Ordinary? Why, Nothing is Ordinary
Friday, February 28, 2014
Off to Grad School!
Exciting update! I am going to grad school! So far, I've been accepted to nurse practitioner programs at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP) in Boston and Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Needless to say, I am beyond excited. I am still waiting to hear back from a few others, but these two are among my top three choices! How I am going to decide where to go is beyond me!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Candles
Does anyone else feel like candles are counterproductive? I mean, don't get me wrong--I love a good Yankee Candle just as much as the next person. But doesn't it seem a little inutile that once you have the room smelling wonderfully, you replace that smell with "burnt-wick smell" the second you blow out the candle?
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Fifty-one things BYU/Provo taught me
1. An apartment with roof access is always preferred
2. One should always possess a Non-judging Kitchen Table
3. Best idea is to not have a netflix account. Or access to someone else's (Thanks Mel for being so kind :) )
4. Friends can be family
5. God has His own timeline
6. I can do hard things
7. First impressions are most always wrong. Assumptions are most always wrong. Give people the benefit of the doubt
8. Running is a great stress relief
9. Sometimes waking in the middle of the night is a great time to read.
10. Heavenly Father cares about life's intricacies
11. Coworkers are best when not merely coworkers
12. Never underestimate how much someone cares about you
13. Onesie Pajama parties are the best!
14. "Insulin resistance is the Whore of the Earth" Dr. Ben Bikman
15. Mothers are hands-down the greatest
16. No matter how big something seems, it will pass.
17. Blessings come and answers come
18. Never underestimate the difficulty of a French class
19. The dollar theater is the best way to spend an evening
20. Classical music is the best!--Thanks Cailey Gallacher Barton!
21. A deep conversation is never to be passed up
22. People should always know how great you think they are
23. Sonic Cherry Limeades are always a yes
24. No matter how much Night Morgan thinks "oh I'll just go to bed now and wake up early to finish," it will never ever ever happen! Don't even try!
25. The library's "open till 2 am during finals week" policy is always to be taken advantage of
26. I'm a great goal-setter; my goal-accomplishing could use some work
27. Memorizing scriptures, quotes, and hymns is a great thing to do
28. Men who serenade you in Spanish are always to be cherished
29. Road trips=fantastic. Never say no to a road trip.
30. You don't use it, you lose it: writing, French, singing, dancing
31. It is physically possible for me to keep my room clean for several weeks at a time!
32. Always plan things out. So it doesn't take you five years to get your undergrad
33. Get to know your professors! Go to their office hours.
34. I love old people. They are funny and kind. And usually not according to the stereotype
35. Gardens, ahhhh I will have my own luscious garden someday! I will, I will!
36. Where their health is concerned, everyone should weight-lift
37. Best memories of college are at the apartment with the roommates and friends
38. The last two weeks of a semester are a beast. Smattering of despair, despondency, lack of sleep, etc. Don't expect less.
39. If you meet a good-looking guy that is smart and has his head on straight, he's married. He's always married.
40. You think you're going to walk through the WILK without getting a flier? haha no you won't
41. God is an artist and has quite the sense of humor
42. Most nights in your freshman dorm room will be spent talking till 3 am
43. Don't cut your roommate's bangs
44. Anatomy gloves have got to be black. Shadows all the way, baby!
45. Pinesol is great
46. I hate garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar.
47. Jane Holbein Selman really can boast the best cookies in the world
48. As scary as it is to make new friends, you will never regret it
49. Chem labs are a lot more fun if you imagine you're Severus Snape aka the Half-blood Prince
50. One should always sleep with the window open.
51. Sometimes life is too good to go to bed on time
Monday, September 03, 2012
L'amour jeune
Friday, August 31, 2012
A journal
I relish finishing a journal and starting a new one. For several reasons. First off, I love choosing a new journal. Thick, heavy-duty paper (what can I say, I'm my father's daughter); quite particular size; blank pages, but I'll do small lines if I have to. And something about the journal that reminds me of me. It also must make me feel artsy and creative, so I am encouraged to experiment with my thoughts and my writing. (I used to overestimate the creativity those journals endowed me with; I drew pictures. Fortunate for my pride, I stopped).
Also, there's the simple concept of a fresh, clean, brilliant beginning. What events will be recorded in this next journal? What will I learn? And, most importantly, where will I be when it's been filled?
That's all about starting a journal. What of finishing it?
That is my favorite part. As my last entry, I flip through the journal and rewrite key events. If I'm lucky, I'll find some goals that have been accomplished, or some prayers that have been answered. I also note the simple entries. The occasional eloquences or poetic turns of language (in my journals: rare). I also love to see how something that was once so big has become so small--so small that I no longer remember it. Or to see traits I once had that have been chipped away by trials or time or maybe even my own awareness and determination.
Documenting our happenings, our musings, our concerns, our epiphanies, our triumphs, our blessings, our minds and hearts, our histories is something that can not be overstated. I need to be better! Good thing I have a brand new journal to start with.
I don't know why I decided to journal about my journal. There wasn't really a point. I guess just a musing
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
First Impressions and Assumptions: Two things I've learned this year
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting
Monday, February 06, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
wisdom
Thursday, December 15, 2011
oh, you know, just..
Monday, November 21, 2011
PETS
When I was in the first grade, we bought two hamsters. They were the first pets I can remember having. I noticed that one had especially long whiskers and proposed he be named Whiskey. My parents began to object, but I continued, "Yes! And we'll name his twin Frisky, since it rhymes!" Nothing my parents said would convince my brothers or me. So, we had two hamsters, Whiskey and Frisky. They ran away after a few months of hide-and-seek behind the cabinets.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
je ne sais quoi
Monday, November 14, 2011
Autumn!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Some analogies of bacon
I hate bacon. Can I just say it? I. HATE. BACON.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Great book!
Summer book recommendation: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley. It is about a precocious eleven-year old, Flavia, who loves chemistry and solves mysteries. It is hilarious!! An easy read, so you'll be able to read it very quickly.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Words are Fun!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
mmmm Bon Iver
My favorite album right now is "For Emma, Forever Ago" by Bon Iver. I love it. It all started with "Creature Fear," a song the album features. Good song. Then I fell in love with "Calgary," off of another of their albums. Back to "For Emma, Forever Ago:" my current favorite: Skinny Love. Blindsided also. And Lump Sum and Stacks. But Skinny Love is number one for now. But they're all good! Go listen!!! PS--no idea what the lyrics are about.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
un poème de Rimbaud et son parallélisme
J'aime ce poème. Bien qu'il est triste, il est beau.
Le dormeur du val
C'est un trou de verdure où chante une rivière,
Accrochant follement aux herbes des haillons
D'argent ; où le soleil, de la montagne fière,
Luit : c'est un petit val qui mousse de rayons.
Un soldat jeune, bouche ouverte, tête nue,
Et la nuque baignant dans le frais cresson bleu,
Dort ; il est étendu dans l'herbe, sous la nue,
Pâle dans son lit vert où la lumière pleut.
Les pieds dans les glaïeuls, il dort. Souriant comme
Sourirait un enfant malade, il fait un somme :
Nature, berce-le chaudement : il a froid.
Les parfums ne font pas frissonner sa narine ;
Il dort dans le soleil, la main sur sa poitrine,
Tranquille. Il a deux trous rouges au côté droit
Voilà un parallélisme:
J’avais eu l’opportunité d’étudier en France pendant le terme dernière, mais je ne pouvais pas aller, parce que je n’ai pas eu assez d’argent. C’était une rêve pour moi, de visiter le pays, le people, la langue, la terre aux lesquels je donne autant de temps.
Je pense que le romantisme et le symbolisme sont deux mouvements qui ne seront jamais mourir. Je les vu aujourd’hui. L’idée qu’on peut aller n’importe où, si on a le désir ; mais, ensuite: la gifle au visage et le rappel rude du monde vrai--le soldat est en fait mort et tu ne peux pas aller à la France.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Price Paradox
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"Young women, you're going to be an old woman someday; don't worry about it; don't sweat it."
Sunday, April 24, 2011
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood"
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.
4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Greater Things in Life
DOROTHEA LANGE EXHIBIT:
“Kids don’t live today. They just exist,” the man had said to me. My first observation of the exhibit had been done in solitude and silence. My second rotation was done in the accompaniment of a group of older southern Utahans. After observing a photograph titled, “Worldly Way Station on Route 91,” featuring an old movie drive-in, the group had proceeded to tell me about the old ways of life, recalling even that particular drive-in featured in the photograph. Following my remark of the difference between the lifestyle of their days compared to that of ours, his response was, “Kids don’t live today. They just exist.”
What are your thoughts?
I agree with him. And disagree. True, there is a rise in the number of people who limit themselves to the confines of their bedrooms, to the boundaries of the computer or TV, to the curbs of slothfulness. However, there is also an increase in those who dream, those who experiment, and those who push themselves into the world to experience its cultures, those who delve deeply into the intricacies, observations, and possibilities of life.
PHILHARMONIC:
We Listened to Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber," which I really enjoyed (especially the third and fourth movements, "Andantino" and "Marsch." Go look them up). Following Hindemith, we listened to the entirety of Dvorak's New World Symphony. I LOVED it. I've listened to the second movement many many times (even recommended it to you here), but had never heard the middle section of it. I guess my version doesn't have the complete version; neither does the one I posted. Go look up Largo from The New World and listen to the middle section (Just past halfway. It starts with an oboe). Listening to it in person was infinitely better. At one point, I realized every muscle in my body had relaxed and I was melting into my chair.
I made a resolution to attend some type of musical performance once per month. You just cannot capture sound digitally the way you can with your ears. You miss so much not being there! The acoustics, of course, make a big difference. So does seeing the conductor; I love watching him. But my favorite is watching the musicians. As the music starts to climax, to intensify, they sit up straighter, lean forward. You tense with them, your heart starts to beat faster, your ears prick up to hear every change. And there is an aesthetic pleasure in watching the parallel movements of the tilted violin bows, the violinists' vibrato hand, the cellists' tilted necks.
What a beautiful mind that gives birth to these melodies!! What a skilled instrumentalist to play such music! What skilled hands to create instruments! What a skilled conductor to interpret and present the expressions of the music!
I love it. I love it all. May I, and you, attend more of these uplifting showcases of human capacity.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Oh, my mind
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Life after Y
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Oh to be a Bumbershoot
What do superheroes do? Protect people. So do bumbershoots.
Monday, March 14, 2011
22
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Means to an End That Was Not What I Expected
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Love my Job
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The marine blue astro van
The marine blue Astrovan. Astro van? Astro-van.
LIFE
Funny funny
I see you, but you don't see me.
I wish I had something clever to say.
And I wish I had something better I could be.
We touched hands by the coffee machine the other day.
I know you've forgotten already,
But I'm gonna take that moment to the grave.
To the grave.
Cuz I just wanna walk you home.
I just wanna walk you home.
Oh, yea.
I see you nearly every night.
I see you when you're down in your house.
With my night vision binoculars
I creep quiet as a mouse.
And I get jealous when I see you stroking his hair.
But it's okay, I tell myself 'cause I know
It's only I'm not there.
I'm not there.
Cuz I just wanna walk you home.
I just wanna walk you home.
Well I just need some time alone.
I just need some time alone.
I'm the boy who watches the phone.
I'm the boy who eats lunch on his own.
I'm the boy with the monotone.
I'm the boy who still lives at home.
I'm the boy with the ironed shirt.
I'm the boy who watches you work.
I know where you keep your skirts.
I know where your secrets lurk.
I'm the boy that's calling your house.
I'm the boy that's freaking you out.
With my thermal flask of tea.
Up there in your neighbor's tree.
I'm the boy that's crossing borders.
I'm the boy with social disorders.
I'm the boy with restraining orders.
I'm the boy, yeah.
Cuz I just wanna walk you home.
I just wanna walk you home.
And I know that's it not right to creep.
But I just wanna watch you sleep alone.
Cuz I just wanna walk you home.
I just wanna walk you home.
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/p/passenger/#share
good day good day
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Good songs
Sunday, January 09, 2011
M Town
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Katie Brandeburg
This is my cousin. Beautiful, huh? Well, her music is fantastic. I don't think she has a CD, just has been performing at gigs here and there. But listen to her. She was actually trained in musical theater and classical in high school. I remember she used to sing Phantom of the Opera for us. And then she switched over to folk. She's great at it, no?
Friday, January 07, 2011
Some Recommendations for You
Comfort Books
Monday, December 06, 2010
Something You Didn't Know About Yourself
PS--I was in a rush and didn't want to spend the time figuring out how to add songs as I thought of more, so just did them in a few stages. And no worries, I'll be adding more beauties as I come across them.
RULES: in order to fully appreciate each of these songs, you are to:
lay down in a comfortable position
listen to each song in its ENTIRETY--preferably through head phones where you can hear every instrument. And at an appropriate volume where the depth of each song shows through
close your eyes and take deep breaths
report back to me :)
The first, Vocalise Opus 34 No 14, was composed by Rachmaninov. Here, it's played by Joshua Bell, the most beautiful violinist ever.
Then, there's Symphony No 9 by Dvorak. We sung a poem set to this song when I was a sophomore in high school and I loved it. Then I heard the original song, as a freshman in a humanities class and fell even more in love.
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin, or Girl/Maiden With the Flaxen Hair by Debussy (composer of the beautiful, but sadly overplayed, Claire de Lune [fountain song at the end of Oceans Eleven]) is one of my favorite favorites. SO beautiful. I really love Debussy.
Then there's the Piano Concerto No. 2 Opus 102 II Andante by the great Shostakovich. My talented roommate Cailey used to play this a lot and I love love loved it. At about a quarter through, when the piano enters, isn't it just lovely?? Yes, I agree that the whole song is, but that's my favorite part.....among a few others. Ok, I really just love the whole thing
I LOVE this song. I couldn't choose between these different versions, so I'm giving them all. Let me know which you like most. Schwanengesang (swan song) was a collection of songs composed by Schubert, published posthumously. My guess is that this particular song is called Leise flehen meine Lieder (Hushed Prays my Song??). It plays a large part in the fantastic movie, The Young Victoria. It's kind of sultry. I love it.
I, for one, am going to make all my children learn piano and violin. And if they'd like, I suppose we could throw cello and harp into the mix... Oh, and the acoustic guitar. Or they can learn classical on a twelve string. ok, ok I won't force them, but this all does sound pretty great.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Two Week To-Do List
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Ryan Innes
I'll tell you again
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Good ol' Pythagorus, I will be faithful as you have been
I never thought I'd end up taking classes like physics, calculus, or chemistry. In high school, my favorite classes were English and history. I hated math. I wanted to be a high school English teacher for a long time. I also wanted to be a cowgirl singer, a movie star, or a cashier at taco bell so I could wear a purple shirt. I don't really know what other career options I considered. But it was a while before I decided I wanted to end up in the health care field.
So, here's to the TI-30Xas and all those guys that have stuck with us from the beginning. Pythagorus will never die on me and I will never trade him in! Compare his good looks to those lacking in Optimus:
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 09, 2010
3 of 25000 great youtube shows for you
And I just drop to my knee, see my lil knee.... i think I should faint. But I don't...
Creepy? Yes, I thought so too.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
The Night Owl
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Things I'm Crushing on Right Now
2. Andrew Belle. Favorite songs: Signs of Life, Oh My Stars, Make It Without You, Ladder, In My Veins, Static Waves (case in point: I planned on putting one up, but.. ended up with six)
3. Gardens
4. Harry Potter
5. Watching Modern Family
6. Daydreaming
7. Cinnamon and Raisin bagels
8. Reading Jane Austen's Emma and pondering on Austen times
9. My clean room
10. Not working 3 hours everyday on campus
11. An engaged guy
Potter Fever
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
BEAUTY
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum.
Alexis Carrel
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
Albert Einstein
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Art
So the other day I went onto our roof to do some homework. It was about 6pm and it was perfect. I was neither hot nor cold, feeling on my legs the moderate heat of a setting sun. A slight breeze tickled the trees and the world was quiet and at peace. I suppose it was before the hustle and bustle of a weekend night. The colors were the best of it all. That setting sun saturated everything in a golden yellow hue. All the trees were as if painted by an artist, an artist who added a bit more yellow than his peers. Every tree, every bit of greenery was more lush and more alive. It was simply beautiful. God is an Artist.