Why DUI?

So it was 9:16pm on the night of Friday, April 30. When I was driving down the street to get some dinner, and ran into a DUI checkpoint. 1.5 miles from Campus. In the city of Berkeley, where do you think the most alcohol is consumed? I will tell you, its within a 5 block radius of the university. Across the street from the university has one of the biggest fraternity party houses. One so big on partying that it was unchartered from the University and lost its affiliation, but yet, the national committee of this Fraternity, doesn't see that as a problem.

Well, its 11:20pm, and guess what rumbles I heard in the hallway?

"Pick her up"

"I am trying"

"Use her Shoulders"

"I am trying"

"Why don't you hold the door..."

"No! Hold the door and I will carry her..."

My curiosity got the best of me, and so I opened the door, and low and behold, I saw someone literally so drunk, they were passed out. I left at 9:05 and saw a large group of people heading towards the university all dressed in black formal wear. At 11:20, there is a passed out drunk girl who can't stand, is being hauled (dragged is more like it) down the hall, what miniscule dress she is wearing now looks like a mini tee shirt, and it has to be the most humiliating thing in the world... (if she were sober), but she isn't, so it doesn't matter, and her friends aren't going to say anything the next morning, and she isn't going to remember her tidy not so whities hanging out for the world to see.

Now its 11:37pm.... and guess what I see? (Scroll for photos, don't scroll if you are already ashamed and worried this is you).

Oh great amazing Berkeley, how taxes are high to pay for ambulance runs like this. Yep, its about 2 hours since I left, and probably no more than 1.5 hours since some party house or another started their party and yet someone is being saved right now. Oh I think so, look at all those medical supplies. Cool!

And there it is. Someone is being hauled off. How often has this happened this semester? What, at least 9 times? Last year, I don't think I saw this ambulance even once. Now I see it at least once a month, if not once every other week. I have seen in twice in one night also. So sad to be seeing problems like this so young. How happy are your parents going to be when they see this bill? Someone got a nice IV too, I saw the huge bag being hung. What a night.

Now someone explain to me why they don't just do DUI checks near campus? I mean, this is it. This is the drinking problem and if they were more diligent on safely, maybe they would do WUI (walking under the influence). It might instill fear better. So far, none of the drunk people I have seen or run into have a car, or are in one. So maybe we should rethink the DUI plan in a college town.

Time check: 12:13am Saturday morning. The lights are flashing as "bus" number 2 pulls up for the next drunken soul

When Exams Happen...

I received a friend's update on my phone yesterday, it stated: I think I preferred my one month of ignorant bliss, mcat scores = reality.

Then I read connie's blog about what she saw when she looked in the mirror. And it hit me. Why did I not blog about this last week? When I was assumably a mess?

I was blowing through movies, in a sad attempt to disembark the hounding sounds of "must not fail" chants running through my head. I was procrastinating to a whole new level. Homework was half hazardly strewn all over the place. I was even in the library more than once last week and turned down a movie premier and free lunch to study! This is what happens when exam time rolls around. We all become this infatuated with perfection, forgetting about the vanity and showers we so adored in the beginning of the semester. I mean... Sunday! I wore a repeat dress! I haven't repeated dresses for a long time now since I got myself a bunch of new ones. Which just means, its time to buy some more. But really, I didn't wear the new dresses because I haven't done laundry for 2 weeks, and everything is piled in the bag. So five loads will be done today, if its the last thing I do anyways. It's pitiful what happens when you let yourself go in the aggressive ploy to be a great student! Oh... the rambles have come. Time to log off!

Gratitude Greedy?

So this is going to sound and seem very petty. However, I was reading about this somewhere and it starting to make me think. I have a "friend", that I am not sure I can call a friend. However, for now we will just state the person as "friend". I sent "friend" a nice birthday gift, hoping "friend" could make good use of it and enjoy it and I thought maybe with a nice birthday card and note or what not, that they would at least call, or write an email or send a note to say....thank you. 2 months later. Still nothing. But "friend" raved all about using said gift for the world to hear, and yet, I am still waiting for the "thank you".

I know its petty to want a thank you, but I have seen this on other people's complaint walls, and I thought, it happens, sometimes people forget, but you let it go, however, "friend" who has an issue receiving gifts is suddenly without gratitude. I am just a little irked by it I guess. Its minimal, and maybe its going on with the flowing emotional stream running through my system right now, but it kind of got to me when I "heard" "Friend" go on about using said gift, and I still haven't heard from "friend" in MONTHS. (insert bitter here) I guess if friend no longer wanted to be friends, this worked. I am so over trying.

[It's at the end of ones life that we learn to appreciate the littlest friends we love and want to hold on to.]

I don't think if this was anybody else in my spectrum of friends it would bother me, but "friend" for some reason makes me just bitter on this subject.

Rebuilding Together

A great project where we rebuilt and installed new appliances into the homes of the elderly and disables. There are different projects run every Saturday, and each one of them is for a different person or family that is in need of home repairs to make their lives easier. Usually these are elderly people living on their own or disabled in the same situation. This was another service project for the ward that we really enjoyed coming together and doing. However, I think RT underestimated how many people were going to show up because our group was shuffled around a lot, as they tried to find places for us to work and things for us to do. Who knew there could be too many people wanting to help better the community.

So our location that we ultimately ended up was an elderly lady who needed her kitchen repainted, a new stove installed and a new dryer installed along with the roofing of her house redone. Her yves were rotting away and so was her roof due to poor drainage and water damage. So the problem was, how do you fix a roof that is just falling apart? You cut off what's bad and replace it with something better. However, after reviewing the roof, it was found that the roof was previously fixed, but it was a poor job that has now damaged the roof even more than thought. So for once my vast amount of useless knowledge and facts, became a blessing. To save on money and supplies, I recommended just cutting back the rotting yves clean the gutter since the new California laws no longer require an extended roof. I was genius apparently and got my fair amount of praise, yeah! for useless schooling facts! It was fun, we painted, we hammered, we drilled and lots more. I had a lot of fun, and even though it wasn't the best run system, it was a fun day, and I will definitely come back and work with them again.

Turner working hard!

Midnight Snack?

Its 1:01am on Saturday morning.

I smell barbaque.

Its hot dogs.

I am hungry.

Ideally... I can find the source.

Realistically... I am smelling it from the comforts of my bed.

...still hungry.

(Enter new thought here)

Emily is running around somewhere on campus in the dark, in the middle of the night, with drunk marching band members, playing capture the flag. I wonder if we are going to need to send a search party for her in the morning.

(Thinking, Thinking, Thinking)

Probably not. Just because she is going to be the only sober one, will probably win the game, and go home to bed a reasonably college student justifiable decent hour. Plus, she pre arranged with us to send a search party in the morning if she doesn't show up at 8. I wonder how many of the drunk people who would be running around in the dark thought to do that, their likely hood of needing to be found has dramatically increased, (hasn't it?).

I am Going to...

TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!

It's a beautiful day to be able to say... you are going to the temple. It's taken me a while to be ready to this mentally. It's never been a matter of being able to go, its always just been a matter of wanting to go. At one time in my life I was all about going, but then it changed, and I was less about going and more about the outside life... the time I could save doing something else. But I have thought this through for a while now, and have made my covenants, and I am ready, and excited.... Wednesday is going to be amazing!

Happy Tax Day!

So in the celebration of Tax Day... I decided to use my PF Chang's gift cards and have a tax day dinner! It was 15% off on this day also, so that was extra fun. And so we gathered many friends together to have a fabulous dinner! It was a lot of fun and we ate a lot of chinese food. So I really enjoyed being able to laugh with friends and see their quirky and really hungry sides.

Here are two prospective Priesthood Holders you probably don't want to date.... Naug and Rotc are showing off what the difference in men and women are in photos. Naug is "Man" and Rotc is... what is supposed to be a "woman". Oh love... apparently its faked.

Black Eyed Peas!

So after returning from my week of Nature, children and drama... I was gifted (blessed) with the opportunity to attend a Black Eyed Peas concert for FREE! They were amazing seats, we got to experience the concert first hand, and it was just mind blowing fun. I really needed fun like this, and I was so blessed to be able to receive these tickets from a friend. Her husband and herself were too tired to be able to attend and so they thought of me first! Aren't I special! No cost, nothing, they just handed them to me! So my first reaction... call someone to attend with me. 5 friends later, I finally settled on Naug. And he agreed and we made the hour long trek to the concert.
Fergie was amazing live, she has real talent.... not really as beautiful as she is in pictures in real life, but she is amazing on stage.
This is how many people were crammed into one place filled with lazers, fog, and yelling. If I haven't lost some sort of hearing, it will be a miracle.
Here is Naug and I, haven't seen him in FOREVER, glad that we got to hang out and catch up.

Into the Woods

Spring Break about killed me... from not only pure over relaxing, but from the whirlwind of having to get back on track after the best 9 days of my life. However... running back to school was not the plan... and instead I went to outdoor school with my beautiful niece and had a blast spending it with sixth graders as they learned about recycling, food waste, and how to save the planet, one meal at a time. So the last week of March was spent in the wilderness with not so small children, who enjoy drama and talking back.

Here the kids in my nature group are learning about composting and helping the environment with worms, air, dirt and waste. Interesting enough.

These are the girls in my cabin... we had a diabetic, a non english speaking, one cheerleader who was embarrassed to be a cheerleader, and gothic emo in the making, my nieces 3 best friends, a overdramatic 12 year old, a pair of twins (which took me two days to figure out), a spritely little one, and a pair of quiet, good, reserved girls. That's the make up of 16 girls, 5 days, and a lot of wilderness.

When twelve year olds dance... this is what happens. They split into groups, they have the one awkward boy who will probably either end up with one of these girls, or being the best shopping buddy ever. It was nice to see my nieces world outside of just the two of us doing things together.

It was weird to be at Walden West, it is the only outdoor school I haven't been a counselor at in the Bay area. This was also the first time I went to outdoor school for a specific person and not just because of the kindness of my heart. I was there for "Spunky"... who 10 years ago could barely string full sentences together, and now... she is going into junior high... sniffle. Something else dawned on me. It has been 10 years since I was a camper. I have been doing the counselor thing for 7 years now.. and its easy to forget that 10 years ago... I was the kid in the boots and pancho, following the Naturalist around with bright eyes. Great memories from this week... I also the flu this week and hiked so much I thought my legs were going to fall off.

Lesson learned: Don't pack for Spring Break and forget that once you return, you are going to be in the freezing raining wilderness where flip flops and sun dresses are not compatible and no Mother Nature caters to your needs.