Ringing in 2010 with a 2009 Review!

Guess what time it is?

If you said "Tool Time", give yourself a high five for using a crazy 90's catch phrase... Unfortunately, you would be incorrect. It's 2010 (pronounces twenty-ten, NOT two-thousand 10...sorry. Just check out the millions of articles about it online)!

I've been meaning to start this foooorreeeevvverr, andI figured that there is no better time to start then at the beginning of the new year. I just wanted to share a few of my 2009 memories, both the grandiose and atrocious. Let the reader beware. I apologize for the length of this first blog. I didn't mean for itto go on and on like this. Once I started I couldn't stop. I'm sure future entries will be FAR shorter. So grab yourself a glass of sparkling apple cider, and enjoy! :-)

1- Perhaps the biggest thing that sticks out to me has a lot to do with my Major. Trying to get into the Nursing Program at BYU is as easy as keeping a snowman from melting in you know where. Let's just say that 2 semesters I applied, you had to have an GPA of at LEAST 3.9! To bad you can only apply to the program twice. :-( If there's one thing that I've learned about being at BYU, is that the people who are from out of state and aren't working during their time at BYU (because mommy and daddy are covering everything including the kitchen sink) have all the luck. While us poor working folk struggle to not only maintain some sort of standard of living, but keep up our grades at a pretty intense University.

I digress.

Long story Long, I've officially changed my major to Biological Science Education. The gam plan is get my BS in that, then transfer to another school(probably the UofU), and either go into the advanced nursing program, or the more likely and more appealing choice, to get into their Physicians Assistant program. To do either, I've been STRONGLY encouraged to get some clinical hours before I apply to those programs. So I'm on the look-out for jobs in the medical field(preferable in a hospital or pediatric environment). Let me know if you know of anything.

2- Another great thing that happened this year has to do with the not-so-almighty-dollar. I don't have any. Yes sir. I was doing fine until bam! Car insurance payment due in August, October, and then December. All in all, around $500 gone. On the plus side, my rates went down because I turned 25 this year. I'm officially out of the "hooligan" phase apparently.

Next big hit to my wallet. New brakes for my car in April-around $300. Car tune-up in June-around $250. Car Registration due in October. $130 just for the registration. Oh, don't forget the $125 for the new windshield so it passes safety. Oh, and the $35 just for the safety and registration process. Add to all this, a $220 a month car payment and we get a really large amount of cash for one vehicle. I almost forgot. Someone backed into my car, causing around $1300 worth of damages. Thank goodness they had insurance. Moral of the story: CARS ARE NOT CHEAP!

Last big money dilemma ofthe year. My blasted Stafford Loan. The last thing on my list which I though would become a problem. Everything was great until the 29th December 2009...the day I'll affectionately call my Meltdown Party. I went to check on my tuition to see if my Stafford loan went through(which would have covered all my tuition and then some), to find that I had a "past due balance". Let me make this brief. I checked my financial center only to find that it showed that I had NO financial aid at all...period..nothing. I spent over 4 hours myself going to BYU and doing things online trying to figure out what was going on. My parents even called BYU to see if they could find anything out. Thankfully, they must have said/done something right because 15 minutes after they got off the phone I got a call. Turns out that they were supposed to delete just my Fall 2009 Financial Aid, but ended up deleting EVERYTHING. Ya...super. They got it all worked out, but lets just say for about 3 days I was a complete wreck. Special thanks go out to my Parents!

3- You're probably thinking I'm a totally Debbie-downer. Well, you might be right...just a little. Let's just say that it's been a tough year. Despite the rough patches, including issues with work and roommates, there were some brilliantly upbeat moments this year. One that I thought was pretty cool had to do with Halloween. I had no idea what I was going to do pertaining to that of a costume. It wasn't until I was half-way to my job when I realized what I could do. I grabbed some latex gloves, my stethescope and BP cuff, got my parents First Responder and First Aid kit, dressed up in a blue cotton pants and collared shirt, and topped all that off with my EMT-I badge. Yes, I was an EMT for Halloween. I know technically I'm always an EMT since I'm certified and all, but I'm not exactly working as one, so I thought this was a great opportunity to get as close to becoming one as possible.

The thing that made my day though, was what happened when I went to work with all that on. I was lugging all the equipement past a customer into the Photo Lab where I work, and I went into the back room to set the stuff down so I could clock in. As I started heading out of the lab to clock-in, the customer asked me what was going on back there, and if everything was fine. I'm not going to lie. I was totally beaming on the inside. She actually thought I was an EMT. Definitely one of the greatest Halloween experiences ever. Right next to those good 'ol spook alleys me and my friends used to do.A little something I did at my job during some "down-time". Trying to hone my Photoshop skills. Thought you might like a visual break from all the monotonous reading. :-)

4- One thing I can't forget to mention that happened this year. Early in the summer I had some extra money. So I did something that I wanted to do for a long time. Build my own desktop computer from the ground up. At the time I had 1 HP Pavilion and my MSI Netbook. I figured it'd be nice to get rid of one of those and get something that can really compute. Let's just say I am VERY pleased with it. If you want the spec's, I can let you know. Just ask. It's not THE best, but it's a far cry from what I was working with before. Oh, it glows...a lot..BONUS!

5- Another great thing that happened to me this year....BYU! I know. Those of you who knew me before and during my mission, know that I was vehemently against going to BYU. I didn't want to get put into an environment which I though contained "holier than thou" attitudes, and a bunch of those other propagated stereotypes. So I stuck it out at UVU. That all changed when I went to the "WILK" for a mission reunion in 2008. It was the first time I had set foot on BYU campus since the good 'ol merit badge pow-wow's I had there when I was 12. It's funny. The moment I set foot inside those doors, it felt like I was home. At that moment I knew was supposed to go to BYU. I had no doubts. I had my first semester at the start of 2009. I haven't looked back since. The classes are tough, yet AMAZING. People(mainly outside BYU) complain that the Religion classes are mandatory. And not only that, they actually have course work, tests, and exams on the material. I used to be one of those types, until I had my first religion class. I never struggled so hard in a religion class before...I also never learned so much, and had my testimony strengthened so much as I did in that class. The religion class I had in the Fall, AMAZING. I wish it was required for all students to take. REL C 333-The Living Prophets-Bro. Newell. Take it!

While I'm NOT a "hard-core"(and in my opinion, over the top) "I-hate-the-U" BYU'er, I am proud to be a student at BYU. It's a great school! Best decision I've made recently(excluding going on a mission).

6- This ones going to vague, and short. I've had some super dates this year with some pretty cool young ladies. You know who you are. Thank you for putting up with my weird sense of humor. Definitely a highlight of 2009.

7- The last great memory I have of this year(at least the ones I can think of now), have to do with my family. I've enjoyed the temple trips with my parents. Reading the book my Grandfather wrote (''The Choice and the Sacrifice" by Edward Huff....shameless plug. Look it up, buy it, read it, love it). The time I spend playing with them on the Sunday's I visit. The movies we've enjoyed together. The trips to East Canyon. And finally, the best for last...the first ever Patterson Family Fireside.

I'm sure that my parents knew this day was coming. My youngest sister graduates High School this May. Pretty soon, our house will be vacated of children. I'm not quite sure what my parents will do. Because of this exodus of children from their house, they figured it was time to start our own family program. Let's just say that we have already set a huge standard for our family Christmas programs. It was a pretty uplifting program. We read the story of Christ's birth out of the New Testament, followed by stories/poems/thoughts that we had each put together. Great Program! We were given a notebook by my dad in which he asked read the entire Book of Mormon through this year, and while doing so, he asked us to use the notebook to take notes on what we thought/felt while reading. We plan on sharing something we learned at the end this year. What a great end to a crazy year.

Well, that all. If you actually stuck it out, I congratulate you! Like I said at the beginning of this entry, I didn't expect it to be this long. What did I expect though? I had a whole year to review. Whew! More great(and definitely entertaining) entries coming up! Stay Tuned

Have a great 2010!