The Washington, D.C. update

So, here's my update schedule for my internship in the U.S. Capital City. As you know, I'll be working with Senator Bob Bennett, R-UT. I recently received my assignment with his office, which I'm really excited about, in the Senate Rules Committee--Senator Bennett is the ranking Republican on this committee.

I leave tomorrow, Friday, May 1st, from St. George on a shuttle to Las Vegas Airport. My flight leaves at 11.30pm (that's right, the red-eye flight) and should arrive in D.C. at about 7.30am on Saturday.

We've narrowed down the clothes etc that I'll be taking and will pack it all tomorrow. Then, I'm off for the summer. You should've been here while I was going through my clothes. I have so many BYU t-shirts. I've also had to limit the things I could take, down to two suit cases. Good times.

The RV and more

So, last night I got back from Salt Lake where we took the RV to be serviced.

Can I just say how much I love senior citizens? Brother Stevens is seriously one of the funniest people that I know. He's the only one who can get away with complimenting waitresses the way he does--I only wish I could say some of the things that he says to them. Keep in mind, he's not really rude, just very straightforward. "What is a beautiful girl like you doing mopping floors?" I can't even remember some of the good ones.

My favorite things that Uncle Jack says are curse words. I know. Call me childish, but he is so funny. He tells stories or gets worked up and they just come out. He was telling this one story and then he said, "And he just laughed his 'a' off." (I censored this for you)

Anyway, we're back home and Aunt Jane has made my favorite homemade bread. She does it so good.

Final thought, you should call your grandparents more often--at least make sure that they know you love them. I was talking to Uncle Jack about my family and then I asked about his grandchildren. He said something that really made me think, he said, "Yup, I don't think they love me." He then said they'd probably say they love him, but he didn't feel it. Or their actions don't show it. Long story short, call your grandparents and tell them you love them!

Blessings coming out of my eyeballs...

During Christmas 2006, almost one year after I arrived, I spent the holiday season with my mission friends, Jack and Jane Stevens. While enjoying their home in a small southern Alabama town called Brewton, they gave me a little envelope on Christmas day with a note that said, "A laptop computer." As soon as we could, after the 25th, we went and purchased a new HP dv6000--a good computer that has served me well (almost to the death).

Fast forward to today, about 2 1/2 years after that awesome Christmas--here I am. Not south Alabama, but south St. George, and I'm about to go to Washington, D.C. for my summer internship. Yup, you guessed it, the Stevens purchased me a new computer today. We went to Costco (looked at a few computers) and then we went to Best Buy.
Pictured here is an example of my new HP dv5 that we purchased today. I know. I'm really spoilt but I figure that I must be doing something right.

The SunRiver Third Branch

I love going to church with older people. The SunRiver area is a retirement community limited to people that are 55 years old or older. This small area, just barely a part of St. George, has three branches. They are pretty funny. One of the old ladies even hit on me...it was hilarious. I'm getting to know some of the Stevens friends by first name too. Today, during priesthood, I didn't have to introduce myself to them for the 5th time.

Anyway, I'm excited to relax. I just found out that we need to go back to Salt Lake this week--to get the motorhome fixed--so I'll be able to wave goodbye to my favorite American town again. Cry again too. ha ha

What a week?!

Wow, where do I begin? I haven't blogged for a few days because of what's been happening:

MORE NEW ZEALANDERS: On Tuesday, I went to pick up some family friends who arrived from New Zealand--Hayden and, his mother, Vanessa. Hayden is a freshman starting this spring and he grew up in my ward back home. His father is my Stake President and was my Bishop growing up too. I was really excited to see them and we all pretty much all hung out for the last few days. I took them all around BYU; we went on a campus tour, went to the bookstore, visited with some advisors, Hayden decided he wanted to be an Industrial designer, went to my office, did Cafe Rio, enjoyed Tucanos--it's been AWESOME! I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.

GRADUATION: When Chance and I arrived at the ASB for the processional, we were able to shake hands with a number of Seventy (Elder Rasband, Elder Walker, and Elder Zivic). Then, eventhough I wasn't graduating, I put on a black robe and was ushered into a room, along with Chance and Joseph, to meet President Uchtdorf, Elder Christofferson, and Elder Nelson. I made some funny comments (trying to make conversation instead of stand there awkwardly) and it didn't really work out the best. Anyway, they gave some amazing talks and I was excited, even a little emotional about it. I really felt pretty blessed then, as I have throughout the year.

CLEANING UP AND MOVING OUT: So, this week marked the end of an era for my time in the BYUSA Office. I cleaned up my office, with the help of some friends (Thanks Hayden and Bethany). With their help, I was able to get it all done pretty quickly. We also made a stop at Wal*Mart and Krispy Kreme--it was Hayden's first time. Today I packed up my room and came down here to St. George. I'm leaving from the Las Vegas airport to go to DC on the Friday night red-eye flight. Woohoo! I'm ready to relax for the next couple of days.

The before photo (we were all really happy to be cleaning).

This is where we were bringing the trolley back from dropping off my boxes full of office stuff. We went on a little ride around the wilk. Some people weren't very impressed.

My beloved board--before I erased it for Elise. A tribute to everyone that's ever written on my board.

Do not be deceived!

Have your professors ever tried to fake you out before? I mean. I really liked seeing this on the screen, however, a closer inspection confirmed my worst fears. I really thought that I didn't do that great on my last Final today--Religion 211 (New Testament). Below is a screen shot from my Route Y account:


Don't be fooled! I was a little skeptical and wanted to wait and see. So, I clicked "View" and I didn't see all green "Correct" answers--there were some red "Incorrect" ones there too. That tells me that my professor really is a great guy. He wanted everyone to feel loved at the end of the year. I think that is noble. However, I still don't know how I really feel about being lied to. I didn't get 100%. If you don't earn it, is it really that cool anymore? What do you think?

When I first finished the test, I did have this face:


But that has been replaced with a face similar to this one:


Yes, someone is about to stick their finger up my nose.

I can be efficient!

For those of you who thought that I was a lost cause. Think again. Yesterday, Friday (the first day of finals) this is what I accomplished:

• I woke up around 7am and went to the gym
• Studied for a bit and then received some visa paperwork via fax from Washington, D.C. (for my internship)
• Processed the paperwork at the Marriott School Undergraduate Advisement Center and the International Student Service Office
• Studied for a bit more and took my Public Relations Test--the Testing Center screen said "AWESOME!" because I scored a 93% (doesn't happen that often)
• Finished off some bits and pieces in the office
• Went to dinner with some dear friends and let one of them know I am part Asian (my Great-Great-Grandfather was Chinese--he then went and had 15 kids in Samoa)

I know, to some of you, that may not seem terribly efficient. However, I missed out a number of details and I really felt good about life achievements yesterday. At the beginning of the week, I was not even able to think about finals. With one down, I've got two more and a presentation to go. Academically, this semester has actually gone pretty well for me. I'm not sure if I'm going to get straight A's, but I certainly gave it a go.

Also, I forgot to mention on here how much I loved Unforum this year. For those of you who don't know, Unforum replaces the BYU Devotional and is organized by BYUSA. This year, I was able to play a pivotal role throughout the planning process and nearly started crying after it all came together so well on the day (Shout out to Ryan and his team). Because it is one of the last programs the administration sees of us, I was really nervous. I'm pretty relieved it's all done--especially because there were some dramas associated with it.

The Rotaract Club

The other day I was asked to serve in the BYU Rotaract Club over the International service project (because I'm international, naturally). Two of the guys on the presidency are from my first BYU ward, and one guy is from Australia. We had a short presidency meeting--now we are pumped to go out and save the world (pretty much).

Click here to be linked to the club website. "BYU Rotaract club is a Rotary sponsored club for leadership and service with over 170,000 members worldwide. All current BYU students are invited and welcome to join." And click here to find out more about Rotaract as an "international phenomenon." You know it is...ha ha.

Look what I found: 1997 High School Photo

The Symbolic Inauguration...

So, today marked the official end of an era. That's right, today I took part in the swearing in of the new BYUSA Presidency. My good friend and comrade, Elise May, was given the "Torch of Office" today, atop the Spencer W. Kimball Tower.

Pictured here at the happiest place on earth, Elise symbolically took the reigns today and will officially take office at the beginning of Spring Term. I'm going to try and get my stuff out of the office as soon as possible, but I still have internal responsibilities till April 14th and University responsibilities till April 23rd. Long story short--I've got a bunch to do before we get kicked out.

Funniest question is "So, aren't you the lame duck right now?" Yes, if lame ducks still have fifty million things to do. That's right. I'm a lame duck. Ha ha...I'm experiencing a feeling of bitter sweetness. That's all. Bitter because it's really been an amazing ride and Sweet because there are obviously other things for me to do (like graduate, find a wife, take the LSAT and get into grad school).

At the end of the day, I want you all to know I fully support, endorse and love Elise. She's going to be a wonderful president (much better looking too).

The new Grad Plan!

Guess what? Remember how I thought that I had to take about 31 credit hours plus to graduate next April. However, I went to the Marriott Advisement Center and he gave me a yellow paper that told me what GE's count for double requirements. YES! We found two classes that count for two each.

What does this mean? I get to take 15 hours this Fall and then 10 hours next Winter. Oh my gosh--I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my life! I'm considering dropping one Fall class to take it in Winter (it's hard and I may not get an A out of it).

I'm so excited--

Don't understand what Socialism is?

Brother Steven's recently sent me this email. I laughed and realized that many people don't know what Socialism actually is. It took me a while to understand--I'm still trying to figure it out. Coming from a country that has, as of late, become pretty socialized (due to the former liberal government). That's given me a different perspective about life. If you don't trust me when I say that socialism is actually a bad thing, read this little example:

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student, but had once failed an entire class.

The class (students) insisted that socialism worked since no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism."

"All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A."

After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who had studied hard were upset while the students who had studied very little were happy.

But, as the second test rolled around, the students who had studied little studied even less and the ones who had studied hard decided that since they couldn't make an A, they also studied less. The second Test average was a D.

No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average grade was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling, all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for anyone else..

To their great surprise all failed. The professor told them that socialism would ultimately fail. The harder people try to succeed the greater their reward (capitalism) but when a government takes all the reward away (socialism) no one will try or succeed.

The Washington DC Listserv Drama

So, chances are I'll actually get to meet some of these people. For their privacy, I considered blanking out their names, but I really wanted you all to have a good laugh. I'm going to show you an original post that someone actually made on the DC listserv(sort of like a wall/group for people interested or living in DC)--seriously, real life Mormon drama right here:

If you're a single woman who's interested in going on an exciting and *one-of-a-kind date*, then this might be the most important email you've ever read. If you're like most women I imagine you're looking to meet a smart, funny, and attractive guy. Someone who's not a pushover, but also not bossy or controlling. Someone who is goal oriented who's also tall with a good set of teeth (at least that's what I'm told you're looking for). Well, my name is Jason Hanson and I'm in the Langley Ward. And I’m ready to go on a quality date. Why? Because the dates that I’ve been going on lately have been boring and also because Spring is here, so I need to find a partner in crime to enjoy the warm weather with! That's where you perhaps come in. Because, if what you're about to read interests you at all, it might be the beginning of the most exciting adventure of your life! Alright, times a wastin', let’s get right down to business:

*Here are 9 things of what I AM and what I AM NOT looking for in an exciting-fun-date-partner:*

1. You have to have a personality. Really. If you're a bump on a log, if you're zero fun, if we were out on a date and I had to lean across the table and grab your wrist to check your pulse to see if you're still alive....well, we probably wouldn't be a good match.

2. You're smart. I find intelligence extremely attractive. And no, I don't necessarily mean book smarts. I'm a college graduate, but college doesn't teach you diddly squat about the real world. Most of the "real" learning in this world is done by self-education which is why I read one book per week.

3. You're funny. This one is mucho importante (that means “very important” for you un-bilingual people.....and no, I don't care that un-bilingual isn't a word). Anyway, you have to have an awesome sense of humor. Most things in life aren’t that important and you should definitely be able to laugh at yourself.

4. You should be confident. You should believe in yourself (like the little engine that could).

5. You must be ambitious. It doesn't matter what you want to do with your life (painter, stay at home, teacher, doctor, professor, archeologist). But, at least want to be the best at whatever you choose to do.

6. You need to at least like the outdoors. I love camping and hiking. There's nothing better than sitting around a roaring campfire eating smores as the chocolate oozes out the edges and you get to lick it up and try not to burn your tongue.

7. You need to be positive. Life is great! You're alive; you live in the greatest country in the world. You have a roof over your head, food in your stomach and clothes on your back.

8. Okay. This one's another biggie. I'm not looking for a Molly Mormon (you know who you are). Listen, I love the church as much as anyone. I know it's true. I go to church every Sunday and Institute every Thursday. However, if you can't go two seconds without saying something like "heavenly father this" or "heavenly father that" then we won't get along. (Yes, I've really been on a date with a girl like that. If I had a gun with me I would have put it in my mouth and…......you get the point). So please be well rounded.

9. You're sweet. Yeah, that’s kind of a cliche (where in the heck is the key on the keyboard for the slanted line that's supposed to go over the e in cliche? And what in the world is the name for that slanted thingy anyway?

Ahhh. Who cares.)

*So should I tell you a little something about yours truly? Fine. I will.* Well, as I said earlier I’m in the Langley Ward. I’m 28. I live in Fairfax, VA. I own two real estate businesses and also have another job….but I’m not going to reveal that job through email, so I’ll tell you when we talk. I love the outdoors. I love life (I sincerely mean that. My mother died of cancer a few years ago. That gave me a daily gratefulness for life that few people understand). I believe in taking risks and going after whatever you want in life. I’m 6 foot 1, and I brush my teeth three times a day with Colgate’s MaxFresh with Mouthwash Beads (this is the best toothpaste ever, trust me). Anyway, if any of the above sounds good to you then I would possibly love to take you on a date. Why only possibly? I’m glad you asked. *Because if you're not boring (or a serial killer) and this peaked your interest (along with the pictures I’ve attached), here's what you should do:

First, send me an email and say "Jason, I might want to go on a date with you, you’re not that much of a hideous freak, so let’s chat". Once I get your email we’ll chat a bit and I’m gonna ask you for some pictures of yourself (it’s only fair, you’ve seen me). And if all goes well, I will email you back and ask for your phone number.

Once I get your number I will give you a call and if we seem to get along I will ask you out on a date (if we can't stand each other, we of course will never have to talk again). Then, on the night of our date I will pick you up, open the car door for you and we will..........................you didn't really think I was going to tell you did ya? What fun would that be? But I will tell you that I'll take you somewhere I *GUARANTEE* you've never been before. Thank you. -Jason

Then we had this reply by a DC female:

WARNING LADIES!!! I just wanted to give you all a quick look at the real Jason Hanson. Jason took me on one of his so called “exciting and one-of-a-kind dates” recently and I must say it definitely was one of a kind.

Things started off normal enough, Jason picked me up and took me to dinner but once at dinner things started to go downhill. I should have known things were going to be bad right after we ordered our food. Jason talked endlessly about himself and his companies. If I came off
as a bump on the log, its only because he couldn’t stop talking.

When the food finally came, Jason pulled the cancer card for the umpteenth time and recited how his whole outlook on life has changed since his mother death. I honestly felt sorry for him and wanted to offer a prayer to give thanks for the food as I always do. That’s when Bizzaro Jason arrived. He started on a rant on how he can’t stand “Molly Mormons”. Well Jason, I am truly saddened that God decided it was your mother’s time, but please remember He has a plan for all of us and we will become stronger because of it. Saying one prayer of thanks before a meal
doesn’t make someone a “Molly Mormon”.

After dinner finally ended it was time for Jasons little “nature walk”. I should have said no. Believe me… I should have said no. Surprise smores in a shady park of NE Washington is not my idea of a guaranteed good time. In fact, the entire date was a bit akward and a little creepy. Reflecting back on that night, I consider myself the exact opposite of Jasons personality and definitely NOT the “Ying to his Yang” (Im sure his ex-wife didn’t even fit that profile). If you’re a fun, open minded girl that doesn’t care if a guy is 6’1” or 4’8” I would definetly dodge this bullet. P.S. – “mucho importante”… Really? Let's go back to Spanish 1

Then this comical reply by a DC male:

hahahahaa thanks Jason, for providing so much comedy during my busy mornings at work. Reading these emails has been a blast.

I dont know you buddy, but this was some major ownage by Molly here. Unless she's just got sour grapes cause you didn't call her, I'd say its time to do some major damage control....like, maybe asking girls out in person from now on :)

And finally, this reply from a DC female:

First of all Ms. Molly Sampson, let me say thank you for this letter. Thank you for showing everyone how ugly, judgmental, and superficial some women can be. Its unfortunate your date with Jason wasn't the "dream date" you had in mind…..i.e. he proposed a week later. It sounds to me like you went on a date with a guy and your personalities just didn't click. OMG! You must be the first person in the history of the world to go on a so-so date. We all feel SO sorry for you.

He talked a lot and you sat there like a log. Maybe he's looking for someone that can jump in and hold her own. Clearly you don't fit that profile. Does that make him a narcissistic jerk that all women should stay away from? No. It makes him a guy with a personality that you're not drawn to. That is not a reason to "warn the world" about him. Also, your reference to the "cancer card" is disgusting. It's true, we all experience trials that do change our outlook on life. Your response makes you sound like an insensitive individual. It was a nice jab about not being the "ying to his yang". If only we could all be perfect (apparently like you) and not have a past.

I bet after reading this email of yours the guys are just lining up to take out someone as…….interesting as you seem to be. Someone that will tear to pieces every little move that they make, and (God forbid) they let anything about their past slip out, because now they know they'll see it on the listserv. Hmmmnnnn, and we all wonder why Mormon girls don't date…..probably because of this wonderful personality that ladies like yourself are perpetuating.

Don't worry though, I'll pray for you =)

Laura G.

All in all, one of the best chain wall posts I've seen in a while. I wanted to share this with you. If you made it this far, raise your right hand--now slap yourself--because that was ridiculous, don't you think?

Remember I love ya!