Monday, April 26, 2010
I'm generally not one for Facebook chat. Most of the time, unless it's 1:26 in the morning, I don't feel like going to bed, and have nothing better to do, I prefer to check my Facebook and then get off.
However, today my cousin started chatting with me, and she's always fun to talk to. I've been out of town for several weeks, so I haven't had the opportunity to go over for popcorn and Extreme Home Makeover in a while. Luckily for me, my other cousin had just gotten in town, and she was going over for dinner tonight, so I got an invite too. Actually, I believe I was told I had to come over of my aunt would never forgive me, but still - an invite nonetheless. I grateful that I have family in town, and that occasionally, they 'force' me to come over.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Pictures
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Yesterday, I said that I would include pictures of my trip at some later date. Well, this is the later date. (I apologize if you're tired of hearing about my vacation, but I'm just so happy about it, I can't help going on and on. I promise I'll try to cut back on my giddiness after this post.) Anyways, this post is going to be mainly pictures, because a picture is worth a thousand words, right? And this way, I don't have to come up with clever writing. Win-win, in my book. Here goes.
Sleeping Beauty's castle. Is there any more classic Disney image than a fairytale palace?
Buzz Lightyear. To infinity, and beyond! (Don't judge - you're never too old for Disney.)
I personally think we're adorable jailbirds.
She's so cool, and not just because she helped planned the trip. That just made her extra cool.
We're SO ridiculously attractive, it blows my mind.
Goofy's house! We're practically best friends.
See? He loves us.
Luckiest girl ever? I think so. So good, it's almost like a fairytale.
And the beach. Which was hard to find, but so worth it in the end.
Where would we be without the obligatory sand-covered feet picture? Besides, I know Skyler just loves this one. So I had to include it.
There you have it - a picture post to accompany the monster word post of yesterday. So now you can read about my trip, and then go see it too! I think I now have thoroughly expressed all my feelings about it, so maybe tomorrow I'll go back to normal posts. But no promises. I just loved it that much. Especially my fellow vacationers; I couldn't have asked for better. And I'm grateful for pictures, so that I can share my joy with anyone who'd care to see it.
Yesterday, I said that I would include pictures of my trip at some later date. Well, this is the later date. (I apologize if you're tired of hearing about my vacation, but I'm just so happy about it, I can't help going on and on. I promise I'll try to cut back on my giddiness after this post.) Anyways, this post is going to be mainly pictures, because a picture is worth a thousand words, right? And this way, I don't have to come up with clever writing. Win-win, in my book. Here goes.
Sleeping Beauty's castle. Is there any more classic Disney image than a fairytale palace?
Buzz Lightyear. To infinity, and beyond! (Don't judge - you're never too old for Disney.)
I personally think we're adorable jailbirds.
She's so cool, and not just because she helped planned the trip. That just made her extra cool.
We're SO ridiculously attractive, it blows my mind.
Goofy's house! We're practically best friends.
See? He loves us.
Luckiest girl ever? I think so. So good, it's almost like a fairytale.
And the beach. Which was hard to find, but so worth it in the end.
Where would we be without the obligatory sand-covered feet picture? Besides, I know Skyler just loves this one. So I had to include it.
There you have it - a picture post to accompany the monster word post of yesterday. So now you can read about my trip, and then go see it too! I think I now have thoroughly expressed all my feelings about it, so maybe tomorrow I'll go back to normal posts. But no promises. I just loved it that much. Especially my fellow vacationers; I couldn't have asked for better. And I'm grateful for pictures, so that I can share my joy with anyone who'd care to see it.
The Word Fantastic
Saturday, April 24, 2010
This trip started out amazing and ended wonderful, with nothing but fantastic in the middle. I could not, in my wildest dreams, have planned a better birthday surprise, or found a more special way to commemorate my teen years.
Since yesterday was such a long day, and blogging was not at the top of my list (gasp), I decided to describe yesterday's adventures in today's post (hopefully this doesn't throw you off too much; I'll include pictures if it makes you feel any better). So here goes. I apologize in advance if this turns into a monster post, and hope that you won't be repulsed by my blog because of the potential for extreme wordiness.
As I said, the adventure began early. I am convinced that was actually the best decision of the day, because it gave me the chance to take my first look at Disneyland without a million other people to cloud the view. What a fantastic first look it was. Never having been to Disneyland, I was thoroughly unsure of what to expect, but once I glimpsed the multi-colored, balloon-inspired lightposts, each hung with a basket of fresh flowers, I knew it had to be an amazing place. If the Disney architects spent that much effort on lightposts, I could only imagine how impressive the actual attractions must be. And they did not disappoint.
The farther in we got, the more magical the park became. I don't care that I'm twenty years old; age is relative when it comes to Disney. I'm sure that I would have been just as captivated had my first glance of Disneyland been at the age of ten, or even younger. Maren said that her favorite part of the whole park was the details, and she was right. Even the railings of the attraction lines somehow related to the theme of the ride. It was just that fantastic.
We rode every major ride (some of them we even rode twice); we met Buzz Lightyear (never mind that we were the oldest people in line to meet him); and we even saw a few shows (though I will confess that I fell asleep during them). I got soaked on Splash Mountain, took a picture with Goofy, and ate my first ever churro. We watched fireworks. We got a little sunburned (well, mostly just Skyler got sunburned). We spent entirely too much money on food. (I feel like I should bust out a MasterCard jingle right now, something like 'Burger: $8.99; T-shirt: $19.99; Experience: Priceless.') Can you tell it was a fantastic day?
While Disneyland was everything it's cracked up to be - and then some - the fantastic-ness of the trip did not stop when we crashed at about 12:30 this morning after sixteen hours of magic. Because this morning we went to the beach. In California. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to the beach in my life. And to count how many times I've been to California, just curl your fingers into a big fat zero. As you can imagine, this California-Disneyland-beach adventure has been a pretty big deal for me (contrary to Ames' belief that I'm sadly uncultured - I swear I have done cool things in my life, just none of them happened to involve anything remotely related to California).
Anyways, the beach was fantastic. We saw starfish, crabs, dolphins, ditsy teenage girls, mussel-creature-things, surfers, waves, boats. I got my romantic, barefoot stroll hand-in-hand along the shore that I've always wanted. And I'd like to think I got a good hour's worth of work on my tan. Again, experience: priceless.
So there you have it. The condensed version of the most fantastic vacation I've taken (I swear it really is condensed). I could go on and on for several more paragraphs about every minute detail, but I can imagine you're probably already tired of reading, so I'll try to refrain myself. And I know I said I'd include pictures, but as this post is already long enough to rival my grocery list, I'll have to post those at a later date. For now, I'm going to settle for my grateful item of the day: the word fantastic. You might have noticed the excessive use of it throughout this entire post, but really, what else am I supposed to say? It's the happiest word I can think of, and this trip deserves to be spoken of in the happiest way possible. I'm thankful for the word, because it lets me express at least a part of my excessive happiness.
This trip started out amazing and ended wonderful, with nothing but fantastic in the middle. I could not, in my wildest dreams, have planned a better birthday surprise, or found a more special way to commemorate my teen years.
Since yesterday was such a long day, and blogging was not at the top of my list (gasp), I decided to describe yesterday's adventures in today's post (hopefully this doesn't throw you off too much; I'll include pictures if it makes you feel any better). So here goes. I apologize in advance if this turns into a monster post, and hope that you won't be repulsed by my blog because of the potential for extreme wordiness.
As I said, the adventure began early. I am convinced that was actually the best decision of the day, because it gave me the chance to take my first look at Disneyland without a million other people to cloud the view. What a fantastic first look it was. Never having been to Disneyland, I was thoroughly unsure of what to expect, but once I glimpsed the multi-colored, balloon-inspired lightposts, each hung with a basket of fresh flowers, I knew it had to be an amazing place. If the Disney architects spent that much effort on lightposts, I could only imagine how impressive the actual attractions must be. And they did not disappoint.
The farther in we got, the more magical the park became. I don't care that I'm twenty years old; age is relative when it comes to Disney. I'm sure that I would have been just as captivated had my first glance of Disneyland been at the age of ten, or even younger. Maren said that her favorite part of the whole park was the details, and she was right. Even the railings of the attraction lines somehow related to the theme of the ride. It was just that fantastic.
We rode every major ride (some of them we even rode twice); we met Buzz Lightyear (never mind that we were the oldest people in line to meet him); and we even saw a few shows (though I will confess that I fell asleep during them). I got soaked on Splash Mountain, took a picture with Goofy, and ate my first ever churro. We watched fireworks. We got a little sunburned (well, mostly just Skyler got sunburned). We spent entirely too much money on food. (I feel like I should bust out a MasterCard jingle right now, something like 'Burger: $8.99; T-shirt: $19.99; Experience: Priceless.') Can you tell it was a fantastic day?
While Disneyland was everything it's cracked up to be - and then some - the fantastic-ness of the trip did not stop when we crashed at about 12:30 this morning after sixteen hours of magic. Because this morning we went to the beach. In California. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to the beach in my life. And to count how many times I've been to California, just curl your fingers into a big fat zero. As you can imagine, this California-Disneyland-beach adventure has been a pretty big deal for me (contrary to Ames' belief that I'm sadly uncultured - I swear I have done cool things in my life, just none of them happened to involve anything remotely related to California).
Anyways, the beach was fantastic. We saw starfish, crabs, dolphins, ditsy teenage girls, mussel-creature-things, surfers, waves, boats. I got my romantic, barefoot stroll hand-in-hand along the shore that I've always wanted. And I'd like to think I got a good hour's worth of work on my tan. Again, experience: priceless.
So there you have it. The condensed version of the most fantastic vacation I've taken (I swear it really is condensed). I could go on and on for several more paragraphs about every minute detail, but I can imagine you're probably already tired of reading, so I'll try to refrain myself. And I know I said I'd include pictures, but as this post is already long enough to rival my grocery list, I'll have to post those at a later date. For now, I'm going to settle for my grateful item of the day: the word fantastic. You might have noticed the excessive use of it throughout this entire post, but really, what else am I supposed to say? It's the happiest word I can think of, and this trip deserves to be spoken of in the happiest way possible. I'm thankful for the word, because it lets me express at least a part of my excessive happiness.
Disneyland
Please, dear reader, your attention again - I know I said I would be catching up on my posts, and I will, but I have been without Internet for about a day and a half, which is my lame excuse for being slow on my catch-up. Fear not; as you might have guessed, we've figured out how to get wireless in our apartment, so I will hopefully get up-to-date soon.
Friday, April 23, 2010
I just spent ALL DAY in Disneyland. I literally mean ALL DAY. We got to the park at 7:55 in the morning, entered at 8:00, and didn't walk out of the gates until 11:55 at night. It was fantastic. And I am thoroughly exhausted. But extremely grateful. They aren't kidding - it really is the Happiest Place on Earth.
Friday, April 23, 2010
I just spent ALL DAY in Disneyland. I literally mean ALL DAY. We got to the park at 7:55 in the morning, entered at 8:00, and didn't walk out of the gates until 11:55 at night. It was fantastic. And I am thoroughly exhausted. But extremely grateful. They aren't kidding - it really is the Happiest Place on Earth.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Surprises
Attention, dear reader - I apologize for the lack of posts the past few days. I suppose I've broken my rule of writing every day, which is why I've decided to amend it against any further infractions: I must write a post for every day, but it doesn't actually have to be posted on the day it refers to. This means I have five posts to catch up on. Fear not; I have a very good reason for my deficient posting. Which you will discover as soon as I begin my catch-up. And in an effort to keep the tone of this blog day-to-day, each post will be written as though I actually wrote it on the day it's about. Hopefully I've covered all my bases here, and that it all makes sense, so I can now move on to the actual posts.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I AM GOING TO DISNEYLAND! I think I have yet to soak up the amazing-ness of that statement. See, as a child, I never went on vacation to any remotely-Disney-related theme park because my family was too busy taking trips to Utah. Not the most ideal destination for a kid, but there wasn't much I was capable of doing about it. However, now that I am twenty years old, I can go to Disneyland! Let me tell you the story.
Way back in February, my roommates and I participated in the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program, and we each got a voucher for one free day at a Disney park. We decided we'd go on a road trip to Disneyland at some time in the vague future, but never picked a date. Well, it almost looked like it wouldn't ever pan out. Until this week.
Skyler decided that he would surprise me with something awesome for my birthday, and I had absolutely no idea what. I take that back - I had a vague idea by this morning that we'd be going to Disneyland, but he is a master secret-keeper, and I couldn't get anything out of him. About 11:30, he told me to pack my suitcase again because we were going out of town. Maren and her brothers came and picked us up, and we headed towards Vegas. Where were we going? No clue, because they STILL wouldn't tell me. Can I express to you how infuriating that was? Well, after driving for about forty-five minutes, Skyler finally confided that we were going to Vegas. Vegas? I was so confused.
But it was all okay, because Vegas was way cool too. At least I thought it would be. Never having been there, I can't really say. But I thought, hey, Vegas for the weekend. That's awesome! I don't know what we're going to do, but it'll be great! Besides, if nothing else, the company is pretty cool. Alright Vegas. And then we drove right by it. Instant confusion. And yet somehow, Skyler managed to convince me that it wasn't a big deal, because we were staying in a hotel outside of Vegas. Slight suspicion, but I'm overly trusting. No big deal.
Half an hour outside Vegas, I finally learned the truth. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND TOMORROW! Best birthday surprise I've ever received. I honestly can't believe how amazingly awesome it is. Really, nothing could be better. Tonight, I'm grateful for surprises, and for the person who planned this wonderful surprise. Boy, am I one lucky girl.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I AM GOING TO DISNEYLAND! I think I have yet to soak up the amazing-ness of that statement. See, as a child, I never went on vacation to any remotely-Disney-related theme park because my family was too busy taking trips to Utah. Not the most ideal destination for a kid, but there wasn't much I was capable of doing about it. However, now that I am twenty years old, I can go to Disneyland! Let me tell you the story.
Way back in February, my roommates and I participated in the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program, and we each got a voucher for one free day at a Disney park. We decided we'd go on a road trip to Disneyland at some time in the vague future, but never picked a date. Well, it almost looked like it wouldn't ever pan out. Until this week.
Skyler decided that he would surprise me with something awesome for my birthday, and I had absolutely no idea what. I take that back - I had a vague idea by this morning that we'd be going to Disneyland, but he is a master secret-keeper, and I couldn't get anything out of him. About 11:30, he told me to pack my suitcase again because we were going out of town. Maren and her brothers came and picked us up, and we headed towards Vegas. Where were we going? No clue, because they STILL wouldn't tell me. Can I express to you how infuriating that was? Well, after driving for about forty-five minutes, Skyler finally confided that we were going to Vegas. Vegas? I was so confused.
But it was all okay, because Vegas was way cool too. At least I thought it would be. Never having been there, I can't really say. But I thought, hey, Vegas for the weekend. That's awesome! I don't know what we're going to do, but it'll be great! Besides, if nothing else, the company is pretty cool. Alright Vegas. And then we drove right by it. Instant confusion. And yet somehow, Skyler managed to convince me that it wasn't a big deal, because we were staying in a hotel outside of Vegas. Slight suspicion, but I'm overly trusting. No big deal.
Half an hour outside Vegas, I finally learned the truth. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND TOMORROW! Best birthday surprise I've ever received. I honestly can't believe how amazingly awesome it is. Really, nothing could be better. Tonight, I'm grateful for surprises, and for the person who planned this wonderful surprise. Boy, am I one lucky girl.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tandem Biking
Today was my twentieth birthday, and it was quite possibly the best birthday I've ever had. It began with a dozen red roses as a wake-up call, followed by a very nice Denny's breakfast. And then the best part . . .
We went tandem biking! I was so excited about it, because I've never been before, and for some reason it's always been a life goal of mine. Now I can say I've successfully completed a life goal, while discovering a wonderful form of exercise in the process. I didn't even know that was possible to do. And I have never had so much fun on a bike. It was by far the best birthday activity I've ever done, and makes me even more excited for the other birthday surprise that's taking place in the next few days, whatever it is. Today I'm grateful for whoever invented tandem bikes; I'm convinced he was a genius.
On the bike. We're practically pros.
We went tandem biking! I was so excited about it, because I've never been before, and for some reason it's always been a life goal of mine. Now I can say I've successfully completed a life goal, while discovering a wonderful form of exercise in the process. I didn't even know that was possible to do. And I have never had so much fun on a bike. It was by far the best birthday activity I've ever done, and makes me even more excited for the other birthday surprise that's taking place in the next few days, whatever it is. Today I'm grateful for whoever invented tandem bikes; I'm convinced he was a genius.
On the bike. We're practically pros.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Finals Week
I legitimately like finals week, even though I absolutely hate finals. Finals week has always been the most relaxing time of the semester for me because all I have to do is do a little studying, take a few tests, and throw all my stuff in boxes, and I have more than a week to do it. The actual work part isn't the best, but the rest of the week is practically amazing.
And today I finished my finals, meaning that I have a whole week of nothingness before I have to go back to school. I can't even express how much I'm looking forward to it, especially since I have a super exciting surprise ahead of me, and since my birthday is tomorrow.
My last day of being a teenager. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But, since there's nothing I can actually do about it, I suppose I better get used to the idea. I'd better make the most of my last juvenile hour and a half, and since I'm so thankful for finals week, I don't think it'll be hard to find something celebratory to do.
And today I finished my finals, meaning that I have a whole week of nothingness before I have to go back to school. I can't even express how much I'm looking forward to it, especially since I have a super exciting surprise ahead of me, and since my birthday is tomorrow.
My last day of being a teenager. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But, since there's nothing I can actually do about it, I suppose I better get used to the idea. I'd better make the most of my last juvenile hour and a half, and since I'm so thankful for finals week, I don't think it'll be hard to find something celebratory to do.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Balloons
I am convinced that I could not be having a better college experience. It's definitely had its ups and downs, and times when it seems impossible, but overall I couldn't ask for anything better.
What triggered this sentimentality? Tonight's latest episode of random roommate adventures takes the blame. I'm not entirely sure how the idea came up (though I vaguely remember Maren suggesting it), but tonight we decided to write wishes on balloons and release them into the atmosphere. Crazy? Check. Random? Definitely. Totally amazing? Absolutely. It also turned out to be quite the touching end to Maren, Hanna, Sam, and my time together as roommates, since this is the last full day of all living in the same apartment. That's a rather depressing thought. Though it's good to know that our time together ended well. So I'm grateful for our balloons, our final roommate adventure.
Before the grand release of our wishes.
And there they go.
Watching them go. It was rather torturous on the neck.
Roommates. It's been a good two years.
What triggered this sentimentality? Tonight's latest episode of random roommate adventures takes the blame. I'm not entirely sure how the idea came up (though I vaguely remember Maren suggesting it), but tonight we decided to write wishes on balloons and release them into the atmosphere. Crazy? Check. Random? Definitely. Totally amazing? Absolutely. It also turned out to be quite the touching end to Maren, Hanna, Sam, and my time together as roommates, since this is the last full day of all living in the same apartment. That's a rather depressing thought. Though it's good to know that our time together ended well. So I'm grateful for our balloons, our final roommate adventure.
Before the grand release of our wishes.
And there they go.
Watching them go. It was rather torturous on the neck.
Roommates. It's been a good two years.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Patience
I don't know that I've ever been in the situation that I'm in right now. See, my birthday is on Wednesday, and all celebratory activities are being planned for me. I know almost completely nothing, except that it's in St. George (or at least part of it is), I should wear good shoes, and my roommate Maren suggested some of it. That's IT. The rest is a surprise, except for the very small hints I occasionally get. It took me about two weeks and used up all the methods of persuasion that I know to get the three measly tidbits of info that I just mentioned. And I don't know what more to do about it.
I love surprises. Really I do. But I'm actually relatively hard to completely surprise with things like what's being done for my birthday. I think the only time I can honestly say I was surprised on my birthday was when I turned nineteen; every other time I had a vague idea of what was afoot (and sometimes more than just a vague idea). But this year blows my nineteenth birthday out of the water. I have never been more in the dark than I am right now, and it's driving me CRAZY. My roommates know, their families know, Sam's whole class knows what I'm doing for my birthday, and I don't have the FAINTEST idea. Not only do I not have any idea, but I've run out of ideas for how to get hints so that maybe I could get some semblance of an idea. It's infuriating! And yet extremely exciting at the same time.
So what am I going to do about this situation? Just about the only thing I can do, and the one thing I don't want to: WAIT. Which is definitely not my strong point. Impatience is more my style, except that's doing nothing more than driving me insane at the moment. Three more days (I think; I don't even know when I'll find out what I'm going to be doing. Yeah, I know - it's cruel and unusual punishment) of waiting. Three more VERY LONGGGG days. So tonight I'm grateful for patience, in the hopes that by being so, I'll miraculously find that I have more of it. And also to salvage whatever is left of my sanity.
I love surprises. Really I do. But I'm actually relatively hard to completely surprise with things like what's being done for my birthday. I think the only time I can honestly say I was surprised on my birthday was when I turned nineteen; every other time I had a vague idea of what was afoot (and sometimes more than just a vague idea). But this year blows my nineteenth birthday out of the water. I have never been more in the dark than I am right now, and it's driving me CRAZY. My roommates know, their families know, Sam's whole class knows what I'm doing for my birthday, and I don't have the FAINTEST idea. Not only do I not have any idea, but I've run out of ideas for how to get hints so that maybe I could get some semblance of an idea. It's infuriating! And yet extremely exciting at the same time.
So what am I going to do about this situation? Just about the only thing I can do, and the one thing I don't want to: WAIT. Which is definitely not my strong point. Impatience is more my style, except that's doing nothing more than driving me insane at the moment. Three more days (I think; I don't even know when I'll find out what I'm going to be doing. Yeah, I know - it's cruel and unusual punishment) of waiting. Three more VERY LONGGGG days. So tonight I'm grateful for patience, in the hopes that by being so, I'll miraculously find that I have more of it. And also to salvage whatever is left of my sanity.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Productive Saturdays
I don't feel much like writing today. I blame it on the fact that I'm writing-ed out, which is a frequent hazard of the English major. So we'll keep this simple.
I'm grateful for Saturdays, especially the productive ones. Like today. I got up and headed to the laundromat, where I spent an unhealthy amount of money on three weeks' worth of laundry (remind me to do my laundry more often next time). I then studied for and took my Spanish final, which went relatively well, except for the random Spanish words that a forgot (who knew that huelga means strike? Not me). My day then took a bit of an unproductive turn when Maren, Hanna, and I went to the park for an hour (though technically I did take a nap, which I count as productive). Following the park excursion, we had roommate bonding time by watching Bride Wars (and Dan In Real Life, but that's beyond the point). And I prepared my Relief Society lesson, so it all worked out for the best. Overall, my Saturday=success.
I'm grateful for Saturdays, especially the productive ones. Like today. I got up and headed to the laundromat, where I spent an unhealthy amount of money on three weeks' worth of laundry (remind me to do my laundry more often next time). I then studied for and took my Spanish final, which went relatively well, except for the random Spanish words that a forgot (who knew that huelga means strike? Not me). My day then took a bit of an unproductive turn when Maren, Hanna, and I went to the park for an hour (though technically I did take a nap, which I count as productive). Following the park excursion, we had roommate bonding time by watching Bride Wars (and Dan In Real Life, but that's beyond the point). And I prepared my Relief Society lesson, so it all worked out for the best. Overall, my Saturday=success.
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Jerusalem Center
I am convinced that good news can brighten even the stormiest of days, and today I got the best of news:
I got accepted into the BYU Jerusalem Center for the Fall 2010 semester!
Technically, I guess I'm only initially accepted, but, barring a psychotic break-down, I should pass my final admissions interview to actually get in. And I don't see any break-downs in the near future, especially since I only have three finals left before the semester is over. I can't even tell you how excited I was to see that thick envelope in the box today. Never in my life have a gotten a better piece of mail.
I suppose I should be at least a little worried about going to Israel for four months, since I hear it's potentially dangerous over there, but I think my mother has the worrying part covered. Which leaves me to think about how ridiculously excited I am that I will be going to Israel for four months! I think it qualifies as the epitome of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Plus I won't be in Provo for a whole semester. Could life be any more fantastic?
In all reality, there are a few things I'm a little apprehensive about, but none of them involve fearing for my life. Mostly I'm worried about the fact that I can only take one fifty-pound suitcase and one carry-on with me to live for four months in Jerusalem, meaning a varied wardrobe will apparently be low on the priorities list. Good thing I'm not a fashionista. And the other thing . . . well, I'm a little worried about leaving a certain person behind surrounded by desperate BYU girls. You just never know what girls dying for a husband will do. I guess this will be a good opportunity for me to learn how to trust others. Better late than never!
But these worries are (relatively) small compared to my excitement, so tonight I'm focusing on the happy feelings, and how grateful I am that I got in. I'll leave the worrying for a later date.
I got accepted into the BYU Jerusalem Center for the Fall 2010 semester!
Technically, I guess I'm only initially accepted, but, barring a psychotic break-down, I should pass my final admissions interview to actually get in. And I don't see any break-downs in the near future, especially since I only have three finals left before the semester is over. I can't even tell you how excited I was to see that thick envelope in the box today. Never in my life have a gotten a better piece of mail.
I suppose I should be at least a little worried about going to Israel for four months, since I hear it's potentially dangerous over there, but I think my mother has the worrying part covered. Which leaves me to think about how ridiculously excited I am that I will be going to Israel for four months! I think it qualifies as the epitome of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Plus I won't be in Provo for a whole semester. Could life be any more fantastic?
In all reality, there are a few things I'm a little apprehensive about, but none of them involve fearing for my life. Mostly I'm worried about the fact that I can only take one fifty-pound suitcase and one carry-on with me to live for four months in Jerusalem, meaning a varied wardrobe will apparently be low on the priorities list. Good thing I'm not a fashionista. And the other thing . . . well, I'm a little worried about leaving a certain person behind surrounded by desperate BYU girls. You just never know what girls dying for a husband will do. I guess this will be a good opportunity for me to learn how to trust others. Better late than never!
But these worries are (relatively) small compared to my excitement, so tonight I'm focusing on the happy feelings, and how grateful I am that I got in. I'll leave the worrying for a later date.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Required Activities
As obnoxious as it can sometimes be to live with all girls, there are times when girl roommates are absolutely fantastic. Like today. It would have been glorious today no matter what I did because the sun was out and the temperature was perfect and it was a reading day (aka day of relaxation; I lucked out on the easiness of my finals). But my day's activities, and my roommates, made the whole thing that much better.
We've developed a habit in my apartment of requiring each other to participate in certain activities. For example, when my roommates and I went to dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries a few weeks back (see my post from some day in the recent past), I received a text telling me it was not optional that I attend the roommate dinner. And yesterday, when Maren and Hanna were going to throw a frisbee in the park, they informed me that I had no choice but to come. Well, that happened again today, except I was the one requiring instead of being required. Sam and I decided to take a lovely jaunt up Provo Canyon, because of the breathtakingly beautiful weather, and we required Hanna to come along. A more genius idea has never been concocted. The Provo Canyon excursion ended in a mall trip, and the whole adventure was the most worthwhile thing I've done in a long time (that may not be true, but at the moment it seems to be). So I'm grateful for roommates who require activities because they always seem to turn out wonderfully. And who knows, I might not have such fun roommates if I get to go to Jerusalem. Which means I better take advantage while I can.
We've developed a habit in my apartment of requiring each other to participate in certain activities. For example, when my roommates and I went to dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries a few weeks back (see my post from some day in the recent past), I received a text telling me it was not optional that I attend the roommate dinner. And yesterday, when Maren and Hanna were going to throw a frisbee in the park, they informed me that I had no choice but to come. Well, that happened again today, except I was the one requiring instead of being required. Sam and I decided to take a lovely jaunt up Provo Canyon, because of the breathtakingly beautiful weather, and we required Hanna to come along. A more genius idea has never been concocted. The Provo Canyon excursion ended in a mall trip, and the whole adventure was the most worthwhile thing I've done in a long time (that may not be true, but at the moment it seems to be). So I'm grateful for roommates who require activities because they always seem to turn out wonderfully. And who knows, I might not have such fun roommates if I get to go to Jerusalem. Which means I better take advantage while I can.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Writing Fellows
I don't know what possessed me to get two jobs at the beginning of this semester. Two time-consuming jobs. Especially since both those jobs involved student essays. On top of fifteen credits, nine of which came from English classes. I think it goes without saying that this semester involved LOTS of reading and writing. And I can't say I really enjoyed it all that much.
However, today I love my Writing Fellows job (it's always been the better of the two). It was our Closing Social, which means we got paid to go to a party and eat cookies. Then they gave out awards for categories like Most Prolific Blackboard Poster and the Charlie Chaplin Award for the Strong and Silent Fellow. It was fantastic. I even got a candy bar because I will (hopefully) not be returning next semester because I will (hopefully) be going to Jerusalem. I found it to be a very satisfactory way to spend my afternoon. And I am very grateful that I'm involved with the Writing Fellows program, because it's absolutely a blast to be part of.
However, today I love my Writing Fellows job (it's always been the better of the two). It was our Closing Social, which means we got paid to go to a party and eat cookies. Then they gave out awards for categories like Most Prolific Blackboard Poster and the Charlie Chaplin Award for the Strong and Silent Fellow. It was fantastic. I even got a candy bar because I will (hopefully) not be returning next semester because I will (hopefully) be going to Jerusalem. I found it to be a very satisfactory way to spend my afternoon. And I am very grateful that I'm involved with the Writing Fellows program, because it's absolutely a blast to be part of.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Roommate Adventures
Today was the last day of classes, and it was absolutely heavenly. The last day of classes is always a special time, the brief calm before the storm of finals when you can relax a little before (theoretically) throwing yourself into the fury of studying. To commemorate this wonderful partial day off, Maren, Hanna, and I completely lost our minds.
First, we decided to watch Jurassic Park. However, when we turned on the TV, the channel it was on happened to be having a marathon of The Office, which of course we had to watch. We managed to tear ourselves away from Jim and Pam's cuteness after only two episodes and started the movie. I'd never seen Jurassic Park before, and was quite impressed with the quality of its special effects. Did you know it was made in 1993? That's practically a whole century ago the way technology has developed since then.
Anyways, after the movie, we went on a cleaning spree. For some reason, the filthiness of our apartment got to us (well, it's been getting to us for a while, but today we had time to do something about it). So Maren and Hanna unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher while I cleaned the table and straightened up the living room. This cleaning involved lots of laughter, nasty chunks of food, and human oreos. "Hanna, are you black? Because I'm black!"
Once that was finally out of our system, and the apartment was looking much more presentable (though I'm not sure it will ever be fully presentable; the awful paint job and permanently stained appliances tend to detract from the overall attractiveness), we decided that another movie was in order. This time we chose Hairspray. As we started to put it in, Maren remembered the watercolor set she got for Easter, so we rearranged the living room to accommodate a painting adventure. Unfortunately, I remembered that my Spanish homework (which I hadn't begun) was due at midnight, so I was unable to actually paint, but it was quite entertaining to watch. There was only one brush, so Maren watercolored while Hanna fingerpainted. They're quite artistic, even with mediums meant for elementary school kids. This part of our evening also included a large bowl of homemade popcorn, which has become it's own food group in our apartment since I received a homemade popcorn maker for Christmas. Relatively healthy, easy to make, and extremely cheap - what could be a more perfect college-student snack?
Now here we sit, watching the end of Hairspray, thoroughly exhausted from our fantastic roommate adventure, but more so from the entire semester. It's times like these that make me grateful for awesome roommates who are willing to veg on the couch with me till all hours of the morning. Boy will I miss them next semester.
First, we decided to watch Jurassic Park. However, when we turned on the TV, the channel it was on happened to be having a marathon of The Office, which of course we had to watch. We managed to tear ourselves away from Jim and Pam's cuteness after only two episodes and started the movie. I'd never seen Jurassic Park before, and was quite impressed with the quality of its special effects. Did you know it was made in 1993? That's practically a whole century ago the way technology has developed since then.
Anyways, after the movie, we went on a cleaning spree. For some reason, the filthiness of our apartment got to us (well, it's been getting to us for a while, but today we had time to do something about it). So Maren and Hanna unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher while I cleaned the table and straightened up the living room. This cleaning involved lots of laughter, nasty chunks of food, and human oreos. "Hanna, are you black? Because I'm black!"
Once that was finally out of our system, and the apartment was looking much more presentable (though I'm not sure it will ever be fully presentable; the awful paint job and permanently stained appliances tend to detract from the overall attractiveness), we decided that another movie was in order. This time we chose Hairspray. As we started to put it in, Maren remembered the watercolor set she got for Easter, so we rearranged the living room to accommodate a painting adventure. Unfortunately, I remembered that my Spanish homework (which I hadn't begun) was due at midnight, so I was unable to actually paint, but it was quite entertaining to watch. There was only one brush, so Maren watercolored while Hanna fingerpainted. They're quite artistic, even with mediums meant for elementary school kids. This part of our evening also included a large bowl of homemade popcorn, which has become it's own food group in our apartment since I received a homemade popcorn maker for Christmas. Relatively healthy, easy to make, and extremely cheap - what could be a more perfect college-student snack?
Now here we sit, watching the end of Hairspray, thoroughly exhausted from our fantastic roommate adventure, but more so from the entire semester. It's times like these that make me grateful for awesome roommates who are willing to veg on the couch with me till all hours of the morning. Boy will I miss them next semester.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Phone Calls
I am a chronic worrywart. It's quite unfortunate, and unfortunately true. I swear I haven't always been this way; memories of my childhood are rather carefree, as I recall. But, tragedy of tragedies, my life is no longer that way. I haven't the slightest idea what changed my point of view, but all that matters is it changed, and now I worry.
By now you're probably wondering what it is I worry about. Well, about my future and my schoolwork and my schedule and my relationship and my eating habits and my . . . list goes on. Sometimes I worry so much about so many pointless things that I stress myself out almost to the point of tears. Thankfully, it doesn't get that bad that often, but it has been known to happen. I honestly wonder how my roommates put up with me some days.
Today was a worrisome day, and the saddest part is that I wasn't even worrying about anything important. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that it doesn't matter the size of the problem; I am still perfectly capable of worrying about it. As I sat stewing on my couch, I received a phone call. And the person on the other end of that phone call made my worries disappear. It was practically magical, and I felt inexpressibly better. So today I'm grateful for phone calls; sometimes they're just what I need to turn a bad day upside down.
By now you're probably wondering what it is I worry about. Well, about my future and my schoolwork and my schedule and my relationship and my eating habits and my . . . list goes on. Sometimes I worry so much about so many pointless things that I stress myself out almost to the point of tears. Thankfully, it doesn't get that bad that often, but it has been known to happen. I honestly wonder how my roommates put up with me some days.
Today was a worrisome day, and the saddest part is that I wasn't even worrying about anything important. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that it doesn't matter the size of the problem; I am still perfectly capable of worrying about it. As I sat stewing on my couch, I received a phone call. And the person on the other end of that phone call made my worries disappear. It was practically magical, and I felt inexpressibly better. So today I'm grateful for phone calls; sometimes they're just what I need to turn a bad day upside down.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Maren's Birthday
Prior to tonight, I had not played an honest-to-goodness board game in a very long time. I'm not sure why, because I love board games. Except Monopoly. Classic it may be, but I almost can't stand the sight of the weirdly-green-colored box. Unless it's Star Wars Monopoly. Then I can tolerate a few hours as long as I get to be Princess Leia, simply because I aspired to be her as a young child. I even dressed up as her for Halloween once, complete with the side-braided bun things she frequently styled. But that's neither here nor there.
The reason I tell you this is that tonight, I played a board game called Power Grid. I'd heard quite a lot about this game; it's a favorite of my roommate Maren. Well, today happened to be Maren's 20th birthday, and she received the game as a present from her parents. She was so excited about it that she managed to talk me and our other roommate Hanna into playing with her tonight. (It didn't take too much convincing; Hanna and I were happy for a break from actual work, so after a few "please"s and "we'll eat Strawberry Romanov first"s, we caved.)
I've never taken so long to set up a game before, and it's never taken me so long to learn the rules. This should give you some sense of how complicated the game is. But, after about forty-five minutes, Hanna and I understood the majority of what we were doing (though not all, as I found out at the end), and we had a grand old time playing. There was a lot of math involved, which was pathetically difficult for my English-major-who-hasn't-taken-math-in-two-years brain, but it turned out to be a fun game. Somehow, I managed to win, and I chalk that up one-hundred percent to beginner's luck because at first I didn't even realize I'd won. I feel rather bad that I did, especially since it was Maren's birthday, and it's usually good etiquette to let the birthday girl win. Sorry Maren! Overall, it was two hours very well spent.
Beyond this board game extravaganza, I thought Maren's birthday was fantastic for me, so hopefully she found it even more enjoyable. We sang to her in Relief Society (which I'm sure was a highlight); her mom made an excellent dinner; she spent time with cute kids; we ate all sorts of yummy desserts; and she had two willing friends to play one of her favorite games with. I thought it was a day well spent: delicious food, a fun game time, even more delicious food. Birthdays are just so special - and I wasn't even the birthday girl! A detail; the landscape is that I'm grateful for Maren's birthday, because it was the perfect day to top off this very fun weekend.
The reason I tell you this is that tonight, I played a board game called Power Grid. I'd heard quite a lot about this game; it's a favorite of my roommate Maren. Well, today happened to be Maren's 20th birthday, and she received the game as a present from her parents. She was so excited about it that she managed to talk me and our other roommate Hanna into playing with her tonight. (It didn't take too much convincing; Hanna and I were happy for a break from actual work, so after a few "please"s and "we'll eat Strawberry Romanov first"s, we caved.)
I've never taken so long to set up a game before, and it's never taken me so long to learn the rules. This should give you some sense of how complicated the game is. But, after about forty-five minutes, Hanna and I understood the majority of what we were doing (though not all, as I found out at the end), and we had a grand old time playing. There was a lot of math involved, which was pathetically difficult for my English-major-who-hasn't-taken-math-in-two-years brain, but it turned out to be a fun game. Somehow, I managed to win, and I chalk that up one-hundred percent to beginner's luck because at first I didn't even realize I'd won. I feel rather bad that I did, especially since it was Maren's birthday, and it's usually good etiquette to let the birthday girl win. Sorry Maren! Overall, it was two hours very well spent.
Beyond this board game extravaganza, I thought Maren's birthday was fantastic for me, so hopefully she found it even more enjoyable. We sang to her in Relief Society (which I'm sure was a highlight); her mom made an excellent dinner; she spent time with cute kids; we ate all sorts of yummy desserts; and she had two willing friends to play one of her favorite games with. I thought it was a day well spent: delicious food, a fun game time, even more delicious food. Birthdays are just so special - and I wasn't even the birthday girl! A detail; the landscape is that I'm grateful for Maren's birthday, because it was the perfect day to top off this very fun weekend.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Five Dollar Movies
I have a very large soft spot for movies, especially movies that I've seen before. That may sound abnormal, and it is. But I've developed the habit of listening to movies like others listen to music. Which is why I love movies that I've seen before; I don't have to watch them, and can be totally content just listening while I do other things, like fold laundry or work out (neither of which happen as often as they should). It's gotten so bad that now, when I sit down to watch a movie, even if I haven't seen the movie before, I feel like I have to be doing something productive. Case in point: right now, I'm watching A Knight's Tale and writing this post. It's a habit that I've been trying to break, with limited success so far.
The reason I bring up my strange movie habit is because of tonight's trip to Target. We went looking for a few shirts, a cake pan, and contact solution. Really, I wasn't there for anything more than moral support, to give my honest opinion whenever my roommate tried a shirt on (though I did remember while there that I needed new deodorant, so it turned into a very worthwhile trip). As my roommates and I wandered around the woman's section, we notice a rack of five dollar movies next to the check-out line. Nothing draws me faster in stores than displays of cheap movies, except maybe office supplies, or on-sale earrings. I very rarely find anything that I'm interested in; most movies on $5 movie racks are obscure films made in the 80s that no one ever watched but the mother of the director, but I still like to look regardless.
On occasion, I strike gold. And tonight, I definitely struck gold. In fact, I struck it twice, which happens about as often as my brother cleans his room. I found two fantastic movies on the $5 movie rack: A Knight's Tale and The Sandlot (hence why we're watching A Knight's Tale right now). I couldn't believe it. When does is ever happen that two such classics are found on the exact same sale rack on the exact day that I happen to be in the store and at the exact time that I happen to be looking at said sale rack? Practically never, that's when! But there they were, both movies begging for me to buy them. I firmly told myself NO. I didn't need more movies, I said to myself, and besides I'm trying to save money for when I hopefully get into the Jerusalem Center. I'd almost convinced myself to step back and walk away when my roommate picked them up and shoved them into my arms. "Just buy them," she said. "You know you want to, and they're only five dollars. Just do it." So I did, exhibiting not a single shred of restraint, and feeling no buyer's remorse. I'm grateful I did, as I sit here comfortable on my couch already watching one of the two. The fact that they were only five dollars makes my comfort that much sweeter.
The reason I bring up my strange movie habit is because of tonight's trip to Target. We went looking for a few shirts, a cake pan, and contact solution. Really, I wasn't there for anything more than moral support, to give my honest opinion whenever my roommate tried a shirt on (though I did remember while there that I needed new deodorant, so it turned into a very worthwhile trip). As my roommates and I wandered around the woman's section, we notice a rack of five dollar movies next to the check-out line. Nothing draws me faster in stores than displays of cheap movies, except maybe office supplies, or on-sale earrings. I very rarely find anything that I'm interested in; most movies on $5 movie racks are obscure films made in the 80s that no one ever watched but the mother of the director, but I still like to look regardless.
On occasion, I strike gold. And tonight, I definitely struck gold. In fact, I struck it twice, which happens about as often as my brother cleans his room. I found two fantastic movies on the $5 movie rack: A Knight's Tale and The Sandlot (hence why we're watching A Knight's Tale right now). I couldn't believe it. When does is ever happen that two such classics are found on the exact same sale rack on the exact day that I happen to be in the store and at the exact time that I happen to be looking at said sale rack? Practically never, that's when! But there they were, both movies begging for me to buy them. I firmly told myself NO. I didn't need more movies, I said to myself, and besides I'm trying to save money for when I hopefully get into the Jerusalem Center. I'd almost convinced myself to step back and walk away when my roommate picked them up and shoved them into my arms. "Just buy them," she said. "You know you want to, and they're only five dollars. Just do it." So I did, exhibiting not a single shred of restraint, and feeling no buyer's remorse. I'm grateful I did, as I sit here comfortable on my couch already watching one of the two. The fact that they were only five dollars makes my comfort that much sweeter.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Homemade Bread
Once again, I fit the label of typical college student. I am out of bread, cereal, and oreos, desperately need to do laundry, and have been watching TV with my roommate all afternoon instead of grading essays. Of this list of tragedies, the lack of bread is what I find most pressing. For some reason I just had this craving for toast today (yes, real toast). But I didn't want to make the ten-minute trek to the grocery store. Call me lazy, but such is life.
So I made my own bread! I've been experimenting with bread-making this semester (just like I experiment with all my food), and so far it's gone semi-decently. The first experiment was a simple white bread, and turned out just like normal. The second was a wheat bread, which had a little funky airy thing going on, but was otherwise normal. And the third was a cinnamon-raisin swirl bread, which had a bit of a doughiness problem in the middle, but the edges were good! Today's experiment was a different wheat bread recipe. And it turned out rather tastily. Plus it made our apartment smell fantastic for a few hours. So I'm thankful for homemade bread, because I was able to have my toast without traipsing around Provo to get it. Afternoon well spent.
So I made my own bread! I've been experimenting with bread-making this semester (just like I experiment with all my food), and so far it's gone semi-decently. The first experiment was a simple white bread, and turned out just like normal. The second was a wheat bread, which had a little funky airy thing going on, but was otherwise normal. And the third was a cinnamon-raisin swirl bread, which had a bit of a doughiness problem in the middle, but the edges were good! Today's experiment was a different wheat bread recipe. And it turned out rather tastily. Plus it made our apartment smell fantastic for a few hours. So I'm thankful for homemade bread, because I was able to have my toast without traipsing around Provo to get it. Afternoon well spent.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sunshine
My day was about as unproductive as they come. What can I say: it was Thursday, and I'm notoriously awful at getting work done on Thursday. Add this to the fact that my only homework consisted of editing one double-spaced page of text, and you have a recipe for disaster. Or success, whichever way you choose to look at it.
I will admit that the day didn't start out as happily as I would have liked. I woke up an hour late, but that also seems to have become a Thursday tradition. Don't worry, I still made it to my Spanish class on time. You might be wondering why I didn't just skip it; really, the odds on that class being a waste of time are very good. Unfortunately, I had to give a presentation today, which meant I had to go. Naturally. Other than this slight mishap in my morning schedule, my day was fantastic! The brilliant sunshine and sixty-degree weather contributed immensely to this, in case you were wondering that too.
I love sunshine. I think it's practically impossible to have an unhappy day when the sun is shining in a clear blue sky. Except maybe if it's the end of August with eighty percent humidity. Then it gets a little old. But right now, in April, with flower blooming and spring in the air, sunshine is a beautiful thing. Oh how I've missed it. Which makes me even more grateful than normal for Mister Golden Sun. Please shine down on me. Literally.
I will admit that the day didn't start out as happily as I would have liked. I woke up an hour late, but that also seems to have become a Thursday tradition. Don't worry, I still made it to my Spanish class on time. You might be wondering why I didn't just skip it; really, the odds on that class being a waste of time are very good. Unfortunately, I had to give a presentation today, which meant I had to go. Naturally. Other than this slight mishap in my morning schedule, my day was fantastic! The brilliant sunshine and sixty-degree weather contributed immensely to this, in case you were wondering that too.
I love sunshine. I think it's practically impossible to have an unhappy day when the sun is shining in a clear blue sky. Except maybe if it's the end of August with eighty percent humidity. Then it gets a little old. But right now, in April, with flower blooming and spring in the air, sunshine is a beautiful thing. Oh how I've missed it. Which makes me even more grateful than normal for Mister Golden Sun. Please shine down on me. Literally.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The College-Student Feeling
I just woke up from a much longer nap that I was planning on. And then proceeded to down almost an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers. My mouth now feels like Sahara Desert, and my brain is still quite foggy (waking up is never a smooth process for me). But, I decided that instead of climbing the mountain of work I still have ahead of me, I would blog for the day, so that 11:42 doesn't roll around tonight and find me still in need of a post (which is what tends to happen most nights; sometimes I only remember when I receive my daily stalker-text about it). This seemed like a good idea at the time, but the more alert I become, the more I wonder why it did. Gosh, I sound like a stereotypical college student.
In keeping with that theme, today was a stereotypical college-student day. I went to class, held a few tutoring conference for my job, went to more class, picked up some essays for my other job, and went home. Where I then engaged in the college-student-appropriate activities described above. What a day.
Really, though, as pathetic as it may sound, I enjoy being a stereotypical college student. It's actually quite fun. Well, perhaps fun is the wrong word, because nothing about all-nighters or four tests in one week can really be classified by it. It's actually quite . . . liberating, I guess we'll say. High school was not a very liberating time for me because of certain restrictions, like curfew, that I dealt with. Even freshman year wasn't very liberating; it was more like an extension of high school while not living at home. But this year. This year has been a drastic change from anything I was used to before. Living a mile from campus with no meal plan and no car tends to make you grow up rather quickly. And gives you the feeling that you're a real college student now. It's quite exciting, and I'm grateful for that feeling. It makes me think I can actually do this whole thing they call "adulthood."
In keeping with that theme, today was a stereotypical college-student day. I went to class, held a few tutoring conference for my job, went to more class, picked up some essays for my other job, and went home. Where I then engaged in the college-student-appropriate activities described above. What a day.
Really, though, as pathetic as it may sound, I enjoy being a stereotypical college student. It's actually quite fun. Well, perhaps fun is the wrong word, because nothing about all-nighters or four tests in one week can really be classified by it. It's actually quite . . . liberating, I guess we'll say. High school was not a very liberating time for me because of certain restrictions, like curfew, that I dealt with. Even freshman year wasn't very liberating; it was more like an extension of high school while not living at home. But this year. This year has been a drastic change from anything I was used to before. Living a mile from campus with no meal plan and no car tends to make you grow up rather quickly. And gives you the feeling that you're a real college student now. It's quite exciting, and I'm grateful for that feeling. It makes me think I can actually do this whole thing they call "adulthood."
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
My roommate sent me the weirdest text today. It involved a roommate dinner run to Five Guys at 5:00 that evening, and I was apparently required to come along.
So I went, my first time ever. And it was fantastic. I'm grateful for random roommate dinner runs, especially when they involve a restaurant that hands out free peanuts. Practically the coolest thing ever.
So I went, my first time ever. And it was fantastic. I'm grateful for random roommate dinner runs, especially when they involve a restaurant that hands out free peanuts. Practically the coolest thing ever.
Monday, April 5, 2010
NO CLEANING CHECKS
Previous to tonight, I did not have very fond thoughts regarding the manager of my apartment. She's a little . . . special, to put it nicely. And we've all had a few instances where we don't understand how anyone trusted her to manage an apartment. But that's neither here nor there. Because what happened today earned her several positive points in my book.
SHE CANCELED CLEANING CHECKS!!
Maren remembered at about 6:00 this evening that we were supposed to have cleaning checks tomorrow. This did not jive with any of our schedules. Sam has a huge final tomorrow morning; I have two huge papers due tomorrow afternoon. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We're all swamped with work, and are slowing losing our minds. So the idea of cleaning checks was not at all a welcome one. Well, we decided to text our manager in the very slim chance that she would cancel cleaning checks. Really it made sense, because she'll be checking us out when we all move in two weeks anyway, so it seemed pointless in our minds to clean everything now and then again in two weeks. Her reply practically made my day, if not my week: "Well sure. Let's cancel them." I was ecstatic. Tonight, I'm grateful for the mercy of our manager who took pity on five stressed out college students. And earned brownie points to boot.
SHE CANCELED CLEANING CHECKS!!
Maren remembered at about 6:00 this evening that we were supposed to have cleaning checks tomorrow. This did not jive with any of our schedules. Sam has a huge final tomorrow morning; I have two huge papers due tomorrow afternoon. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We're all swamped with work, and are slowing losing our minds. So the idea of cleaning checks was not at all a welcome one. Well, we decided to text our manager in the very slim chance that she would cancel cleaning checks. Really it made sense, because she'll be checking us out when we all move in two weeks anyway, so it seemed pointless in our minds to clean everything now and then again in two weeks. Her reply practically made my day, if not my week: "Well sure. Let's cancel them." I was ecstatic. Tonight, I'm grateful for the mercy of our manager who took pity on five stressed out college students. And earned brownie points to boot.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
General Conference
This weekend was fantastic. There were several reasons for this, involving extended family Easter festivities and surprising wake ups, but one of the main reasons was General Conference. General Conference didn't use to be a favorite activity of mine. In fact, it was almost something I dreaded when I was younger. A whole Saturday and Sunday of sitting there listening to old people talk? Not a little girl's idea of happiness.
It's only been in recent years that I've really started to appreciate those semi annual eight hours. And this weekend was quite possibly the best General Conference I've ever sat through, mostly because I was actually listening to the speakers (at least to the parts I was awake for, which was almost all of it). And the speakers were fantastic. There were even points where I felt like their talks were specifically directed to me. Which made it much cooler to listen to and think about their messages. I discovered I'm actually starting to love General Conference, and be grateful for it. It also didn't hurt that I was in good company. And the Star Wars legos were a definite plus. Overall, it was a worthwhile weekend.
It's only been in recent years that I've really started to appreciate those semi annual eight hours. And this weekend was quite possibly the best General Conference I've ever sat through, mostly because I was actually listening to the speakers (at least to the parts I was awake for, which was almost all of it). And the speakers were fantastic. There were even points where I felt like their talks were specifically directed to me. Which made it much cooler to listen to and think about their messages. I discovered I'm actually starting to love General Conference, and be grateful for it. It also didn't hurt that I was in good company. And the Star Wars legos were a definite plus. Overall, it was a worthwhile weekend.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Random Kindness of Strangers
I am almost inexpressibly grateful for very nice strangers. Yesterday was quite an adventure, but I'd already started my blog before the adventure occurred, so I decided to blog about it today instead. My roommate, another friend, and I drove down to St. George yesterday, and it was quite possibly the most eventful, and terrifying, road trip of my life. But I suppose that's what makes life fun.
We began the trip at 5:30 in the afternoon, and I couldn't have been happier. Something about leaving the cold, gray skies of Provo for the sunny blue of St. George made me ridiculously giddy ALL DAY. The trip was going rather smoothly for the first few hours because I fell asleep, as per usual. Until I suddenly felt like we were driving through an earthquake and heard what sounded like gunfire. Talk about a startling wake up call.
What happened? Well, the tread on the tire started shredding and caught on the underside of the car, which then pulled of a piece of the outer car shell (whatever that's called), which then caused the tire to completely blow. And left us stranded on the side of the freeway, three helpless college girls who know nothing about a car except how to drive it, and sometimes I wonder about that.
Suddenly, the most wonderful thing happened. A car pulled off the road behind us, and a middle-aged man we'd never seen before got out. He then spoke the most welcome words possible: "Do you guys need any help?" Did we ever! It took about an hour, but at the end of those sixty minutes we had a fresh new tire and were on our way once again. Thanks almost completely to a stranger who happened to have the decency to stop and help, despite the wife and four kids he had in the car. We'd probably still be stranded if not for him. So I can hardly even express how grateful I am for the random kindness of strangers. It practically saved our lives yesterday.
We began the trip at 5:30 in the afternoon, and I couldn't have been happier. Something about leaving the cold, gray skies of Provo for the sunny blue of St. George made me ridiculously giddy ALL DAY. The trip was going rather smoothly for the first few hours because I fell asleep, as per usual. Until I suddenly felt like we were driving through an earthquake and heard what sounded like gunfire. Talk about a startling wake up call.
What happened? Well, the tread on the tire started shredding and caught on the underside of the car, which then pulled of a piece of the outer car shell (whatever that's called), which then caused the tire to completely blow. And left us stranded on the side of the freeway, three helpless college girls who know nothing about a car except how to drive it, and sometimes I wonder about that.
Suddenly, the most wonderful thing happened. A car pulled off the road behind us, and a middle-aged man we'd never seen before got out. He then spoke the most welcome words possible: "Do you guys need any help?" Did we ever! It took about an hour, but at the end of those sixty minutes we had a fresh new tire and were on our way once again. Thanks almost completely to a stranger who happened to have the decency to stop and help, despite the wife and four kids he had in the car. We'd probably still be stranded if not for him. So I can hardly even express how grateful I am for the random kindness of strangers. It practically saved our lives yesterday.
Friday, April 2, 2010
The Special Collections Section
Today's editing class was quite possibly the best class I've ever attended. Normally, I struggle to stay awake for what seems like the longest hour of my day, and I long ago decided that editing wasn't the career path for me. However, today was different. Today was AMAZING.
We met in the Special Collections section of the library, instead of our usual dreary classroom. When our professor first announced this change of location last class period, I was a little bit skeptical. "Special Collections" sounds like the sophisticated name for a traveling freak show, or perhaps a zoo full of those creatures that live in the depths of the ocean. You never know what you'll discover on BYU campus.
Well, the Special Collections turns out to be the section of the library where they house the books that are just too awesome to be handled by hundreds of thousands of students. Not like most of the books in the library ever get touched more than once a decade. But still. These books are way too cool to be on anything as normal as a library bookshelf. What, you may ask, was so cool about them? Let's start with the first book we saw: the actual, original, hand-written manuscript of a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. THE author of Sherlock Holmes. THE manuscript with HIS own handwriting (which is extremely neat, in case you were curious). And that was only the beginning. Throughout the course of the hour, we saw various copies of Bibles had-designed by monks in the 14th century, a pamphlet written and published by Martin Luther, a parchment that contained the works of Aristotle, and one of the first copies of the Book of Mormon. I was practically in heaven.
I actually enjoyed myself so much in the Special Collections that it almost inspired me to be a librarian. Since I am in the market for a career path and all. Who know what will actually happen, but for today, I'm grateful for the Special Collections. If nothing else, it made my editing class infinitely better.
We met in the Special Collections section of the library, instead of our usual dreary classroom. When our professor first announced this change of location last class period, I was a little bit skeptical. "Special Collections" sounds like the sophisticated name for a traveling freak show, or perhaps a zoo full of those creatures that live in the depths of the ocean. You never know what you'll discover on BYU campus.
Well, the Special Collections turns out to be the section of the library where they house the books that are just too awesome to be handled by hundreds of thousands of students. Not like most of the books in the library ever get touched more than once a decade. But still. These books are way too cool to be on anything as normal as a library bookshelf. What, you may ask, was so cool about them? Let's start with the first book we saw: the actual, original, hand-written manuscript of a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. THE author of Sherlock Holmes. THE manuscript with HIS own handwriting (which is extremely neat, in case you were curious). And that was only the beginning. Throughout the course of the hour, we saw various copies of Bibles had-designed by monks in the 14th century, a pamphlet written and published by Martin Luther, a parchment that contained the works of Aristotle, and one of the first copies of the Book of Mormon. I was practically in heaven.
I actually enjoyed myself so much in the Special Collections that it almost inspired me to be a librarian. Since I am in the market for a career path and all. Who know what will actually happen, but for today, I'm grateful for the Special Collections. If nothing else, it made my editing class infinitely better.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Unintended Days of Relaxation
It was another typical Thursday today. By typical I mean completely unmotivated to do anything. The story of my day really is a pretty pathetic story.
I woke up at 8:15, an hour later than normal, and instead of hurrying to get ready and make it to my Spanish class(which would have been easy enough to do), I decided to skip it altogether. I felt it was a much better choice, because I had to finish a one page paper for my 1:30 class anyways. Well, instead of working on that paper, I watched an episode of Psych online. The paper ended up getting finished about five minutes before the class started. And it gets worse from there. Pretty much the only actual work I needed to finish after I got home from classes for the day was reading and responding to three student essays. Which takes about three hours total. Three hours, one per paper. That was all. Three measly hours. And yet here I am, not even halfway done. Where did my day go?
I'm feeling an extreme case of deja vu right now, because I'm pretty sure I ask myself this same question every Thursday. What is it about this day that makes me put my life on hold? I don't know that I'll ever get an answer to that. But I am grateful for the unintended day of relaxation, even though it generally causes more stress later on in my life. Oh well. I'm slowly and painfully getting used to it.
On a side note, Happy April Fools' Day! A certain crazy friend of mine tried her hardest to persuade me to make this post all about my non-existent engagement. And though she was unsuccessful, it was a very funny idea. So maybe next year.
I woke up at 8:15, an hour later than normal, and instead of hurrying to get ready and make it to my Spanish class(which would have been easy enough to do), I decided to skip it altogether. I felt it was a much better choice, because I had to finish a one page paper for my 1:30 class anyways. Well, instead of working on that paper, I watched an episode of Psych online. The paper ended up getting finished about five minutes before the class started. And it gets worse from there. Pretty much the only actual work I needed to finish after I got home from classes for the day was reading and responding to three student essays. Which takes about three hours total. Three hours, one per paper. That was all. Three measly hours. And yet here I am, not even halfway done. Where did my day go?
I'm feeling an extreme case of deja vu right now, because I'm pretty sure I ask myself this same question every Thursday. What is it about this day that makes me put my life on hold? I don't know that I'll ever get an answer to that. But I am grateful for the unintended day of relaxation, even though it generally causes more stress later on in my life. Oh well. I'm slowly and painfully getting used to it.
On a side note, Happy April Fools' Day! A certain crazy friend of mine tried her hardest to persuade me to make this post all about my non-existent engagement. And though she was unsuccessful, it was a very funny idea. So maybe next year.
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