Haunted House

This morning I had neglected to finish reading my chapter for Physical Science, as I have a few times now. Really, it's not a huge deal if I don't. We do take in-class quizzes every day (just random questions interspersed throughout the lesson), and one of them is whether or not we have read the chapter, but really, it's only one point if you don't. Out of, like... I don't remember. Hundreds. So if I miss once or twice or so, it's not that big a deal. But if I continue to do it, it could actually make a difference in the long run. Plus, I need to remind myself, I'm sure that I learn the material better if I read the whole chapter. So... bad me. Start reading again. I used to be a lot better about it. I'm just starting to slack.

For Home Evening tonight, we went to this haunted house place. Called... I don't quite remember... something about being in the dark, and the word spook... okay, so it's kind of lost its effect. Anyway, so we went there for our activity. It was $9 per person (or $8 with your student ID). Meh... I could deal with that. But honestly, I got scared as soon as I saw the sign for the place as we passed by it on the road. We did pass it on accident and have to turn around, but that wasn't a big deal, so... whatever. So, yeah, I already got scared. And waiting in line to go inside was scary. There were a couple of people in costume who would wander around and freak people out while they were standing in line... yeah. They looked very frightening. Once we got in... it was even worse. Just terrifying, like, the whole time. Holy cravitz. I really didn't want to let go of Sarah the whole time, but sometimes I just made myself. Eventually (lucky for me), it was over, and we all went home. I don't know... I'm really afraid of haunted houses and the like, but at the same time, I somehow really like them. *shrug* Maybe I should just get over my stupid fears, and then I'll really like them.

And for some strange reason, I keep thinking today is Tuesday... even though it's definitely not. It's Monday. Monday Monday Monday. And it's a good thing, too, because that would mean that Tuesday was almost over, and Wednesday was coming... and I much prefer Tuesdays to Wednesdays. I don't know why I keep thinking that, but I have at least like two or three times. Eh. I'll get over it.

Sleepy-Heads

Yesterday morning I had another private lesson. As I do every Saturday. :P When I went in to warm up and run through my music before my lesson started, I was rather discouraged. Basically, I was playing like crap. I think I almost cried. Just frustrating. When I actually went in to my lesson and played, it went much better. And I think I'm getting a little better overall, too. See, apparently I've been playing for seven years with the wrong embouchure, and so now I have to pretty much completely change the way I play. Just a slight setback. >.< My range was significantly reduced, plus it's just been overall harder to play, for the most part. But, as I keep having to play when I practice and in band, it's getting better. And supposedly it'll make me that much better in the long run. It gets really discouraging sometimes, so I just keep telling myself that.

Last night I also went to a concert called OcTUBAfest. Clever, I know. It goes on for four days, and I went to the one on the last day. It was pretty neat. There were a whole bunch of tuba and euphonium players. The first several pieces were played by this one guy named Adam Frey (and a piano accompanist, Robin Hancock), and he was amazing. This one thing he played was what he liked to call "the Swiss version of Flight of the Bumble Bees." And seriously, that's about what it was. Holy cravitz, he played so many notes so fast... just... wow. Freakin' amazing. I'd love to be able to play like that. Maybe someday... or not. :)

This morning we slept in... much longer than we inteded. Our ward in church meets at 12:00 - 3:00. I woke up at about 11:50. And I'm sorry, but I'll be honest - if I have a good excuse to not go to church, I'll take it. I know, shame on me. So I woke up at about 11:50, and realized that church was in like ten minutes, and neither of us had showered, and we'd still have to get dressed and everything after that, and it takes a little less than ten minutes to get there. I looked over, and Sarah was still asleep. So, I was kind of pleased that we had slept so long, and went back to sleep. I woke up one or two more times after that, and then Sarah got up at about 1:30 and was like, "Oh my gosh, do you know what time it is??" So, yeah, we missed church because we slept in. Tehe... sounds kind of funny, considering it started at noon. And we did stay up kind of late last night watching some Smallville - about 2 or 2:30 - but considering we're at college, it really wasn't all that late. Speaking of which, we're going to watch some more tonight. So, until next time, adieu.

Party Time

Oh, I love Fridays. Great day. I only have three classes, and I'm out by noon. And they're all decent classes, too. :P This morning when I woke up at about 7:04, was slightly confused... and at first I tried to figure out if somehow it meant that I could still go back to sleep. Funny how that works, sometimes. I'll wake up in the morning, and if I'm really tired (which is often the case upon first waking up), I'll do anything I can to allow myself at least just a few minutes more sleep. In the long run, those few minutes are going to do squat, but they're really important at the time.

Moving on, I accidentally missed dinner today. Really, it was entirely unintentional. Sarah went to this party thing for marching band or something, and someone was supposed to call her beforehand, so she didn't want to leave the dorm in case they called while she was gone. So I was just going to go to dinner after she left. Plus, after that, I was going to go to a concert that started at 7:30. I was just messing around on the computer for a while... and I looked at the time and it was like 7:45. The concert was already in progress, and they were most likely putting things away in the cafeteria. So I missed both. Drats. Speaking of which, I'm still quite hungry right now.

Tonight I also went to some social thing that was after the party that Sarah went to. It was at Jami's house... actually, apartment. Whatever. So... that was at 9:30. She had made play-doh that people were messing around with, and she made brownies and put out pretzels and apples and caramel... which, the latter two were delicious. After a while of just sitting around and chatting, we all played Apples To Apples. What a fantastic game. Even though I pretty much never win - and tonight was no different. After several rounds, I finally won one green card, shortly after which we left, because we still needed to practice tonight. Speaking of which, I still do need to do that. But I ended up on the computer instead. Eh, it happens. All the time. :)

Been Busy, But Today Was Good

Okay, so I missed a couple of days... granted, I'm certain that'll be happening a lot. I always start out diligent, and then start slacking... such is life. So, yeah... the past couple of nights, actually, I've been working on a computer science program. And then I'd rather just go to bed than post here or anything. What a ridiculous program, too... I got stuck on this one part because the interest of something wasn't working for some reason. I spent so much time tryin to figure out why the freak it wasn't working, because nothing else made sense! Only to find out that it was annual interest, so all I needed to be doing in the program was divide by twelve. Dumb. Really, really dumb.

I also took another Physical Science test the other day. I got an 83 on it. Meh... personally, I'm not too pleased. Especially considering I got a 97 on the first one. Maybe I'll get another A on our next one. *shrug* I have a couple more tests coming up, too... I have one for Music 101 sometime next week, I think... as well as Book of Mormon? And then American Heritage the week after that. They just keep coming and coming. And as soon as I get a couple out of the way, it's been a while since the others, so it's time to take more of the first again. >.<

The good news is, I'm halfway done with the semester. One more half (and several stupid final exams...), and I am finished... for the semester. Not that I'm really hating my classes now, but I look forward to seeing what my classes next semester will be like. I hope I don't regret saying that. :P

Oh yeah! There was another new episode of Smallville tonight. Good times. It was really... interesting. Oh, but there was one part that just made me cringe... so much... gaaa... Anyway, so... I had Hawaiian haystacks for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious. Probably one of my favorite meals here. Heck, possibly one of my favorite meals anyway. The only thing is, they always seem to have it on Thurdays... which is sometimes inconvenient, because we have to eat dinner fairly quickly a lot of times, so that we can get back to the dorm before Smallville starts, and usually there's a pretty decent line for Hawaiian haystacks. And then there's the times when they run out of the gravy stuff that goes on top... that's just... dumb. Yes.

Package

Today I had to teach a lesson in Sunday School. Yes, I'm a Sunday School teacher, by the way. I team-teach with someone else, though (named Tom), and there's two sets of teachers for each class. So I half-teach every other week. Really, it's not that bad. Though, the best part is when it's over. :)

Oh, and last night it snowed some more... it melted as the day went on, but it was still there for a while. I'm really gonna have to get used to it. It's just still a big deal to me - I'm a Texan. :) We usually get one snow day a year, though sometimes it's more like an ice day.

Today I got a package from my mom. So cool! I love getting things in the mail. Anyway, so the package had a whole bunch of Halloween stuff, mostly. A bunch of candy... and also a little bag of chili-cheese Fritos (one of my favorites... and I've already eaten them) and a package of Goldfish (the flavor-blasted kind - yay!). And a nifty little pop-up-er-something pumpink to put it all in. Additionally, I got a couple more pictures from Chanelle. Aw! I love getting things from her. And they go right up on my wall in this little desk area I spend so much time in. Pretty soon my walls are going to be like... completely full of her artwork. Good times. I also received that Taylor Swift CD I was going to get at Target... so it's a good thing I didn't end up getting it! Apparently, my mom thought she had told me not to get it, but it seems to me that she may have only said not to order it online. (I ordered Kenny Chesney's newest CD online and ended up paying much more than I could've if I just bought it at Target. Oh well, at least I learned.) So... yeah. At least I didn't already have it, or I would've felt really bad. But now I'm really excited that Mom got it for me. So kind. :D

Game Day

Today was another BYU home game. Apparently we won by a decent margin, though I didn't actually go to the game. But it did snow! (So maybe it was a good thing I didn't go.) It was kind of exciting to see... I mean, I am definitely not used to the idea of getting snow in October. It was nice and cold when I went outside.

Speaking of which, after the game Sarah and I were going to have some dinner, only to discover that the cafeteria closes at 6:30 on Saturdays, so it was too late when we went. And the only other way we normally get food is by getting things out of the vending machine. But... I wasn't really thrilled at the prospect of having to spend money on vending machine snacks to replace dinner tonight. So I called Jeffrey, hoping maybe he had some extra food or snacks or something. And we ended up being able to eat a little of the leftovers in his and Debbie's fridge. Aw, what a generous brother and sister-in-law. I was pleased.

I didn't feel like driving to his house, though, for one thing, because I'd have to drive yet again in this unfamiliar Utah-ville, and for another, it was shortly after the game, so everybody and their brother was probably on the road. So we walked instead. Kind of nippy outside, saying as it had just snowed a little before. But it wasn't unbearable. And we got good food. And played the Wii while we were at it. :)

Crazy Outing

Whoo, Friday! Actually, today has seemed very long. By the time evening came, I had almost forgotten that I had classes this morning. I don't know why, either... and it wasn't long in a good or a bad way. Just, long.

This afternoon I went to Target. Well, actually, Sarah and I went to a music store first, to see if she could get her oboe repaired. The only thing that came from that voyage, though, was finding out there's a couple of shops in Orem that do repairs that the guy we talked to didn't recommend. But holy cravitz... he just kept talking and talking. Not even kidding. He talked and talked... and didn't stop until we were out of the building. Even when we were getting to the door, he was just kind of shouting so that he could keep talking. It was absolutely hilarious!

And then we went to Target... which turned out to be more profitable. I was planning on getting a CD (Taylor Swift's Christmas CD) as well as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (for DS). At first I didn't see the game, so I figure at least I could get the CD. Then I found the game - apparently I had just overlooked it... by a lot, they had quite a few - and couldn't find the CD. Though I did see a lot of other CDs I'd like... that's the only thing I don't like about buying CDs, is I always want to buy so many. I guess I just like a lot of singers and a lot of music. Anyway, so we asked about the CD (actually, I made Sarah ask), and... to make a long story short, they ended up not having it.

I hope I don't have to do that again in the near future. I'm not particularly fond of driving here... as I am with any unfamiliar place I drive in. I'm just completely not used to it.

Good Times

Today was a pretty good day, all in all. For one thing, I finally found out for sure the name of the French horn player next to me. We talk every day that we have band together, and she knows my name and some random things about me... but it's started to bother me that I don't know her name. She is a friend. I did hear someone say her name once or twice, but it wasn't quite clear. Though I was pretty sure it was either Jamie or Jenny. So, also in band we've done "introductions" where after we rehearse one piece, each person in one section introduces themself and everything. And... it turns out, the French horns were the last ones to go. The director kind of forgot about us. I think he just assumed we had already gone. So we all introduced oursevles today, and it turns out her name is Jami after all. I don't remember her last name, or quite where she's from... or what her major is, but I do know she's double-majoring. Anyhow... yeah... enough about Jami. I'm just glad I finally know who she is. :)

I turned in my essay today about the book Just and Holy Principles, and... well, I don't know how I did. Personally, I feel like I did a better job than my last essay, which got me a whopping 17 out of 25 points. I hope I did at least a little better, anyway. Mostly, I'm just glad it's out of the way. I won't have another essay to turn in to that class for another couple of weeks, I think. *relief*

At the Cannon Center cafeteria today, there was some luau of some sort going on this afternoon/evening. And so when we went to dinner there were all these different kinds of fruits, and various other Hawaiian-ish foods. It was... interesting. I didn't actually see anything going on when I was there, but there were decorations all over the place. I don't know why we have these random days, but there was one day that was chocolate day for some reason... that was good stuff. So many chocolate goodies, and a chocolate fountain, and cookies, and strawberries, and... mmm... so, um, yeah.

Smallville was also on tonight. I enjoyed it. Like always. But it did make me sad. Aw. I just hope some things will start getting better again soon, or resolve in some other ways... which, I'm sure they will, in due time. When there's other problems going on. :)

I guess I'll just stop with that. I need to go get my laundry, it should be done by now. I've finally done it... after unintentionally putting it off for... too long. :P And then, sleep time.

Busy Day

Today I had pretty much all of my classes. In Physical Science this morning I was kind of falling asleep for about the first half of the class. A little odd, since whenever that happens it's usually during the second half. *shrug* And then Book of Mormon... I was more tired than I usually am in that class. Not a great thing, since I'm trying to bring up my grade... blech. But then I was fine for the rest of the day, pretty much.

I was going to go to a concert tonight, but when I got there it was full... for the love. I guess I'll just have to find some other concerts to go to fairly soon. I'm supposed to attend eight during this semester for Music 101, and the deadline for the next couple is coming up in a couple of weeks, I think. Eh, I'm sure it'll turn out fine. I actually got there late, too, because I was talking to Chanelle. She had called about 10 minutes before I was planning on leaving, and then when I got to the building we were still talking, and I just couldn't hang up... I only talk to her so often. And there's other concerts for me to go to. So, I don't really mind at all. Good times.

Tonight I still do have... some homework to do. Some reading for the American Heritage TA lab that I have tomorrow, so I'll do alright on the quiz. But also, I have an essay due in that class based on a book I'm supposed to have read... which I haven't finished yet. So I'll be doing that tonight too. Blech... this is partly why I don't like Wednesdays. The good news is, after my lab on Thursdays, life is pretty good. The lab is out of the way, I watch Smallville that night, Friday doesn't have very many classes, and then it's the weekend... just good times.

Though I may or may not be getting a cold... actually, I don't think I am. So nevermind. :P But... my throat just feels odd. Eh. Although, it was a little on the cold side today. Cold to me, anyway. I swear I think the sun was shining for like... 20 minutes. Well, probably longer, but that's what it seemed like. Pretty much the whole day the sky was just covered by clouds. And it drizzled a couple of times. So it was chilly all day... man, I don't know if I'm prepared for the winters here...

First-Timer

Okay, so I've never used Blogger before... so today commemorates my first post here. Yay!

So, I guess I'll start with the going-ons of today. I had hardly any classes today, actually. Tuesdays are great. I'm doing this volunteer program called TOPS (Tutor Outreach to Provo Schools) here at BYU, and I just go to a school and help tutor or whatever the teacher wants me to do, once a day, for ten weeks. So far, it's pretty neat. I volunteer at a private school, so that's definitely an experience.

The only other thing I have to do on Tuesdays is band, and that hardly counts as a class. Granted, it is two hours long, so it takes up a decent chunk of time, but it's fun. I really enjoy playing the French horn in band.

Although, this particular Tuesday I had to turn in a computer science midterm. Luckily, I think I did it right and everything, so it should be fine. I enjoyed doing it, too, except for when I would get ultra-confused about something... blech.

Recently, I've also been watching Smallville. I know, I'm not nearly up-to-date with the shows, but I'm watching the ones I can nonetheless. And besides, Sarah tells me enough about them anyway, it's not that big a deal. :) In any case, I'm enjoying them. Actually, I've found that if I watch any TV show, I'll almost always like it. Same goes for movies. I guess I'm not hard to please. :)