I'm about as good at blogging as I am at regular journal writing, which is not very good. I got into a groove with my personal journal for a while where I was being so good and writing every week. I know some people write every day, but I am just far too lazy for that. Sorry, posterity. (Should you ever exist.) But I go through these phases where I don't write for a while, and then so much has happened that it's overwhelming to catch my journal up on everything, so I just let it fall by the wayside. Plus there are only two pages left in my journal and I'm waiting until I get a new one to fill up those pages. These are all really just justifications for my laziness. I know that's the real reason and I've come to terms with it.
Last week I was on placement break and though I did not use it for its intended purpose (finding a job), I sure did have a good time. My first act of placement break was, obviously, to hit the road to Rexburg. I know that everyone thinks my love for Rexburg is weird; I don't care. I stopped in Blackfoot to see the lovely Heidi for a few minutes (seriously, it was like half an hour). It was too short but definitely worth the stop, as always. And then I hustled on down to Rexburg, where Grace was gracious (see what I did there?) enough to let me sleep on her giant air mattress on her floor and laugh with her about how truly psychotic her roommate is. I got to see my fave of all faves Kay Lynn every day I was there (I was explaining to several people that going more than a month without her makes me cranky), eat at the ever-delicious Mill Hollow, see ol' Smellanie, and, of course, that dude I've been tight with for like a year and a half. He makes me want to punch him in the throat sometimes, but he's probably in my top 5 best friends ever. He even let me proofread a paper...the best way to win my loyalty. (Though he rejected some of my changes and argued with every single one.) And I got to visit the Reading Center and see my idol, Sis. E! She was only in the office for a little bit on Tuesday morning because she decided to come in "just for a bit" before she had "minor surgery." Um...what? She is crazy and I love her and she sassily told me to never come back to Rexburg and I just aspire to be her. And I got to see Kylee for the first time in almost two years! She got home from her mission in November but was in California and then she went back to school in January and this was the first time we got to see each other. We didn't get to spend a ton of time together because she was gone all weekend but we'll have plenty of time all summer.
I spent the end of placement break in Portland at state wrestling cheering on my baby brother and the rest of the Heppner boys. Six of our guys made it to state this year, a record for us. That's a huge deal, considering this is only the 4th or 5th year the high school has had a wrestling team and especially because there are only about 12 guys on the team. Four of the six qualifiers were district champs! Jared is a junior, and he placed 2nd his freshman year and 3rd last year, and we were expecting along the same lines. He won his first match on Friday afternoon by pinning the kid in the first round, so he didn't have to wrestle again until Saturday morning. If he won that match, he'd be going on to the finals Saturday night; if not, he'd have to wrestle twice more to place either third or fourth.
Well, during his second match, Saturday morning, he was wrestling along when suddenly...he was completely limp on the mat and the kid was flipping him over. What?? He was out cold. It was hard to tell what was going on from the stands, but later we found out he had gone to shoot, missed the kid, and smacked his forehead on the mat, which knocked him out right away. Luckily the ref saw it happen and stopped the match. He was lying on the mat and Dad and Brian and a trainer were out there, and then he stood up and they looked him over a little more and the match continued. He ended up losing by 2 (and we're pretty sure he lost consciousness again toward the end), which meant he'd have to wrestle the very next round to qualify for the third/fourth place match and then wrestle that match to see what place he'd get. We were bummed he wasn't going to finals, but overall unconcerned with his chances; the kid he'd wrestle to see who went on for the semifinals was the kid he'd beat in the finals at districts and the kid he'd wrestle for third and fourth was a nobody. 3rd place at state isn't exactly shabby.
But then Dean let us know that Jared had been medically disqualified; the rules mandate disqualification if a wrestler loses consciousness. It's a pretty sensible rule, but that didn't mean we were pleased about it. He had finished the match, he seemed fine--why couldn't he wrestle? DQing him meant he got no place and his season was over two matches early. But there wasn't anything we could do; there was only one tournament doctor and the rules are the rules. From a law student standpoint, I am totally on the doctor's and the tournament's side; you can't have that kind of liability issue hanging around. From a big sister standpoint, I want to tell them to shove it. He wanted to wrestle and he felt fine. He came up to the stands and Mom and I went over to see him, and I'll admit I got just a teeny bit choked up when I saw him sitting there in the stands, crying. Sure, he's a big (well, bigger than I am--not bigger than many other people), stinky, hormonal 17-year-old punk, but he's still my baby brother and I still see him as just a little boy. He told us he didn't remember anything and he hadn't been able to feel his body for the whole rest of the match, so I guess I understand the doctor's concern, but he seemed perfectly (physically) fine the rest of the day. It was really, really disappointing, but we're glad he still has next year. Cherisse is even going to fly in from Hawaii to see his senior year at state. Everyone will be there (most likely minus Alyssa), assuming Brian is still around and not deployed somewhere if he really does join the Army.
Now I'm back at school, with zero motivation to work on my two research papers or do my readings or really focus on anything. I would much rather sleep, run, eat, and sit on the couch in my jammies watching Ugly Betty on Netflix with Renae and Kenzie. But alas, here I am. I'm currently at work for three more hours. So far I have not spoken to a single person. I did my reading for Professional Responsibility (probably the most boring class ever, even rivaling Wills and Estates), and now I'm debating if I'm going to work on my papers or head up to my carrel and get my book to read for International Human Rights. Full disclosure: I will probably end up doing neither, but I will most likely make a trip to the vending machine.
Running is going pretty well. I got new running shoes a few weeks ago and I looooooooooooove them! They feel so good and I got a new running socks, too, and my blisters are almost a thing of the past. I'm down to taping just one toe before every run. My knee hasn't been hurting while I'm running and the pain levels during the rest of the day have been pretty consistent, so that's good. My biggest problem these days is getting bored. It keeps snowing, so I have to run on the treadmill, and I just can't seem to find the determination to push through the boredom to do a long run. Last week my long run should've been 14 miles but I quit after 7 because the gym was so hot and the guy next to me was so smelly and I was just so bored. We'll see how that feels at mile 25 at my next race (Salt Lake Marathon, April 20). I have three marathons on the horizon for this summer, which will put my total marathon count at 5. Originally I thought about going until I hit 10, but lately I'm not so sure. I might stick to half marathons after this summer. Only running 8 miles a day seems a lot nicer than running 8 miles four times a week and a long run between 10 and 20 miles once a week. And honestly, I don't know if I enjoy marathons enough to dedicate myself to the training. It's nice to say I'm a marathon runner; it's nice to have a goal and a plan and stick to it; it's nice to know that my body is in great shape and can do this amazing thing. But I am really tired and my knees hurt. So I might just take some time off or I might give up marathons after September. My future is uncertain. (In pretty much every aspect of my life.)
Grace and I are hoping she can get an exception from the housing office so we can live together this summer in non-approved housing, since I'm not allowed to live in approved housing as a non-student. I'm also hoping to find a job for the summer...minor detail. We're supposed to hear from the housing people tomorrow, so we're keeping our fingers crossed and praying. But really, that job thing is stressing me out. Renae and I are also trying to figure out where we're living next year--Kenzie doesn't know what she's doing after she graduates, so everything is just very up in the air right now and I'm trying not to freak out but not having a plan is really unenjoyable for me. I like to have everything figured out all along so I have no uncertainties in my life. It doesn't always work, but hey, a girl can try.
