She said she needed a break...

It's been a while since I've posted, and a lot's been happening. Here are the highlights:

1. I've started working in a lab again. Pros: I get to be on my feet and do something active. Cons: I get to be on my feet. Pro/Con hybrids: my hands smell like latex and the lab smells like growing bacteria. Pros because I miss working in this type of lab, cons because who likes to smell like bacteria, honestly.
2. I went on a road trip to Phoenix with Elise. Pros: I got to see my cute little cousin Hailey. I got a cool ASU t-shirt. I got to hang out with Elise. Cons: It was really hot. We had to worry about having a place to sleep. We were in the car for a long time. Pro/Con hybrid 1: We found somewhere for Elise to live. Pro because Elise needs somewhere to live; con because it means that Elise is actually, in fact, moving to Arizona. Pro/Con hybrid 2: We ate TONS of junk food in the car. Pro because junk food tastes good; con because when all you eat is junk food you feel really gross.
   
3. I finished Leviticus!!! Pro: that means that I'm done with three books of Moses. Con: that means that Numbers is next...
4. We've started watching weekly Bollywood films at our apartment. Pros: Bollywood films are awesome. There are musical numbers at least every thirty minutes. It gives me an excuse to invite boys that I like over to my house. Cons: There are at least four musical numbers per Bollywood film, which puts running time to over two hours each. Sometimes boys don't come when they're invited.
5. Jeff made it to Italy. Pros: He gets to meet people and start the work; he's not in the MTC anymore. Cons: My little brother is in Italy. I won't get to talk to him until Christmas.
6. Interfaith Dinner/Dialogue. It's tonight, at Steve Pierson's church in American Fork. I'm really excited for this, as I love Pastor Steve and the mission of interfaith dialogue.
   
7. Pretty much, I'm just extremely blessed!
   

Things I'm in the habit of missing...

It' s summer here in Provo, and I'm missing some things that come with a full campus and over-populated south of campus (and some things that are in no way related). I'm definitely missing seeing my favorite professors frequently. I miss classes, and skipping classes to see way cool speakers (of which there are few during the summer). I miss being a TA and making friends with my students. I miss L&T being open on Saturdays. I miss my little brother who is on his mission to Catania, Italy. I also miss my best friend, who is on a mission in France. I miss always having someone to hang out with and late night conversations with a roommate (of which I don't have, currently). I miss my family, and especially my siblings (as opposed to my parents); they keep growing up, and I keep missing it. I miss my science friends; Lauren, Katie, Geoff, etc. I also miss homework (which I much prefer to work) and religion classes. I miss interfaith dialogues, which are few and far between in the summer and fall. I miss the opportunity that the full campus affords me of meeting new people every day.

I'm not saying summer is bad; please don't mistake me for that. Just know that as fun and relaxing summer is, my shoulders and neck hurt from sitting at a computer all day and that I wouldn't mind sitting in on a lecture or stay up finishing a book for a class. I guess the seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake, eh?

Vested Interest

It was definitely rainy today, but this is the greenest it's been in Utah for a long time. I love this cool springtime weather, and I'm definitely taking advantage of it by trying to be outside as much as possible. It's hard to be outside when it's raining, but hopefully, the rain won't really last for too long. Went on a nice hike last night up Rock Canyon; we didn't start hiking down the mountain until about ten o'clock at night. It was nighttime, but not too dark; a fun little excursion for a beautiful spring evening. I wonder, though; I just met him on Sunday, and I have a vested interest in Indiana Jones boy. I hope to just play things out a little longer.

On a different note, Barack Obama has enough delegates to take the nomination now! I hope that Hillary will be lady-like and concede soon; the longer she stays in the race, the more difficult it will be for the Democrats to take the general election in November. I love Barack Obama's inspiring politics and I've supported him since the day he announced his candidacy.

I got a letter from Anziano Sadler today; he seems to be surviving the MTC decently; his Italian is coming, and he loves the gospel. Hurrah for Israel!

"Have a Sicilian pizza on us!"

Today, we got to take Jeff to the MTC. It was a bitter-sweet time for our family, but I'm really excited that he gets to go to Italy to serve the Lord & the Italian people! We had a fun weekend going to the temple and farewell festivities. Spending a little time with just the family before (eating lunch at Magelby's Fresh and ice cream at the Creamery) was really good. I love Jeff and I'll miss him, but he'll be a wonderful missionary, and he'll definitely grow up to be a man of God as he serves Him. Woot woot!

Us at the Bountiful Temple the night before Jeff's Farewell

Eating lunch at Magleby's Fresh

Dropping off luggage at the MTC

Family picture at the MTC

It's official, Anziano Sadler!

huzzah for spring!

Why, you may ask, am I blogging on a school night? Because it's Spring Term! This means that I have much less homework and more time to waste! I love my new apartment and my new ward. I get a new calling this weekend! Spring is by far the best time to be in Provo; there are less people and it's much more social. I love sitting outside on the lawn in front of my apartment, reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and talking to everyone that walks past. Bike rides in the evening are best, especially with good company.

I'm working for a professor right now, writing for a multimedia textbook (chemcompanion.googlepages.com). I write script, we film my professor speaking the script, and then animations that go alongside the script are developed. It's all presented at once, in a pretty powerful, dynamic setting. I'm really excited about this job, and I really love the people I work with.

I'm also taking two classes this term, physics and biochemistry. That's about all there is to say about that...

I can't believe that college is almost over. I only have one year left before my bachelor's degree. Who knows what will happen after that...I'm hoping to go to graduate school and study Chemical Education.

I'm also busy reading the Bible this summer. Because of all of my good Evangelical friends, I've been persuaded that it's been far too long since I've read the Bible. I'm in Genesis 40-something, and I'm a big fan of it. I don't think I'll finish this summer, but it's a goal, at least. It's definitely part of my effort to be more involved in inter-faith relations. I'm in the process of organizing an inter-faith service project where families, both Evangelical and LDS, get together to serve one another. It's coming slowly but surely. I really hope that it takes off.

Jeff leaves on his mission on Wednesday. It's going to be a bitter-sweet time for our family. He's the first to go from our immediate family, and it's been quite the experience as he's prepared to serve the Lord for two years. I'm really excited to see the growth that comes from serving a mission. I also hope that I'm around Provo when he comes back. Patti will be a freshman that year, and it would be oodles of fun to be at the Y with two of my siblings. In short, I love him a lot, and although I'll miss him, I'm so proud of him for choosing to serve the Lord in Italy.

Well, I guess that's all for now!