One For the Road

I'll be heading out tomorrow to enjoy the fourth of July break in beautiful Boise. I'm going with friends, and we won't be coming back until Sunday night. I'm taking this opportunity to post a few thoughts before I take off.

In physics lab today, we were testing a piece of equipment we made for an experiment. It's a rotating table that we'll be using to test centripetal acceleration (boring, I know). Well, we spin the table from below by hooking it up to a drill. The drill is plugged into a transformer so that it's speed can be controlled by rotating a knob. One of the group members requested that we turn up the speed, and the guy controlling the knob started to crank it up.

Here's the moment of brilliance: Without even a thinking, a Princess Bride quote flowed through my brain and rolled out of my mouth in elegant diction, "NOT TO FIFTY!!!"

My group erupted in a hushed laughter (trying to maintain the reverence appropriate to a lab room). They got it. It was a perfectly-timed quote. I love it when that happens.

I went and donated plasma with Bryce today. We really cashed in; I finally got the referral money for referring Bryce. I promised to split it with him, so that added ten extra bucks to both of our total ...um, ...winnings? It's better pay-out than the slot machines -that's for sure.

I'm getting used to the whole process, but I still get a bit tense for the needle insertion. I just crank the song "The Rockafeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim (the funk soul-brutha), chew my gum and grip down on the segment of PVC pipe they give you to squeeze on. After the insertion, the rest is pretty pleasant.

Prior to donating, they prick your finger and take some blood for tests. This doesn't bother me at all any more, but my nerves react to it. I hold out the finger to be sacrificed, and the one next to it shakes. It just does. They tell me every time, "You're shaking."

Oh really? Thanks for pointing that out. What do I say, "You're not." See, I can be observant too. Have they dealt with so many fainters that they want to make sure I'm not going to face-plant on the tile right in front of them? I don't know.
I think next time I'll tell them, "Yeah -my fingers have been through this before. They know you're about to jab them and make them bleed. They're a little afraid. Wouldn't you be?"

There's always a story to tell after a visit to that place. Once they've tested your blood, they'll call you into a tiny interview room and ask you the screening questions about your involvement in any high-risk situations, etc. The workers just fly through them like a grade-schooler praying over pizza. They also check your temperature and your blood-pressure to make sure you're in a healthy state for donating. I was chewing gum today, and the worker didn't pop the thermometer in my mouth while the blood pressure cuff was going. They normally do these two things together. So as she proceeded through the questions, I stopped her and asked, "Are you gonna take my temperature?"

"Oh, yeah. But I can't do it with gum in your mouth, so I'll just save that part for the end and let you get in a few more chomps before I make you spit it out."

I hid my laugh.

Really? A few more chomps? For what, two more minutes of sheer chomping blissfulness? Please -you're too kind. Really. Somebody give this girl a raise -and a hug.

Little did she know I had a whole pack of gum in my bag waiting to be enjoyed ("chomped"); each one, right down to the last second. I should've offered her some.

The movie they were showing when I went in: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Vampires fighting werewolves. Honestly? You're drawing blood from donors to the tune of that noise? Let me ask, who has the audacity or twisted sense of ironic humor to pop that into the DVD player?

I pointed out that fact to my "Insertion tech" (I don't know what they're really called -except vampires).

"It's kind of weird to be watching a vampire movie while getting blood pumped out of your veins".

He chuckled, "Yeah, I know. They played this yesterday too. Then after it was over, they played Interview With a Vampire."

Somebody's having way too much fun picking movies. I'm always hoping they'll play something humorous or happy. Give me Finding Nemo or something. I need something to laugh at while they cycle my blood through the centrifuge.

Bryce has found a favorite insertion specialist. His name is Seth and he's been jabbing people in the arm for two years. The past two times, Bryce has had Seth stick him. And Bryce won't stop raving. "It didn't even hurt! It felt good! I told him to stab the other arm too!"

I saw Seth the last time I went in. I got his attention and told him, "Hey -my buddy was in here the other day and he keeps saying how good you were. He tells everyone."

It made his day. Now every time Bryce comes in, he'll ask for Seth. And, more than likely, he'll get to be stabbed by his favorite insertion friend.

I guess that does make it a little less nerve-racking, knowing the person and trusting them to do things right. I always get a little nervous thinking back to the time when "Liz" was my poker-pal. She jabbed me, and the blood wasn't flowing. So she fished around, poked about three times and left me with a good bruise when it was all done.

I have big veins. It's hard to mess up. I think I'll start requesting Seth. He's sure won Bryce's confidence, and now it makes his day whenever Bryce comes in, smiling like an idiot, ready to have his arm poked. It's nothing short of magic to produce those kind of results, getting someone to smile because you're going to jab them in the arm. He must be really good.

Well, that's it. I'm off to Boise. Happy Independence Day everyone! (And happy Canada Day to the others)

Good Stuff

Have you ever seen How to Steal a Million? I saw the first half of it with some friends, and then decided I had to finish it. I went to my Netflix queue to add it, and to my delight, it was on the "play instantly" list. That means I can have it streamed directly to my computer. So yesterday I finished it. It was an instant favorite. Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole -classic. That's my recommendation.

The photo below is posted in response to a request from my aunt Cat. On my way home from Big Jud's burger joint (home of the 1 pound burger that made me sick for 2 days straight), me and my buddies spotted some llamas. We had a camera, so I requested a stop for photos. I didn't have a casserole or any ham, but they were still nice enough to pose for a photo.

"Hey, Science Guy!"

Today as I walked through the Lobby of the MC building, I passed a guy who recognized me and said, “Hey, Science guy!”

How did he know? I wasn’t even wearing my nerd badge (which is actually my collection of flash drives attached to a lanyard that I normally drape ‘round my neck –which was recently stolen, hence my not wearing it). It took me about half an hour to realize that he’s one of the students in the science foundations course that I’m a Teacher’s Assistant for. Ah hah.

I gave plasma for the third time on Friday. So far, I’ve made $90, with $20 still to come since Bryce listed me as his reference. I’m planning on going in with Bryce again tomorrow afternoon. It’s fair to say that I’m capitalizing on my conquered fear. Now that is an accomplishment.

I've had to (once again) visit academic advising to try and get my track changed. After a couple of weeks of planning and negotiation, I've got the papers submitted to have it all taken care of. The draw-back is that class registration is in full-sway, and I can't register for classes until I'm granted that track change. It's interesting how much quality learning is sacrificed to the requirements of 'the system'. BYU Idaho is the only church school that is geared toward rushing students through in order to accommodate more students. It's lovely that more people get the opportunity to come to school, but should we really sacrifice education (real learning) to accommodation? That's a delicate balance, and one that I don't think is being handled very well at this point. I could go on about this all day, but I'll spare you the grief.

It's somewhat sunny today, but the clouds are looming. I think we may see some rain again before the day's out.

The Long Rain

I read a Ray Bradbury story about space travelers stranded on a planet where it rained without stopping, and if they couldn't find shelter, the rain would drive them mad. I keep thinking of the title of that story, "The Long Rain". It's been raining here every day for the past three weeks or so (I've lost count, really). One day we'll have a constant drizzle throughout most of the day, and the next we'll have dramatic downpours intermixed with showers.

Most folks around here aren't all too thrilled. The summer semester students come to school looking for those fun-filled weekends of outdoor recreation, swimming, and sun-bathing.

I'm not mad at all. I love the rain. Being from Arizona, I'll take as much of it as you can dish out. I'm pretty sure that this year has broken all sorts of records for the rainfall in this area.

Everything is drenched. We haven't had a break in rain long enough for things to dry out. I've gotten in the habit of carrying my umbrella with me to school, and I've been glad I did.

On Saturday, we had a ward activity. We played water-kickball and the bishopric kept the grills busy with hot dogs and burgers. It was windy and rainy the whole time, but we still had a blast. Today we had a good soaking downpour around 5:30pm. I don't know whether to say it was coming down in buckets or in sheets. I think it was buckets, although I'm not sure about the technicalities of my classification scheme. Let's just say it was a soaking, drenching, puddle-making gush-fest. That description seems pretty ...well, descript.

Here's to another week filled with rain and drizzle. Bring it on! (Tut-tut, it looks like rain!)

*Why does Snoop-Dog carry an umbrella?

Another Day

That's Bryce up above donating plasma for the very first time today. I was seated right across from him (see my feet?) for my second time ever. (Not the greatest photo, but what can you ask from a one-armed blood-pumper?)

For my Book of Mormon class, we studied the topic of grace and then wrote a 3-5 page essay about it. We then met in smaller groups of class members to discuss what we'd learned and have a sort of testimony meeting. It's my first class of the day, and what a great way to start out. I love this Book of Mormon class. Our instructor (from Arizona -rock on!) really gets the students involved. It's so much better than what some of my other religion instructors have done: turned each lecture into an exhibition of knowledge. You know which one is the most effective teacher by how you feel in and after class.

After doing this project, I was amazed at how much I learned from simply taking one word and studying it. I think I should fill a jar with one-word study topics and make that my new study pattern.

Now a qualm: Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy people. I like to get to know them. I may be a little reserved at first (but not so much anymore), but I really do love getting acquainted with a variety of people. I've said it before: that's what makes life fun and flavorful. So here's the qualm: some lady friends of mine expect me to focus all my attention on their elite group. If they catch wind of me visiting any other girls in the ward, they get miffed. They accuse me of ditching them.

Now, I don't like to be told what to do, especially when it comes to matters so completely personal as my choice of friends. So when anybody gets demanding or clingy, the rebel inside me wants to say "If that's the game you're playing, sorry. I'm not a pawn."

If they want exclusive friendship from Mr. Stevee, they can forget it! I don't do that! If we're talking about a more permanant situation like marriage, exclusive is key. But nobody will ever make me feel guilty for reaching out to more people. Have they forgotten hw I met them? We owe our friendship to my desire to meet new people.

Not to say that I'm flighty. I think I'm being realistic in my loyalty to my friends. If they can respect that, we'll be just fine.

So there you have it. Cliques be darned -I'm not stickin' to one group. Nobody should.

Time for News

Paul Harvey said it best.

Well, today I submitted my Grad Plan and all the neccesary documents for changing my track. I can't register for next semester until that gets approved and the track is changed. So all the freshman will be filling up the classes, and I'll be sitting by, watching and waiting, crossing my fingers that somehow by some crazy miracle, I'll still be able to get into the classes I need. It's kind of a tedious task, planning out your entire academic carreer. I'm so glad to be done with that part.

I paid my registration fee for my new apartment contract. I'll be living in the same complex (Somerset) but in #110 with Bryce, his brother Brenden, and my friends Zach and Mike. I'm looking forward to that semester.

Lately I've been putting a lot of thought into bringing my car up here. It's been nice not worrying about anything car-related for a full year, but I'm about ready to have some of those worries back with their accompanying freedoms.

If things go according to plan, my last semester here will be Summer semester of 2011. That means that anyone coming to the graduation will get to see Rexburg in July and not December. Yes, I was thinking of you when I planned that.

I learn something new about Bryce every day. Here's the latest and greatest: before his mission, Bryce worked a lot of jobs. One of them was dressing as a super-hero (Superman, Spiderman, or Batman) and entertaining kids at birthday parties. That involved playing games with them, face-painting, tying ballons...
His has more talents than I knew! (beyond those evident when we play Rock Band)

Summer

There are some things that my mind associates with this awesome season. Here's the list:

-Otter Pops No matter what kind of day it is, you always know that your friends, the otters, in their multi-flavored, colorful coolness are waiting for you. There's an unwritten rule about Otter Pops; they are meant to be enjoyed with a friend. By the way, I love Otter Pops. And otters. And friends.

-The Smell of BBQ There's nothing quite like the smell of something on the grill, waiting to be enjoyed by a summer crowd.

-Swimming Pools! I wish I could swim every day. I love the water.

-Lemonade I cheat, and have lemonade all year round, but it always reminds me of summer. Maybe that's why I want it all year round.

-Drenching Rainstorms I love a good thunder-filled downpour. I've always liked the rain. Maybe it's because we don't see a lot of it where I grew up. But when it decides to come, come it does. And my Dad's hay is always ready for it. (poor guy)

-Sunday Afternoon Walks There's nothing like the calm of a Sunday on a sunny summer's afternoon. These walks are great, whether you're on your own a-pondering, or with a friend a-wandering. It makes me want to go out right now, but today's rainy.

-Water in the Ditch Summer is the season when irrigation is in full operation. Late nights, early mornings, flashlights, gophers, shovels, mud, granola bars, the International Scout ...it takes me back to my high school days -and lots of adolescent grumbling. I miss it.

-Fireworks

-Watermelon

-Fun Times

If you aren't enjoying summer to its fullest, take something from the list. I'm sure Gale wouldn't mind a hand with the irrigation.