I am smarter than a 5th grader

On July 26, I took The PRAXIS Series test for Elementary Education: Content Knowledge. That night I had a dream that I got my results back and found that I had aced the test. I had a perfect score.
Since then, I've had a whole string of dreams about my results. I dreamed that I opened my scores in front of a whole lot of people anticipating a passing score only to find that I had failed. I had to lie and make up a passing score and pretend I wasn't bummed.
Well, the day finally came. After 4 weeks and 6 days, my results came in the mail. Not only did I pass, but my first dream came true. I got a 200--the highest possible score on the test! I qualified for the Recognition of Excellence, meaning that I scored in the top 15% of all people who have taken the test.
For you skeptics out there, I didn't believe it either. I was certain that they hadn't printed my score or that I was reading the results wrong. You can see the results yourself below.

Local news interview

Eliza and I were stopped on our way out of RA training to be interviewed for a story featured on the local news. Watch College Presidents Ask to Lower Legal Drinking Age from Tuesday night's newscast.

Movin' on up to the East Side

I don't know that I would say this is a deluxe apartment in the sky. It is on the east side of campus, on the third level and nice enough especially for its age.
I got a phone call a few weeks ago from the Resident Manager of the dorms offering me a position as Resident Advisor (RA). (Why does advisor get the red underline? It is spelled correctly.) I moved my stuff over the last couple days. I'm still unpacking.
I'm excited for this opportunity.
I'm excited to learn/develop some valuable skills. I'll be developing skills in communication, advertising, time-management, intervention, problem-solving, etc. All of these can easily be applied to life and my future career.
I'm excited to meet some new people. I go to class with the same 33 other people all day everyday. I like my classmates, but I'll be happy to meet some new people as well. Most of these people will be freshman, but that's fine with me.
I'm excited to live right on campus. This means I will attend more sporting events, spend more time in the library, and likely never miss a rehearsal.
I'm excited to having my housing expenses paid. My room and a meal plan is paid for the school year. I'm sad that I won't get to cook, but I'm glad that I don't have to spend the meal prep and cleanup time. I can spend more time doing the other things I love.
I'm excited to park my car for the most part. Living on campus, I won't have to commute to school any longer. My apprenticeship is only two miles away. I plan on riding my bike every day it's not forecasted to rain.

Soon to reign as favorite child once again

How to tell if you are mom's favorite.
(By the way, my mom is the one that showed me this picture. She said she thought about leaving it on my apartment door anonymously. That would've crushed my world for sure.)

I used to be the favorite child. I held that place in my parents' heart for years and years and years. I knew it and my siblings knew it. I used to be the favorite child until recently.
My older sister got married this year. She is the first child to get married and therefore the closest to providing my mother with her ultimate dream: a grandbaby. I anticipated a temporary shift of power, but I knew that if my sister didn't present a positive pregnancy test fast enough, my mother's hopes would be dashed. I could easily regain all the power and maintain my position as favorite.
Just as things seemed to be heading back to normal, meaning the wedding luster was tarnishing with the absence of baby news, it was time for my little sister to come home from her mission. My brother, the oldest, said the hardest thing about his transition after his mission was not having a room in his parents' house. He got his mission call while living in Florida during the (very extended) process of my family moving to Utah. He came with my mother and sister to complete the move to Utah just weeks before he entered the MTC. We also moved a couple times within the city limits while he was gone. When he got home, his stuff was in boxes in random locations and he didn't have a room to call his own. He didn't want the same thing to happen to our sister.
I had moved home for what was supposed to be short-lived, so I wouldn't have to pay rent while I went on a 5-week vacation to Peru. I didn't move out right away, because I was sick and then it was Christmas. After that it was impossible for me to leave, because I was too well liked.
In the mean time, my brother had moved back home as well. He couldn't help it. He wanted to spend more time with me.
My brother had taken my little sister's room. As my sister's return was fast approaching, it was evident that he wasn't going anywhere. I decided to leave so my brother could take my spot and free up my sister's room. I knew my mother would be sad, so I left in the night. My mother didn't figure it out for two days. That should have been a sign.
My little sister returned home and (rightfully) stole a lot of attention. I anticipated that. She was the youngest and had been gone for 18 months.
What I didn't realize was how much attention was taken from me until I got a call one night at 11pm from my little sister's friend, Jared. He asked why I wasn't partying with the family at my folks' house. My older sister and her husband were there. My brother even stuck around to hang out. Jared had been invited and was the only one to wonder where I was. My mother probably counted more bodies than she birthed and assumed we were all there. I had been forgotten! *Sigh*
These last months have been very difficult. I don't understand how this happened. I was on top! I never anticipated this day. I wasn't at all prepared. I don't understand these feelings; I've never felt them before. I'm not sure how to cope. Maybe I'll ask my siblings how they dealt with being less favored. Or better yet, I'll just make my way back to the top. I'll use my charm and wit to win my parents over once again. I've got what it takes. I'll reign again as favorite soon enough. And when I do, I'll go easy on my brother and sisters. I now know the pain that comes with being less favored.

I love to sing

I sang the musical number for the fireside tonight. Read about my experience here. More specifically here and here (since I posted a few things there today).

Afternoon drive

My mother applied for a job that would place her in a regional position that would require she communicate with the hospitals in Southwestern Utah. She has been to Valley View in Cedar but hadn't been to the hospital in Garfield County. She asked me to go with her to Panguitch to check it out. I had never been to Panguitch, but I told her I'd only go if we could take the scenic route.
We went through Zion National Park, up 89 through Orderville, Glendale, and Hatch to Panguitch. We toured the bite-size hospital and then stopped by her coworkers home in Panguitch. On the way home we took 143 passed Panguitch Lake to Cedar Breaks. We saw quite a bit of deer and were even stopped by hundreds of sheep crossing the road. There was a sheep dog and a shepherd with them.
We admired Cedar Breaks at 10,460 feet. We continued down Cedar Mountain into Cedar City. It got dark just as we entered Cedar City so we took I-15 back to St. George.
I enjoyed the drive so much, that I repeated it with a couple friends a few days later. The only difference was that we stopped at Panguitch Lake for some fishing.
Speaking of fishing, I've been on several fishing trips in the last few weeks. My friend complained, because he didn't catch anything no matter where we went. I didn't either, because I didn't fish. I'm about to change that. My sister's friend, Jared, the one who can lift cheerleaders over his head, is going to teach me how to fish. I'm excited. I anticipate spending most every weekend out fishing. Hopefully, I'll catch a fish or two.

This is Zion National Park. I actually took this picture in December when my aunt and cousins were here from Florida.

Kane County takes patrolling seriously in Orderville. I noticed this Sheriff's vehicle on the first trip with my mother. I looked a little closer when I was driving my friends. My friend insisted the deputy was asleep. I said it was too thin to be a person. We turned around to discover a mannequin in the front seat.
Keep Orderville safe by slowing down, but don't worry about getting pulled over by this particular deputy.
She's hard to see, but she was very pretty.

Panguitch Lake was slow blue. It glimmered in the Southern Utah sunlight. Upon closer inspection, there were a few areas that were green with growth. I suspect those parts were the only parts of the lake that were a decent temperature.

The sheep were busy crossing the street. We had to wait a few minutes for a break in the sheep to drive through.

Cedar Breaks is always a surprise. I never remember how majestic it is until I get there.

This was my view as I peed on the side of the road.

These were some of the Cedar trees that broke so as to reveal the desert painted rock.

This shot is from a recent fishing trip to Kolob Reservoir.

I'll teach you something

Today I taught my very first clarinet lesson. It was delightful. I taught Jodilyn's daughter a few things. She learned very quickly and should be ready for a recital by week's end. I don't know how much credit I should give myself, because I think most of the credit goes to her. She's ridiculously smart and was very excited to learn. Teaching someone something is really easy when they're as excited as she was. I'll be showing her a few more things tomorrow.
Speaking of lessons, I will be starting guitar lessons on Friday. I took a beginning guitar class years ago and absolutely loved it. I've been wanting to improve my skills ever since, but I kind of got stuck and then my playing decreased until it stopped. My short term goal for my guitar skills is to learn well enough to use the guitar frequently in my classroom. I graduate in the spring and want to spend part of my summer making up silly songs to teach my class curriculum. I also plan to use songwriting frequently for class assignments. I will teach my students about meter and have them write lyrics for a pre-written melody based on this meter. I will use songwriting for review or to introduce a new topic. The guitar will be much more practical than a piano. Although, I've already invested in a keyboard for similar reasons.
My long term goal will be to learn the guitar well enough to create more complex/creative music so that I can live my dream of being a singer/songwriter. I have a great desire to write music and to perform. I don't want to perform for sell-out crowds, but I'd love to be able to sing a song mid-lesson at church, during a visiting teaching lesson, or to perform for family or friends whenever. I'd play/sing for anyone who would listen. (This is all part of my plan to continue to become less and less shy.)

After all these years

I've lived in St. George for 9 years. Lake Powell is less than 3 hours away. Until Friday night, I had never even been. I went on a late night fishing adventure with three friends. We got there a little after midnight. I'm not sure what temperature it was, but the weather was perfect!
The moon was full, so I was hoping to see the lake. The lights of the marina, however, were too bright for me to see much of the area.
The two boys fished off the side of the dock. They got skunked. They had a few bites but no catches. Nonetheless, I had a great time.
We got home shortly before sunrise.

Missing my heebie jeebies

Last night I got home at 12:30 after spending the evening at a friend's house. It was storming most of the night and was still a little rainy when I got home. I pulled up to my apartment complex. The apartment on the backside of my building is inhabited by boys (I think--I've never seen anyone enter or leave the apartment). They always have their windows open. As I pull up, I notice a dark figure through the partially open blinds. The light in the hallway of their apartment was on giving enough light to see only the silhouette. I kept my eye on the window as I got out of my vehicle and walked toward the building. Just as I got right next to the building, the person in the window quickly pulled the blinds closed. It scared the heebie jeebies out of me.
I always walk with my keys in my hand. Arriving at my door in a rush, I was able to quickly put my key in to unlock the door. Except I found that the door was not locked. Creepy McCreepster could have come in my apartment.
I couldn't shake the fear as I walked down the hallway to my room. Some creepy dude could be in my apartment in any of the five other bedrooms or the two bathrooms.

Fortunately, my roommate and her fiance were in her room. I unlocked my bedroom door and locked myself inside. Had my roommate not been home, I would have grabbed my pajamas and headed back to my friend's house for a sleepover. That is if I dared go back outside to my car.

You see, I have this strange fear. Whenever the clouds are around the moon like this, I get ridiculously scared. I don't know why. So with fear already in my heart, I get out of my car and find myself in the middle of a scene from a Lifetime: Television for Women original movie.
Now that I think about it, it's kind of a dream come true. I always wanted to be in a Lifetime movie. I'm glad it happened.

If you already knew this and didn't tell me...

...then we are no longer friends.
Actually, I won't be that harsh. You probably figured that I already knew since I'm usually up on this kind of thing. The minute I found out about this, I vowed to not keep it a secret.
My brother told me about a free 411 service from Google. I had used another service but was forced to listen to a couple ads before I got the number. Google is ad free. The phone number is 800-Goog-411. I tried it and love it.
I mentioned it at work yesterday, and my coworker, Kim, informed me that I could text Google. Send a text to Google (466453) and you will receive information back almost instantaneously. For example, I entered "Hungry Howies" into the body and received this information. "Local Listings: Hungry Howie's Pizza 144 W Brigham Rd St. George, 84790 435-656-0011"
AMAZING!
She gave me a whole salesmanship presentation. "Do you have unlimited text? Of course you do. Free! It's free!" There is no charge for the service. It only uses text messages from your bundle.
Send "W" and you'll receive the weather forecast. "M" is for movie listings. "S" is for sports.
It's one of those things that soon enough I won't know how to live without it.

Not for the faint of heart

If you don't think these are funny, then you aren't American.
I filmed (if you can call it filming when using a digital camera) all but the first one.









America is a safer place because of friends like this one.

If you like what you saw, vote funny on this site.

Freedom

I had other thoughts in mind for my Independence Day post until I watched this broadcast. It was the Patriotic Service from the Freedom Festival in Provo.
I was touched by the stories that Michael Ballam shared as part of his two musical numbers in the middle of the program. I transcribed one of the stories.
"When I was a boy of 6 years of age, the greatest African American singer of all time came to Logan, Utah. Her name was Marian Anderson. The greatest contralto of all time. She didn't need to come to Logan. She sang in Paris and London, Moscow, and sang for Kings, Presidents, and Popes. But she chose to come to the people.
"I loved her recital especially the final number, 'He's got the whole world in His hands.' She sang it in such a way that I believed she knew what she was talking about. I wondered what would a person experience to have that ability to communicate like she did.
"I would find out, twenty years later, when I moved to New York City and had the same agent that Miss Anderson had. His name was Sol Hurok. He told me why she was the way she was. You see it seemed she was to give a historic concert in Constitution Hall, the largest room of assemblage in the Nation's Capital. Mr. Hurok had booked the concert, but just before the concert was to happen, the organization that booked the auditorium determined that it was not fitting for her to perform there because of her heritage.
"She was black. That great race of people stolen from their homes and brought to this nation who survived, more than survived, triumphed those challenges. Sol Hurok was told that that she couldn't perform there.
"He called Marion and she said cancel the recital. He said, But Marian, you are the most famous black person in the world. We need to fight this. You have the power to fight this.
"She said something very important, You can't fight hate with hate. There's only one thing stronger than hate and that's love and my love for this nation will never be injured by a committee's decision about anything.
"He said, Marian, there's 25,000 people with tickets. They need to hear you.
"Well, there was no auditorium with 25,000 seats, but there was the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And so on an Easter Sunday morning, in the crisp early hours, she came out wearing a heavy coat to the piano to sing a recital.
"There were not 25,000 people. There were 125,000 people. And there was a bouquet of microphones because every radio station in America wanted to know what she would say about this event in her life. She said nothing then or ever until the day she died. But she did more for civil rights by her graciousness than anyone in history. She walked to the piano asked for a chord and sang this.

My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride. From ev'ry mountainside Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, They name I love; I love thy rocks and rills, They woods and templed hills. My heart with rapture thrills Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom's song; Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe partake; Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.
Our fathers' God, to thee, Author of liberty, To thee we sing; Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light. Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King!"

Maybe you had to be there

This story will require a lot of information to set it up. I feel like that will take away from the beauty of it. Maybe you have to know Jared and maybe you had to be there. Regardless, I'm sharing it anyway.
Casey has a friend named Jared. He happens to be a yell leader (man cheerleader).
Amy has a Pomeranian that she brings over to my parents' house when she comes to visit. My brother claims Kodi is possessed by the spirit of a Chinese immigrant miner from Silver Reef. I can tell you that this dog is possessed and has puppy disorders. He may even be the devil's dog.
My mother also has a small dog. Scout is half Pomeranian half dachshund. She doesn't like new people. She will bark non-stop when someone new enters the house. There are a few visitors that still get barked at no matter how many times they stop by the house.
Jared is one of those visitors. Scout and Kodi bark at Jared every time he comes over. After a while, they'll calm down, but sometimes they start up again when Jared moves to a different part of the room.
Jared and Casey were sitting on the back porch this afternoon. Kodi was barking at Jared. Jared said to Casey, "Kodi and Scout always make me feel unwelcome here. I don't understand why Kodi thinks he can challenge me. I'm bigger than he is."
Then Jared turns and starts talking directly to Kodi. "I can lift cheerleaders over my head. You should fear me."

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

MSNBC posted this quiz as part of their July 4 special. I scored 95%. I wasn't sure who the Chief Justice of the United States is currently. For my classmates studying for the PRAXIS, this quiz should tell you where you are in your US History preparation.
I had a speech prepared about the significance of Independence Day, but I'll save that for Friday.