1:02, and to bed.

With aching hands and bleeding feet
We dig and heap, lay stone on stone
We bear the burden and the heat
Of the long day, and wish 'twere done
Not till the hours of light return
All we have built do we discern
-Matthew Arnold

Talks and talks and talks...

I'm not a very good communicator. I recognize this, it's something I'm working on. Jamie used to make fun of me in high school for reading books about how to talk to people. "Just go talk to people!" she would say.

Here's a poem I wrote today. I thought of using it for a poetry workshop, but it's a little 8th-gradeish in quality.

A Letter and a Stamp Won’t Solve This Problem

I’ll start with a note on Facebook
Not long— a few lines on her Wall.
And if she responds on Tuesday,
Well, maybe I’ll give her a call…

Better yet, text her a message—
How R U? It’s been a long time :-)
And if I’m feeling creative,
I may even send her a rhyme.

She’ll answer in a few minutes—
Or hours, if she’s playing coy—
If it’s days, maybe she’s busy
Or was murdered in Illinois.

Eventually, I’ll need to call her
(Unless she’s in a Chicago grave).
First, I should work up the courage;
For phone calls, you’ve gotta be brave.

Perhaps I’ll send her an email
Bcc to no one but me
It worked out for Tom Hanks and Meg
Ryan. Plus, all email is free.

Well, next thing you know we’re Blogging—
The relationship’s getting intense
She thinks I’m fully committed,
But clearly I’m still on the fence.

Hey, don’t get me wrong, I like her—
She’ll make someone a perfect mate.
But we don’t blend well together—
We just cannot communicate.

Picture says one thousand words

From our Heber Date and Ray's Party

Tagged...

A rose, by any other name...

1.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)Grasshopper ThinMint
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) D Hey
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)Azure Meerkat
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)Bruce Provo
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)HeyDa
7.SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)Green Mizu
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)Al Norman
9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )Bruce Hancock
10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 6th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Espinoza Edinburgh
11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)Fall (fun)Gi
12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)Raspberry Shortsie
13. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)Cheerio Maple
14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)The Reading Sun Tour

Tag--uh, anyone who wants to waste five minutes...

Amy, you're missing out...

Amy, sad you're not coming to BYU for spring/summer. A few friends got together last night and made a list of things we are going to do for those months. Our goal is to do as much from this list as we can.

Looks like it's gonna be a dope summer! But you'll have fun in Australia, I know...

Fishing-cuttin, guttin, and grillin
Crawdad fishin'
Star gazing (learn constellations)
Float Provo river
Bike to Bridal Veil falls (tandem…)
Wakeboarding (deer creek, utah lake, jordanell, pineview/yuba, echo, bear lake??)
Sleepover @shelley's cabin
Horseback riding
Fishing in the dark
Rope swing @mona
Hot pots in Heber
Manti pageant and penny candy
Strawberry days rodeo
Strawberry ice cream
Ride trax to gateway, fountains at nighttime
Vegas and back (or not back…)
Bryce Canyon/zions
Dinner cruise on the Great Salt Lake
Lagoon
Sundance-movies outside, ride ski lifts
Watch movie outside Chats on projector
Springville art gallery
Art projects--huge canvas and ballons, paint darts
Slip n' slide mud at rock canyon park
Goblin Valley
Thanksgiving Point
Riverraft in Moab
Drive in movie at SL
Day out to take pictures, then make photography collage
Park City--Downtown, alpine slide
Service project
Ultimate frisbee
Glow in the dark crochet
Country dancing
Shotgun shooting
Homemade ice cream
Hiking (mt timp?)
Backpacking
Buy helium balloons and suck them
Huge nertz face off game night
Bowling and pool
Swimming!!
Watch sports! Hello!
Christmas in July
Provo Parade
Hot air ballons (4th of July)
Memorial day-take flowers
Tie die shirts or make matching tshirts/pj pants
Run a 5k together-Charleston 5k
Dinner at Ottavio's
Dinner at Carrabas
Sushi Night
Iron Chef Competition
Heber Sleepover

They're Grrreat!

Today, I found out I'm gonna be getting a nephew. Get 'er done, Shamie.

This cereal is currently changing my life. So sweet and crunchy, perfect with milk, or just as a midday snack.

Did you lose something, sir? No...but I will...

Summer is fast approaching. That means wakeboarding, London, California (maybe), and adventure.

I've made a goal Thursday of last week to get down to 167 pounds by April 28. I was at 178 last week, I'm at 175.7 tonight, and I will be dedicated to this until April 28th, baby!

They say if you make a goal and then let people know, you become more committed. So here goes. I'm gonna be down to 167 by April 28th. I've let the world (or, my mother, the one reader of this blog) know.

Two Quotes

“This is my prayer for all of us—'Lord, increase our faith.' Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow.”
--Gordon B. Hinckley


Courage, brother! Do not stumble,
Though thy path be dark as night;
There's a star to guide the humble,
Trust in God and do the right
--Norman McLeod

And to bed.

You want a Hobbit?? No! A HOBBY!!

Ok, so I am in quest of a new hobby. I want to spice up my life, make myself more interesting, expand my horizons.

I did decide to go to London for Summer Term Study Abroad (I think...still iffy, but only one day left to back out without penalty...).

I hope to come back from that trip with an Oliver Twist Cockney accent, and also an uppity Jeeve's the Butler English accent. Maybe even some Scottish, because we'll be in Edinburgh too (and I'm taking a Scottish literature class..."Sticks and stanes may brake yer banes, but words will naever hurt ye")

But back to the topic at hand. A new hobby.

Here's a list of possible ones to pursue. I'm sure I'll add more as I think about it.
*Racketball
*Tennis
*Fishing
*Hiking (I already enjoy hiking, but I could do it more
*Wakeboarding (Ditto hiking)
*Swimming (Ditto hiking and wakeboarding)
*Photography
*Geocaching
*Shotgun shooting

Ok, here are some hobby's I will most definitely NOT pursue:
*Checkers (I'm the worst checker's player ever)
*Rock climbing
*Skiing
*Bird watching (uh...that's a robin...er no...a sparrow...er..ahh..dahh!!)
*Shopping
*Painting
*Pottery
*Bow hunting
*Video games


Any thoughts, fam and friends?

I Have a P..P...Personality?

Crazy busy day. But it's good to be busy.

After 4 hours of working with numbers in Salt Lake for le Ritchie Group, and two hours of driving with thought time, I rushed over to an Honor's Symposium. Elder Bruce. D Porter and his wife spoke, and it was amazing. I'll recap what I learned tomorrow--no time tonight.


A conversation at the Honors Symposium


Girl: So...what's you major?
Me: The most boring major you can think of...
Girl: Accounting?
Me: Yep.

This happened twice tonight. So, it made me wonder...can I work for an accounting firm (even if it isn't tax or audit, and I get to travel around helping big corps do transaction real estate) and still have a personality?

Yeah.



For example, I hate peaches. The texture is too fuzzy, like eating a cat or a velvet pillow. And, Abi in OA says that homeless people smell like peaches.


I hate cashews. Eating a cashew--texture, shape, taste--is like eating an overgrown toenail. Sick.


I just discovered this morning that I love peanut butter and banana sandwhiches on Granny Delight's wheat and fiber bread. Toasted. So delicious.



I can't say no to people--I'm a people pleaser. I'm too nice. Sometimes I get overextended and stressed, and then I tend to shut down my personality.


I need to pursue more hobbys and interesting things in life. I've thought about this today, and made a list of possible hobbys to continue doing more of, or to begin anew (I like using the word "anew"). I'll post the list tomorrow.


I have good taste in friends and associations. My friend Jon in Cedar just won the student body president elections at Southern Utah University.

I have amazing roommates, and great friends.

Life's pretty good, y'know.

Been Spendin' Most My Life, Livin in Bachelor's Paradise...

So, another breakup.

Two classic lines from Bethany when she was consoling me.

"Just eat some chocolate and endure to the end."

and

(with a strait, yet smirky, face)

"I know what always helps get people out of depression. Service."

I went to Heber tonight for some good 'ol family time, and we decided to go bowling. Of course, it was leagues night so no lanes were open. We ended up dragging Main St., listening to Mom talk and talk and talk.

Anyways, taking the Pollyanna approach--

the top five reasons Why It's Fun Being Single:

1)More time for pickup basketball

2)New chances to use pickup lines

3)Flirting is fun

4)Uh...more time for basketball?

5)( TO BE FILLED IN LATER)

Some ironic things. I'm supposed to speak on a dating panel for the Stake Relief Society Enrichment on Thursday. Also, people had finally stopped asking me whether I was dating someone or not. Now, the questions will begin anew.

Well, let the good times roll.

Vision

On my mission in Japan, we had a zone conference where President Whitesides showed us a picture of Mt. Fuji, and shared a story about the first time he saw the mountain. Mt. Fuji, while certainly not as tall as the world's tallest mountains, is stunning because it rises from almost sea level to it beautiful peak--it can be seen from miles and miles away.

He encouraged us to create a vision for our area, and also where we wanted to be in five years, ten years, and so on.

Before I came to BYU, I made a list of a "vision" of what I wanted to accomplish from my education and experience.

Maintain 3.9 GPA
Find a good job
Learn how to be more social
Become active in student clubs and leadership
Travel somewhere in the summer
Lose 7 pounds
Write for a BYU publication (newspaper etc)
Get Real Estate license (if fees are reasonable)
Get into the accounting program
Get an internship for a newspaper/publication or an accounting firm for the summer
Finish reading the Book of Mormon
Get married
Go camping at least 8 times
Keep a scripture journal
Be able to run 4 miles
Help Jake get into BYU
Keep contact with the missionaries I teach and missionary friends

Ok--these are from a list I copy and pasted from my journal my freshman year. I have more, but I didn't want to share smaller or embarrassing things. Looking at it now, I'm surprised at how many of these things I've been able to accomplish. I'm not married, of course, and I've lost my scripture journal so I need to get that back up and running again, (oh...and Jake isn't in BYU...yet) but I look back at the years I've had at BYU so far with gratitude. I've learned so much, and i still have much to learn in my last spring and summer semesters. Whether it's in Provo, or London, I'm sure that I will be able to learn the things I need to that will prepare me for my career and my new vision for the next five years of my life.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
-Henry David Thoreau