Under The Influence. Addiction.

I am under the influence of 2 very strong influences. Actually, I have a couple of addictions. And I feel I need to share with you. It will be a form of therapy for me to share them. They have taken over my life. I can't get anything else accomplished. I have fallen under the spell of 2 very potent entities. I have lost control. I need intervention.

1. Downton Abbey Can't get enough! I have watched all of season 1 on Netflix and will begin watching season 2 on line. And then my life will be able to move on. I am only taking a small break today because the Blue and Gold Banquet is tonight and I have stuff to do. But I am hooked. If you are, too, you know my pain. If you haven't begun to watch, look out!! It will take over your life! Only one thing trumps Downton Abbey. Only one...

2. Indexing

I read an article in the Ensign about indexing and then put the magazine down. I then got on to Family Search. But just for a moment. Then I took my first batch. Then it was batch after batch after batch. I can't stop. I will sit for hours and index. I have let laundry go. I haven't made dinner. I forgot to eat lunch. I know I need to shower, but I can't stop indexing. It has taken over my life.

I changed my mind about needing help. I really need to keep watching Downton Abbey. It is so so so good. I can't stop and I won't stop. And I will not stop indexing. I am addicted and find great Joy in extracting names of people who will have posterity looking for them. They then can find their names, dates, place of birth and/or death. They can complete a search for an ancestor and can then do the necessary work for them. I love Downton Abbey. But I love Indexing more! Try it, you'll like it!

Under The Influence And A Thought For Thursday.

Years ago I was serving as the Enrichment counselor in the Relief Society presidency in our ward. I worked with wonderful women in that presidency. One Sunday the president was conducting and was going through announcements and then said that I would give the Enrichment announcement. Only she forgot my name. It was funny and so I got up and said something to the effect of "we've only been working together for a year and she can't remember my name" ha ha ha. And then I announced.

When I got home from church the message light on the phone was blinking. So I clicked it on only to get a hang up. So I checked the caller ID and called the woman back. I was barely into my "what's up?" when she laid into me. She said I was so mean and that I didn't even see the president crying when I made the forgot my name comment. She accused me of being a Nazi bi---, oh yes, a Nazi bi---. She told me I had better apologize to the president in front of the entire Relief Society to redeem myself. I couldn't even respond before she hung up on me.

I got off and went to Daniel. I wondered why she was so angry with me. Later that day Daniel was on the computer and found an email from this woman. It went into detail about how completely awful I was and that I should be released from my calling.

Daniel left town the next morning. Thanks very much. So I called the RS president and asked her to come to my house please. She could tell I was upset and came right over. I apologized profusely to her for my comment and asked for her forgiveness. She was confused. She said she was laughing, not crying. Only she had a few cold sores on her mouth and when she laughed they broke open and so she had to cover her mouth and maybe that's what this woman saw and mistook it for crying. We talked for quite a while about what had happened once I got home the day before and when she left a while later I knew I hadn't offended her and that I really was a good person.

So as time went on, this woman went to the Bishop and told him that I needed to be released because I was so hard to work with. The Bishop had already spoken with the RS president and told this woman that there was no offense taken that day. That the relationship between the 2 of us was fine and that I was not going to be released.

So the anger in this woman bubbled for quite some time. She was released from her calling shortly thereafter so that I didn't have to work with her and the anger she had for me. I really struggled with this experience for a long time. I took the Nazi comment to heart and it effected the way I worked with the other women on my board. But then one day, about 2 weeks after the initial incident, the other counselor in our presidency came by my house. She knew I was still reeling and wanted to give some comfort. So we talked for a while and then she offered some advice that helped then and continues to influence my life now. So here's the influential comment and the thought for Thursday...

You can choose to be a duck or a porcupine. A duck lets all the water roll right off its back while the porcupine lets the water sit in between its quills and fester. It's better to be a duck.

I chose to be a duck at that point. I enjoyed the rest of the time I served in that calling. The word Nazi doesn't even come into play when I go through what or who I am. I am so grateful for that advice and the influence it has had in my life.

REMEMBER TO BE A DUCK

Under The Influence.

Over the years, there have been many people who have come in and out of my life who have influenced me. I was brought back to an influence in my life that I had forgotten. So let's go back to 1987. I was a junior in high school. It would be my last year at this school in California before we moved to Utah that summer. I had signed up for a public speaking class. I think mostly because I was so shy that the thinking was this class could help me to break out of that shell. What happened was, I really really enjoyed that class. And here is the heavily eye lined me way back then. And I especially love the upturned collar.
The teacher in the class would give us an assignment of a topic or two that we would prepare a speech for. We did a couple of debates, too. She taught us to speak clearly and without saying "like" and "um" while doing so. Which is difficult if you spoke Valley Girl. Which I kinda did. And you may notice that I still say "like" a lot. Sheesh. It's ingrained in my speaking! There was a boy in the class who always sat behind me. When we had to do an "interview" of someone in the class and then introduce that person, we chose each other. We got all of our info down and then, like, chatted. I told him I would be moving to Utah that summer and that my dad was going to get a car for me when we got there. He was totally into the car thing and so we talked about my choice of car. Honda Prelude. A red one. He said I would look good in it. Well of course. I mean, look at the heavy liner and feathered hair!! He would have been sorely disappointed at the Dodge Omni I got.

One of the the rules in the class was that while someone was speaking, everyone had to listen. And be respectful and to really be fair to people. We were all there to support one another. I never felt like I was out of place there or that I should be overly embarrassed about speaking. We were all pretty well acquainted by now and learning about each other was fun and interesting. This was a fun class full of friends and support.

Then a choice of topics came up to speak on. Share an embarrassing moment or read a children's story. So the teacher gave an example speech about an embarrassing moment. She was a well blossomed woman and shared an experience involving those blossoms. She was taking an aerobics class and wore a regular bra. Which had, like, 5 clasps on the back. During the class she was jumping and running and stuff and then it happened. The clasps broke. We laughed hysterically, because she was too. She talked about going the rest of that class without her bra in working order. I chose to read Where The Wild Things Are for my speech. It's my favorite. But her story, as well as others told by students, and really just this one class, really helped me learn a great lesson.

We are all people. As women, we all have bra clasps and sometimes those clasps break at the most inopportune times. I can get up in front of people and actually entertain them and give meaningful information and not be looked at as a complete moron. When you really listen to each other, even though you don't all know each other, you can learn a lot.

This teacher was a great influence on my love of public speaking. I don't do it a lot, but when I have the opportunity to teach, speak, or anything else in front of others, I find a great sense of fulfillment and peace in it. Under the influence of public speaking!