He couldn’t see me watching him, but I saw him watching me.

I was ecstatic to hear that someone had opened up a coworking place in Utah. It’s called Cowork Utah. Sadly, their only office right now is in Orem, which is a forty-minute drive for me. I know I’d be happier and get more work done at Cowork Utah, but spending an hour and twenty minutes driving to and back from it makes it completely out of the question for me.

I was even MORE tempted when I listened to this Couchcast interview with the founder:

• Interview w/ Jack Hadley :: cowork utah

Ever since that first Hat Factory video about coworking, I have wished for a place in Salt Lake City like it. I even considered opening my own place, but I can’t create everything that I want to exist.

When I talked about it on Twitter, I got this response from Drew Tyler:

Twitter / Drew Tyler: @LauraMoncur Cowork Utah is fantastic! I am creating a video coworking space in Salt Lake or Bountiful in the very near future.

Yes! That would be awesome! Please make it so!

I would have enjoyed the whole evening a lot better if the University of Utah hadn’t struggled so hard to make her lecture an “event.” They spent over an hour showcasing the local musical talent of Red Rock Rondo and presenting Terry Tempest Williams. Each of these artists were good enough to hold their own two hour concert or lecture, but they were crammed before Jane Goodall’s speech with an audience itchy to see Jane.

Worse still, Robert Newman, the Dean of Humanities at the University of Utah, spent TWENTY minutes introducing her! We had all paid our money to see Jane Goodall. WE KNOW WHO SHE IS! We don’t need anyone to spend twenty minutes telling us all over again.

We bought our books and waited in line with our nephew. His mother was adamant that he get a chance to talk to her and pose for a picture, even though it was a school night. I glanced at my watch and it looked like we weren’t going to get out of there until almost midnight based on how long the line was and how quickly it was moving. Fortunately, Jane’s people came through the line and took us to the front so our nephew could get home and get to bed. You can’t imagine how grateful we were.

Despite the minor inconveniences, it was a wonderful night and I felt honored to be there.

Yesterday, Mike and I looked at a house. We have considered moving closer to Matt and Mel and there was a house available two doors down from them. It was a little larger than the house we lived in when we lived in West Jordan. The great room alone was almost as big as our current house.

It was tempting. That great room would hold three times more geeks than our current house can hold. CodeAway could grow and we could still host it in our home. The master bedroom had one of those huge Roman tubs and a separate shower. The basement was almost finished and Mike could have had his choice of four rooms to put his office. That home gym I had to give up when we moved? It was already set up in the unfinished portion of the basement.

Yeah, it was tempting…

At least it SHOULD have been. I miss that house we used to live in, but walking through that house that should have been PERFECT for us, just filled me with anxiety. That 3818 square-foot home was carpeted. All that vacuuming. I had forgotten how much of my time had been relegated to vacuuming that West Jordan house.

That Roman tub? Yeah, it would have been a constant reminder that I need to RELAX, but whenever I did take the time to relax, I would find that the water heater doesn’t have enough hot water to fill the damn thing. I should relax in a lukewarm, half-filled tub? Nah…

All those empty rooms? We need ONE extra room, not three. What happens to rooms that are unneeded? I know I would fill them up with furniture or projects. I’d have another house full of junk that I never really used.

Last night, Mike and I realized that we CAN’T live next to Matt and Mel. We just CAN’T live in a house that big again and ALL the houses in their neighborhood are freakin’ mansions compared to where we live now.

This morning, we woke up to a foot of snow and more falling. I thought of the huge driveway at the house we visited last night and cringed. The driveway at our current house is tiny and it only took me a half hour to shovel it. My desk overlooks the front yard instead of being isolated in a room meant for a child somewhere in a cavernous house. After shoveling the heavy and slushy snow, I am happy to live in this tiny house.

• Sugarhouse Graffiti – a photoset on Flickr

I had no idea that I would be nostalgic from just a few months ago. Back in July of 2006, I filmed a walking video for Starling Fitness. It shows the Sugarhouse area in its prime. You can see a clip here:

Unfortunately, the most exciting parts of this area were most vibrant at night, when it’s MUCH harder to film, so you can’t see the huge crowds of kids hanging out in the area. It was just the early morning crowd that day, but you can see it all in full detail.

I still sell these DVDs, so if you are missing Sugarhouse or feeling nostalgic, you can buy one for five bucks here:

• Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

Two years ago is too short to feel nostalgic about and I feel a little like when KCGL went out of business. It’s like we have lost something cool and eclectic. I’m sure it will regrow somewhere else, but until then, we’re sad.

I think I’ll go take pictures of it tomorrow.

I never even liked Sugarhouse Coffee. They were mean to me almost every time I went there. Their wireless was unreliable and their service was surly. Why am I so sad that they’re gone?

I guess I miss the scene. The place was always packed with pierced youth. They reminded me of myself when I was younger and it felt good to see them all together, talking and learning how to smoke. I didn’t want to participate, but I liked seeing them there.

I wonder where all those kids have gone…

Last month, with all the Halloween fun, I forgot to post about Night Flight Comics’ event, 24 Hour Comics Day. Jason Alderman, one of our CodeAway buddies, participated in the event and we were able to snap a few shots while he was there.

Sponsored by Night Flight in Salt Lake City, Utah. 15 participants strive to create an entire comic in 24 hours. We dropped Jason off at 10 am on 10-20-07 and picked him up at 10 am on 10-21-07. Are no sleep and lots of camaraderie conducive to creating a good comic?

You can see more here:

• 24 Hour Comic Day – a photoset on Flickr

• Night Flight Comics – Events

This is how advertisers make me feel.

• LeggNet’s Digital Capture: Photowalking Salt Lake City – October 6th

He is having it this Saturday 10-06-07 at 5pm. That’s right when CodeAway finishes this week, so I’ll have to book it downtown to catch up with everyone. Sounds like fun, though!

Via: Photowalking comes to Utah | Thom Allen Weblog

I don’t really understand the agenda of Mormons Exposed. Is it a homo-erotic thing? Is it a Mormon thing trying to embrace tolerance? The website isn’t helpful:

“The fact that twelve young returned missionaries are posing shirtless will certainly raise eyebrows, but may also help to sort out some common misconceptions about Mormons. The shock value of what these traditionally conservative young men have helped to create has the power to build a dialogue that encourages people across every belief system and walk of life to defy stereotypes and embrace tolerance.”

Most importantly, the comments on YouTube have drawn ire:

ppldestroyppl: Morons i mean mormon’s are such repressed people, its sad and i’m glad i’m not mormon anymore. WAKE UP PEOPLE

Atemporal: It’s beyond ludicrous to think they’ll break ‘misconceptions’ by playing the sex card. Just pathetic how far they’ll go to sell their little preposterous/outdated/idiotic lie about life.

I’m not Mormon. I was teased and tormented by Mormon children all through my childhood. I have some bitterness, but seeing these comments makes me angry. Don’t mess with my homies, man. Only I get to do that… apparently…

Via: MinJungKim.com – Braindump v 5.0 » MormonSexPosed