From New York to Utah to Wisconsin to Utah

In the 5 or so weeks (now more since I keep forgetting about this post) I've been "home" from New York, I've done a lot of stuff. So here's a summary of it.

Flights I've taken: 6

Meals eaten at Chick-Fil-A: 4.

Recipes cooked from Sorted Food: 5. The pizza swirls are by far my favorite thing I've tried.

Meals/snacks cooked by Badger: 3. Possibly more.

Visits to Yogurtland: 2.

Games of Spaceteam played: Too many to count already.

Wedding receptions I attended: 1. But it was the best wedding reception I've ever been to. #camgelaforever

People we explained the mick-mack scale to: More than 3 but less than 7.

Seasons of LOST I've watched: 3 1/2 and counting.

Pieces I've written for the Universe: 2. (The first on binge watching TV and the second on the importance of mentors)

Snapchats Kelly has sent me of her dogs: At least 5. Probably more.

Letters Margaret and I have both sent to/received from each other: Around 6.

Boating trips I've been on. 0, sadly. But I did enjoy a good rope swing.

Times Becca, Ryan and I were slightly to moderately terrified while climbing down Bridal Veil Falls as rocks slipped out from under us: A fair few.

Pages I've designed for The Universe: 4.

New movies I've seen: 2. Monsters University and Great Gatsby.

Costco runs Becca and I have made: 1. It's the start of something great.

Times I've watched Wreck It Ralph: 3.

Awesome Seven Peaks visits: 2.

Games of Wii Bowling Peter and I have played: Probably around 10.

Games of Wii Bowling I've won: I'm pretty sure it's 2 but he will vehemently disagree.
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All in all it has been a crazy summer. It's hard to believe that next week I'll be walking for graduation. And then the week after that Becca and I want to embark on an awesome little camping trip. And then it will almost be time for my final semester at BYU to begin. Where did the last four years go?

Last YouTube video I watched: Vlogumentary trailer (If you only ever watch one video I post, please make it this one. Expect a post solely dedicated to that trailer within the next few days.)

Perfect banana

Today I ate the perfect banana. It was the exact shade of yellow everyone thinks a banana should be. Except this time it actually was that color. There were no bruises, green spots or anything else out of the ordinary. It was perfectly ripe as well. I probably shouldn't be so excited about a piece of fruit.

Later tonight I plan on washing some strawberries and cutting my quarter of a watermelon. I've never cut watermelon before so that will be a nice experience.

I've nothing much else to write about today, hence this post generally being about fruit. So to make up for the lack of content, I present a song I've listened to a ridiculous number of times in the last few weeks.

I suppose I should also mention that my photo wall is complete! Mostly. I might add another row or two at a later date but for now it is complete. I'm quite satisfied with it. Like I mentioned yesterday, I haven't printed off pictures from last school year. This does make the wall a little outdated but I'll fix that soon enough. It's crazy to look at it and think about how long ago some of the adventures occurred.  The people that seem to get the most wall-time are Brooke, Megan, Margaret and Lorraine. At least, that's what I've deducted from a few quick glances across it. Maybe sometime I'll actually do the math on who is up there the most. But now that the wall is done, that means I actually have to unpack my other belongings, something I'm not all that excited about. That will probably be tonight's activity. 

Last YouTube video I watched: I am a Thoughtful Guy - Rhett and Link

10 hours and 45 minutes

That's how much sleep I got last night/this morning. It was marvelous. I was in bed by 9:30 and woke up around 8:15. That's a pretty quality night if you ask me. The time before going to sleep was spent watching Arrested Development, getting my first ever J Dawg w/ Mckenna, and packing up some of the room w/ Lorraine. It was a very chill night, which was needed on account of my stuffy nose and slight cough. There was slight disappointment over the fact that I wasn't able to really see any of my friends besides my roommates (one former and three current) but at this point it feels like I've got all the time in the world to see people; school doesn't start until the 27th. (I think.)

Today was spent packing and cleaning. Lorraine and I had a fun time going through some drawers and finding the most random things, like in the top drawer of her dresser she found a Tetris card game. Yeah, such a thing exists. We're both excited to play it sometime soon. Mine and Lorraine's room is an interesting mix of boxes, bags, books, and all sorts of things that college students manage to accumulate in a year's time.

So far there aren't any plans for tonight but that's all right. Right now I definitely intend to play my ukulele. I've missed it dearly.

Last YouTube video I watched: Some Nights - Walk Off The Earth + Julia Nunes

Good-bye home

I am completely finished packing except for the jeans I'm currently wearing which I'll be wearing to work later this afternoon. My suitcase is all packed, though I won't even be bringing it w/ me right away. It's being brought along later thanks to some of my family who is driving out to Utah soon after I leave. I think the hardest part of packing has been deciding what shoes I'm going to wear to the airport. I decided on my new Birkenstocks.

I figured I best write this post now because I plan on going to bed as soon as I get home from work tonight. I'll need as much sleep as I can get because my flight leaves bright and early at 6. I'm not too excited for that but I figure I can sleep a little bit on the plane. Usually I don't sleep on planes but I might be exhausted enough to legitimately nap.

Tomorrow will be a crazy day even once I get to Utah. I'm already trying to cram in some fun along with the job interview I have that afternoon and the cleaning/minor packing I have to do in order to move to my new apartment on Friday. I will definitely sleep very well Thursday night.

So this is it. My last post from Wisconsin until Christmas, or possibly Thanksgiving. It's a possibility but not one I would bet on. We'll see how things go. But anyway, see you soon my lovely Utah friends!

Last YouTube video I watched: An Open Letter to Students Returning to School

Trees

I've spent most of my free time the last two days in the hospital. Rather I've spent the last two days visiting in the hospital. I'm fine myself.

The hospital is surrounded by trees and fields. (We're sticking w/ trees today. You don't even want to get me started on cornfields.) For lack of the better word, it's out in the country. My family has been on the third floor. And boy, there are some incredible views from these third floor windows. I shouldn't love spending all this time in the hospital, and I don't, but I do love looking out the windows at the end of the hallways. Seeing the geography of the land and experiencing all the different greens is not something you get to enjoy all that often. You can see for miles. And what do you see? Trees, trees and more trees; and they're all sorts of green.

Most people are probably familiar with my love for greenery. I make it abundantly clear, probably every day, how Utah doesn't have enough trees. Campus is quite green and even though I spend a lot of time there I don't spend all my time there. Coming home to Wisconsin is always a treat for the sole fact that trees are everywhere. Down every street, in every yard, anywhere you could possibly imagine. I'm pretty sure it's my dad's fault I feel this way about trees. Our yard has at least 15 huge trees, of the maple, ash, locust and cedar varieties I believe. He always made planting trees seem very exciting. Even now when driving he points out the juxtaposition of the land and trees.

I'm honestly struggling to come up with the words to describe how I feel about trees and how the Wisconsin landscapes makes me feel. I'm sure the way I feel about trees is the way others feel about the mountains in Utah. I really do love the mountains. After 3 or so years in Utah, they're still unreal and I legitimately feel surprised every time I walk out of my apartment or out of a building on campus. It's kind of like, "Whoa, look at all that rock. It's just... there. Impending. Constant. Brown and gray."

It's a real shame I'm never at home in fall anymore. That's when the trees are really magical.

Last YouTube video I watched: Karmin - Hello

Weather

I'm pretty fascinated by the weather at times. Let's look at today for example.

I woke up around 8:45 or 9. Someone had Insagram'd a picture of what it looked like outside their window. Yep, plenty of snow. I checked out my own window just to see the lay of the land and it was pretty white with snow still coming down.

By the time I left for campus around 10:30, snow was already starting to melt and it was probably in the high 30s.

Once I was done with class and had stopped in the newsroom, my walk home just before 2 was quite pleasant. The sun was shining brightly and most of the snow was melted.

I stopped by Jeff's apartment and ended up staying till around 5. At that point it was really sunny and the snow completely gone. There was nothing left. It was pretty warm out too; I imagine somewhere in the low-to-mid 40s.

All in all, an interesting day.

For Brewers' opening day it was apparently 50ish, which is not bad but still a bit chilly for baseball. Except when I really think about it, 50-something at the beginning of April in Wisconsin is pretty warm and I'm sure plenty of people were wearing shorts. Too bad the Brewers got trounced by the Cardinals.

Tonight I have zero plans except to finish watching 30 Rock and maybe make some rice because I'm feeling like something with soy sauce would be really delicious right about now. For a while I was bummed that I've got nothing going on tonight. The more I think about it though the more I realize how lovely it is to just not do anything. Yesterday night was kind of a whirlwind of adventure and I loved it completely and probably wouldn't mind doing it again but I'm also pretty content with what's on my plate.

I think the only thing I would rather be doing is playing racquetball.

Last YouTube video I watched: Greatest Song Ever Written