Don't be so Juvenile!

See any similarities?
The mural on the 4th floor of BYU Harold B. Lee Library is an allusion to Raphael's School of Athens. Now I know I'm not the first to realize this, and trust me, I realized it a long time ago - in fact on New Student Orientation day, but it still makes me so happy that I know this.
Growing up, we had this painting framed in our house...from the source. We bought a print in Italy after visiting the Vatican. It is one of Raphael's Masterpieces.

We are all philosophers in our own way, especially little kids. We can learn a lot from the little juvies.

Next time you see this mural my BYU brothers and sisters, check out the list Michaelangelo wrote to himself in the foreground.

I should brush up on my Plato and Socrates?

Sharing is Caring

Time for a new post.

Currently in my language disorder class, I am transcribing a language sample and analyzing the language of a three year-old boy. He is the cutest thing since my koala beanie baby named Mel. What I'm trying to say is - he is precious. I've never felt more like a speech pathologist than when i spend hours transcribing a 20 minute sample. It's hard work, but I really like it.


This morning I dropped Belle off at the airport. Belle is my best friend whom I live, sleep, talk, dream, eat, sing, walk, run, and play with. We've known each other for a couple years, but I feel like I've been with her since childhood - she knows me so well. In fact, I feel jipped knowing that she exists now when she would have been the funnest, craziest childhood playmate back then. Bad timing. Anyway, she is going to Austin, TX (precious) to reunite with her man after two years; he served a mission in Switzerland. I'm pretty sure they are meant to be together, if not, they will remain the dearest of friends, but nonetheless, my life has changed as of 9:36 (when her plane left) this morning. I'll always have to share my best friend with someone else from now on. I know sharing is caring, but sometimes it is nice to have things all to yourself - there are some things I just don't like sharing like costa vida salads, toothbrushes, pillows, deoderant, ashybelle, but I will have to get over it.
Love you Belle.

A couple things on my mind right now:

I hate wondering if the person I was talking about heard me talking about them.
Solution: don't talk about people

I got cashmoney in my wallet, but I don't know where my wallet's at.
Solution: Keep it in my pants

Getting up early is bittersweet.
Solution: Treat yourself to a special dark chocolate piece of candy (mmmmm bittersweet)

This Week has been Delicious and its only Wednesday

I think we made it. I hope I don't speak too soon, but I think we all made it out of winter. It is gone and Spring is here and now we can rejoice.
What a beautiful week. It started with this:

This is what we did on Sunday. We are in charge of the publicity for RecycleMania. We want to make BYU the number one recycling campus in the Nation! We took some photos to advertise the event. The bottom one is just for fun.

Today was especially tasty. I got sunburned. Mum would have been very mad at me for that, but I can't help but love having the sun consume me after a harsh winter. My friends, SethPearlKristi and I had a picnic at Bicentennial Park - only one of the prettiest places in Provo. It was, should I say it again? Delicious.

One of the sweetest things about this town is Pioneer Book. I traded books for books today. I felt like I was living in older days when people traded skills, talents, and objects. It was so refreshing and fun.

The week isn't over. It's going to be full of celebration- birthday party, friday night concert, saturday house painting, and sunday worship. Hopefully, the cycle will continue and next week will be just as mouth-watering.

What do Women Want?

What a great day. It started off sluggish, but that bowl of oatmeal with fat, plumpy raisins really did me good.
School was accomplished today. I went to class, took good notes, listened to the questions, and fell asleep for only, cumulatively, 5 minutes. The best way to assess how much I learned or paid attention is to ask myself what the lecture was about several hours later: Word retrieval and the fact that he added 4 points to everyone's mid-term. That's what I'm going to walk away with from that class today.
Anyway I don't know why I'm typing about this; that was an attempt to make me feel better about my academic life.
Moving on....
so there has been a little discord and upset in our house lately. I haven't been so close with one of my roommates for days now and it is really unsettling, but at the same time I was coming to terms with the fact that maybe that was our season and the time has past. I don't take separation very easily though so I'm not comfortable with just saying, "that was inevitable." Anyway I ran into her on my walk home from school. There ended up being a little pow-wow of us friends in the middle of the road. We got this smart idea to try and ride the bike home with all 3 of us as passengers, peddlers, or supporters. It turned into a game where the object was that we weren't getting home unless all three of us were simultaneously touching the bike as it was in motion. This required a lot of fearless effort and osmosis. I became a bird perched on the bike seat, a koala holding onto koalamum while nestled on the bar (you know the one that distinuigshes girl bikes from guy bikes), and then I became a penguin penguin-walking the bike home trying to avoid hurting my achilles tendons. We, all three of us biketeers, made it home, finally. It was awkward and fun- my definition of a good time.
So in the midst of literally trying to become one on the bicycle, I think there was another kind of bonding occurring. I forgot how fun it was to hang out with these people, namely, my roommate. She is precious and vivacious. And I trust her, even as a third passenger on a bike with one seat.

Another interesting moment today was when I was asked "What do women want?" I am really not the girl to answer this question. If my opinion counted for all women, we'd all be dating my father. Someone who wrote me poems about my red hair, pretended to be Mr. Peterson from the cheese factory, sings 'one clodhopper, two clodhopper' when he puts on his shoes, and knows how to paint a picture and change the oil. I was spoiled with such a great man growing up, so now I've lowered the standards because no one could be that good right off the bat. Now I am shamefully easily impressed by anything and everything, i.e.: "He said thank you....and I think he meant ittttt. " Anyway, I really need to raise the bar when it comes to 'what women should want' in a man. Basically, I want someone sensitive but unhibited by risky humor, smooth but prickly (facial hair is good) and someone that will leave me messages on my answering machine. (I dated this guy once who never once ever left me a message. It is one of those things that is, for some reason, a big step for some people. I don't get it) Also, he has to have hugged a few trees in his time.
I'll keep peddling til I find him.

Searching, searching for what

I haven't blogged for a while, so here I am.
February ended with a bang - a bomb went off in my bank account and consumed everything...mostly.
This can be interpreted with worry or exhilaration. I look at it like this:
I finished paying tuition, and can still pay rent, and eat as if I was in the 90% showcased at BYU's hunger banquet. But all is well.
I am happy.
I am also wondering what to do this spring and summer. Do I stay in Provo and live for cheap? Or do I take classes at Portland Community College? There are so many choices to be made.

I'm due to run a half marathon in a month and have to get serious about training now. I've been talking myself out of it:
-last week my allergies kicked in and I told myself I could be part of the percentile whose allergies turn into asthma
-it's going to snow tomorrow, so do homework instead
-"good going Jess, you only washed your extra-short pair of running shorts this week. Do you want to get kicked out of BYU for running in those around this part of town? Not worth it."
...and the narrative goes on and on.
Not this week. I gotta get my head in the game.

One plan I have set in stone is my semester in Cambodia. I am going to teach English to a family with three kids. I am going to be really hot and uncomfortable, but also awestruck by the tropical beauty and history. So far I can count to 10 in Cambodian. This will help me when I need to ask for three dried beetles at the local market, or when I'm expressing my sincerest gratitude for having 10 fingers and 10 toes and two arms and two legs.