Back in Happy Valley.

Hello all.


I have been thoroughly chastised. Thus I am writing a post. Honestly it is not that I have not had anything interesting going on in my life--I just plead a forgetful mind.





For all who don't already know, my research time in Seattle has ended and I am back in Happy Valley once again for my last year of BYU. I started a new job at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures (the MPC). If you have never heard of this museum before, you are not alone... it is in the Allen Building south of campus near Brick Oven. Literally, on a hot day (so every day here) you can smell the gourmet pizza from up the street and then you can imagine the freshly brewed root beer ready to wash it down... almost makes my daily EasyMac unbearable. Almost. I have actually come to like the stuff. Well really I think that EMac and I have come to an understanding--almost a partnership. I need sustenance, it is quick, easy, and cheap...and with enough water to wash it down, the filmy leftovers of the almost plastic "cheese" on my teeth are minimal. Partnership is too strong...it is just an understanding.


I digress.


My job has been good. Not thrilling, but good none-the-less. I am currently working with two different areas: collections (not like the sheriff of Nottingham and money--more like Indiana Jones and artifacts) and education. In collections they saw me coming and said "Oooh...a new girl! (Devious little grins on Heidi and Tammy's faces) What can we do to torture her? Loans! Perfect." Really? Why would they do something like that? Thus when I work my collections hours I spend my time entering loans into the computer, fixing problems from before I was born, and pestering Heidi and Paul with impossible unanswerable questions (my little time to get back for putting me on loans). For real though, I don't mind it. I get to chat with them all day and feel like I actually know what I am doing. I'm glad they did not give me exhibition files--those look frightening...


The other part of my time I spend working with the education people. I have decided these people are the creativity of the museum. I am excited to get to learn from them. I helped (ok...watched--or "observed" rather) with the children's program called Mornings at the Museum (on Thursday however it is in the afternoon...we need to do something about that). This was fun. We pretended that we were archaeologists today and dug up beads, shells, and sherds (pottery pieces) that we put together into a pot. Kids are great. I also have a project that I am working on that is looking at all the courses taught by BYU and seeing how they might relate to the MPC. Long and tedious, but fun to find stretching correlations--I am good at those (weight lifting 101: Come and learn about building a pyramid!)...and so forth.





I moved into a new apartment as well. I have met two of my roommates and they are wonderful. They are putting up with all the stuff I brought into the apartment (NICOLE'S LOAD). But I have to keep friends somehow... There are two main attractions for me. First, I can now confidently spend my quarters wherever I like because we have a washer and dryer in the unit. Second, my car has luxury underground parking. My car smiles at me every afternoon that it does not have to be sunbathing.





The latest excitement in my life of work and research was the 4th of July weekend. I spent it with my best friend--Jill--and her family. Her parents just finished building their amazingly beautiful home up in the mountains. We spent the whole day (after the parade) eating and in the pool. Can't get much better than that. Jill and I both debuted our new swimming suits--mine is strawberry pink (I know shocker--and I even had the option of black...don't know what came over me), and Jill's is eggplant purple. We did watch fireworks that night, but I was so tired I really did not give them the attention they deserved.

Well...I think that is sufficient for now. Hope you all enjoy the update...