Round 2: It passes all my understanding.

I am a bit in shock.

Just a bit.

And that statement is just a bit of an understatement.

:)

I have been in a bit of a funk trying to do a little self-evaluation.

Am I making the right choices?

Am I on the right path?

Am I looking at where this path is taking me, not just what I am doing at the moment?

Do I feel good about this direction?

Am I happy?

Why or why not?

Is there a purpose to what I am doing?

I could go on forever but these are some of the things I have been thinking about.

Sometimes life takes you on such an amazing ride so fast you feel like you are losing control.

So I wanted to make sure I knew what the heck I was doing - or at least trying to do.

Less than a year ago a very generous person donated a significant amount of money to grad students traveling to a specific dig in Apamea, Syria.

That miraculously included me.

(Click here for recap)

Long story short Syria fell apart and it was no longer safe for me to go so I instituted plan B and traveled all over Jordan, Italy (here, and here too!) and Great Britain.

It was a dream come true.

Since that point things have become increasingly...overwhelming.

1. I started my last class before my official thesis research.  
2. I presented at a research symposium for the first time - my own research (ahhhh!!!)
3. My thesis adviser approached me about trying to get funding for more research for my thesis this summer and needed a list of theaters to go to.
4. I've finished my coursework and am starting my personal research.
5. I am also getting ready to propose my thesis so I can start writing it.

Once Upon A Time: The Evolution of the Desktop.

When I was a senior in high school, for Christmas, one of my friends gave me a new desktop computer.

I was pretty stoked.

So I took it with me to school and typed a lot of papers, played a lot of solitaire and minesweeper, and basically survived my 4 years of university with that marvelous beast.

Not that I didn't sometimes "step out" with other technology.

Out of necessity my sophomore year of college I bought my first laptop to work with my desktop.

I named him Douglas, Douglas the Dell.

Yes, I name my technology, "whatcha gonna do 'bout it?"

After a couple of years of teamwork with the desktop, Douglas perished while the desktop lived on.

Yes, that is duct tape.

 Apparently two trips to the middle east and being on a few other digs was really, really hard on Douglas.

I knew Douglas was on his way out so I replaced him the summer before my first year of grad school.

With Tahla.

Who is marvelous, light, and has already traveled around the world with me this year.

Tahla in Arabic means "little palm tree". 

(or so I am told)

Considering the size and weight difference I thought it was appropriate.

I bought Tahla right after I got back from Syria and started working on a dig in Utah for the rest of the summer.

I had lent my computer to my familia while I was gone.

I came back and the monitor no longer worked and the computer had a few nasty viruses.  

So I reformatted it but it was starting to dawn on me that my desktop would not last much longer.

So I began saving and preparing myself for its death.

(backing up things and so forth).

It took a year and a half for it to die.

It happened this Thanksgiving.

I was angry at first but then I was relieved because I got black Friday prices.

So I bought my new best friend...who I haven't named yet. ;)

We got double monitors at job 1 and now I am a woman obsessed.  

It took me a few days to realize I could hook up my old monitor and then have love at home too.

It seems silly but the double monitor has changed my life.

Writing and researching is FANTASTIC!!!

So there you go.

The evolution of my computer life.

♥ ♥ ♥

Wow, it has been a really long time.

The last time I blogged was September 18th.  That is ridiculous. :)

A LOT has happened since then.

I turned 24.

My brother Juanita got engaged.

My brother Juanita got married. 

I am working on my last class before my thesis research.

I've been so busy I have barely taken any pictures in weeks.

(that may not seem like a big deal but I usually take a few everyday)

Hmmm....

I am in the middle of writing a paper...

ok, not that interesting.

Basically Jon's wedding, school, and...I'm not sure what else (bad sign) have taken over my life for the past few months and left no survivors. 

To show this, here are the only pictures I have taken since September 18th.

Ridiculous.

Walked by this as I was heading toward the library on Halloween.

Only at BYU 

:)

Fall leaves falling as I am walking to work.

Deruda took Rosie running 

(meaning he let her off her leash and let her go wild)

in an old parking lot.

She ripped up her paws and we had to bandage them.

I'm still mad at Deruda.

They took down a sculpture on campus that I used to play in as a child.

It was not earthquake proof so they took it down for the winter and are going to rebuild it in the spring.

Members of the family of deer that live on the hill between upper and lower campus decided to come down.

For fun I guess.

I was walking from job 1 to job 2.

Yes, I have 2.

Yes, I love them both.

The top of my car a week or so ago.

I wore flip flops and a skirt the day before.

Gotta love Utah weather.

This is from the inside of my car looking through my windshield on that same day.

It took a bit to scrape through that mess.

It was fun though.

:)

Juanita over Thanksgiving break.

Cousin Taylor taught him how to do a back bend.

He was showing off for his cute wife.

True story.

:)

In summary,

life is good,

I've been unbelievably busy,

and the semester is about to end.

YES!

♥ ♥ ♥

Consequences of not sleeping

Apparently lately there have been a lot of consequences in my life.

(Consequences for writers block a few days ago being an example)

For another example, here is my list of consequences linked to my inability to sleep this week.

1. Next to no working out - this makes me cranky and my muscles tight.
2. Not getting my homework done - I try so hard but the page keeps going in and out of focus.  Unfortunately now I am several hundred pages behind in reading and have not done what my thesis adviser insisted be done...by tomorrow.  Guess I'll be able to do it tonight since I probably won't be sleeping.
3. Being a tad bit antisocial - I'm cranky why would I want to be around people?
4. Eating badly - I'm to tired to make things so I pick up gross, fast, and angry food that I eat, even though it makes me sick.
5. Getting sick - No rest and bad food (among other things) have contributed to the state I am in this morning.  

Even though this was an incredibly tough week for me there were some definite positives.

1. I met a world-famous anthropologist - I helped pick him up from the airport and he was very kind and interesting.  Not one of those egomaniacs whose articles you read and sometimes run into.
2. I made it to all of my classes and all but one of my activities.
3. I got a new project at work (which adds majorly to the stress level, but which is a fantastic opportunity).
4. Rosie, my family's dog, loves me.  That sounds a bit silly but when you've had an incredibly rough week there is nothing better than the softest little thing running up to you, jumping in your arms and kissing your face.  She also loves to sit in my lap and just cuddle which is nice after a hard day.
5. The poster sale.  I got 4 new posters that I was going to stick in my kitchen, but I liked them so much I stuck them in my bedroom.  Maybe I'll post them someday - not today though.

So there you go.

There is good and bad to every day - and in this post every week.

So I try to keep on keeping on and count my blessings along the way.

September 11th

On September 11, 2001...

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock radio.

In the middle of the song the DJ said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.

Half asleep I didn't think it was real.

As my mom drove me to school that day I told her, but she didn't believe me.

I thought I had dreamt it.

As I walked into class every television was on and it was real.

I was in my freshman English class when I saw the south tower fall live.

I couldn't breathe.

I don't remember much else after that morning.

We were sent to all our classes, but I don't remember doing anything.

By lunch the principal of our school asked the teachers to turn of the television.

When I got home that evening we prayed as we watched rescue workers attempting to find survivors.

That was my September 11th.

Today I am grateful for the gospel that gives me perspective in the face of tragedy,

for my country,

and for the example of people who sacrifice themselves in an effort to save those around them.

That is what it is to be truly Christlike.

9/11 we will never forget.

Consequences of Writers Block

I love grad school.

I've said this before but I think it needs to be repeated...every day.

There are several reasons for this:

1. sometimes I need to remind myself how much I love grad school, especially when I am pulling all-nighters for weeks at a time.

2. I actually do love it.

Despite this love, everyday is not perfect.

For example:

today.

This morning I am trying to write a paper.

I have lots of (what I think) are fantastic ideas, but for some reason when I try to type them I just can't find the right words.

In other words: WRITERS BLOCK!

ugh.

I am not a fan.

So instead of writing my paper I thought I would play catch up.

Here is goes:

A few weeks ago we (the padre, the bug and I) dropped Stephie off at school and helped her apply to about 15 jobs.

It was a busy day.

Yes, we did it all in one day.

It was on this day that Bug and I became famous.

We had just dropped off the last application for Steph and a woman approached us.

She was doing a recording for a special artist presentation/video thing and needed two female voices to record a  written statement.

Well, Bug and I realized that there were two of us, and this woman was in definite need.

So we did it.

And now our voices are on some random video that will probably get an Oscar or something.

But....probably not.

It was fun though.

In other news:

I love my job.

I love both of them but ESPECIALLY job 1 (in publications).

Not as much as I love grad school.

But I really do love it a lot.

Let me explain...no, there is to much, let me sum up.

While this is the first time I have had this particular job, it is housed in the same location as another job that I had.

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures.

(which you should definitely check out for a good time)

Awesome things happen at that place, especially on the 2nd floor (where I work).

Like the traveling gnome, and other remarkable events.

For a review look here, here, here, and here.

This time, a toy dinosaur broke into the museum and left Lindsay a present.

and yes, the gnome is still wandering about the 2nd floor. 

:)

In conclusion:

Life is grand, work is groovy, and school is great.

I realized how blessed I was while I was studying on campus,

next to a water fall,

in my little corner of heaven.

As I was sitting there reading about the Romans and thinking about how beautiful it was that morning, 

suddenly light peaked through the leaves of the trees and warmed my face.

It was pure heaven for a minute there.

So happy.

♥ ♥ ♥

Tender Mercies -- a listening ear.

I had the most wonderful afternoon today.

Today as a whole was pretty good (Mondays and Wednesdays are my work instead of school days).

I worked at the museum,

then I went to the class I TA for,

and then my good friend and I sat in the hallway of the JFSB for over 2 hours talking.

It was so nice.

Life has been pretty lonely.

My research trip was wonderful but not without some pretty excruciating trials.

I got home, started a wonderful new job, but I'm still figuring out some things.

I haven't really had anyone to talk to for awhile.

I didn't think I was much of a talker but I certainly was today.

Poor Lynn got an ear full.

Lynn and I are in the same cohort, meaning we had basically all the same classes our first year.

So we talked, struggled, and pulled through a lot with the other girls in our class.

It has been a long time so we caught up on crazy things.

Like her crazy experiences this summer,

and my experiences with crazy people.

:)

Anyway, bottom line:

I am grateful for kind people,

who sacrifice their time and sanity for someone.

Because really,

I think we all are struggling a bit more than we let on.

Often more than a bit.

♥ ♥ ♥

Awesome archaeology -- "We like them to be dead...and human."

Yesterday was technically the first day of classes.

I say technically because I technically went to class but it wasn't mine.

Let me explain.

This semester I have 2 jobs.

I love them both.

Not equally, but there is enough love to go around.

Heaven knows I don't love anything outside of archaeology at present.

But that is besides the point.

My first job is my favorite.

I work for the publishing arm of the Anthropology department.

I absolutely love it.

I am learning so much.

My second job is also for the Anthropology department.

I work as a TA for the Intro to Archaeology course.

This job is also fun.

It is the class I attended yesterday.

The quote in the heading was said by the professor who was trying to explain to the students what exactly archaeologists study.

Dead people and their cultures.

Not dinosaurs.

People really struggle to understand that.

I can't figure out why.

Oh well.

In other good news I am now a part-time student.

There are good and bad things about this.

Good: I can afford tuition.

Bad: I am a part-time student and therefore am a lesser citizen in the eyes of the university.

...or so I thought.

I wanted to use the facilities here.

Not the bathroom...the pool, weight rooms, courts etc.

It costs $45 for part-time students.

I went to pay it and the guy asked me if I was a grad student.

I said yes.

He informed me that grad students are super special and always have access to facilities,

even if they are part-time.

I am sure I have said it before but I love being a grad student.

It is marvelous.

So life is good, school is starting, and happiness is the most present emotion at present.

Yay!

♥ ♥ ♥

Weak Sauce -- The BYU all-happiness pass.

Ok, it is really an all-sports rather than an all-happiness pass but it does make me oh so happy.

I bought a BYU all-sports pass.

Which lets me into any BYU NCAA event.

Which I think is fan-friekin- tastic.

http://byucougars.com/home/w-soccer

Last night I went to the BYU Women's Soccer game.

We lost.

It was very sad.

It was a bit of a dirty game.

Miami was not always so friendly.

Pushing, punching, and kicking won them more yellow cards than points.

But regardless of how much better your ball skills, if you can't get it into the goal, you will still lose.

Unfortunately Miami got it into the goal...once.

We did not.

Oh well.

Next game.

Which I will be to.

Because I have my all-sports pass.

♥ ♥ ♥

Weak Sauce -- working at working out.

Working out...ugh.

I'm not one of those girls that heads to the gym for the fun of it...despite a pretty athletic background.

I have to have some kind of purpose.  

Losing weight or having a six-pack really isn't that inspiring to me.

Which is strange apparently.

Or so I am continually told.

So I gave myself a goal:

Do a triathlon!

But then I needed something to keep me going.

So I talked to my sisters and we are talking to others and we are all going to keep each other in check.

Sounds fantastic right?

Except we don't necessarily live near each other...

and we all kind of have different goals...

and like to work out at different times...

so working out together won't really work.

So what did we do?

We made a blog where we are going to post our goals, workouts, inspirations, and whatever else we feel like posting.

We're girls, there are endless possibilities.

(the inspiration for this came from my brother the little juan and his cross-country team)

It is called The Rolee Polees.

It's going to be so much fun!

♥ ♥ ♥