Me vs. The Phone

For those of you out there who regard their pillow as a close personal friend and their alarm clock as a necesary evil, I encourage you to buckle your seatbelt for a suspense/thriller. I'll begin by saying that my phone/alarm clock has moved from the category of "necesary evil" over into "just evil".

For the past several weeks my alarm clock has been going off at unscheduled times. For instance, I set my alarm for 8:30 and it obediently went off as scheduled...but it also chose to go off at 7:20. It hasn't been a big deal because I'm a Jedi Knight when it comes to getting out of bed, resetting my alarm and getting back into bed before it even gets through the first ring. However, my disgruntled phone raised the stakes.

On one particular night I went to bed early because I was planning on actually being on time to my 8:00 am class. Hey, I was feeling ambitious. So I went to bed at about 11:30 in hopes that 7:00 AM wouldn't hurt so bad. My alarm went off it hurt more than usual, but I went into P90X mode and pushed through the pain. I rolled out of bed (literally), said my prayers, then went about my daily routine. After maybe 20-30 minutes in that semi-conscious state I decided it wasn't worth it and that my dear friend Mr. Sandman had far more important things to say than Dr. O'Neill and Advanced Immunology. It took me a fraction of a second to go back to my room and jump into bed. Cue the music from X-Files.

I went to reset the alarm on my phone and paused briefly as I stared into the cool computer screen. It was 2:17 AM! For those of you drunk enough to wonder why I set my alarm for that early, rest assured that I would NEVER do that. I quickly checked my phone to make sure nobody else had either. My alarm was still set for 7:00!

My phone doesn't simper or snicker because it's just a phone, but if it did, I bet it would've been snickering it's head off right then. My phone is currently under investigation for openly seeking to sabotage my life. The penalties are severe and may involve a hammer. Don't worry, it won't be humane.

Just don't get up...

Survival is more of a challenge sometimes than its 8 letters would indicate. Something that hard should be a book, or a collection of books...like the unabridged encyclopedia or something. It shouldn't be 8 letters.

At the beginning of this week I got a rejection from the only graduate school I applied to. I was sad and depressed because I thought I'd get in. The next day I decided to call and talk with the the department and figure out what went wrong. He said "Oh my, it seems we have the wrong GRE score for you. I'll personally look over this. Your application is quite strong." I called my parents and told them the great news: "I'm not failing at life!"...I spoke too soon.

Three hours later I got a call from the guy telling me he'd been looking at the wrong column on the spreadsheet. I had been denied. So, rejecting me once wasn't enough, they had to reject me then get my hopes up and reject me again for good measure. Why me? Not sure.

I spent every waking moment of Thursday (while not at work or in class) feverishly studying for a difficult exam, taking the exam, then staying up until 1:30 writing a paper. By the end of Thursday I had all the research done and had written the introduction. Today I skipped all my classes and called in to work so I could finish my paper by the 5:00 deadline. It was like a movie with chariots of fire as the theme: with mere minutes to spare I finish my citations and save the paper to my desktop. This is where the inspiring music stops.

Cue the jarring theme from sixth sense - my computer malfunctions and my paper is no more. I spend the next two hours with geek friends trying to recover it. I even downloaded a program. Zero results. All but the introduction to my gigantic paper was now gone. Eight hours of my life, previously organized as words on a page, are now a pop-up that states "document can't be found".

These are the moments where something simple could easily push me over to the dark side, like the mexican guy at Wendy's getting my order wrong. I mean it, I'm this close *fingers held up to indicate an inch* to going Darth Vader all over somebody.

I'm going to go for a jog, eat something delicious and take a long hot bath. It seems like a better alternative to wearing that black suit.

My Apologies to Mitt Romney

Today I was at my job (Financial Secretary in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department) minding my own business when a call came through. The name on the caller ID was Romney, so my co-worker joked about me having a great conversation with Mitt. She might want to look into becoming a fortune teller. I laughed and said something witty in return, never suspecting it was actually Mitt Romney.

Still smiling, I picked up the phone. Sometimes I am really funny. Sadly, today was one of those days where my funny bone was going crazy.

*ring, ring*

Louis: Electrical and Computer Engineering, this is Louis.

Mitt Romney: Hi, I'm looking for David Anthony.

Louis: *Said with a smile and generous helping of sass* Yeah, we're fresh out of those.

Mitt Romney: Excuse me?

Louis: Yeah, David Anthony - you've stumped me on that one.

Mitt Romney: I think he works in the Dean's Office...

Louis: Well, I've never heard of him, but let me check...Oh, mmmmkay. Yeah, he's the Assistant Dean of the College.

Mitt Romney: Yes, that would be him.

Louis: *realizing this is THE Mitt Romney* ...let me transfer you.

I felt like the kid who gets caught every single time he even thinks about doing something wrong. After 3 years of answering phone calls dutifully and never making fun of anybody or hanging up on stupid/angry people, I get Mitt Romney on the phone and act like a complete tool. A part of me is disgusted by this trend...the other part of me is excited to find out who I'll get to talk to next if I keep it up.

ToMyFutureWife

TMFW,

I like winning. A lot. You probably won't think I'm that kind of kid when you meet me, but I REALLY am. Sometimes I even struggle to congratulate the other team after I've lost. As a consequence, I don't really like losing. At all. So, you'll be able to tell I really love you when I start letting you win at things. Be patient, it might take me a while.

Sincerely,

Louis

P.S. There's a chili cook-off this weekend in my ward. Yeah, game on.

Where were you at 3:30 AM?

The other night I was getting ready for bed at about 1:00, but went upstairs to put some things away. While I was in the living room I spotted a book I've been meaning to read. I decided I would wait up for my roommate and read a couple chapters. I finished the book exactly as he got home (circa 3:45 AM). I don't do that. This time I did.

I love reading. It makes my life more interesting, expands my mind, and opens up possibilities and ideas that I had never considered before. However, my favorite books are the ones that inspire me to be better in the small things, or maybe even dare to do something great. The last three books are those types of books and I encourage you all to read them.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption - Laura Hildebrand. This book is the story of an Olympic runner named Louis Zamperini who would have been the first man to ever run the mile in less than 4 minutes if world war II hadn't intervened. I couldn't put this book down. It's a little long, but worth every syllable.

The Giver - Lois Lowry. This book is listed as children's literature, but some of the ideas in this 180 page book are very deep and thought provoking. This is the book that kept me up until 4:00 AM. If the last time you read was in middle school or elementary school, give it another try.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. I decided I was going to read this each year with my family between Christmas and New Years. I know there are various movie versions, but I encourage you to read the book. The book is inspirational and makes you want to be a better person no matter what day of the year it is.

...If You Should Choose to Accept It

Sometimes I, like many of you, have average days. I'm okay with those. Unfortunately, I also have days that start out pretending to be pretty average but then, like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, transform into something I wouldn't even like to see in a well-lit alley.

Yesterday was one of those days where the headline reads "Average Day Gone Wrong". Let's just say I could have strangled a baby koala. Maybe one of my professors made my hit-list. Maybe I thought about getting up and walking out of his class right in the middle. I stayed for the rest of the three hours, but it was rough. As I left that class I felt entitled to be mad. I felt like putting my headphones in and turning up the volume on my iPod and just letting the world walk by. Luckily, that didn't last long.

I saw this little old lady named Dorothy who was very lost, and I'm a sucker for little old ladies. She said she graduated in '59 and she thought she'd still be able to find her way around. I told her I was heading to where she was parked and I could walk her there. This 70-something widow was serving a mission for the church and loving life. She even looked pretty classy.

As we walked I told her about myself and she nodded her head to most of what I said in a "been there, done that" sort of way. It wasn't condescending at all, it was encouraging. That simple nod and her quiet smile let me know that I would get through the uncertainty of the future, and I would make it past today's frustrations.

Seeing her made me stop and think about somebody aside from myself. I learned that it's selfish to get mad and to mope around, because you''ll miss the person walking past you who needs you more than you need to be mad. Service really is the best remedy for the worst days. I also learned that hope doesn't depend on circumstances. It is a perspective.

The Spine of Satan

I'm currently a little bitter. It involved a dumb girl. If you are a dumb girl, then you should probably find something else to read. I suggest something with glossy paper and lots of pictures.

Last semester I tutored this girl in chemistry. Let's just say she didn't get it. (Part of the problem was that she lives at a place called Liberty Square) Part of the problem was that she had lost her book. I let her use mine for the rest of the semester since I didn't need it. She was overjoyed and I was glad to help. Now fast forward to Tuesday...

She texts me during class and asks me if I can meet her in front of her class to pick up my book. I say that's fine, and the building she named was close to where I worked right after class. I would have just enough time. Just as class ended I checked my phone again to discover that she had mistakenly typed the wrong building. The real building was across campus and down a huge hill. I sighed slowly, and started walking faster.

I walked down the insanely long stairs (the stairs my brother and I call the spine of Satan) to get to the building and called her. It rang until her voice mail picked up. Not that I'm keeping track, but that was one of the top 3 most annoying voice mail recordings of all time. I called her twice more and she didn't pick up. I looked back up the gigantic hill/spine of Satan that stood between me and work, and sighed again. She just made my blacklist.

Not only did she not answer her phone, she chose to call me back just after I had clocked in and sat down at work. Let's just say I'm considering making our next meeting place the top of Y Mountain, and then changing it to Temple Square just as she reaches the top. Maybe I am a bit vindictive, but she does live at Liberty Square...