Snowboarding

  Yesterday I went to Brighton for my first day of snowboarding this season and holy cow, it was fun.  Every summer I wait impatiently for snow so I can pull out my gear and head to the mountains and somehow, every first day of snowboarding, I have more fun than I ever remember it being.

  Last week I got a new board and bindings so I was way excited to try them out.  I waxed my board to perfection, played with my bindings until I had the perfect setup, and I was ready to go.  I woke up at 5:45 am yesterday morning (snowboarding is probably the only thing that can get me to willingly wake up that early) and I was off.   I went with one of my friends and a bunch of guys from the Snow College snowboarding club.  I had never been boarding with any of those guys except for my one friend and i was the only girl so I was happy to find out that i hadn't lost any of my ability since last winter and I wasn't slowing anybody down.   It was a beautiful day and the snow was good.  It got a little icy and there were a few bare spots in the later afternoon but overall it was great.  

  I would encourage anyone that has never gone snowboarding or skiing to give it a try.  It is one of the funnest things ever.  There is something about being at the top of a mountain and flying down it in a matter of minutes with only a board (or a couple of skis) carrying you that never ever gets old. Plus, it is good exercise and you can make lots of new friends in the process.

Dog

I decided that since this is my blog I should put a picture of me on it.  So here I am with my dog Jack.  Aren't we stunning?

The Hills

Many of you may have seen the popular MTV show "The Hills."  If you haven't seen it you probably have heard of it.  It documents the lives of rich, beautiful, young adults living in southern California.  Honestly, I think it is one of the most retarded compilations of video footage ever put together by humans.  The embarrassing thing about it though, is that I can't stop watching it.  What is it about this show that keeps me tuning in every week? 

 

  I think the reason I keep watching this show is I see these people and the jobs they have and I think "What qualifications do these people have that I don't have?" One example would be Audrina Partridge, one of the girls on the show.  She works for Epic Records.  She gets to go watch bands and see if they're good enough for a record deal, helps bands record in the studio, and does other rad stuff like that.  In my opinion, you couldn't ask for a cooler job.  Audrina doesn't have a college degree or any other special skills and from what I've seen of her on TV, she isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  How then, did she get such an awesome job?  Chances are good that she got that job just because she is on this incredibly popular show.  Is this fair?  Probably not.  In fact, I think it sucks.  I could do this job just as well, if not better than Audrina.  Audrina isn't the only one with an awesome job.  Lauren and Whitney, two other characters on the show get to go to New York frequently for their jobs and they've even been able to go to Paris.  

  I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I watch this show because it makes me feel better that if these girls, who are no more smart or talented than I am, can be successful in what they want to do, surely I can be successful In what I want to do.  Take my advice though and don't get yourself caught in the trap of this television program.  It truly is a huge waste of time.  

Tagged

My cousin Brooke tagged me to do this.  Here you go

tag you're it....

8 T.V. shows I watch

1.The Office 2. Family Guy  3. The Simpsons  4. Around the Horn  5. What Not to Wear  6. Baseball Tonight  7. The Hills....I know, I'm ashamed  8. Rob and Big  

8 favorite restraunts

1. The Old Spaghetti Factory  2. Outback Steakhouse  3. Los Amigos  4. Panda Express (does fast food count?)  5. Olive Garden  6. Roy's pizza  7. I don't remember the name of it but there was this Italian place on Hanover street in Boston that was freakin' amazing

8 things that happened yesterday

1. Watched Manti lose the state championship  2. Went to Panda Express  3. Went to Sam's Club  4.  Had a nap  5. Watched "The Pursuit of Happyness"  6. Played ping pong  7. Played Guitar Hero  8. Colored on a bowling ball

8 things I'm looking forward to

1. Thanksgiving  2. Christmas break  3. Snowboarding  4. Graduating from Snow  5. Going to the U

8 things on my wish list

1. Be done with school  2. Live in Boston for a while  3. Season pass to Brighton  4. Go to Europe  5. Be a rock star  6. Be a pro snowboarder  7. Season tickets to see the Red Sox  8. The skills and/or money to be able to do all of these things

8 things I love

1. Snowboarding  2. Sleeping  3. Music  4. Baseball  5. Free time  6. Funny things  8. iPods

8 things I can't stand

1. Jerks  2. Stupid annoying people  3. Sticky hands  4. When people argue about stuff they don't understand  5. When people let you down  6. When people chew gum really loud  7. The 4th Twilight book "Breaking Dawn."  8. Being a muggle

Movin' on

  Today I registered for next semester's classes.  I've only got 3 classes: Physiology, Chemistry, (and the labs that go with those two), and History of Rock and Roll.  It doesn't sound like much, but that's 12 credit hours, which legally makes me a full-time student still.  

  Anyway, I'm really excited because next semester will be my last one at Snow and then I'll be moving on to the U next fall.  It got me thinking, my move to the U will probably be the biggest change so far in my young life, a lot bigger than graduating from high school even.  I'm way stoked to live in Salt Lake because basically everything I love to do will be right at my fingertips when I'm there, such as snowboarding, concerts, etc...   However, I'm also a little nervous to move.  I'm not the most outgoing person in the world so it's probably going to be rough moving to Salt Lake and making a bunch of new friends.  In fact, I'm so un-outgoing that I hardly ever go to my own student ward because I don't know anyone in it, I just go to my friends' wards.  I tend to just sit back and be quiet when I'm around people I don't know very well.  This could be a major problem for me come next fall.  The way I see it, I have two options.  Option one: keep doing what I'm doing now, which is not making an effort to meet new people, and be a recluse for the rest of my life, or Option two: suck it up and make some friends.  I guess I'll give option 2 a try.  This will be interesting.           

Deseret Industries

Yesterday I went to the DI (deseret industries) with my friends and holy cow, it was awesome.  I haven't been there since I was a little kid so naturally, I had forgotten how many treasures that place holds.  They have everything you could ever want, from fine art (ok, the art is probably not "fine", but it's cooler than fine art) to athletic equipment, to the coolest sweaters you can possibly imagine .  One of my first thoughts when I walked in was "I wonder if they have any cowboy boots..."  So, after looking at a few things, we made our way to the shoe section and there they were, these beauties you see here in this picture.  I have been wanting some cowboy boots for a long time so when I saw these, I couldn't believe my luck.  And the best part is, they only set me back 8 dollars.  The DI is truly a place where dreams come true.   

Barack Obama

This is President-Elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech that he gave in Chicago on tuesday night. This speech, in my opinion, was awesome. He was gracious and respectful to John McCain, and when I was listening to this speech, I couldn't help but feel patriotic. I hope that we as Americans can unite for the common good, just like our new president-to-be says. I hope that our country's leaders can set aside their party differences and settle issues in a way that will be best for we, the people of America. If you haven't already seen this, watch it for yourself and tell me what youthink.

Proposition 8

A hot political topic going into next month's election is Proposition 8.  Now I'm no political guru and I don't claim to be.  However, this issue has caught my attention.  Should same-sex marriage be legal?

Personally, I'm torn on the matter.  What I think isn't going to make a difference anyway, at least in this election because I'm not a resident of California.  You might be asking yourself "why is Hannah blogging about a political issue that she isn't even decided on?"  Well, I'm blogging about it to express my surprise in the LDS church's involvement in the issue.  The LDS church has always stayed passionately neutral in every political issue that I can remember.  So when the brethren came out and actively supported proposition 8 (to make same-sex marriage illegal again) I was naturally interested.  On one hand, I really don't care if homosexuals get married.  They're people too and they have rights.  On the other hand, I'm an active member of the LDS church and it just doesn't feel right to go against what the leaders are saying.  In all of my confusion, my Dad showed me this article by Robert Kirby, humor columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I think this article is hilarious and I agree with a lot of Kirby's points of view.  So, for your enjoyment, here it is.  Let me know what you think.

Kirby: I don't care if gays get married

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column in which I announced my official position on gay marriage. Basically, I don't care. 
    Not only do I not care if gays get married, it is none of my business. As a flaming heterosexual, it's a full-time job for me just to keep my thoughts clean in church. I don't have the energy to fret about somebody else's libido. 
    The column must have resurfaced on the Internet. I'm getting mail again telling me what a failure I am as a Mormon because I'm not solidly behind Proposition 8. As I understand it, the California ballot item would prevent the domestication of homosexuals. Or something like that. 
    Here are just a few of the attempts to get me to see reason. 
    "Are you a member or not? Do you want gays to get married in the temple? Please follow the brotheren's [sic] council [sic] on Proposition 8. This is a important gospel principal [sic]." G., e-mail. 
    "No unclean thing can enter the house of the Lord. Gays are unclean because of the Scriptures. You have to be hot or cold about it or the Lord will spat you out." T., e-mail. 
    "Were you listening in church when the letter was read from the First Presidency about supporting proposition eight?" R.Y., e-mail. 
    "Get with Prop 8 or your [sic] a homo." Anonymous, letter.

 Hard as it is to counter such brilliant logic, my position hasn't changed. The only serious concern I have about gays getting married is that they'll register someplace pricey. 

    The church is serious about the sanctity of marriage. I get that. But aren't more potentially "dangerous" marriages already being performed out there? 
    For example, I hear in church all the time about marriage being ordained of God. But I also hear about how the glory of God is intelligence. 
    Shouldn't it be against the law for stupid people to get married? What's more harmful to society - two well-dressed men getting married and settling down, or two idiots tying the knot and cranking out any number of additional idiots? 
    You should have to pass a harder test to get married than the one we currently have. Essentially, there are but two questions: "How old are you?" and "Is that your sister?" Hell, you could pass this test just by guessing. 
    There are drawbacks. Most people get married when hormones and youth make them about as dumb as they'll ever be. So, even a relatively easy test would by default raise the age limit to about 40. 
    With an increased marriage age limit, there would be fewer births. Genealogy would become easier to do. With fewer births, there would be fewer children born gay. Hey, isn't that what Heavenly Father would want? 
    OK, I was just kidding about that. But if you're really serious about putting a stop to gay sex, let them get married. 
    
    rkirby@sltrib.com

School

It's that time of the semester. Everyone across campus is starting to get burned out. I for one, consider myself to be pretty studious. I study like crazy for tests, turn in my homework on time, and never miss class. However, I have been having a super hard time staying focused these past couple of weeks. I can't seem to figure out what my problem is and I don't think I'm alone in this predicament. Tons of people are absent in each of my classes every day and I'm 99% sure that it's for the same reason that I have been thinking about sluffing class: we're flat-out sick of school.

I realize that I shouldn't be complaining. I'm pretty darn lucky to be getting a quality college education, but why is it so hard to stay focused? I know it'll all be worth it once I graduate and have a sweet job, but why is it so hard to keep that final goal in mind instead of focusing on the drudgery that is daily class? I think the key to being a successful student is managing your time. I don't care what professors say, iPods and Guitar Hero are NOT the devil (I totally aced my last anatomy test and every second I spent studying, I had headphones on). Taking free time for yourself to do whatever you like to do is a critical part of being a college student. When you've been studying your brains out all day, take some time to have fun. Go snowboarding, ride your bike, see a movie, take a nap, or do whatever you like to do because if you don't, more studying won't do you any good because you won't be able to focus anyway. Also, always keep your final goal in mind. When you're buried up to your eyeballs in homework, just think about how awesome it's going to feel when you finally graduate and you never have to go to school again. When that day finally comes, it will all be worth it.

Wisdom Teeth

Today I got my wisdom teeth removed and I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been nearly as bad as I expected.  At 7:30 my dad and I left Manti to drive to Sandy for my appointment.  The Dentist who did it is named Creed Haymond.  He was a rad guy and I'm related to him somehow, hence the last name.  

I went into the office, filled out the paper work, got some x-rays, and had to watch a short little movie about what to expect.  Then they asked me if I wanted to be asleep or awake during the procedure.  Of course I chose to be  asleep.  It was the coolest thing ever.  I have never had surgery of any kind.  Heck, I've never even been hospitalized, so I had no idea what to expect.  It was super easy actually.  They just give you an IV, which doesn't hurt at all, pump some antibiotics into your arm, and then give you the anesthetic.  I went right to sleep and I don't remember anything else until I got to the parking lot.  

On the way home, I ate some Mac and Cheese from KFC, had a slurpee, and slept the rest of the way home.  It wasn't bad at all.  After hearing everyone's horror stories, my experience was a walk in the park.  Maybe I shouldn't speak so soon though, I'll probably be super swollen tomorrow.  I'm not too worried about the pain though.  I've got a nice big bottle of Loritab for whenever I feel the need.  

The moral of the story is, don't be too freaked out if you have to get your wisdom teeth out.  Make sure you go to an oral surgeon so you can just snooze right through it, and just utilize your pain pills.

*   *   *

In other news, did everyone watch the Red Sox game last night?  Wow, that was awesome.  They came back from 7 to 0 in the 7th inning and won.  That was the biggest deficit a team has overcome in the playoffs since like 1925 or something.  It was incredible.  The series is now at 3-2 for the Rays and they're heading back to St. Petersburg for tomorrow's game (I wrote in my last post that game 5 would be in St. Petersburg.  I was mistaken).  I would just like to say that lately, the Sox never cease to amaze me.  They have had their backs against the wall so many times, and every time they find some way to come out of it.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow night.  Hopefully they'll keep this comeback going.  

Son of a .....

Right now, as I type, my beloved Red Sox are getting absolutely demolished by none other than the Tampa Bay Rays.  By losing this game, they will go down 3 games to 1 in the ALCS.  As you might imagine, I am pretty upset.  

The Sox were in this exact situation last year.  They were down 3 games to 1 against the Cleveland Indians.  Facing elimination, game 5 was do or die for the Sox, just like it is going into Thursday's matchup in St. Petersburg.  The difference between last year and this year though, is big.  Last year the Sox had the postseason immortal Josh Beckett going to the mound for game 5.  This year, Josh Beckett is not looking so immortal and the usually explosive offense is looking like a bunch of little leaguers.  

Aside from the lackluster pitching and complete lack of offense, injuries are playing a big part in Boston's struggles.  Now I'm not usually one to make excuses but, honestly, I don't think the Sox would be in this situation with a completely healthy Big Papi, Josh Beckett, and Mike Lowell.  Papi's wrist has been bothering him since a torn tendon sheath earlier in the season.  Word just came out today that Lowell will have major surgery on monday, and even though Beckett says he's fine, everyone with a brain in their head knows that either his elbow or strained oblique is still bothering him.  

As bad as everything is looking right now, I can't bring myself to lose my faith that they could make a comeback.  They've done it twice before in recent memory.  They did it last year, and who can forget the mind-blowing turn of events in 2004's ALCS?  With all of the great players they've got, they still have a shot, even though it might be a long one.

WEEZER

On tuesday night I went to the Weezer concert in Salt Lake City and wow, was it awesome.  The opening band was supposed to be a band called Tokyo Police Club but for some reason it was a different band that I can't remember the name of.  They were alright, but nothing too exciting.  Next up was Angels & Airwaves.  I consider myself a pretty big AVA fan so I was pretty stoked to see them.  As usual, they didn't disappoint. Their use of lights and lasers was super rad.  They always put on a good show by building up to the more exciting parts.  Even if you're not a big fan of AVA, it's still cool to see Tom DeLonge (formerly of a little band called blink-182).  As enjoyable as Angels & Airwaves was, they were nothing in comparison to Weezer.  They opened up with the classic  "My Name is Jonas" and had a great set with a pleasing mixture of old and new songs such as "Pink Triangle," "Undone (the sweater song)," "Buddy Holly," "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," "Pork and Beans," and tons more.  Something that was really cool that I have never seen before at a concert was they brought up a whole bunch of people onto the stage with all different kinds of instruments.  There were a bunch of guitars, a saxophone, a cello, a violin, an accordion, a trumpet, a trombone, and a few instruments that I don't even know the names of.  Then they had everyone play "Island in the Sun" and "Beverly Hills".  It was pretty cool.  Mostly I was just really jealous of all the people on stage that got to talk to Rivers.  When all was said and done, my friends and I had been on our feet for 5 hours straight and most of us had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.  After stopping to eat, we got home at about 3:15 am and I had class at 8:30.  Needless to say, wednesday was a pretty long day for me.  It was totally and completely worth it though.  If you ever get the chance to see Weezer in concert, you would have to be a complete retard to pass it up.