Graduation: It's About Stinkin' Time!

that's right, internet i dun gradumatated.
i'm officially an edjumucated broad.

my mom came out to idaho (for the first time) for the graduation. initially, we were a bit on the fence about her coming out because it would be expensive and i didn't want to make a fuss. as loud as i am, i still have trouble with people making a fuss over me, especially my mami (that's dominican for mommy). i digress.

she called one night and said in her sappiest voice "you're the only daughter i have; i'm not going to have anymore..." "because you're old and you don't have a uterus, huh?" i responded, the epitome of sensitivity. "don't help," she continued " "i want to be there and take pictures and get a video."

so we bought her plane ticket that night.

beth and i drove down to pick her up in slc. since it was her first time in slc, we decided to get over to temple square. the lady was not impressed. figures. we got back to idaho on saturday night. late. super late.

at church, everyone was so excited to meet my mom. so i paraded her around like the cutest prettiest show pony. and we invited people over to hangout with the roommates and my mom. that was super fun, but kinda awkward. there was some unitentioall "we're mormons in our twenties so what else are we going to do" type of flirting that happened right infront of my mom and some small children. awkward. fun, though.

monday i had my last tax final-FOUR HOURS!! ugh! accounting. and there was lots of packing and cleaning.
tuesday i had my religion final in class. mom came to that. it was great. i really loved that class for a lot of reasons. my teacher made me talk more to impress my mom. that was cool.

and then....

I'm Not Dead

i've been making a more conscious effort to stay connected to people but it has proven to be a bit more difficult than i originally thought. my computer died a month before school ended, which meant that post graduation life has been technologically limited. no blogging. no email (for the most part). strictly texting and awkward phone calls. it has been fun, but today the technology gods have smiled upon me. my mom's friend gave me a laptop (and of course the thing that i choose to do is blog). i'm going to omit the details of the events that have lead to this gift because they are the personal details of this person's life and i love and respect her enough to not publish her life on the inerwebs. all i can say is that i am grateful that she is who she is and that i am now typing on a laptop that works.

please stay tuned for posts including:
graduation 2013: it was about stinkin' time
curly hair unleashed
post graduate life: kickin' it old school
job search 2013: adventures in adulthood
facebook: a reunion of all sorts


and other spectacular tales of adventure and reflection. gosh, i missed this.

peace out.

Right Now

so, first things first, i just finished a post on the roommate blog. click here. 

second, i suppose an update is in order. i haven't blogged in a while because that things that i think about the most these days seem to be more personal or accounting related than i am used to sharing on the blog. sufficient to say, that there are changes brewing. and while these changes might be normal to others, they are gargantuan for me.

moving on.

soooo, i'm graduating in july. i've no idea what i'm doing yet. do you know anyone that wants to hire a recent BYU-Idaho graduate with a BS in Accounting and a couple Humanities clusters? no? okay, well if you hear of anything go ahead and let me know, i'm pretty much willing to move anywhere 'cause jumping into the abyss that is true adulthood is freakin' me out. not every day just some days.  

don't worry, life has never been any better than it is now. i know things will work out, don't tell me that; i already know that. it is just a little helpful to worry sometimes and remember that not everything is in my control.

i'm just fine,

sam

p.s. you wanna come to my graduation? it'll be super fun :)

Watch Your Thoughts

at the end of last semester, i had a thought: "oh man, my last semester is going to be so much fun, it is going to be so easy! i'll have a few classes, but i'll be able to have lots of free time which means lots of playtime!" i was so excited. and then, i got a little text message "Can you meet with bishop tonight at 9:30?"

i've never wanted to avoid the bishop so much in my life. my roommates and i were scheduled to have a little dinner at our best chinese place in rexburg and all i could think was "pfft! i got plans! who do they think they are trying to get me to come in TODAY! no, i'm not going. what do they want anyway? i didn't do anything!"  i figured by the time that we got back from dinner, it would be too late to go see the bishop. it wasn't. i went. i got a calling.

to the dismay of many, i've been called as one of the relief society presidents in my ward. honestly, i don't know what the good Lord was thinking or why i'm doing this. what i do know is that He knows me and He knows what i have the capacity to do. He has sustained me and will continue to sustain me through all of the things that i have to do this semester. i'm grateful for the past experiences that have taught me that.

so much for an easy last semester, though.

p.s.
my roommates and i have stared a blog. i know its cheesy, but we really love each other so you can read if you want. blogity blog blog

a night of well mannered frivolity

i've had a number of those the past few weeks. i've had the pleasure of meeting several amazing people through one of my fantastic roommates. and well, frivolity has ensued many a time. but this evening, tonight is different.

sometimes, the most unexpected things bring the most unexpected joy. we all know that rexburg is a strange land with even stranger weather patterns. tonight, amid the thoughts of spring, it began to snow. a roommate and i decided that we needed to hole up with chips and the count of monte cristo, so we made our way to the store. there are about 6 inches of snow out there. and i was happy to see them all.

today, the snow was a happy reminder. a reminder that i have so little control over anything. a reminder of the stillness that comes from chaos; i know that sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, there is calm in chaos. tonight, as i looked up at the white sky, i remembered that snow falls at its own pace. tonight the snow fell slow, steady, and determined. unchanged by any thoughts of wishing it away. 

life is good and i'm happy. six inches of snow and all.

Too Hot to Handle

last april, my friend beth and i went on a little hike. when we made it back down r mountain, i discovered that my arms were spotted with small red bumps. i shrugged it off, blaming it on dehydration. fast forward to the end of a zumba class. hives. hives everywhere: arms, stomach, legs.burning, itching swelling hives. every time i exercised i broke out in hives. talk about an incentive to not work out, as if i needed one.

the last straw was a couple weeks* ago. i went to what was possibly the worst zumba class of my life for only half an hour. on my way home i could feel my temperature rising. by the time i got home, my body was coverd in hives. my top lip was swollen to twice its normal size. really though, i looked like i got botox...and you know i don't need no botox! so i finally went to the health center and got it checked out.

although the doctor was surprised, he had a diagnosis: urticaria- a fancy word for hives. he also had a prescription. every night i had to take a little white pill, an antihistamine of sorts. the benefit? today, i went running. i put on my shoes and got on a treadmill. i only ran a mile, but it was the greatest mile i've ever run because at the end of it, there were no hives.

*note: i wrote this a couple days ago. by "a couple" i mean like a week.

Happy Thoughts

i feel like i haven't had a happy blog post for a while. so i will share some happiness while the endorphins are high! 

here are a few things that brought me happiness today:

*i have an internship! it is such a blessing in my life! i'm so grateful to be a the point where i can complete an internship! and you know what? i get to help all kinds of people understand something that they generally are intimidated by and it is so cool!

*i have great roommates! they are kind and funny and sometimes we rough house and since i'm bigger than they are i pretty much always win because i get to decide when to stop.

*food. glorious food. i love it and i'm so grateful to have it everyday.

*friends. i have the greatest friends! they are funny and smart and wonderful!

*co-workers. i have really great co-workers. when we are not busy with tax things we just talk and it is great.

*the love of God that i feel whenever i tune in. He is there, just waiting on me to let go of anger and frustration so that i can make room for His love.

*our clean apartment. seriously, the roommates.

*being honest with myself. (there will eventually be a post about this honesty process. at some point.)

*our home evening group. we came together and talked and decided that we would be friends! i love friends.

*my friends having babies. my co-worker thinks that she is going to somehow convince my to be more excited about having kids. we are both very single but she wants babies. i'm not on that chapter of this journey. i'm perfectly content being cool auntie sam to all those cute little babies that will eventually go back to their parents.

okay, there is my list of happy things for today! think on your happy moments!

I Wish it Were Steak

january is over, and what a month it was. i have a lot on my plate at the moment and although i've heard people say that when you have too much on your plate, the Lord makes your plate bigger, i would much rather Him turn whatever is on my plate into a big juicy steak. but i digress.

from the top: i currently have two callings (in order of acceptance) home evening group leader and second counselor in Relief Society. you may be saying to yourself "but that can't be right, i've read that variation of a calling complaint before." fret not, dear friends, tis true. the latter is a calling that i've had before, though it appears i may have missed the lesson, and so... here's to learning.

i'm also completing an internship for the much coveted accounting degree. i like taxes. there, i said it. are you happy now? it taps into every bit of accounting and office work nerdiness in me. it is great! (trust that exclamation point, i don't wield the power of exclamation lightly.) along with the internship, i'm taking what some call the most difficult accounting class in our degree program. it is kicking my butt.

i know that we are never given more than we can handle. i know that right now is right. everything is in the place that it needs to be. and life is overall good and wonderful and beautiful, but it would be better with steak. i'm just saying.

Accounting and Emotions Don't Mix

i'm having one of those days. one of those days where i feel like i'm at the verge of tears every second i'm alone. it stinks. it stinks because i don't have anything to be upset about. i have an internship that is going well thus far. i have food. my friends are still amazing. and the cherry on top? it is sunny in rexburgia. cold as all get out, but today we get to see the sun. happiness.

but that said, i was sitting in accounting and my teacher is going on and on about puts and calls and stocks and bonds and percentage rates and present values and payments. while i did catch most of what he said, i couldn't make myself care. i didn't care about any of it. stupid feelings, they've basically never served me well. and now that i think about it, i've never been able to force myself to care about anything. not the trees being cut down. not the dolphins in the tuna cans. not peta. and certainly not the fate of the kardashians, though they are not really worth caring about.

either way, i've got a test to take tomorrow which means i need to be studying not wallowing. soyonara.

Rexburg...Again

i'm back in school. 'cause i still have to finish. but the greatest thing is that the end is closer now than it has ever been. 

on sunday, i had the opportunity to bare my testimony. part of that testimony is that i know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and that everything that has happened in my life has been for a purpose. everything has led to this point, this amazing wonderful point. and as is the custom for the mormons, i found a quote that sums up my point: 

“However you may be, be your own source of experience. Throw off your discontent about your nature. Forgive yourself, your own self. You have it in your power to merge everything you have lived through; false starts, errors, delusions, passions, your loves and your hopes into your goal with nothing left over.”

— Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche