Being Single in Provo

So I was trying to think about what I could do to make my blog more interesting, or at the very least to give me something to write about on a fairly regular basis. I wanted something that is prevalent in my life right now, since that would give me the most material to draw from. So what can a single, 20-something Mormon girl write about? Well, that's easy.

Dating.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not going to start writing about what guys need to do to date better or be more willing to go on dates or what I want to see in a significant other. This isn't going to be some advice column. That's boring. But I feel like since I am single and Mormon and living in Provo, the mecca of Mormon singles, I might as well write about life here. I can't guarantee that I won't rant and rave about why guys suck. (Because they do. No offense, guys.) But I'm hoping to have some funny stories and reveal a bit about myself and why I suck at the dating game. (I just do. Don't worry; you'll see.)

I will definitely continue blogging about sports and all those other random things I blog about. I might start book/movie/music reviews. I want to start up my short fiction again. And who knows what else could show up? This is my blog, and as such, it should be about my life and my interests.

I have a glut of ideas for dating posts, so hopefully those will start showing up soon. And hopefully you won't judge me too harshly for writing what I think. Because I have no idea where this random idea is going to end up.

Happy Independence Day!

No, not that one, silly. It's only July 1. I'm talking about BYU's independence day.

Source: byucougars.com

As of noon today, BYU is officially a football independent and a member of the West Coast Conference in most other sports. Since this is a BYU athletics subject, you have to know that I have an opinion about it, and that I am going to now write about it, whether you care or not. So there.

I think independence was a fantastic move for BYU. BYU fans are everywhere. Students are encouraged to move beyond Provo after graduation, and since BYU focuses more on undergraduates than on postgraduates, it is often better for students to go elsewhere to do their graduate work. BYU alumni are all over the world, really, and independence gives the school an opportunity to spread their brand far and wide to reach all those fans.

The partnership with ESPN gives BYU the kind of exposure it craved but couldn't have while under the absolutely atrocious MWC TV deal. Now every game will be televised on an ESPN network or on BYUtv, which in and of itself is pretty amazing. No other school in the nation has its own TV network that is already in 60 million homes across the country and is broadcasting in full HD. If you really think about that, it is phenomenal. BYU has been setting BYUtv up for independence for years. Without this network, there is no way independence would be feasible. 

For 2011, seven games have already been announced as being on ESPN or ESPN2, including the first five games of the season. Five more games are yet to be scheduled. From everything I've read and heard, as many as eleven games this season could be broadcast on ESPN, which is more ESPN appearances than BYU has had in the last five seasons combined, including bowl games. I don't care what anybody says; this is bloody brilliant. 

The main concern with independence is the scheduling. That is an issue, but Tom Holmoe is already handling it really well. The Cougars have some pretty cool opponents this year, including Ole Miss, Texas, Central Florida, Utah, TCU, and Oregon State. Of course, then you have to throw in the pancakes like San Jose State, Idaho State, and New Mexico State, which make up for a rather boring home schedule. But really, is that any different than a schedule with SDSU, Wyoming, New Mexico, and UNLV? Every team, regardless of conference, has some cupcakes. BCS teams intentionally schedule their out-of-conference games as cupcakes so they don't risk sliding against non-conference foes. Plus, it's only the first year. In a couple of years, I'm willing to bet that BYU is going to be playing against some pretty awesome teams.

Then there's the move to the WCC. Most say it's a step down in competition, especially in men's hoops, and I can't completely argue with that. But the addition of BYU raises the bar for the rest of the teams. Gonzaga will have a worthy foe after dominating the conference for the past several years. If the NCAA tourney game between BYU and the Zags was any indication, it's going to be a fun rivalry. I know that I'm looking forward to watching schools like Pepperdine and St. Mary's come into the Marriott Center and be bombarded by 22,700 screaming fans when they're used to venues that hold at most 8,000 people. I'm also looking forward to watching the other schools figure out that when BYU plays on the road, fans come out of the woodwork. I would guess that many of the basketball away games will almost be home games for BYU. I think the WCC is in for a bit of a culture shock, which will be fun to watch.

And for those fans who say that BYU only went independent because they had to show up Utah's move to the PAC-12, I say stop whining. I have been hearing and talking about BYU going independent for years. Sure, I may have been regurgitating what my dad told me, but that's not the point. The point is that independent talk has circulated around BYU for a long time, much longer than the couple of months between Utah's PAC-12 announcement and BYU's independence announcement.

Besides, when you really think about it, which schools do you think were driving the MWC to become better? Who gave the MWC credibility? Do you think it was SDSU and UNM? Yeah, I didn't think so. It was always Utah and BYU. They worked together; they were each other's staunchest supporters. They had the same goals in mind. So when Utah understandably took the much better option of going to the PAC-12, what reason was there for BYU to stay? Their conference partner had been offered a better opportunity that passed BYU by. Instead of moping and seeing if some other conference would come calling, the BYU officials took stock of their tools and resources and decided that going it alone was the best option. I wish Utah luck in their foray into the BCS world. I hope they succeed. But I don't think they did any better than BYU. Both schools made the best decisions for their respective programs, and you can't fault either one of them for it. I just hope both schools can excel with what they have and put the state of Utah on the map for college athletics.

Basically, I'm super stoked about all of these moves. BYU probably won't go undefeated and bust into a BCS bowl their first season. But they have more than a fair shot at another 10+ win season, and I can't wait to watch it unfold. September 3 can't get here soon enough. Go Cougars!

I Want to Get Lost

In a new city, a new place, with new people and new things and...and...and new everything. I want to live somewhere I haven't spent the last six years of my life. I want to live somewhere outside of Utah County, where pretty much every town is just like the last, and I know where to go for anything from Lehi to Spanish Fork. I want to get out of student housing and meet different people who are closer to me not only in age, but also in stage of life. I don't want to feel like I'm floating on the surface of a life that I no longer live, watching students go to class and do homework while I watch Netflix because I have nothing else to do with my evenings.

People try to convince me that Provo is the place to be for single Mormon twenty-somethings, but my experience has taught me otherwise. In six years, I have been on a handful of dates. I have come close to getting into relationships, but never made the full leap. Boys in Provo just don't seem to be interested in me, and I am fast losing interest in them. I'm ready to try my hand at the Mormon boys in other places.

I've had these ants in my pants before. I've felt the need to run away and do something different with my life. But the feeling never lasts. Some other Provo opportunity would present itself and I would grab it and feel satisfied. That's not happening this time. Ever since I first felt the itch, it has only gotten stronger. I don't know how much longer I can go without scratching.

It's hard to decide what to do, because moving someplace else requires a complete upheaval of my life. New job, new place, new friends. And right now, all that change is incredibly enticing, while also being absolutely terrifying. I don't usually deal well with change, but I am craving it more than I have ever craved it before.

I want the experience of getting my own place in a city I've never lived in before. I want to buy my own furniture, decorate my own apartment, dirty my own dishes, and clean up my own messes. I don't want a cleaning check nazi forcing me to scour places that never see the light of day. I want to feel like a legitimate grown-up, one who pays her own bills and comes home to an empty apartment because that apartment is hers and hers alone.

I would love to be able to come home after a rough day at work and know that my TV is ready and waiting for me without wondering if my roommates are watching something or cuddling with their boyfriends. I want my own bathroom where the shower curtain always stays closed and I don't have to clean hair out of the drain that isn't mine. I don't want to have to try to read a book while wondering when the guys across the courtyard are going to stop blasting their annoying music.

Don't get me wrong; I don't hate Provo. I don't hate my roommates. I don't regret that I've stayed in Provo for as long as I have. It's just time for me to leave. I need to be done with the student housing scene, and starting now, I am going to start taking the steps I need to take to make that happen.

This is how I feel today:

BLAAAARRRRGGGHHHH.

Can I just go away? For like a month? Would everyone be all right with that? Because that's really what I want to do right now.

Maybe I'll just find a hole somewhere and disappear. Sounds pretty good to me.

Hottie Pottie

Cora did this first in homage to a girls' bathroom she cleaned during the school year. So I'm stealing the idea and doing my own hottie pottie. These are the few I could think of right now. I'm sure another post will be forthcoming once I think of all the people I forgot about this time around.

I still get sad when I think about Heath Ledger. He was such an amazing actor.

tWitch! Love him.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Johnny Depp is a given

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt

Matthew Fox

Robert Downey, Jr.

Every single one of these men is a brunette. That is apparently just the way I roll.

Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Why?

That's the worst part. Nothing legitimate. Besides the fact that absolutely nobody showed up to the activities committee meeting we were supposed to have. I must have confused the dates. I just must have.

As of today, my life can be summed up in one word:

FRUSTRATION.

With pretty much everything. Provo. Boys. My calling. Some things at work. 

I think I need to get out, go away, disappear for a little while. Maybe spend a weekend in Magna, or take a couple of days off work to clear my head.

Whatever I end up doing, it's starting with ice cream for dinner.

Controllable Change

I've been craving change lately, and since most of the things I want to change are out of my control, I focused my energies on something I can control: my hair. So, I went from this:

To this:

Quite a big change, it's true, but so far, it's been a good one.