Monday, August 31, 2009

Back to School? Already?

So here I am back in Provo, Utah where the ladies fill the sidewalks like King salmon in the Copper River. I feel like one cast with a good lure would net me one, or more! Wow! It’s always a bit of a shock returning here. Life in Alaska is quite different especially considering the nature of the work I do. No offense to any of my coworkers, but their scruffy mugs get a bit tiresome. The ladies here in Provo are infinitely better looking and much, much better smelling. I sit here writing this in the hall of the dance building where an almost never ending flow of female dancers passes by--pretty much the most awesome ladies on campus--anyway, the hall smells quite nice due to the combination of perfumes and lotions. It is good to be back.

Other things are not quite so awesome. As usual dance auditions proved (I just finished them) to be a bit nerve wracking. I managed to stumble through them well enough (surprisingly Latin seemed to be a bit better) so I feel the post-audition relief right now. Hopefully I made it into both classes. I desire to medal in both Gold II Latin and Standard either this semester or next, and if I don’t make it that would throw a serious wrench into my plans. Dance, overall, is a bit of a question mark this year, like this: ??? I honestly feel as if I’m coming to the end of my ballroom dance journey here at BYU, which is sad, because dance has become such a significant part of my life. Unfortunately I now face the reality that graduation is near and I need to focus on a degree--boring I know. I also must eventually accept the fact that I’m not Sergey Surkov; I’m not that great of a dancer, at least competitively, and I don’t have that much of a chance to move up to one of BYU’s touring teams. So, this journey may be nearing the end. All I can say, if this is truly my last year, is that my experience here has been awesome. I’m just happy to have tasted the beauty of ballroom dance. Now I guess I’ll graduate (next year) and return to my post in the mountains of Alaska and become an eccentric, hairy-faced, yet successful writer. Maybe I’ll write about ballroom.

Otherwise, I got into Provo Saturday afternoon and promptly spent the rest of the day transferring all of my belongings, enough to fill a 5x15x10 storage unit, into my new room which is mostly filled by a large queen sized bed--which is magnificent, though it certainly diminishes floor space. My new room is filled to the brim with boxes of books (not surprising, I am an English major), a mountain of clothes (which was a surprise), and piles and piles of junk papers which most people would probably throw away. I am not most people. Still, space requirements and a desire for comfortable living demand that I streamline my accumulated wealth. Hopefully this week I can gather together a large DI pile which will most likely consist of clothes, assorted junk, and, heaven forbid, a book or two. I’ll also try to dispose of my old magazines and maybe some of my junk papers. Maybe I can get rid of my nice pair of winter boots (never worn) which are much too nice for a Utah winter. And I could sort through my movies and remove the ones that I don’t like and the ones that are overtly inappropriate. I don’t want to part with any dishes or anything, in fact, I may need a few new ones. A casserole pan. A good cake pan. Some bowls. I may be able to sell a guitar here in the near future, in need of a guitar tune-up to make it sound right (which I can’t do), but otherwise in sound condition. I have one TV too many, I really don’t need one in my room, though it might be nice from time to time.

Overall, I just need to be more disciplined in life. I need to exercise regularly so I can have bulging biceps and rippling pectorals (I mean, even more than I now have). And I need to start regular scripture study again which I have had a hard time maintaining through the last year and a half because of work and other scheduling issues. I mean, I didn’t even finish reading the book of Matthew this summer. To be fair, it’s not only my scripture study that I have been neglecting, I didn’t finish Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norrell or Thirteen Moons this summer either. And I didn’t even start The Once and Future King or the Silmarillion.

So there they are, my concerns and goals (minus the ones regarding dating, etc. . .) for this coming semester. Let the games begin!

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