Mysterious Ways

So in my most recent post, I was feeling rather yucky.
Well, I watched "7 Pounds" tonight. And if someone hasn't seen the movie and doesn't want it to get ruined for them, don't continue reading, because I'm going to spill it. I am so amazed at the sacrifice Will Smith made for total strangers. I can only imagine the guilt he felt after causing an accident that killed 7 people, including his fiancee. But he repaid that sevenfold... literally. the fact that he found someone who had his same blood type with a faulty heart was amazing. Then he went and gave up his own life for her. In the end, he donated part of his liver, bone marrow, a lung lobe, eyes, his house, and his heart to seven random strangers. That honestly got me thinking about the Atonement. Perhaps because I'm thinking of my Sunday School lesson that I need to finish. But really. Think about the ultimate sacrifice given in both situations. Needless to say, it was powerful. And makes me want to be a better person.

I don't get mad, I just get even

When life gives you lemons, you just take them and throw them at someone else. That's my motto. It makes you feel a little bit better, at least.
It's been a long week. We can start with 3 hours in the library Monday night (longest i've spent in the library all semester), followed by a group meeting on Tuesday for a project I didn't know I had. It was due Thursday. Fortunately all I had to plan was 3 minutes of information on Learning Disabilities in the workplace. Wednesday night was just as miserable. I got up early to do laundry, dishes, and practice the piano for the ward Talent show that night. I couldn't believe I had signed myself up for this. I haven't signed up for a talent show (minus the wonderful "Jai Ho!" dance last semester, but that was everyone) since 4th grade. And then, i was-yep- playing the piano. This time I decided to play the piano and sing. The song I chose was "Breathe" by Anna Nalick. I had to change a word or two, but it was easy and has a good message. I had 3 classes back to back, then a group meeting for the same group. These girls need to CHILL OUT. They were snapping at each other back and forth over the table for an hour and a half. I just sat there in a half asleep stupor. The talent show was... exciting. Tons of people playing the piano. That's why I don't like going to talent shows. Someone's always better than me at the piano, and at singing. But I did it , and I think I did fine. Then I had to write my 3 minutes of information. I was so tired by the end of the day Thursday, I planned for a 3 hour nap. However, some roommates forget that since I sleep right by the bathroom, I can hear EVERYTHING they say when they're in there. So it was only a 45 minute nap. Along the way, I found out something that made me kind of sad. BUT... don't worry. Nothing an hour and a half at the gym couldn't cure. I would have gone for longer, but I was falling asleep. Now, we're plotting a prank that will be funny, and totally undectectable.

Sledding

For those who didn't see the videos/pictures on Facebook, here are the highlights:

Laundry Ranting/Raving/Venting (and stories from this weekend)

While BYU Idaho is an institution that is ordained of God, there are definitely some facilities that are less than celestial. One is this stupid laundry system. You think that since Tuscany is one of the newer apartment complexes around campus, we would be able to have free laundry. At the least, CHEAP. However, that is not Tami's plan for us. I think she's some type of vampire, except instead of sucking our blood from our necks she's draining our wallets for her own gain. Example? Charging me $30 for not sweeping BEHIND the fridge at checkouts. Sorry, i forgot we eat off the floor back there. And charging us because we had a candle lit away from anything else last night. Anyway, laundry. It's $1.25 to wash and another dollar to dry. So, $2.25 to do a load. Multiply that by 4, and you get $9. Per week? Yeah right! If there's 12 weeks in the semester, that's over $100 I'm spending on laundry alone. And you can't combine loads in the dryer, because it won't dry the clothes. So basically, I've devised a new plan of attack. Many of my clothes do not need to be washed every week. That sounds gross, but I'm not being unhygienic. For example, my jeans are always super tight, they can afford to stretch out a little bit and be normal until I wash them again. I also have enough clothes to last a few weeks, I just usually wear the same 10 shirts over and over again. I just don't get why we have to empty our wallets every week looking for quarters to feed this infernal machine.
At any rate, I had a spectacular fall last night at the pool. I was running after a ball, which was kind of scary because it was on slick tiles and Cody was running after me. I had this vision of me sliding in front of the ball, rolling into the pool, while managing to hit Cody in the face with the ball as I went under. Instead, you remember that scene from "Free Willy" when the kid falls in front of the killer whale tank and hits his head on the cement? It probably looked like that. Fortunately my hip has a lot of cushioning, otherwise it might have REALLY hurt. As it is, i'm going to have a spectacular bruise there. As i slowly rolled my mass into the pool, they asked if I was ok. I was hurt, but why would I tell them that? So now I'm sore because of working out and eating it on the tiles last night.
At any rate, I just got my calling. Sunday School teacher. Ironic, eh? Love it, our FHE brother recommended me to the bishop. And then some of the boys came over and gave Lindsay a blessing, since she was coughing up a storm. So cute that we have friends who can do that.

First week of the Coldest Semester Yet.

As I left Monday morning (Yes, I've been here for less than 5 days), it was 50 degrees at 5 in the morning. As I thought about what I was going to, I wondered again why I was so excited to go back to Idaho. The flight and drive were pleasant but uneventful, besides James turning onto the Legacy Parkway, which took us off course for a while. My first step out of his truck when we finally got to Tuscany was directly onto the most slippery patch of ice in Rexburg, resulting in my feet sliding out from underneath me. I pretended it didn't happen, since no one saw, but internally I knew it was Rexburg letting me know what I was in for. When we got into my apartment, the power was out. Another classic Rexburg move. But the three letters sitting on my bed waiting for me made up for it- from Elder Cornwell, Elder Green, and Elder Wong.
School was remarkably uneventful. The most exciting part of the week was missing my weight training class because I couldn't print out my schedule. As is standard, those known as my "crew" left this weekend to go to Utah. Which left me in my apartment with half the people there. That trick gets remarkably old after a while... I hate being left here by the people i'm supposed to be the closest to. But I guess all that means is that I'm supposed to go make new friends. I'm good at that.
We got our new FHE group this semester- it seems like it's going to be a good semester. Hopefully it will be better than our last semester's group... But I don't think it could be worse. At least three other people are from California, one from San Diego, which makes me happy. We'll have something in common. That's basically it for right now... I'm just bracing myself for a long week ahead. Only the second of the semester.

New Year's Resolutions

Maybe I should have asked for Michael Buble for Christmas instead.

So, 2009 taught me a lot. A year will do that to you. As such, here is a somewhat light hearted (but serious at the same time) list of resolutions for 2010.
1) Bite my tongue more. There have been plenty of occasions where I have bitten my tongue until it bleeds to keep from saying things that could destroy relationships. I know that this will be tested very shortly after arriving back in Rexburg (it always is), so I'll just look at it as a test for patience.
2) Arrogant jokes are only funny to a point. Then people just want to kick you. I always like to make people laugh, but jokes are only funny to an extent.
3) 4.0 GPA. It's about time I got into gear, and showed what I'm REALLY capable of.
4) Cook & exercise more. Due to my lack of exercise and excessive Hot Pocket consumption, I get really lethargic when I'm at school. I also want to be able to cook by the time I get married (in 2015), but I also don't want to get fat from all the experimenting I do in the kitchen. So if I get in the habit of doing both, my life will be a lot better.
5) Do my dishes. Hopefully I can be an influence for good in my apartment.
6) Have some set schedule of waking up/going to bed. Last semester, I would start class at either 9 AM or 11:30 AM, depending on the day. This caused a somewhat chaotic sleep schedule, which probably wasn't healthy. I might lose less sleep if I set a usual time to try and be in bed/ awake by.
7) Be better about curfew. Ok, so to be fair, I was pretty good about it. Well, decent about it. I was usually watching a movie at someone's house if I was late coming home... besides the ice caves and a certain night where we couldn't find our keys. You get the point. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't like to follow rules that I don't see the reason behind. But I'm starting to understand that bad things can happen/ good things can be ruined by staying out just a little bit too late with someone. So I'll work on that.

It will be edited as I think of more resolutions.

Christmas from Irvine

Christmas is always a time of great emotion for me. I have absolutely no idea why, but I always get extremely sentimental and grateful for everything that I have. Which is a good thing, if it would only last. This past year, seeing how the world lives outside of Orange County, I've had these emotions heightened. We truly have so much to be thankful for here. In Orange County, people sometimes get into a sense of entitlement. 15 year olds get Lexuses before they even pass their license tests, if someone wrecks a car they just get another one, I saw the newest cell phones at school before they were even advertised... the list goes on. Around Christmastime, I always notice how Orange County's idea of Christmas is so skewed from the world's. As i listed before, I did want material things for Christmas. But I entirely forgot about that in the days leading up to Christmas as we schemed on ways to top our "service" gift from last year. Our family is verrry competitive, and even with things like that. Obviously, I cried when we talked about it around the Christmas tree. But it was a good cry. On a related note, I should probably write down what I want to say before I get emotional... otherwise it's just word vomit. But it was a fulfilling day... We went to the beach. Which was so nice. And what my picture's from. However, just before we went to the beach, I got a phone call from an unavailable number. I answered, and it was my cousin Bennett! He's technically not supposed to call, since he's on his mission in Brazil and they're only supposed to talk to immediate family, but it made my Christmas so much better! I wish I could have talked to him for longer (and by myself, not on speakerphone with the whole family chiming in so that I could hardly get a word in edgewise), but it was still great! Put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. I just loved being with my family, and spending a quiet day with them. Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Big Brother

So Austin's friend Mattan made a music video starring the two biggest hams in our family... Cole and Austin. It's to "Take a Bow" by Muse, and here's the link so you can enjoy it.
http://cohenvideo.com/reel/Videos/Pages/Big_BrotherHD.html

Finals Week. It's Latin for "Excuse to Torture College Students"

Wow. I have never been so relieved to be in Orem, Utah. Overall, I did enjoy my semester at BYU-I. But this past week was more stress and work than the entire rest of the semester combined. In addition to 6 finals (4 tests and 2 papers), I had to say goodbye to some friends that I would not see for a LONG time, clean my apartment for a "white glove" clean check, and somehow manage to sleep... sometimes.
It all started on Friday, as soon as we got out of classes for the weekend. It was not going to be a weekend of relaxation, that's for sure. However, I blew it off to watch "Up!" twice in a row. By the way, one of the cutest movies I've seen in a long time. But anyway. Saturday was a day of studying in the library, which I did for 6 or 7 hours. I took Sunday off, because I have this entire semester. Which could probably explain why I had to hit the ground running Monday. After 4 classes and a few hours at the library, most of us from apt 424 went to "Gringo's" to celebrate the beginning of the worst week of our lives.
Tuesday was essentially one of the most stressful days of my life. I had to prepare 13 homework assignments to turn in, create a podcast (which meant I had to learn how to do it), start my clean check assignment, and begin packing. In addition to studying for 4 more tests and one more paper. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. I finally figured out how to make the podcast, but I needed to convert it to an mp3 file. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. By the time the deadline had come around, my file was still converting itself. This is where going to BYUI comes in handy. I emailed my teacher, telling him exactly what had happened, and asked if I could just email my podcast to him instead of turning it in online. He said yes. So i didn't fail my final project. In addition, Riley came over to say goodbye before he left. And introduced us to the "Happy Aquarium" application on Facebook. Glad to know we have that to keep in touch.
Wednesday was game time. I had to clean my room/the kitchen then, in addition to begin studying for 3 more finals and write one final paper, as I had taken one during class that day. Same old story, went to the library, wrote out a page long as to why I thought a hypothetical couple shouldn't get in vitro fertilization (I don't really have a stance on this, I just needed to write a page on it). After reading through 4 homework assignments for International Relations, I hit the wall. Dealing with the stresses of living in an apartment with 5 other girls (all of whom were starting to get edgy... or maybe that was just me) was not my idea of having a fun night. Fortunately, my friend texted me to watch Star Trek. I was out of there so fast. While it was good to get out of the house for a while, it totally put me behind on everything. I had to get home, clean up the disaster zone that had become my room (I couldn't even get the door open all the way), and keep reading for my 3 finals. Needless to say, sleep did not come for a long time.
I also had to reschedule my clean check appointment, because it was set for Saturday I believe. That would not fly. When I went to the Tuscany office Thursday morning (on the way to the library, after insufficient sleep), Tami got mad at me for having to come to the apartment at different times to check different people out. Really? It's called your JOB. And she didn't even do it, one of her girls did. I honestly could not care less about what you want, I'm not working around YOUR schedule on MY finals week. But I digress. She rescheduled me for 7 that night, which was pretty bad. As that's when my religion final got out. So, I had to hurry in the library so that I could get home and clean before 5:30, AND walk back to take my final. The nice train had LONG since left that station. In addition, i got $1 (!) for one of my textbooks. And didn't have time to return any of the other textbooks, so $1 was all I got. That's not even enough to pay for washing one load of laundry! Ugh. The good news was I passed my clean check, and just in the nick of time. About 4 minutes after the girl left (i got marked off for not mopping the floor under the fridge...), I was laying on the couch motivating myself to go study, and the power went out. Instantly, everyone around me started screaming. I just pulled my legs up closer to me, and waited to see if it would come back on. After 10 minutes, we realized it wasn't just some random "oops!" moment. I couldn't call or text people very easily. And, it wasn't just our apartment complex. The entire surrounding area was out of power. I didn't realize what a problem this was (besides interrupting my studying and being kind of creepy) until I got a hold of my mom and she asked, "What are you going to do about heat?" .......... Umm. Oh yeah, it's 15 degrees outside. So Lauren and I booked it to our math teacher's house (it's her boyfriend's cousin, we're not creepy), and hung out with him and his family while we waited for the lights to come on. About an hour and a half after they went off, the lights all suddenly turned on. Lauren and I decided to then leave, to finish our studying. However, the worst happened. As we rounded the corner to return home, we noticed the lights had gone out again. Instead of retreating again to our teacher's house, we decided to just stick it out with the one candle and one flashlight we had in our apartment. Fortunately, we remembered that our laptops run on battery power, so we kept those on some of the time, and danced to the music. At about 10:30, the power came back on. I then had a choice to make. I could either pull an all-nighter and study my brains out for my two finals tomorrow (at 7 AM and 8:45 AM), or sleep and just pray that "after all I can do" will come into effect. I chose the second option, and set my alarm for the unholy Rexburg hour of 6:30.
Throughout the night I was so afraid of sleeping through my finals that I got up and got ready before I realized it was 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning. Walking to class at quarter to 7 in the morning was a thoroughly miserable experience. However, the two finals went well and I booked it out of Rexburg at approximately 10:15 in the morning. Which leads me to now. I am sitting wrapped in a down comforter with my toes freezing off, but I'm not in Rexburg. That is all that matters. And tomorrow I will be home for Christmas! It's been a good day today indeed.

Christmas List

For Christmas I would really want:
-4 more hours each day (for either sleeping or doing homework)
-Money to get through next semester
-More straight leg jeans to wear with my massive boots (skinny jeans make my feet look huge in those boots)
-Fast-Grad
-Matthew Bellamy (the lead singer for Muse)
-$100 in quarters, as I'm sure that's how much it's going to cost to do laundry this semester.
-A 4.0 GPA winter semester
-Global Domination
-A sudden ability to play any song on the guitar
-Weather above 30 degrees for all of winter semester
-Someone to clean my room up (Clean, not reorganize) when I'm swamped with homework.
-More piano sheet music

Thanks, any of these will work.