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GRE

I finally took the GRE today. I came off excessively average. That's worse than doing horribly, I think. An average score is the equivalent of "damning with faint praise." On the plus side, I did do better on the quantitive than I thought I would. And at least it's over. Still, I hope schools don't really care about standardized testing.

An Excursion

I was so restless this morning. I couldn't concentrate on anything. Although, I had lots to do and lots I could be thinking about, including that horrible personal statement due soon, but I couldn't think of that either. So about 11:30, I jokingly said to my friend, co-worker, and fellow slacker that we should just take off and go somewhere, like Brigham City, Smithfield, or Idaho - just somewhere different. We figured we had 3 hours before her literature class, so we decided to take our lunches to Bear Lake. At 11:45, we were on our way.

We stopped by my apartment to get my camera and a sweatshirt (it was quite chilly today) and then stopped by 7-11 (or is it 7-eleven) for some snacks and cokes. Then off we went! We decided not to go all the way to Bear Lake, but to head up to Tony's Grove instead. There's a lake there and some great walking trails. The trees have already started to change colors, as evidenced by the picture below (which came out a little dark):


We listened to my "whiny" music (at least, Kellie said it was whiny and all sounds the same, but I beg to differ). We finally got up to Tony's Grove, and some rain drops splattered on my windshield. No problem - I like rain. Then it started hailing. Oh well, let's still try it anyway. So we went towards the lake, which seemed exceedingly low. Took three pictures, and by then we were so cold that we practically ran back to the car. Here's one of the pictures:


Still, it was a nice excursion - a chance to get away and not think about anything. We stopped by a consignment shop and Fred Meyer's (now Smith's Marketplace) afterwards to look at shoes. Then I dropped Kellie off, picked up Kris to give her a ride home, and watched Oprah. Now, I'm at work again. Here's one last photo from the trip. I really liked the way the golden leaves could just barely be seen over the deep green of the pine trees.

Okay, okay...

So a friend of mine sent me this article about writing for the living web. It's pretty good, but man, it made me feel like a total slacker. The thing is, I don't feel that bad because it's not like I have a large audience. (I don't think I even have an audience). And I don't know if I really want one. I mean, this blog is just for me. And maybe it isn't exciting or dramatic. Maybe I don't write every day. But just wait till I get to Austria. (Okay, so who knows if I'll really write more in Austria - I hope to, plan on it, and keep thinking that this site will really take off then, but, uh, i don't have a computer. So we'll see if I have access to a computer.)

So now I'm trying to think of something interesting I could talk about. I hate trying to make things interesting. Did you know that I'm a terribly boring person? I mean, take yesterday for example (it's too early for today to be an example, even if it is almost 11 o'clock). Yesterday, I got up early for the first time in a long time. 7:45. I wasn't even the last person out of the apartment. Then I went to work. What did I do at work? I was a jerk and made fun of someone's writing 'cause it sucked. And I was tired of trying to fix it and then just making it into my own writing. Then I had to think about how everyone has their own style and maybe it wasn't terribly exciting. Maybe it didn't draw on quirky details and it just talked about boring things like parking lots, but maybe there are some byways readers out there that want to know about a parking lot. Who am I to judge? (except the editor). Then I added some links and contact information about National Wildlife Refuges. Oh boy! we're getting excited now. So then I went to lunch with my friend Kellie. We go to lunch together everyday, 'cause it sure beats going to lunch alone. I stood in line at the Quick Stop for a Diet Pepsi and tried to avoid this girl from my home ward named Breanna that is like, 6 years younger than me but is now at the same college I'm still an undergrad at. Lunch was actually pretty fun. We laughed a good deal, told embarrassing stories, and watched my amber ring spin in lovely circles. Then I left for Salt Lake. I stopped by Kathy's to pick up Claire's car seat, dropped my suitcase off at a repair shop, and then went to the bank. Oh, this was kind of a sad moment. So my dad's in jail, right. Well, last week he sent me a money transfer for $100 to help out with my trip to Austria. It was really nice of him (although I had to fight against the impulse that maybe he was buying me off), and I took it to the bank to cash along with some other checks. So this teller at the bank, I think her name was Chelsea or something - she had really big, cutesy handwriting, well, she looked at it all funny 'cause it said it was from the Department of Corrections, and then she took it to her supervisor in the vault. I heard lots of whisperings about it, and then she came back out and said she didn't know what to do with it. I had to admit that I didn't know what to do with it either 'cause I had never had a dad in jail before. Anyway, so I had to stick it back in my pink wallet. Thanks dad.

After the not funny embarrassing moment at the bank, I fought traffic on 13th East to head to my brother's house. I passed by the street where I used to turn to go to my old house and that made me sad. I mean, how different is my life now? and then I passed the street that leads to my old high school, and I wondered if Cheryl Hughes still taught there and thought it might be nice to stop by and visit. But I didn't. I finally made it to Matt and Izzy's and had a really great time. I love my little niece. She's walking now and loves to look at books. Izzy had gotten her this really cute Halloween outfit. We had Papa Murphy's pizza and ice cream. Watched some tv. Played with Claire. You know, stuff. Then I stopped by my mom's house to see her. My sister was on the phone. She just confused me even more about graduate school. I have no idea what to do about that, but that's a whole 'nother entry. It was hard to leave that night and come home. My mom followed me to the door, kind of hobbling 'cause her knee is bad. She looked so sad and puppy-doggish. And I felt like such a jerk for coming and going so much and not really spending much time there. Then I drove home feeling like that. But I did listen to some really great music, turned up all loud, and sang along.

So, aren't you glad I wrote about this exciting aspect of my life?