SCUBA Diving

SCUBA Certification

I'm getting SCUBA Certified. I've been studying hard for the past week. Diving in the pool late at night and I'll visit the Crater at the Homestead in Heber this weekend for my first legit dives. It's fairly simple, but there is risk involved....like running out of air, or having too much Nitrogen in your system resulting in a drunken like state, or worse lung overexpansion that could kill you. Other than that, though, you get to BREATHE UNDERWATER. It's pretty cool if you think about it.

I've been doing this:

So's I can see this (Fiji; two weeks):

Certification is legit through PADI - go here
www.padi.com/scuba:

I'm getting Certified through this dive shop in Springville, UT. I'd recommend it, cool instructors and intimate atmosphere!

Why, you ask, are you getting SCUBA Certified when you live in Logan, UT? Well, you see, I'm going on a three week adventure trip to New Zealand and Fiji to Sea Kayak, tour, SCUBA, Hike and camp. I have to fly there alone, which is making me feel anxious, but I'll be meeting up with the Hill Family and the BYU Study Abroad students. I'm really looking forward to it, but when I return, summer will have come to an end.

BON VOYAGE KIDDOS!

BOZEMAN, MT

(Top: Me on our way home through the beautiful canyon. Bottom: Claire, Me and Megan going out on friday night - shortly after we arrived in town.)

BOZEMAN

Claire and I roadtripped to Bozeman, MT to visit Megan. We were roommates this last semester and couldn't stand to be away from each other much longer so we got in my little geo and headed the 5 1/2 hours up to see Megan.

On the way there we found some guys that were driving to Yellowstone from GA. We car flirted for about an hour through the Targee National Forest. They were a nice form of entertainment. We got a flip chart of messages and some funny memories of them rocking out. Silly boys.

Once we got there we went out to a Restraunt called The Bacchus. It was a fun place and we were out late. So the next morning we slept in, took it easy and then floated the Madison River. It was about 20 miles west of Bozeman. I swear all of Montana was there, just floating along. We were on the river for 2 hours, but we only put in half way. It was a nice way to spend a lazy saturday. That night we went to the Montana Ale Works restraunt. I liked the atmosphere and I decided Bozeman is where I need to live - everyone drives Subarus and wears Chacos. We took a tour around campus on Sunday and had a potluck with Megan's friends. It was a really fun weekend and so nice to get away from Logan for a while.

Life is good.

(From Top: Cerissa's Bridal Shower back in April. Me, Cole and Emma at Summerfest)

Its summertime, and as every collegeaged student knows, bring on the weddings! Today I'm going to Cerissa and Rodney's wedding. I'm very excited for them. Rissa led Chi Omega through the hardest time, and did all while being a great fiance. She and Rodney have been together for a long time and the wedding was the perfect way for them to finalize their relationship. I'm so excited for them to finally be married, and in addition to a great party tonight, I get to see those people I haven't seen all summer or for a longer time for that matter. Congrats Rissa and Rodney!

I've been shopping around for an apartment for the fall, and it's a little more pressure than I thought apartment shopping should be. I know that I want a dishwasher and to hopefully not live in an apartment, but a house. I know that I want my own room and decent rent prices. I feel like such an adult having to look for houses and compare features and prices. Sometimes it makes me want to never grow up, but then again, that's what we're supposed to do... grow up.

Things are going really well with the guy that I'm seeing. We have fun cooking dinner and going and scrapping up activities to do in Logan over the summer. It's a lot harder than you would think to come up with things to do when it's actually nice weather. We like to play frisbee in the parks. Since I work in the parks we've probably hit most of the good ones this summer which is branching out I guess. We went to the zoo the other day and last weekend we checked out Logan's Summerfest! Tomorrow we're meeting up at the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake. It's one of my favorite summer activities so I'm excited to go with him. It's great to have someone in my life to learn about and to do things with over the summer and hopefully longer.

For the most part, all is well in Logan for the summer. The weather is finally clearing up, I got sunburned at work this week, although thunder storms keep popping up somehow. I'm enjoying just having a job and friends to worry about rather than tests and schoolwork and everything else that comes with being a student.

JOB!

I finally found a job after about 6 weeks of brutal searching and more interviews than normal people should have in their whole lives. I applied for this job late april, which was too late for first time around hiring. But, my new boss called me a few weeks ago for an interview which I passed with flying colors. I had to have a background and drug test which I obviously passed and was then hired for the Laborer III position in the Parks and Recreation department of Logan City!

I've worked doing this kind of stuff before, so only the people and the way things are run are different to me, which is nice. I have a lot of experience and enjoy what I do. For the most part. The worst part is getting up at 6 a.m. to be at work on time every morning.

It's another Parks and Recreation job to put on my resume to match the nice Parks and Rec bachelors degree that I'm going to have soon enough. I'm always looking for a part-time afternoon/evening job so if you know of one in Logan - let me know!

Solo Backpacking

So, I took my first backpacking trip of the summer last night. It was just a short hike, but far enough to get away from the sounds of Logan, but close enought to feel safe all by myself!

I got my pack all ready and drove up Green Canyon. I parked about 6 pm and headed up the canyon. I hiked for about 45 minutes to get as far as I could before there was no place that was flat enough to stay.

I unpacked my pots and stove and got some rice cooking and then I proceeded to build a fire. I got it started in about 5 minutes. I know, I'm cool like that. I could beat Cole in a fire building contest any day. Then the hardest part of the night was figuring out how to set up the bivy. (Bivy: A bivouac sack, also known as a bivy sack, bivi bag or just bivy, is an extremely lightweight, waterproof alternative to traditional tent systems.) It has two tent poles, a screen and a strap for the mat. Other than that I just took in the fresh air, listened to the thunder in Logan, read a magazine and wrote in my journal. It was so peaceful and gave me a lot of quite time to reflect on life right now.

When the sun started to set, I gathered more sticks and wood to burn into the night (I kept the fire going from about 7 until 10). I'll admit, once it got dark I got a little scared because I was alone and I was in the mountains. I slept until 9 this morning, which is unusual while camping, put all my things away and headed home. It was a successful trip and I can't wait to go again. This time though, I'll probably bring someone along because I kept wanting some interesting conversation.

Growing My Garden

So, to be blunt, I'm living in a fraternity house for the summer. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm going to be overwhelmed with the male sex or anything. I have a room and a bathroom and my best friend lives across the hall and we basically run the place because the boys are too lazy to. So far, it has been a lot of fun.

Anyway, to the good stuff. Being unemployed has made me gain a real appriciation for raw, fresh fruits and vegetables. Seeing as fruits take a long time to grow, I decided to plant a vegetable garden! I had been growing a cucumber from seed, but that didn't seem like enough for a legit garden. So, off to Lowes I went. I bought some lettuce seeds, a 6" tomato plant, and a 3" bell pepper plant. The garden people told me that peppers wouldn't grow in time so what the heck right?

Next was the hard part. I had to get permission to dig up the backyard for my 5x5 spot. Brian was really cautious until I showed him where and what I wanted to do. I dug it up, planted and watered my little plants. I felt kind of like the little red hen, doing all the work alone. Everyone will be sad by the time harvest comes around because I'm not going to share those tasty vegetables with anyone unless they helped. I figure the hours and $10 I spent initially will pay off near the end of the summer. Right now though, I wish I had so many veggies I didn't know what to do with them.

Finals

"With all thy getting, get understanding" Proverbs 4:7

This week has felt like the longest week of my life. I started studying for finals last Thursday and haven't stopped until today, although today is the most crucial. I took my ENVS final Tuesday morning, this morning I had ecology and tomorrow will be the final two. I should be studying for the Sociology of Race Class and Gender and the Asian American literature tests, but I need a break so here I am blogging.

I have enjoyed my classes this semester, but I think from now on I'm going to take it easy and do 12 credit semesters. ENVS 4130 has probably been the most challenging class I've taken in college. It was in combination with a graduate level class and the curriculum was intense. I wrote a 15 page research paper about Clean Energy Use in National Parks according to the Energy SmartPARKS Memorandum of Understanding. I put a lot of time and energy into the paper and it was well worth it - I managed a B+ grade. Now, I have to wait for the final grade.

Asian American Literature was a class I never expected to enjoy, and although the reading load was extreme, the curriculum was facinating. We talked about the dominant discource of communities, stereotypes of Asian Americans and what it means to be American. There was a lot of discussion about it, and no matter what was said, I'm proud to be an American.

My other classes were decent, but nothing to write home about. I'm just excited for the summer to be here, when I all have to worry about is going to my job (when it's found) and being with my friends. Here's to finishing the semester with a bang!!