It's that time of year again!

Did anyone else notice how the weather all of a sudden took a turn for the colder? Well, I think the people up in charge of the weather got the memo a little late, but it is once again MARCHING BAND SEASON!! We went to the family night show on last Monday night and it was FREEZING! It's been so nice lately, hot actually, but it was like, "Oh, marching band? Oh, oops! COLD with WIND, check!" Those color guard girls are so tough. They were just standing out there, in short sleeves mind, motionless. Me, in the stands with my sweatshirt and people to cuddle with and I was still shivering; couldn't hold still to save my life! To look at them you would think it was a nice ocean breeze! I love marching band competitions! It's like an artistic sporting event. Be sure to check back here periodically to see how AF is currently squashing the competition! (Not that I'm biased or anything! :))

These are a few of my favorite things...

about BYU!! I have just loved my first two weeks here and thought I would share a few of the highlights of and things I love about campus:

*Disclaimer: I didn't take any of these pictures. I keep forgetting to bring my camera with me :)*

~The view of Y Mountain. Practically anywhere on campus you can look up and see the Y. I really like that because it is just a simple reminder to me and helps me stay focused on "Y" I'm here. It also reminds me to stay curious and to wonder about things. :)

~The people here are all so friendly and willing to help you. All the professors and staff and even the bookstore employees are so nice. Even during the huge textbook rush they had a smile and cheerful hello for you. I'm just surrounded by good people and I love it!

~The hourly bell chimes. Every hour they play the first line of "Come Come Ye Saints" followed by the hour chime. Every time I hear it, the words go through my head: "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear; but with joy wend your way." It is such a good reminder that we are all (or most of us anyway) saints of God, members of the church working towards our educational goals. It is also good because I get that uplift and reminder that a college education requires a lot of hard work, but that I can do it. I don't need to shrink from the workload; I should face it head-on and with the Lord's help, I can do it all.

~The duck pond! This is my new-found place of solitude, meditation, peace and tranquility. I love sitting under the shady trees and watching all the ducks walking around, swimming, sleeping, bickering, and talking back and forth. They are very tame and will walk right up to you. I just think it's so fun!

~Incorporating the Gospel into secular discussions. It is so cool to be able to freely incorporate the Gospel and our testimonies into comments in class! Some of my professors even use quotes from the Prophet and General Authorities in class or before the lesson to set the tone. It's great!

Anyway, there are some of my favorite things. As my American Heritage TA said, "It's terrific! The Gospel's true!" (Of course he was talking about the football game but...) I feel my Savior's love in all the world around me! :D

First Week French Anxiety

So here's my story for this week:

On Tuesday I had my first French class (321 Advanced Grammar) at BYU and I was convinced it started at 9. So I got all ready and was walking across campus with plenty of time to spare. I wanted to make sure I was on time because I was a little nervous, the normal first time jitters plus I was a little uneasy that they might kick me out because I haven't taken the prerequisite French 202, so I wanted to make a good impression. It was about 8:45 and I thought, "I should get my schedule out and check the room so I can just walk straight there without stopping." (I knew which building, just not the room number) So I'm digging through my backpack as I'm walking and I can't find my schedule! I realized that I must have taken it out when I switched the books from Monday. A little unsettled, I thought, "Well, I can access it online...oh yeah, I have my laptop so I can just connect to the BYU network and look at it." So I proceed to attempt to connect to the network, again as I'm walking. But for some reason it wasn't connecting! I got to the building and went inside, thinking maybe I was too far away from a transmitter or something, but to no avail. I kept trying as it was getting later and later and my panic level was getting higher and higher. Pretty soon it was 5 to 9 and people started coming out of classrooms and coming in. Finally I just admitted that this wasn't working and I wasn't going to be able to get connected. Officially panicking at this point, I started thinking, "Well, maybe I can call someone back at the apartment to see if they can find my schedule...no, my room's a mess and I can't tell them where to look and they don't have Internet back there, so they can't get online to tell me either...I could call mom! She has Internet!" 2 seconds after this decision came the realization that I had left my phone in the car! That was parked at the other end of campus! Five minutes is not enough time to even run there and back; that takes at least 10 minutes. After a little indecision, I mustered up all my courage and asked the guy sitting across the way from me if he had a cell phone I could borrow. Alas! He confirmed in the negative and walked away!

Now I'm trying really hard not to cry or hyperventilate. Then the thought comes to me, "They must have public access computers around here somewhere. I remember all the ones in the bookstore where you can print off your book list; maybe they have a general access one." So I take off as fast as I can for the Wilkinson Student Center where the bookstore is. I didn't want to run and look like a dorky lost freshman, so I was just walking really fast. I passed the library on the way and thought about going in there for about 2 seconds, but then changed my mind. I'd never actually been in the library yet and I knew it was a big place and didn't want to get lost. So I continued to the bookstore, tore around, found no such computer and so was again foiled. Next, I remembered that when I went to the employment office a few weeks earlier that there was one in there and it was just around the corner from the bookstore. Hope was restored! Racing as fast as my walking legs would carry me, I encountered three open access kiosks next to the information desk on the way, all occupied. I waited, wishing they would have chosen to check their email somewhere else. Couldn't they see this was far more important?! Finally, someone finished. I was pushing buttons like a madwoman as fast as my fingers would go. Internet, byu, log in, schedule, view, cruise down the list, French! across the line, room number 1010. Bingo! Log off and book it back to the JKB (Jesse Knight Building). Time check: 9:10! I went straight to it and discovered...only one person in the room! I was a little confused. Luckily, I had met this person once before, so it wasn't as awkward as it would have been. Her name is Samantha and she came to our apartment on Sunday for a potluck my roommate Deb was hosting for her work friends (she works at the MTC). She's from France and had mentioned that she was studying it. I looked at her a little quizzically and she confirmed that she was waiting for French 321. I then asked where everyone was. She said that the class didn't start till 9:30!! And exhale! I think I had been holding it for the past 15 minutes or so. Whew, 20 minutes to return to a regular heart rate and breathing pattern and to get my over sized butterflies under control.

What a way to start the day, right? At least I got a calf workout from it! :)

Job Report

Here's my report of my first two days of working. I have the best job in the whole cafeteria!! Yea! Seriously, there is nothing better than dealing with dessert for 6 hours - all the people are happy and friendly, the station smells good, there's no grease, and I don't have to be bumping into other people. It's a fairly small confined space and I'm the only one working in there. It does get kind of lonely, but the good thing is it's in the middle, so a lot of the hosts and managers and other people come in there to visit when things get slow.

Tuesday night was my first time and it was busy! I was practically running from the freezer in the back to the display case in the front to keep up. That is basically all I do is make sure that the display cases stay stocked. The other thing I did was answer, or at least try to answer, questions that people had. That was one disadvantage to being in the center, people come to you first. Being new, I didn't know the answers to a lot of the questions, such as "Where is the chicken?" and "Where do we take our trays?" Luckily I learned the answers to those questions as the night went along, but I always feel bad when I can't answer someones question and then learn the answer a short while later. Luckily I found out where the ice cream was really quickly, because that was the top question. I was proud of myself that I actually figured out the answer to that one by myself without having to ask someone else. They have it hidden behind this wall to the right of my station and I happened to notice it before we started.

So, here's how Tuesday went: I showed up a good half-hour early so I would make sure to have enough time to figure out where to park, (education week is crazy!) walk to the Cannon Center, find the employee entrance, get my uniform, and be ready by 4. I ended up having to park down by the stadium and walking up the street about a block to the CC. I made my way down and circled the entire building once. I saw the loading dock they talked about at the hiring meeting, but the door that I passed required an access card to get in. All the doors that I could see did, so I was at a loss for what to do. Then I saw another guy with a backpack walking down into the loading dock, so I caught up to him and asked him if he worked there. He said yes after a little hesitation, so I assumed it was his first day as well, which he confirmed. We decided that we would be lost together and proceeded to walk down. I learned that his name was Lars and he moved her about two weeks ago from Minnesota and he was staying with cousins. He noticed on one of the doors that the light was flashing green, not yellow, so we were in luck to have found an unlocked door. After we got all our uniform stuff sorted out, and met another girl named Minnie, he headed for the Expo, she to the front to be a host, and I to the grainary. There I met Kayleen, a lovely woman and very nice. She is just perfect for a pastry cook, just like out of the books: A little larger, but so cheerful! She took me right under her wing and showed me around, all the desserts and what they were called and everything in the back room. Then she told me that she had to leave at 4:30. Now, wouldn't you know, my first day of work and they leave me to fend for myself, and on top of that, I got to close! I now understand why I would hear people at school complaining that they had to close at their work. It was ok though, because Kayleen went over the closing list step by step and walked through it with me. She even gave me a "field trip" and showed me where the dishes were and the scullery, laundry, trash (she gave me a nice tip on how to get that open - it's tricky), mop room, everything. I was exhausted by the time the doors were closed, but that means nothing for the desserts because people usually come to get those last. However, I survived.

Tonight was almost a completely different story. I walked right in and punched (well, actually, slid) my card and went right in without getting lost. That back kitchen area is a bit of a maze! But I just went in, Kayleen was there and she showed me what they were serving. Apparently lunch was a madhouse, because they ran out of several things so the variety was a little depleted. That turned out to be ok though because there were not nearly as many people as Tuesday, which was mostly older people. Then she left and I took over, much more confidently than Tuesday. :) Tonight there were a lot of families with kids, so they took care of the jello, leaving some of the other things for the more refined palettes. The songs on the radio playing on the PA (which I didn't even notice Tue) were a lot more fun; everyone was singing or at least mouthing the words! :) I was also smarter this time and wore shoes with better arch supports, which made a huge difference! I am not nearly as tired and the lack of traffic provided an opportunity to get to know the others working there a little better, plus some time to actually sit down for a minute. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I also found out my Sunday color for the fall. See, since we mostly serve the kids living in Helamen Halls, we have to occasionally work on Sundays so they can eat. They make it very reasonable and have worked it so everyone only works about 2 or 3 Sundays a semester, which is not bad at all. So they divide the staff into "Sunday colors" and whatever color Sunday it is is who comes in. I'm yellow, which shouldn't be too hard for me to remember! :) I'm not sure if the duties will be exactly the same, since education week is a bit of a special event, definitely out of the norm; I'll be sure to keep you posted on any new developments!

The Windows of Heaven

have truly been opened this past week. Right before I found out that I got the job, I looked at my email and I had a message from my financial center at BYU, so I went to the website to see what it was all about. It turns out I have been awarded $2300 in Federal Grants! One was a Pell Grant and the other is an Academic Competitiveness Grant. Hopefully, this will continue and I might be able to eat this semester! :) Now, if I win the Lottery, my incredible good luck will be totally confirmed!

I GOT A JOB!!

Wahoo! I'm finally employed! It feels so good to know that I will at least be having some incoming cash flow this upcoming semester. By a pure stroke of luck, really, I set up a profile on BYU's employment site and within a week, I saw a posting for 150 positions at the Cannon Commons Cafeteria in Helamen Halls. They had what they called a "General Hiring Meeting" where anyone interested sent an RSVP via email and showed up last Saturday at 9 am. The manager there took us all on a tour of the place and described the different stations and the responsibilities of anyone working in each one. Then we divided into groups of about 6-7 and basically chose a shift that was available in whatever position we were most interested in. Flexibility of hours was the key, but I think they got everyone into a position. WOOOHOOO!! That relieves so much stress on my part, plus I think it was a really positive first job hiring experience for me. I will be working in the Grainery, which is basically comprised of cereal and things in the morning and bagels, scones, doughnuts, and other pastry-type things.

It seems pretty simple from what he described, basically just keeping the station clean. It's about 2 hours 3 times a week at minimum wage, so not much, but every little bit helps! :)

They've got it in for us!

So here I am, riding Trax in Salt Lake for the first time. We were on our way to the Jazz festival to listen to my dad play with the Salt Lake Jazz Orchestra.

You'll notice that I selected my headgear very carefully; I wanted to go incognito (to avoid all the paparazzi that comes with being so popular) :) so I specifically chose this hat to blend in with the local folk. We look up and see this sign:

Shirt and Shoes: check!

Headphones?! Dang, we forgot those! Luckily, we were able to duck beneath the radar and escape undetected; not an easy task considering that I was severely misinformed about the apparel of the locals! :)

Then, on the way out, Samantha is attacked by their so-called decorative waste receptacles!! (Actually, she just wasn't watching where she was going and almost ran into it, but that wasn't as funny.)

Luckily, it was all worth it. Hurrah for jazz!