FHE at BYU

So, I just had to tell you about one of our FHE group activities. So, at BYU, each single student in a student congregation gets assigned to a "Family Home Evening" or FHE group, since we don't have our regular families with us to do FHE with. Anyhow, my roommate is one of our group leaders, and we've had fun so far this semester. Each FHE begins with a short spiritual thought, and then we have an activity and a treat. Last week we played spoons with glow-in-the-dark cards. So fun!

Anyhow, so two weeks ago I think it was we planned a service FHE. We decided to make cookies and hand them out to students as they were leaving the testing center on campus. I think Diana came up with the idea and we all agreed it was brilliant. I'm pretty sure that I was given candy once as I left the testing center - so this is not a totally unique idea, but we decided it would be fun. Anyhow, it was awesome! Diana printed off some Calvin and Hobbes comics about school and we handed out those with our cookies. As people came out of the doors, we began cheering. "Yeah! You're done with your test!" Ok, it sounds a little corny, but it was so fun! All the test takers were pretty surprised but happy with our presents. One girl walked by looking pretty stressed... maybe her test didn't go so well :-( One guy even gave us hugs! Anyhow, it was definitely a success. What's better than leaving the testing center and getting fresh baked cookies? Not a bad way to lift the cloud of stress. :-)

Update on "Letters to the Editor"

Just to let you know, they printed my "Misquoted" letter in today's opinion section. Yeah! :-)

Letters to the Editor

Well, I finally got a letter to the editor published in BYU's student newspaper, "The Daily Universe." I was quite excited that my letter was published, until I realized that I was misquoted! They edited one of my sentences, significantly altering the meaning. I was annoyed, because I feel like they assumed what I meant without asking me. Arg.

First, I'll print the original letter that I sent them for you guys:

"I applaud Amnesty International for trying to raise awareness of the situation in Burma. I was disappointed with the low turnout at Wednesday's peace rally. I was even more disappointed to hear students say things like, "What's the point? Are they really going to change the situation by protesting?" The other day, as I walked by the Amnesty International banner, I saw this quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." There are a lot of 'good people' at BYU 'doing nothing' to be aware of the evils going on in this world. Yes, perhaps a small rally at BYU won't change a dictatorship. But raising awareness and educating people on social justice issues are important. How are we as students ever going to be able to "Go forth to serve" if we do not take time to "Enter to learn" about the problems in our world? Most of us cannot even fathom living under the kind of oppression facing the Burmese monks. But does that mean that we should ignore the fact that such things go on in this world? I'm with Martin Luther King Jr., who said: " Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As future leaders, we must use our education to promote truth and justice everywhere, not just where it directly affects us."

So... here is the letter I sent them, which I asked them to print in the next "Letters to the Editor" section. You'll see how they changed it.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear "Letters to the Editor,"

Please print this in your "letters to the editor section." This is in regards to my letter "Doing nothing," published on 10/22/07.

I'm grateful that you printed my letter to the editor, but when you did your editing, you changed the meaning of my intended message. I did not not mean that BYU students are completely aware of the evils of the world and are "doing nothing," but that they are not taking the proper time to get educated about social justice issues in the first place. Yes, some know about the Burma situation and don't seem to care too much. But many don't even really know about it in the first place and walk by demonstrations on campus such as the Burma rally without learning about their purpose. I feel that the way you changed my letter misrepresents what I intended to say. Please be aware that subtle editing changes can have a great effect in the intended meaning of the author. I applaud BYU students for all the good that they do; I just think that we could do more to actively learn about and stand up for political and social justice issues all over the world.

Thank you,

Lauren Major
Mequon, Wis.

The original sentence:There are a lot of 'good people' at BYU 'doing nothing' to be aware of the evils going on in this world."

The edited sentence: "There are a lot of "good people" at BYU "doing nothing," but are aware of the evils going on in this world.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Anyhow, I know it was simply a mistake, but it taught me a great lesson. Editing matters. Misquoting people misrepresents them. Maybe some will say that it's not that big of a deal. But I think it is. Things that are in print are there for everyone to see, and it made me realize that I should not take that responsibility lightly.

The Odyssey Years

Here is a link to an article that I find very interesting.

This is from a recent opinion column in The New York Times by David Brooks called "The Odyssey Years." According to Times, this article can be summed up as follows: "The decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood is a sensible response to modern conditions."

I'm not sure how I feel about this phase of life as the simple result of "modern conditions," nor will I simply say that I am a product of my generation, but I do think that many young people my age can relate to Brooks' description of life for the twenty-something right now. I definitely do. Although I'm probably more tied to tradition than some who are my age, I still can relate to the feeling of having to find my way in an uncertain world. For a young person who has grown out of immense opportunities and who faces a world full of more opportunity and uncertainty than she anticipated, "odyssey" is a good description.

Life is different for us than it was for our parents at our age, but we still ultimately want the same things--love, health, happiness, and a better world. I guess the road to getting those things will always be different in different periods of history, but I guess that's why I'm so grateful for my faith in the gospel; it gives me stability in a changing society. Thankfully, the essence of life is constant, and if we remember that, I don't think we need to simply be defined by our generation.

Yikes! My hair is short!

Well, I got a haircut for the first time since April. I'm not really that in to making sure I look perfectly fashionable all the time or anything (although I like to look nice of course), but I went online and found some hair styles that I liked with sweeping bangs. I showed her a picture of Nicole Richie. Now, let me state for the record, I am not a Nicole Richie fan, but she does have nice hair! Anyhow, the cut ended up being a shorter than I expected, and I came home feeling a little freaked out. I played around a bit with it since I really don't know how to style short hair, and this is my June Cleaver flipped-out look that I came up with, hehe. I'm still deciding whether I want to go and get it fixed a little somewhere else to add some layers (when it's not flipped... I'm not a huge fan, it feels like too much of a blunt cut)... but we'll see. Any advice? And be honest! Thank goodness that hair grows :-) (Also, if you know of a good hair stylist in Provo, let me know!)

First BYU football game in 5 years!

This last weekend, I got to sit in the front row at a BYU football game for the first time. It was also my first football game since my sophomore year at BYU in the fall of 2002. Oddly enough, I didn't even get student season tickets this year because they sold out really early. I was really sad, but my friend Eden came through and offered a couple front row tickets to my friend Emily and I for the homecoming game, since she couldn't go. Yeah!

It was rainy and chilly (and Emily and I were shivering in our BYU t-shirts), but it was so much fun to be up that close. We beat the Air Force 31-6, which made it that much better. At the end, we enjoyed the tradition where the team comes around the first row and gives everyone high fives. Emily and I were in the front and tons of people were trying to reach their hands over, it was almost a little scary... little Emily thought she was going to flip over on to the field! Haha, we went home, had some hot chocolate, and called it a day.

Can't we all just study quietly?

Ok, so I'm in the library right now, working on some assignments before my Elang 410 class (it's for the editing minor). A couple was sitting next to me in the adjoining computer, and it inspired me to write this post.

It is a common sight, all over BYU campus, to see dating/engaged/married couples, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. I have nothing against this, truly. I am so happy for my friends who have fallen in love... I mean that's what we all hope for in life! But. . . what works on my patience is the constant cuddling, gazing, sighing, giggling, kissing, lovey-dovey talk that surrounds me, even in places like the library. It's not love that I'm annoyed with, it's people's disregard for the others around them. I've talked to engaged couples, and it seems that the common theme is "we so in love that we just don't notice anyone else" or, more honestly, there's an underlying sentiment of "we sometimes just don't care if everyone else watches us." Ah! Being engaged does not give you the right to annoy others... most couples assume that there are so many couples like this around that people should be used to it. Yes, there's some truth to that, but I don't think that's an excuse to ignore the feelings of others, whether they be friends or strangers. Call me old-fashioned or sensitive, but I don't think I'm asking too much.

I don't mean to ban all forms of affection or anything. Hand-holding, arm around, the occasional kiss, etc. is fine. Let's just remember that others are around you when you're in public.

And yes, you can hold me to that standard if/when I get engaged/married someday. :-) And for the record, I do love BYU, even with it's cultural quirks. But, that doesn't mean I can't offer some constructive criticism!

Just for fun

So, I've been tagged! If someone tags you, you write up 8 random facts about yourself and then tag a couple people to do the same on their blogs. So, just for fun...

1. I used to have a stuffed bunny named Phil that I pretended was my husband. Phil was the largest stuffed animal we had, and therefore was deemed to be my husband when I played dolls and stuff. I even used to draw family pictures with me, the kids, and a man with a bunny head wearing a suit. Ha.

2. I've used the same laptop since the beginning of freshman year. For a computer, that's a pretty long life (over 6 years)! I've had to add in extra memory and I installed Windows XP, but the little guy is still truckin' along nicely. We'll see how long he lasts.

3. I once put 28 grapes in my mouth. My friend and I were bored and we decided to have a contest, and after 28 they started spilling all over the place.

4. I played on a boy's baseball team for 4 years in elementary/middle school. And oddly, it didn't really phase me that I was one of the only girls. I was just really competitive I guess. Ha.

5. I sang "Someone to Watch Over Me" at a piano bar in Madrid to a group of older Madrilenos. Not sure if that's something to brag about, ha, but it was definitely funny!

6. I have a secret love for reruns of "Full House" and "Saved by the Bell." Nostalgia I guess.

7. I used to have a HUGE crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas from "Home Improvement." I even wrote him a letter telling him about how we have so much in common and should be friends. I received a mass response letter with his autograph. Oh well.

8. I once had a class at Marquette that had about 15 people in it, and about 5 of us were named Lauren. Weird, I had never met so many Laurens in one place in my life!

Ok, not sure if that really tells you much about me, but hopefully you learned something new and had a chuckle or two. I tag.... Vickie and Tiffani. You're it!

So much to do, so little time.

Well, this month has flown by. After summer term finals ended, I went to two wedding receptions and a bridal shower that following weekend. Then, I spent a week in Wisconsin, which was rainy but relaxing. My mom and I watched 3 Hallmark movies, if that gives you an idea of the pace of the week... but that's just what I needed. Now, I'm back here in Provo, helping out with freshman orientation, moving into a new apartment, and getting ready for classes! I'm in-between apartments... with most of my stuff in the new one, but I still have to go back to the old one to clean it, eek.

Freshman orientation is so much fun! It seems like yesterday I was moving into the dorms and starting college. It's fun to see the freshmen, wandering around, trying to look nonchalant (even though you can tell they're lost and a little nervous about everything) and getting excited to start classes. We've all been there. It's weird to be on the other end, but it's also nice to pass the college wisdom down to the next generation. I really had fun taking them on a campus tour, pointing out all the buildings and telling stories about my experiences and experiences of my friends. Going to the orientation leader training and listening to the BYU President address the freshman today was a nice way to start my last year of college, reminding me of what BYU is all about and what I want to accomplish before I leave this school. I remember all the anticipation of starting college, and I want this last year to really be memorable and to wrap up my college years full-circle.

With that said, there's lots to do before school starts next week. Yikes! I'll keep you posted and hopefully get some pictures up here soon!

Summer school is over!

I call it "Cramming for a British Lit. final."

Total Eclipse of the Day

It's funny how a day can turn from bad to good in such a short time. Monday was one of those days. Being the last day of the summer term, I had a LOT to finish for my classes. In one day (on 2 hours of sleep and under intense pressure) I managed to finish a course project for my American English Usage Class, finish my research paper for British Lit, take a tennis test in the Testing Center, play several games of tennis (last day of class and I had to play a certain amount of games for the class), attend 4 hours of class... needless to say, I was exhausted when I came home from school at 8 P.M., over 12 hours since I left the house.

After a shower and some food, I went and accompanied Emily Reynolds at an acoustic guitar show (I played back-up on my violin) and given my rough day... it wasn't my best performance. I thought I would go home after that and sleep for the next week... but somehow, Emily and her brother Seth, who was in town visiting, convinced me to go see "Evan Almighty" at the dollar theater.

On the way there, as I was sitting in the backseat (between two car seats... because Seth borrowed his older sister's car) we listened to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and sang our hearts out. In that moment, something changed in me as the stress just released. "Evan Almighty" was great too, I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Anyhow, I came home after the movie around midnight... exhausted still, but happy. I love days like that.

Climbing Mount Timpanogos

This weekend, 5 friends and I climbed Mount Timpanogos. Of all of us (Amanda, Bryce, Tiffani, Anthony, Emily, and I), only Tiffani had done the climb before. It was an intense, but awesome experience! We left on Friday night at 8 P.M. from Aspen Grove, up Provo Canyon. After 4 hours, we reached Emerald Lake, which is like the "base camp" for the hike. Emerald Lake is a lake made from the melted glacier above it. It was FREEZING up there that night! I had no idea how cold we would be! Emily and I shared a tent, and we had to cuddle to stay warm... it was in the thirties! We barely slept about 2 or 3 hours.

Then, at 6ish on Saturday morning, we woke up and did the final climb to the summit. Wow, it was intense. We kept thinking we were close, and then we'd see another peak that we had to climb! There were a lot of people climbing the peak too... it is a popular hike. We saw kids, teenagers, college students, tourists, even dogs! Anyhow, we then had to go back down... and by the end, we were extremely thirsty, sore, and tired. Needless to say, we slept REALLY well that night!

Saturday also happened to be my 25th birthday! It was an interesting way to spend my birthday, and it will definitely be a great memory! We went to Chili's later that night and then ate cake and watched "Clue" in Emily's backyard on a projector. It was a great birthday and a great way to start my next year!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

These flowers are called "Indian Paintbrushes." Aren't they gorgeous? There were so many different wildflowers... it was beautiful!

Here are Anthony and Tiffani, enjoying the cold water at the waterfall near the end of the hike... we were so tired by this point!


Emily, Amanda, me, and Tiffani at a waterfall near the beginning of the hike.
The sun coming up near Emerald Lake on Saturday morning.

The glacier above Emerald Lake. This is a popular way to descend from the summit, by sliding down the glacier! Unfortunately, the glacier wasn't very large this year, so it was extra dangerous to go down it. So, we decided to climb back down the way we came.

This is a view near the top of Mount Timpanogos. Doesn't it look incredibly high?! It looks like the view from an airplane!

Amanda and Bryce... hiking on the way back down.

Anyhow, I've had a lot of fun enjoying all of the fun outdoor things in Utah this summer. I'm not sure that I'll be climbing Timp again in the near future, but I'm really glad I did it and I hope to do it again someday. Climbing Timp is sort of a BYU rite of passage... it seems that most of my friends have climbed it at least once. And, this weekend, a group of 6 twenty-four-year-olds (one turning twenty-five on the trip) joined the ranks of those who have climbed before :-)

Sam came to town!

Sam is on his much-needed, month-long summer vacation from culinary school. He came to Provo to visit me a little over a week ago... and it was, of course, a great time. I hadn't seen Sam since Christmas, and sadly, this might be the only time I see him until next Christmas (or at least in the fall sometime), since we live on opposite sides of the country and are both in school!

Anyhow, he was able to catch up with some of his friends who are still in Utah... old mission buddies, old roommates and ward friends, etc. Also, I had a chance to introduce him to some of my friends, too. We got to go to my friend Tiffani's house in Fruit Heights, UT and her family was full of questions for Sam about his experiences in culinary school and his future plans. With a little prodding, he even baked us an impromptu cake, which was awesome! Tiffani's mom tried to get us to come over again to let Sam wow us with more cooking, but alas, there just wasn't enough time!

Another highlight of the trip was floating the Provo River. Although originally we were going to try to invite some friends to join us in floating down the river, in Provo Canyon, on inner tubes, it ended up being Sam and I, which was a lot of fun since we had some good brother/sister bonding time. Although the water was a bit cold (the small rapids definitely surprised us a few times) and I got a couple of scratches from branches, it was well worth it! The view from the river, with the mountains on both sides of us, was amazing.

The final interesting highlight was that Sam got to stay with some friends of mine in, yes, his old house in Provo! Although he was staying on the top floor instead of the basement apartment (affectionately called "the pipes"), he got to relive his BYU 162nd Ward memories a bit. I live in some apartments that are a part of his old ward... and weirdly enough, he said he home-taught some girls who lived in my current apartment! Small world.

Unfortunately, I don't have any more pictures (what was I thinking?!) but we both agreed that the trip went too fast! Hopefully I can make it out to NY before he packs up and leaves the CIA in February!

Llama Fest

So, one of the unique Provo summer experiences... Llamafest. At the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork, they had the annual Lllamafest. Emily asked me to go, and although at first I was skeptical as to whether it would be worth it, we quickly discovered that this would be memorable.

The Hare Krishna temple is beautiful. Very unique amidst the Utah landscape... we went inside and listened to a member of the temple answer questions about the faith and the meaning of different things. Very interesting! I still don't know a ton about this religion, but I'd like to read more to be more informed.

And, the llamas! There was a fenced-in area full of wandering llamas... and you could buy food to feed them. Emily and I just walked around and pet them. This one llama seemed to like me! He seemed to always be looking my way and walking towards me. I took a picture with the little guy/girl.



Anyhow, there were also llama races, an obstacle course for the llamas, dancing, music, food... and good times. Definitely a fun experience!

Maybe tennis class in the Utah summer wasn't the best idea...

So, I'm currently taking my last PE credit... beginning tennis. My tennis days were short-lived... I took tennis lessons for 1 or 2 years in elementary school, which is no surprise since I pretty much played every sport at some point in my childhood. However, my tennis career came to an abrupt end when I broke my arm at tennis camp one summer. We were doing some sort of drill, and I was running backwards on the court, and then I fell right on my wrist. Ow. The only good thing that came out of that was my cool pink cast that my Dad made for my arm.

Anyhow, I've once again decided to pick up the tennis racket. I knew that summers in Utah were hot, and man, I haven't been disappointed! Seriously, I'm not used to avoiding the outdoors in summer, but I really can't be outside in the middle of the day except for walking from one place to another. Anyhow, I figured that I should take my tennis class in the late afternoon, since 8 AM sounded pretty early and I figured that the temperature would cool down by then. Not really. The sun stays out longer and brighter here than in WI, and basically, it's still blazing hot at 5:15-7.

At Monday's class, I tried to move minimally when I didn't need to, but I think I must have been dehydrated, because I began to feel nauseated. That's happened a few times when I've been at soccer try-outs or somewhere where I've been working out really hard... but considering we're not really doing much running in this class, I think it must have been more of a heat-related thing. Anyhow, I felt pretty pathetic for feeling so sick... I almost had to sit down, and we were just doing some simple drills and games! I felt like one of those people crawling in the Saharan Desert. We all were pretty lifeless by the end of class. I better bust out the giant Nalgene water bottle next time.

4th of July in Utah!

Emily and I got some pecan and apple pie at the Freedom Festival days in Provo. Nothing like apple pie on the 4th of July!

I loved this sign! Basically, it says that if you eat three giant sandwiches in less than 25 minutes, you get them for free! They were huge sandwiches...

Hanging out with some people before the fireworks.


After the big fireworks, we went to Emily's house and had a campfire and lit sparklers! I hadn't done that in a long time... to be honest I once got a little burned from one when I was little and ever since, I had always been a little wary of them. But, as you can see, Camilla, Susan and I were having plenty of fun sparkler times!

This is one of the first times that I haven't been in Milwaukee for the fourth. It was a different experience... they seem to be much more into the 4th here in Utah... and I think they are more openly patriotic... much more festival stuff going on. But, it's been fun to celebrate in a different part of the country... I love the U.S.!

Bloody Foot Syndrome Returns

So, way back when, I wrote on the blog about how I walked around Madrid in my new shoes and got really bloody feet. I had to go to a pharmacy and buy a bunch of band-aids and sit on a curb and wipe my feet down in front of crowds of people. Then, to avoid further damage, I had to wear white running socks under my dress shoes for the rest of the night.

I had a relapse last weekend.

I went to meet up with an old roommate, Sarah, and her boyfriend, friends from church in Milwaukee, up in Salt Lake City. We ate lunch in The Garden Room, this good restaurant on the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Afterwards, we walked around Temple Square a bit and then went to get a tour of the Beehive House, Brigham Young's House. As we walked in to start the tour, done by two friendly sister missionaries, I bumped my foot against a wooden pew. It looked like it would be ok, although it had sliced my toe a bit. Ten minutes later, my toe was bleeding profusely, creating a pool of blood on my flip-flop. I tried to ignore it, but I was afraid of getting blood on the historic carpet! I didn't want to have to explain that one to the prophet someday. Anyhow, I had to interrupt the tour and one of the sister missionaries took me to get some tissue paper to wipe my foot down. As I walked out, the fellow tour participants gave me sympathetic smiles and comments, "Wow, those benches must have been hard!" Um, slightly embarrassing. Anyhow, I hope I don't have any more incidents! :-)

The Road Trip to Baja

Hi everyone! Well, Emily and I finally decided to do the road trip we've been talking about for a long time... going to Baja, Mexico and camping on the beach! So, this last weekend, we loaded up 10 of us (4 girls, 6 boys) into 3 cars and road-tripped it down to Mexico. We knew it would be an adventure, and we were not disappointed!

After careful planning (getting Mexican driving insurance, finding a campsite, etc.) we left on Thursday afternoon after finals for spring term and got home about 6 A.M. on Monday morning.

Thursday night we slept at Shady Lane RV/Campground in Barstow, CA... about an hour and a half south of Las Vegas. Not exactly paradise, but at 11:30 PM, we just wanted a place to crash. The next day, we crossed the border near San Diego and stopped in Tijuana for a bit, and then headed down to Playa Saldamando, our campsite near Ensenada (a little over an hour south of Tijuana). On Sunday, we went to church in Ensenada and then trekked it back to Provo...

Here are some pictures from the trip!

Here I am on the last day of the trip... after 3 days of no showering. Nice. I had gone swimming though. I bought these flowers from a guy in Ensenada.

My new friend Robert and I horseback riding on the beach in Ensenada!

Checking out the beach on the first day in Mexico... we're finally here!

Our campsite - Playa Saldamando

A shop in Tijuana.

Here are a few of the most interesting things about the trip:

-camping on semi-hard ground for three nights (my hips started to complain by the last day)
-eating amazing tacos (seriously, there's no comparison...sorry Taco Bell)
-good times with good people (and many of us didn't know everyone... so yeah for new friends!)
-speaking Spanish again (so fun!)
-getting lost in random parts of Tijuana and Ensenada (the signs are seriously lacking)
-horseback riding on the beach with my horse Juana (she started galloping at the end of my ride, yikes!)
-campfires and sleeping in front of a beautiful ocean view (hearing the waves as you sleep is very soothing), and we had dolphins that swam by every day!
-the serious challenge of renting a surfboard, but then the excitement of actually getting one and then watching everyone try it out... lots of wiping out!
-the interesting walk around Tijuana (hmm...)
-driving straight through the border into Mexico and then waiting 3 hours in line to come back to the US on the way home
-the stresses of figuring out money and how to split stuff between 10 people
-going to church in Ensenada (loved it! We went to the "Azteca Ward")
-driving up 1-5 in California between San Diego and LA as the sun was setting...so pretty.

Anyhow, this is a taste of our trip. There were stressful moments, which I guess comes with traveling with a large group and with going into a foreign country, but overall, it was great. I came back with some sun on my face, some hand-crafted leather sandals (only $7!) and a beautiful green stone necklace (only $4!) and in serious need of sleep and a shower. After two days, I finally feel unpacked, clean, and rested. Mexico, I hope to see you again soon!

Adventures in Golf

So, when my parents were in town over Memorial Day Weekend... Dad and I had a chance to go golfing twice! The first time was in Cedar City, which was fun since that's where Dad used to golf back when he started. He said the course was pretty much the same from when he started playing there. And... there was a new addition. Prairie dogs! I guess there's a new rule in Utah that you can't kill them (they're endangered?) but they were EVERYWHERE on the course. Each hole had about 20 prairie dog holes on it with the little guys sticking their heads out and running around. I thought I was going to hit them!


Go Dad! This was at Cascade in Orem, Ut.


Here I am at Cascade too. Ooh, I need to work on my swing.


Two of my golf class friends came with us to golf at Cascade... Chelsa and Sofia. Chelsa is a fellow Wisconsinite, and it was her first time golfing, which was fun. Sofia is from Mexico, and she was on the BYU tennis team, and given her athletic background, she picked up golf FAST. She's really good! (She's the one who taught me all the cool Spanish golf phrases...)


Dad and I after 9 holes. I didn't play amazingly, but it was fun and hopefully I'll get better over the summer!

Hello, everyone. My internet has been down at my apartment on and off for the last month, so I haven't been able to have much computer time... which is a nice change, in a way. However, I do have lots of pictures and stories to share, so I'll try to get some of that up here soon.

Life has been busy, as it always is during school. My classes this term are going well, and I especially like my publishing class. I've learned how to use InDesign, Photoshop... and let me say, Photoshop is pretty awesome. It's incredible what you can do to pictures! Kind of scary too... check out www.campaignforrealbeauty.com. There's this film you can watch (the "evolution" film) that shows you the Photoshop process used to create a model's picture. Kind of creepy! But... I can't deny, it's cool to know you can wipe out blemishes, red eyes, and lots of other things that can be distracting in pictures. Not to anything near that extreme though... no wonder we all have warped views of beauty.

Anyhow, it snowed here in Utah yesterday, rained down by me, but the mountains have a new coat of snow! Crazy, it's June!

Later!