Dad and Grad

 It was a big week in the Melville family. 

Thursday was my dad's birthday. But more significant than that, it was his last day working. He is officially retired. That makes me sad to have retired parents. Oh well. They seem happy about it (my mom is retiring this year too).

I didn't spend any money for his birthday. My parents have CDs that they like to listen to on road trips, but their new truck doesn't have a CD player, so my dad wanted to buy one. But instead, I uploaded his favorite CDs to my iBroadcast account, so it's all on the cloud now. He also got a smartphone this week. He has never really cared to have a cellphone before.

Then on Friday, my niece, Allie, graduated from high school. Crazy! Whereas my own high school graduation took place at the Latter-day Saint regional center, hers was all the way at Weber State. Why? Capacity? Separation of church and state? I don't know. It was weird to see some of my old teachers there, all of them noticeably older: algebra, ASL, physics, English.

I couldn't help but think of my own high school graduation, which toddler Allie attended. I remember being sad that high school was over. But now I'm like, why? Post–high school life is so much better.

I don't really think of myself as even the same person that I was in high school. My appearance has changed, but so have my priorities and interests. Well, some of my interests have changed.

Last week in church, we had speakers from two separate Brazilian families. Then the Brazilian theme continued this week when our special guest was none other than Elder Ulisses Soares! He told us it was his first time in sacrament meeting since February 2020. And he talked about the importance of gathering together. Oh, and he wore a mask!

Oh, you didn't think you'd be let off that easily from me telling you about running, did you? Well, I went on a different trail every day this week. May is such a splentastular month.

Monday was Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The Palmer's penstemon, the most fragrant wildflower, was out in abundance. Take your pick of Kacey Musgraves lyrics: "Oh what a world, don't wanna leave, there's all kinds of magic, it's hard to believe," or "You're my golden hour, the color of my sky."

I had two days off this week. Tuesday was North Canyon, and I just did the usual North Canyon route to Rudy's Flat. I wanted to go longer, but I just wasn't feeling up to it.

Wednesday was the Woodbriar Trail, the most beautiful spot in all of North Salt Lake. As I was coming down, I encountered some people walking their mountain bikes up the trail, who were complaining how steep it was. I told them it got even steeper. But I should have told them that it got even more beautiful as well.

Thursday was Springhill Geologic Park. I was surprised to see sego lilies there. I have never seen them there before, and it's the earliest I've ever seen them! They make me so happy, but now I worry they'll be gone sooner.

Friday was Mueller Park, which is a wonderful trail in every way except that it is so busy.

It makes me happy that now I'm not just good at identifying blossoms, I've started to recognize the greenery as well. This is heartleaf arnica, and soon it will have yellow flowers.

And Saturday was good old Wild Rose. 

And Memorial Day weekend is when I kick off the Fourth of July/patriotic season, so I am happy to have all the new red, white, and blue stuff now.

These apple pie bites were the tipping point. I now officially consider apple pie a Fourth of July dessert/flavor.

These veggie straws fell out of my cupboard and dumped out 90 percent of the contents.

Miscellaneous

 As I work at This Is the Place, I am surprised at how similar humans are to each other. They say or do a lot of the same things. 

For example, we have a small replica of the ship Brooklyn, which carried pioneers from the East Coast around South America to California. But kids, and sometimes adults, always call it a pirate ship. Always. Like, why is a pirate ship the default? It's more effort to say "pirate ship" than just "ship." (I think a more fitting term would be a pyrite ship, since it's next to our "gold" panning. Most kids know that it isn't real gold, but a surprising amount of kids think they're finding real gold!)

Also, our mini train drives through a tunnel-shaped garage, and half the people feel like yelling when they're going through the tunnel.

And our bank hasn't been staffed yet this season, but when I worked there before, a significant number of people would come in and say, "This is a stickup!" It was especially obnoxious when they would laugh raucously, as though they had said something entirely original and witty.

***

Jimmy likes to chase the red dot of a laser pointer, but I feel bad if he's chasing it without getting any kind of tactile stimulation. So I like to put a treat on the ground, then have him chase the laser until he reaches the treat, so it's like he's hunted for the treat. He has gotten smart: he knows what is coming when he hears the package of treats. Over the last week or so, he will start following me because he knows I have a treat for him. I can even get him to follow me in circles!

He is getting skinny, and he's still drinking a lot of water. But in most other ways, he seems normal.

***

Thursday was two weeks since my second Moderna dose, so I am now fully vaccinated! So happy I made it through the pandemic without getting sick! I even attended sacrament meeting today for the first time since September (when I attended in September, I felt too uncomfortable to return again). I don't have to wear masks in many place anymore. But I have spent the last year seeing maskless people as selfish, ignorant jerks, so I will keep wearing my mask in many settings to signal that I'm not one of those people. 

***

I don't know how, but I haven't budgeted my time well enough to go on very long runs lately. Which is a shame, because May is such a fantastic month for them. I was off on Friday, and I wanted to do a long run, but it rained. But the mulesears have started to bloom, and they are the most spectacular of all the wildflowers. Now is the prettiest time of year until the fall (and it's even prettier than certain falls).

If it hadn't been cloudy, I think this field of mulesears would have been even more stunning. And I think they haven't even peaked yet.

Tufted evening primrose

Wasatch penstemon

False Solomon's seal

Arrowleaf balsamroot, which is now dying out

Death camas

Boosts of confidence

Right now, I'm writing this in the church parking lot to use their wifi, since it is out at our house. Our power went out this morning, and it came on a few hours later, but the cable/internet hasn't come back yet. I attended Sunday School in person today for the first time in forever—in fact, the first time I've attended my youth class in person. I brought my laptop to church in case anyone Zoomed in, but no one did. It was the first time I used the Liahona/alma3738 wifi. 

This week I drove the train at the park three times, drove the mini train once, and helped with "gold" panning once. Once when I was driving the mini train, there was a field group riding it. It goes around the little pond, and it takes about two minutes to do the whole loop. When I got back to the start, there was one car attached to the train. The other cars had come disconnected and were just sitting by themselves on the track, all full of people! So the kids got out and pushed the cars back to the engine. I was embarrassed at the time, but now I think it's funny.

I'm insecure about my driving, so it was a boost of my confidence when I did a "near perfect" job of getting the big train in and out of the parking garage. Do I want to spend my summer driving the train? Well, it's certainly better than working in the livery. I'm content driving if it means I don't have to help with the pony rides. *shudder*

I got more boosts of confidence this week when I got grades back. I got an A- on a book review I wrote several weeks ago. And I got an A on my bio of Oscar Crosby; the professor said I more than met the expectations of the assignment. But I didn't get a great grade on one of my environmental history essays, though it was an improvement on my other essays for that class. Two out of three ain't bad. 

And on Tuesday, my day off, I ran up to Rudy's Flat, my first time getting all the way there since November. I can't believe it's already been six months since November! Even though it has been a while, it was still relatively easy. So that's another boost of confidence.

They were constructing the new trail while I was there. But it wasn't done yet and kept starting and stopping in random places.

I also went to Springhill Geologic Park for the first time since November, and again, I can't believe it's been that long already. They have new interpretive signs there.

May is a fantastic month. But I don't have a whole lot else to say, since it wasn't a very exciting week, and it's strange writing this in a church parking lot. And you don't need to know about all my shorter runs, as lovely as they were.

When May steals October's color palette

What a week!

Wow, what a week it was!

I had to finish four papers for spring semester. One was about Oscar Crosby, one of the three slaves that came to the Salt Lake Valley with the vanguard pioneer company in 1847. One was about the shift from conservationism to environmentalism in the last century. One was a historiographical essay about racial discrimination in twentieth-century America. And the last was a historiographical essay on environmental history.

I don't think I did a great job on any of them—especially the environmental history ones, at least not as well as the professor wants. I had a hard time wrapping my head around what that professor wants for essays. He's teaching a subject that I might find interesting in the fall, but I don't think I can take another class from him because of his writing requirements. But regardless of the quality of my essays, they are done, and the semester is over! I don't have homework to do until August! Though I probably should do some work on my portfolio.

During free moments, I had to hit some of the trails. I'm a fall kind of guy, but May is the absolute best time of the year for trails that isn't in the fall. I have been going on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail for more than six and a half years, and I have noticed a little trail become increasingly more worn over the years, but I never went on it. I thought I would try it out this week.

This is the regular trail, but Blogger does its own thing with pictures.

It was lovely, but I did notice it seemed like a downhill bike trail, with the trail going on the side of the hill rather than the bottom. There were some places where trees were evidently cut down.

I didn't go too far up before I had to turn around, but I went back the next day. As I was getting to the trail, there were some bikers who had just come off, and this conversation happened:

Him: "Hey, do you know this is like a downhill bike trail?"
Me: "I didn't see any signs."
Him: "Yeah, there aren't any signs, it's just kind of local knowledge." [Um, I'm as local as anyone!]
Me: "But it's not against the rules or anything."
Him: "Yeah, it's not against the rules, it's just advisable."
Me: "Did you see any other bikers tonight?"
Him: "Yeah, I saw three or four more." 

So I opted not to go up it, and I probably won't go back. He was nice about it, so I wasn't mad, and he wasn't mad. But it does annoy me that bikers get to create their own unofficial trail.

Thursday was the day I wrapped up my last essay, and it was also the day I got my second COVID dose. It was good to have those things done! I will be fully vaccinated on May 20.

Then on Friday, I had my first day back at This Is the Place! Though I have gone for trainings this year and last year prepandemic, it was the first time I actually worked a regular shift since October 2019. I drove one of the "trains" around the park (more like a truck with trailers on it). I was nervous, but everyone told me I was a good driver. Which is reassuring, since I'm very insecure about my driving. You just drive very slowly, and you have to take the curves wide. Sometimes the road is narrow, so you have to use the mirrors to make sure you're not close to the edge. But it can be a little hard to see, since there's a giant smokestack in your line of vision.

I did feel sore and uncomfortable that day, but I didn't know if it was because I had slept poorly, or because the driver's seat isn't very ergonomic, or because of my shot. But when I got home from work, my COVID shot had very obviously caught up with me. My arm was the sorest it has ever been from a shot, and some of that soreness had spread elsewhere in my body. I felt like doing nothing. I certainly didn't want to go running or do my daily chore. I recently bought a Nintendo Switch, and playing that sounded like too much effort. Reading didn't sound good, and I thought about watching a movie, but even going downstairs and picking one out sounded too hard. So I just got into bed and watched TV.

But on Saturday morning, I felt much better. I had my first shift with another new task, driving the mini train. This one is much easier; it's basically a kiddie ride (though adults can ride too), and it's on a track, so you don't have to steer. And I really felt lucky that I get paid to do this! When I'm working with guests, I get to go on a fun little ride. And when I'm not working with guests, I'm getting paid to spend time by a scenic pond with views of the valley and lots of docile Canada geese, including baby geese. It's very charming. I think I have mediocre people skills, so it takes me out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing. I did get lightly sunburned—it was a cool day, so it didn't feel like a day when I would need sunscreen.

It's too bad no swimming is allowed, because I really want to swim in there.

Even though I'm working again, I'm glad I don't have homework hanging over me for a few months. But I still need to schedule time for my editing side hustle. And I also applied to an internship this week, so I'll see if that goes anywhere.

Haunted by an almond

I began the week with a strange lunch experience. I was eating one of my leftover homemade veggie burgers, which had almonds in them. As I was eating, I noticed that one of the almonds had an unusual appearance. It tasted and felt just fine, but the way it looked was very weird. Something about it made me immensely uneasy. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it looked like an exoskeleton of an insect or a spider. It was perfectly harmless, but I just had great anxiety while I was eating lunch because of it. It was very strange.

Also this week, my parents ordered some tents for their new truck, which came in a big Amazon box. And Jimmy has taken to sleeping in it, which I find adorable.

Last week, I told you that the vet diagnosed him with diabetes, since he has been drinking a lot of water and his blood sugar was high. But I hoped maybe he didn't have diabetes, since cats' blood sugar spikes when they are stressed, and visiting the vet is stressful. But that didn't explain why he was drinking so much. Well, this week I found the receipt from when we visited in March because he hurt his leg. That receipt said the shot they gave him could increase his thirst! So is that the explanation? Did we take him to the vet for nothing? Does he or does he not have diabetes? I'm so confused!

My family went to see Woods Cross High School's production of The Addams Family because my niece is on stage crew. (I don't think I would have opted to see it otherwise; it's not my favorite, and this was my fourth time seeing it.) But to assist with social distancing, they had cardboard cutouts of celebrities to put at the end of your group so you're not sitting directly next to strangers. As I walked in, I saw someone was using a Skipper cutout. And then I was happy to see that Ginger was available, so of course I had to use that one, since it's my favorite TV show.

Speaking of TV, on Monday evenings I have been getting to bed early to watch Spring Baking Championship. This week was the finale, and now my Mondays will be so boring, since I have to wait more than four months for Halloween Baking Championship.

Friday was Arbor Day, and I like to do something with trees on that day, so I ran up Mueller Park, since it would be less snowy than North Canyon. But it was still pretty snowy near the top. There were plenty of glacier lilies and some arrowleaf balsamroot out.

Then on Saturday, I was invited to attend the recording of the worldwide devotional with Elder Gary E. Stevenson, which will air tonight. It was filmed at This Is the Place's new pioneer center, and I was invited to attend since I'm an employee, even though I'm no longer a young adult. But it was good they prerecorded it. He once said "Russell M. Nelson" when he meant "M. Russell Ballard," so that was rerecorded. And at the end, he waved, and apparently his waving wasn't good enough, so they had to rerecord that. While he was waiting to record again, he was joking about ways he might wave, and he said, "Someone up front is telling me I should do 'live long and prosper.' We've got a Trekkie here in the front row." Recorded talks are great, but I especially love seeing general authorities' informal, unscripted personalities.

This week will be a big one. I have four papers to submit. Two of them are almost done, one is mostly done, and I haven't started the last one. On Thursday I get my second COVID-19 vaccine. And then on Friday, I will start working again at This Is the Place. Even though I will be working, I am very much looking forward to a break from school. Grad school has been just as hard as college was, if not harder.

But I'm happy it's May now, a truly wonderful month.