On a Scale of 1 to Fun...

There's one phrase I've heard from my professors more than any other: "You can take the boy out of boy scouts, but you can't take the boy scouts out of the boy."
I spent this weekend doing a whole lot of nothing but roommate bonding. The voice of reason in my head usually tends to scold me for being unproductive, but in this case, the time was well-spent. After completing some large-scale projects and field-trips, I needed some mental unwinding.
So Saturday afternoon, we went to Idaho Falls ("I.F." to the locals) and had lunch at Olive Garden. Then we went to Target and bought matching green dinosaur print glow-in-the-dark footy jammies. After searching the store, we found some in the boys clothing. The XL in boy size are surprisingly huge for boys PJs.
Saturday Night was officially our roommate-sleepover in the living room. That meant footy-jammies, party music, lots of brownies, apples to apples, and Nacho Libre, which lasted until about 4am 'til we were finally all asleep. The waking hours brought with them sore toes. The stretched feet of the PJs caused my toes to curl up while I slept. I might need to cut the feet off the bottom, like my mom did when I was out-growing them. I learned a few things from this experience: wearing footy PJs can make you feel decades younger, church meetings at 1:30pm make for unreasonably late Saturday night activities, and my roommates are a lot of fun.
I feel really fortunate to have been assigned to live with these guys. In the picture: (on the couch) Kyle, Levi, Trevik, and Me, (in front)Tom and Parley.
I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade my experiences at College for anything.

Fall Flattery

Tomorrow is the official calendar day of the start of Autumn. I'm pretty excited. I know that it also means the start of colder weather, but there's something that I love about Fall that thrills me every time it comes. The leaves are turning colors and falling. Yesterday was a rainy day in Rexburg. I got caught at the school studying, without a jacket. So I had to dash home in the downpour for my lunch break.
Later in the evening, I went to the Center Stage performance at the Kirkham Auditorium. It was a show by a 4-man group called Buckets and Tap Shoes. These guys were really amazing, and very entertaining.
Today was chilly, but nice.
The picture at the start of the post was sent to me by my sister. Her daughter Lacy saw this ad and thought the model was me. I don't really see the resemblance. The closest I'll ever get to modeling was a project involving dusty clothes, a dam, and muddy water. But whatever gets your name out there, you know...
Lacy knows my potential. The faith of a child is a beautiful thing.

I've Been Tagged

It happened AGAIN.
I feel like I'm in elementary school all over again. I'm getting tagged so frequently. So here we go, another fill-in-the-blank post:

8 things I am passionate about:

music
good books
the restored gospel
goals
learning
my friends
memories
volleyball

8 words or phrases that I say often

(these 1st 4 are new)
"Mother would not approve."
"Please, don't _____ . It's not safe!" (fill in the blank)
"I miss Parley."
"I'm kind of OK with awkward."
"Hello, my life sucks!" (inside joke)
"Is your sister hot?"
"Oh, dang."
"Agreed!"

8 things I want to do before I die

See an active lava flow in Hawaii
Spend some time back in Fort Macleod, Alberta.
Finish School (well, one can hope -right?)
Get married (there -I said it. It's true.)
Star as an extra in a film with positive moral values.
Publish a book or two.
Teach geology
Tour the British Isles

8 things I have learned

Never trust an elf.
Aunts are more fun than most people realize.
Being on a postcard makes you famous (even if it is your back-side).
School is an occupation, not a checklist.
Perspective can teach you more than your own observations can.
Moms make the best sandwiches.
You can't hold a baby and not touch a bit of heaven (and you'll probably be spit-up on too).
Neglecting scripture reading is never a good plan.

8 places I would love to go or see

Ruins in Guatemala
The east coast
Egypt
Rome
California (again)
6 flags Magic Mountain (again)
Nauvoo and the other cool Church History sites
Hawaii

8 things I currently need or want

a laptop
more vanilla silk soymilk
rock-hard abs
a rock-hammer of my very own
to hold my new nephew
more cupboard space
belgian waffles
BYUI gym clothes of my very own

I survived another tagging. Bravo, Edmand. Bravo. Kings to me.

The Geology Student

"What are men to rocks and mountains?" -Jane Austen

You know you're a Geology Major when:

-you always bring the following to class: a dropper-bottle full of dillute hydrochloric acid, a magnet, a piece of steel, and a hand lens.

-you fall asleep trying to visualize the stereonet plot of the intersection of fault-planes, then dream about it.

-you come back from a week-long trip to Wyoming, and all of your pictures are of rock and dirt.

-you can see stereophotos in 3-D without using a stereoscope.

-you know what a stereoscope is, and know how to use it.

-you laugh when people describe something living as "old".

-you know the difference between a soft-rock hammer and a hard-rock hammer.

-you take break-time from class to look at rock samples.

-you have heroes that nobody else has heard of, like Maurice and Katja Krafft.

-the first thing you wonder when someone tells you they went to Hawaii is, "Did they get to see any lava flows?"

-you've toyed with the idea of using forms of rock/mineral names or geology terms for names of future children (breccia, chert, tuff, ...petricia?).

-you can't walk by a stone structure without speculating about the life span of the structure in consideration of weathering processes.

-you have a more varied vocabulary than onyone else on campus.

-you don't chuckle when people use words like schist.

-you can tell whether sand grains are sub-rounded or sub-angular.

-you talk about geology outside of class with friends, until you realize that they don't share your enthusiasm for the subject ---at all.

-you come back from a trip with your luggage 50 lbs. heavier.

-you look at a picture, and wish that whoever took it would've zoomed in on a rock-surface.

-you don't think of food when you hear the words "crust" and "shortening".

-you need someone else to drive for you because you can't take your eyes off the rocks on the side of the road.


I do fit in this category. I spend my days at school ears-deep in rocks, and I enjoy it. I think I'm in the right department.

Fall, Flix, Fun Times

Despite being inundated with new information during this first week of school, I'm doing quite well. I'm getting to know the roommates, getting to know the town, and spending a little time with old friends. It's really starting to feel like Fall -and I love it.

Last night, I went to see my friends Adrienne and Corrine, who I knew from EAC. They were about to start a movie, so I was just in time.

We watched That Thing You Do.

I'd never seen it, but I really liked it. Chalk another one up on my list of all-time favorites. How is it that it's been around so long and I've never seen it?

It's just been waiting patiently and quietly for the day when I'd finally discover it. It's loaded with great humor -but it doesn't rest entirely on humor. The plot is grippingly entertaining and is executed by an excellent cast. I can recommend this one whole-heartedly.

Funny story: Friday night, my roommate Levi invited me and my roommate Tom to go to a party put on by a girl he knew. Well, we didn't have any reason to stay home, so we went.

It was a house full of girls, with a few boys hanging around. Levi's friend, the hostess, came to the door to invite us in. After introductions, here's what she said: "There's a table of food over there. Help yourself. And there are a lot of girls here. Help yourself."
I don't think she was even trying to be funny. Me and Tom looked at each other and we couldn't help but laugh.

A little later, a group of loud Freshmen boys showed up. They sort of busted in talking loud, laughing, and sort of dancing and pushing people aside as they came right to the food table.

When they got close enough, they noticed the bowl of Sour-Patch kids. They all started yelling, "SOUR PATCH KIDS!!! SOUR PATCH KIDS!!!"

They each grabbed a handful. Me and Tom stood there and watched as this hurricane of stags pounced on the refreshments. One of the last guys to make it to the table came to the bowl of Sour Patch kids, leaned over the bowl, and with both hands scooped up a bunch of them, stood there looking at them, and said, "Oh, mother would not approve!" And he proceeded to eat them. Tom and I just broke out laughing. The funny thing is, the Freshmen boys were gone about a minute afterwards. They got their sour-patch fix, and were gone.

Those are the highlights of the funniest things of this week.

I'm pretty excited for Stadium Sing tomorrow. That's where BYUI students gather under the Stadium bleachers and sing hymns for half an hour on Sunday nights. There are so many people there singing, and the acoustics are so good under the bleachers that it's really a cool experience. So there you have it. Leave your comments or suggestions in the box.

"Oh, Mother would not approve!" That's my newest phrase. I think it's pretty useful. Hope that freshman kid doesn't mind me using it. He has no idea what he's started.

I found a video that made me laugh, so I have to share it with you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clmr9JUyTIc

Tagged.

Stormy went and "tagged" everyone. I know I'm not everyone, but I do fall in that category.

I am: a idiot.
i know: what I want, and I want it now.
i want: i don't know...
i have: a bellybutton on my tummy.
i wish: that I had brought my X-Box with me to Idaho.
i hate: the fact that I left it at home.
i fear: that I won't be able to live happily without it.
i feel: super-peppy today.
i hear: that you are what you eat.
i smell: fall in the air.
i crave: attention from good-looking ladies.
i search: for stuff when I can't find it.
i regret: not remembering where I put everything.
i love: it when I find what I'm looking for.
i always: try to say thank you.
i am not: trying to be cool.
i believe: in miracles -since you came along (you sexy thang)
i dance: like nobody's watchin' -usually nobody is.
i sing: loud at Stadium Sing on Sunday evenings.
i fight: illiteracy in all its forms.
i lose: stuff when I move.
i win: at guessing games -a lot.
i never: say never.
i listen: to Jack Johnson more than any other artist.
i am scared: of getting low grades.
i need: to study!
i am happy about: living in spud country
and last but not least, I TAG: Alicia

Picnik -where have you been all my life?

I know, I'm being a bit of a show off, and you might be sick of seeing it, but I just can't help myself! I took this picture to the "picnik" site my sister told me about, and just played around with it for a bit. Isn't it awesome? And it's free! This picture makes me want to go out and find me a wife right now!!! Ok, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean.

Since You're All Dying to Know,

I won't wait 'til we're around the dinner table for this one. There's one question that's on everybody's cyber-lips: "How was your first day of school?"
Well, I have to say I'm very relieved. I started today with a preconceived notion that my classes would be nothing short of mental boot-camp. Well, you would too, if you'd been told by every other person in the department that "You're taking that? Ooh. Do you plan on sleeping ever? Good luck."
Nothing that was discussed in our overview of class, or the preliminary lecture was foreign to me. It was more of what I expected before people gave me the wrong idea.
"I suddenly came to the realization that I was not about to be destroyed!"
The same thing happened with wisdom teeth. Yes, it was quite an operation. They sawed into my jaw-bone to dig the things out, but I didn't feel any of it, and the extent of my pain was achy cheeks that didn't really swell much, and I was back to solid food the next night after.
I was so mad that everyone had me all worked up for nothing. The point is -advice from strangers is worth just about as much as gum from strangers left under the edge of the restaurant's table.
School went pretty well ---so far.
"I bet you'll never guess what I got ya for Christmas!"

New Horizons

This is within walking distance of my apartment. I think I'll go Tuesday morning for a bit. This is my own photo -click on it to see the full-size version. It's worth your time.

So I survived the field trip and the move in, and I'm starting to learn my way around. Why is it I find transitions so stressful? I keep remembering the words of Mr. Morris: the most successful species are those that are most able to adapt to change. I'm working on it.

With the field trip all out of the way, I've got to focus on 3 upper-level Geology classes, and nothing else. My instructor, Brother Clayton (I always want to make a gunshot noise after saying his name), advised me that these 3 courses will keep me very busy. I'm wondering what I've got myself into.

But then, the group of Geology majors I'll be studying with make the experience so much more enjoyable. Here they are having lunch on a hillside we were mapping out. Bro. Clayton is in the front with the hat and sunglasses, and our other instructor Bro. Little is in the back (closest to the fence with the brown hat on).

Overall, the trip was very interesting. I've got hundreds of pictures of different rock structures, but I won't bore you all with those. I'll save them for my fellow geology-enthused classmates.

The COOLEST THING

Sliced bread has nothing on these novelties. I mean it. Now available, for the first time in Joseph City's long and glorious history, a collection of official postcards.

The list of what a person could do with these rustic beauties stretches on like the vast desert plateau of the Little Colorado Basin.

Do yourself a favor. Check out the link and sample the sweet goodness.

http://josephcitypostcards.blogspot.com/

Rural life never looked so goll-dern good.