Pictures from my Phone & Weekly Distractions

I hope you all had a wonderful week. I had the day off today because it's "Youth Day" in Palau. I'm not sure exactly what I was supposed to be celebrating, but I got to go kayaking with some friends. At one point we got incredibly close to a snake that was climbing a wall. I may have freaked out. As it turns out, I can move VERY fast in a kayak. I can also scream very loudly. I don't want to talk about it any further.

And now, your pictures and distractions:




On a boat to Pelelui to see some WWII stuff.

The Cat Got Locked Out Again

Apparently Daniel has started getting up early in the mornings to go for runs. I didn't know about this until the other day when I was eating breakfast, thinking he was still in bed in his bedroom.  To my surprise, he then came plummeting through the front door. Sure that we were being robbed, I immediately screamed and threw a plastic bowl in his direction.

I have a mild to moderate form of On Edge Syndrome sometimes. Once my old roommate Matt came into our apartment without me hearing. I was carrying a bunch of folded towels into my bedroom when he rounded the corner and said hello. I threw the towels at him and fell to the ground, crippled in fear. I couldn't even get my legs to work well enough to run. Then we laughed for the rest of the day.

And I'm sure we all remember this from my last birthday when the Annas hung a manikin head from my bedroom ceiling and then waited for me to come home:

Tapping

Warning: You shouldn't read this post if you came here for a laugh today. It's going to be super boring. Because it's about life and stuff. Also, it's long.

One friend in Palau recently gave Daniel a book about "tapping." It's this witch-doctor business where you tap different parts of your body to relieve anxiety or fear about something. I know that is not the clinical and perfectly accurate explanation of what tapping is. Somebody reading this is very annoyed. You can explain it better in the comments and also express your frustration about everything else I'm going to say about it as long as you also compliment my outfit today.

When this friend started telling me about this, I started laughing. Because I don't believe in this kind of stuff. And I think it sounds hysterical. I immediately felt like I was being really insensitive and I had the same conversation with myself that I always have when my impulse is to find humorous another person's beliefs: "Really, Eli? Really? You think it's funny that that person believes in this? You're a Mormon and YOU of all people think you can laugh at someone else's beliefs?"

Daniel was much more tactful and asked to borrow the book, which discusses the technique. He read the entire thing in like two days and without telling me whether or not he was a believer, he just told me it was all very interesting.

So yesterday when I got home from work I told him that since he was such an expert on tapping now, maybe we should start to try to fix a few of my problems.

Yahoo! Answers VIII

Good morning, strangers. We're back today with another edition of Yahoo! Answers. People were not very helpful with my questions below. Sigh. Also, Yahoo! Answers deleted almost all of these questions already. Things are not going well for the Queen of Colors's's's Yahoo! Answers account. She is getting pretty twice up the barrel, once down the side about it, if you know what I mean.


Question 1: How do I do a wire transfer to Nigeria? So I just got this letter in the mail and I found out that I'm related to this prince in Nigeria that just died! I feel like I've just won the lottery! I thought all of my ancestors were from Ireland and Scotland. Goes to show how little you know about your roots sometimes! Anyway, they need me to "wire transfer" some money to Nigeria so they can send me my inheritance. Anyone know how to do this???

1. Congratulations on your luck! You will have to give them your banking info so they can cover the initial costs of transferring the money to you. I had a similar scenario happen to me not to long ago, so I know it takes a few months to get your loads of wealth. They will probably take out all the money in your account, this is normal so don't worry. I guess it just costs a lot to get everything worked out over there. Have fun with your new found wealth! ~Elli

A Bold Move

I play the piano. I know what you're thinking. "Oh my gosh Eli! You're like a triple threat! You play the piano, you can walk on the backs of your toes, AND your hair has been looking really good lately!" And you are all writing me an email to invite me to perform at your kid's birthday party. Which I will accept because I have a hard time saying no to things. Especially when cake is involved. And I'm assuming you would let me take home some of the cake because who invites a performer to a party and doesn't let them take some of the cake home?

But guys, I'm not super at it. I'm just good enough to earn myself all kinds of responsibility, but not good enough to impress very many people.

And thanks for the compliment about my hair, by the way. I'm trying a new thing today and I wasn't sure if I was pulling it off.

I made my musical debut at church in Palau about 2 months ago when someone asked me to please accompany a little girl who was going to be singing during one of our meetings. It was a song I had never heard of before and we met a few minutes before church started to run through it together. After going over it once I asked if she needed to practice again. She responded with attitude -- and I mean islander attitude, which cuts you to the core but also makes you really like the person and want to do everything they say for the rest of your life -- "does it SOUND like I need to practice again?"

Pictures from my Phone & Weekly Distractions

Daniel drove me into work this morning. This was the entirety of our conversation:

Daniel: Are you cranky again this morning?

Eli: I'M NOT CRANKY!!! I'M NEVER CRANKY IN THE MORNINGS! SHUT UP!

Daniel: Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again?

Eli: No. Please not this again.

Daniel: Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Eli: I can't do it today. Please no Katy Perry right now. Or ever.

Daniel: [singing now] You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the 4th of July. CAUSE BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORK! COME ON SHOW--

It was at this point that I opened the passenger side door of the moving vehicle and rolled out onto the street.

And now, your pictures and distractions:

Some of the church kids watching Daniel teach them about CPR.

Couchsurfer Emails III

I told Daniel that I was making a trip the U.S. next month.

Daniel: How long will you be gone.

Eli: About 2 weeks.

Daniel: Two whole weeks!?

Eli: Yeah. I'm sorry. Are you going to be bored and lonely?

Daniel: Are you kidding me!? [Huge grin] BEST TWO WEEKS OF MY LIFE!!!

And today, the next set of Couchsurfer rejections. Same deal as last time; I edited down some of the initial emails because they were long and boring. Enjoy!


From: Deanna
To: Eli
Subject: Palau

Hi Eli, could you host me in April? My dates are flexible. I would probably stay about 4 days. I really want to go diving.


From: Eli
To: Deanna
Subject: Palau

No problem. Would you like to make some quick cash while you're here? I run a business out of my apartment.

The Magical Mystery Tour

As part of my duties with the Supreme Court of Palau, I handle recruiting for the next set of three court counsel to replace the three of us who are currently here until the end of the summer. As a result, large stacks of applications are dropped onto my desk every morning so I can dig through them and look for particularly promising applicants to recommend for the court to interview.

This task can become a little daunting so to liven it up I have started reading all of the cover letters out loud in a provocative voice. It makes each one sound a lot more interesting. Skeptical? Try reading the rest of this post that way. You will not be disappointed.

Having applied for exactly 1,000,000 jobs in the last 4 or 5 years, including this very position, I definitely do not relish in the thought that we must decline so many wonderful people. Every time I place an applicant in the rejection pile, I find myself saying things out loud like, "I'm sorry Sally! I wish I could take you in! We just don't have room for everyone!" And ohmygosh I think I finally understand how cat hoarders feel!

Cranky

I'm kind of cranky today. Correction: I'm REALLY cranky today. I didn't start that way when I woke up. It just sort of built up throughout the day. And it peaked about half an hour ago when I hit my knee on this same part of my desk that I bump into 75 times a week. I may have thrown a small temper tantrum when it happened. I may have physically abused an inanimate object. I may have hurt myself in the process.

I don't know what I was thinking. I was young! I needed the money!

Prior to that, I lost my favorite pen. I couldn't attach documents to an email I needed to send because the Internet is too incompetent in Palau. Then the Internet broke altogether while I was in the middle of something important. Oh, and it's really hot today. And everything is a bigger deal when it's hot.

Beyond all of that, I'm cranky about some things that I found out today that actually matter, too. I DON'T JUST GET UPSET OVER MEANINGLESS STUFF, GUYS. Bad things that matter sometimes come my way.

Animals that Swim

On Saturday a big group of us decided to go scuba diving. I got certified in October and went scuba diving one time after that. Then I stopped completely because of animals.

Here's the thing about scuba diving. It is so fun to breathe underwater. And to float around and pretend like you're in the Matrix or Superman or Harry Potter or something less embarrassing. But the problem is, there are all these fish down there so it sort of ruins the experience.

When we go scuba diving in Palau, we have to take an hour long boat ride out to the Rock Islands because apparently that's where the cool fish are. Every time we get into that boat the whole time I'm thinking, "actually I just want to play Superman underwater. You could just drop me off at a deep pool." But I'm shy so I just don't say anything at all. Even if it means that I have to go see fish.

Guys, I don't hate animals. I just don't think that we have any business being a part of each other's lives. And especially the ones that can swim and breathe underwater without scuba gear. Ew.