summer fun

Well, winter semester was officially over on Wednesday the 22nd. However, after some requests for extensions, I handed in my last paper at about 3pm on Friday. The week consisted of two all-nighters, many days of writing from 9am to 1am, and turning in a good 80 pages worth of work between my three classes. I had two 30 page papers and one 20 pager. It was quite ridiculous. I then celebrated by heading to Vegas to visit Precious, my friend from high school, and her fiance Allen. Good times. And, for the record, I behaved myself. Well, other than the trip to In-N-Out, the cream cheese brownies, and the M&Ms. OK, maybe I could have done a little better, but there was no drinking or gambling involved on my part. You gotta give me credit for that.

My weekend was fantastic, really. It was so good to get away. For the record, Wii Tennis with the drunks you've never met before - highly entertaining. Seriously, Precious and Allen showed me so much of Vegas in two days - I was exhausted.

Now, I'm back in Provo starting classes again (boo) and I hate to admit it, but I think I'm battling a bout of depression again. GAGH! It's annoying. I've been trying to fight it off myself mentally, but I think I might have to break down and get a medical intervention. I've just been so out of character lately. I hate it. It sucks the life out of me: I'm sleepy all the time, unmotivated, lazy. I need a good kick in the rear.

Well, step number 1 - get back into the gym. I'm off to go do some cardio. Maybe that'll help kick the depression where it hurts.

Oh, I also want to add that I went to the ladies Bible study at this little Baptist church in Provo. It was so much fun. I felt like I fit right in. I'm curious to see where God takes me in the next couple years of my life and whether or not I remain in the LDS Church.

winding down

Well, as the semester comes to a close, I find myself becoming more and more frustrating with myself. Preparation for finals week and paper writing has taken its toll on me. I've resorted back to nearly terrible eating habits and skipping trips to the gym to "write" papers. This "writing" papers usually involved me staring at the computer screen or text book for a good hour trying to get the either the motivation or inspiration to get started. So, I feel like I let everything I worked hard for slip out of my hands. I need to get back in gear. I need to remember the bigger picture and my original motivation for my goals. As Julene just told me, my motivation for working out is temporarily out of service due to a great amount of focus on finishing the semester. Thus, I think this week will be my week off. I'll reset and reboost both my metabolism and motivation next week.

In this past couple of weeks I've gotten to see TWO people I knew from Ecuador (excluding the missionaries). I met up with Ivanova (she's the younger daughter of my bishop at La Luz) at General Conference. We got sit together. It was really nice. While we were leaving conference, we spotted Hermano Venuelza (or something along those lines) who is also in the Quito stake (a former bishop) and worked at El Centro de Empleos (Employment Center) while I volunteered there. We tried to flag him down but were unsuccessful. So, I e-mailed him that night to ask if he went to Conference. So, this past week, he came to visit Provo. Unfortunately, he came the day it decided to snow like 6 inches. It was a crazy, freak storm. I didn't get to show him too much. We went to the bookstore and he bought BYU stuff to take back to his family. Then Miriam met up with us and she helped me show him around campus a little bit. (Let's be honest, I live in Brimhall and don't know much about campus - sad, I know). Then I treated him to some food from Subway in the Wilk. It finally stopped snowing as he was getting ready to leave. I drove him up to the Provo temple and then dropped him off at the bus station. I had planned to drive him to the TRAX station in Sandy, but I wasn't about to navigate my way through that storm. It was soooo good to get to see people. He made fun of my Spanish and told me that I forgot my Spanish quickly. Personally, I was impressed that I could still communicate most of my thoughts, so.... I miss Ecuador like crazy now. I'll have to post some pics later. (Or you can see them on my Facebook).

I have other things to update people on. However, I'll do that later. I'm going to sleep early tonight. I'm exhausted.

in response to akirah's blog

I saw this on Akirah's blog...and I'm procrastinating.

I’ve bolded the things I’ve done. What about you?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (a "band")
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (I didn't say it was good)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - just about every week in Ecuador
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run –does kickball count?
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (ahh, Galapagos memories)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (I last for about 2 weeks)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby –No, no, no…none of that…yet
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (i'm not sure that I'd want to....)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

spring class

Well, I ran into Dr. Stoker in the BYU Bookstore today. I haven't been up to visit him in his office lately. He might have persuaded me into taking his class during spring semester. He said he'd be willing to work with me so that I can get back to PA in time for my job since training starts the last day of classes. So, I'm going to visit him next week and talk more about that. I guess it looks like I'll be staying until the first week of June....

I know that taking this class in the spring will make next year EXTREMELY less stressful and would help me avoid another semester with 9 graduate credits but I that's another month and a half without a break. The stress of school has been getting to me (more so than ever before). It's this never ending cycle. I get stressed, I gain weight, I get depressed, I gain more weight. I was kinda hoping April 22nd would mark the end of that cycle and give me a good four months to renew my dwindling energy. I'm seriously burned out. I'm not so sure that I'm cut out for all of this graduate school stuff.

On another note. There's something I've been wanting to say to someone for the past several months...I have yet to actually do it. It involves a guy. A very nice one. I think, out of habit, I pushed him away. (sigh) I'm so good at that.

crazy week

The semester is coming to a close. It's been a pretty crazy week. I have just over two weeks to whip out 3 final papers - all at least 15 pages a piece. This'll be interesting.

Some days, I feel like I live on campus. I was on campus from 8am to 11pm yesterday. I came home for like an hour in the afternoon to grab some food and my books for my evening class.

I'm working on a couple really cool projects right now. My favorite being the one where I'm e-mailing ladies who have (or who are) studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador :) It's been to chat with them about their experiences. Especially with those who stayed with the same host family as me :) The interviews are fun but they are also VERY time consuming and leave me feeling kinda exhausted afterward.

Guitar lessons are going well. I'm still not very good (OK - so I haven't had a lot of time to practice lately). Brian's been teaching me a lot of chord theory lately. Sometimes, it just goes over my head but I'll figure it all out someday ;) It just amazes me how much I've learned in the past 2 months in comparison to what I learned in the $300 private lessons I took at Messiah (Oh, wait - that was NOTHING). He's good at teaching it - maybe I just do better with learning informally?

So, I have this dilemma. While I was home to be with my family after my little cousin's death, I went to the Ash Wednesday service at Otterbein. I sat with an old youth group leader and dear friend of mine and entertained her little ones for a bit. We got on the topic of guys (because at that time there was one I was VERY interested in - but he's dating someone now, so....)

"As long as he's better than the last one. He wasn't opposed to marrying more than one woman," she says.
"What?" I respond and stare at her in confusion.
"He was Mormon wasn't he?"
"Yes," I said, "but he didn't believe in polygamy. The Mormon church doesn't practice polygamy"
Then she went on about how she dated a guy who had decided to convert and told me stuff that she knew. Then asked what this guy's religious background is.
"He's Mormon too," I replied.
"Oh Malinda, you're playing with fire" and she continued with more warnings.

Ummm, apparently she doesn't know that I joined the church nearly 3 years ago. Right before the Ash Wednesday service wasn't the time to tell her. I then got an e-mail a few days later. I responded briefly and said I'd write more later - I have yet to do so. I don't feel that e-mail is the appropriate method to communicate the fact that I am Mormon to her...yet, I don't really have the time or the patience to have this conversation over the phone. I don't know what to do....


As for the guy I was VERY interested in. I've spent the past 5 months trying to figure him out. I'm giving up. I don't get him. I don't get him at all. I don't know who he is.

before and after

Well, I hit the 20 pound weight-loss mark last week (only 11 more to go). So, I thought I should celebrate by posting some before and after photos.


Back in August, 2008 (with Elder Russell)


New Year's Day (2009) with my brother and dad




Friday March 20, 2009 (thanks for the photo Liliya)

does God tease?

Is it possible that God teases people? Does he dangle something great in front of someone knowing that the individual can't have it? Or is He encouraging the individual to work harder for that something great?