Good Times

Life is great.  I'm really having fun with my new roomates and friends at Glenwood.  We've started a tradition of inviting different girls over for Sunday dinner to get to know them.  Last week was Mexican week, and this week was French themed (well, it was soup themed, but we thought that was too boring.)  We keep being pleasantly surprised how amazing the food turns out each week (since these are things we've never made before), and also how fun the girls are (since we try to invite apartments that we don't really know).  Each week seems to get better.  And, I feel like I know half the ward already, so that's another bonus.

So, this week I've got a lot on my plate.  Well, that is except for a date.  I don't know what I'm doing for a date this week.   But other than that, I've got a ton of accounting studying to do, plus other stuff.  Really, compared to accounting, my other classes are a piece of cake.  Speaking of cake, there's not much I enjoy more than leaving my accounting class, where we talk about debits and credits and financial statements, and heading over to cooking, where we have serious discussions about making sure your meal has a variety of color, texture, and temperature.   For a college course, cooking feels like such a joke, but I love it.  I also have a speech to give this week for public speaking.  We are doing recitations this week - choosing a piece of prose, and reciting it using a variety of tone, volume, pitch, etc.                                             

I'm considering participating in a program called Conexiones - where you have a Latino family in the area, and you and a partner go and read with them each week to promote literacy.  I think it would be a fun way to learn Spanish since that's something I really want to do, but I don't know if I have the time for it.      

Back at the Y

Life is looking up for me.  I recently moved to Glenwood, and I love the place so far.  Well, not the apartment itself - it's pretty ghetto, but the people.  Here's a few of the things I've done in the last week:

-Met a ton of people - I have a goal to be one of those people who always remembers people's names the first time, and then doesn't forget them.  Switching wards is great practice for that.  The people I've met are great so far.

-Had a bonfire -  I took an old pallet from work (with permission of course) and we went in the canyon for a big apartment group date.  I'd never done a winter bonfire before.  It's actually pretty fun.  I think the snow and freezing cold makes it better.

-Watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - an excellent french film that I would recommend to anyone.  It is based on a true story of a man who suffered a massive stroke and is resigned to complete paralysis except for the ability to blink one eye.  Very eyeopening in understanding those with disabilities.  I also saw The Emperor's New Groove this week, and it was seriously the funniest cartoon I've ever seen.

-Had Chinese dinner night - we had an apartment of girls over on Sunday for a chinese dinner, and it actually turned out great, considering we didn't know any of them, and none of us had ever cooked chinese.  This sunday is Mexican night.

-Got my new laptop (finally!) - I was such a wreck without it, but now it's here.  I like the upgraded network card that lets me surf the internet and download at literally 10 times the speed of my old wireless card.  Plus the webcam is pretty cool.  I'll be practicing and reviewing my speeches for public speaking with it.  Here's what I look like now, while I'm typing this.

-Went to amazing devotionals - I really appreciated seeing President Monson on Sunday, and Elder Holland on Tuesday.  I think their talks were a great strength to me.  I'm so grateful to be here at BYU at this time in my life.  There's so much to do, and so little time to waste!

OK, I'd better go now, I have class in just a few minutes.  Have a great week!

 

I spelled entrepreneurial right on my first try!

It's official - I'm moving to the hood next semester - the Glenhood.  My social life and dating life have fizzled down a lot in the last month or so, so I'm pretty excited about move.  It seems like a much more social place.  

But life's good right now.  I'm counting down my assignments I have left to complete before the end of the semester - I'm down to nine.  The biggest of those is a research paper for Management Communications.  I am studying the social networking site linkedin.com to determine if it is becoming a necessity for young business professionals.  So far the answer appears to be yes - when used correctly, it is a far more powerful employment site than anything else on the web, because it relies on your personal connections to find jobs.  So if you want to work at a firm, it will search and see if someone you know works there.  If none of your contacts do, it will search your contacts' contacts (the people the people you know know) , so that you can get a personal recommendation and introduction rather than just following the traditional method of sending in a resume blindly.  Companies are much more likely to hire someone with a connection like that.  I've actually been having fun researching this, even though it is a little time consuming.

Lately I've been feeling very entrepreneurial.  I'm bored with the current student job market.  Nearly every job simply requires you to do tasks that anyone else could do just as well.  I want to do something that stretches me - where my thoughts and ideas make a difference.  But it seems like the only independent work to do in Utah Valley is sales.  It's all about satellite dishes, pest control, home security, window cleaning, Living Scriptures DVD's, and the list goes on.  Why does everyone here insist on door to door?   If, while I'm a student, I have to do work that a robot could do just as well, then so be it.  I know there's immense value in keeping myself busy and making a contribution to society.  But, I insist on keeping my eyes open for other business opportunities.  

 So, I think I'm going to join the Web Startup Group at BYU, where people interested in internet entrepreneurship get together and make things happen.  I don't know the first thing about web development, but I'm sure I can contribute in other ways.  I would especially be interested in managing the finances of a startup.   

It's about time (Pt 3)

O gosh, I just realized that every single one of my posts is prefaced with "this might be boring" "this is awkward" "this is serious", etc.  What a horrible blogger I am!  From now on, every post will be "exciting" or "mysterious" or "funny", etc.  And if you don't agree (which is very probable), then I'm sorry. 

It's About Time (Pt 2)

Do you ever find yourself bogged down with a ton of books you are reading at the same time? Well, probably not  - this is certainly a first time for me.  Here's what they are:

1. Breakthrough Rapid Reading - So that I can read faster and get more reading in.  Ironically, I haven't touched this book in a couple weeks because I'm too busy reading other things.

2. The Eyewitness History of the Church - Volume 2 - If I had a book club I would recommend this one.  To me history is much more real and interesting when you look at it from the perspective of the ones living it.  This book goes through events in church history and gives correlating excerpts from people's journals and other written communications.

3. This I Believe - An essay collection from NPR where people (some famous and some just average americans) attempt to explain their personal philosophies on life.  Suprisingly interesting.

4. Practical Idealists - Discusses how to focus your studies and your career so that you will be prepared to be able to make money helping people.  Interersting so far, but I'm only in the second chapter.

5. The Art of Mingling - Do you feel awkward and out of place at large social functions, especially when you don't know anyone?  If so, according to the author, you (along with 90% of America) have "minglephobia."  This book is surprisingly fun and helpful to read, though you have to take it with a grain of salt, because most of the "tactics" discussed are geared towards having fun, sometimes at the expense of others, and not building relationships.

6. Crucial Conversations - This book keeps coming up in conversations - I swear it's the unofficial second bible for the Marriot School.  So I decided to check it out.  It teaches how to handle the difficult conversations in our life.  I'm sure it's helpful, but when you're reading five other books at the same time, something this mundane is never at the top of the pile, and thus I'm still in chapter 2 after three weeks.

It's About Time (Pt. 1)

Sorry, I really should post more often.  It's not that I don't have time (though I am usually pretty busy).  And it's not that I don't have anything to write about (my head is always teeming with ideas).  It's just that I feel like everything I could write would be too boring, so I end up not writing anything.

Last week I had a couple ideas but then I didn't post them.  So I'll give the brief versions here.

First, I was going to rave about the wonders of google docs.  Anyone remember the days of group papers that consisted of a bunch of "back-seat writers" and only one person doing the actual typing?  It was almost easier to just do papers on your own.  Well, now if you have a group assignment, everyone just brings their laptops and logs on to google docs, and you all modify the same document at the same time, with the changes appearing on everyone's screen simultaneously.  Then, if anyone later wants to make changes, they just log on from wherever they are and type.  Try it next time - it makes for really fast and efficient group work.

I was also going to rant about the credit crisis.  Debt is supposed to be used for investment - like starting a business or financing a modest car that will get you to work.  You borrow money as a means of procuring a financial gain that would not otherwise be attainable.  In my view, debt is meant to provide opportunities.  It is supposed to be a good thing.  And so I say to that person unloading a new plasma TV out of the back of his Escalade and into his $300,000 home (all paid for with the swipe of a credit card), I've got news for you - none of those things are going to pay for themselves.  If you can't afford them now, what makes you think you'll be able to afford them plus the exuberant amounts of interest charged later?  I think our country has given debt a bad name.

See, wasn't that boring?  But now that that's off my mind I can do a real post.

 

Passing Time Til Class Registration Time

It's 11:18 and normally I would be asleep right now, but I'm staying up till midnight so I can register for next semester's classes.  Here's what I'm tentatively taking:

1. Biology 100 - because I have to (its a GE)

2. Accounting 210 - to find out if accounting really is my thing

3. Information Systems 201 - required for the accounting major

4. New Testament

5. Music 101 - to fulfil a GE, plus you get to learn all about music 

  6. Golf - for my major (OK, not really, but it certainly will help.  And at least now I can justify buying golf clubs by calling it a textbook expense.)

EDIT: Cooking didn't fit in my schedule, unfortunately.  Maybe next semester.

So that's the plan.  We'll see how things actually work out.  I only have 1, possibly 2 more GE classes to take for the rest of my college career after this next semester.  That makes me really happy.

Oh, and guess what?  I got the most amazing side job this week.  Well, first of all, last week I thought I had the most amazing side job - I was going to be a movie extra for a couple of hours and earn 40 dollars.  But I would have had to skip class.  This week, though, I really did get another job - I am now an official taste tester for BYU!  That's right - they call me in, have me try something, and then give me 3 dollars.  As easy as that.  This week is chicken tortilla soup.  I'm really excited.  I'll try to remember and let you know how that goes.

OK, and that's it for today!  Remind me, and I'll put up a halloween picture or two (when I get them).  I think my blog must be really boring - I never have any pictures or anything interesting like that.  I'm just too lazy.