Finals week! Except for Jennifer and Elizabeth, you lucky girls. I only have two finals next week, an Arts of Africa test on Monday and an Introduction to Environmental Science test on Wednesday. My other finals were this past week, thank goodness. My design portfolio was one of the most stressful things I've had to do this semester and even though it sounds easy, I was up till six AM Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night trying to get it done.
Hopefully I'll be seeing Jennifer and Elizabeth when they come to Iowa City Tuesday to visit while Anne and I frantically try to study for science.....

See everyone in a week!

it's that time

It's technically a reading weekend...have I done much reading for finals? no. Will I do enough before Monday? Well, that would be the plan, but considering I have to get up to take Zeb to the airport tomorrow morning, I could see myself sleeping all day...which would be a bad idea, I think.

It feels crazy to me that finals are next week (for me). I guess I made it through my first semester at BYU. As long as I can get through my American Heritage final, I will be good to go. I'm going for a 65-75% on that.

Here's for exciting news: I finished applying for this international language program (ilp) and will more likely than not be moving to China in August for the fall semester to teach English. (I'll know for sure next week before I come home) Second news, I may or may not be moving to Florida this summer to work the glorious job of a door-to-door saleswoman for POINTE Pest Control. Awesome, I am going to know so much about bugs...and hopefully be rich by July.

Good luck with finals, everyone

I'm halfway done with finals!!!

Today I took my calculus and physics finals. Here's how they went!

Calculus was decent... the first 8 questions were from the earlier parts of the semester and were pretty easy, the other 12 were over series. I don't know a dang thing about series. There was a question which involves the Maclaurin series of arctan. To be honest, I don't think there is a single useful application of that series. If there is, please let me know. At any rate, that test was over completely trivial information.

Physics was easy, except for the fact that i was completely stupid on the last question and it ended up taking a good 30 minutes. It was an easy question, too, but I kept on making the same calculation error. Needless to say, I was frustrated, but hopefully I'll do well

Still to come! Chem Lab and Chem Lecture!!!! OH BOY!!!1

The Sims 2 is like drugs

I made the terrible mistake about a week and a half ago to get the sims 2 on my computer. Needless to say, I have gotten very little work done since receiving the game. I have, however, had my sims earn a small fortune in that time, which I'd say is pretty productive.

We are now in dead week here, which means there's absolutely nothing to do as most of the campus is in hermit mode studying. My plan is to watch a few seasons of Top Gear, which is a hilarious British show about cars. It should be a very good time.

My college experience

I was studying for my math test and came across this question:

A ward has 20 eligible people to be chosen as bishop, first counselor,
and second counselor. How many bishoprics could be formed? What is
the answer if the bishop has already been chosen?


The answer, by the way, is 6840 bishoprics and 342 if the bishop has already been chosen. Oh, the things I'm learning...

breathing for break

So, Thanksgiving break has come and gone. Now I am living for the next break, Christmas. As much as I enjoyed my Thanksgiving break away from everything, it will be nice to join in the fun in Ames over Christmas.
I had intended to be productive over break while I had no distractions, but for some reason or another it just didn’t happen. Surprise, surprise. I did enjoy the extra sleep and mass amounts of food offered to me though - I was lucky enough to score two meals on Thanksgiving, and because of it didn’t have to worry about feeding myself for three days after due to the excessive amount of food I consumed. Thank goodness for having people in Provo to feed and entertain me, break could have been a lot lonelier without them!
Now I’m down to two weeks of school, which means only ten more days of bus rides. Over the course of the last semester I have managed to meet a lot of interesting people and befriend two. In just the past few months I have had a man tell me I’m lonely and I need to start dating or I might die alone, I met an awkward guy that looked exactly like the Ken doll, and am yet to talk to the man who, for the past month or more, has always found a seat next to me. It has definitely been a process to find the two people I could befriend. I’m looking forward to starting the process all over again next semester….

Oh, and the first real snow of the year officially came today. It’s so pretty, and the great thing about it is that it’s not 2 degrees outside, so you can actually enjoy it!

short but obligated update

I guess it has been a while since I updated. To be honest, a lot of things in my life have improved. I feel really good because I managed to make a life here when I thought that was never going to happen. I made some friends I like to hang out with, I go to shows sometimes and sometimes I meet strange 35-year-old men that text me for weeks after at those shows, I've learned how to bake a lot of things, survived cleaning checks, I'm doing alright in school as far as I know, and I held a job for three days. (I guess the money situation isn't going to be getting any better for a while)

Elizabeth and I were saying the other day, "you know, for how much of this has sucked, it's gone by pretty fast." I'm coming home for Thanksgiving in about a week and I can't wait to eat real food that I don't have to pay for or cook.

Halloweening

Although Halloween has not actually occurred as of yet, it is now underway here in St. Louis. On Saturday I attended some costume parties dressed as my calculus professor, Brian Blank.
Items associated with Brian Blank:
-Khaki cargo shorts
-Polo shirt, not buttoned
-Socks with sandals
-No belt
-Pens in shirt pocket

For more information, look him up on wikipedia... or maybe not, it's not very flattering.

Good success with the costume, though. I'm thinking about wearing it to calculus class on Wednesday.

In the world of work, I have ridiculous numbers of tests and papers due in the near future.
Coming soon:
Chemistry Test
Physics Test
Kind of Lame Writing Assignment
Calculus Test

It's looking like fun. I'm currently watching a week's worth of chemistry lectures that I skipped. It's a great time.

Halloween

Hello, everyone. It's Halloween weekend! And also Parent Weekend! I am so relieved that all of my midterms are long gone and that I managed to pull out all A's and one B so far. We got this college thing! This weekend was Parent's weekend at University of Iowa, so Mom came up for Friday and Saturday on her days off to come visit, see the campus and just hang out. We went and saw the movie "Across The Universe", and I HIGHLY recommend that you all go see it immediately. It was fabulous, and my mom and I both shed a few tears. It's a musical like RENT, but entirely to Beatles songs. It was beautiful. The rest of Mom's time here consisted of shopping (groceries and some winter clothing - the GAP outlet outside Iowa City is probably the best discovery I've ever made in my life. Everything is 30-50% off) It was sad for her to go...but I'll see her in a month at Thanksgiving so I think she'll survive. I know it's hard having only boys at home now - she misses having all the girls around! This...is Swan's room mate. I just had to put this picture up because this is by far the most wonderful and humorous Halloween costume I have seen in years. Hamburger Helper! He made it entirely of a sheet, some red fabric, a marker, and a bunch of staples. It made my day, so I decided to share it with everyone. Happy Halloween everyone!

Half way home.

Exactly two months from tonight I was sitting alone by the light of my laptop in my dark, lonely apartment. I’d like to say that time has just flown by, that would be somewhat of a lie. .Looking on the bright side though, I’m already half way done with the semester so I’ll be home in about the same amount of time I’ve been here.
In the past two months I have managed to spend too much money, eat and sleep too little, and spend too much time on public transportation, but somehow I’m still getting by. It was the overwhelming decline in my bank statement that finally gave me the motivation to find a job, or two. I have started lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons at the local rec center last week and on Wednesday I start banquet serving at the Lion House at Temple Square.
There are serious perks to both jobs. Lifeguarding, I spend about 1/3 of the time actually working and the other 2/3 doing whatever I want. Oh, and did I mention I get to teach water aerobics too! Then at the Lion House I get to bring home delicious food and wear the most flattering prairie dress like apron you’ll ever see. It could only be better if I was allowed to wear an actual prairie dress with the flower print, but apparently they stopped doing that a few years ago. Bummer.
Other then more work experience I’m also gaining some life skill here. I’ve learned how to live off of one to two meals a day, I can now sleep on a bus full of dirty seats and sketchy people (yes, this is a life skill), and on top of it all, I still have a place to live. Hooray. Now, all I need is to learn how to keep our apartment clean to make it easier to pass our intense “white glove” cleaning tests we have coming up. I'll work on that...

utah utah utah

last night we (yes, this includes people outside of me and elizabeth) decided to hike up spanish fork canyon to some hot springs.

dehydrating in the hot water.

Last night was a lot of fun. We went to a battle of the bands thing, stopped by a hilarious byu decades dance at the dorms, and then went hiking and hung out in steaming hot - sulfur-ridden - water. I guess Utah is alright.

The next few weeks are bound to suck though, midterms are coming up way too fast.

WashU experiences: my life as of late

So here's the rundown of my typical school week at WashU.

Mondays: I have a lot of classes, but I don't go to calc or chem, so it's more than manageable. It mostly ends with me staying up extremely late doing absolutely nothing. My buddy next door is going to hook me up with the Sims 2, which will be a fantastic waste of time.

Tuesdays: 4-hour chem lab! It sucks! It starts at 8:00 am! Much later, I have choir. Choir is not the greatest thing in the world, for a few reasons.
I have one or two friends in it, and we have all come to the same conclusions. Basically, there are three types of people in choir: decent people, people who suck, and back-seat directors that you want to punch. Unfortunately, there are way too few decent people, which makes me upset.
Later in the night I watch the chem lecture(s) that I skipped on Monday online.

Wednesdays: A lot like Monday. I skip my first two classes and wake up at noon. It's great.

Thursdays: Physics lab! Not as bad as chem lab, because it starts at 10:00 am and only goes to noon! But it's not a lot of fun! More choir later in the day, and you know how I feel about that. I also watch Wednesday's chem lecture on my next-door neighbor's projector.

Fridays: See Wednesdays. Then add in ridiculous amounts of partying at night. It's ridiculous. I think a tornado hit my room last week. There were bottles, shoes, and cans everywhere. I am not a fan of such messiness.

Weekday recap: I never go to chem or calc anymore, which makes me happy. Overall, life is good.

Kottak- what a guy.

so the author of my anthropology book is the biggest prick ever. He often mentions himself and his research in the text, things like, "When I did fieldwork in Brazil I discovered this amazing thing...;" But yesterday, I found what I feel is probably the best quote of the entire book. On talking about people in the U.S. and Canada appreciating diversity, Conrad Phillip Kottak states, "'melting pots' no longer, they are better described as ethnic 'salads' (each ingredient remains distinct, although in the same bowl, with the same dressing)." arent you glad you are all part of an "ethnic salad" ? This guy knows what he's talking about though.. I hear he did some really great fieldwork in Brazil.

Jebus

Oh my god, I go to college, too, you jerks.

Another week of school is past. We're almost to midterm, you guys! Or at least, I am. I feel like the semester really has flown by. Half way through the semester already? No way. Hope you all are having a great week.
The outside of my dorm room door, I have no idea who wrote on my white board. It's a good form of entertainment, seeing what the random people walking through my hall felt inspired to scribble on stranger's white boards. Plus, look at those cute girls in the pictures!

My hallway looks strikingly similar to how I imagine a prison, or perhaps an insane asylum, to look. The second door down on the left is my cell, in which I am currently sitting have not left once today as is my Sunday routine.

First Class, Baby

Iowa has officially joined the blog circle...somehow I didn't even know about this until tonight. It's a shame that tonight I have nothing of interest to share or discuss because it's only Thursday and my weekends are the peaks of my excitement. Here's something for you, I talked to my mom about the plane tickets to Salt Lake and her response was, "Okay, if you have the money for it." Which I really don't, but who cares? We all know I don't. Anyway...I found a non-stop flight from Chicago to Salt Lake for about $220...holla! Not bad, not bad. If it all works out I should be making my purchase sometime this week, assuming Anne gets her act together so we can take the jump together. I'm so excited to see you guys! (sorry J-Comp) Anyway....here I am cutting out flashcards for Arts of Africa in my cozy little room which for some reason has had a weird stench the past few days if my window is closed? I'm going to have to investigate...

staircases and rape hill

I've started to have some intense knee pain today and I think this may be why:

Here's the first set of abnoxiously steep staircases I walk up everyday, sometimes twice.

Here's the second set of staircases I walk up. (strikingly similar to the first picture)

And there's the hill I usually choose over the third and fourth set of staircases. There really isn't a good option, but this seems to be the best.

Seriously though, I'm concerned about my knee. I drink milk all the time and I haven't been exercising much...I should not be having knee pain.

BYU Horror Stories

First, I have to admit that while BYU is a very strange place, it is not as bad as I imagined it to be. It's not one big stake activity all the time. However, there are some really strange things that go on every now and then, the culture is very unique, and sometimes I eavesdrop on conversations that drive me insane and then make me laugh.

Monday's and Wednesday's I have class until 1:50 and then not until 4. This week I decided it would be better if I just stay on campus all day and get homework rather than go home for a couple of hours and get distracted by facebook or something. The weather was amazing this afternoon, so I decided to sit outside the science center and study for spanish on the grass.

I was laying there when I kind of spaced out for a second and I heard this group of about 3 seemingly normal looking girls talking 10 feet away from me.

"Did you know you have to confess to the bishop if you french kiss...EVEN when you're married?"
"What? I knew I should have walked away before you said anything, I wish I didn't know that."
"It's what the prophet says."

They were completely serious and honestly concerned. I could not believe what I overheard. It drove me insane for a couple of minutes and made me a little sick to my stomach to know some people actually think things like that, but then I decided that it was hilarious instead of disgusting...though I still think it's probably a combination of both. I'm still astonished by some of the people I'm surrounded by.

Anyway, as far as good news goes, The Arcade Fire played at Thanksgiving Point and it was the best show I've ever been to. So much fun. And, as a bonus, the hot sign was on at Krispy Kreme donuts in Orem on our way back, so we got free fresh donuts.

atrocities committed at Lawrence University- chapter 1

Atrocity #1
So last night, I was playing Scattagories with some cross country people. The letter was "C" and the first category was "Famous Females" I got really really excited. Of course, Carrie Chapman Catt- that is a triple "C" meaning three points. When we shared all of our words after that round- I couldnt wait to show off. I said, "You guys, this is the best one ever... famous females, Carrie Chapman Catt!!" ................. silence. and now.. the dialouge following
supid boy #1: "who?"
me: "carrie chapman catt? seriously? you know one of the founders of the feminist movement??"
stupid boy #2: oo suurrre. whatever. just make up names.
me: are you kidding me? i will go ask these people here sitting in the lounge... you guys are dumb. everyone else will know who I'm talking about.
me (to people in lounge): you guys know who Carrie Chapan Catt is right?
Lounge people: *blank stares* .... uhh....
me: please excuse me while I take the apparently none existent feminist movemetn and jump off a bridge

Shannon, I don't know what is wrong this world.

I finally am starting class!!! I had my freshman studies class Monday and Cultural Anthropology and Intro to Religious Studies starts tomorrow. I am very excited about this. With a paper already due, I am hoping to be able to keep up with all activities and school work but looking forward to a challenge... this brings me to

Atrocity #2
over the summer the university sent every freshman a copy of Kafka's Metamorphosis to read for the first day of Freshman studies. We had FOUR MONTHS to read a 60 page story. so this girl walks into my class (total it has about 13 people in it) and she says, "So, did you guys read the story?" and we, of course, all said yes. and she goes, " oh, well, i skimmed it... I guess I'll just be really quiet today" And I'm thinking... SERIOUSLY? do you know how much that girl's parents are paying for her to be here?! (im sure she's not paying for it herself) and she couldnt even bring herself to read a short story for the first day of class? sad.

Cross country is still going well-ish and I get to see my parents this weekend they are coming to my meet in Minneapolis. Overall, life is good. I love my roommate, we get along very well and it is nice to have everyone on campus. minus the part where i have to wait in line for food. with all of the new people though i have started to spot look alikes of people in Ames.

Atrocity #3
Tina, someone stole your body and put it on some lady in Appleton. You should look into getting that back.... some lady is walking around who looks just like you!

well, this is a very long post and I have a class dinner to get to. woo hoo. apparently we have to write letters to ourselves to get back at our graduation. I was advised to put $20 in mine so I can go out to eat on graduation day. I love and miss you all!

wait! i forgot atrocity #4 which is that I think there is something wrong with my sink... underneth the sink it gets really hot - all the time, not just when the hot water is on. I feel like some weird water fire is going to start. Also, i have a feeling the warm, moist climate is perfect breeding grounds for mold, something I would very much like to avoid. If you have any advice on what this problem is or how to fix it let me know!

I missed hiking Timpanagos for this

"Hey, so I'm bored, I'm walking back to my car and I'll be on my way home. I thought I'd call, I feel out of the loop." -Elizabeth at 9:00pm walking to her car in Salt Lake City alone in a mini-skirt

"Okay, I can't talk right now so I'll call you in a while. See you later." -Me

At 10:30 I was at my apartment and I realized Elizabeth still wasn't home. It had been about an hour and a half from the time she had called in Salt Lake and I thought maybe traffic was bad or something. I called her, no answer. I called again, no answer. At 11 I called her again, and again, no answer. I started to freak out a little because as my mother's child, I naturally started to think of all the terrible things that could have happened to her.

My logical mind was telling me it's ridiculous to freak out, she probably ran into someone and is hanging out with friends. Then I thought: "Wait, Elizabeth and I don't have friends. She couldn't be hanging out with people." I was hesitant to do anything, but I knew 2 hours was too long to not have heard from her.

After talking to my dad around 11:15, I decided to call the police and have them see if her car was still in the LDS Business parking lot, but of course in order to have them do that, I had to file a missing person report. We basically had our entire complex over, along with another apartment complex, BYU security while I'm on the phone with the SLC police.

I hacked into her email around midnight (after trying her phone several more times, almost 3 hours since she said she was leaving Salt Lake) and got the number of one of her coworkers. While talking to him and telling him why I called and asking if he'd seen her leave, I hear a beep on my phone. I look and Elizabeth is calling.

"You called the police on me?"
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"I was playing lazer tag, and when I listened to my voicemail, there was a message telling me I was reported missing."
"Yeah, well I guess I'll let the BYU police in our living room know you're alright."

So I guess Elizabeth does have friends - but only those creeps on the bus. And I will probably be my mother.

Maybe I've had one too many safety lessons in my life, thanks Dad.

3 Weeks Offically

I left Ames 3 weeks ago today, as hard as it is to believe, it actually went by fairly fast.

I'm going to be honest, the last 2 weeks were the worst 2 weeks of my entire life, but it's getting better lately. Everyone told me the first couple weeks to a month or so would be hard, but I had no idea what that meant.

I've been cooking a lot lately, which is oddly fulfilling. I've made sourcream chicken, rice pilaf, rolls, lots of quiche, and I'm going to make coffee cake and soup soon.

School is getting a little better too, it was definitely hard to come back after a really long summer. I dropped Women's Studies which is making my schedule a lot more enjoyable and I feel like I'll be able to do better in my other classes now. So now I'm only taking 12 credits, but I figure it's good to ease into all of this.

Basically, I'm getting into the swing of things and figuring out new parts of life everyday. Plus, I have a few fun things going on the next few weekends. I'm hiking Timpanagos this weekend, Gran and Papa are coming through next weekend and then Zeb and I might go to Rexburg, and the next weekend I'm hopefully going to Colorado. Not to mention Arcade Fire is coming to Thanksgiving Point Wednesday.

Don't worry, I'm still doing my homework and keeping up with class.

wisconsin meets utah meets iowa via the magnificent internet.

Finally, the reject wisconsin friend gets invited to the blog. I have been at Lawrence for three weeks now so here are the top three highs and lows of life in Appleton, WI



highs:

1. A week at a lodge owned by the university right on lake michigan. It was really nice to run in the woods and go to the beach. We had a team talent show there which proved to be hilarious. Highlights included someone doing a rubix cube in under 60 seconds, 350 digits of pi, a list of all of the Lawrence University presidents and fun facts about them, and a rap of the ingredients in Pop-tarts.

2. First collegiate cross country race. My time wasn't the best but it was so nice to just have it over with. It was fun to race again and to cheer again. The best part, of course, is the uniforms. All spandex, all the time. Definitely not BYU approved booty shorts. My next meet is this Saturday. It is supposedly a really hard, hilly course. But we are having a picnic afterwards- so I guess I might show up.

3. Lot's of movie watching. By myself and with the team. It's been fun though and a good way to occupy a lot of down time. We watched Cool Runnings the night before our race- classic. And my recent favorite was the Blues Brothers. Nothing too great or thought provoking, but a good way to hang out with people you don't know too terribly well.



lows:

1. Plantar falicitis- aka shooting pain through my right foot when I walk. I am currently riding a bike instead of running.. which also creates a lot of butt soreness. Hopefully I will be able to run again by the end of this week. Until then my cure is running my foot over a tennis ball a million times. 999,100...999,101...999,102...999,103...

2. Still no school. all running all the time gets a little boring. and the only people I ever talk to are the cross country team.. some interesting folks, but I would like to meet some other people as well.

3. It is turning to fall very quickly here and I'm not ready for the cold weather. Sweatshirts, scarves, and hats have all been brought out and I realized if I'm using all of this now, I dont know how I'm going to stay warm this winter. I'm thinking a nice thermal body suit complete with hot chocolate camel pack might do the trick.

This Aint No Pre-K

I've been in Provo for about a week now, and I've learned a couple of things:

• Friends aren't as easy to make as they used to be
• Classes are a lot harder than high school
• You have to go to a grocery store to buy food otherwise you won't eat
• Self-entertainment is incredibly valuable
• Baking is not a natural talent

I started school Tuesday and being in college and being in Provo is a huge adjustment. Everyone told me college is the best time of your life, or these years anyway, but also that the first few weeks would be hard. It really didn't occur to me what hard actually meant. So for the time being, I'm hanging out with Elizabeth, reading lots of books, and developing life long skills...of adjustment... or so I'm telling myself.

We went to 7 Peaks water park and may have contracted waterborne illnesses

We baked delicious rolls

We ate ice cream at the Creamery

A Different World

Tuesday marks my second week in Provo, and thus far I would say it’s been quite the experience. Most people think of college as a way of meeting new people, exploring new places, and finding new hobbies. I have most definitely experienced all these things, but in a very unique way.

The people I have met here have honestly been some of the friendliest people ever. In most cases these are the kind of people you want to surround yourself around. Riding public transportation is a different story though; the friendliest of people can also be the strangest people you’ll encounter. Take, for example, my bus rides to and from Salt Lake every day. Just the other day I literally shared a seat with a guy for no reason. He had offered the seat to a woman who didn’t have one, but instead of offering to stand while she sat, he just scooted all the way over on top of me, wanting to fit three people in our seats! When she declined his offer he remained in the center of the two seats while I silently squeezed myself against the window, trying to keep focused on my book. I have been bringing a book to read on the bus to try to escape form these awkward bus situations, but have found that it really doesn’t do much. Another man on my way back to Provo sat next to me telling me about his time in the Army. I would take a break from reading to listen to these stories for a while, go back to reading, and be interrupted a paragraph later with another story of where his daughter was conceived (Germany, for all those wondering.)

Basically, I’ve learned how to problem solve these past two weeks. If you don’t have power, call the electric company until you do. If you have a flat tire, find someone that can change it (if it’s not you). And if people are being too friendly, invest in headphones.

the beginning

I thought it was about time to start up a blog and since Elizabeth and I now share everything, we might as well share a blog too.