But I wanted to be an astronaut

headaches + straining eyes + blurry vision = glasses??

Well my 20/20 vision is going, going, gone! It was bound to happen sometime. I guess that's what happens when you are either starring at a computer screen or hiking in the blinding sun all day.

Glasses are cute but I always thought that because I didn't need them.

I think I can still survive without glasses, but the longer I wait the worse it's going to get.

There goes my dream of being an astronaut : (

Soul searching is painful

I made it... barely.... But I made it! I hiked the whole 17 miles of the Narrows!

The hike started out great. We were walking along just enjoying the view. The all of a sudden: CRACK! I rolled my ankle and fell in the water. Luckily the only one who saw me was my best buddy Adam. 

I thought I would be fine but then it happened again, and again, and again. The 10th time I rolled my ankle was the breaking point. I was a lot of pain, my knees were bruising from falling on the rocks, my ankles started swelling, I was being told to "walk it off" by someone who had no idea what was really wrong, and I was already far behind the leaders. I was so embarrassed. I'm a good hiker. I do this for a living! What's wrong with me? 

Half way though the hike (mile 8) I took a break and thought about my ankles. LIGHT BULB! Right before my college graduation (April 2007) I had a longboarding accident. I fell hard and ended up getting torn apart by the asphalt. My wounds didn't heal as fast as I thought they should so I decided to go to the Dr to see if there was something wrong. It turns out my cuts were infected and my Dr told me that I most likely tore a tendon in my ankle. NICE!

This is why my ankle kept rolling. OHH! I'm not gonna lie, the hike is hard. It's like walking on wet bowling balls for 16 miles. But I knew that I could do this. Hey, I was even concerned that I would have to pull the other people along. But you can't ignore the fact that there is something wrong when I can't even walk on a flat surface without rolling my ankle.

I sound like such a baby : (

But in the end the hike was worth it. The slot canyons were amazing, I loved seeing my friends Adam and Emily again, I made new friends, and I'm just that much cooler now 'cause I hiked the Narrows! I would do it again....IF, and only if, I had really great ankle support and a walking stick. 

Here are some pictures of the hike and my friends:

Its been 6 days since the hike and my ankles are still bruised and swollen.  : /  Sick huh?

But wait, there's more. Between the falling and bruising up my body, I really had very little time to soul search. So my friends did it for me. A few voted for me to tell the guy (if you don't know what Im talking about then go here or here) but the ones that really matter (my guy friends) told me not to. In the end I'm not going to tell him how I feel. I have been told by way to many of my guy friends that I girl should NEVER pursue a guy. Well there you have it. I know all you women want me to tell him (and I love you all for the support) but I think this time I'm going to listen to a man. I think he would know what a fellow man would want.... cause let's face it, he is one. 

**Don't worry, I'm planning on going to the Dr in a few days if the swelling and bruising doesn't die down.

The Olympics, moving, and upcomings

I love the Olympics! The world coming together to compete in various events, super hott (thats right TWO t's) guys in bathing suites swimming like crazy, volleyball players diving in the sand, Kobe and the US team dominating over Yao; seriously, what more can you want?

I am still in awe at the opening ceremonies. How did they do that?!

By far probably the most talked about event would have to be swimming. Mostly because of this man:

Did you see the US team win the 4x4?! I was yelling at the TV! And our mens gymnastics team pulled off a bronze! Who saw that coming? 

I love coming home and watching all the Olympic events that I missed while at work. DVR is seriously one of the best things!

So this is kinda on the DL... but, I may be moving. I feel like there is nothing left for me here in UT. I felt justified in staying here for many reasons (friends, family, a guy) but those reasons are slowly going away. The last of my friends are graduating and leaving and Im getting left behind. I guess I am still here cause I am hoping that something will happen between me and this guy. But the more and more time I spend with him the more and more I realize that we are never going to be together. I am currently (yes, right now!) debating whether or not I should tell him how I feel. I could basically tell him that I am leaving unless he gives me a reason to stay. Um... maybe I won't tell him... could you tell him for me??!! 

Maybe I will have time to ponder this more while I am hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park this weekend. My buddies and I are doing the full 16 mile hike. I'm not gonna lie, I am a little nervous. Not really for myself (come on now, I hike for a living) but for the people I am going with. I don't want to end up dragging some out of shape goobers up the slot canyons. But it's not like I am going to leave anyone behind : /

Wish me luck!!

Loathing

Mark: "Whoa, Court. What's with the 'look of death'?"

Me: "What?! I didn't give you the 'look of death'. If I gave you my real 'look of death' you would be crying!"

Over 90% of our communication is nonverbal.

Nonverbal communication is healthy and fine in our everyday lives, but what people are forgetting is that we need verbal communication also. But wait, that's not all. We need good, healthy verbal communication.

I have constant interaction with people who lack the skills to communicate in a healthy way. We very rarely communicate verbally, and when we do, its usually bad communication.

Communication in relationships:

Work

Verbal communication is essential at work. You need to be able to talk about what is going on, who is doing what, what you need to do, how to do certain task, etc. When you don't talk about these things then people end up getting confused and then they do things incorrectly.

An example - Verbal Communication: I was working on making a map for my boss at work. A few weeks later one of my co-workers came up to me and asked me to help him make a map. I said sure. But wait! He was supposed to make the same exact map that I spent days making just a few weeks ago. Instead of asking around to see if anyone had already made this map, my supervisor just assumed that no one did it (even though I did) and he was having my fellow co-worker proceeded to do it. What a waste of time, energy, and money! This happens way more then you think (people doing the same job twice) and then our supervisor ends up getting mad at us because we aren't getting enough stuff done... see the problem here?

An example - Nonverbal Communication: I was asked to fill out paper work while I was in the office. I didn't know how to do it correctly so I proceeded to ask for help (HOW DARE YOU!) and the reaction I got was completely expected but still shocking. I got the real 'look of death'. It was 6 seconds of pure loathing, hatred, and disgust. The look itself was a slap in the face. He may as well said "You moron! Don't you know anything? You should crawl into a hole and die!" 

And here it is, my friends, this is the reason why people lack good verbal communication: you get reactions like this. I am fine asking for help and admitting when I don't know how to do things. But when you get this reaction every time (or even some of the time) you need help or don't understand something then I don't blame people for not asking. 

Friendship and more

I have always considered myself to be a 'closed book' kind of person. With the help of my friends, I am working on this. Whether talking about your feelings or about a crush you have, talking is just an important thing. And hey, lets face it: nonverbal communication is also a good way of showing someone just how you feel about them. A little wink, a hug, a kiss : ), a jumping high-five, a punch in the face, a kick in the shins : /, etc. 

As any married person (or anyone in a committed relationship) can tell you, communication is important! 

An example - Verbal and Nonverbal:

A woman has her ams folded and she looks angry.

Man: "What's wrong?"

Woman: "Nothing" (she says in an angry voice as she continues to sit with her arms folded)

What happens now? If the man says "ok, fine then" then he will be in some serious trouble. He needs the ability to read not only her verbal communication (tone of voice) but her nonverbal communication (arms folded). Duh! 

I feel like I am stating the obvious here but seriously people... its getting a little out of control!

Lessons learned:

1. Don't get the 'look of death' from Courtney cause you will cry.

2. Nonverbal communication is more important then you think. So, watch those glares and body language.

A Message from John Cleese

My friend e-mailed this to me and I thought it was hilarious!

To the citizens of the United States of America: In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy). 

Your new Prime Minister will appoint a governor for America. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: 

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium" and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you pronounce it. The letter "u" will be reinstated in words such as "favour" and "neighbour". Likewise you will learn to spell "doughnut" without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise. 

Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary".

Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noise such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. 

2. There is no such thing as "American English". We'll let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter "u" and the elimination of -ize.

3. You will relearn your original national anthem, "God Save the Queen"

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without using someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler; a permit will be required if you wish to carry one in public.

6. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you European cars, you will understand what we mean.

7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.

Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humor.

8. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline), roughly $10 per US gallon. Get used to it.

9. You will learn to make REAL chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cuts, fried in animal fat, and dressed it with catsup but with vinegar. 

10. The cold tasteless stuff you insists on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and acceptable provenance,  will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth, and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.

11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as "good guys". Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie McDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). In the meantime don't try rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is played in only one city outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn Cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first, to take the sting out of their deliveries.  

14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad!

15. An official from Her Majesty's Inland Revenue (i.e. tax collector) will be with you shortly to ensure the collection of all monies due (backdated to 1776).  Until these are paid, there will be no representative government in the USA, in line with the policy: "No Representation Without Taxation".

16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 PM with proper cups and saucers (never mugs), and with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes and strawberries in season.

17. Some tea has gone missing, and we expect it back! We will be searching Boston first!

God Save The Queen

 

John Cleese

Ok in all honesty, I will urge you to read up on our candidates and vote for the one that you believe will be the right person to run our country. Don't just listen to the media, your friends, or celebrities. Go to the candidates official websites (Obama and McCain) and research! Good luck to us all.