Surviving

This week has been a bit stressful. As I wrote earlier, I had my first quiz on Monday. It was bad, but not too bad. I scored about average, which was at 83%, but they are going to shift the average to 85%. See? Not too bad.
We also had a devastating computer crash. Our hard drive is completely dead, or shot, or whatever term you're supposed to use to describe a complete meltdown of all your pictures and music and documents that you have spent the last 3 years building and saving. Solution: a new iMac. Thank goodness for student loans. (If any of you out there are interested in a nice flat screen monitor, let me know. We'll negotiate a good price for it.)
I miss Utah and our friends and family. We're loving it here, but we definitely miss everyone. We were lucky to have Mary and Jorge here for the night on Monday. They are Eliza's friends from Orem. We ate pizza, then they took us to the Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time, and I don't know why I've never been before. The cheesecake was amazing! We got one that is layered with chocolate cake, and I about died. I really want to go back for dinner some time. How do they have so many cheesecakes?!

I just want to end by saying good move, John McCain. Risky move, but a good one. I love that everyone is so worried about her becoming president since old Johnny is so, well, old.  But she sounds like a great person, and heck, if the democrats are making history, why can't the republicans, too?

Stay tuned for Obama Baby!

First Quiz...

Tomorrow. It sounds like it's going to be more like a test. 80 questions, 2 from every hour of lecture that we've had so far. I've had semester finals that were shorter than that, by more than half!

I'll let you know how it goes...

Eliza told me today that she likes it here. That is progress.

Still in love...

This has become a permanent fixture in our car's cd player. We love it, and we just can't get over it. Buy it: Adele 19. You won't regret it.

I finally remembered the name of the singer that sings that song on the chevy commercial that is so pretty and haunting. You might remember it from Grey's Anatomy, too. Her name is Brandi Carlile. Here's a sample:

White Coating Ceremony
Kansas City Royals Game
View of Adam Ondi Ahmen from Tower Hill
Chuck reading about Adam Ondi Ahmen
Local Flora and Fauna

It's not so bad.

It really isn't. I have honestly loved Missouri from day one. I know I came off a little dramatic in my last post, but I really do love it.
Things I love about Kansas City:
1. We live by a major freeway which connects us to other major freeways which connects us to the entire city quickly and easily.
2. Great barbeque. Jack Stack is amazing. Whoever decides to come out and visit us will be treated to a great meal (the baked beans are to die for).
3. Great historical points for interested Mormons. Did you know that Kansas City and Independence were like the garden of Eden? And Liberty is right next door: that's where we do our shopping. And Adam-Ondi-Ahman is an hour away, and it is beautiful.
4. Sports teams. I am not an athletic supporter, but if I were, I would be really psyched about living here. We already went to a Royals game, and you just know that we'll end up at a Chiefs game, or something else like that.
5. Fountains.
6. Birdies. (Google Images: Nelson Atkins Museum of Art)
7. QT. This stands for Quick Trip, a regional gas station that is awesome. The inside is always clean, and they have the best assortment of fountain drinks and food. I love their chicken taquitos. And did you know gas here is like $3.69!

I really do like it here. Eliza is starting to, too.

What did we get ourselves into?

I keep asking myself that everyday, which is probably not nearly as often as Eliza.

Where do I begin about our move...? I guess from the beginning:
We left Logan in a bit of a hurry. The house was a mess, and we thankfully have Michelle to clean up after us. I was really impressed that Eliza, Pam, and I could pack the U-Haul all by ourselves. It was not an easy process, and it was probably one of the hottest days up to that point(that won't be the last time I say that). I drove the U-Haul with Sam, and we had the Corolla in tow. Pam drove the Rav4 with Eliza, Jack, and the cats (how fun). We made it to North Platte, Nebraska, by the end of the first day. It took a lot longer than estimated, so we left early the next morning to make it to KC by 5:00 pm to get keys from the landlord and sign the documents. Well, we were able to get that U-Haul up to 75 and 80 mph (despite the 45 mph suggested limit for towing), and arrived a few hours early.
Our first impressions of Missouri: beautiful, green, hilly. Add to that hot, sauna-like, or, more realistic, steam-room-like. The day that we moved in was one of the hottest, humidist (yes, I said humidist) days up to that point. I began to sweat simply by standing outside for more than 2 seconds. Disgusting. I wish the shock of moving ended there, but it gets much worse.
Eliza and I decided on our duplex without coming out here to see it. We didn't feel the need to fly out to find a place because I had a connection through the school that helped us find a place. Well, we went to the leasing office first thing, signed the papers, and got the keys. We were excited to finally see our place. Upon entering the front door, we were knocked over by the overwhelming smell of cat urine. It was like walking into a nasty pet shop or vet. We were told before moving in that there would be pet damage, i.e. torn carpet, which we didn't have a problem with. We weren't told that the previous owners failed to use a litter box for their disgusting, overweight cats (as we learned from our chatty neighbor). Eliza had a break down. I don't blame her. It was nasty.
I really need to rap this story up and keep studying...suffice it to say we now have brand new carpet (thanks to Pam being assertive and telling our landlord whats up). The humidity has toned down this last week, and we can actually go outside without fear of becoming dehydrated instantaneously. School...I like it. I've never studied this much for school, so I'm hoping to do really well. Our class has a staggering 268 students, and I actually know someone from Utah State. How lucky is that?
Before I end, I have to add that Sam and I went to the local theme park the day after we moved in. It was awesome. Other than the sick humidity that made us sweat so bad our clothes were absolutely drenched the entire time, they had a couple of great rides that made Sam pitch his cookies. I've never seen such control while vomiting, and I'll leave it at that (sorry, no pictures).