My New Mountain Bike!!!

I bought a sweet mountain bike a few weeks ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. Lisi has a bike too so we go biking together a lot. In fact, she's the reason why I wanted to buy a bike.

Isn't it lovely? Mountain bikes are the way to go in my opinion since you can ride off road and on pavement too. It's a win win!! We've taken our bikes up the Provo Canyon Trail (both ends), a loop up Provo Canyon, Hobble Creek Canyon and Jordan River Parkway. I am just waiting till I can go to Moab!

So I had to buy a bike rack of course and I decided to go with a roof top one cause let's face it, they look way cooler, right? It took forever to install, but i did it! It looks pretty rad eh? It cost almost as much as my bike did, but hey in my defense I can use it in the winter too for cross country skis. Those are Lisi's and my two new favorite sports.

Life on the Pharm

My part-time job this summer has been to work at Edgemont Pharmacy, one of the pharmacies I worked at to get me through BYU. I figure since I have the whole summer off, I should work a little to keep me on my toes and make some extra cash as well. I only work about 1 day a week so I still have time to enjoy the sumer as well.

It's been dull at times but then entertaining at times. Napoleon Dynamite's grandpa has come in as well as Lavell Edwards.....that's my claim to fame! So the other day this older guy comes in and tells the pharmacist, "un beso sin bigote es como sopa sin sal." A kiss without a mustache is like soup with salt. Hehe. You see, the pharmacist has a mustache so this older guy just couldn't resist telling him this.

Then the same day I answer the phone and this older guy is on the phone. Well, he asks if his friend, Bruce (the pharmacist), is working that day. I say yes and then he just comes out and says, "He's a DORK." I just had to let out a little chuckle! Then he asks if I knew that and I say no, but thanks for letting me know :) Then he says, "you just look into his eyes and you see D - O - R - K." Apparently he always called the pharmacist a dork and nerd or something like that. He's not off his rocker of anything, just a funny old guy.

Nelson, BC, Canada.....a must read

My family and I just took a quick trip to Nelson to visit relatives. Man, I don't even know where or how to start describing this place to you. I've come here quite a bit over the years growing up to see family. Let me just preface this post about Nelson by saying....I love it!! It's so different from anything you or I am used to and it seems, quite frankly, to be stuck back in the 70s.

The naturaleza (I can never think of this word in English!! It equates to the following - setting, scenery, landscape, geography.....something like that anyway) of Nelson is amazing. It is nestled in the valley of these ginormous thickly-forest-populated mountains along this ginormous lake formed by glacier water, with lots of beaches. The town itself is very quaint and cute with a main street loaded with shops and little houses outlying the area. This might help you envision it (although you can't see the town because of the trees):

So now that you can envision it physically, it's time to understand the atmosphere and culture. I could do that in one word: GRANOLA

If you don't know what that means, just take a look at the pictures below. I'll let you deduce your own opinions of Nelson based on what you see..... I could just describe it with words, but it's better to see it.

This one explains itself....

Lots of loose flowy clothing (not matching I might add)...

These guys are very abundant...The Kootenay Co-op is a health food store with lots of natural/organic products...Lots of dred locks. This guy's is exceptionally long...Bumper stickers....oh yeah! That's what it's all about!Notice the hat...

So, what did you come up with?? Your opinions...?

Here's the real kicker.....!!! Inside the Kootenay Co-op (the health food store) this sign was present, with a box full of flip flops of course.

Young at Heart

So when you're a kid and you happen upon one of these big boys, it's pure heaven. If you're passing it that is. Usually you're sitting in the front seat and you can't resist putting your arm at a 90 degree angle and moving it up and down. Because if you do, usually the truck driver will give you a big hearty honk. No doubt they get a kick out of it as well as you.

Well, you see, I'm still a kid at heart (my siblings can attest to this!). We were driving up to Cananda and it was dark. Well, I got this bright idea. I dared Dexter, who was sitting in the front seat, to do what I just described above, but while sticking his arm out the window. It was fail proof!! The headlights of the semi would of course see his arm. Well, being the chicken that he his :) he wouldn't do it. So I, sitting in the back seat, did it. And not just once my fellow readers, but many times. I got a few low honks, but I don't think the truck drivers in Montana have a sense of humour.

So today driving to the Spokane airport I was seated behind the driver. I saw a semi coming the opposite direction and decided to try it out this way. Boy did I get the biggest honk e-v-e-r!! So you see, it works pretty much wherever you are sitting in the car. So buckle up and get ready for the best road trip you've ever had!

Outliers

I just finished reading this book today and I loved it! It's a must read. Malcolm Gladwell makes so many connections that people never even think about. But he puts it forward so straight and simple to make perfect sense. The book is about Success and how people come to be successful. I won't say much about it because you need to read it, but it will surprise you to find out just how people do become successful. He puts it in the context of opportunity and cultural legacy, which we so often put in the context of pure talent and genious.

Gladwell has also written Blink and The Tipping Point, my other two FAVORITE books. He just gets you really thinking about things and how they work. It's fascinating to me. Gladwell writes for The New Yorker and I plan to catch up on all of his columns real quickly.

Oh my heck. I folded and wrote him an email today. Yeah, I know I joined the fan clubs out there. Scary. I don't expect to hear back from him, but................