My New Best Friend is a Suitcase

When I first heard the name Swany Walkin'Bag, I thought they made an odd choice in picking out a name for some luggage. It all made sense once I experienced the Walkin'Bag for myself.  Designed by a Japanese CEO who was a polio survivor, this is more than a rolling suitcase. Etsuo Miyoshi needed a bag that was light, easy to maneuver, and that he could literally lean on for support. With two of these suitcases, he could lean on the extended handles and use them like crutches.

Fortuno

Despite the great success of these bags, the downturn in the economy and then supply problems resulting from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year led Swany to close their operations in the United States.  It's a real shame since these are really amazing bags/suitcases. They're offering my readers an amazing price on their remaining bags.

Although the original Walkin'Bag had more of a traditional suitcase look, the more recent versions more closely resemble fashionable tote bags. You'll want to use it for work, going to games and events, family events, and more.

Fortuno, with seat

Here is why it's so awesome:

• 360-degree swivel wheels – swivels forwards, backwards and sideways
• A handle that adjusts to five different levels to accommodate your height
• A handle with a patented curve so that it can support up to 250 pounds. Anyone can literally lean on it for support.
• Several of the bag styles have a built-in, retractable seat that will hold more than 300 pounds 
• Most bags weigh less than 6 pounds and are designed to fit under most airline seats in order to eliminate having to lift them into airplane overhead compartments.
• Walkin'Bags are designed to be pushed along at your side rather than dragging behind you.

I've been using one for work and it's so much easier to use than any other bag I've had. Walking with it by my side took some getting used to, but I appreciate not having to drag something behind me. Extendable handles usually don't go tall enough for me, but this one will even to higher than I need it.  The bag can even come off the frame quickly and easily in case you want to use it on its own.

Swivel wheels are so much fun! They remind me of the shopping carts at IKEA.  The bag maneuvers easily and you can even play games like trying to aim it at a target - suitcase bowling, anyone?  The seat on the model I have folds down and even someone my size can sit on it. Great for standing in line or when you run out of  seats somewhere. It also makes a great table for using your laptop so you don't have to balance it on your lap.

ZipCart2

Because the company has called it quits, they need to sell the rest of their inventory by the end of March. Only three styles of bags are left, but you can get them for 50% off (half price) and they are shipping them for FREE.

• Fortuno bag, no seat (extra pocket instead)
• Fortuno bag, with seat
• ZipCart2

The links will take you to the order page with the discount code already built in. Wouldn't you like to make your life a little easier? Maybe there's someone in your life who could use a suitcase that doubles as a seat and a walking aid. You won't regret it!

Hitting the Ground Running

Today was my first day at my new job. This was also my first day commuting to work. It ended up being one of the worst commutes anyone could remember with at least four accidents I was aware of on my route plus road construction limiting the number of lanes available. Even though the accidents were cleared away by the time I drove by, the slowdowns seemed eternal! It took me 40 minutes to go the first 20 miles and an hour to go the final 20 miles.

I was pleasantly surprised to find welcome signs posted around the office when I got there and my new boss had quite a schedule planned out for me to get oriented to the National MS Society, our Utah-Southern Idaho Chapter, our upcoming events, and finding my way around the computer.

It's nice to have an office again. I admit that I'm somewhat intimidated being the new person on the block instead of being a veteran. The phone even freaked me out some so I'm glad they gave me an instruction manual.  The offices are arranged in an interesting pattern and my first trip to the restroom left me nervous I might get lost. All went well and I made my way there and back.

They took me out to lunch at Pizzeria Limone, a very interesting place with fairly authentic Italian style pizza.  They also had a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. It's just the best drink invention ever! It has every possible Coca-Cola brand beverage and even offers some fun twists. One machine - over 100 possible drink combinations.  I tried Diet Coke Raspberry and Sprite Zero Peach. I'm hooked!

It's so nice to be wanted to to have lots to do again. Everyone noticed my lovely orange jewelry that my friends gave me. Only six weeks until our big MS Walk and I'm in charge of it (no pressure). Once I get the hang of things, I will need to charge full steam ahead and get more people rounded up for the MS Walk as well as bringing in more donations.

I've loved all the support of friends and family during my job search. You kept me going!

Tomorrow is My Big Day

So much has been going on in my life lately and I haven't had a chance to catch up.  The biggest news is that I have a new job!  I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be wanted again.

Starting March 20th, I will be the Fundraising Coordinator for the Utah-Southern Idaho Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. While searching for a new job, I wasn't sure I would end up in fundraising work again. The way I see it, fundraising for a cause you don't believe in is really sales, not fundraising. Maybe you think it's more important to find a job, any job, than to be picky about who you work for. I don't think it's worth wasting your life on a job you can't stand. Sure, I've had jobs that I eventually hated, but there were parts of the job I enjoyed and it took time to stop liking the job completely. 

Family photo just before Mom's diagnosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a cause I can support with every fiber of my being.  My mom was diagnosed with MS after giving birth to my youngest brother. For over 25 years, she gradually lost nerve connections and lost feeling in her legs, went blind in one eye, periodically lost her sight altogether, lost her ability to walk, and eventually lost her life.  MS doesn't kill...it cripples. The mom who taught me how to do The Twist and used to do marathon shopping for Christmas eventually was unable to work and had to have constant help once she ended up in a wheelchair. A simple procedure led to a horrible staph infection and that resulted in needing her heart valve to be replaced. As she recovered from all of that, the MS kicked into high gear and her body started shutting down. I barely found out in time to see her before she passed away.

Even now I have wonderful friends who have been diagnosed with MS and see how they struggle to make good use of their minds while their bodies are falling apart. So much great research is happening and improvements continue to be made. My new job gives me a chance to give hope to so many people like my mom.

The toughest thing today was seeing a post on my former employer's blog about the new Development Director. It brought back the sting of having my job eliminated in order to make room for that job. It was also hard to deal with that outcome after seeing the photo. Surely I present myself more professionally than that guy (or maybe I should have started wearing bow ties). Of course I've managed to torture myself by finding out more and seeing that he had fewer years of experience (but he's in the middle of getting his master's degree). I see now why it's really bad to look backwards - IT HURTS!  Time to face forward and embrace my new adventure.

White Chick Tacos for Navajos

I married into the Navajo culture, but I had some familiarity with Native American culture before that. My mom used to make Navajo tacos when I was a kid and I loved to eat the leftover frybread with butter and sugar on it. After I got married, I found out that what my mom made was more like scones.  Scones usually use yeast and are more dessert-like in taste. Frybread uses baking powder (no yeast) and has a more salt and flour taste. Now that I've had the real thing, there's no going back.

I tried for years how to make decent frybread. It was a good dozen years into my marriage before a Navajo friend walked me through it, step by step. She helped me understand the way the dough should feel and how much of it is technique more than recipe. My frybread finally tasted great, but I couldn't get the shape right.

A piece of Navajo frybread is often as big or bigger than your plate. It looks beautifully circular and uniform in thickness. Navajos aren't the only tribe to make frybread. Pretty much every tribe has its own version and I remember a near-riot at a small powwow in Salt Lake City when some Sho-Ban (Shoshone-Bannock) women were selling frybread. Their version is called bannock and it's closer to a sopapilla than Navajo frybread. Things got ugly fast. White chick frybread is my specialty and it can come in all shapes and sizes. Lumpy and bumpy, oblong and even square at times, don't be surprised if you get a piece with a hole (or two or three) in it.

It's not that I CAN'T make it look good. I could use a rolling pin to make it nicer and more uniform, but that just seems like cheating. The great frybread makers are called "slappers" since they slap the dough back and forth from hand to hand. It's a lot like tossing pizza dough. During this process, the dough smooths out and stretches out. Instead of being a slapper, I am a dropper. Gifted with no real coordination, I seem to have no ability to get the dough from one hand to the other without hitting the floor first.

Around this part of the country, we run into Navajo taco or Indian taco booths at every festival or fair. If we don't see a Navajo back there cooking, we usually pass them up. There's a definite difference in taste.  Taco toppings have become more uniform, but on the rez (the reservation), you're more likely to get beans instead of chile with beans. For the frybread on its own, Navajos like it with salt while the non-Natives tend to go for the honey butter.

I was always fine with my White Chick frybread and tacos until today. My baby boy (okay, he's 19 and not a baby anymore) just outdid me. That is some amazing frybread made by real Navajo hands. So beautiful it just brings tears to my eyes.

Things You Can't UnSee

The title of this post came from a TV segment on Web Soup where they show videos that are so disturbing they will haunt you forever. I immediately thought of it as I read an article on how Facebook keeps objectionable content off their website. It seems they rely on low cost labor in other countries to scan for prohibited content. The article talks about how difficult it has been to keep employees because of the types of things they are looking at. I've experienced that and how impossible it is to erase those things from your mind.

When I was pregnant with my first kid, I started working for a press clipping service. My job was to quickly look through magazines and newspapers to find things our clients wanted. For example, a music group might want to receive copies of their concert reviews or a company could be looking for people infringing on their copyrights. Public relations agencies also like to show proof to their clients of where the press releases are running. At one point, I was assigned to what was considered one of the most productive category of publications - entertainment and alternative. This was a big deal since we had quotas to meet. Alternative included a wide variety of publications catering to various cultures - drugs, piercing, tattoos, homosexuality, nudity, etc. If you think you can imagine the things I had to read or the images I saw, multiply it by at least 10.

After a steady diet of these alternative publications during my 40 hour week, my brain was fully stocked with every conceivable obscenity and a lifetime of images that I still can't get out of my head. The worst one didn't even involve nudity, but the fact I couldn't clear my mind of it led me to ask for a different assignment. It was an advertisement for a tattoo and piercing parlor and there were two people standing face to face. Both people were sticking their tongues out and there was a metal ring connecting their pierced tongues together. I kept imagining how painful it would be if somebody tried to swallow or lost their balance. It became something I couldn't unsee.

We all get told at some point in our lives about things we shouldn't look at. Whether it came from your parents, grandparents, teachers, or church, you probably wondered just a little about how dangerous it could actually be. Wouldn't you just forget the ugliness? Seeing it for just a few seconds wouldn't change you, would it? I can tell you that it doesn't just go away. Even the obscenities you hear in music and speech come flooding back to you at the most inopportune moments. It's just not worth it. I try hard to keep control of my thoughts and language and it bugs me to have those things pop back into my head so easily.

You'll never see him the same way again

I'm not going to share any of those ugly images with you, but I can still make my point with some less objectionable, yet unforgettable pictures.

Yep, you'll always notice that from now on.