Nothing to be done

Those familiar with 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett may recognize the distinctive first line (oft-repeated throughout) of the play. Of course, his piece falls in the genre of 'Theater of the Absurd,' so his statement is bit fuller even its very emptiness. Regardless, I submit the following quote as explanation to why I have such a good time with life. 

There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do.

Jerome K. Jerome(1859-1927)

Business majors, eat your heart out

So I totally owe this incredible find to my old roommate, Meridith. Like me, she is also a grad student in the liberal arts, although I'm in Humanities and she's in English. Unlike me, she has written and defended her thesis already... envy, but props to her for being done! And, like anyone who has decided to take a more education-oriented approach to school rather than a trade-oriented approach (and yes, that includes everything from engineering to law to business and any major where you have a specific job once you get a specific degree), we have all heard flak from our peers on why our education and career choices are silly, ridiculous, un-economically-minded, and other such berating comments. It's fun to joke that we'll end up living in cardboard boxes as we contemplate Plato, Thoreau, Brahms, and Nijinsky. In all reality, a mind peopled with great thoughts and aspirations is more fulfilling than a house filled with stuff. I'm quite satisfied with what I've learned (if you ever want to know some interesting history behind why you call people "yahoos" let me know) and I'm quite certain that I will be successful in many possible careers. And, barring any major eruptions or disruptions, I'm quite certain I'll find a job in a few months that will be fulfilling and pay the bills. So, to all those people who think that humanities education is just fun but not useful, check out some of the articles on this website and find out what true education is worth!

Fun things I've done lately...

In March I went on a double-date with Jenny, Fez, and Fez's friend Rowdy. Activity of the day? FLOWRIDING!! I think this is actually a shot of the place in Ogden where we went. I had never been before, but I was hoping that my wakeboard skills might help me out. It took a bit to figure out what board worked for me and then how I needed to work the board to stay up, but I had such a blast! I totally got whiplash from some amazing spills that I took early on, plus some nice bruises. The best part, though, was actually riding the wave! I started off holding onto a rope so I could figure out my balance, then I would toss it back and go solo, like this guy below. Ok, so maybe I wasn't exactly carving the waves, but I had some good moments sans-rope and was really proud of my progress! Woot for trying new things and having a blast with awesome people.

Then, the next weekend, I decided to be impulsive and buy a ticket to see Riverdance. It was on tour through Salt Lake City during General Conference and since I was planning to go north for the weekend anyways, it made sense to take in the show. I bought the best ticket I could find, and it ended up being the perfect seat! I was on the balcony level, first row, and dead center. Of course, I wouldn't have minded being closer so the attractive Irishmen could have flirted with me, but from a critical standpoint I seriously had the best seat ever. The show was absolutely astounding, with an amazing cast of dancers and musicians. Having been preparing my conference paper about Riverdance and healing, it was especially great to experience the actual event, something I'd never done before, despite my love of the style! In addition to the resounding Irish dance, the flamenco dancer was one of the best I've seen, and the tappers were also absolutely wonderful. 

 I can't wait to find more new adventures this spring and summer!

Hitch your wagon to a star.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

My $200 Life Lesson

I think most life lessons we learn come with some kind of a price tag, be that literal or figurative.  Of course, the things that require something of us are generally more valuable because we are invested in them. 


Last Tuesday I had the chance to go to a charity event called "One Day Without Shoes." It was hosted at the Riverwoods, along with another charity for children in Africa. Typical to my nature, I went along with Ananda to hear the free music concert and go to the dance party. I meant to get some money out of my purse to donate, but of course I managed to forget to grab it out before I locked my purse in my trunk. I didn't really feel too bad about that. Ananda donated some money. Part of the incentive for some to donate was that you could enter raffles for free stuff. Since she had donated, I entered my name and hers for a raffle of $200 cash. We had to guess how many golf tees were in the jar. After some mathematical collaboration, we chose 262 for my bid. I wanted Ananda to have her own bid, so I put her down for 273. Then we went over to enjoy the amazing group on stage, not really thinking about the raffle after that. 


After hanging around the fire pits (since it was exceptionally cool and drizzly that night), we headed back closer to the main stage to hear from the charity coordinators and get the dance party started. They raffled off some handmade longboards, then brought out the cash prize. "How many golf tees do you think are in this jar? Some girl won... the total number golf tees is 271." At this point I started cheering, because I was 99% certain that Ananda had won. Sure enough! The announcer butchered her name and she went up to claim the $200. The announcer put the money in her hand, and 2 seconds later she put it into the hands of the charity coordinator. 


I was super impressed. We had talked around the fire about the raffle and what if one of us won it. She had mentioned before that since we didn't come with it, we might as well donate it back and leave it there... that it wasn't really ours. How true that is! Of course, if I had won I probably still would have kept a $20 and given away the rest of it. Suffice it to say, I was really glad that Ananda won. Her simple action will help 6 or 7 young children in Africa for a month: food, school, clothing, safety, etc. I would have most likely done something quite frivolous, enjoying the "free" money and being relatively selfish. 


So thanks, Ananda, for your wonderful example of love and selflessness. I learned a valuable lesson and hope that I can be a better person because of that. 

Why I won't go back to the Festival of Colors

The Hindu temple in Spanish Fork is a bit of a surprise. This exotic building rises out of farmland, set on a hill amongst fields. It's certainly not what you expect to see in that area. If you decide to visit, you'll soon find that it is a beautiful temple used for worship by the Hare Krishna Hindus in Utah. It has a sanctuary area on the top floor, with a cafeteria and shopping area. (They sell beautiful traditional clothes and jewelery.) The man and his wife that oversee the temple and shops are wonderful people - very friendly, welcoming, and happy to share their beliefs and culture with others. I've attended some worship services there and while it's quite different than my typical religious experience, it is very loving and harmonious. 

One of the religious festivals which the Hare Krishna's observe is Holi, or the Festival of Colors. It happens in late March. As with all their festivals, this one features music, drama, and dance performances to entertain the patrons. The music usually is mantra, rather repetitious and not necessarily the most thrilling. The dramas depict stories from the Ramayana or Baghavadgita or other sacred texts. While strongly moralistic, they're very interesting. Of course, my favorite part is the dancing! They generally bring in excellent Indian dancers to perform and its simply wonderful to see them perform. But back to the festival....

So after the entertainment, the mantra-chanting picks up again and an effigy is set on fire. If I remember right, it's the effigy of an evil woman. Then comes the next part of the festival, as it goes in Spanish Fork: the throwing of the colors. Using brightly colored chalk, everyone throws handfuls of color at each other in a frenzied mayhem. The general idea is that at the end, everyone is so covered that there's a sense of equality and harmony. It's supposed to be a very transcendent experience. At the very least, it sure does create a sense of camaraderie!

This was from the first year I attended the festival. It was so fun! These are all folk dance friends, which probably accounts for how we knew about the festival. At that point in time, not many people knew about the festival and it was only attended by a group of a few hundred. As dancers, we cared about the culture and story of the festival as much as we enjoyed shmearing each other with chalk!

And then Facebook happened. And people started coming because it sounded cool (which it is). But they didn't care that it was a religious festival. That there were people there celebrating part of their culture and religion, not just trying to manufacture a spring break of sorts for their dreary winter. I went to the festival three years in a row, and by the third year, I had decided that I didn't care to go back (after the 2009 festival). Mostly because it bothered me how other people treated the culture and celebration. It was all ignorance and selfishness. The temple makes a lot of money now from the festival, which is awesome! But I'll stick to the other festivals and celebrations they have. 

Festival of Colors was super fun! But at some point, I believe that authenticity and respect should come into play. I feel like BYU students have appropriated this festival to be their own little spring break, where their behaviour can be wild and crazy and there are no consequences. Their callousness is a disrespect to the religious observance, as well as the Hare Krishnas who come to celebrate in true belief. Maybe that makes me a snob, but oh well if it does. 

And that's why I don't go to the Festival of Colors anymore. 

He's Just Not That Into You

I used to hate the sound of this book. And I especially hated when people would hear my dating stories and spout off that phrase. Still, I decided that I ought to give the concept a fair trial, so I borrowed a censored copy of the  book. (Some sections don't directly apply to LDS dating standards.) It was all right. It had some good points. My dislike for the concept lessened. A little. 

It wasn't until I went through another relationship setback that I truly appreciated the philosophy in this fabulous lime green and hot pink book. Like they say in the beginning, it may be hard to hear this but it really is life-changing!! He is just not that into you. And that is a good thing because we women deserve someone who is into us.  Take my roommate: she started dating this guy a few months before he left the state for grad school. They started meeting halfway between states on the weekends, then finally he just started driving back here twice, sometimes three times  a month. Now that is what love looks like. And they're getting married this summer. 

Now, I don't really need someone to drive 20 hours each weekend to prove they are into me, but there are some basic tenets discussed in the book. And I've decided that not enough people have read this book. It would make dating so much easier! It's like the first chapter says: if he's not calling you, he's just not that into you. So move on! Someone out there will be into you and will do everything in his power to show that. Girls need to read this book and chill out about "the game." And it wouldn't hurt if guys read it too! 

If I ever get to send a girl off to college, I'm packing this book for her. 

(And thanks for sending me my copy, mom!)