Geez...some people!

I have to vent. This is more a vent for Seth than for me, but I just gotta vent about this. Here's the story: Seven months ago Seth was hooked up with a doctor that wanted Seth to do some research and to write a paper. The doctor, we'll call him Dr. Poopy Pants, told Seth to go apply for a Federal Work Study grant so Seth would be paid for his work. Dr. Poopy Pants also told Seth that since Seth would be doing most of the work, he would be able to be listed as the first author on the paper (a REALLY big deal). So, Seth did just that,he went to where ever you apply for one of those things. He filled out these papers and was approved for a federal work study grant. Seven months go by, Seth does research, spends a lot of time writing and editing this paper, really works hard. Then one day he gets an email from this doctor saying, "Am I paying you?" Seth wrote back, "You shouldn't be, I having been getting paid through the Federal Work Study." Turns out, 75% of the money Seth was getting was paid by the government and 25% was supposed to be coming from the doctor. The 25% of the money was withdrawn from grant money the doctor had for another project. Dr. Poopy Pants did not like this one bit. Seth got an email this morning from Dr. Poopy telling Seth that he has to pay him back $590. WHAT?!?! This is crazy for several reasons:

1) All Seth did was fill out the application that this dumb doctor told him to.
2) Somebody must have had to approve the grant before it was given to Seth.
3) How the hell was Seth supposed to know that some of the money would be coming from the doctor and that the doctor wouldn't know about it.
4) The portion that came from the doctor works out to be $2.50/hr. Yes, that's right 2 dollars and 50 cents!!
5) This doctor makes almost HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR! What Seth owes this guy is one-one thousandth of his annual income.
6) If a medical student is doing a Federal Work Study, wouldn't you assume that that student is poor and probably ends up having to use all of that money, and wouldn't just be saving it for a rainy day, so he probably won't have $590 of it to give back.
7)Seth worked so hard on this project and the LEAST the doctor could do was pay him $2.50 an hour!
8) IT'S NOT EVEN SETH'S FAULT YOU DUMB DR. POOPY PANTS!

Seth is supposed to meet with the assistant dean of the med. school today, so hopefully this will be resolved smoothly. But serioulsy, what a jerk.

Hooray for Living By a Hospital!

Not because we got sick, but because now we can pick up free wireless! Best news of 2008. Seth was sitting on our couch last night working on something on our new laptop (courtesy of Mom and Dad)and was talking about some email he got that day. Then he said, "Here, I'll send it to you." Then, I realized something "WHAT?!?! INTERNET!!!" and I did a little dance. We have lived in our new place since August and have not had the internet, you can imagine my excitement. I was super grateful for my internet stealing husband yesterday.

Letter to the 17 year old version of myself

This was fun thinking back to the way I thought when I was 17. Thanks for the good idea La! Whoever reads this has to do it to themselves too.

Letter to 17 year old Heidi-

1. Go to class for crying out loud! You’re parents will get off your back and you’re mom won’t be brought to tears over your delinquency! Plus, nothing exciting ever happens when you skip class. Just go to class. If you don’t believe this now, you’ll believe me when you are playing basketball in your backyard for the fourth weekend in a row that you’ve been grounded.
2. Don’t dye your hair that purple-y black color. Nate Smith will make fun of you and sing Marilyn Manson songs every time you walk past him. He thinks it’s really funny when he does it.
3. Find those friends who will be true friends to you…and make sure you’re a true friend back.
4. Be yourself. Don’t worry about what other people’s perceptions of you may be. It’s a waste of time worrying about it.
5. Don’t go home every weekend of your Utah State time in Logan.
6. Believe it or not, your life will actually go on after your first heartbreak. Actually, your life is gonna get a lot better.
7. Your life will go on after your second heartbreak too.
8. You TOTALLY luck out on who you marry. You’re going to meet him while you’re dating another guy, but don’t worry, you and that guy will end things pretty quick after meeting your future husband, and then you’ll start dating and life happily ever after!
9. Maybe try sticking to something…like a hobby or a sport.
10. Work on being a better sister.
11. Don’t forget to put oil in the Subaru.
12. Keep doing what you’re doing because your life turns out way better than you think it will, despite all the dumb things you do along the way.

Reading Material for Lara

My sis in law Lara is on bed rest and needs something to do. Here is a fascinating questionnaire about myself. This is a two in one deal because you can read it and then do it yourself. Enjoy!

1.What is your occupation? Permanency worker for the Division of Child and Family Services
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks. I know, and me feet are freezing! I can’t wear socks with the shoes I’m wearing, it’d look ridiculous. However, I do have a pair of socks in my purse for an occasion such as this. I should put them on.
3. What are you listening to right now? Annie Stela, It’s You. Thanks to Pandora.com
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A banana and some raspberry yogurt.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? I invented the stick shift.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerlean because I don’t know how to say it.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A client
8. How old are you today? 24
9. Favorite drink? If you know me at all you can answer that yourself.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? basketball
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yeah. In high school I did it so dark that this kid would sing Marilyn Manson every time he saw me. Rude.
12. Favorite Pets? Molly
13. favorite food?Thai
14. What was the last movie you watched? Why We Fight. An awesome documentary about the government.
15. Favorite holiday of the year? Christmas…hands down!
16. What do you do to vent anger? Go into Amber’s office.
17. Favorite childhood toy? My Cricket doll.
18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Too hard to decide. They tie.
19. Hugs or kisses? Too hard to decide. They tie too.
20. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries, but fresh ones. Those ones they put in Shirley Temples are super nasty.
21. Who is most likely to respond via blog? Lara, let’s face it, you don’t have a whole lot goin on today.
22. Living arrangements? A condo downtown SLC with the one and only Seth Herway
23. When was the last time you cried? I think when I saw the Great Debaters over Christmas
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and bags.
25. Favorite smells? Baby lotion and Seth’s Very Sexy for men
26. What did you do last night? Made dinner for the cutest kids ever, did laundry, contemplated working out, looked through old pictures, decided not to work out
27. What inspires you? Hopefully a picture of a skinnier version of myself will inspire me to work out more.
28. What are you afraid of? Sharks, deep water, fish, the dark, ghosts and goblins, boogie men, robbers, and physically injuring myself.
29. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Spicy? That sounds gross. I’ll just have a Hires Big H please.
30. Favorite dog breed? Boston terriers.
31. How many years at your current job? No years, just almost 4 months.
32. Favorite place you've ever been? Bellagio, Italy or Greece
33. How many states have you lived in? Colorado, Massachusetts, and Utah
34. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
35. Ever driven motorcycle or heavy machinery? Nope and no thanks.
36. Who's your favorite NFL team? Who?
37. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? No but I remember when cordless phones were so so cool.

Home Improvement Handicapped

Does anyone know of a good, inexpensive electrician? Seth and I had some issues installing a dimmer on our living room light switch and now our lights won't turn on at all. Our oven is touch and go as well so if anyone wants to mysteriously leave an oven on our doormat we would greatly appreciate it. All of our appliances are the orginals from when our complex was built...sometime in the 1960s.

Pringles?

The other day I was at Maverik, my second home, getting my daily Diet Pepsi fix. The ladies at the register know me now. I can't believe I just admitted that, that's actually really sad. I also usually grab a few bite size tootsie rolls too and they always comment when I skip a day of the candy. ANYWAY, this time when I was at the check out stand the lady was like, "Wanna a Pringle?" She pointed to the counter where like 6 opened Pringle cans were sitting. I guess they decided to sample the Pringles that day or something. This doesn't sound that weird, but it really was because first of all, grocery stores usually have samples, not gas stations, and second usually samples are presented in a little cupcake wrapper or a small plastic cup or something. Maverik, however, just pops open the lid and you can just reach in and grab the Pringle of your choice...Original, Salt and Vinegar (blegh!) Pizza, Sour Cream and Onion, BBQ, whatever. It was just really bizarre to me and I had to share. In case you were wondering, I declined on the chip.

Work Story

I should've posted this a while ago since it had to do with Christmas, but I'm gonna share it anyway.

So, as part of my job, I check in on different kids who are in foster care. Just about once a month, just to make sure they're healthy and safe. This past month I stopped by a home that has two foster kids living there, a 9 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. This family also has a few of their own kids. When I got there, the kids asked if I would read a story with them, I said yes of course, and they picked out a book. It was a few weeks before Christmas, so they picked a Christmas book. It was about a little lamb who was there in the manger when Christ was born. On one of the pages, the 5 year old boy pointed to Jesus and said, "Who's that?" I said, "That's Baby Jesus." He replied,"Jesus? Our big brother?"

I thought about this on my way home from work that night and it stayed with me through the entire holiday season. I just kept thinking how grateful I was that this foster family had taught this little boy who Jesus was. This boy is only 5 and already in foster care. I think it's safe to say that he is going to have a rough road ahead of him. I am so grateful that he has atleast learned who Jesus is, that He's our brother, and he loves us. I hope that he will always remember atleast just that much.

My job is hard, but it's so worth it. I am so grateful that I get to be a part of these fragile lives and that I can do a little to help strengthen them atleast a tiny bit.


After I told him that yes, Baby Jesus and our big brother Jesus are the same person, he then pointed to the Three Wise Men and said, "I think those are his apostles." I thought that was pretty cute.


I hope everyone had such a wonderful holiday season!