Tongue Tied- No this is not a post about kissing. though it should be since I'm in COLLEGE!

I haven't posted in a very long time... obviously.

Anyway, life is pretty good on the college front. I've been thinking about posting on here for a while, but I just haven't had a moment where I don't feel guilty about taking up so much precious time to write a blog post. I have kind of a funny story to tell.

So in my English class last week we had our first formalist poetry analysis due. Part of this assignment was to memorize the poem we were writing our analysis on so we could later recite it to the class. This is a class I only have once a week and there are only 8 people in it. So I had plenty of time to memorize it and I really didn't think it was that big of a deal, because it really wasn't.

So Thursday, the day I have the class, rolls around and I have the poem memorized- all ready to go. I recite to myself in all of my free moments throughout the day. I mean I know this thing backwards and forwards. I could even recite it to you right now and this was 5 days ago. So the time for my class to start finally rolls around and I'm ready to go. We discuss a few items of business before we start our recitations. Then my professor gives us little pep talk and says that she knows this can be nerve racking and that sort of thing. At this point I start to get a little nervous for some reason. I start thinking about if I were to forget it and my mind starts to go through all the "what if" scenarios I can think of.

A little time passes and about half the people have recited their poems. I see that I will be the last one to go up. Right before it is the turn of the person in front of me, he leans back to me and asks if I want to go before him. I'm thinking what the heck might as well get it over with, so I go up there. I recite the first two stanzas with ease. Then my mind goes completely blank. My professor then offers to let me sit down and go last. I'm like "sure". And so I sit down, a little embarrassed.

The boy in front of me recites his poem in what seems like no time at all and then I have to go up there again. As I'm standing up there all I can think about is how no one else had to sit down and get back up. haha..seriously I couldn't get my mind to focus on the poem at all. And I was REALLY tired by the way so that didn't help with my attention span issues. So I am reciting the poem, this time stumbling over almost every line. I just keep thinking, "what the heck?! why can't I recite this stupid thing! I know it!" And at one point in my performance I voiced these frustrations. None of these thoughts were helping with reciting the poem as you might be able to imagine. At this point my nerves had gotten so bad that I, once again, couldn't finish the poem. My professor then offered to be my "line" person and tell me what word the stanza started with to get me started. This, though very nice of her, only made me feel more helpless. Not only that, but I also kept being distracted by the pained looks everyone wore as they watched me stammer, start over and, at times, say nothing at all.

Finally, my professor put me somewhat out of my misery by telling me I could try one more time after we did our exam review. I thanked her very graciously and sat down. All during the review I just kept reciting the poem to myself over and over- of course, I could spout it off to myself no problem sitting down... so frustrating. After a review that I paid absolutely no attention to whatsoever, I stood at the front of the room, still thinking about how in the world I was up here for a third time. Ridiculous.

I looked out at the "crowd" of 8 people. I could see in all of their faces that they were unsure about how this would go. Oh how I felt their pain...I began and went through the first few stanzas easily enough, only stumbling over a one or two words. Then I hit a little bit of a wall in the middle. A student in the class, attempting to help me, read off the word of the next line. Though she had good intentions, this annoyed me a bit but I tried not to dwell on it and moved on, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room, their looks would only distract me-as I learned the last two times. Finally, I recited the last stanza of the poem and received a round of applause from the room, which felt ridiculous since this was my THIRD time to attempt reciting this silly little poem. so I replied with an equally ridiculous curtsy and bow. What I really felt like doing was shouting from the rooftops in celebration of finally conquering this unlikely beast!!! Instead, I walked to my seat apologizing to the room for putting them through such a painful experience, laughing all the way, and trying to make light of this whole dang thing that I'm sure everyone was feeling quite awkward about. I joked with the people sitting next to me about how ridiculous that was. They were both very nice about it and made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. I really appreciated their kind words. And even though I felt like fleeing the room after such a display, I stayed and had one of the cinnamon rolls somebody brought to class. I really appreciated that cinnamon roll, filling my mouth so I didn't have to say anything else. I left the room and when I walked outside the cold Utah air never felt so good on my face, still hot from the embarrassment. Now I have a go- to embarrassing moment! And If anyone is feeling bad about their public speaking/ performing abilities. Just think of me. hahaha

Just some pics to catch up

I have been meaning to add these for a while but I kept forgetting to! sorry folks!

So some of my friends and I did this obstacle course through mud called the Dirty Dash. I'm sure I told you about it, anyway...

This is before..

...during...

and After.

Just us getting into some BYU football. This night was the night that we were apparently on ESPN. And we also rushed the field where I touched some football players- including Riley Nelson.

My friend, Melanie and I at general conference. It was funny, we asked this little old lady sitting behind us to take a picture of us. Then she asked us to take one of her and her husband. I don't think she realized that the Conference center wouldn't be in the back of her photo. Just a bunch of people and a wall. Bless her.

This one is of me with a couple of gold coins I earned at work for helping a very needy, very irate costumer. She was the hardest person to please. Basically she was mad at the store because we "only" had 3 out of the four things she needed. Ridiculous. But I got a couple of gold coins out of it so whatevs.

oh no she didn't

Sleep has become increasingly valuable to me since I have been at college. Everyday thoughts of when the next possible time is that I can take a nap consume my thoughts.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have class from 8:00 to 9:15am then I have a 45 minute break until my next class. I found a bathroom in the building where my next class is that has a little lounge with a couch- a perfect place to use my 45 minute break to take a nice little cat nap. So for the last month or so this has become a regular part of my day. I rely on this part of my day. It is precious to me.

The week before last I couldn't take a nap in there because of conflicting school assignments. So on Tuesday of last week I was more that ready to resume my usual routine. I entered the bathroom with heavy anticipation for a much needed and desired nap only to find that my couch was already occupied. Some tramp (excuse my language) stole my couch and dared to nap on it during my 45 minute break- forcing me to walk to my next class and park it on the cold concrete floor and wait for my professor to show up.

Thursday rolls around and I once again race to my place of napping only to once again discover the tramp laying there in all of her smug restfulness. So I go to my next class where I notice a girl who looks an awful lot like the tramp flirting with a very good looking boy in my class. A boy that I have planned on talking to a few times but never quite built up the courage to do so. Tramp. Come this past Tuesday, I walked as briskly as I ever have to reclaim my couch- a new found determination burning within. She may be able to get away with stealing my fantasy man, but a girl doesn't take away my precious sleep and get away with it! On my way to the bathroom where the couch resides I passed a staircase where I saw a girl- THE girl- the TRAMP climbing up. So naturally I increased my speed and rushed through the bathroom doors to reclaim my prize! I quickly settled in and closed my eyes, listening for the satisfying sound of her disappointment. I hear sound of her entering, observing the situation, then leaving! Victory is mine!

Hopefully I can secure my spot tomorrow too and the rest of the forthcoming Tuesdays and Thursdays. She gets the boy, I get the couch. I don't think I'm being unfair.

So readers, stay tuned if you want to find out the results of tomorrow and etc. That's all for now!

Takin' Care of Business

So this post is going to be primarily about my experiences so far working at the BYU bookstore. I am working in the Cougar Wear department- specifically Kids Cougar Wear. So far I have really liked it there. Everyone is really nice that I work with, which makes it a really positive place to work. And I would say there isn't ever really a dull moment working there. For example, here are some funny little things I have noticed:

• Everyone in the cougar wear department has to wear these lovely little orange aprons that say "cougar wear" on them. Apparently wearing this apron makes me not only an authority on game day t-shirts and other such paraphernalia, but also on anything else a customer might be confused or concerned about. For instance, one day a lady came up to me all concerned about a girl she had just heard crying in the bathroom. I nodded my head in agreement that this was indeed unfortunate. She then suggested that I go in and check on her. I guess she assumed I was better equipped to handle a crying girl than her, my orange apron and all, you know. So I did....and there was, in fact, a girl in one of the bathroom stalls crying. Once I got there I wondered to myself "well, what do I do now..." I didn't want to intrude on her moment of sadness or make her embarrassed. So I just left and went back to the concerned lady and confirmed that the girl was still in there crying. I don't think I did the crying girl much good, but apparently my confirmation of the unfortunate scene was enough to make this woman feel better about the situation so whatever...
• Also, just a story, this other lady came in with her mom and child to exchange a shirt for a different one. So apparently picking out a new shirt wasn't enough. She decides to tell Chauncey (one of my coworkers/friends) and I about how her ex husband came in there with her girls to buy them shirts and about how much of a creep he is. And about how he was cheating on her and how he deceived her... yada, yada, yada... The kind of odd thing about it is that she was telling us about all of this a laughing about it like it was something funny. I didn't think it was funny...but I guess it's good she can laugh about it. So I guess the orange aprons also make us look like diaries or something!
• So I am in charge of keeping a small area in the cougar wear department stocked. This means I frequently get to take little trips back to our area of the stockroom to get various items. There is this one guy I always pass who works in a fairly well populated part of the stockroom. Everyday I notice he is listening to a book on CD or something. He doesn't have headphones in to do this, nope, he just plays it out loud over a set of speakers just for himself. I'm pretty sure one day he was even listening to the scriptures haha...mormons... it's just one of the funny little things that goes on in the underbelly of the byu bookstore. Gotta love it.
• Another thing I have encountered a lot of is kids on leashes. The funny thing is that parents feel the need to attempt to camouflage the fact that their kid is on a leash. This is usually done with a decorative little backpack worn by the child. Like the backpack is going to distract away from the giant tether attached to the poor child. Most of these kids aren't even badly behaved so I ask, why the leash? anyway it's usually a pretty disheartening sight...i feel for the kids...no freedom.

So yes. so far it has been an interesting experience! peace out girl/boy scouts.

do you miss me yet?

Recently I have found myself in much higher demand with everyone back home. I guess everyone is just now realizing how cool I am.... or there is a chance it could be because I moved away from everybody- but probably not. Anyway, I figured what better time to start a blog than in the prime of my popularity?

First of all, I would like to make a shout out to Joanna for putting this blog together for me and making it look so good. It is pretty much magnificent and a bazillion times better than anything I could have attempted. Muchas gracias, Joanna.

Next, I just want to note that though I like it here at BYU, my roots will always be in the South. It's not that Utah isn't great, it's just that the South is pretty impossible to beat.

Okay so here are some discoveries I have made since I have been here. I know it hasn't been long but nevertheless, I have been making discoveries...

• I find myself much more dedicated to taking vitamins. probably too dedicated... there have been a couple instances where I take them multiple times in a day because I forget I have already taken them..this might also have something to do with the fact that they are fruit flavored gummy vitamins...hopefully you cant overdose on gummy vitamins. But whatever, the damage is done
• It is close to impossible to get my hands on some caffeine around here. It's not like I drink caffeine all the time but on occasion I just need a nice cold Dr. Pepper to give me that extra little boost.
• I have realized how much I value being able to talk casually with someone. It seems like the majority of the conversations I have with people here feel forced and kind of insincere. I guess I'm just so used to being surrounded by people I already share a lot of memories and experiences with. It makes me really appreciate the people I can relax and just talk to around here. I'm sure I will get more comfortable the longer I'm here. It is just kind of strange right now.
• On that same note, some people have NO problem getting comfortable with each other...in the less than a week I have been here I have already seen multiple freshman couples and I wonder, "did you know each other before? or are you just that overzealous?" it is pretty funny
• Also nights begin a lot later in college. I'm having some trouble adjusting to this one, as you all know I have always had a pretty early internal bedtime. But I will adjust.

Well that's all I can think of right now. later players.