Yesterday was mine and Eric's wedding anniversary. We have been married two years. To celebrate, I came down with some sort of stomach flu all day Saturday and yesterday, and he got his first ever migraine yesterday. It was an anniversary that we likely will not forget.
We graduated on Thursday and Friday. Hooray! Dick Cheney's commencement dress was okay, but I doubt it was worth whatever it cost. He made a few BYU related comments, and as it turns out, two of his speech writers are BYU grads. President Hinckley entered the arena with Cheney, and there was much applause. I hoped Cheney knew it was more for President Hinckley than for him. I, actually, did not clap at all. I just didn't feel it was appropriate to clap for President Hinckley (or Elders Scott and Bednar, for that matter), and I didn't clap for Cheney because I just don't like him.
Since we had to get to the Marriott Center about two hours early, I took a book. I'm about two-thirds of the way through Life and Death in Shanghai. It's about a woman's experience during the Chinese Proletariat Cultural Revolution, and it has been very interesting. I read it while I was in bed all day Saturday and again some more yesterday. I should be finished with it before classes start tomorrow.
Speaking of books, Eric and I bought War and Peace on Saturday. (I thought I was well enough to go to the BYU Bookstore and use our two gift-cards that we got when we purchased our caps and gowns. As it turns out, I was not, and had to repeatedly sit down and/or dash to the bathroom. It was a bad day.) Before I changed my major, we read books together quite a lot, and after much discussion at the store about which books we like and dislike, we decided to read War and Peace together. I read it my senior year of high school, and am really excited to read it again. I remember liking it mucho lots.
30 April 2007
25 April 2007
Gleeful and giddy
I just took my last exam EVER! And, I got an "AWESOME!" on the testing center screen. That's right, I got a 90% on my Stats final. I am just that amazing. Maybe this semester's GPA won't be so bad after all.
23 April 2007
Creating new words
My friend, Heather, recently listed her status as "Libraryizing- yes, I'm cool enough to make up words," or something like that on Googletalk. It really got me thinking about made-up words, and how they're really an indication of practicality rather than coolness. Don't get me wrong, Heather is cool, just not for making up words.
My personal favorite made-up word is pajamize. Why should we say, "I'm going to go put on my pajamas now,"? Why not say, "I'm going to pajamize." It's so much more practical. I look forward to the day when I will say to my children, "Have you pajamized? It doesn't look like you've pajamized! Go pajamize and brush your teeth." And in the morning, when your lethargic teenagers are dragging their feet getting ready for school, say "You, teenager! Go depajamize. We need to get out the door!"
Verbizing nouns (see, I just verbized the word verb) is one of the best way to create new words. Now, we don't need to say things like, "I'm carring to the store." That's just dumb. Say you're driving to the store. But, it's perfectly okay to verbize many, many nouns, such as Heather's "librarying." She replaced "studying at the library" with only one word. Very practical indeed. Now, the French would absolutely not allow such creations of words. They are very protective of their precious, nasal language, and insist on full-length descriptions of words, rather than simply adapting a new word into their language. Increasing technology has caused quite a few language problems for the French, or so I hear. (All the French I know comes from Beauty and the Beast).
Now, if there actually is a word that can be used in place of a made-up word, I believe we should use said existing word. It's good to stretch our vocabularies, but when no word exists, feel free to make up a new one. You have my permission.
My personal favorite made-up word is pajamize. Why should we say, "I'm going to go put on my pajamas now,"? Why not say, "I'm going to pajamize." It's so much more practical. I look forward to the day when I will say to my children, "Have you pajamized? It doesn't look like you've pajamized! Go pajamize and brush your teeth." And in the morning, when your lethargic teenagers are dragging their feet getting ready for school, say "You, teenager! Go depajamize. We need to get out the door!"
Verbizing nouns (see, I just verbized the word verb) is one of the best way to create new words. Now, we don't need to say things like, "I'm carring to the store." That's just dumb. Say you're driving to the store. But, it's perfectly okay to verbize many, many nouns, such as Heather's "librarying." She replaced "studying at the library" with only one word. Very practical indeed. Now, the French would absolutely not allow such creations of words. They are very protective of their precious, nasal language, and insist on full-length descriptions of words, rather than simply adapting a new word into their language. Increasing technology has caused quite a few language problems for the French, or so I hear. (All the French I know comes from Beauty and the Beast).
Now, if there actually is a word that can be used in place of a made-up word, I believe we should use said existing word. It's good to stretch our vocabularies, but when no word exists, feel free to make up a new one. You have my permission.
20 April 2007
Janssen's questions and my answers
1) What's the dumbest/craziest thing you've ever done?
I've done a lot of dumb things, and a lot fewer crazy things. One of the dumb things that comes to mind readily was the really bad prank Skilla and I played on Soapy freshman year. I'm not sure why excactly we thought that would be funny. It was really just dumb. And I still feel bad.
2) One name you'd never name a kid?
Well, I can think of a lot of names I would not want to name my children, especially since I've been working so much with old censuses in the last year and a half. I've seen some really terrible names! But the one I absolutely can't do is name a girl my last name (which is often a girl's name- think "Shirley" or "Gale"). Even though she'd probably get married and would eventually get a new last name, she would have to be L* L* for the first twenty or so years of her life. It's just cruel.
3) Which president of the US would you most like to be first lady for?
I really don't know enough about the presidents to answer this questions. I guess Lincoln. He was a good guy, and he probably was nice to his wife. Or else, I'd rather be a little more in the fore-front, so a later president would be better. Probably FDR. He, too, was a good guy, a very revered President, and he was probably pretty nice to his wife as well. Yeah, FDR it is.
4) Tile or wood floors?
Wood. They seem so classy and enduring. Tile can become dated much easier than wood. Let's make it dark wood, by the way.
5) You only get to wear one color for the rest of your life. Which one and why?
Although my favorite colors are yellow and green, I would probably choose a fuchsia type color. Not as bright as magenta, but a pretty dark pink/reddish color. I always have looked better in reds.
I've done a lot of dumb things, and a lot fewer crazy things. One of the dumb things that comes to mind readily was the really bad prank Skilla and I played on Soapy freshman year. I'm not sure why excactly we thought that would be funny. It was really just dumb. And I still feel bad.
2) One name you'd never name a kid?
Well, I can think of a lot of names I would not want to name my children, especially since I've been working so much with old censuses in the last year and a half. I've seen some really terrible names! But the one I absolutely can't do is name a girl my last name (which is often a girl's name- think "Shirley" or "Gale"). Even though she'd probably get married and would eventually get a new last name, she would have to be L* L* for the first twenty or so years of her life. It's just cruel.
3) Which president of the US would you most like to be first lady for?
I really don't know enough about the presidents to answer this questions. I guess Lincoln. He was a good guy, and he probably was nice to his wife. Or else, I'd rather be a little more in the fore-front, so a later president would be better. Probably FDR. He, too, was a good guy, a very revered President, and he was probably pretty nice to his wife as well. Yeah, FDR it is.
4) Tile or wood floors?
Wood. They seem so classy and enduring. Tile can become dated much easier than wood. Let's make it dark wood, by the way.
5) You only get to wear one color for the rest of your life. Which one and why?
Although my favorite colors are yellow and green, I would probably choose a fuchsia type color. Not as bright as magenta, but a pretty dark pink/reddish color. I always have looked better in reds.
What's your favorite submarine movie?
It's the last week of school/reading days/beginning of finals, and you know what that means: more slacking than usual. Eric and I have watched a movie every night this week.
On Monday night we watched Rudy, which I had seen as a little kid, but really needed to see again. It's a great movie. Sometimes I was frustrated with Rudy and how he lived in this little dream-world, but I also grealty respected his willingness to work really hard. And of course, in the end, it was all worth it.
Eric often jokingly asks me "What's your favorite submarine movie?". Anyone who knows Eric knows how obsessed he is with wars and tanks and cool airplanes and cool boats that shoot things, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that he has a favorite submarine movie. As it turns out, it is not The Yellow Submarine, but it is probably Crimson Tide or The Hunt for Red October. (He doesn't know which he likes better).
Somehow, on Tuesday night we ended up watching K-19; The Widowmaker with Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford. On Wednesday we watched The Hunt for Red October, and last night we watched U-571. Let me just say, that Thursday's movie was far inferior to the first two.
It's about an American submarine, and the submariners have to go on a mission to this German U-boat. Blah blah blah. In the beginning, Captain Taylor, played by Matthew McConaughey, is denied his request to become a captain. He is very angry, but his captain tells him he just isn't ready yet because although he has the leadership skills, he lacks the ability to make choices involving people's lives. And then the story goes quickly downhill: Did you know how hard it is to be a captain? It's really hard. And then it gets harder, and harder. And just when you think it can't get any harder, guess what. It DOES get harder. It's really hard to be a captain.
And that's U-571, in a nutshell. No need to see it. But do take the time to see the other two, especially K-19.
On Monday night we watched Rudy, which I had seen as a little kid, but really needed to see again. It's a great movie. Sometimes I was frustrated with Rudy and how he lived in this little dream-world, but I also grealty respected his willingness to work really hard. And of course, in the end, it was all worth it.
Eric often jokingly asks me "What's your favorite submarine movie?". Anyone who knows Eric knows how obsessed he is with wars and tanks and cool airplanes and cool boats that shoot things, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that he has a favorite submarine movie. As it turns out, it is not The Yellow Submarine, but it is probably Crimson Tide or The Hunt for Red October. (He doesn't know which he likes better).
Somehow, on Tuesday night we ended up watching K-19; The Widowmaker with Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford. On Wednesday we watched The Hunt for Red October, and last night we watched U-571. Let me just say, that Thursday's movie was far inferior to the first two.
It's about an American submarine, and the submariners have to go on a mission to this German U-boat. Blah blah blah. In the beginning, Captain Taylor, played by Matthew McConaughey, is denied his request to become a captain. He is very angry, but his captain tells him he just isn't ready yet because although he has the leadership skills, he lacks the ability to make choices involving people's lives. And then the story goes quickly downhill: Did you know how hard it is to be a captain? It's really hard. And then it gets harder, and harder. And just when you think it can't get any harder, guess what. It DOES get harder. It's really hard to be a captain.
And that's U-571, in a nutshell. No need to see it. But do take the time to see the other two, especially K-19.
19 April 2007
17 April 2007
One is silver, and the other's gold
I've been thinking a lot lately about people who are my friends, and people who I thought would become my friends, but didn't ever really become my friends. Usually, people fall into the former, not the latter of the category.
First, there's Janssen. I just thought she was so odd. Harry Potter poster, teddy bear (I still don't really understand why she brought a teddy bear to college), the high volume that came from her tiny body -- these are just a few things that made me think she was just too weird to ever become my friend. But, somehow somewhere along the way we became friends, and I was able to look past her many oddities, and she has MANY oddities, and she became one of my greatest friends.
Then there are the grownups in my classes. When I started taking family history classes I was surprised by how many "mature students" there were in my classes. Initially I did not talk to them, mostly because I felt like I didn't have anything to say to them. There were a few that really bothered me, especially the too-frequent commenters (Too-frequent commenters bother me, no matter their age) and the ones who already knew a lot about family history. I just didn't understand why they would take a family history class if they already knew how to do family history. But with time, I've really learned to love these grown women in my classes. In reality, we're not very different. As students we're all striving to pull off the balancing act that comes with taking classes. Some are more successful than others. I was shocked, completely and utterly shocked to learn that the oldest of my classmates, a woman with great-grandchildren, and therefore grandchildren who are older than me, admitted that she had stayed up all night to finish an assignment. We arrived at class in the late afternoon, and she said, "I haven't gone to bed or eaten anything except this cookie all day. I'm too old for this!" Wow! She's just like all the rest of us. And she's my friend.
Last, my landlady, Louise. She's 86. She's my friend. I really like her. We have more in common than one might imagine.
There's also lots of people who I thought I would become best buddies with, but nothing ever really happened. We were just classmates, wardmates, workmates, and other such what-have-yous. Upon first meeting, I usually thought these people were just exceptionally intriguing and very cool, so, of course, we would soon be pals. But, then things just fizzled. Perhaps they were not so interested in me as a friend. Perhaps because they found me annoying, perhaps because they just weren't looking for a friend like I might have been at the time.
It will be interesting to see who my future friends are and how I find them.
First, there's Janssen. I just thought she was so odd. Harry Potter poster, teddy bear (I still don't really understand why she brought a teddy bear to college), the high volume that came from her tiny body -- these are just a few things that made me think she was just too weird to ever become my friend. But, somehow somewhere along the way we became friends, and I was able to look past her many oddities, and she has MANY oddities, and she became one of my greatest friends.
Then there are the grownups in my classes. When I started taking family history classes I was surprised by how many "mature students" there were in my classes. Initially I did not talk to them, mostly because I felt like I didn't have anything to say to them. There were a few that really bothered me, especially the too-frequent commenters (Too-frequent commenters bother me, no matter their age) and the ones who already knew a lot about family history. I just didn't understand why they would take a family history class if they already knew how to do family history. But with time, I've really learned to love these grown women in my classes. In reality, we're not very different. As students we're all striving to pull off the balancing act that comes with taking classes. Some are more successful than others. I was shocked, completely and utterly shocked to learn that the oldest of my classmates, a woman with great-grandchildren, and therefore grandchildren who are older than me, admitted that she had stayed up all night to finish an assignment. We arrived at class in the late afternoon, and she said, "I haven't gone to bed or eaten anything except this cookie all day. I'm too old for this!" Wow! She's just like all the rest of us. And she's my friend.
Last, my landlady, Louise. She's 86. She's my friend. I really like her. We have more in common than one might imagine.
There's also lots of people who I thought I would become best buddies with, but nothing ever really happened. We were just classmates, wardmates, workmates, and other such what-have-yous. Upon first meeting, I usually thought these people were just exceptionally intriguing and very cool, so, of course, we would soon be pals. But, then things just fizzled. Perhaps they were not so interested in me as a friend. Perhaps because they found me annoying, perhaps because they just weren't looking for a friend like I might have been at the time.
It will be interesting to see who my future friends are and how I find them.
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