Sharing the Love

Yesterday we had the opportunity to hear from Cardinal Francis George of the Catholic church. It was an awesome experience! He is truly a good man with the same desires and hopes for our nation that a lot of members of my faith (the LDS Church) share. It is wonderful that these two faiths, which have not always been so friendly, can get together and work together on issues that are so important right now. Together we can fight to defend the family from the forces that threaten this fundamental unit of society.

We are not a society of individuals, but a society of families.

May fellow Christians not be passive or afraid to stand up for what they believe in, and work hand-in-hand with each other, rather than against each other.

This is the letter that we got from our Academic Vice President after the forum:

Dear Friends,

After Tuesday’s Forum Cardinal George expressed deep appreciation for the warm reception he received from BYU. He was impressed by the attendance, by your apparent interest in the topic, and by the courtesy you extended a religious leader from another faith. He asked us if we truly appreciate how remarkable you are. We do! I want to thank you for your attendance at this event. I hope and trust that you were enriched by your participation in the Forum.

Thank you!

John Tanner
Academic Vice President

El Proyecto

Okay, so I decided to make a whole new blog for my Mexican food experience. I figured it might dominate my personal blog... so CLICK HERE to go to it!

I'm going to try and make it interesting, so you will still want to keep up :)

Love,

Anna

COMIDA MEXICANA!!!!!!

Okay, so I have a new goal.

One of my favoritest goals I've ever had on my life and you are soon to find out why.

I am going to try and eat at EVERY Mexican food place in Provo. And yes, I'm blogging it. There will be beans. There will be rice. There will be pictures. There will be SALSA. Excited yet?

I'm going to start as if I hadn't eaten at a single Mexican restaurant in Provo. Here is my list:

El Azteca
Bajio
Cafe Del Sol
Cafe Rio
Casa Maya Taqueria y Grill
That one place on state street that I can't remember what it's called but it starts with a "C"
Chunga's
Costa Vida
Del Taco (Yes, it counts)
Diego's
El Gallo Giro
Grill Mex
Los Hermanos
Jacinto's
Joe Vera's
Lenito's
Mexsal
Ozz (it now has Mexican food...)
El Pastorero
Qdoba
Rancherito's
Rosa's Restaurant
Rubio's
Taco Bell
Taco-n-tent
Taco Riendo
Tacos y Mariscos Guanajuato
Las Tarascas
The taqueria on state street at the gas station

...and that's my list so far. I'm keeping my eye out for those little hidden restaurants, so this list could grow. Man this is going to be fun.

Life Plans

So... what are my life plans?

I've always been a planner. Goal-setter. I've always been ambitious. I'm not trying to braaaag or anything... it's just always been me. I've never been one to wander aimlessly not knowing what I'm going to do in life.

1. Go to college.
2. Become a doctor.
3. Go on a mission.
4. Get married 6 months later.
5. Have 5 kids (maybe more, also adopt some).
6. Be an awesome mom/wife (not to mention good cook).
7. Be successful, live in a comfortable home, have a happy family.
8. Promote world peace.
9. Go on as many more missions as I can.
10. Die.
11. Celestial Kingdom.

It seems like a great plan. So, you might ask, where am I on that life plan? Well, I've almost got the first one checked off. Second one I realized was not for me... we won't even talk about 4 or 5... #3 I can check off! Yay! OKAY, so I've got one of those done. Hallelujah!

I know now, thankfully, I can't plan my life. Do I still try to? Yes. Are there some things I can plan? Yes. Are there some things I most definitely can't plan? YES! Am I okay with that? Sometimes. But I'm learning. There are things that I really want right now. Okay, fine. But there are so many things I have right now that make me so happy. I LOVE school. I LOVE my job. I LOVE my friends.

I don't want to get so caught up in planning or waiting for what's next that I forget what's happening today. I love that I just got my butt kicked on a Shakespeare exam. I've got one time in my life that I get to experience that. Now. I love that I'm running on caffeine because I didn't get hardly any sleep last night. Not sure if I should count on that never happening again... but still. I live once. I'm going to enjoy it.

I don't know exactly what's going to happen.

If you ask me, I'll probably tell you that.

If you ask me why, I won't.

I don't know.

But I love my life.

PCR (No, not Polymerase Chain Reaction)

I had to define a slang word for one of my classes that is used particularly among a specific group, and so I picked on my missionaries. This was actually a really fun assignment, so I share it with y'all.



PCR: An acronym that stands for "Pop Culture Reference" (though it may stand for "Polymerase Chain Reaction" among biologists). LDS missionaries in the Provo Missionary Training Center use this acronym when identifying allusions to any type of popular culture--movies, music, TV shows, etc. The reason it may have become popular among this group is that they are young men training to become servants of the Lord, with their focus completely shifting from things of the world. During the transition, it becomes necessary to identify when one dabbles back in the things of the world.

This term may be used in several different ways. For one, it may be used as a corrective measure from one missionary to another, i.e., "Elder Smith, you need to stop dropping PCR's, at least in front of the teacher" (said following a recognizable quote from a popular film). Some may even use the term to self-correct, "I made a goal to stop using so many PCR's because it's distracting me from my purpose." It may also be used in exclusion of certain groups of missionaries, as some see a lack of knowledge of PCR's as equivocating social awkwardness:

Elder Johnson: "That was a sweet PCR Elder Smith!"
Elder Anderson: "I didn't even realize that was a PCR."
Elder Johnson: "Did you live in a hole before you got here?"

Though this term is generally used and understood among this group, newcomers are often confused by its use. Its use marks one as having spent sufficient time in the Missionary Training Center to understand the meaning. Some outsiders are also often confused by its use, especially when they don't understand why it would be such a big deal to use a PCR. It is a very useful term among missionaries, however, in that it helps them recognize when they are being secular rather than spiritual.

Doppleganger Week

Doppleganger: German for twin.

That's why it's so crazy with the celebrity thing this week! Glad I understand. I thought the world was going crazy. Oh, Facebook.