Holi.

As you remember, I love Holi. I love the spiritual nature, and the significance of ridding ourselves of evil (the burning of Holika) and embracing new life in the form of springtime. The throwing of colors is a cleansing process of sorts, and it is symbolic also of protecting each other from sickness caused by cold weather. So, you can imagine my disappointment when it turned into a hardcore rock concert with all of the stupid punk Utah kids desecrating the beautiful and symbolic nature of the ritual. When the colors were thrown, people just threw them in the air in a frenzy, rather than tossing them at each other. The air was so thick with chalk I couldn't breathe, and it was probably one of the worst moments of my life. All of the symbolism was lost on a bunch of stupid white kids. After the chalk-throwing, my car went home because everyone was so upset, but I stayed for a little with Devin, Austin, and others. We ended up having fun dancing and frolicking away from the crowd, but I was so irritated by the fact that I had looked forward to Holi all semester and it turned into such an unholy event. Oh well. Here's a picture of Devin and me, ridiculously gross. Compare to last year, that is what you are supposed to look like.

Highlights

On Easter Sunday, after church I arrived home to find a lovely Easter basket on my doorstep. I racked my brain, not entirely sure who would be so thoughtful, considering it contained fruit and tofu rather than Peeps. I called my mom and asked her if she had instructed Devin to make me an Easter basket, she said no, and doubted he would have been that thoughtful. Well, come to find out it was him. Thanks bro :)

Also, today was Project Youth. It's a really cool service project I found out about after Charity Ball last weekend where 1200 middle-schoolers come and hang out at BYU campus, watch cool presentations, and tour campus. The idea is to get them excited about going to college, since many of them come from backgrounds not very conducive to going to college. The presentations were fantastic, first we went to one by a chemistry professor who got the kids really excited about learning. He blew stuff up and compared it to gaining knowledge, and said it wasn't magic because they could learn why it happened... he was great. Then, we went to David's presentation where he got the kids really excited about international study and understanding other cultures. He showed his documentary on Namibia, which was absolutely incredible. I would love to go to Namibia, the movie made me so jealous! I love how BYU has so many unique opportunities for its students. I count my blessings every day that I am here and hope to continue to maximize the opportunities I have been given for learning.

The man has a point.

Brigham Young:

Suppose that in this community there are ten beggars who beg from door to door for something to eat, and that nine of them are imposters who beg [so as] to escape work, and with an evil heart, practice imposition upon the generous and sympathetic, and that only one of the ten who visits your doors is worthy of the bounty. Which is best—to give to one or to repulse the ten because you do not know which is the worthy one?
You will all say, administer charitable gifts to the ten, rather than turn away the only truly worthy and truly needy person among them. If you do this, it will make no difference in your blessings, whether you administer to worthy or unworthy persons, inasmuch as you give alms with a single eye to assist the truly needy.
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 8, p. 12)

Schmoozing with the politicians

And loving every minute...

Quote of the day

I loved this quote back in high school, but then it got popular with the local girls so I had to find more unique ones. But the other morning Cecilia and I were wandering about the bookstore and came across it on a greeting card and I fell in love again. Not to mention, I feel like the last two words epitomize my life at the moment.



"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity."
-Gilda Radner

Sunshine, Charity Ball, and other joyous occasions

First off, it's spring. What a beautiful statement to be said. The sun was out in full grandeur today. Austin and I frolicked about town, running the errands and generally enjoying each other's company. We escaped to the backyard hammock of my dear friend David for a little retreat, where we read each other excerpts from my newest novel venture, Affluenza. With the sun beating down on my face, I could not have been more content. Twas a lovely afternoon, but ruined by the dreaded work thing. Now I am here, trapped in my empty, grey cubicle. Yuck. Luckily, I am quitting on Monday!

Charity Ball- one of the highlights of my semester.
Background: A lovely gala for lovely people, organized by students and attended by students. There were a select few VIP guests there, and I had the privilege of being the "handler" to Claralyn Hill, attorney and candidate for state legislature. She was a riot to hang out with all night, and we had the best time chatting it up about politics and school, among other things. We walked around a schmoozed with all the other politicians and guests, and I even got offered a job as a campaign assistant! If I'm still around this summer (which is looking more like a possibility every day), I am definitely going to do this. Because A) we need more Democrats in office in Utah, and B) Claralyn is clearly the most experienced and in tune with the community's needs. So, if you live in the 62nd District in Northeast Provo, don't let the party affiliation scare you away- vote for her!

Although I must say my feet were thinking about abandoning me in favor of a more practical person, my ensemble was stellar**. I got the dress from Banana Republic (a big deal, considering it cost more than I've spent on clothes all year) and the new shoes were from Nordstrom. I absolutely adored both, and felt like a million bucks- so it was well worth spending the money. I did not think I would be the kind to enjoy this event, but I really did have an absolutely fabulous time. There was a silent and live auction, fantastic desserts, and amazing people to talk to. Not to mention, David and cast raised over $20,000 for the United Way!

Other joyous occasions: WomanStats meetings, 472 class, 96% on my last paper, and the majority of my "stuff" for the semester is over and done with. I'm looking forward to a rather relaxing, though quite busy, spring and summer- though right now, I'm in limbo regarding certain decisions pertaining to a most certain future.

** Pictures coming soon!

Stuff white people like

This blog is fabulous. I feel like such a typical white person. Check out the post about recycling or organic food.

Hunger Banquet

Fabulous. Two of the best nights of my life thusfar!

We ended up completely selling out both nights, plus some. It was so crowded and fabulous. Friday night, I was assigned as the official baby-sitter for Sister Hudson. Her kids are so much fun. She brought her four boys and two little twin girls, and it was fun to see their family interact. Her presentation was amazing as usual, and it was funny to watch her pre-teen sons so concentrated on what their mom was talking about. And considering it was the effect of gender on world peace, that's saying something.

On Saturday night, I got to play the tourist! It was so fun. Basically, what I did was walk around and act super annoying like an arrogant American tourist. Me and my friend Mo did it, walking around asking to take pictures with the poor people. We also asked where we could buy TAPESTRIES. We bought Taco Bell burritos and carried them around smacking on them. I even traded some handicrafts the low-income sitters made out of crumpled newspaper for bites of my burrito.

I think the Che shirt was the best touch. That was Tristan's idea....

Here's some more pictures:

Inquiry Conference!

Inquiry Conference was great! I think it all went really well, the presentations were all so informative- I went to mostly all of them and look forward to watching the others on the internet. I think the turn-out at all of them was really impressive too, the room almost consistently had a good number of people. However, faculty support was severely lacking. I was very happy to have Katy at my presentation, right in the front row, making happy faces. Though I was not so nervous right up until I presented, I think it ended up going very well. I said "um" a lot. I need to work on that.... but you be the judge and watch it here.

I love field studies. I love the whole program, the people that are involved in field studies, the facilitators, and the simple opportunity to get a tiny taste of cross-cultural research while an undergraduate. I know I have and will continue to benefit greatly from going to South Africa with BYU field studies.

Advice for sister missionaries, 1972

Carry a combination rain-wind bonnet, some tissues, and a couple of disposable, scented towels in your handbag. (The towels are nice for freshening up during a day away from your flat.)

Spark up those drab colors with scarves and bows.

Expect and then allow elders to open doors, help into cars, put on wraps, and start your motor bikes. Do not ignore their efforts, but do not be obnoxious if they should forget sometimes.

Have a BNTE Week (Be Nice to Elders Week) where you either cook something good or do something nice for your district. If you do this, remember that this week especially you must work like a whirlwind so no one can say that you borrowed the Lord’s time. Make it a top week in service and in work also.

Always participate with the elders on preparation day. If it is something you cannot do, then at least be there to watch or cheer. This does wonders for mutual respect between elders and sisters.

If you get depressed, set aside a little time that day to do whatever raises your spirits. For example, spend extra time on your hair, take a long shower, schedule a time for meditation, and then pray earnestly for help from the Lord. Lose yourself in the Spirit and work very, very hard.

Elders’ most frequent complaints are about sisters’ hair. Have a neat and easy style—not too short or it will look like the elders’, and long enough so that it can be curled on Sunday and for special occasions.

Never, never eat late at night! When you come home late after a discussion and you have not had time for dinner, eat a little salad or fruit and then go straight to bed and think how much skinnier you will be by not eating a large meal until morning.

If you are one pound overweight, it is too much. Take it off!

News stories

The Daily Herald
The Deseret Morning News
BYU NewsNet

Yay.

More rally pictures

Rally-time

Wow. So, all of the hours and sleepless nights this week were more than worth it to organize and follow-through with this rally. Carl did a great job getting the rally approved through BYU, and I think we both did an awesome job organizing it. The posters looked great. We put them on the ground all over the JFSB quad and had so many people stopping to see what was going on. We also had quite a bit of media there, not only the Daily Universe but the Daily Herald, the Salt Lake Tribune, and Deseret Morning News. We marched to the Wilk, where Dr. Hudson gave us a thirty-minute lecture/inspirational speech on gender violence issues and equality in Zion. It was great, as usual.

I hate BYUSA elections.

Enough said.

Random WomanStats fact of the day

In Jordan, you are required by law to breastfeed your baby.

Back when we were young...

Some guy in one of my classes randomly had this picture. Back when I was social and had long hair.