And now there's snow

Since we can't go out in public, it sure was not nice of the weather to be rainy and snowy this week. I mean, snow in March is 100 percent normal, but it was still inconvenient.

Last Sunday, after I blogged, I took my nephews on some of the local trails. First we went on a side trail of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, but we didn't go far. The main trail was packed, as was the Wild Rose Trail—not conducive to social distancing. But luckily, I knew that the nearby Woodbriar Trail would be barren. And there were in fact very few people on it. We saw some kind of animal backbone.

 My youngest nephew, Nathaniel, wanted to go farther than his brothers did, so I took him up along the trail. We saw some springbeauties.

 He was most excited to play in a field of snow.

On Monday, as it was raining off and on, I checked KSL Vortex, and it showed a break in the rain. I decided to load my bike in my car to ride on the Legacy Parkway Trail. But as soon as I left, it started raining, so I didn't bike.

The next day, Vortex showed it was going to rain, so I didn't run or bike at all. But it didn't rain at all, so I totally could have! Ugh!

Then on Wednesday, I reasoned that if it didn't rain when Vortex said it would, and it did rain when it said it wouldn't, I wasn't going to care about the forecast anymore. So I rode my bike ~13 miles on the Legacy Parkway Trail. It was lightly sprinkling after a mile, but I decided I didn't care if it rained on me. And it did in fact rain more and I was fairly wet at the end. But it was fine.

Biking on the Legacy Parkway Trail is fun, but it really isn't much of a workout because it's so flat.

Then on Thursday, we had snow. My California nephews were eager to go sledding. My oldest nephew, Preston, has a skin condition that is exacerbated by the cold and dryness, so he didn't sled, but the other two did. The snow was very powdery. I slid down a few times and had the snow fly in my face.

On Friday, I stopped at a Maverik and bought a Cadbury Creme Egg. I didn't want to touch the egg itself, so I didn't want to peel off the wrapper with my hand—I just put the egg in my mouth and hoped to peel off the foil as it entered my mouth. But I ended up with half of the wrapper in my mouth, and I had to keep pulling pieces out! It was way worse than if I had just touched the egg!

That evening, I decided to run seven miles on the Legacy Parkway Trail. Sometimes I feel bad about driving someplace to go running, when I could just run from home, but that was where I really wanted to go. Also, right now is the best time to go on that trail before the mosquitoes come out.

Then we had more snow on Saturday, so no morning running, but also no afternoon running because of fasting. But I took my nephews sledding again. After they got tired of sledding, they enjoyed having snowball fights and rolling massive snowballs.

A lot of the time is boring. I wasn't working before, but I would often go to the pool or the Church History Library, which I can't do right now. My nephews spend a lot of time playing video games or watching YouTube videos of people playing video games. I have often laughed at my dad for watching boring YouTube videos of trucks and bus tours, but my nephews' video game videos aren't any better.

I've been reading the second volume of Saints. When I read the first volume, there was a lot that I didn't know. As I've been reading the 1850s, I've known most of the information, and in fact I know all the things they left out. They didn't talk about the Julia Ann? They didn't talk about the Gunnison Massacre? But now that I'm in the 1860s, there is once again much that I don't know.

I also have enjoyed drawing on an Etch A Sketch. It seems to me that newer Etch A Sketches don't work as well as older ones. I was able to write my name on a little tiny Etch A Sketch when I was six years old.

Even stranger, again

For the third week in a row, this week has been stranger than the one before it.

On Monday, I had to drive up to Layton to take my niece to a driving test, then head back down to NSL for a dentist appointment (a risky business these days), then back to Layton to pick her up.

That evening I ran to Ensign Peak from my house, which I haven't done since September. It was 9.3 miles, with an overall climb of 1600 feet. It really makes me happy that not only can I run up and down hills for nine miles, it's not too difficult for me, and in fact I enjoy it! I saw the first springbeauties of the season.

 Right above Ensign Peak is a very steep hill that I have to descend and then ascend again. I was happy that I was able to run up it without stopping—the first time I was able to do so! (I usually stop to drink water and catch my breath.)

One of my goals for 2020 was to do something social in connection with every holiday. But that didn't work out for St. Patrick's Day, and it might not work out for Easter as well. It was a relatively boring St. Patrick's Day. I made corned beef and cabbage. That was something we never had when I was growing up, but I've been making it every year since 2015, and I really look forward to it.

 I also made Irish soda bread.

 But few people got to see me dressed in green from head to toe: glasses, shirt, belt, pants, socks, and shoes. I raked pine needles in the front yard and then went on a walk with my family in the evening. (I also wore a green shirt on my run that day, my first Wild Rose run of the season, but I wasn't dressed head to toe in green.)

Over the course of several nights, I dreamed that:

• I woke up to find myself covered in temporary tattoos, and I wondered who had put them on me and how they did it without waking me up
• I was put in jail for a very minor crime, and another woman was put in jail for carrying cupcakes in a nonpublic part of the jail, which wasn't even a crime
• I stole a handful of meth from an abusive father, then threw it in his neighbor's trash can
• I put chocolate milk on my cereal, then put ten Peeps on top

So on Wednesday morning, when the house was shaking, I knew immediately it was an earthquake, but I didn't know whether I was dreaming or not. I darted out of bed to get in my doorframe, while Jimmy (who was sleeping on the floor) darted under my bed. Having minored in geology, I probably know more than the average person about the science behind earthquakes, but I was really clueless about what to do in an earthquake. Do I go outside in case this was a foreshock? Is the house safe now?

I went to the doorframe because I had always been taught that's where you should go. Then I learned that was a myth. But in my defense, that probably was the best spot in my room, because that's where stuff was least likely to fall on me. Ten years ago, they said you should crouch next to furniture, then things that fell would lean against the furniture and create a safe triangle next to the furniture. But I always thought that was a dumb idea, because it only worked for things that were big enough to hit the edge of the furniture.

The earthquake combined with the quarantine certainly made Wednesday feel weird, but it wasn't the only thing. My mom called someone to make sure they were doing all right from the earthquake, and they hung up on her! Then I found that that family had a truck parked entirely on the sidewalk, even though there was lots of room in the driveway. Jerk family!

Then I ran to Wild Rose, and there were some boys (preteens, I'm guessing) playing off on the side of the trail, and they had a dog off leash. The dog came up to me and barked. Six months ago, I was bit by a leashed dog, so you must understand my fears. As I ran past the kids, I muttered, "I hate dogs!" And then I heard one of them say, "I hate runners!" I kind of felt like a childish jerk for my reaction. However, I think I am 100 percent justified in my annoyance at the dog.

I passionately abhor dogs. That was not the only dog incident that week. I had many other unleashed dogs follow me or get in my way. As I ran past the park, I saw one family holding their dog in their arms, while another person's dog was jumping up at it. The owner kept calling for her dog, but it wouldn't listen. People! If you can't control your dog, keep it on a leash! Sheesh! There are individual dogs I like, but so many people are irresponsible that I hate dogs collectively. They are the worst.

Of course, I adore Jimmy, and I know that's how dog owners feel about their pets. But I don't take Jimmy out in public and expect everyone else to love him and ignore his faults.

My repaired laptop arrived this week, and Jimmy liked sitting on it.

Thursday and Friday were rainy, so no running for me. I still haven't lost the weight I gained at Christmastime, so I've been trying to eat more breath mints and gum rather than snacks. And it's been better than I expected.

On Saturday, I ran to all the radio towers again, eight miles round trip. That was the busiest I had ever seen the trail. Between quarantine and the start of spring, everyone is desperate to get outside.

Then we had an unexpected development. Since my California nephews are under quarantine as well, we all figured it would be better for us to be quarantined together. They live in a tiny little apartment. So yesterday my brother and his family drove here! They came for Christmas, and we didn't expect to see them again until summer. But this pandemic has changed everything, and not everything is bad.

I heard that some people are putting up Christmas decorations for the virus. But it is already Eastertime, and Easter is a wonderful time of year. Why replace something wonderful? Or you could also put up coronavirus decorations.

Even stranger

Last week, I said it had been a strange week. But that was nothing compared to the strangeness of this week! So much has changed in just the course of a few days.

Since I'm not in school right now, and I'm not really working right now (except for twice-weekly trainings), I'm not affected too much. But I was supposed to go to a luncheon for newly accepted grad students this month, and that's been cancelled, and administering the sacrament at home is surely an unusual experience.

But you know one of the things that concerns me most is the spread of misinformation. Sure, viruses can be deadly, and we want to stop their spread. But how do people create such misinformative memes and posts? I'd like to think that most of them were done with benign intentions, but surely some of them know they're making up nonsense. And then how do people believe the nonsense and then feel a need to share it? Ignorance can be deadly too!

I legitimately do not understand buying all the bottled water. My parents use distilled water to clean their CPAP machines, but I can't find any. No one's water is being shut off! I really hate the whole idea of bottled water for drinking, because it's unbelievably wasteful both of plastic and of money. That's how I feel at all times, and it's no different now. When my sister-in-law visits from California, she buys bottled water for herself and my nephews because they're not used to Utah water. It drives me absolutely bonkers!

In other news, I have this rule for myself that once all the snow is melted from our yard, I can hit the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. (Other trails require more thawing.) So I was able to go on that trail four days this week! On Wednesday, I ran to the final radio tower from my house. It's just over eight miles round trip, with a climb of 1500 feet. That's not really worse than North Canyon, but it feels harder because there's a lot more flat parts, which means the steep parts are even steeper. I can't remember the last time I ran up there—possibly two years ago.

This is the penultimate radio tower before the half-mile to the last one.

And here is the last one.

I have to do all this running because I make questionable dietary choices.

This was the best combination, in case you were wondering.

On Thursday, I ran on a flat route on a trail/dirt road that is on the west side of Legacy Parkway. I followed it south until it ended at Center Street in North Salt Lake; I'd been on part of it before, but I'd never seen where it ended.

 I didn't like this trail that much because you have a freeway on one side and fenced nothingness on the other, and it's flat and straight. Mentally, I prefer routes that have more variation, so I like winding, hilly paths. The most interesting part of this trail was the white deposit that looked like snow from a distance.

I don't expect this week to look too different from my normal routine at this time. But will anyone be able to see me dressed head to toe in green on Tuesday?

Throw, throw, throw your vote

It was certainly a strange week.

Last week, I talked about how I was voting for Amy Klobuchar. Then I found out that on Monday morning, she was holding a rally at the Depot in Salt Lake. And since I'm not really working right now, I had no reason not to go.

So on Monday morning, I dropped off my ballot at the NSL city offices. Then I headed to the rally.

 I really am impressed with her policies, her personality, and her background. I remember thinking that I felt bad for those who voted for Pete Buttigieg or Tom Steyer, that they had basically thrown their votes away since those people had dropped out of the race. But here I was on the day before the election, and she was still enthusiastically campaigning.

 And then, just a few hours after I saw her so enthusiastic and gung ho, she announced that she was dropping out of the race. It was a distressing feeling. And I had to throw out the sign I got, just hours (or less) after I put it in the window.

Oh well. Biden is winning the Democratic nomination, and he was my second or third choice. Maybe we'll see Amy run again someday.

It's on my bucket list to eventually visit all the state parks, so on Monday afternoon I decided to cross one off my list by visiting Flight Park State Recreation Area between Draper and Lehi. (Back in November, I used to go running on the Historic Rail Trail in Park City, not realizing at the time that it's considered a state park!) I have no interest in hang gliding or anything similar, so I just wanted to see it. There was no one flying that day (it was cold, and I went too late in the day). It was a little confusing to get there, as it shared a road with a gravel pit, and the signs weren't always well marked. It consisted of dirt roads and mountain overlooks with (ugly, miserable) places for camping. It certainly would be better for people actually interested in air activities.

Since I have this obsessive need to try every green shake, green cookie, and Lucky Charms product, I did a lot of running this week—32 miles. On Tuesday, I wanted to do my standard temple run, eleven miles, but I could tell I wasn't feeling up to it, so I only ran six.

On Wednesday, I didn't know if I could do eleven miles after having done six the day before. But it was a perfect day, so I did! And I'm happy to report that my new running shoes really are better than my worn-out ones; my knees didn't hurt at all. I saw a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road. I often see them at the Bountiful golf course, but they were much farther south this time.

This week I happened to find an old green "smoothie" pouch from the early 2000s in our pantry. Since it's the season for green things, I thought it would be a fitting post-run drink. But it was brown and smelled funny. I had no desire to even try it.

Then on Thursday, I ran 5.66 miles (a rather steep run); on Friday, I ran 6.5; and on Saturday, I ran less than three miles. On these runs, I was delighted at how sunny and springlike it was. Even though it snowed on Sunday, all that new snow is gone, and almost all of our snow from this past winter has melted! I expect to hit the trails again this week!

All the spring weather made the Wednesday night activity even stranger. My cousin's son is in the BYU Men's Chorus, and the BYU combined choirs reprised their Christmas concert for some competition. So I went to a Christmas in March concert at the Tabernacle. But it didn't get me in the Christmas mood because, you know, it's not Christmas.

On March 1, 2017, I bought a shamrock plant. It has died repeatedly over the years, but it keeps coming back to life. Currently I have one solitary shamrock alive. This is one of the last relics of Winegars grocery store, which closed over two years ago.

Laptop, Leap

While I was writing my blog last week, my computer kept randomly crashing. At first I blamed it on Spotify, but then it was crashing even when Spotify wasn't open. On Monday, I spent the evening doing various troubleshooting efforts, but none of it worked. I even tried to reset Windows completely, but that didn't work either. The laptop just doesn't work. And I've only had it two months!

So I went to the Lenovo website, and it was not very intuitive to find how to seek help. I found how to submit a ticket, and after I submitted it, the email said they would get back to me in thirty minutes, possibly longer if there were lots of requests.

But by the next morning, they still hadn't gotten back to me, so I had to initiate an online chat. (They emailed me after I chatted.) So I printed off a label to send the laptop back to Lenovo. And our printer decided it only likes to print bright green. It works, it's just slow and not the intended color.

Since I communicated via chat, I didn't have a record of the conversation, and I forgot whether I needed to mail in my power cord. So then I called Lenovo to ask that simple question, but that call took eight minutes because they were trying to sell me extra stuff.

Another challenge in both the online chat and the phone call is a problem that goes with most tech companies. I'm trying to choose my words very carefully here. It is annoying that the technicians apparently don't have English as their first language. Every time. Now, that doesn't mean that I think they shouldn't have those jobs; in fact, I think it's great that they can learn another language and get a job in that language. That's more than I can do. I am simply pointing out the fact that the language barrier is frustrating.

But the most annoying part is that I have to go through this hassle for a laptop that's only two months old. It's under warranty, but it's still a hassle. And now I have to use my old laptop, which reminds me why I got a new one to begin with: it's very slow!

I got new running shoes last week, so I've continued to break them in. On Friday, I ran on a Bountiful street where I haven't been before, and I found a new trail that I will have to try when the snow melts (which will be a long time still!). I also rode my bike twelve miles, and I haven't even been on my bike since October.

This week, I volunteered to make sure the church building was locked up every night. This is the building I grew up attending, but it's also very similar to the YSA building I just left. They're just different enough to be a little disorienting. (The biggest difference is that my home ward has two levels and the YSA only has one—unless you count the upper classrooms, in which case it's three levels versus two.) Something that fascinates me about trails, small towns, and church buildings is when something seems like it hasn't (or shouldn't have) been used recently, yet there's evidence of it being in use more recently. I just aged out of the North Park YSA Ward, which was created back in 2011. Before that, it was the Orchard Fourteenth Ward, and I was part of that ward in 2010. But years before I attended it, there was a period when it met in my home ward building. One of the classrooms still has the broken bishop's sign, as well as an old phone that isn't connected and an unused desk. Yet the classroom also has a current picture of the First Presidency. I find it very strange.

This has not been current for well over ten years.

On Tuesday, I watched the Democratic debate again. Amy Klobuchar is my favorite, so I'm voting for her in the primary. She has the most specific answers to specific problems. But Mike Bloomberg's opinion on marijuana aligns most closely with my own. But really, the only one of them that I don't like is Bernie, and unfortunately he appears to be winning.

I continue to do research on Pioneer Day, but I always like it when I come across other things that are unrelated to my research. There are a few arguments I often hear from people who deny climate change. They say, "In the 70s, they said the climate was cooling, not warming," and they say, "They used to call it global warming, but that didn't happen so they had to call it climate change instead." I was startled to find this article:

I didn't scan the entire article because it had an odd shape.

This is from 1977, thereby proving both of those arguments false!

In that same year, I also found a great story about a cat foiling a robbery by hissing at the knife-wielding robber, thereby distracting him so the shop owner could escape.

But I'm currently at the point where I think I can take a break from library research, because I'm starting the twenty-first century, where most of the stuff originated online.

Then for Leap Day, my family had a small cookout, and I bought some gummy frogs and chocolate bunnies. Because, you know, they leap.

And we are now officially done with the worst two months of the entire calendar. Guys, we made it! Hip hip hooray!