and these are the days of our lives...

I am so tired of this soap opera. I am ready for a change. I am one of the few people that actually enjoys the front desk job at Zion Lodge, but I am tired of fake people. There are some people I am going to miss so much when I move next Friday, but too many people know the secret- that we are only here for a few months and we get to be whatever fantasy characters we want to be for those few months and rumors are meant to be spread because there's nothing else to talk about. I hope this is a good change for me.

I will be working at the entrance station to the park now. Yes, I have to wear the offical park ranger getup, with the ugly green pants pulled up way too high and the silly smokey the bear hat falling over my eyes. My friends here from the Lodge are going to fly past the entrance station now yelling "Traitor!" But the good side of all this... I get to have a change. I get to be a park ranger. I will be in the park service, which means I can transfer to one closer to home pretty easily. And I will be paid more than twice what I get at the lodge. The money thing was honestly the last thing I realized about this job. I never expected to make much money in life. This will be a convenient side-note... a very convenient one.

All this came about in such an odd way. A park ranger named Sam gave me an application one day, saying I'd really enjoy this job. I had never talked to Sam about my job or any desires to leave it or work for the Park Service, though I did want to get in. So I thought about filling it out, missed the due date, woke up the following Monday and decided what the heck, I'll turn in something just to say I did. I half-heartedly filled some stuff out, made some type of resume, and went to the office to turn it in. When I walked in, I changed my mind and said, "you know what? nevermind. I don't want to waste your time with this because I just realized I'd have no place to live even if you hired me. Could you just keep this till this fall maybe when you can offer housing?" A few days later I get a call saying they found housing and they need me to work now. So I debated forever and was discussing it with one of my managers one day and I told him how I just really need to know the reason why Sam gave me the application in the first place. That would help me decide. If it was just some gut feeling, I'd give all this a second look. I trust gut. I turned around and walking straight toward the desk was Sam. And the first words he says to me are, "You know Juli? I really think you need to take this job. I didn't tell you, but I just had a feeling about it. That's why I gave you the application. There was no real reason, just a gut feeling."

I took the job.

red rocks vs. naked bums in my face

A couple weeks ago, I was given an application for a park service job (to be a "ranger"... not the cool kind, but the mean, fee-taking, pretend you're tough but really powerless kind) because one of the rangers thought I'd really like this job. I turned it in but I told them that I was interested in a job starting after this one ends in September. Well, the other day when I went to pick up my parents from their flight to Las Vegas, my phone rang and it was the park service to let me know they want me to start on the 24th... It all depends if they can find housing for me or not, but I can't figure out what to do. It would be great money, but I'm finally getting the hang of this job at the lodge. I'm not ready to sacrifice the little social life I have here in the dorms yet either.

Speaking of the great social life in the dorms... The other night I came back to the dorm and sat around the front yard with 5 older guys that live upstairs. Sad reality... sometimes I can relate to these older men better than the college age goofs that live in the other dorm. I hope that doesn't mean I've become old and rigid and mature. But the night took a turn of excitement none of us expected when a man three doors down from me was threatening another guy with his knife collection because he had been off his medication for a couple weeks now. Soon the rangers arrived in their little ranger-cop cars and came up the hill to our dorm. All of us took off. I went to my room and locked the door. I had no clue if I should expect a series of gunfire or if I could open my door and peer down the hallway to watch the guy be taken away half-sober in handcuffs. Later that night, when I thought all of the chaos was over, I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and almost ran right into the rangers as I came out. They were leaving without the man and without the knife collection. I wasn't surprised to hear that his roomate never came to bed that night. I think he must have slept in the hammock down by the other dorms.

On Sunday, a group of us hiked up the Narrows and alittle ways down Orderville canyon and back. It was incredible. If you've never heard of the Narrows, it is the world-famous hike here. Supposedly one of the very best hikes you can do in the US. Our guide was actually the superintendent of Zion National Park... pretty special opportunity to get to hike with the big guy. He's part of the ministry support committee here for the three of us who do the services in the park. This is the only national park where the head of the park is so involved with the Christian ministry like this. So he took us through the Narrows and taught us all kinds of things we'd never have known. Cannot wait to do the full hike someday.

That night, we went to his house and had dinner together and my parents came along. Then we headed off for Vegas, randomly. We had no real plans, except that I had Monday off and we had no place to stay for the night anyway. The night was gorgeous. Wildfires lit up the mountain as we drove away from the little town of Hurricane. We drove through a canyon and the moonlight lit up the cliffs on my right. The heat was so intense that the breeze through the window stung my eyes. Then we came over a ridge and the city just glowed golden across the horizon. The heat rising in the city made the lights flicker and glisten. We stayed in the MGM Grand. I felt very insignificant in that giant hotel, but it was worth the experience. Went and saw the strip and finally got to sleep at 4 am. Saw a magic show yesterday because it was one of the only shows minus naked bodies I was ok with seeing with my parents. Saw enough naked bodies on the trash laying on the street. Saw enough of Vegas. Sorry, I'm not a huge fan. I like being back in Zion, back where the red rocks are glowing outside my window in the rising moonlight.

sick

i am
so sick
of the nightly drunk people
and the way they choose
to have theological conversations with you
at midnight
yet never take a moment from
their own ramblings
for you to squeeze in a little
"I'm sorry, I'm falling asleep. I need to go to bed now."

I'm in DC right now, trying to figure out something fun to do with my brother. Just got off of a long weekend in Pennsylvania with the entire family. We were having a reunion to celebrate our roots with a pretty sweet guy Judge White (all you who ever wondered about my middle name...). I have a strange family. But the weekend was without a single dull moment. Had family come from California, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Vermont, (Utah), and Sweden! And some other places I can't remember.

I think I've finally caught up on some sleep. Last weekend Jeremy and Karla came to visit me. Spent monday, tuesday, and wednesday camping out behind the dorms in Zion. I took off Wednesday to go hiking with them. Went out to eat and met up with Matt, Tim, and Phil who then stayed till Friday. It was so good to see familiar faces again. I love those guys. All of us were tripping on our own feet because we were so sleepy- Tim and Phil from driving out from Indiana, me from staying up each night with Jeremy and Karla- but we all decided Wednesday night that we needed to get a hike in before I had to leave for Pennsylvania. So at 11 pm we set out on Angel's Landing trail. One of the stupider things I've done. The moon never came out and it is pitch black out there. We'd peer over the cliff with our little headlamps and it was so far down that the light never reached anything to light up. Just darkness. And a creepy, chilly wind. But we were all to proud to ever turn around. We can say we've hiked Angel's landing, but we cannot say we've ever seen it. Got maybe an hour and a half of sleep that night before going to work at 6 am.

Caught a shuttle to Vegas after meeting the guys one last time to get some gelato. Slept a bit in my layover in Denver but was awakened and alert when I heard a Jehova's Witness try to witness to a Mormon. Was too sleepy to add my two cents. It was very interesting to listen to. I wish we could all learn to keep our ears open when someone of another faith begins to share. Instead, we argue our points even harder and shut up our minds even tighter. Didn't get any sleep on the flight to Baltimore because I met an interesting guy who I talked to for the entire 5 hours or so. He reminded me so much of Anthony Riske! Even worked at a Christian "adventure" camp. Actually, I think I tricked my mind into thinking it was Riske just because it felt so nice to talk to an old friend again. I didn't mind that I didn't get any sleep again. I made it up on this weekend.

Hope to write more often now that I'm getting internet issues worked out. I'm told there's a hotel in town I can go to to get wireless... and no annoying librarians who give me a few minutes and then roll their eyes and sigh when I ask for a couple more. Also, I'm going to figure out the picture thing... soon!

I love visitors, so if you're in the area of Utah, let me know. I'll find you a place to stay. Sorry this post is uninspiring, unenthusiastic, lacking big words and fancy philosphies, but just a story of what I've done in the past week. I'll have to get that mystical side of my brain working again soon. It's been taking a long break.