Utah, Friends, and the Job Hunt

I've just returned from a week-long trip to Utah so I wanted to write and share my experiences and pictures with you. There were two main reasons for my going to Utah: my Number 1 reason was to visit friends, and Number 2 was to look for a job. I figured that Utah would be a good place to look since it has more jobs and more people than Idaho, plus it's away from home but not too far so that I could still go home and visit on the weekends if I want. I'll admit that I spent a lot more time with friends than I did job hunting . . .

Thursday night, we headed up to an institute party at the University of Utah. There were so many people there! Here we are ringing in the new year to Miley Cyrus's "Party In The U.S.A." and "moving our hips like yeah."



Here I am with Bekah. This girl has been such a huge influence in my life. She really has helped me become the person that I am today. I appreciate her friendship and example so much. I am also extremely grateful for her family who fed me and allowed me to stay for so long.


I also owe a lot to this girl. Bethany and I have been friends since I can't remember when, and I know that we always will be. One of my favorite things to do with her is just sit and talk. It seems like we never grow tired of it or run out of things to say. Since she recently returned from a mission in Texas, we definitely had a lot to catch up on! Thank you Bethany for letting me stay with you and for giving up your bed! (I still feel bad about it, I don't care what you say.)


One surprise bonus to my trip was getting to see Sarah Huzzey! Sarah was my roommate when I first started college. We have so many fond memories together. She also recently returned from a mission (to Argentina) and I was so happy to get to see her and catch up! I love this girl so much! She just makes me smile.
I love those friends you have that no matter how long it's been since you've talked, when you do it's like no time has passed at all. You just pick up where you left off and you still love each other just as much. That's how I feel about Sarah and Bethany.

I can't make a trip down to Utah without seeing some of my fellow D.C. intern friends. We had a few reunions this time because so many of us were in town for the holidays. As always, it was so good to see all of them. This picture is of most of the gang (give or take a few).

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I don't know what I would have done without them. They truly made my experience in D.C. the best and I have memories with them that I will always cherish. I love the fact that we still keep in touch and make an effort to do things together when possible. It's not just like we were friends in D.C. when we didn't know anyone else and then we forgot about each other once we go back to our normal lives. Nope, we are friends for life! Especially David. He became my best friend in D.C. After all the ups and downs we've been through together, we are still good friends and I owe so much to him. He has taught me a lot. I just wish that we lived closer together so that we could see each other more often.



As for the job search, it wasn't quite as successful as I would have liked. I have already received a few disappointing emails, but I am still hopeful. One company would like to set up a phone interview with me! The catch is that they are not located in Utah . . . try New York and Pittsburgh! I don't know how I would feel about moving that far away. I guess we'll have to see how the phone interviews go. Who knows, maybe that's where I am supposed to be.

Read A Book

If there's one thing I have on my hands now, it's time. And one of my favorite leisurely activities to pass away the time is reading. I love to read and learn new things! There is nothing better than curling up in a big, comfy chair with a good book (and maybe a snack or a glass of water). I get lost in the stories and plots and characters, and forget all about my own troubles, if only for a few hours.

Here is what currently composes the large stack of books I have on my nightstand (which seems to have grown rapidly since my graduation):

• A complete compilation of the novels by Jane Austen
• Two books by Michael Crichton (suspenseful/action-thriller/sci-fi/best-sellers)
• A biography of Madam Marie Curie (brilliant and revolutionary woman scientist)
• The End of the Beginning - a children's book and graduation gift from Britton
• The Prayer of Jabez - this one I received as a stocking-stuffer and have yet to read
• And then of course there are my scriptures and my journal
• Not to forget the Texas Instruments TI-89 instructions manual - sounds like a good read, I know, but really it is out so that I don't forget to give it to my friend Hannah who is the new owner of my TI-89 calculator
  

Quite a large and well-rounded stack of books if you ask me!

Ahhh, books. Few things in this world make me happier. I was really having quite a lousy day today until I went to the public library. It cheered me right up! I saw a bag there that said "So many books and so little time." So true. Sometimes when I am in libraries or bookstores, I imagine all the time in Heaven that I will finally have to read all these books . . . among other things. (I also have this fantasy of learning how to do things I never learned in this life, like becoming an amazing ice skater or gymnast or cabaret dancer.) Maybe someday. I hope that's not blasphemous.

Well . . . . Happy reading!

Christmas Silliness

Graduation

Week of Recitals

This past week was a week of recitals. It seemed that all my time was dedicated to both the piano and the organ. I had to wear a dress every day this week (in the bitter cold, we're talking -14 degrees) due to some kind of performance or another. Wednesday was our student's piano recital. For those of you who didn't know, I was in a piano pedagogy class this past semester. Some of you may be wondering what in the world the word "pedagogy" means. Pedagogy is the art, science, or profession of teaching. So in short, this class teaches you how to teach piano. Each of us in the class were assigned a local student somewhere between the ages of seven and twelve. My student was Ben, a ten-year-old from Rexburg who had never taken piano before. Ben was special and different from the other students in the sense that he had a learning disability. Ben has high-functioning autism. I was surprised when I found out at the initial interview and wondered how that would affect our piano lessons. Ben proved to be a joy though. He was so cute and fun to work with. I learned a lot from him, and I hope he learned a little something from me too. :) The other teachers would always come up to me and say things like, "I love Ben!" or, "Your student is so fun." Ben has the wonderful talent of bringing a smile to your face. I became quite attached to him over the 10-week course and was so proud of him as he got up and performed the song "Hot Cross Buns" in his first recital. I got a taste of what it might be like to be a parent that day.



I was a little more nervous for my next recital because I was the one who was actually playing. On Thursday we had our final student organ recital. It was bad timing, but I happened to get really sick that day. I was miserable during classes and I wondered if I would even be able to play. I walked into the building with my teeth chattering, and they wouldn't stop. I couldn't tell if it was from the cold or because I was sick. I really wanted to play partly because I had friends and family who had come to watch, and partly because I love the organ I was going to play on and I had been working so hard on my piece for weeks and weeks. I took some deep breaths and said a silent prayer in my heart that I would be able to stop shaking. Prayer works. Almost immediately after finishing my prayer, I was able to stop shaking and keep it under control. My pain and sickness went away momentarily (although the nervousness did not) and I was able to get up and perform my piece, and I did well. Not long after the recital the pain came back, but I said a silent prayer of thanks to my Father in Heaven for that small miracle. An organ recital may seem like a trivial thing, but it was very important to me and He knew that.



As I said before, I am in love with this organ. It is called the Rouffatti, and is the third largest organ owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had been looking forward to playing it all semester. I spent hours in the concert hall practicing on the Rouffatti in preparation for my recital. It is quite a rush to play in there! Between the number of pipes, the volume capacity, and the acoustics in the hall it's not hard to make your presence known. I felt like everyone in the building could hear me. For being a quiet person who doesn't normally like to draw attention to herself, I find it odd that I get such pleasure out of playing an instrument with such a powerful and commanding presence.



Here I am at the Rouffatti. During practice, I accidentally lost my pencil down the cracks of the pedals. I couldn't reach my hand in to retrieve it, so now I guess I have left a piece of me there. :)


This is a picture of me and my organ teacher, Sister Parkinson. We have known each other for about a year now. She is really great, and so funny. She says words like "dude" and "yo" which catches you off guard at first. If I end up sticking around Rexburg, I would like to continue taking lessons with her.

Thanksgiving under the Tetons

Like I said before, I spent this past Thanksgiving in Tetonia with my family. This area will always have a special place in my heart. It is where I grew up and where so many memories were formed, memories that resurface whenever I go back and visit. I was reminded of all the wonderful things I have to be grateful for.
Maybe I am biased, but I think that we have the best view of the Tetons in the whole valley!


Holidays at the Rodrigues home just wouldn't be the same without loads of pie. I counted, and I believe that my Nana has 10 pie dishes as 5 pie servers. Yes, we take our pie very seriously. This Thanksgiving we had five pies plus a cheesecake to feed nine people. Think that's enough?

They were all gone within just a few days!


As evidenced in my last blog post, my sister and I had lots of fun playing with our grandparents' old treasures. This time we pulled out my grandpa's machete and boxing gloves from the garage. These gloves were my grandpa's when he was little and are over 60 years old!

Here are my grandparents' cats (the big, fat, fluffy, cuddly ones I have told you about). Amber and I took lots of pictures with them just to prove to you how huge they are! If cats had a BMI chart, these would definitely be considered obese. haha My grandparents have even cut back their rations but to no avail.

I love them so much!