Its interesting how school can, at times, make someone feel less intelligent. In the myriad of classes and social activities, roommates and FHE (Family Home Evening) brothers; school should be a constant source of structure which offers most an odd sense of relief. This semester however as my junior year is coming to a close and my senior year approaches my mind seems only retain movie quotes, musical lyrics and interesting tidbits from friends and roommates. Try as I might latin terms in my Law textbook evade me constantly. What exactly is the use of memorizing these terms if I have no desire to attend law school......or for the moment any graduate school? So im determined......less stress and more fun! Im going to study a reasonable amount and manage my time more effectively. The rest will be what it is. So lets see how long this lasts.............

I started cooking again recently! Thank goodness, although I love eating out with friends and the ease that comes with someone else preparing my meals, I have come to realize how much I missed chopping and mincing. I think when most "cooks" think of the people who influenced them the most in their culinary journey they probably think of Rachel Ray or Paula Dean but I think of my mother and grandmother. I remember my grandmother spending hours on hours in the kitchen cooking up recipes that my brothers, sisters and I still wish for. Or my mom making her signature dishes that no matter how many stars a restaraunt has they cant even begin to scratch the surface of my mom's home-made spaghetti sauce or stuffed mushrooms. Whats great about those women is that their recipes are entirely their own! They both experimented until they found just the right combo of spices that create lasting memories of love and family! This is exactly the reason I love cooking now. As much as I appreciate a good meal I find the preparation of it much more enjoyable when I am able to share it with the people I love! What good are chicken enchiladas or breakfast burritos or home-made salsa if there is no one else around to enjoy them with you? (Alright I'll admit they are probably still really great, but they are made even greater when shared with someone you love.) Sharing recipes and discussing techniques have been so fun for me and my foodie friends this last year. I hope one day I'll get to share my cooking with many more loved ones.

So im wondering as finals are now in full swing and white glove is looming over my head if finals really help prepare us for the real world. I've had a job in the real world, a stressful and wonderful career actually and finals just dont seem to apply to that situation. Im thinking that writing 10 page papers and presenting on subjects that no-one really cares about are just a college conception to torture and humiliate us. Perhaps there are classes where finals really do help prepare you for the rigors of career life.....but I just cant see it right now. Perhaps thats because im stuck in the middle of a paper, still havent cleaned my room/apartment and am feeling the nostolgia of losing friends to the real-world. One more day....thats what I need to keep repeating. One more day of this torture; oh wait I'll be right back here in less than a week!! And then repeating the same montra for three additional semesters! AHHHHH! I never thought something would leave me grasping for a regular 8-5 job again!!

Ahh the joy of friends!! In the span of one week I've visited my best friend in Arizona and now my favorite roommate is on the road at this very moment to come spend the weekend with little ol' me. What fun! I am amazed at how my friends always manage to make me happier. So the semester is almost over and one of my other friends is graduating which means he wont be here next semester. I cant even say how bummed I am about that, also that he is not walking. I kind of wanted to waive my embarassing signs and cheer for him as he walked across the stage. (Thats right i'm still trying to convince you to go through with it!) Thankfully I have some great friends coming back for the summer who can ease my pain. So im totally shocked that I have made it this far into the semester and there have been no serious arguments or fights with the roommates. There has been plenty of annoyance and times when I wanted to add Kool-aid to someone's shampoo but thankfully I've have been able to keep those feelings at bay. So lets hope the semester ends well and without any green or purple hair!

So i'm wondering if there is a polite way to ask one's roommates to be quieter in the mornings? Thoughts, anyone?? See I am definately a night owl. I can stay up all night and somehow feel invigorated the next morning. (But really, maybe I never got over the jet-lag from my European tour 6 years ago...) So when I go to bed around three a.m. and my roommates get up at seven and start slamming doors and talking louder than the jolly green giant I kind of want to squash them. Today was that kind of day. I was up all night (almost) doing homework and was woke up this morning by what sounded like some knock-down, drag-out brawl going on in my apartment. It was really just the sound of four twenty-something year old girls getting ready to go to school and face the "steamy" masses of men they would encounter on the way. So instead of blowing up, I got up. I know right, very uncharictaristic of me. I started some laundry, came back and grimmaced at the girls as they ate Pop-tarts and watched cartoons. Maybe its just the cynic in me but they really arent old enough to be in college if their morning routine consists of children's food and cartoon characters, right?! This is just one of the many challenges I'm facing coming back to school at 27 and living with girls just out of high school. So please if you have any advice on how I can NOT start Ridge War I, share! (And fast, because my patience is starting to wane.)

I've come to realize the more time someone spends in Rexburg the more things start to happen that would never happen anywhere else. For example last night I went to a movie with a friend and upon returning home I smelled that distinct burnt hair smell. You know, the one that smells like rust and limes have caught fire. I realized the smell got stronger as I got closer to my bedroom when suddenly my roommate burst out of her room and began to apologize profusely for the horrid smell. When I asked her what happened she told me she had lit some candles in her room but knocked one onto her bed where it immediately caught fire. The fire was small and very quickly contained but the singe markes and smell where evidence enough for me to forbid my roommate from burning candles at night ever again! Rexburg is a strange place and I seem to be like a black hole for strange things and people while I live here. I suppose I should just sit back, fire extinguisher in hand, and enjoy the show!

How can I even begin to describe what its like living with people who dont know who Elizabeth Taylor or Humphrey Bogart is?! This has been my challange since coming back to school, finding people with real soul. People who understand that the reality of life is so much better than the dream. I've been thinking about the things I hope for in my life lately. I have a friend who always says, "April, you're the girl here tell me where you think I and the rest of us will be in five years." I imagine those I love with just the things they want because I honestly believe these are wonderful people who deserve all those things, but who will tell me where I will be in five years? Will I have all the things I hope for simply because I try to be a good person? Sometimes I fear that I wont have those things but at the same time I wonder if I will be as happy then as I am now without those things. Maybe thats what I need to remember, find happiness where I am now. I guess I'll just have to wait to find out if I get the things I want, and hey, being a good person cant hurt right?!