Happy Holidays

MUSICA DOS

Well, it's been a while since I've posted a soundtrack for life. These songs all have meaning for me recently...at least the play count on my Ipod seems to indicate that, here is why:

"Shadow of a Day" - Linkin Park: It was my theme song for moving, just listen and you'll understand why...

"Settlin'" - Sugarland: Well, it just seems appropriate to my current "status" minus the red wine part

"Come on Get Higher: - Matt Nathanson: It's just got a really nice sound that I heard at the Sugarland concert that I can't get out of my head.

"Together" - Michelle Branch: recognizing the power of relationships and how they affect us

"First Single" - The Format: Just makes me want to get up and dance, but at the same time I can relate to the lyrics

"It's Good to Be in Love" - Frou Frou: I love the way the title of the song has nothing to do with what you think it does, and I can relate to the lyrics

"Matter of Time" - Cartel: I've met these guys a few times, awesome band from Georgia. I love the idea of change and the struggle that we all go through in order to make it somewhere different.

"Typical" - Mute Math: AWESOME song and I miss the person that introduced me to this band. To me, it's about "becoming" and moving forward but recognizing the individual struggle with getting there.

"Suspension" - Mae: This has been on a few of my playlists. I just love it. About the beginning of what could be the greatest relationship of all time and the nerves that come with it. Love it!

"The Outsider" - A Perfect Circle: I LOVE Maynard's voice! I absolutely love the music to this song. The lyrics to this song aren't the point to it for me. It's all about the music and Maynard's voice! I'm not suicidal. :)

"Miss Independent" - Kelly Clarkson: Well, this is silly. But I think a lot of us go through the cycle that the lyrics to this song talk about. At times I relate to it, others no. But I mostly added this one for the immediate effect that people recognize it.

So I hope you enjoy the current playlist. There will be another at some point in time as I'm trying to convert the world to a couple bands my good friends Kaddisfly and Ayin!!!!

Yes another trip made and another adventure had: Destination, Waco Texas

10. Wacko Waco is not a new joke, they've heard it for years
9. The Branch Davidians are still practicing and they plan to rebuild the compound (I know you all were wondering...)
8. "ea' yeet?" "naw u?" nope, ya'unt to?" "Aite".....is holding a conversation
7. The Hilton was really nice except it was really hard to walk into the front door....the door hit the "coffee nook" and I thought to myself, "dang it, I don't drink the stuff...they should have no coffee rooms so I don't have to bang into this thing everyday"
6. It doesn't matter how hungry you are, the freeways don't let you get off. We would see a sign for a restaurant and want to get off the freeway, but if you didn't already know that it was there 40 miles ahead of time, you weren't going to eat there. (the exits were literally 5 miles ahead from when you would actually see what you wanted to get off for)
5. Watch out on off ramps!!!! You could be headed in the wrong direction into on-coming traffic!!!!
4. High School football is LIFE. We saw a high school stadium that can seat 40,000 people.
3. Miss Nuvi saved our lives yet again and she said, "there is a better way" never heard her use that phrase before....It could have been because the road we were on showed us out in the middle of nowhere (not even on a road) for her.
2. Pay attention to the time change....I was working off my computer time and subtracting two hours instead of adding two hours....no wonder I went to bed at 2am that night....
1. Buzzard Billies never ceases to amaze me. "That there Cajun meal is mighty fine if I do say so myself"

Thanks MarathonNorco for inviting us to join you! I'm glad that we could chat a bit about Lean AND the BYU/UofU rivalry. (there were a few BYU and UofU grads at the facility) live on Holy War! :)

Back from the UK

Yet another top ten from my latest trip for work! This time was in Sheffield UK. What an incredibly beautiful place!

10. Flying in to Manchester on a half empty plane was SWEET!
9. There are sheep and cows all over the place
8. Tom Tom ain't so great (ALL the round abouts! I've never seen so many...not even in my other trips to the UK)
7. Even though our supplier's name was Doncasters, they weren't located in Doncaster...(AND I was the ONLY woman on the shop floor, I'm not even joking about that)
6. Pub food is still the way to go and the only choice in Sheffield (Most restaurants in the area you order from the bar and when you are seated, your food is ready...I kinda like this arrangement)
5. My traveling companions are HILARIOUS: Jim and Olivier "Stupid Tom Tom" ripping it out of the car jack and threatening to throw it out the window...."I stayed up late last night watching a movie on one of the three channels we have"
4. Cherry Coke tastes COMPLETELY different...it's definitely a cough syrup flavor
3. I don't know what it is, but I still find the signs funny..."Humped Zebra Crossing", "Mind Your Head", "Sheep Crossing", etc.
2. The homes are a lot like cottages, or old time manor houses (our hotel was a renovated 11th Century Chapel, and a 16th century Manor house with stables...GORGEOUS!)
1. Even though it was nothing like London, it was an incredible place, more like what I picture England to be like with all the farm land and sheep, etc.

Thank you Doncasters for inviting us to come and help out! It was a great experience and I'm glad to have met you all!

Thanks Percy and Sarah!!

I've been tagged. This one is funny. (Thanks Percy & Sarah!)
1. My Rockstar Name (first pet, current car):"Friskey Jeep" LOL
2. My Gangsta Name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite shoe):"Vanilla Vans" (hum...Vanilla Ice wanna be?)
3. My Native American Name (favorite color, favorite animal):"Silver Tiger"
4. My Soap Opera Name (middle name, city where you were born):"Fontana" (I will only have one name)
5. My Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 of your first):"Scumi" (I'm not sure I like this one too much...Leia is just too good...I sound like intergalactic rubbish with this name...)
6. My Super Hero Name (second favorite color, favorite drink):"Blue Pina Colada" (That would be a Pina Colada without the alcohol of course)
7. My Nascar Name (first names of your grandfathers):"James Vernon" (that actually has a nice ring to it)
8. My Stripper Name (favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):"Cool Water Caramelo"
9. My TV weather anchor name (5th grade teacher, city that begins with same letter): "HP Hamburg"
10. My Spy Name (favorite season/holiday, favorite flower):"Spring Plumeria" (this seems a little weak for a spy name...)
11. My cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing now):"Cherry Linen"
12. My Hippie Name (what you ate for breakfast, favorite tree):"British Biscuits Cherry Blossom" (wow now that's a name...)
Have fun with this one! Short and sweet

Long List of Adventures in Careers

Have I been BUSY sheesh! Traveling, working, spending time with friends and family...I couldn't ask for a better set up! Due to these current happenings, I think it'll be more fun to write more about "Adventures in Careers" for a while. Mostly my observations about the new places that I've visited while traveling for work. Lists seem to be a good format for me. So if you can handle it....READ ON! :) Some of these things are a LONG time coming:

April: Wolverhampton, UK


10. I LOVE the UK!
9. Soccer, er. football, is the WAY of life, ESPECIALLY in Wolverhampton (go Wolves! and I watched Manchester United win! Hurrah!)
8. Pub food (at "The Spread Eagle", really, that was the name) is the best
7. They have no idea what a coke with grenadine means ("what's grenadine?")
6. Everyone says, "At the present" when they are working on something...(ex. "When is the machine coming?" "they are working on it at the present.")
5. Thai Chili flavored crisps (potato chips) are the BEST!
4. The Chinese food place played 50s and 60s music; the Italian place played 80s elevator music
3. Shopping by myself in Wolverhampton was really nice
2. The other employees at Goodrich Actuation Systems UK were AWESOME! (one even bought me some biscuits (cookies) because he heard I loved them)
1. "Stay LEFT of the blue arrow when driving!!!!"

May: San Marcos, Texas


10. There is a HUGE outlet mall in San Marcos and my big accomplishment was that I didn't buy anything!
9. I'd tell you what I worked on while at the San Marcos facility but then I'd have to kill you :)
8. "What kind of devil bird chirps at night?!"(Kit "Failure to Launch") Mocking Birds and Black Birds are REALLY loud!!!
7. I got lost EVERY night...all those "outer highways" can get really confusing
6. "the Oasis" is a really incredible restaurant on Travis Lake...food, eh, atmosphere, AMAZING
5. It was SUPER hot in MAY....I know because I was sawing metal outside for half an hour...the power saw was broken.
4. I LOVE the Texas accent, "Used to could...", "You was yella" etc.
3. Texas Pride is alive and well
2. Austin IS weird, "Keep Austin Weird" - the lizard man in the airport PROVED it
1. Seeing old friends makes every trip WORTH IT! (thanks Kevin, Sarah, and Percy!!! and welcome new friends Joe, Tim, Brigid, Carrie, and Melanie)

May: Riverside...again


10. There's a WHOLE lot more to do in Riverside than Alex and I originally thought! This time I went to the Sanrio (Hello Kitty) store for over an hour. (instead of Toys-R-Us)
9. I love being so close to family. I can meet up for a movie, drive home for dinner...etc.
8. Meeting up with friends from the other plants is a blast!
7. The second week of Lean Training was an interesting exercise, our team rocked!
6. "Juan, the Male Room is different from the Mail Room...", sometimes when you've been working on a process flow ALL week, people tend to read fast.
5. I had Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Irish, and American food all in Riverside
4. "Let me introduce the team,....oh and here is Michelle....everyone knows Michelle..." (Thanks Juan)
3. Bomb scares are anonymous, "Of course the bomb scare would be anonymous, it's not like someone is going to call in and say, 'hi my name is george, I'm calling in a bomb threat.'" We were evacuated for about an hour.
2. I love going to these training things, I get to meet people from all over Goodrich and the best part is I get to see them all again!
1. There's nothing better than being able to go home for a holiday (Mother's Day)

June: Cleveland, Ohio


10. It's REALLY green! and there aren't any fences
9. The Winking Lizard is an awesome wings place: Magma is intense. Lizard Lips are really good too
8. Bang Bang Shrimp was totally worth it
7. There really is a "wrong side of the tracks": we literally crossed over the train tracks and the homes DRASTICALLY changed
6. The architecture is really unique, in some parts it's like Boston (bricks and mortar) and others like a brand new city of Iron (Rock Hall of Fame)
5. Canadians are still funny
4. Surfer's drivers licenses get great reactions from people (Zack's: "I don't know what you was doin' but I definitely want to be a parta dat", "there's my wild man", "I didn't think it was you man", "WHOA"
3. Getting nicknames: "Snappy from ASG News"
2. History lessons at the steak house are better than paid tours of the city (House of GYNORMOUS steaks...seriously bigger than my head)
1. "There are surfers in Ohio too?!" We literally saw a guy with a surf board strapped to the top of his car, it was upside down, but hey, it was a surf board in OHIO! :)

RIVERSIDE...the Riv....er...side....

So I just got back from my first trip for work. It was an eventful week. No Literally...we went for a Kaizen Event. :) I know, I know, cheesy engineering joke, but I just had to. Anyway...

I have to say all the things that I heard about Riverside when I was a kid have been dispelled. Well, sort of. Riverside is Riverside. Sorry for those of you that are from the area, but everything closes about 5 probably because of the gang problem. But in all honesty, for me, Riverside wasn't so bad. Why? Well because I stayed at The Mission Inn! (Please refer to the picture above) Yes folks, The Mission Inn. It's a Goodrich preferred hotel. And I LOVED it!

The event was a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot of new things VERY quickly. To dispell all the misinformation that many of you may have...I work for Goodrich Aerostructures. It used to be known as BF Goodrich (the tire people) but for the last 30+ years they have not made tires (Michelin has actually). We make specific parts for aircraft. Hence if I told you specifically, I would have to have you sign papers saying that I told you what I did and you would have to claim that you wouldn't tell others. So to save us both problems...I work in Aerospace, not tires. :)

As for Riverside the event turned out well and I even got to experience my first presentation! I'm meeting people from all over the world too which is a lot of fun. Alex (my coworker in Chula Vista who was working on the Kaizen Event too) is from France. So while I've been learning all the interesting things about growing up in France, I teach him stupid stuff about the states. In other words, I didn't know that most of my language is slang apparently and he's never heard of half of it. I really should work on that.

Anyway, to say the least it's really good to have some friends at work and I'm really enjoying myself!

The top ten things about Riverside:

10. Riverside isn't that far from home!!!!
9. Everything closes at 5
8. I basically don't have to do anything to win at pool, people just lose when they play me (remember John? I won your car? Yeah, Alex isn't much better, heh)
7. Alex really likes Techno and House music (everywhere we went we listened to it...it's growing on me, I'm working on it Madi)
6. Foreign food is really good, and learning about it adds to the experience
5. Goodrich is AWESOME!!! I am SO going to love it here! I love the work, my team, the events, Lean, it's perfect for me.
4. Kaizen events are a lot of fun, no matter how frustrating it can be some of the time. I totally am in my element with Goodrich.
3. I'm still a ToysRUs kid! :)
2. The Mission Inn is incredible: food, service, everything! And so is running into old friends there (Tyler!)
1. "What happens in Riverside, stays in Riverside" All the people I met were a lot of fun to talk to and I'm glad that I've been able to meet them all!

Time Really Does Fly When You're Having Fun!!

So I've moved here....

SOOOO much has happened since I've been in this fabulous place! I'm in a new Ward, I started a new job, making new friends, etc. The main thing that I've learned...yes another list...it's easier to read that way:

5. Goodrich is awesome!!! And I'm excited about my future there. Baptism by fire really isn't that bad I've learned a TON in a short period of time.

4. The ward is great and everyone is SUPER Friendly, making the transition a lot better, even when the Bishop asks you to speak on your fourth Sunday. :)

3. San Diego is the weirdest city in the world, traffic is opposite from what you would think it would be, people are going AWAY from the city. I'm not complaining though. Can't beat that commute! (seeing the ocean every morning is awesome as well.)

2. Conversation hearts, especially the new ones, really do spark conversations.

1. It never gets old telling people I live here!!!! :)

Life is good and as for some new songs, well sort of new....That I'm adding to my list of songs that should never end, yeah:

"Suspension" - Mae
"Walk on the Ocean" - Toad the Wet Sprocket

Just to name a couple. Well I know that this entry is simple, I'll probably come back and edit it a little better later. But at least it lets you know that I'm alive, in San Diego, and extremely blessed, I really couldn't ask for more.