memories

As usual, I leave my computer on all night while I'm sleeping...well the other night my computer decided to delete itself of all cookies, everything that I had on my favorites list, wiped out all the music I had saved in I-tunes, limewire & windows media player and every single damn picture that I had saved in my documents....and there must of been a few hundred.
No more watchtower pics, no more pics of the Xanterra olympics or the trips that I went on with Brenda last year or my hiking trips from this year and worst of all...all the pics I had saved of my kids.

I haven't seen 2 of my children in person for a couple years...the youngest 3, I saw for 1 day in the last 3 years. Someday if I live old enough I might end up with alzheimer's my memory might get wiped out like this damn computer...and then what???
Pictures will never replace having actually been there with them...but its all I have...or I should say HAD. Luckily my oldest daughter is nice enough to send me pics once in awhile & a few times I have had to ask her who is even in the picture cuz I wasn't sure.
********************************
well as a last resort, today I did a systems restore thingy ( I figured knowing me that I might screw it up even more if I had tried this before) but I got lucky...it worked!!!!! all my pictures are back. When I restarted my computer...I anxiously waited to see if 1 of my kids pics would pop up as the desktop...and it did! Almost felt like I had just won the lottery when it happened. ok from now on I am saving all the darn pics onto a CD...boy do I have work cut out for me there...LOL

The Hat Man

His real name is Dave, but we all refer to him as "The Hat Man" Dave & his wife Judy, came to the Grand Canyon last Fall and I was able to get 1 pic of him then when he stopped into Yavapai for lunch wearing a tall flamingo hat. Judy is a retired psychiatric nurse and now makes jokes about Dave being her #1 patient.
This year he brought a duffle bag of hats into Yavapai, and tried them each on while I got to snap pictures of him. He has 334 hats total and he wears them EVERYWHERE. A tour bus full of German guests came into the cafeteria while I was chatting with him & almost all of them were looking & pointing at him as they walked by.
Dave is wearing a special birthday hat here...it even plays music and the top of the hat will move. As you can see, my managers & cashier loved it.

hikers

This is Chelsea. She is a tour guide or something here at the canyon. So on her days off she likes to hike the canyon alot....can you see her feet? She is wearing open-toed sandals and a skirt. Yup, she's nuts. But she is telling a bunch of us about her website for different tours.
www.pygmyguides.com (or something like that...maybe without the "s") but I figured if I wanted to remember it I had to write it down somewhere...what better place then on my computer.

Do u notice 1 of the fat squirrels behind Chelsea among the rocks...they were everywhere.


This guy ran past me early this morning...he probably ran all the way down to the bottom cuz I never saw him again. But what the heck was his hurry? Ok, so maybe his knees are better then mine...but I enjoyed taking my time watching the birds & squirrels, listening to the crickets (or whatever it was) and taking the time to snap pictures.....which I have a few more pictures on myspace.

1.5 miles down

A lady was nice enough to offer to take my picture...this was a few yards past the 1.5 mile resthouse. Which is as far as I went today.

It took me 1 & 1/2 hours to get to that resthouse this morning and I hung around there about 2 hours chatting with different people, watching the fat squirrels run around and waiting for the mules to come down.


This was a view I had at 1 spot I decided to sit & rest on my way back up. Funny how I don't feel a need to sit at all on my way down to the 1.5 mile resthouse, but boy do I ever need to rest coming up....ALOT

And yes Brenda, I made sure to refill my water bottle before I left the resthouse. And hey, I got back to the top before the ice cream fountain closed this time.

Just when I hoped they gave up

I was just getting used to the idea of having my room to myself, but yesterday when I got home from work a native american came knocking on my door to say that she would be my new roomie. She wanted to stop in before her orientation to meet me...she made a comment about me having lots of stuff & she looked shocked/surprised when I said I get up between 2-3am EVERY morning.

Well I tried re-organize the closet while she was gone and even called the housing office to have someone send up a lamp for her...for some strange reason all the other roomies take the lamp with them when they change rooms. I was already in bed, by the time this roomie came back (and still no lamp for her) so while 1/2 asleep I turned mine on...she gave me some strange story about her nanny/babysitter walked out so she will be leaving the park tomorrow.

Geez...another one bites the dust
***********************

And this morning I did good....I stayed in bed till 3:15am. Course she woke up at 4am for a minute and thought I was leaving right away.

Geez, wonder if housing office will learn not to send me any new roomies for the Winter...hell you would think with all the foreign kids going home soon, that they could find space elsewhere.

Is it time for a change?

Here is a little part of an ooold blog I did on myspace:


It takes eighteen months to two years to get used to a place. Generally speaking, if you live somewhere for a shorter span than this, it hasn't had time to change you. No matter how much you hate a place, if you've lived there for two years, you're used to it. Any less time than that and you really don't understand the area. Best way to get to know your new home area is find the public library...they will have info on everything you want to know about. (gee can I sit 18 months in 1 spot anymore....ummm)
Wherever you go, there you are. Its true. I've tested it. Sorry you can't lose yourself...but you might be able to find yourself.
*************************************************************

Well I have been at the Grand Canyon for 17 months now...and yes I have been looking for new jobs. Delaware North has some jobs at Niagara Falls, the Kennedy Space Center in FL, and at a place in NH not to far from 2 of my brothers, that at first glance seem like good places to go to.

Then of course different companies have jobs in AK & WA...which would be really cool cuz I have never been to that part of the country, but they wouldn't be year-round jobs. But then do I want a different year-round job...or just a break from here for a few months?

Well I have plenty of time to think it over, because first I need to save $$ for my trip to Colorado to have thanksgiving with a brother & his family and I know if I mention any of this to him, then he will have me make a mental list of the pro's & con's of staying here & moving elsewhere. Well even if I do leave the canyon it won't be until next Springtime anyways,

Haircut

I went on the rec center trip to Flagstaff on Thursday. While I was at the mall, I got my haircut. This is probably the shorest I have ever had my hair. But it sure is easier to get ready for work...I can just jump in & out of the shower and shake my head and I'm ready to go.

A couple lineservers went to Flagstaff with me, and they were really surprised afterwards...shocked that I got it cut so short. But hey, I had told Michael that I was gonna have it shaved bald...so at least I saved some hair.
Tai's first reaction today when he saw it was "its like a boys haircut" don't think he was to impressed...so what, its my hair.