What Are These Hills Made Of?

 The interesting thing about living on a mountain...is that you don't really realize.....like what the mountain is made of?

Like in the abstract you know there's dirt and rocks and such that make up the mountain.

But at the same time a mountain just kinda seems like that. One entire whole. No mini pieces. Just solid.

Of course, with the burn scar on the mountain by me and seeing all the dirt, rocks, and debris that came down through the storms it should be more clear that the mountain is made up of more than just 'mountain'

But it is kinda weird to see how like....in the abstract I kinda think of our mountain as made of dirt? Even though I can see rock fins all above us and know there's rocks in the dirt....

It wasn't until I was walking by the construction area towards the bottom of my street just to 'look' at the piles of 'dirt' there that I could see just how much rock is actually mixed in with the dirt.

Because with the mudslide that happened...it looked like it was pretty consistently just mud.

But seeing it after a couple more storms where the rain has washed more of the dirt away....there's a whole ton of rocks there. 

Which has me on the more curious side as to what type of rocks I could find there. 

Like there's probably plenty of granite and quartz. As I could see shiny among the rock piles. But like...what other stones are there that I don't recognize because they're not polished up? Are there fossils there? Are there precious stones? Is it all just various types of agate? Slate? Who knows.

Though it does have the wheels turning in the back of my mind.

Because I did, for fun, request a rock tumbler machine this year for Christmas. And like....if I actually get given it....it may be fun just to go wander down to those piles of rocks and pick up a bunch of them and tumble them and see what shiny stones I can pull out of them. Could be fun. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

This Weather

 It's always funny when the weather is like "prepare for this drastic storm that's coming your way!!" 

And then the storm ends up being like....nothing. 

Like school gets preemptively cancelled....people are told to stay home if possible...and nothing comes of it. 

That kinda happened today.

Not that parts of my state didn't get hit by severe weather.

It did. 

The storms did come. Did cause some flooding, canceled events, the wind caused issues, the rain caused issues, power went out, not sure if the lightning caused anything but yah....there was 'severe weather.'

Just....not that severe in my area.

Like we did get some pretty lightning and thunder for a bit.

but the storm was just that.

A storm.

There wasn't anything drastic about it at all for my part of the state.

Honestly the storm last weekend was way more intense than whatever this was.

Which makes it very hard to take any weather predictions seriously. Like yes prepare for the weather that may come. But like...I'm not gonna go all doomsday prepper on it.

Because like odds are...the storm isn't going to be as bad as they say. 

It's probably going to be like a fourth of the power the usually predict. 

And then the storms that are like "this is nothing" is when the trouble comes lol.

In any case.

At least I made it home from work before the 'storm' hit so I didn't have to try and deal with driving in the weather along with the weather.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

How Long Must You Mourn?

 It's probably a sign that I'm getting 'old' but I really am tired of all the 'drama' with my coworkers.

To the point where I'm really apathetic to it all.

Especially this past yearish because it feels like every day just brings another 'problem' that shouldn't be a problem. 

Whether it's call outs for being 'sick' AGAIN. 

Or call outs for other reasons.....

I am getting sooo sooo Soo very close to just snapping and being like "I'm sorry, but I actually need you in the store, you need to come in."

Because seriously how many times can you get 'food poisoning' that only lasts like a day? STOP EATING WHATEVER YOU'RE EATING. Or DOING WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING TO GET SICK ALL THE TIME YEESH.

But it's also the annoyance I have with my coworkers who constantly go "I need more hours!" and then constantly go "Hey can someone cover my shift?" 

Like....You can't really get MORE HOURS if you don't WORK THEM. 

Like last night I had a coworker text at ten freaking thirty at night ---which GURL you SHOULD NOT BE TEXTING THAT LATE. 

Asking if someone could cover their Saturday shift.

Why? Because their dog was going to be put down today and they apparently needed the day AFTER off as well. 

Like...you don't work at all Friday and you NEED Saturday off too? For your dog? 

Like. I get it. Pets are like family. Losing a family member can hurt.

But like....it's a DOG. 

And I recognize it's apathetic of me to be like that. But seriously. I can get needing the day off for the day you are putting down your pet. We did that last week for a Groomer who had to put down one of their pets. They asked for the Saturday off. We gave it to them. But they didn't ask for MULTIPLE DAYS. 

Like. My sweet summer child. Mourn for the Friday, but please  come in and WORK YOUR FREAKING SATURDAY SHIFT.

Like this coworker only works maybe 2 shifts a week and wants 'more' hours but anytime we try and schedule more than like 2 shifts a week they call off at least one of those shifts. And usually at least one of those shifts in a normal week they end up calling off anyways or needing to leave early so like....it's not really OUR fault YOU'RE not getting hours when YOU'RE choosing NOT TO WORK. 

Especially since I found it annoying that this coworker had the gall to ask for someone to cover their shift when they refused to cover someone else's shift yesterday when I was looking for someone at all to cover a sick coworker. 

-Hence my apatheticalness. I'm so sick and tired of there being like no motivation to work. To be at work. 

And the kicker is that others in the group chat finally were able to figure out how to cover the shift for this coworker and the coworker was like "Oh hey wait! My dog is actually doing better so we're not putting her down today! So I could come in and work tomorrow if needed, but otherwise if I can still have the day off that's fine I have a lot to do." 

Like..... *face palm* 

I'm just annoyed.

Like. Yes. It's sad when a pet passes away. I'm sad for you but that doesn't mean you need to have like a multi-day grieving period for it. 

*exhales* 

Again. I recognize I'm being apathetic about the situation. But with the sharp increase we've had in call outs this year....it's kinda par for the course at this point. 

If my coworkers could just remain healthy and like...stop calling out....so I could have one less stress on my shoulders that would be nice.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Sole Problem

 It's interesting how you don't realize how like...uncomfortable something becomes because you've grown used to how it feels....and then you try a new thing and realize...oh the old is really uncomfortable. 

I get that every time that I end up buying a new pair of shoes. 

Which I did today as I've noticed that my current pair of work shoes ---which really are my 'everywhere and everything shoes-- have gotten rather raggedy.

And with me going out on a hiking vacation in the near future in a sandy area....the fact that my current pair of shoes has the seams coming apart so that sand can get into my shoes....yah that's not gonna be great for hiking at all if I'm constantly dealing with sand filled shoes.

So I dropped by a shoe place to look at new sneakers today so that I would have time to 'break' them in a little bit at work before taking them hiking all over the red rocks to actually break them in lol.

And like just trying on the various pairs of shoes it's crazy how much of a difference they have.

Like of course the old pair has it's comforts because my feet have worn them so long to wear them down so they are 'comfy' in their own way.

but like the padding in the sole has obviously broken down compared to the new shoes because wow how fluffy and supportive the inside felt. Like it didn't feel like I could feel like I was walking on concrete anymore. It felt soft. 

Which is so weird. Because I remember my old shoes feeling just exactly the same way. 

And it's crazy how it's a never ending cycle where you're constantly seeking new shoes for the same reason you bought your old shoes but you need the new shoes because the old shoes are no longer holding up. 

 In any case. After far too long in dithering I did end up buying myself a pair of new shoes. So yay! Now to break them in at work and hope that they're as comfy there as they felt in the store lol. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Sticker Shock

 Had a bit of a heart attack moment today.

Which isn't the greatest when dealing with a more major migraine that makes thinking and dealing with problems ... rather difficult.

It came down to getting more migraine medicine. As I knew I had refills but when I went into the pharmacy app...it said that I didn't have any refills...even though the doctor said I would.

And the app said I needed to tell the doctor to tell them to do the refills....so I told the doctor...who got back to me with a ??? "What do you mean you're requesting refills I gave you refills?" 

Which turns out that the pharmacy app doesn't talk to the freaking website because the pharmacy website when I ventured on there to look at it for funsies...showed my refills there just fine but the app still showed nada. 

Which gee. great. Thanks. Thanks for making me look silly in front of my doctor. *exhales* 

In any case I go to get a refill....and get quite the sticker shock.

Because instead of the expected $20 I was expecting to show up as what I would need to pay to get the rx refilled.....the website was showing that it would cost nearly $1,200 to get the migraine medicine.

Like. 

WHAT

I knew the stupid idiotic tariffs would make things more expensive but THAT?! Expensive?!

WHAT?!

How could it go from $20 to $1,200!?!?!? I can't afford that. Not gonna pay that for EIGHT pills. That's ridiculous. 

And it was heartbreaking because like the migraine medicine has been sooo helpful and I'd literally just take my last one earlier today to get rid of the migraine that decided to strike last night.

So I was....not at my best. Because WHAT?!?

And once I got my head a bit less throbby I tried to call the pharmacy itself to be like "Hey, is that the cost with insurance or without insurance?" because I know meds are more expensive without insurance.

But unfortunately stupid AI struck and I was stuck dealing with an AI person on the phone who 'could not answer' that specific question. They could tell me how much the medicine cost but couldn't tell me if that was with or without insurance. But if I tried to get to a representative I was told I would have to leave a message and I would be called back the people were able to call me back.

Like.... I just want to talk to a real person. Why can't I talk to a real person now?!

*exhales*

Ended up, once the migraine got more under control and I had my energy back going to the pharmacy itself to be like "Heeeeey, I tried to refill my Rx online but the price was much higher than normal and I just wanted to check if that was right."

And it WAS NOT right.

No. 

Apparently the website likes to glitch on occasion and show the RETAIL price of the medicine rather than the price you pay when you have insurance.

Which YIKES. Over a $1,000 for 8 pills? WITHOUT insurance? O.o That's soooo crazy and that's such a stupid high mark up. Like....I get its fancy medicine but it shouldn't cost THAT MUCH. Yeesh.

In any case.

I am extremely grateful that I still only had to pay the $20 and was able to get my Rx refilled right then and there. 

Especially since I have another trip coming up in a couple of weeks that will involve a lot of hiking and I wanted to have the meds on hand just in case I need them. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Two Types

 You've probably heard the ...idk if it could be called a saying, but the saying "There's two types of people in the world--" and then it goes on to give you two types of people. 

Like those who like cats and those who like dogs.

Those who can count and those who can't.

Etc.

And I suppose the 'two types' that has been on my mind this evening is the "Those who think about others before themselves and those who think about themselves first." 

Personally...I tend to fall into the former category.

I tend to think about how what I do can affect or help others first. And tend to put their needs before mine. Tend to work my schedules around their schedules etc. 

Which gets frustrating a ton of the time when people don't give me the same courtesy back. 

Like the recent vacation I took. I tried to plan my time away from everyone else taking vacation...but it felt like the moment people realized I was taking vacation everyone else decided they also wanted vacation during that same time.

It's happening again in a couple of weeks when I'm using up the last of my vacation time before the end of the year. I've had this vacation planned out for months and only now are people like "OH I need this time off too!!" 

But it's in other things as well.

Like....if I'm not feeling well I try to not bother my roomies and stay away...while one of my roommates has been sick all weekend...and coughing loud enough that you can hear them through the entire house...which has put the rest of us on edge because like....could you not cough quieter? Could you not stay in your room more?

Or like it's little things like....I watch this YouTube series where Pokemon cards are given away for free in drawings. Do I have an interest in the pokemon cards or game itself? Nope. But I have a friend who is. So I enter for fun because if I win I think it would be great to surprise my friend with those cards. 

And like when I'm shopping ... I tend to be thinking more about gifts for others rather than gifts for myself. 

And it has been a bit of a struggle....something I've been working on this past year....to not give so much of myself away. To try and take a bit rather than just give give give give give. Because takers will keep taking. And sometimes...you just need to stop giving. 

So it's been "be sure to buy things for yourself" "be sure to ask things for yourself" "try to not always accommodate yourself to others but make them accommodate to you."

But really....my first thought is still for others.

Like even today I found myself in a situation where I was like "Hey, if you don't need this, I could take it off your hands and use it to help my store." Only to get the response of "No I actually want to keep it because it will become more valuable over time so I'm hoarding it for now." 

Just...little things like that. 

Where I'm again reminded that not everyone thinks or acts the same as I do.

Doesn't stop from throwing me off every time.

But I do have to remember that more than likely most people are thinking "what's in it for me." rather than "what can I do for them?" 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

195th Semiannual General Conference Highlights - Sunday Sessions

 Sunday Morning 

Jeffrey R. Holland

• God can bless us by whatever method he chooses from the most unlikely of sources, things, and places. 
• How easy it is for us to dismiss the source of our redemption because of the ingredients or the instruments seem embarrassing or plain. 
• Are we willing to persevere no matter how much 'spit and clay' it takes?
• Is the Book of Mormon a rod of safety for your soul? 

James E. Evanson

• Service continues to lead others to the Gospel. 
• God needs people to love and serve others. 
• You don't need an assignment to do good. God loves every act of service done for good unto others. 
• If Teaching missionaries are the Lord's mouth, then Service missionaries are the Lord's hands. Service missionaries are NOT second class missionaries. They are just as important. 
• Service is the lifeblood of the Gospel of Christ. 
• Through service we change hearts and the world. 

Ulisses Soares

• Temperance harmonizes and strengthens other Christlike attributes. 
• We can be firmly anchored to the rock of His grace. 
• True spiritual strength is not expressed in haughty words but in temperance.
• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort but in moments of controversy. 
• Don't let your afflictions become gaps in your faith. 

Peter M. Johnson

• Ministering in the Savior's way involves love without judgement. 
• Jesus is the Christ and I am HIS disciple. 
• The Savior's job is to heal and make us whole. Our job is to minister in such a way as to bring others unto Christ and bring us together. 

D. Todd Christofferson

• Turn to the Lord. Ask him to comfort your heart and soothe the pain you feel. 
• Don't look away from Him, but Look to Him. 
• Christ is with us and loves us even when our hearts hurt. 
• Looking to God is to keep his commandments, look unto him continually for his support. 
• Immorality is one of the quickest ways to lose your testimony. 
• Public opinion is not the arbiter of truth.
• Our faith can continue to grow even in times of doubt and challenges. 

Andrea Munoz Spannaus

• We can receive a personal testimony of God's prophets today and can open our hearts, our minds, and our hearts to the messages that the Lord has for us today. 
• Raise your children in light and truth. 

Henry B. Eyring 

• God is proving you, but He is also with you. 
• Your struggle with something may also be a gift from the Lord. He may be teaching you that with His help you can find the strength in Him to do what you're trying to do. 
• Never give up. Keep trying. Keep the faith.
• Your proving and strengthening won't look like other's proving and strengthening, but they will come and will be for your benefit. 
• God is with you. He will not forsake you. 

Sunday Afternoon

David A. Bednar

• Moral agency can be understood as the ability and privilege to act in ways that are honest, good, and true. 
• The fundamental purposes of agency is to love one another and choose God. 
• The fear of the Lord is not an apprehension about coming into his presence to be judged. But about acknowledging to ourselves about how things really are and how things will be.

B. Corey Cuvelier 

• The journey of discipleship takes time and effort.
• Retain the name of Christ. Have it written always in your hearts. 
• Those filled with the love of God are anxious to bless everyone around them, not just their family, not just themselves, everyone in the world.  

Matthew S. Holland

• God loves and seeks to rescue all his Children. 
• Don't wallow in contentious criticism, be merciful, be slow to anger and kind to all. 
• You can be a good person in crisis, left feeling forsaken, but there is always dry ground for hope, healing and happiness in Christ. 
• Forsake not your own mercy. You have immediate access to divine help and healing. 
• Whether we are facing a deep Jonah like catastrophe or the everyday challenges of our imperfect world. The invitation is the same. Forsake not your own mercy. 

Carlos A. Godoy

• This Church doesn't attract great people, but it does make ordinary people great. 
• There were no complaints. Only smiling faces and grateful hearts. 
• Trust in Jesus and always look unto him because he will help you in the healing process. 

Dale G. Renlund

• Focus. Get over it. Do the best you can. 
• We change for the better when we focus on Christ moreso than when we focus on ourselves. 
• Charity towards all is essential to our progress.
• The reward of keeping covenants is heavenly power and strength to face the trials that come at us. 

John D. Amos

• The simple secret for happy living is to just follow God's recipe as detailed in the scriptures. The 'good news' recipe. 
• If the recipe is going wrong, add more Christ into your life. 

Ozani Farias

• If you sincerely prioritize your Scripture study each day, you will find great spiritual strength and confidence. 
• The Book of Mormon has the power to answer the questions in our souls.

Dallin H. Oaks

• Russell M. Nelson announced 200 new temples. He loved to announce new temples at the conclusion of each conference. No new temples announced this session.
• The family is ordained of God. 
• The Church of Jesus Christ is known as a family centered Church. 
• Exaltation is a family affair. 
• Every single mother can teach of the love of a Heavenly Father. 
• We are a family church. 
• Grandparents can do much to fill in the gaps when families lose or are missing a member. 
• The perfection we seek is not limited to the stressful circumstances of mortality. 
• Christ is our ultimate role model. 
• You can turn your family On if you turn your technology Off. 
• What your children really want for dinner is Time with You. 

To watch/read/listen to the talks in their entirety please visit: 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10?lang=eng

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

-Sarnic Dirchi