Big Red

First and foremost, although I have lived in Missouri for longer, I have always been and will always be a Texas girl. My mom and I are the only ones in the family who have any trace of an accent, and it always gets stronger when we talk to each other or to someone else with an accent. Anyway, there are so many things I miss about Texas (for starters see the song "Come Back to Texas" by Bowling for Soup. I miss the space, I miss Whataburger, I miss the accents, and I miss Big Red.

Big Red is a soda (not pop--soda). It is most similar to a red cream soda such as the Bargs version they have on campus. Big Red was first and it is better. Unfortunately, Big Red is extremely hard to find outside of the South. In Texas it's everywhere, in restaurants, in 2 liters, cans, 20 oz bottles, etc. Out here I'm lucky if I can find it at a gas station and I've NEVER found it in a grocery store or restaurant outside the South. Until today!

I was pursuing through the aisles of Macey's as usual when I happened upon a pallet of Pepsi and Mt Dew when I saw it--like a diamond in the rough the ruby red shown out past the blues and the greens and I almost couldn't believe my eyes! I called my mom to brag of my great discovery (she deserves it since she does the same thing to me with Whataburger) and continued my shopping in the most elated of moods. I guess my excitement was still showing when I checked out because I only had to say three words before the clerk noticed my accent and commented on it, asking where I was from.

"I'm from TEXAS!!"

Sense of Impending Doom

I'm not sure whether this is a compliment or not but I have recently been reading Watership Down for the first time and I really don't like it. The story is great and I think that it took amazing talent to write: The world creation and characterization are near perfect. That is not why I do not like it. I don't like this book because I cannot shake the feeling that something dreadful is going to happen at some point, and soon. I become like a rabbit myself, constantly white-eyed and nervous of the elil (enemies) and dangers that exist around every corner.

I believe that a lot of this is due to the fact that when I was little my mom rented this movie for us once. Not recommended--this is not the most kid-friendly movie--and though I remember nothing about the plot except for the fact that the rabbits were running away from something reasonably terrible, dodging cats and hawks, etc., and trying to find a good home, I seem to remember a lot more blood and death than has been in the book so far. We never did finish it and it was so long ago I am left to wonder: Are there greater dangers still to come or did the movie or my imagination exaggerate said dangers?

I guess that it is the sign of a good author to really bring the reader into the book, to make us feel like we are there, that we are part of the story. Unfortunately I cannot enjoy the book because I keep thinking that something terrible is going to happen! They've come so far and I don't want anything to happen to them but it would be almost too perfect for them to get off without anything happening. I am now halfway through the book and still none of the original crew have died, which is a good sign considering what they've been through. I hope their good luck continues. . .

Let Them Eat Pie!

Happy Pi Day Everyone! I have decided to celebrate by eating pie :) I always hated math but this, at least, is one good thing that it has given us, along with bridges and fine architecture. As I sit here typing, smelling the wonderful aroma of my "Vanilla Swirl" candle and dreaming of the pie that I will make as soon as I finish my homework, I am reminded that in one month the semester will be over and bring me more time to catch up on the recreation that I have seen so little of this semester as well as cook and clean and do all the things my husband misses me doing since the semester got so crazy.

Of course, this also warns that things have to get worse before they can get better and I know that there are many more papers to write and projects to finish before the end of April and I need to stop dreaming about pie and get back to work. *sigh* Farewell pie! Until we meet again! (In one month!)

Thunderstorms

The weather today has been most interesting...While I love the sunshine and spring weather as much as everyone else the storm that has been threatening to descend upon us today intrigues me. I love storms (when I am inside or have the option of being inside that is). One of my favorite things to do when I was younger, since storms are frequent in southern Missouri in the late spring and summer, is sit on my window seat and read as a storm rages outside. Utah does not really seem to have many true thunderstorms so it is a day like this when I hold my breath--and wait.

Nerd

I think of one of the things that my husband loves about me most is that I am a geek. I am more of a geek than he is. I know computers pretty well and I game. In fact, I brought more game consoles and pc games into our marriage than he did. Even more than that, he loves that I play D&D with him. For those of you who are not geeks or just aren't that old, D&D stands for Dungeons and Dragons and it is a creative role-playing game.

It sounds silly, I know, but it is actually really fun and it really boosts creativity. We are even playing tonight. We get a group together about every week and spend way too much time battling monsters and finding treasure. I'm the rogue in the party (i.e. the thief) so I think I have the most fun but to each his own. D&D is a world of imagination--enter at your own risk because here there be monsters! But the real danger is that once you try it out, you might not be able to stop :)

Creative Spirit

It seems to me that, as the semester has gone on, my creative spirit is somehow being drained, not weakened, drained. I fear this development and I do not know if it is reversible or permanent. . . Really the problem is that it never seems to be there when I really need it.

For some hours now I have been trying to finish my Reversal paper but it my mind is not functioning and it is only going in circles. I can't believe that it would desert me like this! At such a crucial time too! Where did it get such a rebellious spirit? Certainly not from me...I really hate to fall to desperate measures but it seems that I am going to have to resort to bribery and I shall have to fuel my brain with cookies. *sigh*

Married Housing

I have been hearing of so many engagements recently and many of my friends have sought my advice on married housing. While I am not the authority I thought that it might be worthwhile to explain the situation here. Starter housing is some of the most comical, frustrating, and fun part of marriage.

As many of you may identify with, my housing situation is not the most ideal. When I was single it wasn't too much better but then since I lived in cheaper housing I had extra spending money. Now that I am married and housing is 3x more expensive things are a lot tougher. I remember when we originally found this apartment on Craigslist. Both my husband and I were living in Missouri at the time so finding married housing in Provo was not the easiest thing to accomplish, especially housing that was within our budget. We thought we hit the jackpot when we finally found a basement apartment that was only $425 a month and was within walking distance of campus. It wasn't all roses, the landlord raised the rent to $460 and the slow mailing system combined to almost have us lose the place, but we got it!

I also recall the day we moved in: having driven straight through from Missouri we were SO ready to unpack, roll out our sleeping bags and rest. Imagine our surprise when we enter the apartment to find out that there had never been an exit check done when the last couple moved out. There was food on the floor, crumbs and dust and dirt in the cabinet, and black mold covered the entire back wall of the bedroom. To this day I'm not too sure why we didn't just move out right then. I took enough pictures to have easily gotten us out of the contract. Still, we couldn't find anything else that fit the budget so, we stayed.

Seven months later we are still here. The door is still broken, there is still wood missing from the workers who removed the termite infestation that was at the root of the mold, and the 1960s oven is also now finally broken but we are still here. We look around from time to time and sigh but we also laugh to each other that this will truly be a memory to look back on for years to come.