Up Down Adventure.

Time sure flies. August is almost halfway over, and I've got a good four weeks left of full time work before my job switches to part time. Job's a job, though, and money is money.

I was able to take a week and a half off to go see my family, which was great. On Friday, August 2nd, I flew out of Rexburg, passed through the Denver airport, and arrived in Knoxville, TN around 4:30am on Saturday. My flight was supposed to get there around 12:30am instead, but what can you do? Airport people are dumb; they can't help it.

My cousin Serena was getting married, so that's what the whole Tennessee thing was about. After entering the state, indulging in IHOP's new red velvet pancakes, and getting around five hours of sleep, I got up and ready for the day with my mom and brother to help set up for the reception. I am one of 37 cousins in the Barron family, so once the older cousins started getting married, there was virtually a domino effect. We've had at least one or two weddings every summer for the past eight years (cousins Joseph and Serena got married this summer). Needless to say, our family has gotten pretty good at arranging and organizing receptions.

• Aunt Trish and Aunt Carol make the cakes. 
• Uncle Ellis owns the majority of the decorating materials. (tool, tablecloths, fake flowers, etc etc.)
• My mother makes the bouquets and arranges the flowers.
• Cousin Mike is the DJ and announcer with all the equipment.
• Everyone makes food.

So, the kids in my age group (myself, Elena, Joseph, Gastón, Ellen, both sets of twins, and my brother) are generally the ones that are used for help. The adults tell us what to do, and we make sure it gets done. This year  Gastón , Joseph, Avery and I were in charge of doing most of the decorating. Overall, everything ended up looking good, Serena looked happy, and there was a new batch of cute new 2nd cousins to play with. 

As for Sunday, my mother, Avery, Nyroc (our dog), and I drove from Tennessee, to the rental home my family's occupying in Florida. It was an excruciating thirteen hour drive (the dog is terrible in the car; he whined and barked the whole time), but we made it down there around 1:00am on Monday. 

And I have to say, I've missed the beauty that is Florida. Everything is green, there're palm trees in every yard, the flowers are gorgeous, and the beach...good gracious the beach. Because I was there Monday-Thursday, I only got to go to the beach once. It was barely ten minutes away from the house, and it. was. phenominal. The water was warm, the sand was hot, and the waves were enormous. My brothers, sister and I got some great boogie-boarding in. I was also able to salvage a couple of really nice shells. Maybe I'll post a picture of 'em sometime. 

But the family was good. Chandler's a Junior and Moira's a Sophomore, and they're both doing marching band at their new school; I couldn't be happier. Avery's getting ready to attend school in Provo. Dad seemed to be adjusting well at his new job, Mom was excited to have her new washer and dryer, and Grandma...well, let's just say she's got a whole four or five marbles left. While seeing everyone was fine and dandy, I found myself wanting to get back to Rexburg after a certain point. Not because I wanted to be in Rexburg more than Viera (Florida), but because I wanted to be out doing my own thing again. Is that weird? 

Speaking of Florida, though, it's that time of year again: SHARK WEEK!!

All week long, my television will be locked on Discovery Channel. It's the event's 25th Anniversary, and I am just ecstatic. Also, can I just say that I'm absolutely enamored by breaching great whites? I find it to be one of the most beautiful things. 

Oh yeah. I've also got a boyfriend. Phil and I have been dating for a month now. Annndddd...that's all I'm going to say on that.  

Dice and Shine.

It's crazy how things can be both good and bad at the same time, right? How something can be so fantastic and frustrating simultaneously? Funny how stuff works...

And people? Gah, don't even get me started on people. I decidedly hate everyone except for a handful of them. Three or four, I think? Yeah, probably four; I'm okay with four people. That's all I need in life anyway.

The days are just flying by out here; there's only TWO WEEKS of the semester left, including finals week. I'm making arrangements to stay out west, here, so hopefully that works out. I just turned in two contracts this morning; one for the 7-week break, and one for the Fall semester. Unfortunately, I'll be in the same location, but hey, it could always be worse. I'm a poor college student, I'm allowed to live in crappy housing.

• I have one job in the works thus far. Lookin' like I'll be working a janitorial shift for one of the buildings close to campus, thanks to Sarah. And due to her recent...loss of a gentlemanly partner, she asked if she could stick by me for during the break and off semester. Looks like I've got a grand little roomie for the fall! Then hopefully I can manage to snag another job for when the semester actually starts.

The fourth of July happened this week, didn't it? That was a good day, a few firsts happened.

• This was the first year that I haven't been in the state of Tennessee for the holiday. My mom made sure to make me family-sick throughout the entire day by sending me picture messages of what everyone was doing during the reunion. 
• I finally got to ride a tandem bike!! Can I just take a brief moment to talk about how underrated they are? Because they are. I don't care if everyone out in Rexburg uses them for dates, it was a fantastic way to spend the day. That, and I've been itching to ride one since I was around ten...so it was a blast. 
• There are a couple of emptied and abandoned houses along a street by my complex; Rexburg is clearing out a bunch of places to try and get some more student housing up and going. One house in particular had this enormous tree fall through the front of it a while ago. Quite the sight... Regardless! Phil and I went and explored the interior; went upstairs and everything (but left the basement untouched, you know, 'cause that's where all the ghosts and monsters like to hide.). 
• Had something called Depression Soup, and was pleasantly surprised. 
• And while biking around, Phil and I grabbed some fireworks, and a small group, and had a fantastic time setting them off. 

On another note, my apartment wall is starting to fill up! Over the past two days, some wonderful masterpieces have found their way to said wall.

• Yesterday, Sarah, Phil and myself created this fantastic work of art via finger paint and three sets of hands. While he and I were waiting for her to get back from taking a test, we started this on our own (while listening to Sleeping With Sirens...one of my favorite bands, and what he personally requested...this guy is winning some serious points) until she got back, shortly after. We'd made a cashew chicken of sorts during that period of time, before the finger painting, and had an awesome time surprising her with a fun dinner. After she ate, she joined us (I even have some paint on my computer screen). Then we took her to pick out a video to rent and just kept her company for the night. She and I had our first sleepover on Megabed as well. Break-ups suck.
• Sarah and I also did a bit more finger-painting tonight while Harry Potter was on. Fun times. 

The Tumbling.

I have to say, last week is arguably one of the best I've had in a while. Or at least this weekend was, but I digress.

Everything is just fine! I've never been more excited to hear the word 'negative' in my life! I got my confirmation email and a call from the Doctor, and apparently my labs looked great!

Now all I have to do is keep a close eye on my lymph nodes and make sure they don't swell to even greater proportions...joy.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the stars? Like, how I'm utterly in love with them? My dream job has always been to be an astrophysicist. However, a certain douche-bag back in high school (and first couple of years of college) never failed to mention how he didn't think I was smart enough for that. Thus, the reason my major is (still) Communications/Psychology. But I mean, seriously, what could be cooler than staring at those phenomenal, fantastical, gaseous things through a telescope all day, and recording/tracking the movements of them and our other planets? Granted, I'm not as familiar with the constellations as I'd like to be, but I've never been more intrigued or in love with something. That whole outer space ordeal is quite marvelous.

Now let me tie this together: up until this semester I've never seen a shooting star. I've taken several astronomy classes, had to keep a couple of star logs, seen Jupiter and Mars through some pretty powerful telescopes, but have never been privileged to see one. I've seen three within the past two months. I saw two on Saturday night.

What was really cool though, was that I was with a pretty swell guy when I saw them. We also saw a satellite that night, which was basically fantastic as well.

The Dread of Night.

Just a few more hours.

It's been almost two weeks since I found out the potential.

They said the doctor would send me the results sometime today.

Have I mentioned how much I hate waiting?

Have I mentioned how freaking terrified I am?

I don't know if I'll ever fall asleep tonight.

Critical Drive

So much has happened. Maybe another bullet point list?

• My family is moving to Florida! I'm finally able to tell everyone (by now, all the important people already know). We'll be living in Melbourne, about 10 minutes or so away from Cocoa Beach! -->
• One of my best friends (and cousins), Joseph Avery, got married. It happened during the long weekend, and everyone decided to drive down to Utah anyway. It was in SLC, and he looked happy, so I can only hope that he will be. I'm very excited for him though, yet at the same time it's crazy to see someone else from The Gang get married. Two of the four kids I spent my whole life with are already married! How long until it's me?! (Strangely enough though, they have been going in order of age. Hopefully that means Ellen is next!)
• For the last two weeks, I've been sticking to a 'food plan.' I've been eating not only better, but in appropriate amounts. I've bought a box of Oreo Poptarts each week (have you ever actually put those things in the toaster? Everything in your life becomes completely irrelevant.), and that's the only source of junk I've had. This past week, I didn't even eat half the box because I wound up sharing with friends. And now that I've established this system of eating, it's easier to not walk to the fridge every time I'm bored, or about to start homework, or am bombarded with feelings. 
• By simply eating less (three meals a day, and 100-200 calorie snacks in between), better, and only exercising twice a week, I've lost 9lbs in two weeks! Think of how much I could loose if I were exercising daily!
• While my parents and family are indeed moving back to Florida, and 10 minutes away from the beach, I think I'm actually going to stay out west for the Fall semester. Either here in Rexburg, or down in Provo by Elena, Ben, and Avery. My roommate Sarah suggested getting an apartment together during that time, and it just made a lot of sense (that, and when I suggested it to my mother, she went on about how much easier it would be if I stayed, haha.). But who knows, yeah? We'll see what happens within the next couple of weeks. 
• These past two weekends have been really fun! And I haven't really done anything incredibly interesting. This weekend was really great: Black Magic, Click Bang Bang, Green Glass Door, The Count of Monte Cristo, watermelon, bbq, and a sleepover. Pretty great. And this next weekend, I've plans to go swimming, and to the dunes! I have really great friends, and things have  been getting so much better.
• But at the same time, I found out something really scary this week. There's a good chance I'm really sick. Like...really sick...(.) I've been waiting on test results for a couple of days, and each one that passes kills me. I've been good about distracting myself during the day (again, I have some pretty amazing friends) and doing what I can to keep myself together...it's just hard to do at night. 
• I have this terrible habit of thinking as I'm trying to fall asleep. And this, thing, just can't leave me alone at night. I've actually lost quite a bit of sleep. I'm just scared, you know?
• But I've also realized a thing or two: there are people that care. There are these amazing people I have, that call and check on me every single day, just as worried as I am and wanting to know just as badly. It's almost annoying, but in reality, I'm so grateful for these select few.  One friend in particular dropped everything on Friday around midnight, to come over and help me through a particularly hard lapse in composure. I didn't even have to ask. It was just one of those "Hey, I'm coming over, don't try and tell me otherwise" situations. She spent the night, and was simply there for me when I needed someone. I've come to realize who some of my true friends are over the course of this week, and I'm so beyond thankful for them.

There are probably a few other things that I'm forgetting, but oh well! I'll have more to write after this next weekend, I'm sure. Later later!

Innocent Times

I've always kinda realized that I'm a night owl. However, now is one of those painful times where I'm realizing just how easy it is for my mind to race and remain active. During the day I'm struggling for ideas and forcing myself through writers block. And then of course later on, when I'm supposed to be sleeping, I'm bombarded with all of these fantastic ideas. Prompts for stories, designs for character background, and motivation for giving poetry another shot....

 Of course all of this happens when my laptop is shut, and pen n' paper are no where within the immediate vicinity. But what can you do?

There was a solar eclipse today. I kind of got to see it, but there was this one, enormous cloud in the way. Not overcast, not a million spaced out clouds in the sky, just one. And of course, right as the eclipse happened, it was covered up by this stupid cloud. We still had fun though, jumping off and running down the dunes. 

One of our friends was gracious enough to record while a bunch of us ran down this (the biggest) dune.

Beforehand, everyone helped make a marvelous dinner: bacon, Belgium waffles (accompanied with homemade berry sauce and whipped cream n' syrup), homemade scones (Lisa made them, and they were utterly fantastic), and sparkling grape/pom. juice in some wine glasses. Simply delicious. 

I also realized that I probably drink tea more than any other liquid (including water), by far. I had three huge cups today (peppermint and two honey vanilla chamomile). I'm sure that if I could drink coffee, and had unrestrained tea options, I'd never drink water...or milk. My liquid diet would solely contain tea and coffee. But maybe that's about right for the average human? Who knows. 

KINGDOM HEARTS!

The English trailer for Dream Drop Distance just came out today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBOstKr3Jrw&feature=player_embedded

Click it.

• When Roxas says "Got it memorized?"
• When Mickey mentions Master Aqua....
• Discretely talking about releasing Ventus....
• And LEA! Freakin' LEA!

So many freakin' feels....I don' even know what to do with myself.

That whole selling plasma and putting the money into my 3DS fund? Starts Friday. There's no way I'm missin' out on this.