Snowball Fights. Snowball Fights Everywhere.

I finally tricked my computer charger into working so I have a short window of opportunity to catch up!

Friday: class at 10 (Will looked good, no surprise there), worked on my practice assignment and then had a homemade turkey avocado sandwich, class at 2 (turned in practice assignment, Will still looked great of course and I had reason to appreciate his appearance because he is the lab teacher), then hung out with Ricky for a few hours! Snowball fight number 1. I got to see part of the Fletcher building where Ricky works on stuff and there were a few nerds hanging out :) It was really cool. Then dinner of... something. (Did I have dinner?? Probably involved Nutella.) Then murder mystery date, dressed up as Bernadette Brown: a pyromaniac artist who is above it all & voted Most Likely To Hang (like in a museum, create a masterpiece). My date was Matt, he was cool and he went as a nerd who had recently become cool. Afterwards, snowball fight outside of the building, number 2. Matt drove me home, power was out in Alta so snowball fight number 3 commenced with a lot of wardies outside the apartments. Fun!

Saturday: woke up earlyyyy (730) to make plasma donation appt, didn't donate until 1 because systems were out (got paid an inconvenience fee!). Watched Back to the Future, James Bond: Casino Royale, and James Bond: Quantum of Solace. Got paid in cash!! Went home, had to change right into football event staff uniform to work at 3! Worked tailgate party (FUN). Snowball fight number 4. Ken got his truck and we stayed inside the warm car unless a car came, then we took turns hopping out and doing our job. The job was freaking cold. The game was great but one-sided, BYU won in a landslide. Pulled the "plasma" card to go home at 11 because I was too freaking cold and my job was helping in the disabilities section but no one needed any help, probably everyone with wheel chairs didn't want to risk the icy walkways. Got Cougar Cash to buy Freschetta pizza and pretzel M&Ms, awesome.

Rest of the night was a bit of a blur, but I think I went to bed at a decent time for Stake Conference the next morning!

xoxo Courty

If School Is my Career, I Don't Have A Lot of Job Security.

So I guess this is a test to see if my parents read my blog. 

I missed three quizzes today. I don't know how else to say this, but I forgot it was Tuesday.

Strange, and I'm not sure if this is a self-defense mechanism, but I feel apathetic. Stressed yes, but I thought abut the response that someone would say who promotes the long-term perspective. I love learning but my grade doesn't usually reflect what I've learned, it reflects how well I have catered to the teacher's expectations. 

I also feel strangely unmotivated to be in journalism or politics. I feel as though my talent is in observation of people and phenomena. I don't need a degree to be a great journalist, the only thing I think I need is experience. School doesn't give you as much experience as it should. I'm learning too much in the classroom about stuff that I could EASILY learn on the job. 

I feel as though my real talent is in the real world. I have positive experiences from my interactions with strangers, with my internship of working in a real office environment and performing real jobs. I may not review my class notes every night when I come home, but I know how to work hard when given a meaningful task.

Your vote, your choice, your decision. Election 2012. I think Obama has this election. I voted for Romney because I think Obama has messed up this economy with radical measures. However, I think there is a chance that Obama's plans just need more time to manifest themselves. I do not believe in higher tax rates for the rich, that's a disincentive for people to succeed. 

We need to support the poor by creating jobs, not by giving them other people's money.

I foresee a reality check for both political parties, regardless of who wins. By the way, ironic that Missouri voted for a Mormon. :)

"Never let formal education get in the way of your learning. Twain, Mark"

Birthday Business

Now is a good time to express gratitude for people.
I know that every person in my life is there for a reason. The people I don't like are preparing me to deal with different personality types. The people I like help me aspire to be my best self.
My birthday stuff:
day before ~
lunch with Fran at the MOA
Cowboy Poetry with Kay, Cherie & others
day of ~
breakfast with Allie at Denny's
proposal helping with Connors, Andi, and Mikey
restaurant and business-hopping with Halers for free birthday stuff (dessert at California Pizza kitchen, sub at Firehouse Subs, dessert at Sizzler, balloon/crown/announcement over the manager walkie talkies, free doughnut at Krispy Kreme, and drink at Rubio's)
dinner at Panda Express with Halers (I really love you, Hale.)
henna with Hales
started watching Robin Hood: Men in Tights, then switched to watch part of Tron
scripture reading
day after~
birthday wishes at church (saw Alisa, Hailey and Wyatt from the Raintree meeting right before)
birthday shared with roomie Sam, open door with ward for pumpkin pie and cake at our apt
birthday song by ward acapella group

And that's the end of today. :)
I really really enjoy all of the small things as well as the big things. I have thoroughly appreciated the kind words and thoughts of everyone that have been sent my way, it is awesome to be 21!

School tomorrow, I ain't even mad.

love, Courtney

Pleasant People

I really really like meeting new people. I also enjoy etiquette. Therefore, it can be inferred that I thoroughly enjoyed the etiquette dinner tonight. Scrump-diddly-umptious.

I have had a blast for the past week. Hailey & Alisa + Other People, you guys are so fun. <3 <3

Birthday in 24 hours and 31 minutes!!! I really want it to be relaxed and casual, and so far, so good. Lunch tomorrow with Fran, Cowboy Poetry tomorrow night with Kay. <3

Also, Sandy is destructive. Be safe, East Coasters and don't underestimate Mother Nature. Praying for all of you.

<3

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

I got my mission call to Tahiti!

I have also been researching Tahiti like crazy since then...maybe instead of studying.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle and got to get into second gear after an hour and a half! SO FUN. 

Happy Halloween, people. :) Partyin', partyin', yeah.

So much more, but these are the highlights. 

xoxo, Court

Please Do Not Be Offended if You Fall in this Category

I have been in a funky mood for most of the afternoon but I am in a good place right now. So this will be an observation rather than a rant.
Provo Culture: a culture of Happy Valley in which ecstatic joy is the default emotion and people are exceptionally kind. HOWEVER there is judgment, hypocrisy, ditziness, superficiality, predictable conversation, and relatively insignificant hardships.
I say this out of love. Tough love.
There is an extraordinary amount of sameness about most people which I find myself slipping into. I want to quit school, travel somewhere far away, and write my soul out.
So I'm doing the next best, socially-acceptable, selfless thing- going on a mission to Tahiti. And I am so happy. (Did I mention how excited I am to get to know the beautiful people of Tahiti? I'm going to be so much better for this mission because I will be completely outwardly-focused for so long.)
It's high time for a break from P-town. I am thoroughly in love with the mountains, several people (you know who you are), and my school but sometimes the "culture" drives me up a wall.
These people are mostly good, sweet people. They are not all like this all of the time. I just wish people would be real more often.
I know you're supposed to "be happier than you feel" and I get that, but sometimes my eyes water because the squeal-talking is so high-pitched. This is not a joke.
I consider myself one of the happiest people on this planet but I don't feel the need to be excited about every single thing all the time. That's just not sane.
I sincerely hope that my opinion is taken in moderation with what you know about me as a person and with an understanding that I come from a very different place in life. I just simply could not abide living like this for the rest of my life.
I believe too much personal growth and progress is stunted here in a chronic attempt to be loved and adored rather than risk putting yourself out there by saying how you really feel and having a real response to various stimuli.

I was told earlier tonight about a guy who is really intriguing who dropped out of school and I actually admire  that honesty to yourself.

No Mom and Dad, I would never drop out of school permanently. But I would definitely take a break from this crazy town.
Provo, it's a love-hate thing. But for now, peace and love.
Court

"Tiny Break" #1623893

I am taking my eleven-hundredth-million "tiny" break today from the beast that is Poli Sci 200 and thought I would write.
When I signed in, it showed some data of my blogs and said this blog has been viewed 10,350ish times. Dang. Who are all of you people? I'm super flattered. Maybe I just have a dedicated stalker, in that case, hi again.
So when I get deep in the zone of studying, I become a slightly different person. I find myself behaving somewhat like a cat: craving a glass of milk, eating tuna out of the can (with a fork though), and taking cat naps.
I have like 10 pages left of this thing. I am writing about the government structures of India and China and their enforcement of environmental policies and the effect of this on business. I have possibly over-stretched myself on this one. I made myself laugh earlier when I realized what a seriously big and complex topic this was and I said, "I am dealing with some big fish here!" Then I had a silent laugh about it. In case you were wondering, no I haven't been outside at all today.
I weirdly enjoy difficult classes but in this situation, it is really a blow to the ego because I have to look up every tiny detail because I am just not an expert on these two countries. Whatsoever.
As a side note, Romney has my vote. If you feel like this warrants a "delete" on Facebook, I understand that you felt like you had to do that. I just really don't think Obama knows how to do math very well and Romney used to be weirdish but he is actually very intelligent and pretty darn funny sometimes. (Al Smith dinner)
I like how my hair looks right now, it naturally went into a chic ponytail. Like, I have woken up early on school days to achieve this look with very little success and now that I am imprisoned by homework, my hair bounced right into place. Miley Cyrus hair: can't be tamed.
Feeling pretty good about my life, going to Tahiti on a mission, in case you hadn't heard! I am absolutely romantically thrilled with the opportunity to learn TWO languages: Tahitian and French. My mission call says Tahitian, but I have spoken with many people and French is apparently just as common. Yay!!
On several "tiny breaks" I have practiced my French and my accent is pretty good, I think. I just need more vocabulary. There are only so many times you can say "Je ne parle pas francais mais j'adore paris! in an impeccable accent before you grow weary.
Ok time for my orange jell-o (dinner), it is 5:01 which means I met my goal to not eat it until after 5:00.
Au revoir! A bientot!
amor, Courtney