Ted and Sheryl (the couple I’m living with) had another couple over for dinner during General Conference Weekend. In the course of the conversation the other couple mentioned that they knew a young, single, Mormon, male, Foreign Service Officer, who happens to be in the DC area currently studying Serbian before he leaves for his next assignment. The four of them decided it would be a great idea to introduce us. I recognized that there wasn’t really a way out of this, so I agreed to the set up, asking that they simply give him my number and have him call me.
No, no, no. They would have none of that. It was as if they didn’t trust the two of us with something as important as this. And by being there, somehow the relationship would have a better chance.
So, Sheryl insisted on having the three of them (the couple and the poor boy) over for dinner! As the day approached Sheryl made her finest fare, set out her best china, and even had water glasses and wine goblets (full of carbonated peach drink). I have to say I was secretly looking forward to the evening not because I wanted to meet this guy, but because I knew this would be delightfully awkward.
And I was not disappointed. I don’t quite know how to tell this story in such a way that captures the whole evening, but imagine four people over the age of 50 sharing stories from the good old days, making references to Liberace, lecturing the boy about the length of his hair, and conversing about the latest shortage of canned pumpkin. Then there was the two of us occasionally trying to strike up conversation, but finding almost every attempt interrupted by the four of them wanting to take part. After dinner we played a game a Yahtzee where Ted did this classic victory dance when he rolled his second yahtzee. (Sometimes I just wish I had a video of my life so I could occasionally replay it for other people.) The guests all left by midnight. Sheryl and Ted said nice things about the boy as we turned off the lights, headed up to bed, and left the massive pile of dishes in the kitchen for the morning.
I know I can’t post this without saying at least something about how the set up actually went. It was very sweet of the four of them to go through all the trouble to introduce us. Luckily the boy seems very nice, interesting, attractive, and has a great sense of humor. I can understand why he was dreading such an evening! We’ll be going out next week, but don’t expect any update. I’m not big on blogging about my dating life. This just happened to be too good of a story not to share!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A Love Letter
Dear Yoga Mat,
It was lovely spending some time alone with you this morning.
It feels like every time we get together lately I’m distracted with teaching and helping other people on their mats. I’m glad we got some quality time in this weekend. I look forward to getting together more often—just you, me, and (if it’s alright with you) my iPod.
Yours truly,
Liann
Friday, April 30, 2010
Progress
Yes, this job hunt just may end one of these days. Surprising. Maybe not to anyone else, but to me this has been a surprising development. All this volunteering, networking, resume building, cover letter writing, emailing, waiting, planning, hoping, and finally dealing with rejection has felt quite endless.
Don’t get me wrong. I DON’T HAVE A JOB YET, but things are looking up.
I have an unpaid internship with MSH lined up for the summer or until I find a job that pays (as the MSH staff encouraged me to do). I’m lined up to audition this coming week for a yoga teaching position at Fitness First (getting paid for teaching yoga would be a plus). Plans for my Yoga for Runners Class are underway—I just need to settle on a time and a park so I can start advertising. And sitting on my desk is a stack of business cards newly acquired from the Annual Society for International Development Conference—and some of the people actually handed them to me with enthusiasm (so following up with them just might pay off).
I’m still working out the details of exactly what I want to be doing, but I think I have a better idea than when I started this whole job hunting process in mid February. And if you’re a potential employer who has happened on my blog after reading my resume, than the job you have available is exactly what I want to be doing.
So, all in all I’m making progress.
Don’t get me wrong. I DON’T HAVE A JOB YET, but things are looking up.
I have an unpaid internship with MSH lined up for the summer or until I find a job that pays (as the MSH staff encouraged me to do). I’m lined up to audition this coming week for a yoga teaching position at Fitness First (getting paid for teaching yoga would be a plus). Plans for my Yoga for Runners Class are underway—I just need to settle on a time and a park so I can start advertising. And sitting on my desk is a stack of business cards newly acquired from the Annual Society for International Development Conference—and some of the people actually handed them to me with enthusiasm (so following up with them just might pay off).
I’m still working out the details of exactly what I want to be doing, but I think I have a better idea than when I started this whole job hunting process in mid February. And if you’re a potential employer who has happened on my blog after reading my resume, than the job you have available is exactly what I want to be doing.
So, all in all I’m making progress.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Aunt Liann
I've never been comfortable with titles. I became an aunt when I was 12 years old so my oldest nieces just called me Liann. But most of my younger nieces and nephews know me by my full title. Whenever they try to get my attention by yelling out, "Aunt Liann! Aunt Liann!" I always want to respond, "Yes Niece Eve (or Nephew Henry)"
Well I decided to take up my sister's invitation and I drove up to New York for my nieces and nephew's spring break. Having received the "Honorary Lindberg" status by Ethan (represented by a circle of yellow construction paper with the word Lindberg penned on it) before I left for DC, I decided it appropriate to walk in the back door without knocking.
Jana, my sister, was making dinner and hugged me hello. Jane, the toddler who would have nothing to do with me the first week I was living there, walked up then allowed me to pick her up and hug her. And the other kids came in with the usual "Aunt Liann! Aunt Liann!" hustle and bustle. It was great to be home--at least "home" is how it felt.
The week was delightful. The older kids and I went to see How to Train Your Dragon in 3D (we sneaked in some candy and ate so much of it I think we all left with a desire to eat veggies the rest of our lives). All of us braved the crowds at the MoMA--each kid bought a postcard at the gift shop and we had a great time finding the originals in the museum. I also read a book recommended to me by Ethan and got the chance to talk about it with him and Kate. Of course we read plenty of picture books and I even lost a round of Settlers of Catan (I'm SO ashamed!).
By the end of the week I realized that I'm starting to get used to this Aunt Liann business.
Well I decided to take up my sister's invitation and I drove up to New York for my nieces and nephew's spring break. Having received the "Honorary Lindberg" status by Ethan (represented by a circle of yellow construction paper with the word Lindberg penned on it) before I left for DC, I decided it appropriate to walk in the back door without knocking.
Jana, my sister, was making dinner and hugged me hello. Jane, the toddler who would have nothing to do with me the first week I was living there, walked up then allowed me to pick her up and hug her. And the other kids came in with the usual "Aunt Liann! Aunt Liann!" hustle and bustle. It was great to be home--at least "home" is how it felt.
The week was delightful. The older kids and I went to see How to Train Your Dragon in 3D (we sneaked in some candy and ate so much of it I think we all left with a desire to eat veggies the rest of our lives). All of us braved the crowds at the MoMA--each kid bought a postcard at the gift shop and we had a great time finding the originals in the museum. I also read a book recommended to me by Ethan and got the chance to talk about it with him and Kate. Of course we read plenty of picture books and I even lost a round of Settlers of Catan (I'm SO ashamed!).
By the end of the week I realized that I'm starting to get used to this Aunt Liann business.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Speaking of Movies...
Has anyone else seen the movie Ladyhawke?
Surprisingly delightful, but what were they thinking when they added that soundtrack!? Lots of synthesizer when portraying a medieval story?
Really guys?
Surprisingly delightful, but what were they thinking when they added that soundtrack!? Lots of synthesizer when portraying a medieval story?
Really guys?
Too Practical for Poetry
I watched the movie Bright Star with my sister this week. The movie tells the story of the poet John Keats who falls in love with his neighbor’s daughter, Fanny Brawne. In case you haven't seen the film this involves a few awkward conversations and several shots of them walking around, looking at each other, then eventually holding hands, cuddling, and kissing in a way that reminds me of the obnoxious PDA I so often saw (and possibly participated in) at BYU. After making their engagement public he moves to Italy for health reasons, dies, and leaves his fiancé to wander among their old stomping grounds alone quoting poetry for the rest of her life still wearing his engagement ring.
Seriously?
I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at the dramatics of Keats and the immaturity of Fanny. Every half hour or so I would blurt out, "The pacing of this movie is so weird!" I don't know if the director was intentionally trying to achieve a feel of poetry throughout the film--i.e. short scenes packed with visual images and emotion. I generally prefer a story based on at least some dialogue and scenes that clearly fit within context and relate to one another (you know the stuff that conveys character development).
Intentional or not I was having a hard time swallowing it all. However, the only other film Netflicks sent to her mailbox that week was a kid’s film. Reluctantly we decided to finish the movie.
As the credits rolled I turned to Jana and over the voice of Keats reading one of his poems I said, "I think I'm too practical for poetry."
She laughed and said, "I was thinking that EXACT same thing!"
We must be sisters.
While there are some poets/poems that do (and I quote) "speak to me." I'm glad I'm not completely alone in the sentiment about my relationship with poetry. Thanks sis.
Seriously?
I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at the dramatics of Keats and the immaturity of Fanny. Every half hour or so I would blurt out, "The pacing of this movie is so weird!" I don't know if the director was intentionally trying to achieve a feel of poetry throughout the film--i.e. short scenes packed with visual images and emotion. I generally prefer a story based on at least some dialogue and scenes that clearly fit within context and relate to one another (you know the stuff that conveys character development).
Intentional or not I was having a hard time swallowing it all. However, the only other film Netflicks sent to her mailbox that week was a kid’s film. Reluctantly we decided to finish the movie.
As the credits rolled I turned to Jana and over the voice of Keats reading one of his poems I said, "I think I'm too practical for poetry."
She laughed and said, "I was thinking that EXACT same thing!"
We must be sisters.
While there are some poets/poems that do (and I quote) "speak to me." I'm glad I'm not completely alone in the sentiment about my relationship with poetry. Thanks sis.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Job Hunting, New People, and Curling
I have a few "rules" for myself when posting personal stories on this blog:
1. Have it be positive.
2. If it can’t be positive then have it be either meaningful (which is positive in a way) or funny.
3. If posting a story that is both tragic and funny don’t let it demean people who may potentially read the blog or be recognized by a reader
4. Don’t be TOO personal. It is the internet after all (this may be the rule I break most often!).
Well, for these reasons I have failed to post much on my blog in the last month. I think job hunting may be akin to Chinese Water Torture, although I’ve never had the “pleasure” of the latter. I vacillate between being overwhelmed and being whelmed by this seemingly monumental task. I am living with an older couple (friends of my parents) who are great for funny day-to-day stories, but I’m not quite sure they’d appreciate me sharing them over the internet. They are providing me with free housing and I think that as a guest who would like to stay it’s best to keep their very personal quirks to myself. And finally I am meeting loads of new people which of course lead to fantastically awkward situations, but I’d hate to post these stories about them over the internet only to find out later we could have become best friends if it weren’t for what I wrote about them on my blog!
I do have a great story from a few weeks ago (has it really been that long?). Ted, the father of the household, and I were sitting down to a dinner of leftovers (since Sheryl was out doing RS service that evening). We turned on the Olympics. Since Ted is not interested in hockey he turned the TV to curling. I teased him about choosing curling over hockey, but to no avail, he wouldn’t change the channel. I then insisted that if I was to be subjected to curling I must know the rules of the game. He didn’t seem to know much, so I skimmed the article about curling on Wikipedia and related what I learned to Ted.
By the time Sheryl came home Ted and I were sitting on the edge of our seats with empty dinner plates in front of us, watching the last few ends, and saying things like, “Well we still have a chance to salvage this one, we do have the hammer!” I have never before enjoyed so thoroughly a night of discussing curling strategy and I’m afraid I never will again, but that’s OK because I had a great time.
1. Have it be positive.
2. If it can’t be positive then have it be either meaningful (which is positive in a way) or funny.
3. If posting a story that is both tragic and funny don’t let it demean people who may potentially read the blog or be recognized by a reader
4. Don’t be TOO personal. It is the internet after all (this may be the rule I break most often!).
Well, for these reasons I have failed to post much on my blog in the last month. I think job hunting may be akin to Chinese Water Torture, although I’ve never had the “pleasure” of the latter. I vacillate between being overwhelmed and being whelmed by this seemingly monumental task. I am living with an older couple (friends of my parents) who are great for funny day-to-day stories, but I’m not quite sure they’d appreciate me sharing them over the internet. They are providing me with free housing and I think that as a guest who would like to stay it’s best to keep their very personal quirks to myself. And finally I am meeting loads of new people which of course lead to fantastically awkward situations, but I’d hate to post these stories about them over the internet only to find out later we could have become best friends if it weren’t for what I wrote about them on my blog!
I do have a great story from a few weeks ago (has it really been that long?). Ted, the father of the household, and I were sitting down to a dinner of leftovers (since Sheryl was out doing RS service that evening). We turned on the Olympics. Since Ted is not interested in hockey he turned the TV to curling. I teased him about choosing curling over hockey, but to no avail, he wouldn’t change the channel. I then insisted that if I was to be subjected to curling I must know the rules of the game. He didn’t seem to know much, so I skimmed the article about curling on Wikipedia and related what I learned to Ted.
By the time Sheryl came home Ted and I were sitting on the edge of our seats with empty dinner plates in front of us, watching the last few ends, and saying things like, “Well we still have a chance to salvage this one, we do have the hammer!” I have never before enjoyed so thoroughly a night of discussing curling strategy and I’m afraid I never will again, but that’s OK because I had a great time.
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