My Experience With Love At BYU

A poem I wrote this morning

A handsome, youthful face
Thin, tall, and tan
You graduated high school WHEN?!?!
Get out of my space.

You want a N...C...M...Oohh boy
I knew that movie was a ploy.
Gotta go. I'm tired. It's...10:30...
Now get your lips away from me!

Found a boy to flirt with in class
If he asked me out, I wouldn't pass.
Towards this date, he sure doesn't seem hurried.
Ring check: thanks for mentioning you're married!

Going on some dates.
Things going right.
"Let's get married tonight"?
This was a mistake.

A man who has some style.
I feel confident when he's near.
Saw him with another...guy?
Clearly not my year.

Smart boys, dumb men,
Dudes who think they're all that.
Guess I'll just be single then.
I better buy some cats.

addiction

http://youtu.be/jAnIfqF-Mu8

I really like this and I am looking forward to checking out her stuff.
Happy Friday, peeps! xoxo

geekin'

I just wanted to say that I worked on a 205-year-old book yesterday and every time I walk out of my internship, I have old book all over my skirts (dust, debris, etc.).  I'm geeking out with this internship.  I like the feel of the old books and the smell in the stacks of old books.  Tomorrow, I might have time to hit up the Dickens' collection.   Sometimes I'm the only one in the stacks for an hour or so.  So it's just me and the books.
On a similar note, here are some things that I found that describe my current life situation:

(I'm reading 3 books at the moment...)

(last night...)

chills

Sometimes when I feel safe and that someone is taking care of me, I get a tingling in the back of my neck and head that feels like a mixture between getting shocked and someone warming-up my neck nerves.  It is one of my favorite feelings.  I can't really explain it other than that I am unconditionally happy when I feel it.  It usually happens someone plays with my hair or reads aloud to me, which is a rare occasion and so this is a rare feeling.
The past couple of days, I have had it happen to me a couple of times.  Once, when I was reading Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and it reminded me of my years in the south.  Those were good days filled with clay, cricks, bare feet and space.  Not to mention trips to Chic-Fil-A :)

Great book--I recommend it!
 

The second time happened just a few minutes ago, while I was working on an assignment in a computer lab.  #1: I felt like a Freshman, again, because I haven't been in this computer lab since I was a Freshman.  I've been getting these moments as I draw closer and closer to graduation. Even though I will be a college graduate, I feel like I will back to square one.  Starting fresh.  New adventures.
#2: I heard an African woman's voice.  The attendant here at the computer lab is African, or at least I think by hearing her accent.  I instantly went back to London 2.5 years ago.  A girl from back home got back from study abroad there and so during Winter semester I saw her pictures pop up on my FB feed.  Yesterday, we were talking about it, so I decided to go through my pictures (for the upteenth time).  So London was in the back of my mind, anyways.  The reason she made me think about London was because of my LDS ward that I attended while I was there.  It was mostly Nigerian immigrants, so I was a minority in my ward. Which I loved.  That was the greatest experience.  They were the greatest people.
I was talking with my friend, Brooke, the other day and we were talking about the importance of friendship and service within the ward.  I kept thinking about that ward and how they were the perfect example of this concept.  Even though they were the ones struggling to make ends meet, they were the ones who made food for us once a month.  (and it was gooodd foooodd that we ate on the tube ride back because we couldn't wait)  And they hugged each other and knew everyone by name and made us feel so welcomed.  And the singing.  It was like a Southern Baptist choir and everyone sang like they meant it.  And I loved that.
So you can understand why I would get the chills every time I hear an African voice with London in the back of my mind.

pict courtesy of Laura

sunset on our way back to the Centre from Church 

samples of the food we would get from the members and munch on the way home

another picture story

It's that time, again! I had a funny thing happen to me last week, and I wanted to illustrate it to prove my "artistic abilities."
Last Friday night, Hilary, Kimberly and I went to Seven Peaks.  We were going down the slides in a three-person tube together and having a jolly good time. We quickly discovered that our favorite slide was "The Cave" (dun dun DUUNN!) and we were probably on our third trip down.

One time, we were walking up to go down "The Cave" (dun dun DUUNN!) again and there were three ten-ish year-olds with their own three-person raft.  We thought nothing of it, until we got behind them.  They went down first and then we went soon after.  The thing is, three adult women can pick up speed--at least we are faster than three little ten-ish-year-olds.  Half way down the tube, we met up with the boys. Actually, we more like collided with the boys. And we became a six-person train for the rest of the trip down.  Once we hit the pool, we just crumbled all over each other and scrambled for the surface from underneath each other and the rafts.  We as the responsible adults we are were concerned that we had injured the boys (because, honestly, we were feeling a bit beat up, ourselves).  However, instead of crying when the boys popped out of the water, we saw a slightly different reaction.

aka: the best day of their young lives.

Well, once we saw that they were OK, we went to go down again.  We tried to walk faster than they so that we could go down before them and not have a painful repeat of the last ride down.

We get to the top of the tower and see the boys ahead of us (how?!).  We both sat on other side of the slide push-off.  I was in the front this time, so I look up to the lifeguard lady and tell her that we need to go first because we are faster than those boys.  She says that's OK, but as we get situated, the boys started to push themselves off.  

I looked at the boy in the front of the raft (the same one who did the victory stance the last time down) and told him that we didn't want to run into them again.  

He shook his head and gave me a look that said "We're going first and there's nuttin you can do about it lady" and then pushed himself off.

We just waited for a while longer to make sure we didn't run into them again and then pushed ourselves off.

Not even 5 seconds into the slide, we met up with them.  

They were just hanging out playing video games and drinking chocolate milk. Not really. But their raft had popped and it was sideways and they were just sitting there waiting for us.

Since I was in the front, I just pushed them along so that we wouldn't collide and have another mess at the bottom.
And what do you think their reaction was at the bottom of the pool?

 The end.

my cool life

Sometimes when I stress about life after graduation, I step back and remind myself to live in the moment.  Planners sometimes forget to enjoy the here and now because they are so concerned about the future. I'm working on that.

So here are some things that are super cool and stuff:

1. I started the second half of my internship for Special Collections today.  For Spring term, I worked on a research project that compiled the history of the HBLL.  Now I'm working with the rare book curator on a conservation project with the Victorian Collection.  Aka I get to hang out with old books aka an English major's dream (especially since my master's work is probs gonna be in Victorianism. what what!).  The curator showed me some stuff in the Extra-Special Collections today for kicks and giggles (they are off-limits to students like me).  I mean, it's like cocaine for a bookie for me (don't do drugs stay in school).  

2. I am working at Independent Study, again, with my favorite coworkers! It is a blast and a half there.  

3. As of 1 o'clock tomorrow, I am done with the class from hell.  And my paper is gonna kick butt, no matter what grade I get.  So there.

4. I love Seven Peaks and live there on every sunny day I get the chance to. Can I get an amen for a Pass of All Passes? A-MEN.

5. Less than 2 months until I have a degree under my belt. Or robes. Or whatever the saying is. Meh, English.

My friend Lizzie and I are going to make a music video. Here is our inspiration and idol:

http://youtu.be/94Yyv0iUppU

spring/summer 2012

Here are some things I've been doing since Winter semester finished, according to my iPhone:

won the bonus at Nickelcade! celebrating Hilary's bday

Meagan went to driving school (finally!)

my former roommate got married! and then Karah came into town :)

celebrating Kimberly's bday with a cute bearded server at CPK

hiked the Y with some UVU peeps...and reenacted Titanic

Cinco de Mayo at Mi Rachitos

Spanish!

started working at IS, again, where we celebrate EVERYTHING!  love my job!!

lots and lots of movies

my parents came into town for a weekend for my great-grandma's funeral. sad about the funeral...but happy about chillin with my parents. this is my dad's first time at In-N-Out

first time on a tandem! check off of bucket list!

doing some fun reading=favorite thing about summer

intermural soccer!

Memorial Weekend in Midway with Lizzie, Chelsea and Hilary

I helped organize a Seder (Passover) feast for my Bible as Lit class. Very cool experience!!

Deidre's bridal shower w/ the roomies

I go to concerts, day and night (#provorooftopconcerts)

#sweettoothfairy

and taking over Provo, UT on my bike

the big island

My brother is on his mission, now! (new post on that lata!)
Since we were going to be an incomplete family for 2 years in one week, we went to the big island for a week. [note: it originally going to be just my parents and I was planning on coming home for a week to watch my sibs, but then my parents were like what the heck let's bring the chillins. SCORE!]
I don't want to write out everything, so here is some photo vomit.

KONA

KILOHANA

HILO

Plus lots of underwater shots from lots of snorkeling! Hopefully I can get those up sometime :)