I may not look like a runner but running away is what I do best.

True story. I decided I'm tired and want a break from craziness, exhaustion and drama...so I'm leaving for L.A. Thursday morning. Nothing clears your head like a road trip in a 15 passenger BYU van through the Nevada wasteland. I can say that because I lived in Nevada and while I thought Tonopah and the surrounding area was lovely, Vegas is like a flippin' frying pan. I am incredibly excited though. Two really exciting things have happened.
Miraculous story numero 1:
I got a call from Erica right before my class started telling me she was going on Finlayson's semesterly trip to L.A. and wanted me to come with her but I had to decide...right then. So I decided to leave it in the hands of God and go up to Dr. Finlayson's office...and if she was there go, and if she wasn't...cry a little and stay in Provo. Well she wasn't. :( So after resolving to stay I literally ran into her on may way out of the Kimball Tower. It was fantastic and pretty miraculous. Long story short, I'm now going to L.A. and am exceedingly excited for the incoming break.
Miraculous story numero 2:
Dr. Finlayson informs me that she still would love for me to go to Syria with her and I think to myself...hmmmm...why not? I've got no strings to hold me down...(and then I forget the rest of the words to the song) So it is something that I am seriously debating right now. And by serious, I mean SERIOUSLY SERIOUS. I'm doing my best trying to figure out this crazy life of mine right now.
So as a summary: I am going to L.A. to see the Pompeii exhibit and I may run away to Syria this summer...or Spain, there is this underwater archaeology field school I am dying to go to...aaaah focus Aliswan!!!! One adventure at a time.
So there are the miracles for this week. Hopefully miracle number 3 will be that I will pass my scuba final tonight and live to dive another day. We'll see...

10 things that make today wonderful!

So today has been a tad bit early but pretty dang good for me...surprisingly. Here is a silly list of 10 things why today is bound to be marvelous.
1. I barely slept last night...Sounds stinky right but in reality even though I had some weird stress dreams my insomnia made it that much easier for me to get out of bed this morning and write that paper I procrastinated. And because I did it so early I had it done hours before I planned to even start writing it.
2. I forgot to take off my makeup last night...usually that means my eyes are killing me and I have smears all over my face and a new zit, but guess what? No sleep, no smear! :) Also I woke up and my hair looked like it was still perfectly waved. All I had to do was put on clothes and brush my teeth. It was wonderful.
3. I went to get dressed this morning and I actually had clean clothes in my closet. Sometimes before you wake up you forget you did laundry all weekend and it is like a nice smelling surprise.
4. There was a bag of Frosted Flakes on the counter this morning...gosh I LOVE Frosted Flakes.
5. When I got my laptop out to type up my paper I was so happy. My computer got a virus and my wonderful uncle reformatted it for me. Then I bought a computer sticker cover and now it is like I have a new computer. New things (even if they just feel new) are fantastic. I love the cover, everytime I see it it makes me happy. This is the artwork on it by Nanami Cowdroy:

6. The weather today is absolutely lovely. Walking up to campus was wonderful.
7. I was able to download all of my assignments from Blackboard. For those of you who know how naughty Blackboard has been lately, you would understand.
8. I am wearing my comfortable shoes...:)
9. I'm getting a new cell phone this week or next which is marvelous.
10. My all time favorite. I love being prepared and making lists etc. but I have never before been so obsessed with a planner. I decided to try out a Moleskin planner this year because so many people recommended it to me. I love, love, love it. I use it constantly and take it everywhere with me. I'll likely never use another planner again. I'm in love, what can I say? :)
So there you go. Happy Monday!!! (who would have thought that could happen?)

New Moon....???

Ok, I can't believe that I am doing this but I cannot resist. First let me give a precursor, I HATED New Moon, I despised it, it stunk hard core. But I have to admit being the video preview and movie spoiler connoisseur that I am I couldn't deny the awesomeness of this preview. We'll see how I like the movie but if the preview is any indication of Chris Weitz's ability to fix a painful book, there is a good chance I might enjoy it. We'll see. ;)

How can I be behind when I've just begun?

So school is in full swing now. I love how on some of my classes the day you get the syllabus you find that you are already at least 50 pages behind. Little did you know that you were supposed to read the material before you even got the book. Apparently this lovely professor just likes to keep us on our toes.
It's not the only thing I'm behind on though. I keep needing to update my little brother's mission blog but literally do not have enough hours in the day to catch up. Being in the middle of nowhere for 3 months tends to get you backed up on things. I also should probably unpack...and do laundry. Yes, definitely need to do laundry first.
One fantastic thing that I'm doing right now is working out with my good friend Erica. It is absolutely fantastic. She is an awesome runner and I'm pretty decent at swimming so we are training each other. We workout almost every morning or evening and I am feeling soooo good. Even though trying to get out of bed to make it to the pool by 6am is a total killer, after we finish our workout I feel great. It's really made a difference in my days.
Well the download I have been waiting for is finally loaded so I better take off. Adios!

Swimming, swimming, in a swimming pool....

So I had my first scuba diving class in the pool last night. It was absolutely fantastic! My diving buddy is super good too. We race everywhere. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins and sometimes instead of using my regulator, I put my snorkle in my mouth and try to breathe underwater. So this experience of accidentally breathing underwater has kind of taught me one little morbid thing. If you just relax and breathe, drowning actually isn't as bad. Really, it was almost to easy. Although I wouldn't recommend it because this morning I had a massive headache, a little off balance and wanted to hurl everywhere. Yep, so overall, wouldn't recommend it.

Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out...

So I'm taking the GRE tomorrow morning. Which according to the offical GRE website stands for:
The Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking and analytical writing skills. The GRE® Subject Tests gauge undergraduate achievement in 8 specific fields of study.
That is 8 specific fields of study folks...8. Should that sound intimidating because it is, it really is. I've kind of gotten to the point where it I am so saturated with information that I can't think. I've been studying for this test all summer and I have come to the conclusion that the sponge of my mind is so saturated that if I try to study anymore then vital equations, definitions and proofs will slowly seep from my mind and therefore be missing when I go to take my test.
It reminds me of a race that I swam when I was about 11 years old. I was always trying to 'pump' myself up but for this race (500 freestyle) I could not wake up. My mind was completely blank and I sat behind the blocks like a zombie, yawning and generally looking like I wouldn't make it to the blocks not to mention finish the race. My coach was worried and trying to wake me up but I just could not focus or even think. Well, long story short, it was one of the best races I ever swam. Don't know why, but it was. So I am really hoping and praying that this will also be the case. That by some miracle everything is there, and when I need it, it will come. That is what I'm praying my little heart out for. Really, I'm terrified but I have faith that I have prepared as well as I was capable and that what should happen, will happen. I'm just hoping that 'what should happen' is that I should be able to pass the dreaded test, go to grad school and fulfill my life dreams. That would be swell. We'll see.

FiRSt dAy OF sChoOL

I love, love, love school. Except for the first day. I always get so nervous. I kind of feel like somehow I'm going to forget everything I ever learned and make an absolute fool of myself. Well, I haven't yet but it is only 9am. I still got time. So I still have no idea where the majority of my clothes are, which is probably a good thing because I have no idea where I would put them. Moving in and unpacking can be a royal pain in the behind. So I am wearing a dress, which provides a nice breeze to be honest ;) and my red Nevada cowboy boots. I love these boots. Although I thought that the boots would cover my legs a little better than they are...meaning that they aren't at all. Unfortunately 250+ miles of Nevada sagebrush, cacti, and dead trees have tattooed my legs...actually I don't think that is a proper description. I look like I tripped into a paper shredder. Unfortunately my boots are not covering this fact as much as I would like so I'm getting a few looks. Don't worry folks I'm not being beaten to death, I'm just super hard core and a major klutz. :) Well life goes on and I am getting ready to go to my first class of the day. Speaking of, is it wise to go from 10am to 7pm on Mondays and Wednesdays just so I can have Tuesdays and Thursdays off? Well I'm about to find out. Adios amigos! Wish me luck!

Whoa Bessy...

Coming back into Provo was a bit of a shock. The first shock came when I got on I-80 and the roads were over two lanes. That was pretty fantastic. The next was how loud it was. Not an annoying kind of loud, just noisy. Sounds silly but after living in the middle of nowhere for three months with hardly a soul around some weeks, the sound of a car running is like grinding in a megaphone for me. Then i walked up to campus and that was a bit of a culture shock as well, but then again, it always has been. Good to be back, but it will definitely take me a bit to adjust.

Leaving Tonopah...

Well I'm getting ready to leave Tonopah, Nevada and can I tell you how crazy that is?!?! Time this summer has absolutely flown and I'm not quite sure what to do with myslef. I started packing my car and suddenly I was having to worry about drama, and finances and jobs and school and relationships and run on sentences... Basically completely opposite of how I am right now. I've loved it here. It was so perfect this morning when I ran out to my car at 4:30 in the morning and looked at the most beautiful star filed sky I have ever seen. It seemed that there were more stars in the sky then black. It was beautiful and I just stopped and stared. I'm sure I'll be happy back in Happy Valley and know that it is time to move on but I just want to say that this experience has been so perfect for me. It is just what I needed, when I needed it and I am so happy at times I could absolutely burst.
So in closing feel like some stats?
- This summer we have surveyed over 2000 acres officially.
- I have also hiked over 250 miles...believe me, my shoes and feet show it.
- I saw my first rattlesnake
- I also got to play with the tail of a rattlesnake, yes we killed one and Sam cooked it for Luke and Nick for dinner.
- There has been a million things more but I can't say them all.
I'm happy, what else can I say?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

Yes I am really sorry I have not posted in so long. This summer has been flying by and internet access has been sketchy to say the least. This summer has also been absolutely amazing!!! I have officially about 5 weeks left. Isn't that crazy? 5 weeks, that's it. I don't know what to do with myself. We are camping onsite 4 days a week trying to finish up our survey. Complaints about camping have been rampant but to be honest, I absolutely love the camping. I also loved getting stuck in the rainstorm on Wednesday. I'm really not being sarcastic, promise. I loved it. The lightening was less than a mile a way and we ran about a mile to the car. I have never been so completely soaked in my life, and I was a swimmer! I loved it all though, it was so beautiful, it smelled so good, and I was so completely happy! I love it here but I am excited to move on, move forward and move home. This is my last year of my undergrad and I'm blown away by how fast life is moving along. Good times. Well I'm still trying to put up pictures from the last few months but it's not working well but I will try to update a little more regularly. Adios!