BYU Reminders

Yesterday I had two reminders that I attend a Mormon University.

1. My Joseph Smith/Church History class was started by the class energetically singing "Book of Mormon Stories" complete with the hand signals and drum beats.

2. Halfway into my Food Preparation class, we stopped because the teacher had forgotten to ask someone to say an opening prayer and share an inspirational message.

Even though I laughed to myself about these, it made me realize how awesome it is that I get to go to school in an atmosphere like this. Even though we are weird. And if you haven't seen these videos, check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04zdLRu7qnA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-msbDhvqVFw&feature=related

I'm proud to say that I've said some of these things. And heard all of them.

Something smells... foreign.

This semester I had a new roommate move in. He's from Brazil and is here to learn English. He is now my 4th international roommate that I've had so far at BYU. First there was Shuo from China. Then I had C.J. from Nigeria and another one from Nepal. I don't remember his name... I pass him on campus every once in a while and I avoid eye contact because I'm embarrassed I don't remember my own roommate's name. Anyway, the one I have now is Esteavo. And what do they all have in common that I've noticed? Let me tell you. They each have a very distinct odor about them. Why? I don't know. But whenever their bedroom doors would open, it was like smelling a whole new culture. Does that make sense? I have spent a lot of time thinking about why they each smell differently, and I also think to myself if Americans have a smell too? And is it a good smell? Who knows. I'd like to think we smell good.

Since Esteavo moved in I've had to speak very simple English. And once you get into that mode, it's hard to break it. I caught myself asking my friend a question last night in very simple, slow language. "Watch movie? Yes or no?" Oh and last weekend I went Salsa dancing for the first time with a bunch of Brazilians. I was definitely a minority. But it was probably one of the funnest nights I've had in a while, even though I couldn't understand what was going on and no one could understand what I was trying to say to them.

But whether they smell good or bad, or whether they don't speak English very well, I am always excited to have international roommates and the adventures that come with them.

Facebook thoughts.

I think Facebook is a lot of fun. Mostly because I enjoy seeing how ridiculous some people are and what they share with their virtual social world. For example, this is one of my favorite posts right now:

"Dec. 25 is for Jesus not for Santa. (Repost if You Believe in Jesus !) P.S He Knows You Looked -deny me in front your friends and I will deny you in front of my father"

Really? I don't think Jesus cares if I repost that or not. And I don't need to let people know that I believe in him through my Facebook.

Every once in a while I will put up my own Facebook status. And believe me, whenever I do it is a hit. Notifications left and right. For instance, a few weeks ago I wrote something really simple. "Sometimes I buy cookie dough just so I can eat it." The result? 34 likes. And 17 comments. In a matter of days. And the majority of people who liked/commented were girls. What does that say for them? That they do the same thing? That's not attractive. And tonight I put "Did I really just eat a whole box of fruit snacks in a few hours? Yes. Yes, I did." The result so far? In 20 minutes there have been 8 likes and 2 comments. All girls. Really? Please don't tell me you really do that. Besides, by "few hours" I meant about 48. Or 2 days. That's basically normal, considering it's finals week. Apparently people can't get enough of my eating habits.

My life is never boring.

Great news! After this Friday night, I will only have one more Friday night shift for the year! (and if they try to schedule me to work another weekend night, I will refuse.) Tonight's shift is especially painful. The OACL people are having their annual Christmas party tonight. Of course. I emailed to ask if I could still go and just leave the lab unattended for a few minutes... or hours. What's the worst that could happen? Those guys playing World of Warcraft in the back room really don't look that dangerous. And that lady who is here every Friday night, well, she's here every Friday night and does nothing. So in reply to the email, I was told I could go to the party from 6:30 to 7:00. 30 minutes? Lame, but I'll take it. The one downside: the party starts at 6:30. Who goes to a party right when it starts? Well, I did. And you can bet that it was just me and the old lady who works here with her husband. Finally around 6:45, people started showing up. And at 6:50 I actually got to eat some food in a rush so I could make it back to the lab by 7:00. Oh well, their loss because it's not going to be much of a party without me there. I'm pretty much a big deal. Ok, not really. But I did want to hang out with my friends longer...

Other news: Classes are officially over! And one week from now I will be right back at this lab with no homework, no responsibility, and no life. But that's ok because finals will be over!

Fun moments in the labs this week: Some lady just started blasting some Bob Marley because she plugged her headphones into the wrong place. On Wednesday we were bored, so we made 3D snowflakes. Thank you, YouTube! As I was trying to hook them to the ceiling tiles with a nifty paperclip chain, we hummed Christmas carols. I might have been mistaken, but I would say that the lab patrons thoroughly enjoyed it. Or maybe those were just annoyed looks. Oh and my friend Allison from the labs totes just came and said hi. (I never ever will say "totes" out loud. It even makes me cringe just typing it. But it's an inside joke I guess.)

And last of all, here is the best YouTube video I have seen this week. Enjoy!

The Hunger Games

Ever since the official movie trailer was released this week, everyone has been talking about this book. People in class talk about it. People at work ask about it. I've never felt so out of the loop. I've been used to this the last 4-5 months since I was out of the loop for a few months. (24 to be exact.) So yesterday after class, I decided to officially start my Thanksgiving break. No homework. But that's usually what I spend my time doing every Friday in WSC 1111 for six hours. What would I do at work?? Such a dilemma. I decided to head to Barnes and Noble and buy a REAL book. I haven't read a REAL book since the last installment of the Harry Potter series back in high school. I bought The Hunger Games so I could finally add something to the conversations that continue to come up. I got to work and started reading. And I couldn't stop. The storyline? Gruesome. The plot? Addicting. I had forgotten how much I really do like reading a good book. At the end of my shift, I had already read 250 pages. I came home and had nothing to do, so I kept reading for another hour. This morning I woke up and finished it. I can finally say I read a whole book in less than 24 hours.

Today was painfully vanilla. (That's a phrase I picked up in Virginia. It means boring, but the only time I heard it was from black people in reference to boring white people.) I had NOTHING to do. So I headed back to Barnes and Noble to get the second book in the series. They didn't have a paperback copy, and the hardback was $17.99. Ouch. But what else was I going to do all day? I had already checked the libraries in town and the books were checked out. It seemed worth it to me. I'm about one third of the way done so far. There was a football game tonight, the last home game of the season I think. I decided that staying home and reading a book in the warmth of my apartment was more appealing than freezing to death at at the game. You know it's cold when even my roommates, who are huge fans, come home at halftime.

Anyway, for those of you who haven't read these books, I recommend it. I know they are about kids having to kill other kids, but there is much more to the story than that. I'll probably read the third one soon as well. And then the wait for the movie to come out next year, March 23rd!

I'm going to go read some more.

Smorgasbord.

Ok, first of all, I can never think of anything creative or catchy to put for a title. Not my forte.

Here are some highlights of the week.

For those of you who may not know, BYU gives out free Bridal Guides. They are everywhere. And they are hilarious. On my Wednesday shift I work with some pretty funny people. So as I was leaving lunch to go to work, I saw the stand with the guides, so I grabbed one and headed off. I walked into the lab, held up my Bridal Guide proudly, and we all burst out laughing. I'm sure everyone in JKB 1005 thinks we are the most immature people. So we spent that hour flipping through and criticizing everything. Little did I know a Bridal Guide could make for hours of wholesome entertainment.

Every Thursday night me and some friends get together for dinner. It's always a fun time. Last night, we started talking about shows we used to watching growing up. Before we knew it, we had Youtube up and we were looking up the theme songs of all our favorites. The list included, but was not limited to, Arthur, Zoom, Duck Tales, Recess, The Magic School Bus, Animaniacs, and The Pinkie and the Brain. Yes, we could still sing to most of the songs. Yes, we still had our favorite episodes. And yes, we can even still recall the schedule of when they came on TV. Why don't they make shows like these anymore? I would still watch them faithfully.

After dinner last night, some of us decided to go check out the line at Wal-Mart for the release of the latest Harry Potter movie. I expected a huge line, I mean there are two large universities here and what else do college kids do for fun? We got there and there was no line.


But there was a small crowd off to the side watching the movie and eating cake. I won't make any judgment calls, but it was totally the type of crowd that would be in a place where there was free cake. We stood around and debated what to do, and then one of the employees paused the movie for a quick trivia question. "What was the first horcrux to be destroyed?" Annoying little girl: "The locket!" Me: "NO! It was TOM RIDDLE'S DIARY!!" You bet I was right. Prize? A free poster. Of Hermione. I can check that off my bucket list! They turned the movie back on and we watched until the end (15 more minutes) and then waited for more questions. If I could have answered more than one, I would have won so many prizes. Obviously this crowd did not know their stuff. My friend won a poster and then we were out of there by 11 o'clock. Success? I would say so.
Oh, and happy 11/11/11.

I'm BACK!!!

Greetings to all my blog readers! All three of you. I've always wanted to say "greetings" as an introduction. I know you all have been waiting and waiting in suspense, wondering when I would blog again. Well I have good news. Too many funny things this week have happened and I believe you all deserve to hear about it.

1. Apparently I still look like I'm in the 16-18 years old range. Since school has started, I've had way too many people ask if I'm an R.M., when I'm going to turn my papers in, etc. One time (the only time) I went to the mission prep sunday school class, they asked who had served missions. Me and a few others raised our hands and the teacher looks at me and says, "Oh, really? Wow." Small comment, big impact. The most recent occurrence was this week. It started at work with someone saying I looked 18. Then that night while I was taking the trash out, some guys asked if I could help carry some boxes in. There were probably five of us and we piled into the elevator. One thing to note about Alpine Village is that the elevator rides are always, ALWAYS awkward. This time was no exception. So we are going down, and one guy says, "How old are you? You look pre-mission." Before I answer my first thought was "Is he really asking me this to break the awkward silence?" I say, "I'm 21, I've already served." Everyone nodded and raised their eyebrows like it was a huge surprise. What the heck?

2. I went to my very first, and probably last, Pampered Chef sales party. It was a hoax. My friend got invited and told me that a professional chef was "going to teach us how to make a dessert." We got there, and there was sweet Marilynn, our saleswoman. She did teach us how to make a dessert. And you bet she sat us down with a catalog and let us look through it. One of her tactics was to say an item, and we had to find what page it was on. She did this three times, I won twice. And I won a piece of chocolate each time. You'd think this was a nice prize, right? I did, until I discovered that she took it from the candy bowl that was already in the apartment. Real cheap. I put it back in spite of her.

3. I had another biology test. The kids I sit with in class are a lot of fun, but we usually end up not listening to the lecture because it is so boring and impossible to take notes on. None of us did that great on the test, so we all decided that today we were going to pay attention. That lasted for like 10 minutes. By the end of the class we had all taken the Moron Test, an app on my phone, and we had all taken our picture and uploaded it to the FatBooth app. It was so funny. I know I've been complaining about school being so hard. But seriously, PDBio 120 is not the most thrilling class to take.

That sums up my week. This may become a weekly update thing since I work every Friday night and I get bored really quick. I have a stack of notes for Music 201 sitting next to me, but who wants to study Greek literature and Gothic architecture on a Friday night? Not me.