Under the Skin

You know what is the best part of having a blog?  You get to review all kinds of things. And then, you get to pretend that people actually care what you think, and actually read it.  And so, I review movies, and books, and more books...but tonight, I'm doing a restaurant. Let me begin by saying that I am loving being part of the Medical Lab Science major family.  I haven't really connected to a lot of people at college.  I haven't been at disconnect, but I just never really had a lot of people I could call my friends.  Just friendly acquaintances.  And as my mother knows, that's fine with me.  I didn't really have friends growing up, and it never really bothered me.  But, it is nice to have them, even if I don't hate not having them.  Last year, I did some things with my coworkers in American Heritage, and it was fun.  However, being in Medical Lab Science (and now, actually in the legit program), I spend 5-8 hours a day with the same ...

Since it's Sunday, I thought I would include a religious thought for you all.  As you know, I like the Old Testament.  As you may not know, I also really like the story of Gideon.  I think that there are so many lessons that we can learn from the story of Gideon.  One part of the story of Gideon is where he chooses his army. He chooses his army by taking them to a body of water.  Those that go and put their faces in and drink are not part of his army.  Those who approach slowly, and cautiously, and use their hands to drink, but still look around become his army. One thing that I think is important from this story is as a metaphor for our lives.  I've often looked around at my classmates, and they only know the material for the test.  After the test, it's gone, and ask them a day before the test, and they have no clue.  I wish I could do that, so maybe I'm just bitter and trying to justify my inability to do multiple-choice tests, and my i...

  “If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” “Don't feel bad, I'm usually about to die.”  I really like Children's Literature.  It's not that I specifically dislike adult literature, but I really like Children's Literature.  But, I haven't been keeping up with Children's Literature as much as I'd like.  I decided that I wanted to change that.  And, at the end of the summer, the family that I nannied for gave me a gift certificate to Barnes and Nobles.  So, for part of the gift certificate, I went to the person in the Children's Books section and said, "I want the first book of the best, recently-written children's series that you know of." She gave me some options.  She suggested Ranger's Apprentice.  I'd read the first of that series, and I wasn't impressed.  She suggested the Bartimaeus Trilogy.  I read the summary and I wasn't intrigued.  She suggested the Percy Jac...

The other day, I was reading some of Abigail Adams' writing.  She really is one of the greatest minds to have ever lived, and she really did keep her husband in line sometimes when he started to stray down the path of elitist federalism. I have a lot of respect for this woman, and for her support of an intelligent man.  However, I was reading a letter to John Adams that has since been titled, "Remember the Ladies."  And then, I read some analysis of the letter.  It seems that it has become something of a feminist manifesto.  The funny thing is, I don't think that Abigail Adams meant it that way.  In the letter, she urges her husband not to forget the women in this new revolution of his.  She begs him to be kinder to her sex in his new government than any other had ever been.  Then, she goes on to use irony.  She reminds Adams that they felt justified in their rebellion because they had no representation.  As such, Abigail tells John,...

Have you ever noticed that you act differently around different people?  I don't mean that you aren't the same person, but different parts of your personality come out when you're around people with different personalities.  Right?  Or is it just me? Anyways, this makes it interesting when parts of your life collide, and you're not sure which personality to take on.  Very recently, this has happened to me, and it's just been interesting to me.  At the beginning of this school year, I walked into the lab where I research one day and opened the incubator, looking for my bacteria.  One of the other undergrad research assistants, Taylor, says, "How was TA training?" I respond, "Good," still looking into the incubator.  Then I turned around and looked at him.  "Wait.  I don't think I told you about TA training." He just shrugged and said, "I'm engaged to Alisa." You see, Alisa is another one of the American Heritage...

I must say, the Old Testament really speaks to my heart.  I'm not saying that the Book of Mormon, New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants aren't true.  They are, in fact, also true.  However, I have always felt a kinship with the thought processes, events and lives of the people in the Old Testament.  And, contrary to popular belief, you can learn a lot from these people.  While waiting for Devotional to start this Tuesday, Caleb and I were talking about how I'm an Old Testament person.  The person who was speaking at Devotional happened to have been my Old Testament 2 professor.  Caleb said, "I really don't want to take Old Testament." A little part of me died inside, but instead of saying that, I just said, "Well, you don't have to.  You only have to take 2 semesters of Book of Mormon, 1 semester of D&C and 1 semester of New Testament.  Your others are religion elective credits and there are a million and one religion classes to choose...