the legend of the laceration

One lovely Friday evening, three friends decided they would go to the Hot Springs up the canyon. It had been a long and busy week, so lounging around in scorching water seemed like a wonderful idea (ok, in all honesty Chrissy realllly didnt want to go because she was struggling with stomach-ache-of-death, but she quickly caved after seeing the excitement on Annalicia and Aaron's faces) ***note, in saying I didnt want to go, I am in NO WAY shifting blame for the remainder of the evening onto any of the other party members.

So they hopped in the truck and drove on up to the Hot Springs in Midway. The picture below is not technically the ones we were at, but is merely a mile away. Therefore, the setting and visual are fairly accurate. They were having a wonderful time....... until terrible tragedy struck!!! Aaron stepped onto a jagged stick and cut his foot open!!! At first we thought it was merely a scrape, so Annalicia and Chrissy slowly made their way out of the water. By the time they emerged, they realized this was serious business. Not only was Aaron's face pale and voice panicked, but there was blood everywhere!!! So we jumped into the truck, and drove to the hospital. Unfortunately Chrissy barely knew how to drive stick, Annalicia had no idea where we were, and Aaron was slipping in and out of consciousness. All in all, NOT the best combination! But have no fear, the lovely 911 operators were very helpful, and Chrissy miraculously drove the truck to the hospital (in record speed) without stalling even once.

They sat around in the hospital for a while... and were all pretty proud to be sportin their scantily clad swimming get-ups. Hmmm nothin like hangin out in the emergency room in your swimsuit! Classy, eh?

What they thought would be a late night in the ER for a few stitches, quickly turned into a whole weekend (slash summer) affair. Apparently that stick was a mean one! It cut a 5 inch gash in the bottom of his foot, and through 90% of his big toe tendon. So the doctors sent them home for the night and scheduled Aaron for surgery at noon on Saturday.

As you can see, Aaron was well taken care of during his time at Utah Valley Medical Center, Room 488. (Sarah and Chrissy actually performed the surgery. If he limps for the rest of his life, it is NOT their fault...)

When Aaron is high, he has a weird fascination with ice. Not only does he like eating it, but also throwing it. Chrissy recieved a few ice chunks to the face, followed by Aaron laughing like a mad man.
All in all, it was a longggggg day at the hospital, and a pretty crazy 24 hours. They finished off the event with goodies from Applebee's, and a new set of crutches for Aaron.

And THAT is the legend of the laceration.

temporary grumpiness

Today is frustrating. Provo has been driving me absolutely nutty lately... specifically based on two specific events of the last two days. Right when I start thinking Utah mighhht just be tolerable, people have to go and be incredibly lame and ruin it all. Needless to say, I'd like out NOW. OK wait, let me clarify- Utah itself is great. The weather has been improving and I love the sunshine, and I like the mountains and hikes and lakes and grass. The people (ok, a few people) in their self righteous-butt-into-everyone's-life attitude have about sent me over the edge!

To top off the wonderfulness, the air conditioner in the office is broken so I've been cooped in an attic for the past 8 hours. Extremely tired (weekend recovery mode), no windows, no ventilation. 88 degrees. My head feels like it may explode. Maybe I can think of it as Africa training? Or maybe it's to help me appreciate the first 4 hours of the day at my morning job where the AC is sooo high I have to wear a sweater. Usually I whine about it a little in my head, but tomorrow I will do nothing but appreciate. That's what the bad things are for, right? Help us appreciate the good... or something...

I promise to post more later tonight after I have a good glass of fruit juice in my system, and have returned to my air-conditioned refuge. Room temperature seems to play a surprisingly large affect on my mood.

The Month of Movies

21: Who knew that Jim Sturgess could still be hot without his lovely British accent? The concept of using your super nerd skills to go make millions of dollars was pretty captivating, and the fact that it's based on a true story only added to the excitement. Kevin Spacey turns out to be a real jerk, which was disheartening...but then again, when is he not crazy or jerkish? Rarely.

Fool's Gold: As silly as it was at some points, I can never really get enough of the Kate Hudson/ Matthew Mcconaughey dynamic. Ultimately they can save any ridiculous plot line for me. However, if they ever make another movie as cheezy as this again, I'm boycotting them forever. Worth the dollar I spent, but I probably won't be watching it again.

Never Back Down: I promised Aaron we could watch a boy movie this time... and a boy movie it was. Don't get me wrong- I'm all about blood and fights and crazy people (seeing as Fight Club is my favorite movie, after all). However, this one was a little bit over the top. Terrible acting, combined with a too-cliche high school plot, made for a pretty ridiculous experience.

Iron Man: Not just your average action movie. I was kind of dreading it... but since it was part of our double-feature experience, I justified it by saying I was really only spending 4 dollars instead of the usual 8. Turns out it was actually reallllllly good-- by far my favorite superhero flick in a very long time. Great plot, good acting (well, we all know Robert Downey Jr can be a litttttle over the top sometimes), steady pace, good action sequences, AND based around modern politics. Could there be a better combo? I think not.

What Happens in Vegas: SO GOOD!!! The previews made it look funny, but sometimes previews show allll the funny parts, leaving you with nothing when you finally see it. This one however, was continually hilarious. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz make a cute little couple, and I always find entertainment in watching psychotic drunk people. Also, a surprisingly cute (can I dare say, wholesome) take on marriage.

We Own the Night: Typical Cops v Russian drug lords flick. Interesting, great acting, but an overall slowwww moving plot. It finally picks up at the end, but by then the moment has passed. Joaquin Phoenix is surprisingly tolerable, Mark Wahlberg plays a boring and static character, and Eva Mendes is lookin smokin hot! I'd say it was worth the trip to Redbox, though wouldn't particularly recommend it unless you're reallllly into Russian drug lords.

nomadic business

My office is big and quiet and mostly empty, with the exception of Bright Eyes rollin on Pandora, and the occasional sneak peak at last week's episode of Grey's. Yesterday I was slammed at work, and as stressful as it can be, I often prefer it to the long affairs of denim on cotton padding, where I just sit and stare and wish for something more important to do.

All that I can wish for in a future career is something that matters. I just want to matter- to someTHING or to someONE. I mean, I suppose I make life a little easier for my boss, so I must matter a little. I mean, how would he ever make all those copies by himself? And at I-Sat I'm sure lots of people are extremely grateful that I introduced Dish Network into their lives. How did they ever live with regular analog cable before the days of free DVR and an interactive menu???

I think I may go to China next year. Afton, Libby, and I were all brainstorming about it... and I think I might really be serious about it. If they are not, they should probably back down now- cuz once I start planning I can get a little out of control. But basically there is this program that pays you to go teach and live there. They pay half your plane ticket for staying a semester (and the whole thing for a whole year... but I think I'm only up for a mini session for now), all of your housing while you are there, cover most food expenses, AND provide a salary every month. PLUS you can live with your friends and teach at the same school. Umm.. amazing, maybe?

It wouldn't be until February of next year so I can't be getting all crazy about it just yet or anything. But I just think it could be SO COOL. Plus- if I went to Europe in 2007, Africa in 2008, and then Asia in 2009... I would probably be like the coolest person ever. K, not quite-- but I would be one step closer to all my big dreams and aspirations (number 1 being visit every continent by the time I am 30).

It's like I want to see EVERYTHING for a brief landscape, and then take all the little bits and pieces from all the different places and things I experience, and then form them all together to figure out exactly where I fit into all of it, and what I'm supposed to do with my life. The truth is I'm just not ready to settle down, not ready to buckle into a career. Really just not ready to face the fact I'm growing up I suppose. I enjoy being older and having more freedom and more responsibility and all that... I mean it's not like I want to stay a kid forever. Maybe it's not so much that I don't want to grow up- it's that I don't want to just fall into the status quo of what growing up usually means. I don't mean the getting married and having a (real) job part.. I fully anticipate that eventually I will do both. But I just don't want a normal family, or a normal job, or to live in a normal little house in the suburbs. So for now, I'm perfectly content with just continuing the journey of a nomad.

In the meantime, any suggestions for September-January? No reason that the traveling interim can't become a little adventure of its own. Requests or recommendations?

my least favorite chore

CHRISSY: So somehow i made it through the whole semester doing only like... 6 loads of laundry. And i spread it out at different friend's houses <cuz my friends are rad>, so i never even paid for it. Which is sweet. But still.. 6 seems like so little, ya know?

ANNALICIA: Yeah, but you've like never been about doing laundry, so it's just like your thing.

C: My thing? What is that even supposed to mean? Like my thing is to not wash my clothes?

A: Well yeah... it's just always been that way. Like even before college. Mom and I talked about it one time. Like how you don't ever have much laundry.

C: Wait- WHAT DO YOU MEAN? People notice this??? <'this' being the fact I'm a cheapskate and want to avoid paying countless quarters for a few extra loads, and hate buying shirts to replace ones that wear out quick due to washing too much (as I wear my 7+year old T from Paris, that I JUST realized has only lasted so long cuz I rarely wash it)>

...pause, as I incur some serious introspection...

Well... do I like.. SMELL?

A: Nooo. Well, <pause> not like a B.O. smell or anything... just like... a human smell.

C: A HUMAN smell? What the hell is that even supposed to mean? What do humans smell like? Is that like the equivalent to animal smell on your clothes? Cuz that's extremely disgusting. OH MY GOSH I can't believe I have a human smell!

A: No seriously... it's not like a bad thing. You don't smell like you need to shower or something. You just have a distinct smell. Like someone who doesn't wash every shirt every time you wear it. Like just... the smell of wearing clothes. Like... just like a HUMAN.

...

Can anyone else PLEASE weigh in on this? I mean we all know someone who has like that smell... maybe good, maybe bad; but just like a smell you identify all their stuff and their house and their clothes with. I've always tried to avoid being one of those people- by taking care of simple things like showering <almost> every day, keeping my house <almost> clean, taking the garbage out, and not wearing the same lotions every single day. I guess I just totally discounted the persistent washing of every shirt as being part of that prevention process. I am truly mortified.

Needless to say, I will be doing a LOT of laundry this week. Please excuse me while I go round up some quarters...

may day

My friend supply is slowly dwindling down... and it's quite depressing! I guess it is probably for the best since I don't have much time during the days anyways... but it is still sad! I will try to be better about this whole blogging thang over the summer since it will actually be a keep-in-touch mechanism, rather than just babbling about everything that everybody actually knows about.

I started working full time , and so far, so good! Basically I work from 8 to 8, with an hour inbetween there somewhere to get me from Job A to Job B <yes, the bus really DOES take a full hour to transverse the distance>. Then I have approximately 4 hours to myself before it's time to shower and sleep. Cool, huh??? Actually it's not too bad... I'm blessed with sweet jobs so it's really not the worstest. AND it's all for a good cause....

because I'm officially GOING TO UGANDA THIS SUMMER!!!

I was a bit late on the bandwagon, so I'm very behind on fundraising and earning money. I figure if I work every possible second of the summer, I can cover costs on my own. That way, all additional fundraising money I get will be extra, meaning I can actually put some work money into savings .

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT UGANDA!!! Anyone who knows me at all (ok, everyone who actually reads this) knows that I have wanted to do this for SO LONG. In the past it's just never worked out or been the right timing... so I'm really praying that this time is it. As apprehensive as a I am sometimes (just based on fundage and timing and job hunting and all that) I really think that I need to just GO FOR IT this time, and push everything else aside. My heart truly aches to go there, to help in some way-- ANY way. Everytime I look at pictures or videos of some of the atrocities going on in Africa, I can't help but well up and cry for a minute. I know that sounds ridiculously sappy, but it really is true. It's something so dear to me, that it has become more than an obsession-- it's like a life calling. SO, guess it's about that time, eh??? Anyone with fundraising ideas, PLEASE SHARE because I'm in desperate need of some guidance.

Since my camera was never recovered post-krishna festival, I have become a bit of a bandit in stealing pictures from other's computers and facebook. Since it's been a while since I posted some quality pix, I figured I'd put some up to wrap up senior year. Please forgive the fact that you've probably already seen them on facebook, or maybe even on your own camera. So, special thanks to all the other photographers out there, since right now I can't be one ...

rasta party

salt flatsben foldsdancin

graduation

the parentspadremy lifesavers

the end