Out of office experience

I spent the majority of the day at Fairview's Quality Leadership Conference -- a conference put on to rejuvenate workers, motivate them in life/work, etc. (Side note: mostly managers and those "chosen" workers are invited to the conference; I was not invited but volunteered to be a greeter/bell ringer so I could get out of the office and participate in the fun.) Some speakers were okay, but there were two that really stick out in my mind, and I feel lucky to have heard them present today.

1. Nando Parrado - one of the survivor's from the plane crash in the Andes mountains 35 years ago. Remember the movie "Alive"? Well, this guy's rugby team and their plane crash and amazing story of survival was what the movie was based on. It was just crazy to see some of the pictures from the crash site and hear this man's account of what he went through. He said that many researchers and professors and medical professionals have researched and researched about how they could have possibly survived for 2.5 months at 14,000 feet in -30 degree temps, and they have all said that it is impossible -- they shouldn't be here today. Now, this man is married, has two daughters and has led this great life motivating others to live their lives and really LOVE the people who are important in their lives. It was just so interesting to hear his perspective and hear him describe what is truly indescribable. When asked how he survived, he just said, as long as he had a reason to survive (his loved ones), then he knew he'd make it. It wasn't a matter of "how" will I survive, but rather "why" will I survive? His closing remarks just urged us to tell our friends and family how much we love them and to just live your life because you never know what will happen tomorrow.

2. The other speaker that I really enjoyed was Dan Clark. He was one of the contributing writers for "Chicken Soup for the Soul," he writes for the NY Times, he is a motivational speaker, musician, ex-college football player....the list goes on. Really, he was just a very entertaining speaker that made you think. He would start one story, go off on another tangent, throw out a few random philosophical ideas to ponder and then jump right back in to the original story to make his point and make you laugh or cry. And it all made sense, leaving no one behind to wonder what the heck he was talking about.

Anyway, there's my essay on "what I did at work today." It was very interesting -- not the typical day in the life of Heidi at Fairview, but I'll take it. I have another day of it tomorrow with different speakers. Perhaps if you're lucky, I'll fill you in on any noteworthy presenters.

I got a hit!

That's right...give it up for me finally getting a base hit on my softball team. See, during our first game last week, I kept "striking out" by hitting the ball foul twice. It's a slow-pitch league with a 2-strike rule and a 3-ball walk rule. Weird. I hate that.

Anyway....so I was up a few times earlier in the game and kept making contact, but getting thrown out at first. So it's the bottom of the last inning, two outs, runners on first and second, Heidi is up to bat. No pressure! Here's the pitch.....I connect with the ball and hit it hard between third and shortstop and make it to first.....oh wait, there's some bobbling going on and they throw the ball home, so I make a fast break for second. SAFE! Then Kyle went up to bat and got another hit, bringing in Emily and me for a win! Our first win of the season! Yea!!!

It's fun playing softball again -- I find myself remembering my old habits of being really chatty in the outfield (not sure if my teammates find that annoying or good) and just really getting into the game. I love it! It kind of makes me want to play in a more competitive league again, but really, who am I kidding? Could I ever hit a fast pitch again? Do I get tired just running to first base? Ummm....yeah, I thought so.

Tomorrow night is the first kickball game! Ang and I will be showing up late after choir practice, but we will be there to cheer on the team eventually. Go Grateful Red! I'll take some team pics of both softball and kickball and share them with the blogosphere soon!

Behind the times

I just read this article and thought I mis-read it at first. How sad that this small-town school's administrators are promoting intolerance. At the same time, good for this teacher and her students to challenge them... Read the article.

Roller derby

I just bought these rollerblades yesterday and have taken them out twice now with Indy running alongside (and sometimes pulling in front) of me. At first, when I was looking online for rollerblades, I kept finding things like these, and I thought, "these look weird." Remember when rollerblades were made out of all black plastic? That's kind of what I was expecting. Now, they have shoe materials and prettier plastic. After two workouts that lasted about 45 minutes each, I think I'm getting the hang of it again, and the look of the new rollerblades is growing on me. It is a little challenging when Indy decides she wants to chase a squirrel or a bird. I just have to brace myself and make sure to balance. I haven't fallen yet! So keep your fingers crossed that I don't have a major wipeout! Actually, Indy's been a pretty good rollerblading partner -- she has lots of energy and pulls me a little bit more toward the beginning, but once we've been going for about 20 minutes, she starts to get tired, so then I take the lead and she heels next to me or slightly behind me. What a good girl!

Church milestones

Stacy called me the other day, and I just had to share this conversation about our 8-year-old cousin Louis.

STACY: Hey, are you going to Louis' confirmation on Saturday?

HEIDI: Don't you mean his first communion? He's only 8 -- confirmation is when you're in like eighth grade.

STACY (to Taylor who is in the car with her): Ugh...I told you it was his first communion, not confirmation! (to Heidi) We just bought him a confirmation card at Hallmark.

HEIDI: You could just cross off "confirmation" and write in "first communion." (laughter)

I wonder what they decided to do... We'll find out later today. I have yet to buy a card. I'm just planning on doing that on my way there. That's a little something I learned from my dad, who would always stop at a Walgreen's in between weddings and receptions. Then we'd just sign the card in the car right before going into the reception. So is it bad that I'm operating like a bachelor? At least I know what type of card to get for the occasion. :)

Coming soon...

WHO: Twin Cities Women's Choir
WHEN: Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5
WHERE: St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church, near Lake Calhoun, Mpls.
WHAT: Silent auction, 100+ women singing and scrumptious desserts from local restaurants

For more info: www.twincitieswomenschoir.org

Fan base in attendance so far: my mom, cousin Donnie, Grandma, Angie's parents and her aunt. Any others interested? Just let me know or go to the Web site!

*Disclaimer: Since it is Angie's and my first year singing in the choir, there are no guarantees about the coolness of the show. However, we were both very pleased and proud of our performance at the Ann Reed Show, which was recorded live at the Fitz for MPR. What we can guarantee is lots of women-power songs and of course, lovely desserts. There will also be random clapping and snapping and playing of random instruments. No flashing lights, though...well, at least not that I know of.

Colorado pics

Here are some pictures from my weekend in Colorado. Click here to see all of them.

Hats off to U of M!

I submitted my official acceptance to the University of Minnesota today, so I will be starting graduate school in September for speech-language pathology. In three years, I will have my master's and a new career. It's a little scary since I haven't said anything to my current boss or anyone at work, but I will have to turn in my notice at some point. As of now, I plan on waiting to do that until July or August. So wish me luck on saving money for tuition, finding an assistantship, etc.! I have 5 months to keep on working and saving money....then I'll be a poor college student again.

Go gophers!

Girls' weekend in Colorado

Last weekend, I flew out to Denver to hang out with Sam and Emily (two of my roommates from Butler). It was a great reminder of how important girlfriends are. We now live in three different time zones, and it had been about a year and a half since the three of us had hung out in the same city, so it was great to see them. We were already talking about planning a trip for next year...maybe a cruise from southern Cali down the baja peninsula? We'll see... :)

Our weekend was filled to the max:

Thursday: Emily flew in from San Francisco. I flew in from Minneapolis/St. Paul. Had margaritas at a cute mexican place in Denver.

Friday: Drove to Breckenridge. Had lunch and went snowshoeing. It started as a beautiful blue-sky day and then a bunch of snow started to come down (as you can see from the picture). Had dinner and a drink (oh yeah, and Sam's bf Bob met us) and then we just crashed. We were all talk thinking we could stay out late and have some drinks. After one drink each, we were all ready to just crash. I'll blame it on the altitude.

Saturday: Sam and I skiied while Emily and Bob snowboarded. Em was a champ since she hadn't been snowboarding in like 7 years. So Bob was a really great teacher for her (he called himself her drill sargent). :) After being out all day in a snow storm, we hit the outdoor hot tub as the snow continued to fall around us. It was so relaxing and cool to have the snow falling as we were burning up in the hot tub. We topped off the day with a great dinner at Fatty's, and then headed back to Denver, where we watched SNL and fell asleep very fast.

Sunday: Sam drove us to Boulder to drive around the campus, take touristy pictures and wander down the main street window shopping and occasionally checking out funky shops (like the fair trade shop we found). After a quick burrito at Illegal Pete's, we had to head to the airport to go home.

I have lots of pictures to post, but I forgot my camera at my mom's house. I'll get 'em up there soon!

I Believe

These are the lyrics to a song that my brother and I performed at my uncle Richard's funeral yesterday. He had been battling cancer for a little over a year now -- initially, he was only given a few months to live. So it was pretty impressive that he made it this long. Singing at the funeral was a hard thing to do, but I think my aunt Jean was glad to have us do it -- this was her and Richard's favorite song. I had never heard it before, but I think it's a simple song of hope -- no matter what your beliefs are.

I believe for every drop of rain that falls,
a flower grows.
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night,
a candle glows.
I believe for everyone who goes astray,
someone will come to show the way.
I believe,
I believe.
I believe above the storm the smallest prayer
will still be heard.
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
hears every word.
Every time I hear a new born baby cry,
or touch a leaf or see the sky,
then I know why
I believe.
Every time I hear a new born baby cry,
or touch a leaf or see the sky,
then I know why
I believe.