So I'm peacefully sitting at a little desk on campus reading for my classes and taking notes when some annoying little smoochy couple decides that the space right in front of me between said desk and window would be a great place to cuddle up and start a makeout session.
GET A FREAKIN' ROOM! Not only have you now blocked my nice view out the window, but can't you see I'm trying to study!? Your impatience to get a little "somethin somethin" and lack of finding someplace private has ousted me from my peaceful little study desk and now I'm not doing anything productive. I saw a ring on her finger, can't you wait for the wedding night? Seriously, nobody wants to see that. I guarantee nobody else will be occupying that nice little desk while it has a front-row view of THAT performance.
Ugh. Gag me with a spoon.
In other news, I did not get first place in the essay contest, and bitterly lost to an English major (pfft, what's that about?) but I get to pick out a nifty print to hang on my wall, and she doesn't. Ha! I'm kinda glad I didn't get first, because we need some art in our house and I never use my two iPods that I already have anyway.
School is getting busier. The semester is halfway over which happened in the blink of an eye, and thinking about how fast its gone really makes me excited for next semester to just start already, cause I want to finish! Thinking about how many projects and papers I have between now and December 10th is a little intimidating, but I think most of them are spaced enough that I'll be able to handle it. I hope.
Work is work; Myrl is old, Heidi is still deaf, Andy got fired, Jon quit. That's about it in a nutshell.
10.19.2009
10.07.2009
Today is a Good Day.
I'm in a great mood today!
[Interesting cause yesterday I was really grumpy]
But anyway, here's why.
First of all, yesterday I did a really good job on my Spanish test. It's "Civilization and Culture of Spain," so I'm not just learning grammar anymore. I have to use it to learn all about Spain since before the U.S. even existed. Considering that I'm not even very good at American history (and that's in English), this is not my easiest class. It's actually my shortest class (50 minutes compared to 75 for every other one) and it takes the lonnnngest. It takes me forever to get through a chapter if I actually make the effort to understand it, but I forced myself to do a good job for this test, and I'm pretty sure I aced it! I wont get my grade for a few more days, but I only skipped one 2-point question, and I felt really good about all the others. Yay. :) Now I just need to buckle down for the next section...
Second, as of last night I gave up on winning anything for the Victorian art essay contest that I entered, because I was told that we would be informed about that sometime before the award ceremony, which is tomorrow. Since I hadn't gotten any email as of last night, and new the ceremony was soon, I was a little bummed to know that out of only 23 entries, I wasn't even in the top ten! :( I finally stopped hoping that there would be any good news, and when I checked my email this morning, here's what I found:
Congratulations,
You finished in the top ten of the MOA’s Victorian art essay contest. We will be awarding prizes for the top entries on Thursday at 7 p.m. In the Museum of Art Auditorium on the museum’s lower level. We would love to have you there to accept your prize – a certificate that you can redeem for an unframed 21 inch Giclee print from the Museum Store. Thank you so much for your participation in this contest. More than anything, we hope you had a meaningful experience with the Royal Holloway exhibition and the painting you wrote about in particular.
YAY! I've never "placed" in any sort of writing competition before, so I'm happy, and super excited for my free print! 21 inches is pretty dang good, and an $89 value to boot! Definitely couldn't get a print out of pocket for that much, that's for sure. Tomorrow I get to find out where I placed, and I'm going to be very impatient until then. [I'm pretty sure it wont be the iPod-winning first place, but that's ok]
THEN, today after class I got to talk to my mom who had great news- She got a job! If you've kept up with my past posts you know that my parents have both been out of work for a while, so this is very exciting! She will be team teaching a 3rd or 4th grade class of "speakers of English as a second language" or however you say it "politically-correctly" now. I'm happy for her, because she is a fantastic teacher and those kids are super lucky!
Also, I'm feelin' good because I finally figured out a thesis for a paper I have to write for my Northern Renaissance class. ahhh, sigh of relief! I wanted to do something interesting because for my actual thesis (to be written and presented in front of way too many people next semester) we have to expand on a previously written paper and I don't like any of my old ones. It's been frustrating because it seems like every idea I come up with has already been done. Since the first version is due in 2 weeks and I still didn't even have a topic, I was beginning to despair!
But then I came across the painting Death and the Maiden by Hans Baldung Grien and I had it! [Get ready for some Art historian-ness] In the early Renaissance (and kind of always), people were way into images of Christ, Mary, etc. Christ is often shown with all his wounds, from the nail marks in his hands and feet to the gash in his side [and often they are even spouting blood in a lovely, unrealistic arcing stream]. Something else typical of Christ is that his right hand is often shown in a sign of blessing with two fingers held up like this. So what I want to know, is why does Death sport these same symbols in this painting??
Observe. Death is making the blessing symbol with his right hand (same as Christ), there's a gash on his right side (also the same for Christ) where his icky skin decays, and (its hard to see in this pic but I promise its there) he has a hole in his other palm! How weird is that? So, now my job, in about 8-10 pages, is to talk about why the artist did this, because there is no way it was coincidental... And the more I think about it all, the more it seems so obvious! But I will resist going on an art history rampage on my blog, because I know that might not be very interesting to everyone. Let me know if you want to read my paper when its done. ;)
Well, there's a quick glimpse into my life at the moment, hopefully all these good things last and I can actually get my paper done!
Now if only that blasted fly that's been buzzing around here would just GET OUT! yargh!
[Interesting cause yesterday I was really grumpy]
But anyway, here's why.
First of all, yesterday I did a really good job on my Spanish test. It's "Civilization and Culture of Spain," so I'm not just learning grammar anymore. I have to use it to learn all about Spain since before the U.S. even existed. Considering that I'm not even very good at American history (and that's in English), this is not my easiest class. It's actually my shortest class (50 minutes compared to 75 for every other one) and it takes the lonnnngest. It takes me forever to get through a chapter if I actually make the effort to understand it, but I forced myself to do a good job for this test, and I'm pretty sure I aced it! I wont get my grade for a few more days, but I only skipped one 2-point question, and I felt really good about all the others. Yay. :) Now I just need to buckle down for the next section...
Second, as of last night I gave up on winning anything for the Victorian art essay contest that I entered, because I was told that we would be informed about that sometime before the award ceremony, which is tomorrow. Since I hadn't gotten any email as of last night, and new the ceremony was soon, I was a little bummed to know that out of only 23 entries, I wasn't even in the top ten! :( I finally stopped hoping that there would be any good news, and when I checked my email this morning, here's what I found:
Congratulations,
You finished in the top ten of the MOA’s Victorian art essay contest. We will be awarding prizes for the top entries on Thursday at 7 p.m. In the Museum of Art Auditorium on the museum’s lower level. We would love to have you there to accept your prize – a certificate that you can redeem for an unframed 21 inch Giclee print from the Museum Store. Thank you so much for your participation in this contest. More than anything, we hope you had a meaningful experience with the Royal Holloway exhibition and the painting you wrote about in particular.
YAY! I've never "placed" in any sort of writing competition before, so I'm happy, and super excited for my free print! 21 inches is pretty dang good, and an $89 value to boot! Definitely couldn't get a print out of pocket for that much, that's for sure. Tomorrow I get to find out where I placed, and I'm going to be very impatient until then. [I'm pretty sure it wont be the iPod-winning first place, but that's ok]
THEN, today after class I got to talk to my mom who had great news- She got a job! If you've kept up with my past posts you know that my parents have both been out of work for a while, so this is very exciting! She will be team teaching a 3rd or 4th grade class of "speakers of English as a second language" or however you say it "politically-correctly" now. I'm happy for her, because she is a fantastic teacher and those kids are super lucky!
Also, I'm feelin' good because I finally figured out a thesis for a paper I have to write for my Northern Renaissance class. ahhh, sigh of relief! I wanted to do something interesting because for my actual thesis (to be written and presented in front of way too many people next semester) we have to expand on a previously written paper and I don't like any of my old ones. It's been frustrating because it seems like every idea I come up with has already been done. Since the first version is due in 2 weeks and I still didn't even have a topic, I was beginning to despair!
But then I came across the painting Death and the Maiden by Hans Baldung Grien and I had it! [Get ready for some Art historian-ness] In the early Renaissance (and kind of always), people were way into images of Christ, Mary, etc. Christ is often shown with all his wounds, from the nail marks in his hands and feet to the gash in his side [and often they are even spouting blood in a lovely, unrealistic arcing stream]. Something else typical of Christ is that his right hand is often shown in a sign of blessing with two fingers held up like this. So what I want to know, is why does Death sport these same symbols in this painting??
Observe. Death is making the blessing symbol with his right hand (same as Christ), there's a gash on his right side (also the same for Christ) where his icky skin decays, and (its hard to see in this pic but I promise its there) he has a hole in his other palm! How weird is that? So, now my job, in about 8-10 pages, is to talk about why the artist did this, because there is no way it was coincidental... And the more I think about it all, the more it seems so obvious! But I will resist going on an art history rampage on my blog, because I know that might not be very interesting to everyone. Let me know if you want to read my paper when its done. ;)
Well, there's a quick glimpse into my life at the moment, hopefully all these good things last and I can actually get my paper done!
Now if only that blasted fly that's been buzzing around here would just GET OUT! yargh!
10.02.2009
Molly Case
Last Sunday night, a girl named Molly Case was killed in a tragic gun accident in Springville, Utah.
Molly worked in the bakery at my grocery store.
When you watch the news and hear of these things it doesn't really feel important or like it matters, because its never anything that involves you. This one hit a little too close to home.
When I first heard, I held everything in, left school early, and just took a two hour nap to avoid thinking at all. I thought I was better when I woke up. I tried not to think about it.
But then I talked to one of my friends who also works in the bakery and knew Molly a lot better than I did, and I couldn't avoid it anymore.
We were sad together, and we remembered Molly and how sweet and kind she always was to everyone. We talked about her husband Rich, and how sad we were for him, and how the bakery was going to be quite gloomy for a while. After talking to her, I couldn't hold back anymore.
Nate was at work, so I called my mom and broke down crying.
I cried for Molly's family and friends, but mostly for her poor young husband. I also cried because of the realization of the reality of death.
The suddenness of the accident is a reminder that anything can happen, and we don't know what lies in our future. I know people always say these things when there has been a death, but its because they are true. I don't know if one day Nate will get hurt and not come home to me. I don't know how much time I'll get to have with him in this life. I don't know when I will die. Anything can happen, so I want to make sure to do my best to cherish every minute I have with my loved ones, so I wont feel regret when/if something ever does happen.
I hope I can live the way Molly and Rich did, always happy and loving every minute they had together. I don't really know her husband, but whenever I saw them you could see that they adored each other, and they never took each other for granted.
Molly is in a better place, and I believe she was taken because Heavenly Father has something else for her to do right now on the other side, and I know that she will be there waiting for Rich when its his time too. Families can be together after death, and this is something I know and cherish with all my heart.
Molly worked in the bakery at my grocery store.
When you watch the news and hear of these things it doesn't really feel important or like it matters, because its never anything that involves you. This one hit a little too close to home.
When I first heard, I held everything in, left school early, and just took a two hour nap to avoid thinking at all. I thought I was better when I woke up. I tried not to think about it.
But then I talked to one of my friends who also works in the bakery and knew Molly a lot better than I did, and I couldn't avoid it anymore.
We were sad together, and we remembered Molly and how sweet and kind she always was to everyone. We talked about her husband Rich, and how sad we were for him, and how the bakery was going to be quite gloomy for a while. After talking to her, I couldn't hold back anymore.
Nate was at work, so I called my mom and broke down crying.
I cried for Molly's family and friends, but mostly for her poor young husband. I also cried because of the realization of the reality of death.
The suddenness of the accident is a reminder that anything can happen, and we don't know what lies in our future. I know people always say these things when there has been a death, but its because they are true. I don't know if one day Nate will get hurt and not come home to me. I don't know how much time I'll get to have with him in this life. I don't know when I will die. Anything can happen, so I want to make sure to do my best to cherish every minute I have with my loved ones, so I wont feel regret when/if something ever does happen.
I hope I can live the way Molly and Rich did, always happy and loving every minute they had together. I don't really know her husband, but whenever I saw them you could see that they adored each other, and they never took each other for granted.
Molly is in a better place, and I believe she was taken because Heavenly Father has something else for her to do right now on the other side, and I know that she will be there waiting for Rich when its his time too. Families can be together after death, and this is something I know and cherish with all my heart.
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