A Productive Weekend?

This day was probably my most successful Saturday since I've been in Utah.

First, I went on a field trip to Rock Canyon with my Physical Science 111a lab. This class is one I need to take to be in the ElEd major and it is wonderful. It's twice a week for an hour at a time and we can get a possible 10 points each class period. 6 of these points are for attendance. The other 4 are for attitude. It's classes like these that remind me that I picked the right major :) Anyway the field trip was at 10 and I woke up at 9:36 when Audrey, the girl who gave me a ride, called to say she was on her way over. I got ready in a record 5 minutes and then we drove up to Rock Canyon. The field trip was very fun. There are two boys in my class and neither of them showed up, so I felt a little bit like I was walking around in a girl scout troop or something. The weather was perfect for hiking; the sky was clear, there was a nice breeze, and it wasn't too hot. We walked a little ways up the canyon, stopping at various points to learn about the kinds of rocks we were passing.

After the field trip, Audrey dropped me off at my apartment and Kelly and I went down to campus to study with Scott. Scott is in one of Kelly's classes and they always study together. Today, we were studying in the Tanner Building. I brought my stats notes, since I have a test next week, but I didn't get very much done. I think I just need a study buddy, too!

The game this weekend was at home and it was against Colorado state. After last week's disappointing loss, I was excited to be going to a game that we were "supposed" to win. It was amazing! Here are three things that went right in this game:

1. We won! so of course I would have enjoyed it no matter where I was.

2. I caught a t-shirt! Shade was throwing out these really cute gray t-shirts with the word "Cougs" on the front and I caught one! (I think I caught one last year, too, but it wasn't nearly as cute. Plus, the one I caught this year happened to be a small, which nevvver happens with free shirts, so I was pumpeddd.)

3. We sat in the 5th row! We got rotating tickets this year and we were just put there this time, right in the endzone.

There was just one thing wrong with the game. One of the guys in our section is soooo obNOXious. He is always yelling, whether at the players (on both teams), at the refs, or at the other fans. Seriously everyone in our section hates him. At one point there was a timeout and he started yelling at everyone to stand back up and saying that if we lose it's because of the people who are sitting down. I sat down and turned around to glare at him. Towards the end of the game, people just started talking loudly about him, saying things like, "Ohhhmygosh, seriously so annoying." "I wish some people would shut up!" etc. I'm pretty sure the whole section can't stand him.

When the game was almost over, my roommate Crystal txted me and asked if I wanted to go on a triple date tonight. We got home from the game at 7:30ish, and we were supposed to leave at 8 but that didn't happen. (Thank goodness.)

Pause for a little story about yesterday.

Winnie and Christine wanted to see The Proposal, and even though we had already seen it (and loved it), Kelly and I agreed to go with them. Winnie was at work so the rest of us went to the dollar theater to get tickets and to watch Ice Age before Winnie got off work. Ice Age was sold out so we got our tickets for The Proposal and went to the mall. (Really, what else were we supposed to do?) As we walked in, I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy anything. I didn't need it. I left the mall with two new shirts and my first pair of skinny jeans. Cool. I now love and hate Papaya. Mostly love.

Back to today. So luckily because of this impromptu mini-shopping spree, I had new clothes that I could wear to the date tonight. Crystal didn't know the guy who was my date but he was really nice and it was a lot of fun. We went to Fat Cats and then to Coldstone. I used to go to Fat Cats like twice a week when Jake worked there so it was great to see all the workers again! Kiersten, Kelsee, Jesse and the other manager were all there. The bowling itself was super-fun. I thought since I hadn't bowled in so long, I would be terrible at it, but I actually ended up winning! I got 123 points! I had Kiersten print it out for me because I was so proud. After bowling we went to Coldstone (which was of course delicious) and then to the boy's apartment. We hung out there for a little bit and then they dropped Crystal and I back off at our apartment. It was only about 12 so we decided to go to another party. Kelly came with us to this one. It was a little crazier and I started to get tired, so we didn't stay for too long.

All in all, I think it was a prettyy productive day :)

Life Lessons from the Little Mermaid

So I have an announcement to make. It's called:

I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD!

More on that later. Today was a great day. This morning, I went to Statistics, then to Marriage and Family with Kelly, and then to the library. I am starting to love my Marriage and Family class. It's basically a forum for discussion where everyone asks all the "what-if" questions you've always wondered about, but no one has ever been able to answer. Sometimes my teacher doesn't know the answer, but for the most part, he takes each question and patiently answers it until everyone is satisfied. It's great because he's an authoritative source and he won't tell us anything without backing it up with two other additional sources. After this class I had a really long break. Usually on Mondays during my break I will go home and take a 2-hr nap, then go back to campus for my evening class. Today, I called my parents and did homework instead.

I really love talking to my parents. When I'm at college, I suddenly talk to them about everythingg. Today my mom asked how Jake is doing so I told them about his last letter. He's having kind of a hard time because he's in a foreign country, he has no AC, he doesn't speak the language so he doesn't understand anything anyone says, his companion is kind of not the best, and his house is infested with cockroaches and termites. My dad served his mission in Guatemala so he understood a lot of it and was able to give me some really good insights about how Jake is probably feeling. I talked to them for about 45 minutes and then I got off the phone and went to the library, where I did some homework until it was time for lunch with Winnie.

As usual, the CougarEat was a madhouse. I waited in line at Freschetta for a calzone forevvver and then ate my half with Winnie while I waited for Kelly to finish her class and eat her half. Half a calzone fills me up amazingly well. Half a calzone leaves Kelly dissatisfied. So being the good sister that I am, we walked around looking for something else she could eat. Finally she decided on some broccoli and cheese soup from the Grab'n'Go, which, at some points during the day, turns into the Grab'n'Stand Still. Luckily, we happened to get there when it was going, so it still deserved to be called the "Grab'n'Go."

We grabbed the soup.

We grabbed a lid.

Then we grabbed about a hundred tissue papers used to pick up the rolls (white or wheat) and attempted to mop up the mess we had somehow managed to make while putting the lid on the soup container.

Then we grabbed a CougarEat worker and enlisted his help in cleaning up the ridiculous mess. (I'm sure he recognized us from last week when he was working at Freschetta and we waited a ridiculous 30 minutes for cinnamon bites).

We grabbed two truffles since they looked delicious.

I grabbed my student id to pay for the soup and truffles.

The lady at the cash register grabbed a hundred more napkins because we were spilling everywhere again.

We grabbed what was left of our dignity and then, finally, we were ready to go!

With lunch part 2 now over, and Kelly's stomach filled, we headed to the library for our excel classes. I got an email a few weeks ago advertising these free classes at the library that teach students over about 2 weeks how to use different computer programs (PowerPoint, Photo Shop, etc.) They don't offer any credits or anything, but I figured it would be good if I knew how to use them and signed up. This week and next, Kelly and I will be learning about Excel.

Because we are such great friends, taking a class with Kelly automatically makes it funner for me. (In case you are wondering, funner is a word and it is in the dictionary.) This class was so full that they opened up an overflow class in the room across the hall. Anyway, Kelly and I were able to get a seat next to each other and, even though our teacher was no comedic genius, I found myself laughing really hard at all his jokes, whether he made them intentionally or accidentally. One of the things he said that made me laugh was when Excel made a mistake and somehow projected that the commission pay for one of the sales associates was about 10x the total amount of money made by that representative. The teacher said, "Now that can't be right, can it? We are nott gonna go paying our sales representative 6 million dollars, let me tell YOU." So it wasn't thatt funny, it was just a little funny, but I found it hilarious at the time that it left his mouth. I'm sure he has never had his humor so tremendously appreciated as it was today by the two little blonde girls in the front row.

I had one more class (Children's Lit) and then I went back to my apartment. This week in Children's Lit we are studying classical literature. Everyone brings a book that they read the week before, as long as it is consistent with the genre we're studying in that week, and we discuss it in groups. My book was The Little Mermaid, which I would like to discuss here.

The original version of The Little Mermaid is not as happy as Disney would have us believe. In the original, The Little Mermaid has no mother, but is taken care of by her grandmother and her father. Her grandmother tells her all about the people who live out of the ocean, the humans. She also tells The Little Mermaid that one crucial difference between mermaids and humans is that humans live much shorter lives, but when they die, their souls continue to live forever in the heavens. Mermaids live about a hundred years and, when they die, become sea foam on the top of the ocean. More than anything, she wants a soul so that she can live forever, but her grandmother tells her that the only way she can have a soul is if a human falls in love with her and then shares his soul with her when they die. The Little Mermaid's curiosity is so piqued by this that she can hardly wait until she is 15 and is allowed to swim up to the surface and see for herself what the humans are like. During her visit to the surface, she watches as a storm destroys a ship and nearly takes the life of a prince she has admired from afar for years. She manages to save his life and bring him to shore. For days afterward, she is enveloped in her grief because she is unable to be with her prince. At last she can't stand it anymore and agrees to trade her fishtail and her voice for a pair of legs and a chance to win over the prince. The sea witch she strikes this deal with warns her that every step with legs will be painful, but the Little Mermaid still goes through with the bargain. If the prince will marry her, she will be given a soul just like any other human. If the prince marries another, she will die the next morning and become sea foam on the top of the ocean. Accepting these terms, she swims to the surface where the prince finds her and takes her in. As apart of the deal, she is the most graceful human alive, and she often dances for the prince and his court. She is always with him, and although she can't talk, she communicates as well as she can and develops a strong relationship with the prince. He tells her everything, including how he was in a shipwreck and was saved by a girl who he has been unable to find since. One day, he announces that he must marry a princess in a neighboring country. The Little Mermaid accompanies him to meet her, and although she is very in love with the prince, she hopes that he is happy with his bride. When he meets the princess, the prince mistakenly identifies her as the girl who saved him after his shipwreck and can't wait to marry her. The night of the wedding, the Little Mermaid tries to be happy even though she knows she will die the next morning. Then, her sisters swim up to the boat and hand her a knife, saying that they traded their hair with the sea witch for it. They tell her she must kill the prince and then she will be turned back into a mermaid and allowed to return to the sea to live with them. The Little Mermaid cannot do it and casts herself into the sea. Instead of turning into sea foam, she receives a soul and finds herself in heaven. She is told that because she tried so hard to love the prince and gave everything she had for him, she is being allowed a soul. And then she lived....what, is that happily ever after?

I thought this original version of the Disney-popularized story was very thought-provoking. First of all, I was struck by the Little Mermaid's selflessness. She loved the prince unconditionally. She gave everything she had for him. Some might chalk this up to her intense curiosity, others to her naivety. Maybe it is a little of both. But if it was simply her curiosity, she would have tired of him after a short time when he hadn't married her and nothing had changed. I think there is something to be said of selfless love. In our society today, this is a trait that is hardly glorified. Rather, it is looked down upon. When things don't work out in a marriage, when personality differences, scheduling conflicts, and financial difficulties interfere, we are encouraged to get out and salvage whatever is left for us personally. We are advised to protect ourselves against any pain.

This version of the Little Mermaid was written simplistically, in straightforward sentences, but I felt for her when the prince announced that he was going to marry someone else. When she stood by his bed, holding the knife that held her fate, I ached for her to have the strength to kill the man that she loved. Why are we so trained in this society to seek that self-protection at so high a cost? Why did I prefer, as the reader, for the Little Mermaid to kill the prince and return to her sisters? And finally, was I right to want that? Was I wrong to glare at the pages that documented her lonely ascent into the heavens, where she gained a soul, the thing she had really wanted the whole time? Did this story end, as it claims, "happily ever after?"

My teacher said something very interesting the first day of class. She said that children's books don't always have to end happily, but they do have to end hopefully. Children must experience that feeling of hope that promises that something better will come. Our world is fraught with despair. Everywhere we turn, we see another reason to give up hope. But in the end, hope is the most precious commodity we have in our arsenal. When everything falls apart, when life hands us lemons and throws the lemonade in our face, when the sky is dark and the only thing that seems certain is that harder times will come, we fall back on our cushion of hope. We hope that things will improve. We hope that this is not the end. We hope that there is something better in store for us. When our hands, hearts, and eyes are empty, when everything we held dear has dropped out of our lives, how on earth does hope survive?

I believe that hope, even in the form of frail optimism, is not simply a silly idea that the inexperienced people in the world toy with before reality slaps them in the face. Hope survives because, rather than being the flimsy thing that cynics would prefer us to believe it is, it is, in fact, the most real thing about this life. It is a constant that we can depend on. Through the years hope will change it's face countless times, but it is always there. I think this is because we know, deep inside, that things will get better. We know this. In our lives we will be distracted, discouraged, and disappointed, but the one thing we must never let go of is our hope.

One of my favorite quotes is by Marjorie Pay Hinckley. She phrases the idea of hope beautifully in the following statement: "Who knows but that something wonderful may happen today? Have faith that it will! After all, every morning is a chance at a new day." I think of this quote often throughout my day. I anticipate wonderful things happening in my day. I look for them and it is a rare (and very sad :<) occasion that I don't find something wonderful to celebrate in my day.

Today, as I said before, was a great day. The most wonderful thing that happened to me today was that I got a package from my family!!! They are the best family in the whole world, I am serious. Some of the things in the package are just things I left at home on accident (a mug I made with Jake at Color Me Mine, a princess cup Julie gave me for my fake birthday last month, my Bible, etc). Then there were also some treats and other fun things! I got some hot chocolate mixes, Easy Mac, trail mix bars, bobby pins, ponytails, and Dove chocolates. My mom is seriously the nicest ever!

Anyway tomorrow is our first cleaning check. I am a little nervous! (But I guess not tooooo too nervous, since I am still up blogging and not cleaning.)

Besides, I have hope that it will be an easy cleaning check :)

And the semester begins.

I don't know why, but I really feel like blogging right now! So I'm going to.

Yesterday, I was super-productive.

First, I went to my stats lecture. I started out this semester really apprehensive about my stats class, but I am actually really liking it. I got there a little earlier than usual this time so I got to sit wherever I wanted and I randomly sat down next to this guy who happens to be in my lab! So that was cool. I have an hour break between my stats lecture and lab on Fridays, so in my spare time, I went to the library and got a little homework done for other classes. When I went to my lab, I met up with a girl who was in my ice-skating class last semester! That was so fun. We are going to have a study group :) After lab, I was done with stats for the day and I headed off to the Eyring Science Center to try and add a class. Unfortunately it was all full, but I stayed because it was so fun (oh, also because I am just going to try to add it at another time).

As soon as I was done with that class, I went to the library, did some more homework, and then hurried to catch the next bus back to my apartment. I got home at about 2:00, ran around grabbing everything I wanted to send to Jake in his package, and then caught the 2:12 bus back to campus. It was pretty impressive. Here is what I sent in this package:

1. shark fruit snacks. (since he's a fisher of men.)

2. chips ahoy. (since who doesn't love those.)

3. flyswatters. (He's in Mexico. So there are probably a few flies down there. Haha I had to bend the wire handles to fit them in the box....so hopefully he'll be able to unbend them....)

4. Immunity Crystal Light. (so he doesn't get sick.) Also Live Active Crystal Light. (in case he doesn't feel like being lively or active. or his companion doesn't.)

5. antacid tablets. (so he doesn't feel sick.)

6. sidewalk chalk. (so he can be the most popular. lol)

7. a box of pastaroni. (we always used to make that and I told him he can make it with his companion and have good bonding time.)

8. my "I Love to See the Temple" book I made with Caitlin and Kelly!

9. junior mints. (since he's the Jr. companion.)

10. crazy core skittles. (so he doesn't go crazy.)

11. insect bite relief. (to relieve his insect bites.)

Anyway so I was reallyy excited to send this package. I don't know how long it will take to get there, but hopefully not tooooo too long.

Right after I sent my package, I had to go to this powerpoint class I'm taking. I have to take all these tests for the elementary education major that test your knowledge of microsoft products, and I don't feel like I know that much about PowerPoint, so I figured what the heck, and signed up for this two-week long class. Last class was soooo boring, but I came back, and this time, it was actually really enjoyable.

When I finished with that class, I got ice-cream with Andrea and Victoria. I love these girls :) They just sent off missionaries too, who were really good friends with Jake, which is how we know each other. It was so nice to sit and talk and eat ice cream! We sat around for like an hour just talking and it was lovely.

After ice cream I went to Kelly's apartment and we started getting ready for Fall Fest! The theme this year is superheroes, and I have wanted to dress up for this event since the beginning of the school year. It took about 3 hrs and multiple costume changes, but finally we were suited up and ready to go. I was a blue power ranger (costume courtesy of Kali, who wore my costume for Halloween last year), Kelly was a Fantastic Four, and Kali was an Incredible (costume courtesy of me, from spirit week my senior year of high school). Jordan was our makeup artist. And if I do say so myself, we looked extremely super when we showed up to that Fall Fest!

BTW. When I first got to Kelly's apt, I was sitting on Kali's bed and she looks over at me and goes, "Are those my flipflops?" I was wearing a pair of pink flipflops that I had, in fact, gotten from Kelly's apt earlier in the year, but I knew that they were Kelly's, not Kali's. So I said, "No, they're mine." Then she goes, "Did you borrow them from Kelly?" So then I didn't know whattt to say. For whatever reason, I didn't bring any flipflops to college. Oh, except for the dark blue ones which I can only find one of now. Also these really cute ones that Caitlin gave me but that's beside the point. The pointtt is, when I was helping Kelly move in, I saw a pair of pink flipflops on her floor, and I thought to myself, I didn't bring any flipflops out here. I need those! And I took them back to my own apartment. Apparently, they weren't Kelly's. They were Kali's. And I had stolen them. So that was pretty funny and I immediately returned them.

The activity was pretty fun, but it was largely dominated by freshmen, so we left pretty early and went to Red Mango in our awesome costumes. We ate our frozen yogurt, took a few pictures inside, and then went outside to expand our photo opportunities. A few minutes after we had started jumping off tables and punching the air, we realized that there was a couple parked in their car in front of the Red Mango who was thoroughly entertained by our antics. Unfazed, we went on to produce a fantasticcc line of photos.

It is nights like these that I absolutely lovvve Kelly. She is the greatest sister! Who else would spend three hours trying on outfit after outfit, throwing all their clothes on the floor, googling superheroes, and considering every possible alteration to a piece of clothing in order that they could dress up like a superhero....any! superhero....just because I really wanted to, but I didn't want to do it alone? I love that she lives so close to me and we can do fun things together like this!

I also adore Kali. When I suggested that we do this, Kali at first laughed at me, but then she totally caught the vision and helped me find costume pieces for me and for Kelly. The power ranger costume, as I mentioned earlier, was her Halloween costume last year. I'm not sure how she came to have it in her possession in the first place, but somehow she had it, and she had made several alterations to it. It used to be one piece, with the top and the legs connected. When it came to me, they were two decidely separate pieces. The pants had no waistband, and the top covered about half of my torso. The sleeves, which used to go all the way to the wearer's wrists, went only a little bit past my elbow. The legs, which should have gone all the way to my ankles, went a little bit past my knee. So, clearly, this outfit was not exactly intended for someone of my size. Or any bigger. Still, Kali valiantly tried it on, all the time saying, "I don't think this is gonna work, Heather." Despite her completely justified skepticism, she was totally willing to try it, if for no other reason than to show me that it was not an option for her outfit for the night.

Actually while we're on the subject....this costume really was in poor condition. There was a gaping hole in the arm pit of one of the sleeves, which was especially obvious when I raised my arm. There was no waistband, as I said earlier, which created problems whenever the pants came out of my leggings (I was wearing gray leggings under the pants and I had just tucked the tops of the blue pants into the waistband of my leggings to hold them up). Anyway, whenever the leggings loosened their grip a little bit, the blue pants got this nice little pucker in them that looked STUPID. So I told everyone to keep an eye on my butt for the whole night to avoid that ever happening.

Back to all the people I love. Jordan Lee was the besttt makeup artist! I usually don't do crazy makeup, and I think I was wearing more eyeshadow than I ever have in my life, but I just thought it was fun! I think that Jordan is hilarious and she was so fun to just walk around the Fall Festival with. Whew, good thing she was Kelly's roommate freshman year or else I might not know her!

I ended up falling asleep on accident at Kelly's apartment last night, on Kali's bed. I can't imagine that she appreciated that very much but apparently she let me stay there and she slept on the couch instead of waking me up to move me. This morning, Kelly woke me up and I said, "why are you in my house?" But it turns out I was in her's. So I got up, ran back to my apartment in my super-cool power ranger costume....which wasn't embarrassing atttt allllll, don't even worry about it.....and got ready for the football game!

Kelly, Christine and I all went together to the party at Glenwood. It's just down the street and Raintree residents were invited, and there was free food, so we figured why not, and went. It was so funny how many random people I saw there. In the first minute after the pizza had arrived, I saw 1. James, this guy who randomly sat down and had lunch with Kelly and I last year in the Cougareat, 2. Jeff, who was an intern in DC this summer and went to our singles ward, 3. a guy who used to date one of Kelly's roommates last year, 4. A guy who was in our country dance class last year, and 5. another guy who randomly sat down and had lunch with Kelly and I last year.

By the 4th quarter, BYU was really killing Tulane, so we went back home and Winnie took us grocery shopping. Which was so good! I get most of my food with my meal plan, but I need some things like Toaster Strudel, hello, that I can't get at the Creamery or on-campus, so I have to venture to Walmart to get it. I also got some white flipflops today, which I really have been needing. Anddd I bought Kelly a present. She is alwayyys giving me presents. It is so nice! So I got her a present this time. I bought her a pineapple :)

When I came home from Target, where I got my flipflops, I called my dad since he marched on Washington today. Sometimes I think my dad is so adorable. He lovvved it. He said it was the most inspiring thing he has ever done. He said everyone was so polite and he liked meeting as many people as he could and just talking to them. Apparently there was a really great turnout. So I'm glad he got to do that. I really love my dad. I can talk to him so easily at college. I think he is a wonderful individual, I think he is the nicest daddy, and I always always know he loves me.

When I got back to my apartment from doing that, there was a bunch of people and we all played games and had suchhh a fun time.

And now it is way too late and I really really! should be getting to bed.

I just want to say, that even with all the stupid stuff that goes on, I do love being a college student. I love it.

Shoes. omg, SHOES.

Today I wore a really stupid outfit to my classes.

No really. It was so stupid that I was a little bit embarrassed to be myself.

Here's what it consisted of: my bangs back in a poof, a tealish-blue polo, blue and red and teal plaid bermuda shorts, and baby blue flipflops. Maybe this doesn't sound so bad to you....or maybe it sounds inexcusably horrendous to you. In any case, I feel the need to offer some sort of explanation. Starting with yesterday.

Yesterday I was mad productive. I finished unpacking (I know, a little late. Whatever.), did all my homework, laid out at the pool with Kelly, reading for our Marriage and Family class, went to my ward's FHE, shaved my legs, hung up all my freshly done laundry, went to Kelly's ward's FHE, and assembled stuff for the best package a missionary could ask for. This morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was carefully examine my new tan. I love tanlines. Most people hate them. I like them a lot. They remind me of how far I've come. Anyway, I was a little sad to discover that half of my forehead was pleasantly sunkissed, and the other half was pleasantly untouched. I guess my bangs were covering it up when I was tanning yesterday. I figured this was ok, since I could just keep my bangs there until it went away.

So that's a really nice plan, but it's not exactly helpful when you promptly forget about it as you're getting dressed for the day. Especially when your thoughts are occupied by other things, like, how am I going to dress my feet today? And then as you try to figure that one out, and you decide you might as well do your hair while your brain works on the shoe problem. And the next thing you know, you're running over to your sister's apartment, barefoot, with 6 minutes before the bus arrives, hoping that she will have a pair of flipflops that matches your color scheme a little better than your hot pink and black flipflops would, and you've completely forgotten to even think about your two-toned forehead. Any thoughts of your forehead that may have survived are pushed even further to the back of your mind as you discover that your sister had the same problem yesterday, and the flipflops she ended up wearing match your outfit about as well as shiny black dress shoes would match with a pair of basketball shorts.

But the bus is coming. And you ran to your sister's apartment barefoot, trusting that she would save the day with her enviable collection of footwear. So you have no choice but to wear the baby blue flipflops.

Really. Who honnnnestly thinks about their hair at a time like this?

So all day, as I was walking around, I imagined up things in my head that people were thinking about my flipflops. No one even really looking that hard at them. But I knew. All day, I knew that my flipflops clashed horrendously with my outfit. And it bothered me to no end.

Immediately after getting off the bus with Kali, who is lovely btw, we marched into the BYU bookstore, I filled with an impressive determination to buy the first pair of shoes I could find that would match acceptably. But alas, this determination faltered under the greedy eyes of the BYU bookstore, and my baby blue flipflops slapped the floor dejectedly on my march out of the bookstore, deterred by the $20 price tag on the white flip flops I left behind me, mocking my resolve. For the rest of the day, I avoided standing up and walking anywhere as much as possible because I was so disgusted by my flipflops.

And to those of you who think this is ridiculous, that my shoes affected my day to such an extent, I would just like to challenge you to walk a mile in these shoes.

PS I am back in Utah. NYC was great. I love my new roommates. I haven't taken any pictures since I've been here and it makes me sad. I wish my friends would get nice boyfriends. I'm kinda sad I missed Blue Knob this year. I like my classes so far. I'm going country dancing tomorrow. I love seeing random people I know around campus. Aside from the shoes, life is pretty good, all things considered. :)