Temple Geckos - Orlando

If you look closely on this wall, you will see some little creatures. Some very cute little creatures.

Luckily, I was able to get a little closer to one of them before he scampered away. These things are all over the place in Orlando, but not so prevelant as at the Orlando Temple.

Who would have thought that geckos would be so smart to find a beautiful living space at the temple?

Plus, even more exciting than geckos in general is the fact that I came across the GEICO gecko right there on the grounds.

I asked him if I could save 15% in 10 minutes on my car insurance and then realized that I already use his service and so he couldn't help me much.

Seriously, I half expected the little green friend to talk back to me. Such a cute little fellow.

Last, but not least, here's the actual temple. The last time I visited the Orlando Temple was in 2002 with a few friends, but we didn't take the time to go inside. This time I did and was grateful for the break from all the "typical" Orlando stuff and from the conference I was attending. Such a beautiful place and peaceful grounds. I went there twice and both times I had the entire grounds to myself. That happens frequently to me - being the only person actually walking the grounds.

But, it was nice. Just me, the geckos, water fountains, and reflection time.

Festival of Lights and Stuff

We went to Harrison's house for a little festive party and then on up to the Washington, DC temple vistor center for a performance tonight. Got me in the holiday spirit!

 
 
 

Surrender Dorothy

This week I was speaking with one of my co-workers that commutes from Maryland into Virginia everyday. We started talking about the "Mormon Temple" because I was telling him I had gone up that way last week.

He said that there was a "Surrender Dorothy" graffiti written in huge letters for many years on an overpass prior to driving toward the temple. I had never heard of this before, but apparently it was quite the popular item in Maryland, especially since they tried to cover it with a different color paint to hide the lettering.

Anyway, I jokingly said I would "google it" to find out more info.

Much to my surprise (I don't know why), there is actually a wiki entry about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_Dorothy . Even more surprising, it says that "all the Mormons" have talked about it and it shows up in our newsletters? I had no idea I should be receiving a newsletter let alone the "fact" that this is a supposed common entry in the newsletter.

Ah, the joys of web 2.0. Actually, and I will have to look into this more, wikipedia is rapidly becoming more reliable than the encyclopedia contrary to public opinion.

The wisdom of the crowds comes into play here I guess. I have been in conferences where they have entered bogus information into it at the beginning of the session and by the end it's been corrected by an anonymous expert/person surfing the internet.

Well, more about Dorothy later. I'm late for a meeting that I didn't want to attend anyway.

Washington, DC Temple

Beautiful DC temple right before the thunderstorm

I was able to visit the Washington, DC temple this evening. It's actually in Kensington, Maryland. I left right as a massive thunderstorm came rolling in from Northern Virginia. It looks amazing with grey clouds behind it, especially with those lights that make it almost surreal in the evening. It's too bad I couldn't have taken a picture as you come toward it on the beltway, but I wasn't going that direction.

On a more pleasant day...

Christmas Moments - 2008

Finally, I've downloaded all the videos and pictures from my excursions around the midwest and east over Christmas. I drove to all locations and so I'm still recovering. Although flying can be a great option, sometimes it's nice to travel with large bags, a personal pillow and blanket and a few extra computers. This way it really does feel like home away from my little home.

In Columbus Ohio I was able to stop at the temple and see my parents. I ended up having the rare opportunity of vacuming since the volunteers hadn't shown up. Here they are sneaking in...I mean...locking it up for the night.

They are still getting use to the interesting combination of leadership and cleaning responsibilities.

I spent Christmas with my parents and Brett. Very small, but enjoyable.

My parents bought a creche type of statue for the christmas holiday. It was quite beautiful, but then we dropped into a TJMAX, or similiar store, and they discovered multiple wise men hidden in the holiday aisles.

So, long story short...we walked out with three wise men and...the 4th wise man. You kind of had to be there to appreciate all this since my parents are typically practical, but somehow got caught up in a little flashy material.

In fact, driving through part of downtown Indianapolis I caught my mom glancing at a gold angel on some random front porch. Hopefully this is a temporary issue and they will soon recover.