The List Girl

The End ... ?

2011-07-18T22:26:00.000-06:00

Well! It's my first time blogging since the new blogspot interface was implemented. It's very different since they changed it, for those of you who don't know what it's like on the other side of this publication process, and it may or may not have been a factor in my absence for the last few weeks. I honestly don't know.

This is somewhat of a scary time for me because I'm not sure if I will be blogging again after this. Lots of things have been going on in my head regarding the purpose of my blog and how it's not the same as it used to be, as well as my stage in life at the current moment. A fellow blogger friend and I have been briefly discussing our similar periods of writer's block. Her theory is that she's in a transitional chapter of her life right now, whereas it may be, for me, that the last 14 months or so that I've kept this public internet journal made up a chapter of my life by itself, and it's time to move on from that.

You might not understand why I've put so much effort into figuring out what went wrong and caused me to lose the desire to write, but for ways that take a long time to explain, this blog has been very important to me as a young adult, especially throughout the 19th year of my life. Perhaps, because of the timing, it has something to do with the fact that I'm in a new-ish relationship right now - maybe if I didn't have someone to talk to about life, I'd still be going on about insignificant nothings in my usual less-than-poetic form. Writing to explore a viewpoint or critique a product was always fun; however, for those diary-like purposes of the blog, it has come to my attention that my interest in recording the details of fun experiences like I used to has suddenly waned tremendously. I no longer go about my days thinking of what cleverly devised descriptions I will use when I write about them later. Unless this is a phase, I may be undergoing some developmental changes and realizations about myself that are making me into the woman I ... am ... becoming ...

Just then my train of thought ended up in a neverending circle. Anyway. To explain a little better: Reflecting upon my last two years of college, I realize that they were both filled with growth and learning about myself. However, I feel that for the majority of the time that I was riding high with this project of mine, it was because my mindset was all about doing things and making memories. That would explain all the lists of things I wanted to do, and things that I was proud I had done. Now for some reason I don't care about the records as much, and while I'm sad about not sharing the memories of this summer, I don't want it to seem like nothing extraordinary has happened. In my heart, I know the joy I felt for life when I could express it through words was always there, even during the times I couldn't (and still can't) bring myself to write about it. A lot of spiritual things have been happening inside me this year, which may also contribute - as I've always said, this anthology is not for the deep. Intellectually, sometimes it was, but where my soul is concerned, that stuff stays inside.

So if this year of blogging is coming to an end because I'm drawing closer to my Savior in ways that provide richer satisfaction than a well-written post, then I will gladly accept that the time is up. There is still a part of me that believes the small ounce of creativity I have that kept me going this long will stay with me forever, and after some time I won't be able to stay away. Not that I'm trying! Afterall, if I'm going to stick with this accounting degree (and lifestyle?), I may HAVE to have an outlet for creative expression after dealing with numbers and data 24/7. Plus, being able to get these thoughts down somewhat cohesively just now reminded me of how rewarding it is when I actually CAN do it.

Apologies for the vagueness, but this may or may not be Goodbye. For the sake of consistency, it would be difficult to come back here after letting so much time go by without posting a darn useful thing. So we'll see what the future holds. There is a sadness in my heart for what I'm not sure is exactly happening right now, but I have hope for the future. God bless you all, and perhaps I'll see you on another screen sometime.

My Favorite Summer Trends

2011-07-06T14:18:00.000-06:00

Current Fashion Trend: Feather hair extensions!! Spunky celebrities like Steven Tyler, Ke$ha, Nicole Richie, and plenty more have been seen with them lately. Two friends and I went on a mission last weekend to find a salon where we could get some, and I can proudly say I'm currently sporting some bright yellow and blue feathers in my hair as we speak. It's been a few days and I've learned to be gentle when washing and combing my hair, but they're pretty easy to work with as long as you don't forget they're there and accidentally tear them out. My personality is typically one that must have everything matching, so in a roundabout way these extensions are good at forcing me not to care so much about my appearance, when 90% of the things I wear don't match them at all. My attitude now is like "Eh, whatever. They still look cool and I can wear cute things at the same time but it's not a big deal if the coordination is off."

Current Date Trend: Going to the park. This timeless idea will probably always be around, because there is nothing more romantic than a leisurely spent afternoon outside with your significant other, spent frolicking around blissfully under the protection of towering shady tree branches. Bring a ball to play catch with, have a Taco Bell picnic (or not...), push each other on the swings, and then spend some time resting on the ground in good conversation with the head of one person lying sweetly on the lap of another. Just like in the movies. (Cliches exist for a reason.)

Current Food Trend (for me anyway): After 20 years of living, I've finally come around to the flavors of mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together. Yes, people. I've been a Utahn all my life and just now I'm falling in love with fry sauce.

Current Music Trend: Songs with a positive self esteem message. This has been carried over since the beginning of the year, so it's not just a summer trend. But anyway! Examples: "Who Says" by Selena Gomez, "Perfect" by P!nk, and "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars. In a world where people are always pressured to be better and look prettier (even way back in the Bible days - just read the book of Esther), it's nice to hear every once in a while that change isn't necessary and we are beautiful just as we are. If you can think of any other songs that fit this description, let me know, because I feel like starting a playlist!

Weekly Update on Independence Day

2011-07-05T00:19:00.001-06:00

I still cannot seem to put thoughts occurring in my head about life into some coherent structural form of written language. Small ideas keep popping up, things that are fun and interesting to converse about, like the difference between happiness based on living in the moment, and happiness based on creating memories you will be able to look back on, like a collection of trophies. But for some reason I don't want to write about these things anymore!

This time last year I was celebrating some sort of holiday in the month of July with fireworks and friends. Today I did the same thing - Independence Day! - but with friends I didn't even know last year, specifically one very special person I can't imagine life without right now. It's strange how much things can change in a year, how fast a year will go by, and how fast 5 weeks will go by and seem like they never happened.

But let's not go the personal route of my life as a growing young adult learning about relationships and what-not. Instead, here's a brief list that sums up my day:

Things I Learned on the Fourth of July, 2011

- Clearfield does a good firework show

- There is a reason some flip flops only cost $2

- 4th of July weather isn't always hot and sunny and pleasant like you expect

- Rumbi Island Grill has really good chicken bowls

- Sometimes an afternoon spent doing nothing with a person you really like can be a really great afternoon

- Chinese Oreos have flavored frosting (mango orange!) and could give American Oreos a run for their money

That is all for now. I'm doing my best here, blog, and future Shannon (I know you will re-read this again sometime). The words may be scarce, but can I get an A for effort?

Happy Birthday, America.

Inspirational Sandwiches

2011-06-28T22:31:00.001-06:00

Do you ever feel like a pregnant lady, given the amount of times you crave some new food you've recently fallen in love with? That's what I feel like now. For some reason I'm completely fancied - twitterpated - enamored - by sandwiches with bean sprouts and avocado in them. Particularly when they also have turkey and tomatoes and yummy fresh bread. I think this fascination started when I had my first Jimmy John's sandwich a couple months ago, and ever since I keep looking for other things with those ingredients to indulge in. But nothing else matches the flavor my tongue so longingly desires!

For only the second time so far in my life, I returned to Jimmy John's tonight. By myself. With Bible study homework on the side. BLISS. I found the sandwich again - #12, no cucumbers - and was instantly in Heaven. My ravenous state at the time only contributed to how fast I devoured that thing, and shamefully, too. I was fully aware at all times that the speed at which the Beach Club entered my digestive system was unnatural, all the while thinking "Those employees who have nothing to do behind that counter besides watch me eat probably think I'm a beast right now." But my self-conscious thoughts could not trample the joy received from my satisfying meal.

Keep in mind, people, that the Beach Club is not on the 8" Sub Sandwich menu. It's on the Giant Club Sandwiches Menu, which basically means I came about 1.5 inches short of eating a foot long sandwich all by myself, because that's how much I got down before my willpower kicked in and said stop eating or you'll be carrying an uncomfortable food baby later on. I'm actually surprised that I didn't have one anyway, because the amount of food I DID eat was quite a lot. But it was just hitting the spot, you know?? Currently I'm giving myself a mental pat on the back for even stopping at all. If I'm being completely honest, I don't know for sure if it was a foot long sandwich, but it had to have been at least 10 inches.

This may be the most boring post ever, because who reads one paragraph about my love affair with bean sprouts and avocados in sandwiches, and decides they'll continue pursuing such intellectually stimulating material? If you got to the end of this, congratulations. I never expected my sad period of writer's block to be broken by a sandwich, but what can I say? I was just that inspired. For the duration of my meal I was wishing I could share my joy with somebody, and then I remembered that's what my blog is for, so here I am again! Back on the job. Of ... journaling about sandwiches ...

Thank you, Jimmy John's for making my day.

Useless Post

2011-06-24T23:06:00.000-06:00

Neglect. Abuse. Mistreatment.

I'm afraid I am guilty of committing each of these acts towards my blog in failing to write for over two weeks. I am ashamed and deeply sorry. To whom, I do not know. My inner self, mostly.

How could I not have blogged right away upon getting home from family vacation on Monday? The funny thing about long trips is that when you have too MUCH to talk about, you don't have anything to talk about. That, and I got lazy. And busy. Because work is kicking my butt.

I don't even want to be blogging right now, actually. Although I've had a good week. The major events that stand out are: numerous hours coffee-making, a BBQ with IV down in Salt Lake (where I spent most of the time inside sitting on the floor or the couch to avoid the heat), counting down the days till July 3rd, and wasting nine dollars on The Hangover Part II just a few hours ago. I still have yet to learn that no matter how curious I am if a raunchy movie like that is funny or not, I should go with my instinct and trust that I'll end up being more grossed out than entertained.

I sincerely hope I can get back into the writing mood, because I actually have things to talk about. It's just that stupid writer's block thing, you know? Except a different variety, one where I simply don't feel like writing even though I do have ideas. LAME. The weird thing is that I've checked up on my blog's stats a few times and I still get a few random people reading everyday, even though my last post was June 9th. Or at least they open the site, if not also allow their eyes to scan upon the page and soak in a few words.

This is pretty dumb but there's seriously nothing left for me to say. Click here to find out the song stuck in my head right now (such a good one!). It's about all I can do to let the world glimpse any part of what's going on in my mind at this time, since my words don't seem to be working. Bagigglefleh...

Love Languages

2011-06-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

I should be packing right now. Considering I have a limited amount of time to be spent at home in the next 33 hours (working so much!! yaaaaaaah!!) to do so. At least today I planned all my outfits for the cruise, and it comes down to this: 10 shirts, 7 pairs of shorts, 2 skirts, 4 dresses, 1 sweater, 1 bathing suit, 4 pairs of flip flops, and 4 pairs of other shoes. So far. And that's pretty much for 7 days. This is where 100% of the male species scoffs at my ridiculousness, some unknown portion of my fellow females do the same or don't react, and I happily say Man, am I glad to be a girl. Just refer to my past posts about shopping if you need a better grasp on why I love clothes so much. Anyway - vacation time soon. I'm pretty excited.

But the main subject of the post: I'm almost done reading The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It's essentially a book written to help married couples be happier and avoid the common plagues of, well, unhappy marriages, all through learning how spouses communicate love differently. Sometimes we don't realize it, but people prefer certain expressions of appreciation over others, and it's critical to be aware of that in relationships if you want them to thrive. Based on the stories in the book, it's clear that most marriage problems usually boil down to one person neglecting to express love in the way the other person receives/understands it, because they are unaware that they speak different love languages. This book talks about the theory of the 5 basic love languages, devoting much attention to how you can better show love according to your spouse's preference.

For as long as I planned on reading the book, I didn't know how much it completely focused on marriages. I thought the topic would be spoken about more generally, so that I could apply the principles to all sorts of relationships. It's not that easy. There are different versions of the book (singles, teenagers, etc.), but I actually think it would be a different thing altogether to compare communicating love in a committed romantic relationship to communicating love in platonic and familial relationships. However, I've still found the book pretty interesting, and I'll be sure to keep the wisdom for when I actually do get married.

The whole time I've been reading, I've been trying to figure out what MY primary love language is, out of

Words of Affirmation

Acts of Service

Giving Gifts

Physical Touch, and

Quality Time.

There's a quiz at the end if you really can't tell after reading about each one and following the clues Chapman talks about, but I haven't gotten to it yet. For some people, what they might've suspected at the beginning is completely opposite of what they truly are. In my case, the one thing I was originally sure of ruling out was Giving Gifts, but I'm starting to think maybe that's actually one of my biggest ones. This is because a good indicator of the way you prefer to receive love may be the biggest way you GIVE it, and one of my favorite pleasures in life is giving gifts and surprising people. In every close relationship and friendship I've had, I can think of many instances I planned and planned to come up with the perfect creative gift, whether it was for a special occasion or not, and I get so excited about seeing their reaction. Another reason I say I might be a Gift person is because I have been noticing about myself how much I appreciate those small things, like flowers on the first month anniversary, or the way I was asked to senior prom with a teddy bear (even though I don't really like teddy bears), or the time my dad pulled me out of school to go have lunch just because. Sometimes the forms of expression overlap - the lunch date was a combination of gift giving and quality time - but overall the thing they have in common is that they all showed that I was thought of, and that means a lot to me.

Before I started reading this book, I talked about it with a friend who had just finished it, and my first question for her was how can you only have one love language? Her response, which I'm finding true from the book, is that you don't. Everyone operates within some degree of all 5 love languages, but there is always one or two that you strongly prefer over the others. On a ranking system, those that get higher marks, a 15/20 for example, are more important than the ones getting 6s and 4s. And today my coworker put it in a great new perspective for me: The 5 love languages are all things you need to pay attention to in your marriage to keep each other happy and feeling loved. It would be silly to zero in on the one or two chapters of the book you think apply to your relationship, because all of them include good advice.

Again, so far I've found it slightly difficult to apply to myself, simply because I'm NOT married, and I haven't been in such a serious and longlasting relationship yet. It's hard for me to even figure out what my primary love is, because it's all in romantic terms, and frankly, I'm still a youngin' when it comes to that stuff. I hope in the future I can check out the Singles version and see how it differs, and if I can gain any more insight from comparing the two. But in any case, I will now always be on the lookout to see how my closest loved ones react to different forms of love expression. All in all, whether you place a name on the theory or not, the basic idea behind this strategy and many others is you should pay attention to how people like to be loved, and strive to love them in those ways so they feel the most appreciated. Agree? Ok. Now go read the book and let's have a discussion about it.

Wedding Dreams

2011-06-06T23:16:00.000-06:00

Dear Future Husband,

You are either reading this now because the year is something like 2018 and we are engaged and I've directed you to this page (still on the internet after all these years!), or I don't yet know you are my future husband but you're thinking about popping the question and you want to know what you're getting yourself into. Well here it is - I love weddings. Sometimes all I do for an afternoon is look through random couples' engagement photos, plan my entire bridal party's attire on a website, or watch episode after episode of shows like Say Yes to the Dress. That last one is mostly because my mom usually has it turned on first, but I do enjoy it. Some of my favorite chick flicks revolved around weddings - Runaway Bride, 27 Dresses, and I Love You, Man (ok, not a chick flick, but still gives you the warm fuzzies). Plus, if I ever open a wedding catalogue in the store, you can bet I'll have to plop down on those dirty linoleum floors by the candy bar rack and stare at every page in amazement until my eyes dry up and fall out of their sockets. An estimated half an hour or so at least.

So as you can gather from that first paragraph and the general view our society has from the female gender as a whole, weddings are one of the most fun things for a girl to daydream about. For a long time now I've even been pretty set on the location I want to GET married. I had an actual dream dream where my wedding was being planned, with a date and floral arrangements and everything, but then at the end I realized I didn't have a fiance yet. Haha. So really, all I need to focus on for the next 8 years or so is finding the right person to spend the rest of my life with. Besides college and a career, of course. Because the rest of the details will be cake.

But I digress. The point of this post is that my current obsession on this topic is the idea of having my wedding pictures taken at an amusement park!! I'm always going to be a kid at heart, and never will I stop loving how every part of an amusement park is there to make you smile and melt away your worries about the rest of the world so you can have fun for a day. I'm a fan of classy tradition and all that, but the more appealing themes to me are always the unique ones with bright colors and a cute idea that just oozes energy and happiness. Here are some photos I've found online at various blogs and websites, none of which I take any credit for. They are here because they inspire me, and I hope my wedding pictures can turn out similar, with our own flair. So take note, future husband, because if you're not up for this kind of fun, we might as well not be getting married at all. Except if you're this far already, you probably know me well enough that this doesn't surprise you at all, which is how it should be. And to the rest of the world: Feast your eyes, and be jealous - but don't steal my idea if we know each other personally and you happen to get married before I do.

#11: Iron & Wine

2011-06-04T16:00:00.001-06:00

What a fun birthday present! YB and I gave each other tickets to the Iron & Wine concert in Salt Lake for our birthdays, which are within the same 4 weeks. It was a pleasant evening of soulful, live indie music, one where we strategically found a spot to stand on the steps that gave us perfect viewing of the bands on stage. It wasn't super close, but in the small venue that it was, anywhere was close enough (unless you happened to be all the way back by the bathrooms). For once in my life I was able to overcome my shortness and NOT have heads in the way! Amazing!

Iron & Wine is well-known as an indie-alternative band. Their opening act was The Head and the Heart, from the same genre, but not as well-known. In a few years, though, that might change - their music rocks and the audience loved them. Comprised of 4 guys and a girl who all switched off instruments and sang as well, The Head and the Heart created dynamic songs using all sorts of sounds with varying tempos and rhythms. Their fine-tuned voices all meshed very well and allowed them to portray a wide array of emotions, from melancholy to excited. I really felt a sense of teamwork from the band; not one person was made to stand out more than anyone else. What made the performance even more enjoyable was that they simply looked like they were just having a blast, as if it didn't matter if the venue was full of people or if their audience was only 10. The impression I got was they enjoy what they do because they do it for themselves, not to please other people, but having that appreciation was simply a perk.

YOUTUBE: "LOST IN MY MIND"

Then Iron & Wine came on and delivered an equally entertaining show, with major rearrangements and switch ups of the songs people know from their albums. I only knew a couple of their songs to begin with, but it didn't matter because I was just enjoying the well-done live music. Sam Beam is the main man in charge here, with the softest voice to accompany his soothing acoustics. I'm thinking maybe his power comes from his righteous beard, which makes him look like Abraham Lincoln and Zach Galifianakis combined, but the band wouldn't be complete without his large company of wingmen. I counted 5 guys in a semicircle behind Sam, 3 on the side playing woodwinds and brass instruments, and 2 backup singers. That's a lot of people. Like The Head and the Heart, they all traded around instruments frequently to create a medley of sounds that could either put you to sleep like a lullaby, or get you up and dancing to their groovy rhythms. I didn't know Iron & Wine could be so funky - I wasn't expecting to be foot tapping or head-bobbing, but it happened. And I liked it.

Overall the night was a success. There weren't any sound problems, except for in the beginning when they were quickly fixed as per instruction from the band members. No fancy lights, projections, or even background posters were made to distract from the music. Some concerts in other genres are made to be half comedy shows with jokes thrown about here and there, but the talk at this concert was minimal and the pleasant sounds were abundant. 'Twas a true indie concert, and simultaneously a rad hipster convention, where the atmosphere was simply "chill" and the thing to look at when your eyes wandered was the whimsical fashions of the guys and girls who dared to be different. Except if everyone's a hipster, then no one's a hipster, right? I wonder how they felt when they looked around and saw people wearing outfits that were even cuter than theirs. Good thing all I cared about was being comfy, cause that I was. Anyway. Enough said. Picture time:

First Time Tanning!

2011-05-30T14:59:00.000-06:00

My mom is going to think I'm crazy for blogging about tanning first thing right when I get home. This is because it was a new experience for me, and I have all these details in my head that I'm going to forget if I put it off. Have you ever been tanning? It's kinda weird. If you've read my blog for a while, you'll know that last summer I burned a TON in order to get tan (it wasn't always intentional, though), and by September I was probably the darkest I've ever been. Mom and I are trying to prepare for vacation by tanning a few times in the less than two weeks we have left, but personally I had already wanted to go tanning just to have my skin dark because I like it better that way. But of course neither of us knew what the heck we were doing - whenever tanning comes to mind I just think of the scene in Final Destination 3 where those girls get trapped in the booths and something random falls over, turning up the temperature so high that they pretty much boil. And die. It's kind of gory. But anyway, thankfully the pretty sunkissed girls who worked at the salon were blessed with a good amount of patience as they walked us through all the explanation and helped us figure out what package to get. It took about 15 minutes just to get all figured out. So kudos to them!

The actual tanning part was kinda weird. I didn't know there were so many different beds that give you different amounts/kinds of UV rays. They put me on the "Turbo" bed, which only uses UVB rays I think ... for 5 minutes, since it was my first time and I have Type 1 skin, which is the whitest and easiest to burn. If it were up to me, I would've stayed in at least another 5 minutes; who knows if I would've gotten burned or not. My skin looks exactly the same as it did before, so maybe next time I'll do 6 or 7 minutes if they don't think that's too dangerous. Immediately upon turning on the bed I sensed that familiar feeling of stuff going into your skin. It brings back happy memories of lounging out on the boat directly under the hot sun, knowing for certain that my skin was changing by the minute because the absorption feeling was so intense. I had always wondered if the tanning beds were actually hot like the sun is, and my observation was that it probably would've been a little toasty if not for the fans - good thing they have those.

Final Destination: This chick dies, but I won't.

For all my five minutes in the bed I basically just stared at the "ceiling" in an almost stupor, as I was a little freaked out by the whole thing. Looking through the goggles was similar to having your vision limited to a tiny round window in a submarine. I didn't bother turning my head because there was nothing to look at. It was silent except for the loud fans, because I knew 5 minutes on my ipod would've only given me one song. I really hope the next few times we go, I can stay in for longer and gradually build up to the 20 minutes, which would mean about 5 songs. I'm still bummed that nothing happened today, but I read in a pamphlet that you need to be patient, and I guess it is safer to go a lot more for shorter times than damage my skin from being in too long just once. I really hope this works.

The other thing I'm hoping is not a bunch of bologna is their tanning lotion, which we did buy - one of the cheaper bottles, for $25. They said it helps your skin absorb the rays better. I don't know if that's true or not, but if you're gonna put it all over your body each time you go, that stuff is going to run out fast. I think it kinda smells good, but they said you end up stinking a little bit after you tan. Maybe that's why I thought I smelled something funny when I walked in the house, unable to identify what it was. My brothers didn't smell it though, so then I thought, "Oh yeah, maybe it's just me." Does this mean people who go tanning usually just go home afterwards? Because I wouldn't want to be walking around in public places if I smelled funny.

I did appreciate the tasty candy they put on my towel, the privacy of each room, and the helpfulness of the girl at the desk who answered our butt load of questions. The facility was nice, too, so I'll be happy to go back again the day after tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers this tanning thing actually works on my ivory skin, and I'll give ya'll an update in the next few weeks, because I know you're all dying to know how it turns out. Actually I bet the only people I know who would care probably don't read my blog, so whatever. I write for me most of the time. And that's it for today. See ya!

Love Poems

2011-05-29T22:20:00.000-06:00

I have a secret obsession with love poems. Occasionally I'll get on a kick that sends me searching far and wide across the great span of the internet, reading anything and everything till I find delicious words to drink in that quench my thirst for that certain beauty of the written language. Sometimes I fancy old-fashioned poems that bend the rules of meaning and syntax, and sometimes I fancy not-too complicated modern poems that really just make me happy inside. Here is an example of one I found on a cool site called Daily Love, submitted by a brave high-schooler:

Good Morning
By Rachel Rubinstein

The lazy midmorning sun
has barely kissed the waiting sky
when he reaches his fingertips of pink light
into our window.
Silently we sleep,
bodies intertwined and souls
sharing secrets in the faint,
vivid world that is dreamland.
The day summons me, and I awaken
next to your perfect form.
I run my fingertips over the soft skin
that covers your entire body.
I move closer to you and we become one,
two lovers, two friends, together.
Your eyes drift open and your hand finds mine.
We do not speak, words have no place.
I understand you and gazing into your eyes
I transfer my love with
a kiss.
The sun sits proudly now on his throne
in the sky.
Reluctantly, you rise from bed to start the day.
You smile at me,
lift me out of bed,
and carry me away.
Time melts into nothingness,
all that distracts my senses is you.
Countless, mindless moments
Coming back down from our elation
you whisper to me,
“good morning, beautiful.”

See what I mean?

I actually surprised myself and wrote a poem for the first time in many years, just this evening. Rarely do I feel like the words in my brain will turn out right in poetry form, and even more rarely do I even attempt to use the genre for serious thoughts. Back when I was a young whippersnapper I could toss together comical rhymes on a whim, but the few times the poems actually had emotion ... they didn't come out so good. I even erased them from my memory. Tonight, though, my fingers went a'typing and now I have a one page document I would almost say I'm proud of, that will remain on my hard drive. Because honestly, it's a little too personal for the blog, and kind of cheesy and dramatic in the way that all love stories are. But I had to say it. I had to at least acknowledge to my internet journal that it happened, and when I want to read back that piece to myself or anyone I feel like sharing it with, I will know where to find it.

Puffy Dutch Baby Pancakes

2011-05-24T19:05:00.000-06:00

No, these are not what you get when you step on a baby with a wooden shoe, they're a really yummy, magical cross between a pancake and a crepe. They're simple (no syrup), huge, and fun to look at while they rise and get bubbly in the oven. Oh yeah, and pretty tasty. This recipe comes from an old breakfast issue of Relish Magazine, and I've made it numerous times since.

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon bugger, softened
Pinch nutmeg
Lemon wedges
Powdered sugar
Fresh berries

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, tilting to coat bottom and sides of pan.

3. Whisk together milk, flour, sugar, eggs, softened butter, and nutmeg in bowl. Pour into skillet. Cook 1 minute.

4. Place pan in oven and bake 12 - 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Squeeze lemon over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar and fresh berries. Cut pancakes in pan and serve with a spatula. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Recipe notes: "Be sure to use an ovenproof skillet, and remember the handle will be very hot! Let the eggs sit at room temperature 10 minutes before making the pancake and have plenty of lemons on hand."

MY notes:
- Good berries to use are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Usually I go with two to three different kinds, and it's ok to use frozen berries as long as they are thawed out. Fresh are always better, though.
- Cinnamon sugar is also good on top, according to my little brother, if the pancakes are too plain for your liking.
- The first few times you make this, it's easier to whisk the ingredients together first, so you're not hurrying to get it done before the butter in the pan turns brown.
- 2 tablespoons of butter for the pan may be a little too much. Use whatever amount coats the pan well.
- The recipe says it serves four, but I can usually eat anywhere from one half to one whole pancake, depending on how hungry I am. So take that into account when you're making these.

(Prime puffiness, pre-powdered sugar & berries)

Another Random Survey

2011-05-20T23:51:00.000-06:00

Questions chosen at random from a myspace survey website:

Did anything brighten up your day today?
A: Yes. 'Twas a good day in general, starting with receiving flowers from an amazing boy in honor of our one month anniversary. Some people might think it's silly to celebrate such a short amount of time, but I disagree, I think it's special.

What are you freakishly obsessed with?

A: This one's hard. I am mildly obsessed with a lot of things, but I suppose the worst might be always having to match my outfits perfectly, and that largely includes shoes and jewelry. Jeans and a t-shirt would seem like the easiest way to go, but if that t-shirt is not in color coordination with my earrings/rings and sneakers, then we have a dilemma. And yeah, I don't always just wear plain t-shirts, so sometimes this causes me great havoc in the morning.

What is the last thing you did before bed last night?

A: Prayed. A lot. And before that, I had just gotten home from seeing Thor for the second time!

Do you ever wonder if the person standing next to you is a virgin or not?

A: What a random question! I might have wondered that once or twice, but not about strangers. Only if I was thinking about what I know about their life and relationships and was curious as to their extent/depth.

Do you believe that if you want something bad enough, you'll get it?
A: No. I think that's a rather naive outlook. To use the most extreme example, I could say I really want to inherit a million dollars, or I really want to meet Taylor Lautner (not really, this is just hypothetical), but there's no guarantee either of those things will happen. Even if you try hard enough, events of this world still operate partially on chance/luck, and sometimes things just don't work out the ideal way, regardless of all the steps you may take to succeed.

Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to?

A: Pretty close. I think that among the few closest men in my life, there is never no one that I can't tell something to. Of course I speak about different things with the different people, so each one can cover their own ground, in a way. And with some of them, maybe I would be hesitant to share something personal at first, but if I really had no one else to talk to, I could probably just take a leap and hope they receive it in the best way possible. And considering the character of the people I have in mind, it would probably work out well.

Are you currently looking forward to anything?

A: Yes! After a meeting today, I'm looking forward to the next semester of events at Intervarsity, and the planning process that's going to start this summer. Also our family's first cruise is coming up soon (less than a month! yikes. I need a tan.) so I'm stoked for that. And I really just can't wait till summer is full-blown and this stupid monsoon season is over.

Where do you go when you need to just get away?

A: I'm still figuring this out. Last time that feeling came over me (blogged about it!), I really did just want to get as physically away as possible from my life, and I ended up in Evanston, Wyoming. Other times when it's not so bad I'll go for a shorter drive, or hide away in my room and listen to music.

Would you prefer being locked in a room with your ex or your worst enemy?
A: What if my ex is my worst enemy, huh? Just kidding. I don't think I have any enemies, but if I did, I would prefer to be locked in a room with them instead, so we could hash out whatever crap is keeping us from getting along. If I were asked this a year ago, I might've answered with the ex, as if unresolved feelings could be worked out in that setting, yet in my logical mind now I hardly think that a few hours in solitary confinement with noted person would be enough to heal what only time does (did).

What's something that can always make you feel better?
A: After thinking about this a lot, I've decided the answer would change depending on what was making me feel bad in the first place. My first response was going to be that I'll always feel better from hearing words of confirmation or thanks from my friends or family. Just a random text or something that reminds me I'm loved and appreciated. Then I realized that answer was tied to the unhappy memory of feeling lonely a lot in the past, whereas now I'm a lot less lonely and I could think of other things that would make me unhappy and require a different sort of ... "treatment." So yeah. Donuts are nice and all when I'm having a bad day, but they'd probably make me feel worse later on because they'd only be contributing to the collection of lard on my thighs. Maybe flowers, though. Yeah ... flowers are nice. :)

See how that just went full circle? Started and ended with receiving flowers. We'll just pretend that was an intentional literary device used to enhance my rhetoric. Or something ...

And that's a wrap! Peace out.

Vision Improvements & Disney Architecture

2011-05-18T22:39:00.001-06:00

Today I got my glasses in from Costco. First time I've ever had glasses in my life! It seems like everybody has problems seeing these days - I used to pride myself on the fact that I was one of the few who could say I don't wear contacts or use any other visual aide. But right now I'm pretty stoked about them, because I hadn't realized how much I was missing out on till now!

I wore them while driving to and from places today, and I'm continually astonished by the change in the blurriness of far-distanced things. I expected I would be able to read signs better, of course, but I didn't think about being able to see the actual details of things other than text. It came as a surprise to me when I placed the lenses on my head and immediately the first thing I saw was the criss-crossing in the chain-link fence more than a hundred feet away. Without glasses, things like that are just blurry to me; I never knew that it wasn't normal, that I could have the ability to make out details like the individual branches and leaves on the trees down the road. Even on the way home tonight, I could easily glance into the windows of people's homes I was passing and I felt like a creeper because every thing inside was distinguishable, as if I were spying on the inhabitants through binoculars.

Until I get used to them, these glasses might actually hinder more than help my driving, since I'm so amazed at how different my vision is that I keep taking them on and off, comparing the two, and all I want to do in the canyon is stare at the side of the mountains because they are so much prettier now that the fog is lifted from my eyes. It's hard to look at the road when there are so many cool things to admire everywhere else!

I also think the frames on my face are kinda cute. Well, naturally I was going to pick a style that I liked, but I'm sort of digging that librarian look on myself, if that's not too vain.

And the second thing I learned from this experience (besides how much I couldn't see before) is that my face is really short. They had to bend the ear hook things pretty close to the lenses themselves, so that they stick out far enough that when folded, they don't fit in the glasses case I was provided. We may have to do something about that.

The other noteworthy event from my day is that I finished my 3D Cinderella's Castle puzzle, which Scott helped me start on Monday. Towards the end it was a frustrating process, one in which the loony side of me started to emerge as I began talking to the puzzle itself, coaxing/threatening the pieces into staying right where they were instead of inching out of position, leading to possible destabilization of the whole thing. But overall it was really fun and rewarding. It had been a long time since I'd done an activity like that, where you get a sense of accomplishment after completing something difficult by yourself. Plus it gave me lots of quiet-time, which is kinda rare in this day and age, since it seems like there is always some sort of background noise going on. So yeah. Mission accomplished, and thanks to my boyfriend for helping me start it and actually enjoying that as a hangout activity! Here's the finished product (but for some reason it won't upload in the correct orientation, so you'll have to turn your head:

My Favorite New Things

2011-05-16T21:44:00.000-06:00

I realize that it has been one week since I last posted. I seriously intended on writing but I never felt like it, and I hate forcing myself to write because it never comes out as good. Lots of cool stuff happened over the past 7 days, including my 90's themed 20th birthday party, actually turning 20!, a bonfire party, an awesome benefit concert, and spending good ol' time with the people I care a lot about. My summer is almost a month over, and for a summation of its progress so far, I've created a list of my new favorite things that have shown up during all this downtime without the hassle of school or a job.

* The Cooking Channel. More specifically, the show called Eat Street, which features food trucks based in major cities all across the country. Sadly Utah hasn't caught onto the trend yet, but I SOOO can't wait for the day that we do, because we are seriously missing out of on all this unique, gourmet food that's made in cute, traveling automobiles.

* The Sacred Romance, by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge. This is a book I'm reading about the romance God calls us to and the things that block our path of following it, such as the Arrows that pierce our heart starting at a young age, the doubt that creeps into everyone's mind about the reality of such a higher being, and the issues we sometimes have trusting that God has our best interests in mind. I can't say enough good things about this book. Besides the compelling subject that gets you thinking deeply every time you sit down with it, the book is very well written. Each chapter is dense with imagery and explanations, and the sentences are so deliciously constructed, it's as if they were dripping with sweet honey. Maybe that's just me admiring great literature written for the intelligent mind, but I sure do get a kick out of it.
Sometimes I have to reread paragraphs and sections just to soak up every last part of the message.

* Making my bed. I've been putting more effort into keeping my room consistently clean, and it just makes me feel a whole lot more civilized. That mainly entails making my bed and keeping my window seat as uncluttered as possible (normally it would be topped with piles of clothes). While these things don't happen every single day, I'm on a roll and I like it.

* Working out. I hate to say the complete opposite of the opinion I've kept all my life, but I really do like exercising. My routine now consists of walking/running on the treadmill and doing strength-building exercises afterwards, plus a good amount of stretching. I still have the hardest time forcing myself to start, but once my heart rate gets up and those endorphins start spilling out, all I want to do is keep going and going! Thankfully I know some exercises from dancing back in the day, but I may have to look up some new ones because I like branching out and I want to target difference muscles. So if you have any in mind ... you know where to find me.

* "Thor." It was the last movie I saw in theaters, and I can confidently say I was entertained throughout. Quality-wise, it wasn't the best, but I was pleased with its slightly comedic tone, and impressed by how well they integrated the fantasy world of the Norwegian gods and goddesses with the real world you and I live in. I expected the transitions between the two to be awkward, but I never noticed feeling that way when I was watching it. My family also appreciated pointing out the various subtle references to other superheros of the Marvel franchise, such as Ironman, his dad (Mr. Stark), the Hulk, and even a future Avengers character that I wasn't yet aware of, named Hawkeye.

* "Train Conductor" for the Iphone. I downloaded this game for free and immediately became addicted. It's one of those where you become obsessed with continually trying to beat your old score and get as many points as you can. In the game, train tracks line across the screen parallel to each other with numbers on both ends, and trains emerge randomly with the number of the track they need to end up on. Your task is to click and drag the trains to make new tracks that appear only to get them to their destinations, without letting any trains crash. It sounds pretty simple, but past the first few levels it gets really chaotic and fun, and you won't be able to help crying out in frustration when two trains crash and it's completely not your fault. (Although it will be, but it seems unfair that the game would put you in such a sticky position. This makes it challenging and oh-so-fun.)

I Can Ryde Motercyklez

2011-05-09T23:17:00.000-06:00

Finally! After two years of wanting this, I made it happen. I took the basic rider motorcycle training course in my local area over the span of a Wednesday night, a Saturday, and a Sunday morning. And guess what? I passed! I now can go to the DMV and trade in my special certification card for a legitimate license! Here's a little bit about the experience:

Riding motorcycles is scary if you've never done it before. I didn't even know the basic parts of a motorcycle, or how they work, and I certainly haven't driven a manual car before, so the whole clutch and shift thing was new to me. Good thing we started out super basic and took tiny steps so it wasn't terribly hard to warm up to. While I was probably the only one there with absolutely no experience whatsoever, I was still embarrassed that for the first few crawls across the parking lot it was hard to even balance. You'd think it's just like riding a bike, but your posture is different and you have a lot more weight to keep track of, distributed in different areas. And then you have to figure out exactly how smoothly you need to roll on and off the throttle so you don't have jerking motions, and it's also surprisingly easy to stall the engine by letting out the clutch too fast. Or at least on my bike it was.

At the end of the first day I was doing pretty well, since I felt relatively comfortable turning and shifting, and my teacher said I was kicking butt. Some of the exercises on the second day were fun, too, but I started forgetting some of the basic rules (ease off the throttle while you try to shift) and things were a little shakier than I would've liked at times. The test came and went so fast, I didn't feel like we were adequately prepared during the extra practice time, but everyone ended up passing. The whole course was all executed in a parking lot, so I like to think I learned the skills required to operate a motorcycle, but definitely not ride one like I know how to drive a car. I still have to get up to speeds past 20 mph and handle sharper turns and bumpy roads, not to mention adding in traffic and having to signal for turns and stop at lights and stuff. Hopefully I can get a small motorcycle of my own soon and begin to practice - a lot - with people that know what they're doing. Because there's no way I'll be able to ride a motorcycle in town with confidence unless I spend a ton of time at least on some faster country roads, and just generally getting a better feel for riding.

Already I feel like I need to get back on a bike! The total time I spent riding was probably no more than 6 hours, and if I don't practice again soon I'm afraid I'll forget what I learned. But boy was it fun! I went into the class hoping, but not expecting, that I would like riding motorcycles. And for the first hour or two I wasn't sure if I did or not, but that all changed once I got the hang of it and started to feel like I was in control. It reminded me a lot of learning how to longboard. The process is a little iffy at first, but as soon as you feel like you're catching on and you can hold your own, you're just hooked. I still miss longboarding, and I wish I could start practicing again because I wanted to keep getting better and better. But this might just be a little more fun. Plus it's a better mode of transportation. I can't exactly longboard from my house to school (or anywhere, really).

A version of the bike I was riding

So yeah, that's all I have to say about that right now. If I had had time to write during the hours after I first rode on Saturday I would have had a lot more words, but already so many other things have happened and it's starting to fade in my memory.

And if one major 20s List item wasn't enough for one day, I also got to knock off "Bake a cake from scratch," when I expertly made a Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Butter Frosting for Mother's Day/my birthday. For some reason, this was one of the easiest things on the list that I could've done at any point in the last year, but I had to wait till the very last minute to get it done. But I'm glad I finally did, and I think it turned out pretty well. Perhaps the recipe shall be posted later. But that's it for now! In the near future I shall be providing details about the 90s themed birthday party coming up tomorrow which I am very excited for. I will be 20 years old in less than an hour! OMG!! Goodbye, teens. We had a good time.

Dear Mom

2011-05-08T06:13:00.000-06:00

In honor of Mother's Day, this post is dedicated to my wonderful mom, Terri, whose love and protection for her family is one of the top strongest forces of this world, right up there on the list with such things as gravity, peer pressure, and the spell Wingardium Leviosa. Which, if you don't pay attention closely to Harry Potter, is the one that levitates things (pretty cool).

An editorial I read in the local newspaper this week explained what moms truly desire as a gift on this special day - confirmation that they've done their job well. It's hard to imagine, but there is no handbook for raising children, or at least not for every single obstacle that comes up in each family's journey. I forget this fact sometimes because I've been raised by such good parents. Every piece of advice I've received from either of them has been delivered with confidence and optimism, regardless of whether or not they knew it was the right thing to say. Turns out my mom is pretty wise and I can't remember an instance where I didn't trust her words, so thank you, mom.

Thank you for raising me with a strong moral foundation. Thank you for "sheltering" me, and putting me through private school, and taking us to church even though it wasn't customary for us until I entered fourth grade. Thank you for being the best example of a compassionate, nurturing, and forgiving human being. Not all lessons are learned through speaking and listening, some are just learned by watching. Ever since I can remember, whenever I was asked who my role model was for a school project or something, I couldn't think of anybody but my mom. I wanted to look up to a famous celebrity like the other kids, but I had something way better - a person whom I interacted with daily, who loved me and was my friend and teacher and disciplinarian all at the same time.

And the best part? Everyone knows the older you get, the more you realize your parents aren't perfect. It's a misconception we have as kids, and while I still continue to hold high opinions of both of them, I can now be aware of the struggles they go through in life. Nobody is fully matured by the time they start baby-making; seeing my parents handle conflict, make decisions they don't want to, and explore new beliefs and raw emotions that come with aging (not getting old!) - this is the process I enjoy at the current point in my life that shows me, again, by example, how to deal with the tough stuff. They still might be learning how to make and maintain friendships, or realizing which ones to let go of. They are still learning which financial decisions work best, and finding new hobbies or passions to enrich their lives. Many experiences I am going through right now are even shared by my mom - we're both back to searching for jobs, after working together at the same place for the past winter! And on top of all of that, parents are just kids grown up, who are now having to deal with scary things like taking care of their OWN moms and dads when health problems start to arise.

Through all of these things and more, I've been noticing how much nobody ever knows the right thing to do in any situation, no matter how old or experienced. I want to thank my mom (and dad) for all the correct things I've been shown how to do, but also for letting me be a witness to their continuing life experiments and lessons learned. As my brothers and I become adults, I hope we can share in your joys, trials, and tribulations, and be YOUR shoulder to lean on whenever things get tough. Mom, you and I are already great friends, so I don't see this as being very difficult in the future. Thank you for everything you've done - especially birthing me in the first place, which I know wasn't the most pleasant thing, and without which I wouldn't even be here.

1 Corinthians 13:13 says "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

When God created you, he gave you one of the biggest hearts I've seen, from which love pours forth on this family every day. I am blessed to be one of the recipients, and I can only pray with thanks that I inherited a small portion of your compassionate spirit. I love you, Mom, and hope you know how much you are appreciated on this day and everyday.

Eye Need Help Reading

2011-05-04T17:08:00.000-06:00

Praise the Lord that I can read this screen right now! I had an eye appointment today. For the first time ever my eyes were dilated, leaving me with the inability to focus on things closer than arm's distance, which was ever so annoying when I had to stop texting during the breaks of the appointment and wasn't able to play sudoku or do anything useful while waiting for the doctor to come back. I just stared at the wall in terror for 20 minutes. You know, since they always disappear and then you're left wondering if they forgot about you because they're taking so long. Except this time I was more like "Please come back because my eyes are freaking out and I really want you to just give me the exam and fix me so they go back to normal!" I knew the sunlight would kill me, but nobody informed me of the side effect of losing all focus on things close to you, so when I looked at the contraption to my right and couldn't see the numbers on the dial at all that were right in front of my face, I was instantly a little weirded out.

But the eye doctor was really nice and friendly. My dad recommended him, and I'm glad he did. I set up the appointment because it finally dawned on me after months of squinting in class, failing to read the numbers on the board, that I might need glasses. I had this same revelation a few years ago back in high school, where I DID have an eye exam but apparently I did well enough for them not to dilate my eyes, and send me home without a prescription. It must have gotten worse, though (maybe I don't get enough Vitamin A) because this time I did get the go-ahead, and I'm actually kind of excited to go pick out some glasses, and finally be able to read things that are far away. The doctor also said they'll help for driving at night, which is something I didn't think of, but I'm sure he's right and I'll be happy to benefit in that area as well.

I'm a little nervous to show up at the first round of my motorcycle course tonight with entirely black eyes. I'm definitely thankful I can read close-distance again, thus giving me the ability to take notes and such, but if anybody looks me in the eye they might run away in fear. My little brother is freaked out already, and I'll be honest, it does look a little demonish to me, too. Oh hey, did I mention I got blinded during the appointment today? The second time I had to put my face up to that thing where he shines light in your eyes real close, he must've turned on the brights, because I asked him, "How do people not get blinded by this?" He replied, "They do. Temporarily."

Ha. Ha. Thanks doc, that eased my nerves a whole bunch!

And has anyone else experienced the gross yellow liquid they put in your eyes first, that stings and makes your mascara run and your eyelids feel really sticky? My dabbing tissue ended up looking like it was used by both a greasy mechanic and an easter egg decorater, due to the yellow and black spots all over. But of course, none of that compares to the assault on my eyeballs from the sun when I walked outside, even with glasses on. I know this is not new to many people, but I can't blog about my first dilation experience and not comment on those violent attacks that left me wanting to curl up in my car with a blanket over every window. And seriously, it HAD to be on the sunniest and most pleasant day of the season so far. Sheesh.

But it'll all be better tomorrow, right? And I'll get some cute frames and finally be able to understand the problems my professors are going over in class. Huzzah for eye appointments! Glad this time I actually got a good diagnosis.

Summer is ... Here Again!

2011-05-02T19:38:00.000-06:00

Summer is ... Sleeping in everyday, waking to the sounds of chirping birds outside your window at 7 and rolling over to catch more z's.

Summer is ... Cruising along in your car and listening to happy pop country music, like Lady Antebellum's "Perfect Day."

Summer is ... Eating dinner at the normal time, with the sun still up and shining for a few more hours.

Summer is ... Going on adventures, like renting kayaks, exploring a beautiful and quiet lake, and then trying to pile them back on top of your car the same way the rec center people did.

Summer is ... Making fresh strawberries disappear by eating them all in one sitting, straight out of the carton.

Summer is ... NOT spending hours hanging out in a mall because why would you stay inside for that long when the weather is so nice?

Summer is ... Snowcones. :)

Summer is ... hiking along the Wasatch Front, stopping to eat fresh plums and make sandwiches on your favorite rock while looking at your entire hometown.

Summer is ... Getting into your car and feeling like you entered an oven by mistake, then blasting the AC to cool down while you get where you're going.

Summer is ... Making plans with friends completely last minute because you're all bored with nothing to do, but suddenly have an awesome idea, and nothing can get in the way.

Summer is ... Going to see the next Harry Potter movie at the midnight premiere.

Summer is ... Absorbing the sun's rays into your make-up free skin, and still feeling beautiful without mascara on.

Summer is ... Reading for hours outside on the deck, because you have time, and because - again - why would you want to be inside all day??

And finally, Summer is all of these things that appeared in picture form on my blog last year, around the same time, when I was in the similar transition phase of seeing the first signs of summer during spring and instantly being reminded of everything I love about my favorite season and look forward to in the months ahead:

Itunes Library: Sorted

2011-04-28T23:22:00.000-06:00

Everyone has their own preferential way of organizing things. Whether it be that their room is a mess yet they know exactly where everything is, or everything is physically separated, labeled, categorized, and orderly. When it comes to organizing music, people have their preferences, too. The Itunes library is cool because it lets you basically organize by whatever standards you want - Artist, Album, Genre, and Year are some popular ones. To some, the details of Play Count and Date Added are very important to keep track of. Personally, I might fall apart if I couldn't always list and view my music by Date Added, knowing the relative time sequence of when I purchased a song or album. I can look back chronologically, pick out a group of 20 or so songs clumped together because of their near-each-other acquisition dates, and recall exactly what time of year it was and my thoughts when listening to that music for the first time.

I thought it'd be interesting to see the top songs of my library under different categorizations. For starters, one that I'm now paying attention to slightly is the play count. It's not at all accurate, based on the fact that I doubt my phone and ipod and laptop all coordinate with each other, not to mention I still listen to CD's a lot, and those times don't get recorded. But just for kicks, at this point in time, we begin with my "Most Listened To" songs: (and some of these surprise me)

(Song) - (Artist)
Follow You Home - Nickelback (31 plays)
Shadows - RED
Start Again - RED
Confession (What's Inside My Head) - RED
Stay - Safetysuit
Into the Night - Santana ft. Chad Kroeger
You're Going Down - Sick Puppies
Breath - Breaking Benjamin
The Downfall of Us All - A Day to Remember
Tiny Heart - Flyleaf
Animals - Nickelback
Shakin Hands - Nickelback
Ordinary World - RED
Santa Monica - Theory of a Deadman
Rip Tide - Sick Puppies (21 plays)

Date Added, aka "Most Recently Acquired By Various Methods"

(Song) - (Artist)
Come On, Come On - After Midnight Project
Scream For You - After Midnight Project
"Tron" Soundtrack - Daft Punk
Invaders Must Die - The Prodigy (and more of their songs)
Polyamorous - Breaking Benjamin
The Red - Chevelle
Get Thru This - Art of Dying
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
What Ya Gonna Do - Hinder
Blow - Ke$ha
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Loser Like Me - Glee Cast
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys
Manifesto - The City Harmonic
Symphonies - Dan Black

Largest Time, aka "Longest Songs, by Minutes"

(Song) - (Artist)
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Iron Maiden (13:38)
10,000 Days (Wings, Part 2) - Tool
Roseta Stoned - Tool
Reflection - Tool
Save Me - Avenged Sevenfold
Concerto No. 1 in E Major "Spring" - Antonio Vivaldi
Part 1 Sunlight - Kevin Kendle
Lullaby - Sia
Soldiers of the Wasteland - Dragonforce
Deadwing - Porcupine Tree
Lateralus - Tool
Parabola - Tool
November Rain - Guns 'N Roses
Farewell/End Title - John Barry
Triad - Tool (8:47)

Alphabetically by Artist, aka "The Top "A" Bands"

(Artist) - (Song/s)
a-ha - Take On Me
A*Teens - Under the Sea
A.F.I. - Beautiful Thieves & Prelude 12/21
A.R. Rahman - Jai Ho
Aaron Copland - Hoe Down
Aaron Lewis - Country Boy
Abel - Saints
AC/DC - two albums + two songs
The Academy Is ... - Attention
Ace Young - Father Figure
Adele - one album + three songs
Adelitas Way - one album + one song
Aerosmith - Dream On
After Midnight Project - three songs
Ak'sent feat. Beanie Man - Zingy

Alphabetically by Album, aka "The Top "A" Albums"

(Album) - (Artist)
AB III - Alterbridge
Across the Universe Soundtrack - various artists
Adelitas Way - Adelitas Way
Advisory Committee - Mirah
After the Chaos II - Royal Bliss
Aftermath - Hillsong United
Against the Grain - The Veer Union
The Age of Plastic - The Buggles
Aim and Ignite - fun.
Aladdin Soundtrack - various artists
The All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects
All About the Scrillions - Super Mash Bros.
All-American Nightmare - Hinder
All Day - Girl Talk
All For You - Janet Jackson

Alphabetically by Song Name, aka "The Ones that Come Even Before the "A"s"

(Song) - (Artist)
99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger
90's Baby - Karina
80's Joint - Kelis
8 AM - Summer Obsession
7 Things - Miley Cyrus
5:15 - The Who
4ever - The Veronicas
45 - Shinedown
42 - Coldplay
4 Minutes - Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
4 AM - Kaskade
369 - Cupid feat. B.O.B.
3 Weeks, She Sleeps - Blue October
3 AM - Matchbox Twenty
3 - Britney Spears

and finally...

Last Played, aka "The Last Songs I've Listened to For Whatever Reason"

(Song) - (Artist)
What Hurts the Most - Rascal Flatts
Concerto in D Minor - Antonio Vivaldi
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Someone Else's Arms - Mae
Manifesto - The City Harmonic
My Never - Blue October
Cannonball - The Breeders
I'm Not Who I Was - Brandon Heath
In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Through Glass - Stone Sour
Who Says - Selena Gomez
Undo It - Carrie Underwood
Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
Savannah - Relient K
E-Pro - Beck

Well, that was a little eye opening. Personally I feel like I performed a science experiment just now; if I had known those answers would come up I might not have written a post about it. The alphabetical lists were especially boring, eh? My conclusion is that when you have as many as 3754 songs in your library, taking the top 15 of anything will definitely not give a good representation of the variety of your music. Not even taking the top 15 seven different ways will do it! But that was still fun. Go ahead and judge, but know that this is just the tip of the iceburg.

Easter Sunday = Best Seafood in Utah

2011-04-25T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Easter. It was weird in my house because neither of my parents were home, and I didn't know what to do with my brothers. When mom is absent, I usually feel responsible for keeping the family together and taking care of things, but I wasn't about to go cooking a nice dinner when I know all they wanted to do was make a pizza and play video games like every other day. I went to church in the morning with Captain J, at a place I haven't been before, and it was pretty awesome. I could've pretended this year like I didn't care about the religious aspect of this holiday our culture has turned into an excuse for more candy and presents, but the truth is it matters a lot to me. I'm more aware of the significance than I ever have been, not because I didn't understand it before, but because my heart hadn't been touched by it yet. The IV worship service on Saturday night also got me really pumped up, and generally the weekend has been a good one in my relationship with God.

Another relationship has been budding too, and it brought me to Scott's house for the first time yesterday when his family invited me to dinner somewhat last-minute. I got to meet his mom, and get to know both her and his dad a little more. Thankfully I already know and feel comfortable around his brother, so it wasn't a full-on stranger fest. The whole experience was really fun, and although I was naturally nervous at first about making a good impression, I felt comfortable by the end of the night. They were even so welcoming as to let me watch their hilarious and cheesy home videos with them, which they created last summer and obviously had a blast doing.

But for those of you reading who don't care about my personal life as much as you care about other things like food, you can start paying attention now. For dinner we went to this amazing place called Market Street Grill, one of the fanciest restaurants I've ever been to. The chain has 4 main locations, boasts numerous statewide awards, and is known all around as the best seafood place in Utah. Scott's brother's girlfriend was serving us, and I can honestly say if the rest of the staff is as skilled and professional as she is, they have a great team on their hands. So, top points for the superb service, and the atmosphere was perfect as well for its theme. I felt like I could've been on the East coast, due to the simple but elegant decor, and the freshness of the food.

I love seafood but I'm a pasta girl first, so I had to get the Dungeness Crab Ravioli that came in a creamy tomato sauce. There is nothing bad I can say about this dish, it was absolutely perfect. I would have it again and again. And would you believe that I had never tried clam chowder before in my life? The family lamented for me, as I will no longer be able to have clam chowder anywhere else, because it was the best you will find in a 200 mile radius, at least - all other chowders will pale in comparison. And even the sourdough bread was top-notch, described by the ever-eloquent Scott as "sour and doughy." Don't let his misleading words fool you, that just meant it perfectly fulfilled its role as a good bread.

As for the rest of the food, I had a bite of Scott's super soft stuffed halibut (a specialty item not on the menu!), some of his homemade flavored lemonade, and then we all got different desserts and passed around each one to try. Maybe it's just because I'm not a good food critic, but I wasn't let down with anything I put in my mouth. I will now be looking for all kinds of occasions to use as excuses to go to the Market Street Grill again. Of course it's in a lot higher price range than most of us can afford, but you must try it at least once. If my excellent descriptive powers haven't persuaded you yet, just read this excerpt from the website's press release, which gives a much more fine-tuned summary than I:

"Literally, from soup to nuts, from fresh-baked to fresh-from-the-sea,

the Market Street Grill restaurants offer not only exceptional value-priced

dining, but a sumptuous selection of menu choices that will satisfy even the most

discriminating of clientele. Recipients of numerous dining awards (Best Business

Lunch, Best Seafood, Best Desserts), the Market Street restaurants are acknowledged as “Salt Lake’s Most Popular restaurants.” The Zagat Guide to American’s Top Restaurants says “nobody does it better when it comes to fish…dishing menus that consistently excel in all locations – and the legendary clam chowder is second to none."

Fast Approaching 20

2011-04-23T18:01:00.000-06:00

My birthday is coming up, and that means I have less than 3 weeks to come as close as I can to completing everything on my List of 20 Things to Do Before I Turn 20. Plans are in the works for many things to come in the future - eating oysters, getting my motorcycle license, etc. Basically for the last school year I had so much going on that I didn't even care about the list. And anyway, it fulfilled its purpose - getting me to do fun and exciting things to make my life extra exciting. Plenty of that has been happening that I didn't even intend on, so I'm pleased.

I won't be able to finish the whole list, but I'll come close, that's for sure. For a recap, here's where I'm at right now: (straight from the List of Lists page)

20 Things to Do Before I Turn 20

Get motorcycle license
Go on a road trip sans-parents X
Eat oysters
Ride the Catapult at Lagoon X
Read a piece of educated literature X
Attempt to donate plasma again X
Try snowboarding X
Ride the bus X
Bake a cake from scratch
Ice skate with a boy I like X
Attend 8 concerts X
Watch a documentary X
Go clubbing
Keep driving record clean
Take a vow of silence for a day
Move out!
Attend adoration
Tie dye something X
Go to the lady's gym X
Keep up with my blog (at least once a week)

If you've been keeping track, you'll notice the things I checked off most recently are "Attempt to donate plasma again" and "Ice skate with a boy I like." The first mission failed - they would not let me give plasma because my veins are too small. And many people felt up my arm that day during my appointment, trying to determine if even the most expert of the phlebotomists could handle it. But it was too risky. So I was denied.

And just now a splendid afternoon date ended that involved ice skating, cooking pizza, and watching the cheesy 80s movie "Teen Wolf." The fantasy I always had of ice skating with a boy I like was perfectly fulfilled. It was a lot of sweet and innocent fun, and neither of us fell once, although he almost made me a couple times during our attempted professional figure skating maneuvers. This boy is something else! I didn't expect to have this "goal" accomplished, so I was caught off guard when it actually became plausible. After all, I hadn't thought about it all year, and then here comes this person who was not only willing to help me knock off one of my list points, but whom I love spending time with as well. It wouldn't have been as awesome with just any guy.

Still ahead I have to tackle a day of vowed silence, baking a cake from scratch, attending adoration, and going clubbing, if possible. I know I won't get to move out yet, but that's totally fine; it will happen when the time is right. Part of me almost doesn't care about finishing the list, because right now I could easily say I'm delightfully happy and it's been a great year. But the go-getter inside of me wants to see how far I can get, so

look out for more updates to come in the next few weeks!

Proof of the experience

The Most Magical Ice Cream Place

2011-04-17T19:35:00.001-06:00

So there's this ice cream place called Sub Zero. It's a small chain with a few locations in and around Utah, relatively new. I'm sure that I and everyone else on this planet are currently fascinated with all the new frozen yogurt shops popping up, but this place is almost cooler, and I'll tell you why. Instead of manually dishing out your own flavors into a bowl and smothering them with numerous toppings that almost never seem to go together (there are so many choices, you have to get some of everything!), Sub Zero gives you the choice of one or two flavors with one mix-in, and get this - they make your ice cream from scratch, right in front of you!

To elaborate on this, it starts out as liquid cream - you pick the kind you want, based on its thickness and fat content (premium being 14%, then custard, low-fat, and even nonfat). Then you choose your flavors, from a looong list with names you probably can't find anywhere else - Huckleberry, Tiger's Blood, Brownie Batter, and so many more. Specify your mix-in (again, a long list, although not as diverse as the toppings at some frogurt places), and watch as they put everything in a metal bowl and then spray LIQUID NITROGEN on it. They shake it up and stir with a spoon while it freezes in a matter of seconds, in a totally safe way that looks like a magic trick. And it almost is! Obviously this new innovation was created by some very smart engineers who creatively put chemistry to good use by making delicious treats with it.

An eerie space-like fog quickly emerges from the machine, spilling out underneath the glass barrier so you can run your hands through it. Then it disappears just as fast, and voila - suddenly that stuff in the bowl has turned into ice cream, and it's ready for you to eat! Just the process alone is reason enough to visit and give this place a try. If you end up with a combination you don't like, it's your own fault, and don't be upset with the establishment. Keep trying and you'll find one you like. The first time I went (a while ago), I think I got mango custard with chocolate pieces mixed in. It was good, but would've been better in a different cream. The next time I went was this past Friday, where I tried Cheesecake Batter (custard) with kit kat pieces mixed in. I actually didn't expect it to turn out well, but I was pleasantly surprised. And then when I raved about it and made my little brother jealous, he convinced our mom into taking us there the very next day, when I tried low-fat Fudge with snickers pieces.

Here's the key - fruity flavors are good with the low-fat creams, but anything chocolate or creamy in nature needs to be made with a thicker cream. The most unexpected delight was the brother's mix of Mountain Dew, Watermelon, and gummy bears, in premium cream. I honestly thought it was going to be disgusting, but boy was I wrong. And I'll admit, that specific mix is probably a love-or-hate scenario, since our mom wanted to spit it out while I thought it was the heavenly taste equivalent of rainbows and unicorns. And I don't even like Mtn. Dew.

Comparing Sub Zero with frogurt franchises, there are definitely pros and cons. You can't test-taste anything before you've committed to your own bowl that you have to pay for, so you might end up with something you don't love. However, there are a lot more flavors to choose from, plus the option of what cream you want, and the process of watching it freeze in front of your face is really cool and different. But hey, the beauty of this country's economy is that people can open businesses whenever and wherever they want, and if you're lucky enough, your geographic region will cover a wide spectrum. You might feel like frozen yogurt on Wednesdays, but Sub Zero ice cream on Saturdays, and you can go back and forth as often as you wish. Between the two styles of making and serving, and all the ways you're allowed to specialize within each, the options are endless.

Phases of Shannon II

2011-04-14T16:41:00.003-06:00

Way back in October, I did a post on the phases I was going through at the time. This season I've noticed new interests in myself, so I thought I'd do a sequel! Here is a list of those that have come to mind:

the "Self Improvement Books Phase" wherein the only books I've been reading and want to read in the future are things like "The Money Book for the Young, Broke, and Fabulous," and "The Five Love Languages." The one I'm currently reading is called "Guys are Waffles, Girls are Spaghetti," which talks about the differences between the male and female brain, and how they make us behave so differently. It's really interesting! The unread fiction novels on my shelf might be there for a while, because right now all I want to do is soak up information that I can actually use in life.

the "Extended Use of Planner & Lists Phase" wherein I write down everything, all the time, and enjoy satisfaction in crossing things off just to see how accomplished I am being. Most people use planners in order to remember things, but that purpose takes backseat in my life. I'm all about writing down "trip to the bank" an hour before I know it's going to happen just so I can up the official count of productive activities in my day.

the "Greek Yogurt Phase" wherein I eat ... greek yogurt ... a lot. Costco has these packs of Chobani cups that are a) Fruit on the bottom, b) Low fat, and c) High in protein. I've been the biggest yogurt fan for as long as my existence, but I would only ever eat the Yoplait strawberry ones. Now I'm in love with the peach, strawberry, and black cherry flavors that Chobani has. And that's not even all of them! I haven't gotten to try the rest yet. The texture is weird at first, kind of chalky compared to what you're used to, but it grows on you. I suggest everyone try them.

the "Anti-Cafe World Phase" wherein I came back from Chapter Camp a month ago and stopped playing the dumb Farmville-esque game on facebook for good, because it was so addicting and time consuming, and THOUGHT consuming, having to plan out when all your meals will be done and served. It's kind of sad because I was getting really good and kept leveling up, but I'm better without it. But since I roped a couple of my friends into playing, I still respond to their requests for help and stuff, because I'm nice like that.

the "Make My Bed Everyday Phase" wherein I'm trying, for the second time in roughly a year, to get into the habit of making my bed everyday. It's really hard. The last time I tried, it lasted for a good few weeks and then all of the sudden I gave up for some reason. But if I can just keep my room moderately clean on a daily basis then hopefully I won't ever have to take extensive amounts of time to clean it, and I won't feel like a slob whenever I walk in.

the "Simple Living Phase" wherein I want to get rid of all the things I don't need - except for clothes. Because I have a lot of clothes that I don't need, but I like to have options, you know? But this trait started manifesting itself during the week of my room and closet purge, and further spread to the rest of the house. Whenever I'd go downstairs and look at the bookshelves that just hang out and do nothing, I would instantly want to throw everything on them into ANOTHER garage sale box. But alas, those possessions that no one pays attention to aren't mine, so I probably shouldn't do that.

the "Crushing on Someone Phase" wherein there is a person I've been thinking about an awful lot lately, and I wish I could talk about it, but all I'm going to say is that I really hope it goes somewhere. That is all.

The end.

Goodbye.

Mini Parties, Church Hopping, and Stupid Accidents in the Canyon

2011-04-11T13:20:00.000-06:00

Good morning, world! I am coming to you live from Accounting 2020 for the first time I've ever blogged during class. With 18 minutes left, I'm bound to save this as a draft and finish later.

In the newsletter for Shannon's life as of Monday, April 11th, here's what's been happening the past week:

* Mini parties at my house and Jake's on Friday and Saturday, respectively. We played many fun games, such as Guess Who (lol), Battle of the Sexes, Just Dance, Guitar Hero, ping pong, What's Yours Like, and that one that I don't know the name of where everyone just argues and calls each other out on stupid things to please the "king." What's Yours Like was totally a hit with so many college kids with dirty minds, but one of my favorite moments of the weekend was during Battle of the Sexes when the girls were asked what are the names of the 3 prongs on an electric plug, in more complicated and ambiguous wording. We threw around silly guesses, YB said, "Positive, negative, and netural?" in a half-serious tone, and I happened to look at the face of one of the guys right as his eyes widened, and instantly I knew that was the answer. I shouted, "Oh my God, that's it, look at Scott's face!!" And to confirm it even further, he began shaking his head back and forth frantically and hid under a blanket in efforts to hide his dead giveaway expression. We officially submitted our answer, got the question right, and learned quickly that for clues in that game, it's a good idea to look at the faces of the other team when they hear your discussion of what to guess.

* Church-hopping - This month and maybe the next, a couple of us are "church hopping," i.e. visiting the home churches of the people we love and commune with on a weekly basis at IV, to get a feel of their background and ... stuff. Personally, I've been getting work off as much as I can because I am currently without a home church, and testing out many different ones with probably help me find one to go to on a regular basis. We're mostly going to modern evangelical Christian type places, which is very new and different to me, since all I've known and been used to is the Catholic church. I haven't decided if I want to stick with those roots or branch out to something new, because there are aspects of each that I really like. This summer will be an exploration for me, as I want to try out more than what the church-hopping group has planned. I'm excited. And these past two services we've gone to were really awesome. I love it!!

* Craziness in the canyon: It probably snowed for 2 days straight last week without sticking, until one of the party nights I drove home around 1:30 and the roads were completely covered, with no sign of any plows. In the middle of the canyon, we suddenly came to a standstill in a long line of semis, and proceeded to stay there for almost an hour and a half without moving. My close friends have already heard how peeved I was about it - partly because I had been running low on sleep already and needed to get some before waking up early again, largely because I had to waste a bunch of gas to keep my car running when it got cold, and also because it became increasingly hard for me to stay awake. I spent a lot of time doing miscellaneous things on my phone and listening to hard rock, but that can only keep you awake for so long (also, I have been known to ironically fall asleep on car rides to such aggressive music when most people wouldn't be able to). I kept a pattern of dozing off for 10 seconds and waking myself up again over and over so I wouldn't miss it if the line started to move. It would be pretty stupid if all the cars behind me got pissed that I was still sitting there in park because I had fallen asleep. I think that actually happened to somebody else. We drove around him.

Another mentionable event was the school's symphony orchestra last night, where our home girl Z played a kickass piano concerto that blew everyone's mind. I loved that so many of us decided to come and support her as her family, because it just shows the love we got going on in our community. And seriously, I am amazed by her skills. This girl should win every prestigious award there is for piano playing.

See, I was right, I couldn't finish this in class. It's no longer the morning, so my previous salutation is now inappropriate. But my newsletter is pretty much done with now. Here's a pic of this stupid badger that showed up at my house with some of my kooky friends on Friday. It used to be real, and alive, but now it's dead and stuffed and very creepy. (Dog shown here is still real and alive, but not mine.)

How Life Relates to a Business Executive Lecture

2011-04-07T18:51:00.006-06:00

First of all, I have to say this weather is ridiculous. Torrential downpour all day doesn't make me feel much like leaving the house, even though I already had to, but when it has actually been SNOWING on my side of the mountains for 3 hours?? Yeah, I'm really not happy. Here's what it looks like outside right now:

Here's what it SHOULD look like:

Mother Nature, did you forget that it's April now?? Did you fail that portion of the test where you match up the month of the year with the correct temperatures and sunshine quantity? Because this is all wrong!

But what I really wanted to talk about was this cool lecture I attended today for a business class. I think most universities have this, where successful business people (CEO's and such) come and talk for an hour about their success once a week or something, and students get to ask questions when they're done. I've seen a lot of videos of these online, mostly from MIT, as a requirement for a previous business class I took, but today was my first that I actually attended. The experience was interesting firstly because it was the only time I've been in a room with so many people in the college setting. I know most class sizes in college are usually huge, but my school is not like that at all. In fact, I think the most I've ever had in one class is 70 people, and that's way higher than the average. So it was cool.

I took lots of notes throughout the lecture, because I have to do a short write-up as an assignment before the end of the semester, but even if I didn't have to, I probably would have done it anyway because I found the talk so interesting. Even though I'm technically an Accounting major, I still thrive on anything Business, and hearing from the CEO of a fortune 500 company was way cool. The main thing that inspired me to write today was the section on strategic planning in order to achieve your company's goals. This is done by categorizing things into the following 3 levels:

L1: Current Projects
L2: Defined Opportunities
L3: Concepts/Vision

There was a cool graph that related each level to its associated time certainty and risk rating. Current projects are things that you are working on now, that usually you have the most resources in. They have a high time certainty (How debatable is it that I'm writing a blog post right this second?) and low risk. Concepts and Vision, the third category, is for long-term desires a company has but won't make a priority yet because many things need to happen before they're possible. In this level, the time certainty is low and the risk is high. The middle level of Defined Opportunities is where those visions and desires become more attainable and are actually considered as something that might happen soon. Risk and time certainty are in the mid-range. Most often, the thing that moves a project from L3 to L2 is the timing - perhaps one goal of a company involves coordination and transaction with another, and when that other company is ready to move forward, it becomes a Defined Opportunity - you're ready to start talking about the details. An event or project can also move backwards, from a Level 2 to a Level 3, because of certain circumstances, but naturally a project cannot move from a Level 1 to a Level 2 if it's already in progress.

This organized idea was all nice and pleasing to the left side of my brain, but it became even more fun when I realized this concept can be applied to everyday life. Current Projects that I'm currently working on include finishing up this semester's classes, planning an end of the year Apprentice party (it is facebook official now), and looking for a job. Defined Opportunities include planning my birthday party and maybe looking for an apartment. That one could also fall into the Concepts/Vision category, where I also keep the far-off dream of taking a trip to Disneyland with friends and getting my motorcycle's license. Essentially, this system of categorizing goals and plans is a way of setting relative priorities to all the things going on in your life. Most people probably do this naturally without even thinking about it, which is why I think it's interesting that we can match a given model for business strategies to the human psyche.

The speaker at this lecture also laid out many other foundational beliefs, such as his company's core elements of success being Geographic Growth and Innovation, which lead to constantly increasing Productivity. That sounds pretty boring, but the explanations provide meaningful significance. Let's zoom in a little on productivity though - one of my favorite words, along with the similar word efficiency, which always get me going inside. Just ask my mentors at IV and they'll confirm that for you, with giggles on the side, since apparently it's so amusing that I'm this excited about the weird things that nobody seems to want to pay attention to in this organization! If the Accounting thing doesn't quite work out, I'm sure I can find another career in business that satisfies this desire of my heart.

I also couldn't resist jotting down some of the last small pieces of advice, no matter how obvious or cliche they seemed: "Pursue the Premier," "It's easy to be mediocre," strive for a "culture of constant improvement," and "A good leader is never satisfied." Whether you aspire to be the leader of a global company traded on the NYSE or not, these are probably good principles to live by in any job or walk of life. Never settle for anything less than premier, or else your heart won't be in it, and you don't want to end up someone who hates their job. Because after all, when you're not going to school anymore, you're pretty much working all the time. I myself am pretty set on not letting that happen, which is why it was so important to me that I figure out what I like to do before picking some ho-hum degree that I didn't love.

So yeah. Those were some of the thoughts circulating around in my noggin today. Part of me is so excited I'm learning all this stuff now, rather than later in life like the majority of the people in that lecture room who already have kids and are going BACK to college. But I shouldn't boast ... I'm definitely thankful for these opportunities. And the application of the learning experiences ? Starts now :)

Spring Cleaning, aka Getting Rid of All My Crap

2011-04-04T23:25:00.000-06:00

It all started when I was utterly bored with my afternoon, wanting to do something useful, and decided to put new sheets on my bed. Upon placing the others in the wash, I immediately had the urge to purge my entire room and closet, getting rid of all the THINGS that I don't need. I don't know how this feeling came about, but all of the sudden it was there. Slowly, between my superficial and materialistic blog posts about shopping and shoes, and the approaching possibility of moving out into a smaller living space with roommates, the realization has been coming to me that I own too many possessions. It's all just crap! I have a huge walk-in closet and every year I'm able to declutter and somehow give away bags of clothes. It feels like I reorganize that thing all the time, and I never seem to clear up any more room.

This time, however, was different. This rare force in me was so strong that I chucked objects I've been holding onto for a long time. Old plush animals from an ex, the myriad of decorative throw pillows I don't need, the random sun umbrella that resided under my bed, a nice laptop case I never use, a pair of shoes I completely forgot I had! Brand new, never worn, still in the box. (Because my mom had pressured me into letting her buy them for me when I didn't actually think they were cute, so they never touched my feet.) Picture frames, travel games (hey, that rhymed!), duffel bags, cd holders, porcelain trinkets, etc. No hesitation stopped me from grabbing almost every useless item in my sight that I've looked at everyday for the past ten years of my life and bidding it farewell, for good.

The act of throwing junk out that I didn't need anymore led to reorganizing my closet once again. I was able to find a new home for many keepsakes of my childhood that I know I won't care to see for another decade. Consolidation is Key! With all the extra stuff out of the way, I finally have empty space on my shelves for the first time since I can remember. It. Is. Glorious. The one area of specialty items that I DID keep hold of, however, was my Disney collection. Anything Disney will stay with me forever, including the Cinderella polly pocket castle, 3D puzzle, Beauty and the Beast teacup set, and Pocahontas doll, among other things.

If that whole time-consuming project wasn't enough, I was ultimately inspired to rearrange my room in the process, at about 8:30 at night. Due to some of the paint scheming on my walls, the furniture layout isn't as flexible as I'd like, but I'm currently sitting in my bed where it usually is, and feeling like I'm in a new place, just from moving a few of the things around me - bookshelf, dresser, mirror, etc. It's so crazy how much one half of my room opened up by tilting a couple things in a different direction. It's still a work in progress, since the household collectively went to bed while I was still hard at work, so I'm going to finish things up tomorrow. Even with this future garage sale pile of stuff in the middle of the floor that will be transported somewhere else later, it still feels like there is more space now. Oh yeah! That would be because my beanbag chair is currently in the hallway. Ok so I'm not completely imagining things.

But anyway, the point is that rearranging furniture is so refreshing! I wish so badly that I could move my bed and switch everything up, not just a few items. But for the spontaneity of this decision, I think the outcome is pretty fantastic. For these many hours of the day, I was visibly overcome with excitement at the invigorating process taking place. I'm so glad I decided to change my sheets instead of watch more TV and mess around on facebook. SO happy I even took pictures!

March 31st Stuff

2011-04-01T00:54:00.001-06:00

So, yeah, I'm up late and the date on this post is going to be April 1st, but it's really me reflecting on the day of March 31st. Speaking of which, I still need to go sneak into my little brother's room to change his clock forward an hour so he gets ready for school an hour early. I wish I had more time to prepare for April Fool's pranks, but when I wasn't busy doing something else this week, it simply was not on my mind.

Anyway. Things I liked about today:

* My shoe purchases: The main one being the yellow converse I've wanted for a really long time. They're perfect for summer and they almost didn't have my size but I made myself fit into a 7, and not too uncomfortably either. Then I got a pair of white sneakers that were on sale. Oh, but the cool thing about the yellow sneakers was that I wore them right away because they matched my yellow nail polish. Actually my whole outfit today matched and made me happy.

* The warm, springy weather!! The daytime temperatures were awesome, and continue into the night. While walking from my car to the house in just a blouse and quarter sleeve sweater (and jeans, of course), I was not chilly at all. Praise the Lord!

* Strawberry crepes at Village Inn. Man, those things are just heavenly. I could probably eat them all day.

* Getting to play catch up on my sleep. I had many strange dreams this morning as I continually woke up and went back to sleep, because I had hours to do so. In one of them I attended a free rock concert that was on the edge of what seemed to be the Grand Canyon, and lots of people were there and it was very chillaxed. I remarked to one of my companions that it was like one of the gatherings where Jesus spontaneously spoke on a hill and people flocked to him. Then in another one of my dreams I came to a colony of people who were living on the outskirts of the city, and I discovered that I and everyone else there were mini-sized in comparison to the real humans that we just never saw in the world. We were like Thumbelina, except for the part about being born out of a flower. And we went up on a hill and flew a giant kite (it was giant now that I discovered how tiny we were) by having a bunch of people hang on to it from underneath and just ... flying down the hill I guess. It was interesting. Made a lot more sense in the dream, though.

* The website full of math and science jokes/puns that I found today. An example of one would be what I used as my status on facebook, which a number of my friends liked: "Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement: 1 bananosecond." The majority aren't as easily understood, though, unless you've taken calculus. It makes me miss that subject even more, and the fact that I used to be in the company of so many people who would appreciate those jokes. But that's another story.

* Plans for my conjoined birthday party at Boondocks. Which is going to be 90s themed. Yeah, that's right. Be jealous. For my 20th birthday I will be playing laser tag, racing go-karts, and eating pizza whilst memorializing the jelly sandals and scrunchy ponytails of the 90s fashion in its full glory. And that is all for tonight.

4th Chance Prom

2011-03-26T10:19:00.000-06:00

I almost feel like there's no need to blog about this one, because it seems that most people who even read this anymore were co-experiencing last night with me, and don't need a recap of what they already know. But for the sake of journaling, and for the few that weren't there, I went to a "2nd Chance Prom" last night with all my IV friends that was close to one of the most fun dances I can remember. I'm sure everybody agrees. Reasons why it was AWESOME! -

1. Great Music! I humbly acknowledge that a lot of it came from my iPod, so good thing I have good taste, and good thing our DJ agreed and wanted to play the same songs I love to dance to. I can't explain how happy I am when I'm dancing and totally in the zone. And of course I'm always self conscious just a little bit, but we got to the happy crossover point where the self consciousness went away and I could really just go crazy and act like a fool, not even caring if what I was doing looked right. Which probably was an effect of the next factor ...

2. Great Length! Too many times a dance is slow to warm up and then it's over before you know it, too soon after it really starts to get kicking. This prom was 4 hours long, and I got there half an hour late, so still got in a great 3 and a half hours. And it wasn't all that slow to get started either, so we used up a majority of the time sweating. I probably burned a lot of calories! We pretty much danced all night long.

3. Cute Outfits! Seeing everyone all dressed up puts a smile on my face. Some girls wore full-length prom gowns, some wore shorter homecoming-style dresses, and the guys all looked really dapper in their slacks, button down shirts, and matching ties, and sometimes matching sweater if they were particularly fashionable. I was very pleased with the $9 dress I ended up wearing, because it was cute and there was no chance of wardrobe malfunctions, so I was worry-free for the night. Plus, it was only NINE DOLLARS!

4. Great People! Did I mention the dance was for the IV gang? I just love all their faces off.

5. Photo Booth! This group of people especially likes taking pictures, goofy and serious. Often guys and girls took a break to ham it up in front of the camera. I can't wait to see all of them posted on facebook - my awkward couple picture with Captain Jake, the 4 of us roomies from Chapter Camp, and then the few I had with my girly friends.

As with most proms, the slow dances can be painful if you don't get asked. And actually, some of the girls humorously agreed that it can still be painful when you are asked, because awkwardness abounds no matter who you're with. So the few times we were left staring at our phones at the table, the party points lowered a little bit, but they were mostly made up for elsewhere during the night. I got to have conversations with people I'm getting to know better. I screwed up and kind of missed the mark on conversing with the one person I wanted to get to know better, but I've decided to give up on him anyway.

Oh hey, did I mention we even went to Denny's afterwards? I couldn't believe how long the night was lasting, but a lot of us were starving and wanted to hang out more. I had a delicious strawberry-banana smoothie and the "Super Bird" sandwich, which was like a grilled cheese with turkey, tomatoes, and bacon. At 1:00 in the morning, it really hit the spot. We took more stupid and unflattering pictures, and then bid each other farewell for the night.

My favorite part was when a group of high school kids asked if we just got back from our prom, to which we replied yes, and they asked us which school we went to. With a laugh, I told them the university we attended, and they asked no more.

Song of the night: Whip My Hair
(It is still stuck in my head)

Hot Rock Singles of Early 2011

2011-03-24T16:29:00.003-06:00

I can't think of anybody to tell about how ecstatic I am for all the spectacular upbeat rock singles that have been released in the past few months. So I will do it here!

Lies of the Beautiful People - Sixx: A.M.
I only have one other song by this band, so now my total count is two, but the two are really great. Lies of the Beautiful People is one that you belt out as loud as you can in your car, but you must be very careful about who is around you and possibly snickering at your one-man show. The bridge is cool because it calms down and has a heavy drum beat in the background without all the rest of the instruments going on. It is intense and builds anticipation for the chorus to come back again.

Feed the Machine - RED

I'm pretty sure this qualifies as a "single" because it was on the radio the other day, even though it wasn't the first song they've promoted off their new album. Did I blog about that CD yet? I think I just said it was too awesome to put it into words. Anyway, if this song isn't hardcore, I don't know what is. (And they're Christian! Always a plus.)

Rope - Foo Fighters

Out of all the songs on this list, I think this one takes the cake for being the most elementally diverse. It's one of those songs that you can't predict what's going to happen next, but everything still blends together well. I especially like the noticeable 'ting ting ting' of the snare on the chorus. It's upbeat (yay!), and it actually has a short drum solo section for once, which is somewhat rare in this day and age.

Country Song - Seether

If you haven't noticed, this one I like so much that I put it on the sidebar of this here blog, under "what I'm listening to." It might be hard to tell, but it's always a struggle picking the music I'm MOST into at the time to display in that section. Anyway. Describing this song is kinda hard. It has a funky beat - so funky that I have to stop typing in order to tap my hands on the edge of my laptop in syncopation. And somewhat like the previous, you don't expect the melodic progressions of the chorus to go where they go, which makes it pretty unique. But all around, the song is successful for it's cool country vibe that you just have to listen to in order to know what I'm talking about.

Hesitate - Stone Sour *Good song for all music lovers!*

I have to be honest and say the first time I heard this song I actually thought it was David Archuleta. You know, that cute kid who won American Idol when he was 17 (and is from Utah!). Then I found out it was Stone Sour, and I was reminded of all their other ballad-like songs that I'm a fan of. I was surprised, since "Hesitate" is kind of sweet for a rock song, and has fewer traces of their scratchy and rough sound. Which doesn't make them any better or worse, because in the end I still like it enough to put on here :)

Architects - Rise Against

Rise Against is kind of like the ADHD kid of the preschool class. They have such speedy tempos, always bouncing around and super excited, more so than anyone else on the playground. They are coming in concert soon ... I'm still debating if they deserve my money more than other bands I really want to see around the same time period. It's going to be a tough decision. Note: I don't know how I ended up with this song, because their #1 on iTunes from the new album Endgame is actually "Help Is On the Way," which easily could fill this slot on the list as well. Both are good new singles.

Hold On - All That Remains
Technically this came from a 2010 album, but they're just promoting this song now. I'm starting to like this "metalcore" band for their really heavy and deep percussion ... stuff ..., and at the same time their kinda catchy choruses that you can actually sing along to. iTunes accurately describes it as "melodically infused hardcore death metal." While I don't know if I could listen to a whole album of this straight up, I do really enjoy this song.

When You're Young - 3 Doors Down

3 Doors Down has an easily recognizable style; most of their songs follow a similar pattern. This one can be compared to "Let Me Be Myself," "Here Without You," and "It's Not My Time." They all start off with a slow acoustic guitar intro, and then pick up speed with added instruments. On this list, it's one of the more subdued singles, but it's still noteworthy.

Move Your Body - My Darkest Days *Good party song!*

I'm fast becoming a big fan of My Darkest Days. Believe me when I say I was one of the first on the bandwagon with their first single "Pornstar Dancing," that took a while for people to catch on to, but when it happened, it shot off like a rocket. "Move Your Body" doesn't have exactly the same dose of magic as "Pornstar," but it comes close with its catchy chorus that makes you want to dance and shake all over. As such a new band, My Darkest Days is truly making a great name for themselves early on with their unique vocals that sound like no other band on the radio these days. When I heard this one, I knew it was them even though I'd only ever known that first single, just because they have a recognizable sound. Job well done. These guys will be big soon.

That was fun. Thanks to all the great bands who know exactly what I want to hear this season. The end.

Slightly Strange Occurences of the Conscious & Unconscious

2011-03-24T00:18:00.000-06:00

Last night I had a dream. In this dream I was trying to sleep, in my same bed I was sleeping in for real. Except I couldn't, because there were demons in my room, whose presence I could feel so menacingly, but they were hidden and I couldn't find them. Somebody must've told me they were within the pictures on my walls, and in this dream I had a lot of artsy pictures on my walls, so I laboriously removed every one of the wall hangings, hoping to God that my efforts would eradicate the demons that so frighteningly haunted me. They were still there. Meaning a part of the devil was constantly watching me in my room and I could not sleep (in the dream). In fact, one of the times I woke up (in the dream), there was floss-like string all over me and my bed. Don't ask what for, but it was physical evidence of an evil spirit! Other stuff came about that alluded to their existence, but I can't remember the specifics now. I was then told the demons might be hiding out in the dolls that reside on the shelves above my desk ... creepy. I removed all of them, but still the demons were there. It felt so real; I was legitimately freaking out, and it wasn't one of those dreams where you know you're dreaming. I thought it was real life. And then I woke up, and I remember first being so happy it was all fake, and then after that I had a profound thought which I have since forgotten. Funny how that happens. I wonder if Thomas Edison had the whole lightbulb thing figured out in the middle of the night a couple times before he thought of it during the daytime, in an actually lucid state. He might've been wasting all that time simply because the idea escaped him so quickly, like some of my best ideas do in the night.

Strange occurence number two. Well, first of all, let me just say today was a really good radio day. I heard a few not-so-well known songs from some of my favorite bands, which is always cool, because they usually only play the hit single at the time. Anyway, lately I've been thinking a lot about free will and God's plan for our lives, and to what degree those can actually coexist. I've also been really frustrated that I have so many doubts because of these things - puzzles that my brain cannot work out because they don't make sense, which leads me to distrust everything except that which I know. The good news is I've just had some profound thoughts (that have stuck with me!) that have helped me get a better grasp on this logical struggle of sorts. Or at least I've found a sort-of answer that sort-of satisfies my psyche for the time being. And while I was pondering this more in depth on the way home from bible study tonight, a Depeche Mode song came on, and immediately I heard the words "If God has a master plan That only He understands, I hope it's Your eyes He's seeing through." This lyric (from Precious) doesn't exactly describe what I was thinking about the whole thing, because I mainly got lost on the seeing through your eyes part, but other than that, it was a perfect link. God's master plan, and me not understanding. It was just weird how it happened to come on the radio right as I was thinking about it. You know?

Strange occurence number three. Yesterday I took a nap and woke up feeling like I had done the most intense arm workout the day before. Like maybe in the hour I was lying down for, I did a bajillion reps of whatever exercises make your arms super sore the next day. Except I had not lifted or done any reps of anything. The only thing I can think of is that I played Just Dance the day before the nap, but it still doesn't make sense, even if it was a vigorous workout, why the soreness appeared during my nap. Makes no sense! Stretching out my arms now, I can still feel it.

Strange occurence number four. Sometime during the day today while I was awake, I think I broke my pinky-toe. All of the sudden it started feeling bruised and painful, and it kind of got worse as the day wore on. Now i'm looking at it and there is a noticeably purple line that kind of goes across the skin. I mean, it's one thing to be baffled at the injuries you obtain in your sleep, because you don't know what's going on the whole time, but when I'm awake the entire day and suddenly a part of me starts hurting for no reason ... I have to worry a little.

Yeah, that's all I wanted to say. My apologies for the abnormally large first two chunky paragraphs. I hope I don't dream of demons again. For some reason, I had this feeling like it wasn't the first time I had that dream. But I don't know. If it comes again, I'll know something's really up.

Spring Break in Glorious Glorieta

2011-03-20T19:46:00.001-06:00

If ya'll didn't already know, I went to Glorieta, New Mexico for spring break this past week with a bunch of people I considered friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, and I came home with a family. Lots of people have been using that phrase, and it's pretty cliche, but it's true. Laughter and tears bring you together so powerfully, but much more so with the Holy Spirit in the midst. We studied the Bible a LOT, ate meals together, confessed our past demons and current struggles, prayed for each other, and shared bathrooms! Which is A Big Deal, because it's something I'm not accustomed to doing. And maybe I even came home with a crush or two.

For recollection's sake, here's the skinny on my week with God: My group studied the first half of Mark 1 to learn all about Jesus calling the disciples, and their sometimes wavering, sometimes faithful responses to him. We applied many things to our lives, and learned how intentional Jesus was with every little thing that happened. Connections were made between minute details you never would've noticed, and we were constantly playing detective to search them out and solve the puzzle. I also learned a lot about Jewish culture, because without the background of the story, the meanings can be distorted or even lost, something that people nowadays also don't think about too often.

Worship was pretty great. I fell in love with two or three songs that were new to me, and had fun experiencing the African language in song, and the energetic gospel style as well. You couldn't deny the happiness in the room when everyone was dancing and clapping and praising the Lord.

In our free time, we did lots of cool things. Zip-lining was one of the big ones, set on the actual campus we were staying on. It was a hop, skip, and a jump away from our dorm rooms, but instead of walking the 25 minutes it probably would've taken to get there, we crammed/piled 15 people in/on one person's suburban ("the tank") for a shorter ride down. That means 4 people in the back seat, 5 people in the middle, the 2 in front, and 2 on each side hanging onto the top. It was great fun! Other memorable things happening during the week were ultimate frisbee (I took a nap instead), a volleyball tournament, campfire with s'mores, and a day trip to Santa Fe, the capitol. There we did the tourist thing and visited the Cross of the Martyrs, the Loretto Chapel with the famous Miraculous Staircase, and the street vendors selling jewelry, ponchos, clothes, etc. Dinner and more shopping rounded out the day. I wish I had more time to talk about those places I just mentioned, but I can't - I encourage you to look them up! Or ask me about them later.

The most talked about part of the trip, though, probably had to be the road trip to and fro, during which Murphy's Law totally reigned and every problem that could happen, happened. On the way there, so many complications arose that my car arrived an entire 4 hours late! A list of the dilemmas we suffered from:
Wrong turns, 45-minutes long bathroom stops, hour-long breakfast hold ups at McDonald's, failed transmission (twice, the second one resulting in a double-back to pick up the people in the car who could no longer use their automobile), an hour's waste of time in a city just getting lost and trying to find everyone in our group, a flat-tire (resulting in driving slower for the rest of the way due to the donut tire), and then getting lost again in another city while trying to simply find a gas station and a starbucks, navigating the stupid one-way roads that made us circle around multiple times till we got it right.

On the way back, the car I was in (and that I drove for half the way) beat everyone else back home in perfect time. We were champs, but I heard that other cars got pulled over for speeding, peeing on the side of the road, and apparently the van drove about 100 miles in the wrong direction and had to turn back and start all over again. This meant that when we got to our meeting place at 12:30 at night, we had to wait till 3:15 for these guys to get there with our luggage in the trailer. I could be a lot more bitter than I am, but I just mention it because it's funny and tells a good story.

We had good fun during the drive, though, rocking out to the best dance music and playing games like 20 questions, crossword puzzles, and the one I call "The Packing Game." I always force my family to play it when we drive to our boating destinations, but this time we carried on the absolute longest game I've ever played. The way it works is one person starts off saying, "I'm going on a trip to ________ and in my suitcase I'm packing _______." If you said something like "a wine cooler," then the next person repeats that sentence and has to add another thing to the list that starts with R, because R is the last letter of the previous item. Everyone keeps taking a turn and the list of things to remember gets longer and longer. Usually I just play to see how far the chain can go, but Fiji is so competitive we had to make sure someone won, so the rule was you got out if you forgot one of the links. With that, we eliminated two of the four people, yet Fiji and I kept going without fail. Here's what the whole list ended up being:

"I went on a trip to Glorieta and in my suitcase I packed: a water bottle; earrings; shampoo; oral cleansing products; snake food; a diaper; rat poison; neosporin; a noodle; an egg; a gigapet; a trampoline; extra kleenex; a xylophone; EmergenC; a cow; willy wonka candy; your mom; mini eggs, cadbury; Yoohoo; octopi; an ipad; deoderant; travel-size lotion; a Nalgene; the energizer bunny; a yellow t-shirt; toilet paper; a rickshaw; a watermelon lollipop; a pillbox; xanthum gum; a monk; a kangaroo's eyelash; a hill; a ladder; a rhinoceros; a soap opera; an Argentine alpaca; apple pudding; ginseng; grey nail polish; a haircomb; a Bonobo Chimpanzee; an entourage; Ella Enchanted; Damon, Matt; and Taylor Lautner.

At that point, Fiji thought for a minute and said, "I think we have everything for our trip now. You can have Taylor Lautner, I'll have Matt Damon, and we'll be good." So we called it a tie. Because it had gone on way too long and neither of us was about to lose anytime soon. It's amazing what you can do with your memory using simple tricks. As you can see, you can get pretty creative with this game, and some of the things we said brought up hilarious conversations on the side. The buddy car behind me texted Fiji to ask if I was ok driving, because I was swerving a little, but it's only because they made me laugh so hard!

I'd like to also point out that not only were we winners for getting home first, and Fiji and I for never giving up on the "Packing Game," but I was also awarded the "Best Car Dancer" accolade by the one and only YB (Yellow Boomerang). AKA my best friend. I have to thank her for the immense amount of support and love I received during the week when I was having a hard time with some emotional things. I really don't know what I'd do without her.

Now my wrap-up paragraph! It is safe to say I had a blast on this trip. Although I was very frustrated internally a lot of the time, the more I think back on this week the more I love every minute of it, even the hard ones. I hope we get to return to the same place for camp next year, and I can't wait to do so. Right now I'm just excited to spend more time with my new "family" and get to know and love them even more. Here's to the power and wonders of God, and the love and support of people that know what really matters in life. Love you guys!

Attack of the New Mexico Germs

2011-03-14T17:55:00.000-06:00

Up high in the beautiful forested mountains of New Mexico, I sit here at what is essentially bible camp for college kids, loving this week but hating my body's reactions to the transition from winter to spring. I wonder if it has to do with my location, but I have a feeling that if I were anywhere else, my runny nose and watery eyes would still persist because ... gasp! I suspect that I am developing allergies.

It started out with what seemed like the common cold. Last Thursday was when I began the nasal decongestant meds and vitamin C uptake, along with a dose of good ol' chicken noodle soup for lunch. I was determined to not bring this state of groggyness with me, but I didn't have much of a choice. The car ride up really sucked because we were going up and down intense elevation levels and the crap in my head was compounding and building up pressure. Day one of camp had me blowing buckets of that crap out of my nose every two minutes - astonishing me as something that could even happen. I thought, "Where does it all come from?? Surely that's not what resides in my skull, where most people have brains." And I thought everyone else was thinking, "Good Lord, that girl is never going to stop blowing her nose!" The afternoon arrived and the skin around my nose was completely raw and broken: Major ouch. Good thing I brought my neosporin.

Day two presents me with a different challenge - drainage is not as constant, but in its place comes the intense tickling of the inside of my nose. This is mainly the reason I'm starting to think I have allergies. We'll be sitting in a session listening to people talk about a passage and I don't have to do anything but breathe just like every other normal human being, when all of the sudden foreign germs begin their attack on my immune system, which takes the form of an electric fence jolting maniacally in defense. You know that feeling - very similar to when you're about to sneeze and you have to scrunch up your nose and just wait for it to go away. Except it doesn't! Not until the floods start pouring out of my eyes, tears, like the rain falling from clouds after the thunder and lightning strike. I'm just sitting here with my bible in the middle of nothing really emotionally deep, yet I appear to be weeping uncontrollably at every little word that I read. Not the case, people! Nothing is upsetting me except the physical intruders that don't get along with my nose hairs.

The decongestant meds continue, but now I wish I had some allergy stuff to go along with that. Hopefully this bout of itchy/runny nose goes away soon, and maybe next year if the same thing happens, I'll be prepared, and officially diagnose myself as someone with legitimate allergies. Until then, I will continue to delve into the wonders of manuscript study with my peers and friends, with the occasional zipline through the woods and bonfire with smores on the side. Did I mention tomorrow we are going to Santa Fe? Yeah, this trip is awesome. To be continued when I get back . . .

I Bet I Have More _______ Than You

2011-03-09T16:16:00.001-07:00

List No. 42 or Some Large Number Like That, I'm Sure:

Things I Have a Lot Of

In Other Words:
A Log of My Useful and Not Quite As Useful Collections of Stuff

#1. CD's
In this day and age, it seems like the intentional ownership of CD's is a rare thing. I personally love the permanence and tangibility of whole albums. They especially come in handy when you're in a car that doesn't support your ipod adapter and the only alternative to the radio is the CD player. Just today I found out I filled up my entire CD holder, which has something like 72 sleeves that are in use, plus extras lying in the back that have no home.

#2. Nail Polish
Normally I don't ask to see my friends' nail polish collections, but I feel like mine could hold its own in a competition. If you ever want to borrow any, just ask! I have pretty much every color.

#3. Windshield Imperfections

And by that I mean chips and cracks. I think I'll start naming them soon, although it might be hard to keep track of who's who. To start off, though, the dynamic 4 incher on the left shall be called Lulu. In total, I counted 2 actual cracks and 6 chips.

#4. Shoes
I'm actually not going to try claiming that I have the most shoes out of anybody I know, because I've heard worse than my current state, which is something in the mid to late 20's. My favorite apparatus for storing shoes, especially sneakers, is shown here, as well as my trio of boots that I just noticed all have something in common - a buckle on the ankle. Interesting coincidence. Flip flops, tennis shoes, work shoes, etc. are not pictured.

#5. Earrings & Rings
What can I say? I like to accessorize. Going to a school that requires uniforms for your whole life, you learn to express yourself in the small ways, such as always having fun jewelry. The big ring phase started after high school actually, when I suddenly became enamored with the red costume ring I got at the arcade for 50 tickets, and after that it was a love affair. Please note there are more rings in my collection than are in this picture. They are just too unusually constructed to fit into the normal mold.

#6 - 10

- Notes from previous classes (high school and college)

- Stickers - especially word and thought bubble ones

- Old movie and concert ticket stubs

- Travel-size shampoos, conditioners, lotions, etc.

and of course,

- God-given talent, in the form of pure Awesomeness

What do YOU have a lot of?

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2011-03-07T22:25:00.002-07:00

I swear, in the 11 months that I've been blogging, I'll never get back to the glory days of last summer when I was cranking out posts left and right, every few days. Now I either don't have inspiration or time. Both situations suck and I can't decide which one is worse, but I need to keep reminding myself to chill and stop playing the numbers game. Years from now when I look back, though, I don't want to think that all the fun stuff happened during the summer, because honestly, even though school and work are in the mix, the fun quota has not dropped one bit.

Anyway. A new vice has been increasingly manifesting itself to me. Whereas the thing I've been focusing on the most in the past few months is my bad eating habits, something new wants to take over. This vice has always been part of my life, but keeps getting more and more serious as I have to take on more and more financial responsibility. It is none other than the glorious activity of shopping (Haaaaallelujah!).

Why do I think shopping is so awesome? To try to put this into words, it pretty much boils down to the fact that when I look good, I feel good. And when I get to find clothes that flatter me and I love, those things happen. I feel more confident, I get more compliments, yada yada. It's pretty simple, really. The problem is that I find too many things I like and would love to wear, so I end up buying them if they're cheap enough, but they pile up and I end up having too MANY things to wear. Or the outcome has it that one particular item just isn't something I want to wear that often, for one reason or another, even though I love putting it on, and that money kind of goes to waste. Good thing I'm a pretty thrifty person and don't like to spend more than $15 on a shirt or $30 on jeans, but in proportion to my own personal budget, shopping still takes up more than it should sometimes.

The most dangerous times to indulge in my habit are during the transitional seasons of fall and spring. I would have to say spring is a lot worse, especially this exact moment, because all I've wanted since December was for summer to come back again. Normally I'm not like this but suddenly I intensely don't care for winter at all, so every time the weather teases us with warm, sunny afternoons, I just can't help myself from buying clothes suitable for the warmer months, which actually aren't here yet. Add to that the fact that our family just booked a tropical cruise for June, and I have my sights set on even more cute summery dresses than I was planning on. Plus, every time I walk through Target they seem to have new clothes out, and there is never a time when I don't want to own something on a rack there that I don't already have.

I really want this watermelon shirt from Delia's.

I used to hate shopping because it was so hard to find clothes to fit my body type, but I've had enough experience by now that I just know the right places to look. I can usually tell by looking at something on a hanger if it will fit me in the right places or not, so I can eliminate those unwanted feelings of self hate from standing in front of the mirror in disappointment by just not presenting myself with those opportunities. That's not to say that I don't still try on plenty of things that don't work out, because that certainly happens a lot, too. I'm kind of infamous for being the girl that tries on 20 things and comes out with 2 or 3 that I like. When I walk into a changing room with clothes spilling out of my arms' grasp, it's not because I expect all of them will work out perfectly. In fact, sometimes I try on clothes without intending to buy any of them, just because I want to see what they'd look like. I feel bad for the dressing room attendants sometimes, especially at stores where their job is to specifically help you find things you like, because my shopping agenda is not usually what they're used to.

I've also become accustomed to always trying on dresses that I find cute, no matter what time of year it is. For me, personally, it's hard to find a dress that fits me right, so when an occasion comes up and I only have limited time to shop for one, that means my chances of finding a winner are much more slim. So all year round I keep my eyes open, just in case I find some buried treasure unexpectedly. I even lucked out today by finding two fantastically cute dresses that are both possibilities for a semi-formal event I have coming up. One of them was $9!! Did I tell you I was thrifty, or did I tell you I was thrifty? But of course, my mom usually buys my dresses for those kinds of things, and that's part of the reason we only shop inexpensively. Still, it's a good standard to have.

Another good rule to live by is always leave the tags on and keep your receipts until you wear everything. This seems like common sense but I still suffer setbacks from it. Occasionally when I'm getting ready in the morning I'll put on a new t-shirt with the intention of wearing it, take off the tags, and then decide 20 minutes later that I want to wear something else. The next week I will realize I probably won't want to wear the shirt that much at all, and I should probably take it back, only to remember that I already threw the tags out. I must stop doing this! It happened today, but it will be the last time.

The principle I'm still debating on is this: Should you or should you not make it a habit of looking at the price tag before you try something on? A previous boyfriend and I disagreed on this - he said you never should, but I was set on the idea that it's a good practice. His point was that your notion of how expensive an item is will affect your like or dislike of it while you're trying it on. But his family's wealth situation was one that allowed him to bypass certain higher numbers on those tiny pieces of paper that would normally break my family's budget. The cool thing about this, though, is when you DO try on a dress that you really like and then find out it is ONLY NINE DOLLARS, that just makes everything ten times better. You pretty much have to buy it.

One thing I also forgot to mention in previous posts was another thing I love about going to concerts is planning my outfits for them. I seriously think sometimes about starting a fashion blog, to keep record of all the perfectly put-together ensembles that I've adorned for numerous events. I would've taken pictures of the last few that I've been so happy wearing, but I'm not a fan of divulging what I look like to the anonymous audience that could be stalking me right now. Because I'm paranoid like that.

Because I am so excited about it, I just found online a dress very similar to the one I got today (at Ross) that I hope I can wear in a few weeks to a dance. Here in this picture it doesn't look like anything special, but trust me, it is way cuter on me. It wasn't the $9 one - that's for backup - but they are both very chic.

Nighttime Musings of the List Girl

2011-02-28T23:41:00.002-07:00

Will it be possible for me to crank out one more post to add to my February tally? I want to get my numbers back up, but this probably isn't a good idea to just start out writing with no real topic in mind.

See, that's all I've got so far. Stuck already!

We went to Red Lobster today for my dad and brothers' birthdays. It was yummy.

A person from my past who has caused me many conflicted feelings randomly up and texted me today and we had a rather long conversation. I don't know exactly how I'm feeling about it, though. Good, I think, but it's hard to tell. Hopefully when I go to sleep tonight I'll have some sort of revealing dream that makes everything clear. Lately I've been having this issue where I end up having to get up in the middle of these dreams that are just so entertaining, and it's almost depressing to have to leave. It's like I'm placed in someone else's life, where nothing really magical or interesting is happening, but there's a STORY that I'm captivated in, and it's really hard to get up without trying to go back to sleep. That really doesn't sound too special, but when all my dreams as of late aren't memorable at all, the only chance of escaping real life is so appealing.

And then today I was so tired from lack of inadequate sleep this weekend, that I went to take a nap in my room and I just could not fall asleep for some reason. I think a lot of things were going through my mind that I need to take care of this week, and I've just been on such a go-go-go schedule that I can't relax until everything's done. And I could tell that the pressure of only having so much time to sleep before getting up to do things again was making it worse, because when I know I've got a small window for getting good rest, it never ends up happening. Like when I took the ACT for the first time and I wasn't really nervous at all, I just had the worst night's sleep because all I could think about was how much I NEEDED to sleep so I could function well and do a good job. Everybody in the morning was like, "It's totally nerves!" but I was like no it's not, guys, I know what it feels like to be nervous and this is not it. Anxiety, perhaps, but those are completely different. It wasn't anxiety over the test, it was anxiety over getting adequate sleep.

Something I've been thinking about recently - The more I grow older and realize all the funny things that have happened in my family, the more I appreciate those silly experiences that I normally would take for granted. I didn't even know that I was run over by Christopher on his tricycle when we were kids until he said it tonight, but just imagining it makes me laugh. I could tell it was something he remembered vividly, and he was surprised that I didn't. We all have those memories that stick in our minds for some reason even though they're nothing close to monumental events. With our limited capacity at such a young age, I wonder what causes us to keep certain memories and leave others out. For instance, I always always will remember that in kindergarten I taught a girl named Tess how to snap her fingers. Did that mean anything in the course of my life? Of course not, so why do I remember it? Just something to ponder, I guess.

But anyway, I'm going to have to start keeping a catalogue of all the funny stories to tell when new people enter into our family - fiances far in the future, perhaps? People often say we are such a sitcom family (mainly my mom, actually), but I just don't normally think about our experiences in that way. However, I'll always remember the time I was pretending to swing our wooden kitchen mallet at Garrett from across the room and the top part came off flying through the air, soaring across the way and hitting the wall behind him, leaving a serious dent in the wall. And now we'll forever get to tease him about breaking his thumb from running into a tree skiing. I wasn't there so I don't know the circumstances, but just the idea behind it is quite humorous. And now I love telling the story of how I drank a bottle of Benadryl when I was 3 or 4, playing house and being the one who needed medicine, when Christopher tattled on me and I was taken to the children's clinic and forced to throw it all up. Mom never fails to mention how stubborn I was - I didn't want to throw up so I kept holding it in, despite the fluids they gave me to prevent otherwise. This might explain why I have a high tolerance for things that should normally make me gag. I couldn't even be bulimic if I tried, because those muscles have been built up so well to not allow for up-chucking.

Is this getting a little uncomfortable? I still don't know where I'm going with this post.

Another thing - I find it increasingly shocking to myself how much time and effort I'm willing to spend on some of my classes to prep for tests that take up almost no time at all. I would estimate at least 15 hours total of reading/note-taking/studying for my second Visual Arts QUIZ all culminated in a 30 question assessment that took me no more than 20 minutes. The material covered 5 chapters, with so much information that we could have been tested on - 100 questions, easily. I almost feel like I've wasted all that time, but I can't go that way of thinking because there would be no way I could pull off grades in the 90s without it, despite how not time-consuming the quizzes are.

And don't you hate it when you take a test not on the computer and you actually have to wait a few days to know how you did? I'm getting so used to automatically knowing my score when I finish, it drives me nuts that I can't know my grade for the test I took in another class today. I rushed out of the house this morning to get to school early so I could squeeze in extra study time and get my 3X5 notecard ready with the notes allowed, only to forget said blank 3X5 card and have to purchase a whole pack of like 500 hundred just for the one that I needed for 50 minutes. The things you do for good grades . . . Sigh . . . It'll all be worth it when I get my scholarship back and graduate with supreme confidence two years from now in my area of specialty, ready to start my career and take on the world.

Linkin Park Rocks!

2011-02-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Words cannot describe how thankful I am that my friends and family always have the best luck with getting free concert tickets. Ever since I found out the date of Linkin Park's stop in SLC, months ago, I'd been dreaming of how awesome it would be to go, but I wasn't about to spend $50 or $60 on mediocre seats. For some strange reason I still kept that Friday open, in hopes of the extremely unlikely occurrence that I'd be able to go, and it just so happened that my concert buddy from last week won tickets on the radio just two days before the show (like he always does), on Wednesday. And for some other strange reason, I didn't say yes right away - I'm weird and I have to sometimes talk myself into doing things that I know I've been looking forward to for a while. But it didn't take a divine message from God to convince me to go. I snapped out of that phase quickly, and good thing, or else I would've missed out on an epic night.

Epic. A word that I've been using to describe lots of things recently. Also, a word that has no other substitutes when it comes to describing last night. The opening band was called The Prodigy, an English electronic group that specializes in hardcore rave-style music. At first I wasn't impressed by their efforts to get the crowd jazzed up by using the technique of shouting f**k every other word, with no actual meaningful language in between. They didn't need this strategy, because after feeling a few of their insanely loud techno beats pump through my body, I (and the audience) was definitely on board for some fun. Other than the music, what I was most dazzled by during this half of the show was the light choreography. Burst of reds, blues, yellows, greens, and pinks were flashing constantly along with the beat, as if thousands of skittles had been shaken up in a giant bottle and forced to explode from the energy. A few of the pictures I took on my phone and camera somewhat captured this, but nothing compares to the video I started taping when I unexpectedly heard the song that my drill team danced to for our jazz dance in 2008. Actually, now that I'm playing it back on the computer, I'm reminded of just how crazy the lights were - this is a sad thing to say but I'm sure anyone with epilepsy would've been in a really dangerous situation.

Following The Prodigy was a lengthy break during which we could chat and observe the daring tech crew hang out at least 100 feet above the ground while setting up different things up top. Concert buddy and I pondered how intense the fireworks and lights would be for the main show, but I'm actually pleased to say pyrotechnics were absent and ridiculous lights were minimal. The epicness of Linkin Park's show came from their perfect delivery of the songs, the enthusiasm every band member put into it, and the pure fire within the entire crowd that comes from so much love and support of this great band. When there was not sound coming from the speakers, there was plenty of it coming from the audience, because rarely did we stop cheering at the end of a song before the next.

Yes, the displays on the background screen were very cool and created the right ambiance, but I think it's safe to say Linkin Park's success was due to the songs they played. Every old-school LP fan would've been satisfied by their selection that included more of their original hits and less of the not-as-popular ones from the newer albums. I was so pleased when their last song of the encore ended up being One Step Closer, from Hybrid Theory, which is one of my absolute favorites. I can assure you I could not have been rocking out harder during their last few numbers, when I wished the night would never end. Comparing this experience to last week's smaller concert that I attended, back then I wanted it to last longer in hopes of hearing better stuff, but with Linkin Park, I just wanted the already-there perfection to keep going and going. On the drive home while listening to their other music, I just kept thinking how awesome it would've been if they could have played EVERY song from Hybrid Theory and Meteora (at least).

If I haven't stressed this enough, here's me saying again how happy I am that their MUSIC is what makes them great. In contrast, I love Nickelback and all, but I honestly don't think they would rock as much live if they didn't have the whole beer-party-fireworks thing going on. LP was true to their hits, with occasional trippy visual effects and some gnarly auto-tuned creep music that placed you in another world. And when you read the words "auto-tuned," don't think Ke$ha or Kanye West, because it was different and a lot cooler than that.

Venue-wise, I'm starting to love arenas. Here's why:
a) I get to sit down in an actual chair with a back. So much more comfort than standing for 4 hours!
b) There are clean bathrooms with more than two stalls.
c) Multiple food choices
d) It's almost guaranteed that everyone there wants to have a good time and has huge support for the main band. Never will you be let down by the collective enthusiasm of the crowd in a stadium setting.
e) You can take really cool pictures that capture the epicness of the whole stage and surrounding area. Like these! As a wrap-up of this post, my favorite shots of the night:

As usual, click on individual photos to see them bigger

A Rather Boring Survey

2011-02-22T22:58:00.001-07:00

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4 and write the sentence here:
"Many modern prisons, however, still suffer from a "lock psychosis" (a preoccupation with security) among top- and mid-level administrators as well as a lack of significant rehabilitation programs." - Criminal Justice, a Brief Introduction by Schmalleger

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What’s there? Air and empty space. I can't imagine a different answer, unless people who takes this survey live in a closet. My arm is pointing towards a bookshelf, which is the more interesting question to ask here.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?: I was just watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and switching to The Craigslist Killer during commercial breaks.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is: It's gotta be something like 6:15. I just looked and it is 6:21.

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time? Ha! Beat you to that one. It is now 6:22.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? Two televisions - one with the news and one with something else that I can't decipher.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? Last time I was outside I was scraping snow and ice off our driveway for an hour and a half this morning.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at? My list of previous posts. (I'm coming up on 100 pretty soon here!)

9. What are you wearing? Skinny jeans, socks, a brown long-sleeved shirt, and my university hoodie.

10. Did you dream last night?
I'm sure I did but I can't remember any of the dreams I had.

11. When did you last laugh?
Today when I watched the last two episodes of glee that I had to catch up on. The Justin Bieber Experience was so funny!

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A quilt that my mom made depicting our house and the beautiful mountains behind them. A few swords are also hanging up on the walls, as well as plaques that my dad has earned from his career. Oh, and a calendar and two clocks.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Um. . . no?

14. What do you think of FacebookCraze.com?
What is that? I've never heard of it. But I'll tell you I think failbook.com is hilarious!

15. What is the last film you saw?
Last night I watched Beauty and the Beast on blue-ray and it was fan-freaking-tastic!

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
I would probably go out shopping and get some clothes, jewelry, music, and GH Warriors of Rock, and take my friends and family out to eat multiple times at nice restaurants. But I wouldn't buy a butt load of clothes because I actually don't like having so many things to wear that some only get used a few times. OH! I would definitely buy a new hybrid automobile, and maybe a newer car for my dad, too. I would start paying for my own insurance finally, and probably move out, and then save a lot. AND of course go to Disneyland FOR SURE this summer. I mean, I'm ready financially right now, but that would just solidify the deal. I would even pay for my friends to go.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know.
I once open mouth kissed a horse.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change?
This is a tough one. It's essentially asking for a solution to the problems of the world. I can't take this too seriously or it would cause me to delay answering for the rest of my life because I would need that much time to think about it. But right now I can say that one thing I'm considering is that I'd fast forward through to the complete integration of alternative fuel sources so we wouldn't be constantly worrying about gas prices and everyone would be powering their homes with the sun. Or whatever plan lies in the future that doesn't involve running out of nonrenewable resources, I want to get to that without all the time and hassle for adjustment.

19. Do you like to dance?
DO I?? I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, singing Ay-o gotta let go.

20. What do you think of the president?
I actually don't know much about him because I'm self-absorbed and too lazy to put forth effort into paying attention to how our country's being run. But I think I like him. He knows what's up with the economic crisis, at least. In theory.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
My top girl name picks have changed many a time while I've pondered it. Most recently I've been pretty stoked about the name Charlotte, and being able to call her Charlie. She can be a tomboy and a girly girl if she wants.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Noah. or Liam. That one just popped out of nowhere, but Noah has been at the top of the list for a long time.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Not really, no.

24. What do you want to say to God when you reach the pearly gates?
Finally! I have so many questions.

The 9th on the 18th

2011-02-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

This past Friday night I got to experience the earth-shaking loud music of some awesome rock bands at a small vintage theater down around the Salt Lake area. This was the Monster Outbreak tour, which featured Rev Theory headlining, and the openers Aranda, Black Cloud Collective, and Pop Evil. I had planned on this night mainly to see Rev Theory because they were the only band I knew, but at the end of the day I think I benefited more from being exposed to those bands that were new to me, as they had just as much (if not more) talent than the guys I went to see.

Performance-wise, it's difficult to peg down who had the best stage presence, because I was impressed by different elements from each go-round. Pop Evil was more well-known, so naturally the crowd carried a higher excitement level, but I also just felt a solid energized rock vibe from them as a whole. They would probably take the cake for best appearance as well, since the lead singer Leigh Kakaty (a dude) was probably the hottest person on stage that night, and the luscious locks of long hair on the bassist Matt Dirito were tantalizing to watch as he expertly headbanged his way to a promising migraine. Seriously, this guy came on stage and I immediately thought, "He has Pocahontas' hair, and it's way prettier than mine! Not fair." If you've never payed attention to anyone whipping such long hair like that around in the air, it's quite a sight, let me tell you. I used to just think it was cool and all if the rockstars want to get a little crazy while playing their instruments, but it's actually FUN to watch. Is it weird of me to think that? I hope I'm not the only one that does.

Matt Dirito.
Can't take credit for this pic - my camera sucked

at the concert. This is a la internet.

Even before Pop Evil dazzled the audience with their catchy songs and pumped up attitude, Aranda surprised me with a few tricks up their own sleeve. At first I didn't realize the guys setting up the equipment in plaid flannel and skinny jeans were the actual band, but when they started playing they definitely didn't sound like any emo posers. The guitarist Damien Aranda was especially skilled, as displayed most prominently during their cover of Led Zep's "Dazed and Confused." After that face melter, they did some cool things with the guitar where the lead singer would hold it parallel to the ground while Damien sort of played the strings like a keyboard, even going so far as to pull what I'm assuming is his signature move and use his designer boot to play the instrument at the same time. He used a delicate sweeping motion over the strings, which made a really cool effect when paired with the high speed plucking thing. It was very unique, something I have never seen or heard of before.

Black Cloud Collective's performance was unfortunately mediocre. I have a feeling their tracks are probably better on a CD than you would observe from hearing them live, because the volume of their many sounds together was so loud over the singer's voice, you could barely hear the melodies in their songs. When I did catch a glimpse of some kind of musical pattern, I thought, "That's actually not bad, but I wish I could understand some of the words," because yeah, the sound levels were a little imbalanced, but also the lead singer was not an articulate one at all. My friend commented about him not quite looking the part, which I felt too, but on the other hand I liked that the majority of the other guys sported rugged beards as their go-to hair style, because it was different from most of the bands I've seen.

By the time Rev Theory finally came on, people were anxious to hear the band they'd been waiting for, but sadly more than one technical problem led to a performance that didn't live up to expectations. The microphone was doing a horrible job at picking up sound, so the lead singer Rich Luzzi (who looked like a cross between Stanley Tucci and my more attractive cousin, Greg) basically had to scream his lungs out for us to hear anything, and frankly that just sounded bad. On a side note, I just googled Luzzi and found some awesome pictures of him with a different look, one that included many ripped muscles and a lack of upper body clothing. I may rescind my statement that Leigh Kakaty was the hottest person on stage. But anyway, the vocal problems were a let down, and I honestly expected to hear more songs that I knew. The only redeeming factor was that the last two songs of the night - "Hell Yeah" and "Justice" - were the most kickass in their repertoire, and completely filled up my satisfaction bar.

All in all I was pleased with the bang for my buck ($13), since I had mostly been exposed to bands that I'll probably get some music from in the near future. I quite enjoyed my time at this venue that I'd never been to before. Typically at concerts I can get cranky real easily if I'm standing the entire night, especially between bands when there is nothing going on. Luckily this place had rows of rectangular block benches that we could rest on while waiting for the next band, and that might've been one of the contributing factors to the night being a success. Feet and back aches were minimal, and I was able to maintain a *lovely* personal space bubble because the place wasn't jam-packed, and we happened to pick one of the best spots in the room to sit. The only thing that needed fixing was their bathroom - two stalls is not enough for a hundred women. But that won't deter me from attending concerts at this venue again (ask me the name if you're interested) because like I said, it was a successful night. Thus ends my post on the 9th concert of my life so far!

And listen to that song up there. It's one of my faves, possibly ever. In the category of hyped up rock, anyway.

Why College Classes Are Messed Up

2011-02-16T16:24:00.001-07:00

Dear Blog,

I sincerely want to apologize for being absent for a whole week - not that I haven't done it before - but I've been wanting to write many times, I just have not had time! School and work and social activities are seriously piling up and it has been a stressful few days. Hopefully I will have time to relax over the three day weekend coming up. Actually I shouldn't even be writing now because I still have studying and homework I could be doing! But I couldn't stay away from you much longer :)

As one of my facebook statuses said this week, I'm really sick of putting so much effort into studying and practicing problems for my classes and never being able to get the grades I want. I KNOW the material, but college tests and quizzes are ALWAYS structured so questions come up that are impossible to answer correctly due to strange wording or unexpected topics. In fact, most of the professors I've had tell the class what the high score and the average was after every test, and I never remember hearing that anyone has ever gotten 100%, no matter what class. This is why college sucks! Add to that the typical incorrect answer I always have every time because I'm stupid and I inevitably misread one question - and I get rather cranky ending up with a B (or much drastically worse on some Stats quizzes) instead of a deserved A, since those scores make up the majority of our grade at the end of the class. Seriously, teachers should either curve all tests or give more weight to other regular things, like actual assignments, if the exams are always impossible to ace, by at least one person.

Since I'm on a rant about this right now, I might as well go on about the other things currently pissing me off related to school, although I must be very careful about the specificity of my words. Within the first few weeks of the semester, I declared one of my professors an idiot, in my head and probably on facebook too (unnamed, of course), and I still sometimes hold to that. For instance, today he told the class that the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" came from something that was completely false. Back in 6th grade, and a few times after that, I learned that the phrase meant "mind your pints and quarts," and was used in pubs to remind people to keep distinction between the two sizes. I just now looked this up for confirmation, and sources say it is one of the theories, yet there is no provable origin. However, the point is that what my professor said was completely unrelated and wrong, not cited as a theory on any of the websites I found. I thought he might've been joking at first, but I wasn't sure. I'm choosing to assume that he was being serious because it makes it easier for me to be mad at him. I felt bad for the rest of my class because they probably believed him and are now telling their significant others at home the interesting factoid they learned in _____ class today. Which is wrong.

Another thing the same teacher did was use the nonexistent word "heighth," and even proceed to write in on the board as if it were real. Again, if these people do no know better, I pity their minds for absorbing false knowledge brought on by professors who are bad examples. In the same category, we have online teachers whose syllabi and assignment rubrics are littered with grammatical and spelling errors. I can honestly say that I don't try to stick to the correct rules of grammar all the time on here, but at least I'm aware of it, and I'm not writing for something professional like a college course. It's pretty sad when students can find multiple corrections to make on a single page of text written by their "superior." Not to mention that the actual organization of the instructions for the assignments is so horrible that they don't even make sense half the time.

And have you ever encountered a professor who decides that his way is better than the book? This would typically be OK with me, if a) We weren't still assigned problems that tested us on those debatable methods, where our answers can never be in line with the book, and b) The "better" formulas we learned didn't carry through to every subsequent topic in the class, and possibly even mess us up in following courses. It also doesn't help when the prof says one thing and then confusingly changes it up slightly after you've already messed up on a quiz by following his first advice.

Phew. I think I got most of it out of my system now ... if any more annoyances spring up, I'll add them here and notify readers of the update.

**As far as past updates go, this might seem pretty random but I have to say I was a little harsh on my opinion of Three Days Grace back in the 10 Years post when I compared the two bands. After being reminded of their impressive success with hit singles, I have to correct myself and say that they DO have many memorable songs, and they don't all sound the same. However, I still stand by my statement that their song titles could be more unique for ease with remembrance. But not every song is a hit either, so I wasn't completely out of it when I wrote that post.

I feel much better now. Hope to see you again soon, Blog. I miss our good times.

- S

Blood, Hard Rock, Number Crunching, and Technological Innovations

2011-02-09T23:41:00.004-07:00

Things I Am Loving Right Now

Giving Blood....
It's hard to explain why this has always been one of my favorite things to do. Despite the whole process taking sometimes up to two hours, and the same person asking me both my name and whether or not I am allergic to iodine 4 times each in 5 minutes, I still enjoy that short amount of time when I can actually give away a piece of myself to share with someone in need. Plus, my blood type is the wildcard for all, which means hospitals need it even more because it matches anyone's blood.

"Until We Have Faces"....
RED's new album (released 8 days ago)!! Words cannot describe how strongly I feel for the sounds I'm hearing on this CD right this minute. RED is one of my top 5 all time favorite bands (Christian/Metal), and yes it takes me a few listens of most albums to start falling in love with the songs, but now that I've heard it enough times, I am head over heels. I wish I could write a legitimate review for a substantial blog post, but all I can say is that this music literally resonates with my soul. It's "hitting the spot," so to speak. One of my favorite expressions in reference to music. If anyone's interested, ask me to recommend a song.

Accounting....
Relief: An emotion I'm feeling as this semester continues and I'm still enjoying my freshly declared major as much as I did when I made the quick decision of what career path to follow. A LOT of information is soaking into my head every week, and I suspect it will only increase in intensity as I progress with this degree. But I actually have fun doing homework and practice exercises, just because the satisfaction of getting the right answer as a product of complete understanding is so awesome! I feel like I own the problems, and what's great is that Accounting is the type of path that people only pick because, like me, they truly like it, or else they wouldn't be doing it at all. I mean, most of you reading probably hear the word and think "Ew, numbers and math," so it would take a lot of outside motivation for a normal person to go that direction. It's never like, "Oh, well, Accounting isn't a complete nightmare so why not?" It's a love or hate thing.

Right now we're on the chapter about Activity Based Costing, which in simple terms is the way you allocate various costs that go into production of goods and services, to the specific products themselves. It's a more accurate, detailed, and complex approach than the broader method using a predetermined overhead rate, which just seems silly to me now (for reasons sort of explained in a second), but as I've been reading, ABC methods are a lot more costly to implement. I was thinking today if I ever partner up with someone to start a business, I'll start off with all the smartest accounting methods, but that may not be possible when they cost so darn much to implement. But seriously, ABC is so much better because you get a much more accurate calculation of the cost to produce each product in a line. Sometimes companies estimate poorly and end up with misleading figures, causing them to make the wrong decisions based on that incorrect information. I wonder if this is making sense to you right now because in my head everything clicks perfectly, and I just hope I'm putting it into words understandably.

Thinking along the lines of publishing again (thinking again, not publishing again), I really REALLY wish I could put a video/sound clip into a book, because sometimes the songs from my posts are what capture my mood and thoughts the best. Sometime during my lifetime this better be made feasible. Heck, we have picture frames with changing photos, and that must've sounded like a crazy idea 30 years ago, but they're totally in use right now. It's just a shame I can't turn the entire first year of my blog into a yearbook, all forms of media included.

But we are at least making progress with cool inventions. Like I said, those digital picture frames are pretty cool, and I've seen ski/board goggles with a camera built in for videotaping. I still think hovercars are taking too long, as are a simpler, portable storage form of music that actually lets you listen at the same time - I'm thinking a USB drive that you can plug headphones into. I always want to get a few CD copies from friends, but until I get them on my laptop and then my ipod, they are stuck on that flat disc unless I can find a CD player, and who carries around a walkman anymore? We could be sharing 50 songs at a time on cheap USB drives (or something similar) and walking around campus listening to those instead of wasting so multiple CDs for the same amount of songs that aren't even accessible by themselves. Does this idea make even less sense than the benefits of accurate cost accounting methods, or can you picture what I'm thinking? Feedback is appreciated.

Also, what do you think are some cool new inventions that have sprung up recently?

The Photo Diary of My Iphone

2011-02-05T23:12:00.002-07:00

Today: I successfully, although not intentionally, melted through ANOTHER plastic tupperware piece while making popcorn in our freaky microwave oven contraption. Fool me once, microwave, shame on you. Fool me twice ... still, shame on you for truly being a horrible piece of technology.

Owning at minesweeper at work. When I'm not busy, of course. Working hard, not hardly working, I swear! But still, 174 seconds is pretty dang good - more proof of my awesomeness (if you couldn't tell by the professional tupperware meltage.)

This is a Lego version of a yummy Taylor Lautner pic, courtesy of the app called LEGO Photo. It only actually works well on a few certain photos, most of the time the product is an unrecognizable chaotic jumble of colors not resembling their true subject matter. This one came out ok, though. You may think this detracts from my awesomeness, but I only did it because I was bored and had to kill time.

Here we have Mr. Moose trotting alongside our car on the way to work. He was all like "I'll race ya!" and we were like "Or we could just keep driving slowly and wait for you to get out of the road so we can be on our way!" Eventually we won when he exited the track and forfeited the competition.

Funny story! Mom and I are driving around town one day and she reads this sign on the back of a car, the one that says "Lamiglas: Fish With Confidence," and she says, "How do they know the fish have confidence?" Then she realizes the word "fish" was used in the verb form, not as a noun. Haha! What an awesome person I am for having an awesome mom!

This picture marks the first truly Indian meal I had as an intentional cultural experience. If there's any way I prefer to experience new cultures, it is through the taste buds! I quite enjoyed this meal, and the representation of the plate is so aesthetically pleasing. I mean just the geometry of it all ... and the balanced color palatte ... a work of art.

Iggy's

2011-02-02T17:53:00.001-07:00

I am not unlike many of my peers in the fact that a large portion of my budget goes to food and eating out. It is one of my main "extra" expenses that comes out of every month's paychecks. However, when I pay a totaled $12 for a mediocre lunch while killing time between obligations during the day, that does not fly with me.

While driving around town today I had a place in mind for a cheap lunch, but when I got there, I found out they weren't opening for another half hour, so I went into their neighboring restaurant, Iggy's Sports Grill instead. I've always liked the ambiance of that place. The layout is open and friendly and they have the perfect balance of interior design - not a chaotic mess of decorations on the wall, like some popular chains. I quickly ordered a BLT and strawberry lemonade and quickly my meal was delivered, since the place had just opened and not a lot of people were in there at the time. For this I am thankful. I barely got done eating my slice of bread (dipped in their unique sweet/tangy sauce) before my sandwich arrived, and that's much preferable to waiting half an hour.

$6.95 got me two pieces of bread, shredded lettuce, bacon, and tomatoes, along with a large side of fries and a very tiny cup of coleslaw. Oh, and a pickle. Which looked like it would have been a pretty good quality pickle if I were the kind of person that enjoyed cucumbers soaked in evil. My sandwich was fine. Nothing wrong with it except the crusts of the bread were stale and hard to bite off. All of the components of a good BLT were there (including a good amount of crispy bacon), but somehow altogether the sandwich as a whole was just lacking excitement. On the other hand, at least I had some excellent fries for supplementation.

The thing that really got me, though, was the $3 strawberry lemonade that was so strongly flavored with artificial sugar syrup, that I ended up pouring about 1/3rd of my bottled water into the drink throughout my stay there. Every time I added more it didn't even seem like the overbearing taste was getting any lighter. There were no strawberries either, which is just unacceptable. I left without finishing the entire lemonade, and was quite pissed I spent so much money on it, especially since I had to almost remake the drink myself.

After leaving an appropriate tip, the total spent on my ho-hum lunch was about $12, and I wish I could take it back. I know I could've gone to McDonald's and gotten a cheeseburger combo for like $4 or something, but I wanted to avoid that type of high-fat fast food. Except at least their burgers are tasty (in my opinion). Taking Iggy's out of the equation, I'm getting more and more annoyed that healthier options are always more expensive than those that clog your arteries and offer no nutritional value. It's a trade off between saving money and preserving your body. In the case of today's lunch, I probably didn't so well on health either, with those french fries and bacon. But whatev. Tomorrow is a new day.

And even though my meal today was unimpressive, I'll still probably go back another time. I know that other items on their menu are well done, and their service is good, so I probably just need to learn what their best choices are before I order something boring. For example, the one time I've had dessert at Iggy's I shared the "Homemade Bread Pudding" with one of my besties, and it was delicious. Trial and error is the name of the game I guess, but now I'll be more careful when going to a sit-down restaurant and expecting to get a good meal for a cheap price.

Penny for My Thoughts: Writing Prompts

2011-01-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

What is silence to you?

Silence is the absence of the sound.
It is what I value when I'm home alone in a determined mood, on a day off, to study and get some good homework done. I cannot focus with music on, sadly, despite my love for it. I'll sit down at the kitchen table with my mechanical pencil and calculator all ready, notebooks neatly aligned, and I'll just GO. Focus focus focus. No facebook, no TV, no lunchtime. Productivity at its best.

A list of things I'll never do.

This is funny because I'm always making lists of things I WANT to do, and if we're going with crazy and wild experiences here, I can't think of anything that I'll completely rule out before giving it considerable thought. I can't say I won't ever go skydiving or audition to be on the Bachelor or fall in love with someone twice my age. I CAN say that I do not ever want to have a failed marriage - divorce is not an option. I will never get in a physical fight with anyone, mostly because I just couldn't bring myself to inflict pain on anyone else. But see, even then I don't know what the future will hold. If some bizarre situation arose where my family members were being held hostage and tortured and I had the chance to deck the person/persons responsible, I might have to do that. But who knows.

If I could get anything in the world for my birthday, it would be...

An all-expense paid trip to Disneyland for me and some friends. The Disney theme parks are something I dream about too frequently for a 19 year old young adult. You'd think I'd never been, but we DID go to Disneyworld around the time that I was 12 or 13. Before that it had been a long time, so long that I don't even have correct memories, I would say. They are the foggy memories of the 3 year old version of me, where everything was magical and nothing could ever go wrong. I remembered what I wanted, which is not much. I'd love so much to go back again with my friends who desire that same type of magic that our youths brought us. After all, the older we become the further away from our childhoods we get, and now is the time to seize the opportunities before we stop stop loving what we once did.

A joke that makes me laugh is...

What do a duck and a wagon have in common? They both have wheels. Except for the duck.

Did you know Helen Keller had a playground in her backyard? Neither did she. (yeah, I'm sick in the head.)

Two peanuts were walking down a dark alley at night. One was assaulted. (a salted! peanut! haha!)

What would you do if you were the President?

Resign.

What did you do before we had the internet?

That was so long ago, relative to my lifetime, that
a) I don't really remember, and
b) It is incomparable to life WITH the internet, because I was at a totally different age group where it didn't matter.
I believe I got an e-mail address for the first time in 4th grade, and started IM-ing in 6th or 7th. Before the complete social network boom, I occupied myself with dance twice a week, extra dance in my free time, golf when I was little, and sewing lessons when I was even littler. I read a lot in my tween/teen days. During the summer we went to the pool. Yeah ... that's all I can think of.

Think of a time when you've won something. Tell what you won and how you won it.

First instinct was to talk about the sweepstakes I enter online sometimes. A while back I heard about a sweepstakes for Pottery Barn Teen on the internet and I probably spent an hour or two in one day just repeatedly filling out the form to enter over and over again. I ended up winning one of the smaller prizes, a $75 gift card, which I used to buy a nice duffle bag that I still use and lend to my mom sometimes.

But the point of this question was probably to get at some accomplishment I'm proud of, and I guess the two that come to mind most prominently have to do with dance. When H & I won 1st place for our hip hop duet as juniors in high school, that was a pretty rad time. And later that year when I won first place in the state Drill Down competition for our division, that was pretty rad also. I don't know if I had ever entered a drill down comp. before then. I had always wanted to, but was always scared or didn't want to waste the $2 or whatever. But anyway, just that feeling of knowing you were one of the sharpest and quickest to respond to those tricky commands was something special. I remember practicing at recess and lunch, all the way back in 8th grade at least! It was just fun to do.

And the hip hop duet was cool because we'd never done a duet before, and it was a lot bigger and more meaningful than winning first place on a team dance, because that happened often with our company, and in those cases you were only a small part of the whole. With this dance each of us contributed 50% to the whole (100% effort!), and it was one of my favorite dances to DO. Also the choreography and costumes fit us perfectly, and later when we performed during a pep rally for the school, everybody got to see how cool we really were.

What would your life be like if you had a pet dinosaur?

Hell yeah! Having a pet dinosaur would rock my world. He'd be my best friend, my mode of transportation, and my bodyguard all at once. I'd ride him to school everyday and then let him roam the mountains and poop wherever he wanted while I was in class. I'd tell him all my deepest secrets and we'd eat snowcones together in the summer time. If I ended up in a dark alley at night and was about to be a salted (hehe), my pet dinosaur (some sort of raptor, for sure) would be right there to kick the trash out of my assailant and make him wish he'd never messed with me.

Perfection Awaits

2011-01-24T12:39:00.001-07:00

Things I've Been Perfecting As of Late

Banana orange smoothie: Some flawless combination of bananas, oranges, vanilla yogurt, and ice.

Financial analysis ratio memorization.
Current Ratio = Current Assets/Current Liabilities

Various challenging songs on Band Hero using the drums.
Eg. Hands Down (Dashboard Confessional)

Cafe World customer satisfaction - are stable ratings in the future? Almost!

Developing a good sleep schedule. Perfection here may actually be unattainable, but I am getting better.

Envisioning myself in my dream apartment, one that I have actually found.

Sweepin' mines

Art 1010 weekly assignment procrastination.

This astonishingly fun game called Engtanglement.

Being a lousy friend by taking forever to write and send letters.

Dressin' up 80s style! Rocking the side pony, neon bracelets, and chunky square earrings (shown at right).

By the way, when trying to find an alternate title for this post since I already like the title of the list and I didn't want to use the same word twice, I tried to find a synonym for the first word. Here are the results:

Conclusion: There is no substitute for perfection.

...

"Nobody ever drowned in sweat."

"Brave hearts do not back down."

"Never, never, never give up!" HOO-AH!!

Quotes by Marine Corp, Sophocles, and Winston Churchill, respectively.

Music Review: 10 Years

2011-01-19T18:00:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful family members who payed attention to my organized wish list and constant nagging over the holidays, I am now the proud owner of 7 new CD's that came to me as Christmas presents. I've been listening to them a lot, as well as other single songs I've been downloading as usual, and I think I'm finally ready to review one of them!

Feeding the Wolves, 10 Years
Genre: Hard Rock, or Alternative Metal, according to Tuniverse

Oh Lord, I love this CD! 10 Years is a very new band to me. The only music I knew from this band from Tennessee included a single released in 2009 and the single currently being advertised on this album "Shoot It Out", from 2010. I must've had a really intuitive feeling that I would love the rest of it, because usually I listen to more than two songs before buying an album's band. Anywho, I'm glad I put this on my wish list because it's a great one!

It's always hard for me to describe music in words, so I try to look for other bands the music is similar to. It is my personal opinion that they are pretty different from any other band, but at times they have reminded me of: Three Days Grace, Framing Hanley (mostly on the first verse of "The Wicked Ones"), and Panic! at the Disco. Except I think I might like them better than all three of those bands. All of their songs have diverse melodies, upbeat head-banging/foot-tapping rhythms, and choruses that are easy and fun to sing along with once you learn the lyrics. The bridges deserve commendation for not just being slightly varied versions of the already played choruses or verses, like many bands do when trying to hide the fact that they've run out of music-making juice.

Of course I haven't listened to the lyrics much yet because I'm all about the sound, but at least I can say it's definitely not focused on sex and drugs. Actually, I haven't even come across a song that seems to touch on romance or relationships all that much, and that's rare these days, wouldn't you say? Don't quote me on this, but it appears that the songs are mostly the kind that analyze personal performance and inner struggle-type things, like in these lyrics from "Waking Up the Ghost":

   I, I'm waking up the ghost
   Not digging up the memories that were dead to me
   Now, now I'm getting close
   Closer to the enemy that's inside of me

I have an immense attraction to the perky songs like that one that leave my legs bopping up and down uncontrollably (not in a spastic way), but even the ballads on the album can hold their own. "One More Day" and "Don't Fight It" don't have to compete with the energized songs they're surrounded by, because the whole set flows like a well-made album should. Another thing I appreciate is the specific song titles that are easily connected to the songs themselves. When you see the words "Dead in the Water" or "Chasing the Rapture," you can easily recall the sound and lyrics they refer to. I get really annoyed when an album's song titles are all one or two vague words and you have to think harder to remember them. Three Days Grace has this problem, and in general I think their songs are less memorable - or at least the ones that aren't immediate radio hits. There we go! That's why 10 Years is better! As a whole, this album is more memorable. (An epiphany just occurred inside List Girl's head.)

What I don't like about the CD:
- It is not long enough! There are only 10 songs total, adding up to less than 45 minutes.

- The front insert doesn't contain lyrics to any of the songs. It is two pages. Lame.

In conclusion, 10 Years' album Feeding the Wolves is a quality rock/alternative album with pep and variety, but I wish there was more OF it. Here's one of my favorites, for you to taste the awesomeness.

Monday Night Rantings: A Forced Post

2011-01-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a week! Aah! Too long, too long.

Went to sushi tonight with some friends. I'm learning that I really like sushi rolls that have cream cheese in them, and I really like whatever they call Ton Katsu - fried pork with some type of sweet sauce drizzled over it. Fried pork is a strange concept in America, even though we have everything else fried - chicken, fries, rice, ice cream, etc. I particularly have to chuckle when I hear "chicken fried steak" just because that phrase makes it sound like two types of meat when it's only one.

Randomness. . . la la. . .

I'm also learning that I like driving, especially long distances on highways that aren't totally straight for 20 miles at a time (ahem*Oregon). I love listening to music in my car and it's the perfect opportunity, plus I just like the feeling of independence, going places far away on your own and actually knowing what you're doing. Today's round trip consisted of an almost solid hour of Breaking Benjamin, and Framing Hanley on most of the way back, with a few slower, scattered songs from my Get Acquainted With playlist towards the end, such as some stuff by Joshua Radin, Citizen Cope, and Iron & Wine. Reassessing my library over the last couple of weeks has brought me to realize I would greatly benefit from possession of more Iron & Wine music. They just are the perfect potion for calmness in my mind. Other music I'm hoping to get soon is the latest Linkin Park CD, and a few releases that should be coming out this spring (RED!! Rise Against! more than I can't think of at the moment!). And holy cow, according to this website there are so many more to look forward to that I had no idea about!

What else is new with me lately? Well I got slightly behind in my classes this weekend. Hopefully I can catch up soon and get back on the bandwagon, because I don't like feeling the least bit off schedule, no matter how minor the setback is. Last week I had some job application woes that aren't appropriate to discuss on the blog. Actually, most of the things that I have felt like venting about (or praising) fall under that category, so no wonder it's been so long since my last post.

Random thought: I feel the need to say that in every encounter I have with a new group of people, I'm forced to reassess my love of this place that I live in, and think about whether or not I can see myself staying here for the rest of my life. I don't know where else I'd want to go, but I often feel like I don't belong here, or sometimes in this world at all. That sounds really dramatic. But what I mean is that basically it's very rare to find a group of humans like myself who I actually relate to and want to spend time with, whose values reflect my own and who have fun the same ways I do. I hesitate to say that I think I've finally find that group, because I don't want to jinx it and lose any of the awesome relationships I've gained. And at the same time, I keep thinking this is just college and when I actually get past this stage of my life and start the next chapter, I'll have to go through the whole ordeal of not fitting in again. How am I ever going to find a husband? People in this state are so whack that you can almost observe males in their early 20s practicing their mating call because it's that time to find a wife. If they're not flaunting their feathers at the tame organized school dances, then they've already got a ring on their finger, and the rest of the country is the complete opposite, where everyone has sex with everyone else and you've got to read silly books on how to operate in the dating world.

Needless to say I'm scared of the future. What an off-topic topic, eh? This is more of what my real journal entries sound like, which I've been trying to keep in my actual journal. But hey, I really needed to post something. Goodnight, world.

Rated R for Random

2011-01-11T00:37:00.003-07:00

I'm running out of ways to title a blog post that contains mostly a jumble of nonconnected things.

Recently I tried putting together a list of the sounds I love and hate. I didn't get very far, but here's a good start. I feel very passionately about each of these, or else I would've come up with a longer list of those that I just feel moderately about.

Sounds I Hate: #1. Skis scraping on hard snow. Especially at high speeds. This hasn't happened recently, but I've wiped out too many times in my life right after hearing this sound that I've been conditioned to be afraid of it. Plus it just sounds very unpleasant, like my version of nails on a chalkboard. #2. My dog Rusty licking himself. And not even in a disgusting place, just natural grooming of the paws and what-not. Isn't this something that cats normally do? The continuous, wet lapping of his tongue on his fur disgusts me so much I actually feel a tad nauseous when it happens. I have to leave the room or plug my ears to keep from going insane.

Sound I Love: Babies laughing. It's like the most evident proof that babies have pieces of Heaven literally infused in them. Too bad the world has to corrupt them while they grow up, and the purity disappears somewhere. But anyway, my soul delights in ticklish toddlers giggling with glee.

Updated 1/19/11: Sound I love #2 is F-16's jetting through the air. They are so powerful and fast, and I've always thought it sounded like the sky was being ripped apart, like a piece of fabric or something. Cool image, right?

Next item on the agenda:

Tonight I was hanging out with Jake and I got to visit his 10 year-old pet boa. Her name escapes me at the moment. At first I was freaked out just by being close to it and running my finger along its skin, but I decided I would make myself hold the thing before I left, just to say I did. I think the terror on my face is an adequate description of how I was feeling at the time.

See the resemblance?

We bonded. No, I'm serious.

Check out that twirlage going on around my leg.

I feel it is of importance to note that this snake was very heavy, and I don't think Britney's weighed as much as Jake's. If it did, then she either didn't hold it for very long (I don't know, I never saw her show), or she was about ten times more ripped than I. It definitely looks like that could've been the case. Either way, I feel better seeing the sweat glisten on her body, so I know I'm not the only one who had a hard time.

Other Note to Self:

Or Anybody Reading:

When all else fails during a babysitting sesh, put on The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (the two hour version) and fast-forward through the commercials. This works so well at holding kids' attention (there's just something about those jolly old red-nosed Who's!), and it's a step above the TV show Cops. Oh, and did you know the girl who played adorable little Cindy Lou Who is now the freakishly gothic rehab-bound Taylor Momsen, of Gossip Girl? It saddens me to see so how corrupted THIS baby turned out to be.

Well, that's all folks. I still want to do a post on my own version of words that should be banned for being used too much/in the wrong context. Perhaps I will when I collect a more sufficient set of terms, that way it'll be legit. Ha. I hope that joke was understood. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. Cheers!

Hitting the Slopes

2011-01-07T00:32:00.001-07:00

I’ve known how to ski since I was about 5 years old. My family is a skiing family – it’s the probably the hobby my dad is willing to spend the most money on, aside from the boat. Despite my working at a ski resort, I didn’t strap into my boots and bindings once last year, because the past few years it hasn’t been all that fun for me anymore, especially next to my highly skilled and competitive brothers. Yesterday (Wednesday) I got on the slopes for the first time in two years, at the marvelous Snowbasin, partly because I missed it, and partly because I knew it would make my dad happy to join him in one of his favorite activities for a day.

Despite how serious I think it sounds – 2 years! – muscle memory does not fade at all. Neither does the familiar feeling of terror before I’m about to wipe out, as I had grown somewhat accustomed to, from my previous attempts at pushing the limits of my outdated skis in heavy powder and serious moguls. I’ve come to blame my most of my frustration with my performance on the skis themselves (not a completely invalid claim, says Dad), but despite their immaturity, I did pretty well out there yesterday. Somehow, all the other planets in the universe decided to align as well, and everything seemed to happen perfectly. Since we went up after my morning classes in the middle of the week, we almost had the whole mountain to ourselves. The weather was great – not too cold, and not a cloud in sight. The new Christmas mittens that weren’t exactly built for serious winter activity totally held their own and I didn’t have to fight the freezing of fingers that occasionally happens.

Of course I noticed these details because it made the experience a lot easier to endure. Endure? Hell, I had fun. I hope to ski again soon, with similar conditions, and maybe I’ll even try a different pair of skis and see if I can manage better. To make the day even more superior, I got to ski a run with my old buddy Clay, and for the first time in my life I experienced the Mt. Allen Tram, which takes you to a whopping elevation of 9,465 feet, giving you the most incredible and terrifying views. I always appreciated the sights from the top of the other highest lifts that I’m used to, but this was incomparable. Not only are you able to see for miles out to the North and East, but over the ridge at the Ogden Valley and beyond as well.

The ride itself is an intimidating thing, because of just how high it goes, and the fact that the only trails down from it are blacks and double diamonds – stuff for the serious experts. I’m surprised that in all my years of frequenting the resort, it took me this long to finally go up the tram. It’s something I just never thought about before, but I encourage anyone in the area to give it a shot and take some awesome pictures, like these. Nothing will ever be as good as the real thing though, so get up there!

I am on top of the world.

*Click on me for larger image size*

Utopias

2011-01-03T13:26:00.001-07:00

In a perfect world ...
I would be able to throw my drumsticks at the TV when I got mad at Guitar Hero for not picking up on my PERFECT RHYTHM.

In a perfect world ...
My face wouldn't turn into a block of frozen flesh every time I walk the dogs at night in single digit temperatures.

In a perfect world ...
Single digit temperatures wouldn't exist anywhere I took up residence.

In a perfect world ...
We could eat as many Christmas cookies and as many bowls of frozen yogurt/custard/whatever with unlimited toppings as we wanted without gaining weight whatsoever.

In a perfect world ...
The overdraft fee on my checking account wouldn't be a whopping $25, and in general, purchases made with my debit card would show up online when they happened, not a week later, causing me to overestimate the amount of money actually in my account, thus leading to said overdrafts.

In a perfect world ...
The insanely attractive guy in my last accounting class would've coincidentally ended up in my same second level class as well.

In a perfect world ...
Nail polish would be completely dry in 5 minutes, not 5 hours, during which time it is so disgustingly easy to smudge or chip the originally perfect coat.

In a perfect world ...
Music on iTunes would all be set at the same appropriate sound levels, so you wouldn't have to attempt to fix it and end up with fuzzy crap sounds blaring through your already faulty car speakers.

In a perfect world ...
Online access codes for used textbooks would be free. Not $80 on top of what you already payed.

In a perfect world ...
Everyone would read my blog.

In a perfect world ...
No one would read my blog and I could post whatever the heck I wanted on it.

A Quick Summation of Twenty-Ten

2010-12-31T18:36:00.002-07:00

Half-way through writing this entire blog and checking items off my lists of things to do in my lifetime, I started to realize how much new stuff happened this year compared to the rest of my teenage-hood. I don't know if it's because I'm in college now or what, but the experiences I've had in the past 12 months are looking like a great start to the rest of my life. A while ago I was feeling so proud of myself that I decided to start a list of all the new things I tried this year, and what better time to post it than on the last day of the year?

New Experiences for Shannon in 2010

Longboarding
Twilight Concert Series in SLC
Failed Legit Job Interview
Sushi
Indian Food
Regular Babysitting Gig
Snowboarding
Meeting People From the Internet
Legit Double Date
Owning an iPhone
Kayaking
Major Declaration
Road Trip Sans-Parents
Barista Job
Painted a Plate (Color Me Mine)
Studying the Bible
Roller Derby
Riding the Catapult
Hacky-Sac
Trip to the Junkyard
Fishing With Friends
Dancing in Foam
High School Hockey Game
Oxygen Bar
Cartilage Piercing
Starting a BLOG!!

On top of all those things, the very core of my being has changed in monumental ways: I now hardly ever eat breakfast, and I drink coffee frequently. With lots of french vanilla creamer, yes, but it's a big improvement. I can stand the taste of oatmeal, and I have a new fascination with mushrooms and supreme pizza.

I enjoy studying the Bible and falling in love with Jesus, and I think I know what I want to do as a career. I like hard rock more than ever, and I quickly became enamored with big, fancy rings. This summer I was the tannest I've ever been - something I miss a lot right now, with the reappearance of my chalky paleness. Skinny jeans are becoming a fave, especially paired with high top converse. One Tree Hill is an addiction I acquired this year - I'm almost to season five! I've made tons of new friends and have started to find a world to belong in during my college years. All that and more has contributed to the Shannon that's typing these words right now. I feel like a puzzle with the pieces slowly coming together. Hopefully 2011 and all the years after that are as happy as this one was, full of even more new experiences and relationships to build. Bring it on world: I'm ready!

The Last Few Weeks (in Lazy List Form)

2010-12-27T20:20:00.001-07:00

Things I Love Right Now

The DRUMS on Guitar/Band Hero
Eggs Benedict
Busy-ness at work, meaning large handfuls of cash to count!
Cheesy holiday teen romance novels
7 new CD's I got for Christmas, plus a mix
Despicable Me
Seeing old friends over the holidays
The idea of whitening my teeth, which will happen soon
The large amount that is going to appear on my next paycheck
The Sing Off on NBC, and acapella groups in general
Finally getting to tell people I picked a major

Things I Hate Right Now

All the good holiday food that I can't stay away from
My car in this weather
This weather
The Internet not working for 24 hours at a time, on and off for a week
My coat somehow spewing out feathers all over my back, ALL THE TIME
Writer's block
Stupid dreams! Argh! And the person who occupies them! You need to not exist anymore!
Indecision about my next job status

Over this last month of vacation I've felt really grateful to have so many leisure opportunities. Not since Christmas of 2009 did I have more than 3 straight weeks of time where I didn't have to go to school. Taking classes during the summer kept me from being bored, but it also meant that fall semester was waiting for me right at the end. Right now I'm relishing in my last week of freedom before the spring semester starts, although work is a bitch. Not really. It's just that waking up early and doing the same thing everyday gets old pretty fast. Good thing it's an easy job and I actually like it most of the time.

I'm also thankful that I've gotten to spend a lot of time with family and friends. Seeing my buddies who go to different colleges is always something I look forward to, and I could only wish they were all here for longer. With some, it feels like the party is only getting started, but I know they'll be leaving before it's over. Here's to ... a good Christmas, great companions, and hopefully blogging more in the future. I need to get back on that train!

2010: The Year in Music (According to MY Library)

2010-12-18T16:48:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite magazines that my family subscribes to is Entertainment Weekly. At the end of each year, they produce an issue overflowing with their "top lists" for all forms of media for the last 12 months. Movies, books, music, ... having many subcategories within each. Most of the time I don't agree with their top picks, so I thought this year I'd make my own. And that's exactly what these are - strictly my personal experiences, and certainly not an attempt at summing up the entire industry's year of productions. My genre bias becomes evident as you read on.

Top 20 Singles
Whether they were released in 2009 or 2010, these are the songs that I will always remember being the anthems of this past year. Most made their discoveries known to me through pop radio stations, some are rock songs (of course, that IS my taste), and some are just inbetween. Note that in no way does the order of a song's appearance on this or any following list signify ranking.

1. Tik Tok - Ke$sha
2. Animal - Neon Trees
3. Cooler than Me - Mike Posner featuring Big Sean
4. Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars
5. I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin
6. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
7. Pornstar Dancing - My Darkest Days featuring Chad Kroeger
8. Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars
9. Nightmare - Avenged Sevenfold
10. OMG - Usher featuring Will.I.Am
11. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
12. Like a G6 - Far East Movement
13. Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
14. The Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine
15. Secrets - One Republic
16. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
17. Kick in the Teeth - Papa Roach
18. Your Betrayal - Bullet For My Valentine
19. Empire State of Mind - Jay Z featuring Alicia Keys
20. Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Top 10 Albums I Discovered
I don't know about other people, but I am always finding out about old music that just happens to tickle my fancy at a much later time than when it was actually popular. I guess you could say I'm behind the times, but I don't care. Here I record a few of the albums I'm thankful for listening to in 2010.

1. Fearless - Taylor Swift (2008)
2. We Are Not Alone - Breaking Benjamin (2004)
3. Lateralus - Tool (2001)
4. Riot! - Paramore (2007)
5. Elephant - The White Stripes (2003)
6. The Sound of Madness - Shinedown (2008)
7. Greatest Hits - Guns N' Roses (2004)
8. Meteora - Linkin Park (2003)
9. Innocence & Instinct - RED (early 2009)
10. Dirt - Alice in Chains (1992)

Top 15 Singles I Discovered
Same description as above, but these are single songs. This list almost means more than the last, simply because there weren't a lot more than 10 albums I downloaded/bought that were older than a year or two, so the ones I had pretty much filled up those spots. The selection for this one is a lot wider, though. Here goes:

1. Basket Case - Green Day (1994)
2. Fire It Up - Modest Mouse (2006)
3. Big Balls - AC/DC (1976)
4. Work - Jimmy Eat World (2004)
5. Son's Gonna Rise - Citizen Cope (2005)
6. Champagne Supernova - Oasis (1995)
7. My Own Worst Enemy - Lit (1999)
8. Holy Diver - Dio (1983)
9. Pepper - The Butthole Surfers (1996)
10. Till I Collapse - Eminem (2002)
11. Loser - Beck (1993)
12. Lollipop - Framing Hanley (2007)
13. Nookie - Limp Bizkit (1999)
14. More Than a Feeling - Boston (1976)
15. Plush - Stone Temple Pilots (1992)

Top 5 2010 Albums
Pretty self-explanatory. Of the 2010 and late 2009 releases, these were the albums I listened to the most this year. I wish I had had time to listen to more, but I simply did not. And with this final list, I conclude my post.

1. Dear Agony - Breaking Benjamin
2. This is War - 30 Seconds to Mars
3. Speak Now - Taylor Swift
4. Asylum - Disturbed
5. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies ... with nuts!

2010-12-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to this lovely app I have on my iPhone, "Epicurious," I can browse thousands of recipes for any kind of food without having to flip through multiple cookbooks. I love it because most recipes are rated and reviewed, and by looking at the percentage of people who say they would make it again, along with the number of people who actually voted, you can easily determine which recipes are winners. With 91% of 79 people saying they would make this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie again, I figured the chance that the cookies would come out unsatisfying was small. Some reviews tell of their slight revisions of the recipe, but when I followed the exact instructions and used the exact ingredient amounts, they came out pretty much perfect. So here's me sharing this yummy recipe for ya'll!

"Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oatmeal and Pecans"

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (about 12 ounces)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 heavy large baking sheets. Beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until fluffy and well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, the vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt over butter mixture and stir to blend. Mix in oats, the chocolate chips, and pecans.

Working in batches, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store cookies airtight at room temperature.)

Bon Appetit, December 1996

Ok so I guess I kinda lied about changing the recipe. I normally don't have unsalted butter on hand, so I used the regular salted kind that we had, and left out the extra salt the recipe calls for. When using this technique I've never found my cookies to be too salty, so it must be working. Also, my brown sugar was not "dark brown" sugar, just regular ... brown ... sugar. And it worked fine.

The cookies came out looking gorgeous, as you can see, and it really makes me appreciate the ice cream scooper I've started to use for baking. It truly does make nicely rounded cookies more efficiently and with less mess on your fingers. You know what I'm talking about - the thing where you squeeze the handle and it plops out the dough for you? Sometimes I'm wary of all the kitchen gadgetry on the shelves these days, but this nifty tool actually has some use.

I feel like I've been praising so many things in this one post! If you take anything away from it, I hope you either check out the Epicurious app, bake these awesome cookies, or even invest in a cookie dough scooper (find a good one at pampered chef). Otherwise I will at least have another well-made recipe documented for my own sake. Ha!

Confessions of a Childcare-giver

2010-12-10T23:28:00.001-07:00

I'm not so pro at eating pizza in bed with my laptop yet, but I just couldn't resist the surprise leftovers I came home to on an empty stomach after babysitting just now. I could've eaten anything at the family's house, but I didn't realize how hungry I was till I opened the pizza box in my kitchen and my heart filled with glee. Even further, after just eating half a slice, it was apparant that one of the reasons I had been so tired was because I hadn't eaten in 8 hours.

Babysitting is always an adventure. Once or twice a month I am called on by a sweet couple I met to watch their two and four-year old boys for a few hours. Progressively each time I had fallen more and more in love with them, especially the innocent toddler whose infectious laugh makes me melt inside. But tonight we've crossed a certain threshold where all of the sudden these sweet boys are TOO comfortable around me that they won't physically leave me alone. One or both were attached to my body at all times, often with a hand in the face or legs somewhere up around my shoulders. No longer is the infectious laugh cute when it results from repeatedly smacking me with a pillow while the other attempts to conquer my person like King Kong and the Empire State Building.

Were their parents secretly keeping them locked up all day so all their energy could be released all on me, or is there really that much sugar in two tubes of gogurt? Two and four-year olds may be able to repeat the words please and thank you, demonstrating that they can pretend to have manners when you remind them, but neither age group knows the meaning of the word "no." As in, no you may not jump on my stomach just because I lied down on the floor for 5 seconds, and no you may not keep climbing onto the railing and almost killing yourselves falling down, and no you may not keep eating all the food in your fridge even though I know you can't still be hungry.

Me, after putting M & G to bed

Everytime I see this family, the two year old has learned new words, and the ones that showed up most tonight were very centered around some common themes. No way could I have not understood that "nack" with a point to the cupboard obviously meant "feed me now." No way did I underestimate the importance little M laid on how much he wanted to climb on my shoulders, when the sequence of vocabulary went from "move" to "back" to "stand up."

No clearer have any commands been from this almost three year old who's graduating from his crib soon. I do not look forward to the day when I get to put him to sleep only to hear him crawl right out and go back to playing with his toys. This is not just annoying, but very worrisome, as he is nicknamed El Destructo for his superhuman ability to get into anything and cause a ruckus. Just today he scared me half to death whenever he attempted to climb on his toy box to turn off the light and fall in. I know I may have some extra padding around my gluteus maximus area, but if I were him, I wouldn't be so thrilled about landing on so many hard, plastic items. I do have to hand it to the kid, though, for being such a daredevil and not even crying the many times he's fallen off the couch or taken a buzz lightyear to the butt.

If all this is making me sound like a horrible caretaker, you'll be even more delighted to know I let them watch Cops on TV. It was the only thing that made them sit still for 5 minutes, and I was NOT going to give that up. Besides, they're too young to know what any of it means, so I don't think any harm was done. But really, I'm actually doing a pretty dang good job of watching them, since no phone calls to the parents have been made, let alone tears shed by either of the boys from an injury. That in and of itself is an accomplishment to be noted.

Despite the boys being super hyper and good at not listening to me tonight, I still presently enjoy the few occasions I get to see them. Babysitting not only puts a pleasing amount of cash in my wallet, but it's fun because their smiles delight me so. Plus, being around kids is almost an instant boost of self confidence, since you don't have to worry one bit about them thinking your hair is greasy or you don't sing as well as Carrie Underwood. As long as you're giving them attention, you will be loved, and that love is a nice thing to feel.

Christmas Partays

2010-12-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my fellow Intervarsitites! Intervarsitians ... Intervarsinese ... Intervarsitish ...

Two Christmas parties thus far involving these folk have put a smile on my face already during the month of December of o-ten. Actually, more than a smile. Last night tears were streaming down my face not once, twice, but three times, from laughing so hard at our funny selves! Our crazy shenanigans from the shin-digs have included plenty of ugly sweaters, funny portraits, Guitar Hero collaborations, candy cane cookies, and more. If this weren't my blog (being entirely open for the world to see), I'd put pictures up that documented the occasions. Perhaps in the print version of this so-called "yearbook" of mine, I'll put some photos in where they should be.

Last night, at the advisement of one of our wiser and more experienced friends, we watched White Christmas, a movie I had never heard of. It's one of those old flicks with dancing and singing ... haha, a musical I guess. Bing Crosby stars with 3 other leading actors who all did a fantastic job in this film that has it all - a love story, humor (yes, I laughed!), Christmas spirit, that cute old-fashioned feel, sentimental warm fuzzies, and plenty of adorable outfits worn by the women that left me wanting to live their lives. Those empire waists and flowing skirts ... sigh. Such glamour! Such poise! Such elegance! Not to mention the dancing was phenomenal - extremely entertaining, and seemingly a blast to perform.

Of course this 1954 movie was where the song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" originated. When Bing Crosby sings any song, the sound is so fantastically rich, it's like listening to the dark chocolate of voices. I couldn't help but feel like I was indulging, by simply allowing the sound into my ears. Indulge as well, as you listen to this clip from the movie and consider watching the whole thing yourself:

Scantron Failure

2010-12-05T23:37:00.002-07:00

And the Nobel Piece Prize for Scantron Failure in 2010 goes to ... the List Girl!

This chick here is a bonafide retard when it comes to filling out scantron forms. For some reason it takes an unusually large amount of effort to get the right bubbles filled in with the right numbers, and matching up with the answers I actually want to choose. I have missed questions on tests that I knew the right answers to because I simply filled in the wrong bubble. This is a big deal in college! Every little multiple choice counts! Additionally, at other times I can fill in the right bubble but it will be on the wrong line, and I'll have to go all the way back to the root of the problem and erase like 20 answers. It always worries me that I don't erase the wrong ones all the way because the machines are so picky about that and I don't want to be marked down because there was still some smudging left, due to a crappy eraser. I made at least 5 mistakes like these today on one scantron sheet alone. Go me...

And there was even one time this semester in class where we completed a practice quiz with about 25 questions and I intelligently started my answers at #2 instead of #1. The beauty of this (yes, sarcasm) was that I had no way of realizing I messed up until I got the sheet back graded with an entire line of red marks on the side, indicating almost every one of my answers was wrong. Imagine my embarrassment when I had to ask my professor if I could fill out a new one. This wasn't 5th grade, this was college. He must think my ACT score was a 12 or something. (However, if this was the case, I could just blame it on my inability to fill in the right bubbles - who knows, maybe I'm still a genius and that is my only error.)

On a somewhat related note, does anybody else get excited when they have four answers in a row that are of the sequence A C D C ? Because it just tickles me. :)

Catching Up With Nothing of Any Real Importance, But Still Interesting Stuff

2010-12-04T18:04:00.002-07:00

Hello, blog, long time no see. You've missed me, have you? Well that's nice to hear. I'm kind of having a writing crisis this season, as you may have noticed, since I haven't posted very much in the past few weeks. I feel bad but I just can't do it ... hopefully this funk goes away and I can get back to my regular schedule and get back to loving blogging again.

But here I am, trying. I have no subject for this post yet. I thought I might talk about how much of a creeper I am, since within minutes of posting a facebook status about it, I got 3 or 4 likes. Meaning it was a successful discussion topic ... ? I'm rather pleased that my statuses have been doing so well recently, capturing many likes and comments on each one. I feel like facebook isn't such a waste if people actually pay attention to my activity and conversation is generated.

You know what would be really sweet? If I could publish the spectacularly awesome white paper on this blog that I've been putting so much time into with my group in Technical Writing. We finally finished today after hours and hours of work and stress. It was a 6 week long project that spanned many documents, assignments, and a presentation. I'm so proud of our professional piece of work completed today, it could legitimately be a real white paper produced in a successful business. Of course now that we've spent so much time being nit-picky on every bit of language in the 15 pages, I can't help noticing all the flaws I already have in this one post. BUT I don't care. :) I get to be myself on this blog and I write the way I think, which is in no way perfect.

Back to the creeper thing though -

Funny story, but I happen to have recently developed a crush on this amazingly designed specimen in my accounting class. He's kind of gorgeous. Quiet and mysterious. (And by kind of gorgeous I mean he's really attractive.) I've never talked to him, and I don't know anything about him except that he asks smart questions, falls asleep adorably sometimes in class because of his work (?), and does not wear a wedding ring. In proper detective fashion, I carefully listened the last time our professor was handing out graded tests, and I caught his last name (it came right before mine!). Upon filing that piece of information away in a safe place in my brain, I was able to look up the one e-mail our professor ever sent the whole class, and scanned the list of recipients till I found his last name. Luckily our school e-mails consist simply of our first and last name, so with that one step I gained the most important part - his whole name!

I owe much thanks to Mark Zuckerburg for ever creating facebook because within seconds I had found him on the internet and was gazing upon his very nicely done profile pic. It's not one of those you can place in a category on a mockery list of all the stereotypical douche pics guys always use (the party pic with beer in one hand and arms around friends in a dark location, or the phone snapshot in the bathroom mirror, etc.). I didn't friend him or anything, that would definitely be really weird. I don't know why I was compelled to look him up at all, but at least now I know his name. I'm really hoping he's in my next accounting class. So yeah. That's my story of creeperness for this week. My services are available in exchange for suitable compensation.

In other news:

- Harry Potter 7 is a good movie.
- I'm even more in love with the new Taylor Swift album.
- I've been producing a lot of awesome mix cd's for friends that I wanted to just upload the playlists for, but they're all specialized to each person and purpose, so that might be ineffective for other people to see.
- Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties are fun, even if they end early. I shall post about that later when the pics are up.
- I had my first Mormon Muffin a few weeks ago. It was HEAVENLY.
- I'm also REALLY enjoying the Hunger Games series!! Man, those books have the best cliff-hangers I've ever seen. You simply MUST obtain the next book as soon as you're done with one. Good thing they're all out now because I would have a hard time waiting a few months/years for more to be published.
- If I had my way this Christmas, I would get the normal amount of presents, plus about 5 pairs of converse on top of that. I can't look at their website without finding too many pairs that I want, but they're all so expensive!
- On the Christmas note, we have a real tree this year, finally. I was expecting it to smell of pine but it actually isn't that fragrant at all. I want to buy a pine-scented candle to light next to the tree so when people come over, they're really impressed with how good the "tree" smells.
- Also pertaining to Christmas, my highly organized and geeky CD Wish List, complete with priority ranking:

I love Excel. I also love music. I also think I might love accounting. I'm thinking I should work for some sort of music production company's finance division. (Wow, that was one noun-compact phrase if there ever was one.)

How to BS
Speaking of technical writing, again (the reference, if you didn't catch it, was in that last statement in parentheses), I have to say that I have actually benefited a lot from this class. I think everybody should take it, because people these days suck at writing intelligently. Our book is great - Technical Communication by Mike Markel - especially the chapter on "Writing Effective Sentences." It's all about being concise and clear, and eliminating unnecessary words. Very useful for professional documents, but also if you apply the concepts in reverse, it's a great instruction guide for how to BS.

The high school I come from gave us lots of practice in that (unintentionally of course), but these techniques are even more helpful. I can't claim it's a good thing for college students to follow this advice in making papers longer because I expect professors catch onto these things and aren't appreciative of our deceitful efforts. But I bet such tactics work wonders for high school kids. So if anybody who's reading this post is in high school, I recommend you pick up a copy of that textbook. If you're smart, you can find out which principles to use from chapter 10 that it actually advises against that will work wonders for adding length and fancy-speak. The book also has legitimate chapters that tell you how to write a good argument, which you'll end up learning anyway in regular english classes.

That's all I have to say for now. I hope to be back soon but I can't make any guarantees. At least know that my absense is not due to laziness, but other more complicated reasons that I can't explain.

I bid thee farewell.

BOB Challenge #5: Thanksgiving (subtitle: The Beauty of Time)

2010-11-25T21:40:00.001-07:00

I'm thankful for a lot of things. Too many to even begin writing down, although I've had this idea circulating in my head of a giant board where I can take colorful sharpies and marker in all the things I'm thankful for, whenever they spring into mind. The inspiration came from hearing about a friend who just does this to an entire wall in his room - I thought it was really awesome, but if I'm moving out of my parents' house in the next year or so, I won't be able to take that wall with me.

Anyway, I wasn't intending for this to be a really long post. I just wanted to talk about one thing that has popped up in my head recently, and that is the idea of time, and all its benefits. I've just begun to watch this 4 part sermon about time and how we use it, and one thing I thought was interesting was this statement: (in summary) Time generally seems to go by faster the older you are. The pastor comically explained that this is why Christmas always seems so far away when you're a kid, but as an adult, you feel like you never get a break from the holidays. I concurred with this statement, thinking about how I definitely felt the time fly by since I graduated high school. I used to fret about how fast a year would go by without anything significant happening ... specifically, for example, a relationship. But I'm just kinda used to that by now, and I have to remind myself that it sounds a lot longer than it actually is, so it's really not even a big deal.

Back to the benefits of time. And relationships. People say time heals a broken heart, and it's a crucial part of getting over somebody. No comment on that per se, but what I do want to bring attention to is how crucial time is in letting go of grudges. Grudges actually isn't a great word to use, because it implies an insufficient reason for holding them. More like ... hurt feelings, caused by legitimate quarrels with or insults from people you care about. In the past relevant chunk of my life, I've had some issues that left me really really pissed at some friends, enough so that I didn't talk to them for a while. One in particular sort of ruined an entire friendship for a year, which is slowly being built back up again without intense discussion of said serious issue.

In these situations, you have all this anger inside you for what that person did, and the function of time is to help that anger slowly go away. This is because the longer it has been since the anger-inducing incident, the more the memory has faded. It's not like you've just forgotten what they've done, but for one, you've become used to it, and two, the painful details aren't so fresh anymore. Just like a flesh wound is worse at the beginning when the senses are so stimulated from all the exposure to contact with foreign substances.

When I lay this out in words, it seems like a no-duh type of thing, but the reason I'm fascinated by it is because without me realizing it, time has helped me begin to forget those initially hurt feelings and open up to my friends again. It doesn't erase what they did, but it softens my heart enough to let them back into my life, even if it's in bits and pieces. Is this the meaning of forgiveness? The word hadn't even crossed my mind until now, but it's worth pondering. I'll have to go spend some more TIME on that one.

To sum up this post in one simple sentence (and to point out the actual relation to the topic of this week's challenge): One thing I'm unexpectedly thankful for at this point in my life is the healing properties of time. Which I don't think is a coincidence of the design of the universe. So thanks, God.

(sorry readers who may be annoyed/offended by that

religious reference. I couldn't help myself.)

Applause for "Speak Now"

2010-11-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

Dare I attempt to voice my opinions on the music of Taylor Swift? I feel like I'm about to step onto a minefield where any small move I make will cause a sudden explosion, in the form of someone reacting to what I say that they don't agree with. Depending on the person, this could leave me in a bad mood, but what it comes down to is this: I have a strong feeling about this new album, and whether it be positive or negative, at least it's something to write about. And honestly, lately I've been having a hard time with that.

Fact: There are two kinds of people in this world - those who love T-Swizzle, and those who hate her. Anyone in the middle needs to reveal himself to me, because I know of no such case. If you wanted to be picky, we could say there are people who like her music but don't like her, but I'm not concerned with that at this point. I've been pro-Taylor for a while, and her new album Speak Now just further confirmed that standpoint for me.

In trying to discover why everybody loves her music, I've decided it's because her lyrics always tell a story. Lessons on effective arguing always teach you that one of the biggest persuasive techniques is appeal to emotion, especially with examples. Every one of Taylor's songs is either a love story or a broken heart story, and everybody can relate to that - whether it be from personal experience, or a dream harbored deep in our hearts with the rest of our hopeless romantic insecurities. Instead of confusing strings of poetic language like many of the more artistic/emotional song-writers create (emo music, for example), Taylor writes with naturally spoken phrases that are easy to understand. Less of the unclear, abstract feelings, more of the detailing what happens in situations that affect her life. The little things like seeing a charming boy across the room (by whom she is "Enchanted"), the first time another put his arm around her by the water ("Mine"), or the tiny hand of an infant wrapped around her finger as she puts her to bed ("Never Grow Up"). These details paint pictures in the mind of listeners, which forge the way for emotional connections to be made.

Besides the narrative lyrics that everybody can comprehend and relate to, a few witty rhymes are thrown in as well, such as on "Better Than Revenge": "She's not a saint and she's not what you think, she's an actress. She's better known for the things she does on the mattress." In the imaginative scene about interrupting a wedding to save the man she loves from marrying the wrong girl ("Speak Now"), Taylor sweetly croons in her innocent voice all her humorous and biting commentary about the bride: "I sneak in and see your friends and her snotty little family all dressed in pastel, and she is yelling at a bridesmaid somewhere back inside a room wearing a gown shaped like a pastry." It's funny because such remarks should be spouted from a grumpy voice, but instead they're sung brightly from the optimistic, Disney-esque Taylor who is angelic as always. And have I mentioned how cute "Mean" is, where the tone reminds me of an 8 year old version of myself or any other vulnerable girl sticking her tongue out at an offensive comment?

Back to that voice of hers - who could criticize the aesthetic appeal? Couple it with the simple guitar chords and varied, beautiful melodies that she impressively puts together herself (starting at such a young age, too), the sheer sound of her music is just pleasing to the ear. And to anyone who says all her songs sound the same, I say you need to listen to a couple more - besides the normal bubbly love songs, "Dear John" is a slow and beautiful ballad of heartbreak, while I personally heard a strikingly Paramore-like influence on "Haunted." On the first few listens, anyway. And those were just the ones I found that strayed from the norm the most; by no means do the other 12 songs follow one similar pattern. Taylor's producers also know just the right amount of subtle pop additives to complement the basic structure of every song. Kind of like how make up is said to enhance beauty, not create it. The harmonic back-up sections are not necessary, but they enhance the already present beauty of a song.

Some fun I've had with this album is attempting to pin every one of her public relationships to at least one song, using the small hints provided in the lyrics. "Back to December" (which I LOVE) is obviously about Taylor Lautner, while the only one "Dear John" could be about is John Mayer. If you watched the VMA's this year, you know "Innocent" was directed towards Kanye West, but I also think "Mean" could have been, too. I admire her for having the guts to release these raw emotions willingly to the public, knowing full well they'll figure out who the lyrics are about. It's one thing to put your love stories out there, but when they're not anonymous anymore, that's just risky territory.

I sometimes feel like I'm intruding on Taylor's diary, which is maybe another reason fans like her so much - she trusts us. I've read facebook statuses of people saying things like "Taylor Swift knows exactly how to put into words the events of my life!" so obviously there is a great deal of common experiences. I haven't even had that many relationships in my life yet, but I know many songs that I felt were direct representations of my own thoughts. It's just annoying that she can put them into song form so well, whereas I don't even have enough talent to ATTEMPT such a feat.

Conclusion: Two thumbs up, a round of applause, cheers, hats off . . . to Taylor Swift's 2010 album Speak Now. Shannon is a very satisfied consumer.

Lacking Excitement: A New List

2010-11-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Shannon:

You must find more inspiration to write in your blog. You've made this thing a commitment! It would seem as if you've fallen into a routine of life where everything is the same every week and those things are fun but just aren't compelling enough to blog about. Since you've slowed down on the 20s List, here are some more activities I (your other half) have thought about doing to spice up your (our) life in order to have more things to write about - or just to keep things interesting.

take a cold shower
send flowers to somebody
drive somewhere new and explore
memorize all the tic tac toe strategies
carve something in a tree
write my last will and testament
eat authentic indian food
do everything with my left hand for a day
compose a poem and leave it in a public place
write a letter to the future
duct tape someone to the wall
turn a sidewalk into a gameboard
decorate someone's car
send a postcard

If you don't heed my advice, you'll just have to start forcing posts about school subjects or something boring like that. So hop to it.
Sincerely,
Me

Dear Readers: If you can think of other random fun things to do like these written here, your suggestions would be much appreciated!

BOB Challenge 4: Voting in Non-Presidential Elections

2010-11-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

So ... recently there have been some elections going on. I don't pay attention to politics yet, for the most part. I couldn't even tell you who was running for what, that's how much I am oblivious to what's going on around me. It's pretty disgusting, I know. I have faith that as I mature and grow older, these things will become important to me. I'll end up watching the news on my own when I move out, and seeking information about political candidates once I know what my own views are, thus allowing me to judge who I think would best lead our country/state/whatever.

I'm not going to be an ignorant, irresponsible citizen as an adult, but right now I'm not ready to take on the task of voting. For a few weeks my school was campaigning to get as many people registered to vote as possible. It was a competition between other schools in the area, meaning it didn't matter if the people who registered knew what they were even doing - a circumstance that was probably magnified due to the fact that your name was entered into a drawing for some rad prizes if you registered. It was just a game of numbers. I didn't want to partake in registering, or voting for that matter, if I knew that I have absolutely no knowledge of the matters at hand. It would be IRresponsible of me to randomly put a check mark by the name of the person that I think had the coolest name, or the one that ended up winning the Eenie Meenie game. I know people who have done that! It sickens me to think that might happen on a large level with more serious things like the actual presidential elections. I feel no shame in walking by that table and politely refusing the registration opportunity, because I will not vote until I am informed enough to know what I'm doing, and the consequences of my actions. Sure, one silly vote that wasn't intended to mean anything won't throw an election, but if enough people do that in college when they all they really care about is ... well, college, then I'm really worried about the state of our election system.

One thing I DID vote in, that was non-presidential (keeping with the theme of the post), was which cover of our school's literary magazine I liked best. Those things are easy, take 5 seconds, and help better represent the student population's opinion if everyone took their time to do it. For now I'll stick with that - sharing my voice on what I can surely form my own opinions on, the things that have to do with what I'm experiencing in my life right now: School! I'm not ready to be an adult yet; however, I will get there in time.

The Post on the Roller Derby

2010-11-07T08:38:00.003-07:00

Yup, that's what I did last night. Thanks to an assignment for anthropology class (which didn't make much sense to me), I got to experience the thrill of witnessing the intense championship game between two local teams in my area. Something I never thought I'd get around to doing otherwise. It's just one of those things that either is or is not on your list, and for some reason it never occurred to me that I would enjoy going to the roller derby, but I'm bummed now that I didn't have it on my 20s List to cross off.

I'd only ever seen footage of what a roller derby looks like from trailers for that one show that Ellen Page is in and that Drew Barrymore directed. I wanted to see it, and I do even more now. Going into the game (with m good friend KC!), I knew absolutely nothing about how it's played, just that a bunch of crazily-dressed girls skate around in circles and beat each other up at the same time. Turns out there actually is a point, though, and strategy is involved, and it gets pretty physical.

An excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Contemporary roller derby is an American-invented contact sport with roots in sports entertainment. The game is based on formation roller skating around an oval track by two teams. Points are scored as the designated scoring player (the "jammer") of both teams each laps members of the opposing team, including its "blockers,"^[1] hence offense and defense typically occur simultaneously.^[2]^[3]"

So pretty much one person scores points during each round for their team by lapping the most people from the opposing team. Many tactics are used to prevent this from happening, which lead to rough tumbles and ripped tights and many bruises. Referees are constantly in the middle of the track following the "jammers" and keeping track of who's in the lead and how many people they've passed. It's a demanding job, as they have to simultaneously loop around their inner circle to keep up with the girls they're tracking, usually while displaying their status (lead or non-lead) with arm/hand signals.

The game started out slow, making it pretty easy to get a hold of how the rules worked. The second half picked up quite a bit though: Shoving started much earlier on in the rounds, more people were getting penalties and sent to time out, larger point tallies were being wracked up each time, and it was never a guarantee of who would win. During the last minute and a half, the teams were 118-110 (the team we were rooting for being the losers at this point), where previously there had been 30+ point differences that left you wondering if there was even hope. But like I said, things got intense and sometimes a team would earn 20 points at a time. The very last round started out great until the jammer on our team fell to the ground and lost a wheel on her skate, which forced her to basically forfeit trying to get any points. She sat on the side while the opposing team's jammer wracked up 20-something points, and furthered their score to win the game. The crowd was heartbroken.

At the end of the night, we obviously were very excited about the turnout of the game, but there was reason to be excited even before it started. If it's your first time, the atmosphere is definitely fun to soak in, as you will find obvious that it's not your typical contact sport. These girls are decked out in funky tights, usually bootie shorts or a short skirt (tutu optional), glitter and/or heavy make up, plus all their protective gear covering their heads, elbows, knees, and teeth (mouthguards are a must). Each skater has a unique name on her jersey that usually plays on words to make either a provocative or intimidatingly aggressive nickname. Examples are Babe Ruthless, Iron Butterfly, Katie Karnage, or Mudd Girl (even the referees have names!) Basically, if it's anything a normal person would be embarrassed to wear on their back, it could be seen as the moniker of a derby doll.

The variety of girls participating in roller derbies seems to be greater than your average sport. Size and age seem to be the most varied factors - this is definitely not something that limits players to having a Barbie physique, which made me happy. Heavier girls proudly strut their stuff in what a lot of women are too scared to wear in public, and skinny minnies can do the same.

What I was surprised to notice was the amount of calmness that resided in each team despite the fighting nature of the sport. When they're out on the track, everyone is trying to push the others down, or one-up them by sneaking up from behind and gaining the lead. Even when the more aggressive maneuvers lead to big falls and penalties, the teams always kept their cool and left the anger on the track. KC and I sat very close to the team's sitting areas, and never heard or saw any shouts or expressions of hatred. They play fair and respect the other teams, which I respect and admire, even though naturally I think people tend to be attracted to violence.

All in all I'm not as upset as I was before about spending $12 to go to the roller derby. I'd definitely do it again, when it's not required for a school assignment, and I'm still hoping I get to see that movie sometime.

Life Lessons (The Meaningful Ones)

2010-11-02T20:33:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I posted last, so I felt obligated to write today. Nothing has inspired me though, enough to share with people on my blog anyway, so I resorted to a random writing prompt generator on the internet.

What is the greatest lesson you've learned so far in your life?

Good freaking question. I'd first have to say that I'm kind of young and I haven't learned a whole lot of lessons so far, relative to what I'm sure will come in the next many decades of my life. The majority of things I've been learning in these first 19 years is factual information, due to this mandatory thing called schooling, and then my willful continuation into higher education.

Learning life lessons comes from what you experience, mainly with hardships, relationships, and Pirate ships. Just kidding. But so far my count on the first two is kind of low in my opinion. Nothing traumatic has happened to me yet, nor have I fallen deeply in love and known what I wanted out of my future. But at the same time that doesn't mean that what I have experienced meant any less because it doesn't carry the same magnitude. When you're a teenager, the highlight of your day might be a really brief conversation with a boy you like. It takes over your mind and you'll end up thinking about that person till you fall asleep, and maybe even then some. In adulthood, those menial things happen everyday and bigger stuff takes over. So I feel like whatever I may have to say about my life so far will pale in comparison to the wisdom held by my elders.

So let's try to get a good list going here, of what I HAVE learned. A lot of it sums up to what used to be my motto of "Expect the worst and you'll never get let down." Always. For a while in a darker period of my life it seemed that whenever I had something to look forward to, things somehow always went awry and I ended up in a very lonely place. I couldn't ever have hope in a budding friendship because something would come along and ruin it. I couldn't look forward to a planned gathering too much because I'd have this grand idea of how perfect everything would be, and reality would have it that actually it turned out to be a boring, uncomfortable ordeal that made me feel foolish for being enthusiastic about something. This still happens to me, but not to the same extent. Maybe it's because of a changed outlook on life that I haven't noticed but just somehow took over. Or maybe I've just been particularly blessed with this past year of my life. I don't know. One thing I do know is that if I had answered this question a year or two ago, it would have been a misery-filled response that sounded like I never got to experience joy, and that's not true.

Another thought just popped into my head, that maybe all the important things I've been learning lately aren't exactly life lessons, they are just about ME. Figuring out who I am: what I value, what things attract me, what I disrespect or am apathetic about, what makes me the most satisfied. Those kinds of things. And I'm not talking about my favorite food or movie genre, I'm talking about deep stuff. Such as ... am I the type of person that obtains fulfillment from a successful career or from relationships? I think I've already got a good feel for this one, and I'm sure it will just become more and more clear the older I become. On the other hand though, I know that nobody is ever dominated by one trait over another, which leads me to another thing I've learned, which is the importance of balance.

Balance can be applied to many aspects of life. In that previous example, it means that I can receive fulfillment from both work AND relationships. I, and most people, will have a preference, but that doesn't mean the other is irrelevant. Balance is important in what pleasures you allow yourself in life - everything in moderation, right? Eat balanced meals. Don't become addicted to anything. Exercise on a regular basis. Such statements are self explanatory. You should also have balance in the priorities which take over your time. I see a lot of people my age becoming way too bogged down by school, or work, or both. It creates a large amount of stress when you don't even have time to relax and hang out with friends. Speaking of friends, balance applies here too, as you should not get caught in the delusion that you are best friends with multiple groups of people and not put enough effort into maintaining those relationships. Further, balance the tools you use to make decisions - do not put everything all on your heart or your head, but consider logic and emotion in every situation.

All of the sudden all these ideas keep coming to mind! Never assume you know everything and that your opinion cannot change. It's good to have opinions, but always be open to learning and questioning and absorbing new information. The more you know about all sides of a topic, the more fine-tuned and responsible your opinion IS.

Don't tell someone you love them unless you're sure of it. This is the item on the list that doesn't belong, it feels a bit out of place, but I had to say it. Continuing on.

The Golden Rules works wonders in any situation. As long as you take into consideration the fact that some people might prefer a different outcome than you. For example, you feel most cared about when people express their interest through words and encouragement, whereas others might resonate more with significant actions displaying affection. Anyway, the point is to think of others and not be selfish all the time.

And for me, personally, faith in God. Is very important. And I will stop at that.

BOB Challenge 3: The Universe

2010-10-28T18:15:00.001-06:00

Technically the topic is something more like "the universe and its vastness." These words bring up bad memories for me, since I unknowingly signed up, in the Spring of 2010, to put myself through the torture of an astronomy class (knowledge of the signing up was there, not the future torture). Anytime the word astronomy comes up in a discussion, I tell people not to take that class, because there is so much information to learn and not enough time. You pretty much have to know everything about the universe!! It's true. And is there no thing bigger than the universe? I think not! If I wanted an A I would've had to put an hour or two a day into reading the book and memorizing things alone, and that does not include time spent on homework. The early chapters talked about some scientific laws and everything about the planets in our galaxy, but then branched out into all other possibly existing pieces of material in the universe, what the stuff is in between, and then the size of the whole thing itself.

Apparently the universe has no boundaries. Scientists try to talk about the shape of the universe, whether it is open or closed, flat, spherical, etc. It's cool and all in theory, but honestly the percentage of people on this planet that care is probably about .00001%. Because as far as I know, our own galaxy is so huge and full of exploration, how can we attempt to solve and know everything about things beyond that? I don't see how we can benefit from it. Traveling from Earth to the Sun takes 8.3 minutes, traveling at the speed of light, which frankly, is not really something I believe is physically possible for human beings and spacecraft to figure out how to do. Not that we'd want to get to the sun of course, but to give you some sense of how big the Milky Way Galaxy is, if Earth were a peppercorn and the sun was a bowling ball, the two would have to sit 78 feet away. A peppercorn! That's tiny! Plus, that's just one sun out of many in this galaxy.

In the scheme of things, I don't give a crap about how large the universe is. I know that the chances of intelligent life on other planets is calculable (we did it in a lab, there are many steps), and that it's also really small. If you want to bring the big bang theory into this, I would just flat out say that's impossible. God had to have created us, given the chances of us existing normally, and how complicated our existence IS. Just looking at the way our bodies are put together and function so creatively is ... well it's just a work of art resulting from great, detailed planning.

I appreciate the universe and the stars and everything. When I'm walking the dogs on a clear night, I'll cup my hands around my eyes and stare at the stars while still walking. They don't move at all. I can almost trick myself into thinking I'm on a treadmill and not going anywhere. It's because they're just that far away, and to us the night sky looks like a dark blanket spread out with bits of light peaking through. I read the textbook, the one that changes every year because things are being discovered so fast. I attempted to learn everything about the universe (ok, it was definitely a half-ass attempt), and I still don't see how it matters to me, or anybody else on this planet. I know studying things in our own galaxy is important to see how Earth is affected, but beyond that I don't really think it matters. Frankly, a good number of people are probably earning salaries based on useless research. Lucky them?

I maintain my position about astronomy class. Don't take it unless you want to go into that field, because you're probably thinking it's an easy, fun general that lets you chill in the planetarium all the time. Yeah, I did fall asleep a lot in my reclined chair in that secluded, dark bubble, which was nice until I tried catching up on the notes. Unless your teacher tests on the most general of material, in which case you probably won't have to study the book AS hard, you're going to spend a lot of time on this class. And it sucks. The end.