The makings of a Zion Society

This may be a little more philosophical than most of my posts, but bear with me. I've been listening to this book about what motivates people on my drives to and from Orem. It's written with business in mind, but the author mentions that one of the psychologists he studied and interviewed mentioned that he was a war refugee as a child and when he saw all that violence he thought that grownups really didn't have a clue what they were doing, and that there's got to be a better way. That had me thinking about how we all hope for a peaceful society.

The book's main point is that motivators like bonuses or commission actually make people work less effectively, and that what they really need after a good salary is Autonomy, or the ability to make decisions about what they work on, how they do it, who they work with, when they work, etc.; opportunity to master and become better at any skill they wish (with guidance from supervisors, perhaps); and the chance to work toward a larger purpose. He said that lots of people are becoming really concerned with how their work helps the world and the different struggles we are having right now with sustainability, etc.

All of this made me think of great societies in the scriptures, namely the City of Enoch and the people of 4th Nephi. Both of them dwelt in righteousness and there was no contention and no poor among them. My thought was that we already have it in us to live like that. Studies mentioned in the book showed that people are much happier when they are working for something that will help others. I think that people successfully living together with no contention and no poor would be working hard at things they love in their own way, striving always to become better, and working for the happiness of all.

Nerd Alert

I am feeling pretty nerdy today, what with a second experiment supporting the possibility of faster than light travel. I feel like this is a good time to mention a realization that I had.

Let me preface this by mentioning that I have always had a hard time remembering my age. Whenever I start to get the hang of it, it changes! So I always look for ways to easily remember my age. 24 and 25 were great years. 24 is made up of lovely numbers like 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12. It's just easy to remember. 25 was even better! A square number!

26 was unmemorable. Sure, it was two times a prime number, but still no fun. As I was driving down the street the other day I was thinking about 27 and how it's also totally unmemorable, when suddenly I realized that 3 time 3 is nine, and nine times 3 is 27! My age is a cubed number!! I also realized that the next time this will happen is when I turn 64. That's a long time away. However, I realized my mom turns 64 in a couple of months. I think we need to have a party to celebrate this momentous occasion. Maybe we should wait until my nephew turns 8 in March.

Inseparably Connected

I hereby declare that the looseness of clothing in inversely proportional to self-confidence.

Backstory: Years ago, when I was a very small child, my older cousin was at the mall. This was long before cell phones. She called her mother to come get her and mentioned that she was nervous because a bunch of hoodlums were milling around. But she phrased it to her mother that she was surrounded by people with "low self-esteem." This became a family joke, and as I was growing up, I always pictured the hoodlums with low self-esteem to also have the very loose, baggy jeans that was the style for skater and gangsta types a few years back.

Currentstory: At my work, I am always trying to find that perfect mix between stylish and functional. Working with farmers, it's not always useful to dress in the fanciest clothes, and the urge to wear my grubbiest is great. So not long ago I wore a combination of lovely cowboy boots and skinny jeans and hit on something amazing. I felt powerful. Tall, strong, and powerful. Then it hit me. It's all about footwear and the tightness of your clothes! This is the great lesson in life. To feel confident, wear skinny jeans and leather boots. Always.

After nearly a year of nonblogging, a text conversation

Number I don't recognize, 7:05 am: "Forgot my phone and bb at home mom and wife"

****I assumed this was a wrong number as I didn't understand the term bb, and my mom signs her texts "love mom" or "love mom and anne"

Number I don't recognize, 8:53 am: "Hello"

Me, 8:53 am: "Who is this"

Number I don't recognize, 8:56 am: "Mom sent u a text b4 u didnt get it"

Me, 8:56 am: "Who are you? I think you have the wrog number"

****note my poor spelling.

Number I don't recognize, 8:59 am: "This is ur mother. left both my phone and bb at home!"

****I'm thinking, "That was helpful. What in the world is a bb?"

Me, 9:00 am: "Look, please stop texting me. You have the wrong number."

****I felt pretty bad about that one. No need to be rude. Plus, I was curious.

Me, 9:07 am: "Actually, I'm curious. What's a bb? Some sort of gun?"

Number I don't recognize, 9:10 am: "Lol...blackberry. sorry bout the wrong number"

Me, 9:11 am: "Oh. Thanks. No problem"

****Now I am left with the unanswered question, "Why does she need both a phone and a blackberry?"