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....

My One Regret? Not Having Brought My Video Camera...

So, it was an eventful day-- I went to Dr. Mills, an orthopaedic surgeon, for a consultation on my wrist.  Well, not exactly-- my wrist itself is fine, but it had developed a ganglion cyst on the joint.  I've had it for a while, but the last month or so it has gotten a lot worse, and seemed to be threatening to take over my arm.  And, following Murphy's law, it was on my left hand, the one I use to write, play horn, play racquetball, and most everything else.Anyway, it was starting to really get in the way and painful... so I went to the doctor and he had a look, took some Xrays (very cool to look at), and then we chatted about options.  Settling on aspirating it, he prepped the instruments.  The aspiration procedure basically involves sticking a large needle into the cyst and sucking out its guts.  With no anaesthetic.  After having disinfected the area, he had his assistant help hold my arm down (any sudden jerking movements from the pain would make it ten times worse), then he put the needle in and sucked away.  It was pretty cool to see, actually, and he pulled about 1.5 cc of fluid out.  That may not sound like a lot, but it's amazing what it can do when it's not supposed to be in there.  I was surprised to see it-- it was thick like hair gel.  Not that I'd recommend using it in your hair.

Anyway, so now my wrist is back to normal (aside from some rather intense bruising), but I have to admit that I feel a strange sense of loss.  Almost like a friend has moved away.  Except that now it doesn't hurt to type, so that is great.  I'd post a picture, but, well, it's not a pretty sight right now.

In other news, I have only 2 weeks left of school, and then I'll be on tour!  It's strange, but I don't think it has really hit me yet that we'll be in the South.  It'll be a neat experience, though, and I've never been there before (Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi), so I'm looking forward to that adventure.

I'm also getting things ready for my internship in Washington.  I was able to find a place to live this week, so I am glad about that.  Mom is also relieved that I will not be resorting to my plan B, which was to buy a tent and some gear and just camp out all summer.  But I still think that would have been fun....

Geek Alert!!

So, last night, I found myself cramming (as often happens) to prepare an informative speech for my public speaking class.  Before you think I am a complete slacker, I *did* choose my topic a few days ago.  I just hadn't written our what I would say.  Or put together the power points.  Or practiced.  No matter.  A grand effort from 11 pm to ten to six this morning proved sufficient, and I presented in my 9 am class to critical acclaim (none of my classmates fell asleep while I was talking).  I talked about how penicillin works, which I think is one of the coolest things ever, but that is a topic for another day (actually, I'm quite proud of my power points, I might try to post them on here.  I used pacman screen shots to illustrate phagocytosis.  Hehe.).  Anyway, while searching for some suitable images to use in the presentation, I came across this gem:

I had to stifle the loud laugh that wanted to come out; my roommate was sleeping peacefully on the other side of the room.  But it just makes me giddy with joy.  Hehehe.  Yes, I am clearly a bio geek.

Gratitude

I received some absolutely exciting news today-- I got a scholarship for next year!  It was completely unexpected, as I didn't apply for it, it was done automatically through the biology department.  I got an email that said something to the effect of "your student financial account has been updated", and I fully expected that when I logged on, I would see that I owed the school money for something or other, and that I couldn't register for more classes until it was paid.

Needless to say, it was a welcome surprise.

Actually, that is a big understatement.  It turns out that the scholarship is funded by a former biology department chair and his wife who have long since retired, but keep giving back to the students.  And I find myself so humbled by that.  How many people do you know who give hundreds of dollars to people they don't know?  It has made me even more aware of the amazing influence people can have in the world, that we can help others through the means that we are given.  It has been an interesting semester for me.  I have had a lot of "learning opportunities" (code for "sometimes life sucks"), but through them I have become more and more aware of the difference that we can make in each others' lives.  I have had so many instances this semester where some kind words from a friend, or some compassion shown, or an offer to help have made all the difference in my day.  And it has made me realize more and more how selfish I am.  That all too often I don't think of others, or when I do, sometimes I don't do anything about it, and it remains a lonely thought in my brain, never fully actualized.  I have learned so much through others' examples lately, and it just makes me want to be better.  I hope that someday I have the means to help others, but more importantly, that if or when that happens, I have the heart to want to help.

The beginning

Well, I have decided to start a little blog.  I figured this would be especially good for the summer since I'll be doing an internship in Washington state in cancer research, and it would be nice to be able to keep friends and family updated.

My little title, "Life is Beautiful" is meant as a bit of a play on words-- I am a biology major, and studying life has led me to an ever-increasing appreciation for and awe of it.  Perhaps it's an indication of my geekiness that I find the opening and closing of Na+/K+ ATPase channels as elegant as ballet, but I really find a beauty in how life lives.

I also find that as I get a little older (and hopefully wiser along with that), life itself (in the more standard, social definition) becomes more beautiful and meaningful.  There is so much to be glad about.  I don't mean to sound naive, and I am certainly aware that life can be extremely difficult and trying, but I also find that if we focus on the things that really matter, we can always find something to be glad about.  On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur.  L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux"  -- St. Exupery

So now I'll have a place to write down my experiences, adventures, and thoughts about life.  Not that I have anything particularly profound to say.  I'm sure that if you don't know me, this blog will be very boring.  Heck, it might bore you even if you do know me, but you know what?  It's not about you.  Suck it up, princess.