Emily's Ramblings. . .

An open letter

2012-02-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Guy Friend,

I get it – from the moment we met, you immediately felt like I was “one of the guys.” You trusted me, you felt comfortable around me, and you put me in the friend zone so fast I never knew there was any other “zone” with you. That’s fine. I understand completely about platonic feelings. But here’s the thing – you are still interacting with a woman, and you should at least try to act like a gentleman towards me. So, for the future, let me lay out some ground rules for our “friendship”:

1. If you want to complain about other girls to me, be specific. I get it, you have been burned by girls before, and you are upset and hurt. If you want to rant to me, at least be specific. If you say “Mimi is absolutely insane,” I interpret that as: Mimi is insane. If you say, “Girls are insane,” I interpret that as: I’m a girl, therefore you think I’m insane. Thanks so much for the self-esteem boost.

2. Don’t complain about dating. Again, I get it – you hate dating. Well boo hoo, so do we all. It hurts to put yourself out there, to be rejected, to go through the standard first date questions. Here’s what hurts though – when you say that there is nobody out there that you want to date, and that all the good ones are taken, I’m sitting there thinking, what am I, chopped liver? Again, it hurts our self-esteem to think that we aren’t even good enough for you to take on a date. You’ll take an insane girl out and then complain about her, but you won’t take me – all that tells me is that I’m not good enough.

Okay, that’s really all I can think of. And as I contemplate this further, I’ve decided that I hate being “one of the guys.” I hate being a purely platonic friend. If you want to complain and whine, go find a guy friend to talk to. If you want to take me on a date, call me on the phone and ask for a date. And if you don’t want to take me on a date, then leave me alone. Because I need some esteem left to convince myself that someday, somewhere there might be a guy who actually wants me.

Sincerely,
Me

And more injuries. . .

2011-09-26T10:48:00.000-06:00

I ran into a tree branch yesterday while playing with my nieces and nephews, and now I have a slight cut on my forehead. I feel like Harry Potter, except that while his forehead scar symbolized his mother's love and his triumph over a dark lord, my cut simply symbolizes that I got bested by a tree.

And my mother has now admitted that I am indeed a klutz. She thought for years that I was graceful, simply because I apparently did well in my ballet class as a child. But since I started pointing out to her all of my falls and injuries, she has now admitted it - I am indeed a graceful klutz. And proud of it.

Adventures in Renting

2011-08-23T13:54:00.000-06:00

So, on a Thursday in July, I came home from work and noticed that my A/C wasn't working any more. Now, keep in mind, this was the NEW A/C unit that that installed the end of June. It barely lasted a month. It was blowing air, but it was hot. I quickly sent off a note to my apartment complex to put in a work order. I hoped that they would get to it Friday, but when I got back it was still warm. No word through the weekend (which, thank heavens, was a rainy weekend which kept temperatures down, otherwise I might have moved back into my parents house for a bit), so on Monday I contacted them again to see what was up. They said that the repair man was at my apartment now, and he should be fixing it.

The remainder of this story can be told by the notes that I found on my door each night, from the repair man.

MONDAY:

I determined the problem with your AC is on the roof, but I cannot go up there in the rain and lightning. I will put it first place for the morning. Thanks, Brian

TUESDAY:

Your AC was out of refrigerant, which should not have happened with the new unit. I re-filled it and it is now working good, but please let me know if it happens again, and I will do my best to solve it quickly. Thank you, Brian

Update: I came back @ 2:00, the refrigerant has all leaked out again. . . I will contact our specialist and let you know what we decide. I am sorry for the delays. -Brian

WEDNESDAY:

I have found the leak and am going to get parts. I have to go to Orem, and am not sure if it will be in stock or have to be ordered. Please know I am doing my best to solve this for you. Thanks, Brian

At this point I felt the need to leave a note for HIM, telling him that I understood and appreciated all that he was doing to help with my conundrum. I wanted to leave cookies to suck up to him and make him feel better about himself, but I was worried he might think that I spit in them, so I just made sure the note was extra nice.

THURSDAY:

A/C is working now. I need to fix a pipe, and your furnace door that I broke. I will be back in the morning. You may use the A/C. Some water may drip inside the closet, but it's not a big deal and I will have it solved.
Thanks, Brian

FRIDAY:

Everything should be working right. If something should go wrong please feel free to call the emergency line and I will do my best to solve it. (please don't tell others I said your A/C will count as an emergency, I usually don't count them as such) - Thanks. Thank you for your patience while I fixed it. -Brian

- We added all new oils to your A/C with all the modern gadgets - it should be the best in the complex now.

Note, on the front of all these notes is a printed page with an option to check whether the work was completed or not. He had a huge circle around "work completed" with a big smiley face. I think he was just as glad to stop coming to my apartment as I was to finally have my air conditioner working.

Happy August!

2011-08-05T10:45:00.000-06:00

So, while I was gathering the pictures for last week's post, I saw this one from my family's trip up in Vancouver:

Two years ago exactly, my hair was that short. I was astounded by how long its grown since then, and I tried to find a picture of how long it is now to compare. I discovered that I haven't really had pictures taken of me in months (unless you count the work photo they took when I started here, which I still haven't seen. . .), except by my sister Sarah. And in each of those photos, I am generally wearing a hat or have my hair in a ponytail, since there are always little kids present and I have learned from years of aunt-hood never to have my hair down when playing with toddlers. So, the only picture I found to show how long my hair has gotten was from our recent family outing to the zoo (courtesy of Sarah's blog):

Not one of my more flattering pictures, but the kids sure were entertained. And you get the idea of how long my hair is now. I wanted to get a picture of me getting eaten by a dinosaur (its Zoorassic Park this year at the Hogle Zoo, which means there are moving dinosaur statues scattered through the park), but I thought that would be crossing the line into being silly.

Memories

2011-07-26T16:06:00.000-06:00

So, I went to see Harry Potter yesterday (because what celebrates the pioneers quite like watching a movie about wizards and magic. . .), and they had a trailer for whatever new Twilight movie is coming out. I wanted to gag and run out of the theatre, but I also didn't want to miss Harry Potter starting, so I had to sit there, enduring pure torture. It made me think of the beautiful time two years ago when my roommate Emma, my sister Jenni and I burned a copy of Twilight. Since Emma is moving home soon, I thought I would pay tribute to her through reminiscing of that fun time in the summer of 2009.

So, we first decided to rip the book apart, then we stabbed it. Apparently this was in keeping with vampire lore (in the Twilight series, because lets face it, Twilight vampires are different than every other kind) on the appropriate way to kill a vampire. I really didn't intend for that to happen, it was just really cathartic ripping the book apart.

We then set it ablaze in our parking lot - I think if I wasn't morally opposed to burning books, I might make a habit of it. It was a really beautiful sight. . .

Here are Emma and Jenni, reveling in the flames.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Emma had to check to make sure it was really dead. . .

And then she celebrated our victory!!

Thanks for the memories, Emma. You're a dear friend, a wonderful roommate, and I will be forever grateful that we were randomly put together to survive that awful basement.

Stop the torture!

2011-07-22T08:09:00.000-06:00

Whoever decided that it was a good idea to use "Its a Small World" as the song on an ice-cream truck deserves to be tied up, dragged into the street, and pulled behind said ice-cream truck for an entire day. Maybe then they would learn the error of their ways.

Just sayin.

The critters are after me

2011-06-30T15:22:00.000-06:00

I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I could give an excuse how I don't have internet in my new place (which is true), but the truth is, I've gotten off the habit. If you can call my periodic updates a habit.

Well, here's the update all three of you that read this blog have been waiting for - an update on my new apartment! It's great, I love the high ceilings, love my balcony, and love how close it is to work. But, I have a few neighbors who have it out for me.

On my first Saturday living in the apartment, I enjoyed the fact that I could open up the windows and feel a wonderful breeze blowing through the apartment. I went into the living room to grab something, and there he was - a bee the size of a small child. I was amazed that he could even stay in the air! I might have freaked out, but I kept going about my business until I saw him go to the door. I quickly went and shut the other door so that he was stuck between the screen door and the real door. I tried to help him get out from between the two, but he wasn't moving, and I wasn't about to let him back in. So, I left him to himself and carried on. Later I went outside and noticed a small hive on the door, so I knocked it down and hoped that meant the end of my unfriendly neighbor.

The next morning as I left to go to church, I opened the front door (which is on the OTHER side of my apartment), and flying right at me, in full attack mode, was the bee! Now I know what you're thinking, it was probably another bee, it wasn't actually attacking me, it just was an odd coincidence. I don't believe you. It was the same bee, and he was mad and out to get me. I quickly closed the door, ran into the back room until I calmed down, then sheepishly went back to my front door, realizing how idiotic I was being, considering I belong to the more dominant species. . .

Well, last night I was going into my apartment, and I noticed a spider on the top of my door frame. I went ahead and unlocked the door, and right as I opened the door, the spider LEAPT from its spot and jumped onto my door, trying to get into my apartment. So again, I showed great maturity as I ran into the apartment and slammed the door to keep that stupid spider from getting inside.

I don’t know what is up with these critters wanting to get into my house - the AC isn't working, and its not like I have anything interesting for them to do inside. All I know is, I'm perfectly content living next to them if they stay outside, but if they want to get inside, this means war.

Age is Earned!

2011-05-19T09:21:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, I went to the C-town singles ward that was newly formed, as it was exciting to see the process of a brand new ward come together and start out. Our first hour was spent mingling through forced "get to know you" activities. Which, luckily, weren't too bad considering we were in a church on a Sunday. So, a young man introduced himself to me, and asked what I do. When I told him, he asked how old I was. I was kind-of surprised that he would ask me my age right off the bat, but I'm used to dealing with awkward questions when talking with men, so I responded. "27! What?!" was his response. "I thought you were going to say 19!"

Now, I ask you, how is that a compliment? Everyone tells me "you should be grateful, you'll enjoy that when you're older." I don't believe them. I know that nobody really wants to look older than they are, but age is something we should be proud of. We have earned each one of our years, and each year represents lessons learned, challenges faced and overcome, triumphs, new friends, and amazing experiences. I want to be recognized for all of these! When somebody tells me I look 19, I think, really, I look like a teenager? What connotations come with teenagers? Being a ditz, inexperienced, unknowing, and unrealistic. If you're going to say that I look younger than my years, at least put me in my 20s. Stop saying I look like a teenager. I am in my late 20s, and while I'm still VERY young, I at least have gained more experiences than a teenager. (Sidenote: I have friends from the MPA program who try to avoid telling people they have a Masters degree, just so guys don't think they are "too old." I'm the opposite. When I mention I have a Masters degree, it's not to brag of my achievements - it's so people will stop and think, huh, maybe this girl is NOT a college freshman.")

End of rant.

Updates

2011-05-03T19:34:00.000-06:00

So, I got a job. A real job, with grown-up pay and benefits. I can go to the dentist again! And because I have a real job, I also found an apartment with a beautiful private balcony, and tall pine trees around the complex, and a pool! I'm excited to feel like an adult again, and to have windows again :)

Ways to Stay Awake

2011-04-21T19:26:00.001-06:00

So, I remembered this story as I was trying to fall asleep the other night. A difficult attempt most nights, but especially difficult as of late. Anyway, I thought I'd share this, instead of sharing anything from my current life. Because its my blog and I can do what I want.

Once upon a time I was a lowly grad student, working as a TA in order to pay the bills. Or at least pretend to pay the bills, because lets face it, the income from that job barely covered food and gas money. Anyway, it had been an extremely long semester, what with catching the swine flu, then pneumonia, then playing catch-up ALL semester from my 2 weeks of illness. I had never really worked to the wire during finals, but this week of finals was different. So, it was Thursday night, all finals were due Friday, and I also needed to complete my TA work by Friday evening as well. Luckily, my TA work was very easy - grade a bunch of tests using an answer key. I decided to pull my first all-nighter and grade papers through the night, finish my last final in the morning, and then crash at 5 PM when everything was finally in. How did I complete this feat, you ask? By watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." All night. Its amazing how much grading you can get done watching Buffy, and also how the scary elements of that show really help you stay alert (since you never know if a sound you hear is your roommate breathing or a vampire sneaking in to attack you).

Anyway, moral of the story - Buffy can help you do a lot of things. Survive work, stay up all night, slay vampires - anything you need.

Ah spring

2011-03-20T17:38:00.000-06:00

After church today, I was a good girl and went to ward choir (because I've been skipping lately and felt guilty for not supporting). As we were singing, I felt something fall into my hair next to my ear. It felt like a piece of paper, and since the boy's row sits right behind us, and since I'm very used to the way boys act when they are in choirs, I assumed someone had been throwing something and it landed in my hair. So, I reach to pull it out, and instead, my fingers circle a wasp. Yes, a wasp landed in my hair, and it was super mad at the way I handled it. It flew off in a huff, I had a minor freak out, and all the choir was trying to figure out what happened. My thumb did hurt for a bit afterward, but a little cold water helped the finger to stop hurting.

All I can say is, who gets bit by a wasp in a chapel, in March?! Just special people like me.

Celebrity Crushes

2011-03-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not really one to do normal girl things, so I thought I'd try it out and do a very girly thing - share my celebrity crushes/men I think are beautiful. Because I really just like looking at these men.

My first crush was on Gary Hobson from the TV show Early Edition, played wonderfully by Kyle Chandler. I still want to marry a man like Gary Hobson (just throwing it out there).

I also have worked hard to develop a reputation as a geek (despite the time that Emma tried to kick me out of our geek club made for 2). While for the most part I love science fiction because of the great story lines, the space battles, and the fun adventures, I have to admit, there are some incredibly beautiful men in science fiction. Here is Michael Shanks from Stargate SG-1:

And Joe Flanigan from Stargate Atlantis:

And from the fantasy world, there is Prince Caspian, played by Ben Barnes. If any of you could track him down for me, I would be forever in your debt.

And finally, there is the oh-so-wonderful Matt Bomer, star of White Collar.

Please please read this

2011-02-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, as you know, I'm hardly ever serious on this blog. But, I do want to share a link with you about a topic that is very serious - emotional abuse. I have seen too many friends and family in emotionally abusive relationships. Some have gotten out before they were married, and others lived through an abusive marriage that broke the person that they originally were. Emotional abuse will break your spirit, and each of you is too precious to ever be broken like that. If you are in an abusive relationship, please seek help. And know that I will be praying for you and will be there to help in whatever way I can.

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/19757/Recognizing-emotional-abuse-in-dating-relationships

Why editing is important

2011-02-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

There is a book that I have been helping find images for, and it has been the constant stress of work for the past few months. The man who wrote the book (a 94-year-old who loves to remind you that he might not be around much longer) keeps pestering my boss on the status of the book, who then pesters me, and I in turn pester the editor who always responds "next week I should have a working proof." 2 months after he first said "next week," I finally got a proof!!

When I was looking through the proof, I came to one picture that we had not actually suggested for the book. I want you to picture this image - two Korean women, one holding a bag of groceries, her head tossed back in laughter, the other standing in a doorway, holding a toddler in her arms, smiling at the other woman. The caption? "Humanitarian project in DR Congo."

Thoughts from Work

2011-02-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been posting as of late because work has kept me busy and squashed out any desire to get on the computer when I go home. To remedy that situation, I thought I'd share with all of you some random items from today at work.

While walking from the parking lot, I realized I put on two different colors of knee-highs: one beige, and the other probably sun-tan. Not a huge difference, but one leg looks much more pink than the other. Reason #53 why I don't like the rule that I need to wear nylons.
I smiled when I got into my motorpool car and heard a Spanish love-ballad blaring from the radio. Pretty great - I listened to the whole song.
I've been helping with an insert that will be published in the Ensign this June. We've been pouring over it and discussing it for MUCH to long, as evidenced by the final caption the Ensign wanted us to write. The section of the article is on family finances, and the picture is clearly a couple working on their finances. My suggestion for a caption was this: "Husbands and wives should work together on finances to avoid the leading cause of divorce." I don't think the Ensign will go for it. . .

My mind is a blank.

2011-01-27T15:24:00.002-07:00

I've decided I want to try my hand at composing music. I've been wanting to for years, but I have one hold up - I never can think of any lyrics, or even a good topic to try. I like thinking of melodies, I'll make up stuff on the piano, but I draw a blank when it comes to lyrics. So, the big question is. . .
Does anyone want to help me with lyrics? Or does anyone have a poem they want me to put to music? Please realize it will probably never be very good, and I might never share it with anyone, but if you have ideas to help me jumpstart my attempt at composing, I would appreciate the help.

Greetings!

2011-01-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching my parents the joys of igoogle and google reader, which has lead them to finally reading my blog, which has lead to the confusion about my blog title coming up as "Defying Gravity." So, to help my parents, I changed my blog title so (hopefully) it will appear as "Emily's Ramblings" in your newsfeed. Which, if I do say so myself, is probably more descriptive of what this blog actually entails, because I've never really determined a purpose for this blog. Which actually suits me best.

Ummm, that's about it. I mostly want to post this so my name appears in your feed reader, or however you get updates that I have posted, so that I can tell you "Hi!" and that I'm still around. So Hello, faithful reader, I think you are swell.

Sundance Anyone?

2011-01-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever I want to go to the Sundance Film Festival. Not that I haven't thought, wow, it would be cool to experience the Film Festival and see cool stars, but I found a movie that I really want to go see. Its a film set in Armenia!! Who wants to come with? Here is the link for more info:

http://sundance.slated.com/2011/films/here_sundance2011

Or if that doesn't work, the film is called "Here." And its set in Armenia. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

Why I don't (shoudn't) remember my dreams

2011-01-03T04:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm typing this up at a very early hour in order to remember the ultra-bizarre dream that just woke me up. So if it makes no sense, you can blame the time, or the fact that it is a dream and is not supposed to make sense.

My sister Sarah and I were writing a book on vampires (first clue that this is odd - it would make much more sense for me to be writing a book about vampires with my sister Jenni, or my roommate Emma. Sarah and I would much rather write books together on non-demon related topics. Just sayin.) So, conveniently, there is an entrance to the vampire world just around the street from our parents' home. She and I go driving around the neighborhood arguing over which green house it is (the only information we knew was that the demon entrance was from an old house that had been painted green. And who knew there would be three green houses on one street). Well, we finally find the home, and I'm pretty sure there was an outdoor entrance to the basement, because we never broke into the home, we just found ourselves walking in a very well-light basement towards a door labeled "Vampire World." (thank you, vampires, for making the entrance to your world so clean and easy to find)

I think at this point we went back for our supplies, then went back to the door. As we were heading back, just as Sarah reached the door, a vampire came after me. I tried to go running to the door, but was wearing heels and couldn't make it in time. Sarah did not come back to help me (but she did hold the door for me, thanks Sar); so I had to fight the demon alone. What did I do? Slapped it. That's right - in my dream, I fought a vampire off while wearing heels by slapping it in the face, then running towards the open door held open by my sister. Then I woke up.

And this is why I don't allow myself to remember my dreams. I don't want to think about what all my si-fi watching does to my unconscious self.

Ways to Kill Time

2010-12-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of waiting at work lately - waiting to get assignments from my boss, waiting to get replies to my emails, waiting, waiting, waiting, etc. etc. So, in the meantime, I've found two new favorite ways to waste some time.

Way to Kill Time #1 - Google Translate
Super super fun if you speak an obscure foreign language. Here's how it works - you translate a phrase (that you of course already know) from English to the foreign language. And see how closely the translator gets it right. (Some more common phrases work quite well - they got Merry Christmas right). THEN, you click the button saying you want to listen to the phrase. That's where the true enjoyment comes - listening to a computer speaking in your obscure foreign language. You just have to try it. Every time I listen to that computer speak Armenian, I giggle. Call me silly, but I sure enjoy it.

Note: this might only work on the really obscure languages. Its sounded pretty normal in Japanese (or so my sister said.) Stick with the odd languages on this pasttime.

Way to Kill Time #2 - Squirrel Assassins
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/games/squirrelassassins/
Um, I don't think I have time to explain how I found this game. Or why I think its funny. But think angry birds - except squirrels.

Love-Hate Relationships

2010-12-08T08:53:00.001-07:00

So, I seem to have very intense love-hate relationships with objects in my life. See any post about a car I have owned. A good example of this love-hate relationship is with my computer. I have loved that stupid Lenovo Thinkpad. I have babied it - I took care of it when someone stepped on it, I made sure it had the best duct tape available to hold it together, and I haven't complained as its battery has decreased to a 25-minute maximum. All I have asked of it is to continue playing my music until I can afford to replace it and let it retire in peace.

Well, one day, the computer decided it was tired of Google Chrome, and apparently Internet Explorer (though I can't blame it for that one) - it will ONLY open the internet through Firefox. That's fine, I thought - I can learn to live with Firefox. Later that same day, however, I tried to go onto iTunes so that it would upload my new podcasts, but iTunes said it couldn't connect to the store. I've googled the problem, tried every solution possible, and all I can figure out is that a poltergeist moved inside my computer, who hates me and does not want to see me enjoy my weekly dose of "This American Life." That's just cruel punishment.

Joy into your humdrum lives

2010-12-02T13:52:00.002-07:00

I love the movie "Singin in the Rain." A lot. So it isn't a surprise that random lines will just pop into my mind, like one of these classic lines from Lina Lamont, the best villanous ditz ever to prance their way across a movie screen: "If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain't been in vain for nothin'. Bless you all."

My life has been feeling somewhat humdrum. I enjoy my job (well, most of the time; less lately since I have felt my job move from "intern" to "chief babysitter"), I enjoy living with my family, and all together I don't have all that much I can complain about in my life. And I have had plenty of talks with family, articles read on the internet, and church lessons telling me I need to focus on the positive aspects of my life and not dwell on the negative. Which is true - I have so much to be grateful for that far outweigh the negative.

I just think the last few years of dating (or lack thereof) have been weighing on me and I'm kind of tired of it all. I know I'm a desirable person - I know that SOMEWHERE in this bizarre world of ours there is SOMEBODY who will actually appreciate me, who will be fascinated with the person that I am, and who will be so enthralled by me that he will actually *gasp* ask me on a date. I know all this in my head. I'm just tired of continuing to have to tell myself this, because at some point, I would sort 0f like evidence that what I've been telling myself is true. Because at some point my brain might get tired of telling this to my heart.

That's all. I don't think I want an answer - I'm just sending this thought off into the void. The serious post ends now.

How to Comb your Curly Hair

2010-11-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, that indeed was a "subject o-matique" subject. Combing curly hair is indeed a difficulty. Especially when you are sitting in a car in the midst of a 20-hour car trip (that only was intended to be 12-hours) and realize that your curly hair has suddenly become a mat of snarls. Not fun.

So, the car trip mentioned was leg one of an epic roadtrip up to Portland Oregon. We had tons of fun enjoying the coast, enjoying the absence of sales tax, and getting spoiled with people pumping gas for you. It was absolutely wonderful - until the moment when Idaho decided to close all possible routes leading to our return home Sunday night. So, we stopped in Twin Falls at one of our company's grandma's homes and stayed the night. What did we do to make the most of the situation? We initiated the guys into girl talk. They did quite well, I must say. Idaho finally let us leave their state this afternoon, and I am happy to report that I am back in Utah.

In completely unrelated news, tonight, the UPS man dropped off a package at our doorstep. Lets hypothetically say my address is 100 North 100 East, Cool Town, USA. The package was addressed to Jo Shmo (obviously not matching any name in this home), 115 North 150 West, Bluesville USA. Epic Fail. 5-miles off epic. We live in a grid system - how hard is it to notice that they were not only delivering the package to the wrong home, on the wrong side of town, but the wrong town entirely? Good job, UPS man, good job.

Sound effects sold separately

2010-11-01T22:37:00.000-06:00

So, those of you who know me well (or for some reason unknown reason have been reading my blog for a long time without ever having met me) know that I have a weakness: fortune cookies. 95% of the reason I love them is because of the cookie. If you are currently scratching your head, thinking fortune cookies are a sub-par treat, I don't really care. My taste buds are just that unique. The other 5% of my love is because I find great amusement in the fortunes. I currently have 2 hanging inside my closet door that bring me great hope:

"The wheel of good fortune is finally turning in your direction!" (Because the exclamation point makes it really true!)
"Your dearest wish will come true." Wish 1 - be a Jedi for a day (check!!); Wish 2 - infiltrate Stargate Command and go through a wormhole. I'm halfway there.

I also have one more saying hanging up in my closet. It was written at a time when people everywhere were telling me that the reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I'm too intimidating (how can that ever be taken as a compliment?!) Dear E, who had just told me about her first crush, responded with this delightful piece of wisdom:

"The only reason some boy can use the excuse that you are intimidating is because you're not stupid enough to have a crush on someone who just got back from drug rehab."

It is thoughts and fortunes like these that give me inspiration and hope every morning.

Lovin the season

2010-10-31T15:31:00.000-06:00

You know what is great about Halloween? You can sleep over at your friends' house after an amazing party, and wake up, look around the room you slept in, and realize you shared your room with a skeleton, stuffed raven, a fake rat, and formaldehyde-ized creatures. And none of that seems weird.

And, as you might be able to tell from the url of my blog, I like pie. Love. Adore. And the best part of November? (other than celebrating my parents anniversary - Happy Anniversary Tomorrow Mom and Dad!!) The best part of November is pie. And turkey. But mostly pie.

Two stories - One post

2010-10-27T23:22:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, my family descended upon the Sprint store to change phone plans. If you happened to be one of the many people who were upset because the only employee in the store was helping us for a few hours, and if you gave us dirty looks because he was helping us instead of you - tough. We got there first. And as a note to my friends, I now have unlimited texting (yes, no more being limited to just 100 texts a month! Don't hold back anymore! Text away!)

In a completely unrelated matter, I decided that I am not one of those girls who wants a romantic "how we met" story with my future spouse. I would take humor over romance. To illustrate - my family is currently remodeling our bathroom. After all the work was done for the day, my mom was chatting with the plumber (named Bubba), and somehow the conversation led to my mother mentioning that I was single (this happens frequently). The plumber said he had a number of single guys in his ward, which led to my mom asking (jokingly, of course), if any of them were single. Bubba (the plumber), said, "Why yes, there is one that is a really great guy. Although, to be honest, he is into weird stuff - he likes Star Wars." Which of course led my mother to explain that Star Wars is not weird to me, that in fact, I'm going as a Jedi for Halloween.

Long story short, there is a high probability that I am going to be set up on a blind date by my plumber to a Star Wars loving man. I actually hope this one works out, because then, forever and ever, when people ask "how did you meet?" I will be able to tell people that a plumber named Bubba set us up. Please universe, let this date actually happen!

big hair for big occasions

2010-10-22T21:02:00.000-06:00

I'm the most excited for Halloween that I have ever been in my life. Well, at least since I was a kid. When I was a kid, Halloween generally involved finding a wonderful outfit like a fairy or a princess, and then resorting to a hobo costume the day of trick-or-treating because it was so cold outside that my mom couldn't fit my fairy costume over the snowpants and coat that were required to keep my tiny body warm. So, we resorted to a bowler hat and a funny shirt over the coat, and called it good.

As an adult, Halloween generally sneaks up on me, and I quickly through a costume together that generally involves me ratting my hair to unfathomable heights (never underestimate the power of natural curl + ratting + super-stiff hairspray). This year, however, I actually planned ahead! Probably because I'm on a quest to not hide from anyone my passions (in the past, I used to wait at least a month to figure out if a potential friend was prepared for the full onslaught of the geekdom that is my life. Now, I give them a day, if that), my Halloween costume for this year is from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I was originally going to be Princess Leia, but my desire to run around with a light-saber far exceeded my desire to put my long hair to good use in those massive buns. Yes, I will be a Jedi knight. And don't be surprised if I end up wearing this costume at other times that are not Halloween.

Of Bugs and Men

2010-10-18T18:19:00.000-06:00

Gnats have overtaken Centerville. Gnats and In-n-Out customers. The similarities are remarkable - both descended upon our town in droves and only seem to leave late at night. There seems to be nothing we can do about either horde, except deal with it. They both might leave when winter sets in - might. The one difference is that I do not have a windshield plastered with In-n-Out customers. That would be disturbing.

I do wonder how long it will be until I break down and attempt the visit to the In-n-Out. I mean, its super cool that my hometown has one, and the burgers really are good. However, every time I look down that road, I see police cones, cars everywhere, and more people than could possibly have fit into those cars. It makes the claustrophobic within me shudder at the thought of going near.

In related news, I have chosen a poor time to start exercising again. The biggest problem with gnats is that they love to act like they are wandering around aimlessly, but they must have a sixth sense for those people who are exercising because they will go right into joggers mouths or eyes.

Now doesn't this post make you want to visit Centerville?

A Letter

2010-09-27T15:24:00.000-06:00

Dear Custodial Department at the Place Where I Work,

I appreciate your need for automatic toilets. The sanitary benefits would appear to be huge. However, is there a way for you to reduce the water pressure slightly so that water does not SPURT out of the toilet when it flushes? Water splashing from the toilet onto my nylon-covered legs is not the most pleasant experience.

Signed, a concerned intern.

So you all know

2010-09-21T15:58:00.001-06:00

Over the last few weeks I have seen a lot of buzz on the internet debating various topics of LDS doctrine, I have watched news reports of a former seminary teacher being convicted of raping his student, and have heard of friends and acquaintances leaving the church for one reason or another. With all of this negativity being raised in one arena or another, I decided that I wanted to raise my voice here. It might not have a far reach, but I sure will feel better.

I know that God loves his children. I know He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the right way to live in order to return to live with him again. I know God set a pattern of communicating with His children through prophets. I know that God once again chose to have a prophet on the earth when He called Joseph Smith to be the prophet in 1830, and that since that time, we have always had a prophet on the earth.

I believe in the admonition of the Savior to judge people by their fruits. One fruit is "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ." I believe it is what it says it is, another testament that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that it affirms the Bible's claim that Christ rose from the grave.

Another fruit is the actions of the people. No, we are not a perfect people - far from it. But we are trying. Our humanitarian efforts go to far countries such as Mozambique, or close to home at local food kitchens. These efforts are for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists - anyone who is in distress or in need.

Finally, I just want to point at that for every argument somebody can make as a reason to leave the church or doubt whether or not it is true, another argument can be made to stay. If you are looking to leave, have your doubts, or concerns, please ask. Ask your faithful friends, ask leaders, but most importantly, ask the Lord. I don't know everything, I have been hurt by LDS members, and I have had my own confusions. All I do know is that I need God in my life, and when I go to church, when I pray, and when I read the scriptures, I feel God's love for me. And that's why I keep going.

And so it goes

2010-09-19T20:22:00.002-06:00

In the continuing tradition of sharing the odd injuries that I sustain, I have one more story for you, my faithful blog readers. I went shopping with my mom the other day, and was trying on a cute turtle-neck when the tag (almost with a life of its own) went directly for my eye. Luckily my eye was closed, but I really did get a cut on my eyelid from a pricetag. Yet another injury I do not recommend.

In other news, I have been in ward-limbo for the last month. The last time I attended my Provo ward was August 15, and I had every intention of starting my new ward as soon as possible. However, a series of events in the last month have led me to be unable to attend my own church services (but some weeks I have attended 2 sacrament meetings, so don't think I'm falling away!). This week, I realized that since it has been over a month since I have belonged to a ward, I had every intention of attending my new singles ward. I stayed in Provo last night, so I woke up early to drive up to C-town to get ready and make it to my new ward. However, when I went to get back in my car to drive to church, my dear car refused to start. I simultaneously laughed and held back tears as I walked to my home ward. Here's to another week of a social life consisting of playing with my adorable 2-year-old nephew.

Good Advice

2010-09-15T15:41:00.001-06:00

Impressive rutabaga!

2010-09-04T17:21:00.000-06:00

I've decided I want a pen-pal. Just a few requirements: male, LDS, and relatively normal. Hot and extremely wonderful would be an extra bonus. I thought of this while watching "You've Got Mail" the other night as I was putting in a few extra hours of work formatting reports. I figure right now I'm so busy with work, it might be nice to have a pen-pal who will fall desperately in love with me, then in a while, we'll meet and already be in love. While "Over the Rainbow" is playing somewhere in the background. That would sure be easier than the other ways I have tried to meet people.

Oh, and Emma, I think you should date someone like Greg Kinnear's character in that movie. Or just a Greg Kinnear clone.

The Eternal Debate

2010-08-25T21:59:00.000-06:00

So, of the many discussions that people get into, one of my favorites is the question: Who would you rather be, Batman or Superman? Its amazing what you can learn about somebody when they reveal the answer to that question. For example, recently my dear friend Julia and I were discussing Batman, and she said the following:

"I feel like that's the American way. A few billion dollars, a butler, and ninja teachers can make anyone into a superhero. I like that: I can potentially become a vigilante."

Doesn't that tell you a lot about Julia? And I promise, she would make an amazing vigilante.

So now I want to ponder this question, who would I be? Batman would obviously be amazing, its his brains that make him super. I want that in my life. Generally, I would think that being a klutz would automatically rule you out of being Superman, but as Batman, I could invent things to ensure that I don't fall down. Or injure myself daily.

The one thing I believe I have in the bag in being Superman, however, is the disguise. Really, how many people have watched those movies and thought, "Wow! Glasses! What an amazing disguise! No wonder Lois doesn't recognize him, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw him change into Superman, I certainly wouldn't have believed that Clark Kent is simply an alter-ego."

I, on the other hand, have an added bonus. The hair. You'd be amazed at the number of times I've confused people by straightening my normally curly hair. My own father, for example, passed by our pew at church thinking that somebody else must have taken our spot and started circling the church looking for me. Or there is the time that, sitting at my same desk, somebody walked into "Intern Alley" and asked where Emily was. Which led my coworker Curtis to describe my glasses and straight hair as the "Clark Kent look."

To prove my point, here are some pictures. Because apparently lots of people use blogs to show pictures.

Here I am, the quiet friend smiling in the middle of the pack:

But watch out, because take off those glasses, and I'm out to get the bad guys!

And here is another picture to show how the straight hair plus SUNGLASSES would probably be my best bet at hiding my identity.

So, all things considering, I think I could teach Clark Kent a thing or two about disguises. Or I could just become a vigilante with Julia. I just need to find the ninja teachers first.

Disney!

2010-08-23T12:26:00.000-06:00

So, as some of you might recall, I went to Disneyland this past February. In preparation for that trip, my friends all decided to assign ourselves Disney characters, just because. I've also participated in this activity with FHE groups, mission friends, etc. Whenever this conversation comes up, Belle is always one of the first characters tossed around, as everyone tries to decide which of the brunnette girls should receive that honor. People eventually look at me and say, "Well, you could be Belle, but maybe we should try to think of something more creative for you." Really? Why must you try to be creative and think of something else? They say, maybe you could be Eve from WALL-e. Or, how about Maid Marion from Robin Hood? (the only reason I'm okay with that one was that I had a not-so-secret crush on Robin Hood when I was growing up).

So, in listening to "Beauty and the Beast" this morning on Pandora (yes, Disney songs DO pop up in my most-listened-to Pandora station), I decided next time this conversation pops up, I am sticking up for myself and insisting that I am Belle. Because, yes, I see myself being with friends that will analyze this, and I will make my voice known.

Reasons I feel connected to Belle:

Her small town did not understand her and thought she was odd. I grew up in a community that acted like science-fiction is the weirdest interest ever. Am I odd? Yes. But so was Belle, and she got a prince because of it.
Her theme song included the following lyrics: "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand to have someone understand, I want so much more than they've got planned." Is that my theme song as well? YES! Did I write out all of those lyrics from memory? YES!
She loved reading.
She had weirdos pursuing her (reference my entire dating history).

Um, I probably could go on, but suffice it to say, I think I have earned the right to be Belle. I am a little concerned that being Belle might mean I have a secret desire to fall in love with a hairy man. . .

Did you or did you not order the CODE RED?!

2010-08-18T08:15:00.000-06:00

I've decided that Subject O-Matique should apply to my blog titles as well.

Things that are not cool:

Putting the wrong solution onto your contacts before sticking them into your eyes. And subsequently crying all day from the pain.
Rolling over your heel with your office chair and pulling off a huge chuck of skin. Turns out Achilles wasn't as much of a wimp as I'd suspected, heel injuries really hurt.
Reading through a chain of emails at work and finding out that your first heartbreak works within your overall department, just in a different location. If we go on a site visit that would include his location, I may or may not call in sick that day.

Things that ARE cool:

Dishwashers. Especially after not living with one for the majority of the last five years.
Eating Navajo tacos on the Navajo reservation, in the middle of a sagebrush field, with a Navajo family, watching a storm roll in across the desert.

"Dream. . .

2010-07-27T22:49:00.000-06:00

. . .when you're feeling blue. Dream, that's the thing to do. . ."

Picture me singing this song to you. Then picture my joy as my dream job came to fruition. Yes, its just an internship, but that doesn't matter. I have wanted to work with this organization since high school (and possibly earlier). Am I sad to leave my dear roommates and wonderful group of friends? Yes. Am I wary about the fact that I think the right thing to do is to move back in with my parents (even just for 6 months)? Yes (even though my parents are my absolute favorite people, I think sometimes I like them too much and am too comfortable just hanging around them). Is this the exact right thing that I am supposed to be doing with my life? Double yes. I have never known what it was to be truly excited to go to work before, and now I do. 2 days down, still loving it.

Call me if you want details. Or if you want me to sing the song to you. Because I will do either one.

Subject O-Matique

2010-07-06T16:22:00.000-06:00

One of the most common conversations in the MPA lounge was a "discussion" about the pros and cons of gmail versus other email services. Now, while I have gmail (two accounts, actually), I still hold on to my hotmail and my yahoo accounts. Whenever these discussions would arise, it was usually everyone else fighting against Jarilyn (hotmail) and me (always arguing for yahoo). If today I were in the MPA lounge hanging with those friends, I would bring up this wonderful feature in yahoo that makes my life more enjoyable:

Subject O-Matique.

If you cannot think of a subject, or are at a loss on how to be witty, all you have to do is click on the word "subject" and yahoo will come up with a subject for you. I accidentally clicked on this feature today (and then, like a five-year-old, continued clicking on the button for much longer than I should have). So, I would like to share some of the gems with you. You can be grateful that I don't spam you all right now and fill your entire inbox with email messages with the following headings:

Tinsel and garland are NOT the same thing. Tinsel rocks.

Bonsai kittens.

Stizarbiznucks

Facts: 1) Ninjas are mammals. 2) Ninjas fight ALL the time. 3) The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

Quote me as saying I was misquoted.

You are brave young dragon. But mine is the stronger gung-fu.

we never once talked about a blow dryer

this brain has been polished professor

Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be.

A favorite Chinese diplomat around the world, crispy prawns cooked with special sauce that actually absorbed into the prawns.

chai tea vs. tai chi

Help watering the plastic flowers

And the list could continue, but suffice it to say, I want to thank the person whose job it is to sit around coming up with these subject lines. I at least got 15 minutes of amusement out of it . . .

In Love With Summer

2010-07-01T20:18:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting outside on a hammock, listening to big band music on Pandora, mixed in with birds in the trees, and a neighbor weed-whacking his lawn down the street (obviously having some difficulty, from the sound of the machine). Today's post will be a few things I'm in love with:

Hammocks.
A piano that has ridiculous settings which allowed me to bond with a pre-teen who was at my house today. We had nothing else to talk about, but we had the polka and samba settings on my piano to bring us together.
Hammocks.
Having a dear neighbor that I can speak Armenian with who will not judge me when I mix in English and botch verb conjugations. Evans jan, sirum em kez, yev urax em vor im kyankum es.
Ella Fitzgerald. And Frank Sinatra.
Hammocks.
I love getting rejections from jobs I applied for 2 MONTHS ago. . .
Oh yeah, hammocks.

To Women Everywhere

2010-06-29T16:05:00.000-06:00

Today I stumbled upon a youtube video of Judy Garland singing with Barbara Streisand, which somehow led my curious self to read up on Judy Garland's life. It amazed me how this beautiful woman struggled with self-doubt her entire life, much of it brought on by outside forces. She wasn't pretty enough, studio execs said, so they made minor changes to make her look better. After years of putting up with that, it is very clear she bought into it. (studio execs also made her take drugs in order to handle the rigourous schedule they put her through, which led to her drug addictions, yet another problem in the entertainment world).

I also was pondering on a recent article that my roommates and I were discussing from the Daily Universe (http://universe.byu.edu/node/9273), which basically says that men know within seconds whether or not they are attracted to you, and it is completely based on how pretty your face is.

The connection of these two items, and my problems with them are these: society is constantly attacking a woman's self esteem. If a woman like Judy Garland could feel ugly and not good enough, then what about the rest of us? If men indeed know if they are attracted to somebody within seconds, then what does that mean to the MANY of us women who are not being asked out? I have an issue with this. I know many women who will never be compared to Judy Garland, who might never make a photo shoot, or who will never be a size 4. But, these same women are still absolutely beautiful. Their smiles, their eyes, their curves, the mere fact that they are a woman is beautiful. And this is why - God made them. I see in every one of the women in my life a beautiful daughter of God. He made them attractive on BOTH the inside AND the outside. Just because no man is asking them out does not mean their face is not attractive enough, or that they need to fix something - it simply means that the right man has not come around.

So, to all the women out there who sometimes feel ugly, inferior, are self-conscious about some aspect of their body - tell yourself that you are beautiful. Who cares about all those critics? Look where it landed Judy Garland - a drug overdose. Its Satan who wants us to think less of ourselves. Those wrinkles around your eyes? They are beautiful, because they are earned by years of laughter. The rolls around your stomach? Beautiful, because they are evidence that you are real. The frizzy, uncooperative hair? Beautiful, because it shows that you live life and don't stop just because its raining.

Be happy, because you are beautiful. And I'm not just saying that in vague terms - I know each of the women who read my blog, and I KNOW that you are beautiful.

Lets all eat ice-cream and watch the song Beautiful Girl from Singin in the Rain to celebrate being beautiful. And then swoon over Gene Kelly, just because we can.

Mystery Solved

2010-06-23T17:33:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago my roommate and I were sitting outside enjoying the night air and looking at the stars, when all of a sudden it started to rain. We looked up and saw a cloud moving very quickly away from us, but from our limited understanding of meteorology, it did not seem like it could be producing the amount of rain we were getting. It was odd, but we just sat enjoying the freak rain.

Then, this past weekend my nephew and I were sitting on the porch on a very warm, very cloudless afternoon. He all of a sudden claimed that he felt a raindrop. I asked him where it came from, since there are no clouds in the sky. He said, "It was higher than the sky; it was from space. It was the astronauts. They were spitting."

I'm so glad that I now know where that freak rainstorm came from a few weeks ago. It was the astronauts. They must have been having a major spitting contest.

Application

2010-06-17T13:17:00.000-06:00

In talking with E2 the other night, I learned that her parents became engaged because her mom was applying for jobs, and her dad said, in essence, "You'd be qualified for the job of my wife" (sorry if I butchered that, E). It got me to thinking that I'm going about this job application thing all the wrong way. I'm not sure how to go about applying for a wife position, but I think I'd have a pretty good resume for it:

Get along great with children.
Would prefer to stay at home with the children, but if necessary, can work in a decent job.
E3 says I have soft hands.
Fairly low maintenance.

Okay, that's about all I want to share without this getting awkward. My only point is, I hate job applications and would love to have an excuse to give up on them.

-Insert creative title here-

2010-06-14T13:41:00.000-06:00

Two things on my mind today:
1) I accidentally deleted the wireless driver off my computer. I don't know how, I feel rather stupid about it, but thank heavens for a brother who fixes computer problems. Our deal is that I help with his adorable kids when I'm visiting, and he doesn't laugh at my mistakes with my computer. I think its a pretty good set-up.
2) I think I'm too influenced by TV shows in the food I eat. Today I went to get food, and every fast food place looked disgusting, so I grabbed a quick sandwich; however, I couldn't make it through the line without grabbing a bag of Funyuns, simply because Shawn and Gus in an episode of "Psych" were discussing the wonders of Funyuns. Yes, I really did try some food simply because some made-up characters on TV said they liked them. And I liked them.

P.S. - I fixed my computer. System Restore is a pretty sweet tool. Still no solution to my food obsessions, or the fact that I ended up watching that episode of Psych while I was doing homework.

Addendum to list

2010-06-10T23:15:00.000-06:00

So, when I wrote the list I knew I'd leave off some important people - which happened (serves me right, this is why I should never mention actual people, but instead stick with talking about things that are only pertinent to me - like broken cars and starships). But, I was thinking today of how much I love my friend Katie and her husband Hank. They are a hilarious couple (who I happened to run into when I was in San Fran - literally, they jumped on the same trolley I was riding. What are the chances?!) So, I love this couple, and I love even more that they are going to be parents!! So, a big congrats to Katie and Hank, and know that you are some of my favorite people.

And, Ruth and Jeff need to be added to the list. Just because they make me happy - all the more because she asked him out first :)

I can't think of anything witty, and my computer battery has the light on that tells me "This computer might shut down at any second, with no warning and will erase all things you are working on." So, I bid you all a fond goodnight, and I promise to get back to my typical pattern of useless posts soon.

I was never THIS bad

2010-06-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

I will be the first to admit that I'm a geek, but I promise I was never as bad as Jason from Fox Trot. Though this comic does bring me enjoyment.

Couples I admire

2010-06-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

Walking home today, I ran into a friend and his wife and briefly chatted before continuing on. It led me to thinking about how much I love them as a couple, and also pondering about other couples I admire. Its not just that I like them individually (which I do), its that I like them even better BECAUSE they are together. They are like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, Han Solo and Chewbacca. . .well, maybe not that last one, but you get the picture. They have made the world a better place just because they are together. Their deep love for the other person is so apparent, the need for that person's friendship, and their commitment to the other person is so admirable, that you, the observer, cannot imagine the friendship of one without the other. They are your friend - them, as a couple, not as individuals. Here is a list of a few of the couples that I admire, as an example.

Richard and Debbie (mom and dad, you are the best!)

Brent and Sarah

Steven and Erika

Vance and Brittney

Amy and Billy

Todd and Hillary

Quincy and Mindy

Andrew and Ariel

Scott and Nancy

Michael and Rachel

Michael and Jani

(feel free to add some couples you admire in your comments!)

To these, and to the many other couples that I might not be remembering right now, thank you. Your friendship means a lot to me, and I truly admire and respect the love and friendship you have towards your spouse. You help give me hope that it is possible to find true love in this world - because I've seen that you have found it.

Grand Canyon part 2

2010-06-02T19:59:00.001-06:00

In the evening we decided to find a nice location and watch the sunset, which was beautiful. We also had a little fun, like practicing our hiding skills.

Or kissing skills (yeah, yeah, they've had more than thirty years to practice and they are still in love. Of course they have this skill down.)

Or posing skills.

In the end, God won with his ability to make everything beautiful skills. And basically everything else that He can do so much better than us. Luckily He's really good at sharing those beautiful creations with us.

We saw more beautiful creations in Zion National Park, but those pictures are on my mom's camera. Which are at her home, and not with me. So, this is it on the pics from that fun trip. Maybe in another month I'll blog about my recent trip to San Fran - or I'll throw you all off and blog about it soon. Who knows?!

Grand Canyon - 1 month late!!

2010-06-02T19:28:00.000-06:00

Okay, so here are a few of the favorite pictures from my Grand Canyon adventure with my family. Because I suppose every once and a while I need to blog like a normal person about what actually goes on in my life. We started the trip with a stop at the Freemont Indian Museum, where we saw petroglyphs and got to play inside a recreation of a pit house - cleverly named because it is much like a pit. And a house. A pit house!

The next day we made it down to the Grand Canyon, where I forced my family to go on hikes that wore them out. Here is a picture during one of our breaks (where my little sister is thinking, how can Emily and I really be related? I think the same thing when she talks about Anime. And I love her anyway.)

Good thing I had my favorite man along on this trip to save me from a horrid death of falling into the Grand Canyon. Odd thing was, we both dreamt of falling in at a later time . . .

Look at that view!

My favorite part of the day started when the sun went low in the sky and was casting shadows throughout the canyon. Incredible.

I've come out of my haze

2010-05-25T15:40:00.000-06:00

I started a book series after I graduated, as sort-of a present to myself for being done forever from school. Then I found out that I needed to take a one-credit class in order to stay employed for the summer. One-credit should be easy, I thought, so I continued to read my series - which ultimately turned into me shunning all external responsibilities and working as little as possible in order to spend as much time as possible reading. I finally finished the series today, and feel as though a haze has been lifted. I admit, I have a problem - I get WAY too involved in books. It might be a coping mechanism (you don't want to hire me, Mr. Hiring Department that won't even call me for an interview? I'll just read this book, where I will live vicariously through a 12-year old boy who is slowly taking over control of the entire known universe, and will mentally picture taking over that hiring department and making them pay for not giving me an interview), but I think it really just comes down to one thing - I LOVE STORIES. I was recently discussing with a roommate about activities I like, and I had a hard time pinning down what it is that I like to do. The truth is, I like anything that involves a story, whether that is talking with people and learning about their life, or enjoying fictionalized stories through books, movies, or TV. I also like exploring and doing crazy adventures (such as dressing like hobos and eating beans by the railroad tracks), because it leads to stories (or I can pretend that I am in a story). And yes, maybe most of the stories I like have a fantasy twist to them, but what can I say? I like fantasy.

So, dear friends, I am out of my haze, and have promised myself that I won't get back into any book series until I have finished that one-credit class (which I now have three weeks to do 48 hours worth of work), and possibly found a job.

Oh, and Grace, I PROMISE I will get pictures from the grand canyon uploaded. And possibly some graduation pictures. Soon.

Disturbing - to me at least

2010-05-12T21:31:00.001-06:00

"What is this," you are saying, "Emily is posting 3 times in a week? She averages a post a month!" Yes, this is true. I'm trying to be better. And I also was just sitting here wasting time applying for jobs and thought I should do something productive, like flipping through the channels. And I came across one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen: a show on the travel channel on the top places to pig out. The section I watched was on the Vermontster at Ben and Jerry's, which is basically just a huge tub of ice-cream that you try to eat in one sitting.

I couldn't stop watching, it was so disturbing watching people try to eat all of this. One girl fell into her ice-cream, a few people got sick, and it was like watching the fall of civilization in a five-minute TV clip.

When it comes to food, I have realized that quality really doesn't matter to me - its quantity. I'll eat just about anything if its in a small quantity. The larger the quantity, the less I'll enjoy it, even if its something I adore (like death-by-chocolate ice-cream, which I might eat after I finish this post complaining about food). So, if you love me, don't make me eat large quantities of food. Instead, use me as a guinea pig for all those recipes that you've been meaning to try, but don't know if anyone will enjoy. Guaranteed, I'll eat it. I just might only eat half a serving.

Vote for Julia!

2010-05-12T08:37:00.001-06:00

My dearest friend Julia is competing in a bloggerbrawl, and needs your vote! Here's the link:
http://www.mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/blogbrawl/?id=14730. You can vote on every type of computer browser on your computer (Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.) Just if you want to ensure my joy in watching Julia win :)

Puddle Jumper, the Final Chapter

2010-05-10T22:35:00.001-06:00

So, this blog entry has been a few weeks in the making. It all started on a beautiful spring day, when one of my dear friends was getting married. Brooke and I hopped into my loving yet faltering car, and somehow made it to Salt Lake and back. The freeway was fine - it was in the city that I wanted to cry and give up. Lets put it this way: going through intersections, I think I saw a turtle turn to me and laugh as he sped past me. My car just refused to get into gear.

The next morning, a not-so-beautiful rainy day, my car would not turn on. It wasn't the battery or anything, it was turning over, but the engine was just not engaging. So, as I walked to work, I realized that this actually was a tender mercy from the Lord. Not that my car was dead, necessarily, but I realized that I had been praying for my car to last through graduation. And it did last through graduation, plus a weekend. I honestly don't think my car would have made it that long without the Lord's answer to my prayers.

Anyhoo, long story short, I was able to find a new-ish car (2001 Toyota Camry), and I'm getting a really good deal on it. It will be great. And I'm using my wedding fund to buy it, so maybe the fact that I have no money to get married will mean I meet the guy soon. . .

Anyway, tonight I realized that my car is just sitting in my driveway wasting space, so I posted it on craigslist to see if there was anyone who wanted it for parts. First, I tried turning it on again, and it actually DID, so I felt no guilt as listing it as a running car, and being completely honest about its otherwise crappy status. Within 10 minutes, I got a phone call, which went something like this:

"Hi, I'm looking at the ad for your Honda Civic."
"Yes, that's mine."
"You have it listed at $300, would you be willing to take $200."
"Uhhh, yes."
"Okay, we'll buy it."
"Seriously, you don't want to look at it or anything?"

No, they didn't. They're up in Ogden, and I think they could hear "honest sucker" in my voice, so they bought my car. They drove down to C-town to get the title from my mom and give her the money, and I drove the car up to Orem to leave it at his parents' house, and AAA will take it the rest of the way. I barely made it up to Orem, so I think $200 is okay all things considering. All I can say is, my negotiations teacher would have been laughing at me that entire conversation, and probably would have gone into the system to change my grade down a notch for failure to even pretend to negotiate a simple car sale. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you will never see me working as a saleswoman.

"Stop Eating the Paste" Special

2010-04-13T22:45:00.000-06:00

I was reminded today of two of my greatest talents, and in an effort to not hide my light under a bushel, I will share these talents with you now. The first is falling. Anywhere. I was walking up the stairs in the Tanner building, and about halfway up decided to call my friend Sarah, whom I was about to visit. As I brought the phone up to my ear, my foot completely missed the step and I fell UP the stairs. And landed full force on the top landing. For those of you who have been in the Tanner, you might recall that the main atrium has the potential for great acoustics - I am fairly certain that the "thump" my body made hitting the floor could have been heard by all. Yes, its a talent I'm sure you all wish you had.

The next talent is my great ability to learn. I have been attending this college for two full school years, and I have finally mastered the ability to refer to the JFSB by its proper name. My usual name for it is "the building sort-of south of the tanner, it has a weird courtyard, its by the library but not too close, its confusing inside, has some sort of spiral staircase inside; you know what I mean?" I still think that's a better way to distinguish between the JSB, JKB, and JFSB, but who really wants to listen to me? I'm the type of girl who falls up stairs.

In actual news, I have a job interview Thursday. Wish me luck!!

Dating and the Job Hunt - Same Thing

2010-03-30T17:51:00.001-06:00

Today as I anxiously awaited a phone call from an organization I want to work with (which I did NOT receive, so it will be more waiting tomorrow), I realized that there are numerous similarities between dating and looking for a job.

In each case, you are looking for the perfect fit. For some, it is an easy match, it is as though the answer just falls into their lap. For others, it requires some searching and a deal of rejection before the right fit comes. Its all just one disappointment after another, until finally, FINALLY someone that you want wants you as well.

The way you go about finding is similar as well. You must use various methods, and you'll never quite know which one will work out in the end. In the job search, most people secure their jobs through networking. In dating, its called having mutual friends. Rarely do you find the blind dates working out, but they do happen, as you sometimes find those people who really got a job simply by sending out their resume without having met the organization first.

Going back to the rejection aspect, the rejection can come in the same way as well. In some cases, its a direct rejection. Within 48 hours of submitting my resume to the FBI for a writing editor job (which I wasn't terribly in love with, so this didn't hurt too much), they told me I didn't meet their requirements. Good. Easy. I was able to get over it fast. A week later I got a rejection letter from a food bank I had applied to the previous MONTH, saying that while they were impressed by my qualifications, they had offered the position to somebody else. You know what that really meant? They really weren't impressed enough to even meet me or interview me, but they wanted to let me down gently. Plus, I had to wait a long time to receive that rejection; they could have just ignored me and pretended they didn't get my resume, I would have been fine with that. Does this sound like the dating game to anybody? Yes, rejection can come directly or indirectly in BOTH arenas.

And there are the times you get your hopes up. You submitted your resume, you know you fit. When will they call? You figure out a time frame in your mind of when they should be done reviewing the applications, calling your references, etc. You have it narrowed down to a 2-day window. You wait anxiously by the phone. . .no call. Did you read them wrong? Did they not see what an amazing fit you are? You think to yourself, should I call them, ask about their timeline? If I call, they will realize I'm interested, but if I call too much I'll appear like a stalker. However, they might be one of those organizations that only calls if you call them first. How do I know which type of organization they are? All this debate over whether or not to place a phone call.

I also was pondering which rejection cycle I would like to get out of first. Because I am an established expert at the dating rejection, and I am becoming quite adept at the job rejection. I'm pretty sure dating. Yup, I'd like the dating rejection to stop. But a job would be nice, too. Because I like food. So, if you know someone who wants to buy me dinner, or who wants to pay me so I can buy myself dinner, send them my way. I'll even give you my resume if that would help.

A Request

2010-03-20T21:03:00.000-06:00

Dear Christian Bale,

Would you please sing in your next movie? It would make my decade.

With kindest regards,
Emily

Maybe I'm a real adult now

2010-03-18T21:44:00.000-06:00

Today, it hit: adulthood. I still feel immature, and I'm pretty sure with my ponytail and sneakers today I still can pass as an 18-year old, but it's true. I am officially an adult. That's because today, I had to sign up for my own personal insurance (yup, my parent's insurance let me stay on until my 26th birthday, which I realize is longer than most, but I wasn't about to complain). Granted, I had to have my mom help walk me through the sign-up process, and until I have a steady income, my mom agreed to put it on her credit card and just add the amount to the debt I already owe her, but still, there is an insurance policy out there with my name on it.

I also received a phone call from my university asking for money. I wanted to say "not right now" and hang up, but last semester for a class assignment I had to go and observe the people who call on these capital campaigns, so I felt sympathy for this girl. (I would have felt true empathy, because I was supposed to actually do some calling, but because I had lost my voice due to the swine flu and pneumonia, I couldn't talk. Which ended up costing me 50 points, which might have been the reason for my A- instead of the A I was shooting for. But that's not the point of this story). Anyway, I listed to the schpeal the girl gave "to graduating seniors" (I'm not a senior! I'm a 2nd year grad student! Its very different). Then she asked me to give some money back to my school, as part of the "Choose to Give" campaign. I have a hard time saying no to requests for money, but BECAUSE I sat in on those phone calls, I now know their secret. Her goal is to get me to commit to give money, and my goal was to get off the phone and back to playing the piano. Well, I remembered that they can give pledge forms, which would mean I wouldn't have to give my credit card, and I could send money once I actually HAVE money. So, I told her to send me a pledge card, which I promised I would send. I just didn't say when.

We also completed our census. It was kind-of fun to fill out my own section, because last time a census happened, I was in high school and could care less that a census was happening. Filling out the form was over in about 30 seconds, so the exhilaration was fleeting, but it did serve a momentary satisfaction. And it again reinforced that I am an adult. An adult who still feels very dependent upon her parents, and still loves eating her fruit snacks (I got Star Wars fruit snacks for my birthday! So fun!), but an adult nonetheless.

I want to be a Jedi Knight

2010-03-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

My roommates are saying its time for a new blog post. Which lead to the question, what have I been up to the last month? The answer: Disneyland and dressing up like a princess. Your typical month, I know. My friends and I did the Disney Day of Service, which meant for the price of 2 blankets donated to needy children, I was able to get into Disneyland. Pretty sweet deal. We had a large group go down from the MPA program, and wore matching shirts and everything (they were almost hot pink, but the store ran out of that color in bulk and we had to go for blue and green instead. I was extremely grateful.)

What did I learn there?
1)Some boys should NEVER wear do-rags.

2)It is possible to not spend a dime in Disneyland, especially if you just mooch food off your friends.
3) The 80's cover band at Disneyland is definitely worth listening to. And dancing your head off to.
4)If this whole Public Administrator path doesn't work out, my next best option is to be a Jedi Knight in Disneyland. Because I don't think I'm tall enough for Darth Vadar, nor do I think I would like the costume. But a Jedi Knight would be sweet.

So, the weekend after I got back from Disneyland, my ward had a Cinderella Ball, where each girl put in a shoe, and each guy picked a shoe, and whoever had your shoe was your date for the dinner portion of the evening. In preparation for the ball, I went to my parents house to get a dress. I learned that the way to be the coolest aunt for my nieces is to put on a pretty dress and dance with them. And the way to be the cool aunt to my nephew is to act like a damsel in distress (except, rather than being the prince saving me, he wants to be the dragon attacking me. Oh to be a five-year old boy).

So the dance was great, my date was one of the nicest guys in the ward (he even was willing to pose for the oh-so-cheesy Cinderella picture).

We had a great time in the dinner, and then the dance was pretty good. Its pretty fun to be dress in a pretty dress for an evening, it reminds me that I really am happy being a girl.

Fortune Cookies

2010-02-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have a number of food weaknesses, which include fruit snacks, potato chips, any candy bar that includes peanut butter, and apparently fortune cookies. When I was at Walmart (which was NOT the one from my hometown, which I'm boycotting), I saw chocolate covered fortune cookies and couldn't help but buy them. I think I'm in love. And because I'm in love with these fortune cookies, I have eaten around two every day, which means I have gotten a number of fortunes in the past few days. According to my fortunes:

A romantic encounter is coming my way.
I need to improve my exercise routine.
I need to follow my beliefs.
I need to make the special talents I have work like a charm.
And another one mentioned love, but I can't remember what it said. . .

Do I really believe in these fortunes? Of course not. But don't be surprised if you see me working out again.

Updates

2010-01-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't blogged for awhile. You would think that during the Christmas break, while I had no school or other obligations, I would have 10 minutes to blog. Well, I had plenty of 10 minute breaks, but did not spend them blogging. Sue me, but I like talking to my family a little too much.

So, here are some highlights from the last month:

I love putting sour cream on just about EVERYTHING. Some favorite sour cream drenched items include: fried potatoes (or french fries), toast, bagels, and all things Mexican. Well, I finally decided that I should try to be a "normal" American, so I bought some strawberry cream cheese to put on my bagels. I might still prefer the sour cream, but cream cheese is pretty good, too.
Christmas Eve, my niece got sick and threw up on me. Right as dessert was being served. I reacted pretty well, and managed to catch most of it and nothing hit the carpet. Well, I then got sick a week later on my mom's birthday, and threw up, again, right as dessert was being served. Rather than throwing up on one of my fellow human beings, I instead threw up on my little sister's cat. Yup, he ran right into my lane, and because he made me pause a second to not trip over him, I didn't make it to the toilet in time, and instead nailed the cat. It was pretty funny (once I felt better).
I learned that air mattresses are quite comfortable, but can be VERY COLD. Make sure you have about 3 blankets underneath you if you sleep on one.
Palo Alto is beautiful. As is Oakland. And Utah's air quality during the winter is dreadful.
My roommates and I went snowshoeing today. I think I'm in love. But, in order to fully follow this love, I need to make sure to always wear sunglasses, because I got a headache from staring at all the white. Not too pleasant.

That is all.

Introducing my "new" car!

2009-12-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

I suppose since I let everybody know about the death of my old car, I should let you know that I now have a functioning car. It took about two months after the death of my other car to get this one functioning, but thanks to the efforts of mechanics in my hometown to get the car to pass emissions, and thanks to friends Katie and Hank to fix the radiator (yes, Hank did the work, but Katie was the one to offer her husband's service in the first place, so she gets an assist in my book), AND thanks to Emma's cousin who tightened up the battery cable, I FINALLY have a functioning car.

So, I now present to the world my "new" car: A 91 Honda Civic hatchback, sold to me by my younger sister who decided it was time for a better car, and had not yet found anybody to buy the car off of her. Yes, I am that lucky girl who gets to buy hand-me-down cars from her little sister.

Jenni named the car "The Puddle Jumper." Now, most of you are probably wondering what that name even means. The puddle jumper is a ship in Stargate Atlantis, a small shuttle-type ship built by an ancient race of really smart people (creatively called "The Ancients"). It is called the Puddle Jumper because it is small enough to fit through the stargate (which, when active, looks like a big puddle of water).

Don't they look similar?! This is not simply a case of us being geeky and naming things using Stargate references just because we are love the show (which might happen). I think there is no other name appropriate.

It could always be worse. . .

2009-12-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

One of those faces

2009-11-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

One day, I received a phone call from my high school best friend, who just became friends with somebody I met during my summer internship. Yes, the Mormon world is small. Last night the three of us got together and had a great time chatting and enjoying a night out on the town. As we were talking, I heard all of their ward gossip, and realized something: I really enjoy being one of those people that everyone confides in. I could tell you all the ins and outs of the relationships in J & J's ward, and I'm always up to date on E2's friends and group, and the latest changes in H & H's dating lives. I love it. I just couldn't tell you a single thing about my OWN ward . . .

My mom and Donny. . .

2009-11-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those special days when I had the thought, I really want to curl up and disappear into complete and utter oblivion for at least a week. However, I had no luck in finding anyone who would knock me out and just put an end to the crappy day, but I did have a few dear people who thought of more constructive means of ending my bad mood. I guess that their solution of just making me happy seemed like the more humane way to remove the dark cloud over my head.

The first solution offered was by my dear roommate, who simply said, "Lets watch Chuck." Just the THOUGHT of watching an episode of Chuck brought a smile to my face. She still needed to finish her workout, so I played the piano and sang for a bit, which also is a sure-fire way to make me happy. (Have I mentioned that if I could marry an inanimate object, I would marry a piano in a heartbeat? That's how deep my devotion to the piano runs, and how much joy I find in spending a few minutes with those wonderful 88 keys. . .)

So, after watching an episode of Chuck (which happened to be the episode with the best kissing scene EVER), I got a phone call which was the final nail in the coffin of my bad mood. It was from my dad, who had an adorable request: he wanted me to call in to "Dancing with the Stars" to vote for Donny Osmond for my mom. Now, the phone call was pretty straightforward, but it was the tone of my dad's voice that made me giggle. Dad's tone said the following:

"Your mother still has a school girl crush on Donny Osmond. Yes, isn't it adorable? I'm basically calling just to keep her happy and because I derive great amusement in seeing her act like a teenager again. You'll help feed my wife's silly mood? Thanks, your a good daughter. You now have leave to mock your mother through your tone, too."

Yes, my mom acted like a school girl who wanted to make sure her crush made it another week into the competition. Ah, the joys of youth. . .

I missed my nap!

2009-11-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

In a moment of sheer insanity last spring, I decided to run for the student council of my Masters program. The other insane part of this is that I chose to run for the most time-intensive position, that of Internal Relations VP. Thats just a fancy word for "council secretary." I am in charge of scheduling rooms, coordinating activities between the other council members, creating agendas, and maintaining the student lounge. One of the sub-duties of maintaining the student lounge is coordinating weekly lounge activities.

When I first began brainstorming activities, I thought of one that I was actually excited for: a Rest and Relaxation activity, aka Return to Kindergarten Day. The plan was to provide kindergarten-style snacks (fruit snacks, animal crackers, juice in mini-cups), and let people have naptime. Mostly, I wanted an excuse to lay down and not worry about entertaining people.

Well, I scheduled the activity and got everything ready, including sending out a fairly amusing email (if I do say so myself). BUT, thanks to my professor who I work for needing a project a day earlier than he originally said, I spent the entire two hours of the activity working with the other TA on said project, instead of taking the nap I had been looking forward to for weeks.

Did I really expect to sleep? No, of course not. I can't sleep on an airplane, let alone sleep in a public place like the lounge. But I still feel jipped.

The Daedalus, 1994-2009

2009-10-18T17:23:00.000-06:00

The Daedalus, a Pontiac Grand Prix, passed away this past Friday, October 16, 2009, at the age of 15. The Daedalus entered into the life of Emily Davis in 2007. She loved him immediately, mostly due to his stellar stereo system. He helped Emily move to her first apartment after her mission, and consistently fulfilled his mission of helping Emily get to work on time. After Emily moved to a different part of town, the Daedalus started suffering from a series of mechanical problems, including a faulty starter. Rather than throwing in the towel and giving up, he overcame this setback and went into remission for the next year.

After living in Salt Lake City for approximately a year and a half, the Daedalus moved Emily to Provo, Utah, where he had a run-in with the law: he was towed for parking illegally (though multiple witnesses testify there was no way to know it was an illegal parking job). After reuniting with his beloved owner, he faithfully served her and became one of her only allies in what they both considered to be "enemy territory." He was never ashamed of his red coloring, and knew that he was helping his owner show her true colors as a U of U fan.

Sadly, his good health did not last forever. About 6 months ago, he started having problems with multiple systems, including electrical issues and transmission problems. On Thursday, October 15, while being driven by his owner's roommate, his air conditioning pump seized up and caused the entire engine to fail. He was declared dead the following morning by Dave the mechanic.

He is survived by his owners: Emily, her parents, her cousin Fielding (his previous owner), and whoever owned him before Fielding. He will be donated to Kidney Kars on Monday, October 19. Those wishing to offer their condolences can post comments to this blog post.

Tis the Season

2009-10-01T21:51:00.000-06:00

In the past two weeks, I have had both the swine flu (we think) and pneumonia. Oh, and I lost my voice to top it all off. As you might imagine, it has not been my favorite week. However, I managed to use the week as a learning opportunity. I learned the following during my week of lung-crushing torture:

1) I'm actually a social creature. I've always known that I'm okay with solitude. I've lived on my own on two occasions, and really enjoyed myself both times. This past week, however, I think I went a little crazy after staying home by myself ALL DAY. I missed seeing my friends, and spent a great portion of each day wondering when my roommates would come home and entertain me. I suppose I enjoyed both of the times I lived on my own because I could leave and visit people and do social things. While I was sick, however, I couldn't leave my house, and went slightly insane from spending hours doing nothing except staring at a TV set. So, lesson one: I really do enjoy people.

2) When I'm sick, I develop a smoker's husky voice. Which is actually pretty cool. Especially when I use an Armenian accent, since the huskiness makes my accent actually sound authentic.

3) Doing drugs is fun; at least its fun when the drug involves a nebulizer and you get to pretend that you are using a water pipe.

4) The part of my brain that gives me motivation to do homework decided to turn off when I got sick. I'm still trying to find the switch to turn it back on. If anyone finds my motivation, please return it to me as soon as possible. . .

5) I don't make a good first impression when I'm sick. I got a phone call from a guy my friend wants to set me up with, and managed to say about four ridiculous things during the one minute conversation. All done while sounding like a smoker. If the date turns out to be anything like that phone call, its going to be one of those bad date stories in HIS arsenal of anecdotes.

That's about it. I can tell you what I did NOT learn during my week: I did not learn a single thing relating to public administration.

Ode to my Mac Friends

2009-09-09T22:24:00.001-06:00

I have never been a trendy person. My favorite jeans usually come from Shopko, and my shirt of choice is usually a t-shirt. When I started my grad program, I was made aware that there are trendy computer brands and not-so trendy brands. I quickly learned that the IBM I bought using my neighbor's employee discount is basically the Shopko jeans of computers. And Mac computers are as cool as they come.

Why might I equate Mac computers with designer jeans? Mac people have told me. Just within the last year of living in my new town, I have had five roommates, a friend, a professor, and over a dozen classmates who are always willing to point out the superiority of a Mac over a PC. Last week, the friend and my roommate were discussing something Mac related, while I stood there wondering how to re-enter the conversation. I finally made some crack about my computer and the duct tape holding its screen together, but the hour was late and my wit decided to go to bed early that night, so my comment probably made no sense. As is often the case, I later thought of what to say to defend my PC. This is what I would say if given the opportunity again.

Three (of many) reasons that a PC is better than a Mac:

1. Lowered Expectations with a PC: The other day, my roommate was trying to hook her Mac up to our television, and somehow her screen went blank and she couldn't get it to work again. She didn't know what to do, this had never happened before. My other roommate rushed to her aid, since she has been using Macs all her life and should know what to do. They both became worried, as they had never seen anything like this before. I, on the other hand, was amused. You poor Mac people, I thought, you have put so much trust in your computers that you don't know what to do if something goes wrong. I, on the other hand, am able to be calm when something goes wrong. Because something goes wrong with my PC on a daily basis. When MY computer screen goes blank and everything disappears, its nothing new. I have no expectation of greatness, and therefore no disappointment when the computer does not live up to its potential.

2. Forced Relaxation: Today I had a few precious minutes to work on a flyer for a student club, and was using Publisher on a computer in a lab. Nearing the end of the project, I opened my email account to download an image to put into the flyer. In my attempt to download the simple image, somehow Picture Viewer froze. Which caused Publisher to freeze. Mozilla Firefox of course felt left out, so it decided to freeze as well. Some might refer to this as an inconvenience, or evidence of the evils of PCs, etc. I, however, saw this as a friendly reminder from my computer that I need to slow down take life in stride. The computer was being considerate, you see. I had the chance to read a few pages in my book as I waited for it to come back online, which might not have happened without the computer crash. Also, because the crash happened quite literally the moment before I was about to hit the "save" button, I was given the opportunity to start over on my flyer. Maybe the computer was trying to tell me that my first draft wasn't good enough. Finally, who needs to be on time to class? I'm the TA for the class the computer crash caused me to be late for, so dramatic late entrances are supposed to happen.

3. Technology should reflect reality: Life is disappointing. Relationships fail, economies crash, pets die, jobs fall through, health deteriorates. Why should I expect anything less from my computer? My PC knows it would throw me for a loop if something in my life actually worked out as planned. So it breaks, shuts down without warning, or decides to take 15 minutes to start up just to remind me to stay in reality and be prepared for disappointment.

So, the next time my friends have a discussion about how aesthetically pleasing their Macs are, or how reliable their Macs are, I will be prepared with the following response: "Yes, all that might be true, but can your computer do this:

"I thought not."

And it is for these reasons, my friends, that I will stick with my Shopko jeans and my IBM Thinkpad. That is until I have buying power again. At which time, buying a Mac is on the list right under "Buy a car that does not have a direct connection with the devil." But that is for a different post.

Call me Ms. Fix It!

2009-09-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

About two years ago, my brother and sister-in-law gave me an electric keyboard that they had inherited from her parents. When my brother and I were moving the keyboard, the base of the piano broke in half, but it was still played just fine. With each subsequent move, the base has continued to break into more pieces and has become more unstable. So, this past weekend I decided to actually fix the base!!

I put an angle bracket on each corner and a metal bar to hold the two sections together.

This is how the piano looks now.

Look at how well it all fits together!

Apricots

2009-07-30T11:50:00.000-06:00

I love apricots, and this summer I am lucky enough to live in a house that has an apricot tree. The unfortunate bit is that the tree is next to the sidewalk, and people in my city have no qualms about picking the fruit from the tree, even if I or one of my roommates are sitting outside in plain view.

Rather than actually say anything to these rude pedestrians who refuse to ask for permission, I simply try to pick all the good fruit before anybody else can. Which led to my climbing the tree the other morning and standing on a branch that may not have been completely stable. I have been climbing trees since I was a kid, so I was not terribly concerned with where I was standing, but I had the feeling it was not the most stable of branches.

It wasn't.

As I was reaching for an apricot, I heard the branch crack underneath me. Again, being a life-long tree climber, I was of course holding onto a stable branch with my free hand, so as the branch collapsed, I was left swinging in the tree with nothing underneath. At this point, I swung up to a higher branch and managed to salvage my bag of apricots. The only injury was a small cut in my hand from the branch I was holding onto. But the tree branch is currently lying on the ground with no hopes of rejoining its fellow branches.

Moral of this story, if you ever want to feel big, have a tree branch break underneath you. And if you want to feel like Tarzan, make sure you are hanging onto a stronger branch when that happens so at the end of the day you can say, "I swung through a tree today."

I'm Willy Wonka

2009-07-18T15:05:00.000-06:00

I was walking on campus the other day, and noticed that when my hair is straight, my shadow looks like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka. This might inspire me to wear it curly more often.

Defying Gravity

2009-07-18T12:11:00.000-06:00

I have a hard time expressing myself through written language, and an even harder time expressing myself through oral language. Music is my preferred method of expression. No matter what mood I am in, no matter what emotion I want to convey, I can usually find a song that expresses my feelings much better than I could do on my own. I don't know if this is a good thing or possibly unhealthy, but it’s the way I am, and I enjoy it.

Well, when I think about my dating life, unfortunately the best songs to express my "situation" are usually the depressing songs. "On My Own" from Les Miserables, "I Know the Truth" from Aida, or "I'm Not that Girl" from Wicked. Yes, that is my dating life. Being alone and being the one whose heart is broken from unrequited love. Granted, I've had to break a few hearts myself, which is never fun, but the long standing trend is never finding anyone who cares for me in the same way that I care for them.

However, the other day I was listening to the song "Defying Gravity," also from Wicked. I absolutely love the lyrics:

Something has changed within me,
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

I'm through accepting limits
''cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down

So if you care to find me,
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

I love the part, "And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free." Yes, I might have a sparse dating life, and of the dates I've been on, most fall into the "bad date" category. But, at least I'm not tied down in a bad relationship. While I don't want to be forever single, I definitely think that being single and happy is a much better situation than being married to a man who doesn't love me for who I am. So, I will continue to fly solo, and that is okay.