My Love

I love rollerskating. I really do. Last year my connections classes wanted me to set up a party after the class was all done, so I planned a night at the Fun Park for us to go rollerskating. Of course nobody showed up, so I was extremely lucky to have a couple of good friends that went along. Well I brought that idea up again this year and everybody seemed interested in it. I told them over and over again that last year was a bust so they had better show up. Well last night was our skate night and I am proud to report that I had three students and three roommates of one of the students. That's right. Six people showed up!!! I was so excited! I wish we could have had more, but it was still fun. I dominated limbo (OK fine, I tied a sixteen year old kid) and got a free pass to go back. And then because no one ever shows up, they gave all of us free passes! I was going to attempt the old school skates but I chickened out and went for the blades. I loved it!

Tradition

True Aggie is the term given to those who on homecoming, A-Day or on a full moon each month a full moon promenade to the A next to Old Main and kiss their love, friend, or stranger. On homecoming or A-Day, neither kisser needs to be a True Aggie. However, when the moon is full each month, one person must already be a True Aggie in order to pass on the tradition to the other. In case this is forgotten, a plaque is placed on the base of the platform explaining the rules.

The tradition started in 1916 when a group of young men from Salt Lake City, known as the Be-Noes, came to USU. The Be-Noes were a group of boys in high school that for some reason were not allowed to form a club. Since there would be no club, they decided to call themselves the Be-Noes and have a club anyway. At USU, one Be-Noe member built the A as we know it - a four-tiered white A base with a blue platform on top. The tradition started when a young man had to kiss a willing young lady atop the A under a full moon at midnight. The ritual spread across the campus and that became the way by which a person could become a True Aggie. (This is from an article in the Utah Statesman by Amber Bailey in Oct. 2003)

About a week ago, my pal Shane called me up and said, "Shan, I need you on my committee, join the Student Alumni Association." So of course I said I would and I am now part of the Traditions Committee. We are in charge of the Homecoming Parade and every True Aggie Night. It's pretty exciting stuff! Allison and I handed out the cards as people came off of the "A" so we got to witness all of the spit-swapping, and there were some nasty kisses. So gross! But there were also some cute couples there. A girl I share mutual friends with kissed a goat. Hands down the best one of the night, so funny! She is my hero. That is how I spent my Thursday night, standing in the cold watching people kiss. No I am not a True Aggie, but I've still got three semesters left! :)

Wednesday Thoughts

I live by my planner. Most people already know this fact. But seriously, my planner is my life. This past week I have had every day mapped out hour by hour and I feel like I have actually gotten a lot accomplished. I am also proud of my planner because I bought it at the bookstore and it is 100 percent recycled material and it is orange.

This last week I did learn something super important....Costa Vida is now doing a version of Taco Tuesday.... and it rocks! They do it from 5-10pm which is three hours longer than Cafe Rio. The tacos are the same price and there isn't an hour wait in line. We walked in and within five minutes had our food. I'm not sure if the tacos themselves are any better, but for the convenience, Costa Vida will definitely be seeing a lot more of me. I love the Taco Tuesday social scene!

The Fun, Fit, Forever classes are awesome this semester. I was kind of bummed at first when I realized my two favorite instructors from last year are no longer here, but I am so glad I decided to do it again. So far I've been to the power sculpt and pilates classes and they are such a good work out. Hot bod here I come!

Oh Sundays

Here is a story.... My freshman year I enrolled in Institute because I felt like I should. I went just the right amount of days to get credit for the class and then didn't bother to enroll the second semester. I kind of have problems going to class. Like I don't have problems with the classes themselves, I just hate actually going to class. So last year I decided to give Institute another try and I took a class called "The Life of Christ" from Bro. Maughan and it was amazing! My now roommate Alyssa was also in the class and she made sure I got there. Spring semester came and I decided to take another class from Bro. Maughan and my attendance went up even more. It was a definite improvement and I noticed the change in my life through my attendance. It was great.

So this semester my roommates decided to embark on a class that actually terrifies me....Marriage Prep. Yep, I still cringe when I tell people I got peer pressured into taking it. Marriage terrifies me more than almost anything else so this class is kind of hard for me. The material we have covered so far has been really good, talking about families and the purpose of the eternal family. But I am still struggling with it. It should definitely get better though!

Ok now for the funny part. I got a calling in church this week. And I am now the Ward Institute Rep. My job is to promote Institute and get people to sign up for classes. My bishop asked me a ton of questions about different organizations in the church and when Institute came up I told him exactly what I've said above, and then he asked me to be the Rep. It was semi awkward and the Lord really does work in mysterious ways. Alyssa leaned over and referred to it as a bit of an oxymoron and I call it karma. I'm excited because I've never really had a calling, so it will be an experience. It will be my real world marketing experience. Got to get the hype up about Institute!

Happiness

Have you ever felt so incredibly happy that you can't stop smiling? I honestly can't pin it down to one thing, but I am just so happy!

"Happiness, it seems to me, consists of two things: first, in being where you belong, and second -- and best -- in comfortably going through everyday life, that is, having had a good night's sleep and not being hurt by new shoes." - Theodor Fontane

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - Mohandas K. Gandhi

Feeling Great

I love waking up in the morning to a lively apartment. Last year I had to work at 8 every morning, so I would get up around 6 and feel like I had to tiptoe around so I wouldn't wake anybody up. (Stacey would sometimes already be up studying for anatomy...that girl is crazy!) This semester I don't work until 9 and when I get up Kaili and Alyssa are always up and sometimes already gone. It is so fun! I know that sounds ridiculous, but I am so much more of a morning person than a night owl. I just feel like I get so much more accomplished when I am up and at it by 8.

I am obsessed with Scrabble. I have been playing games on Facebook with a couple of my aunts and an uncle and it makes me feel so smart. It is a classic game and it is fun. I really don't know why I love it so much, I just do. McKayla bought me the board game for my birthday. Oh Scrabble!

I love listening to motivational speakers. Tuesday in my Marketing Institutions class we had Angela Redding come talk to us about getting into the PR and advertising field. I left feeling so intimidated and empowered by her success. I want to be her! She was a USU graduate and finished her MBA in 2007 and already she has been a VP of a PR firm and has now started her own advertising consulting firm.

Lately I have been so obsessed with adding to my resume and trying to find different clubs and activities that will help me stand out. She made the point that all of those activities are great, but it isn't your resume that gets you the job. Your resume will get you the interview, but you have to shine through your interview. If you have to change who you are to appeal to the hiring manager, then that job isn't for you and you aren't meant for that job. This kind of put me at ease. It is all stuff that I have heard before, but it hit me a little bit harder this time and I am now stopping to take a breath. And it feels great. I am still looking for different activities to do, but I don't need to overload it. I just need to show a little more dedication to a few and I think I'll be set. I am now beginning the internship search...wish me luck!

Funfetti

I had a great birthday! My roomies put together a nice little shin-dig and it was full of some of my favorite people. Yay for being 21!

So far...

I am loving my junior year! I am only two weeks in and I am so happy with everything! Here are a few snapshots of the year thus far....

The A-Team with Barcelona. (Please notice Jo is holding hands with the lead singer)

High Stakes Bingo. Taco Tuesdays. 80's Dance. Awesome Roomies

Twenty-One

Today is my birthday...holla at being 21! For some reason I feel like I deserve a birthday blog post...to myself.... so here it goes.

Once upon a time (on September 10, 1989, to be exact), I was born in a really small, super cool town in Idaho called Montpelier. That's pretty much how the story goes. My family moved around quite a bit in my young years and we finally settled in Washington right before I started second grade. Now I'm at USU and 21 years of my life are in the past. Crazy!

My birthday has never been a huge deal to me. I get excited and I love to count down to it, but having it the first or second week of school is kind of a bust. So I thought I'd put together a list of birthdays that stick out:

• When I was five or six, I had a Pocahontas party. Enough said. It was great!
• For my 10th birthday, I invited a couple of girls from my old elementary school and a couple from my new school. One girl got me Pokemon cards and brought her stuffed pikachu with her.
  
• I had my first massive sleepover for my 12th birthday. We were mean girls and made one cry.
  
• I believe it was at my 13th that we made my friend Jessi "date" a kid that lived down the street. I guess we really were bullies in middle school.
  
• For the big 16, my mom's friend made me a cake that looked like a driver's license.
• My last birthday at home, the wonderful 18, I invited people over for cake, no big deal. Bones's mom also made me cupcakes with jellybean flowers on them and we also had a small party at his house the next night.
• For number 19, I was a terrified freshie with no friends, so my awesome roomies pulled together a party with our neighbors.
• Last year, I celebrated my birthday along with my roomie Car with a Weekly Wednesday Winner Dinner, Birthday Style. She made chocolate lasanga. It was grand!

I love getting birthday cards and texts and facebook posts. It really does make the day so much better. So thanks to my friends and family for all the birthday wishes and especially my parents, for having me. I have a feeling 21 is going to be an exceptionally great year! :)

I'm only allowed upstairs...

I was preparing my weekly email for my Connections students and decided to send one of my favorite videos. I love love the Lawrence Welk vidoes on SNL. Enjoy!

One Down...

I have survived my first week of school and it feels great! I still have mixed feelings about the crazy long class days on Tuesdays and Thursdays but most of my classes are really interesting so I think I will survive. I love the first couple of weeks back go school because there is so much going on. This week was the Week of Welcome and this is what I did:
Monday---Quietdrive Concert
Tuesday---Iron Man 2 on Old Main Hill
Wednesday---Ryan Hamilton from Last Comic Standing
Thursday---High Stakes Bingo
Tonight---80's Dance aka best dance of the year
Tomorrow---Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Great week for sure!

Last night we had a small birthday celebration for our neighbor Rick. My parents will be here tomorrow. My classes are fun. My birthday is in one week. I have an awesome red 80's dress to wear tonight. I am happy. Life is great!