In Need of a Haircut

Posted by Ashley

.I was in real need of a haircut to get rid of my split ends. I mentioned this to my roommates, and one of them said she would cut my hair.

I'm not sure why, but I agreed. I trusted her, I guess, and I knew she wouldn't give me a mullet or some other interesting hairdo. Plus it was free, so who could pass that up?

We went to Wal-Mart and bought hair-cutting scissors. That night my roommate cut my hair. She gave me a trim and some layers. The next night she decided she wanted to give me more layers and I agreed. So now I have my own personal hairdresser who lives the next room over, and good news: I am living with her next year too, which means free haircuts for another year.

Enduring to the End

Posted by Laura

This past week we hit the halfway point of the semester. For me, this semester has gone by so fast, and it is a reminder to me of how short the college years really are. If you don't take advantage of this time, it will be very easy to look back with regret.

It's crazy to think that I will be done with my second semester of college soon! I made a chain for our door to count down the days until the end. I think the second half of the semester will be a lot harder than the first because there are no more breaks from here on out.

I feel so young still, but looking back, I have this great feeling of fulfillment from how much I have accomplished at BYU. I can now make my way around campus without stopping every couple seconds with a confused look on my face. I now know how to prepare myself for tests and how to take good notes that I can read again later. I can now budget my money each week and plan meals for each day. I have learned so much in the classroom, but I also have learned so much from having more independence and living in an apartment. Life is good.

Fake Spring

Posted by Braden

The other day I walked around campus in shorts, a T-shirt, and flip flops. It was February. February is supposed to be cold and windy and miserable!

Instead, I saw boys shovel off the last bit of snow from the basketball court to start shooting hoops, and the newly uncovered sand volleyball court was once again being used! Students went outside voluntarily to study, and not once all day did I see a heavy coat being worn!

It's like the weather is taunting us . . . it's luring us into a false sense of security that spring is finally here, and then BAM! It's going to dump a few feet on us. I just know it is! And I'll be mentally ready for it, because I know it's coming!

In the meantime though . . . why waste perfectly good spring weather? Tomorrow is going to be another T-shirt day!

The Saga of Finding Housing

Posted by Ashley

My roommates and I found what we thought was the perfect place to live next year (see this post on Feb. 9). We waited and waited and waited to hear if we got the contract. We finally had to contact the management again, and they said to wait another week. When we called back the following week, they informed us they wouldn't take us because they only wanted tenants who would sign full-year contracts or spring and summer contracts at that time.

Why didn't they tell us that before? They said they'd hold our applications until the end of summer. Uh, HELLO! We would like to find a place to live—we can't wait that long.

So my roommates and I got up early on Saturday and went and stood in line at 7 a.m. in hopes of getting an apartment at the complex that was our back-up plan (a place we weren't too excited about, but we need a place to live). As we moved closer to the front of the line, the manager informed us that there were only two completely empty apartments left—and we were the third group in line. The complex assigned six to an apartment, and the group in front of us only had three people. If there was a half-full apartment available, the group in front of us could take it, leaving us with the last empty apartment—and allowing the six of us to live together.

The manager went to check, but came back with bad news. There weren't any apartments with three contracts still available, so the group in front of us would take half of the last empty apartment.

We were bummed, but we decided to continue waiting in line. We're lucky we did, because the manager was wrong: he came out later and told us there was one apartment that still needed three people, so the group in front of us could take those spots. After waiting for five hours, we got the LAST full apartment.

What a day! We decided to go to Brick Oven to celebrate (it was my first time there). While we were eating, Cosmo showed up and we got a picture with him. It was a great Saturday.

Self-Guided Tour

Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor

While visiting her home ward in Sandy, Utah, Sini’s roommate signed all of her roommates up to help clean the Draper Utah Temple—then undedicated and open to the public—without their consent.

“We loved it,” Sini says. “But I was dusting—there was no dust. They clean it every night.” After cleaning they were free to walk around on their own. “When you go on a tour, it’s kind of fast,” Sini says. “We got to spend as long as we wanted.” They lingered in the celestial room. “You know, it’s cool to get to see the whole temple, because usually you don’t—baptisms, that’s all I can do right now. It was fun to be there with our roommates and do that kind of thing. It was really neat.”

Missionary Shopping

Posted by Braden

Wednesday I went shopping for all of my missionary gear! Here's what I got:
1 suit
12 white shirts
2 ties (these were free with other purchases)
4 pairs of slacks
1 belt
12 sets of garments
2 sets of thermal wear
2 pairs of sturdy, waterproof shoes
12 pairs of black socks
2 pairs of wool socks
1 sweater
1 set of baptismal clothing (white pants, white socks, white tie)
1 missionary bag

It all cost a grand total of $1,142.19

But it was totally worth it! I have to have all those things, and I've been saving up all my life for mission expenses. And today, I got to wear my new suit to church with my new white shirt, a new tie, new socks, and new shoes, plus a new "Russia Samara" pin on my lapel (that one wasn't required, but I like having it). I love new clothes! It hurts a little bit knowing that they'll all be fairly worn to shreds by the time I get home, but such is life. We (my dad and I) were able to get all of the required articles from three stores: Missionary Mall, Mr. Mac's, and Sports Unlimited (for the thermal wear). Now the tricky part is getting all of it home, along with all of the stuff that I already have with me here at college, and then getting all of it back in the limited amount of suitcase space that I'm allowed to have at the MTC and in the mission field!

Devotionals, Forums, and CES Firesides

Posted by Laura

Something that I have really grown to love while attending BYU is the opportunity I have to attend devotionals, forums, and CES firesides. I really enjoy Tuesdays; I look forward to a break from my studies to be motivated by the speaker. It's an hour in the week when you can sit back and ponder how you can do better—the changes that you need to make. Today I was able to attend Elder Robert D. Hale's CES fireside in the Marriott Center. I always feel so blessed to be in the presence of General Authorities and Church leaders, to see their passion for the gospel and feel of their spirit. I absolutely love being a student at BYU and participating in the great traditions of this school. There are opportunities that are available here that you cannot experience anywhere else, and I am so grateful to be a part of that.

Braden's Brilliant Burritos

Posted by Braden

I made another wonderful batch of burritos today. Here's the recipe I used:

Pour 6 cups of water into a large pot on the stove with 3 cups of rice. Let it simmer until all of the water has boiled out. In the meantime, pour the following ingredients into a very large bowl (not a huge bowl, just a bowl that's a little bit bigger than what you're thinking of right now):

1 can chili
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1/2 bag of grated cheese
1/2 lb sour cream
1 jar cheese sauce (or "salsa con queso")
1 jar of salsa

Stir the concoction a bit, then heat it in the microwave until the consistency is that of a rather thick, odd-colored, chunky soup. Then stir some more. Add the rice at this point in time, as well as cut-up little pieces of meat, if you so desire. Stir some more. Heat the tortillas (about 30 tortillas are required for this amount of filling). Then start packing the burritos.

Put a large spoonful of the mixture in the center of a tortilla and wrap it up. Stick the wrapped burrito in a sandwich bag, and don't worry if burrito guts begin to ooze out of the tortilla edges—it'll all freeze, and the frozen filling has no problem sticking with the burrito when you remove the burrito from the bag.

When you feel like eating one of the burritos, pull it out, microwave it for two and a half minutes, and voilà! Deliciousness will come to you.

Lovely Dependency

Posted by Braden

My dad was in town the past few days, and he gave me cause to remember just how lovely being a dependent really is! We went shopping for mission stuff, and I didn't have to double-check the receipt after paying, because I neither paid with my card nor kept the receipt! We went out to lunch and dinner a few times . . . and I got free food! Normally, when making returns to stores, I have to head up the transaction. But not so—when we had to return a pair of shoes to the store, Dad took care of it! In everything we did, it was understood that Dad was kind of in charge of the situation, so I was able to just enjoy doing whatever we were doing! Being "independent" and "in control of my own life" is fun and all that, but it's really nice not having to be in charge every once in a while—or at least not having to be 100 percent responsible for my well-being. Pity that this feeling is going to be so rare in the rest of my life. . . .

Freak Out!

Posted by Laura

I loved social dance so much last semester that I decided to take the next level this semester. It is sooo much fun and is, no doubt, one of my favorite classes. Every semester, all of the social-dance classes have two huge labs in the Wilkinson Center Ballroom. All of the social-dance students come to practice and to get to know new people. At the lab there is food, dancing, and music, and a couple class sections perform.

At this particular lab, my class (section 280) was assigned to perform the cha-cha to "Le Freak." Everyone was decked out in '70s-era D.I. goods when it came time to perform. The crowd went crazy, which made it easy to feed off of their energy. It was a blast! My sister recorded about half of it and I attached the video here:

Supplemental Income

Posted by Trevor

Extra money can be a little hard to come by when you're in school. Somehow, we need to be able to afford rent, groceries, textbooks, etc. This past week, in order to mitigate some financial troubles, I became one of the many BYU students who earn a little extra money by donating plasma.

At first I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I've rarely been to a doctor, and I must admit, this was my first real experience with needles since my required kindergarten shots. But, as it turns out, I can keep my composure even when being poked by thick needles. After an hour or so of sitting in a chair with a needle in my arm, I got to go to the magical machine that spits out money to compensate for the pain and suffering endured. With a little extra income, I may be able to afford more schooling after this year's money runs out.

Missionary Fever

Posted by Braden

Here they come! The white envelopes that boys have been waiting all their lives to receive are streaming into dorm mailboxes.

We had three arrive this week and two the week before that. Three more are expected to come this week, based on our projections!

When they do come, word is passed that "__(fill in name here)__ got his letter today!" Some open their envelopes in private, but most do it in the lobby, surrounded by the whole ward with family members on the phone. When they open their letters, they read the call aloud, and a lot of girls scream. The mission-call recipients can't stop smiling. They write their names and missions on the list we have going on our bulletin board, then I write those names on sticky-note arrows and put them up on the map over our hall fireplace. They announce where they're going and their report dates in elders quorum, then again at ward prayer. Romania, Iowa, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Colorado, Taiwan, Guatemala . . . the calls keep on coming, and everybody loves the atmosphere!

Well, almost. A few girls have been feeling weepy lately, now that their boys are going to be leaving so soon. And a few others are afraid that the boys who have their calls will become so focused on their missions that they aren't going to want to hang out with girls any more. I highly doubt that will be the case, though. They're still boys, and they still have at least three months before they report.

In any case, it's fun to see all this happening! Now the whole ward will wait with bated breath for Wednesdays and Thursdays to see what calls will come in the next batch of big white envelopes!

Sacrament-Meeting Talent

Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor

Sure, members with musical inclinations are found in every ward. But Sini’s freshman ward was a rare exception.

First-year students who join Freshman Academy can elect to live in dorms with students who have similar interests; the Freshman Academy music community, of which Sini was a part, was concentrated between a couple Heritage Halls buildings—and in one ward. That meant sacrament strains from 25 music majors, some of whom had declined offers from Julliard.

“I’ve performed maybe 15 times in sacrament meeting so far,” Sini says. Her ward orchestra, which included the violin, viola, cello, bassoon, oboe, piano, trombone, and trumpet, joined the stake choir for conferences and firesides.

One Day at a Time

Posted by Laura

School can be crazy! Thinking about all of the the assignments, quizzes, tests, and finals that happen in a semester can be overwhelming. Just thinking about it makes my palms a bit sweaty.

This week I have four tests, one of which is a final for my computer-block class. How can I manage my time to make sure I prepare myself for each of them? You know that you have spent too much time studying diseases when you sign "Laura Bacteria" as your name on top of your assignments, or when you talk in your sleep about diagnosing diseases. It's hard to figure out how much time you need to put in for each class to make sure that you stay caught up.

I have found that the best way to do it is to focus on one day at a time. Focusing on how you are going to spend the next 24 hours is a lot easier than focusing on everything you have do to before the end of the week. 

RA Oddities

Posted by Braden

I've had a few more weeks on the job, and now I have a few more fun stories to tell!

1) A grandmother called and told me that her grandson (who lives in my hall) was having a hard time in school, and she asked if there was anything that I could do to help him. I talked with her for a while and assured her that I would indeed go talk to her grandson. After hanging up, I went on up to his room, knocked, made some small talk, brought up school, heard where the problem areas were, made suggestions, helped him make a plan, and went back down to my room. Then I sat for a while and wondered, "When did I become a 'responsible adult' who grandparents call about their grandchildren?! I'm only 19!" I certainly didn't mind helping, but it was still a new experience.

2) We had a fire drill the other day in our hall. My favorite part? Being told to pull the fire alarm! It was another odd am-I-really-actually-in-charge-here? moment as I went to all of the rooms and knocked to make sure that everybody was out of the building. This is most definitely the first time in my life that my instructions during a fire drill weren't "Get out of the building as quickly as you can."

3) As an RA, I turn weekly reports in to my hall advisor. Part of those reports is telling her something new that I learned about a resident from each apartment. The first few weeks were easy. However, as people have gotten busier, and as I come to know more about the residents, it becomes harder and harder for me to come up with interesting new information about 13 different apartments! Last week's report included things like "Eddie recently made a pastel drawing of a Hostess cupcake for his beginning art class" and "On Wednesday Josh was running in the morning and puked about 10 minutes into the run for apparently no reason."

4) A girl was "held hostage" the other day outside one of my boys' apartments. No, really. She was tied to a chair when a roving RA found her. The culprits claimed that the hostage's apartment had kept sending girls over to bug them about something, so they decided to take drastic action. I was rather amused. And rather sad that the incident reports that I write up never have stories quite as interesting as that one!

Sound Investment

Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor

When it comes to violins, never buy new, Sini advises. “The wood changes in the first two years.” Hers, made by Eero Haahiti, a Fin, was made in 1995. “It’s a young violin. My last one was made in 1845,” she says. “Some people say older violins have a softer sound, and it’s true, but this one is a lot better than my old one.” It was made for her violin teacher back in Finland, who sold it to her for roughly $18,000, which she paid entirely in scholarship money. Insurance on the instrument is about $150 a year, which also covers the bow—a good thing, because rehairing the bow costs $60. “I’ll have this one maybe forever, unless I get rich,” Sini says. If money weren’t a problem, she could spend $100,000. “Violins are an investment,” Sini says. “I could sell mine in 20 years and make money.”

Sixth-Week Slump

Posted by Braden

The sixth-week slump is finally here. It happened last semester, and it's happening again this semester: EVERYBODY is tired.

Perhaps it happens because we've all gotten comfortable in our schedules, so we start pushing the envelope on how late we can stay up. Perhaps it happens because people are starting to get to know each other better, so they start spending more time together, and that results in later nights. Perhaps enough weeks have passed since all those New Year's resolutions, and the vast majority of students are now giving up on getting to bed earlier this year.

Whatever the cause, it's definitely true wherever you look—there are fewer kids in class, and of those who are in class, more are asleep. The moans and groans of "I'm SO tired!" are becoming more audible and prevalent, because EVERYBODY is tired.

The Next Young Ambassador

Posted by Elise

Some people just can’t let go of childish dreams. I’m one of them. I’ve always loved singing and dancing. Always. And growing up, I’ve always admired Young Ambassadors and wanted to be one someday. It was just one of those dreams you have.

Last week I saw the Young Ambassadors show, and I renewed my resolve: I am going to work hard and take dance classes and become a better dancer and singer. And then in a year or two I’m going to try out. I’m really gonna do it! I’m so excited! If I don’t get in, that’s fine, because prepping for the audition will be fun regardless of the outcome. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Unforgettable Devotional

Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor

In the second devotional of the semester, Sini’s favorite of her freshmen year, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (BS ’65) spoke about Lot’s wife, who looked back. “He talked about how we need to move on in life and not look back in time,” Sini recalls. “Christ died for us, and we have a responsibility to use that gift and let the Atonement work in our lives and in other people’s lives.”

Read or listen to this devotional on the BYU Speeches Web site.

Kimball Hall Winter Olympics

Posted by Braden

We had another hall activity this past week: the first-ever Kimball Hall Winter Olympics Classic!

Why did we do it? Well, first of all, it satisfied the requirements of a "cultural" activity: the boys were assigned to teams from different countries, which we provided trivia facts about. We also played the national anthem of the winning team at the closing ceremonies. On the program proposal, I stressed that the boys felt cooped up in the cold weather and desperately needed outdoor physical play. Also, since a lot of the boys will be leaving on foreign missions this summer, it was an opportunity to get them excited for experiences that involve other countries. That's what I wrote down, anyway. For the most part, these boys just wanted to have a ball playing outside in the snow.

Then it didn't snow for two weeks. And all the snow that we did have melted. So we adjusted. The event began with the opening ceremonies. We split the boys into countries (we decided to just go with two, Ireland and Spain). We then passed a torch through the building (using a big flashlight since open flames aren't allowed in the buildings, particularly not when they're being carried through multiple flights of stairs by running boys). We blasted the Olympic theme song and officially let the games begin!

The first event was icicle archery! With no icicles, however, we used dough balls! The boys threw the balls from the third-floor balcony down to a target that we had on the ground. The second event was snowball shotput! With no snowballs, however, we used a volleyball! The third event was a sled race! With no snow, well, the boys didn't have a hard time making those sleds fly through the grass and dirt. The last event was going to be beach volleyball in the snow, but due to melted snow, the courts were sandy swamps. Instead, we had a Popsicle relay throughout our hall: run up three flights of stairs, down three flights, pass off the Popsicle, repeat. The last guys to get the Popsicles had to eat them to finish the race.

At the closing ceremonies we had doughnuts and apple juice for all, and pounds (literally, I bought three pounds) of candy to be divided between the two winning teams—the winning team got two pounds. Much fun was had by all, even without the snow!