A Segway to the Afterlife...

I just read that owner of the famous Segway product died...by driving his off a cliff.

I know that most people incorrectly use the term "ironic" frequently. But, I think this may qualify, whether it actually is defined as ironic or not.

"Segway...Simply Moving"...but not so simple stopping...

Maia Lani with a Flower in her Hair...

Having a Hawaiian name, Maia Lani really should have more Hawaiian style pics. So, this morning I took her for a little "tour" around the house and found this great little flower to put on her right ear. I tried some effects too. Not sure which one I like best, so I'm posting all three.

Original

B&W focus

Soft Focus

Super Maia Operation...

When I was young I liked the game Operation. Remember that one? Its the one where to have to carefully remove plastic bones without touching the sides of the holes.

Then my mom finally got me a Nintemdo. I played a lot of video games. And I was pretty good, too. I got so good at Super Mario Bros on NES that I could hold down the "run" button and have Mario race through each and every course at full speed. I would quickly get the fireball flower and would never get hit once all the way through the last castle in all 8 worlds.

I have aged and find myself playing much less games than before. But my skill with fine motor skill is still blessing my life. Case and point: Maia at bed time.

This girl is a light sleeper. She can fall asleep in her crib, but not always and not without some tears. The quickest way to get her unconscious is to hold her. And that works great. But, then comes my masterful eye-hand skills. Putting this light sleeper back down into crib without waking her up is harder than lifting a plastic thigh bone in a sea of metal contacts.

And the stakes are higher. Like Operation, should we fail, there are loud noises to ensure all know of your failure.

Unlike the game, you can't laugh and go on after a mistake. You must start over. My ability to compete Super Mario Bros in one take has trained me well.

I'm getting pretty good at this. Today in church Anna put Maia to sleep but was to leery of putting her back into the car seat. I cracked my knuckles, hummed the Mario theme and pictured myself holding Maia with tweezers and lowering her into the car seat without letting her arms touch the sides. I came out victorious.

I think all expecting parents should be required to fulfill a quota of play time on video games prior to delivery. It worked for me. And to think, my mom thought I was wasting my time playing all of those games. It turns out she should have encoraged me to play more. After all, I've never once needed geometry since I graduated. So much time wasted in my youth spent reading and studying...

Look At Me...

I think it is clear that I like being noticed. I care more about people reading my blog than most teenage girls. But that notoriety comes at a cost.

I've lived in Yigo for only 10 months. In that space of time, I've been asked to speak in my church's sacrament meeting 3 times. And its not like you think. I'm not the only white returned missionary here. I'm in a U.S. military branch. I should blend into the wallpaper here. But alas, my peacock personality just shines through. Cured be my affable aurora. I don't mind speaking in sacrament at all, but why can I get as many people in the congregation to visit my blog?

Would it be inappropriate to stand up, give out my URL to my talk and sit down? Two birds, one stone...