Exactly a month to the day since I last posted. Halloween was great, especially since I got to go home and spend it with the family :) Now I just have to wait till Thanksgiving, which really isn't that far away.

It's that time of year again. Registering for Spring classes. I have no idea why but ever since high school, I've dreaded registering for classes. It's always a pain trying to put everything in the right schedule, then you have to worry about actually getting a spot in the class! My registration date is on Nov. 4th and as a newish Freshmen who hasn't ever registered for classes by herself, the task seems daunting. It really doesn't help that both of the advisers for the College of Science recently resigned and that they won't have new ones trained till the end of November. I have till January 10th to register, but again I would like to actually have a choice in the classes I take next semester.

I'm starting to feel the stress pick up again. It seems like every time I finish a test, there is another one just around the corner. It really doesn't help that all my professors seem schedule their tests in the same week. I'm still convinced it's some kind of conspiracy theory. I've been studying and keeping up on the work, but as the testes get closer I go into panic mode and convince myself that I know nothing and will never be able to pass. Here's to hoping I'm wrong.

What have I been doing to de-stress? Watching Dexter as much as possible. There's just something great about that show. Michael C. Hall does a fabulous job with the Dexter character. He's so creepy and lovable at the same time :) In other TV news, Doctor Who comes back December 25th and let's just say that ecstatic would be an understatement for how I feel. I only just started watching the show this summer, so I think I'm always going to be partial to the 11th doctor. I have watched season 1 and most of 2 and 3 of the newer ones, and none of the classics. I'm hooked though and I can't wait for December.

My life is pretty boring when I actually write it all down.......... Hopefully something intersting comes up in the near future.

Holiday Season is HERE!!!!

Ah, October is finally here! It's never officially fall until October rolls around. I used to get so excited about it as a little kid, mostly because Halloween was coming. Waiting till the end of the month seemed to take forever though. Now a days it flies by. The end of October is when my personal holiday season starts.

The first big event is Curt's birthday on the 27th, and birthdays are always fun even when they aren't your own. I can't believe he'll be 17 this year. Sometimes I forget he's really not that much younger than I am. I feel bad that I won't be there for him on his actually birthday. It's in the middle of the week but I am coming up north the weekend before his birthday, so he and I will do something to celebrate.

Four days later, it'll be Halloween! My family celebrated Halloween when I was younger, and I loved getting a new costume and going around my neighborhood trick-or-treating. On thing I hated as a little kid was having to wear a coat over my costume. I remember one year I was Meg from the Disney movie Hercules. I adored the costume because it was shiny and pink and just plain cute. When it was time to get ready, my mom did my hair and put some make up on me (another reason why I loved Halloween so much) and I went to go put my costume on. Now for those of you who don't remember what Meg's outfit looked like, here is a photo.

As you can see, no sleeves. Which really wasn't a problem for 7 year old me, but my mother really didn't think it was a good idea to send me out trick-or-treating like this on a cold, October, Utah night. She hands me a sweatshirt and tells me I have to wear it under the dress, and I also have to wear tights and my tennis shoes. Now, 7 year old me had a problem with this, actually several.

1. Meg doesn't wear a sweater under her dress. And I'm all about authenticity.
2. The sweater was white, and had a photo of a bunch of girls in a convertible on it. So it totally didn't match.
3. Meg always wore sandals. Cute, little gold sandals.
4. I HATED tights. With a passion exceeded by none. They were the bane of my existence and I was convinced that they were something I put up with for Sundays only. And even that took a lot of convincing from my mother.

I remember giving my mother all these arguments, thinking they were brilliant and she would have to see reason. I finished with a very snotty, "See, Meg doesn't wear any of these. Just the dress." To which my mother replied. "She didn't live in Utah"

She was totally right, and I just gave up. There may have been threats of no trick-or-treating if I didn't get my act together. As if the heavens wanted me to know that mom knew what she was talking about, it started snowing about an hour or so into trick-or-treating:). Looking back, I'm grateful that I had a mom who cared enough to make sure I would stay as warm and as comfortable as possible.

After Halloween I've got Thanksgiving and Christmas, which are always eventful and sometimes a little stressful. I always look forward to them, especially this year, as it'll be a chance to spend some time with my family. Then once Christmas is over, there is New Years and my dad's birthday! That takes care of January, which brings us to February, which means my birthday!!!

And that ends my holiday season, and I get the rest of the year to gear up, and get excited for next years.

A very random, all over the place post.

I'm so ready for a break! Is it Thanksgiving yet? I'm actually doing okay, but I miss my family and it feels like its been forever since I've seen them. Or talked to them for that matter. Maybe I just need to get used to not being in constant communication with my family like I used to be. It's hard getting used to though.

I've been putting in job applications everywhere they hire CNAs, with no luck so far. If that doesn't work out, I'm going to have to join the hordes of other students looking for entry level, minimum wage jobs. CNAs don't make amazing amounts of money, but it's more than minimum wage, and they usually like need people who can work afternoons and nights just as much as people who can work mornings. I hoping and praying that something comes along soon, because I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't.

Classes are going well, but I think I'm having a hard time getting motivated to go. I think it's because we're almost to the middle of the semester and things have become a little more routine. I'm not looking forward to finals though, December really isn't as far away as I think it is. It'll be October on Friday!!!!!! I'm going home in October the weekend before Curt's bday, though sadly since his birthday is in the middle of the week I can't be there on the actual day. I can't believe he's going to be 17. I also can't believe he's a junior in high school. I really can't believe that I'll be going to his high school graduation within the next two years, I just barely graduate. That's the way it's always been with Curtis and I though. We're so close in age that whatever big, growing up, life changing event I go through, he's usually not far behind. I wonder how my dad will like it when we're both out of the house. Seems weird to think that he once Curt is gone, there aren't any more kids to hang around.

And if Curt gets older, then that means I definitely get older. It's going to be so weird turning 19 in February, that just seems old to me for some reason. It's also weird hearing guys I went to high school with talk about their mission papers, and mission farewells. It just doesn't seem like we're really old enough yet to be thinking about those kinds of things. I dunno, time just seems to be whizzing by.

Be warned, this post is known to be epically long and possibly too wordy.

This is a blog I started on Friday September 3, but never got to finish before I had to leave. I'll post it here for you now.

Friday September 3, 2010

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be going home. I've been missing my family like crazy and the closer it gets to being time to go, the slower the time seems to pass. I thought I would share that with you all. 

Classes were good today. I'm always surprised at how fast music goes by, I love learning about the pop culture of different times. A few girls sitting behind me in class today kept complaining about how boring they found the class and how the time seemed to drag on. I think they may be slightly unhinged, but I think having a background in music makes it more enjoyable for me. I tend to recognize more of the composers from the early 19th and 20th century and I'm usually familiar with their music, because I've either played it in the past or because we've talked about it in band class. I really miss band a lot more than I thought I would. I see the kids walking around campus with their musical instruments and I feel a little envious. It's strange to me because I used to belong to that group of kids, but here in college I don't have that association anymore.

 If I were any good I would at least try out for one of their ensembles but I don't have the skill for that, which is totally my fault but it still doesn't stop me from want that again. I know I used to complain about being in band back in high school, and even stopped playing for a time, but I think in the past year or so I really came to appreciate it. The beginning of my senior year of high school I didn't take it because I wanted to have the free class period at the end of the day, but two or three weeks in and I was asking the band director if I could transfer into the class. Ah well, at the very least I'll always have fond memories of band. I think it's something I want my kids to at least try. They don't have to fall in love with it, or be fabulous at it, and if they really don't like it they can drop it, but I really want to at least expose them to it. 

I've been packing my things up for the long weekend, and I have to say it's a little strange to be packing for "home." I guess I need to start thinking of Cedar City as my home now, and with enough time I'm sure I will, but as of right now it still feels like I'm coming home from a trip not going on one. I keep forgetting that I need to pack everything I need to get ready in the mornings or whatever because they aren't there at my house anymore. I wonder what it will be like when I get home. I'm excited to be leaving soon though, I really do miss my family.

I'm also waiting for my room mate agreement meeting to start. My room mate, Emilia, and I have to sit down with our Resident Advisor, Vanessa, and sort of draw up a contract that we both agree to abide by. It's supposed to cover things like food distribution, over night guests, cleaning schedules, things of that nature. It's supposed to take like an hour, which I find a little hard to believe but we'll see. I really like my R.A. or at least the little I've seen of her. She lives in a different building entirely and is over her building, Ponderosa, and my building, Hillside. She seems very nice and easy to talk to. I feel bad though, because Emilia and I were supposed to have our room mate agreement meeting on the very first Monday school started but we were both at Wal-Mart when the meeting was scheduled. Here it is over two weeks later and we've just barely signed up for today's time. Ah well, she's been very good natured about it and even got our electricity fixed. 

I forgot I hadn't mentioned this to anyone really. The electricity on our back kitchen wall went out the very first Sunday we were here. Now this wouldn't be too horrible of a problem, if that wall didn't contain the outlet for the microwave and the window fan. This apartment doesn't have any kind of air conditioning, so everyone relies on window and floor fans. When the electricity went out on that wall, the fan in the kitchen window could no longer take the hot air out. It got unbearably hot, to say the least. 

When something breaks or stops working in the apartment, you're supposed to put in a maintenance report online and University housing will send someone out to look at it. Emilia and I put the request in that Sunday and Vanessa had told us that it usually took 3-4 days for them to respond, unless it was something extremely serious. I thought not having electricity in part of my house was pretty serious, so I expected them some what soon. Apparently I thought wrong, because a week passed and nothing. Finally on Tuesday I'm coming back from Ponderosa with my laundry (Side note: None of the washing machines in my building work, so we have to trek over to Ponderosa) when I see the red SUU maintenance truck. I'm thinking my prayers have finally been answered and he's here to fix my electrical situation. He opens the back door and holds it open for me, and then proceeds to go up the stairs. A fabulous sign, because my place is on the top floor. We both make it up to my landing and I can hardly believe it, I'm so thrilled he's here. All I can think about is turning that stupid kitchen fan on and maybe microwaving myself one of the delicious frozen pretzels I've been denied. 

I tell him he's probably here for my apartment, and then he says "Oh, so to fix the  bed in # blankety blank" Which is the apartment across the hall from me. I'm furious at this point, but being raised to be polite to people in public, I refrain from throwing my laundry basket at his head. I tell him that I too have put in a maintenance report, and that I have NO EFFING ELECTRICITY, and he tells me he'll come over and take a look at it if he has time. Like it's going to take him a huge amount of time to help some girl adjust her bed hight. 

I go into my apartment and seethe about it a bit, and then tell Emilia that maintenance thinks a bed hight adjustment is more important than us melting every time we're in the living room or kitchen. She is likewise displeased, though we both now have the hope that maybe he'll come back over when he's done and check out what's going on. He's over there for 45 minutes, I know because I timed it and kept looking out his window to see if his truck was still in the lot. After 45 minutes I hear a car door shut, I look out the window and the guy and his truck were driving away. I was not pleased. 

I do have electricity now, but only because my wonderful RA put in another maintenance request for us and someone came out to fix it the very next day. Vanessa is amazing!

End of Friday September 3, 2010 post.

It's now Tuesday and I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. It was great to see my family, but it was also nice for me to leave. It wasn't that I was looking forward to leaving them, it was just that I wasn't dreading coming back to Cedar City. I was even a little bit excited even. I find I have a lot more to do here at school, and I think I like being busy. Well, busy with enjoyable things, but I think that's the same for everyone. 

To end this massive post, I will say that I had a fabulous weekend, loved seeing my family,  loved having some down time, and was happy to come back home when it was all over. Maybe I need to start calling this my southern home or something along those lines. 

Sharing Time!

Just thought I would share my awesome golden penny with you all before I head off to class.

Did they change the back of the penny?

Chemistry is awesome!

College Days

Well it's almost September now and as I always say, I can't believe how the time has flown. My summer is over and I've been in college for over a week. I'm a little surprised I actually made it through so far, but I seem to be doing well. I'm really enjoying it for the most part, I love the social aspect and all the new people I'm meeting. I also love the feeling of independence I have now that I'm living on my own. Sometimes it feels like I'm just playing at being an adult, which I guess in a sense I am. College seems to me to be a place where you can test out your skills at being independent and even learn some new ones when you find you're lacking.

Now it's almost over two hours later and I'm finally able to sit back down and type. I started some laundry, which by the way is expensive to to, and I wanted to take some photos of my room but it needed to be cleaned. So now two hours later I have a clean room and clean laundry all folded up or hung up. I love having a clean room, but I hate cleaning it. I suppose that's something I'll have to start keeping on top of.  I'm living in an apartment, though it's still on campus housing, which means my room mate and I are responsible for keeping the place clean. She's very much a cleaner which is great for me, but I feel bad when she starts cleaning. Maybe it'll inspire me to be more tidy. Only time will tell.

My lovely bed and dresser.

Where I "study"

And the fan that saves my life. It gets hot around here, especially when your building has no air conditioning. 

I've been having a lot of fun with my friends, and making some new ones as well. Kaitlynn came to school here as you all know and it's been fantastic hanging out with her. Bridger and Russell also went to high school with me and though we didn't hang out too much in high school, it's nice to get to know them better and hang out with them more.

I was disappointed that Kaitlynn and I weren't room mates, but now that we're here I actually think it's a good thing we aren't. We wouldn't have meet the people we had, like Kaitlynn's room mate in the dorms. Her name is Amanda and she's great fun to be around. With Kaitlynn in the dorms I don't feel quite so disconnected from everything because she's great about inviting me over to hang out. I get now why they really want freshman to stay in the dorms, there is this sense of camaraderie you can feel between them. If I can sense that, by not even living there I bet it's amazing when you do.

Don't get me wrong, I like my place. It was a bit of an adjustment and I felt very lonely at first but now that things are a little more put together and I'm more settled into school I feel better. The bathroom that I only have to share with one other person is a big plus too :)

My room mate is a Sophomore from Norway, which has been fun. There are some definite culture differences but all and all we get along great. Her name is Emilia and she's a great room mate, it's nice to have someone who knows more about the world outside of the United States than I do. We talk a lot and are getting to be pretty good friends. She's going to come home with me and experience her first American Thanksgiving, though I guess there really is no other kind.

I've really been enjoying my classes, and they're all pretty easy. MWF I don't start till 12:00 P.M. and it's called Popular Music in America. It's really a fascinating class and some days when we talk about certain songs or composures it makes me miss my high school band days. The professor is really young, I found out in class yesterday that he's 25! There are students that are older than he is, but he's a good teacher. He knows his stuff and he's really enthusiastic and passionate about it, which really shows in his lectures. We also listen to some pretty good music before and after class. I find myself reading the text book for fun.

After that I have Human Nutrition at 1:00 P.M. I think it may be one of my harder classes, just because there is so much information to memorize and keep straight, but my professor is nice and pretty funny and seems like he'll be easy to work with. He's also a younger one, though not 25. I'm not sure of his age, probably early 30's if I had to guess. Nutrition ends at 2:00 P.M. and I'm done for the day. Most of my friends are still in class at this time so I usually go home and work on some homework, clean, or go spend some time in the library.

Tuesday and Thursdays are the days I dread. Though none of the classes are hard, my first one starts at 8:00 A.M. and getting up early enough to get to class on time is hard. Having campus just right across the street helps with my punctuality though it can also lull me into a false sense of security and sometimes I under estimate the time it'll take me to actually get to the lecture hall. My 8:00 A.M. class is University 1000, which is required for all incoming freshmen. It's basically a class that teaches you how to learn, or unlearn all the behaviors you had in high school. The professor is very high energy, and she tends to get on some people's nerves but I think she has some extremely valuable things to share with us and I personally enjoy the class. That class ends by 9:00 A.M. after that I usually head over to the library and work on my online class for a few hours.

My online class is basically a computer science class. It teaches you how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and Access as well as some basic information on servers, and internet use, and html. It's a lot of stuff to learn and it's a little difficult doing it all online, but I've found that if I devoted about an hour and a half to two hours to it after University 1000 I keep a head of schedule. I haven't taken my first test yet, so we'll see if I'm doing as well as I think I am.

Usually I get out of the library by 10:00 A.M., sometimes 11:00 though. I usually go home after that and either grab lunch, or a quick nap before my History class at 1:00 P.M. History is good, I've always enjoyed history, though this class feels a lot like any of my high school history classes. Though students aren't in danger of having stress balls thrown at their heads :) My professor is a nice woman, a little on the quite side but that might be because this is her first teaching job and she's still working on her teaching technique. Her lectures are easy to follow which is a relief and though the class is scheduled to go till 2:20, we're usually done by 2:00 P.M.

I don't know what it is about Tuesday and Thursday but those two days are the ones that really seem to take it out of me. I find I'm dragging all day. I think part of the problem maybe that I'm still trying to acclimatize, and get on a regular sleep pattern. I do feel homesick from time to time, but it's really nice being able to call or text dad or Curt at any time, and keeping busy and getting involved really seem to help the homesickness. Hanging out with my friends and having a good time always helps too. This weekend is Labor Day and I'm going home with Kaitlynn and her room mate Amanda. I can't wait to see my family and sleep in my queen bed :)

Over all I'm really really enjoying college, it's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next four years I'll be spending here, instead of being afraid of them. I feel like my entire life is a head of me, which in a way I guess it is.

I think I'll end here for today. Hopefully I'll be better about updating, but I have a feeling I'll be even more busy here in college than I ever have been.

An Update for Amy.

As my Aunt Amy pointed out yesterday, I haven't updated since March so I thought I'd fill you guys in a little.

Wow, it's over. High school is done and I never have to go back. The thought is exciting and a little scary at the same time. This whole college thing is becoming an even bigger reality. I even applied for student housing today (super late I know) and I'll be getting a roommate assignment soon. I'm such a mix of emotions, I don't even think I can begin to sort through them all.

More big changes. We're moving to Woodland Hills at the end of July. My aunt and uncle bought our house and will be moving in. We finally found a house we liked in Woodland Hills that we're going to be renting for a while, though I'm not going to be there for long, three weeks at most. Then it's down to Cedar City with me and it'll be just Curt and my dad. I hope they don't kill each other. I want to move, I just don't want to do the physical moving part. I'm not looking forward to packing everything up.

I'm looking for a job and I haven't heard back from anyone yet, but I haven't given up hope yet. My summer has been pretty low-key, maybe a tad boring but that's the thing about summer. It gives you all this time to do absolutely nothing, well if you're me.

Dad gave me my graduation present Wednesday. An iPhone 4, can you believe it! I was so stoked and had absolutely no idea he was going to get it. He said he got it because it was something I could take anywhere with me and that is has this new feature called Facetime where two iPhone 4 users can video conference each other as long as they're on a WiFi connection. We've tried it and it works pretty well as long as your connection is fairly strong. So far I've been super impressed with the phone and so excited. Also very happy that I didn't have to wait in line for hours yesterday like so many others did. Dad pre-ordered it like an hour after they went up for pre-order online which was awesome! So now both he and I have new phones.

I'm gonna miss Curtis and dad when I move out. They both can drive me up the wall but they're my family. I just hope I don't miss them too badly and that they will miss me. I still can't really fathom not living with them. They're both a big part of my life and I guess moving away won't change that but I've always been part of this little unit and in August I guess I'll start my own little unit that'll eventually be filled with my own  family.

That's another thing I can't even imagine. Right now at this point in time I'm no where near ready to be in a serious relationship, let alone things like marriage. I could be married in the next 5 years, that just seems like too soon and I suppose my feelings on it will change as I mature and experience more things but right now it's kind of freaking me out.

Now I think I've reached that point where I'll ramble on for a few more paragraphs and slowly stop making sense, so rather than bore you with that I'll end this :)

Where Has The Month Gone?!

What? March 20th already? Where is the month going? I can't really complain though, it just means I'm another day closer to graduation. I get so excited about finishing High School and moving out and going to school, but then it hits me. I'm leaving, and I have to sign up for classes, college classes. Then it just turns into this huge thing I stress over.

I'm about half way done with my CNA class. The time has gone by so fast and I've learned quite a bit already. In fact I've already done my Saturday 8 hour clinical. Let me tell you, 8 hours is a long time to be on your feet and by the end of it you're ready for bed. I had to get up at 4:30 so I could be ready to leave the house by 5:30. The nursing home I went to was in Payson and I had the hardest time finding it. I was so glad I left early because I spent a good 15 minutes just finding the place. I don't know how keen I am on working from 6 am till 2 pm. I'd almost rather work a night shift but getting off at 2 isn't so bad.

The people in the nursing home are for the most part very sweet and love to talk. I always have to remember to speak up though, because even people who have good hearing have a hard time hearing me. It didn't really phase me when we were helping people shower. I just don't really remember any of it being too gross, except for toileting, I had a hard time with that. Maybe I'm just blocking it all out lol.

I love the warm weather we're getting,  I just wish it would stay! I'm sic of having it me in the high 40's one day and then snowing the next. Spring just needs to stay for good because this better weather has definitely  improved my mood. I wish I could have the summer off to just kind of chill but I have a feeling I'll be busy with preparing for college, which may be a good thing but it makes me nervous to think about. I still can't really believe I'll be on my own in less than 6 months time.

Eighteen!!

Nearly two months, tisk tisk me. The New Year has come and gone and I've been 18 for almost two weeks. I didn't really believe everyone when they said that your Senior year flies by, I have found this to be true though. Where did all my time go? In six months time I'll be living on my own in Cedar City, a four hour drive away from any family and though I'll have Kaitlynn down there with me (which I'm so thankful for) it's still so strange to think of myself as a separate entity. No longer part of the Harrison household but still a part of the Harrison family (if that makes any sense)

I think I'm looking forward to the fresh start. In Cedar City, nobody knows me. No one knows my baggage, no one knows the things I've struggled with (with the exception of Kaitlynn), and best of all, no one will have known my mother. It's almost like I can escape the memory. No, I don't think memory is the right word, but there is nothing Cedar City or at SUU that I can associate with her. No memories being randomly triggered, no chance of accidentally bumping into someone she once knew, things like that. I know that leaving doesn't guarantee that any of these things won't happen. I know there is always a chance, but it drastically reduced which I'm grateful for.

Dad was awesome and took me to Disneyland for my 18th birthday. I know it seems a little childish but I love that place. I have so many happy memories stored up from when I was there, especially when it was just Dad, Curtis, and me. Though I had been with mom a few times I don't think of it like that. It's where my family goes, my slightly modified family. Sometimes it feels almost normal, it being just the three of us but it still feels like somethings missing. Maybe that's the way it will always be, maybe not. Only time will tell us I suppose.

Back to my amazing birthday. We left Monday night the 8th at 10 o'clock and drove on down to Anaheim. Dad drove most of the way, but I drove from Vegas to Barstow (which is really only about an hour or so). I felt kinda proud, it was 4 in the morning though so the traffic was pretty light, lots of semi-trucks though. We go there Tuesday morning and slept in the car for a little bit. I felt a little strange just parking in a random parking lot and sleeping for an hour. Our hotel wouldn't let us check in till noon so we just went to the park.

Tuesday it rained like crazy all day, and my poor little feet got soaked and a bit blistered (the price of Disneyland). One good thing about rain in Disneyland, it usually drives everyone out, so the lines are super short. We got there when the park opened at 9 and stayed till 12, but after that it was too cold, too wet, and we were exhausted from being on the road and Dad had maybe 3 hours of sleep, so we went back to the hotel room and crashed. We didn't go back to the park that night. I fell asleep for 3 hours or something like that and then slept solid through the night.

Wednesday was nice again, a little cold but so much better then anything here. I had friends texting me and calling me to complain about the snow they were getting while I enjoyed 65 degree weather. We had a blast going on all the rides, though we had hit most of our favorite ones the day before. We also went to the DCA that day as well and did a lot of the stuff there. For lunch we went to Watson's Drug Store and Soda Fountain in Orange, then went into this amazing vintage shop. There were so many beautiful clothes, shoes, hats, jewelry, bags and anything else you can think of. I wish I could have bought the whole store!

Thursday I was officially 18 and got a cool little Disneyland badge that said Happy Birthday Whitney on it and it was just adorable. We went on more rides and had my birthday dinner at The Blue Bayou restaurant, which is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (which is awesome!) Then when we were done for the day we went and got ice cream at Watson's again. The three of us split this massive Oreo brownie sundae that was amazing! All in all an amazing birthday.

I'm tired now and I think I'll update a little bit more tomorrow :)