Adventures that only papers can bring ...

Sometimes when you get lost in a cornfield... It's hard to turn in a paper before 11pm.

That's what happened this last Monday night.  I decided that before turning in my paper later that night, going to the cornfield for family home evening would be a great idea. I only began to feel a little anxious when my group decided that the 3.9 miles option was better than the 1.5 miles. Needless to say, we got terribly lost.  It took forever. But it was still really fun!  It was worth the consequence of what happened later. 

I rushed inside once we got home and quickly wrote a poorly written, final draft of my paper.  I finished with 30 minutes to go before the deadline.  I drove up to campus and jumped out of my car to print the paper off. 

I ran to the JSB. It was locked. I ran to the Brimhall. It was open! After wandering around, I realized there was no printer. So I ran to the McKay building. Locked. I ran to the Benson building. Unlocked! And I knew there was a printer. Success!  My paper started printing and I felt relief flow through me. But it was not my lucky day. The papers started coming out jaggedly and bent with the ink smeared. Perfect.

I considered still turning it in but only three out of four pages printed and that wouldn't work. Luckily, there was a kind janitor who took pity on me and allowed me to go into an already locked room to print off my paper.

I literally ran back to the Brimhall building to turn in my paper. I cut across the grass, through darkened puddles, and up the three flights of stairs to the top of the building. I got to my professor's door only to realize that the room number online was wrong. Great. So I wandered around until I finally found my professor's door and slid my paper underneath. 

I walked slowly back to my car, still a little tense from the stress but so relieved. Was the cornfield worth it? Yes. Would I recommend going there if your paper is not complete? 

Yes. But take the 1.5 mile route.

Spontaneity at It's Finest

Sometimes your best memories come from last-minute decisions. Friday night was a perfect example.

Seven o'clock in the evening and four out of the six roommates were sitting in one bedroom, looking out the window at what everyone else was doing on a Friday night. The week had been long and motivation was running a little low to try and think of something to do. 

We watched our neighbor come out of his apartment dressed quite nicely. He crossed the street to a girls apartment and knocked on the door. His date came out in a fancy black dress and we all crowded against the window to ooh and ah as we watched them leave for the formal Homecoming dance.

Suddenly Jenny looked at us, "What if we went to the dance?" We all kind of laughed. The discussion started. The dance started in an hour. You have to get dressed up. We have nothing to wear. We would have to find dates. 

What the heck. Let's go. 

Thus began the frenzied rush. Our lounging turned into quick movements and rapid thoughts as we spouted out ideas to make this work. 

The first goal? To find guys of course. We knocked on doors and we called anyone we could think of who would enjoy a dance. Our energized mood somehow led me to sing loudly to our neighbors' door, "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" from Frozen. In my defense, the apartment was dark and looked like no one was home. But as soon as I belted, "I wish you would tell me WHY!"... the door opened. Of course. Everyone started laughing as I said, "Hello Logan!"

After recruiting through phone calls, visits, and some convincing, we had six guys to go with the six of us girls. We got dressed and we were ready to go.

We drove to the Riverwoods to the Manor where the dance was being held. When we approached the door we were kindly informed that the dance was sold out. They must be joking. We knew it. But alas, they were not. We thought of every scenario to get in... What if people leave? Can we go in then? The answer was still no.

After all the effort it took to get there, we were not about to quit. We decided that we would just have our own dance party in the gazebo nearby. We were about to set it up when they came and found us. There were eight tickets left online, and if we wanted them, they would let all twelve of us in. 

Needless to say, we were ecstatic. The tickets were purchased and we walked through the previously-forbidden doors and made some triumphant noises. A lot of the people cheered as we came in, happy that we were finally able to make it.

Now the real question is, was the dance worth all the effort we went to? The answer is a definite yes. I am not sure if it was the atmosphere of the dance, the people, or the fact that we had to work so hard to get in, but it was one of the most fun dances any of us have ever been too! We took Polaroid pictures, drank chocolate milk from the BYU creamery, laughed a lot, and danced our hearts out. 

As Jordan put it, "We're artsy and stuff"

They even gave us some sparklers. I love these girls.

Sometimes creeping out your window has benefits... That's the lesson to be learned. It brings some great ideas.

What started as a dismal looking night, turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences we have had yet. It was the best spontaneous decision.  

This story may be short ... But it made me laugh.

The other night Jenny and I were in our room, both in bed and about to go to sleep. For some reason we started talking about middle names and who else in our families has middle names. We discussed it for a while and slowly started getting sleepier. Then I said something that made us question my sanity...

I asked in all seriousness, "And your name is Jenny, right?"

After a second pause we both burst out laughing. Through the laughter, Jenny replied (rather condescendingly), "Yes Jess, my name is Jenny. I have been your roommate for quite some time now."  

When I finally stopped laughing, I was able to defend myself by saying that despite what it sounded like, I really wasn't losing my memory, and I am not a complete idiot.  I just meant to ask if her name was Jennifer or Jenny. But instead, it sounded like I had just met her for the first time.

So yes, I have known Jenny for 6 months now. And yes I did spend 3 1/2 months with her in Israel, and the last 2, she has been my roommate. And yes, some of my not-so-bright moments have helped us bond during our late night conversations. Those times have been the source of a lot of laughter.

And yes, I DO know her name is Jenny. 

So everyone, meet by beautiful friend Jenny. I am grateful everyday that this girl is my roommate.

Buffalo Burgers

We talked for months about making buffalo burgers.  I had told Ben about how my dad and I had gone hunting, shot a buffalo, and now my dad makes the best buffalo burger you've ever had. We decided to invite Liza as well because... we like having her around. We didn't give Liza the background story, figuring that the title "buffalo burger" kinda said it all. 

Sunday, in between conference sessions, Ben and Liza came to my house for the lunch that my parents kindly prepared.  As we finished getting the food ready, Liza asked confidently, "So what's special about these buffalo burgers?"

Ben looked at her and said, "They are made out of buffalo."

Liza laughed and slapped Ben on the arm, "Oh my gosh, no they are not." That's when we all started laughing.

Through the laughter Ben said, "No really, they are."  Liza kept responding with slaps and exclamations that she knew Ben was teasing her and that she wasn't falling for it!  

I had tears and mascara coming down my face; I was laughing so hard.  I was going to try and correct her when Ben leaned over and whispered, "Don't tell her yet.  Let her finish and then we will show her the buffalo head."  It was the perfect plan.  So we told her that it was specially prepared by my dad with seasoning,  with no fat and so it tasted a little like a veggie burger.  

It was delicious. Probably the best burger I have ever had. Buffalo burgers, I am telling you, they are the absolute best. We had a great time talking with my family and enjoying the food.  When we finished, we knew it was time to take her to see Bronson. We instructed her to come with us because we had something to show her. 

We walked her down the hallway and told her to close her eyes. When she opened them, there was a huge buffalo head staring back at her. We told that yes, she had actually been eating buffalo. We laughed so hard. Luckily, Liza is a good sport and laughed right along with us. It's a fun memory for the three of us.

So what is the lesson to be learned? Although buffalo wings are misleading and they are actually just chicken, buffalo burgers... are really buffalo.