This is for you, Teresa...

I cut my hair!

And when I say I cut it, I really mean it. The other night, around 10:30, I decided I wanted a haircut. Immediately. So I found my scissors and brush, and commenced my work. I don't think I did too badly! Maybe if the whole med school thing doesn't work out... I'll go to beauty school instead. They both involve cutting....

Iorana!!

One of our branch FHEs this summer. We learned a Tahitian hula, while the guys learned a haka.

We needed a little encouragment to shake our hips in public, though, and our Tahitian dance-trained instructor (on the left in the grey)responded to our shyness with: "Geez, girls, it's no wonder you're in the singles ward. Now shake it!!"

I have to say that I think we did pretty well for just an hour's practice... and it was a blast.

Lab Sweet Lab

The fabled day has arrived. The long-promised pictures of my internship are posted. Now is a good time to put on your "ability to laugh at bad situations" mojo. I'm having trouble getting the pictures loaded, so I may have to do this in installments.


The outside of the building. Or shack. It tends to look bigger from the outside than it really is. For scale, if I were standing right next to it, my head would reach past the shadow level on the side wall. There is apond to the right, and settling ponds to the left (the white hollowing in the ground). The lab is built down into the ground a few feet (you open the door and go down a few stairs), thus ensuring the floor is very close to the water table. This helps maintain the moist environment that is so crucial to the survival of the various species of mold and fungus in the lab. In places where the floor is not as, um, solid, as we might like, you can actually look through the holes and see the water flowing about 5 inches beneath the floorboards. This system is not as bad as it might sound, as it provides the lab with its only supply of running water that isn't fed into the fish tanks. Haha.

I believe this is an elephant fungus. And his friends. Under some of the tanks. Which aren't really tanks, but rather 38-gallon Rubbermaid tubs.



Chemical storage area. Organization and temperature and humidity controls are, apparently, optional, as is labeling.


Tin that contained aflatoxin. I can't figure out how to rotate it. Sorry.

Black mold growing on the walls in the lab, coming through the new paint.

It's Canada Day!!

It's July 1st!!


Which means it's Canada's birthday, and that makes me happy because I like Canada. I may be biased, but that's my prerogative as a Canadian.
At church on Sunday, our Branch President spoke, and one of the things he mentioned was about how grateful he was to live in the United States. He listed some of the good things about this country, and called it the "Best in the World". I was visiting with a friend later that evening, and, knowing that I am Canadian, she asked me what I thought about President Bigelow's words. I figured that there are lots of things I could agree with-- that there are a lot of good things in the states, a lot of great things about it (they let me come to school here!). I can even see why to many who live here, it really is the best country in the world. But... (and I may be biased) I found that I just couldn't quite get my heart to agree. My mind, yes, my heart... not quite. Yes, the states have a lot of great things going on-- but so does Canada! And I love the freedoms and opportunities that I was able to grow up having. We've seen a lot of the country while traveling and moving as a family, and while every region is unique, that diversity that is part of what I love about Canada.

So... to kick-off July... I'm going to make a Love List for Canada... I realize that some of these things are not exclusive to Canada, but they are there and they rock nonetheless...

Nature!
-the Canadian Shield
-the Rockies
-the Prairies (yes, even the prairies... they grow on you after a while... ha, no pun intended)
-Aurora Borealis
-Winters are beautiful (dang cold, but beautiful)
-the East Coast
-the West Coast
-Forests
-camping
-canoeing
-biking
-cross-country skiing
-the beach
-fall leaves, and pressing them in heavy books
-wildlife- Canada geese, moosen, deer, polar bears, grizzlies, beavers, lobsters (ok maybe those don't count... but they are still cool)

Food!
-Ketchup Chips
-Aero Bars
-Poutine
-Kinder Eggs (for the toy, not the chocolate)
-Maple Syrup
-Maple Candy (one is more than enough)
-Maple Cookies
-Maple Taffy (boil the syrup/sap and then pour it in a little trench in the snow, then roll it up on a popsicle stick to eat it like a lollipop)
-Shreddies
-Fruit stands by the side of the road in the summertime (especially in Ontario)
-Nanaimo Bars
-Pierogies

Cool Role Models!
-Terry Fox
-Emily Carr
-Kim Campbell (the U.S. is busy making a big fuss over having a female President, meanwhile, we had a female P.M. over 10 years ago. Even if she was in office for only nine months, and only because of some unfortunate troubles with the preceeding P.M.)
-uhhh... I guess there should be more here but... brain lapse.

The Dominion as a Whole!
-Freedom
-Democracy
-Bilingualism- and not just on cereal boxes
-Multiculturalism (and not to mention all the tasty food that comes with it :) )
-An honourable military tradition of peacekeeping and libration
-socialized health care (it may not be a perfect system, but it's one of the best)

Miscellaneous!
-spelling things with "extra" letters (I'm looking at you, u)
-special distinction for the letter Z to not rhyme with any other letters of the alphabet
-cool-looking money (hockey on a fiver = awesome)
-doughnuts always within a short drive
-an understated national identity, and the accompanying self-deprecating humour
-"Sorry"
-"Eh"
-Mounties and the musical ride

So... what have I missed? What are your favourites?

Gross-out Alert!

After a long day in Olympia this week, I came home and made some salsa and nachos (and by "made" I mean "opened the salsa jar and poured some into a bowl"), and decided to watch a bit of TV to unwind.  Channel surfing didn't yield much that was interesting until the University of Washington channel caught my eye.  I guess the med school there does video lectures, and the orthpaedic surgery department was presenting a seminar on shoulder reconstruction.  The professor spoke (rather blandly) about the surgery itself (I guess a video lecture is still a lecture, and therefore, can be quite dry), but then indicated a that a video would be shown of the procedure being done on an actual patient.  Sweet!  So of course I watched it.

It was really cool.  They showed all the incisions and explained what they were doing and why.  There was a lot more drilling than I thought there would be, and also more, um, gushing, for lack of a better word.  But it was still very cool.  I saw the bones in the shoulder joint and how they fit together and rotate.  I saw the layers of muscle carefully separated and later sewed back together such that the proper function and movement was retained (though I imagine the patient will be sore for a little while!).  Definitely interesting stuff, and I couldn't help but be a in bit of awe of the precision and complexity of the surgery.  It was kind of... elegant.  I know that's a bit of a weird word to use here, but it was really neat to see.

At one point, I also realized that I was eating while watching surgery (and its inherent, um, mess), and that it didn't faze me.  Part of thought that maybe that's weird, that you shouldn't be able to watch people be cut open while munching away on dinner.

It was then that I looked at my bowl of salsa and realized that it kind of looked like...

Never mind.

At least it wasn't spaghetti and meatballs.

May already? How did that happen? (I know, I know, the earth kept rotating. But I swear it's speeding up!)

First off, I apologize for my month-long hiatus from the blog. In my defense, I was running around the country having way too much fun to think about writing. Ok, actually, I just haven’t had much internet access, and the few minutes I have had I thought were better spent with emails. Anyway, now that I have found the public library near work that has Wi-fi, it appears that problem has been solved.

I’m hoping to write about my trip, but I need to organize things (pictures, etc) before that can really happen, so it will probably come in installments. In the meantime, enjoy the following random story:

Sometimes when I go through the checkout line at a grocery store or drugstore, I like to look at what people are buying and try to figure out what they’re up to that day. A stressed-out looking mom buying plastic forks and paper plates at a drugstore for twice the price at a grocery store is probably in a big rush and took the closest thing she could. Child’s birthday party, perhaps?
Anyway, it’s a fun way to people watch.

I had to laugh at myself yesterday as I picked up a couple things at the store before heading home after work. I had been in town either feeding the fish or running errands since 8:30, and it was then about 7:00 at night. I wear clothes I don’t care about at work, so I was wearing a t-shirt and black sweatpants. My hair was a bit of a mess from running around all day and not bothering to fix it (I don’t think the fish really care what I look like). I looked, and was, tired.
I realized that if there are any other people out there who like to people watch like I do, and if they saw me with my purchases, it wouldn’t be very hard to figure out what I was up to for the evening.

The three things I bought?

Leg wax, Disney’s Enchanted (I’ve wanted it for a little while, and I rationalized it as an early birthday present), and a Toblerone bar. I’m not sure you can say “Girl’s night in” any better than that.

And yes, I did watch the movie while waxing my legs and munching some tasty chocolate. A Saturday night well spent. And my legs are so smooth.... :)

Flashback...

Well, exams are finally over and while I have a lot of packing and cleaning to do, I thought I'd take advantage of the momentary lull to do a little update.  Yes, Michelle, this is for you. :)

First, massive kudos and thanks off to Kyooyoo for letting me borrow Babar tomorrow morning.  My brilliant, well-laid plans for obtaining a car by the end of the semester have been freakishly abrupted week after week, so that I am still without car and need to move my things into a storage unit tomorrow before midnight, at which point I will board a bus with the rest of the BYU-Idaho symphony band to get on our way toward the deep South for a two week tour.  So really, Kyoo, you are a lifesaver.  And I know you read this. :)

So, yes, we're heading on tour!!  We leave soon, but I'm not sure it has really sunk in yet.  Exams will do that to you.  I'm not even sure today in Thursday; I lost all sense of time last week.  We're going to Dallas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama.  I think we have 16 concerts total over the tour, but we also have a lot of service opportunities, and I am really glad for that.  In our tour preparation, they have emphasized that yes, we need to prepare our music and be ready to perform the best we can, but we also need to remember that it's not about the music so much as it is about the lives we can touch.  I'm hoping to have some missionary experiences while I'm out there; they don't come as often in Rexburg as one might hope.  We also have some service projects and stuff, so I'm sure it will be fun.  Sadly, this may prevent me from being able to update my little blog over the next little while, but you can expect some massive bloggage (that doesn't sound like a comfortable word...tehe ) when I return.  I just hope that my hair doesn't frizz and my face break out from the humidity.  If that is the case, then the post will be delayed slightly to allow for photoshopping.  Haha.

Anyway, on to the topic of choice... and the reason for the title...

We got our Temple Celebration DVDs Tuesday in class.  For those unfamiliar, the symphony band played the program music in the Rexburg Temple cultural celebration in February.  The celebration was the night before the dedication, and the main theme outlined the history of the Saints in the area.  It was really cool to learn about the early settlers and the struggles they went through to establish this valley, and then see a fruition of their works materialized as the temple was dedicated.  I remember feeling so incredibly grateful and almost undeserving as I reflected on all they went through, and that I have many of the blessings of their efforts.  They laid the foundation for what we now enjoy.

Playing in that concert was one of the most fulfilling musical experiences I have ever had.  I felt as though it (the celebration as a whole) was a simple and pure (but very heartfelt) expression of the joy that we all feel in having a temple in Rexburg.  And as I watched some of the scenes in the DVD (I have yet to watch it all the way through; I'll have to wait until I have a large chunk of time available), I feel that joy again.  Like an outwelling (is that a word?) of love and bliss.  I get all choked up and cry a little when I watch it.  It's hard to describe, I guess.  Maybe those who were also in it know what I mean by that.  But I feel so glad to have been able to be a part of it, and so glad that we have a temple here (oh, if anyone knows how I can upload an mp3 to my blog, please let me know, and I will put some tracks on so you can hear it!).  I have been working in the office at the temple this semester, and it has become one of the best parts of my week, but also being able to attend pretty much whenever I want/can is amazing.  I feel a difference when I can attend often.  As though the peace that is there stays with me throughout the week, and I have started to notice and miss it when I am not able to go that often.  Anyway, I have started to ramble, and I don't know that I can really find the right words to describe what I am trying to say anyway.  Maybe that's what music is for; it fills the gaps words leave behind so our souls can express themselves more fully.  If I had my horn with me now, I would make it soar....