Reasons I used to blog more.

I used to blog more.

There are a few reasons...maybe more like excuses.

1. I used to have a life.

I tried to think of another reason but I couldn't think of any that trumps #1.

Yeah, I am in grad school now.

My time is not my own.

My energy is not my own.

My brain is not my own.

My life is not my own.

So now I randomly post pictures and maybe an explanation if I'm lucky.

Today I will tell a story.

I was at job 2 (my TA job) when the professor began explaining the type of person that is drawn to archaeology.  

They are generally introverted loner types who generally avoid social activities/situations because they get along better with the dead than the living.

Way to describe my existence...perfectly.

Despite the seemingly negative connotation with my chosen profession, I love it, and I especially love being around a ton of people just like me...all the time.  It is definitely a first in my life and I greatly appreciate it.  

So to you people (some of which in my extended family) who think I am peculiar, weird, abnormal, and ridiculous...my comrades and I on the 8th floor of the SWKT think the same thing about you. :)  

Because we are the same.

Which I ♥.
Which is probably why I don't mind that I've sold my soul to them for the foreseeable future.
Grad school is slowly killing me.

The End.

Project 52

Latest 2 installments.

18/52

19/52



Until next week!
By the way, I created a separate blog for this project a long time ago and don't remember if I posted it here.
It gives the picture descriptions that I don't post here because...I don't.
It is:
http://52lights.tumblr.com/

Project 52

17/52

Project 52

16/52

Another summary.

One day I was sad and a tad bit lonely.

So I bought a fish.

A male beta killer fish.

He is beautiful,

and makes me less sad.

Although he doesn't have a name other than 'fishy', he definitely has a personality.

He plays dead when he is mad at me, and is really good at it.

The padre almost flushed him down the toilet but thankfully waited until I got home.

I told him to just move the bowl a little and Fish would move.

But Fish ignored me.

Kind of.  He actually rolled a little bit and flapped on of his fins at me.

So I stuck my finger in the water,

and then he swam about, flared his fins in anger, and then swam to the top and played dead again.

Despite the rough start, Fish and I are good friends now.

He is no longer mad at me.

When I sit at my desk he swims about madly and then faces me while I talk to him.

When I stop talking he turns around and makes a bubble nest.  

Apparently that means he is happy, from what I've read.

Here is my impression of Fish.

In other news the padre tiled the backsplash for the kitchen.  

It looks beautiful, and has inspired me to do more cooking.

I made lunch for the week last night.

My apartment smelled delicious.

I have been thinking about the delicious lunch that is sitting in my lunch box for about an hour and a half.

I am really hungry.  

I also packed dinner.

I was planning on being on campus until later tonight but my essay got canceled so I get to go home!

Which is good because I have been sick and have been chugging this stuff so I can survive the day.

It has been a miracle worker.

So, there you go.

That is a super quick summary of some random events from the last few weeks.

The End.

Attempts at focusing - a few days in pictures.

Struggling this week to focus.  

I've had really bad headaches that make schoolwork harder than usually.

Plus I feel like an absolute idiot in my classes.

Oh well,  

I got in for a reason right?

Although if it was just to be constantly humiliated than I think I've met the requirement.

:(

So, this week has been beautiful, even though it has been hard.

I stayed up all night on Sunday writing a paper that was due at 9 am Monday morning.

I finished the paper at 7 am which is when I left for campus so I could print off my paper and the reading I had to also do before class.

Love the graduate student covered parking by the way.

As I walked up to campus I was really happy, and exhausted, so exhausted.

I got to the library and found that only 1/2 of my paper had been saved on my USB drive.

Thank goodness I had saved a backup copy of the entire paper on my computer...

...back home.

:(

So I ran back home, saved it to my USB 3 times, ran back to campus where there was no more covered parking, printed off my paper, skimmed the reading, and collapsed in a chair in my class to tired to focus on the lecture.

But it was ok, my paper was done.

After class and job 2 (I fell asleep in the class I TA for), I headed home, where I tried to grade but couldn't focus.

It was between 4-5 pm.

I had only been awake for about 36 hours.

And that is the last thing I remember.

I woke up at 11:30pm on the floor having no idea how I got there.

Then went to bed and slept another 6 hours.

On Tuesday I went to job 1.

It was beautiful in front of the museum.

I love it when I get the computer next to the window at work.  It is such a pretty distraction.

So, after a good shift at work I kind of crashed again and headed home.

It's not that the all-nighters are killing me,

the stress of life is killing me.

The muscles in my face and neck are twitching all the time.

It drives me crazy.

I'm just stressed.

But I went outside later in the evening to this beautiful sight.

So, there is a quick summary of my last few days.

The end.

Project 52

Late again.

Oh well.

:)

14/52

and

15/52

till next time!

My Twinkie shaped existence.

I have been sick.

Therefore, no dishes done.

Because the only dishwasher in my apartment is attached to my arms.

(my hands)

So, I dropped the siblings off to swimming,

swam a bit myself,

and then walked up to campus starving.

Where,

in a lonely little vending machine,

I discovered:

I took a risk.

I ate the bagel that looked like a Twinkie.

And my stomach will be happy until lunch.

I think these have the potential to be as 'revolutionary' as go-gurts.

Because really,

everything is better Twinkie shaped,

except me.

Speaking of,

why don't they sell go-gurts in the campus vending machines instead of those Yoplait containers with no spoons!?!

Now there is an idea.

Thank you Single Dad Laughing.

I clicked on a link this morning posted by one of my friends on Facebook.

I must admit at first it was a little terrifying,

but I did what he asked and read the entire article.

I am so glad that I did.

Here is the link to the article

and here,

and here,

and here.

Just in case you missed the first link, it is that important.

I think anyway.

And here on this blog, 

I basically only talk about what I think.

:)

So there you go.

I hope whoever reads it is as glad as I was,

and hopes that more people read it too.

The end.

Project 52

Hey I am on time this week!

Awesome!

13/52

♥ It was exhausting, but I am loving life this week ♥

You sniff like an old Nancy Drew book.

So at the moment I am researching for a presentation I am doing on Friday.

Have I put this off?

Nope.

Life is that busy.

I opened one of the many books 

(it really is a bound lecture from a 1953 inauguration for an archaeology shindig) 

and looked at the due date slip.

The last person to use the book checked it out in 1959.

They also turned it back on the 10th of April 1959.

I know because it is crossed off.

And if they didn't return it, I wouldn't be reading it.

It also explains the weird smell.

This stagnant, dusty, woodsy, mystery novel smell.

The Nancy Drew books I read in elementary school had that smell also.

Not many read them either.

:)

But I did.

There was also a bookmark in the pages which I assume is from the same time.

So there you go.

I thought it was pretty awesome.

Oh!  I found out I get to keep job 2 for winter semester!

I was worried with changing class schedules but it isn't a problem apparently.

So the tale of Job 1 and Job 2 continues...

Project 52

Oops.

Late again.

Here are the latest 2 installments.

11/52

 

and

12/52

Maybe this week I'll post on time.

Maybe not. 

:)

Quick update.

The last few weeks have been CRAZY!!!

And this is how I feel about it.

I may have discovered the sweet webcam. :)

I'm really starting to wonder if time has sped up.

I have never had a semester go so fast.

I just don't have enough time to do everything!

Like Project 52, which by the way is still in the works, I just keep forgetting to post it up here.

Not forgetting really, just not enough time to do so.

Speaking of, I am off again to do more homework.

Adios!

Heard in the Halls - The Museum Massacre

I talk about my museum job quite a bit,

and the strange, strange things that happen there.

Like the moving gnome.

Today the gnome was above a horrific scene, 

in a box.  A massacre in a box.

notice he is holding the small guitar of one of the victims,

with the hand still attached.

And has a sweet mini black hat on his head.

Here is what is in the box.

I don't know if I want to know who made this.

Although I have a pretty good idea.

So that is what people at my job do.

They really like Halloween things.

And scary things.

Creepy!

Project 52

I keep posting these late!

Sorry about that.

Not that anyone looks at them.

But I still feel guilty.

So here is 10/52

Last week was my birthday!

The end!

Tender Mercies - Having Trouble Trying to Sleep...

Because school is awesome.

I love school.

I am so grateful for it.

It makes me so very happy.

In high school I set a goal to not do homework on Sundays.  

This has meant that I have started writing papers and doing assignments at 12 am Monday morning.

This may seem a little extreme.

But, to be honest, I have felt that my decision has been a huge blessing for me.

Take this past week for example.

Here is a summary:

I had a few time consuming  assignments due,

a ton of research to do,

a major research presentation to present,

a few hundred pages of reading to complete, understand and discuss,

a 2500 word essay to write,

classes, 

grading,

and 2 jobs.

Plus the fact that I got the head cold from Hades and was in bed for the bottom half of the week.

Busy week.

I was able to manage except for the 2500 word essay.

I just didn't have any time to prepare for it.

So the due date of Monday became imminent, Saturday started and I had not, and my goal of no homework on Sunday seemed like the wall between me and the completion of my paper.

Not only was Sunday getting in my way but General Conference was going to knock out another 8 hours of my weekend, along with a few more hours of family obligations.

I seriously debated, after years of holding strong, ending the practice and failing the goal.

I mean, I was in grad school now right?

I needed that extra time.

But...

I didn't.

Here is what happened.

 Saturday morning I woke up super, super sick.

We watched the first session of conference as a familia.

During the 2 hour break I was miraculously able to create a pretty specific outline for the paper and the introductory paragraph.

This is the hardest part for me because I think of it as drawing the lines for the picture.  After this point you just have to fill in the blanks.

Then we watched the next session.

It was wonderful.

After being so stressed and numb all week, feeling the Spirit so strongly was so comforting.

Afterwards I intended to spend another 2 hours working on the essay before heading over to Karen the Great's for my birthday party (oh, my birthday was on Monday), but the girls decided they wanted to go earlier.

So I brought my essay stuff but found that T-dog required my unrequited attention for the entire time there.

It was ok, it was worth playing with my favorite 2 year old.

So I got home, sick, exhausted and upset.

I had a quote come to my mind that I heard from President Thomas S. Monson who was quoting Longfellow.

"The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight; but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night."

So, I got working and worked until midnight.

Sunday was much like Saturday.

Watching conference and spending the day with my wonderful family.

Including cutting the bug's super long hair.

I started my paper at 12:00 am this (Monday) morning.

I finished at 3:33.

I was in bed by 3:45 but didn't get to sleep for a few minutes.

I was awake by 4:50.

I ended up not having to take the kids to swimming and slept another 45 minutes.

Then I left for class.

Now I am at job 2.

And you know what?

I am not tired.  

I am not on caffeine.

(it makes me fall asleep anyway)

I am just really blessed.

I really believe that I have been blessed because I kept my goal to keep the sabbath day holy.

Even though I did it in a very literal way.

So there you go.

Tender mercies.

School last week.

Here are a few images from my week.

From my phone that I think may be dying.

The screen is doing some weird things.

This makes me very, very sad.

But I love this one enough that I will likely buy another one just like it.

We'll see.

Image #1

This is from Monday morning (my birthday!)

It was a beautiful, beautiful day.

Image #2

What is weird about this picture?

Yeah the top of that tree is a bit off.

Image #3

The walk up to campus on Tuesday.

I used to walk along this walkway everyday, but now they are re-landscaping it.

It is looking gorgeous!

Image #4

I love my jobs.

Especially job 1

Where awesome things like this randomly pop up on the wall.

So there was my week in images.  It was a pretty busy but pretty good one.

Project 52

So I took the picture last week but never posted it.

So,

here it is!

Impressions of human sacrifice.

I am exhausted.

I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before though.

Which doesn't make it any less true. :)

So, in my exhausted, overwhelmed state, I decided to take some pictures with the camera on my phone.

That still works by the way.

Despite the fact that I dropped it straight down 4 floors.

After that ordeal the fact that it still works makes me love it more than just about anything.

Besides Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream of course.

When I love something more than Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream I will know that it is true love.

Hasn't happened yet. 

:)

So here are my impressions from the last week or so.

In pictures.

From superman's phone.

Most are from campus.

Because that is where I live apparently.

Where to start?

How about the other morning as I was walking around campus before class.

and saw the family of deer that live on campus.

Despite the attempt of the BYU Grounds crew to move them back up to the mountain,

they refuse.

I like their style.

Way to stick it to the man.

This is a tree I wanted to lay under.

Because its little leaves were starting to change color.

But I had to go to class instead.

I saw this written on the sidewalk as I was walking onto campus.

True story. :)

For Christmas the padre gave me a map of BYU where he outlined a tour he wanted to give me.

We waited until now because campus is at its prettiest at this time of year.

It was a wonderful way to start out Saturday morning.

We went all over.

I took a picture of a really old column that the construction crew knocked over.

Because really, the destruction of monumental architecture is really my forte.

We were both pretty tired so we went into the war memorial room in the Wilk and took a nap.

I laid on the couch but he refused because he was 'a dad'.  

Apparently it is inappropriate for dads to put their feet up.

He eventually did.  

I don't have a picture though. 

Sorry.

Later that night there were some fires over the mountain.

It turned the sun really, really red.

I've never seen it that intense before.

I tried to capture it but it is just a phone camera after all.

Here is the best attempt.

It was pretty remarkable.

As is the sky this morning.

You know what those old sailors say,

"Red sky in the morning, sailors great warning.

Red sky at night, sailors delight."

This is the sky this morning:

I'm seeing some definite possibilities for the day.

Finally I will close with a picture of a portion of the stairs I climb every morning.

(I'm going to have the best buns in the business because of these stairs)

Do they kind of remind you of something?

Yeah, the Mayans rolled their human sacrifices down these kind of stairs too.

Just sayin'.

There are some disturbing similarities here.

Project 52

It was a very, very, very rough week.

I am tired...all the time.

Grad school is killing me.

Slowly,

patiently,

 killing me.

I forget to drink,

I forget to eat,

and I can't sleep.

I still love it,

but it has made me realize that my priorities are not necessarily in the best order.

I mean, I probably should eat before I study.

That way I can focus on the book instead of the pain in my abdomen.

Sometimes I forget.

Oh well.

I took a break on Saturday for T-dog's 3rd birthday.  

While this isn't T-dog,

it is still pretty funny.

The bug tried to hide and take a nap in the corner.

Problem though,

Widgie does not like anyone to be on her red chairs.

I've been pushed out of them myself many a time.

So it was with bug.

Except she didn't really move,

so she got the wrath of the dirty diaper.

It was awesome to say the least.

So there you go.

I am meeting with my bishop this evening.

Because I'm pretty sure I'm about to get a calling.

Because really, my life isn't busy enough.

By the way...

Did you ever notice that there is a beehive on the back of the Maeser Building?

I have lived in Provo for 5 years now.  

I had no idea.