Journal


December 25, 2022

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates! This December feels colder than the one last year.


November 28, 2022

Song stuck in my head: "Plastic Hearts" by Miley Cyrus

We now have four copies of The Book of Mormon thanks to the missionaries who visited last Friday. Had they been Americans, I would've wanted to ask a lot of questions about Utah—Salt Lake City as a center of human genetics research, Brigham Young University's ballroom dance team, this film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, or the state setting baby name trends, among others. But instead, we got two compatriots, albeit from different parts of the country. They were nice, though. My brother was impressed that two guys his age were traveling by themselves without social media (save for Messenger access once a week to contact their families on a shared phone) and sharing their faith in a calm, cheerful manner despite being rejected before. I found that impressive, too—it's hard and not something I would've done—but I was more amazed that they could hand out free copies of leather-bound books (soft covers, but still leather) printed on nice paper. How high is their publishing budget?

That Friday was also memorable because a stray cat gave birth in our yard that morning and left her only kitten on our doorstep. Unfortunately, the rest of the household didn't know that cow's milk could make cats sick, and I was unable to warn them because (1) I didn't wake up until my brother had already fed it and (2) I thought kitten milk replacer might be too expensive and goodness knows we have enough expenses. So the poor thing died the next day. Yes, I'm aware that newborn kittens are weak and helpless—fancy not being able to poop when mother's not around to help you—but its death made me sad. I was really looking forward to having a cat, but perhaps now is not the time.

Anyway...back to the Mormons. I went to YouTube so I could listen to some songs from the musical and ended up watching this. It's almost five hours long. I haven't finished the whole thing, but whether or not the doctrines are true, I think it's funny how The Book of Mormon keeps the sibling rivalry theme (specifically, the "younger son wins" theme) of the Old Testament:

Finally, some good news to wrap this up: I got a perfect score on a homework assignment. Stumped as to why I kept answering the first question wrong despite my efforts, I wrote my last answer a few minutes before the deadline and hoped for the best. I got what I hoped for. Praise be.