Take me to the Rain City already

I am going to Seattle the day after graduation for a week. Here are some things on my to-do list when I get there:

--Pike Place Market
--Fisherman's wharf, Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, etc.
--Mariner's Game
--Skagit tulip festival
--Musical "Oh Our Town"
--Visit my old stomping grounds (elementary school, neighborhood, etc.)
--Perhaps make a day-trip to Victoria, Canada

That's already plenty, but does anyone have any other suggestions?

I would take Lincoln over Edward. Also, Captain Planet.

I found two pieces of paper in an empty computer lab this morning.

One of them said:

"Here's Lincoln as a vampire! Of course, now people think they're cool and romantic, but people obviously weren't that stupid back then."


And the other:

"Our world is in peril. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, can no longer stand the terrible destruction plaguing our planet. She sends five magic rings to five special young people:
Dwaame, from Africa, the power of Earth
From North America, Wheeler, with the power of Fire
From the Soviet Union, Linka, with the power of Wind
From Asia, Gi, with the power of Water
And from South America, Ma-ti, with the power of Heart.
When the five powers combine, they summon earth's greatest champion, Captain Planet.
"Go Planet!"
THE POWER IS YOURS!"

Does Captain Planet look a little like Tom Cruise to anyone else?

Senioritis: A near-deathly disease

Senioritis. Must I go into generic musings on how this disease afflicts college seniors feeling they are looking too old to not already be in the "real world," high school almost-grads wanting one more adolescent summer, --heck, even preschoolers anxious to get out of a school that makes them sit on weirdly-colored squares of carpet for singing time--?

My senioritis has hit hard. With only four more weeks of the semester, I am starting to care less and less about schoolwork. The greatest evidence of this has been the clearly shoddy essays I've been turning in.

A paper was handed back to me today with the following note:

Dear Rebecca,

You write well, and this little essay is a pleasure to read. I say "little" because, obviously, the essay is on the short and under-supported side--the natural result of reformulating the project at the tenth or eleventh hour. You get away with a lot on sheer talent. (I mean that as praise and not as a jab.)

(NOTE: Rest of paper feedback removed for the interest of the blogger, or perhaps my own refusal to bare ALL my writing errors).

Thanks for the good read,
BYU professor

This professor was far too generous in his/her grading (the old softie). I literally started this assigned 6-8 page paper at 9:00 the night before, and only produced 5 pages of generic rambling-- something about poetry and science and how literary scholars probably all failed high school chemistry and so have no right to act like they like science now.

How did my professor know I started my paper so late?? Technically, it was the twenty-first hour, but I suppose he/she was speaking metaphorically.

And more importantly, how am I going to kick this senioritis? I better figure it out soon, or in fifty years, I will be a senior citizen looking forward to death.

The Stairs Less Traveled

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I travel from a class in the basement of the JFSB to a seminar room on the fourth floor. This is equivalent to 6 floors (because the staircase from the basement to the first floor is actually double in length). I usually take the elevator to get from point A to point B.

Today is Tuesday. I walked out of my class in the basement toward the elevator. I reached my hand out to light the button and request a trip upward. But as I reached out my thumb (I like to hit elevator buttons with my thumb for some reason), a thought passed through my mind. What if I take the stairs today? I'm not late after all, and who knows, it could be fun.

I was semi-right about the fun part. Here are my thoughts in a simplified equation:

1 basement floor x (2 length)+4 above ground floors= 6 floors of possible funness

What I did not account for was energy (E). I'm not sure what the technical equation for this would be, but I imagine it would look a little like this:

1 basement floor x (2 length) x (.9E)+ 4 above ground floors x (E)^(-4)= 6 floors of not a lot of E, and slightly less funness.

But after taking the stairs instead of the elevator, I gained some ever-so-small feeling of accomplishment that made the burning in my legs all worth it. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the stairs.

My European Past

Once upon a time, I lived in Paris.


It was magnifique.

http://rebeccaparis.blogspot.com

Some Splendid Soft Peaches

"I had walked some twenty-five miles, and being very tired, not feeling like going any farther, I came to a peach tree by the wayside that was loaded with ripe fruit and picked some splendid soft peaches which were very delicious. I took as many as I wanted and turned aside in the piney woods where I had the earth for my bed and the heavens for my covering and God for my protection. I spent the night alone, yet I was not alone, for God was with me in answer to my prayers."

--John Brown

John Brown is my ancestor who was a Mormon pioneer. His personal journal was published and distributed to his family descendents a decade or so ago and I read it when I was 16. The guy was truly fascinating; he was a convert, a scholar, and a leader in the handcart treks. He was also a beautiful writer. The above passage is from his journal which was copied down into mine because I love it so much. Being kin somehow makes it more personal to me. It fortifies the personal belief that God really does hear and answer prayers, and that my family before me had a testimony of this.

BYUSA Vs. The Daily U

What happens when one disliked campus organization goes after another?

It probably looks a lot like this, an article written by the top newswriters at the Daily Universe providing insight (read as "incriminating") the "service" organization, BYUSA: http://universe.byu.edu/node/6561

I am graduating in April, and after all my time here, I honestly can't say which organization I dislike more. It's a tough call. Let's go over the facts:

Ding! Ding!

Round 1

BYUSA is horribly unaccountable for their outstanding expenses. As the article points out, $260,000 goes toward this club(?) in just 4 months. If this is a so-called service organization, why are their perks perhaps equivalent to the pay most students get at their jobs? Jamba Juice runs, dinners at Tucanos, and donations to VH1 are just not acceptable for any "volunteers," no matter how fat and happy they need to look at Homecoming Spectacular.

As great as it is that the Daily U has decided to blow the whistle on this issue, I resent the fact that they seem to want everyone to know that it is them blowing it: "Look at us! We're doing REAL JOURNALISM." In the first paragraph, they reference an ongoing debate that they brought up themselves. It's not like this budgeting issue was a highly debated topic before the paper was even involved.

Round 2

Adam Ruri is totally off his rocker if he thinks that volunteering "deserves rewards." Ummmm... Why is it called volunteer work if the volunteers are SO deserving of our thanks and monies? That's just not the nature of service, if that is their goal. If that isn't enough, in his defense of his beloved organization, Ruri either pawns all blame off onto other people or is unapologetic about the extravagent expenses.

The Daily U--despite the occasional talented writer--is generally sloppy in their reporting, whether it is in gathering their facts or in effectively communicating them. In the case of this article, it is their obvious bias. I understand that one of the purposes of journalism is to act as a watchdog against such abuses as BYUSA's, but reporters also have an obligation to remain unbiased. I know it's hard to pretend to be unbiased, but they totally missed the "unbiased" mark on this.

Round 3

BYUSA needs to get its image right, and not just in regards to their spending. On one hand, they set themselves up as shining examples of leadership, and on the other, as the humblest of students asking for no thanks. But both of these mentalities contribute to their sense of elitism and grant them immunity to criticism. They are the "do no harm" organization. Ruri is wrong in saying that if anyone criticizes their organization, they must not be enlightened or service-oriented people; I get it. And I don't like it.

Does the Daily U really want to set themselves up as the antagonist of the BYUSA establishment? They DO know that nobody will be fired or anything, right?

Ding! Ding!

Unfortunately, this isn't just a boxing match that can announce a winner at the end because of the bureaucratic system both these organizations are up against. But the good news is that the current politics between these organizations will fizzle out (at least for this year), and hopefully sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the rest of us in the student body will watch on, roll our eyes, and hope someone will put up at a campaign booth to vote BYUSA out of existence.

Dr. Pepper got me through the last 3 pages

I really want a typewriter. It's true that the typewriter is a ghost from the technological past, that it doesn't let you backspace easily, or fix typos you made half of a page ago. But the great thing about the typewriter is that you can't check your email on it; you can't facebook stalk; you can't even access your blog or get directions from here to the dentist.

I just wrote a 6-page paper on a computer in 11 hours which I am convinced would have taken me only 5 hours on a typewriter.

When in doubt, find yourself a look alike and blame everything on him. If that doesn't work, trade in your computer for a typewriter. That's what I'm doing.

Accepted