Almost Done! (sort of)

I got my graduation papers signed today! As of December I will officially have an accounting degree! Now if I can just make sure and pass all my classes decently this term...... I'm hoping to pull my GPA up a little bit if I can, but I realized that most of my classes are pretty steep classes so I guess I'll just see how it goes.

Good-bye Summer

Wow I can't believe that summer is over. Part of me thinks that it has dragged on like a neverending bad movie, then part of me feels that it seems only yesterday that school was getting out and I was wondering what to do with myself for the next three months.
Anyway, wow what a summer it has been! The first part was terrible, I got some sort of nasty virus or something for a few weeks. Then the middle part wasn't so great, because by the time I got to feeling better the high school was out and there were no job openings (not that there were that many to start with). Plus most all of my friends had moved away--or are married and moving on with their lives and new families.
Then the last few weeks since my birthday have been pretty good. I've had some good friends around who have made all the difference. I got to go play and explore like never before and it has been great. Now if I could only find a job to get me through the school year.

2009

Lately I feel as though I've been born in the wrong century. I find myself growing tired of electronic communications and texting and facebook and IM etc. I am tired of this fast paced world in which we all live where people rarely take time to just sit down and talk to one another. This doesn't often create long lasting relationships and bonds that carry over for years and years (anyone seen the divorce rates recently). I wish that we still would visit with one another like people did 50 years ago on a regular basis.

Angels Landing at Zions park

Angels Landing in the distance.

The path up the mountain. This is a pretty steep hike.



The switchbacks- aka Walters wiggles.
Just taking a little break after the terrifying ridge......... it was scary, really scary.



And at last! The view from the rop of Angels landing!

Fun in the Summertime!

This is a place called Hidden Canyon, one of the seriously underappreciated places in Zions national park.


SUU library in the summer.

My Technology Rant

Lately I am becoming more and more anti-technology. Cell phones, texting, IM, facebook, myspace all that stuff.

To begin with, texting. I find more and more that it frustrates me when someone tries to carry on a conversation with me purely through texting. I mean, texts are incredibly convenient when you have a quick question such as how is the weather or what time should we meet at or something, but to try and work out details for an activity or some such nonsense is just plain ridiculous. I thought that these things were supposed to make my life easier- so why is it so much more complicated? Bottom line here, if you are trying to iron out details or have a serious conversation with me through texts, I will pick up my phone and call you so that we can solve in a 10-15 minute conversation what would take over a dozen texts and still not be resolved..

IM, better but still not the same as a face to face conversation. Not a lot to say on that one, I use facebook chat frequently.

Cell phones, no one can need to talk to me so badly that it can't wait the 20 minutes until class or church are through. Cell phones are great, yes I have one and yes I use it frequently (to text as well!) but there is a time and place. I think cell phones are almost necessary if you travel a lot or long distances, don't be caught with a dead battery! But really, do I need to carry it everywhere I go? This is not meant to offend anyone, simply observations about myself and others that I've noticed.

Face to face conversations are the best--not every single time you need to tell someone something, sometimes a text or phone call is more appropriate. However, if you want to have a serious relationship (of any kind, not just romantic) you have be able to communicate through something more than just electronic devices. It is easier to communicate because you can read the other person's facial expressions and body language. Non verbal communication can change the whole mood or swing of a conversation. This is something that is lacking in IM, texts and even phone calls.

To try and wrap up this long post (if you're even still reading it, ha ha) I'm not entirely anti technology, just anti how dependent we as a society are becoming on electronic communications becoming the only way we relate to each other. Sometimes just sitting around on the porch or roof on a nice day shooting away at the breeze is one of the best ways to establish long lasting relationships and understanding with one another.

Snow Canyon!

I think that Snow canyon state park is one of my favorite places to go play. I've only been once, but it was great! For starters, there were awesome lava rocks.....

Great climbing potential. The petrified dunes make perfect little steps for climbing steep hills.

Real Problem

The solution to the welfare problem is not to give people more money. Although welfare payments are hardly enough to live on, to increase these payments is not the answer. The main problem is that many (not all) people on welfare are third or fourth generation recipients and have never been taught how to properly handle money. This is where the real problem comes in, what the government should be doing with our tax dollars is educating people on budgeting. If no one ever shows you how to do something, odds are that you will never learn how to do it. Once people are educated on how to properly budget and save then give them money and help them find jobs. To put more money in the hands of those who don't know how to use it is a waste.

Now don't think that I'm unsympathetic, sometimes life happens and everyone needs helping hand every now and then, that's fine. But I see so many people who just don't care and even expect the government to take care of them and are now screaming for more money! Why should I work more hours and several jobs so that these people can sit around and do nothing with their lives? It's the attitude that gets to me and makes me so upset. And what about the people who are going through a rough time and are simply looking for a short term solution? They aren't going to get the financing they need to get out because resources are so stretched. The system we have makes it entirely too easy to get caught in a trap.

What the government should do is outline the national welfare system after the LDS church welfare program. The church helps people get education and job training-- giving them a hand up rather than a hand out. This would certainly not solve all the problems, not by a long shot-- but at least it would be a start.

Content

Somewhere in the middle of this crazy world we live in there is sometimes a random moment in which life is just content. There are no more papers to be typed, no job to rush off to, no dramas, no calculus or stats homework to stress over and for that split second in time life is just good.

There will be plenty of days and nights to stress out over all the cares of the world and sometimes it's just nice to be happy in the present moment between storms which have passed and ones which will undoubtedly come.

Tag

What is there to do at 1 am when sleep can't be found-- apparently blogging. A friend of mine on facebook the other day tagged me in one of those random list 5 things yada yada........ and I wasn't going to do it but since it's one in the morning and I can't sleep I figured why not.

5 Pet Peeves/Annoyances
1. insomnia
2. at the moment the neighbors downstairs are being rather annoying (loud music and all)
3. guys who won't commit
4. guys who flirt with you but aren't really interested
5. apparently guys frustrate me a lot lately..... hmmm....

5 Things that scare you
1. right now, SUU's campus (3 rapes in the past week-- yeah, so not going out jogging at night anymore)
2. any kind of devil worship "game" or anything absolutely terrifies me
3. power outages kinda do, depends on where I am and who I'm with
4. gas station bathrooms
5. math tests

5 things that make you happy
1. good friends
2. getting good grades
3. learning new things
4. stargazing, or telescopes
5. rainbows, thunderstorms, flowers, cholocolate

5 Random Things about yourself
1. I've been to the hospital twice in the last year for ulcer problems
2. I'm part Irish, and have the temper to prove it
3. In the past 5 years I have lived in 8 different places and 5 different wards (I just picked a ward to stay in after my 4th move) but I absolutely hate packing and moving.
4. I once (and only once) slept through a final.
5. I can't believe I stayed up until after 1 am doing this random tagging thingy.

I think that people often underestimate the power of themselves. we never truly know when a kind word really can uplift someone else. By the same token, we never know when an unkind word or act will really tear someone else apart.
As friends it seems that we underestimate how much we can really help someone to feel better if we would just take the time. I know we all hear stories like "I stopped to help someone pick up their books which had fallen.................. and at graduation they told me that day that they were going home to kill themselves and didn't because now they knew someone cared....." and maybe these stories do seem a little unrealistic, but lets face it, we really do have in our possession the power to help those around us and make their lives better before it reaches that point. So why do so few people take the time to do so? All it takes is a hi I was thinking about you today or a smile to a stranger. Yes this seems cheesy etc, but look at it this way, what harm can it do? It only takes a moment to say hi or send someone a text just to say hi, even less time to smile at someone. Really, it won't kill anyone to take five minutes out of their lives to do a kind act but it may truly make someone who is suffering feel better-- so isn't it worth it; isn't that person worth even five minutes of time??