Safe & Sound

I really just haven't felt like blogging lately. Can you blame me? I have tons of movies to watch, and lots of friends and family to play with. Some of whom I won't be seeing for over a year and a half come next Thursday.  Isn't weird to think that soon I will be apart from someone I have seen basically everyday for the last 22-ish years. And another bosom friend could be on her way to marriage upon my return. Life is really moving forward. Throughout 2010 and the beginning of 2011 I felt like I was going nowhere, doing nothing. Now all of the sudden my life has begun, and there is no slowing down in sight. But I love it.

Also, I watched Midnight in Paris this morning. And loved it. I loved it. I wish I was that creative, maybe I will do some writing while I'm away. Maybe by some weird magical power living amongst the Asians will be some type of muse. Who in the heck even knows. Because I for one am diving into the unknown, with a return ticket for July 3, 2012. I will accept visitors and gifts/American food upon my return.

Feliz Navidad

I've been lovin' this video. Therefore, lovin' this song.  I hope your Christmas has been much different than mine, seeing has I've spent it in bed. Sick. But, I am about to venture over to the Grandparent's, still in my jammies...but I did brush my teeth!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Feliz Navidad from Hailey Haugen on Vimeo.

The 23rd

I haven't even been home a full week yet, and I haven't even had time to sit down I feel.  I love coming home and always being busy. Lemme give you a little hint at what I've been up to..

 1. Watched the whole first season. Loving it.

 2. Heidi got her mission call! Ohio Cleveland, she leaves March 14.

 3. A little African Christmas gathering.

 4. Jean Bean's wedding. Beautiful.

 5. Sleepover in Park City.

 6. Did some festive nail painting.

 7. We gathered again. Can't get enough of each other.

8. I read this the other night.  I had no idea my favorite movie was based on a book that was based on a real life.  Cool.

Deck The Halls

Done with finals...I don't know what to do myself.  I haven't had a moment in the last four months when I wasn't stressing about something for school, and now I'm stressing over that I'm not stressed.  Maybe my body can return to normal??  I'm packin' up today, headin' out tomorrow.  I can't believe how fast that went.

And I can't think of anything clever to write. So, in the mean time, please check out my future cuties HERE.  Yep, all those little kids.

Make You Feel My Love

So Heidi and I were just yelling at each other, very loudly.  No, it wasn't real, although there was a little of that over the weekend...we don't want to talk about it.  Mostly Heidi just wants me to finish my take-home final and start studying for my final tomorrow so we can play tonight, because she is pretty much done with her finals.  And then she threw an m&m really hard, really close to my head.  It was a peanut m&m too.  Those can be painful.

I think I've hit a wall.  There is absolutely no motivation left in my being.  I have pretty much three more paragraphs to write and I'll be done with the take-home final.  Why in the world can't I finish it!?  It is just not happening.  Well, it will happen before 7 o'clock, because that is the deadline I have made myself.  I took a final this morning, HIST 1110.  It was ok, I even talked to my cute professor after.  I said, "Thank you Dr. (for my own dignity I will keep his name to myself)."  Good, right?  Tomorrow's test will be hell-ish.  I already used up all possible brain capacity on the final paper last week.  Isn't that enough!?

Just think...if I just hurry, push and finish this final, and begin the rest of my studying, tomorrow at this time, I will be finished with finals, for a whole year. Wow, that is crazy.  But then I remembered that wall that is happening, and all I want to be doing right now is watching movies like Midnight in Paris, New Years Eve, We Bought a Zoo, etc.  And watching Friends, with my friends (fun huh?).  Ok Kamille.  You can do this.  Everyone please send positive energy my way, I could definitely use it.

I hope everyone else isn't stuck at this wall, and if you are, I'm glad I am in such good company.

Loyalty

I have a British Literature class.  I loved the reading, but I hate analyzing.  It really doesn't matter what I think.  Today I had to turn in a 6 page "final" paper...but I still have a test final for that class on Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have a final test if you already had a final paper.  I have the worst luck with papers in that class, luckily the last one forever is turned in, and I don't have to worry about it.

Lemme tell you a little about this bad luck.  I stayed up all night to write the first paper (yes, unfortunately I procrastinate like the best of them).  Right before I left for school I went to email the paper to myself so I could print it out on campus, I have like a bajillion prints in the English lab, but the file wouldn't open!  It was telling me it hadn't saved correctly, and it did not exist.  I then had to skip my next classes and re-write the entire thing!

So I stayed up all night writing the final paper (this procrastination was due to other final projects and church callings).  I even had to write it all day long.  So it is 1:18, and class starts at 1:30, I wrap up my crappy concluding paragraph and push print.  With all the other 30+ English majors also printing off final papers at the same time, that should be a good window.  I push print, go wait by the printers like everyone else, and wait, and nothing happens.  So I go back and push print again, the computer tells me it was sent.  So I go wait by the printers again, nothing.  Apparently both printers were running out of toner, and they turned one off. DON'T THESE LAB PEOPLE REALIZE THIS IS FINALS WEEK FOR ALL ENGLISH MAJORS!?? I go back to print again...suddenly, I don't have enough prints (yeah, I haven't figured it out yet) and I run to the lab girl and I'm all "itsaiditprintedbutitdidn'tandnowidon'thaveenoughprintsandclassisabouttostartandihavetoturnitinhelpme!"

(did ya catch all that?) All of my cute peers all yell out, "Kamille! You can use some of mine!" So I run back to my computer to email it to someone, quickly, time is wasting, but it won't attach! The lab girl comes over and says, "Do you have a non-aggiemail account.  Aggiemail hasn't been working in this building lately."  Hasn't been working?? That is the school email server, and it's not working?? At school!?? So I quickly get that settled, and in the mean time the nice lab girl pulls up her own account and let me use her prints (I'm still not sure how 300+ turned to 4 so fast) and I printed it off.  But by this point it is 1:32, and the toner is practically gone.  I grab my streaky-but-you-can-read-most-of-the-letters-paper and run down the hall and hand it to the teacher saying, "I have the worst luck with your papers." 

On the bright side, I wore my "tube" socks that I picked up in the Heathrow Airport this summer thanks to some quick retail therapy.  I also had to wear my thermals twice this week.  Winter is definitely here.  And Heidi made a gingerbread house.

These are my "tube" socks.

Love Love Love

This is Sister Dee

This is Sister Danielle Ycmat.  From now on, Sister Dee.

Sister Dee is pretty awesome.  As of last week, she is now in the Philippines.  Which is crazy.

Sister Dee was asked to speak in the Thanksgiving devotional at the MTC, and shown at the MTC's around the world.  With Elder Nelson.

Yeah. She's a pretty big deal.

Here's a little excerpt from her last email:


I knew coming to the Philippines and witnessing the poverty and everything
else would be culture shock, but I had no idea how much it would
break my heart.  These people have nothing but a tin roof over their heads,
jobs where they make barely enough to get by, and yet despite their hardship,
they're happy.  Their eyes literally glow.  They always smile.  They
all say hello.  And even though I can only bear my testimony to them 
in Tagalog (which they barely understand anyway), they smile at me and 
tell me they appreciate I'm trying.  I LOVE these people.  I have so 
much to learn from them. ahhhhhhhh...I've experienced SO much here in
such a short amount of time, but words can't even justify.

Isn't she amazing?  I really love how immediately upon entering a third-world country, you immediately have a love for its people.  I am a believer that those people do the very best they can in their situation.  If those people were born into the life we have, were given the same opportunities we are, they would do their very best, and live a fabulous life. 

But there is a difference between us, they haven't been given those chances.  But those people are some of the greatest people I've ever met, and will continue to be at the top of my list throughout my life.  I'm calling Sister Dee's mission "The Real Third-World: Season 2, Sister Dee Takes on the Pines."

Here we go. Into the last week of classes.  Here is a little to do list, starting from the week of Thanksgiving:

SME Poster
SME Design Rationale
Zweig Paper (1 1/2 pages)
Editing Semester Portfolio
HIST 4720 Paper (4 pages)
Brit Lit. Paper Revision(5 pages)
Client-Based Final Project (Handbook, 2 brochures, and a poster)
Client-Based Final Project Design Rationale
Client-Based Final Project Presentation
Editing Final Collaboration (a giant document)
Editing Final Collaboration memo
Editing Final Collaboration Presentation
British Literature Final Paper (6 pages)
SME Poster Presentation
HIST 1110 Final
HIST 4720 Final
ENGL 3345 (British Literature) Final-didn't I already write a final paper for this class?

If I can stay focused this will be a piece of cake...right?

White Christmas

I'm still in bed. Lazy I know. I just finished The Hunger Games (don't worry, not for the first time, after watching the  movie trailer over and over I just had to read it again!)  As I watched the snow fall outside of my window, I got onto FB to find a video link from my African bff Hollee.  She's not African, we just met in Africa, and after sharing my first boda boda ride were pretty much allies from then on. Right Holy?  So anyway, this video was of a man in a Ugandan village making a rolex.  A rolex is 100% the best thing I ate in 2011. Hands down. At least once a day. Everyday. For 6 weeks.  Oh and add that chocolate milk from Kenya and a fresh 2,000 UGX ($0.75ish) pineapple, and you've got yourself pretty much the best meal ever.  I almost started crying as I watched the video.  What I wouldn't give for that egg rolled in chapati.  I actually decided that a trip to Uganda would be totally worth it just for a rolex from Hassan.  Well, any rolex actually, but Hassan's from Lugazi was the best we ever had.  And the fact that he only charged 800 UGX was outstanding.  People, that is like 40 cents, probably less!  You can't beat that.  Oh especially when he put the fresh garlic in...ok, I need to stop. I'm salivating.

This is Hassan and his rolex stand.
That is how he supported himself and his family.

Watch the video HERE, seriously, watch it.  At least to get a little glimpse into the simple life of Uganda.  And Brooke, go to Uganda, and eat 683 of these for me. Kthnx.