Living the Dream

Today, right now, I am living in the dream. Let me just tell you why....

I am living in a cabin at sundance with one of my awesome friends
No homework in sight for at least the next year and a half
There is a spring storm brewing right outside my window
I get to read whatever books I want for 2 whole months
The majority of my days are spent at a job that I don't hate
A car at my disposal until I leave for the mish
Weekly emails from my favorite person in the world
Two weeks (so far) that I get to work EFY
Hanging out with all of my seriously amazing friends everday
And I will serve a mission in the Dominican Republic in 77 days

WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL WANT? LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!!!

Is Honesty Really the Best Policy?

Ever since I was young, I have had this cliche phrase repeated to me over and over again. I have generally accepted it as truth, and therefore live my life by the mantra that being honest with people is simply the best thing to do. But lately I've begun to question this "truth", and I find my code of ethics being called into question. For starters, I've recently taken to pranking my friends over the past 8 months and found myself staring people in the face and straight up lying. The first time I did it I thought I would be struck dumb, and I could feel my insides twisting in revulsion. But the more you lie, the less you feel it. And I'll be honest, the pranks were definitely fun and entertaining. Secondly, I have found that my sometimes brutal honesty has given offense to some. I was recently asked by a friend how he could, and I quote "get girls to like him." Oh brother, if only I had the nerve to tell him the whole truth. But I did proceed to tell him what girls like in general, and his current behavior was a little less than adequate. Of course no one likes to hear their flaws, and I've noticed a little frost in the friendship as of late because hey, the truth hurts. So now I'm left wondering if my personal mantra has led me astray all these years... Maybe lying can be fun, entertaining, and even less hurtful?

The Wingman

For those of you who know me well, you are painfully aware of my complete inability to flirt, smooth-talk, or even articulate around men I am attracted to. Honestly, I think it's some kind of disease that the world should be more aware of. In my case, I'm fairly certain it's terminal. Anyways, this random tangent is not the point of my post. The topic of this evening: the vital role of a wingman. If you've ever seen Top Gun, you know how important Goose is. Without Goose, Maverick would be nothing. Well in the world of dating, I happen to be Goose. Goose and I have alot in common...well except for the mustache...and his wicked fighter jet flying skills. Ok so we're not that alike, but Goose is the wingman. He helps Maverick look good. So in my world, I view every roommate's love interest as a legitimate mission. Once I find out the target, I zero in, drag my roommate with me, and strike up casual conversations. Ideally, the conversation leads to an opportunity where I can suggest an activity that will prolong the interaction and therefore lay groundwork for possible hanging-out potential. Then my work is done and it is in the hands of fate. This is an excellent power, is it not? Sadly, such manipulative mastery as this can only be achieved when I am doing it for the benefit of another. So...what does this mean for me and Goose...the ever faithful wingman? (or wingwoman rather) Well, it means we die as we're ejected from the cockpit. Too bad.

I Love My Job

As most of you may know, I currently have the privilege of spending the majority of my days working deep underground in a place called the Harold B. Lee Library Special Collections. I have held this job for exactly 2 years this month, and while it hasn't always been the most cerebrally stimulating job in the world, it has defnitely had its' perks. One being the annual Christmas party we have every year where at least one person gets up during the talent segment and embarrasses themselves, thus heavily taxing the social sympathies of every person in attendance. Another is our weekly work meetings where we generally spend 45 minutes every thursday talking about the exact same problems we discussed the previous week while we gorge ourselves on delicious treats...today it was cupcakes. Then there's the period each semester during finals where I get to tell at least a dozen people a day that they cannot in fact study in the Special Collections reading room because the things being viewed in there are generally worth more than their puny little lives.

But of all the great things about my job, my favorite just might be the chance I get to help interview prospective employees. As a department we get to meticulously scrutinize each resume, which often results in nasty comments written in the margins. I know, it's not really very nice, but if they never see them than what can it hurt? After this tedious process, generally there are 5-10 applicants chosen from the stack who everyone collectively deems worth an interview. Once the interviews are scheduled, I get to sit down and think up questions to ask them that will help narrow the pool of qualified applicants. Call me sadistic, but I thoroughly enjoy dreaming up questions that will make people squirm. It's even more fun when I get to the interview and watch the process of agony. This generally seperates said applicants into two groups: the verbally competent and the socially awkward. While this round of interviews was a slight disappointment in that we did not merit any extreme cases, I can't help but reflect back on some of my favorite responses. So for your reading pleasure, here the top 2...

Scenario #1
Me: We are looking for people that are natural problem solvers. Could you give us an example of a time where you encountered a problem with either a customer and co-worker, and how you came to a solution?

Applicant: Well, in my last job there was a girl that I didn't like very much. So I just quit talking to her and avoided her. I did not like her at all.

Scenario #2
Me: In our workplace we have a great need for people who are detail-oriented and organized. Could you give us an example of something you keep well-organized?

Applicant: Well, in high school my older brother didn't allow me to borrow his movies, so when he was out I would sneak into his room and take them, but not without first checking to see precisely how it was placed on his shelf. After I used them, I would carefully put it back in the same way I found it. (The kicker is that we actually hired this kid. Yeah...)

The Call

So I have some rather exciting news to relate, although most of you have already heard through other sources. Anyways, the point is that about a month ago I decided to put my mission papers in, and last week I received a big white envelope in the mail telling me where I would be spending the next 18 months of my life. Imagine my surprise when I ripped it open to find that I have been assigned to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTO DOMINGO EAST MISSION!!!!!! Yes those are all in capital letters because I am yelling aloud inside my head. I cannot believe after all of the crazy life experiences I have been blessed with, I am being given the ultimate experience to go and serve the Lord. I am excited, terrified, overwhelmed, giddy, worried, anxious, and most of all grateful. I know that it will change my life, and I am so happy I will get to share the wonderful message of this gospel with the amazing people of the Dominican Republic. So although it was a long and rather detoured road to get here, I am ready to start this new adventure.

Carpe Diem

I'm in a ponderous mood today...if that's a word...and if it isn't than I'm pensive. Anyways, this past weekend was Easter and Conference, and I found myself reflecting back to last year when I was in the Holy Land having the time of my life and learning things that even now I'm still working through. I find myself looking back to that and wishing I had been more grateful while I was there and not taking it for granted. Then I realized that I'm stuck doing the exact same thing now. I'm in college, meeting new people every day, learning so many new things, and wasting my time worrying about the past and other useless drone. Until this moment I don't think I ever really appreciated the saying "Carpe diem." Because if you don't wake up enough to live where you are, tomorrow and the rest of forever are only going to be filled with regrets. I hate regrets, more than anything in the entire world. You can't do anything about what you did or didn't do, but you can decide now to make the most of every day no matter how hard or awful things get. In the words of Owl City...in every mushroom cloud there's a silver lining. It's up to me to see it I guess. Maybe I just need some nuclear sunglasses.