Musical Bri!

Hello, friends and family! I've been working hard to build my music website! Visit

MusicalBri.com find how I'm sharing my music passion with others through teaching, composing, arranging, performing, and writing. On my website you can access my music lessons, request custom arrangements, purchase compositions or arrangements, and read my musical musings. Visit my website to learn more!

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If you or anyone you know is interested in MUSIC LESSONS for Piano, Flute, Voice, or Music Theory, contact me here or through my website. Thank you!!

New Beginnings and Blessings in Utah

Ahh, Provo. It's surprisingly good to be back. I moved back right after Christmas and moved into K and R's place. It wasn't exactly fun at first...I was alone in their house while they were out of town for the holidays, and the temperature hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit the entire first week I was there (even in the "heat" of the day). It wasn't THAT bad to deal with, though the cold and terrible air quality made me sick and didn't want to let me breathe. But soon after coming up here, the Lord blessed me greatly. J and I found the perfect place to live! Our Hobbit Hole (perfectly named) is in the basement of a house. The landlord is fabulous; she has provided all the furnishings (including a queen bed for J!) and dishes, and she pays for most of the amenities, including internet for our work. It's really a perfect situation. Our LDS young single adult ward also seems like it will be really good, with a wide range of ages, lots of guys (most of my wards in Provo had an overabundance of girls, so this is a nice change), and a great bishop. Work with my SEO job is continuing as usual with some added blessings. We've gotten a few new clients lately, and one of our clients is absolutely loving the work I produce. That's always nice to hear! I'm also grateful for the new friendships I'm forming, one in particular and others that I'm sure will come as I get to know the people in my ward. The Lord has been so good to me lately! A good place to live, good roommate and friend to live with, good family nearby that are always generous and fun, good friends, good work, good ward...life is good! I'm filled with gratitude for how the Lord has blessed my life. I am excited to see what is in store as my new life continues here. New beginnings! It will be awesome! Kronk out. 

Life Happenings: A Musical Future?

*Note: There are a lot of links to previous blogposts of mine in this post. Feel free to ignore them if you wish, but if you really want to know what's happening in my life and where my heart is, please refresh your memory of or read for the first time the posts I link to. Thanks!

Some of you have never read this blog of mine before. Others have been my readers since the beginning or have come in along the way. Regardless, those of you who know me know my interest in music. I talk about it a lot on this blog...recall some of my previous posts, such as:

Playing air piano
The music is all around you. All you have to do is listen.
A Murder for Her Majesty
The Life of a Failed Musician-turned-Sociologist

...and plenty more. It is a big part of my life. But til now, I haven't been able to turn my music into a career by which I can support myself and possibly others. My last post was about how I was looking for work and was stressed about my financial future. I mentioned looking for a job in the field of sociology, which I've searched for and had no luck finding. I have also considered writing or teaching writing/English. But most of all, I want a job in music and said that "virtually any music job opportunity would bring me joy."

You may wonder, what has happened with the job search? Nothing that I expected, that's for sure. So many interesting things have happened in the past few months, and I know that those of you who are truly interested in the goings-on in my life either already know about them or will ask me for more details. For the rest of you, I'll kindly summarize. Recently, I made a new friend who graciously granted me the opportunity of working with her, doing SEO writing. It is a job I can do from anywhere and I am so grateful to have it. We have been told by several of our employers that our writing is high in quality and that they think of us first when they need a project done, which is always good news to hear as writers. I thank the Lord and my good friend J for this opportunity to help make ends meet at this complicated time in my life.

In addition, this friend of mine through the Hand of the Lord has granted me another opportunity: to become involved in a grand musical project. Right now there is no income to be had from said project, but if we are able to find the right resources and if we do our best to make things happen, I believe God will allow this to become a positive and profitable experience in many ways for those involved. I have become highly invested in this project, in part due to the hope for a future income in this field but more for the fact that it allows me to do what I truly love. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to become involved in something I love. Sociology was always something I was good at, and it will continue to be a resource for me. If a good sociology job opportunity comes along, I may take it. But sociology was never a love of mine like music is. So for now, I will pursue this musical path I have chosen. I have been able to discover the true meaning of the phrase, "Get a job doing something you love and you'll never work a day in your life." This rarely feels like work to me. Of course it's not a paid job yet, but I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to generate an income as part of a force that will edify and strengthen others through music and other good sources, such as writing, media, etc. Perhaps this project is the beginning of that opportunity for me in my life.

As part of this step in life, I have to relocate back to Utah Valley, and soon. I once wrote that "Utah Valley has been pretty good to me, but I don't feel that it holds anything for me as far as my future goes. So I am looking elsewhere [for where to go in life]." Though I have very mixed feelings on returning to Utah given my mixed experiences there over the past 6 years, apparently I need to give Utah Valley one more chance. Perhaps this time as a non-student, living in the Provo area will grant me a different experience. Maybe I will have a better social and dating life. Who knows? I'll have to see what happens when I get back there. Most of all, I'm very concerned about how I will survive financially when I get there. With student loan payments coming soon, rent payments, probably car insurance and car payments, and normal costs of living, I'm definitely going to struggle. If at all possible I'd like to at least break even every month with the money I make from my SEO job and the bills I have to pay, but I'm not sure if I will be able to. I'll have to rely heavily on the Lord for His grace to sustain me. Gotta have the faith and don't stop believin'!

This entry has been long, but yes, that was me summarizing what's been happening in my life. The real story is much more detailed and involves not only J but also KD and A and others.

Music is so much a part of me that I can't ignore it. Music flows from my fingers, it consumes my mind, it roams unchecked from my vocal chords, it is the very air I breathe and the energy that allows me to move. It is here in my heart, and I am listening to it.  I know that music must be a part of my life, and I want it to be. Therefore, I will allow it to direct me into uncharted life territories so that together, music and I can make the most of life. In faith, I know that the Lord will not leave me comfortless or stranded but He will mold me into an instrument in His Hands so that I may contribute good to this world through the talents, gifts, and resources He has given me. I pray that He continues to guide me and all of you in our journeys and that we can always see His Hand leading us to where we need to be.

Looking for work

So, uh, hi everyone. It's been two full months since my last update and, well, some things have definitely happened since then. In July we had an awesome family reunion for all descendants of my parents, which right now is 19 people including spouses and grandchildren. It was our first one for just our family and it was wonderful. I wish we could all live in closer proximity to each other so we could spend more time together. Shortly after that I graduated -- I officially finished my Master's degree (still haven't received the diploma in the mail, but I'm sure that'll come soon)! My parents came up for that and we all celebrated. Then I left Utah to come live in CA with them until I find a job. I was very sad to leave my two sisters and their families behind in Utah, but it was time for me to live somewhere else. So here I am, back at home with my parents and looking for work. Do any of my dear readers have suggestions for me on where to look? I'm hoping for a position as a research analyst of sorts, researching family structure, family relationships, child development, or any number of other people-related subjects. I'd also like to teach sociology or even writing/English. Most of all, as I'm sure you know, I would love to do something music-related -- teaching, composing, arranging, etc. Virtually any music job opportunity would bring me joy. Of course, I'm struggling with figuring out the whole "real adult life" thing -- having a real job with a salary, 401k and other benefit stuffs, figuring out insurance, paying back student loans, having to buy a car and car insurance, finding a good place to live, purchasing necessary furniture/appliances for said residence, dealing with meager savings and dwindling funds...you know, the fun stuff. Yay. But it would all definitely be easier if I had a job...so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Particularly if you have any connections to research or music positions. Thank you!

I apologize once again for the boring-ness of the life update, but my life isn't terribly interesting right now anyway. Perhaps soon I will have more interesting things to say. 

Party Rockin' in the Summer

It's been a busy, busy summer!

First things first: THESIS = DONE! I finally defended it on June 11th and passed with a few revisions, which I completed and submitted not long afterward. Exciting! I celebrated with friends and family at the local Olive Garden and Coldstone. =) Now I'm done with my Master's Degree. :-o But I'm still trying to figure out what to do next (recall my previous blogpost)...any suggestions?

This last weekend my sister K, her daughter M, and I went down to my friend D's wedding and my cousin W's wedding receptions in southern California. We drove down Thursday and came back on Tuesday. I was a little apprehensive about the drive with my 15-month-old niece, but she was very good! Our sister C lent us her portable DVD player, which helped immensely. The wedding and wedding dinner/reception (delicious salmon!) for D were beautiful. I decided to give her a long-requested gift (D, if you haven't opened it yet you'll find out soon enough anyway) of a CD of myself playing the piano. 9 years ago for her high school graduation, she requested that I record myself playing Jon Schmidt's "Waterfall" on the piano for her, but I never did it...at first it was that I didn't really have a way to record it, then I hadn't played it for a few years and wasn't as good at it anymore, and then it was just left alone. But when her wedding date started to draw nearer I remembered how I had never done that and decided that I wanted to make it happen for her wedding. I recorded a whole CD for her, with "Waterfall" and 9 other tracks of me playing the piano (other pieces I like to play, one I wrote, and a few Disney kicks since she loves Disney so much). It certainly isn't perfect; I used my laptop's built-in microphone and the wonderful program Audacity to edit it, but I believe the final product would suit her original request. For my cousin W, I played their wedding song on the piano (Yurima's "River Flows In You") for their first dance. It was great to see lots of family there that I haven't seen in a while. She had an awesome set of songs for the dance party segment of the reception, including Michael Jackson, a bunch of swing stuff, "Zoot Suit Riot", and of course, it began with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem". When "Party Rock Anthem" came on, I really wanted to dance to it, so my aunt's 60-something-year-old fiancé whom I'd just met told me to "go dance!" I said I didn't have anyone to dance with, so he immediately jumped up and went and danced with me for that song and a couple more fun ones. It was awesome. The rest of the trip was nice to just spend playing with Mom and Dad, seeing my brother D and his family, and a few friends, going swimming in my parents' pool, enjoying the beautiful California summer, and of course eating at some of our favorite restaurants from home that we miss.

Then, of course, yesterday was the Fourth of July. Happy Independence Day, everyone! My roommate T and I went to hang out with my sisters' families and our friend C, which involved the traditional games, barbecue, and fireworks. The latter may or may not have involved the purchasing of many, many fireworks ("emits showers of sparks!") with your standard sparklers, ground blooms, smoke balls, black cats (ouch, those hurt your ears!), and other more intense fountains and aerials with names such as "Spirit of Missouri" (C is from Missouri), "Magic Cube Fountain", "Blazing Rebel", "Devil's Delight", etc., and ending with "Full Metal Jacket 2". It was quite the display. My poor 4-year-old nephew had a great time but was completely exhausted when he finally went to bed 2 hours later than normal. Then we had to brave the horrendous post Stadium of Fire traffic to get back down to Provo. But it was worth it for a good holiday celebration with great people. God bless America!

In a few weeks we will have our first Burr family reunion with all the descendants of my parents! That means 2 parents, 5 kids, 4 spouses, and 8 grandchildren for a total of 19 people. It will be a lot of fun. Yay, family!

And it's raining today! I love the rain.

Life is good, if you couldn't tell from what I post here. I just need to figure out where to go next. I still feel like I should leave this general area, though I will definitely miss my sisters and their families. Utah Valley has been pretty good to me, but I don't feel that it holds anything for me as far as my future goes. So I am looking elsewhere. If you have any suggestions, again, I welcome them. Thanks for reading!

Update, shmupdate...life as I know it

After not writing for weeks and weeks..."It is time." (read in the way Rafiki says it as he realizes that Simba is still alive and is the rightful king)

These past weeks/months I've spent mostly working on my thesis, which is now just about done! My defense is scheduled and is in about 2 weeks, so I've just got to figure all that out, prepare my defense presentation, format the paper correctly...I meant to work on the format today, but of course the BYU website isn't working, so I can't look at the form requirements. Ah, well. Then I make any last minute changes, and then I will be finished with my Master's degree. Crazy! Well, not crazy, because I've put in the work necessary for it. Just a little "whoa!" because it's finally happening. Here's to hoping all goes well at the defense.

Last week I got to go visit my brother K and his family, which was really fun. K and S took their youngest daughter on a trip for four days while I took care of their other two children, D and A. D is old enough that he was in school, but A was still at home. She and I played lots of Pretty Pretty Princess and Candyland, watched movies, colored pictures, and more. D showed off his great piano-playing skills (he's going to be really good at it!), and we played more games and what not together. When K and S got back with their daughter K, I got to see how great K is at walking and how sweet she is when she talks (she says "peeeease???" or "please" in the cutest voice when she wants something). I'm very proud of all three of them. It was a good trip.

My other niece, S, turned 6 on Saturday...I missed it because she lives in another state, but I think it's so great that she chose to go to an art museum on her birthday. (What 5- turning 6-year-old wants to do that? She's awesome.) I have so many nieces and nephews (eight with one more on the way!) and I love them all very much. I wish I could see them all regularly, but with my four siblings living in three different states, it is difficult. As it is, I still get to spend a good amount of time with my sisters and their children, since they live close by. We do dinner together every Sunday and it is great to spend time with them. I'm going to miss them when I move away.

That brings me to my next "update"...which isn't really an update at all but more a report of my current state of being. This current state of being is that I have no idea what to do in a couple months. I will be done with school and for the first time in my life, I have no plans. When I graduated high school I applied to a few different schools but knew that if I got into BYU, I wanted to go there to study music. I got in and I came to BYU, but then I auditioned three times for the music program and couldn't seem to get in. I considered going to a different university for music, but felt that the Lord wanted me to stay at BYU, so I pursued a different field of study. Then when I was finishing my Bachelor's in sociology, I decided that an MS in sociology would help me get a better job than having just the BS, so I went for that degree. Now I'm finishing that and am wide open. I could always go for a PhD, but I think I'm really ready for a break from school. I never wanted a PhD, but I wouldn't say no to it; it's just not something I want to do right now. So now I'm trying to figure out, where do I go from here? There are so many career paths a person with an MS in sociology could pursue and I'm really not sure which one I want to do. As I've said before, I enjoy sociology well enough but am not passionate about it, so I do not necessarily want to fill my life with 40+ hours a week of pure sociology unless it is temporary. Ultimately, in the future I hope to be a full-time mom with a part time job in music or something sociology if necessary for financial reasons. Ideally for now I would like to get a good job with the skills I've developed through my sociology education, one with benefits that will pay well and help me pay off my student loans and save up for bigger life purchases like a car and a home. Unfortunately, I really can't picture myself very easily as a full-time data analyst, researcher, working at human resources, or in other jobs like those. I've always wanted to teach music and can easily see myself doing virtually any music career, but while I can jump right into music as long as I have a place to live and a piano with which to teach (another expensive purchase I'm not quite ready to make), starting out with music wouldn't pay me well for at least a few years. Furthermore, unless I were to work through a music company, I wouldn't have benefits. So it seems best that I procure a steady position with my skills as a sociologist so that I can pay off student loans and save up some money.

In addition to not knowing what I should do after the next few months, I don't know where I should do it. All I know is that I'm ready to leave Utah. One of the reasons I stayed here for my Master's was in hopes that I might find someone to marry. That might sound silly to some but is very normal for an LDS woman like me, now in my mid-20s with many LDS friends who are married with one or two children by the time they're my age. But of course, while many people have met their spouses in Provo, I have not. And while my dating life in Provo was certainly busy until I was 20, it has been pretty much nonexistent ever since then. My hopes of that improving over my 2-year Master's program went tragically unfulfilled. Therefore, I have determined that I should leave Utah, or at least Utah Valley, if I want to find my match. That said, I don't know where to go to find him. What's more is that I don't even know if I will find him. It's possible I won't be married for ten or fifteen years yet, or that I will never marry in this life. I certainly don't know, but of course I'm hoping that wherever I go from here will be the place where I meet him. Unfortunately, as I've been praying about it, I haven't felt any strong, clear promptings about going to a certain place, so apparently the Lord is telling me it isn't time yet or He is leaving it up to me to choose where to go. And with choosing for myself, I don't really have in mind a specific place where I would like to settle down to guide me in my search for where to live. I think I could be happy any number of places around the country. So it looks like I'm just going to have to choose something...any suggestions on where to go or what job to look for?

Well, there you have it: I am finally finishing my Master's degree, enjoying family, and trying to figure out where to go and what to do next. If you have any suggestions or advice for me, please share! Thanks for reading, and Happy Memorial Day. Remember those who have given their lives while serving our country.

Playing air piano

It's been months, and so much has happened that I'm not going to tell you about it!  Ha.  Those of you who really want to know all about it can ask me personally.  Suffice to say that I am working hard on my thesis and am finally about ready to defend my proposal (35 pages later).  And I'm preparing to run a 5K in March (never actually ran a 5K race before, so that should be fun).

I keep thinking of blogposts to write and then I never get around to doing them...so here is a brief one for you all.

In the last month or two I've noticed a substantial increase in the amount of "air piano" I play.  Not just drumming my fingers like a normal person, but moving them as if I'm actually playing a musical piece.  Seriously, every single time I'm walking somewhere I realize I'm moving or tapping my fingers as if I'm playing the piano.  At least 20 times a day, I realize I'm doing it...when I'm thinking of something new to type for my thesis, when I'm waiting for something, when I'm talking to someone...and often I will realize that I am not just "playing" mindlessly but am playing an actual piece I know: a Beethoven Sonata I auditioned with for the BYU music program, Für Elise (that song will always have a place in my heart), a Chopin Scherzo, Prokofiev, scales, arpeggios.  Oddly enough, the piece I "play" most often is a specific Dozen a Day exercise that's good for finger independence...go figure. And it's not just the right hand melody part that I play. Sometimes I play chords.  Sometimes I realize I'm playing the left hand part. Alone. With no melody. (I sometimes will hum or sing aloud the harmony part to a song instead of the melody.) I even mentioned yesterday to my roommate that I've noticed myself doing this, and she said she's noticed it over the past few weeks, too.  Music is just so much a part of me, I think it wanted to remind me that I've been neglecting it in place of other silly things like school and work.

I think what this means is that I desperately need to play piano more.

I miss music.

I was born a ramblin' (wo)man

I have no homework assignments due until next Thursday (woo hoo!). I only have a take-home exam to work on, and multiple research papers of course, but they aren't due until after that. So I said to myself, what should I do tonight? I could work on my thesis, but I probably won't get anywhere; I've had a difficult time focusing today. So I had some top ramen for dinner (good comfort food) and watched Father of the Bride, but then that ended. I read over my roommate's statement of intent for grad school, but now I'm done with that, too. Then I thought about writing a new blogpost because it's been a while. But what to write about? I thought that maybe I could talk about how school is going, or about work, but nobody really wants to read that. I don't even want to read that. I could write about how I've been doing more hardcore exercise lately to help me lose weight...there, I've written about that. Maybe I could write about my social life. Oh, wait -- I don't really have one. Hmm. I could write about church and spiritual things, but most of that stuff on my mind lately has been too personal to share on a public blog. I could write about...what? Nothing comes to mind. Maybe my brain just needs a rest. Looks like I have nothing to say, then, yet somehow I've written an entire paragraph. Go figure.

This blogpost about absolutely nothing has been brought to you by sheer exhaustion, a burgeoning headache, increasingly lower mental capacity, and possibly The Mask. Or maybe Harrison Ford. "No! It wasn't me! It was the one-armed man!"

Penguin out -- "...you didn't see anything..."

Update-ally excellent

I said I'd update, so here I am, updating. I decided to give you a handful of descriptions along with my status in that area (see complete list of "-ally" words if you want to answer more for yourself). Enjoy.

(Response options = Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, or Excellent)

• Academically -- Very Good; staying afloat
• Accidentally -- Good; I'd like this to be Very Poor, but I am rather clumsy sometimes.
• Altruistically -- Very Good; I'm trying!
• Alphabetically -- Excellent, at least with the English alphabet
• Annually -- Excellent; my age increases by one each year
• Asthmatically -- Excellent; my asthma medication is out and I live in a place where the air is paper thin. Woot.
• Atomically -- Excellent; I am made up of atoms, as is everything.
• Behaviorally -- Excellent; my parents taught me well
• Chronically -- Excellent; my existence is chronic
• Coincidentally -- Poor; I believe my existence is not by chance, but some things may be coincidental
• Conceptually -- Very Good, but sometimes I have difficulty explaining or understanding some concepts
• Congenially -- Very Good, but I could be more friendly and sociable
• Controversially -- Very Good; especially lately, I've been attracting controversial discussions and ideas
• Conversationally -- Very Good; I can always carry on a conversation, but sometimes I lack for new ideas
• Cordially -- Very Good; I try to be heartfelt and warm in my relationships
• Corporeally -- Excellent; I've definitely got a body
• Dentally -- Fair; My teeth are okayish, but I'm well overdue for a trip to the dentist
• Detrimentally -- Poor; I try not to hurt others, but I'm human and can't control what might happen
• Diabolically -- Very Poor, as I should be
• Educationally -- Very Good; in grad school and working on my thesis
• Elliptically -- Very Poor or Good; Very Poor if you interpret it as my own physically shape or orbit, but Good if you interpret it as how I am with an elliptical machine
• Emotionally -- Very Good; I've got a few issues (who doesn't?), but am generally good
• Environmentally -- Good, but I can definitely be better. I should plant a garden or something in my nonexistent yard.
• Esoterically -- Excellent; only a small number of people with specialized interest can understand me =)
• Eternally -- Excellent; we're in one eternal round
• Etiologically -- Excellent; I'm a causal being, but I am also acted upon. Causation is present in my life.
• Expressionistically -- Excellent; People have always told me I have a very expressive face
• Fatally -- Very Poor, or I would not be writing this blogpost
• Financially -- Fair; I'm in debt from school, but I have a good job that's keeping me afloat for now
• Frenetically -- Poor; I'm rather slow these days =P must be the old age
• Gravitationally -- Fair; not much is pulled to my gravity because we're all stuck to this here Planet Earth
• Heterosexually -- Excellent; don't foresee any changes there
• Hygienically -- Very Good; I take care of myself, but I find it annoying how often we humans have to shower =P
• Individually -- Very Good; I'm still an individual, but I try to be united with those around me
• Lackadaisically -- Good; I should be Poor in this area, but human nature makes that difficult
• Legally -- Very Good; I'm not completely legal, but generally so
• Locally -- Excellent; no matter where I go, I'm local
• Logically -- Very Good, but not Excellent because as a human I'm ruled by emotion
• Maritally -- Very Poor; hopefully that changes sooner rather than later
• Medically -- Very Good; I'm relatively healthy and functioning
• Mentally -- Very Good; I have to be to do well in school
• Morally -- Excellent, at least I try to be
• Musically -- Very Good; this has been suffering lately because I don't have time for it =/
• Normally -- Fair; I fit into some norms, but not a whole lot
• Nonsensically -- Poor; I'm generally practical but occasionally absurd
• Nutritionally -- Good; I need to work on this, but I'm doing okay
• Occupationally -- Very Good; I have a good job that's secure til I graduate
• Optically -- Fair; I have lovely corrective contacts, so I can see well with them, but my vision is terrible
• Optimistically -- Very Good; I try to be positive
• Physically -- Good; see "Medically"
• Pianistically -- Very Good; I can definitely do better here, but I don't have time right now. Silly school.
• Politically -- Fair; I don't really pay attention to politics and I need to do so more
• Professionally -- Fair; I'm still in school, but working on a grad degree and then a career, so hopefully this will turn around soon!
• Socially -- Good, not Excellent; I think I need to move somewhere else
• Sociologically -- Excellent; This is what I study all day, so I better be excellent here
• Spiritually -- Very Good; I know I'm in the right place and going the right direction, but there is always somewhere to progress to spiritually
• Temporally -- Good for now; hopefully I'll do better when I get a real job
• Unequivocally -- Good; I need to learn to be more clear...
• Unidirectionally -- Very Good; things pull you off the path, but I'm trying to head in one direction
• Virtually -- Very Poor; I'm the real deal.
• Vocally -- Very Good; I can speak, I almost never lose my voice, and I can sing
• Zoologically -- Very Poor; I'm not much of an animal

Kirsti wanted me to answer "Wombatally" as well, so here goes...

• Wombatally -- Very Poor; I am not a wombat.

Uh...hi.

I'm still alive, just fyi. I was going to write about what's happened since I last wrote, but then I realized...nothing has really happened. That's how interesting my life is right now =P So let me pull things out of nowhere here...

- Over spring term at BYU, I worked on the child health paper I've been doing for a year now. The department can't pay me for summer term, though, which means I have no job right now and have to be smart with my money. We all love when that happens.

- A group of friends and I started up a dinner group, which I've never done before but which is a great idea. We hold it M-Th and rotate who cooks, so since there are 6 of us, we only have to cook dinner once every week and a half or so (excluding weekends). It's nice to have dinner group with a small group of women: you don't have to cook bucket loads of food for 10 or 12, you don't have to cook for voraciously hungry men, and you always have meals that taste good. Plus we all (except one) live within a few blocks of each other, so we can almost always walk.
- My brother K's family came to visit from out of state for a few days. I had fun with my nieces and nephew that I don't get to see very often. We went to Temple Square, played at the park, played with nerf guns...it was great.
- My friend D came to visit, also from out of state. That was super fun; my sister K and I got to show her all the great things about Provo life. This meant mostly eating lots of food and going shopping, but we also went to Temple Square and walked around. And we played with my niece M, of course.
- 4th of July happened, in case you didn't notice. Fireworks, celebrations, etc. Good times.
- I was sick for about two weeks, most of that with a bad cold/sore throat and the last part with a stomach bug that kept me fevered and achey and sleepless for a day/night/day. I'm in recovery stage now, and quarantining myself so that my ridiculously weak immune system has time to fully recharge its batteries. I'd really rather not catch a third illness right now.
- I get to go home to CA again next week with my sister C and her family, for about 5 days. Looking forward to some time with other family and friends, and finally hitting up the beach.
- Having no job right now means I have nothing to do besides work on that pesky thesis, which I'm avoiding...why? I don't really know. I have zero motivation to do it. I need to find some, otherwise I'll be stuck in this Master's degree forever...

So I guess some things have happened...anyway. Hope you're all alive; I suspect you are if you're reading this, though I can't be certain.

P.S. Here's a pdf of my poster that won me a prize at a research conference, in case any of you want to see it (click if you want to read it). Enjoy!

Okay I love you, buh bye!

Price check on prune juice, Bob...

So this one time I decided I was going to write a blogpost nearly every day, or at least 3-4 times a week...then I didn't for three weeks. Oops. Sorry! I just didn't have anything interesting to say...

Here's what you've missed:

- I won $300 for my poster at a research conference. That was pretty cool.

- I officially finished my first year of grad school, which means I am officially half done with my Master's degree (provided I finish my thesis on time). I even got out with decent grades--not as good the last semester as the first, but still pretty good. Now I have to spend some time figuring out what to do for my thesis...

- I got all moved into my new apartment. The only real negative so far is that I am slightly allergic to the place (the girl who lived here before us had a cat). I had better look into buying a bed frame instead of sleeping on my mattress on the floor, close to the carpet that probably still has cat hair/dander in it. Anyone know of a good place in the Provo/Orem area to get a twin bed frame/box spring for relatively cheap? Price check on prune juice, Bob...

- Baby blessing for niece M. Family came into town and it was fun. M is very cute, she's 7 weeks old today and growing so much already.

- My sister C's birthday. We partied by playing games and eating pizza. What better way to party, right? And since we don't drink, we even remembered the whole thing. Awesome.

- California and family. I got to go home for almost two weeks, and I got to enjoy lots of palm trees and sunshine. I miss those things (especially sunshine and warmth...I flew back on Saturday and it was snowing.). Saw my brother D and wife M, and his kids L and S. They are so fun and so smart...S is almost 5, yet she reads 2nd grade level books. She loves to read and loves to learn. L is 7, and his new thing is that he has memorized the list of 100 most populated cities in the US and can tell you without stopping to think which city is which number or vice versa. He loves maps, geography, populations, etc. My brother K also came into town with his daughter K for one day; he had to do something for work in a nearby city, so they stayed at our house. K is doing great and growing strong. I look forward to seeing her progress continue. We celebrated (very late) my mom's birthday with a surprise dinner at Marie Callendar's, and that was fun. I also got to see a bunch of friends, like K and N (Disneyland!), J, E, and M and A who moved to Indiana but were visiting, and more. I also got to eat at a bunch of my favorite places, including two times at Miguel's Jr. It was a good trip. Didn't make it to the beach, but c'est la vie. It was a much needed break. I find that lately, every time I leave California and come back to Utah, I miss CA more and am more depressed about coming back to UT =P Not that Utah is that terrible; it has been pretty good to me, but I'm ready to move on to somewhere else after I graduate. Whether that's back to CA or off somewhere completely different, I don't know yet, but I'm open to wherever the Lord guides me.

- Easter! For the first time since high school, I was home in CA for Easter. We went to the annual Easter egg hunt/pinata fiesta at my cousins who I haven't seen in a long time, and I spent some time with my Grandpa, his wife, and my dad's sister J who I haven't seen in years. My mom made her traditional delicious cinnamon rolls. But of course, most importantly, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, we would have no hope for the future. Without Him, we would be eternally damned, but with Him, we have the hope of eternal life.

Now you're all caught up =) I suppose I shall have to figure out things to write about now, if I want to write more regularly...and I don't have the excuse of summer classes to keep me from writing! I'll be working but not taking classes all summer, though I plan to spend a lot of time on my thesis. So if I don't write, I will blame my thesis and work. Happy May, everyone!

April Living (Avril Lavigne?)

Life in April is just great. It's a good month. It starts off with a holiday I don't really care for (April Fool's jokes are rarely genuinely funny anymore, they tend to be uncreative or just plain mean), but it makes up for it with the other 29 days. At the beginning of April is when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak to us, giving us counsel and guidance and commandments from the Lord. This provides us with a great spiritual feast. April 6th is the anniversary of the reorganization of The Church in the latter days. April is when it really starts to get warmer (except for here in Utah...it got really sunny but is now snowing again. The weather here is definitely bipolar.). April is the month of my sister C's birthday (yay!) and a few cousins' birthdays (also yay!). It is also the month ending winter semester at BYU, which means I get a break from course work until Fall semester. It's when I get to move (this week!) to a new apartment, which will be great. What's more, the end of April is when I get to go back home to visit family, friends, and California for almost two whole weeks! I'm excited. I'd say it's the best month of the year so far. =)

In Avril's own words, as applied to the month of April..."You're not, not, not gonna get any better, You won't, won't, won't, you won't get rid of me never..."*

*This may or may not be a slight adaptation of the meaning of the lyrics. To hear the original song, feel free to check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2i5Jp7mdMc.

Just an update. Routine procedure.

Wow, longest break between blogposts for me this year! Sorry, I have been really busy...so how about an update?

PSA went really well, and Seattle was just great. I'm so glad PSA is over but I'm also glad I went. It was good for me. Not to mention all the really good food I ate there...a sourdough smoked salmon bacon clubhouse sandwich, Manhattan clam chowder bread bowl, amazing pennoni pasta with chicken and vodka cream sauce, French food including an excellent spinach pastry, Starbucks hot chocolate (there really is a Starbucks on every corner, for those of you who have never been to Seattle), Cheesecake factory, and more...oh man. Good stuff. I especially love seafood. But the conference was great.

Then on Monday, Pie Day, my sister K had her baby! My new niece is super cute and I love holding her. My mom drove up to help out K and her husband R adjust to this whole new parenting thing. It has been great to spend time with them as well as with my other sister and her family. It was a very busy weekend with them all--busy but good! K's birthday and my mom's birthday were also last week, so it was great timing. Ceeeeellleebrate good times, come onn!

Also, I finally found a place to move to. The city where I live has two universities in it, and most of the housing contracts in the area are organized around semesters. That means most places where students live have contracts from the beginning of September through the third week of April, and they also have contracts for May through August. It's kind of weird. So since I still live in BYU-approved off campus housing, I have to move out in a month. Luckily, this past week I found a new place to live! Since I'm a grad student and I don't have to live in BYU-approved housing, it's a quaint little condo where I can just rent for a year and renew the lease as desired. I can move in any time, too, which means I don't have to worry about that one week of no-man's land that most students have to face when moving in and out of BYU-approved apartment complexes. (That's the week when they all do carpet cleaning and the like.) It'll be nice to be in my own place, with just one other person in the condo, our own private rooms (I can't believe I'm 23 and still in a shared room), and we can do whatever want with the place. Hallelujah.

Work and school keep me super busy, and I'm behind in both (yay). I'm really ready for a break; this summer can't come soon enough. Other than that, life is moving right along! More blogposts to come soon.

P.S. March Madness!! Loving basketball, and loving how well BYU is doing. Let's see how far we can go!

post PSA: post Persnickety Seattle Affirmations? er...

So, remember how I've been working my tail off for PSA for the last few months? And remember how a few days ago I drove 14 hours to Seattle to present at the 2011 PSA Conference?

Well, I'm done. =)

Yep, that's all I feel right now. No exclamation points, not in all caps, I'm just glad to be done. It feels really anticlimactic -- one of the three presenters didn't come, so it was just the two of us, and only four people came to watch the session...which means we had an hour and a half long time slot but took up only thirty minutes of it, including three questions at the end. But it was great. I'm really glad it's over.

Now to watch the basketball game...GO BYU!! Thank goodness for Fox Sports Grill right around the corner from our hotel, or we couldn't watch it!

Done with PSA, BYU game (which we better win...), and a clam chowder bread bowl for dinner tonight...yeah, that's all I need to make this a great night. =) See ya on the other side!

Hello Seattle, I am a researcher going there for PSA...

One week from now, I will be on my way to PSA in Seattle. Why? Oh yeah, because going to Conferences is good for networking and putting your research out there, not to mention getting research ideas from other people. But here it is, one week before I leave, and I feel ridiculously behind on preparation. Well, that's because I am behind...I'm struggling to run data, impute missing values, recode, etc before even analyzing the results. Ah well, it'll be worth it, right? In nine days and two hours I will be done with my presentation. I can't wait. At least I know I like Seattle! I'm looking forward to a sourdough bread bowl with clam chowder on the pier...yep, that's all I want. Some potential job opportunities would be nice, too.

Did I mention we're driving? From Provo to Seattle? Yeah. It won't be too bad, though; we've got those big BYU vans with a bunch of us riding and partying together, playing car games until we die of boredom. At least we won't miss our flight--the last time I went to Seattle with a school group, the bus was late and made us miss our flight, and we spent two full days in LAX just waiting for another flight to take us to Seattle. Now THAT was fun. Woo hoo! Sheesh, I sound like such a pessimist. Really though, as soon as I get this data to work properly for me, I will be excited. I'll be nervous to present research and have to sound smart, but it'll be great. And I do love Seattle. "Take me above your light, carry me through the night, hold me secure in flight, sing me to sleep tonight...Hello, Seattle..."

Running

I just wanted you all to know that I ran three miles today.  For you runners out there that is not a big deal, but up until last October I had never been a runner.  I'm not the world's thinnest person and I have never had any recognizable athletic ability.  I have never been on a sports team.  I don't seek out most (read: any) forms of athletic recreation.  I much prefer watching athletic events to participating in them.  I have asthma, which makes breathing especially difficult when exercising, and I live in a high altitude location where the air is already paper thin.  These limitations make it harder for me to be motivated to work out.  In sum, I am not typically a particularly physically (lots of "ally"s and "arly"s) active person, and certainly not a runner.

But now that has changed.  I ran three miles today!  You can't say you ran three miles and not acknowledge that you're a runner...so I am officially a runner now.  It was a slower-paced run, but I'm proud of myself for not breaking the pace to slow down or walk at all--I kept it constant on the treadmill the whole time.  I have been going regularly to the gym since October and have been training for a 5K.  That is to say, I was not training for a specific 5K, I just wanted to set a goal so I would have more motivation to run.  And now, I can tell you that I can run a 5K.  Yes, technically a 5K is 3.10685596 miles (so says Google), so I can't honestly tell all you literal-minded people that I have run a 5K.  I will run an actual 5K on Monday, though, to prove it to you and to myself.  And if I can do it, anyone (who doesn't have leg injuries/problems) can do it!  You just have to start small and push yourself a little further every day until you reach your goal.

My new goal is a 10K.  Bold?  Perhaps.  But I know that if I have gone this far, I can go that far again.  And I feel like building up from a 5K to a 10K will not be as hard as it was going from having difficulty running around the block to running a 5K.  Going from 2 miles to 3 miles wasn't so bad; what's adding on a few more?  Of course I know it won't be easy, but I know now that it is doable.  I'm not nearly as intimidated by the 10K as I was by the 5K.  I'm glad I'm doing this; I haven't felt good about how I've handled my stewardship over this body the Lord gave me.  I definitely haven't taken care of it, and I don't think that has pleased Him.  I hope He is pleased with my current efforts to change that and get more in shape!  And who knows?  Maybe a half marathon is in my future, then maybe a full marathon... :-o  But let's not get too ahead of ourselves.  Let's just take this one day and one run at a time.

Haikus of my life -- I know you want to read them -- I hope you enjoy!

writing a blogpost
ideas are hard to find
I can't think of one

used to be a poet
went to'a university
then I got a life

life is int'resting
sometimes fast-paced, sometimes slow
but always worth it

life can be trying
but to live is happiness
keep your sight on God

school is tiring
research meetings in the morn
nothing to report...

had quite a long day
now I don't make any sense
same as everyday

early wake up call
much work to do tomorrow
I should go to bed

will I or won't I?
tired -- do I have a choice?
goodnight, friends of mine.

Turning 23: Thoughts and Celebrations

Over the weekend, I did not write any posts, not because I have already given up on my goal of writing at least every weekday but because it was my birthday!  I think that’s a valid excuse, and if you don’t, you probably shouldn’t be reading this anyway.  So today’s post will not be about any particular issue or topic in which I am interested; I’ll just tell you how my birthday weekend (#23) was.  And if you don’t want to read it, maybe my posterity will.  Doesn’t matter to me.  =)

On Friday, I went with T and M out to dinner at La Dolce Vita, a little family-owned Italian food restaurant in town.  I got a spinach calzone with mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta cheeses, covered in Ragú sauce.  It was divine.  Then we went and Redbox’d “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (my choice; I had already seen it but was in the mood, and I knew T and M hadn’t seen it).  I figured that even though Molly isn’t into gaming so much (neither am I, but I at least know how it works), she’d enjoy the plotline and at least appreciate a well-done film.  Of course, she absolutely hated it, which made me feel bad for making her watch it—I really thought that she’d at least enjoy it somewhat, but apparently she loathes gaming that much.  At least T liked it and wants to buy it now!  

Saturday was also fantastic.  P and I got French toast at Kneader’s for breakfast.  If you’ve never had French toast from Kneader’s for breakfast, you are missing out.  I LOVE French toast and it is the best French toast I have ever had.  Yes, it’s that good.  We then went and got manicures, which were sorely needed – I hate how dry Utah is, because my hands get so cracked and dry.  Hooray for aesthetics schools in the area that will service you for cheap.  She dropped me off at my sister K’s, where I hung out with her, her husband R, my sister C, her husband C, and their son J.  It was a good day: we played Bohnanza, Mario Kart wii (for J; he threw a fit every time we turned it off), and Imaginiff. Highlight of that game: “If K (my sister) and Santa Claus had a baby…” Fitting, because K is almost 7 months pregnant; sad that R had to find out this way who the real father is. =P  We also had celebratory cake and ice cream (chocolate chip cookie dough).  For the cake, we attempted something new: we made spice cake for a two-layered cake, then for the “glue” we used apple pie filling instead of a layer of frosting.  The frosting ended up being Funfetti vanilla frosting (leftover’s from J’s third birthday last month).  It turned out quite delectable.

The next day, Sunday, was my actual birthday.  Unfortunately I didn’t get enough sleep on Saturday night, which meant I was falling asleep in 8:30 Church.  I didn’t want to do that, because one, I hate falling asleep in church, and two, the lessons and talks were fantastic.  Our high councilman and one future sister missionary in our ward (she had her call to Canada) spoke on reverence: what it means and how to develop it in our lives.  Sunday school was about the reactions to Christ’s birth (Mary, the angels, Simeon, etc.).  Relief Society was about the Sabbath day and fasting, and I was somehow able to stay awake for that third hour of church.  After church I had to get set apart in my new calling.  I am now a member of the temple committee!  I will miss my calling as Relief Society teacher very much, but of course the moment you get really good at or really attached to a calling is the moment you are pulled away from it.  But I’m excited to be on the temple committee.  I have a strong testimony of the importance of the temple and regular temple attendance.  In fact, I’ll admit that multiple times in the past I have been jealous of friends getting married almost more for the fact that they were able to make their temple covenants than that they were now married.  Of course I want to get married, but I want to make those covenants, too.  Anyway, I hope this calling will be good for me and that I will be able to contribute to the good of our ward in encouraging people to attend the temple regularly.  The blessings in one’s life from regular temple attendance are immeasurable.  Anyhow, I was set apart in my calling by the first counselor in our bishopric.  It always amazes me how strong the power of the Spirit becomes when a Priesthood holder exercises his Priesthood authority and gives a blessing.  The whole room filled with the Spirit of the Lord.  It was wonderful.  When I got home from that, I took a glorious hour and a half long nap, and then went to my sister K’s sister-in-law’s house for dinner.  They do dinner regularly with her in-law siblings, but this is the first time I took her up on her invitation for me to join.  I got to see B’s new baby—always fun.  After dinner we played Catan Histories: The Struggle for Rome, which I got for K and R for Christmas.  It was an adventure as we all tried to learn this new game, then play it.  Luckily we are all game people and caught on quickly, and I think we all liked the game very much.  

As it was late when I got home Sunday night, I slept in Monday.  Always good.  For lunch, a bunch of friends and I went to Tucanos!  It was a party of 30 and it was fabulous.  Several had never been to Tucanos, so I was pleased to introduce them to the amazingness that it is.  Most of my friends from sociology came – my cohort, some of the 2^nd year cohort, as well as my professor M – plus some people from my ward, old roommates, and other friends.  It was great.  I felt very loved =) The rest of the day was really relaxed…my roommate A and our friend M watched She’s The Man, which I kind of watched…I’m not a huge Amanda Bynes fan, nor am I really into movies like that, but it was all right.  A and I decided not to do anything else the rest of the day and just watched another movie, How To Train Your Dragon.  She hadn’t seen it because she was in Jerusalem last semester, and she loved it.  That movie really is fantastic, and it’s so quotable.  You know I love quotable movies!  I also spent some time perusing the Netflix list, because my mom and dad got me a 3 month subscription to Netflix for my birthday!  What is first on my DVD list, coming to me tomorrow?  X-men the Animated Series: Volume 1.  Of course.  I haven’t seen those since I was a kid, and I am totally stoked to watch them again.  If you are still reading this ridiculously long post and have any suggestions of movies or T.V. shows I should check out, let me know! 

Thoughts about turning 23: One, I feel old.  I feel like 23 is the first year of the mid-20s (early 20s = ages 20-22, mid 20s = ages 23-26, late 20s = 27-29), and that makes me feel a little old.  It doesn’t help that I can count on one hand the number of girls in my ward that are older than me; most are a good two years younger.  I’m even older than a lot of the guys, almost of all of which seem to have gotten back from their missions in the last six months or so.  So, I feel old.  My friend MW in Missouri told me I should get a bunch of cats, or feed birds in the park.  =P  My second thought is, I only feel old because I’m single, not dating anyone, and living in a city where a large percentage of women my age are married and already have a child or two.  One of my sisters and one of my brothers were both married by the time they were 23.  By the time my Mom was 23, she had a son.  If I were to get out of this area—which I intend to do as soon as I get my Master’s Degree—then it will be perfectly normal if I am still single by that time.  Thought number three, unrelated to the first two but the most important of the three: I have now officially been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for fifteen years!  I’m looking forward to another fifteen, then another fifteen, then another, so on for forever, and I’m excited for every minute of it.

This Master's Student's Life

Hi again! I have been an utter failure at updating my blog. In my defense, though, it was Christmastime, which is always busy, plus I was finishing my first semester of grad school. Please forgive me.

Updates...As alluded to above, I successfully made it through my first semester of grad school, not too worse for the wear (three A's and one A-). Ceeelll-lebrate good times, come on! Then came Christmas, as it always does, in spite of the Grinch's efforts to keep it in check. I got to spend some good time with family and friends, though not enough. Even though I was home for a little over two weeks, it was still too short. I enjoyed it, though--playing games with my family, watching movies, going places, just spending time together. I got back on Sunday, and school started two days ago. This semester will be just as hard as the last, if not harder...I have to finish two papers with professors, one of which I will be presenting at the PSA Conference in Seattle in March, plus I have to get going on my thesis. Not to mention taking 10 credits again. My classes are Linear Regression Analysis (doesn't that just sound so fun? I can already tell that will be a struggle), Ethnographic Research Techniques (interesting, but very time-consuming), Race and Ethnicity (a very interesting class), and of course, Pro-Sem (the seminar where we learn how to be academic professionals and what you can do with an MS in Sociology). The papers I'm working on with professors are the same one from last semester -- one on anger within the family, and the other on child health outcomes in single-parent families. Now I get to figure out exactly what I'm doing for my thesis...I don't want to share too much about that until I get going on it, because right now, I only have a very meager idea on what I'm doing.

Yep, that's it! School pretty much defines my life right now, which is kind of sad when I recall the fact that I am halfway through my 19th consecutive year of being a full-time student (17th if I don't count preschool or kindergarten). Yikes. I think a good solid 20 years oughta do the trick, don't you? I plan to finish my Master's in April 2012, then it's off to...somewhere. I have no idea where, but I will be moving on from where I am now.

I will probably update this more often now...I have a tentative goal to write every day (or as often as I can...), so whether or not I post a blog will depend on the subject matter of what I write. Any ideas of topics for me to write about?

Thankful for friends, family, the break from classes, exercise, fruit salads, writing three papers...

Thank you to my friends and family who read, and who commented, on my last post =) I very much appreciated your thoughts.

So, I'm sitting here, trying to work on a research paper. Obviously it is going extremely well, because I am on my blog, ignoring it... Anyway, I told my professor I'd send her my best draft so far by Wednesday or so. (Realization: that means I only have a day and a half to make huge improvements on it...yikes.) Unfortunately, she is one of those professors who gives confusing guidance, or no guidance at all, and so you don't know what to do, how to fix it, or how to fulfill her requests. I will be graded on this paper as though it is my thesis prospectus, which is it is not, so I feel like there is no point in doing it (except for the fact that if I don't, I fail the course, which means I have to repeat it. That should really be enough motivation.). So here I am, trying to motivate myself to work on this paper...and failing miserably. Sigh.

On the bright side, tonight I made a fruit salad with strawberries, kiwi, grapes, cranberries, and pomegranate seeds, and it was tasty and nutritious. Also, my run today was difficult (added 5 minutes in length from the last time I ran) but invigorating, and I feel strong. Also also, I don't have class again until next Monday, which is very relieving. Also also, my friend J is coming into town this week from CA, and I am excited to see her! Also also also also, Thanksgiving is on Thursday! So as long as I get somewhere with this paper (not to mention the other two I need to work on this week), this week should be a good one! =)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Eat lots of turkey, enjoy family, and thank the Lord for your blessings. If you're traveling, be safe! Enjoy the holiday...