Missed Church

I missed church today. I'm used to 1:00 church, and I completely forgot that our wards had combined for Thanksgiving break. Because I'd planned to go out of town, I hadn't written down what time they were meeting when I heard it last week, and forgot about it. They must have met at 10:00 or so, because the building was empty by the time I walked down there.

I spent all day reading scriptures and listening to General Conference talks instead. I'd fallen behind in my readings (mostly since I'd transferred into a different Institute class partway through the semester). Since I'd been meaning to catch up anyway, this was a good time to do so. It ended up taking me a lot longer than I expected- Much more than three hours. I shouldn't have let myself far so far behind.

I had already decided not to work on homework today, since we've had so many talks in Sacrament meeting lately about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and not working or studying on Sunday. I do hope I manage to get my big assignments done in time even though I didn't work on them today, but I'm sure I'll be able to pull through. It was kind of nice to take a day to think just about the Church.

Thanksgiving With Mom

Mom visited me today, so I wouldn't have to spend the whole Thanksgiving break alone (I'd stayed at college so I could work on homework, especially my essays). Since everyone back home ended up getting sick, I dodged a bullet there.

Mom and I went to see "Coco" at the theater. I wasn't expecting much from it after seeing the trailers, but I'd also heard really good things about it anyway. I was happily surprised. The set-up was well done, the characters felt real, and the art was beautiful. It was especially funny watching the stakes continue to rise higher throughout the entire movie. Every time you think things can't get riskier or worse, they do. I enjoyed the movie a lot, and I hope to share it with the rest of my family soon.

After "Coco", Mom and I drove to the zoo so I could pick up a paper I'd left for the zoo director to sign. We ate at Waffle Iron, then shopped for groceries.

Mom went home after that. I know that she was reluctant to let me stay at college this week, but I'm grateful that she did. I was able to get a lot done that needed to be finished. I think it would have been difficult to balance everything that needed doing with everything else I'd be doing at home.

Zoo Essay

I managed to finish even more homework today than I did the previous two days. Most of it involved writing my big essay about my work at the zoo for my apprenticeship class. I also worked on my PowerPoint presentation for research methods.

Thanksgiving Treats

I got a lot of work done today. I spent Thanksgiving by myself with some ice cream and chocolate while I worked on all my essays. So much to do.

Ethograms and Macaroni

It's now Thanksgiving break! I paid the zoo one last visit to drop off my ethograms. Then I spent the rest of the day in my apartment getting a lot of work done, and eating macaroni.

Only Measurements

I only had my measurements class today. No research methods because we were excused to take our final in the testing center. I took the rest of the day off to relax and enjoy myself after my busy week.

Tyler and Nort

I spent two hours in the testing center to take my research methods final today. I think I did very well, which is great news. And I won't have to take my final during finals week. I can just focus on getting my final research paper done.

I also had my latest piece critiqued in fiction writing today. This was my piece about the five-year-old grim reaper named Nort who accidentally showed up to his first assignment too early, and made a boy who had been considering suicide stop himself just in time. The two of them bond over comic books, with Nort being confused that the guy in the comic who looks like him (the super villain) seemed to be hated by the other characters. The main character, Tyler, then finds out that the decision of whether he'll go to heaven or hell will be decided by Nort's sister- A fact that Tyler isn't enthusiastic about since he's rather sexist and has often made derogatory remarks about women, and wanted to break up with his pregnant girlfriend. Overall, not the ideal man, and probably not someone a girl would look upon favorably.

Several people liked my story, and I think everyone loved little Nort. My ending was rough, which was understandable. I'd sort of rushed it since I'd finished this submission the morning it was due, and I'd reached my 20 page limit. I literally filled up every line.

I was surprised, however, when my teacher insisted that I needed to remove the suicide element from the story completely, because the rest of my piece was "too humorous" and I clearly wasn't treating suicide with the seriousness the topic deserves. She said she didn't believe my main character wanted to commit suicide since once he changed his mind, he mused that it was a good thing he didn't kill himself since the lights and air conditioning were on and the power bill would be high. Why, she asked, would he be concerned about the power bill when a moment ago he had stormed into his apartment and prepared to kill himself? Very unrealistic. Because people who consider suicide are always thinking rationally, obviously.

My teacher also mentioned that it was completely unrealistic for Tyler to get his girlfriend pregnant when he seems like a rude, lousy person who would never be able to get a girl at all. Okay, but... These things happen sometimes, right? It seemed reasonable to me. Anyway, I'll have to figure out what to do for my rewrite eventually, but I won't worry about that today.

Attempted Visits

I finished my quarterly report for the stake relief society today. I also went to church at 11:00 to attend a meeting, and deliver the packets from the auxiliary training meeting to the other members of the presidency.

We as a presidency also tried to visit several of the girls in our ward. We're supposed to do this frequently, but thus far, no one has ever been home when we've tried to visit them. Oh well. At least we tried.

Discussion Section

I got a lot of homework done today. The discussion section of my research methods paper was due. I submitted what I had done, having talked to my teacher beforehand. She'd agreed to give me more time to finish, since I'd changed my topic a bit from my original plan. I have a lot left to do.

Last Day at the Zoo

I had some microwaveable waffle for breakfast, hoping I wouldn't regret not having a shake when I was going to be out until afternoon. I rode the bus to the zoo and did my ethograms in the rain. The yak was out, but the coyotes weren't active at all.

I did more clicker training and prepared enrichment for several birds. I also went out to gather browse in the cold and wet. There was a lot of cleaning and organizing to do.

Today, I talked to the zoo director about finishing up my internship. I asked if I could continue coming to the zoo at other times during the week besides Friday, so that I could gather all the hours I need for my class in time to write my essay. We discussed how I'd enjoyed the work, and learned a lot so far.

In the end, the director said I could be done with my internship today. I only needed a few more hours, and he said that since I'd worked hard and been so willing to volunteer, he was willing to sign off my final hours. That was really nice of him. I hadn't been counting bus riding time at all, but if I did, I would have met my hours a long time ago.

I walked to Wendy's to grab some food, then rode the bus to my fiction writing class. We read and critiqued the final short story today. At times I haven't liked my fiction writing class, but it has had its enjoyable moments too.

I finally came home from my long day to find an email from my adviser in the English department. It said that a space had opened in Advanced Fiction Writing, which I'd been on the wait list for. She'd given me until 3:00 to get into Advanced Fiction Writing. It was too late now. Oh. I hadn't thought to check my email while waiting for class to start.

Since I hadn't had a shake this morning, I made one for dinner and did homework for the rest of the day. I had quite a bit this week, but I've managed to get through.

Leadership Training

Today was a very busy day. I was able to get a lot of homework done. I also attended training for the new relief society program coming in 2018. None of my presidency were able to make it, though. There was a lot of information to absorb, but luckily I had some note packets to take home. I'll have to make sure I bring them on Sunday.

Trumpeter Swan

I went to the zoo and did my ethograms again today. I even did some clicker training with the green cheek conures. It's certainly more difficult than it looks, since you have to hold so many almond pieces in your hand while also pointing the target stick while also clicking the button when the birds are successful. You also have to watch multiple birds at the same time to ensure you aren't reinforcing undesirable behavior (For example, fighting with each other). And, the birds get jealous when one receives an almond, so you have to make sure they all get plenty of chances.

I hopped the fence and wandered the trees again in search of browse for the muntjac. With the season changing and most of the good branches already used up since muntjac need browse every single day, it's not as easy to do as it was at first.

While I was out gathering browse for the muntjac, the zoo director called me on my walkie talkie. He wanted me to visit his office. When I came in, we talked about how I was enjoying the work so far, and said he wanted to show me some of the zoo paperwork that he as a director was filling out to get a male trumpeter swan sent to the zoo. It was quite the stack, all for one swan. He had to provide information about the zoo, as well as list every animal present at the zoo and their sex.

As I left the zoo for the day, I realized how lucky I am to have the assignments I do. I walked past one boy who was busy cleaning the crane coop, and another girl who was using a giant broom to scrub bird poop from the path near the pond. I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with ethograms, prepare enrichment and food, and do clicker training. I haven't been asked to do very much cleaning since my first days at the zoo. I hope I can put all my knowledge to use sometime soon.

Pop Exam

I saw my measurements teacher in my research methods class today. I was quite surprised, as I didn't remember noticing him there before. Was he taking her class? That seemed odd. As we were walking out the door, I struck up a conversation with him, since his class was next on my schedule. He was actually monitoring my research methods teacher because she's up for a potential promotion to be a "senior lecturer." That makes more sense.

Measurements class was... not enjoyable today. We had an exam that caught me off guard. Somehow in all the craziness surrounding going home over the weekend for Preston's birthday and my laser hair removal appointment, followed by my nonstop work on my short story for Fiction Writing class, this test didn't even make a bleep on my radar. Of course I was highly stressed when I walked in and realized we were taking an exam, but fortunately, we turn in the previous class's notes every day as a form of attendance. We always get those handed back out in file folders when we take exams. 

I think I did okay, but it wasn't how I would have liked to spend class. It's especially annoying because most college classes allow you to spend the entire class time taking as much time as you want on an exam, and you can leave as soon as you finish. In this class, we only have half an hour to complete the exam, and then have to sit through a lecture and take our notes for the next class period. It makes for a long day. Oh well. There's a lot of material to cover, and I only attend this class two times a week instead of three.

I went to the Marketplace for lunch, because I knew I'd be staying on campus all day. Some people were forming a study group for Measurements. Some time ago, a girl who is also in one of my other classes talked to me about the peer tutoring she offers at the computer lab, but when I suggested I stop in to see her, she suddenly became super hesitant, saying that while she's there, she'll likely be busy helping other people.

When I heard her discussing a study group again, I asked if I could join them. We agreed to meet in the YETC computer lab this evening, and better yet, now that it wasn't a test week in the class she usually helps with, the peer tutoring girl could spend more time focusing just on us. I've really been struggling with this measurements class, so I was excited. Of course, when I agreed to join the study group, I naturally assumed we would be studying before our next measurements exam instead of immediately after. Silly me.

Well... I arrived at the YETC at the time we'd agreed on. It ended up being an hour and a half before anyone showed. The girl I share two classes with came in, glanced at me without saying anything, then sat down away from me, pulled out her things, and read to herself. I waited a few minutes, because now I wasn't sure if this was the same girl, and I didn't want to make it awkward. Finally I got up and went over to talk to her. She confirmed that she was the same girl, and apologized for being late. She said that she and the others had agreed to come later, but since she didn't have my number, she couldn't text me. I said it was all right and asked if I could review my notes with her. She said she didn't want to get all her stuff out until the other members of the group arrived. We sat in silence for awhile.

Half an hour later, the other boy and girl arrived, having just come from taking an exam for their neuroscience class. The girl I was with immediately became very animated and pulled out her things. The boy is her husband's close friend. The three of them chatted about the neuroscience test, and then about how the class was going and what they thought of the teacher. Then they talked about their social lives, their upcoming plans, and their lunches. I waited patiently, but inside, I was mentally exhausted. There is no homework for the measurements class besides typing up your notes on the previous class's lecture, and bringing them with you to the next class. Our grade is solely dependent on our test scores. I'd been looking through my own notes for two hours by this point, and I had questions. But, knowing I was the odd person out, I stayed quiet. For another half hour.

I did gather some information about teachers and classes to keep my eyes out for, which was useful, but eventually the other three people in the "study group" clearly began to get uncomfortable with my presence. They apologized for talking so much, explaining that they had just come from a difficult exam and this was their brief break before diving into studying. I'd sensed that, which was why I hadn't tried to push them into studying. I'd thought I'd done a good job of hiding my stress in an attempt to not make them feel awkward, but evidently not. Now, it seemed, it was finally time to study.

To start us off, the peer tutoring girl asked both the boy and the girl if they had any questions. They both did. Several, in fact. She worked with them both on topics that I understood, while I again hovered awkwardly to the side. As she was winding down her explanation and it looked like I would finally get to ask about something I was struggling to understand, a stranger came into the YETC and booted up a nearby computer. Once she logged in and started working, the peer tutoring girl immediately left our table to ask if this girl needed any advising. Okay, I thought, that's fair. She was a tutor for a particular class, after all, and these were her office hours. She should help people who came in. Only, it turned out that girl wasn't in that math class at all. Or doing math. They held a conversation for awhile anyway.

When the peer tutoring girl returned to our table, I managed to ask one of my questions, or maybe two, before another girl arrived to join our study group. The peer tutor immediately turned all her attention on her, asking her what her name was and how she was doing in the class. I waited.

One of the other members of the study group asked the peer tutor girl to explain one topic that I had asked earlier. When I'd asked it, she'd brushed me off, saying that if she could draw it, it would be much easier than trying to explain. Now that her friend had suggested it, she suddenly became eager to draw the model out. As it turns out, it was now time for the YETC to close for the night. The other members of the group all agreed to rent a study room in the library so the peer tutor could draw the model on a whiteboard in multiple colors. I hesitated. It was getting late. I needed to get home and register for my classes. Not that I could register for another hour or two... and I still had questions that needed answering.

Thus, we went to the library and spent the next half hour there. I don't see why the peer tutor was so insistent on using different colors to tell the models apart if she was going to draw a grid to organize them. I tried not to feel irritated when the others in the group praised the peer tutor for being so clear and helpful, when I felt like a question that I had been trying to get an answer to for three hours now could have been answered within the first ten minutes when the girl and I were alone together. I think study groups simply aren't my thing.

I walked home from the library in the dark. It was a bit lonely, so I was grateful to bump into a couple who were also walking down the 8th East hill to the stadium parking lot, very near where I was going. It's always nice to travel in groups when it gets dark.

Tonight, I stayed up and registered for classes. Using the online Create a Plan feature ahead of time to build my schedule, save it, and then be able to upload it and instantly claim a seat in all the classes I want is very nice. Mom's told me about how when she was my age, she'd have to call a phone number constantly, trying to get in and register, while competing against a bunch of other students who were all doing the same thing. And when her mom was in school it was even worse, because they had to come and wait in line to sign up for classes... one class at a time. You weren't likely to get most of the classes you wanted, even if you arrived early. Technology has certainly come a long way.

One Longer Essay

Today I fasted, since I missed Fast Sunday. I spent all morning finishing my Grim Reaper short story.  The minimum page length is 8 and the maximum is 20. My ghost story, "Something Blue", maxed out at 20 pages, and I realized how much of a pain it was to read through all the comments I received and make revisions in the week and a half I had to do it before my revision was due. This time, I was determined to stay around 8 pages. Well, that didn't really work out. I ended up maxing out at 20 pages, right to the last possible line. I feel pretty good about what I wrote, up until the end. The ending is rushed and cramped, but overall I'm happy with the piece considering I wrote 20 pages in a total of about 10-12 hours. For comparison, unless a page I write is overly skewed towards dialogue over exposition, it usually takes me an hour to complete a full page.

I'm glad I got that done and submitted this morning. I actually went to my Apprenticeship class today. We only have it a few Mondays during the semester. Today we talked about our upcoming final paper. That'll be nice to get done.

I was caught off guard when our professor explained it, though. Apparently we were supposed to be doing TWO apprenticeships this summer: A research one and an applied one. We had received two "contracts" to fill out at the beginning of the semester. I knew that, but I'd had the zoo director sign both. I'd combined these into one with my apprenticeship at the zoo, because I was studying the animals in person as well as researching their needs online and in the reports found in the binders at the zoo that listed their dietary needs, medical reports, behaviors, and so on. I'd thought that was what I was supposed to do. I'd assumed the 40 hours we were supposed to complete was in total, not 40 applied hours and 40 research hours.

I was sweating pretty hard while sitting in that room. How was I supposed to find another apprenticeship opportunity and get another 40 hours of volunteering done before I had to turn in this essay in a few weeks? I stayed after to talk to the professor after class, and she cleared things up a bit. Luckily, there were several of us in the same position. If your applied and research apprenticeships are combined into one, you only have to write one final essay, but it has to be a few pages longer than the separate essays. This seems like something that should have been specified more clearly in the syllabus, but I was too relieved to be annoyed.

Apparently my teacher doesn't like to make a big deal about it, which is why she hadn't explained it until the end of the semester, because when people try to write one long essay for the same apprenticeship instead of doing two separate ones, it's "too confusing for them." Okay.

The Grin Reaper

Mom drove me back up to USU to attend my usual ward. Easy to do when my family also has 1:00 church like me, but in a few months that might prove to be more difficult.

After church, I worked on my second short story submission that's due in Fiction Writing tomorrow. I had planned to write either an alien transfer student in a small town who met a blind girl while trying to abduct her cow by walking it down the street, or something about two alternate personalities each trying to throw a surprise birthday party for the other with help from a sister or girlfriend.

Instead, I scrapped what I had and ended up following a completely new idea about a five-year-old Grim Reaper who doesn't understand the concept of death, and accidentally showed up a few minutes early to his first job. In this case, he interrupted an impulsive teenager who was about to kill himself, and the teen immediately felt awkward because he couldn't just kill himself with a child in the room. The two of them bond over comics. Specifically, five-year-old Nort found a super villain who looked very skeletal like him, and asked Tyler if this was the hero of the story, and why everyone was being mean to him. Fun stuff like that.

Anyway, this Grim Reaper idea worked out because we were supposed to research a profession and work it into our short story. Nort is very innocent, but also very insistent that he's right about things. I'm pleased with how it's shaping up for something that I wrote in a lot less time than I intended to, so I guess I'll save those other ideas for another day.

Impending Blessings

My laser hair removal appointment wasn't so bad today. It was nice to relax at home with my family, and I had the chance to work on a lot of writing. Mom and I also planned out some potential class schedules while I worked on the Facebook extra credit assignment for my research methods class. Mom gave me permission to look at the first 50 posts on her account, since it was no contest that she had a lot more stuff to see than my account did.

Jorja is getting her patriarchal blessing tomorrow. I hope it goes well for her. I meant to go back up to Logan today, but the guys were out late and I fell asleep before they got back. Maybe I'll go to church with my family. Guess we'll see.

Baby Brother's Birthday Bash

I had a lot of homework to do today. One of these was a "vita" for my apprenticeship class. I got it submitted to Canvas 30 seconds before I got a text from Dad. He'd arrived to take me home for the weekend. He fixed my printer in the process. I have such trouble with that thing sometimes. He even took me grocery shopping. That was nice.

We celebrated Preston's birthday tonight. Everything twas so busy that cake and presents came very late in the evening, and the cake didn't even have candles, but Preston seemed to have a good time. Fourth child. I'm glad that we were able to celebrate his 11th birthday as a family. I guess we won't be able to do that for much longer.

Stockton, Preston, and I played a "100 best Mario Part minigames" 3DS game tonight. I didn't agree with all the choices, but it was fun, and I'm glad I got to play it with my brothers.

Lunch With Randall

I had an interesting experience over lunch. Normally when I eat lunch at the Aggie Marketplace, I try to find a booth seat near the soda and milk fountains. When I sit there, I can't hear the annoying political or sports news cycling endlessly on the TVs. Usually, the other person I sit with is quite happy to let me pull out my laptop and work on writing or class assignments, because they're usually doing the same thing. It's a lot easier to concentrate on working without hearing the TVs.

Today, I sat at a booth across from a student a few years older than me by the name of Randall. To my surprise, he said that this was the second time I'd sat with him. He was intrigued to hear that I was a psych major and kept wanting me to guess what he was thinking, his interests, and where he was from. Specifically, I asked where he was from, and he smiled and told me to guess. I commented that he was eating his pizza with a fork, which is why I thought he may not have been born in America, and I mentioned that my behavior teacher who is from Bulgaria told us that she did the same thing. Turns out he was  from the Dominican Republic. We ended up talking all through lunch about school, religion, and baseball. Even though I didn't get any work done, it was a nice change of pace.

Crazy Coyote

I have pictures and a video I want to add to my blog, but I haven't been able to get my phone to upload things directly to my computer anymore. Instead, I have to attach pictures in emails and send them to myself bit by bit. Some days I don't have the energy to do that. Oh well. I'll save those for another day.

The video I wanted to post is about the coyotes at the zoo. There is one large male and one smaller female. I've been monitoring their behavior for my ethograms. Normally, they lie on rocks or trot around their enclosure. Last Friday, I saw something bizarre. The female coyote started digging. After a minute or two, she unearthed what appeared to be a dead rodent. She proceeded to pick this rodent up by the tail and fling it into the air and across the enclosure, then chase it down and throw it again at top speed. I was shocked that I caught this quick moment during the half hour I happened to be observing the coyotes, and so was the zoo director when I told him what I'd seen.

I wasn't fast enough to catch the funniest part, with the coyote flinging the squirrel like crazy, but I whipped out my phone and caught a little bit of the action. Someday I may be able to share that video, but not today.

Behind

I'm very behind on my blog. I have all the posts I need to get to drafted, but I am still very behind. I hope I catch up soon.

Diamond Dove

I have nothing to say today, so here is a picture of a chubby diamond dove I took at the zoo on Friday.

Catch Up

I couldn't get my printer to work this morning, so I emailed my announcements to Shailey. She was nice enough to print them out for me.

I didn't end up fasting today. For some reason I wasn't hungry and didn't eat today, so it probably wouldn't be smart to fast tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a longer Monday than usual for me, since I have my Apprenticeship class. I only have that once every second weeks. I have to turn in a vita. Yikes.

We sat in a circle in Relief Society today. In sacrament meeting, Brother Wade sat alone on the stand; Brother Thurgood and Bishop Israselsen were both out of town.

I caught up on my blog a bit tonight. I've gotten so far behind.

Jorja Loses Control

I FaceTimed Mom for a long time today while I ate some cereal. She's in Australia and it was around 3:00 in the morning there. She's been worried about being away from the kids and the struggles they've been having at home. It was nice to see her, and I hope she's able to enjoy her vacation without too much stress.

I did a lot of schoolwork today, hoping to get it all done so I don't have to do homework on Sunday. I also found the time to get a lot of writing done, which was a welcome break for me.

While Mom and Dad have been in Australia, we've kept up a family group chat. Jorja has been staying at a friend's house. Today, she sent a video of her body spazzing out while she lay on the floor, choking out, "I don't know what's happening!" It looked like a seizure and was very concerning to see. Mom mentioned in the chat that she could see the video, but couldn't hear it. I told her what Jorja said in the video about not being able to control her limbs, because watching the video with that context certainly makes it a bigger deal. Jorja has been under a lot of stress lately, and I hope she's doing okay.

Two Hikes

Today was a pretty nice day. I did my Track Changes reviews on the two stories we're reviewing for Fiction Writing class this morning, and then rode the bus out to the zoo. There were pretty decorative lights strung up for the Zoo Lights event all over the place.

I hopped the fence to gather browse (branches and leaves to chew on) for the muntjacs in the quiet rear parts of the zoo. It's nice that it hasn't snowed yet, because that job will be a lot more difficult when it does.

Some browse I collected

Then I did my ethograms and visited the birds before heading back to my apartment.

The light in my bedroom nearest to my desk has been burned out for several days. Because the bulbs are more yellow than white, it feels like they don't give off very much light anyway when the sun has set and I'm trying to work. I was pleased to get back from the zoo and see that the repair crew had gotten my request to fix it, and had come by to do so while I was out.

I actually ran across the two repairmen in the elevator, and noticed they had light bulbs. I started talking to them on the way up, and when they realized which room I was in, they looked at each other and one said, "Oops... That's what we went down to get. The ladder." They went back down to get it, and then they changed the light for me. It's nice to have my room be a little brighter again.

I rested up for a little while before my Fiction Writing class. In class, we workshopped one story about a hike, and one about a girl named Gemma who had been adopted as a child and was now looking after young children at a daycare. It's funny to catch other writers' mistakes sometimes... For instance, the writer of the Gemma story was shocked when we asked her who Eliza was. She had mistakenly switched between two names for her narrator more than twice throughout the story. She waved it off in such a joking manner, though.

After class, a small group of us gathered in the quad to chat as we were left the building. Both the girl who wrote the story about the hike and the girl who wrote the Gemma story were there, along with several other classmates. We didn't mean to talk so long, but we spent about an hour standing around, sharing ideas for the rewrite (many of them silly, like replacing the dobermans with chihuahuas that were up to their ears in snow, and I mentioned how when the hikers came across the dead mountain lion, I was wondering why the hikers who had no supplies didn't consider eating it, and instead went on to confront the poachers). We all laughed a lot. We've now read two stories about a hike in this class, and someone suggested that the writers of those two stories (who were both in the group with us) join forces when they wrote their revisions. All the hiking characters could meet each other and go on a hike together.

I don't know all my fellows in this class very well, but it was great that we had a common interest and struggle - writing and revising - and we were able to joke and enjoy each other's company.

Many Measurements

I went up to campus early so I would have time to print stuff for measurements. I've been having some trouble with my printer. When I have more time, I need to take a closer look at it.

We were presented with two extra credit opportunities in Research Methods today, but we're only allowed to participate in one of them: We could either view 50 posts in our Facebook feeds and mark who the posts were from and what they were about, or visit a stop sign and observe how many people ran it while we tried to be discreet about watching. We have a few weeks to get these down, so I decided I'd ask Mom if I could view her Facebook feed when I go home pretty soon.

I took some pictures of the screen during Measurements class and sent them to Stockton, saying, "So how's your day going?"

I feel out of my league with this class most of the time, and it's difficult to ascertain your skill level when we don't do any assignments in this class. Everything comes down to the exams, and only the exams. It can be complicated and stressful sometimes.

I decided to eat in the Junction for lunch today. It's a buffet-type place nearer where I have most of my classes. It's similar to the Aggie Marketplace, but I like it a lot less. There didn't seem to be as many food options, especially ones I like. I was startled, for example, that when I asked for plain noodles, they were given to me fried, and the entire process took several minutes longer than the Marketplace's way of dunking the noodles under scalding water for a few seconds. I asked one lady, and in the Marketplace I can pick a roll out of a warming drawer. I didn't see anywhere to get grilled cheese. The Junction menu changes according to the day, and I happened to be fortunate enough to get clam chowder. The experience wasn't necessarily negative, but it felt cold, aloof, and awkward to me. I think it's worth it to me to walk a little farther for the atmosphere and food that I prefer.

After lunch, we took our second exam in my Behavior class. Our teacher brought us donuts again. Those behavior questions can be very tricky, with three usual answer choices, then an "All of the above", and sometimes a "Both A & C" option. But, at least I wasn't also dealing with cramps this time. I may have stuffed myself with too much food during lunch, though. As I walked home, I tried to call Mom before remembering she and Dad went to Australia for Dad's business trip. Oh well. I hope they have a good time. I went home to rest.

Solo Cleaning Checks

I did the last of my cleaning before room checks today. Cleaning the entire apartment by myself, on top of all the other things I've been doing this last week, was pretty stressful, and I was worried about getting fined. It'll be nice to lift this weight off my shoulders.

I met with my Research Methods teacher and the TA to discuss my essay today. The last time I went to see this teacher, when I went to ask her for help on my literature review before turning it in, she had a large dog hanging out in the office with her. There wasn't a dog in the office today. Shame. I'm glad I was able to meet with them and gain some insights

We workshopped two more stories in Fiction Writing today, and then I went to Institute. After that, I went home to see the results of my room check. A note had been left saying that I'd done a good job cleaning, except where my shower was concerned. I was a bit disappointed, since I'd spent 45 minutes scrubbing it. The cleaning lady who had accompanied my RA around our floor said that my RA would be coming back in three days to see if I had successfully cleaned the shower. My RA had scribbled in a note that said everything "looked good" to her. I assume that means she won't be coming back in three days to check on me, but I wish she would have been clearer so I knew for sure.

Candy and Sorrow

Today was very difficult. I received my scores for some quizzes I took in my behavior class. I called Mom on the way home, and I'm glad she was willing to listen to me. It was a long walk. I'm concerned about school and my grades right now. At least I'd bought some candy so I could still have some on Halloween.

Getting Fridged

I met with the TA of my Research Methods class to discuss my literature review today, meaning all the background research I had summarized and included in the massive essay we've been tasked to write this semester. She explained that she was having a hard time understanding what I was doing with my hypothetical research project, and recommended that I set up another appointment to meet with both her and my teacher together.

When I first started working on this essay, it was supposed to be about aggression and commitment levels among teen couples. That didn't work out the way I planned, so I scrapped the research articles I had and chose ten new ones related to flirtation and attractiveness, and started my essay over. Now it looks like I'll be choosing ten new articles and writing about asexuality as a sexual orientation instead. I can do that. Wasn't my original plan, but I can do that.

Every day in fiction writing, we workshop two stories. Everyone in class downloads and reads the stories beforehand and leaves commentary on the Word document via the Track Changes option. We submit one copy online for our teacher, and print out a hardcopy for the writer. One of the pieces we workshopped today was about a food fight that takes place in a cramped box kitchen between a husband coming home from work and a woman who loves to cook and who pulls out random ingredients when she does so (which turned out to be a very clever and important detail later, because it provides plenty of ammunition for the impending food fight). Inevitably, an argument between her and her husband turns to throwing food, and at the end of the piece, you find out it's their anniversary.

There were some lines in this piece that I really liked. The woman checks her make-up in the toaster and is happy that the heat from the oven didn't melt it off. Towards the end of the story, her make-up starts to run due to wet food on her face. When I was doing my Track Changes, I made a comment that said, "No! How dare you? She was so proud her make-up hadn't melted!"

Our fiction writing teacher always tries to be super politically correct. Case in point: Today she called out one girl who said that she liked the way the argument had broken out because she thought "That was a very girl thing to do, that the wife didn't ask him verbally to throw the old and nearly-empty container of cream out of the fridge, but she kept waiting hoping he would, because it's his cream". In the story, the argument about the expired cream in the fridge quickly became a two-way argument about all the many ridiculous habits the other partner has. My favorite part was that the wife always refused to turn off the lights when she was alone in the house, because she was afraid the place was haunted. This understandably annoyed her husband just like him leaving the cream in the fridge annoyed her. It gave her a flaw, and made the fight not a one-sided attack on her husband.

Anyway, our teacher gave us a spiel about how we can't describe behaviors as "male" and "female" when we critique. Okay, sure. We're a class entirely of girls without a single boy around and we are honestly expressing individual opinions and interpretations about what we just read, trying to act like a group of average readers who picked the piece up, but sure. My teacher followed this by explaining how the woman refusing to turn off the lights was "a stereotype" and that the entire fight was, again a stereotype. The writer isn't allowed to talk during critique time, so she just say there, visibly uncomfortable, as our teacher went off about things like this, and about how the image of a breadwinning husband and homemaking wife in the kitchen doesn't appeal to modern readers, and we shouldn't write such stereotypical things.

Finally, my teacher said that one problem with this piece is that at the end, when it's revealed it's the couple's anniversary, the closure comes from them laughing together on the floor and sharing a kiss. She said that them being happy could be offensive to poor people due to the amount of food that is now ruined, and suggested that the writer especially redo the ending to include a sense of waste and loss. After all, some readers might not be able to afford very much food. Probably because they're spending the money they do have to buy luxury items like short story collections.

I don't disagree about including a sense of waste in the rewrite. Bittersweet endings are my favorite, and it does seem like the woman who cooked so much food for so much of the day might be disappointed about it being inedible now. But I felt a bit offended on behalf of the writer. Our teacher was straight-up targeting her for writing about a food fight- and taking time away for the rest of us to offer comments, might I add. Each writer only has 25 minutes to be workshopped. Not to mention, everyone needs to make a comment in order to earn their individual credit during the workshop. We receive a 0 if we don't.

The way I see it, the writer just wanted to write about a food fight. By definition, food fights result in waste. I understand that people from certain backgrounds may read the same piece of writing differently than another person. Some of us happened to be readers who saw the woman's reluctance to throw out her husband's nearly-empty container of cream as a feminine behavior, but it's "wrong" to say that. Well, maybe some people grew up with the background that that's a feminine behavior, just like some people may have grown up with a poorer background that makes them sad to see all that wasted food.

My teacher straight-up said that you should write to please your audience. Um. Okay. But consider: You can't please everyone. Yes, when you publish, you have to keep your audience in mind, but you should still be writing for yourself and enjoying what you do. For the record, the couple in the piece were living in an apartment rather than some fancy house. They weren't exactly poor, but they weren't on top of the world either.

And yes, there were a lot of gender stereotypes in the story. The wife was cooking at home while the husband was at work. Very stereotypical. But keep in mind that the wife was described as loving to cook, and it was also their anniversary. Doesn't it make sense that she would go all out for this one special day? Maybe she even has a job and used one of her vacation days to stay at home for this. Who knows. Isn't it stereotypical to just assume she didn't have a job just because she wasn't seen working one during the eight pages of this story that had nothing to do with her job?

Anyway. That was fiction writing class. After that, I went to Institute, then came home and cleaned the fridge and other areas of room. I sent this picture of my fridge to Mom:

Most of my food right now doesn't need to be refrigerated. It's weird to live alone sometimes. I don't have anyone to start a food fight with.

Riding With Emily

We had stake conference at the tabernacle today. The relief society president, Shailey, was going early so that she could join the choir there. I hadn't finished eating breakfast by that point, so I didn't join her. Instead, I rode there with the first counselor, Emily.

We picked up her boyfriend on the way over. That was sort of interesting to me, just thinking about how she's a freshman in her first semester, and she has a car and a boyfriend too. It's interesting sometimes to realize that even though we were both in the same presidency in the same ward and were close to the same age, our lives were very different in little ways. It's great to see her work so hard in the relief society, as well as juggling the pressures of a first semester in college and all her other commitments too.

Boo at the Zoo

Well, today I volunteered at the Boo at the Zoo event. The first thing I was assigned to do was man the fishing booth with a partner. I sat behind the curtain and hooked little rubbery plastic fish onto the lines that children flung over, while my partner handed them their fishing poles.

That was a pretty awesome task to earn volunteer hours for. I should have known I couldn't get away with it all day, though. After an hour or so, the volunteers were switched around the booths. I served my next hour  working at a Frankenstein monster-themed booth, where children were supposed to stick their hand up the monster's nose, and I would drop a small sucker into their hands. It was amusing to see how many children were too scared or grossed-out to do so.

After an hour or so at that activity, I was switched off to the Tic-Tac-Toe station, where kids tossed small beanbags into wooden boxes divided into nine sections. There weren't any prizes to hand out, just a lot of beanbag fetching to do. There were 12 beanbags - 6 in each of 2 colors - so that was a lot of hurrying around to pick them up and hand them off to the next kid, all without getting hit by the kid currently throwing. 

It started to get hot, and I needed to get some food. I took the time to record my usual observations of animal behavior before I left, though. It was nice to be there on Saturday. I saw some animals awake that usually aren't in the morning, and paid a visit to the lynx and bobcat, which are so far down their path that I haven't seen them much while I'm working. I grabbed a tasty cookie on my way out, regretting that I hadn't taken the chance to pet the reindeer before starting work at the Tic-Tac-Toe activity. Oh well. Maybe I'll have the chance tomorrow.

Pumpkin Enrichment

The Halloween spirit reached even the zoo today. The zoo hosts fun Halloween games and events for kids every year. I spoke with the zoo director in advance and was granted permission to stay for an extra two hours longer than normal so I could help set some things up.

We had received a delivery of tons of pumpkins, for some reason or another. I was instructed to use them to provide enrichment for the animals, by slicing off the "lids" and filling the insides with food. The lynx and the bobcat got pumpkins filled with chopped up fish and other meat, the monkeys were given pumpkins stuffed with all kinds of vegetables, and the birds received millets and seeds. I was even permitted to step inside the outdoor monkey enclosure and set the two pumpkins out for them. That was pretty neat.

Stepped into this outdoor bird enclosure to set down a pumpkin

I had one pumpkin left, and the director suggested I "chuck it over the fence for the yak", because he would like it. A little surprised, I did as he asked. The yak is blind. It was very interesting to watch him react to the sound of the pumpkin hitting the ground. He walked over to it, and slowed his pace as he neared. It took him a while to find it, but he finally knocked into it with his hoof. He kept himself entertained for a long time, pushing it around and knocking it into trees and the fence.

Someone brought in Little Caeser's pizza, and we all took a break for lunch. I ate a lot of it, as well as some sugar cookies that had been provided, and then we went about setting things up for the events that would take place in the afternoon. I'll be going back tomorrow to spend several hours running the activities. But for now, I had to go back to school.

A guest speaker came to visit us in fiction writing class today.

Younger Than a Stuffed Dog

My sister Jorja turned 15 today. That's crazy to think about. I've had my stuffed dog, Heart, longer than my sister has been alive. I kind of wish I could have been there to see it. When we're all grown and moved out, I wonder if we'll live close enough to see each other and join in the birthday celebrations every once in awhile. We'll have to go out for lunch and cake sometimes. I wonder what the future holds?

Playing Catch-Up

Squeezed some writing time in today.

Commentary

My ghost story rewrite is due on Friday, and I haven't started it yet. I've been poring over the stacks of commentary I received from my peers in class. The downside of writing a 20-page piece is, I sure have a lot of marked-up drafts to sift through and mull over. Perhaps I put a little more time into writing this piece than I should have, and that time would have been put to better use conquering all the assignments I've had to work on over the last few weeks.

Nah.

All of the Due Dates

I had tons of stuff to turn in today. Basically all by due dates for all my classes fell on this day. It was difficult, but I managed to get everything submitted in time and with quality. I don't believe I've missed a deadline yet, and I'm glad I've been able to keep on top of things as much as I have.

Walking Down the Street

It can be a little lonely living in the apartment by myself. It was nice to be able to walk to church with Demetria. Now I walk by myself. I'm grateful that it isn't very far, and the weather has been so pleasant.

Rewrite Another Day

I got lots of work done this weekend. My plan was to get my ghost story rewritten as soon as possible, so I don't put it off until it's due two weeks from now. Instead, I found myself swamped in work from my other classes. I managed to get a lot done, though, so I'll put my rewrite off for another day. It's good to let the critiques I heard in class sink in, though. I'm not sure I'd know where to begin if I'd started trying to make changes today.

Owa Tagu Siam

I've been hounded by these three nene geese at the zoo lately. The male in particular enjoys jabbing his head through the links in the fence and trying to bite me while I'm taking notes on animal behavior.

Here's a nice picture of leaves, also:

After I had finished filling out my ethograms today, I was tasked with providing an enrichment activity to several birds. I took some plastic Easter eggs and filled them with millet and seeds for them to eat, and had one of the workers set them up inside the diamond dove enclosure so they were only open a tiny bit.

One was open a little more than the others, and several of the diamond doves enjoyed picking at it. None of them bothered much with the other eggs that I saw. I guess they were too shut. Oh well. I hope they got into them later after I was gone.

Freedom Flier

I've been into Mexican free-tailed bats lately. Bats are probably my favorite animal, and Mexican free-tails are the ones that currently have my interest. I saw this Halloween decoration hanging from the ceiling of a building on campus today.

I don't know for sure if it's a Mexican free-tailed bat, but those ears seem to match up, and so does the infamous long tail. It was a small thing, but it was pretty cool to see.

Ghost In the Workshop

Wednesdays aren't as difficult as Tuesdays and Thursdays. In fact, they're the easiest days, since I don't have either my Apprenticeship class or the zoo. Just creative writing and Institute.

I was the first one to have my short story workshopped. I titled it "Something Borrowed", and because we have an odd number of people, I was able to have today all to myself. I lot of people said that they liked my story. They were horrified at first when it looked like the girl was trying to hit on the main character, but once the plot twist kicked in and it came to light that he was a ghost and she was encouraging him to possess her body so that she could take him to her family's facility, a sort of foster home for ghosts, they were more okay with it.

As expected, my teacher didn't like it very much, though. The critique she handed back to me was covered in comments about how she wanted to know my narrator was a ghost straight off instead of several pages in, and that my story was chock-full of "Meaningless chit-chat".

Well, sure. The point of this story was to deliberately make it look like this was going to lead to romantic escapades, but then reveal that there wasn't going to be anything of the kind. The dialogue was chosen specifically so that it either looks like Cathleen is flirting with Andrew, or that she's offering herself as a vessel for him to slip into, being a ghost and all, depending on what you know going in. The point is that the beginning was intended to make the reader a little uncomfortable. It doesn't have an uncomfortable ending. That's the joke.

To me, it was hilarious, but my teacher didn't seem to think the set-up was necessary. She wanted me to cut almost all the dialogue, and have Cathleen basically walk in, get Andrew out of his house, and walk out. I don't think we were on the same page. I can understand that she's trying to make my story the best that it can be (and ensure it's appropriate enough for the younger crowd that it could be published, I suppose), but I just wanted to have fun with this. Oh well. Now I need to do my rewrite and my summary report about why I made the changes that I did. That will probably be fun, although it's really a story you can only get the punch and plot twist out of once.

My teacher also said that she wanted me to change the title "Something Borrowed" to "Borrowed Bodies". I didn't agree with this decision. First of all, it either tips the reader off to the idea that there is going to be a body possession or switch of some kind, or it sounds incredibly creepy if you go into this thinking there's romance going on here. I like "Something Borrowed" because it feels sort of vague, poetic, and mystical. It's also part of the couplet, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue", which I found appropriate since the first line of this piece is, "She was blue like him, but in a different way."

It was just a small critique, but it surprised me to see my teacher so vehement about it. I'm glad that many of my classmates enjoyed the story, although they were all disappointed with the ending, which involved Andrew having a breakdown after learning what became of his son after his death. My peers all expressed disappointment over the fact that Andrew didn't make it to the "ghost foster home", and some were even upset that I had included their destination at all, saying it was "pointless" to include mention of it if Andrew and Cathleen only made it halfway there before Andrew's son, Jake, attacked them in the spooky woods.

For clarification, it's revealed at the end of the story that Jake has been harassing Cathleen for some time, and she was hoping she could convince Andrew to talk some sense into him. My teacher said that it didn't make logical sense for Cathleen to be so opposed to Jake's unsolicited advances when she was perfectly fine giving her consent to Andrew when she invited him to possess her body. Hmm.

Difficult Semester Mantra

I'm not really enjoying Research Methods... or Psychological Measurements and Test Theory... or my Behavior class... but it has to be done.

What's Tonight? Pizza Night!

I attended the Home Evening activity tonight. It was a pizza-making activity, so I was pretty excited. I met up with the Relief Society first counselor, Emily, and her boyfriend, and we sat at an empty table. Gradually, the room began to fill. No one seemed interested in sitting with us, until finally one girl did. It's always funny when that sort of thing happens. Eight people filled every other table in the room, but there were only four people at ours

Guess which section is mine

The pizza was great, and I'm glad I went. Plus, I was able to talk to Melissa Fowler, who's in charge of the Home Evening activities, and ask her to email me the activity schedule. This way, since I'm Relief Society secretary, I'll be able to add those activities to a calendar and print them out along with my announcements page this Sunday. Since I have a three-ring hole puncher, I'll be able to make it all nice.

Tithing or No Tithing

I went in to see the bishop for tithing settlement today. I brought with me tithing to pay on the birthday money I received from my grandpas. It's the only money I've earned this last year, and I talked to the bishop about why that was. I didn't have a paying job over the summer. I'm attending college on scholarship. I have enough money on my debit card to allow me to pay for food and things. Even though I'm technically working at the zoo now, I'm only volunteering.

So I haven't earned any money this year, and I felt a little awkward discussing that with the bishop, because I was afraid he wouldn't believe me. But he was understanding, and I was able to give him the tithing on my birthday money. That was pretty nice.

Alone With Benefits

I got a lot of work done today. It's nice to be alone in my apartment, eating when I want, making the food I want, and not having to worry about ignoring or entertaining anyone else. This semester has been very busy, so it's always nice when you can catch a little breather.

Leaves at the Zoo

The leaves at the zoo were falling like crazy. It was a blizzard of leaves, every single second. I was absolutely surrounded by them. I tried to take a picture, but it doesn't capture the effect. Oh well. It's still pretty.

Pitifully Failed Cake

I didn't have a cake on my birthday, so I decided to make one today. It did not go well. I must not have used the correct amount of Pam spray, because a large chunk of my cake stuck to the bottom of my cake pan when I tried to take the cake out. The inside of the cake was rather runny. I couldn't frost the cake in that condition, so I decided I'd have to eat around it. At least I enjoy yellow cake.

364 Days Until 21

The birthday fun is over, so today was a day of getting back to the daily grind.

20s Questions

I had a birthday today! First, I celebrated by cleaning the bathroom. Not having a roommate makes it easy for my family to come up and visit me, and I wanted to make sure my place was clean for tonight.

I attended my classes as usual, although I decided to stop by the Arist's Block Cafe in the Fine Arts building and see if there were any special treats I might be interested in splurging on (I knew my family were planning to take me out for dinner, and I didn't want to stuff myself in the Marketplace). Nothing much caught my eye, but I finally selected a large chocolate chip muffin. It wasn't a cupcake, but it would do. Of course, as the girl behind the counter was ringing it up, I got a better look at it and realized that it was pumpkin flavored. Oh well. It wasn't the best, but it still made for a nice birthday treat.

Tuesday is my more difficult day for classes, unfortunately, and it was a relief when they were over. After my classes, I returned to my apartment to do a few cleaning touch-ups. And soon, my family texted me saying they had arrived.

They brought me presents, like some Andes Mints and Candy Legos. Preston gave me some 3D-printed purple and green tentacles from the computer game Day of the Tentacle. Stockton had ordered me Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions- a new remake of the Gameboy game that I can play on my 3DS. Plus, it comes with a new storyline. The game just came out a few days ago. I didn't even know it existed, so I was thrilled.

After presents, we went out to dinner at Angie's, then did some grocery shopping while I was able to load up the car, and finally stopped by Cold Stone for ice cream. Mom even bought me a carton of cake batter- my favorite.

Mom

Dad

Stockton

Preston

Jorja wasn't able to make the trip up, but that's her loss if she couldn't hang out with her favorite sister. I enjoyed my evening, and even though they had to drive a few hours up here and then a few hours home, I'm glad my family were able to travel safely and celebrate my birthday with me. It was certainly a less lonely day than it could have been.

Last Day of Being a Teen

Tomorrow, I turn 20.

Leftover Macaroni

I ate the rest of the macaroni today. If you pour a little bit of milk in before you heat it in the microwave, it tastes pretty good. Good to know.

Instant Macaroni

Awhile ago, Mom gave me a blue bowl with a sort of rubbery or plastic texture to it. Supposedly, it's able to make macaroni and cheese in just five minutes. It uses all the same ingredients as regular macaroni; the only difference is, it's cooked in the microwave instead of on the stove.

So, I decided to make some for dinner today. It worked very well! The taste wasn't perfect, but it was enjoyable, and it was nice not to have to spend ten minutes heating water on the stove, and then eight more to cook it. I was able to eat some immediately. It made a lot though, so I saved some in the fridge for tomorrow. I'll have to make more again sometime.

Ghost Story

Today I put the finishing touches on my short story and turned it in. Two years ago, I came up with a concept about a girl who sells her body, but she isn't a prostitute. Instead, she sells her body for ghosts to possess. The concept changed a  bit as I was writing it; instead of just being in this deal for money, she wants protection to get through the sketchy part of town. Also, I now have her approaching the ghost instead of my original idea of him approaching her.

The idea here is that at first, the dialogue makes it sound like she's asking him out on a date. In actuality, she's asking him if he wants to possess her body, while he at first rejects her. The reader doesn't know he's a ghost until the opening conversation is almost over and the possession is about to occur, though I did slip in several cues. For example, the ghost drifts from one room to another instead of walks. He lacks the ability to interact with certain objects, like his glasses, and so is forced to ignore the mess the irritating girl is making of his kitchen even though there are hints that he is OCD and longs to clean up after her. He even mentions that his skin is blue.

I think it's a pretty cool short story, and it's nice to finally have it done. I hope my classmates get a kick out of it too.

Nothing Particularly Interesting Happened Today

Nothing particularly interesting happened today.

Sorting Out Visiting Teaching

Our first short stories were originally intended to be due in fiction writing today, but our teacher gave everyone a deadline extension. That was pretty nice, since I hadn't finished mine.

The reason they weren't due today is because instead of going to class as usual, we instead attended a poetry reading by someone named David Baker. It was... not my thing. He didn't introduce himself or give the title of his first poem, and his poems were quite strange, going from talking about drawing deer to ADHD and then back to deer. It was an incredibly long poem that took him at least five minutes to read, and I'd assumed he'd switched to a second poem in the middle. There weren't any rhymes, and I couldn't detect a beat pattern. He was just saying sentences, and not in a voice that particularly captured my imagination.

I stayed up until it was time for me to leave for Institute and snuck out. I guess I just don't get the point of poetry readings. It did make me realize that I could probably be successful if I would actually finish a small project instead of dragging all my novels out for 600,000+ words. One of these days I'll decide that breaking into the publishing world is more important to me than the details of character development across the lifespan and needlessly complex worldbuilding, but not for a little while longer.

The relief society presidency got together to sort out visiting teaching slips from 7 until 9.

We might have gone on longer, but I was getting really tired, and I had homework that needed to be finished. We were able to pair up a lot of people, though. Now it'll just be a few days of contemplation and prayer to as everything get finalized.

Truthfully, I am a little worried. There are so many records in the ward, but only about a third of the people whose records are here come to church. Hopefully everything works out well.

This Is School

Today was a rather simple day of attending my research methods, measurements, and behavior classes. Just some basic school stuff.

Day After Conference

We talked about General Conference in Institute today, of course. There was a story told in Conference about a girl who was on a tour bus and saw her brother while he was out serving his mission. The bus stopped for her, and she ran out to see him. Apparently, that girl attends Institute here, and her friend had recorded the exchange. We got to watch it. It was pretty cool to see the video rather than just the still images from Conference. It just helps the stories come to life a little bit more.

Even More Conference

Another day of enjoying General Conference. I ate a little better today. Not so much candy. Always good.

It's always sad when Conference ends. There were some good talks this year, although it's so bizarre not to have Thomas S. Monson attend. I suppose that's what happens sometimes when prophets get old. It should be interesting to see how things play out from here.

Single-Person Conference

Today was the first day of October General Conference for 2017. I'd bought a little bit of candy, but my goal was not to go overboard.

So, I passed my day hanging out on the couch, mostly drawing, and doing a bit of writing during the breaks. Of course, I got up to walk around the apartment and stretch too. Even cooked some food. A bit lonely and unusual, but nice.

Meat at the Zoo

Early this morning, I took the bus down to the zoo again. It's a little intimidating since it's crazy dark at that time of day, but it isn't too bad.

I recorded the behaviors of several animals with the ethograms again today. I also helped prepare some food for the bobcat, lynx, some owls, the eagle, and redtail hawk. I chopped their meat into smaller chunks. I don't know what they were being served, but it smelled absolutely delicious, and I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who has hated meat for years. It was quite an interesting experience.

Following my trip to the zoo, I attended my fiction writing class. It's pretty nice not to have Institute on Fridays. It certainly lightens my load.

Behavior Exam 1

I had an exam in my behavior class today. It certainly wasn't enjoyable; some of the questions were worded strangely, and my stomach was hurting a lot. I kept squirming in my seat as I tried to get comfortable. My teacher brought donuts to cushion the annoyance of taking an exam, but I was stuffed from lunch. I walked home with it and left it on the counter so I could crawl into bed. I'll eat it later.

Up For Sudden Fiction Review

Today was the day we were to come to fiction writing class and critique one another's sudden fiction pieces. Not all of them, of course, but just the ones we had been assigned to look at over the weekend. Mostly I was looking forward to it, though knowing you'll be receiving critiques on something you put time and energy into always comes with a bit of dread.

To be honest, it didn't go too well. Everyone in my group who was assigned to read my story understood what was going on... except for the person who did the write-up for mine. And as non-judgmental as I try to be, it does sting when I write eight pages of both positive and negative feedback for the person I was assigned to, and only get 3/4 of one with very choppy sentences and evasive, noncommittal responses in return. Especially when we were instructed to write in complete sentences. Oh well. At least I got one.

My story was basically an elevator pitch, except the guy doing the pitch was trying to convince his boss why he should be fired... and manipulated him into granting him a promotion. I thought it was pretty straightforward, and everyone else seemed to think so too, but it's always helpful to get the perspective of someone who wasn't onboard. If you didn't catch the subtleties early enough, I can see how the end would be confusing.

I also found out that we had a 4-page limit on our sudden fiction piece instead of a 3-page one, which is what I'd confined myself to. That might work out in my favor when I do revisions, since it gives me more room to work.

The person I was assigned to be "main editor" for wasn't actually here today. She was an interesting case: Her writing style was too much instead of too little. She went into extreme details about little things that weren't very important, like the sticky cheese on the nachos a side-character was eating, and the way they rained down when he threw them up into the air. Interesting, but very confusing at times. It wasn't clear why the nachos were raining from the sky a moment later- had he jumped up and thrown them? Was he excited? Startled? And why were people on the soccer field holding the ball and their heads? Had someone fallen? Was someone hurt? In soccer, players get down on one knee when someone is hurt. Had a player just tried to make a winning kick but failed, and was now falling to the ground in shame, clasping his hair? It was a bit jumbled up. Still, I had a lot of fun looking over her story and making comments. It was an enjoyable read overall.

Tuesday

Sometimes there's nothing to say about Tuesday.

Ordinary Monday After

Just an ordinary Monday for me. Luckily, I was able to finish my homework on Saturday, although it sure does feel busy going back to school right after spending Saturday preparing a lesson, and Sunday teaching. Still, I'm glad I was able to rest Sunday afternoon. That wouldn't have been fun to try to cram all my homework in after teaching. It's nice to have a day of rest.

Our Callings

This morning, I printed out the items I needed for my lesson on magnifying our callings. I had a few quotes and scripture to cut into strips, and I had people volunteer to come up and get them while I introduced myself and gave the brief outline of my lesson. I figured that was better than handing the strips out to people as they came in, since people generally don't like to be forced into participating.

My lesson went well. I had a lot to say about Eyring's talk, and some stories to share. One thing that I mentioned was that when I'd first been asked to give this talk, I still had lingering traces of bronchitis that made me constantly cough and rasp a bit. However, I accepted the task anyway, and my bronchitis ended up disappearing before it was time for me to give my lesson. I hadn't even realized it until then, and I hadn't planned to discuss it, but suddenly I felt prompted to mention that.

I think I was engaging and many people came up afterwards to tell me they really enjoyed my lesson. I sent Mom a quick test to let her know I thought I'd done well. Of course, I later found out I'd given a lesson on the wrong talk... but no one actually confronted about it. Maybe it was the lesson the girls just starting relief society needed to hear.