She Ruined My Finals!

I am very happy to say that I have taken my last final for the semester. Unlike some of my lucky friends I won't be graduating for awhile, but it is nice to be able to look forward to summer vacation.

Typically I don't stress big tests. I've always been one of those really annoying people who tests really well without even studying. Sadly, I have noticed that this is a skill that depreciates with age. Of course, even though I know this, I still don't prepare properly for tests.

This semester I only had two finals worth stressing about. I didn't prepare, and both of these tests turned out to be worse than I thought they would be. I took the last of these tests today, and before the professor was finished handing out the exam, I knew that I was in for a difficult time. About halfway through the test I accepted that the lack of preparation on my part was going to be reflected in my test score, so I resigned myself to be happy about the only other part of the test that could bring me joy: finishing first.

A brief side story: Earlier this semester I read a book called Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies. The book was relatively forgettable, except for two things. First, the story is told from two perspectives, so after you finish reading one character's story, you flip the book over and read about it from the other character's perspective. Second, and the relevant part for this post, this quote:

"There are few greater joys in life than finishing a test before anyone else."

I never really thought that other people shared in this joy, but I assume that is because I usually finish first, so I only see anger on other's faces as I get up to hand in the test.

Back to today: Knowing that I was bombing the test (luckily it doesn't amount to much of the final grade, so don't worry, my grade will survive), I was finishing my final thoughts on the last answer, about to stand up, when a girl at the table next to me got up and handed in her test! I was furious! I am still furious! She ruined my day. I can handle not doing well on a test, but to not do well and not finish first. She may have ruined the entire semester, for this is going to be my final memory of Spring '09.

Random Stuff about Pregnancy

Just a few little things I want to say about pregnancy before we actually have a baby and all of this will seem trivial:

What is the deal with the weeks thing? My whole life anytime anyone talks about pregnancy it is in terms of months. Mom would tell stories that begin with, "When I was 6 months pregnant...", or women would complain that the first 3 months were agonizing because of the morning sickness, and so on. All of a sudden Elisha gets pregnant and no one counts by months anymore. It's "we found out at eight weeks" or "how many more weeks" or "we get to find out what we're having at twenty-two weeks." What happened to months? I know how many months it takes to have a baby. I know what month we're on. I don't have a clue what week we're on, especially because it changes so often. Months are nice, they stick around for awhile.

Ultra-sounds: Not as bad as I thought, the second time around anyway. So we go in to get the twenty something week ultra-sound, you know the one when you find out what you're having. Wanna know how Elisha reacted when we found out we are having a boy? Yeah, me too! I couldn't see her! Yeah, lousy experience. Our tech wasn't that horrible, but she wasn't that nice either. To start with, we walk into the room, the machine is right between a chair and a bed. The tech points to the chair and tells me to have a seat. So, for the whole experience there is a big huge machine between me and Elisha so I don't get to see how she reacts when we find out it's a boy. (There was a TV on the wall so both of us could see the images.)

Speaking of having a boy. Look at this ultra-sound and tell me what gender the baby is:


I know that the scan is hard to see, but let me reassure you, in person it's not much better. When I asked her if she was sure, she said, "I've been doing this for a long time." Well let me tell ya lady, if you'd been doing this for a long time you should have known that you had a father on your hands that wanted a bit more reassurance.

We went back in for another ultra-sound a couple of weeks later for different reasons, but this tech was much nicer and when I asked her to re-verify the gender, she gladly did so:

I still haven't updated either blog about the baby showers, but I would like to take a moment to recognize another really awesome gift that we received. The previous post about baby stuff was more about orange things, and not necessarily about the best of the best when it comes to baby gifts. (If I don't mention what you gave us, I apologize, I don't mean any offense)

This gift set comes to us from our dear friends Brittney and Clyde, although I'm sure Brittney really deserves the credit. We have the really awesome book:

The play toy to go with it:

And various other things that all came in this bin, that was awesomely decorated to tie the theme together.

When we received this gift, I didn't show the proper appreciation for it. I thought that it was a set of really cute things, and was impressed that the bright colors matched those of our nursery. What I didn't know at the time was that this is the ultimate of all children's stories, nor did I know that this was all stuff Elisha had registered for.

I doubt that any of you are questioning who this Eric Carle guy is, but apparently he is to children's literature, as Stephen King is to popular horror; John Grisham to courtroom thrillers; Robert Cormier to young adult literature.

Without this knowledge I was kinda like: "oh, cool."

Then I realized that it is like when I tell people that I have Robin Lively's autograph. (Also supplied by Brittney and Clyde.)

Most people go: "oh, cool." But they have no idea how really cool it is because they don't know who Robin Lively is. Once I tell you, you will still be kinda like "oh, cool," but then when you watch this clip and remember seeing Teen Witch back when you were a kid, you'll go I remember now, and then you will be more like: "Holy cow, how did you get her autograph? That is awesome!" And if you didn't see the movie as a kid, you will watch that clip, and it will haunt you until you borrow the movie from me, or Netflix, and then you will appreciate the awesomeness of my auto-graphed picture.

The same way that I now appreciate Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the gifts that came with it.

Gimme a "J"

Some people have wondered if I am serious about the whole cheerleading thing. So here is some insight into the whole situation.

I am a Dixie State College cheerleader, or I will be next year, anyway.

A quick clarification of the boy cheerleading duties: I don't dance! Okay, now that that is clear I will explain some of the wonderful reasons why I decided to add to my crazy schedule.

There are multiple reasons that I have decided to do this (some people have asked):

• Physical fitness: It takes a lot to throw people around. In the short amount of time that I have been working on this I have realized that I need to get into better shape, and I'm actually doing something about it instead of just talking about it.
• Resume builder: Kathy hit this nail on the head. I want to be the valedictorian when I graduate with my bachelor's degree. Typically they don't notice students that sit quietly in classrooms and go home to their homework. I need to get recognized, and the more clubs I'm in the better.
  
• Social networking: I have made some great connections in the worlds of English and education. There are a lot of other kind of people out there, and you never know who will be able to further your career. You can say what you want about cheerleaders, but usually anti-social is not a term used to describe them.
• Vicarious living, sort of: When I was in high school three of my better friends were guys on the cheer squad. I spent most of my free time with them and the girls on the team. Back then I didn't try out for a variety of reasons, but I really wish I did. So I spent the year being a vicarious cheerleader. I recently saw a T-shirt that said: "Live vicariously through yourself." I don't know if the shirt was trying to be funny or make a statement, but I thought about it and I guess what that is what I am doing now.
• Proving that I'm not too old: When I saw the tryout poster, I joked around about trying out. Most people laughed at me and said I was too old. I don't like being told that I can't do something.

And finally:

• Because I really want to. I've always been really competitive with myself. I prefer the types of games and sports in which achievement is measured by personal improvement, and that is what cheerleading is for boys. You try to do a stunt, and you fail. So you try it again. You get a little better, and so on. Once you've mastered a stunt you move on to the next level. It's really cool.
  

Hey, at least I'm unique. How many thirty-something year-old, English-major, married-with-children cheerleaders do you know?

Orange and Babies!

I finished my Shakespeare paper, so as promised: A new post!

I actually should try and put together a post about all the baby showers for our other blog, but I don't have that kind of time yet. So I will use this post to show you what I feel are the best parts of the showers.

Some of you may remember that I was kinda hoping for a girl, and that I was not disappointed, but excited in a different way about having a boy. Well, one thing that has helped my excitement shoot through the roof is the color orange. If you know me well, you know that this is my favorite color, and if you didn't know that, pay closer attention to what I wear and you'll figure it out. Fortunately, orange is a gender neutral color so no matter what, my baby is going to be in orange...a lot. The part where it's exciting to have a boy: Boy orange is the bright orange that I love, girl orange is the pastel orange that I love a little less.

So, while we have received quite a few outfits with orange in them, this one is by far my favorite. I love the stripes, the elbow patches, and the dressy-ness. I have no idea how old he'll have to be before he's big enough to wear this, but until then it can be a blanket or something.

The other awesome part of the baby showers is our awesome crib stuff (I haven't learned all the technical lingo yet). Elisha picked out the fabric for the bumpers, and her mom made them for us. Then, awesomely enough, she bought the beautiful bright orange sheet for the crib that makes the package look awesome! Especially if you like orange. Sorry for the messed up picture angle.

Hope you have enjoyed the orange induced happiness. Back to homework for me!