First Class Tours

I've been so bad at blogging this last semester and I don't know why!  There's so much I want to write about, and then just don't.  So here's an old post that needs to be posted.  Maybe I'll catch up some more this week since I'm home from school.....

As an admissions counselor, one of my jobs is to give tours of BYU-Idaho to prospective students and their families.  Tour are interesting because they can be really really good or really really bad.  Sometimes it depends on my mood and sometimes it depends on the people I'm tour-guiding.  Most of my tours are pretty similar, I say a lot of the same things, but if it's a small group I'm sometimes able to cater more towards what that student is interested in.  Anyways, my boss thought it would be fun for all of the tour guides to get a tour of the BYU-Idaho Center on campus since we take people in there on our tours.  Part of our job is to know as much as we can about BYUI so getting a tour is actually job training!

It was an AWESOME tour.  One I almost didn't go on because there was a group tutoring session for one of my classes at the same time.  But I thankfully ditched it (and still got an A on the test, no worries).

We got to walk through the tunnels under the building...there's 1.5 MILES of tunnels under just that ONE building.  They were insane.  We also got to go up on the catwalks, behind the big screens, in the holding rooms and in the teleprompter/ electronic rooms.

View from the catwalks...why are they called catwalks anyways??

Behind the screens

Up on the catwalks.

Too Good

Sometimes life just gets a little too good for my own good.  Lately I've struggled so much with having to decide between way too many fantastic options.  As soon as I decide something, another great option pops up.  It's never ending!  And yesterday ANOTHER option was presented to me.

After work I decided to stop by the office of one of my professors to thank him for the semester and let him know I really enjoyed his classes (I had two from him...Kineseology and Health Appraisal and Prescription).  Well, right there, on the spot, he offers me a job working for him next semester!  I was slightly stunned because I didn't think things like that would ever happen to me.  A professor that likes me enough to offer me a job???  How do I get so lucky?!  Sadly, I had to turn it down because I already have two jobs on campus for winter semester and the school won't let me work on campus more than 20 hours.  Lame-o rules.  He did tell me to contact him at the end of the semester and see if he's looking for someone for spring because if there's an opening he would love to work with me.

I was thisssss close to taking it and leaving my beloved Admissions Office.  It would be GREAT to have an in with a professor who has lots of connections and resources which would really help me around graduation.  At least my second job for winter is with the Wellness Center on campus (I don't even remember if I've blogged about that or not....) and he does quite a bit with them and with our training so I will still be in contact with him throughout the semester. 

On a side note, I just aced my last final.  I seriously did NOT think it went that well as I was taking it.  There were quite a few questions where I went back and forth between two answers but I guess I got lucky and picked all the right ones this time!

Now on to packing and cleaning.....gotta love the end of the semester.

Burnt Toast

I don't usually have freak-outs.  I'd like to think I'm a fairly stable person who can control her emotions.  I don't really get sad or depressed, I just get slightly more stressed than usual.  I rarely cry and if I do it's for 2 minutes and then nothing else comes. 

Well, Monday was kind of a break down day.  The first in quite a long time.  I don't even know what it was.  Well, it was a lot of little things added up.  My roommate likes to call them "burnt toast" days.  A day where even burnt toast will make you cry.  Stress was just piling up on me from school and life.  Trying to figure out what to do next semester, where to live, if I should take classes, where I should work, etc etc etc.  From the moment I got to work that day I was stressed and bitter for no reason at all.  I just didn't want to talk to any more angry parents and students.  Then, I almost started crying in my sewing class because I couldn't get this stupid sample piece to look right and it was seriously not a big deal at all.  Burnt toast.  And then I had a total meltdown at home and of course, a girl from a group had to come pick some stuff off and my eyes were clearly red and puffy.  Now she probably thinks I'm a crazy emotional girl.  I'm not.  Honestly, I can't even remember the last time this happened.  I don't even think I had a freak out in Peru ever!

But now I'm done and over it.  I think I'm back to normal.......

There's a week left of school and classes are winding down.  Thankfully, two classes ended on Tuesday but I still have quite a bit of work left in the others.  I just had my lab kinesiology exam and that was....interesting.  Thankfully it was a partner test and we convinced him to pick our partners for us.  I HATE picking groups for things.  I feel like I'm picking my grade and I'm always sure I'll pick the worst person in the class.  Also, it's like picking teams for gym class and no one likes being last so it's just easier if the professor picks.  I think my partner and I did decent but definitely not my best test.  On the upside, I have a 97.3% in the class so I can afford to miss a few points :)

In a week it will all be done.  I didn't think I could do another semester but I will be back in the winter.  Yup, no China.  Don't ask me why.  Don't even talk to me about it.  I'm upset that I'm not going but it just was not responsible for me to go right now.  Maybe sometime in the future.

Peace out, boy scout.

  

Tired, but Not Dead.

Wow, what a week it has been!  I swear, I say that every week and so I'm sorry for everyone that reads these posts and hears over and over how busy my life is.  And then sometimes I sit and think "you know, you  probably aren't even that busy...you sure do waste a lot of time."  But let me tell you something.  Sometimes, wasting time is the best use of your time!  After a long day, it feels really good to sit on the couch and read a newspaper, or drink a glass of water, or watch a dumb youtube video (although I can't really do that now because the internet is out at my complex...).

So, let me document this week for you.

Monday: Wake up at 4:00.  Drive to IF at 4:30.  Work in IF from 5:00-10:30.  Drive back to Rexburg and work from 11-2 at my normal job.  Class from 2-6:30 with a small break in the middle because I was stinkin' tired and skipped half a class to snag a nap.  Local high school musical (Beauty and the Beast) from 7-10.  Get to bed around 11:30.

Tuesday: Wake up at 8:30.  Blood testing for a class at 9:20.  Work 11-2.  Devotional 2-3.  Class 3:15-4:15.  Library/ sewing lab/ homework/ take-home-monster-test until midnight.

Wednesday:  Wake up at 4:15.  Drive to IF and work from 5:15-10:30.  Back to Rexburg to work 11:30-2.  Class 2-4:15, group meeting 4:15-5:00, class 5:00-6:30, library for homework, trip to the store and to get some sweet potato fries, in bed at 11:30.

Thursday: Wake up at 7:00.  Class 8-9:30.  Work 10-1.  Nice little break until class at 3:15.  Now I'm at the library.

Anticipated Friday:  Wake up at 7:30.  Work meeting 9:00.  Work 11-2.  Class 2-4:15.  Job interview 4:30.  Wait in utter anticipation until Alexis gets into town around 7:00 and party with her for as long as I can.

Now, for those still reading (which I'm surprised if anyone is since reading a schedule has got to be the most boring thing ever) I am going to take some time to expound on a few of the activities this week.

--The early morning job I had on Monday and Wednesday was working with a company down in Idaho Falls who was doing wellness testing on their employees.  They were tested for their cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI which would determine how much their insurance would cost.  My job was to talk to those who had abnormal results and educate them on how they could reduce their blood pressure, cholesterol etc.  It was actually fun and most people were very pleasant.  The funniest thing about this is that I've had two people ask me "did you need any special training to be able to do that?!" and my reply was "welllllll, it is what I study in my major" hahaha  Health Science people.  I learn about health.  So yes, I've had about three years of training to be able to tell people that their LDLs are high and they need to cut back on processed and fast foods :)  I think the best part of this job was just the experience to actually work with clients.  It's given me confidence to say "yes!  I do know something!"  So much of what I've learned seems like common sense to me because everyone has a body and everyone knows to eat their fruits and vegetables, but most people don't know WHY.  It's great to feel like I've actually learned something useful in college.

As a side note, I think everyone should look into having their cholesterol tested if you haven't recently.  I can interpret your results for you free of charge, too! (For any BYUI students... you can get it done for $15 at the wellness center and the health center)

--I had been looking forward to seeing Beauty and the Beast all weekend at the high school.  I don't think I've seen a high school production since I was in one and I was just in the mood for it!  So I dragged Nathaniel along with me and we ventured to the outskirts of Rexburg.  Apparently the whole town had heard it was a great show and showed up trying to get into the last show.  We didn't have our tickets already so we had to stand in a massive line, just hoping to get in.  It was an extremely close call but we got in when there were only 8 tickets left!  Once we got in the theater, we realized there were only single seats left haha  So we grabbed two that were right behind each other.  Someone must have prayed for us that day because the family next to me had a child get sick in the first 10 minutes and they left so we ended up being able to sit next to each other (and during intermission I picked up the program they left on the floor only to discover that their daughter really got sick and they had used the program to cover it up...gross).

--A job interview?!  Am I thinking of leaving the admissions office and all of the wonderful people there??!  HECK NO!  I love that place.  BUT I'm trying to get a second job for winter semester working at the wellness center.  I volunteer there an hour a week this semester and they're hiring for quite a few positions for the winter.  If I get this job I will end up dropping about half my classes for winter so I would become a full-time worker (2 part-time jobs) and a part-time student (taking between 4 and 7 credits...I haven't decided yet).  Anyway, I'll keep ya'll posted on what happens there.

Welp.  That was a long and boring post.  I think I can safely say that maybe 1% of everyone that reads my blog actually took time to read it all.  I hope you aren't too dissatisfied with the waste of time it was.  Although blog reading is quite a favorite waste of time for me....

A Day of Thanks

(In no particular order...)

1.  Cars, planes and means of traveling long distances in short amounts of time
2. Telephones (and the people who built all those telephone lines in the middle of nowhere)
3. The temple and what it represents
4. Whitney, Alexis, Lauren, Brittany, Hillary, Bailee, Jamie, Audra, Kadi and all other previous roommates
5. BYU-Idaho
6. The admissions office (first, for letting me come to BYUI and, more recently, for my job and the great people that work there.)
7. My family and their support in whatever I decide to do
8. Green Bay.  The people there.  Cheese.  Cheeseheads.  Seroogy's chocolate.
9. Fireplaces and fake fireplaces
10. Laptops, email, facebook, blogs and other ways to quickly communicate with people all over the world.
11. My professors
12. Food...mostly delicious food
13. PERU!  New experiences.
14. Warm socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts
15. My ancestors
16. Late night movies.  Movies to procrastinate homework.  Musicals.  Classics.  Classic musicals.
17. The Classy Clarke men.  You know who you are.
18. Classy parties
19. Beginners Rec. Volleyball.  3-0!
20. Spatulas
21. Crafts
22. Books that warm my heart
23. My faith
24. Modern-day prophets and apostles.  Modern-day revelation.
25. Shawnee High School
26. Board games...Rummikub, Cribbage, Quelf, Catch Phrase, Mastermind
27. Cameras, pictures, scrapbooks
28. Missionaries- Elder Chris Tucker, Sister Kimberly Tucker, Sister Kadi Baggett, Elder Nate Smith, Elder Taylor Haycock, Elder Myles Johnson, Elder Aaron Curth, Sister Lexi Bramwell and more
29.  Stoplights
30. Vision and hearing
31. Cinnamon and the smell of cinnamon
32. Fingernail clippers
33. Conditioner
34. Days off of school
35. Good health and a sound mind
36. Birthdays and the chance to grow older and wiser
37. Movies in heaven (hopefully these are actually real)
38. Laughing.  Laughing at nothing.  Laughing babies.  
39. Bridges
40. Umbrellas.  Singing in the rain.
41. Clouds
42. A day to think about things I'm thankful for

The End of an Era

Sadly, this semester is coming to an end. And boy is it going out with a bang. Since I practically forgot I had a blog (lame, I know) I'll quickly update everyone on my life's adventures...

The University Band (in which I play alto sax) had a fantastically awesome concert entitled Patriots and Pioneers the week before the 4th. It was so amazing that I bought a CD for myself (to be passed on to my parents), both sets of grandparents, and my high school band directors. To see one song that we performed you can check youtube.com and search Aaron Pike, God of Our Fathers and I think it'll come up. That Saturday (the 4th of July) the band had the opportunity to travel to Huntsman Springs in Driggs, ID and play at their 4th celebration. Glenn Beck was the speaker that night and I got my picture with him backstage before the concert. Cool beans huh?!

Now, in the last week of school (aka finals week), I am working hard by studying, writing papers (which is what I was in the process of doing when I decided to update a blog...), taking tests, cleaning, and packing. Yeah, you can imagine the fun I'm having.

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!! Basically the highlight of my week. I am a part of the Student Ambassador program on campus that gives tours to prospective students this semester as a volunteer but in the fall I will come back as a PAID director. It will be a TON more work (20 hours a week at least) but I'm so excited!

Well my paper is calling me and my conscious won't let my type any more so I'm going to peace out for the evening.