Friday, October 30, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

AHHHHH MISSION CALLS

In the past little bit, it seems like, once again, all of my friends have been getting mission calls. Except now they are my female friends, instead of all my boys. And of course, ALL is a slight exaggeration. But still. Today I had TWO friends get their mission calls. Misty, Lindsey's old roommate, is going to Mesa Arizona, English speaking, and my dear, dear Jen (from Deutschklasse...sie ist soo toll! Ich hab sie immer Lieb so viel!) is going to BERLIN! DEUTSCHLAND! So not only is she going to Germany and speaking Deutsch, she is going to the same mission as my older-brother/best friend ELDER STERLING JAMES MASON! I WANT TO WRITE ELDER STERLING JAMES MASON AND TELL HIM, BUT I AM NOT SENDING HIM ANOTHER LETTER UNTIL I GET ONE...because I've sent him two already. Anyway.

I want a mission call. Right now. Oh well. We'll just have to wait. Hopefully in a year, I'll be getting mine. Right now the plan is to put my papers in during next Fall Semester, and leave sometime during the Winter. That way I do a semester of school here at the Y with my brother, and come back in time for fall semester again, for my last year of school, because I'll be needing an extra semester anyway. Of course, this might change, because sometimes the Lord does that to you, because he knows what's best. And also, a year is kinda a long time. :) BUT I WANT TO SERVE A MISSION SO BADLY.

Being patient is hard sometimes.

Monday, October 26, 2009

My favorite place

When I was in 5th grade, the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated. I got to go to the broadcast of the temple dedication, which was cool because a few years earlier I had seen the bare temple site, before President Hinckley had even announced the rebuilding. Before the dedication (in the morning, before school, and which I felt very grown-up going to), my dad had me read D&C 109, the dedicatory prayer to the Kirtland Temple. So this section has always been special to me, because I have always connected it with the temple both historically, scripturally, and personally...obviously.

As I was preparing my lesson for RS on temples a couple weeks ago, I re-read a couple verses that soon became among my favorites, and I just reread them again for D&C tomorrow. Here they are--I wanted to share them with everyone because of the strength with which they struck me anew (my emphasis added in verse 15).

13 And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a aplace of thy holiness.
14 And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best abooks, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said;
15 And THAT THEY MAY GROW UP IN THEE, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing;
16 And that this house may be a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of glory and of God, even thy house.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Random lists of things aka I should be editing/working on my paper for 292, of which the final draft is due tomorrow but I am not.

Happy things:
1) ESPN College GameDay and being interviewed by KSL
2) Being in the homecoming parade with Cosmo, and riding on top of the Cosmobile.
3) Free food--pancakes, pizza, etc.
4) Family
5) Best mates calling you
6) Preach my Gospel
7) Reading essays written by Kylie McQuarrie
8) My Shakespeare love-quote mug
9) Chocolate Zucchini Cake
10) Realizing that my favorite scarf is not last, but rather just fell out of my laundry basket in my apartment so it was in my living room

Sad things:
1) PGD (post-game Depression)
2) Feeling really cruddy physically and mentally, it was weird, because I knew I wasn't sick, but I wasn't feeling physically well at all
3) Not going to church because you were #2 in this list when you woke up
4) Pictures that won't stay up on my wall
5) Being really confused and conflicted about certain aspects of my life
6) Having to write this paper, because I really don't want to at the moment
7) Missing boys, especially Elder Sterling James Mason, who is like my older brother and one of my best friends. (Not that I don't miss my other guy friends and that some of them aren't like my brothers as well, but I haven't heard from Sterling in a while and have really wanted to talk to him lately)
8) Empty mailboxes--see #7

Good things that Happened Because of Bad Things:
1) Sleep
2) A cute boy trying to cheer me up (and succeeding, for the most part)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Only with Christine

So, I'm rather embarrassed admitting this, but this is how I spent my evening. Correction: am still spending.



Christine is no longer here, but I am still in my green dress, feeling pretty (except for my ridiculous hair, but whatever), and wishing I could be dancing with a ridiculously attractive man. Oh, and before Christine left, we looked at wedding dresses and rings. And other people's wedding pictures. Haha. Yes we are girls.

And now "The Way You Look Tonight" just came up on my music list. haha. I feel so silly right now. But it's Christine's fault. :p

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

You know when...

all of a sudden you listen to a song or watch a movie and you notice something that you never really did before and all of a sudden it makes sense? Not that it didn't make sense before, you just didn't really think about it or notice it or it made sense, but you didn't get why it made sense? You know, when you finally get one of the adult jokes (that makes it sound bad, not that they are, but just the ones you don't get when you're kids) in a Disney movie you've been watching since you were 2 and can recite word for word, but you just never fully comprehended that line before and didn't realize it. You know what I'm talking about, right? Right....?

Anyway, whether you do or don't, that just happened to me.

I've been obsessed with Les Miserables ever since Junior High. I fell in love with the music and the story in 7th grade, my mom took me to see it in SLC in 8th grade, and then by about 3 weeks after I saw it I had the whole thing memorized. I was in it my senior year of high school as an extra, so even if I hadn't been in love with it for forever, I'd still know it like the back of my hand. I paid an arm (okay, not really, but it was twice as expensive as any the next most expensive ticket I bought there) to see it in London and it was worth every penny, even though I still have the entire thing memorized, had seen it before, etc etc etc, reiterate everything I've already said.

About 15 minutes ago I'm sitting the Music/Dance reading room on the 4th floor of the HBLL when "Red and Black" pops up on my completely-random-all-of-the-thousands-of-songs-I-have-on-my-iTunes music selection. It's always been one of my favorites; right before "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Really powerful. Love it. Anyway. Marius comes in, having just fallen in love with Cosette. Grantaire sings, "You talk of battles to be won, then here he comes like Don Ju-an. It's better than a opera." AH! INSERT THE MOMENT DESCRIBED ABOVE HERE! FREAK. BYRON. DON JUAN. NOT HWAN, LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE PRONOUNCED. JU-AN, LIKE BYRON'S POEM WRITTEN IN OTTAVA RIMA. PLUS THE STORY IS AN OPERA...

Not like I had never understood it before. I knew Don Juan, the story, the opera, the stereotype. I knew that Marius was in love and that it was opera-like and everything. I HAD JUST NEVER PUT ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER AND FULLY COMPREHENDED AND NOW I FEEL REALLY DUMB FOR NOT HAVING DONE IT EARLIER.

Thank you, Dr. Westover, for having us read Byron's Don Juan, simply for the fact that now I can always think of Byron's purposely-horrible rhymes whenever I listen to that line in Les Mis now.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Montag...

Bin ich so müde...Ich möchte ein Fliege zu töten.

Yep. Getting back to Provo at 1 a.m. after already being tired. Having to park clear across 9th since my complex parking is ridiculous as crap, and therefore leaving basically everything in my car. My roommate getting mad at me for waking her up, which I can completely understand, but calling me inconsiderate and thoughtless, when I was doing all I could to not wake her up, and then staying awake for an extra 2.5 hours, just laying in bed, worried that she hates me and is not going to be able to sleep ever. I hate feeling inconsiderate and rude, and that's how she made me feel, even though she's the one who told me when I brought the situation up at the beginning of the semester that she's a heavy sleeper and if I have a light on, it's okay, and she hasn't said anything since then. I thought we were getting along fine, but apparently I'm rude and inconsiderate, and she doesn't like me, and I never think about waking her up when I come in late? I'm not trying to be mean to her. I'm just trying to see where she's coming from, when in my mind I do all the homework I possibly can not in the room when she's asleep because I don't want to wake her up, but when the library's closed and we don't have wireless, I have to be back there and I'm always really careful to be quiet and have as little light as possible and everything, but when I come in at 1 after going home for the weekend, I need to at least turn my lamp on for a few minutes so that I can actually get into bed...I don't know. I just want to get a long with my roommate, because I like her, and I feel bad that I woke her up, and I didn't sleep well last night because I was feeling so bad.

And now I'm back in school, having not done my reading for 292. No idea what's going on in my German class today. The two things I wanted to happen during the weekend ended up a) not happening and b) being a disaster, but in general my weekend was good. Wonderful, actually. So wonderful to make it so I don't want to come back to school and making this Monday even worse. I just want to cry and sleep, but unfortunately it'll be another late night in the library doing this stupid Deutsch dictionary. Hopefully I can get it done before midnight so I don't have to do it at home and won't keep my roommate up...

Friday, October 16, 2009

MESA GOIN HOME

I am trekking, by myself, in my car, up to Twin today. Yay! Just a weekend with me and the fam. I am excited.

The excitement is making it difficult to finish the last little bit of school work that I have to do before class today. :(

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Burn the Bridge, Bet the Store

Right now I'm hanging out with Sarah while she's at work. She wanted to listen to Thoroughly Modern Millie. I had forgotten how much I love this show. Good times tapping in high school, pretending to be drunk...

Plus the music is so great. So fun. I can connect to it. And it makes me feel so happy--the emotion is quite wonderful. Jimmy, Forget About the Boy, Gimme Gimme, What Do I Need With Love, Not For the Life of Me . . . :)

If you don't know Thoroughly Modern Millie, I command you to go listen to one of the above songs right now. Preferably Jimmy or What Do I Need With Love.

Oh, the places I would like to show you
Although I hardly know you
I've a funny feeling we make a perfect pair
Famous sites I want to see you seeing
Then nights of you and me-ing
Me. You. We -
Wait a minute! Just a minute! No, no, no, no!

:)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Reasons to be Happy

1) Lots of big things I've been stressing out about lately--I don't have to stress about them for a while yet.
2) God. Okay, this is really number 1. He trusts me, He lets me choose, and you know, He's not going to let me go far without telling me what is right, what is good, what I should do, without guiding me with His gentle love.
3) School. I have a scholarship at one of the best universities in the nation. I learn about God and the world and life and literature and so many other wonderful things simultaneously. Even if it stresses me out and I think it's impossible, I really do enjoy what I'm doing, and there are days when I feel smart and actually do the impossible. And doing the impossible--it's kinda fun. :)
4) Friends. Talking with Jon and Juli before Writing today. Writing in general, and John Bennion. Syd and me trying to find ways around actually writing a real rough draft for 292 on Wed. Stephanie waiting for me outside of German, Jen saving my seat and completely goofing off with me after class every day and turning in her mission papers and giggling over that and her boyfriend visiting and the Mittwoch song. Sarah Lutz for keeping me sane, and insane, at the same time. Lindsey for randomly texting me inside jokes. My brother for saying he wants me to put off my mission a semester so that we can go to school together. Elder Garin saying he's worried that I don't actually have a social life and Elder Cowdell for always being so caring and positive. Elder Sterling James Mason and Elder Scott Savage for writing me letters that I can read over and over and over again. Katelyn for just being Katelyn and thinking about me, even if we don't have time to hang out all the time. And many others. Just because I didn't mention you doesn't mean you don't make me happy too!
5) Feeling really pretty for no particular reason.
6) The fact that after Wednesday my life should get much easier, and that this weekend I'm going home to eat Zucchini cake and make Halloween cookies with Leah and see my brother go to Sadies and maybe play a game of Settlers or two. And maybe some Rook and Clue. And play my grand piano. And do a lot of other things that I probably won't even have time to do, but am excited to be looking forward to, even if I don't get to actually do them.
And, last but not least, coming in at number 7...this photo, taken on one of the best nights of my life, stolen from Lori Fuller's Facebook:

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Yum

Yesterday was an adventure. I thought I was going to spend it all doing homework--a noble goal, and with no home football game, perhaps a realistic one.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I SHOULD have done homework--actually, I needed to do what I ended up doing instead. I needed to know that I still have a social life and that I still do productive things with my life, even if they're not school productive and they're just relaxing, fun productive. Because those kind of things do exist. And I needed one. Not that I don't lounge around all the time. But that is called wasting time and it is neither relaxing nor productive. Having fun and being social and being happy when that is what you need to do is very relaxing and productive.

Instead. This is what I did (picture stolen from Miss Whitney Bush):


That is me and 10 England friends. On top of Squaw Peak. 3 miles up, 3 miles down. It was the first time I've really been hiking-hiking (because the boardwalks at Yellowstone don't really count) since England. And I've missed it, especially with those wonderful, wonderful people. Oh, and before that I had gotten up early to clean my room for cleaning checks so now it is clean and I am happy and hopefully it will stay that way although I doubt it because we all know how messy my room gets when I am stressed out.

Then Sarah L. (the beautiful girl who went to Saturday Conference with me last week and one of my best friends) came to visit me because I love her and am used to seeing her every day and I hadn't really seen her since Saturday. I had, but I hadn't. Then her, Lila, and I decided we were hungry and Lila said she'd pay for pizza, so we went to Pirate Island! Ah! I mean...ARRRRR! TWAS THE BEST, MATEY! Seriously, so awesome. And I had a balloon monkey on my shoulder the whole time. PLus the pizza wasn't bad and the company was some of the best. I don't have a picture of Pirate Island (Lila and Sarah took some on their phones, of me and the monkey outside with the Pirate Island sign, but I don't have those) so you get a picture of me and Sarah at Conference last weekend instead. Oh, Conference was such a plethora of good times too.


When I got home, I did have every intention of doing homework, but I started talking with Liz and Katelyn and Lyssa and we hardly ever see each other so it was roommate bonding. Then I watched the 2nd half of the football game, which was kind of boring at times, because we completely kicked trash. And now I have a lot a lot a lot of homework to do sometime between now and class at 11 on Monday. Yay. But yesterday was totally worth it.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

@_@

Remember the days of a year and a half ago? When I was a little freshman and we'd all go goof off in the library instead of actually studying? And somehow, by some miracle, we managed to get everything done, get it done well to achieve good grades, and still have time for a late night adventure afterwards?

Yeah. Me too. Those days disappeared somewhere. Nowadays I'm not motivated to do school work at all, even though I enjoy all my classes. Nowadays, I'm lucky if I make it to the library (although I have also learned how to be productive at home). Nowadays, I can't stop thinking about the 30 hours of homework I need to do this weekend. My friends, midterms has come, and although I remember having just as much work to do freshman year, this homework seems to consume all my time and energy. I guess I'm just not as young as I used to be. ;)

haha, Anyway. I also feel like I'm the only one who ever does anything productive. In my D&C class, Bro. Fluhman asked what our plans for the weekend were. Everyone seemed shocked that I have so much work to do. One of my roommates is ALWAYS washing TV (she is also the one who always complains when things are messy and yet never does anything to clean it up...???). Where does she get the time to spend hours just sitting there on the couch?! I just don't understand.

Well, break time is up. It's time to get back to my To-do list. Still to go for tonight: Momo, by Michael Ende, the novel/screen play we're reading in Deutsch, journals on said Momo pages, and a paper proposal for my Engl 292 class. Luckily, I read the 50 pages of Tennyson for tomorrow earlier today. Holy poetry, Batman. I mean, I love Tennyson. LOVE. Especially In Memoriam. But 50 pages took A LONG TIME. But oh wow, twas good. I miss England. I'll dream of Tennyson Down tonight.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Mmmmm.

This is the day I've been waiting for. The beautiful fall day where it's chilly--cold, even--but not freezing. If you want, you could even walk around without a jacket. But it's fall. Cold enough to wear sweaters and jackets, but warm enough that it's not like I feel winter is right on my heels. Luckily. It was that way earlier, so I'm glad it's warmed up a tad.

Right now I'm sitting in Writing with John Bennion. Sammy's turn to be analyzed. She's writing her grandparent's memoirs for her family, right now writing about the start of her project, interviewing them instead of the actual memoirs. It's beautiful. And it makes me want to talk to my grandparents. I haven't seen Grandma Day in over a year. I miss her. We always have the funnest conversations--she is just the coolest old lady. And Grandma Ashby...I love talking to her about when she was at BYU, her college stories and how she'd go study with boys in the library (now the Testing Center) and Brimhall building because boys actually studied instead of being silly like girls, but we all tease her that she just wanted to flirt with them. I want to talk to my Grandpas. I wish I had gotten to know them better when they were still alive. I learned all the stories about my Grandpas through memoirs or stories from Grandma or their children. So. Talk to your grandparents before they're not there anymore because then you'll want to talk to them when you can't.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Blegh, an Ode to Bloody Asparagus Limbs

I'm having a rough day today. That, combined with the fact that many people who read my paper were wondering whether or not my bloody asparagus limbs were bloody-bloody or British-bloody, I present to you the painting that inspired it all. My favorite least-favorite painting ever: "Still Life with Asparagus, 1881" a reproduction of something painted by a Mr. Francois Bonvin. So yes. They are bloody limbs as in the asparagus looks like fingers that have been chopped off. At least to me. Apparently, you can get someone to paint a reproduction of your very own, starting at $180.79 here. Any takers?



Oh, p.s. If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about when I'm talking about the bloody asparagus limbs in my essay, you might want to read the essay it is in the first part of this post right here.