GRASSHOPPER UPDATE

I should leave out information more often; I get more comments...

Ben wanted everyone to know that when he 'agreed' to eat the grasshopper, he didn't really think he'd have to. I guess his friend Ben said something like, "If I eat a grasshopper, will you?" and then it wasn't until near the end of class, that the other Ben did the deed. I guess everyone looked to our Ben, expectedly--being familiar the agreement.

"So I picked it up, closed my eyes & just crunched into it. So bitter!"

I guess he spit it out without swallowing it.

So, Amie, I think Ben is both brave and silly.
And no, Manders, he had brushed his teeth by the time he saw me and kissed me.
So you can see, Ann, that it was the REAL thing.
Yes, Rebecca: yuck!
Janette! Hello! I'm reminded of you often as Ben moves through 'your' major. It was your favorite class, really? I think Ben enjoys it. I would...

And I think that's all the info I left out. Any more questions?

GRAPHIC DESIGN ACCORDING TO PAUL RAND

1 GRASSHOPPER, 0 OVERCOATS

Last week, Ben ate a grasshopper as a sort-of dare/bet with a funny friend (also named Ben) in his plant classification class. He said it was bitter.

Today, I pulled my long-sleeved shirt & pants out of a 'winter bin' and then considered also taking my orange coat. I didn't. I'm regretting it because the outside is cold. I'm inside & I'm still cold.

OUCH

This past week I've been pimpled. Hideously and annoyingly hurting me, even just by slight movement. I've done my best not to pick at it, but with so much sit-around-and-listen-to-lecture time, I must admit it's been hard. (Oh, and last week I was plagued by a similar fate on the other side of the lip.)

A TAD PERSONAL...

To an extent I believe I have felt as one who is poor in spirit for I don't know how long. But today I'm feeling as if I have been mended, (after a due process of occasionally painful learning & growth).

Read this & then click to read more:

"The first words Jesus spoke in His majestic Sermon on the Mount were to the troubled, the discouraged and downhearted. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 1 Whether you are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or among the tens of thousands listening this morning who are not of our faith, I speak to those who are facing personal trials and family struggles, those who endure conflicts fought in the lonely foxholes of the heart, those trying to hold back floodwaters of despair that sometimes wash over us like a tsunami of the soul. I wish to speak particularly to you who feel your lives are broken, seemingly beyond repair."

RECEPTION

Real quick...

You should all just click here and click through the links to find over 300 stunning photos of our reception 2 weeks ago. Make sure you have a minute to browse, it's not just a click & look thing. You'll have to soak some stuff in. Plus, there's a bunch.

It is Ashley Thalman's incredible work. She captured our reception (and all other previous wedding festivities) and the very best way. I thank her DEEPLY. These images mean a lot to me & I couldn't have asked for more!

A RE-DESIGN

Aside from being, ahem, our one-month anniversary today, it is also the day that a BFA Graphic Design Final Show opened on campus. This is an example of something I'll have to do before graduating. This is the cool way that Keenan Cummings approached it: re-designing the Daily Universe, the campus newspaper. It is quite an intricate, intelligent process. Check out the companion site to the proposed new look of the paper at thedailydiscussion.com.

SCHOOL HAS BEGUN

This semester is just as I expected: super-exciting & fun, but incredibly intimidating and scary.

A little taste of my experience:

Adrian's class: He told us we needed to have several magazine subscriptions, and that if we didn't have enough money--Christmas is coming. (wink-wink! on my wish list: Good, Communication Arts, Graphis, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Seeing The Everyday, among others...)

Brent's class: He told us we should all surf the net at least one hour a day; that we should have a blog & update it often. (I should repent on that one).

Eric's class: He gave us an assignment, then told us to set it aside while we focus on a commission from FontShop. That's right, BYU design students were asked to work on a project an international design corporation. Kewl.

Puppetry class: We made 2 puppets already. The assignments were an animal sock puppet and a person sock puppet. I made an octopus, and what Ben called a "homeless-looking guy". Pictures to come.

Spanish class: It's fun to use the language again. But it's my only class I have to go buy a book for at the text place, and we use the online "Blackboard" system. Not a fan. I'm also taking it with a good mission buddy, Jayrin Farley. I love her; thus I love my time in that class.

Wayne Kimball's Litho class: I've always been really intrigued by the lithography process. Wayne Kimball is a master printer and is about to retire, thus I figured I better get in on it now. But it's a lot of work & doesn't really count to anything, so I decided to just audit. It also only lasts about a month and a half, but I've already learning a bunch in just 2 class periods. Wayne's great. It's just dangerous for me to audit because I tend to stop attending since I know it doesn't affect a grade. Levi's going to help me just learn & print though. That's what I wanna do...

To be continued (for TWO more years)...