Hi guys!
Here is my potential schedule for next fall. Hopefully it works out and hopefully this post will work so you can see my file!
I love you lots!
Eliza
Monday, March 29, 2010
On Friday, my roommates and I watched Gone with the Wind. I loved the books, but I'd never seen the movie, which is sad because it's a classic. The acting was amazing, and I really liked it. I highly recommend the book and the movie.
And this also applied to my Sunday school lesson! We talked about how trials can make you better. In Gone with the Wind, the only time that Scarlett is really likeable is when she's going through trials trying to stay alive and keep Tara going. When she has resources she's bratty, selfish, and awful. But when everybody's lives rely on her, she works hard and stubbornly keeps them alive. It makes me wonder if we're all better under pressure, or whether it's just the stubborn ones of us...
Military Mormon jokes
Thursday I went to see General David H. Petraeus, the guy in charge of Central Command (aka the U.S. military in the Middle East), with Amy. He was actually really funny, and he gave ten reasons why BYU students make good solders:
10 — They have already been on many a mission.
9 — Army chow is no problem for folks accustomed to eating green Jell-o and shredded
carrots.
8 — It’s not a problem if they don’t know what rank someone is, they just refer to them
as Brother or Sister so-and-so.
7 — They never go AWOL. They just call it being less active.
6 — They will seize any objective swiftly if you tell them refreshments will be
served.
5 — They know how to make things happen. In fact if you ever need a base built quickly in a
barren wasteland, stride out to where you want them to start, plant your walking stick down
and say in a loud voice, “This is the place.”
4 — They have innovative ideas for handling insurgents — like assigning them home
teachers.
3 — They always have a years’ supply of provisions on hand.
2 — They are the world’s most reliable designated drivers.
1 — They understand how far Iraq has come over the last seven years, and they
think that Iraq’s old spot in the “Axis of Evil” can now be filled by the
University of Utah.
They made me laugh. I hope they make you laugh too!
Love,
Eliza
10 — They have already been on many a mission.
9 — Army chow is no problem for folks accustomed to eating green Jell-o and shredded
carrots.
8 — It’s not a problem if they don’t know what rank someone is, they just refer to them
as Brother or Sister so-and-so.
7 — They never go AWOL. They just call it being less active.
6 — They will seize any objective swiftly if you tell them refreshments will be
served.
5 — They know how to make things happen. In fact if you ever need a base built quickly in a
barren wasteland, stride out to where you want them to start, plant your walking stick down
and say in a loud voice, “This is the place.”
4 — They have innovative ideas for handling insurgents — like assigning them home
teachers.
3 — They always have a years’ supply of provisions on hand.
2 — They are the world’s most reliable designated drivers.
1 — They understand how far Iraq has come over the last seven years, and they
think that Iraq’s old spot in the “Axis of Evil” can now be filled by the
University of Utah.
They made me laugh. I hope they make you laugh too!
Love,
Eliza
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Yellow sunglasses
Nothing really exciting, but I just wanted to show you guys my new sunglasses that I got in Las Vegas!
Also, spiritual thought of the day is here
Now I'm off to study for my chem test and write the research paper for my Islam class.
<3
Eliza
Also, spiritual thought of the day is here
Now I'm off to study for my chem test and write the research paper for my Islam class.
<3
Eliza
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spiritual thought
Well guys, you may have noticed I'm not doing the weekly monologues anymore. Along with the change of making posts more frequent and shorter, I'm going to start putting links to spiritual thoughts in them. So, the first one is here
<3
Eliza
<3
Eliza
Vegas
So, for those of you who haven't heard, I went to Vegas this weekend. My roommate Amy lives there, so Kirsi, Amy, and I decided to go for the weekend! We left Friday afternoon and pulled into Vegas that evening to watch Amy's sister Sarah play a game of powderpuff football. We went to Amy's house, where we had a delicious meal, and then watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding before going to bed!
Thursday was great. We got a huge breakfast spread, then went shopping at H&M and the mall before going to the Las Vegas Strip. We walked around the Bellagio and the Forum, where I picked up a Mother's day present... :) We shared appetizers at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Then we just wandered around City Center and walked up and down the strip before going back to the car to avoid the drunk people that were starting to come out as late afternoon turned to evening.
Here is my take on Las Vegas, particularly the strip. There is such a huge divide. There is the overwhelming opulence of the huge hotels, some of which change their millions-of-dollar displays weekly or monthly. Then there are the beggars sitting at the side of the roads holding signs saying "I won't lie - it's for beer," and the people dressed in grungy pants and oversized t-shirts snapping cards for nightclubs and drinking parties as you walk by on the sidewalk. You can't look down or up, because those cards are scattered all over the sidewalks and there are billboards for different clubs up above the roadways. But down the street there is a M&M world playhouse for little kids, not to mention the temple only a few miles away. The marble bathrooms in the hotels are contrasted with the dirty, gum-covered sidewalks and greasy gutters. And tourists buying trinkets at the numerous jewelry stores walk right by the nightclubs where desperate people resort to desperate measures to survive. The opulent parts were cool to see, and it was fun to look at the flower displays, the choreographed water shows, and the impressive architecture. But even doing that left me with a dirty taste in my mouth. I'm not really in a position where I can do a lot to help someone overcome an addiction that is supported by begging on the side of the road. But I'm walking the same halls as the people who can ignore others and even take advantage of them, all for a little fun. I can understand why people get drunk in sin city - how could you live with yourself being there, ignoring others' suffering, without drinking your conscience away? Then that made me think - what am I doing, that I can even look down my nose at these people? It's not like I'm doing a lot to make the world a better place. I guess right now what I can do is just make everyone around me a little bit happier, and work my hardest to get in a position where I CAN help those people. It's a little hard to balance it all.
So, enough with the gloomy self-reflection. We had a fun time at the strip, and then we went back to Amy's house to watch the last half of the BYU basketball game. Unfortunately, we lost. But Amy's dad made steak and her mom made a delicious salad that reminded me of Sarah Salad, so that helped us to get over the loss. We went out and stuck our feet in the hot tub and talked for a while, about life the universe, and everything. Then we came in and watched Tuck Everlasting, which is pretty much like Twilight except that the girl makes the right choice and lives her life without giving up everything for some guy who could make her live forever. It was fun.
This morning we went to church with Amy, then came home and ate lunch before packing up and leaving. We stopped in Cedar to have dinner with Kirsi's grandparents, which was great fun. We got home late tonight, and now I need to get ready for this CRAZY week coming up. Talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Eliza
P.S. I bet you'll be surprised - I was the first one ready to leave every time we went somewhere. When we left to go to Las Vegas, when we were going to the strip, when we went to church, and when we left Vegas for home. Ha!
Thursday was great. We got a huge breakfast spread, then went shopping at H&M and the mall before going to the Las Vegas Strip. We walked around the Bellagio and the Forum, where I picked up a Mother's day present... :) We shared appetizers at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Then we just wandered around City Center and walked up and down the strip before going back to the car to avoid the drunk people that were starting to come out as late afternoon turned to evening.
Here is my take on Las Vegas, particularly the strip. There is such a huge divide. There is the overwhelming opulence of the huge hotels, some of which change their millions-of-dollar displays weekly or monthly. Then there are the beggars sitting at the side of the roads holding signs saying "I won't lie - it's for beer," and the people dressed in grungy pants and oversized t-shirts snapping cards for nightclubs and drinking parties as you walk by on the sidewalk. You can't look down or up, because those cards are scattered all over the sidewalks and there are billboards for different clubs up above the roadways. But down the street there is a M&M world playhouse for little kids, not to mention the temple only a few miles away. The marble bathrooms in the hotels are contrasted with the dirty, gum-covered sidewalks and greasy gutters. And tourists buying trinkets at the numerous jewelry stores walk right by the nightclubs where desperate people resort to desperate measures to survive. The opulent parts were cool to see, and it was fun to look at the flower displays, the choreographed water shows, and the impressive architecture. But even doing that left me with a dirty taste in my mouth. I'm not really in a position where I can do a lot to help someone overcome an addiction that is supported by begging on the side of the road. But I'm walking the same halls as the people who can ignore others and even take advantage of them, all for a little fun. I can understand why people get drunk in sin city - how could you live with yourself being there, ignoring others' suffering, without drinking your conscience away? Then that made me think - what am I doing, that I can even look down my nose at these people? It's not like I'm doing a lot to make the world a better place. I guess right now what I can do is just make everyone around me a little bit happier, and work my hardest to get in a position where I CAN help those people. It's a little hard to balance it all.
So, enough with the gloomy self-reflection. We had a fun time at the strip, and then we went back to Amy's house to watch the last half of the BYU basketball game. Unfortunately, we lost. But Amy's dad made steak and her mom made a delicious salad that reminded me of Sarah Salad, so that helped us to get over the loss. We went out and stuck our feet in the hot tub and talked for a while, about life the universe, and everything. Then we came in and watched Tuck Everlasting, which is pretty much like Twilight except that the girl makes the right choice and lives her life without giving up everything for some guy who could make her live forever. It was fun.
This morning we went to church with Amy, then came home and ate lunch before packing up and leaving. We stopped in Cedar to have dinner with Kirsi's grandparents, which was great fun. We got home late tonight, and now I need to get ready for this CRAZY week coming up. Talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Eliza
P.S. I bet you'll be surprised - I was the first one ready to leave every time we went somewhere. When we left to go to Las Vegas, when we were going to the strip, when we went to church, and when we left Vegas for home. Ha!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Workout clothes
So this morning I went to bed at 3:30 (paper-writing) and got up at 6:30 to the first alarm. It was crazy - a minor miracle. I went to class, where the TA didn't show and so I went do a different section of Chem 105 to do the worksheet. I am such a good student. Then I went to the gym, read political science on the elliptical, and went to basketball!
Highlights of basketball: stealing the ball from the 6'7" guy on the other team just as he was scooping it up to take the shot, making a shot from outside the key, past the free-throw line, and... well, that was pretty much it, but it was awesome. Unfortunately, we lost, but that's okay too.
After basketball I headed home to work on the paper. Learned to caramelize almonds, and they are addictive. Worked on the paper til 4:50 (it had to be turned in on-campus by 5 in order to get the minimal deduction, as it was actually due yesterday) and then threw back on my running shoes and sprinted to campus.
When I got back, I started working on cleaning checks. I really love cleaning checks. Thanks mom for teaching me to clean efficiently and effectively. I can get my work done in an hour to an hour-and-a-half compared to some girls in our building who take up to 5 hours. (And don't worry that my cleaning is sub-par. Today my RA Stephanie told me that the couch I'd vacuumed was one of the cleanest she'd ever checked.) I worked on that, throwing in some dinner of leftover corned beef and cabbage and a thirsty Thursday party at the room next door, and then had the cleaning check. But right before my RA arrived I got a new PR: my blood sugar was 30. Whoo hoo! Not really, but it gave me a great excuse to un-freeze a piece of zucchini bread :)
Oh, and exciting news for tomorrow: I'm going to VEGAS!!! Amy, Kirsi, and I are leaving at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, and we're coming back Sunday night. It is so exciting!! Now I just have to go a) write the paper that is due on Monday, b) study for the test that's Monday-Wednesday, c) do a bunch of assignments that are due at midnight, and d) dance.
I don't know why I need to dance, but I just do. Maybe because the windows are open and it's rainy but warm outside...
<3
Eliza
Highlights of basketball: stealing the ball from the 6'7" guy on the other team just as he was scooping it up to take the shot, making a shot from outside the key, past the free-throw line, and... well, that was pretty much it, but it was awesome. Unfortunately, we lost, but that's okay too.
After basketball I headed home to work on the paper. Learned to caramelize almonds, and they are addictive. Worked on the paper til 4:50 (it had to be turned in on-campus by 5 in order to get the minimal deduction, as it was actually due yesterday) and then threw back on my running shoes and sprinted to campus.
When I got back, I started working on cleaning checks. I really love cleaning checks. Thanks mom for teaching me to clean efficiently and effectively. I can get my work done in an hour to an hour-and-a-half compared to some girls in our building who take up to 5 hours. (And don't worry that my cleaning is sub-par. Today my RA Stephanie told me that the couch I'd vacuumed was one of the cleanest she'd ever checked.) I worked on that, throwing in some dinner of leftover corned beef and cabbage and a thirsty Thursday party at the room next door, and then had the cleaning check. But right before my RA arrived I got a new PR: my blood sugar was 30. Whoo hoo! Not really, but it gave me a great excuse to un-freeze a piece of zucchini bread :)
Oh, and exciting news for tomorrow: I'm going to VEGAS!!! Amy, Kirsi, and I are leaving at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, and we're coming back Sunday night. It is so exciting!! Now I just have to go a) write the paper that is due on Monday, b) study for the test that's Monday-Wednesday, c) do a bunch of assignments that are due at midnight, and d) dance.
I don't know why I need to dance, but I just do. Maybe because the windows are open and it's rainy but warm outside...
<3
Eliza
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Of empty peanut butter jars and papers
Okay, I am officially on a peanut butter ban. Again. I ate three jars of it last semester by the end of October, and then didn't buy any until mid-February of this semester. Now, I've finished off another jar. I am officially addicted. And I refuse to buy any more peanut butter for the rest of the semester. Sigh. It's just so good!
On a side note, I finally got a research topic for the paper that was due today at five! Working on it now, hopefully I'll turn it in less than 24 hours late, so I'll get minimal deductions... And it's my first late paper of the semester, of which I am very proud.
<3
Eliza
P.S. I love this blog. I've been reading it for several days, and I think it's just too cute.
Hopefully this picture posted... If you can see it, do you like my celebration of St. Patty's day? I got up too late to dye the milk, and forgot (oops) to wear a green shirt, but when I made oatmeal for lunch (with peanut butter, raisins, and chocolate chips, yum) I decided that I would be in the spirit.
What are you doing to celebrate?
P.S. I am wearing a green hair tie, so I'm not completely out of it...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Roommates and dates
Hello, all! This week has been tough but good. Quick rundown, coming right up!
On Monday my FHE was planned by one of the other apartments in our FHE group. They sent out fliers telling us to come in black/army gear. All of the girls just showed up in black pants and dark sweatshirts, but the guys went all out. One of them wore camo borrowed from a guy who's actually in the military, two wore camo shirts, and all of them had black and green facepaint and fake facial hair. So we got there and got facepaint (although the girls only got eyeliner lines on our cheeks, lame!) before having a spiritual thought, on the Armies of Helaman of course. Then we got plastic tubes and marshmallows and marched up to Deseret Tower Fields. Yes, we had a marshmallow war. It was awesome. My Canadian friend Jasmine and I teamed up, and we said we were Victor and Wolverine because we were shooting back-to-back and we're Canadian. It was pretty great. Obviously we won.
On Tuesday I made zucchini bread and orange melt-in-your-mouth cookies. The cookies were for a Relief Society activity where we doorbell-ditched the other Relief Society in our ward, in Fugal. Unfortunately the entire apartment was supposed to make them and I was the only one who took the initiative. Then Madi came, asked me which plate was for the activity, took them and left. Kirsi went with her, but at least she acknowledged that I'd made them. Then Ashley and Shyler ate a bunch, so there weren't enough left to take them to my visiting teachees, as I'd hoped to do. Urgh. I left the pan, spatula, and glaze bowl out because I wasn't about to clean up from what they'd taken advantage of. They were there for two days before I finally cleaned them up. And someone left half a cookie on the plate so she wouldn't have to clean it. It made me rather upset with my roommates, but there's not a lot I can do about their lack of initiative and common courtesy.....
I was up that night until 3 am writing a polisci paper, which I still didn't finish. The next morning I got up, went to my classes, worked on my paper until 4:45, then printed it out and turned it in with three minutes to spare. I went to a group study room in the library and studied chemistry for an hour before Majid, a guy I was interviewing for an intro to Islam paper, came and I interviewed him. He was really nice, and the interview was actually quite fun and educational. He left at about 7:15, at which point I resumed studying chemistry. I finished reading through my notes for the section, wrote an index card's worth of information, and then went to the testing center to take my test! Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that the test was comprehensive, and so it was a little bit exciting, but by the time I finished at 10, I was too tired to care.
Thursday was amazing!!! I got up and went to chemistry, and then walked to the library with this guy from my class named Blaine. On the way over I asked him to the group date for Friday. It was a bit empowering :) Then I went to the gym and worked out for a while before going to basketball. Bball was kinda lame because now we're playing for tournament spots in the class, so none of the guys pass the ball to the girls anymore... Oh well. I got done with that and ran home to get ready. JulieAnn Personius (my high school water polo coach) came to visit me! It was so wonderful. She got here at around noon, and I took her on a tour around campus while we caught up. The weather was beautiful - about fifty degrees! Then we went to lunch at Zupa's, which is this wonderful little soup/salad/sandwich place. We were there for about an hour and a half, just talking. When we left, it was snowing. Oh Utah weather... Then we went back to my apartment, where JulieAnn looked up an old friend of hers who she visited on the way back to Salt Lake. It was sad to see her go but the care package I got from home brightened me up! Mom sent me elderberry syrup, applesauce, a mini-loaf of bread, delish oatmeal cookies, pound cake, gum, clovers, and a Sonora II recipe book with all of the delicious ward activity dishes from the past ten years!!! Whoo! So exciting. So for the rest of Thursday I ate good food from home, did (some) homework, and then went to my next door neighbor's Thirsty Thursday party, where we drank soda, ate cookies, and played spoons. Awesome.
Friday I went to my classes, did homework, and then went back to my apartment. Heidi and I ran over at 4:30 to get tickets for the Honors Symposium, where our Late Summer Honors Professor, Dr. Gong, will be speaking. It was the last day they were on sale for a reduced price, but when we got there they were sold out!! We got on the waiting list, so hopefully we get in :( Then we went back and I started cleaning up my apartment for the group date. I put away all the dirty dishes my roommates had left in the sink (ugh) except for Madi's egg dish, from Monday. I talked to the others, and they agreed that she didn't clean any of her dishes so we should wrap this one up and put it on her desk. That was slightly satisfying. But anyways, not to be vindictive... I cleaned up the kitchen and then decided to use up my artisan bread dough from almost two weeks ago for a pizza for our party! So I rolled out the dough just before Heidi and Katheryn came over to help me set up. We brought an extra couch in and set up apples to apples, after which Katheryn left to wait for her date while Heidi and I stayed at my apartment. Blaine came at about 8:05, and we talked for about half an hour (the three of us...) before Heidi's blind date Derek showed up. Then we started playing apples to apples. It was pretty fun, but probably a little awkward for poor Derek, who didn't know any of us. Then at 9 Katheryn and her date Chris finally showed up, because he'd been taking a test. We continued playing apples to apples, eating cheesecake and pizza, and talking until about 9:45, at which point we made popcorn and settled down to watch the Bourne Identity. It was a pretty good movie, with lots of action and fun ambiguity. I enjoyed it. We got done just before the midnight curfew, so we analyzed the movie for a few minutes and then booted the boys out. I got a parting hug and am now wondering if Blaine will ask me out... we'll see. Dad probably hopes he won't, because he's an RM... :)
On Saturday I got up late and Heidi and I went to the gym to do some weights. We went from there to the International Cinema on campus, where they show free movies every week. We watched Slumdog Millionaire, which was very good even when watched from the floor (because there weren't enough seats for all the people there). Then I went home and did some homework until it was time to leave on my date at 6:40. I went with Ben Smith from my Late Summer Honors class, and we attended BYU's Hunger Banquet. At the hunger banquet, 10% of the people are randomly assigned to sit at tables and have a gourmet catered meal, 20% sit on chairs eating hot dogs, chips, and soda, and the other 70% sit on the floor eating rice and beans with tortillas and a plastic bag full of water (no utensils). We were on the floor, which was actually pretty fun. There were Indian dancers, people chanting the Hare Krishna, and a keynote speaker from Paraguay. Afterwards we looked at the artwork and then didn't really know what to do, so we went back to my apartment and made chocolate-cinnamon bars. They were DELICIOUS! And it was pretty fun because it had been hard to talk at the hunger banquet (noisy and surrounded by people) plus the whole friendship-date thing was different for me. But we had a great time talking while making cookies, and they were amazing. I sent him home with a plate of them and then greeted each of my roommates as they arrived home from their various activities. I went to bed at midnight, which was a minor miracle :)
Today I woke up just in time to go to a Compassionate Service meeting, and then I went visiting teaching. I've discovered it works much better if I assign Shyler to either schedule or give the lesson. Today I gave the lesson and we got our visiting teaching on the first Sunday of the month for the second month in a row! (Oh, and last week our relief society had 100% visiting teaching!) Then I went to hall meeting, after which Amy taught me a more effective method for curling very straight hair. We went to church, where I was promptly asked to give a talk two weeks from now. Unfortunately, I'm going to be in Las Vegas that weekend, but I told Brother Frederico that I'd be very willing to give a talk any other week. I felt really bad about it, though. Anyways, church was great, as always, and I'm really excited because our Relief Society is doing a service activity on Tuesday where we're going into Maeser (the guy's hall in our ward) and cleaning their kitchens. It could be a bit scary, though. During church, I'd asked my roommates whether they wanted to have crepes for dinner with me. Madi was going to be gone, of course (she pretty much doesn't live here anymore), and Shyler and Ashley already had dinner planned, although they said they'd love to try some. Kirsi and Amy accepted my invitation, but when we got home they just made their own dinner. By this point I was already in the middle of making a huge, full batch of crepes. The blender wasn't working (I found out later that the blade was just jammed because the last person to use it hadn't cleaned it thoroughly), so I asked Madi if I could use hers. She wouldn't let me. Apparently I'm just not trustworthy enough to touch her precious kitchen appliances. She also locks her closet and doesn't talk to any of us anymore... I hope she enjoys a social life and friends at home. So anyways, I knocked on doors until I found a blender to borrow, and then I got them finished just as Amy and Kirsi swept out the door to go to the devotional (which, again, they hadn't invited me to go with them to - that wouldn't bother me except that they'd completely blown off the effort I put into making crepes). By this point I was just a little bit irked with my roommates. But surprisingly, Shyler, Ashley, and I had a good time watching the devotional at home, although they polished off half a jar of my Nutella in the meantime. I finished making all of the crepes and put the leftovers in my fridge. Then I went to ward prayer, went to a compassionate service committee meeting, and came home. Now I am going to bed so I can have a lovely day tomorrow following a wonderful night of adequate sleep. Love you guys!
<3
Eliza
P.S. Any tips on roommates? Leave them in the comments.
P.P.S. I realized that in one weekend I doubled the number of guys I've gone on dates with! Pretty impressive, eh? Well, a bit depressing if you think on what that means about my previous dating habits, but oh well... it's improving. :)
On Monday my FHE was planned by one of the other apartments in our FHE group. They sent out fliers telling us to come in black/army gear. All of the girls just showed up in black pants and dark sweatshirts, but the guys went all out. One of them wore camo borrowed from a guy who's actually in the military, two wore camo shirts, and all of them had black and green facepaint and fake facial hair. So we got there and got facepaint (although the girls only got eyeliner lines on our cheeks, lame!) before having a spiritual thought, on the Armies of Helaman of course. Then we got plastic tubes and marshmallows and marched up to Deseret Tower Fields. Yes, we had a marshmallow war. It was awesome. My Canadian friend Jasmine and I teamed up, and we said we were Victor and Wolverine because we were shooting back-to-back and we're Canadian. It was pretty great. Obviously we won.
On Tuesday I made zucchini bread and orange melt-in-your-mouth cookies. The cookies were for a Relief Society activity where we doorbell-ditched the other Relief Society in our ward, in Fugal. Unfortunately the entire apartment was supposed to make them and I was the only one who took the initiative. Then Madi came, asked me which plate was for the activity, took them and left. Kirsi went with her, but at least she acknowledged that I'd made them. Then Ashley and Shyler ate a bunch, so there weren't enough left to take them to my visiting teachees, as I'd hoped to do. Urgh. I left the pan, spatula, and glaze bowl out because I wasn't about to clean up from what they'd taken advantage of. They were there for two days before I finally cleaned them up. And someone left half a cookie on the plate so she wouldn't have to clean it. It made me rather upset with my roommates, but there's not a lot I can do about their lack of initiative and common courtesy.....
I was up that night until 3 am writing a polisci paper, which I still didn't finish. The next morning I got up, went to my classes, worked on my paper until 4:45, then printed it out and turned it in with three minutes to spare. I went to a group study room in the library and studied chemistry for an hour before Majid, a guy I was interviewing for an intro to Islam paper, came and I interviewed him. He was really nice, and the interview was actually quite fun and educational. He left at about 7:15, at which point I resumed studying chemistry. I finished reading through my notes for the section, wrote an index card's worth of information, and then went to the testing center to take my test! Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that the test was comprehensive, and so it was a little bit exciting, but by the time I finished at 10, I was too tired to care.
Thursday was amazing!!! I got up and went to chemistry, and then walked to the library with this guy from my class named Blaine. On the way over I asked him to the group date for Friday. It was a bit empowering :) Then I went to the gym and worked out for a while before going to basketball. Bball was kinda lame because now we're playing for tournament spots in the class, so none of the guys pass the ball to the girls anymore... Oh well. I got done with that and ran home to get ready. JulieAnn Personius (my high school water polo coach) came to visit me! It was so wonderful. She got here at around noon, and I took her on a tour around campus while we caught up. The weather was beautiful - about fifty degrees! Then we went to lunch at Zupa's, which is this wonderful little soup/salad/sandwich place. We were there for about an hour and a half, just talking. When we left, it was snowing. Oh Utah weather... Then we went back to my apartment, where JulieAnn looked up an old friend of hers who she visited on the way back to Salt Lake. It was sad to see her go but the care package I got from home brightened me up! Mom sent me elderberry syrup, applesauce, a mini-loaf of bread, delish oatmeal cookies, pound cake, gum, clovers, and a Sonora II recipe book with all of the delicious ward activity dishes from the past ten years!!! Whoo! So exciting. So for the rest of Thursday I ate good food from home, did (some) homework, and then went to my next door neighbor's Thirsty Thursday party, where we drank soda, ate cookies, and played spoons. Awesome.
Friday I went to my classes, did homework, and then went back to my apartment. Heidi and I ran over at 4:30 to get tickets for the Honors Symposium, where our Late Summer Honors Professor, Dr. Gong, will be speaking. It was the last day they were on sale for a reduced price, but when we got there they were sold out!! We got on the waiting list, so hopefully we get in :( Then we went back and I started cleaning up my apartment for the group date. I put away all the dirty dishes my roommates had left in the sink (ugh) except for Madi's egg dish, from Monday. I talked to the others, and they agreed that she didn't clean any of her dishes so we should wrap this one up and put it on her desk. That was slightly satisfying. But anyways, not to be vindictive... I cleaned up the kitchen and then decided to use up my artisan bread dough from almost two weeks ago for a pizza for our party! So I rolled out the dough just before Heidi and Katheryn came over to help me set up. We brought an extra couch in and set up apples to apples, after which Katheryn left to wait for her date while Heidi and I stayed at my apartment. Blaine came at about 8:05, and we talked for about half an hour (the three of us...) before Heidi's blind date Derek showed up. Then we started playing apples to apples. It was pretty fun, but probably a little awkward for poor Derek, who didn't know any of us. Then at 9 Katheryn and her date Chris finally showed up, because he'd been taking a test. We continued playing apples to apples, eating cheesecake and pizza, and talking until about 9:45, at which point we made popcorn and settled down to watch the Bourne Identity. It was a pretty good movie, with lots of action and fun ambiguity. I enjoyed it. We got done just before the midnight curfew, so we analyzed the movie for a few minutes and then booted the boys out. I got a parting hug and am now wondering if Blaine will ask me out... we'll see. Dad probably hopes he won't, because he's an RM... :)
On Saturday I got up late and Heidi and I went to the gym to do some weights. We went from there to the International Cinema on campus, where they show free movies every week. We watched Slumdog Millionaire, which was very good even when watched from the floor (because there weren't enough seats for all the people there). Then I went home and did some homework until it was time to leave on my date at 6:40. I went with Ben Smith from my Late Summer Honors class, and we attended BYU's Hunger Banquet. At the hunger banquet, 10% of the people are randomly assigned to sit at tables and have a gourmet catered meal, 20% sit on chairs eating hot dogs, chips, and soda, and the other 70% sit on the floor eating rice and beans with tortillas and a plastic bag full of water (no utensils). We were on the floor, which was actually pretty fun. There were Indian dancers, people chanting the Hare Krishna, and a keynote speaker from Paraguay. Afterwards we looked at the artwork and then didn't really know what to do, so we went back to my apartment and made chocolate-cinnamon bars. They were DELICIOUS! And it was pretty fun because it had been hard to talk at the hunger banquet (noisy and surrounded by people) plus the whole friendship-date thing was different for me. But we had a great time talking while making cookies, and they were amazing. I sent him home with a plate of them and then greeted each of my roommates as they arrived home from their various activities. I went to bed at midnight, which was a minor miracle :)
Today I woke up just in time to go to a Compassionate Service meeting, and then I went visiting teaching. I've discovered it works much better if I assign Shyler to either schedule or give the lesson. Today I gave the lesson and we got our visiting teaching on the first Sunday of the month for the second month in a row! (Oh, and last week our relief society had 100% visiting teaching!) Then I went to hall meeting, after which Amy taught me a more effective method for curling very straight hair. We went to church, where I was promptly asked to give a talk two weeks from now. Unfortunately, I'm going to be in Las Vegas that weekend, but I told Brother Frederico that I'd be very willing to give a talk any other week. I felt really bad about it, though. Anyways, church was great, as always, and I'm really excited because our Relief Society is doing a service activity on Tuesday where we're going into Maeser (the guy's hall in our ward) and cleaning their kitchens. It could be a bit scary, though. During church, I'd asked my roommates whether they wanted to have crepes for dinner with me. Madi was going to be gone, of course (she pretty much doesn't live here anymore), and Shyler and Ashley already had dinner planned, although they said they'd love to try some. Kirsi and Amy accepted my invitation, but when we got home they just made their own dinner. By this point I was already in the middle of making a huge, full batch of crepes. The blender wasn't working (I found out later that the blade was just jammed because the last person to use it hadn't cleaned it thoroughly), so I asked Madi if I could use hers. She wouldn't let me. Apparently I'm just not trustworthy enough to touch her precious kitchen appliances. She also locks her closet and doesn't talk to any of us anymore... I hope she enjoys a social life and friends at home. So anyways, I knocked on doors until I found a blender to borrow, and then I got them finished just as Amy and Kirsi swept out the door to go to the devotional (which, again, they hadn't invited me to go with them to - that wouldn't bother me except that they'd completely blown off the effort I put into making crepes). By this point I was just a little bit irked with my roommates. But surprisingly, Shyler, Ashley, and I had a good time watching the devotional at home, although they polished off half a jar of my Nutella in the meantime. I finished making all of the crepes and put the leftovers in my fridge. Then I went to ward prayer, went to a compassionate service committee meeting, and came home. Now I am going to bed so I can have a lovely day tomorrow following a wonderful night of adequate sleep. Love you guys!
<3
Eliza
P.S. Any tips on roommates? Leave them in the comments.
P.P.S. I realized that in one weekend I doubled the number of guys I've gone on dates with! Pretty impressive, eh? Well, a bit depressing if you think on what that means about my previous dating habits, but oh well... it's improving. :)
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