Yesterday I got a ticket. For speeding down Provo Canyon. I was on my way back from snowboarding class! Doesn't that count for something! I shouldn't be punished for being a diligent student. Don't get me wrong, I love the police force. They do us such a great service! They catch bad guys, put themselves in harms way, and keep us safe. But I still wish they would leave me alone when I am skillfully driving. I am an awesome driver and I love weaving around like I'm a racecar driver. One of my dream jobs, BTW.
One nice (relative term) thing about getting a ticket here in Utah is that the tickets are pretty cheap. Under $100 is so nice compared to California's crazy high prices. Another nice thing about Utah is that the police men are very nice and polite when they pull you over. Whoever pulled me over apologized for having to give me a ticket! What a sweetheart!! I am sorry I was speeding and got caught, but he was so nice about it I forgave him :)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Two Years and Counting
Last night as I was driving home from my friends house in Alpine, the world felt serene. I know that sounds sappy coming from me but just hold on a sec. The roads were basically empty, I glided on the freeway and it was nice to not have to sit on my brakes for stupid Utah drivers. The only people out were people packed into cars driving around doing nothing or coming back from something epic. I kinda felt like I was reliving a night from my freshman year. I was hanging out with my two best friends from freshman year, both of who are married now, coincidentally enough to guys named Chris. Though their lives have changed a great deal since we were wild, free and slightly stupid, hanging out with them was just as fun as I remember from what seems like an eternity ago. My favorite part of the evening was laughing slash crying from old stories of crazy things we did.
Sometimes I miss freshman year because everything seemed so much simpler then. Coming home late every night, eating like crap, having time to workout, being real friends with boys before their missions, going out dancing every weekend. I feel like we had so much time to play and be irresponsible. But even though my best friends have either gotten married, gone on missions, or become dating machines, I'm still glad that we are growing up and getting older and hopefully more mature.
There are times when I miss doing something reckless but I'm sure that will fade away with time, right??
Sometimes I miss freshman year because everything seemed so much simpler then. Coming home late every night, eating like crap, having time to workout, being real friends with boys before their missions, going out dancing every weekend. I feel like we had so much time to play and be irresponsible. But even though my best friends have either gotten married, gone on missions, or become dating machines, I'm still glad that we are growing up and getting older and hopefully more mature.
There are times when I miss doing something reckless but I'm sure that will fade away with time, right??
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Single? What's that?
I would like to comment on the dating culture at BYU. To start I will make the generalization that most people at BYU are looking to get married. From this premise I will continue on to my pet-peeves about people who date in Provo. (My opinions are somewhat biased toward the female perspective because I am one)
1. Going on dates is the primary reason we go out and interact with the outside world.
2. Even if you are just hanging out with members of the same sex, people still call it girl-date or a friend-date. Apparently saying hanging out has gone out of style.
3. When meeting new people, the question of "are you dating anyone?" gets thrown in in-between 'where are you from?' and 'what is your major?'
4. There are girls out there, you know who you are, that will go on dates with guys just to get free food and entertainment. You already know you don't like the guy but that doesn't stop you from letting this sweet boy spend his hard earned money on you. It is because of this that I will always pay for myself. Also, I feel like I owe guys something if I let them pay, but that's a whole other issue.
5. Girls will measure themselves by how many dates they get asked on. The more dates a girl goes on, the more other girls will want to be like her.
6. When girls starting dating someone exclusively, I'm pretty sure they fall off the face of the earth... literally. Well almost. You either don't hear from them until they break up or get engaged, or they can't talk about anything outside the topic of their significant other. And these people have the most interesting ways of bringing their boyfriend or girlfriend into every conversation. It's a unique skill they have developed in Intro to Dating. I think I missed this class...
7. Whenever I go back to my home ward, the question of 'so, are you dating anyone?' comes up before 'how is school going?'. Thankfully my mother has heard enough of my ranting to run diversions when people ask and when people ask her she will tell them that I am not at BYU to get married, I'm here to get an education. It might seem crazy and outlandish, but obtaining a degree is my goal, not finding a husband.
8. Halfway through the middle of freshman year your friends begin to get engaged and they drop off the face of the earth. They no longer can spend a minute away from their husbands. When I hear people tell me I should get a boyfriend so we can hang out, I'm tempted to punch a wall just so I don't punch them in the face. I didn't realize that to be friends I needed to be in a relationship as well. Apparently, single people can't be friends with married people.
9. This might be the biggest issue I have. So many girls come here to find a husband. That is not what BYU is for! It is a place to get a quality education. If you are here to get an MRS degree, go to UVU or something and become friends with people from BYU. Those whos' single goal is to get married are taking the valuable spot someone else would have made use of. Plenty of people around the world work so hard to get into BYU but can't because you are taking their spot. Others pay the tithing that funds your education and you waste it.
DISCLAIMER: Some of these points might be slightly exaggerated but I did so to get my point across. It was not my goal to offend anyone. This was a small scale rant about the frustrations I face here at BYU. I'm honestly just not the dating type. So that is my rant. Hope you found it entertaining :)
1. Going on dates is the primary reason we go out and interact with the outside world.
2. Even if you are just hanging out with members of the same sex, people still call it girl-date or a friend-date. Apparently saying hanging out has gone out of style.
3. When meeting new people, the question of "are you dating anyone?" gets thrown in in-between 'where are you from?' and 'what is your major?'
4. There are girls out there, you know who you are, that will go on dates with guys just to get free food and entertainment. You already know you don't like the guy but that doesn't stop you from letting this sweet boy spend his hard earned money on you. It is because of this that I will always pay for myself. Also, I feel like I owe guys something if I let them pay, but that's a whole other issue.
5. Girls will measure themselves by how many dates they get asked on. The more dates a girl goes on, the more other girls will want to be like her.
6. When girls starting dating someone exclusively, I'm pretty sure they fall off the face of the earth... literally. Well almost. You either don't hear from them until they break up or get engaged, or they can't talk about anything outside the topic of their significant other. And these people have the most interesting ways of bringing their boyfriend or girlfriend into every conversation. It's a unique skill they have developed in Intro to Dating. I think I missed this class...
7. Whenever I go back to my home ward, the question of 'so, are you dating anyone?' comes up before 'how is school going?'. Thankfully my mother has heard enough of my ranting to run diversions when people ask and when people ask her she will tell them that I am not at BYU to get married, I'm here to get an education. It might seem crazy and outlandish, but obtaining a degree is my goal, not finding a husband.
8. Halfway through the middle of freshman year your friends begin to get engaged and they drop off the face of the earth. They no longer can spend a minute away from their husbands. When I hear people tell me I should get a boyfriend so we can hang out, I'm tempted to punch a wall just so I don't punch them in the face. I didn't realize that to be friends I needed to be in a relationship as well. Apparently, single people can't be friends with married people.
9. This might be the biggest issue I have. So many girls come here to find a husband. That is not what BYU is for! It is a place to get a quality education. If you are here to get an MRS degree, go to UVU or something and become friends with people from BYU. Those whos' single goal is to get married are taking the valuable spot someone else would have made use of. Plenty of people around the world work so hard to get into BYU but can't because you are taking their spot. Others pay the tithing that funds your education and you waste it.
DISCLAIMER: Some of these points might be slightly exaggerated but I did so to get my point across. It was not my goal to offend anyone. This was a small scale rant about the frustrations I face here at BYU. I'm honestly just not the dating type. So that is my rant. Hope you found it entertaining :)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Snow is a Catch22
These past few weeks of the start of the semester have been great because it has been devoid of snow. It definently has still been really cold but we've had nothing more than a few cloudy days. It has been an unusual winter that I was so thankful for... Until I went to snowboarding last week.
It was so windy up at Sundance that all the man-made snow was swept away, leaving hard ice. Boarding on the ice was hard enough. I had trouble turning because my edge wasn't catching anything, stopping was scary because I was slipping down the hill, going anywhere was a nightmare because of the awful scraping sound my board and the ice made. But the worst part of all was falling. Because I was having more trouble controlling my board I was much more prone to falling. And falling on ice has no give whatsoever.
Which is why this weekend I was sooo glad that it snowed. And snowed hard. I didn't even care that driving was harder and walking places took way longer because it means that I'll have beautiful snow covered mountains to practice on come Wednesday! And I couldn't be happier about walking to class in the snow. Who doesn't love to slip and slide when going places. It sure makes my life a lot more exciting!
This was the weekend I learned to appreciate snow. From now on I am willing to accept that for a great deal of good in my life, sometimes a little hindrance is not the end of the world. Message received Mother Nature! Now if only I could master the seemingly insurmountable skill of getting up before 11 in the morning. Then my life would be pure bliss. But alas, I will soldier on until I can manage that. :) Have a great day and learn to appreciate things that make your life a little harder because then you can learn to snowboard. At least in my case!
It was so windy up at Sundance that all the man-made snow was swept away, leaving hard ice. Boarding on the ice was hard enough. I had trouble turning because my edge wasn't catching anything, stopping was scary because I was slipping down the hill, going anywhere was a nightmare because of the awful scraping sound my board and the ice made. But the worst part of all was falling. Because I was having more trouble controlling my board I was much more prone to falling. And falling on ice has no give whatsoever.
Which is why this weekend I was sooo glad that it snowed. And snowed hard. I didn't even care that driving was harder and walking places took way longer because it means that I'll have beautiful snow covered mountains to practice on come Wednesday! And I couldn't be happier about walking to class in the snow. Who doesn't love to slip and slide when going places. It sure makes my life a lot more exciting!
This was the weekend I learned to appreciate snow. From now on I am willing to accept that for a great deal of good in my life, sometimes a little hindrance is not the end of the world. Message received Mother Nature! Now if only I could master the seemingly insurmountable skill of getting up before 11 in the morning. Then my life would be pure bliss. But alas, I will soldier on until I can manage that. :) Have a great day and learn to appreciate things that make your life a little harder because then you can learn to snowboard. At least in my case!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Makings Of Winter Semester: A Sore Subject
Thus far I have had
a rocky start to the semester. I'm very out of practice at getting up before 8
in the morning. The snooze button has become my new best friend. Sorry, Curls.
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made my schedule last semester but I somehow made it so that I have class
everday at either 9 or 9:30. I used to be soo good at getting up for class
sophmore year because I drove to school to get a parking spot. For some unknown reason this year
it is exponentially harder than I remember. What has happened to me that I cannot make the morning my new friend. Did I burn that bridge already??
One hypothesis I have on why it is so much
harder is that I am getting ready all by myself. When I lived at Alpine Village, my whole apartment was up by 7 and we all got ready together, granted it was
mostly silent when we did. But that's not the point. What is the point is that I now have less accountability if I don’t get up. Everyone in my apartment gets up at different times and I never see anyone until I get to campus.
Plus I
don’t love all my classes this semester. Im sure they will be interesting but I
am so ready to be in comms classes that I can hardly stand it. I already miss taking comms classes and it has only been a few weeks since I was in one.
Yesterday I started my snowboarding class. I had soo much fun on my pretty new board up at Sundance. i sound like an overwhelming optimist but I loved my teachers, they were both way funny and very patient when we messed up, and I love love love the other girls in my class, they seem so nice and fun because we can laugh when we fall (which I do a lot).
It was such a good workout. I know because I am already sore all over, have huge bruises on my knees, am having trouble sitting down comfortably, and very weak and shaky wrists. Lesson learned: invest in wrist guards if you are going to be falling quite a bit. Snowboarding is much harder to catch onto than skiing but I am very much enjoying the challenge. If anyone is looking for a snowboarding partner, I am always up to go!! Also, I got a season pass so I can practice A LOT. I felt a little old in my class yesterday because I was older than both the other girls and one of my teachers. I'm only 20! I shouldn't feel this way, not yet at least!!
I should really go and do homework because I promised myself I would be a great student this semester. I will post later and let you know how things are going. Talk to you later my fellow bloggers!!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Slacker 101
Who is the biggest slacker in the world with posting? Yes, that would be me. But in my defense I have been busy... sorta...
But back to the point. Since I have been back from my glorious self-extended Thanksgiving hiatus, I have been very lax about my schoolwork. And by lax I mean that I haven't really done anything. I wasn't feeling well all week, hardly got any sleep, and didn't show up to many classes. But it was a vicious circle because the more I didn't sleep, the more stressed I became, and the more stressed I became, the less sleep I got. You get the picture. But this week I am determined to get all my work done and study for finals and such. Which is why I am posting on my blog instead of doing work. Of course I needed a distraction. My brain can only take so much!
Over the past few weeks I have learned a little more about how to use Twitter because I was baffled by the whole process, I signed up for Tumblr ( although I have yet to follow people and figure out how to use it), I have renewed my love of Pinterest and Stumbling (every girl needs a great time waster), and I spent some much needed time with my best friend. She has an awesome blog to follow. www.byuconfessionsbabe.blogspot.com.
I wanted to remind myself and others that I really wanted to make this blog and so I will stick with it... in the New Year once finals and the holidays are over. Before you express your outrage, I need to defend myself and say the month of December is a stressful one because so much is happening.
I thought I would spell out a few of the resolutions I am going to make so I have some way to be held accountable.
But back to the point. Since I have been back from my glorious self-extended Thanksgiving hiatus, I have been very lax about my schoolwork. And by lax I mean that I haven't really done anything. I wasn't feeling well all week, hardly got any sleep, and didn't show up to many classes. But it was a vicious circle because the more I didn't sleep, the more stressed I became, and the more stressed I became, the less sleep I got. You get the picture. But this week I am determined to get all my work done and study for finals and such. Which is why I am posting on my blog instead of doing work. Of course I needed a distraction. My brain can only take so much!
Over the past few weeks I have learned a little more about how to use Twitter because I was baffled by the whole process, I signed up for Tumblr ( although I have yet to follow people and figure out how to use it), I have renewed my love of Pinterest and Stumbling (every girl needs a great time waster), and I spent some much needed time with my best friend. She has an awesome blog to follow. www.byuconfessionsbabe.blogspot.com.
I wanted to remind myself and others that I really wanted to make this blog and so I will stick with it... in the New Year once finals and the holidays are over. Before you express your outrage, I need to defend myself and say the month of December is a stressful one because so much is happening.
I thought I would spell out a few of the resolutions I am going to make so I have some way to be held accountable.
- Start a blog or vlog with my best friend. We are hilarious and we think the world should know it.
- Exercise daily. as Nike says "Just do it" and I will do it slightly resentfully :)
- Actually get dressed for school everyday. It's harder than it sounds when your alarm goes off in the morning.
- Get into my major. Sounds simple but thus far it has been a challenge. And I'm tired of being a junior without a major.
- Go to all my classes. Even the ones on Friday.... And actually pay attention!
That's about all I can come up with in my limited break time from studying. I miss my electronic journal. I will write in it more. Promise!!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The start of an Era...
Why, hello friends! My name is Alena and I am very excited to broadcast my experiences for you read and be involved in. I am currently a student at BYU and refuse to dress seasonally appropriate. Dark chocolate is my favorite food group. I have an extensive closet that I love to use but am always looking for more pieces to fill it. I love my friends and family to a fault and I desperately miss the perfect California weather.
My thoughts are always a little all over the place but I have learned to embrace it! I enjoy trying new things, which is the reason I decided to make this blog. I want to try and do something new everyday, or every week (hey, I am a student), and slowly start taking things off my very long bucket list. I thought this blog was a great way to motivate me to find the time to do the things I've always dreamed about and to just share my general thoughts and experiences. Be ready for more to come! :)
My thoughts are always a little all over the place but I have learned to embrace it! I enjoy trying new things, which is the reason I decided to make this blog. I want to try and do something new everyday, or every week (hey, I am a student), and slowly start taking things off my very long bucket list. I thought this blog was a great way to motivate me to find the time to do the things I've always dreamed about and to just share my general thoughts and experiences. Be ready for more to come! :)
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