There Starts A New Week

I've been pretty homesick the last few days, for no reasons in particular. Maybe a combination of talking to my little sisters a lot on the phone and hearing what they are up to, as well as talking to my Mom on the phone and just wishing everyday that she can get better and can come down and visit me (and then after that we can travel the world :) But homesickness is hard to deal with because there isn't really anything you can do about it when you live 12 hours away. It's okay, I will just have to push past it and be happy each and every day. I did get an AWESOME package from my Mom including 12 boxes of my favorite cereal, a book on Christ, and a new Tie that I love to death. Thanks Mom, you really are the BEST.

This week is going to be tough for me. I have my first mid-term in Book of Mormon which could go any way because my teacher is still trying to figure himself out (he is new) and so we never really know what to expect. I need to take my constellation quiz this week in astronomy, I need to do like 40 pages of Hobbes reading for Political Science, I need to pick a topic for Writing 150, so on and so forth! I will be spending lots of time in the library this week getting stuff done.

Today I was walking on campus and BYU Student Association was handing out these awesome notebooks for free called, "More than just a free notebook". It has lined, grid, and plain paper inside it and a bunch of cool quotes. I really like it, and they let me take 3 to give to friends.

This weekend was awesome. Saturday I got to go watch my friend KayCee Gassaway at the Gymnastics meet. That was interesting because of all the amazing things they can do. I was astounded how intense Gymnastics can get when the scores are close. Then I went and watched my friend Justin Green's intermural Basketball game - he is a baller and led his team to victory. He pulled out the skills for this one, taking it in and bombing it from deep. He has it all. :) Anyways, after that we watched BYU basketball lost. That was not good. Then we played FIFA and then went to the BYU Mens Volleyball game. Saturday was jam packed with sports! So it was a great day. Yesterday was awesome too. Church was really good, and I really liked all the talks given. I especially liked a talk given by a convert to the church who is so gung-ho about everything it is unreal. His name is Austin Van Camp and my sister met him on her hike to the Y this weekend too! Small world. But I talked to him, and he recently got his call to Frankfurt, Germany. That would be such a hard mission but I would love it there.

Who knows where I will be called!







Exciting!

Here is a montage of people that I have been missing lately!

New Goals, New Life

Let me be the first to say that I have had the most incredible last two days. By just changing my outlook on life and how I interact with people, I have seen my happiness go up immensely. I have made and met so many friends in 2 days that is is almost uncanny. And this all comes down to two things, getting out of your comfort zone and talking to people.

Let me just start out by telling you about my friend Robbie. He  has helped me a lot because he is such a people person, and is great at talking to people of all types. When I am with him talking to those around me is so easy. We are very good at getting people to start conversations with us, and through that it is easy to make friends with him. And that is very cool because we have met some pretty awesome friends in just the last few days. Robbie and I have a class called "Life Planning and Decision Making" together, which was awesome because it is the class I always look forward to. Jake Heaps, the BYU freshman quarterback is even in that class. But the sad thing is, I would rather be friends with some of the other people in that class than him because their story is so interesting.

First we started sitting in the back row of that class. We met this hilarious girl from South Africa named Geraldine Hattingh. She has the best accent I have ever heard my whole life, and we always try and get her to say, "I know!" because she actually says, "I knohrrrrrrr!" Haha she is really fun to sit by. Then right in front of us is Elisabeth Lamprecht, a funny girl who actually wanted to check out my blog! She always has witty comments to say, and makes it fun sitting on that side of the room. There is also a girl named Maria Allen in that class, who is a BYU cheerleader. I knew I had met her earlier in the year when I was hanging out with my friend from back home, KayCee Gassaway, so I asked her and I was right. She is hilarious, and has such a funny personality. Robbie said he would make a sign that says I <3 Maria Allen #1 at the games and she laughed. So she is another friend we made in that class.

There is a girl in that class who joined late who is named Hongyi Wang. She was different than anyone else because she was straight out of China and is a TA here for Chinese Studies. Robbie and I wanted to sit by her because she has so much to say and is just the funniest person you could ever meet. I remember the quote, "I call my American name 'Lucky" Wang because it is like dog name. Everyone here named "Mary, Mary, Mary', and I am just 'Lucky'. I don't have any pretty name like 'Sofia' because I am not like that." She also said to our whole class, "I prefer short, fat men", and other things like that. So Robbie and I sat by her on Wednesday and by the end of the class she was teaching us how to write Chinese characters and was telling us about her home life and customs in China. We invited her to call us at the Career fair that day because if we went we would get extra credit for that class and she said she would see us there. She isn't a member, so our customs seem a little bit odd to her sometimes. In class she told everyone that it was weird that everyone was encouraged to date, and that her parents would never want her to have a boyfriend here at college. She said, "Maybe I need serious talk with my parents!"

So later on at the Career fair we found a friend from that class named Alexis Flake. As it turns out her Dad is a U.S. Congressmen for Arizona, named Jeff Flake. We talked to her and walked around for a long time and she said after our missions she could probably get us jobs as pages for her Dad or other people in Washington D.C. If I was going into politics this would be interesting, and even though it probably wouldn't happen just the fact she said that was amazing.

(R) Congressman Jeff Flake - Arizona

So we came upon Lucky just waking around the exhibits and walked with her for a little bit more. She told us about some Chinese customs and this Chinese boy came up to her and started bowing and asking how she was. Robbie and I immediately asked if we should bow to her in greeting, out of respect. We decided to do it anyways. After waltzing around some more, we came to the Panda Express booth where they were trying to get people to apply for the jobs there. Secretly, we wanted a fortune cookie, and Lucky kept saying, "I donna like this fake American Chinese food!" Robbie slipped the fortune, "You will excel in the field of medicine" in my hand without me noticing and I freaked out. The booth person was named Emily, and we joked around with her for a long time. She said if we came into her store that day she would give us 10% off, which was amazing! More on that later. :)

After the career fair we were walking through the Wilkinson Student Center and there are always these booths that people are handing out fliers and vouchers for certain things. These people happened to be handing out vouchers for the BYU Volleyball game on Saturday, which was cool. We started talking to the blonde girl there whose name is Eliza and she happened to be the one who does all the halftime stuff at BYU basketball games! I asked how she got that job and she just said, "applied and got lucky!" She was pretty cool.

Since yesterday was the biggest BYU basketball game of all time against #4 San Diego State University, we were all in line for hours upon hours trying to get in. This means that when the game was over, Panda Express was closed. We felt bad but promised we would go tommorow, or....yesterday. So we did! Last night after Astronomy Robbie and I went over to the Panda Express on Bulldog and 900. After waiting in line, we were asked what to order from the worker, Jessica. We tried some of the different stuff, and we asked where Emily was! She said that Thursday night was her only night off, and that she would still give us 10% off. We kept being nice to her and kept telling her she was our favorite ever, and she really liked it. I originally asked for beef and brocolli, but changed my order because there wasn't any out there. Well right as we were about to go buy our food, she scoops this huge scoop of beef and brocolli up on my plate on top of my other 2 entrees! I was like JESSICA you little rascal! You are the best! She was like, you guys deserve it, enjoy! So we got 10% off and an extra Entree. I realized last night that focusing on the name on the tag of a worker at a restaurant makes them feel a whole lot better than just treating them like garbage, someone who just serves everyone. Now wherever I go I look at the name on their tag so they feel like they are doing a great job. Robbie said when he worked at Subway he felt the same way. If people were nice to him he would make them a super nice sandwich with all the extra meet and veggies, and if they were mean and treated him like a jerk he would smash their sandwich a little as he rolled it up in the wrapping. Just be nice to those who you are around.

So I have a really big conscience. It always upsets me whenever I don't do something that it tells me to do. Take for instance, when I was walking home about a month ago, a girl worker was carrying this huge box and I just kept walking past. I felt sick to my stomach afterwards and my conscience never really forgave me for that. So last night after Astronomy after walking out of the Wilk I finally found a chance to redeem myself! Two young ladies were carrying and struggling with this huge 60 pound hot chocolate thing and I was quickly like, "Please! Let me help you!" Robbie helped carry the 3 boxes of donuts as well. My forearms burned as I attemped to carry this awkwardly shaped hot chocolate container all the way up the stairs and to the far end to a room in the Wilk. I was walking like a penguin with this thing, shuffling along, sweating. She kept asking, "Can I help you?!" I was like, "just lead on!" I was being stubborn because I didn't want her to have to lift that. Afterwards they were so grateful and offered us donuts for helping them. I didn't even care because my conscience was lifted and I felt so amazing after that.

As the night was winding to an end Robbie and I made the deal that we would try and make a new friend or make someone's day every day we can. That isn't too hard when you really think about it. It just requires a positive attitude and being in the right place at the right time. I have been so happy the last few days, meeting tons of people and helping others. I hope that we can all take this mindset into our lives as we go throughout our day. Just try and make friends, they could be lifelong for all you know.

Almost.

This weekend was great. A lot of great memories were made, but there were a lot of "almost" memories made too.

Like how we "almost" crafted the most brilliant, ingenious, perfect kitchen blanket fort of all time.

Almost.

Boy the night was going great. We had just finished doing our dished and cleaned up the kitchen, when a wave of hyperactivity came over the apartment and we just fueled it. We were originally going to just take some crazy pictures, but then our minds locked on the idea that yes, we CAN build an amazing fort right here in our kitchen.

So here is the photo documentation of what went down on Sunday evening. 

Hunter and I went throughout the Halls and raided all the bed covers out of the cupboards outside in the lobbies. Nobody EVER uses these things because they all already have one so we thought they would make great padding for a great blanket fort. 

We started gathering mattresses from all of our rooms until we had all 6. We planned to utilize them in a way so that we could create a maze of rooms to crawl through, much like the play place at McDonalds. It was going great. Jacob was full of brilliantly lavish ideas as usual, so we attempted to listen.

This was the battleroom, where we had the white board for planning the design of the fort. As you can see the living room and the opening left for access to the fridge, a definite necessity in this fort.

Fort building. Serious business.

The design slowly got more and more out of hand. Our nostalgia and hyperactivity began taking over as we soon moved to the building process. 

Hunter, being the expert photographer he is, decided he could set up his camera in a manner to create a timelapse of the event as it happened. Then we could see in fast motion all the events that took place. 

We're similar in a lot of ways :)

I, of course, was the first fatality of the night. We took apart two of our beds so we had the supports and the long part that we slept on so we could use it for something. Brenton and Hunter were lifting one and it smashed right into the side of my ribcage, and it was unfortunately sharp. There is a nasty wound there right now, but to preserve my decency I have decided to keep the graphic images off this blog. 

Things were great, we were happy as ever. Never before had all 6 roommates hung out with a common goal in mind. That is actually true, we had never really done anything like this, so it was quite amazing. 

Here are some of the materials. We had planned to use the bed to make a 2nd story loft. Someone could hang out below in a nest and someone could hang out above. What an insane idea!!!

The doors here come off really easily. This had to be done for easier access :)

Then the worst possible thing happened. Our window was open a crack and the head housing administrator was walking past, (her name is Jackie). She came in and goes, "heyyyyyy guyyyysss....what'cha doin?" We were like.....uhhhhhhhhhhhh. ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.....this? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................

Apparently it isn't in the housing contracts to;
a.) Move the mattresses
b.) Move the beds
c.) Move the bed covers from the lobby
d.) Have a mini fridge? Whaaaa? Who would have ever thought.

Despair. 

Our night was RUINED.

At least we got a group photo?

I was even crying. 

Onto lighter news....It has been the most beautiful days the past few days. It was even nice when I woke up this morning. But I was laying on my bed and suddenly I look out the window to a full on blizzard. FULL ON!

There was chaos and lines waiting to get tickets for the big BYU basketball game today. It was crazy, like thousands of kids were waiting outside the marriott center. Luckily me and a few friends were able to come a little later when the line had died down to get a wristband.

I was bored in the library last night after I couldn't study. I drew a picture of a little boy whose jetpack finally started working. His brother watches from the rooftop.

Photo Of The Week

I'm sorry but I saw this photo here and almost had a heart attack. It is so patriotic in every way, and it just made me laugh at how ridiculous this picture actually was. Lots of symbolism here. Sorry for the short post, life is going well :)

Cats.

(source)

"A meow massages the heart."

~ Stuart McMillan

So....... I just love cats. I don't know what it is about them that is just so adorable. Cats heal my heart. They are just so fluffy and soft. I love when my cats cuddle with me. When I see a cat on campus it just brightens my day, I feel like nothing could go wrong. My cats would have to be just one of the things I miss most about home. I mean look at the cat above. He is just the epitome of honesty and love. So willing to share his true self and not be ashamed. I just want to pet him. If you have never had a cat you need to discover the endless possibilities awaiting you. There are so many different kinds you're sure to find one you can love. Go to the nearest pet store today—or better yet go to a pet shelter—I know these cats may look questionable sometimes, but they are in need of the most love. Give them a shot. Find your future companion now. A cat will never leave you (as long as you feed him). They are filled with unconditional love. 

Also, since I love cats here is another picture of one of my favorite cats. I just love Star Wars.

Jabba Cat

(source)

I hope you love cats just a little more now.

Ps. My cats ate all my fish except the white one....they couldn't catch him :(

Tiana!

I already drew the Portland Temple!

A Favor For A Friend

My friend Julie asked me forever ago to draw her the San Diego Temple. I was horrible and kept forgetting to do it until today, when I thought; "I am better then that." So here it is, the rendition where I scanned it to my computer and colored it real quick. Hope you enjoy it.

Mud Soccer

Yesterday's weather in Provo, Utah was absolutely glorious. I wanted to get a big group of people to go play soccer, but unfortunately the grass outside heritage halls was still a little snowed over. So we all decided to go play soccer at the field where the Conference Center is up the street because someone said that there wasn't any snow on it. The field was the BEST. I kid you not, it was the perfect combination of wetness and softness that people were sliding around and slipping and getting muddier than a pig in a mud puddle. I wanted to dive on the ground just to add the effect that I was muddier than I was but I didn't want to ruin my soccer jersey. We were all so tired afterwards that we just decided the next goal that was scored won, but everyone was too tired to try and score haha. Overall it was a great afternoon yesterday.

Also, ARSENAL WON 3-0 TODAY. 

Van Persie had a hat-trick. 

What a stud. 

Have a happy Saturday! 

A Picture For Every Thousand Words

Friends can come from anything, of from anywhere, sometimes out of the blue. I left astronomy yesterday expecting a boring walk over to the Riviera to hang out with my sister and I stopped for a second outside the JFSB to take a picture of the glorious mountains with the sun coloring them in the most perfect way. I stopped and pulled out my cell phone, and snapped a picture of it to save, and I guess the guy walking behind me stopped and just looked up at the mountains and pulls out his cell phone and takes a picture too. So I look at him and smile and say, "It's pretty, huh?" and he goes, "Yeah, it's a beautiful color." I noticed an accent and so we started walking together and I asked if he liked living here  in Utah and where he was from. It turns out his name is Alejandro and he is from Colombia and is 23, and this is his 3rd year here at BYU. I asked what he liked most about Utah and he said the temperatures, and I jokingly said, "you like the cold?!" (I do too :) He told me for sure and we talked about the humidity in Colombia and how it is always 100% humidity, and the second you get out of the shower you are already sweating again. He was a genuinely cool dude, and when I told him my name was Carson he laughed and said he had never heard that name before. I asked him if he liked soccer, (Of COURSE) and we talked about the world cup and about his life in Colombia and how he was shocked I was only 18 and stuff like that, and eventually we got to the Tanner building and he said he had to go in and I had to keep going. I didn't really want the conversation to end because he was such a cool dude, but It was sweet just striking up a conversation all based on one picture of the sunset. You never know who you will meet, I urge everyone to get out of your comfort zone and just talk to someone.

Distraction

Drawing is a big distraction for me. When I am in the library studying and I see a picture of something random, sometimes I just take a break and draw it. I've been drawing lots of bridges lately for no apparent reason.

Here

My perspective is a little off though. Oh whales!

My fish are noticeably bigger! Thanks for feeding them :)

How do you do?

So this post is all random and about mumbo jumbo, because I don't really have a direction on what to write on.

Let me just start by saying I love the quotes that BYU decided to stick on every page of our planners this year;
"Of course there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future."  - Thomas Monson

That is a great quote. I need to look forward to the future and try and work on my goals that I have set for myself. I also need to go running more. I have decided that the one thing I miss from high school beside a good teacher here and there is the soccer season. I miss having a place to go everyday to make myself better and just do something that I can destress, do something that I love. I also need to juggle the soccer ball more because I am afraid I am going rusty! So there are a few short term goals related to fitness.

Next, I wanted Provo, Utah to know that I am grateful for the two days straight of 40+ degree Fahrenheit weather. This enabled most of the dirty old crusty snow to melt and for me to see grass again. I love how the skies are blue some of the time now, and how the sun can actually get to me now!

I have been into this electronic type of instrumental music. It is really relaxing for me and I just enjoy listening to the tunes and beats that people can make. A good example would be the band Little People or Bonobo. Here is another great song that I found yesterday that I love listening to when I am walking around. I love the oriental influences, and it makes me think I am flying in a helicopter over Southeastern Vietnam or Asia and looking at the rice paddies underneath as I soar by.



I also really liked this song, called Kiara by Bonobo; the actual song doesn't start until like 1:19 because they included the prelude. These kinds of songs really make me want to get into creating electronic music on my computer, something I plan on pursuing when I am older and can afford it :)



I am grateful to have a sister here on campus, like I have shared before. She graciously invited me over for dinner tonight after astronomy :) I will bring the creamery grated Parmesan cheese like you asked, sis! I also went off the deep end and purchased.............100 otter pops. Spur of the moment decision, but I love otter pops. Don't worry, I got some bananas and nutri-grain bars to even out the health issue haha.

I was doing some research and discovered a few things. Yes, sometimes I stumble onto random news articles that I can't resist reading. I learned that the smell everyone enjoys after a fresh rain is caused both by bacteria that embeds itself and releases chemicals in damp soil and grass, as well as a little bit of the acid pollution in the rain. (Do you all know what I am talking about? That distinct smell where you know it has either just rained, or is going to?) I also learned that Pakistan has like 4 out of 10 of the most beautiful places on Earth, and really made me want to visit there. Once you get past the whole terrorism and war part, the views and scenery of the mountains there are absolutely stunning.

Image

Image

Yeah, can I just remind you that this is PAKISTAN?! Who would have ever thought. Not I...

I found a bagel that I forgot I had stowed away somewhere in a plastic wrapper last night. It was not a pretty sight after a month of forgetting about it. Long story short, when I pulled it out I thought it was a blueberry bagel. It just looked that way because of the layer of blue around the entire thing. It started off as a raisin bagel. Another long story short, it was so hard I hit it against a brick wall 40 times and nothing at all happened to it. 

Oh yeah, our new roommate Jacob Chapman is awesome. He is a joy to have around and always is down for having some fun or teaching us the deacon 2 step or the tango or mamba or hustle or whatever he wants. He even came to the temple with us at 5:20 AM yesterday spur of the moment. What a stud! So props to Jacob. 

Anyways, I have some readings I need to do for another class coming up at noon! Sorry for the random post. Hope you enjoyed my random rantings and ravings. Here is a picture to leave you with; 

Oh yeah. 

Wanna blow your mind?

This video blew my mind. Whenever a new star comes into the picture, its like BOOM! It's like the earth is an ant, a speck and that huge star is the earth. Or probably bigger! It is inconceivable! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Nevertheless, you should be careful how you assess the situation and should think twice before you act. Do not be afraid of your own shadow. Employ policies that are moderated by prudence and sympathy. Avoid excessive self-confidence, which leads to carelessness, and avoid excessive timidity, which will make you insupportable. 


- Machiavelli, The Prince


Dang powerful :)

Doodles