quiero viajar, ay!

My latest dream, obsession, yearning, point of research, etc. is roadtripping to south america, or at least to guatemala. Then I could visit mi amiga monica on her mission, which is probably illegal in missionary rules but some things are just technicalities. But honestly, I just think it sounds like the greatest adventure. And DON'T go telling me how dangerous it is! I ain't no fool. See, i've found a whole assortment of travelblogs of people who have done the very thing. Reading them makes me wanderlustful. A trip like this may not occur anytime in the next few years, but there's always...the golden years of life. 

• This couple began their venture to the tip of south america last fall '08. I began reading the archived beginning of their trip and was enthralled, the wheels in my mind began to churn. They also created this website with useful info.
• Another couple is traveling from north carolina to buenos aires.
• And also, this couple (noticing a theme? we are so not reproducing anytime soon) is also headed towards the tip of south america, starting in canada.

Oh and hear this! Aaron had a dream the other night that he and a friend were out doing things and they needed to get away so they were going to purloin a vehicle and head down through Mexico, except one of his cousins was going to tell on him so they stayed in america, & that's as much as he remembers. Anyway point is, he dreamed he wanted to drive to mexico. A sign, no?

[the pan-american highway] 

Things I learned

[in college]

This is me bestowing my sapient wisdom. AHEM, here goes:

• very possible to graduate college without ever taking an 8:00 a.m. class
• dates don't count unless you can make it past #3...the 3rd date hump. it's vital. and rare.
• making your bed every morning gives some semblance of order to the day
• a bachelor's degree is often worth more than the actual major
• it's smart to choose your major based on the proximity of its main building to your apartment
• biking to & from class each day is a viable form of exercise
• Some boys are just creepy, despite their RM status.
  
• love your student discounts (e.g. $180 ski season passes, hola!)
• take lots of videos, not just photos (i wish i had done this)
• At the end of each winter semester, purge your closet and give trashbags filled with clothes to DI
• TRUST NO ONE.
• just kidding
• don't sweat the small stuff when it comes to classes and schoolwork...it really doesn't matter that much (unless you're trying to get into byu's nursing program)
• Dishes don't wash themselves. when cooking/making food, wash & clean EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY. this even extends to morning cereal bowls. Or it will build up in the sink for days, weeks even. And everyone (roommates, not husbands) pretends it isn't their mess. [sorry, a rant; can you tell this was one of my biggest pet peeves?]
• selling plasma may seem desperate, but cash $$ is exciting.
• call your parents at least weekly, because you love them
• call your grandmother too
• [most] kids who make comments in class are brown-nosers (this one's from aaron)
• Stay at school in the summer (my happiest memories are from may/june)

That's all for now; after 4 years i should have more but i can't think of any.

p.s. one month until my fake graduation, boy howdy!
p.p.s. fake because i won't technically get my diploma til august

I have a girl crush

her name is fergie.



[we play fair, so aaron could have a boy crush if he wanted. but he doesn't, far as i know. alright i think i've revealed enough in this post. happy st. patrick's day.]

oh p.s. i was told that someone who doesn't know me well won't know how to take this, and so will just take it seriously. just in case-- i am often not that serious on this blog!! It's like tongue-in-cheek, if that's the right phrase.

things to anticipate

[highlights from the moleskine, in chronological order]

*Pi Day [because 3.14159 means pie]
*St. Patrick's day [because i love green]
*byu alumni etiquette dinner [because i need to learn some table manners & i enjoy 5-course meals]
*CHES prep class [because i want letters after my name w/o grad school]
*Holi [because india knows how to celebrate]
*a-dawg's mission reunion [because i will feel awkward and that's always fun]
*general conference [because i would choose that over real church anyday teehee!]
*the day after easter [because i will raid the grocery store sales and get a year supply of mini-eggs]
*fake graduating [because i will feel like a genius]
*moving to bountiful [because i will only have a 20-minute commute instead of 1 hour]

Did i ever mention I love blogging in list format? oh i do.

modge podge

• i'm only blogging right now because aaron is blogging
• yesterday we saw Slumdog Millionaire and it was very good- i recommend to all
• We attended the great larry miller's funeral yesterday, but i believe a-dawg is writing about that
• i love little boys-- i think i want to have tons of boy children someday (and a girl for balance) I was reading about how there are ways to choose the gender of your children based on which days you conceive. Male spermies swim faster but live shorter lives; female sperm are slower, but have a longer life span. Thus, if you try to conceive near the beginning of your ovulation period, by the time the ovulation event occurs, the males are all dead so you're more likely to have a girl. Does this blog satiate your thirst for knowledge?
• I'm starting my job/internship tomorrow at the diabetes center in slc. i'll be doing pediatric research and it should be a good time! More details about the study can be found right here. And more details may follow once I've actually worked a few days. But let me just say that I am filled with good fortune to have gotten a paying internship in the public health field when we were pretty much told, 'don't expect to get paid.' wtheck? Who has 300 hours to just give away like that? Additionally, let me say persistence pays off. I almost e-mailed the man in charge of the internship, but aaron stopped me and said, "every girl is going to e-mail, you should call." And so I called, and I called again, and I found out that every other girl did e-mail. And now here we are, and soon I will be diplomatized. I am going to frame it, and Aaron's too, side by side. Special.
• I am craving a chick-fil-a kids' meal, with a larger fresh-squeezed lemonade in lieu of a toy.