What I SHOULD be doing...

is writing a paper or editing my ORCA grant proposal. But I think this adequately describes how I'm feeling right now:

Yep. That happened. And now what am I doing? Blogging. Because I lack the motivation to do anything school-related. I'm in "I have a full-time job and a life" mode, not "school and studying are my life" mode. This is a problem.

However, the semester is nearly over (can you believe it?!) so there's no sense in rocking the boat now, right? Haha...

By the way, the hurricane really underwhelmed our area, but much of the Northeast was less fortunate. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

In other news, it's Halloween. Tolly decided to go out on the town with a few people and was thoroughly freaked out by how many drunk people were roaming the streets, and by the fact that she returned to the BC smelling slightly of pot...

Sorry Tolly, you're not in Fruit Heights or Provo anymore. I have no sympathy for this type of closed minded shock. This is how the other half lives. Deal with it.

Is that too harsh of me? Sometimes I just have a hard time coping with the fact that I am clearly the least sheltered person here. And I'm starting to recognize that I've been here for over half a semester because I'm feeling a bit cooped up with these people, particularly Tolly. Most of the time she and I have great late night chats or cereal parties, but every once in a while I would like nothing more than to make her stop existing in my universe. I have to count my blessings though; there are other girls here that would drive me absolutely bat-$#!% crazy if I had to share a room with them.

I miss you ladies. This whole experience really makes me appreciate my real friends. I can't wait to come home and be with normal crazy people again. Ha.

Peace and love,

The Rack

For The Rack

Dear Rack,

We miss you. And we just wanted to let you know that even though you are a couple of thousand miles away, we love you :)

So we made this for you

-Paul Mitchell, GNC, and Aquafresh

P.S. Aquafresh wanted to be here, but unfortunately had an emergency with her roommates she had to see to. She was, however, here in spirit.

Letters to the Populace

Dear friend-who-blogs,

I don't want to know about how your Brazilian wax went. I don't want to know a review, so please, please, PLEASE, don't post it on your blog, especially when I WOULD be interested in a review of a Brazilian Blow-Out, so I clicked on it thinking that what it led to, not a review on your recent waxing "down there."  If I DID want to know about how your waxing went, I would have sent you a private message through Facebook, not looked onto your public blog in case there happened to be a review about your very private procedure.


Dear intern,

I understand you had a crazy weekend at some comic convention and that the internship is not the most exciting thing you could be doing with your time. However, that is not a good reason to call-in and say you can't come in. I didn't buy the "my throat hurts and I can't talk" excuse when my coworker said it, nor do I lay any more credence to it when you call it after a crazy weekend I know you had.

Dear English-speakers,

The adverb is STILL NECESSARY!!! I know it's not as fun to say "badly" when you could say bad, especially because Carly Rae Jepson has made it so cool. It's also not okay to neglect slowly, well, and safely. The English language has survived with only mild modifications for the past four centuries. Let's try not to take out an entire section of it in one impatient, text-obsessed generation.


Dear Everyone-who-complains-about-politics-on-Facebook,

I don't like sports. In fact, I hate sports and find them to be, in general, a complete waste of time. However, I have come to accept that they are important to people, and that during the Superbowl, baseball playoffs, the sweet sixteen of basketball, and whatever is apparently important in hockey, I will see posts about it. EVERYWHERE. I choose to ignore them and gloss over them, even the hateful ones where you rag on certain players or coaches in a very mean and personal way. So shut the hell up when people do the same thing about politics. I don't care if you think it's mean and I don't care that you're annoyed that it's taking up your precious news feed, or that you're tired of seeing it. #firstworldproblems, anyone? You don't have to look at your Facebook and if it's your only source of entertainment, you have bigger problems. Besides, POLITICS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPORTS!!! If I can deal with your sports obsession, you can deal with something that actually matters and affects EVERYONE.

Dear Utahns,

Please, PLEASE learn to drive better. And also learn to pull your car up to the correct side of the gas pump.  Your inability to do either of these things is truly causing me to doubt your ability to make good decisions and makes me regret that I have to try and get you people to vote. If you don't know how to use a blinker, you should not be allowed to choose who will be in charge or our nuclear arsenal.


Also...I want to eat this:

It's the butternut squash asiago tortellaci from the Mac Grill. I love this time of year for this dish. So good. 

- PM out

3:26 AM

Yes, yes it is 3:26 am and I am still awake. I still have a one page response paper to finish. I still have spin class at 8:05 am. I still have to respond to two NYT articles (stupid busy work). I still have a ton of Exit Poll stuff to do. I am still behind on updating a data set for our department's modern day Yoda who fortunately isn't quite so married to the school of "do or do not--there is no try." Because gosh #$#%$% it. Sometimes trying is all I've got.

I'm hitting the year mark with String Bean in seven days. I'm melting down a little. I moved to Lehi. We're both insanely busy. I feel like we've stopped communicating or having quality time the last few weeks. Ohhhh relationships. Sometimes I just want to run. I want to run before I get hurt by the person that I love more than air. Why does that happen? Why do I just want to bolt all the sudden. I go from total bliss to complete panic in a matter of minutes. Why are there moments where I lack complete confidence in the idea that he loves me as much as I love him. Help?

I should note that this is total steam of conscience. I'm half awake but I've got to let some of this stress out. I feel like I can't breathe. Sometimes I just want to go home. Not to Texas but like home. You know what I mean?

Just let it be the weekend already. Just let me calm down already. Just... just... just. Ugh. I'm done. The end. I love you all. Rack thanks for your BOM reference in that last post. I needed that.

As a parting thought, the wallpaper in this bedroom is ugly and yet at times oddly comforting in it's old fashioned Anne of Green Gables kind of way.

Stuck somewhere between the bottom of the ice cream carton and the comfort of the gym...

GMC

Future Lesson Plan: Campaigns

And this is why you should never get too specific during a primary campaign.

You can't etch-a-sketch back from a position this extreme, especially once it's put into writing and circulated throughout the state.

Amateurs...

Also - favorite quote of the day:

"If voters made their decisions solely on a set of dry policy positions devoid of any personality or...theater, we wouldn't need to run the campaign at all. The two parties could simply post their platforms online and let voters choose which one they liked better."

PM out.

Keeping Me Going

Last night was rough. I think the storm had been brewing for a while, but last night it really hit me and the rain finally fell.

After all was said and done (therapeutic hot shower while loudly singing along to some very fitting music, blessing from the home teachers, time on Pinterest, talking to the Captain, etc.), I settled in to read myself to sleep. I had a pretty strong impression that I should deviate from my usual study and turn here.

Thanks for standing by me from across the country. It means the world to me.

Love, The Rack