A good deal

The crumbs at my table

2012-11-12T22:19:00.001-08:00

I love being married to Mark. Two things I love: Whenever I make dinner, Mark is always so excited about the food. "Tacos! I love tacos!" Now, this doesn't just happen on taco days; it happens often. And he says it that way only Mark can. Yeah, you know the way I'm talkin about--like he actually believes you have literally just invented the taco. Plus, he will give me this reaction even when I shamelessly ask for the ego boost: "Hey Ma-ark, look what I made..." And Mark dishes out the praise. How fun is it to cook for someone who is always pumped about eating your food? I'll tell you: So fun.

Second thing: Mark used to (and maybe still does) wonder why I am so particular about telling him if there's something on his shirt or in his teeth, etc. He would generally respond with, "Who cares what people think? Don't worry about it." I explained to him that the reason I do it is for good karma--I am providing a service I hope people (namely him) will do for me so I don't end up looking like a mess. (You know how we serve people the way we think they should want to be served? That's what I was doing when I think about it, and it was really all about me. I know, self-centered.) Anyway, this one time we had some friends over all evening for dinner--a couple we are really close to who we met through the business school--and after they left I passed by the little mirror hanging by our entry way and was like, "oh my gosh! Look at my face!" Because I had been cooking that afternoon and the day had been kind of warm, I had not realized that my mascara had run, making dark circles under my eyes. I gaped at my reflection while hurriedly wiping away the black smudges and saying with exasperation, "Mark! How come you didn't tell me I looked like a zombie all night?! I am so embarrassed...!" At first I was astonished by Mark's response: "What do you mean? I can't see anything... Under your eyes? Hmmm, I didn't notice. I thought you looked great." Not noticed?! how could he not have noticed?! I looked like the night of the living dead. But looking at Mark's face, I realized that he wasn't just saying that. He was being genuine, honest Mark. As I sighed at my reflection in the mirror once more and wondered how Mark could have overlooked my appearance, it dawned on me. While I am continually conscious of every crumb that lands on his chin or every fuzz ball on his shirt, he sees me as "looking great" even with runny mascara and flat hair. After all my efforts to "teach" Mark how to discreetly tell me if I had something in my teeth or stuck to my face, it was not that Mark didn't care about me that he didn't say anything--it was that he just doesn't focus on the crumbs. Mark simply does not weigh his affection for people on those things. What first was an annoyance--couldn't he help a girl out when she needed someone to tell her when her makeup had run?--suddenly became one of the most endearing moments of my marriage. I am so grateful that I have a man who can see past the small stuff. Bigger things matter to this guy. And I love him for it.

By the way, we live in Michigan now.

Latest and Greatest

2012-07-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

We just remembered we have a blog! Ha! Actually, we have so much happening these days that we just haven't stopped to write about all the shinanigans and going-ons. So, to get caught up to speed, I'm going to give you a brief timeline of events since our last post to give y'all a snapshot of where we've been. I'm hoping this is pretty comprehensive of major events. Here goes:

January

January 1--Jana turned 28 years old. We had a New Year's Day dinner with the sibs Dallin & Becki, Kimball, and Kira. Great times.
January 16--MLK Walk of Life at BYU, one of our favorite Provo events. We love the legacy of MLK and always enjoy participating in the the candlelight walk from the bell tower to the Wilk.

February

February 11-12--Traveled to Boise to visit Scott and Emily Eliason and fam and saw Emily play "Jane Bennett" in the stage version of Pride and Prejudice. Mark and I are both huge Austen fans and also big Emily Eliason fans, so it was win-win. Plus, we got to hang out with awesome nephews and niece.
February 28-29--Jana sat for the Utah bar, thus the minimal amount of activity in January and February since every weeknight and every weekend I was studying for the bar exam. Probably the highlight of my year thus far, however, was feeling the support of Mark. He made breakfast, lunches, and dinner each night and did the dishes. He was so supportive and selfless with his time, even though he was taking 17 credits at BYU Law. I will be grateful forever for his support in everything. It was an interesting time of life--and I'm so glad it is over (until we move somewhere else and I have to re-take the exam...).

March

March 16-25--Mark went to Hong Kong with Vis Arbitration team from BYU Law. He had a 15 hour layover in Dhubai, so he has now officially been to the Middle East. He still hasn't been to Australia or Antarctica, but he has been a lot of different places in his lifetime with more adventures to come.
March--We attended great performances by my sister Kira as she performed with dancEnsemble at BYU and performed one amazing, amazing duet in the BYU Senior Projects. She is awesome--she'll be dancing with BYU's top contemporary team this next year and she is totally going to rock. We also attended awesome rock performances at BYU's Guitars Unplugged and other backyard venues by my brother Kimball and his rock band "Red Yeti." Let me just put it this way--he writes the music, plays the guitar, and is the lead singer. Hello, can we say "talented"? He is totally awesome. Visit the Red Yeti Facebook page and check them out!

April

April--Mark finished 2nd year of law school
April--Jana got results saying she passed the Utah bar exam!!
April 21--Mark attended a good friend's wedding in Wisconsin and was able to spend some quality time with his best buddies. I couldn't get work off since I'd taken so much time off for the bar and hadn't accumulated my vacation time back, but Mark's set of friends is really close and he had a great time. Plus, I was headed to see my group of best friends in Boston in May, so I was saving up my pennies to take that trip. We love our friends!
April 22--Mark turned 30--hooray! I'm including pictures in this post of the gift I gave him--and many of you contributed. It was basically a collection of stories and memories about Mark from all of his friends "from around the globe." The "globe" theme went well, especially since his b-day was on Earth Day. Both sets of parents, my grandparents, and I all went in on a great big wall map for Mark, the world traveller. It was a great b-day celebration.

May

May 11--Jana's swearing in ceremony for the Utah Bar at Abravanel Hall. It was such a huge venue for such a small group of people attending this ceremony, but it felt pretty awesome to have my name read and to stand and get sworn in as an attorney. Such an amazing moment! (My parents took pictures, so I don't have pictures to share for this momentous occasion.)
May 11-13--Jana's Boston trip with her friends. So fun!! I love my wonderful friends! We walked to the park, had some clam chowder at Quincy Market, visited pastry shops, rented a house in Cape Cod, and laughed our heads off. It was such a beautiful time.
May--Mark started his externship for the summer at a small consulting firm here in Utah County. He loves consulting and has been such an effective extern that he is now in charge of other externs on his project.

June

June 1-4--Jana's dance recital "Happily Ever After..." So, I've been taking dance at a studio here in Provo that offered classes for a great deal, plus the people in the program were my age or around my age (which is rare to find). I had a blast dancing with these guys. For the spring "Big Show," we did a Disney theme. It was the longest show ever (literally 3 hours), and yet Mark came every night! He is so awesome. He came prepared with my iPad, though, and was able to read almost the entire issue of The Economist in between my dance numbers. My solo number was "Steppin' Time" where I was dressed as Mary Poppins and led a bunch of younger kids in a tap number to that song. SO fun. I've always wanted to play Mary Poppins and this was about as close as I think I'll ever get. Great memory. (This picture is actually from a different show but this is the only pictures I have from this studio. There are HUGE gaps of my life with no pics, as you can tell.)
June 11--Mark gets a phone call from University of Michigan's Ross School of Business telling him he has been accepted to attend their business school. We had been on the waiting list and wondered if we should stay here in Provo, but this opportunity is so terrific and will really give Mark the leg up in his field. So, we are heading out August 9th to Ann Arbor, Michigan! We are so excited!
June 12-16--Jana goes to YW Girls' Camp at Mia Shalom by Fairview, Utah. I was called as Assistant Ward Camp Director and so was involved in planning and executing a bunch of things at camp. But I had a BLAST! I love girls' camp, but being a leader was so much fun and I just had such a great time bonding with the girls. I'm going to miss my YW when we move!
June 16--Jana's 10 Year High School Reunion. Pro: the reunion was held at a country club which promised great food and a lovely setting; Con: I didn't get the memo that we were supposed to dress up so Mark was in jeans and I was in shorts (oops!). Pro: I won a ColdStone gift card in the raffle drawing; Con: I didn't hear my name announced until everyone around me was yelling my name and I was like "What? What happened?" It was actually pretty funny. Pro: Some of my girls and their husbands and Mark and I got out on the dance floor to break a move--no one was dancing and we were there to get the party started; Con: Mark ripped his pants on the dance floor and so we had to leave early. Pro: I got to see some of my favorite people in the world and some of my dearest friends and get caught up with them; Con: We all live far apart and don't get to see each other often enough! But, it is our new resolve to get together more.

July

July 3-8--Eliason Family Reunion--Horseback riding, white water rafting, family talent show, Minute to Win It, hiking. SO FUN!
July 13--We went to see Kimball's rock show at The Depot in SLC. It was an awesome show. They got a full 45 minute set, which, for a young band, is pretty good.
July 19--Jana joined a bunch of other BYU Alums and danced as extras in a music video they are making for the BYU Spectacular. It was a song from Hairspray. Dancing on the Maeser building lawn to Hairspray with a lot of really, really nice people--what a great time.
July 20--Mark and I saw the long-anticipated "Dark Knight Rises" movie. If you'd like to de-brief it with us, just give us a call. We are big fans of the Batman movies.
July 21--Country Dancing Date Night. Confession: I love country dancing. And Mark is sweet enough to go with me and learn the steps--and let me say, he is good! We went last night and he did a great job.
July--Mark decided he loves statistics. (Note: he was an English major).

Coming up:

August 1-4--Barker Family Reunion in Park City. Woot! Love to hang with the familia and all the cute little nieces. Can't wait.
August 9-16--Road trip across the country. We will be visiting Laramie, WY (Mark's bro lives there); Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park; Madison, WI (two of Mark's buddies live there) and Mark's old stomping grounds in Oconomowoc (who knew a word could have so many "o's"); Chicago, IL (another one of Mark's buddies lives there); and then on to Ann Arbor (where we're going to live!). Cool.

Christmas Card

2011-12-26T23:14:00.000-08:00

If I don't have your email, I didn't sent a card. But, this is what was in the email, so here you go! JUST CLICK TO ENLARGE! Happy Christmas and New Years! Love love!

things i'm grateful for

2011-11-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Haha! Yay, it is already November and it is gratitude season!

I had to just spout out a few things that are in my brain and need to be expressed!

--I love the colors of the leaves and the cold air
Up Provo Canyon--look at those beautiful colors of the leaves and the little snow capped mountains. AMAZING!
--I love sitting in my warm car or house with my heater on (a little more than I love the cold air)
--I love that they are playing Christmas music on the radio!!
--I love that Rachel called me today to tell me that she had a baby two weeks ago
--I'm grateful I got to see that little baby on video-chat
--I'm grateful that Rachel is still friends with me even though we both know I am a space cadet. I've stopped fighting my forgetfulness and out-of-touch-ness with facebook and other social media and I've come to accept it. Now just feel so grateful when someone calls me to tell me something great happened. Why do I have such great friends??
--I love my Marky who is SOOOOO good to me. Ah. I just love him so much. He does everything for me--and he is out on errands right now preparing for a surprise date. How did I get so lucky??
--I'm so glad I only go to the mall a couple of times a year. That place is so stressful!
--I love that my YW did such a great job at YW in Excellence on Tuesday. Sometimes I think they aren't listening to anything I'm saying, and then they actually show up and do a great job!
--I love buying produce. So many beautiful things to buy!
--I am grateful for prayer and blessings and family support. How would I survive without it?
--I'm grateful for Indian food for lunch from Mom Annette Eliason--thank you!
--I'm grateful I got to go to the Bean museum with Annette, Connor, Trevo, and Gwen. And Mark. (He's so fun, can I just say?)
--I'm grateful for the comfy bed I'm sitting on as I type this.
--I'm grateful that I have a job right now--and an awesome job. According to Occupy Wallstreet, I am in the 1% of Americans with a job, so I feel very blessed. (By the way, does anyone get that Occupy movement? I just saw Occupy Provo people today and I wanted to yell out my window "Quit wasting your time. Zion's bank is not going to close just because you're standing outside of it. Plus, it's freezing, your parents are probably paying your college tuition, and let's be honest, you don't really know what this movement represents.")
--I'm grateful for Freedom of Speech.
--I'm grateful for inspiring friends who constantly amaze me with their wisdom and examples (I'm talking to you, "the girls")
--I'm grateful I got to go to my dear KJ's wedding recently--what a beautiful day and ceremony and EVERYTHING! lovely, lovely
--I'm grateful for an awesome little sister who calls me and hangs out with me all of the time. She is so cool. (AND, she's part of BYU's best dance crew. She is such a great dancer!)
--I'm grateful for eternal perspective.

Thank you, world and its Creator. Love, Jana

Do it when you think you don't want to

2011-10-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

I just had to tell someone about my experience today. It wasn't anything extreme, but I came bounding in the door hoping Mark was home from his run, but he wasn't, so now you get my story.

I wanted to go to the temple sometime this week and it so happened that it landed on Saturday...again. Today already had a bunch of stuff packed in it and it gets busy working together as a couple on different projects, and you want to fit a date in, and you want to get caught up on life--so it seemed that this week, perhaps I could not go to the temple and still pursue worthwhile activities. But I knew if I said that this time, I would be disappointed all the rest of the day because I'd know I could have probably fit it in and I had justified it away.

So, I decided to go.

My new motto--do it when you think you don't want to. This happened to be the theme of my temple trip. I got there and saw there was a wait for initiatory, but it didn't seem too long. I could read something or I could just sit there. I didn't want to start reading and not REALLY get a chance to read, so I thought "maybe I'll just sit here." I know, I'm lame. But, I thought again, "I need to do some things when I don't feel like it." So I reached for a Book of Mormon. I spent the next ten minutes reading the end of Mormon and my eyes were opened! I felt like I newly understood Mormon and Moroni's role in writing, compiling, and preserving the Book of Mormon. I made connections to our day and the day of Mormon and Moroni. I thought of the fair ones of our time who are lost--but remembered with joy that people can be reclaimed from spiritual death! I thought of the great work and a wonder that the Book of Mormon is! It was a time with the Book of Mormon that I hadn't had for a while! It took picking it up and reading it when I didn't really feel like it.

When it was my turn for the ordinance, I realized part way through that one of the sisters performing the ordinances was Japanese. (I could tell from her nametag.) This sister was beaming, happy, beautiful---ah, it just made me miss the Japanese people. Her countenance reignited my love for these wonderful people. I hadn't thought about my mission or the Japanese people very much until recently. And her smile and happiness, and great efforts to speak English bravely, inspired me and brought back warm memories from my mission. I decided that the next time I had a chance, I would speak to her in Japanese. Sometimes I feel shy or silly trying to speak Japanese after not speaking it for so long, but I thought of how I would feel if I were in her shoes. I'm sure she struggles to understand everyone around her. I know that when I was new to Japanese, I appreciated someone who would speak to me in English and make me feel included and a part of things. I didn't want to sound stupid, but I didn't want to turn down an opportunity to talk to someone from my mission country. So, I asked her if she was Japanese and then told her in Japanese that I had served a mission there. She was soooo excited. She thanked me and told me how she doesn't speak English very often and doesn't speak very well. I told her that her English sounded awesome. As I responded in Japanese, she excitedly uttered, "Natsukashii," which means something like "I miss that" or "that is nostalgic." She was soo grateful that I had spoken to her in Japanese. When I saw her again, she excitedly pumped her two fists as if to say, "Yay, my friend who spoke Japanese to me!" I thought about how I almost justified myself in not speaking up and talking to her. It seemed like a small thing. And I didn't want to do it at first. But it made such a difference in her day and in mine. I knew the Spirit had prompted me to talk to her. God wants His children to feel loved and noticed. This sister needed to hear her own language today. And I needed to do things that at first I didn't want to do. It was a good lesson to learn.

Africa

2011-09-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

That's it. I'm just going to post random pictures from Mark's trip for your enjoyment. You're going to just have to ask Mark about the details when you see him. :) You can see he had a lot of adventures!

The AIDS clinic

People he worked with: writing wills for people at the AIDS clinic.

The cutest kids on Earth

The market

The crew

The wildlife

Army ants

The wild life. Rafting down class 5 rapids on the Nile.

Missionary work strategies--sweet full size poster of the elders

National soccer game--the most dangerous of all experiences he had in Africa.

LOST in Uganda

our summer: part I

2011-08-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

Mark gets home from Africa (and once he gets back from ENGLAND, he'll be able to post about his adventures in Uganda.)

The night Mark got back--I forgot to take an epic picture of him in the airport, all scruffy with his backpack, because I was too excited to see him and too eager to be outta there and go eat our Cafe Rio--Mark's special request. :) So, I had to document at least one picture of the day he got home, so *click*, done, documented. He's home.

4th of July

We went up to Mark's folk's cabin for a little getaway and to celebrate Mark's return. We also celebrated the Fourth of July up there, complete with pig racing, rodeos, and yes, even Glenn Beck.

Glenn Beck was in town (Driggs, ID--not the biggest town in the US of A), invited by Jon Huntsman Sr. to speak before the fireworks. When we drove into town, we passed this sign saying "Welcome Glenn Beck." Mark asked me "Is Glenn Beck coming or something?" I was like, "Nah, there's no way that he'd come to a small town like this. Maybe he drove through town recently." But sure enough, he was a headliner at that weekend's events. Huntsman recently built a big, beautiful amphitheater up there, and Glenn Beck was the invited guest. What's more American than Glenn? Maybe pig racing. But Glenn is a close second. He had an enormous crowd of people waiting for his speech. Mark and I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so we showed up. It was actually quite nice, though Mark was disappointed that Glenn didn't say anything crazy. But, we enjoyed the evening, especially the fireworks. I LOVE fireworks, especially when they play great American classics (like anything by Neil Diamond) and the fireworks go with the music. AWESOME!

Our legit cowboy gear--we had to get ready for the local festivities.

Waiting for pig racing. We probably waited for 45 minutes in the sun to watch pigs run around a small pen for about 6 seconds. It was totally worth it.

The RODEO - I LOVE rodeos.

My rodeo hamburger--yum.

So beautiful up in Tetonia.

Sitting on the grass before the fireworks.

Proof that we were actually there for Glenn Beck. You can kinda see him on the big screen there.

The parade--we went down to the parade the morning of the 4th and were so disappointed we didn't have our camera (we left it in the car on accident). It was so quaint and there were lots of trucks, horses, and taffy. The best moment was the float for the Teton Valley Tea Party. So apropos. But, we got a picture of the taffy that I gathered at the parade. Another wonderful part of this holiday.

You have now learned that I am obsessed with the 4th of July and think everything about it is terrific. Next, we went on a hike on the 4th and hiked until we hit snow. Beautiful place!

A magical moment in the woods.

We made some great meals while up the cabin--here's our Sunday salmon meal.

We had a wonderful time together and just enjoyed being together after 2 long months apart.

Family Reunion--the next weekend we went up to Bear Lake to spend time with Mark's family. It was soooo fun. Mark's fam is totally fun and incredible and we loved spending time with the cute nieces and nephews.

Me on the beach with a very cute boy.

In just a few days, Mark and I were going to set off for our next adventure to Europe. In the words Ira Glass: "Stay with us." Pictures of European adventurers coming soon.

my new job

2011-06-21T14:02:00.001-07:00

So, as many of you know, I am currently at the police academy. I bet you're excited because you think I'm gonna be a cop. Or, you're probably totally shocked. But this is what I'm doing: I am in training to be an SFO (Special Functions Officer) so that I can act as bailiff for the judge I'm clerking for in the fall. So, basically I am going through the training center (what I like to call Police MTC) for corrections officers right now. There's no real connection between bailiffs and corrections, but they just group us in with them and we end up learning all sorts of cool things--like what to do when there is a hazardous material spill, how to put someone in a twist lock and handcuff them, what constitutes a lawful arrest, how to identify someone's gang by the cryptic messages in their tattoos, and how to get fingerprints. As you can see, it is LEGIT! Let's just say that it is as cool as it looks on TV. Handcuffs are about the coolest things I get; I won't ever have firearms and taser training (phew! scary!), because our block is only 6 weeks, but apparently I do get a night stick that I can (?) use to subdue a defendant who is trying to attack the judge. Or, to avoid risking taking out the night stick having it used against me because who knows if I'll even know what to do with it, my plan is to just yell "Run, judge!" when necessary.

Like I said, it's like the MTC for law enforcement. We have an hour of physical fitness everyday. I was seriously disappointed that we wouldn't be playing sand volleyball and four square every other day, but we do some major fitness workouts! Try 100 pushups and 100 leg lifts and then run stairs or, like today, sprint 300m, job 300m, then do it three more times and do 50 pushups and 50 leglifts and we'll call it an easy day. Oh yeah, feel the burn as we speak! We also have a little block schedule packet that looks like the one I gave my missionaries in the MTC that shows what classes we have that week and when our breaks are. Our classes are very law based so far, which is good for me to refresh my memory on criminal law and procedure. We also have classes on interrogation, evidence collecting, use of force, gangs (oh man, that was a crazy day), and don't forget, Defensive Tactics. Yes, I own wrestling shoes. Yes, I possess a pair of handcuffs. And yes, I could cuff and search you (as long as you are willing to follow my verbal commands while I point my clasped hands at you like I'm holding a gun). It's pretty fun! It is really funny when I think about all of the career guidance tests I took through middle school and high school that said, almost without fail, "your career areas of interest" included elementary school teacher, artist, and something in the hospitality business. As you can probably guess, it never had "law enforcement" as my dream career. And, of course, I'm not technically in law enforcement as a career, so I haven't totally shifted gears, and I am reminded daily the reasons why law enforcement was never on my list (I hate weapons, I'm terrified of confrontations involving violence, I am offended by the language and topics of discussion that frequents my classmates' mouths, and I would get my feelings hurt if an inmate didn't do what I said), but it is proving to be a pretty awesome, unique experience. I do have to say, though, I am sooo glad that I'm not really going into law enforcement. These people do a REALLY hard job. But how cool is it that I get to play cops and robbers for a little bit? All in good fun.

My new job for reals: I am working for a judge in the Utah Fourth District Court starting in the fall and I'm excited to exercise my legal muscles (after I'm done exercising my defensive tactics muscles here at the police academy). I will be the judge's law clerk, which means I will help her with cases, write memos on how I think the case should be decided, and write rulings for some of her decisions. It's a pretty common job for recent law grads to do for the year after they graduate. It's a year commitment, but can end up being two years. This is the only court that I know of that has their law clerks act as bailiffs, so most law clerks don't get to go to the Police MTC and sit in on trials. But here's the best part that got me really excited when I went to visit the court two weeks ago. I get my own office! I mean, I constantly see people working in little offices with no windows and fluorescent lighting and I'm like "how do those people bear it?? I would die in one of those offices." BUT, when it's YOUR office--you feel different about that little space. You're like, "check out my sweet chair, my sweet desk, my sweet filing cabinet, and the countless possibilities for this blank wall!" I was surprised at how excited I got about my little square of space. But, really, how cool is it that I have a real job. Yes, I AM 27 and this is my first real job. Neither here nor there, people! Some of us just take a while, okay? I am excited to finally have a place where I belong--I'm not paying anyone to be allowed to show up everyday and be drilled by professors. These people hired me! Which leads me to the second best thing that happened to me when I visited the court: the fact that I could introduce myself as "the new law clerk." I am NOT the intern, NOT the student, NOT the temp. I am an employee! I am LEGIT! (Just like my new akido skills.) I just have to say, that was a great feeling. I have been saying, "Yes, I'm Jana. I am a student at...." for the past 20 years and boy does it feel great to be on the threshold of a new adventure. I know, I know, you're saying to yourself "that little office and that cool new job is gonna get pret-ty old here really fast..." and, you're probably right. And I'll probably be posting on here sometime in the next year titled "ugh. my new job." But for now--woohoo! Let's hear it for employment!

while you were gone

2011-06-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

What do I do on a Friday night when my husband is out of town? Watch back-to-back episodes of Gilmore Girls (one of many chick-type DVDs on my Netflix queue since Mark has zero access to the account at present) from my blanket on my parents' couch. Classy, right? (How old am I?)

You know how guys always act like their life goes to ruin when their wives are out of town--like they almost burn down the house and practically starve because they don't know how to cook and their wives are against buying TV dinners? Well, that's me when Mark's away. Mark keeps me going. He is my motivation! I always laugh when Mark tells me that he was so surprised when he got married that he wasn't suddenly the most put-together man in the whole world--he still had to do the mundane things in life to get by. He just assumed that since his friends started getting good grades and practicing good hygiene once they got married that some sort of miracle occurs at marriage. Well, Mark, I said, that miracle does happen! And it did with us! It just is the other way around--I'M the one who had to get her act together and you were already the put-together one! You already knew how to set an alarm, finish a book, use a day planner. You didn't need a wife to teach you! But, I tell you, my life got so much more organized once I married Mark. Like, I figured out (from Mark) that if I put my keys in the same place every time I came home, I wouldn't lose them. Whoa! Break through!

So, when Mark is gone, I end up watching Gilmore Girls on a Friday night instead of doing something responsible like reading or corresponding with long-lost friends (I know you're out there) or updating my blog with all the cool things I'm doing. (I actually do have a list of cool things I'm doing right now so that I don't feel so lame. It's a pretty good list, though, I have to say.) I just watch a little GG until I'm too sleepy to think about Mark being away and I write down a "to do" list for the next day because it makes me feel closer to the man who motivates me.

lately: installment 2

2011-05-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

So, just a small wee thing happened recently--I graduated from law school (also known as law schi-zool).

I am a law school graduate!

(Here I am, being a law school graduate.)

Wow! I woke up the morning of graduation and just sat there like, "Wait, it ends? It's over? I am done? Did I really do that?" It was like I expected sometime along the path to be told I hadn't made it, nice try, but this just isn't working out. But, it's done! Fine! Over! Done! I am grateful and happy. I had a total happiness breakdown before graduation. I was so glad to be done and I was so grateful for everyone who helped me along the way. Especially Mark.

(Mark gets so embarrassed about these kinds of pictures, but he happens to be out of the country right now and I am totally putting this picture up! Ow ow!)

This last year with Mark was so fabulous. We were able to go to school every day. We would have make our lunches for the day, eat oatmeal every morning, sing and dance in the car on the way to school, study at our neighboring carrels, leave each other notes, eat free pizza and J-Dawgs at law school events together (and suffer the subsequent stomach aches), participate in 5th grade mentoring together, and feel all the wonderful stresses that come with law school. My classmates would tell me how much they liked Mark and I was so proud of him.

This is me taking all of our bags to school (lunches, dinners, workout clothes, backpacks). Mark would help carry them too but I thought it'd be funny to show the enormous amount of bags we would lug to school each day.

Barrister's Ball photo shoot - so "profesh"

As I reflect on my experience in law school, it is hard to do a "law school in review" because it is pretty lengthy and there are lots of ups and downs. I'll just say this: I learned a lot about myself. It felt a lot like my mission in a way because it threw me into a challenging situation that exposed me to a lot of my weaknesses. But I feel like I have been given a broader perspective on life. I have an improved vocabulary. I better understand how the legal system works. I have a new respect for the law and the people who work in it, and although I cannot say even at this point that the study of the law is what gets me up in the morning, I have learned to enjoy studying the law. I have tools that will help me increase my literacy in the law and help me use it to better the world around me.

I made some of my greatest friends in law school.

Law School Familia - Emily, Christy, and Brad

I was astounded by the amazing people I went to law school with. Not only were they in law school and you assume they all have done well up to this point in life, but you learn all sorts of specifics about these people. For example, some have five kids, some (well one person I know) are "tight" with President Reagan's best friend, some are incredible musicians and artists, some speak three languages, some are nurses, engineers, chemists, authors. Holy cow, my classmates are awesome.

Graduation was so great.

I got to sit up front on the podium because I was leading the choir and the music. (The choir sang, "Choose Something Like a Star," which is an awesome song and they did great.) As I was sitting there, I got to see each of my classmates come up and get hooded. It was so cool to see each of those people who I had been with the first day of orientation and feel like we've traveled a great journey together. I wasn't sure about going to BYU Law School until the first day of orientation, I was sitting in the moot court room, and I felt like I was with good people and in the place I needed to be. At the end of convocation, I led the congregation in "America, the Beautiful." What a great hymn. I was feeling very patriotic and was convinced I had the best job that day in leading everyone in singing, "Thy liberty in law." A great moment.

I am so grateful I was able to go to BYU.

I was able to do some really meaningful things. I helped with 5th Grade Mentoring and helped write a chapter about it for publication; I started the Immigration Law Forum and we hosted some killer events/debates; I helped with the Law School Recital for 3 years and had a wonderful time; I competed with the Vis Moot Court team in San Diego and Hong Kong and learned A LOT about oral advocacy; I was an editor on Law Review and read a ton of citations over the past couple of years.

I went to school with my best friend, Mark, and loved to share the experience with him; and I made good friends with others. Throughout law school, I lived with my bestest friends in the world for the first two years and my best friend in the world my third year.

Here are my dear, dear friends Cath, Eve, and Linds.
Love these girls. We all shared our grad schools years as roomies.

My current roommate.
(This is the night we got engaged and I just found this picture! Happiness!)

I went on internships to Salt Lake and Phoenix, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, performed in Martha Graham's Panorama in the De Jong Concert Hall, played piano for ballet classes, went on camping and hiking adventures, and was a member of Kinnect dance group.

I owned a scooter, learned accounting (accounting for lawyers was a great class), helped with religious freedom symposiums and family symposiums, had some amazing bishops at BYU, lived by the Provo temple, and enjoyed various BYU moments (the library, the plays and shows, the Cougareat, fall in Provo). Pretty sure I can't name all of the events of these three years, but many great experiences and I'm sure I'm leaving things out.

I found things that I loved about the law--understanding how I could help people, knowing the social problems that need to be addressed in our families, schools, and communities, and feeling the power to solve these problem and make a difference.

All in all, it has been a great three years. I accomplished something that I didn't really know I could do. And, I didn't really do it--on my own, that is. So many helped me on my way. The Lord is the One who has graced me with this opportunity and this success.

Thanks for the support, my friends. This blog's representation of my time in law school is evidenced by the lack of entries during the last three years. But, I plan to post more often and I plan to become something great. So, stay tuned.

lately: installment 1

2011-05-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

My computer has been staring at me all day saying, "open me and update your blog." So, here I am! The long, lost Jana B. (now E.) has come back to blogland. I have missed so much! I am seeing all sorts of great posts on people's blogs and then see my half-finished post from my New York trip with Mark last year... hahaha! Okay, so bear with me as I try to put into words thoughts that have been piling up for the last little while.

First and most important thing in the last while/year/years of my life:
Mark Eliason

He is my favorite person in the whole world and my better half.
Happy 1 Year Anniversary, Darling. I love you.

Mark and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. One year! It's hard to believe and frankly hard to write this because the day of our anniversary was the day I dropped Mark off at the airport. But, the few days before we were in Park City having a great time spending time together. Of course, we forgot to take pictures (classic us) because we always just have so much fun we forget to record all of the adventures we are having! So, my blog friends, we will remedy that ASAP so we can have an honorable showing on this blog here.

Mark will be in Uganda for two months - without me! So, talking about Mark is hard because I miss him so! I was going to go with Mark to Africa originally, but in January I got a job and the mandatory weeks of training overlapped with Mark's trip. But, he is doing well and learning a lot of good things. He is working for a non-profit called International Children's Legal Aid. He and his crew write wills for AIDS victims to ensure that the surviving spouses and children get the property. It's a great service.

A year of marriage. I wish I could explain how great the past year has been.

Mark is incredible. He has been a rock-solid friend and companion. We have laughed and played and worked and studied and cooked and hosted parties and traveled and camped and taken law school finals and spent time with family and it has all been a grand adventure with Mark. I am so grateful for his perspective on things. I am grateful for the balance he brings to my life. I admire his discipline and his work ethic. He is sweet and thoughtful and he always treats me with respect. And, he treats others with respect too. That is important. He is just an amazing guy. He is so dedicated to doing the right thing and staying close to God. I love him. He is the best. He rocks. Literally.

The Verdict Is In

2011-01-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Marriage is awesome.

It's been 8 months, and upon reflection that's what I have to say. I'll even take it a step further: marriage with Jana B. is EXTREMELY awesome. It is so great to be on the incredible journey of life with someone as great as Jan. Most people who read this blog are already fans of Jana B; but let me just expound upon a few of the reasons why it is so great to be married to this woman.

MAJOR CUTENESS: If Jana were in the military, this would be her title. When I was a young lad, I used to collect Ranger Rick magazines--I loved animals in general, ferocious and cute equally. My room was adorned with pages of those magazines, and tons of them were totally cute animals. I like to think I have a pretty good radar for cuteness, and the young Mrs. Jana Eliason knocks it off the charts, causes it to shatter, and sets the whole console on fire. Consistently cute and irresistible. It's so great to be around someone who is always totally cute. No matter what happens, when you run into JB, it's like "Oh, hey! Life is good."

Constant companion: I have always loved being part of a team. I loved being in a rock band; I loved working with other people on projects; I always form study groups--I like to belong to a group (maybe this comes from being a part of ten kids). But the kind of scary thing about many teams I've been on, is that they come to an end one day, and all you do after that is reminisce. But when you're married, it's great because you are on a team that lasts forever! And let me just say: Jana is a dang good teammate.

Pick up the slack: With JB, there's never any slack. Anytime one of us can't get something done that needs to be done, the other steps in to make sure it gets done. Case in point: Jana has done so many loads of our laundry, and the fact is that I will never catch up with that.

Just good: I've said this once, and I'll say it again: JB is just good. She's so reliable in that way. In her treatment of me, of others, and in her life in general, she's just good, and it's inspiring.

Hilarity abounds: Some may or may not know this, but my wife is a really funny lady--both clever and zany. She picks up on extremely subtle things, but she also has no major problems clowning around.

The reality is, I could totally go on and on. But I'm just putting this out there--marriage is AWESOME. And marriage with Jana B - TOTALLY awesome.

Year in Review

2011-01-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Here is a brief update on Team Eliason. We've had a great 2010 and we're excited for all of the things coming up. We thought today's date was was particularly memorable, being 1/11/11 and all.

2010 truly started, for us at least, on May 1st. Mark and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple the afternoon of May 1st and started our awesome adventures together! Our decision to marry each other has been the best one we've ever made, and we consider it"the greatest investment" (that's why our blog is called that - because family is the best investment of time, energy, and love).

The summer months were spent in Tempe and Gilbert, AZ, where Mark worked for Teach for America as an instructor for the new corps members (working 14 hours days or so) and I worked as a research assistant for some BYU professors. We spent the weekdays in a dorm room on ASU campus and enjoyed the cafeteria and the convenient gym and pool each evening. (Having a cafeteria necessitated the use of a gym and pool each day.) Then, on the weekends, we would go to Mark's parents' condo in Gilbert that was on this beautiful lake (man-made of course). But, we had breakfast every morning outside on the patio with the water and the ducks and the cute turtles. Then we went inside because even by 7:00am, it was pretty hot outside. We had a very kind ward there and we were able to spend time with Mark's brother, Jon, and his family and we also spent time with my brother, Ammon, and his family (as well as Jes's awesome family). A great summer together.

At the end of the summer, before Mark and I went back to Provo (Mark was going to start his first year at BYU Law and I was going into my third), we took a trip to the Big Apple - so fun! We stayed with Aunt Jan and Uncle Paul and had an absolute blast. We have included some pictures below, so we will not discuss this in detail.

(Mark has strapped his backpack on tight, just in case he falls out of the raft or something....cute boy!)

We entered law school this last fall and had so much fun going to school together everyday. Although law school is not always just a fun party (shockingly), if you are ever going to do it, the best thing is to have your spouse with you. If only one of us was in law school, talk about never seeing each other! But this way, we are always seeing each other. We have been so grateful to spend most of our first year together side by side at our study carrels and seeing each other during breaks between classes. It helps to have this experience together as well, since law school can be demanding. Mark has been so awesome and has been my inspiration to study. He is so diligent and such a good worker. He also has one of his best friends in the first year class, which is great. Mark and I are on the Environment, Energy, and Resources Society (EERS) board (an enviro law club on campus) and went to Denver to a NEPA conference in October. Mark is also the 1L SBA rep, which basically mean he is on the student council at BYU Law. So popular! I started the Immigration Law Forum this past semester and we have had some good events, including an immigration bill debate. I also set up October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month at BYU Law to help raise awareness and increase prospective attorney commitment to the cause.

Also, Mark and I have been able to do some fun camping this last fall and summer. As part of the EERS board, we planned an overnighter with law students in Spanish Fork canyon. In the first part of October, Mark and I trekked down in our trusty Subaru to Capitol Reef National Park and camped in the Dixie National Forest. Thank you to all the people who gave us camping gear for our wedding! It was put to good use!

In November, Mark - the amazing athlete - convinced me to sign up to do a triathlon together. We accomplished our goal in running, biking, and swimming - all in a row (which basically means we finished without dying). We trained a bit here and there and had some fun nights at the RB pool and some lovely bike rides to beautiful Utah Lake (and when I say "some" what I mean is "one"). Provo is so pretty in the fall.

Mark worked diligently fall semester to line up some sweet externship opportunities. In May and June, we will go to Uganda where Mark will work as a legal extern at International Children's Legal Aid. He will be assisting AIDS victims with their wills. Then, in July/August time, we will take a trip to Oxford, England! This has been a dream of ours, and we are excited to go. Mark will be a research assistant to an Oxford professor and will research international public law.

This next semester, I will be dancing again with a BYU team, this time with a contemporary dance group that does outreach into elementary schools. It's called Kinnect and try to teach ideas and problem-solving through dance.

We were so glad to visit with family over the holidays and we send our love to all friends and family! Keep us posted on your lives!

Much love, Jana and Mark

NYC cont.

2010-10-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

So... we continue documenting our adventure.

Out on the town, we took in the great sights of New York - all the tall buildings and endless shops and restaurants. Here is Mark, claiming the city as his own!

This is the day we hit Times Square, Rockefeller Square, Ground Zero, American Stock Exchange, Wall Street, China Town, Broadway - you name it. Of course, we don't have hardly any pictures from all of that, but we were sure to document the Chocolixir, found at your local Godiva store (and if you live somewhere that has a "local" Godiva store, you must be pretty fancy).

Okay, we actually DID take some pictures of these other sites. A lot of them ended up being church visits - St. Patrick's, Trinity Church, and synagogue in Manhattan. Here are a few of the places of interest that day:

After exploring the financial district, we ventured up to Chinatown. We were going to see "Memphis" on Broadway that night, but we really wanted to eat at this Chinese place that came highly recommended. So we walked to the highest point in Chinatown, grabbed our handfuls of potstickers, and then jumped on the subway, eating as we ran to catch our play (which, by the way, if you go to New York, "Memphis" is an AWESOME musical to see on Broadway). We got stuck right at this point, as we couldn't make a decision--should we stop or should we go? What to do? To be continued....

Empire State of Mind

2010-10-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Okay. Turn on Jay Z and Alicia Keys for this next post, just to get yourself in the spirit. Or turn on Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." We'll go ahead and skip the formalities of our wedding and jump straight into the JB/ME adventure to New York in August (Jana says the wedding pictures are coming soon!). We had a few free plane tickets, some wonderful relatives living in Manhattan, and so we hopped on a plane a week before school started to see the Big Apple! (It was Mark's first time, so JB showed him around.)

Here's something important to keep in mind in this post (and Dallin, you'll appreciate this)--One of the great things about New York is the food...so, we're jumping on the trendy bandwagon of putting pictures of food on our blog. We'll highlight some of the "faves" as Jana likes to say.

First, we enjoyed a New York City double-scoop ice cream cone in front of the Natural History museum. Aren't we cute? Following that, we journeyed INTO the museum itself, only to encounter some ferocious(ly cute) wildlife. Here's Jana and the lil' baby deer:

And here's Mark with the DINOSAUR! You can't say DINOSAUR! without all caps and an exclamation point, because it doesn't transmit their ferocity.

Then we shimmied on down to the Shake Shack, baby! One of the best burgers in the U.S. of A. Here we are...

And here is our meal - yum..

And for all of you "You've Got Mail" fans out there (and I know you're out there!) you might recognize one of the three most sacred Jewish-owned locations in the world:

As we walked in, a young Kazahk came up to Mark, and kept pointing at the cheese, saying: "Ah wat is a dis?" (What is this?) to which Mark would reply in a low yet nasaly voice: "'At's cheese" over and over again, until Jana had to drag him away.

Btw, the best souvenir from NY that is 1) cheap, 2) not totally cheesy like a bumper sticker or a cheap t-shirt, and 3) is useful is the Zabar's mugs. $1!! Just a word to the wise - next trip, Zabar's mugs.

We had a jaunt at the Lincoln Center - watched a couple of Paul Taylor's choreographies outside by his company and then saw South Pacific. South Pacific was, as opposed to the awesome deal you get with a Zabar's mug, not cheap. But it was okay.

The next day, we hit the town....to be continued! (More pictures and stories to come)

Mark's books

2010-09-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Marrying Mark meant marrying new books. Growing up in my parents' house, it seemed that there were new books to be discovered on the shelf. This is probably a result of evolving interests in different things as I got older. I used to see the red, old-fashioned type of children storybooks that were from my parents' era and I'd read the story about the old Chinese emperor or a story about some heroic dog. Some Sundays I would read the illustrated encyclopedias and other informational books. I found the books by C.S. Lewis later on and only glanced over books like A Pilgrim's Progress, uncertain of my interest at the time. There's also a favorite section of Calvin and Hobbes books on my parents' bookshelves. There are still books there that I'm sure I've never noticed, partly because I started my own collection of books. That collection is largely still in my old bedroom at my parents' house, being too big to take to our small apartment in Provo. But we have most of Mark's books here, most of them crammed on one tall shelf. I will peruse the titles sometimes or just admire the books as I walk by them. Mark's always impressed me by how well-read he is. The first time I met him, six years ago now?, he was reading some big book, probably Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. He sat with his leg crossed over his knee, his elbow on the bent knee, his chin in his hand, his square glasses framing his furrowed brow focused on the page. We were both at the same BYU Recycling Club meeting. I wasn't sure what to make of him at the time, but then you can't always trust first impressions. However, one impression of Mark has remained true - he loves to read and has quite good taste in books. The books he brought with him to our marriage are beautiful and thick. He prefers hardcover to softcover because they last longer and he is determined to have all these books available to our children. There is a long line of classics and then some rows of mathematical, statistical, political, economical books from recent years. He has books on philosophy, leadership, communication, religion. He is always reading about five books at a time - a couple different ones before bed, another one for the airplane (when he used to fly more often), and two others in there for good measure. He reads the Economist when he rides the bike at the gym or sometimes at breakfast. The shelf is a pretty good size, but not too huge. But I am surprised when I really look deeper at the titles and find something I never found before. You will never guess the great find I made last night on the top shelf on the right. Two books by Dave Barry! They were collections of his humor columns from the 80s and 90s. What a find, I thought. Mark walked by our bedroom last night and asks me what I was reading. When he discovered it was Dave Barry, he offered to read some together. So Mark started reading them out loud. We were on our bed, Mark reading these columns, and I was laughing so hard, I was in tears. A talent I didn't know my husband had! He is exceptionally good at reading Dave Barry columns out loud! He laughs at all the right times, adding just that much more humor to the moment, and does the best inflections. I had no idea Mark could do that. This was truly a treasure to find. This, my friends, is a favorite memory of our first months together. I think it was because we both had full school commitments the next day, and can feel the weight of law school, and laughing was very therapeutic for both of us. I think it also reminded me of reading Calvin and Hobbes with my dad and he would read them aloud and would laugh at all the right times, which would make us all bust up laughing. And here I was, twenty years later, having a laugh attack with my husband reading to me, while we casually lounged on our bed in our own little home together. It reminded me of the times my parents would crack up about something one of them said, and I would stand there smiling at my parents' mirth. I would marvel at the fact that I could still crack up at stuff when I was a grown-up, and instead of making my brother laugh, I could joke and laugh with my spouse. Last night I experienced this full circle. It was full circle, but something totally new. I guess I am amazed at a few things. I am amazed at how great Mark is and how much fun it is to be married to such a good and nice and funny and happy person. I am amazed at how much my life has been blessed by being with him. I am amazed at how things that you thought were left behind in your childhood can pop up in your adult life and it is awesome. I am amazed that you can have new experiences and learn new things about someone you thought you totally had "figured out." That kind of surprise is the sweet filling of life. And I am amazed that I am still finding new books on Mark's bookshelf.

what's more American than me?

2010-07-05T22:25:00.001-07:00

mark and i subbed in primary for the 8 year old class yesterday, which means we got to attend SINGING TIME! i really liked singing time growing up, but i REALLY like it now (probably because adults just don't do fun things like that - and it's a shame too). so, we sang a song i hadn't sung since elementary school: "what's more American?" such a classic! mark and i loved singing it with the picture prompts and everything and kept singing it all day: "What's more American than toothpaste?... I AM! I AM! I AM!" (if you don't know this song, you should really get acquainted with it.) so mark asks me at dinner, "what is more American than Ernie?" (That was one of the pictures on the singing posters.) i laughed and thought "hmmm... what's REALLY American?..." and for some reason, all things 80s came to my head. so, i said "MTV." mark questioned, "Why?" (Hadn't he seen Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?) then he did the Mark-hand-gesture finger point and said with a smile "this is a serious game, Jan." so, we commenced on discovering what is truly American. we had to name something from the song and find something that is more American than that. what's more American than Superman? Mark responded, Rocky - he's a self-made man. so, you see, you have to compare apples to apples in this game and find something within the same category as the thing you named. we started to discover some things about our perspectives on America, however. mark's responses always tied to the American ideals of being self-made, being rebellious, facing the frontier, or being individualistic. my criteria for the game was to find things that were purely American-made. (mine was more difficult, i found, because of globalization. it was almost impossible to determine if something was exclusively American.)

so the question: are Mark's ideals still true to America? to me, conformity was the new American way. look at mass media - it's all about being the same. but, is this American? mark said that the indie film maker epitomizes American ideals - the independent, the new, the individual. interesting, i said. so, what made Americans "American" at the dawn of America was the independence from Great Britain. it was about breaking away from those foreign rulers an ocean away. these days, those that epitomize that same "American" spirit are breaking away from other Americans. popular media is the new Great Britain; the indie filmmakers - the carriers of the American ideals. or, are they?

new question: who says that America is what America is or was 200 year ago? is America as we see it now, and to be American to be what we are? and what are we exactly?

what's more American than me?

ok go

2010-06-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

the common couple

2010-05-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

hey guys, the common has acquired another author. mark eliason and i were married a couple of weeks ago and couldn't be happier. marriage = the greatest investment ever. we are determined to keep investing in good things - good friends, good education, good food, good music, good religion. please join us as we share our discoveries with you. thanks to all of you good friends out there who have been such great supporters of the common. i'm back! love, jana b. (now jana e., but you can still call me jana b.)

mark dedicates this song to all of you:

when i grow up

2010-04-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

my teacher of my community-based legal research class asked us to bring something to class that depicted what we wanted to someday become. i brought some passages from Les Miserables. they weren't about Valjean or about Marius's courage. they are about simpler person, the person who delivered Valjean from the hands of the officers and led Valjean to believe he could be something more than a criminal. this person is the Bishop. he is simple, grounded, generous, charitable . . . in a word, Christlike. i suppose i could have brought a picture of Christ, which is really who i want to become like someday. however, Hugo's words are so lovely, i thought i'd share (taken from the first Book in Les Mis):

"The Bishop did not omit his pastoral visits because he had converted
his carriage into alms. The diocese of D---- is a fatiguing one.
There are very few plains and a great many mountains; hardly any roads,
as we have just seen; thirty-two curacies, forty-one vicarships,
and two hundred and eighty-five auxiliary chapels. To visit all
these is quite a task.

"The Bishop managed to do it. He went on foot when it was in
the neighborhood, in a tilted spring-cart when it was on the plain,
and on a donkey in the mountains. The two old women accompanied him.
When the trip was too hard for them, he went alone.

...

"In the course of these trips he was kind and indulgent, and talked
rather than preached. He never went far in search of his arguments
and his examples.

...

"A tragic event occurred at D---- A man was condemned to death
for murder. He was a wretched fellow, not exactly educated,
not exactly ignorant, who had been a mountebank at fairs, and a writer
for the public. The town took a great interest in the trial.
On the eve of the day fixed for the execution of the condemned man,
the chaplain of the prison fell ill. A priest was needed to attend
the criminal in his last moments. They sent for the cure.
It seems that he refused to come, saying, "That is no affair
of mine. I have nothing to do with that unpleasant task, and with
that mountebank: I, too, am ill; and besides, it is not my place."
This reply was reported to the Bishop, who said, "Monsieur le Cure
is right: it is not his place; it is mine."

"He went instantly to the prison, descended to the cell of the
"mountebank," called him by name, took him by the hand, and spoke to him.
He passed the entire day with him, forgetful of food and sleep,
praying to God for the soul of the condemned man, and praying the
condemned man for his own. He told him the best truths, which are
also the most simple. He was father, brother, friend; he was bishop
only to bless. He taught him everything, encouraged and consoled him.

...

"M. Myriel could be summoned at any hour to the bedside of the sick
and dying. He did not ignore the fact that therein lay his greatest
duty and his greatest labor. Widowed and orphaned families had
no need to summon him; he came of his own accord. He understood
how to sit down and hold his peace for long hours beside the man
who had lost the wife of his love, of the mother who had lost
her child. As he knew the moment for silence he knew also the moment
for speech."

as an attorney, or just as a human being, i hope to emulate these traits in my life, knowing what is truly important.

digital nation

2010-02-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

i am watching a documentary about digital multi-tasking, and i am only catching part of it because i am multi-tasking on my computer! how ironic.

check it out:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/?utm_campaign=DigitalNation&utm_medium=ROS&utm_source=NPR

encounters

2010-02-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

so, boys against girls. how long have we been playing that way? today during 5th grade mentoring, i took two 5th grade boys because their mentor was gone. they were totally cool kids and we went to play foosball. they were playing each other, and then some girls came in and asked if they could play. the girls were good, but the guys still beat them, best out of three. more girls came to play, and their mentors stood by to watch as well. the mentors starting calling "go girls! come on girls!" and then, inevitably, it became that timeless battle of the sexes: boys v. girls. i wanted my mentees to win and i found myself feeling loyalty for my mentees, but inside i felt myself rooting for the girls. "come on, jan," i told myself, "it doesn't matter." but we all know that it does! ever since i was in their shoes - 5th grader who thinks she knows everything - it always came down to beating the boys! how interesting. btw, the boys let me play with them, so we did three on three, and we lost by one... and i blame myself, since i must have secretly been wanting the girls to beat us. why else would we have lost the match? i should have recused myself from the match due to a conflict of interest.

second encounter today - this girl that i know from 'somewhere' totally knew my name and engaged in a conversation with me and i greeted her, spoke with her, left, and still to this moment i couldn't tell you what her name was or how i know her. what is wrong with me?! that is so frustrating.

gone are the days

2010-01-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

gone are the days of truly appreciating our belongings. gone are the days of real gratitude for all of our conveniences. most of the time, things aren't working fast enough, efficient enough, or long enough. i think of my lovely little laptop computer. it is easy for me to complain that the power cord has a short in it and the screen has some permanent smudges and the software is slow and the left speaker cover is coming up a bit - but wait until the day that this lovely compy stops working all together! i mean, this compy has gone through a lot and it is still working! practically a miracle. it has fought a good fight - being shoved in my bag day after day, class after class. it has been dropped and slid and slammed and carelessly unplugged before it was all finished shutting down. what kind of steward am i?! rather than starting it up and loudly sighing while it takes forever to get onto mozilla, i should be happy at how cooperative this thing is most of the time. i should be glad that colors start appearing on my screen and that i can still check my email! what would i do if i couldn't do that with such ease?

i am going to start really appreciating this computer. the day it dies, it will be like saying goodbye to a favorite work horse or to the worn-out tractor. can't you just picture a farmer letting go of his tractor or horse, his work companion of many years after it's seen its day, and seeing his reflective gaze as he remembers hours of labor with that tractor or that horse? i feel like farmers know what it's like to appreciate their tools and belongings. they know that these things make our lives easier! thus, just as a farmer lovingly picks up his plow - the plow that has served him so well - i will lovingly open my laptop computer and smile. i will not complain that it is being slow or uncooperative! mark me, compy, i am a changed owner - and we shall enjoy a long and prosperous existence together, sending emails, writing briefs, and posting entries into the sunset.

recently

2010-01-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

i think that Americans need to stop whining about people not doing things for them and start doing things for themselves.

i am going to live in Hawaii when i grow up and i can't wait.

don't you think that we sometimes inhibit others from doing nice things because they are afraid that people will question their motives? i think that is too bad.

i made a goal last month to ask questions. i thought of a lot - and i even found some answers. i'm thinking of sharing them with you since i've decided to be a seeker of truth. but, i'll have to find my list of questions... but i'll keep you posted.

i wonder if i have hives... my arm is itchy and i have been stressed recently.

if i were to be an undergrad again, i would major in accounting, philosophy, and dance. dance cuz i love it, philosophy because i want to understand it, and accounting because accountants just have the upper hand on everyone else. except maybe engineers. maybe.

i had a birthday recently and now i am officially an adult. i don't think you're really an adult till you pass 25. but now i'm 26 and i guess now i'm all grown up... i'm moving to Hawaii.

roses and orchids

2009-12-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

Mark Eliason and I are engaged to be married on May 1st, 2010

I couldn't be happier -

The proposal was perfect -

And my fiance is the perfect match for me