Lesson: learned.

About a week ago, I was talking to the mother of that one missionary. She works on campus, and I visit sometimes, just for fun. She asked about my week, which had been so average as to be called "boring," and I asked about her week, which happened to fall in the same category. 


We discussed how those are the only times it's a challenge to write a missionary: when there's just no news. 


Then, later that day, her daughter tore her ACL in a soccer game. Among my first thoughts was, "Well, now we know never to complain about a boring week again!" It was like a wake-up call, and suddenly life seemed to be going too fast to stay caught up, much less to claim boredom. 


Same week: midterms. Gross, but tolerable. But busy. But also something to write Mexico about, so... complaint satisfied, I suppose. You'd think that would be enough for me get the point. (Au contraire.)


On Wednesday, I received brutal wake-up call #2. At 7:30 PM, I was in my first car accident. Ever. I'll spare you the details, but I can say it's very fortunate that nobody was hurt. After some police review, the evidence points to the accident being the fault of the other driver. I am so incredibly grateful for the way everything has played out, and I would be foolish to deny that we had aid and angels from heaven. But still.


I will not claim that it's been a fun week. But has it been eventful? Certainly. 


Now, I can't stop thinking about the irony of the situation: we suddenly have more than enough news to share with our missionary, but the challenge of writing to him is hardly lessened. Mostly it's just been transformed to a new challenge--that of "breaking" the news. I don't think I'm looking forward to it. It's the first time a 6-week delay in communication has come in handy...


Anyway, I've learned a valuable life lesson this week: don't ever claim your life is boring, because it may just come back to bite you. And it has rabies. 

Chiaroscuro of life

Chiaroscuro: strong contrast between dark and light.

This sums up my yesterday:

Fortunately, today was more like this: 

More to come.

My new best friend, Tee P.

A brief narrative for tonight: 

My family tends to buy toiletries in bulk, in case you are unaware. One of the things we really stock up on is toilet paper (hereby referred to as TP), because nobody, and I mean nobody, ever wants to be without TP if times get tough. Am I right? Yes.


So we have, in our family storage room, the great wall of TP. From the side, it just looks like a bunch of holes in a mass of white because all the rolls are turned out. (They smash a bit better and fit a bit better that way.) It is truly a sight to behold, not to mention a possible candidate for the newest world wonder. 


Anyway, tonight I was caught in the awkward dilemma of being without TP. Fortunately, older sister Jenna's room is right next to the bathroom. Since I knew she was in there, I hollered for her to pretty please get some TP, which she very graciously handled. 


Until she actually brought the TP to the bathroom. 


She hauled an entire 80-roll package of TP from the storage room, landed it on the floor, and stated, "Please make sure you put back whatever you don't use... if there even is any left over."    *Insert cruel smirk*


Hardy har har. She thinks she is soo hilarious. 


And if I'm completely honest, I do too, just a little bit. 


But I'll get my own TP next time; thanks anyway. 

iSing

I already brought this up once, but now I have pictures, so...this week was my first BYU choir concert! It was also my first time wearing stage make-up (gag, gag). From a girl who never wears anything but mascara, I knew from the get-go that the required stage make-up would make me want to die. And I was right, but I survived two nights of it, so I guess I'll be able to handle future concerts. 


It's totally, like, chill or whatever. 


Plus, if you come early to call time, they'll just do it for you. Three cheers for hair and make-up committees!


Anyway, my overall analysis of the concert was that we need to learn to control our gosh darn adrenaline, or we will never reach anything quieter than mezzo-forte. Other than that, I can tell I'm really going to enjoy being in BYU choirs. I love, love, love the way Sister Applonie conducts. Love it.


Also, Men's Chorus is incredible and I wish I could just listen to their rehearsal every day.

Here's me and my father before the show: 

And here's us being a little corny: 

Oompa-loompa status, say what?

(Me, not him. Obvi.)

BYU Women + BYU Men. Also singing, but not pictured, are Concert Choir and BYU Singers.

I personally think we're a little overwhelming, but I guess that's what the De Jong is for. That place is built for sound, and lots of it. So incredible to finally sing there!

Happy News

1) I have a coupon for one free Wendy's frosty every day for the rest of 2011. Sweet! (Literally.)

2) My major stresses of this week have blown over rather nicely. 

3) I only missed 3 questions on my first real test of the semester. Word. 

4) Choir concert tonight was a success story. But I do wish that we could overcome our tendency to over-sing on everything, all the time. Where's the dynamic contrast in that? Absent, that's where.

5) Biology tomorrow is canceled. I could sing! (Actually, I already did.)

Now, if I could just get a letter from Mexico this week, my life would be complete...
If you're wondering, it's been three months as of today. I think I'll celebrate with a free Frosty tomorrow.

It must be Wednesday.

Well I'd like to thank this semester for suddenly jumping out at me in terms of homework. Here I was, thinking, "Man, this is a breeze," and then BAM! this week hit. I am not a fan of suddenly having to stay up late, and this sort of week is never, ever happening again. (Who am I kidding? Of course it will, but at least I'll know it's coming next time.)


So anyway, since I still have homework and it's already beyond the time I planned to be sleeping, I'll just share a quick Wednesday Wordle. If you're wondering, I'm in love with this font! Plus also, the colors coordinate with the header. That's got to count for something, right?

10 points to whoever guesses what I wordled. 

Hint: I'm really not as in love with myself as blogging makes me seem.

In a nutshell

Confession: I love personality tests. I would take them all day long if it weren't the most narcissistic hobby on the planet. That being acknowledged, you should know that I occasionally do indulge just for fun. I took one last night, and it was especially lovely (by which I mean "colorful"). Check it out: 

Have you ever seen a better portrait of a human? Neither have I. It looks just like me!

Some comments: 

1) My top 3 traits = scrupulous, organized, and introspective. I might have googled "scrupulous" just to make sure I knew what they meant... Turns out it's probably the best summary of me, ever. Creepy.

2) I don't have even a decent half-circle in the "free spirited" segment of the pie chart. Do you have any clue how boring that makes me feel? I know I'm a boring human being, but I don't want to hear it from a computer! Clearly, I need to lighten up just a tad. Maybe it would help if you all started calling me "Flower Child," effective immediately.

3) I enjoyed hearing that I'm "buttoned-down," mostly because what the heck does that even mean? Yes, I learned how to button things when I was in kindergarten...wahoo? Apparently they don't care about that. According to them: 

You do not believe that a clean, orderly desk is the sign of a person who doesn't have enough to do; you don't thrive on a sense of personal anarchy.

Yeah, personal anarchy is definitely not my thing. They nailed it.

And that, folks, is me in a nutshell.

*Note: if your sense of narcissism is as healthy as mine and you'd like to try this same test, go here.

I'm in love with this song today: 

A Problem

The microwave just smoked at me. 


And now it makes weird noises when I try to close it. 


I feel like this is a problem...


On a different note, I'm having a moral dilemma. Did I help or hurt my little sister when I taught her all the tricks I know about cramming for tests? You can't deny it's useful information, but then again...did I ensure she never studies properly for another test? What think ye?


And while you're commenting (if you are indeed bothering to do so), please advise on the microwave situation. Many thanks. --Lys.






*Midnight Update: Never mind on the microwave thing. I just learned it's broken. Awesome. 

Misleading Packaging

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to present...my math homework! 

You didn't see that coming, huh.

The assignment it to take the stuff on the left and make my own copy using a program called LaTeX, as shown on the right. The two screens have essentially the same information; it's just that one is readable and one is...not.

I had no clue that this (sort of) computer programming would be included in the course I'm taking, but I can tell it'll be very valuable for when I someday become a teacher, so whatever. The weirdest part is this: I actually enjoy typing up all that unreadable junk. Nerd alert, much?

I love math, and I have a thing for computers. 

It's all good.

Brief, unrelated story: Today in Biology lab, our TA almost yelled at us to never ever eat another gram of trans fat, so long as we shall live, or else we will, in fact, no longer live (at least, not for as long as we would have). Then I ate a Lunchable. It had 1 g trans. Oops.

Hungry...

I went on Pinterest again, dang it. You know, for all my talk of not liking/understanding/wanting to participate, I sure end up there a lot...  But it always makes for good picture lists, so here we go again! 

Things I want to eat right now: 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Oh heavens, this is making my mouth water. I think I'll go devour some nectarine crisp right this second. 

"Each day's a gift, and not a given right."

I'm in a serious mood tonight. It's not a bad serious, just a thoughtful one. 


This morning I had a devil of a time getting out of the house on time. There were a few unannounced changes in schedule, and I wasn't exactly the most patient of sisters. Then, because I left later than I wanted to, I found myself utterly stuck in the morning rush hour. I hate traffic, and this was a worst-case scenario. However, as I passed Main Street, there was a sudden change in the traffic light, and it threw me off. In looking around to see the reason I'd barely managed to make it through a green light, I saw/heard an ambulance and fire truck barreling my way. They passed and continued on their way, but it got me thinking. 


A few weeks ago, on a similar drive to BYU (minus all the traffic), I passed the flashing lights of an ambulance and fire truck. As I took a glance at the house where they were parked, I saw two paramedics helping an old, old lady down the front step to a waiting stretcher. Without giving it much thought, I'd been searching the radio for a good song, and right at that moment I happened to land on "If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback (click to listen). The combination of witnessing that critical moment and listening to that song hit me hard and fast. I might have shed a few tears. 


Today's ambulance run-in brought me right back to that drive, and suddenly I didn't care about traffic so much anymore. Usually I just want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible; delays of any variety annoy me. Today was more like, "To heck with A and B. What new experience can I have on the way?" Nothing on the drive really stuck out to me after that (naturally), but it did change my mindset for the day.


When I got home from school, I learned that an elderly lady in my neighborhood had passed away this morning. Talk about adding fuel to the fire of my thoughts. Here's where they've headed since: 


If today had been my last day, how would I have spent it? Who really knows? It wasn't my last day, so I didn't treat it as such. However, chances are slim that I'll have the privilege of knowing my last day, especially if it arrives sometime before another 60 years have passed, so should I treat every day as if it could be my last? It's the classic carpe diem debate: better to truly seize the day now without regrets, or to to spend today in planning for a better tomorrow?


I'm not the kind of person to give up everything I have today "just in case," nor am I much of a carpe diem sort of girl. I plan everything further than it should be planned, and I worry when things don't work out. But I'd sure like to eliminate some of those unnecessary worries. Example: traffic is poop, but I don't have to fret over it. Looking presentable is nice, but looking incredible is unnecessary. Homework must be done, but not at the expense of my relationships with family and friends. New priorities, new freedom. Sounds kinda nice, right? 


Feel free to join me, if you feel so inclined. Maybe we can start a new movement giving out free jackets and money or something. :) 


*Note: I wrote this yesterday. Not to say that I now feel differently, just that "today" doesn't really mean today, so don't get confused.

POTD#2

I wrote two other posts tonight, but I can't get either one refined enough for my liking. So in my last-ditch effort to get a post before midnight, you get another POTD. 

Choir tour, San Francisco

Obviously, this wasn't taken today. But I did wear that hoodie today, so they're connected somehow...? OK, mostly I just like our faces, and when I saw this in my picture folder, it made me smile. Plus, I'm happy for my friend Emma tonight (she's the one next to me, near the left end) because I read her cute blog post. 


So how's that for an unnecessary post? There are better things on the way later this week; I promise. :)

Here, have a laugh!

I was raised on Calvin and Hobbes. I'm convinced they've had a permanent effect on my sense of humor. 

And I'm perfectly fine with that. 

Oh heavens to Betsy, I love these. Sorry if that was an overload. But then again, I enjoyed it, so...

A brief vent sesh

My latest tradition is this: free t-shirt Friday! You should all join because it's basically the most comfortable and wonderful thing ever. (Optional: you can also do your hair in the fastest, most effortless way you know how. I sure try to.)

Technically I hate this shirt, but I had to wear green for a choir retreat tonight, and this is seriously the only green item of clothing that I own. Pathetic, I know. I'll be buying something green, stylish, and cheap at the earliest opportunity. 


This shirt was, in fact, free, but I have a slightly unpleasant memory associated with the day I got it. It was the day of a contest at my school for a free iPad. The competition was narrowed from the entire school to 50 students, then to 5 students. Three girls made their attempt, and none of them got it, so it was then down to me and one other student. And this is one of the few times my luck has failed me: he won. Poop, right? 

So all I got was this t-shirt. And it's not even the right size. Double poop. 

The Miracle of Yesterday

Once upon a yesterday, I posted about my not-great day. It was only mildly on the bad side, but I was slightly hormonal and all the little things had piled up a bit. Ever had that happen? Ok good, you can sympathize. Thanks for understanding. 


Anyway, that day ended on a completely different note than I anticipated. It was a nice surprise (not to mention a blatant and immediate answer to prayer), and I won't soon forget it. Here's what happened:


Within 10 minutes of my post being published, I received 3 cheery text messages from 3 people who hadn't even read my post. Two of those messages informed me that I had received snail mail from a certain missionary in Mexico. Hello, best day ever. 


The third text was from older sister Bri. It was a funny picture of me and the neph that she took a few weeks ago and just forgot to send...until yesterday. Does God inspire forgetfulness? Because I kind of think He may have. I wouldn't have needed that picture a few weeks ago, but I sure darn needed it yesterday. 


Here's what is amazing to me: I don't remember all those things that bothered me yesterday morning. I do remember feeling happy and loved from that point when I pleaded for help and friendship until the moment I went to sleep. The people who turned my day around so immediately couldn't have known my day needed turning. Therefore, I firmly believe there was inspiration at hand. Such coordination of individual schedules for the benefit of just one person is not a human feat. 

Prayers are answered, every day. Small miracles happen, every day. For this I am grateful. That's all I really mean to say.

(PS: Want to see that picture? You'll have to pardon the quality. Little-known fact--my phone is actually from the Mesozoic Era, so I don't know a way to get pictures from phone to computer. It stinketh.)

This is called "moody"

Today hasn't been great. I guess it hasn't been horrible either, but I've become accustomed to fabulous days lately, so this is kind of a bummer. 


The good news is that I finished the things I was aiming to during my first hour break. 


The bad news is that I now have nothing to fill this break. Mostly I just want to nap, but when I nap, I really nap, and that kind of thing simply can't be crammed into an hour.


I'd really love to see a friendly face on campus, right this second. If that's not too much to ask for. 


If it is too much to ask for, I want to be somewhere where no one else is. But that doesn't exist on campus.


Mom, thanks for the lunch. It was creative today. :) 
PS: Don't worry, I'm fine. Just bored. 


Here's a picture to liven up this boring post: 

Don't you just want those right now?

Now I'm going to do tomorrow's math homework because A) this post is going nowhere fast, and B) then I can have a lazy day tomorrow. 


(I am sincerely sorry if you actually read this whole thing.)

Los Beatles

(That isn't really the Beatles.)

Last night my family went to a fake Beatles concert. My mom's a big fan; the only time I ever remember hearing her say, "Oh this is a good song!" and turning it up was to the Beatles. My dad could do without them in his life, but he bought tickets to this tribute concert for Mom's sake. And we all got to go for family night!


Anyway, the name of the actual group we saw last night is 1964, and these guys were surprisingly good. They've done their best to be as legit as possible. As far as I'm concerned, it's worked. Granted, my Beatles knowledge is limited, but they probably could have fooled me, had we been in the 60's. (Of course, if we were in the 60's, I would have seen the real Beatles, and I wouldn't have blogged about it. So...win some, lose some? I dunno.)

From their blog: 

The tribute band strives for authenticity, both in sound and appearance. The musicians that portray the Fab Four mimic the body movements and characters of the individuals, and work to look as much like The Beatles as possible. The musician portraying Paul McCartney imitates him by playing the bass left-handed, despite the fact that the musician is actually right-handed.

In addition to Beatles fans, those with an interest in history might also enjoy the tribute concert. Gardner said everything is done in its original form. The instruments are identical to the ones played by The Beatles in 1964 and the suits that the members of the tribute band wear for performances come from the same company that made the original suits for the lads from Liverpool.

I dunno about you, but I'm not enough of a fan of anything to change my handedness. Therefore, I'm impressed. Kudos to 1964 for dedication and detail-orientedness.

This is me and my mom waiting to get in:

This is the Scera Shell:

This is them, again: 

This is me and my sister doing the Twist and Shout: 

This was my favorite thing that they did: 

And this is how we watch concerts sometimes: 

This is a video of one of my favorite songs. It's the real Beatles, and it's from YouTube, because I cannot for the life of me figure out why Blogger never lets me upload videos. Ugh.

All in all, it was a grand ol' time. 
(Sorry that this post just took all your time. Let it be, k?)
(Sorry for the terrible attempt at a Beatles reference. It's late.)

Food and Fashion. Or something.

This is what I ate yesterday after church. It must have been a fast Sunday, because this is a lot of food. That's honey whole wheat toast with homemade grape jelly, nectarines from our tree outside, and a 2-egg omelet (Mom made that for me because she loves me). 

Yesterday's adventure was food.

This is what I wore today. The big news here is the skinny jeans. Until approximately a week ago, I felt like this toward skinny jeans: "Yuck." But I kinda like these ones. The only problem is that I don't know how to wear them. Is this even remotely bueno?

Today's adventure was fashion. If this isn't fashionable, don't tell me, because I don't want to hear it. 

Ok, do tell me. Just be nice about it.

And because I love an awkward self-portrait as much as the next blogger: 

PS: Am I the only one who sees way too much purple in this post? No? Phew! I was worried. Tomorrow will have more Beatles and less purple. I promise.

There's got to be an easier way.

Something you didn't know about me: I have a strange alarm system for getting up in the mornings. 


My alarm clock on my bedside table is lovely, but I've had it forever. Therefore, I rarely wake up to just that. I usually set my phone alarm as well, and then they alternate really annoyingly and get me up with some serious group effort. 


In truth, that system is probably not unheard of, but setting my alarms is the problem. It requires calculations of which I am usually not capable at the hours I tend to go to bed. Please, allow me to explain. 


The bedside clock is always approximately 12-13 minutes fast. I'm not entirely sure how fast it is, but I can tell you that it's always and forever been in that range. When I first got the little lovely, I couldn't work all the little buttons, so when I tried to set the time, it got stuck on 12:12. It just so happened to be noon in real life (what luck!), so I figured that would suffice and gave up. I'm proud to say I did indeed figure out how to set the real time, but by then I was accustomed to subtracting 12 minutes, and I didn't want to suddenly be late everywhere I went, so I left it. And I've left it ever since, but it changes a tad every time we suffer a brief power shortage. Hence, approximately 12-13 minutes fast.


The phone clock is obviously correct. It sets itself, so I don't have to worry about it. 


The tricky part is setting a 12-minute-fast clock and a perfectly-on-time clock to both go off a few minutes apart, and then alternate on their respective snooze settings until I finally roll out of bed. I feel like I should have a system of equations with variables x, y, and z set up by now, but clearly it's much easier to just fumble around with different times every night and pray that I get to class on time the next morning. 


If you're wondering, it works on 4 out of every 5 school days (on average). And my saints of parents help me get up on the one day of each school week that my alarms fail me. They're gems. :)


Now I just need to hope and pray for a tolerant future husband who can handle these alarms. To him I say: 

Best of luck. You're a gem. And I'll love you forever if you just let me sleep in.

Wait a second...

Tonight is my official first BYU weekend. 

I'm blogging quick cuz I'm hanging out with my good friend Mal.

One question: aren't we supposed to have dates?

(Joke.)

Dogs, bugs, and a song

Today was free hot dog day at lunchtime on campus. Nobody knows how to feed a crowd like members of the LDS church. 

I just smashed a bug in my biology book. It's ironic, a little bit, killing something with a book about life.

My sister sent me a Pinterest invite. Yikes. It's a whole new social-networking realm, and I can't even figure out what I should make boards about. Maybe I'll just stick with forever looking at other people's stuff. Yeah, that sounds good.

I jammed up our copy machine today. Rats.

Bug blood, in case you're wondering, is a healthy red. Not blue or black, despite whatever you may have learned from the old adage, "One black beetle bled only black blood; the other black beetle bled blue."

Did you know that you can get 80 cent postal stamps? I didn't, until today.

At the end of piano lessons, I always ask my students if they have any questions, comments, or concerns, mostly because I think I'm funny, apparently. Anyway, I was in a hurry to finish one lesson and start the next, and my student said, "You forgot to ask for questions, comments, or concerns." I did so. He replied, "Yes, I have a comment: thank you for teaching me."

Please, enjoy a song:

It's honestly one of my all-time favorites. Goodness only knows why.