For What Its Worth

Last Day of College

2011-12-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day working at the Faculty Center. I've worked there for three years--the same amount of time I've been attending BYU. I also turned in my last project for college tonight.

The Faculty Center was almost the perfect college job. It was on campus, so I could go straight from work to class with very little commute time. It mostly worked around my school schedule. It was very low stress. The people were great. If I needed to take a day off work to study, my boss would support that. I didn't have to work holidays. The people were just amazing. I am so grateful for the people I got to associate and work with during my time there. It was hard not crying when I left the office today. But I kept myself composed. I learned so much working there from both the people and the projects. I really enjoyed helping Kent write his book and it was such a treat to see him finish it my second to last day. Kent is my Morrie.

After work, I proceeded to the Brimhall for the last time where I would finish my final projects for Backpack Journalism and Publication and Design. I went to print my magazine and had some problems. The first printer was out of toner and I couldn't do anything about it. The next printer wouldn't communicate with Pharos so that I could actually print. Then I went to the JSB. The kiosk there wouldn't let me log in. So I went to the JFSB mac lab. I successfully printed my project. But their printer was crap and my magazine looked so bad. So I went to the office to use the wonderful Phaser printer (it prints with wax instead of toner). I got some pretty nice printouts for the project. Then I failed at cutting them down to size but eventually finished. Walked back to the Brimhall to turn in my project and then back to the Law School parking lot where I was parked. I probably broke a record today for number of times I walked across campus and back.

My celebration for being done: I had some money left on my signature card so I bought myself a Cactus Cooler out of the vending machine. I have never had one of those. That stuff is good! It was a nice little celebration.

Tomorrow, I start my new job as a writer for BnBWebsites. I am so excited for this job. The people I will be working with seem amazing. I think I will develop a lot of skills while working there. And I am just plain excited to be helping build websites.

Translating what a source says

2011-11-11T08:22:00.001-08:00

This is perhaps the first old-fashioned print article I've written all semester. All my classes this semester are focused on other aspects of journalism, such as video, blogging, design and web. I've kind of forgotten that under some circumstances I like being a journalist and reporter. Maybe I shouldn't rule out reporting jobs.

While contacting sources, sometimes we as reporters run into this situation:

What they say: "The best person to talk to about this topic is so-and-so at such-organization. and we'd be happy to talk to you and answer your questions as best we can but so-and-so will be the best to talk to."

What they mean: We are a little knowledgeable on the topic, and we're likely to give you vague PR answers to your questions, so you should contact so-and-so.

The real honor code

2011-10-19T15:29:00.001-07:00

The real reason we can't go in bedrooms of the opposite sex or use the bathroom is cause it would decrease our chances of getting married. Think about it. If a guy walks into your bedroom and sees how messy or smelly it is, he might think twice. Girls, has your opinion of a guy change when you see his bathroom?

As far as curfew goes, you always want what you can't have. So if you can't spend the night with someone, you are more inclined to marry them.

Trying to be better

2011-10-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

I should have known I was going to be put through the wringer when I asked to develop greater charity. I guess I expected that I could ask for it and then suddenly be overwhelmed with a greater feeling of love toward people. But developing deep character traits like that don't just happen to us. We have to make a choice to develop them. I can ask to develop greater charity and I'll find myself in situations that propel me to go one of two directions: absolutely hating a person or loving them--it's my choice which one I choose.

I write down the things I fast for each month. I started it in November last year. Well okay technically I did it on my mission but took a two year hiatus from the habit. Today I was looking at what I've been fasting for over the past year. There are the regulars: lose weight, more dates and pass classes with sanity.

I've always struggled with the concept of fasting. I've had a few friends and home teachers help me understand how it works and why we do it. And it makes sense. For like ten minutes. Then I'm at square one and I feel like I dont know why I fast or how fasting for a particular purpose accomplishes anything. But with that said, I have a testimony of fasting. I've gotten answers to prayers through it. I've developed greater strength. And seen more direction in my life from it. Why is it some prayers/fasts are obviously answered (even if not the outcome you wanted) whereas others seem to sit on the shelf forever.

One thing I've concluded about my "regulars" is that I'm expecting God to do all the work on those ones. I want to lose weight but I dont want to do the necessary diet and exercise to make it happen. I just want to wake up one day with a lessened appetite (again, character traits dont just happen to you). I want more dates but I don't go to activities where I can meet guys. Or if I do go, I act terribly shy.

But, one example of a fast I did see manifest was with an internship. On November 6 last year, I fasted to know which internship would be right for me and to be in tune with which ones to pursue. The first week of January I sent out my first rounds of applications. None of those panned out. However I had an opportunity to apply at a magazine locally but felt it didn't jive with my school schedule. I kept searching for and applying for internships.

It was the beginning of April and it was crunch time. Given most journalism internships are lined up nine months in advance and I was down to three weeks away from summer semester with no internship, I was a little under prepared. At this point in time I had applied for a job at the Daily Universe and an internship at LDS Living magazine. While I was driving to my interview at LDS Living, I got a call from the DU. But I didn't call them back until after my interview. They were offering me an editor position at the Universe. What do I do? Do I turn it down and hold out for an internship I might not get? Yep. That's exactly what I did. The Universe needed to know that afternoon if I would take the job and so I said no.

I had the weirdest assurance that something was going to come though. And at the last minute, literally it did. I found out I'd be interning at LDS Living magazine, which turned out to be the perfect internship experience for me. And the thing is...I did the work to find that internship. I didn't just fast for it and then never apply to anything or even research where I would want to intern. So its nice to see how answers to prayers are manifest.

Back to the subject of dating. I've been reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People at work (it is an approved way to spend my time on the clock). I'm realizing a lot of problems I have with myself. But one in particular that I'll highlight briefly is how I go to activities/parties expecting to meet guys and then I get super shy and don't talk to anyone. There are several reasons for this. But one is that I expect others to get to know me. They'll talk to me/ask me questions if they want to know me. It's a very me-centered attitude that I have. What can you do for me? You should want to get to know me. How do you make me feel?

"On the maturity continuum, dependence is the paradigm of you--you take care of me; you come through for me; you didn't come through. I blame you for the results." -- Stephen R. Covey, 7 Habits

And in some respects, it is important to recognize how someone makes you feel. But its also important to want to get to know the other person. To wonder what you could do for them. To see how you can make them feel.

"Interdependence is the paradigm of we--we can do it; we can cooperate; we can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together." -- Stephen R. Covey, 7 Habits

The date you wish you had

2011-09-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

I had the most epic date last night. So I’m doing online dating on ldssingles.com and last night I was supposed to meet this guy named Christian at the dollar theater. Well, he got there and he seemed really good looking. We go into the theater and he rips the ticket stub off for the ticket guy and says “so where’s our movie?” and it kinda rubbed me wrong how he did it. I was thinking, just let the poor kid do his job.

We go into the theater and talk for about 15 minutes before the movie started. He chose Pirates 4. I’d already seen it but because it was such a good movie I was willing to see it again. So like, he bashed on almost everything I liked in those 15 minutes. He bashed on Scion xB’s (my dream car). He bashed on iphones. He bashed on toms shoes. On the one hand, I really like someone who is opinionated and isn’t afraid to share it/argue with me. But he was just like, abrasive. Then the movie starts. Dude, this guy laughs so loud during movies. I was like, oh he’s that guy.

About an hour into the movie he was like “I’ll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom.” And I thought, this guy isn’t coming back. That’s the oldest trick in the book for bailing on a date. But I thought I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. About 15 minutes later I realized it had been about 15 minutes. I said, I’ll give him 30 minutes. Maybe he was having a rough time in the bathroom. Maybe he had an urgent phone call. I gave him 30 minutes. After the allotted time, I said, “ok, well, I have seen this movie before and I have better things to do than sit here,” so I went home.

It’s okay for one or both parties to feel like a date isn’t going anywhere. And I think its polite to suggest ending a date early. If you’re not feeling it, you shouldn’t force yourself to stay. But to sneak out with some copout excuse of going to the bathroom…is weak. I felt sad for about five minutes. Felt like that was a major slap in the face. But then I looked at it from another person’s point of view and I was like oh that’s funny. This is going to make for a great story to tell people. I should write an article about it or something.

Live, I want to live inspired

2011-07-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

There's that fleeting feeling in your soul when you feel pure hope and excitement. Lightness. Inspiration.

I've not always had a love for feeling inspired. It has only come in the past few years. I have always loved movies. But more recently I've gained an appreciation for those that make me think about something differently, ponder life or just feel an emotion.

I've always loved music, but again its more recently that I gravitate to music that moves me, that speaks to me, that I can connect with. I played the violin for seven years but I was never able to connect feelings into what I was playing. My music was emotionless.

My grandma was an artist. My mom is an artist. My sister is an artist. I always felt that because I couldn't draw, I was not an artist. And maybe I still am not an artist but I'm drawn more to art the older I get.

My mission trainer was on this kick when she trained me. She would ask anyone she came in contact with, "What inspires you?" She's an artist.

What inspires me? A lot of things. Movies. Music. Quotes. Paintings. Sculptures. Writing.

I have yet to feel inspired by dance. I know it is a form of expression but it doesn't yet speak to me.

First bike ride

2011-06-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

I rode a bike in two areas on my mission. I was perhaps the only sister (or missionary for that matter) in my mission who liked biking as a form of transportation. My first day on the bikes in Liverpool, NY was terrible. We rode approximately 1.8 miles to a member's apartment and it kicked my butt. Mind you, I was in a walk area for seven or eight months prior to this, so I wasn't totally out of shape. That night I couldn't sleep because my legs hurt so bad. But I got used to it. In my last area, we'd ride anywhere from 6 to 20 miles in a day. My friend and former mission companion L can attest to this. She questioned my sanity when we rode to places like Chittenango and Delphi Falls. With that said...

That was three years ago. I decided for the summer, I want to bike into work because its only nine miles down to work and I've got the time and energy to do it. And it will save on gas. And I need exercise and I need to lose weight. It's a win/win situation.

Today I decided to see where I'm at with biking so I took my bike for a 5.5 mile ride. If it was flat, it would be a piece of cake. But I chose a hilly path. On the uphills I was averaging about 5 miles an hour and 14 mph on the flat sections.

After my dad got home he told me about a lower gear I can access on the left handle bar that I didn't know about. So maybe I could have done better on the hills had I known there was a lower gear than what I was doing. I went south just under three miles and then turned around and went back. So I had mostly three miles of downhill followed by three miles of uphill. Note to self: Don't do the downhill part first. Maybe even find a bike path that has fewer stop signs.

Stop signs suck. When stopping, lean uphill rather than downhill. You'd think because I have some experience in snowboarding on hills that I'd transfer that knowledge but I didn't. The end result was hitting that top tube in the last place one would like to be hit. I don't know what the girl-equivalent term for "nutting" is but thats basically what happened.

The other problem is I was riding my dad's road bike which is a 53 cm frame and I should be riding between a 46-50 cm frame. You might think 3 cms wouldn't make that much of a difference but I felt like riding something more my size would be more comfortable. And maybe having a women's specific bike with the top tube a little lower would help when I need to stop.

No matter where on the handlebars I had my hands, I felt a lot of weight on my palms and that was probably the most annoying part.

When I got home, I walked up the stairs and my legs felt like noodles. But I've been home an hour now and I feel fine. We'll see how sore I am in the morning.

On Thursday I think I'm going to find somewhere to rent a bike for a day. I want to try a smaller frame to see if I like that better. But if I do, that will present a problem :) Anyway, I had a goal to be riding into work by Friday this week but I think that'll be put off another week or so. I need to figure out the bike situation and then work up to being able to ride 9 miles uphill.

All in all, I enjoyed my ride today. It was a relaxing workout. Except for the part where I tripped. And the stop signs in the most inconvenient of places. For example, there is this a downhill section followed by a sharp uphill. If I could have started at the top of the hill, sped down to gain speed and then go up, that would have been ideal. But no, there is a stop sign with a cross street with fast cars so you have to stop. then start from a stand still at the bottom of the hill. It sucks. And one time I was downshifting and I think the bike got stuck between two gears and I didn't know what the heck to do about it. I guess I got it figured out cause I finished the ride.

It was like the first day snowboarding. I couldn't stay standing up very long. I fell a lot. Couldn't turn. My legs were sore from using muscles I wasn't used to using. I wouldn't call anyone's first day on the slopes real snowboarding (well except for maybe T's first day). Everyone has a sucky first day boarding but either you love it enough to persevere through the learning process or you hate it enough to never go again.

I'd prefer to keep pushing through till I can ride my bike to Salt Lake and back.

Salad of thoughts

2011-06-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

at my internship, it's weird having to switch between the creative, magazine style to the news style for my online news stories. news stories are so much easier to do when all you're doing is working (or you have one class twice a week in the evenings). having so much time and knowing some of the tips and tricks really makes the process quicker and more efficient.

news stories are the lifeblood of writing for me. i get excited and feel a mild rush as i begin a story. hunting down sources, figuring out the direction. some stories lend themselves to being easily discovered and told though. that same exhilirating rush i can get from going through those steps with some stories can be the very same process that leads me to downright anxiety and frustration. i guess its feeling the success in those steps is where i feel most excited.

i love seeing how stories unfold. each story is like using a different medium. you have to kind of figure out what the stories medium is and go with that. If you have a story that functions like water color, you cant really expect it to act like oil paint. one of the hard parts of forming your story is figuring out if your story is a piece of wood to be carved, or if it is clay that is molded or pastels that are drawn with. you do have control over the creative process of what you do with the medium, but it can be insanity to the journalist to try and make a story something its not. dont just try and make your story fit into one or two cookie cutter molds and dont assume at the beginning you know how it'll all turn out. allow it to develop itself.

writing for the daily universe or other church-owned media is like just being another branch of church pr. you have to basically just say good things about the Church.

often when people blog they feel like they have unique ideas, or ways to express them.
people aren't always who you think they are.

people need a purpose for their lives. not just "oh i go to work every day" but they need to be making a difference in each others lives. Or else people will be miserable. if you're not experiencing things that inspire you, you'll become depressed. if you're not involved in making things better (even if they are really small things) you wont feel that purpose or excitement for life.

Katie's camping list for a successful campout

2011-06-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

My ward went on an overnight campout up at the Heber Valley Camp. I didn't know what to pack. I mean come, on this isn't girls camp where they provide you with a packing list. But its a good thing this isnt girls camp cause there are boys and I can legally bring my ipod and makeup and drive my own car. So I pack what I think I'll need for an overnight excursion: foam mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, camp chairs, hoodie, change of clothes, bug repellant, pink keds, tan keds (just in case), flashlight, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair brush, qtips and a other random things like a pen, ipod, headphones, etc.

Whats missing from this list that you might want for a camping trip?

I get up there, unload my car and chill out in the pavilion with some other latecomers (the rest of the group was down the hill at a challenge course). I ask one of the leaders what the plan is for the next day. Among other things, she said some people might go hiking. Hiking boots! I didn't think to bring hiking boots! Or socks for that matter. I haven't worn socks in probably three months.

After they got back, we had a kind-of fireside thing. It became very, very cold. My feet were freezing. I wish I had socks. And a real jacket. but everyone else was in hoodies so I didn't feel so bad. But at least they all had their hiking boots to keep their feet warm. I had a thin pair of canvas keds on.

While camping, I was dying to blog. But obviously didn't have technology to do so. So I wrote my thoughts on a piece of paper with a pen. Can you imagine that? I wrote about my unpreparedness for camping and the need to blog. And boy scout juice.

So, I'm afraid of the dark. Legitimately afraid. Not just like a little nervous when its dark. I used to have to sleep with the light on when I was younger. It kind of went away when I was a teenager but now its back. Perhaps the person who knows this about me better than anyone is T. So I'm sitting on my bunk and realize my headphones are in the car. Its dark and late. And I'm afraid of the dark. And there are bears up in the mountains. And boys. I was glad to know none of those boys knew me well enough to try and scare me in the dark. T would probably have done it if he were there (note to self: reconsider going camping with T if given the opportunity). Luckily I made it back to the cabin, headphones in hand, without being attacked by a boy or a bear.

Aside from my unpreparedness, it was a fun campout. It was fun sitting by the fire at night and hearing people tell stories or jokes. I warmed my feet up by sticking them up next to the fire. Maybe the soles of my shoes melted a little but I didn't care. I ended up bailing early on Sat morning on account that I couldn't go on the hike and I didn't want to just sit around at camp. Most the people who weren't going on the hike were also bailing out early. And I missed having cell phone reception a little bit. But while I was up at the camp I kinda liked not being able to check the internet or my phone. It was nice.

Opening my mind

2011-06-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

But not with drugs. Unless you consider music a drug. A friend of mine, T, invited me to a concert for a band I'm not too familiar with called Manchester Orchestra. So why would I agree to attend a concert of a band I've never heard longer than 3 seconds?

Because an experience I had going to another concert. When I went to see Taking Back Sunday with my little sister, I couldnt get into the band beforehand. She burned me a cd and I just couldnt like their stuff. But I had to go to the concert because Christine was young enough at the time that my parents wouldnt let her go without me. And because I already had spent the money on a ticket. At the concert, I fell for their music. Then TBS became one of my favorite bands that summer. From that experience I concluded, some bands are just better live. And some are better when they've been doctored up in the studio (Black Eyed Peas, anyone?)

So Sunday night I say to T, "I guess I have one week to get into Manchester Orchestra." I was excited at the prospect. The first time I listened to them I was not hooked. I could appreciate a couple of songs for their musical qualities but they didn't catch my interest. Pensacola was one of the first I liked for its sound--not so much for the lyrics. T asked me what I thought of the lead's voice. It is very unique. I liked it. I also like the voice of the lead singer in Anberlin who also has a unique voice. And James Blunt. Some people are turned off by those types of voices. And trust me, there are voices of musicians out there that I simply cannot stand. Not the case this time.

I've known for awhile that it usually takes me a long time to like new stuff and I usually hate everything at the beginning. One of my most favorite bands right now, Muse, was a band I was unimpressed with at first.

I've listened to Simple Math every day (sometimes multiple times a day) this week. Monday and Tuesday, I was trying to force their style and sound into my little box. That wasn't working. I wanted to be in love with the lyrics but it just wasnt happening. T knows lyrics is one of the biggest things that drives me to particular songs. With him, not so much. He is more interested in the melodies a song has to offer. I think emotion can be strongly expressed in both ways, but one is a little more obvious than the other. Props to T for appreciating the unspoken emotion of a song. By Tuesday I felt like I was entering into an arranged marriage with Manchester Orchestra on Saturday. I was going to a concert of a band I didn't choose and I didn't want to back out. I wanted to make it work. But it was going to be a mystery as to what the band would bring to the arranged marriage. It wasn't like I felt dismay at the prospect of an arranged marriage. Just this feeling of, "ok, I'm going to make this work despite my preconceived notions."

Wednesday was a turning point for me. A couple of songs really started to stand out to me, like Pale Black Eye and Virgin. Pale Black Eye snuck up on me. It was toward the end of the song when I felt the emotion the lead singer was conveying as well as the music supporting him. As it ended I had to restart the song with this open-mindedness that I might actually like other parts and aspects of the song if only I looked for them. The song grew on me fast. At first I didn't like Virgin because of how heavy it was and I typically gravitate to lighter styles like John Mayer or Death Cab. I could appreciate Virgin for what it was trying to do, but it didn't catch me. Kind of like how I can acknowledge Jazz music as good and talented without actually liking it. But Virgin grabbed me because of its predictable repetitiveness. Maybe it is a little too repetitive but it got stuck in my head. Then I started allowing myself to feel the emotion of it and then I loved it. I told T a few of the songs were actually starting to grow on me. I gave up on trying to be in love with the lyrics and just tried to appreciate the sound because thats what got me with Pale Black Eye. One of the reasons I had a hard time with this specific band is that I couldn't understand what they were saying half the time.

Today is when I was able to articulate the reasons I had a hard time with this album at first. I've learned from this experience that I'm pretty closed-minded about new music and thats why I usually don't like it at first. I try and cram music into a box. I want it to sound a certain way. I want the structure of a song to follow a certain format. I have to fall in love with the lyrics. If it gets stuck in my head quickly, all the more better. I like music with predictable repetition. I've got to be able to sing along. But after listening to most of the songs several times, I've realized I have to read a little deeper into the lyrics to understand what they mean. I have to work at appreciating the message. I also did a little googling wed night to find some explanations by the band. Not every song is explained but hearing the central message of what Simple Math is about, I realize that there's a very specific context for some of these songs and its not blatantly obvious. And if you dont know what that context is, you are like a lost wanderer in a foreign land. Anyway, yesterday I accepted I couldn't expect to appreciate the songs based on lyrics alone. And today I realized these songs just dont follow a structure I'm used to. But when I started opening my mind do what they are (instead of what they aren't) I started to feel a new hope that I could maybe really like this band.

I'm still excited to see if they're awesome in concert on Saturday. Thats one question I had from the start and after this whole process this week, it still remains.

Explaining why i have to explain people

2011-06-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

I dont understand people. I dont understand where they get their ideas. Why they get pleasure from what they do. Why they treat others the way they do.

I dont even understand myself.

I know that I judge people because its how I think I can make them make sense in my head. Or to put it another way...people dont make sense. when they dont, my first reaction is to judge them. but why is that my response? because if i judge them, i give an explanation for why they are the way they are. Or maybe I dont give an explanation, but I put them in some sort of box and then I feel like they make sense to me now. so judging people is how i fool myself into thinking they make sense to me. or explaining them.

Even though judging them is so wrong in so many ways. I cant assume I know why people are the way they are. I cant put them into a box because usually the box I choose is much worse than what reality is. But I have a hard time dealing with the fact that people are confusing to me. I have to be able to explain 85% of what I observe in my life.

The best I can come up with is that most of the time, people do things the way they do for a reason (even though that reason is not apparent to me).

Bandwagon

2011-05-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd join the bandwagon with my many classmates who are doing their summer internships and blog about my experience. I am interning at LDS Living in downtown Salt Lake City. So far I have helped write some articles and learned about the tone and style of the magazine. It is a smaller team than I thought it would be but I think that will give me opportunities to pick up more skills than I would if I were at a larger publication.

Our print articles are written in Chicago Style and I'm only trained in AP style. On Friday, everyone was out of the office and I got writers block. My solution was to read some of the Chicago style book. Wow. On the one hand I found it kinda interesting. On the other hand, it makes me thankful for the ability to write creatively.

As far as exploring SLC, on Tuesday and Friday I went to Blue Lemon on South Temple. Caitlin met me on Friday and we had a nice lunch. I'm excited to eat at some of the new little places in the City Creek center and just exploring downtown. We talked about our classmates interning in NYC, about how our market is SLC and mormons, about how their market isnt mormon, etc.

Today I got home from Atlanta with Professor Randle, Kayla Frandson and Paige Guthrie. We met at the airport at 6am on Saturday and got to Atlanta at 2pm. Professor Randle let us go to work that afternoon. We were like embedded journalists as we sat backstage watching the Young Ambassadors prepare for their big show that night. We had been given topics for our articles but we just weren't sure what we were doing for the first little while. Saturday was our longest day. We were up very early to be at the airport at 6am and didn't get back to the hotel till around 11pm.

Sunday we went to church in Canton, GA. It was fun to hear conversion stories and advice on how you can go to the store on fri nights to get your home teaching done cause all the members are shopping. We went to a member's house for dinner. She has lived in Georgia nearly her whole life (minus going to BYU) and she made us southern chicken courdon bleu, spinach strawberry nut salad with lemon poppyseed dressing, mashed potatoes and amazing peach cobbler. Then we went to a fireside put on by the YA's. I conducted an interview with the teacher I'm doing a profile on (watch for a link to that later). Kayla dominated on interviews that night. I think she interviewed all of the YA's.

Monday morning us journalism students went to some civil war sites including Kennesaw Mountain and a cemetery in Marietta where many war soldiers are buried. It was crazy to find out that around 3000 of the soldiers buried in that cemetery were unidentified U.S. soldiers. You cant help but feel a different kind of reverence as you walk around this site. As we drove up to Kennesaw mountain, I tried to imagine a civil war battle going on amidst all the trees. There are so many trees that it just doesnt seem possible. I think they must have chopped down a section of trees just to have the battle there. And how exactly will they see the troops coming when everywhere you look all you see are trees? It would be one thing to stand at the top of Ensign Peak in SLC and see the troops coming all the way from point of the mountain but here in the dense trees it just seemed impossible. We had an amazing lunch at this place called Sonny's in Marietta. I had baby back ribs for the first time and ate more southern food. It was fun to drive around with Professor Randle and share comms department stories and have him explain to us why the program is the way it is. We spent the evening with the YA's at FHE with a bunch of YSA. Enough acronyms there?

Some memorable things from our trip were walking into the American Girl store and explaining to the sales associate that "we're with him." "Left turn on MOLLY lane," our smoker car. People who are always "on." Hunting down a battery charger. Giving a stranger a ride to the hospital. Observing the wallflowers.

Start of Summer

2011-04-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I moved back to btown for the summer because I got an internship at LDS Living magazine. I have no idea what to expect. I know I'll be writing articles and doing some editing and probably some fact checking. But there were some methods to getting stories done in the journalism program and I don't know if they will work in the real world. For example, in school, interviews are done on your own time so you schedule them whenever (and whenever your sources can meet). But at my internship, I'll have set hours every day where I'm in the office. Do I set up interviews during that time? Do I always do interviews on the phone or do I leave the office? Do I lug my laptop with me as I am used to doing in school?

When I moved home a week ago, I was really nervous to leave my Provo crowd. There is a distinct culture there and I'm afraid to admit I became very accustomed to it. When I moved here I was reintroduced to the smell of cigarette smoke (dont find that at BYU) and everyone up here is Ute fans. So I wear my BYU sweatshirt with pride. I was afraid that because I am so shy, I wouldn't make friends very well. But my friend Chad has introduced me to a lot of neat people and I just feel more comfortable around them. I went to a party last night and it was so fun! I know, I hate parties but this was fun. Its so nice to be around people more my age. I'm hoping I can make a lot of new friends when I start attending my new ward.

This summer I'm going to Atlanta for a journalism trip. We will be reporting on the Young Ambassadors trip there. I have never been to the South so it should be fun and interesting. Later this summer I'm going to Portland for Jess and Laren's wedding. I'm excited to see Oregon and see this lovely couple finally get married. I am also looking forward to graduating in December. I've been working on getting my degree for what feels like forever. It seems like by now I should have a masters degree.

I've realized that I can dress like a homeless person at school and get away with it because a fourth of the student body also dress that way (either cause they like the look or cause they're poor like me) but now that I'm doing this internship, I have to dress nicely (business casual) which means I have to look a little more presentable than a homeless person. Also, I cant show up late to work like I can be five minutes late to class. On a positive note, it'll be nice to know I'm not getting graded on my articles. But they do impact my reputation and I'll never improve as a writer if I always treat articles like something to just get done.

If I might be so arrogant...

2011-02-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

I was talking with Brandon about how my Utah's 4th seat story made the front page of the Daily Universe (http://universe.byu.edu/node/14203) today. I was kinda excited. My first thought as I read the headline was "wait, that's something I wrote about" and then I checked the byline and realized "hey that's my article!"

I know it is just the BYU student newspaper. NBD. But what makes me excited that it was published is how competitive it is to get your article in this newspaper. Here is a link to the editorial written by the editor-in-chief about the decision-making process of what 5 articles make the front page every day: http://universe.byu.edu/node/14135 . In a nutshell, on any given day, I am competing with 70 reporters to make it into one of four or five slots on the front page. So its competitive at times. And I rely on my editor to try and "sell" my story well. Actually, my editor attempts to sell around 20 advanced reporting students's stories, so its not just me who relies on her selling skills.

Anyway, I feel grateful for the stories of mine that have been published this semester and for everyone who has helped me put my articles together. It truly involves a lot of chefs in the kitchen and they deserve more credit for their knowledge than I do for simply spreading the word through articles.

Advanced print reporting students learn more about story structure, and how to get better sources for articles. At least thats mostly what I've learned halfway through the semester in my two advanced writing courses. Lets hope I learn more the second half of the semester.

Anyway so I was sitting in the newsroom the other day and I called one of the state senators about a story I was doing. Some of the "intermediate" reporters were a little shocked that I would be so bold as to call a senator. I might be interviewing Mark Shurtleff, the state's attorney general. NBD. I guess once you've spent a semester in the program, you realize the following: your sources can be people other than students/professors, people with big titles will talk to you and there can be a logical organization to how your story is written.

Old blog

2011-02-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the map of how I got to this blog post. friday night, danielle and i watched the social network. then we became obsessed with mark zuckerberg. i was reading the time article about him from last year. there was a mention of myspace in it and i wanted to go check out myspace. logged in and poked around for a bit. found my old blog from before the mish. I decided to put one of my posts up on this blog. It was written Sept 22 2006. Enjoy!

reading brandon's blog about his summer got me thinking about mine. so here goes. my summer vacation has been one of the better ones i can recall. in may, it was all about spending as much time with kristina as possible before she left on her mission. i have been friends with her since 6th grade so she has always been a good friend and anchor for me. we both moved to ogden our freshman year of college so she was even there for me when i tried to get away from everything i knew. we went and hiked adams canyon with annie, craig and meredith. that was great. wish i had hiked more. well, actually, there was that hike with nick, scott and a bunch of other people when we went to elephant rock. thats a nice hike to do. i hope i do it again in the fall before i leave. oh and then there was country swing dancing with kristina, brad, scott, and nick. and that time i went "country" dancing with dallin. and kristinas 'non drinking drinking party' when she turned 21. anyone want some water?

then there were the times i'd hang out with brandon. well, we hung out more in the spring than we did summer but we can pretend. times like the coffee break and andrews big 21. heck, me and brandon went a few years without talking much at all, and then becoming tight again was pretty cool. it was fun to reconnect with eric and hang out at his apartment. the last time i had talked to eric was seriously like four years ago when we went and saw the ring in the movie theater. hanging out with brandon and his friends was fun. we should have hung out more.

in june, my mom, sister and i all took a girls trip down to cali. that was the best trip ever. i love cali and really miss it. even though i've lived in utah longer than california, being down there felt more like home, it felt more natural. even though i didnt know my way around. but thats ok. while i was in cali i got a call from dicks saying they wanted to hire me. so as soon as i got back from cali, i was filling out my paperwork there and started back up like three days after getting home from the trip.

i didnt know what to expect with working at dicks again. the only person i knew there still was cindy and everyone was in high school. but, all the employees in the front end turned out to be incredibly nice. everyone is friends there. most everyone gets along great with everyone else. it was just a fun place to be. and i met nick, the little bro i never had. fourth of july is all i have to say. good times with nick and ryan. then there were the long chats and the drives in my car, and playing at the park late at night. getting fast food late at night. staying out really late. killing the tires on my car. looking at the stars. watching movies or just tv. driving though mcdonalds backwards! more long chats.

at the end of august, jake left for his mission. that wasnt exactly the happiest time for me this summer but i was really glad that he got to finally leave. he will make such a great missionary. and me and brittany became pretty good friends through the whole experience. cali chicks do it better! oh that reminds me of the two interesting dates i had with nate... and then how he was talking about me at the sparkmans house. that was great. the world keeps getting smaller and smaller.

other random things that were great this summer, going for my first ride on a bullet bike was great. the concerts we went to, doing the ziprider at park city, going camping up in tremonton. tpb for life! getting my mission call this week was amazing. but i have another blog about that so i wont get into great detail here.

meeting dustin in the latter part of may was great. i only knew him for about 3 weeks but he was awesome. i am sad that things didnt work out with him, but i wouldnt be going on a mission if anything had happened. him and one other guy have given me a pretty good indication of the kinda guy i want to end up married to some day. but the other guy tends to think he is a jerk most of the time so he wont usually admit hes such a great guy.

anyway i think thats about all i can think of for this summer. it was a good one. thank you everyone who was apart of it!

Fast Sunday

2011-02-06T11:52:00.001-08:00

I haven't gotten up to bear (bare?) my testimony in probably a year. Half the time, I don't have the desire to. The other half are times when I am boxed in on each side with six people to my left and six to my right. I'm serious. This happens so often. And I usually don't want to go through the process of climbing over everyone to get out. I'm sorry! I always try to sit in the middle to be considerate of others. I hate when I have to climb over other people so I try and reduce that for other people as much as possible.

But. Today I only had one person blocking me from the aisle. That was primarily what sparked my desire to get up today. Because it would be convenient. Yes. I said it. So I am waiting for my turn to go up on the front row of the chapel and thinking about what I want to say. I don't know what it is about that podium but when I get up there, I have to speed through all my thoughts as fast as possible or else I will forget everything. I don't get too nervous speaking in front of people but I do worry I'll forget everything I want to say. But, I didn't want to just get up and rush through my testimony like I always do. I wanted there to be a trace amount of conviction behind what I was saying. So I took the risk of not remembering what I would say. I didn't sound very eloquent and I stumbled over a lot of thoughts but at least I feel I was able to feel what I was saying rather than just say it.

I didn't want to adjust the microphone because they had so many technical issues with it earlier in the meeting. So I left the microphone where it was...and it was higher than my eye level. That's okay. I got the indication that people could still hear me so I proceeded to speak. Timidly. Making eye contact with the mic a few times. Anyway so I finish my testimony and sit down. Brian, a guy in my ward, stands up and I realize the mic is midway down his chest and I realize, "oh my gosh. I am so short. The mic was at my eye level when I stood there but its level with his chest." It caused me to wonder...could people even see me over the podium?

Needless to say, it was a contender for one of the best fast and testimony meetings I have experienced. The testimonies were all so strong and full of conviction and sincerity. There was such a strong peaceful feeling. There wasn't a single person who was getting up just for the sake of getting up to check it off their list for the month. But I feel that is so often the case in testimony meetings. Anyway so usually I zone out during testimony meetings but today I was acutely listening to all the testimonies. The next thing I know, I look at the clock and its 9:55 am. Sacrament usually ends at 9:35 and I am usually the first one to notice when a meeting has gone 10 seconds over time. But today I was just so encapsulated by the testimonies that I had no thought or desire to watch the clock. It was beautiful. People are beautiful.

In Relief Society we learned about fasting. It was very appropriate. We started out talking about how two means counts as 24 hours and got into a discussion on length of time. It was mostly a positive discussion on the benefits of fasting longer. Then a friend of mine asked if there was an official statement about how long to fast. She suggested we shouldn't become like the Pharisees where we get so concerned with counting the hours that we lose the spirit of the fast and what our actual focus is on. I appreciated that.

My ethics class had a discussion about this. In the church, the leaders have to teach principles as black and white. They give us the ideals partially because if they were to teach us the grey, they would have to go through every possible shade of grey and what scenarios and conditions it is okay to not meet the ideal. And that could take a lifetime or more to spell out.

Elder Hafen gave a wonderful talk about the ambiguity that exists between what is reality and what is ideal. I feel that as christians, it is our responsibility to figure out how to deal with the fact that we are given principles in black and white and we have to find out how to apply them in grey situations. Here is a link to the talk. It is an absolute must read. http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6727

Thankful for

2011-01-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for sources who lead you to other sources. And when sources give you information you didn’t think to ask for, but prove to be very helpful to your story.

I appreciate writing. I like writing, communicating and story telling. I like what communicating does for people--not just communicating out of necessity but also for sharing knowledge.

I realize my interests are more in feature writing: topics including trends, our culture, society hobbies, interesting people and stories. I don't like having to write a story on a very short deadline so I need to stay away from newspapers. I am very thorough and try to exhaust every angle of a story before deciding which way is best to go. That often isn’t conducive to short-deadline writing.

People want to be heard. That is one of the benefits people experience with Facebook and twitter and blogging. But people who flood the news feed tend to annoy other Facebook users. So why not blog more? I know a lot of people have blogs, but a lot of people exhaust the patience of Facebook users because they use Facebook to function as a blog when they should just get a blog.

Franks sauce on a hard boiled egg. I don’t know why but it is just so delicious. I’m thankful for New York exposing me to such a sauce. New York also gave me a better appreciation for good pizza, salt potatoes, chicken riggies and wings. Soy sauce has been out of my life for far too long. And orange juice. Holy cow, orange juice is so good!

We spent 6 hours together today. We saw each other twice today and several times this week. I'm in a relationship with the library.

I was feeling really down earlier this afternoon. Down to the point where I wanted pity and attention from others. Brandon gladly obliged. Then I went and spent more time with my new boyfriend, the library. That got my mind off of things for a while. Then after I emerged from the library, I felt an overwhelming need to just get outside of myself and be more concerned for others. Thanks Eric for being sick and making me feel like I wanted to help you and causing this concern for others. So then I texted about 4 people in my phone and asked how they were doing and just let them know I was thinking about them and wanted to make sure they were okay. As I walked home, I thought about this whole process. Often times we get down. And we want empathy from others. We have an opportunity in those low circumstances to get outside ourselves and feel a genuine concern for others. If that feeling isn’t genuine, it won’t lead to you feeling more fulfilled. I suspect it also wont lead to very effective results in helping others to feel better. And don’t forget to act on that concern.

On a side note. Let me give a shout out to my home teacher Derek for spontaneously stopping by my apartment this afternoon. He showed up about a half hour after I started feeling really blue. Just the fact that he was guided to stop by at just the right time made me feel a little better. It made me feel like God was aware I felt bad and reached out to me by sending my home teacher. I was glad to know he cared enough to act on a prompting.

I just invented a word. consortment. It means a group of stuff (i.e., I just ate a consortment of foods for dinner tonight). I realize assortment would probably accomplish the same function.

I never really blogged about thoughts I had my first week of school. It is time. My Comms 420 professor is from Wales and isn’t Mormon. His wife is Mormon though. When they lived on the east coast, he attended church every week with his wife. One day the bishop of that ward came up to him and said he had better church attendance than all the other members. Professor Hughes related that story to us to indicate he has credibility. He worked for the Christian Science monitor and editor for the Deseret news when they transitioned from afternoon to morning news. I am often found walking around campus with a newspaper in hand now. My 420 class is doing a collaborative project about immigration with a bunch of other classes including my 377 class. Professor Randle told us we could partner with ourselves.

Things I've learned as a student reporter

2011-01-15T20:43:00.001-08:00

The way you dress has a lot to do with how your source will trust and open up to you. You need to dress professionally. Yet, you need to match the person you are interviewing. For example, if you are interviewing a corporate VP, dress in your nicest suit. If you're interviewing a forest services employee, jeans and a polo might be better. Dont wear your fancy shoes if you'll be out at a construction site. The following article really helped me shape my understanding of how to dress:

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-journalists-wardrobe-a133052

I learned by my own experience on my first story, as well as my news reporting instructor, not to procrastinate starting your story. Just because you work well under pressure and with deadlines doesnt mean you should wait till close to the deadline to start working on your story. Don't voluntarily create pressure for yourself by procrastination. My professor said as soon as you get your story, spend at least 15 minutes with making preliminary contacts and research. This can save so much time. Sources may take awhile to get back to you and scheduling interviews may be more complicated than you think. You can't assume you'll be able to contact a source hours before deadline and expect to get an interview that fits your schedule. With my first story, I thought it would be good to "mull it over" for a few hours before I started contacting. I realized if I had started early, I may have been able to set up interviews that weren't as in conflict with my schedule.

Entertainment News

2011-01-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

I know I'm asking for this. I am willingly putting myself into the media sector by choosing to be a news reporter. I know the industry has a lot of flaws and weaknesses (aside from the obvious financial troubles news outlets are experiencing).

I hate how the time, money, energy, and other resources that are put into the news business are wasted on entertainment news. I'm not talking specifically about headlines relating to celebrities, movies, music, and tv, although I think that is a mostly pointless aspect of the news. What I am referring to are news headlines and articles that really don't impact us as a society at all. They focus on whats interesting, entertaining, and weird. Not on

"Petraeus chokes at senate hearing." I am so glad to know someone important was choking during a congressional meeting. so vital for us to know. What makes this newsworthy?

"Spanish Fork Police chief says he was going to buy pants, not steal them." thats just great. I guess its important for people to know their police chief is up to some shady stuff. It blows the whistle for people to look into some of his other practices.

I guess my definition of "newsworthy" is a lot more narrow than what is accepted in the industry. The news reports the ideas that will sell. One of the facets caters to this human emotion that wants to know about the "out-of-the-ordinary" occurances, the shocking tales of crime, abuse, and misconduct.

I wish the news would move away from simply "what's happening" and toward "this thing that is happening is a big deal because _____ (and there really should be some credibility to it) and this is how it influences you"

Who really cares if Katy Perry is a Lady Gaga fan?

I just feel like the issues that we really need to be aware of, the things happening around us that impact us, are quietly being kept undercover while we

Post Office Irony and Oatmeal Cookies

2011-01-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

On December 30th, I decided to go mail my resume to a news organization I am hoping to get an internship for. The post office inside the Wilk usually services my mailing needs but on this particular day, this location was closed. You mean I actually have to go further than 2 blocks from campus to do something other than grocery shop?

Ok fine. I made it all the way down to 100 south and 100 west. The first time, I drove right past the post office without realizing it. Wondering if maybe they had relocated because of Nu Skin purchasing 100 West, I thought it must be around here somewhere. I had seen a mail delivery truck right behind me. I circled the block and realized it was just on the other corner. I only checked two of the four corners.

As I am pulling into the parking lot, I see a sign that says something to the effect of, "Fifteen minute parking for post office customers only" followed by some other words. I dwelt on that for a minute and then parked. Thursday afternoon at 2:30 couldn't be that busy. Oh but it was. For the first ten minutes, there was only one attendant working. Not surprising. My mom related to me a story of standing in line at the post office during the Christmas rush and how you'd be lucky if you could get out in under an hour. I think I had about 7 people in front of me in line. Then the second attendant came back. But, he spent about 10 minutes with one customer.

Then a man walks up to the counter with about five small packages. My theory is he was shipping bombs to all parts of the world. Whatever the case, these boxes were going to places like Canada and Brazil. He was one of those customers who did extensive market research on exactly how much he would expect to spend on his packages before stepping foot in the post office. This made it difficult for the poor attendant. He would quote the customer a price and the customer would go on about how he looked the price up online and it should be something different. He was with the attendant for about 15 minutes before it was my turn with the other attendant. I am pleased to say my postal needs were met within 60 seconds. It was a heavy, odd-shaped envelope and I just didn't know how much postage it would require. The postal man figured it out fast. I felt a sense of pride. I knew the lady standing behind me was absolutely elated because I was so fast. Most of the customers were taking 5 minutes each at the counter. I left the post office and mr international-packages was still there. I estimate he was there at least 15 minutes. He could have been there longer. I have no way of knowing because I was out of there.

As I walked out of the post office I saw the automated postage machine and wondered if that would have worked for my needs. Maybe I will check it out next time. My total time spent in the post office was 25 minutes. The irony is that the post office only allows for 15 minute parking. Go figure.

In other news, I have been on a quest to find the best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. A friend of mine revealed that is his favorite cookie and I am determined to impress with my domestic cooking skills. Guys like cookies, right? A few months ago I searched the internet. Found about two or three recipes I wanted to try. But then they just sat in a folder for a few months. Over the break I have decided I have time to bake. I looked the recipes over and picked the one I think sounded the best.

I could write an entire blog on the differences between the recipes but I wont. I'll simply say, I think most recipes are afraid of nutmeg. Don't fear the nutmeg. It does wonders to your oatmeal raisin cookies. (On a side note, I keep typing raising every time I attempt raisins).

The first time I made the recipe, I used margarine. Epic mistake. I was at the grocery store looking in the butter section and saw a brand and wondered, "Why is this brand of butter so cheap? Significantly cheaper than the rest" so I grabbed it. When I got home I realized, it was margarine. The box says they are "better for baking buttery sticks" so in my defense, I was easily fooled. I made the recipe anyway. It tasted wonderful! It cooked terribly. Stupid margarine.

Today I decided to cut the recipe in half and use butter instead of margarine. After realizing I had to adjust the cook time so the cookies dont burn, I decided they are okay. The texture was good. They werent too flat. The color was alright. But I decided this time they didn't taste right. They have less "kick" to them than the first attempt did. I think it has something to do with the nutmeg.

So, I will try this recipe one more time by following each step exactly. No substitute ingredients. No halving the recipe. We'll see how that works. If it doesn't, I will forever abandon recipe A and try an adapted version of the standard oatmeal raisin cookie recipe found on the Quaker oatmeal container. So continues the quest for the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie.

thinking about food

2010-12-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

When considering lunch and other food options, I plan on buying items that are mobile or convenient. I've had to do that in college and during the last couple transfers of my mission. In total, that has consisted of about seven or eight years of my life. Nowadays I plan my lunches based on whether or not they're healthy and can fit in my backpack. And cheap.

I wonder what kinds of foods I'll eat when I am done with school. I'll go to work and continue with the tradition of packing a lunch. But some day I will stay at home and be a mom, in which case I can consider lots of other food options.

HALT

2010-09-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get into impromptu lectures with friends. I rarely enter the discussion with any particular point I want to make. As the discussion continues on, I see how incidentally my thoughts lead up to a main point rather well. Here is how my thought pattern evolved in this particular instance.

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine about a guy who is interested in dating her but she can't decide if she wants to date him. However, she spends quite a bit of time with him. I wondered, "If this girl were crazy busy and had no spare time to see this guy, would she still make time to see him? If it meant sacrificing in other activities in her life (like sleep) would she still do it to spend time with him?" At this point it really isn't a sacrifice for her to see him.

She thought about it for a minute and I suggested it was probably more of a rhetorical question anyway.

She has dated this guy once before and decided she wasn't into him the first time. I said, "I know I can't make this judgment call and you're clearly struggling to make it yourself, but it seems like you made your mind up about him the first time around when you weren't lonely that you just weren't interested in him and now that you're lonely it is easy to go back to him."

I then shared a similar story about a guy I went on a few dates with in February. After a few dates I knew I didn't want to date him. I made the decision when I wasn't lonely not to date him. But then I found myself lonely a few months later and thought, "maybe I should give him a second chance" but quickly stopped myself from pursuing that thought because I would have been making the decision when I was lonely.

Then something I learned from Dr. Israelson this semester popped into my head. He said, "Never make decisions when you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.HALT is the acronym." The idea is that you are letting short-term, temporary conditions influence long-term outcomes.I would add that the only decision you should make when under these conditions is to either go eat, cool down, find a group of friends, or sleep.

In this instance, I asked my friend if loneliness was really the right reason to be spending so much time with the guy. Probably not.

I could have never planned out such a discussion leading up to a widely-applicable point like HALT.

The changing face of education

2010-09-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

In my religion class last night, a fellow student made an announcement: "Hey, I am passing around a signup sheet for you to put your email if you want to collaborate through google docs about the exam 1 review sheet."

My teacher had no idea what the student had just said. "Is that English?" he asked. "Oh, its technologese."

Twenty years ago, the internet was not the primary resource for research in higher education. Maybe among faculty, but students typically did their research by searching physical bookshelves in libraries.

Today, students search electronic bookshelves that are customized to the particular search they are performing, whether that be search engines or databases.

Email was not the primary form of communication among students and professors. Today, we dont know how we could ever communicate with a professor without email. Office ours are hard for students to attend given today's over-crammed, fast-pace culture. Students are no longer only full-time students. They are full-time students and full-time workers or parents. Maybe even all three.

Study groups were the way to go when preparing for exams. While this is still the predominent form of group exam preparation, a new method is emerging and that is google docs.

Said student in my religion class created a google doc and we can all access it. He typed up all the questions with enough space in between for all of us to type everything we know about each question. This allows for a much more comprehensive smattering of information. If you were having pen difficulties during one topic and missed taking notes, and the student to your left doesnt have the notes because they were asleep, you're not out of luck. go to the google doc and see what everyone else had to say.

I am sure there are many more ways in which higher education has changed over the past few years, especially with the incorporation of new technologies. However, this is all I can and choose to think of right now.

A Few Theories on Happy Valley

2010-09-17T12:49:00.001-07:00

I was talking to a friend the other day about dating and marriage in Provo. Here are a few highlights.

From most of the students I've interacted with in the time I've been at BYU, we all agree. There really aren't that many people getting married all the time.

Perhaps the reason for this "everyone gets married" perception is that there are roughly 32,000 students at BYU (probably double the amount at most of the other universities in Utah) and if you factor in UVU and BYU students living among each other, that figure jumps to about 65,000. Then there are all the singles living in Provo/Orem who are not enrolled in school. The number just keeps getting bigger.

Dont you think there might be more people getting married in Provo because the population of young, single people is much larger than other cities? I'm willing to bet the proportion, compared to other college towns, are a little more equal than people want to admit. In short, maybe simple population is a variable people choose to overlook.

On a typical night in Provo, not a lot of us are out on dates. We're all hanging out, doing homework or working. Or sleeping. BYU is academically very demanding and a lot of us have to do homework on the weekends to stay afloat, sacrificing part of our social lives. A lot of BYU students are content to hang out with roommates or friends instead of going on dates. The social life at BYU can be absolutely great.

My friend pointed out the problem is that we're too content with hanging out, doing homework, or anything else that isn't dating. Why would one really want to go out on dates (and deal with the stress of dating) when the social life is great? When homework is less stressful than dating? When you've gotten no sleep all week and only care about crashing?

It seems like people who get together at BYU do so as an afterthought--kind of like they just backed into it one day on accident. Some of us arent deliberately meeting people and dating. We have a group project for a class and by the end of the semester we ask a girl out in our group cause we got to know her through the project. We meet people accidentally through class, work, ward, friends, etc.

Most BYU students will agree that marriage is important to them. But is it a high priority right now? Not for a lot of us. Maybe when we move out of Provo into cities where there isn't as good of a social life (or distractions of work and homework), we'll feel getting married is more of a priority and put forth the effort. Or maybe some day we'll just wake up and say "ok I'm ready to get serious about this dating stuff."

But for now, church leaders and others tell us we need to get married but we have a lot of reasons why we're content to just not date and move in that direction.

My first day as a GA Reporter

2010-08-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

This semester I will be writing for the Daily Universe as part of my Comms 321 lab experience. Later today I will be assigned to a beat. Yesterday, we were advised that we would have a better chance of getting on a particular desk (metro, campus, sports, arts and entertainment) if we volunteered to cover a story before being assigned to a beat. Thus, yesterday and today I am a general assignment reporter by my own choice. I volunteered on the Metro desk because thats the desk I really want to write for. It would give me a chance to interact in the community as a regular reporter, rather than covering campus news.

One of my initial thoughts as I began thinking about the story assigned to me (Obama and Mormon approval ratings) was, "Well, I have no contacts because I'm not assigned to a specific beat." Already I am feeling the necessity of contacts and connections with people in the beat. I see how relationship building will be essential.

I had no idea where to go with my story. There was a Gallup poll recently released about Obama's approval rating among the major religions in the country, and Mormons had the lowest rating, at 24% approval. I asked my editor what exactly I should do. She said to get the reaction of some students. Its a reaction piece. It will be 12-15 inches. I haven't even been oriented on the software we use to format our stories, so I'm relatively clueless on how long 12-15 inches is. My editor said it is about a half page single spaced. Roughly.

One of the DU advisors talked about dressing professionally for interviews. She said they have had people call into the DU and complain about how sloppy the reporters were when they showed up for an interview. Independently, earlier yesterday I felt that if I am going to be approaching people for the paper, I should look slightly more professional then the average college student. So I tried to dress a little more nice today for my interviews.

I dont feel official yet. I'll get my press pass later today (hopefully) and then I will feel better. Anyone can just walk up to you and say "Hi I'm a reporter for ______ paper. Tell me what I want to know" and it just seems like your source just has to trust you. And I mean, granted, fabricating a press pass probably wouldn't be so hard. But I would just like one to feel more legit.

savor life

2010-07-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

When you get to be my age and single, you feel like life is going in slow motion at times.

It gives you a better chance to be "seasoned" when you do get married. the slow motion of it allows you to savor every moment of your single life. also, to live it up. make the most out of being single. love it. savor it.

what will you do to season yourself?

how will you savor your single years?

develop hobbies? create memories? get an education?

2010-04-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

studying for finals at the library w10: observations by Katie (ok the title for this post isnt a katie original but it fit.)

it is so wonderful that school libraries stay open far longer than typical city public libraries (9pm). the HBLL stays open till 2am during finals week. it is good for people like me who do better studying late at night and need a quiet environment void of distractions.

going to the library is good because it eliminates nearly all possible distractions, such as:

1. noise. going to the deep recesses of the library provides an environment where there is practically no noise at all. no people traffic to grab your attention.

2. cell phone. no reception down at the bottom of the library.

3. food. its far more inconvenient to get food at the library. it takes you at least 10 minutes and two flights of stairs to get out of the 1st floor of the library. so you arent going to leave unless you are really really hungry. but as i learned very recently, you can have food in parts of the library. so you can create that distraction for yourself if you want.

4. usually you can go to the library and not be distracted by friends, family, or roommates. however, i recognize the fact that the longer you attend BYU, the more likely you are to run into someone you know at the library. potential distraction.

5. slight fatigue. the chairs are usually hard enough to prevent you from getting comfy, which promotes sleepiness.

perhaps the only distraction i can think of facing is that of getting mentally or physically fatigued. thats about the time i usually lose focus, give up and leave. one time i experienced the distraction of staring at the books on the shelves nearby. that didnt last very long though.

do not try to study anywhere on the third floor, unless you thrive on a moderately high noise level. people... i know you can have food in the no shh zone. but if you are in one of the recesses of the library where silence is expected, will you please please please not ruffle wrappers creating unnecessary noise? at least go make your noise on the third floor.

most people take off their shoes while studying. hey, why not be comfortable while there? a few times i've seen people who lie on the ground under/next to the desk they are studying at. not sleeping. just studying. it gets uncomfortable sitting in a hard chair for so long, so i dont blame them.

my first night of studying in the hbll, i observed occasionally (and by occasionally i mean once every two hours) a student just randomly perusing the aisle where i was studying (note: no reason for traffic where i was). i wondered, "why is this random student walking over here. they have no reason to be. either you're walking this aisle to get to a desk, or to leave a desk and this student is doing neither."

my second night gave me enlightenment on the matter. i had been studying for about two hours and noticed the guy in front of me studying calculus was MIA but all his stuff was still there. i concluded he must have gone for a walk. i figured, i've been sitting for awhile. a walk will be nice. i will get a little mental break and boost blood flow. so i found myself wandering the perimeter of half of the first floor and wandering in aisles that dont warrant frequent traffic (just to get more distance in my walk). suddenly it hit me why i would see random students walking past me every now and then: they were walking in my section of the perimeter, just as i had been walking another section of the perimeter.

i've been spending time at the library in 3 hour blocks. maybe i'll bump it up to more? occasionally when i plant myself down at a desk, i'll observe the people sitting in the proximity (usually no more than two people). I feel kinda guilty when i arrive at the desk after them and leave before them. the guilt increases when i get there after them, leave before them, and they are studying calculus. my heart really goes out to you mr calculus man.

fire alarm went off fri night at 9pm. i'm down on the first floor of the hbll. in the very far south west corner. the exit is on the 3rd floor north section. the alarm sounded. i had a moment of conflict because everything you ever learned about responding to a fire drill was to simply get up and leave your stuff behind. but, all my notes for all my classes to prepare for all my finals were spread out on the desk. conflict: should i do what i've been taught and risk losing all my notes to prepare for finals? or take an additional minute to grab my stuff?

my rationale: it was going to take me at least 5 minutes just to get to the library exit. if it was a really bad emergency, what is one more minute going to make? either i'm toast or i'm not. so i grabbed my stuff. good thing, because i got out of the library with my life and my notes, and no harm. never found out why the entire library had to be evacuated.people waited a half hour to get back into the library.

ding dong: it is now 10:45. the circulation desk will be closing at 11 pm. if you have any materials you need to check out, please make your way to the circulation desk. (something to that effect). anyone else jump out of their seats when this bell rings? so silentI experienced the message one hears as the library is about to close on sat night. Good thing i didnt plan on studying past midnight tonight. in order to encourage you to "exit the building immediately" they blast annoying music throughout the library. tonight it was the blue man song. actually, people were laughing about the song. and exiting the library very quickly.

some big fat guy walking into the no shhh zone with headphones singing, "well.... my girls in... the next room..." completely unaware of how quiet it actually is. me and two other students at computers all started laughing. so great. i love it when you and another person (or people) can laugh at something without speaking a word to each other.

interesting how i only set foot in the library last semester about three times (two for a group meeting and once for work purposes...never to study). i avoided the library in previous semesters. I have a feeling i will be spending a lot more time in the library this summer. it will be my home away from home.

Interesting things I found

2010-03-31T14:38:00.001-07:00

I have made it a common event to post interesting links onto Brandon's facebook wall. Today, I have found a lot of interesting stuff. There is too much to simply post in a status update, and I know better than to flood the news feed with 12 status updates containing all this stuff in individual entries. These thoughts prompted me to decide I should make better use of my blog.

http://provopulse.com/ tons of articles written by we the people of provo

http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/ncmorons/ an interesting attack on ncmo.org (ncmo.org no longer exists)

http://www.earthgrains.com/default.aspx#/home/ buy at your local Walmart. Eat bread, help the environment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Karnazes this guy is almost as hard as Chuck Norris

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/ Speaking of Chuck Norris...

http://www.thechocolatedc.com/ I will check this place out at some point. Chocolate. Need I say more?

http://provo.onethousandthingstodo.com/ If you're bored here in Utah

http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/ more stuff to do if you're bored in Utah

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/A-Few-Rules-To-Run-By.htm?act=EMC-Active&Vehicle=Running&Date=03_30_10&Edition=1&Sections=Articles&Creative=A_Few_Rules_To_Run_By&TextName=A_Few_Rules_To_Run_By&ArtText=Txt&Placement=1&Dy=Tue an article about rules for runners (definitely worth reading if you run)

http://news.google.com/ I dont think I can adequately explain why I think this site is interesting

I've begun running again. I think I started about three weeks ago. The other day I ran 2.3 miles. I typically run 3-4 times a week, depending on various conditions (reminds me of Stats 221 "Check for conditions: SRS? Normal Distribution?") I ought to write a blog on how Stats 221 changed my life (possibly for worse).

Referencing that link earlier in this post about running rules, I thought I'd quote one part that was particularly interesting to me:

My dog, a shepherd mix named Cooper, doesn't care where we are or what time of day it is, or even what the weather is like. He doesn't know what his resting heart rate is and rarely bothers to wear a watch. He just loves to run. And every time he does, his face and his body telegraph one simple message: This. Is. AWESOME. I'm runningrunningrunningrunning!

The "Run Like a Dog" Workout (Including Warmup and Cooldown) Walk 8 seconds. Trot 4 seconds. Stop. Sniff. Sprint 7 seconds. Freeze. Walk 5 seconds in any direction but forward. Stare 9 seconds. Lunge at rabbit. Double back, walk 3 seconds. Urinate. Repeat six times. Collapse on rug.

So there you have it. It could work. It incorporates variable speeds. Interesting enough that I dont think I could get bored so quickly.Speaking of getting bored while running...a few weeks ago I decided to run on my parents treadmill. Boring: the scenery didnt change. The couch was right there and I was feeling especially fatigued after a 7.1mph brisk jog lasting 3:36 minutes. You try running when you're super tired and the couch is calling to you, taunting you.

This summer I plan on running a 10k (Provo City Freedom 10k in July) and possibly a half marathon.

Thanks for reading! Good night and good luck!

Out of the box thinking, and other stuff.

2010-02-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

The out-of-the-box idea

here's an idea. think of god as a corporation, rather than an individual. there can be one "god corporation" in a specified geographic area (however large you want to define it). Say that "god corporation" has all the answers to everything and knows everything. And say "god corporation" is made up of hundreds of individuals who specialize in knowing about certain things. Each individual might not exclusively know all the answers to everything, but they might know all the answers about one subject.

i guess i was just sitting pondering while studying statistics and thinking it just seems so impossible for one being to know literally everything. but i'll be the first to admit that my reasoning can be rather flawed. I don't claim to have all the information there exists to really make a valid assumption. just a thought.

Moving onto my next subject of pondering....

Theory 1
it seems people are most susceptible to raging hormones and emotions from their early teens all the way to approximately the age of 23. Some a little younger, some a little older. it seems like during those years is when a person has the greatest chance of forming these reactions into habits of behavior.

Theory 2
there are certain growth experiences a person can have during the latter part of these years that can refine the person's natural impulses to respond with high and damaging emotions. These experiences can include serving a mission, serving in the military, or going to prison. The person consciously works to suppress the outward response to those urges. In doing this constantly over a long period during these formative years, a person can potentially prevent themselves from creating a habit of high emotional behavior.

Let it be known that I am not suggesting:

a person will automatically be refined of these potential characteristics if they go through some sort of growth experience as previously mentioned.
a person cannot refine their character through means other than those mentioned.

What I am suggesting, as merely a hypothesis, is that maybe those growing experiences accelerate the ability of a person to create habits of behavior that are less abrasive, if they so choose. Those long periods of designated time to some growth experience (military, prison, mission) create more scenarios for the individual to practice the behavior they want to emulate, thus forming the habit quicker.

Idea number 3

Awhile back I had this thought, but I am recording it now since it has not been recorded previously. When a person experiences a relationship breakup, there are one of two generally possible outcomes: really bad, or good. We all can think of an example of a really bad breakup.

Might I suggest an example of a good breakup. Two people agree to quit dating with no intended harm to the others' feelings. They aren't entirely motivated by selfish desires.

Lets examine the really bad breakup scenario. It might be easier to "get over" the ex due to a number of variables. These include:

They had some major character flaws that you simply overlooked during the relationship
The relationship had major problems at any given point
They were such a jerk in the actual breakup that your feelings for them are forever destroyed

But when none of these conditions exist, it may not be quite as easy to "get over the ex." My theory is that in this latter category, when the relationship was good, the person was good, and the breakup was good, that you don't necessarily "get over" the ex. It might be more likely that you learn to live without the ex. The feelings don't entirely go away, you just learn to file them away in the archives rather than keeping them in active work in progress.

to run...or not to run?

2010-01-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I ran nearly my whole mission cause I needed some form of exercise. I came home and quit running for about a year. Then last May I decided to train for a 5k. I did an 8 week training for that race. I ran in the Provo 4th of July Freedom Fest and it was super fun. My dad came and watched me run. I finished in about 33 minutes. Then I stopped running.

Fast forward to January 16, 2010. During the past 6 months, I've thought a lot about running. I knew I wanted to start running again nearly that whole time. I just lacked the motivation. One thing that really helped was my faithful electronic visiting teacher of running: Active.com. It kept sending me newsletters to my email every month and I would occasionally skim through the titles of articles. I dont know how this particular newsletter hit a motivational nerve for me. I really wanted to start after the holidays, but not like everyone else. So I staggered myself a little. We're two weeks into January and the super-unmotivated people are probably quitting their running by now.

So, I went for a run this morning. It was a brisk, oh, 21 degrees outside. Not the most ideal temperature for starting up running again. My lungs are weak enough as it is; compound that with the cold air and you've got trouble. After .5 miles, I was ready to be done but I kept going. If there is one thing I do know, it's that beginning runners tend to run too fast. So I kept my speed down and just focused on distance. I completed my mile in 10:47 minutes. Not terrible. I dont think I ever got down to a 10 minute mile when I was training last year. But boy could I feel the difference in my lungs.

I came home with muscle cramps and had to remind myself of how to prevent those. Ah, the joys of starting up running again. Luckily my real training doesn't start for two more weeks, so I have the next two weeks just to get in shape enough for my training. Haha as funny as that sounds.

I have a lofty goal for the end of my 12 week training (starting in two weeks) and that goal is to run a half marathon. That will be the first weekend in May. Here in Provo. And then I'm excited to plan on running in the Freedom 5k again. Or maybe I'll do the 10k. Thats a thought.

Running to be continued Monday.

Dr Sexy, this is dedicated to you!

2009-08-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Dr. Sexy and I have this joke where we tell funny pickup lines. well, its mostly a one-sided game. anyway, i came up with one today. here it is.

if there was a price to awesomeness and attractiveness, baby you'd make me broke in a second.

here is another one:
(when you hug dr sexy, jump back and exclaim) "ouch! you burned me; you're so hot"

there have been other silly lines, but i cant think of them right now.

writing... and other forms of release

2009-08-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

people usually pursue a form of release from the stresses they face. Some examples include writing, music, sports, sleeping, talking, or other hobbies. they usually default to the one that they're good at because it gives them confidence. when you dump all of the emotion into something and you are pleased with the end result, you have that feeling of satisfaction.

who wants to go play sports when they're stressed if they're not good at sports? it just compounds to the stress. some would argue its just a different kind of stress and they'd like the change. no thanks. i'd usually rather trade stress for no stress.

however there is one athletic form of stress release i'll pursue. its trading one form of stress for another. its snowboarding. when i'm snowboarding, i focus so much on boarding that i dont think much about other problems. that, and sometimes i'm just so concentrated on not dying that i dont have time to think about anything else.

some stress relief avenues temporarily distract our minds from the things that stress us. other things, (like for me, writing) helps us see the stressors clearer and that can lower the stress level.

but what really frustrates me is when i try to write to express myself, but the words dont come out. or there are gaps in the written thoughts that dont capture the entire picture. there's not a whole lot more i can do to try and release those thoughts, feelings and emotions. and they cant stay in my head. they gotta get out somehow. maybe i should try abstract drawing. normal drawing only stresses me out more because i cant make things look the way they're supposed to look.

the other ways i can find those feelings of release, although not as intensely, are snowboarding and talking with people. i cant do snowboarding year round and i havent found another affordable alternative. skydiving was a good method, although super expensive. talking with people usually helps cause it forces things out, but i usually have such a hard time getting words out that i get frustrated that i cant convey my thoughts to people accurately. plus, when you happen to be talking to someone who just wants to fix your problem rather than empathize, its lame.

ok, so, this blog is super unorganized. and thats how my writing comes out sometimes. and i dont wanna take the time to sort it all out. sometimes my writing and my thoughts fit together perfectly like a little puzzle. but other time its just a bunch of pieces scattered that are somewhat related but not put together very well.

Talking to the dog...sorta

2009-06-18T09:48:00.001-07:00

I feel like that little girl on that old LDS commercial where she tries to show a picture she made to her mom and her dad. No one will take the time to listen to her. So she shows her picture to the dog. I wanted to talk to my mom this morning. She was sick. I wanted to talk to another friend of mine this morning about running. We didn't have time for that in the conversation. So here I am talking to my blog.

I started running in the middle of May. I ran 6 days a week on my mission for exercise. I learned to like it. I came home and planned to keep running. However, Utah has a much higher altitude than New York, so I quit running quickly due to the fact that it was harder. I was not up for the challenge at that point. Fast forward to a year later. I've been wanting to do something for exercise. I liked running. I just needed a motivation. So I went and bought some running shoes. That got me excited. Most of my running shoes have been hand-me-downs so I was thrilled that these were MY shoes. Bran new. I had a pair of nikes in jr high and a pair of sauconys in high school but yeah. Anyway.

So then I got this idea that I would train for a 5k. On the mission I decided I wanted to do a bike race. When I came home from my mission, my friend Kristina was training for a triathalon. I have this tendency for always wanting to do what Kristina does (we were locker partners a lot in school, I followed her to Weber, lived in the same apartment complex as her, went on a mission just like she did) so here I am thinking, oh a triathalon seems cool, I want to train for that some time. I also have had an admiration for my aunt, who at the age of about 40, ran a marathon. That has been in the back of my mind as well. So here I am training for my 5k in July. Its not a very long race and one wouldnt think a lot of training is necessary for that short of a race. But for me, its a goal. And that goal has motivated me to push myself a little. There is no way I'd just go out and run longer than 5 minutes if I didnt have a goal to work toward.

I run on the streets of Provo. I dont like running on a track or treadmill because I dunno, it just seems too fake. Predictable? But one thing I dont like about running on the streets (aside from the occasional air pollution) is that its harder to track how fast I am running. I am figuring out how to do that now, but it has taken me a few weeks. When I first started running, I didnt care about speed--just distance. But now I am concerned with both. Today I calculated I am running roughly 5 mph. I'd like to be running around 6 mph. However, some of my daily runs include hills, so there is the potential that I might be a little faster if I wasnt running up hills part of the time.

The first week I started running, day one included a .5 mile jog. Day two was like .75 miles. Haha here I am a little over a month later and my "normal run" is 2.4 miles and this Saturday, my long run will be 3 miles. After the 5k, I'd like to be able to continue to slowly increase my distance. I'd like to be able to go do a 10 mile run and have it be a fairly decent workout but nothing that kills me (psychologically, physically, aerobically). And maybe if I continue to increase my distance in little increments, I could do a half marathon next summer. Or even a full marathon? Wow thats crazy to think.

So today I ran 2.4 miles in the morning. I feel so good throughout the day. I noticed when I was running shorter distances, I wouldnt get that same good feeling. My heart feels happy. Thats a good way to describe it. I dont know why I have to run longer than the standard 20 minutes to get that feeling. I think this is the feeling people are supposed to get after 20 minutes of exercise to get that cardio workout. But for me, it takes just a little longer. But it feels great.

Bubba's Resume

2009-06-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes correct spelling just doesn’t matter…
My Resimay
To hoom it mae cunsern,

I waunt to apply for the job what I saw in the paper.
I kin Type realee qwik wit one finggar and do sum a counting.

I think I am good on the fone and I no I am a pepole person, Pepole realee seam to reespond too me well. Certain men and all the ladies.

I no my spelling is not too good but find that I Offen can get a job wit my persinalety.
My salerery is open so we kin discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,

I kin start emeditely. Thank yoo in advanse fore yore anser.

hopifuly Yore best aplicant so farr.

Sinseerly,

Bubba

PS: Because my resimay is a bit short - below is a pickture of me.

Employer's response:....
Dear Bubba,

It's OK, we've got spell check.
See you Monday.

QWERTY Keyboard vs Dvorak Keyboard

2009-05-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Source:

The QWERTY keyboard is intentionally ineffecient and akward. this keyboard takes twice as long to learn as it should and makes us work about twenty times harder than necessary. QWERTY was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes, who designed this keyboard to slow down typists. In his day, the type bars on a typewriter hung down in sort of a basket and pivoted up to strike the paper; then they fell back into place by gravity. when two adjoining keys were struck rapidly in succession, they jammed. Sholes rearranged the keys on a typewriter keyboard to minimize such jamming; he "anti-engineered" the letter arrangement in order to make the most commonly used letter sequences awkward. by thus making it difficult for a typist to operate the machine and slowing down typing speed, Shole's QWERTY keyboard allowed early typewriters to operate with a minimum of jamming. his design was then used in the manufacture of all typewriters.

Typewriters became mechanically more efficient, and the QWERTY keyboard design was no longer necessary to prevent jamming. the search for an improved design was led by Professor August Dvorak at the University of Washington, who in 1932 used time-and-motion studies to create a much more efficient keyboard arrangment. Dvorak filmed people while they were typing and spent a decade analyzing which operations slowed them down. the Dvorak keyboard has the letters A,O,E,U,I,D,H,T,N, and S across the home row of the typewriter. Less frequently used letters were placed on the upper and lower rows of keys. about 70 percent of typing is done on the home row, 22 percent on the upper row, and 8 percent on the lower row. On the Dvorak keyboard, hte amount of work assigned to each finger is proprtionate to its skill and strength. further, Professor Dvorak engineered his keyboard so that successive keystrokes fell on alterative hands; thus, while a finger on one hand is stroking a key, a finger on the other hand can be moving into position to hit the next key. typing rhythm is thus facilitated; this hand alternation was achieved by putting the viwels (which represent 40 percent of all letters typed) on the left-hand side and the major consonants that usually accompany these vowels on the right-hand side of the keyboard.

He goes on dates every weekend...and they're not with you

2009-03-08T20:25:00.001-07:00

This a blog I drafted about 3 weeks ago when I saw He's Just Not That Into You. I decided to just post the draft as it is.

I've had a lot of experiences over the past month that have helped me recognize when a guy’s not into me. A lot of guys have come into my path lately who are nice…just not into me. But I kept making various excuses like “oh he’s busy” or “he’s shy” or (the best one “he just got off the mission and is adjusting.” (p.s. don’t even go there) The list goes on and on.

The truth is, if he’s interested in you, he’ll call. He’ll make it happen. No matter what. Even if he is shy. He’ll still put forth effort. I’ve talked about this discovery with a few of my friends the past week or two and they are happy for me in making this discovery but I know at the back of their minds, they are thinking “duh Katie.”

From all of this I made the conclusion that it is easy to tell if a guy is into you. This conclusion literally came last week. And I’ve decided to quit trying to read into things that are not. I tell myself “he’s not into you. Don’t read into it. Don’t do all the work” And last weekend I went snowboarding with some friends. I didn’t bother with trying to figure out if one of them liked me and to be honest, I had a great time. I could have ruined a perfectly fun snowboard trip with trying to figure out if someone (who is not interested) is interested. No thank you.

Today, my roommate and I went to see the movie He’s Just Not That Into You. I liked the point of the story. It reinforced a lot of what I’ve experienced the past month.

Its easy for us to look at these scenarios in third-person and say “hello!? Can’t you see he’s just not into you?” but we’ve all been in these scenarios first-person where we aren’t interpreting the signs correctly. Plus our friends ALWAYS feed us stories about how their cousin’s best friend’s niece had the same experience and now they are married. Nearly everyone I've talked to who has seen this movie relates to at least one experience or character.

The movie asks you, “are you the rule or the exception to the rule?” and it determines to prove this girl is the rule. Then at the end, she becomes the exception to the rule. The truth is…our lives are so unique. No two lives are exactly the same. Yet we look for reassurance in comparing similar experiences and hoping for similar outcomes. How many of us take a class at school and finish with the exact same end grade percentage? We want there to be these absolute truths, these rules to live by. These scenarios that worked for someone else, so it will make our lives easier if they apply to us as well. But the truth is…these rules are personal and catered to each person. Just because it worked for her doesn’t mean it will work for you. You just need to follow your heart and do what feels right for you.

The movie had some good messages but those messages were wrapped around a lot of unnecessary trash. I really related to some of the scenarios and felt especially connected to the film because of my experiences over the past month. My roommate appreciated the fact that the girl started to respect herself more, even if meant more time by herself.

The experiences I really related to were the fact that Gigi had a hard time understanding the signals (of un-interest) that guys would send to her. She would try real hard to "coincidentally" run into a guy she liked. She would do all the work of trying to get dates.

Well, I don't have a good transition to end this blog so...yeah. And its funny that I had to write a rough draft for this blog….

Restrooms

2009-03-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

There needs to be more analysis done on the restroom. What a great sanctuary from the world. First of all, the restroom helps you fulfil one of your physiological needs. We talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs in my mcomm class last night so that is on my mind. You can literally escape the world in the restroom. Once you enter that stall, no one will bother you for nearly anything. Need a personal moment? Hide in the restroom.

Its also great that a lot of womens restrooms have couches and chairs to chill if you need more time away from most of the public.

I'm writing this blog specifically because I was in the restroom today and this girl whom I dont know just decided to compliment me on my shoes. It was great! And it happened in the restroom. It made my day.

Oh and I promise there is a blog coming on my analysis of He's Just Not That Into You. Coming Soon.....

The Infamous 25 Things About Me Post

2009-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

This was taken from my note on facebook. However, I have modified some of the information just because more people have access to this information than on my facebook (or so I'd like to believe)

1. I was born in California and did not talk like a Utahn the first half of my life.
2. I am blind in my right eye.
3. I used to do Irish Dance for about 3 years.
4. I played the violin for 7 years, stopped after high school, and will start up again this year.
5. I always have a song in my head.
6. I hate practicing for my singing class.
7. I have 5 half brothers and sisters in addition to an older brother and a younger sister.
8. I started kindergarten when I was 4, so I was ahead a year in school but I am not gifted or smart.
9. I'm honest to a fault.
10. I've never broken a bone.
11. I served a mission in upstate New York and love ny style pizza. and wings.
12. I will spend a lot of money on a good haircut.
13. I will also spend a lot for my snowboard to have a good spa treatment.
14. I am narcissistic and vain. Its been a closet obsession of mine but I am coming out. I've told two of my roommates and now the world of facebook.
15. I am at work obviously not working right now.I've also spent way too much time on this note.
16. I want to study accounting, but the program is hard to get into. I might change to something else.
17. I never watch tv, although I like the office.
18. I have a Jewish bloodline. But I am not of the Jewish faith. But I do have the urge to celebrate Hanukkah every year.
19. I spend all my time working and studying.
20. I used to be scared of the dark and I still fear walking home alone in the dark.
21. I want to go skydiving and compete in a tri-athalon or bike marathon before I die.
22. I wonder if I should put anything negative about myself in this note.
23. I go shopping but I generally dont like shopping for myself.
24. I show affection through sarcasm and teasing.
25. I have two middle names. I was named after my grandmother. Since I was born at home, my mom took care of getting my name on the birth certificate. That middle name was part of her name. When I was being blessed as a baby, my dad knew my middle name involved part of my grandma's name, but seemed to think it was the other part. My birth certificate and social security card dont match. My church and school records dont match my drivers license or birth certificate. Its a problem I am still avoiding.

Exact Science and Wikipedia Rant

2009-02-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's an exact science. Every time, without fail, I can walk away from my desk and the phone will ring. Often times I am in a position (quite literally) where I can't just drop what I'm doing to run and get the phone. But I can be sitting at my desk for literally two hours without getting up and the phone wont ring the entire time.

Why is Wikipedia the end all for referencing information? I posed this question in my last blog. I have not thought about this one enough yet but here are a few ideas. 1. Conformity and Compatibility. I know this statement is a fallacy but since everyone references Wikipedia, everyone references it. I dont mean literally everyone, its just an overstatement. Anyway, it's the same concept of a majority of the world using MS Suite to accomplish a variety of needs. If you type a document in Corel WordPerfect and email it off, chances are your receiver will open it in Word. Of course, these feelings are side effects of my opinion that too many people in this world use PC operating systems because of conformity and compatibility. And they are too set in their ways.

Back to the original discussion of Wikipedia. It is a reference tool that is always being updated, as opposed to paper based references, which are updated not nearly as often. I have been reading the About section of Wikipedia and it linked me to a page about what Wikipedia is and is not. I will briefly summarize what Wikipedia is not:

1. A paper encyclopedia
2. A dictionary (see google for dictionary)
3. A publisher of original thought
4. A soap box
5. A mirror or a repository of links, images, or media files
6. A blog, webspace provider, social networking, or memorial site
7. A directory
8. A manual, guidebook, or textbook
9. A crystal ball (yes this was on their site)
10. An indiscriminate collection of information
11. Cencored

Its also not a democracy, a bureaucracy, a battleground, an anarchy, or your web host.

Credible Stuff

2009-02-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

One of my future research projects involves finding out why Wikipedia is the most credible web source out there. It tends to be the "end all" of sources.

Another thing I've noticed is when person A is trying to make something happen on their computer. They try numerous times and it doesn't work. So they call in person B. Person B can be literally anyone--computer skilled or not--and whatever they are trying to do suddenly works.

Theory 1: The computer has power. We have power. It's the classic two-against-one theory. When you have the powers of two people against one machine, we can overpower it.

Theory 2: The computer just doesn't like you and will give you as much hassle as possible, but will behave when anyone else is there because it wants to make you look foolish.

Day 1

2008-12-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

They say sometimes the best time to start a blog is when a life-changing event occurs. I'd say I have a few. The first one is I just moved out of my parents house to an apartment in Provo last night. The second is I started a new job today at BYU. The third is I will be starting school next monday. I think that just about covers everything.

Yesterday I was thinking about New Years resolutions. I love to organize and categorize stuff. So I was thinking of different types of resolutions. Some are achievement type goals. Others include developing or breaking a habit. I'd also include a category of developing or breaking a characteristic about oneself (being more honest, being less worried). I then proceeded to start a very rough draft of my resolutions for 2009. I don't want too many resolutions. I also want to pick ones that I am truly committed to. Lets face it, if I am not committed to it, it wont happen and it will likely end up on next year's resolutions.

So here they are:

1. Something to accomplish: do community service

2. Habit to break: eating too many goodies

3. Habit to develop: bringing journal to church for notes

4. Attribute to develop: missionary work

5. Be in Times Square 12/31/09