Monday, December 31, 2007

Amazing Picture


Check out this awesome picture! Photo by Susan Yee.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

2007 Yearly Update

My Yearly Update

Hello everyone! Another year has somehow flown by and now it is time for me to send another email out to you so that you may have the blessed opportunity of learning all about my life. If an email like this isn't enough for you, again, you can read my blog at jnicholea.blogspot.com where I try to write on a regular basis about what is going on with me. If we haven't been in touch for awhile, please write me back! I would love to hear from you, and I promise to reply.

January-I moved back to BYU. Finally! I am barely 2-weeks post surgery and so unable to carry anything in. This means that moving in was a wonderful experience for me as I "had" to sit back and let everyone else carry all of my belongings into the house. I live with Benita, Megan, and Lindsay in a giant house with 8 girls in it. The classes I have are Italian, Anatomy, and Physical Science. I took a note up to my old home teacher and asked him and his roommate to look at my computer again (as they had done before I moved home). The home teacher ignored me, but his roommate That Boy called me back and brought his genius friend Cory to help me. I miss my roommate Heather as she heads off for a semester of study abroad in Spain. I begin working at the Provo restaurant Magleby's. I buy the most adorable little car. I call her Abbie. She is a 2000 Volkswagen Cabrio, and I can't wait until it is warm enough to drive her around with the top down.

February-That Boy, Cory, and I become the bestest of friends. I have snowboarding Tuesday's with Cory. I am really terrible but he is patient with me.

March-Aubree gets married and I am a bridesmaid for the first time! That Boy takes me out on my first date in a really long time (mostly because I whine a lot about how I haven't had a date in a really long time).

April-I finally finish the semester. I ask That Boy to "Ward Prom" with me.

May+June-I snag myself a boyfriend somehow. He is Polish, like really from Poland. I take a full load of Spring classes. Both World Civ classes and a Survey of World Religions. That Boy takes the Civ classes with me and we have a lot of fun taking 10 hours of classes a week together. He takes all of the notes and I do a lot of playing around on the internet. Surprisingly, he does a lot better in the classes. Heather returns from her semester in Spain and we spend an exciting few weeks doing the house hunting search (with no success). The search wasn't that bad when we figured out the best way to do it was to get slurpees from 7-Eleven and drive around with the top down looking for rent signs.

July-I move home to work at Cave B for 6 weeks, as they are kind enough to let me come back to work the dinner shifts during the busiest time of the year. One of my favorite things is when I get to drive home with the top down at 11 at night. That Boy drives with me as I move home and meets my family. We exhaust ourselves attempting to introduce him to every person in my family in a 3 day period. He moves down to Texas to start working in Dallas. We have our Andersen family reunion at Ensign ranch and then my family and I go play in Seattle together.

August-Cory comes up to Washington to spend a week with me. He fixes every single computer that my family has ever owned. Everyone loves him as much as I do. My parents ask repeatedly if he is going to come back for Thanksgiving. My roommates came to visit me right after him. We played in Seattle and then came back and live it up on the farm in Royal. I gave them the 8 second grand tour of the town. I move back to Provo again and start school. I finally decide that I am going to be an English major. It is the best choice. I sign up for 6 English classes, 18 credits. Grammar, Creative Writing, Lit. Interpretations, English Novel, Folklore, and Dante's Divine Comedy. I live with Heather, Megan, and Benita in a cute little condo.

September-One of my favorite parts of Fall semester in Provo is the flag football team that I am a part of. The REGULATORS. I head down to Texas to visit That Boy. Dallas is a little too hot for me. I eat at the same restaurant for every meal. I lose all of my friends as I spend every spare moment in the library.

October-My roommies and I dress us as "the four seasons" for Halloween (a very abstract concept). I am Summer. That Boy flies to Provo to carve pumpkins with me.

November-I begin to wonder if I am going to survive the semester. I count down the days until Thanksgiving because (1) it means that I will get to see ]That Boy and (2) it means a much needed break from school.

December-The semester hurtles to a close. I spend the majority of my time in the media lab of the library working on a documentary of my Grandpa and Grandma Andersen's ranch for my Folklore class. I highly recommend attempting to document some part of your own family history. I didn't get the straight A's that I wanted, but I caused a significant increase in my GPA. I attend the funnest Christmas party that could possibly be thrown by anyone. That Boy flies to Poland and I fly to Washington. I miss him. I am spoiled by my parents for Christmas (as is usual). Santa comes a little early for us so that we can spend Christmas day snowmobiling together. Now I only have one more day ahead of me before I fly off to spend New Years in the best way possible.

Altogether, life is amazing. I have another semester of 18 credits ahead of me. That Boy and I will continue to do the long distance thing while he lives in Dallas and I go to BYU. I hope that everyone else had a year that was as fantastic as mine. I would love to hear from you! I am so blessed and grateful for all of the wonderful friends and family that I am lucky enough to have in my life. I will leave you with a quote from my creative writing class that I have been working hard to remember. Every time I want to sleep in, or avoid going to the library, I let the words of Anton Chekov remind me why I am doing what I am. Happy New Year!

"What is needed is constant work, day and night, constant reading, study, will.... Every hour is precious for it.... You must drop your vanity, you are not a child ... you will soon be thirty. It is time!"

Much Love,

Jenna Andersen

Sunday, December 23, 2007

First Grade Posted

It's official. An A- in Dante's Divine Comedy. I would say that I was hoping for a strong A at the end of the semester, but an A- in a 460 level class is still really impressive. I think there will be a B+ in Grammar (which I am happy with, but also disappointed because I think that will be my only grade below an A-). I can say I really did my best in the class though, and usually with classes this hard I am happy with a C or something. I can't believe the complete turnaround I have made in my approach to academics. It is hard to believe this is me. I will even graduate with a GPA greater than a 3.0! So amazing!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

4 straight hours of studying


I spent 4 straight hour studying for an exam today and all of that writing is from me. That is another full board of writing hidden behind one of the other ones. I was exhausted but it was well worth it because I think I aced that final.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Naked Indian Snowman

I didn't look that hard, but I can't even find one picture of the Naked Indian Statue that BYU has on campus so that those of you who haven't seen it can get a reference to how awesome this snowman really is. This picture is the desktop on my phone, and I feel saddened that I was not a member of the production crew for it. I find the little snowman in front to be the Pièce de résistance of the entire thing. I was walking out of class on the last day of classes and I saw the grounds crew breaking all of the snow off, I was in a hurry to try to catch the bus or else I would have stopped to take another picture of their progress, as they had cleared off everything except a giant afro of snow around his head. But you do not get to see it because I didn't want to wait an extra half hour for the bus to come. It was really funny.

Man Carves Wife a 6,000 Stair Path of Love

This is such a beautiful story. I dare you not to fall in love with it.

Blog Overhaul

Since I obviously feel it is appropriate not to be studying right now, I decided to start working on the blog layout overhaul I have been debating for awhile. I had haloscan comments, which I really like, but I don't get notified when someone leaves a comment, and that isn't cool. So updated my template, and I am going to work on customizing it a little bit more over Christmas break. I like playing around with HTML and pretending like I know what I am doing. Usually its not very successful.....

Monday, December 17, 2007

3 finals down, 3 more to go

I never have to worry about Creative Writing, Grammar, and Folklore ever again. Such a relieving feeling to have those done. It is really tough to keep myself motivated through the last few finals, the thought of sleep is always a tempting one that somehow attempts to convince me that I don't need to study anymore. Sometimes when I wake up I convince myself that I can study very effectivly by laying in bed and simply thinking about my classes. Doesn't really work as well as I like to tell myself.

Folkore was definitely my favorite class of the semester, possibly the best class I have ever taken. If I get my masters someday, Folklore will definitely be one of the programs that I look into. Crazy huh? But I was fascinated with the concept of collecting the folklore of different groups of people.

Fundamentals of literary interpretation on Wednesday, English Novel essay's due on Thursday morning, and Divine Comedy final on Thursday at 11 (worth 1/3 of my grade by the way).

I am unbelievably ready for it to be Friday morning.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Postsecret

There is a secret over at Postsecret that could have been sent in by me! I will let you guess which one it is, it makes me laugh every time I look at it. Also, makes me happy that someone else is going through the same thing I am. That is why the Postsecret project is really so great; it helps people realize that they are not alone in their sorrows or their joys. (or in their embarassments!)

How To Decide Who to Marry: By Kids

Mrs. Onion posted this on Weddingbee today and it was too cute not to share. I just loved this!

Kids Contemplate Marriage.

How would you make your marriage work?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
Ricky, age 10

How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
Derrick, age 8

What do you think your mom and dad have in common?
Both don’t want any more kids.
Lori, age 8

What do most people do on a date?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
Lynnette, age 8 (isn’t she a treasure?)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
Martin, age 10

What would you do on a first date that was turning sour?
I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
Craig, age 9

When is it okay to kiss someone?
When they’re rich.
Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn’t want to mess with that.
Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.
Howard, age 8

What is the right age to get married?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

Is it better to be single or married?
I don’t know which is better, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m never going to have sex with my wife. I don’t want to be all grossed out.
Theodore, age 8

It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

How do you decide whom to marry?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you’re stuck with.
Kristen, age 10

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Finals and Snafu's

The stress of finals hit me full force during my creative writing class tonight. I thought I was going to have to leave the room I felt so sick. It came after I computed the grades I had received in the class so far, and the grades I expect to receive on what I finished tonight, and the the whole thing did not leave me feeling very chipper. I realized that I have to pull a pretty fantastic grade on my final paper to get an A in the class, and I am disappointed in myself. I stupidly passed up on 10 easy points today when I didn't take advantage of a simple extra credit opportunity, instead choosing to waste my time on Weddingbee and Facebook. I feel hesitantly good about the paper that I turned in tonight, and I will most likely receive an A in the class, but I don't like that I have to be worrying about it. I worked so hard in that class, never turning anything in late, and honestly giving my full effort on every single assignment.

I am starting to hate the subjectivity of the English major because I think I have given a strong effort in every single class so far and there are still a few where I am fighting so hard to scrounge up every point possible to get an A. Is there no such thing as taking it easy for me?

I have 5 finals next week. 1 take home, very easy, all I have to do is put in the time. The other three are what have me worried though. A comprehensive exam about "The Divine Comedy" (which is a 400 level class), a comprehensive exam in Grammar (which I am still really terrible at), a comprehensive exam in my Fundamentals of Literary Interpretation class, and a comprehensive exam in Folklore. I shouldn't be that worried about Folklore, but the entire class is only worth 275 points and so every single point counts if I want to get an A.

Overall it is going to be a stressful, sleepless, overeating filled finals week. Whenever it starts to feel like too much I think about how I am going to be in Texas in 2 weeks and I start to feel a little bit better again. The BF just seems to have that effect on me.

Proprieting-Revised

Here is the final draft of my final short story for my creative writing class. It feels so good to be done with at least one of my classes. I think it turned out really well. I am actually going to send it off to try my luck at having it published, which is something I would like to try to attempt a little more often in the future.

Proprieting

Clark’s brain woke up at 6:32 a.m. but his body did not. A sensation of panic made breathing difficult because he wasn’t sure if his body still existed.

“Am I dead?” he wondered.

He told the muscles of his eyelids to lift open and they did. He spent 8 minutes telling his body to sit up but it would not.

He started to wonder if he was paralyzed, “ No, I can see my fingers moving. Look at my leg, can I move it too?”

He could see his left leg, which he threw up in the air causing him to roll out of the bed onto the floor. He cried out as he knocked his head against the cherry-wood nightstand that sat next to his bed. This action knocked him unconscious for 2 hours, until the driver of his work carpool group came to see if he had slept in. He had previously worked as a systems analyst for 12 years at Microsoft, where he was confined to a cubical for 9 hours a day on weekdays and attended swanky parties on weekends. He was 3 years away from a promotion and a pay raise of $5,673 per year. None of that would matter anymore.

A strong, antiseptic smell was the first thing he sensed upon waking at 1:00 in a hospital bed in Seattle, his eyes only opening after he willed them to do so for an entire minute. He laid in bed for 3 months while doctors worked him over attempting to discover the problem. Clark was 33-years old and it would take him 7 years to find a doctor who could explain exactly what had happened to him.

“You have lost your sense of proprioception. This is the ability to know if your body is moving with required effort, and communicates to your brain the knowledge of where your body parts are located in relation to one another. This condition is very rare, only a handful of reported cases in the entire world are known.” Dr. Singh looked sympathetic as he explained the gravity of the situation to Clark.

“Is it reversible?”

The Dr. paused a moment before looking over the tops of his glasses at him. “I am afraid we do not know enough about it to give you a reassuring answer concerning the reacquisition of your proprioception.”

Clark closed his eyes for 2 minute and 17 seconds to take everything in, and experienced the sensation that he had begun to grow accustomed to. In this action he felt like he lost all sense of who he was, where he was. Part of the diagnostic process for the loss of proprioception had included what should have been the simple act of closing his eyes and pointing to his nose. He spent 7 minutes and 32 seconds concentrating with everything he had, but was unable to do it. He felt helpless and allowed this helplessness to overtake his life, losing his job and all of his fair-weather friends in the process.. No one brought him flowers, and he never expected any balloons. He found the stark-white hotel room of the hospital to be an agonizing place, where time seemed to stop It wasn’t until he was released from the hospital that he realized time had been quickly advancing without his knowledge.

2 years and 63 days later Clark found himself walking into the lobby of the hospital once again. He hated it there, but his mother had insisted that he come down to see his nephew, 7 hours old.

“Congragtulations!” He told his sister awkwardly (he felt awkward every time he spoke to anyone).

“I know you are going to object, but please hold him for me,” his sister sweetly asked.

He started to object, but she looked so tired and frail that he knew he could not refuse. It took him 12 seconds to lower into the nearest chair by glancing behind himself to see when his body and the surface of the chair would meet. The nurse seemed to recognize him (for he was famous throughout the hospital) and she gently laid the blue bundle into his arms, standing by to assist him if he should need it. He resented her closeness. He looked down as the baby hiccupped softly. Jealousy welled up inside of him. In many ways, he hated this baby for possessing something that he no longer had. That baby started to wail, and the nurse came and took it away. Clark was not ready for all of this. He needed more time to accept his new life. It was painful for him to be around a creature that possessed the one thing he desired most, a fresh start at life.

As he hurried through the hallways of the hospital, he nearly bowled over a bald, sickly looking girl in a bright pink robe.

“Merry Christmas!” She smiled up at him, handing him 3 mini candy canes.

It was then that Clark cried for the first time since his brain woke up without his body. He squatted down right next to that little girl and hugged her so tight he worried she might break. She started to pat his back and told him everything was going to be okay, and he believed her.

The next morning Clark burnt his finger as he tried 8 times to get his english muffin out of the toaster. He ran his swollen finger under cool water for 47 seconds as he thought about how this condition had forced a complete redefinition of himself. When he didn’t know what proprioception was, he defined himself using his accomplishments. Now retrieving toast from the toaster without burning himself was an accomplishment. And yet, when he thought about this simple act of toast retrieval, he remembered burning his old self a few times. This thought made him smile. Or at least he thought he was smiling, without a mirror to look into it was hard to tell.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Sister Snow Pictures




My (gorgeous) sister and I took pictures in the snow this weekend. The weather was perfect, bright with cloud cover. No squinty eyes but absolutely gorgeous skin tones! I love doing photo shoots like this, and I want to send out a big thanks to my freshman roommate Kelli Saunders for coming out and taking the pictures with/of us. (If you are having a baby and you would like some newborn pictures taken, let her know!) We are definitely going to have to do something fantastic with pictures this good :)

True Crime Diary

I discovered this website through Daily Candy this morning. I would really love to be able to write non-fiction like this one day.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Police Beat 12/7/07

Disorderly Conduct
Sept.10-Nov. 11: BYU Housing Services identified the perpetrators of a series of stink bomb attacks in Helaman Hals. Upon further investigation, they found that three students were responsible for persuading nearly every resident on the floor of their hall to participate in the attacks.

(I kind of want to meet those guys)

Theft
Nov. 5-6: A 26 year old male reported his wallet stolen after using it at the Creamery on Ninth East. His driver's license, an American Express card, two debit cards, to credit cards and two Victoria's Secret gift cards were in the wallet when it was stolen.

(If I were a 26 year old male, I don't think I would want to report my stolen VS gift cards. Just makes you wonder who he was giving them to.)

Trespassing
Dec. 3: Two male students were talking in a bedroom in their apartment in Wyview Park at approximately 4:30 am when they heard a noise in the living room. When they entered, they found a man in the living room. They were unable to get a description because it was dark and the man quickly left the room. They searched the apartment, but did not find anything missing.

(This is just plain creepy.)

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Overheard in the Library

Cheating

"Have you ever cheated on a test?"
"No"
"I did once, would you like to hear about it?"
"Sure"
"It was in first grade. On a spelling test. The word was "the", but they pronounced it like "thee" and I knew that it was spelled different in the scriptures and so I didn't know what to do. So I looked on the paper of the boy next to me."
"You are a terrible person."
"I was under the age of 8 so it is okay."

Monday, December 03, 2007

94.5%



I got a 94.5 on my Dante Purgatorio exam! I finally feeling like the hard work that I have put into this semester is really paying off.
 
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