I suppose I could just Google this...

So I'm just confused sometimes because I can't figure out if Star Wars takes place in the past or the future. 
I would guess future if it came down to my life on the line or something, 
but then why did everybody in the whole dang galaxy decide to revert to Moses-style robes all of a sudden?

Also lots of the robots (droids?) are, like, worn down looking.


So I'm confused.

I think I asked Joe about this before he left, and now I don't even remember his answer.
How embarrassing. 


But anyways, if you know the answer, holler at me.
Actually don't because I just decided future, cuz hello lightsabers.
And I'm still gonna post this because I already uploaded the picture.
But thanks for listening at least.






(And just like that, my blog became a Tumblr full of very very deep, late night thoughts. Awesome.)

I now know how to spell boutonniere*

We learned how to make boutonnieres in floral design last week! I wasn't a fan of the colors I landed for my little boutonniere kit (I...dislike...purple in general), but I did like the way my finished products turned out.

The first one is just a basic rose boutonniere: rose, baby's breath, fern. Wire the rose, add the pretty background stuff, stick it all together with floral tape, boom.

The middle one adds a nestled flower (we called it Cyclops) and uses: sweetheart rose, carnation, waxflower, salal leaf. Wire rose, poke through carnation, add background stuff, stick it all together. I don't love the look of this one, but the waxflowers worked rather nicely with me, and they're my favorite, so I suppose we got along fine in the end. 

The last one is called a wildflower bouquet and would probably be my favorite for events in my foreseeable future (ahem, hipster wedding?). It's just: waxflower, purple aster. This seriously just involved getting all the stems in the same place and wrapping a bunch of gold wire around them. It's daintier than the others, which I like, and this type of boutonniere lends itself to more variety, which I also like. I think it could also be cheaper? Maybe I made that up. In any case, this one was my fave by far.


I was very very happy to learn a skill such as this. I of course need more practice with them, but I think my children will probably never have to buy prom flowers, so #winning.


I love flowers.




*Because I didn't know how to spell boutonniere when I started writing this post.

30 days

As of a little bit ago (hours), it is officially less than a month until a particular Mexican missionary comes back home. 

But I mean, who's counting?

Testing, testing, 1-2-3, is this thing on?

I would like to document a little piece of my life.
This is how I study for tests.

:: I get a blank piece of paper and fold it in half. I can only study off of something I can hold in my hand without it flopping around, so I go with hamburger-style every time, of course. 

:: I start at the very beginning of whatever I'm supposed to have learned and start writing down anything I don't remember. In my 341 class, this meant entire proofs and formulas; in floral design, on the other hand, this means "roses&carns=bunches of 25." I do not write down answers I already know, but I do write down anything I'm even a little shaky on because I know for a fact that writing stuff by hand greatly helps my memory.

:: I usually write these self-made study guides in small handwriting. Don't ask why because I couldn't tell you; usually my handwriting is considerably larger and messier. Although now that I think about it...one time I mentioned the small handwriting thing to somebody and they said, "Well yeah, that's because writing tiny helps you remember stuff! The tinier the writing, the better the memory." And they were completely serious, but they were also a little crazy, so there you have it.

:: I always use pen for my study guides. ALWAYS. Then there is no risk of that obnoxious thing that happens when you use a pencil and then the paper gets smeared, you know what I'm talking about? And so then I can definitely use my lovely study tool again later when finals roll around.

:: And I draw plenty of pictures/diagrams and use plenty of abbrevs. These usually wouldn't make sense to anyone else in the world, which I think makes them even more helpful? I dunno.

:: Units must have dividers. Either I draw a nice straight line or I get a new piece of paper (rare) or I use a new pen color, but there must be a difference from unit to unit. 

:: My bullet points are [almost] always just dashes so that when I have everything written and am just reviewing, I can cross the dash once I've got it down. So as I relearn stuff and move it from the category of "needs written down" to "nailed it" the little mark switches from - to +. Because I'm adding it to my brain. Get it? Get it??

:: More often than not, as soon as I finish going through all the material, the actual writing has helped me relearn most stuff, so then I almost always go straight to cramming mode. And by cramming I don't mean last-minute frantic sort of studying, but just studying in a way that will most likely only help me remember for this particular test (...but maybe not beyond). 

:: Anything that I can't find a good mnemonic for, I highlight. Then I do the last-minute frantic thing with these highlighted things while I hold my study guide and walk to the testing center. 

And that's how I study for tests. 
Why am I sharing this? 
Because it works for me. 
Also because it's part of my identity, just a lil bit.
Also because today I saw my latest test score for my math class and it wasn't wonderful and I am attributing it to the fact that I decided not to study like this. But I will next time, mark my words...

But mostly because I should be making one of these study guides right now instead of blogging, duh. 


What are your testing techniques? Do you do anything specific for every test?

POTD for 19 May 2013

This is what happens when Mariah and I practice witchcraft in our free time:

JOKE.

It is actually just us showing off our long hair. Also: laughing.

But this thing really is witchcraft:

hahahahahahahahah....

GeoGuessr: funner than it sounds

[Because I realize that "GeoGuessr" sounds like educational software for 5th graders.]

Confession: I definitely just spent 30 minutes playing this awesome game instead of doing homework.

Here's how it's played: 

:: Google puts up a picture of somewhere in the world

:: You guess where in the world that would be

:: They tell you how far off you were

:: You get points for being closer to the real answer

:: Repeat times 5

So if you're, like, bored or something, you could try it out...

Even if you're not bored, you could still try it out. It takes <5 min to play!

BUT TELL ME YOUR SCORE. 

Because obvi I want to begin a Leader Board over here.

Ok that was a joke, but I really am curious how people do at this thing cuz I feel like I guessed randomly on every picture. 

How would anyone ever actually know all these places?

Have any of you seen enough of the world for this to be a breeze? Go forth and show me up.

And...that's all for tonight. Back to homework.

Mother's Day 2013

Tonight at ward prayer the get-to-know-you question was: "What is your favorite thing about your mom?"

I answered:

"I love my mom because she is literally my best friend. Also, she is the most calming influence in my life, which I really need because I get worked up over stuff easily. I love her."


I didn't realize this fact about our relationship--how Mom is the one to calm me down--until they asked that question and then that answer came first to mind. But it is so true! I tell her every stupid detail about all my woes and then she gives me comfort and advice, and then I cry (or sometimes I don't cry) and say, "I know," because I think that's all I need. But she doesn't stop consoling me because she knows I need to hear more. And she doesn't get bugged by the fact that I always claim to already know everything she has to tell me. (That would be annoying; sorry Mom.) And she gives me a hug, even though we don't always hug a whole ton in my family, because she knows when I need one anyway.


She is a saint.
I could never, ever, ever doubt that Mom loves me.
And guys, I love her too.
I just needed to say that.
[Don't worry, I tell that to her face a lot.]

Happy Mother's Day to all, and to all a good night.

This song.

On repeat today.

A documentation of the first time I've ever broken a shoe

So yesterday I had an unfortunate experience called: my shoe broke. I was just wearing a pair of pretty cheap and pretty awful sandals, so I suppose I asked for it? In any case, it was incredibly inconvenient since I was almost as far away from my car as I could possibly be on campus, and I was not yet finished with classes so going home for different shoes meant wasted gas, and I had an assignment I needed to finish in the two hours before class, and I didn't plan time to go home (20 min both ways) in those two hours on top of that assignment, blah blah blah.

Oh and I happened to wear a skirt yesterday because it's the most comfortable article of clothing in my closet, but skirts make me feel weird when I wear them with a backpack. And I won a prize in floral design lecture and we made flower wraps in floral design lab, so I was carrying flowers in both hands, which meant I didn't actually have room to also carry SANDALS. I must have looked like a right clown.

Ugh my life is so so so hard.

I realize I'm being ridiculous to complain about this, but please know I'm not really complaining. It happened on a lovely day to have to walk barefoot, and I actually love carrying flowers around because they're pretty, and so even though I felt completely conspicuous, I'm sure I was just being a baby.

Anyway, here's a picture my friend took of me in my ridiculousness:

She did not happen to mention that my choice of pose made me look like I needed a bathroom as much as I needed shoes, but whatev.

And since I was very very excited about my flowers, here's a close-up on that bouquet:

If I'm completely honest (and I'm nothing if not honest), I don't miss the sandals one bit.

The end.

Hi, my name's Alyssa...

There are a LOT of occasions in my life when I have to tell a small room of people about myself. Usually these are associated with my singles' ward (I attend new member meeting on a regular basis for my calling), but we also do a lot of self-intros for my classes in school at the beginning of each semester. Professors find it entertaining, I think? Anyways, I thought it might be fun to post what I usually say as of late and the psychology (I guess) behind it. This is because the way I sum up my life in a few sentences is probably pretty indicative of what I find most important. Or something.


1 :: Hi, my name's Alyssa. No last name, on purpose, for anonymity's sake. I kind of hate it when someone, like, adds me on Facebook after only one interaction or something. (Yes, I screen my FB friends.) Also, I can't say "I'm Alyssa" because then people hear "I'm Melissa" which is not my name.

2 :: I'm from here in Utah, currently living with my family. I say this because at school people are from all over the place and so being from Utah isn't "cool." But if you are living with your family then almost anyone from elsewhere will suddenly be jealous that you get to see Mom every day and have free laundry and free food and all that jazz. But really I don't say it to make people jealous (that's just a nice side effect); I say it because it is a huge blessing to be able to live at home, and I want to recognize that.

3 :: I go to BYU, studying math ed. And I have to really pronounce MATH ed or else everyone hears "meth ed" which is not what I am studying. Of course I have specify BYU because the BYU/UVU split is about 50/50 round these parts, and people (including me) have a tendency to assume that we all go to the same school. Which is all fun and games until you're trying to compare classes and realize it would literally be impossible to ever have the same professor anyways! Heh, heh, yeah...I mean, I've never done that before...uh...

4 :: I also work at the floral shop on campus. This counteracts the often automatic (and actually true) assumption that I am super analytic* because I am studying math. I also give a winning smile after this line because, hello, I'm in love with my job.

5 :: This is usually where whoever's in charge has asked for an answer to a get-to-know-you question. If it's about hobbies: piano. If it's about ice cream: chocolate. If it's about super powers: invisibility. If it's about something-we-don't-already-know: "I am abnormally lucky."


And there you have it. Me in 5 sentences.

I think it's interesting to think about how these sorts of bios are rarely interesting. I mean, I could spice mine up a bit--include a few jokes and a little canned laughter--but then it would just be weird. 

Why do we use such surface-level things as our first impressions?
It would mean far more if I told somebody about my latest challenge or my best embarrassing moment. We'd form a real connection real quick if we exchanged things like this. 
But we all walk around hiding what matters and throwing around what doesn't.

I suppose it's idealistic to suppose everyone cares enough. Heck, I know I don't always care enough to listen to everybody's stories all the time. 
I think it makes life easier somehow. 
But I also think it's a flaw in human nature.
It may be easier to not care, but we learn infinitely more if we do.

Then again, it may not be that people don't care, but just that people don't have time to care.
That feels at least a little better. And I think it's more accurate.

Anyways, these are the things I think about almost every time I give this little speech, but not in as morbid of a way as this post suddenly sounds. I really do just find it fascinating. 


Question for the class: What's your favorite thing to hear in a self-introduction?? I shall add it to mine!

I am posting this picture because they are changing up the scenery round this part of campus but I really really liked when it looked like this still. I was there today and it was scurry [scary]!  So, you know, in memoriam and stuff.

*FUN FACT #87: I just learned that apparently analytical is not a word. IS THIS TRUE??? I have been using this incorrectly for years apparently. Dang it.

I'm a nerd. SO SUE ME.

There's a blog which anyone who enjoys science, math, and/or humor should read. The author (he? she? I assume "he" but I have no reason to do so?) takes outlandish questions and answers them with physics principles every Tuesday. 

This blog has everything: great illustrations, mathematical equations in Tex format, strictly weekly posts, hilarious sarcasm...and the best part of the whole blog is that when you hover over the pictures, a caption pops up that is usually also hilarious and not actually math-y at all!

I really am in love with this thing. Today's post was pretty easy to understand but sometimes it gets a little detailed (physics-wise) but it usually comes with great explanations but either way it's always funny. Just go give it a shot. It's like real science in fake contexts and layman's terms. You don't have to be a nerd to enjoy it, but if you are a nerd, you'll probably love it. Best of all worlds. 

Anyways, click here. 

Spring Term 2013 Judgments

Well folks, it's a new semester with new classes and you know what that means! Since I have now finished a full week of the term, I am of course qualified to discuss exactly how all my classes will be.

:: Differential Equations. OH NO I AM GOING TO DIE THIS MATH CLASS IS SO HARD WHY ISN'T THERE A FABULOUS TEACHER THIS TERM OH NO I'LL HAVE TO TEACH MYSELF OH NO. That's how I feel about Diff EQ. But then I remember that this is my last math class forever and then I feel better because it'll be over in 6 short weeks.

:: Classroom Management. My professor is nutso crazy excited about her subject. This is a good thing, entertaining thing, overwhelming thing, take your pick. But she's got some great stuff to share, I believe, and I am excited to finally get a class specifically focused on the part of teaching that has nothing to do with math whatsoever. For a teacher, knowing how to do math is important, but knowing how to relay that to students is more important.

:: Floral Design. Ok, this one takes the cake. First of all, flowers are my latest therapy, and I have suddenly developed a need (yes, a need) to work with them daily. Since my work schedule is only MWF this term, my TTh floral design class is perfecto. But also floral design is marvelous because the professor is awesome and the TA's are hilarious and the textbook has lots of colorful pictures. So I'm in love with this class above all other classes.

And that's it for spring term! Hey, speaking of spring, it rained the perfect rain today and I loved it. And speaking of weather, look at this hilarious cloud illustration from the MyBYU weather tracker:

It's a witch hat! See it? What cloud ever in the whole world has ever actually looked like that?

Ok anyways, sorry bout the tangent, happy spring term, la-ti-dah.