Utah

(this first half of this was written Saturday September 6....)
Well, my Saturday is being spent reading. Yipee. I haven't been very good at it. I just finished going through a chapter in my stats book a second time (this time I actually took notes) and I read about 20 pages at the gym this morning from my media research book. Other than that...I'm really having a hard time concentrating. Before I get into any of the personal reasons (which will be saved for another post), let me highlight a few items of interest since I've gotten here:

1) My first weekend in Utah
I stayed at the Russell's home for most of the weekend. However, a short two day trip to Vegas was included in my adventures.

I arrived at the Russell's home in Orem, UT around 10:00pm Wednesday the 27th. I spent the next day sleeping, taking care of some things online, reading, talking to people etc. At about 5:00pm on Thursday the 28th, I jumped in the backseat of a car along with two of Chris Bateman's (a former Harrisburg missionary who was getting married in Vegas) previous roommates who I had met briefly during my visit to BYU back in May. This isn't something I normally do...staying at some one's house is one thing, but riding in the car with people you barely know is putting your life in their hands.... So, we made it to Vegas at about 10pm that night. I stayed at Julene's home (the bride who I also had only met once before...are we seeing a theme with my network of people?) Julene is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, really. Yet, I felt a little out of place being at her home before the wedding just because I looked around and saw her family, family friends who had known them forever, and her bridesmaid...and there I was...only knowing her through Chris who I only knew because of a little town called Camp Hill. Weird how things happen.

The Las Vegas Temple


Mr. and Mrs. Bateman...adorable


I had to get a picture with the lovely couple

My wedding present for them: this took me hours to finish.

Anyway, I chilled outside of the Las Vegas Temple during the sealing. Went to all of the wedding festivities. Good stuff. I'm glad and honored that I could be there. TJ, Zach and I left the reception around...oh 9pm...which means it was 10pm in Utah. We went down to the strip before we left: I couldn't leave Vegas without being there. It was really neat to see everything. We walked around the casinos for a bit. I admit, it would have been a lot more fun if I had been with my close friends. So, I'll have to get back there someday with more time to explore.

It was probably about 11 when we left to go back to Utah. TJ drove for like a half hour before having to pull off to sleep. Which was fine...I was pretty much passed out in the back. I woke up at one point and found myself constantly looking around and checking my surroundings. We were there for a good four hours. I started thinking about the situation I was in. There I was, sleeping in the back of a car on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere...with two boys I barely knew. I just started to laugh at myself. I really wish that I were a better writer and could really capture my thoughts in words. Needless to say, we didn't get back to the Provo/Orem area until 9:30am. I had to meet my landlord at 10 so I ran into the house, washed up and then continued on my way.

2)My Apartment: Windsor Park

I have a very nice apartment. I won't hesitate to tell you that. I'll have to take some pictures and get them up. I need to finish organizing my room first though. The roommate situation is slightly awkward. I came thinking that the roommates would help me get acquainted and do fun things with me. That thought was quickly shot down:

• A) Meet Darla, a petite short-haired lady in her 50s whose youngest daughter is 21...one year younger than me. When she first opened the door, I thought she was the mother of one of the girls I moved in...(boy am I glad I kept my mouth shut). She is a pre-acting major but attending at BYU many years ago as the first female in the computer science program for her undergrad work. It's quite awesome if you ask me, just a little awkward at times.
  
• B) Then there's Kellyann, who, when I signed the lease told me how "everyone keeps to themselves" and she "likes it that way." Lately, she informed that she doesn't go to anything social. Imiss having (at least one) night owl roommate.
  

3) BYU Football
After moving everything into my apartment, I then went to the BYU football game--season opener. I felt awkward being in a big crowd by myself. I didn't go until half time, and then I just stood wherever there was an opening. I didn't feel like trying to fight my way to my assigned seat. The actual game was boring for me just because I was lonely but afterwards, I went for a walk and then came back by the stadium. I decided to go see if the players were still around...and sure enough they were. There, I found #35 Matt Bauman who had been a missionary in the Camp Hill Ward when I was baptized. was talking to him for a bit...he reintroduced me to the family and then his mom invited me to join them for dinner. (yay for another free meal). I had a really good time. It made me really thankful for the sweet families of former PA Harrisburg Missionaries. They have blessed my life so much.

4) The Russells
The Russell family...they have been quite amazing as I adjust to my new life here. I spent a good chunk of my first week with them. One day, we celebrated September birthdays...including Elder Russell's. We decorated giant birthday banners and then she had everyone talking into a tape recorder wishing him happy birthday. She even made me do it. I didn't really know what to say. It has to be weird to know that someone from your ward in your mission is now practically living with your family while you can't see them for another year or so.

I'm going to house/dog sit for them next week. They're going to pay me what they would pay to board the dog for the week...which is about $10 a day. So, I'm grateful to have that opportunity to make some extra cash.

Other Notes
Well, I should really be getting some sleep. It's 12:30 and I'm trying really hard to become a morning workout person. So, I'm hoping to get up at 6 tomorrow and hit the gym for an hour. If I can do that 3 or 4 days a week, it'll be quite awesome.

Classes are going well. I'm behind in my reading but slowly catching up. I'm excited about my Research Assistantship: I'm getting paid to read 60 children/adolescent chapter books between now and December. Granted, I have a lot of things to look for while I'm reading them; a lot of coding but I'm getting $16.75 an hour for work that I can do on my own time. I only go to one meeting once a week. Then next semester, I'll have to write the research article on the findings. There's a chance that I'll then be a published author. So exciting!!!