Wrap life in the brilliance of death and humble us all

Saturday morning, bright and early, I went on a field trip with my Mentored Lab Techniques class. I really hate the class, but I enjoyed the excursion. It was only a little chilly at 7:30 down at the greenhouse parking lot, and I felt fine in a t-shirt. (I try to live up to my rearing in Utah and tough out the cold.) I ended up in the front seat of the minivan with the teacher, which means that we mostly talked to each other and everyone else talked among themselves. I didn't tell the teacher how much I hate the class, for which I think I deserve bonus points.

The sun rose as we drove up Provo Canyon. We turned into the "Sundance Road" and there began the beautiful, beautiful autumn foliage. I was rendered just a little bit speechless, craning my neck to find the vibrant reds and oranges and yellows backdropped against the green. I never get to see enough of the leaves.

I think we were all a little bit surprised at the field trip. We had a guest professor and it turns out he was there to give us a lecture on aspens. So we tromped up a path for a while (I realized that I'd neglected to mention that I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous) until we got to a particular stand of aspens he wanted to talk about. The lecture was okay, but despite the exercise-ness of the hike, I loved it even more. Every time I looked up there was a beautiful new vista to take my breath away. Rain was imminent, so the sky was the deep blue-gray that is my favorite color, and with the autumn leaves against it I had to force myself to watch where I was going or I would've tripped.

It rained a little bit. Then on our way back down the path to find an aspen clone down by the road, it began to hail. Ow! That was fun. It was even more fun when I realized everyone was getting in their car and I was just standing out there like an idiot. I'm good at that.

This is about the time I started regretting just wearing a t-shirt. It was cold. My sparse little arm-hairs were extended to full height to increase the barrier space between the air and me, but to little avail. Eventually the sun came out and I was appeased. But I still decided to ride in the car instead of walking because I'd already done too much walking (though I didn't mention that, I just let them think I was lazy).

And it's quite the experience to hang around with a bunch of biology nerds. At one point the two professors were discussing with each other the best protocol to get something done and I zoned out. It just wasn't interesting to me. I don't know what that says about the appropriateness of my major to me. Nothing good, probably. But it was also sort of fun.

The most lasting effect of my field trip, besides a little extra soreness of the leg, was a desperate desire to spend some more time among the autumn leaves. If I were at home, I could simply hike up to Eck Hill and my life would be easy. But here ... I don't know if it's worth it to just go wandering by myself.

Speaking of weather, it rained yesterday. Being the tough Utah girl I am, I didn't have a jacket, and I was cold. All the buildings had their AC on. I went home to get a jacket, but by that time it was already warm enough that I didn't need one. That's how my life goes. :)

Title: "Drought" ~ Vienna Teng (quintessential fall song)