Here I am again!
This is a picture from my typical route to campus. I passed by this exact scene earlier and almost had to run back to grab my camera for a couple pictures, but decided to be on time to class instead. This is a few hours later: lighting's different and the view's not quite what I had envisioned, but that's life. Also, there's a nice power line running right through the middle of it, but that's Rexburg.

I would like to spend a brief paragraph on Rexburg. It's a funny place. Not just weather-wise (we're supposed to get snow this week, starting today), either. My friend and roommate, Andrew, and I were talking about the newspaper. I had a friend that moved to Nowheresville, Nebraska. He told me once about how the headlines in the newspaper were about grass growing in the sidewalks, sick squirrels, exciting things of that nature. I remember thinking to myself how I would absolutely hate to live in a small town such as that one. Then I moved to Rexburg. After expressing all this to Andrew, he handed me a page from the Rexburg newspaper. It was an entire page about the "Pet of the Month": an amiable cat named Tucker. It was perfect for what we were just talking about! I love Rexburg in a few ways. It's a small town, definitely, and there's not much to do. However, BYU-Idaho's here and it's where I get to do a lot of things and it's where I have a lot of friends. Plus, aside from the occasional cantankerous elderly person (Rexburg is like Florida: it's an end-zone of sorts) giving us students the stink-eye (and hitting us with their cars or canes from time to time), the general population is friendly. Just because it's a small town, though, doesn't mean it doesn't have it's problems. I still lock my car and apartment and don't trust some of the people I meet on darkly-lit streets. Also, it's not a good idea to go many places alone at night. Generally one's okay, but one should be safe rather than sorry. At any rate, it's a great place to be (except in the winter), despite all the complaining one hears about it.
Life's been a-okay. Last Friday, in University Band, a group of students from a conducting class came in to submit us to their acquired skills. The only song they had was one that we will play December 3rd, called A Fugue on Yankee Doodle by John Phillip Sousa (yeeha). We played it over, and over, and over, and over, and over until each conducting student had gone. It's a piece in 4-4 (meaning there are 4 beats in a measure with the standard quarter note getting the beat) time that starts out with a trumpet fanfare. We then played one other song, called Procession of the Nobles by someone who's name escapes me at the moment...a Russian composer. Anyway, that piece also starts out with a fanfare meant to be started by solely yours truly. Procession is in 3-4 time (3 beats in the measure, quarter note still gets it). I was stuck in the Fugue mode. It was pretty funny to witness; I'm the only one playing in front of roughly 100 people and confusing the goodness out of our poor assistant director.
This last weekend was pretty fun, though I didn't get to say a final goodbye to a friend leaving on her mission soon. Friday night had me on a date to a big BYU-I event called Guitars Unplugged. After a casual dinner of pizza and veggies, we witnessed what was determined (by judges) to be the best of a slew of competing guitar shows from the previous two days. It was a good show, plenty of humor, plenty of good tunes. Afterward was the last hour of Latin Night, the weekly event of students getting together to dance various latin dances. I'm still not very good at anything but cha-cha (and that's questionable), so I don't enjoy Latin night as much as I could if I knew the 3 standard dances (bachata, merenge, salsa), but this time I had a good time.
Saturday held some special treats. After a day of just doing homework and addling my brain somewhat, two big events punctuated and enlivened my life. First one: Stake Conference, Saturday night adult session. It was a great session, talking about the Lord's timing, blessings of faith and obedience, courage, etc. Afterward was the annual Masquerade Ball. I went on a quadruple date with a good friend. Pictures are on my facebook (beware, I look strange with a mask on). It was a 3-hour dance, of which I practically danced the whole time. The main hall was filled with the music of a live band and an occasional appearance of an a capella group and it was all ball-room style dancing. Good fun.
Yesterday was host to one of the best non-date nights of the semester. Stake Conference was amazing: Our stake presidency members are powerhouses and pretty humorous. Home teaching was accomplished and no homework was pressing on me. Last night involved helping to make some improvised cookies with Andrew, having some "Family Home Evening sisters" (FHE groups consist of a guys apartment and a girls apartment in the ward, basically) bringing rolls and banana bread, and partaking of the amazing culinary style of another roommate, Denis. There was also plenty of card games and socializing. It was all-around good fun with good feeling. I love times like that.
At any rate, we're at the start of another week. Midterms are here and the pressure's on. Halloween is this week also and although there are no plans for parties that have been related to me in any sort of detail other than "we're going to have one" (aside from Brian and Traci's), it's going to be fun! Happy Halloween everyone!