The Silly Smelly Goat

See y'all in 18 months!

2011-06-08T08:28:00.006-07:00

Well, this is it. I'll see you later. And for your enjoyment, I included 3 attempts at taking a picture for the missionary plaque...

"C'mon. Be serious. Try looking at the flowers. Don't move your head! Just look at the flowers."

"...Uhhh, now try smiling! (Sheesh.)"

"...I give up."

Happy trails, all y'all!

An update in pictures: signs of Spring?

2011-05-01T19:29:00.012-07:00

Well, Spring finally came.

Grandpa gets to wrestle with the boys on the trampoline...

And the kids had a fun time hunting for eggs around the yard.

Mikey was the prop of choice when showing off Grandma's flowers.

But then....more snow came.

The snow left. And I am sometimes the bouncing pony/tiger.

And we have fun playing games on a Sunday afternoon.

Micah was a champ at this.

Mom easily defeated me. Where am I, you may ask? That blob in the lower right corner is my hair and body flying towards the ground. I'm just glad there was no doggie doo where I backflopped onto the grass.

Can't you just feel the intensity?

2011-03-07T08:35:00.002-07:00

*cough*

*gasp*

*wheeze* (my trademark squeaking breathing sound that I make, typically when I'm swimming breaststroke)

How do Rick, Collette, Emily, and Megan DO this?!

Running is much, much harder than swimming. You never stop. There's no intervals. You just keep going, and going, and going...

At least that's the goal. I had to stop and walk a bit here and there. And I didn't pick a very smart route, won't be doing that again. I thought it'd be smart to make a route that had sugarhouse park at the end of the loop, so if I felt I couldn't do much more, just cut through the park, if I can do more, go around, etc. This route involves running along 13th. For a while. I don't like 13th at 7:30 in the morning. The crosswalks across the entrances to the freeway were almost impassible. By the time I got to the park, I felt spent.

According to the paths I took in the park, I ran about 4 miles. You guys do, like, 8 on a "short" day!!!

technology class.

2011-02-15T17:36:00.007-07:00

I'm dying in that class. I'm not really sure what to do about it. Let's just say that given 3 hours to do one measely assignment is way too much time. For example, the video posted below just needed a minimum of 6 pictures, some transition effects, and background music. Oh, and it had to do something with education...

I ended up trying to imitate vihart.com's videos. Apart from some "ahem"-ings, lousy explanations and drawings, sounding corny like the narrator in "Lambert" I think it's ok. I would never ever actually use it in my classroom.

I liked my song choice. My first choice was "O Fortuna" but I didn't have it, didn't want to pay for it, so...

When will I ever learn?

2011-02-10T11:23:00.002-07:00

So, as most of you know, I decided that I ought to serve a mission. Because I'm 22, still single, literally an old maid! So I figured I'd meet some 19-year-olds out in the field. A mission will also help me develop some social skills (something we mathematicians and nerds are almost entirely without). I'll learn how to budget, plan, live with trying companions (Michael McLane, anyone?) Maybe I'll have a few companions teach me makeup and hair 101. So when I come back, I'll be married within a few weeks. I don't call it a mission. I call it marriage prep.

I'm going to Houston, Spanish-speaking. So I will basically be learning to speak Spanish with a southern drawl ("Hola, y'all?"). Or as a friend calls it, "cowboy espanol!"

Dad made a comment that with three kids who serve missions, you'd expect one of them to go to South America Spanish-speaking, one in the states, and one abroad somewhere. So it makes sense I go almost as far down south as I possibly can, yet stay in the states, and speak some Spanish.

Honestly, I'm grateful for the spanish. It'll be a really useful skill for when I come back to the real world and teach. I always feel bad for students who are lost, simply because they don't understand the language. Not because they don't understand the concepts.

And I'm excited to go out there! But I get to wait 'til June 8th.

Oh, and I need to finish up a few more weeks of swimming before I get too obsessed with this.

Oh, and I just read the title of my post, and remembered why I was going to post anything at all: Instead of a long story, I'll just make it short: I wasn't sure how my coach would react when I tell him I'm going on a mission. (He kinda wanted me to stay and train for olympic trials) But when I went to his office (a little scared, I confess), and told him, he was happy and proud of me. Hence the title of the post: when will I ever learn that he's this amazing coach and person?

Technology Class

2011-02-01T16:07:00.004-07:00

Today we're learning how to do the most simple tasks.
Then we started to learn how to do photoshop.
Needless to say, I lost focus... But I ran out of time to make it epic. Boo hoo.

2011-01-26T21:31:00.002-07:00

Cute cartoon bears grin at me.
A baby floats in the clouds (is it dead?)
Flowers are plenty.
Little puppies play and frolic.
A man apparently named Scott grins at me.

Man, buying toilet paper is weird.

See? I knew what I was doing!

2010-12-21T10:02:00.005-07:00

I was the fastest swimmer in the prelims for the 50 freestyle in Sectionals this past summer. When you're the fastest qualifier for finals, you get to pick out the song that is played before your race. I really couldn't decide which song, and ended up picking the muppet "phenomenon" or "mahnanana" song. A lot of people thought I was crazy, didn't know what I was doing.

Oh, but I knew.

Groundhog Day

2010-12-01T11:31:00.004-07:00

I noticed that I haven't posted in a while, and here's why:

It wasn't Bill Murray or Star Trek characters who got stuck in a time loop. That's me. Only I'm getting older day-by-day.

I go to school. I swim. I take finals and swim in a big meet. Summer comes, I swim some more and swim in a big meet. I go to school. I swim. I take finals and swim in a big meet. Summer comes, I swim some more and swim in a big meet. I go to school. I swim. I take finals and swim in a big meet. Summer comes, I swim some more and swim in a big meet. I go to school. I swim. I take finals and swim in a big meet. Summer comes, I swim some more and swim in a big meet....... repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat some more.

How I came to this realization? I looked down and saw I'm still wearing my shoes I got in 8th grade, Doc Marten's with the green shoelaces.

So, why should I write down what's already been written? To see what I'm up to, simply look at some older posts. I guarantee I'm just the same now as I was then.

I can't wait to get out of this loop.

Never Left High School.

2010-10-25T19:52:00.006-07:00

I decided last week that I was going to be more involved with my ward, and the activities that go on. As my luck would have it, it was a Stake FHE tonight, a Halloween dance at Wheeler Farm. I thought, "I don't really like dancing, but I have a good costume." It is a good costume. Just... a very socially awkward costume for a dance. All the other people either didn't dress in a costume, but dressed nice, or dressed up in nice pretty costumes. Like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, or the girls from Grease, or in 70's outfits. Here's my costume.

It's pretty awesome, except for the feet. I was tripping over them all the time. Other people were also stepping on them, causing me to trip some more. All this tripping and goofiness was enough to remind me of all my awkward moments in high school. Seems I've never grown up or left.

I mostly sat around, watching people dance, because I didn't recognize anyone. Then I remembered: My ward ain't a huge fan of stake activities, and they never go. It was a night where a socially awkward penguin was on the loose.

Gossip

2010-09-26T21:08:00.002-07:00

Oh, man. The past couple days have brought me back straight to my freshman year of college. I struggled. I felt like I didn't fit in, and I struggled with many parts of the workouts. Some team members were cruel to me. Luckily for me, I had friends on the team from high school, and I had family close at hand.

Now take that situation, take away the friends and family. What do you have? Very little.

A freshman this year is being belittled and bullied by the sophomore girls and other freshmen. She isn't in the same dorms as everyone else, thus has fewer opportunities to hang out with the others. This, in a sense, has made her the chicken that everyone else pecks. As the upperclassmen, we didn't know this was going on, because we don't live in the dorms, and we don't have any classes with these little girls.

Our little hen finally had a meltdown Saturday, when it all caught up to her. I felt helpless as what to do to help. I gave her all the support I could, and got the other upperclassmen involved. I even had her talk to Coach, and have her realize he supports her. Regardless, she just wants to go home.

I talked to a good old friend today, and she mentioned she hears the swimmers gossip in one of her classes. They don't exactly say anything nice about this girl, but also, they don't say anything nice about our coach! The person who recruited them, gives them a scholarship, gives them an opportunity to be great! And all they do is complain?

So I will take this as a lesson: Beware of what malice the tongue can do, you never know what kind of impression you're making, and who's listening.

Hidden under the stairs

2010-09-06T18:56:00.004-07:00

Newspapers with headlines like "'We're on Our Way,' Shout 2 Astros Leaving Moonship,'"and "Hank Aaron Hits Historic Homer," and "Nixon Resigns, Ford to Take His Place."

Small random paintings

Books dealing with accounting, mathematics, art, music, etc.

Children's books, one's title is "Hidden Trapezes."

The American People Encyclopedia, containing events from the 1950s and 1960s. Civil rights, anyone?

Scattered old notebooks filled with meticulously worked out math problems.

My Grandpa and I have a lot more in common than I thought.

On another note, I guess after pulling everything out I released a lot of spiders. Because as I was walking around, every few steps, it'd feel like a wet spot under my bare feet. After the fifth time of this happening, I decided to look at what was making the carpet wet. I bend down to see a crumpled up dead spider.

Can anyone say yuck?

2010-09-01T20:33:00.003-07:00

Yes, I should be in bed. But I'm outside enjoying looking at the stars. Taking a breath before the plunge into...

senior year! Official practices start tomorrow, and for some crazy reason, I'm really nervous. Unreasonable, I know. This'll be my fourth time starting a season, but it's also my last. I'm also a captain this year, so I'm not worrying just about me anymore, but the entire team. I'm hoping to make some positive changes with the team this year, and to create something special and new. However, it's a lot more challenging than it sounds. I'll keep track of workouts the best I can on my other little blog.

Classes: Phewy. I do not like proofs. At all. I struggled with the beginning class involving proofs. Guess what? This semester I have three math classes that are proof-extensive. I really enjoy one of them, I learn all this crazy stuff about geometry, and spherical geometry, but I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to actual proofs...

But my interest has officially been piqued. If I have extra time next semester, I want to take a geometry-focused class, or an art class. Same thing, right? Of course right.

My class schedule itself is spotty. Classes are far apart, but not far apart enough for me to go home. So I enrolled in some institute classes. I forgot how fun it is to make connections in the scriptures, like I never noticed that Jeremiah from the OT was a contemporary of Lehi from the BOM (y'all knew that, I'm just a little slow).

Or that the upside down stars on the temples are actually a symbol of Christ: it was used as a symbol of Christ long before it was associated as a Satanic symbol. Interesting how things get flipped and changed.

I'm going to ask my teacher for this article, but it explains that the morning star, which is Venus, could possibly be the star that was referenced in the scriptures as the new star when Christ was born. This is because the star would have to be visible in the West (the Americas, the Nephites and Lamanites), but also in the East (the wise men from areas in or around Persia). Venus's particular orbit has 5 distinct phases, and when these phases are recorded and connected, it creates a pentagon which yields an upside down star.

Don't take this as gospel fact. It's just an interesting little detail.

Childhood is short. Maturity is forever.

2010-07-18T20:05:00.008-07:00

This entire summer, it feels like I've been working, working, working. Typical days looked like this:6-8 swim

9-10:30 weights

11-12 class

2-4 swim

4:30-7:30 class.

Well, things are drawing to a close rather quickly this summer, thank goodness! Last night I had the good fortune to hang out with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Did we go watch a movie? No. No, we behaved more like young kids, got some shaved ice, and went playing in some parks around Daybreak. My favorite toy will always be the zip line. My very first attempt on it, I thought you were supposed to hold onto it with your hands. I quickly found my whole body dragging in the dirt. So I sat on it. Then I stood on it. And got my sleeve stuck in the pulley. Thank goodness I have short hair. I can only imagine...

I have Sectionals this week, and two weeks after that are finals, and classes are (finally) OVER. I really look forward to swimming a "little" 5k in the gorgeous Lake Coeur D'Alene, and visiting the ocean for the third time in my life.

All this hard work has been worth it. I realize, with surprise, that my swimming career will most likely be over in about 8 months.

Will I finally cease to be introduced as "This is Natalie Edge. She's a swimmer"?

What's next? "This is Natalie Edge. She likes pet chickens."

"This is Natalie Edge. The craziest person you'll ever meet."

...

Sometimes, it's just nice to be a little kid again. Well, at heart, anyway.

"You don't want to touch that!"

2010-06-22T19:11:00.004-07:00

Sometimes in weights I get really sweaty.

I mean really sweaty, as in: dripping out of all my pores, my legs, my arms, so I'm slippery as a fish. One of the bad results of this (other than smelling bad and looking like a pig), is that sometimes my hearing aids cease to work.

That happened today. So I took it out to let my ear dry out. I wanted to finish up some lunges, so I set it right next to my water bottle, on a lone bench in the middle of the weight room. I kept a close eye on it from 15 feet away. Some of the boys had to get dumbbells that were in that area. So one of them that had walked over set his water bottle near mine, and he saw it. I could tell, because he gave it about four consecutive glances, one longer after the next. Finally, with his face about three inches from it, he decided to pick it up.

Just to tease, I shouted, "EW! GROSS! You do NOT want to touch that! Do you know where it's been?!"

I have never seen anyone jump so high. Not even mom when I scare her. He basically freaked out and set it back where it originally was. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I had no idea what it was!" And that resulted in 8 boys scrutinizing the hearing aid, while it sat safely on the bench. All I can say is that poor boy was so embarrassed for the next 10 minutes...while wiping his fingers on his shorts. I assured him several times he was okay.

What can I say? I get a kick out of startling people.

Going Bonkers

2010-06-09T19:10:00.003-07:00

"You need to eat some more."

"Nah. I'm full. Plus, I'm really, really tired."

"No, you need to eat some more. Your body will thank you tomorrow."

"Look at all I ate!...a whole bowl of grapes, some ramen, two tall glasses of chocolate milk, among other things. Besides, I think my body will be much more grateful to just go to bed. I'm exhaustified."

"Natalie, I know you're really tired, but it's only the beginning of the week. You have many more practices to get through, more classes to sit through. You need to eat food now to have the energy you need for later! At least eat some PROTEIN!"

"UGGGGHHH! I NEED SLEEP!"

PAUSE: There is only one person in the room. That's me. When I'm weary and exhausted, this is what happens in my quiet apartment. I start arguing with myself. Out loud. Sometimes I throw the kitchen rag across the room to make the argument seem more authentic. At least I don't start hallucinating. Is food better than sleep? Or is sleep better than food? I leave the question to you.

Microwaves

2010-05-28T09:17:00.001-07:00

I love microwaves. They are very convenient, fast, and easy to use. One drawback for me? The annoying beeping sound every time you touch a button, or when it's done. Or impatient. I am grateful they don't know how to talk yet.

"attention! This lazy person doesn't want to make a real meal, so she's cooking crappy food in here!"

"hot-dog-2-minutes-go."

...(I leave the room to get some laundry folded)...

"HEY! I'M DONE! WOO-HOO! I'LL TAKE MY TIME TELLING YOU THAT!"

"ANYBODY THERE TO GET THE FOOD OUT?"

"THAT'S OKAY. I'LL KEEP BEEPING EVERY 30 SECONDS TO REMIND YOU."

"THIS HOT DOG IS TURNING COLD!"

"HEEEEYYYYY..."

"IT'S A SMALL WORLD--"

"Gaaaaah! Here, got the food, now be silent!"

"You forgot to shut the--"

"Door is shut! Now STOP BEEPING!"

Then his friend the dishwasher starts to sing...

makes sense?

2010-05-11T15:47:00.004-07:00

When studying for finals, or when I'm not in season for training hard, my favorite snack and treat is candy. I also love soda.

Now we're training really hard already for summer. I plan little times where I can take a trip to my favorite place: 7 eleven. Their slurpees are amazing. Especially if you get a combination of pina colada and banana. And they have lots of candy. So far, I have just kept driving on by. Why? My body and I agree that it doesn't sound all that tasty or good. What does?

A big huge cold tasty delectable glass of chocolate milk. Or two.

It's the first thing I do when I get home: grab the biggest glass I have (stolen from mom and dad's house because of its awesome size), and pour milk and chocolaty substance into it. And drink. Glass empty? Repeat.

Just to make things clear

2010-05-04T18:35:00.006-07:00

There has been some confusion lately about who I am.

I was taking a break from studying recently by running to Harmon's to get some strawberries. As I was hurrying through the store, I realized that two short adolescent girls were following me around. I still have no idea why. They simply asked how tall I was, and I told them "Six feet." As they walked away, I happened to notice they were carrying around some Twilight book.

I'm six feet tall.

I'm blonde.

I have short hair.

Lastly, but most importantly, I can make eye contact with people.

I am not, I repeat, I am not Bella Swan. I know it's really confusing, but let's just make that clear. Besides, I physically (and mentally) cannot be Bella Swan. If I was, both Edwurt and Jacob's egos would be crushed, regardless of their monstrosity.

Another record to note: I'm glad I'm not Bella. Who, in their right mind, would want an obsessed vampire watching you all the time, even in your room while you sleep? Aren't you afraid you'll fart in your sleep? Not me. That'd blow him away. If that didn't work, I could always show him my guns. Which are, by the way, much bigger than his. I know for a fact his abs and biceps are just a work of body paint/spray. They are not real.

Jacob looks huge on the big screen. In person, however...

Let's just say I could take on both of them any day.

Aren't you glad you read this egocentric post?

At least I was amused. I was getting tired of math. Now, a return to studying for finals.

Mumblings

2010-04-30T20:12:00.003-07:00

It's that time of the year. Scrambling to find diversionary activities so I don't have to study for finals. Not a good idea, but it always happens. This is one of those activities. Me updating you on my little life.

Spring semester is almost over. Just two more finals, and I'm done with it. Then I start summer semester, which will be much more busy and hectic than spring semester, if you can believe it or not. I'll be working out at least twice a day (sometimes I'll also be doing weights). On top of that I'll be taking quite a few classes. I have to take them now because in the last two years these classes I need for my major keep interfering with practice times in the fall and spring. So I get to take them all this summer.

On Wednesday, I was listening to a lecture, and doodling. My hair was hanging down so I could see it, and I saw that in a bunch of my strands of hair, there'd be a bubble-like blurb in the middle of a strand. If I gently tugged at that individual strand, it'd break off where the bubble was...four inches up. And they were everywhere.

So I visited Emma, Grandma K's hair stylist. I asked her if she had any ideas, of course she did. Now, I didn't learn my lesson last time, but if you give Emma full control, she will take full control. Heh heh. All well. All I can say is that when I looked in the mirror afterwards, I thought I was Megan. Yeah. Poor Willie and Sammy (and sometimes Reed) will have to deal with the occasional confusing moment.

Update

2010-04-06T20:27:00.003-07:00

The meeting went a lot better than I expected. After about two hours, a lot of things got resolved, and now everyone is on the same page. The only glitch was some of the captains felt that I basically told on everyone to Coach. Which is not the case. The coach asked me, and I gave him an honest and straight-forward answer. But I explained myself, and most of the other captains understood. There were a couple (there's 6 of us) that were still somewhat mad about it.

Another note: I get called it all the time. It started when I was 15 and a life guard. At the time, I hated the name. Now, I don't even mind or notice. The name? "Ma'am." Sounds like a sick sheep bleating.

"You have to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything."

2010-04-04T19:24:00.002-07:00

Yes, it is a cliche phrase, but true.

I'm a team captain of the swim team for this upcoming year, and my duties have already begun. Being one of the two active LDS swimmers on the team, I knew there would be challenges, but I didn't think they'd be that hard.

Well, challenge number one has already arrived, and we'll have to wait it out and see what happens.

Situation: We had a recruiting weekend, a weekend where we basically entertain recruits for 48 hours, trying to sell our team to them. The past two recruiting weekends, we've had small groups of people leave early to go drinking. I'm appreciative of the fact that they have stopped trying to drink with the recruits which is a HUGE no-no. But the same time, I'm ornery because is it really that hard not to drink for one weekend? Or must you drink every single weekend you have the opportunity to blow your money? Anyhow. Besides that issue, many of the boys didn't make much of an effort: the poor boy recruit was obliged to hang out with us girls, simply because he wasn't that interested in video games. The boys on my team live for video games: they planned an 8-hour Halo(?) tournament. Since it didn't work out, they all go their separate ways and let the recruit basically fend for himself.

I got a text from my coach asking me how I thought the recruiting trip went. I gave him my honest straight answer: I thought it went really well, except for the fact that we could improve in some areas. He asked for specific examples, and I gave them to him. The next thing I know, my coach wants a meeting with the captains ASAP. All the captains text each other, trying to figure out what's going on. Apparently I'm the only one who said the recruiting trip could've been better. Everyone else told my coach the weekend was flawless.

So when he brings up the issues tomorrow, everyone will know it was me that said these things. Will I be shut out from their conversations in the future (that's how I got wind of all the drinking crap)? Or will things turn out for the better? Will I be brave enough to back myself up and stand for myself? I'm the only one who had problems.

If it is anything worthy to note, I'll let you know how the meeting goes. Don't expect an amazing Captain Moroni and the Freedom Banner story. I'll be amazed if I get through the meeting without stuttering or without a shaky small squeaky voice. Yes, I turn into a little chubby hamster when I'm afraid.

I'm pretty much amazing.

2010-02-18T19:45:00.004-07:00

I found out today I can actually cook good food if I'm not too lazy. Slice up some vegetables, sate them, fry some chicken goblets, and dump it on a bunch of rice. There you go. Dinner. (Note: Too much cayenne pepper will fry the tastebuds long afterwards.)

"That looks like a restaurant!"

I noticed that many of my teammates are really excited, nervous, anxious about the big meet next week. (In 6 days if you can believe that!) So instead of being all nice and personal (I don't like talking to people), I decided to draw a pirate's map with a cheesy message. My favorite part? Jack Sparrow. You read correctly. I was amazed I successfully drew a cartoon that could be interpreted as Jack Sparrow. If you took a picture of Jack Sparrow, stomped on it, threw it in water to marinate for 20 years, that's what my Jack Sparrow looks like.

Because I'm so darn proud, I'm treating you to a close-up. (He's glittery because I didn't notice the watercolors I had purchased were the "glitter" version. Dang.)

Oh, and to top it all off, Stephan Pastis accepted my friend request on facebook. I am Stephan's friend.

Are you a nerd or a hipster?

2010-02-01T17:42:00.007-07:00

(I didn't really crop the picture because I found it amusing that my Han Solo doll is in the bookshelf, upper left corner.)

I was sitting in one of the hallways in one of the math buildings here at the U. I was enjoying the newspaper, specifically Pearls Before Swine and Robert Kirby, as I was drinking some Pero I had in my thermos. I looked up to see a boy staring at me, and noticing he'd been caught (he was standing 5 feet from me, yeah, I wouldn't notice), he asked me "Are you a nerd or a hipster?" My face must've looked puzzled, because he clarified that my shirt confused him. Here's a bigger image of it: http://blogs.sun.com/kevin/resource/star%20wars%20rocks.jpg (My shirt does not include the caption.)

I know what a nerd is. But I'm not sure what exactly is meant by a "hipster." I looked it up. The first definition states the obvious,

"A person who is hip."

But the next definition made me laugh. Maybe hipsters and nerds have more in common than I thought:

"a person, esp. during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships."

Feeling an identity crisis, I posted it as my facebook status: "'Are you a nerd or a hipster?'-a boy from one of my math classes." Within minutes of writing it, my coach assured me that I was a NERD!

Whew.

Got some free time? "White and Nerdy", a parody of another song. Donny Osmond occasionally shows up dancing in the background.

the process.

2010-01-12T18:57:00.003-07:00

Step one: contract the bug. Interact with sick people, play with their toys, etc., if you're lucky, this is the easiest step.

Step two: be innocent and oblivious for approximately 28 hours.

Step three: treat the toilet as your best friend--if you make it in time. It's strange how relieving it is to know you don't have to clean up any messes if your face is three inches deep in the last place you want it to be.

(Repeat step three for approximately 3-4 more times, almost once every resulting hour.)

Step four: Grovel and feel parched on the couch for several hours.

Step five: finally attempt to take that drink that you've been licking your dry lips for--make the mistake of drinking way too much at first.

(Repeat step three.)

Step six: Tentatively try sipping some electrolyte-infused drink.

Step seven: Write e-mails to all the professors you won't be meeting for the first time because of your flu. Get replies saying "too bad. Hope you can get caught up."

Step eight: Take a nice long warm bath to ease your aching muscles and bones. Doze off. Several times.

Step nine: Sit by the fire as you attempt to eat more solid food, like yogurt. It should be about fifteen hours since you first became best friends with the toilet.

Step ten: Be surprised a whole thing of yogurt is staying down, as well as a bottle of vitamin water. Finally take that ibuprofen on that "full" stomach.

Step eleven: Finally get that glass of ice water you've been craving since ten in the morning. Enjoy crunching the ice and letting the water trickle down your throat.

Step twelve: Realize quick movements are still taxing, especially to the head, which has gained about 20 lbs. It certainly feels like one of those dreams where you can't open your eyes.

Step thirteen: Blog about it to people who really don't want to read about this.

Step fourteen: Take a shower, get all cleaned up, and be prepared to go to school the next day.

Step fifteen: Go to bed by 8:30 pm. And pray for luck.

Notes: Thank you dad for coming to my rescue. I really really hope you don't get it in the next couple of days, with me and mom coming down with it. (That's right, Mom! Who never gets sick!)

I honestly don't know how kids who get sick like this can still run around and play. I was on the couch, the bed, the chair, and the floor for most of the day. Maybe it's because they have less mass to tote around?

Head start

2009-12-27T20:37:00.003-07:00

I always make fun of New Year's Resolutions, and yet, here I am. Making my own, and starting them tomorrow, because, as we all know, good habits take a while to form. I'm just writing them on my blog because then I'll feel more inclined to try to keep them.

1. Read scriptures every day.

2. Abstain from HFC-infused food. For a year. This definitely will be more challenging than it sounds. I expect I will turn into a horse by the end of the year. Oats are awfully tasty.

3. Instead of sometimes simpering in self-pity, have a smile on my face for every swim practice, and try to make it more enjoyable and easier for someone else.

That's it. Simple as that. Aren't you glad you read this post? So exciting!

A Bizarre Yesterday

2009-12-04T09:03:00.006-07:00

During Thanksgiving break I got to sleep in. Because of that, my body realized how much sleep it misses because of my wee swimming hobby. This week has been rough, I feel like I'm always behind, and my body feels like some careless giant smashed it with a sledge hammer.

Yesterday all of this caught up to me in discrete mathematics. I fell asleep while taking notes, resulting in a huge ink puddle/blob on my paper (I'm not going to talk about the drool). I only woke up when someone's cell phone clattered onto the floor loudly. I awoke with a start, and realized I was going to be late to weights (I leave this class early so I can make it to weights).

You know that strange point of no return? The one that if you push past it, you get delirious and loony? I hit that in the middle of workout in the pool. We were doing our power circuit, a circuit that takes place in two pools. I was in the dive tank and I discovered some goggles. They were huge, ridiculous, and reminded me of the ones I wore as a kid. I put them on.

That's when it all started. I continued to work my butt off, but that didn't stop me of making impressions of little kids wiping their nose, and giggling. I talked with my group trying to figure out the silliest way to intimidate your opponents. They really liked two: One where I wore the little kid goggles, ears flapping out of my cap, and I roared while flexing (think of the x-man, Wolverine), then giggle and wipe my nose. The second, same appearance, but instead, acting like the cute little dinosaur in Jurassic Park. The one that invades the jeep, then turns into this monster with the hissing and strange flap that makes it look bigger.

I was triple-dog-dared to do it to Greg. Who can pass that up? I was loony and stupid enough to do it. I said, "Hey Greg, what do you think of my new stretching routine before my race?" Then I roared at him. He laughed so hard, he almost couldn't stand up...

Then I got to go to class again til 7. Ran to the store afterward to get milk. As I was leaving the store, a little girl pointed at me and shrilly screamed "IT'S SANTA!" I was wearing my U letterman jacket and a white scarf. Dang. I was hoping my beard wouldn't give me away.

I got home, and what should I find? Mom had come and made dinner! So all I had to do was eat, then I was well on my way to that heavenly place called dreams and sleep.

The thing is, I have had discussions with friends about this...

2009-11-12T18:44:00.004-07:00

Here is a listing for a class offered at the U next spring:

3900 Star Trek, the Quest to be Human (3) Cross listed as CLCS 3810. Prerequisite: 2000 level requirements. Fulfills Humanities Exploration.
This course will give students the intellectual experience of grappling with the complex question of what it means to be human in the context of pop culture phenomenon that is Star Trek: The Next Generation. The course will be highly interdisciplinary and involve study of wide range of subjects-including child development and attachment theory, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, creativity and the fine arts, disability studies and prosthetics, and cyborg theory-in order to explore the nature of love and loss, empathy and anxiety, and whether one is born human or becomes human.

I'll bet they'll talk quite a bit about Data in that class. Is he considered human? He seems to have the natural curiosity of a human, always wondering what it would be like to be human...

2009-11-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dad has some sweet pics on his blog. Take a look.

By the way...

2009-11-06T21:45:00.004-07:00

I forgot to mention one thing in my last entry: We swimmers go through a training phase here at the U, fondly called "Peak Week." We subject ourselves to be on call 24/7 for eight days. We have to be within a 15 minute radius of the pool. Not only do we have to workout, but we also have to do additional activities, such as making a skit-on video, and it has to have a lamp in all the scenes, and you must represent every team in the conference. Or you have to make a calendar featuring members from your team. Or you have to play "night games" for three hours, roaming all over campus at midnight. Or you have to do a picture scavenger hunt. Or you have to do an amazing race. Or you have to to "the gauntlet." Or watch Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3, and know it by heart. Not only know the movie and the storylines, but know the background signs, like "Western Auto Stores," or how much the gas cost in 1955. The list goes on and on. But guess what? We, the Junior Class, known as "The Juniors 9," or "JRS9," won the entire competition overall. Yes, us. Our reward? Oversized wide t-shirts that aren't long enough. But that doesn't matter. We got a prize, and it is awesome. Not only does it say "U swim & dive," but on the back of the shirt it has some Michael Jackson lyrics (We did the "Thriller" dance for our skit, and the Juniors 9 sounds an awful lot like "the Jackson 5.") that we used throughout the week for our cheers and whatnot. We just got the shirts this week. Peak week was almost a month ago. Awesome, awesome.

November already?

2009-11-04T10:50:00.004-07:00

The "Juniors 9" (Trying to be like the "Jackson 5"). This was our team for "Peak Week," which takes place during fall break. We're on call 24/7 for swim practice, since NCAA rules don't apply. A very hard week.

Dancing "Thriller" during movie trivia practice. (We got the question correct, and had to do a "dance party" while those teams who got the answer wrong had to do a hard set.)

It's November already?! Where did the time go? Wow.

Dad just got his knee surgery yesterday, talked to him on the phone, and it sounded like it went well. I hope to find some time to visit him tonight. He said they took pictures of it on mom's camera. Perhaps I'll take my computer tonight and see if I can upload a couple for the world to see.

Life is going well, and is flying by fast. I've had a couple of good first meets, I'm swimming better than I thought I would.

Nothing new is going on, just being the same old me. Swimming. Schooling. Sleeping. Slurping. Snaffling. Oh, and I learnt the Thriller dance with some of my teammates.

I'm really enjoying my math classes, and a couple of my education classes. The only one I really enjoy out of the three education classes is ELP: education law policy. It's really fascinating to understand just what rights students and teachers give up when they are in the school setting.

It's amazing how out of hand some zero-tolerance policies can get: We talked about a case where a 12-year old girl brought a store-bought cake to class for her birthday. Inside the box was a plastic knife to cut the cake, put there by her mother. The teacher cuts up the cake with the knife, then sends the girl to the principal's office where she was suspended.
Or the time three kindergarteners were playing cops and robbers at recess. They were suspended for three days for pretending to shoot each other.

And I come from a high school where I took a pocket knife on A days for my woods class. (Very handy for getting the slivers out). Sometimes without thinking, I pulled it out during other classes to get one of those stupid slivers out. I was never even warned. I think no one cared. And yet, at a high school close to mine, a student was suspended for having a pocket knife in the glovebox in his car. Very interesting.

Update

2009-09-30T16:54:00.002-07:00

Well, nothing truly new is going on...last night I burned brownies and pizza, so I lived off of zucchuni bread Dad left me...

On Monday, I was walking to my class in the institute building, when I almost ran over a bunch of little midgets turning a corner. Embarrassed, I quickly made my way to the main area (between the East and West wings) and sat on a chair and hid behind a newspaper, all the while thinking, "Hey, one of those little kids looked really, really familiar." As I was racking my brain to figure out why, the familiar-looking-kid walked by with his little troupe surrounding him. He glanced at me and smiled and left the building. My slow brain finally made the connection: It was in fact, David Archuleta. Taking a class at Institute. Maybe.

Today he showed up again, so I guess he really is taking a class. Only he hid his little face in a scarf. Apparently he just got his wisdom teeth out (according to Twitter) and still looks like a chipmunk.

The only other thing that's new is that I'm helping an ESL class out at Evergreen Junior High (hey, that's where Emily works!). I was expecting a bunch of spanish-speaking students, but no, most of the students are refugees from the Middle East and Africa. They are actually a lot of fun to interact with and to teach. Some want to learn quickly, while others seem hesitant/shy/rebellious.

Anything else? Oh, I find I'm usually an excellent cook when it comes to crepes, omelettes, wraps, rice pudding, cereal, toast, oatmeal, desserts, and PB&J sandwiches. Anything else will come out black, burnt, and smoky. But I figure that's a good enough staple. What else does a college student wish for?

Well, it has started all over again!

2009-09-01T07:37:00.002-07:00

Yes, I'm busy busy busy again. And yet, somehow, I don't mind being crazily busy. I enjoy having almost no time to be lazy. I get more stuff done that way, I suppose. "Official" swim practice doesn't start til the 8th, but we've been practicing every day anyway without the coaches present. Some poor freshman yesterday only ate a granola bar and a sandwich for the entire day. Needless to say, she passed out during our dryland workout. We got a lecture from coach after that practice that we need to eat at least 4-6 meals everyday! I don't mind that rule. I love second breakfast.

Classes so far are going well. I'm supposedly officially a math education major. I'm taking three education classes, and two math classes. The education classes are all right. The only one I really like and feel is truly useful is my "Education Law Policy" class. It talks about the rights of teachers and students under the law, what protections the teachers have, etc. etc. etc. We have to compile a bunch of news articles about education and the law, and it's ridiculous how many people try to sue teachers for this or that. Some are legit, but many are not so much. For one of my other education classes, "Introduction to Multicultural Education" one of the requirements is to volunteer at a school and help out immigrants, refugees, whatnot to learn english, or with their homework. Emily and I have arranged that, so I'll be helping out at Evergreen a few times a week.

So, that will be my life this semester. Math, education, homework, swimming, and volunteering. No time for dating or any of that nonsense. Yay!!!

Something out of the ordinary

2009-08-26T16:36:00.002-07:00

During warm up in swim practice today I decided to do some kicking with a kick board. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular, then some tiny dark blob caught my eye. It was quickly falling towards the water, specifically, towards me! Without thinking, I lifted my hand up to catch it. And lo and behold! A hummingbird looked wearily up at me. I wish I could say I was smart enough to cup my hands around him, and climb out and set him free outside of the pool (lots of birds die in our pool area because they can easily get in, but they can't figure out how to get out...). But I was not smart. I confess the thought did cross my mind, but if I couldn't use my arms, I have no idea how to get out of such a tall-guttered pool. Instead the hummingbird and I gazed at each other, studied each other, and after about two or three minutes, he lifted his wings and left. I really hope he found a way out. I'll think of it that way to make me happy, even though it's probably not the case.

So it begins

2009-08-24T15:36:00.002-07:00

A brand new school year, a brand new swim season! I'm excited! Hopefully I won't be as whiney this year. :)

Summer Re-runs

2009-07-30T20:27:00.005-07:00

How's my summer going, you may ask? It's a mash-up rehash of summers past:

Teaching Swim Lessons,Swimming,Life guarding (rarely),Watching BBC dramas,Having a strange fascination with hippos, and Not hearing things quite right.

And so on and so forth.

Marriot Library, Part Two

2009-07-16T17:57:00.005-07:00

I love the Marriot Library at the University of Utah. But sometimes you get a little disappointed and pleased at the same time.

I get to write a ten-page math paper (again), this time on Mercator, a man who made maps in the late-ish 16th century. We still use his system today. He created a map that used straight lines but still depicted the latitude and longitude correctly. Blah blah blah. I'll get to the point:

There aren't very many resources on this guy. Most of the books that were applicable to what I needed were in Latin. In fact, the three books I managed to check out in English are all related to each other, one cites the other two, the other two cite each other, etc.

When I was looking him up in the library catalogue, I found that the library had some of his own original works translated into English! I was excited to have such good resources, only to find that the books themselves are so rare, they are enclosed in glass boxes where you can't even thumb the pages for the information you need. Awesome! And dang.

I'll go back to reading his biography, hoping to find the necessary math in there somewhere...

Images of Pullman Thus Far

2009-07-05T19:43:00.008-07:00

(the picture above was actually from a couple of summers ago. I'm just stealing it because it's just so sad I had to wipe out on a razor scooter in Pullman. Yes, I was going downhill, yes, I was wearing flip-flops with no mean to stop, yes, I tipped over when my overly large feet refused to cooperate in using the teeny little brake...and I licked the road pretty good.)

Amusing Quiz

2009-06-28T16:32:00.002-07:00

Only two questions (three if you count the question asking what gender you are.)

I took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Wishes to live a peaceful life with no problems or..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Mutiny

2009-06-16T12:47:00.006-07:00

The brain is awake, alert, excited to learn all the new materials being presented by the man in front of the classroom, writing things on the board, but mostly talking and pointing at a brightly lit screen. The body is exhausted and mad at the brain. The ears go first, shutting off, mixing up the sound, spinning it, twirling it into lulling white noise. The eyelids go next, they gain 50 lbs within seconds. The neck gives in last, refusing to hold the head up and lets go.

A squishy hand with golden bracelets reaches out and steals a key on your desk. A baby gorilla staring at you eating mush. A dog wags its tail. A little girl crying. Airplane flying. People. Faces. Trees. Mice. Rush of wind. Pain! The ears turn back on, the eyes open, and the nose hurts. Lazy hands reach up and determine it's not broken nor bleeding. The body straightens up and apologizes to the eager brain and stays awake this time. But just.

A professor teaching "Analysis of Statistics," probably the most boring class he's had to teach yet, sees a student slowly nodding, then her head falls face-first SMACK into the desk. Too bad everyone else is half-asleep, otherwise she'd be quite embarrassed. He keeps talking.

Because I forgot to call her and tell her...

2009-05-19T21:24:00.003-07:00

Happy birthday big sister!

First, I want to congratulate Megan on running an ENTIRE marathon! Way to go! You are TOUGH. I hope someday to be as tough as you. But I don't think I'll ever be crazy enough (or tough enough) to run a marathon. Maybe I'll bike one.

Thank you for being a good example to me. I'm sorry for the time I snuck into your room and took some sharp scissors and cut up your beautiful cross-stitch project.

Thanks for letting me see Willie being born. It's an experience to remember (forget?).

Thanks for the countless times you'd take me for a drive and get me a kid's meal at Wendy's. I remember you used to like to get their breadsticks. They don't have those anymore.

Thanks for always having a smile when you see me. Makes the day all the brighter.

Thanks for being an awesome mom to your kids, and a wonderful wife.

Thanks for going to Logan, to Utah State to play soccer. Those were some of my favorite Sundays, where we'd drive up to beautiful Logan, especially in the Fall, see you play, and eat dinner with you.

Keep up the good work! I think you're doing several things right!

Naps

2009-05-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Anyone else got interesting expressions said after waking up from a nap?

Mom waking up to a phone call from someone trying to sell her a credit card:
"Why are you even trying to sell this to me? I'm only fourteen years old!"
solicitor: "ma'am?"

Willie after waking up from a nap in the car:
"Where are the bad guys? I need to protect my cereal!!"

Mission

2009-04-27T20:30:00.003-07:00

I went to a friend's farewell yesterday. She's leaving to serve a mission in Indonesia. As I watch more and more of my friends leave on missions, it makes me realize how much they sacrifice to leave. Some are in the middle of their studies, in the middle of getting a degree, and yet they scrape up money and time to go on a mission.
I, too, want to go on a mission. But I can't decide when. Do I swim another year, then go? Swim two more years then go? Or do I go soon? Like this December or January? All these questions and uncertainties...and I have received no answers.
Hmmm...

On being cold

2009-04-25T13:24:00.002-07:00

So, alone in the house, and freezing. What is one to do? I didn't want to turn on the heater, heat up the entire house for my benefit, one person. I put on warm clothes, and still cold. Look around the house and discover four windows open! Shut those up...still can't get warm.

Open a box of expired kettle corn, pop it, and stick the bag inside my jacket. Ahhhhh! The warm air seeps out the top, warming my face, while the bag itself is heaven.

This is what happens when you're alone in a big house and cold.

phhssshh.

2009-04-24T15:11:00.003-07:00

I was working me butt off in the trainer's room today, and I was sweating buckets. (Literally!)
All of a sudden, my training buddy looks up, eyes wide with shock, jaw wide open, you get the idea. Who else should walk in but Kobe Bryant, with his cronies, getting an ice bath? Yeah. Stripped down to little black spandex shorts, and everyone was having the times of their lives, giving him high fives and all. I finished my workout and left. He's just another one of us, that's all. What's the big deal?

I walked to the pool, and everyone on the team couldn't believe I left. "What's he like?" "Is he cool?" "Is he REALLY in there?" etc. etc. etc. They all looked at me expectantly for some profound amazing story. I sarcastically said, "Oh, my goodness. He's AMAZING." I rolled my eyes and made it clear it was no big deal. Everyone laughed. And a boy on the team piped up, "I'd give ANYTHING to be Kobe Bryant." (A disturbing comment, imo.)

I don't like that smug smirk on Kobe's face. "I'm rich and famous enough to get away with anything I want."

We are now the scandalous ones!

2009-04-20T21:13:00.003-07:00

With the way the world's morals going downhill, with society becoming so...silly about decisions and what is acceptable and what is not, we are now the scandalous ones!

It is crazy to find someone who doesn't drink beer, let alone coffee, has high morals, doesn't do this or that because of something they believe in, for a religion, for themselves. They are becoming more and more rare, so now we are the "naughty" ones... the world does not approve of our beliefs and actions. Religion is now being stifled, but we will never be snuffed out. It's amazing what wonders a small candle can do in massive darkness. Crudeness and thoughtless actions and violence are becoming more and more accepted. And yet there are some who stick to their convictions and beliefs, and now they are the odd ones out, the scandalous ones....

That's kind of scary.

American Idol, eat your hearts out!

2009-04-18T07:33:00.002-07:00

Hello "Britain's Got Talent!!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

(It won't let me put it on my own page because it's too cool for that.)

Never, never, never judge a book by its cover.

Stapleys, I plead with you to watch this!!! Everyone else, I know you'll enjoy it... but notice, it's about seven minutes long.

If you watched it, after you watched it, here's my scary thought: would an American audience have reacted the same way after she sang? I only ask this because Americans as a whole seem much more obsessed with appearance than Britains.

I haven't been this embarrassed in a long time

2009-04-15T09:33:00.002-07:00

Once upon a time I got shoulder surgery. Cosequently, I have to work out on the bike, the elliptical, etc. And not in the pool. So I get very sweaty and have to actually take showers. After my shower this morning, I grabbed my dirty clothes, threw them on the floor and took a nap. I wake up half hour later, and notice it is snowing outside. So I grab my sweatshirt off the floor and walked to class, I was running a little later than usual, so I was in a little bit of a hurry. It wasn't til I got to class that I realized my sweaty panties were hanging out from the collar of my hoodie. Yeah. I just casually pulled them out and put them in my pocket, hoping that the people who saw it assumed it was a hankerchief or something!!!!! But I thought it was hilarious.

Yes I'm a nerd! And proud of it!

2009-04-10T11:43:00.004-07:00

Oh, and I forgot, (just posted it a few hours after original post):

(I think only Ricky will appreciate the rest of the blog, so you don't have to keep reading if you don't want to) In math today, we talked about resonance and frequency and many experiments involving it.

The first video we watched was simply a wine glass breaking. I didn't know glass could vibrate that much! (NOTE: Do not listen to this video with sound. It's really annoying.)

Side view of same experiment. Note how long it takes shards to fall. Think how quickly that glass shatters completely!

One video we watched was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (video is about five minutes long. I thought it was worth it!) Engineers had a hard time explaining why the bridge reacted the way it did, just resonant frequency couldn't have made the bridge collapse, they accounted for that several times. Apparently it was "aeroelastic flutter" that made the bridge collapse, a phenomena that wasn't well-understood at the time.

Okay, Dad or Ricky, which one did it?

2009-04-08T19:56:00.003-07:00

I was looking up a couple of names of actors in Lord of The Rings: Return of the king. And what should I find but "Gondorian Soldier #1" was acted by Richard Edge?

Don't believe me?

Look here.

So, Dad or Ricky, do you have something to tell us?

Grandma

2009-03-29T20:13:00.006-07:00

So, as I was trying to finish up some math homework, I started to think about things other than math.

I love the author of Frazz. I think Jef Mallett does a wonderful job of combining humor, wit, and true life. He really understands humans, I feel.

The particular strip on this page reminds me that even though Grandma K wasn't really "with it" the last couple of months, I don't have to choose to remember her that way. Or to remember looking at her glazed-over-eyes and blank face, checking for a pulse that I already knew wasn't there. I can remember the times....

...where I watched her with young eyes, my head not quite taller than the workspace table in the kitchen. She would make her wheat bread, and knead it with such ferocity, pat it into a ball, pick it up, and SLAM it down on the table with a loud bang. Sometimes I'd tease her by sticking my head up the back of her shirt, and she would laugh and kick me out of the kitchen...

...the time where mom and dad went somewhere for "a long time" as I would say, because I don't know exactly. Probably a week or something. But she came to our house and babysat us for that time. It was a fun week, sometimes cuddling with her in my parents' bed at night, watching the lightning storm that raged outside...

...when Grandma and Grandpa had their coffee (or pero, in Grandma's case), Grandma would get out the tea set for me. The beautiful teapot with little China glasses. She would fill it with delicious hot chocolate. Sometimes I got to eat cookies with this. It was one of my favorite times during the visit...

...Sleeping over. We always seemed to sleep over on Friday nights. Saturday morning, she would make the most delicious french toast (I thought) and orange juice. Then we'd head off to the store, as always. Sometimes it was Ream's, and sometimes it was Food4Less...

...The time that everyone was backpacking, and Grandma was babysitting Lindsey's evil Parakeet. (I always thought it was evil because it landed on me and started climbing up my neck, grabbing it with its beak, pull itself up, grab some more skin in its beak and pull its body up more...everyone always asks why didn't I just flick it off of me. Well, I didn't want to hurt it and make Lindsey mad at me!!) Anyhow, Grandma was taking a bath, Grandpa went outside, and I was left with the bird. Somehow I accidentally let it out, it flew to behind the front door. Being a young lass, I imagined Grandpa coming in the front door, and the bird flying outside, never to be seen again, and getting yelled at and punished by EVERYONE. So I ran downstairs and hid under the round table in the extra bedroom. Five minutes later, there was commotion and hustle and bustle and everyone shouting "NATALIE!" They even came to that room and shouted my name. Tears were rolling down my eyes. The bird definitely flew out. Now they're really mad at me! After a good 10-20 minutes, I finally stopped hugging my knees, and came out to be punished. Grandma was SO relieved. Grandpa was outside, so she ran out to let him know I was safe. He came back swearing and mad, but Grandma just hugged me and asked me what was wrong. I explained. The bird was no where to be seen. But after looking behind the front door (which was now open), he was just hanging out there, and the bird was safely put back into his cage...

...Grandma always has the sweetest smile when you came to visit. She was always happy to see and get company, especially after Grandpa died...

Grandma, thank you so much for all the good memories. I love you.

Not quite sure...

2009-03-22T19:31:00.002-07:00

So I have a recurring dream. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it, so here goes:

I'm at a huge swim meet, and I managed to make it to the finals, the final heat, lane three! (Lane 4 usually has the fastest person, second fastest in lane five, third fastest in lane three) So I'm in a very good position. I for some reason get very stressed out that night, and realize I'm late to my event. I warmed up, haven't managed to get in my racing suit. I'm in my baggy old practice suit, swimming against some of the best swimmers in the world. As I stand behind the blocks, stretching, getting ready for the race of a lifetime, I look up only to realize the race has already started. I look at my lane, and it's empty. Definitely where I should have been. Instead of breaking down with disappointment, anger, or sadness, I only feel one emotion: intense and overwhelming relief. I curl up into a ball and sigh with contentment, thinking the only thing that will happen now is that Coach will kick me off the team.

Interesting. Maybe I could use this for my creative writing class somehow.

Post-surgery (and I mean post as in about a hour after coming home from said surgery)

2009-03-17T11:44:00.002-07:00

I'm only going to write as much as I possibly can with this darn nerve blocker I have. (My arm is dead, feeling the same sensation you feel in your mouth when your dentist gives you that shot to deaden feeling in your mouth. Mine will last another 48 hours, since they sent a bottle of the stuff with me. Yay.)

Surgery. What to say about it? I don't remember much. They put a nerve blocker in my neck area, and now I can't currently feel anything on my left shoulder/arm below my neck. They asked me 15 minutes later to hold my arms out in front of me. My right arm did the task while my left arm rolled feebly off the bed. Ha ha ha!

Then I was in the operating room before I knew it. Last thing I remember there was taking nice deep breaths through an oxygen mask.

Not sure if it was a dream or real, but I saw bright operating lights, someone saying "she's coming to! We need...." then darkness again.

Next thing? In a dimly lit room, someone saying "Hello there! What's your mom and dad's names?"

"Richard and Vickie Edge."

"Good. You feeling awake?"

"Naw, kind of loopy. Like the times I rode a bus home from a trip, didn't get home til 4 in the morning."

For some reason I yanked the wires off my body. Then admitted to the nurse what I did. She took care of it. And I think we talked a lot after that. I remember constantly yanking the oxygen mask off my face so I sounded more clear. She finally just took it off. I was happy. And I remember drinking a lot of water, and feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom real bad.

Well, now I'm home and quite awake. Wow. Drugs can make one real loopy. I wonder what else slipped out of my rattling tongue when I was talking to the nurse.

Thank you mom for the lovely jamoca (spelling?) shake from arby's. SO good. Going to go finish it now.

2009-03-11T15:36:00.001-07:00

Comment glitch fixed.

Writing ex. 1

2009-03-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

“Come on, I just want to smile a real smile for once! Let me use it! Don’t shake your head. Just hand them over. I’m determined I will have it whether you like it or not. You know I don’t have my own because I can’t afford it. I spend my money on worthy causes like lottery tickets and cat food. Cats are real angels, and they are my only friends. Come on, give them to me! If you give them to me, I promise I’ll be quiet about it from now on. I just want to use them for a picture! Why won’t you be a decent person and hand them over? It’s not like you use them anyway. You’re not smiling! You’re not even using them right now!” Clarise was sick of all the jabbering. She reached into her mouth and gave her friend her dentures.

Writing ex. 2

2009-03-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Stark white fully describes the house on Paradise Street. Everything is neatly trimmed, nothing out of place, except for the little blemish in the southeast corner of the yard. A pair of brown eyes peered out of the window, staring at the flawed corner, puzzled.
Mom tells me that the sun is bad. It can give me skin cancer and turn me all brown. That’s why I don’t look out the windows often, and that’s why the blinds are always down, except for when I’m peeking out the window. I like peeking out the window. There’s so much out there! I close the blinds. The house is white inside. White paint, white carpet, white ceiling, even white couches! Mom says its that way because white is clean. My favorite spot in the room is the white couch. It’s in the middle of the room, surrounded by the air filters. They hum. Mom tells me they get rid of all the bad bacteria and dust that makes people sick. I hear being sick isn’t fun. I wonder what it’s like. I don’t ever go outside because there’s a lot of bad stuff in the air, not to mention the sun. Plus I could fall and get a bloody scrape. That wouldn’t be fun would it?
I see kids outside all the time. They must have terrible mothers. Moms don’t let their kids get sick or hurt. They should stay inside. They could DIE! But none of them have died yet. Maybe the blonde girl will. She’s always jumping up and down, with a rope swinging around. Maybe it’ll swing up and choke her to death. Or maybe that brown haired kid. He’s always riding this thing with two wheels. Maybe it’ll flip him over and EAT him.
Outside in the corner of the yard there’s a new weird creature living there. It was never like that before. Only green fuzz on the ground. It’s big and brown, and it has this mouth full of drool. I can’t figure out where its eyes are. I want to see what it is, but that means I would have to go OUTSIDE. If I go out there, I could DIE. But it’s so strange, so compelling. It has this weird scaly fur. I MUST see what if feels like. Mom’s in the kitchen making carrot cookies. If I was ever to go outside, this would be the time to do it!
I opened the blinds all the way. My eyes hurt so bad. The sun is nasty evil. I slowly opened the window. It was really loud and creaky. I don’t think it’s ever been opened before. Air rushed in! I’m already poisoned by the bacteria and pollen! I have no choice, but to proceed. Jumping out the window quietly was easier than I thought. The green fur felt so cool. Spiky, and it smelled like something I never smelled before. It smelled like...like…God. The creature's mouth is still gaping. I wonder if it’s DYING.
I slowly approach it, because I don’t want to scare it off. It doesn’t even twitch. Standing right next to it, I see that it’s already dead. There was nothing I could do to save it. Must’ve been that nasty bacteria that done killed it. I poke at its skin. My finger gets stuck inside, letting out a soft popping noise when I withdraw it. I see my reflection in the drool. Soon my face gets bigger and bigger and bigger… and I am in the creature, the creature is in me! Soft cool wet fur surrounds me and I it. I start having a hard time breathing. Almost as if I’m hyperventilating. But it feels so good! If this is what dying from bacteria and germs is like, then it isn’t so bad. Why am I having breathing problems? And why do they feel so darn good?
“Fanny! You get out of that mud this instant! You’re going to get sick and die! And we don’t want that, do we? And why are you laughing so hard?” My mom is really red. Maybe if I get some of this creature fur on her, she’ll hyperventilate too. I sling a mudball at her. Splat! It hits her right in the face. And I keep hyperventilating with loud “ha ha ha ha ha’s.”

Red Bike

2009-03-08T15:23:00.003-07:00

So I've been looking around for a couple of weeks on ksl.com classifieds, trying to figure out what a good deal would be for a bike that I want to ride around campus, just a simple commuter bike. Being inexperienced and unsure, I asked Dad what he thought, and he found one after maybe 10 minutes of looking around! We drove up to Layton, looked at it, kicked the tires, and deemed it a good deal. So now I have a lovely red bike to ride around on campus! I'm very excited!!!

...Until I realize I get a week of having fun on it. Then I get my shoulder surgery on the 17th, then I can't really get on it for a few weeks. DANG.

My yellow bike with red writing is named "George." (Because it reminded us of the "Curious George" book covers) This bike is red. With dark blue writing. I'm trying to think up a name for it. Any suggestions?

DONE!!!

2009-02-28T22:42:00.003-07:00

So, I didn't do as well as I hoped, but I'm still pleased with my performance. I did well, except for a couple of "chokes," where I was so tense and nervous that I didn't perform to my full capacity. I got no new personal best times, but I was right on the mark, which surprised me after training half the season on a bike. I thought it was pretty impressive I was almost as quick as I was last year on a good(ish) shoulder. :)

On Friday night, right before my 200 free, I was all alone on a black carpet, black curtains surrounding me. (It's the "prep" room for the finalists in events, and the others hadn't shown up yet.) Trying to calm down and relax, I was flat on my back, eyes shut, and all of a sudden a beautiful song was being blared on the speakers. (I assume it was blaring because I can't really hear, and I could hear this perfectly.) I never really heard it before (and you'll be shocked to know that because EVERYONE knows this song apparently), but it was "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. When I get back, I'm going to borrow a few CD's from the library. :)

Speaking of which, any musicians that I should know about? (I can't hear well, so I have to meticulously discover them myself, even if I've heard their stuff hundreds of times on the radio or whatnot I usually don't hear it very well, so I just tune it out...) They can be old or new, I like the ones my friends have suggested so far!!!

Stutter

2009-02-19T21:47:00.005-07:00

All of a sudden it hit me. I'm excited in a scared nervous way.
Conference is next week. The "big meet" is NEXT WEEK. On the doorstep, knocking with a rotting gloved hand. Grinning at me with yellow long jagged teeth, eyes hidden under a hood, asking me "are ye ready?" (Yeah, I'm taking a creative writing class)
Looking deep down inside, I don't know the answer.

I'm inclined to ask myself often, "am I ready?" "Did I really put the work I needed to into it?" Usually every year I can say "I've done my best, I'm ready."

This year? Not so much. Thanks to my shoulder, I had a much different experience training this year. About half of it was out of the water on a bike. And when I was in the water, some days my shoulder would hurt, so I'd just kick. Other days, my shoulder didn't necessarily HURT, but the length of the set was tiring for the shoulder, which has probably lost much of its endurance muscles. So. Am I really ready for this meet? Do I really deserve to be on these relays? Or will I simply let my teammates down? I know I will do my best, and that's all I can do...but after pulling off a better performance than I expected last year, how can I maintain that level this season? Or should I not compare this season to last?

Stupid crackling shoulder. Makes me stutter with wonderings and doubt.

Poem for class

2009-02-17T17:41:00.001-07:00

So, I meant to e-mail this to myself to save it, but e-mail isn't working for some weird reason. So I'm just putting this here for now. You don't have to read it. If you do, keep in mind, that a lot of history is meshed together. :)

I emerge from my dark dwelling into
the bright whiteness of day.
Snow flutters, clings, falls,
dances, catches, smashes into cement,
turning spotless white into dull grey.
Look up! Watch the ballet…Smack!
Some dancers collide with your eye,
making it cold, wet, and teary.
Tears rush, gush, hot onto your face.
Stupid parrot. Stupid toy parrot.
It was December 17, 1994,
my fifth birthday. Pink candles
illuminated my chocolate cake,
layers of vanilla ice cream drizzled
down the sides, making it so good.
Make a wish, blow out the flames.
See the fire fight, flutter, struggle, die.
Smoke sizzles, rising into the air, forgotten.
Blue crinkly wrapping paper hide
your surprise from your mom.
Seize it! Tear it! Discover the inside!
It’s red, yellow, blue! A toy parrot
lodged on a plastic brown log.
The most important part is the red button.
Press it, and record, and the parrot will
say anything you say. It’s your friend!
I yank it out, push the round red and say—
“Natalie’s a smelly old goat!”
My older brother and sisters yell.
“Natalie’s a smelly old goat!”
The bird shrieks into my ears.
“Natalie’s a smelly old goat!”
I slam the bird down, and run outside
crying, howling, and sniffling snot.
Gaze at the white sparkly snow on the ground.
Sparkly it is. Blinding, too.
The sun illuminates everything.
Wipe the snow from your eye, and chuckle.
You were but five years old.
Inhale the coldness, enjoy the briskness.
Remember what you wished for?
“I wished for my older brother and sisters
to respect me, even though I’m the youngest.”
You didn’t get your wish. No.
Crying out in the cold, you were mad.
I’m not spoiled because I’m the youngest!
Just think, the youngest child often has to
stay behind, while the others leave the nest.
The youngest has to take care, clean up.
The youngest has to be the “good one.”
I can’t make any mistakes, because they
already made them all! No room for me.
And they get to leave before me, and I’ll be
All alone in this house. Rooms will be empty…
Empty rooms. The house is very empty.
Mom and Dad and I are best friends now.
We enjoy each others’ company.
The house seems full, despite four empty bedrooms.
Four siblings all grown up and married.
And I am the only one left.
I will be the only one left!
I turn and charge into the house.
I want to enjoy the time I do have
with my older brother and sisters!
I target Ricky first, because he’s the oldest.
I bleat loudly and head butt his rear.
First he’s shocked at my tear stained face,
but then he laughs with the rest, and we
wrestle on the floor, one happy family.
The parrot lies forgotten, yelling
“Natalie’s a smelly old goat!”
Today is December 17, 1994,
And it’s the best birthday I’ve ever had.

Everything is Illuminated

2009-02-12T11:56:00.003-07:00

I forgot all about this movie: During a travel meet in San Diego, I ran across this on the TV in the hotel. Everyone else was napping for five hours, so I watched it quietly. I wanted to learn more, and the book sounds much better than the movie was. But the movie was also done pretty well. I think I liked it more than I should have because it deals with the past, specifically WWII. I've always been fascinated by stories of the Holocaust, about recovering the histories of the people who suffered.

The plot of the movie as described by imdb.com

"A young Jewish American flies to the Ukraine in search of his grandfather's past. He has a photograph and the name of a village. He hires the Odessa Heritage Tours, made up of a gruff old man and his English-speaking grandson. The three, plus grandfather's deranged dog, travel in an old car from Odessa into Ukraine's heart. Jonathan, the American, is a collector, putting things he finds into small plastic bags, so he will remember. Alex, the interpreter, is an archetypal wild and crazy guy. Alex asks the old man, "Was there anti-Semitism in the Ukraine before the war?" Will they find the village? The past illuminates everything."

I love the way it's filmed, the visuals are stunning. There's a perfect balance of humor and seriousness. I wouldn't recommend watching it with young ones, though. Can't remember perfectly, but there's a couple of scenes (or comments?) that just weren't necessary.

(This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie, they have stopped at a hotel for the night. Of course, there's some stereotypes, but I thought it amusing that if you don't eat meat, that means there's something seriously wrong with you. I think the first two minutes are plenty.)

An amusing quote:

"Make sure to secure the door when I am gone. There are many dangerous people who wanna take things from Americans, and also kidnap them. Good night! " (Alex to Jonathan (the American) after showing him his hotel room.)

So if one night you are extremely bored, go ahead and check this out in the library.

But I look forward to watching "A Man For All Seasons" someday. I heard it's really good from a lot of people I respect. :)

MRI

2009-02-08T17:40:00.005-07:00

As most of you well know, I've been having problems with my left shoulder for the past year and a half. My coach wants me to get surgery asap right after NCAA's (if I make it that far). So a couple of Fridays (Jan 30th) ago, I had an MRI. Very interesting experience. I discovered that MRIs are both underrated and overrated. I got some dye injected into my shoulder to add some contrast so tears would show up better if there were any. The doctor had me lie down on a bed, and put an x-ray machine over, that displayed my bones then and there live! She had a metal rod, and was moving it around my shoulder, looking for the best entrance for a needle to get straight to the joint. After picking a spot, she put a bunch of sanitizing gunk on my shoulder that turned it yellowish-rust. Then injected some stuff into my shoulder.

Then I proceeded to the MRI itself. I had to take out my hearing aids, since they have metal in them, and I was putting my body into a big white magnetic coffin. Having to hold perfectly still for 20 minutes wasn't that hard, since I had no room to move. The ceiling of the coffin was about two inches from my face, so I'm pretty sure I was cross-eyed when my eyes were open. (About 90% I just rested my eyelids.)

After getting all that done, I waited impatiently Monday for results. The doctor was out til Thursday!

I finally got my results on Friday (the 6th), I expected to hear that they found nothing. That's what happened to a few swimmers, but when they scoped, they actually found something. With me, however, they found a labral tear. I don't know how little or big it is, etc., I'm hoping to get the MRI images from my doctor so I can take a peek myself. Or at least get a meeting with my doctor so we know what's going on, and exactly what he thinks.

The most relieving thing about all this? Now I know it's not mental. Sometimes I was convinced it was.

Turning into a...geek? Nerd? What's the difference?

2009-02-02T12:10:00.002-07:00

Okay, maybe I was already a nerd.

But for my math class, we had to buy software for our computer called Maple, officially called Maplesoft, but everyone calls it maple.

It is a fun program to play with! It can integrate, differentiate, solve, graph, plot, draw slope lines, etc. for any equation you can think of! (Well, most of them.) And I find myself starting to play with it in my free time instead of watching TV or playing games. (Not that I get much free time...)

Yay for being a nerd!!

We all had longer hair once

2009-02-01T19:04:00.009-07:00

I swear mom and dad haven't aged a day.

Okay, Megan, I apologize for teasing you in the last two posts that involve pictures. These are beautiful. I hope that makes you feel better.

Cold sores!

2009-01-31T12:02:00.002-07:00

Megan seems to always have cold sores in a lot of pictures we have. Mom says that megan used to complain she got them because mom would kiss her when mom had a cold sores...

Interesting.

2009-01-28T12:14:00.001-07:00

I'm stuck at the Union because there is a 70 minute break between my math and physics class. So I take that time to eat here, then use the computer for a bit. I was playing around, and found a site that analyzes your responses to questions to see which major would suit you best.

Mine was a tie between two things:

engineering and english.

Hmm....is there a way to combine the two?

Any suggestions for poem #2?

2009-01-26T10:11:00.005-07:00

Background info: we had to pick two of our favorite objects/subjects, and write as many words as we could about them, describing them, how they make us feel, etc. Then we were told to write a poem about the two objects, but we weren't allowed to use ANY of the words we just wrote down. Dang. Here's the rough draft, tell me what you think if you'd like. :)

Unable to read the faded parchment,
horrible, disjointed noise fills the ear.
Fat little balls of plumage cower
in the shadows, listening.
I tediously pound the bones
as strings break, wood splinters.
The golden eyes blink
as I feel the poem come
to life through the beast.
Sharp bills chatter uneasily.
Images erupt deep within—
Gradually the orbs with the
cracked claws emerge,
Swaying steadily to hideous vibrations.
I do not mind the monster
nor the relics of raptors with
scarlet ornaments on their heads.
I keep pounding the keys because
we all know we are
magnificent.

Old Pictures are Awesome!!!

2009-01-25T18:38:00.018-07:00

Emily and Rick often reminds us of Poppy and Oscar.
Stupid wasps. Poor Oscar.

Remember Happy?

Megan and Rick

Dad and...Lucky?

Dad's lovely bus pass when he was in Sweden.

Probably just got off work. Poor girl.

Never seen her make a face!!

Dad's "girly" legs

Waiting for Rick to come home from his mission. I sure look happy, eh?

Family picture

I feel Oscar often pulls this (Rick's) pose for the camera. Wonder where he got it from?

Mom's outfit for the Iceberg!

Poetry notebook

2009-01-21T12:20:00.003-07:00

For my intro to creative writing class, we have to carry around a pocket notebook with us at all times, in case we ever get inspired. We can't rely on memory. Too many times have I come up with a brilliant image or idea, only to forget it once I get home, or to a pen and paper. We had to read an essay on poetry notebooks, and this quote struck me:
"A good notebook entry must make us jump. Blasphemy and sex are highly recommended." No, my teacher didn't write this essay, don't worry. But it got me thinking: maybe 10 years ago, those kinds of things would make someone jump.

But today it's just the opposite: write down the things that are good and uplifting, and (gasp!) spiritual! In these days, that will make many people jump.

Too often we're being dragged down every day by the horrible media, the scandals, the immorality of society, focusing on the celebrities and their mistakes. Too often the brave "common" people who quietly do the right thing are overlooked. I intend to turn that around in my writing in this class. We're only being graded on attendance and turning in our work--the teacher doesn't have to like it.

We work shopped many of our classmates' poems last night, and everyone in my class seems intent on focusing on dark subjects/objects. Here's my poem I wrote. (We couldn't use any abstract words, and had to describe four specific abstract words with objects. Mine were "justice, mercy, gratitude, peace." Yes, I did pick them from a list of sixteen words. They were the most optimistic.)

Tired Scale

I fall and tumble to
the left...to the right.
I am hardly ever balanced.

If only…

Foes shook hands,
and unlocked—the doors of
cages of wild beasts.

Then I will be balanced.

Faces will greet one another
with beaming smiles
and leaking eyes.

Everyone complained it was too obvious and not deep. Well, I'll continue working on being more subtle and using more varied vocabulary. Just be aware I wrote this in twenty minutes. (Yes, I procrastinated. Yep, I learned my lesson. Already starting on the next poem.)

Ruby Slippers

2009-01-09T22:16:00.003-07:00

My feet got all red and blistery at one point of training in the past couple of weeks (from kicking with fins all the time). They're mostly healed now.

A few days ago, I tried in vain to clack them together, saying in my head "there's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's NO place like HOME!" Not surprisingly, it didn't work.

Guess what? I'm coming home tomorrow evening.

Who needs little dinky ruby slippers anyway? We all know that Glinda did it. Not the shoes.

Not the shoes.

di dee dee dee dee dee...

2009-01-06T17:13:00.002-07:00

First you hear the familiar fiddle playing. Then you hear a deep rich voice say “The Fiddler on the Roof. Sounds crazy, no?...You might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant tune without breaking his neck…how does one keep his balance? I can tell you that in one word: tradition!...”

The Fiddler on the Roof will always hold a very special place in my heart. It will forever be one of my favorite musicals and stories. As I was listening to the soundtrack the past few days, I realized why this story speaks to my heart so much: because these simple people’s lives mirror my own and my family’s, in the fact that we are a small minority that believes a certain way, and it’s sometimes hard to keep our balance.

Many of my friends don’t like this musical very much. I suppose it’s because it has a pretty fast start, but then seems to slow down, and guess what? Despite the fact it is a musical, it doesn’t end up perfect and happy and perky. (If you want that, watch High School Musical, or Mama Mia, or something of that type) At the end you’re left with watching poor Tevye, his wife, and last two daughters walking off in the snow with all they own in search of a new home.

I love this story because you follow the life of a poor man who works hard each day to find happiness. He seems to be a simple man, but in his seemingly simple phrases and questions, you realize he is actually wise. You watch him forced to question his traditions and beliefs for the sake of his daughters (“On the other hand…”). But he heartbreakingly realizes that one has to draw the line somewhere, or he will indeed lose his balance as a fiddler on the roof (“There IS no other hand!”).

Not to mention all of the songs are awesome.

-Prologue/Tradition/Main Title This long intro is absolutely necessary to understand the traditions of the people of Anatevka, and what the fiddler on the roof symbolizes. Not to mention the music after all the singing is plain awesome. I wish I could do that!

-Matchmaker It’s mom’s fault I love this song so much.

-If I Were A Rich Man, partly dad’s fault, and mostly because we all feel this way. My favorite part of this song is that Tevye’s naming off all the things he’d love to have, but the greatest thing of all according to him was to have the time to study the scriptures seven hours everyday. When we think of wealth and riches, what do we think of? Time to read scriptures wasn’t even thought of until I listened to this song.

-Sabbath Prayer I just love listening to Tevye’s and Golde’s duet. Makes you feel happy and safe.

-To Life I love the hard sound in whatever they say after “to life” sounds like “lachiam.” There’s also some cool imagery in the lyrics (“while our hearts lie panting on the floor…”)

-Tevye’s Dream Mom hates this song. I know. I admire Fruma Sarah’s ability to sing so eerily. And it always makes me want to say Mozel Tov to everyone.

-Sunrise, Sunset. Listen to it. Need I say more?

-Do You Love Me? Definitely one of my favorites. It’s a cute song, an older couple married for 25 years realize that they do, in fact, love each other, even though it may not change a thing now but it’s nice to know.

-Anatevka Not exactly a happy song to end a musical with. But a fitting one for this story-helps us realize that the places we dwell in that we call our homes, are nothing really when family (or people) aren’t there anymore.

pensamiento debajo del sol

2009-01-04T11:43:00.002-07:00

It's annoying when you're trying to enjoy yourself on the green grass stretched out before you, some palm trees swaying in the distance, and you are in your favorite relaxed position: face looking up to the dark blue sky, the nonexistent puffy white clouds, and you have your hands locked behind your head, so you can open up that chest and strreeeeeettttccccchhhh....

Then the stupid painful pounding happens. Everytime your pulse comes around to that left shoulder-there's a little gnome with his hammer clinking it at something inside my shoulder. So you sigh, and put your arms down to your side, causing the shoulder to pop several times from the transitioning of positions. Wince a little, or don't...happens so many times, you're quite used to it.

Close your eyes, feel the sun shining on your face, remember what it feels like in the spring? So warm, but not burning? Caresses you, makes you feel so good... That's what it feels like here. Not too hot or intense, but it's there for certain. Take nice deep breaths, and become so relaxed, nothing is tense, feels so good until...ah. It's a good thing I'm usually always moving because the pounding comes back.

Stupid gnome.

Then since my mind is idle, I think about my shoulder, and try to remember why I'm still swimming, when any person with common sense would stop and get it fixed. Oh yes, our team may make it to NCAA's. I have a chance to do something amazing, something once in a lifetime. But I never really wanted that, my coach did. So if I don't really care if I get this or not, why do I keep going?

I figure it all comes down to one of two things: either I'm really loyal, or just plain stupid.

Freedom!

2009-01-03T14:21:00.007-07:00

So, after almost a week here in Mexico, our Coach finally decided to let us leave our little world of just the pool and the apartments and take some cabs to downtown La Loma (San Luis Potosi?). The cab ride was very frightening, but we arrived in one piece. (Dad asked if I saw any old cab drivers, the answer is no, no I have not. They were all in their twenties.) The following are just random pictures in no particular order of the sights and sounds I saw in my two hours of exploring Mexico life in a busy marketplace on a saturday afternoon. There were many stores, streets and streets that wound and curved, so we weren't always sure where we were. After the stores end, the marketplace begins, where you can buy anything. And I mean anything. My favorite part was the section where there were lots of tools, and you can hand someone your shoe, and they'll tear it apart and put it back together, better than before. There was also a station where you could get your scissors sharpened.

I admire Mexico's national emblem. It's pretty awesome.

This was in some building--they really really decorate their nativity scenes from this to disco balls, and all.

It doesn't seem like it here, but there were thousands and thousands of people on the streets.

Among the wares were these...sketchy sweatshirts.

I believe it's a cathedral. Is that what they're called? It was interesting: it was like Mexico's Temple Square. The market surrounds this building on all four sides.

Another shot of the Cathedral. Sidenote: when I took this picture, the bells were ringing.

Inside, it was very very very elaborate. From the stain glass windows, to the organ, etc. I'm just glad that casual bystanders can't just waltz into the Temples, snap a few shots (like I did) and leave.

My teammates practicing our sweet yoga moves while we wait for a cab or two to go back to our little haven in the middle of a rich town where we see no one.

Paintings

2009-01-01T17:33:00.007-07:00

The night sky doesn't have that many stars. Disappointment.

The laundry room windows.

There are many paintings on display throughout the facility where we workout. Some of them are simple, while others appear simple but are really quite complex. Here are a few that really drew my eye. (There are probably around 25 in all)

I love finding deeper meanings and symbolism to apply to truths you and I already know. These paintings remind me of the fact that every person we see walking down the street looks simple and ordinary enough. But when you really focus all your attention to really look at that person, there are layers and layers and complexities and beauty in everyone.

Images of Mexico (so far...)

2008-12-29T17:52:00.010-07:00

Jen (and George) and I before we eat in the middle of our trip to Mexico.
I love how everything is colorful in Mexico, including the train!

In Mexico City, there was a ton of graffiti. But as you moved out, it slowly disappeared.

There were many of these little...cartels? Stores? around.

Stupid emergency sign. Ruining my picture.

It's very hard to take good pictures on a speeding bus.

The main area of our apartment. All we get is spanish channels, so...viva mexico!

There's three rooms like these in each apartment. So 9 girls to an apartment. Guess who gets kicked out of the bottom bunk to the top bunk? Moi.

Mmmmm! REAL Mexican food. Simple yet good.

Journey to Mexico

2008-12-29T08:20:00.001-07:00

I have never been outside of the US. My parents have taken biking trips, Dad lived in Sweden for two years, Emily went to South Korea and Rick went to Portugal. I love listening to their stories of life outside of the US.
I go to Mexico for my first time outside of the country. I tried to remember as many things possible from the journeys today, since we will be staying inside a compound, and never emerging into the real world of Mexico, never mingling with the people of Mexico.
I have to say honestly I loved Mexico City, despite all the horrible things that can happen there, such as kidnappings, drug dealing, corrupt police officers, etc. The city was huge and clustered, many many people smashed into a small area, yet they make it work. They make it look quaint and doable. I loved the brightly painted homes, despite the fact that it would look “trashy” in everyday American neighborhoods. It was nice to see (a very small glimpse) of what life is really like in Mexico, at least in the cities. There’s little cartels everywhere, people selling their little bundles of wares. There are many stores on the ground floor, then homes up above. Then a garden on top of the building, along with a string of clothes hanging to dry. Despite all the evil seeming to lurk in dark corners, these people have found a way to live, and to enjoy life.
I feel that in the states we just want more and more stuff (I’m guilty of this), and we’re never truly grateful for what we have—we don’t even use the stuff we have til it has been fully used or served its purpose. Something “better” comes out, and we must have that product before we’re done using the one we currently have.

The food isn’t anything like the “Mexican” food we get in the states. It’s much less greasy, much simpler, but tastes just as good, or even better! (The meat….well, I never liked meat anyway. The beans and rice and tortillas were amazing.) We flew in, and got on a charter bus (we’re bundled in for a 5-6 hour ride), and halfway through the ride we stopped to eat. The place we ate at had many restaurants and stores where we could explore a bit (in very large groups) the interesting thing I found in this area was the fact you had to pay two pesos to use the bathroom.

In one of the little cute stores, I found no food or candy I recognized, except for the candy Mrs. Sullivan (my Spanish teacher from middle school) would let us try out. I saw my favorite—dried mangos covered in sugar and chili powder. The most interesting and confusing combination of tastes for the tongue. I offered some to everyone, and most of the swimmers tolerated it, two actually liked it. The one person that gagged and spat it out and flipped me off with a red teary face was none other than my coach, Greg. The teammates who witnessed this with me were almost rolling on the floor with laughter! I tried to be sympathetic, but I deemed he overacted way too much. I plan on saving a bit of the candy so mom and dad can decide for themselves whether it was worth gagging over.

Youngest

2008-12-26T19:01:00.003-07:00

I had to steal this picture from Meg. This is a picture of Sammy, taken by Sara(h?). This picture fits this post perfectly.

Being the youngest has its advantages and disadvantages. I'm not going to compose a long tedious list about the pros and cons, but simply a post about nothing or something.

One of the wonderful things about having my siblings over for the holidays, whether it be Thanksgiving or Christmas, is to see them and their kids. More than seeing them, I get to observe them a bit. Yes, I observe, even though I'm always reading or staying in a corner.

To watch the way my siblings look at their spouses (or vice versa) is just so cute. I think it's wonderful that everyone has found their other self, their other half, and they work as best friends, as partners, in bringing children into this world, to protect them, to teach them, to raise them.

It's fun to observe mom and dad, especially since they know each other so well, to see them tease each other, to "bicker" in a loving way. To enjoy each others' company.

It's fun to play with the nephews and niece, to watch their wonder, imagination, and playfulness, to watch them learn little (and big) lessons of life. To watch Sammy and Carter work on smiling, being cute, crawling, lifting those unproportional heads. To watch Willie and Micah work on sharing, playing together. To see Oscar grow so big, so curious, so smart. To see Poppy (the lone girl of the group) be sassy and sweet.

I think families are awesome. I see that everyone in my family all has that one essential ingredient to a happy family: charity. I see it in the way they treat each other and their children. Thank you so much for your good examples!!!!

I'll have my own one day, but it won't be too soon. I'm not selfless enough yet. Nor mature. I'll wait until I have more of both. Oh, and I probably have to meet someone to make the equation work, right? :)

Christmas 08

2008-12-26T08:22:00.010-07:00

I hope you guys all had a lovely Christmas! I enjoyed it very much, spending time with family. I'm grateful for holidays where we can get together and enjoy each other's company.
(I'm putting these pictures of Lindsey and Emily on here to see how long I can get away with it...)

Emily kept up the yearly tradition of knitting or crocheting something. She actually taught herself to knit!

Carter always is happy on Grandpa's shoulder or sucking on Grandpa's fingers.

Sammy and Carter!

Sammy

Carter is so adorable. He's learning to smile more and more.

Micah's starting to look so old! (Especially on camera.)

I is a coledge stoodent dat is no longer a teenager

2008-12-17T10:23:00.003-07:00

Well, I got to start off my 20th birthday with waking up at 5am to cram a little bit more math into my brain before my final at 8am. I have to say, I did...*okay* on the exam. Not too confident there. But it's done and over, and now I'm absolutely free from intellectual thinking for about a month! (Not free from swimming though, that happens when piggies fly and eat hot dogs. Actually, I'm pretty sure they already eat hot dogs...) After my exam, I looked at my phone to find I had 13 text messages and two missed calls and two voice mails. It's a birthday! What's the big deal? :)

I'm at the burb, turning in my books, then I'm going to go get some academic advising from the physics advisor, then run up to the dorms to check out of my room, then I go to swim practice (need to find lunch sometime), then I should be on my way home! I cannot wait.

And on birthdays, the day doesn't feel any different. Sure, I have a green ribbon in my hair to celebrate the occasion of my mother going through tremendous pain to bring me into the world. I'm officially no longer a teenager. Doesn't feel any different neither. Maybe it hasn't kicked in yet. Maybe it'll hit me later. But now? Well, I'm me. No different.

Dang. I was hoping to get some superpowers.

A Christmas thought...

2008-12-15T21:07:00.005-07:00

I recently came across one of my favorite scriptures for this time of season (any time, actually), and I absolutely love it! I thought I'd share it with you. It's awesome to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing it from Handel's Messiah.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called

Wonderful,

Counsellor,

The mighty God,

The everlasting Father,

The Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

I don't know about you, but it just makes me happy to read. I love learning the Savior's other titles and names. Gives you a a little better understanding of who He is.

Results from Princeton meet

2008-12-09T13:08:00.004-07:00

The results on Utah's swimming page isn't working, hence why poor maddie can't find it. I posted links from the Princeton site, hopefully these will work for ya!
(Helpful tip: When the page loads, and if you're only interested in me, hit control+f on your keyboard, and type in "edge." This works on most pages on the entire internet and is very helpful when doing research. :)

Day one, Friday

Day two, Saturday

Day three, Sunday

And you might notice I didn't swim the 100 free individually on Sunday night. My coach wanted me to do my best on the relay, in attempts to get a NCAA-A cut. We were close. We'll definitely get it at conference.

Stream of consciousness during a physics midterm.

2008-12-08T16:21:00.004-07:00

Focus, focus....steady....

Wow, what's that it in my hand? A cool mechanical pencil. Green. Has a good quality eraser. I love erasers. And...huh, the desk seems really blurry with this yellowish paper on it. Why do I feel that this paper is important? Focus...ah! Heh. It's my physics test they wouldn't let me take on Wednesday because the professor felt that it was too early to take it it was originally set for Friday but I told them I was going to Princeton. I told them a week and a half in advance, yet the test wasn't quite proof-read and printed for me to take it on Wednesday. Professor felt like Monday was too late though. So right after a bleary weary fun long swim meet with prelims and finals for three to fourish...or was it five-ish days? After waking up 4 AM on monday morning eastern time, traveling about 7 hours, I had to go straight to the physics building to make up this test. A test? Oh yeah, while my brain was playing around with how frustrating the situation is, I haven't even started the test. And I had to miss all the reviews for the test that are usually very helpful in learning how to actually apply the material we learned. Hmmm.... Oh yes, the test is still sitting in front of me. Hmmm...let's try playing around with this equation here, and see if I come up with a remotely correct-sounding answer. Who throws a wad of gum at a cylinder rotating on the z axis anyway? And we have to assume so many things. Not practical. But makes things simpler, I suppose. A sphere rolling down an incline. Assume it never slides, only rolls. Doesn't make sense. Gravity will cause the sphere to slide a little bit, even if it's the smallest fraction. Wow, my brain does not feel connected to my body. Just jumping all over the place. Ah, there's the proctor. Oh, only six minutes left? And....two of five problems I haven't even started on, let alone looked at? Great. Just great.
C'mon brain!

(grinding gears, stalls)

C'mon!

(engine comes to life for an instant, stalls once more)

NOOOOOOO!
(turns in test, don't even remember much until after waking up from a two-hour nap in the dorms....until now....)

Wow, some days can be a bleary shmeary blur where it passes right by you, yet you remember not much.

Oh, great. Now I just reminded myself of one of my favorite classes I took at the U. A literature class, we read Virginia Woolf's book "To the Lighthouse." It was pretty much all in stream-of-consciousness format. So confusing at first, yet so rewarding at the end. Now I want to go back to majoring in english. I'll minor in math. Think that'd go well? Nah. Me neither. Hm. I do know I want to teach. I also know I'd have fun teaching math, english, and physics. Would it go over strange if I majored in teaching english, and got a master's in math or physics? Yeah, yes it would. Now I'm just babbling at the end of a rather long, disappointing, and endless post. My apologies. I will think up something genius next time! Perhaps a poem?

Hello Princeton!

2008-12-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I'm at a swim meet for the next three days in Princeton. We arrived when it was dark, so I haven't seen much yet. I'm excited to see what the light will bring! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-01T18:47:00.006-07:00

Thanksgiving weekend was a wonderful break from school (not really from swimming, because "break" is unheard of in the swimming world). It was wonderful to see Rick, Collette, Oscar, Poppy, Emily, Carvel, Megan, Reed, Will, Sam, Lindsey, Bryan, Micah, Carter! Whew...

However, going back to school has made me realize that it is a torturous holiday: Gives you a tiny taste of freedom for the brain, then makes you plunge right back into a couple more weeks and finals!

I wonder if our little walk on the river the day after Thanksgiving will become a yearly tradition?
I have no idea how Sam could sleep in such a position. But he did.

We went to see the lights that night. 'Twas PACKED! I don't think many of us had fun, but it was worth it for the kids, and to pay a visit to beloved Temple Square.

Notice the hundreds of people on the other side?

I've decided that temples, especially the Salt Lake City temple are very photogenic.

Three

2008-12-01T18:45:00.001-07:00

The three lessons I want to learn (and master) from swimming in college are:

1)Learn to do hard things.

2)Learn to have fun doing hard things.

3)Learn to have fun doing hard things, and make it fun for others.

Psychology Paper #3

2008-12-01T18:38:00.002-07:00

For our third and final paper in my psychology of adolescence class, we have to pick an interview from NPR's "Radio Diaries." These diaries are simply audio diaries of various teenagers around the country. We pick one of these kids, and analyze them and their interview using everything we've learned in the class. The three stories that interested me most was Josh who lives in New York City, he has Tourette's Syndrome.

Juan also interested me,

but I think I'll do my paper on Ricky. His father is a strict atheist, but now that he's older, he's not so sure about his father's beliefs. His story spiked my interest the most, and I think I have some good ideas already. :)

Now that I look at all the kids who are interviewed, all of their stories are intriguing. I'll have to look at them all when I finally get the time!

flailying.

2008-11-20T17:25:00.005-07:00

I watched everyone else do it. It looked so simple and so easy. Except everyone else was either flailing or flying off like little lemmings, with little cute "ahs!" and "oooahs," just like the little cartoons on the game Rick used to play. When Greg finally gave me permission to get off the bike and change into my suit, I was so excited to try it! I was going to show everyone how it's done. First I had to warm up, and hope that they were still doing the drill. They were!

I climbed up the ladder and stood on top of the high diving boards. Then it hit me what I was about to do. I started to breathe a little more quickly, panic squeezed my heart. We had folded up one of the mats we stretch on and put it on the end of a diving board. Then there was a hose squirting water on it, so to make it really slippery. It was simple enough: Run at full speed onto the makeshift slip'n'slide, and do a perfect dive into the water.
Two keys to this drill: Keep your body low, because if you jump onto the slip and slide and a steep angle, the board will push you up, causing your legs to fly over your head and make you back flop. Hard.
Key number two: If you do key number one successfully, keep your body TIGHT in line, and you'll be just fine! Simple, right?

Right.

I look up to realize I'm the last one going, and EVERYONE is at the bottom, watching ME. "Okay, this is it. I'm finally going to do something diving-oriented well." I visualized my approach, the landing, everyone cheering.

Well, everyone did cheer... I ran maybe a little too hard, flopped onto the slip'n'slide from a little too steep of an angle. The diving board belched me out, I thought I was doing great until I realized that I was facing the ceiling...and I hit the water with a perfect-10 backflop.

Wait for it...wait for it... I pop up, everyone's cheering....wait for it...wait for it... my colossal tidal wave hits the gutters and disappears...wait for it...

aha!

OWWWWWWWWWW!

But, of course, I don't let anyone see that it really, really, really hurt. I smile and say, "well, I'll have to work on that." And inside my body was screaming at me, "NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Epiphanies

2008-11-17T19:12:00.012-07:00

House has them all the time. For the past year and a half, I have not had one significant epiphany. And it wasn't fun. In the past three days, I had about three epiphanies. One for every day, I suppose.

Saturday- As I was on a cramped bus trip on our way back from swimming against UNLV in Las Vegas, I realized "hey. I want to be a teacher. I want to give back, and what better way to do that than in Utah, where teachers aren't exactly respected as much as they should be? Plus, you get great holidays. Plus, it's a better job for one who would like to be a mom someday. Plus, anyone who actually majors in math or physics is too smart to teach it. I'm not that smart. I want to help those rowdy teens."

Sunday night-This epiphany happened during a conversation with a friend on the internet. I always knew this fact, but it never HIT me as a true fact. Kind of like when you know that some gospel principle is true, but you don't REALIZE it til something happens. I finally REALIZED that swimming is...a trivial matter. It's simply a stage in life where I'm learning to do hard things, I'm having good experiences, and it's something that teaches me more about myself. The swimming itself? It doesn't truly matter. But I like doing it, and seeing how good I can get at it. But in the long eternal run, 'tis but a trivial matter.

Monday-After studying the scriptures in the morning since I didn't have practice, I realized I miss Institute. No, I'm not enrolled in Institute right now. Next semester I'm registered for two. (Two classes once a week. Couldn't fit "normal" ones in my schedule, so took a "wednesday evening only" class and still debating about the other.)

Three epiphanies=utter happiness. I now have a sense of direction in school, I now REALIZE that swimming is supposed to be fun and a learning experience (not torture), and I need to get more involved in learning about the Gospel to truly be happy.

Just buy one of these

2008-11-12T21:18:00.006-07:00

For those of you who have mice problems: buy one of these frogs. I couldn't watch the video for more than a minute, though. I was listening to the song...

*ADDITION* So, dad asked me if this really would happen in the wild. After googling and looking around, I've discovered that these frogs are commonly known as "pac-man" frogs. (I wonder why...) What I found the most interesting was the fact that these frogs digest their prey in their MOUTH. MMMM!
Lara from the site The Hungry Frog Web Page says:

"These frogs can definitely handle mice as a meal but not as a staple diet! I have seen one too many pac-man's being grotesquely over weight b/c there owner ownly fed them mice. Rodents are very high in fat and I would recommend that you only give your frog mice once in a blue moon as a "treat". My frogs would love for me to give them mice all the time but it is really not that heathly for them. My frogs eat mostly fish (very high in calcium)."

I don't know about you, but these frogs in the video seem overweight. They're HUGE!

And to the question whether this really happens in the wild? Well, that's not distinctly answered. Pac-man frogs apparently eat anything that can fit in their mouths, including other frogs and snakes.

Tampering with HTML code

2008-11-11T17:55:00.003-07:00

yes, if you look at my blog, you can tell I have been tampering with the HTML code in my blog layout. I hope to find a perfect look soon. I'll be experimenting lots, so just warning ya.

Facebook...

2008-11-10T16:55:00.003-07:00

So, I have come to the conclusion that deleting my facebook account will make my life easier and free up some time.
However...when I go to delete my account, the only option facebook will give you is to "deactivate" your account. It's like putting your computer in the sleep mode. It doesn't really shut down. By deactivating your account, facebook saves all of your information, and you are still visible to the world. I wanted to DELETE my account, deleting all my activity, all my footsteps, everything.
I googled how to do this particular task. Everywhere it said you had to call customer service, or e-mail facebook. One particular person had to threaten facebook with legal action before they did anything. One source suggested you delete every friend you have, every picture, everything you ever posted. For one being on facebook for 1 1/2 years, that is a LOT of stuff, a daunting task.
Luckily, I found a group on facebook that helps you through the process. Only from here did i find a link that led you to a page on facebook saying "do you really want to delete your account?" I knew I found the holy grail. I clicked on it, only to have a message telling me that it will deactivate my account, wait for 14 days, then it will delete everything. If you log in even once during this time period, it will cancel the process.

I think facebook secretly wants to take over the world, and the first step is to make sure that everyone onboard can't leave. They're betting I'll be tempted to check facebook in the next two weeks. Well, they lost one possible candidate for brainwashing.

first snow and library

2008-11-06T12:34:00.008-07:00

Yestermorning, I found the day to be bright, clear, and with a quarter of an inch on the trees.

After breakfast I emerge upon a snowstorm!!! It snowed for hours.

After practice the snow finally stopped, and the sun came out. I forgot my camera when we were stocking the stadium. It was a BEAUTIFUL view of the entire city/valley! Everything white and crystal clear, with the most radiant sunset.

This is a random leaf I saw this morning and happened to have my camera.

My friend and I decided to explore the new sections of the library we've never seen before. This was one of my favorite spots. At the time, the power was out all over campus, so it's dark in the library. This section I'd like to dub "The Sloth Area." There were soft cushiony chairs everywhere, but not one of them were available. All of them were occupied by a sleeping student. Not one of them was awake.

Ceiling of Marriott library. Quite artistic. Whoever designed this building knew what they were doing.

Psychology 1230=AWKWARD!!!!

2008-11-03T19:43:00.004-07:00

So, I take this class on mondays from 6-9 pm.
Today's topic was "Love and Relationships among adolescents."
Usually we break into groups of 2-3, and discuss something. Today we had to discuss our relationships when we were teenagers, what boyfriends (girlfriends) you had, and to look back and see how that relationship helped you grow and develop, whether it was healthy/unhealthy, etc.
Two members of our group talked a lot. One said nothing at all because they know nothing of the subject. I won't tell who was who.

Smile (and stifled laughter)

2008-10-29T15:52:00.002-07:00

I have to ride a stationary bike for the first half of practice everyday. This has its pros and cons. One of the perks? You get to see the things that happen on deck that you don't usually see while you're swimming.

I saw my coach running...only to wipe out flat on his back. His look on his face will be forever imprinted in my memory. (I've never seen anyone get up so quickly!)

You wish it would just go away!

2008-10-27T18:30:00.003-07:00

Whenever I was in this situation in middle school and high school, I fantasized that in college, and later on in life, I would know exactly how to handle myself, or even that it would never happen to me again.

Alas, I'm in college, and, once again, I clumsily handled the situation.

What does one do when they have a runny nose that will never be subdued? I was in a class that goes for three hours. After the first three minutes, my nose was runnier than ever. I quietly excused myself and went to the bathroom to blow my nose (and stuff lots of toilet paper in my pockets). Luckily, I was in the very back row, so all of this was pretty much unnoticed, except for my constant sneezing and sniffling.

Unfortunately, my toilet paper supply was wet and decaying after 20 minutes. So I used my sleeves. That worked well, until I realized that I was smearing more snot onto my face. So I wiped my nose with my hand and wiped it on my pants. Then my pants started feeling wet. I swear, the human body can create enough snot to drench a normal person. Disgusting that may be, it's true.

So the sleeves are useless, the pants are useless...determined to remain in class, I tilt back my head to help clear it. The nose definitely cleared up! Until...something was draining into my throat. No one wants that!!! (I gagged. The student sitting next to me jumped slightly. I think he was napping.)

So after the first hour and 15 minutes, we had a little break. I explained to my professor I was ill, and she kindly understood and excused me.

Now I'm on my comfortable bed, with a whole roll of toilet paper beside me. I'm very happy for a person in my situation.

Update...

2008-10-26T16:23:00.003-07:00

So, I haven't written a blog for a long time (almost 20 whole days!), so I decided to update y'all on all the nothings that make up the something called my life. :)

-The shoulder situation: Hurts as always, so coach has me ride a stationary bike the first half of practice, then swim, in efforts to keep the shoulder somewhat happy.

-The major situation: Still have no idea what I'd like to major in, but all counselors I've visited and talked to want me to try engineering. I have to say, engineering has always fascinated me, specifically nuclear engineering, but nuclear is graduate work. I have to major in an engineering program they offer, then apply to do nuclear. So, we'll see if that really happens.

And I realized that's all I pretty much have going on. I will say, physics is getting more and more interesting, and I'm starting to enjoy it, even though I don't know how to do problems over half the time. I'm also enjoying Calc 3 more than I probably should.

I just wish I had more time to study it more, then I'd probably actually "get" it.

By the way...

2008-10-08T10:12:00.003-07:00

I forgot to tell y'all how my first meet went. It went really well. The fastest I've ever gone at the beginning of a season! I went a 23.50 in my 50 (my best is 23.15, my senior year of high school I went a 23.52). My 100s were at or below 52.5 (I did a lot of relays, so I swam the 100 free a total of 5 times over two days) My lowest 100 split on a relay was about 50.9!

The pictures above were the only pictures I took on the entire trip. It's on the bus ride going to Boise. Yeah, we were tired.

Running with the ball

2008-10-06T11:39:00.005-07:00

After a serious talk in coach's office, we have decided to let me run with the ball and come what may.

I hope I run fast enough to not get pummeled.

I only post the ones I like:

Jimmy Dillies will present "Dessins d'enfants"

Abstract: One of the key groups in arithmetic is the absolute Galois
group. So far, it has been eluding the mathematical community. In 1984,
Grothendieck suggested to understand this group by looking at its action on
dessins d'efants. Dessins d'efants (literally 'children's drawings') are
graphs drawn on Riemann surfaces, such that two neighbouring vertices have
opposite colours. In this talk we will define what the absulote Galois group
is and see how it acts on those naive objects that are dessins.

There will be pizza and discussion after the talk.

(I get an e-mail every week about the discussion for math majors for the week...)

Update on ze shoulder

2008-09-23T20:42:00.002-07:00

So…many of you probably already know I’ve been having several problems with my left shoulder in the past year. It all started with tendonitis, turned into an impingement, disappeared over the spring, came back in the summer, I took a break from swimming altogether for about a month, and despite that rest, my shoulder is in quite a bit of pain.

Two Mondays ago, I saw a doctor and they took x-rays. Everything turned out normal (big surprise there!). Doctor informed me after examining me that I probably had an inflamed or irritated rotator cuff. He said that I won’t damage it any further, but the pain will likely increase over time. (didn’t make sense in my head, but okay.) The pain got bad enough I went back yestermonday and got a cortisol shot in the shoulder. As of right now, my shoulder feels worse than ever, I can barely raise my arm above my head. But I was told that this is normal, I have to give the shot a few days before it actually takes effect.

Coach informed me that I won’t be swimming in the first couple of meets. He is, however, tempted to make me swim a couple of events (just 50s) to see how the shoulder holds up. If it doesn’t perform well, he’s red-shirting me this year.

Let’s just hope this shot works. And if it does, there is no certainty as to how long it will last: it varies from a couple of days to 5-6 months.

So, there’s your update for you!

vexation frustration irritation dissatisfaction heartache

2008-09-21T13:54:00.003-07:00

Full story: Coach told us NOT to take the recruits out drinking on the recruiting trip. On Saturday night, half went ice blocking, half...went drinking. Next day (sunday) we have a mandatory team meeting at 11:00. Two people are no longer on the team for their decision to have a party at their house. One captain has lost their captaincy, and will not be allowed to travel with the team for the rest of this semester.

Coach is very embarrassed, disappointed, angry, sad, etc. I don't know what I would do if I was in his shoes. He's disappointed in those who got drunk, drank. He's disappointed that those who didn't go to the party didn't do anything about the ones who did. He's also disappointed in those who didn't even know about the party because that shows they aren't very involved with the team.

After 10 minutes of yelling at us (and crying a tad too), he left the room. And all of us had heavy hearts. One of the boys who was kicked off the team was mad that someone told the coach about the party. He said that the team should've come to him, should've held this meeting, then turn to Coach. His justification for his actions was that all of the recruiting trips he's been to, there was beer present. It's just a normal ingredient. He didn't think he'd actually get caught, let alone be punished.
Sadly, many teammates agreed with him. "We should've had this meeting before going to Coach." My question is...would they have taken the meeting serious at all? I don't think so. Teammates would've just scoffed at those who were warning, and continue on with their stupid actions.

And this isn't the first meeting we've had about drinking problems. This is the third. My lovely team got drunk then went to a football game, drunk in front of the entire student body.

Hi, I'm Natalie, and I'm a member of the "we party hardest" swim team, and I'm embarrassed to be here.

What could've I possibly done different? I honestly didn't know about the party! Gah!