Possibly Insightful Ramblings

You know those days that are just so great that you would relive them over and over if you could? This past Wednesday was definitely one of those. For one thing, it was my best friend's 21st birthday. Which means partying and Swedish apple pie. And celebrating how awesome Megan is. Good times. Second, it was a Wednesday, which meant there was a distinct possibility that my mission call would come. When I saw the mail truck outside my apartment building, I was seized with an intense excitement. I jumped around and searched everywhere for the mailman. I think he must have delivered mail to several other buildings before he reached mine. I was dying. When the mailman finally reached my building, I ran downstairs with my roommate and family who had been up that afternoon. We stood by the mailman, who calmly finished putting advertisements in the boxes. Finally, he finished and asked "All right, which one of you is it?" Third, my call actually did come! The mailman pulle...

Remember my little friend Skunky the ninja ? Well there is another animal in the depths of the Bean Museum that always brings joy to my heart. I've affectionately named him Gandalf. I think any Balrog would stop at the sight of this little guy.

In case it wasn't already official, it has now been verified - I am a nerd. I'm taking physiology right now, which is possibly the coolest class I have ever had. My roommates can attest that I get so excited about physiological concepts that they sometimes receive unsolicited explanations of how NSAIDs work or why the heart can never have tetanus. (If the concept is particularly exciting, it may be the first thing I tell a roommate in the morning, obviously preempting "good morning.") The past couple days, my studies have focused on the heart. As I sat the other night looking at a diagram of the phases of a heartbeat, trying to remember exactly what was going on in the process, I could almost hear my heart speak to me (not in a love-sick type of way, or the like the normal heart sounds at the closing of the valves, but actual words) - "The whole 24 hours you've been trying to figure that out, I've been sitting here in your chest doing it. Several thousa...

Just sayin'. I love being able to spend time with family and listen to the words of the Lord spoken through the mouths of His prophets and apostles. It's always rejuvenating and encouraging and makes me want to be a better person. Also, October conference is always on or around my birthday, which makes it even more special for me. This birthday was especially wonderful due to: 1. General Conference. Am Besten. 2. Hanging out with family 3. Friends who give me epic balloon arrangements and "Birthday Princess" ribbons. Oh yeah. Now that I am 21, I suppose I can no longer deny my adulthood. Indeed. Hooray for Conference and birthdays!

(This post was supposed to be done a couple weeks ago. But seeing as how those two weeks were some of the busiest ones of my existence - although that designation can be applied to almost any week now that I'm at college - blogging somehow dropped out of my priorities list. But now that my tests are over and I should be working on a paper, I've decided it's time.) Two weeks ago I went camping for the first time in my life. But it wasn't just any camping. No, this was legit - 20 science nerds missing two days of class to revel in the beauty and microbiological wonder that is Yellowstone. Our group was easily identifiable amid the hundreds of other visitors during those days - if you heard the words, hydrogen bond, thermophile, or biofilm, you knew you were in the right place. It was definitely one of the few times in my life where microbiological small talk was normal. And I've never had a "smurf" be "pipetting" in any other setting. Ah, the ner...