Mexican at BYU

I'M BACK!

2009-02-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Hello..... hellooooo.... hellooooooooo……can anybody hear me? Is anyone still out there? I know I disappeared for two almost three years but hey, I'm back. I went to live in California for a while but now I'm back at BYU trying to finish what I started 5 long years ago, with a couple of added items to the itinerary making a grand total of a major in Clinical Lab Science, Spanish Translation, and (can I get a drum roll please) a minor in History, just for fun. I figure I’ve been at BYU for a long time; I might as well have something to show for it.

Being back in school is brutal. My first semester back was harder than my freshman year. Though my study habits have improved drastically since freshman year, all of my friends have graduated and moved away, graduated and married, or out on missions of their own. So I was left to fend for myself again and make new friends; luckily I brought some friends back with me that I met in California. They are great :D

Well, it has been quite an adventure trying to reintegrate myself into “society.” As a missionary you are isolated from “the world” (and I literally mean the world: music, movies, anything that you used to spend time on is out, family and friends except through letters and two phone calls home a year) so that you can truly focus on the work. It was a challenge at first but it has been the greatest thing in the world. When you remove every label that you use to identify yourself (i.e. punk rock, rap, fubu, volcome, Wicked, Napoleon Dynamite, etc.) you are left with who you really are, or that is where the task of finding who you really are begins, and you can determine what you want to become. It’s almost like a new beginning. So this is the new and improved version of me if there is still anyone out there along for the ride.

"TADA!"

Finally finals... again

2006-04-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

I never feel like posting until I read all of your blogs. That or I am just avoiding studding for finals. I feel like I was sleeping from mid February through the beginning of April and just now I’ve woken up and I have a lot to do. Yeah so BYU is in the middle of finals, which means that I am swamped with work. I have been working full shifts during reading days at the bookstore and then I am too tired to study at night, which is not good. So now I start with my finals so I'll only work half days maybe I can study now. I have to take two spanish lit tests tomorrow, polisci tuesday, and english wednesday and I'll be done. I pack on thursday and fly home friday. Well that's the plan anyway.

I get to go home and work all summer and then in October I start a whole new chapter in my life. It will be the hardest, scariest thing (other then marriage) that I will ever do in my life but like marriage it will change my life for all time and all eternity. I am both scared and excited to fulfill this mission but I know that I need to do this. In the conference this April Elder Richard G. Scott echoed what I had said to myself a couple of months ago. I will never regret going but I will always regret not having gone, so I am going.

So Many Choices

2006-03-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Ok well I guess I don’t have that many choices but I have some choices to make. I hate deciding. I can never make up my mind. Anyways, with a year and a half left of school and an internship, I thought about doing other things before finishing school. There are just so many choices to make. This morning I had the hardest time deciding whether I should shower first and then make breakfast or eat breakfast first and then shower. I seriously tossed and turned in bed for an hour thinking that over and over. I guess I was not really thinking about it for a whole hour because my mind kept wandering into other choices I have to make. I ended up making breakfast first because by the time I decided to shower I heard my roommate walk into the bathroom.

It’s not just the choices; it’s all the planning that has to be done for whatever you chose to do. I don’t want to make a decision based on which will be easier just because I am too lazy or too scared to actually get out of my comfort zone and go for the other choices. Right now the easiest choice is to stay here and just go on with school as planned and do nothing. I know that some of you are puzzled by my whole not leaving my comfort zone because I actually left home at 18 to live hundreds of miles away form home with complete strangers for a couple of years. Some would say that that is definitely leaving your comfort zone. But that was the next logical step. After high school you go to college. I just had to choose one college and they made the decision easy because they chose me. I just had to figure out how to make it work. Now I have the opportunity to do something more, something else. It’s harder to make a choice when all possibilities are good. If I stay it’s good, and if I go it’s good too. I don’t know if one will be better then the other until I actually go, or not go. To go or not to go, that is the question.

Nice weather over

2006-03-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

So today was so windy... and I kept running into people that I wanted to talk to but since it was cold and windy we could not talk much. We are supposed to get another winter storm; so much for the nice 45 degree weather. We are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow. I dont mind, it means I can wear my sweaters longer.

This is the first week in a while that I dont have a test or a paper due (well I do have a two page summary on an interview I have to give but that does not count; I dont see that as a huge assignment) so I feel pretty good. We have eight weeks of school left (according to my roommate you counted and reminds me every week). I have to enjoy the time I have left.

Saturday!!!!!!

2006-03-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

Each week seems to go by faster and faster; it’s already Saturday! This morning I woke up at about 7 or 8 and found the roof tops covered in snow. We got a couple of inches while we were sleeping. But now the sun is out and it’s hot. We've reached a high of 45 degrees F. I never thought 45 degrees would be hot.

Well, the semester is half way over. That means I'll be home in two months, yay! Classes are lame. I only have class three days a week and it feels weird, oh well, I wont get that pleasure again.

Lately I've been lost in a sea of choices. This is not good for someone who is so indecisive. Oh well, time will tell.

Congratulations to the people who have brand new babies. Yay!!

Oh I need a job this summer in Dallas. Anyone have any ideas?

Sorry my update is so scattered, but that is how my mind has been lately.

Last Week

2006-02-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Just when it started feeling like spring was coming, we get five inches of snow.

Well, I am swamped with work so I have to get back and stop avoiding my reading. I have to read a 400-page book called BOWLING ALONE The Collapse and Revival of American Community for Political Science class. I have to write a five-page paper by Friday so I have a lot to read. My goal was to read it last week and write my paper this week but I read through 50 pages and fell asleep five times reading so it does not look promising. It is going to be one of those weeks. I have so many assignments due this week and like always I did not realize everything was due this week until yesterday. Well, wish me luck and I hope I survive.

Oh but on a more happy note, the bookstore was doing inventory this week. It was so much fun counting all those books and things. I think inventory is my favorite part, and buy-back (when the bookstore buys books back from the students at 60% of the new price and we have to put then in order and stuff).

Oh and all last week they had some service projects in the student building so I went almost everyday to help. We colored pictures for the head start program and made beanies for the Humanitarian aid people. It was so much fun. They had these hat looms, which is just a wooden or plastic ring with pegs sticking out of the top and you make the hat looping the string and pulling the strings over the loop. Someone said it was crocheting for dummies. I was so cool but since I could only go in for an hour of two, I never had to finish my own hat. It felt just like back in the days with Key Club and National Honor Society. I missed that feeling.

Thursday

2006-02-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

The internet has been down all week end and most of the week so today was the first day since it’s been working that I’ve had time to get on the computer. We’ve been having beautiful weather here. Well as good as it gets in Utah. Today we reached a high of 47 F; it feels like springtime is coming. All the snow is gone well almost all the snow. There is still some on the mountains and occasionally you find some hidden in the shadows or under a pile of leaves, but the skys are clear and there is no sign of more snow.

Today I cleaned the apartment because tonight some of the girls from around the complex asked if they can use our apartment (since it is across from the lounge) to teach either aerobics or platys, or self-defense. They are having three little workshops so they are splitting up into groups. We are all invited but it took all day to clean and now I have tons of homework to do. And since I have not been on the computer in a long time (it’s kind of pointless if you don’t have internet or a paper to write) I had lots of things to look up and email to check. I don’t think I’ll have time to go but it will be awkward since they are going to be in my living room. Oh well, life goes on.

Update, update, update...

2006-01-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

Ok sorry for not updating sooner…

So the new semester is… well… I thought it was going to be great because I am only taking five classes as opposed to the usual eight, I don’t even have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it was going to be great but a whole month into it and well its not so great. Ok so I am taking Intro to Spanish literature, Iberian literature (literature from Spain), Spanish Translation, Political Science, and English (Technical Writing); all on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays I don’t have the Intro lit class. So yeah it’s like a dream schedule.

I was super excited about the two Spanish literature classes. I thought since I enjoyed English Literature in high school and I really like reading some of the stories for the AP Spanish Lit test the week before I took it; so I thought I was really going to enjoy the classes here but nope. I was wrong. My intro to lit class is a joke. We just sit there while the teacher rereads to stories to us that we were supposed to read for homework. He translates some phrases so it will help us understand it but it’s just not satisfying. I was expecting to go to class and have discussions on what the text really means and super analyze it; go over the themes and just real in-depth analysis but nope, we barely even scratch the surface. Every once in a while he gives comments that I really don’t agree on but I don’t say anything because well, he is intimidating. And then the other literature class is so serious (seriously boring). The teacher throws in a couple of terms (most of which are false cognates; they are not real words in Spanish) and expects us to know what he is talking about. Then he shows about 45 minutes of movie clips to help us relate the topics but everyone knows that the movie is never like the book so it’s just confusing. I am not enjoying the classes. The literature is great but the classes, well lets just say that… well, I’ll be nice and not say anything at all.

Oh but I love the English class. (English classes have always been great). We learn how to design technical documents, which are pretty much anything you read on a daily basis (labels, brochures, instructions manuals, resumes, etc.) I really like the teacher but again I don’t really enjoy the class. I am the only girl in a room with 25 boys. It’s very intimidating being the only girl but I can say that I am the prettiest, smartest, most athletic, talented, super cool girl in class ;) Well, and then Poli Sci, what was I thinking? I have not been able to score higher then a 7 out of 10 on the quizzes and I have a test on Thurs. But hey in three months I’ll be home…

The thing about this semester is that the whole world (or at least the few people I know) have secretly teamed up to make me social. I spent all of last semester and most of last year on the couch being anti-social. I know that it’s hard for some of you to believe but its true. So in someone’s attempt at making me social they (I wont mention any names JC) took away my agency and made me play a terrible, dangerous sport that I had never heard about called WALLYBALL. For those of you that have never heard of it (you are lucky) its this volley ball type game that you play in a racket ball court with this big rubber ball and forget all the rules that apply to volleyball. So basically its suicide in a tiny room with a rubber ball. It was… well, lets just say that I survived. But I must say that next time they wont have to try too hard to get me out there. Ooh and I might be easily persuaded to play a little racket ball one of these days. Hint, hint.

Well, its been snowing off and on since we got back and I have been working very hard not to fall in the snow but despite my efforts I had a close encounter with that white, wet, fluffy stuff today. I was pushed by my malicious roommate. I was just casually walking home (she was walking a couple of steps ahead of me planning the whole thing out) and all of a sudden she just turned around and pushed me. I had my hands in my pocket (as I usually do when I walk and I was looking at the floor so I did not even see her coming) and then when she pushed me, my foot got caught on my jeans and I lost my balance and fell. I bruised my knee and my ego. And she refused to kiss my booboo. Then as if that was not humiliating enough when we got home she attacked me with a dart gun. After half an hour of retaliation with her own dart gun, and a surprise ambush on my roommates who were studding in the living room, we ceased fire and decided to get back to homework. All I have to say is that my previous roommates would never have done a thing like that.

Finally, last day of class…

2005-12-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have not slept in 38 hours and I am starting to feel it… I was trying to study for my Virology midterm earlier and the words kept moving around, they just would not sit still. And this whole not sleeping thing has me seeing colors that I have never seen before or maybe I really am that yellow. Well anyways the semester is finishing (just have eight finals to go, yay) and then I quit. I quit school for three weeks… then we’ll see what happens from there. Good luck with finals everybody; I am going to bed (and its only 8 p.m.) I have a lot of catching up to do.

I am a sick-O.

2005-11-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

Ok so I just spent one hour washing the kitchen sink, counters, scrub brushes, and sponges because I was worried that salmonella might be growing on them. Last night my roommate washed and cut ten pounds of chicken on the sink and counter and all the chicken-salmonella water was splashed all over the place and I am sure she used the scrub brush and sponges to “clean up” but it was still greasy and salmonellay. I actually soaked the sink in chlorine water so it will kill all the bacteria growing in there. Then I washed my hands like three times. I think that I need to change my major before I get to paranoid about things like this but my other major is not going so well. Now I don’t know if I speak English or Spanish. Its just a miracle that I can communicate all thought there is not much need for communication when you spend Fridays and Saturday nights alone in the apartment with the T.V. Now I have to go study for a Virology midterm…

Oh and I almost set the kitchen on fire today (no I was not making rice) I was making soup (Ramen). I was just boiling some water but I accidentally turned on the back burner where some baking pans were sitting with bread scrumbs (smaller then a slice of bread but bigger then a crumb) and left to watch t.v. I was waiting for a commercial to go add the soup in when the smoke detector went off. At first I thought that the aluminum had caught fire (happens a lot) but as I turned the corner into the kitchen I saw it was filled with smoke (big time). I rushed to pull the baking pans off the stove (I remembered that they usually get hot when heat is placed under then) so I grabbed a towel sitting on the counter and put them on the other burner. Needless to say the back burner rod was flaming hot, the pans were black (they used to be gray) and my water was colder then a dead old lady’s hand (not that I would know how cold that is). Hurried up and closed the hall door to stop the fire alarm and ran to open the door and windows. I was fanning the smoke away (towel swinging over my head) when my roommate (the owner of the pans) walked in the door. She said she could see the smoke from the first floor (we live in the third floor). So once the crisis was taken care of I went to class where while sitting on the front row, trying hard to stay awake, I discovered that the horrible smell that had awaken me was me. My sweater and my hair smelled like smoke but the weird-O part was that I could not stop smelling it and no doubt making faces at the bad smell that was I. The teacher must think I am nuts, I spend most of class time making stupid faces as my eyes droop and my heads jerks back as I fall asleep and now I could not stop smelling my self.

Seriously, I am a sick-O and I need help.

Chubby Bunny

2005-11-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

I participated in my first chubby bunny contest… or whatever. For those of you that have never heard of “Chubby Bunny” before, its this ridiculous game where you put a marshmallow in your mouth and say “chubby bunny” then you repeat adding a marshmallow every time until you cant say chubby bunny anymore. Its disgusting and even sicker when boys are involved so naturally this is the perfect FHE activity. So I was sure that there was no way you could get me to do this but after seeing how much more lame it was to be all girly and skip out on it I decided to just go for it and do however many all the other girls were doing. It would have been embarrassing to actually see what the maximum capacity of my oral cavity was so after seeing all the other people go (minus the annoying girly girls on the couch) I was faced with a bag or gigantic marshmallows and two boys on either side of me. On my right was Nate (not interested but a boy nonetheless) and on my left was the Stake High Councilman’s cute 22-year-old son who goes to the U. I picked one up and suddenly blood rushed to my head… should I do it? It was a lose lose situation. Do it and look like a dork or not do it and look like a dork… So I put one in my mouth and said it, I proceeded to put another one in my mouth. Then Allie (FHE sister) said, “She looks so cute, look at how big her cheeks are.” Then everyone was staring at my fat cheeks, I could feel their stares. I thought it was the most embarrassing thing I have ever willingly done and then Nate called me “cheeks” and I knew I had hit rock bottom but I continued with the marshmallows, now I had to beat all the other girls (there was not way that I could go for gold because the guys put 16 in their moths and that was just sick looking, I could not at sick to my already embarrassed face). I had about five when the whole room started chanting “Cheeks, cheeks.” I laughed, swallowed and barfed all at the same time. It was the most sickest feeling in my life. I actually gagged in front of everybody. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment but once I passed the bag of marshmallows I was old news and all eyes were on the Stake High Councilmen’s son. And my one embarrassing moment of fame vanished just as fast as it had happened.

Tennis is over...

2005-10-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, tennis came and left. I really suck on the court but I am perfect (or almost perfect) on paper. I aced all my tennis tests (luckily none were skills tests). Well it was fun while it lasted. The coach gave us tennis balls and introduced us to some of the players when ever they would show up on the courts so I guess it was not a total waste ;) There are two Hispanics on the team; maybe I'll go cheer for them.

I get to start the second part of translation class on Wed... Our other teacher (for the first part) fell off her wheel chair and broke her nose. We did not get to say bye but she will be our teacher for the next two years. I wonder what her new nose will look like?

I went on a blind group date on Friday. Yeah it was quite an experience of a lifetime, much like breaking your arm. You dont plan on it until some one pushes you. The whole thing feels like a blur. Then after it happens its not too bad but recalling it brings back painful memories and you dont ever want to do that again. Until you go skiing then you break a leg.

All the rain turns to snow.

2005-09-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

I played tennis in the rain today, it was…… well, wet. When we were done losing the match my doubles partner accidentally hit me on the leg with a wet ball... it hurt. I should be banned from the tennis courts and never be allowed to return. But yeah, I try. I don’t have a good positive attitude about it but then again I have never been positive about anything. Oh well. It was cold after history class today (like 69 degrees). It just reminded me that it’s going to be very cold soon. I’m excited that I get to wear sweaters again but I don’t want it to snow yet... I’m not done learning tennis. Although we have about 20 days left for this block to end... I don’t think I'll get any better. But life will go on and there is always the indoor tennis courts.

I cant wait for dinner... chicken and broccoli stuff....... yummy.

Midterms: Round One...

2005-09-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

What a horrible week!!!! Midterms just crept up on me and ambushed me. I had my first midterm for Spanish Translation, Immunology, and my other Spanish class (A comparative study of Spanish and English) that is more like a linguistics class. I also had to write a History paper on a novel I had not started and give a group presentation on a translation assignment. I took it one day at a time (so I would not get stressed) worked on what ever was due first and some how I survived. This is the real university experience for a slacker. I was running on four to five hours of sleep each night and by Thursday I was feeling it. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of relaxing on the weekend.

All of last week I had no time to get my nose out of my books to look at the news so I had no idea what was going on in Texas until Friday night. My sister that lives in Houston evacuated to Dallas on Wednesday morning. Our church building in Oak Cliff was filled with people from Houston that had no place to go. The people went to the member’s houses to shower and I guess they cooked their meals in the little kitchen in the building. So today they just held church services for an hour. I think they’ve all gone home now, but man what a sight that must have been. I kind of wish I could have been there to help out but oh well.

I am a new convert to football. On Saturday I went to my first college football game, BYU vs. TCU. After my roommate taught some of the rules of the game I was able to follow a little bit. I had no idea that a game could last for five hours; no wonder housewives get so upset at their Monday-night-football addict husbands. We lost by a touchdown in overtime because of a bad call by the ref. But overall our team has improved a lot since last season. I decided that maybe I should learn more so that I can go see my freshman brother play at Sunset. Oh man I will miss this entire season.

Well I have to get back to work. I have another busy week: three tests, two midterms, and one translation assignment. That’s life.

VIVA MEXICO!!!

2005-09-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I dont remember ever really celebrating Mexico's independance before. Sure we must have done it in Mexico but I was like 5 years old last time I was in Mexico for its independance. The Mexicans here in Provo are really into celebrating Mexico's independance. I dont remember it being a big deal in Texas but maybe I just did not know. Well there was some festival on campus last night to celebrate but I did not get the memo so I missed it. So today I am just celebrating in my room. I am throwing a one person dance party. The Spanish radio station is actually playing good music today. Listening to this just makes me home-sick but its ok. I cant just listen to the music I have to get up and dance. Oh I love this song.... got to go.

week two

2005-09-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

Man I love tennis! Now when I watch the US open I can actually follow along with the scoring. I've had about two weeks of lessons and I still suck but its great. I never thought I would actually like sports but they are not so bad. I went putting last night and the guy was like, "man you must have been good at Geometry cause that was a nice shot." It bounced of the wall and went in the hole. Yeah I was not that great in Geometry or golf but I am really liking tennis. Who thought that mexicans could play tennis. ( I was referring to the other mexican girl in the class). And by the way its a great way to lose the freshman 15 or in my case the freshman 2.

The rest of the classes are not as much fun. Well maybe phonetics where I have to record my converstaion with someone and do a self evaluation on my Spanish pronounciation. Yeah I guess we all have room for improvement.

One week down

2005-09-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

The first week of school was so crazy.... well maybe not as crazy as just busy. I have classes from 8 a.m. to 4:15 with hour breaks in between. Then work after classes to 8 p.m. I am so glad that as an on call worker I only work the first and last weeks of the semester because there is no way I can handle school and work. My feet hurt, my back hurts, my knee hurts and I am all ready behind on my reading. Yesterday I was to tired to do anything so I just went back to bed after work and then got up and watched an 80's movie marathon on t.v.

But other then that classes are great... well, actually they are weird. My first two years here I took mostly science classes Biology and Chemistry and now I have to take a different type of class, Linguistics and Phonetics. I am having a difficult time because these classes are based on people's ideas and their thoughts not on experiments, its just a different kind of science. Well besides that I am taking History, Immunology, Virology, New Testament, Tennis and the first Translation class for my major. Oh my tennis coach is the BYU mens tennis coach. He has played at Wimbledon and the US open and the Australian open and all this other places. I am so excited to learn a new sport that I have never played before but even more excited that once again (like in high school) I get to have amazing teachers.

Moving day......

2005-08-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

Half way done with moving.... I am so tired I am about to pass out.... I cant go up another flight of stairs. Man moving from the third floor of one building to the third floor of another building is hard work.

Finally finals...

2005-08-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

Summer finals are finally here.... bitter sweet moment. Well, Cell Biology final is going to kill me and Spanish final is a take home-open book final so no too bad. 15 hours till the bio final. I have been studing all day since I woke up and now I can't think in complete sentences so go sleep now bye bye.

Test your limits...

2005-07-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

I heard that on tv and decided to try it...... I just have not figured out how. I have so many limits to test hopefuly it will make me a better person.

Marathon runners

2005-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

I was awaken by a loud rumbling noise outside my window at 6 a.m. (again) the morning of the 4th of July, this time I looked out the window and saw tons of people running past my window and down the street making a left at the street light. I had no idea what was going on but soon the papers pined to the back of their shirts clued me in. I watched for about 5 seconds and went back to sleep.

Later I wake up to see the hot air balloons flouting over campus. This time there were fewer balloons but it was still amazing. I actually knew the people that were flying in the REMAX red, white and blue balloon. It was the second balloon to appear in the sky. After I watched the last of them disappear I went back to sleep.

About two hours later I was once again woken up by a super loud annoying sounds. This time a helicopter flying about four blocks away was recording the Freedom parade that was going on; that I could not sleep through so I got out of bed and watched the parade on t.v. while I was enjoying a nice bowl of cereal. Utahans love to celebrate their independence and in a couple of weeks they celebrate their pioneer heritage and that means more fireworks.

For the last two or three years I have spent Independence day relaxing at the beach and since Utah is quite far from a beach (after taking geology 101 I can tell you that it is a rain shadow desert) so this year I played sand volleyball and then went swimming afterwards I had no choice but to pretend that I spent the day at the beach…

I watched the fireworks from the balcony of my apartment. There was a big show in the school’s stadium and I got to see the same fireworks from the comfort of my own home. It felt like it was my own private fireworks show. The interesting part (for lack of a better word) was that it was Saturday July 2nd when they had the fireworks show. Utah is just weird I guess.

Today I had quizzes in both my classes. I am so glad that I was able to draw everything that the mitochondria is good for and how proteins are synthesized and the movement of different proteins through the cell. As for Spanish, well, I am just glad I can speak without making most of the mistakes that native speakers make. Five weeks left for summer term to be over…….

6:30 am

2005-07-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 6:30 this morning, two hours before my alarm was supposed to go off. I tried going back to sleep but just ended up tossing for half and hour so I decided to get out of be and walk around to get sleepy again. When I jumped out of bed I looked out the opened window and I thought I was in a dream or something. From my bedroom window I can see the southeastern part of campus and this morning when I looked out the window there were about 20 hot air balloons floating over the campus. It was so beautiful and surreal like a dream. Or like the part in an alien movie when the main character sees the alien space ship for the first time. I was so excited I have never seen real hot air balloons in person. They are doing it three days as part of the 4th of July celebration things so I am going to try to get up tomorrow to see it again.

I got a job!

2005-06-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Yay!!!! I will be working on call at the bookstore (which is not much just a day or two a week if I am lucky). I was actually looking for something else that would pay more because by budget for this summer was a little tight and I had some unexpected payments to make. I have to make enough to pay rent for the first and last payments of the up comming fall semesters. I guess its part of growing up. I had to cut my weekly budget for food from $30 to $15. I have been living on mac and cheese, tuna, ramen noodles and migas. It has been some adventure looking for a job. Today I walked across campus to one of the cafeterias to apply for a custodial job just to find out that they had just hired some one else on the spot two minutes before I walked in to the office... I was so angry I just wanted to kick some thing... but the long walk back to my appartment cooled me down some.

Anyways I am taking two classes this term; cell biology and spanish grammar. The cell biology will be the hardest class I have to take because my whole grade depends on the final. The spanish I hope wont give me to much trouble. I feel so useless taking only two classes. Last term I took four and even that felt useless compared to the six to eight I usually take in the fall/winter semesters. So that is why I figured I could get a job for once.

Well the cell biology book it calling my name, I still have about 30 pages of reading that I have put off for two days and cant afford to put off any longer.

Oh man...

2005-05-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so the other day I was watching t.v. (a small study break) and I came a cross some cartoons that my little brothers watch at home so I stopped and watched for a bit but then I had to remind myself that I am 20 years old and that I should act like it but man I forget all the time. I guess it has to take more then a week for me to get used to the idea.

Anyways, I have to get back to studding for a history midterm tomorrow. What a great way to spend memorial day.

Yeah, Victor was right.

2005-05-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

Happy new year to me....

"We have a short time to stay, as you

We have as short a spring;

As quick a growth to meet decay,

As you, or anything,

We die

As yoour hours do, and dry

Away,

Like to the summer's rain;

Or as the pearls of morning dew

Ne'er to be found again."

-Remember who?

Congratulations Class of 2005!!! I wished I could have seen you on your special day. This will be the beginning of the rest of your adult life. Make it a good one, you only get one on this earth.

My own countdown..

2005-05-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

21 days... Can you guess what for?

Today I was walking around campus and I noticed all these trees. This is my first time staying in Utah for Spring and Summer and so I never really noticed that there are so many trees on campus but now they are just so green you can't miss them. It looks so beautiful.

Oh, also today my roommate and I were walking home after class and we saw the President of the university. He was in a little tour car across the street from where we were standing. That is as close as I have ever been to the President of the school.

Spring Term is here!!!!!!!!

2005-04-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I am still here in Utah!!!! I decided to stay here for the Spring and Summer Terms. Today was the first day of Spring classes. I am taking Geology, History, Religion, and volleyball. I have been here two years and I had really never been to the sports buildings on the opposite side of campus. To get there you have to go down these masive stairs; it's a work out just to get there. Anyways, because I have never been in these sports buildings I had to walk around and look like I knew where I was going before class started. So yeah, I have to take volleyball. You know how in high school they make you take PE to graduate well, they do the same here. I mean come on, we are adults; they should not make us do exercise. But what am I going to do, the altermative is to take this 3 hr class that every one fails, I dont want to risk pulling my GPA any lower then it all ready is.

I have a new home. Saturday I moved out of the dorms and into off campus apartments. I feel all grown up now (not really). For a couple of hours I was homeless. I had to be out of the dorms by 10 am but I could not move in to the apartments until 1, so we put or things out on the street and waited. Luckly one of my friends had a couch.

I also learned what happens to college students when finals are over and they dont have anything to do; their brains turn to mush and they start playing with fire. The night after finals were over a bunch of guys gathered outside our window (I have no idea why they chose our window) and took turns blowing corn starch (from their mouth) over a lit match to produce a large fire ball. When they ran out of starch they started using powder sugar (which we found out was more flamable). Thery had a guy standing around with a water gun, just in case.

Finals are coming...

2005-04-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of class and it feels great!!!!!!!! No more midterms, no more home work, no more waiking up for class, but I still have FINALS!!!! I just have to hold on for a couple more days and then it starts all over again. This will be the first Spring/Summer that I spend here instead of home (where I should be), but it is going to be fun. I just have to get over finals. Today is the first reading day and so far I have done everything but study. I am just wasting time and now its almost 5 so I have to try and study something now.

Leaving my comfort zone

2005-03-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

[THIS ENTRY WAS LOST FOR SOME REASON. I SAVED IT AS A DRAFT INSTEAD OF PUBLISHING IT.]

Sorry for not being here for about a month. I have been battleing a potential virus on my computer and I think I have won. My computer just started acting all kinds of crazy opening and closing windows and not letting me do things. It was very frustrating. It kept turning off and on the fire wall and the virus protection stuff. I spent all day yesterday messing with it and today it is much better, luck of the Irish I guess...

So it's not like you missed anything interesting. I have decided to do more things outside the appartment though. I figured that I spent more time on our couch then any where else. So it's now time to leave my comfort zone and try new things (like studding in the library). This also means that I am moving out of the dormrooms, it's time to be a big girl now. Besides they are infested with freshmen.

We thew our oldest roommate a party in the basement the other day it was fun. I was the missterss of ceremonies, I led the party. I was also the decorator. We played a game of Jesspordy ( a variation of Jeapordy but the categories were all about my roommate Jessi). It was so much fun, I did not get to play because I was there when they wrote some of the questions so I just helped the contestants cheat. We had a friend of Jessi vs. a cousin vs. a roommate. The roommates won. It was baised towards roommates.

Nothing else is going on. The weather is going crazy.... hot, cold, spring or winter... Utah just needs to make up its mind.

By the way, not that I am complaining but mearly pointing out the injustices, but my whole family is vacationing in Mexico while I am stuck here. I dont get a spring break so I have to stay up here and freaking study! Sorry just blowing off some steam...

Oh and today I get to eat my first traditional Irish meal, corn-beef and cabbage. We had a traditional German one the other day.

Snow again!!!

2005-02-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

So it was about a week since the last snow fall, now it's snowing again. It's been about two days now. I am kind of glad that it snowed yesterday and not Saturday.

On Saturday my roommate and I had to go stand in line for seven hours to sign up for and apartment at this all girls place. It was freezing cold, it kept raining and we were like number 100th in line. They only had spots for like 60 girls so I knew we were not geting in but then had to wait like five hours to tell us that! So yeah, we did not get a contract for Fall/ Winter but we did get one for Spring/ Summer... now we are on a stupid waiting list. We are waiting and hoping someone gets married over the summer and does not come back or hoping someone changes their mind and decides they dont really want to live a block away from campus or just hoping that someone changes their mind. It's better then my original plan, burn the place down because if I cant live in it no one can... the rain froze my brain and toes.

On Sunday I got a foot injury that was affecting my brain.

Today I got attacked by the door knob but it did not hurt untill an hour later (then my elbow was hurting).

New Week, Fresh Start.

2005-02-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

This morning the snow turned to rain on my walk to class then the rain turned to snow on my way back home after class... how funny is that. It has only snowed about a half inch or so in the last two hours but those were some monster snow flackes. These were not gentle, fluffy, feathery things these were nickle and quarter size, smack you in the face and attack you monsters. So Utah is once more a winter wonderland. I am just glad that it did not snow last week when I was running around taking tests all week. But now its a new week and after a relaxing weekend of no homework I am ready for the next round of midterms.

um...

2005-02-04T22:34:00.000-08:00

So after spilling my brains out over five tests in about a week, I could not even put complete thoughts together anymore. The Genetics test was four problems each with a, b,c and d parts. So a total of 16 questions.

Today I could not focus in my classes, I was just brain dead. A deadly combination of no sleep and no brain. We had to do this assignment in spanish class and I could not function normaly, I was just sitting there stareing at the paper. You know I have done my home work in some very unorthodox places but this has got to be the first time that I have ever done my home work while walking to class. I had to read a little article about euthanasia in spanish. So because I was more focused on not tripping I only understood half the material, that is probably why I could not focus in class.

I beat up the chicken for dinner with a thingy (long stick with a pointy block on the end).

But other wise all is well. No sign of snow. And I signed up for spring and summer classes the other night. I have a full load. I get to take Geology (I am substituting it for Physics). I am scared of college math.

I need sleep now. Bye.

Brain dead...

2005-02-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the testing center. I had to take two tests today and now I am all drained. I took Spanish grammar and then I took medical microbiology. A lot of times when I am at the testing center taking really hard tests it remindes me of AcDec. Ah, the good ol times. There is so much stuff that we learned in AcDec that comes in handy again. But those days are over. Now I only compete with myself and the only recognition I get is when they anonnimously post the grades on the screen. We dont always need meddals to feel good about our performance.

Well, now I must try to learn all the genetics I can before tomorrows test.

Walmart trip...

2005-01-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Saturdays are my usual walmart grocery day runs (if it makes any sense). It takes us about 30 min to get there on the slowness of a bus, 30 min to shop, and 30n min to get back; that means we spend more time getting there and back then actually being there... not having a car sucks.

Well, on a more positive side, after studing for 8 hours for my Biochemistry test, and praying for another two hours, I finally passed a chemistry test! The organic chemistry tests from last semester were so hard I never did pass one of them. But now that I have a new determination to actually sit down and study instead of watching T.V., I see the fruit of my labor. And labor I must, I have to take four midterms with in the next four days starting with monday. Wish me luck.

News...

2005-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

I was reading the school's newspaper today and I was just thinking that some of the headlines are a little unorthodox.

The main story is about an 18 year old hockey player from Alaska who died this Saturday while he was trying to block a shot. The puck hit him right on the chest and he had a heart attack. BYU does not have an official team but this team was all BYU students.

It's very creapy because the night of the game, my roommate's friend was over here and he was going to the game. My other roommate told him to yell, "Put him in a body bag!" and then this happens...

Also, Playboy keeps sending their postcards to the guys dorms and the boys are outraged. The school has tryed many times to get Playboy to stop but they just wont listen. I guess targeting the male college population is a smart business move but they should consider the religious population here.

There was also an article about this guy Daniel Ogden, a BYU student, who is serving in the war as a translator. He learned Arabic during his mission and now he gets to use his gift to help others. His dad, Dr. Kelly Ogden, was my New Testament teacher last semester. He always talked to us about his son and today the article was all about him and how hard war is. I bet he was so proud, he must have showed the article in class today. His son points out that there is a real lack of morality among the men of the armed forces. It's a real shame. Where have our morals gone?

There were a couple of stories about the damage that the recent floods have caused in Southern Utah this last couple of months. Little creeks turned into the Colorado River over night.

As for me, I passed my spanish civ. test with a 93 and spanish grammar with... well, the point is I passed. If I can do math in my head (and I cant) I got an 80? It was a two part test, I dont know how she will do the points...

My parents left town on Friday and they did not bother to tell me or my sister that lives in Houston. We are the only two of their kids that don't live in Dallas and they never tell us anything.

I wonder if I would be a good news reporter?

Midterms!!!

2005-01-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

What kind or teacher gives a midterm on the third week of school? (Evil ones.) Well, they have started; once midterms begin they wont end till finals. What exactly is the definition of a midterm? Is it an exam given in the middle of the term or is it any number of exams given at any time during the term? Well, it's the latter. I have at least one midterm per week from last week till the week before finals. Yeah my Spanish teacher gave us a midterm a week and a day into school. EVIL.... The week of Jan 31 to Feb 4 I have four midterms to take in four days... I guess it's their way to get us ready for finals. The testing center was very empty though. The kind of empty you only see right when it opens at 7 a.m. and right before it closes on the last day of finals. It was kind of eerie to be sitting there in an empty testing center. This is the one place that is always full of people. Even the halls were empty. The floors are usually littered with last minute crammers, but today nothing. That's because only evil teachers give midterms three weeks into the beginning of the new semester.

Oh, and today I got in trouble for talking to this girl behind me while the teacher showed us a video clip at the beginning of class. I was sitting four rows up in this amphitheatre type of classroom, when the teacher came all the way up there to ask me if I was going to pay attention. I was humiliated. I thought things like that only happened in high school. She was showing the same clip from Friday, I did not think it was going to be that big a deal…

College Homework

2005-01-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

An intresting topic that was brought up on one of the comments; homework. What is the point of doing the homework asignments when the teacher will not even give you credit for them? Well, before today I would have said that teachers do it to make students suffer but a teacher actually answered this in class. My Genetics teacher, Dr. Maughn, was not there today so we had the other Genetics teacher Dr. Fairbanks give the lecture. Fairbanks is one of the authors of the textbook we use. He began class by telling us that we had to read the book to understand the lecture. We have to understand the lecture so we can do our homework. And we have to do our homework so we can do good on the test.

Every thing in college revolves around doing well on the exams, on passing tests, on getting A's. I am ashamed to say that even I have gone through classes just to get a grade, to get to the next one without learning anything. Jumping hoops and passing tests is not what college should be about, it should be about learning; pure learning. We should study for the sake of learning, we should take classes for the sake of learning, we should do asignments for the sake of learning. My first semester here I was enrolled in Bio 120 and I would just sit in on a Bio 100 class and just listen to the lecture just for the sake of learning biology. (The Bio 100 teacher was also my religion teacher so I had made the arangement previously.) I learned so much from the Bio 100 class because I was just sat there to learn. I was not there to get an A or to get to the next class, I was there just to learn about the central dogma, and to learn about the creb cycle, and to learn about life. On the other hand in the Bio 120 class, I would sit in class and wonder if what the teacher just said was going to be on the next test. I would do my home work just to get more points so I could pass the class. Needless to say, I did not learn much. I have never learned so much like I did in the class that I would attend to just listen. What ever happened to the good old days where people were self educated? Back in the days were people learned from just reading?

MLK Jr. Day

2005-01-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I spent most of Sat. out so now I have to spend my holiday studing. My roommate had a Harry Potter Movie marathon this weekend. We watched all three movies. It was ok. I gave my brothers the third one for Christmas but I did not get to watch it myself untill yesterday. Wow! JK is brilliant! How in the world can a person create such a world. I did not really like the new director, he just changed some stuff on the set that I thought should have been made to look like the set that the other director had.

I have a long day ahead of me. I have to catch up on my reading assignments from last week. I have managed to stay on track with most of my classes, I am just a little behing on genetics. I still have to do the assigned homework problems at the end of the chapters even though I dont have to turn them in. Man, that's just like college. Teachers give you homework but you dont get credit for doing it. At least they should give us completion points or something.

A little game of night Volleyball

2005-01-14T22:47:00.000-08:00

I just finished playing vollyball in 30 degree weather. It was so cold my hands went numb. It hurt so bad but it was kind of fun. I served it over the net most of the time and I even had contact with the ball through out the game. I got to hit it over the net a couple of times. The cold night air and the altitude makes it hard to breath though. The cold air pierces your lungs like millions of tiny needles. It hurst to breath. I always new that the people that play sports outside during the cold winter nights have to be a little nuts. I was so cold I could not even move any longer so I had to come back inside and warm up by the nice warm computer. Now that I have feeling in my hands again, I have to study Spanish grammar so .... till you read again.

Not much going on here...

2005-01-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

All the snow melted just as fast as it fell. There are only small traces of the snow storm that hit us last week, mostly huge piles of snow that was snowplowed off the parking lot and on to the sidewalk. The rain melted all the snow away.

I like the new semester, it provides a clean slate. By the end of last semester I lost hope of getting an A+ in my classes (it would be a miracle if I just pass) but now with the start of a new semester the possibility of getting straight A's has once again been restored. So far I think I have an A in most of my classes but things will change after the first round of midterms. I am just trying to stay on track with all the assignments.

So I must go back to reading if I want any chance at keeping my A's.

SNOW!!!!

2005-01-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning, walked to the kitchen, looked out the window and WOW!!! EVERYTHING IS ALL COVERED IN SNOW! It's a winter wonderland. It took me by surprise. I was not expecting snow at all. It looks to beautiful.

Now it has been snowing nonstop all day. There is about six to eight inches of snow on the ground. I slipped all the way to class this morning. It is very hard to walk in the slush that forms after the snow has been all stepped on so I ran in the snow because I was late again to class. It's not a good idea when you are wearing ankle socks. I could feel the wet snow getting in my pants and shoes. But it was refreshing because after walking for ten min you start burning up under you coat.

First days of class are always exciting. I like my classes this semester. I only have six classes (four Mon, Wed, Fri and two Tue and Thur). I am taking Genetics, Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology 2, Religion, Spanish grammar and Iberian Civilization. All the teachers sound like they really like what they teach. The beechen teacher said he has taught the course for about 40 years now but he sounds very pationate about biochem. Today I just ran around trying to finish buying my books. I thought I was done but something was wrong with me yesterday when I first bought textbooks, I bought two books for classes I am not in and failed to buy all the materials needed for the classes I am in.

I had breakfast on the floor of the JKHB, the foreign language building. First I accidentally sat across from the boys restroom but I had to move it felt weird to eat there when all the boys would come out. I moved a couple of yards across from the custodian's closet. I was just one more in the piles of people that liter the halls of the buildings once the snow starts to fall. Last year I slept many naps on the floor of the MARB (Bio building) and ate lunch on the floor of the BNSN (the chem building). This year my home will be the JKHB. I start every day in the MARB (which is a good thing because I can practicably sleep walk to the MARB) and end it in the JKHB.

In the grammar class when the teacher, a lady from Argentina, was taking roll she read my name and said, "Esa si es de las mias!" I felt all tingly inside.

Back in Snowy Utah

2005-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

It only snows here when I go home. I have mixed feelings about that.

Well, the new semester has started. My load is lighter this year. Maybe now I can make straight A's. The last semester was not too bad. I thought I was going to die but it was more like a car wreck. I walked away with minor scrapes and bruises. My GPA is hanging on by a thread.

The Christmas break was fun. I went ice skating on Christmas Eve. Needless to say after about four turns around the giant Christmas tree I ended up with a bruised butt, a bruised ego and a minor head injury. After Christmas I larned how to ride a horse. That was fun. I've been on horses before but not by myself. I survived.

I went to Houston between the holidays. I went bowling. My five year old nephew beat me every time. I did get a strike though. I threw the ball, turned my back to get another ball and when I looked up the pins were all gone. I was stunned. Every time I go to Houston we eat at this Mexican seafood place. Before last summer I hated shrimp and now we go there just to eat shrimp and rice. I also had my yearly reminder of why I should not have children yet. I helped my oldest sister with her new born son, Joshua. He is so cute. I can only handle it for a couple of hours. I got to make his bottle and feed him. I even worked on eating while holding the baby (but that was with the two month old, Jared). Wow, I have a new found respect for motherhood. Elizabeth and I babysat my other sister's kids, Jared and Neavi, for New Years Eve. I took care of Neavi. She is two years old and can talk a parrot to death. She is so much fun. I could not get near Jared and Joshua because I had a cold. Neavi stayed up till one. Mari, her mom, said that was her normal bed time! Wow!

The last of the pregnant woman exploded before Christmas. Llromes-Lem Jr. was born on the 21st. We braved the cold and the snow to see him. Seeing a new born baby is like eating the perfect brownie or listening to your favorite song, time just seems stand still for a moment. Llromesito makes an even eight. Each of my older siblings have two kids each. I keep joking that I'll have to have twins when I get married but if I have twins I'll die. At the rate I am going they'll have six or seven each...

First day of finals!!!!

2004-12-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

So yeah, it is that time of the year again; finals week. I know I wont get any sympathy from you guys, you are also going through finals. In college some of the finals are scheduled some you can take when ever you want (with in that week). I have eight classes, and five are scheduled. Two are scheduled for 7 a.m.

So today I woke up at 6:15 a.m. to get dressed. I studied for religion on my walk to the building this morning. I took the test and I passed but in a way I have been studing for religion all my life. My friend comented that we should not be given tests before the sun comes out. I agree. No one is functioning before sunrise.

After that I studied for an hour and a half for organic chemistry. This was supposed to be a standardized test so it was going to be easier then the ones this crazy teacher gives us. I was odd that our test actually started on question 60 not question 1 like all the other normal tests though.

Today we had this one guy, one of my roomate's friend, cook dinner for us. He said that since we always feed him he wanted to feed us. Surpisingly enough the pasta thing was edible. I was actually good.

Last night we had a sugar-high. My roomates love to bake things and we had about a pound of fudge. And if that was no enough all the girls from the building brought us treats for helping out with this or that. By the end of the night we could not even speak in compleat sentences anymore.

Maribel!!!!!!

2004-12-08T14:19:00.001-08:00

Hey, Eli want to read your blog so post some things for her to read. I gave her your URL address. OK. I also told her that with finals coming up you might not get to blog anymore. Will you still find a place to check your blog?

Speaking of finals, I have one more week to go then this semester will be over forever. I have eight finals and counting... After that its good-bye organic chemistry, good-bye medical microbiology, and good-bye Molecular biology... but hello biochemistry, hello medical microbiology 2 and hello genetics.... it just never ends.....

2004-12-06T23:02:00.000-08:00

I just spent 30 min typing this post about my day today and how I had to fight a vending machine for a brownie and just as I was about to post it I lost it to cyber space!!!! So now I can't recall the story because if I try it won't be as good as the first one....

Went home and came back!

2004-11-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

I had another crazy week before I got to go home so I did not have time to blog, but now I am back after a long vaccation and ready to get this semester over with. I have one more midterm (Organic Chemistry) and a couple of quizes left. My first final is this Friday. It's part one of like a three part biology final. The teacher in a Nazi!

It was good being home for a week but I always feel a little out of place when I go home. I got to see the newest members of my family. Sorry I did not get to see you Mr. Locke. I went up there kind of late and I was told that you left to San Antonio as soon as the bell rung. There's always Christmas. I feels kind of funny that all the seniors there were sophomores when I was a senior. Going back to Sunset makes me feel old.

The drive back to Utah was crazy. It started to snow around 2 am, when we were driving over the mountains, so I could not sleep. It was scary driving throught the snowy canyons. I am glad i was not the one driving.

Well, that's all for now.

Man what a week!

2004-11-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

This past week has got to be the hardest week of college ever!

Monday I got sick and had to miss some of my classes.

Tuesday I had to run home after all my classes and work on my chemistry journal, biology take home qiuz, spanish paper, and biology presentation of the pathway of the assigned hormone. I did myself a little schedule and stuck to it. I finished all of that by 1 a.m.

Wednesday, I only had two classes, so I left this day to work on my big medical microbiology paper that was due friday. So I came home, did a little search to see what bactiria I wanted to research, found some really gross ones, but finally I stuck to Bordetella pertussis. I picked it because the name sounded funy to me. So I ran to the library and found 6 book. So I ran home and looked up some journel articles on the internet. By five I started working on the actual writting of the paper. I had just got going when my roommates called me for diner. Who can say no to dinner? After a quick dinner I came back to my room and kept typing. Since I had class next morning I decided to call it quits at midnight. I had about 2/3 of my paper written. I had my intro and the adhesion mechanisms, all I had left were the toxins.

Thursday, I had to take two midterms, biology and religion. I had not studdied for either one so I decided to study for about two hours of religion, take the test, study for biology at the testing center, take the test and then come home and finish my paper. The religion test went OK. There were about four of five questions that I did not really know. I think I should have studied more for the biology test then what I actually did. Last test he foucused more on math problems, so that is what I studied. There was only two math problems in the entire test. The first one was from the second lab we did when the semester started, I did not think he would pull something that old, but he did. I think I worked like an hour at that problem, I manipulated the number in any way possible just so that I could get numbers that followed the pattern. I was praying fo a miracle, this guy does not give partial credit for problems. Finally after about two hours I got homw to my paper. I ate a quick diner and got to work. There are about five toxins that this bacteria produces, so that made my paper be four and a half pages long, the exact lenght. The paper was supposed to be 4-5 pages long so four and a half is right between there. I finished my paper at 4 a.m. I saved it like four times, I did not want my finished paper to get lost somewhere.

Friday, I got to the lad where we are going to give our presentation and all the other groups have treats. Michelle, my lab partner, and I had jocked on tuesday about backing interferon cookies, and now everyone had treats except for us. I decided to run to the book store to buy some candy. I thought of gettin cherry flavorded DNA (a.k.a. twislers) to go along with our presentation. We stubled through our presentation and finally it was over. Some guy from the pre-med group (a group of guys that are pre-med that sit together) asked a question and we really did not know the answer so I said that Heavenly Father's plan is so perfect and all will be revealed in due time. And we sat down. It was over. After two hours of that, I ran home to put the finishing touches on my paper. I proofread it, I rearelly do that, and pritied it off three hours before the deadline. I was so proud. I'll never have to writte the word pertussis angain, oops I just wrote pertussis, oh, there it is again! Well, after now I wont have to write that word again! I turned in my paper and was free to enjoy the rest of the day in front of the television set.

My roommates were playing a game and threatened to throw the remote out the window if I did not join then, I had to protect the remote so I played scategories with then for a while and then I went back to watching t.v. It was funny because the cable had been missing the channels that I frequently watch all week and after my paper was done they were back!

Anyways, CONGRATULATIONS MARIBEL ON THE NEW BABY! MIRIAM MUST BE SOOOO HAPPY, THIS IS HER FIRST GIRL RIGHT?

Sorry I have been gone so long, I had to stay off the internet all week, except for doing research, so I would not waist time. You understand....

Another BABY is here!!!

2004-11-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

Josue Arias was born today!!! My oldest sister just had her babay. He was only four pounds. The doctors told her that it was best if they went in and took him out because the placenta did not look good. She was really difficult pregnancies. My parents took off to Houston last night and they have been with her all day today. I was really woried becasue it was 8:30 pm at home and her surgery was at 6 pm, how long could it be? My mind started wondering... what if something went wrong? Finally the phone rings and its a 281 area code... I jumped out of my chair and ran for the phone. It was my dad calling to deliver the good news. The surgery only took 30 min but they were waiting to call me after 9 pm, when they have fee minutes... It was sort of funny, I was worried sick and they were woried about their minutes.

Well, that's two down one more to go. My sister-in-law will have the final nephew for the year 2004 in December. I cant wait to see the babies when I go home!

In the mean time back to trying to finish up the semester. I must try to salvage my grades. It has been one tough semester.

2004-10-31T23:41:00.000-08:00

Must keep studding.... only half way done.... only 15 midterms, 6 papers, 4 quizes and a chemistry journal left.

This appartment has never been cleaner.

2004-10-23T01:51:00.000-07:00

We had Nazi cleaning checks today. My job was to wash the walls and outlets, the door frame, the tables and chairs, the microwave and the shower. I did not know that walls could get so gross. There was banana stuff on the wall by the trash can, and jam on the leg of a chair. The shower has mold growing on the corners. Speacking of mold, I grew E. coli today in biology lab, its not mold, but I was very excited to do so. I scraped the gel to hard so I had to redo it but lukly we had enough. I don't think there is any E. coli growing in our kitchen. I cleand my room, I picked up my clothes (stuffed them in the closet) and made my bed. I actually made it all nice and neat with my pillows and Brownie, my dog, big stuffed animal that my sister Sara gave me last year for Christmas to keep me company while I am here. Most of the time he sits on my chair and when I need my chair he gets moved to the bed, but when I need the bed he goes back on the chair. That's his life. At least its better then last semester he spent four months hanging out on my top shelf. I put it under the covers once to trick my roommate into thinking that I overslept for class. She was fooled for a second but she won't admit it. Well, we passed with flying colors. The RA said that this was the cleanest appartment so far. Man, that means that there are some very disgusting appartments out there because there is stilll so much grossness in our appartment. She just kind of pocked around and did finger dust tests, she did not even smell the walls, they smell pinesol fresh. When I pointed that out she said that they looked sparkling clean. If I don't make it in college, I can start a cleaning service. JK.

Victor, I hope that everything turns out fine with your surgery. Take care, soon you'll be as good as new.

Christina, I hope you'll be back to your spunky self soon. Life without you is like a girls appartent with no chocolate, it's just not as good. I miss how we used to kick the paper balls from the science anex to the building after Dr. Sayed's biology class sophomore year. I did get to kick chunks of ice across Brigham square last year with some boys as we walked to class, but it just was not the same. That should be one of the things we do when we do that thing in April or March or when ever. Love ya.

AcDec people, get cracking (I mean books not the other stuff).

drip, drip. drip....

2004-10-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's really raining out there. I forgot how wet it gets when it rains. Rain in Utah is not very common. Usually when it rains it just drizles for a couple of hours but its been raining for two days straight and today it was real rain, almost like in Dallas.

This morning I was running around trying to get my Spanish presentation together and ended up getting really wet. I had to run to the "Cougar Creations" place in the student center to make transparencies and then I had to run to the library to print out my paper. The dumb computer there would not open my U drive so I went to two other labs before I decided to just go to the one next to my dorm. I should have just done that in my room but then I still had to go to another building and make copies of my presentation for the whole class. Lets just say that I had to give my presentation all wet and my hair was all napy. Even though I only had one class today because my other class was canceled, I ended up runing to campus several times and the rain did not let up. I changed my jeans twice because they were so soaked. Finaly after going out for ice cream with the apartment I changed into my nice warm pjs.

So here they have this thing where if the boy you like holds your hand you buy your roommates M&Ms, if he kisses you you buy then ice cream. There are other steps but if you get engaged you cook them a stake dinner. I dont know if its a BYU thing.... but at the speed that I am going, they are not getting anything from me.

By that way today was my brother Oscar's birth day (the one that turns off the lights when you ask him to close the door). He turned 12 today. He was born at home. The doctors turned my mom away from the hospital because they said it was not time. Well, after seven kids you think she'd know. My dad delivered him and then the ambulace got there.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

2004-10-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's birthday, I dont really remember how old he is now, but he is up there. Here is a random thought: Why do we say I am 19 years old? Why can't we say that we are 19 years young?

I went to the book store to look for a present. I look for a present on their birthdays but to save on mailing I take them with me for christmas. So he'll get a Birthday/Christmas present in December. Last year I got him a tie pin but it broke. The back part came off the pin, so this year I'll get him something more solid, a tie. But you have to promise not to tell him. (He wont read this blog anyways.)

There was snow on the mountain top today. That's the second time this fall. Snow on the mountain does not mean that we get snow in the valley. Down here it just goes down to 50 degeeres, not too cold. I was amazed that we have not had any forest fires this fall. Those are bad, they fill the entire valley with smoke. Later I'll have to tell you about the ones we had last year if I can remember.

The baby is here!

2004-10-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

My sister Mari just called me (she woke me up) to tell me that she went into labor yesterday and had a little baby boy, Jared. She did not know it was going to be a boy. He wanted to surprise her. Now she has Neavi, her daughter and Jared her son. I could not belive her, I hought she was playing a joke on me, untill I heard the baby cry. This is the first time that my sisters have a baby and I wont get to see them untill christmas. She said that he is a good little boy. He does not cry when he is hungry, he sucks his index finger the way I used to when I was a baby. I am so happy for her. I wish I could see them, hopefuly they'll send me pictures soon.

I am shamed by the rotten friut of my effortlessness.

2004-10-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

(This post was inspired by my comment on Noemi’s blog.)

I have spent the first month of school without putting much effort in to studding and now I am gathering the rotten fruit of my effortlessness. I failed the organic chemistry test. Lets just say that I know less than half of the material. I trusted that because I had read that stuff last year, I could wing this test. Boy was I wrong! I also failed an intro to clinical science quiz. I love that class! I studied but the one hour that I studied before class was not enough. Cramming backfired and I got all the names of the white blood cells confused.

I was telling Victor (or I wrote it on Noemi’s blog) that I have been spending too much time with my high school pal the TV. The past two weeks (when midterms started) I just could not bring myself to turn off the TV. I would turn it on while I was making something to eat and then just stay there the rest of the night. It has been my secret addiction for years. As I child, when all my siblings were outside playing I was inside soaking up information from the TV. I love to watch nature or nova on pbs but when that is not on I resort to lame TV shows or even infomercials. Once the Cyclops has hypnotized me, all notion of time and all my worries just fade away into my subconscious.

I am really saddened that I am doing so badly in school, I love school. The things that we are exposed to here are just mind-boggling amazing. I mean I just can’t get enough on the structure of the DNA, how perfectly it all works together, how much information is coiled into such tiny molecules, everything necessary to begin a new life.
I must gather every inch of energy within me and today more then ever study like I have never studied before. I cannot shame my name. I will do better.

Walking sucks! My shoes are evil!

2004-10-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

Yeah, walking suks and my shoes are evil. The shoes that I wore for church today scraped the entire back of my ankle. There was blood everywhere. About mid way through our walk to church the back of my ankle started to burn. I did not even had to look, I could tell, it was bad. I have not worn these shoes since last winter. They are thick (about two inches), perfect for walking in the snow. Except now I remember that I never wore these shoes to church in the snow. I wore tennis shoes and then changed my shoes before entering the building. That's why they did not hurt me before, because I did not wear them to walk. I had to sit through three hours of church with my ankels on fire. I could not even go down the stairs. I ened up limping to whole way home. I know what you are thinking, "Why didn't you just take off your shoes?" Well, I'd rather have burning ankels then burning bottom of my feet.

I could not help but to think of what the Mormon pioneers must have gone through. They walked from Missuri to the Utah Valley. They indured bleeding toes and even frozen feet. Wow, what curage and dedication.

Senior year I feared that I would end my first year in college with a few less toes, but now I see that it's not that cold, and the walk is not long. But I'll still wear two pairs of socks just in case.

Today,

2004-10-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

Went to walmart and came back, nothing exciting. I got a new watch. It's digital because it always takes me a while to read the time. Now I'll always now what time it is. It even has a calander so I'll even know the date. That is about as interesting as my life gets.

We watched a movie (How to lose a guy in 10 days). It was funny. There were three guys in aour appartment watching. They were asking all sorts of questions. We also watched John Q, that is the sadest movie I've ever seen, (besides The fox and the Hound, and the part of Lion King where Simba's dad dies.)

So I get to have a boring weekend while my family is out parting. Meliza Mares had her fifteen today and my brother and sister were standing up in it. I got to miss it cause I'm at school.... happy, happy, joy, joy.

Exercise!!! What's that?

2004-10-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Ya-Nee thinks we should go jogging on Saturday mornings. Told her I would if she could get me out of bed on Saturday morning. Saturdays are my days. Sundays are the Lord's days and Monday through Friday afternoon are shcool days. (Friday night is party time, hah! Not on this campus.)

I should execise more often. Exercising releases chemicals that releave stress (I know what they are called I just cant spell it...). Releaiving stress is a big thing especially while in college, but there is no way that she's going to drag me out of bed! I'll exercise when its for a grade... untill then, I can keep on sleeping. Besides is not as if running all around campus is not exercise enough. Last week I actullay ran around trying to find a computer lab open to print my paper. I was so sore the next day... I think I pulled a muscle.

Avoiding Homework

2004-10-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

I got back from the testing center two hours ago, I've been on the computer for about an hour now. I am just avoiding homewok. I went around to read some bloggs but I was very disappointed. Where are all the bloggers? No one has updated since the first of October. Some since September (Christina!). I was really excited to get my blog but no one is reading it or even posting on their own bloggs. I might just have to stop blogging. I did find Superchick's was updated. Is everyone to busy for bloggs. Well, if I can make time so can you!

Today I took a Molecular Biology Lab test (a lot of math). I don't know if I passed because the test was written. I went in there expecting a miltiple choice test and they hand me a written. It was like expecting a brownie and they gave you icecream. Both are equally as good, but it just was not what I was expecting. I wanted a multiple choice test because if I could not work out the problem, at least I had a chance to guess, but in a written one, there was no way I could guess at the answer without woking it out. Man, I was bumbed. There is a guy who works at the testing center who is positive that he has meet me before in DT (Deseret Towers, the dorms I used to live in last year). But I can not for the life of me remember ever seeing him. He said he was in our lobby all the time because he was dating a girl that lived there, but I never hung out in the lobby. I only passed by on my way to the cafeteria. This is the second time I've seen him at the testing center this semester and he is still sure that he knows me. I don't think my memory is that bad. I just thought it was strange.

In the clinical lab that I have, where we've been analyzing blood, we moved on to Urinalisis. Yeah, that was an intresting day. I wont go much into deatil, but I will say that I ended up running out of the lecture cause I could not wait any longer. I grabed a cup and ran as fast as I could for a restroom. After all I had just finished drinking two tall glasses of water and a bottle of water on my way to class, I HAD TO GO! The teacher understood. Poor Ya-Nee had to hold it for three hours. We analyzed it for a bunch of things. We even saw it under a microsope. It's amazing what you can find. It was a very interesting experiance that I never want to have to personaly do again.

The Princeton Review on BYU

2004-10-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

BYU ranked 5th on the "Top 10 Most Politically Conservative Colleges," according to surveys given by the Princeton Review. This is what they had to say:

5. Brigham Young University (UT)
One can't separate Brigham Young University and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the school's sponsoring faith. From the student body to the "stringent" honor code (which regulates not only academic behavior but also dress, hair length, diet, and sexual activity) to the heavy religious studies requirement, BYU serves the needs of America's Mormon community first and foremost. Those few non-Mormons we heard from in our survey suggest that outsiders considering the school strongly consider their ability to live within Mormonism's strict requirements. "Life at BYU is a lot different than a typical university life," explains a typical undergrad. "Students here do not participate in activities that are in contrast with our religious beliefs." Some, however, warn that "the nonconformist will find a dull social life with difficulty finding someone [who] will be their friend, regardless of who they are or what they believe."

I have mixed feelings about our rank number. We have also been ranked the number one stone cold sober school in the nation.

Texas A&M at College Station was ranked first and UT-D was number seven. Some of the others include the Air Force and the Naval Academy. UT-Austin was ranked seventh in the "Ten Schools That Party the Heartiest."

I gave up the party school for the conservative one and so far I am happy with my trade off. Reputation is one of the things you must look in to when searching for the right college. All though my mom says that what school you go to does not matter as long as you want to learn. Which is true I guess but the atmosphere that the school provides is vital to the rhythm of study.

A Month!!!!

2004-09-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

It just occurred to me that I have been in school for a whole month! Wow, it went by so fast. Now we are getting to my least favorite part of school, the midterms. No matter how much I study, I still fail them.

Some colleges have what is called as a "testing center." They come in all shapes and sizes. Basically it’s just a place where you take exams any time you want. You do have to take them during the days the teacher designated though. The testing center at BYU is the biggest in the nation. We have an entire building for a testing center. The entire top floor is nothing but infinite rows of desks. There are special rooms in the bottom floor for online tests and one that plays soothing music. My roommate Elisabeth says that she has a lucky chair. I wanted to borrow it but I think I would break it. Anyways after the tests are graded they post the scores on several t.v. screens by the down stairs exits. You have to look up you ID number so no one knows it's you. When you get a really good score, anything above a 90, they flash big red "CONGRATULATIONS" by your number. The whole time I have been here, I have only seen it twice by my name; once last year and once Monday. I always leave the testing center almost in tears.

Why do teachers have to make tests so hard! Do they get together to see who can come up with the hardest questions? Multiple-choice tests are even harder. Some teachers have the: a, b, c, d, choices and then they throw in e) all of the above, f) some of the above but not all of the above, and g) none of the above. I mean if it’s none of the above then why ask that in the first place!

I should go study. I have a Biology midterm tomorrow, a Chemistry one on Monday, another Biology (lab) one on Tuesday and you know what, one every week until thanksgiving! It's not so bad when you have one every week, it's when you have three or four a week that kills you.

But don't let this discourage anyone from going to college because not every college is the same and somehow it always turns out OK. I am just giving you a heads up. Now you'll know what to expect.

O positive

2004-09-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today I had the opportunity to test my own blood to see which blood type I am. Oh, this was for my intro to clinical lab techniques. I had to prick my own finger and collect my blood in a test tube. I don't know where I got the strength to voluntarily make myself bleed. I am one of the best bleeders in the class. It is amazing how fast the blood moves in your body. I wonder how fast it really moves? The tests were fairly easy, you just add the indicators and look for it to clot. We also had to test our lab partner’s blood. She was O positive too. And the best of all, we had to test and unknown, which usually is unknown but today the teacher said that the volunteers were President Monson and President Hinckley. I could not believe it. I don't know if the teacher just said that or if she was serious. She did have the test tubes labeled Pres. Monson and Pres. Hinckley. So I tested President Monson and he has A positive blood. That was the highlight of my day. After that I spent four hours studding for a test that I failed. I learned that I have to make sure I understand every concept as we learn it not try to learn it the day of the test. I wish I could say that I learn from my mistakes but that mistake was repeated all of my first semester. Well, this just means that I have to study harder, and pray harder too.

I am glad to see that people actually read this blog.

2004-09-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

So yeah. I had stopped blogging because no one was reading the blog besides Mr. Locke and Mrs. Grimes and they all ready know what college was like. But now that I see that you actually read it; I'll try to blog at least once a week.

My weekend was very uneventfull as are all my weekends. My weekends constitute of our weekly trip to Walmart to buy food. Yesterday's trip was not as exciting as some in the past.

The first one was quite an experience. I have lived here for almost a year but last year I never left the dorms. I had no need to leave campus when I had open access to the cafeteria. I was not familiar with the bus schedules or routes but my friend and I decided to have an adventure. It was more the fact that I had run out of food then the desire for adventure that convinced me to go. Bus pass in hand, back pack over my shoulder, Ya-Nee and I set out on our quest for food.

Waiting for the bus I noticed it was getting very cloudy but I had to be brave. I had to bring home the bacon. Actually I needed chicken to make tostadas. After half an hour the big white and blue metal monster finally pulled up to the stop and I had to conquer all my fears of ridding in buses to sit down on a seat. My mind wondered for a moment on all the butts that have touched that seat before mine, all the germs and critters that are all around, but I told myself, "Self, think happy thoughts," and so I did. Thinking of all the food I could make once this trip was over made time go by quickly. I could see the side of the walls of what I thought was Walmart. A brief moment of confusion sat in, I thought I was going to miss the stop so I pulled on the "Stop Requested" string and tried to get off. I was off the bus when my friend, Ya-Nee pulls me back in. It was the wrong stop. Embarrassed I sat back down and waited patiently for the right stop. Finally, we arrived.

After two hours of weaving in and out of the mass crowd of shopping carts I made it to the front of the line. Once our shopping was done, we made preparations for our journey home. I packed the chicken and as much of what I bought into my back pack. Then we darted out the door. I thought we had missed the bus. With Walmart bags on our hands and chicken on my back we crossed the street and walked one block to the bus stop. When we looked at the schedule on the stop sign we were outraged to see that would be 30 min until the next bus would come. To make matters worse, the rain kicked in. 35 minutes later, the roaring from the metal monster was heard once more. I have never been happier to see the bus like I was that day.

And so, this journey is repeated every Saturday. And soon the rain will turn into snow, and the freshly made tostadas will turn into canned soup. But life goes on.

It's been a while

2004-09-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick update as to why I have not blogged. I just realized that six out of my eight classes are science classes. Translation; homework forever. I have spent an average if five hours daily on home work and you know what that is not enough. It takes me five hrs to do the minimum to get by. I don’t fully understand the reading assignments, class helps a little bit, but I’ll have to reread everything for the midterms. All the lectures for the science classes touch the same topics. Hopefully the repetition will help me learn everything well.

On top of all the homework I caught a cold from one of my roommates. It is funny that I was just learning all about immunology. In one of my labs we just finished looking at all the different white blood cell types. It was incredible to actually look at the white blood cells. It was like looking at another galaxy; thousands of red blood cells and every once in awhile a white blood cell, each looks different from the next. In that same lab we got to test our own blood for anemia. One of my tests turned out positive, and the other negative, so there is a 50% chance that I am anemic, there is also a 50% chance that I am not anemic. I don’t know where I got the strength to prick my own finger but I did it.

That is all for today, I need my rest so I can fight this cold.

Wednesday is not that bad...

2004-09-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today was not that bad had it not been for the massive pedestrian traffic jam. I only had two classes Spanish at 9 a.m. and Religion at 10 a.m, but I did had to wake up real early (7:20) so I could go to the computer lab to finish my religion home work before Spanish class. I finished just on time and took a brisk walk across the street to my first class for the day. I showed off my Spanish skills a little bit and was out the door to my next class which would have been a synch except for I have to walk by the construction site that is surrounded by a fence that leaves only the side walk next to the library to walk on except that side walk is comparatively small. Going into the narrow side walk, we looked like sheep being herded into the pin. Once inside I could hear many sarcastic comments from above; no, not from God, but from the really tall guys that are so abundant at BYU. One guy said it looked like a concentration camp; crowds of people surrounded by fences. I could see that the congestion lasted the entire south and west sides of the fence. For about 30 seconds the line did not move. Another one said we needed stop lights.After about 10 min of being stuck in pedestrian traffic, I got to class late and had to sit in the back of the room.

So good luck to all for you at Sunset that will have to walk from the new portables that do not have electricity to the unorganized portables on the other side of the construction site.

The Second Day is much like the first...

2004-08-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

The second day is much like the first because your Monday classes are not the same as your Tuesday classes.

Tuesday I have Medical Microbiology 1 (MMBio 353) at 9 am. I saw a lot of my friends from the chemistry classes last semester. I was excited to see them.

Then I had Intro to Organic Chemistry (Chem). We learned some Ochem last year, and I was surprised that I understood most of what the professor was talking about.

Then I have a one hr. break that is reserved for BYU devotionals, or a one hr. speech on various topics and from various people, some professors, poets, or general authority. BUT today we did not have one so I went to eat lunch with some friends at the Cougar Eat; a mall food court type of place. I spent about 45 min waiting in line and about 2 min eating.

I had to run to my Molecular Biology (BIO) class. That is the last time I eat there. I figured it will be much faster to go home (a cross the street) to eat a sandwich. The Bio class was filled with the same people that took Bio 220 in the winter with the exception of a few RMs (returned missionaries). Only at BYU do they treat the status of having returned from a church mission as a title.

I have a free hr. after Bio and before my next class to blow off, which will turn into me trying to do the home work before class. I get a sort of rush like athletes do from trying desperately to finish home work on time. But today I had to walk off campus (which I rarely do) to buy the Biology packet that contains 40 to 50 pages that I’ll never read for that class ($6.75).

And finally, I got to my Intro to Clinical Lab Techniques class (MMBio 102). I was so excited because in this class we get to do some of the tests that I would have to do if I work in a hospital lab, which includes all sorts of blood tests and a rumored pee test. I was so excited that I just could not keep my mouth shut! Usually I never talk in class because it’s a whole different ball game but in this class I was asking questions left and right.

After classes I had to buy my books. I could not put it off any longer so I hunted them down in the book store and raced to the back of the line, which was coiled through out the entire top floor of the book store, and slowly inched my way to the cash register briefing my self with every step for what was to come. Once there, I had just enough strength in me to slowly raise the books to the counter and wait for the cahier to ring me up. Total $256.63 and I still need more books that they ran out of…..

First Day of Class

2004-08-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of class at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. This is my second year here so I kind of know the ropes. By the way my name is Ana. I graduated from Sunset in 2003. I had a lot of the same teachers you have or will have. I grew up in Oak Cliff just like most of you and now here I am as living proof that a little hard work can take you anywhere you want to go. From the beginning I knew that I wanted to go to college, I just did not know where. But through much prayers and careful consideration I decided that BYU was best for me. Last year was fun, extremely hard, but fun and now I want to share this year with you.

So I am trying to major in Clinical Lab Science and in Spanish Translation, which means a lot of biology, chemistry, micro biology and Spanish classes. You know mayors are a funny thing… at first you don’t have one, then you have about three or four of them and you can not make up your mind, then you change them like you change your socks and finally after taking lots of classes you did not need, you make up you mind and hope that after a couple years of working in the real world you still like it. But for now they are great conversation starters. Guys use them to impress the pretty girls; girls use them to sound sophisticated and so on, but I a happy with my decision so far.

Today I woke up late!!! Last night I set the alarm for 7:30, but I forgot to turn on the “ON” button, so this morning I was dreaming about missing my first day of school because I woke up late when I woke up and it was 8:35. I hurried out of bed got ready in less then 20 minutes and was out the door. Luckily, I live in the dorms right across the street from campus and was in class before the teacher.

During my two hour break I ran back home so I could have breakfast, a cream cheese and ham on toast sandwich, and then get back to campus for my next class. My last class for the day which is supposed to be three hours long ended after the teachers finished explain what the class was about and we got to leave, hurray!! Since I had a few unexpected free hours I found myself in a sea of mad chaos trying to buy my books at the book store and found that I could only afford one ($44).

So until next time, this is one exhausted college student signing off.