It's a Beautiful Day in this Neighborhood . . .

Two things inspired this post: 

First, a friend of mine posted on Facebook about an assignment that she is planning for a class she will be teaching. The assignment is to write a biography of a real or imaginary person and focus on how that person influenced their community for good or ill.  Since reading her post, I have been pondering who I would choose to write that essay on.

Second, March 20th commemorated what would have been Mr. Roger's 86th birthday.  And I have always loved Mr. Rogers. 

So today's post is dedicated to Mr. Rogers.  While this may be a strange blog post for me to write, when I look at some of the shows that people (including me) watch today, I have a longing for the simplicity and sincerity of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

For 31 seasons, he taught us the difference between real and make-believe.  He wanted us to be neighbors and friends.  He introduced us to new things and guided us through childhood challenges, like the first day of school.

And his words continue to comfort us.  Shortly after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook, articles sprang up across the internet featuring this quote from him:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.” 

While I do not have a television audience and my circle of influence is considerably smaller, I would hope that I could instill in those around me the idea that they matter to me.  I desire to be the helper, the caring person that others can turn to. 

So, yes, one of my heroes is the host of children's television show, largely because the man I saw on the television screen was real.  Mr. Rogers was not an actor portraying a positive role model for children - he was the person we looked up to both on and off the screen.

So, please won't you be my neighbor?

Mailee 


P.S. If you are interested, here is one of the articles featuring the quote, and it is also where I took the above image from: article link.

How I (nearly) got picked up at a bar . . .

So, as my last post explains, I got to spend four days in San Diego, CA for a work trip and I realized I left one very funny story out of my previous post.

As part of this conference, my work sponsored a mixer at a bar and grill a few blocks from the resort where we stayed. As I was sent on this trip to assist our meeting coordinator, I went with her went to the mixer to make sure everything ran smoothly.  Everyone was given 2 free tickets for drinks.  I politely declined mine and settled in near the food.

My company helps promote electric reliability across the Western U.S. and we answer to several higher powers, one of these higher powers had sent two of their employees to this meeting, so they were included in the mixer.  The one was more mature, very nice and professional.  The second one was in his late 20's or early 30's was single and cocky as all get out.  I'll call him "Ryan."

Towards the end of the evening, (translation, nearly everyone is now 2 alcoholic drinks in) Ryan comes up to me and asks, "Where's your cocktail?"

Here is how the rest of the conversation goes:

Me (with a polite smile): "Oh, I don't drink."

Ryan: "Oh, yeah, I should probably drink less."

Me: (internally) What do I say to that? Yeah, you probably shouldn't drink at all. . . umm, I'll politely nod my head. (Just realized I've used the word polite quite frequently in this post, I hope I was as polite as this indicates)

At this point there is a slight pause in the conversation, just long enough to begin to be awkward.

Ryan: So, where are you from?

Me: Salt Lake

Ryan: (internally, but visible signs of pieces falling into place cross his facial expressions) Doesn't drink . . . from Salt Lake City . . . Snap! This girl is a Mormon!  (out loud) Well, it was nice to meet you. (Forgive the creative license I took here, but I can't actually read minds, so the above is my best interpretation of Ryan's thought process.)

At which point, he proceeds to turn away and walk off.   And that folks, is how I get picked up in a bar.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Enjoy,
Mailee

San Diego and back again. . .

So, I've clearly neglected my new creation.  But now I'm back and I want to share just a couple highlights of my work trip to San Diego the last week of January.

So my company offers conferences and because I help process the payments for the attendees, I got to go to this one.

It was great to get out of snowy Salt Lake and spend a few days in San Diego.  It was kind of cold and foggy most of the time we were there, but I had a couple nice afternoons and at least it was not snowing.

We stayed at the Bahia on Mission Bay. Here is my view from my hotel room and another angle of the same spot.

 The Bahia has 2 rescue seals that live at the resort.  Both are essentially blind and can't survive in the wild.  They were fun to visit as I went back and forth from my room to the conference room.

Here is one of my better selfie attempts:

Of course I loved getting to walk on the sand and my co-worker and I walked everywhere we went. The second to last day we were there, my co-worker told me to take a long lunch, so I went to the beach. I played in the ocean and I got kind of wet (okay, really wet, like so wet that I turned the heater on in my hotel room, so that my only pair of jeans I took with me would be dry by the time I was out of the meeting.)

This bird came and landed in the seal pond one afternoon and he was there all day.  Just hanging out. I can't say I blame him :).


So there are some of the photos from my trip.  I promise that future posts won't be so long in coming!

Enjoy,
Mailee

It's Officially Here. . . My very first blog post

Well, it has been a long time coming . . . this blog of mine.  I've put it off and then decided against it and then started the whole cycle of considering it over again.

I will start off  by explaining the title, especially since several of you know the great importance I placed  in naming this little creation of mine. And no, this isn't going to be my descriptions of outdoor locations or adventures, although I do hope a few of those will someday grace its posts. 

This blog is a place for me to share life events and what I think and feel and how, perhaps, metaphorically, I am a "prettyish kind of a wilderness." For those of you who feel you've seen that phrase somewhere before or find yourselves saying it in a posh British accent, you are right. I purloined the phrase from Jane Austen. Although when reading Pride and Prejudice, I imagine Lady Catherine de Bourgh saying these words with contempt, the phrase has always tripped along nicely in my mind.  So when I was recently pondering how my life hasn't turned out as I planned, I began thinking of how sometimes we look for beauty in the wrong places or overlook joy because it isn't what we expected. My imagined life was an orderly garden with beautifully kept hedges and roses.  What I am really is no less wonderful, if perhaps, consisting more of daisies than roses and a little more scattered than neatly planted. So here I am, a prettyish kind of a wilderness and I'm ready to share a little bit of joy and goodness with the world and I hope you'll join me on this journey.