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!

Hola from Tonopah!

Well Tonopah has been pretty fantastic so far. Training took FOREVER but we are finally starting to get to the grit of things. At least a little bit. This week we have been doing district cleanup while Mark is moving his family from Utah but hopefully by the end of the week we will be back in the field recording sites. We drive about an hour and a half to site everyday but at some point it is going to be longer. The majority of the drive is done on dirt roads which is pretty awesome. Time flies when you have to watch out for boulders and drop-offs. :) Speaking of, on the first day I was driving the truck--trucks are HUGE by the way, at least compared to my little Ford Escort. Anyway so I was driving the truck back from site and was doing ok until BANG! POP! (except mucho, mucho louder). I'm not used to the width of the truck and so I was trying to avoid this very big rock but it hit the tire wall and took out a fairly good chunk out of the tire. Everyone was really nice about it but I do claim the first flat of the season. Kudos to me. :)
Well everything is going great and there will be updates to follow! At some point I will also post some video and pictures. Yep, yep.

Exciting updates...well at least a little bit.

Well I am moving to the middle of nowhere in Nevada in two days!!! I can't decide whether I am excited or nervous or a little of both. I am so excited to be hiking out in the middle of nowhere, working hard and studying for the GRE that I am taking at the end of the summer. I hope I'm not making it sound like I am dreading it because I actually am so excited that I can hardly contain myself. I actually didn't feel that way until Sunday to be honest. Sunday was pretty miraculous that way. I have been dealing with getting this job for months and months and have questioned whether this is the right thing to do but I prayed for weeks before I found out whether I got the job thinking that if I got it, which seemed highly unlikely, I should take it. Well I miraculously got the job but felt no confirmation and so I have been struggling with leaving but on Sunday I got the spiritual confirmation I was looking for. You know it seems like other parts of my life are developing in unsuspected ways and I have been worried about leaving, wondering if all that progress will disappear. Now I feel this amazing peace and incredible joy knowing that I am in the right place, at the right time and doing what I need to be doing. I am so happy where I am right now!!! Well if I don't write before I leave my next update will be from Tonopah, Nevada!!! Night guys!

GRRR...

I just realized that somehow my list of blogs has disappeared. This makes me super mad. Curse you blogger!
Due to this unforeseen complication I have decided to change my template. It will take me awhile but I am learning how to do simple template coding and so I think it will be more than a little bit fun. We'll see how this craziness goes. Maybe this is a good thing in the disguise of a very bad, frustrating and infuriating situation. :)

List of Madness

GUESS WHO IS APPLYING FOR GRADUATION!!!!
...and studying for the GRE,
...and working on grad school applications,
...and is working on another paper, massive research paper, and crazy final,
...and is writing a talk for next Sunday,
...and is now unemployed until that hopefully wonderful call from the forest service,
...and has not showered in a few days...oops. :)

and yet with all this stuff to do in this crazy next few weeks I am feeling so wonderful today because of conference. This has probably been the most wonderful and seemingly fast conference I have ever watched but I am so grateful for the blessing of being led by a prophet of God and the hope and joy that the gospel truly does bring, even in the midst of all the craziness I am trying to live through right now.

AAAAHHHHH FINALS!!!

Wait, so finals aren't technically here for another week and a few days but I am getting hit with a major work load right now. I am taking a small break from writing a paper and thought would update just a little bit.
I'm still waiting to hear back on the job in Nevada. I'm a little nervous but we'll see how it goes. I just want to do the right thing with it but I'm not quite sure what that is so I'll just wait a little bit longer (which seems like forever) and see how it goes.
I had a major miracle in studying for a test this past week. Long and amazing story short; I had been really sick and was unable to study for the biggest test of the semester and I really suck at memorizing things. So after a great deal of prayer and ulcers I spent the morning studying what I thought would be on the test and trying to take mental pictures of everything I could study. Memories are so weird by the way. Took the test, it took 4 hours and 45 minutes and it was an absolute miracle. I knew mostly everything and was able to write the essay. I was so grateful for such a miraculous blessing. I get my score, hopefully, on Tuesday.
Also I quit my job but that's not really exciting news, just stressful. We'll see how everything goes.
So there is the 2 minute update and it is back to my paper!
Aliswan over and out. :)

What a nice break!

So this past weekend I had a major blessing in that I was able to go to California for a field trip for one of my classes. It was so nice to have a break from everything even though the weather wasn't the best and it was only for 3 days and 2 of the 3 days was spent driving. But it was an absolutely wonderful trip and I feel like I've had this huge weight taken off my back and IT IS WONDERFUL!!!