Being Temple-Spoiled

I'm not sure if anyone has been able to guess who didn't already know, but I am a Latter-day Saint. As you may or may not know, LDS people (or Mormons, if you prefer, I really am not one to get offended by that title if it's said politely) often attend temples to do work for the dead so that they have the same opportunities we do. Even those of us who haven't been through the temple for marriage or a mission can still be baptized and confirmed members of the church.

I didn't really give this a second thought most of the time when I was growing up. Living in Northern Utah, one has a lot of choices where temples are concerned. I lived so close to the Ogden temple that it was just where I went. We'd just go occasionally to do Baptisms for the Dead and I didn't question it.

The Ogden Temple, as I have seen it all my life, looks like this:

Then, just before I went to college, it was announced that the Ogden Temple would be remodeled to look something like this:

I didn't realize at the time that this meant "closed and buldozed" and I was going to Provo anyway, so I didn't think much of it at the time.

A year passed. I learned that, even in the American West, a church hotspot, I was exceptionally lucky to have a Temple so close. A lot of my friends had a ways to go. Donovan had to drive at least an hour to the Portland Temple, which I think is the only one in Oregon.

{So Pretty!! I hadn't seen a picture before and I was blown away!!}

Ryan had to drive the 2-ish hours to Denver, although by the time he gets back from his mission the Fort Collins Temple might be done.

Cherie has two choices, both out of state; the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple, which is two hours away one way, and the Nauvoo Illinois Temple, which is four hours one way.

{The Nauvoo Temple--Classic!!}

{The Winter Quarters Temple--also new to me, and very pretty}

You always hear the stories of people around the globe who have to take buses and planes, saving up for a year to travel across countries to get to a temple. They told us those stories in Primary, but until I heard my friends' stories, it didn't really hit me how blessed I was to be so close.

Then I got back to Roy. I started going to the singles' ward with Mal, Missy, and Hannah. They informed me that, in my absence, the Ogden Temple had closed, that we now had to go to Bountiful if we wanted to do Baptisms for the dead.

{Yes, it's very pretty. But still, Bountiful? It's an HOUR away in really good traffic!}

I was telling Ryan about this via Facebook chat, and he said something to the effect of "Oh, WAH!" Apparently the Denver Temple is having some work done, and his closest Temple right now is Salt Lake. Apparently I have no right to complain.

So I'm Temple Spoiled, Ok? It's not easy going from having a temple ten minutes away your whole life to your closest Temple being an hour away!

However, it is SO worth it!

One day, Hannah was chatting with me on facebook and asked me if I wanted to go with her and Missy to the Temple via Frontrunner. I got ready in the ten minutes allotted, and once we were at the train station learned we'd be going all the way to Salt Lake. Apparently the Bountiful Temple was closed for cleaning that week.

"So now" I think "my closest Temple is Salt Lake?!" I mean, it's not as if I mind, the place is gorgeous:

{And this isn't even the best photo of it!!}

It's just a little weird for me to be so far from a Temple, you know?

But, anyway, we went and were Baptized and confirmed for several women from Hungary. It was so sacred and spiritual! I can hardly begin to describe how amazing it is to perform that service for someone you don't even know!

Afterwards, we walked around Temple Square.

Of all the statues around Temple Square, this one is my favorite. You can't see it as well in this picture, but there is such love in Joseph's eyes as he hands Emma a donation for the Relief Society's work.

We also went to the Lion House Pantry and introduced Hannah to the Joy that is a hot Lion House roll:

It's like eating a piece of Heaven. I love going there whenever I visit Temple Square.

But, the point of all this was that although I have been Temple Spoiled for my whole life, and although it is a change for me to get a tiny taste of how the rest of the members around the world live, I think it's altogether a good thing. I didn't think I was taking the Ogden Temple for granted before, but now I realize I was a little. That's never going to happen again, not with any Temple, mind you. It's a sacred house of the Lord, and I'm lucky to be as close as I am.

Sneak Preview

So...this summer turned out to be much different than what I thought it would be, as summers often do. I really should stop being surprised when this happens; I haven't had a summer go as planned in years. I was going to tell you all my summer reading list; the post and my summer reading list went out the window, so I'll probably just do something at the end of summer talking about what all I read.

I was thinking about that and I realized that I wanted to blog, but I can't tell you about what I read this summer because the summer isn't over yet. And there are so MANY things I could write about, but there's less than an hour before my Mom gets back from church and we go to my Grandma's like we do every Sunday. So, rather than sit here fidgeting as I write nothing and figure out what to write about, I might as well give you all a sneak peek at what all I mean to write about before school starts:

• Scrapbooking
• Various other crafts I'm doing, like my Lady Gaga pants.
• (Possibly a trip I went on, we'll see about that one)
• The joys of wireless headphones
• My newfound love of Dr. Who and all that this has done for/to my life
• Sherlock Holmes and my obsession with him
• Several of my friends who I promised I'd blog about if they got a movie quote right
• Several of my friends you should know about anyway since I talk about them a lot
• Rock 101
• Irene Adler
• Michael Jackson: the experience for Wii (a.k.a. my new fitness program)
• Being Temple-Spoiled
• Bundaberg Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)

And this is just before I pack up and go back to BYU!!! I think I'll feel a lot better once I start doing this oftener! 

Well, that's it for today. Have a good Sunday, all!

News and Gratitude

Hello all! So, that last post was a long time coming; I just had to finish it before I posted more current stuff. I'm weird about incomplete thoughts that way--I can't stand to leave a thought incomplete for anything.

I've been back home from college for about a week. Of course, you may wonder why I haven't blogged more since then. Well, I've been a little busy settling back in and helping my Dad.

See, we keep a place in Vegas at an undisclosed location. We've had it since just after I was born, with very few problems aside from heat, bugs, and the occasional breakdown of the air conditioner.

And then, three weeks ago, a pipe started leaking and nobody was there to fix it. Nobody knew until my Dad's neighbor saw some water leaking from under the garage door and called Dad to tell him (thank you, Sheldon). There was a lot of water damage, and my Dad had to go down to get the place in better repair as well as getting an estimate from the contractors. Thing is, he hasn't been feeling so good lately. So he asked me to come down and help with some of the organizing, cleaning, and heavy lifting. He also offered to pay me for my time. So, I figured, why not?

That trip made me realize how good I really have it. For various reasons, including unemployment, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was longing for my life at college, and some aspects of life in high school. However, after the trip, I realized that, even though things aren't going quite the way I wanted, I have quite a lot to be grateful for right now:

• A Bed: My room was one of the worst hit by the water damage, so I was sleeping on the couch in Vegas. I won't be complaining about mattress quality for a long time.
• A working tub and shower: The bathroom with the leak? Only tub in the house, and now its holds the toilet. And the remaining shower? Hot is cold, cold is hot, and I didn't know. I'm grateful to be back in a house with a nice, hot, put-together tub. 
• The right to walk around my house barefoot: The entire top floor except for one room had been ripped of its carpet and pad, leaving only the plywood floor beneath it. It was only safe for me to go up there to work if I wore shoes. I'm kind of a barefoot girl in Summer, so that was unpleasant. So, I'm glad I can now go barefoot all over my house.
• My stuff where it should be: I could not find my toothbrush for freaking EVER. Everything was jumbled together, and my Mom asked me to find her few nice things. Guess where they were? At the bottom of a black trash bag. I am, therefore, grateful that my stuff here is where one would expect it to be. It's nice to know that my toothbrush is in my bathroom, and that all our clothes are in actual closets.
• Air Conditioning and Normal Temperatures: It was 109 degrees in Vegas, and we couldn't turn on the AC until my Dad had plugged up all the holes in the house. Even once you turn on the AC in Vegas, especially in Vegas, it takes awhile to cool a house down. I am grateful that I am not dying of heat, an that my house is cool.
• My Dad: He paid me to go and do what any good daughter would have volunteered to do. Granted, I had plans, but he was so good to me while I was there. I got to go to my favorite restaurant, got to see the Las Vegas Mob Experience--SO amazing, I cannot recommend it enough--and got paid to lift a few things and do some cleaning.

So, while my life is by no means perfect, it isn't as bad as it can seem in my more despairing moments, I do have a lot to be grateful for right now.

How to Have Fun whilst Temporarily Homeless

No, no I was not evicted. But on moving day, those of us who move out of our winter apartments and move into another for Spring, there is a period of temporary homelessness. For my friend Cherie and I, this period lasted about five hours. Luckily, we survived and moved in ok with Hailey's help.

{Little plug for Hailey, she's an incredible friend and she deserves it: Hailey's blog has some pretty funny stuff in it, sometimes she even mentions me! Yes, it's a wordpress blog, but nobody's perfect. ;) Love you girl!}

So, here is how Cherie, Hailey, and I had fun while homeless.

We piled our stuff into my car and the back of Hailey's truck, Little Buddy. My Prius, Dillinger, was so stuffed that the poor little guy was un-driveable. So we took Little Buddy to the library and then to J-Dawgs so we could eat lunch.

I don't know if any of you have ever ridden in the cab of a smallish Toyota Tacoma with two of your friends. For those of you who haven't, it is an exercise in togetherness. We have, over the course of Spring term, figured out how to sit so that Hailey can still drive. I love Little Buddy to death, but his is not the roomiest of truck cabs. All the better for bonding!

They kicked us out pretty early in the morning, so we were not quite yet ready for the pure awesome that is J-Dawgs, so we went to the library instead. Now, the Harold B. Lee Library is quite something, but we see that one every day on campus. The Provo Library, on the other hand, was alluring in its novelty. It was the home of the Brigham Young Academy before it moved to Temple Hill and became the University it is today. We parked and went inside. The sheer number of books overwhelmed us. We REALLY wanted to get library cards, but guess what you need for that? That's right, you need proof of address. So we couldn't exactly do that. We still need to, actually.

After a while we were actually hungry enough to eat a full lunch, so we left the library for J-Dawgs. This wonderful place, for those of you who do not know, grew out of a small stand that still sits outside the new location. They sell, as the name implies, hot dogs...some of the best hot dogs you will ever eat.  They have all the traditional condiments available, and then their special sauce...it's like honey-hickory-sweet-smoke-barbecue HEAVEN! I get a polish dog smothered in special sauce and ask  them to line the bun with their wonderful, salty, crunchy pickle spears. It sounds completely weird but that is how I like them. You can personalize your hot dog there, which is just one more reason it's great. Hailey and Cherie had never been there before, so we thought it was a good time for them to try it out. They actually quite enjoyed it.

After that, we were quite tired and we still had a few hours left before we could move in. We decided to go to RC Willey, a large furniture chain. We moved from couch to couch until we found the most gloriously comfy leather couch. We were pretty darn sure it had memory foam inside, and stayed there for about an hour. We wanted to buy it, but it was real leather so we couldn't afford it. Eventually, we started examining mattresses, including a really nice memory foam one that we also wanted to buy. We joked with the floor salesman about donating to poor college students...they laughed.

But at about this time we could move into our new places. We helped each other get everything in. It was a really fun bonding experience, and it could have been a horrible hassle. But anything goes better with friends.

Good Night, and Good Luck

           Good Night and Good Luck is the story of Edward R. Murrow’s brave stand against the unfair practices of Senator Joseph McCarthy in the so-called senate “witch-hunts” of the early 1950’s. Murrow was the first and practically the only member of the news media to stand up to what McCarthy was doing--persecuting others with little or no evidence in the name of fighting Communism.

Murrow began with the story of an air-force lieutenant denied due process. Throughout the movie, the same kind of sealed manila envelope, allegedly full of proof that people are communists, threatens Murrow and the CBS employees.  Murrow goes on, despite McCarthy’s allegations of Murrow’s Communist activities. Murrow even disproves the allegations McCarthy made against him on CBS airtime given McCarthy for comment and fact correction. Eventually, the air force lieutenant is reinstated.

It is't all victory for the brave journalists, though. One of the news anchors commits suicide because of pressure from a reviewer, O’Brien, obviously on McCarthy’s side. The anchor, a friend of Murrow's, had already been struggling with the emotional baggage of his divorce, and O'Brien's review eventually put him over the edge. But a lot of people were that upset and desperate--McCarthy's actions ruined many lives.

Fred Friendly, played by Jeff Daniels, asks Murrow before the first newscast if he doesn't think they’re going beyond just reporting the news, and it brought up an interesting concept I remember learning in Principles of Journalism: sometimes, you can’t be “fair and balanced” to each side in reporting the facts. There will be times when one subject in a story you are covering has clearly done something wrong or illogically. At those times, if you are completely fair and without bias toward both sides, you won’t actually be telling the truth. You should never slant the news in any way, which can be done by being “fair and balanced.” You have to report the facts, all of them—especially when nobody else is courageous enough to do so.

 It seemed like, even after McCarthy’s downfall, Murrow’s air time was cut. This didn't seem fair to me, but either way the movie was excellently shot and very educational.

Some of the Most Dedicated Journalists I have Ever Met

Recently, I attended a lecture in the atrium of the Brimhall Building. I was told that a panel of international journalists from Iraq would be speaking to us; I figured it would be American or BBC journalists who were covering the conflict.

I was also told there was extra credit involved.

I got there, ready for it to get done so I could write and start my weekend back home.

The panel walked in and I realized that I had been wrong. These were Iraqi journalists; a professor at the University of Baghdad, three former students now working in the field, and the host of a political news program. There were also two translators.

Everyone on that panel has had their life threatened. No, not just by the explosions all Iraqis have to worry about; these brave people have received death threats. They refuse to give up their work.

The Professor (I attempted to catch everyone's names, but I am afraid to put them on here and butcher them) said that, to be a journalist, you must have the talent and readiness to be one, then go to school to hone your skills. Journalists should be bold and courageous to get "reports"; in Iraq they have to be.

He also informed us that Iraq has 25 different newspapers (daily, weekly, and monthly combined), which blew my mind. I mean, yes it is a country, but a small one without much stability. You wouldn't expect that in a place so torn by war, or at least I didn't.

They went through each panelist, each saying something to us. The only woman on the panel was the first to wish us luck in our careers.

One journalist, while covering in Fallujah, was faced with double danger; the Americans thought he was working for Al-Qaeda, and Al-Qaeda thought he was working for the Americans.

We have to maintain objectivity and professionalism, try to keep our emotions out of our stories as much as possible. This is especially important when covering the dangerous situations they do; your professionalism and objectivity will build and maintain your reputation and integrity. However, this does not mean that you won't cry, or be scared, or have to go to the hospital. You will. Your strength comes, one student said, when you face those challenges.

We were reminded to use simple words and avoid aggravating anyone unnecessarily.

Working in the field will be different than school; your editor may do something different than you are used to, and you also realize just how responsible you are to the people. Your outlet may--as many do there--have an agenda they try to push, don't get caught up in it! Learn to separate that agenda from the truth.

They described Journalism as a humanitarian mission, without borders. If you are working as a journalist in an international situation, as they have, it is important to not take sides; just reflect what is going on around you.

They also put a few myths to rest:

• Did you know that there were actually Christians in Iraq before there were Muslims? I certainly didn't.
• Female journalists face the same risks as male journalists do on the job; however, they may also face socio-religious issues depending on where they work.
• The Muslim religion as a whole has been, sadly, quite inaccurately portrayed. According to the Koran, a good Muslim is one who keeps others safe--even a non-Muslim who does this can be a good Muslim! I found this very interesting, and also very cool. The people who call themselves Muslims but act without humanitarian principles (read: the terrorists) are Muslims in name only.
• There are provisions for Freedom of Press/Speech/Expression in Iraq's constitution, but the parliament is still working on passing laws to enforce them. 

The last question they were asked was whether or not they have media with a bias in Iraq, like our MSNBC and FOX News here in America. Now, up to this point it had been pretty diplomatic and calm. When the translator asked them this question, however, everyone started talking at once. I don't know if you've ever heard people having a discussion about the political biases or lack thereof in various media outlets, but I can say this: It is at least ten times more awesome when it is done in a middle eastern tongue. 

I feel a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for these people. I may never receive a death threat from a faction or terrorist group, but I like to think that I could be as brave as they are.

The Ryan Mark Mills One-Bowl Wonder: Discussed

Yes, Ryan, I'm talking to you about your signature dish. I know you read this--I can see you and your imitation Yu-Gi-Oh picture right over there. For my other readers:

Ryan is a close personal friend. If it were not for him, I would not be in my current, wonderful relationship with Donovan. I love Ryan like a brother--a brother whose survival I sometimes worry about.

Ryan, Donovan, and "Texan" Tanis Reed shared an apartment winter semester. Almost all the time, their friend Sean was there. They often played board or video games together. Sean actually knows something about cooking and nutrition. The same may not be said for the others.

Assumptions Boyfriend & Co. made about food in the course of the semester:

• Celery does not need to be refrigerated
• Chili does not need to be refrigerated
• You may slightly undercook Bacon without fear of repercussions
• Instant potatoes are the only vegetables you will ever need
• Sunny Delight=Tanis Fuel, ergo, I don't think I ever saw Tanis drink milk or water
• Frozen Corndogs + frozen tater-tots=a balanced meal
• It is just fine to eat chicken {frakking} nuggets. Every night. 
• Fried SPAM sandwich. I think that expresses my feelings succinctly enough.

And the list goes on. These are just the incidents that stand out to me. Once in a while, I toyed with the idea that every male ought to be tested in order to avoid being forced to take a Food Preparation class, depending on what level of kitchen-savvy he is at. But only when I got REALLY horrified.

But there is one thing Ryan does which, if approached correctly, can be good. 

The one-bowl wonder.

The base of a one-bowl wonder is either macaroni-and-cheese or instant mashed potatoes, depending on what he feels like. The mashed potatoes are made in a small saucepan, the mac-n-cheese in a rice cooker. Into whatever pan the based was cooked in, Ryan adds at least one type of meat, usually diced SPAM or hotdogs, but possibly chicken {frakking} nuggets. Possibly more cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne. And then Ryan mixes it all together. And then he eats it, straight out of the pan he cooked it in.

The advantages of the one-bowl-wonder are that it is fairly cheap, also filling, and it is relatively easy to prepare.

Unfortunately, it isn't terribly nutritious. At all.

However, one day here in my apartment, I really had no idea what I wanted for lunch. My Mom had sent two boxes of Mac-N-Cheese home with me, so I decided I might as well do that. I made it, and then I thought about the injunction in my Food Prep class to vary color and texture. So I added some chopped Turkey Meatloaf and cilantro. I would have added broccoli, but I had none. I realized halfway through eating this concoction that I had made a one-bowl wonder. Granted, I didn't eat mine out of the small saucepan I cooked it in, but the concept was the same.

So, after discussing it, my only injunction about this item is to be sure you add veggies.