Best Scrabble Game You've Ever Seen

Today was the last day with my family... and now I'm back in Provo!

We played scrabble today.. and it was the best game of scrabble I have ever played (with a real board and no dictionary). Usually it always seems to be three letter words, and its really hard to get to the edge of the board. But this time the whole last half of the fame was crazy difficult because we were already to the edge. Here's a picture of the finished game. There are some pretty good words on there.

Pretty much as soon as I got back I went on a date sledding. It was a blast! I wiped out my first two times down the hill, because I was on a bent sled so it always went right-- right into all the disrupted snow of course. But after that it was great! The park was a sledding paradise, with hills all around, plenty of room for everybody.

Now I'm hanging out with my best friends, Apt 107! These guys were the first friends I made last semester in Centennial Apts. where I can just head over to the place anytime. I love chillin' here!

As the last day to be able to just enjoy the day without school worries, I spent it well!

I'm no Chess Player

I am terrible at chess. That is all.

I guess I'll tell you about my sad games, both against my mom. First of all, whenever I play with her, it takes forever because she thinks about every turn for five minutes. So the first game, I would do other things between each turn and then she wouldn't remember to tell me that I was in check. Then, after I've already gone ahead with my plan that required two moves in a row with the same piece, she tells me "Oh, you're in check!" So then I have to move my king rather than continue with my other move, which results in my queen being killed. This happened multiple times, all with special pieces.

I was then put in check-mate, when I should have been check-mating her.

The second game we both had the same strategy, which was defensive. For the first half of the game, neither of us got anywhere. It ended with her having her king, bishop, knight, and pawn while I had my king, queen, and pawn. I then made a dumb move that got my queen killed, so I gave up.

What I learned from this experience. Never challenge anyone to a game of chess, because I would probably not win.

However, I would like to play more often so I can get some practice.

Bolivia - I'm Going There Someday

Another chill day with the family. I just spent at least two hours with my dad looking at different places in Bolivia on Google Earth. It was really great to hear his stories and see the places he was talking about at the same time.

My father is from a little town called Tupiza, right in between some mountains. It's literally impossible to expand because it's squeezed in there as it is. The whole geology of it is very interesting (I actually did gain something from taking that class last semester!) and I am interested to know how it happened. My dad pointed out that there two strips of red mountain, and in between them is normal, so what event caused those rocks to change? Somehow the mountains were petrified into solid rock, in small strips. I may just go to my former Geology professor and ask him, because it looks really interesting!

I seriously want to go there though. Like now, ASAP. But I just have no way! I'm going to have to wait at least three years before I could even think of taking a trip down there, and by then I could be married, so that would put a flaw in any plans.. But gah, I need to go visit and meet that half of my family! I feel so disconnected with them, like they aren't really my family, just some people who I hear stories about sometimes.

It will happen. Just you wait, in five years or so, I'll be blogging about my experiences with my family in the third-world country of Bolivia-- my heritage.

Music, Music, Music

Today wasn't a crazy eventful day, just one of those good, relaxing ones! I was able to do some of a puzzle, play games with my little cousin Diana, watch a movie, and continue going through my music to see what I have and don't have.

Music is something that has been a big part of my life, but not in the way that most people who say that mean. I wasn't and am still not someone who listens to music all the time, and would die if I didn't have my headphones. When I was younger, my mom didn't allow me to listen to the radio at all, or even any music that wasn't religious. Anytime I tried to listen in my room, she (with ears like a dolphin) would call out, "Christina! Turn it off!"

So my childhood music was playing the piano, church music, flute in band, and some violin which didn't last very long. If you ask me about a popular song in the 90s, I probably won't know it.

However, the last couple years I've been able to actually pay attention to popular music, and over the past years I've finally found favorite artists and styles. I love being able to hear a song and know who it's by!

Currently, I'm trying to explore new artists and feel what kind of genre I like best. Whenever people ask me what my favorite genre is, I reply that I don't really have one. I always say that I just like songs I can sing to. One friend replied that you could sing to any song-- however, that's not true! What I mean by saying that statement is this: to me, the lyrics are the most important part of a song. I want to be able to hear them, understand them, and connect with them. And when I do, I will want to sing along! So it has to be something reasonable-sounding when it's sung. NOT screaming or husky voices.. None of that. And I'm not a huge fan of long instrumental solos either, at least in popular music. 

My current job gives me a lot of time to get to know songs. I'm custodian working night shift, 10:30pm - 1:30am, and I clean the racquetball courts. Now these courts are awesome for singing in because they make everything about eight times louder. It's fantastic!So I get to belt my music nonstop for three hours without any distractions. That's one reason I'm still working there.

My favorite artists, the ones I can listen to everyday at work, are currently

• Regina Spektor
• Ingrid Michaelson
• A Fine Frenzy

Yes, they are all female artists.. I'm working on getting more male voices in my musical collection.

Because not many people are familiar with A Fine Frenzy, here's a sample of her work. This was the song that first struck me, resulting in my devotion:

One other type of music that I really enjoy listening to is soundtracks from movies. My cousin Mariah was the one that got me addicted on these the past year, as she is a music whiz and loves all that stuff. At first I was just infatuated with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but now I've been listening to any and all soundtracks! Some other good ones (though nothing can top LOTR) are Stardust, How to Train Your Dragon, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

I'm excited to be able to learn more great songs and artists, and appreciate this form of art even more than I have in the past. I'd love for you to tell me, what are you interested in and why?

New Year's Resolutions

It's the NEW YEAR!! Happy first day of 2013! In honor of the holiday, I'd like to give my New Year's resolutions so that I'm not only held accountable to myself, but to you guys as well!

My goals for this year:

1. Read the Book of Mormon every day in English AND Spanish
2. Pray morning and night
3. Serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
4. Study and know Preach My Gospel before going on a mission
5. Blog at least once a week (my weekly letters on my mission blog will count)
6. Be able to pay for half of my mission
7. Get at least a 3.7 GPA this semester
8. Exercise at the gym at least three times per week
9. Swim two times a week
10. Give plasma to earn money, as much as I can
11. Become the best friend I can be to everyone
12. Finish Book of Mormon in Spanish
13. Write in my journal about the whole year-and-a-half that I've missed
14. Flat stomach
15. Touch someone, in a way that betters their life forever

This list is not necessarily in order of most to least important, just as they came to my mind. I wish everyone a happy and productive year, and the best of luck in completing your own resolutions! Don't give up too soon!

Best Marvel Heroes and Villains

This post is going to put me in the major nerd category, but I don't care!

So this past half-year, I've been getting more and more interested in Marvel, and any movie or television show based off of their comics. I borrowed a book from a friend, the Marvel Encyclopedia, and read all of it. I know right? Pretty lame. But I was and am very interested! I don't have the time it would take to read all the comics, so this was a great way to learn characters and their stories.

On our way to Utah today, I finished reading it and decided I wanted to figure out who had the most power, because each hero/villain has a little chart in the book that rates their intelligence, strength, speed, durability, energy protection, and fighting skills. The characters are rated in each of these categories from one to seven.

That may have been the best part of the book to me, being able to compare the characters via actual powers, rather than their story or coolness.

After much studying of this Encyclopedia, I can say who the top three heroes are and the top three villains. How I decided to determine this was by first adding up the points from there abilities and whoever had the most was top dog. If there were ties, then I took the one with the strongest powers, usually a seven. Of course, this is only based on one book that doesn't have every single character, but I still consider it semi-valid! And it's not according to awesomeness, just their power and abilities.

Most Powerful Heroes

1. Silver Surfer

3. Iron Man

2. Thor

1. Silver Surfer is a learned hero with warp speed, incalculable strength, unlimited command of all energy, superhuman durability, and average fighting ability
2. Thor is an experienced fighter with incalculable strength, warp speed, superhuman durability, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and normal intelligence
3. Iron Man as a super-genius with superhuman strength (up to 100 tons), superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and some training in fighting

I'm completely satisfied with this list, because I would consider these three some of the best even before I knew all the technical stuff. Though I had no clue that the Silver Surfer was so high!

One thing I was a little disappointed about was that my favorite people of all Marvel stories are the mutants, but none of them were super powerful. But that doesn't change my level of admiration for them!

Other people worth noting: Hulk was fourth, while Captain America was wayy down as number 14-- after the Thing, Wolverine, and even the She-Hulk. Crazy right? You'd expect him to be cooler, but don't worry, he is still WAY above the superhero average.

 Most Powerful Villains

1. Thanos as a virtual

   

   1. Thanos

   ly indestructible super-genius with incalculable strength, warp speed, ability to discharge multiple energy forms,  and experience in fighting
2. Galactus as a virtually indestructible being who is omniscient with incalculable strength, warp speed, unlimited command of all energy, but poor fighting skills



2. Galactus

3. Doctor Doom is a super-genius with superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple energy forms, superhuman strength (up to 25 tons), and experience in fighting

The thing about villains is that often, they make the hero what he is, and sometimes they may even make the story. (An example would be Batman, a DC superhero, who's villains such as the Joker and Bane may be what makes the Batman stories so cool).

3. Doctor Doom

I noticed that in cases such as Spiderman and the X-men, there were a lot more super-powerful villains, while the heroes themselves were less so. I thought this was pretty interesting since you'd think that would mean the villain would kick the heroes butt. That's not the case though! Our heroes are tough and, most importantly, fighting for what is right.

Another favorite of mine is Magneto, number seven on the list, is obviously the most powerful mutant, and personally I think he is pretty cool, especially in the movies. And the fact that he could take down the X-men easily, but allows them to keep existing gives him a little credence in my mind.

I would be very interested to know who you think the best heroes and villains are! Based on powers or just in general, give me your reasons!

Missionary Letters

As my last day in Mountain Home for the break, I spent it with as many of my friends as I could. We were able to get a bunch of people together and play some games, and it was great getting to spend that time with them, some of which I'm not going to see for two years!

I was talking with my friend Kody, who is leaving on his mission in less than a month, about how I would try to write him but it probably wouldn't be very successful of an attempt. I have like six other people I am supposed to be writing, but I've maybe written them once, and that's it. I'm terrible at it! But I would like to at least show them that I'm at home rooting for them.

I also want to get better at it over the next half-year because pretty soon I will be the one hoping for a letter from my friends back home! And if I don't write my missionary friends, what right would I have in expecting my own letters? So I need to step up and get to writing.

I hope that I will be able to write on here the next couple days, but I may not as I will be in Sandy, Utah with my family. So forgive me if I miss a few days! One post you can count on coming though is my New Years' resolutions! I've already told you a couple: write missionaries and be a better friend. Oh and serve a mission! :D