Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
Sini hasn't seen The Sound of Music, and she doesn't care for fa-so-la-ti-do in her sight-singing class. "For me, C is C. C can’t be do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do--it's C!" Sini, exasperated, throws her hands up. "It could be only do, but it just can't be seven different things. I have perfect pitch, and it's going to be really hard for me to do those because it messes everything up!"
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time Flies When You're Having Fun
Posted by Laura
This is my favorite time of the year! The campus is gorgeous with all of the different colors of leaves draped on the trees and scattered on the ground. It's like walking in an autumn picture. BYU is very diligent in keeping the landscaping flawless. I am just amazed when I walk from class to class on such a pretty campus. Along with the colorful leaves comes that time in the semester to sign up for winter classes . . . already! I think that my second semester will be full of challenging classes, but I don't think it will be such a shock compared to the very beginning, with its major transition and challenges. This time I will know what the standard is and what is expected of me. It's crazy to think that I am over halfway done with my first semester at BYU; the time has gone by so fast. College definitely keeps you busy, for sure.
This is my favorite time of the year! The campus is gorgeous with all of the different colors of leaves draped on the trees and scattered on the ground. It's like walking in an autumn picture. BYU is very diligent in keeping the landscaping flawless. I am just amazed when I walk from class to class on such a pretty campus. Along with the colorful leaves comes that time in the semester to sign up for winter classes . . . already! I think that my second semester will be full of challenging classes, but I don't think it will be such a shock compared to the very beginning, with its major transition and challenges. This time I will know what the standard is and what is expected of me. It's crazy to think that I am over halfway done with my first semester at BYU; the time has gone by so fast. College definitely keeps you busy, for sure.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sick of Life Sciences
Posted by Braden
I'm going to be an mechanical engineer. Over the next four years of school I am going to be taking a lot of physics and math classes. Unfortunately, before I can get into the stuff I really enjoy, I need to fight my way through the jungle of GEs--general education classes required by the school of all freshmen.
I was able to take one class this semester that is in line with my mechanical engineering interests. It's called "Engineering Mechanics--Statics", and I love it to death. I'm also taking three of my GE courses this semester, however, and they are health, biology, and chemistry.
Math and physics appeal to me because there is always a right answer, it's almost always quantifiable, there are no exceptions or discrepancies due to genetics/environment, and the vast majority of it is usable and observable on all scales from microscopic to macroscopic. As I mentioned though, this semester I'm a little heavy on the life sciences. And it gets worse--they all overlap each other in content!
One day in health, we were talking about carbohydrates/lipids/proteins. We looked at what in a lipid's structure made it saturated/unsaturated, the way proteins were made up of lots of amino acids tied together with peptide bonds, how carbohydrates were often lots of little glucose rings connected to each other with such and such a chemical formula, and how each of these types of macromolecules stored different amounts of energy because of their structures and contents.
Three hours later, I was in my chemistry lecture for the day, where we discussed the energy that can be stored in the bonds between molecules, and that's why these different types of foods have different amounts of calories per gram. We also mentioned hydrogen bonds, which are different from regular ones such as peptide bonds in the following ways, etc
The next hour of my Wednesday was spent in biology, and guess what we were talking about that day? Yup--cells use glucose for energy, which looks like this. Lipids are used in cell walls, where they form a phospholipid bilayer. Proteins are used in enzymes and as transport mechanisms in the cell walls. Now the way proteins are bonded together is significant to their functions; let's take a look at that...
And that was Wednesday. Rarely do I get a triple dose of the same information, (though it's really more of a sextuple dose because of the reading that I had to do for each of the classes that morning or the night before), but overlaps of two of the classes happen all the time.
Sure, it's nice that the class "complement" each other so well . . . yes, I understand that biology and chemistry and health are all around us and need to be looked at from different perspectives in different classes . . . but I'm missing out on fluid dynamics and multivariable calculus for this!?
Maybe one day I'll be grateful for the broad background that I was forced to get--and don't get me wrong, I do understand the importance of making sure that students don't specialize too early--but it's killing me getting this "jack of all trades" experience as I fight through my GEs (which just happen to overlap in the life sciences, in which I have minimal interest), when I just want to be the master of one--mechanical engineering--but don't have room for any of its classes because I'm overflowing with ones that are busy teaching me about carbohydrates and peptide bonds instead!
I'm going to be an mechanical engineer. Over the next four years of school I am going to be taking a lot of physics and math classes. Unfortunately, before I can get into the stuff I really enjoy, I need to fight my way through the jungle of GEs--general education classes required by the school of all freshmen.
I was able to take one class this semester that is in line with my mechanical engineering interests. It's called "Engineering Mechanics--Statics", and I love it to death. I'm also taking three of my GE courses this semester, however, and they are health, biology, and chemistry.
Math and physics appeal to me because there is always a right answer, it's almost always quantifiable, there are no exceptions or discrepancies due to genetics/environment, and the vast majority of it is usable and observable on all scales from microscopic to macroscopic. As I mentioned though, this semester I'm a little heavy on the life sciences. And it gets worse--they all overlap each other in content!
One day in health, we were talking about carbohydrates/lipids/proteins. We looked at what in a lipid's structure made it saturated/unsaturated, the way proteins were made up of lots of amino acids tied together with peptide bonds, how carbohydrates were often lots of little glucose rings connected to each other with such and such a chemical formula, and how each of these types of macromolecules stored different amounts of energy because of their structures and contents.
Three hours later, I was in my chemistry lecture for the day, where we discussed the energy that can be stored in the bonds between molecules, and that's why these different types of foods have different amounts of calories per gram. We also mentioned hydrogen bonds, which are different from regular ones such as peptide bonds in the following ways, etc
The next hour of my Wednesday was spent in biology, and guess what we were talking about that day? Yup--cells use glucose for energy, which looks like this. Lipids are used in cell walls, where they form a phospholipid bilayer. Proteins are used in enzymes and as transport mechanisms in the cell walls. Now the way proteins are bonded together is significant to their functions; let's take a look at that...
And that was Wednesday. Rarely do I get a triple dose of the same information, (though it's really more of a sextuple dose because of the reading that I had to do for each of the classes that morning or the night before), but overlaps of two of the classes happen all the time.
Sure, it's nice that the class "complement" each other so well . . . yes, I understand that biology and chemistry and health are all around us and need to be looked at from different perspectives in different classes . . . but I'm missing out on fluid dynamics and multivariable calculus for this!?
Maybe one day I'll be grateful for the broad background that I was forced to get--and don't get me wrong, I do understand the importance of making sure that students don't specialize too early--but it's killing me getting this "jack of all trades" experience as I fight through my GEs (which just happen to overlap in the life sciences, in which I have minimal interest), when I just want to be the master of one--mechanical engineering--but don't have room for any of its classes because I'm overflowing with ones that are busy teaching me about carbohydrates and peptide bonds instead!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sini’s Carrot Cake Recipe
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
Sini has discovered several new foods in America that she can't get enough of, particularly cinnamon raisin bagels. And cream cheese. And cheddar cheese. And the list goes on. But if there’s one thing Sini appreciates, it's a home-cooked meal. "I'm, like, the cook," she says, and her roommates love it. They call her Mom, and Sini is always planning out rounded meals and making Finnish favorites. Her culinary creations keep FHE attendance high; each week she cooks for the group, making things like carrot cake--from scratch, of course--or pecan-encrusted chicken breasts.
Try her carrot cake recipe yourself:
Sini’s Carrot Cake Recipe (courtesy of her mom)
Cake:
3 c carrots, grated
2 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
3 t vanilla
1 small can crushed pineapple
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix. Pour batter into a greased cake pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the cake comes out clean. Cool before frosting.
Frosting:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cube butter, softened
3 t vanilla
powdered sugar
chopped nuts (optional)
Mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Sini uses a beater to mix them. Keep mixing and add powdered sugar a little bit at a time until you get the desired consistency. Sini doesn’t know exactly how much she uses--probably about 3 cups. Spread frosting on the top of the cake. Garnish with nuts if desired. Enjoy!
Sini has discovered several new foods in America that she can't get enough of, particularly cinnamon raisin bagels. And cream cheese. And cheddar cheese. And the list goes on. But if there’s one thing Sini appreciates, it's a home-cooked meal. "I'm, like, the cook," she says, and her roommates love it. They call her Mom, and Sini is always planning out rounded meals and making Finnish favorites. Her culinary creations keep FHE attendance high; each week she cooks for the group, making things like carrot cake--from scratch, of course--or pecan-encrusted chicken breasts.
Try her carrot cake recipe yourself:
Sini’s Carrot Cake Recipe (courtesy of her mom)
Cake:
3 c carrots, grated
2 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
3 t vanilla
1 small can crushed pineapple
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix. Pour batter into a greased cake pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the cake comes out clean. Cool before frosting.
Frosting:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cube butter, softened
3 t vanilla
powdered sugar
chopped nuts (optional)
Mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Sini uses a beater to mix them. Keep mixing and add powdered sugar a little bit at a time until you get the desired consistency. Sini doesn’t know exactly how much she uses--probably about 3 cups. Spread frosting on the top of the cake. Garnish with nuts if desired. Enjoy!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Just Different
Posted by Braden
Before history class starts each day, we say a prayer.
Before every sporting event or performance--a prayer.
On Sunday nights, we get together as a ward, for ward prayer.
Sacrament meeting is eerily quiet--no whispering 10-year-olds, crying 3-year-olds, or even snoring 70-year-olds! And I almost miss the fruit snacks and squished cheerios...
I home teach people my age, and I'm not a junior companion to a high priest anymore! Our conversations aren't about my home teachees' upcoming surgeries or their kids.
Firesides don't always start at 7 p.m. at the chapel anymore . . . sometimes they happen at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, right between classes, in just about any room that has a projector in it!
I see my school friends on Sunday; it still feels wrong most of the time, actually. I'm used to saying, "Sorry, it's on Sunday! But I'll see you at school on Monday!" But now my next-door neighbor, classmate, Sunday School teacher, and make-shift family are all the same person!
In Sunday School we're talking about the Book of Mormon. I also go twice a week to a classroom where we talk about the Book of Mormon--in my religion class. Hour long religions discussion: now not only reserved for Sundays!
The executive secretary for the ward isn't "Brother ______"--it's the guy downstairs! The ward choir director is 18. There is one RM in my ward of 150 people. The brother who sets up the ward bulletin is in my chemistry class.
None of these changes are earth-shaking or even all that unusual. But they're changes.
Before history class starts each day, we say a prayer.
Before every sporting event or performance--a prayer.
On Sunday nights, we get together as a ward, for ward prayer.
Sacrament meeting is eerily quiet--no whispering 10-year-olds, crying 3-year-olds, or even snoring 70-year-olds! And I almost miss the fruit snacks and squished cheerios...
I home teach people my age, and I'm not a junior companion to a high priest anymore! Our conversations aren't about my home teachees' upcoming surgeries or their kids.
Firesides don't always start at 7 p.m. at the chapel anymore . . . sometimes they happen at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, right between classes, in just about any room that has a projector in it!
I see my school friends on Sunday; it still feels wrong most of the time, actually. I'm used to saying, "Sorry, it's on Sunday! But I'll see you at school on Monday!" But now my next-door neighbor, classmate, Sunday School teacher, and make-shift family are all the same person!
In Sunday School we're talking about the Book of Mormon. I also go twice a week to a classroom where we talk about the Book of Mormon--in my religion class. Hour long religions discussion: now not only reserved for Sundays!
The executive secretary for the ward isn't "Brother ______"--it's the guy downstairs! The ward choir director is 18. There is one RM in my ward of 150 people. The brother who sets up the ward bulletin is in my chemistry class.
None of these changes are earth-shaking or even all that unusual. But they're changes.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It's Pulla
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
You could compare it to a cinnamon roll, but it's so much better than that. It's pulla, or at least one kind of pulla. Sini says the Finnish make it all the time, and Monday night, she instructed her FHE group in the art.
The dough seemed simple enough to whip up (eggs, flour, sugar, yeast, butter . . . some other stuff). For many, the dough alone was too good to resist. Sini was slapping hands away from the bowl even before the guys piled on heaps of butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
After creating the little pulla pinwheels you see above, there was a special thumb press that was supposed to add aesthetics (think of making a "thumbs down" sign and then jabbing your thumb into the dough), though no one quite mastered it. Even harder was making perfectly spherical pullas—the next level of difficulty in the tiers of pulla-making (the bread comes in multiple shapes and sizes). It takes a lot of muscle--watch Sini demonstrate below.
After all was said and done, the FHE group left Sini's kitchen smelling sweeter than they found it, which is hard to do considering the smell of fresh-baked brownies wafting when they entered. She's quite the cook. One roommate was munching on Sini's homemade bread throughout the evening, another was raving about her walnut chicken, and the guys praised her weekly confections.
And did you know that Sini can sing BOTH verses of Book of Mormon Stories in Finnish? Yep, much to the chagrin of her FHE peers, who collectively insist that there is only one. What an FHE mom.
You could compare it to a cinnamon roll, but it's so much better than that. It's pulla, or at least one kind of pulla. Sini says the Finnish make it all the time, and Monday night, she instructed her FHE group in the art.
The dough seemed simple enough to whip up (eggs, flour, sugar, yeast, butter . . . some other stuff). For many, the dough alone was too good to resist. Sini was slapping hands away from the bowl even before the guys piled on heaps of butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
After creating the little pulla pinwheels you see above, there was a special thumb press that was supposed to add aesthetics (think of making a "thumbs down" sign and then jabbing your thumb into the dough), though no one quite mastered it. Even harder was making perfectly spherical pullas—the next level of difficulty in the tiers of pulla-making (the bread comes in multiple shapes and sizes). It takes a lot of muscle--watch Sini demonstrate below.
After all was said and done, the FHE group left Sini's kitchen smelling sweeter than they found it, which is hard to do considering the smell of fresh-baked brownies wafting when they entered. She's quite the cook. One roommate was munching on Sini's homemade bread throughout the evening, another was raving about her walnut chicken, and the guys praised her weekly confections.
And did you know that Sini can sing BOTH verses of Book of Mormon Stories in Finnish? Yep, much to the chagrin of her FHE peers, who collectively insist that there is only one. What an FHE mom.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Halfway Day
Posted by Braden
Today was halfway day!
We are halfway done with our first semester of BYU--how bizarre! On the one hand, it feels like I'm still just getting situated. My routine is a little bit flexible yet, I still don't know which names belong to which buildings, and my roommates and I still occasionally develop new "dorm policy." On the other hand, after completing two midterms for most of my classes, I should say it's about time we're halfway done!
No profound thoughts on this topic. Just wow . . . we're halfway done with our first semester. This college life ain't too rough after all!
Today was halfway day!
We are halfway done with our first semester of BYU--how bizarre! On the one hand, it feels like I'm still just getting situated. My routine is a little bit flexible yet, I still don't know which names belong to which buildings, and my roommates and I still occasionally develop new "dorm policy." On the other hand, after completing two midterms for most of my classes, I should say it's about time we're halfway done!
No profound thoughts on this topic. Just wow . . . we're halfway done with our first semester. This college life ain't too rough after all!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wearing Ice Cream
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
Sini’s favorite FHE activity, at least thus far into the semester, required her group to plow through copious bowls of cereal to provide enough boxes for a cereal-box-boat relay. The competing vessels, crafted out of Honey Bunches of Oats, Life, Rice Krispies, and others, were launched in the stream by Heritage Halls. "I think Cinnamon Toast Crunch won, but I can't remember," she says. "Then we bought a lot of ice cream and just scooped it out onto the table with all of the toppings. We all sat down and started eating it off the table." A giant ice cream fight ensued, "in our apartment!" Sini cries. "It was a huge mess."
Sini’s favorite FHE activity, at least thus far into the semester, required her group to plow through copious bowls of cereal to provide enough boxes for a cereal-box-boat relay. The competing vessels, crafted out of Honey Bunches of Oats, Life, Rice Krispies, and others, were launched in the stream by Heritage Halls. "I think Cinnamon Toast Crunch won, but I can't remember," she says. "Then we bought a lot of ice cream and just scooped it out onto the table with all of the toppings. We all sat down and started eating it off the table." A giant ice cream fight ensued, "in our apartment!" Sini cries. "It was a huge mess."
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Jack-Y-Lantern
Posted by Laura
This weekend, my apartment of girls had a huge group date and carved pumpkins together. It was so much fun, and we never even got close to burning down the apartment.
Instead of doing a face, I carved a Y into mine and it reminded me of homecoming week when I was able to "light up the Y." It was a bunch of fun and it was really neat to get to know everybody even more.
This weekend, my apartment of girls had a huge group date and carved pumpkins together. It was so much fun, and we never even got close to burning down the apartment.Instead of doing a face, I carved a Y into mine and it reminded me of homecoming week when I was able to "light up the Y." It was a bunch of fun and it was really neat to get to know everybody even more.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Apartment Sleepover
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
Living in the same apartment wasn’t enough: Sini and her roommates held a roommate sleepover in the kitchen, mattresses and all. And at 2 a.m., the setting also made them hungry. They decided to make banana pancakes. “After we had giggled, eaten delicious pancakes, spilt hot chocolate everywhere, and started a quote wall, we all slept together on the kitchen floor. But the fun didn’t end. After a while one of my roommates started praying in her sleep. And it was a long prayer. . .”
Living in the same apartment wasn’t enough: Sini and her roommates held a roommate sleepover in the kitchen, mattresses and all. And at 2 a.m., the setting also made them hungry. They decided to make banana pancakes. “After we had giggled, eaten delicious pancakes, spilt hot chocolate everywhere, and started a quote wall, we all slept together on the kitchen floor. But the fun didn’t end. After a while one of my roommates started praying in her sleep. And it was a long prayer. . .”
Friday, October 16, 2009
What did Confucius say to Oedipus?
Posted by Braden
I'm normally not one to enjoy learning about dead people and old wars. My History of Creativity class, however, is pretty painless as far as history classes go. We skip over all of the boring aspects of ancient civilizations, as far as I am concerned, and learn instead about what creative innovations each of those leaders or civilizations made!
We recently had our first exam. The first section listed five ancient people/places/things, and we had to uniquely identify them in terms of something creative that they had done. The second section involved matching terms--not too difficult. The third section was a take home portion with the instructions "Write a fable of your invention, in the style of Aesop, in which the subject of the fable is life at BYU." And the fourth portion was my favorite: the essay section--but not a typical essay. Instead, we were told, "Oedipus has just found out that he married his mother and killed his father. Your assignment is to write down the advice that the following four people would give to him, were they there with him at that moment in time." And the four people were Confucius, Buddha, Aristotle, and a fourth whom we got to choose--I chose Alexander the Great.
I laughed as soon as I saw the prompt...and then again throughout the rest of that section of the exam. It just felt too much like the setup for a joke--"What did Confucius say to Oedipus?" And then right after that should be some pun or play on history to make everyone listening laugh. I did well on the exam, and wrote what I believe was some very profound Confucian, Buddhist, Aristotelian, and Alexandrian advice--but what a class, to ask such things! The variety of classes and information available here at BYU is truly incredible.
I'm normally not one to enjoy learning about dead people and old wars. My History of Creativity class, however, is pretty painless as far as history classes go. We skip over all of the boring aspects of ancient civilizations, as far as I am concerned, and learn instead about what creative innovations each of those leaders or civilizations made!
We recently had our first exam. The first section listed five ancient people/places/things, and we had to uniquely identify them in terms of something creative that they had done. The second section involved matching terms--not too difficult. The third section was a take home portion with the instructions "Write a fable of your invention, in the style of Aesop, in which the subject of the fable is life at BYU." And the fourth portion was my favorite: the essay section--but not a typical essay. Instead, we were told, "Oedipus has just found out that he married his mother and killed his father. Your assignment is to write down the advice that the following four people would give to him, were they there with him at that moment in time." And the four people were Confucius, Buddha, Aristotle, and a fourth whom we got to choose--I chose Alexander the Great.
I laughed as soon as I saw the prompt...and then again throughout the rest of that section of the exam. It just felt too much like the setup for a joke--"What did Confucius say to Oedipus?" And then right after that should be some pun or play on history to make everyone listening laugh. I did well on the exam, and wrote what I believe was some very profound Confucian, Buddhist, Aristotelian, and Alexandrian advice--but what a class, to ask such things! The variety of classes and information available here at BYU is truly incredible.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Is It Just Me? Or Is Marriage Being Shoved Down My Throat?
Posted by Elise
All week, every time I turned around, someone was telling me to get married! Or at least talking about it like it should be a prominent part of my life right now. From the chastity lesson in Sunday school to the childbirth video in Human Development, it's starting to make me sick--and that's not just an expression! It's even seeping into my dreams--no joke! Don't get me wrong--marriage is great! It's a fabulous stage of life, but I am nowhere near that stage right now! I've been on five dates in my whole life; I am not ready to choose an eternal companion.
Sorry to all of you who had to read this. I'm sure the rants of a frustrated freshman are pretty boring. But everyone's allowed their rant every once in a while, right?
All week, every time I turned around, someone was telling me to get married! Or at least talking about it like it should be a prominent part of my life right now. From the chastity lesson in Sunday school to the childbirth video in Human Development, it's starting to make me sick--and that's not just an expression! It's even seeping into my dreams--no joke! Don't get me wrong--marriage is great! It's a fabulous stage of life, but I am nowhere near that stage right now! I've been on five dates in my whole life; I am not ready to choose an eternal companion.
Sorry to all of you who had to read this. I'm sure the rants of a frustrated freshman are pretty boring. But everyone's allowed their rant every once in a while, right?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
They Did! They Did Call Me on a Mission!
Posted by Braden
Our ward had its first mission call opening today!
A boy came knocking on our door, and my roommate answered.
"Hey, it's almost 6:30--make sure you get downstairs in time!"
"For what?"
"Eric is opening his mission call."
"Guys! Guys! We gotta go downstairs! Eric's opening his mission call!"
And so it went throughout both halls in our ward. There were probably about 75 kids in our lobby by the time Eric opened the letter. He had both sets of grandparents on cell phones, his family at home on another phone, and the kid next to him had Eric's camera, turned to "video."
He opened it up and read those lines we've all heard but a lot of us have never heard in context as it's happening...
"Dear Elder Smith, You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to serve in the Charlotte, North Carolina Mission."
And then nobody can hear anything after that because of the cheers, whoops, hollers, clapping, squealing, etc.
It was extremely exciting! It's so fun to think that we're going to get to have dozens more of those moments before the school year is over! It really made at least me want to say, "School can wait--I'm turning in my papers tomorrow!" But then reason kicks in and I remember all the reasons why I have to wait a few more months yet. It was still fun to watch. :)
Our ward had its first mission call opening today!
A boy came knocking on our door, and my roommate answered.
"Hey, it's almost 6:30--make sure you get downstairs in time!"
"For what?"
"Eric is opening his mission call."
"Guys! Guys! We gotta go downstairs! Eric's opening his mission call!"
And so it went throughout both halls in our ward. There were probably about 75 kids in our lobby by the time Eric opened the letter. He had both sets of grandparents on cell phones, his family at home on another phone, and the kid next to him had Eric's camera, turned to "video."
He opened it up and read those lines we've all heard but a lot of us have never heard in context as it's happening...
"Dear Elder Smith, You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to serve in the Charlotte, North Carolina Mission."
And then nobody can hear anything after that because of the cheers, whoops, hollers, clapping, squealing, etc.
It was extremely exciting! It's so fun to think that we're going to get to have dozens more of those moments before the school year is over! It really made at least me want to say, "School can wait--I'm turning in my papers tomorrow!" But then reason kicks in and I remember all the reasons why I have to wait a few more months yet. It was still fun to watch. :)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Research Journals
Posted by Braden
I have to write a 7-8 page research paper for biology--that's not so bad. We have to cite at least 6 "primary sources" in it--that struck me at first as kinda bad.
By "primary source," he means basically that we need to get our information from peer-reviewed research journal articles. The problem is, these journals aren't really in English. They use the same pronouns, articles, and punctuation as us, but they don't actually use English. For example, one of the sentences that I quote in my paper is, "There is evidence that impaired glucose regulation is associated with impaired cognition, particularly episodic memory." There are many statements made in these articles that are a lot less decipherable than the one given, but you get the idea.
So, after hunting down eight articles from the library research journal database (which is amazing, by the way) on the topic on which I am doing my paper--the possibility of improving one's ability to memorize information by physiological, emotional, or circumstantial means--I sat down at home with a highlighter, a pen, and a long night ahead of me, with the intent to hack my way through them in one sitting and have the necessary material for writing a thesis statement by the end of it. I got started, and...
...2.5 hours later...
...this is awesome! It's a shame I only have a couple articles left. Did you know that being in the same setting where you learned information won't necessarily help you recall that information any better, but it will make you more likely to overwrite that memory with later episodes that take place in that setting? Or that early sleep (SWS) and late sleep (REM) have different effects on what your brain converts to long term memory or consolidates? Or that getting extra glucose to the brain--eating a candy bar--actually does aid in short term memory retention?
I found myself really intrigued by the experiments explained by these researchers and wishing that I had something equally interesting to test, write up, and present to the academic world.
I've always planned on eventually taking part in research in my field of study--this expected-to-be-painful but actually enjoyable experience gave me one more confirmation that I really wouldn't mind doing that sort of work for the next 40 years of my life. Thank you, biology research paper!
I have to write a 7-8 page research paper for biology--that's not so bad. We have to cite at least 6 "primary sources" in it--that struck me at first as kinda bad.
By "primary source," he means basically that we need to get our information from peer-reviewed research journal articles. The problem is, these journals aren't really in English. They use the same pronouns, articles, and punctuation as us, but they don't actually use English. For example, one of the sentences that I quote in my paper is, "There is evidence that impaired glucose regulation is associated with impaired cognition, particularly episodic memory." There are many statements made in these articles that are a lot less decipherable than the one given, but you get the idea.
So, after hunting down eight articles from the library research journal database (which is amazing, by the way) on the topic on which I am doing my paper--the possibility of improving one's ability to memorize information by physiological, emotional, or circumstantial means--I sat down at home with a highlighter, a pen, and a long night ahead of me, with the intent to hack my way through them in one sitting and have the necessary material for writing a thesis statement by the end of it. I got started, and...
...2.5 hours later...
...this is awesome! It's a shame I only have a couple articles left. Did you know that being in the same setting where you learned information won't necessarily help you recall that information any better, but it will make you more likely to overwrite that memory with later episodes that take place in that setting? Or that early sleep (SWS) and late sleep (REM) have different effects on what your brain converts to long term memory or consolidates? Or that getting extra glucose to the brain--eating a candy bar--actually does aid in short term memory retention?
I found myself really intrigued by the experiments explained by these researchers and wishing that I had something equally interesting to test, write up, and present to the academic world.
I've always planned on eventually taking part in research in my field of study--this expected-to-be-painful but actually enjoyable experience gave me one more confirmation that I really wouldn't mind doing that sort of work for the next 40 years of my life. Thank you, biology research paper!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday Dinner Disaster
Posted by Ashley
I'm not quite sure why but my roommates and I have never had a meal together or prepared one together. So we decided that we wanted to start having dinner together on Sundays. Yesterday was our first one. We made pizza . . . sort of.
We had the dough and the sauce and the cheese all ready on the pan to go into the oven. We made two pizzas. When we went to put them in the oven, the pans didn't fit. Our oven is a lot smaller than what we are use to at home. So we didn't know what to do other than try to move them to smaller pans . . . this just destroyed our pizza. But we cooked it anyway. We left the second pizza on the large pan and cooked it with the oven door partially open.
Luckily we were all hungry and would eat anything. The one pizza that we left on the big pan was still a bit doughy and the other did not look to pleasant but actually wasnt too bad. It was more of a casserole pizza. But we all enjoyed the laughs we had from this experience. Hopefully next time we will remember our oven is a lot smaller than what we are use to.
I'm not quite sure why but my roommates and I have never had a meal together or prepared one together. So we decided that we wanted to start having dinner together on Sundays. Yesterday was our first one. We made pizza . . . sort of.
We had the dough and the sauce and the cheese all ready on the pan to go into the oven. We made two pizzas. When we went to put them in the oven, the pans didn't fit. Our oven is a lot smaller than what we are use to at home. So we didn't know what to do other than try to move them to smaller pans . . . this just destroyed our pizza. But we cooked it anyway. We left the second pizza on the large pan and cooked it with the oven door partially open.
Luckily we were all hungry and would eat anything. The one pizza that we left on the big pan was still a bit doughy and the other did not look to pleasant but actually wasnt too bad. It was more of a casserole pizza. But we all enjoyed the laughs we had from this experience. Hopefully next time we will remember our oven is a lot smaller than what we are use to.Sunday, October 11, 2009
Cooking up a Storm...
Posted by Laura
Unlike some other wards which have ward prayer, we have ward dessert night every Sunday. It's fun to mix and mingle with each other to try to learn names, and I think the desserts alone draw big crowds.
Each Sunday during priesthood and Relief Society, they assign out five or so boxes of Betty Crocker cookie mixes. If you leave church with a box, you are supposed to call up a boy/girl to bake it with and then bring it for the ward to eat at the dessert night. It's actually quite the idea, and they have explained to everyone countless times that if someone calls you up to bake cookies, don't worry and freak out, it's not a date. :)
So today I was assigned a box--a sugar cookie mix--and with it came the assignment to call up and ask someone to bake it with me. I asked Matt, one of the most hilarious people I have met at BYU, and together we baked cookies. It was an unforgettable experience. We about burned down the apartment twice because we burnt one batch to the crisp and then caught the other on fire.
We threw it in the sink, so it became a soggy, reeking mess. The smoke probably took a couple years off of my life, and it woke my roommates up from their Sunday naps. Luckily, I had an extra brownie mix in the pantry, which was the key to our success because you can't tell if you burn brownies because they are already brown. :)
We brought a plate of brownies and frosted black cookies to distribute to the ward with pride.
Unlike some other wards which have ward prayer, we have ward dessert night every Sunday. It's fun to mix and mingle with each other to try to learn names, and I think the desserts alone draw big crowds.Each Sunday during priesthood and Relief Society, they assign out five or so boxes of Betty Crocker cookie mixes. If you leave church with a box, you are supposed to call up a boy/girl to bake it with and then bring it for the ward to eat at the dessert night. It's actually quite the idea, and they have explained to everyone countless times that if someone calls you up to bake cookies, don't worry and freak out, it's not a date. :)
So today I was assigned a box--a sugar cookie mix--and with it came the assignment to call up and ask someone to bake it with me. I asked Matt, one of the most hilarious people I have met at BYU, and together we baked cookies. It was an unforgettable experience. We about burned down the apartment twice because we burnt one batch to the crisp and then caught the other on fire.
We threw it in the sink, so it became a soggy, reeking mess. The smoke probably took a couple years off of my life, and it woke my roommates up from their Sunday naps. Luckily, I had an extra brownie mix in the pantry, which was the key to our success because you can't tell if you burn brownies because they are already brown. :)
We brought a plate of brownies and frosted black cookies to distribute to the ward with pride.
Friday, October 9, 2009
In Which Order Did Lehi's Family Enter the Ship?
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
The Testing Center holds some mystery for first-timers. “It’s weird that you can take the test whenever you want,” says Sini. “You don’t have a certain time.”
Her first test there, a Book of Mormon test, had a Tuesday-Saturday run. “I’ll probably take it Thursday, because when it’s Friday, I feel like Friday.” She was more worried about taking a multiple choice test. “We don’t have multiple choice in Finland. It’s all essays,” she says. Then there was the apprehension about being graded on her knowledge of the Book of Mormon. “I have to think, ‘OK, this is nothing to do with my testimony.’”
In the end, a score of 92 out of 100 shone down from the TV monitor in the Testing Center on one elated freshman. “I was so happy,” Sini says. “Some people told me the professor would ask ridiculous detailed questions, like ‘In which order did Lehi’s family enter the ship?’ Luckily, he didn’t.” The questions were reasonable, Sini says. “I don’t mean it was easy or anything. Actually, the night before I stayed up until 2 a.m. and studied. But it was worth it!”
The Testing Center holds some mystery for first-timers. “It’s weird that you can take the test whenever you want,” says Sini. “You don’t have a certain time.”
Her first test there, a Book of Mormon test, had a Tuesday-Saturday run. “I’ll probably take it Thursday, because when it’s Friday, I feel like Friday.” She was more worried about taking a multiple choice test. “We don’t have multiple choice in Finland. It’s all essays,” she says. Then there was the apprehension about being graded on her knowledge of the Book of Mormon. “I have to think, ‘OK, this is nothing to do with my testimony.’”
In the end, a score of 92 out of 100 shone down from the TV monitor in the Testing Center on one elated freshman. “I was so happy,” Sini says. “Some people told me the professor would ask ridiculous detailed questions, like ‘In which order did Lehi’s family enter the ship?’ Luckily, he didn’t.” The questions were reasonable, Sini says. “I don’t mean it was easy or anything. Actually, the night before I stayed up until 2 a.m. and studied. But it was worth it!”
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Somnambulation
Posted by Braden
To say that one of my dormmates sleepwalks wouldn't quite be right. He very rarely just walks. One time he cooked a meal. Another time he held a conversation--in his sleep. Last night he started banging the blinds and yelling for us all to wake up and get out because there was a fire. There was no fire.
The funny thing is that when he's awake, this kid is one of the nicest, most calm and collected boys I know!
I'm not going to lie, it makes for some pretty interesting nights. We never really know as we go to bed what's going to be happening around 3 a.m. We have found a correlation between what quality of sleep he gets and how likely he is to do something bizarre in his sleep. Loud noises, late nights, or bright lights all seem to have an effect. He doesn't ever remember doing any of the things he does, but his poor roommate is absolutely terrified of going to bed after the somnambulist has.
I asked his roommate one night why in the world he was still up so late when he had 8 a.m. class the next morning, and with fear in his eyes, he murmured, "I just don't want to wake HIM!" I told him that he had a right to open the door and go into his own bedroom, and with a strange, far-off look in his eyes, he said, "You don't know what it's like, man! It's scares the bejeebers out of me every time he goes berserk!" So I laughed and went to bed.
The next morning, the roommate that I'd talked to the night before looked terrible. "It happened, Braden. Not once; three times. THREE TIMES he woke me up screaming and smacking the blinds." And I laughed again, felt sorry for the kid, and ate my breakfast.
What's a guy to do?
To say that one of my dormmates sleepwalks wouldn't quite be right. He very rarely just walks. One time he cooked a meal. Another time he held a conversation--in his sleep. Last night he started banging the blinds and yelling for us all to wake up and get out because there was a fire. There was no fire.
The funny thing is that when he's awake, this kid is one of the nicest, most calm and collected boys I know!
I'm not going to lie, it makes for some pretty interesting nights. We never really know as we go to bed what's going to be happening around 3 a.m. We have found a correlation between what quality of sleep he gets and how likely he is to do something bizarre in his sleep. Loud noises, late nights, or bright lights all seem to have an effect. He doesn't ever remember doing any of the things he does, but his poor roommate is absolutely terrified of going to bed after the somnambulist has.
I asked his roommate one night why in the world he was still up so late when he had 8 a.m. class the next morning, and with fear in his eyes, he murmured, "I just don't want to wake HIM!" I told him that he had a right to open the door and go into his own bedroom, and with a strange, far-off look in his eyes, he said, "You don't know what it's like, man! It's scares the bejeebers out of me every time he goes berserk!" So I laughed and went to bed.
The next morning, the roommate that I'd talked to the night before looked terrible. "It happened, Braden. Not once; three times. THREE TIMES he woke me up screaming and smacking the blinds." And I laughed again, felt sorry for the kid, and ate my breakfast.
What's a guy to do?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
My Side of the Story
Posted by Elise
Ha ha! OK who wants to hear my side of the story?
In our apartment we always use the back door, so it took until noon to discover the door with all the note cards. I walked into the lobby to screaming girls: my roommate and a few friends. They all attack me as soon as they see me. “Look at the door Elise!!!! Its for you!! Oh my gosh!”
So I start out with the sudoku, and of course I’m flustered and have to start over once or twice before I finally figure it out. Oh, and just as a side note, there was a little confusion because my roommate is also named Elise and nothing on the door specified which Elise, so . . . we had to guess based on some of the words on the door. The Fibonacci sequence was the clincher.
My roommate (the other Elise) said, “OK, I have no idea what that even means, so it must be for you.” Then we had to pull out the laptop to look up the Fibonacci sequence, because no one wanted to do that much math. And of course we find all the right note cards and, ta-da!
But here’s the problem: at this point, I had 40 minutes until chemistry and Braden is in that class! I wanted to have a creative response and there was no way I could throw it together in time. So I had to just pretend that I hadn’t seen the door yet and act like I had no idea anything was up. That was SOOO tough!
So then I ran home and got to work. Any girl who’s ever had a creative ask knows the pressure of having to respond creatively and quickly. The Rubik’s Cube was actually my mom’s idea. The spy code words (random phrases about jailbirds or something) were my roommate’s idea. Good thing my other roommate (Daniele) works in the library. And of course peanut butter was a must. And . . . I don’t know where the Russian war book came in, but why not?
All in all, it was crazy and, of course, really fun!
Ha ha! OK who wants to hear my side of the story?
In our apartment we always use the back door, so it took until noon to discover the door with all the note cards. I walked into the lobby to screaming girls: my roommate and a few friends. They all attack me as soon as they see me. “Look at the door Elise!!!! Its for you!! Oh my gosh!”
So I start out with the sudoku, and of course I’m flustered and have to start over once or twice before I finally figure it out. Oh, and just as a side note, there was a little confusion because my roommate is also named Elise and nothing on the door specified which Elise, so . . . we had to guess based on some of the words on the door. The Fibonacci sequence was the clincher.
My roommate (the other Elise) said, “OK, I have no idea what that even means, so it must be for you.” Then we had to pull out the laptop to look up the Fibonacci sequence, because no one wanted to do that much math. And of course we find all the right note cards and, ta-da!
But here’s the problem: at this point, I had 40 minutes until chemistry and Braden is in that class! I wanted to have a creative response and there was no way I could throw it together in time. So I had to just pretend that I hadn’t seen the door yet and act like I had no idea anything was up. That was SOOO tough!
So then I ran home and got to work. Any girl who’s ever had a creative ask knows the pressure of having to respond creatively and quickly. The Rubik’s Cube was actually my mom’s idea. The spy code words (random phrases about jailbirds or something) were my roommate’s idea. Good thing my other roommate (Daniele) works in the library. And of course peanut butter was a must. And . . . I don’t know where the Russian war book came in, but why not?
All in all, it was crazy and, of course, really fun!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Homecoming Shenanigans
Posted by Braden
I had an exciting Monday. :) I asked someone you all may know (Elise Biancardi) to Homecoming Spectacular, and she replied in pretty much the most awesome way I have ever seen.
Part One:
I felt like I should do something for Homecoming, but I didn't really feel like going to a dance. I don't mind dances, but they're not my favorite thing. There is this Homecoming Spectacular thing going on, and I know a girl who would like to see it and who I would like to go with--and that's where it started.
The night before I asked, I filled out about 100 notecards, each with a word and a number. I also found a sudoku puzzle online and attached with it a key for converting numbers to letters. Once the sudoku was solved and the numbers converted to letters, the circled boxes spelled out "Fibonacci." The Fibonacci sequence told my "askee" which cards were relevant; only the cards with numbers that were in the Fibonacci sequence mattered. The 100 notecards were taped to her door--all over her door. The relevant words spelled out: "Elise, will you make Homecoming Spectacular extra spectacular by going with me this Friday night? --Braden"
Along with these cards were a bunch of other cards which had words, phrases, and names like elephant, yellow, date, evening, Erziehung und Wissenschaft, Jason Mraz, not, both, many, David, Chadd, Dwight, John, etc. I made sure that a bunch of the names were of people she knew by looking up her ward's Facebook group and grabbing names from there--creepy, I know, but worth it for the extra confusion, I think.
I taped all the cards and sudoku puzzle up, took a picture, and left for class.
Part Two:
I got home that night around 6 p.m., and my roommates told me that I had received a present about an hour before--a Rubik's Cube with letters and numbers taped to the different faces. I solved that to get a library call number: "HBLL UA 776.P63 513."
I ran to the library to what I think is the Russian military history section--I'm not sure, I can't read Russian--and on p. 513 of that book was an envelope with my name in it.
In this envelope were step-by-step directions leading me to the second-floor periodicals help desk, which the directions said I needed to get to before 7 p.m.
I found the previous clue at 6:50 p.m., so I walked quite briskly through the library, as running is frowned upon, to the described location.
There I found a girl named Daniele, as described by the clues, and spoke the words, "The jailed bird flies at morning." She replied with the second half of the . . . sonnet? . . . and gave me a box.
In that box were Reese's peanut butter cups (I love chocolate and peanut butter!) with colored tops that, when placed in the rainbow spectrum, spelled out "ABSOLUTELY." And Braden rejoiced.
Nobody in Ohio ever responded in sweet ways like that--man, I love Mormon dating culture!
I had an exciting Monday. :) I asked someone you all may know (Elise Biancardi) to Homecoming Spectacular, and she replied in pretty much the most awesome way I have ever seen.
Part One:I felt like I should do something for Homecoming, but I didn't really feel like going to a dance. I don't mind dances, but they're not my favorite thing. There is this Homecoming Spectacular thing going on, and I know a girl who would like to see it and who I would like to go with--and that's where it started.
The night before I asked, I filled out about 100 notecards, each with a word and a number. I also found a sudoku puzzle online and attached with it a key for converting numbers to letters. Once the sudoku was solved and the numbers converted to letters, the circled boxes spelled out "Fibonacci." The Fibonacci sequence told my "askee" which cards were relevant; only the cards with numbers that were in the Fibonacci sequence mattered. The 100 notecards were taped to her door--all over her door. The relevant words spelled out: "Elise, will you make Homecoming Spectacular extra spectacular by going with me this Friday night? --Braden"
Along with these cards were a bunch of other cards which had words, phrases, and names like elephant, yellow, date, evening, Erziehung und Wissenschaft, Jason Mraz, not, both, many, David, Chadd, Dwight, John, etc. I made sure that a bunch of the names were of people she knew by looking up her ward's Facebook group and grabbing names from there--creepy, I know, but worth it for the extra confusion, I think.I taped all the cards and sudoku puzzle up, took a picture, and left for class.
Part Two:
I got home that night around 6 p.m., and my roommates told me that I had received a present about an hour before--a Rubik's Cube with letters and numbers taped to the different faces. I solved that to get a library call number: "HBLL UA 776.P63 513."
I ran to the library to what I think is the Russian military history section--I'm not sure, I can't read Russian--and on p. 513 of that book was an envelope with my name in it.In this envelope were step-by-step directions leading me to the second-floor periodicals help desk, which the directions said I needed to get to before 7 p.m.
I found the previous clue at 6:50 p.m., so I walked quite briskly through the library, as running is frowned upon, to the described location.
There I found a girl named Daniele, as described by the clues, and spoke the words, "The jailed bird flies at morning." She replied with the second half of the . . . sonnet? . . . and gave me a box.In that box were Reese's peanut butter cups (I love chocolate and peanut butter!) with colored tops that, when placed in the rainbow spectrum, spelled out "ABSOLUTELY." And Braden rejoiced.
Nobody in Ohio ever responded in sweet ways like that--man, I love Mormon dating culture!
Monday, October 5, 2009
My Head Is Spinning
Posted by Sarah
I guess in order for you to fully understand the irony of this situation I have to start from the beginning.
When I was scheduling for my classes I had signed up for Math 112 (trig-based calc) and Chem 111 (calc-based chem). When I found out that pretty much the whole thing was based on trigonometry, I asked my advisor if I should take trig first and wait on the other ones until after I had taken that class. He talked to some people who had taken Math 112 recently and they said it didn't really matter and that the professors taught you all the trig you needed to know anyway.
In calculus the first day the professor starts talking about cosigns and tangents and I'm totally lost. I went to talk to him about it later because I'm concerned! If that's the way the whole class is going to be, I need to get out and learn trig first. He says, "I'll think you'll be fine. I took trig before my mission and when I got back to take calc I had forgotten most of it. I just memorized this table and I did well." I'm not trying to bash the teacher or anything, but I really should have just gotten out then. I tried to memorize the table but none of it made any sense.
I get to chemistry, and it's pretty much the same thing. I don't get the math. Everything is just spinning around in my head while I try to make sense of something that's pretty much hopeless.
By the time I figured out there was no hope of understanding, the drop deadline had passed. I figured that meant I was stuck in these classes until December, I'd try to teach myself the stuff I needed, I'd do horribly, and have to retake the classes. I just hoped they wouldn't kick me out for failing two classes my first semester.
Then today I'm in my student development class where my professor happens to be my advisor, and he mentions that today is the withdrawal deadline. I can still get out of those classes! Awesome, I found my way out.
I get to his office later and discover that it's not that easy. Since I'm on a scholarship, I have to have a minimum of 12 credit hours. If I drop those two classes, I'm down to seven. I can add second block classes that run from Oct. 22 to the normal end of semester date though. But do those even count towards the scholarship?
So I go down to the scholarship office and find out. After a long and very technical conversation, I find out that I'm good as far as scholarships go, but my Financial Aid will be affected. So, I have to pay back $1,500 from my Pell Grant. Still better that getting Fs.
Now that I'm short $1,500, I don't know if I can afford to stay living where I am. It's kinda expensive here. Then I went to the off-campus housing office because I have friends who live off campus and their rent is a lot less than mine. I figure that could be a better option. They gave me a list of openings and the contact info to try to get out of my on-campus housing contract. It was so far away that I just didn't really want to walk. I'm going to leave that to tomorrow. I have nothing to do on Tuesdays anyway. Plus, I still have to figure some more things out and I'm tired already. It's just barely 5 p.m. Dinner then nap sounds good right now.
Don't you just love giant chain reactions that never seem to end?
I guess in order for you to fully understand the irony of this situation I have to start from the beginning.
When I was scheduling for my classes I had signed up for Math 112 (trig-based calc) and Chem 111 (calc-based chem). When I found out that pretty much the whole thing was based on trigonometry, I asked my advisor if I should take trig first and wait on the other ones until after I had taken that class. He talked to some people who had taken Math 112 recently and they said it didn't really matter and that the professors taught you all the trig you needed to know anyway.
In calculus the first day the professor starts talking about cosigns and tangents and I'm totally lost. I went to talk to him about it later because I'm concerned! If that's the way the whole class is going to be, I need to get out and learn trig first. He says, "I'll think you'll be fine. I took trig before my mission and when I got back to take calc I had forgotten most of it. I just memorized this table and I did well." I'm not trying to bash the teacher or anything, but I really should have just gotten out then. I tried to memorize the table but none of it made any sense.
I get to chemistry, and it's pretty much the same thing. I don't get the math. Everything is just spinning around in my head while I try to make sense of something that's pretty much hopeless.
By the time I figured out there was no hope of understanding, the drop deadline had passed. I figured that meant I was stuck in these classes until December, I'd try to teach myself the stuff I needed, I'd do horribly, and have to retake the classes. I just hoped they wouldn't kick me out for failing two classes my first semester.
Then today I'm in my student development class where my professor happens to be my advisor, and he mentions that today is the withdrawal deadline. I can still get out of those classes! Awesome, I found my way out.
I get to his office later and discover that it's not that easy. Since I'm on a scholarship, I have to have a minimum of 12 credit hours. If I drop those two classes, I'm down to seven. I can add second block classes that run from Oct. 22 to the normal end of semester date though. But do those even count towards the scholarship?
So I go down to the scholarship office and find out. After a long and very technical conversation, I find out that I'm good as far as scholarships go, but my Financial Aid will be affected. So, I have to pay back $1,500 from my Pell Grant. Still better that getting Fs.
Now that I'm short $1,500, I don't know if I can afford to stay living where I am. It's kinda expensive here. Then I went to the off-campus housing office because I have friends who live off campus and their rent is a lot less than mine. I figure that could be a better option. They gave me a list of openings and the contact info to try to get out of my on-campus housing contract. It was so far away that I just didn't really want to walk. I'm going to leave that to tomorrow. I have nothing to do on Tuesdays anyway. Plus, I still have to figure some more things out and I'm tired already. It's just barely 5 p.m. Dinner then nap sounds good right now.
Don't you just love giant chain reactions that never seem to end?
General Conference Feast
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
“Where do all the freshmen go on general conference weekend?” Sini asks. “No one was around.” She and her roommates--those who hadn’t gone home--were feeling abandoned in Heritage Halls, so they went out in search of dinner company.
“We actually went and knocked doors around Heritage. Finally someone answered the door, and he agreed to come!” Their dinner guest arrived late but had found plenty of time to spread the word. “These two [other] guys show up and are all, ‘Is this where dinner is?’ And we were all, ‘Sure . . . .’”
“Where do all the freshmen go on general conference weekend?” Sini asks. “No one was around.” She and her roommates--those who hadn’t gone home--were feeling abandoned in Heritage Halls, so they went out in search of dinner company.
“We actually went and knocked doors around Heritage. Finally someone answered the door, and he agreed to come!” Their dinner guest arrived late but had found plenty of time to spread the word. “These two [other] guys show up and are all, ‘Is this where dinner is?’ And we were all, ‘Sure . . . .’”
Sunday, October 4, 2009
My Amazing Weekend!
Posted by Ashley
All my roommates were planning on going home and staying with family for conference weekend. Since I don't have family in Utah, I called up my friend whose family I consider my second family, and they were happy to let me come stay with them over the weekend.
So my roommate's dad is a bishop, so he was able to get us tickets to go to conference on Saturday morning. I was SO excited. I had never been to the Conference Center for general conference before (actually the first time I was there was the weekend before when my other roommate invited me to go to the general Relief Society broadcast). Not all my roommates were able to go to conference, so the one with the tickets offered me another ticket so I could bring my friend. We took the FrontRunner and the Trax to get to Salt Lake. It was quite the adventure.
I love conference. Last week it was what kept me going. I was so excited. Every time someone mentioned conference, I wanted to scream with excitement. Being able to actually be in the Conference Center was AMAZING. I loved it. This weekend was so great. I loved all the talks. I enjoyed being with my "family." They felt bad for not doing anything exciting while I was with them . . . but I really enjoyed just being able to relax and not have to think about school for a bit and just enjoy the time with people I love. It made me miss my family but I was glad that I was able to be in the family environment for that fabulous weekend. Not to mention the wonderful home-cooked delicious meals and treats.
I loved what Elder Andersen said during the Saturday morning session about not knowing everything but knowing enough. I definitely got a lot out of those meetings. I can't wait until next conference.
All my roommates were planning on going home and staying with family for conference weekend. Since I don't have family in Utah, I called up my friend whose family I consider my second family, and they were happy to let me come stay with them over the weekend.
So my roommate's dad is a bishop, so he was able to get us tickets to go to conference on Saturday morning. I was SO excited. I had never been to the Conference Center for general conference before (actually the first time I was there was the weekend before when my other roommate invited me to go to the general Relief Society broadcast). Not all my roommates were able to go to conference, so the one with the tickets offered me another ticket so I could bring my friend. We took the FrontRunner and the Trax to get to Salt Lake. It was quite the adventure.
I love conference. Last week it was what kept me going. I was so excited. Every time someone mentioned conference, I wanted to scream with excitement. Being able to actually be in the Conference Center was AMAZING. I loved it. This weekend was so great. I loved all the talks. I enjoyed being with my "family." They felt bad for not doing anything exciting while I was with them . . . but I really enjoyed just being able to relax and not have to think about school for a bit and just enjoy the time with people I love. It made me miss my family but I was glad that I was able to be in the family environment for that fabulous weekend. Not to mention the wonderful home-cooked delicious meals and treats.
I loved what Elder Andersen said during the Saturday morning session about not knowing everything but knowing enough. I definitely got a lot out of those meetings. I can't wait until next conference.
No Pez...but still Conference
Posted by Braden
My mother did an excellent job training us children from a young age to look forward to general conference weekend.
Before it started, we'd move the couch and a few extra chairs into the computer room, and we kids would stake out our little domains where we could set up our notebook, blanket to sit on, water bottle, etc.
During each session, we got one packet of Pez candies. With 12 candies in each pack, and each session 120 minutes, I always had a chart to fill in whenever another 10 minutes had passed by and I was allowed to eat one more Pez to stay on schedule.
We also played the classic general conference games--mark the speaker on your big picture of all the general authorities . . . count how many times they said the word "faith" . . . write down the reference whenever they refer to a "scripture mastery" scripture from seminary, etc.
My favorite part by far though: every Saturday, between the two afternoon sessions, we'd go out to eat as a family. And not just out to eat--we went to the all-you-can-eat buffet place! I can still taste the delicious, savory, tangy, juicy, spicy, salty, sugary . . . you get the idea.
For this first general conference away from home, I sat at my desk--the one I do homework at every night. I pulled the streaming video up on the computer, and watched it, taking notes. Between sessions, I made myself lunch . . . from the ingredients in the fridge and my cupboard . . . like I do every day . . .
I went to the Marriott Center for priesthood session, since it isn't shown anywhere else, but this time there was no ice cream social beforehand, and the seats didn't have those nifty little comfortable cushions that church seats do.
Sunday I did the same thing--I watched conference on my computer. Without Pez.
And yet, conference was just as enjoyable as ever! It seems I get more out of the talks with every passing six-month period! I took lots of notes and wrote a few dates in my planner in the next couple weeks to pull them out and reread them, to make sure I don't forget what they told us to do. At hall council we talked about our favorite talks, and I'll be sure to look them up as soon as the Ensign is published online.
Yes, it was a bummer not having the little sugar-packed Pez every 10 minutes on the dot. And man, would I sure enjoy going to the buffet with my little brothers and sister again! But I watched the same talks and heard the same music as my family back home--albeit 2 hours earlier than I'm used to having conference--and the meeting itself was just as enjoyable here as it ever was back home.
Who knew? The Church is still true--even without Pez!
My mother did an excellent job training us children from a young age to look forward to general conference weekend.
Before it started, we'd move the couch and a few extra chairs into the computer room, and we kids would stake out our little domains where we could set up our notebook, blanket to sit on, water bottle, etc.
During each session, we got one packet of Pez candies. With 12 candies in each pack, and each session 120 minutes, I always had a chart to fill in whenever another 10 minutes had passed by and I was allowed to eat one more Pez to stay on schedule.
We also played the classic general conference games--mark the speaker on your big picture of all the general authorities . . . count how many times they said the word "faith" . . . write down the reference whenever they refer to a "scripture mastery" scripture from seminary, etc.
My favorite part by far though: every Saturday, between the two afternoon sessions, we'd go out to eat as a family. And not just out to eat--we went to the all-you-can-eat buffet place! I can still taste the delicious, savory, tangy, juicy, spicy, salty, sugary . . . you get the idea.
For this first general conference away from home, I sat at my desk--the one I do homework at every night. I pulled the streaming video up on the computer, and watched it, taking notes. Between sessions, I made myself lunch . . . from the ingredients in the fridge and my cupboard . . . like I do every day . . .
I went to the Marriott Center for priesthood session, since it isn't shown anywhere else, but this time there was no ice cream social beforehand, and the seats didn't have those nifty little comfortable cushions that church seats do.
Sunday I did the same thing--I watched conference on my computer. Without Pez.
And yet, conference was just as enjoyable as ever! It seems I get more out of the talks with every passing six-month period! I took lots of notes and wrote a few dates in my planner in the next couple weeks to pull them out and reread them, to make sure I don't forget what they told us to do. At hall council we talked about our favorite talks, and I'll be sure to look them up as soon as the Ensign is published online.
Yes, it was a bummer not having the little sugar-packed Pez every 10 minutes on the dot. And man, would I sure enjoy going to the buffet with my little brothers and sister again! But I watched the same talks and heard the same music as my family back home--albeit 2 hours earlier than I'm used to having conference--and the meeting itself was just as enjoyable here as it ever was back home.
Who knew? The Church is still true--even without Pez!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Issues
Posted by Sarah
Last weekend something really bad happened at home. My brother got hurt completely unnecessarily and I got a phone call Sunday after church telling me about it. I am one of the most protective people I know and I abhor not being able to help people when things like that happen. Even if the only thing I could do was give him a hug to make him feel better, I would have served my purpose but being 2,500 miles away, there's nothing I can do. I envy everyone who can get in a car and drive home for the weekend. I would willingly drive for hours to be able to see my family. I have enough money for a plane ticket, but my mom would kill me if I missed classes, and going back for just the weekend would only make me feel worse. So I'm stuck between the infamous rock and hard place.
Not to mention the fact that I did horribly on all my tests this week. The math involved in the major I chose is way too difficult, so I think I'm going to end up changing majors here pretty quick. I'm thinking maybe art history.
Last weekend something really bad happened at home. My brother got hurt completely unnecessarily and I got a phone call Sunday after church telling me about it. I am one of the most protective people I know and I abhor not being able to help people when things like that happen. Even if the only thing I could do was give him a hug to make him feel better, I would have served my purpose but being 2,500 miles away, there's nothing I can do. I envy everyone who can get in a car and drive home for the weekend. I would willingly drive for hours to be able to see my family. I have enough money for a plane ticket, but my mom would kill me if I missed classes, and going back for just the weekend would only make me feel worse. So I'm stuck between the infamous rock and hard place.
Not to mention the fact that I did horribly on all my tests this week. The math involved in the major I chose is way too difficult, so I think I'm going to end up changing majors here pretty quick. I'm thinking maybe art history.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
It's All About Being Busy
Posted by Mitch
I haven't been terribly responsible in keeping up with these posts, for that I apologize. BYU keeps its students busy as can be, and I'm no exception.
Last night I had a four-hour review in accounting 200! The session started at 6 p.m. and got out late around 10:30. My teacher, Norm Nemrow, is awesome, so it wasn't too hard to stay entertained. Norm's enthusiasm for accounting is amazing. It really makes a difference to have teachers who actually care about what they teach. That's the biggest difference I've noticed between high school and college.
I have had my first couple of exams in the past two weeks and I plan on taking one tomorrow for accounting, which will be interesting. I don't test well to begin with and Norm mentioned that the average on the first exam is only a 77 percent, so we'll see how well I can squeak by. But I'm going to hit the books/software hard tonight and tomorrow morning and do my best.
Not to make this a discussion, but I noticed that Braden is in my Biology 100 class with Doc. Smith. That kid is amazing; he practically taught Doc. Smith last Monday on the review. Good job, Braden!
That's all I have for now. I will try to stay more in touch.
I haven't been terribly responsible in keeping up with these posts, for that I apologize. BYU keeps its students busy as can be, and I'm no exception.
Last night I had a four-hour review in accounting 200! The session started at 6 p.m. and got out late around 10:30. My teacher, Norm Nemrow, is awesome, so it wasn't too hard to stay entertained. Norm's enthusiasm for accounting is amazing. It really makes a difference to have teachers who actually care about what they teach. That's the biggest difference I've noticed between high school and college.
I have had my first couple of exams in the past two weeks and I plan on taking one tomorrow for accounting, which will be interesting. I don't test well to begin with and Norm mentioned that the average on the first exam is only a 77 percent, so we'll see how well I can squeak by. But I'm going to hit the books/software hard tonight and tomorrow morning and do my best.
Not to make this a discussion, but I noticed that Braden is in my Biology 100 class with Doc. Smith. That kid is amazing; he practically taught Doc. Smith last Monday on the review. Good job, Braden!
That's all I have for now. I will try to stay more in touch.
Gender Roles
Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor
The opinion paper is a requisite of English 115, a class populated almost exclusively by freshmen. “I don’t know if it’s such a big thing here,” Sini says of her selected topic, “but in Finland--in all of Europe--women do not have children. My violin teacher, for example, told me, ‘Make sure you never become a home mom because that will end your playing career.’”
In her paper, Sini argued that men and women, while equal, still have different roles. “Equality doesn’t mean we’re the same. We don’t act, think, or dream the same,” she says, arguing that the role of wife and mother is on a par with the role of husband and father and should not be abdicated by women. “Both roles are really important. To stay at home doesn’t mean a woman should be tyrannized by her husband, and she doesn’t have to stay in the kitchen. You can go to work, but don’t neglect the role that you have.”
The opinion paper is a requisite of English 115, a class populated almost exclusively by freshmen. “I don’t know if it’s such a big thing here,” Sini says of her selected topic, “but in Finland--in all of Europe--women do not have children. My violin teacher, for example, told me, ‘Make sure you never become a home mom because that will end your playing career.’”
In her paper, Sini argued that men and women, while equal, still have different roles. “Equality doesn’t mean we’re the same. We don’t act, think, or dream the same,” she says, arguing that the role of wife and mother is on a par with the role of husband and father and should not be abdicated by women. “Both roles are really important. To stay at home doesn’t mean a woman should be tyrannized by her husband, and she doesn’t have to stay in the kitchen. You can go to work, but don’t neglect the role that you have.”
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