Attempt to improve the world, part 1

Dear Steve,

I'm worried that you've lost your touch.
"iPad"?
Seriously?

Please rethink the name of your newest "fad" product. Here are some suggestions to help you out:

iTab
iTap
iFad
iTad
iThink
iNeed
iNew
iName

Sincerely,
A concerned Apple fan

Scholarship application question #2

"Please describe your educational, professional, and other goals."

Easy: change the world.

...too much?

I think not.

That white stuff

Sing it with me now:

Snow!-----Snow!----Snow!----Snow!

Okay, you're no Bing Crosby or Rosemary Clooney, but I appreciate the effort.

This morning, after getting four hours of sleep (and accidentally waking up and partially getting ready before I realized it was 4:00 a.m.) I stepped outside my apartment to a serene, gentle, quiet blanket of snow. (At 6:45 a.m., even without snow, Provo is pretty calm.)

I brushed off my car and was almost in disbelief at how beautiful the snow was. It was perfectly powdery. Like brushing off glitter from my windshield.

What I would've given to not be in school today...

I love my job(s)

I love working. I love helping people. I love talking to people at work. I love finding creative solutions to problems that I've never encountered before. I love discovering things about computers that I never knew, but which are, nevertheless, indisputably awesome. I love being busy. I love teaching new skills. I love discussing writing and argumentation.

Have I mentioned that I love helping people?

Comfort their souls in Christ. Grant unto them that they may have strength.

Many of my close friends/former roommates are currently serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In my personal scripture study I have been reading in the book of Alma. Much of Alma details the missionary efforts of Alma, Ammon, Amulek, Zeezrom and others. The other night I read Alma's prayer for his brethren and felt a similar feeling of love for my sisters scattered across the world.

Alma 31: 32-33

"O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me--yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom [and Sister Meyers and Sister Simmons and Sister Kinghorn and Sister LaSeuer and Sister Bangerter and Sister Roerig and many other sisters], ... yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ. Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them..."

The second/first day of school

(Since I only went to half of my classes yesterday, we'll count today (truly the second day of school) as an extended version of the first.

Some thoughts:

-Ice is slippery and has a strange ability to form under my feet at the most inopportune times.
-When I am in school, I go into efficiency mode. I receive tasks and I accomplish those tasks...which is why I sometimes have to remind myself that people are not tasks.
-I love working. I get to work with fun people and help new people in my job. It's the besht.
-I love love getting paid to work.
-I have had easy mac for three out of the last five meals. (Don't worry mom, I braved the crowds and went to Smith's last night, at my own peril. I had to park at RC Willey and I almost died of shopping-cart-congestion, but I have real food now.)
-I run into someone I know about every ten minutes. I am not exaggerating. (I saw someone I knew and had a brief conversation whilst writing this blog. Ironic? Yes. Out of the ordinary? Not in the least.] It makes me feel very at home. And very "seasoned."
-I have been in Provo for two days and my car is already stuck in the ice on the side of the road. Might have to wait until spring before I'm mobile again...
-Since I am now the ripe-old age of 21, every day is like a high school/freshman year reunion. It's weird.
-Work and school both take time, but with school, the more efficient you are, the more time you have to yourself. I am a strong proponent of personal responsibility and free market incentives.
-I am an efficiency geek. I like planning and improving systems. My household will be a well-oiled machine...until I realize that children are pretty much by definition, not efficient...
-I plan my breaks between classes hours before they happen, taking into account walking time, weather, available microwaves, bathrooms, and seating availability before actually going anywhere.
-When my econ teacher started reviewing calculus on the whiteboard, I felt a wave of relief. It's very scary that calculus calms me.

My thoughts are multiplying too quickly! It's hard to shut the monster down...this is what happens when you leave me on my own to reflect....

-One last thought: The "tasks" application in my gmail account has been dormant for the past four months. It has been lovely. Now that I am back balancing school, work, church and personal responsibilities, my brain begins to fall out if I don't write down things as I think of them. Hence, the epic resurrection of "tasks." And now the "tasks" application is one of my favorite things. And quite possibly a horcrux.