Throw Them at Life and See if Life Will Make the Same Mistake Again.

Ok I promised a TV post...but I'm going to erase that promise. I’m not really sure what to write about. I mean I watch a lot of shows, like way too many. I have a board on Pinterest dedicated to the shows I like and I accurately titled it "Junkie". Which, in my mind, brings me to my soapbox.

I hate the question "what do you like to do for fun?" or "what do you do in your spare time?" I would like to say to all the people out there that ask that horrible question "wow, how original!"

They really are horrible questions, maybe because "spare time" is vague, and "fun" is a generalized word, that we use for everything remotely enjoyable. I have a friend who was raised in Britain and she once told me that the word fun is not really used the same way there (or wasn't) and so she never really understood what it meant when people said they had fun. Then she moved to good ol' Merica and went boating and four wheeling and played with all of our many, many toys here. She said only then did she understand what we meant when we said “fun.” Interesting thought, no? And that reminds me of my favorite farewell. “It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun.” Which is true. Things are pretty much always “fun,” but few things are “real fun.”

Awesome. I’m, ranting again. At least this time it’s not about Harry Potter…which is real fun.

Back onto the box...I think my issue with those questions comes from my lack of having an exciting answer. I usually answer by saying I love to read and watch TV in my spare time. Every one's first thought is "wow...lazy much?" If I say parkour every one thinks "whoa! cool"...but then I'd be lying and that will be embarrassing when they find out I can't jump even short buildings with a single bound…so I try really hard to make reading and watching TV sound cool and exciting and energizing, that way I'm not some boring chick who sits/lays on the couch all day...whether or not that's true.

Now how can we make these default questions better? Well the easiest thing to do is to just not ask those questions, but that isn’t going to happen because my impact reaches a whopping 5 people, on a good day. So the backup option is the always reliable, rewire our brains. 

Instead of saying, “I like to run,” or “I play basketball,” let’s throw in things we find enjoyable but not necessarily something we do every day. Not our most common spare time activity. Things I find fun are exploring; homes, forests, towns, rocky beaches and tide pools, but you don't see me wondering about with a fanny pack full of crackers and fruit snacks every day.  I also really like to learn about ancient history and animals. I love to go to the zoo and make up life stories for the animals and humanize them all, or go to museums and try to play archeologist in the dig pits. I also really like to be in competitive situations where I can vent and win and not feel bad about it, but if I do that too often my friend count will drop dramatically.

Like I said, those are not things I do every day, but they are things I think are fun to do, and if I could, I would fill my spare time with them and other nonsensical but “fun” things. So maybe that is what we need to do. Instead of asking those cursed questions we should ask "what do you find fun?" or "what would you like to do in your spare time?" It gives people a broader range. It helps them share a part of themselves that is interesting, that actually shows people who they are. It helps them to answer truthfully without feeling judged or uncomfortable. And I can sound more like my exciting self and keep my junkie side private for a little while longer.

For those of you who are interested in knowing what I waste my time on…http://pinterest.com/maquel89/junkie/

Over and out

Leave Them There and Move To France...They'll Give You Croissants

So I was talking to my dad on Saturday (Happy Birthday again!) and he told me he came across my blog again and gave me a hard time for only posting every 6 months, and starting out each post with "Wow, it's been a long time since I posted" so I won't say that this time...even though it's true.

In my last blog I promised to share random thoughts and stories, and to fill you all with a range of emotions...that may or may not happen. Today I felt like talking about TV shows but due to yesterdays results I thought I would start off with my political thoughts.

Ok so I have not been the best US citizen when it comes to following all of the different things that have happened in the political world. I know everyone has been posting about their political opinions, but now that the election is over I wanted to say a couple things. I voted for Mitt Romney. Not because I'm LDS, but because he was by far the better man for the job. He has proven that he knows how to handle money and foreign affairs. I have a couple reasons why I didn't vote for President Obama.

 

Foreign Policy

This country's citizens do not understand that we live in a global world. In all of my international studies and foreign affair classes we studied globalization. Basically we study and discuss the fact that what one country does effects the rest of the world. As a country we rely on more than just our citizens; we rely on the citizens and governments of other nations as well. Because of this we need a president that understands how to communicate and represent our country to other nations, not just to our citizens. In the last 4 years President Obama has proved to me that he does not understand how to handle foreign affairs. He apologizes to Libya even though it wasn't our fault, he allows the standoff with Iran, and he bows lower than the emperor of Japan. Yes that seems like a small thing, but we are a large and powerful nation, and our president should reflect that in his actions. He should not have done that. Yes, he should bow because he should respect other country leaders, but not lower. They are equals in position. The standoff with Iran could lead to Isreal taking matters into their own hands. That would be bad news for everyone. Not stepping in to limit Iran's nuclear power could result in allowing an unstable nation to use those dangerous weapons againt our allies and our people. Not a safe move! 

 

Student Loans

I went to school before and during his presidency. Before he started, getting loans was a simple process, and I got them within the first week of school. After he got in, the process took longer and most people didn't see any money until a month into the semester. That doesn't work for people. We’re getting a loan because we don’t have money and yet we don't get the money for tuition in time, so we are late and get charged fees or kicked out. Bogus.

 

Healthcare

Don't get me started on that. I will only say that it sucks.

 

Unemployment

Something he said in the debate really bothered me. He wanted to create more high skill/high wage jobs to boost the unemployment level...uh what?!? Shouldn’t you try to bring back the low skill/low paying jobs so that more people could be employed? Part of the issue is that those unemployed don't have the education or skill level to take those high skill jobs. Give them a chance! Creating more high skill jobs will only help those already employed and/or educated!

First Lady

One of the biggest reasons I voted for Romney was because of his wife. As an educated white woman in America I want us to have a first lady worthy of the title. The first lady should be respectful, humble, motivated, and kind. Ann Romney is a very smart and classy lady, and would be a good representative of the women of the United States. Michelle Obama was not respectful, not humble, and not kind, (I guess you can say she was motivated). Michelle did not understand how to respect other cultures. In her position, she will be travelling with her husband to many nations and welcoming many different representatives into the white house. If it is offensive to have your arms bare in front of another countries diplomat then cover them up! It’s not difficult! Respect other countries. Also, don't use your income as the president to send your wife and daughters to Spain for a spa weekend. Don’t you have something better you could be doing with your time and money? The video about the flag being raised on ground zero, whether or not it was misinterpreted, should never have been an issue. If she was indeed a classy lady she would not have even opened herself up to the possibility of looking heartless, especially in that moment. The first lady does not have the rights in the political world that the president does. Yes, they all choose a cause to back and promote, but that does not give them the right to push legislation. Laura Bush chose literacy but you didn't see her pushing laws in each state against it! Michelle needs to leave legislation to the legislators.

 

End of political rant.

 

Now that I see how much I wrote I realize...I don't really want to write anymore, so the TV post will have to wait for another day. Adieu! 

Suck Out the Vitamin C and Say “Eat That, Life!

So I realized that I haven't added to my blog in awhile. I apologize to all of you nonexistent readers out there.

I have decided that I want to be a good blogger. Someone that when I add a new post people will be so excited that they will put down their kid, spoon, pen, book, toothbrush, box of chocolates, etc and immediately read what I have to say. The future posts will be things that will bring out an assortment of emotions. They will be funny haha, tongue in cheek, “that shouldn’t be this funny but is,” serious, “oh my gosh my life sucks,” thought provoking or not TV show/books/movie analyses, insightful, spiritual, boring, and/or an overall feeling of “meh.” Now, how am I going to be able to continue to write amazing posts and still come up with great ideas for title that go along with lemons…well I have no idea. It will be a constant drain on my creative juices.

So let’s play catch up. Last year I moved to SLC. I never really thought I would live here. But I am learning to never say never. It’s honestly not as bad as I expected. I mean other than the driving it’s pretty nice. I don’t find the mountains as claustrophobic as I used to, and seeing the sun is a definite bonus, as long as the inversion doesn't stay around long. It’s nice to have so much stuff around. Within 30 mins I can get to about 6-8 movie theaters, 6 malls and 853 church buildings. Way to go Utah! Getting back to the driving…I seriously wonder if there should even be motor vehicles allowed in this state. People have this obsession with sitting in your blind spot for 8 miles, they have no idea what that weird blinking light is used for, and they LOVE the brake pedal. My favorite thing is when it rains. You would think they would be able to handle it with the large amounts of snow they have to deal with, but they don’t, they are suicidal out there. They don’t understand that if you slam on the breaks with that much water on the road you will slide or hydroplane. *shakes head*

Anyways, I moved to SLC because I received an internship with Deseret Book. It was so much fun, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart now. The internship technically lasted through the second week of April but I asked to stay on and help out until the next batch of interns showed up. Since that was the last thing I needed to do to graduate I officially graduated in April 2011. After that I did some serious job hunting and I tried to figure out what I was going to do. I didn’t want to be the person that graduated from college and then moved home with their parents. But I was kind of lost. The real world is scary and it was kind of nice to have school there to hide behind.

Luckily the Lord had a plan for me. After a long day of online research and resume emailing I received a message from a friend I went to school with. She was going to be leaving for her mission in about 2 months and was looking for someone to fill her position. Lucky me that we both studied the same thing! So I went in for an interview. I met with a couple of people and thought it would be a cool place to work. After a couple of days I emailed my friend again and asked how it was looking. She told me they wanted me to come in for a second interview with the company president. Ok! So I showed up and BAM! I got the job. So 2 weeks after my internship ended and a month to the day from graduating college I had a full time job. And not just any job, a job that was in my field of study. I am so grateful.

The company I work for is Cementation USA Inc. They are a mine engineering/contracting company. We build mines. Not coal mines, those are too dangerous, but hard rock mines, like gold, copper, diamonds. Stuff like that. The office environment is so different from ANYTHING else. Half the company is Canadian, and they worked underground so they are a rough bunch of guys who like to drink and swear. It would be no shock if someone threw out a couple of choice words in the middle of a business meeting. But these guys are only rough around the edges. They are all pretty much teddy bears once you get to know them. We all get along really well, and have a good time. Not a day goes by at work where I haven’t laughed about something. And not just a polite laugh, but a real chuckle.

Now you are probably shocked that I studied mine engineering. Well don’t be, because I didn’t. I studied Communications and PR. And even though my title is Administrative Assistant, I am the marketing representative for the company. So I create advertisements, apply for company awards, help out HR with random stuff, and I am synchronizing the departments by doing a lot of internal marketing.

So that has been my life the last year or so. Hopefully my future posts will be a little more exciting and I can share random stories or thoughts or whatevers. Like this one: Social hours. Why are they called social hours? Most of the time they are longer than an hour. Is it because social hour and a half doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely?...something to think about.

Make The Best Lemonade You Can!

Oh my gosh. I am such a slacker! I haven't written for months! Oh well I guess that's ok cause it's not like I have a bunch of readers anyways
I started my last semester at BYU-Idaho. Assuming that I pass all of my classes of course. It's kind of unreal. I'm excited to no longer have to go to class and take tests and write papers, but that's also kinda weird to think "I'm done." So this semester consists of studying and finding an internship/job while also making the most of my last bit of college. Look out world, I'm coming!"
Let me fill you in on the last little bit of my life...let's see, spring semester was an exploratory semester when it came to food. Larissa and I had lots of fun finding and trying new recipes. For the fourth she and I went to Ensign Ranch in WA and camped with my family. It was cold but fun. Then we started a combo blog. http://lifeascollegestudents.blogspot.com/ It's a journal of the weird and sometimes stupid things we do.

After the semester was over, like literally the day after finals I drove home with my brother and we dropped all of my stuff at home, repacked and then left 45 mins later for ocean shores. It was really nice to go from school to the beach and know that I have nothing to do. I spent 2 of those 7 weeks at the beach, and basically the rest of the time reading. I read the entire Percy Jackson series. They were fantastic! But that's coming from someone who L-O-V-E-S Greek mythology. I also read Persuasion, and the Red Pyramid (by the author who wrote Percy Jackson). Then I re-read the Host, another one of my all time favorites, and re-read the Hunger Games series because the final book came out in August. It was...really good. It reminded me of the seventh Harry Potter. In that I didn’t know what to expect really, but when I was finished the book wasn't what I expected it to be. Over all it was a really good break. I got to relax spend time with my family, stay up late talking to friends from home and solving the problems of the world with my mom. It was exactly what I needed before coming to my last semester.

I got back into Rexburg Saturday the 4th. Larissa joined me Sunday, Monday we ran errands and hung out with Alex and his sister, Tuesday we went into Idaho Falls and then got to also figure out student loans (which the government is now controlling and so here I am 2 weeks into the semester, and they still have come through. Thank you SO much congress and President Obama, no one can get money for school now, so we will end up with a country filled with uneducated people!!!)...anyways. Then Wednesday Larissa, Ben, Alex, our new roommate Jennifer and her friend Jonathan and I went to the St. Anthony Sand Bar. It's basically a homemade beach off of the river. It’s the best we can get, so I’m not complaining. It has a water slide and a diving board. The water was cold, but we still had lots of fun. Thursday was D-day. Classes started. I think I’ll be ok. Lots of papers and the Y, U, H, N, and M key’s on my keyboard freak out sometimes and I don't care much for a couple of my classes but I think it will be ok in the end.
Well I think that gets you kinda caught up. Have a good one all!

P.S. I would like to make an amendment to my post on April 22, 2010. My plan is to graduate without a ring on my finger. And I'd be fine if there wasn't even a guy to put one there. I view that as the ultimate accomplishment.

Fry 'Em

So Larissa and I have been real homemakers lately. We made garlic chicken alfredo pizza. It was way yummy, and we liked it so much we made it AGAIN the next day! Then today we decided to make enchiladas. We love those beef and refried bean spicy enchiladas a lot! Then we got the brilliant idea to make deep fried ice cream.

Larissa and I were a little worried because a previous roommate said she made them and had a small grease fire, but we didn't want to let that keep us down, so we tried! and it is really, very yummy!!!

Use Them to Power a Time Machine and Check Out Your Future

Well I'm starting up Spring Semester at BYU-Idaho. Kinda weird being here. I'm usually here Sept-April, but I have 2 semesters of classes and and internship that I need to do before I can graduate. My plan is to graduate next April, and since I haven't received an internship for this summer, I decided to stay here and then try to get one for Fall or Winter semester. Not sure how I feel about it all. I mean yeah I excited to be done with college, but at the same time I don't really know what is going to happen to me after graduation. Where will I get a job? Have I learned enough to actually get a job in the real world? Will I be graduating as the ultimate failure as a Mormon girl and have no ring on my finger or guy to put one there? :) I ponder these questions and many others about my future. But really, who doesn't?

This semester will also be an interesting one for me. Lots of changes. New apartment, new roommates (aside from Larissa, she just won't go away...), new ward, starting on my minor of Political Science, so a new way of thinking, most of my friends were also here Sept-April, so they are all gone and have left, so Larissa and I have no one to do anything with but each other. Not the worst situation, but I guess it just means that we now need to make more friends.

I threw a murder mystery party. It was called Lethal Luau. It was a lot of fun. We all dressed up and had virgin margaritas. Earlier that day I donated blood...well I tried to donate blood. Instead they decided to go through my vein, and give me a sore arm and a HUGE bruise. Yay for me...

So Larissa LOVES scary movies, but Ryan and I aren't too fond of them. So I had a moment of weakness and allowed for a scary movie night. We watched "The Fog," "Premonition," and "The Messengers." The first 2 weren't too bad, but "The Messengers" was pretty dang scary. Richard was there laughing at all of the scary parts and telling me when to close my eyes, except at the part when you see the legs on the bed...nice one, now that image will be forever embedded in my brain. Next thing I knew we were watching 6th sense, village, and duh duh dunnnn...The Grudge...that one is SO scary!!! Richard helped me cover my eyes for over half of that movie too...I wasn't able to sleep for 4 days without drugging myself, luckily I had a cold and so I had the right to drug myself. There are also this place in Rexburg called the haunted swing set. Not sure why it's haunted, we just think people say that so they can go make out there without people interrupting...haha I freaked out the first time Larissa and Richard dragged me there, but the second time I was fine, I even swung on the swing set!!! YAY for me!

For Easter, we did nothing really. My parents sent me a box with Easter candy and plastic eggs filled with quarters and candy for the boys to hide for me. Then we made a nice ham dinner with cheesy potatoes and other yummy stuff. But yeah that was it, not too exciting.

My FHE brother was called to serve in the Chile Santiago North mission, that was really exciting to be there for. So proud to know him. He leaves on May 5th.

We had a masquerade for a ward activity. My mask won first place! It was way awesome!!! Well that's all for now. Later all!

Make Dinner for Fifteen

Wow! Am I a slacker or what? It's almost midterms and I am just now posting a blog. Lets see this last weekend I went with Larissa, Ryan, and Richard to Idaho Falls. We went with Larissa's dad snowmobiling. It was so much fun. Richard tipped ours over and then it ran into a tree on the hill, and Ryan caught his on fire. Very productive day. No one got hurt or too cold, we were just sore afterwards.

Colts and Saints went this year to the Super Bowl. We (Larissa, Ryan, Richard and I) went to Larissa's place to watch it on the big screen. It was a good game until the Saints won...the commercials were good. my favorite was the little boy telling the guy to keep his hands off his mama and his Doritos. Way cute!

We had Russell M. Nelson, and M. Russell Ballard come this last week. It was really awesome to hear from them both. I love the spirit they bring with them, the love they give so freely, and message they share with us.

I got to repierce Larissa's ear. that was a scary experience. It decided to close up, so I sat there with a needle and an otter pop. The otter pop was to numb her earlobe. It bled a little, but in the end we got it.

I'm trying to figure out school plans right now. I have to have an internship in order to graduate. I applied for an church magazine internship in the fall. It is a lot easier getting an internship for the fall then it is getting on in the summer. I am trying to apply for fast grad, so I can go this summer and stay on target for graduating in April 2011. We'll see how all of this goes.

The first weekend we were here we decided to make a Star Trek parody. So we got with the boys of Delta Phi 5, Ben, Ryan, Richard, Warren, Mark, Robert, and FHE bro Nick. It's an amazing movie. Feel free to watch it! video.php Hopefully we will have the second installment soon. Larissa and I are always over at Delta Phi 5 now. Making friends is the best, and it is so much more fun to hang out with guys. Life is so much simpler. With our roommates, FHE bros, and other friends we have awesome dinner parties on Sunday. it's alot of fun. I love to have parties, and i think people bond through food. And everyone knows the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. :) Have a great weekend/Valentine's/Single's Awareness Day!!!