I Am Woman Hear Me Roar

Monday July 11

Monday was a very fantastic day. I woke up to a text message from Pam and a missed call from a 480 number. I leaped up out of my bed so fast because it was Zach calling! On Saturday when I was emailing him I did my calculations all wrong and I thought he would be calling around 11 AM not 9 AM. The good news is that I had only missed the call for about thirty seconds, and then I very quickly called the burner phone back, and I got to talk to Zach! It was seriously so amazing to hear his voice. We talked for about an hour and a half before I had to go to class (booooo), but I was so thrilled I was able to talk to him during his layover in Houston before he flew out to Trinidad (crazy fact: Steph was flying to Houston while Zach had his layover at the airport, it would have been so crazy if they ran into each other, I probably would have died from excitement). 

Now that Zach is out of the MTC his P-Days are Mondays, which means there's a good reason to enjoy Mondays again!

Although I was very bummed I had to go to class instead of talking to Zach even longer, I am very happy I went. This week was a little out of the ordinary because we had individual meetings with the Sports Editor about our resumes and cover letters. I am always really terrified of showing people my resume and cover letter because I always think they are just going to tear it apart. Well Shannon (the sports editor) did tear it apart, but she did it in such a nice way it didn't even feel like criticism at all. She was a fantastic help, and now I am way better off applying for jobs.

Speaking of jobs. I have been starting to apply to jobs just to get my name out there. I applied for a paper in a small town in Colorado and the editor called me on Monday letting me know that they are looking to hire right now, and since I am not available to hired until I graduate, he told me that he would keep me in mind when they have another opening after I graduate. How cool! I was super stoked about it. I'm definitely not relying on a possible job from them, I am keeping my options wide open, but it was still really awesome to hear that he liked the work I have done so far and that he will keep me in mind for the future. 

Monday was also the start of all of my car troubles of the week. When I was driving to my class my car was accelerating really slowly and it was shaking vigorously when idle. So while I was waiting for my meeting I was trying to diagnose the problem, and then after my meeting I called my Dad to talk it out. We came up with a couple different options to trying to fix possible problems, hoping that one of the solutions would work out and my car would be fixed. So the first solution was to add my transmission fluid to my car (because it was running dangerously low... I'm really bad at checking up on those fluids). So Ty drove me to AutoZone, I bought some fluid, poured it into the car, drove around for a little bit.... and it didn't get any better. So I called my Dad to update him and he told me to drive it around on Tuesday because it could take some time for the fluid to really sink in. 

Car problems: to be continued

After a work meeting I went to Bison Whiches with Ty, Jenny and Riley. While we were sitting at our table, Ty saw a Jigglypuff pop up on the list of nearby pokemon on the Pokemon Go app, so she and I went hunting for her. We did end up finding Jigglypuff and I caught her (victory) and just went Ty caught her Jigglypuff poofed out of the pokeball and poofed away... it was a little bit depressing... but I was still happy I caught her. After dinner we went downtown to get some ice cream at the Screamery and to also catch some pokemon. 

Sorry that was a lot of writing and not a lot of pictures, but finally here is a picture for Monday:

Tuesday July 12

Work was a little out of the ordinary today because we had to work in the marketing department because there is some new computer installation happening in the newsroom. Being in the marketing department, everyone was all cramped together, which is much different than me being isolated in my photo corner of love. It was refreshing though to be in a different area... but I am still very sad that my photo desk is being stripped from me.

Work was also out of the ordinary because in weeks past we have not had Pokemon Go. I want to say every twenty minutes a new pokemon would pop up and we (those cool enough to have the app) would all try and go find it. I got a Staryu and it was probably the most exciting moment of my life.

When it comes to actual work... I did a lot of the design of the double truck with Chastity, so that was really exciting. My last double truck I did very little of the pressing of buttons, but this time I did a lot of it #progress.

After I was done with work I drove my car around for a little bit to see if the car was any better... and it wasn't... so I decided I was going to take the whale into Brake Masters early in the morning.

Wednesday July 13

This is the day of all the exciting car stuff.

So I woke up at like 7:30 AM to take my car into the shop. I walk out to my car and see that I have a bunch of stuff in the passenger seat, and I thought I should probably clean it out so the people don't think I am a slob. So I walk around to the other side of my car to open the passenger door and I see a flat tire. LOVELY. Like honestly, I was just going in to FIX my car... and now I have to fix this problem before I can even let professionals fix the other problem.

I tried calling my parents but my Dad was in a meeting and could only text, and my mom had to take Avery to the dentist so she couldn't be much help right then. Luckily my father has taught me in the past how to change a tire, although I have never done it on my own before I could remember the jist of it so I went to go see if I had a spare tire. Of course there was a spare tire in my trunk... but of course it was flat... so that was no help.

My Dad finally contacts me and tells me that I need to take the tire in to see if it could get repaired, but that I would have to call a guy to come and help me and to drive me around. The only guy I could think of in Tucson was Jared, so I gave him a text and waited for a response while I began to jack up my car. 

I ended up putting the jack on the wrong part of my car because I didn't realize there was a right part... but I learned my lesson after the jack falling over and some plastic falling off my car hahaha. So I found the right spot, I loosened the lugnuts, then jacked my car up. I still didn't get a response from Jared, so I asked Chastity and Brandi to see if either of them would be willing to drive me and my tire around. Chastity is the most perfect human and was already on her way to her internship on the other side of town, and she turned around to come and help me. She is seriously the best. And since she was a woman, I could say that I was able to accomplish this task without the help of a man. 

So eventually Chastity gets to my house, I take the tire off my car and put it into her car. We drive it over to Pepboys to see if it can be repaired. The nice worker told me that it couldn't be repaired, and he advised me to go to Discount Tire instead of buying a tire from PepBoys because it would be too expensive and not worth it for one tire (I love when salesmen are nice).

So we drive over to Discount Tire, and we get everything all squared away..... but I left my wallet at home. But like I said, Chastity is the most perfect human and paid for the tire temporarily until I got my wallet.

While the tire was being placed on the wheel, we went back to my house so Chastity could edit some stories for the Wildcat. After about an hour, I got a call saying the tire was ready, so we drove back to Discount Tire and brought it back to car. We placed the tire on, I tightened the lugnuts, I lowered the jack and then Chastity (because she is much stronger than me) tightened the lugnuts even more.

We did it people. I, with a lot of help from Chastity, was able to change a tire on my car, with zero help from men (well besides the men that helped me at Pepboys and Discount Tire). What a day. While we were driving around Chastity said "I feel like we need to listen to some Beyonce," and I think you all should too. So press play on this video, and then read the story again.

After my car was fixed, Chastity went to her other internship. Eternally grateful for friends who are willing to drop things to help people. She's an angel.

I then decided I should probably take my car in to Brake Masters. They have a free engine check there and the nice man told me that oftentimes the free engine check is not enough to diagnose the problem, but that a full diagnostics test is about $100. I didn't want to pay $100 if I didn't have to so I just ordered the free check. Surely enough, the free check wasn't enough, so I set an appointment for the next morning to get the full work up on my car. I was very lucky in that my class on Thursday was cancelled so my car could be in the shop all day if it really needed to be. 

Later Jenny, Riley and I went to get dinner at Costco, because let's face it meals at Costco are some of the best meals in the world... and Jenny craves pizza 24/7 (but who doesn't), so it just made sense.

In the evening, I went roaming around campus to catch some pokemon and so I could walk enough kilometers to hatch some eggs. I'd say it was a successful pokemon endeavor.

Thursday July 14

My appointment at brake masters was at 7:30  in the morning, so woke up and drove the car right over and then walked back to my house. Luckily, I live very close to Brake Master so it wasn't that long of a walk at all, and I got to catch some pokemon along the way.

I started watching Scandal because I love my home girl Shonda Rhimes. It's a very good show, I would definitely recommend. 

Eventually I got a call from Brake Masters saying the problem was with my spark plugs, and that they could fix the problem before lunch time. It was quite pricey, but it needed to be done, so they went to work on my car, and finished right before I was about to go to lunch with Chastity and Brandi. Great news everyone, the car accelerates better than it has ever before and the shaking is no longer vigorous. It felt wonderful to drive it. 

After I paid for the work, I drove away and met Brandi and Chastity for lunch at Fired Pie. These girls are my favorite and I love hanging out with them. 

After lunch I went to the mall with Brandi to help her find a new denim dress for her family pictures when she goes to Hawaii (just a little bit jealous of her). 

Friday July 15

This was just the week of early mornings for me. I had an assignment for the Star to photograph bicyclists riding around town. Since Arizona is a very hot place, people only go outside early in the morning and later in the evening. So I drove around bike boulevards for about an hour trying to catch some bicyclists... and admittedly some pokemon when no bikes were in sight. 

After getting the pictures, I transmitted them in and then took a short nap before going into the newsroom.

I was able to talk to Rick about the photos I have taken so far since I am more than half way through my apprenticeship now. There are still a lot of skills I need to work on, but I am very happy with the progress I have made at the apprenticeship and all that I have learned.

My second assignment of the day was to photograph a woman who founded Beer Geek Bakery, a bakery of good infused with beer. It's pretty interesting, and she was a really nice lady so it was a lot of fun to take pictures of her. 

After I was done with my work at the Star, I went to the Daily Wildcat newsroom to let Darien in so he could use one of the newsroom lenses. It was also probably the last time that my desk will be my desk RIP. 

Then I went and rescued Brandi who locked keys in her car. I picked her and Duke up, drove all the way out to Starpass so we could get her spare, then drove all the way back to campus so she could get into her car. Then we went back to Starpass so we could go swimming.... turns out the complexes gorgeous pool was closed.... so we ended up getting some Wendy's for dinner and watching America's Got Talent. 

Saturday July 16

Steph, Jenny and I joined 5th ward on their temple trip to the Mesa temple. I finally was able to bring my own names to the temple to do baptisms, and it a pretty cool experience! Some of the names were a little difficult so it was funny to hear the people try to pronounce them... like Euphemia, what a doll. 

After we were done with baptisms, the three of us went to go visit my family. EJ and Avery joined us for lunch at Chipotle and then we introduced Jenny to Bahama Bucks (because you can't honestly live with a Richardson and never go to Bahama Bucks, especially considering McKenzie is going to be Jenny's roommate in the fall). Avery and Jenny ended up tying in the bimini game, but Avery did get to throw snowballs at McKenzie and earned everyone some free shaved ice.

Avery is seriously the 5 year old version of Jenny. We spent pretty much the rest of the afternoon dancing to YouTube videos (a lot of Fifth Harmony and Little Mix) like Jenny does in Tucson, and Avery does in Mesa. They're the same person, and they've got the moves. 

My family was actually feeding the missionaries so we stayed for dinner too (because you never turn down a free dinner just to return to Tucson earlier). After harassing the missionaries a little bit, eating some delicious fajitas and playing a couple rounds of Jenga, the 1320 beezies made their way back to Tucson.

Sunday July 17

Two members of the Relief Society presidency came to 1320 to visit teach us, I was very impressed. I know very few people in YSA who actually do their visiting teaching. The RS presidency deserves a gold medal. 

Church was fantastic and it usually is. In my class there was a little baby lizard just chilling on the wall, so that was really exciting.

Since my family recently go back from Canada they brought back a bunch of my favorite Canadian snacks, so I have been munching on those since I got home. So I'd say it's been a very good Sunday.

Super exciting thing this week: Sadie's bridal shower (I am seriously so stoked that her wedding is so soon! Like freaking out over here)