Update

HOLY COW it has been a long time since I last blogged.

I guess a few things have happened since then . . . haha... understatement of the year.

School Update:

School is HARD!! My calculus class is naturally still my hardest class. We just finished our unit on series and summations and all that lovely stuff. I'm sad to report that I bombed the test, but since I NEVER skip class, I turn in all my homework, and I got a 90% on the first test, have a study group, go to the math tutoring lab, etc, my professor is letting me go through my test and correct the problems. If I get the problem 100% correct, she'll give me back half credit. Hopefully I'll have more of my wits about me the second time around. . .

Now, however, we've moved onward and upward... literally. We are now [finally] into the third dimension--basically what I took calculus for--and it's really interesting. Good ol' vectors...

Chemistry is awesome, haha, and it never ceases to amaze my friends how much of a chemistry nerd I'm becoming. I literally make no less than four chemistry jokes per day. Just yesterday I told my friend Chad, after he told me HE IS THE NUCLEUS that Emily B, he, and I should be hydride for Halloween. Him as, yes, the nucleus, and us as the electrons. But today he made me mad so I told him that he was now officially neutral H because one of his electrons had left him--me. We're learning about isoelectronicism, quantum numbers, ionization energies, etc.

US Institutions is awesome because I love what it's teaching me. It also definitely helps me understand what in the world is going on right now in the country.

Ballroom is fun. I've made friends in there and the girls are nice and the boys are funny. Too bad I was a better dancer in high school! Boskovich was just better, what can I say? . . . One of the guys in there, Caleb, went to high school with Brady--which was ironic because he totally reminded me of Brady before I ever knew this--and Todd is a ... well I don't know if he's a business major, but I saw him in the business building today and he was studying for an international economics test last night... and he totally dresses like a businessman, hahaha. He's fun. My friend in that class and I think that our teacher has a crush on him, lol.

Institute continues to be amazing. I really love the chance to study the conference talks in detail and to hear them again. It's a good place to be. I also love the Religion In Life meetings every Friday after cham and calc. Today's speaker was Justin Osmond and he was really neat and way funny. He has a hearing impediment, but he travels all over the world and he bore his testimony in sign language while "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" was playing.

Social Update:

College continues to be awesome with the meeting of new people and strengthening the old friendships. This week is Homecoming week and so there have been fun things to do every night. On Monday night we had a paint dance. Everyone came home positively covered in the blue and white stuff. I confess I was a lame-face and went home too early. I came home when it was retarded, but apparently it got better later and I missed that. Instead, I went home, showered, etc. and hoped to get to bed earlier.

Tuesday I studied calculus with Levi in the library and then that night I went with my twin (Emily B) to Brady's house to watch "Frequency" with his roommates and friends... and freakin ward hahaha. A lot of people were there. Once it started I realized I'd seen part of it prior... and it hadn't intrigued me all that much... but I'm really glad I got to see the whole thing this time because it was SO INTENSE! When Brady took me home, we played around with my roommates for a while and umm... took Emily-is-dead pictures!! hahaha I'm strange.

Wednesday was my appointment with Bridgerland Literacy for a couple hours. Bridgerland Lit. is a nonprofit organization that helps mostly adults and hispanics and kids that are behind their peers to read. "Functionally illiterate" adults (reading level below 6th grade) are their priority. They also offer a GED class. The just began to offer tutoring to kids who are behind their peers in school. I said that I would like to tutor writing, reading, science, and math. But mostly writing and math. The people there are really nice and I think it'll be a really good experience for me. My next training is next Wednesday. They ask you to commit for at least one academic year (if you're a college student) and you meet with your student twice a week for maybe a little over an hour. That night was the Mr. USU "man pageant." hahaha It was quite entertaining. Brady's roommate Lee was one of the contestants and he won the talent section. Lee was a traveling/singing missionary--he has one amazing voice. And Brady says he likes to wake his roommates up with it late late at night.

Thursday was my study-calculus-for-hours day. I was at the library from 5-9:30 pm. While I was there, Brady asked me if I wanted to do "something amazing" the next night. That sounded to me like he had something in mind. Later, he asked ME what that amazing thing should be because he didn't know. Are you kidding me? Then he said, "So all of your friends are going to Homecoming..." Ooooh! No way! I said, "Let it be known that I do not go to Homecomings with boys who do not cordially ask me and who act as though it is MY privilege to be asked AT ALL! And no, I made Homecoming plans with Heather a long time ago. We're watching "The Perfect Man" and dressing up and going downtown!" He said I had some "fiery rhetoric." ;)

By 9:30 pm my brain was fried and when Steve wanted me to go with him and his roommates to Kung Fu Panda in the TSC, I was ready. As it turned out, the TSC ballroom was full and so all million of us (more people always join) went to their apartment and five of us went to Hollywood to rent it. Instead, we rented "Premonition" with Sandra Bullock. IT WAS CRAZY! Really. That movie was also intense and I couldn't believe the ending.

(Oh, and Addison Godfrey, as of late, is trying to creep in the back door again... yeah that's gonna be fun... to GET HIM BACK!)

Today, Friday, I am heading over to Emily's to help her and Anike and Jessica get ready for Homecoming! I'm not really sure what tonight will hold other than another True Aggie night. Chad said that I should go... "Steve's going..." "Freak of nature, Chadigan, what's that supposed to mean?" "You know what it means. :)" Not sure about that. Steve isn't going to Homecoming; neither is Chad; neither is Brady; neither is his roommate Steve... hopefully tonight will be fun. :) I'm supposed to cut and color Chadrack's hair again and Brady wants a hair cut too. We'll see. I want burgundy hair!!!! We'll see how much I weaken...

I hope everything or at least most things are going well in all of your lives.

Rach, I hope you're not feeling too tired and that your headaches aren't awful. I've had a couple bad ones this week too. Hopefully I can get onto your blog somehow...

Mom, thanks for last weekend! It was so good to see you.

Ash, you're beautiful!

Tace, ... love you!

P.S. Yes, this entry was written a week ago, I just didn't post it until now. :) (10/21/08)

Dance Party!

On Friday night, the LLC held a dance party outside with a DJ and food and stuuuff. :)

My LLC friends and I got all duded up for it--it was so callled a techno party so we outfitted ourselves in leggings, tie-dye, and crazy hair and makeup!

The party naturally didn't really start until we arrived. :) Actually, it was kinda true. Everyone seemed really self conscious and people were barely moving . . . until my twin and I showed them how you let go of your pride and move around and have fun!

People had a fetish with breaking glow sticks and throwing the contents all over everybody. Nice. Skin irritant. We did a good job of avoiding it, however.

After a while, we noticed the sound system was not very loud anymore . . .

Apparently they were having problems with it.

Then, people who live on the hill down behind the LLC complained to the police about the noise level (even though it was only like 11). At length, they broke the dance party up and we went inside Building D where my friends live. We decided to have our own dance party! A guy brought out his sound system (what is it with guys and huge sound systems?) and the 25 or so of us danced to our hearts' content.

Steve joined me at this point, but the poor kid won't dance! I tried my best, but basically to no avail. Then, I saw him talking with a pretty attractive brunette . . . and Emily's little fire welled up a little . . . which is kind of unusual because usually when this happens, I just blow it off and wish them luck in my mind and decide not to waste time nor energy. But, you see, Steve, told me something the other night that kind of gives me the right to . . . care a bit more than usual.

Anyway, he came over to me pretty quickly and shared his fears with me, haha.

"She's weird!"

"How so? She doesn't seem weird to me..."

"I know, she just ... follows me around ..."

"Hahaha, you like it, Steve."

"No I don't!"

"Hahahaha. . . "

We quieted down at around 12, since those are quiet hours on the weekend. We went to Emily Blotter's apt. and I changed back into normal clothes--eveyone was shocked! lol--and then we waited for their RA to go get slurpies. The slurpies were good, except for the turning-Emily's-mouth-blue part. Grr. Very attractive.

After we finished them and we were back at the LLC, Steve and I left, he because he had to get up early the next morning, and me because it was just plain late. It was a typical gusty night walking across campus. We found a ton of manholes wide open, which was a little scary, especially since we were walking backward with our heads up and seeing how many things we could bump into.

When we got to my apt. Tina and Sutton were up talking about the movie they'd just seen, "Eagle Eye." They said it was amazing!!! hahaha

The four of us talked about movies, books, funny school teachers, etc. for a while and Steve said he was planning on going to "Eagle Eye" the next night with his roommates, which he invited me to.

. . . . .

So Saturday night, after the RS General Broadcast, which was SOOOOOO good, we did go to "Eagle Eye." And it WAS good! It was so intense, which really wasn't good for my headache and the fact that the theatre was cold. Yeah, between my shivering, my being dehydrated, my having started my fast, and the movie being intense, I went home with the biggest headache! OUCH!!

Boy Story! hahahaha

Soooooooo there's this guy in my chemistry lab class that is ... attractive ... and even though we only see each other like once a week--during class--we've gotten to know each other a little bit. And yes, maybe there was more than just inorganic chemistry going on during those three hours. . . . ;)
His name is Brady and I inferred he was a pre-missionary like, ya know, most guys I meet.
So last Monday, because it was a long lab, we split it up between partners. Brady and I, since we were working on the same parts of the lab ended up working together and our lab partners worked together. We were the last ones in the lab and he could've left earlier than me, but he waited. :) I had to return the lovely shoes I wore. (*Sidenote* - Even though I was wearing long pants and closed toed shoes, a Chinese lab guy came over and told me that my shoes "made him nervous" so he had me come up with him to his little supply room and made me wear THE NERDIEST SHOES I have ever seen. They were the gray, Velcro kind, 10-1/2 mens! So that's what I clopped around in for three hours!) We walked out together and talked for little while outside and he asked me what I was doing this week. Now I since he didn't say "this weenEND" I didn't take it as an I-want-to-hang-out-with-you so I sarcastically replied, "Well, there's this thing called school . . . It pretty much occupies my whole week." He didn't push the subject further, haha, and I baid him a revior.

Friday came along and I sat next to my twin, Emily Blotter, which also happened to be the seat next next to Brady. I'd already read in the book what Dr. Hubbard was covering so we chatted a bit quietly. He looked through my planner and found that I had Virginia Pierce's devotional marked for that afternoon. He said he wanted to go to that too--one of his mission companions was her nephew. (What?? Mission?? SWEET! He's not a premie!) We talked about our different friends and their missions--that they're going on and have come home from--and then he spoke of his mission in North and South Carolina. We decided to go to the devotional together and luckily Emily came with us since she didn't have a class she needed to get to.

The devotional was really good. Brady brought out his notebook and started taking notes, which reminded me that even though I didn't have my church/scripture/'spiritual' journal with me, I had notebook paper so I took notes too. I'm really glad I did because she had a LOT of good points and we both ended up writing about a page and a half.

Every Friday the Institute provides a Religion In Life devotional and then Lunch For A Buck afterward. Emily wanted to go to lunch at the Marketplace with Jessica and Brady and I couldn't decide. The line was incredibly long.
"What do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you wanna do?"
"Hmm, I don't know. The line's so long."
"We can just cut right in there."
"No we can't."
"Yeah, look, those girls just did it. Very smoothely..."
"You're a bad influence!"
"Haha, okay we'll go to the back of the line."
"Well do you even want to stay?"
"I don't care. What about you?"
"I kinda just want to go home. . ."
"Oh..."
"Well do you want to stay?"
"I don't care."
"Tell me what YOU want to do. Do you want to stay or go?"
"Umm, stay, I guess."
"That's really what you want to do?"
"Yes."
"Okay then. Men are so indecisive. . ."
"I know. Actually I think it's just me."

SOOOoo we as you might have inferred, we ended up staying. The line moved fast, luckily. We had soup and sat down and had chairs for our own personal tables. It was good and we kept the conversation going. We talked more about his mission, high school, where he came from (Idaho), and how different our school sizes were. Riveting, I know! -you're all thinking, haha.

So we walked out together and walked as far as the library where he had to look some things up. THIS time, he asked what I was doing that night. Even though I had plans, I kept him open. He invited me to go to a corn maze with him and his friends. We got each other's numbers with the acknowledgment that he'd keep me updated.

That he did.
I fell asleep for a couple hours at home and awoke to find quite a few txts informing me that his roommates had had to go home to "take care of a few things" and that only one couple was left and he didn't know them very well. He said we could a) still go with them, b) just go the two of us, c) go to a part his other roommate wanted him to go to that he wanted me to come with him to because then it would be less awkward, or d) I tell him another idea.

Long story short (actually long story long... because it's me writing it), I went to dinner with my LLC friends and watched the economical debate between McCain and Obama, all the while we were trying to figure something out. At length, I concluded we weren't going to hang out that night at all and I stopped replying.
We actually kept in touch a bit afterward, though; he told me how he'd party hopped like four times and had barely known anyone but those he was 'hopping' with. Meanwhile, I was getting ready for the DANCE PARTY! . . . (to be continued) . . .

P.S. Now I know this is kind of weird for me to write about a boy on my blog... but I know my sister might just burst if I don't provide her with a monthly boy story for her to live vicariously through . . . haha, just kidding, Rach.

The Last Day of Sixth Grade All Over Again...

I remember it well . . .
I was walking toward the bus at the end of the last day of sixth grade when one of my schoolmates breathlessly ran up to me. "Here!" he said, "This is from your secret admirer." I admired the pooka shell anklet he'd just handed me and watched him run back to Alex Alder, the boy who'd had a crush on me all through elementary. I loved that anklet, even though I didn't like Alex. Too bad I lost it a week later at Alexa Young's pool party ... that and my favorite board shorts ... the "board shorts" that were actually my old soccer shorts ... ya have to improvise when you don't have a job ...

OKAY! So that didn't exactly happen again, but I came home from the Engineering Building last night [entirely too late--I'm the nerd my brother-in-law always dreamed] and found a note and a box on my pillow. The note--typed--apologized for being late (it was Tuesday) and wished me a happy birthday anonymously. I opened the box and there was a black opal necklace, with purple and green. I LOVE OPALS. How'd he/she know that?
So yes, it was exciting, but after a while it started to drive me crazy that I didn't know who to thank. So instead I banked on the hope that I'd see him/her the next day and I'd wear it, which I did. :) I wish I had a picture ... too bad that part's a little more difficult now that I'm at college.

~My Zached Weekend~

My birthday weekend ended up being very nice. :) Even though my own mother couldn't find it in her heart to come visit me . . . my best friend did!!

My Friday went very well. Fridays are my short days and I'm done with classes by 11:20 a.m. Afterward, Brant wanted me to meet him on the Quad so we talked for about 45 minutes until he went to his next class. I went home, straightned up the apartment and waited for my dad to arrive. When he did, we got the Beamer and went and had lunch at A&W and talked about computers, trucks, engineering, motion sensors, and calculus. :) I'm still deciding if I want to take multivariable calculus even though it's not required for my major. Maybe I'll minor in math . . . who knows. After he dropped me off and left at around 4 p.m., some kids came over that I did not want to stick around and listen to so I called Brant and we went to First Dam with what was left of my roommate's and my bread ends. :) We talked for a while there and left when it got chilly. We went to Walmart to do my grocery shopping--since we had time haha--and waited for Zach to arrive.

Zach, spur of the moment, drove up to Logan on Friday night. He arrived at around 9 pm--meeting Brant and I at Wally World--and we both enjoyed each other's company and sense of humor and all those blessid inside jokes we've both been missing for two months. Nobody has my best friend's sense of humor and I've missed it dearly, especially when I'm in chemistry recitation and I make a chemistry joke to the guy next to me and he totally doesn't get it so I just sit there and quietly think, "Man, Zach would've gotten it. Dang."

We spent the evening hanging out with Brant, Heather (for a while), Steve, Chad, Brooke, Meagan, and Malorie, but Zach and I were by far having the best time, quoting Aladdin and laughing our heads off. We also had the most fun when Brant, Zach and I played around the world pink pong with our hands... yeah, we got our exercise.

All three of us, Meagan, Heather, and I, all forgot our keys and so we were locked out of our apt. until Caitlyn and Tina were nice enough to open up for us at 2:30 a.m. or so. And it really was nice of them because they came home just to open it up for us because they ended up driving to Bear Lake with Derrick and Randy at 3 in the morning and staying the night. Ahh!

Anyway, I aoke the next morning around 11:20 and Zach came over to tell me about his horrendous morning in which he went to look at the temple and locked his keys in the car. Luckily, Brant got his text right before his phone died, got him to my apt. and his dad has an 'in' with the shuttle business so we waited for his spare key to come all the way from Salt Lake on about two or three shuttles. We ended up walking to the temple, just talking the whole way, and when we finally got an ETA, they said it would take an hour and a half more for the key to arrive. We thought about leaving, but then we occupied ourselves taking the funniest pictures until before we knew it, the time had gone. I wish to high heaven that I could upload those pictures... We're going to make an album on Facebook, though. I did interpretations of animals, we rolled down the hill, jumped, shook our heads, etc. I've decided that pictures are entirely more fun when you give up the high school mentality that you-must-be-pretty-in-all-pictures and just let it go and make the funniest, most unattractive faces. THOSE are the best because you can laugh at them later. :)

After we got his keys back, we drove to Walmart, got cheap bread, and then went to First Dam to feed the ducks. :) We had quite a crowd! We also started a trend. Many people joined us and started throwinf anything they had into the water to attract the ducks. It was funny to hear those noisy animals. One duck even sounded as though it were cackling with laughter whenever it swam over. And, seeing as how it was Zach and I, we noticed the amazing genetic variety. We had pure white ducks, white ducks with black spots, white with brown, white with grey, black with green tints, and then of course your standard Mallard and ... small-girl-duck-that-the-Mallards-mate-with-that-are-brown. :)

For the first time since I've been up here, it got cloudy and rainy too. We left the dam and went back to my apt. and then walked to the Quad to watch "P.S. I Love You" on his portable DVD player. BUT it started to rain so we trekked back to my room and watched it with chips and salsa and milk--I got HOT salsa!--until it was dark outside. (Made me cry!)

We basically just spent the rest of the night vegging, watching parts of "Sydney White", chasing Richard around with a wet tea bag, spilling it on Heather, getting into a tickle fight with her, and then sending them away. :)

Zach said goodbye and Happy Birthday to me this morning before I left for church and before he drove back down.

True Aggie Night

So it finally came.
The infamous True Aggie Night.
Despite my utter disgust at PDA, my roommates coerced me into going and in taking a break from my 5 solid hours of Calculus homework--that was probably the biggest convincer of all.

We trekked down to the A in front of Old Main and by the time we arrived, the kissing had already begun. I'm not really sure what I expected. I think I expected to be okay with seeing it because it was "in context", if you will, and hey, ya-never-know, it might be cute.

Nope.

It was disgusting.

There were a few cute kisses in there, but they were few and far between. The vast majority were show-off-ing-ly-lusty. It was really like who-can-make-it-the-most-like-the-movies. And naturally the lesbians had to make a show... Luckily I didn't see either of THOSE couples, but I sure heard about 'em.

The guy that asked me to become a True Aggie with him was there. It was kind of funny because he proposed the [well-known] plan to kiss someone who was a True Aggie so that he could become one and therefore make others True Aggies. He proposed this plan looking straight at me, as if expecting me to suddenly accept his offer now that the we-can't-both-become-True-Aggies-with-each-other obstacle was surmounted. But I'd like to think I gave him (and everybody else) the right impression prior to that--that frankly I had no intention of participating. Period.

Heather and I left early. I went there knowing I wouldn't participate, but thinking that, even though I vowed never to become a True Aggie, I would probably eventually weaken and over the course of four years, become one. But after actually going and seeing the ordeal, it strengthened my former resolve.

So no worries here, m'dears. Emmy is still . . . . . . . . . untainted! (I hope to high heaven....)

No True Aggie Night for Emily

So I had an interesting .... -ly awkward experience last night....

I met a guy up here at USU through some friends and we hung out all last weekend. The two of us got to know more about each other and it was fun to talk to him--we sat out on the roof of the parking garage to the LLC because it has an amazing view of the valley and the sunset... and you all know how I'm a sucker for both of those views!
Anyway, he's very charismatic, very nice, affectionate, from California, "surfer bum", his parents buy everything so he has the nicest car and the best technology of al of us ... but he's actually really down-to-earth. We made tiedye shirts, went to the mall, watched Jumper, etc. with a bunch of us. Now he's not really the type I usually go after, but his personality got me. I found myself starting to like him a little. But the way he acted around me told me he was just a friend, so I soon conquered that feeling within myself and killed that crush fast--just as SO many other girls have had to do. Haha, his roommate actually really resents how he gets "so many girls" and how he's "so smooth" hahahahahahahahaha.

So last night I was talking to this friend on Facebook and I needed to get off the computer because Heather (my roommate) needed it. He said, "Okay, but I need to ask you a question later." "Okay."


... [later]....


Heather was talking on Facebook with the same guy and I was in the room so I told her to tell him he'd might as well ask me his question now. They keep typing away and I'm wondering what's taking so long. She covered the screen when I came over and said, "Don't scroll up when you get on the computer." Finally got up and I sat down as she said, "He's typing it now."

Then came what I had definitely not expected.

"Hey Em, I was wondering if you would like to join me Saturday night at 12 to become a True Aggie."


. . . . . . ummm . . . . . .

my thought process:

WHAT????? Where did THIS come from? Is there really going to be a full moon that night? How do I get out of this? I don't want to become a True Aggie with ANYONE (since everybody else does, I have to be different, right? -I know I'm strange), so how do I tell him that I don't want to become a True Aggie without him taking it personally?

Two of my roommates were in the room at the time and I was naturally consulting them about how to get out of the situation somewhat smoothly. Luckily, someone remembered that you can only become a True Aggie on a night with a full moon if you kiss someone who's already a True Aggie. You can only become True Aggies together if it's during Homecoming or the other day they set aside in the spring for that ... ordeal. Yes! My out! I told him it wouldn't work because of these rules and he said, "Alrighty. I guess I have my answer then."