The Risks of Shuffling

Instead of listening to songs in any logical order, I like to shuffle them on my ipod and listen to whatever may come next.
As I was driving in the dark, I realized that shuffling your songs is risky.

The Jolt: If you're listening to a slow and pensive song that ends with 10 or more seconds of almost complete silence, you're putting yourself at risk for "the jolt." It's inevitable that someday after one of those quiet songs, a loud note or intro of the next song will jolt you out of your seat!

The guilt-trip: My ipod automatically uploads everything from the itunes library on the family computer. So, once in a while a conference talk will come up. Now I'm on a guilt trip...I really want to skip it, but what if it came up for a reason? Maybe I'm supposed to listen to it....so I wait out the 15 minutes, so I won't have a guilty conscience.

The blush: Sometimes you have unplanned trips with your friend. The first thing they hear when you turn on the car is some crazy random song that you just love, but they look all queer, and express outloud, "you listen to Monty Python's Spamalot?!" Clay Aiken is worse, though. Or Evita. Or....

Those were the only ones that came to my mind. I think I'm going to think about this some more. Or you could just tell me some other risks.

19th Birthday in Las Vegas

playing with cotton candy

I had to go to Las Vegas for a swim meet for about five days. And I was in Vegas for my birthday.

As my high school coach put it, "If you don't drink or gamble, there's not much for you there." I quite agree. Las Vegas is way overrated.

We had to swim in the meet both morning and night, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

So, last night after the meet, I decided to hang out with the "Canadians" on my swim team, because they were getting something to eat right after the meet then go to the airport to go home. It was a lot of fun, and I had the best frozen yogurt with big ginormous blackberries on top. It was definitely better than any $35 buffet on the Strip.

By the time I got back to the hotel, everyone was already dressed up and leaving the parking lot. We weren't allowed to wear anything with "University of Utah" on, and seeing I was decked from head to toe with that or a "U", people didn't want to wait and left. I was all alone at the hotel, and it was pleasant. Instead of making my cold take a turn for the worse, I was enjoying two full hours of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Then I went to sleep. Lovely.

Vegas and Birthdays are overrated.

So nice to come back to salt lake.

Finals Week

Finals week is interesting.
I had a music final last Friday (a joke).
I had an English final on Monday (wonderful, I love English!)
I had a chemistry test today.
"Wow! This is easier than I expected! The first two pages alone took me five minutes to do! (turn the page) ...CRAP!"
Looking at the values of questions, I'm certain I got 62 points right. Out of 200. The rest, I'm not so certain. We'll have to see if I pass the class.

Tomorrow I get to do Calculus.

Then I get shipped off to Las Vegas for a serious three day meet, prelims and finals.

Then I get to come back and train at the U for a couple more days.

Then I get 6 whole days away from the pool for sure.

Then I get shipped off to Mesa, Arizona to do winter training for about 11 days.

Then I start next semester (which I'm actually excited about because I'm taking more English classes and classes where you get to read, and not think hard about little atoms that I can't see. I admit, chemistry is very cool, but way too sophisticated for me. Trigonal bipyramidal? Meh. Pi bond? Ack. Viscosity? Grr.)

Tape

If I'm being naughty or bad, all you have to do nowadays is show me some athletic tape, and I'll disappear.

Athletic tape wouldn't be so bad if I didn't swim. But since I swim, it rubs on my armpit, chafing it to shreds. (not literally. It just hurts.) And recently, every time I have to take the tape off, it pulls some of my skin off as well. Oh, joy. I hope my shoulder heals quickly!

On a happier note, I went to Temple Square with my close friends this evening. It was beautiful, because it was foggy outside, but when we re-emerged from watching the Joseph Smith movie (which was beautifully done), it was snowing. Hard. I got drenched. It was very pretty, magical, and lovely.

Tendonitis

Yup. That's my diagnosis-tendonitis.

I felt very stupid in swimming this afternoon. My shoulder started hurting again, despite all the therapy and tape that I've been through and put on. Listening to the dad side of my shoulder (not the mom), I stopped, and the coaches looked at me funny. What do I say? I need to talk to the trainers and see if I can get my shoulder to stop hurting? I say in a clumsy way that I need to do something about my shoulder.

The trainers had fun pushing, prodding, and pulling on my shoulder, stuffed a couple of asprin down my throat and sent me swimming again. Unfortunately, about a 500 later, it was hurting big time again. Rather than adjust my stroke and lose my technique, I decided to stop, put on some flippers, and kick the rest of the long set. Coach stopped me and asked me "what's going on?" I explained to him that I have tendonitis according to the trainers, and that I'm doing my best to take care of it for once. He nodds his head thoughtfully, and turns back to the pool he's coaching (not mine).

After practice, we got yelled at/lectured at again. Only this time it was reprimanding us for not taking care of ourselves. Two boys had to drop out of practice today because they were struggling. Why? They didn't eat anything today. Coach is very frustrated that we are all adults, but we can't seem to take care of ourselves properly.

Healing?

Last Thursday, my left shoulder started hurting more than normal. Of course I had the "Vickie Syndrome." I refused to get out right when it started hurting, because I thought it was nothing, and that the others would think I was weak and just pretending to get some time out of the pool. Only until I wasn't making the times in the workout, and the coach came to yell at me, did I confess what was wrong with me.
I don't know what the trainers think is wrong with me, but the treatments I've been having are...not what I expected to say the least. Sure, they tape up my shoulder and such, but before practice, I actually have to put gel on it, hook a weird instrument to a machine, and ultra-sound my shoulder. Apparently it helps realign the tissue that may be out of place and such.

All weekend I had the joy of having tape in a couple of different places on my shoulder. Today after afternoon practice, I finally took it off, and the trainers wouldn't put any more tape on until my skin heals. It's cut in several places, from the rubbing. So...I'm tape-free for a day! Yay!

After practice I get the joy of having my shoulder electrocuted. I don't remember the exact name of the procedure, but they put four pads on my shoulder, and the entire 20 minutes, it feels like my shoulder has fallen asleep-only it's more painful than asleep...but the same tingling sensation, anyway. The interesting thing was, my shoulder felt like it was twitching. When I looked down at my shoulder, it was convulsing violently, it looked like it had a heart in it, wildly beating to get out of my arm.
Just for kicks, I pressed at one of the pads, and the muscle convulsed even more violently for a few seconds. I push a different one, and it seizes somewhere else.

Who knew that someone couldn't only feel butterflies in their stomach, but in their shoulder?

Team Meeting

I love team meetings! (Not just because they eat into time that I could be killing myself in the pool...)

We have team meetings with just the girls every so often, because Greg feels that we lack confidence in ourselves and so he holds meetings with little activities that sometimes seem stupid or just plain awkward...

Today he gave us three stickers. We had to adress someone on the team and have them stand up in front of everyone. Then you had to say why you like them, what they do to help you in practice, etc. Greg made us do this, because we don't seem to acknowledge a genuine compliment because we're insecure. So we're forced to accept one in front of the whole team!

Anyhow...before all this started, Greg likes to ask us how we're doing. And it's nice to hear people's comments, and be way glad that I'm not the only one! For example, lately, I just don't want to eat anymore. I used to eat a ton of food everyday, but nowadays, I kind of have to force myself to eat. Not fun. Well, that's been happening to a lot more people than I realized, and Greg explained it all for us: We're stressed because of finals, swimming is getting a lot harder, and now our bodies are shutting down, or trying to. And everyday that we don't eat enough, we're actually erasing some of the progress we've made. "you guys need to eat, even if you're not hungry. You need to take care of yourselves. I saw...(looks around, points at ME) this one walking to class with wet hair, and no hat! Just little things like that. You guys need to take better care of yourselves, especially when many of you are getting sick. No more making out with each other, you need to stay in control to stay healthy..."

The ironic thing is...I was cold that morning. But I got a hat and everything before practice tonight, so I'm covered. Don't worry ma and pa!

Thanksgiving and activities

Well, this year I didn't get as many pictures so... Willie and Poppy seemed to always want grandma's attention.

(yes, Poppy is pinching Will. I think if you maximize it, all three faces are amusing to look at. Poppy's face of mischievious delight, Will's just kind of sitting there, while Grandma makes an appropriate "oh!" face.)
In order to keep a very hyper Oscar still, we played a "game." You lie down on the ground, and you can't open your eyes, no matter what happens. Five minutes later "is this game over yet?"
Oscar valiantly keeping his eyes shut while Poppy practices being cute.

Ah ha! This is where things start to get fun, except for poor Will, who was starting to get sick. We drove up to the Jordan River to go on a walk and to hunt.

We weren't hunting for ducks, though...

Golf balls galore! It's like an easter egg hunt, but you have no idea how many eggs are out there, and what kind you'll find. With Oscar's, we found about fifty in the tall grass by the river. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun, despite all the burrs and brambles that caught me and got caught in my hair... I found the green one, by the way.

I am stupid. I am stupid. S-T-U-P-I-D.

Have you ever had those horrible days when you just want to hit yourself in the head over and over and over and over?

Yes, it's only 1:28 in the afternoon, but this day has already been very awful.
I wake up and go to practice, as usual. Good ol' coach Greg has made the kick circuit even harder, upgrading it to phase four. So I was very, very pooped by the end of practice, because we all know I'm not exactly the best kicker on the team. I ask Greg about the possibility of him giving me a workout to do on Friday in the morning so I don't have to drive all the way up there to work out right in the middle of the day (2-5). He gives me a dirty look and asked me what I could possibly be doing from 2-5 on a friday. Family! Gosh! Maybe I'll try talking to him tomorrow, only to give up and work out there from 2-5 on friday. Grr.
I walk over to the burb to study, since the chemistry lab lecture was canceled today.
Then I walk to my Chemistry "discussion," where we supposedly "discuss" things, except my TA is never there on time. Most of the time he's 20 minutes to a half-hour late. He was there early, passing out our graded exams from chemistry. That's the one good thing that happened today. I did very well, with my highest score ever on an exam in that class. Then the TA passed out some quizzes. Oh, joy. I'm never quite up to beat in chemistry and discussions, so I didn't know anything on the quiz. I really should have elected the no-quiz option so quizzes won't count...but I didn't. And these quizzes count.

Then I thought, "hey, today is Tuesday! There's no math class today because Tuesdays are review/discussion days for the weekly assignment, and there was no assignment for this week." So I fell asleep, deep, deep, happy sleep.
...Only to wake up in horror to remember something. Because of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the midterm for math was moved to today. I missed it.
The horror! The horror! How in the world could I have forgotten that? 15% of my grade is gone. Ugh! Arrrrr!

And we were just told to bring snorkels for dryland.

I could really use some encouragement. I thought about asking my math teacher if there was anyway to make up the test, but do I really have a reasonable excuse? "hey teach, I was taking a nap and forgot all about the test today. So...could I make it up somehow?"

I'm going to be sad if my grades are bad, because that means I'll be stuck at study table for the rest of my life.
Study table ain't that great. There's a fire alarm that self-tests itself every 35 seconds. Yes, I timed it. It is that loud and that annoying. The athletes here don't really study. Just talk loud and make lots of noise. I turn off my hearing aids, so don't worry.

I feel like a stupid incompetent idiot today. I can't wait to eat some turkey and yams on Thursday.

(ugh! arrrr! I'm so mad and sad!)

Have any of you guys done stupid things like me?

Snortkles

Dryland was very different today. How?
We had to wear our snorkles. Yes. Snorkles.
While we ran, we wore them. Pushups, we wore them. Everything, we wore them.
Half-way through the workout, coach made us strap tape over the opening, and punched a small hole through the tape, so we'll get SOME air.

Then we did full-out sprints.
Some laps around the Huntsman Center.
Push-ups.
More running.

All the while, we are not allowed to take it out of our mouth. (The point of the entire thing is to teach us to breathe in our mouth, out our nose. Then the smaller opening was to help us to keep our bodies under control even though we don't feel like we're getting enough air.)

There's one small problem of not being able to take the snorkel out of our mouth and breathing out of our nose. It's cold outside. Everyone's getting the sniffles. We're already drooling from the snorkel which is preventing us from closing our mouths.

Snot.

Lots of it.
Pouring down everyone's faces. No way to sniff it back up. No way to wipe it away, since the snorkel is obstructing our sleeves or hands to get to our nose.

Yup. Dryland was interesting today, as can be expected.

Chemistry Labs

Once a week I get to spend a couple of hours playing with chemicals, but nothing too explosive or fun. Usually we put together a bunch of different solutions, not really understanding what they are, and why we're putting them together. We only know that we need to record the temperature every minute for twenty minutes, and repeat the same experiment.

Then we get to move on and do almost the exact same thing, but with a different compound, or under different circumstances.

The most exciting thing we got to do yesterday was to burn a piece of Magnesium ribbon, to "observe" what happens.

To our delight we discovered that our tongs were crusted in residue copper, so it burned green (which Mg doesn't do...).

But that was it. We got to stir and stare at a thermometer for the rest of the lab.

I have found the chemistry lab to be an awkward place, however. I arrive right after swim practice, so I'm often sweaty and wet. Then we get to wear big safety glasses (in case that distilled dihydrogen monoxide just wants to tip right over!). If you aren't wearing pants and covered shoes, you get to don a garbage-bag skirt. Yup. They duct tape a garbage bag over your legs. If you walk anywhere, everyone will know, because you make a lovely swish swish swish noise with every step.

On top of all that, the tables are low enough that you have to bend at a 90 degree angle to correctly read the temperature or volume of a substance. The lab is set up so there's a person right behind you. When walking down in the aisles to retrieve more chemicals, it isn't uncommon to find that you can't squeeze between two rears, or you can just manage to squeeze, but it's really strange.

What's worse, is when you bend down to find, oh! You just butted someone you don't even know.

You quickly turn around, apologizing, blushing red, laughing nervously, then hurry and bend down back to your work--at an angle, so such a encounter won't happen again.

I guess that's why it's called chemistry...

Edge Version of Why the Chicken Crossed the Road

In case you haven't read the comments to my post a couple of times ago... I've decided to repost it here, because someone claimed that it was their favorite blog, but it wasn't even a blog! A compilation of comments was my masterpiece. That's just sad. :)

Jamison Fischer said...
mama - Stupid chicken, if it can't lay an egg, just let it cross the road. Hurry, lets get it and clip its wings before the neighbors find out we have chickens.

Lindsey said...
Because the book says its time for it to take a nap!

Ricky said...
It would cross the road to get away from the Wal-Mart.

Emily said...
Who CARES about stupid chickens?!

Willie said...
candy? candy?

Reed said...
Who cares? It's good target practice.

Natalie said...
Chicken? What chicken? What's going on right now? What did they say?

Mom said...
Maybe there were some good rocks over there!

Megan said...
Hey! How's it going?

Poppy said...
deebeedeebeedeebeedooo!

Oscar said...
Super Chicken! Raaawwwr!

Letty said...
To cross the finish line and smell the roses.

Bryan said...
To get a better investment and to eat some broccoli!

Carvel said...
Because it's uphill.

Micah said...
oy oy oy oy!
(slaps hands to side like a penguin)
(grins a huge smile)

Dad said...
NBD.



(if you feel that this isn't you, or if you're not on here, feel free to comment what yours is!)

Let's just say...

Well, coach is looking for a place for us to do our Christmas training. He really wants us out of Utah, away from our pool, but he wants unlimited pool access...
The Olympic Training Center in Colorado, (the OTC), was what he was counting on. They just called him to tell him (not nicely) that our swim team wasn't good enough to train there.
So...
We are left hanging.
And he's made dozens upon dozens of calls. It's too late to go somewhere in Canada or Mexico, because he doesn't think he can get our passports done in time.

The only place left wide open with unlimited pool access is in North Dakota.

I thought that sounded pretty cool, until everyone groaned. I've never been there, but apparently, it's very very cold there. When everyone whined, coach said that once it's 50 below, it's just cold. No big deal. He's been in places negative 101. Of course everyone asks the stupid question "was it cold?" And he says (get ready for it):

"Let's just say...it's an interesting sensation having your nose hairs freeze."

For Trekkies Only

I warned you in the title: Lots of these jokes are for people who are familiar with the show, otherwise this long post will be boring and stupid to them.... (The quotes in a different color are my favorite ones...)

The Star Trek Version Of Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?


Star Trek: The Next Generation

Picard: There are four lights!
Riker: I don't know why, but I know how: with pleasure, sir.
Troi: I feel the chicken's pain!
Data: The chicken, in observing that it was on the opposite side of the 20th century Terran paved roadway, was aware that its immediate goal should have been to traverse the distance without interception by any kind of combustion-propelled personal transport vehicle, but I am unclear as to why any kind of domesticated fowl should desire to perambulate upon a conveyance normally reserved for the usage of...yes, sir.
Geordi: Well, wherever it's going, I'm sure it'll have more luck with women than I do.
Worf: I don't know. Klingon chickens do not cross roads.
Dr. Crusher: If there's nothing wrong with the chicken, there must be something wrong with the universe.
Wesley: I'm not sure, but I can figure it out if I reroute these systems and reconfigure the warp field and run a complete internal whootchacallit on the computers and...
Q: Wouldn't you like to know? Too bad your puny human brain wouldn't be able to comprehend the answer.
Dr. Soran: His heart just wasn't in it. (Scenes of chicken torture with nanoprobes have been edited out.)
The Borg: Crossing the road is futile. The chicken will be assimilated.
Hugh the Borg: Maybe it just needed a big hug!


Star Trek: Deep Space 9

Sisko: It was seeking deeper meaning. Jake, do you see what we've learned from all this?
Kira: It was probably being chased by those cursed Cardassians.
Dax: To get to the other side. Kurzon might have disagreed with me, Tobin I'm sure wouldn't have had a clue, and then there's...
O'Brien: No problem, Commander, I'll get right on it.
Odo: I don't know, but I'm sure it must be Quark's fault.
Quark: Who, me?
Jake: Check out the babe that just came off that transport!
The Grand Nagus: Stupid chicken! You don't cross the road all at once! You sneak across it quietly, without anyone noticing!
Gul Dukat: Well, that's a very interesting question...I'm sure we can work out some kind of arrangement to obtain that information that will be to everyone's satisfaction.


Star Trek: Voyager

Janeway: If a chicken crossed the road then it is our responsibility as Starfleet officers to find out why. No matter how long or how far it takes us out of the way! Now who is with me?Chakotay: Whatever its reason, whatever its goals, we should respect its right to cross the road and seek its own spiritual awareness.
Tuvok: That's not a question we'd prefer to hear from a senior officer. It makes the junior officers nervous.
Paris: Well, I think that...say, that's a lovely shirt you're wearin'.
Neelix: Actually, Captain, I'm not really familiar with the chickens in this system. But, if you can catch it, I can cook it.
Kes: It was remembering back to the times when its ancestors crossed roads all the time! They lost those abilities because they stopped using them!
The EMH: How should I know? No one tells me anything around here. I didn't even know we added chickens to the crew. All I know is that it would have been nice, BEFORE the chicken went off to the cross the road, if it had remembered to turn me off!
B'Elanna: I'm sure it felt suffocated by all the bleeping regulations of bleeping Starfleet and just couldn't stand it any longer!
Harry: I don't know! It’s my first mission.
Seven of nine: It is irrelevant to our mission. The chicken should be left behind to suffer its own fate.
Icheb:I’m not sure, but if I look into our Borg information I could find out. Ahh! Here it is. It says “crossing…”


Star Trek: The Original Series

Kirk: You chicken monster, you killed my son... You chicken monster, you killed... my son. You chicken monster... youkilledmy ...son!
Spock: Fascinating,
Captain.Bones: I'm a doctor, not an ornithologist!
Scotty: Because she couldna take much morrrrre.
Uhura: Shall I open hailing frequencies so you can ask it, sir?
Chekov: It must have been on its way to assist in saving my life for the billionth time... did I scream this time?
Sulu: Don't call me Tiny!
Nurse Chapel: Oh, Spock
Harvey Mudd: Chicken? I don't remember any chicken. No, no, no, there's been a terrible misunderstanding.
Charlie X: Because it didn't want to stay...stay...stay...
V'Ger: To join with the Creator.
Khan: With my last breath I spit at the chicken.
Sarek: Sometimes logic fails me where chickens are concerned.
Sybok:To seek God, of course.

Rabbit sighting #4

Yup. I've spotted yet another rabbit at the university. I was walking back to my dorm from swim practice, and this one was happily chomping on the grass by the soccer field. It's situations like these that make me wish that I had a real camera on me all the time, rather than a cell-phone camera. It struck a lot of cute poses, but my phone can't zoom in on things, so...
This was the best I could do. It ran off when I accidentally stepped on a crunchy leaf the size of a dime. Dang!

Roald Dahl

As I was walking back to my dorm, for some strange reason, I started thinking about my favorite books I loved reading when I was younger. And many of the books that came to mind were written by the famous Roald Dahl.
What makes his literature so compelling to readers of every age?
I think it's because his stories were (and are) so unique, so realistic and believable. Plus, even when adults read his stories, they all chuckle and enjoy them. I think we all wish we had such a vivid imagination. I wish I still retained the huge imagination I had when I was younger. Where'd my blissful imaginary worlds go? I swore I would never forget them. But I never found the second star to the right. I grew up, grrr!

My favorite book of his will probably have to be "Boy." This is a simple yet hillarious compilation of his childhood experiences. Reading this book helps me see where he got all his ideas, and where many of his stories came from.

What do you think is so wonderful about his literature?

Halloween!

I've seen almost no students dressed up.
Professor Kesner, on the other hand...
Dressed up. Along with a bunch of other teachers I saw.

Speared!

This morning in practice, we were doing a drill where you have to start by floating. Then someone will tap you on the feet, and you burst out sprinting as fast as you can.
Unfortunately for me, the person was tapping people's feet with a PVC pipe. He missed the first time to tap me, so to compensate for missing, he did it extra hard the second time. It hurt, but I swam...until I felt the familiar flapping skin. The pipe actually cut me! Oh, joy.
More trainers being fussy.

Denver

I had a swim meet in Denver. Coach made us ride a bus there and back.
Let's just say that they played only two PG-13 movies, and the rest were rated "R."
Let's just say from my ocassional glances up that they're rated R because people who make movies assume that the general public is outrageously stupid. "You're too stupid to infer what happens, so let us show you every single gory detail." Obviously stupid movies are made for stupid people. What does that make the major population of the swim team? I'll let you decide that for yourself. I don't think you're stupid, you can figure it out. :)

Aside from the rotten 16+hours on the bus, the trip was swell.
At the pool, the blocks were so slippery, that I succeeded in belly-flopping for a couple of races. Gee, how embarrassing! I still did purty well.

How to build a hut

Well, I've grown very desperate for sleep.
My roommate and I have very different lifestyles. For example, I have to get up at 5 AM for practice. She has to get up at 9 AM for class.
So...she doesn't usually go to bed til 11:30, 12:00.

So, my friends' suggestion?

Build a hut around my bed.

I have a good idea on how to maybe start it, a frame made up of PVC pipe... but then what? Drape fabric on it? Would it stand? Or would it just crumble?

Do you guys have any ideas?
(Besides slipping cyanide in her drink, which a COACH suggested.

Ay, me.

If, somehow, during practice, you cut yourself, or something starts hurting and spitting blood, do not go to the trainers for a band-aid.
I somehow cut my elbow on the wall, and I waited til after practice to ask for a band-aid, since it was still bleeding, and the cut was on an area of my arm that's always sitting on my desk.
The trainer told me that I should have come to them immediately when the cut occurred, and that waiting til after practice was not a wise idea. She goes through a lot of trouble of cleaning the wound, and bandaging it up...all I did was ask for a band-aid!
And now she wants me to come to her before next practice so they can tape it up before I get into the pool.

How many years have I been swimming? Many. How many times have I cut something in those many years? Countless. How many times did I get it bandaged before swimming? Never. Even the time I face planted into the concrete and had a huge scab on my forehead and nose? Nope.

I hope to sneak past her tomorrow. It's the tiniest cut in the world!

Ay, ay, ay. I've learned my lesson.

Positive

Poor people who even read this blog! I feel bad. I always whine and cry to the blogging world.

So I will tell you about my appointment with the nutritionist. We all have to see a nutritionist in our freshman year to make sure we know how to eat.

Apparently, I need to eat more nuts.

So I ate (dad's favorite treat at Yellowstone) a Nutroll, that I bought at a vending machine.

Why do I like Nutrolls?

Let's start from the center: A white sticky creamy nougaty tasting substance holds the entire bar together. Next comes the carmel that surrounds the nougat, then the salty, crunchy peanuts coat the outside.

My favorite way to eat a Nutroll is to eat the first half like a candy bar: bite by bite. The second half, I carefully tear away the carmel-nut shell to reveal the tasty white middle. I then eat the middle as slowly as possible.

How do you like to eat a Nutroll (if you like them)?

Low

I think I'm at one of my low points. I have a horrible attitude towards swimming right now.
It doesn't help I'm not getting enough sleep (kudos to my roommate and her silly model friend who is "visiting to see if she wants to come here." She's been here to stay before. All she does is hang out with my roommate, or if my roommate has class, she stays in my dorm and plays on the computer...ALL DAY [so I can't really sneak in and take a nap, which is what I do when I'm desperate.] Wouldn't you want to go explore? You have time! Do it for me!!!).
It doesn't help that I have classes everyday from 8:30 to 1.
It doesn't help that I have to work my butt off four hours a day.
And that I'm required to study in a certain building for a certain amount of time.
I'm never outside.
I never get to read, to have leisure time, to enjoy myself, to explore new interests, unless it's Saturday evening or Sunday.

I'm tired of being strong. I'm tired of being fast. Why can't I be left behind when we do travel meets? I wouldn't mind that much.

I'm starting to wonder if it's all worth it. Is it worth being so tired in class that I don't even really absorb the lectures? Is it worth spending my time with people who think it's funny to be crude all the time? Is it worth sacrificing so much time and sense of self-worth for a sport I'm not even sure I love anymore? Is it really worth it?

I don't even have time to just slow down and think and meditate and reflect.

I miss those things I'd do when I was younger, just riding my bike for fun in the fall in the neighborhood. Enjoying (but doing the required whining) the hikes we went on. Cross country skiing. Looking at the leaves. Fall really brings back lots of pleasant memories.

I'm told I have plenty of time to do this later in life, now is my time to swim fast. I know I'll look back on this blog and think what a whiner I was.

I don't know. I'm just ranting here at the study center, because if I were in the dorms, I think I'd throw out my roommate's friend and take a nap.

I think I'm just exhausted. Hopefully these feelings will pass.

Thoughts while driving in a snowstorm five minutes ago maybe I'll turn these thoughts into some kind of literature.

Lightning loves Snow.
Snow makes everything white and pure.
Come night, come white.
Snow accomplishes what lightning cannot.
It makes everything innocent and pure
Lightning strikes, making the world white
but for
an instant.
Hearts tremble, eyes startle,
then the wrath is gone.
The snow lovingly bundles us in a blanket.
....
....
They say that white is pure and innocent.
But is it?
Snow is white.
Lightning flashes, and the falling snow turns black.
...
...
While driving in snowstorms, my car is a spaceship, and the flakes are stars.

Bunny!

I mentioned in an earlier post for the school year that there are indeed rabbits around campus. I finally got a picture of one on my phone! This little Thumper was right by the HPER east entrance by the pool.

Leave it to...

Leave it to the swimmer girls to notice that many of us have strange eyebrows... lacking them, to be specific.
Some girls are so bad, that they look like cancer patients.
We then inspected our arms, and the hair is very short and fine, if we have any. Many lucky girls lack leg hair (we don't shave!). The "gob" of short ends that sticks out from the bottom of our caps is gone. Very short. Buzz-cut short.
Now, you may ask the question. Why? What happened? I'll tell you.

Chlorine. The chlorine here is so strong, my skin is constantly chafed, all the time, and eyebrows seem to be gone. Faded, and very thin, but dispersed. Burning chlorine...hmmm...maybe I'll write a poem about that.

When you see all the swimmers here during practice, with their caps on, no wonder why we look like cancer patients.

October!

With every
breath
white fog billows
about my face
vibrant feathers
fly flutter float
down and crunch
wet ground smell
cold crisp crunchy air
wakes me.

Midnight...fun?

I never explained exactly what kind of practice last night's (or should I say this morning's) practice was...

We were told to arrive in our suits, tennis shoes, and with our egg that we've already been carrying around for a few hours.
Greg announced to us that our egg cannot be padded, just all by itself. We have to do everything with the egg, and we can't let it touch the ground.
We then proceeded to run around the Huntsman Center at midnight, in just our suits and tennis shoes. Very chilly. Then we did a bunch of hard dryland including (but not limited to) pushups, jumping jacks, bear crawling backwards uphill, crabwalking backwards downhill, jumping over people (I landed on someone, and they used that as an excuse to not have to run today and such...I got landed on too! Come on!), sit-ups, etc. (Please consider...we have an egg in our hand the entire time)

We then got into the pool and started swimming with the stupid egg. By now, I'm very, VERY tempted just to toss it aside so I can get my technique right. As it turned out, I should have. But didn't.
After some...interesting experiences with the egg, (alright, I confess! It's very hard to keep up with everyone else when I'm the only one swimming with the egg in my hand, since everyone else has theirs in their...*cough*suit*cough*. I joined the crowd, stuck it in my suit...it slipped all the way to my belly-button....didn't crack though!) Greg informed us that the egg represents our egos. Apparently, we haven't been training as well as we could have, because one large (or small) thing is holding us back: our ego. We're more concerned in keeping our ego safe than having perfect form when doing push-ups and such.
Uh...you told us to keep that egg safe! Otherwise...I would've ditched it a looooong time ago.

Then we worked out hard.
Then we were excused to go home.
Unfortunately, it's hard to fall asleep after forcing yourself to wake up and workout in the middle of the night...
I probably got about...3 hours of sleep last night.

I'm anxious to go to bed tonight, since I have two swim meets this weekend.

Good Morning!

"Good mornin', good mornin'!
We've swum the whole night through!
Good mornin', good mornin'!
It's great to stay up late.
Good mornin', good mornin'
to you and you and you and you!"

Yes, we swam 'til about 1:30 in the morning. Thanks to the late-night workout, I can't fall asleep. And I know it's going to hit me in the head hard today.
But as I was riding back to the dorms, one of my favorite songs from Singing in the Rain hit me. And I started singing it...but no one else really recognized the song except for one person. Too bad nobody really listens (or watches) musicals anymore. I love them! And they apply to many situations.

For example, I really started realizing how poor John Adams felt in the musical 1776. One of my favorite quotes is at the beginning: "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress!" Also, three or more make a team... our coach made us get into teams by class, seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. Unfortunately, there are SEVENTEEN freshmen, all with different backgrounds, all used to being leaders...we never accomplish anything. Everyone just argues while I go into la-la land thinking about food. But I can't get the food...then I get ornery like John Adams... We've finally decided on a team name after...five days of incessant arguing: "Team Seventeen." Woo-hoo. Made team shirts, and now we have to think up a skit before Friday. And everyone's still arguing about that. On Tuesday, we had to do a scavenger hunt where you have to go to certain places for points and take a picture of everyone there. The catch? We had to drag a lane-line with us everywhere. Another catch? There's seventeen of us. Four cars. Everyone arguing where we should go. Another catch? Everyone wanted to win, so they ignored the fact that we might need something to eat. Went without food for two practices... We did go into the Great Salt Lake. Disgusting. Cold. Smelly. Brine shrimp. Need I say more?

I'll talk more about this week later today. For now, I think I've finally typed myself to the point where I think I can fall asleep. :)

"Peak Week"

Yes.
Starting this Saturday, we swimmers get to start what our coach calls "Peak Week."
On Saturday, we need to be within a 20-minute radius of the pool, because from this Saturday to Friday, our coach can hold practices whenever, for however long he wants. Since school will not be in session due to Fall Break, no rules apply.
He has hinted that we will have anywhere from 1 practice a day to 4 practices a day.
Oh yeah, some of them may be at midnight or 2 AM in the morning...
Oh, and practices might be within one or two hours of each other.

He wants us to learn how to perform well when we're exhausted...

Say "hip hip hooray for Fall Break!"

Please, let it be a nightmare

The only exciting thing that happened today worth noting...
A swimmer that was struggling this year, who is really fast, but burnt out to the max, announced to the team today during our team meeting that he was going to stop swimming. It was obviously a very hard decision for the kid, because he almost broke down crying...
And that opened up a spot on the men's team. My nightmare is back on the team. Ugh.

Scapegoat

Last night's workout was especially hard. And it was my night to get picked on by the Coach. Constantly yelling at me in between swims, and such.
This morning, we had our usual weight circuit. However, the weight trainer was ornery that morning, and if he catches anyone doing anything wrong, or not putting enough effort, we start that station over.
It was my turn to get picked on in weights today. "Everybody stop! Edge! You're not doing it right! This is how you're supposed to do it!" (And I'm mentally noting, 'Dang it! That's how everyone else was doing it...I didn't know!') And many girls send piercing glares in my direction. Later..."Everybody stop! Edge!...." He's always watching me. I see lots of girls slacking at other stations, being lazy...

And all I want to say to everyone glaring at me....

"baaaaaah!"

Leapin Coaches!

Warning: I'm diverging "confidential" information. A captain told us all not to say anything about tonight's practice. But I thought it was a good experience and lesson learned.

Tonight's practice was...interesting and exciting. That's pretty much all I can say to sum it up.
We had to do the 20x25 underwater dolphin kick again. This time we just kept starting over, we didn't get kicked out this time! Many of the people who struggled last time did much better this time.
However, (here comes the exciting part) the coach loves to play mind games. If he noticed anyone who was struggling, he'd wait for them to get to the wall, then hold them down for a few extra seconds underwater. I'd look up, and he'd be at the opposite end of the pool, and he dunked all these people! I was very intimidated, and worried that I might find my head being dunked underwater when I need air...However, that intimidation was in vain. He never came to my lane. :)
While waiting at a wall, the next thing I know...I see the coach leaping, in midair, and land in the pool. He pulls off his jacket and looks determined.
He came to my lane too late, but when I was looking, he'd get in people's way, stop them, cause them to work even harder, forced them to focus and keep going...

My dad told me not to worry too much about this coach. He seems like he knows what he's doing, and apparently no one has died from his workouts. Well...I'm sort of worried now. A swimmer on our team, who struggled last time, ended up in the hospital. Coach never touched him, and the swimmer is fine (honestly, I think he's a mental case).

But our team did the whole set today! (We did about 40 total...)

Lesson learned: If you're not performing up to standard, the coach himself will jump in and make sure that you do.

Mind Games

The entire swim team got kicked out of practice today.
Yes, my coach loves playing mind games with us. And if we're not focused, we'll get kicked out.
Unfortunately, when I look at all this in retrospect, I can't help but smile.
I know I'm supposed to be serious, and I am, when I'm at the pool. But just reflecting back on how the whole team stresses out and gets irritable with each other....after getting kicked out, the girls get really shrill in the locker room, wanting their opinion to be heard. I'm just a little deaf freshman, so I hear nothing, really.
All I see is red faces and serious expressions.

Ba ha!

English

My first "big" essay in English is due on Monday.
I found the story I wanted to write on, got it all organized, and made a fantastic claim.
Here's the problem: I've already written a smaller essay on this story. And for some strange reason, my Professor remembered my essay and some of the arguments I presented in it. And he felt inclined to bring it up during the lecture.
So.
He remembers my essay, I've already written on this story.
Maybe I will have to challenge myself, and look for something new in a new story.

I don't like to recycle when people are watching.

"Stress Stage"

Well, the Coach likes to do everything in stages of three weeks. Last week was the third week, so our first stage was over for swimming.
This second stage we're now in he likes to call the "stress stage." "Apart from practically drowning you in the pool, I will work you really hard in dryland."
Dryland ain't too bad. You are given a number, and there's about seven groups. You're randomly grouped together. The very first stage is with the Coach. It's a simple preschool game of "simon says." Only it's hard, since you do pushups, jumping, etc., and if you do anything out of line or wrong, you go back to the end of the line, to try again. Everyone in your group has to be perfect. If you pass that stage, you head over to Ron, who works mostly on legs, running, jumping, etc. After that stage, you work on core. Push-ups, bridges, mountain climbers galore! It is definitely the hardest stage of them all. If you successfully pass that stage, you work on abs. That's pretty hard too, but nothing is hard like push-ups or bridges. If you pass that, you are rewarded by starting all over again.
I've always ended up in the group that actually does well and goes the furthest. Some groups never pass the simon says stage. But both times, my group has to go through it three times! Sometimes I wish we weren't so great, because those other stages are MUCH HARDER than silly simon says.

Anyhow, on to the swimming. Today was our first really "stressful" set. In normal swim practices, you are given a set, you finish the set...wait around for coach to tell you another set to do.
Today, the workout was much different. No rest at all in between intervals, so you have to really listen when you're on the wall.
If you don't leave on time, or if you don't perform as well as they'd like, or if your technique is getting sloppy, you're kicked out from the rest of practice. You're not allowed to linger, get off the deck, and don't come back.
The first few people to get kicked out didn't swim fast enough for the 200 all out.

Later in the workout, we had to use snorkles. I've never used snorkles before. I swallowed so much water, and I started panicking, because I wasn't getting any air. I struggled through that, lasted a couple more sets, but I just could not breathe and was waterlogged.
So when we were told to do 4x25 on :30 all underwater dolphin kick, I died on the first one and got kicked out.
Sorry, but a body has to breathe!

Afterwards, in the locker room (I was one of the last girls to go in), the girls were all stressed and mad that they didn't get very far. "We should go and do dryland to punish ourselves!"
"We should do extra after practice tomorrow"
"STOP SMILING! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MAD AT OURSELVES!"
"Well, who's going to do dryland with me? We have to show Coach that we want to work hard."
"No, that's stupid!"
Angry glares and stares...

I didn't do the extra dryland. I don't believe that's the point of this stress stage. I know I did my best, I went far as I could, hard as I could. And I will give my best each and every day. Just because I didn't get far as I wanted today doesn't mean I'm going to punish myself. I see it as a foundation. I got this far today. Maybe I'll get a little further next time. I'll keep working at it, and learning, and growing. I gave it my best shot, and that's pretty much the most you can do.

Tomorrow I'm going to walk in there with no regrets, no anger, and work my heart out again. And since I'm supposedly doing this for fun, I am going to smile. Whether you like it or not. Not enough people smile around the pool these days.

Blindly (and deafly) swimming.

This morning's workout was interesting. We did a moderately hard set, we had to count our strokes per length. Then the coach gave us all masking tape. We had to tape over our goggles, so we couldn't see a thing. We were told that we're going to do a 25 sprint, from a start, finish with a turn. We counted our strokes, and we're experienced enough that we should be able to make the turn perfectly. We line up behind the blocks, and he tells everyone to put on their goggles. So I try to remember that I'm the third person in line.
I hear two separate splashes of water, so I know that I must be up now. I get up on the block, (remember I'm blind and deaf). The next thing I know is I hear a splash, and the coach yelling "GO!!!" I throw myself into the water, and totally ran into the lane-line. Oh, and I missed the wall. Flipped about 5 yards out. But apparently, that was the story with everyone.

Second attempt: I actually swam straight, but still missed the wall exactly 5 yards out.

Third (and last) attempt: I throw caution to the wind, decide to go all ALL out. I won't count my strokes like coach told me to, and just flip when I feel like it's the right time. What's the worst that can happen? A bloody nose? A lane-line burn? Face-plant into the wall? Heels hit the wall? Not too bad....
I swam my hardest, and I felt like it was time to turn. I did, and lo, and behold! My feet hit the wall! I blast off, and I hear cheering from the other girls who finished before me. I looked up, and noticed Coach looking at me, nodding his head in approval, then turning to talk to the assistant coach.

Uh...but I didn't count my strokes...is that bad?


The rest of the time, we did lots of drills dealing with starts and jumping, all the stuff I always struggle with... The drills of the diving board were probably amusing to watch.

Rats!

What on earth have I gotten myself into?

We had a short team meeting today, discussing the expectations of us during the recruiting trip.
Then we had to go run. When you're finished running, you immediately go into jumping jacks, until everyone is finished running and also doing jumping jacks.
According to coach, we didn't do jumping jacks properly, and we weren't serious enough at practice. After lecturing us on how we have to raise the bar, that details really count especially when you're tired, he told us to do jumping jacks again. I thought that I'd be okay, but I didn't know he'd have us doing hard dryland for a half-hour, including push-ups on his command. Which means you're up for about 20 seconds, down for about 10-20 seconds. Someone dropped a knee, so we had to start all over again. Then again. Then we did jumping jacks, then down on the ground AGAIN. By this time, everyone's shaking and whimpering and some people were even sobbing. When we finally finished those push-ups, I swear I wanted to die. Despite all the turds left from aerating, the grass was so warm, so soft, and it felt good just to collapse, to give up...
But a tall Russian swimmer yanked me by the arm and pulled me up. "You can do it, you're doing great! Keep going!" And I continue with the jumping jacks. He kind of surprised me. He's very aloof, does his own thing, and never talks to anyone. He practically saved me today, and I will always be grateful for that.

When I wanted to give up, the quiet one kept me going.

Rabbits!

One day I was riding my bike around campus, and lo, and behold! I saw something dart past my eye. I looked directly at it, and to my surprise, it was a cute small brown furry rabbit. Not knowing any better, I thought it was a lost pet, probably slow and tame like the one I once had.
So I try to catch it. Many passer-by gave me strange looks, shook their heads with a smile, and walked on.
The rabbit was impossible to catch.
So I gave up, assuming that it was probably going to have a sad, pathetic death. Like my rabbit.

The next day (today), I notice a rabbit hanging out by the elevator by the Legacy Bridge. It looked up and chomped on its grass.
Then I saw another one.

I asked around the swim team about rabbits. Many didn't know what I was talking about and thought I was pulling their leg. But a select few (very few) knew what I was talking about. And we got excited to recount our adventures among the rabbits.

Keep yer eyes peeled. There's lots to enjoy in life, if you move slowly and enjoy the scenery.

I'm alive, don't worry!

Well, I just noticed that I haven't posted in a little while.
Let me bring you up to speed.
Well, there isn't much to tell...
Weights went much better this morning.
Workout was hard.
I have a chemistry exam this wednesday.
My bruises aren't gone yet.
My guilt-pleasure right now is zoning out watching star trek deep space nine.
I actually got 7 1/2 hours of sleep last night.
I have stayed upright all day today, a grand accomplishment.
I spaced out in only two classes today, but not for the entire class, don't worry.
It's only Monday, and I'm very tired.
I have to write up a thing for the coach saying what three things that I think make a ute.
I'm not sure what I think makes a Ute...paint, tomahawk, and a feather?
I was just kidding. I have some ideas that would brown-nose to the coach like:
Mind controls the body. (Your body thinks its tired, but according to the powerful mind, you can make your body do whatever you want it to...)
Being the best person you can possibly be. (Doesn't necessarily apply to just athletics...)
Having the drive to accomplish your unrealized dreams.

What else is new? Uh...I ate a home-grown peach after practice today! But I couldn't really taste it due to stupid cottonmouth. (Cotton mouth is a term used by swimmers meaning that the chlorine has practically fried your whole mouth so it's numb and tingly and feels all swollen.)

First weight training session

What can I say about my first weight training session besides "ugh"?
Well...
It was very hard. Not very much weight involved, more of just body weight, medicine balls, and cardio workouts. My least favorite station was pushing a 45 pound weight on the ground around two cones that were far apart. You had to do three laps. The worst part? Everyone else at their station have to do what they're doing until you are done.
So, it's my turn to scoot that dratted weight on the floor, I finally finish one lap. "Everyone stop!" The weight trainer corrects someone. (If someone is doing something incorrect, we all have to stop and start over.) So, I had to do three more laps. It was hard.
But I didn't get ornery at the person who made us stop. I never know what's going on, especially in a circuit, because everyone's doing something different. I made the team have to start over twice. Luckily, once, the there was no one having to push the weight...
My favorite station was definitely the weird bike-fan. It cools you off as you work. And the treadmills were swell too.
One station I was struggling big time, and I happened to look up, and there was the Coach, staring me down, making me feel incompetent and weak, like I should be doing better. I was doing my best! Grrr...
After completing about 30 different exercises, we all gathered together to do bridges and core stuff. It was extremely hard. About half-way through the circuit, my sight was getting dark, as the darkness was creeping from the outside of my vision gradually closing inwards. I hate it when that happens. I don't think it's a good thing.

Then we hopped in the pool to swim. That wasn't too bad, since we were working mostly on floating. Sounds easy, but he wants straight alignment, and to focus on core. We also did multiple 25's where we run in, dive, do four hard strokes, then flip. We're working on lots of flip turns.

Looking back, I don't think I made much sense to the people who don't swim... all well. Just know that it was hard, and that it was training for training...

Accident-prone...AGAIN.

That, my friend isn't simple redness. That's a bruise. And the camera can't seem to capture it at its best...

Yes, today is one of my clumsier days. (I don't think I go through a single day without doing something clumsy...)
I woke up bright and early this morning, 5:24 to be exact. I got ready and started heading down to the pool.
There was a group of swimmers ahead, taking up the whole sidewalk. I didn't want to disturb them, being the pushover I am, and decided to go around on the grass.
Unfortunately, the grass was wet and soggy, so when I attempted to get back on the sidewalk, the wheel got caught in that little space between the grass and concrete. And I wiped out in front of a few swimmers.
I didn't care about the embarrassment. I was mad because I fell to my right. My left hand with the gash from running had healed quickly. But my right hand had a bruise, so it healed more slowly. It was just yesterday when I realized that I felt pain no more in my palm. But because I fell to the right this morning, my hand hit the concrete again. In the same spot. It's swollen.

Because of this incident, it makes me want to take physics. Then I could figure out how much force/weight/power? is behind that hand getting crushed into the concrete. I figure that I weigh so many pounds to start with, then the pull of gravity accelerates that, etc. etc. etc.

Anyhow. How was your day?

Silly Chemistry Question

I thought this question was just plain silly. It's from the "challenge problems" in the Chapter 2 section. So, here goes:

111. Use the concepts in this chapter to obtain an estimate for the number of atoms in the universe. Make the following assumptions: (a) Assume that all of the atoms in the universe are hydrogen atoms in stars. (This is not a ridiculous assumption because over three-fourths of the atoms in the universe are in fact hydrogen. Gas and dust between the stars represent only about 15% of the visible matter of our galaxy, and planets compose a far tinier fraction.) (b) Assume that the sun is a typical star composed of pure hydrogen with a density of 1.4 g/cm^3 and a radius of 7 x 10^8 m. (c) Assume that each of the roughly 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy contains the same number of atoms as our sun. (d) Assume that each of the 10 billion galaxies in the visible universe contains the same number of atoms as our Milky Way galaxy.

SO the reason why I find this amusing is the fact that we have to do a lot of assuming. Lots of which are incorrect. So, was I really finding the estimated amount of atoms in our universe, or in a pretend perfect universe where all the numbers work out just right?

AND...if there really are researchers and such really trying to find out the real answer to this question for our universe, I'm sorry for them. I don't see how knowing the amount of atoms that make up the universe help us at the present moment.

ALSO...I'll give you the answer to the above problem on... whenever I'm on next to blog. I'll put it in a comment under this post.

Bike Ride

As usual, I headed downhill from the dorms on my bike. I saw Queenie (that's the name she goes by in America, since no one can pronounce her real name...). She's from Hong Kong, and she's on the diving team here at the U. She's hilarious and a fun person to be around.
"Hey! Want to give me a ride?"
When I stopped to hesitate, she sat on the platform that sits over the back tire. So I shrugged and decided to see how it goes... The balancing was a little tricky. So I started to ride downhill again, and she told me to go faster, that she was fine. She did this all the time in Hong Kong. Then for about five minutes, it was dead silent. So I thought, "Oh, she probably hopped off to go to her building." The next thing I hear is: "I wish I had a bike!" She was still there!
It was actually really fun. The looks we got from people were amusing. Yes, it is what it looks like. A tall American girl on a big bike with a little short Asian in the back.
Both are laughing and grinning big smiles.

Then I stopped, and she said, "See? I didn't have to walk all that way, and my building is right there!" She smiles and walks off quickly.

I was hyper all day. I wonder if it was because of that cool, pleasure-filled bike ride in the morning. (I didn't have to work at all...all downhill. Just maneuvering around people.)

Weird Lips!

So, all y'all are probably wondering, "does Nat even hear the coach at practice?"
No. I don't, not really anyway. Unless he's yelling. That's a different matter.
Reading lips for me isn't that hard.
But with this coach, it is. He's always chewing something or has a toothpick hanging out of the corner of his mouth. This makes his lip formations strange. So strange that it's hard to read.

I decided to ask Ron (the assistant coach) about the Coach. Does he even know I'm slightly...hard of hearing? Ron told me he might have mentioned it to Greg once.
"Why? Can't you read his lips?"
"No. He has weird lips!" Ron laughs, and talks to another swimmer. I turn and talk to my friend Steph. The next thing I know, Stephanie's laughing her head off, and I look to my right, and there's Greg, with a wide-eyed-furrowed-brow-gaping-mouth stare. At me. Ron's chuckling. I put seven and thirteen together. Ron must've told Greg what I said about his weird lips...
What should I say? Should I say something? Do something?

I grin crookedly and say, "well, everyone seems to have weird lips at first. Don't worry. In a couple of weeks, I'll be able to read yours like a pro."
He smiles. I walk away quickly to go get dressed. Now that I reflect, that wasn't the right thing to say...I don't think.

Official First Day of Practice

Yes, today was the first official day of practice.
Let's just say, the coach is very intense, and I'm immensely grateful that the rules (from MWC or NCAA, I forget which) don't allow athletes to workout more than 8 hours a week in the off-season. But I'd better enjoy it while I can, because next Tuesday, the real schedule starts. Then I'll be clocking in 20 hours of workout a week.

If I thought I was sweaty during dryland last week, I'm very wrong to believe so. Our dryland today sounds simple, but it was really hard due to the heat and...yeah. We "jogged" downhill to the bookstore. Then we had to sprint uphill back to the pool. Then you find a partner and do wheelbarrowing to a certain point. Wheelbarrowing is hard, but even harder when your coach tells your partner to hold up only one foot... Then we did a bunch of crabwalking. It hurts the wrists more than anything else. We then went inside and did a bunch of core and abs. We did pushups the very last, and I kept slipping, that's how much my face and arms and legs were sweating! I was dripping everywhere. It was actually kind of frightening. I never realized just how much water and salt you can lose so quickly!

We then changed into our swimsuits quickly, and did a circuit workout in the water. I think the hardest two stages were: #3, you had to kick 300 yards with tennis shoes on. Then you jumped into the dive tank and kicked flutterkick vertically with hands out of the water (still wearing shoes). Stage #2 was also hard. It was 10 lengths (all from a start off the block) dolphin kick all the way underwater. Not bad, but there was a time limit that made you have to pretty much sprint around the pool back to the blocks only to go off again.

After working my butt off, the whole team huddled together to listen to the coach speak. From what I heard (which is not all of it), he was pretty much disappointed with our performance today. He started off with "Your first day of practice for this year is gone. You can't get it back. It's done." He told us that many of us didn't make the intervals or all the way underwater, or whatever, because we didn't set high enough standards for ourselves. The intervals he sets are the "bare minimum." You have to make those, if not exceed the expectation of you.

And he also explained that he's not going to put us in specialty groups for about 6-8 weeks. Everyone's going to be in every group eventually (e.g., the distance group, the sprint group, the butterfly group, the backstroke group, etc.).

His main focus of the first six weeks is to make our kicking excellent. Because, "if you can kick efficiently, you're going to be faster than ever." I'm nervous about that, because my kick is my weakest point. He expects us to focus on our kick more than anything else at this point. He proceeded to explain how we should be flutterkicking. I've been doing it wrong for...11 years. I didn't know your feet were really supposed to come out of the water! Dang it!


In inspirational sports movies (i.e. Remember the Titans, Miracle, etc.), you see the team working so hard, and the coach being hard and giving amazing little speeches all the time. It doesn't happen just in movies...the working hard part, anyway. J/k.

Music 1010

I'm currently enrolled in a Music 1010 class, which is an introduction to music. It's the easiest class on the planet, and all you have to do is attend, and you get an "A." You could easily pass the class without buying the book. But I got the book (I have to give it back anyway, don't worry). It also came with 8 hours worth of...classical music from monkish latin chanting songs to Mozart to Handel to Bach to Beethoven to Chopin to Schubert to Brahms to Copeland to Ives to...etc. etc. etc.
Out of nothing to listen to (nothing on my itunes library on this computer), I started listening to the CD's. My favorites so far (by far) are Handel, who wrote the famous "Hallelujah" piece that always inevitably pops up in movies. I also love Musorgky's Pictures on Exhibition. I have about oh, 7 1/2 hours more to listen to, so we'll see how that goes....

Great, now I'm not only a science, math, and english geek. I'm now going to explore the geekiness of music.

Random note

It's interesting living in the dorms. You often get random notes taped to your door like the one above. But this one made me laugh. I've always wanted a British accent.

Then I looked at the tutor's names. Now, I knew that this was a joke on me. What are the odds that my name's on there, along with the name of a beloved character in a Jane Austen novel?

Now, that's just weird.

But then I saw one posted on everyone's door in my area. Not a joke after all...

(Plus, before any of you correct me, I know that Darcy can be a first name for a girl. Which I think is really cool.)

More running

I was told we had practice at 6:30 this morning. So, I got up and went to the pool, only no one was there! Luckily, a late swimmer came to grab his stuff, so he told me where I really was supposed to be: right behind my dorms! (Blast not being able to hear!)
So I got there a few minutes late, and they had just started jogging. We jogged right up by the hospital, and up into a trail that leads up into the hills. Soon, jogging turned into walking, and walking turned into struggling. The mountain (hill?) we were climbing was very, very steep. Soon I was in the last of the pack (the people behind us turned around and went back). Luckily, I was with Jen and Kristina, old friends. We finally reached the top, after we've seen everyone coming on their way back. We saw a trail and a bunch of boys that were ahead of us on it. So we decided to go over the mountain, and down this trail.
The first problem we encountered was: how do we get to the trail? It was a bunch of steep craggy rocks, but you could see the trail right there...so we picked out a path to make our way to the actual trail. My only misfortune was that I almost stepped on a sleeping rattlesnake. That was scary.
This path was actually a lot more level and easier, until one point, where it declines quite a few feet over a very short time. Very, very steep. Jen, Kristina, and I found a way to get down, though. I'd like to call it "the human version of penguin sliding." We just sit on our heels, and slide down. It was way fun, strange as it probably sounds.
Now that it's over, I'm okay. But the climb up was ridiculously hard. If I thought mom set tough paces to keep up with...I'm forced to change my mind. Some of the boys jogged or ran up the mountain, and down the mountain.
This is going to be an interesting year.

(I think we probably went about 5 miles, round trip.)

First workout

Oh, boy. Do I have a talent for starting things off the wrong foot, or what? (Or wrong hand, for that matter.)

We had our first workout today, held by the seniors. So it was easier than what we should expect in official practice. We stretched, and ran forever.

The whole workout wouldn't have been so bad, except for one small incident.

At the beginning of the run, my lucky shoelaces became untied. (Both of them!) I stopped to tie my shoes, and everyone else continues running at full speed. I'm already quite a few yards behind, and I hurry up and run so I can try to catch up. I didn't see that darn pothole! Back down I go! I succeeded in bruising my right palm, so it even hurts to type. My left hand did a good job of getting itself cut up. After the first section of running, we had to get down and do pushups. Not wanting to look like a slacker, I did them the best I could, but to my dismay, I saw dirt and grass shoved into my wound. We kept running and running, and I was very sweaty. (For some odd reason, they made us run during the hottest part of the day.) I was so sweaty, I bet I could beat dad in "who's the sweatiest now?" I felt like a sponge letting go of all the water in it. Trickling salty sweat everywhere! Ewww! We finally finished blasted running, and dryland, and were excused to get our suits on and get in the refreshingly cold pool.

The workout itself was no big deal. Once I'm in the pool, I'm in my element. Nothing can break me in the pool. It's the dryland that kills.

But, alas! We did a set where after every length, you had to get out and do push-ups, backwards pushups...(I don't know what they're really called...you put your legs out in front of you, hands behind, and lower yourself down and up...), crab walking, squats, lunges, etc. Getting in and out of the pool was a pain...and swimming? It's very annoying to have a piece of skin flapping about, causing more pain than I should really feel. I tried chewing it off several times, but the skin was too thick. (Gross! You really wanted to know that, huh?)

Great way to start your first day of college practice, Nat.

Gah! I've never realized how vital your palms are for swimming!

Some discoveries thus far:

• I really need to get a razor scooter. Maybe I'll get to Institute on time, then.
• I have no time (and no stomach) to eat a decent meal between my last class and before afternoon practice. I'll have to find yogurt, granola bars, etc., to stock up in my room so I won't die at practice from lack of energy.
• Ovaltine is the definite lifesaver. It's so nice to come into my dark cold dorm, walk to the fridge, fill up my nalgene bottle halfway (yes! I drink that much!) with milk, and pour in some ovaltine. It tastes so good!
• I miss my CTR ring. It's somewhere at home.
• I need more milk. My drinking habits are getting out of hand.
• Phones are easily lost, and difficultly found.
• Utah swimmers are...interesting. I'll have to stay away from them. (e.g., A swimmer had a huge bruise on her knee. I asked her how she got it, and the reply? "well, I tried to go for a run while I was drunk. Didn't really work.")
• The Trax and Shuttle are very nice to know about.
• My body is very out of shape for swimming (and running). What am I to do? Ack!
• I miss mom and dad immensely. Growing up is overrated, and a pain.
• Enjoy free time while you have it, because it'll be gone before you know it.

The Food

The food here at college can be quite an interesting experience.
My first experience dealing with food at the Heritage Center was for breakfast. I selected the scrambled eggs (you could've gotten hash potatoes too), the sausage (just one link. You could've gotten bacon with gravy), and the main entre was not your choice. It's just whatever they have at the moment. So I discovered that my main dish was to be...scrambled pancakes? Yes, scrambled pancakes it was. I discovered that the pancakes were quite crunchy, and so was the sausage, something almost unchewable because it was so chewy... then as I left, they had fresh french toast for all... I think I'll just get a simple bowl of cereal tomorrow.
Lunch, however, proved to be better. I got pizza, a huge bowl of fruit, and chocolate pudding. Much, much better. No complaints there.

Then came the student-athlete banquet at night. It was one of those meetings that want you to "get to know other people from different sports/departments." You're assigned a random number, and you get to sit at that table for the evening. Oh, joy. I was surrounded by a bunch of huge burly football players. And they are very, very easily distracted! Oh, my! But they were amusing to watch.
The food there was pretty good. Some kind of shredded meat in bbq sauce served on a bun. (For some reason I don't know what it's really called!) There was also fruit and other sides to eat.

But I think I made a very, very good impression on my new coach at that meeting. As I was stuffing my mouth with m&m's before the meeting, Ron taps me on the shoulder, and introduces me to Greg Winslow. Oh, my! The horror! All I could do was a muffled "plllsssdtameecha" he grinned, shook my greasy hand and walked away...
In fact, now that I look back at that darn banquet, someone would always start trying to talk to me right when my mouth was full...
gaaaah!

First day of college

Well, well, well.
My first day of college. It was quite interesting...and boring. I look forward to next week, because swimming will start right up and make my life hectic once more.
I got to sleep in, then I went to breakfast. Then I walked down to the Trax station and rode it to the stadium. From there, I proceeded to my music class. The first day was unbelievably boring.
But luckily, the Calculus teacher was a new one, an enthusiastic and funny professor. I enjoyed that class very much because we dove right in to the actual material and started learning. My favorite quote from that professor was when someone asked him if they actually have to buy the book. And he waves his hands around wildly and helplessly, and said, "well...books...are supposed to be read..." And everyone immediately started laughing with him, because he can't come up with a reason why we should even get the book, besides doing the recommended practice problems we don't even get graded on...
Chemistry was interesting because it seems like there were more than 200 students in that class. I arrived a little late, and almost didn't even get a seat. It caused me to feel a serious case of claustrophobia, something I don't ordinarily experience. Brittany waved her hands at me, and told me she has my phone. I didn't even realize I dropped it! After class I couldn't find her. So I still have no phone. Something I'm seriously missing, because it's one of the only ways I stay in contact with people over such a large campus. I just hope I'm not missing some mandatory meeting or anything...
I rode the Trax back, and hooked up the computer...to find that getting it registered at the library doesn't do the trick to receive the internet: I needed a certain cord I've never heard of. So I decided to be daring and rode the shuttle to the bookstore. (The shuttle is a lot faster than the Trax, I found out.) I bought the necessary cord, came back, and here I am.

So the worst two things that has happened to me are these: I lost my phone. (I still don't have it. I hope I find Brittany some day.)
And my roommate has a boyfriend that's over...all the time! Grrr...

Yellowstone

This is going ter be a longer post than usual. So I suggest that either you buckle down, give me yer undivided attention, and make yourself a nice big cup of ovaltine to drink as you read…OR for your convenience, I have divided it into sections. You can read a section, realize that this is pointless reading, and come back later to finish it… Let the posting commence!

Yellowstone: “The Bowels of the Earth”
I know, I know. Chicago has arrogantly claimed this title for themselves. But I will restore the title to its rightful owner: Yellowstone.

Day One: “We can’t find a place to stay!”

After a few hours of driving, we arrived at the west entrance. We drove along, only to realize that the Norris campground was full. We drove north. Indian Creek was also full. We slowly made our way to the northwestern most tip of Yellowstone: Mammoth Hot Springs. Luckily that camp was not full! (A rare thing for three in the afternoon.) Yay!
We found our camping spot, and we saw why it wasn’t full yet. This camp was made for the desperate. Like us. One of the main roads of Yellowstone wound around us; it was about 300 yards in front of us, and 50 yards behind us. The land was bare and stark. They set up sandboxes to set up your tent in. At night, the loud drone of trucks would wake mom and dad up, but not me! The lights woke me up…glaring off the tents.
Anyway, after we set up our tent, we explored Mammoth Hot Springs. Luckily, we overheard a way to get a more decent camp spot—reserve one by phone. Only a few camps do this, but it might be easier than rushing to the first come first serve areas. We secured a spot at Bridge Bay, Southeast from our position, and next to the large Yellowstone Lake. An ideal camping spot.

elk in Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs

Three elk in M.H.S. area

Day Two: “Buffalo are little Piggies”

After getting up, we packed everything up and drove south to Norris. There we looked at Norris Geyser Basin, which was very interesting and stinky. It was here that mom made the memorable observation that Yellowstone is the bowels of the earth.
After Norris, we drove west to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We hiked along a good portion of the northern rim. We saw the lower and upper falls. On our way back up, Mom spotted a hike she had to do on the southern rim. This is what it looked like from the northern rim.
We ate lunch before proceeding to the southern rim of the canyon. On our way to lunch, however, (or back…I can’t remember) we saw lots of buffalo crossing the road, in Hayden Valley. One particularly large one looked like he was going to bulldoze our car, mom probably got an impressive picture of him, since her upper body was out of the window…but he changed his mind, and went around the back. I’m glad mom’s still intact, too. We thought the buffalo sounded cute. Only mom thought they were very cute. So cute, that they couldn't possibly harm anyone. We should go pet one. They made sounds like little piggies snorting. Then in my imagination, I imagine three or four piggies inside a buffalo costume roaming around…
Uncle Tom’s trail just hurt looking at from the northern rim. Up close wasn’t any better. Every instinct in my body told me not to do it…but there goes dad and mom… The trail descends about 500 feet, has about 350? steps, and is all see-through metal. You have just one rock wall on one side, and nothing on the other, but a deadly drop. Luckily, there were rails to keep you safe. Dad observed that all of the paint is worn off the rails, because everyone, including me, grips them with a death grip. I think both ways were equally hard. Down was hard because you had to look down to be sure of your steps. The problem of looking down, is that you see right through the steps to the bottom of the canyon floor. Yikes! The problem of going up, is that you see all the steps that are slightly bent, kicked in, etc. etc. etc.
Uncle Tom’s trail was way worse than any scary ride in Lagoon. Scarier than the skycoaster. My legs were trembling so hard, they hurt. Mom wasn’t of any help to ease my fear, constantly yelling to me, “Nat! This is really scary! This is the worst part! Natalie!” (The scariest part consisted of looking down and the fall is easily 100+ feet.)
After Uncle Tom’s, we drove to Bridge Bay and set up camp. We ate dinner, then drove to Mud Volcano, where we smelt more foulness and witnessed more wonders of nature.

Yellowstone Lake




Now, that's what I call bad gas. (It's low quality. I apologize.)

Video and picture from Norris basin

Canyon pictures
No way! Are those really buffalo?

Uncle Tom's Trail: Northern Rim view

Day Three: “Let’s Erupt!”

I don’t know why Old Faithful is so famous. It’s kind of like Delicate Arch. Why is that arch famous? I’ve seen many cooler ones…meh, it’s not up to me to decide what’s famous and what’s not. I think Old Faithful is particularly famous because it’s easily accessed and it’s certain to go off in the next 100 minutes…and it’s pretty darn big for a predictable geyser. It’s pretty cool to watch, no matter what angle you’re at, whether you’re in front of it with the large crowd, far away, looking at other spectacles, or at the observation point on a mountain. It’s pretty impressive.
As we walked along the trails beyond Old Faithful, we just missed the Grand Geyser, something that is a rival of Old Faithful. It’s supposed to go for 20 minutes, in four or five bursts. However, I did get to watch the Riverside Geyser go off. I think it’s pretty because it’s all by itself right next to the river! It looks lonely, though. Many other popular geysers have buddies that go off as well.
Pathetically enough, my favorite geysers are the “baby” geysers. The Anemone Geysers were a particular favorite. Their cycles were only about seven minutes long. They looked completely empty, then water appears out of nowhere, making a pool, then they burst! After a minute or so, all of the water is immediately swallowed away from view, swallowed with a toilet-like sound. I think they should be renamed to “Magically unclogging clogged toilets.”
After the Old Faithful region, we drove North to visit the Lower Geyser Basin. We went to Fountain Paint Pot, and Firehole Lake Drive. That’s where I got to see the White Cone Geyser erupt. It was pretty cool.
Then we visited both Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin before returning to camp.

Old Faithful (too many people go to Yellowstone! [Look in the background.])

My favorite: The Anemone Geysers. The one in the background is finishing up its cycle. The one in the foreground is currently empty.

White Cone Geyser

Black Sand basin (I think. Could be Biscuit)






Day Four: “Can we be done yet?!”

We packed up, but couldn’t do anything fun in Jackson, WY. Why? Because mom said so, that’s why. No, we must work, work, work! No fun. Just find a place to hike, and we hike. Why? Because you must keep moving. You aren’t allowed to sit around. That’s wasting time. No, we’ll find a hike to do on the way to Jackson to pick up Emily. Let’s go to…Jenny Lake. And there we rode a boat to our hike, hiked, then rode it back (on the ride back we spotted two…moose?meese?). I will confess that the hike was very pretty, the mountains are simply majestic, craggy and overwhelming, and the lake looked so inviting.... After the hike, we picked up Emily and went out to dinner with Emily and Carvel. So I didn’t really get to see the famous town of Jacksonhole. We just ate at the “Merry Piglets.”
The “Merry Piglets” was an amusing stop, because knowing me, conversations are bound to go wrong when I’m present. For example, I got the feta cheese wrap, but only succeeded in eating half of it. It was larger than my foot! I was stuffed, and mom told me to eat some more. “But I can’t eat any more! I’m full!”
Carvel: “Have you moved?”
Me: “Why, no, I haven’t. That’s a good idea! Usually you move to wiggle in some more space for food…”
(Everybody’s laughing…I finally comprehend…)
Me: “No, I haven’t moved in for school yet. I do that on the 16th…”

I took pictures of these signs because they were found all over Yellowstone, and I thought they were quite amusing.

Yes, that's me and my tie-dye shirt in the sign.

Animals seen:
eagle
osprey
raven
crow
bull snake
bull elk/elk
deer
squirrels
chipmunks
buffalo
various water fowl
fish
moose…meese?

Places Visited (not necessarily in this order):
Mammoth Hot Springs
Roaring Mountain
Norris Geyser Basin
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Yellowstone River
Yellowstone Lake
Bridge Bay
Fishing Bridge
Sulfur Canyon
Mud Volcano
Old Faithful
Biscuit Basin
Black Sand Basin
Fountain Paint Pot
Firehole Lake Drive
Continental Divide
Lewis Lake
West Thumb/West Thumb Geyser Basin

Languages heard:
German
Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, who knows?)
Italian
Swedish
Hindi
And many more I couldn’t distinguish…

One Last Thought:

Humans are like lemmings! They have to do what everyone else is doing. We were held up for about 15-20 minutes-not because animals were crossing the road, but because everyone driving by had to stop, park their car, and take a picture of the animal way beyond the road, or next to the road.
When we were waiting for a geyser to blow, we sat there with 2-3 other people. Within five minutes, there were 20-30 people looking to see what we were looking at. Unfortunately, many lost patience, and left after waiting 2-3 minutes.
If I had the time, (mom would never allow this laziness) I’d stand at a random spot on the road, a camera to my eye, and with a look of excitement on my face. I wonder how many people would stop to look for what I was taking pictures of—nothing.