Wednesday, March 18, 2009

England is Calling

The longer I read these novels and plays for 333 and Shakespeare, and the more I stare at the pictures and read the history in my book for my Study Abroad prep course, the more I just want to go to England. It's less than 6 weeks now. And that scares me because I'm no where near ready, but at the same time...wow. I'm so excited. I don't want to leave and I haven't even gotten there yet.

Then there comes my blogging dilemma. Whenever I think, "Oh, I should write in my blog!" one of two scenarios occurs: 1) I don't have anything to say really. Like tonight. Right now I'm just avoiding Deutsch because I'd much rather be sleeping, but I can't go to bed until I do it and I just don't really want to write this at all. or 2) I have all these deep thoughts and feelings to pour out onto the screen but I'm not by a computer and I'm too lazy to write them down on paper or I don't have time or some sort of variation. I need to start writing in my journal-journal again, but before I do that I need to start getting back into a regular scripture study schedule and I need to start regularly working out and I need to get on a normal, healthy sleep schedule that doesn't involve me blogging at 1 a.m. putting off homework that's due in 8 hours. Which means that I need to be all caught up on homework and stop wasting as much time during the day. I'm just so far behind that I feel it's impossible to catch up, and yet I know I will eventually--meaning the very end of the semester--because that's what always happens, and yet no matter how long I spend actually being productive, I feel like I never actually get closer to being caught up.

Monday, March 9, 2009

It Might as Well be Spring...

...or I wish it would be, anyway. The past few weeks were so nice. I wasn't fooled because the ridiculousness that is winter always comes back until the end of April, sometimes later. This nice week of perfect weather always happens, both here and in Twin, at the end of February and then goes back to the gray and the snow. Yet it was longer and warmer this year. I LOVED IT! And now, after a few days of snow that quickly melted (aka wet snow that was on the ground in the morning and gone when I got out of classes a few hours later) and then being slightly warmer than usual winter temperatures (but still cold, mind you), it is back to snowing, and sticking. Hard. Ugh. All I did was take a nap in the library, down in Periodicals. When I woke up, I turn around and glance out the window and BAM. Snow is falling all around, on the rooftops, on the ground. Luckily it's not falling on my eyes, and hands, and nose yet, since I haven't left the library. I might not leave. Maybe they'll let me just stay here over night and that way I don't have to go out into the cold. It's just so gray and depressing outside and it doesn't show signs of stopping. It doens't help that the warm weather was so wonderful and I could walk around in shorts and flip-flops and a t-shirt without a jacket. And now we're back to this. I knew the cold was coming back, but that doesn't make it any better. I've also had the State Fair song "It Might As Well Be Spring" stuck in my head. Spring fever is coming. Well, it's been here for a while, but is in ever more full-fledge now.

Since we're talking about spring...7 weeks from today I will be in Scotland! Every few days I'll think about it and pull out my phone and count the days. We're under 50 now! Hooray! I'm so excited, I cannot even tell you. I'm one of the piano players for our trip, so I get to help put together the musical firesides that we're doing, and since there's 2 of us, I'll get to switch off and sing some too! And we started our prep course and there is so much that is just getting me so excited for it. 49 days until ENGLAND!

On a deeper, more serious note, whenever I'm in the library at this time, I can always hear the Star-Spangled Banner play as the ROTC takes down the flag, since the flag is within a 30-second walk from me (that is, if the wall of windows and the bushes that divide me from it weren't there). I'm so glad to live in this great country of ours.

Idaho update: I'm going home to Twin the last weekend in March. It's pretty final now. It'll be my 3 day Spring Break that doesn't take me any place warm, doesn't get me out of school, and probably just makes me more behind, but my time management is horrible during the weekends anyway, so I don't feel too badly. Plus it'll just be nice to go up and see my family and Lindsey.

That's about all my thoughts for right now. Well, okay, it's nowhere near all my thoughts. I've been thinking a lot about all these questions I've had for Novel lately, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to know those. :)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Homesick

For some reason, the past few days I have just been longing to go back home to Twin Falls. I don't know if it's I just want to get out of Provo or what, but I MISS TWIN!

I just want to drive across the Perrine Bridge and be in awe of the beauty of the canyon. I want to go down to the falls. I want to watch the beautiful sunsets. I want to see Rock Creek out my window; I want to sit on the canyon and think. I want to drive really fast down the country roads, and just lay on my lawn or sit on my porch swing and stare up at the stars--the whole billions of stars that you can't see in Provo because of all the light. I want to hear the wind howling so loud outside of my bedroom windows that I feel like it's going to blow my house down, and yet feel secure at the same time because it's almost like the wind is holding the house up. I want to hear the creek rushing below, even from as high up as I am, and hear the coyotes howling. (Okay, so lots of these things can only happen in the summer, but I don't care. I miss them anyway). I want to see the temple spire rising up from almost anywhere in town, and I want to walk around the beautiful temple grounds. I want to walk along the canyon edge and take odd pictures with the statues. I want to wander around the halls of TFHS, being grateful that I'm no longer in high school, and yet missing Mrs. High and choirs and seminary stuff all the same. I want to just drive around town, knowing where everything is and how to get anywhere. I want to go to a drive-in movie. I want to wander around CSI and play on the Harrison playground and just wander around the dinky little mall. I want to hike around in Rock Creek canyon and sit on the ledge I used to at our old house. I want to see my family. I want to see Lindsey and Chip. And yet, right now the people are only secondary to me. I mostly just want to see Idaho. In fact, I'm thinking about going home two weekends from now--when my family won't be there. Just to spend time in Idaho.

I remember how ugly I thought Twin was when I first moved there. Oh, I was wrong. Lots of people think southern Idaho is ugly. Whatever. It's one of the most beautiful places ever. It's a different type of beauty though. It doesn't have majestic mountains like the Wasatch front, or lots of green trees. And I will admit that I still think Idaho on some winter days is ugly--the sky the same color gray as all the ground showing and everything else white and tan. Yet even that has it's own appeal. And right now I just want to drive up to Twin Falls and spend a lovely spring day there. Sigh. If only I didn't have class tomorrow, I'd leave right now.