An Ending

First of all, I have a new goal in life. I want to do something like this:
http://cjaneprovo.blogspot.com/2009/12/speedos-for-cure-of-insecurity-1st.html 

I've been a pretty hardcore swimmer for pretty much as long as I can remember, so I can't believe I haven't done a polar bear swim yet. Now I've decided that I really, really need to. I'll make it happen eventually.

But here's what this post is really about:

Today was my last full day in Provo. I packed (which I hate), saw some friends, packed some more, ate dinner at Gloria's Little Italy (which is delicious), and now I'm sleeping on the couch for night two. I hope my back survives it.

Right now things seem very surreal. Although I know what I am doing for the next 8 months of my life and know where I will be physically (Tennessee, Boston, LA, Uganda), I have no idea what life has is store for me. Not really anyways. And it's nerve racking, and exciting, and scary as hell all rolled into one. It's a whole lot of emotions to be feeling all at one time don't you know?

YES I know where I'm going to be, but I will admit I have absolutely no idea even in my imagination what it will be like once I'm there. I really can't even imagine myself living in L.A., not to mention Uganda. And really, I'm not trying too hard to figure it out. I'm just going to let myself go and see what happens.

I will admit at times I just couldn't wait to get out of Provo, and was extremely frustrated with goings on in my life here. However, all in all I have had an awesome college experience. And altogether my last semester as an undergraduate has been a pretty great one. I've met new friends, and probably become a more confident, self-assured, and independent (in the good way not the loner way) person than I have ever been before. I've done some awesome things and made some great friends. As a matter of fact, I'm a little sad about how short lived and not fully realized some of these friendships have to be.

BUT there are great people in the world anywhere you go, and as I've said before the people that matter aren't going anywhere. I don't know who I may meet, but I feel reassured just knowing that I will meet people. I will make friendships and experience new things that I cannot even fathom whilst sitting in my apartment in Provo or my house in Tennessee.

NO I don't really have any idea what my life is going to like for the next 8 months.

I DO strongly feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Although I'm not sure what that is, I know my Heavenly Father has bigger plans in store for me than I could even fathom. As long as I'm doing what I know is the right thing, He'll take care of the rest.

Stay tuned for blog posts starting after January 4th when this blog will officially be entitled "The Rent is High and L.A.'s Easy" for the duration of my stay in California. Any suggestions for a good Uganda blog edition name are much appreciated!

And I mean who in the world would have ever suspected I would end up in California ever for anything at all? That's just complete nonsense. I mean really?!

Done, Done and Done

I'm done. No more undergraduate college for me. I anticlimactically finished up college today as previously outlined in yesterday's post.

I also celebrated in said way mentioned in said post.

Have I mentioned how much I love A Christmas Carol before? (Ok, I know I have. But I love it, I really, really do!) Even Jim Carrey can't tarnish the story with his sometimes over the top ridiculousness.

It's the perfect Christmas message I think. And rather than try to tell you how good it is myself, I'll let President Thomas S. Monson tell you:

If we remember, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17), we will not find ourselves in the unenviable position of Jacob Marley’s ghost. When he spoke to Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ immortal A Christmas Carol, he spoke sadly of opportunities lost. Said he, “Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness! Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunities misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!”

Marley added: “Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!” (In The Best Short Stories of Charles Dickens, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1947, p. 435.)

We can learn a treasured lesson from the pen of Dickens and from the example of Christ. As we lift our eyes heavenward and then remember to look outward into the lives of others, as we remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive, we, during this Christmas season, will come to see a bright, particular star that will guide us to our precious opportunity.

for the full text

AND

The story is a portrayal of the Spirit of Christ, which can turn men’s lives completely around. It is a story of selfishness being replaced by generosity. It is a story of unconcern being replaced by deep concern. It is a story of hate being replaced by love. It is a story of sweet benediction when the little crippled child, Tiny Tim, calls out, “God bless us every one.”

for the full text

I love that he loves Charles Dickens just as much as I do.

If all goes according to plan I'll be in Tennessee on Sunday! Somebody Scream!

DONE

Behold the College Graduate(s):

I am very pleased with how mature of an adult I have become!

All I have to do it print off my already completed print publishing portfolio on campus tomorrow, stick it in a folder, and turn it in and my undergraduate college career is officially over. Turning in a portfolio is a rather anticlimactic way to finish college isn't it?

I fully intend on going to see A Christmas Carol and eating a cheeseburger tomorrow night to celebrate. Also, I'm going to drop about $500 on Adobe Creative Suite tomorrow. I've only been wanting it for about 2 years now.

My mom is coming in the morning too!

I must admit, I'm pretty happy.

Finals Week

Finals here:

Have to be better than finals here at BYU.

I'm just saying! I caved tonight and broke my ban on carbonated/caffeinated beverages. I'm weak with exhaustion after staying up until 3 writing a 10-page paper, and I love Diet Dr. Pepper oh so much! What's a girl to do?

If everything goes as planned, I will be finished by tomorrow night! The end is in sight. I can't wait to be an official college graduate. No more papers, tests, papers! Sounds like a wonderful life to me.

In other news, I sustained a pretty sweet battle wound playing broom hockey tonight for FHE! It makes me look hardcore, even though the fact is I'm a little terrible at it. Might I just say, hockey rinks (the ones where hockey teams actually play, not just the regular ice skating rinks) smell like B.O. in a disgustingly major way. Ewww. I pretty sure there is still some of the odor lingering in my hair or something because I keep getting whiffs of it every so often. And again, ewww.

I think it's time I took a shower.

And a song that always makes things a little less stressful:

I Would Like to Officially Introduce You To...

Sir Chauncey Neville Bartholomew Beauregard III

He is very pleased to make your acquaintance.

In the past two days I have checked off three things on my To Do list. I had J Dawgs for dinner on Thursday, played Bomber Man today, and French Toast for breakfast this morning. Yum!

Today was my very last day as an after school instructor at Timpanogos Elementary. It was pretty sad. I'm going to miss it a lot. This job made me reconsider what I wanted to do with my life. It is by far, without a doubt the most enjoyable, meaningful, and fun job I have ever had. I like that I have students who look up to me, like me, tell me I'm their favorite teacher even though I'm not really a teacher at all and even a few who looked me up on facebook! It's pretty much awesome!

The Christmas Dance program tonight was a pretty sweet way to end the semester though. Those kids are talented, believe you me! I took tons of pictures, but due to federal laws and whatnot, I'll just post this one:

This kid just might be the next Michael Jackson (music talent wise, not the crazy part)! For realsies.

And to add a little Christmas joy to your day, here is the latest bit of genius brought to you by Community:

14 degrees Fahrenheit

It was was COLD today. I'm talking 14 degree Fahrenheit here people. All you people back in Tennessee probably don't quite comprehend how miserably cold that is. Especially when you must walk through it to school. But I'm here to let you know in case you never have the special experience yourself--it is definitely very, very cold. It was so cold today, that I was shaking inside the JFSB just because so many people were coming in and out. The hallway was still frigid, and the teacher was late to unlock the door. Isn't it bad enough that I just walked 15 minutes to campus in the cold?

I'm talking you fingers go numb through your puffy, thinsulate gloves cold. Your car doors freeze shut as does the cup of water you left in your car the other day cold...into a completely solid block of ice mind you.

The kind of cold where you see people walking around with snot dripping from their noses, and they can't do anything about it. And let's face it even if you could do something about it, who would want to? I mean it's just too cold to care!

On top of that, I'm pretty sure our heater has not actually produced any heat in several hours. I really hope this is not going to lead to another space heater debacle like last winter. I would rather my house not burn down around me in my sleep thank you very much. Those things just look scary and downright dangerous all red and glowing. I already started a fire on the stove today (yes a real fire with a flame and everything...I didn't know noodles could light on fire!), and I certainly don't want to run that risk again. I'll be sleeping in a hoodie and possibly socks (ewww) tonight!

You really want to know how cold it is? It's about this cold:

On a bright note, we have a most wonderful neighbor. He has been out fastidiously shoveling the walkway, sidewalk, and steps for everyone in the complex ever since Sunday. I need to bake that kid some cookies or something! Of all the things to worry about during finals week, at least I don't have to worry about falling down my stairs!

Oh, and it was 57 in L.A. (and Tennessee) today. Hmmm...wonder which one I prefer?

And just a warning to all you snow enthusiasts out there: I learned today whilst preparing for my science class that water crystalizes around pollution, dust or bacteria to form snowflakes. Appetizing huh?

To Do

Since I'm leaving Provo very soon, I have compiled a list of things to do before I leave (most of which involve food):

1. One last J Dawg
2. French Toast from Kneaders 
3. A candy bar from Startups
4. Build a snowman
5. Make a snowangel
6. Get someone good in a snowball fight
7. Burgers Supreme (of course!)
8. Take advantage of $5 Red Robin Cheeseburgers
9. Play Bomberman
10. Go to the BYU Museum of Art
11. Go to the Bean Museum 
12. Try Bombay House
13. Buy an ugly Christmas sweater from DI
14. Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and eat Christmasy goodies
15. Go to Temple Square and the Gateway
16. Go to the hot springs
17. Sweet potato fries from Guru's

I've been here for 4 and a half years, and there's still so many things I haven't done!

There is only a miniscule chance I will get even half the things on this list done, but that's not going to stop me from trying anyways!

It's beginning...

...to feel a lot like Christmas! I think that I should start kicking off my own personal Christmasy season on the day of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. What better way to get started off right into the spirit of this wonderful time of year?

Today really did feel like the beginning of the Christmas season in many ways, besides the Christmas devotional that is. My roommate and I decorated over the weekend, and got to enjoy the fruits of our labor today.

Isn't he cute? For some reason, and I'm not sure why, I feel like this tree is a he. I don't know so don't expect an explanation.

Also, my eyes snapped open today and it was BRIGHT in my room. I'm talking about noonday sunshine in my bedroom. At first I panicked because the only rational explanation was that I had slept in til at least noon, and was now running terribly late for church. I mean it was so just so light in there! But after a quick confirmation with my phone I discovered it was only just after 10. A little curious about today's weather, I peeked through the curtains to discover it had snowed sometime during the night! The sunshine reflecting off the snow made for a very bright day. Now I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of snow, but the first real snow of the year is pretty awesome nonetheless. This was the good kind of snow too. Only a few inches, no wind to speak of, the sun was shining, and it was not bitter cold!

It has started snowing again tonight. It is my very favorite kind of snow, too. The snow falls so softly you can't even feel it, and you have to look in a street lamp just to make sure it really is snowing. This snow just floats around in the sky and it looks as if it's too light and fluffy to ever actually hit the ground.

Everything looks really beautiful during the first snow because it hasn't had time to turn to slush after being pulverized by hundreds of footsteps, freeze into a sheet of solid ice, and then inevitably turn into a slippery death trap just waiting to cause an injury.

But isn't it pretty?!

The Orange One

I was first introduced to Harry Potter Puppet Pals many moons ago when I was merely a young and naive freshman here at BYU. Since then I have enjoyed the occasional new episode of said internet short, but none of them had quite the same effect as my first one, The Mysterious Ticking Noise. Until tonight that is. This one hit me square between the eyes. BAM! And then I laughed until I cried!**

**Best enjoyed late at night when you're already a little loopy.

Check it out:

Amazing

Aren't some things just amazing?! Why yes they are. Whether it's in a truly spectacular way, a ridiculously over the top goofy kind of way (one of my personal favorites), in a how in the world did something like this happen to me kind of way, etc. etc. life is filled with some pretty amazing things!

Here's a few of those rather amazing things that will hopefully make your day a little better and put a smile on your face:

This kid named Jonah! Go! Check him out and make sure to watch one of the videos!!! Not only is he amazing at what he does, but doesn't he look so darn cute doing it??

Kaki King:

And you can't get much more awesomely ridiculous than this video:

I always did think Batman was the best of the superheroes! I mean he punches a shark!!

Or maybe he punsed a shark?!--and if you don't understand this don't worry about it because most people won't)

And these guys:

And how completely and unexpectedly awesome I turned out to be at Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo! I stomped up on everybody. Who knew I had it in me?

Oh, and on Community they are the Greendale Human Beings. How's that for an awesome mascot?

this too:

Good Night!

Decisions Decisions Part 2

So I've been rereading the Twilight Series this past week in preparation for a final term paper about Mormonism and Twilight. This is a completely different story for another day's blogging.

First let me say, Bella Swan is insufferable half the time. I especially dislike Kristen Stewart's portrayal of her. Mouth breathing, emo, drama queen much? But even in the books she is pretty much a ridiculous girl with some serious self confidence issues. Don't you agree? Edward says in the book that the reason he loves her so much is because she is so different from other girls. I mean please, she is exactly like pretty much most teenage girls. Yeah?

But I'm getting off topic. Despite my general disdain, there is one quality about Bella Swan that I wish I was better at. She makes a decision, and once she makes it her mind doesn't change. In contrast, my mind changes about a zillion times a day. About half of those zillion occur before I even get out of bed in the morning. I hit my snooze button an obscene amount of times pretty much each and every morning. I start meal planning for dinner hours before I eat and change my mind who even knows how many times, and usually end up cooking something completely different than anything I thought of. I'm officially deciding to take a leaf out of Bella Swan's book and make my final decision.

L.A. here I come!

I'm no marshmallow!

We watched this amazing movie in science today. For some reason I assumed it was something everyone had seen at some point growing up, but I think I am mistaken.

Then I lost my temper just a bit. I have the normal amount of pet peeves I think. Nothing too ridiculous, well except maybe my beef with Sweet Home Alabama. However, I think getting a little upset when half your class decides to make farting noises while you're trying to teach is reasonable. Ugh, having to punish a class (in this circumstance by 10 minutes of quite writing about what we learned and how to appropriately behave in a classroom) is definitely my least favorite part of my job. I don't like it. I certainly would much rather us all have fun, talk, and learn. But what can you do? I mean really--farting noises? Come on!

Decisions Decisions

First of all, Happy Birthday to my Dad who is 65 today!

Second of all, do you ever feel like you have a million thoughts all trying to get you to think them running around in your head at the same time? I sure do feel that way today. I have another possibly life-altering decision ahead of me after I got two rather unexpected curve balls thrown at me today. I checked my e-mail this morning, just a routine thing ya know. I certainly did not expect anything interesting because usually I don't get anything interesting. BOY was I wrong.

I got an internship here in Utah. Hmmm...too late I suppose.

But that's just one curve ball you may be thinking. Wait for it, here comes curve ball numero dos:

I received a big fat envelope in the mail today from AmeriCorps NCCC. Of course we all know the big fat envelopes mean good things (in the case of being accepted to your dream colleges and whatnot). While this big fat envelope did not contain an acceptance, it did contain an invitation to the next interview phase. I was pretty gung ho on AmeriCorp for a bit, but I haven't given it much thought lately. My mind was completely set on graduate school, and to take it a step further it was pretty set on graduate school in Provo in the fall. As I'm sure you can guess, after receiving said envelope today my mind is no longer set at all. Geez Louise!

How many decisions does a girl have to make about what course her life is going to take? I feel like making these decisions could really affect my life. Where I live, who I'm friends with, where I get a job, etc. it will all be determined in some ways by decisions I have to make very, very soon.

Whew, it's like one of those math problems: If Rachel has 7 pairs of boots (which I probably do) and 11 hats (which I also probably do) how many different combinations can she make?! Honestly though, somebody explain to me how to do this problem. I totally spaced it on the GRE!

I have been experiencing this nagging feeling about leaving Utah, just nerves I guess. I have all these big plans and ideas about doing these marvelous things (most of which don't involve Provo) and living in these awesome places, but now when I have the chance to I'm getting cold feet? Really?! I mean really?!?! What kind of marshmallow am I? (thanks to New Moon for introducing me to the amazingness of calling someone, or myself in this case, a marshmallow)

Just an interesting little tidbit:

My cheapest route to Uganda in May will look something like this:

Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands to Nairobi, Kenya to Enebbe, Uganda all for the convenient fee of $1,817!

And for a slightly large fee of $1,831 I can go from SLC to Dallas to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Ethopia to Uganda.

Either way I will say I was at least in the airport of some pretty sweet places I never really thought I would go!

On a completely unrelated, and more positive point of view, it is now officially the Christmas season, and it is most exciting. Doesn't everything just seem happier around Christmas time? I think so! I'm reading A Christmas Carol with my kids at school right now, and I love it. That book just leaves me with the best feeling! Coming up for Sunday movie nights this month: Elf, A Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Just Friends, and many more. I can't wait!!

We made more ornaments in Arts & Crafts today!

And listened to Christmas music all the while of course! I really will miss this job when and if I leave.