.
The other blog is back in business! :) haha.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

April 1993 General Conference Saturday Afternoon

Thomas S. Monson -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Ted E. Davis -The Church Audit Committee Report

F. Michael Watson -Statistical Report 1992

• Total Membership -8,406,895

David B. Haight -Personal Temple Worship

• "The Temple is built ... of earthly materials to construct a place that inspires heavenly awe. This Mormon Temple uses sweeping architecture to create a space that invokes the celestial heavens that is awesome." He continued, "We thank them for reminding us how holy a place a mere building can be."
• But even more majestic than the temple itself is the vision of the purpose of temples which guided the builders. That purpose is to redeem all mankind who are obedient to the laws and commandments of God.
• First: The Lord never asks the impossible. Often the difficult, but never the impossible.
• I suggest patience. Give the Lord time. Have faith that in His due time, all of the information you need will become available.
• Second: Begin where you are. Take one step at a time.
• Third: don't try to do everything at once.
• It is important that you do something.
• Regular temple attendance is one of the simplest ways you can bless those who are waiting tin the spirit world. If you live near a temple, partake of the opportunity to go often and regularly.
• I believe that when you diligently seek after your ancestors--in faith--needed information will come to you, even when no mortal records of their lives are available.

John M. Madsen -Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God

• All who know and understand the glorious work of redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ and all who know of his majesty and power and promises understand why they are to be of good cheer. They who have come to know him do not fear! They look unto him in "every thought." They "doubt not," and they "fear not." They know that he, the Lord Jesus Christ, is with them and that he will stand by them!
• "Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you."
• "O ye my servants ... , be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you."

V. Dallas Merrell -Power of the Church Rooted in Christ

• Joseph Smith and Mormonism, he [Professor Bloom] says, have contributed to the world "a more human God and a more divine man." Bloom says, "I also do not ... doubt that Joseph Smith was an authentic prophet. Where in all American history can we find his match?" "Nothing else in all of American history strikes me as ... equal to the early Mormons, to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Parley and Orson Pratt, and the men and women who were their followers and friends."
• First, the power of the Church is based on divine authority.
• Those in authority have no question about whose work this is and for whom we labor.
• Secondly, immense power comes from our divinely mandated purpose.
• Third, the power of the Church is also related to its essential work.
• Fourth, we are empowered by faithful Latter-day Saints who are disciples of Jesus Christ, not just members of the Church.
• Finally, the source of the Church's power involves continuous improvement.
• This is the ongoing work of the Almighty. This is not the church of Joseph Smith. It is The Church of Jesus Christ. It is the only organization in all the world that will not fail.
• [they] are firm and steadfast, full of love and good works.

David E. Sorensen -Prayer

• Prayer is indispensable.
• Once we have tasted of His goodness, Christ encourages us to pray often--in secret, in our families, in our churches, and in our hearts, continually asking specifically for the things which we need.
• "there is something in the very posture of kneeling that contradicts the attitudes described by Paul; 'proud ... heady, high minded.' ...
• "There is something in the ct of addressing Deity that offsets a tendency toward blasphemy and toward becoming lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
• "The inclination to be unholy, as Paul described it to be unthankful, is erased as together family members thank the Lord for life and peace and all they have."

Richard G. Scott -The Power of Correct Principles

• You and I can be assured of reaching worthy objectives in life by understanding and consistently following correct principles rooted in revealed truth.
• Principles are anchors of safety. They are like the steel anchors a mountaineer uses to conquer otherwise impossible cliffs. They will help you have confidence in new and unfamiliar circumstances. They will provide you protection in life's storms of adversity.
• "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
• "Mom, you're my best friend--next to Jesus."
• While it is difficult now, as he continues his resolve to be righteous, he will become a powerfully strong husband, father, and leader.
• One of the finest young men I have known. He is a natural leader, gifted, intelligent, and multitalented, with whom people feel comfortable.
• He is honest and true, bright, well organized, and a hard worker. He handles challenges as if the Lord were speaking in his ear."
• Dedicated, and knows where she is going. She comes from a strong home where gospel-centered ideals and values were successfully transferred to her. During her entire life she has been an outstanding example of service and righteous living."
• Some of you have children that do not respond to you, choosing entirely different paths. Father in Heaven has repeatedly had that same experience. While some of His children have used His gift of agency to make choices against His counsel, He continues to love them. Yet, I am sure, He has never blamed Himself for their unwise choices.

James E. Faust -Father, Come Home

• The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.
• Much of the crime and many of the behavioral disorders in the United States come from homes where the father has abandoned the children.
• We need to honor the position of the father as the primary provider for physical and spiritual support.
• "Interestingly, fatherly involvement produces stronger sexual identity and character in both boys and girls. It is well established that the masculinity of sons and the femininity of daughters are each greater when fathers are active in family life."
• I urge the husbands and fathers of this Church to be the kind of a man  your wife would not want to be without. I urge the sisters of this Church to be patient, loving, and understanding with their husbands. Those who enter into marriage should be fully prepared to establish their marriage as the first priority in their lives.
• Confusion and disorder are all too common in society, but they must not be permitted to destroy our homes.
• I plead with you, Fathers, come home.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The IM Takeover

I never thought anything like this would happen.
Yet the unbelievable news showed up in my mailbox earlier this week.

Instant Messaging....is no more.
Y_Y
Okay...so it's not totally dead.
But the service has gotten a face lift.
For my hotmail account...Microsoft?
Whoever, created the IM system....
decided that they would get rid of it....except in mainland China?
:( But they have it no more.
No....instead an agreement or something was made.
And Skype is the new system that is being used.

Unfairly though, I wasn't even given the choice of ignoring this 'advancement' and sticking with my good friend IM.
No. I was told unceremoniously that at some point in the near future I would try to log into IM...and I would get an error message. It would no longer work, and a pop up would pop up and tell me to download Skype.

Grr....I hate being forced into things.
I don't like getting into the computer world more then I have to. I basically was dragged onto facebook......

Plus it just feels weird.
Not in a bad way. I'm sure there are benefits to this Skype.
like video calls....*rolls eyes* ....if I don't like talking to people over the phone why do you think I would like talking to people and having them see me while I see them?
Nope...not for me. I communicate better (most of the time...) when I can just write my words, not have to say them.
Anyways...I can still IM, but my favorite green and blue people icons are gone forever. :(

I mostly comment on this because I've had the IM style of messaging for AGES.
Green and blue people swirling around each other to connect me to my friends.
I got it in Jr. High when I really discovered computers did more then let me play my computer games.
Oh. Internet. :) lol.

No IM is basically where it all started.
With me and my friend Jesva.
She and I have been friends since like....5th grade.
We shared a passion for stories.
And upon both of us getting IM accounts.
Our passion for stories was increased.

As we started writing.
We would come up with an idea have my characters meet her characters and write out their storylines until well....most of the time we just got stuck and/or one of us got bored and we dropped the story line only to pick up another.

lol my siblings would get so annoyed with me...my parents would as well, as I would spend hours upon hours upon hours staring at that little white screen on the computer, waiting for Jesva to type her bit and then have me type my bit.
This was back when our Internet was connected to the phone line. lol. So... we probably missed a bunch of calls, and it's part of the reason why we were given time limits on the computer, so that everyone would have a chance on the computer and no one *coughmecough* would take up too much time.

Jesva and I have been using this IM communication device to write stories for years.
I don't know how many we've managed to write. Thirty? Forty? Most of them aren't done at all...yet it was our bonding moment.
And...it helped us to be better writers. :)
As we were able to work out problems and help each other.
lol actually Jesva has been working to help me out more then me help her.
She's great at having her characters known inside and out and their plotlines/histories/motives known from start to ending.
*shakes head* Her world building is great as well.
lol.
Me....I tend to focus more on scenes. Building up a character from that scene and then the story from that....most of my stories are unfinished. I think I only have a handful that have endings in mind. Like...Five....out of hundreds. Most of them are just a couple of scenes and a general plot line that fizzles out towards the end.
So recently through our IM stories we've been working on improving my...abilities.
lol the focus has been on villains mostly. As I totally...am detrimental at keeping my bad guys....well bad. I keep wanting them to turn good. lol.
Yet. The writing has helped through IM. Help me get to know certain characters.
And it's helped me with my....conversation style?
As in writing groups the main comment is that I can make my character's conversations sound...real.
lol the only detriment to the IM writing system is that....we don't do much in descriptions. Settings are mentioned like once to get the idea. Character descriptions are the same way...most what we write involves conversations, chatter, character thinking. :)

It's been fun. Collaborating as we do.
I do admit that I struggle though...with writing stories....as I tend to be...a bit....idk wishywashy? I tend to let Jesva lead in the stories while my characters work with her characters mostly in a world of her creation. Y_Y;; This comes from not knowing my own worlds that well...or not being able to fit her characters into my world.
Plus...I love her worlds and having my characters interact.
I guess I like just being able to write.
I feel like I don't need to think as hard when writing when she's in charge.
Because if I think too hard....or she demands/asks too many questions that I can't answer, then I lose the fun of the story. (I'm pretty sure I've been the reason why most of the stories fizzled out. I lost interest.)
It's been more like a...release to just write and not worry about spelling or punctuation...editing. We get the story out as far as we can and have fun. :)

lol all in all I think we managed to finish....three stories? Two? four? I can definitely recall two, and maybe two more others....

All because of IM. :)
I mean our last main story Jesva and I did got to be over a thousand pages in Word.
Of course...that's in IM mode as I just copy and paste from IM to Word. :) lol

IM wasn't just for stories though.
Back in the younger years I used it to talk to friends after school. Plan stuff and talk about stuff.
When I moved away from home from the first time I used it to keep in touch with my family. :)
Plus it was handy as I would get little messages telling me when I got mail. :)

Yet...I guess I've been holding too much onto the past.
The use of IM has dwindled among my friends and family. To where only one or two people get on when there used to be ten or so on at a time.
Recently I've only used IM to talk to Jesva and my parents...

Now....within the past month...I've barely been on it at all.
For I mainly got on to talk to Jesva...and she left a month and a half ago on a mission.
My Itouch lets me know when I have mail.
And I call my parents and talk to them more over the phone then through IM.

So I admit....IM has faded with me as well. My main reasons for getting on have disappeared.
Yet. I still feel a loss.
There were so many memories, years of work connected with my little IM icon and messages.

Everything changes.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Glancing over Skype...it looks similar enough to me, I hope that I will be able to write the stories in the same manner...though I won't find that out until Jesva gets back....if we want to continue collaborating on stories when she does get back.
In any case...there is no one online on skype to talk to right now either.....

So I guess it's not that big of a change....for now. Just switching out icons and layouts....for now.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I had a bit of a dejavu dream where I was racing up a green hill, trying to get away from an assassin that was muscular, and long curly black hair...I think he looked a bit...Mongolian? As he wanted what I had, and I had powers....I dashed up two hills, basically climbing a mountain and reached the top where there was a castle in grey stone. I snuck my way inside, looking for particular objects, that wouldn't be obvious at first glance that they were important for my quest. I had to hide quickly as the front doors open and Dumbledore stepped in, chatting with some other fellow. At some point Verin from the Wheel of Time series also came into the dream...I don't remember how she applied. In any case, I didn't want to be caught with the items in my possession so I quietly sneaked out, with the two keys one big one small one golden one silver, and some other scraps. Dumbledore found me though soon after I went outside and told me to...basically get to work. So I grabbed the statue...I think it was of a flying horse and placed the items...keys, pieces of paper with words on them, and other things in their specific locations in order to unlock the statue...maybe bring it to life, and be able to control my powers.
It started out like the introduction to a movie. The scene opened up to reveal a regular looking neighborhood with trees, lawns, and neat little houses. The narrator was narrating the story. But I noticed right away that something was off. Staring at the trees, I saw the feet and lower legs of...something. They looked like human legs, one wearing a set of boots, another something like slippers. But, they were made of green leaves. I got the sense that I wasn't supposed to notice them, yet the narrator hinted towards them, hinted towards that we don't always see what we think we see. Well, I was definitely seeing the legs of people made out of leaves. The story focused in on them, a family -mother, father, son, and...another child. another son I think. They were out on a...I would call it a 'Treeing lesson.' as the father was teaching the older son about blending into the trees and the like. The son was enjoying the lesson, hoping from tree to tree with wild abandon, excited to be out in the real world and not still at home. Yet, he got over cocky and he grabbed onto a branch that broke under his weight. He managed to shimmy down the remaining stable part of the branch and keep himself hidden from human eyes, but the branch fell...onto the road, where a car was coming.
We cut to a scene of a human family, a young married couple with their young child...it kept switching between a boy and a girl.
The Tree leaf father realized what was happening about the same time as the human father saw the car coming straight towards them. -he was on the ground below a window that rounded out, while the mom and the child were on the window seat above. He saw the car coming straight towards them, and put the child back in his mother's arms before stepping in the way to try and protect his family.
I didn't see what happened next, but the tree leaf father was laying motionless on the ground, and at the other house...it was the same with the human father. Soon though the Otis Tree Leaf family showed up a group of three men. Their father and two sons who were in the business of saving lives, they proclaimed that they were never too late to save a Tree Leaf person. Only to say moments later after trying to revive the dad that this time....they weren't quick enough.
The view point shifted. The son ran home to hide aghast at what had happened and feeling that he was the cause of it.
The mother followed more slowly and everything seemed to...yellow. She reached the house that they lived in....which looked like a human house...but they now looked human as well. The steps up to the front door had yellowed grass and moss on them, as she walked up them, when they used to be green. The inside of the house felt....abandoned. Everything was faded in a 'we've been used over and over and over' again sort of way, but there was also the feel of neglect. the feel that the house was empty. The front room had two leather chairs and a table in it,. The chairs were moth eaten and worn, the table unvarnished, the walls empty and the floor bare of anything but the wood flooring. much of the house was the same way, but when she reached the kitchen/living room area she found her youngest son, sitting on a chair watching a multitude of tv/computer screens. Or trying to. They kept flickering with static. The mom asked her son "He's upstairs doing the _____ isn't he?" I can't remember the name she used for it. The youngest nodded not looking away from the tv, with his spoon still in his mouth. They were still mourning the loss of their father, and the youngest hadn't forgiven the oldest for what had happened. The mom made her way upstairs and found her son in the attic, surrounded again by flat screen tvs. Only...he was manipulating them. Every screen had a different news station on it. The oldest would cup his hands so it looked like he was holding a ball (though you couldn't see anything) and then he'd throw his energy at one of the tv screens. It would static out...or I guess the better way would be that the picture would clear and bits of words could be heard being uttered from the newscaster's lips, male and female news anchors. Balls of energy flew constantly at the multiple screens so that the words that were clear, even though they came from different broadcasts made sense. It went something along the lines of.
"He can't be"
"Trusted, it's not"
"right."
"His fault"
"For not being"
"Careful with the"
"lesson. This will teach"
etc etc. He was basically manipulating the tvs to verbally lash out at him. He was torturing himself because he believes that he's the reason why his dad died, and that he's like what all the neighbors called him....trouble.
The mom sets out to soothe him, but the youngest...briefly a younger sister, then back to a younger brother, comes in and actually talks to the oldest. Something that hasn't happened in a while. The mom leaves the two in the room by themselves to work it out. And they do, the brothers become friends again, but in the middle of this touching moment, the door opens again. The oldest turns to the door expecting to find his mom there and ready to tell her to leave the two of them alone,
but in steps a....black figure. He kinda reminded me of that werewolf creature from the movie the Nightmare Before Christmas, but he was totally black. He attacked....
and I got a sense that the oldest was left alone...possibly the only survivor, the mom maybe dead, the brother captured and taken to the bad guys to become one of them, and the oldest brother desperate to rescue his family. There's also a sense that he gets help from the child who lost their dad the same day he lost his...possibly a girl. And that the two would team up.......

But then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D