Cirque Du Soleil

Awhile ago there came an offer from BU ASDA (american student dental association) to get tickets to see Cirque du Soleil. Having never seen it I was interested. So I bought a ticket. I didnt particularly care if I ended up going by myself. Cause sometimes ya gotta get over needing to do things with other people. If I waited till I had someone to do the things I want to do with I would probably stay at home all the time and never do anything. 

Tonite was the appointed night. Dee, her roommate Meg, their friend Whitney and myself all met beforehand to go for dinner near where the show was gonna be. It was packed and we ended up running into two fourth years (Liz and Heather) and so they joined us for dinner.

(Meg, Whitney, Liz, Heather, Dee and Myself before the show)

I generally like shows (having an appreciation for the arts la-ti-da). But I was a little skeptical about this one. Yes, it had had amazing reviews and the very little I know about Cirque Du Soleil lends me to believe that its always amazing. But when I got ambitious today and looked up what the show (I mean I had bought the ticket knowing absolutely nothing) was about I was unsure how it'd turn out. I mean its about bugs and an egg that comes into the community. I mean I definitely had my favorite parts but it was worth it overall.

So here is a list of my favorite parts:

1. The Grasshopper-Tramp-Red Spider Section

Mm dang. This part was the freaking bombdiggity. First off, I am in complete awe of that little red spider. That girl is amazing. And I loved her the entire show - she was really a main person but she was always around and always catching my attention. And gravity doesnt apply to her. For real there was one part where she was scaling down the climbing wall and I had the surreal sense that for her there's no such thing as gravity. And the grasshoppers were just freaking cool. Lots of flipping and bouncing from the tramp onto the wall.

2. Little Red Ants

How is it possible for some people to have such control over the smallest part of their body. They were flipping each other with their feet, and spinning things over and over. I was in awe over their control.

3. The big twisty monster

I just liked it ok. I kept having to rework in my mind where the person inside of this costume would be as it twisted and turned.

4. Spider dude 

At one point this guy was holding onto a bar that was balanced on the rope and completely leaned over one side in a handstand. I literally could not figure out how he wasnt toppling right over. To have mad skills like this you must have to be born into the circus - cause I cant fathom regular ol' people having these kind of logic/gravity defying skills.

The jist of it?

It was awesome.

My favorite part of the night was our means of getting home. All over Boston I see the pedi-bike cabs. And I have wanted to take one before, but didnt know what kinda rate they charge or what their deal was. So when we ran into a pedi-cab outside we decided it was a much better form of transportation than the T or a cab. 

Plus how awesome is our pedi-drivers stache. And yes, he totally had a mohawk rocking too. He was pretty funny. And a good sport about lugging four girls piled up behind him.

Um yes we were booking it along for the most part. And no we didnt stop for stop lights if at all possible.

Best way to travel ever. And pedi-cabs work based on tips. So however much you wanna tip 'em is how much the ride costs. I might just be taking a few more rides like this. 

Did I Mention...

That Clinic might just kill me. I'm not sure why, but the school seems to have decided that we're good to go, and given us all a loving pat on the head and a push on the bum out the door. We are on our own. I've been wandering between areas of the clinic, asking questions about protocol, trying to find someone who knows what I'm talking about, talking to my other classmates trying to glean any knowledge they may have picked up, requesting my charts, reading my charts and generally just freaking out. But I decided that its sink or swim baby. So I called up one of my patients today (Mr. R seemed like a good place to start since he's never been a patient at the school before - a fresh start, if you will) and had to do a little ridiculous back and forth phoning to get his appointment booked. But booked it is. I'm nervous. And feel like I dont quite know which way is up. All I want is a little hand holding - is that too much to ask?

Dear BU Dental -

Can you work out a system where you actually

tell the new clinic students a step by step of 

what they should be doing? Cause pretty sure

the majority of us have no idea.

Sincerely,

One Confused New Clinician

P.S. I know I'll be fine, but I hate feeling like I dont know what I'm doing.  (Also, dont worry, Mr. R is not his real name. I believe in HIPAA and not getting in trouble for violating it)

Instant Motivation

Yup. Thats right folks. I just signed up for a 10K.

So Lucinda and Dee pretty much swear by doing races consistently as some much needed motivation for keeping at the drudgery that sometimes is exercising. And they invited me to sign up for this 10K with them. But I'm kinda a suck face runner lately, so I've been really hesitant.

But - I got a proposition this week from Royall. 

I realized that I mention Royall on a fairly regular basis, but dont often post pictures of Royall (since our hang outs never seem to be documented). So meet Royall. Well, Royall is a fitness enthusiast if ever there was one. We used to make work out goals together all the time back in first year. She even mentioned a couple months ago, us doing the Magrath Tri (her and Matt have already done it once, and I was supposed to do it that year but chickened out). So in order to combat that sometimes I'm a total work out flake, Royall proposed that we train for the Magrath Tri 2011. A year away to give us plenty of time. We'd both be setting small, manageable goals and checking in every month, to help keep each other motivated and see how we're doing. 

So I suppose I'm killing two birds with one stone: My dental friends are happy I'm joining in on the race and I'm keeping motivated with Royall for our goals.

I'm really nervous. But this will be good.  

Vacation Recap Tubing The St. Mary's

Family Tradition: We strap tubes to our cars, drive just outside of Cardston and float down the river.

We've been doing it forever. For as long as I can remember. At least once a year, when the Utah Aunts come for a visit (or more if we're sans jobs). If we're lucky its hot when we go down the river, if we're not the Utah Aunts also brought miserable rain with them. But its always fun. There's a cousin posse. I love the cousin posse. I would choose to hang out with them over anyone. They're one of my favorite parts of coming home. 

(Amy Wilde & Jesse)

(Uncle Matt & Meribah)

Pretty classic to strap the tubes to the roof.

One year when held the tubes outside the windows as we drove.

We also got pulled over by a cop that year.

(Aunt Paula, Mom, Peyton, Uncle Dale)

Maikal decided he wanted my tube.

I was opposed to that idea. 

He tried to snipe the tube from me. I won.

Round one that is.

He got me back on the river by dumping me from my tube and usurping it.

Jerk face.

(Mysha & Iohane)

Uncle Dale is always prepared. Full body wetsuit? Check. Large makeshift tube raft? Double check.

Our cousin tube train was maybe a little ambitious. Usually just a couple tubes latch together to ride the river. We decided to go with six or seven different tubes. Nice inclusive idea... that resulted in one massive tube explosion when because of the lack of mobility, the tube got caught on a really pointy rock. 

Bahaha. I love Mysha's face here.

(Iohane & Mysha)

(P.S. I love Amy Wilde's face here. She is just completely adorable and I'm glad she stayed so she could come tubing with us)

It was a great day. Even when Ben drove off in the Red Car with everyone's stuff in it.

(Dont worry, that XL little boys PJ set was skintastic)

We had a big extended family FHE. Which was something.

The story of how my Grandpa and Grandma Lowry met was told.

He was on his mission in the Cook Islands. And my grandma (who wasnt a member) got dared to come into the church building that the Elders were building or renovating. He saw her, she left and he got transferred to a different island. But apparently he couldnt stop thinking about her after he'd been transferred. They were maybe in the same room for five minutes. So he wrote to her and asked her to wait for him to finish his mission, and then he'd come back and marry her. She said no. So he asked her to pray about it and she changed her mind.

I realize that this is my heritage and that the story, of course, happened because I am a direct result of it. But my mind cannot wrap itself around it. If one of my brothers wrote home and told me they saw a girl for five minutes and now wanted to marry her, I would tell them they were crazy. Things like that just arent done. They dont work out. That course of action, is russian roulette with your heart and completely foolish. I just dont see how its possible to love someone so immediately. My grandfather didnt know my grandma at all - so how could he love her so instantly. I realize its history and doesnt matter, but I dont understand it. Not even a little bit. I explained my skepticism to my father and he said that my great grandpa Lowry was already dead so my grandpa Lowry didnt have a father to write to and who would tell him to keep his mind on his mission. I mentioned my unbelief in the situation to a friend who chalked it up to following the Lords counsel. Both those are all well and good, but where was the risk assessment, the pro/con list? Cause I feel like, situations like that, more often than not, would end very badly. 

My brother asked the question "Is it possible to fall in love in three days?" To which I would respond a resounding no. I understand that if you have a checklist of things required to fall in love, and within three days someone meets the checklist, you might call that love. But I think that constancy and appreciating someone for who they really are make up love. And both of those require time. I doubt I'll have to eat my words anytime soon, but I dont think I could trust a "three day love"... if those emotions were generated so quickly, couldnt they just as easily evaporate? You have to be able to trust the dependancy of someone's affections and how can you possibly do that if you dont really know the person? Call me cynical but I think crushes can be a three day thing, not love.

Vacation Recap Pictures Speak A Thousand Comforts

One night, while I was at home I threw myself a party for one. A pity party that is. I love being home, I really do, but its also really hard for me to be there. Because my life in Alberta is pure fiction. I dont really exist there anymore. And its hard being in a place, and remembering what its like to exist, only to have reality come crashing back down and tap ever so subtly on your shoulder and remind you that in fact, you dont belong there anymore. Add to that my niece yelling at me (things I used to yell at adults when I was her age) and no one seeming to care about spending time with me, even though I would be leaving shortly, and spending most of the day waiting for cousins who'd said they would come hang out and then never showed up and I was wondering yet again, why I ever go back to Alberta when it has the ability to make me so sad. While I was throwing this pity party, I decided to look through some old family photo albums. Somehow these small reminders of the past always make me feel better. I dont know why, but I was under the impression that there werent any photos from my childhood. Which is silly, because I remember my parents taking pictures - I guess I just assumed the pictures had been lost. These photos brought me back to sanity. And with them ended my party for one. I didnt copy all of my favorites to my computer but these are a few I knew I couldnt leave home without.

Me and baby Josh. I love how tiny he is. And I love my hair. I forgot how much I loved my mushroom cut. I might be debating doing an adult version of this little ditty.

This is me on one of my first days of Kindergarten. Yes I have a black eye. And yes, Matt is sitting next to me in my class. I dont remember ever having seen this picture before. But I love it. 

Look closely. I'm wearing a unicorn shirt. A UNICORN shirt for heaven's sake. How completely awesome is that. I love how young we (Angie, Me, Candi, Amelia and Lindsay) look. 

I wish I had copied a different photo of Matt and I (there's one that I didnt even remember having seen before of us playing a gameboy together in the car) - but this one is pretty great. We were in Fairmont back when our family used to rent seadoos. We lived in our sleeveless wet suits back then. And Matt hated going into the water. Exploring around the edges and discovering rusty chains or critters was always acceptable tho. 

I love photos. I love how they can transport you back.  They represent a link to days long since past. And its comforting to know that there is physical proof of the person I used to be. Proof that I existed.

Vacation Recap Large Lowry Family Gathering

Good gracious I love my family. Sure, there are time when I'm annoyed with how ridiculous everyone is. But its an endearing kind of annoyance. So to say I was excited for the week long "family reunion" (which really happens every year but this year had an official itinerary) would be an understatement. The family gatherings used to be too much for me as a child. They were loud, crowded and I had a thing about eating food I didnt know where the hands who made it had been. I mean I still get annoyed and overwhelmed at times. But the family, MY family, really are wonderful - even if we're all stupidly stubborn.

A few of my favorite parts of the Sunday family dinner?
- Aunt Margaret. Freak. She's so quick witted and so quiet about it. You only catch how completely brilliant she is if you're sitting really close. And paying attention. She's always been my favorite person to hover around during family gatherings. I just love her commentary.
- Reading parties. Did I start the first Artemis Fowl book on Sunday? Yes. Did I end the night finishing the book and having it read out loud to a big group of us cousins? Yes. Its just my favorite. We may be reading, but we're also together.

There's Only One.

This is what I have to look at every time I go to my fridge.

And I grind my teeth and contemplate throwing it away.

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME

I hate so much about this saying. Its offensive to me. It goes against everything that I've learned as I've matured and progressed. Instead of celebrating the out of the ordinary that makes each of us remarkable, it makes them insignificant. You're unique - JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. What a horrible little catch phrase. It really means that your differences between the next person mean nothing. Therefore everything that makes you YOU means nothing. Therefore you mean nothing. Just another faceless person in a crowd. It calls for you to treat one person interchangeably with the next, because individual people dont matter. I dont know who in their right mind thought this was inspirational. How depressing. It brings back the feelings of Junior high, when everyone wants to disguise their differences to blend in. Because standing in a crowd and being invisible is easier than standing in a spot light (tho I do concede that the spot light has its full share of obstacles - but FYI worth it). But the older I've gotten the more I appreciate that not everyone is the same. I believe so much in being an individual and this phrase puts to shame everything that individuality stands for. Since when has being the exact carbon copy replica of someone else ever been a good thing? Since when do you categorize someone's uniqueness into the "different" category and call it the same as someone else's? People should be valued for their distinctiveness - not stamped with a "UNIQUE" stamp and put in a row behind all the other "unique" people. 


I've had this exact phrase used on me; to tell me I'm not special, I dont matter, and that when it comes right down to it, I'm completely and utterly replaceable (and for that person I was all of those things). This phrase turns something that should be treasured (our being one of a kind), into just another run of the mill thing. "Oh there's an individual, oh and another one. Weird how all the individuals look the same." I hate it. I think it fosters exactly the wrong mentality about people. Individuals matters. One person isnt just like another person; no matter their similarities. And each person offers something new and fresh to the world. We need differences between people - because there are different roles that need to be fulfilled. The most admired individuals in history (Albert Einstein, Gandhi, Florence Nightingale - just to name a few) are admired because they stood out, and gave the world something that no one else could offer. Their individuality lead to new ideas, new inventions, new ways of thinking. Imagine if they had decided that sure, they were different, but their differences were unimportant; would they have contributed what they did if they thought that their contributions were irrelevant? I would never dare to say that each of my brothers is the exact same person - and thats what this saying does. Except on a much wider scale. It takes the emphasis off people and I'll say it again - People matter. Sure not every single person will matter to you personally, but each person in their own right matters. Its the whole point of individual rights. 


I admit, sometimes I forget this or am arrogant about my own one-of-a-kind-ness. And I realize that's the wrong attitude to have.  "your uniqueness (doesnt) exempt you from emotional and social responsibility". I dont get to do whatever the hell I want just because I'm an Individual. I mean I could, but it'd be pretty darn selfish and possibly infringe on the individual rights of someone else. Because my individuality (no matter how much it may mean to me) isnt more important than someone else's. Sure, everyone is unique. But that doesnt make them (individually) any less important. Nor does it give me the right to treat them as such.


So no, I dont think you're unique, just like everyone else. You're unique, like no one else.