So I'm living with the parents for the next couple months, and a week or so ago I came across a letter I'd written to my family when I was in Bolivia serving a mission. It amused me so I thought I'd share:

"There's a young woman, Nelly, who wants to be baptized but we need to get permission from her parents before she can. She told us recently that she had kneeled in her room to pray, and was asking out loud, "Heavenly Father, help me know if the Book of Mormon is true." Meanwhile, her brother had heard her praying so he came to the door and said "Noooooo."

Haha while she may have been surprised by that response, I believe she did get an answer from Heavenly Father that the Book of Mormon was His word, in addition to the Bible. Sometimes I just sit in awe of this book, and ask myself, "Did all this stuff really happen?" But when I read it, I feel so happy, and when I apply the principles from it in my life, I feel that I'm a better person and I'm closer to Heavenly Father. Just like the Bible, it helps me look to Christ as my savior, and it helps me understand what will make me the most happy here in this life. I'm glad I have the Book of Mormon in my life to learn from, and I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't read it before--and also for those who have :)

Autos, autos, everywhere

So halfway through August, I moved back in with the 'rents for a couple months. I feel that I'm doing a good job freeloading here, but occasionally I'll help the family out. Beyond, of course, gracing them with my presence and serenading them with the four (soon to be five!) chords I know on the guitar. Most recently "being helpful" has involved chauffeuring my youngest sister, Haley, to high school.

Naturally, I feel it's reasonable to sleep in as much as possible. So when it was time for Haley to leave, around 7:40 am, I was still in bed. A pair of flip-flops and a sweatshirt later, we were on our way to high school. But there was something very unearthly about the experience. Maybe unearthly isn't the right word...maybe very unVentura-ly.

I live in a very calm suburban town. For the most part, people leave here to go work in Los Angeles or Santa Barbara or other, more exotic places; they typically leave around 6:30 am for work, or if they're really anxious to go and park on the freeways, they leave for work around 7:00 or 7:30 am. That being the case, normally the streets are pretty quiet in the morning.

But that day (and the next, and the next) as we went to the local high school, I was pretty sure that every single car in Ventura was on the way to the same block we were. Maybe they weren't all going to the high school, but our high school is half a block away from a middle school, kitty-corner to an elementary school, and down the street from a community college. As a result, what is normally a simple seven minute drive became a twenty minute all-out strategic battle: cars jockeying for space in the turning lanes, only to have to wait for three or four light cycles before actually turning, cars trying to change lanes and actually accomplishing the objective five minutes later. Drivers were nice to each other, and really, no bad driving was taking place. It was simply very, very crowded.

Haley and I managed to get to school by taking a right turn when we'd normally go left (but of course, we couldn't because there was no room in the left turn inn. I mean, lane.), making a U-turn about 50 feet past the light (at an intersection, very neatly and very legally. I think.), barreling down the main road leading to all these schools, pulling some neat maneuvering around apartments, dumpsters, and back lots of grocery stores, and finally ending up across the street from the high school. Haley had about five minutes to get onto campus, get across campus, and get in her seat before the bell rang.

After Haley began her cross-campus run, I turned around and headed home, mostly retracing the route we had just taken (but minus the back lots and dumpsters). But somehow, in the ten minutes it had taken for me to retrace my path, all the cars had vanished. There was still the occasional station wagon or SUV putting along the freeway, but the masses of automobiles that had clogged Ventura's streets just minutes before had all disappeared. I'm still trying to figure out where all the cars go during that, but I've decided, in the end, it's a pretty good magic trick.

BEC: Check. FAR: Check. AUD: please oh please oh please...

I passed I passed I passed I passed I passsed!!!!

So far I've taken two sections of the CPA exam--probably the easiest and the hardest ones. Last week I knew I'd get my score back for the first one, but I didn't think the second (and harder) one would have been posted. To my delight, I found out tonight that I got passing scores for both tests. I think I may have studied too hard...but that's okay, they're all over with forever. Hooray!

These both give me extra confidence for the next one I take, in about 65 hours...I haven't studied nearly as much on this one, and I'm counting on my mad multiple choice skills and my stunning good looks to get me through it.

FAR (but not far enough)

So much depends

upon

A CPA

test

Glazed with

rain

Beside the white

chickens

How can you tell a Utahn from a Californian?

Now, I know there are many differences between people who live in Utah and people who live in California. For example, when Californians go to the beach, they head toward the Pacific; when people in Utah go to the beach, they head toward a lake. Any lake. Nevertheless, I recently became aware of another schism.

My friend Donna and I took a road trip to Los Angeles last weekend, and through the course of our trip we traversed several freeways. When I was getting directions from friends, the conversation would often proceed in the following manner:

Emily: "Ok, take the 134 West to the 2 North to the 101 North to the 405 South, and that should get you there."

Me: "Ok. The 134 to the 2 to the 101 to the 405. I think I got it."

Now, Donna grew up in Utah and so she's used to the idea of a freeway. Having to cross many freeways in a single trip was a little less common for her, but still not mind-blowing. However, for her, a conversation about multiple freeways would probably go such:

Donna: "Ok, take I-15 North to I-80 West, and you'll be there."

Angela: "Ok, I-15 North to I-80 West. I think I got it."

Did you notice the difference? After living in Utah for about 6 years, I never had, so don't feel bad if you didn't.

What I discovered with Donna was that Californians tend to use the definite article "the" in front of the names of our freeways. We don't waste time mentioning whether the freeway is an interstate or not; it doesn't really matter, usually, because you won't be on the freeway long enough to change states. You'll be on another freeway--perhaps another two or three--within the next hour.

Utahns, however, have perhaps as many freeways to claim as they have fingers on one hand; therefore, they don't feel the same pressing need to shorten the titles of the freeways; after all, they rarely travel on two different freeways in the same day. Therefore, they ceremoniously refer to their freeways as "I-15" or "I-80." Though they usually don't intend to traverse the freeway long enough to change states, they still must mention that the freeway is an interstate one, so you could visit another state on it, if you'd like to. I think it's very endearing.

As long as you ask a Utahn about directions to I-15 or I-80, you will get very positive results. But start asking about directions to "the 15" and you'll probably get a blank stare or a pause for just a second--long enough for the person you're speaking with to think "Oh, the poor dear...obviously confused and mixed up. Who would ever call I-15, 'the 15'! Well, I won't make her (or him) feel bad...I'll just tell her (or him) how to get to I-15 and maybe someday she'll (or he'll) catch on." After which you'll get your directions.

But for the dear souls hoping to perhaps bridge this syntactic Utah-California gap, "the I-15" is apparently just as painful to hear as "the 15." Feel free to steer clear of both--just call it "I-15" and you'll be fine.

Christlike love

Probably the most amazing and difficult thing for me to comprehend is the love that my Saviour, Jesus Christ, has for each and every person on this earth. He doesn't love us because we are extremely intelligent, because we are incredibly talented, or because we have prominent connections to other people--He loves us because He is our brother, and because He sees the divine potential we have within ourselves to become more like Him. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are filled with examples of Jesus Christ's love as well as Heavenly Father's love, shown in word and deed.

Our Savior came to Earth in part so that he could show us, His brothers and sisters, the sort of life we should live. In His sermon on the mount, he told us, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy ^bneighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you....For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Matthew 5:43-44,46)

I served a mission for my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Bolivia, and while I was there, I saw how important it is to love others, and to love them unconditionally. Every time I go somewhere new or talk to someone new, I see how much each person, including me, needs to be loved by others. I know that it can be incredibly difficult sometimes to love someone, especially if we have been hurt by something that someone has done, but I've come to see that loving a person does not mean condoning everything that a person does. It means treating others with the love and respect that our Saviour would treat them if he were in our position. As I set aside differences and grow to love people that have come into my life, I feel a great happiness, whereas if I shut people out and I do not seek to know them and love them, I become miserable. I know that as I try to emulate the Saviour, I will become more and more happy, and I will come to better know my Heavenly Father and my saviour Jesus Christ.