Email update 2/27/11

Hello friends and family,

Here's the latest.

-Deseret Scott came and visited me last week. It was basically epic. We went snowboarding down black diamonds, built a "castle", went to the SLC temple, played card games, and swing dancing, among other things. I am glad we got to hang out, even if it was just for a few days.

-I've been working on my German which has been fun but I still have a LOT to learn. I can say all sorts of "important things" in lesson 1 like belegte brot (sandwich) and Der hund frisst (the dog is eating) but they just barely taught me how to say Ich heiBe Jill (my name is Jill) in Unit 2, Lesson 3. We'll see how long it takes them to teach me how to ask how someone is doing, how to count past 12, etc.

-Snowboarding yesterday I carved for the first time. I've been practicing riding toe side for a while but I finally figured out how to smoothly maneuver between heel and toe (For those of you who don't know about snowboarding just nod and go "uh huh"). By the end of the season, I hope to have it mastered. : D Snowboarding is basically my favorite. There was so much powder that it felt like you were landing in pillows every time you wipe out.

-Today I went on a run with my roommate followed by snowman building and a concert. When we got back from the concert we discovered a friend of mine had moved the snowman to our front door. It was pretty entertaining.

Well, on to other things. Its going to be a long day tomorrow and hopefully tonight in the lab will be same old. <3 you!

Jill

Rexburg, Bucket Lists, etc.

Another late night for Ms. Jill Christine Schuler. My roommate is snoring on the couch. Its kinda distracting... When I was younger I would pinch my dad's nose when he snored. This would force him to breath through his mouth or roll over. I don't feel like I could use this strategy on my roommate. It was awkward enough during the one or two times that my dad woke up with me grabbing his nose....

Rexburg was wonderful. I have a photo album on facebook so I'll spare myself the hassle of posting pictures. My adventures swimming, snowboarding, kite-flying, picnicking, etc. were definitely worth the cost of gas money and a few lonely hours driving. Its interesting wondering what my life would have been like if I had gone to BYUI. BYU is very similar to BYUI but the cultures certainly have their differences (for better or for worse). I think its safe to say that I'd have a good time with Deseret just about anywhere. She should move to Provo...

So I went snowboarding for the first time last weekend which made me think of my bucket list which made me go crazy this afternoon and brainstorm for my current bucket list. I don't think I'll post my whole list here but I'll put some highlights of things I want to take care of from my bucket list first.
1. Grand Canyon- Jessi wants to go. I figure it would be very doable to take a trip this summer sometime.
2. Go Scuba Diving in Hawaii- Nate Lowe took a scuba class last semester and it sounded interesting. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii. Combining the two goals would be a way to perpetuate the plan and make things really happen.
3. Write a book- I had an idea for a book the other day which I thought would be interesting. I would need to develop my ideas more fully before I could even consider really starting to write. I also want to write a kid's book (the book idea I have currently been thinking about wouldn't work for a kid's book). I have a knack for verbal story telling. It think it would be fun to hear what a publisher would say about my work if I wrote something down and sent it in.

These'll be good starters for now. I have a long list but these stuck out as things I could definitely work on during the next few months. Lets see where things take me. : )

Stupid frustration, Star Trekking, and Long Days

This last weekend was... interesting. Not quite what I had envisioned but I guess it worked.

It started last week when my brother Jeff invited me to go snowboarding with him. There wasn't a set day or time but he said I could come along. I guess he didn't think I really meant it when I said "okay, let me know what time you'll be going. I'll plan on it." Thursday night he calls to say they'll be going on Friday afternoon. Friday morning he tells me his friend turned it into a group date and I wouldn't want to go. I told him to find me a date or deal with the fact it might be awkward for him. Friday afternoon he told me he had lied and that his friends didn't want to have to deal with a slow girl and their carpooling car was full. Needless to say, I was a little upset. 1. I was looking forward to snowboarding. 2. Honesty is in my top five attributes of what I look for in any relationship and it bothers me my own brother doesn't think its that important.

Thankfully, I had backup plans for Friday night (kudos to Jackie Warner and facebook Frisbee Group). I decided night Frisbee was probably more fun than falling down a mountain with my brothers friends, who, if they inspire my brother to lie, are probably not the sorts of people I'd want to be around anyways. Boys who play Frisbee, however, automatically earn themselves 20 extra points in life. Jackie and I followed Frisbee with a dance party.

Can I just put out there that Jackie Warner is fantastic. She is the sort of person who'd go TPing with me, fly a kite in the middle of snowstorm, wrestle a bear, etc. because she has a solid sense of adventure, likes to have fun, etc. All and all she is my type of person. Plus, she makes me laugh. I imagine if I spent too much time with her she might make me laugh to the point where my abs would get sore.

Saturday I went with a group of people to a Star Trek Simulation. I was a little nervous, considering I know close to squat about the show. However, despite my lack of knowledge, I had a lot of fun. We didn't complete the mission, but I did get to shoot space pirates with a phaser. Its not every weekend you get to do that. Afterward a group of us went to a restaurant called Hot Pot which was neat. They have a giant pot of boiling broth and you cook your own meat. It was delicious, though pricey and time consuming enough I wouldn't want to go their too frequently.

Sunday was a zoo. I had three things to do. 1) Stake Conference, 2) VTing, 3) Activities Committee Meeting. You would think it would be pretty straightforward getting everything done. I got it done, to be sure, but half of my morning was spent trying to reschedule things, trying to figure out a way to get everything done. Imagine trying to juggle a monkey, baby alligator, and an egg and that's basically what it felt like I was doing. Good thing I didn't work this week.

Well, I've got places to go, people to see. I don't think anyone has started reading this yet... I don't know if I care if anyone really does. However, if you do, have a lovely day.