Ahhh, the Solitude

So, the last 3-4 days I've been at my apartment by myself. Most people when they hear that go, "Aww, you poor thing!" People seem to find my being alone sad. I don't understand why. If you know me at all you know I greatly value solitude. You can get so many things done without interruptions, you can have noise on if you want or off when you don't want. Silence is entirely up to you. It's fabulous! As much as I love my roommates, I have greatly enjoyed this Thanksgiving break. I started prep-ing for it even before break. For nearly an hour on Sunday I believe, I just layed on my bed looking up at the ceiling and contemplated life. What are my plans for life? What do I plan to get out of it? How will I react when things don't happen the way I want or expect? I was basically planning to be surprised in life.

I don't know how many people are aware of what I want to do with my life... they must not be because they all keep asking. I'm in school right now, so I'm really just focusing on that right now. I anticipate finishing classes in June so that I can graduate next August. How exciting! I plan on applying for graduation after Christmas break. I plan on staying here in student housing until my actual graduation since it's pretty cheap living here during spring/summer. I want to start looking into finding a job at the hospital. If I can find a good one, I hope to start working there during spring. I'm working at the library on campus right now, and although I work with some really cool people, get paid well enough for it being an on campus job, and the work isn't too hard, I still don't want to work there past April if I can avoid it. Then in the fall I'm hoping to find my own apartment... again I love solitude. It's my turn. If (when) I make it through school I deserve to have my own place where me, myself, and I can reside quite happily. I think we get along really well. If things stay relatively uneventful like that, I am intending to head down to SUU for grad school. They have one of the best forensics programs in the nation. They actually have their own criminology lab! How cool is that?

So, yeah. Right now I just hope I can get my undergrad! I'm trying though. Well, I have to get back to enjoying my solitude.

Don't Mess

So first off, I would like to enforce bragging rights of a well played game by Ohio State versus our long time rival, Michigan. It was a fantastic game if I do say so myself. We had some beautiful plays both offensively and defensively. Michigan played a good game to in all honesty, but it just goes to show who the better team is. Way to go Tressel; our 5th straight win against Michigan, a new school record. Now, if only Michigan State can beat Penn State, then we will be on our way to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl! It's still possible. Don't mess with the Buckeyes.

On another "don't mess" note, we recently had cleaning checks. I hate BYU housing cleaning checks. I actually failed, believe it or not. Me! I consider myself pretty clean, but apparently I didn't clean our bedroom blinds with a fine toothbrush. They passed me on the recheck but failed my roommate for not cleaning the kitchen floor. Well I came home yesterday and found that I had been charged a $10 cleaning fee for the kitchen floor... not even my job! Needless to say, I went and talked to the lady in the office who told me to just email the lady and she would also try and talk to her. The lady emailed back and didn't seem to realize the wrong person had been charged so I had to write another email. If that were all that'd be one thing. But I remember the lady saying you just need to wipe the blinds down with a wet washcloth. Well, I wiped 'em down with windex and they are still pieces of crap. Why did I fail when I did more than what she told me to do? Well, I am not gonna take this. So I did what any sensible person with crappy blinds would do. I tore them down. Those blinds were begging to be thrown away anyway. So after break I'm gonna go down to the office and request a work order for new blinds. The old ones broke and the opening rod broke off... It's only fair they give us new blinds. You mess with me I will come back on you three fold.

Small Things in Life

So, I'm made happy by the small things in life. Seriously, you have no idea what kind of stupid things make me happy. There are some genuinely cool things that make me happy, but there are also some genuinely stupid things that make me smile too. For example, some of the cool things that make me happy are doing well in school, listening to music, watching cool movies w/ cool people. These are all pretty normal, right? Everyone likes those things. I think most people can relate to that. But there are also those things that make me happy that people might find silly. For example, I like shampoo. When I'm at a salon or a place with lots of shampoos and hair products I'm like a kid in a candy store. I'll give you a specific example of this weirdness in action. Yesterday I bought new shampoo, Dove. I was pretty excited about it. I had been wanting to buy new shampoo for a while. This morning when I woke up, I didn't really feel like actually getting out of bed. Then I remembered I had new shampoo and that got me up and into the shower. Not even kidding. I take pride in the way my hair looks and feels. It's my best asset. Right now you're probably thinking, "Wow Erika... that's pretty dumb." But ya know what? I bet you have your own 'stupid' pleasures. And what's wrong with finding joy in the small things? I also get excited if I buy new cereal or something. That can make it easier for me to get out of bed too.

So in correlation with my favorite things, I am taking on Stacey's challenge from a while ago to list my 10 favorite things that start with the letter 'E'. Here we go.

1. Erika. I'm taking Dave's suggestion and putting myself down. I like me. After all, what's not to like?

2. Edwardscissorhands. An example of some of my favorite movies. I love Tim Burton's stuff. I particularly like this movie.

3. Evanescence. One of my favorite music artists. Amy Lee is one of the few female vocalists I actually really like to listen to.

4. Energetic nephews. Seriously, Will and Aiden keep me on my toes when I'm around. It's good for me.

5. Easter. It's just a fun holiday. Full of candy, family (well, except the past few years I've been at school), and friends. And of course, it's importance in relation to remembering the resurrection of our Savior.

6. Embryos. Ok, so my embryology class is my "El Guapo" but I still like embryos. That's because they're the precursors to cute, little people. I love little people. They're like you and me, only smaller.

7. Enigmas. I love mysteries. I try and solve them. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I fail miserably. But I still enjoy them.

8. Encyclopedias. I like learning cool facts. I like specific encyclopedias like ones on health, egypt, legends, history, mythology, etc.

9. Evening-wear. I like the occasional evening when I can dress up and make myself all pretty and go show it off. Yeah, I'm vain like that. Not really, but it's fun anyway.

10. Eating. I love food. You may not realize it, but I actually do love to eat. I love pizza, yogurt, icecream, gala apples w/ vanilla yogurt, cereal, waffles, chicken, chili, pasta of all sorts, etc.

There you have it folks. You already probably knew I was easily entertained so this didn't come as that big of a shock. Well, that was fun. Told you I could write a low-intensity blog.

Some Music

Proud to be an American

So, as we all know we have a new president. As I'm also sure you're aware, I am not very happy with the decision. It makes me wonder what the crap people are thinking. Even on campus I'm surrounded by people who are ecstatic that Obama won. These are people claiming to be Christians! I honestly don't see how you can be a strong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and be in favor of this atrocity. For one thing, he voted against banning partial abortions. That's pretty much murder. Not pretty much, it is. He's also all for homosexual marriages. Fortunately, prop 8 passed in CA as well as similar prop's in AZ and FL. That's one of the other things I don't understand about some of these liberal members of the church. They support gays "right" to get married. Why? Because we shouldn't infringe on their "right" to get married? Well, where do we draw the line then? Should we start allowing people to marry their dogs? How about marrying their first cousin? Sound disgusting, doesn't it? That's because it's unnatural, just like homosexuality. I'm not saying gays are evil, but I am saying the practice is. I recognize homosexuality as a temptation that some people have to fight through. You are NOT born that way. We are created in the image of God; "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose". That comes directly from a latter day prophet. Back to the issue of infringing on people's rights. Should people also be allowed to steal, rape, molest, and murder? Where are we going to draw the line? I guess what these people are saying is laws are restrictive so let's not have any. Let's all just do what we want. Well guess what? That's the most moronic idea I've ever heard. When Christ rules and reigns over the Earth gay marriage will not exist, so why allow it now? Shouldn't we strive as much as we can to create a nation worthy of His presence? I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in Sodom or Gamora.

Obama also supports immigration. Well, I can't say I'm against immigration... I am the granddaughter of a German immigrant. But ya know what? My grandfather came here LEGALLY. He even learned English! Obama has voted yes to allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. What did they do to earn that? Just because you're able to hop a fence and lie you get to mooch off other people's hard work? It's legalized stealing. He also voted no on making English our national language. What the crap?! If our legal, immigrant ancestors were able to learn english, why can't immigrants now? I'm sick of hearing spanish all over the place. Having a national language will guarentee that all government and business publications will be in English. People don't criticize other countries that have a national language. When you go to France, Spain, Brazil, or Romania you are expected to be able to use the designated language. To me, it's a sign of respect when you speak the language of those you are around and associate with. In America, guess what, we speak ENGLISH. You can too.

Obama also opposes the death penalty. Well, if you've read my past blog, you know where I stand on that issue. Some people find strong conservatives, such as myself, hypocritical for being pro-life and pro-death penalty. Guess what? They BOTH are intened to protect the lives of the innocent. There's an absolutely fabulous video you should check out, which I agree with 100%. It's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93cFOjDG-Ks.

Concerning the title of this blog, "Proud to be an American", I'd just like to say I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be part of a country where we have freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I am honored to belong to a nation created by the inspiration of God. I believe the Constitution is a divinely inspired document. Our founding fathers were men of great faith. They may not have been perfect men, but they were able to be instruments in the Lord's hand to establish this nation we now have the privilege of living in. I believe this to be a choice land. I am proud of the soldiers who have fought and died to keep this a free land. God Bless America.

Well, I'm exhausted. Needless to say, I've been very politically heated recently. I'm surrounded by people at school and work who are thrilled with the new president. It's because they're ignorant. Or maybe they're racist. Or maybe they're stupid and think that because the rest of the world likes Obama, we need him as president. Because America having a president the rest of the world "likes" will make life full of sunshine and daisies. Well what if I'm allergic to daisies? Good grief. I need to do some t'ai chi or something. I'll try and make a blog one of these days that isn't so charged. I guess I'm not as laid back as I thought.

Justice

So, I was watching A&E today when I came home for lunch after work. They had on one of those Cold Case File shows on. They're really interesting, but I find I get a little too fired up from watching those. But when you hear about what I saw, you'd understand. One story was about this lady, Andrea Yates, who drowned her 5 children in the bathtub. She claimed she did it so that they could go to heaven. Clearly this woman was insane, and everyone knew it. She confessed to murdering her children and she knew it was against the law and that it was a sin. So it's not like she didn't know the difference between wrong and right (which I still have opinions on, but won't go into). It wasn't even spontaneous. She carefully planned it out. The jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to 40 years in prison w/ a chance for parole. As much as that annoyed me, it gets worse. There was some problem w/ one of the expert psychologists that testified. Something to do w/ a Law and Order episode that never existed... didn't quite catch that. But because of this, they had another trial and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. What the crap?! It should be 'guilty, by reason of insanity'. She was put in a psychiatric ward and given medication with a chance to get out if they feel she will no longer be a threat to society. Why? The death penalty is not just a preventative measure to ensure someone doesn't kill again. It is a means of justice. It is a way to pay for the crimes which have already been committed. You can't just discard the fact that she murdered her own 5 children and let her go because she "won't do it again". There's a clear fire way she won't do it again. It's called the death penalty. There are times when judgment must be passed. We have a just God, who will show the appropriate balance of justice and mercy when that day comes.

Another case I saw that infuriated me even more was one concerning Bill Major. This 'man' is disgusting. He molested his own 2 children, a son and a daughter. Back in the 80's his wife disappeared and he was the #1 suspect, but no evidence could ever be found. It wasn't even until years after his wife's disappearance that he was finally arrested and convicted of child molestation. He had threatened his children saying if they didn't do what he told them he would kill their sibling. His son finally went to the authorities, which wasn't even until he was 13. But get this, he was only sentenced to 11 years! Then he was released! By this time a skull had been found near where he used to live in Kentucky. The jaw had been removed so there was no way of obtaining any information since it was before DNA testing broke through. Finally, some years later, they were able to prove the skull belonged to his wife. He had shot her in the head, decapitated her, removed her jaw and disposed of the body and her car in the Ohio river. It went to trial and he got sentenced to life in prison. What the crap? Who's idea was it to even have a life sentence? He should've been executed when he was convicted of child molestation. The death penalty should be applied to murders (of any kind), rapists, and child molesters.

I feel very strongly about this. I was yelling at the t.v. like Dad does when he's watching football. It makes me more determined to go into forensics. Not only do I get to use my interests and skills in biology, but I'll hopefully be able to bring about some justice through my work.

My Buckeyes

I haven't been able to watch a Buckeye game in weeks. It's really starting to get annoying. Not that this is new or anything. I mean, it was the same situation last year and the year before that. I just hardly ever get to see the games, especially since I'm out in Utah every football season. I always have to read the play-by-play. I just wish I could see my Buckeyes play. Oh well. I guess we can't have everything. They're playing Purdue today and are winning thus far. Purdue's not even ranked though. People are always ragging on Ohio State, but why? Some people say we're overrated. Umm.... are you ever gonna have a football season where everything is "the way it should be"? I think not. Of course, I also don't believe the Buckeyes are overrated. I think we are a dang good team. You may say, "But they lost the last 2 championship games!" Well guess what? At least we made it to the championship! That's because we have an amazing coach, Mr. Jim Tressel. You don't have to be an Ohio State fan. You can like any team you want, but don't be telling me I shouldn't like my Buckeyes. I will give you the evil eye if you do. And trust me, you don't want that. I want us to be friends. I really do. Unless you're a Michigan fan... Wait, they ARE broadcasting the game now!! Must've been broadcast late though cuz the previous game wasn't over yet. More proof that God loves me.