Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Phone Drama

So, Monday... well, Monday wasn't the best day of all. After all of my classes, I came back to my dorm room and sat down at my computer, as usual. And my phone was in the charger still, even though it was fully charged. So, I'm just sitting there, and I accidentally hit the cable with my foot. It pulls the phone off of my desk, and falls to the ground. Normally, I don't think this would've been the most horrible thing ever, but the poor thing had already been damaged for several months. As soon as it hit the ground, it just busted. Broke clean in half. I think I was probably a bit stressed or overwhelmed already, given that finals are just barely around the corner, etc. So I pick up my phone, try and put it back together, but it just doesn't work anymore, and finally start crying. I'd just had enough. I tried to keep my composure, but it just didn't work too well. I just broke down. And then I tried using our dorm room phone, and I couldn't figure it out, for some reason, no matter how hard I tried. (Turns out it can't make long-distance calls without a calling card or something.) I suddenly felt so cut off from a lot of people. It was pretty lousy.

So then, yesterday, Jeffrey and I went to a Sprint store to exchange my now completely broken phone (although I put it together so it looked like it was still whole, though I have no clue if that actually made a difference) for a new phone, since the contract that goes for every two years was up (this month, conveniently), and I was able to exchange phones for free or cheap, depending on the new phone. So I picked a nice phone that was free, and was able to transfer over my old phone numbers. And now I'm in love with my new phone. It's just beautiful. And has a camera. It's a very lovely phone. Granted, I still have an attachment to my old broken one. After all we've been through... we just have this bond. I know, with a phone. I can't bring myself to throw it away. So, I still have my old one, just for good times, and I now have this sweet new one. So, it all worked out well enough.

I took my physical science exam last night. Which was odd, because our finals don't really start until Monday of next week. But hey, I'm not going to complain. I think it's a good thing - now I don't have to worry about studying for that final while I'm studying for all of my other ones. I ended up getting an 83% on it (without the few points for the short answer part at the end, but I don't know how much that counts for). Which is... meh. *shrug* I would've really liked for it to have been better, but I guess it could've been considerably worse, too. So... meh. I don't know exactly what I have for a final grade in there, but I'm estimating that it's either a B or a B+. Since I don't think I managed an A- (sad), I'm hoping for that B+. Better than the former, I suppose.

Today was also my last day of classes. Tomorrow is the official last day, but I don't have any classes. Good. Times. So, now that all of my classes are over, I get to look forward to next week, a fun-filled final exam-fest. Yay. I'll just be really happy when it's over. And then I'll go home... and have my birthday... and Christmas... and be with my family... and see my friends... yayness all over the place. And I think there's a pretty good chance of working mostly box office at work when I get back, so that is most definitely a good thing. Much more tolerable than working concession, especially when it's busy, and especially on Christmas.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Let It Snow!

Today I woke up, looked out the window, and lo and behold, snow! Apparently it hadn't been snowing for too terribly long, 'cause there wasn't a whole lot on the ground yet, but it was snowing anyway! The walkways were mostly slushy, though. You take a step and the slush-snow bursts out from under your foot. Kind of exciting to watch, actually. So, anyway, I went to my private lesson this morning. Which, I can only assume, is my last lesson of the semester. Saying as the last day of class is this Thursday. Yay! The only thing is, I have a recital on Monday... blech. Not looking forward to that. Definitely. Not.

After my lesson, I stopped by the bookstore once more... no, I didn't go crazy with buying things... :P I just needed to pick up something for Rachel. But as I was leaving my lesson, the snowflakes were so huge! I swear, some of them were as big as my thumb! It kept slowing down, to the point where I thought it'd stop snowing, and then it'd just start snowing like crazy. So... yeah. Crazy. I am so not used to this. :P

Other than the awe-inducing amounts of snowfall today, not much has been going on. Oh, but I did get a package from Rachel (Hay)! That was really good times. She sent me a CD that contained a mix of all her favorite songs by Michael Buble. And he's actually pretty good. I like it. Heck, I like all music. So this was great. :) Not to mention I absolutely love getting mail. It's just wonderful. Definitely a day-maker.

This afternoon our ward met to go to Temple Square, watch a Joseph Smith movie, and walk the temple grounds. We were all going to take two charter buses to get there. But the second one apparently got lost or something. So the stragglers that had been waiting on the second one, myself and Sarah included, headed back inside. Supposedly the next bus would be there in about twenty minutes. Everyone was just hanging out for a while in the lobby. So Sarah and I just chilled for a bit in our room, and after about twenty minutes, we ventured outside again. As we passed the lobby, nobody was there. We stepped outside, and no one was there, either. Cravitz. After looking for maybe a minute, we determined that we had been left behind. Which wasn't a big deal in retrospect, because it was just a "come if you want to" kind of thing. But still, I think I would've enjoyed it. Ah, well... I'll get over it.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Race to the Finish

...and by the way, I did not intentionally copy Rachel's blog title for this one. Just a happy coincidence. :)

So, I got my computer science midterm back on Wednesday. Sad, sad day. It basically killed me, and then brought me back to life, just to kill me again. Yeah... it's pretty sad, when you think about it... these midterms are supposed to be a measure of how well you're doing when you're on your own, and that just goes to show... that I'm apparently not doing well by myself. I'm just really hoping that I'll be able to get a grip on the final.

So, the other day, I don't remember which one :P, I went to the BYU Bookstore to start my Christmas shopping. I have Chanelle's name for Christmas, which means that whatever present I get for her is supposed to be bigger/more expensive. Everyone else just gets normal presents. But, since I didn't come across anything big or expensive that I thought would be good for Chanelle, I decided to just buy her several smaller things that added up. And then I bough presents for everyone else. Well, nearly everyone else, anyway. And then I went Christmas shopping again today, to get a few more things for other people, and... yikes. Buying gifts for so many people adds up fast. Over $100. If I were an only child, I wouldn't be spending so much money. :P Aw, but I love my family. And it makes me happy to buy presents for them.

And now I can't wait until Christmas. And my birthday. Same diff. :P It'll be so fun. I can't wait to be home for it all. Except... I can definitely wait to go back to work for the holidays. Blech. I wish people didn't feel the need to see so many movies on Christmas day. C'mon, guys, really. Be with your family, enjoy your presents... I don't care. Just don't bother me. :P

Classes are coming to an end so quickly! Our last day of class is this coming Thursday. Which is actually awesome, because I don't have anything that day, so Wednesday is my last day. Potentially I could use Thursday to get a good head start on my cramming... er... studying, but... we'll just see that goes. Hopefully I'll study at least a little.

Last night, I was really looking forward to having Hawaiian haystacks for dinner, mmm..., but lo and behold, last night was a themed night, based on the Polar Express. And even though it wasn't terrible, and it definitely could've been worse... dinner wasn't all that spectacular. Bummer. I really wanted Hawaiian haystacks. I guess I'll have to wait until next week. *sigh* Oh well. :P

And speaking of TV, which I obviously wasn't, I'm going to go and watch some more Smallville. I'm almost on Season 4. And I'll eat yummily-delicious popcorn. Mmm... when my family came up here for Thanksgiving, my mom gave me a whole bunch of popcorn. Absolutely wonderful.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

After-Thanksgiving Lethargy...

...as in, I was really slow on getting another update. So, like I was saying before, Thanksgiving was lots of fun. I love being with my family. And still having access to my laptop. :) But it was hard to separate when we left, as I expected. Sad, sad day. I was faintly hoping that I'd be able to not cry, but of course I did. The good news was, I knew I'd get to go home and be with them in less than a month.

Speaking of going home! Especially since now it's December 4th, going home is drawing ever nearer. Not as near as it is for Alex and Rachel, but I can live with that. :) I can't believe the end of the semester is so close. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be taking most of these classes for much longer, but it did seem to go by pretty fast. The big downside to all of this is that it also means all of my final exams are really close as well... but... I try not to think about it. I can't wait to be home with my family, see the rest of my friends again... oh, good, good times...

So, I get back from Thanksgiving break on Saturday morning. And I don't have my ID with me to get inside the building if it's locked, but luckily enough, it isn't locked. Sarah's already gone for marching band, because there's a football game that day. And not just any football game - BYU vs Utah, a huge rivalry. Everyone and their brother was going to the game. So, I decided to sell my ticket. Facebook can do wonders. I put up an ad for my ticket to the game in the Marketplace section, and sure enough, it worked. It did take some time... but I managed to sell it. So I got out to meet this guy by the stadium, and we exchange money and ticket. Now we're both better off with this exchange. That's the market system in action, for you. :P Anyway, so I trudge on back to the dorm room, and lo and behold, it's locked. What the cravitz? I didn't bring my ID with me to get in, because I got in this morning at like 9:30, and now it's like 12:45. What... the heck. I try all of the doors, unhopefully, and they're all locked, of course. So I go back to the door right outside of the lobby and start banging on the door. If there's anyone in there, which there usually is, they'll hear me. But... since it's right after Thanksgiving and tons of people aren't back yet, and the people who are are probably at the game or something, of course there's no one there. And I have no way to get inside. Trevin's at the game, so I can't crash with him. At least I have my cell phone, so I try calling Jeffrey. I call a few times... but each time, no answer. For the freakin' love. I had pretty much had it by now, and I was just about ready to really break down. So I decide to start walking to Jeffrey's place anyway. They usually leave it unlocked. I just hoped I wouldn't get lost. Luckily, I remembered how to get there. Thanks to the boring grid system they use for streets in Utah, and the sun for direction. I managed to walk to their house, after probably about half an hour, and they do happen to be home. Phew. So I got to play their Wii for a little while, and then I went shopping with them. Some Christmas decorations... and then we got some food. Mmm... and when we got back to their house, a couple of Debbie's friends came over, and we ate the food. Just delicious. After that, Sarah texted me back, saying the game was over and she was home. So, I decided to go ahead and start walking back home. But, try as I might, Debbie wouldn't have it. So I waited until Jeffrey was back again, and he gave me a ride. And all was well again. Oh, and we won the game. In your face, Utah. Go cougars. :D

Okay... yeah. If anyone reading this is like me, huge paragraphs = less desire to read. Sorry 'bout that. Oh well. *shrug* After that, normal college life ensued. Except that my iClicker that I use for physical science decided to stop working. Or so I thought. I tried changing the batteries, but no luck. It seemed to have just stopped working altogether. Which was sucking, because now I was missing all of the questions in class, and I would be getting all of them right, so far. I finally take it in to the BYU Bookstore, and they reveal to me that there's three batteries in it, and all along I thought there were just two. And, now I feel stupid. So, I change the third battery as well, and now it works perfectly fine. *sigh* Well, at least it works now.

Oh, and when we got back from break, we got our last computer science midterm. And... I pretty much did horribly. First of all, I didn't finish it by the deadline, so it was already a day late. And one late day on a midterm costs 20 points. For the absolute love. So I keep working on it, and the next day's deadline rolls around, and I still don't have the stupid thing finished. I was further along at this point than I was before, but I still just can't figure the darn thing out. But I decide that getting the points taken off for what I didn't finish would hopefully not be as bad as getting yet another late day. But still... I pretty much bombed it. Before, I thought I'd be able to get an A in the class. Now... definitely not. Provided the final exam isn't as killer as this one was, I might still be able to pull of an A-. We'll just have to see. :\

Let's see... what else? My last day to volunteer for TOPS was last Tuesday. Aw... as much as I've been looking forward to it ending and being able to sleep in on Tuesdays, I was sad to leave for the last time... :( So I've considered volunteering more next semester. We'll just have to see. I don't even know yet how that'd fit into my schedule if I did decide to do it. So... yes. We'll see.

The good news is, our last concert in band was pretty much the end of band. We did meet last Tuesday, though we met later than usual, because apparently BYU is searching for a new Director of Bands, and our band is the guinea pig to see how they do. And we meet one more time for that, on the 11th. Other than those, Tuesdays don't have anything at all anymore. And Thursdays just have my American Heritage lab. Unfortunately the semester is almost over, but at least I enjoy it for a little while.

Oh, and it snowed last Friday night/Saturday morning! A lot! It snowed so much on Saturday... good times. That morning, Sarah and I went outside in the snow. We made a snowman, named it Tristen, made snow angels... good times. I love snow. Probably because I'm so unaccustomed to it, back in Texas. We normally get like, one snow day a year. And half the time it isn't actually snow, it's more like ice. Sometimes we really do just have an ice day. :P So I'm going to have to get used to the idea that there's going to be a considerable amount of snow in the winter here. :) Yay!

Now that I can't think of anything else of much importance, I'll go ahead and end this. If I think of more, maybe I'll remember to add it to my next entry. Maybe. And by the way, David and Sammy, Ashton is dang cute! I can't wait to see him sometime!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Thanksgiving Joy

Okay... yeah... I haven't updated this thing in quite some time. I really keep meaning to, with everything that goes on, but I just don't get around to it for some reason. Oops. My bad. So, I guess I'll try to fill in the gist of what I've missed posting.

I've had a couple of tests. Let's see... since I really don't remember what tests I have and haven't mentioned... my American Heritage test did end up curving to a C, I believe. And I have a C in the class. So much cravitz. I'm really hoping that I can get at least a B- in the class. C's are just so... blech. I got a freakin' 62% on my Book of Mormon test. Suck! I thought I knew the material at least a tiny bit better than the last test, but I think I got 80% on that one. What the heck happened?? And that class only has three grades - midterm 1, midterm 2, and the final. There is an extra credit thing that I did, but who knows how much that's going to help. Freakin' dumb. I hate it. And then I also had another physical science test. Which, I know, I hadn't been keeping up completely with the reading, but I was paying attention in class (well, as best I could when I wasn't falling asleep), and taking notes and everything... and just because I didn't read the material before the coinciding class period doesn't mean that I didn't read it at all. I did go back and read. And even during the test, usually you can tell what the gist of the outcome is going to be, because you do or don't know the stuff well enough. So here I am taking the test, and even until the end of it, I thought I might get an A again, or possibly a B... but no... I got 67%. What the freaking cravitz?! Getting that, after failing my Book of Mormon test, was only slightly disheartening. And by slightly, I mean like, really depressing. I thought I was being better in my classes than the beginning of the year, but I just keep getting worse. What the freakin' heck. The good thing was, a few days ago I took a music test. Those always make me feel better, 'cause that's an easy class. I go to class, pay attention, listen to the selected music just before the test, and everything's fine. So I got a 98%. Yeah! Woot! *dances* Really, really made my day better.

Okay, so, enough about my grades. I'd rather not think about them that much anyway. I had a concert the other night. Last Thursday, the one before Thanksgiving. We played... eight pieces, I think. And two of them had four movements. It was a long concert. Definitely different than high school concerts. :P I really liked most of our music. Actually, probably all of it. Some things were just better than others. Like, in the second and fourth movements of the first piece, there were these awesome horn rips... like, to a high G (and some to a high A). Pretty much the best parts of that whole piece. I love it. And the Dixie Land Band was pretty awesome. I just love listening to them play. Which is a good thing, because after we finished the piece that they played with us, they just went ahead and played something of their own, and I swear, it never ended... well, okay, obviously it did, but it seemed really long. But they were really cool. And then there was the last piece. Oh, yes... Zion. What Jami likes to refer to as Chop Killer. And she has fourth part. Mine, third part, was pretty much death. Second worse, next to first part, in my opinion. I feel for them, because by the end of the piece, I could hardly play. In fact, I literally barely held on long enough for the piece to end. Hard stuff. But I do really like the piece. It just takes a lot. And we played it last. Great... so we had alreay been playing probably for more than an hour. My lips... so tired...

I've also finally registered for my schedule for next semester. It's now set in stone, so there's no more of this, well here's what I'm planning to do next semester, this is what I'm hoping I'll get... so, my schedule next semster is as follows:

Monday
8:00-8:50 Econ
9:00-9:50 English
10:00-10:50 Book of Mormon (part 2)
12:00-12:50 Psychology

Tuesday
9:00-9:50 Beginning Jazz Dance
1:00-2:50 Band
3:00-3:50 Trigonometry

Wednesday
8:00-8:50 Econ
9:00-9:50 English
10:00-10:50 Book of Mormon (part 2)
12:00-12:50 Psychology
7:00-9:30 Careers in Music Ed

Thursday
9:00-9:50 Beginning Jazz Dance
1:00-2:50 Band
3:00-3:50 Trigonometry

Friday
8:00-8:50 Econ
9:00-9:50 English
12:00-12:50 Psychology

And then I'll probably have private lessons on Saturday. And I'm taking an online health course, which shouldn't be too hard.

And then Sarah left the next day, Friday. And came back on Sunday. So I was Sarah-less for the weekend. She left for her brother's (Mark's) wedding. Aw, good times. That was a lonely, boring weekend, though. However, I did watch some movies that were being shown on TV. Titanic a couple of times, Enough a couple of times, A Walk to Remember... oh, good times. That's a sweet movie. Like, in a tender way. Oh, and I also had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Jeffrey and Debbie's house on Sunday evening. It was really crowded for their little place. But it was good food. They had turkey and mashed potatoes, of course. And I don't remember what else, 'cause that's probably all that I had. And then I had some chocolate pie. That was also pretty good stuff.

Tuesday was fantastically a Friday. Had all of Friday's classes. So I liked to think of it as a Friday, with several Saturdays that come afterwards. Good. Times. And Sarah and I went to computer science at 9:00, since our schedules allowed it. So we were finished with classes by 11:00. Whoo! Aweseomeness. And then my family came to visit a few hours later. We met them at the BYU Bookstore. Really good times! Oh, and Chanelle got her hair cut, so it's cute and short. She looks adorable! Then we went shopping for a while, for shirts and hoodies and stuff. That... took a long time. And I didn't really get anything, so it seemed even longer. But I was with my family! Really good times! And then we went and had some ice cream. Well, my mom, Cody, and I had hot chocolate. Mmm... good stuff. Hot at first, but yummy. Oh, yeah, we also met up with our cousins in the bookstore after a while. And then, after visiting the dorms and everything, we headed off to my grandparents' house. We've been here since Tuesday. Jeffrey and Debbie came on Wednesday, I believe. And we're having good times together. Thanksgiving dinner last night. Mmm... I pretty much just had turkey and mashed potatoes. So... yummy... yeah, delicious. I also had a cinnamon roll and an orange roll. The cinnamon rolls... are absolutely delightful. Thanksgiving dinner's great.

And apparently, this morning Sammy had her baby! Aww! So exciting! And at least she waited until after Thanksgiving dinner, right? He was born at 6:55 this morning. 19 inches long. 7 pounds, 11 ounces. And probably one of the cutest little guys ever, though I haven't seen him yet. His name is Ashton. Ashton David Jacobson. Aw... isn't it cute? I like the name, anyway. So now I'm an aunt! I'll bet he's just adorable... though, to be honest, I was rooting for a December birthday, like mine. But I guess I'll let it go. Besides, David and Sammy did want him to come sooner than that. :P November 23, 2007. Oh, kind of weird. Never lived in the 1900s! Poor guy. He's missing out. :) Anyway... yeah, I'm excited about that. Good times all around. And congrats, Sammy and David! Everyone's so happy for you! :D

Friday, November 9, 2007

Change is Inevitable...

Ahh... this morning was somewhat on the depressing side, for some reason. I just felt so annoyed and angry at the world. It's hard to say exactly why. However, my day did improve.

During my break between Physical Science and Music 101, I decided to head over to the BYU Bookstore. It's always fun to just look around. Although, sometimes it really makes me want to buy stuff. Luckily, I almost never carry around money with me. I often see cool books I'd like to get, or I wander into the place where they have a bunch of board games and things... speaking of which, today I found a Nintendo Monopoly game. Wow, that'd be really fun to have. It even has cool little Nintendo figures... forget that dog everyone wants to be, there's Link's shield, a classic Nintendo controller... ah, good times. Thing is, I don't play Monopoly nearly enough to pay the $36 it asked for on the sticker. But, I enjoyed looking anyway.

After lunch... oh, actually, speaking of lunch... for at least the past two days, the food selection in the cafeteria has been less than satisfactory. At least for me. I can manage with some of the foods, but they haven't lately had something that looks really good, like they often do, out of all the choices. But... I'll get over it. Eventually, they'll have something delicious again. :P

So, after that... Oh, I got a letter from Rachel in the mail today! Really good times... there's just nothing quite like getting a letter in the mail (something other than junk). It just made my day brighter. Except... actually, the letter did draw tears from my eyes. I realized, once again, that things will never be the same. Ever again. I'll never be able to go back to high school. Never be able to do all those things we did together in high school. As great as it was to move on, I think I took some things for granted. And I can only assume that things are going to keep on changing. People will change. I will change. And there's no going back. It really makes me sad to think about. I guess I'm one of those people that isn't particularly fond of change. Change just makes me look back at the past, and think about how it'll never be the same. And as much as I'd like to, I'll never have that time back. I suppose the better thing to do would be to move on, and look forward, to the future, but... *sigh* Okay, stop making yourself feel depressed again, Ashley. Really, it was a fabulous letter. I loved it. :D

Oh, and I think I may feel a cold coming on. I can only hope I'm wrong. Probably all Sarah's fault. [/teasing]

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Go Team!

Well, yesterday I woke up and thought it was Friday. Shoot... I do things like that all the time. I swear, I can hardly ever get the day of the week right. :P Anyway, classes were nothing special. Same ol', same ol'. So, nothing really to talk about there. Last night I also went to a concert. Dr. Hinckley, my Music 101 professor, was in it. He plays clarinet. Really well. He is the clarinet instructor, after all. And he was accompanied by piano. It was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, today was one of those lonely days - emotionally, at least. School-wise, though, today was great. The usual Thursday classes - two hours of band followed by American Heritage lab. Normally I have to catch up on the reading material in the morning before I go to the lab, but today we got full credit on the quiz just for going to class. Which I knew beforehand. So... I woke up at the same time as Sarah to shower, then went back to sleep while she did homework. It might seem weird to do that, but often when I get up by myself to shower, I'm scared the whole time. Apparently somehow just knowing that she's in another shower makes it a little better. Stupid fear of... everything. Anyway, so I got up and showered. Then went back to sleep. Then had breakfast with Sarah, then tried to go back to sleep again. I think I did, eventually. Which most likely means I did. :) Then we had lunch. And then I considered going back to sleep. But I didn't. Regardless, it was a good, sleep-y morning.

Band was fun today. I always like band, but today the Dixieland Band played with us, 'cause we're playing this Dixieland Concerto thing. It consists of piano, a drumset, a clarinet, a trombone, and a trumpet. And the piece is like, jazzy solo mania for them. My part is boring to the max, but I could just sit there and listen to them play it all day. Er... maybe not all day. Whatever. It was cool-sounding.

Then there was another football game tonight, against TCU. On a Thursday night... and no, I did not go. But we did win. 27-22, or something like that. Although, the Allen team also had a game tonight, against Plano East. It was actually broadcast on TV, but unfortunately, we don't get that chanel on the BYU network. :( But Rachel kept me filled in, and the end score was 63-35, I believe. Go us! We're goin' to the playoffs! And apparently they said on TV that we wouldn't be playing Southlake this year. Holy freakin' cravitz!!! That... is... I mean, it figures something like that'd happen right when I get out of high school. For the love. On the other hand, that'd mean we actually have a shot at state this year. And I think the first game at state would be on like... the 22nd of December. It might be a game that I could actually go to! Whooooo! I've always wanted to be able to come back for a visit at one of the Allen football games, but never thought it'd be possible, being up here at BYU. And that's my birthday. What a great present that'd be. :D