New Orleans

Oh hai! Megan here. Yes, I still exist. I was almost swallowed up by the terror of finals, but I came out victorious. Miracles happen, people. I am still not out of the woods quite yet, but I have done the worst of the things. There were many things.

So 'bout three weeks ago I went to New Orleans! True story. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 We took a six-hour flight with one stop and one layover. The skies that day were ferocious, and having watched the first episode of LOST not 48 hours before, I was a bit terrified. Turbulence is a fun feeling when you're riding a roller coaster, but when you're on a plane, no bueno.

Apparently it was stripe day.

New Orleans has great book stores. Great book stores have cats.

 Beautiful architecture

The streetcar that we took. We inadvertently toured...

...the garden district. A beautiful place where there are gorgeous homes and, of course, gardens.

Pralines are said "PRAW-leens" They're super sweet. But my favorite sweet things in NOLA were...

Beignets! Imagine a scone and a hootnannie (AKA German Pancake) are madly in love and they have a child. Imagine that child is sprinkled with so much powdered sugar that it looks like the snow on the top of the Himalayas.  This is a beignet. Because of the amount of daily powdered sugar avalanches that occur in this 24-hour, seven days a week joint, the flour is caked in the white stuff. It's a bit sick, actually. But those man-catching beignets are divine.

You guys... this is the Mississippi river. I'm not sure if this picture is on the East or West side of it (it's nigh impossible to judge directions without mountains, mmmkay?) The point is, I know that I did cross this mighty river. So I HAVE BEEN EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. This fact is so wonderful, I put it in caps. Big deal for me. I'm just happy this has happened. By the way, this river is gross and big, but it's an American legend so you just have to love it anyway.

The true reason for going to NOLA -- the conference. There was a lot about grammar. You just had to be there. If I told you all the things I learned, you'd probably be super bored. But suffice it to say, I was entertained and enlightened by grammar nerds from all around the country.

New Orleans is loud and windy.

I wish I got a better picture of Cassandra, our instructor for the cooking class we took. The food was delicious and it was prepared before our very eyes. We had unlimited lemonade and as she cooked, she talked about the history of the area and how it related to cooking. Add that in with an amazing accent and charm, and you have the most adorable cooking class ever!

 The Audubon Aquarium was fantastic because it had beautiful sea horses and jellyfish, among other exciting sea things.

Oh the trees in Audubon Park! Their branches bend low to the ground, and some go underneath the ground and come back up again. How this happens I do not know.

Live Oaks.
I loved being in Louisiana for a million reasons, some of which being that it was hot (and I heard it snowed back home); Sam was once here, and it made me feel that much more connected to him and his past (he served a mission in Louisiana, although he never served in New Orleans); I loved being with my Chrony friends and getting a break from school for a few days; I loved learning about copy editing and journalism. The conference was really great.

I want to give a big thank-you to everyone who helped us get to NOLA. It was real.

-Meg

21

Today, I would appreciate it if you would do something for me. Donate to your favorite charity, do your homework, smile at strangers, go the extra mile, protect free speech, floss, visit a nursing home, don't swear, wash your hands, refill someone's meter, write a thank you note, take a bubble bath, give up your seat on the bus, eat some chocolate, stay calm in traffic, use good grammar, adopt a puppy or a kitty from the shelter, listen to some country music, write a poem, draw a picture, quote a Disney movie, pick up a copy of The Daily Utah Chronicle, read your scriptures, do some yoga, dance in the kitchen, make your bed, call an old friend, tell a joke, listen thoughtfully, or visit your local library.

Because did I mention it's my birthday?

-Meg

I challenge you do do any of those things, (or any other wonderful acts you can dream of) and tell me about them!

(You might have noticed that I haven't done any Muffin Monday posts since the year started. That is because I am disbanding them. I will continue to make muffins every weekend, but I won't post about them unless they are super super good. I just have so much going on right now, I have to prioritize.)

And let me tell you...

When it's so early in the morning, blogger is a strange comfort. I know I will be greeted with blogs filled classy outfit posts, cheerful words and nerdy indulgences. I empty all my thoughts into this pensive.

Today I was full of Spanish. It filled me up and I was brimming with all the vowels and soft syllables, the trilled r's and the galloping rhythm of the sentences. I had things to say in class and I said them fearlessly. I felt so wonderful.

Not all Spanish days are like this. Many days I don't understand anything and I can't articulate. I hate not being able to say what I mean.

This weekend is so welcome. Another week at the Chronicle has ended, and we had far fewer difficulties than we had a week ago, when the server had the flu and we had to do some voodoo with wires to make everything come out all right. All good and faithful techies of the world deserve a hug, but ours earned a gold medal of awesomeness.

Today's picture is a darling comic from the archives of the Chronicle--circa 1982. Enjoy.

-Meg

A dose of perspective

That was some game, wasn't it? Go Utes! It was much better than last year's game... I'm so happy we won by a landslide. I love love love love love football.

It was super weird because as I made that link up there I was all: "Holy whoa my life has changed so much in a year!" Because it has. My life really does just keep getting better. (Except for my hair. My hair was awesome and long back then. I want it back!)

Today at church everything was so surreal and wonderful. I felt like I was learning everything anew. A Tongan elder spoke in our ward and I thought of Elder Hill of course, because about half of his companions have been Tongan and he teaches a lot of Tongans who live in Fiji. The missionary talked about how he found the gospel and how much it means to him. Maybe one day one of the kids that Elder Hill teaches will be a missionary. I needed a good dosage of perspective.

Oh, and today I hurt my butt really bad... but that's beside the point.

What I really want to talk about is this:

This is the Rivalry Chrony for last weekend.

We created quite a stir, which is what we do best. I just want to say that I'm glad we have freedom of the press, and freedom to bash BYU. 

OK, so some of the articles were questionable, but we weren't stupid. I laid out news and that was surprisingly controversial (Well, the douchiest college story wasn't a surprise. But besides that...)

I also want to say that I totally made that headlyne up. 

I love my job.

-Meg

Exhausted at 3:12 a.m.

I stumble in my room after getting home from work. It is three a.m. and my alarm is going off. For a moment I can't figure out why my alarm is ringing at this hour.

Then it hits me. Last Monday morning, my alarm was set at 3 a.m. so I could wake up by 3:14 a.m. for my race. I never turned it off.

It was just Monday--although it feels like so long ago--that I was racing my 10k, which is the second one I've ever done. This year was much better than last. Right now I'm so tired and brain dead that I can't remember what it feels like to be energetic and ready to pound out 6.1 miles, but earlier this week I'm sure I felt that way.

The race was fantastic for me, I finished in 52 something and was 18th in my age division. 18 is my lucky number, after all. It was hard, too. Hard and glorious.

I ran with Adriana most of the way, but she sprinted ahead during the last half mile. She pulled out at a 51 something. We were in disbelief when together we passed mile three, and according to her watch, it was faster than the fastest 5k we've ever done. The race is mostly down hill, but we still felt proud of ourselves.

Lindsey did her usual quickness. She did a 45 something. Super awesome.

Our parents didn't come down to SLC to watch us race, but that's OK. It was a great way to start the week that was to be long and stressful. They had a lot of things to do.

It's over, though. This long week of rehearsals and Chrony are finished. These wee hours are Friday, and Friday means freedom for a few short hours. Then it's back to work. I can do this. It's like the last mile of the race. Every bone and muscle in your body is screaming and sobbing and all you can do is focus on every minute aspect of your stride. You know your face is awful and red and all the people on the side of the road who are watching you are probably really glad they're not you because you look so ghastly and agonizingly winded.

But you run anyway, and push your body and find there is strength untapped in reservoirs deep within your will to survive. The pain is to be embraced, taken in and basked in.

Now I just have to gear up for the weekend. Which I expect to be equally as grueling as the days before.

-Meg

Last night

A month ago today, I was on a plane to California...

Last night must have been a page designer nightmare!

I'm really glad I wasn't working last night. I mean, imagine having the front page all laid out, possibly even sent to the printer.

And then you get the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

Rearranging time! No, more like destroy everything and start over. Read the New York Times' story about its front page, {here}.

It's been really slow, but if you're lucky, you can look at newseum.org to see today's front pages around the country, and the world.

Are there more important things to think about than how the page looks in the morning? Yes. Most definitely. We need to worry about security and possible retaliation.

But everyone sees the event through their own eyes, their own frame of reference. This is my frame of reference: a journalist's, because that is what I'm doing now. No, I won't be doing that in a few years down the road probably, but I still appreciate what that life is like.

And I appreciate what our servicemen and women have done for our country. I appreciate their leaders. I appreciate our soldiers' wives, children, parents, for what they go through. I am grateful to live in this country--for the freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, and so many more freedoms.

The battle isn't over, but it still feels really good that he is gone.

-Meg

Food for Thought

Tonight I went to the famous La Caille. Some Chronicle dinner thing for current staff and alumni to mingle and celebrate the achievements of former Chrony kids who actually did something with their journalism degrees. The food and atmosphere was amazing, I felt like I stepped in a magazine.

Except by stepping into that magazine, I was also stepping into the world of journalism--a side I had never seen.

Our speakers were blunt and honest about the rival papers in Utah--they do not like each other. There was much tension and awkwardness, especially when most speakers pretended that The Chronicle didn't even exist. They only talked about the major dailies, even though the banquet was to celebrate The Chronicle.

I'm not going to be a journalist. But I love working at The Chronicle. I learn a lot. I meet great people and I love what I do.

This is what I wore tonight. My fringe bangs have returned. (I cut them a little liberally... I anticipate they will grow out ungainly soon.)

I was a little worried that I was being scattered with the colors. It was random, but I feel the shoes tied it together.

And I'm wearing the shoes I got from my great grandma... (she always wanted me to be a journalist.)

Yes, I wore this same dress as my swimsuit cover whilst in Mexico. I think it's amazing that this piece can be so versatile.

It was a great night. Still getting over a cold, but the crem brule was pretty awesome. I love dressing up.

Loves!

-Meg

p.s. Whilst I was composing this post, my Pandora played this song... and I could swear the girl was saying "dear paul" and I was all "how could this be? I'm probably just delusional and crazy" but I wasn't! I went over to my ipod and the song was actually called "Dear Paul"and it was so creepily applicable to my life. So I tried to like the song... but instead by accident pushed the 'next' button. TRAGIC! Only 1 thing to do--go to iTunes. I probably would have bought it regardless.

Who's the cutest Chrony kid?

Hey! Loyal followers of my blog. Yes, all 18 of you.

You know that I'm an uber cute kid, right?

Want to show me how much you believe in how cute I was as a 5-year-old?

Then vote.

Click here.

My Word Count is Steadily Ascending

Good morning!

It's exactly 12:27 a.m.

You know what that means:

LATE NIGHT POST

Get ready to roll your eyes and bang your head against a palm tree, (or any type of foliage that might be nearby. I do not envy you if you live in Arizona. I hear cacti are beastly to bang up against.)

So despite taking 15 credit hours and working about 25 hours a week, I'm doing NaNoWriMo. That's National Novel Writing Month. It's absolutely crazy. I'm actually feeling quite nervous about not being able to finish, and I worry about my novel being absolute crap. I'm not worried about the homework I'm currently procrastinating.

But the pep talks and message of NaNoWriMo is to worry about quantity, not content. The point is to just get the words out there and you can fix it later. Although I'm trying to adopt that as my monthly mantra, I've found it to be quite difficult to stifle my inner editor.

I am an editor after all. First and foremost, before a writer. I am learning to be a linguist, and linguists do not write 1667 crappy words a day.

But I've taken to reminding myself that because I am an editor, I will be able to salvage the misshapen creature I'm creating. I trust myself to tighten up my word hoarding sentences and make my verbs more concise and my descriptions precise and relevant.

One issue I keep running into is that the verbosity I adopted to rack up my word count carries over into my every day writing. Which is not cool. I like to call myself the queen of concise. I'm notorious for editing a friend's paper and leaving it 100 words short of the word count requirement.

I'm mean. I know.

I do love my main character though. I think she's the only reason why I'm still writing. I took a different approach. I usually try to force my personality onto my MC, because I always assume that it will be easier to write about the person I know best.

Not the case. Caroline is completely the opposite of me, and I like writing about a girl that doesn't like to read or study, is easily distracted, has no patience. (Okay, maybe we do have some similar qualities.)

Caroline sees dead people. I call them dead people, but they're really not dead. It's more complicated than that, but I haven't found an accurate way of explaining it. Caroline's still trying to figure it out, so we'll be figuring it out together.

But I love the narrator even more. He's this omniscient figure, but he interjects with his own commentary and feels sympathy for Caroline. He's in love with her.

And that's where it gets weird. But I'm learning a lot. I love my book, even if I want to hate it.

OK. Now it's 12:41 a.m. I've wasted sufficient time telling you about my uber boring life as a writer.

You deserve a Merit Badge or something.

-M

Welcome to Hoth, sports fans!

The Chronicle is a lively place to work, to say the least.

Thursdays are especially chipper because we put out the Ute Report Friday.

The Ute report is a weekend sports guide, but the arts are trying to weasel their way in there. They have good intentions, but you know how it goes. Football always wins. Always.

Anyway, the Sports Desk (we call them sports fans), usually creates the idea for the creative artsy cover. They try their best, bless their hearts, but sometimes they just ... well... you'll see. Their explanation sounded something like this:

Sarah, our most heroic Editor in Chief: "So do you guys have a idea for the Ute Report cover?"

Sport fan leader: "Ya we do!" (This is actually amazing because usually they don't.) "So remember the Star Wars themed one? We want to stick with it. So remember in Star Wars where Luke is on that really cold planet, and he gets stuck out in the snow, and he has to kill that animal he rides and get inside it to stay warm? Well that animal kind of looks like a ram, and since we're playing Colorado State on Saturday, we were thinking that we could photoshop a picture of one of the players crawling inside a ram-like creature."

Sarah: "You can't be serious."

I don't think they actually were serious, but I sincerely hope not.

This sleeping back only slightly disturbs me. Found it while looking for Star Wars pictures.

-Meg

I am a Utah (wo)Man!

We won. I'm so tired and I have no voice, but I am so happy. I love the U, even though half the Muss is drunk, haha. (We Mormons have a solemn responsibility to be the designated drivers. The entire MUSS* section would fall apart with out us!)

Read more about the exciting game against Pitt here.

I never understood football, but I've been copy editing at the Chronicle, which includes reading the sports articles. I'm learning so much! And thanks to my friend Julie's football expertise, I'm learning all about the inter-workings of this wonderful sport.

Julie also has lots of skills in flirting. We pick up like three guys where ever we go! I love making new friends out of nowhere. We just talk to random people and viola-- we have new buddies.

School rocks. I'm so busy, but it makes the time go by faster! (90% done!)

-Meg

*Mighty Utah Student Section.

Count Your Blessings!

Hola! I have the urge to write in Spanish, but I'm not even close to being competent enough.

Today is a happy Tuesday! My classes were alright. Choir was fantastic, as usual. That always ends too quickly.

Right now I'm working at The Chronicle. So ya, that's a hint to check it out. We're pretty much the best student paper out there. But I'm not bragging or anything.

I ran on the indoor track today at the field house. It was so refreshing to just run and run and run until I could hardly go any longer! I didn't keep track of time or distance. I was simply running because I can. I am lucky to have a body that can be mobile and working. That is a blessing I don't want to take for granted.

Another blessing: I will be able to pay my tuition bill all by myself. No student loans, and only a little scholarship. I'm proud of myself. All that hard work really paid off!

Another blessing: Institute is so uplifting. I'm taking two classes, and I don't regret that for a second. My LDS history class is so inspiration and informative I just might retake it! And Book of Mormon is just a classic feel-good class.

Anyway, today I feel especially blessed, and I just had to share with the world! Life is good! The good Lord loves me! And He loves you too!

-Meg

All sorts of exciting

Holy Whoa! I deem the first week of school a success.

Looks like working at the Chronicle is going to consume my existence, but I'm alright with that.

I love copy editing, but it's grueling mental work. The trick is to not necessarily know ever grammar rule, but to be attentive to spot where there could be an error, and to know where to find the answer. But anyway, I don't want to bore you with the subtle nuances of editing.

On the other side of the coin, page designing is a taxing session of creative gymnastics and larger-than-life tetris. I justify playing tetris now by saying I'm practicing for page designing. Heck yes.

Syntax and phonology blow my mind, although we're in the slow beginning stages were we have to define everything, and that's getting old. I'm ready to jump into the thick of things!

Choir is going to be sublime at the very least. To be singing again feels wonderful.

I received Elder Hill's last letter from the missionary training center! He's off to the land of Fiji. He's so excited, and so am I. I'm nervous for him, actually, but I know things will be great.

And tomorrow... I see the LION KING! My childhood fantasy is about to be fulfilled.

-Meg