Time Flies~
It's been a very, very long time since I've posted. But now I'm just stating the obvious.

I just spent a week with my 86-year-old grandmother and sometimes it wasn't easy. One of the most trying things, though, was not helping my grandma to get dressed. The worst was not having the internet!!!

I felt totally cut off from the rest of the world. Even my cell phone did not help me. I have to come to grips with the fact that I am addicted to the internet. I thought moving home for the summer and not having wireless was bad. That's nothing. So what if I can't blog from my bed? At least I still work on campus and can use the high-speed internet there. In a pinch, I can always use the parents' dial-up (the horror). Just give me the internet!!

This need to stay connected has made me wonder about an article I read a long time ago saying that this generation is not at all independent, not being able to be separated from their fancy new-fangled communications devices. I think they're right, although at the time I felt like I was an exception because I didn't have a cell phone. I felt totally lost without my internet fix. No emailing, no blogging, no online news stations with fascinating Asian human interest stories. Where else are you going to read about a Japanese town having a radish cloned because it showed such great bravery?

Quick Blog~
I am at a kiosk on BYU campus. I have come to pick up my final from my professor. he is not in his office, but the door is open. I have been tempted to just walk in and sit down. I do not think that would be acceptable. Oh well.
The freedom of summer is hitting me. I have time to read!! my problem is I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

End of Semester Blues~

Oh yeah, I got the blues.
The so much to do, so little time blues.
The great outdoors are calling and I have an essay to write blues.
The weather is so nice, but I got a take-home test to complete blues.
The I gotta go skiing once more this season but I ain't got time blues.
The I should be writing that essay but I'm surfing the net blues.
I got the end of winter semester blues.
I got the blues.
My professor don't know my real name, blues.
The he got me a plane ticket in that wrong name blues.
The he even has a copy of my passport blues.
The I can't wait for Springfest! blues.
The I gotta go to class now blues.

On to Marsupials!
Marsupials are, in some ways, weirder that monotremes. The females have pouches on their bellies where the barely-born embryo lives attached to one of the mother's nipples for several weeks. After it is grown enough, it can leave the pouch for short periods of time, coming back for warmth and food.

There are many marsupials, and although most are found in Australia, there are a few found in Central and South America. Those most commonly found in the US are called opossums, although there is also a more monkey-like species found in South America. In Australia, the virtual absence of placental mammals for such a long time allowed marsupials to radiate to fill all sorts of niches. There are carnivorous marsupials like the Tasmanian devil and the now extinct Tasmanian wolf. There are rodent-like marsupials, even ones like moles. There are kangaroos, koalas, and all the other most famous Australian marsupials. So there's your little blurb on marsupials. Pretty cool, eh?

I like to learn~
Yesterday I got a letter, a tape and some candy from my friend J____ who is in the MTC. I felt a little bad, I should have been the one sending her the letter, tape, and candy. Oh well. The tape was awesome. It reminded me of how much we grow. Every time we leave our comfort zone and stretch ourselves we make amazing progress. So there's my first part of the blog.

Here's the second: have you ever wondered what marsupials are? And what about all those other wierd things, the monotremes? How are they different from "normal" (placental) mammals? I will tell you.

First of all, marsupials and monotremes are mammals. Mammals have mammary glands, which produce milk (learn about mammals in one of my favorie songs). If you are reading this you are a mammal. There are several types of mammals that have split apart as evolution has occured. The first branch that split from the mainstream mammal tree is the monotremes. Monotremes are perhaps the weirdest mammals around. The order Monotremata only has two members: the platypus and the echidna. Monotremes lay eggs!!! They also don't really have nipples, they just excrete milk from their skin. Talk about neat! Oh yeah, and the male platypus has a venomous spine on its ankle. The echidna has a spine, too, but it's not dangerous. I think that's enough for one day...we'll move on to marsupials later, and then maybe touch on placental mammals.