Wind Art

Considering I hadn't written much on here for a while, I thought it was about time. This will just be a quick little update about my day. Nothing fancy.

First, I just want to say how ridiculous the weather is being. I mean, really? More than half of the day I felt like my face was going to fall off. In fact, I think it might have. I definitely know I left my ears behind somewhere. It just seems surreal that just last week I was getting a sunburn from sitting outside and today I was getting freezer burn. Ha ha corny joke, I know.

Aside from the insanely cold wind nearly ruining my day, it did feel as though I had a very cultural and artsy day. I ate lunch for the first time at the MOA cafe at BYU. So many of my roommates and friends have eaten there and I couldn't believe I hadn't gone yet. So I did. It was utterly amazing. I may be in danger of addiction, it was that good. Now I definitely count that as artsy, wouldn't you say? Being in such close proximity to the actual art in the Museum of Art must count for something.

Then, later this evening, I was able to attend Living Legends. It's basically a big production done by students here at BYU and contains song and dance from different cultures around the world combined to tell an old legend. It had a good message and the talent was superb. There are seriously so many gifted performers here!

Anyway, I realized that I need to be including some more art in my life seeing as I love, love, love it and I miss it too. I actually did the Utah Foster Care Foundation's Annual Chalk Art Festival a few years ago and I've been thinking I should do it again. It's an awesome experience. I really recommend it!!

Well enough of my ramblings for the day. Thanks for listening and just remember...MOA cafe: good. Living Legends: good. Utah Foster Care Foundation's Annual Chalk Art Festival: good, plus you get to help raise money for the foundation at the same time. What could be better than that?

My Night at the Museum

The musty smell of old taxidermy is prevalent as jaguars and cheetahs frozen in defensive poses come into view. The walls are adorned with many protruding animal heads. A young boy somewhere in the distance is exclaiming “whoas” and “holy molys.”



Besides the occasional exclamation, the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum on the Brigham Young University campus remains still and quiet in the early evening darkness.

Walking into the center of the main display room I instantly flashed back to ten years earlier and the last time I took in the same view.

Circling around the room stood displays of habitats with small animals staring back blankly from behind the glass.

Within the maze of displays, the classic museum feel was not lacking as the quiet was slightly filled with educational videos played in the background as the sound of waves hitting the shore and birds cawing were quickly followed by the male voice-over describing seagull feeding habits.

There are not very many life science museums that would have a quote from 1 Nephi plastered on one of the exhibit walls, but the Bean Museum would be one of them.

The scripture is located near the insect exhibit and the butterfly wall. From afar, the wall looks like a simple diagram of a large butterfly with the heading “Butterflies,” but upon moving closer there are hundreds of little butterflies of a variety of colors shaping the larger image.

Not only does the museum provide displays of taxidermy, but the most impressive aspect to visitors, according to museum workers, is the daily shows with live animals.

Museum worker Elise Evans sets a turtle, Otis, on the ground as three young children gather around and crawl across the floor following the animal’s example. She talks to the children teaching them about the turtle. Apparently, turtles can live anywhere from 70 to 100 years.

“My favorite part is talking with the kids,” Evans said. “I was one of those kids that was like ‘whoa!’ so it’s cool that I get to be the one teaching now.”

Another animal is requested and it happened to be a boa constrictor. I instantly recoil and the children, just as quickly, rush up to it. My learned fear has caught up with me as I remember reacting just as the children did ten years previous.

As the children’s mother led them past the rows of posed animals following the show, the young boy turns around and looks at Elise.

“Now, I want a pet turtle for Christmas,” he said.

The Student Saga: Pink Cheek Moments

Last week I was apparently out to discover how many times one person can become embarrassed in a single day, whether I knew it at the time or not.

Embarrassment is bound to happen to everyone. It’s the inescapable enigma that leads us to an awkward happening and subjects us to the scrutiny of those nearby; however, I was under the impression that moments like these were few and far between. For the most part, I guess they are, but that generalization did not hold true for me.

The day started off like any other Thursday. I had been sitting through an enriching economics lecture, but when it came time to leave I had my first glimpse of what the rest of my day would entail.

Maybe it’s what I get for calling the lecture “enriching,” but I opened the classroom door right into a guy coming from the other direction. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t have given me a nasty look and stormed off followed by the giggle fits from the girls behind me that I had to endure all the way out the building.

Okay, no big deal. That was just something that happens once in a while, right? Wrong. Within the next fifteen minutes I had an awkward encounter with a cute boy, a full-blown hair episode (and I mean fully windblown), and a misspoken phrase that left me looking like I should be back in elementary school instead of in college.

Things only got worse as the day continued and by the time all was said and done, I counted eight situations leaving me with pink cheeks and a wish to disappear.

I don't want to go into too much detail, so that I can at least retain some dignity. However, I will say that I did gesture my hands a little too excitedly hitting someone in the process, have a chair I was sitting in (in the midst of 300 people, mind you) make a humiliating noise, and my brain couldn't even stop my mouth from allowing this horrible "whoo, whoo" yell to escape very loudly in the middle of the Cougareat. (That one's a long story, but by far my favorite)

I’m not sure if that day conflicted with the laws of physics in any way, but I personally think something was awry with nature. There’s no other explanation.

My Blogging Journey Begins...

After spending basically forever coming up with a name for this blog, it's finally here! The Megna Doodle (a clever play on the name of the magnetic writing toy in case you never were a child) will be a place where you can read a mix of things. I'll be posting stories I write, updates on my life, and pretty much anything I'm thinking about. Enjoy!