Friday, April 30, 2010

Transitions: Turbulent or Thrilling?

I've been thinking a lot about transitions lately and how I have dealt with them over the years...ok or rather, avoided them.

As a dear friend once said: I truly am a walking contradiction. On one hand I love having a set schedule/routine, something that creates stability in your life. At the same time every now and then I will get stir-crazy and restless, and will want to just go do something random and unique. Point in case: one night my friends and I were all in this bored/restless mood and so we bought oatmeal, and rootbeer and drove around provo mixing the two in our mouths and one of us would be somewhat near someone else on a sidewalk or a park/somewhere and would procede to pretend to throw-up while the rest watched the reactions laughing in the bushes. Crazy?! absolutely, prolly the craziest thing I have done to date. Don't worry, when I get this spontaneous mood I am more likely to catch a movie on the fly or go for a walk, or a road trip or something- a lil less gross. So though I love spontaneous things and events just naturally unfolding on the fly, I don't handle transitions as well.

Having said all that, I think I'm getting better. For example, when I started school out at BYU I was on the verge of stressing out and panic attacks for the first couple of weeks until I got into the groove. Ya know, the usual symptoms: throat in a constantly clenched state, feels hard to breathe, rapid pulse, loss of appetite, and tears never seem too far away. Yeah....basically a wreck.

Though like I said, I think I'm getting better. I think the mission helped a lot too-the constant need for rolling with the punches and not knowing if you're moving to a new area/getting a new companion helps you to just relax and go with it cause otherwise you'd always be a wreck.

A lil mini transition that I'm going through at the moment is coming back here to Provo for summer. Now this is a mini mini mini transition. Transition one: my roommate is gone- all graduated and off saving the world and my room is incredibly EMPTY and CLEAN both of which freak me out a lil bit. Transition two: no school....no structure until I find a full time job-I hate feeling like I'm not a contributing member of society so believe me, i'm trying. Transition three: thinking about how I only have two more semesters and then I'm done...off in the real world which somehow doesn't appear remotely as fun to me, but that's just me (of course I'm lucky enough to love my major, clases, etc).

I know it's just a matter of time, pretty soon this will feel normal and I'll get a job which will help GREATLY and until then I just have to remind myself to be open to change and what learning will come from it. I mean, I always love the transitions after the fact and see how it's helped shape who I am, it's just hard to remember that on this side of the transition.
I wanna learn to embrace and enjoy the transitional moments of my life though-I guess they're kind of the most exciting part of my life- the catalyst that sparks change and development right? ....right.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

it's a very cool feeling when you rant and rave in a blog post about a problem and then sit down ten seconds later to prepare a sunday school lesson all about the children of israel and how they always complained and their difficulties caused them to complain about God rather than turn to Him to help them through their trials....
humbled much?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ARGH! The Scholarship committee/department can kiss my tush I'm serious....

My favorite part was when they said- according to your record you did not meet the requirements for a scholarship. That is a load!!! and I'll tell you why- last semester I had a 3.9 GPA a 3.9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is WAY better than before when I had a 3.5-3.8 and yet still managed to keep a half tuition scholarship. This is such bull- don't say my records disqualified me, it was your insufficient funds. I swear...BYU has shafted me ever since I left for a mission-I have done better than before the mission academically and have yet to get a scholarship since coming back-there's some positive reinforcement to serve a mission.
argh, so angry....whatever. I hate not getting something that I really deserve...I read somewhere that you could only get 8 semesters worth of scholarships and I can't remember if I got one freshman year or not...if I did than that means I got 6 semesters worth before the mish, and after the mish when i reapplied for scholarships they offered me half tuition scholarship for spring/summer which was useless to me since i wasn't going to school-they better not have counted that making it 8 semesters that i received "help" cause that last scholarship shouldn't have counted since i didn't use it.
oh well
meh.

what do you think about texas cody?

racing hot sauce packets

It was a great weekend!

Astros game, balderdash, racquetball, BBQ, Museum, and Movies. The comical highlight being the planetarium. The entrance was this blow up curtain thing that you had to push through that reminded one of being birthed. This huge guy was infront of us and we waited for him to push through but got a lil stuck at one point. we tried our best to keep our laughter silent- steve pointed out that it'd probably be easier for us to get through after he stretched it out. sadly i don't have pics of that one...

















Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Finals are done-yes! Isaiah wasn't as bad as I thought-luckily i knew the essay questions, turned in my final paper and gave back the books i borrowed to my teacher and I'm free! Done with this semester!
Now if I can only find a summer job or two...
Heading for houston with cody tomorrow-pictures on the way 8)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

yeah...it was kinda like that...



Friday. First day of finals. It started out good. I had my final for humanities of the spanish baroque in the morning where we discussed a more polished summary of our papers and he spoke favorably of mine and its complexity-yes!

Then, after being wheeled and dealed by a greasy salesman (don't ask), I returned to campus to prepare and study for my final that evening and the next day. I had a film final where we were meeting in the varsity theare to watch and write about a movie-cake. So I'm waiting, and sit near the varsity theatre and see that there are people in there-probably the test before ours-i know they always use that big room during finals week for tests. So I'm waiting waiting...and then suddenly I felt I should look at my schedule. I do. This is where the above picture comes in. The final for film was from 3-6 and it's 5:40!!!! The movie is already shown, and the people are almost done writing their papers and there's nothing I can do. I got the times of my other evening final on tuesday mixed up with this one (the other was 5:45-7:45).
Yeah,the End all- Mother of all sinking feelings takes place. I run to the library and email my TA explaining how retarded I am and even though I understand if there's nothing to be done but still trying for a hail mary-some act of mercy. According to the syllabus I'd fail if I missed the final-yeah...not good. Especially since this was the one final that was easy-the ones i was worried about weren't until Saturday. So I sort of flipped out...ask Cody-he's my witness. I was wiggin'.
I managed to study that evening for the finals the next day figuring I had to do good on some finals. I got home and there was an email from my TA who I'm considering naming my first girl after, that gave me a make up assignment after talking with the professor and decided to show mercy since I was a good student all semester. Phew.
So thanks to that I saw how to train your dragon last night.
SO GOOD!!!!
Man, i'd see it again-so funny, looked GREAT, and a great soundtrack-lots of nordic/celtic sounding music, way cool.
All I have left is an Isaiah final Tuesday at evening at 5:45-7:45 (believe me I've checked a bunch!)
3 days til we go home to Houston for a visit-I can't wait!!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Is it just me?

or does my brother look like Kirk in this interpretive dance? I know the quality is bad so you can't see the face very well-but he has dark eye make up on, is tall and skinny, with the dark hair weirdly slicked back etc.
(these are pics from Steve's play that we went to today-he played he spider...don't ask me why that means he has to have black lines across his face.)

kirk:


steve:






btw, his performance did not make me go "eww" like in the kirk clip...

Friday, April 9, 2010

we came we saw we partied

It was a Ringing Success!
Everything worked out just perfectly.
After a delicious meal at Red Robin-seriously the first time I had ever eaten there and I'm sold 8)
My birthday master plan for Cody included a scavenger hunt to different places of significance for us on and off campus with lil notes explaining at each place. Of all the public places I hid envelopes: the MOA on campus, sonic, Barnes and Nobles, the Springville Museum of Art, on campus etc. The one in the Wilk got opened. No, I'm not bitter. I just can't believe it! it was taped underneath the table-who touches the undersides of tables in the first place-that's where people stick gum people! and there it was ripped open and left sitting on the table when we got there. Who does that? Who opens something that is NOT for them-they know it's not for them, and it's not like they could have thought someone accidentaly left it-it was purposefully taped underneath the table.
sigh...no, i'm not bitter.
but it was still there so it all worked out.
Then it was on to Cody's apartment for a crazy LOST themed party (i'll get pictures up as soon as drea sends them to me-so don't nag me, nag drea! haha). It was way fun and thank you to all who helped me out and made it possible!
what I learned from this experience:
Sawyer's nicknames are hilarious
metal tongs are very effective if you need to light a bajillion candles without burning yourself
Though LOST themed werewolves is fun for the heck of it, original werewolves is better
Steve shouldn't wear eye liner-we look enough alike as it is.
perminant marker is hard to get off your finger nails-thanks for that one Tyler!
Themed parties are the way to go 8)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Ode to Code...I made a rhyme 8)


That's right, 24 years ago today Cody A. Nolden graced the world with his presence. I can't tell you exactly what time he was born but I can tell you that it changed my life-I just didn't know it yet.
The first encounter I had with cody was around Heleman Halls fall of 2004 at BYU. We weren't in the same ward or anything but he sort of knew my best friend Heather and would join our group to hang out sometimes whether it was eating in the cannon center or going to the dollar theatre. To be perfectly honest I didn't remember him very well from freshman year, but vaguely. Also, randomly enough, he was in the same ward as my cousin Jason and randomly enough they both got called to Korea and saw each other over there once-that's just the start of small world experiences that brought us together.

So in spring of 2007 he gets back from his mission and I leave on mine Aug 2007. So I'm getting ready to come back to school in fall '09 and arrange to live with my cousin andrea who, ironically, had been my roommate freshman year when I first met Cody. At this point Andrea was engaged to Nate Louder who's roommate was: yes, Cody Nolden. He heard from Andrea that I was coming back, remembered me, and set up a big group date between our apartments and the rest is history.

I guess we were just a long time coming. I'm so grateful that he remembered me and called me- on Nate's phone cause he didn't have my number (another great story ;)
He has done nothing but make me laugh and feel good about myself from the first date on.
His talents include, but are not limited to: technologically savy (he'll try to deny this but don't listen)-programming, knowing all sorts of gadgets, and fixing basic problems that the technologically retarded like me can't, He is an amazing monopoly player-basically kicks my butt every time, and I think that's cause he has an incredible analytical mind for business and can just sense a good deal and if there isn't one-he'll make one, extremely selfless-seriously, i know he would be willing to help me in ANYWAY, all i have to do is ask, a GREAT Racquetball player-i respect anyone who can play my dad and not whince or end up in the fetal position in the corner (it's too loud for me), He is SO smart! not only is he naturally intelligent-having straight A's while in the midst of an accelerated bachelor/masters program-but what I love more is his continual desire to learn about new things and broaden his horizons, he is able to put up with me and my crazy antics on a regular basis-i know, it's quite the talent.

So here's to you Cody Nolden (i feel like that announcer guy on the beer commercials-ya know the one's i mean?) thank you for making the last 161 days AMAZING!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


mafia date


Love you Code!