Merry Christmas!!

Looks like I haven't blogged in almost 3 days.

That's okay because I just want to wish everyone Merry Christmas!

Special thanks to the girls of apartment 19 (Marilla, Ariel, Nikki, and Amy) along with Ryan and Porter who tried to bring me some cheers this year.

Also, I want to thank Eric for hanging out during Christmas Eve.  Thanks to everyone and I hope to see you all before the new semester starts!

Inefficax (Pars V)

Okay, so yesterday was not exciting at all.

:3

Today was not that much different either.  I spent most of my day playing video games.  I did get about 8.5 hours of sleep, though.  So, that was a rare treat.

I got a new mug and some hot coco.  I haven't drank any of it because I wasn't in the mood for hot chocolate.  I do find the new mug very useful.  :)

Like I said before, most of my day was spent on playing A Path Beyond.  Consider that I woke up around 11:30am, playing almost 6 hours of video game was still too much.  My back has never been so sore.

The rest of my evening included speaking to my uncle and listening to some music.  All right, so it's not the most glamorous way to spend a break, but there aren't much going on around Provo.

(Edit: after 11)

This should teach me not to write a journal entry without letting the day progress, or at least, leaving your apartment.  I stepped outside to check the mail and I noticed the letters and cookies were gone!

What's left was a can of hot chocolate and some treats.  That certainly made my day.  Whoever you are, thank you!  :v

Nunc Conteram (Pars IV)

Well, the highlight of my day was opening my 4th present from my mysterious friends.  I received $5 from the present.  Guess where I spent it?  I put it on my laundry card.

Other than that, I worked.  That was all I could say about Wednesday.  Kyle offered me a lift home, which was very nice of him.

I know this entry is not very exciting, but it wasn't an exciting day anyways.

Another Christmas Story (Pars III)

I totally didn't wake up on time this morning.  I kept sleeping until noon!

It was a relatively short day since I only had roughly 5 hours to myself.  I went to my eye doctor's to pick up the contacts I ordered.  So, I'm set for at least the next 6 months.

They taste pretty good.

I also went to the Bookstore to buy the rest of my books.  Surprisingly, it was cheaper to buy my O-Chem book, along with its packages, at the Bookstore than online.  I guess there's a first for everything.

The secret Santa(s) gifted me some Hershey-ets for today.  It took me a moment before I figured out how to open it.  They were nice treats!

I didn't get to play LoL (League of Legends) with my brother this afternoon due to the fact I woke up late and I was running errands.  I may have to do that tomorrow.

Work was straight forward.  There was a basketball game and the men won!  George and Simon gave the operators candy treats as Christmas gifts.  Which reminds me, I need to get them something for the season too!  I'm thinking getting a bottle of  their favorite soda.

This seems like a short post, oh well.  lol

Defessus Oculos (Pars II)

So, I had a very early start this morning.  In fact, I started my day with work at 6:00am.

My shift: 6:00-13:00; 21:00-00:00

This makes the 3rd time I've gotten little sleep since the break started.  Luckily, I get to sleep tonight.

I decided to run some errands today after my morning shift.  I got myself some drinks and little present for the full-timers at work.

I spent the rest of the day in my apartment before I headed back into work at 9.

Gift #2 from the box was a silver string for Christmas trees.  Since the tree I received was a tad small for the long string, I decided to wipe the ceilings around the center island and ended up putting it on top of the Christmas lights Taylor put up.

The other thing I did was listen to my entire playlist of music.  It's kinda funny to switch between genres when you put it on random shuffle.

Stacey texted me tonight.  She said that her family will be in Idaho on Christmas Day, so I won't be able to tag along.  :(

HURR!

  That's okay because now I can actually try to grow a beard.  I can get that bored...Then again, it's really itching me right now, so I might shave it off tomorrow.

My brother wanted me to play League of Legends with him tomorrow.  I've never got around to play it, so I think it'll be an interesting bonding time.

Well, that's my day so far.  I'm so glad I get to sleep tonight despite of the fact I work tomorrow.  To be honest, the hardest working day will be next Monday.  Speaking of which, I have some errands I need to carry out tomorrow at the Bookstore.  It's funny how I don't get to lay around doing nothing during the break.

I will survive and make my time meaningful.

Hmm...Rainbow Sheep.

Thesauros Absconditos (Pars I)

It's that time of the year again!  Once again I am free for two weeks.

These secret Santas are getting good...

There were a number of pleasant surprises starting from the beginning of the break.  Once again, the "food artist" struck once more.  This time, my name was spelled out by glow sticks with Milano cookies as borders.  I'm not sure what to do with the cookies this time as most of the little critters around Provo are probably hibernating now.

I never figured out who was/were doing that, but I think I'll just smile and move on.  When I said goodbye to Ryan, we noticed that there was a box addressed to me.  It contained a personal note addressed to me and boxes of gifts inside them.  Each was supposed to have a specific instruction.  I was to open them one at a time with each passing day until Christmas Day.

Today was the first one.  I received a mini Christmas tree.  I thought it was cute.  The slip of paper that contained the instructions was in a poetic format, complete with rhymes.  Whoever did it had spent a good amount of time preparing for those gifts!

It's possible that I will have something to do on Christmas Day if Stacey's family is not heading up to Idaho.  She invited me to have a meal with her family on that day.  That should be interesting.

Polly wants Christmas!

So...for the rest of the break, I plan to get some more exercise and cleaning done.  Not to mention, preparing for the Winter Semester.  It's always somewhat cumbersome to reflect on the year, but I have seen more positive effects than negatives from doing it.

I worked this morning and will do so again on Monday.  Looks like I won't be able to get some decent sleep until Monday night.  While we are still at it, I'm still waiting for that good news.  I hope things work out the way I planned.  If not, it's okay.

Also, looks like I'll be going home the beginning of May.  We'll see what happens from that point.

Until then, expect an update of my daily adventures in Provo during the interim period!  Take care folks and be safe!

Another Pirate Sheep!

The Final Stretch

Productivity?  What's that?  With the finals starting tomorrow, I feel this surge of excitement and nervousness running through my veins!  My policy, as it evolved over the years, has been study as much as time allows (or sometimes...feel like) and simply do not care.

Lol it's a mini me!

 This may seem like a terrible advice for some, but it certainly gives me a lot less stress around this time of the year.

Speaking of the end of the year, I still don't understand why we have a cleaning check during finals week.  You would think they would do it a week before finals to make things less complicated for the residents.  Oh well, it's the Riv.

I did a sketch today.  Luckily, most people recognized who the subject was, so I guess I don't suck as much as I thought I did before.  I will finish the details and hopefully it will become something worthy of archive.  It just might be the perfect birthday present at some point.  Now, I'll just keep it as a Christmas break project.

I just want you to know, for some reason, the format is being retarded right now.

Seems like a pretty accurate depiction of most people

In other news, I found out that my lab partner and I may be stuck together for the rest of the program since we are both doing our senior core during the same semester.

There are still a few things that need to be sorted out within the next two weeks.  I blame the bureaucracy.  I promise you all that all will be revealed in 2 weeks!

I still have a few projects to finish to wrap up the semester.  Crazily enough, I have 4 scheduled finals this semester.  That makes my options limited when it comes to what to study for next.

We had another great ward fireside tonight.  How does Bishop Hart meet all these cool people?  I don't have any plan for Christmas, so we'll see how things pan out.  I might spend some time at the bishop's place if nothing work-related comes up.  Then again, I may just sleep because I usually don't get a lot of sleep.

Another good news, I didn't know I was making $9.20/hour since the middle of September.  I suppose that was a pleasant surprise.

There will be more adventures (I hope) during the winter break.  I'll update my blog more often for those who care.

Insights

Well then, it has been a rather hectic week.  It shouldn't have been, but it somehow turned out that way.  In fact, I was so caught up with all the big projects that's supposed to be due on Monday, I forgot to do my chemistry homework.  That'll cost me, but I doubt it'll make a dent in my grade.  Other than that, the week has been rather inspiring.

Need a jolt?  :v

I was able to tie up the loose ends on family history work and had one of my friends, Ariel, to go to the Draper Temple and complete some ordinances for my great grandmothers.  I am grateful!

The combined Priesthood and Relief Society this Sunday was insightful.  We had Brad Wilcox speaking to us.  It's crazy how many interesting people Bishop Hart knows.

Brother Wilcox shared some gospel knowledge with us.  I wish I had that sort of understanding when I was serving my mission.  It would have made explanations so much easier.

One of the things I liked during his lesson was expanding upon the concept of "saved by grace after all we can do".  I didn't understand at first, but I got it after the analogy he drew.  LDS don't believe that we can earn our way to heaven (in fact, the word is never mentioned in our standard works).  Works are not payment.  Christ already paid that with his sacrifice.  Him, being our Creditor, beckons us to follow Him and observe His terms.  Our faith help us to do good, which is more along the lines of appreciation for His great sacrifice.  By doing the things He has commanded, we learn about heaven instead of earning our way into it.

Also, I know my mom has mentioned this before, but I didn't quite understand it either before today.  Brother Wilcox pointed out the difference between eternal progression and perfection.  They are not synonymous and he used a great example to prove that point.

Brad Wilcox: author and professor at BYU

Upon reflection, this year was all about finding out what I want in life. This included career path, friends, family, and the girl I would like to have as an eternal companion.  The first half of the year was trying, but I had good friends and a good supportive network in my immediate surroundings.  I was really lucky my roommates and I get along so well (I've never had an issue with my roommates).  That, in itself, is almost unheard of and rare.

Looking back, I know I was blessed.  I complain from time to time, but life is not bad at all!

Finals are coming up.  The secret to deal with them?  Study hard and don't care what happens.  I think I get better grade when I strike a fine balance between those two things.

So...who loves orange soda???
Kel loves orange soda!!!