As a new face on Rexburbia, and a new writer for Rexburbia, I feel an introduction is necessary. My name is Brandt Malone, from Detroit, Michigan. I’ve been at BYU-Idaho since the Fall of 2005, and I’ll be graduating this semester in Business-Finance with a minor in advertising. Let’s see…something interesting about me….oops, forgot, we’re not doing “first day of class” introductions, it’s more like “First time with a new roommate” introductions.

I’ve been here in Rexburg for a while, and while I can’t wait to leave, I’m going to be a bit sad when I do. Yes, I know Rexburg can’t get a Super Wal-Mart, or that the closest thing we get to a new restaurant is Applebee’s (right outside the city limits because of the alcohol law), or how the entire city shuts down at 10:00 at night (11:00 on the weekends). I know that girls can’t go to Wal-Mart alone, that guys have to buy big trucks because it makes them feel more MANLY, and that the University runs the entire city. But here’s a list of 10 things that I’m going to miss about Rexburg.

1. The Best of Guitars Unplugged – The talent on campus is amazing. If I were to give advice to incoming freshman (or incoming students), don’t go to anything BUT the “Best Of,” because as much talent as we have, there are some real duds. While I wish more students would quit doing covers and write their own stuff, or how more girls would perform (like the girls who performed “The Future Freaks Me Out” by Motion City Soundtrack), it’s well worth the $5-$10 dollars to go.

2. The Paul Mitchell Hair Academy – I’m all about a short haircut. To quote one prominent radio personality, I’m the type of guy who likes to keep my lettuce tight. And because I never had the hookups of knowing girls who cut hair, I always went to “Hair We Are” next to Broulims. I didn’t have a problem with them, they did a good job. But my hair grows fast, so I was spending $14+tip every 3 weeks for about 20 minutes of hair cutting. My wife finally told me that I don’t have picky hair, or much of it, so I should be going to a beauty college and having the students cut my hair. She’s had bad experiences there before, so I was hesitant. But I finally sucked in my pride, and made an appointment, and it was one of the coolest experiences of my young life. Not only do they call you a “client” (I was referred to as a “male client”), which makes you feel like you’re a big shot, but at the end of the cutting, they massage your head and take you to the “Lather Lounge,” where they give you a fancy shampoo treatment and a hot towel on the face. The best part? Only $8!

3. DI – I’m from Detroit, where Salvation Army is on every corner, and you can find some really beat-up stuff. But the first time I went to DI in Rexburg, I was amazed at how clean it was. Granted, it’s a step below Wal-Mart, and there’s a funny smell when you walk in, but I’ve found more trinkets than I can admit. I’m an avid collector of classic and controversial LDS books, and I’ve found more than one that almost made me almost cry in the middle of everyone

4. Christmas Lights on Main Street – This was at the suggestion of my wife, and I agree with her. I’ve always been partial to those lights because it signaled the beginning of the holidays. It’s really cool being able to drive down main street during Thanksgiving (when all the students are gone) and see the lights reflecting off Main Street. Props go out to the City of Rexburg for something so simple yet so effective.

5. The Drive Thru Workers at Taco Bell – To quote “A Christmas Story,” I am a Taco Bell junkie. I’ve had almost everything on the menu, and one of the best parts of hitting up TB (as we affectionately call it) is the workers. Especially if one goes at night, you have the potential to have quite the ordering experience. My wife wanted a Frutista Freeze, I wanted my Chalupa, and this is how the order goes:

Worker: (in very deep voice) How are you on this fine evening

Me: Good, you?

Worker: (still in deep voice) I’m doing wonderful, what can I get ya

Me: Ok, a Mango Frutista Freeze…

Worker: Wonderful choice

Me; A supreme Chalupa with beef…

Worker: ohhhh yeah

Me; And a bean burrito

Worker: mmmmmmm…I’ll have your total at the window, and thank you for making Taco Bell your meal provider of choice today

That’s what it’s like every time, and I wish I could record it to put on YouTube, because my typing can’t do it justice

6. Stadium Singing – While I think it can be a bit overdone and quite kitschy (and yet another lame excuse for people to show off), I do find it quite unique that at 9:00 on Sunday night, if you drive by the Stadium, you hear the echoes of students singing hymns (and they actually sound pretty good). Don’t get me started on all the other stupid stuff that happens…

7. Watching the Rexburg Temple Go Up – This was actually one of the coolest experiences. Being able to be here in Rexburg for the announcement, watching the ground-breaking, then the construction, being able to see the steeple go up, going to the open house, and now, being able to attend the temple. We had the temple president speak at our Stake Conference in November, and he couldn’t help but express his appreciation to all us students for keeping the temple going. If you think that the students don’t play an active part, just go there during the breaks when the students are gone.

8. The Sno Shack and Sno-Cones – We don’t have these back in Detroit, so coming out here and experiencing Tiger’s Blood and Cream Sno-cones on the hot summer days of Rexburg were great memories. When Ashley and I first started dating, I had no money to my name, so we’d walk down to Main Street and hit up the Sno Shack there. The problem this last summer is that it’s now really trendy to hit up snow-cones. I’ve sat in line for almost a half hour to get my snow-cone, while the stupid couples in front are “Hmmm”ing and “Uhhh”ing trying to decide what they want to get….but I need to stay positive about Rexburg…

9. Ultimate Frisbee – Another wife submission. Without ultimate Frisbee, I’d still be staring at her from afar wondering how I could talk to her. The summer of 2006, when we first met, we played ultimate just about every day. If you hit up Porter Park at any time during the summer, not only do they have about 4-5 games going on, but they’re always looking for more players. Now that we’ve got 900more students here in Rexburg, that’ll be tougher to do.

10. The Cool Professors I’ve met – I have to be a bit sentimental, as it is my last semester. I heard in high school that college is where you develop your best relationships with teachers. Up until this last fall, I thought that was a fallacy. I had some nice teachers, but no one that I really developed any sort of relationship with. But I think when you become a senior, things are different. You’re treated more like an adult, and less like a student. I know teachers who spend all day at school meeting with students and never think twice about it. I know teachers who are emailing students all the time, answering questions and making suggestions. I know teachers who push their students to the brink, not because they’re on a power high (you can tell those teachers), but because they want to bring out the best in their students. One of my teachers once told me that “You don’t come to BYU-Idaho to be rich, you come here to teach.” Everyone knows that the Church is widely known for being…well…cheap. But many of the teachers here are by their own choice. You can tell the ones that are. And they are the ones, in my opinion, that make up the Spirit of Ricks.

Questions? Am I an idiot? Comments?

Email me at brandt.malone@gmail.com

IM me at thevoiceofreason84@hotmail.com