This weekend was amazing! Friday night I went to the Utah State vs. BYU football game, it was so good! I know we lost by 20 points, but what people don't understand is that scoring twice was a miracle. First of all BYU is a really good team and second we're not. The stadium was packed and we were all there to see if Utah State could do what UCLA and Wyoming could not, score... and we were amazed as we scored, TWICE! I'm proud of my Aggies. Let's be honest, I'd still go to games when we don't score because I like to sing the Scottsman (one of our fight songs)and our crowd is just too funny (big sign in the usu section said, "BYU- keeping ugly girls from Utah State since 1888) :D
After the game I went to Olive Garden with friends, my older brother, sister in-law, nephew and my little sister who came up to visit. After dinner my sisters and some friends stayed up late dying hair and watching the Sound of Music (such a great movie). I finally got to bed around 4.
I woke up bright and early, 8 am, Saturday morning so I could hit the last farmer's market of the season. I loaded up on fresh fruits and came home to make breakfast for my friends and family. The rest of the weekend has been spent cooking, cleaning and watching conference with friends and family. It has really been great. There were many conference talks that touched me and I feel reenergized and excited about life. I am so blessed with good friends and family. Even though I got no homework done all weekend, I'm feeling great about life.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Used Bookstore
Every morning I wake up around 8, my days are filled with classes, homework, work, friends, family and research. I usually get to bed around 1 and then I get up the next day and do it all over again. Life has fallen into a very predictable pattern, and I have no real complaints. I love everything I am involved in and am finding plenty of time to hang out with friends. Somedays I feel like the energizer bunny though, the day just keeps going and going and so I go right along with it.
As much as I love everything I'm involved in there is one thing I've really missed the past few months and that is taking time for myself. I get plenty of time to hang out with friends and do fun things, but I feel like I never get to just go off on my own and so yesterday after class I got in my car and decided to check out the used book store I drive past so often. I ended up spending 2 hours in the store looking through old books.
I love used bookstores. Every book has a story, not just the one written within, but also where it came from and how it was used. I love looking through the classic children's books. Inside most of the books you can find a scribbled name and sometimes a phone number for lost books. I always wonder where those children ended up and how their once treasured books landed in the bookstore.
I spent a good 20 minutes looking through old history textbooks. It's funny to see how history has changed. The books I looked at were very politically incorrect. They reffered to Native Americans as the "red people". When talking about dinosaurs or the first people it was very careful to make broad and general statements that would not try to disprove creationism, Darwin wasn't even mentioned in these books.
One of my lifelong dreams is to have a personal library that has shelves filled with used books on every subject and from various time periods. It'd be cool if I had some of those ladders on wheels to get to the top shelves.
As much as I love everything I'm involved in there is one thing I've really missed the past few months and that is taking time for myself. I get plenty of time to hang out with friends and do fun things, but I feel like I never get to just go off on my own and so yesterday after class I got in my car and decided to check out the used book store I drive past so often. I ended up spending 2 hours in the store looking through old books.
I love used bookstores. Every book has a story, not just the one written within, but also where it came from and how it was used. I love looking through the classic children's books. Inside most of the books you can find a scribbled name and sometimes a phone number for lost books. I always wonder where those children ended up and how their once treasured books landed in the bookstore.
I spent a good 20 minutes looking through old history textbooks. It's funny to see how history has changed. The books I looked at were very politically incorrect. They reffered to Native Americans as the "red people". When talking about dinosaurs or the first people it was very careful to make broad and general statements that would not try to disprove creationism, Darwin wasn't even mentioned in these books.
One of my lifelong dreams is to have a personal library that has shelves filled with used books on every subject and from various time periods. It'd be cool if I had some of those ladders on wheels to get to the top shelves.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
God Grew Tired of Us
Today I had the amazing opportunity to hear John Bul Dau speak. John Bul Dau is one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan. He is the co-author and subject of the book "God Grew Tired of Us" and the film of the same name. His speech was incredible and I just want to write a little bit about what stood out to me. He began by explaining a little bit about his history. He was chased out of his home and he and a large group of boys ages 8-15 stuck together as they endured horrific trials.
He explained that one day they reached a river that was filled with crocodiles. They spent a few days trying to build a rope swing, but before they could figure it out a militia came and opened fire on them. Boys jumped into the water. Some drown because they couldn't swim, some were shot, some were eaten by crocodiles and a lucky few made it across. John was one of the lucky few. They survived by eating anything they could find and had to drink urine to stay alive. John explained that he had been saved by the Almighty God and by his perserverance. He told us, "you must never give up." He could have given up so many times, but he never quit. He compared his commitment to keep going through everything to the students. He told us not to give up studying. It's hard to compare studying for a test to swimming across a river with crocodiles, but he managed to do it.
John was fortunate and was brought to America. He told some funny stories about seeing snow for the first time and going to a grocery store and seeing whole aisles of dog and cat food, he couldn't imagine a country having enough wealth that they were able to feed their animals like that. That is something that I have definitely taken advantage of in the past. As John compared his life now to what it once was he explained that success comes with struggle, they go hand in hand.
At the end of his speech he opened it up to questions and people asked him about the current situation in the Darfur. He explained that the real problem in the Darfur is that they don't have schools and hospitals, they don't have clean water. When you have nothing you fight, if they had hospitals and schools that would be destroyed by fighting they would stop. John then explained his goal. He talked about the earmarks in congress that everyone keeps complaining about. He said, 300 million dollars to the state of New York will make little difference to the people in New York. 300 million dollars in the Sudan could change lives. He wants to build up the Sudan and once peoples' needs are met they will stop fighting.
Overall I was incredibly impressed with John Bul Dau. He was very inspirational as he encouraged to keep going, to never stop fighting. It's easy to get discouraged, but as long as we stick to it, we can overcome all obstacles.
He explained that one day they reached a river that was filled with crocodiles. They spent a few days trying to build a rope swing, but before they could figure it out a militia came and opened fire on them. Boys jumped into the water. Some drown because they couldn't swim, some were shot, some were eaten by crocodiles and a lucky few made it across. John was one of the lucky few. They survived by eating anything they could find and had to drink urine to stay alive. John explained that he had been saved by the Almighty God and by his perserverance. He told us, "you must never give up." He could have given up so many times, but he never quit. He compared his commitment to keep going through everything to the students. He told us not to give up studying. It's hard to compare studying for a test to swimming across a river with crocodiles, but he managed to do it.
John was fortunate and was brought to America. He told some funny stories about seeing snow for the first time and going to a grocery store and seeing whole aisles of dog and cat food, he couldn't imagine a country having enough wealth that they were able to feed their animals like that. That is something that I have definitely taken advantage of in the past. As John compared his life now to what it once was he explained that success comes with struggle, they go hand in hand.
At the end of his speech he opened it up to questions and people asked him about the current situation in the Darfur. He explained that the real problem in the Darfur is that they don't have schools and hospitals, they don't have clean water. When you have nothing you fight, if they had hospitals and schools that would be destroyed by fighting they would stop. John then explained his goal. He talked about the earmarks in congress that everyone keeps complaining about. He said, 300 million dollars to the state of New York will make little difference to the people in New York. 300 million dollars in the Sudan could change lives. He wants to build up the Sudan and once peoples' needs are met they will stop fighting.
Overall I was incredibly impressed with John Bul Dau. He was very inspirational as he encouraged to keep going, to never stop fighting. It's easy to get discouraged, but as long as we stick to it, we can overcome all obstacles.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
political commercials
I'm a teachers assistant in a media class. In this class the students learn how to critically analyze the media. As part of their reading this week they had to look at a site that has political ads for presidential candidates dating back to the 1952 election. I was looking at them and got totally sucked in, they are hilarious.
Click to Watch Political Commercials
The best are the old ones with jingles, Eisenhour and Kennedy's are my favorites. Also the daisy ad, the KKK ad, and some of the more controversial ones in the 70s are fun too. Anyway thought you all might enjoy a look at how politics have changed in the past 56 years. In my opinion, I wish we'd go back to the old school cartoons with songs, I feel like that's much better than the stupid innacurate attack ads we get nowadays.
Click to Watch Political Commercials
The best are the old ones with jingles, Eisenhour and Kennedy's are my favorites. Also the daisy ad, the KKK ad, and some of the more controversial ones in the 70s are fun too. Anyway thought you all might enjoy a look at how politics have changed in the past 56 years. In my opinion, I wish we'd go back to the old school cartoons with songs, I feel like that's much better than the stupid innacurate attack ads we get nowadays.
Monday, September 22, 2008
a blog of my own.... finally
Ok so many have complained that my blog is lame, truth is I'm not sure which blog they've been looking at, because in my journalism career at Utah State I have had to create 4 different blogs each with different requirements. So now that I'm out of those classes, I've decided to adapt one of my class blogs into a real blog... although I'm still not sure what a real blog is. Oh well maybe I'll figure it out.
Today I was thinking about the tender mercies in life, and I've found that since becoming a poor college student it is increasingly easier for me to find happiness in the little stuff. Take tonight for instance, my friend made me some homemade chicken noodle soup. It made my whole day. It was delicious and a total relief not to have to worry about cooking after a very long day. I feel like often it is easy to focus on the negatives in life, but today I'd like to recognize the good, so here is a random list of things that have made my days this semester:
-otterpops
-watching the bats at 2nd dam
-floating the canal
-front porch sittin'
-guitar nights
-laying on the front lawn
-aggie ice cream
-random visits from friends at 2 am... :)
-movie quote texts
-voicemails
-the leaves in sardine canyon
-shortened readings
-intelligent political conversations
-having my very own CLEAN bedroom
-the posse
-hastings dvd sales
-free laundry cards
-the happy birthday kyler song
-the SNL skit with Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton
-teaching class
-planning trips to wisconsin, canada and hawaii (all paid for by USU!)
-going to a class taught by Justice Scalia, of the Supreme Court
-the Logan Temple
-going for drives in Logan
-talking on the phone for hours
-clean socks
-the daily show
-the combo meal
-poetry and a beverage (pobev)
-James Taylor songs
-playing my cello
-new friends
-old friends
-tres leches
-m&ms on sale
-Koch Scholars dinners
-pasta bar
-weekends home
-the monk dance
The list could go on and on, I am really so blessed. Pretty much I love life :) I am super busy, but I feel like even with all my responsibilities I've found a nice balance in life. Anyway that's all for this blog attempt, maybe I'll post again soon.
Today I was thinking about the tender mercies in life, and I've found that since becoming a poor college student it is increasingly easier for me to find happiness in the little stuff. Take tonight for instance, my friend made me some homemade chicken noodle soup. It made my whole day. It was delicious and a total relief not to have to worry about cooking after a very long day. I feel like often it is easy to focus on the negatives in life, but today I'd like to recognize the good, so here is a random list of things that have made my days this semester:
-otterpops
-watching the bats at 2nd dam
-floating the canal
-front porch sittin'
-guitar nights
-laying on the front lawn
-aggie ice cream
-random visits from friends at 2 am... :)
-movie quote texts
-voicemails
-the leaves in sardine canyon
-shortened readings
-intelligent political conversations
-having my very own CLEAN bedroom
-the posse
-hastings dvd sales
-free laundry cards
-the happy birthday kyler song
-the SNL skit with Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton
-teaching class
-planning trips to wisconsin, canada and hawaii (all paid for by USU!)
-going to a class taught by Justice Scalia, of the Supreme Court
-the Logan Temple
-going for drives in Logan
-talking on the phone for hours
-clean socks
-the daily show
-the combo meal
-poetry and a beverage (pobev)
-James Taylor songs
-playing my cello
-new friends
-old friends
-tres leches
-m&ms on sale
-Koch Scholars dinners
-pasta bar
-weekends home
-the monk dance
The list could go on and on, I am really so blessed. Pretty much I love life :) I am super busy, but I feel like even with all my responsibilities I've found a nice balance in life. Anyway that's all for this blog attempt, maybe I'll post again soon.
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