“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled. … No man would have to live by faith. … There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers. … There would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood. … Being human, we would expel for our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors”

- Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 97-98

(Garner, Search These Things Diligently p. 191)

I got my books yesterday along with a $5 parking permit! Can you believe that people… $5!!!! For a whole year! I figured that I will probably not use it, but that for $5 I might as well get one just in case I decided some day to drive to school, now I don’t have to worry about it. I got my books for all four classes, although I’m not sure what I’m going to end up taking. I am getting a little scared of some of these classes because it looks like one actually has to do work which is something that as we all know, I’m not really used to doing. I am thinking about dropping the Book of Mormon class, even though I want to take it. After looking over what the class entails, I figure it might be good for me to get a better understanding of the book before taking the class and by dropping that class it frees me up to be flexible with the English class in the afternoon. I have the psychology class to fill part of the time slot in the middle of the day so we’ll just have to see. I am actually kind of considering keeping all four classes as without working I’m sure I could pull it off – it sure would keep me busy – no more complaining about being bored, but then again, that could lead to more burnout, which is the reason I’m here in the first place. Well, not the only reason, but one of the big reasons why I’m here!

After I got my books I came back to the apartment for a while to look them over and try to see what I was getting myself into for this semester. I eventually called Amanda to see what was going on with FHE for the night and we all met at her apartment for a quick lesson before splitting up to other events. Amanda had to go take a quiz while a bunch of us went to the park and played frisbee for a while. We ventured into a frisbee football game (I guess also called ultimate frisbee) which was kind of fun. We won 2-1 which I was pretty impressed at, but at this point we all decided we were tired and quit the game. It was funny yesterday how everyone was complaining about how hot it was out here. I mean, it might have been 75 and all they were doing was complaining about how hot was and I was sitting there thinking… well, it is a little warmer that it was yesterday, but it’s not hot. I’m sure it’s over 100 in Arizona and probably over 90 in CA right now, but I kept my mouth shut as I was warm myself…

After the park we went back to the apartment and we helped Tara & Shelly move into their new apartment, 3 doors down from the old one. They seemed really happy because they aren’t going to have any roommates for a while so they each are getting their own rooms and are going to have lots of extra space. It must be really nice to go from an apartment of 6 to an apartment of 2! Well, anyways, we, or at least I, had fun helping them move – I think it would be safe to say it was the highlight of my day! They took us out to Dairy Queen for ice cream for helping them which was nice and it was a good thing that Amanda wasn’t there! (No ice cream for another 10 days or something.) After ice cream we went back and moved some more stuff. Amanda came home from her quiz and looked really beat so I tried to encourage her to go to bed, but as usual I was there for another half our or so after that and I’m sure that she didn’t go to bed until quite a bit later, but I’m not sure. She seemed much more awake this morning when I took her the CD that some guy needed – Clay Aiken, Invisible.

I came home last night and talked with Alana for a while… She was still giving me a hard time about not coming to her graduation over the weekend, but hey, life is full of mistakes, right? It was nice to catch up with her for a while and I’m still anxious to see her come end of August when we both move back to San Diego! (Hopefully someone else from Rexburg will be joining us in the moving back to San Diego for the fall rush… hint… hint…)

This morning I was up early, and I had a really hard time getting myself out of bed again, to give the CD to Amanda so she could get it to the guy that asked for it before she went to study for and then take her finals this morning. I’m planning on going to the devotional at 2 today and going to try to go get an ID card before hand, but I’m going to bet that once again they will tell me I can’t have one until Friday, but I really want to go to the gym and get some exercise. I keep finding myself with all this energy and I have no way to use it! I did walk down to Amanda’s this morning instead of driving and it was actually a pretty nice walk, even though it was only 47 degrees outside!

Tonight I think we’re watching a movie at Ben’s house. I don’t think Amanda will be coming though as she is going over to Jake’s tonight so hopefully the rest of us can find Ben’s on our own this time around! I think we’re watching Brother Bear, although we were supposed to be watching Men in Black, so who knows… I’ll just be happy to get out of the house again and will also enjoy getting to know all the people a little bit better. I’m not sure who all is coming, but it all started because one of the girls, I think Tara, had never seen Men in Black.

Not much else going on. I’m happy that I can finally send emails again from home and actually did some work this morning which sadly was kind of fun. I should probably go make some lunch and read for a while before going over to the school. Talk to you all later!

I can once again send email finally at Pineview. I finally found out the secret…

mail.cableone.net

so in case there is anyone else out there trying to find an outgoing mail server to use at PineView Rexburg, now you’ve got it!

Now… for the rest of you… expect your email inbox to be filling up shortly!

Saturday I ended up going to the library for a bit just to get out of the apartment. I knew that Amanda was over there so I tried to find her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere in the library, I guess I wasn’t looking hard enough, so I just sat down and used the internet for a while. I was finally able to send those emails that had been bugging me for a while and then tried to figure out something with this class schedule. Amanda wants to change the English 250 class to an hour earlier so that she doesn’t have a break between her child development class and the English class, but there are no openings in the class and it is at the same time as my religion 121 class so I’m not sure what to do. She has emailed the teacher, so we’ll just have to see. I did find some other classes that I could be taking, but most of them created conflicts. I did find a psychology class that I could take instead of the religion class that meets right after my government class in the morning, but I’m not sure what I want to do.

I got to walk home from the library in the rain, talked with Rande on the phone for a while because the Internet around here leaves a lot to be desired and made some pasta for dinner. I called Amanda’s to see what was going on over there, but no one answered and no one called me back, so they must have all been out having fun without me. I watched 13 days on TV — I hate watching movies on TV because of all the commercials. Actually, watching the commercials in general is driving me crazy just because I’m not used to having them… I need my replay back so that I can watch TV without commercials! That reminds me that I need to cancel my subscription for the 2 months that I’m gone so I can save some money, not to mention that my ReplayTV is dead right now anyways, so it doesn’t even matter if it has the subscription or not! After 13 days I watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton which I really enjoyed. I stayed up after that and waited to make sure that Amanda made it home safely, which wasn’t until about 1:45 and we figured out the church plans for Sunday. She told me that I had to go to my ward and not hers which I really wasn’t looking forward to. I contemplated not even going, but I figured that it would be the highlight of my day to get out of the house!

My alarm went off in the morning, but I just couldn’t get myself out of bed for about an hour, so I ended up missing priesthood, but I made it there for Sunday School and Sacrament. It was kind of odd having church in a classroom, but I guess the location really doesn’t matter much in the scope of things. I told everyone that I was here for the summer and that I was a brand new member as of a week ago. A couple people introduced themselves to me, but that was about the extent of it. As soon as church was over, I was off to the apartment to spend the rest of the day sitting here doing nothing. I read for a little bit and then started watching Master and Commander before taking a break from that to watch Cold Case and eat dinner. After dinner I went back to watching the movie and after that started watching Something’s Gotta Give before deciding that I was too tired to make it through the rest of the movie. I got ready for bed and then called Amanda to see how things were going 2 blocks away…

…

Well I guess I should bring this to an end and work on getting on with my day, not that I have anything to get on with. Unless something comes up, I’ll probably head over to the bookstore and try to get my books, but then again it sure would help to know what classes I’m going to be taking and I don’t know that yet. Tonight is FHE and seeing as I have no family I guess that means I’ll be sitting at home bored again unless I get invited to join someone else… Larilyn called this morning and we talked for a almost an hour which was really nice, not only because she kept me occupied for a while, but I think she is one of the very few that really know me. It amazes me how much everyone really doesn’t know me, but I guess that really is my fault for conforming to fit in and not being myself. Well, I guess it is time for a shower now and who knows after that…

I just finished watching Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and am still waiting …

There were a lot of lines that really stood out to me…

Tad: I need a positive influence, somebody solid and substantial qualities, somebody who seems to understand life and how to live it in a good and happy way, like you. I just want to be around you. I want some of that goodness to rub off on me.

Angelica: Well is it love, big love, or great love?
Pete: What do you mean?
Angelica: Well, love you get over in two months, big love you get over in two years, and great love, well great love… changes your life. So which one is it?
Pete just takes a big gulp out of his drink.
Angelica: Oh my god, it’s great love.
Pete: Yeah, that just great.

Tad: Yeah, Pete told me if I ever hurt you; that he would tear me to pieces with his bare hands or with his vicious rhetoric.
Rosalee: Pete told you if you hurt me, he would tear you to pieces with his bare hands or with his vicious rhetoric? That is so… adorable.
Rosalee: (to Tad) Do you think it is possible to love someone your entire life and never realize it until something happens that makes you see?
…
Tad: Man, what a week. fall in love for the first time. got my heart broken for the first time. I was honorable for the first time. I got bit in the ass for being honorable for the first time. Bought a farm.
Rosalee: I’m sorry about the broken heart part.

Angelica: When great love is rejected Rosalee something inside a man dies, so all he can do is run away where he can meet the girl he’ll love second most. Unless, you can get to him before he closes the book on you, but once it is closed, it is closed …

Rosalee: You have five smiles Pete. One when you think someone’s an idiot. One when you think someone’s REALLY an idiot. One when you’re getting all dressed up. One when you’re singing Barry White. And one when you’re looking at me.

So much to say, yet I can’t find the words… I really should be sleeping… I think I may have to watch this movie again tomorrow.

…

Don’t ask me how this came about, but it’s from Bouse & Amanda. I understand that it is still a work in progress so if you have anything to add post it below!

Boys and Girls in General:

#1. Girls are allowed to have guy friends, and guys are allowed to have girl friends.

#2. Flirting is universally acceptable. (Note: Do not flirt with your friends boyfriend/girlfriend, the situation could be potentially explosive.)

#3. Trust is a must. Do not talk about each other without consent to do so. (Rumors can easily tear a relationship apart.)

#4. Avoid jealousy at all costs. (Jealousy is the hate within love. It can easily tear any friendship apart.)

#5. Be reliable. (If you say you’re going to do something, make sure you do it.)

#6. No lying. Lying is the root of all evil and will quickly destroy any relationship. If you lie, you have violated rule #3, #5, #7 thus voiding the relationship. It is absolutely crucial that the truth always be told. Lying undermines trust and communication which is vital in any relationship.

Relationship Additions:

#7. Communication is the key to everything. Without communication friendships and relationships will slowly begin to fall apart. Communicating with your significant other will help you to understand one another. It will help to draw you closer together. Without communication true love cannot exist.

#7a. For those of us who have thicker skin, true, honest, and frank communication is the key. We don’t like the sugar coated truth. Tell us what you really mean. No assumptions or “thats what I meant.” Say what is on your mind and nothing less.

#8. A new level of trust must be achieved. Relationships require a level of trust more intense than that of just a basic friendship. Without trust, how can you truly exist together? You must be able to trust your partner fully. Trust that he or she will do the right thing. Trust that she or he can have fun without you, but will know when too far is too far. How can you live in a relationship if you do not trust your partner? Trust that he or she will always be there for you. If you do not have trust, then you truly do not have a relationship. As with any relationship, trust is essential.

I spent most of yesterday sitting in the apartment looking at the boring walls trying to figure out what I was going to do. Amanda was in class in the morning and had to take quizzes after class so I knew that I was going to have most of the day to myself to sit around and be bored. I can’t even really remember what I did for most of the day, but I did get my 3046 number back from Sprint and got that setup on my Sanyo phone so that people can call me again. (Not that anyone besides Alison has…)

I watched Bend it Like Beckham yesterday and got that back in the mail to Netflix. I’m waiting to see how long it takes for them to ship me movies, I’m guessing 2-3 days instead of the 1-2 days which means that it could be almost a week turnaround instead of 3 days, but only time will tell. It also doesn’t help that the movies I’m sending back now are going to Santa Ana as that used to be my distribution center which I assume is 3 days away.

The internet around this place is driving me crazy. It seems that the DNS comes and goes and I cannot keep a connection to AIM for very long at all. I’m getting close to giving up on even trying to stay signed into aim, but I’m so bored/lonely out here that I think I need that lifeline! I can’t wait for school to start in a little over a week so that I have something to do. I’m hoping to go get my books on Monday so that I can start reading them and be ready for classes when they start. I do have a book already that I could/should be reading… The Book of Mormon, but I just haven’t picked it up for a couple days. I did go and get it out of my car the other day which was a step in the right direction, now I just need to pick it up and use it! Maybe I will go the library later today and find a book there to read or just use it as an excuse to get out of the house!

Last night I went over to Amanda’s (what a surprise!) and we went out to Dairy Queen with her roommates and then went to some New York Wrap place before coming back to her place to watch Monk. After that Janae and Amanda hit a field hockey ball back and forth for a bit while I got the job of trying to catch the stray balls before they fell off the balcony and went into a car or something! After that we went over to Navaho House where we got in a big group and played fugitive, which Amanda and I had never played before, but we did good. Basically a group of people have to get from point A, Navaho House, to point B, the gazebo at the park, without getting caught by another group of people driving around in cars. It may have taken us a while, but we did get there without being captured, although we had a couple close calls. Unfortunately, when we got to the park there was basically no one else there and we finally just decided to walk back to the car and go home. I wasn’t looking forward to this game, but I actually had a lot of fun doing it although next time I think maybe I’ll bring shoes other than my boots! It was nice to get out and get some exercise and fresh air last night especially after being cooped up in the apartment all day long. I’m not looking forward to tonight as Amanda will be out on a date so unless I can find something else to do… I’ll be sitting here all alone, still stuck in the apartment.

Bouse tried to convince me to go for a drive today and explore the area, but I kind of think that I did all the exploring the other week – or at least all the exploring that I’m up to doing alone. I’m really not quite sure why I decided to come out here so early… Looking back I should have gone to Alana’s graduation today and then come over from there on Monday or something, but I did have a reason for coming early… it just didn’t quite pan out. …

…

I tried to put pictures online from Monday night at Friday’s, but I don’t think I need to go back into talking about the Internet connection here! You can keep looking at http://schester.com/pictures/040614fridays/040614fridays.html to see if the rest of the files eventually show up, but right now I’m waiting for the 3 connections I have running to time out so that I can try once again to upload the missing files! Well, I guess I should figure out something to do to get me out of the apartment now before I start going crazy again…

Does anyone have any idea how to make iChat auto-reconnect like AIM does? I keep loosing my AIM connection up here and it is getting really old telling it to login again. I notice that even AIM has problems reconnecting sometimes, but it seems to be better than iChat at holding the connection…

1.)Name: Scott Chester
2.)Birthday: 3/5/82
3.)Zodiac: Pisces
4.)Nationality: White boy
5.)What time is it: 2:48
6.)Are you sensitive: in what way? most likely

***Person Who last….***

7.)Called you: my mom
8.)Slept in your bed: me i hope
9.)Saw you cry: who knows… did anyone see me last night?
10.)Made you cry: the author of the without a trace from last night i guess.
14.)You went to the mall with: I went to wal*mart with Amanda yesterday, I think that is probably as close as it gets to a mall around here.
15.)Yelled at you: Lauren?
16.)Sent you an email: Norma, she wants to know what’s up with the marquee.

(I think these questions are in another category…)

17.)Taken a picture of yourself with a milk moustache and sent it to the milk people: nope.
18.)Said “I love you” and meant it?: yes.
19.)Gotten into a fight with your Dog/Cat etc: well I’ve wrestled with the dogs before, but we weren’t really fighting.

~*Have You Ever…*~

20.)Been to New York? no
21.)Been to Florida? maybe
22.)California? not for a couple days
23.)Hawaii?: negatory
24.)Mexico?: when I was little
25.)China?: not that I’m aware of.
26.)Canada? 6 or 7 years ago.
27.)Danced Naked: man that would be scary…
28.)Had a dream about something really crazy then it happens the next day?: maybe
29.)Stalked someone? everyday
30.)Had a mud bath: nope
31.)Wished you were the opposite sex?? Not really, although I do wish I could live in the girls apartments and not the guys…
32.)Had an imaginary friend?: not really, I just like to talk to myself.
33.)What time is it now? 3:07

~*Which is Better?*~

34.)Apples or bananas?: apples
35.)Blue or red?: blue
36.)Backstreet boys or N’sync?: not sure.
37.)Walmart or target?: If I value my life I better say Wal*mart
38.)Spring or autumn?: spring
39.)Santa or Rudolph?: why?
40.)What are you gonna do after you finish this? sit around on my lazy butt and do nothing until someone finds something for me to do!
41.)What was the last meal you ate?: I had a blueberry bagel with cheesecake cream cheese and a carrot.
43.)Are you bored?: me bored? never… I am in Idaho with NOTHING to do… It’s actually kind of nice, but I think I’m getting close to starting to go crazy!
44.)How many of your buddies are on-line? available 3, total of 7. My buddy list is so nice and concise now that I deleted all sorts of people from it that I never talk to.
45.)Last movie you saw?: Bend it like Beckham about 30 minutes ago, before that Raising Helen.
46.)Last sound you heard?: Reba McEntire singing One Honest Heart.
47.)The last smell you sniffed?: probably my bagel.

*****About your friends….*****

48.)Laughs the weirdest: not sure.
49.)Going to have the most kids: Not sure… anyone planning on having more than four?
50.)Who have you known the longest? Larilyn
51.)Loudest?: Lauren
52.)Is the quietest: me
54.)Who is the funniest? manda, hands down.
55.)Who is the moodiest: i must agree with lauren – definitely her!
56.)Biggest pimp?: Well Lauren thought it was me, but I don’t quite think so… maybe Bouse.
57.)Biggest player? I’ll just go ahead and agree with Lauren again… Lauren.
58.)Who can you tell most of your secrets to?: what secrets?
59.)Who do you usually go to about all of your problems? Me? Problems? Ha ha ha… Funny… I try and give all my problems up to God.
61.)Last time you went out of state?: Well that all depends. Would you consider me out of state now or is this my new home and the last time I was out of state would have been Wednesday when I was in CA, NV, AZ and UT in addition to ID where I am now.
63.)Things you like in a Girl/Guy?: caring, loving, someone I can talk to, someone who will talk to me, someone who I can just truly be me with and not have to worry about anything. Someone who can make me laugh at the weirdest things, someone who maybe doesn’t care what we’re doing as long as we’re together. Someone of faith, both of God and who will have faith in other people when it is needed. Someone who I can talk to for hours, even at 2 in the morning when we are both dead tired. Someone who would sacrifice herself for a friend. Someone who can light up my day, just by her presence and take all my fears away. Someone who can not even realize it and yet talk me into doing something that no one would have ever expected me to do… (I think I’ve said enough now.)
64.)Do you have a crush on someone?: is there any point in me answering this question?
65.)Do they know?: i’m pretty sure she does.
66.)Do you have a bf/gf: nope
68)What book are you reading now: The Book of Mormon, but not for a couple days… I need to get back into the swing of things…
70) Hair Color: my hair color is brown, but I’m not sure what I’m being asked here… On girls it should be long enough to know that they are girl and no jokes about cutting it!
71) Height: I’m 6’2″ or so.
72) Pets: none.
73) Siblings: half brother, matthew who is 13.
74) Been so drunk you didn’t remember that you were there? not on alcohol or any other drugs.
75)Taken any illegal substances: nope
76) Gone out in public in your pajamas: not really.
77) Missed school b/c it was raining: like I need a reason to miss school!
78) Set any body part on fire for amusement: sorry to disappoint you, but no.
79) Kept a secret from everyone: i don’t know, we generally don’t discuss secrets.
80) Wanted to hook up with a friend: no comment.
81) Cried during a movie: during Raising Helen and during Without a Trace last night.
82) Had a crush on a teacher: nope
83) Ever thought an animated character was hot? sorry, but no.
84) Ever at anytime had any new kids on the block tapes? i don’t think so.
85) Planned your week based on the TV Guide: probably at some point in the past. Joan of Arcadia is on tonight!
86) Prank called someone: no… I think that Brian did more than enough of that for the both of us and I’m still dealing with it…
87) Been on stage: once or twice.

————FAVORITES————–

89) Shampoo: Don’t shoot me… Herbal Essences.
90) Soap: Again, no shooting, but I normally use Dove something or other.
91) Colors: Blue
92) Day or Night: Night, although my night life has been cut short due to new curfews!
93) Summer/Winter: Ordinarily I would say Winter, but I think based on where I’m living now… Summer!
94) Lace or satin: idk
95) Cartoon Character: Scooby!

———IN THE LAST 2 Weeks ————

96) Cried: last night (is this a theme going through this survey?)
97) Cut your hair: yes, 1 week and 1 day ago.
100) Worn a skirt: do I have to answer this question?
101) Been mean: only to people I love and hopefully they knew that I wasn’t trying to really be mean to them… I love you!
102) Been sarcastic: me?
103) Talked to someone you have a crush on: not today… I’m sorry Ryan, but I don’t have a crush on you. Well, wait.. I’m thinking back to slightly after midnight now, and I’m not thinking about Ryan…
105) Hugged someone: a bunch of people at friday’s on monday night… not enough lately though…
106) Fought with your parents: i don’t think so.
107) Wished upon a star: haven’t even tried to look at the stars here.
108) Laughed until you cried: i don’t think so.
109) Played Truth or Dare: no
110) Watched a sunrise/sunset: no
111) Went to the beach at night: no
112) Spent quality time alone: is that what I’m doing now?
113) Ate a meal: yes
114) Are you lonely: yes, and very tired of being cooped up in this room.
115) Are you happy: in general, I think so. this second… not as happy as I could be.
116) Are you talking to someone on-line: no.

—-DO YOU BELIEVE IN——-

117) God/Devil: yes
118) Love: yes
119) The Closet Monster: no
120) The Big Bang Theory: not sure
121) Heaven/Hell: yeah
122) Superstitions: not really
124) Who named you? dad i guess, cause mom wanted to name be Paul.
125) When was the last time you showered: 3-4 hours ago.
126) What color pants do you have on right now? black.
127) What song are u listening to right now?: Why Haven’t I heard from you, Reba McEntire and no I’m not listening to just Reba… just a coincidence!
128) What was the last thing that you said on-line?: way too long ago to remember. It was probably when I posted a reply in either Amanda’s or April’s journals.
129) What is right next to you? my phone.
130) What is your computer desk made of?: wood
131) What are the last 4 digits in your phone number? not sure.. it just changed… 4955.
132) Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?: Australia? Hawaii? San Francisco? Kansas?
133) How’s the weather right now?: rather nice. probably high 60s.
134) What did you do last night?: went over to Amanda’s for dinner (thanks!), watched without a trace and then came home when she went to the gym (cause I don’t have an ID card and wasn’t ready to be smuggled in yet.)
135) How are you today? alright I guess, but getting very lonely sitting in this room staring at my computer screens… I need something to do!
136) How do you eat an Oreo? all sorts of different ways depending on how hungry I am. Stuff the whole thing in my mouth, dip it in milk, split it apart and eat out the inside, etc.
137) What makes you happy? being with awesome friends.
138) What makes you mad? having people mad at me and not letting me do anything about it. Also, the fact that I keep loosing my connection with AIM! (and the fact that the error message keeps popping up with the wrong time on it.)
139) What do you want to be when you grow up? a loving caring husband… probably not the answer you were expecting was it? Career side, a CIO of a company or something along those lines.
140) What are your future goals? Get a career started that will let me make enough money to support my family, right now probably in Information Systems; get married when the time is right, maybe at the San Diego Temple! And lately I’ve been looking forward to teaching our children (little individuals) how to become great people.
141) My fave music: mostly country, but rock and alternative can be good too.
142) Favorite Food?: Amanda’s cooking
144) Fave guys cologne?: idk
145) Do u like to dance?: slow dance.
147) Are you too shy to ask someone out? we covered this in the last quiz… yes!
148) Fave clothes brand?: i don’t know… I tend to buy Van Huesen and High Sierra I guess.
149) If you could change your name what would it be? not sure. Are you trying to say that there is something wrong with Scott?
150) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?: nope.
151) What is the stupidest thing you have ever done? i try not to remember the stupid things from my past. Craziest thing? Probably move to Idaho!
152) What will your first son’s name be?: Why don’t you ask my wife?
153) First daughter: Again, ask my wife…
154) Favorite drink: Water? I guess strawberry lemonade, but that is 45 minutes away at Chili’s!
155) Do you like scary or happy movies better?: they both have their good points. Am I alone or with someone cause scary movies are always more fun with other people.
156) On the phone or in person?: for what? How about both?
157) Lust or Love?: love… what is the big hurry?
158) Cartoon or real? real
159) Dark or light? dark
160) White chocolate or dark chocolate? tough last question… I eat more dark chocolate, but I probably like white better… The last people left me some Hershey’s bars in the kitchen!

Today was pretty good. I finally got to sleep in until about 9:30 at which point I decided that I should probably get up and face the day since Amanda told me that I could wake her up at 8. It was nice to have the place to myself this morning as I kind of figured out the situation with the shower and everything else. I’ve still got to figure out how to cut down my shower time and just adjust to living with people, but I’m sure that will all work out with time. I still have over a week before there is anyone else in the apartment with me so I’m sure that I’ll figure out a system by then and we’ll just have to see how that system works with them.

Amanda and I went out to Wal*Mart and then to the local grocery store and did lots of shopping before coming back to the apartment to unpack and put all the stuff we just bought away. I don’t know what I would have done without her today, she really was a big help and I appreciate her giving up so much of her day to helping me. I also came to find out (yesterday) that I have no dish washer in the apartment. I was expecting there to be a dish washer, but I guess I just overlooked it. I do plan on doing a little bit better of a job shopping around for a place next time, instead of just going off of Becky’s recommendations. I mean, the place is fine, it just isn’t quite the Hilton, or really even a Motel 6. I don’t know what you would do in this place with more than 3 people. I could see two without a problem, but even the third is like cramming someone in I think, but we’ll have to see.

I found it interesting today/yesterday to really feel the differences between the guys apartments and the girls. So many little things are just completely different that I find it funny, probably the biggest of which would be the kitchen. The kitchen at Amanda’s is much bigger and seems like it had a lot more planning go into it that what happened here at PineView. Granted, her apartment is also a three bedroom so she has a total of six people in there, so of course she needs the extra room and they will probably use it more than we will, I just thought it was interesting. Like I said, I’m going to try to do a better job searching around next time, but I really didn’t have too much of a choice this time around considering that I hadn’t ever been here before I booked the place.

Amanda washed all of my dishes by hand today because I don’t have a dish washer and I got the job of drying them all. (I think I got the better end of the deal!) Thank you Amanda for all your help… I owe you big time! I love you Amanda!

…

After we got done with the dishes Amanda decided that she should go and take another quiz so after checking to confirm that I had no mail she drove home and then I drove back to my place to hang out for a while. … I can’t even remember really what I did. I remember I had a carrot (anyone want some? I have a bunch!), but other than that I can’t remember. I think I finished unpacking all my clothes and got online for a while. The Internet around here is kind of random and from what I’m hearing that is the norm, so we’ll have to see. I wonder if it is a Rexburg problem or just a local housing unit problem. I must admit though that it is nice that they have wireless up here for us as it makes it really easy for me to move around and I didn’t even have to bring my access point.

I called Sprint today to get a local number in Rexburg for my cell phone and the first person I talked to told me it wasn’t possible without going into a store and then when I tried to explain to her that I had done this before, she hung up on me! The second person told me it was going to take 45 minutes to an hour and then started working on it. Unfortunately, the guy didn’t really know what he was doing and he just changed my phone number on the 3046 line so my number is currently lost in space. I called back to another guy who put in a request for them to retrieve the number and get it back to my other phone, but I won’t know how that goes until tomorrow morning as he said it would take 8-12 hours. It was actually really nice tonight with no one calling me because they didn’t have the number. I mean, I love it when “friends” call, but I just get so many business calls that it drives me crazy… I think changing the number will be a good thing… now the question comes down to who do I tell the new number to?

I went over to Amanda’s for dinner, after she got her power-nap in and she made chicken noodle soup after I went out and got chicken. It was really good and we watched Without a Trace while eating dinner. I think I could really get used to this. This without a trace actually hit me pretty hard and I wasn’t even really watching the whole thing. It had to do with a mother who was raped while her husband was taped up and “forced” to just sit there and watch. The whole thing is just so bad, but to have to sit there and watch your wife in that situation and not be able to do anything to help her would just be so hard that I can’t imagine how one would just go on living a “normal” life after that. Some things in life are just so frustrating… It is things like that which really make me worry about the people I know… Some people just leave themselves open to being such easy targets. Lock your doors. Don’t walk alone at night, if you are walking alone at night, be on the phone with someone or at least pretend to be on the phone with someone. Don’t be afraid to ask for a police/campus escort. Stay in well lit areas. Keep your eyes open for suspicious people, keep your head up. Don’t be listening to music if you are alone as that makes it so easy for someone to sneak up behind you. All that basic stuff that we all know, but just don’t ever think about at the right times. I know that bad things can happen to even the people who are the most cautious and that you don’t really want to spend your life worrying about what could happen, but I think we all can do a better job to make sure that our friends make it home safe each and every night. For anyone out there, if you don’t think you have anyone to call when you’re out walking alone at night, ask around as I’m sure you’ll find numerous people who would love to get a call from you late at night just to know that you’re safe. I’m one of them, fell free to call me anytime (not that you know my new number!), but if it is late and I’m sleeping or something, just please tell me that you want to talk while you’re walking home or something so that I know that there is a “serious” reason behind it… OK, more than enough worrying for the night…

After dinner and TV, Amanda and some of her roommates went to the gym while I came home to get ready for bed and blog for the first time in a while. I was going to watch a movie, but it didn’t happen. Now I think it is time to make sure that the girls made it home safely from the gym and then go to bed myself!