Kyoo 51

My car (affectionately known as Babar - like the cartoon elephant) has almost made it to the moon. I realized that just today as I was thinking about the lunar eclipse.

The average center-to-center distance from the earth to the moon is 238,857 miles. Babar's odometer is sitting at 223,433. Yes, he still has more than 15,000 miles to go but that isn't bad! I just hope he makes it. Then I can totally brag:

"My car's been to the moon!"

And did you know that you can download an odometer for your computer mouse? I don't even want to know how many miles I've put on mine.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 50

Tornado sirens create what I think is one of the eeriest sounds. It's more than a sound. It's a feeling. You know what could be coming but you're hoping with every fiber of your being that it doesn't.

Actually, it's quite motivating. I don't think I've ever flown up the stairs to get my shoes as fast as I did when they started going off this past week and I was being commanded into the basement. I love thunder storms. BIG ones. I love the feeling in the air, listening to the rain, watching all havoc break loose on the trees. It's captivating.

The clean-up is a different story. But it's worth it to breathe in the air during and right after the storm. Like everything is clean and new again.

Sometimes the earth just needs a bath. Especially here where it's so humid.

I swam in the pool for the last time this summer. I was kind of sad and just kept swimming underwater trying to enjoy the weightless euphoria. Then I thought of all the kids that had peed in the water, the various animals that had died there, all the bugs that collect in the gutters, the dirt that gets blown in, and the chemicals.

I found it very easy to leave after that.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 49

We have fresh peaches and it's made me very happy! I won't disclose how many I've consumed.

I gave Calvin a bath the other day. I'm so horrible at maintaining him! I've had him for over eight years and this is only the third bath I've ever given him. He plays a lot better now! The horse is a bath toy added for visual effect.


Many people have asked me why I chose to play the French horn and I can't give them a definite answer. I do remember that day of elementary school quite well though. I was in fifth grade and it was at the beginning of the year when we would decide which instruments we would play for the rest of the year in band. I had played the violin in fourth grade and decided that I didn't want to continue with that one. I think I had been somewhat influenced by a brass band that had played at my school a previous year because I remember the guy who played horn was pretty funny and made the instrument seem mysterious. That probably hooked me.

Actually, I wanted to play the saxophone until I realized that the school didn't have one to rent and my parents told me it wasn't feasible to rent one elsewhere. That got me thinking more and more about the horn. When "Decision Day" came, I couldn't focus on anything except getting in the band room and seeing what instruments where left. All through the day our little Asian band teacher would call a person into the band room to talk about the instruments and then let them decide. Of course, it was in ALPHABETICAL order so I had to wait until very last (*see below for full description of the alphabetical order curse)! During recess, I interrogated every person who walked out of that band room about which instrument they had chosen and which were still left. One of my friends even got a glimpse of the horn for me and teased me by saying it was all rusty and old. It was killing me!

Finally, it was my turn and fate just chose it for me. The horn was beautiful (granted it was a single horn but it still gave me a great start) and no one else was playing it. That made it even more attractive. I love being different in regards like that. And thus began my journey on the instrument that now plays a pretty big part in my life. I began wooing people early on, Calvin and I were united a year later, and now, he's a part of me. I love the horn!


This is a picture from our vacation in Colorado Springs. We were hiking at Seven Falls. My brother looks like he's taking out my sister. Props to me on the action shot.


This is just a scenic shot of Colorado Springs. It was such a beautiful hike and the weather was perfect! The outdoors is another one of my loves.


*The Alphabetical Curse: It can hereby be written that there is such a thing. If your last name resides at the posterior of the alphabet, you can bet any of your precious possessions that, when the situation depends on something you're looking forward to (such as choosing a band instrument), alphabetical order will be used. HOWEVER, when the situation depends on an undesirable circumstance (such as determining the due date for a very large project or speech) reverse alphabetical order will be used (you know, the teachers think about fairness THEN) and will require you to turn the project in several days before everyone else.

It's just a fact of life.

This is why I've resolved to marry someone further up in the alphabet. I'm not requiring an 'Adams' or a 'Brown' but somewhere in the upper middle would suit me very well indeed. Maybe beginning with 'E'?

And now I'm starting to draw language from a Jane Austen novel. Shoot.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 48

The last post was just me kicking myself. Hindsight is 20/20. If I could go back a couple years, I would have done things differently. I should have gone on one of the study abroad programs to Jerusalem, Europe, or Meso America instead of working all last summer. I probably should have transferred to Provo too.

I also could have finished my web development final in an hour instead of 19. That would have added some relief to the end of winter semester.

But now I sound like I'm unappreciative. I have been blessed with so many opportunities and have been given many challenges that have allowed me to grow. I probably wouldn't be any better off had I had those experiences. And who knows what future years hold. I still have plenty of time to travel and study overseas.

I need to stop trying to cram a lifetime of experiences into my 4.5 year college career. I'm only 2/3 of the way through my first thirty years, then I have my next thirty years, and probably a good thirty years after that.

Now that seems like a lot of time. I think my appetite has been satiated.

Life is good. I get to train to my heart's content during the day, make a dent in my reading list, hang with my siblings, and work when the opportunity presents itself.

What more could I ask for?

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 47

It's hard to get everything I'm feeling jam-packed into a blog. Try dumping an entire bottle of laundry detergent into the washer and then keeping the lid closed. I think it's comparable.

I want so many things right now. I'm not talking about material things, I'm talking about experiences. I think I'm getting bored with my school because I'm too comfortable there now. I know what to expect and I know how to get around. I want something bigger and even more challenging. I want to scoop myself up and hurl myself into the unknown.

My life is too predictable. I want to be a bird, perched upon a tree on a golden spring day, with the ability to launch in an infinite number of degrees of directions: up, down, up-left, up-right, down-left, down-right, down-down-right, left-left-up, and so on.

The bird can view all its options and then just go anywhere it wants to. Flying is freedom. I want to fly.

I guess I do have this option. Maybe it's the guts I'm lacking?

I think I'm just stuck in the middle of my education. I'm experiencing the college version of tweens. I don't have all the responsibilities of adults, but I'm also expected to use more wits than a teenager. Why do I always feel like I'm in a transition phase of life? Maybe transition is normal. When I look back on the "old times" they seem stable. Yet, I distinctly remember myself thinking they were transitionary too.

Destinations are just the beginning of something new. Why must I be so focused on getting to each destination? Can't I ever just enjoy where I am now while I'm working towards the next destination?

Okay, I think my washing machine is flowing out the top.

On vacation, my dad tried to save my sister's camera from falling on the concrete and ended up drop-kicking it into a rock. It was pretty funny.

The freedom that camera must have felt....

Life is wonderful. But sometimes I wonder if I'm pushing myself enough and experiencing what I need to. Am I really doing all I can do?

So many questions.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 46

I haven't been neglecting my blog. I just haven't had access to the Internet much these past few weeks and when I did, it was just for a few minutes to pay a bill or answer an email. But, alas, I am connected again.

When I get my Canada pictures uploaded, I'll be sure to post some of them. I'm looking forward to being done with vacation. I love traveling and being on vacation but I'm going on 3 weeks and my suitcase gets heavier each time I have to move it.

I need to find a job for 4 weeks. Any suggestions?

An update on my travels: I've been through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Manitoba, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. I've also hit 5 different wards in 5 different stakes in the past 5 weeks. I can't count how many different beds I've been in.

It's fun and I'm telling myself not to look forward to getting home because I know once I'm there I'll be looking forward to being at school.

So, I'll jump right to that. I'm excited for school to start again and to be jammin' with Snickers and possibly Sidekick and to make a new apartment home.

Random note. My phone broke. Half the keys no longer work so I can't dial any calls and I can't text. Just in case you were wondering.

That about spells things out for now.

Have a great day :)