DAY 2 - WELCOME TO THE BUREAUCRACY

So I'm starting to get settled in. Today was not the most exciting day, but I did get a lot of little administrative things done that one must do when moving into a University. Having mastered the bureaucracy of BYU, I've forgotten how difficult it can be to interact with university staff.

For example:

I need a parking permit. After finishing my econ placement exam (more to come on that pleasant experience) I started walking over to the parking office. I was reading my graduate student handbook and saw that I needed my licence plate number to get the permit. That required me to walk all the way back to the dorm (about 1/2 mile) to get it. Since I had nothing else to do I began the walk. After retrieving my licence plate number I went back across campus to the parking office. Upon walking in, I was greeted with a sign informing me that I would need to also bring in the vehicle registration and some sort of online application. I wasn't about to walk back to the car again, so I decided I would do it tomorrow. Nevertheless, I would get the online registration out of the way today. So I needed to find a computer that also had a printer nearby. Well those are hard to come by here. At BYU OIT must have received a government grant to install printers on campus so that no person can be more than 3o feet from a printer. Here, not the case. But before I needed the printer I failed at even finding the online registration. After calling the parking office and getting an earful from a cranky lady I found the site where I was told that my parking request was "inactive" and that I would need to talk to the parking office in person. Well, having used up all of the time I was going to devote to parking, I decided I would take my chances another day and park without a permit until tomorrow. (Notice that their website only displays bicycles. It must be because no one ever successfully gets a parking permit.)

Econ Placement Exam:

Well we could sum this one up in one statement from the witty television show 30 Rock: "What the what?!?" There were nine questions on the exam and if you got a perfect score you were not required to take the class. I had no intention of accomplishing this, I just wanted to avoid being the dumbest one there. Well, I'm not sure that I succeeded. We had 3 hours to answer 9 questions. I used the previously mentioned statement at least 5 times (However I expressed these feelings in the more cordial phrase "I do not know how to solve this problem"). There were 2 that I knew I had learned how to do in the past, so I felt good about that, but overall I'm just hoping that they don't send me an e-mail politely inviting me to "take advantage of the frequency with which the class is offered and sample the course next year having completed a few prerequisites." Apparently tomorrow they are going to send us an e-mail telling us if we need to plan on coming to class. I'll keep my fingers crossed until then.

I LIVE IN A CASTLE, SORT OF

So my housing is definately a tale of two cities. Here is a view of the building from the outside. It is not at all an exageration to say that I live in a castle. The Graduate College is so beautiful. The tower, stained glass windows and gargoyles are definatly a change in scenery from my blue house on 560 North across from the gas station. However, do not let appearances decieve you.

Once you step inside you quickly realize why people no longer build castles to live in. They are dark, dank, and in this case, quite small inside. I was shocked to see the new size of my living quarters. It makes my University of Idaho dorm look palacial and the dorms at BYU look like they came from a page in Better Homes and Gardens.

To add to the humor of the situation, I've moved in early to start the math camp. Well, the cafeteria here doesn't open up until the fall semester starts, so I've got to provide for myself without a kitchen, or even so much as a sink in my room. Luckily, my parents have graciously provided a small fridge and microwave with which I will prepare my food for the next 2 weeks. I think I saw a show on the Food Network where a bunch of professional chefs had to prepare gourmet meals using only dorm room appliances. I should get that episode for a few tips. In the meantime, I suppose my ambition of hosting weekly swanky dinner parties is going to have to wait until my living situation improves dramatically.

BEFORE THE DRIVE/GOODBYE UTAH

In my anxiousness to talk about the cross country drive, I left out some great final moments in Provo. For me leaving Provo is bitter sweet. I've been there for a solid 5 years now and really grown into the city. It's the longest I've ever lived anywhere on my own, and the only other place I've spent more time in is Spokane. So its definately become home to me. To add to that,

I've lived in the greatest apartment. I'm sure going to miss the giant plasma high definition television and super nice couch that accompanies the TV and all its DVR glory, oh and I'll miss my roomates too. So to celebrate my graduation from Provo my roomates and I did something

I had never done while living in Utah. We went to Causey Reservoir near Ogden and went cliff jumping. It is for this reason that I love summer. When else do you get to do such fun things? Here is a picture of the five of us in mid-air. A nice couple in a canoe took it for us from the middle of the lake. We are jumping off of the lowest ledge since it was the only place that would fit all of us. It is about 25 feet from the water. John Lattin and John Hill both lept from the highest ledge which we agreed was close to 60 feet high. I have terrible estimation skills, so I initially said I thought it was about 40 feet. Ben and John Hill both disagreed and we finally agreed that 60 was about right. I was more inclined to trust Ben's estimation since John Hill had already jumped and had an interest in enlarging the height to increase his bragging rights. Ben, Taylor and I were satisfied by the still respectable 45 foot cliff. We all had a great time.

THE LONG AWAITED DRIVE

To quote Depeche Mode, I just can't get enough, of I-70. Having already once traveled this road from Utah to Washington D.C. (See roadtriptochange.blogspot.com/) I was not exactly thrilled to do it again. However, this time we were going to take our time and stay in hotels along the way. Moreover, we were going to drive it in the summer, which having seen it in summer and winter, I can say the scenery and weather are immeasureably more attractive in the summer than in the winter.

So here's a breakdown of the trip in a day-by-day report.

Sunday: My parents arrived Saturday night into Provo with my sister Nicole and all of her stuff. They stayed the night at my brother and sister in law's house (Ymount) and we left early on Sunday morning. We stopped briefly in Vernal to visit the family and then left for real. We drove through Colorado and into Kansas stopping to eat in Denver. Denver, by the way, had the worst traffic of any of the cities we drove though. This was also true during the Road Trip to Change. We stayed the night in Hays, Kansas.

Monday: We were up early and on the road headed for Indianapolis. Along the way we were planning on stopping in Independence, Misourri. We arrived in Independence in the afternoon to a visitor center that was totally empty. I can't imagine how boring life as a visitor center missionary must get during the off season. We also saw Liberty Jail, which was only a few miles north of Independence. Previous to our leaving, I had to talk the family out of a full day's detour to Nauvoo, Illinois. We prompty left Liberty and headed for Indiana. We didn't quite make it to Indianapolis and decided to stop instead 2 hours short in Terre Haute (pronounced Tera Hote despite what my father may say). There we stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast right off the freeway...Actually we stayed in a Day's Inn that wasn't on the best side of the tracks. We inferred this from the glass pane that stood between the customer and the hotel front desk. Nevertheless, it was the cheapest option.

Tuesday: We drove into Indianapolis and made a few stops to see the first apartment I lived in as a missionary. I also drove my parents to see the office building where the ward attended church and the new church that they built after I left the area. The Crossroads area is not the nicest part of Indy by any means, but driving through this time it was even worse than I remember it. I can't believe that I walked down some of these streets on several occasions at night as an elder. It was either the dumb ignorance of missionaries or the Holy Ghost protecting us (probably a combination of both). We kept driving and eventually made it to Washington D.C. It was great to know that the major driving was over and we would have a day to stretch our legs in D.C.

Overall, I can say that the trip was long, but nevertheless entertaining. There were many moments where I didn't think I could take another minute in the car with my dad or my mom, and I'm sure there were similar moments for each of my parents with similar feelings directed at me. Nevertheless, it was great to have so much time to spend with them since our relationship over the last several years has been one of short visits during Christmas and summer breaks. I can also say that the only way to drive across the country and not lose your sanity somewhere between Salina, Kasas and Effingham, Illinois is to have a good book on tape. We listened to Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" the entire way there. It was a great book and probably saved us from suicide in a corn field on several occasions.

I'll post pictures of the trip as they are sent to me by my mother.