Post #213: In Which Jennifer Gets Religion

I imagine this blog post catches most--if not all--of you by surprise. "What?" You're saying. "That blog's still active?!!" Your second thought is probably something along the line of "Jennifer gets religion? Huh? Did she not before?" or "Jennifer and religion? This is new." Either way, I figured I've confused every one of my (few) readers by the title alone. And thus my ridiculously circuitous plan is one-fourth complete!

Seriously, though, I don't talk much about religion much. I've always considered it to be a rather private and personal matter. Those of you who have seen my Facebook profile may have been tipped off to this by my religious beliefs being listed as "Fiercely Private." And as such, I am a horrible missionary. I do not keep Books of Mormon stashed about to hand out, I do not pray to have missionary experiences, and I do not engage others in conversations about their religious beliefs. I have always had the mindset that if someone wants to discuss it, they can come to me.

And thus I was approached about two weeks ago by a Chinese girl. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her. She said she was very interested in my religion. I was floored. Based on our short conversation, I couldn't tell if she meant interested in a religious way or interested in a just curious way. We agree to meet in two days to discuss whatever she wanted to know. So two days later, I found myself trying to explain the whole "Apostasy and Restoration" thing, plus basic Christianity, how the Angel Moroni is on the top of temples (not our God), the Protestant Reformation, and the concept of the light of Christ.

It turned out she was interested in a religious way! Throughout the conversation it seemed like she was looking for two things. First, that she could receive help from divine beings. Second, that she could find something that explained how to live life. She was Buddhist, so I think that was why she was interested in those things--they're some of the few things Christianity and Buddhism have in common so they were more easily relatable.

I haven't talked to her much since then--I found the Chinese equivalent of Mormon.org and directed her there to learn more. I also located a Book of Mormon in simplified Chinese and some pamphlets that cover the first three missionary discussions, which I need to actually get from said missionaries.

I don't know if she's still interested or even if I did a good job of answering her questions. I am comforted knowing that if she really is interested in the Church, the Lord will send someone else to help her along the way. She also seemed to understand the light of Christ idea and that makes me happy. I had a religion teacher once say that it was his personal belief that eventually all people sincerely searching for God and happiness would find them. I think that makes sense with how I believe God operates. I hope she finds what she's looking for.

And that's how Jennifer got religion.

Christmas 2009, Part 2: Actually Christmas 2009

When last I left off, we were about to leave for Utah. Driving back was a bit long, but not too bad as virtually all of the trip was on I-15. There were some pretty strong winds along the California-Nevada border, but we all made it through. Nick rode in the backseat, which was nice of him. Paul's dad also briefly drove the car which gave Paul and I no more than 4 hrs blocks of driving and was also very nice. Paul drove right through Vegas, which was very stressful for him but went off perfectly. I know he hates to drive--especially on freeways--but it just isn't feasible for me to drive such a long distance by myself. We learned that driving on unlit highways is scary, that it is apparently entirely reasonable to drive 70 miles in the snow until someone slides off the road (not us, thankfully), and that people in Utah will drive 90 mph with no space between cars even in the most rural of environments. I really don't understand this one. There's like five cars on the highway, why must we all be crowded together? We got in pretty late on the 23rd, so we pretty much just crashed. On the 24th we did last minute shopping and wrapping in the afternoon, then headed over to my parents' for a tasty dinner and unwrapping of presents. Then we returned to Paul's house for another dinner and various Christmas traditions, including reading "When the Red Ranger Came Calling," which is horrifically sad for a children's book and has no reason being read ever, much less Christmas. I secretly think Paul's dad forces us to read it every year just to see us cry (or at least me). After that, we all went to bed. In the morning, we opened presents with Paul's family. There was much rejoicing in books and CDs and DVDs and clothing and so on. In the afternoon, we went back to my parents' to eat Christmas dinner and see what my siblings had gotten from Santa. There was a fair amount of Rock Banding. Eventually, Paul and I returned to his parents' house and crashed again. You may note there is a lot of crashing going on. This is because multiple holiday excursions and visits and celebrations are very tiring.

Christmas 2009, Part 1: Disneyland

This year Paul and I went to Disneyland with his family. Neither of us were looking forward to the drive, but at least it was short (compared to the 11 hrs to Utah we were familiar with). The drive was mostly uneventful. Although LA is not a driver-friendly place, it is alarmingly like driving in Utah--too fast, no signalling, no space between cars, and lots of leap-frogging. It was kind of comforting, in a weird, messed-up sort of way. At any rate, we made it to the hotel and got ourselves checked in. Soon Paul's family arrived, an average amount of hugging ensued, and a plan of attack was devised. We would begin in Tomorrowland and work counterclockwise through the park. This plan lasted precisely 1 land. We skipped Space Mountain because I am a wuss and no one wanted to wait for a hour while I bummed about the park. (They are nice and all.) So we did Innovations which is not anything remotely close to interesting or a ride. We then fled Tomorrowland for the far more happening Fantasyland. We rode the Matterhorn (very bumpy and rough, I'd forgotten that), the Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (as awesome as ever), and Snow White's Scary Adventures. Fantasyland was getting really, really, REALLY crowded, so we moved over to the other side of the park, which was much less busy. We rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, visited the Tiki Room (which is AWESOME!), and Paul and his family rode the Tower of Terror, while I searched for pajamas which I had left at home. Oops. We had dinner at a nice restaurant in New Orleans Square, After that we went back to the hotel. We arrived just in time to see the fireworks from the balcony. After that we went to bed because we were exhausted.

Day 2 started later than Day 1 and in the California Adventure Park. It's more like a standard amusement park with roller coasters and the like, so not so much my cup of tea. In retrospect, I probably should have gone over to Fantasyland and ridden the Pinocchio ride or something that equally appealed only to me. Of course, if I had done that, I wouldn't have explored the whole park and been able to fill Paul and his family in on the wait times for the big roller coaster or the lauch-you-a-thousand-feet-in-the-air-and-then-drop-you ride, which were remarkably short. Grizzly Rapids looked super fun, but it was too cold for a water ride. (The weather was cool and got progressively cloudy and windy over the afternoon and into the evening. By the evening, I was freezing from the wind, even though I was wearing my trench coat over a heavy cardigan over a long-sleeved shirt. Paul kindly took his hoodie and put it over all my layers, then laughed because I looked like a chocolate kiss.) After that, Paul's dad and brother bailed to watch the Vegas bowl, while the rest of us went back to Disneyland. Paul and his littlest brother, Spencer, rode Splash Mountain together. Then we all rode the Winnie the Pooh Ride, which is the best new ride at Disneyland, forget that Indiana Jones nonsense. They play the heffalump and woozels song while going through a trippy, black light paradise in a honey pot. If one was actually tripping, the heffalumps and woozels would be genuinely freaky. We rode the new Pirates of the Caribbean, which is mostly the same (good). We also fought through some absurdly long lines to get to the Small World holiday ride. It was nice, but I prefer the regular one more. After all that, we rode the train across the park, enjoyed the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Haunted Mansion, which was very fun as well. Way better than the usual Haunted Mansion. Finally, we went back to the hotel and crashed with the goal of leaving for Utah early the next morning.

Back from the Magical Kingdom

Hey, just got back to Provo from Disneyland. It was a great trip, so I'll be sure to write about it when it's not Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas y'all and see you on the 26th. (Unless you are immediate family. In that case, see you in a few hours.)

So It Begins (Again)

All right, well it's been a super-long time since I blogged, so sorry about that. Luckily Paul and I lead lives of exceedingly regularity. Let's see, since we last talked I've:

-Written two papers totaling thirty pages
-Finished TAing this morning after grading and reporting grades for the final.
-Completed Japanese 201 and am one semester closer to sending the infernal language back to the bowels of hell, from whence it was clearly spawned.
-Bought several pairs of socks

Paul has:
-Been promoted, salaried, and received a raise
-Purchased DJ Hero and now walks around going "wicka wicka what?"
-Washed the dishes too large for the dishwasher

Piper has:
-Recovered from her double ear infections
-Got a bed
-Curled up next to the laptop begging for attention

Thanksgiving was fine; it was just Paul and me. We're looking forward to Christmas and seeing everyone plus visiting a snowy winter wonderland for the holidays before returning to our sunny, 70 degree paradise.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: When Blogging Resumes!

It's the most wonderful time of the year when blogging resumes. I'm too excited for wrapping presents and putting up a tree and decorating to type up a full report right now, so look for one later tonight!

Must Reach Thanksgiving

I am still alive.
Paul is still alive.
Piper is still alive.
We are drowning in work and several feet under water.
Piper's busy being expensive and sick (though she is on the mend.)
We will try to dig ourselves out by the holidays.
Blogging should resume then.