i seriously love byu

BYU is the best place in the world, I'm convinced of it. On Saturday after returning to Provo, I walked up to the bookstore to get my textbooks for the upcoming semester and it felt amazing. I know, weird right? Just walking up rape hill, past the testing center, Eyring science center, and library (where I will be spending a sick amount of time this year) and into the bookstore was Grrrreat! (To quote Tony the Tiger). I know that come midterms I'll have a different take on it, but for the honeymoon week of the fall 2009 semester, I am still completely and naively in love with BYU.

Why? You ask...

Well. Because of my rad rad friends who I now will attempt to name (in order of appearance since my return to Provo):

-Audrey S.
-Rachelle D.
-Jon L. (we need to hang out. soon.)
-Brandon B. (see the above)
-Whitney E. (see the above +we are going to dominate in volleyball. hardcore.)
-Lauren P.
-Crystal B./M.
-Rachel L.
-Ann R.
-Hannah S.
-Kaitlin A./M.
-Ashley V./G.
(funnn girl reunion)
-Adam D.
-Jordan E./C. (I am SO glad you are in my humanities class!)
-Pretty much everybody at the Tfund. I like that place way too much for it to be a job.
-BOYS FROM FRESHMAN YEAR!!
-Brad Tilley
-Shae McPhee
-Andrew Smith
-Stephen Tew
-Sam Parkinson
After tirelessly scanning the faces of everyone I pass on campus for the past 3 days, I have only seen these 5 boys. Sad sad sad. But don't worry ex-freshmen boys, I will find the rest of you... Wait and see.

Just as I suspected, this year has been supafly. I wish I had more to report, but this is it for now.

Oh and one more thing: bonfire on Friday night? I may or may not have been spreading the news abroad... Yes? No? Yes? Yes? Let's do it!

I love you all!

Today

Today was my last day of work. My last shift at the Bistro was given to another girl (which I am a little angry about), and my last two shifts at the old folks' home were given to another girl (which I am even more angry and pretty sad about). Altogether that is $200 that I would have made. Sad sad sad. But the good news? I am completely done with work!! Yay! I am getting ridiculously excited to go back to Provo. And I'm excited to live with Rachelle and Audrey. Those girls=cool. Hence, I strongly suspect that this year will=cool.

4 days until BYU!!

i love love

Today I went to a wedding. It was very cool. This might be hard to believe, but I have never actually seen one before. With Mormon culture being the [awesome] way it is, I have sat in waiting rooms in temples during weddings, but have never actually been present for the wedding part of the wedding. I am not close with either the bride or the groom from today, but it was so cool to actually see! Maybe it's because I am a girl and hard-wired to do this kind of stuff, but I got a tiny bit emotional during the 'I do's'. What? I know, it was weird. But seriously, isn't it cool to think that there are people who love each other and want to be with each other for the rest of their lives? I loved it and want to become a wedding-attending enthusiast from this point onward. Actually, now that I think about it, I got a little teary when Crystal came out of the Denver temple with Scott. I think 21.5 years of life has turned me into a softie. The only downside of the whole thing was that I was wearing these:
and had to hike for about a mile through the rocky, hilly, dusty wilderness to get to the wedding location. That part was not fun.

New Obesssion

Prior to just recently, I had never read Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. After finishing it, I can say that it completely, 100% lives up to its reputation. That book is good. After finishing it, I went straight to movie gallery and rented the Focus Feature version of it. I have watched it an alarming number of times and don't plan on returning it any time soon despite the two messages I have received from Movie Gallery asking me to bring it back. Bad idea, I know, but I just want to keep watching it! I have decided that when I am a high school English teacher, I am going to make my students read it and then, for the fun of it (and the boys), I will have them read this:

While perusing Borders, I happened upon this lovely little contribution to American literature. Can you imagine the essay prompts for that experiment? I am excited. Here's an excerpt if you aren't intrigued yet:

“Come, Darcy,” said Mr. Bingley, “I hate to see you standing by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it.”

“I would not be as fastidious as you are for a kingdom! I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and several of them are uncommonly pretty.”

Before Mr. Darcy could respond, a chorus of screams filled the assembly hall, immediately joined by the shattering of window panes. Unmentionables scrambled in, their movements clumsy yet swift; their burial clothing in a range of untidiness.

Guests who had the misfortune of standing near the windows were seized and feasted on at once. Elizabeth watched Mrs. Long struggle to free herself as two female dreadfuls bit into her head, cracking her skull like a walnut, and sending a shower of dark blood spouting as high as the chandeliers."

Ew ew ew.

Okay, I'm going to go watch my stolen movie again... Everybody have a good night!

Not to post twice in one day or anything...

But. I am going to just do it. Today during my usual facebook perusal/stalking session, I saw some pictures on someone's page from Y mountain overlooking Provo and I felt a little pang in my heart. I miss that place! If you would have asked me about it a few years ago, I would have died if I would have known how much I have come to love 'Happy Valley'. Over the past 3 years though, Provo really has become my home. Not really my home because my family doesn't live there, but my home because that is where my life is. Make sense? When I come home (to Oregon), I feel like I'm on vacation from my life. It always feels good, but by the end of it, I am definitely ready to go back. Like now for example. . . Sigh, one week left.


There are a few obstacles left before takeoff though, and I am not looking forward to all of them (some I am though).
- 2 more days at Baker Bistro
- 3 more days at Meadowbrook
- 1 sacrament meeting talk (still haven't started preparing it. . . )
- 1 Sunday school lesson (still haven't even looked at it. . . )
- finish reading Letters to a Young Poet and Oliver Twist
and perhaps the most challenging of all:
- packing

How I am going to get everything down to school in my little car is another puzzle that I'm gonna need to figure out. In the meantime, everybody get ready to party! We are going to have so. much. fun. this year!

case study: the elderly

The other day as I was walking through Barnes & Noble (one of my two favorite stores on this planet (the other being Sephora)), I happened to catch the tail-end of an exchange between a man who could not be a year younger than 75 and a Barnes & Noble worker. I don't remember what it is that she asked him, but his reply to her question was, "I always try everything once." Bad grammar aside, his response made me laugh. More accurately, this particular response coming from a dentured mouth made me laugh. I can only hope that when I am in my 70's I possess the same sense of adventure.

Hello hello hello!

Well errabody, I have been holding out on you a bit. I have a new blog :) feel free to peruse if you wish. I have become completely obsessed with running and created it to document said obsession. Anyway, have a look if you wish. If not, that's cool too. But just in case you're curious... here it is.