Ode to Mapleton

Today, I went on a run for the first time in Mapleton since last summer. It was approximately 7:30, and the setting sunlight made everything absolutely beautiful. And I completely fell in love with this town all over again.
Here is what I loved:
That neighbors pull each others weeds.
How every corner holds an old memory.
That no matter which direction you look, you will see an empty field.
That the old man on the corner still dresses in leather and takes his Harley out for a daily ride.
Seeing my hand is stamped in the driveway.
That the mountains can be half green and half white at the same time.
That I can see the windmills.
The smell of grass.
That everyone owns the same exact shirt (Springville Football. Curtis #30.)
As I was running, I ran past a field and a tractor. The harsh sunlight was illuminating the cloud of dust behind the tractor and turning all the sheep into silhouettes. And I had a thought that I have never thought before. I grew up in a sheep safari. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Witty in the City.

The big apple. The melting pot. The city that never sleeps. Call it what you will, I love the place. I was privileged enough to get to spend ten days in this concrete jungle with a group of the coolest people on the earth. Here is a brief rundown of one of the best trips of my life.

WHAT WE SAW: New York Housing Project's annual talent show in the middle of Harlem, at the legendary Apollo Theatre. Such a cool show. We were the only white one's in the room. (Except for the fact that I'm not exactly white). The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Absolutely astounding. Standing room tickets for only $24 bucks baby.Wonderland on Broadway. The view from the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. Totally worth two hours of sleep. Besides, me and Skjelse are probably the best people I know at getting up early for important events. A Banksy! Though to our dismay, it was all covered up :(.

WHAT WE ATE: Oh boy I am almost hesitant to delve into this section. The answer is TOO MUCH. Burgers and shakes at the world famous Goodburger home of the goodburger may I take your order. Gyros and lamb over rice at the Halal stand on 52nd. Heavenly banana bread pudding and cupcakes at Magnolia's. Pizza, lot's of pizza. Dumplings at the Dumpling House in Chinatown. Sushi and curry at Kodoma. Delicious pastries at the Chinatown bakery in Brooklyn. Junior's, good ol' Junior's. Bagles in the bathtub. Piles of meat atCarnegie Deli (I cannot justly call them sandwiches. New York Cheesecake! Applebee's, why did Ryan get the orange chicken. Concrete pretzel at the Shake Shack. Europa Cafe,never let me down. Starbucks. Omelets at Evergreen Diner. Pancakes atGalaxy's.Subway. They have cheap vegetables! 7/11 Slurpees, Jonas's first time. Frozen yogurt that was 16 blocks further than it had to be. The sought-after strawberry fruit bars in Central Park. Pasta at Daniela's. Soul food at Sylvia's. Aka fried chicken on a waffle plus maple syrup.Trailmix galore.

WHERE WE WENT: The Museum of Modern Art...aka the MoMA. Picasso, Van Gough, Pollock, Warhol, Frida. Staten Island on the midnight ferry.Rockefeller Plaza. St. Patrick's cathedral. Church at the Manhattan Temple. A local jazz club called Fat Cats, possibly one of my favorites of the list. Central Park on Easter Sunday. Napping in the sun, eating expensive ice cream, riding on the rowboat, the white prancing men.Chinatown.Handbag? Handbag? Shopping in SOHO. I could do it every day. Highline Park.Took me and Matt a missed train and half an hour of walking to find this place only to realize it was right above our heads. A tour of the New York Times building. The Korean Consulateand theeeUnited Nations.

WHAT WE DIDN'T DO: Sleep. Eat vegetables.

WHAT WE DID DO: Rode the subway. Danced all night long. Took a bath with our clothes on. Met some Europeans :). Took some pictures. Caught a taxi. Won two Outstanding Delegation awards and completely dominated the competition for the 8th year in a row! Mission accomplished. :)

NEGATIVES: There is honestly only two thing that I feel are qualified to be put in this box.Starlight Diner. Imagine eating overpriced, mediocre food in a stuffy, loud room, while constantly being yelled at by broadway rejects dancing on tables. Enough said.

The fact that we had to leave.

Our $3 boat ride in the park :)

Beautiful

Soul food on a soggy day!

Big as my face

On the ferry

Rockefeller Plaza

The good news!

Sleep.

What a good looking group.

Take me back.

This is college.

I'M BACK. I deactivated my fbook. But I still need some way to stay connected with the rest of the world.

Tonight what did I do? Oh of course, spend almost 5 hours at the library.

Just like last night.

Lauren was my study buddy.

I ate half a bag of Swedish Fish.

I drank an orange mango fuse (like).

A stranger jumped onto our desk and danced while serenading us like Justin (I cannot for the life of me figure out how to spell Beeber. Biber?)

What will I do tomorrow night?

Probably go to the library.

If you make it till two a.m. it's said they give you free candy.

One of these nights...

Oh, finals.

I am leaving for New York in one week.

:)

Night Boarding!

Last Wednesday, Lakin and Ben and Justin and I went night boarding at brighton. This was my first time this year, and I had only been a handful of times before that, so I was pretty rusty and not very fast. Sorry guys haha. But it was SO FUN.There's something about flying down the mountain on a snowboard at night that's just so much better than during the day. As we rode up the ski lift in complete and utter darkness, surrounded by endless expanses of pine trees and snow underneath the winter stars, I could just feel the mountain in a peaceful yet eerie way. And of course, I couldn't help but think of the movie"Frozen" that my dad tried to get me to watch with him. It is about a group of kids who get stuck on a ski lift for a few days and experience broken legs, hungry wolves, and probably frostbite, judging by the title.

Once we had completed 5 or so runs, full of lots of , me and Justin walked back to Ben's car to find it attached to another car by a pair of jumper cables. Uh oh. It would not start. After countless unsuccessful jumps, some phone calls to fathers, a pop-tart, a stolen scarf slash turban, and a visit to Brighten One at the Majestic Lift Shack (what a title), we finally figured out what was wrong with the car! Something about the crazy alarm system. It was way too protective. We made our way out of the canyon, found a Beto's, and ate some much needed burritos. What a successful trip.

This is how we dooooo!

'What a suitable ending"

TODAY was the last day of Christmas break. Which will be missed, but I am strangely excited for school to start up again. New clothes, new classes, new books, new people, the nine yards. But today was all in all, one of my favorite days of the break.

First I woke up early and ate wheat pancakes. They were about the thickness of a tortilla. But I just love wheat things. So I thought they were great.

Second I went to a cardio kick class at the gym. I was in there with a bunch of mommies, but this class kicked my butt. The gym was super busy, as expected at the start of the new year. But they give it till about February 14th and all these New Years resolutions will die down and the gym will be back to normal again.

Third I parted my hair in the middle. Oh yeah.

Fourth Me and Taren went to visit Dance Company! We brought them doughnuts and chatted with dear Mrs. A for a while. And walked around the high school and acted like we were students again. And the super senior chants

didn't start until we were almost out the door!

Fifth Lingerie shopping. Our new hobby. This time was for Sydney's soon-to-be wedding day. She's going to love it.

Sixth HOT POT for dinner! This find was brought

on by two things: my New Years resolution (if you must call it that) to go to a new restaurant every time I go out to eat, and mine and Taren's newfound love of CHINA and anything CHINESE! We wanted to eat at a truly authentic place to prepare us for our adventure to come. And this place was a gem. We put all kinds of crazy stuff (white meatballs?) into this spicy bubbling pot, and watched it cook right before our eyes. It was delicious. China here we come!

Seven Taren's little moment of walking in on me in my underwear in a public bathroom and peeing her pants right in front of the toilet. What's new.

Eight 500 Days of Summer.

Nine Cover letters and resumes.

Ten Back at the apt listening to the new MJ CD. He lives.

As my good friend Paul McCartney would say, "What a suitable ending."

Ringing in the New Year!

This year's New Years celebration was different than most. But I can honestly say that it was one of my favorite to this date. Whatever did I do? No dancing. No partying. And NO New Years kissing. Instead, I stayed home with my lovely mamasita! We watched Jaws, the Devil Wears Prada, and ate plenty of peanut butter cookies and mango ice cream. Luckily, New York celebrates the New Year with the dropping of the ball a few hours before we do, because I fell asleep at 11:30 and was out the rest of the night!

So thank you, mom. For always making me wear my seatbelt. For making my home lunches throughout all of my education. For making me wear my retainers so my teeth don't get crooked. And, for making this New Years Eve the best :)