What cadavers and Jane Fonda have in common

So I'm back at work at BYU Independent study. I've been back in Utah now for about a month. I spent the first week at the Saratoga Springs house hanging out with my parents, trying to watch all the movies I was craving in Britain and catching up on most of the movies that came out while I was gone. I watched a lot of Jane Austen and BBC. A lot. :)

Right now I'm editing cadaver videos for a PDBIO anatomy course...its cool, but at the same time I'm pretty sure I have a bit of a grimace on my face the entire time I'm editing. It's kinda gross. The cadavers are juicy, and the way the TAs throw bits of the bodies around is rather disturbing. I just watched one completely flip the rib cage inside out. Okay, so really it's very very cool, and I've learned a lot just by editing the footage, but I guess I've always just imagined the inside of my body to be like a cartoon or something - happy little smiling blood cells flowing around like they're on a roller coaster, yelling hello to other passing blood cells. I didn't see myself as goopy or slimy or anything like I've seen on the cadavers. Of course, they are dead and are being preserved to make sure they stay goopy long enough to look at them. But, I dunno, I guess I just thought we humans looked slightly....um...cleaner or something on the inside.
I espeically did not enjoy that part of the video that I had to edit that featured a dead penis. Yeah...that was awkward. I'm hoping to get to edit the video on the female reproductive system before any of the guys have to. I would like to spare them the awkwardness of that situation.

Two Fridays ago on July 16, 2010, at approximately 8 PM, I received my first speeding ticket. I think it's safe to say that it was the most traumatizing experience I've had in a long time. And the thing that made it worse was that I totally and completely deserved it. I didn't know what the speed limit was in the area - it was in Lehi where the speed limits change so often they might as well be underwear. And it was a road that probably should have had a higher speed limit. But it didn't, and I should have been looking out better. I came around a corner, saw the police car, and immediately knew I would be pulled over. I never speed on purpose. I always go the speed limit when I know it. But I was caught. I wanted to cry when the cop came to my window. I was shaking so badly. I should have cried, just to make him feel bad. I thought about it. I should have. But anyways, I decided to look at this as an adventure - one that I never plan on repeating, but am almost glad I experienced so that I can write about it or something. If nothing else, it's good blog material.

I now am the proud owner of a Netflix account. I never needed one before because our library access was always so great. Now, I'm stuck with just the Provo library (Saratoga Springs doesn't have one and the Lehi library charges for non-Lehi residents) and, let's be honest, it's a pretty disappointing library. And I lost my library card....oops...So, all of those things combined necessitated that I find another way to watch all the movies I would like to. My friend showed me his Netflix queue and I was very impressed, but still hesitant. The thing that totally sold it to me was the presence of all the seasons of DuckTales, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, and Mr. Vampire (the best Hong Kong Kung Fu vampire movie you will ever see - perhaps one of the greatest movies ever made). After I saw these, I was hooked. I later learned you can stream the instant watch stuff on your Wii, so I set that up at my parents' house and I'm pretty sure my dad uses the account more than I do! There's so much awesome stuff on Netflix! I love it. I may never go back. $10 per month is totally worth it for the amount of stuff you have access to.

I have come to realize I am going through a major phase right now in my life - I call this phase "I love the 80s." At work I listen to 70s and 80s rock - John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar, Journey, etc. I watch 80s TV shows like Remington Steele (which is still awesome!) and 21 Jump Street (which is terrible, by the way - the only good part is watching Johnny Depp). I work out with Jane Fonda three times a week, where I have 20 new friends in brightly colored, high-cut leotards and sporting poofy hair with large bows. And boy, do they look like they're having fun! My mom and I also saw The Wedding Singer (The Musical) at Hale Centre Theatre, and I absolutely adored it. I already knew the music and the story, but the performers made it rock. I must admit it caused me to develop yet another celebrity crush. I love the 80s. I am so grateful that there is so much pop culture from this era that I can access. What priceless gems!

Things I want to do this summer (or at least start):

learn Spanish
read novels
get tan
write a novel
practice the piano
eat popsicles

School starts in about a month...blargh...not ready....