The Wonders of NH3

One time at work we had to test some containers to see if the coating on the inside would absorb ammonia. To do this, we put some ammonium hydroxide in the container and looked at the gas analyzer to see how quickly the levels of ammonia went back to being normal. We did this in the growth chambers in the Widtsoe Building on campus. By the time we took the lid off the ammonia hydroxide, put one drop in the container with an eye dropper and closed the bottle, the room was filled with the suffocating smell of ammonia. We ran out of the room as fast as we could.

I don't know why I didn't think about this experience as I stood in front of the different types of anti-itch stuff. There were various chemicals made for rubbing on your skin. I saw one that was liquid, whose application was the only one that did not include getting it all over your fingers. Since I was buying this at the BYU bookstore and planned to be putting this stuff all over my legs for the next couple of days, I figured this would be the best choice. After receiving about 20 mosquito bites Sunday night, my focus was only on getting relief as quickly as possible, so I spent very little time contemplating the exact contents of these products. As I ripped open the little box and began to rub it over the red welts, the previous experience rushed to my mind as the fumes of ammonia, which turns out to be the active ingredient of this product, reached my olfactory receptors.

It is for this reason I am walking around reeking of ammonia. So much for getting a date the first week of school...

A New Year

I think I have mentioned this before, but I believe the beginning of a new school year is more deserving of a New Year celebration party than December 31. The days go from frenzied and random to scheduled and organized, the season changes from Summer to Autumn, everyone is moving and changing apartments; the air is just filled with new and exciting experiences just waiting to be had. With this spirit of new things, I even changed my blog. I hope you like it.

And, of course, as with all New Years, I have some resolutions.

1. First of all, I am going to try harder to date. I know, I know. Gross. SUPER GROSS. But it must be done. I can't live my life thinking I never really tried. So I'm going to try for a little while and then give up forever and just further my career. Which leads me to number 2.
2. Decide my career. Or not even that. Just decide what I'm going to do after I graduate. I can get a job, which would require me to decide what job I want, then try to get it. Or I could go to graduate school, which would require me to decide where to go and what to do for research, and what job to get after I graduate with my masters. Current status: no idea.
3. Keep my room clean. So far this summer, my room has been more often messy than clean. It's been pretty bad; even for me. So from now on it must be clean.
4. Keep up with homework. Ideally I will be able to get it done nightly, but that may not be the case, and in fact, it probably will not happen. But I can try, right?
5. Make new friends. Too often I get comfortable with where I am that I don't try to reach out and form new friendships. It's been "Lexi and Chelsea: Against the World" for so long that I have little reason to become more than just acquaintances with other people.
6. Work out at least 3 times every week. After 30 Days of Madness, in which Lexi and I exercised every day for 30 days, I should be able to handle three days a week.

I think that should do it. I don't want to overwhelm myself on the first day.

"I'd Rather Be In Idaho Than Any Other Place I Know...

... Ida - Ida - Ho! Ida - Ida - Ho! Hey!"

I have been home for less than 24 hours and I have been to concerts, gone to the Western Idaho State Fair, eaten at the fair, soaked in the hot tub, sat in the massage chair, gone golfing, driven the new scooter and am now on my way to go boating.

All with my... parents?

Yup.

Welcome to my life.

Abuse Report

I've recently been noticing that people abuse their ability to update their statuses (stati?) on Facebook. Really, there are all kinds of abuses that could be reported:

• People who update their status 500 times each day.
• People who write nothing but menial things of little to no value.
• People who write nothing but inspirational quotes.
• People who write nothing but inside jokes.

Here's the one that worries me the most:

People who write only about how they are depressed. For example:

• "Tryin real hard to keep it all together.... truely hoping to come out ontop of this."
• "I cant take this.... I cant do this...."
• "I really wish you werent so selfish all the time. I came home for you. I am still home for you. This is dumb."
• "Maybe someday you'll see everything I am.... see everything I have...."

First of all, if this person was just blowing off steam, I might suggest a less public form of therapy. Like a journal or something. Second, I must ask: does this person actually require aid of some sort? Which brings into question the legitimacy of our Facebook friendship. Is it my responsibility to provide that aid? I mean, technically we are friends, but are we really friends? This snowballs into a huge paradoxical crucible - the kind that leaves you more confused than before you had started thinking about it and you have to stop thinking about it because your brain is beginning to hurt. Ok, maybe not. But it is because of this reason, or perhaps a less exaggerated form of this reason, that I leave these, my quasi friends, to the care of their other Facebook friends.

And then I write about it on my blog.

The Winning Catch

Last weekend I went to California with some friends from High School. We went to the US Open of Surf, Coastal Carnage (skateboarding and BMX competitions), and a Weezer concert on the beach for free! It was totally awesome. While at the Weezer concert people were throwing water bottles across the crowd, as they usually do. This is not one of my favorite aspects of a concert, but whatever. As I was rocking out, I noticed a Gatorade bottle hurling towards my head. Here's where it gets intense:

I raised my hand in the air to catch it.

It spins around so that it Gatorade splashes in my face

I am forced to close my eyes.

My hand closed around the bottle, right-side up.

People cheered for me and I raised the bottle up victoriously and the crowd went wild. I'm surprised the camera man didn't get it on tape. But luckily I had my friend, Brian, take this picture with me and the infamous Gatorade bottle.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!

I was just on Facebook and I decided to see if there was anyone I wanted to speak with on chat. (Unfortunately it seems I try to avoid more people than I try to talk to.) After clicking on the little box on the bottom of the screen, I was informed that there were only three people online. I thought, "How can there only be three people online?!"

Then I realized it is Saturday night. Most people do things other than Facebook on Saturday night.

Most people...

The Best Decision Ever Made.

Lately I've been feeling old. I woke up this morning with my leg hurting to high heaven (I've never used this expression before, so I hope I did it correctly). In addition to this, I have been getting sleepy earlier and earlier. For example, it is now 9:41 and I plan on going to bed as soon as I write this. So, to remedy this small life crisis, I did a little therapeutic shopping. You may be wondering what exactly I bought. Don't worry, this did not include a trip to Nordstrom or anywhere near the mall, really. I went to Smith's. Partially because I needed groceries; partially because I wanted this:

Let me tell you a little story about Cocoa Puffs and me. When I was little I always asked if we could buy them and I was always answered with, "No one likes them but you." I always had to wait for a camping trip or some other event that would require my family to buy this. Then, and only then, could I taste the wonderfully sugar-high educing, chocolate milk making, sorry excuse for a food item that is Cocoa Puffs. After growing up with a Cocoa Puff-deprived childhood one of my first purchases as an independent college student was a box of Cocoa Puffs. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

As I drove home in my car eating the Cocoa Puffs that I had just bought, from the box that I had savagely opened while walking out of the store, I felt again the satisfaction of having made a good decision. One of the best, in fact.

Work

Today I am at work. In the soils lab. I've decided that our slogan should be:

The BYU Soils Lab: where we grow grass and weed and grind all day.

Just throwing it out there...