Pomp and Circumstance

Well, it's official.

I'm a college graduate!

I'm not quite sure what to think of that. I've just gotten so used to being a college student. Hence my staying in Provo for the time being. But I had better find some hobbies, now that I don't have to study, because I can't watch Hulu all day.

Thursday was commencement services. We all lined up by the ASB until it was time to go up into the Marriott Center. They bestowed degrees on us; I now have a BA in English language. President Uchtdorf spoke briefly. The Samuelsons said they were "quasi-members" of the class of 2014, since they are being released. I never went to a basketball game, so I never did the "Whoosh Cecil." (In fact, at the Unforum right before finals, they did one, and I had no idea what to do.)

After commencement, I was feeling sad that I didn't have any good graduation pictures. But then I had an idea. In all my time in Provo, I had never hiked the Y. What an experience, I thought, if the first time I did so was in a cap and gown! So my roommate Jordan and a former wardie, Laura, went with me. I didn't put my cap on until I got to the top, because I didn't want it to get sweaty, but I wore the gown the whole way.

Two years ago in my semantics and pragmatics class, we learned about "the norm of civil inattention," which says that people in polite society will not talk to people they do not know, but there are a few exceptions. One exception is if a person is in an out-of-role situation. Going on a hike in a graduation gown is an obvious out-of-role situation, so I had lots of people congratulating me. And I was feeling quite happy then, because I barely hiked the Y as a student (kind of), and because I got the most creative graduation pictures of anyone I know.

The next morning, my parents came down for the College of the Humanities convocation, where I actually walked across the stage as they read my name and I got a diploma cover. I wasn't sure what to think of that meeting. The speakers seemed kind of pompous, and I'm prejudiced against English majors, which there were a lot of. They had the  graduates stand for various reasons. I stood up for saying I spoke a foreign language but sat down for speaking two, since it's been so long since I've studied Spanish. (I thought Advanced French Part 2 was good enough to count.) I was a little disappointed I didn't get any Latin words indicating my scholastic achievements--since I'm only good at academics, I'm pridefully disappointed when I'm not the best. But I don't think they mean that much--the person who got the highest honors in the college was in one of my classes and I read one of her papers, and I don't think she was much more brilliant than I am. Also, my major had relatively easy classes, and most of my non-A grades were from other colleges, including geology.

Another thing I didn't do was the Honors program. I honestly didn't do it because I was lazy, but there were other reasons as well. I think they've changed it, but when I started, the Honors program just meant you had to read a lot of books, see a lot of plays, watch a lot of movies, write a lot of papers, and write a thesis. It seemed like a lot of work for something that wouldn't really enrich my education. I think I had much more valuable experiences doing the second minor in geology. Years from now, I don't think I'll remember the books I read (or would have read), but I will remember Death Valley, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Great Basin National Park.

I'm also glad that the editing minor provides me with practical knowledge. A lot of humanities majors have degrees that aren't particularly useful, no matter how interesting they may be--including my major. But I think my major mostly exists for the editing minor, and that's something I can use.

Now to embark on a new era of my life. 

Pâques

Well, this was the week I found out what I'm doing for spring.

And I'm staying in Provo!

My boss told me that he learned that I don't need to work on site, since I'm just an intern, and that it has worked well for him to just have me work remotely. He also said that I may need to work with some people in Provo--so if I'm living in Provo, it will make that easy.

Provo really is funnest (yes, a word) in spring and summer, what with Rooftop Concerts, pool parties, and a general laid-back attitude. This may be my last spring and summer in Provo, so I'm excited for it.

I just hope I don't get bored out of my mind working full time.

Monday night, I was up late, and then I got to see the very beginning of the lunar eclipse. Then my roommate Chad woke me up to look at it when it peaked. So I saw it all red. But I was mostly asleep, so when I woke up the next morning, I was like, "Oh yeah, I did see the eclipse last night." I got to see one of those back in 2011, when I was at an early-morning work shift.

On Tuesday, I went to my very last class ever. I gave a presentation about global warming in French--le réchauffement global--and then my professor sent me a very nice email about my presentation and how well I had done.

Then on Tuesday night, I went to the Andy Grammer concert on Tuesday. Apparently a long time ago BYU did really big concerts in the Marriott Center with really big musicians, like the Carpenters. Now they don't do that, so Andy Grammer ("Fine By Me," "Keep Your Head Up") in the Wilk ballroom is the closest thing. He's a talented singer, but I generally don't like male pop stars as much as female pop stars. I guess I associate acoustic guitars and male singers with John Mayer d-bag music. At one point, he was singing Macklemore's "Thrift Shop," and he was quite amused when everyone in unison sang "This is freaking awesome."

On Wednesday my ward did a bonfire, and I took Peeps Bunnies to roast. Some African girls wanted to try them, since they'd never had them. Later I saw each bunny with one ear bitten off, lying in the garbage. I guess if you didn't grow up with them you might not like them.

On Thursday morning, I helped out at the French language fair. That's when high school and junior high students from all over the state come and engage in various French-language activities and competitions. I was one of the people in charge of la gare, the train station. Basically the kids had to pretend they wanted to go someplace and we would ask them about what accommodations they wanted. It was funny to mimic smoking when they didn't understand fumeur ou non-fumeur. I participated in this back when I was in high school, and it was fun to be on the other side.

Then on Friday, I had my very last final. Ever. I don't know how I did on the first part; I felt like I couldn't explain why I was giving the answers I was. The second part was an essay, and one of the topics to choose from was gun control, and luckily I was able to make it very similar to the gun control blog post I made last year.

Then as I was packing up to go home for Easter weekend, I realized something shocking: I never have to study again. Last night the sister missionaries visited us to talk to the Primary president (my mom), and then before they left one of them asked me if I'm ready to be done with BYU. I'm a little burned out from schoolwork, but I'm not ready to be done with the BYU lifestyle--hence the reason I'm glad to stay in Provo.

With it being Easter, everyone has been expressing their testimony of Jesus Christ. I agree with James, that your belief in Christ is not helpful if you don't do anything with it. And I think Mormons are pretty good about that--I met lots of people on my mission who hated our church but said Mormons are good people. Which is in direct contrast to what Jesus said about men gathering figs of thistles. Regardless of your beliefs, only good can come from emulating the man who said "Cast the beam out of thine own eye" and "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

Happy Easter!

The BYU Era

Just as the earth's history is divided into different eras, my life can be divided into different eras.

The Prescholastic Era includes the time up until I entered kindergarten. The Orchard Era makes up all seven years of elementary school. The South Davis Era has all three years of junior high, and the Woods Cross Era has all three years of high school. Then the Spokane Era makes up my mission.

Another era is coming to an end, the BYU Era. This week I will have my very last classes, my very last reading days, and my very last exam. I graduate a week later.

It kind of blows my mind that it's already over, basically. The BYU Era has been longer than the previous three. There is more time between now and my freshman year than there was between my freshman year and high school.

I like to think that I have changed over these last four years, and for the better. I thought that my mission wrought a mighty transformation in me. And I still believe that to be true. However, I think I underestimated the changing power of just two years. I think I changed on my mission more than I would have in just two ordinary years (spending 24/7 with someone you didn't choose and talking to strangers all day does that to you). But it didn't stop there. I think of myself as a fairly normal person, whereas  before I was totally weird. Now I'm on the weird end of normal, whereas before I was just weird. I think that my mission didn't make me normal, but it gave me the potential to be so. It was college life that turned me into a normal person.

I'm still very socially awkward, but I'm not as bad as I once was. If I so choose, I can hold a conversation with someone I don't know, even if it's stilted. I used to have an analogy that a shiny, red ornament would work on a pine tree but not on a black, dead, ugly Halloween tree. I used to say that I was a Halloween tree and therefore I couldn't have Christmas ornaments (normal things). I don't think that anymore. There are plenty of Christmas ornaments in my life now. I have become a better thinker, and as some questions in my life are answered, I get a lot more. My first year, I was a very good student and was very focused on my studies. Now I'm not as focused. Which I think is both good and bad.

Here's a recap on the BYU Era.

• In 2010, I started college as an awkward, freshly returned missionary. I had registered as an English major, but I realized I really wanted English Language (ELang), so that's what I did. My first room roommate, James, was not good for me, as he was the most extreme introvert I have ever met. But my other flatmates, the Jeffs, I think were very good roommates for me at that time in my life; I think they befriended me a lot better than some of my other roommates would have. I attended winter through summer, but I had to take off fall because I couldn't get a job in Provo. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I applied for scholarships for that fall, but they based scholarships on your GPA as of the previous fall semester. But I wasn't a student the previous fall, therefore I had no GPA, therefore I had no scholarship. But because I took the fall off, I had to say I wanted to be considered for scholarships when I returned--and at that point I did have a GPA, so I got a scholarship for the following winter, whereas if I had gone that fall, I would have had no scholarship for fall or for winter. I think they do things differently now, so that wouldn't have happened today.
• In 2011, I moved into the complex and ward where I live now. I officially declared myself an editing minor. I lived with some people who went to Woods Cross but whom I didn't know very well, and I lived with one of my former mission companions. I got a job setting up for and cleaning up after various sporting events--it was a decent job, but my boss didn't like me enough to hire me again later. I'm just not cut out to be a janitor. I spent all of summer term with no roommates, and most of that time was without air conditioning. I officially declared myself a geology minor in the summer, but I didn't know anything about it at the time. My dad lost his job, so without financial help from my parents, I had to take fall off again, and I was rehired at the Distribution Center, where I had worked the previous fall.
• In 2012, I moved into the apartment where I live now. I met Bryton, who may have been my favorite roommate ever. I took physical geology, which changed my life. I became friends with a bunch of girls whom I nicknamed "the horses." I started working for BYU Studies, which at that time was my lowest-paying job ever despite requiring the most education. I went to school winter through fall that year. One of my favorite experiences was going to Death Valley. I had to deal with a roommate whom I called a tarantula. 
• In 2013, I stayed in the same place, and I was called as ward clerk. I took classes winter, spring, and fall, but I took summer off to go on vacations to visit my nephews. I officially finished the editing minor in the spring, and though I technically finished the geology minor in the winter, I took the Field Studies class and Groundwater, which was less interesting than I had hoped. I finished my ELang classes. I thought that taking Groundwater prevented a December graduation, but in fact I could have graduated even with taking it--but I don't regret graduating in April.
• In 2014, I took my fifth and final winter semester, in which French was my only serious class. I interviewed with the Joseph Smith Papers and didn't get the job, but I was surprised when that interview led me to get a job with Reid Neilson, the managing director of the Church History Department. This job required me to leave BYU Studies, where I had been for nearly two years. 

As of this moment, I don't know what's going on with me in the spring, whether I will continue to work remotely in Provo or if I will move to Salt Lake. I should find out this week. Staying in Provo will provide a more gradual transition between the BYU Era and the next--but going to Salt Lake will end it immediately. 

I hope that the strata deposited in this era will serve as an important foundation for the eras still to come.

Why boycotting Mozilla was a bad idea

Dear gay rights activists,

I applaud your efforts to make this world a more loving, tolerant place. I don't oppose gay marriage, and I wish you luck in your attempts.

However, I think that far too often your efforts are counterproductive.

(Note that when I say "you," I'm speaking of the LGBT activism in general, not of individuals, because I know there are many diverging opinions within the community.)

What are these counterproductive activities? They are the--shall I call them attacks? Yes, for that's what they are--against people who disagree with you.

The most recent event was this week against Brendan Eich, the new CEO of Mozilla, who was pressured into stepping down because he donated to Proposition 8 back in 2008. However, there have been other victims as well, including the Chic-Fil-A guy and bakers and florists who decline to cater to gay weddings.

If anyone opposes gay marriage, you automatically characterize them as bigots and homophobes. And I'm sure there are lots of these kinds of people among those who oppose gay marriage.

However, if you would actually listen to people's concerns, you would learn that they have other worries about gay marriage. Many of them have personal and/or religious beliefs that such marriage is morally wrong. Whether or not you agree with that, they are entitled to their beliefs. But one of the biggest worries of same-sex marriage opponents is that the legalization of gay marriage will infringe on the rights of those who disagree with it.

You ensure them that they will not lose any of their rights, and that the only thing that will happen is that gay people will marry each other.

But then you go and make these attacks, and people see their concerns realized. In your attempts to quash homophobia, you actually give people a reason to fear homosexuals!

Take the New Mexico florist. As a private business owner, she should have the right to decline catering to a gay wedding. Regardless of what you think of that, she has her personal beliefs and should be able to follow them. But instead, she was fined.

And it wasn't even as bigoted as you might think. She would be willing to photograph people who are gay. She is not bigoted against gay people themselves; she just disagrees with the marriage. And as I said earlier, there are reasons to oppose gay marriage that aren't based in prejudice.

I'm not condoning her refusal; I just think she should have the freedom to do so.

One of the side effects of the LGBT movement that I really appreciate is the increased focus on bullying. I feel like they were largely responsible for bringing new-found attention to the problem.

But let's consider the Brendan Eich incident. A new CEO of a company--who, by the way, developed JavaScript--happened to donate some money half a decade ago, before he was the CEO, to a cause that you disagree with. He did so not as a representative of the company but as an individual. He did nothing to force his employees to agree with him. But because he did that, he should no longer be able to hold a job for which he is very well qualified.

If that's not bullying, I don't know what is.

I think if you were to do a little research, you would find that the CEO of every company has at least one personal idea that you disagree with. If we only did business with those we agreed with, we would be doing very limited business indeed!

Also, as far as things to boycott, Firefox is a very good service and not one to boycott. Although there are some things I prefer about Chrome, Firefox is my browser of choice. Not to mention that boycotting Mozilla because of the CEO doesn't take into account the other employees who agree with you.

Basically, my point is, if you want to gain sympathy for your cause, (1) don't label people bigots just because they disagree with you, and (2) don't try to destroy the lives of those who disagree with you.

You want them to let you live as you want. Be courteous enough to allow them the same thing.

Random thoughts

• I think I had a bizarre dream every night this week. I can't remember all of them, but I remember some of them. One of them was basically an episode of The Simpsons. In the beginning, they found some mummified bodies in their tree, and they set the tree on fire, which messed with the electricity in their house. Lisa was in her bedroom and decided it was no longer safe in her house, so she decided she would take Maggie and run away. But she had to wait a week, because Patty and Selma were out of town (I wondered why she didn't consider going to Grampa or Flanders instead). Somewhere in there, there were buckets of fruits and vegetables, including artichokes, but there were also some bat heads and pig heads. Before the week was up, Lisa realized that she was just tired of her family's hoarding habits, so if they cleaned up, then she would stay. In another dream, our neighbor Laura Ulmer was really upset because a cat and a turkey had spread out the pile of dirt in their driveway that had seeds growing in it, and because she didn't know where her daughters were. Then last night, I had a dream that I was at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert, where the guest singer was Barack Obama. Michelle, Mitt, and Ann were in the second row (I was fortunate enough to be in the first). 
• Speaking of The Simpsons, I haven't watched that show for ten years, but I feel a need to defend it. I knew of many households in which that show was banned. But in the realm of nineties sitcoms, The Simpsons actually wasn't that bad. There were a few episodes here and there that were inappropriate, but that can be said about most shows. I knew some parents who wouldn't let their kids watch The Simpsons but would let them watch even worse shows, like The Drew Carey Show. And many of the episodes were very pro-family. It was also very cleverly written. Ten years ago, I purged my TV-watching habits to watch almost exclusively poor-quality but clean 1960s sitcoms. The Simpsons is one that I miss, although I understand it has jumped the shark. (Does anyone even say that anymore?)
• Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to buy CDs. This week I ordered physical CDs from Amazon, the All the Leaves Are Brown collection of the Mamas and the Papas (four complete albums) and the Killers' Direct Hits--even though it would have been cheaper to just buy MP3 albums or rent music from Spotify. I do occasionally just buy MP3s, such as when the artist is too inappropriate to buy full albums or when I will only use the music for my holiday or hymn collections, but I just like holding a physical copy--even if I only use the physical form in my car. I also like full albums, because often the non-single songs are even better than the famous singles. I have a free two-month trial of Google Play's All Access, but I find I'm not overly satisfied with it. Mostly I've been listening to it to decide if I want to buy the albums I've been listening to--which I can do fairly easily on YouTube, in most cases. Spotify says they're helping the music industry because most people only spend $5 a month on music, so they're increasing it to $10 a month. But I'm not sure I buy that. Since a fair amount of the music I listen to is indie stuff (Cherie Call, Mideau, the Lower Lights), I feel that I should put money into the industry. Some stores no longer sell CDs at all, and gone are the days when you can walk into Media Play and buy just about any CD you would want. Target is probably the best bet for CDs now, since they often have exclusive bonus tracks, although the Barnes and Noble in Orem has a surprisingly wide selection.
• Some people are complaining about the snowy weather we've been having. A lot of these people are not from Utah. I wish I could impress upon their minds just how important the snow is. It concerns me to look up at the mountain and see it mostly brown. Utah is the second-driest state in the U.S. In Provo, at least, half of our water is from runoff. We need snow for the runoff. Rain doesn't work, it needs to be snow. The other half comes from groundwater. Groundwater is not something I would call a renewable resource, because it takes hundreds to thousands of years to recharge. Believe me, we need snow. I'm still waiting for a year where it snows 9 out of 12 months. We hit 8 in 2010 and 2011.
• I visited home this weekend, and our apricot tree was in bloom. I love blossoming trees more than I love fall leaves. But I am completely baffled that a silly, super-random song comparing blossoms to popcorn is so wildly popular. Apparently the composer wrote the song because her son said something about popcorn on the apricot tree. So I understand why she wrote it. But it just amazes me it's so popular. "I could take an armful and make a treat"--who comes up with that stuff? I'm not hating on the song--it's a fine song--but it just surprises me. 
• This morning I had to go to an early priesthood meeting. When I got there, I realized I wasn't wearing a tie, even though I was wearing a suit jacket. 
• I had weird medical things going on this week. On Monday I woke up with a sore back muscle--latissimus dorsi, I think they call it. It was tolerable, but a little uncomfortable. I went running, and when I got back, I was in so much pain, it hurt to breathe deeply. But it got better. Then on Wednesday, I was watching YouTube videos for class, when I realized I couldn't see all the letters in the words. I was even looking at a picture of a boy standing on a beach, and I thought he only had one leg, because my vision blocked the other leg. I figured maybe I had been looking at a screen for too long, so I put my head down and closed my eyes. I got a really bad headache, which never happens to me. I worried I was going to get sick like I did at the Fourth of July. But I didn't, and both my head and my eyesight have been perfectly fine ever since.
• I graduate in four weeks. Eek!

A laid-back guy

Last month, when I had my interview at the Joseph Smith Papers, they asked me if I preferred a professional environment or a laid-back environment. I said that I preferred a laid-back environment, and they said I seemed like a laid-back person.

That surprised me, because I think of myself as coming across as very boring and serious. If I were to describe myself, "laid back" wouldn't be a term I would think of.

But this week I realized that in some ways, I really am laid back.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day, and I was all decked out in green. I had on a grey St. Patrick's Day Snoopy shirt that's too big for me, green glasses with an eight-year-old prescription, a green hoodie, green pants, green socks with subtle shamrocks on them, and brand-new neon green Vans. Except for the hoodie and the shoes, these are all things that I basically only wear once a year, for varying reasons. All together, I think they clashed a little bit. But it's fun to wear all green. I've seen a few things online saying you shouldn't dress all in green on St. Patrick's Day. Of course it looks ridiculous. That's the whole point--it's the one day of the year you can get away with it. It's like those articles called "How to Avoid Overeating on Thanksgiving." They miss the point.

On Tuesday, I went to the CD release concert for Cherie Call's new album, Homeless Songs. I really like Cherie Call a lot, but if you read my blog, you might have already known that. I think she is really underappreciated in Mormon music, although her latest album is not at all religious. Her Facebook page only has 1,240 likes. On the other hand, Hilary Weeks has 26,978 likes, and Jenny Phillips has 30,540. What?! Jenny Phillips is Boring with a capital B. Cherie Call has some of the cleverest lyrics I know of, and while many singers have similar voices, I know of absolutely no one with a voice similar to Cherie Call's.

On my way to the concert, I missed the turn. I do that a lot. But instead of making a sudden turn or doing a U-turn, I kept driving until I could turn around. But I ended up having to drive in a parking lot to turn around. I got lost going to the same place on Halloween. I get lost a lot, and when I do, I take kind of an "Oh, well" attitude. I find my way eventually.

As for the concert, it was good, but it had its problems. They had a whole band, and the sound system wasn't the greatest, so it was often hard to hear her singing. I find it's often hit and miss when you see Cherie Call live; I think this was the eighth time I've seen her. I like her new album, but I don't think it's her strongest work; if I were to recommend an album of hers, I would do Heart Made of Wind (for non-religious), The Ocean in Me (for religious), or Grace (for some of both). Maybe I'll do a full review of her new album sometime.

On Wednesday, I had a graduation banquet for the Department of Linguistics and English Language. They said it was "Sunday best dress." But I thought, why should I give the same respect to this banquet as I do to the Lord? So I didn't dress like I do when I go to church. I did wear a tie, but the rest of my clothes were things I would normally wear on an ordinary day. I don't like dressing up on a Wednesday.

Last June, I wrote a paper in which I likened language to clothes. I said that different kinds of language are appropriate for different situations, just as different kinds of clothes are appropriate for different situations. But I find that I tend to prefer more informal kinds of both clothing and speech in most situations. Often when I am editing, I will point out a grammatical structure or some punctuation, and I will say, "The Chicago Manual of Style says we should do this, but personally I don't care." I also found it silly to dress up for the banquet. I would like the world to be a more laid back, less formal place.

At the banquet, they gave out different prizes. The only "prize" I got was recognition that I worked on the linguistic student journal Schwa. They gave out prizes for people who had a 3.90 GPA at the end of fall semester. I didn't get one. I had a 3.89 at the beginning of fall, but Groundwater and Geology 210 dropped me down from there. Since academics is the only thing I'm good at, it irks me when I'm not the best, since I'm so conceited like that.

I had a French test this week, and last time we had a test, we didn't have class right before the test. So I thought we didn't have class on Thursday, and I dilly-dallied my way around that morning. My roommate Jordan said he was going to class, and I told him we didn't have it. But he said we did. So he went to class and texted me and said we did have it. So I was ten minutes late. I've never been that late to a college class before! I felt so foolish for having thought we didn't have class. That's why you take classes with your roommate.

Friday night, my ward helped out with the BYU Experience, which is a time for college-age people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities to hang out and have fun. I helped out with it four years ago (!), and it has changed a lot. Last time, it was a two-day thing. The first day we had dinner with them on Friday night before doing karaoke; then the second day, we did bowling, a trip to the Bean Museum, lunch, and a movie. This time around, it was very simple. It was only for a few hours on Friday. There were a few game booths for them, and then the ever-popular karaoke afterwards. I, along with other people, helped out two kids named Bryan and Dylan. I was flattered when Dylan wrote my name down on the coloring tablecloth. I was really impressed that their handwriting is better than mine. The karaoke with them was enjoyable. The MC was a higher-functioning person, and he made funny commentary. One girl was singing a song called "Walking Away," and you couldn't understand most of what she said (I don't think she knew the lyrics), except for "walking away," which she screamed into the microphone. After her performance, the "emcee" said, "Isn't she loud?" After a mere three hours, it was done--much shorter than the two-day experience four years ago.

I took my French test yesterday. I don't think I did particularly well. But since I'm laid back, my thought is, "Oh, well!"

Dientes de juicio

So, I got my wisdom teeth out this week.

That may surprise some people: "You mean you didn't get them out before your mission?" Before my mission, a dentist said it might be a good idea to get them out, but I didn't need to, and my mom didn't think I should. They weren't messing up my other teeth, and I only had them on top.

But recently I had a trip to the dentist, and he said that I should have them taken out, because they were going to keep coming in--he said they will come in until they touch something, and since I don't have bottom teeth there, they would come in until they hit the gums.

So, Friday was the day. Since they were already sticking out, it was very easy. They numbed me up, gave me laughing gas, and got them out. In fact, I don't know when they came out--I could feel them applying pressure in my mouth, but I didn't feel the teeth come out. Since all I had was laughing gas, there was no YouTube fame for me.

They gave me gauze and told me to bite on it for an hour. When the gauze was no longer red, then I wouldn't have to bite on it anymore. I bit on it and went to my French lab, where I told the TA I preferred not to speak, "car le dentiste a enlevé mes dents de sagesse." I was going to stay on campus and work, but I was still bleeding, and I was running out of gauze. The Bookstore didn't sell dental gauze, so I went back to the dentist (right by where I live) and asked for some more gauze. The hygienist went back to get some more, but the dentist looked in my mouth and told me I didn't need to bite anymore--even as he handed me the gauze they had gotten for me. I ate lunch, took a nap, and went back to campus (since my computer doesn't have Word), where I worked until late.

Really, the operation wasn't eventful. It wasn't really more eventful than the running I did this week (including one that was the longest I'd done since November or December) or stake conference. But it's a once-in-a-lifetime event. And by "once-in-a-lifetime" I don't mean it was significant, I mean it literally will only happen once in my life.

I remember well getting my tonsils out--waking up at 1:00 p.m. in pain, Slurpees that were supposed to soothe my throat but often made it worse, watching old reruns of Family Feud. But my wisdom teeth were not like that. I refrained from running Friday and Saturday, but other than that I'm fully functioning. I no longer have gauze in my mouth, so I can talk. I eat whatever I want and go wherever I want.

I'm glad that it went well and that I'm not in pain. But I'm a little sad I didn't have an excuse to sit around and do nothing.