Yeah, I finally graduated!

On Saturday, I hit a milestone in my life...I graduated from college. And not just any college, Utah State University. I have loved my time in Logan. It has been awesome. I have met my best friends here and learned a little bit along the way as well.
It was a great day. My family came to Logan for a breakfast and then I went to the Fieldhouse to line up. I graduated from the college of HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences). There were about 550 students who graduated total, so it wasn't too long of a ceremony. Mostly I cracked jokes with John Homer and Heather Hibler (also both history majors). It was a fun experience and one that I am proud of. Tara and I both graduated. It was a good day. I love Utah State and will always be an Aggie! Utah State Hey! Aggies all the way! Go Aggies! Go Aggies! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Kim-chee!! Sick!!

Okay, so yesterday, after I got off work, I went to lunch with two amazing people: Tara and Baker. We wanted to go to the new Thai restaurant in Logan, but to our surprise it was closed on Mondays. So, we went to the Korean House. I was super glad that Tara and Baker were there because they knew what to order.
It was really good. I had never had Korean food before, and I must say that I would definitely eat it again. I also got a lesson in chop stick usage from Tara. I felt like Daniel son in The Karate Kid when Mr. Miyagi is trying to catch the fly. I was doing pretty good there for awhile. Then I said that I had mastered it and the chop sticks went flying all over the place! There's some humble pie for you!
Anyway, I was daring and tried everything on the table, including Kim-chee. SICK, SICK, SICK! My face, according to Baker, was classic. I wish I would have had a camera. My mouth was on fire!! It was the sickest thing I have ever tried before...but, now that I have tried it, I don't ever have to try it again. That's what a professor told our class once: you don't have to like things, but you can't really say you don't like it if you haven't tried it and once you've tried it, if you really don't like it, you don't have to try it ever again. So, I tried it, didn't like it, now know I don't like it, and most likely won't have to eat it ever again.
So, the first instance with Korean food was successful. I think my next daring food escapade will include sushi. I'll let you know how it goes...

The End of an Era

Today, Friday, December 9, 2005 is my last official day of classes for my undergraduate degree! Scary thought. Yep, I'm moving on to something new and different. I only have one final, it's on Wednesday; I finished my final portfolio for my GIS (Geographic Information Systems, very cool) class. So, unless by some freak accident I don't pass my classes, I am done with a bachelors forever, unless I get a second one, which could be a possibility. Go Aggies!!
Happy trails to you...

White Boards and Talent Shows!

So last night was our ward's talent show...the dreaded talent show. Anyway, Darby and I didn't bring a talent necessarily. My roommate Jalayne and I were supposed to imitate an airplane but it didn't work out (the kind where she balances me on her legs, it could have been awesome). We did however bring our wit and our whiteboard from the kitchen wall. Before the show started we wrote a large APPLAUSE at the top. During each of the acts we would come up with some slogan to comment on the act (nothing rude or crude). Below is an example of our endless wit. Good Times!!

Our neighbor and awesome friend Tara hula danced for us and did an amazing job. (See picture) We wanted her to know she did a good job. The comment on the white board was our comment to her.

So it was good times. I guess in a way we did bring a talent. Darb and I thought of these on the spot and we did have a little help from Tara and Baker. So good times. Can I hear it for the Ward Talent Show?!

BEAN DIP!

Okay, so last Saturday, Hillside 6 was the host of Bean Dip Night Fall 2005! It was good times and we "packed the 6!" Here are some pictures of the fun event. If you want to know how to throw your own BDN, let me know!

Left: Our table covered in Bean Dip!!


Twinners: Darby and Dallin in our homemade BDN Shirts!


Hillside 6 Gals: (Sitting) Laurel, Darby, Dallin (Laying) Jalayne

It was definitely good times and almost all the bean dip got eaten! Double plus!

Rock on Rosie!

I am doing my research paper for my capstone history course. The course is entitled Propaganda and Censorship. BORING!! Well, only to sit through (the class is 2.5 hours!) The research is actually quite interesting and I have chosen to do my paper on the effects of propaganda on women before, during and after World War II. As you can see above, I have a great starting point. I really just wanted Rosie the Riveter to be on my blog site, so there she is. She looks fabulous in those oh so attractive jumpsuit and the rag on her head.
Anyway, more power to the women who helped win the war.

Hiking

Oh my heck it has been awhile since I last wrote. Life gets crazy when school starts. Anyway, I only have a few weeks left and then I will be a college graduate! "D+! I passed! I'm gonna graduate! I wish we'd known each other this is a little awkward." It's kind of weird thinking about it. Plus, this will be the first time in my life that I won't live with my twin sister Darby. We have only been apart for five days our entire lives! Very weird! But such is life. I think I'm headed to the big city, so this will be interesting. Anyway, I'm getting excited and nervous to graduate but I think everything will go just fine.

Yesterday I hiked to the Windcaves in Logan Canyon and it was absolutely great! The perfect day to hike and especially in Logan Canyon (one of the prettiest places in the entire world). If you're ever in Logan, Utah and like to hike, the Windcaves are a fun to go and see.

Observations about life...

I have not written for awhile and thought that since I had some free time I would write some thoughts.
I am back in Logan (USU Go Aggies!) for my final semester of my undergraduate career. It is a bittersweet feeling as many people that I began my college career with are now in the real world having graduating before me. There are still many faces that I recognize, but there are also many that I miss terribly. It is not to say that I am miserable. I love Logan during school and am glad that I chose to move away rather than stay home. I have learned many of life's lessons outside of the classroom and have had an amazing experience. I have met my best friends in college and cherish their friendships as much as my familial relationships.
Speaking of friends, the highlight of the semester (besides graduating) will be when one of my best friends, Robyn, returns from serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Micronesia-Guam. She will return in November and I cannot wait to see her. We have exchanged letters throughout her mission and I cannot wait to speak to her and give her a big hug. I am not an emotional person, but I think I will turn into a bawl-baby when I see Robyn in November. Thanksgiving; so appropriate of a time for Robyn to come home. I'm thankful for friends and family that mean so much to me and are such great examples.

It's the little things that count

I'm a giggler. Ask any of my friends or roommates and they will attest to this character trait. I just feel that finding the humor in things is much better than always finding the bad. I love watching and listening to people. I can laugh at the stupidest things. Take our family for instance. We think we are all so darn funny when most people would probably think we are strange. Going to my grandparents' every Sunday is a testament of just how funny we think we are. Just about everyone will get his two bits in on the subject of the night be it politics, religion, movies, or anything else we choose to tackle that evening. It is definitely good times.
Darby, my twin, and I laugh at just about anything and most people probably think we are a little slow because of it. My roommates have been a source of laughter for me for the last four years. My roommate Mandie was the best to laugh at. She never knew what was so funny, but her mannerisms were just too much for me and Darby. "You guys, a dollar is a dollar." She was the coupon queen and the best to go grocery shopping with. Robyn on the other hand, always understood our sense of humor. We were insta-friends the minute we moved in together our freshman year because of a movie called "The Wedding Singer."
Randomness is the source of our laughter. Nothing is better than sitting around the Jarvis family's kitchen bar and listening to their mom, Mama Ruth, talk about how she doesn't know how to use her microwave "Defrost!! I don't want that! I didn't know this even had defrost!" and Dr. J in the front room busting out Edleweiss (is that how it's spelled?) on the organ.
Then there is my Grandma Grace. The lady is 81 and quick as a whip. The apple tree in the backyard needed to be trimmed, so G-ma started swinging on the branches (so she says) to try and break the branches off! She's freaking hilarious! My all-time favorite expressions of hers are "for cryin' in the beer!" and "that person is the biggest fool I ever met!" I think I must have gotten my sense of humor from the Cowles side of the family, we are pretty funny! Family get-togethers are the best!
So, I guess the whole point of this blog is to look for the funny things in life. Almost any situation can be funny, you just have to see the humor in it!

Heeeeeyyyy Batta, batta, batta, suwing batta!

So, last night I was playing softball in my hometown of Roy, Utah and I must say that I'm pleased to announce that I went 5 for 5. That calculates into 1.000 batting average for the night! "Uncle Elmore Socks, what did she do?!" I don't believe this has ever happened to me. I just wanted to share my joy of actually hitting! Plus we won and that makes our team undefeated for the season. Flippin' sweet!

Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name

So, I just returned from Boston, Massachusetts and I must say I love that city! I loved listening to people say Harvard; it sounds more like Ha-verd. It is so rich in American history and I fell in love with it the moment I got there (well, the moment after we reached our hotel after being trapped in the subway not knowing where we were going and carrying our luggage (about three people's bags weighed 50 pounds!)). I have been back east before, but I must say that Boston is my new favorite place. We saw just about all of Boston and walked a lot. I wish I would have had either Mandy's or Brooke's pedometer with me! That would have been sweet. Anyway, I must say that I am a Baltimore Orioles fan, but after visiting Boston and seeing the legendary Fenway Park, the Red Sox could be my second-favorite team (not to jump on the bandwagon or anything). Fenway was amazing and being a baseball fan, I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately we weren't able to attend a game, but maybe next time.
We walked two miles to get to Harvard Square, and I don't feel any smarter after being to the most prestigious university in America. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty neat to be standing where some of the most intellectual minds have stood, but I must say I love Utah State and the mountains that surround it! Harvard seemed more of a tourist attraction than a university to me.
The Freedom Trail was amazing and Cheers looked just like it does on TV! Amazing! So, anyway, Boston is a cool place to go and I recommend it to anyone--history fanatic or not!

The Real World

So, this summer, as in summers past, I have a full-time job. However, I have come to the conclusion that not many people actually work. "Oh I've interrupted happy time...Now I know you'd just love to sit there and continue not being slim, but we have to work a little today okay." I mean take my job for instance. I am working for the U.S. government which means that I spend about half of my day checking email and reading things on the internet (like 90 percent of the people who work here too).
I've decided that only if you work a manual-labor type of job (grounds, anything in the service industry) you pretty much don't really "work." True, you make money for your time, but you don't really do anything. You feel obligated to show up because you get a paycheck every two weeks. There's nothing wrong with that though. "I'm a big fan of money. I like it, I use it, I have a little. I keep it in a jar on top of my refrigerator. I'd like to put more in that jar. That's where you come in."
So, in about four weeks I'll be headed back to Logan with my oh-so-hard-earned money (what's left of it after paying rent and tuition). I only have one more semester and then it's the "real world" for me. I just hope I find a job that is interesting.

Okay, now that I have a little more of an idea of what to do with this new blog thing, I think I will dive into the world of softball (movie quotes will be placed in randomly throughout the text, be ready!).
I have played organized softball since I was twelve (by organized I mean there was actually a coach and real equipment, including bases). I had only played with the neighborhood boys in the cul-de-sac with spray-painted bases before hitting the big time in junior high. After that, I was totally addicted to the game and I actually acquired some skills along the way. So, I played for six years in school, every summer in between, and umpired for Roy City Recreation (but that is a totally different blog by itself, maybe later).
I still play a little slow pitch and last night you would think I had never been on a field before! The first batter (whom I played with in school and umpired with) hits it right to me and where does it go? Right through my legs!! I was so upset. I thought I had skills! "You know, bow-hunting skills, nunchuck skills, computer hackingn skills." So anyway, as the game progressed, I did retrieve some of these alleged skills and actually got two people out. It was good times.
Hitting however, is a entirely different phenomenon with me. I can strike out anytime you want! "High fast balls, can't hit 'em, can't lay off 'em." Yeah, I suck at hitting. Even in slow pitch I never seem to actually get a good hit. It's normally that the defensive player made an error or maybe she just felt bad for me and let me get on base (like it matters, I am slow as tar! "Unhitch the plow!").
So anyway, I guess that I should get some practice in or just keep counting on the defensive players to let me on base. Whatever gets my batting average above .100!

So, this is my first posting. I'm not sure what to write about. Normally I need a topic or subject to spur something, or a movie quote is fine. About 80% of what comes out of my mouth is someone else's material. I guess I should get my own, but what's the fun in that? My favorite however, is when a movie quote will come to mind and I say it, and people look at me and just sit there (because they have no idea what I am talking about) or they join in immediately. It is good times. I have lived with roommates who either love it or hate it. So anyway, I guess that this will end my first posting.