My Not-so-lyrical Ode to Catering

My last shift at the job that's supported me for the past four years was about two weeks ago. And I miss it.

Hiding drinks from EFY kids...they'll think twice before they ask me to do ice again ;)

Catering was the reason for my burnt finger tips, the bloody lump on my head, bruised shins, sore feet and ripped jeans. Because of catering I enjoyed many long days on campus, sometimes up to 17 hours. Sometimes I found myself at the Wilk at 5:15am. Sometimes I'd be in the dish room 'til 2:30am. Sometimes I'd come in to do a rack-up at 1am because that was the only time I had to do it. Sometimes I'd work 9 hour shifts without a break (don't tell Donna!) Sometimes I would begin my day with work, then go to class, then go back to work, then back to class, then back to work, then go play soccer, and then come back to work to prepare for the next day. (What's this homework stuff I'm supposed to be doing?) One time I worked 7 shifts in two days with a solid 7+ hour shift for football the next day.

Me, Carissa, and Joyce with an impressively packed truck...and the end of a nine hour shift...that was longer than 9 hours...

If it weren't for me in catering, that glass pane in the Garden Court might not have been broken. That cement pillar by the JFSB would not have been knocked over. That girl's pants would not have been ripped by the plate cart.

The passover crew: Me, Terence, Jordan, Sarah, and Amber at Passover. Our spoons were so shiny :)

If it weren't for catering I probably would have starved, or at least died of scurvy.  I would never have been educated to the wonders of creme brulee or haggis. I would have never worked a "bar" or learned to tie (near) perfect bows or fold napkins several different "acceptable" ways.

Gettin' the band back together: Brady, Jokke, and Zack

If it weren't for catering I would never have refilled General Petraeus' water glass. If it weren't for catering I would have never had profound conversations (consisting solely of 'thank you' and 'you're welcome') with Presidents Beck or Wixom (among others). Elder Perry would never have made me feel awkward for not being married or wished me luck on my mission. I would have never poured President Monson's soup, or served Navajo Tacos at President Eyring's family reunion. I would have never had occasion to give President Uchtdorf a bagel. Cecil O. Samuelson would not know my name.

If it weren't for catering I wouldn't have many of my greatest friends--I discovered that about 15% of my Facebook friends have worked for catering. I would not have been featured on Asleep at BYU. The triad of catering songs would have never existed. And I would not have hundreds of stories that I have now that could never be done justice in a blog post.

The picture that made me famous ;)

Here's some favorite quotes.

Lorraine: My thoughts are in Portuguese...but I don't know Portuguese...which explains a lot, I guess.

Christian: Por favor, mantenga sus manos, brazos, pies, piernas y en el interior del vehiculo en todo momento. (or something like that)
Dave: Uhh, I'll have the spaghetti.

Terence: If you were diced onions would you rather be tonged or sp--...nevermind.

Me: I did the math and found that there are 3 girls to every guy at catering.
Terence: I like those odds.
Me: But you have a girlfriend...
Terence: Yes, but I'm Mormon.

"What's this broom doing here? I don't need it, I drove my car today."

 I bid catering a fond farewell. It's been a pleasure.

Year in Review 2012

It's been a while since my last post, but here's to renewed intentions, eh?

It's been a fabulous year with many fabulous new friends made, many experiences shared, and much knowledge gained. Here are some of the highlights:

Intramurals! I had the fabulous opportunity to captain a volleyball team that made it to the finals, as well as a kickball team that made it to the quarter-finals of the upper division (that means I had one of the top 8 kickball teams at BYU!) I also played some basketball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee. Most important, were my amazing teammates: I got to play with some of the greatest people I have ever met.

My ninja training began to pay off! One morning at the beginning of the year, I was riding my bike to school. I hate to admit that I was riding on the sidewalk, but the shoulder had piles of snow :p The sidewalks were also lightly dusted, which meant that I couldn't see exactly where the sidewalk met the grass. I went to maneuver around some people and went a little too far to the right. Right in front of these people, my bike jerked to the left, heading straight for the busy road. The thought I'm going to die went through my head. Motivated by adrenalin, my arm wrapped around the conveniently placed light post at the edge of the sidewalk. I swung off the bike and onto my feet. The bike was safe, I was safe, and the onlookers were impressed. And then I couldn't lift my arm above my head for the next two days. Ninjas have rough lives.

I touched more important people's food! I had the wonderful opportunity to serve food to Elder Perry, Elder Nelson, President Julie B. Beck, Sister Thompson, Sister Allred, Elder Bruce D. Porter, Elder Paul V. Johnson, the First Lady of Honduras (as well as several ambassadors from various countries). I'm pretty sure President Samuelson knows my name by now too, because I get to feed him so often. I also got to serve at President Eyring's family reunion/50 year wedding anniversary. There's nothing quite like having the knowledge that you touched a servant of the Lord's navajo taco ;)

Me in my cage at work.

I finally moved out of on-campus housing. I might just be growing up ;)

The wonderful girls I used to live with: Jill and Kate

The wonderful girls I live with: Allie, Julia, me, Courtney, Danielle

The wonderful boys I sort of live with: Back row: Jeff, Sean, Sean's lovely girlfriend Shelli, Michael, Kirkham, Front: Zack and Terence

The rest are pictures of other significant moments from my life this year, because I seemed to have more photographers in my life than before (or maybe just more Megan ;)

Broke campus. With a truck.

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Learned how to cut hair! I first cut my own hair and then brave souls let me experiment on theirs. Here's a shout-out to Courtney, Zack, Jonathan, Jordan, Natalie, and my dad for their bravery in trusting me enough with their appearances.

Played Uno EVERYWHERE

Met the child of my dear former roommate Kamie

Played with fire. A lot.

Added new meaning to the phrase "Happy Easter"

Choreographed a dance number. And gave love a bad name.

Had my first out of Utah college road-trip. Zack and Terence and I went to Huntington Beach, Downtown Disney, and Hollywood. And played cards on the beach. Naturally.

Became an aunt to a beautiful little girl.

Here's my niece Leah <3

Discovered my passion for duck catching.

Went on an epic adventure to find pizza that resulted in finding an awesome 'Mexican Seafood' place.

Enjoyed my first all night "Book of Mormon Read-a-thon" And consequently "slept-in" past noon for the first time ever.

Enjoyed a significant number of car trips in trunks, or across laps, or in trunks that weren't really trunks...

Had my acting/dancing debut as a fate in the 125 Ward's production of Hercules.

And won an award for best facial hair. Unfortunately no award for being creepy.

Played my geetar for food.

This is Zack and me at Creeps. Usually we get the words right, but sometimes we struggle.

I give up (for now) on trying to predict what the future holds. However, this next year I hope to learn how to format blog posts for a more non-awkward appearance. More realistically, I hope to actively continue my battle against fear, begin one against apathy, and press onward for love (not necessarily the romantic kind, but if that's what's in store, so be it ;). Happiest and productivest ( <--hey look! I made a new word) of new years to all!