Internship Love

Hey, I made it through my last first week of school! And it wasn't even that struggled! Any first week of school that doesn't end with me crouched in the corner eating my hair is a good first week of school.

Here's what going to be awesome about my last semester: Internships. Yes that's right, multiple internships. I know, I was surprised too. What started out as my semester of chill became, about halfway through the week, my semester of extremely busy/how in the heck am I going to manage this. But the good news is, so far I love it. Do you guys know how much I love old people? I love 'em. Let me tell you why.

1) They are stinkin' cute. Those sweater vests. The corny jokes. The hunched backs, looking so much like wise old tortoises when they scoot down the hall with their walkers...it's too much.

2) They are REAL. I love how the social graces fall away with age, how they're not afraid to say what they're thinking, how they seem to just plain stop caring what other people think. True, sometimes this quality comes at the expense of common civility, but I think it's still worth it.

3) They are hilarious. Check my most recent fb status update for clarification.

4) They emanate wisdom and dignity. Sitting on the bus yesterday as we traversed the winding roads of Heber Valley, a bunch of bobbing white-haired heads all around me and oldies in our ears, I was o'ercome with a feeling of perfect harmony. These people I get to associate with are the survivors. They have lived, loved, struggled, endured, experienced all there is to experience in this life, and you can see it in their faces. And now, having lived through the most dynamic century in the history of the earth, their lives converge on this scenic bus ride. It's the highlight of their day, and most of all, it is enough. The appreciation of simple pleasures. The quiet gratitude for a full and fruitful life. Eyes and hearts pointed heavenward. Isn't the ABA pattern of our lives just beautiful? You know, naked as we came, all that stuff?! I JUST FEEL SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP COMPANY WITH THE GREATEST PEOPLE EVER, AAHHH!

So I'm probably still stuck in the enchantment stage and will most likely be ranting in about a month about how nasty and ungrateful old people are*. But for now, love. Just love.

In addition, I will most likely be doing my second internship with the Utah County Crisis Line, so pretty much my internships are as relevant to my interests as they could possibly get. I am just blessed, that's all.






*While there is indeed nothing cuter than a sweet and sincere interaction with an old person, there is also probably nothing scarier than getting yelled at by an old person. Which happens...a lot. It's good for me, though. I've always been too sensitive to criticism.


Edit 9/5/11: So actually old people make me cry. So much so that I have to leave early cause the tears are a-comin' and I'm going to make a scene if I don't run to my car NOW. It's going to be a loooooong semester.

'Teach is talking about heuristics

I am blogging from class. Yes, I am bragging. Why did I never think of bringing my lappy to this horrendously long and boring class before? I love the modern age!

Update-town

Yeah, ok, so maybe I can't attribute ALL of my blog absence to introversion. I really don't feel like my life is comprised of very many responsibilities/activities that might justify such a severe case of blog neglect, however, upon further thought I have decided that those few things that do fill my life are major time-sucks. So here they are (unfortunately, taking pictures has not been one of those time sucks, so most of these are going to have to be supplied by Google):


Ah yes, it is a familiar scene for each of us. This is me after a particularly draining day of the pursuit of knowledge. It's not that I don't like to learn; why, George H. Brimhall said that "It is a sin to be ignorant when there is so much opportunity for knowledge", and I think I believe him. Sometimes, though, just sometimes, I can't help but wonder if there isn't a better way. There's something very unsettling about this system we have of cramming our heads by day and partying it all out by night, only to rinse and repeat the next day, and the day after that, every day! And it's at this point that I ought to remind everyone that I'm only taking 12 credits. How on earth do my other, more ambitious peers do this every day without going completely postal? Beats me, but I applaud them whole-heartedly.


Speaking of postal...this quaint picture symbolizes me and my new job at the ASB mailroom. It really is a great job - I get there at 7:20 every morning, sort mail, deliver it to the all the important peeps working in the ASB, stay clocked in while I go about campus doing my thing, come back at 11:30 to sort and deliver packages, clock out, fine. So in reality, this really doesn't take up much of my time, but it's a significant part of my life nonetheless. I've always enjoyed sorting things (silverware being my only exception), and I like knowing that I am the appointed vessel to hand-deliver all the important pieces of mail to all the important people in the ASB. Plus, you begin to feel like you're real hot stuff because you're on a first name basis with Michael Colledge's secretary, you know that Carl Bailey prefers people to knock before entering, and you're sad that Mary Whipple will soon be leaving the records office to go serve a mission with her husband.

This picture represents me and and how much I freaking love my food prep class. Dude. Best class ever. We meet once a week to learn about food for an hour, then cook for three hours, and then we eat all our creations. Lest you need convincing, it is awesome. Today was egg week and my kitchen made a charming chocolate roll cake, read: giant ho-ho. Um, wow. Besides the obvious benefit of having all my meals covered every Wednesday, I really like the abundance of new, tried-and-true recipes I've gleaned from taking this class. Because I love you all, here is the recipe for the fabulous Salmon with Honey Mustard Glaze we enjoyed last week for meat week:

1 lb salmon fillet
Marinade:
1 T packed brown sugar
1 T margarine, melted
1 T vegetable oil
a T honey
1 T soy sauce
1 T prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed

1. Mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Place salmon, skin side down, in a shallow baing dish.
3. Pour marinade over salmon. Cover and refrig. 30 min.
4. Set oven control to broil.
5. Remove salmon from marinade. Reserve marinade. Place salmon, skin side down, on rack in broiler pan.
6. Broil with top 4-6 inches from heat for 10-15 minutes, brushing with marinade every few minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
7. Discard remaining marinade.

Ok, so I realize we don't all have salmon lying around our kitchens waiting for the perfect recipe. But hey, I'm sure that honey mustard glaze could be a very nice supplement to pretty much any meat dish save ground beef, eh?



There's been a lot of running going on lately in preparation for the annual Rex Lee Run, in which my former roommate Jenn and I will be running the 10k! Woohoo! I think it's safe to say now, after several years of this business, that I really do enjoy running. I always look forward to blasting my ipod and turning off my brain for a good 40-min block of sweet tune-outage. This is probably due in part to the effects of that merciless homework system mentioned earlier. But don't worry all you worry-heads; I am always vigilant of potential rapists. Plus, I know ka-razy, too.

Yes, my first picture already hinted at this, but it's just too large a part of my life to leave out. I. Love. Sleep. I think I will always love sleep. Few things frighten me more than the prospect of having to carry out a full day on less than 7 hours of it. Recently, I have had the good fortune of coming across the perfect campus nap spot: The second floor, C-wing bathroom of the ASB, which has a little lounge area complete with psychologist couch and pillows. Plus, there is relatively little traffic since the ASB houses mostly male employees and this particular restroom has only to accomodate the second-floor ladies. I set the alarm on my phone, snuggle in, and I am out. It is glorious.



Of course, this post wouldn't be entirely honest if I didn't admit that the biggest time-suck, next to homework, is the boy. Not that he's not worth it or anything...but I do sometimes think I should be allowed to factor him in as three extra credit hours or something, just to make myself feel a little better about being such a deadbeat blogger, you know?

Tagtime!

It's true, this blog does not have a very good track record so far in terms of updates, nor is it the most compelling blog to read when said updates materialize. But that's the way I roll, unassuming and timeless. I figured the pattern I'd set forth was destined to hold fast for a while, at least until I managed to secure a spouse, child, or animal (one that doesn't sleep half the year, that is) and then I remembered - I got tagged a while back! And now I have structure. So, for your reading pleasure, here is a collaboration of freestyle tag items compiled from the blogs of Recoupin' and Stranded, plus my own additions. Please, enjoy.


Three Movies/Movie Scenes that Consistently Make Me Cry:

-The Fox and the Hound - particularly the scene where she drops Todd off in the forest and leaves him there to dwindle in the rain and confusion and loneliness of the forest, and all the woodland creatures are mean to him and he doesn't have a place to sleep, you know the one

-Evita - Col. Peron sets the brake on Eva's wheelchair and begins to carry her up the stairs to bed because she's terminally ill and he loves her, even though she's dying and will no longer be an asset to his career,; that doesn't even matter, he loved her all along! Cue poignant cello music, cue blubbereing Mish

-Charly - cliche, I know, but why??? Why did Charly have to die?!




Three Things I Unequivocally Fear:

-Spiders
-Get-to-know-you games
-Sleep deprivation


Five Foods I Could Easily Subsist On Permanently:

-Crackers (specifically Wheat Thins and Cheez-its, if I'm allowed to choose)
-Chicken salad sandwiches
-Bagels
-Ice cream
-You said it, Tiff - chicken fingers with honey mustard


Three Books I'm Currently Reading or Pretending to Read:

-A Grief Observed
-Believing Christ
-my American history textbook

Five Places I Would Like to Live or Visit ('visit' here applies firmly to the last two):

-Australia
-London
-Florida
-P.E.I, Cananda
-Russia
-Malta, Moldova, or some other obscure eastern European country - just to say I have, you know?


Six Majors I've Attempted:

-Sociology
-Wildlife & Wildlands Conservation
-Biology
-Integrative Biology
-Public Health
-History

The Three Things in This Life that Unfailingly Provoke Me to Anger:

-People who smoke in tight, confined spaces (like mosh pits)
-Any and all forms of animal cruelty
-Teenage boys and their crude jokes. It isn't even the vulgarity so much that bugs me as the total lack of imagination that goes into those jokes. If you're going to be crude, at least be creative about it.

Twelve Things I Love Dearly:

-my family
-my roomies
-Mo
-ice cream
-80's music
-sunshine
-sleep
-drum cadences
-C.S. Lewis
-sweatshirts
-my straightener
-hazelnuts


















Five Lofty Aspirations That I Don't Have the Resources to Achieve Now (but hopefully someday):

-save the manatees
-support small businesses
-grow and manufacture all my own food
-get all the war vets off the streets and provided for
-befriend and nurture all the depressed, misunderstood and otherwise emo kids





Seven Things I Should Be Doing Instead of Blogging:

-looking for a job
-running
-edifying my mind
-Hist 220 homework
-volunteering at that retirement center that I made half-hearted commitments to a while back
-Buying Roomie's birthday present
-yeah, I really should be looking more actively for a job right now



Well then. Guess I'll go do those things... but before I go, I decidedly tag Ma! You're it!