Could my life be any more... random?

I've got a lot of random things to tell you about... including a potato gun, a spaz trip to Salt Lake, the lack of hat-wearing to ward prayer, and the occurrence of chocolate cake.

Well... here's the thing. We poor college students are surrounded by snow. It's really cold. And there is a TON of snow. What would you do? Build a snowman? We did too! Make snowangels? We did too! Throw snowballs? We did to-- Oh. Wait. We DIDN'T. I know how much your jaw just dropped. I hear the wheels turning in your head... What? No snowball fights? None at all?

A note of explanation. It is currently against Provo city law to throw snowballs. It's against the honor code to do illegal things... and thus, no one throws snowballs for fear of getting kicked out of the university. It really is quite depressing.

I was going to go on a date with Ryan sometime this weekend... we were going to go bowling and get pizza. But... we forgot. You'll understand why (besides the fact that it's finals week) shortly.

Ryan and I were feeling that widespread depression resulting from the inability to throw snowballs acutely. Furthermore, somehow Ryan had gotten the idea that he didn't have a hobby (besides exploring the campus grounds) and he needed one. He wasn't taking any of my suggestions seriously (he didn't think he'd be too spectacular at sword fighting and he thought he was too poor to go skydiving for a hobby). Then he got desperate, and we started surfing the Net for random hobbies that poor Ryan could take up. He stumbled upon a video of some kid firing a... spudgun? Oh goodness. That's right! A potato-firing device of grand proportions.

The two of us watch the produce accelerator with rapture. We pretty much are thinking exactly the same thing at this point. He looks over at me, and says, "Jenna. We HAVE to build one of those." We start the initial plans for our weapon of mashed destruction immediately (at which point we both forget about the date). Since us poor college students have no power tools... we'll have to crash in North Salt Lake at his grandparent's house (more specifically the garage) which has everything we could possibly need. Hillary'll have to come with us, because she has a car, and at the end of day, us two girls can crash at her house... half a block away (how convenient). Ryan already figured out exactly where the nearest Home Depot is too. Pretty much... we are way too excited for our own good. The thing is, we can't tell too many people about this... because then EVERYONE would want in on it.

Well, the next morning I wake up to see Rachel and Hillary packing... Wait, WHAT? Why? Why are you leaving me? I put on my best sad face at their departure, when... "Hey, Jenna! You should come too!" Oh!

"Where are you going?" Well, they were going to their homes... so that they could go to a missionary farewell the following morning. Upon further inquiry, I discover that this almost-missionary is Ben. At one point about two months ago, Rachel and Hillary were moping about because their friend Ben from high school had promised to come over, and... he hadn't. And this was the third time this had happened. Furthermore, Hillary is pretty much head-over-heels in love with this mystery Ben. So. I steal Rachel's cell phone. Browse through the contact list. "Ben Poulsen?" Is this the Ben? They nod forlornly. Yes. That was him. Love-stricken Hillary even tells me that that is his home phone number, and exactly how you can get his mother to hand the phone to him. Oh, well. This is useful information.

I press the talk button, and put the phone to my ear. My roommates are looking at me like deer in headlights. "Are... are you actually calling him?"

"Yes. I have to scold him." I don't quite remember what Ben and I talked about for twenty minutes except that the gist of it was me threatening to send flaming squirrel assassins after him if he didn't get his butt down here to visit Rachel and Hillary soon.

Well, after all this, I figured I wasn't really a complete stranger and decided... okay! I'll go to Bountiful and go to Ben's farewell! This was completely on a whim. I bring books so that I can study. I don't. Mostly I eat and sleep and go to farewells. And listen to Christmas music and send Rachel crazy messages. At one point Rachel's dad came in with Nerf guns and attacked us. Then he let us keep the guns and ammunition as early Christmas presents. The two of us were thrilled, and immediately started plotting how we would torture dear Jackie when we got home. For dinner tonight, I had seven plate-sized blueberry pancakes. Why? Well, that was how many I was given. And... they were darn good. And... I wanted to see how many I could eat before I was too full to belch in approval.

We got back in time for ward prayer, but because Rachel's mother had sent home extremely-stuffed stockings full of goodies for all six of us roomies and six beautifully wrapped packages that contained amazing fluffy scarves, we broke tradition. That's right. We DIDN'T wear hats. We wore scarves. I show up a mere five minutes early (usually it's about ten) to be confronted by dear Robert, my home teacher. He was complaining about how I hadn't been home when he had spontaneously tried to come visit me. I am laughing at him, and I then notice Ryan moping around in the background pretending to be a ghost.

Ryan has this tendency to pretend he's not there and be a ghost until he finally decides it's worth gathering up the courage to come and talk to me. I am perfectly content to just let him do this. But Ryan has recently tried to convince me that he "is not a ghost," and since I had already broken the hat thing... I could break another unwritten tradition. "Hello, Ryan!" I was not expecting him to be so thrilled that I had noticed him and actually started talking to him first. He lit up instantly. I'm not sure I can even begin to describe how funny it was. So that's how I ended up breaking a third tradition... I was talking to Ryan and then ward prayer started... and... I was not sitting in my traditional spot on the staircase with my short roommates (who happen to be giggling and shaking their heads at me). Oh snap.

After ward prayer... my friend Sarah pokes me as I've resumed conversation with Ryan. I turn around to an offer I cannot refuse. Sarah... has... chocolate... cake... I hurriedly say goodbye to Ryan and I invade Sarah's apartment. "I'm really, really sorry, it's just that I made too much and I'm trying to get rid of..." I kind of just laugh at her. "No, no, any time!"

I come back to my apartment... and realize I have forgotten my keys. I pound on my door. This is a surefire way to get all your roommates out in the hall. So, when I open the door, I am pounced upon instantly. I went from a singular person carrying a chocolate cake to a large mass of six girls clumped together cradling a chocolate cake. "What... what... what... is it..." "Oooooh... oh oh oh...." "Can... can... can... I have some?" "Shaaaaarrreeee? Share share share?" Remember now that we are all stressing out majorly and that chocolate is a cure-all (ooh, FYI, I've been eating chocolate all semester and no migraines... joy!) for anything stress related. This is also a fresh, warm, and extremely aromatic chocolate cake. I put on the counter and let my roommates have at it. I go check my email, preferring to not be a part of this frenzy (I would have been participating if I wasn't stuffed full of pancakes). I come back seventy-five seconds later, only to find... GASP! The chocolate cake is GONE. Gone. Eaten already. The WHOLE thing. Not a single crumb left. Not only was the pan empty, all of the cake's former glory was in the bellies of my dear roommates. I wasn't too disappointed since I was so full, but I just shook my head at my ravenous roomies and made my way over back to Sarah's place to return the pan.

She opens the door and looks at me warily. "I'm here to return your pan!" I say brightly. "It's all gone! My roomies found it!"

"Well... did you get any?"

"No... I left for a few seconds, and I came back, and it was gone."

Maybe I should have lied, because Sarah was distraught. She attacked her apartment to find a Snickers bar to give me (she didn't like Snickers and had been given one). I just laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Anyway, that is all for now! I will see you all next week!

Crazy Week!

Well, it wasn't particularly exciting... but I did promise people to keep in touch and a few people told me they looked forward to hearing about my dates. Soo... I feel obligated... or something.

Last Monday was long and horrid. I only had classes in the morning, and I had already finished my homework for all my classes on Tuesday except for one classes worth of reading. I figured one day would be enough to read it all. Boy, was I wrong. I read for twelve straight hours, and only read half of it (whoops). A little interruption that night was Family Home Evening... where my fhemates proceeded to nominate me as FHE Mom. One of my roommates were also nominated, so we rock-paper-scissored it, and I lost. So I'm FHE Mom. Whoot?

Dad happens to be the guy I went out with the following day. His name is Jon, and his family is from Peru and he went on his mission to Puerto Rico. He took me to the Museum of Art to look at some Minerva Teichart. I liked the paintings, and it was hard to talk much to him while we were in the MOA. However, once he took me to the Creamery and got us a burger and ice cream, I discovered that he really likes to talk. Which is a little eerie because his yell would be like my hoarse whisper. He's extremely quiet. But apparently likes to talk... about everything. So mostly I sat there and ate, listened, and gave an occasional input when I could hear him. It was nice, but afterwards my ears hurt from the constant strain to listen to a barely audible whisper in a crowded Creamery.

Wednesday... I squandered. I really don't remember that day at all. Oh wait! It all comes clear! I had an evil calculus assignment. One of my friends in calculus did a little investigating and figured out that people in 400 level math course were learning the same thing: proof by induction. See, the honors sections of Calculus 1 get extra assignments... like that. It did it, but it took a while... and a lot of backwards thinking. I also had an interview with the bishop (oh no! a calling! save me save me! :D) where he did not give me a calling but asked all about me. He hinted that I would likely only be made FHE Mom, and nothing else. Viva 18 credits and a parttime job? Sweet. Yes, that was my Wednesday.

Thursday! Oh man, I started work at 4am! The job itself is an extremely fun and exciting custodial job (no overstatement intended here) and I really don't mind the early hour. Especially since I go to bed a lot sooner than the average college student. Classes on the other hand... they might have been a little more exciting if you get my meaning. At night time, I went with my friend Sarah to an ROTC Social down in the canyon. That was exciting if I may say so. How can war games and food not be exciting. It's kind of fun to dodge marshmallow bullets while crawling army style on the ground looking for ammo for your Nerf gun. As soon as I found ammo, one of the enemy charged over to my side, and before I could shoot, I was tragically light-sabered to death. I did manage to kill a few of the enemy before I was taken out though. The only awkward thing about that social was that Sarah, some other girls she brought with her, and I were the only single girls at all. All the females there were either wives, girlfriends, or in the ROTC themselves. I got asked several times whose girlfriend I was. Which was a little freaky. What was freakier was when some random (not really, but I thought so at the time) guy started talking to me... he knew my name already, and started naming off a few of my classes by name and asking how I liked them. But then I realized that it was Isaac (I had to ask him what his name was)... apparently he is both in my ward, and in two of my classes. Wow, I'm very observant, aren't I? After another sickening ride home, I went to bed feeling quite carsick. Next time I go I shall require Dramamine.

Yesterday I think I liked the best. I went to work again at 4am, and did lots of paperwork and took trash out of every office (oo, fun?). Then we all ate breakfast together: breakfast burritos, bagels, cereal, juice... I loved it. Best thing was, we were all still getting paid for eating breakfast. :D Then I headed off to all my classes, where I was still extremely tired from my late night adventure with the ROTC. After class I went and had an interview with one my peer mentors who just wanted to get to know me a little better... and then I headed home for lunch. I munched on honeydew and something else, and then I set off on an adventure...to the physics lab! I have to admit I was absolutely thrilled to be able to calculate the acceleration due to gravity with a percentage error of 0.1%. I'd never done anything quite so spectacular before... but then again, having high tech university equipment versus old ghetto ancient Chandler High School equipment might have made a big difference. Yes, I realize I am a nerd and that only nerds would be thrilled about something like that. Furthermore, I felt this urge to email my old physics teacher, Mr. Knust, and relate to him the excitement I felt at an experiment actually going right... for once :D.

Well, after that I came home, thoroughly energized despite my lack of adequate sleep, and decided to do math homework... while listening to the Batman Begins soundtrack at full blast to drown out loud music next door. Very ominous, that was. Made math so much more exciting. And then... I turned on my Pirates soundtrack... to counter our neighbor's booming music and also to celebrate that I was going to be Pirates 3 at the dollar theatre that night! Yes, it was a date. I did homework until he called me... and informed me that he was standing outside. I wonder if he knocked... if he had I probably wouldn't have heard it due to Batman and Pirates booming bass throughout the hall.

So I went and saw Pirates with Ryan, which I absolutely loved. Then we went to Creamery (which seems to be a recurring date motif) and got ice cream. We walked back to the lobby of my hall, where we ate our ice cream... and talked. For a long time. About the most random things... like the game (which you all just lost by the way) and high school... and classes... and professors... and cookies and brownies. Apparently when he and his roommate made brownies for the first time and left them for the girls in our apartment, his roommates were disapproving. But after our positive response... they decided it was a genius idea. They proceeded to make a batch of 110 cookies and then drop them all off in front of girls' doors, making sure to leave a note about who they were from. I thought that was quite silly. Of course, they got tons of cookies in return.

By the time I casually asked what time it was, and to our surprise discovered we had been on the date for over six hours and that it was almost midnight (ahhh!). I went inside where my roommates were all thrilled to see me ("We thought you had been kidnapped!!! But then you were on a date... but you were gone for sooo long!"). We looked out the window, and saw people sitting on the grass outside our hall... We decided to creep them out. We took Hillary's cardboard cutout of Orlando Bloom and stuck him in front of the window, so he was staring at them. They soon left.

I eventually wandered off to bed, and now here I am this morning writing. Exciting?