New Apartment

Here is another late post. Here is a post and some pictures at my new apartment. I have three roommates in this apartment instead of five like at my previous apartment. My roommate that's in my room is Kellie. Then there is Dora and Krystal in the other room.
Here is my closet, I have more clothes in there now since this picture. There is the bookcase that has all of my movies.

Here is my bed with my stuffed puppy that Spencer gave me.

Here is the desk on my side of the room. You can see some of the posters on my wall. And there are my books. I love my books!

And here is the bathroom.

Here is the kitchen. You can't tell here, but there is no dishwasher, so everything is washed by hand.

Here is the dining room.

And here is the living room. Those are comfortable couches. We have more pictures on the walls now.

And here is the TV that we have. We don't have cable, but we have a dvd player.

And here is the outside of the apartment. The parking lot has changed since then. They repainted the lines. Now all of the cars are parked facing the apartment. So this is my apartment.

School Has Officially Started...

Ugh, I am so sick of school. I can't wait until I get my Bachelor's degree and I can be officially be done with school. I doubt I will decide to get my Master's. As of right now, that is not even an option I am considering. I am taking 13 credits this semester and I'm not really looking forward to it.

Interesting Fact

So last night I had to go to a play for my Arts Symposium class. The play was called "Assassins" and it was all about the assassinations and attempted assassinations on the presidents of the United States.

I found out that there were 9 assassinations and attempts in our history. The first is John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The next person was Charles Guiteau. He shot President Garfield twice in the back. Then there is Leon Czolgosz. He shot President McKinley point-blank. Guiseppe Zangara tried to kill President Franklin Delano Roosevelt but missed because he was so short and accidentally killed Mayor Anton Cermak. Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

Samuel Byck tried to kill President Nixon. He was going to hijack a 747 and crash it into the White House, he successfully killed the co-pilot, wound the pilot, and get himself killed. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was Charles Manson's lover and tried to kill President Gerald Ford as a way to get Charles Manson back in the news. She was crazy enough to think that Manson was the Messiah. Sara Jane Moore also tried to assassinate President Ford. She tried unsuccessfully 17 days after Lynette. The last assassination attempt was John W. Hinckley, Jr. He tried to kill President Reagan to prove his love to Jodie Foster.

Now all of these assassination attempts are before any of the attempts that have been made on President Obama. There have already been 2-3 attempts on Obama's life I think. Definitely gives you something to think about doesn't it.

Finals Week

So it is finals week now. I am not looking forward to it. I have 5 finals to take. Tomorrow, I have my Accounting 2010 final at 11:30 am. On Tuesday I have my Biological Anthropology Final at 9:30 am. On Wednesday I have nothing. On Thursday I have my Calculus final. I am also going to take my Business Law and Creative Arts finals. Those are both online. I will update you when I have my final grades for my classes because I know you all want to know how I am doing.

African Children's Choir

So I got to see the African Children's choir today and omg was it good. I definitely cried at times during the performance. It is just heartbreaking thinking of what these children have gone through. All of the children who performed tonight are between the age of 8-10. They have seen and lived what they should not have. Many don't know their parents. At the very end of the performance, they tell the audience what they want to be when they grow up. There were quite a few teachers, lawyers, pilots, a doctor, a judge, a bank manager, a singer, and an optometrist to name a few. It was so sweet and I felt I had to do something to help out the children in Africa, so I ended up buying a $15 stuffed tiger that is so cute. I definitely considered spluging more on a t-shirt and some cd's but I limited myself. If anyone wants to do anything for the children in Africa, go to africanchildrenschoir.com and you can help donate to this worthy cause.

In 1978 Human Rights Worker Ray Barnett arrived in Uganda to research a book about the brutal years of dictatorship and terror that had devastated this beautiful country. What he found would change his life. A few years later, in 1984 he heard a BBC news report that told of 150,000 children starving to death in northern Uganda. And so began the journey that would start the formation of the African Children's Choir. Through their voice and their music, the children of the Choir are taking Africa to the rest of the world. They are victims of a terrible pandemic, but they are also the promise and future of Africa. For over 21 years, the African Children's Choir has been performing throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

Each year a new choir is selected from children who are not only musical, but who also come from some of Africa's most desperate villages. Many have lost one or both parents to poverty or disease. The children sing on behalf of their brothers, their sisters, their friends, and their village. Their songs bring great joy to those who hear them, but through their songs they are asking for help.

School Performances

Ok, so I have decided to just put all of my school performances that I have been to so far onto one blog. It is easier this way for me. So here goes:

Nunsense:
I went and saw Nunsense on September 20. Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, SisterJulia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sister decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety shwo, so they take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of "Grease." Here we meet Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices; a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head.
This was a really funny play. I really liked it.

East Village Opera Company:
I went and saw the E.V.O.C. on September 23. The E.V.O.C. is a rock band that sings opera. They have toured the world with a unique live show, combining a seemingly incongruous classical string section with a powerhouse rock band. In a rare feat not many artists can claim, E.V.O.C. headlines the world in both eclectic rock clubs as well as some of the most prestigious classical concert halls.
I really liked the E.V.O.C. I am totally into stuff like that. The only thing is that the sound was off and so I had a hard time hearing the singers. Because of that, I fell asleep for about 20 min near the end. But it was still good.

The Fry Street Quartet:
I went and saw the Fry Street Quartet on October 10. They are a bunch of teachers at the University who are a musical group. They are really weird looking in the way they moved and everything. They played all 17 of Beethoven's string quartets over the space of 6 nights. I slept through the entire first half of the performance and was awake the second half. I was super tired and the classical music lulled me to sleep.

The TAIKOPROJECT:
I went and saw the TAIKOPROJECT on October 30. The TAIKOPROJECT is an ensemble of premiere taiko drummers dedicated to promoting and advancing the American art of taiko. Through public performances, education, and outreach activities, TAIKOPROJECT is committed to preserving taiko as a dynamic element of Japanese American culture and heritage. In addition to maintaining taiko as a community-based tradition, TAIKOPROJECT also incorporates unconventional and innovative concepts to expand artistic boundaries. Through these values, TAIKOPROJECT seeks not only to entertain audiences, but also to inform them about the history and integrity of taiko as an evolving art form.
They were really good, I was very excited to see them. I remember seeing Taiko when I lived in Japan. People would come and perform at my elementary school.

Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet:
I went and saw the Ballet perform Carmina Burana. Set to Carl Orff’s popular cantata, Carmina Burana: the Ballet takes its inspiration from a group of sacred and secular medieval poems celebrating the struggle of men and women against fate. The ballet depicts the story of 13th century minstrels who abandon their beliefs in favor of life’s pleasures. The action takes place in the fertile imagination of a young monk, who instead of writing "Ave Maria" in the margins of his prayer book, finds himself writing "Hail Venus." The classical composition is given a modern interpretation through sensual choreography, colorful costumes and minimalist set decoration.
This was really good. My favorite part of the ballet was the very beginning and the very end. They performed to the song "Oh, Fortuna". The dancing was really good.

Beautiful Pictures

Now I don't remember when I took these pictures. But I thought they were really beautiful.

Yellowcard!!!

So I got to see Yellowcard in concert last night!!! It was totally awesome! It was unplugged, which basically means that it was all acoustic. It was really cool. There were two bands that played before Yellowcard. I don't remember who played first. It was just one guy, he was from Salt Lake, and he played one song that was just 15-30 seconds from other people's songs all combined into one. The next band was called Jason Reeves, he was ok, I don't know if I liked him or not. And then came Yellowcard. It was really cool seeing him. I have 2 pictures and 2 videos from the concert that I will put on here. I had taken like 8 videos, but only 2 actually came out, which sucks but oh well. The really neat thing about this is that I get to use the concert for extra credit for my creative arts class.

East Village Opera Company

This was really cool. The E.V.O.C. is a rock band who sings opera. They take songs from old operas from like the 1600-1700's on and they give them a rock flavor. It was really cool. Most of it was in the original language, so there was a lot of italian, french, german, and spanish songs, but they did have like 2-3 english songs. I did buy one of their cd's, and I'm glad I did. It is a great cd. I guess you could almost compare them to Il Divo or Josh Groban, but not really.

Nunsense

This is another play that I had to go to. This was actually really funny. It is about a group of nuns who are trying to raise money because their cook had accidentally killed 52 sisters by accidentally poisoning the food. It was funny because they are holding a benefit fundraiser and they run into all sorts of problems trying to raise this money. It was a musical and I loved it, especially the first act, that was the best.

High School Musical

So I am in a Creative Arts class and as a requirement of this class we have to see musical productions and stuff like that. So I had to see High School Musical, the play. It was interesting, there were a couple of songs that were not on the movie, but other than that, it was basically the same. It was ok.

School Has Started!

Ok so I know that I am a week late in blogging this. I have been pretty busy and kinda lazy. School started on Monday, August 25. I am taking 15 credits this semester plus an Institute class. I am also working 30 hrs a week, so I am pretty busy this semester.

Since I am sure everyone is curious, here are the classes I am taking this semester: Civilization: Creative Arts, Calculus, Accounting I, Biological Anthropology, and Business Law. My institute class is Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi thru Alma 29.

My teacher for institute is Spencer's old mission president. He is a really good teacher, I'm very excited and I think I will be learning a lot with him. I am excited about my accounting class and my creative arts classes, I think they will be interesting.

In my Creative Arts class, I have to go to different performances. So I have to see "High School Musical" and "Nunsense". They are musicals. I have to go see "East Village Opera Company" and the "Fry Street Quartet". They are concerts. I have to see "Taiko Project" which is an Asian performance that is unique to that region, I'm excited to see that. I get to see the Royal Ballet perform "Carmina Burana" and I get to hear the African Children's Choir. I am pretty excited to see these, it will be interesting.

And then as a side note, because I can't remember if I blogged this. I have a calling in my new ward. I am on the Self Reliance Committee, anybody heard of this? Me neither. Basically what the committee does is help the students here become more self reliant and to become more prepared for emergencies. What we will do is like do things for canning, help people with their 72-hr kit, ect... I haven't had anything to do yet, but I'm interested as to what we will do.

If anybody wants to know anything else about what I've been doing, just drop me a comment and I will get back to you.

I'VE MOVED!!!

Ok, I have finally moved into my new apartment. It is not the place that I said I was moving into earlier. That place was too expensive for me. The place I am living in now is called "Twin Towers". There are only 4 apartments but there are 6 girls living in each apartment. So I have met 4 of my room mates, and I have not yet met the girl who will be sharing a room with me. So I will get pictures of my room and apartment as soon as I take some.

New Apartment

Just to let everybody know, I now have an apartment/dorm for this summer and fall. It is at the "Student Living and Learning Center" and it is one of the brand new on-campus apartments and it is supposed to be really nice. For the summer, it will cost $575 total and for the fall, it will cost $2600 total, but that also includes 10 meals a week. The ladies at the housing office were really nice and clarified everything for me.

Tax Frustration

So I went to get the application for my residency on Monday. The girl at the counter gave me the paperwork I needed and proceeded to tell me everything that I needed to know, than she said that I could not be claimed on my parents taxes. Now, Dad and I had decided for them to claim me because we thought the FAFSA needed it, but that conflicts with getting my residency. I have already filed my taxes and gotten my return, I got $179 back. Well I talked to my financial aid advisor and she said that for me to get my residency, Mom and Dad can't claim me for 2007, if they do, I have to wait until Spring 2009 to get my residency, which would suck. So today, I went to get my taxes amended. I just went to the VITA on campus, they did my taxes. I get there and tell them I needed my taxes amended and the girl who was going to help me immediately calls over someone else and asks what to do. He tells me at first that they didn't do amendments. He then decides to just help me himself so he takes me over to his computer. He proceeds to tell me that he wasn't sure how long it would take or if it would work, but he wanted to help so I wouldn't have to go to an accountant and pay them to help me. After 30 minutes, he finally finishes and prints it off and tells me that I have to mail it in. I was like, "ok, no problem". The catch was that the IRS might deny my amendment because I can be claimed on my parents taxes. I have to wait until my amendment gets there, and then an indefinite time before they get back to me to tell me if my claim was passed or denied. This sucks! I need to be independent or else I can't get my residency, I think I'm going to go to my advisor tomorrow or Friday and explain to her what is going on and to see if that will affect my getting residency, hopefully everything goes good! Pray for me! Love you all!

Crazy Weather

So today we had some CRAZY weather. On Monday and Tuesday, the weather was in the 40's and it was sooo nice! It was soo warm and I was so excited! Than today, it was pretty warm this morning, and clear too. At about 11:30, it started to snow, and I mean REALLY snow. It was dumping on us. When Spencer took me back up to campus for Institute at 1:20, there were already roads that were being blocked off. When I left Insitute at 3, it looked like there was a blizzard outside. It was absolutely crazy! It was snowing so hard! So I make a mad dash for the TSC and the comfort of being inside and I start wandering around the Bookstore, just to see what there was. I saw some stuff that I would like to buy as Christmas presents, I'm thinking early for once. While I am wandering around, Spencer calls to see how I am doing and to tell me that there is a blizzard outside, not that I didn't know that already =). I told him that I was not looking forward to walking to my math class, because my math class is about a 7 min walk that is mostly outside, I can cut through some buildings, but I would still be outside most of the time. Spencer asked if I had a test in math today, I told him "no" and he suggested I skip class because of the bad weather. I had already contemplated skipping class, so he just helped me decide quicker. He picked me up and we went swimming for about 2 hours, it was so nice. The pool was warm and the hot tub was very hot, it was great! When I got home, which was about an hour ago, I was talking to Keely and she told me that all the classes after 3:30 approx. were cancelled, so I didn't have a math class to go to. It was great! The weather here is pretty crazy, but I hope it stops soon so I can get my car safety inspected and registered.

School has started

Well school has officially started again, and it was so cold today. =( It sucked. Kendal took me to school and I ended up being an hour early to school, so what I did was I bought some hot cocoa to warm my hands because they were absolutely freezing and I looked around the Bookstore to see what kind of books they had and then I sat on the comfy couches until Spencer came and we went to class. My classes this semester are a geography class, an english class, a nutrition life science class, a math class, and an economics class. And in February, I start a water safety instructor class as well. And along with all of this I will be taking Institute Choir and a regular Institute class. And I'm getting a job as well. So I am going to be very busy this semester, I am already looking forward to it being over!

Oh and Mom, when you get internet and read this, tell Elder Snyder if he is still there that I have his dad as my Economics teacher, we were talking about that when I went to church with you guys.

FINALS ARE DONE!!!

I AM FINALLY DONE WITH FINALS! YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED NOW THAT THEY ARE DONE, OR AT LEAST I WOULD BE IF I WASN'T SO DANG TIRED! FREAK I AM TIRED :(

USU vs. UVSC/Choir Concert

USU played UVSC (Utah Valley South College) today in hockey. It was a good game. Spencer and I were an hour late because of my choir concert (will talk more on that in a minute). We beat UVSC 6-2 which was great! I guess UVSC is 2nd in the ranking of college hockey, or so Spencer says and USU is 9th in the ranking, so we played really good today to have been able to beat UVSC. Suds got in a fight and kicked out of the game, he lost the fight in my opinion, and Spencer agrees with me :)

Ok, on to my choir concert, although I guess I should switch these cuz the concert was first, but oh well. The choir concert was really awesome. I had so much fun. The pre-show was hilarious and the actual performance was excellent. We had "The Ghost of Christmas Cache" there tonight reminding a janitor who was trying to clean during our performance the true meaning of Christmas, all part of the show in case anybody was wondering :), and both the janitor and the Ghost did a great job at their parts. I am going to buy our CD that the choirs made last month and just now got published tomorrow night at our next concert. It will be great! I am so excited to get the CD.

SNOW!!!

It is finally snowing today!!! It took forever to snow, but it is now! This is a pic of the house across the street taken from my room. IT'S SNOWING!!!