Then what's the point?!?!

One of my coworkers has swine flu. Which means I got the privilege of waking up before the crack of dawn yesterday and traveling through the quiet of the sleeping BYU world. And open up for work at 6:45 in the a.m.(BACKGROUND NOTE: The on-campus housing area where I work has graciously invited the children of the neighborhood across the street to come to each of the dorms and trick-or-treat at each of the student's doors.)

And besides the fact that opening yesterday meant I didn't have to work today, I got one special treat out of it. Around 9 a.m. I received a phone call from a very concerned father. He called us to tell us to please PLEASE please make sure that the students passed out healthy treats (isn't that an oxymoron?) and snacks to the children.

Excuse me while I sit here and try to understand what else this commercial holiday is all about. Because apparently, Halloween shouldn't be all about candy.

millions of keys, just for me.

These are what my life will consist of at work for the next month (and a half, if I'm being completely honest with myself):

Thank heavens it will only be the 'informal' key inventory. Not the official one. That one is bound to take all next semester.

My personal race?

"I have won races that taught me nothing, but I have rarely lost a race that has not taught me something. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that losing is the same as failing. You don't always win from a winning position, but you rarely lose from a losing position. And you are far more likely to make your way to that winning position if you have the courage to learn from the mistakes you make along the way."

- Sebastian Coe, Olympic Gold Medalist and Silver Medalist

Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my race. I can't seem to catch a break. I tend to have an exam (or two or three, to be exact) every week with no time to stop and breathe. I feel like I am running through this semester with the lungs of an ASTHMATIC person. Short little gasps and panting, bent over with my hands on my knees digging down deep to find the courage and strength to stand back up and keep running. This isn't a race for a prize or a leisurely stroll. Instead in is an endurance test - of my determination and will, my ability to focus and prioritize, of my strength to go on.

And I'm certainly not winning the endurance test, but I can promise you, I'm definitely learning the greater lessons from the losing side. And that makes me a winner anyways.

reason #832 why I love college

A) it rained last night
B) we didn't have a tent
C) or waterproof sleeping bags
D) we did have a sheet of PAINTER'S PLASTIC
E) between the 4 of us, we maybe got 6 hours of sleep
F) about 1,000 people cut us in line to get into GameDay
G) we were the first people at Kneaders
H) we went to bed for real around 8 a.m.
I) i wouldn't trade last night
for the world.

Want a picture of our campsite?

I know, you're jealous.
but you shouldn't be.

Lag time and lists.

"You're forgetting about lag time. -- Everything you do has a lag time. It takes a while for your efforts to pay off. Like when you go on a diet-- you don't lose weight right away, it takes a few weeks for your body to drop some pounds. Once people understand that you love them, they'll forgive your mistakes. For some things the lag time is weeks, for others it's years or even decades. But things do get better. Things will get better." - a very very wise woman named Carolyn

My lag time must be 21 years and counting. Because sometimes I still can't seem to make my efforts pay off.

My problem is I have all these crazy ideas that turn into "goals" I plan on accomplishing (usually starting my list at New Years' and then it fizzles off into nothing by the end of March/beginning of April).

And my list is quite extensive of things I want to do but have never done. Because I have the teensy tiny problem of never actually finishing anything I start. Ever. So I thought maybe now would be a good time to start?

Want a small sampling from my list?

1. run a marathon
2. get a passport
3. keep a journal
4. get a scuba diving license
5. learn to cook

I am taking hope in the fact that "...things do get better. Things will get better." So... here's to making things better instead of just waiting for it.

college gameday is coming to PROVO!

And it's already here!
Not going to lie. I'm stoked. And I'm camping out.
but wait! Who needs to camp out and and then try to get on ESPN with all the other hordes of fans attempting to get one screenshot of themselves out to the nation? ESPN came to me.

Well..... let's clarify that. ESPN came to coleby clawson - the guy who took out sam bradford here:
















and who also sits a couple rows ahead of me in ortho class.

Actually I kinda feel bad for the guy. If this is what being famous is like....

Then no thanks. I'd rather be invisible and free.
But I'm still camping out.

celebrate!

Guess what I discovered last weekend?
I am this many classes away from graduating:

1

2
3

4

5

6

7

8.

Only EIGHT classes away from finishing my undergrad. And now I am feeling relieved/ excited/ nervous/ stoked/ enthusiastic/ hopeful/ determined/ scared/ comforted/ and astonished all at once. Is that even possible? Must be, I guess....

P.S. I have SENIORITIS like crazy.

Who says summer is over? Not us.

Thanks to the creative genius of one certain BRYCE DAVID MORGAN, I went boating again on Saturday. We took a little jaunt up the Deer Creek and decided to take his as-of-right-now-unnamed-boat for it's second voyage. (The maiden voyage was the night before in the middle of the night on "the best date of her life".)


Would you like to see what our handsome vessel looked like?

Too bad we forgot all our cameras. It was so fun rowing around the lake and spinning in circles and circles. And building a dock. And entertaining the old people who were sitting at the top of the hill wondering what the crazy kids were doing down below. And then someone else decided to capsize us into the FREEEEEEZING cold lake. But all in all, it was a fabulous adventure. Followed up by a quick dip in the HOT HOT springs in Midway.

To all you summer-lovers: heads up! boating season is still open.

My new craving?

So I've decided what I want to do with my next tax return. Last year's was Hawaii. (So completely worth it! Hands down.) This next one will be for something a little less.... extravagant. I want a sewing machine. THis one to be specific:

I guess taking those sewing lessons in high school ended up being good for something other than random pieces of clothing that I no longer have. But now that I don't have one accessible, I want one. Isn't that how it is with everything in life?

But seriously. I'm having a creative-crafty-craving.

hasta luego.

I'm disappearing for a week and a bit. I have 4 muy difficile exams and lots of stress. So much that I can't sleep at night because I worry too much. In order to eliminate mucho time wasting and procrastination, I'm not getting on the facey or on here until next week.

Farewell until then. I hope I make it back.

Soirée

Someone had a party at my apartment last night. I'm not quite sure who it was. It was a BLACK TIE affair. And there were fancy shmancy drinks and loads of cheese and crackers. And we just danced the night away. Literally. And it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time.

I sure would like to say thank you to the Swordfish Seven - whoever they are - for putting it on. Shame that they won't reveal themselves. But I am grateful all the same.

(and my camera is in my car which is not at my house. so more pictures to come later. and maybe if you're lucky, there might even be a video!)

The smell of victory? It's in the air.

You know how there are some smells and tastes that just stick in your head? Even ones from when you are little? Like Thanksgivings where the smell of turkey emanated throughout the house for hours and your mouth watered for just as long. Or Christmas time and you can smell the cider and hot chocolate and pine everytime you open the front door. And all the goodies baking in the kitchen. They tend to stick in your head. And then when you stick them in your mouth, sometimes it is a wondrous thing. But sometimes it can be a disappointment. Like the first time you tried to eat playdough.

However, today's taste of victory will be oh so sweet. T- 1.25 hours. And then it will be mine. Because this ridiculous cast will be off my leg. AND my foot will be FREE!

hallelujah.

what my foot will look like in 1 hour:

I want to be Blair Waldorf for these reasons:

I LOVE a good headband. Props to the designers who have brought headbands back into fashion and made them so uber cute. These are by Bambako. Unfortunately a teensy bit out of my price range. But they are so fun to look at! (thank you GB for the heads up on these!)

Please and Thank You.

Yes, the WEATHER was a chilly today. And yes, I was wearing shorts. AND sandals. The cool brisk 37 degrees of chill outside in the morning cannot deter me from avoiding the fact that the snow season is coming up. However, I dressed for the high temperature of this fantabulous October day. Not the morning one. So, now it is quite pleasant outside and sandals and shorts perfectly suit me and this balmy 54 degree weather. Please and thank you, I would like one, just one more day to have the opportunity to put both feet into sandals - not one in a sandal and one in a cast, thank you.

ALSO, I would like to formally apologize to the guy who sits next to me in math class. Yes, I have had a cast on my legs for almost 6 weeks. Yes, it is quite, quite hairy as it is next to impossible to shave it -trust me, I tried. It is probably more painful for me to look at than for you. Perhaps you dislike the fact that the amount of hair on my leg is competing with yours? Or the fact that you are so captivated by this phenomenon that you cannot focus on the chalkboard or what the professor is saying.

However, you Sir, may celebrate come class time on FRIDAY. I will be rid of this cantankerous thing. And then, you are free to stare at our moustached-and-portly-enough-to-resemble-Professor-Slughorn-from-Harry-Potter-professor and try to decrypt the mumbo-jumbo of scribblings on the board that by some MIRACLE translate to be the lecture for the day.

I, on the other hand, will celebrate by shaving off a piece of me. Or many pieces of me. And I will wear sandals one more time.

Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn Take Me In.....

So this about the time I start giving up on school. After the first wave of tests, I start overthinking everything. And by overthink, I mean BIG time overthink. Like start thinking about how I'm going nowhere and then how I shouldn't even be here in the first place. Then I have to start re-thinking everything I'm doing.

And all this overthinking makes me sick and not able to sleep at night. ERGO, I have a very stuffy nose right now. And I am wishing for some Nyquil and my bed. However, duty calls. So off to work I go...... but maybe I should give up on that too.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to take time off of school and go to brooklyn. and new ro. and everywhere else in westchester that are near and dear to mi corazon. Or anywhere, really.
So, I will listen to THIS song, and wish I was back there instead of feeling sick out here.

ughhh

soooo, my iphone automatically updated itself on itunes when i wasn't really paying attention. and NOW it doesn't work. it upgraded the firmware to a version that doesn't support the apps that let you jailbreak it. I know how to downgrade it back to the version I need, and jailbreak it so it will work on tmobile... minus the fact that i can't do any of that without one key thing--- an AT&T sim card. the one thing I don't have.
but i do have a headache.

"nice wigs, weirdos" - best comment of the night by a stranger

So.....it is a plain and simple FACT that when we get together, the laughing starts and it doesn't really stop. Today was another example of that.

4 girls + one crazy Halloween store + 10 minutes of decision + 20 minutes of hysterical laughter in the bathroom = 4 girls in wigs walking around the mall with NO shame for priceless memories.

I would not have it ANY other way. photo shoot tomorrow?
i think yes!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This one is for you, girl!

Kinseybug.

Tomorrow is going to be one of the hardest days of your week, month, year.
The sun is going to pound down on you like you've never known.
Your feet will feel the pain of every single step, every dip, bump, pebble and ridge of that path.
Your legs will quiver with dread of going even a little bit farther.
The hill ahead will seem like the impossible feat you could never accomplish.
And every mile will feel like eternity.

But guess what. I have faith in you. I know you can do it. Because you cannot be beaten by the sun, the path or the distance.
You will make it. And every drop of sweat will be worth it.
I promise.



LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE,
me

"October is Scary."

October is here!! Fall has semi-erupted here in Cougar Town.
Football every weekend, crunchy leaves on the ground. It was supposed to SNOW yesterday. Thank the slight-above-freezing temperatures that it didn't. Please bid farewell to smores, sunshine, and sleeping in and welcome in with open arms the chilly days where sweaters/cardigans, boots and hot chocolate are regularly on display. Oooohhh, so excited for Hot Apple Cider and PUMPKIN rolls!!

I guess it's true what some old wise guy named Albert Einstein said. "Not everything that can be counted counts,and not everything that counts can be counted."

NOW, what should I be for HALLOWEEN?