i really probably should update this more even though i know no one will read it. (except you katherine :) ) there is so much i want to talk about and have been thinking about. aka a certain boy, relativity of truth, the gospel, more about that certain boy, etc. i'm taking french right now and it's really hard. i mean, not REALLY hard but just difficult to understand and formulate sentences with vocabulary i don't know yet. tyler has been really good at helping me study but he's gone until next tuesday! and i have a composition due on monday and a midterm on wednesday and thursday! i don't have time for him to be gone. but it'll hopefully turn out all right. i have to make lots of flash cards so i can learn the vocab :\ i have to work on a lot of hw this weekend; mainly papers for my internship that are due on tuesday. yikes! hopefully my teacher gets back to me soon about that extension...
A'bientot!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
since when did the sun come out?
i don't like going outside. i mean, i like it once i'm out there but it's the getting out there that's the trouble. i don't know how i got this way. even when i was living in scotland where there are a million museums to see and parks to walk through and pictures to take, i sat in my room on many a saturday. probably because i would feel guilty going out and enjoying myself when i have tons of homework and packing and laundry and cleaning to do at home. a good day for me is going outside and doing absolutely, with my whole heart, nothing. oh dear, it looks like my homework is calling :\
i'll try to make room for some sit-on-the-porch-reading-a-book time. wish me luck!
i'll try to make room for some sit-on-the-porch-reading-a-book time. wish me luck!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
i love to dance
basically, dancing makes me happy. if i'm having a bad day or even a good one, i like to dance my feelings out. music drives my emotions and vice versa. when i hear a really good song, it makes me happy, so i want to dance it. today was a good dancing day because i was really balanced so if i was on a proper floor, i could probably do piorettes or fuettes for ages. i don't dance because i want to. i dance because i have to.
well i'm off to go salsa dancing at el barrio's. ta!
well i'm off to go salsa dancing at el barrio's. ta!
Monday, February 9, 2009
i think therefore i am
on our way home from a movie, we were talking about music and how different songs evoke certain memories and smells make you think of certain things. so that got me thinking (and this probably won't make sense at all unless you live inside my head so just try to keep up)
essentially the conclusion i came to was that these smells and sounds prove our human-ness through memories. sounds and smells are intangible. sounds could arguably be tangible because you can feel the force of sound waves but you can't hold a sound and is therefore intangible as far as i'm concerned. anyway, these intangibles are just floating around in the atmosphere and when they are picked up by our ears and noses, they affect us all differently. like a person might like a certain song because it has a good beat but then another person sitting right next to the first may like the song because it reminds them of warm summer afternoons and jumping on trampolines. like the smell of some sort of chili or something makes me feel sick because at my friend's house, i ate something that had this certain smell and it made me sick. but then i start thinking about my friend and all the times we spent together at her house and growing up together and all our sleep overs and long talks. to someone else it may just be chili but to me, it is my childhood.
and then it reminds me that we're all individuals with different lives and stories and backgrounds. how we're all connected and crossed paths for a reason. everyone has their circle of friends who love them for various reasons and when those circles collide we become one. when people die, their stories, their thoughts, their feelings die with them. they are more than just a number; they are human.
essentially the conclusion i came to was that these smells and sounds prove our human-ness through memories. sounds and smells are intangible. sounds could arguably be tangible because you can feel the force of sound waves but you can't hold a sound and is therefore intangible as far as i'm concerned. anyway, these intangibles are just floating around in the atmosphere and when they are picked up by our ears and noses, they affect us all differently. like a person might like a certain song because it has a good beat but then another person sitting right next to the first may like the song because it reminds them of warm summer afternoons and jumping on trampolines. like the smell of some sort of chili or something makes me feel sick because at my friend's house, i ate something that had this certain smell and it made me sick. but then i start thinking about my friend and all the times we spent together at her house and growing up together and all our sleep overs and long talks. to someone else it may just be chili but to me, it is my childhood.
and then it reminds me that we're all individuals with different lives and stories and backgrounds. how we're all connected and crossed paths for a reason. everyone has their circle of friends who love them for various reasons and when those circles collide we become one. when people die, their stories, their thoughts, their feelings die with them. they are more than just a number; they are human.
Friday, January 9, 2009
I love scotland!
So basically, i never want to leave scotland. i've been here only a week but it feels like 6 weeks have gone by. i love my internship and the hills and the buildings and oh....it's just all so breathtaking. here are just some of the pictures i've taken so far:
i believe i have found my true love <3
i believe i have found my true love <3
Sunday, December 7, 2008
"...the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me..." D&C 25:12
church was awesome today. we had testimony meeting in sacrament and then i went to teacher development class for sunday school. i'm not called as a teacher, but if i want to go on a mission, i have to start learning how to teach, right? better to be safe than sorry. After sunday school, we had relief society. it was so wonderful today. instead of a formal lesson, we bore our testimonies and sang our favorite hymns. lots of christmas songs and lots of the spirit.
one girl said her favorite hymn was #214 "i heard the bells on christmas day". i haven't ever really looked at the words to the song because we don't sing it very often. i liked the words of the 3rd verse, which the girl pointed out, where it says, "And in despair I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth,' I said, 'for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.'" this just reminded me of the condition the world is in now where is so much war and hate. how can i as an international relations major think globally without getting depressed and disheartened? it is so hard. how can i make a difference when things are going so wrong and satan has control over so many people?
the first question came up in my international relations class. i love byu and how we can have gospel discussions right in the middle of class. anyway, my teacher essentially said that we need to have faith that things are in the lord's hands. we have no right to be depressed because the atonement happened and that knowledge should bring us so much joy! the next verse of the song brings hope to the despair that we feel when we become discouraged: "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.'" Awesome! Heavenly Father will always be with us when we need help. For this, i am grateful.
Merry Christmas everyone.
one girl said her favorite hymn was #214 "i heard the bells on christmas day". i haven't ever really looked at the words to the song because we don't sing it very often. i liked the words of the 3rd verse, which the girl pointed out, where it says, "And in despair I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth,' I said, 'for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.'" this just reminded me of the condition the world is in now where is so much war and hate. how can i as an international relations major think globally without getting depressed and disheartened? it is so hard. how can i make a difference when things are going so wrong and satan has control over so many people?
the first question came up in my international relations class. i love byu and how we can have gospel discussions right in the middle of class. anyway, my teacher essentially said that we need to have faith that things are in the lord's hands. we have no right to be depressed because the atonement happened and that knowledge should bring us so much joy! the next verse of the song brings hope to the despair that we feel when we become discouraged: "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.'" Awesome! Heavenly Father will always be with us when we need help. For this, i am grateful.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
My Thanksgiving Adventure
Thanksgiving this year was a blast! i got to hang out with my cousins that i haven't seen in a really long time and not have to worry about school or responsibility. i'll just start at the beginning...
wednesday:
i got to sleep in and bum around my apartment all morning. i made shortbread to take to "wednesday night pie", seeing as one cannot come to a party empty handed. when it finally came time to go, i packed my things into my backpack and headed out to the bus stop. i have never used public transit before but i felt confident in my ignorance, as my roommates had comforted me and told me everything i needed to know about using the bus (thanks caresse and stephanie!). according to uta.com's handy-dandy itinerary, i was to meet the bus at the stop across the street from the wilkinson center, but seeing as time was not on my side, i realized i may not make it in time. soon after i reached this realization, i noticed the bus stop i was coming upon was the same number as the one i was heading to but was further down the road. a young woman was standing at the designated area, which lead me to assume that she may be boarding my same bus. unlike myself, she seemed to know what she was doing so i asked for her assistance, wondering if this was the right bus stop, and if it would take me to the correct destination. she said it would. i deemed her answer trustworthy, and it so happened the bus was pulling up to the curb at that very moment. after paying my fare and asking the driver for a transfer ticket (thanks to megan for this gem of information), i sat down and pulled out mikey's letter to finish reading until we got to my next stop.
stop after stop, i grew more and more anxious to see my family. i made a few friends on the bus, namely that first girl and a boy, justin, of whom i asked questions and sat by. i'm not sure when the girl got off the bus because i sat next to justin most of the time, but i was grateful for her help in my time of need. justin was nice and good to keep company with for our short time together. he got off the train before i did so i was left alone to find my last stop. anxiety filled my veins as i was left alone to fend for myself to find my stop. i finally found my relative's house and was welcomed into the arms of my extended family. i had a great time catching up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. following this familial communion, my cousins, rick and crystal, and i had a movie party and watched cinderella man; a really good film, if i do say so myself. all around, a good day.
thursday:
thanksgiving day! hot cereal for breakfast and then crystal, rick, and i were off to aunt diane's apartment to decorate for christmas. we then took diane to my cousin adam and his wife's house for our feast. it was delicious! i ate so much food, but it was so worth it. these are my only cousins that are married and have kids. so there were children running rampant through the house; they were so cute. i learned a new game called amun-re. it is kind of like monopoly and zarahemla put together, which equals a really long game. it was great fun being with my cousins and reminiscing the good old days when rick and adam would chase us around the house. *sigh* good times. rick, crystal, and i had another movie night upstairs where we watched the ultimate gift, another great movie. i like a bunch of songs from it so i may try to look for the soundtrack or something.
friday:
slept in again and had waffles for breakfast. the conversation of the morning was american history, politics, and economics, so of course i was happy to listen. crystal had plans for the afternoon so rick and i got to go computer shopping for a laptop. i had been researching computers for a few weeks now and price checking everything, so now it was time to see what deals i could get on black friday *eek!*. the apple store was packed and it was only $50 off the price of the laptop i wanted. we looked at so many computers. i was almost considering one until the person trying to sell it to me let me know that the lifetime service and custom built computer was going to set me back about $2000! much too much out of my price range. a used computer warehouse held possibility but didn't quite hit the mark. finally, after 6 grueling hours of shopping, i decided on a black macbook. oh man! i was hyperventilating in the store. but i thought i could try it and see how it goes. i think i might return it; it is a lot for the things i will be doing with it so maybe i should downgrade. and it is a mac, which is great for pictures and things, just i'm not sure yet how much i'll be using all these extra features. but i don't think i like vista, which is the only os microsoft is putting on their computers now. idk...we'll see.
crystal had a date that night so rick and i and one of his friends went ice skating. so much fun. i have pictures (and videos :) ) that i'll try to put up later. oh and before i forget, i should probably mention that rick took me out computer shopping in his big, huge, hunting truck. apparently this was the most fun i was going to have the whole vacation (according to rick). it was an adventure, seeing as the power steering didn't work and my door always got stuck. anyway, ice skating then dropped off rick's friend, then walmart where we packed up on snacks for our movie night. we were totally loaded! cookies, candy, popcorn...so much fun. the movie was tarzan, an undisputed classic. a really good day, full of all sorts of emotions and fun.
saturday:
leftover waffles for breakfast (still delicious) and i helped carolyn and gary, my aunt and uncle, edit the book they're writing. it is about the paradigm of the electoral college, or something like that. i think it sounds really cool that they are putting their opinions out like that and trying to inform people about this. then went looking for a christmas tree with rick, crystal, and amy. the trees we looked at were way too expensive and not all that great. leaving empty handed and dejected, we returned home empty handed. brianna and ray from my american gov't class picked me up to go to slc and do our service project. we went to the one world, everybody eats cafe. so delicious and the people were very nice and grateful for our help. we cleaned out and reorganized their storage shed and deep cleaned the entire place. it was a great experience. i may write more about it later, but this should suffice for now. anyway, i picked up my stuff from carolyn and gary's house and went back home to provo. now it's time to get back to reality :(
biology paper due monday and lots of reading to catch up on. yikes...better get started!
p.s. today was my half birthday. happy 20 1/2 years old! funny how life kind of sneaks up on you like that...
wednesday:
i got to sleep in and bum around my apartment all morning. i made shortbread to take to "wednesday night pie", seeing as one cannot come to a party empty handed. when it finally came time to go, i packed my things into my backpack and headed out to the bus stop. i have never used public transit before but i felt confident in my ignorance, as my roommates had comforted me and told me everything i needed to know about using the bus (thanks caresse and stephanie!). according to uta.com's handy-dandy itinerary, i was to meet the bus at the stop across the street from the wilkinson center, but seeing as time was not on my side, i realized i may not make it in time. soon after i reached this realization, i noticed the bus stop i was coming upon was the same number as the one i was heading to but was further down the road. a young woman was standing at the designated area, which lead me to assume that she may be boarding my same bus. unlike myself, she seemed to know what she was doing so i asked for her assistance, wondering if this was the right bus stop, and if it would take me to the correct destination. she said it would. i deemed her answer trustworthy, and it so happened the bus was pulling up to the curb at that very moment. after paying my fare and asking the driver for a transfer ticket (thanks to megan for this gem of information), i sat down and pulled out mikey's letter to finish reading until we got to my next stop.
stop after stop, i grew more and more anxious to see my family. i made a few friends on the bus, namely that first girl and a boy, justin, of whom i asked questions and sat by. i'm not sure when the girl got off the bus because i sat next to justin most of the time, but i was grateful for her help in my time of need. justin was nice and good to keep company with for our short time together. he got off the train before i did so i was left alone to find my last stop. anxiety filled my veins as i was left alone to fend for myself to find my stop. i finally found my relative's house and was welcomed into the arms of my extended family. i had a great time catching up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. following this familial communion, my cousins, rick and crystal, and i had a movie party and watched cinderella man; a really good film, if i do say so myself. all around, a good day.
thursday:
thanksgiving day! hot cereal for breakfast and then crystal, rick, and i were off to aunt diane's apartment to decorate for christmas. we then took diane to my cousin adam and his wife's house for our feast. it was delicious! i ate so much food, but it was so worth it. these are my only cousins that are married and have kids. so there were children running rampant through the house; they were so cute. i learned a new game called amun-re. it is kind of like monopoly and zarahemla put together, which equals a really long game. it was great fun being with my cousins and reminiscing the good old days when rick and adam would chase us around the house. *sigh* good times. rick, crystal, and i had another movie night upstairs where we watched the ultimate gift, another great movie. i like a bunch of songs from it so i may try to look for the soundtrack or something.
friday:
slept in again and had waffles for breakfast. the conversation of the morning was american history, politics, and economics, so of course i was happy to listen. crystal had plans for the afternoon so rick and i got to go computer shopping for a laptop. i had been researching computers for a few weeks now and price checking everything, so now it was time to see what deals i could get on black friday *eek!*. the apple store was packed and it was only $50 off the price of the laptop i wanted. we looked at so many computers. i was almost considering one until the person trying to sell it to me let me know that the lifetime service and custom built computer was going to set me back about $2000! much too much out of my price range. a used computer warehouse held possibility but didn't quite hit the mark. finally, after 6 grueling hours of shopping, i decided on a black macbook. oh man! i was hyperventilating in the store. but i thought i could try it and see how it goes. i think i might return it; it is a lot for the things i will be doing with it so maybe i should downgrade. and it is a mac, which is great for pictures and things, just i'm not sure yet how much i'll be using all these extra features. but i don't think i like vista, which is the only os microsoft is putting on their computers now. idk...we'll see.
crystal had a date that night so rick and i and one of his friends went ice skating. so much fun. i have pictures (and videos :) ) that i'll try to put up later. oh and before i forget, i should probably mention that rick took me out computer shopping in his big, huge, hunting truck. apparently this was the most fun i was going to have the whole vacation (according to rick). it was an adventure, seeing as the power steering didn't work and my door always got stuck. anyway, ice skating then dropped off rick's friend, then walmart where we packed up on snacks for our movie night. we were totally loaded! cookies, candy, popcorn...so much fun. the movie was tarzan, an undisputed classic. a really good day, full of all sorts of emotions and fun.
saturday:
leftover waffles for breakfast (still delicious) and i helped carolyn and gary, my aunt and uncle, edit the book they're writing. it is about the paradigm of the electoral college, or something like that. i think it sounds really cool that they are putting their opinions out like that and trying to inform people about this. then went looking for a christmas tree with rick, crystal, and amy. the trees we looked at were way too expensive and not all that great. leaving empty handed and dejected, we returned home empty handed. brianna and ray from my american gov't class picked me up to go to slc and do our service project. we went to the one world, everybody eats cafe. so delicious and the people were very nice and grateful for our help. we cleaned out and reorganized their storage shed and deep cleaned the entire place. it was a great experience. i may write more about it later, but this should suffice for now. anyway, i picked up my stuff from carolyn and gary's house and went back home to provo. now it's time to get back to reality :(
biology paper due monday and lots of reading to catch up on. yikes...better get started!
p.s. today was my half birthday. happy 20 1/2 years old! funny how life kind of sneaks up on you like that...
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