The World Is My Plate

There's so many things to do in this world and I want to do all of them. Is that too much to ask?

The chins went out to the Mystic Seaport - where we caught Poké's AND learned about Viking life. Honestly, I thought the Viking exhibit would've been cooler, but I got some good ideas for different cultural beliefs for my (upcoming) novel.

"I'll do whatever. Unless it's something that I don't want."
-Trev

Stop Two was at the Aquarium (which I found discounted coupons for during my early morning (literal) run to Dunkin Donuts). I love animal facts and I want to touch everything. The poison dart frogs were super cool and the sea lions were decent breakdancers. Also, if anyone takes me on a date to play with penguins, I will probably marry that person. Bucket list.

Attracted by the intricate mating dance.

Shennsley helped me drop Greg/Mac off at the airport (and by that I mean she made sure I was going to the correct airport). And we listened to murder podcasts and talked about my favorite book series that she's now reading. Get ready for all the feels.

Another majestic creature in its natural habitat.

I also made sure that a day trip to Boston was on the list. Per Kelloggius' intricate planning, we started off with a self-guided tour of the Taza chocolate factory where hair nets are NOT required, but we like them anyways.

She literally hated this whole thing.

We then met up with ol' deek for sandwiches. Favorite part: the facts about Uranus in front of the toilet. Wish I came up with that. Also the bread. And the extra loaves of hobo bread that mom bought.

Moriah gets in weird moods sometimes.

Supersize! Quack Quack! That's right, ya boi's took a ride on the infamous Duck Boats with our favorite spitting superhero. These boats take you all around the city of Boston by land AND by sea. And he even let us take turns driving.

Muy dangeroso - see, my Duolingo classes are paying off.

Half the family headed home while the rest checked out Quincy Market and by that I mean Kilted Colin's underwear. He was a hilarious street performer that did the kind of show I imagine Derek would do. We got free samples of chowdah, found the penny presses, and drank smoothies. We dropped Shan off and headed home. 

I also like dinosaurs. And stole this hat. 

Wednesday was chill. We ran a few errands. Bought a few things. Did laundry. Packed. Stole only minimal things. Went to the airport. Watched B99 until mom came BACK to get me since my flights had to be changed due to inclement weather. Got chinese food that really hit the spot. Went to bed. Woke up three hours later to go back to the airport. Finally made it to AZ by noon on Thursday.

Looking as smart (as we can) for the professor's bday.

 At this point, I'm really just dreading school. I've lived a good life with minimal responsibilities and lots of free time and actual money to do cool things. Now that's all going down the toilet. So I postponed my move again so I could visit my old friends, run some errands, chill with Hannah, play ball with Keaton, and sleep on a real bed. Then I woke up at 5 to get to orientation Friday.

Which was fairly useless. I could've done it better in 20 minutes. But the good news is that I got lots of free food and made some friends. One even volunteered to show me "The Full Andy" so I can't wait for that.

I unpacked, went to the store, did my HW (already), slept on my mattressless bunkbed for 12 hours, watched a lot of B99. And I went to the combined ward BBQ and made two (2) friends, if you aren't including people older than 50. Counting it as a win.

Somebody Punch That Guy

A Civilized Rant on Planet Earth II: Why have I never seen this? I love Hans Zimmer, I love obscure animal facts, and I love Sunday relaxing. I want the predators to win more, but otherwise I'm obsessed with everything about this, watched three episodes in a row and was late to church.

Sunday was also monumental because I was released, had my last dinner groups, and watched Cars. Sometimes you're in the mood for that. And I was definitely in the mood.

 

The Crew(TM) played round two of True American. Nobody knows why, because we regret it every time. Then we watched Clue, because it's one of the best movies of all time.

This was my last official week in Surprise, Arizona. So obvioussslllyyy I had to have some time with Hannah Merrell, my personal angel (but with the swag of Kronk's shoulder devil) for the last year. I just love how hyped she gets for my life - makes me excited to be me and boosts my confidence about literally everything.

Pre-wedding shenanigans.

Also got to spend some time with Keaton, who's been the official Best Committee Member of the Year (again, not hard), but I've been grateful for his help and sarcasm. I'm only sorry we didn't hit it off earlier.

After a long couple of plane rides and 53 minutes of sleep, I made it to CT. I kept my sweatshirt on while we trudged through 80/80 mosquito forestland to the Farmington town clerk's office. That lady was tryna get me married to anyone - first Markies, then Hannah, then Trevor. Three strikes, woman.



We continued the 48-hour setup at the church headed by the one and only Mama Sama. (And people think I'm  extra.) We ended the day just in time for Moriah, Shennsley, Shiboi, and I to take our traditional 1/4 mile hike (/bouldering excursion) to Glacier Park. Moriah hated it, as usual.

But, the light at the end of the tunnel was Applebees - where Moriah was SO proud that she skunked us by chugging an entire cup of lemonade in the 30s we had our backs turned. Dinner was good, but both Xandino and I went round two with leftover dumplings during games later on. And I zonked out for Star Wars later, despite the two other humans infiltrating my bed-couch.

Faux Kevin was an integral part of our day.

I ran the Chin's speed walk loop and remembered how sweaty I could get in near full-capacity humidity. (Still didn't shower, just for spite, Shiboi.) Moriah and I played Uno and utilized the tire swing and wreaked general havoc on the town.

Markies' family showed up for an outdoor BBQ and had Kelly in hard grandma mode for the next several days. The kids were cute, Moriah refused to sit next to me, and CJ christened me as his favorite family member - overall success. The night continued to be beneficial when Shennsley and Shiboi joined me for a Russia-sponsored pedicure. Hands-down, best experience. Shiboi hated it.



We woke up early for the first temple sealing of the day. This, however, did not stop any of the temple ladies from staring daggers in our direction all day. I'll take most of the blame for that, but I had many accomplices. BUT Hannah and Markies are married and looked great. Got my brotha for a brother-in-law. Lessss goooo.

Some of mom's ward friends made us a delicious luncheon that I'm so glad I did not have to prepare myself. I took a nap before helping Hannah back into her corset and chauffeuring humans to the reception hall. Which was transformed. Good freaking work, Kel. It looked awesome, the food was delicious, the festivities were further stimulated by Funcle Aaron. But Moriah ruled the dance floor. And yours truly served as the getaway driver to paradise (aka Providence).

Welcome to the Chins. 

We were exhausted post-festivities. My vehicle tried to pick up a kid from church and ended up being late after a wild goose chase - only to find him sitting in the foyer when we arrived. Skunked. We ate leftover pasta during SS and skipped third hour to mentally prepare for a long drive.

Deek, Shennsley, Moriah, Isabelle, Xandino, and I all shipped up to Boston to drop Derek off at college (again). Then we moved some boxes in exchange for food and Uno time at the Krempy's. And stopped off at Funcle's (a must-see) for a chat on "the elephant in the room" before heading home again. A week of fun, family, and farts (because Moriah is involved). Worth it.

Who's the Uno King? Xandino, because I wanted the game to end.

The Coolest Cat in Creation

If you'd like to hang out with me, please schedule months in advance. (Kind of real though.) ALSO WATCH THIS.  I have a special place in my heart for Patrick Kearon.

DV YSA joined up with Phoenix North for kickball and snow cones (courtesy of Doug). And then I got to play some killer volleyball with Nathan Clark. Sometimes I miss organized, competitive sports.  And then I did NOT invite myself over to Keaton's house for a movie night, but I did make sure that it happened and brought the best movie of all time (including JS: Prophet of the Restoration): The Emperor's New Groove. 

Flowers from a patient, chocolate PB protein shake, and las palabras de Dios. 

Hot Tub Tuesday is now actually Cold Pool Tuesdays since it's approximately the same temperature as the sun in the Phoenix valley. Not mad, though. TNals is a good host and I had a good time con mis amigos.

Also I'm remembering Spanish rn on Duolingo. (And KILLING the French section, but that's cool.) I can say things like necesito un bolígrafo and nunca me ducho. Which are super useful.

The LA Chins moved into a real apartment. 

I went country dancing, worked out at the gym with no socks (hence the emergency pair which recently appeared in my car), and waxed my face at girl's night. Also ate lots of snacks and tried to paint people's nails. *insert cringy face here*

I passed a drug test (probably) and bought some real crappy tubes (which is funny because they were shaped like the poop emoji). And went on the adventure of a lifetime that wasn't actually that high adventure. We tubed down the Salt River after hours, stopped early due to an incoming lightning storm and trucked through the mud, cacti, and barbed wire fences to find the road, jammed 7 people and tubes in the back of a stranger's truck and avoided a LONGGGG walk back to the car. And hit up In N Out. 10/10 would do again, but maybe actually just float the whole river next time.

Look at this angel.

Exactly halfway through my morning run, at the farthest point from my house, I realized that I had acquired some blisters from the previous night's adventures. Which was a delight. Jeff taught me how to change my break pads, I practiced saying "no", and then got my car washed for the first time ever and can actually see through the windows now. My girl Chris set me up with an Advocare account, so now I have a 20% discount for a while. I cleaned and packed and took charge of dinner groups (like I do). Finished up the night with another viewing of The Emperor's New Groove at the Dive-In Movie night. Love love love.

Come Dressed as a Pretentious Art Critic

Half of my week was just spent recovering from my last weekend of not sleeping. I'd like to think I understand a little bit about anxiety after this whole art show ordeal, but at least mine is controllable.

I love my job.

Hannah and I worked out several times and my body can definitely tell. Sometimes I like working out alone, but it's definitely been more fun with friends this summer. Especially on days when I've been less motivated.

Yes, I would date boy-Naomi.

Basically every night, I've been collecting art from people that they finished last minute. My favorite art collection was at hot tub night, when the Ringger Bros freaking delivered. And also showed me this gender swap app that has me D-E-D dead.

Becca and I hit up the temple for some initiatories in the midst of a dust storm. If you want to feel powerful, turn up your bass, mix up some Hans Zimmer tracks, and drive to the temple. Driving there gave a post-apocalyptic feel with the brown skies and clouded views - but like you're one of the surviving bad-a**'s in the new world. [Insert temple here, which always makes me feel awesome.] Driving home, the skies were clearer, the city lights were twinkling, and lightning was flashing through the purple skies. Power.

Shining forth in obscurity.

Keaton, Bart, Nate, and Mark helped set up and make labels for most of the art on Friday night. Then Keaton, Nathan, and I went to a $3 Avengers: Infinity Wars showing at this sketchy movie theater in the middle of nowhere. Worth it.

Voila, the source of my stress. 

 I spent all day Saturday calming my anxiety. Autumn and Katie were stressing about food. Trevor was stressing about music. And I was stressing about art. At least I didn't have to worry about all 3.

BUT it turned out awesome. As Tyler said, This sucked less than I thought it was going to. And as Andrew said, You made an art show cool. The food was good, the music was good, the art was good AND well-displayed. The vibe was everything. [Stress levels down to a reasonable level.]

My favorite piece, "Happy" by Mackenzie Hill.