Nichol's Personal Blog #2

This year I went to the state fair. I hadn't gone in years, and I remembered very little besides the rancid odor. This year, after spending a lot of time in Coalville, I was able to look past the malodorous stench and enjoy everything else the fair had to offer. Booths line the walkway, selling everything from handwriting on grains of rice to scrap metal signs. I was also able to see Sea Lions for the first time in my life. Local bands played in a gazebo in the middle of the grounds. It was a very welcome change from the daily routine.

Nichol's Personal Blog

I have a problem.

I am hopelessly addicted to books. I often find myself drawn to shop windows in which books are displayed. This being said, it was really only a matter of time before I found Sam Weller's.

I found it a couple of years ago, and have been held captivated since. When you first walk in, you are often greeted by the cashier. Chairs are strategically placed throughout the store, tempting you to spend hours turning the pages of one of their hundreds of books. Unlike franchise bookstores, new books are placed next to antique books on their shelves.

This is by far one of my favorite places in Salt Lake City.

Personal Blog 2 - TRAX RAWX

Josh Southwick
Personal Blog # 2

Every teenager dreams of getting their driver’s license, cruising around town in a new car and the freedom that comes with it. I was fortunate enough to have this privilege, and it made traveling during my high school days a breeze. That’s why I was worried I would lose that freedom when I came down to the U, as I wouldn’t be taking the car down with me. I was given a surprise awakening when I discovered the ease of TRAX and Utah’s public transportation system.

Fearing I had lost my freedom to travel wherever, whenever, was something that made me hesitant to give up the car. I knew Salt Lake had extensive public transportation as a part of its infrastructure, but I had never ridden it before and I was afraid I would be dashing to my classes with little time to spare. All of my fears were put to rest after my first week here at the University. The campus shuttles are definitely a life-saver, enabling students to get anywhere around the U in nothing more than a few minutes. UTA’s TRAX system has stops at all of the key areas around the city, which is really convenient for a Friday night movie or a weekend trip to a restaurant. And since the shuttles come every 10 minutes and TRAX every 15, you are never waiting too long for a way to get to class (or a movie) on time.

Of course, one of the benefits to a car is having the ability to travel anywhere, anytime. But the public transportation in and around campus is convenient enough to make the advantages of a car seem marginal at best. Plus, you don’t need to worry about paying for expensive parking passes and, for that matter, finding a place to park on a crowded night.

The best thing about the public transportation? No longer having to pay for gas, those high prices were a bitch.

Personal Blog 1 - Life in the MUSS

Josh Southwick
Personal Blog # 1

Here at the University of Utah, a proud tradition of excellence and achievement has been established in the classroom, in the research lab, and even on the field. Our sports programs are recognized nation-wide for their success, most notably our gymnastics squad and the football team, which became the first “BCS buster” in 2005 when it went to the Fiesta Bowl and defeated Pittsburgh on that New Year’s Day. The U’s athletic programs have continued to distinguish themselves from the pack and prove they can compete with the best.

I have enjoyed playing and watching sports since I was a little kid, with football and basketball being my two favorites. So I made it a priority that once I arrived at the U, I would immediately sign up for the football team’s student section, called the MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section). The season opened with an adrenaline-pumping overtime win against our old friends, the Pittsburgh Panthers, who were ranked in the top 25. We went on to crush almost every team in our path, defeating the next seven teams by an average of over 35 points.

Soon we reached the premier game of the season when we faced TCU, ranked as the third best team in the nation. ESPN’s College Gameday held that week’s broadcast from Salt Lake City for the highly anticipated match-up between two potential BCS busters. Essentially, the game would determine which team from the Mountain West was going to break into the BCS this year. Waking up early for the broadcast, I and many other Ute fans were cheering and shouting into the network’s cameras, waving our homemade signs that read, among others, “All We Do Is Wynn” and “We Mess With Texas”. As the game approached, excitement grew and everyone gathered outside the stadium for a spot in line. Kickoff began in the late afternoon and the deafening roars of the crowd only added to the intense atmosphere. The noise alone told you this game was important. Unfortunately, as the game went on, the Utes failed to put up a fight and finished the contest disappointed with the loss.

Although the team had suffered two consecutive losses (against TCU and Notre Dame), hopes were high for the end of the season. Everything came down to beating that blue team from Provo, nothing else mattered. A win against BYU would mend the wounds gained from the painful games from a few weeks before. The rivalry that defines Utah football was played the week of Thanksgiving, a time characterized by “food, family, and football.” Always an exciting game, it started off with the crowd just as loud as before, perhaps even more so, as we felt rejuvenated and prepared to face our rivals to the south. The visitors started by scoring throughout the first three quarters, and the Utes failing to get in the endzone.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the U’s luck began to change. The team fought back, and capitalized off of BYU’s mistakes and turnovers. With a few minutes to go our school was up 17-16, but our opponents had the ball. They took it down the field, setting up an easy field goal that would give them the win. With only four seconds left in the game, BYU hiked the ball, and the kicker moved forward to boot in the victory. As he jogged up to the placeholder, the U’s cornerback Brandon Burton extended his arm and swatted the kick away. He didn’t just tip the ball or get enough to knock it off course – it was a full-handed swat. The kind that immediately sends the crowd into crazed celebration: screaming, jumping and high-fiving all around. It was difficult to even talk to the person right next to you with the shouts and cheers reaching incredible levels, but that is what a student section is supposed to be like. So loud, so crazy, and so enthusiastic that it becomes impossible to think of anything other than the joy of a victory and the passion for your school’s team. This year in the MUSS, through all of its ups and downs, is something I won’t soon forget.

Now as the team prepares for its bowl game against Boise State, I can no longer look forward to the Saturday game days and the camaraderie felt amongst the fans for their team, at least not until next year. With it being my first year here at the University of Utah and my first year as a part of the MUSS, I enjoyed the experience and plan on joining our team in the stands for the rest of my time here. Our last game was definitely a perfect ending to the U’s last season in the Mountain West Conference, and one that I will remember for a long time.

Jackson Myrick’s Personal Blog #2: It’s a Wonderful Day in This Neighborhood

There are some places in the world that call to the individual, bidding them to drop the pen and smooth the rough edges of a hectic schedule. For me 15^th East and 15^th South is one such place.

The street is situated in the midst of a mainly residential area within Westminster Heights, the monotony of living quarters broken only by Westminster and 15^th and 15^th. Monotony is not quite the right word however; spectrum is more appropriate. There is a gloriously relaxed feel to the individual streets, despite the imposed order of the grid system and the relatively narrow width which makes parking difficult. Whether that peaceful demeanor should be attributed to the style of houses, coloration, or the intimate nature of construction remains unknown, perhaps because it is an amalgamation of all three traits.

As you drive down 14^th south and enter the small little strip of shops that makes up 15^th and 15^th the canopy of trees thins out and opens into the street, a visually striking feature that always convinces me to take that road in. Each time I go there I wander about the establishments, peeking inside of Mazza to see how crowded it is or checking in on my friends at Caputo’s to see if they have some new cheese I may sample before settling into the comforting atmosphere of The King’s English. The entire strip has a vibrant placidity about it, an good natured amicability that permeates the cold face of business. It is within these nooks and niches that radiate warm smiles I begin to feel entirely at ease and drift into a dreaming state where my normally tempestuous mind and biting words regress to a meditative mellowness the memory of which makes me wistful that I cannot attain it at will. The location has ceased to function as a shopping venue and instead exists as an extension of the surrounding neighborhood, whose occupants welcome strangers over their threshold with sincerity and warmth.

Personal Blog 2-Kortnie Walker

Dear Personal Blog,

Unlike Brad, I’d be happy to share my Temple Square experience

Since I’m new to Utah and Salt Lake City, last night was the first time I’d ever seen the Christmas lights at Temple Square and they were awesome. I loved seeing all of the pretty colors and the pretty lights they had floating in the reflection pool. The temple looked even more beautiful, and I’m grateful for all of the hard work people put into making the grounds look so wonderful.

However, my favorite part was people watching. It was really funny to see how many people were out on dates, and a good majority were probably LDS. I had a hard time finding people that could take pictures of my friend Taylor and I since you can’t really ask people that are on a date. That’s just weird.

After we perused Temple Square and took some marvelous pictures, we hopped on TRAX and headed back up to the U.

Personal Blog # 2- Decades by Natalie Meadows

In preparation for Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween night, my roommates and I ran frantically around Salt Lake City in search of "uniquely appropriate" attire. In our quest we stumbled upon a store known as Decades on South State Street.

I was immediately quite taken with this shop. As a vintage store Decades offers everything from colorfully striped down jackets from the 1970's to dresses with poofs and ruffles galore that must have been from the 80's. This store has a very unique feel to it, as it seems to take the roll of a classy secondhand shop. The store has nearly every type of style to offer. I often found that a large proportion of their merchandise would make for an excellent addition for any costume party, however in addition to these somewhat outrageous outfits there was also a substantial amount of items that could be worn with nearly any everyday outfit. I was a little disappointed to find out however that this store isn't really a haven for struggling college students. Being that these clothes were considered "vintage" prices were relatively high on nearly everything in the store. Despite this fact, I still find this store extremely entertaining and enjoyable. I believe its an excellent place that reminds us of Salt Lake Cities history, as it is located on State Street which is somewhat known for its traditional stores and signs.