The insanity of moving during finals week

It rarely becomes so difficult to write in my journal that I miss a day. But I’ve missed the last two days! Let me see if I can explain why.

Tuesday morning, I got to the Animal Science building on campus around 8:30 am so that I could study before grading finals. Grading finals went from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. At that time I left the grading crew so that I could go home and help load the moving van. When I was about to leave, I turned around and smiled at everyone. They wished me luck on my internship and said goodbye. The last thing Dave said to me: “Don’t get hired!” One of the best compliments ever.

I gathered some things around the house while Karen and her mom and Rich went to Little Caesar’s to get some pizzas for the movers. Around 6:45, members of the ward started showing up to help. I thought it would go really fast, but the 14-foot truck was a tighter fit for everything than I initially thought. After putting things in and taking them out and adjusting how things fit together, we had it all ready to go around 9:00 or 9:30. The plan was to keep the mattresses in the apartment so we could sleep for the night, but that seemed like less and less of a good idea, so we grabbed a hotel in town.

By the time we were situated and Rich was in bed, it was about 11:00 pm. I studied for my finals until about 11:50 pm, at which point I went to bed. But Rich cried all night! So I got about three hours of sleep. And wouldn’t you know it—we looked out the window Wednesday morning to find thick snow coming down! Karen took me to campus and I, somehow with enough energy to be there, took my two finals. Karen’s mom picked me up from campus so we could check out of our hotel and then check out of our apartment and then hit the road.

We stopped in Ontario for the night, which was great. Unfortunately, Rich refused to sleep unless he was on top of me, so I held him until about 7:00 am, at which point he noticed he was near his mom as well, so he was okay with sleeping between us (not what he normally does). We hit the road again this morning and finally arrived in Portland around 6:00 pm. We are relieved.

I write in my journal every day.

Or so I've claimed to do since my junior year of high school. (October 2002, by my estimates.) But clearly, that's not as literal as I once thought:

January 14, 26
March 10, 23, 24
April 17, 21, 26
June 5, 29
July 20
August 24
September 6, 15, 25, 29
November 3
December 21, 24

These are the dates on which I did not write in my journal in 2012. That's about 5% of the year that went un-journalized. (By the way, what in the world happened to September? Clearly not my strong month.) What was I doing on these dates? I suppose I'll never know, unless someone out there can tell me. (I only fail to write in my journal when I'm just too tired, too sick, or literally find it too much trouble to get to a computer.)

Better yet, what were YOU doing on these dates? If you have record of it, I'd very much like to know. Maybe you were as busy as I was. And maybe now I should say I write in my journal 95% of the time.

11 things the entire world now knows about me

I wasn't tagged, per se, but my mom did this on her blog and it gave me a reason to write, which is something I love to do. Part of the game is that you have to create your own questions for others to use, so I posted mine at the bottom. Here are the questions from my mom:

1.  What do you wish you had known earlier in your life?

How self-righteous I appeared to some people. I've always tried to do what I thought was the right thing, sometimes at the sacrifice of good friendship.

2.  What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

The scariest thing? A back dive off the high dive. The hardest school assignment? A project for my biology class, 2008. The hardest thing ever? Wow, I don't know. Um...maybe dealing with the ex-boyfriend of the girl I was dating. (That girl is now my wife.) Hard to say, though.

3.  What is one health tip you try to live?

Keep a good eye on my weight. When I've had too much food in a given time period, I know exactly where my weight is so that I can take immediate action instead of letting it get ahead of me.

4.  What are you currently reading?

The journals I kept as a missionary. First time ever revisiting that.

5.  What do you generally have for breakfast each morning?

Half a bowl of cereal. Usually the off-brand of Honey Nut Chex or the off-brand of Frosted Mini-Wheats. The off-brand versions are almost always better for those two, and they are my favorites.

6.  What is one thing you have learned from your dad?

Forgive and move on. Give people a second chance.

7.  What was the happiest age of your life so far?

Two years stand out—ages 23 and 25. I got married and had a little boy, and I never knew I could be this happy. Seriously.

8.  Name a favorite song now on the radio in 2012.

I don't listen to the radio, so I'll go with what I've heard most recently that I most like: anything from Birdy's new album, especially the songs "People Help the People", "White Winter Hymnal", "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight", "I'll Never Forget You", and "Farewell and Goodnight".

9.  Three words that describe your mom.

Uncompromising (in her morals and beliefs). Compassionate. Personable.

10. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My love for other people. I want a greater capacity to love others so that I don't misjudge them.

11. What project are you currently working on?

I'm typing out every verse of the Book of Mormon into a flashcard application called iFlash. Every day I type a few more verses and then test myself on all previous verses as the application shuffles the cards. So far I have completed Mormon, Ether, and almost all of 1 Nephi. When I'm done I'll upload them to the iFlash server so that others can download them and use them.

If you wish to participate, consider yourself tagged. Here are the questions I've created for you:

1. You know that book you have always wanted to write but can never get around to? What is it about?
2. Name a favorite song most people would be surprised to know you like.
3. What is one thing you really would rather not have to do for the rest of your life?
4. You just found $10 in a pair of pants you haven't worn in a long time. What do you do with the money?
5. Imagine you have a time machine that you can only use for one round-trip journey and that can only visit a period of your own life. Where do you choose to go and what do you do when you get there?
6. What is the greatest compliment you have ever received?
7. How do you measure a successful day?
8. If you had the floor in a legislative assembly and wanted to filibuster, what would you read from?
9. Of all the things you have taught or will teach your children, what do you most want them to remember?
10. What is one store you want to live closer to?
11. Name your favorite home-cooked meal.