I would just like to take a moment to thank Sher for shouting out Daylight Savings.  I would have forgotten otherwise.  And had I forgotten, I would not have adequately been able to savor the satisfaction of waking up early (read: 9am after the time change) and still feeling well-rested.  

And the original...

So.  Utah. 

I've said many times that I love southern Utah (although maybe I haven't said it to you in particular).  Southern Utah is home to so many National Parks, and I love National Parks.  Zion is gorgeous and the landscape in general begs you to go biking, running, hiking, climbing, rafting..
Northern Utah?  Not so much.  Skiing is supposed to be great there.  I wouldn't know; though I brought the first snowfall of the season with me, it wasn't enough to snowboard in.  Oh god how I miss snowboarding.  :-(  :-(  :-(  

I arrived in SLC in the afternoon, checked in to the hotel and hopped the trolley to Temple Square where I met my coworker.  (Did you know SLC has a pretty decent light rail system?  I guess that's one way to win yourself the job of hosting the Winter Olympics.  On a side note, Rice-Eccles stadium hosted the opening ceremonies for those Olympic Games.  I thought it would be bigger.)

Rice-Eccles Stadium

I got to Temple Square in time to see the Mormon Tabernacle choir rehearse in the conference hall WHICH IS HUGE.  It seats 21,000 people. 

Mormon Tabernacle choir rehearsal

My coworker, having arrived in SLC earlier in the day, was able to spend the day in Temple Square, cavorting with the Mormons.  Oddly enough, our trip was timed perfectly with the Mormon General Conference so there were even more Mormons there than usual.  (Data manager and SLC native speaking to me at dinner: "People think SLC is totally full of Mormons.  That's such a misconception.  There aren't even that many anymore.  It's only, like, 50% of the population.")

I was able to see a little bit of Temple Square during my trip, including a tour of Brigham Young's house.  Heavily stressed was the fact that Mormons no longer practice plural marriage, and those who continue the practice are kicked out.  According to the tour guide, the practice of plural marriage was ended in the late 1800s because "that prophecy has been fulfilled."  To further gloss over the plural marriage thing, tourists are not allowed inside of The Lion House, which is the separate house Brigham Young built to house his extra wives (right next door to his own house).

Temple Square

  

SLC

Brigham Young House

On my tour was an annoying woodworking freak who insisted on interrupting the tour guide every second to ask, "Who built that headboard?  Who built that table?  Who built this?"  Standing next to an ornate bookcase in one of the parlors, he asked who built it and was answered that Brigham Young himself built it.  So then he proceeded to knock his fists all over it and testing the joints and getting his stupid hands all over it. 

Funny things about Salt Lake City:  It's in a "near beer" state, so hooray for all of the lightweights in the blogosphere!  Also, at crosswalks unmitigated by a stoplight they have these little tin cans full of reflective flags with instructions for crossing the street.

Instructions

Park City, home of the Sundance Film Festival.

Park City

Midway, UT.  Home of the Homestead Crater.  Also, home of the Scarecrow Conference.

Scarecrow Convention. Really.

Homestead Crater entrance

The crater is the real deal.  There is no pampering here.  The door opens up into a cave.  The changing rooms are just 3 curtains hooked into the rock wall.  The changing rooms double as showers, without any temperature controls.  There's no drain for the shower water.    It feels like you are entering into some kind of secret hideaway.  The water is warm and clear as long as the divers aren't stirring up silt from the bottom.  Truthfully, it was kind of scary to look down because that's when I realized just how fucking deep it is (65 feet).  And it's not like a swimming pool where you can hang on to the side edge of the pool; it's just scraggy rock face.  Luckily, they make everyone wear a snorkeling vest or life jacket.  It felt otherworldly and I really needed that.  But you have to be ok with swimming in mineral water.  They've also found pioneering relics at the bottom of the crater like old timey guns.

A blurry pic:

blurriness inside of the crater

crater

Ok, so "dream" is probably not an accurate word.  "Fantasize" is more like it.  Like today I have been fantasizing that MAK (the boss above my boss) would get squished by a giant meatball.  Or get trounced in a Mexican wrestling match, her ugly face masked.

There are other things that are pissing me off:  The New York State Department of Health making me get the flu vaccine or else I'll get fired.  My busted salivary gland acting up again, which means I will have to have minor surgery again.  A few other people asking me for stuff and everyone needing it "now," as though I don't have other things to do.  And these are people I don't even work for!  (I didn't respond to them.)

But I'm not alone.  A coworker called me to complain.  "Leanne emailed me 3 times within 2 minutes!"  I wasn't even sure if that was physically possible.

There is one bright spot:  Salt Lake City.  I wasn't very excited about this trip last week.  The lady who booked travel is really strange and I ended up with a redeye back to NYC on Saturday night even though the meeting ends Friday afternoon.  Anyway, I was talking to someone this week who recommended I visit Park City, which led me to do some research on the area and I discovered a naturally formed hollow rock dome with a hot spring inside.  The water is about 90 degrees F all year long and if you're lucky you can watch snow fall through the hole at the top of rock dome while lounging in your swimsuit. 

Crater

"05:23:36: I love downtown NYC. All these young people being themselves in exactly the same way."

- JM (via tryjm.blogspot.com via twitter)

Coming out of my cave slowly.  This may have something to do with the fact that the sutures have dissolved/fallen out of my mouth with the healing process.  Yes, there is a tiny scar.  My mouth still feels weird.  I have a suspicion there's another little bump near the surgery site.  I'll have the doc look at it on Friday.  If it is another bump, guess what, I'll need to have another excision.  Which means more stitches.  Biopsy results next Friday.  Fingers are crossed.

In other news, my work has switched from paying me monthly to paying me semi-monthly, which is totally screwing up how I pay my bills.  For example, my rent check bounced for this month because they cashed it before the 15th, when the full amount would be in my bank account.  Great.  I had to scramble and transfer funds from my california bank to my new york bank (I refuse to give up my awesome california bank).  Monday morning I go to my new york bank for a cashier's check and hopefully avoid being fined $1100 for being late on rent.  Fucking fantastic.

Lastly, there was a press conference in front of my building last Sunday.  And then there was a few days of quiet.  I was a little concerned that the authorities had stopped caring.  But then I saw some officers near my work (a solid 20 blocks away but still on the border of the rapist's target neighborhood) handing out fliers.  That was encouraging.

In less pressing news, Pela has broken up.  Boo.

Having not slept at all on Monday night, I fell asleep on my couch early on Tuesday.  And then I woke in the middle of the night by a loud noise coming from the street.  I opened my window and stuck my head out to see the baddest ass police helicopter I've ever seen hovering just above my building.  I didn't know the local cops had helicopters that big.  I called Sher and told her I felt like I was in a Batman movie.  The helicopter was hovering so low!  All of the trees were swinging like crazy from the force of the rotors and I could see the dust on the street being pushed in the direction of helicopter movement.  The cops could see me in my window staring at them and their searchlight brushed past my window twice.  It was weird.  The helicopter hovered back and forth for at least half an hour.  About another half hour after it flew away I hung up with Sher and went to sleep.  Then woke a little later and I could still hear the helicopter in the distance.   

So I mentioned in the last post about the concern over the fact that the rapist entered the victim's apartment.  I woke this morning to a news report on nbc that said this last event shows that the attacker has gotten bolder: he entered the victim's apartment via fire escape window.  In light of this information, last night's helicopter patrol made a lot of sense.

NBC's local news website is an absolute joke but I found an even better video from the CW's website.  Why NBC has to be a bunch of pandering assholes is beyond me.  Ok, it's not beyond me.  If you've ever looked your local nbc affiliate's website over the past few years you'd know that their content was the same as abc's and cbs's websites: it was decidedly unsexy but it had all of their local news stories on it.  New nbc websites have sacrificed news for sleek entertainment.  Instead of news, their websites focus only fun graphics and "mood" menu that is quasi-twitter, quasi-facebook-status.  It's a damn shame.

But I digress.

From ABC local news:

UPPER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- Police are searching for evidence in a Manhattan neighborhood after a woman was attacked in her own apartment. She says the suspect forced her to have sex with him at knifepoint.

It happened near St. Nicholas Avenue and West 147th Street.

The latest rape has brought out a flood of police activity in the area. Authorities officially linked the incident to three others that occurred in the same vicinity.

Police officers are working the neighborhood after the incident, which occurred around 1 a.m. Monday.

The report comes on the heels of three other sexual assaults in the Morningside Heights and Hamiliton Heights areas. The string of incidents has many residents on edge.

Police released video of the suspect wanted in connection with the series of sexual assaults over the last month. They also put out a sketch of the suspect, who they now believe is responsible for this incident, as well. He is described as a black male around 30, standing roughly 5-foot-5 and weighing 150 pounds.

After the rape Monday morning, a storeowner says detectives spent considerable time looking at the video tape from several cameras in his store in the hopes of spotting a suspect and trying to determine if the latest rape could be part of the pattern.

At a nearby subway station, police officers were handing out a wanted poster, which offers a $12,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

From CBS local News:

Serial Rapist Strikes Again In Manhattan

Suspect Believed To Be Behind 4 Attacks Since Aug. 1; Police Ratchet Up Awareness In Upper Part Of Borough

Young, old … it seems no one is safe from the creep preying on women in upper Manhattan.

Police officers were out in force in Hamilton Heights on Tuesday night, pressing suspect posters into scared hand after scared hand.

They urged residents to be very careful after a serial rapist struck in upper Manhattan on Monday night, the fourth time he's hit the area since Aug. 1. He apparently forced his way into a 28-year-old woman's apartment at St. Nicholas Avenue and 147th Street, raping her at knifepoint before robbing her.

"Detectives come down and told me it was rape," resident Vivian Brooks said.

Brooks was just a floor away and is now feeling one floor too close.

"It's rough and sad and I'm praying that they catch him soon," Brooks said.

The suspect has already been caught on camera – a quick glimpse captured on surveillance camera – in the hallway and out of the elevator after raping a 23-year-old on Aug. 10 inside a building at West 144th Street and Convent Avenue.

Through DNA the NYPD has connected the same suspect to a series of rapes in Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights since the beginning of August.

"It's just a bad situation, and I hope they do catch him soon 'cause they've got good enough pictures," resident Lynee Jordan said.

Police are still sorting through cameras from nearby stores, hoping even better pictures were recorded.

Most of the cameras in one nearby store do face the inside of the building in question. But, if you look up at the monitor you can see that one of the cameras does face towards the door. And, from that camera you do have a pretty good idea what's happening on the sidewalk. However, police still have no idea whether that camera did, in fact, catch the suspect.

Everyone seems to be worried, like 91-year-old Ruth Young. One of the rape victims was 69; another was 59.

"I think it's terrible. I hope they catch him. I really do," Young said.

On Tuesday night all she could do was sit close to the sketch and keep an eye on the street.

Residents have been urged to dial 9-1-1 if they see anything strange. And hope, until the suspect is apprehended, that police keep handing out help.

The suspect is described as a black male in his thirties, about 5-foot-9 to 6-feet tall, wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers with red stripes on the sole.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect or these cases is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls are strictly confidential.

CBS 2 HD's Ross Palombo contributed to this report

From NY1:

Police have linked a sex assault from Labor Day morning to a string of attacks in Upper Manhattan.

The latest incident happened at West 147th Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue.

Police say a 28-year-old woman told them she was assaulted around 1 a.m. Monday after the suspect came into her apartment and threatened her with a knife.

They say he then took off with cash and other items.

Police are handing out flyers in Harlem that feature a sketch and two photos of the suspect, to try to hunt the assaulter who has hit four times since August 1.

All the associated attacks happened in the early morning hours.

There is a $12,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

"I feel terrible. I'm just hoping he doesn't come to me," said resident Edna Kirk. "I feel awful bad about this and I hope they hurry up and catch this guy."

Authorities released two weeks ago a surveillance photo of the suspect, seen above. He is described as 5-feet-5-inches tall and around 150 pounds.

Anyone with information on the suspect should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

And from Fox News New York (they were kind enough not to show my actual building):

All victims were white or asian????

Uptown Manhattan Rapist
Strikes Again

Updated: Wednesday, 09 Sep 2009, 12:34 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 09 Sep 2009, 12:30 AM EDT

• MYFOX NEW YORK STAFF

MYFOXNY.COM - The New York Police Department says that a rapist who has been robbing and attacking women in neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan has struck again, this time forcing his way into a woman's apartment.

The 28-year-old woman says the man broke into her home around 1 a.m., raped her at knifepoint, and then robbed her.

Police describe the man as black, in his 30s, with a medium build, about 5'9" to 6'. During one of the attacks, he was wearing black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers with red stripes on the sole.

NYPD BLOTTER

Incident #1: Saturday, August 1, 2009, 2:45 a.m., in the vicinity of West 148 Street and Broadway, the suspect grabbed the victim, F/W/59, dragged her into an alleyway where he sexually assaulted her and robbed her at knifepoint.

Incident #2: Monday, August 10, 2009, 1:55 a.m., in the vicinity of West 144 Street and Convent Avenue, the suspect followed the victim, F/W/23, into an elevator where he sexually assaulted her and robbed her.

Incident #3: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 4 a.m., in the vicinity of West 158 Street and Riverside Drive, the suspect followed the victim, F/W/69, into an elevator of a residential building where he raped and robbed her.

Incident #4: Monday, September 7, 2009, 1 a.m., in the vicinity of West 147 Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue, the victim, F/A/28, says the attack happened in her place of residence after the suspect entered the apartment and threatened the victim with a knife. After the assault the suspect fled with USC and personal property.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers Web site at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

Dude!  All were white except this latest one who was Asian.  There's, like, only two Asian girls in the whole neighborhood and I'm one of them!  This latest attack concerns me, not just because it happened in my building, but because the suspect entered the victim's apartment.  About a year or two ago a woman was raped, sodomized, had bleach poured in her eyes, scalded with hot water, forced to eat the contents of her medicine cabinet, and tied to a bed while her apartment was set on fire.  Her attacker followed her home on a Friday night, pushed his way into her apartment, and tortured her all weekend and then left her in the burning apartment.  At least if the attack happens in a semi-public space, the attacker has to leave after a short amount of time.  When cornered in your own apartment it's a different story.

How are you spending this Labor Day? Bonus points if you show us pictures.

I'm spending my Labor Day shopping for legal items that can be used as weapons.  Here's a picture, where're my bonus points and can they be exchanged for said security items?

E2DLED_large

It shoots an intense beam of light (read: blinding) and the little "teeth" at the end can be used to jab an attacker.  A coworker also told me about a super heavy (weight-wise) marker that can be jabbed into someone's eyeball if necessary. 

There's a serial rapist who has raped 3 women in my neighborhood over the past month.  His "WANTED" poster has been in my bodega, in my elevator, in my lobby for the past month.  About an hour ago the rapist struck again.  In my building.