Ha-bleh-mos

Hola, amigos/gringos...

Today's my last day not working on a Friday. Next week I move to a five-day workweek again (gag.) I love this four days a week thing.

My sisters visited last week! They were quick to remind me that their trip must be blogged about, so that's coming soon. It was great to have them here. They taught me how to Dutch braid and I taught them about Illinois. We spent a lot of nights just hanging out, talking about nothing and everything. It was awesome. I miss them. The apartment is a lot quieter now. And less full of stuff. (They were great houseguests and packed light, but still, we were definitely pushing the limit for how many people we could fit in here.)

My friends all had their babies! And they're all cute. Good job, friends.

Me and C are still debating on what/if we'll participate in our ward talent show. We'd like to do something funny, but not stupid. It's a fine line to walk. The sisters helped us brainstorm while they were out here, so we'll see if we can make it work. The ward has been clamoring (seriously, clamoring) for us to do something. I think they're just starved for entertainment. PLUS annoying choir/organist guy is performing multiple musical numbers at said talent night. Multiple! *eyeroll* When my sisters came to church with us a couple weeks ago, during his opening prelude one of my sisters leaned over and whispered, "It's like we're in a haunted house!" It is eerily accurate. I haven't been able to get through a meeting where he's playing without snickering since. "Ere you left your haunted house this morning..."

I know. I'm the worst.

***Warning: Nerdiness Ahead!***

"What a nerd alert..."

I tried to teach C the central dogma of biology yesterday, and it turned into spending the whole evening talking about DNA, RNA, proteins, and replication strategies. I loved it. I felt dumb though, since I hadn't thought about it in like two years and I was embarrassed at how I forgot certain details. Ever since we visited the Field Museum last week I've been in high-gear Bio mode. Science is awesome, guys. Don't let anyone tell you differently. BUT I was sad at how little I remembered of some of the things I enjoyed studying back at BYU. Never again! I must keep my Bio knowledge strong!

But why was C talking about biology? Because in his internship, he's going to be studying E coli exclusively (!!!) Thankfully, he won't be touching it or dealing with the actual organism itself, just studying statistically where E coli is most likely to be on beaches in Chicago, but still. Awesome, right?

Plus, those science cat memes are awesome.

Seriously, I'm laughing out loud here. 

I've been reading a lot more lately. I've always loved reading and somehow I'd kind of fallen off the reading wagon these last few months, which is really sad. This week, I finished two books to make up for it - The Secret Life of the American Musical and Friday Night Lights.  American Musical was okay, nothing to get all excited about. I got it because I was interested in learning more about the musicals I like, but the book is basically about the musicals the author likes, as he describes generally how musicals work and the purpose of each song and where it goes in the timing of the thing. It was mostly entertaining, but I'm definitely glad I can return that sucker to the library.

The real kicker was Friday Night Lights. For those of you who are like "Oh hey, that sounds familiar," it's because the show "Friday Night Lights" on NBC was based on this book. Me and C had tried to get into the show, but quit after about 10 episodes because we didn't really like it. Although I was so happy when Matt Saracen and Julie Taylor got together. I mean, come on! They're adorable. 

Anyway, so I had heard the book was much different from the show, and I figured that could only be a good thing. So I picked this one up on Thriftbooks to get the free shipping (seriously guys, Thriftbooks is the best if you're needing books on the cheap), and I gave it a try. Most of you know that I have a rudimentary knowledge of football, based on typing hours and hours of it at work and going to games at BYU (although let's be real, I was there to socialize, eat Costa Vida, and make fun of the band, both before and after I knew C was in it.) I was worried this book would be a little *too* football-y though, and it wouldn't be great because of it.

Thank goodness I was wrong. This book was really good. I think that anyone could read it and enjoy it, even if they weren't into football. It goes through a season of football at Permian High School, a school located in Odessa, a small town in east Texas. Odessa was a huge town at the height of the oil boom for a few years, but when the oil crash happened in 1986, most of the town went bankrupt. Now, the biggest thing that happens in Odessa is Permian football, or "Mojo Football" as they call it. The book follows several team members throughout the course of the season as you find out what Mojo football means to the team, the town, the coaches, and the entire state of Texas. Racism, economics, and other social issues are discussed in detail without feeling too heavy. I would say the majority of the book is not about football at all, but the social, economic, and racial mindsets of a generic town in West Texas. It was fascinating. I have to minus it a few points for language reasons, but it was a good read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a little about football and a lot about life in Texas. I'm kind of sad it's over. 

Now though, I've got to get back to writing for the CBMR. I wrote a review that will be up on the review next month, but I need to get my next book done. I also checked out a book on how to make baby booties look like unicorns and strawberries and all sorts of cute things, so I'm excited to try that. Football games make for great crochet time!

-K