An Eventful Couple of Weeks

So these last couple of weeks have been crazy! Between school, pollworker training, Halloween, and everything else going on, I don't think I've had a moment to spare! And now I am sick because of it all! But no worries because everything has been worth the work and stress. :) So, here is the rundown of my past two weeks:

• My professor in my art history class has totally piled the homework up! By next Wednesday I have to finish my ten page Marxism research paper, which was actually due today but that she said we could have another week, I have to write a memo about not abolishing the visual arts program at BYU (no worries they really aren't it's just the assignment) using the document design guidelines we received in class last week, and I have to write a rough draft of a five page psychoanalysis research paper. Can you say STRESS?!?!?! Hopefully it'll all come together
• I have an oral exam in Italian on Monday and a big written test on Thursday. Yikes.
• I had to attend two three hour sessions of training to be a pollworker last week, which included me driving up to Sandy and then West Valley City on Tuesday and Thursday. I then had to go early vote and practice for pollworking at the county building in Salt Lake and then drove up to the cabin (which was a relief rather than a burden :)). I think it is safe to say I am WAY sick of I-15 and driving. And paying for gas. But this driving was all worth the experience I had being a pollworker! Since I was an alternate, I wasn't sure if I was even going to get called in to work, but lo and behold Monday night I got a call from the county saying they needed me in Fort Union. So I reported at 5:30 in the morning to help set up the machines and get everything in for the rush of voters at 7 (people were lining up at 6:15). The people I worked with were pretty much all old grandmas and grandpas and they were really funny and nice. It was so much fun. Unfortunately, my sickness got worse and around 3:30 the old ladies sent me home to get better. But I still really enjoyed the experience and being involved in such a historic election.
• Halloween! Halloween was great fun. I party hopped with some friends and since I had no idea what to be, I just went with the ever popular gangster. It was awesome, if I do say so myself. We went to IHOP afterwards and were the life of the party for sure. :) Here are some pictures:
  

Olivia Newton John, Lumberjack, gangster, and 80s chick   

The Gang: Jason, me, Brittany, Rachael, Shanna, and Marc

Things I Have Done

Nat did this and I wanted to too, so here it goes: (the bolded ones are things I have done) 

1. Started your own blog
   
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (or at least as far as they let you these days)
18. Grown your own vegatables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoors)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (It was closed the day we were in Rome! ugh...)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen 
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone Whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone's life
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club
92. Lost a loved one
93. Had a baby
94. Seen the Alamo in person
95. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (gross)
96. Been involved in a law suit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee

49/98 - How many have you done?!

(Copy and paste this then highlight the things you've done) :)

Countdown

Election '08!

I just wanted to say I'm really excited to vote! This will be the first time I can and it is quite possibly one of, if not the, most important election(s) in the history of this country. I've been really thinking about the importance of voting lately. I know so many people that haven't even registered to vote because they say "oh, I'm just one vote" or "Utah is going to vote republican anyway..." etc... Really, everyone's vote counts. One person can have a huge effect on the people around them and if they say they aren't going to worry about it, there will be more. It is so important! I think that is total ignorance of what people have gone through in this country to get the right to vote. It took a long time for this country to get to the point where every adult citizen can vote and to totally ignore that is complete disrespect, in my opinion. Anyway I just wanted to state this for all of you who haven't registered to vote yet... you still have until Monday the 20th. Get on that! And I will have you all know I am registered to vote in Salt Lake County and will be an alternate poll-worker on election day! I decided it is important I get more involved in the world around me, and this election is going to be very historical. So VOTE!!! :)

Just Livin' My Life

Me and my friend Rachael playing with PhotoBooth on her Mac...

So, college life is great! However, sometimes there are those moments where I just want to throw everything down and do one of three things: run away crying, quit school, or sleep it off. Ba ha. My classes are really starting to get hard and I have two more midterms left that will happen in the next two weeks, an 8- 10 page research paper rough draft that's due next Wednesday with the final due a week and half after that, and continuous quizzes every Friday in Italian. I think I'm holding up pretty well considering how much I actually study, which really isn't that much considering how much I should be studying. :) I'm trying to get in a better pattern though so everything is a lot easier. There is so much going on so it is way easy to get distracted. The library (Humanities level 5 and the periodicals specifically) is now my favorite place to go study. It is so quiet there and I can work for up to five hours (I tested the length ;)) with no disruptions. My Methodologies class is definitely the one that stresses me out the most. ugh. But there are also really great things! I love learning Italian, despite the difficulty it is sometimes, and I am planning on doing an internship in Siena for a semester next year. It will be great. I'll get to work in a museum helping to put together exhibits! I thought that was perfect for me. And I have joined the Club Style which is the hip hop club at BYU and that is way fun. I got to be in the Homecoming parade with them on Saturday and it was great fun. And we are performing at "Friday Night Live" (whatever that is...) on Friday night. I'm glad I have at least a little bit of dancing going for me now. :) So, I'll try and update more because I know I'm slackin' a bit. Love ya all!!! :)

Some friends and me playin' at a park

More PhotoBooth... :)

Freaking AMAZING!!!

So pretty much last night at the So You Think You Can Dance concert was like the best night EVER! They performed all of my favorite dances and they were even more amazing in person! Rather than talk about it, here are some pictures and video... Enjoy! :) p.s. most of the clips are really short because I was trying to save memory... I'll be posting more pics later when I have more time. :) 

(For some reason these are the only videos I can upload. I'll keep trying though!)

Hilarious!

I laughed out loud, all by myself, in my dorm room, when I watched this. Just thought I'd share incase you hadn't seen it yet. Just click on the link below. 

Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton open up the season of Saturday Night Live!

Independence!

I just got a flyer that says something about how BYU is all about dating and that I should buy a flower and put it in my right ear because I'm single. Left ear for everyone who is taken. Weird. Anyway, besides the men that look at your face then your left hand, BYU is a blast! I love my classes! I'm taking Italian, Book of Mormon, Archaeology, and Methodologies of Art History. It's a lot of work but it's worth it because I'm learning a heckuvalot. In my Italian class they speak purely Italian, so I think I'm picking it up pretty fast. I can understand all the basic stuff now. My Book of Mormon class is very enlightening. My Archaeology class is very interesting. I like how they can incorporate gospel principles into the lessons. We had a whole discussion on the theory of evolution and how long the world has been in existence for and all the stuff in class the other day. That was great because I had always been confused, but I think I'm beginning to understand. And my methodologies class is just plain HARD! But necessary for my major. I think it's the hardest class required for an art history major so at least I'm just getting it over with...that is if I can pass. There are parties every weekend and so many fun people I'm meeting and getting to know. I love being independent! It's scary at times but it's a great adventure, and I love adventure!