It's Not So Simple In Zombie Mode

Yesterday was a day of....well torturing myself really.
Because I'm apparently super stubborn. lol.

So.
It was one of those nights where my brain decided to dream that I was getting ready for work, already at work....when I woke up for reals to go to work.
Considering that I'd already done the whole 'prep' thing (albeit less successfully) in my dream, it seemed like my brain/body hadn't gotten enough rest.

I hadn't thought much about it when I actually got up.
Because I'm always a little bit sleepy when it comes to waking up....
But as I got into work, and still felt tired...fatigued....I knew...today was going to be rough.

If I was already super tired and I hadn't even been at work an hour yet....the rest of my 8 hour shift was going to be torture.

Still, I thought that I could make it through easily enough. Just buy myself a Dr. Pepper for a caffeine fix, and that should be able to get me through the day until I could go home and take a much needed nap.

The Problem?
The vending machine at work was all out of Dr. Pepper.
Y_Y
I mean....I could have bought another caffeinated drink. Mountain Dew, CocaCola, etc.
But....it doesn't give me the same boost as Dr. Pepper does.

So fatigued brain thought it was a great idea to just go without any caffeine through work.
Which meant I ended up feeling like a bit of a zombie the entire shift. lol.
Thankfully, the naps I took on break seemed to help me survive at least.

And I was more than grateful to get off work.
Only....I couldn't go home yet.

You see, I needed to reregister my car, or whatever it's called...basically go get it's safety and emissions tests done so that I can be street legal to drive my car or whatever.

It should have been the sort of thing where I could have been like "Oh, I'll just do that a different day."
However.
I was on a deadline.
As I'm heading out of town for nearly the rest of the month.
And if I didn't do it now....waiting til the last two days before the month ends to get registered....just seems like an all around bad idea. I mean...what if something happens and I can't get whatever I need to get done, done before the month ends? I'd be driving around illegally that's what.

So. Forcing myself and my lagging energy into my car.
I drove over to the nearest Jiffy Lube, telling myself that I could survive another hour to get my car checked out before I went home to take a nap.

Only to find out as I pulled up to that Jiffy Lube....that they currently couldn't do both parts of the inspection. They didn't have the equipment...which I found odd as I could have sworn I had that particular location do my check last year....So perhaps their machine was broken or anything.

Nearly I thought about calling it quits then and there,
But the people told me that their sister location up on Center had both services available. And that was only like a five minute drive up the road.
So....I drove up the road.
And thankfully the procedure was quicker than expected.
The guy was like "You're all set! We just need to print out---Oh."
And you know what that OH was?
It was the OH of REJECTION.
My car hadn't passed it's safety.
-Which proved to me that it was a good thing I hadn't waited until the end of the month to get this check done.
Because what did I need to do to pass the inspection?

Replace 3 of my 4 tires.

Which since I was replacing 3 of them...might as well replace all four right? Right.
And they needed to be replaced because the tires had gone into 'second rubber'
Which...is probably a bad thing.
Well, definitely a bad thing lol. Since it meant that I Didn't Pass my inspection. >.< Boo.

And at that point I was like... Great.
Because here I was. In full on Zombie Mode of Fatigue.
And the easy little check....wasn't so easy.
Because I now needed to go spend $$$$$ on Tires to get my car fixed.
Ugh.

So I did what I could only think of doing at that point in time.
I went to Wendy's. To get myself my comfort food of a Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Fries, and of course, a much needed Dr. Pepper while I debated about what to do.
Did I get the tires today?
Did I try to get them tomorrow before work?
Did I ask Kikay to go get my cars tires for me while I'm out of town?
Do I wait until I get back and try my luck there?

In the end....with the help of the Dr. Pepper.
and the fact that there was a Discount Tires Store just across the way from Wendy's.
I bit the bullet of not getting my nap for a while longer, and drove to the tire store.

Why that particular one?
Because the last time we'd bought tires for my car, it had been at a Discount Tires in Hometown.
And apparently that meant that my car would be on their records, which would mean I could just request that they replace the tires with the same ones I had had before.

Though it seemed like everyone and their dad had that same idea.
As there were three other customers in line before me, and five or so others who came in after I was helped, all with problems with their tires.

Mine? 
Easy enough. Just needed to get all four replaced.
lol. Apparently the last time we got new tires for my car it was 2012. 
:S
Five years.
Yikes.

I didn't know if that was a long life span, short life span, or if I was flirting with danger for having not replaced the tires sooner than that.

So I asked, cus my curious nature had to know. 
Turns out tires are good for 3-5 years.
Therefore, I was still on the 'good long lasting tire' route which meant that I hadn't worn the tires down before their time. I was 'just right.'

In any case. It wasn't simply an easy "replace them with the same tires" because wouldn't you know it? They'd discontinued the making of that particular tire. Who knows how long ago.
But thankfully the rep guy made my life easy and just said "These ones are comparable, basically the same thing." and tired me was like "Great. How long is this going to take?" 

It took 45 minutes. Which surprisingly was how long they said it would take when I asked for an estimate. lol. and 30 of that minutes? Was spent waiting for them to actually get to my car. So you have to admire that they replaced all four tires and got them balanced and such in 15 minutes. 
(It's not Nascar...but still that's pretty quick.) 

And so $$$$$ spent and one exhausted me later.
I had new tires! Woot!

By this point I was totally ready to just curl up on the floor and sleep.
So I was like "Yah, not going to try and go back to Jiffy to get myself approved." 
I could wait until I got back from vaca and get it done then. 

Only, I apparently like to torture myself by seeing how long I could actually function awake....
And as I drove past another Jiffy Lube (the third one I'd gone to that day) I decided to pull in and see if they could help me out. I mean...it would only take like 10 minutes right for them to recheck my car. Right?

Wrong.
As unfortunately I'd chosen to show up half an hour before the place closed. 
And this particular Jiffy Lube was pretty busy with cars. Too busy to accept me for the day.
Though they suggested that I could try a Fourth Jiffy Lube that was just like six blocks down and see if they could get me in before close. 

Ha.
Ha.

No. 
I'd already been rejected at 2 of the 3 Jiffy Lubes I'd already visited.
I wasn't about to try my luck at a fourth.
Especially so close to closing.
And so close to me loosing my mind because guys....I needed to crash. Hard. In my bed. And Sleep. 

So I went home and did just that.
I crashed for 3 hours, which helped to pull me out of zombie mode if not fatigue mode. lol. 

In any case....looks like I'll be getting my car approved after I get back from vaca. 
But at least my stress levels are lower now that I got my car's tires fixed and such. So yay for that. :) 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

An Abandoned Roadside

One evening as night was falling, I was driving with my children when I noticed a boy walking along a lonely road.
After passing him, I had a distinct impression I should go back and help him.
But worried it could frighten him to have a stranger pull up beside him at night, I continued driving.
The strong impression came again with the words in my mind: "Go help that boy!'

I drove back to him and asked, "Do you need some help?
I had a feeling I should help you."

He turned toward us and with tears streaming down his cheeks said, "Would you?
I've been praying someone would help me."

His prayer for help was answered with the inspiration that came to me.
This experience of receiving such clear direction from the Spirit left an unforgettable imprint that is still I my heart.

And now after 25 years and through a tender mercy, I connected again with this boy for the first time just a few months ago.
I discovered that the experience isn't just my story--it is his story too.
Deric Nance is now a father with a family of his own.
He too has never forgotten this experience.
It helped us lay a foundation of faith that God hears and answers our prayers.
Both of us have used it to teach our children that God is watching over us.
We are not alone.

On that night, Deric had stayed after school for an activity and had missed the last bus.
As a young teenager, he felt confident he could make it home, so he started walking.

An hour and a half had passed as he walked the lonely road.
Still miles from home and with no houses in sight, he was scared.
In despair, he walked behind a pile of gravel, got on his knees, and asked Heavenly Father for help.
Just minutes after Deric returned to the road, I stopped to provide the help he prayed for.

And now these many years later, Deric reflects: "The Lord was mindful of me, a skinny, shortsighted boy.
And despite everything else going on in the world, He was aware of my situation and loved me enough to send help.
The Lord has answered my prayers many times since that abandoned roadside.
His answers aren't always as immediate and clear, but His awareness of me is just as evident today as it was that lonely night.
Whenever the dark shadows of life blanket my world, I know He always has a plan to see me safely home again."

As Deric expressed, not every prayer is answered so quickly.
But truly our Father knows us and hears the pleadings of our hearts.
He accomplishes His miracles one prayer at a time, one person at a time.

-Jean A. Stevens -"Fear Not; I am with Thee"  -April 2014 General Conference

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Not A Customer

Okay.
I have to say that this honestly hasn't happened to me before at work.
Which considering I've been at work longer than almost everyone else...
Is surprising.

What happened?

Well.
There I was.
Focused on a task.

Which when I get super focused on said tasks, I have trouble comprehending 'non work' related things. Like that one time my brother dropped by and I didn't recognize him. lol.

This wasn't that sort of thing.

I was in the middle of scrubbing tanks.
Trying to go as fast as I could without killing my arm, because, while work wasn't as busy as it was yesterday, I was still dealing with customers consistently enough that if I didn't finish scrubbing soon...I would never finish.

So that was my frame of mind.
Scrub. Hurry. Scrub. Hurry.
I was completely focused on my task, focused on the tank in front of me.
When I heard a customer say behind me. "Hey can you help me get some fish."
Not looking up, I was like "Sure what fish do you need?"
There was silence, so I looked up expecting to see a customer.

And instead there stood one of the stockers with a bit of a smirk on his face.
lol *shakes head*
He'd altered his voice to sound more like a girl and then pretended to be a customer.

Honestly, I don't know what he was thinking when he did that.
But I'm pretty sure he was like. O.o That worked?!?! lol.

He actually asked me: "Did you think I was a customer?"

For a split second I thought about saying. "NO. I was just playing along."
But I doubted I could pull it off. So I shrugged and said; "Yah, you did."

And he got such a happy expression on his face before he walked away. lol.

I guess he didn't expect to fool me like that?
Which, honestly, if I had looked up before I answered I would have saved myself from looking kinda foolish.
But hey, it made his day. *shrugs*

Of course, if it was him trying to scare me I doubt it would have worked.
Pretending to be a customer....yah, it will probably get me every time if I'm focused on a task or not looking around when the 'customer' approaches.

>.>
<.<
Guess I'll have to keep an eye out and see if he tries it again lol.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

On the Hunt

You know, I thought it was stressful a couple years back when a couple of friends and I were apartment hunting in CollegeTown.

First it was like. You gotta find places that are for rent, in the area you want, in the price range you want, with the size that you want, etc etc.
And then!
When you finally find a place that you want to check out in person.
There's the dreaded phone call, where you have to set up an appointment with whoever is in charge of selling contracts/apartments/homes for rent etc etc.
And then. THEN!
You either get to see the apartment only to find out a little bit later that someone else scooped up the apartment before you.
Or else you don't even get to see the apartment because someone else scooped it up before you could even see it.

Ugh!! Sooo frustrating.

But what's interesting is that apparently those who are selling the contracts for the rooms experience the same thing.

Where you have random strangers express interest in your room that you're trying to rent out.
And some never show up to their appointments.
Others show up, say they'll get back to you....and then never do.
And others...cancel last minute so you were stressing about making a good impression and having a nice clean house....for nothing.

*exhales*

Yah, I kinda miss the days in student housing, where you didn't have to worry about filling a room, the management would just fill it when a room emptied out...and if they didn't fill the room....it wasn't anything to you. It just meant one less roommate to worry about.

So interesting the differences.
Between apartments and houses, student housing and landlords. Totally crazy.

I'll be glad when we don't have to worry about finding another roommate any more.
*fingers crossed*

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2014 General Conference -Sunday Afternoon

M. Russell Ballard -Stay in the Boat and Hold On!

• We are on the old ship Zion. God is at the helm and will stay there. All is right, sing Hallelujah, for the Lord is here. He dictates, guides and directs. If the people will have implicit confidence in their God, never forsake their covenants nor their God, He will guide us right.
• If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
• Stay focused on the simple things, and avoid becoming distracted.

Richard G. Scott -Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority

• Despite all of the negative challenges we have in life, we must take time to actively exercise our faith.
• Parents, help safeguard your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. Children are bombarded every day with the evils of lust, greed, pride, and a host of other sinful behaviors. Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer.
• We came to mortal life precisely to grow from trials and testing. Challenges help us become more like our Father in Heaven, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible to endure those challenges.

Carlos A. Godoy -The Lord Has a Plan for Us!

• If you continue to live as you are living, will the blessings promised in your patriarchal blessing be fulfilled?
• It's not always a decision between what is right and wrong, but between what is good and what is better.
• The best paths in life are rarely the easiest.
• Are we willing to pay the price for our decisions? Are we prepared to leave our comfort zones to reach a better place?
• We are not here in this life just to waste our time, grow old, and die. God wants us to grow and achieve our potential.
• It is very likely that when we decide to take a certain path, the people we love will be affected, and some will even share with us the results of this choice.
• Just because things are going well does not mean that we should not from time to time consider whether there might be something better.

Allan F. Packer -The Book

• Seeking the kingdom of God leads to joy and happiness.
• If needed, we must be willing to change. Frequent small corrections are less painful and disruptive than large course corrections.
• The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home.
• Don't fight the change, embrace it! Change is part of the great plan of happiness.
• It's time to take the cover off our hatchets and go to work.

Hugo E. Martinez -Our Personal Ministries

• He who serves in some thing is good for something; he who serves in no thing is good for nothing.

Larry S. Kacher -Trifle Not with Sacred Things

• There are many currents in this earthly life--some safe and others not.
• Why would I turn away from that which had brought me such great comfort?
• If we can create a strong, steady current flowing toward our goal of righteous life, we and our children may be carried forward in spite of the contrary winds of hardship, disappointment, and temptations.

David A. Bednar -Come and See

• The Church of Jesus Christ always has been and always will be a missionary church.

Thomas S. Monson -Until We Meet Again

• My we resolve in our hearts to be a little better than we have been in the past. May we be a little kinder and more thoughtful.

General Women's Session

Linda K. Burton -Prepared in a Manner That Never Had Been Known

• Worthy character is best forged from a life of consistent, correct choices centered in the teachings of the Master.

Jean A. Stevens -Covenant Daughters of God

• The best way to strengthen a home, current or future, is to keep covenants.

Neill F. Marriott-Sharing Your Light

• You carry a circle of influence with you wherever you go.
• You are vibrant and enthusiastic beacons in an ever-darkening world as you show, through the way you live your lives, that the gospel is a joyful message.
• if you want to give a light to others, you have to glow yourself.
• In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf -Living the Gospel Joyful

• Bring sunshine into the lives of all who know you.
• It is good to remember that you are always a child of God.
• But your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance.
• Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Lil Tradition

The Miss USA pageant was on tonight.

And I honestly wouldn't have realized it was on -because my TV doesn't get stations currently. (just good old Netflix and DVDs)

Until my mom brought up that it was.

And tried as I could to see if I could stream the show online.

...I couldn't.

Which was rather depressing, because guys...it's 2017, shouldn't everything be available online yet?!! ;) lol.

But in any case.

It was mostly the thought of "awww."

Because when I was younger.

It was a tradition for Mother Dearest and I to watch the pageants together.

Miss USA being the most common, but we'd watch the others as well.

With occasionally my siblings and my Daddoo joining in. lol.

But we'd watch it together, first to see what everyone's names were.

Because obviously if one of the state representatives had my name I totally wanted them to win!

And if Kikay was present, we'd divide up the contestants Brown/Black hair against Blonde/Red hair (since Kikay and I have different hair colors) and have 'my team' against 'her team' so we could see which of us would 'win' in the end. lol.

Once the introductory stage of the pageant was over.

It came down to the states and the first elimination round.

We'd cross our fingers. Hope that my Mom's childhood home state, and our current home state would make it past the first elimination.

(It's a rare blue moon occurrence for that to happen.)

And the competition would go on.

We'd mourn our favorites being slowly kicked out of the running as the group was whittled down smaller and smaller and smaller.

The highlight of the show for sure is the Evening Gowns though. ^^ lol. We'd rate how much we love the dresses from 1-10.

;) usually the one with the prettiest dress we wanted to win of course.

And then.

The final questions.

The final moments.

The "Who is going to win?!"

And either celebration or quiet mourning if our chosen contestant won/lost.

lol.

It was a fun family tradition growing up.

And being reminded of it tonight had me feeling quiet nostalgic.

I love those quiet moments.

Those simple bonding times.

Those little traditions that stay around. :)

It's the best.

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Who Am I In Social Media Land?

Social Media is an interesting place.

Because with a few words, a couple of pictures, and other odds and ends....

You can portray yourself however you wished to be portrayed.

The fashionista. The up and coming chef, the mystery writer, the landscape photographer, the person who gushes constantly about their significant other or their children. The person obsessed with a series of comics.

You can basically make yourself out to be whoever you want to be.
And it's not always the truth.
Or if it is the truth, it may only be a partial truth.
Like choosing to only talk about the good things and make things appear better than they are in reality.

And it's interesting, the perspectives that people can have of you because of that.
Occasionally those perspectives being totally different from what you had intended in the first place.

*shakes head*

And since Social Media is a huge part of our lives nowadays, where we learn and connect and feel for each other through words/images on a screen.
It's easy to think that you know the person well based off of what they decide to put up on internet land.

Yet.
It's never the full picture.
You never see the full persona of the person in internet land.
Just as it's hard to see the full persona in real life too I suppose. Not without constant contact with the individual to see the different facets of themselves. How they react in public, in private, to things they like or don't like.

*exhales*

In any case.

It's interesting to see how people take what you place onto social media platforms.

Most of the time, for me, I try to go for funny/inspirational.
It's things that I find inspiring, things I find funny, things where I can only shake my head and laugh and go "seriously?"
My goal is to give people a reason to smile throughout the day.
To occasionally make them think.
And to often uplift and inspire them. Give them a boost throughout the day.

But I suppose it doesn't always come off like that.

It may come across that I hate my job because I'm constantly posting short snippets about customers I've had to deal with.
Or that I'm seriously struggling with writing because I'm complaining about how hard it is.
Or that I'm some goodie goodie naïve girl who doesn't understand the world isn't as nice as I make it out to be.

Which is kinda eyebrow raising when it's brought to my attention.

Do I hate my job?
No. No. I don't.
I complain out of love. Out of a fond exasperation.
Just like a parent would be like "You won't believe what little Jimmy did to the dog today." sort of thing.
Some days at work are harder to deal with than others. Like any job really. You have good days and bad days.
But I truly do enjoy where I work. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't have stayed as long as I have. Because it's always been my goal to work at a place I love.
And I love my job.
The animals I can take care of, the people I can help, the sense of accomplishment I feel.
It's great.
And my job has helped me to grow more comfortable with interacting with people, getting their stories, learning that there are just some people you can't understand, and just basically enjoying making connections.

And it's interesting to see that people don't get that. That I'm complaining out of love. lol.
My sister doesn't. She sees the posts I make and wonders "Why don't I just quit?"
I've gotten that same response from others friends and family in the past as well. lol because they didn't realize that I'm just posting because it's fun to talk about work, to complain a bit, to show that "wow...people say weird things and do weird things."

Writing. *exhales* Ah.
Writing is a challenge that's for sure.
And again I try to make my struggles fun to read. Complaining because geez, writing is hard.
I may know the steps, may know the process, may know what to do.
But honestly, if your brain won't cooperate with your fingers and you work yourself into a corner and can't think a way out....
Ya gotta complain about it somewhere. Let the frustration out. As often venting a bit can help you find the clarity you need for a problem.
It's not that I'm posting about writing to look for help.
I'm posting to try and give people a smile as I deal with my own frustrations. lol.

But I think the main challenge I see from people who see me in social media land....(and in real life too...)
Is that often they tend to categorize me as this naïve innocent person, who will step out of their happy little bubble one day, see the world is on fire and go AHHHH!!! THE WORLD IS ON FIRE HELP ME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I DIDN'T REALIZE THE WORLD WAS ON FIRE!!

*shakes head*
I know the world is burning. I know that life isn't easy. I know that people think differently than me, feel differently than me, understand and see the world differently than me.
That doesn't mean that I can't keep up a positive outlook on life though. That I can't connect and be friends with people who are different than me. That I can't be both 'innocent' and understand that the world has some dark corners to it.
*exhales*
It's not like I don't have my own inner demons to deal with, that I don't watch the news, that I don't read books or watch movies.

I just choose to....try and find the positive I suppose. To not focus on the negative as much.
lol. It doesn't stop me from ranting here on the blogs on occasion, or banging my head against the keys over at Facebook ranting that once again I have another stupid headache or I've come across another writer's block, or wow I had to deal with six customers in a row that got on my nerves....

*shrugs*
Yah...I dunno what I'm trying to say really....
Only that....I'm not the full person you think I am. (No one is on social media, there's always something that they're not telling you.)
I try to show as much of my persona in social media as I can, try to be 'the real me.' Try to show who I truly am.
Via Blogger, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter....
But each platform doesn't always give people the whole picture me. Some give a very skewed image, others show a bigger picture...
I don't even know if it's possible if someone actually follows every single platform I use, for them to even then, see a more complete picture as to who I am. lol. *shakes head*

The musing dreaming blogger, the idealistic Facebooker, the fanatical Tumblrling, the spiritual but baseball obsessed Twitterer.

And even then....the picture isn't complete.
After all, people will only know you through what you choose to show them.

People are complicated. That's for sure.
There's always another story, another reason, a different perspective that may come to light depending on how the stars align and the situation unfolds.

I suppose that's what makes it fun. Social Media. Because you get to see just how similar or different everyone is to you. :)

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

-Sarnic Dirchi