He's got my back ...

This week has been horrendous at work! My boss, L, had a lot of fires to put out and was really stressed. A huge closing was scheduled for yesterday afternoon and the attorney she worked with on the loan just has a different method of working that is not very compatible to L's style of working. To begin with, L, is quite easily frazzled, and all the things that went "wrong" yesterday just made her go ballistic. Well, today my boss, B, called me into his office, closed the door (which really freaked me out -- I hate closed door meetings) and we had a little chat that went something like this:

B: Do I need to talk to L?
Me: Why?
B: I saw [the secretary] she yelled at yesterday and she was really upset. I also heard that she yelled at [the other attorney]. Did L yell at you too?
Me: No, I was in close proximity of the people she yelled at, but none of the things that went wrong were my fault, so ...
B: Well, she really fought to get you as her secretary. If she ever becomes a problem, you let me know and I'll make sure that you won't have to work for her.

Awww! B has my back and will stand up for me and protect me. No wonder he has my loyalty.

Blessed by adversity

I'm so blessed to be able to come in contact with so many inspirational people. I LOVE the chocolate-flavored Italian Ice this man sells (it reminds me of New York City). A co-worker mentioned this article yesterday, but I didn't have the time to stop and read it. So today, Marcy, Julie and I stopped at the cart to get some of this cold yummy treat after lunch. Wow! I wish I had read this article before lunch. I wouldn't have asked for the extra scoop or at least I would've paid for it. Inspirational!

Blessed by adversity: Utah man refuses to wallow in past
by Lee BensonDeseret News, Aug. 18, 2009 11:11 p.m. MDT

Life. It throws change-ups. And nobody is exempt. No one wins them all. Or were you not watching what happened to Tiger Woods on Sunday?

Gary Ceran has seen his share of ups and downs. He's lost three children to cancer. He's lost twins to premature birth. He's lost businesses to the economy. And that was before his wife Cheryl and children Ian and Julianna were killed when a drunken driver plowed into the family car on Christmas Eve in 2006.

Only Gary and son Caleb and daughter Clarissa survived — all that remains of the family that could have been, should have been, 11.

I ran into Gary Ceran this past week. Almost literally. I was walking around a downtown corner, and there he was in the middle of the sidewalk, offering me a free Italian ice sample.

I looked at the nearby street vendor cart, staffed by three teenagers.

"Skoopzz New York Italian Ice" said the sign.

"Do you have coconut?" I asked.

"Of course," came the reply.

As I was walking away I thought the thought that is never far from a newspaper columnist's mind: this could be a column.

By the time I turned back I had it sketched out in my mind: This guy was an out-of-work stockbroker putting his kids to work on the streets.

I said to the vendor, "I'll bet there's a story here."

I had no idea.

"I'm Gary Ceran," he said. "I think you've written about me before."

Indeed I had, along with the rest of the Salt Lake media. Gary's story took on dramatic overtones in the winter of 2006-07, and not only because of his family's tragedy on Christmas Eve. Afterward, Gary unconditionally forgave the 24-year-old man who reduced his family by half.

It was the first of a series of highly publicized acts of forgiveness that winter, arising out of tragedies from the Trolley Square shootings to the Amish schoolhouse massacre.

Gary explained that he took six months off after the car wreck as his family healed.

Then, in the spring of 2008, he remarried, instantly gaining four more children, and after that he put all the kids to work, along with himself, staffing Skoopzz.

The Italian ice business dates back to the summer of 2003 when Gary, who was working in financial management for the LDS Church, bought the cart and put his kids to work outside Salt Lake's two downtown malls.

Skoopzz was so successful it spawned an ice cream store and a pizza place in Provo.

But success hath its own pitfalls. First the downtown malls were torn down, then Gary became a victim of his own rapid expansion when the economy sagged, and then along came that drunken driver.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009 and here's Gary, in yellow T-shirt and sneakers, again hocking Italian ice with his family.

Everything has changed and nothing has changed.

Mr. Forgiveness clearly enjoys the view from street level.

"I get to make a lot of friends," he says, "and the kids get to learn how to be entrepreneurs."

From here the possibilities are, as always for one who refuses to wallow in the past, many. Gary is learning foreign currency trading, he's writing a book (working title: "Allowing Your Life To Be Blessed By Adversity"), he's considering motivational speaking, and come wintertime he might move Skoopzz into the food court as the downtown malls re-emerge.

He definitely plans to continue to keep in touch with Carlos Prieto, the man who plowed into his family on Christmas Eve. Gary visited Carlos in prison last Christmas. "It was a beautiful experience," he said. "He's got eight years left in jail, and then he'll get deported, and yet we were able to smile and talk. He's doing the same thing we all are, trying to move on in life."

Before he moved on to offer an Italian ice sample to a construction worker, Gary remembered something his father used to quote.

"He'd always say life is like a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up, that's up to you."

Temper Tantrums

So, at what age are temper tantrums inappropriate? Several friends and I are on somebody's @#!*-list because at the last gathering, we stopped a very serious and slow, subtitled movie she loves for something a bit more light-hearted (which I brought). The funny thing is it's not like we don't know the storyline of the movie as she had painstakingly told us the full story from beginning to end some time that week prior to viewing the movie. We've gotten together since and had invited her to come along, but we've had no response from her to our phone calls, texts, etc. She will be moving out of state in the next few weeks and none of us want this friendship to end over something so trivial ... but what else can we do when we've made every effort to contact her and she has blown us off? Now we're hearing from other friends that she is bad-mouthing us over the incident. It's one thing if this friend is a teenager (somehow being a diva is expected of teenage girls), but she is in her 50s (at the very least) ... shouldn't she know how to get over not getting her way all the time? We humored her and watched the movie for about an hour, but when people are snoring and yawning and killing the party, I think it's time to change the movie to liven things up again ... but that's just my opinion.

Last night I did some shopping and got her a small gift card as a farewell gift. I'm hoping that she can use it after the move to get little things that will help her and her family settle into their new place. The debate is whether or not I should bring it to her or if I should just mail it to her. I so don't want to deal with the drama. Any thoughts?

Camera Phone

What did we ever do without a camera on our cell phones? Here are some fun pictures I found on my phone:

Pink flamingos at the San Diego Zoo

I call this one, "After the Rain", at the Utah Arts Festival in June

Nope, it's not a painting, this really was the billowy clouds after that rain storm in June

I've shared this one before while in a contemplative mood with the caption, "Life may not always be a bowl of cherries, but it's not always the pits either."

Gerber daisies one of my co-workers brought in to brighten the office one day

The fans at the Air Supply concert a few weekends ago

Keeping my eye on you

ALOHA from my desk!

A pink bike!

Here are some pictures friends have sent to my phone:

Faye's white board.

Ann's bowling pins.

Marcy took this one of the dark clouds over Temple Square today.

Dude! Way to go!

Okay, coming home tonight, this guy caught my attention. As you can see, unlike most bikers I see during rush hour wearing spandex shorts, he is in a shirt and tie. I've seen him once before a few months ago, similarly attired, riding his bike on Highway 89.

My guess is that he works downtown and the white tie makes me wonder if he may work at the temple.

I think he's inspirational. He is "greener" by biking to and from work and he is definitely on his way to a healthier lifestyle by getting his exercise. Did I mention that it was 92-degrees outside when I saw him? He's my hero. Go, dude, go!

Feelin' out of sync ...

Everyday for the last little while this construction security guard would wish me a good morning when I cross the street. I skirted around him once, but he watched for me and walked over to where I was going and said hello. He wasn't there today when I crossed the street and it's making me feel so out of sync ... weird, huh?

Finish the sentences ...

My ex is ... long forgotten. Maybe I should ... get back to work. I love ... days off. People would say that I ... am stuck in the 80s. I don't understand why ... I can't find a sugar daddy. When I wake up in the morning ... I want to go back to bed. I lost my ... turquoise earring the other day. Life is full of ... surprises. My past is ... behind me. On to the future ... I get annoyed by ... rude people. Parties are ... great as long as I don't have to plan it. I wish life was not ... so mundane, most of the time. Dogs are ... slobbery. Cats are ... the worst aggrivator of my allergies. Tomorrow is ... another day. I have a low tolerance ... for incompetence. If I had a million dollars ... I don't think it'll be enough to pay for all the fun things I want to buy and do ... so I guess, I'll re-invest so it'll make more money. I'm totally terrified ... of ugly disgusting hairy smelly men. My significant other is ... MIA in the war in heaven. My hopes for the future is ... to be deliriously, Julie Andrews twirling and singing in the hills, happy ... oh, and world peace.

Oh my ...

I got this from the Church Office Building cafetaria today when I met Julie and Janeen for lunch. I think better eat this at home where I can have some privacy ...

Here we are, the ones that you love ...

Went to see Air Supply in concert last night with Pinky, Chun Hee and Dave. Another gorgeous summer night to enjoy some music. Pinky and I showed up a bit too early, but that's okay because we ended up getting a great spot on the lawn. Played some Scrabble before the concert stated. One guess who won? That's right, the reigning Scrabble champion with her lucky Scrabble socks! Not the greatest picture since I was scrunched down so the socks and board can get into the picture. Oh, well ... not trying to look like a model ... just capturing the moment of victory.

My camera battery died and my cell phone camera is pretty useless at taking long-distance pictures. So, I'm relying on Pinky for these pictures. The opening act was forgettable and so on to the highlights from the concert:

• 
  
  Half dozen hoochie mommas sat in front of us. They were drunk and provided us with quite a bit of entertainment.

• 
  
  Russell Hitchcock can still sing, Graham Russell, however ... there were a couple of sour notes that got me cringing.
• 
  
  Russell Hitchcock's giant, sparkly, bejeweled belt buckle.
• 
  
  The Russells came down and walked through the crowd as they sang, "Here I am" -- touched, hugged and took photos with the fans as a body guard escorted them through the crowd. It was HILARIOUS! As Pinky said, "Talk about reliving their youth!"

• 
  
  Yup, we stood in line to get autographs after the concert. We laughed when we overheard a woman behind us say to someone over the phone, "That was the best concert I've EVER been to." Okay, then ...
• 
  
  They allowed people to go behind the table between the two Russells for pictures for a while, but a group in front of us got a bit too aggressive and ruined it for the rest of us. By the time we got up to the tables, Graham Russell was ornery. Up close and next to the two old geezers (Russells), the rest of the band are WAY CUTE! Sorry, no picture of them ...

Mermaids and Whales

My friend, Julie, sent this to me and I liked it so much I thought I'd share it here:

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

"THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did ot match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of psychoanalysts due to identity crisis ... Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them. Therefore they do not have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I'd rather be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my grandkids, a good dinner with my husband and a coffee/lunch with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Good gosh, look how smart I am.