Only in Horseshoes and Hand-grenades...

This upcoming week should be full of resolutions.  First, I should find out if I have an apartment.  It is the $395 /mo place.  It sounds like I may be able to start moving things in next week. I hope I get it before the semester ends so that I am able to move my friends furniture that he is giving me into the apartment when he graduates next month.

The other big thing happening this week is that my contract should be ready for me to sign.  The contract was all typed up Friday and was given to the Dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.  It should eventually make it to Dr. Moore, the head of the Geology Department.  When he gets it, then I will sign it.  That means I should be getting my building keys, ID card, and office.  That'll be exciting.

My roommate is also leaving this week.  He is going on a two week cruise to the Caribbean.  I'm really not jealous.  I get to go on a Geology field trip to Hawaii July 27th to August 5th.  We'll be going to the active lava flows on the big island.  We'll also collect lots of great samples for personal and academic purposes.  The black beach sand as well as the green beach sand.  I'm really excited.  I was thinking that if Dad covered the fees, then that'll count for the cruise he says he owes me.

PS. I do have a girlfriend.  Don't get too excited.  The thought of marriage hasn't entered our minds, well not seriously yet.  Well, at least my mind.  Her name is Lacey.  She is from Bemidji, Minnesota which is next to Bagley, Minnesota.

Still looking

Things have been getting busy around here. I've been preparing to teach next semester. I have my power point presentations. I need to practice with them. The paperwork isn't done yet. The administration should finish writing up my contract sometime next week.

I got a job this week in the Geology Department. I tried earlier to get a job with them, but they could hire me. After talking with the head of the department, Dr. Moore, he figured a way how to hire me. I am a project-based temporary employee. There are several little jobs that need to be done around the geology department. I am right now working on two. I'm helping with making some educational posters that will be put up around the building. The posters display information about different rocks and how they form. It is designed to be supplemental information for those in introductory geology courses.

Another project I am working on is the rearrangement of the rock and mineral samples in our labs. We are moving all igneous and metamorphic rocks into one lab along with all the mineral samples. Our large lab will have all the sedimentary rocks and paleontology samples. Most of these samples are in drawers, so I'm swapping drawers. We run into drawers full of rocks that no one knew we had. Any miscellaneous samples we find have to be integrated into our other collections. I enjoy working in the department. I occasionally help out the struggling freshmen. I really enjoy teaching. The pay is great. Most campus jobs for students are around $7 hr, but I'm getting payed $12.40. I have also been given a faculty parking permit which I really enjoy.

Wednesday morning, my roommate and I helped out with baptisms for the dead in the Rexburg temple. It was fun, except that it was a 6am. I was the recorder the whole time. But after we finished, I was asked if I wanted to be baptized. Since I had already brought another change of clothing, I said yes. I was baptized for five Englishmen by my roommate. Almost every time I went down, I hit my knee on the stairs. I was fine, but I thought it was funny.

I'm heading to Jackson Hole today. One of my friends flies out of there today at 3pm. Someone he's related to passed away. The earliest flight he could find was a direct flight from Jackson to Chicago. Apparently flying out of IF was already full. I'm bringing a few friends along to make the trip more enjoyable.

My band, Madeline Walks, made it into Guitars Unplugged again. This is my 5th Guitars Unplugged. We are doing a cover of "First Date" by the band Blink-182. It will be fun.

It's still a little cold here. Its been getting in the single digits at night. There is still a lot snow. I probably should take a picture. I've also been busy looking for an apartment. I found a place that I'm hoping to get. It is $395 /mo but that doesn't include gas or electricity. It doesn't have cable, but I really don't care about that. There is no dishwasher or laundry. It is probably the cheapest place around that isn't literally falling apart. The average price people pay around here, according to the college, is $550. I know of a place that is $500 and includes everything. I'm hoping to get either one. All the other places I've found are too expensive. They are either $500 with no utilities or they are $600+. I just wish I could stay in student housing because its cheap and it has everything included.

Plow Day!

Today, the parking lot is being plowed at my complex. Everyone had to park their cars somewhere else. The ice sheet on our lot is over three inches thick in some places. They are using a caterpillar bulldozer to plow it. The mountain of snow at the end of our lot is over ten feet tall. Its even taller than the bulldozer.

What have I been up to? Well, I've met with the head of the geology department, Dr. Moore, about the teaching position. He'll soon give me some powerpoint presentations to get ready for next semester. I'll be teaching 13 credit hours. The teaching contract should be all done by the end of the month for me to sign and make everything official. I'm getting excited. I already have my schedule. I thought that I would have to be teaching night classes, but I ended up being done teaching by about three in the afternoon. The only downside to finishing early is that I start teaching at about 7:45 every morning. But I have no problem. It will be a great experience and good pay.

I've been housekeeper since I've got here. It isn't too bad because my roommates haven't been very messy. They've seen me clean up so much that it has influenced them to stay tidy, kinda. Since I'm in complete control of what I eat and since I have time to cook. I've been doing well. I have no temptation to drink pop or eat candy since I have none. I also have been starting to workout. I haven't made it to the gym yet, but I some friends who want to go. We just need to find a time that works for all of us.

I'm over the cold I developed just before I left Pasco. I guess it helps being away from other sick people and kids. I feel good. I'm glad to be back.

M.T.A.

I have had my car for a little over a week now, but the pass is continuously bad. I'm almost to the point of buying 4 studded tires and a shovel and heading back to Rexburg. The thought of selling my car and getting a beat-up 4x4 has crossed my mind, but I guess I have to be patient. I was planning on leaving today, but Mom and Dad don't want me to go since its worse up there than the day of my accident. I've been also checking the northern route through Montana, but that looks just as bad. I guess I'll make another attempt on Saturday. Things are supposed to warm up this week, so I'm hoping that means that the road will clear up.

I'm running out of things to do (except for cleaning). I sold my platinum, gold, and silver and made a 45% profit in roughly two years. Mom and Dad received their ballots for the primary last week, but I hadn't received mine yet. I called in and they said that I was set to inactive because I was living outside Franklin County. That happened because I was supposedly summoned for jury duty, but Mom and/or Dad replied that I was in Idaho. I explained to them that I was away for college, so they set me as active and my ballot should show up in two or three days.

I think I got something from Derek. My throat is starting to itch again. I started coughing a little last night. I hope I can get over this quicker than last time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VMSGrY-IlU

Home Alone 5: The Missionaries Strike Back

Sorry for not updating. I just haven't been doing anything very exciting that hasn't been mentioned my Mom and Dad. Here is a recap of December:

The first two weeks of December consisted of 13-15 hour days on campus, including Saturday, working on my projects in Physics, Applied GIS, and my senior thesis. I lived on Dr. Pepper. I started to get regular Monday morning headaches. I figured it was due to a caffine dependance because I get caffine from the drinks I buy at either the gas station or fast-food. Since I don't do that on Sunday, my body gets upset. I'm proud to say that I haven't drank any caffine for three to four weeks now.

December 14th was commencement. Mom and Dad came down for it. It was fun. There were some great speakers. But that day was pretty hectic. I had a calculus take home test due that day, I took an in-class calculus final, I sold books back, had lunch with Mom and Dad, commencment, convocation, and hit the road to Logan. I got a little rushed there at the end, resulting in forgetting a few things I wanted to bring.

I had fun down in Utah with Mom, Dad, Kirk, Rachel, Chair-lift, Brian, and kids.
Christmas was fun. I missed Rachel's family. I hung out with Lyle Fort and his family a little.
I got a cold five days after christmas which I finally got over.

January (so far):

New Year's was fun. It was good to see Ryan's and Andrew's family. Ryan and Andrew had me collect the mail everyday while they were gone on their cruise. One of the nights I picked up the mail, there was an SUV parked in their lot. I got the color, make, model, and lisence plate number of the vehicle just in case.

I found out that I didn't graduate. I hadn't taken a class that was never offered. My advisor said that he was going to get it waived seven months ago. He'd aparently forgot. I was going to fill out the waiver paperwork out when I got back to Rexburg, but I changed my mind after realizing I was stuck in Washington longer than expected. So I looked at the catologue year requirements and realized that if I change my catologue year from 2004 to 2005, this issue would be resolved. I called BYU-Idaho and they changed it. I am now graduated. My diploma should be showing up here in Pasco in a week or two.

This weekend, Mom and Dad went to Utah. I kinda wanted to go. I'm still a little hesitant due to what happended two weeks ago. But, since the missionaries were moving in, I needed to stay here to help them move and settle in. It has been interesting having them here. My evenings are completly different than usual. I seldom watch TV downstairs so not to disturb the misssionaries.

Since Mom and Dad are gone, I just relax on thier bed watching tv with my guitar while planning out my day, or rather, figure out a to do list. This list has been rather useful. I got Dad's van serviced, cleaned the basement, vacuumed the whole house, burned the garbage, crushed the cans, rearranged the white shelves to give the elders more space, cleaned and straitened the garage, and kept things clean and tidy. When I'm in a clean house, I get too lazy to clean up a big mess, so I don't allow a big mess to build.

I have no clue what I'm doing to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday. I think it may have a little bit to do with Goodwill and a dumpster. And when I say Goodwill, I'm not talking about an attitude. Oh, there is some furniture in the garage from the missionaries' apartment if anyone wants stuff. That is aimed mostly to Derek and Shellee.

Oh yeah, I am now teaching Geology at BYU-Idaho for the Summer and Fall Semesters.

PS: I'll see if I can get some pictures of my car for everyone to enjoy.

29th November 2007

Well, it is finally hitting me. I went to Grad Night here at BYU-Idaho and got some free goodies. I spoke to some friends that I haven't seen for a while. Graduation is in 15 days. I feel it too, with tests coming up and projects due.

I've figured out what I'm doing so far. I'll be here in Rexburg through the end of the summer semester. Winter semester will consist of me applying to graduate school and possibly working in the geology department. I'll be adjunct faculty here for just the summer. I've filled out the application for the position, and I'll know in a week or so if it is a done deal.

I've been looking at several options for grad school:
BYU
U Wyoming
Utah State
U Colorado
Colorado School of Mines
Oklahoma State
Baylor

It is a large list, but I've learned from Ryan's experience with Dental School not to limit yourself to only a few options. Oklahoma State is the one that looks like the best deal.

Rexburg is being it's old self. A little bit of snow, sub-freezing temperatures, and horrible wind. Maybe I'm being prepared to work in Antarctica. If I went to Oklahoma State, I could end up doing research in Antarctica. I've been needing to get a hair cut, but the wind chill has persuaded me not to. I also need an oil change. Hopefully I'll get to that Saturday along with the haircut. My band has a show next Friday. We are playing at the Westwood, an old movie theater. We've done a show there before. It is a really neat place. It is very old and has a lot of beautiful architecture and art.

November 9th, 2007

The past few weeks have been rather busy with exams and projects. I had a calculus exam. I'm not sure how I feel about it. We will finally find out our scores Monday. Calculus has been pretty hard, but I am doing better than I thought I would. I also had a lot due in my Micro
Applications class. I had eight assignments, two quizzes, and one exam all in a matter of four days. I got everything submitted early. I'm trying to get ahead in that class right now so I won't have much to do during Thanksgiving break.

Halloween wasn't anything special. I had to work in the geology rock lab from 7 to 11pm. I TA a night lab during that. I was invited to two different parties, but I couldn't make it to either.

Last Sunday was stake conference. It was nice to finish church by noon. Church is normally from 1:30-4:30. Elder Christofferson of the seventy spoke. Our stake presidency was changed. We remembered the time change, but quite a few people didn't. It made for an entertaining day.

I received e-mails about several internship opportunities. One is at the church beef farm in Florida. Another was with the PNL. I applied to both to increase my options. If I get one of those, I'll be out of Rexburg Jan-March. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do next semester. I'll have graduated, so I don't have to live in approved housing. That increases my options if I stay. I may be able to get a job with the geology department during that semester.

I'm not sure if I should stay or come back to the Tri-Cities. Most of my friends are hear, and I don't really want to leave. It makes more financial sense to head home and work at the office for three months. I know mom would love it. I just don't want to deal with the hassle of moving all my stuff. I've sold or given to DI some things. See dad, I even have to get rid of stuff. I'm bringing home some books and rocks during thanksgiving break.

About the break, it is the entire week. From how it sounds, we may be leaving Saturday morning. I'll be bringing Lyle Fort, his wife, her brother, and Christi Perkes. Good thing I have a roomier car than most people up here.

My band and I are playing in Grand Pianos Live this Saturday. We are doing a cover of "Penny Lane" by the Beatles. It will be our drummer, myself on bass, and our lead singer singing and playing piano.