When All Is Right With The World

Or should I say- when all is right in my world? 

The last four years have been an extremely difficult time for me with regards to my employment.  Our office saw the rise (and ultimate fall) of an incredibly corrupt elected official that did nothing but help herself to tax payers funds and make a complete mockery of a system that is supposed to be here as an example to the citizens of Salt Lake County. 

Her first item of business when she was elected was to request an incredible pay increase for a job she had never participated in and was never really qualified for.  She ran on the Republican ticket and her BYU education in the hopes that the citizens would be too "church struck" to notice that she was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

She then falsified statistics to secure funding for new attorneys to fight crime.  According to the arresting agencies in the area, they had never seen the same statistical increase that our office had.  The money was used to bring in her inexperienced friends to run divisions in our office from locations that seemed to be anywhere but at the office. 

She fired a former prosecutor with over 25 years of experience. It doesn't take a genius to know that the issue had to do with his audacity to run against her in the election.   Ultimately it was determined that his termination wasn't justified and he was reinstated.  Of course, she retaliated against him, costing the County hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle. It's amazing what pride can do, isn't it?

She instituted the Discovery Fee's that would ultimately require our office to charge private defense attorneys for access to our records.  Never mind that most of the discovery was being provided to our office free of charge by the arresting agency.  She stooped to a new low...all in the name of making a quick buck.

She unjustly spent federal grant money to hire people from her husbands private firm. Does anybody else see a problem with this?  These individuals didn't have to go through the proper hiring procedures and ultimately, more qualified individuals in Salt Lake County missed out on a great employment opportunity. 

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be forced to participate in conduct that you know is unethical?  Do you know how difficult it is to see people being mistreated in a work environment and know there isn't anything you can do to stop it because all of the officials in the office are just as bad as the "top dog?" 

Well, eventually we fought back. And...we won!

Tomorrow, Sim Gill, the newly elected Salt Lake County District Attorney will be taking an oath to protect the citizens of Salt Lake County. I'll be there to witness the event.  For many of us this will be a day of renewal.  A day that we've spent years waiting for.  It will be a time where we can finally let go of the past and all the things we've endured and have been forced to do, and know that as soon as that oath is taken...it all goes away and we can start over. 

Having witnessed first hand what this corruption can do...I personally will do whatever it takes to make sure this past individual never holds office again in the state of Utah.  When she decides to run for Mayor of Salt Lake County, I'll be there to remind the citizens why she wasn't reelected as District Attorney.  When she tries to run for Attorney General, I'll inform the citizens of her misconduct while serving as District Attorney and remind them that she still has yet to prosecute a felony.  If she can't prosecute even the simplest of cases at the local level then clearly, she isn't qualified to run an entire state judicial system.  I'll be there. I will always be there as a reminder of who she really is.  I will never let people forget. 

So, for the first time in a very long, long time...all is right in my world. 

Happy New Year!

I'M THANKFUL FOR...

MY HUSBAND-a house to call home-DORA-COPPER-family-books-twitter-warm clothes in the winter-FRIENDS-bottle caps-LUPUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE-cameras so I can take self portraits-vacations-coworkers that help out when I'm gone-my neighborhood-MY NEIGHBORS-the gospel of Jesus Christ-facebook-blogger-MY FRIENDS CALL ME KATE-green grass in the spring-DR. SHASKEY-music-people that inspire me-recipes-PARENTS-golf-people that write books-picture frames so I can see photos of me with my most adorable husband-the harrison family-the whipple family-the park family-the peterson family-THE BEZZANTS-the mechams-the gifford family-sister stoddard-the tarrants and their new little family-the allen family-the eddy family-the dymocks-THE BURBIDGE FAMILY-the herrera family-the hills-the hull family-the ogaard family-the murdocks-the maughans-the ovard family-sister ovard's mom (I can't remember her name, but she knows I love her because I give her hugs when I see her at church)-MIKE AND MARGIE PAGET-the pearce family-the phillips-sister polanco-the richharts-todd and melissa rogers-the rood family-the sochas-the stephens-veda welker-the twede family-the tuilimu family and little Isaac for calling me "teacher" every sunday-the thulin family and the way they quietly inspire others to do better and to learn more-the wildings-the wilkinsons-ALL 205 OF MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS (NOT BECAUSE I MEASURE MY WORTH BY NUMBERS, BUT BECAUSE I CAN'T BELIEVE I SUCKERED THAT MANY PEOPLE INTO BEING MY FRIEND-baptisms-missionaries-bookmarks-CYPRUS CREDIT UNION FOR NOT MAKING FUN OF ME FOR REFUSING TO USE THE DRIVE THRU TELLER THINGY-my trip to new york-THE NEW YORK TIMES-the internet that makes this post possible-lorin twede for being my friend on facebook-sara at work for always reading my blog posts and leaving me comments (my self worth is measured by the number of comments my posts receive) ELIZABETH WHITE FOR BEING KIND TO ME AND MY BOOK BLOG-joseph finder for not hating my review of Vanished-SISTERS-BROTHERS TOO-my father who has been my protector since birth-julianne connors for making me realize that even drunk drivers need to be forgiven (I'm still not quite over the memory loss part, but eventually I'll forgive you for that)-TURKEY DINNER-pumpkin pie-the right to vote lohra miller out of office-SIM GILL THE NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY-did i mention books-MY 114 FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER-stephanie-vicki-jennifer-jacque-cindy-pam-christine-angela-adrianna-paula martin-leah anderson, a soon to be published author-gabrielle-rhonda-Denis-Ginger-Judge Katie Bernards-Goodman-my Vegas friends-MY MOTHER-my husbands dutch oven cooking skills-the bowden family-the eddingtons-the southworths-the ross family-my wonderful friends from Coos Bay, Oregon-always the parker family members-the entire coos bay ward for raising me right-and everyone and any item I might have forgotten about. 

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  THE OGDEN FAMILY

IS IT OVER?

I had the flu and ended up at the hospital twice for IV fluids.  My favorite peeps were on hand to help with the long task of finding the perfect vein.  They are by far the best IV installers I've ever met.  Thanks Peggy and Troy. YOU ROCK!

On day three of the flu a box arrived in the mail.  It was full of 9 beautiful books.  Thanks Elizabeth for sending me some great reads.  I can't wait to dive into The Breach by Patrick Lee.  It was recommended to me by his agent, Janet Reid.  Thanks to you, it is now one book I don't have to purchase.  YEAH ME! Or, should I say....YEAH ELIZABETH!

On day four I received another package.  It contained a book.  I won The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova from Back Bay Books.  Thanks Back Bay Books for being kind enough to give away books without me having to guess what books you have on your shelf.  NOTE:  I have a tendency to remember books by author and title, not publishing company. If you want to announce that you are giving away free books to anyone who would like one, DON'T make me play guessing games with you in order to get a damn book.  I don't know what "leftovers" you're trying to give away on that bookshelf of yours.  Just take my name when I respond and send me a damn book if you want to give them away.  Again, thanks Back Bay Books for The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova.

On day two or three of the dreaded flu, my hubby brought me home a box of my favorite candy.  BOTTLE CAPS!  (I'm perfectly aware that in computer world, all caps equals shouting.  I use all caps to show my enthusiasm.  Sorry if this offends.)  BOTTLE CAPS!  I love Bottle Caps.  That WONKA dude is one smart guy.  Did you know you can like WONKA and Bottle Caps on Facebook?  You can, and I did today.  I highly recommend you do the same!  BOTTLE CAPS RULE!

And that ends my little adventure this week.  I hope yours was as equally entertaining.  Well, minus the flu part and the hospital stuff. 

Much love- 

 Sabrina Ogden

Did I Really Particpate In A Facebook WAR?

Is it my fault some "friend" on Facebook left me a stupid comment?  I mean really, if you're going to discuss politics with me on Facebook you might want to make sure you actually know what it is you're saying.  Let's get a few things straight...

The District Attorney's Office does not have a voice in the House or the Senate, so voting for a Republican for District Attorney because you want the "GOP to win," really doesn't make much sense to me.  In fact, suggesting that it matters in any way does nothing but show your lack of understanding regarding local politics. 

I can understand that my response to your comment may have caused some undue...anger.  I mean, after all I did point out quite clearly that you "know crap about politics."  At that point, being you were on MY profile page, it would have been best to just 1) admit you made a mistake, and 2) get off my profile page and unfriend me if you felt it was necessary.  Unfortunately, you chose neither options.  Well, wait you did make a choice.  You chose to unfriend me, which was totally fine with me.  But your mistake was continuing to feed my profile page with derogatory remarks about my excitement for the District Attorney race as well as leave ridiculous rants about "THE MAN" I had been working so hard campaigning for.  Worse, you unfriended me before leaving the comments all  under the wrongful assumption that I would not know the comments were coming from you.  NEWSFLASH:  I have all the e-mail notifications on both my home computer and my Droid.  I tried repeatedly to tell you that I knew it was you...remember the initials?  That was for you.  Seriously, how could you not know that?

I guess if I had any regrets it would be that I engaged in the conduct at all.  I could have stopped it from the beginning if I had just deleted your comment.  All it would have taken was one little push of my finger on my Droid.  Or better yet, you could have just read my blog post about My Life As A Chameleon.  If you had done that to start with you never would have thought to engage me.  I think I make it pretty clear in that post that I have a tendency to spit fire on occasion.  This, was one of those times.  I spent close to thirty minutes removing the comments from my profile when I returned home from one of the most important wins in my life.  When I went to bed I was starting to feel remorse.  But, regardless, I'm not apologetic for the swearing, nor am I apologetic for leaving a note asking you to "refrain from leaving any further comments on my profile page."  Just so you know, I did the last one on purpose because I knew it would be circling around the HOME page to all of our mutual friends; to which there are many. 

In the end, I appreciate all the support that flooded my message box on Facebook.  It was nice to know so many "friends"  understood my "outburst" and were willing to share some stories of similar encounters with these people.  However, next time- I plan to take the high road and not even engage.  Some things just aren't worth my time.  Facebook Wars are one of them. 

My Life As A Chameleon...A True Story

[Some chameleon species are able to change their skin colours. Different chameleon species are able to change different colours which can include pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown, light blue, yellow, turquoise and purple. Some varieties of chameleon - such as the Smith's dwarf chameleon - use their colour-changing ability to blend in with their surroundings, as an effective form of camouflage.]

A few years ago I was sitting at a friends house having dinner and watching that supposed news show with Bill O'Reilly on the tube.  Personally, I'm not much of a fan.   It isn't that he doesn't have useful information, it's just that there are times when his personal opinions take center stage over the actual facts of a particular subject, and instead of being useful, it becomes a delusional verbal mess.  The discussion that night was about Nancy Pelosi...don't like her much either, but that doesn't mean she doesn't do some good now and again.  She has a very impressive resume.  If my memory serves me correctly it was just after she became Speaker of the House and she had just taken the government plane to some foreign country to meet with some dignitary without the president's approval.  There was a heated debate between the television and the people in the room where I just happened to be eating that night.  I really didn't say much and was hoping to avoid participation by just sitting quietly and enjoying my meal.  Unfortunately, my quietness made me noticeable, and I was asked for my opinion.  I paused, briefly, and then did what I had been always known to do.  I tried to appease both sides by finding common ground which was clearly not what they wanted.  My very good friend looked at me in total disgust, shook his head, and said with the most hurtful tone, "you're such a chameleon!"  Actually, it was more like, "YOU'RE SUCH A CHAMELEON!!!"

I felt my face turning red, and without any warning my eyes started to tear just like they used to do when I was a kid suffering from total humiliation.  I didn't have to ask him what he meant.  I knew.  The worst part was that he was right.  I was a chameleon.  I had been most of my life.  My childhood caused me to change and adapt on a regular basis.  There was one entire year where I changed and adapted minute by minute just to survive.  If you knew what I endured, you wouldn't be surprised that I managed to carry my chameleon ways with me into adulthood.  I'm positive the comment was meant as an insult, but in all honesty, I took it as a compliment.  It meant I did well growing up and that I had learned to survive.  I understood the point my friend was trying to make and I truly took it to heart.  After much soul searching, I decided he was right.  I needed to shed my chameleon ways and stand up for what I believe.  It was a humiliating time for me, but I do, however, thank him for pointing it out so...effectively. 

After taking a long hard look at myself  I noticed that the only time as an adult that I turn on my chameleon powers is when politics is involved.  I clam up. It's not because I don't have an opinion, it's because my opinion in politics doesn't mesh with the majority that I surround myself with.  I didn't have a problem going up against Sheriff Kennard over the time card fraud.  They were falsifying time cards and signatures to avoid payment and comp time for employees all while enforcing mandatory overtime hours.  Worse, this wasn't their first offense. It was difficult to do, but I won in the end.  I made a difference in not only my life, but in the life of the other employees that I worked with.  I had to seek other employment when it was over, but it was so worth it. Likewise, last year when circumstance presented themselves and information that I had was needed in a very unfortunate incident...I came forward.  I wasn't silent.  In fact, I became even louder when I was threatened for doing what was right. I believe my exact words were, "You better be above reproach before you come after someone like me.  I'm not afraid to fight back, and I never run scared!" It's a true story, and I consider silencing that individual as one of my greatest moments.  See, I'm not always a chameleon.  It's just when politics are involved. 

Well...not anymore!  Me loud!  Very loud! 

I outed myself on Emily Henderson's blog...I'm a Democrat! I know, I know, total shock and surprise, hugh?  You'd never guess by my conservative demeanor, right?  Truth be told, with embarrassment, I only registered as a Republican because I thought it was something we Mormons did. But, you have to know that at the time I registered I had only been a member of this religion for two years. The older I became the more aware I was about my opposing viewpoints on many, many subjects.  Well, I'm in the process of changing my status and it's the greatest feeling in the world.    For the first time in my life I feel free.  Is that even the right word to use?  I don't know if it is or not, I just know that I feel so much better not having to hide myself in a sea of conservatism.  I'm here, a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and a very proud Democrat.  I'm also not a fan of Rush Limbaugh, and it doesn't matter how much the members of my religion love the guy- Glenn Beck does nothing for me.  Wow - What a load off my chest!

Where was I?  Ah, that's right...even though my chameleon ways may surface from time to time, I've discovered that underneath my chameleon skin is a dragon.  Yes, "me speaks loud when told to shut it!"  Consider this a warning - Never mistake my kindness for ignorance.  You threaten me or those I care about and this little colour changin' chameleon will spit some very hot fire, and you really don't want to be on the receiving end of my wrath.  It might not be deadly, but it will burn!  Promise.

NEW YORK/BALTIMORE - DAY FIVE

Well, here we are on the last day of our perfect vacation planned around an amazing man with the most beautiful blue eyes I have finally been able to see in person.  Mr Child, you sir, are truly an incredible man.  I imagined what a book signing with you would be like after reading several of your blog posts found on the Lee Child website. You really do appreciate your readers, which is why I couldn't wait to meet you.  I thank you for allowing me the privilege of meeting you and securing your most wonderful signature in four recently purchased books. As for the book signed for Katherine, the woman I have never met...well, I have a taker already.  Thank goodness, the person I originally bought the book for can use it!

While sitting at LGA this morning I grew weepy and actually had to blow my nose more than once.  Leaving New York proved difficult for me.  It is an amazing city and I really wish I had the opportunity to live there.  Richard says no plans to move are in the works and to get the thought out of my head.  One thing I will miss the most...passing by The New York Times every morning and every night as we traveled to and from our hotel.

After landing in Baltimore we had a wonderful seafood lunch at some restaurant at the airport.  Then we did nothing but sit.  I read The Great Bridge by David McCullough and Richard played games on his phone.  Then I had an unfortunate run in with a little boy in the restroom.  He kept watching me pee through the crack in the door.  To my surprise, he leaned so hard into the door that it burst open, causing me to push it closed with my foot, pinching the poor boys fingers.  He left me alone after that, but I have to say, honestly, I felt kind of bad. He cried for quite awhile afterwards.  I'm hoping he learned his lesson.  In the end, I became pee shy and I'm afraid I'm going to be forced to use the restroom on the plane. 

Things I loved most and actually shed tears over because I'm a goof:

Meeting Lee Child.  Like that wasn't a given.
Being part of the hustle and bustle of New York City.
Walking, walking, and walking the streets of New York City.
Riding the Subway...the people, the music, the tile work.
Walking by The New York Times.  I really do want to work there.
Blogging from my location.  This has been cool.  By the way, my blogging is coming to you from 35,999 feet above the ground.  I have 4 hours and 3 minutes left to this flight.

Another weepy moment:

I recently wrote a blog post entitled A Life With No Mother.  One difficult part of my family life has not been hearing stories about my mother from my siblings.  It's too difficult to speak of her without getting emotional.  While on this trip, I received a personal message from a cousin that I haven't seen since I was very little.  She shared a beautiful story with me about my mother.  It was very unexpected and very much appreciated.  I was happy to read that she was indeed the mother I always imagined her to be.  Thank you cousin for sharing this with me.

Most comical moment:

Realizing I had Lee Child sign a book for a woman with a name I don't know.  Who is Katherine?  I was in the middle of a personal tweet to the intended twitter friend when I realized my mistake.  Thankfully, my twitter friend can actually use the book as a Christmas present.  Just thinking about my error makes me giggle enough to cry.  I'm just glad it worked out in the end.

Well, this me signing off.  I should be posting another post in the near future.  I'm working on the title, but it's something about me being a lizard...or something close to it.  It's starting to get a tad bit bumpy so I better post this before I lose it all.  Thanks for keeping updated on my incredible New York/Lee Child vacation.  I'm so loving that Jack Reacher...and David Trevellyan, Scott Finn, as well as the newest love of my life, Nick Heller.  I'm really liking that Nick guy.

Damn it...a kid just pooped their pants!

NEW YORK - DAY FOUR

Today was the windiest and coldest freaking day of my life! Well, that actually isn't true.  My first winter in Rexburg, Idaho where I flunked out of my first year in college because I was to busy visiting my friends in Utah had the windiest and coldest freaking day of my life.  It was 60 below zero...I fainted on my way to class because it was too freaking cold to breathe.  Today was kind of like that, but without the snow, and the chill factor was probably close to 30 degrees in the wind while walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Even so, it was dang cold out.  So cold Richard agreed that I needed a cute scarf to go with my outfit and later a hat, too.  I probably have head lice now because I bought the hat from one of those street vendors and I'm quite positive close to a thousand other people have tried on the same one before I came along (the poor sucker that I am) and bought the darn thing.  Oh well.  The hat kept my lopsided ears warm and helped me snag some great self photos of myself.  For an example, you can check out my Facebook picture, or you can just keep reading this blog post and see the photo at the end.  I'm rocking some pretty decent Reacher Worthy eyes in this photo!!!  And just in case your thinking things are different now that I've finally met Lee Child, you should know that my life will be forever centered around my Reacher Worthiness!

Enough of that...we headed out early today to check out a couple of museums.  We went to the Guggenheim and then headed down the street to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Both places provided us with unlimited amounts of knowledge, if we were really paying attention, and most importantly, warmth.  I have to admit, by day four of our little adventure, it became really clear that my efforts to be more Reacher Worthy by doubling my workouts for this trip didn't help me much.  I'm sore. Really, really, really sore!  But sore is good.  New York has helped me to firm up my bottom and strengthen my leg muscles, too. I can't help but be truly appreciative of New York City for their willingness to build a city that allows people to exercise.  I'm feeling much healthier already and loving the extra five pounds I've dropped from my butt this week.  Thanks!

Other adventures led us to the Brooklyn Bridge where I scored some great pictures while freezing my a** off.  It was totally worth it and could have been much worse had I not stopped to purchase that fake cashmere scarf and lice infested hat from that lovely street vendor on Fifth Avenue.  I'm so thankful for these people that stand in the cold all day long just waiting for people like me to come along.  I almost snagged a great purse this evening, but apparently I had made a promise to Richard that I wouldn't buy any purses while in New York.  I must have been feeling extra guilty about spending so much money to plan a vacation around Lee Child.  I have to say, Richard was impressed with the lecture at Barnes & Noble.  This means that he in one step closer to accepting my new found passion for reading and personally meeting and thanking every author that I feel has made my life better.  I also think coming to New York proved useful in that Richard has grown fond of this great city and has even mentioned coming back. 

We ended at Battery Park for another walk through and then headed off to grab some dinner from Carnegie Deli.  We are currently sitting in our hotel room trying to figure out how we are supposed to eat ten pounds of meat between the two of us.  Seriously, if you want to suggest to us a place to eat, please give us instructions  on how to avoid butchering an entire cow for the occasion.  I'm starting to feel guilty about it.  The cheesecake, however, was delicious.  Here's to us going to bed early and packing our stuff up all while trying not to burst into tears over leaving New York.  And just in case your interested, my head has done nothing but itch ever since I suggested the head lice thing.  I truly was kidding around, but now, I'm kind of getting worried.