Last Day in Utah and a layover in Vegas…

I don’t think any of us knew how tired and sore that Vigor 5K obstacle course would make us the next day! I woke up with the pinched nerve in my neck at full salute, sore shoulder muscles, and bruises all over the inside of my arms from scaling those precarious walls! It sure was a lot of fun, though! I tried waking up at 6 AM to get in a decent workout (since I knew I was going to be on planes most of the day), but my body wasn’t having it. I opted for a little FaceBook time and a few pokes to the SNOOZE button.

At 8:30 AM, we met in the lobby of the hotel and headed out to the church in town. The Mormon Tabernacle choir was performing and it was being televised. As you may have guessed from my last post and my religious faux pas, I know very little about Mormons or the Tabernacle Choir, but they are apparently a really big deal. After hearing them sing, I understand why. The music was beautiful and uplifting. The atmosphere was tranquil and warm. As we walked into the hall, I was immediately taken aback at how vast and expansive the space was! The area where the organ stood majestically was reminiscent of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The ceiling was domed and had a beautiful blue lighted hue to it. The organ was massive (haha… sorry… couldn’t resist), and the enormous gold pipes went from the floor to the ceiling, which I would guess was the equivalent of 4 or 5 stories high. The choir flanked the organ and sang in perfect harmony. All women dressed in flowy, angelic-like robes and the men were sharp and smart in their suits with red ties. It really did take my breath away!

The orchestra was also mesmerizing and enchanting! I found myself daydreaming of a time when I was playing in a symphony orchestra. My imagination ran away for a moment to reading sheet music and I even found my hands ghosting the key strokes to Flight of the Bumblebee… but only for a moment. It actually made me a bit sad to think that I had so easily given up that part of my life, when in retrospect, it was one of the few things (if not the only thing) I was ever truly passionate about. I lived it and breathed it! Since that time, I have found that there are things I am good at, but I lack the passion to really immerse myself to the point where I’m living and breathing whatever it is…. I forced myself to refocus on the choir and just listen to the music. I knew this could only have a positive, uplifting affect, thereby thwarting the depressive path my mind began to head down a moment prior. It worked.

I’m not sure if Meg saw the somber expression on my face as my mind was going through a silent turmoil, but as though she were spying on my thoughts, she looked over at me, put her hand on my knee and patted it as if to say, “I love you and it’s all going to be ok.” For that moment, that’s exactly what I believed.

One of Meg’s friends, Desiree, sings in the choir… it is apparently quite an honor! They have to have an immense amount of knowledge about music and be masterful singers. We met her at the end of the performance and even though I had never met or heard of her, it felt a little bit like meeting a celebrity.

After the choir performance, we had a nice breakfast at Mimi’s, where we met up with more of Meg’s friends as a final gathering of sorts, in Utah. All of her friends are really nice and each of them bring something unique and interesting to the table. I was wondering what my “unique and interesting” trait was that helped me make the cut into Meg’s world <smile>.

After breakfast, we packed up back at the hotel room and set a few heart-felt messages to friends on Twitter <grin>. I was stewing over the fact that one of my friends declined picking me up at the airport, even though I do quite a bit for him. He’s not working right now and I knew he’d be home, so I was getting irritated as I was texting him. Meg reminded me that it was Super Bowl Sunday (I didn’t really care, since the 49ers lost in that bogus game with the Giants, thereby losing their spot in the Super Bowl), so I had completely forgotten this tidbit of info. Meg then went on to explain that he’d probably be wasted anyway and in no shape to take me home. She was right. His next text confirmed he was already well on his way to happy land and he suggested a cab would be a much smarter choice. Indeed. Cab it is. A little self-reflection told me that I still have a lot to work on in the areas of ego, trust and patience. <sigh>

I had a layover in Las Vegas, where I did a little gambling and won a tiny bit of money. It was fun! I slipped up on my nutrition, though. At about 4:45pm, I was hungry and out of snacks, except for some cashews, which at that point may as well have been brussel sprouts. No way was I eating them, no matter how hungry I was… I realized I wouldn’t be home until after 8pm tonight. I didn’t want to grab a full meal at some nasty airport joint, so I grabbed a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s… with cheese. You know the plastic cheese they put on nachos at the ball park? The kind that stays in your system for like ten years? Yah, that cheese. <grimace>. You’d think I would have at least said, “No butter and no salt” on the pretzel… but no. I just wanted a buttery, salty, cheesy pretzel. I’m not going to lie… it tasted amazing BUT my stomach begged to differ. As a matter of fact, it’s still begging, differing, flipping me off, and screaming at me. Oh, how easily I tend to forget that butter is not my friend! I think I need one of those medical bracelets to remind me to stay away from all butter and cream because it inevitably launches an attack on my digestive system that results in utter nuclear fallout. So, here I am, on my flight back to Sacramento from Vegas, and I’m suffering a wee bit. As good as that pretzel was, it was SOOOO not worth it. Not even a little bit. Did anyone see the movie, Soul Plane? I am NOT going into that airplane bathroom. No way.

The weekend went by so quickly! I can’t believe it’s already over! While we were packing to leave today, I suddenly realized that I have an early meeting in San Mateo, CA tomorrow! Ack! I hadn’t rented a car, nor did I reserve a hotel room! Looks like I’m going to have to run to Hertz when they open first thing tomorrow morning and hope that I can get on the road in time to make the meeting. I’m exhausted from my trip, but I still plan to wake up, go to the gym, and fit in some P90X before I hit the road, so I’d better get some good sleep tonight.

See you on the fit side!

-Heather