Cellf Reflection (It's not a typo but a bad pun)

I know it has been a while, but I’ve been away from my lovely laptop for way too long. I’ve recently spent a week pseudo-camping out in Grass Valley, California and am now headed to Yosemite for the weekend of real camping and smores. Grass Valley was a beautiful escape for me. I was surrounded by friends, people who actually know my first and probably my last name. They only stayed for the first two days of my trip because they have something called jobs, but those days were pure bliss. They were people that I could talk or not talk to for hours. We all liked snow peas and board games. (If you haven’t seen Best In Show, you probably won’t get the above reference. In fact, even if you saw the movie, it still won’t be funny to you. I’m currently just writing to amuse myself right now.)

This was the little cabin we stayed at in Grass Valley. My dad actually built this with

his bare hands...and a few helpers that didn't speak much English.

I realized three important things about myself after spending 5 ½ days in Grass Valley.

1. I need my cell phone! It is no longer just a want; it has become a necessity to have my cell phone in range of one or more Verizon towers. I am able to go without my cell phone for a day or two but not any more than that. I knew it was time to go back to civilization, when I found myself crawling on the roof of the cabin searching for a single bar of service so that I could get at least one text message. It was an all-time low for me. Don’t worry, I have self-loathing knowing how shallow and ridiculous it is, but that didn’t change my urge to call someone. After 5 ½ days, it made me have a whole new respect for the movie The Shining. I bet that if Jack Nicholson would have had text messaging, voice mail, and the opportunity to just call someone to help him with his issues, he would have been just fine.

2. I’m probably the most competitive person I know when it comes to board games. I’m a competitive person in general, but board games bring out a particularly brutal kind of cutthroat spirit. I promised myself before the game that I wouldn’t take anything seriously and I’d try to just have a good time. Then, once the game began, I became a Mr. Hyde version of myself. I knew it was time to stop playing games during Scategories when I cursed out half the room. I’ll lay out the scenario for you. The category was “Things Found in the Sea” and the letter was “F”. I decided to forgo the obvious answers of Fish and Fire Coral and went with something original. I was so excited to announce “Flipper” and then heartbroken when it was vetoed on account that it was a fictional dolphin’s name. This is ludicrous because everyone that has a dolphin near their house in Florida or California calls it Flipper. It is the dolphin equivalent of Fido for the dog or Blackie for the stray, black cat. Anyway, it was vetoed. I was trying to get over my anger and quietly seethe in my corner, when the person to my left said that he put down Fisherman. Everyone voted and agreed that he got a point for “Fisherman.” Fishermen aren’t found IN the sea unless they are dead. Fishermen are ON the sea IN a boat. How did I lose with Flipper and he won a point with Fisherman. *Please note- I am working myself into a raging mad-on just thinking about this again. I now need to stop, breath, and crawl into child’s pose. See…I have definite competitive issues that I need to work on before I’m allowed to play with others.


3. I desperately need a hot tub for my house in Utah. I forgot how amazing a hot tub is while living in Texas. In Texas, there are only about 5-10 days a year where you could actually use a hot tub for its intended purpose. I’ve mostly seen hot tubs used as summertime kiddie pools and, in a couple of white trash instances, I seen them filled with ice to cool down large quantities of beer for a backyard party. A cool mountain evening borders on perfection when you have an accessible hot tub. I’m getting on craigslist as soon as I get home.

Well, I hope to have many more stories to share when I get back from Yosemite. Is it wrong that I’m hoping the fires up there will keep everyone from wanting to do the 7 hour dome hike? I know that I’m a wuss, but 7 hours of hiking seems awfully long. Maybe I can stick around camp a guard the tents; I hear the bears are particularly intrusive this time of year. I also could volunteer my cooking skills and maybe opt out on the hike so that I could prepare the after-hike meal. Let me know if y’all can think of any other excuses to keep me out of 7 hours of mind-draining heat.