Second Is the Best...

You know that (singsong, semi-taunting?) rhyme we used to say as kids? "First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the treasure chest" or whatever? Well, there's some truth to that statement. And it may or may not have to do with my position in my family...  Just kidding. I love all my siblings, and my older sister always has been and will continue to be an inspiration to me.

But seriously, the second day of my spring term here at BYU was much better than the first day.

Yesterday it was FREEZING COLD. Well, not freezing, but quite chilly. And it SNOWED.
Today it was less cold, mostly sunny, and I could feel the warmth of the sunshine on my face. Provo weather, I think we are finally grasping the concept of SPRING. Good job.

Yesterday in my social dance class I felt like an awkward freshman again who didn't know how to deal with people or catch on to the steps. Not so fun.
Today my dance class went much better, and I emerged feeling like at least a semi-competent dancer. Much more fun.

Yesterday, I sat (semi-slept) through a 2-hour-long class that I ended up dropping, that I knew I was going to drop before I went. Not sure what I was thinking. (Can I still play the "Finals fried my brain" card?)
Today, despite some confusion trying to find my Latin 201 class (in the one obscure classroom on the third floor of the Talmage Building--what the random??), I have now nailed down a definite schedule and am certain that I will be sticking with all the classes I attended today. Quite certain, anyway.

Yesterday I had a meeting for my editing internship I'll be doing this term.
Today I actually began my editing internship with the Veteran's Oral History Project. Can you say AWESOME?? The stories of these people are so fascinating, and I can't wait to hear more. It's definitely something I will look forward to putting hours into. P.S. Does anyone know a veteran who lives in the Salt Lake/Provo area? We will come and interview them if you'd like. One of the objects of this project is to provide the families of these veterans with the personal histories.

BYU Spring Term, I think you and I are going to get along after all.


Photo credit: VICCI

Midnight Packing

Papers to chuck and papers to keep
Sorted out from the big messy heaps.

Receipts and bills, and papers that drove me insane--

Hope I never see that essay again.

I've cleaned out my closets and all of my drawers
And now all I own is spread out on the floor.
Cardboard or plastic, boxes or bags?
(My energy, surprisingly, has not started to lag.)

Boxes of books and bags with shoes and scarves too
There are still piles of school stuff I need to go through.
Pots and pans, laundry, and fleece blankets three
Also add to the packing/moving menagerie.

How did I ever get this much stuff?
Someday I'll say, "Enough is enough!"
I'll ruthlessly throw away stuff I don't use,
Rejecting it much as I would old refuse.
Someday I will. You wait and see.
Someday. What an accomplishment that will be.

I sit and take a breath, resting a tad;
Packing this year hasn't been so bad.
Cleaning will be less fun; tomorrow the tub
And dirty counters and sinks will have to be scrubbed.

Looking around at these bare walls
From them the memories seem to call
Me back; and I smile at the remembrance they bring--
But on to the future, and bigger and better things.

Rainy Day Reflections

Today is one of those rainy days I don't mind so much. Even though it's overcast, it's still warm, and the raindrops touch my face gently instead of beating relentlessly downward, cold and biting. The landscape is a watercolor, with all the colors deeper and richer in the wetness instead of becoming a dull, gray wash. The trees are beginning to bloom; I like the ones with the pink blossoms best. I look up at the mountains and can barely see the sun glowing behind the clouds above them. It's early--earlier than the time I'm on campus some days--and I've already finished a final. Whew. Two down, three to go. I'll take another one this afternoon. I like mornings, being awake when everything is still quiet.  Maybe I'd get up earlier if I didn't go to bed so late at night. Mmm--Jamba Juice. And then it's back outside to go to the library and study some more. Today I have no quibbles with the rain.




Photo credit: OpenCage

Keep Calm, Eat a Cupcake

So my friend Megan invited me to go to the Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe (on University Parkway in Provo) for a book club this afternoon. Um, yes please! I've wanted to go there ever since I knew it existed. It sounded so quaint and delicious.

So I put off studying for a little while, and off we went. And I got a cupcake. And MY GRACIOUS, it was GOOD.

I got the Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcake (obviously not the one in my picture): milk chocolate cupcake, a layer of Nutella and raspberry jam, and cream cheese frosting with a raspberry on top. Delectable, to say the least.

Good friend, good cupcake, and now I'm going to study and CONQUER those finals come Monday morning. Bring it on.

Photo credit: chotda

Jump, Jive, and Sing

After the Unforum today listening to these guys sing and watching this video, I have an addition to my BYU Bucket List:

Go watch BYU Vocal Point.



It's gonna happen, people. I've always had a weak spot for listening to men sing. :)

What's in a Name?

In response to the question in the title to this post: more than I thought.

Last week I emailed a professor here at BYU about doing an internship with him transcribing interviews with World War II veterans (awesome, right??). He replied and gave me the information, but at the end of the email wrote, "Interesting surname. It's not showing up in my Oxford Book of Surnames, so I'll have to look it up on Google." A few minutes later he emailed me again and said, "It's Hungarian; any idea what it means? I didn't look far enough into any of the sites to find out."

When the professor asked me that question, I had to stop and think: What in the world does my last name mean anyway? Why haven't I found out before now?? Therefore, I turned to the fountain of much knowledge in order to find out: Google.

 According to the Dictionary of American Family Names via Ancestry.com, "Szuch" is "the Polish spelling of the German Schuh 'shoe,' a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker." Interesting. However, I did some more digging, because I heard that our surname was originally Szucs when it came over from Hungary, and the entry from the same source for that one reads: "Hungarian (Szücs): occupational name from sz{u’’}cs ‘furrier’."

I have this sudden urge to do family history...

Spring Break?

Rumor has it that some universities have this thing called "spring break." Foreign concept, isn't it? (Seriously--in texting a friend the other day who mentioned spring break, I had to stop and think, "Oh yeah--people actually have those!") Needless to say, BYU does not celebrate the advent of warmer weather with a week off of school, but luckily for me, the Air Force Academy, where my brother goes, does. And spending time with my brother while he was on his break was almost as good as having a spring break of my own.

So he came down (or up, I should say) from Colorado on a Friday a couple weeks ago to Provo and we made sure that he got a taste of the BYU/Provo experience: Brick Oven Pizza, Divine Comedy, Coldstone, sleeping in the dorms with his buddies, following one of them to classes (including mission prep), and lunch in the Cougareat with one of his two favorite older sisters. :) I saw him and his friend off to Idaho to see the rest of our family on the following Tuesday.

And then guess what? I got to see him that weekend when he came through Provo on his way back to the Academy! Hooray! We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and it was GOOD. I don't think I've been that full for awhile. Gracious me. However, I think I burned quite a few of those calories from how much I laughed at his crazy stories from his and his friend's freshman year thus far at Air Force--stories that included sleepwalking, water-balloon launchers, duct-taping people to chairs, and copious amounts of toilet paper thrown all over a little tiny room, among others.

This is a picture of the handiwork of Nate and his roommate. It was quite the TP job.

Thanks for the good times, little brother. See you in June, and then it will be au revoir while you go off to France for two years on your mission. But after all the goodbyes are done, we only have hellos to look forward to.

Love you, Nate. I'll be seeing you soon.

An Open Letter to Provo Weather

Dear Provo Weather:

As you may or may not have noticed, it is now April. Because it is now April, that means that it is now past March 20th, the official first day of spring.

This, of course, means that it is now SPRING. Officially. Which means the days for 3 inches of snow are now OVER.

Please adjust your behavior accordingly.

Thank you!

Regards,

Ariel