A Whole New Apartment

You have no idea how difficult is was to find this image! Anyhow, I'm all moved in. A new place. Well, it has the exact layout of my last apartment, and doesn't seem much different, but it's got a different number on the door. And it's a bit closer to campus.
Yesterday, As I sat in my room unpacking, my new roommate (the only other one here yet) decided to take a shower. That's when I found out that he's got a nice resounding low tenor voice. In full double forte, with MUCHO gusto, he belted out "You Raise Me Up" -the classic by Josh Groban, and "A Whole New World". Yes, the Disney classic. This made my day! I'm not sure he was aware that I was still in the apartment. I enjoyed a solo concert and found out very quickly what kind of potential this guy has.
It was sort of inspiring. He had no reservations about singing out, with all he had in him, as he showered. I haven't done that in years. Where has the self-assuredness of my youth gone?
Maybe I'll return the favor and sing out next time I'm in the shower. But what will I sing? Any suggestions?

Tut, tut. It looks like...

I really want to share all of my cloud photos. But I really wouldn't know where to start. Maybe I'll just turn them into a book, one that you keep on your living room table (or next to your toilet, if that's your style; I'm not gonna judge you).
In any case, I've decided to share the ones just from today. Today, the clouds kept changing and moving. I seriously could've "parked my fanny" in a lawn chair and watched it like a stage performance. I only took a few photos, one with my cell-phone. Around 12:30, we some of the brightest white fat cumulus clouds. Then, in the late evening, the storm clouds rolled in and we've got lots of hail, lightning, thunder, and a good downpour of rain. For some reason, rainstorms always make me want to do one of three things: go for a good run in the rain and get good and soaked in that fresh goodness from above, drive around in it and splash through the puddles, or sit down with a good book next to a window, partly open, so I can see and smell the rain. It's usually the book option.
But today, it was the blog option.
Tomorrow is Easter (or "Easters" as I'm wanting to call it ever since Nacho Libre).
And while family is miles away, they can rest assured that I'm not whiling away the holiday alone in my apartment watching Charlton Heston part the Red Sea as I hang my lonely little head over my cold plate of tear-soaked deviled eggs.
I'm joining with a group of also-not-going-to-be-home-for-Easter friends for lunch. We'll have a nice roast and all the fancy fixings. They want me to bring a drink or dessert, but I'm tempted to fix up a batch o' "Taters" while I'm at it. "Easter Taters." Hmmm. I think I may be onto something. This could become a new tradition faster than you can even say 'coon huntin' on a Saturdee.

Not to Gross You Out....

Here they are. Our bathrooms. In all their resplendent bareness. There are 2 in our apartment, side by side. 3 roommates to each bathroom (not all at once, mind you). Can you guess which one is mine? The top one is a certifiable health hazard. Notice the box from the soap bar in the shower. I don't quite understand why, but somebody leaves their bar of soap in the box and put it in the shower just like that. And the used soap goes in the soggy cardboard box. Why not lay out a welcome mat and heat lamp for your bacteria colony. It's almost as inviting as the soggy cardboard. What I want to know is how they can bring themself to use that bar of soap. Have fun rubbing your microscopic buddies all over your naked body. I'll pass.
The first bathroom hasn't been cleaned once this semester. I was embarrassed to have the maintenance man come over to fix the leaky faucet in the tub a few weeks back, but then, I was too afraid to venture in there and attempt to clean it.
And some people take a shower in there on a daily basis. They are braver (or dumber?) than I.
Clean checks are coming fast, and one of them boys are gonna have to tackle that beast. They may want to borrow a biohazard suit from the chemistry department.

100? No, really?

Usually for the hundredth post, people do something crazy and spectacular like divulge 100 random facts about themself, post pictures of groups of 100 random items, hold an online give-away, or some other such bid-ness.
I really just couldn't bring myself to do any of that. Instead, I decided to just lump together all the "I should blog..." thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for the past few weeks all combined into one entry. That's right, the real me.

Let's start off with the picture above. It's atypical for me to blog about movies, but for post 100, I'm doing it. I've decide that there are certain movies so incredibly stupid that you find yourself with a craving to watch them on a regular basis. Ok, so homestarrunner.com is not a movie, but it fits the category, so it's in there. Those are definitely my top four.
Some of you might be thinking, "What about _______ such-and-such movie?" Well, that's your opinion. Go blog about it.
Nacho Libre is at the top of the list. Anyone who can't appreciate that movie either needs to watch it with the right person to truly discover it, or spend the rest of their life confined to the reference section of the library where they'll be content and keep their opinions to a whisper 'CUZ THEY DON'T HAVE ANY TRACE OF A SENSE OF HUMOR!
As for The Princess Bride, it's got to be the least stupid of the list, but it really is; and for that reason, I find it kind of endearing. It would only be a mediocre movie if it weren't for all the dumb subtleties in it.

If you haven't experienced homestarrunner.com, you've got to at least try it. But be warned: it's a bunch of stupid nonsense. You may consider having a guide show you the site before trying to browse the uncharted waters. A couple of recommendations from their sb emails link: dragon, crying, love poems, and dangeresque 3.
Yes. That should mush your brain enough for you to start appreciating the merit of that website.

Secondly, I don't agree with all these "cause" things on facebook. I've recieved several invites to join the cause, "follow the prophet". While it sounds great, what's the point? Am I a bad person because I'm not going to join the "Follow the Prophet" cause on facebook? Would it help to mention that the reason I can't accept your invitation to join that cause is that I'm currently involved in a group called The Buttercream Gang and helping old widow Jenkins up when she falls has become such a labor-intensive commitment that I just don't have time to devote to an online cause. I am, after all, a part of the cause to "follow the prophet" in real life. Following the Prophet isn't something as fleety as a random application on a social network. It is the outward expression of a deep inner conviction of gospel truths. I'm sorry if I've offended any well-meaning people who sleep better at night because you've found a cause online. But I'm still left wondering, what's the point? An online cause is a weak substitute for physically standing up for what you believe in. I'll skip the online cause and focus on the real one. Sorry.

Third: I've got a dillema. Let me illustrate.
I'm at a fast-food joint. I approach the menu board. I decide on what meal I want. So far, so good. But then I have to choose a side item to accompany the meal. There used to be only one option: fries. You just choose a size and get your fries. But now, you've got a whole range of options! You can choose from the following: Small cup of fruit, small yogurt with granola, fries, a cup of chili, the 5-piece chicken nuggets (with your choice of dipping sauce), or ....taters. THAT, my friends, is a dilemma in itself, but the real dilemma I'm talking about is "TATERS". I wouldn't bother with it, but for the fact that they're such a tasty item that I sometimes really want them! So, if you're wanting the "taters", how do you order an item like that? I mean, I just can't bring myself to say it! "I'll have the ....the um, ......those little potatoe, uh ...." The cashier inquires, "I'm sorry, what was that?" O gosh. I'll have to say it. I'll just sort of mumble it. "Taters." "You want what?" "TATERS!OK! I want the freakin' TATERS! I'll say it in FULL WESTERN TWANG so yer SURE tuh underSTAND. Ya heard what I said son! Now go on an' rustle me up a heap o' them TATERS!"
Seriously, who's putting the menu together in this place? Do you have some old back-woods prospector workin' on it back there? Can we expect the "Combo Meal" menu to read "Grub an' Fixins" and the side items to be labeled "vittles" sometime in the near future? Do you pay the old prospector with chicken nuggets?
It's a huge dilemma. I would just stick with fries, but gosh darn it if them tater tots don't jest make yer mouth water now and then. They've got me, and I just don't know what to do about it. I could do the little kid thing and point to what I want. I could just opt for Chinese food. Or maybe I could just learn what they call taters in Spanish. I guarantee somebody working in that restaurant would understand.

Well, thanks for joining me for post #100. We're in the triple digits now folks. There's no turning back. Excuse me, I'm gonna go fix me a batch o' them one things...

Springtime in Rexburg

I took this picture at 9:00am from inside the Romney building after my chem class. Would somebody please make the snow stop?

One Sad Story, With a Rather Cheery End

Rather than mess with the "once upon a time" and all the other "set-the-stage mumbo-jumbo", I'm going right for the tragedy scene. Here it is: I deleted all the photos from my Grand Canyon trip up until the time we stopped to have lunch at Indian gardens. Apparently, there's a "delete all photos in this file" option. And as I tried to delete one fuzzy photo from my camera, I accidently deleted the WHOLE FILE to that point. It makes me want to yell, cry, and break something all at the same time. Honestly, who thought of that function in the first place? It's like a car manufacturer offering a "massive engine failure switch" option in their latest sedans. Seriously, I think this function was engineered by some vindictive person who tried at love and lost, just so they'd have a way to delete all photos of their ex in one dramatic push of a button. They should've added the fateful DUN-DUN-DUNNNNN! sound-effect to really get the point across.
I think most people would be irked at the fact that tons of their photos were gone for good, but for me my photos are really one of my most valued items. I don't like a lot of physical stuff, I like to live simply. But photos are my thing. Add geology to the equation, and they become ultra (yes, italicized) important. So of our 4 days in the field, the first 2 and a half are only preserved in memory and in my field notes.
But then, ....(cue the pleasant strain of sappy string music) along came Jedd. He had his camera the whole time, and it didn't trash any of his photos! And he uploaded them to the geology department's network drive, where we can all access them!
Jedd, my friend, you are a modern-day hero. But then, we already knew that.

My Legs Hurt

After 4 days in the field, I'm back in Rexburg. Our drive back from the Grand Canyon was snowy and cold, but the roads weren't bad. I thought Spring was here. Nature has something else in mind. This trip was amazing. Once we hiked down to Indian Gardens, our group (led by the fearless "Pec") went off the trail in search of trilobite burrows (trace fossils),indian ruins, and an outcrop of the great unconformity (the surface that represents an enormous gap in the rock record).
It did my heart good to be in my home state again for awhile. Soaking up some sunshine felt kinda good too. Our hike down and back was somewhere around 11 miles long, and my calves are feeling it today. But we conquered that canyon, and it that feels great.
Here are my field trip companions:
We're going to have a Lord of the Rings movie marathon sometime in the near-future.