When my niece was younger--between the ages of two and four--she would make up names for me. Some of these nicknames were ones she heard us say, some were names she heard on TV, and some she just made up. One of the most lasting names, which we don't know where it came from, was "pokey guy." She would refer to me as pokey guy often. When my mom leaves the house, she will sometimes say to me, "Be a good boy," so once as they were leaving the house, my niece said to me, "Be a good poke!"
I don't think that my niece called me pokey to mean that I am slow, but sometimes I think that is appropriate. Like at work. One thing that is new this year is that there are TV screens that show how fast we are working. I am working too slowly. I know I just started up again, but I am the second slowest person. The only person slower than me has special needs or something like that. I'm getting better about doing more boxes at a time, but on Friday, I was still slower than I was even on Thursday.
I think part of this may be because of the station I was working at. We have stations in different locations, depending on where the first item on the list is. I have been working at station 3. Unfortunately, station 3 orders call for a lot of missionary water bottles and temple slippers. Why is this bad, you ask? Well, the tickets we have determine what size of box we should use based on the size of the items. But the bottles and slippers are sized incorrectly, so most of the time when you get them on a ticket, you have to go get a bigger box. So a lot of my time is spent not filling boxes--which is what is reflected in the speed--and is actually spent walking all over the place trying to find a sufficiently big box. But maybe this isn't actually slowing me down that much, and I am simply slow. I have always had a tendency not to be very fast.
On Friday night the YSA stake had a big event thing. It was obviously intended for you to meet people, especially since they gave us little slips with random questions to have people sign. (I was valuable for being able to answer "Find someone who has never seen any of the Star Wars movies." I saw a few of them as a kid, but I don't remember anything, so I figured that counts.) But it was also kind of a dance party thing, and the music was too loud to hear anything anyone said. What's the point in having an event to meet people when you can't hear anything they say? So I left early.
Saturday morning the stake activity continued with a service project. In addition to being slow, I have a great tendency of getting lost. This was especially true on my way to the service project. I accidentally ended up getting on the freeway--twice. We were meeting at a church building before going elsewhere for the project, and I figured if I kept looking, by the time I found the church, everyone would be gone, so I just came home. And I felt guilty going to any other activities if I missed the service activity, so I just stayed home all day.
So what did I do with my unplanned free time? I threw away papers. When I was younger I kept notes and things in a filing cabinet so if I ever needed to know something, I could look at an old assignment or handout or note. But today with Wikipedia and other things at my fingertips, and being in college, I figured I didn't need to keep most of that stuff. So I went through it all, saved the few things I wanted to keep, and threw the rest in the recycling box. I had stuff in there dating to elementary school. As I tossed old chemistry and math notes, it made me kind of sad. I will probably not have any more math, chemistry or physics classes (unless I decide to take some geology classes with those as prereqs, but there are plenty of classes I can take that don't need them). And even though I took calculus winter of last year, I can hardly remember anything. So when my teenage son asks me for help on his homework, I can't help him. I'll have to say to him, as I have done so many times, "Call your Uncle David!"
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wake me up when September comes
Now that I don't have any homework, I don't have to wait until Sundays to blog. But I might still end up blogging on Sunday (plus other days) simply because I'm used to it.
Today I started my first day of actually working at my job (yesterday I filled out forms, etc.). There are a lot of new people, but a lot of people I worked with before, including my fellow coworkers who were hired with me as the temporary crew. The job is pretty much the same.
We get a pick ticket and go down a line with a conveyor belt, and select the appropriate quantity of items from a shelf, put it in a box, and send it to be taped and shipped. When I started last year, we did it all manually and initialed on our ticket when we finished it. Then they introduced "pick to voice," which involves wearing a headset that tells us where to go and how much to put in.
Last year we could only do one box at a time with this system (even though we could do multiple boxes when we did it manually). Now we can do multiple boxes, which is something I'm not used to. Sometimes the headset is nice because it counts for me. For example, today I had to count 500 vinyl covers for the Missionary Handbook. These were annoying to count and stuck together. It was nice because it said "Pick 500." I could count only three, say "three ready," and it would say "pick 497," and so on. It was very nice because I didn't have to remember how much I counted, and I didn't have to count all over again if I forgot.
But it can also be a little annoying. For example, a few times I had several boxes asking for multiple copies of The Friend. You know, the magazine that has President Obama on the August cover. It told me to count out the total number of magazines, and once I had them all counted, it had me put them in each box. That's like counting twice. The pick ticket was useful for that. I probably think the old-fashioned, all-human way is faster, but I could be wrong. It will just take me some time to get used to multiple boxes on voice. (I have no problem with it on my own.)
What's especially weird is the time of year. Last year I worked from the week before Halloween until Christmas Eve. As the radio plays, a lot of the songs are ones that I first heard, or else first became really aware of, at work (e.g. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Taio Cruz's "Dynamite"). I have found that music is one thing that really transports me back in time. So I hear those songs and I think of November (my first week they mostly listened to country and after Thanksgiving they mostly listened to Christmas music). But I look outside and the trees are fully clothed, I have to have the AC on driving home, and I know there will be no pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer when I get home.
I hate August. It's always hot and there's never anything going on except for Back to School, and what's fun about that? I think the sole good thing about August is that it's close to September. That, and I can eat popsicles.
September has traditionally been my favorite month. Fall and cooler temperatures start, it starts the series of holidays that don't end until the New Year, and, of course, my birthday. So I always think that once it's September, everything will be OK. But I'm always disappointed. September 1 comes, but the leaves are still green, it's still 90 degrees, and it's still a little early to start thinking about Halloween. I've decided I like November better because there's nothing to the month that disappoints.
But September is still ten times the month August wants to be.
Today I started my first day of actually working at my job (yesterday I filled out forms, etc.). There are a lot of new people, but a lot of people I worked with before, including my fellow coworkers who were hired with me as the temporary crew. The job is pretty much the same.
We get a pick ticket and go down a line with a conveyor belt, and select the appropriate quantity of items from a shelf, put it in a box, and send it to be taped and shipped. When I started last year, we did it all manually and initialed on our ticket when we finished it. Then they introduced "pick to voice," which involves wearing a headset that tells us where to go and how much to put in.
Last year we could only do one box at a time with this system (even though we could do multiple boxes when we did it manually). Now we can do multiple boxes, which is something I'm not used to. Sometimes the headset is nice because it counts for me. For example, today I had to count 500 vinyl covers for the Missionary Handbook. These were annoying to count and stuck together. It was nice because it said "Pick 500." I could count only three, say "three ready," and it would say "pick 497," and so on. It was very nice because I didn't have to remember how much I counted, and I didn't have to count all over again if I forgot.
But it can also be a little annoying. For example, a few times I had several boxes asking for multiple copies of The Friend. You know, the magazine that has President Obama on the August cover. It told me to count out the total number of magazines, and once I had them all counted, it had me put them in each box. That's like counting twice. The pick ticket was useful for that. I probably think the old-fashioned, all-human way is faster, but I could be wrong. It will just take me some time to get used to multiple boxes on voice. (I have no problem with it on my own.)
What's especially weird is the time of year. Last year I worked from the week before Halloween until Christmas Eve. As the radio plays, a lot of the songs are ones that I first heard, or else first became really aware of, at work (e.g. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Taio Cruz's "Dynamite"). I have found that music is one thing that really transports me back in time. So I hear those songs and I think of November (my first week they mostly listened to country and after Thanksgiving they mostly listened to Christmas music). But I look outside and the trees are fully clothed, I have to have the AC on driving home, and I know there will be no pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer when I get home.
I hate August. It's always hot and there's never anything going on except for Back to School, and what's fun about that? I think the sole good thing about August is that it's close to September. That, and I can eat popsicles.
September has traditionally been my favorite month. Fall and cooler temperatures start, it starts the series of holidays that don't end until the New Year, and, of course, my birthday. So I always think that once it's September, everything will be OK. But I'm always disappointed. September 1 comes, but the leaves are still green, it's still 90 degrees, and it's still a little early to start thinking about Halloween. I've decided I like November better because there's nothing to the month that disappoints.
But September is still ten times the month August wants to be.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
My Christmas vacation lasts four and a half months!
This week was the end of summer term. I was able to do a bunch of studying in my own apartment because after six weeks, my air conditioning got fixed. That was Tuesday. I moved out Thursday. It definitely was annoying. But it was also good. It kept me more social than I otherwise would have been!
So, yeah...finals. My archaeology final was ridiculously easy. The history one...well, I'm just glad I studied about the Islamic Caliphates in medieval Spain on Wednesday night, or else I would have been doomed on Thursday. I know I could have done better and should have known more, but I hope I did decently.
Friday sealed my fate for the rest of 2011. Last year I took fall semester off because I couldn't get a job in Provo and I didn't get a scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. Taking last fall off had a lot of good advantages, one of the most prominent being that I ended up getting a scholarship for winter that I wouldn't have otherwise had.
This year I attended spring and summer because I had a full-tuition scholarship for those terms. I got a half-tuition scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year. But that extra $1000 per semester has to come from somewhere. I don't have enough to pay it (well, I could, but it would leave me broke), and my dad was laid off last May, and has been unlucky in finding a job. So I figured if he didn't have a job by the time fall rolled around, I'd take this semester off too.
Well, even if he does find a job in the next week before tuition is due (which is unlikely), I won't be going to school in the fall. That's because I got my job back from last year! I worked for the Church at the main Distribution Center, picking orders and packaging them up before sending them off all over the world. Last year I was only hired as a temporary crew (for "Annual Curriculum"), but it was an awesome job. It's easy, pays really well, everyone's nice, and we get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Last year I had applied earlier on, but when the human resources lady found out that I was leaving to go back to school in January, she told me they were looking for someone more permanent for that position, but I could apply for the temporary crew. I figured the same thing might happen this year, since I'm applying for a non-seasonal position. But they hired me! In fact, they're still interviewing this week, but I start Tuesday.
I am somewhat disappointed that my education gets halted again. I'm a little sad because this means I can't go on the Yellowstone vacation that my family planned for me to go on. I'm very sad because I can't go to Tennessee to visit my adorable nephews. But working for four months will give me a bunch of cash, and I work a morning shift which will let me have an actual life, unlike last year when I worked in the evenings. Getting up early in the morning is no bueno, but I get off early enough (it's only part time) that I can take afternoon naps.
I think about how lucky I am to have this job. Last year it took me two months of applying before I finally got a job, and from all the dozens of applications I sent in, this was the one I got. It pays better and is easier than most jobs I would be qualified for! The environment is awesome. They treat us well. I'm lucky to get it this year. I was lightly monitoring the Church employment opportunities, waiting to see if this one happened to come up, and it came up at just the right time.
So, yeah...finals. My archaeology final was ridiculously easy. The history one...well, I'm just glad I studied about the Islamic Caliphates in medieval Spain on Wednesday night, or else I would have been doomed on Thursday. I know I could have done better and should have known more, but I hope I did decently.
Friday sealed my fate for the rest of 2011. Last year I took fall semester off because I couldn't get a job in Provo and I didn't get a scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. Taking last fall off had a lot of good advantages, one of the most prominent being that I ended up getting a scholarship for winter that I wouldn't have otherwise had.
This year I attended spring and summer because I had a full-tuition scholarship for those terms. I got a half-tuition scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year. But that extra $1000 per semester has to come from somewhere. I don't have enough to pay it (well, I could, but it would leave me broke), and my dad was laid off last May, and has been unlucky in finding a job. So I figured if he didn't have a job by the time fall rolled around, I'd take this semester off too.
Well, even if he does find a job in the next week before tuition is due (which is unlikely), I won't be going to school in the fall. That's because I got my job back from last year! I worked for the Church at the main Distribution Center, picking orders and packaging them up before sending them off all over the world. Last year I was only hired as a temporary crew (for "Annual Curriculum"), but it was an awesome job. It's easy, pays really well, everyone's nice, and we get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Last year I had applied earlier on, but when the human resources lady found out that I was leaving to go back to school in January, she told me they were looking for someone more permanent for that position, but I could apply for the temporary crew. I figured the same thing might happen this year, since I'm applying for a non-seasonal position. But they hired me! In fact, they're still interviewing this week, but I start Tuesday.
I am somewhat disappointed that my education gets halted again. I'm a little sad because this means I can't go on the Yellowstone vacation that my family planned for me to go on. I'm very sad because I can't go to Tennessee to visit my adorable nephews. But working for four months will give me a bunch of cash, and I work a morning shift which will let me have an actual life, unlike last year when I worked in the evenings. Getting up early in the morning is no bueno, but I get off early enough (it's only part time) that I can take afternoon naps.
I think about how lucky I am to have this job. Last year it took me two months of applying before I finally got a job, and from all the dozens of applications I sent in, this was the one I got. It pays better and is easier than most jobs I would be qualified for! The environment is awesome. They treat us well. I'm lucky to get it this year. I was lightly monitoring the Church employment opportunities, waiting to see if this one happened to come up, and it came up at just the right time.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
River of Tears
When I was on my mission, I of course heard of the popular LDS musicians we were allowed to listen to. Mindy Gledhill. Jessie Clark Funk. The Nashville Tribute Band. But there was one song I thought stood out from the rest, "It Passes All My Understanding," and I didn't understand why it, or the artist, wasn't more popular. I'd also heard another one of her songs, "Where Faith Lives," and decided that I liked her enough to get her music if I ever found out who it was. Well, I had a companion who bought a compilation CD and I found out that the name of the artist was Cherie Call. So I wrote home, asking for a Cherie Call CD with the song "It Passes All My Understanding." So my mom sent me the album "He Gives Flowers to Everyone." This became an instant favorite of mine. When I had my last companion, I heard another song, "Somebody Else's Shoes," (which coincidentally just popped up on my Sunday shuffle playlist) which I also had to have. So on the second day of the last month of my mission, I bought her album "The Ocean in Me," which I grew to love even more than the one I already had.
To make a long story short, I now have all seven Cherie Call albums (the first two non-religious, the last five all Christian-themed), and got my mom hooked on her too. So this week I met my parents at the American Fork amphitheater to see Cherie Call and Sam Payne. (Sam Payne is now Cherie Call's usual musical partner--we don't like him as much. We first saw them sing together on New Year's Eve on Temple Square.) Cherie sang seven songs, I believe: "River of Tears," "Walk You Through the Night," "One Good Woman," "Invincible," "Photographs," "Big Yellow Moon," and "Memphis." After the concert I bought her latest album, "Grace," which was the only one I didn't have for myself (although I had ripped my mom's copy to my computer--but it's all legal now that I have my own copy!), and my mom wanted her to sign my copy. I posted a video of her singing "Big Yellow Moon" on Facebook, but I don't know if anyone watched it so here it is again:
She calls this a "homeless song" because it is not on any album and it's not part of any project she's working on. She now tends to do religious music, but this is not a religious song. I for one hope she releases it at some point, because I love it! You can listen to samples of her music at cheriecall.com.
I also had the opportunity yesterday to baptize my niece, Allie. We took few pictures (and none in white :( , except for the illicit ones my cousin April took while we were actually in the font! :0 ) and my memory card adapter decided not to work anyway. I never physically baptized someone on my mission. Last fall in my singles ward I went to do baptisms for the dead and they asked me to perform the proxy baptisms. So this was my first time baptizing a living person. Allie was tearful the whole time in the chapel beforehand, and then especially right before getting in the water. My mom thinks she has seen all the crybaby testimonies and that she thinks that's what you're supposed to do in spiritual situations. I just think she was nervous. As we were walking to the font, we were a little unorganized, and my brother-in-law Matt asked if we were supposed to be walking that way. I said "I don't know." Then he asked if it mattered. He's not a member, so it made me realize that he wouldn't know if it mattered or not. Fortunately it didn't.
I only had to dunk her once. My dad confirmed her. I felt privileged, indeed, to be worthy of the Priesthood to perform the ordinance. I'm glad she is an example of the believers and has followed our Lord and our Savior down into the water.
To make a long story short, I now have all seven Cherie Call albums (the first two non-religious, the last five all Christian-themed), and got my mom hooked on her too. So this week I met my parents at the American Fork amphitheater to see Cherie Call and Sam Payne. (Sam Payne is now Cherie Call's usual musical partner--we don't like him as much. We first saw them sing together on New Year's Eve on Temple Square.) Cherie sang seven songs, I believe: "River of Tears," "Walk You Through the Night," "One Good Woman," "Invincible," "Photographs," "Big Yellow Moon," and "Memphis." After the concert I bought her latest album, "Grace," which was the only one I didn't have for myself (although I had ripped my mom's copy to my computer--but it's all legal now that I have my own copy!), and my mom wanted her to sign my copy. I posted a video of her singing "Big Yellow Moon" on Facebook, but I don't know if anyone watched it so here it is again:
She calls this a "homeless song" because it is not on any album and it's not part of any project she's working on. She now tends to do religious music, but this is not a religious song. I for one hope she releases it at some point, because I love it! You can listen to samples of her music at cheriecall.com.
I also had the opportunity yesterday to baptize my niece, Allie. We took few pictures (and none in white :( , except for the illicit ones my cousin April took while we were actually in the font! :0 ) and my memory card adapter decided not to work anyway. I never physically baptized someone on my mission. Last fall in my singles ward I went to do baptisms for the dead and they asked me to perform the proxy baptisms. So this was my first time baptizing a living person. Allie was tearful the whole time in the chapel beforehand, and then especially right before getting in the water. My mom thinks she has seen all the crybaby testimonies and that she thinks that's what you're supposed to do in spiritual situations. I just think she was nervous. As we were walking to the font, we were a little unorganized, and my brother-in-law Matt asked if we were supposed to be walking that way. I said "I don't know." Then he asked if it mattered. He's not a member, so it made me realize that he wouldn't know if it mattered or not. Fortunately it didn't.
I only had to dunk her once. My dad confirmed her. I felt privileged, indeed, to be worthy of the Priesthood to perform the ordinance. I'm glad she is an example of the believers and has followed our Lord and our Savior down into the water.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Day by Day
This week was characterized by lots of Otter Pops (apparently my AC wasn't fixed this week because they can't get a hold of anyone to let the AC man on the roof) and wasting time online, since my archaeology class was cancelled this week. Oh yeah, and reading boring books about Islam. It's not that Islam's boring. It's just that these books are. But that wasn't all I did. Each day was unique this week.
Monday. I spent a lot of time reading in the library, which was thankfully open, since it was a campus holiday. I went home teaching, and then our ward went to a big fireworks block party our first counselor invited us to. It was pouring rain, which probably helped prevent any potential problems. (That alliteration was not intentional, really!) I wonder how long aerial fireworks will be legal.
Tuesday. I went to the BYU Forum. It was this professor talking about raising teenagers. I thought this was a strange topic for a university forum. There was a Q and A afterward, and since I didn't have anything better to do, I stuck around. But almost everyone else left, and those who stayed sat near the front, but I was in the middle. I realized that all the people who stayed were older people who actually have to worry about having teenagers as children or grandchildren. I had to get out of there!
Wednesday. I stayed on campus a long time reading before going to institute. It was raining crazy hard. At one point I looked outside some glass doors and the ground looked foggy--not because it was foggy, but because there was so much rain splashing a few inches above the ground.
Thursday. After class, I went to the temple. When I came home, I saw that my sister had texted me, inviting me to go to Seven Peaks. But my phone was off in the morning and I didn't take it to the temple, so it was too late. But I met her for lunch at Brick Oven, where both her friend's thirteen-year-old son and my niece had meltdowns of sorts over food.
That night I went running. I saw what I thought was a bird flying through the air, but then I realized it was probably past bird curfew, and it changed directions (almost 180 degrees) very suddenly, and it was flying very erratically. This made me deduce it was probably not a bird, but a bat! I get to see bats so rarely, it made me happy. Although I did see a bat last summer, hanging above the door of another apartment in my complex for quite a while:
Friday. I wasted most of Friday day since I had absolutely no classes. But that evening I went on a group date with the apartment below me, where I've been sleeping. We had dinner there, and then made boats out of popsicle sticks and went to campus to race them in a stream. Ours won.
Saturday. I went grocery shopping and wasted time. Then one of my home teachees had a little concert so I went to that, as did many people in my ward. Before she sang there was a singer who it seemed like might be still in high school. That was all right but...interesting. I have my home teachee's CD, so it was good to hear live versions of her songs, as well as some new ones.
Sunday (today). I went to church. For third hour, the bishop and a member of the stake presidency answered questions. I think my bishop called me Will. I just hope that he did, and that there wasn't a real Will who wanted to ask a question that I prevented him from asking. I asked about how to forgive. We always hear about how to be forgiven we have to forgive, and how it takes a burden off our shoulders, and all that, so I know why to forgive, but I don't know how to forgive. There is a certain vile companion I had whom two years later I still have a hard time forgiving. (I've blocked him on Facebook, so if you're reading this, you're not him.) He is as ugly as sin, and I think it's because of this Roald Dahl quote: "If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it." (You see? This is exactly why I asked about forgiveness!) I got some good insights on forgiveness, but I don't think it was quite what I was looking for. But I don't think an easy answer exists, so it's just as well.
Monday. I spent a lot of time reading in the library, which was thankfully open, since it was a campus holiday. I went home teaching, and then our ward went to a big fireworks block party our first counselor invited us to. It was pouring rain, which probably helped prevent any potential problems. (That alliteration was not intentional, really!) I wonder how long aerial fireworks will be legal.
Tuesday. I went to the BYU Forum. It was this professor talking about raising teenagers. I thought this was a strange topic for a university forum. There was a Q and A afterward, and since I didn't have anything better to do, I stuck around. But almost everyone else left, and those who stayed sat near the front, but I was in the middle. I realized that all the people who stayed were older people who actually have to worry about having teenagers as children or grandchildren. I had to get out of there!
Wednesday. I stayed on campus a long time reading before going to institute. It was raining crazy hard. At one point I looked outside some glass doors and the ground looked foggy--not because it was foggy, but because there was so much rain splashing a few inches above the ground.
Thursday. After class, I went to the temple. When I came home, I saw that my sister had texted me, inviting me to go to Seven Peaks. But my phone was off in the morning and I didn't take it to the temple, so it was too late. But I met her for lunch at Brick Oven, where both her friend's thirteen-year-old son and my niece had meltdowns of sorts over food.
That night I went running. I saw what I thought was a bird flying through the air, but then I realized it was probably past bird curfew, and it changed directions (almost 180 degrees) very suddenly, and it was flying very erratically. This made me deduce it was probably not a bird, but a bat! I get to see bats so rarely, it made me happy. Although I did see a bat last summer, hanging above the door of another apartment in my complex for quite a while:
Friday. I wasted most of Friday day since I had absolutely no classes. But that evening I went on a group date with the apartment below me, where I've been sleeping. We had dinner there, and then made boats out of popsicle sticks and went to campus to race them in a stream. Ours won.
Saturday. I went grocery shopping and wasted time. Then one of my home teachees had a little concert so I went to that, as did many people in my ward. Before she sang there was a singer who it seemed like might be still in high school. That was all right but...interesting. I have my home teachee's CD, so it was good to hear live versions of her songs, as well as some new ones.
Sunday (today). I went to church. For third hour, the bishop and a member of the stake presidency answered questions. I think my bishop called me Will. I just hope that he did, and that there wasn't a real Will who wanted to ask a question that I prevented him from asking. I asked about how to forgive. We always hear about how to be forgiven we have to forgive, and how it takes a burden off our shoulders, and all that, so I know why to forgive, but I don't know how to forgive. There is a certain vile companion I had whom two years later I still have a hard time forgiving. (I've blocked him on Facebook, so if you're reading this, you're not him.) He is as ugly as sin, and I think it's because of this Roald Dahl quote: "If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it." (You see? This is exactly why I asked about forgiveness!) I got some good insights on forgiveness, but I don't think it was quite what I was looking for. But I don't think an easy answer exists, so it's just as well.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tests, an eight-year-old, and presidents
Let's see, what happened this week?
First, there was testing. On Wednesday I got a test back that I had taken the previous Friday for my archaeology class. It wasn't a hard test and the professor is lenient (which was helpful when it came to the short answers), but I was still surprised I got 100, because there were some that were just guesses. I also took a test for my history class. It was entirely short answer and essay. The professor said the average time to take it is 90 minutes, but the longest was four hours. It took me a little over three hours. The essays were pretty terrible. I just hope it was decent.
I also got my hopes up about getting my AC fixed. The AC man told me my landlord had given him a key to get in so I didn't need to be there. I went home on Friday, when he was coming. Then he called me and said the landlord had given him the wrong key, but not only that, the roof access, where he would also need to work, was locked. That part has nothing to do with my landlord. So even if he had the right key, he couldn't have fixed it.
As I mentioned, I went home. It was my niece's birthday. Allie turned eight. At eight she's not as hilarious as she was as a toddler--but she still says some funny things:
Rather, I think it looks more like the President of the United States of America:
I posted this on the Seen @ BYU Facebook page, even though I didn't see it at BYU ;)
Hopefully the next time I blog, I will do it in an air-conditioned apartment.
First, there was testing. On Wednesday I got a test back that I had taken the previous Friday for my archaeology class. It wasn't a hard test and the professor is lenient (which was helpful when it came to the short answers), but I was still surprised I got 100, because there were some that were just guesses. I also took a test for my history class. It was entirely short answer and essay. The professor said the average time to take it is 90 minutes, but the longest was four hours. It took me a little over three hours. The essays were pretty terrible. I just hope it was decent.
I also got my hopes up about getting my AC fixed. The AC man told me my landlord had given him a key to get in so I didn't need to be there. I went home on Friday, when he was coming. Then he called me and said the landlord had given him the wrong key, but not only that, the roof access, where he would also need to work, was locked. That part has nothing to do with my landlord. So even if he had the right key, he couldn't have fixed it.
As I mentioned, I went home. It was my niece's birthday. Allie turned eight. At eight she's not as hilarious as she was as a toddler--but she still says some funny things:
- She wanted to play Apples to Apples. Which is strange because she doesn't really get what's going on. Anyway, when it was her turn to be the judge, her green card was "Nasty." Someone put "AIDS." She picked a different card, and then shortly after said, "I was going to pick AIDS but I had to pick this one. 'Cause we all know what that's like." My sister and cousin and I were all laughing hysterically, as quietly as possible.
- I discovered an entertaining website called "Not Always Right." I was reading this, and came across this not-so-funny comic strip:
I had been reading some of the anecdotes aloud to my mom, and Allie insisted that I read this to her because it was funny. I told her, "I don't think you get it." So she told her herself. I still don't think she gets it. At least, I hope not. - I turned on Hogan's Heroes. She said to me, "I wish this were Pollyanna." Then in the episode they brought in a small Nazi flag, complete with the swastika. She said something like, "I knew they were in another country. Australia!" This made me laugh, so she "corrected" herself: "Austria!" My mom caught on that she had seen the Nazi flag on The Sound of Music--hence thinking it was Austria's flag.
- I was attempting to play "Linus and Lucy" on the piano. I thought I was doing reasonably well with just the left hand, but then I heard her say, "Mark you need to
fix thatdo better or you'll need to take piano lessons, too!"
Rather, I think it looks more like the President of the United States of America:
I posted this on the Seen @ BYU Facebook page, even though I didn't see it at BYU ;)Hopefully the next time I blog, I will do it in an air-conditioned apartment.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
If I weren't a muggle, none of this would have happened.
Like millions of others, I saw Harry Potter this week.
But, unlike everyone else, I did not go to a theater, or watch Harry's victory over Voldemort. Instead, it was my first time watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I saw the first two movies when they came out when I was in junior high, but since that time, I try not to watch any TV or movies with profanity, so I haven't seen the others. (I have made no such guidelines with books, so I have read all of the Harry Potter series.)
So what made me watch those two this week? Well, some people in my ward were watching one movie a night up to the new premiere. Ordinarily I would just ignore this, but it just so happened that they were watching them in the apartment where I've been sleeping until my AC gets fixed. (My landlord got my hopes up this week with an email, but it still hasn't been fixed. Tomorrow will be three weeks from the time it first went out.) For the first few nights I waited until I thought the movies were over to go there, because I didn't want to be in the awkward position of being there but not watching the movie, but on Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't like the idea of sitting in my hot apartment, so I decided to go. Besides, I figured if I didn't watch those movies, I'd probably be gallivanting all over YouTube, and potentially encountering worse content--especially if I read the comments.
Did I like them? I guess so. Will I watch any more? Good question.
On Thursday, I had a very embarrassing experience. I was in the library, working on a Google doc study guide I had made, listening to a Pandora station on my headphones/ear buds/whatever. Suddenly, Katy Perry's "Firework" came on. At this point I remembered having heard stories of people listening to music on computers in the library, but their headphones weren't plugged in all the way, so they actually heard the music coming out of the computer speakers, not their headphones, which meant everyone else heard it too. I could tell that I was actually hearing my music from my headphones, but just to be safe, I decided to try to push them in further.
Well, my headphones had been plugged in, but not all the way, so when I touched them, it bumped them out just enough so that it did indeed start coming out of the speakers! I made the thing I feared happen by trying to prevent it! It did not seem to be working to plug the headphones in (at this point I am panicking and very embarrassed), so I just decided to close the Pandora tab. From the time I closed the tab to the time the music stopped was just a split second, but it seemed like a micro eternity.
It could have been a lot worse. It could have been a more embarrassing song, the library could have been busier, and something else could have knocked my headphones out, leaving me unprepared to stop the music.
Who knows--considering that the song was "Firework," the location was BYU, and the week was this Harry Potter week, maybe people thought I was listening to this:
Last evening I had a surprise. I heard a knock on the door (which I had strangely just opened to cool it down), and when I answered, there was a guy with a box. "Does Mark Melville live here?" he asked. I was confused because all packages I had ordered recently had already arrived. He told me that this package had been delivered to their address "a while back." This "a while back" was nearly three months ago! When my textbooks for spring term never arrived, I emailed the seller I bought them from. They never responded, so I filed a claim with Amazon and got my money back. In the meantime, I had been kicked out of the BYU Bookstore for reading, read similar (but different) books in the library, did terribly on a quiz because I had not read the right book, and ultimately had to return to that rip-off Bookstore to buy the books.
I don't know who the dumbest person was in this story. I feel bad for the seller, but they should have known that if they didn't respond to my emails and didn't have tracking info, the blame would go to them. I don't know how the mailman delivered it to the wrong address. It is very clearly the right address, in big letters, bigger than most other packages I get. All my other packages have successfully made it to my apartment, even if the writing was smaller. And I don't understand the people who actually did get it. Most places around me are BYU-approved housing, and he looked like a college student himself. So why did they wait so long to get it to me--either by giving it back to the mail man or bringing it over when it arrived? A letter is one thing, but I know I would feel uncomfortable with a package that didn't belong to me sitting in my apartment for months. Spring classes ended a month ago! There are a lot of people who do spring classes but not summer--I could have been gone before they got it to me!
I've been charged once again for the books because I'm honest. Now I'll have to wait for the end of the term to sell them to the ridiculous Bookstore. (How can an institution run by the Church have such nefarious business practices?)
But, unlike everyone else, I did not go to a theater, or watch Harry's victory over Voldemort. Instead, it was my first time watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I saw the first two movies when they came out when I was in junior high, but since that time, I try not to watch any TV or movies with profanity, so I haven't seen the others. (I have made no such guidelines with books, so I have read all of the Harry Potter series.)
So what made me watch those two this week? Well, some people in my ward were watching one movie a night up to the new premiere. Ordinarily I would just ignore this, but it just so happened that they were watching them in the apartment where I've been sleeping until my AC gets fixed. (My landlord got my hopes up this week with an email, but it still hasn't been fixed. Tomorrow will be three weeks from the time it first went out.) For the first few nights I waited until I thought the movies were over to go there, because I didn't want to be in the awkward position of being there but not watching the movie, but on Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't like the idea of sitting in my hot apartment, so I decided to go. Besides, I figured if I didn't watch those movies, I'd probably be gallivanting all over YouTube, and potentially encountering worse content--especially if I read the comments.
Did I like them? I guess so. Will I watch any more? Good question.
On Thursday, I had a very embarrassing experience. I was in the library, working on a Google doc study guide I had made, listening to a Pandora station on my headphones/ear buds/whatever. Suddenly, Katy Perry's "Firework" came on. At this point I remembered having heard stories of people listening to music on computers in the library, but their headphones weren't plugged in all the way, so they actually heard the music coming out of the computer speakers, not their headphones, which meant everyone else heard it too. I could tell that I was actually hearing my music from my headphones, but just to be safe, I decided to try to push them in further.
Well, my headphones had been plugged in, but not all the way, so when I touched them, it bumped them out just enough so that it did indeed start coming out of the speakers! I made the thing I feared happen by trying to prevent it! It did not seem to be working to plug the headphones in (at this point I am panicking and very embarrassed), so I just decided to close the Pandora tab. From the time I closed the tab to the time the music stopped was just a split second, but it seemed like a micro eternity.
It could have been a lot worse. It could have been a more embarrassing song, the library could have been busier, and something else could have knocked my headphones out, leaving me unprepared to stop the music.
Who knows--considering that the song was "Firework," the location was BYU, and the week was this Harry Potter week, maybe people thought I was listening to this:
Last evening I had a surprise. I heard a knock on the door (which I had strangely just opened to cool it down), and when I answered, there was a guy with a box. "Does Mark Melville live here?" he asked. I was confused because all packages I had ordered recently had already arrived. He told me that this package had been delivered to their address "a while back." This "a while back" was nearly three months ago! When my textbooks for spring term never arrived, I emailed the seller I bought them from. They never responded, so I filed a claim with Amazon and got my money back. In the meantime, I had been kicked out of the BYU Bookstore for reading, read similar (but different) books in the library, did terribly on a quiz because I had not read the right book, and ultimately had to return to that rip-off Bookstore to buy the books.
I don't know who the dumbest person was in this story. I feel bad for the seller, but they should have known that if they didn't respond to my emails and didn't have tracking info, the blame would go to them. I don't know how the mailman delivered it to the wrong address. It is very clearly the right address, in big letters, bigger than most other packages I get. All my other packages have successfully made it to my apartment, even if the writing was smaller. And I don't understand the people who actually did get it. Most places around me are BYU-approved housing, and he looked like a college student himself. So why did they wait so long to get it to me--either by giving it back to the mail man or bringing it over when it arrived? A letter is one thing, but I know I would feel uncomfortable with a package that didn't belong to me sitting in my apartment for months. Spring classes ended a month ago! There are a lot of people who do spring classes but not summer--I could have been gone before they got it to me!
I've been charged once again for the books because I'm honest. Now I'll have to wait for the end of the term to sell them to the ridiculous Bookstore. (How can an institution run by the Church have such nefarious business practices?)
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